The Brandeis Hoot - 10-30-09

VOL 6, NO. 10

OCTOBER 30, 2009

H1N1 vaccine to begin Nov.

B R A N D E I S U N I V E R S I T Y ' S C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R

THEHOOT.NET

Rose reopens with permanent collection

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG

BY SEAN FABERY

Editor

Staff

Delivery of the H1N1 flu vaccine to the Brandeis Health Center has been delayed, with H1N1 vaccination clinics now expected to start in mid-to-late November.

Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer originally estimated that the vaccine would be available on-campus by mid-to-late October, in an e-mail sent to the student body on Sept. 11.

Subsequent e-mails sent by Sawyer indicated that delivery of the vaccine had been delayed.

“Production delays by the five companies manufacturing seasonal and H1N1 vaccine have been longer than expected,” said Director of the Health Center Dr. Debra Poaster in an e-mail to the Hoot.

“We hope to have our doses by mid to late November.”

These delays are not unique to Brandeis and have had an impact nationwide. Only 30 million doses of the vaccine will have been made available by the end of October— out of a total of 250 million that the

PHOTOS BY Max Shay/The Hoot

ROSE ART: (Left) Students look at artwork on the upper level of the Rose Art Museum Wednesday night at the reopening of the museum. The museum had been closed since August in preparation for the exhibition, which is the first time ever that all three gallaries of The Rose are showing artwork from the permanent collection exclusively. (Above) Fine Arts majors distributed buttons that read “SAVE THE ROSE” to museum visitors as they entered the museum. The 100-plus buttons disseminated at the opening served as a reminder that the fate of the Rose Art Museum and its collection remains largely unknown, with Chair of the Brandeis Board of Trustees refusing to comment on the Board’s plans for the Museum.

See VACCINE, p. 2

BY NATHAN KOSKELLA Staff

IN THIS ISSUE:

Brandeis outside counsel looking into legal action in response to erroneous article

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

PHOTOS BY YUAN YAO/The Hoot

VILLAGE LIFE: Two juniors bake cookies in The Village. Next semester, these students’ next door neighbors could very well be midyear students.

great chance for our upperclassmen to be role models [for the first-years] about what makes a good Brandeis citizen.”

Olidort, however, offered additional “constructive criticism” of the decision to give midyears

older neighbors.

“The first-years will be living near two wet quads, and [that] will put a strain on them socially,” he said.

Celebrating the World Series miles away from Jersey Sports, page 8

See ROSE, p. 3

Univ. considering action against Harper’s Magazine

Midyear proximity to juniors may pose problem With first-year housing tighter than ever, midyear students moving into the Village Quad next semester will join members of the junior class, the Department of Community Living (DCL) confirmed this week.

While DCL announced last spring that Class of 2013 midyears would be living in the Village, they had planned that the incoming freshmen would have the quad to themselves once the building’s previous residents left for a semester abroad.

The new proximity to upperclassmen concerns Julian Olidort ‘11, who was a midyear student in 2008 and who was a midyear Community Advisor (CA) last year. “[The problem] would be a social adjustment problem: the midyears will be influenced by the upperclassmen, and miss an opportunity to be guided by and with other first-years,” he said.

He went on to say that this fact is only compounded by the fact that the Village is far from Massell and North Quads.

Jenny Abdou the coordinator in charge of Midyear Orientation, however, disagreed. “[Midyear students] hit the ground running,” she said. “I think it is a

The Rose Art Museum reopened Wednesday night as some 200 visitors viewed the largest collection of contemporary art in New England nine months after Brandeis University trustees authorized the sale of the works.

University President Jehuda Reinharz said Wednesday night’s event acts both as a celebration of the museum and as an affirmation that “The Rose is open.”

The exhibit, which features works by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Marc Chagall, and many others, was divided into six sections showcasing six different styles of art.

While the museum itself is open, the question of what will happen to its art is yet unanswered. Malcolm Sherman, chair of the Board of Trustees, refused to comment on the board’s intentions Wednesday night.

University Provost Marty Krauss agreed with Reinharz saying, “The Rose is saved. That’s the

See VILLAGE, p. 4

Brandeis is considering what legal action it could take against Harper’s Magazine, which published an erroneous article about the effect the university’s capital projects over the past 10 years could have had on its current financial crisis, President Jehuda Reinharz announced in an e-mail message to the faculty last week.

“This is in no way a ‘sour grapes’ reaction to an unfavorable story about Brandeis,” Reinharz wrote.

“Once we determined that there was a lack of journalistic ethics in the manner in which the magazine conducted its research and reporting, we aggressively fought against the publication of this article.”

The article, entitled “Voodoo Academics: Brandeis University’s hard lesson in the real economy,” contained many incorrect statistics about the university and included many unattributed quotations.

Reinharz wrote in the e-mail that while Christopher Beha in-

All Maine needs is love and a no vote on Question 1 Impressions, page 16

formed the university that he was writing an article about capital projects at Brandeis, he never contacted the administration for interviews or comments, and that the university only learned that the article had come to fruition when the university was contacted by a fact checker at Harper’s Magazine.

“What is important here is that the basic rules of journalism insist that media outlets must make attempts to interview sources for a particular story before any story is moved to the ‘fact checking’ phase,” Reinharz wrote. “This was not done by the reporter for Harper’s.”

Beha did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

During the fact checking process, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French spoke with Beha and “corrected the inaccuracies...and provided additional information and background,” Reinharz wrote.

“None of the information French provided in these conversations was used in the article,” he wrote.

Due to the factual inaccuracies in the article and Harper’s refusal to correct the errors once they See HARPER’S, p. 2

AUDIO @ THEHOOT.NET Third Wavelength: Standing up for women in comedy.

Off the Beaten Path: Swilling seasonal brews at the Burren in Davis Square.

2 The Hoot

October 30, 2009

N E W S University considers legal action against Harper’s Mag

Klausen discusses her book and cartoons that ‘shook the world’

BY JON OSTROWSKY Staff

Professor Jytte Klausen (POL) addressed the causes of violence and controversy over a Muslim cartoon editorial published in the Danish newspaper JyllandsPosten in September 2005, as well as the controversy that surrounded the publishing of her book “The Cartoons the Shook the World” at a panel discussion in the International Lounge of the Usdan Student Center on Tuesday.

Explaining the purpose of her book, Klausen was joined by Professor Eileen McNamara (JOUR) and Professor Joseph E.B. Lumbard (NEJS) in a lecture and panel discussion in the International Lounge of the Usdan Student Center on Tuesday.

“I regarded this as a detective story, and I had to follow the leads,” Klausen said.

The series of blasphemous cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad enraged some members of the Muslim community and eventually led to violence and riots that resulted in approximately 200 deaths.

“At the end of the day, what proved to be more important was interpretation, rather than what actually appeared,” Klausen said.

“Newspapers became actors in this whole story because they too started reprinting [the] cartoons,” she said.

McNamara criticized the decision by Yale University Press not to reprint the cartoons in Klausen’s book.

“The irony that a university press would make the decision not to publish the cartoons that gave rise to the violence and the controversy that followed is anathema not just to the idea of academic freedom but to the specifics of this case,” McNamara said.

McNamara also said she believed the decision not to reprint the cartoons was due to fear of provoking further violence, but that she doubted that any violence would occur by reprinting the previously printed cartoons in an academic work.

“The professor’s book makes clear it isn’t the cartoons alone that were the provocation, it was the manipulation and use of those cartoons by interests in political parties,” McNamara said.

Klausen also explained her intention in the creation of the book. She aimed for her book to explore the factors that turned the cartoons into a global controversy.

“It was a twisted tale, but I hope that, nonetheless, using my book, it’s possible to have a reasonable discussion about what the problem actually was,” Klausen said.

McNamara argued that Klausen’s book examines the causes of an international problem from a scholarly perspective, and the cartoons analyzed in the book should have been reprinted in order to better understand the analysis.“What you can’t applaud is a decision to let fear dictate a publishing decision,” McNamara said.

HARPER’S (from p. 1)

PHOTO BY Phil Small/The Hoot

Chairman of the Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Program Professor Lumbard gave the reasons behind the violent response to the cartoons.

“We all know that satire is not an innocent game,” Lumbard said.

“All of us have lines that we believe should not be crossed.”

Lumbard focused on the typical misunderstanding by nonMuslims of the significance of Muhammad.

“As Professor Klausen’s book demonstrates, almost none of the players in this unfortunate affair can be exonerated,” he said.

“But rather than seeking to un-

derstand one another and find a common ground, they allowed the affair to spin out of control in an endless cycle of incrimination,” Lumbard said.

“The vast majority of Westerners are unable to understand that insulting the prophet is for many Muslims, the greatest of insults,” Lumbard said.

Lumbard also explained that one of the principles of Islam is advice from the Prophet to never act in anger.

“My hope is that Professor Klausen’s work can be some small step towards moving us towards an actual dialogue,” Lumbard said.

were informed of them, Reinharz said the university’s administration “feel[s] that some affirmative course of action must be taken to protect the reputation of Brandeis.”

While Reinharz did not say exactly what sort of legal action the university is looking into, and outside counsel for the university Tom Reilly did not respond to requests for comment by press time, any suit by the university for libel could be difficult to prove.

In a libel suit the university would be required to prove not only that facts printed in the Harper’s article were incorrect, but that they were written with an “intention of malice.”

In his e-mail to the faculty, Reinharz wrote that Beha mentioned to Vice President for Capital Projects Dan Feldman that his interest in the university stemmed from a conversation he had had with his aunt, Ann Beha. Ann Beha is the founder of Beha & Associates, which Reinharz described as “an architectural firm that has unsuccessfully pursued business with Brandeis.”

If there were a libel suit, the university could possibly use this fact in an attempt to prove malicious intent.

Despite the hardships a legal battle could bring, however, Reinharz wrote, “I will not allow anyone to denigrate our administration, faculty, students, and alumni.”

Capital projects not cause of univ. financial crisis H1N1 vaccine delivery delayed

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

President Jehuda Reinharz sent an e-mail message to all faculty members last week debunking an article written in Harper’s Magazine entitled, “Voodoo Academics: Brandeis University’s hard lesson in the real economy,” that raised questions about the effects Brandeis’ capital projects over the last 10 years may have had on the university’s current financial crisis.

In reality, the university’s current budget crisis, which includes a $23 million budget gap over the next four years, is related more to the nation’s economic crisis than to the university’s actions.

At the end of Fiscal Year 2009, the university had a negative 17 percent return on its endowment, an unrealized loss of $125.4 million, as a result of the faltering stock market.

The Harper’s article, written by Christopher Beha, suggests that this loss is a result of the university shifting its investment strategy from low-risk, low-yield investments to alternative investments like hedge funds in the wake of the national economic crisis. However, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French

wrote in an e-mail that this is false.

“Brandeis has been implementing a diversified investment strategy, including alternatives, for over a decade,” he wrote. “Our strategy did not change during the economic crisis. Over the long-term, the model has proved beneficial through various economic climates.”

Reinharz also wrote in his e-mail to the faculty, “For FY09, the Endowment’s hedge fund investments reported an aggregate loss of 5 percent, compared to the S&P 500 [or stock market] loss of 17.4 percent.”

Additionally, Senior Vice President of Administration and Finances Jeff Apfel announced at last month’s faculty meeting that the university is primarily concerned with how to solve Brandeis’ budgetary problems in the short term than in the long term.

In his letter, Reinharz wrote that the Harper’s Magazine article, which used incorrect figures to describe Brandeis’ current financial situation, had “a lack of journalistic ethics in the manner in which the magazine conducted its research and reporting.”

“This is in no way a “‘sour grapes’” reaction to an unfavorable story about Brandeis,” Reinharz wrote.

According to Reinharz’s letter, the

article was written by Christopher Beha without any interviews from the university administration.

The article also accuses Brandeis of being irresponsible in its construction of capital projects, saying the university has been “living beyond its means, paying on credit for a seemingly endless string of expansion and renovation projects.”

In fact, the university developed a “campus master plan” in 2000 and 2001 that “was intended to provide options for addressing and prioritizing the serious deficiencies in the university’s facilities at that time,” French wrote.

“The capital projects that have been carried out have been carefully targeted to address those priorities—for example, for new residence halls and new academic buildings,” he wrote.

Since 1999, “just under half of the cost of major capital projects at Brandeis has been gift funded,” Reinharz wrote in his e-mail. Many of those gifts are given as restricted gifts and cannot be used for any other purpose.

Forty-three percent of the cost of major capital projects since 1999 have been debt-funded, or funded with a loan. The rest has been paid for with university funds that had been set aside for capital projects.

VACCINE (from p. 1)

national government has ordered.

Massachusetts initially expected to have 1.2 million doses of the vaccine by the end of October. Instead, only 700,000 doses will be available by then. These doses are primarily being sent to obstetric and pediatric practices, as pregnant women and children under the age of 18 are being prioritized. Emergency health care workers and children’s caregivers are also among the first to receive the vaccine. People under the age of 24—a group which includes most Brandeis undergraduates—will be next in line.

“Boston-area college health groups have been lobbying the state to get some of this early vaccine, given the reality of dormitory style living, and we still hope this will happen,” Poaster said.

“We originally ordered 3,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine in early September when the first orders were taken. [Once they arrive], we have plans in place to run large clinics to give out those vaccine doses in an expeditious manner.” If the vaccine arrives in small amounts as opposed to one large allotment, clinics may be prioritized so that those at higher risk—students with asthma, diabetes, and those who are immunosuppressed or on steroids—will

get the vaccine first, she said.

The health center expects to receive only the injectable form of the vaccine. The nasal H1N1 vaccine, which people between the ages of 2 and 49 without underlying health problems can also use, will not be available on campus. Additional doses of the seasonal flu vaccine will also continue to become available, though the production of the vaccine has also been delayed. The Health Center ordered 1,000 doses, which is twice the amount they have given out in the past. Between 500 and 600 students have received the seasonal flu vaccine thus far.

“We have been told that our remaining [seasonal flu] vaccine order is being shipped in small allotments, and we expect an additional small amount in the next two weeks,” Poaster said.

The last of the state’s seasonal flu supply is expected to arrive by the end of November, allowing those who have yet to get the seasonal flu shot to get it before flu season starts in full force mid-winter.

Though less than 15 percent of the ordered doses of H1N1 vaccines are now available, the Center for Disease Control also expects that everyone who wishes to get vaccinated will be able to do so by January.

NEWS

October 30, 2009

The Hoot 3

Eco-reps encourage students to make their dorm rooms ‘green’ certified

BY NATHAN KOSKELLA Staff

A model ‘green room’ was displayed Thursday in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium, in order to demonstrate the university’s program piloted earlier this month by the Brandeis eco-reps, environmental advocates, and Students for Environmental Action (SEA).

In the corner of the atrium, the model stood as a mock dorm room, albeit with a bike and cardboard signs highlighting ways to save energy and thereby acquire green room certification. The green model as erected boasted signs reading, “Cut Down on Paper Towel Use,” and “Pedal!!!

Don’t Drive around Waltham or Campus.”

The green room model was viewed as the best way to promote the certification program, but Siegel saw it as only a step in a long progression. “It’s a good process, it’s come along slowly, but I’m confident in my faith in the student body,” she said.

SEA had several members working directly on the program and in constructing the model. “The model is a really eye-catching way to get students’ attention for the Green Room program, and to encourage them to sign up,” Hannah Saltman ’12, SEA’s vice president, wrote an in e-mail to The Hoot.

The promoters wanted to use

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

GREEN ROOMS: This model “green room” in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium demostrates how students can help the environment in their everyday lives by conserving water and energy.

the actual presentation to advertise the environmental platform. “We were thinking, ‘What [was] the best use of our resources,’ as a way to promote the green room,” Janna Cohen-Rosenthal ’03, campus sustainability coordinator and eco-rep supervisor, said.

Associates for a green campus took turns stationed at the model, answering questions for would-be environmentalists. “It’s nice to see people, because the model gets

more curious eyes,” Hannah Siegel ’10, a SEA member, said, “and hopefully their curious eyes will lead to some type of action.”

The green room, the newest green campaign, offers an individual aspect students can take personally.

“The program was instituted to give students small steps they can take to green their own individual behaviors. When a dorm room is stamped with a ‘Green Certified’

seal, it gives students the opportunity to publicly show that they are making a difference with their actions and that their peers can as well,” Saltman wrote.

The university program allows students to obtain a certificate if they promote green living through a number of room adaptations, including energy-saving electrical habits like pulling out chargers as well as using cold water and recycling, as previously

reported in The Hoot.

The initiative has had over 180 sign-ups so far, according to Saltman. “Our ultimate goal would be for everyone at Brandeis to have a green-certified dorm room or suite,” she wrote.

Broadening in scope, she also talked about the success of other green projects SEA and the university are pursuing and the green room’s relationship to them.

“Like the green fees campaign—where the concept is of each student contributing—it generally has been received well,” Siegel said.

The green movement on campus as a whole is experiencing success, as Siegel views it. “It’s a good ‘energy,’ pardon the pun, in the people, with [the movement] having the backing of seemingly the entire student body,” she said.

At the green room model site Thursday, future SEA and ecoevents were also advertised, including upcoming “Meatless Mondays,” where students would voluntarily not eat meat on Mondays to conserve energy and lessen their impact on the environment.

In addition, SEA will take part in The Leadership Campaign, a youth campaign during which activists spend Sunday nights sleeping on Boston Common to convince the Massachusetts Legislature to commit to ensuring the state run on entirely clean energy within 10 years.

Rose shows permanent collection ROSE (from p. 1)

headline for this event.”

Nine months ago the president and board of trustees decided it would close the Rose and sell the collection to help mitigate its financial crisis. The university was reeling from the recession, with Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Peter French estimating the endowment was headed for a 35 percent unrealized loss.

Since then, that loss has been pegged at 17 percent.

Three benefactors of the museum are currently seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the sale of artwork they donated. The case will be tried in Suffolk Probate Court on June 29. The attorney general’s office has also opened up an investigation into the university and its potential decision to sell pieces from the collection.

Visitors at the exhibit were greeted by Fine Arts majors, who distributed free buttons saying “Save the Rose.”

“We are here to show how students do support the museum and to make sure that it stays open, and that the administration and the Board of Trustees knows that closing the museum or selling its art is not OK,” Emily Leifer ‘11 said as she distributed the buttons.

Administrators present at the opening, however, were less than pleased with the buttons Leifer and her colleagues distributed.

President Reinharz’s wife, Professor Shulamit Reinharz (SOC), approached the students and said, “If you want to keep doing something damaging to the university and the museum, then keep doing what you’re doing.”

“They are misguided,” she later said.

“They should be saying ‘I support The Rose.’ The Rose has already been saved.”

Krauss said she was pleased with the

number of students who attended. “When I saw the crowd tonight, tears came to my eyes that so many students would be here in support of the museum,” Krauss said.

Even so, tension surrounding the future of the museum was apparent in the Rose Art Museum’s cell phone tour, compiled by graduate students in the Cultural Productions program.

In the audio tour for Roy Lichtenstein’s “Forget it! Forget me!,” two graduate students act out the conversation between two pop-art characters as though they are arguing about whether to be sold at auction.

In the painting, the man says “Forget it! Forget Me! I’m fed up with your kind,” which the cultural productions students interpreted as representing the art world.

In the audio, the man tells the woman, who represents the university’s desire to sell the artwork, “I am not sacrificing my artistic integrity in the name of the almighty dollar...We can’t just be split up, we’re a collection.”

Rose family members were also present at the museum’s reopening.

While Meryl Rose, the family member engaged in the legal battle with the university over the museum, did not attend, Brandeis alumnae Francine Koslow Miller ‘73 was present.

Miller is the author of a book about the university’s handling of the issue entitled “The Rape of The Rose.” She handed out pamphlets on a reading of her book next month.

While the night was full of players in the Rose’s future, for Sophie Krupp ‘12, who has been to multiple Rose exhibits, the opening was just an opportunity to see the museum’s permanent collection.

“I really love it. The art is just great,” she said. “This exhibit feels different from the others because so many people turned out to see the collection.”

4 The Hoot

NEWS

October 30, 2009

Some members of Student Memorializing the fall of the Berlin Wall its control,” she said. “They were “I was one of the first allowed Union Constitutional Review the shield and sword of the par- to see the files in 1992—[the Stasi is interesting: they were not had] 8,000 sheets of paper on Committee appointed, not all Brandeis hosted both a pro- ty—it the shield and sword of the people ‘Biermann,’” he said. “You see that

BY NATHAN KOSKELLA Staff

democracy official and a unique German Cold war Hero, Tuesday at the event “Twenty Years After,” a remembrance of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, sponsored by the Center for German and European Studies.

Marianne Birthler, the German federal commissioner in charge of the records of the former Communist regime’s secret police force—the Stasi, as well as Wolf Biermann, a famous singer-songwriter and critic of the Communists in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) were the main commentators.

Their speeches were focused on Germany’s past both before and after the war, and the repercussions these events have had on today’s world.

While introducing the event with her department colleague Prof. Melanie Sherwood, Professor Sabine von Mering (GRALL) explained to the audience that she and her fellow professor had grown up on opposite sides of a divided Berlin.

“Twenty-one years ago, this would have been impossible,” von Mering said.

Bither explained to the audience the Stasi mindset, as a way of explaining what German life was like under the Soviet Union.

“The Stasi were by design meant to keep the whole of society under

BY DESTINY D. AQUINO Editor

Nine students were appointed this week to the Student Union Constitutional Review Task Force, which will be charged with reviewing the Student Union Constitution.

The Student Union Executive Board appointed Director of Community Advocacy Jenna Brofsky ‘11; the Student Union Senate, by a two-thirds majority vote in executive session, elected Ziv Quad Senator Ryan J. Fanning ’11. In addition, Jessica Steinberg ’10 will be the secured non-media representative and Nipun Marwaha ’12 will represent competitive non-sports.

According to Article 8, Section 1 of the Student Union Constitution, “Every four years there shall be established an independent Constitutional Review Task Force charged with conducting a full review of all aspects of the Union, including the operation of clubs, Secured Organizations, and Union Government.”

Though only nine students have been appointed, the task force will consist of 16 students, each representing a constituency that is addressed in the Union Constitution.

Student Union President Andy Hogan will appoint six of the remaining members, including three alumni of the College of Arts and Sciences, one community advisor, and two members of the Brandeis community at-large.

Executive Senator Jenna Rubin ‘11 and Director of Communications Sidney Reuben ‘10 had originally planed on having the entire task force appointed by today because “the committee really needs a lot of time to [meet and review]” Rubin said.

Rubin and Reuben are still awaiting appointments from the Office of Student Affairs and the Intercultural Community as well as all of Hogan’s appointments.

When choosing appointments, each constituency took a different approach.

Secured non-media includes Waltham Group, Student Events and BEMCO. BEMCO chose not to be involved in the constitutional review process. When choosing a representative, Waltham Group and Student Events asked their members to vote for a representative. The directors of both groups then voted amongst themselves for their final appointment.

Rubin sent out an e-mail to all art and performance groups informing them of a meeting that was held Wednesday evening to choose their representative.

Only three people showed up and Andrew Litwin ’11 was interested in being the representative, so the other two students allowed

him to be the appointment.

Director of Club Sports Ben White chose the club sport representative from the Council of Club Sports, which includes seven members.

Out of the seven members, one member, Benjy Cooper ’11, was interested in representing the club sports, so he was chosen.

Rubin, who will be scheduling the task force meetings, told The Hoot in an e-mail that no facet of the Union would have an influence over what the task force reviewed, and ultimately decided regarding the Constitution.

“It’s not up to the Senate and Eboard to dictate what will be done or looked at. I expect that each member of the committee will come to the table with their own ideas,” Rubin said.

Marwaha plans to “make sure the groups are represented correctly according to what the ‘people’ want.”

Both Fanning and Brofsky felt that the security of the Racial Minority Senate Seat and the constitutional definition of that position would be a top priority of theirs.

Fanning added that a change in Senate Monetary Resolution guidelines so that a greater majority of clubs and individuals would be allowed access to the Senate’s discretionary fund would be one of his personal initiatives.

or constitutional rights.”

Birthler then discussed with the guests the role her agency has taken in bringing the long-repressed former GDR in unity with West Germany and incorporating it into the world of Western democracies. “[The commission] informs the public about the structure and methods of the Communist dictatorship, educates on the conditions [of the regime], ”she said.

“We give every citizen the right of access to their files, and also, a right to know information about informants on them[selves],” Birthler said.Over 1.7 million people have availed themselves of this opportunity, and Birthler said the records commission is expecting there to be 100,000 requests this calendar year.”

Birthler indicated the importance this can then have on academia.

“All students, from all countries, can gain experience from the primary documents” in the Stasi archives, she said.

She left the crowd with a notable point “Living with history and coming to terms with your past is very important to a free, democratic society,” Birthler said.

Biermann agreed with Birthler also expressing his passion for keeping an accountable record of a dark time in German history.

you are [apparently] very important to people,” Biermann said, but that in itself can be frightening.”

Biermann, whose parents died in the Polish Nazi prison camp Aschwitz during World War II, is a veteran citizen of not one but two totalitarian regimes.

“I was interested in how [the Stasi period] relates to the Nazi times,” he said, “and I compared.”

Biermann noted that the Stasi had an average stockpile of 50 times more information compared to that of the Nazi Gestapo.

He said the comparison says something about the strength of the occupied German people.

“The Communists needed more [secret files] because so many people resisted,” he said.

Biermann then sang several self-written songs regarding the German resistance.

“The power of the [soviet] regime was our fear,” Biermann explained. “The function of my songs in this time is to diminish the fear.”

To von Merring, who grew up listening to Biermann’s songs, his preformance was “powerful and inspiring.”

“I grew up with [listening to] him [Biermann],” von Mering said. “He represents to us a symbol of the Cold War and that it’s over. It’s a big deal for me.”

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NEWS

October 30, 2009

The Brandeis Brief CAC holds fundraiser Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) held a fundraiser modeled after a coffeehouse Wednesday night in Ridgewood A. Voices of Soul and To Be Announced were two of several groups who performed. Between acts, CAC asked trivia questions relating to cancer and sold cancer-themed merchandise and smoothies to raise funds.

Colleges Against Cancer is a national college group associated with the American Cancer Society, aiming to eliminate cancer through education, advocacy, survivorship and the event Relay For Life, an overnight walkathon to raise awareness and donations.

The money raised will be used to fund future CAC events, President Nadine Channaoui ’10 said. On Nov. 11 CAC will be going to Hope Lodge, an organization run by the American Cancer Society as a place for out-of-town cancer patients to stay during outpatient treatment.

When CAC Education Chair Sarah Cohen ’11 decided to combine a fundraiser with immunity boosting and cancer reducing foods such as oranges, broccoli, and guacamole, CAC decided they should add performances and also sell items, which then made it similar to a coffeehouse.

Other upcoming CAC events include the Great American Smokeout, an annual national event to encourage Americans to quit tobacco smoking, on Nov. 19, and the annual Relay For Life. Brandeis will host Relay in the Gosman Convocation Center for the third time. The tentative dates for Brandeis Relay For Life 2010 are Apr. 24 and 25.

By Leah Finkelman

Goldstone discussion to be held Sunday The Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life will hold a discussion Sunday about the United Nations Report on its Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict in preparation for head of the mission Justice Richard Goldstone’s visit on Thursday.

The event will be held on Sunday at 7 p.m. in the ASAC building directly across the Loop Road from Heller. The discussion about the report, its context and its major themes will be lead by Daniel Terris, director of the Ethics Center.

Refreshments will be served.

By Ariel Wittenberg

Jaffe to announce JBS programs next week Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe said he had yet to make the final decisions regarding the Justice Brandeis Semester (JBS) proposals due to the fact that both the Alumni and Trustee Boards met on campus this week and therefore he has had little time to completely review the budgets for these proposals.

Jaffe said that he would make the decisions as soon as possible most likely mid-next week.

In addition, Jaffe clarified that students are not required to take a semester off if they participate in the pilot JBS. While taking a semester off will allow students to participate in internships and experiences over the fall or spring they would not otherwise have been able to, students are more then welcome to stay on campus during the rest of their Brandeis careers according to Alyssa Grinberg, JBS Manager.

Participating in a JBS may also allow students to graduate early or allow midyears to catch up on their credits.

By Destiny D. Aquino

The Hoot 5

Midyears to move into Village in winter VILLAGE (from p. 1)

Senior Director of DCL Jeremy Leiferman said the number of juniors actually living with midyears will be minimal, and said, “right now, the majority of Village residents will be going abroad.”

Leiferman then made the case that Village housing will even be beneficial for the midyears. “The goal is [for midyears] to be distinctly separated. At first [when introduced six years ago], midyears were in many locations, but now we have them all in one area,” he said.

When asked a question regarding the older students’ living in the same hall as the newly arrived first-year students, Leiferman said that the students could rise to the occasion. “The midyear population is unique—it’s a challenge for them, and [The Department of Admissions] selects midyears very carefully, for those students who will be able to transition more easily,” he said.

Olidort also worries that placing the midyears in the Village will isolate them from their fellow first-years.

“The issue would be the midyears’ being in a non-first-year quad,” said Olidort.

As a member of a midyear class, Ray Persaud ’12 said he could see the difficulties of living isolated from their fellow first-years. “In Usen, [the midyears] were all together, but we still had the first-year class,” Persaud said.

I really don’t think it’s a good idea,” Persaud continued. “Coming in as a midyear, you’re already out of the loop…for midyears,

who are already a semester behind, it will be even harder to get to know their fellow classmates.”

Abdou disagrees. “I don’t worry about their interaction [with others in their class] because there are so many programs; from the First-Year Committee and Student Activities and Students Events’ activities, [they will interact],” Abdou said.

There are also concerns that the difficult adjustment for midyears could be exacerbated by the fact that there will be three CAs for the class, a decline from four CAs

for the Midyear Class of 2012.

Discipline for the midyear class is another foreseen challenge for CAs and coordinators.

“There are some rambunctious midyears, but my residents weren’t problematic,” Olidort said.

Persaud said that his class had a lot of problems with behavior and other rules, at least in terms of the number of students written up and cited.

“The disciplinary problems will get even worse, especially with the upperclassmen there,” he said.

Union endowment committee chosen

BY DESTINY D. AQUINO Editor

Student Union President Andy Hogan ’11 appointed eight members to the Committee on Endowment Ethics and Responsibility (CEER) Thursday evening.

CEER’s main goal is to improve the “F” grade the university received from GreenReportCard. org on the endowment transparency; the university received a “A” or “B” on all other green indicators. In addition the committee will report basic suggestions to Senior Vice President of Administration and Finances, Jeff Apfel.

A campus wide e-mail was sent to students on Oct. 21 asking students to apply to be on the committee. According the email

CEER will “serve as a channel for community involvement in the investment decisions made by the University pertaining to social and ethical issues.”

The email further states, “The committee will research and make recommendations to the future executive vice president of the University administration regarding initiating shareholder resolutions, and also will make recommendations regarding targeted divestment, new investment, or changes in investment levels. Committee members will meet every two weeks and will research to prepare recommendations and reports.”

The majority of applicants were accepted in order to use their ambitions and energy to make

changes and therefore make the committee a success, said Hogan.

Applicants were asked what they personally wanted to accomplish on the committee and why.

Chairs to CEER have not yet been chosen and will be selected in the near future, said Hogan.

As of now there are no plans to have CEER report to the Student Union Senate. However, Hogan plans to report the progress he has made in creating CEER at his next executive report to the Senate.

The students appointed are as followed: Sara Robinson ’12, Josh Hoffman-Senn ’12, Evan GreenLowe ’10, Beau Bonness ’11, Amy Mandel ’10, Nipun Marwaha ’12, Matt Gabrenya ’13, Coleman Mahler ’13

Got a news tip?

E-mail news@thehoot.net

6 The Hoot

October 30, 2009

F E AT U R E S

Former theater arts student combines passion with service

BY ROBIN LICHTENSTEIN Staff

Like most seniors, Gabrielle Young ’09 had no idea what she was going to do with herself after graduation.

“I was having one of those classic ‘I’m a senior and don’t know what I’m doing for the rest of my life’ moments,’” she said.

She knew she had her summer accounted for, having landed an internship in Washington, D.C., but her plans ended there.

“I made a Post-it with an ideal schedule on it, [detailing] what my life should be,” she said.

Young is lucky in that, at least for now, her ideal schedule is coming true. Starting in September, she began interning with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, better known as the Kennedy Center.

Founded in 1971 as a memorial to President Kennedy, the Center is affiliated today with the National Symphony Orchestra and serves as a support system for up and coming artists as well as a stage for the arts.

The Princeton Review has ranked interning at the center as one of the top 100 internship programs in the country.

“I’m happy to be here. I’m not thinking of it as ‘I am one of the select few.’ I’m here for such a short time and I want to learn as much as I can,” Young said.

The Kennedy Center also has an education department that falls under the arts management program, where Young is completing her internship in the Community Partnerships Division.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like,” she said.

The department works to create a relationship with public schools in the area by bringing in all types of artists. Young deals specifically with America’s Promise, a program that brings the arts to Title I schools, or schools that have a large lowincome student body, and where at least 40 percent receive some sort of government-subsidized lunch.

Young is in charge of a $10,500

budget that she helps grant to schools so they can either attend Kennedy Center events, or so that they can bring Kennedy Center programs to the schools. The job involves a lot of paperwork, but Young says it’s worth it.

“I really like it; it’s a new challenge,” she said.

Young, who majored in theater arts and minored in education studies, hardly expected to be handling money when she left college.

“It’s definitely a lot more budgets and contracts than I was trained for,” she said.

The payoff makes the learning curve worth it, though. Young recently accompanied Bryan Collier, an artist and educator, to an elementary school where he helped the kids create collages.

Young had to arrange Collier’s transportation and deal with the logistics of the visit, but in the end, “all the paperwork came together when the kids held up their collages,” she said.

Young initially came across the internship online, and finally decided to pursue it during finals week of her senior year.

After all, it was a perfect fit: Young wanted to pursue arts management, and the internship offered just that. As she explained, arts programs need behind-thescenes organizers in the same way that a baseball team needs a manager.

When applying for the internship, Young was careful to make sure her application would be of the highest quality, which meant putting together a tight resume, a good cover letter, glowing recommendations, and a writing sample. “[The] Hiatt [Career Center] got to know me very well,” she said.

Young credits her resources at Brandeis with helping her get the internship.

She was able to get a recommendation from Scott Edmiston, founder of the Brandeis Office of the Arts, whereas in other schools the same kind of recommendation might not be possible because the school is too big or might not fos-

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

KENNEDY CENTER: After graduating in May, former theater arts student Gabrielle Young is now in the midst of a four month long internship at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts where she is in charge of $10,500 grant budget for schools.

ter the same types of relationships between students and professors as Brandeis does.

“Even my boss at Kennedy acknowledged that that was something pretty special,” she said.

“She was a leading light in the Brandeis performing arts community,” Edminston wrote in an e-mail to The Hoot.

“There is a lot of mythology about careers in the arts – that

you won’t find work and will wind up waiting tables,” he continued.

“Gavi’s success is an example of the range of really interesting, meaningful and prestigious career options that are out there for Brandeis arts students.”

Young hopes that life after completing the four-month-long internship at Kennedy will be as rewarding as it is now.

She hopes to start her own

children’s theater company, and maybe go to New York City and do some auditions.

“You’re only 22 once,” she said.

She knows that nothing is ever going to be quite as big as the Kennedy Center, but that doesn’t faze her.

“It’s definitely a rare opportunity, and I try to keep that in mind every time I walk into the building,” she said.

F E AT U R E S

October 30, 2009

The Hoot 7

Shining the spotlight on teamwork A Q & A with Supervisor of Grounds and Vehicles Dennis Finn

BY CHRISSY CALLAHAN Editor

The day Supervisor of Grounds and Vehicles Dennis Finn was awarded the 2004 Lou Ennis Staff Award, President Jehuda Reinharz made a speech to honor his accomplishments. Reinharz told the story of an email that had been sent that day to the Office of Facilities Services; an email on which the president had been copied. Reinharz continued by telling the audience how he’d seen Finn’s response only moments later.

Looking back on this day now, Finn refuses to take the credit for this quick response.

“So I was the big hero,” Finn says. “Well, behind that was that Marie, the support secretary [in facilities] called me [to inform me of the email].

So I [took care of it] and like I said, I was the ‘hero,’ but it’s that kind of support and teamwork that did it and that’s the way we are here.”

As supervisor of grounds and vehicles, Finn supervises contractors and in-house staff at Brandeis to oversee decisions regarding landscaping, snow plowing, roads and walkways, facilities vehicle maintenance, trash pickup and recycling.

He also purchases all the equipment and supplies used in all the above operations. As vehicle supervisor, he also deals with filing insurance claims when a Brandeis vehicle is involved in an accident.

Admittedly uncomfortable in the limelight, Finn prefers to applaud the work of his team of workers and express his gratitude for their support.

A Walpole, Mass. native, Finn lives in Foxborough with his wife and has two adult sons.

Finn sat down with The Hoot to discuss his work, his gratitude for the strong team behind him and how he gets around campus in an unorthodox way.

Questions & Answers The Brandeis Hoot: So how long have you worked at Brandeis?

Dennis Finn: I started in 1999; September of ‘99.

BH: Where did you work before Brandeis?

DF: Before that I was in charge of the grounds at a Polaroid plant in Norwood, Mass.

BH: So what kind of work do you do in facilities?

DF: My official title is supervisor of grounds and vehicles.

I have a crew of eight grounds people and one mechanic. We meet in the morning. I give people their assignments [and] I go about helping them get started.

Then the day just takes off; it’s so hard to describe.

It’s a wild ride all day long, it really is. There’s just always a lot to do and it’s hard to keep up with it all.

BH: What’s the most rewarding and frustrating aspect of your job?

DF: I’d say the most rewarding is two things, really. One is just having a chance to help people that come to you for help; I get a lot of requests from different groups.

The other thing is, I am a horticulturist and a landscaper. So… if you do something to the landscape and it works out well, that gives me a lot of satisfaction.

[One frustrating part of the work] is losing track of commitments and things you agreed to

do. Sometimes there are just a lot of balls to keep in the air.

Try as I might to write everything down and remember all the requests we get, there are times that things get forgotten, and then I have let someone down. This is very frustrating.

BH: You received the 2004 Lou Ennis Staff Award. How did it feel to have your work recognized in this way?

DF: I’ll be honest, it’s very uncomfortable for me…I don’t enjoy being in the limelight. I really would rather kind of fly under the radar BH: You must interact a lot with students, right? Do you get a lot of positive feedback?

DF: Yes, that’s a really enjoyable part; I really enjoy working with the students. It’s just a very exciting thing because they’re always pretty psyched about everything they’re doing. And it’s an opportunity to help people out that need some help.

They’re always very grateful for anything we do. But you’ve got to remember that it’s part of my job; that’s what I’m here for.

What I try to explain to people, is [that] I’m out front a lot – with students, professors [and] other staff people – just because of the position that I’m in.

There are a lot of people that aren’t in those sorts of positions, but they work just as hard, if not harder than I do. And I just feel a little uncomfortable about getting

Making A Difference PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

AVOIDING THE LIMELIGHT: Supervisor of Grounds and Vehicles Dennis Finn is quick to acknowledge all of the hard work of the staff in facilities. “We’re a team here,” he says.

recognition when they don’t get it because they’re not in that sort of position.

BH: In keeping with the theme of this “Making a Difference” series, who has made a difference for you during your time at Brandeis?

DF: Most certainly my boss, [Director of Facilities] Pete Baker, has been a big influence on me; [he] has really helped me a lot.

[Vice President of Campus Operations] Mark Collins [has also helped me a lot].

BH: I hear you get around campus in a pretty environmen-

tally friendly way.

DF: Yes, I [bike around campus]. It’s [because] I can’t find any place to park a vehicle; I can get places much quicker [on a bike] than driving that loop road and I can get right to the door that I want to go. And it’s just so much better for me as a grounds person.

BH: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

DF: We’re a team here, we really are. We really work together, and it’s not one person that does it all and is responsible for it all. It’s really the teamwork that makes everything work.

And these people here in the office help me. I think that’s one of the things I most enjoy about working here – that sense of teamwork and getting to work with so many different people [and] all the different areas of the whole university.

We all work together, we all try to help each other out, and that’s what really makes a difference.

And like I said, sometimes I seem to be more on the front end of that, but it’s only because of the support behind me that I’m able to do stuff like that.

Like what you read? Visit us online at www.thehoot.net.

8 The Hoot

October 30, 2009

S P O R T S

How Brandeis does the World Series

BY HANNAH VICKERS AND DESTINY D. AQUINO Editors

October is a beautiful time of year. It brings the real start of fall, with leaves changing and a bit of a nip in the air. In theory we’re settled into life at school. Most importantly, though, it signals the World Series.

The teams may change year to year, but the excitement surrounding the playoffs is always incredible. This year the New York Yankees are facing off against the Philadelphia Phillies in what many are calling the “New Jersey World Series.”

With so many students at Brandeis from the tri-state area and Pennsylvania, it’s no wonder many students are getting into the action.

Given that most Brandeisians aren’t driving, flying, training, or busing it down to New York or Philly to take in the games, fans on campus are getting together to feel the rivalry and camaraderie of the series. One group of students in Rosenthal shared their viewing party on Wednesday night with Hoot editor Destiny Aquino.

Harry Webb ’12 said, “wearing my Phillies jersey and just yelling at everything, insulting the other team” was all just part of his tradition. “But,” he added, “in the case of [roommates and good friends] I try hard not to.”

Webb wasn’t the only one who

liked watching the game with fans from both sides. “You have to watch it with someone for the opposite team so you can really feel [the excitement],” Daniel Liebman ’12 explained.

The group of friends has worked out a system for viewing the games. One suite in Rosenthal features predominately Yankee fans while another houses the Phillies fans. When the Yankees are home, the game is on in the Yankee suite but when the games move to Philly the group will shift to the other suite. “ You can’t jinx it by losing in the new stadium,” Liebman told The Hoot.

“Gotta bring the ghosts over,” Adam Cohen ’12 added.

After 86 years, the House that Ruth Built closed its doors last season for good. The Yankees moved across the street to a brand new stadium, but the expectations for greatness remain the same. Liebman and Cohen are the Yankee fans in the group and they certainly understand the importance of getting that 27th Championship this year.

“I stay reasonably confident, I don’t want to be all sure the Yankees are going to win before they do. I don’t want to jinx my boys you know,” Cohen said. “Plus you don’t want to look all stupid if you’re sure they’re going to win and then they don’t.”

When Chase Utley hit a homer to put the Phillies up 1-0 in the

PHOTO BY Destiny D. Aquino/The Hoot

GLUED TO THE TV: Yankee fans and Phillies fans gather together to watch the World Series in Rosenthal.

third inning, Laura Kramer ’12 was surprised the Phillies fans in the room weren’t showing more emotion. She asked, “Why aren’t they more excited?”

Philadelphia fan John Fonte ’12 responded, “Because they do this all the time.”

Responding to inquiries regarding the reason for his allegiance to the Phillies, Webb told The Hoot, “my grandfather has always loved

them. They were the team I grew up with.”

The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the series with their Wednesday night win, and the score from Thursday’s game was not available at press time.

Despite the loss, the Yankee fans stuck to their team. When asked why he cheered for the boys from the Bronx, Cohen said he’d never had a choice. “They were

the team on the TV when I was little, they were the team I fell in love with. It’s almost as if no other team existed.”

Needless to say that passion instilled on both sides will continue to come to the forefront in this series. Both the teams and the fans will have a day off Friday before the battle starts up again in Philadelphia on Saturday for game three.

HEAD TO HEAD

Why I am a Phillies fan

BY JON FONTE

Special to The Hoot

To my knowledge, “Phillies” doesn’t really mean anything. Every team has some icon to represent themselves, like Red Sox, Cardinals, or even the Orioles. Phillies has no meaning, and the mascot, the Philly “Phanatic,” doesn’t resemble any real animal or has any symbolic meaning either. So how could fans root for a team that already doesn’t know what it’s talking about?

Well, any real fan knows that it’s all in the Philadelphia mentality. We’re freakin’ Philadelphia. What other questions do you need to ask? Giving everything a “ph” at the beginning of our words just exemplifies the city spirit we Philadelphians have.

A lot of people outside of this glorious city, whom we’ll simply call non-Philadelphians, just don’t understand the emotional connection with the city. We’ve always had it. We always will.

To non-Philadelphians, the in-your-face “red, white, and amazing” mentality of the Phillies may seem overwhelming, or even flat out obnoxious.

They just fail to realize that this is how we’ve always been; it’s just because the Phillies have won the World Series last year that

non-Philadelphians have become aware of it.

And that’s what makes this specific World Series a memorable one. The dedicated and adamant beliefs of Philadelphia contend with the Big Apple. A New Yorker (ahem, a “non-Philadelphian) could be reading this right now saying, “Are you serious? Have you seen Yankees fans?”

Yes, I have seen them, and I respect your belief about a having a more emphatic fan base, but my fellow non-Philadelphian, you’re ultimately wrong.

This simple skirmish has most likely already occurred in the stands of the Bank or in the non-Philadelphia stadium at least 1000 times. The contention will transcend the test of time. Yankees versus the world of Philadelphia. My heart skips a beat just thinking about it.

Well if the games of the 2009 World Series keep including routine home runs from Chase Utley or catches behind the back from Cliff Lee, it won’t be so much a competition as much as a _____ (insert your favorite word here for “blowout”).

It’s just what Philadelphia does. We sleep with our red and white jerseys and invent our own mascots.

We can do whatever we want, including winning yet another World Series.

Any real fan knows it’s all in the Philidelphia mentality. We’re freakin’ Philadelphia. What other questions do you need to ask?

Confessions of a Yankees fan

BY HANNAH VICKERS Editor

Everyone has something they love, something they’re passionate about. For me that thing is the New York Yankees. My obsession (as I will honesty call it) began over a decade ago when my PopPop had me watch a game with him on TV. Chuck Knoblauch came through in the clutch and had a grand slam. When I saw him cross the plate and high-five Derek Jeter, I saw how short he was. I’m only 5 feet now, so needless to say I was tiny back then. To see this guy standing on his own with the big guys was great.

“Short people do cool stuff, too,” my PopPop said. From that moment I was hooked.

I went to my first game on Aug. 15, 1999 and stayed until the very last out (ironically, it was Chuck Knoblauch grounding into a double play) to see my boys lose to the Minnesota Twins. I walked out of the stadium with a smile on my face and a Jeter shirt on my back. When my PopPop passed away a week later, I think my dedication to this team was set in stone. He was so happy I’d gone for his Yankees, especially given my father is a Red Sox fan, I just couldn’t let him down. My love for the team has just grown from there.

Obviously with having my team in the World Series, my fanaticism is coming to the forefront and with the new stadium, I find myself reminiscing over the years gone by.

My family has been season ticketholders for almost five years now and, including World Series game two on Thursday, I’ve been to four post-season games. I’ve sat in almost every section in the old stadium, from right behind the dugout to the last row of the tier, from the bleachers to the loge level. I knew that place like

the back of my hand and could tell you how to get to any section, the best gate to go through, and most importantly, where to find Dippin’ Dots.

Needless to say, moving to the new stadium this year was a rough road. I was at the last Opening Day of the old stadium and am not the least bit ashamed to admit I cried. My last game in the House that Ruth Built was the All-Star game with my best friend and, in my usual stubbornness, we stayed through the whole game. I still couldn’t understand I’d be leaving that place, my second home, when we walked through the gates at 2 a.m.

It’s been hard to adjust to the new stadium.

Walking past the real Yankee Stadium and seeing them slowly tear it down has been heartbreaking this year. Still, I’m slowly becoming used to the comfier seats, the better quality and variety of food, and the absurd prices they’re charging for everything. The series against the Phillies is going to be tough and anyone who didn’t think so going in is in for a rude awakening. The defending champions want to keep their crown but the Yankees are looking better than they have in a long, long time. The loss against Cliff Lee was expected because he is such an impressive pitcher, but it’s safe to say Yankee fans were probably expecting a closer game than it was.

All Yankee fans can hope for now is that the ghosts crossed the street to the new stadium, bringing with them some of the magic of the old house. Whether they’re sitting at home watching it on TV or broke down and spent an absurd amount of money on StubHub for seats (guilty as charged), every one of us is full of anticipation. With a little bit of luck, skill, and a few answered prayers, we won’t be disappointed.

SPORTS

October 30, 2009

The Hoot 9

Men’s soccer finishes out non-conference play for the year with a win

BY HANNAH VICKERS Editor

The Judges played their last non-University Athletic Association (UAA) team of the season on Wednesday when they faced off against the Lasell Lasers on Gordon Field. Brandeis shutout the visitors 2-0 for their second shutout of the season and improved to 6-8-1 while Lasell fell to 9-53. This was the second straight win for the Judges.

“When you win a couple games you get on a roll. We’ve found that rhythm,” Head Coach Michael Coven said. “We’re playing well as a team. It’s a good group, good enthusiasm.”

The winning goal came in the 26th minute by midfielder Kyle Gross ’11. Midfielder Joe Eisenbies ’13 sent the ball to the top of the box. Gross was there waiting and took his shot. It deflected off a defender and into the net. This was the first career assist for Eisenbies and the second goal of the season for Gross.

“Once you start scoring goals you build that confidence. Kyle is playing very, very well; this is his second goal in two straight games,” Coven told The Hoot.

Brandeis continued to dominate from that point forward. The Judges out shot the Lasers 14-8 and of those 14 shots, 8 were on target. Unfortunately for the Lasers, they were unable to get a single shot on goal, thanks to a great defensive effort by the Judges. Brandeis keeper Matt Lynch ’11 got the shutout without having to make a single save.

“I’m pretty happy with the way we’ve been playing,” Coven added.

In he 52nd minute the Judges tacked on their second goal of the game. A hard shot by forward Lee Russo ’13 was headed for the mouth of the goal when a Laser defender tried to redirect the shot. Instead, he inadvertently sent the ball past Lasell goalie Julian Dutton and gave Brandeis a 2-0 lead.

PHOTO BY Yuan Yao/The Hoot

A WINNING RUN: Brandeis soccer closes out non-conference play with a 2-0 shutout, bringing their record to 6-8-1 as they prepare to enter conference play Friday.

“Alexander [Farr ’12] didn’t score but he did some really nice things,” Coven added.

The Judges will continue their UAA play on Friday at 5 p.m. when they take on Washington University on Gordon Field.

Coven is hoping the success Brandeis has

had against Springfield and now Lasell will help carry them through conference play.

“Definitely the fact we’ve won 2 in a row gives us confidence against the UAA,” he said. “Hopefully we will continue to play well.”

After facing Washington University on Friday night, Brandeis will host the University of Chicago on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

“These teams are very, very good,” Coven said. “It’d be great for us to win both, that’d put us in 3rd in the UAA.”

Hockey needs to check itself before it wrecks itself

BY SARAH BLOOMBERG Staff

The World Series started Wednesday night, and congrats to the Phillies who won 6-1, but frankly I have little interest. I mean no disrespect to all the Yankees and Phillies fans out there that are beyond excited; I just have officially moved on to hockey. And last week in hockey there was a lot of excitement, which brought the league both good and bad attention.

One of the biggest controversies in hockey today is the checking and fighting in the game. To some people, it is an unnecessary part of the game, though I honestly think these are the people that do not watch often or at all; to others, it is another element that can be used as defense or a way to get the crowd involved and a team revved up.

It is also another reminder for players to keep their heads up while skating down center ice.

But no matter what your opinion is about checking in hockey, there were some hits this weekend to make everyone question checking.

The first hit of the weekend was on Friday night, with Toumo Ruutu of the Carolina Hurricanes

checking Darcy Tucker of the Colorado Avalanche. This hit not only looked nasty; it was completely illegal.

There are some simple rules to checking at the boards in hockey. If you can see the guy’s jersey number and name, do not hit him. In fact, in youth hockey teams have a stop sign instead of the name That is to avoid checks just like this one. Ruutu checked Tucker against the boards, and Tucker fell straight down. He did not crumple down to the ice; he fell down like a board. It was scary to watch.

Ruutu was suspended three games for this hit and has since said that he called Tucker to apologize, but will not change his style of play. Tucker had a concussion and cuts and is sidelined indefinitely.

Next up is the Dallas Starts Steve Ott’s two hits in one game, first against Carlo Colaiacovo and then BJ Crombeen of the St. Louis Blues. The first was a hip check which did not look especially dirty, but Colaiacovo landed really awkwardly.

The problems were that Ott had plenty of time to decide not to check him but did anyway, and during the check Ott seemed to lift Colaiacovo up and dump him

on the ice.

Ott’s second hit of the game was a knee-on-knee hit against Crombeen. This was a hit that was penalized by the referees, and Crombeen was good enough to start a fight to defend himself.

This was a dirtier hit on Ott’s part. It had the potential to be really dangerous. For this hit Ott received a minor penalty during the game and a five-minute fighting major.

Crombeen received an instigating minor, five-minute fighting major, and a game misconduct.

More importantly, after the game Ott was suspended two games.

This was mostly for the hit on Colaiacovo, but the league takes into consideration a player’s past record and likelihood to act this way in the future, which Ott proved very likely with his check against Crombeen.

The final dirty hit of the weekend was Rod Scuderi of the Los Angeles Kings checking Jason Chimera of the Columbus Blue Jackets. This is another hip check that looks really bad when you watch it.

Scuderi looked like he was almost on his knees when Chimera went flying over Scuderi. It was a clean hit, but Chimera landed on his face, cutting himself in the process.

PHOTO from internet source

And to make matters worse, Scuderi did not get penalized while Chimera got a ten-minute misconduct. After the game Scuderi did receive an undisclosed fine.

Apparently the reason Scuderi did not get suspended was because Chimera was not injured and was able to return to the

game.

So this is where the league is now. Some people received suspensions, some fines. And this is why people are so upset about checking, because the dangerous checks do not seem to come with enough punishment to discourage people from doing such a check in the future.

14 The Hoot

October 30, 2009

EDITORIAL Established 2005 "To acquire wisdom, one must observe."

Alison Channon Editor in Chief

Ariel Wittenberg News Editor Destiny D. Aquino Deputy News Editor Bret Matthew Impressions Editor Chrissy Callahan Features Editor Hannah Vickers Sports Editor Alex Schneider Layout Editor Jodi Elkin Layout Editor Max Shay Photography Editor Leon Markovitz Advertising Editor Vanessa Kerr Business Editor Danielle Gewurz Copy Editor Leah Lefkowitz Backpage Editor Samantha Shokin Diverse City Editor

Senior Editors Sri Kuehnlenz, Kathleen Fischmann

T

he November issue of Harper’s Magazine, which came out last week, features an article about Brandeis entitled “Voodoo Academics: Brandeis University’s hard lesson in the real economy,” which asserts that the university’s current financial problems are the result of overspending on capital projects rather than last September’s Wall Street meltdown.

The magazine claims that Brandeis has been “living beyond its means,” financing an “endless” array of construction projects on credit; all claims the university has decried as wholly false.

FOUNDED BY

Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

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Skip the docket

T

Aside from using completely erroneous statistics, the article fails to attribute any of its claims to a university administrator, communications representative, or even a campus publication. No doubt this article represents journalism at its lowest.

It goes without saying that the claims made in Harper’s Magazine are damaging to our reputation. Our good name allows us to attract students, professors, and donors, without which no university can function. And after a string of bad publicity about The Rose Art Museum, our name has been dragged through enough mud.

That said, President Jehuda Rein-

harz’s decision to look into legal action against the magazine is ill-advised.

Libel suits are notoriously difficult to win because the burden of proof is so great. A simple conspiracy theory is not enough to prove actual malice.

Even if, by some miracle, the university were able to prove actual malice, it would only be a pyrrhic victory given all the time and money that such a case would require. Moreover, involving ourselves in yet another court case only proves us excessively litigious.

In this situation, to defend our good name, we must take to the pages of Harper’s Magazine with letters to the editor, not to the docket.

Do we have to let it linger?

his week, nine students were appointed to a task force charged with reviewing the Student Union Constitution, a process that occurs every four years. Though the entire constitution is up for review, one provision deserves particular focus.

It is time for a definitive decision about the legality of the Senate and Finance Board positions for racial minority students. Two years ago, questions about the positions’ legality were raised and though a Union committee was created to explore ‘equal representation,’ no action was taken.

Last year’s Union Judiciary case

challenging the appropriateness of the position proved that this issue will not go away. The trial, which was fraught with tension, became a very painful experience for many students who felt their views were marginalized and denigrated. And in the end, the Union Judiciary’s decision was inconclusive.

Instead of grappling with this question in a litigious context, we need to have a conversation that allows for a multiplicity of perspectives in an environment where students feel their voices are heard. The racial minority positions in the Senate and on the Fboard can no longer afford to be ignored.

After three years of questioning, we

need real information about the position’s legality under federal law. The Union task force is ill-equipped to tackle this question on its own. It is going to require campus dialogue and administrative cooperation and support.

Instead of nebulous answers from administrators that leave a stymied Union even more directionless, we need direct access to legal counsel who can advise us.

Letting these positions languish in a netherworld of questionable status serves neither the racial minority community or the campus community as a whole. Ignoring a problem only makes it grow.

The Hoot 15

October 30, 2009

IMPRESSIONS The Self Shelf

Balloon boy and the

decline

ILLUSTRATION BY Ida Chelengar/The Hoot

of western civilization

BY ALEX SELF Columnist

The stake was driven in poorly. Trembling in the prairie wind, the stake finally gave way to the unbearable weight of the balloon, which floated into the uncertain autumn skies.

The parents rushed out of the house to find their youngest child gone, trapped in a runaway weather balloon--alone and frightened--fate fading in the fickle wind.

What a fantastic news story! Millions of viewers were raptly at attention for the fate of young Falcon as he floated above the thousands of cameras that tracked his every move. The up to the date coverage is more breathless than the reporters. Did something fall from the balloon? Where is it headed? What’s going on?!

If only someone had really asked the final question. No one really knew but the media ran with a story that overran every other story of the day. And in the end, what did it all lead to? Little Falcon was hiding in the attic. As it would later turn out, little Falcon was actually acting on orders from his parents.

The poor child’s honesty when asked why he hid when everyone was calling doomed his parents’ ill-conceived plan. However, the farcical ending of this multimillion dollar media bonanza is not the subject of this article. Instead, it is about the values which the ridiculously disproportional coverage of this event represents.

The date of Balloon Boy’s imitation of the boy who cried wolf was October 15th. On that day, there were bombings and a fullscale militant attack in Pakistan. Ireland’s prime minister ratified the Treaty of Lisbon, a treaty that would expand the power of the European Union.

In the United States, those living on Social Security took a hit when cost-of-living increases were cancelled for this year. It was the first time since 1975 that Social Security payments did not rise to meet with the times. There were a myriad other stories which affected far more people than Balloon Boy. However, not only did these stories not get equal attention--they did not get real attention whatsoever. Balloon Boy’s reenactment of the movie “Up” monopolized the news like a full-blown celebrity breakdown. This is the problem with this tale. It was not the coverage that bothered me, but

the way in which the coverage buried other more pertinent stories.

If I’m keeping track of the war in Afghanistan, the story of bombings in Pakistan is important to me because it shows instability in the region. If I keep any track at all of the European Union (which I should), the news of the Lisbon Treaty is much more important to me than a six-year-old who fell up the proverbial well.

If I’m living off of Social Security in the United States in a miserable economy and there’s a sudden cut in the payment I receive next year, it’s quite important. But what was I doing? I was watching about Balloon Boy! This is the way the media has been characterizing the news for some time now. The complaint that there is sensationalism in the news is neither new nor searing. Everyone knows about it, but it is time that something is done about it.

Britney Spears has received more airtime in the past decade than the fall of the U.S.S.R. Celebrities and human interest stories, which once had their own section of the news, have come to dominate it.

Sensationalism sells and no one knows that more than a media that is trying to maintain relevancy in face of the Internet. It’s perfectly fine CNN to poach the occasional headline from TMZ but there’s no reason that these stories need to push other more pertinent stories out of the way.

Life is not a reality TV show. News outlets have an obligation to inform their viewers about events that affect more people than Lindsey Lohan’s latest DUI. The problem with this lack of substance in the news is that it is hurting and will continue to hurt the knowledge of the general public. I realize that this idea is also not new but I would argue that right now is a key turning point in the struggle to inform Americans.

The newspaper industry teeters on the brink of becoming obsolete. Few would disagree that most newspapers’ information is much more substantive than their flashier media counterparts. Their decline, as I have spelled out in a previous article, is a serious problem. Their television and internet scions simply don’t live up to the lofty tradition of their forebears.

In the beginning, news first strayed from

newspapers to the radio. The news on the radio was not really all that different from the newspapers in substance. However, as producers realized that people were attracted to flash than substance, a declination in the quality of news began.

On radio, this wasn’t too much of a problem as people still generally read newspapers as well-radios allowed them to keep up with breaking news better than previously but it wasn’t their only news source. After radio came the rise of television.

The first television anchors, having been brought up on radio during World War II, when real news really mattered. The momentous events of the middle of the 20th century brought such titans of the media as Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.

However, even with this golden age of news came a lead lining--a television report just couldn’t reproduce the in-depth coverage of a newspaper. Also, there was a gradual refocusing of media attention upon more appealing rather than more important stories.

By the dawn of the 21st century, this trend was impossible to ignore. Only when a truly momentous news event took place did the media drop the latest circus of sensationalism for a matter or true importance. The dark fruit of this change have only started to surface.

The first effect is a lack of general knowledge on the part of the American public. Some would argue that this cannot be proven as I cannot state statistics from American publics past.

However, I can without any lack of candor state that the youth in many other countries know more about our country than our own youth. The media could do something about this, but does not in the name of ratings.

The worst part about this creeping change, however, is the fact that the media is becoming weaker and weaker by the day.

The less it reports on substantive news, the less likely it is to uncover the next Watergate. Already, the media has dropped the ball on the Iraq War. Perhaps if more scrutiny had been focused on foreign policy than Angelina Jolie’s latest beau, we wouldn’t find ourselves in the current situation.

This is the most striking downside of this slippery slope. Not only are Americans going to be less informed but the media

will soon not focus enough on real issues to give them even the cursory blurbs they dedicate today. Apathy of the media as well as the public is a deadly combination for democracy.

After devoting so much time to ranting about sensationalism in the media, I am not going to keep any more of your time with my solution as the solution is simple.

Leave the sensationalism to The Enquirer, and go about writing up the stories that actually matter.

It’s fine to have an occasional Balloon Boy focus, but that doesn’t mean everything else has to be brushed to the side. There is a way to balance out the craving for ratings and the dignity of broadcasting true news.

Also, there’s the added benefit of not looking like morons if a story is a hoax.

The Heene family manipulated the media like a marionette but the real damage came from the fact that Balloon Boy, in supposed flight, took the media with him until everything happening back on earth paled in comparison.

I do understand that CNN will still report on celebrities and human interest stories, but this is acceptable as long as it doesn’t trump more far-reaching affairs. This would help everyone-it would grant more legitimacy to news networks (if they actually broadcast real news) and it would create a savvier public.

In the end, everybody would win and the alternative is not feasible. If the media continues to focus less on widereaching news stories, and the public becomes more apathetic to the situation around them, there is no telling what could happen.

Immoral pragmatists could (and most likely would) subvert democracy or at least tailor it completely to suit their own ends (making current corruption look like child’s play).

The decline of Western civilization may seem like an overexaggeration, but today’s impossibility is tomorrow’s regret.

It’s time for a resurgence of responsible journalism and a renewed focus on actual news, as opposed to sensationalism. There is no room in our rapidly changing world for the misdirection of the news media’s attention.

After its coverage of Balloon Boy brought took the world on a flight of fancy, it’s time to bring the media back to earth.

16 The Hoot

IMPRESSIONS

October 30, 2009

The Goldstone Report: A biased witch hunt against Israel

Book of Matthew

BY SHIREL GUEZ

port.

In this case a question must The Goldstone Report--a war be posed as to why the IDF (Iscrimes report by Justice Richard rael Defense Forces) dropped J. Goldstone of the United Na- thousands of warning leaflets, tions--is not objective, and is in made hundreds and thousands fact tainted by bias from not only of phone calls warning Palestinone sector of the United Nations ian civilians, transferred tons of (The Human Rights Council) humanitarian aid into Gaza, and but the body as a whole. opened a field clinic for PalesThis report came out strongly tinians on the border of Gaza? condemning Israel for their part Israel took these actions not for in a milishow, but tary opto avoid here were these threats mass civileration in Gaza, also of war crimes when ian casualknown as and to the United States completely ties Operation respond in Cast Lead. bombarded Afghanistan? the most In Cast humaniLead Israel tarian way respondpossible. ed with In reality, a strong the Goldmilitary stone Report is one that uses less force to years of rocket attacks than reliable sources to claim

by Hamas into the Israeli town that the State of Israel commitof Sderot as well as casualties ted war crimes. But in fact the stemming from those rocket at- United Nations Human Rights tacks.

Council operates with a double Something that should also be standard in cases such as these. noted is that Hamas is a recogWhere were these threats of nized terrorist organization that war crimes when the United has used malicious tactics in or- States completely bombarded der to harm Israeli civilian lives Afghanistan? Or when Russia not to mention lives of Palestin- unleashed their military power ian opponents in Gaza. on Georgia?

During Operation Cast Lead, In addition to that, many leadmany Palestinian civilians died ing democratic members of the as a result of Israeli military op- Human Rights Council have erations, not due to Israeli neg- dismissed the Report. The Euligence but because of Hamas’ ropean Union, Japan, Canada, blatant use of innocent civilians Switzerland, and the United as human shields. At the same States have all refused to back time the international commu- a resolution that would include nity responded negatively to Is- the Goldstone Report as the barael’s right to defend its people sis of evidence that war crimes and its land. had been committed by Israel.

Recently, a United Nations Conflicts such as this stem factfinding mission headed by from a cycle of war, death, devasSouth African Judge Goldstone, tation, and more often than not, found that Israel had “commit- civilians are the ones that suffer ted actions amounting to war the most. For years the Israelis crimes, possibly crimes against living in Sderot have lived in humanity.” Judge Goldstone’s complete fear and agony. Since report uses 575 pages to exam- Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005 ine Israel’s Operation Cast Lead and completely dismantled the against Hamas in Gaza while se- settlement of Gush Katif while verely condemning Israel in the handing it over to the Palestinprocess. ians, Sderot has been a besieged The report does condemn the city. Just one mile from the Gaza Palestinian terrorist group as Strip, its citizens have suffered well, yet saves its harshest criti- an endless and daily barrage of cism for Israel. The report states, Qassam rockets while effectively “While the Israeli Government becoming human shields for the has sought to portray its opera- rest of Israel. tions as essentially a response to They have lost loved ones to rocket attacks in the exercise of terror and have lost themselves its right to self defense, the Mis- in their own fear of leaving the sion considers the plan to have bomb shelters that protect them. been directed, at least in part, at My personal experience with a different target: the people of this conflict goes back to JanuGaza as a whole…” ary of 2008 when I visit Sderot This statement claims that for the first time.

Israel deliberately attacked ciI remember it like it was yesvilians in Gaza with the aim terday; I drove into Sderot with of causing civilian casualties, my father, passing an army which is something completely checkpoint on the way. We had unthinkable and unjust to claim been discouraged from going in an official UN factfinding re- there, but I knew I wanted to see Special to The Hoot

ILLUSTRATION BY Bret Matthew/The Hoot

BY BRET MATTHEW Editor

On Nov. 3, Maine residents will head to the polls to vote on Question 1, which, if approved by a majority of voters, will overturn the recent law allowing same-sex marriage.

The following is a work of fiction. It is not an account of an actual protest.

The city streets were quiet most days. Apart from the rare car puttering over the cracked asphalt roads or the occasional pedestrian peering into a lonely shop window, they saw little excitement.

But this was not most days. On this day, the streets were filled with protesters.

Men and women marched in droves, holding high colorful, decorated signs and flags that fluttered in the wind as they were waved back and forth.

Preserve The Sanctity Of Marriage, read one. One Man, One Woman, read another.

In the back, a group held up a giant, brilliant yellow banner. SAVE MAINE FROM THE LIBERALS, read the enormous text, which was surrounded by pictures of men holding hands and President Obama wearing a Hitler mustache.

Some of the protesters carried Bibles; a few even sang hymns. Many more carried crosses, which they waved about their persons as if cleansing the air around them of an invisible evil.

At the front of the pack, the leaders of the mob paved the way with intermittent blasts from their megaphones. Their chants ricocheted off buildings and could be heard down the various surrounding alleyways.

“Vote Yes on Question 1!”

“Protect Maine families!”

“Stop the gay agenda!”

“God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!”

Raucous cheers from the crowd met every blaring shout.

More onlookers arrived to see what the commotion was about. Many of them watched, wide-eyed, as the mob passed. A few even joined in, taking up the chant.

Policemen arrived at the scene as well, intent on keeping order. But they soon grew nervous when they saw what the mob was approaching at the end of the street.

A small group of people stood on the side of the road, opposite the protesters. They did not chant. They did not even seem to be organized. They stood quietly, staring down the mob.

And in the middle of them stood a boy.

He was young and small for his age, so small that he stood out in the crowd full of adults. Peering out from behind loose strands of tousled blond hair, his eyes took in the scene with wonder.

Flanking him were two middle-aged women. They had their own small, makeshift signs, which they held in the faces of the oncoming protesters.

NO ON QUESTION 1 was written upon both of them, in hastily scribbled permanent marker.

One of the women put her hand on the boy’s shoulder. He looked up at her. She wore an odd expression on her face, a mix of sadness, anger, and a slew of other emotions that he did not recognize.

His little hand held a small flag that she had given him. Rainbow striped, it was imprinted with a few gentle, cursive words that almost sank into the background.

All you need is love.

The boy held the flag limply by his side. He was too young to know what those words meant; too young to know where they came from. He did not understand why he had that little flag, nor why he was staring at angry protesters who had their own flags, and who looked so angry at—and so afraid of—his two mothers.

But he understood the feeling of the hand on his shoulder. The same loving touch that wiped away his tears when he cried, that carried him when he felt tired, that tied the shoelaces that he had yet to master. He understood the feeling of security, of stability in the home that had been made for him. And he understood that, despite the advancing mob, he was safe.

The flag rustled a bit in his hand.

Most of the protesters—still under the watchful eyes of the policemen— paid them little heed when they passed. A few jeered at his mothers—cries of “spawn of Satan” could be heard over all the noise.

But none of them bothered to look at the little boy. To the protesters, he would forever be invisible. No matter how much he stood out of the crowd.

W

it. I wanted to feel it and understand the fear Israelis in Sderot were living in.

As we drove we saw a small falafel stand so we pulled over to get something to eat. The second I shut the car door the siren went off. At first I was taken aback–I didn’t know if it was even real then the fear set in.

My father grabbed me and we ran to a bus stop. In Sderot the bus stops are reinforced with concrete to act as temporary and less than reliable bomb shelters.

Within seconds of ducking into the bus stop, I felt the ground beneath me shake, once then twice. The siren stopped. We waited a few minutes and we heard police and ambulance vehicles in the distance.

My first time in Sderot was memorable and life changing but my second visit was completely heartbreaking. Even months after the operation in Gaza, people in Sderot still lived in complete fear. When I visited in July the streets were as empty as they were the day I had been there in January 2008, during a peak in rocket attacks.

Even though there hadn’t been a Qassam rocket launched into Israel since May 19, mothers still hid their children in bomb shelters and very few people ventured into the streets of this once lively and beautiful city.

This is the toll that terror takes on a nation and on humanity.

In this conflict, both the Palestinian and Israeli people suffered tremendously. The only ones at fault for the thousands of Palestinian casualties are Hamas, the terrorist group that currently governs in Gaza. The Goldstone Report does little to assist the peace process and negates the justification that Israel had to defend its people. Goldstone refers to Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists as “armed groups” that have the right to defend themselves while the world clearly recognizes Hamas as a dangerous terrorist organization.

In addition to that, the IDF stands accused of targeting Gaza's civilian population when they did so much to avoid civilian casualties. The report has created an unjust equivalence of a democratic state with a terrorist organization and has come to show the world just how onesided the UN is in regards to Israel.

The standards the United Nations holds Israel to are significantly different to those world superpowers are held to. The Goldstone Report is a demoralizing insult to the people of Israel and specifically to the innocent people of Sderot who have endured years of suffering because of Hamas.

IMPRESSIONS

October 30, 2009

The Hoot 17

Borde-nough

Busting a cap into Cap-and-Trade

ILLUSTRATION BY Ariel Wittenberg/The Hoot

BY CHRIS BORDELON Columnist

A gust of climate change initiatives is now blowing through the halls of the United States Congress. The Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee is now considering a bill that would by various means including a “cap and trade” pollution allowance scheme, reduce emissions of gases that cause climate change by 20 percent over the next decade.

A companion bill passed the House in June.

When delegates to the United Nations Climate Change Conference gather in Copenhagen in December, they, too, will surely talk up a storm.

But will the legislation that ultimately passes Congress, or the document that will likely emerge from Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which expires in 2013, amount to more than hot air? Just as important, in the circumstances, is another question: should it?

Many people's well-being and money are riding on these questions. But most of the news that we hear and read about climate change does not help us to answer it. Instead, most reports focus on very different questions: whether climate change is real and whether it is a threat. These reports suggest, somewhat misleadingly, that the climate of debate on these issues is changeless. For example, on Oct. 9, BBC News reported that “[f]or the last 11 years we have not observed any increase in global temperatures.” On Oct. 22, the Met Office, the United Kingdom's National Weather Service, shot back that a global average shift upward of nine degrees Fahrenheit over the next 50 years was likely in the absence of new initiatives to prevent it.

The next day, America's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report claiming that rising Arctic temperatures are bringing about a dangerous ice melt.

That came in the wake of news of a poll released on Oct. 22 by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press that found “a sharp decline over the past year in the percentage of Americans who say there is solid evidence that global temperatures are rising.”

According to the Pew poll, “Across the political spectrum...fewer also see global warming as a very serious problem.” Half of Americans say that they support limits on carbon emissions, which are often blamed for causing global warming. But the more poll re-

spondents heard about such limits, the less likely they were to favor them.

Fortunately, despite the unceasing interest in whether climate change is real and dangerous on the part of the journalists who decided that the stories above were newsworthy, the world's governments have long since stopped debating these issues. The U.S. and most other countries did so as early as 1992, when they agreed to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

In that Convention, they agreed that they “should take precautionary measures to anticipate, prevent or minimize the causes of climate change and mitigate its adverse effects.” In defining “climate change,” they acknowledged that it was due “directly or indirectly to human activity.” Even a “lack of full scientific certainty” about “threats of serious or irreparable damage” from climate change, the governments agreed, “should not be used as a reason for postponing” the “precautionary measures.”

As early as 1992, then, the world's governments left the debate about the threat posed by climate change behind. In the same 1992 Convention, they addressed the bigger question of whose ox would be gored by the measures taken to counter the threat. The parties to the treaty agreed to “protect the climate system...on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.”

All ratifying countries undertook commitments under the treaty, but they agreed that “the developed country Parties should take the lead.”

Thus, “developed countr[ies]”–a term undefined in the Convention–agreed to risk their oxen first. In the event, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the 1992 Convention placed radically different requirements on developed and developing countries, which signed different Annexes to reflect this. Important developing countries, including India and all of East Asia except Japan, were allowed to sign as developing countries. That meant that they could ratify the Kyoto Protocol without committing to binding targets for restricted emissions. The United States’ and other developed countries’ economies, on the other hand, would have to bear large new costs to meet binding commitments under Kyoto.

Some thought that Kyoto assigned responsibility for dealing with climate change on

the “basis of equity,” as agreed to in the 1992 treaty. But “equity” can be hard to define, and what must be done to achieve it changes with the circumstances. The 1992 Convention recognized that the U.S., as a “developed country,” had greater “capabilities” than its “developing country” peers, and therefore more “responsibilities.” But it did not freeze those responsibilities and capabilities in time.

As countries' relative capabilities changed, the 1992 Convention implied, the equities of balancing the treaty parties' responsibilities for dealing with climate change would have to be weighed anew.

In 1997, the U.S. Senate thought that the balance of capabilities had shifted sufficiently in favor of some important developing countries to require them to implement at least some binding emissions targets. Ninety-five senators raised the specter of “serious harm to the economy of the United States” if the U.S. undertook binding emissions commitments while developing countries were left free of them. The U.S. signed the Kyoto Protocol, but the Senate never ratified it to make it a binding part of American law. Practically every other developed country has ratified the Protocol.

One may differ with the Senate's balancing of the equities in 1997; many people certainly have. But, if anything, a refusal to burden the U.S. with heavy binding commitments if its most important economic competitors will not undertake to meet even light ones represents an even fairer outcome today than it did then.

Some “developing” countries' capacities to undertake meaningful commitments have markedly increased. “Developing” China, for example, now emits more greenhouse gases than the U.S. The economies of such countries are performing better than America's. On its end, the U.S.–heavily indebted, expensively committed around the world, and fraught with economic woes–is arguably less well-situated to undertake an expensive program to limit climate change than it was twelve years ago.

Today, members of Congress are considering how America can regulate itself out of bad, potentially climate-changing habits. But its plans will increase costs for businesses and consumers in the middle of hard economic times. And its approach suggests that foolish, ineffective unilateralism is not the exclu-

sive province of the American political right.

Congress’s plans amount to an economic and environmental suicide pact. It will leave other countries free both to outmatch the U.S. economy and to destroy the world's environment, while at the same time taking away the bargaining leverage the U.S. needs to get other countries to commit to emission reductions.

Senate backers of the climate control bill have euphemistically called their proposal the “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act.” If enacted, the bill would carve an even bigger slice out of America's economic pie for the energy sector, but the new investment would produce not more or cheaper but costlier energy. It would give away free pollution allowances that could be bought and sold by firms, ensuring–as politicians of all stripes are always wont to do–that well-placed rich people will make money through the scheme.

It is doubtful that the proposal would create more jobs than it would cost by making businesses less competitive and driving them across the borders. And it is unlikely that the proposal would put more people to work, improve infrastructure, or beautify the country more than an equally expensive public works scheme.

And it will undermine American power.

A very different sort of climate change took place on Oct. 21, when China and India announced that they planned to cooperate in opposing efforts by other governments to get “developing” countries to agree to binding emissions targets at Copenhagen and afterward. Most agreements on climate issues have inclined toward preventing climate change or have at least been politely noncommittal, but this one amounted to an agreement to pollute.

In effect, the Chinese and Indians have told the “developed” countries to take their emissions commitments and stick them where the climate doesn't change. “Developed” countries should feel free to hamstring their own economies, that’s fine, but the “developing” giants will happily pollute in their place and eat their economic lunch. “Developed” countries can make binding emissions limits for themselves in Washington and Copenhagen.

But without agreements on limits that will also bind important “developing” countries, the latter countries may soon make just about everything else.

18 The Hoot

IMPRESSIONS

Maestro of Dissent

October 30, 2009

The Editor's Desk

Bidding adieu

BY ALISON CHANNON Editor

PHOTO BY Phil Small/The Hoot

A radical proposal: Advocating cartoon freedom

BY DANIEL ORTNER Columnist

On Mar. 15, HBO aired an episode of its series "Big Love," which depicted temple rituals that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regard as sacred. For members of my faith, the temple is a place where individuals receive holy covenants, which are not spoken about outside of the temple. It is a centerpiece of our faith and deeply revered. Many members were outraged by the episode and some spoke about organizing boycotts of HBO and Time Warner. The church released a statement a week before the airing of the episode saying that it did not support boycotts because they could only engender additional attention and increased audiences for the series. The church urged members to conduct themselves with dignity and thoughtfulness and that such conduct would reflect the “strength and maturity of Church members today.” Most importantly, in its statement the church reiterated “This isn’t 1830, and there aren’t just six of us anymore,” and that as a church with “a global membership of thirteen and a half million there is no need to feel defensive when the Church is moving forward so rapidly.”

The maturity of this response struck me even more strongly as I once again reflected over the violence and mayhem provoked by the publication of the Danish Muhammad cartoons. Even more than four years later, one of our major academic presses, that of Yale University, was still willing to censor Professor Jytte Klausen’s (POL) book that studied the cartoon controversy in a scholarly light.

Yale reportedly consulted experts which, when only shown the images out of context and not with the academic work, declared that Muslims around the world could not help but react to the images with violence. The expert consensus and Yale’s decision, aside from being dangerous to free speech, is utterly patronizing and insulting to Muslims and views a faith of 1.2 billion adherents as immature and perpetually irrational.

I was very disappointed by the campus response to the censorship. People argued that Muslims would inevitably respond vio-

lently to this sort of provocation and that the blood would be on Yale’s hands. Violent uproars are never inevitable and blood, if any, would be solely on the hands of extremists that try to distort the debate and draw attention to their hate-filled rhetoric.

Hearing Professor Klausen speak Tuesday about her extensive travels throughout the world, carrying a folder with the 12 purportedly incendiary Danish Muhammad cartoons as she spoke to Muslim, Middle Eastern, and European leaders underlined the absurdity of Yale’s decision to censor her book.

Clearly, the amount of intensive research required in order to compile the book reveals that at the very least, the climate is currently stable enough for serious academic research. Just as Klausen was able to conduct her research inconspicuously, it is unlikely that a relatively obscure academic work would have set off protests or any sort of violence. At the very least, it has become clear that there were no active threats and that Yale Press was merely responding to the illusory specter of political correctness.

Likewise, Klausen’s research uncovered the fact that Muslim leaders initially responded to the controversy with moderation and reason. Diplomats from Arab countries attempted to engage in intergovernmental conflict resolution. Danish Muslims attempted to use legal means—though I think blasphemy and hate speech laws are regressive and need to be overturned—to try to get back at the cartoonists. For several months after publication, civility reigned. At the talk, Professor Joseph Lumbard (NEJS) pointed out moderate statements put out

by Arab governments just several days before the major flare up of violence. At first, the flareup seemed like a very reasonable discussion over the extent of free speech and limits of tolerance.

As Klausen has revealed in her book and spoke about on Tuesday, radicals then began to use the cartoons as a tool to further their pre-existing agendas. Although America had no involvement, cartoon protests took an anti-American tone. Likewise, violence emerged in regions already torn apart by civil war and

conflict. Extremism was magnified and dominated the story.

Unfortunately, several years later all we remember is the extremism and chaos. Anti-Islamic writers such as Daniel Pipes have had a field day over the incident using it as an excuse to argue that Islam is incompatible with Western liberal democracy. The radicals have been allowed to frame the context and obscure a reasonable debate.

Yale University Press’ decision continues to reward the most extreme elements by precluding any real discussion beyond the realm of terror-induced paranoia. Worse, Yale is submitting its decision-making to the whims of violent extremism.

As such, Yale’s actions only further the completely wrong lessons to be learned from the incident.

Instead of trying to work with moderate Muslims to strengthen interfaith dialogue and reduce misunderstanding, we are appeasing extremists that need not be placated and assuming that they speak for all Muslims. We should be adamantly opposing Yale’s choice because we should not allow extremists define our discourse. Muslims in the Western world deserve a chance to analyze what went wrong, and to learn how to respond to similar incidents.

I urge all those that have been silent up to this point to get involved. This is not just about 12 cartoons, but about a major academic institution allowing its decisions to be hijacked. The Student Union should pass a measure in support of the freedom of Klausen and opposed to the backhanded policies of Yale.

Students should write critical letters to Yale which may have a significant impact. Professors in all departments should stand up even more clearly with their fellow colleagues in opposition to such violation of an author’s freedom of speech and association.

Yale’s actions violated industry standards and set a new low for inquiry. One does not have to love the cartoons or have animosity towards Islam in order to realize that Yale needs to be vigorously opposed. It is only if we take charge now, that we can transform the legacy of the cartoon saga into one of revival and freedom of expression.

This issue marks my last as editor in chief of The Brandeis Hoot, and at risk of being sanctimonious, I would like to share a few of the lessons I have learned over the past 11 months. Throughout my tenure as editor in chief of this amazing organization, I have learned that success and failure go hand in hand, and that both must be accompanied by humility. I have learned to apologize and I have learned to defend. I have learned about relationships, responsibility, patience, humor, and my own happiness.

Though my story as editor in chief began less than a year ago, The Hoot has been a part of my college experience almost from the beginning. This semester marks my sixth at The Hoot, and my fifth as an editor. I have poured so much of myself into this organization, and for better or for worse, this paper has been my identity. I was a reporter, deputy news editor, then news editor, and then editor in chief. Somewhere along the line, I forgot to be Alison, without the titles and without the bylines. There were times when I was a reporter instead of a student, and times when I was both before I was myself.

And then I had an identity crisis. Last semester, I realized that I didn’t want to be a reporter, that journalism wouldn’t and couldn’t make me happy. I spent many hours wracked with confusion and anguish about how and why I had gotten to that point. I finally had what I thought I had wanted since I was a freshman, and I didn’t want it anymore. I was angry with myself for the choices I had made. I felt like I had failed myself, and I felt like I had failed the paper.

I found myself in a place where I felt I owed so much to so many that I had forgotten that I owed anything to myself. I was worn down by the competition and the criticism. I was tired of finding validation for my work outside of myself. I was tired of feeling defined by a title, by what other people thought or expected of me. I was stuck in a place where journalism was a zero-sum game, and my self-worth was attached to it.

After receiving a particularly rude comment about a print mistake, I called my mother to share the story with her. My mother, in all her infinite wisdom, told me that regardless of the mistakes I may have made-and I have made many--that I did it is enough. My staff and I, week after week, put out a 16-page newspaper from the ground up. Short on money, staff, and technology, we made it all work. That we did it, regardless of anyone else’s opinion, has value. No rude comments can take away what I have learned or the skills I have gained or what all of my time, effort, and experiences have taught me. I realized the hard way that my validation has to come from within.

I’ve thought a lot about what I’ve accomplished in my time at the paper, and I still wonder if it’s enough. I can think of so many things I wish I’d done, so many improvements I could have implemented, so many areas where things fell through the cracks because I was only one person. Ultimately, it’s a fruitless question. Yes, I could have done more.

That’s always the case. But no matter how much I did to improve the paper, it would always be true that The Hoot has given me infinitely more than I could ever give it.

Nothing can prepare a person for this experience. It is a baptism by fire. And I’ve had my fair share of burns. I don’t begrudge any of those experiences. I am more because of them.

THANK YOU ALISON: Pictured above is the back of our fearless leader who graced our advertisements for the last year.

IMPRESSIONS

October 30, 2009

The Hoot 19

On the 8th day: Public opinion polls?

ILLUSTRATION BY Bret Matthew/The Hoot

BY ANDREW HUSICK Special to The Hoot

I recently read an article by the BBC that surveyed people in 10 developed countries about whether Darwinian evolution should be taught in science classes.

Unsurprisingly, a substantial portion of the respondents were in favor of teaching either evolution and creationism side by side, or for the teaching of creationism and the exclusion of any other explanation.

What I found the most surprising was the sheer number of people who feel this way, ranging from 38% in Spain to 68% in Argentina, with a total of 53% of people surveyed in favor of some form of creationism taught in science classes.

These figures are shocking to me. Even in the most developed countries of the western world, somewhere between four and seven out of every 10 people would prefer that we lie to children in school. I should say upfront that I don’t know if the story of creation in Genesis is true or a myth, (although the whole part about a person created from a spare rib seems to weigh in fairly heavily on the “myth” side of the equation), and I don’t believe that everyone who believes or recounts the story is lying. The lie would be representing this story as science to children in school when

it most certainly is not science, nor is it scientific. There have been debates about creationism, intelligent design, evolution, and the role of science before, and there surely will be many more in the future. My question here is far simpler than the origins of the cosmos: Why did the BBC, and why do we as a country, bother to ask these people for their opinion in the first place?

The honest answer is probably democracy. We have a public school system that is administrated by elected officials and funded publicly, but the system still leaves much to be desired. This is an area of decision making best left to experts, not to the general populace. The framers of the United States Constitution envisioned a system where the citizens make informed decisions about their leaders, but this is clearly a case where the system falls apart.

The people being asked to make decisions are not well informed enough in this matter, and allow their opinions and beliefs to influence their judgment about a discipline that should only be based on facts.

The idea that the best information can be obtained by taking the average opinion of a large number of people, regardless of their capabilities, is a logical fallacy. Richard Feynman, a Nobel Laureate in Physics, proved this by imagining a country

whose emperor was never seen by any of his people, and stayed walled off in a secret palace. Feynman posited that a traveling salesman who wishes to know the length of the emperor’s nose could traverse the whole country asking every citizen for his or her opinion, and then take an average of the answers. In theory, the answer should be very accurate because it is the average of a large sample. Unfortunately, every person who participated was taking a guess, and not working from any real information, rendering the survey inaccurate. The salesman knows nothing more about the emperor’s nose after the survey than he did before.

The analogy holds in this example. We can go and ask all 308 million people in the United States for their opinion on this matter, but most of them are not informed enough to make this decision effectively, and we won’t be any closer to the goal of educating schoolchildren about science.

We don’t poll the general public for their input on the curriculum of medical school, and I think we would all prefer our surgeon to be trained by a surgeon instead of by plumbers, policemen, or politicians. Simply because we have a democratic system does not imply that the public at large should make the final decisions about every issue, especially when they are not equipped to use the correct decision-making calculus.

Most people in America can not make informed decisions about biology, because they are not biologists.

Beyond the inability of people to make an informed decision, the question itself is flawed. The BBC is asking for a public opinion about an issue where opinion does not matter. Science does not care what anyone believes, nor should science education. We would think it illegitimate for me to ask that the caloric chemical theory be taught alongside the laws of thermodynamics in chemistry class, or that instead of gravity in physics as the explanation for why objects tend to fall toward the ground, we tell children that the earth sucks. Our educational system teaches astronomy instead of astrology, chemistry instead of alchemy, psychology instead of phrenology, and meteorology instead of magic. Each of the former fields represents the scientific conclusion of reasoned experiment and trial and error that have come to replace the latter beliefs once the phenomenon they attempted to explain was better understood. In each case teachers cast aside what they may believe, or even what sounds plausible, in favor of what is consistent with experimental data.

More important than any single fact about a particular discipline of science

are the overarching principles that make chemistry, biology, physics, and astronomy, and distinguish them from the supernatural. The scientific method of forming hypotheses, testing them, and drawing conclusions based on experimental data is the most important concept taught in science classes. By even positing that something non-scientific could be taught in a science class, the BBC is perverting the perception of science to the public at large. The idea that it is debatable whether or not we should accept the talking snake as a scientific fact is ludicrous, and should have no place in rational conversation.

Therein lies the final problem with the BBC’s poll: it fuels the argumentation, and legitimizes the idea that schools should welcome a vibrant debate over the relative merits of creationism and evolution, or that biology teachers should “teach the controversy.” Every time a news story is run about the public’s beliefs on this issue, it lends credibility to the idea that the public has a legitimate role in determining what is or is not science. Each poll reinforces the mindset that teaching the controversy is acceptable. Presenting creationism side by side with evolution as co-equal scientific theories locked in a brilliant scientific debate does a disservice to children eager to learn.

Instead of educating them about the workings of the universe, we say that the facts can be tailored to make us feel better. Instead of exploring the real questions posed by natural selection and their profound implications, we brush over one of the most thrilling and significant scientific discoveries in history, backed up by 150 years of experimentation and scrutiny, and lend equal weight to a story that has no testable warrants. Even if a philosophical debate about the merits of each theory is warranted, certainly high school classrooms are not the correct forum for this discourse.

It is important for the public to understand science, and to appreciate its merits.

Rational people who grasp the importance of scientific discovery should encourage the BBC and other news organizations to be careful with their influence, both direct and indirect. Science is a wonderful discipline of which we should all partake, but it is important to realize that our beliefs do not constitute science. We should therefore be careful in our discourse to remove belief from the context of science education, and should recognize that the voter does not necessarily hold the correct answer. Hopefully, next time, the BBC will instead ask the more important question: how many people understand the theory of evolution?

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Of course you would!

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20

The Hoot

October 30, 2009

WEEKEND What's going on at Brandeis?

Spotlight on Boston

Boston Vegetarian Society Annual Food Festival

Editor's Pick:

Saturday, October 31, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m./ Sunday, November 1, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Reggie Lewis Athletic Center, 1350 Tremont Street, Boston,

Saturday, October 31, 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Shapiro Hall Lounge

This weekend is the 14th annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival, where you can meet food producers, taste free samples, shop at great discounts, and learn about eating vegetarian. As an added bonus, Myq Kaplan and Zach Sherwin (Brandeis alumni) will be performing standup at 4:15 on Saturday

Halloween for the Hungry

If you can't wait to trick-or-treak but don't want to gain pounfd from all the candy, join Halloween for the Hungry, one of the largest annual community services projects at Brandeis. Collect canned goods in Walthamand bring them back to Shapiro Lounge. For more information contact agmandel@ brandeis.edu.

Vegetarian Dinner

Sinners and Saints Halloween Bash Friday, October 30, 8:30 p.m.-2:00 a.m.

Vinalia Boston, 34 Summer Street

For all all you who appreciate vegetarian food, even if you do not eat it exclusively, join vegetarian club for a home cooked meal this Sunday. If you enjoy the dinner and would like to cook yourself, you can return for the next weeks meeting! Contact gbronk@brandeis.edu for more information.

For only $15 dress up and eat hors d'oeuvres, get Body Painting, dance, and enter a costume contest for the most creative, develish, or angelic costume. For discounted tickets visit www.bostoneventguide.com/events/halloween.htm.

Boston Unhinged Chamber Players Sunday, November 1, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Slosberg Recital Hall

Hoot Comic Strips Sleazy

Sunday, November 1, 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Ridgewood A

By Matt Kupfer

Come hear some classy music this weekend. Boston Unhinged Chamber Players is playing Bach Cantata BWV 51, Haydn Symphony No. 90, andMozart Symphony No. 25. Its a free event, so bring lots of friends!

BEAT IT!

Saturday, October 31, 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.

Shapiro Campus Center

laughingwarlock

Humor is Dead

By Ian Price

Triskelion's annual Halloween Dance's theme this year will be "Beat It!" Join the fun and dance to old and new music. You can dress in tacky 80s clothing or any other fun costumes!

By Xander Bernstein

Can you draw and write comics? Want to see your work in print? Or do you know of any exciting Brandeis or Boston events?

E-mail lelefko brandeis.edu