Volume 14 Issue 8
“To acquire wisdom, one must observe” www.brandeishoot.com
The Brandeis Hoot will not be publishing photos from “Liquid Latex” online out of respect for students who do not want the images to be circulated beyond the Brandeis campus.
dressed to the nines See
masks the nudity.
March 31, 2017
Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper · Waltham, Mass.
page 9 to read about the 17th-annual student show featuring artwork so painstaking, it almost
Students as ornate canvasses in ‘Liquid Latex’ By Mia Edelstein editor
The lights dimmed, and the room roared as Liquid Latex attendees cheered on classmates minutes away from dancing their hearts out on stage covered in nothing but thongs and Latex paint. “The Devil Wears Nada,” the 17th-annual iteration of “Liquid Latex” played to a packed Levin Ballroom on Tuesday, March 28. Seven performances marked by intricate design, playful choreography and big smiles left the crowd energized. Most noticeable was the show’s composition. There were no runway pieces like there have been in years past, and no dancers were clothed. With only seven dances, the show was just over an hour long. “Uptown Funk” blared through
the speakers to open the night, with the audience reaching the high note after Bruno Mars sings, “Girls, hit your hallelujah.” In “A Dance Down Memory Lane,” designed and choreographed by Samantha Rockey ’17, models were each painted to represent a hit from the past, like “Thriller,” or present, like “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” Songs from the 1970s and 1980s were sandwiched between more modern songs. One of “Liquid Latex’s” best characteristics is how peers support each other during daring choreography, cheering loudly. This piece’s highlight was easily the string lights draped across Vanessa Alamo’s ’17 body as she danced to “The Electric Slide.” “Planet Earth” followed with beautiful artwork depicting seven different ecosystems. Inspired by the BBC series of the same name, See LIQUID LATEX, page 9
$90,000 in C.E.E.F. funds allocated to student initiatives By Abigail Gardener editor
C.E.E.F. grant proposal winners were chosen by the Student Union C.E.E.F. committee this week. C.E.E.F., or the Communi-
ty Enhancement and Emergency Fund, is a source of funding that provides emergency funding for students, as well as allocates money for student-led initiatives, according to the Student Union website. C.E.E.F. contains $250,000 total and is divided into two parts:
$150,000 for emergency funding and $100,000 for student-led initiatives. This year the C.E.E.F. committee received 19 proposals and chose eight to award funding to. In total, they awarded about $90,000 of the $100,000 allocated for student initiatives and still have $10,000 left over for emer-
gencies or roadblocks that could come up when the student proposals are implemented. C.E.E.F. has gone unused for years, according to Student Union Representative to C.E.E.F. Kate Kesselman ’19. The Union wanted to get the fund up and running again because “it is students’
money,” Kesselman said. The committee began the process of re-implementing C.E.E.F. in December. It was difficult to get C.E.E.F. started again because it has not been used for years, so there were no prior documents or See C.E.E.F., page 2
Six bathrooms to be stocked with free menstrual products By Elianna Spitzer editor
Free pads and tampons will be available in six high traffic restrooms for about one month, according to Aaron Finkel ‘20, chair of Campus Operations Working Group (COW-G) and Massell Quad Senator. Using a Senate Money Resolution (SMR), COW-G requested $949.39 to pay for six baskets, and about 8,000 pads and tampons. Menstrual products will be placed in men’s and women’s restrooms on the first floor of Mandel, lower Usdan by the Mail Center and
Inside This Issue:
Upper Sherman. They will also be available in SSIS. The SMR passed unanimously in the senate. The products will be purchased in bulk and the exact start date of the month-long trial will depend on when the products arrive in the mail. Members of COW-G hope that they will be able to place the products in restrooms the week after April Break and restock them until finals begin. “A lot of other universities have done it … I think it’s a good initiative … it fits Brandeis social justice and things that Brandeis See MENSTRUAL, page 3
photo by katie decker-jacoby/the hoot
‘rise up’ Junior studio art majors showcase works of several media. See page 9.
‘Footloose’
Page 3 Page 5 Fun, well-executed openPage 11 cast musical wows. Page 13 ARTS: PAGE 11 EDITORIAL: Keep menstrual products with Union Page 7 News: Prize awarded to student run nonprofit Ops: Housing lottery should accomodate groups Arts: New powerful exhibit at MFA Features: Senior theses cross disciplines
Lactose-Free Yogurt C-Store should vary its lactose-free yogurt options OPS: PAGE 4
NEWS
2 The Brandeis Hoot
March 31, 2017
Lian Chen ’19 to serve as Student Union Secretary
By Ryan Spencer staff
A new name will make its way into undergraduates’ inboxes in Fall 2017 when Lian Chen ’19 assumes her role as Student Union Secretary, taking over the job of sending out weekly emails and other reminders from the Student Union. After spending this spring as the Racial Minority Senator, Chen is moving to a more administrative role on the Union where she will help manage elections, the Student Union offices and outreach to the student body. Chen hopes to improve the Student Union’s connection with the undergraduate body and increase transparency in the Student
Union. Through her weekly emails Chen wants to help students “know about the events going on on campus more efficiently.” “People want to know about what Student Union and E-board does,” said Chen. “I’ll increase the transparency and … involve more people in the decision process.” Working for the Student Union “is a really important job for anyone that wants to do a good job for the student body,” Chen said in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot. “The Student Union definitely has the power to change some policies in the school if they are in the students’ need.” As a senator, Chen says she represents racial minority students and helps fulfill their needs. She
holds roles on three Union committees: Service and Outreach, Club Support and Social Justice and Diversity. Working for the Service and Outreach committee, Chen has helped set up shuttle services, dubbed “bunny shuttles,” which will conveniently take students to Logan Airport and South Station when Brandeis breaks in April. These will be similar to the Thanksgiving break “turkey shuttles,” which provide discounted transportation to Logan and South Station in November. Shifting to become Secretary at the turn of the semester, Chen will hold an Executive Board position and wants students to know that she is “open for any suggestions and kind of changes people want to see.”
photo courtesy lian chen
Student body elects Emily Levine ’18 S.U. Treasurer By Ryan Spencer staff
Elected from across the Atlantic Ocean, the role of Student Union Treasurer awaits Emily Levine ’18, when she returns to Brandeis in Fall 2017 after spending this Spring semester studying at King’s College in London, England. “I hope to run the Treasury more efficiently and to increase the transparency between Treasury and club treasurers,” Levine told The Hoot via email. Recognizing that many club leaders may not fully un-
derstand the reimbursement and payment process used by the Student Union, Levine says she will use her role as Treasurer to help make the process clearer. Majoring in both economics and business, Levine has served as both Assistant Treasurer and Deputy Treasurer as well as the the treasurer for two clubs at Brandeis, Chabad at Brandeis and TAMID Group. Her experience in various treasury roles has led her to understand the Student Union’s marathon and reimbursement process, Levine says. As Student Union Treasurer she will work with club leaders to pass her knowledge on.
“I am excited to help show students what initiatives the Union is working on,” Levine told The Hoot. “By working with clubs and seeing what they are spending University funds on, I will be able to get a better sense of what clubs are doing on this campus and can relay that over to the Union.” From England, Levine ran a Facebook campaign using a cartoon caricature of herself, created using a smartphone app called Bitmoji, in many of her campaign ads. Levine looks forward to “helping clubs, meeting new people and learning what students are up to on campus” as Treasurer.
C.E.E.F. to fund nine student proposals C.E.E.F., from page 1
anything to refer to, Kesselman said. Applications were open until February, and the committee debated for weeks after February break before deciding on winners and releasing decisions. “It was a long process to make the decisions because they were all really great,” Kesselman said. Proposals that were chosen to be given funding include Operation Hydration, Stand Up for the Library, Chum’s Revitalization Project, Sound Equipment for the Stein, Bike Fixit Station, Expanding Public Art at Brandeis, University Textbook Exchange and Renovation of Lounges in Freshman Dorms. Each of these projects fell under a specific category of C.E.E.F. improvements: sustainability, academics, social life, art and culture or community building. This year, 40 percent of funding was awarded to projects that dealt with the social life category, more than any other categories. Community building and sustainability were close seconds, with 22 and 19 percent, respectively Cristof Rindlisbacher ’19, a
member of the Brandeis Undergraduate Library Council, submitted two proposals: Operation Hydration and Stand Up for the Library, both of which selected by the committee to receive funding. During monthly council meetings, student feedback revealed that the library’s water fountains needed to be upgraded. “The library has several porcelain water fountains that are out of date and don’t work properly. It’s hard to study if you’re dehydrated,” said Rindlisbacher in an email to The Brandeis Hoot. Rindlisbacher offered to submit a C.E.E.F. proposal and requested funding for three new combination water fountains/water bottle-filling stations for the library, which would waste less water and energy and allow students to fill their water bottles more easily. Similarly, Rindlisbacher and the Undergraduate Library Council realized the library’s new bicycle desks have been successful, so “we decided to build on the success of the bicycle desks by requesting funds for several standing desks, which will be installed throughout the library,” Rindlisbacher said. These desks would use less space than traditional desks and
also give the option for healthier lifestyle choices. Although they will both benefit the library, Rindlisbacher’s proposals fall under the C.E.E.F. improvement categories of sustainability and academics. The committee aimed to choose projects that would benefit the Brandeis community and improve student life in the long run. “We wanted to make sure we helped the campus in as broad a way as possible … every student uses water, every student uses desks,” Kesselman said, in reference to Rindlisbacher’s winning proposals. Going forward, winners of the funding are asked to send an Excel sheet with a clear budget for their project so it can be inputted into SUMS (Student Union Management System), which will take some time, according to Kesselman. After the finances are put in, the individual can begin ordering supplies for their project from the Treasury. It is up to the individual to follow through with their project, Kesselman said, but the committee will be checking in with them periodically. Most of the projects should be done by next semester,
photo courtesy emily levine
Citizenship Day to unite immigration advocates By Elianna Spitzer editor
Students will have the opportunity to engage with immigrant activist and resource groups from Brandeis and from the greater Boston area at Brandeis Citizenship Day on Tuesday, April 4. The event will be hosted by The Right to Immigration Institute (TRII), a nonprofit organization created by Brandeis students. In attendance will be representatives from Project Citizenship, Brandeis’ International Students and Scholars Office, the American Civil Liberties Union, Brandeis Immigration Education Initiative, Watch CDC and Newcomer Academy. The two-and-a-halfhour event in Sherman Function Hall will facilitate discussion between students and activists from two communities. “Our two main goals are supporting those in need of resources and supporting those who are searching to help others,” wrote Jonathan Goldman ’19. A panel will discuss the politi-
cal and social climate surrounding immigration and address how students can get involved in educating and spreading awareness about resources. “We hope for the panel to be an opportunity for people to get inspired and recognize that immigration is something that is far more nuanced than the cliches that we see on our Facebook feeds,” Goldman wrote in an email to The Brandeis Hoot. The event will be open to Brandeis students and members of the Boston-area community and will provide education and assistance. “About one month before the Trump administration passed the first travel ban, me and the rest of the TRII board were sitting and waiting as we were setting up our bank account. We were discussing potential ways to reach out to people who had misconceptions about immigration and could use resources that we weren’t providing,” Goldman wrote. “From this, Brandeis Citizenship Day seemed like the perfect event to fill those gaps.”
March 31, 2017
IN THE SENATE: Mar. 26, 2017 •
Club Recognition • Mathematical Society • The Society hosts weekly problem sessions with a math professor and many students in attendance.The club plans to reach out to pre-college students to make math more exciting. • The club’s representatives maintained that this should be a club, and not merely the math department, in order to build and emphasize the community around math on campus. • Executive Senator Hannah Brown ’19 said that there is a precedent of academic clubs, which she believes serve a different purpose from departments. • The Senate voted to recognize the Mathematical Society. • Chartering • Aviation Club • The club needs funding to get quad helicopters for club members to use and to subsidized flying lessons. • Discussion • Class of 2018 Senator Abhishek Kulkarni reminded the Senate that this club was denied chartering in the fall because they had not held a meeting in 10 years—when they first became chartered—and because they have only had one meeting since last semester, they should not be chartered. • Tracy mentioned that this club needs funding in order to function. The club has a preliminary budget, so they would be ready to submit Marathon requests this semester. • The Senate voted to charter Aviation Club • Communications • Candidates running for international student senator will be on the upcoming Student Union election ballot. • Executive Officer Reports • Brown reported that the Department of Community Living was talking to President David Herbstritt ’17 and said that it expects that everyone who wants housing to get housing, but it will be tight. • Committee Chair Reports • Dining Committee • There is now a panini press in Sherman Dining Hall. • Sustainability • The State of Sustainability will be held on Tuesday, April 4 in Hassenfeld in Upper Sherman. • New Business • Senate Money Resolution (SMR) Relating to the Campus Screening of “13th” • Because the Men of Color Alliance (MOCA) is not a recognized club, the Social Justice and Diversity Committee believes that it is important to co-sponsor and fund the screening of the Netflix documentary • The Senate decided to vote on the SMR next week. • Senator Reports • East Quad Senator Elijah Sinclair ’19 has heard complaints about construction times on the Castle being too early. - Mia Edelstein
Davis Peace Prize awarded to student-run nonprofit By Samantha Lauring staff
Victoria St. Jean ’19 and Jonathan Goldman ’19 are the recipients of the 2017 Davis Projects for Peace Prize. They received the prize through The Right to Immigration Institute (TRII), a nonprofit organization they created. TRII focuses on providing representation and assistance to asylum seekers in immigration proceedings. The Davis Projects for Peace encourages college students to develop projects for peace that they will put into action during the summer of 2017, according to the Brandeis website. Recipients of the prize win a grant of $10,000 to implement their projects. “One of the main reasons so few people are accredited representatives is due to the high cost,” Goldman and St. Jean wrote in their grant proposal. They are both taking a six-week intensive immigration court training class. They plan to use the grant money to develop a representation training course for TRII that will be offered to undergraduate students and others who are interested in order to mitigate the cost of becoming an accredited representative. “The TRII Representation Training would give people the skills necessary to help asylum seekers in court, complete cases and become accredited representatives with the Board of Immigration Appeals. This would also expand the undergraduate base of TRII and expand the supply of help for asylum applicants,” Goldman and St. Jean stated. From May until June, Goldman and St. Jean will be doing research to draft the training program. During July and August, they plan to finalize the training course and have it reviewed by field experts, according to their proposal. The course will be modeled after the Catholic Legal Immigration Net-
Month-long menstrual product trial will cost S.U. less than $1,000 MENSTRUAL, from page 1
really stands for,” said Samantha Barrett ’20, a member of COW-G and the Class of 2020 senator. The source of the products will be online retailers. A box of 500 Tampax tampons will cost the union $59.05 at Amazon. Sixty-six Stayfree pads will cost $6.88 when purchased through Walmart. This means that an individual tampon costs about $.12 and an individual pad costs about $.10. At their current decision to provide 8,000 pads/tampons per month, the total cost for the academic year would be around $8,000. This number would increase if more bathrooms were provided with menstrual products. The month-long test run will gauge student interest in the initiative. Members of COW-G hope
NEWS 3
The Brandeis Hoot
to present the results of the testrun to the administration during the Fall 2017 semester. The ultimate goal is to have the administration take over. “It’s a very large cost for Student Union and it would have to be a regular expense that we would have to take on. I think it’s something that the administration should look into funding because they have more money than us,” said Finkel. Barrett added that the source of the initiative affected the way that the Union has handled it. “Since it wasn’t a Student Union initiative, it was a student-based initiative brought to the Student Union, we can’t necessarily take responsibility for it, as a Student Union initiative,” she said. Students have approached members of COW-G to help with distribution and restocking. They plan to restock bi-weekly, according to Finkel. Members of
the Union, including Finkel and Barett will help with restocking if necessary. “Our goal is to try to get Facilities and Campus Operations to actually do the stocking and replenishment of these menstrual products so that we don’t have to put that burden on the students,” said Finkel. Barrett expressed concerns that there would not be enough volunteers in the long-run if the Student Union were to permanently undertake the project. “Manpower-wise, to have student volunteers do [restocking], I think there won’t be enough hands,” she said. Barrett briefly addressed the idea that the products would be stolen or misused. “I think this is important and there needs to be a woman’s perspective on this. I’ve had the questions: well what if people just take them? I know from my own experience, if you take them, you’re gonna use them,” she said.
work’s Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law program, and will also use Prof. Douglas Smith’s (LGLS) expertise and other training materials. In addition to creating a training course to get students accredited, members of TRII are working with the Waltham Public Schools to create a citizenship program for students and families who need assistance with citizenship paperwork. Mary Jo Rendón, co-chair of the Newcomers Academy program for Waltham Public Schools, requested help from TRII because the families she works with have a serious need for assistance. TRII’s program could “help keep several children in school since they would no longer need to fear they could be deported,” according to TRII’s grant proposal. Goldman and St. Jean also hope to use the grant money to expand TRII. “One, we can pay for administrative costs such as liability insurance, phone bills, website and filing fees. Two, we can pay for the initial workshops necessary for us to create the representation training and citizenship program. Three, we can pay for travel expenses to and from Boston to meet with partners and go to immigration court. The work of expanding would be started and completed over the summer. However, the effects would go beyond those months,” they wrote in their proposal. “When we received notification that we were being awarded the grant, we were obviously excited, but it didn’t really sink in until later that night how big of an impact the grant will have on our ability to expand TRII and achieve our goals. We have received an outpouring of support from friends, family, faculty and staff on campus, and we are grateful, not only for the Davis committee, but also for everyone who has helped us in building TRII,” St. Jean said. Goldman and St. Jean spent about three or four months work-
ing on the proposal for the Davis Projects award. “We had just come off of applying for another grant and applying for 501(c)(3) status, so we were feeling a bit burnt out. But when we heard about this award, it inspired us to push through. We worked several hours a week over the few months we worked on this award, but it was a worthwhile endeavor, “ Goldman said. TRII was created at the beginning of the Fall 2016 semester. Munis Safajou ’16 and St. Jean both expressed their interest in starting the organization to Smith, who teaches the immigration and human rights class in the legal studies department. “During the class, he mentioned that students could potentially become accredited representatives to help non-citizens through immigration proceedings. We were inspired by this idea and decided to start an organization that would focus on connecting students to immigration law trainings and becoming a recognized institution they could work for. Shortly after, I asked Jonathan to join me, Prof. Smith and Munis, since he was currently in the immigration and human rights class,” St. Jean said. So far, TRII received 501(c)3 status from the IRS in October, won the Brenda Meehan Social Justice In Action Grant for its Brandeis Citizenship Day event, which is on Tuesday, April 4, and won the Davis Projects for Peace Prize. “Since Prof. Smith is a licensed attorney and Jonathan, Munis and I recently completed a Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law course through the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, we will be applying for institutional recognition and individual accreditation through the Office of Legal Access Programs within the next month,” according to St. Jean.
4 The Brandeis Hoot
OPINIONS
March 31, 2017
Add more lactose-free yogurt on campus By Sarah Terrazano editor
Of the many complaints I may have about Brandeis’ dining services, lately there has been one that outweighs them all: the lack of lactose-free yogurt options in the C-Store and in the dining halls. I cannot count the times that I have tried to buy lactose-free (or dairy-free) yogurt and have been unable to find any. As someone who is lactose intolerant, I find this to be a constant problem. The lactase pills don’t work for me with something as rich as yogurt, and there are other students with a similar problem—those who cannot have dairy at all or who follow a vegan diet. Yet nine times out of 10 when I walk into the C-Store, I leave empty-handed because the lactose- or dairy-free yogurts are out of stock. It has been stocked sporadically throughout the semester, and sometimes I can wait a day or two and be able to buy some. But for the past few weeks, every time I’ve tried, I have been unable to buy a single container of lactose-free yogurt. In the C-Store, there is an abundant amount of options for regular yogurt. You can choose between regular, organic, Greek, smoothie—the list goes on. There is also a wide array of different fruit flavors. But on the rare occasions when the C-Store does have lactose-free yogurt, the only flavors offered are “plain” or vanilla. One brand, Almond Dream, is made with almond milk and has a watery, jelly-like consistency and a taste not unlike a watered-down bowl of cereal. The other brand, So Delicious, is made with coconut milk and tastes significantly better, but any flavor other than plain is rarely in stock, so the yo-
the c-store’s limited yogurt selection
gurt just tastes vaguely of coconut. While the first improvement is to stock more lactose-free yogurt in general, once it’s on the shelves, it could also be offered in a wider variety of flavors. Additionally, both Usdan and Sherman have offer yogurt, but never with a dairyor lactose-free option. I see two causes to this problem: Either not enough is being ordered for the C-Store, or it’s flying off the shelves too quickly. If it’s the former, I can speak for myself and others I’ve talked to who would greatly appreciate a greater stock of lactose- or dairyfree yogurt in the C-Store. If it’s the latter, high demand is only an additional motive to order more.
photo by sarah terrazano/the hoot
Some people might say that since I’m lactose intolerant, maybe I just shouldn’t eat yogurt. However, lactose intolerance really limits the ways that you can get enough calcium, and I’ve had problems in the past with low calcium levels. Aside from supplemental vitamins, lactose-free options of dairy-rich foods are one of the best ways to get calcium. This is also a relevant issue for vegans as well, as the lack of dairy in their diet limits how much calcium they get per day. They face an even trickier situation, as not all lactose-free products are dairyfree (lactose can be removed from dairy products). Offering dairyfree yogurt would be beneficial
potential lactose- and dairy-free options
to those following a vegan diet on campus, especially because their options are also significantly restricted by mandatory meal plans and the dining hall. Fortunately, the C-Store often has soy milk, which is definitely a perk. But more often than not when I try to get soy milk in the dining halls, there is none left. And the yogurt in the dining hall is never dairyor lactose-free. Of course, lactose-free yogurt, in various flavors, is available in nearby grocery stores like Hannaford’s. But since I live on campus and thus am obligated to be on an expensive meal plan, I would rather use the points that I have already paid for instead of
photo from kblog.lunchboxbrunch.com
spending more money off campus. It is frustrating to not be able to use points on products I then have to buy in a grocery store. This may seem like a very small complaint: no lactose-free yogurt. But it is a frustration that adds up when relying on campus dining services. Especially with the outrageously high cost of meal plans, I don’t want to have to spend more money off campus, when I’ve already paid to eat at Brandeis. Stocking more lactose-free yogurt would be an easy fix in the C-Store, and perhaps even in the dining halls, that would greatly benefit many students.
A socialist’s argument for universal health care By José Castellanos staff
Earlier this month, the American Health Care Act (AHCA) was pulled out of Congress by Paul Ryan and President Trump to prevent the humiliation of a failed vote. Legislators on both sides of the political spectrum were opposed to it. The left found it to be appalling, saying that it would leave millions uncovered and at risk of dying, while many on the right felt that it wasn’t Draconian enough, including Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas, who stated that it didn’t reduce Medicaid enough and still reeked of “big government.” Regardless of the arguments, the bill is dead for the time being, leaving the Affordable Care Act in place. However, the Affordable Care Act, even though it is infinitely better than what health care would become under the AHCA and was a step in the right direction, is still not perfect. There are still millions of uninsured Americans, and even those who are insured often have difficulty navigating care networks or handling increasingly expensive premiums and deductibles. Many of these issues can be resolved through a system found in nearly every oth-
er major democracy in the world: universal health care. In 2014, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development published a report stating that only two of its member states lacked universal health care: the United States and Mexico. However, in 2004 Mexico announced that it would be taking steps to achieving healthcare as a right for its citizens, and now, nearly 90 percent of its population is covered under public health programs. Countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Cuba and Costa Rica all guarantee health care as a right to its citizens; however, the United States does not. The United States still largely depends on private corporations to provide health care for the majority of its citizens, which is wholly unacceptable for the nation with the world’s largest economy. That being said, we should not be blind to the reasons why American legislators have been so slow to denounce privatized health care and move toward a single-payer health care system. The Center for Responsive Politics reported that in 2016, Blue Cross/Blue Shield alone spent $13,846,109 lobbying to Congress, and the insurance industry as a whole spent a total of $146,662,996 lobbying. This is a symptom of the larger issue of
oligarchic influence in politics that is so complex that it deserves its own article, so for the time being, move on. America should not be the only developed nation that doesn’t guarantee health care as a right to its citizens, especially given that it has the means to fund a single-payer health care system. Even if party elites on both sides resist increasing taxation on corporations and the bourgeois, there are still other areas where funding can be reallocated to properly fund a universal health care system, for example, the $600 billion military budget. However, an increase in taxation on those who have the means to contribute but often find loopholes to avoid paying taxes is probably the best way to fund a single-payer health care system. Taxation isn’t theft. Taxation is a way of redistributing excess wealth to ensure that those at the top can be checked and those at the bottom can be assisted. Health care is a basic human right. People should not have to refuse medical treatment because the ambulance ride alone is unaffordable to them. People should not have to take out a second mortgage on their homes or enter into debt because of a terminal illness that they have no control
photo from cnn.com
paul ryan
over, and it is completely unacceptable that the largest economy in the world still has citizens who have to crowdfund in order to pay off treatment for illness because a
group of wealthy politicians who are guaranteed health care of their own by the government refuse to acknowledge that they too deserve that right.
March 31, 2017
OPINIONS 5
The Brandeis Hoot
How to make the housing lottery more effective By Carolyn Rogers staff
Complaints about DCL and the housing lottery have abounded in the last several weeks, but the core issue is not with number distribution or confusing choosing processes, but rather with the lottery system itself. The current system creates an individualistic atmosphere where people compete with one another for the best housing, agree to live with people they might not get along with in the name of getting a better suite and leave out their friends for the transgression of getting an unlucky number. The entire housing selection process should be reformed to be based on roommate groups rather than individuals favored by the Housing Gods. When applying for housing, instead of each individual submitting a separate application and receiving a separate number, people should apply for housing in groups. In the case of upperclassman housing, there are options ranging from singles (Charles River efficiencies) to six-person suites (Ridgewood, Mods and Ziv) to everything in between. If six upperclassmen know they want to live together, they should form a group and submit their application as one group. Then they would receive a random lottery number within the pool of six-person groups. The same goes
By Katarina Weessies editor
After Trump was elected, one sentiment that other students often expressed was that we were “lucky” that Mike Pence would be doing most of the political work of the presidency, rather than Donald Trump. This sentiment was echoed by a Saturday Night Live sketch that aired after the election. In the sketch, Pence visits Trump’s office to congratulate him, and Trump reacts by turning to him and asking, “You’re going to do everything, right?” Many anti-Trump voters are relieved at the notion that Pence might “do everything.” They suppose that Pence, because of his political experience and professional demeanor relative to Trump, would make a more effective leader. I would urge these voters not to be comforted by Pence’s lack of Twitter rants and misogynistic
mike pence
for five-person groups (Charles River), four-person groups (Ridgewood and Mods), etc. Each group that submits an application would receive a lottery number for their group in the pool for their given group size. Applying as a group would be better than the current system because people who are good friends and know each other well would be more likely to live together, rather than splitting up if none of them gets a good number. This would prevent roommate problems and preserve friendships down the road because the current lottery system incentivizes students to live with people they do not know or get along with well because that person has a good number and can pull them into better housing. When selection actually takes place, it should be organized thusly: six-person housing is chosen on a Monday with selection times based on the lottery number each group got. There will be no choosing on Tuesday to give groups time to rethink if their number was too high to get six-person housing before it ran out. Once they decided how to rearrange their group (for example, one group of six becomes two groups of three), they would submit a different application to put their smaller groups in the pool of the smaller group. Then on Wednesday, five-person groups would choose based on their lot-
tery numbers. Thursday would be another day off to regroup. Selection for four-person options would take place on Friday, and three-person selections would occur on Monday since the weekend would provide another break for people to regroup. It would continue with the same pattern of one day of choosing, followed one day of regrouping until all housing has been chosen. The process would take two weeks in total. Aside from switching to a groupbased selection process, applying for on-campus housing should require more commitment. Many people would be equally happy with on- or off-campus housing, but they apply for housing anyway for the chance to get a good number. That lowers the probability that someone more committed to living on campus will get a good number and raises the likelihood that someone with a moderate number will pull out of the lottery. A penalty fee, of say $200, would discourage people who do not place a high value on on-campus housing from applying for housing at all. Implementing a penalty policy would make it more likely that good numbers, and therefore on-campus housing, would go to the people who value it the most. Additionally, the process should also happen much earlier in the semester. Settling on-campus housing in February instead of April would give anyone choosing to move off campus, or forced off
ziv
campus because of limited space, more time to find a place to live in Waltham. Though the housing lottery seems reasonable on the surface, it is not the most efficient way for students to choose housing, and it creates problems that run counter to the culture of inclusivity and kindness at Brandeis. Establishing a group-based system in which one’s roommates are prioritized over the living space itself would solve many of these problems. It would disincentivize people to leave out their friends or live with strangers, which would prevent
Mike Pence is not normal
outbursts, since a quick look at Pence’s actions during his tenure as governor of Indiana reveal that he has the same backward views as Trump. If anything, Pence’s relative professionalism means that he can better advance his problematic views in Washington. In terms of his behavior, Pence is a more “normal” politician than Trump. The Internet altright does not have the same excitement for and loyalty to Pence that they do for Trump. This is because Pence presents himself as the establishment counter to Trump’s firebrand persona, which the alt-righters find comforting and compelling. Anti-Trump voters, on the other hand, tend be comforted by Pence’s establishment familiarity. He behaves like any other conservative politician, speaking in a polished manner and avoiding the havoc of the political Twitterverse. Although his behavior is antithetical to Trump’s, Pence’s beliefs match the worst views expressed
by Trump throughout his campaign. It is fairly clear that most Trump voters are anti-LGBTQ, excluding Milo Yiannopoulos and his disciples. However, Trump has gone back and forth regarding the issue of LGBTQ rights. Specifically, he and his supporters tend to lean on America’s “tolerance” toward LGBTQ people when it benefits their anti-immigrant agenda. The alt-right, when justifying their bigotry against Middle Eastern people, often cite anti-LGBTQ policies in nations like Iran. This pro-LGBTQ right stance immediately evaporates when applied to issues like discrimination and marriage equality in the United States. Pence, on the other hand, is unilaterally against LGBTQ rights. This is most evident in his support of the Indiana RFRA, or Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This law allows businesses to turn away LGBTQ customers in order to preserve the religious freedom of business owners, mandating
photo from huffingtonpost.com
that serving pizza to a gay couple or baking cake for a same sex wedding somehow offends the religion of the server and the baker. This act had disastrous implications for both Indiana’s LGBTQ community, who felt deeply unsafe and unwanted in their own state, and the Indiana economy, which lost investments from Yelp and Salesforce due to the bigoted law. Pence’s professionalism and polished vocabulary did not soften the burden of the RFRA for Indiana’s economy and LGBTQ community. As Vice President, it will not soften the burden of his homophobia either. Another trait that Pence and Trump have in common is misogyny. While Trump’s misogyny is more crude and obvious than his vice president’s, Pence’s sexism is arguably more dangerous. Pence’s firmly anti-choice platform has been extremely dangerous for women in Indiana, blocking access to necessary and life-saving reproductive health procedures. Most notably, Purvi Patel, a woman who suffered from a miscarriage after a botched abortion attempt, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for feticide and child neglect. Patel attempted to perform an abortion by herself without medical care or assistance, since she could not access an abortion in her home state of Indiana. The abortion was not successful, but she ended up having complications with her pregnancy that caused her to miscarry. Patel’s conviction held that she was a murderer because she did not have access to safe and affordable abortion. This all happened under the governorship of Mike Pence. After a massive outcry, an appeals court overturned Patel’s conviction, but nothing can erase the psychological damage and fear associated with Patel’s imprisonment for Indiana women with un-
photo from brandeis.edu
roommate disagreements and potential relocations during the semester. It would preserve parts of the lottery system to give each group an equal shot at choosing the type of housing they want. Finally, it would shorten the process and place it earlier in the year to reduce the stress the housing selection process places on students and their relationships. Especially considering the myriad problems with the housing lottery this year, DCL should strongly consider reforming the system to something more inclusive in the future.
wanted pregnancies. Pence’s dislike for women’s health and homosexuality extends into Indiana’s AIDS crisis. During Pence’s governorship, a massive AIDS outbreak, due mostly to opioid use, caused a massive public health crisis in Indiana. This crisis was exacerbated in large part by the fact that Pence cut health funding in such a way that every Planned Parenthood in Indiana closed. These Planned Parenthood clinics provided affordable HIV/AIDS education and testing that Indiana residents with opioid addictions no longer had access to. Once the AIDS outbreak exploded in Indiana, Pence failed to declare any kind of health crisis for 65 days, which delayed much-needed education and health care for HIV/ AIDS patients in Indiana. Many Americans believe that Pence’s malicious negligence regarding the AIDS crisis has to do with the antiquated association between AIDS and gay men. His negligence regarding the AIDS crisis endangered the lives of many Indiana residents, especially those who were poor and had no access to affordable care. Do not be comforted by Mike Pence’s professionalism. He is just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than Trump. His policies in Indiana, especially those regarding women’s health and HIV/ AIDS, have undoubtedly killed people. If Pence “does everything” for Trump, thus giving him de facto presidential power, he could extend his bigoted and dangerous policies to the entire country, and possibly even to those countries with which the United States has close relations, just as Trump could. While Pence does not have the alt-right-ish fervor associated with Trump, his policy platform is just as violent.
6 OPINIONS
The Brandeis Hoot
March 31, 2017
‘My Home, My Community,’ or lack thereof
By Candace Ng editor
My best friend’s little sister was recently admitted into Brandeis’ incoming first-year class. I texted her shortly after to congratulate her, and offered to answer any questions she had about the school. “Do you like it? Tell me all about it.” I went on a Brandeis admissions tour over Thanksgiving break in the fall of 2014. I liked Brandeis on paper—its proximity to Boston, the liberal arts curriculum, the strong research programs, its diverse community and its commitment to social justice. Its medium size of roughly 3,500 undergraduate students seemed to be a perfect fit for an introvert like myself—it was large enough to be constantly meeting new people, but small enough to have a strong sense of community. Coming from a small, close-knit boarding school setting, I hoped that Brandeis would be able to give me the same sense of comfort and security. To my disappointment, it didn’t. Earlier in the semester, I attended a senate meeting as a HootSPAN operator. Senior Vice President of Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel was also present at this meeting. According to Flagel, Brandeis alumni have a “weird disconnection” to Brandeis. It is ironic in many ways: They are close with their classmates, they love their professors, and they wouldn’t
photo by candace ng/the hoot
trade their education experiences for the world. But like current students, they do not love or take pride in their alma mater. Flagel couldn’t have put it into better words. “I really like it academically… but I am still struggling to find community, especially after living in the boarding school bubble for three years,” I replied. The community’s “weird disconnection” to the university only highlights Brandeis’ inability to fulfill the sense of community I was hoping it could give me when I submitted my ED II application. We don’t like to admit this, but whether we like it or not, we all need community. Some of us find our families away from home on sports teams, varsity and club alike. Others turn to religious
groups, clubs and Greek organizations on campus in hopes of building a support system to fall back on. One way or another, we attempt to connect with other members of the Brandeis community with similar beliefs and passions. “As a whole, I like Brandeis a lot, and I can’t picture myself going to school anywhere else, but it is a weird place,” I continued. I am lucky. My boarding school experience has set a high bar in terms of my expectations for a community, but I have been fortunate enough to find my own community at Brandeis. My Community Advisor became my best friend. Cru Brandeis, despite its small size, pushes me to grow as a leader, mentally, spiritually and
emotionally, when we are not out in Boston trying to find the best breakfast food or obsessing over the Target in Central Square. As for The Brandeis Hoot— the day my Orientation Leader Mia became my editor-in-chief marked the beginning of long production nights with my fellow editors, filled with laughter (from watching dog videos) and Pringles, but mostly frustration over Adobe InDesign. Complaining about Brandeis’ lack of community without taking action would be like whining about a headache without taking an aspirin. We must step up as leaders and members within various domains, whether that be joining the Student Union or organizing club events. To do my part in creating stron-
ger bonds within different members of our university, I applied and have been hired as a Community Advisor for the upcoming school year. In my individual interview, they asked me why I would be a good Community Advisor. I can’t remember my exact words, but I said something along the lines of this: “Community is very important to me. I came from a boarding school where everyone was very close. Brandeis severely lacks a community. It is diverse, but segregated. However, I believe we have the resources to change that.” Many of us only call Brandeis “home” for the sole reason we live on campus. Together we can be a part of something bigger than ourselves, and perhaps, one day, “home” will feel like home.
EDITORIALS
March 31, 2017
“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.” Editors-in-Chief Mia Edelstein Julie Landy Senior Copy Editor Sarah Terrazano News Editors Abigail Gardener Elianna Spitzer Arts Editors Katie Decker-Jacoby Emma Kahn Opinions Editor Katarina Weessies Features Editor Charlotte Aaron Deputy Features Editor Polina Potochevska Sports Editor Zach Cihlar Photo Editor Karen Caldwell Layout Editor Lisa Petrie Deputy Layout Editor Candace Ng Editors-at-Large Matt Kowalyk Sarah Jousset Allison Plotnik Sabrina Pond Hannah Schuster Zach Phil Schwartz Emily Sorkin Smith
The Brandeis Hoot 7
Beyond trial, menstrual product campaign should remain in hands of Union
A
fter April break, the Student Union will begin a month-long trial of distributing free menstrual products in select men’s and women’s bathrooms across campus, and also at SSIS. Come fall semester, the Union will present the results of the trial to the administration and ask them to take over the program, putting it under the purview of Facilities. We at The Brandeis Hoot applaud the senate for pursuing this project but urge that it not be passed off to the administration in the fall. Supplying menstrual products at no cost to students is a necessary change. Many other colleges have already seen much success in doing so, even when managed by the student government. Brown University’s Undergraduate Council of Students finances and operates such a program, as reported in an Oct. 21, 2016 article in The Hoot. This work is not unprecedented and has an excellent track record. At Brandeis, the administration has no vested interest in providing free menstrual products. Since this campus conversation has developed over the last semester, members of the administration have clear-
ly demonstrated that they are skeptical of this initiative at best, and are mistrustful of it at worst. Conversely, students do have a vested interest in these products’ free distribution. It is short-sighted to think that students will lose interest in this initiative and not follow through. One potential reason to pass the initiative onto the university is because in the control of the Student Union, students would also be responsible for stocking the menstrual products in bathrooms across campus. However, this does not seem like an infeasible option. Enough volunteers have approached the Campus Operations Working Group to help restock during this trial run, and it is likely that students will still volunteer in the future, even if they are predominantly from the Student Union or SSIS. If not enough students come forward, distribution could be integrated into the duties of certain Student Union positions. Another option is to make this a paying, on-campus job. A fraction of the Student Union’s budget could be used as a salary for a few distributors to restock bathrooms each week. As of Friday morning, the Student
Union will have announced the Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund (C.E.E.F.) winners. These eight student-led projects to improve campus in a variety of ways have been awarded a total of $90,000. This leaves C.E.E.F with about $150,000 in emergency funds. A month’s supply of tampons and pads costs less than $1,000, according to senators coordinating the initiative, so at most, supplying menstrual products in these six bathrooms will cost $12,000 for the year. Evidently, the program’s cost would increase if more bathrooms were included, but if the university believes it would have the money in the Facilities budget, then that money can be rerouted to the Student Union, earmarked for this initiative indefinitely. Since the free menstrual product initiative was student-based at its inception, the Student Union should honor this spirit, especially because of its feasibility. The Union is experienced in coordinating large projects, like the Thanksgiving Turkey Shuttles, so taking on this initiative beyond the spring semester is fully within the Union’s capabilities, and more within the Union’s interests than those of the administration.
Retractions In last week’s article, “UTC restructures for coming school year,” information about why changes are being made to the Undergraduate Theater Collective was neither confirmed nor cited. The UTC is not
restructuring because of competition for resources, as was stated in the article, but rather because the number of shows per semester put a strain on the technical assistants, according to UTC Coordinator
Gabby Lamm ’17. This among other factual inaccuracies have been corrected in the online version of the article.
Faria Afreen, David Aizenberg, Emily Altkorn, Jordan Brodie, Ryan Bunis, José Castellanos, Elizabeth Cayouette-Gluckman, Anindita Chanda, Leah Samantha Chanen, Brianna Cummings, Shea Decker-Jacoby, Gabriel del Carmen, Sanin Dosa, Jacob Edelman, Daniel Freedman, Ally Gelber, Ari Givner, Max Gould, Emma Gutman, Noah Harper, Sophia He, Daniel Kang, Jonah Koslofsky, Samantha Lauring, Santiago Montoya, Katharine Mound, Faiyaz Rahman, Caroline Rourke, Ryan Spencer, Lily Wageman, Michael Wang
Last week’s article “Jacob Edelman ’18 elected president of the Student Union”
overstated Edelman’s goals. He will advocate for weekend health center services and
will try to reduce, not end, free student labor.
MISSION
By Daniel Souleles
Volume 14 • Issue 8
the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma
STAFF
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.
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Letter to the Editor Leaving Brandeis special to the hoot
Though I’m being made to go, I confess, I like Brandeis quite a bit. Brandeis has a lot to recommend it. Unlike the two institutions at which I got degrees, Brandeis has never owned slaves or profited from the slave trade. Always a good start. Brandeis, too, was founded, in part, to give Jewish people, excluded from other institution of higher learning in these United States, a fair shot at an excellent education. Taken together, and particularly compared to some of our Cambridge-based neighbors (though I name no names): no slavery and no anti-semitism, Dayenu, that would have been enough. Dayenu, that would have been enough, but did you know that Brandeis students come to office hours and are excellent writers? What more could a lecturer want? You see, these past three semesters I’ve been working in the anthropology department. I’ve taught six courses, five unique preps (one course was offered twice), and four of these were entirely of my own design. I’ve worked with undergraduate, masters, and doctoral students. I’ve coordinated seminars, facilitated research workshops, and led, with the help of one of my colleagues, a graduate student research project on the relationship of weight to well-being in the Boston area, which is ongoing. Beyond my teaching work, I’ve gotten an independent grant to support my own research on shared ownership and capitalism, had two peer reviewed articles published, and have several more writing projects in varying stages of re-
view and completion. Brandeis has even been kind enough to award my colleague and I a teaching innovation grant for this academic year. I am in a department with wonderful, supportive colleagues, working at a University that seems to value my contribution. I can hear it now, “That all sounds great! What do you mean you’re leaving? It sounds like you’re doing a perfectly fine job.” And you’d be correct. But, this is how academia currently works. We’ve got a two-tier caste system going. Nation-wide, around 70 percent of faculty are, like me, part time, or non-tenure track, usually called “adjuncts” or “lecturers” or “instructors” who serve at the whims and the mercy of whatever university needs an extra course taught that semester. Only around 30 percent of faculty at American Colleges and Universities are currently on the tenure track. Forty years ago these stats were flipped. So, despite enrollment and your tuition bill going up, there are fewer tenure track faculty around. That’s why I can’t advise your thesis, and that’s why I won’t be offering courses this semester. I wish it were otherwise. The entry level salary for a lecturer at Brandeis is around $6,800 per course (it’s worth noting that this is much better than the national adjunct average of 2,500 to 3,500 per course, so I suppose there is some honor among thieves…). But, think about this for a moment. At a University like Brandeis the conventional teaching load for a professor is two courses per semester, leaving the professor time to serve on university committees, and to keep up on their own research, staying at the top of their game (one of the reasons you came to Brandeis). Four classes per year at $6,800 is
$27,200, a bit below the annual living wage in the Boston Area. Just think about that—a lecturer on a normal teaching load makes lower than the Boston Area living wage. And that’s if you have courses through the whole year, allowing you to plan ahead and do things like sign a lease or buy a car. I only had two courses this fall so I lived with family and borrowed the old Honda a few days per week. And how much are you paying in tuition, per course, again? To recap I’ve done a good job in my work, am an expert in my field, and made below a living wage for the Boston area. Moreover, I have no further work at Brandeis. It is for this reason that I and my colleagues, part-timers in the class of faculty that has been treated as expendable, have joined a union, Faculty Forward, and are currently negotiating a contract to better our pay, job security, and course guarantees. Without improvements in any of these, people like me will keep getting used up and thrown away by universities like Brandeis. There’s a real way in which Brandeis, in relying on part time and contract faculty has been swept along in a national trend in higher education that has created an academic underclass (this assessment depends, though, for purposes of moral reasoning, on how far you want to carry the principle, “but everyone else was doing it…”). And, regardless of how you apportion blame, this contract is an excellent opportunity for Brandeis to stay true to its progressive history, say we will not treat any of our employees as disposable, and start down the road of righting these wrongs. I just wish I could be around to see this work get done.
8 The Brandeis Hoot
WEEK IN PHOTOS
photo by emma kahn/the hoot
Performances included poetry and musical acts, among others, on Saturday, March 25.
feminist coffeehouse
b’yachad
photo courtesy hunger and homelessness
food drive
Waltham Group’s Hunger and Homelessness coordinated a food donation drive Sunday, March 26.
photo courtesy emily altkorn
The Israeli folk dance group performed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sunday, March 26.
photo by sarah terrazano/the hoot
ocean voung
The poet held a reading on campus on Thursday, March 30.
March 31, 2017
photo courtesy helen wong
faculty debate
March 30.
BADASS invited professors to debate each other on Thursday,
photo courtesy momo trang
waltham group community connections
ARTS
March 31, 2017
The Brandeis Hoot 9
In a nod to the past, ‘Liquid Latex’ astounds The Brandeis Hoot will not be publishing photos from “Liquid Latex” online out of respect for students who do not want the images to be circulated beyond the Brandeis campus.
LIQUID LATEX, from page 1
the dance mixed music with the voiceover clips from the television show, explaining the spectacular nature on stage. The lighting matched each featured dancer. For instance, as Maggie Lacwasan ’17 approached the runway as the jungle-themed model, the lights turned a bright green. The paint job was spectacular, bringing to life ice worlds and mountain ranges. This piece’s choreography was less advanced than the first dance’s and looked more akin to a party on stage, but it was evident that the models were having a blast. Playing on the words of the dance’s final song, “There’s no place I’d rather be,” the group unfurled a sign that read, “There is No Planet B,” the night’s most political moment. Paying tribute to rock legends, “Psychedelic Psikness” reinvigorated the audience. The latex designs resembled outfits the artists would have worn, and many were strikingly realistic, almost requiring a double take to make sure the models were not wearing actual clothing. One by one, the models took to center stage to rock out as their character, some playing air guitar, others dancing. Behind them, the remaining models were always in sync as they performed a very packed routine of choreography. An abridged version of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” closed the first act. To give the piece an authentic touch, it began by featuring the film’s trademark mouth (typically against a black background) painted on
the back of Courtney Garvey ’19. Brad (Charlie Catino ’20) and Janet (Lily Feinson ’19) followed a fun “Dammit Janet” with terrified facial expressions and body language as the rest of the “Wild and Untamed Thing” cast welcomed them to The Frankenstein Palace during the iconic “Time Warp.” Reizl Halikman ’19 and Rebecca Kahn ’19, who played a great spooky and disdainful version Magenta and Columbia. Dr. Frank N. Furter’s (Josh Rubenstein ’19) dramatic entrance was underscored by flashing lights of all colors. Rubenstein commanded the room as he strutted out on the runway for his rendition of “Sweet Transvestite.” Cries of, “Say it!” rang through the audience during the Dr.’s classic line taunting the young couple, “I see you shiver with antici—pation.” “Neverland’s Mythical Creatures” opened the second act, taking liberty with the Peter Pan locale’s residents. A leprechaun, unicorn, phoenix, forest nymph and dragon were part of the cast, in addition to the traditional mermaid and fairy. The artwork on Liana Gerecht’s ’17 mermaid “tail” was particularly stunning. Its iridescence transformed Gerecht’s skin into almost lifelike scales. The audience shared a laugh as an audio clip from “Charlie the Unicorn”—a famous 2007 YouTube video—ushered in Abigail Rothstein’s ’17 unicorn’s solo. Moments later, Caleb Dafilou ’17 stole the show as he launched into a back handspring and other acrobatics as the piece’s dragon. Next was the sultriest act of the night, “Horoscope Hip Hop.” Eleven dancers were painted as
The Brandeis Hoot will not be publishing photos from “Liquid Latex” online out of respect for students who do not want the images to be circulated beyond the Brandeis campus.
the star signs; though as the group noted in the program, they were missing a Gemini. As each model was featured on the runway, she danced in a manner representative of the horoscope sign painted on her back. The backup dancing was less intricate and often slower than previous pieces, so the variety and complexity of artwork on the models was the real standout. The piece seemed to end abruptly. The lights and music cut, but it seemed to have been a mistake, as even the dancers looked confused before they walked off stage. The night’s final performance traced Lady Gaga’s transformation over her musical career. The “Evolution of Gaga” models represented different albums the artist has released, such as “The Fame Monster” (Liquid Latex General Coordinator Morgan Winters ’17) and “Joanne” (Brittany Duncan ’18). The dancers imitated Gaga’s often stiff and robotic choreography style very well as they moved seamlessly through five Gaga albums and kept the audience electrified until the end. In a classic Liquid Latex finale, each group posed on the runway to deafening applause and cheers before retreating to the background. As the company of more than 50 dancers took their final bow, the stage vibrated with breathtaking artwork and confidence. Originally conceived as a onetime performance during the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts in 2000, “Liquid Latex” is unimaginable as anything other than a yearly campus tradition.
The Brandeis Hoot will not be publishing photos from “Liquid Latex” online out of respect for students who do not want the images to be circulated beyond the Brandeis campus.
10 ARTS
The Brandeis Hoot
March 31, 2017
Temporary pop-up gallery Rosebud ‘is no more’ By Emma Kahn editor
With little notice or publicity, the Rosebud Gallery, a project by the Rose Art Museum, has recently closed its doors. The Rosebud was a small art gallery that bridged the Rose and the broader Waltham community, encouraging stronger ties between Brandeis and its neighbors. An editor at The Brandeis Hoot inquired as to a potential collaboration at the Rosebud and received the reply that it “is no more.” Curious, we turned to members of the Rose staff to shed some light on the history of the Rosebud and its subsequent closure. Tucked in the corner of Waltham Commons, a bustling space for the city as a whole, the Rosebud was a beautiful little artistic gem that offered one iteration of what future museum spaces could be. In a prior interview with The Brandeis Hoot, Communications Coordinator Nina Berger remarked, “The Rose is literally blossoming in downtown. We thought, ‘How can a museum of the 21st century serve its public? There are pop-up stores and shops, why not a gallery?’ It’s a
great location—right next to Cafe on the Common—in the midst of Waltham’s burgeoning arts and culture district.” Specifically featuring video art as its central medium, the Rosebud offered mobile and accessible art forms that they hoped would spark new conversations among its visitors of any and all backgrounds and experiences. Unknown to many, the Rosebud was always intended to be temporary and was created in large part with funding by the Further Forward Foundation. In its lifespan, it saw several programs hosted in conjunction with community organizations such as the Waltham Artist Mills Association, who led drawing sessions once per week. Other experiential programs out of the Rosebud invited visitors to make their own videos using stop-motion or allowed them to write on the gallery’s walls to express their hopes for the blossoming Waltham art scene. The Rosebud hosted two premieres featuring an original “Field_Work” by JJ PEET in collaboration with Brandeis students and Theaster Gates’ film, “Gone Are the Days of Shelter and Martyr.” Once the Rosebud’s doors opened, the project received fur-
ther support from local businesses, as well as the support of the building’s landlord, who took an interest in the initiatives of the Rosebud. With encouragement from the community, the Further Forward Foundation granted additional funding for the program, and the Rosebud’s lease was extended past the original funding’s threshold of eight months. Interim Director of the Rose Kristin Parker found that the Rosebud not only fulfilled its original intent, but even surpassed its initial expectations. “We opened the gallery as a way to introduce the Rose to the city of Waltham—a sort of artistic handshake. Our goal was to simply meet the neighbors, learn about one another and encourage visits to the museum on campus and bring Brandeis students into Waltham for classes at Rosebud,” she wrote in an email. Despite its successes, its functionality was limited to serving as a temporary initiative. “Operating Rosebud, without additional staff to manage it, became operationally challenging,” Parker explained. “Knowing it was temporary made it possible to take on this extra work—as it was an extra gallery with additional programming.
photo from bostonglobe.com
We have to hone our resources and prioritize. It was the responsible decision to close Rosebud as originally planned, at this particular time, despite everyone’s excitement. We know that we made Waltham connections and lured new visitors to campus, and now we have a good idea of what a successful satellite gallery looks like,” Parker said. However, the prospect remains for the Rose Art Museum to take its experiences in creating a successful pop-up gallery and bring similar projects to light. “We are brainstorming with colleagues in Boston who have expressed interest in creating programs in
communities that may not have easy access to contemporary art,” Parker added. “That’s all I can say. Stay tuned!” The Rose Art Museum isn’t going anywhere, but its small-scale initiatives and temporary exhibitions are always offering new experiences for its visitors and should not be overlooked. Rosebud closed too quietly, an indication that the Brandeis community has largely overlooked the Rose’s efforts off campus. The Rose is consistently pushing the envelope in the art world and the Brandeis community should certainly take note of its initiatives that extend beyond the museum’s walls.
Mori shares her keys to success in architecture lecture
By Katie Decker-Jacoby editor
Renowned architect Toshiko Mori has a lot to say about her field. As part of the Department of Fine Arts’ Richard Saivetz ’69 Annual Memorial Lecture Series, Mori shared her wealth of knowledge on architecture to students, professors and community members, on Tuesday, March 28 in the Presentation Room of the Shapiro Campus Center. Mori’s lecture and presentation followed the theme of “dialogue in architecture.” At the moment, Mori is the Robert P. Hubbard Professor in the Practice of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She also runs her own architecture firm, Toshiko Mori Architect (TMA), in New York City. Mori’s firm has been operating since 1981, allowing the creation and completion of residential, institutional, cultural and commercial projects. By far, Mori’s most fascinating project in terms of design, aesthetic, process and purpose is the THREAD: Artists’ Residency and Cultural Center in Sinthian, Senegal. TMA collaborated with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation to transform this idea into a reality two years ago. At 11,285 square
feet, the center includes an exhibition space, a workshop area, an artists’ residence, a marketplace, a classroom, a communal gathering space, a courtyard and water collection. Most eye-catching is the structure’s roof, which incorporates curvature and geometry. The roof ’s curvy shape may initially seem like an aesthetic choice but actually has a much larger purpose. The water collection has covered water reservoirs and sloped water canals so that the rain flows down the roof, to the canal and into the reservoir. Mori collaborated with nonprofit organizations Sinthian Medical Center and Le Korsa (AFLK) to bring her ideas to life, according to Designboom. The center is made of bamboo, brick and thatch, keeping everything local, even the workers, said Designboom. There are 12 tribes in the Sinthian area. The tribes practice art and perform skits, music and plays, a fitting environment for an artists’ residency. Mori said this community may be impoverished, but it has an amazing state of mind and approach to life. The foundation and Mori wanted to train locals in medicine, as health is a big issue in this region. Both parties also wanted to teach locals how to secure water. The curvy roof demonstrates
photos from tmarch.com
how to procure rain water by using a mere roof. Sinthian people used to obtain water by wells, an unreliable source. The new roof supplies community members with water for agriculture, laundry and animals, not drinking water. However, anything helps and goes a long way since Sinthian has extreme dry seasons and is very remote. And because of this isolation, Mori employed 40 local workers as well as local materials, resources and skills to complete this project. She utilized a local thatching technique that used bamboo, but built upon this foundation by teaching workers how to make the roof denser and more durable. They also kept practicality in mind: the grass in the roof could be blown off easily, but could be repaired easily. In some places, bricks were used for ventilation. Besides the uniquely shaped roof, there were subtler local touches. Community members created mosaics with tiles that ultimately formed the ground they walked, worked and lived on. The furniture was also made locally. Mori said this project involved an unlikely combination but resulted in necessary dialogue between the foundation and the tribal or indigenous people. Although Mori could not produce an answer to “Which was your favorite project?” during the Q&A, she did say that the Senegal project was the most challenging project for her. Mori visited Sinthian four or five times, she said. Twice, her Harvard students accompanied her to the project and “nearly died,” according to Mori. Medical shots, lethal animals, scarce water and the dry weather—Sinthian is certainly no Cambridge. The new environment was something she and her students had to get used to. The building phase was fast, but the preparation took even longer—four years to be exact. But the four years of preparation plus construction time paid off. This center provides so many resources for the Sinthian community: books, art, open discus-
sion areas, food, shelter and water. Mori received several awards for this project as well. Another one of Mori’s projects was adding a guest house to a Casey Key, FL, house that Paul Rudolph designed in 1957. Mori had to update the house so that the expanding family could continue to live together in one place. The final product was made of steel and concrete and consisted of a lot of glass. The add-on was also elevated 17 feet above sea level due to flood and hurricane risks. This particular project relates to the “dialogue in architecture” theme since Mori made a conscious effort to not completely disrupt Rudolph’s original structure. She instead aimed to foster dialogue between her design and the preexisting house. Mori also expanded upon Marcel Breuer’s house in New Canaan, CT. Breuer designed it himself in 1951 and Mori renovated it in 1976. Breuer had very tall children, so Mori made sure to enlarge the addition. Mori’s marriage of the materials, glass and stone, highlight the structure’s prominence, contrast and elegance. The addition, which contains the master bedroom suite, another bedroom and a garage or utility room, doubles the square footage. Breuer’s original work remains in dialogue with Mori’s work through a connecting
stairway. TMA additionally worked on the Poe Park Visitor Center in the Bronx. Poet Edgar Allen Poe used to have a little cottage house in the park. Inside of the center houses an “assembly space, an information desk, learning areas and support spaces for Poe Park,” according to TMA’s website. “The building is composed of two separate volumes that slip between each other to express the state of flux that is characteristic of many of Poe’s stories,” the website explains. The building even contains low windows, allowing children to look through the glass and into the center. One lecture attendee asked Mori about the influence of her Japanese heritage on her work. Mori grew up with her grandmother taking her to Japanese gardens in Kyoto. Mori said that her Japanese background is “innate.” She acknowledges the fact that she tends to favor horizontal over vertical as well as the connectivity of planes. However, Mori said she never intentionally inserts her “innate” Japanese heritage into her work. Ultimately, Mori’s modern, sleek, refined, simple designs speak loudly in the sphere of architecture. Mori and TMA have already accomplished so much, and it will be interesting to see what they do next.
March 31, 2017
ARTS 11
The Brandeis Hoot
MFA’s new exhibit breathes life into Lodz Ghetto By Noah Harper staff
Exhibiting a collection of rare photographs taken during the Nazi occupation of the Polish city Lodz, the Museum of Fine Arts’ “Memory Unearthed: The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross” should not be missed. Captured in 1939, the city of Lodz would remain under Nazi rule until January 15, 1945, when the Russian Red Army liberated it. Among the last residents of the ghetto, kept behind to clean it, were the photographer Henryk Ross and his wife Stefania. A city known for its textile and manufacturing trade, Lodz possessed a large Jewish population. After the Germans invaded, over 200,000 Jews were concentrated in the Lodz Ghetto. Having worked as a photojournalist before the war, Ross was hired by the Jewish Council to take photographs for ID cards during the occupation. As he worked, Ross devised an ingenious system for conserving film: by placing people in columns and rows, with wooden cut-outs separating them, he could squeeze more photos onto of a roll of film. With this secret surplus, he was able to surreptitiously document life in the ghetto. On display is a large reproduction of the taking of an ID photo. Seven women, wearing easily-visible Stars of David, sit for their picture. Around them, other inhabitants of the ghetto are gathered, gazing straight into the camera. Some smile, some look worried and others exude a steely
calm. This is the first of many pictures in the exhibit that powerfully convey the routine horrors of life in the Lodz Ghetto. Extermination was a slow process; individuals were not immediately killed or deported. Instead, their rights and dignity were slowly and methodically impugned—the tragically painful pace allowed Ross plenty of time to document it. He was particularly good at capturing people as they attempted to maintain some facsimile of normalcy in their lives. As they were concentrated together and then systematically deported, Ross expertly photographed his community still trying to make do, even as cataclysm closed in. In this way, Ross’ pictures are most revealing and powerful: They portray with rare candor the realities of living in the ghetto, an inside perspective of the Holocaust that we do not often see. At no small risk to his own well-being, Ross set out to document what was being done to his people. Miraculously, his record survives mostly intact. The pictures, taken on dangerously flammable 35mm cellulose nitrate film, did not all withstand the war. Many bear distortion marks from groundwater seepage. In order to protect the photos, the Rosses rolled up the film negatives, put them in jars and sealed them inside a wooden box, which was then buried. After the Nazis were ousted from Lodz, the Rosses were able to return and extract the photos. “I wanted to leave a historical record of our martyrdom,” Ross said. “I did it knowing that if I
were caught my family would be tortured and killed.” One of the reasons the Lodz Ghetto survived for so long was because of its remarkable productivity. Ross intentionally tried to capture the Jewish community at work with his photographs, attempting to demonstrate his people’s necessity to Nazi administrators, to show that they were needed for the war effort. On display are photos of women working in a leather factory and workers repairing mattresses. “Due to its remarkable productivity, Lodz was the last Polish ghetto to be liquidated,” the exhibit says. While Ross’ photos didn’t ultimately save his people, he was able to help buy them a little more time. An especially moving room in the exhibit displays quotes from two firsthand accounts of life in the Lodz Ghetto, taken from the respective diaries of an unidentified boy and girl. The nameless boy, who wrote his journal in the margins of a book, asks, “Almighty God, how can you do this? How can you in the face of such unheard of horrors preserve such an unhesitating neutrality?” This entry is dated April 7, 1944, as deportations and food shortages were increasing dramatically. The last excerpt, undated, reads, “My God … why will you not punish, with all your wrath, those who are destroying us? Are we the sinners and they the righteous?” The interior perspectives afforded by these diary entries do well to complement the vast chronicle of oppression and endurance that is Ross’ work. Their accounts add a
solitary interiority, spectral voices that can be attributed to any one of the children in the exhibit’s photographs. The final gallery of Ross’ photos focuses on the deportations, the Nazi’s attempts, late in the war, to liquidate the ghettos. There is picture after picture of people caught between misery and terror: mothers and their children, the overwhelmed elderly, long columns of residents being led out of the ghetto, all facing certain doom. On the wall opposite, there is a collage of portraits that Ross shot of his neighbors, pictures of individuals, men, women and children, smiling and looking at the camera. For me, this was the most powerful part of the exhibit, a vast assemblage of photos collectively depicting the raw human resilience of the people of the Lodz Ghetto. This collage gives a glimpse of the enduring humanity of those who were suffering, living in constant terror, who were somehow able, even with the ever-present threat of death hanging over their heads, to pause and smile for a photograph. One final gallery ends the exhibit, a coda to human suffering across history. Titled “Objects of Witness and Resistance,” the room collects pieces from acutely traumatic events: the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, the Middle Passage, all works asking the viewer to pause and reflect on the extensive suffering that human beings have inflicted on one another. There are postcards depicting the ruins of Warsaw, showing stitched-up flesh on someone’s “Good Hope Road,” an abstract
photo from bostonglobe.com
painting by Arshile Gorky, a piece about the artist’s experiences during the Armenian Genocide. Finally, the last work in “Objects” is J. M. W. Turner’s “The Slave Ship.” A fiery sun sinks on the horizon, staining everything with fierce oranges and yellows. In the foreground, fish swim in the tumultuous ocean, converging upon the sinking leg of an African slave. Behind the thrashing bodies, the slave ship battles the churning waves. It is a depiction of suffering itself, a visible resilience. These artworks depict death, but also people posing for pictures, smiling even, able to find shreds of joy even in the worst of circumstances. While these galleries effectively portray the vast amount of human suffering across history, there is, too, a visible resilience. Especially in the works of Henryk Ross, there is an ever-present deathly pallor—but also shreds of joy, people smiling and posing for their pictures to be taken. Among the haunting images I witnessed, one still stands out in my mind. Titled “Scarecrow with Yellow Star of David,” it is a simple shot of ragged ghetto clothes on a wooden frame in a barren field. The sparseness of the scene, the emptiness of the costume, the threadbare jacket and haphazard way the hat hangs all make it profoundly moving, and the horrors perpetrated on the Jewish people of Lodz unforgettable. “Memory Unearthed: The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross” is on view until July 30, and admission to the the Museum of Fine Arts is free with a Brandeis ID.
photos from mfa.org
Artist Cullen Washington Jr. breaches the abstract
By Jonah Koslofsky staff
Cullen Washington Jr. is interested in contrast. As the prolific professional artist summarized his career in a visit to Brandeis on Tuesday, March 28, a fixation on contrast emerged throughout. Washington started turning heads for his skills at age nine, making the front page of his local paper, beneath a headline on the escalating tensions of the Cold War. The contrast was clear: global stakes, side-by-side with a story about a “drawing wiz.” But Washington used his time on the Brandeis campus to explain exactly how his art continues to matter in the current political climate. Washington began by showing how his work has evolved since he was a kid, starting with an image of a tiger he drew in his childhood followed by a piece from his time in graduate school, sketching complex images. It is here that we
first start to see Washington’s fixation on contrast enter his work in his use of a grid to frame his work. The harsh and definite lines that mark Washington’s art continued after he abandoned sketching as a medium, with his more recent work utilizing tape and pieces of canvas arranged in a semi-pattern grid. His “journey into abstraction” also found his pieces getting larger and larger physically. His creative process revolves around following his gut. One day, while making another piece using tape and textile material, Washington realized that the scraps that had collected on the floor of his studio had started to resemble a piece of their own. Washington described making a print of these scraps, breaking him into his current art form: the collagraph. This somewhat unintentional creation is Washington’s main focus these days. The collagraph is a groundbreaking new level of abstract. “Abstraction is the theft of reality,” Washington declared. For
him, his work allows the viewer to “turn him or herself away from identity.” At the end of the talk, a student asked Washington why a piece of his work always seemed to dangle off of the larger mass. Washington burst out laughing, remarking that he himself did not know; it just always looked right and acted as an act of rebellion against sticking to the bounds of the canvas (it seems Washington’s own artistic
journey has been a similar rebellion). Washington described that many times, he will just sort of know that a piece he is working on is a “dud,” and he will repurpose it to find a new option. His work, beneath the esoteric symbolism, carries with it a sense of being “both objectness and objectless.” But of everything conveyed by Washington, what struck me most was his confidence. During
photo from cwashingtonstudio.com
the lecture, he explained that his work often contains aspects that are invisible to the viewer—details on the back of a canvas or parts that are completely obscured by the rest of the piece. These details are only significant to one person, Washington, who is not creating to please the viewer but to express himself. Toward the end of the talk, he reiterated that the feedback he receives on unfinished work has no bearing on his creative process—only his eye and his gut dictate his work. After the talk, I approached Washington to ask him how he could hold such confidence in himself and his work. His answer was simple: time. Keep working and doing what you love, and you’ll learn and get better and better at doing it. According to Washington, failure isn’t a piece that’s a dud or that doesn’t get into a gallery, but a lack of options and outlets to create. For an artist who deals in the abstract, that’s some great concrete advice.
12 ARTS
The Brandeis Hoot
‘Footloose’ impresses with professional dancing, acting, singing
photo by sarah ernst/the hoot
By Madi Samus special to the hoot
This year’s open-cast musical, “Footloose,” produced by Hillel Theater Group, featured a cast of dedicated and convincing actors
in its opening night performance on Thursday, March 30 in the Shapiro Campus Center Theater. “Footloose” follows high school student Ren (Justin Chimoff ’20) from his hometown of Chicago to his new home in Bomont, a small rural town where dancing has
been outlawed. Ren, with the help of the preacher’s daughter, Ariel (Adina Jacobson ’20), as well as other classmates, petitions the city council to repeal the law and allow for a senior dance. Chimoff and Jacobson had chemistry, drawing the audience into the interpersonal relationships and growth of the characters throughout the show. The two really shone in their second-act duet “Almost Paradise,” in which both showed off their vocal range and capabilities. Bryan McNamara ’19 perfectly embodied the role of Reverend Moore, capturing the strict father/ preacher who only wants what is best for his daughter and the town. Ariel’s three closest friends, Urleen (Caitlin Crane-Mokowitz ’20), Wendy Jo (Jessie Eichinger ’17) and Rusty (Emily Arkin ’20) added gorgeous harmonies while also excelling in individual solos. The sole distraction throughout the performance was that the microphones occasionally cut out, a problem that is well-documented in the SCC Theater. The dances, choreographed
by Lisa Petrie ’17 (layout editor of The Brandeis Hoot), were masterfully choreographed, and the dancers brilliantly executed sometimes challenging sequences. During the ending scene, the entire cast came together for a final group number, which combined intricate dancing and strong singing. The set, designed by Ivy Zhirong Gu ’17 and Brenda Shen ’18, was a simple two-level design, comprised of the main stage and a platform spanning the width of the upstage, which allowed for efficient and unobtrusive scene changes throughout the show. While overall simple, the set was still striking, with exposed twoby-fours buttressing the interior of the structure and two staircases on either side leading from the top level to the main stage level. The musicians, directed by Ben Eisenstein ’20, who provided the orchestration for the show, meshed as a group and provided the necessary musical backdrop for the production. The violinist (Joel Herman ’20, who also served as the saxophonist and the
March 31, 2017
assistant music director) added an unexpected flair to the rock-centric music created and sustained by the driving guitar (Bill Buonocore) and bass line (Amy Clark ’19). Rachel Haskins ’17 designed a simple but sophisticated lighting scheme, which added to the overall presentation. Throughout the show, the design enhanced the production by successfully lighting the performers, but there were also moments of added layers of intricacy. In the opening scene, a car crash ends with two “headlights” shining into the audience, created by cans on lighting trees at the front of the stage facing the audience. Overall, the show was well produced and presented, which offered a fun, carefree experience filled with talented actors, singers, dancers and musicians. “Footloose” will be playing throughout the weekend in the SCC Theater, so you can still catch the show on Saturday, April 1 at 8 p.m. or Sunday, April 2 at 12:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. Tickets are $3 with a Brandeis ID.
‘Rise Up’ displays studio art majors’ variety of talents By Katharine Mound staff
Junior studio art majors’ wide range of media, content and talent is now on display in Spingold’s Dreitzer Gallery. The “Rise Up Exhibition” opened Wednesday, May 29 and is on view until April 27. Whether large or small, smooth or textured, acrylic or oil, the number of paintings prevail over all other media represented in the gallery space. Even so, the diversity in subject matter, pictorial representation and sheer size prevent the large repertoire of painted works from feeling stale or overwrought. Samantha Shepherd’s “Cloth,” a generously sized still life, captures flowy, hanging fabrics in harsh, angular strokes of purple and yellow. Up-close, the fabrication of the painting’s sharp streaks of paint summon to mind anything but fabric, but a step back reveals the talent and artistry of Shepherd’s unconventional yet effective rendering of textures. In a starkly different, highly-textured and unconventional style of painting, Zoila CocChang depicts landscapes of the places that she has visited and
lived. Using a palette knife and oil paint, Coc-Chang creates impressionistic scenes from nature that have a spiky, palpable surface to them, like “View From The Rose.” Echoing a similar style of the modern painter Marsden Hartley’s early works, Coc-Chang’s style of painting added a sort of kinetic, wispy energy and look to her works. Rie Ota, who showcased five of her paintings in the exhibition, expressed that she likes to explore color and space in her works. Upon first glance, the vibrant, varied colors of Ota’s paintings engage the eye and produce a sort of liveliness. The longer you look at one of her works, though, like “The Girl in the Blue Dress,” which was her first painting in studio, the less excited the colors appear on the canvas. Ota described her paintings and unique manipulation of color as “very melancholic,” and that her richly colorful works portrayed a “world that’s a little bit sad.” Indeed, her paintings appear a bit gloomy not only through her coloration, but through her drooping, rounded and curvaceous rendering of form. Some of the most formidable and varied works of the exhibition came from Tova Weinberger. Her paintings felt the most pro-
nounced out of her explorations in different media. Two neighboring works, “On Set” and “Rush Hour,” display complex entanglements of clashing forms, contrasting colors and pronounced outlines. While certain shapes and associations can be distinguished in these two paintings, Weinberger’s layered, erratic, yet somehow controlled depictions can capture and sustain the attention of any observer.
Although the gallery is dominated by paintings, there are also notable pieces of sculpture that stood out. An instantly memorable sculpture in particular is Jeremy Qin’s “The Hanging Man,” a work of plaster and clay molded together to create a disfigured upper half of a human body. The mangled semi-body of the figure is flung over the side of a sleek, geometric and contrasting rect-
photos by katie decker-jacoby/the hoot
angular block; its left hand lies shattered under a knobby arm, and the hollowed out caverns of its eyes gaze lifelessly out beyond the observer. The speckled texture of the figure’s torso and arms is highly reminiscent of the humanoid sculptures of Germaine Richier. Although seemingly hidden near one of the staircases into the gallery, Ceara Genovesi’s clay installation evoked the sense of a spiritual, mystical aesthetic while also being firmly grounded in the piece’s highly artisanal appearance. Braids, triskelions and other symbols with spiritual associations are arranged together in a composition on the floor of the gallery, almost blending into the cement space as if the work is indeed ingrained into the exhibit’s very foundation. The mystical clay emblems have a delicate, hand-crafted quality to them, which heightens the fascination of this physical interaction with the spiritual nature of the individual pieces of the installation. With these previews in mind, be sure to visit Dreitzer Gallery while the works are on display through April 27.
FEATURES
March 31, 2017
The Brandeis Hoot 13
Senior theses across disciplines The artist-hero trope in Faulkner’s works
By Polina Potochevska editor
During her last semester at Brandeis, Sarah Levy ’17 is in the midst of writing her senior honors thesis. An English and creative writing major and art history minor, Levy is involved on campus as a tour guide for admissions, serves as the public relations director for student events, is a Roosevelt Fellow, and is hard at work writing the first full draft of her thesis. Levy’s focus is on the American modernist writer author William Faulkner and the “artist hero trope” that she has discovered is present across his works. Levy
said that she loves modernism and chose to focus on this type of character that emerged from his coming-of-age stories. She researched the way that the artist hero trope appears in his works chronologically. Her main argument adds to the well-supported idea by other scholars that Faulkner writes mainly on sex and race. Levy argues that the third main theme is the development of this character and how it interacts with the world in his books. “Faulkner is famous for pretending that he was anti-intelligence,” but through the artist hero, he can express the poeticism within himself and allow it to shine through, Levy explained. She said that she wanted to write
photo from williamfaulkner.com
a thesis her senior year to “have something to show after four years.” She was excited about the literature she was reading and noticed patterns within it. Since she is passionate about Faulkner’s work and reading it in depth, she knew that Faulkner was the proper theme for her thesis. A senior thesis is a full-year project, and while there is a 60page minimum, Levy’s will be over 100 pages long, with her broad topic of the artist hero trope explored in depth using close reading skills and intensive research. To prepare in her junior year for the challenge ahead, she spoke with professors to scout out potential advisors. She picked John Burt (ENG) as her thesis advisor and David Sherman (ENG) as her second advisor. The summer before her senior year, she reread seven of Faulkner’s novels to refresh her memory and begin her research. When she came back to school, she met with her advisor once a week and worked on her secondary research. In October, she actually began writing the thesis, which she said was relatively early compared to other students. Levy hopes to have her full first draft done by next Thursday before beginning to edit it extensively with her advisors. Levy’s favorite books by Faulkner are “The Sound and the Fury,” the first book she read of his, and “Sanctuary,” which she says is “pretty grotesque and vulgar,” but also “super parodic” of his
photo courtesy sarah levy
own style. For a reader unfamiliar with Faulkner, it is not the easiest read, but as someone who is wellversed with his work, Levy said it is fun for her to study these pieces of literature. While Levy likes that writing the thesis is a challenge, especially since Faulkner can be a difficult read, she had a word of advice to those interested in writing a thesis in the future. She recommends, “Pick something you’re passionate about and excited about,” because if you don’t love the topic, it could feel like a “huge chore.” She also said that if she could do the process over again, she would be stricter with her schedule, “set time everyday to work” and avoid waiting until the last minute to write full chapters.
After she graduates from Brandeis, Levy hopes to work for a few years, gaining experience before earning a master’s degree. She is currently applying to jobs, preferably within publishing and marketing or curatorial work, while interning at a gallery. Either path she hopes will further her education, whether through a master’s in art history or by becoming an English professor. When Levy graduates from Brandeis, she will have the skills to succeed and a full-length thesis developed on a topic she loves. While it is a serious and rigorous process, the end result is something to be incredibly proud of. In addition to graduating with honors, theses can be submitted to the Brandeis library!
Adhikari pulls from background to fuel thesis By Zach Cihlar editor
Somewhere at Brandeis, two sociology professors and an economics professor are reading over a 94-page thesis discussing the impact and importance of a large-scale infrastructure project that begins in China and extends through to Eastern Europe and into countries in Northern Africa. The thesis blends sociological and economic research, which interplay for an analysis on the development of a $1-3 trillion project that will connect via land and sea
many countries throughout Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa, including Nepal. The project, One Belt, One Road (OBOR), inspired Bidushi Adhikari ’17 to write a nearly 100-page thesis researching the effects of the large-scale project on the development of Nepal. She took her interest in economics and sociology and incorporated her background as a Nepal native to influence the direction of her research. “I wanted to kind of contribute to the literature written about Nepal,” she said, while also mentioning that research on Nepal is not as prevalent in Amer-
photo courtesy bidushi adhikari
ican institutions. Adhikari, a sociology and economics double major, developed her interest in development economics throughout her time at Brandeis. She decided to balance out the quantitative nature of the social science with the qualitative reasoning of sociology. The senior finished her sociology major in her junior year of her Brandeis tenure and decided to pursue a sociology thesis that incorporated her interest in development economics while examining a country she has personal ties to. The interdisciplinary quality of the sociology thesis pushed Adhikari to pursue her research in that subject as compared to the strict guidelines required of the economics thesis. This allowed her to incorporate research in political science, economics and other non-sociology-related areas. Through these loose guidelines, Adhikari addressed questions such as: “Why is OBOR so important? Why is it so big? What is it going to change?” and others. Each chapter of her thesis looks at a different question related to the development of Nepal and how it may be affected by OBOR. This focus, however, was not Adhikari’s original thesis proposal. During the summer before her senior year, Adhikari spent her time gathering data through interviews for a disparate but similar topic, also focused on development in Nepal. Initially, the senior sought to research local and national relief
organizations working in Nepal in the wake of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in April 2015. This proposal, however, underwent a lengthy acceptance, and she was unable to collect enough data to proceed with the project. After more deliberation, she chose her current thesis topic, which allowed her to expand the topic. “I am happy with that because it allowed me to speak more broadly about Nepal, but also more broadly about development and developmental aid in the global south,” she reflected. She has worked closely with her advisors since, one of whom is Prof. Ricardo Lopez in the economics department. As the professor for International Trade Theory, Adhikari had worked with him before, but it was a new experience “to interact with them in that kind of depth,” she said. Throughout the writing phase of the thesis, Adhikari recalled that she took the process chapter by chapter, researching as necessary to develop an argument in each chapter before moving on to the next. This path, she said, allowed her to spread the due dates of the chapters across the two semesters she worked on the thesis. The chapter due date approach compelled her to manage time efficiently and reach the 94-page length without the struggle of cramming. “If I had waited even a month before the thesis was due, I don’t know if I could have put it together to my satisfaction,” she said. Adhikari recently submitted
the hefty first draft to her three advisors. After an arduous year of researching, compiling, citing and writing, Adhikari now waits for her advisors to return her draft, so she can begin finalizing the work and give a final defense of the research she has done on Nepal and OBAR. “It’s been a rewarding experience,” Adhikari said of all the time she spent working on her thesis. Besides pursuing a variety of interests and contributing to the literature concerning Nepal and its development, she also mentioned that she gained skills both concrete and abstract. “It definitely teaches you writing skills and research analysis skills, but it also teaches you organizational skills and how to pace yourself,” she said. Her thesis defense will be open to the public and will occur in front of a reading committee. Adhikari will present her topic along with her research and methodology. It will also coincide with a conclusion to her Brandeis experience. Adhikari is currently looking for jobs in policy-based think tanks that do economic research, which contains aspects of her thesis experience. Ultimately, she said, she wants to attend law school and looks “to bring economics and law and my background and Nepal all together.” But for now, her advisors, the three Brandeis professors, read through her draft, making notes and offering suggestions to help mold the final, 94-page product.
14 FEATURES
The Brandeis Hoot
March 31, 2017
Students design studies of their own Bringing Broadway to Brandeis
By Leah Samantha Chanen staff
Music performance majors all have to perform in a senior recital, similar to a thesis, to graduate. Not only do they organize, practice and perform an hour of music their senior year, they do it their junior year as well. Elana Kennedy ’17 started working on her senior and junior recitals the beginning of her sophomore year when she declared her music major. Only music majors can get private instruction partially subsidized by the music department, and Kennedy capitalized on these vocal lessons early in preparation for her department audition. “I knew from the beginning that I wanted to be a music major and audition for the track,” Kennedy said. She got a quick start to make sure she would be able to audition for and claim her track quickly. In the music major, there are six tracks that each have their own requirements: general music, music composition, music history, music cultural studies, music performance and musical theater performance. Kennedy prepared her audition for the musical theater performance track all of sophomore year. Pamela Wolfe (MUS), her vocal instructor at Brandeis, taught Kennedy from the beginning of her vocal career at Brandeis. They worked closely together to
build an impressive and extensive repertoire for both recitals. The consistency of her lessons and recital preparation with her teacher and the pianist, Robin Farnsley, helped develop Kennedy’s vocal skills. “I’ve also come to feel really comfortable around them both [Wolfe and Farnsley] from singing with them consistently, so I was able to take risks with my singing and acting, both in my lessons and in performance, that I probably would have been too afraid of if I hadn’t developed that support system over the years,” Kennedy explained. “Pam has helped me grow so much as an artist, since she’s gotten to know me well since … she knows exactly how to encourage me to do my best work, what areas I need more help with and how to get more from me, both vocally and as an actor.” Kennedy planned a musical theater concert for both her junior and senior year recitals. However, because Kennedy was abroad in her junior year, she completed her junior recital the fall of her senior year. Both of these recitals are required by the department for all music performance and musical theater performance majors to provide performance opportunities and to help the performer explore their genre more. The recitals were very helpful to Kennedy’s musical theater knowledge. “The junior recital had to be all older musical theater, from
the early 1900s through about 1950. The senior recital was contemporary musical theater, from about 1950, right up through shows like ‘Hamilton,’ ‘Waitress’ and ‘Newsies,’” she said. While the older musical theater was not Kennedy’s preferred style of music, it was an important learning experience, she explained. “I was exposed to a ton of music I wasn’t familiar with, and I got a much better sense of how American musical theater has evolved in the last century.” “The second recital, which is the one I just performed, was much more fun and natural for me—I got to perform the music I love most by some of my favorite composers, like Rodgers and Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, Jason Robert Brown, Stephen Sondheim and Jonathan Larson,” Kennedy said. Both of these concerts amass to well over two hours of live performance backed by years of training to achieve perfection in her technique. Performance-based senior theses, like Kennedy’s, are not just the work of a performer’s senior year, but rather of their entire college career. This requirement and goal for Kennedy as a music major expanded her repertoire, range and technique as a vocalist and performer. “I can tell I’ve come a long way technique-wise,” Kennedy said. “ It’s been a long ride, but very worth it!”
photo courtesy elana kennedy
photo from pinterest.com
Independent study proposal turns senior thesis By Blake Linzer staff
Sam Sano is a sophomore politics major. Thoughtful, well spoken, intellectually ambitious and, once you get to know him, idiosyncratically sarcastic, Sano, like many students on the Brandeis campus, was not mentally idle during the latest presidential election. During the election, and especially in its immediate aftermath, he heard gossip comparing the Trump populist movement to the rise of authoritarian regimes. Skeptical, but not completely rejecting the analogy, Sano thought he ought to do some scholarly research to examine how, if at all, democracies may give rise to authoritarianism. Thus came the idea for the project “Democratic Rise of Dictatorship,” and having a substantial interest in the topic and an ambition to find the answer, as well as a web of connections to resources and professors who could help him find the answers, Sano began exploring how he could turn his idea for this project into reality. Originally, Sano thought that he could research his project as a semester-long independent study, a program in many departments at Brandeis in which students can earn course credit for working on an independent research project of their choosing. Students work with faculty, and ultimately choose an official faculty advisor, to develop
a coherent reading list around a particular topic of interest. The project commonly culminates in a written research paper on the topic of the student’s choosing. Before Sano began reaching out to professors he thought might be interested in his topic, he thought that he ought to have a more defined idea of what he really wanted to research. He did some background research, sifting through Wikipedia and finding some preliminary sources so that when he went to talk to professors, he had better idea of where he was going. Now, with a formidable grasp on what he wanted to research, Sano began reaching out to professors who he thought may help him develop his idea. He noted that he had a few professors in mind from the start, having taken classes with them before and thus knowing what they specialized in. While Sano could have limited his outreach to the professor he knew and envisioned would be his primary advisor, he noted that he talked to many professors who could offer him some specialized knowledge so that he could look at his subject from multiple angles. For example, Sano worked with a professor with a good historical knowledge of authoritarianism to think of more examples of when democracy may have given rise to dictatorship. Initially, he thought only about Nazi Germany, but the professor directed Sano to sources from ancient Greece, and other professors di-
rected him to sources from Latin America. Professors also helped him gain a better theoretical grasp on his topic and to develop more political theory sources. After having gone through the process of developing his thoughts, source list and faculty connections, Sano, along with his preliminary advisor, made a decision. He was not going to do independent study but instead was going to make “The Democratic Rise of Dictatorships” a senior thesis project. According to Sano, he wanted more than just one semester to develop the idea, and he thought that taking the thesis route, allotting one semester to research and another to writing, would allow him to not only think and learn about the topic more, but would allow him to explore it more comprehensively from multiple angles. Sano’s experience exploring independent study, while it did not ultimately result in one, shows generally how a vague idea, conceived of in the midst of presidential gossip, can develop into a formidable research project. Although Sano discovered that his idea was too large to be fully explored in independent study, his experience shows that the independent study process is a wonderful way for any student to prevent a vague question they have from fading out of their minds. Instead, independent study allows vague questions to become concrete research and shared answers.
photo from pinterest.com
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SPORTS
March 31, 2017
The Brandeis Hoot 15
Track and field transitions to the outdoor season
By Shea Decker-Jacoby staff
Braving weather in the low 40s, the track and field team earned 17 top-six performances at the Bridgewater State University Bears Invitational on March 25, the team’s first outdoor meet of the year. Three Judges also achieved qualifying times for the Division III New England Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Rookie Aaron Corin ’20 won the pole vault by clearing 3.80 meters, and rookie senior Irie Gourde ’17 won the 400-meter run with a time of 50.36 seconds, beating the second-place runner by over half of a second. This was Gourde’s first appearance in an outdoor meet, and he still earned a qualifying time for the Division III Championship. Jack Allan ’20 and Regan Charie ’19 joined Gourde by qualify-
ing for the Division III Championship in their respective events. Allan qualified in the 100-meter high hurdles with a time of 15.83 seconds, placing second in the heat and third overall. Allan had the fastest performance of all first-years in the event. Charie qualified in the 200-meter with a time of 22.91 seconds, earning fifth place. Charie also ran the 100-meter, where he placed sixth with a time of 11.36 seconds. Maddie Hayman ’20 earned second with a time of 2:30.60 in the 800-meter event. Classmate Lydia Harris ’20 and Kayla Fahey ’20 both competed in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles event. Harris ran the event fast enough to place third, while Fahey followed shortly behind Harris and another competitor to earn fifth. They had times of 1:13.25 and 1:18.62, respectively. Fahey also earned third in the
long jump, traveling a length 4.87 meters in the air. Willa Moen ’20 earned second in the pole vault by clearing 3.05 meters, and the team’s captain, Beth Deffossez ’17, placed third with 2.09 meters. Kyra Shreeve ’18 captured the third-place spot in the 1,500-meter with a time of 5:04.16, while Meaghan Barry ’19 ran a time of 5:09.19 to secure her the fifthplace spot in the same event. Maya Sands-Bliss ’19 ran her best outdoor time in the 400-meter, which got her the sixth spot and a time of 1:02.67. Transfer Scott Grote ’19 placed fourth in the discus, throwing 48.71 meters. Henry McDonald ’19, who came back from an injury for this meet and competed for the first time in nearly a year, placed sixth in long jump with 5.98 meters. Mark Franklin ’17 cleared 1.77 meters in the high jump to place sixth. The Judges will take on Tufts
photo from brandeisjudges.com
rookie aaron corin ‘19
University at the Tufts Snowflake Classic on Saturday, April 1 in their next outdoor competition. They will look to capitalize on the
successes of the Bridgewater State Invitational and carry the momentum through the rest of the season.
MLB Opening Day sees teams return to the field By Kevin Costa staff
The approach of April means one thing in the world of sports: Opening Day is here. The baseball season starts this Sunday, April 2 with the Cubs at the Cardinals, the Yankees at the Rays and the Giants at the Diamondbacks. The Cubs, the defending champions, will try to be the first team to win 100 games in a season two years in a row, ESPN reports. They can notch their first win against the Cardinals, the last team to have accomplished such a feat back in 2004 and 2005. Chicago will start Jon Lester after his game-time heroics in last season’s World Series against
By Jackson Kogan special to the hoot
March Madness did not show any early signs of a potential winners, but it did surprise with losses from No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Villanova in the second round. The second weekend, however, was much more telling and proved why March Madness is considered by some to be the most exciting sports event of the year. The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight contained some instant classic matchups and some crazy back-
the Indians. The lefty will face St. Louis’ Carlos Martinez, who posted a 3.04 ERA and 16-9 record last year, according to Cleveland. com. If everything goes right for the Cubs this season, they will become the first team to win backto-back championships since the 1998-2000 Yankees, according to ESPN. This year’s Yankees are studded with young talent, Sports on Earth states, and were just five games from securing a wild card berth last year. According to MLB.com, the Yankees have a viable chance to make the playoffs this season but have to face the Rays in the opener without shortstop Didi Gregorius. A key player for the pinstripes both on offense on defense, Gre-
gorius suffered a right shoulder injury and will likely be out until May. Until then, second-year Ronald Torreyes will likely start in place of the injured starter. According to Cleveland.com, New York will start pitcher Masahiro Tanaka against Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer. In the last game of the opener, the Giants will visit the Diamondbacks. The National League West showdown will feature a pitching match-up between Madison Bumgarner, a three-time World Series champion and Zack Greinke, the 2009 American League Cy Young winner. These veterans will likely dictate a low-scoring game. The remainder of the league will make its debut with 12 games scheduled for Monday, April 3.
photo from mlb.com
defending world series champions
The Chicago Cubs will first play on April 2.
March Madness recap: March 23-26 and-forth scoring. Four Sweet 16 games were heavily viewed, as three of them were neck-and-neck games, with one of them going to overtime and another ending with a buzzer-beater three-pointer in overtime. The fourth game was between No. 3 UCLA and No. 2 Kentucky, which touted Lonzo Ball from UCLA vs. Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox from Kentucky. All three are lottery draft picks, with Lonzo Ball arguably being the current number-one NBA draft prospect. The game was close until the final two minutes, when
no. 7 south carolina advances to final four
Kentucky pulled and stayed ahead until the final buzzer. The matchup between No. 3 Oregon and No. 7 Michigan was an interesting one, as many analysts favored the hot Michigan team. The game looked to be in Michigan’s favor in the final minute after Michigan made multiple consecutive threes and pulled ahead of Oregon with a two-possession lead. Then, Tyler Dorsey happened. Dorsey hit a huge layup in the final minute to push Oregon into a one-point lead over the Wolverines. The lead stuck and left Oregon with a ticket to the
photo from nytimes.com
Elite Eight. The No. 11 Xavier and No. 2 Arizona game was much less exciting and close as Xavier consistently held the lead throughout the game. The game finalized with only a two-point Xavier edge over the Wildcats. The game between the No. 4 Florida Gators and No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers will go down as one of the most exciting games and an absolute classic in the rich history of March Madness. With two minutes left in regulation, Florida led by eight points. This did not stop a Wisconsin team that had just upset defending champions and top seed Villanova in the previous round. Wisconsin came back with a fire in their bellies, which culminated in a running three-pointer to tie the game by Zak Showalter with a shot that probably even impressed the Harlem Globetrotters. The Madness did not stop here by any means. Wisconsin seemed to just blow away Florida in the beginning of the overtime period. Florida went down two after Wisconsin senior Nigel Hayes buried two free throws. This is when Chris Chiozza became a March Madness legend. The Gator did not quit despite Florida having no timeouts and only four seconds left in overtime. Chiozza took the inbound and zoomed up the court to bury a similar circus
three-pointer to send Florida into the Elite Eight to face No. 7 South Carolina. Kevaughn Allen contributed significantly to the Florida win by putting up a total of 35 points. The Elite Eight unfortunately featured only one exciting game out of the four played. The game between the No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels and Kentucky Wildcats was an exceptional game, with both sides competing for a trip to Phoenix and the Final Four. Going into the final minute, Monk proved why many NBA scouts look upon him so favorably. Monk buried two three-pointers in a make-or-go-home scenario. His second triple tied the Wildcats and Tar Heels with 7.2 seconds remaining. What ensued will have Wildcats fans remembering the name Luke Maye for the foreseeable future. Maye hit a stepback jumper that left 0.3 seconds in the game and sent UNC to Phoenix. Maye went to his 8 a.m. business class the next day and received a standing ovation from the students for his late-game heroics. No. 1 Gonzaga will take on the surprise team of South Carolina on Saturday, April 1 with the Oregon Ducks and UNC Tar Heels playing in the following game. The winners of each game will square off for the national title.
16 The Brandeis Hoot
SPORTS
March 31, 2017
Baseball returns to the field after three-week hiatus
By Jordan Brodie staff
In their first game in more than three weeks, the baseball team played Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on Friday, March 24. Sean O’Neill ’18 struck out a career-high 13 batters in seven innings, but the Judges were unable to capitalize offensively and lost 1-4. With the loss, the Judges fall to 1-5 while the Engineers move to 10-4. Heading into the game, the Judges had a particularly long dry-spell of games. Their last game was played on March 6 against UMass Boston. Postponements included a double-header against Bates College and games against Eastern Connecticut State University, Babson College and Salem State University. “The weather has definitely been pretty frustrating for us, but at the end of the day, everyone is dealing with it,” explained
O’Neill. The Judges have been forced to practice indoors in the Gosman fieldhouse for the majority of their season due to the ugly weather the past several weeks, but they have made the most of their practices. “We have a lot of young guys that love baseball and bring a lot of intensity and focus to practice every day, indoors or outdoors,” O’Neill continued. From the first inning at WPI, the Judges found themselves playing catch-up. They went down 2-0 after the first inning and did not score any runs until the ninth inning, at which point it was too late. Despite a career high in strikeouts, O’Neill believes that he has lots to improve on after Friday’s game. “There’s definitely some things I need to clean up moving forward. The strikeouts look good on paper, but at the end of the day, I gave up a couple key hits and didn’t execute well enough to get the W.” After seven innings, O’Neill was relieved by Liam
Coughlin ’17. O’Neill credits his strong outing to his pitching coach Borja Berasaluce, who he says works the pitching staff very hard, which has evidently paid off. Although the Judges did not score a run until the ninth inning,
they still had several opportunities. Jay Schaff ’17 was left on base three times in the first, third and sixth innings. He finished 2-3 with a walk. Victor Oppenheimer ’20 went 3-4, and Ryan Tettemer ’17 knocked in Dan O’Leary ’20 to
photo from brandeisjudges.com
pitcher
O’Neill struck out 13 hitters against WPI, his career high.
spoil WPI’s shutout. Many of WPI’s players have been on fire as of late. Notably, Nick Comei has been batting an astounding .691 in his last three games. He went 2-4 with a double, a triple, and an RBI. Steven Gallagher added a solo home run, while Eric LaCroix tripled. Additionally, Ryan Tropeano doubled and scored two runs. The Judges may have started off slow at 1-5, but with 16 first-years, there is a lot of room for improvement. On Thursday, March 30, the Judges left for Ohio to begin UAA competition with a fourgame series against Case Western Reserve University. O’Neill and the rest of the baseball team are looking forward to their next few games, as they certainly have something to prove. “The next month is going to be a little hectic with all the make up games, but it’s going to be a lot of fun to get outside and show everyone we’re a lot better than a 1-5 team,” he said.
WEEK IN SPORTS
nationals
photo courtesy jeremy goodsnyder
Last weekend, the Quidditch team traveled to Texas to compete in the national competition.
photo courtesy tahlia quartin
photo courtesy ariana ishaq
women’s tennis
Banshee, the women’s Ultimate Frisbee team, competed in a tournament in Vineland, NJ, last weekend.
photo courtesy michael furgeson
jersey devil tournment
men’s club volleyball
photos by shea decker-jacoby/the hoot