The Brandeis Hoot 10/09/2015

Volume 12 Issue 17

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.

www.brandeishoot.com

October 9, 2015

Harvard prof. speaks on stigma of fat

Students attend Sanders rally

By Charlotte Aaron and Hannah Schuster Editors

By Elianna Spitzer

Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT) addressed a crowd of over 20,000 at a rally in Boston where he touched on key liberal issues including education, income inequality and mass incarceration. Sanders’ speech focused on social issues, though he also discussed Wall Street, campaign finance, energy and climate change.

Sanders spoke at the Boston Convention Center on Saturday, Oct. 3.

He called for a “political revolution,” to improve a government he said many have lost faith in and a government Sanders believes caters to the “billionaire class.”

“I do not represent the agenda of the billionaire class or corporate America, and I don’t want their money,” said Sanders of his opposition to Super PACs.

Staff

administrators address student concerns over campus climate survey

photo by karen caldwellthe hoot

Susan Greenhalgh, a professor at Harvard University, shared her views on the cultural and personal effects of what she calls “fat-talk,” the obsession with being skinny and the prevalence of “fat-shaming” in America.

Through her book, “Fat-Talk Nation: The Hidden Costs of America’s War on Fat,” published this spring, Greenhalgh starts a new conversation about what she has identified as “America’s war on fat.” Her book has garnered national attention by news sources such as National Public Radio and the New York Times.

During her Friday, Oct. 2 visit, she said, “America’s antipathy towards fatness is nothing new. In the last few decades though, there’s been a critical cultural shift in our concern about fatness from self-control or virtue See FAT-TALK, page 4

See BERNIE, page 3

Univ. releases results of Campus Climate Survey

By Jess Linde Editor

Multiple high-ranking members of the Brandeis administration held a town hall in Sherman Function Hall Thursday night, Oct. 9 to discuss the results of a “campus climate survey” sent out last semester. The survey was designed to gauge the effect of sexual misconduct and assault on Brandeis students. The results, which were released Thursday morning and called “deeply troubling” by Interim President Lisa Lynch, reflected 34.5 percent of the Brandeis student body.

“This will be the first of many discussions we are going to have about what

we have learned and how we need to improve,” Lynch said.

Of the respondents, 22 percent of women, five percent of men and 35 of trans* or otherwise non-binary identifying students had “indicated they had been sexually assaulted, including inappropriate sexual touching, fondling, grabbing and groping.”

Six percent of female-identifying undergraduate respondents and one percent of male-identifying undergraduate respondents said they had been sexually assaulted or raped. Despite these numbers, and insistence by student activists over the years that sexual violence is very prevalent

at Brandeis, a total of six people have been found “responsible for sexual misconduct” by the university in the past three years. Five of these individuals were “removed” from campus, according to Vice President of Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel.

What disturbed administrators most, however, was that only 54 percent of the survey’s respondents said they had told another person about their assault, and less than five percent had ever reported an incident to the university. “This is not the Brandeis way,” Lynch told the audience. “This disturbing and heartbreaking statistic cannot be the Brandeis way.” Many on

the function hall’s stage with Lynch were familiar with the issue of assault at Brandeis, including Flagel, Sexual Assault and Prevention Specialist Sheila McMahon, Brandeis Title IX Coordinator Linda Shinomoto and Title IX Investigator Rebecca Tiller.

Also sitting on the stage were Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Kim Godsoe, Assistant Dean of Students Monique Pillow Gnanaratnam and Director of Community Living Timothy Touchette. In the audience were Dean of Students Jamele Adams, a representative from the Department of Public Safety and Professor Bernadette Brooten (NEJS), a feminist ac-

tivist and member of Brandeis’ Sexual Assault Task Force.

After Lynch and Flagel spoke and the team introduced themselves, the floor was opened. Many of the students in attendance were recognizable as longtime anti-assault activists, including members of Brandeis Students Against Sexual Violence and student coordinators at the Rape Crisis Center. The students came prepared with questions and criticisms for the administrators, and used the statistics from the survey to their advantage. The administrators, Lynch and Flagel in particular, were visibly See CLIMATE, page 4

Sustainability Committee and Sodexo partner to host ‘Meatless Monday’

By Emily Sorkin Smith Editor

photo by sharon cai/the hoot

meatless monday Sherman offered a variet of vegan and vegetarian

options on its first “Meatless Monday” earlier this week.

Inside this issue:

News: Four positions filled in Union elections Opinion: FMLA promotes positive body image Arts: Group hosts poetry revival at Chum’s Features: Students participate in hackathon Editorial: Change campus culture

Sherman Dining Hall served a variety of vegetarian and vegan options, but no meat dishes, in its first “Meatless Monday” on Oct. 5. Members of the Sustainability Committee worked with Sodexo to produce a healthy, sustainable and appetizing dinner without using any meat.

One of the organizers of “Meatless Monday,” Matt Smetana ’17, hoped that the night would encourage students to consider the economic and environmental benefits of meatless meal options. Smetana is the chair of

benefit concert

Page 3 Page 12 Page 8 Page 5 Page 7

Local jazz group hosts benefit concert for fellow musician with multiple sclerosis.

Arts: Page 8

the Brandeis Sustainability Committee and chair of the President’s Task Force on Sustainability. In an email to The Brandeis Hoot, Smetana explained the motivations behind the event.

“We chose to have this event because we wanted to reduce our meat consumption just for the night,” he wrote. “Livestock produce tons of greenhouse gasses, particularly in the form of methane and carbon dioxide.

The production of meat is also the cause of 80 percent of Amazonian deforestation and extreme runoff heading into the Gulf of Mexico.”

Smetana emphasized the impact of reduced meat consumption on pub-

lic health, arguing that “The factory farming industry is also known for the overuse of antibiotics on their animals, causing superbugs that infect tens of thousands of humans; with no antibiotics that can work, almost all the people who receive them die.”

He related the factory farm issue to Brandeis’ history of commitment to social justice. “Being that we are a social justice institution, people understand that environmental and animal rights issues are important,” he argued.

According to Steve Canario, general manager for Sodexo, the event “did

history in concord Athropology students unearth history at site in Concord.

Features: Page 5

See MEATLESS, page 2

NEWS

2 The Brandeis Hoot

October 9, 2015

New art studio space opens in Survey shows support for ‘Meatless Monday’ Epstein building MEATLESS, from page 1

photo courtesy of prof. joseph wardwell

studnets paint in new epstein studio space

By Ryan Spencer

Special to the Hoot

The opening of the new on-campus art studio spaces on Tuesday, Sept. 29 put an end to senior and graduate studio art students’ 20 year struggle with off-campus studio space. Members of the Fine Arts Department said this new space is a vast improvement for the studio art students who previously used facilitates located off campus, though certain details are still incomplete, such as installation of lighting fixtures The old studio art spaces were located on Prospect Street about a mile from campus and were generally considered subpar. In a Brandeis Hoot

Article from February 2014, Vikki Nunley ’14 is quoted as having said, “When I first saw [the studio arts building], I thought it was an abandoned building, not the building I would be having classes in.” The article also reported that the floors of the old studio arts space were often dusty and that outdoor staircases were the only way for students to reach the upper floor.

With the new studio space, art students, primarily upperclassmen and post-baccalaureate students, will have access to “state-of-the-art” facilities according to an email from Professor Jonathan Unglaub, chair of the Fine Arts Department, in early September.

Along with their relocation to an on-campus location, the new art stu-

dio spaces have also been upgraded with light-infused studios. Students began using the new studio arts space, located in the renovated Epstein building, at the end of September and as Professor Susan Lichtman, the director of the Studio Arts Program, wrote in an email to The Hoot, “All of us in the studio art program are ecstatic about the magnificent restored space.” Lichtman continued to say that “the facilities are beautifully designed—full of light and air and safety.”

With the old space, safety traveling to and from campus was a concern for some students, according to the February 2014 article.

The space is expected to be complete in coming weeks.

not have any financial impact, either positive or negative.” Canario was involved in the planning process along with Smetana and other students, and believes that feedback on the night has been overwhelmingly positive.

Though most students were enthusiastic about “Meatless Monday,” some felt limited by the lack of meat.

Student organizers of “Meatless Monday” had students take a survey to record their opinions on the program as they exited the dining hall.

Smetana said that the program “received a few criticisms from people talking about their love for meat and that it’s their right to eat it. I think that they see this as us trying to take away their beloved items when really we’re trying to inform people that you can eat meat (and dairy) free, and it doesn’t have to be disgusting, bland food.”

Of the students that dined at Sherman on Monday, about 300 were surveyed immediately after their meal.

According to the survey, around 86 percent would like to see more “Meatless Mondays” in the future.

Smetana believes that the few negative comments they received “clearly do not represent the rest of students surveyed.”

For students that regularly follow meatless diets, the themed night offered many more options than usual.

“We had numerous vegetarians and vegans voicing their appreciation for having numerous options for the first time since coming to Brandeis,”

Smetana wrote. “But the majority of people are not vegetarian/vegan, yet they enjoyed it as well!”

Students who eat vegetarian and vegan diets often find that they have few options when eating at the dining halls. Elana Rombro ’18, a vegetarian, told The Hoot, “I don’t think there are enough options at regular meals. Sometimes I eat three veggie burgers a week because there aren’t other appetizing dishes.” The “Meatless Monday” event gave her and other students with similar concerns the opportunity to choose from many more options. While having events catered toward vegetarians on certain nights is helpful to these students, Rombro expressed that she “would also like to see more varied and appetizing vegetarian food at regular meals.”

Smetana has approached Sodexo with other proposals for other environmentally conscious meal programs. One of these ideas involved alternative meal plans that would include a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for students with access to kitchens. He also proposed starting composting programs in the dining halls. So far, only the “Meatless Monday” proposal has taken shape.

Sodexo, on the corporate level, has several initiatives aimed at reducing their negative environmental impact.

The company’s website states that in 2015, they will reduce organic and non-organic waste produced by their services. They are also focused on reducing energy consumption and on sustainable sourcing for fish and seafood.

See the menu for ‘Meatless Monday’

farro with local apples, cranberries, and portobello mushrooms

sherman dining hall on “meatless monday”

pesto pizza with butternut squash

photos from internet source

tomato bisque soup with orzo

October 9, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot

NEWS

3

Sanders addresses progressive issues in speech From BERNIE, page 1

Intent on running a “people’s campaign,” Sanders announced 650,000 people have made campaign donations averaging $30. The third quarter for fundraising ended on Sept. 30, and Sanders has raised $26 million, close behind Hillary Clinton with around $28 million, according to the Boston Globe and other major news organizations.

Sanders encouraged voter turnout, citing the nation’s low voter turnout rates. He also asked his supporters to come together and help him “the day after” the election.

“When nobody votes, Republicans win,” said Sanders, “When people demand that the United States start representing all of us and not just a handful of billionaires … we win.”

Income inequality is a major point for Sanders’ campaign. At the rally he stated the top tenth of one percent controls 90 percent of the nation’s wealth, and the Walton family, owners of Walmart, control more wealth than the bottom 40 percent of Americans. Politifact confirmed this after Sanders tweeted the statistic in 2012.

Sanders said American workers are becoming more productive yet admonished the national minimum wage of $7.25 as a “starvation wage.”

He proposes raising the amount to a $15 living wage. “Wages in America are just too damn low,” said Sanders.

He also took time to criticize Republican presidential candidates, focusing on these opponents rather than Clinton, his primary Democratic challenger. He rebuked Republicans who champion “family values” but do not support same-sex marriage, paid family leave for new parents or a woman’s right to choose.

Sanders also called Republicans’ rejection of global warming an “international embarrassment.” He praised

sustainable energy and criticized the Keystone Pipeline.

Policy regarding unemployment, incarceration and education were points of focus during the rally as well. “Invest in jobs and education, not in jails and incarceration,” said Sanders.

“If anyone in this room thinks there isn’t a connection between the enormously high rate of youth unemployment and the fact that we have more people in jail than any other country, you would be mistaken,” he said.

In the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, Sanders spoke about the need to end institutional racism in our country. “When a police officer breaks the law, that officer must be held accountable,” said Sanders.

He spoke about police brutality and the 2.2 million people in American prisons, citing that prisoners are disproportionately black and Hispanic.

“Our job is to make sure that non-violent offenders don’t get locked up … our job is to demilitarize police departments … our job is to make police departments look like the communities they serve,” said Sanders.

He also talked about the recent Oregon shooting that left nine dead, calling for improved background checks on gun purchases and access to mental health care, with hopes that someday these shootings will be less prevalent.

The Citizens United court decision of 2010 was what Sanders labeled the most important issue. “What they [the Supreme Court] said to the wealthiest people is, ‘Well, you already own much of our economy, we are now going to give you the opportunity to buy the United States government,’ and that is precisely what they are trying to do right now,” said Sanders.

“Today, the American political system has been totally corrupted, and the foundations of American democ-

racy are being undermined,” he said.

Sanders’ emphasis on correcting the United States corrupt political system and his consistent support for social policy change appealed to his supporters at the Boston rally, thousands of whom of whom overflowed out of the packed Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

His pitch to make public universities free and reduce interest rates on student loans prompted cheers from the numerous supporters at the rally, many of whom were college students. The grassroots organization College Students for Bernie has chapters at over 100 colleges, including Brandeis.

Emily Kalver ’18, a Brandeis student who attended the event, said the crowd’s “energy was contagious,” noting a high wave of excitement when Sanders spoke about college tuition and youth unemployment.

Although she has not been politically active in the past, Kalver plans on voting for Sanders next year. His positions on “income inequality, women’s reproductive health and reform of the criminal justice system” appeal to Kalver.

Anthony “Tres” Fimmano ’18, another Brandeis attendee, was able to secure a spot in front of the crowd and close to Sanders’ platform. Fimmano described Sanders’ speech as “overwhelming,” as he and the crowd responded energetically to almost everything Sanders said.

Initially, Fimmano knew he supported Sanders’ ideas, but was unsure if he was going to vote for Sanders over other candidates. “But on Saturday when I saw him speak and realized how much he cares and how much support he has, I realized I would be doing this country a disservice by not supporting him,” Fimmano said.

Kalver and Fimmano are among

many Brandeis students who support Sanders. Brandeis for Bernie, an on-campus group, has 161 likes on its facebook page and helped promote the Boston rally. The club has already hosted a kickoff event and will cohost the Democratic debate watch party with Brandeis Democrats on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

debt caused by “failures of the system currently in place.”

“I believe that the current system focused too much on relieving initial costs so that people can attend college, but doesn’t take into account the ways that debt upon graduating is not only debilitating, but might discourage people from pursuing college re-

presidential candidate bernie sanders addressed

photo by charlotte aaron/the hoot

a crowd of over 20,000 in boston

Lexi Ouellette ’18, a social media coordinator for the national organization College Students for Bernie and an organizer for Brandeis for Bernie, has been very active in Sanders campaign.

Ouellette spoke at Sanders’ rally in Springfield, Massachusetts hours before the Boston rally. She spoke about being a student in the U.S. and the

gardless,” said Ouellette.

The “grassroots organization and excitement” that Sanders’ campaign has inspired enthuses Ouellette who feels “people actively participating in our democracy is one of the ways that we can draw attention to disparities in our current government and continue to advocate for structural changes.”

Waltham Mayoral candidate describes vision for city

By Emily Sorkin Smith Editor

waltham mayoral election will take place on nov. 3

graphic courtesy of brian hough

Representative and Waltham mayoral candidate Tom Stanley spoke to students and community members on Monday, Oct. 8 at an event co-sponsored by Hunger and Homelessness, a club of Waltham Group. Stanley, a Democrat, served in the Ways and Means Committee at the State House and has served as president of the Waltham City Council. Though the position is non-partisan, Stanley has been endorsed by the Brandeis Democrats and will run against the current mayor of Waltham, Jeannette McCarthy.

McCarthy has been mayor of Waltham since 2004, and like Stanley, has lived in Waltham her entire life.

Stanley ran for mayor against McCarthy in 2003, an election McCarthy won with 70 percent of the vote.

According to the Boston Globe, in 2014 Stanley had $87,473 in his campaign account and McCarthy had just over one thousand. McCarthy came to speak at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis last spring

at an event titled “Tea, Cookies and Conversation with Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy.”

At his visit to Brandeis this week, Stanley addressed what he sees as the most challenging problems the city is facing now. Among these were the city’s sizable immigrant population and substance abuse problems. “I love this city, I love it a lot ... and I think it’s really good, but I know in my heart of hearts that we can be better, we can be better in so many ways, one of which is reaching out to the diverse population that we have in Waltham and getting them involved,” he argued.

According to Stanley, there are over 60 languages spoken at Waltham High School, where the high population of English Language Learners (ELL) can prove challenging. To reach out to the immigrant community, Stanley suggested “a culture and diversity committee and also a liaison in the mayor’s office to our immigrant community, someone who would preferably speak Spanish.”

Though Waltham has, in Stanley’s opinion, been seen as a good place to do business, the lack of moderniza-

tion and cumbersome bureaucratic procedures have caused economic problems. Stanley suggested appointing someone in charge of economic development to facilitate the relationship between the city government and businesses.

In Waltham, the percent of people admitted to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Bureau Abuse Service Contracted Programs for heroin use has grown from 26 percent in 2005 to over 44 percent in 2014. In light of this and other public health issues, Stanley suggested appointing a director of Health and Human Services for the city.

Modernization of the city government and management was one of Stanley’s focuses. His campaign website explains plans to create a “a 21st Century Planning Office to be led by a qualified and experienced Planning Director.” This office would work on infrastructure, attempt to improve the cities issues with traffic, and modernize other aspects of the city. Stanley also proposes conducting an Economic Development Self-Assessment Tool (EDSAT) study.

Four positions filled in Union elections

By Naya Schere

Special to the Hoot

In the second round of Student Union elections, the student body elected Max Byer ’19 as Massell Quad senator, Will Jones ’18 as Rosenthal Quad senator, Kenyon Fraser ’16 as Foster Mods senator and Valarie Timms ’16 as the senator to the Charles River Apartments and 567 South Street.

Byer said he wanted to serve as a member of the Student Union “to

enact tangible change for his peers in the Brandeis community.”

“While this process may include improving facilities, unifying the quad or advocating for or against policy changes,” he said. “I am willing to advocate and become a resource for my constituents in order to cater to their wants and desires.”

Opportunity is an important issue for Byer.

“Brandeis’ student life flourishes because of the opportunities students are presented with,” he said. Byer

hopes that his involvement with the Student Union will allow him to improve student experience by providing students more experiences.

When asked his favorite part of Brandeis, Byer named Brandeis’ sense of a community. “Brandeis University contains a plethora of personal backgrounds and academic interests. It is beautiful to witness and to be a part of Brandeis’ fabric,” he said.

Timms, the Charles River and 567 senator, told The Brandeis Hoot that she wanted to be a member of the Stu-

dent Union, so she “could give back to the community that has given so much to me.” Timms said she wants the residents of Charles River and 567 to be well represented in order to “make our quads as great as they can be.”

“I didn’t enter the Student Union with my own agenda,” said Timms.

She says her only goal is to listen to her constituents. She wants to find out what the students of Charles River and 567 want to do in order to improve their residence halls. Timms

says that she hopes to work alongside her peers in order to leave Brandeis in a better position than it was three years ago, when she arrived as a firstyear.

Timms appreciates the Brandeis community for its positive atmosphere.

“My favorite thing about Brandeis is the amazing community of people that I have the privilege to be a part of.

People here are so kind and accepting of one another. It is such a positive atmosphere to be in!” she said.

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

October 9, 2015

Admin. addresses sexual assault statistics at town hall CLIMATE, from page 1

shaken by the results of the survey, and were very open to input from students. Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Sheryl Sousa ’90 asked outright for student suggestions on how to handle the building of trust between survivors and the administration.

One attendee had a very different view on how to handle the situation.

“I want Brandeis to consider issues of housing and alcohol when talking about this,” she said. “Back in the old days, there were no co-ed dorms for first-years and underage drinking was strictly punished.” The woman proposed an outright ban on alcohol at Brandeis, in order to discourage what she called “a significant part” of some cases of assault. The comment drew grumbles in the audience, prompting one student to stand up and declare “co-ed dorms don’t cause rape, and neither does drinking. Rapists cause rape,” to a rounding applause.

But more than anything, the panel was focused on figuring out how to proceed in order to make Brandeis a safer place, which meant a lot of clarification about the university’s processes and dedication to improving education and prevention. “We have to continue to do more with things like our bystander training programs,” McMahon said. “As a campus, part of what we need to be thinking about is … if someone is in a target position how we can educate others while addressing their specific needs.” In regard to the high amount of harassment and abuse reported by trans* identifying and gender-nonconforming students, McMahon promoted more education among stu-

dents, staff and faculty.

Taking a microphone, Brooten advocated for a focus on diversity training to be implemented in bystander training. “I do believe all training should have a focus on racial, cultural, gender-based and economic differences,” Brooten said. “This way we can confront and defeat implicit biases some people may have about who can and cannot be assaulted, and who can or cannot assault someone.”

Multiple students focused on the treatment of survivors of sexual assault and violence, with activists taking issue with what they viewed as a disparity between students found “responsible” for misconduct and the amount of offenders still on campus. Questions and statements also demanded the administration do more to support survivors and build trust, in order to help survivors feel that they will be able get the help they need from the university. “One thing that I want to clear up is that when you make a report, that does not mean an invasive CSI team will mobilize to bother you and publicize your case,” said Title IX investigator Rebecca Tiller. “It just means that an investigation will be opened and you will be contacted by [Title IX Coordinator] Linda [Shinomoto] and be offered support.”

The town hall adjourned after two hours of discussion and listening, with continued private talks between administrators and attendees. and Flagel in particular, were visibly shaken by the results of the survey, and were very open to input from students. Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Sheryl Sousa asked outright for student suggestions on how to handle the building of trust between survivors and the

photo by karen caldwell/the hoot

photo by karen caldwell/the hoot

administration.

One attendee had a very different view on how to handle the situation.

“I want Brandeis to consider issues of housing and alcohol when talking about this,” she said. “Back in the old days, there were no co-ed dorms for first-years and underage drinking was strictly punished.” The woman proposed an outright ban on alcohol at Brandeis, in order to discourage what she called “a significant part” of some cases of assault. The comment drew grumbles in the audience, prompting one student to stand up and declare “co-ed dorms don’t cause rape, and neither does drinking. Rapists cause rape,” to a rounding applause.

But more than anything, the panel was focused on figuring out where to proceed in order to make Brandeis a safer place, which meant a lot of clarification about the university’s processes and dedication to improving education and prevention. “We have to continue to do more with things like our bystander training programs,” McMahon said. “As a campus, part of what we need to be thinking about is... if someone is in a target position how we can educate others while addressing their specific needs.” In regard to

the high amount of harassment and abuse reported by trans* identifying and gender-nonconforming students, McMahon promoted more education among students, staff, and faculty.

Taking a microphone, Professor Brooten advocated for a focus on diversity training to be implemented in bystander training. “I do believe all training should have a focus on racial, cultural, gender-based and economic differences,” Brooten said. “This way we can confront and defeat implicit biases some people may have about who can and cannot be assaulted, and who can or cannot assault someone.”

Multiple students focused on the treatment of survivors of sexual assault and violence, with activists taking issue with what they viewed as a disparity between students found “responsible” for misconduct and the amount of offenders still on campus. Questions and statements also demanded the administration do more to support survivors and build trust, in order to help survivors feel that they will be able get the help they need from the university. “One thing that I want to clear up is that when you make a report, that does not mean an invasive CSI team will

mobilize to bother you and publicize your case,” said Title IX investigator Rebecca Tiller. “It just means that an investigation will be opened and you will be contacted by [Title IX Coordinator] Linda [Shinomoto] and be offered support.”

The town hall adjourned after two hours of discussion and listening, with continued private talks between administrators and attendees. students, the faculty, and their own committee” said a student who asked to be identified only as “Phil,” at the meeting. In this regard, CMJ members discussed tabling for a pro-divestment petition, organizing performances at Chum’s and, of course, flooding the Brandeis campus with more divestment triangles.

The group also discussed publicity for their Oct. 15 event hosting journalist Wes Stephenson in discussion of his new book. Overall, there was a feeling of weariness at the meeting, but not a weariness that would result in surrender. Rather, a second wind was imminent. BCJ may have to scale another hill to get results from Brandeis that satisfy them, but they already have their banners raised, and their climbing boots laced up.

Greenhalgh examines nation’s war on fat FAT-TALK, from page 1

to quote ‘health.’ Because health is a super value in our culture, one that trumps all others, the [diseasification] of excess weight has had huge societal consequences,” said Greenhalgh.

Few anthropologists before Greenhalgh have studied this topic at length. “The issue of corpulence and its control has garnered remarkably little attention from sociocultural anthropologists. Sociologists of education, in sport, have taken up the obesity epidemic, but they have not used ethnography to see how it’s playing out in individual lives,” she said.

The war on fat is a relatively recent issue that Greenhalgh says has been a phenomenon for a little over a decade. Greenhalgh explained that in 2004, “the message was that it was not only un-American to be fat, but that hostility towards fat people was warranted, necessary and beneficial to us all.”

Greenhalgh began her research at the University of California, Irvine where she taught for 15 years. In 2010 and 2011 she proposed an addition to her course, The Woman and the Body, on the politics of obesity.

For extra credit, Greenhalgh asked

her students to write an essay about “how diet, weight and the BMI played out in the life of somebody they knew well.” The essays shocked her. “Assigning the essay as a pedagogical tool, I was not prepared for what I received: tales of childhoods dominated and often devastated by battles over weight, the essays were eye opening, disturbing and in many cases, heartbreaking to read,” said Greenhalgh.

The responses spurred her to look deeper into “America’s War on Fat.” For the past five years, Greenhalgh has studied the politics of weight in Southern California. She’s used her findings to represent the current state of the country as a whole when it comes to obesity.

“Although body pressures on Southern Californians are intense, their bodily ideas are the same as those found in mainstream culture around the country, making Southern California a microcosm of the country as a whole,” she said.

“Fat Talk Nation” features over 200 ethnographic narratives from her class at UC, Irvine. She uses historical and cultural data to place the essays in context.

At the seminar, Greenhalgh stressed just how normal fat-shaming

has become in American society. “In ‘Fat Talk Nation,’ I argue that the intensified concern about the so-called obesity epidemic is producing a parallel epidemic of fat talk in which important individuals in the social world of young people, as well as the larger media culture, participate in naming who is fat, ridiculing them and cajoling them to lose weight,” said Greenhalgh.

She said that even the congratulatory recognition of lost weight reinforces the idea that the person was not of a good enough weight to begin with.

Greenhalgh ended the seminar on a proactive note. When asked what could be done in the face of such an epidemic she said, “We can listen to our own fat-talk.” She thinks that fat-shaming needs to be stopped on personal, community and national levels.

Greenhalgh is the most recent speaker in the Brandeis Anthropology Research Seminar (BARS) series.

The next BARS seminar is Friday, Oct. 23 with Laurence Ralph of Harvard University, who will discuss police abuse, mass incarceration and the drug trade in relation to disease, disability and premature death for urban residents.

photo from internet source

FEATURES

October 9, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot 5

Community hackathon hopes to attract students of all majors

By Jacob Edelman Editor

The word ‘hackathon’ is generally used to describe an extended period, often 24 hours, during which individuals or members of a team focus on a project pertaining to hardware or software. “The way I talk about it when thinking about [the term] is some period of time when you’re marathon coding,” says Sofia Semenova ’17. Semenova is quick to mention, however, that there are a number of issues surrounding the use of the term in college environments since the word ‘hack’ is invariably connected to images of “nerds sitting in a dark room [working] to take down Goldman Sachs.”

Semenova, who is majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Physics, describes the term ‘hackathon’ as an event where hundreds or even thousands of people, often white males interested in computers and hardware, stay up all night, running on only coffee and pizza, to code computers together. They become intensely motivated by cash or other grand prizes in the hopes of creating a perfect digital product by the end of the event.

While there may be nerds at

Codestellation Fall 2015, will they be taking down Goldman Sachs? Probably not. Codestellation is a year-old ‘hackathon’ but is unlike the ones described by Semenova. Semenova explains, “While it’s good to be focused on the things you care about, that environment isn’t very conducive in letting other people participate.

Our hackathon is focused on getting back to the basis of what a hackathon should be: forming a team with people you know or don’t know, and working on a project.”

Indeed, Codestellation is different than the well-known competitions held at other universities such as MIT’s hackathon, HackMIT. With less drama built into the premise and more fun token prizes as rewards for the winning entries, Codestellation is designed to be an inclusive hackathon in which anyone can take part. The event encourages students not majoring in Computer Science to take part. “Last year we had a big focus in beginners to the part in the hackathon… The thing is that beginners can do it, and that people who don’t know any computer science can do it,” Semenova says. She goes on to elaborate, “Students in the engineering, computer science, math and science bubble get stuck in what we know… adding extra viewpoints can

help. Anyone can learn, anyone can contribute.”

In the end, teams attempt to produce a functional product related to hardware or software but not necessarily based on any particular theme.

Semenova recalls seeing many web apps, Java products and occasionally even hardware being worked on. It is important to note, Semenova points out, that another judgement at the hackathon is whether participants are able to learn something even in the face of not actually producing anything tangible. “Being forced to sit in a room for 24 hours gives a good opportunity to learn something you want to learn,” Semenova states. “I encourage people to learn something new.”

Confirmed to help sponsor Codestellation this year is a company called Estimote. Estimote makes transmitters or ‘Beacons’ that phones and mobile devices can communicate with to create “contextually rich mobile experiences” based on data such as proximity, temperature and motion. Another confirmed company is Intrepid, a mobile design and development firm which creates mobile apps for other companies. Last year Codestellation was sponsored by companies such as Digital Ocean, Treehouse and General Assembly.

Semenova notes that as a non-engineering school, there can be a perceived focus on non-practical applications, especially with Brandeis being in such close proximity to prestigious engineering schools. She says that it can be hard to feel confident in Computer Science coming from a non-engineering school, but also states that Computer Science students shouldn’t be afraid to get a job solely because they haven’t done certain things on their own. “The best thing about the hackathon is that we’re convincing people that they are capable of doing

things. Everyone was already capable of learning and making something on their own, but they don’t believe it until they actually do it.”

Codestellation for Fall 2015 will take place over the weekend of Nov. 13. The rough schedule of events is a setup on the 13th, registration beginning the morning of the 14th, and then a start to the competition following the kickoff at 11 a.m. The next day there will be a break once the time has expired, following with the closing ceremony and judging.

photo courtesy halley saul

New club TableTalk hopes to open up discussion on campus

By Rachel Bossuk Staff

A new semester means many new things, including new clubs. This autumn, Brandeis welcomed its newest club, TableTalk, which which aims to foster conversation between students on a range of topics. At its first event on Oct. 1, students gathered on the couches in the SCC atrium to speak to each other. Brandeis sophomores Anna Stern ’18 and Skye Golann ’18 started the club, hoping to improve culture on campus by bringing stu-

dents together via discussion.

To make this happen, Stern reached out to the founders and presidents of TableTalk at Emory University. Ami Fields-Meyer and Adam Goldstein, seniors at Emory, created TableTalk, which breaks down into three types of initiatives: TableTalks, LookUp and CampusCouches. According to an article out of Emory News Center last year, these programs “offer a framework for cross-cultural conversation, harnessing the power of one-on-one dialogue to intentionally bring together people who otherwise might

not have an occasion to meet or interact.” Their goal was to push Emory students out of their comfort zones and to speak about issues with someone who is actively listening.

LookUp is organized around a meal where participants put down their phones and talk to each other, guided by conversational cue cards, especially refreshing for today’s college students. TableTalk involves two distinct groups having a pre-planned talk. At CampusCouches, students set up furniture and have a free-flowing conversation. At Brandeis, Stern and

Golann organized a CampusCouches event for their first TableTalk gathering.

Stern was interested in bringing this initiative to Brandeis because while the university prides itself in being a closely-knit community, she felt that there were many polarized social groups on the basis of race, religion and political viewpoints. Additionally, both she and Golann wanted this space to be comfortable so as to deter students from getting agitated and/or defensive about their opinions. They feel that an overarching

photo from internet source

benefit of this club will be its movement to make Brandeis become more united as a student body. “We see the club becoming a staple at Brandeis and really connecting the community we want to know better and love,” said Stern.

TableTalk’s Oct. 1 CampusCouches event was a success for a club previously unheard of. They set up couches in the SCC Atrium for a few hours and invited passersby to sit down and chat for a few minutes, hopefully with a fellow student whom they had never met. During this event, students talked with peers in different years, something that does not often happen outside of classes and clubs. They plan on having LookUp, which would take place in the dining halls, as the club’s next event sometime this semester.

While Stern and Golann do not necessarily want to make a career out of facilitating discussion, they are both very passionate about making this club prominent on campus. Golann’s passion is “motivated slightly by my interest in politics and my experiences with the divisions in American politics and American society, but is more about my desire to change and improve the campus culture here at Brandeis.” The two also hope to bring other clubs together to speak about issues that make them unique.

If students or clubs are interested in getting involved with TableTalk, they are encouraged to reach out to Stern or Golann, who is also a Class of 2018 senator. Additionally, if you are a president of a club and wish to have a TableTalk with your club on campus, please let either of the two know.

6 The Brandeis Hoot

The Brandeis Hoot

October 9, 2015

Anthropology course digs up knowledge in Concord

By Albert Reiss Staff

Every Friday, 15 students and two professors drive out to Concord and unearth remnants of what is rumored to be a bunker of prisoners of war from World War II that traces to colonial time.

Taught by Travis Parna (ANTH) and Andrew Koh (CLAS), Archaeological Methods involves attending lectures as well as going to an actual archaeological dig site.

According to Megan McClory ’18, the purpose of the dig is to “see if [...] oral reports have physical evidence.

In this case, we’re trying to see if there really is [a] building where the locals report a German POW bunkhouse or

photo from internet source

an old barn that the kids used to play in.”

The majority of the class has no prior experience with archaeology. Such is the case with Emilia Ravn-Boess ’18 who makes up for her inexperience with an “interest in the topic and the willingness to learn what I can.”

So far the course has been a great success, with many students expressing their interest in the class, particularly because of the hands-on nature of the class.

“I really like the idea of experiential learning. It’s just really valuable to get out of the classroom and do the kind of work you might be doing if you choose to pursue archaeology after college. In a way, it’s a good test to see if I do want to do this kind of work,” Emma Gutman ’18 (Brandeis Hoot staff member) said.

Similarly, Ravn-Boess said, “I tremendously appreciate the fact that Brandeis is offering this experiential learning class. I have always wanted to pursue archaeology, and because of the class, I get the chance to test the field before tackling it outside of a classroom environment. The class supplies us all with a mental separation from the typical classroom environment and allows us to learn in a more hands-on and interactive way.”

Gutman also spoke about the spirit of archeology. “I’ve learned that there are so many different layers of dirt underneath us, and that though there is technology to help us predict … in

many ways, archaeology is a guessing game of how deep you should dig and where exactly you should place your unit. Places you expect to find things could have nothing, and other random places could yield a treasure trove. Just think of all the things that could be lying under the ground we walk on every day.” Not only do students get to learn in the textbook, but they also enjoy the benefit of seeing their academic subject matter in action.

What also sets the class apart are the rave reviews garnered by Parno.

Gutman described him as a patient and humorous professor. “This dig is as much his project as it is ours, if not more. He also gets excited about what we find.”

Likewise, McClory said of Parno: “He’s really helpful when we make a mistake digging in our units, and you can tell how experienced he is in this sort of stuff. Plus, he’s like a walking encyclopedia since we can’t exactly check every jerk rock—a rock that looks like it might be an artifact— against a book.”

Every day isn’t a dig, but for Gutman, her interest in the class lies in the fact that “for the most part, we learn history from textbooks. Here, we get to see and analyze history literally coming out of the ground beneath us. Also every discovery of an object, whether small, modern or probably insignificant, never really stops being exciting!”

photo from internet source

EDITORIALS

October 9, 2015

Campus Climate Survey results provide evidence for need to change

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editors-in-Chief Andrew Elmers Theresa Gaffney Senior Managing Editor Jess Linde Senior Copy Editors Mia Edelstein Julie Landy News Editors Charlotte Aaron Hannah Schuster Arts Editor Sabrina Pond Opinions Editor Zach Phil Schwartz Features Editor Jacob Edelman Sports Editor Sarah Jousset Hoot Scoops Editor Emily Sorkin Smith

The Brandeis Hoot 7

O

n Thursday, Oct. 8, Interim President Lisa Lynch sent an email to the student body containing the results of the Campus Climate Survey on sexual misconduct issued in April of this year.

The survey was sent to undergraduate and graduate students over the age of 18 and contained prompts on consent, reporting incidents of sexual misconduct and awareness of campus resources. Now, the results are available on the Office of the President website.

The results are “deeply troubling,” in Lynch’s words. One of the most discouraging aspects, however, comes even before the results. Only 34.3 percent of students responded to the survey—1,856 out of a total 5,416 students.

While no survey will ever receive a 100 percent response rate, such a low number of respondents suggests that the student body does not take the subject of sexual assault on campus seriously enough.

The survey was even incentivized: Upon completion, students could choose between a $5 gift card to Amazon.com or Chipotle Mexican Grill. Still, just over one third of the student body offered a response.

Those who did respond provided plenty of data to think about, however. The results are scary, but probably not surprising to activists on campus who have tried to talk about sexual assault and increase awareness for years. As Lynch pointed out in her email, the results of this survey mirror those from other colleges and universities. They are troubling and worrisome, yes, but simply talking about them will not make them go away. Campus culture has to change.

It is not an easy task to change the culture of an entire college campus. Additions to the community such as the Rape Crisis Center and the Office of Prevention Services are positive steps toward this change, but more needs to be done.

Bystander training has begun for student clubs and organizations, but this remains a voluntary program. All students should be exposed to bystander training upon entering Brandeis, and current students, faculty and staff need to express the sentiment that sexual misconduct is not acceptable, even if it is uncomfortable to talk about.

Nobody can deny that this is a problem now. If anybody was waiting for concrete numbers before taking action, they now have them.

As students, we need to ensure that we do our job to change the campus culture by being attentive bystanders and by advising classmates in need of campus resources, so that the administration also does their job of effectively supporting victims of sexual misconduct and prosecuting the perpetrators. The administration has a job to do in protecting students, and we have the responsibility of eradicating rape culture from our home.

Copy Editor Allison Plotnik Senior Layout Editor Sasha Ruiz

Periodic Insanity

Layout Editors Lisa Petrie Ludi Yang Photo Editor Karen Caldwell

Volume 12 • Issue 17

By Naomi Klickstein staff

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

STAFF

Clayre Benzadon, Rachel Bossuk, Sharon Cai, Zach Cihlar, Jake Greenberg, Zachary Gordon, Emma Gutman, Curtis Zunyu He, Emma Kahn, Naomi Klickstein, Shayna Korol, Nabi Menai, Monique J Menezes, Santiago Montoya, Joon Park, Nicole Porter, Albert Reiss, Emily Scharf, Marian Siljeholm, Eliana Sinoff, Elianna Spitzer, Hannah Stewart, Sarah Terrazano, Sophia Warren, Katarina Weessies MISSION As the weekly community student newspaper of Brandeis University, The Brandeis Hoot aims to provide our readers with a reliable, accurate and unbiased source of news and information.

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

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

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

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

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

All campus organizations receive a 25 percent discount off our regular prices. We also design basic ads for campus organizations free of charge.

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

GIVE A HOOT, JOIN THE HOOT!

Writers, editors, photographers and graphic artists wanted to join The Brandeis Hoot, your weekly community newspaper.

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

UNSOLICITED SUBMISSIONS

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

Across 2. May be atomic (abr.)

5. Suffix added to monoatomic element 9. The worst element at your party?

10. Where you can find many elements 11. Element mistaken for actress Diana?

12. With 50-down, card game 14. Word with “Diego” 16. With 13-down element in cellular pump 18. Alphabet sequence 20. Element you want after a race?

22. Cannonball result perhaps 24. Dmitri’s measurement 25. Boston restaurant 27. Autoimmune disease (abr.)

28. Lived 29. Group of three 30. Element that is the basis of life 32. Prefix with cortex or classicism 33. Abr. for company in debt 35. Argentina’s secret service 36. Greek letter 38. Element less than a dime?

41. Fires a blaster at 42. What 55-down does at 100˚C 44. Also 45. One of seven (abr.)

46. e.g. 13-down 48. Rejoicing 50. 43-down + 54-down 51. Where to pump 54-down

52. The greatest element on Earth?

55. Equilibrium for biologists (abr.)

56. Weaponize 58. Warrior princess’s element?

59. Hydrophobic amino acid (abr.)

60. Leaves out

61. “Armenian” to Armernians 62. Indeterminate amount Down 1. Potassium hydroxide 2. Belief in atheism 3. Word of 23-across 4. Like 1-down 6. Expression of attraction 7. Sea bird 8. One in a 1985 kid adventure film 13. See 16-across 14. Element Dmitri wouldn’t expect?

15. Once more 16. Element that was dwarfed?

17. Small amounts 18. Element found on a fridge?

19. Ancient 21. Word in a yoga studio 23. ___ Paolo 25. Element in batteries 26. # in a recipe 31. Fiance 34. Sierra ______ 37. Parents’ sisters 39. Sick 40. Lumberjack’s method of delivery 42. “___ your pardon?”

43. Element you take for granted?

47. e.g. Yosemite 49. Lion’s color 50. See 12-across 53. Element you eat with cereal?

54. See 51-across 55. Water 57. Suffix for low oxidation state ions

8 The Brandeis Hoot

ARTS, ETC.

October 9, 2015

Local jazz band helps artist in need with benefit at Slosberg

By Adam Lamper Staff

Jazz musician Art Blakey states, “Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life,” and that is nothing short of what happened at Slosberg Music Center this past Sunday, Oct. 4, as the New Black Eagle Jazz Band lit up the stage as part of a series of benefit concerts for friend of the band and fellow jazz musician, Anthony Weller. In 2002, Weller was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down, and the group hopes to support an artist in need in the best way they know how.

The New Black Eagle Jazz Band is a seven-piece ensemble consisting of Tony Pringle on the cornet, Billy

Novak on the clarinet and alto saxophone, Stan Vincent on the Trombone, Peter Bullis on the banjo, drummer Cees Hans Pameijer, bassist Barry Bockus and former pianist Bob Pilsbury. A strong force in the international jazz scene since their founding in 1971, the group has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe, performing at festivals in cities like Toronto, New Orleans and London to name a few, and has produced over 40 recordings, including the Grammy-nominated “On the River.”

The group opened the night with “Wolverine Blues,” a piece originally composed for piano by Jelly Roll Morton, a key figure and influence in the early world of jazz. This piece set the tone of the night, as the majority of the pieces performed were remi-

niscent of early jazz, with influences of traditional marches and an overwhelming presence of ragtime.

Though it was stated that the group likes to play a different arrangement of pieces each night, there were a few fan-favorite classics known by the returning audience members, old and young, who came from all around the Boston area to see the performance.

These included jazz arrangements of Cole Porter’s “It’s Alright With Me” in C-minor and Earl “Fatha” Hines’ “Rosetta” in F. The group also included a few pieces that crossed over into pop-culture, like the theme of the Burns and Allen Show “Love Nest,” and a piece the group had heard on the 2000 movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” titled “I’ll Fly Away With You.” The group had two feature solos during their performance, the first

photos by adam lamper/the hoot

a soulful rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by trombonist Vincent. A crowd-favorite, as well as a favorite of Vincent himself, this arrangement featured a slowed-down tempo and calming minor tones that contrasted the uplifting vibe of the original arrangement’s instrumentation. Vincent’s warm tonality and use of slide vibrato also added to the audience’s appeal, and after the applause faded he charmingly added, “Every time I play that tune, it reminds me of Walt Disney. I don’t know why.”

Alto saxophone player Novak performed the jazz standard “Body and Soul,” which was originally written in 1930 and was quite possibly the most contemporary piece of the night. Though “out of time” in accordance to the group’s other songs, “Body and Soul” was most definitely not “out of place” that night, providing a much-welcome break from the uptempo rhythm of traditional ragthemed jazz. The slow and melancholy tone of the saxophone was more reflective of New York style jazz than the group’s predominantly New Orle-

ans style. In addition to the two solo pieces, each song had solo sections where each of the three main wind players, as well as the rhythm section, got to show off their improvisational skills within the contexts of the different pieces. Though the bluesy solos of the bass and piano players added yet another layer to the group’s musicality, it was the upbeat and intense drum solo featured in the performance’s final piece, “Shake It and Break It,” that made an impression on the audience.

Though the music was most definitely the highlight of the night, audience members left the performance reminded of the true power of music’s ability to unite people in a common cause. A portion of the concert’s proceeds will be donated to Webber in order to help him receive both appropriate care at his home and adaptive technology that will allow him to continue writing music. The New Black Eagle Jazz Band’s next benefit will take place at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, this Sunday, Oct. 11.

Poetry Night brought back to life

By Alana Hodson Staff

On Thursday, Oct. 8, National Poetry Day at Chum’s, an ancient tradition, was rekindled like a phoenix from the ashes: Poetry Night. Alumnus Rohan Narayanan ’15 resurrected Poetry Night last spring in order to offer a space for students to share their passions and thoughts about the world through the artistic style of spoken word.

The organization of this event,

titled “REVIVAL: Poetry Night,” was taken up by students Nellie Spener ’17, Alona Weimer ’18 and Clayre Benzadon ’17. Generous donations will sponsor the event until funding from the university can be secured, and in return, the donors are granted a spot to showcase their own poetry or given a shout-out at the end of the night. Each performance occupies a five- to seven-minute time slot, featuring themes like “identity,” “love,” “sorrow” and “faith.”

The atmosphere of the night was set as the lights were dimmed,

rugs laid out across the floor, a crowd of excited students settled into the black leather couches and a single spotlight shining on the microphone on stage. Spener opened the event by welcoming the audience and explaining the purpose of reviving Poetry Night. “It’s crucial for this to be a community event,” said Spener, encouraging people from all different backgrounds to share the stage.

There were 13 performances scheduled for the night, each contributing a unique and inspirational composition, and each completely captivating the audience with their words. One poet spoke about religious intolerance as a response to the mass shooting in Oregon this past week and the legislation’s interpretation of the event as a statement about gun control. Another performer shared poems from her childhood that she had written about love, which was then followed by a performer who commanded the stage with a powerful piece of slam poetry. A surprising changeup in the type of pieces occurred after a brief intermission when a young man with a guitar walked on stage. Gently strumming, he sang “House at Pooh Corner” by Kenny Loggins and “Photograph”

by Ed Sheeran, which created a unified feeling in the room as members of the audience began to sing along.

The style and form of the poetry shared was not limited in any way; the night included pieces of free verse, traditional verse, lyrical, satirical and, perhaps most striking, slam poetry. Several of the performances were original works of slam poetry, and they were certainly awe-inspiring to hear. One becomes completely gripped in the poet’s voice as it rises and falls with emotion, speeds up and slows with the intensity of their words. Pieces of slam poetry shared during the event touched upon subjects like “coming out” and the true meaning behind the word “consequence.”

After the slotted performances concluded, the last half hour of the night became an open-mic

photos by daniel kang/the hoot

session in which anyone from the audience could share their poetry.

The first person to climb on stage recited a poem he had written in the previous 10 minutes, having been cured of his writer’s block by the remarkable work of the night’s poets. Another open-mic volunteer shared a rap-like poem which advocated the importance of speaking up for children suffering abuse. Lastly, the night drew to a humorous end with a piece that was not a poem, but rather a story. It was about three brave archeologists in Egypt who discovered a tomb containing three doors, each engraved with a prediction of death for those who entered.

Naturally, the brave archeologists entered, but how they met their demise was completely unexpected. The story was lengthy, but the pun at the end was absolutely worth the wait.

October 9, 2015

ARTS 9

The Brandeis Hoot

Creative Writing dept. hosts bestselling author Donald Antrim

By Sabrina Pond Editor

To properly jumpstart this year’s School of Night reading series, the Creative Writing Department invited bestselling author Donald Antrim to read his most recent publication, “The Emerald Light in the Air Stories.” Intended to introduce students, especially creative writing and English majors, to the work of a multitude of exceptional writers, past guests have included the likes of Poet Laureate Louise Gluck, Li Young Lee, Tony Hoagland, Lorrie Moore and Kimiko Hahn.

Held on Tuesday, Oct. 6 in Pearlman Lounge, the event began with a short introduction of Antrim’s wide-ranging achievements over the course of his decades-long career. He gradu-

ated from Brown University in 1981 and has taught prose fiction at the graduate school of New York University. He currently teaches in the MFA program at Columbia University and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2013. He HAS published a number of novels and short stories, most notably of which are “The Verificationist,” “The Hundred Brothers” and “The Afterlife.”

Following years of commendation and praise for his past work, Antrim’s most recent novel has been lauded by the Minneapolis Star Tribune as “Plain and simple: Antrim has no equals in contemporary letters.” Another review by Publisher’s Weekly described it as a “collection of great depth to read, reread and above all, relish.” His earlier novels are similarly critically acclaimed.

The critics’ words ring true. As soon as Antrim began to read his work aloud, the words came alive, as if they were dancing across the page before becoming an enchanting movie clip projected onto a screen, each frame unfocused at the edges. Most of the plot centered on one man’s venture to move his car down a particularly treacherous creek. Following the main action, the story described the life of the protagonist in specific moments, illuminating his impressions and feelings in terms of his most intimate and important relationships.

Antrim’s mastery of storytelling— through the intonation of his voice, the deliberate pauses and the quality of his voice, which was both harsh and soft simultaneously—made his short story, which critics have already exalted for its originality and unique

voice, mesmerizing to all listeners.

After he finished reading his work, he opened up the session to hear student input, discuss the crux of the short story and respond to any audience inquiries about his writing process. One audience member in particular wanted to know more about imagery within his short story, or more specifically about his various descriptions of clouds throughout and the purpose behind this recurrence. Spoken like a true novelist, he spoke about his craft with care and grace, choosing each word as if it were being written down in some imaginary record: “I’m not trying to make clouds do anything .. .whatever they are for you … that’s a door into something … the story becomes you and you are inside the story.”

Antrim reflected on his own expe-

rience with writing and his greatest piece of advice was to “live inside” your work and allow it to come as it will “even if none of it is planned.”

Antrim said he spent a good portion of his career trying to write like other authors but came to the realization later that replicating other writers not only left him feeling empty inside, but also deprived him from adding his own voice and his own literary inventions to the genre. Though it may be hard to believe, there’s no reason not to develop your own writing style and put forth your own creative ideas.

In Antrim’s words, despite that he’s “arriving at a similar place” through most of his work and that he might even be writing the same story over and over again, it’s necessary that writers explore their craft, no matter where this takes them.

photo by adam lamper/the hoot

Weather doesn’t deter spirit of farmers’ market

By Clayre Benzadon Staff

On Friday, Oct. 2, The Brandeis Farmers Club held a big farmers’ market event, which was a huge success last semester. Even though there were vendors selling produce, the weather created a huge problem for the event: many students stayed indoors the whole day to escape the cold and dreary rain.

The vendors present included Halvah Heaven, Lyndigo Spice, Galit’s Treats With Love and the Rooftop Farm. In addition to selling their products, the vendors also provided free samples to those walking around.

It was Halvah Heaven’s second visit to the farmers’ market, and I could not resist buying a package square of the espresso-flavored halvah.

Halvah Heaven is the only artisan halvah company in North America. Halvah is a tahini-based candy common in Asia, Northern Africa and Eastern Europe. They have created six original flavors: cardamom, anise-rosemary, vanilla bean, mocha marble, earl grey and espresso. The candy is also peanut-free, gluten-free and vegan, which is surprising because most halvah sold in the U.S. is made with nuts or in a factory exposed to nuts.

It is also interesting that halvah is vegan, because when I bit into my first bite of the melt-in-your-mouth candy, the flavor had a very creamy, smooth texture that scared me at first—I can’t eat dairy yet the flavor mimicked a milky flavor. Victoria Willins, founder of the company, also plans to be coming to the next Brandeis Farmer’s Market, which is already set for Oct. 23. Visit her website, halvahheaven. com for more information about her product.

Galit’s Treats with Love, another vendor at the farmers’ market, is a home-based bakery in Newton, MA that sells vegan pastries, challah bread and burekas. Some of their products are also gluten-free and nut-free. You can order their products, ranging from all different kinds of challahs to seasonal jams, on their website galitstreatswithlove.com. They also sell chocolate rugelach and cheese and potato burekas.

Lyndigo Spice, owned by Celeste Croxton, has a clever name that plays on the concept of indigo spice, an Egyptian dye. Her whole company is based on the idea of expanding people’s taste buds by including flavors from all over the world, especially those from the Caribbean. Celeste is famous for her pineapple chutney, which she uses on the traditional Jamaican Jerk chicken dish she cooks

photo from internet source

up.

Lyndigo Spice also sells relishes in addition to their spices, which consist of spicy red pepper, savory red pepper and roasted mango. I tried a sample of the spicy red pepper and this combination of spicy and savory together made my mouth go wild with flavor, thirsty for more.

Lyndigo Spice also had a good variety of different fruit spreads and jams lined on their table, which included

plum and ginger blueberry flavors.

I’m a big fan of blueberry jam, so I had to make sure I got to try a generous amount when I was handed a sample on a small spoon. The mix of ginger and blueberry was a delightfully unexpected surprise; the ginger gave a spicy tang to the sweetness of the blueberry. The original spice rub that the seller let me try also contained this sort of balance between hot and soft flavors that made me

oddly satisfied and craving for more.

Overall, the Brandeis Farmers’ Market had a lot of great vendors that sold many different foods. Vegan and gluten-free options are a popular alternative that many students on campus look for and the vendors sold a lot of dietary-friendly products. Unfortunately, the weather deterred a lot of people from coming, but the event started to pick up towards the middle of the day.

10 ARTS

The Brandeis Hoot

October 9, 2015

Cello and piano duo resurrect classical masterpieces

By Santiago Montoya Staff

In the Slosberg Music Center this past Saturday, Oct. 3 the music was electrifying and resurrected long-gone composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven and César Franck. It also invoked Louis Gordon’s work, the only of the three composers whose work was presented that night and remains alive.

During Brandeis’ concert series, Primary Motivations, these three composers were very much alive and present, thanks to the duo of Joshua Gordon (MUS) on cello and Randall Hodgkinson on piano. Besides invoking the deftness of such prodigies through their compositions, the night marked the debut of the music department’s new Steinway & Sons Model B Grand Piano, which was funded by the Ilse H. Perlman Trust and the Dean of Arts and Sciences.

The program started with Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Cello Sonatas,” also known as sonata in C major, Op. 102 no. 1. “It is worth illustrating here Beethoven’s economical yet masterful approach to motivic usage in the opening of his C major sonata,” said Gordon and added that it “subverts the usual antecedent-consequent scheme by having what ought to be a consequential answer from the piano become a continuation of the question.” The piano gently joined the cello’s initial closing gesture in a contrarian motion, and both ornaments actually created new motives from fragments of the previous ones.

“Violin Sonata” (Sonata in A

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major), by César Franck, which is considered one of the finest sonatas for violin and piano ever written, had a great appeal to the audience for its melodies. Both pieces by Beethoven and Franck have achieved fame and recognition that “reward rediscovery,” said Gordon.

Composer Louis Gordon happens to be Joshua Gordon’s father, and the duo played Louis Gordon’s sonata, “in a return performance as we approach his 90th birthday in February 2016,” said Joshua Gordon.

The performance was overall astonishing, mostly because of the great duo that Joshua Gordon and Hodgkinson make. There was this flabbergasting and breathtaking passion that was demonstrated

through the sound of their instruments. How can an artist be more true to himself, than by responding to all the elements that becomes a “quest for the essence of this introduction’s character and expression,” said Joshua Gordon about playing Beethoven’s “Cello Sonatas.”

In fact, both performers have been successful and celebrated musicians. Joshua Gordon joined the Lydian String Quartet and the faculty of Brandeis University back in 2002. In addition to being part of the faculty, he is also an artist member of the Worcester Chamber Music Society. He has performed in several places around the world and has been a guest at the Apple Hill, Cassatt, DaPonte, Harvard, Julliard and

Ying Quartets.

Hodgkinson has also lived a successful career as a musician, achieving international recognition as a winner of the International American Music Competition, which is for pianists, and it is sponsored by Carnegie Hall and the Rockefeller Foundation.

He has made several appearances with major orchestras, including Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo and the American Symphony among others. During the time he was in Boston Musica Viva, he travelled through Europe and the United States. He is currently part of the faculty at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge.

Together, Joshua Gordon and

Hodgkinson can be heard on their critically-acclaimed New World recording, “Leo Ornstein: Complete Works for Cello and Piano,” which was recognized as the top-ten classical recordings back in 2007 by the All Music Guide.

They have ventured into other duo programs which is a rather classical concoction of distinct artists, such as, Beethoven, Chopin, Martinu, Gunther Schuller, among an extensive list of others.

You can listen to their album from the comfort of your home.

However, if you didn’t make it to Saturday’s performance, you have missed their electrifying vibe and their possessed artistic souls turned into action—plus the new piano does make every sound more majestic.

The New England Conservatory of Music’s opera delights

By Emma Kahn Staff

The top singers and the Philharmonia of the New England Conservatory of Music performed a moving version of “Iphigénie en Tauride.”

First performed in 1779, Christoph Willibald Gluck’s opera tells the fate of Agamemnon’s family in the years following the Trojan War. In the usual Greek myth, Agamemnon is murdered by his wife, upon which his son avenges Agamemnon’s death by murdering his own mother. Meanwhile, Agamemnon’s daughter foreshadows the entire tragedy in her nightmares. The opera unfolds as the two siblings finally meet after years of separation. Based on Euripides’ “Iphigenia in Tauris” originally written in ancient Greek just before 400 BCE, “Iphigénie en Tauride” has been referred to as the “first opera without love” for its tragic rather than romantic plot, and as Gluck’s best opera for its smooth stitching of story and musical score.

Set in front of Jordan Hall’s monstrous organ, the stage frames the opera with antique framed wood and metalwork. The space is high reaching and vacant, with a large curved ceiling and sparse wooden

seating. The sound of the music reverberated against the far walls and filled the space with beautiful warmth.

With Conductor Stephen Lord swaying his hand to the meter and the uniform movement of bows against instruments, the audience was beckoned to lean forward in their chairs. From the beginning of the performance until the very end, the audience was enthralled by the musicianship both in the level of musical excellence and in the elegance and calm in which the opera was displayed.

When the first vocalist began to sing, chills ran down my spine.

Her voice extended throughout

the theater, dramatic and clear amidst the sound of the strings.

A large and dull screen was displayed behind her which read the lyrics that correlated with her performance, which were sung in French and subtitled for the audience in English.

Despite the antiquity of the opera and the venue, the performance was very much alive. An audience of all backgrounds and ages sat attentively, fully engaged with the music in a way that appeared very unique to this genre. The acting of the opera singers saw no dull moment. I could feel the tension, irony, pain, fury, suffering and joy all in quick succession as the

plot unfolded. Each singer’s voice paired perfectly with the next, each with their own distinct tone and timbre. The general chorus dressed barefoot and in simple cloth robes, while the two main characters were in simple dress shirts and jeans, with Iphigénie in a lovely but simple gown. Although plain in stage, scenery and props, the facial expressions of the performers and their swift movements contributed to a full and dramatic understanding of the unfolding scenes. The use of simple wooden benches to represent Orestes’ jail and the subtle dimming and brightening of lights in lieu of dramatic stage effects add-

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ed no unnecessary frills to a sufficiently full performance.

Throughout the opera, the performers never broke character.

Transitions were seamless in between moments of sadness or joy, major or minor scales; the orchestra and singers were fantastic at picking up cues from one another. With such a seamless performance, time flew by, leaving you wanting the opera to progress further. Each moment of the performance lent itself to further thought. I would recommend this performance for those new to watching operas and avid opera fans alike. For a newcomer, the subtitles and accessible plot will have you falling in love with the genre as a whole. For an opera frequenter, “Iphigénie en Tauride” is certainly Gluck’s best.

The New England Conservatory of Music offers a host of free performances such as this one throughout the year. Performances are always open to the public and are often free, giving the Brandeis community an excellent activity in Boston. Whether intrigued by the awe-inspiring Greek plot, the renowned classical music or simply the chance to head to Boston for a free concert, “Iphegénie en Tauride” is a transformative performance.

October 9, 2015

ARTS 11

The Brandeis Hoot

Deafheaven continues to defy labels with ‘New Bermuda’

By Jess Linde Staff

When San Francisco kind-ofmetal-but-also-kind-of-not fivepiece Deafheaven released their sophomore album, 2013’s breakout “Sunbather,” it was as if they had been born just to be divisive.

“Sunbather” was a wall of intensity with a whirlwind of guitars, pounding double kick drums and throat-shredding screams from singer George Clarke, with a few added dashes of My Bloody Valentine shoegaze and an uplifting sound that made it palatable to critics. Said critics hailed the album and Deafheaven as the next evolution in metal and extreme music, which resulted in purists

branding them as gentrifiers and rejecting “hipster black metal.”

As a metal purist who also appreciates forward-thinking bands with new sounds, I have both defended Deafheaven fiercely and argued that they should not be held as messiahs. Though I adored “Sunbather,” I understood the criticisms, even when they became hyperbolic. Deafheaven themselves never claimed to be anything but a band trying to make good music, and that singular purpose has manifested itself as a great musical experience in their third album, 2015’s “New Bermuda.” Like “Sunbather,” the five songs are long, singular pieces that add up to a unique hour and show various non-metal influenc-

es of the band’s. Other than that, it is a totally different record, not that I am complaining.

“New Bermuda” begins with “Brought to the Water,” and the new sound is instant: down-tuned guitars chugging darker and faster metal riffs, with brutalizing drums. The vocals are still unintelligible shrieks, but they are scarier and more metal than they were in the past. Deafheaven still drifts into a dreamier, more “indie” sounds in the bridge, but as soon as those show up and you relax, the band brings the shred right back and smashes you into submission. “Luna” and “Baby Blue” show a renewed use of Deafheaven’s black metal roots, being based in fast, tremolo-picked gui-

tars and lyrics about personal anguish and suffering. These songs, each clocking in at ten minutes long, fill out the sound of “New Bermuda” in a way that I can only describe as crushing. You will be energized and amazed by them, as well as feel the intensity in each note.

“Come Back” is the darkest song on the album, with extra reverb on Clarke’s vocals giving the lyrics an extra punch. “I imagined the overcome and fell to my knees before the endless truth of instability and futility,” he screams, sounding almost in pain as lead guitarist Kerry McCoy hammers his strings with everything he has. The descending notes make the listener feel as if they are fall-

ing into despair, until a sudden acoustic bridge leads into the final song “Gifts for the Earth.” Like the tide in the ocean, Clarke evokes images of death and the sea over a wave of guitars and drums, bringing a strange beauty to a song that is essentially describing Clarke’s dreams of drowning. I was not expecting everything I heard on the album, but I mean that in the best possible way. Nobody wanted a copy of “Sunbather,” and though I still understand (while vehemently disagreeing) with criticisms of Deafheaven’s image and sound, I would ask listeners to open their mind, and their ears, and be washed away by “New Bermuda.”

Even if you do not like it, it will stick with you.

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I’m not trying to make clouds do anything .. .whatever they are for you … that’s a door into something … the story becomes you and you are inside the story.

Donald Antrim

Survivng Sodexo: Socializing and Health

By Charlotte Aaron Editor

There is nothing more frustrating than getting up to leave Usdan and running into friends on the way out. Rather than returning to the homework that awaits you in the library, you procrastinate a little longer and head back into Usdan to keep your friends company while they eat. Although you have already eaten and are full, you end up eating a second meal because

watching friends eat is never fun.

This week’s Surviving Sodexo is a healthy solution to eating a second meal and a more enjoyable solution than slowly sipping on lukewarm water as your friends enjoy their meal. Below are three snacks to satisfy your munchies without becoming a second meal.

1. Fresh yellow and green zucchini or cut peppers from the salad bar dipped in hummus is a healthy,

but also filling and tasty!

2. Cut tomatoes and cucumbers into bite-sized pieces. Mix them together in a bowl and add oil, vinegar, pepper, and honey – sweet and low calorie!

3. Apples and peanut butter? A classic. To make it more interesting, mix honey and granola with the peanut butter to create a crunchy texture.

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12 The Brandeis Hoot

OPINIONS

October 9, 2015

College students represent biased sample

By Monique J Menezes Staff

Sleep deprivation, binge drinking, eating disorders, bullying and suicide are some of the health-detrimental results of stress. In fact, such behaviors can lead to more stress, trapping their most common victims—college students— in a vicious cycle of stress. These stress-related health issues make a college campus into a pressure cooker, waiting to cause catastrophe amongst its population: us.

In our late teens and early twenties, we make our decisions, sometimes with the delusion that we possess a certain level of invincibility. Even if we do not, we may believe that we are hurting no one but ourselves, and in addition to being an unhealthy attitude, it is a mistake in judgment. College students are separated from the larger population in some respects, being seemingly concentrated in one geographic location.

Nevertheless, we are not excluded from society, no matter how much a campus seems to sustain a self-containing bubble of college-specific community.

For anyone who has ever seen some of the flyers around campus, you are familiar with the fact that Brandeis is the home to a variety of labs: psychology, neuroscience, biology and so on. With that in mind, anyone who has taken intro to psychology knows about

the requirement of participating in studies for credit. Many participate in the aforementioned studies for credit or as indicated by the flyers, for financial compensation.

As a large result of convenience, college campuses are the common origin of clinical study participants.

These are the same clinical studies that physicians make recommendations upon and innovators implement changes upon in hopes of helping more people.

Should that not be of concern?

These individuals enveloped in a highly stressful environment and partaking in activities detrimen-

tal to their health, are the subjects that influence outcomes that usually get translated into what the general public believes to be healthy or best for them.

A little over a month ago, The New York Times reported about recent findings regarding lack of reproducibility in psychological

studies that has since made the public doubt clinical research.

This is a reminder to be skeptical of journal articles and prompts researchers to be more conscientious than ever. Even the most well-designed study has its shortSee SAMPLE, page 14

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Love Your Body Day, every day

By Sarah Terrazano Staff

Body positivity can be difficult to maintain in today’s media-saturated society. From television shows to advertisements, the standards of a “perfect” body are promoted to no end, especially for women. With this harmful mindset, it can become hard to remem-

ber that identity is more than skin-deep. In response to this flaw in society springs Love Your Body Day, a movement which promotes self-love and a rejection of unrealistic, unhealthy beauty standards.

Last Friday, Oct. 2 the Brandeis chapter of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) organized an event to celebrate Love Your Body Day. Held in the Shapiro Campus Center (SCC) atrium, it also had representation from

Triskelion (Trisk) and the Women of Color Alliance. The event consisted of various tables with different activities to promote body positivity. These ranged from a large poster where students could write what makes them feel beautiful, to a T-shirt making station with “I Love My Body” stencils, to a life-size cutout of a body on which students could choose their favorite body part and stick a Post-It note there with a reason

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for being proud.

With pop music playing in the background and volunteers handing out “I Love My Body” stickers, the entire event was infused with positivity and acceptance. It was also beneficial that the event took place in the SCC, as anyone going to Einstein’s or simply walking through the building saw all the tables and was greeted by cheerful FMLA members giving out stickers and spreading body positivity.

“Love Your Body Day does a great job of using hands-on activities, presentations and crafts to show the importance of loving yourself,” said Emma Curnin ’19, an FMLA member who attended the event. And this hands-on approach was one of the event’s most successful aspects, as it let students engage more closely with the presentations and apply the event’s messages to themselves individually. It is one thing to promote a movement, but something else entirely to have it resonate personally with people.

Love Your Body Day was well-advertised, with flyers posted all over campus with the date and time of the event. Each flyer also featured an FMLA member who chose a certain body part to be photographed and captioned the photo with a reason for why they love that part of their body.

For example, some posters read, “I love my breasts because they’re unique to my body” and “I love my stomach because other people tell me not to.” This was a great way for body positivity to spread to the entire campus, especially because it used real student perspectives.

However, there are improve-

ments to be made. One problem with the event was that it ended rather abruptly. An announcement was made by FMLA members that all the tables were being cleaned up, and the overwhelming impression was that the end of the event signified the end of Love Your Body Day. Rather than encouraging a continuation of body positivity ideas, there was a lack of suggestions for furthering body positivity around campus. But Love Your Body Day shouldn’t end just because a three-hour event in the SCC is coming to a close; its implications should be reinforced throughout campus every day. This was unfortunately downplayed at the end of the event, which fell a bit flat.

FMLA does other work on campus related to the empowerment of feminists regardless of gender, race and other backgrounds. It would have been more useful if they’d mentioned the next FMLA event or even its weekly meeting information; students already at the Love Your Body Day activities could very well have been interested in getting more involved with FMLA. For me, the event was a refreshing reminder that while it may not be easy to love every part of your body, it’s one of the most important aspects of self-care. Amidst the studying, club or sports commitments and overall stress of college life, self-care can often be overlooked. Being both content and proud with your body is the first step. And despite the disappointing end to the event, I hope that the spirit of Love Your Body Day remains on campus in the weeks to come.

October 9, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot 13

The Brandeis Hoot

Secured club status unfair to other clubs

By Zach Phil Schwartz Editor

Secured clubs sit at the pedestal of the club hierarchy at Brandeis, entitled to many amenities to which non-secured clubs do not have access. They are not able to be de-chartered by conventional means, only via constitutional amendment. Secured clubs receive substantial sums of money and benefits, including an appeals process to the Union Allocations Board that can augment their allocated funds.

Compared to recognized and chartered clubs, secured clubs are on a whole other level. The huge boost and protection provided to these clubs is inherently unfair to the other student clubs and organizations.

Through their highly privileged status, secured clubs are classified as those most central to the campus identity, and many clubs have been around for a very long time and have seen countless other less privileged clubs come and go. This classification of clubs as more central to Brandeis than others is flagrantly unequal. It is a constant reminder to chartered and recognized clubs—some of which that have been around for a while—that they are not as im-

portant as others.

Secured clubs are allowed a special appeals process to try and secure more funds that they were not awarded before, even when they are allocated significantly more than clubs without the designation. According to the Student Union, the nine secured clubs were allotted a total of $564,882 for 2013-2014, or about 93% of their requested allocations. For that same academic year over 140 chartered clubs shared a grand total of $519,468.62, for an average of about 75% of their requested allocations for both semester’s regular marathons. Chartered clubs received an average of $3,700, while secured clubs received an average of $62,764. This is too huge a discrepancy to pass off as a higher status privilege.

The financial requests of WBRS to A-board, a secured club, were documented In the Sept. 11 issue of The Brandeis Hoot. Among the requests were an all-expense-paid trip for two people to the South By Southwest festival in Austin, TX. This secured club had requested sums from A-board almost 70 times what some chartered clubs received in addition to the six-figure number it had requested for Springfest. Although the club was not awarded the funds it sought

for the trip to Texas, it still received well more than chartered clubs received.

The outward differences between the levels of clubs are obvious. The average secured club received over 17 times the amount of funds the average chartered club received in 2013-14. No recog-

nized clubs received allocations, as per Student Union rules. Inwardly, chartered and recognized clubs were eligible for de-chartership or dissolution respectively, while secured clubs’ existence is etched in the Student Union constitution. The only method for removal is through changing the

constitution. This entire hierarchy must undergo change to make the system less unequal.

There are certainly chartered and recognized clubs that have just as much merit as secured clubs, either through exceptional See CLUBS, page 14

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Students could benefit from a good smile and cathartic cuss

By Nicole Porter Staff

As midterm season begins, I can feel a wave of fatigue and melancholy wash over campus. I see people moping around between classes, exhausted after getting little to no sleep because they had to finish an essay or study for an exam. Students come out of classrooms with a disheartened attitude over their latest grade or the amount of homework they have.

Too many people are complaining about how much they hate college

recently. Yik-Yak and other social media sites are filled with messages criticizing the negatives of college but none mentioning the good things.

In my opinion, we all need to take a step back out of our depressed moods and remember to be happy. We need to remember that although exams and essays are important, we can’t jeopardize our mental and emotional health for them. We also need to realize that although at the moment college might be difficult, it can actually be quite enjoyable. Finally we need to lift our moods and calm our minds while still getting all

our work done. To me, two of the easiest ways to do this are through smiling and cursing.

At this moment, most people are probably wondering what cursing and smiling could possibly have in common, but they have similarities. Despite what some people might think, being angry is not a bad thing. Actually, feeling anger and letting it out can be very beneficial to your health. Even cursing, something often taught from a young age to be taboo, can help manage and release pent up anger.

One study from Kelee University in England found that when students were asked to expose their

hands to cold temperatures for 40 seconds and were allowed to scream obscenities, they felt less pain and could endure the temperature longer than the group that couldn’t curse. The scientific term for this is the hypoalgesic effect of swearing. Cursing actually helps to lessen pain and release stress. Now this doesn’t mean you can go right up to your professor and drop an f-bomb, but it does mean that if you stub your toe or are stressed maybe yelling a few obscenities isn’t a bad thing after all.

Being happy and energetic is a challenge a lot of the time, es-

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pecially after getting only four hours of sleep before a chemistry midterm. But that is exactly what we must do to get our work done and enjoy life. When you are feeling lethargic and depressed, it is hard to focus on work. It is hard to even gather the motivation to do it. It is also hard to have a socially and emotionally healthy day because you are only focusing on the negative aspects of your day.

Those moments are when we need to smile the most. Even though it’s the last thing you would think to do when faced with a day of exams and studying, smiling is an easy way to make the day easier.

The act of smiling releases “good feeling” neurotransmitters in your brain, such as dopamine, endorphins and serotonin that can lower your heart rate and relax your body. The serotonin that is released acts as an antidepressant and mood lifter, while the endorphins act as a natural pain reliever. Smiling is one of the best natural mood lifters next to laughing, so pull up that funny YouTube video or text that one friend who can always make you smile. I know it sounds a little cliche but just one smile can make a bad day a little better.

Although smiling and cursing are two very different actions, it can be very beneficial to do more of both. Since college is at times a stressful environment we should all take time to care for our mental health. Whether it is watching a show that makes you smile, spending time with friends or repeating a few expletives to release stress, we need to take our mental wellbeing just as seriously as our physical health. If we take time to de-stress each day and smile at a stranger we pass on the way to class, we can improve the overall atmosphere on campus.

14 OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot

Eliana’s Advice for ironing shirts and ironing out professors

By Eliana Sinoff Staff

Dear Eliana, I want to visit one of my professor’s office hours to ask him for some help, but I have classes during his regular office hours. I’ve emailed him to schedule an appointment twice and he still hasn’t responded to any of my emails. I don’t know how to get in touch with him. It’s a big lecture, so I’d feel odd going up to him in class.

How do I get his attention?

-Disregarded Dear Disregarded, That sounds really frustrating, but there are other ways to get help for a class. If your professor is not great with responding to emails, it might be worth it to work through the oddness and just talk to him one day after class. People do it a lot, even with lectures, so it’s really not as strange as you might think. If you still feel weird about talking to your professor in class, that’s alright too and you can try talking to a TA instead. They are there to help you with questions you have about the class, so they’ll probably be better about responding to emails and you may even feel more comfortable talking to someone closer to your own age. If you want, you can also keep trying to get in touch with the professor through email, but try not to go overboard.

Dear Eliana,

Univ. stress unhealthy SAMPLE, from page 12

I have an important interview for an internship next week, and after I took my shirt out of the dryer, it was all wrinkled! I don’t have an iron, or would even know how to use one, and I don’t want to look like a schlub. Is there any place on campus I can find an iron to use, or even someone to do it for me?

-Wrinkled

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Dear Eliana,

Dear Wrinkled, Unfortunately, as far as I know, there is not a specific place on campus where people can go to iron things.

You could start an ironing club! However, you need not worry because there are other options. You can try steaming your shirt the next time you shower (handheld steamers are also a thing you could possibly borrow/ buy). Another idea is to see if any of your friends use Brandeis’ laundry service and ask them if you can send it to get dry cleaned with their stuff.

Basically, just ask around to see if anyone can help. If not, you can always wear a different shirt, or you have an excuse to buy a new one!

Good luck with the interview!

-Eliana

I hope he responds!

-Eliana

October 9, 2015

I was wondering if you could help me out with something. I was told recently I have bad breath. I don’t understand how, since I brush my teeth at least twice a day, floss and use mouth wash excessively. I feel like my mouth is more sanitized than a hospital ward, but I keep getting told I have bad breath. What can I do to overcome this heinous affliction that I haven’t been doing already?

-Dragonborn Dear Dragonborn, Bad breath is unfortunate, and if you’re doing all that and still having problems, I would recommend seeing a dentist. It might have something to do with your diet, or it could even be some sort of gum disease. In the meantime, all I can suggest is keeping up the good oral hygiene habits, and using gum or mints.

May your breath be minty fresh!

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-Eliana

comings, and maybe one of those common flaws is the source of participants. College students are commonly the youthful image of health, but their stressedout nature makes them a sample that is misrepresentative of the larger population. The ramifications of the choices made by college students are thus far more reaching than its importance in a single individual’s life.

Scientific study and its applications may be how the unique influence of college students indirectly impacts society on a whole. Yet more commonly, it is upon graduation, when students personally carry their “bad habits” into their adult lives. These maladaptive behaviors, which originate from the campus environment, are difficult to shake.

They become part of day-to-day routines or worse, and the negative consequences lead to more serious health issues, where there is either a long road to recovery or no resolution at all.

Such aftermath that people live with may manifest as trauma, physical or emotional in nature.

Binge-drinking could mean a damaged liver, while continued effects of an eating disorder reflect issues of self-image or compulsive tendencies. Outcomes of behaviors chosen as a response to stress just have a way of sticking around.

A college campus is not a bubble cut off from the rest of the world. Yes, such a large number

of people of the same age group and subjected to a very specific set of circumstances is unique to the college setting and rare in almost all other aspects of society. Nevertheless, this unusual situation should be noted, not disregarded.

It is very possible that college students are skewing scientific data.

Their state of health is not congruent or even comparable to the greater population, and that is only emphasized by the state of being a bonafide college student, or in other words, by being a citizen of this community where stress and worrisome behaviors like binge-drinking are the norm.

Furthermore, these not-yet adults are making decisions that will follow them. Eventually, students leave the supposable safety of residence halls and become part of a community. They will be an individual in this larger society, and public health may never be the same as a result.

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Club allocations should not be based on stature CLUB, from page 13

work or through less meaningful work on the side of the secured clubs, or both. In any event, all clubs should be considered for funding on an equal basis rather than on a basis of stature. Just because a secured club has this designation does not mean that it should be automatically entitled to significant sums of money. Allocations and immunity to dissolution should be considered based on club accomplishments, not on a perceived centrality de-

cided years ago. Times change and clubs come and go—except secured clubs.

The entire club system is in dire need of a revamping. First of all, the hierarchy is an outdated concept, and all clubs should be considered for allocations. If they are not considered in need of allocations or do not request them, so be it. There is no need to categorize clubs unqualified for allocations based on a lack of or declined application for chartered status. All clubs should be given equal footing, and that means the

three designations must go. No club should have immunity from dissolution if others do not. Most of all, clubs and organizations should not be able to accrue 70 times the allocations others do just based on stature. As shown in the WBRS case, stature does not mean secured clubs’ allocations requests are any more important than are those of their chartered brethren. Perhaps through similar reforms the inequality in the club system can be driven from Brandeis University.

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SUBMISSION POLICIES The Brandeis Hoot welcomes letters to the editor on subjects that are of interest to the community.

Preference is given to current or former community members and The Hoot reserves the right to edit or reject submissions. The deadline for submitting letters is Wednesday at noon. Please submit letters to letters@thebrandeishoot.com along with your contact information. Letters should not exceed 500 words.

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SPORTS

October 9, 2015

Men’s soccer outscores highly ranked Carnegie-Mellon 4-2

By Zach Cihlar Staff

Third-ranked Brandeis men’s soccer team defeated seventh-ranked Carnegie Mellon in a high-scoring game on Saturday, Oct. 3 at home. It was the first UAA conference matchup of the season for the Judges, who are now 1-0 in games against conference opponents. The victory advanced the team’s overall record to 9-1-0.

From both sides of the field, shots were taken with extreme precision.

The Judges outshot the visiting team with 16 shots, nine of which landed on goal, whereas Carnegie Mellon had 10 total shot opportunities, with seven total on goal. Every shot on goal from the Judges in the first half reached the back of the net, scoring three points in the first half. Josh Ocel ’17 and Robbie Lynch ’16 led Brandeis in shots with three each.

Brandeis goalkeeper Ben Woodhouse ’18 racked in five total saves throughout the game. The opposing goalie matched Woodhouse with five saves. All of the saves executed by the Tartan goalie were achieved in the second half.

The first goal came shortly after the starting whistle, in the fourth minute.

A throw-in from captain Lynch provided the assist for Zach Vieira’s ’17 third goal of the season, which landed in the bottom right corner of the goal.

Another Brandeis goal occurred in the 19th minute from captain Conor Lanahan ’16. On a free kick 35 yards out, Lanahan blasted the ball into the upper-right-hand corner of the goal, tipping the fingertips of the keeper’s

The Brandeis Hoot 15

Co-ed intramural soccer ends in heated battle on turf

By Sarah Jousset Editor

photos by sophia he/ the hoot

and landing in the back of the net.

The goal was Lanahan’s second goal of the season and secured a 2-0 lead for the Judges.

The final goal of the first half for the Judges occurred in the 34th minute and came from the foot of Ocel, who logged his third goal of the season. The assist on the play was given to Joshua Handler ’19, who earned his first assist of the season. The rest of the first half remained 3-0, with no shots from either team.

In the 67th minute, play was stopped for 15 minutes due to injury. In the same minute, a Carnegie Mellon player scored the Tartans’ first goal off a penalty kick to cut into the three-goal deficit.This goal advanced the score to 3-1.

The Judges responded with a fourth goal to progress the game to 4-1 in the 77th minute. Ocel lobbed a cross in front of the goal. The ball was headed directly into the net by Josh Berg ’17, who recorded his second goal of the season.

The last goal, one for Carnegie Mellon, in the 4-2 game occurred in the 86th minute. No more shots would be taken for the duration of the game.

The Judges also faced off against MIT on Tuesday, Oct. 6. The game ended in a 0-0 tie, lasting through double overtime. The team will enter its next game with a 9-1-1 record against Case Western Reserve University, who they are scheduled to play on Sunday Oct. 11 at Case Western in Cleveland.

Thursday, Oct. 1, the coed section of the Brandeis intramural soccer tournament hosted its championship on Gordon Field under the lights. The first- and second-seeded teams faced off in a cold, misty rain. However, the poor weather didn’t keep the two teams from a competitive battle.

The intramural (IM) soccer season ran from Sept. 6-24, with a week of playoffs after the end of the regular season. There were 12 teams that signed up for IM coed soccer this season and sign-ups were open to all Brandeis students. Going into to the postseason, teams are bracketed based on record and sportsmanship rating. S-quad, led by Justin Barash ’16, entered into Thursday night’s final, ranked number 1 in their undefeated season. However, Byong Sun, lead by Colby Smith ’16, came into the game ready for a face off. “I wanted our team to defend our title that we won last year in coed soccer.

I wanted to go out on top since it is my senior year,” stated Smith about the importance he puts on the game.

Byong Sun held the second seed, but also went undefeated in their season.

Both teams had perfect records of 4-0-0.

The two teams, speckled with current and former athletes, went head to head in an intense battle. The S-quad struck first, with a goal by George Popa ’16, who struck the ball past By-

ong Sun’s goalie Jack Fay ’17. However, not soon after that did Byong Sun answer with their own goal by Smith.

Now with the score tied, play became aggressive between the two undefeated teams. However, neither team could manage to get ahead, going into halftime with a score of 1-1.

Both teams used the break to regroup as the pressure mounted. “I take it pretty serious. I don’t like losing at any sport I play, and soccer is one of my favorites,” commented Smith. The break proved beneficial for Byong Sun as they managed to score again early in the second half.

Byong Sun’s Ally Epstein ’16 launched a ball toward the net, which looked as if it would be an easy save for the S-quad goalkeeper. However, Byong Sun’s Liban Aden ’16 saw the play and snuck in front of the goalie, jumping to head the ball and changed the direction of the kick in order to sneak it by S-quad’s goalkeeper. The play ended in an epic collision between Aden and the S-quad goalkeeper, but was successful in earning Byong Sun the goal they would need to win the game.

Byong Sun managed to hold back S-quad for the remainder of the half, ensuring their victory over the first seeded squad. The S-quad players went full out, as the atmosphere got more intense in the last few minutes of the game. However the S-quad’s efforts were to no avail, as the second-seeded Byong Sun beat first-seeded S-quad, 2-1, in an upset.

Volleyball drops three in first round of UAAs

photo by sophia he/ the hoot

By Lily Wageman Staff

This past weekend, the Brandeis volleyball team competed in their first conference action of the season in the University Athletic Association Conference tournament hosted

by New York University. The team is led by head coach Alesia Vaccari, who is in her second year with Brandeis, and assistant coach Alyssa Broccoli who just starting her first year here on staff. The captains for the 2015-2016 season are middle hitter Maddie Engeler ’16 and middle hitter/right hitter Jessica Kaufman ’17.

On Saturday, Oct. 4 the Judges went head to head with Carnegie Mellon and Emory, while on Sunday they met Case Western Reserve University. Despite the Judges’ efforts, the women’s team fell to currently

ranked #5 Carnegie Mellon and #2 Emory on the first day of UAAs and closed out the weekend falling to #3 Case Western.

In their first match against the Carnegie Mellon Tartans, Brandeis’ middle hitter and captain Maddie Engeler ’16 led the team with nine kills, while rookie outside hitter Grace Krumpack ’19 had eight. Allison Harmsworth ’19, a rookie setter, added 15 assists and seven digs, while teammate Yvette Cho ’19 had nine digs to lead the Judges. The first set for the Judges was 25-13 with slight improvement as the game went on with a score of 25-15 in the second set, and 25-19 in the third to seal the Tartans victory over the Judges in a three set match. The Judges struggled to overcome Carnegie Mellon’s strong defense, with seven blocks, while the Tartans hit .250 against just .034 for Brandeis, overpowering the Judges offensively, too.

During their second match on Saturday against Emory, Engeler led the squad again with six kills, while rookie Zara Platt ’19 added five. Jessie Moore ’18 had ten digs to lead all players, matching her career-best.

Harmsworth finished with twelve assists. The Judges ended their first set 25-10 and closed their second set with a score of 25-8, but were able to tighten the score in their third and last set with 25-17. The Judges just couldn’t seem to play up against the nationally ranked Emory team, hitting .034 to the Eagles’ .387.

On the last day of the first round of UAA conference play, the Judges faced off against Case Western, whose team is coached by Brandeis alumna Karen (Chambers) Farrell ’93. Brandeis fell to Case Western in three sets. The Judges could not beat Case Western’s eight blocks offensively, while the Spartans hit .304 compared to the Judges’ .045 hitting percentage for the game. After the first round of conference play, the Judges fell to 3-14 overall and 0-3 in the UAA. The volleyball team is back in action this Saturday, Oct. 9 at Tufts University, playing Colby College at 2:30 p.m. and Tufts University at 5 p.m. The Judges return to the second round of the UAA Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Case Western in Cleveland, Ohio.

co-ed im champions byong-sun

photo courtesy melissa soleimani

16 The Brandeis Hoot

WEEK IN PHOTOS

October 9, 2015

photo by marian siljeholm/the hoot

deis3d printathon

photo courtesy deis3d/thehoot

photo by marian siljeholm /the hoot

photo courtesy deis3d

photo by daniel kang/the hoot

dmitry bykov

photo by adam lamper/the hoot