The Brandeis Hoot - 2-13-09

VOL 5, NO. 18

FEBRUARY 13, 2009

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

$20,000 PR bill paid by senior admin. pay cut

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

Money from a ten percent pay cut taken by both President Reinharz and Cheif Operating Officer Peter French will be used to pay for the services of the public relations firm Rasky Baerlein, Reinharz wrote in an e-mail to faculty senate chair William Flesch which was then fowarded to the faculty listserv.

Rasky Baerlein has been contracted by the university for the months of February

and March--a contract that will cost Brandeis $20,000.

Reinharz, who’s pay cut, in conjunction with French’s gains the university roughly $90,000, wrote that “the salary savings from Peter and myself are more than enough to cover the expense” of the firm.

In an interview with The Hoot, Reinharz said that both he and French had been planning to cut their salaries for the benefit of the university before the university See RASKY BAERLEIN p. 3

PR firm represented Boston archdiocese in sex abuse scandal

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

University President Jehuda Reinharz announced last week that the university’s senior administration had employed the services of the public relations firm Rasky Baerlein in order to help handle the media storm after the Board of Trustee’s authorization to close the Rose Art Museum.

According to an e-mail from Reinharz to Faculty Senate chair Prof. William Flesch (ENG), the firm is being employed for a two month period with the aim of “[assisting] the senior administration in strategically crafting the overall university messages that are needed to communicate…

that we are a strong institution.”

In reality, the university is working most closely with the president of the public relations firm Joseph T. Baerlein, who, according to his profile on the Rasky Baerlein website, specializes in “crisis management.”

Rasky Baerlein has a long history of being employed for crisis management—or, as their website describes, “control[ling] the message before it controls you”—in the Boston area. The firm’s most notable client in this field is the Archdiocese of Boston.

The Archdiocese employed the public relations firm in Sept. 2004 in order to help See ARCHDIOCESE p. 2

Rep. Barney Frank speaks about economic crisis

IN THIS ISSUE:

Usdan cell service to improve

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

A signal amplifier will be installed in lower Usdan over February break in order to increase cell phone service in the dining hall.

The amplifier, which should work for all cell phone providers, was the idea of former North Quad Senator and current Union Director of Community Advocacy Andy Hogan ’11.

The amplifier consists of an external antenna that would be placed outside Usdan to strengthen the signal.

“If there’s reception outside, there should be reception inside once this is installed,” Hogan said.

Cell phone service has been a problem in lower Usdan for just about as long as Vice President for Campus Operations Mark See CELLPHONES p. 3

Committee to rethink academic requirements, social justice

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

BY KAYLA DOS SANTOS Editor

House Representative Barney Frank explained why the economy plummeted, what the Obama administration is currently doing to fix it, and what should be done in the immediate future during the Heller School’s Distinctive Public Policy Speaker event on Monday.

The day before the Senate approved the $789 billion economic stimulus package, Frank, who is a representative from Massachusetts and the Chairman of the House’s Financial Services Committee, detailed how past administrations relied too much on the hands-off economy approach.

“The default position has been that the government doesn’t do anything,” Frank said.

He described that during the Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush administrations there was a focus on “taking the restraints off capital,” deregulation, and an over-emphasis on raising the GDP. The reasoning behind the concentration on the GDP, he explained, was caused by the belief that it would increase the economic well-being of all. “[They’ve said] a rising tide lifts all

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

Part I in a series on academic restructing.

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

FRANKLY BARNEY: Rep. Barney Frank spoke at Raport Treasure Hall on Mon. about the nation’s economic crisis.

boats… but what if you don’t have a boat?” he said. During his lecture, he expressed the need for policies that would lessen the gap between the wealthy and the impoverished.

In terms of globalization, he dismissed the logic that capitalism would result in democracy. “There’s nothing inherently deSee BARNEY FRANK p. 4

Studying abroad in Granada Features, page 6

When the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering Committee was created by the Faculty Senate in early January, it was crafted with the idea that the committee would find ways to save money by reorganizing Brandeis’ academic curriculum. Almost one month later, the committee’s sub-committee on academic requirements has developed some ideas for restructuring the curriculum that probably would not help the university financially, but that would codify Brandeis’ definitions of liberal arts and social justice.

Co-chair of the steering committee’s subcommittee on academic requirements Prof.

Sarah Lamb (ANTH) said in an interview that “there’s a lot of energy around looking into requirements now that we’ve never had before.”

“We can look more into what we want to do with education and where we want to go and how to structure ourselves,” she said. “Basically, this crisis is an excuse to do things that don’t really have to do with the budget.”

Current first-year students are required

On the left of patriotism Impressions, page 12

to take one university seminar, one university writing seminar, one writing intensive course, one oral intensive course, a quantitative reasoning course, three courses in a single foreign language, a non-western course and they must also take one course in every school (science, social science, humanities, creative arts, and two physical education classes).

Lamb said that the sub-committee on academic requirements is looking into whether to keep the requirements as they are, “tweak” them, or discard the requirements all together.

Dean of Arts and Sciences and chair of the steering committee Adam Jaffe said that when it comes to certain requirements “the budget crisis has provided us with the opportunity to think outside the box on many things.”

“A lot of these things are ones that someone thought before and that have already been discussed to various degrees,” he said.

“But the budget pressure makes it easier to change things it would have been harder to change otherwise.”

One such example is the non-western requirement. Lamb said that the requirement has been thought as out-dated for See REQUIREMENTS p. 3

AUDIO @ THEHOOT.NET Hoot Report: Domestic and global politics Off the Beaten Path: Veggie Planet Brandeis Watch: Public Relations firm

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February 13, 2009

The Hoot

N E WS Union creates communications task force

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

In an effort to make the Student Union more accessible, Union Executive Director of Communications Jamie Ansorge ‘09 has put together a communications task force in order to both increase the Union’s involvement in campus life and to make the Student Union more available to student involvement.

“Having a task force really increases the ability of the Union to fulfill the vision of an accessible Union that Jason Gray has laid out,” Ansorge said.

Ansorge said that the task force has already begun helping him with what, until this semester, was a one-man job.

“Last semester I sent out a total of three news briefs for the student body,” he explained. “Already this week, the team has drafted four.”

The seven members of the task force, Jake Yarmus ‘10, Ben Gorelick ‘11, Jamie Fleishman ‘11, Kay Cook ‘11, Sofya Bronshvayg ‘11, Cameron Welter ‘12 and Josh Agranat ‘12, have already been set to work dorm storming and flyering for various campus events, including the academic restructuring town halls.

The task force will also be responsible for writing letters to the editors for student publications, press briefings and campuswide e-mails for both the Union Senate and Union President Jason Gray ‘10.

Ansorge is not however following in the footsteps of the university’s senior administration - which last week announced they had solicited the aid of the public relations firm Rasky Baerlien to help handle the media since the announcement of the closing of the Rose Art Museum - Ansorge said the task force was in the process of being formed when the announcement about the Rose was made.

“I was hoping they could help me out doing what I had been doing last semester,” Ansorge said. “We had the ball rolling on this before the budget crisis, but now I’m responsible for doing 10times as much work aslast semester. It works out nicely.”

While Ansorge may not have created the task force in response to the budget crisis,

Vetting Rasky Baerlein ARCHDIOCESE (from p. 1)

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

TASK FORCE: Kay Cook ‘11 takes notes durring the Town Hall on Academic Restructuring yesterday evening. Cook is one of seven members of the new student union executive communications task force.

Gorelick said that he accepted the position because “of what’s going on on campus.”

“Having solid communications is always important,” he said, “but at this point in time, when people are just so desperate to know what’s going on, I thought it was particularly important to keep the student body well informed.”

Ansorge said he began “keeping an eye out” for potential members of the task force last semester. Once he had members in mind, he said, he sent them fliers and asked them to set up a meeting with him, at which point he invited them to be part of his team.

The team, Ansorge said, is comprised of seven individuals with different interests and capabilities.

“We all work together well, and the pieces all fall into place,” he said. “Everyone has different strengths, so they are able to work on what interests them the most.” said that when Ansorge approached her

she was impressed by his “clear, concise, informed and professional manner.”

While she said she has never worked for or with the Student Union before, she said that she has decided to “give it a chance” because she thought she could “learn a lot from Jamie.”

Ansorge added that part of the increased work load resulted from Gray’s increased work load due to the budget crisis.

“He’s been having to delegate more to me, so now I can delegate some of that to this force,” he said.

Ansorge, who will be graduating in the Spring, also mentioned that he hopes that his “potential successor” could rise from the communications task force, however, he said that “the idea is that these guys will be the future leaders on campus.”

“Yes, they will be leading the student union in particular,” he continued, “but they will also be learning skills that will help the campus community as a whole.”

them manage the media storm following the Boston Catholic Church’s sex scandal which made headlines across the country when the story broke in 2003.

Current Boston Archdiocese secretary of communications Terrence Donilon wrote in an e-mail to The Hoot that the archdiocese employed the firm “because of their professional integrity and expertise and their desire to serve us in helping to rebuild and heal the Archdiocese of Boston.”

Since joining up with the archdiocese, the firm has guided the Church through legal settlements with sexual abuse victims and the closing of Boston area catholic schools.

While Donilon wrote that he regards the firm as “trusted communications advisors,” Brighton community members were less than pleased in 2005 with the firm’s announcement that the Archdiocese was rejecting the community’s bid to buy the Our Lady of Presentation School rather than have it closed.

Then Boston city councilor for Brighton Jerry McDermott told Erin Smith of the Alston-Brighton TAB that while he was upset with the decision, he did not believe the announcement was handled properly. “‘For [the Archdiocese] to send this curt, five sentence response, who’s ever [sic] advising them should be fired,’ said McDermott. ‘Rasky Baerlein should be fired. It’s just been one public relations disaster after another.’ ” On their website, Rasky Baerlein explains that they “have a successful track record and are renown in managing the media process, influencing public opinion and controlling the situation to our clients’ advantage.”

Betsy Kelly of Rasky Baerlein refused to disclose the details of the firm’s relationship with the Archdiocese.

While the Boston Globe reported in April of 2005 that the firm was a temporary addition to the Archdiocese’s communications team, Donilon wrote to The Hoot that Rasky Baerlein is still being employed by the Archdiocese.

Senior Vice President for communications Lorna Miles did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

Bylaw could censure senators with poor attendance ‘it’s in our oath to attend senate meetings,’ Brooks says

News Tips? e-mail news@ thehoot. net

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

Student Union senators who miss more than two senate meetings will automatically be considered for censure if a new senate bylaw authored by Executive Senator Andrew Brooks ‘09 gets passed next Sunday.

Currently, senators are excused from their two-hour long senate sessions Sunday nights if it is for “extenuating circumstances.”

But according to Brooks, who is also acting senate President, lately, senators have been abusing the “extenuating circumstances” clause and skipping sessions for study groups and dinner with friends.

“Extenuating circumstances should be for things that are beyond a person’s control. Like if your flight is delayed,” Brooks explained. “While academics are certainly priorities, academic-related excuses do not count as extenuating because you can control them.”

The new bylaw, if passed would define extenuating circumstances as an incident outside of a person’s control and also limit senators to two excused absences as part of

what Brooks calls “closing the loop hole left by the old bylaw.”

Brooks believes that such limitations are fair because “showing up [to meetings] is our job.”

“This is something we all choose to do, we all choose to run. No one forces us,” he said. “It’s in our oath that we will be at meetings.”

Brooks also said he believes that a senator’s failure to attend meetings is a failure to do their constitutional duty, saying that it is a senator’s job to represent his or her constituents and if a senator does not attend meetings, he or she cannot vote on legislation and appropriately represent his or her constituents.

He also mentioned that with the current economic crisis, the Senate has been having meetings with senior administrators at which they are given information they are supposed to disseminate to their voters.

If a senator misses a meeting with an administrator, Brooks said, a sector of the student body will be left out of the loop of what’s happening on campus.

“This is a big deal,” he said. “Also, if we have poor attendance when we meet with

these administrators, they are going to think that we are disinterested and misperceive the student body as apathetic. We need to be there to show that we care and that the student body wants transparency.”

Under the bylaw, if a senator fails to meet the attendance requirements, the topic of censuring that senator will automatically be put on the docket for that meeting.

The censure, a formal condemnation of the senator’s actions, would have no actual repercussions as far as the senator’s duties are concerned.

Brooks also mentioned that while impeachment is not explicitly mentioned in the resolution, any senator can have charges of impeachment brought against him or her for breaching any bylaw at anytime— meaning that if a senator fails to meet the new attendance requirements, he or she technically could be subject to an impeachment trial.

Ultimately, Brooks said, he wants to ensure that senators take their jobs seriously.

“If you are no longer interested in doing this job and you don’t have your heart in it, we won’t hold it against you,” he said. “But then please, just step down.”

February 13, 2009

NEWS

Merit aid portable for study abroad

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

Sophomore and first year merit scholars on named merit scholarships will now be able to use their merit aid to study abroad, Assistant Dean of Academic Services J. Scott Van Der Meid wrote in an e-mail to the student body Tuesday night.

This decision comes almost one month after the Jan. 16 announcement that merit scholarships would not be portable for study abroad. The initial announcement was met with anger from students who had been guaranteed merit aid portability in their acceptance letters.

In the e-mail, Vander Meid apologized to students for the outrage the Jan. 16 decision had caused.

“We know the last few weeks may have been difficult,” he wrote. “We apologize for how [our] decisions... may have negatively affected your Brandeis experience. We hope that in restoring the aid, you will be able to engage in your educational experience with renewed vigor and excitement.”

“We recognize that merit scholars were told that their aid would be portable, and we want to honor that promise,” he added. “We also recognize that the original decision to limit the portability of aid caused anxiety for many merit scholars.”

The initial decision to revoke merit aid portability was made in the effort to close a $800,000 Study Abroad budget gap. Since the initial decision, an Advisory Committee to Study Abroad (ACSA) was formed in order to research how to close the gap

without revoking merit aid portability. Van Der Meid wrote that ACSA will now work toward finding the best way to limit study abroad applicants in order to close the gap.

ACSA student representative Alex Melman ‘11 said that the com-

INFOGRAPHIC Alex Schneider/The Hoot

mittee is discussing limiting the number of students who study abroad by making a “more selective process” for accepting study abroad candidates. Such a process would probably include the creation of a selection committee that would review each student’s application to ensure

that the student was worthy of studying abroad.

Melman added that a selection committee would take into a count a student’s grades, extra-curriculars, and the degree to which studying abroad is necessary for a student’s major.

ACSA hopes to have a decision on how a study abroad selection committee would work in time to start the process for applicants looking to study abroad in spring 2010.

Students studying abroad in fall 2009 would be unaffected by any selection committee because their abroad status would have to be finalized before a committee could form.

Van Der Meid’s e-mail did not discuss merit aid portability for future Brandeis students, however Melman said that the committee will “probably” recommend that merit aid is not portable for future classes.

“If that happened, it would be written in the scholarship letters that the aid is not portable,” he said. “The issue with the decision this time is that people had letters guaranteeing them portability.”

Cell service in Usdan to improve Univ. requirements may change CELLPHONES (from p. 1)

REQUIREMENTS (from p. 1)

Collins can remember. The problem is partially due to the building’s construction.

“It’s a pretty thick building, there’s lots of brick,” he explained.

“We’ve tried a lot of things, but it’s a difficult problem to solve,” he said. “We’ve had cell phone providers in over the years and they can’t seem to fix it.”

After learning that the service providers could not help, Hogan said that he searched online for other ways to increase cell phone service and “stumbled” across the signal amplifier online.

Collins said that he hopes that the signal amplifier will solve the problem, saying “I hope it works. For the price, it’s worth a shot. Also, there’s a pretty good return policy just in case.”

The cost of the amplifier, about $500 for the device plus the $25,000 labor fee, will be taken out of the Facilities budget.

Other universities, like Princeton and Stanford, have used signal amplifiers to improve cell phone service, however, Hogan said that he is unaware of whether or not they used the same company that Brandeis will be using.Hogan, who has been the main Union force behind the initiative, said that he came up with the idea while campaigning for his position in the fall.

“It was part of my platform to do it,” Hogan said “I wanted to follow through with my campaign promise.”

Hogan hopes that the fulfillment of his campaign promise will inspire others on campus who want to change the university.

“I hope it will encourage people who want to change Brandeis to run,” he said, “it’s also a message to senators that if you run on something, you should get it done.

We can improve the school if we want to.”

quite some time because it focuses on a very limited area of the globe.

“I think that what it’s trying to get at is not to learn about something ‘non-western’ but rather ‘diversity,” Lamb said at the Town Hall on Academic Restructuring last night.

In Lamb’s view, a “diversity” requirement would include classes about sexuality, gender, race, religion and ethnicity— something that would encourage students to take more courses outside of their major PHOTO BY Ben Rifkin/The Hoot with the incentive that more courses would count toward REQUIREMENTS: Prof. Sarah Lamb (ANTH) discusses fulfilling the requirement. howthe economic crisis will affect university requirements at the Lamb and Jaffe also said that Town Hall on Academic Restructuring yesterday. in most cases, changing the requirements do not save the university students. One example of this is if the formoney.

“If you get rid of a language requirement, eign language requirement remained the you might have less sections of French same but was called “global citizen ship” in classes, but there’s always going to be at order to put an emphasis on the university’s least one French class in each level, so you core value of social justice.

Still, Lamb said that whatever options don’t save that much money” Lamb said. the sub-committee recommends, the recLamb did mention that by changing the ommendations would most likely be made requirements, the university might attract based on academics and what it means to more incoming students, which in turn be a liberal arts institution as opposed to would make the university money through making money. tuition.

“We want to make Brandeis look as at“For example, some people say that the tractive as possible, but the changes in what quantitative reasoning requirement scares makes up requirements are really about off applicants, so if we got rid of that, we what makes a liberal arts institution a libmight have more,” she said. eral arts institution, ” she said. “It’s really Additionally, the committee is considerpurely academic and about the direction in ing marketing the requirements better to which we want to point the university.” make them more attractive to incoming

The Hoot

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PR firm to help admin and faculty committees RASKY BAERLEIN (from p. 1)

hired Rasky Baerlein’s services. Reinharz also said that there are “no plans to extend” the services of the public relations firm beyond March.

The university contracted the services of the public relations firm at the beginning of the month in an effort to “prepare and disseminate accurate and compelling stories” about the university in the media after a mass-media storm hit the university following Reinharz’ announcement that the Board of Trustees had authorized the closing of the Rose Art Museum and auctioning of its collection.

Reinharz’s decision to divulge the financing behind the hiring of the firm to Flesch marks a change from last thursday, when he refused to answer questions at a student press conference regarding the payment of the firm.

Reinharz also wrote that the services of Rasky Baerlein will be available to both members of the faculty senate’s steering committee and “additional faculty groups... yet to be determined.”

Steering Committee Chair Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe said that some committee members have talked to Rasky Baerlein informally, the committee as a whole has not met with them. Jaffe added that “the extent to which faculty have met with the firm has been in order to give input about what we ought to be doing in terms of media relations, not in order to prepare remarks of any kind.”

Jaffe also added that, as far as he is aware, the firm has not met with any members of the journalism faculty.

Student representative to the committee and Student Union President Jason Gray said that he has not yet met with the firm.

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February 13, 2009

NEWS

The Hoot

Writer considers intersection between Judaism and sexuality

BY ROBIN LITCHTENSTEIN Special to The Hoot

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

Rep. Frank speaks on stimulous package FRANK (from p. 1)

mocratizing about capitalism,” he said, citing the fact that the internet has not produced democratic values in China.

The current economic crisis, Frank described, was caused by insufficient regulation of securitization and of credit default swaps.

Securitization is when illiquid assets like mortgages are bundled together and sold by a financial institution to investors. The problem with this, Frank said, is that “people are more careful with their own money than with other [people’s].” Credit default swaps are insurance policies which protect against defaulted loans.

“It’s like issuing life insurance to vampires and they start dying,” Frank remarked.

Securitization and credit default swaps made it possible for people who could not normally afford to take out loans to do so with the expectation that, in time, things would improve and they would be able to pay off the loan. Frank explained that stricter regulation of those practices is necessary to prevent the economic crisis from repeating itself.

An immediate obstacle the Obama administration will have to overcome in order to move past the recession, he emphasized, is the anger of the American people.

Frank believed people’s anger was justifiable and that part of a way of appeasing them is to make real changes. However, he stressed the danger of “anger outpac[ing] change.” In describing the consequences of the credit crisis, he

compared it to a situation of “collateral benefit.” He said, “the only way [to get out of the credit crisis] is to help people who we would rather not help.” Frank expressed concern over those who are “more interested in punishing banks than in getting them up and running again.”

For the long term, Frank strongly advised that there be universal healthcare and a halt to the “busting of the union movement.”

He suggested that universal healthcare should not be put off and that it could be gradually attained by issuing it to more and more groups of people.

In comparing Obama’s response to the economic recession to Bush’s response, he argued that overall Obama is doing a better job. He stated the main difference between the two presidents is that Obama’s administration wants to provide aid for foreclosure relief in his new economic stimulus bill.

Rapaporte Treasure Hall had a full audience for the lecture and the reaction to Barney Frank’s speech was generally positive.

Doug Nevins ’11 said he thought Frank was “witty” and stated, “I agree in theory…I liked his descriptions of polices that have not worked.”

Dean of the Heller School and Professor of Economics Lisa Lynch was also pleased with the event.

“It was a terrific opportunity to hear one of the most influential reformers [of the economy] about current strategy and historical context,” she said.

Leslea Newman, poet laureate of North Hampton, MA, and author of Heather Has Two Mommies, spoke in the ICC Sunday about her experiences as a Jewish lesbian an an event titled “you can’t be lesbian, you’re Jewish!”

Newman said that the title of the event came from an encounter she once had after one of her speaking engagements.

Newman, whose work tends to focus on the intersection of the lesbian and Jewish identities, read a short story entitled “A Letter to Harvey Milk” to the group.

The story went over particularly well with her college-aged audience, who had Sean Penn’s recent film “Milk.”

The story relayed the impact that Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician to be elected to public office in California, had on an elderly Jewish man living in Brooklyn, New York following Milk’s assassination.

The man and the people around him were young adults during WWII, and remembered what being gay in a concentration camp meant, and were fascinated by how the times had changed.

The protagonist writes a letter to Milk for a writing class he is taking to fill the time, and asks Milk, “You had to get yourself killed for being a feigaleh?”

Newman, who seems to channel Fran Drescher and that particular brand of New York Jewishness that we like to attribute to our grandparents on Long Island and the Lower East Side, is a graduate of the University of Vermont and the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied poets at Naropa University in Boulder, CO, where she studied under Allen Ginsburg. She currently teaches at the Stone Coast MFA program at the University of Southern Maine. At the age of 27, Newman came out and reconnected with her Jewish faith.

Newman sees herself as “one stop shopping.” She has encountered some animosity in the Jewish community and ignorance in the lesbian community. In the end, she is, “just trying to get along.”

She has recently released a book

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

SEXUALITY: Author Leslea Newman reads from one of her books at her speaking event “You can’t be lesbian, you’;re Jewish!” Sunday night in the ICC.

of poetry, Nobody’s Daughter, and has just released The Reluctant Daughter, a novel about a woman who does not know whether or not she wants to be a mother until she decides whether or not she wants to be a daughter.

Newman said she got her start in writing professionally when she realized that there was no literature on Jewish lesbians readily available. Heather Has Two Mommies was written after a friend, also gay, had mentioned that there was a similar lack of material in children’s literature.

Children’s books came easily to Newman. She writes her children’s books in verse, tapping into her skills as a poet, and “always writing a truthful story the most beautiful way I can.”

Newman encouraged the audience to push themselves in their writing. She said her biggest fear is, “page fright-a blank page is

the most frightening thing in the world.” However, she challenges herself to write something everyday.

The event was co-sponsored

by Brandeis’ Jewish GBLTA club Shalem and the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA).

FMLA President Laura Hand ‘11 said that when Shalem contacted her about the event, she saw it as the perfect opportunity for FMLA to reach out and interact with other clubs on campus.

She also “saw many feminist ideals in Newman’s work.”

Shalem Co-president Emily Jaeger ’11 said that the club, in its first year at Brandeis, was looking for a speaker that embodied both the Jewish and gay identities.

“Personally I was very moved by the writing and very pleased with the turnout,” said fellow Copresident, Noam Sienna ’11.

Be sure to check out The Brandeis Watch for Brandeis news analysis at www.thehoot.net

February 13, 2009

The Hoot

ED ITORIAL

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

Alison Channon Editor in Chief Ariel Wittenberg News Editor Bret Matthew Impressions Editor Chrissy Callahan Features Editor Kayla Dos Santos Backpage Editor Alex Schneider Layout Editor Jodi Elkin Layout Editor Max Shay Photography Editor Leon Markovitz Business Editor Vanessa Kerr Business Editor Danielle Gewurz Copy Editor Max Price Diverse City Editor Senior Editors Jordan Rothman, Zachary Aronow

FOUNDED By

Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

Show up or step down

S

tudent Union Executive Senator Andrew Brooks ’09 proposed a by-law which would automatically place the issue of censure on the Senate’s docket if a senator missed two meetings without an appropriate excuse.

Brooks should be commended for attempting to hold senators accountable for the responsibilities they willingly accepted.

That this by-law even needed writing is deplorable. Running for Student Union Senate implies that the candidate is ready to make a commitment, not only of energy, but of time. That commitment is more than working for better cell-phone reception

SUBMISSION POLICIES The Hoot welcomes letters to the editor on subjects that are of interest to the general community. Preference is given to current or former community members. The Hoot reserves the right to edit any submissions for libel, grammar, punctuation, spelling and clarity. The Hoot is under no obligation to print any of the pieces submitted.

Letters in print will also appear on-line at www.thehoot.net.

The deadline for submitting letters is Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. All letters must be submitted electronically at www. thehoot.net. All letters must be from a valid e-mail address and include contact information for the author. Letters of length greater than 500 words may not be accepted.

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

The Hoot is a community student newspaper of Brandeis University. Produced entirely by students, The Hoot serves a readership of 6,000 with in-depth news, relevant commentary, sports and coverage of cultural events.

Our mission is to give every community member a voice.

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or two-ply toilet paper in residence halls.

Running for Student Union Senate implies that you are ready to show up every Sunday at 7 p.m., rain or shine, midterm or research paper, best friend’s birthday party or CD signing, to represent your constituents.

As Brooks himself said, “this is something we all choose to do…it’s in our oath that we will be at meetings.” He is absolutely right.

Some students are already dubious of the Senate’s importance. If the senators themselves do not feel attending meetings is necessary, they cannot expect students to respect the Union or to even consider it as a resource. And further, as Brooks pointed

out, the university administration will not take the Senate seriously if the senators don’t.

We hear lots of lofty rhetoric during campaigns. But no matter how committed you are to social justice, your job cannot be done if you do not show up. If a Union senator cannot make it to the third floor of the Campus Center, then that senator should re-evaluate his or her original reasons for running and actual desire to serve. Not attending meetings is not only irresponsible, it is offensive. If you’re not ready to show up, step down.

Turning crisis into creativity

hen the news of ‘metamajors’ hit the community three weeks ago, the student body seemed to have a mild infarction. Students and faculty alike were off-put by the word ‘meta’ and no one wanted his diploma to say BA in General Theory. And even as the university’s budget crisis spawned less than stellar decisions and even less than stellar handling of those decisions, it seems that in the arena of academic restructuring, crisis might do the university a little good.

As Prof. Sarah Lamb (ANTH) explained, altering university requirements, specifically the non-western requirement, may

not actually reduce costs and it may not even make Brandeis more attractive to high school seniors. Nonetheless, evaluating our curriculum with a critical eye can only benefit the university.

On Jan. 5, university President Jehuda Reinharz sent an oblique e-mail to the campus community about the financial crisis. In it he wrote, “We can and we must seize the opportunity of this financial reality to take a fresh and strategic look at everything we do, and to measure its importance against our historic mission and our future obligations.”

In the past few weeks, it seemed that the administration forgot these important

words. However, now, with the emergence of a new committee dedicated to considering fresh ideas and re-evaluating even the most entrenched components of our curriculum, we see that the university is rising to the challenge we have been presented.

This is a watershed moment in the history of our university. If we insist that everything is too sacred to alter, we essentially bury our heads in the sand.

Instead, we must rise to the occasion and take this time for critical self-reflection. It is our hope that the grave challenges we currently face do not undo us, but make us stronger.

Letter to the Editor: Student statement on the Rose We, the undersigned, as a community of fine arts students at Brandeis University, would like to communicate our thoughts and concerns surrounding recent events at our beloved institution. As arts students we are deeply invested in the Rose Art Museum and the University’s commitment to the integrity and reputation of the arts at Brandeis. The Rose has been an integral part of our educational experience. On an academic level, many of our classes have

utilized the exhibitions and vault to enhance our curriculum. Professionally, the Rose provides internships as well as guide positions, open to the entire student body, to allow students with a professional interest in museums to become involved.

We feel that this decision is detrimental to our academic experience, but also to the integrity and ethics of our university. Of particular concern is the manner in which the decision was made—behind closed

doors, without any consultation or discussion with students, faculty, or experts in the field. This makes us fearful of future decisions to be made, which may cause further harm to our students and faculty in other parts of our community. The University’s lack of transparency and their financial shortsightedness leads us to question the legitimacy of this decision as a solution to our very real and difficult crisis.

We have been working diligently to stay

informed by establishing open communication with faculty, staff and members of the student body. We want to make clear that if we are to lose this valuable resource, we and future students will continue to have an excellent education because of our dedicated and accomplished faculty. Despite this blow to an invaluable and priceless resource, we hope for a strong re-commitment to the original arts mission of our University.

Signed, Yarden Abukasis ‘09 Ashley Amorison ‘11 Shirly Bahar Alexander Barnett ‘10 Riko B. Bol ‘09 Elana Chernick-Kritz ‘08 Hannah Chalew ‘09 Daevid Chase Devallon ’09

Rachel Cohen ‘09 Eliana Dotan ‘09 Abigail Sarah Drapkin ‘12 Shira Espo ‘08 Mackenzie Gallegos Danielle Garfinkel ‘09 Ronya Gordon ’09 Ipyani Grant ‘12

Sarah Halpern ‘10 Gabrielle Helfgott ‘09 Marta Kaemmer Sharon Kim ‘10 Daniele Kohn ‘08 Anna Korkhin ‘10 Stella Liberman ‘09 Elizabeth McDonough ‘09

Kathleen Rees ‘10 Esther Schloss ‘09 Julia Sferlazzo ‘09 Maya Siegel ‘10 Ariella Silverstein-Tapp ‘09 Nichole Speciale ‘09 John Tronsor ‘09 Rebeccah Ulm ’11

6

February 13, 2009

The Hoot

FEATURES

When in Granada, you don’t do Nada Reflections from a semester abroad in Granada, Spain

BY BEN SACKS Editor

I went to a Moroccan-style restaurant the other night--a Tuesday, I believe, at about 9:30 p.m.--and walked out of that place about two and a half hours later, still hungry, and having paid the waitress a tip of zero percent. None of my friends tipped her that night either. In fact, no one did, because in Granada, Spain, where I am studying this semester, tipping is not customary. And as a result, efficient service is not customary either.

It’s possible that we could have finished dinner in under two hours, but after we ordered, our waitress took a 30 minute break, so our orders weren’t placed with the kitchen for quite some time. Since in this part of the world such behavior is perfectly acceptable, my friends and I were confronted with the choice of never going out to dinner, or allotting a generous amount of time for a seemingly simply activity. Even should we choose to go out to dinner, serving sizes are often no larger than a generous appetizer since lunch is the meal of the day here.

Welcome to Granada, where people don’t say “excuse me,” mopeds cut in front of buses with reckless abandon and people take off from work between 2 and 5 p.m. for lunch and a “siesta,” a Spanish afternoon nap. This is the city where people go nowhere fast and enjoy life to the max every day, including Tuesday.

I live with a Spanish host mother, a 64-year-old woman named Carmen who loves to cook and is very similar to the stereotypical “housewife” presented in many of the 1950s black and whites. She spends much of her time in the kitchen and doing laundry. She goes bread shopping almost every morning, and makes me wear a jacket if the weather is cold. But she has a Spanish twist--if I come home from a late night out at 1 a.m., there is a good chance that she will still be awake.

Another cultural twist in Granada is that lunch is at 2:30 p.m. That’s not because my host mother, Carmen, told me so, but rather because in Granada, lunch is understood to be at 2:30. Period. And you eat it at home. There have been days when I have had to walk a half hour home from school in the middle of the day, and then another half hour back, because in Granada you must be home for lunch at 2:30.

Leisure is the way of the world here. A typical day might include a simple breakfast at around 8 a.m., followed by a coffee break at around 10:30 a.m. Then after four and a half hours of diligent work, lunch and siesta, from 2 to 5 p.m. During these hours, most stores are closed. Then, back to work until 8 p.m., with another possible coffee break around 6:30.

Restaurants begin opening for dinner at 8:30. If it’s a weekend, or even a Wednesday night, then dinner might be followed by bars at 9, followed by the discoteca

(dance club), which opens at 2 a.m. and closes at 7.

These leisurely people have the honor of living in one of the most beautiful cities of the world.

On my way to school each morning I face the Alhambra, a large, no, enormous fortress occupying the hillside to the Northeast. Built during the 14th century, it was the last stronghold of Muslim rule in Granada, under the Nasrid family. The fortress housed royal families for generations, and is so grand (a palace later built

by Charles V sits inside of the fortress) that it nearly made the list of the “Seven Wonders of the World.”

On my way home from school each afternoon I face the Sierra Nevada mountain range, snow covered at the peaks. One can almost see the springs that flow from the mountains and provide Granada with pristine drinking water.

One can’t help but notice the Moorish architecture of most of the buildings along Recojidas, the city’s main artery. Filed with intricately carved stone, brass-plated statues and fountains throughout, this city screams old school, back when rulers could afford to construct grandiose structures at the expense of the peons below them. Almost every building looks like $1 billion.

Granada has downsides, though. Since no one goes to bed early, trash collection occurs at 1 a.m. Exiting a bar without smelling strong whiffs of cigarette smoke is

PHOTOS BY Ben Sacks/The Hoot

WHEN IN SPAIN: Top: A view of the Spanish Alhambra, a 14th century fortress.

Bottom: Ben Sacks '10 and Jillian Rubman '10, the sole Brandeis representatives to Granada, pose on the Apujarra mountain range, a subsection of the Sierra Nevadas.

simply impossible. And forget about getting somewhere on time. Should you agree to meet someone at a predetermined hour and arrive as planned, you will most likely find yourself alone for at least a f ew minutes.

And of course, there’s always the chance of getting run over by a motorcycle.

All said though, Granada is amazing. To quote “The Rough Guide to Spain,” “If you see only one town in Spain, make it Granada.” That is a valid suggestion. The tapas (hors devoures) are free with the purchase of a drink, the people are nice and the view is to die for. The siestas aren’t bad either.

- Write for Features Email features@thehoot.net

AD V ERT IS EM ENT

12

February 13, 2009

The Hoot

IMP RES S IONS Shopping for Truth

Book of Matthew

Making a difference To be a liberal and a patriot Will you go live?

BY BRET MATTHEW Editor

I’m sure by now most of you know my friend and fellow editor Jordan Rothman, author of the controversial weekly column, “One Tall Voice.”

Last week, Jordan wrote about his ideological journey toward conservatism and the influential people, events, and writings that helped him along the way. I found it to be an interesting read; in fact, amid the slightly-taller-than-usual adolescent political reasoning I found one passage that stuck out in particular.

He writes: “I don’t want to say that Liberals are not patriotic, but conservatives perhaps display their affection more openly for our country… I now have a 6X4 foot flag in my room, display a copy of the Gettysburg Address, and have never been afraid of my patriotic sentiments.”

Ah, yes. The old patriotism debate. We’ve been hearing arguments like this one since the days of Reagan, if not before that.

I would like to respond to Jordan’s claim, but out of respect for his feelings, I will try to avoid the ad hominem attacks that are typically utilized by his many critics.

Instead, I will do as he did, and share some of my own history…

I was not always a liberal. When I first came to Brandeis a year and a half ago, I considered myself a “moderate” (at least, I did on Facebook). Like many Brandeis students, I was still a member of the Democratic Party, and I was reasonably liberal when it came to social and economic issues. The problem was, unlike most of the campus, I was an Iraq war supporter.

I use the term “supporter" lightly, however. I was never a fan of former President Bush, I didn’t buy his wartime sales pitch: that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD’s and was a threat to America, and I never thought Iraq had anything to do with the terrorist attacks on September 11th. No, my reasons were much simpler; much more, dare I say it, idealistic. I thought supporting the war was the patriotic thing to do, plain and simple as that. My old history books—full to bursting with black-and-white snapshots of our victorious GIs fighting the Second World War—had shown me what a nation can do when its people are committed to supporting the war effort. In my mind, that was what we Americans had to do again. Support our military and our government. Fight the good fight. My country, right or wrong.

BY CHRISSY CALLAHAN Editor

Surely, you can spot the gaping holes in my adolescent logic. It took me a bit longer.

Once at Brandeis, I dove right in. I began writing the very column that you are reading now.

And of course, some of the first ones that I published were comprised of the adolescent logic that I was dying to bring to readers all over campus. The Democrats are fools, I said. Almost traitorous, for even daring to put a stop to the war that we should be winning.

It’s funny how putting ideas on paper can sometimes make their flaws painfully obvious.

I only ever wrote two articles about the war, and I have made little more than passing mentions to it in my writings ever since. You see, after writing those articles, I stopped living in my stars-and-stripes fantasy world. I started learning.

Through reading, listening, and debating, I learned a lesson that most of my fellow students at Brandeis take for granted, but one that many c ons e r v at ive s like Jordan have failed to grasp.

I learned that America is not always right, that it is not necessarily “the greatest nation on Earth,” and that we as citizens should not feel the need to parrot our superiority for all the pissed-off peoples of the world to hear. We are better off acting like responsible members of a democratic society: fully

When I first came to Brandeis a year and a half ago, I considered myself a “moderate”

prepared to see the wrongs being committed all around us and say, “This is wrong.”

Should I have learned this lesson a long time ago? Probably.

But I like to think that my change of heart came better late than never.

And so, months after gracing The Hoot’s op-ed pages with my warmongering columns, I found myself marching in the student Iraq war protest held last spring.

I can now honestly say that I have a newfound respect for those few lawmakers who in 2003 resisted a popular president and his call for an unjust war. More importantly, I have an immense respect for the small percentage of Americans who opposed the war from the very beginning, despite being labeled by their “patriotic” neighbors as traitors. I am now proud to call myself a liberal.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my country, the land of my birth, as much as any American. But unlike conservatives, my fellow liberals and I acknowledge that love is blind. Giant flags and patriotic quotes may at first convey appreciation for our nation, but in the end they are little more than excuses for ignorance. The true patriot does not recite. He thinks.

Jordan may be proud of his 6X4 American . flag on his wall, and that’s fine for him. But my walls will stay bare. Instead, I will keep my copy of the Constitution—the backbone of our free republic—on my bookshelf within easy reach.

That, and a place to write, is all this liberal American needs.

I like to think that my change of heart came better late than never

A few weeks ago, a group of very diverse Brandeis students squeezed into a room in the second floor of Shapiro Campus Center. It was a Sunday night around 7 p.m. and we all sat around the tightly filled table, snacking on pizza and chatting as we waited.

We were all there for one reason; and no, it wasn’t a party. We were all excited to officially launch a project we’d been working on for months.

What if I told you we were gathered because we all have a plan to end global poverty?

“Yeah, yeah, Brandeis students always have some kind of a plan,” you’d probably say.

Or perhaps you might say “Now how in the world are you going to do that?” And I wouldn’t blame you, either, because I asked that same question several months back when I first heard of Live Campus.

I was never what you’d call an activist in high school. I wasn’t a member of student government, I wasn’t actively involved in any service-oriented activities, I didn’t dream up ambitious ideas to solve the world’s problems.

Now I’m in college and several of these things still haven’t changed.

I still have no desire to be in student government and I haven’t organized any protests lately. But I am involved in an ambitious idea to solve one of the world’s problems: poverty. This movement is called Live Campus 2009.

Live Campus 2009 is a Brandeisbased, national student movement seeking an end to global poverty and the creation of a united student movement. By hosting concerts at colleges across the country, we hope to both raise money and awareness of issues pertaining to global poverty. All money raised from these concerts will go to one of 11 charities with which Live Campus has partnered.

Many of you might be thinking: “You want to end global poverty how? By hosting a bunch of concerts? Good luck with that! College students are apathetic. Nothing we ever do is going to make a difference anyway. Besides, how can one person make a difference?”

Let’s face it, college students are busier than ever, and today it’s hard to find the time to sleep never mind spend hours upon hours engaged in service. But what if you could make a difference from your dorm room? What if you could use your passions and talents to enact change? What if it was actually fun?

You might be thinking, “Poverty isn’t my issue” or “It’s not my passion.” But what about women’s rights? What about education?

How about hunger or maternal health? Surely one of these issues affects you in some way. We all

have one issue that’s close to our hearts – whether directly or indirectly – and we all can contribute to those issues by joining Live Campus.

It’s easy to feel like you can’t make a difference when there are so many problems facing the world such as rising instances of HIV/AIDS cases or staggering infant mortality rates. It’s easy to fall into the trap of saying “I have my own problems,” especially when the U.S. is facing its own economic troubles. It’s easy to think you can’t help a stranger who lives hundreds of miles across the ocean.

But you don’t need to build water wells to make a difference.

You don’t have to go to Africa and work in an AIDS clinic to touch a life. As odd as it may sound, you can play soccer, you can write an article, you can host a concert to raise money to end global poverty. You can do what you normally do and still make a difference.

What does “Going Live” mean?

Going Live means designing a pretty fabulous website like our web designer. Going Live means calling up schools you’ve never even heard of, asking them to join Live Campus. Going Live means donating the proceeds from your on campus concert to Live Campus because you were already planning one anyway. Going Live means writing this article right now.

You don’t have to be a big name artist to make a difference. You don’t have to be rich to contribute. You can start where you are right now.

As Associate Director of Communications for Live Campus, I’ve spent countless hours over these past few months talking to my peers, writing articles about them, and reading about them.

Each time I come out of an interview with one of these students I am totally amazed. I’m amazed at their ingenuity. I’m amazed at their modesty. And I’m amazed by their hope and drive.

What students do does matter.

Writing an article to raise awareness can help just as much as actually doing field work. Hosting jewelry classes for women or working to clean water abroad can change lives. Hosting a barefoot soccer competition can raise awareness about AIDS. Hosting a concert to end global poverty just may do that. And thinking you won’t make a difference is a waste of time.

So far, 23 schools have signed on to host Live Campus concerts.

That’s 23 schools that realize the potential they have to make a difference. Twenty-three schools that are going Live.

So, when it comes time to go Live, will you? To learn more about Live Campus, visit our website at http://livecampus.org/.

February 13, 2009

IMPRESSIONS

When the weather outside is frightful...

The Hoot 13

Hall of fame or hall of shame?

Baseball's greats break the rules

BY JOSH GELLAR Special to The Hoot

BY SAMANTHA SHOKIN Special to The Hoot

I could never understand New Englanders.

Between late November and March, the Boston area is a grayand-white picture of skeletal tree branches and frozen heaps of once fluffy, soon-to-be crisp and solid snow; frozen icing over an endlessly dismal landscape. After a freshly-fallen snowfall, the stuff quickly glosses-over with dazzling iciness, filled in by shades of grey with black specs here and there. Were one to attempt the customary practice of snow-angel making, that individual would get an unpleasant surprise—first they would triumphantly fall backward towards the earth, arms outstretched, their body’s form impressing itself into the crunchy mound of white ice. Then, quite abruptly, they would realize that an attempt at creating wings would be futile and rather unpleasant from that point, much like trying to swim through a heap of icicles.

Thus not only is the frosty icing of snow deceiving and unappealing to begin with, every winter the blinding white stretches of land throughout New England are spotted with countless imprints of unfinished and abandoned snow angels—a wintery graveyard, of sorts.

Those who claim to adore the cold, who are ravished by the “winter wonderland” plaguing the climate through the post-holiday season and who presumably enjoy the feeling of over-chilled extremities are, to my understanding, either very optimistic or completely insane. To these folks I must look like some sort of depressed Inuit girl trudging through the streets of Boston, because under my many layers upon layers of fleeced, woolen, over-and-underarmored insulation, I’m still grumbling to myself about the single-digit temperatures and utter lack of feeling in my big toe.

Every time I am on the verge of frostbite I question the reasons I had for applying to colleges in Boston. Prestigious education?

Great. Many students in the proximity? Awesome. Insufferable temperatures reminiscent of frozen Arctic tundra? They forgot to include that bit in the college pamphlet. Remarkable, really, how the worst weather also seems to coincide with the worst workloads for classes.

They should cancel college tours during winter session because anyone visiting this time of year would assume by looking at any and every individual that the whole “best years of your life” sentiment is a myth. College students are certainly not a happy bunch this time of year. Between the cold, the common cold, midterm exams and the timely lack of daylight (not to mention sleep), it is no wonder that I have encountered several people within the past week alone claiming to suffer from depression. Am I the only one who always found the acronym for Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) just too awfully appropriate?

Snowball fights become deadly when you’re chucking balls of ice and sledding can only be amusing for so long. On days when it’s above 40 outside I get so excited as to want to step out in a tee-shirt and listen for birds chirping. I’m worried that when short-sleeve weather finally arrives my skin will be as ghastly pale as a nocturnal lab rat’s and I’ll be forced to take some sort of melanin supplement. Hopefully I’ll pull through just long enough to once again experience the feeling of unfiltered oxygen against my bare skin. Until then, hey… at least we don’t have any excuse not to study? Just kidding.

At least be grateful for indoor heating and the godliness of hot showers. My Siberian ancestors would be proud.

After the Alex Rodriguez scandal of last weekend, many are questioning if anybody was clean from the steroid era of baseball.

Furthermore, who should be in the Hall of Fame? Those with the best statistics or those who were never caught? This writer looked at the numbers and the steroid evidence from 1990 to 2003 and has the following to say on who should be in the Hall of Fame and who will fall short because of this scandal.

Two players with legendary pitching careers are Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson. Maddux is eighth all-time in career wins along with four straight Cy Young awards. Johnson is second all-time in strikeouts, five wins away from the magical number of 300, and has five Cy Young awards. Neither has been particularly dominant the last few years, but don’t forget the legacy that these two legends have left behind.

On the hitting side, the three hitters who have elite numbers and have avoided scandal are Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey Jr., and Mike Piazza. Piazza is one of the greatest offensive catchers of all time. Thomas and Griffey meanwhile are both members of the 500 home run club. Of the 24 members of the 500 home run club, 16 are eligible for the Hall of Fame, 15 are in the Hall of Fame, and 10 were first ballot Hall of Famers. This seems to be as good an indication of Hall of Fame worthiness as any statistic.

So what about the rest of the nine that aren’t in the Hall of Fame? Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Gary Sheffield (still at 499, but should break 500 next season) have all been accused of steroid use. All six of these players were likely to end up in the Hall of Fame. First the Balco grand jury several years ago accused Bonds and Sheffield.

Sheffield has kept his play at a solid level so he has mostly fallen through the cracks of the witch hunt. Bonds however, currently faces the threat of prison for lying to a grand jury. McGwire, Sosa, and Palmeiro have all since been linked to steroid usage. We’ve already seen the results on the Hall

ILLUSTRATION BY Ariel Wittenberg/The Hoot

of Fame voting with McGwire.

Sosa and Palmeiro will likely follow suit with remaining low on the voting percentage. Sheffield might slip through and still make it. However, Bonds has made many enemies with his gruff nature over the years and payback will keep one of the greatest hitters of all time out of the Hall.

R o g e r Clemens is probably the pitching equivalent to Bonds.

With 7 Cy Young awards and top ten rankings in Wins and ERA, it’s hard to find a pitcher with more long-term success than the Rocket. However, he chose to lie about his steroid use and his trainer has now brought his legacy down. Clemens should be in the pantheon of all-time greats, and will fall short as a result.

Finally, there is the question of Alex Rodriguez. A batting average above .300. A great glove.

Great speed. 553 career home runs. And he’s only 33. Now a confidential survey of tests in 2003 has been leaked by a greedy government official and Rodriguez has had his legacy tarnished. Rodriguez followed the suit of teammate Andy Pettitte and admitted to and apologized for taking steroids. He claims that he only took them from 2001 to 2003, his tenure with the Texas Rangers, citing the pressure of the mega-deal he signed before

Two players with legendary pitching careers are Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson.

the 2001 season. The question is should we believe him when he says he only took steroids those three seasons. That is what the steroid era has tarnished the most. We don’t know who took what. We don’t know if Rodriguez really did take steroids just from 2001 to 2003 or if he took them before 2001 as well. The fact of the matter is that sometimes we just have to stop the witch hunt and just assume everybody is tarnished and reward those who did the best.

The one thing we know is that we cannot change the past. The one thing we can do is say that anybody currently in the Hall of Fame belongs there. There is a nineteenth century pitcher named Pud Galvin in the Hall of Fame. Galvin has 364 career wins. In 1889, Galvin admitted to using a substance filled with monkey testosterone, thus becoming the first admitted steroid user.

How about 300 game winner Gaylord Perry. He admitted in a book he wrote during his playing career to utilizing a Spitball, an illegal pitch since the first half of the 20th century. Perry is also a member of the Hall of Fame.

Nobody can stop the media from accusing anybody and everybody from the steroid era of being guilty of taking steroids.

The one thing we can ask is that once a player is in the Hall of Fame, let him be. If we expand the witch hunt to players already in the Hall of Fame, we risk degrading the achievements of every player in baseball history. No Pitchforks Allowed.

The Hoot accepts submissions to the Impressions section on any topic of consequence to any member of the campus community. Our mission is to give every community member a voice.

The views expressed in the Impressions section do not necessarily reflect the views of The Hoot's editorial board.

14

February 13, 2009

IMPRESSIONS

The Hoot

One Tall Voice

Hiatt Career Corner

Anti abortion, pro personal responsibility

Grab their attention with a well-written cover letter

BY JORDAN ROTHMAN Editor

Perhaps no issue in our modern society invokes more passion and vigor than abortion. This topic is extremely divisive, as many members of our nation have differing views and opinions on the subject. What is extremely fascinating is how convoluted the rhetoric surrounding this debate has become. The labels “pro-life” and “pro-choice” do not even come close to defining the stances of everyone who are for and against abortion, and other ambiguous phrases predominate the debate.

Furthermore, the way that this issue has been handled by our government is appalling, as activist judges have taken the topic away from the democratic means of our republican system. In addition, I am in fact against abortion. I would like to explain why, and perhaps untangle some of the mess that surrounds this most controversial of topics.

I don’t really understand the terms “pro-choice” and “pro-life.”

As far as I am concerned they are just labels created by supporters or opponents of abortion to give their causes either religious righteousness or an appeal to the extension of liberties. If I had to pick one of these terms to describe my position on abortion, I would chose “pro-choice.” I, In fact, support a woman’s right to choose, as their decision whether or not to have sex should never be abridged.

I also detest describing myself as “pro-life.” My position does not stem from the belief that fetuses are living humans (though, on certain days, I do think this is true and tend sometimes to side against abortion for this reason).

Rather, I am against abortion due to another rationale which shall be discussed later. I won’t even begin to rail against the term “reproductive rights,” but to say that this is one of the most ambiguous phrase I ever heard. The right to reproduce is not in question, whether or not abortions should be allowed is the issue under contention. Please don’t ever use the

terms “pro-life” or “pro-choice” when debating abortion. It is just a thinly-veiled attempt to bolster your rhetoric and the phrases “for-abortion” and “anti-abortion” work just fine.

One of the reasons that I am against abortion is due to the illegal way that it has been decided by our federal government. I have already devoted at least two articles toward describing why judicial activism has taken away the rights of our democratically-elected leaders to decide issues that are so dear to the American public. I will not be redundant here, and would therefore like to say that you can be against the way something is passed, and still be a proponent of the initiative in question. You can, for instance, support the fact that people are voting on an issue and still dislike their decision. For example, I have known some people who favored Californians voting on Proposition 8 even though they are for gay marriage, because this process was democratic, rather than judicially tyrannical.

People could also be against the Supreme Court creating certain rights out of thin air and oppose the decisions of that body even though these rulings support their ideological positions. Rational people can see that in our modern society, people ought to vote on issues that are important to us rather than trust the decisions of crusty old popes that are not held responsible to the people. I think you can definitely divorce being opposed to the process by which a policy is initiated even though the eventual decision supports your own beliefs.

And now to the meat and potatoes of why I am against abortion. I feel that our society should be built around a system where people are responsible individuals who should be held accountable to their actions. If only individuals were responsible enough to save for their retirement, maybe we would not have to rely on the inefficient system known as Social Security. If people were only more sensible, individuals would not involve themselves in risky activity

and then, perhaps, we would not have to spend as much money on draining programs like Medicaid, disability, and others. In my view, outlawing abortion is just one step in creating a society where people are more sensible and take responsibility for their actions.

Individuals having sex know that there are dire consequences to their activity and should take the necessary precautions to ensure that they remain safe. Seriously, how can someone screw up something as serious as safe sex, and with the necessary counter-measures, the chances of pregnancy is extremely low. If negative consequences are realized, they should be accepted, as a known possible result of sexual activity. That being said, I think that anyone who is not held accountable for their actions by our society should be allowed to have abortions. This group includes people under the age of 18, individuals with mental incapacities and certain other people. Also, rape victims should also be allowed to have abortions, as they did not agree to sexual activity.

I am aware that abortion is an extremely touchy topic in our modern society, and I know that I may receive some negative reactions to this article. But I just want to unravel some of the misconceptions surrounding the topic. I hate the terms that have been applied to supporters and opponents of abortion, as they do not fully describe their positions. In addition, I want people to know that they can be against judicial tyranny and for abortion.

Furthermore, personal responsibility should predominate our society and outlawing abortion is one step toward establishing this framework. I know some will say I am a man and this inhibits my ability to chime in on the topic.

Some may call me coarse, saying that I am unwilling to give second chances. Still, these are my opinions and I am happy to add my goods to the marketplace of ideas.

For many, however, this product may be sour grapes indeed.

BY MERIDITH APFELBAUM Special to The Hoot

I am often asked, “Do I really need to send a cover letter along with my resume?” and “Do potential employers even read cover letters?” The answer to both is a resounding YES! The cover letter plays a crucial role in engaging an employer to review your resume and call you in for an interview. Think of your resume as a professional timeline and your cover letter as the targeted narrative that illustrates your most relevant skills and experiences, thereby showing the employer that YOU are the perfect fit for their available job opportunity.

A one page document; three to four paragraphs in length, the cover letter is a key piece of your self-marketing campaign and serves as an example of your writing ability. Remember, effective writing skills are highly valued by employers.

Address your letter to the attention of a specific contact within the organization; either a member of the human resources team or someone from a specific department. You should feel free to research online to find an appropriate name and title or to call the employer to inquire whom the best person is to address your letter. Having a specific name helps to establish a personal and targeted tone and will greatly assist you with your job application follow-up process.

The goal of your opening paragraph is to grab the reader’s attention and entice him or her to read further. Communicate your interest in the position for which you are applying, and establish who you are and why you are specifically interested in their organization. Create an obvious, clear “connection” between you and the potential employer.

Also, if you have been referred to him or her by a mutual acquaintance, the opening para-

graph is the best place to mention that.

The body of your cover letter is usually one to two paragraphs and should convey your specific qualifications for the position.

Your primary task here is to show the employer that you are the best “fit” for their open position.

Review the job description and evaluate the specific skills, knowledge areas, and personal attributes that the employer is looking for in a potential candidate. Then illustrate these characteristics through the use of two or three specific examples from your past experiences; consider class projects, internships, summer or part-time jobs, volunteer opportunities, campus leadership positions. Show that you do in fact possess the qualifications that they are seeking.

DO NOT reiterate your entire resume; simply highlight the most relevant skills and experiences that show you are the strongest candidate for the position.

The closing paragraph is brief.

Leave the employer with a very clear sense of your interest in the position and the contribution you would make to their organization. Indicate that your resume is enclosed or attached for review.

Mention that you would welcome the opportunity to meet with him or her to discuss the needs of the position and your qualifications.

Tell the employer how to best get in touch with you; via e-mail or phone. And state that you will be following up to confirm that your materials have been received.

Include a “thank you” statement i.e., “Thank you for reviewing my materials.”

End your letter with a formal salutation, such as, “Sincerely yours.” Below the salutation, add your signature then type your name beneath it.

Editor's Note: The writer is the Assistant Director for Alumni Services at the Hiatt Career Center.

Are you a liberal, patriotic American?

Are you just sick of the crazy weather around here?

Or are you just a generally angry person?

Write to The Hoot Impressions!

E-mail Bret Matthew at impressions@thehoot.net

February 13, 2009

The Hoot 15

S PORTS

Weekend road trip ends in frustration for Judges

BY HANNAH VICKERS Special to The Hoot

The Brandeis women’s basketball team spent last weekend on the road, facing the University of Chicago on Friday Feb. 6 and Washington University in Saint Louis Sunday Feb. 8. Despite putting up a good fight, the Judges came off the weekend 0-2 with a 63-50 loss against Chicago and a 71-56 loss to Wash U. Brandeis’ record fell to 13-6 and 3-6 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play.

The Judges started off strong against the Wash U. Bears on Sunday, getting a 13-4 lead less than seven minutes into the game. The Bears seemed to snap out of it at that point and, over the next 7:30, outscored the Judges 19-2 and didn’t allow the Judges a single field goal during that time. With 6:17 left in the first half, the Bears had a 23-15 lead over Brandeis. At that point, the Judges answered back with a run of their own, going 8-0, and a pair of free throws from Jessica Chapin ’10 tied the game at 23-23. Despite the show of power by Brandeis, Wash U. countered in the remaining minutes of the half, shooting six turnovers and holding Brandeis to 1-for-4.

After scoring 15 of the last 18 points of the first half, Wash U. had a 38-26 lead at intermission.

With 16:43 left in the second half, the Judges managed to narrow the Bears lead to seven points, 43-36, on a Chapin trifecta, but Wash U. immediately answered back.

Lauren Orlando ’09 got two free throws on Brandeis’ next possession, but the team was unable to get the deficit under 10 points for the rest of the game. In addition to having the game’s leading scorer with 21 points, Janice Evans ’10, the Bears also outscored the Judges 27-4 on turnovers. Brandeis was

led in scoring by Chapin who had 18 points, including 4-of-4 from the line and downtown as well as making 5-of-10 from the field. Chapin also had five assists and rebounds. Diana Cincotta ’11 contributed 12 points and Amanda Wells ’09 had her second career doubledouble with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

In Friday’s game against the University of Chicago Maroons, Brandeis couldn’t repeat their previous success against the team. The Judges fell 63-50 against the Maroons after beating them by almost an identical score five days earlier. As was the case with Sunday’s game against Wash U., Brandeis had a strong start against the Maroons, taking PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot a 10-4 lead by hitting four of their first five shots. With 6:28 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Judges play Washington University in a home game two weeks ago. left in the first half, the Maroons took the lead for the first time at 17- taking a 34-18 lead. The lead stayed in dou- 8 of her 12 points in the second half as well as 16 off a Karly Kasper ’11 jumper and didn’t ble figures until, with 6:21 left in the game, recording a game-high four assists. The Judgfall behind again. the Judges fought it back down to within es committed only 14 turnovers while forcing Brandeis only hit three of their last 23 nine at 45-36. Rookie Morgan Kendrew ’12 23, but could not overcome a 46-30 reboundshots and was held without a field goal cut the Maroons lead to 47-39 on a three- ing disadvantage or the 23-9 advantage Chifor the final 7:35 of the first while Chicago pointer with 5:25 left, but Brandeis was un- cago had from the free-throw line.

This weekend Brandeis is on the road closed on a decisive 14-2 run, taking a 28- able to keep the momentum going, resultagain, facing off against both the highest 18 lead into the second half. The Judges ing in the 63-50 loss. and lowest ranked teams in the UAA. The were just 7-28 (25%) from the floor in the Kendrew, who made her first collegiate Judges will play Carnegie Mellon (0-9 in first half, compared to Chicago who shot start, hit 3-of-7 from 3-point range and the UAA) on Friday night and the Roch11-17 (64.7%). Despite the low percentage, scored a career-high 14 points, 11 of which ester (8-1 in the UAA) on Sunday. CarnBrandeis player Cassidy Dadaos ’09 led all came in the second half. She also led the egie Mellon is coming off a six game losing players in the first with seven points. judges with six rebounds, another careerstreak while Rochester, currently ranked Chicago opened the second half with an- best. Captain Jessica Chapin also made sigsecond, has won their last four games. other run, scoring the first six points and nificant contributions to the team, shooting

Athletics have value

BY JORDAN ROTHMAN Editor

With the current environment of budget cuts and revenue losses, it seems that everyone is focusing on the Rose Art Museum and other parts of the university that have recently met the hatchet. Another story that is perhaps not in the limelight as much as these other programs is the severe cuts that the athletics department has been forced to make due to the university’s budget deficit.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of revenue, the Varsity golf team has been suspended until further notice and it seems that the Swimming and Diving squads are also seeing their last seasons. I totally understand that the university needs to cut these programs, and sympathize with the administrators who were forced to make these tough decisions. What I do not approve of are certain reactions by community members that write off these cuts as not as important as other areas of the university that have also been terminated.

Some, for instance, have said that these athletic teams are not essential to the academic mission of the university and are therefore not upset at seeing these programs go. I’d like to attack this sentiment in a number of ways. For one, the University Athletic Association (UAA) is at its heart an academic association that links together some of the finest educational institutions in the country. Seeing scholars from numerous institutions out of the classroom and united in athletics is truly rewarding as it connects a wide-ranging and diverse network of students. Furthermore, the skill honed in athletic achievement is clearly transferable to academics. The ability to focus, process, and even the capacity to

act under pressure are all vital skills in the academy as they are on the playing field.

Another thing that people have said is that the Rose Art Museum and other programs are more representative of the university than the squads that have been cut. While this statement is of uncertain validity, let me tell you that our athletics teams do a great job of representing the university. Whenever they wear a uniform, whenever they score a win for the school, Brandeis’ reputation is strengthened. Furthermore, extremely diverse and great students decide to attend Brandeis in order to participate in the athletics program, and this has a positive effect on the overall experiences of the student body. Finally, I also want to say that our scholar-athletes execute a number of wonderful programs that benefit the community. The Student Athlete Advisory Council, for instance, helps to advertise Relay for Life Kid’s in Sports Day and a number of other programs, which help charities and reflect well on our school. Cutting these teams ensures that we lose such vital representation and detracts from the ability of athletes to contribute to greater causes.

I have heard that there are efforts to ensure that these athletics team are not cut in the years to come. The golf team, if my information is correct, has already begun an initiative to raise the money necessary to continue the program and this would be wonderful indeed. I simply hope that through this article, I am able to show the negative consequences that would ensue if these squads are in fact cut. I understand if the university needs to suspend these programs, but I encourage everyone to help keep these wonderful athletics teams alive and competing.

Men’s BBall lose weekend games

BY ZACHARY ARONOW Editor

It was a crucial moment for the men’s basketball, with five straight games on the road, the Judges needed to come out unified and strong in order to compete for a postseason bid. As of now, their chances of an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship appearance are remote after first getting upended by Chicago 81-90 and then were outmatched and outmanned with five suspended players and no answer in a 57-82 rout at the hands of Washington University.

Prior to the Wash U game, Andre Roberson ’10, Terrell Hollins ’10, Kenny Small ’10, Christian Yemga ’11 and Napoleon Lherrison ’11 were all suspended by the team for violation of team rules.

Lherrison and Yemga are also benched for tonight’s match against Carnegie Mellon.

The trouble though began in Chicago, five days removed from a 67-36 dismantling of the Maroons at Gosman Gym; Brandeis found themselves facing down an old problem – inability to guard against the three.

Chicago converted 17 of 26 attempts with John Kinsella and Michael Sustaric combining for 10-13 from three and led the scoring with 22 and 19 points respectively.

All of the Chicago starters reached double digits in scoring.

Kevin Olson ’09 led the offensive effort

with 22 points on the strength of six three pointers. Roberson picked up a doubledouble with 14 points, 10 assists. Steve DeLuca (GRAD) was limited to 12 points in 21 minutes, falling into foul trouble.

Small and Yemga had 12 and 11 points respectively.

The Judges shot 60 percent in the game but the three pointers proved to be the critical difference. Brandeis was also limited to ten trips to the free throw line while Chicago earned 21 attempts in the second half alone.

With the suspensions, Coach Meehan trotted out a jury-rigged line up with rookies Tyrone Hughes ’12 and Vytas Kryskus ’12 taking over at guard and forward and Rich Magee ’10 manning the middle. Kryskus matched his career high with 15 points and Hughes had 14 but it wasn’t enough as the number two ranked Bears shot 59 percent in the game including 55 percent from the three point line leading to the 25 point defeat.

Tyler Nading lead Washington with 15 points and center Zach Kelly was one point shy of reaching double digits in scoring along with the rest of the starters.

Now 5-4 in conference play, the Judges will hope that the next leg of the road trip is more forgiving as they take on Carnegie Mellon tonight on Feb. 13 at 8:00 pm and then up to upstate New York on Feb. 15 for a noon contest.

Brandeis returns home Feb. 20 hosting Emory and then Case Western on Feb. 22.

16

February 13, 2009

The Hoot

W ee k end Spotlight on Boston

The Necks:

Naked at the MFA:

Saturday, Feb. 14, 2 p.m.

465 Huntington Ave., Boston

Looking for something new to listen to? Check out this Australian jazz band with a cult following.

Their minimalist style refreshes a variety of musical genres. Catch them at the Institute of Contemporary Art. Tickets cost $20 w/student id.

Like scavenger hunts? Like nudity?

If yes, then this is the perfect event for you! Get a team together of up to six people and find answers to tricky questions that trace nudity in art at the museum. Hint: Do not show up naked.

www.icaboston.org

http://watsonadventures.com

What's going on at Brandeis?

Vocal Valentines: Friday, Feb. 13, Lunch Usdan

Siddhartha:

Friday, Feb. 13, 8 p.m.

Laurie Theater, Spingold

Photo courtesy of Nyo.

In this theatrical adaptation of the novel of the same name, an Indian boy sets out on a journey to enlightenment. Author Hermann Hesse narrates the play, created for the stage by Eric Hill.

Tickets cost $10 w/student id.

Can't rhyme? Not a poet? Want to surprise your sweetheart with a poem, which expresses your love? You're in luck! Get a member of Vocal, Brandeis' slam poetry group to write you one. All proceeds go Photo courtesy of Lynne Lancaster. to a Waltham afterschool program.

Open Discussion:

Friday, Feb. 13, 9:10 a.m.

Lown 203

Discuss tactics of cultivating diverse efforts to fighting HIV/AIDS in subSaharan Africa. This event is the last of a series connected to the residency of Dr. Brian Williams, Epidemiologist for the World Trade Organization.

Comic Strips Sleazy

Valentine's Day: Saturday, Feb. 14, all day Everywhere

Now's your chance to show your loved ones that you care about them. Send a card, make a phone call, give a hug. Make this day a special one.

Insert Comic Here

Photo courtesy of Stephen Gibson.

By Anthony Scibelli

By Matt Kupfer

Floppsie

This comic was printed in an earlier issue of the Hoot.

laughingwarlock

Friday, Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m.

100 Northern Ave., Boston

By Ian Price

By Grace Alloy-Relihan