The Brandeis Hoot - 2-6-09

VOL 5, NO. 17

FEBRUARY 6, 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

University Admin consults PR firm about media woes

“I screwed up,” Reinharz says of media handling

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

University President Reinharz clarified what he called “misperceptions picked up by the press” at a student press conference yesterday, saying that the university’s Board of Trustees never voted to close the Rose Art Museum and sell its collection.

Reinharz said that while the trustees authorized the administration to close the Rose in order to transition it into an art teaching and exhibition center, “the Board of Trustees resolution did

not speak about the closing of the rose. The resolution said that we ought to find a way to integrate the roes more closely into the education mission of the university.”

“The board resolution never talked about selling the collection,” he continued. “They gave us the option to sell.”

This announcement marks a change in Reinharz’s message about the Rose Art Museum to both the Brandeis community and the nation.

Reinharz announced the Board’s vote on the Rose in a Jan. 26 press release. The beginning of

the press release reads: “Brandeis University’s Board of Trustees today voted unanimously to close the Rose Art Museum… after necessary legal approvals and working with a top auction house, the university will publicly sell the art collection.”

However, the actual text of the resolution that the Board passed reads: “That the University administration is authorized to take the necessary steps to transition the University’s Rose Art Museum See PUBLIC RELATIONS p. 4

Nonprofits push to change state endowment law

BY ALISON CHANNON Editor

The university’s counsel is evaluating the possibility of changing the Massachusetts state laws governing endowment spending, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French said at a student press conference yesterday.

Questions about the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) arose at last week’s student forum with university President Jehuda Reinharz.

“Our counsel is looking at it,” French said. “Prudent is the important word here,” he said. “Is it

prudent?”

UPMIFA was approved by The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), an organization comprised of lawyers, judges, and academics charged with drafting proposals for model laws, in 2006 in an effort to afford not for profit organizations greater flexibility in managing their funds. The law, which has been enacted in 26 states and the District of Columbia, would eliminate restrictions on the spending of principal.

Under UPMIFA, “Subject to the intent of a donor expressed in the gift instrument…an institution may appropriate for expenditure or accumulate so much of an en-

dowment fund as the institution determines is prudent for the uses, benefits, purposes, and duration for which the endowment fund is established.”

The act continues, “In making a determination to appropriate or accumulate, the institution shall act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances.”

Unlike UPMIFA, the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act (UMIFA), the law which has governed not for profit endowment management in MasSee UPMIFA p. 2

In the midst of anger, understanding

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

The Board of Trustee’s authorization for the university to close the Rose Art Museum and sell its collection has been met with disbelief, outrage and protest from both within the Brandeis community and beyond. The reactions of people who cannot comprehend the decision the Board made have been the topic of tens of national headlines in the past two weeks.

Less well heard, however, are the voices of community members who dislike the decision, but understand the difficulties the Board faced.

“It’s an awful decision, but it’s a hard choice,” Jordan Warsoff ’11 said, “I trust them. We wouldn’t still be here if [the administration] didn’t know what they are doing.”

Warsoff continued to say that, unlike many students who do not believe that closing the Rose is the correct decision, he was “convinced” that looking into closing the Rose was the only option after

INSIDE:

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

MEET THE PRESS: President Reinharz reflects on his handling of the media in the wake of the Board of Trustee’s authorization of the closing of the Rose Art Museum.

You can listen to the audio recording of the student press conference at: www.thehoot.net/articles/4962 .

Undergrad applications for class of ‘13 drop 14 percent

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

AGAINST CONFLICT: Some students believe that protests like the “Funeral for the Rose” held last night (above) only hurt the administration’s perception of student opinion. “The extreme voices are always going to get heard,” Laura Velez ‘11 said, “but that’s not how most of us feel. The administration needs to know that even though we are upset, most of us understand the decision.”

he saw Executive Vice President and Chief Officer Peter French’s presentation to the student body last Wednesday.

Prof. Detlev Suderow (IBS) agreed, saying that the decision to authorize the closing of the Rose is “unpleasant but necessary.”

In an e-mail to the faculty listserv detailing why he supports the

university administration, Suderow wrote that he believes that Brandeis is only one of many universities that will have to make cuts in the coming months. By acting quickly, he believes, Brandeis has faced the brunt of the media attention, but will “pros-

ELECTIONS GOAL

See UNDERSTANDING p. 3

Undergraduate applications are down 14 percent this year despite plans for the first-year class of 2013 to include 75 more students than previous first-year classes, Dean of Admissions Gil Villanueva said.

Villanueva, who said that Brandeis is not the only university experiencing a drop in applications, attributed the drop to the national recession.

“Early analysis indicates the drop came largely from applicants with lower SAT scores,” he said.

“Unfortunately, there is a correlation between lower test scores and socio-economic status. It appears that we have lost some lower income to middle income applicants.”

Villanueva said that recent media attention to Brandeis’ financial problems since the Board of Trustees authorized the closing of the Rose Art Museum did not affect the number of applicants

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BBALL

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since the authorization was announced after the Jan. 15 application deadline.

However, he said that he is nervous about how the recent press attention will affect enrollment in the fall, saying that while he is certain it will have some effect, “only time will tell” how large or small that effect is.

“It’s unfortunate that overnight Brandeis has become the media darling, and it’s unfortunate that the media has spun stories that are not reflective of the institution’s intentions,” Villanueva said.

“But in admissions, perception is reality.”

He also added that the Brandeis administration is “bright” and that “we are not interested in releasing art work when the current art market dictates a 57 cents per dollar value on art.”

Villanueva went on to say that the university is fortunate that See ADMISSIONS p. 3

THIS WEEKEND

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COMICS

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February 6, 2009

The Hoot

N E WS The Reader author speaks on collective guilt

BY KAYLA DOS SANTOS Editor

Award-winning “The Reader” author Bernhard Schlink discussed his new book “Guilt About the Past” and the intergenerational nature of collective guilt on Tuesday.

Schlink, who is German, lectured on the reasons why a person or a group of people can become intertwined with a criminal’s guilt, at an event sponsored by the Center for German and European Studies, Schlink said, “Collective liability is not taking responsibility for your own actions. It’s taking responsibility for one’s own solidarity with the criminal.” He described this feeling of solidarity as two individuals regarding each other as equals to the point in which one person’s actions can be, in part, credited to the other.

Schlink detailed how in a community, collective responsibility can be felt when one belongs to a family, an institution, or a people.

Schlink connected his hypothesis of collective guilt to what Germans experienced prior to 1945.

While some perpetrators were ejected from their social circles for the crimes they committed during WWII, others remained “inside the circle of solidarity.”

On the Germans who did not exclude the criminals, he said, “[By] not renouncing, not judging, not repudiating…one became entan-

gled in another’s guilt.” The only way one could avoid guilt was to sever ties with the criminals.

Since it was impossible to cast out or punish all of the perpetrators it was just as impossible to escape the feeling of shared guilt.

Thus, Schlink explained, Germans were forced to turn to other means of assuaging the guilt. There were two options: “night of the long knives,” illegal violent revenge, or punishment through the state. He deemed both methods to be insufficient in castigating those who performed acts against humanity.

Schlink also discussed how a perpetrator’s guilt is passed down to his or her children. He posed the question, “Is it necessary for the [perpetrator’s] children to find themselves entangled in the whips of guilt, as well?” He concluded that it is almost inevitable, “[The] guilt sits and waits for them to recognize it.” However, he went on to claim that while guilt was inherited by the first generation after the war, it was barely passed down to the second generation, and not at all to the following generations.

In order for there to be collective guilt, he explained, “Community solidarity has to be experienced.”

First, there must be some form of relationship with the perpetrator, a solidarity. Second, there has to be a choice to disassociate with the criminal and a refusal. Schlink gave the example, “We have the

BRANDEIS BRIEF:

Reslife allows gender neutral housing

The Department of Residence Life announced in an e-mail to the student body last week that a new gender neutral housing policy will be put into effect for room selection in March.

Students living in rooms, suits and apartments on mixed-gender floors in sophomore, junior and senior areas will be able to choose whomever they want for their room and suit-mates, regardless of their genders.

Additionally, Residence Life announced that students will be able to select single rooms in four suits in Ziv Quad. This

would allow students not going abroad to select housing regardless of whether or not they have people with whom to share the suit. The decision comes after the Village--the only dorm-style housing option for juniors and seniors-was set aside to house students in the fall of 2009 who plan on studying abroad in the spring of 2010.

Two-bedroom apartments in Charles River and 567 South Street have also been made available to be selected as single rooms

By Ariel Wittenberg

Lobbyists explore turning UMIFA into UPMIFA UPMIFA (from p. 1)

PHOTO BY Danielle Wolfson/The Hoot

GUILT: Bernard Schlink discusses collective guilt at rapport treasure hall tuesday.

actual option to break with our parents, [but] we don’t have the option to break with our greatgrandfather.”

For future generations, Schlink

commented that the path was uncertain. “[They have] the freedom to decide if identity arises from history or from the here and now.”

Mobile polling temporarily banned from elections

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

Students running in this week’s Student Union elections were not allowed to use mobile polling as a campaign strategy after Student Union Secretary Tia Chatterjee ’09 banned the tactic.

Chatterjee wrote in an e-mail to The Hoot that she decided to ban mobile polling stations when she learned that Executive Senator Andrew Brooks ’09 had submitted a resolution to the senate that would create a by-law in the Union Constitution banning the stations.

“Since it was something that was being considered by the senate, I decided to add the rule for this race to see what the impact was,” she said.

Mobile polling stations—when candidates and their supporters bring their laptops to students and ask them to vote online— have been used since last year’s fall elections.

This fall, the use of mobile polling stations was attributed to former Union Vice President Adam Hughes’ victory over Brooks in the vice presidential elections.

Brooks introduced the resolution at Sunday’s senate meeting, however due to an over booked agenda, the senate voted to table

the resolution until this Sunday.

Brooks, who authored the resolution, said in a phone interview with The Hoot that while both his and Hughes’ campaign used mobile polling this fall; however, he has since reconsidered his use of the tactic.

“We were doing it to raise voter turnout,” he said, “but I realized that voting should be closed doors to make sure that the voters are not intimidated.”

Chatterjee agreed.

Candidates aren’t supposed to see who a student votes for,” she wrote. “And the ability of being able to bring a student directly to your laptop while getting them to vote, might put unfair pressure to vote for you.”

Hughes, who resigned from his position as Vice President last week, said that “I used [mobile polling] because I had to compete, but it worked well for me.”

“We weren’t doing it to be sneaky, we just wanted to increase voter turnout,” he said.

Brooks said that if passed the by-law would create an election commission that would run polling stations across campus to increase voter turnout.

The commission’s polling stations would be organized by students not working for any Union campaigns.

sachusetts since 1975, directly prohibits the spending of endowment principal.

According to the text of the act, “the governing board” of an organization “may appropriate for expenditure for the uses and purposes for which an endowment fund is established so much of the net appreciation, realized and unrealized, in the fair value of the assets of the endowment fund over the historic dollar value of the fund as is prudent.”

Under UMIFA, organizations may only spend the gains the endowment accrues.

Massachusetts State Senator Robert O’Leary introduced UPMIFA during the current legislative session because many organizations, Brandeis included, have seen their endowment gains evaporate in the last six months, leaving them unable to lean on their endowments in tough economic times.

A change in state law could allow the university to spend the endowment funds it is now legally unable to touch.

“As the economy has gotten worse, a lot of folks have been looking at this,” Kieran Marion, Legislative Counsel at the ULC, explained in a telephone interview. At the end of 2008, the ULC, “started getting lots of calls from Massachusetts,” he said.

He added that organizations seeing their endowments suffer are looking to the act for greater financial “flexibility” when considering how to fulfill their institutional missions in a harsh economic climate.

Reflecting this sentiment, Marion explained that there are seven UPMIFA bills active in state legislatures presently. “We’re expecting to see 13 more this session,” he added.

Leading the way in Massachusetts is Legal Director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society Jennifer Ryan. Adopting UPMIFA “is something that we’re very supportive of ” she explained in a phone interview. “Our goal is to get [UPMIFA] adopted as soon as possible” by the State Legislature, she added.

“Our organization is in the process of putting together a coalition” is support of UPMIFA, Ryan explained. “The more people that get behind it earlier, the greater chance there is” of passing.

While Ryan and others in the state support the adoption of UPMIFA as a measure to help not for profit organizations, French expressed reservations. “If you take that money today,” he warned, “you’re not going to have that money in the future.”

February 6, 2009

NEWS

Committee reviewing merit aid portability decision

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

Dean of Academic Services Kim Godsoe announced in an e-mail Friday that the decision to rescind merit aid portability for study abroad is being reviewed by a committee comprised of students, faculty and administration.

The review comes after students were outraged by a Jan. 16 e-mail that said that students would “not receive any form of merit aid… while on study abroad,” despite the fact that Brandeis Scholars, Presidential Scholars and recipients of the Dean’s Award were guaranteed that their scholarships “may be used for approved study abroad programs” in their acceptance letters.

The original decision to rescind merit aid portability was originally the solution to a $800,000 study abroad budget gap, Godsoe said at Sunday’s Student Union Senate meeting.

Godsoe attributed this gap to an increase in the number of students studying abroad from 41 percent last year to 45 percent this year. In addition, Godsoe said that the number of merit scholars studying abroad doubled between the academic years of 2006-2007 and 2007-2008.

She also tried to discredit the “myth that study abroad makes the university money.”

When a student studies abroad, Godsoe explains, they pay the university, who in turn pays the study abroad program. The idea that the university makes money from study abroad could have originated from the fact that most study abroad programs cost less money than Brandeis tuition, she

said.

However, she explained that whatever money a non-merit scholar pays the university that does not go toward their study abroad program in turn helps pay for merit-scholars to study abroad.

“When we have students here on financial aid, we get less money into the university, so we just adjust what we use,” she said. “But when someone financial aid goes abroad, we have to make up those extra dollars to pay for your program.”

Godsoe said it had been projected that rescinding merit aid portability for study abroad would close the $800,000 gap within three years.

The Study Abroad Committee has been meeting the past week in order to discuss alternative solutions to the gap.

Other ideas include; limiting the number and type of programs approved by the university, raising the GPA requirements for students wishing to study abroad, limiting the number of students who participate by making the application process more selective and restricting the use of all financial aid for study abroad.

Godsoe explained that the decision of how to close the gap had to have been made between December and January—months where students are on winter break.

Additionally, she said that the departments of Academic and Financial Services worried that discussing the decision with students would have an adverse effect on application numbers. Applications to the university were due on Jan. 15.

The Hoot

Community members saddened but okay with Rose decision UNDERSTANDING (from p. 1)

per” in the long run.

Suderow also wrote that other institutions with slower reactions to the economy will have to pay the price.

“There are hard lessons learned in business from surviving a severe economic downturn, and most of those lessons apply equally to all institutions,” he wrote. “Whatever action you have to take, do them early, do them quick, and do them deep. The earlier you face the facts, the better chance an institution has to manage the new fiscal reality, survive, and even prosper…That’s what our leadership at Brandeis is doing.”

He also wrote that while both he and his wife, who met as students at Brandeis and graduated in 1973 are patrons of the arts, he believes that selling the Rose’s collection is necessary in order for the university to survive.

“The economy is in extremely bad shape,” he warned his fellow faculty members. “You may not feel it directly right now, but it will likely get a lot worse before it gets better. Remember the old adage, ‘if your neighbor loses their job it is a recession, but if you lose your job, it is a depression.’ Brandeis’ survival is your job too.”

Laura Velez ’11 said that while she is sad about the possibility of the Rose closing, she feels as

though her opinions are misrepresented in the media.

The extreme voices are always going to get heard,” she said, “but that’s not how most of us feel. The administration needs to know that even though we are upset, most of us understand the decision.”

Velez also said that while she believes no member of the student body “took the decision lightly,” many unheard students understand why closing the Rose may be necessary.

Velez continued to say that while many students are upset that they were not first consulted about the Board’s voting to close the Rose, she believes that their “up in arms” reactions only confirm any fears the administration may have had about students misunderstanding the need to close the Rose.

“The administration needs to know that students are reasonable. If they had explained the decision to us before, they would know that, but student reaction isn’t proving it to them either,” she said.

Velez also said that she is worried about the impression the media’s coverage of student reaction will make on “the world outside Brandeis.”

“Students need to let the media know that the university is not falling apart,” she said. “It might look that way, but it’s not.”

Give a Hoot Join The Hoot E-mail eic@thehoot. net

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Undergrad apps drop ADMISSIONS (from p. 1)

the media attention around the school has happened at a time when students have already applied and are focusing on finishing high school.

He added, however, that the Admissions office is expecting an influx of prospective students visiting the campus over the week of President’s day.

“I genuinely hope that Brandeis will have some positive news to tell them by that time,” he said.

Villanueva did mention that he is slightly comforted by the administration’s recent decision to hire Rasky Baerlein, a local Public Relations firm, to help them better deal with the recent media attention.

“Given the steady influx of less than positive stories about Brandeis, doing something to help ourselves is better than not doing anything,” he said.

He also added that it is up to every member of the Brandeis community, including students, faculty, staff and alumni to help combat the negative media attention.

“I remain optimistic that we will continue to be a target institution for many bright students,” he said.

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NEWS

The Hoot

February 6, 2009

Student Union Clubs in Service Initiative underway

BY ROBIN LITCHTENSTEIN Contributer to The Hoot

The Clubs in Service Initiative, a joint project of the Student Union and the Waltham group in which clubs participate in community service projects, held their first informational meeting on Monday.

Following Student Union President Jason Gray’s (’10) call to action in his state of the Union address at the end of the Fall ’08 semester, the Waltham Group Budget and Steering Committee, Director of Community Service Lucas Malo, and Class of 2012 Senator Akash Vadalia, hosted the leaders and community service coordinators of approximately ten student groups.

Waltham group presented club leaders with a list of five programs that Waltham Group currently runs. Clubs were invited to share their talents and interests in an ongoing capacity with elementary school aged participants of Junior Brandeis Achievers at the Stanley School, or work with developmentally disabled adults in Brandeis Buddies. Participants in the Waltham Group programs are transported to campus where the clubs can easily work with participants.

No additional funding is really needed, as the clubs are the resources, the members are the teachers. Malo emphasized the importance of such a program, “ [Waltham] is our home too.”

For those clubs seeking a smaller commitment, there will also be an option to take on single, day long, projects. In the wake of the national economic crisis, the Waltham Group has experienced an upswing in requests for volunteers, and a listserv has been established to forward these one-time commitments from the Waltham community to the clubs. “ This will give clubs to opportunity share their interests with the community and get outside the

Brandeis bubble,” said Budget and Steering Committee member Anne BlackstockBernstein (’11).

Additionally, clubs interested in seeking out their own service opportunities are welcome to do so. Vadalia hopes to track clubs’ participation and make the whole initiative an integral part of club life at Brandeis. “We hope to eventually make this a requirement for all clubs,” said Vadalia. With the 250+ clubs on campus, he hopes to get at least 15 clubs involved this semester. Vadalia said he was not aware of any other campuses with similar initiatives.

Several clubs, beyond those that were represented at Monday’s meeting, have already taken interest in participating.

The initiative is also a good team building tools for clubs and a way for them to get off campus and view themselves through a different lens.

The initiative is a result of a conversation that took place between Malo and Gray.

After looking at the results of the entrance and exit surveys of the past few graduating classes, it became apparent that students were not participating in community service to the same degree they had in high school. He attributed this to students applying to various service programs and not getting in. Malo sees this initiative as a way to rectify that trend as students can participate via other clubs saying, “this is an opportunity to allow every Brandeis student to be engaged in the community, on campus or off. ” If you would like more information on the initiative or would like to get your club involved, contact: Anne Blackstock-Bernstein at annebb@brandeis.edu, Jessica Gottsegen at jgotts@brandeis.edu, Carlen Dimichele at Carlen@brandeis.edu or Akash Vadalia at akashv@brandeis.edu

PHOTOS BY Max Shay/The Hoot

MEET THE PRESS: President Reinharz met with members of the student press yesterday to discus the Board of Trustees’ authorization to close the Rose Art Museum and the university’s current financial stae. Members of The Hoot, The Justice and Innermost Parts met with the President and members of the senior administration.

Reinharz takes blame for media “garble” in Rose Art Museum aftermath PUBLIC RELATIONS (from p. 1)

BY JAMIE FLEISHMAN Editor

The Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences has created a website that will serve Brandeis by keeping the community informed of all movements and ideas regarding the restructuring of undergraduate and graduate curricula. The site is designed to encourage dialogue and sharing of ideas between administration, faculty, staff, and students.

The website includes complete records of all the President’s memos to the community, discussion bulletins on all five CARS subcommittees, ideas being exchanged on the faculty listserv, and updates on events such as open forums and town hall meetings. There is also a timeline of events and a general discussion forum for people to express their thoughts and opinions. www.brandeis.edu/transformation

to a teaching center and exhibition gallery.

These steps shall include, to the extent appropriate…an orderly sale or other disposition of works from the University’s collection.”

Reinharz, who as late as last Thursday told a Brandeis faculty meeting that “the museum cannot sell the art without closing,” said that the “the press release and the initial statements misrepresented what the Board actually said.”

“I take full responsibility for the confusion,” he added. “This process has not been a good process…if I had to turn the clock back I would do it differently and I regret that I did it this way.”

While last Wednesday, Reinharz told The Hoot that “we have no media strategy,” he said yesterday that the university has temporarily hired public relations firm Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications Inc. in order to “correct misstatements that are now floating all over the world about the rose.”

The President would not specify as to

how long the university would employ the public relations firm. He also said that the firm has already helped the university in dealing with the Boston Globe this week when they convinced the Globe to hold a story a day so that Reinharz could clarify some of the details of the piece.

Rasky Baerlein’s vice president Melissa Monahan told The Hoot in a phone interview that the administration has been working directly with both her and the President of Rasky Baerlein. Other clients of Rasky Baerlein include the Boston Red Sox, North Eastern University and Toyota.

Neither Reinharz nor Monahan would comment on how much the university is paying the public relations firm for their services.

Monahan did say, however that the firm is helping the administration deal both with the national press and with the student press and Brandeis community.

Yesterday evening Reinharz sent an email to the Brandeis community apologizing for the way in which he handled the Board’s vote last week.

“I take full responsibility for causing pain and embarrassment in both of these matters,” he said. “To quote President Obama, ‘I screwed up.’”

February 6, 2009

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 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

ED ITORIAL

I

5

Backpeddling doesn’t get you anywhere

n an e-mail to the entire campus community, university President Jehuda Reinharz expressed regret over not finding a more “inclusive and open way to engage the Brandeis community in the deliberations that led to the Board [of Trustees’] decision” regarding the Rose Art Museum. And for this message, Reinharz should be commended.

However, in the same e-mail message, Reinharz attempted to practice revisionist history. His statements regarding the Rose, he wrote, “did not accurately reflect the Board’s decision authorizing the administration to conduct ‘an orderly sale or other disposition of works from the university’s collection.’ The statements gave the misleading impression that we were selling the

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.

The Hoot

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entire collection immediately, which is not true.”

Indeed, in a press conference with student journalists yesterday, Reinharz said that he wished to clear up a couple of misconceptions – namely that the Board of Trustees resolution did not in fact mandate the closing of the Rose Art Museum. And according to his e-mail, the museum will “remain open.”

While Reinharz’s description of the Board’s resolution is accurate, to characterize the interpretation of the statement released Jan. 26 as a misunderstanding is nothing more than an affront to pure and simple human logic. The release reads as follows: “Brandeis University’s Board of Trustees today voted unanimously to close

the Rose Art Museum as part of a campuswide effort to preserve the university’s educational mission in the face of the historic economic recession and financial crisis.”

The student body, faculty, alumni, donors, Rose Art Museum Director and Board of Overseers, the student press, and the national press did not misunderstand Reinharz’s press release and e-mail.

Either he and the Board of Trustees changed their minds after a week of anger and bad press, or he garbled his words beyond repair.

Regardless, Reinharz should offer either an honest ‘it’s my prerogative’ or ‘mea culpa’ instead of pretending that ‘closed’ has another meaning.

UPMIFA is not a panacea

s news of the university’s worsening financial straits surfaced, thoughts turned to the endowment. Currently, the laws in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts prohibit the spending of endowment principal and instead restrict endowment spending to gains. In light of the current economic climate, some Massachusetts organizations are supporting a change from UMIFA, the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act, to UPMIFA, the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, which would allow organizations to spend their principal under certain circumstances.

At a time when organizations are watch-

ing their endowment gains shrink and their donations wither, it is no surprise that the Uniform Law Commission, the organization which first developed and approved UPMIFA and which follows its enactment, is fielding numerous calls from all across the country.

The adoption of UPMIFA by the Massachusetts State Legislature would calm fears and soothe anxieties in a time of economic crisis. And while the act would surely increase the options open to not for profit organizations facing deficits, it is important for all to remember that UPMIFA is in no way a panacea. UPMIFA will not increase the number of students at Brandeis able to pay full tuition, nor will it undo the Madoff

Ponzi scheme.

At best, spending endowment principal is a temporary solution to a continuing problem. And unless the economy miraculously turns around in the next year, the university should not expect any large gifts to the endowment to replace whatever portion of principal it might spend were UPMIFA passed. As Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French said, if we spend the endowment principal today, we do not have it for tomorrow. If the act is passed, the university should explore the options it opens fully and aggressively, but ultimately, our viability ‘in perpetuity’ must take precedence.

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

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February 6, 2009

The Hoot

FEATURES

A sustainable GOAL for the future Group of Brandeis students form organization to open up the 'green' jobs market

BY CHRISSY CALLAHAN Editor

If you’ve ever walked the aisles of the local Hannaford’s or Walgreens you’ve probably noticed that going green doesn’t come cheap. Like many other things, many people would say you can’t put a price on saving the environment. But with products that are environmentally but hardly wallet friendly, it would certainly seem you can.

Let’s face it; the world is currently up against a number of environmental problems. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase ‘going green’ and have seen the new wave of green businesses eager to jump in and solve environmental problems.

But because of low wages and rising unemployment, the families most affected by environmental problems like pollution are often the ones who cannot afford their solutions. Perhaps you’ve also noticed that it’s often the children that are the most affected by unemployment and environmental problems that are the least targeted by the green revolution.

But if economic disparity is visibly prevalent around Boston and the burgeoning green jobs movement has the potential to provide more jobs, why not create a fusion between the two? And better yet, why not include those that are the most affected by this disparity-children?

These are some of the very questions asked by members of Green Opportunity, Action, and Leadership, a new initiative started by a group of Brandeis students.

Through extensive research, members of GOAL discovered a close correlation between a budding green jobs economy and economic relief, and have launched a campaign to simultaneously empower youth and open up the green jobs movement.

Since 1984, 20 of the top 25 corporations with headquarters in Boston have left the area, causing countless workers to lose their jobs. This increase in unemployment, like that of pollution, has left a big problem for the youth of tomorrow to deal with, even though they weren’t responsible for creating it themselves.

“This is not a problem that youth started,” GOAL Co-Executive Director Stephanie Sofer ’09 said. “It’s an accumulation of the behaviors and patterns of generations before us and really, it’s on [our] generation and the younger generations who bear the brunt of having to deal with it.”

And deal with it they are. This year, members of GOAL are offering six fellowships to rising juniors and seniors at the Boston Latin School, the oldest public school in the U.S., with just over 50 percent of its students coming from low income families.

Once chosen, the six students will shadow a GOAL Mentor from a Boston area green business for the summer. So far, GOAL has partnered with two local green businesses: Boston Green Buildings and Zapotec Energy.

But the GOAL experience won’t stop there. After completing their summer mentorship, GOAL fellows will work together over the course of the following academic year to plan and execute a sustainability project to assist their communities.

PHOTO BY Abraham Berin/The Hoot

Green Opportunity, Action, and Leadership: Members of GOAL are in the midst of their pilot program and are offering six fellowships in the green job industry to rising juniors and seniors at the Boston Latin School.

Upon finishing the mentorship experience, GOAL alumni will have access to career assistance and networking opportunities.

So what brought this team of students together? It all started with a dream-well, sort of.

The initial idea for GOAL materialized for Co-Executive Director Justin Kang ’09 last February as a fusion of the models of several other similar green organizations.

But the goal started to become a reality last April when Kang and GOAL Director of Business Partnerships Sarah Levy ’11 attended Dream Reborn, a green jobs conference in Memphis, Tenn. Hosted by Green For All, a national organization dedicated

happened to stick, and still resonates with Kang nearly a year later.

Inspired by Jones’ words, Kang met with a group of Brandeis students and put the pen to paper to plan GOAL. Kang assembled a crew of nine students with diverse interests and passions and channeled their energy to a common goal: opening up the green jobs sector to groups who were formerly excluded from it, and subsequently lowering economic disparity.

And so GOAL was born. As per their website, GOAL self identifies as a community organization with the vision to tackle many discrete problems of a community at the same time by “providing fellowship experiences to Boston youth in order to train them to become the future leaders of the green industry.”

Sofer sees the organization as providing opportunities to individuals who “broaden and diversify the environmental movement, particularly the [green jobs] economy."

“I see this fellows program as a step in offering opportunities for --Anwar Abdul-Wahab '11 people to become passionate about not only the environmental movement but the green business movement,” she said. to raising people out of poverty via a green Sofer, an active environmental advocate economy, the conference addressed the on campus, served as president for Students topic of green jobs. for Environmental Action for two years and At the conference, Kang recalled, Green has attended several environmental conferFor All co-founder and president Van Jones ences off campus hosted by several differkept repeating one phrase over and over: ent organizations.

“Create green pathways out of poverty.”

Even while running SEA at Brandeis, Well, like some lucky repetitive cramming Sofer noticed a lack of diversity in the enbefore an exam, this particular phrase just vironmental movement, something she

This is a summer opportunity, but the larger picture is to help the environment and to get an experience working with green, sustainable jobs.

says stretches both historically and culturally across the greater movement. Though potentially a negative, Sofer sees this as a positive opportunity to enrich the green movement and economy by including more stakeholders, so she was immediately drawn to GOAL. The beauty of GOAL, Sofer said, lies in the uniting of this very diverse group of students. Some members, such as herself, are self-proclaimed ‘climate change junkies,’ while others are passionate about youth empowerment. Some, like Anwar AbdulWahab ’11, bring firsthand experience to the drawing board.

Growing up in Spanish Harlem, an area with one of the highest asthma rates in New York City, Abdul-Wahab, an asthma patient himself, understands well the plight of low-income families living in such areas.

Out of a desire to help those people, he became involved with GOAL to help build the organization.

Though started by Brandeis students, GOAL has now become much more than an occasional planning meeting in the Shapiro Campus Center. Rather, members of GOAL now find themselves scurrying around the Boston area forging connections with green businesses and local schools like the Boston Latin School.

BLS faculty member Cate Arnold first heard about GOAL via an email from the school’s guidance department. Members of GOAL had reached out to the school’s guidance counselors and soon, Arnold was running into members of GOAL at one of their many networking stops.

See GOAL p. 7

February 6, 2009

F E AT U R E S

The Hoot

7

GOAL promotes green action and leadership

GOAL (from p. 6)

Arnold serves as the faculty advisor for BLS’ Youth Climate Action Network, a student group similar to SEA at Brandeis, so she was particularly interested in GOAL’s message of youth empowerment.

A few weeks ago, members of GOAL visited the Boston Latin School to give a presentation about their new initiative.

At this presentation, Abdul-Wahab explained, he and other GOAL members reiterated the organization's themes, relaying to students that the GOAL fellowship program extends beyond merely another line on the resume: “This is a summer opportunity, but the larger picture is to help the environment and to get an experience working with green, sustainable jobs,” he said.

When GOAL approached the school, Arnold and other BLS faculty members were in the midst of the MA Climate Literacy Campaign, pushing to require the state of Massachusetts to teach climate change. After GOAL heard of this, Arnold said, they came to a meeting on Jan. 24 and were “such a great voice.”

Using their regret that they hadn’t been taught enough about climate change during high school, members of GOAL quickly became a voice to the urgency of this issue for future genera-

tions.

Since GOAL’s presentation, Arnold has paused many a time in the halls of BLS to answer questions of students

she’s never met before, who, after hearing about GOAL’s presentation, have asked her about how they can get involved in the summer pro-

gram. “They’ve been extremely enthusiastic,” she said.

Members of GOAL are now working on achieving 501(c) status, to become an official non -

profit organization. In the future, Sofer said she hopes to expand the number of fellows, high schools and pro-

grams that GOAL reaches out to. For this pilot program, though, starting out small seemed just right.

“We felt that it was important to start building a strong partnership with the school,” she said. “We have a lot to learn through this first pilot program.

And we felt that it was most prudent to [initially] do a great job with six kids then expand the program out [rather] than to risk losing something.”

GOAL’s prudence and hard work has so far paid off, gaining them the respect of BLS faculty members. “I’m very impressed with them having the initiative to do this...all while being college students,” Arnold said. “I think it’s the perfect kind of thing to help the next generation be prepared and I’m kind of impressed that these people as young as they are are doing this.”

For Abdul-Wahab, at least, this energy and drive all goes back to the words of one very famous speaker and his call for action. Inspired by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his call for the "fierce urgency of now," Abdul-Wahab exemplifies one of the many goals of this organization: “[If] you really feel passionate about something, you should do it now. Don’t wait for anyone, do it right away...and stick with it,” he said. “Of course there are going to be rocks in the road, but it’s how you… are able to work with people effectively, and that’s [how you're] able to get the work GRAPHIC BY Alex Schneider/The Hoot done.”

National Collegiate Volunteers effect change in New Orleans

BY NOAH KAPLAN Special to the Hoot

I believe community service has received new life these past few weeks, as President Obama has made it a point to call on the American public to make a difference in their communities. Brandeis students have been very receptive to this call – I’ve seen and heard about students showing up in large numbers to get involved in different community service clubs on campus. I would like take this opportunity to tell you about one such organization that is offering students a new and innovative way of making a difference: National Collegiate Volunteers.

NCV is a student-led non-profit organization that I founded in the summer of 2007 along with my life-long friend, Jonah Peppiatt, a graduate of Tufts University. NCV helped raise awareness about the impact of Hurricane Katrina and in just two years,

we have organized three successful service trips to get Brandeis and Tufts students down to New Orleans to help with the relief effort. This year, however, we have decided to take NCV in a more innovative direction by working on a year-long project, which we hope will, upon its completion, effect profound change in New Orleans.

NCV’s current project, the Health Care Database Initiative, is a plan to fight New Orleans’ current health care crisis. \To date, 58% of New Orleans residents report issues with health care access and coverage. This is up 3% from 2006. For many people, the emergency room is their primary or only source of care. This has led to a dangerous combination of ER overcrowding and patient hesitancy to seek care.

More often than not, underinsured residents will delay seeking treatment due to costs and lack of trust in the health care system. However, through the establishment

of an online database and toll-free hotline, NCV will be able to help low-income, uninsured residents conveniently access free and low cost health care services currently available in New Orleans.

Calling our hotline, which will be staffed

by Tulane University undergraduate students, will help residents of New Orleans find hospitals, health clinics or physicians near them who can treat any ailment.

Through our previous work in New Orleans and in meetings with scholars at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, we understand that the lack of information available to New Orleans residents on healthcare is a serious problem. We believe that through hard work, determination and creativity, the students of Brandeis and Tufts can truly make a difference and help alleviate that problem.

The Healthcare Database Initiative is in its early stages and National Collegiate Volunteers is looking for enthusiastic and

diligent students to help effect real and long-lasting change on the ground in New Orleans. In an effort to encourage the development of strong leadership skills, NCV students take ownership of specific areas of responsibility, such as managing the database development team, or developing the publicity campaign, thereby giving them significant freedom to mold and shape these activities.

If you want to be part of an initiative that is going to bring a permanent change to those who were aversely affected by Hurricane Katrina, then come to the meeting Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. in room 314 of the Shapiro Campus Center. At this meeting, we will present to you the goal of National Collegiate Volunteers, tell you about our efforts and results to date, and present our plans for the future.

We invite you to come to this meeting and get involved in an on-campus initiative that you can truly be proud of.

Write for the features section!!!

Email features@thehoot.net

12

February 6, 2009

The Hoot

IMP RES S IONS Borde-nough

Democrats need to keep an eye on their President and party

BY CHRIS BORDELON Columnist

A near-consensus has formed in this country around the fervent hope that Obama will improve America's economic performance and its international standing.

But on a January 16 radio show, commentator Rush Limbaugh reportedly let his listeners know that at least one very dim light remains lit in the camp of those who “hope he [Obama] fails.”

Limbaugh's undignified wish for Obama deserves no further comment. But his reasoning deserves attention. Explaining himself, Limbaugh said, “I know what his politics are.... I hope liberalism fails. Liberalism is our problem.”

Many self-described “liberals” (as that term is used today) have reacted to Limbaugh's remarks by branding him a sore loser.

Responses posted on the Internet have pointed to the currently enormous popularity of Obama as proof of just how far out of touch Limbaugh is.

Unfortunately, such a reaction has perverse effects on the politics of the left. And it has a disturbing parallel in the tendency of Obama supporters to treat him as the embodiment of all things good and leftist. Progressives' too-frequent unthinking identification with Obama cheapens their November victory by handing other people the power to say what it is they want the government to do. It matters little whether those other people are the Rush Limbaughs of the world, the collective Democratic Party leadership, or even Obama himself. The left's mistake is to let others define the terms of its politics.

In an ideal world, the tens of millions of Americans who spent much of last year enthusiastically cheering for “change” would now be engaged in a vigorous debate about the changes needed. What should the components of a new “stimulus” or “bailout” plan be?

Should it include provisions preventing the money disbursed from being funneled through trade and investment into foreign economies? Should government intervention in the economy continue to take the form of large checks written piecemeal by Congress and left to the discretion of the executive to spend, or should changes in economic policy be deeper and more systemic? Given the new approach Obama was supposed to bring to office, should costly policies closely identified with the Bush administration, such as an inviolable defense budget and highly regressive tax cuts, be thoroughly revamped in light of current economic conditions? What about Iraq and Afghanistan?

The public, and particularly those of us who helped to elect Obama, are not asking these questions. Obama may have been inaugurated just a few weeks ago, but too many of his supporters have already canonized him.

Before even taking his oath, he has entered a pantheon that one might have thought was reserved for deceased leaders of the highest stature. To be sure, the mere fact of his election was an event of historic significance. But in the eyes of many supporters, he has acquired a characteristic that only presidents who have actually become history can ever truly possess: an inability to do wrong.

Alas, Obama can and will do wrong. Arguably, he already has.

This is not to say that he will make a bad president. The best ones make plenty of mistakes. But like any leader, Obama needs critical voices, especially those of his supporters, to guide him. If the political left is not prepared to provide such criticism, it will grow disappointed with the new president, and Obama, for his part, will redefine the left in ways that will leave many of his strongest supporters in the recent election occupying an untenable political fringe.

It's too early to tell whether this unfortunate scenario will ever come to pass. But Obama's performance thus far should concern those who took his breathtakingly simple slogan, “change,” closest to heart. Obama has peopled his government with leftovers from Bill Clinton's administration, and has even appointed a few Republicans. Some of Saint Barry's hagiographers claim that he has evoked Abraham Lincoln by creating a “team of rivals” whose differences will improve policymaking.

The Lincoln analogy seems flawed. Unlike Lincoln, Obama won a sizable majority in the popular vote. The crisis he faces is not one of internal division threatening the country's survival but of whether the US will thrive despite economic failures. He did not need to appoint political opponents either to shore up support within his party or to conciliate the opposition. Interestingly, given all the talk of constructive rivalry and diversity surrounding the Obama administration and the Democratic left's unflinching support for him thus far, his appointments include few politicians who comprise that wing of his party.

"Never you mind," reply those who have been busy erecting shrines to the president. People who thought they were casting their vote for progressive social change need not worry, they say, because the great man himself is in charge.

But Obama's initial actions suggest that he, like any other leader, needs his supporters behind him at the helm helping to chart a course rather than prostrating themselves before him at every turn. Even before likely adjustments in the name of bipartisanship increase the proportion of tax cuts in Obama's proposed stimulus package, he wants 40% of the money spent in that way.

These cuts will be shared more widely than were George Bush's,

and I won't turn mine down.

But worried consumers may not spend this money, and much that is spent will be quickly diverted overseas through the many exit routes from America's open economy. Tax cuts will not fix a broken system that generates wealth for a few, poverty for many, and not enough to sustain most people in the large and vibrant middle class that has been the hallmark of American prosperity. And tax cuts copy Bush's policy choice.

The economic programs that Obama claims will create three million jobs seem more apt to create a few millionaires. Spending on alternative energy production, federal building modernization, computerization of medical records, school technology, and expansion of the reach of broadband will redound mainly to the benefit of contractors who won't need many new employees to do their work. The materials involved are likely to come from overseas; like the data entry work involving medical records, manufacturing these materials will not employ US workers. Only Obama's roadrepair scheme might produce a significant number of American jobs. But, in practice, it is likely to be a handout to cash-poor governors-- mostly in road-blanketed Democratic-governed states-- to dole out to influential contractors who will keep much of the money themselves.

Leftist Obama supporters hope that he would move to stop the growth of social inequality before it undermines the polity. But the substance of his stimulus plan, coupled with his aides' December suspension of his call for repeal of Bush's tax cuts, should make those supporters wary. Obama seems committed to distribution rather than redistribution-- a policy sure to be temporarily popular but ultimately unsustainable.

Looking abroad, the new president has never satisfactorily promised to end U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the important bloc of his supporters who have opposed those wars certainly developed expectations that a President Obama would favor non-military alternatives. However, Obama's “new mission” of “ending the war” in Iraq may get the US out of that country no faster than Richard Nixon's new approach got the US out of Vietnam after 1968. His “careful,” “responsible and phased” withdrawal will leave behind an American “residual force” of undisclosed size. In Afghanistan, he is increasing U.S. involvement. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has told Congress that the “military challenge” there requires a “long and difficult fight.” Continued attacks on Pakistan show that Obama, like Bush, is ready and willing to expand the war there. Perhaps Kyrgyzstan's recent Russian-backed demand for closure of the US air base on its territory will do what Obama resists doing: end our Afghan adventure. Obama's much-heralded executive order “ensuring lawful interrogations” forbids the Central Intelligence Agency from operating secret detention facilities. But other Federal agencies may still do so. The order does not clearly forbid the transfer of detainees to private contractors or allies who might torture them, or allow the Red Cross access to such detainees.

Obama's minimization of the influence of the left, who any shrewd politician knows have no alternative party to turn to at present, will not be checked by Congressional Democrats. Many of them supported Bush's wars when they were popular, calculatingly backtracked toward opposition as the country's mood

shifted, and then criticized Bush when that position came into vogue. They kept funding the wars, notwithstanding what this meant for American soldiers and for the millions of Iraqis and Afghans whose lives the wars ended or ruined. At home they designed their “bailout” package as a politically useful kitty. Little attention has been paid to the deal obviously made by Bush and Democrats in Congress whereby the first half of last year's $700 billion bailout would be spent by Bush, while the second half would be “released” by Congress after Obama's inauguration. This division, coupled with the massive discretion allowed to the president(s) in dispensing the money, had less to do with economic exigency than with a desire to pay off friends.

The media has said much about the Republicans' uncertain future, and with good reason. But Obama's actions suggest that Democrats may also face an internal reckoning. Progressives most enthused by Obama's call for change cannot be content to recall his slogan, read his party label, and fawn over him like hormone-happy adolescents. They should not allow Obama to define them, any more than they would allow Limbaugh to define them.

They need to pay attention to the Democratic leadership and to play the role of chaperones, applying a not-so-subtle tap on the shoulder when party leaders get too intimate with the wrong people and policies. This will help Obama succeed, not make him fail.

Being a good Democrat does not mean being an ass and foregoing critical observation. If leftist Democrats and the public as a whole have profited from lending Obama their ears, they have a lot to lose if they don't lend him their eyes, as well.

February 6, 2009

IMPRESSIONS

Hiatt Career Corner

Would you hire this student?

BY ABIGAIL CRINE Special to The Hoot

Focus: Dedicated, organized, and balanced as demonstrated by strong devotion to Brandeis Varsity Swimming Team. Proven leadership and team-player skills acquired through intense physical and mental conditioning and participation. Strongly developed sense of punctuality and work ethic Education: Brandeis University, Waltham MA. B.A. Psychology and Economics, May 2010. Relevant courses: Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Statistics for Economic Analysis Skills: Language: Proficient in Spanish. Computer: Strong computer skills and exposure to Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, STATA. Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills Experience: Brandeis University Swimming and Diving Team, Waltham, MA. Sept. 2006 - Present.

Dedicated member of Varsity program that constitutes 20+ hours/ week practice and competition, plus travel. Demonstrated success in balancing sport and academic pursuits.

Exhibited positive response and discipline to intense distance training and competition for extended periods of time. Proven team player and leader What do employers look for and why do athletes have an advantage? In essence, as a student athlete, you have learned to take direction, make crucial split-second decisions, exhibit composure in stressful situations, follow the rules, show up on time (all the time), stay focused, work harder than you ever thought possible, suffer defeat with dignity and respect, and then return the next day ready to play again.

You have the grit, acquired through athletic participation and performance, for any workplace.

In competitive markets, employers want candidates who have demonstrated that they can go the distance; for student athletes this means that their competitive, highachieving nature goes beyond the pool, field, or court to the “playing

field” of work and life.

Employers look for players who have endured bench sitting and practices with few play time rewards, as well as the leading scorers who exhibit strength AND modesty. They look for potential employees who can take the initiative to lead a team, as well as follow a leader; who can take direction or criticism without disagreement or dissent.

If you are thinking of a more “low key” career path, especially in today’s economy, there are no underachieving workplaces. In non-profits or NGO’s, the competition for funding and pursuit of excellence is greater than ever before. The same can be said for medical research, biotech, higher education, and the list goes on… Personal drive is a major determinant of success in any field.

So, in any work environment, an entry-level employee who can demonstrate and apply the skills and strength of character and work ethic learned in athletic training and performance will do well.

That performance, whether highly praised or quietly understood, contributes to the overall health of the organization. Bottom line: you perform to make your employer succeed, just as you did for the team. When your employer succeeds their stock value, donor base or grant funding increases. You will contribute to the bottom line of any organization by using your skills, knowledge and dedication learned through competitive sports. What employer would not want you as an employee?

The key: learn to sell yourself to an employer by knowing yourself well as an athlete and a scholar!

Articulate the skills and knowledge you have in written and oral communication. Present yourself with poise and confidence. You have earned it! And if you need help defining yourself as a student/athlete, or writing about yourself, networking, interviewing, or sealing the deal, call Hiatt Career Center for an appointment.

The Hoot 13

Selling the Rose about more than just money

BY JESS COROZZA Special to The Hoot

Most of the complaints about the probable demise of the Rose Art Museum so far have been regarding the ethical or financial blunders of the Board of Trustees and other senior administrators, or the possible illegality of this rash decision. While those are valid and perhaps controversial points, mine is a different one all together. I view the sale of the Rose collection not just as a shocking and disheartening event, but as a symptom of an unsettling problem not only at Brandeis, but with the entire educational system.

Many of the arguments for selling off the collection in an effort to save Brandeis from severe financial hardship regard the museum as a cultural asset, but not something otherwise valuable to academia. There has been much ado about preserving what this university is really about – the academics. While I agree that academics are Brandeis’s greatest strength, and should be, why is it that art is not considered to be part of that arena? Chemistry majors study the equations and discoveries of past scientists, and Art majors study the history and techniques of past artists. Why is it that one would be considered higher learning while the other is often scoffed at as only a hobby?

It is because the university system (not just at Brandeis) values certain disciplines over others. It is not difficult to figure out which are suffering. We (at least, fellow alumni and faculty) all remember how close we were to eliminating the Classics department four years ago. I am not sure why this favoritism occurs, as at one time, in order to be considered educated, one would be required to know Greek, Latin, French, and basically all the literature that existed at the time. These were not just subjects; they were ne-

Book of Matthew

cessities. Now everything we do is about money: trading money, earning more money with money we already have, risking other people’s money. And whatever can get us more of it, well, that is what will be studied. And that is where the universities and donors will put all of their money as well.

It’s all about profit in the hand, not in the mind.

I’m not trying to put down any of those math, science, and economics majors who truly enjoy learning those subjects; I’m merely pointing out that there is a certain stigma assigned to those of us w h o choose to study in fields that are often not financially rewarding.

I am certain that at least twenty people have asked me what I will do in life with my degree in English and Creative Writing. You know, besides teaching, which is demeaned as a vocation that is reserved only for those who fail at everything else in life.

The same goes for my boyfriend, who earned his degree in Classics, and my sister, who has hers in Studio Art. We are constantly told that we only chose our majors because we weren’t capable of doing math, which is about as valid as saying that physics majors chose their fields because they couldn’t read or write.

We get it. We are going to be living in cardboard boxes on street corners. Even Facebook tells us so. Our society values business and technological skills much more highly than it does creative ones. We care more about Bill Gates than William Shake-

speare, more about our Macs than Magritte. And while I have grown to expect such dichotomies within our society, I hold Brandeis, and the educational system, to a higher standard.

Yet while in search of MFA programs my senior year, Brandeis provided me with very little guidance. There were workshops for medical school applications and sessions for law school information, but very little for anything else. Internship options, especially paid ones, were scarce, and the competition was stiff. Career fairs for the arts and humanities were a joke.

E v e n those fairs imp l i e d that we should give up h o p e and head to law school.

I attended a session for graduate school hopefuls, only to receive vague information about things that really did not apply to me and to pick up a pamphlet on how to look for programs on the internet. The only real help I got was by meeting with the English/Creative Writing faculty, who took pity on me and my struggles.

Selling the art donated, which had been for educational purposes collection and closing down the Rose are just two more steps to drowning out the humanities and arts altogether. I’m disappointed not only in the sleightof-hand manner in which this decision was made, but also in the implications it has for the university’s priorities. In a nation that is driven by greed, I had hoped Brandeis would stick to its values, and remain a true school for liberal arts.

While I agree that academics are Brandeis’s greatest strength, and should be, why is it that art is not considered to be part of that arena?

Just when you thought Republicans had caused enough damage...

BY BRET MATTHEW Editor

I have a bone to pick with Congressional Republicans (please try to contain your shock). It goes a little something like this: Last year, America’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank at an annual rate of 3.8 percent, a rate that is expected to increase this year. It has become increasingly apparent that we need a massive stimulus package to give our failing economy the fiscal equivalent of a kick in the pants.

And yet, as Congress debates President Obama’s proposed recovery package—which will most likely amount to over $800 billion, possibly even $900 billion when both Houses agree on its contents—the Republican minority has tried its best to get in the way.

In the House, Republicans voted unanimously against the bill, and in the Senate, Republican leaders promised to act similarly, and have even threatened to filibuster.

Their main argument is essentially a reiteration of one of Senator McCain’s more ridiculous campaign talking points: that excessive government spending is wasteful and responsible for our economic woes. To their credit, Republicans have waged an excellent PR campaign. They have utilized every medium they could get their hands on—television, radio, newspapers—in order to convince the average American that the spending projects, which make up the majority of the stimulus, are little more than liberal giveaways to the undeserving. Some Republicans have also offered a plan of their own, one comprised almost entirely of tax cuts (which already make up about 40% of the current plan), claiming that it is the only way to truly stimulate the economy.

It’s rather typical of them, and as usual, the Republicans’ argument is faulty on several counts.

First, let’s talk about spending.

As any basic economics textbook will tell you, the equation used to

calculate GDP is: Personal consumption + Government expenditures + Investment spending + Net exports.

Now let’s recap. Personal consumption has gone down the tubes, as unemployment has fallen and millions of Americans have either lost their sources of income or are afraid of doing so. Investment spending has also fallen, due to the collapse of the housing and financial markets. And since the US is currently running a nearly $70 billion trade deficit, net exports are not doing to well either. The only variable left is government expenditure.

Luckily, government spending is, despite Republicans claims to the contrary, a highly effective method of stimulating the economy. For example, spending money to repair roads and bridges will put thousands of jobless construction workers to work all across America, with the added benefit of making driving safer (remember the bridges that collapsed last

year?) Furthermore, spending money to expand the food stamp program and to extend unemployment benefits, although derided

by Republicans as welfare, will put money in the pockets of those who need it most, and who will therefore spend it the quickest. To put it numerically, economists have estimated that for every dollar the government spends on programs such as these, the returns will be high, possibly $1.50 or more.

Compare that to tax cuts. Although it is certainly true that tax cuts put money in people’s pockets and can be stimulative, they are not as effective as government spending. This is especially true with the kinds of tax cuts that are being pushed by Republicans, namely, capital gains tax cuts and corporate tax cuts. These cuts primarily benefit wealthy Americans, who do not need the extra money and do not necessarily spend it. Economists have estimated that every dollar of capital gains or corporate tax cuts result in approximately

30 cents worth of return, a far cry from the high returns generates by government spending.

Of course, I can argue my side all I want, but Republicans are not listening to the data. They remain as stubborn as always, their opposition flying in the face of President Obama and Congressional Democrats, who have tried to reach across the aisle.

It’s a tad bothersome. Because as I said before, I believe that we need a stimulus package, and according to opinion polls, about two-thirds of Americans agree with me. But if Republicans continue to insist on putting ideology before the needs of Americans, how can they be counted on to govern effectively?

How can we see them as anything more than whining two-year-olds huddling in corners at the Capitol?

And above all else, how can we expect to live in the era of “bipartisanship” that President Obama promised?

14

February 6, 2009

IMPRESSIONS

The Hoot

One Tall Voice

The young liberal who learned how to think like a conservative Republican

BY JORDAN ROTHMAN Editor

As you may have noticed, dear reader, my column did not appear in last week’s issue of The Hoot.

This was due to the immense amount of articles that discussed the budget crisis and the closure of the Rose Art Museum. This issue, I would like to take some time off from “controversy” and convey the reasons why I now hold very Conservative political beliefs. Many people have asked me if I really believe the views I have expressed around campus, as numerous individuals think them to be too outlandish to be real. Others have asked me why I am a Conservative and desire to understand the path I took to arrive at my present ideological position. I hope to narrate this story in my column this week and perhaps take some pressure off myself that has built up over my most recent articles.

It may surprise many of you when I say that I was not always Conservative. In fact, I considered myself quite Liberal growing up, and did a number of things to express my leftist political sentiments. I supported Ralph Nader in the Presidential elections of 2000 and 2004, and even read a few of his books. I also served on my town’s environmental commission and even tried to start a club called “Future Democratic Leaders of America” at my high

school. I remember submitting an abrasive article about the human rights violations of the United States government to a contest commemorating the anniversary of 9/11. Yet, all of this was to change.

I remember after 9/11 people expressed such strong sentiments of patriotism. I truly enjoyed this emotion and reveled in it.

The Vice-Principle of my high school, Mr. Diverio, particularly nurtured this attitude throughout my school. Each day, before the morning announcements, he would read patriotic quotes, and it really made me proud to be an American. I don’t want to say that Liberals are not patriotic, but Conservatives perhaps display their affection more openly for our country, and Mr. Diverio’s efforts have had an effect on me. 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.

Another person who also had an impact on me was a wonderful educator named Mr. Flaim.

Though I never had this individual as a teacher, every study hall, I would engage myself in heated political talks with him. This man was fiercely patriotic and donated his time and energy to support the efforts of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. More importantly, Mr. Flaim had Conservative leanings and was extremely

articulate about expressing his views. Each time I met with him he had me read brief articles from such sources as the National Review and discussed them with me.

I lost nearly every debate we had and Mr. Flaim truly exposed me to the imbecilic nature of much leftist philosophy. Of all the influences in my life, this was the one that pushed me the most to the right, and for this I am deeply indebted to Mr. Flaim.

Another thing that made me side with Conservativism was the Terry Schavio incident. I had a family member who was in a similar condition and truly sided with Conservatives in wanting to keep Schavio alive. This was the first issue that firmly planted me in the “right” of things, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

Furthermore, not to depress you with any personal anecdotes, but believe me when I say that since high school I have been almost completely independent economically. Suffice it to say that I work for everything I currently own, from my health insurance to the refrigerator I bought at Target for 56 bucks last summer. This has made me learn the value of working hard and buying things with your own money. Once you are in a similar situation, trust me, you don’t want the government or anyone else taking that money away from you.

In addition, members of my family and people I know have

been or are currently on entitlement programs. From my experience, these initiatives are wrong and turn a safety net into a hammock. I don’t want to be shamed by accepting any undeserved money, and these programs are inefficient indeed. All told, my senior year of high school was one of the most defining times of my life, but even with these experiences I still proclaimed myself as a “moderate” when I entered Brandeis in the Fall of 2005.

At Brandeis I interacted with the college Republicans, a group of the articulate and dedicated students. That year we were particularly active, but one incident really turned me to Conservatism. In October 2005 our club did some flyering around campus.

We got verbally assaulted pretty much everywhere we went by people throwing around epithets while we used logic. Furthermore one floor (Reitman 1) took down all of our flyers from their hall and slipped them under my door with the note “we don’t want these.”

Our advertisements were informational in purpose and it was ludicrous to me that these “Liberals” would not be open to a free marketplace of ideas. What brainwashed idiots, what intolerant dolts. From that point forward I listed myself as “Conservative” or “Very Conservative” on Facebook and never turned back.

Two more influences have truly solidified my current political

mindset. One stems from my experiences with AmeriCorps. Surrounded by such unimaginable sadness but uplifted by the work of private charities, I know that the government should not intervene to give the poor a ticket to sloth and laziness. Furthermore, my exposure to the writings of Ayn Rand have made me see the virtue of rational self-interest and have solidified my adherence to some elements of Conservative ideology.

I believe in individual responsibility, I believe in someone’s ability to move upward in this society.

I believe in the military might of our nation and the need to keep our nation on a strong moral footing. All of these views and others have firmly wedded me to the Conservative cause. I wish I could elaborate more fully, but I have already exceeded my word limit and must finish here. I have received much agitation because of my Conservative beliefs, including a really unbelievable incident two Saturdays ago when someone called me “cock sucker” repeatedly and launched a number of other expletives at me as well. Please be considerate, and tune in for my columns in the weeks to come.

Also, please understand that my current political sentiments are not expressed to gain attention or be a “rabble-rouser,” but come from a gradual move toward Conservative ideology.

reinstated four previously excommunicated right-wing bishops. This act on the surface may seem like an exercise in tolerance, but it is far more dangerous than that. These bishops were excommunicated because they were ordained by an archbishop who did not agree with the wonderful, sweeping reforms of the Second Vatican Council, and who did not seek Vatican approval for his appointments. As far as excommunication goes, claiming to be a bishop when the pope has no say in the matter seems like a pretty good reason for it to happen. You cannot have a powerful secret society that directly disagrees with the mandates of the Vatican, like Archbishop Marcel Lefebrve did with the Society of Saint Pius X, and not expect some sort of serious repercussions. Vatican II is one of the main reasons that the Church is still relevant today, and to speak against it displays a great degree of ignorance about the Church’s place in the modern world. Who knows the state of affairs we would be in as a worldwide community if such a powerful governing body could not accept the possibility of anything but utter damnation for all those of other faiths, not to mention that whole vernacular mass thing.

I support people with the constitution to follow the rules and regulations of old school Catholicism. I can certainly understand the point of view that abortions and premarital sex are wrong, al-

though I personally do not share such beliefs. I am a little less open to the arguments against evolution and Harry Potter-inspired Satanism, but these are still opinions that could possibly be valid (you never know, right?). I cannot accept when people blatantly disregard fact, especially in such a hurt and dangerous manner. One of the reinstated bishops, Richard Williamson, is a Holocaust denier.

In an interview available at news. bbc.co.uk he claims that there is no historical evidence that any Jews ever died in gas chambers, and that he and leading scholars believe that at most 300,000 Jews died in all of Nazi Germany. This disgusting display is not merely some pet belief about not eating kosher food that many older Catholics I know share. Holocaust denial drastically harms international relations, and this man’s words work to ruin the credibility of the Church, which is already suffering due to the fact that Pope Benedict was in the Hitler Youth.

Another of those appointed, Father Gerhard Maria Wagner, believes that Hurricane Katrina is the Lord’s punishment for the immorality of New Orleans. While this belief is sad and disturbing, it does not touch the levels of Williamson’s folly. Saying a high ranking member of the Catholic

Church is homophobic is a little like saying that they are male. Since Jesus handed St. Peter the keys to the kingdom of Heaven (it’s a pun, based on the name Peter coming from the word for rock), people have expected the Church to be against gay rights; the Church has never wavered on its position and probably will not any time in the future. It is also not surprising that a conservative steeped in biblical lore would blame a natural disaster on immorality. And Katrina apparently destroyed a number of abortion clinics. Not just the Church, but radical Christians of all denominations would see that as divine intervention. Sadly, the Church was getting more liberal about Christian-Jewish relations, with Pope John Paul II working tirelessly to establish a viable and productive dialogue. There is already a huge backlash in the Jewish community, as there should be.

This decision of reinstatement is an attempt to reconcile a schism within the Church, which is seeking to fix internal problems before it faces the growing problems of the world around it. Personally, I think it is a mistake. If you want to reconcile with a group of Catholics, why not look to the left and not the right? A belief in us-

ing condoms and maybe killing a few unwanted babies (to use their terms) is far less aggressively dangerous than a rejection of the Holocaust and the importance and struggles of the Jewish people as a whole. How about a gay priest or a lady priest? The same amount of controversy would be stirred, but all of Israel would not be rightfully furious. This decision also irks me because it seems ideologically related to another controversy that happened a little closer to home last week. What other decision was made rashly as an attempt to salvage a suffering institution, without forethought and consideration of its effects on the public’s perception and the backlash from the Jewish community?

Oh yes, the closing of the Rose Art Museum. Internal stability and viability are reasonable goals, which is clearly what the Brandeis Board of Trustees and the Pope and his bishops and cardinals were thinking. Yet such decisions cannot be made without input from all those affected, who may see drastic problems that were overlooked in the name of reuniting the Church or balancing the budget. So these are clearly strange times we live in when Brandeis and the Vatican make comparably bad decisions.

Both Brandeis and the Vatican are making bad decisions

BY EMILY MASKAS Special to The Hoot

Can I just say how much I adore the Catholic community at Brandeis? There are so few people, but they are all friendly and amazing, giving the whole idea of Catholicism at Brandeis a sort of “early Christians in Rome” feel, without the persecution. I also love mass more than any other activity Brandeis has ever offered. So last week was pretty terrible: I felt rather emotionally frazzled, and everyone around me was merely contributing to my poor mood.

Church on Sunday, always the ultimate highlight of even the best of weeks, should have provided a brief respite from my worldly concerns, right? Unfortunately, no.

Things started out well enough: some singing, some praying, some Nicene Creed. But then the liturgy had to go and harsh my buzz. Although Father Cuenin gave his sermon with his usual mix of eloquence and familiarity, the subject matter was far too troubling to ignore. In a blow for fans of Jewish-Christian dialogue everywhere, our pope has made a close-minded, rash decision that will have serious repercussions.

Before we get into the details, I just want to express my admiration for Father Cuenin, for saying that although the pope is the Lord’s direct representative on Earth, one must question when he makes questionable and disrespectful decisions.

Last week, Pope Benedict XVI

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.

February 6, 2009

The Hoot 15

S PORTS

Judges defeat Maroons 67-36, stand strong in second place in UAA

BY ZACHARY ARONOW Editor

Brandeis coach Brian Meehan had to wait a little longer than he would have liked, but he was able to pick his 250th career win with authority as the Judges washed out the Maroons 67-36. The win places the Judges in sole possession of second place in the UAA, with Friday’s 75-80 loss to defending champion Washington University keeping them out of first.

“We are where we are and we can’t do anything about that,” Steve DeLuca (GRAD) explained in an email. “I think we can beat anyone though so that is how we are going to go into each game; confident that we can win.”

Chicago was initially able to hold the game close but would be undone by turnovers and fast breaks. A 14-2 run in the final six minutes of the first half gave the Judges a daunting 27-12 lead. A 19-5 run in the first eight minutes of the second half put the game out of reach which included four steals by the Judges. Brandeis made Chicago pay for not taking care of the ball, converting 19 Maroon turnovers for 22 points.

Chicago was unable to convert any offense from the 10 turnovers forced from Brandeis.

Brandeis saw nine different players contribute to the offensive side of the ledger, led by the Lethal Lithuanian Vytas Kryskas ’12, who scored a career high 15 points in only 18 minutes of action. Kevin Olson ’09 continued his sharp shooting, with an accuracy matched only by Simo Hayha as he was perfect on all three of his three point attempts, finishing with 11. Steve DeLuca (GRAD) chipped in 14 points on 5-11 shooting. Rich Magee ’10 made his first start of the season count, pulling in a career high of 10 rebounds. The visiting Maroons were held to a 27 percent field goal percentage for the day with John Kinsella leading Chicago with 10 points.

The demolition follows a heartbreaking end to their four game conference winning streak at the

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

PHOTO BY Danielle Wolfson/The Hoot

MEN’S BASKETBALL: RIGHT: Brandeis guard Kenny Small ‘10 (#25, left) attempts to pass the ball over Washington U’s John Wolf ‘10 (#22, right).

LEFT: Brandeis’ Kenny Small ‘10 (#25, right) lays the ball up over Wash. U’s Ross Kelley ‘10 (#10, lower-right) during Brandeis’ 80-75 loss last Friday.

hands of Washington University.

In a very evenly fought match, the Judges 52.8 percent field goal shooting (28-53) was topped by Washington’s 53.7 percent on the strength of one more converted field goal attempt (29-54).

Each team also made 18 trips to the free throw line, Washington making 16 of them to Brandeis’s 13.

The biggest discrepancy, though, came in the turnover battle, with the Judges committing 11 turnovers to Washington’s eight and seeing the Bears turn those miscues into 16 points over the Judges’s 8.

Kenny Small ’10 led the offense for Brandeis with 17 points off

the bench. Andre Roberson ’10 enjoyed one of his best games of the season with 16 points, 13 in the second half alone and a team eight assists. DeLuca put in 13 points and pulled in 7 rebounds and front court mate Terrell Hollins ’10 had 14 points and six rebounds. Sean Wallis ’09 had a double-double for Washington with 12 points and 11 assists.

Aaron Thompson led the scoring with 18 points and five rebounds while Cameron Smith put in 15.

Tyler Nading also put in 12 points and Alex Toth provided 11 points off the bench to round out the double-digit scorers.

The Judges hit the road with rematches against Chicago and

Washington starting with Chicago on Friday evening followed by a Sunday matinee at Washington University. DeLuca expressed confidence that the Judges are ready to fulfill the challenges and quite possibly squeeze their way into a postseason tournament.

“I think we are very prepared.

We just played both teams last weekend and we feel like we can get two wins this weekend. Both games are going to be tough, it’s going to come down to who executes better and I think we can do that. I think we’ll make the necessary adjustments so we can take advantage of both teams weaknesses.”

However, the road swing will

be made even tougher with budget cuts necessitating the Judges traveling with only 12 players for Coach Meehan to cycle through for two tough games, especially at Washington Sunday.

“Obviously we would love to travel all of the players on the team,” DeLuca explained, “but in cases like this it just can’t be done.

We had some players last year stay home while we traveled so it is not something new, but there is a different feel on the road when you only have 12 players there.”

Coach Meehan’s 250th career win was also his 90th win as head coach of the Judges. Brandeis is now 12-6 on the season, 5-2 in conference play.

Brandeis Women split weekend:

Team defeats Chicago, falls short against Washington University

BY HANNAH VICKERS Special to The Hoot

The Brandeis women’s basketball team split the UAA weekend with a 61-55 loss Friday to the Washington University Bears and a 63-53 win over the University of Chicago Maroons on Sunday.

One of the major highlights of the weekend had to be guard Lauren Rashford’s ’10 career-high 18 points scored in Sunday’s game.

While Chicago got an early 5-2 lead with the help of their rookie guard Bryanne Halfhill, Brandeis came back strong by scoring the next nine points and gaining a lead they would not give up for

the rest of the game.

By the end of the first half the Judges had a solid 36-19 lead. After the break Chicago regrouped and came out strong, managing a 16-3 streak. With 12:24 left in the game Brandeis’ lead had been cut to just 39-35, largely a result of the Judges missing seven of their first eight shots, as well as allowing seven turnovers. Amanda Wells ’09 helped Brandeis rally back with two free throws and a jumper from the foul line. While Wells and Rashford helped lift the Judges back to a 13 point lead of 4835, Chicago made another run for the lead, getting in 6 points before Brandeis was able to respond with another 3-point shot by Rashford

to get the lead back to 8.

The Judges were able to hold on for a 63-53 win in the end, but they allowed 14 turnovers in the second half that translated to 20 points for Chicago.

Their powerful offense was able to counter these defensive mishaps, especially with the Judges going 13-17 on the line as well as 11 of Rashford’s 18 points coming in the second half.

Despite a strong start in Friday’s game against Washington University, Brandeis couldn’t pull out the win. In the first 10 minutes of the game Brandeis forced six turnovers by the Bears and maintained the lead until, with roughly 6 minutes remaining in the game,

Wash. U. began turning things around. By the end of the first half they had claimed the lead from the Judges.

Brandeis came out determined in the second half, trying to play tighter defence and having a few good scoring runs, including scoring 12 out of 15 points in response to the Bears’ 8 point lead with 16:45 left. With less than 10 minutes remaining in the game the Judges reclaimed the lead 4140, but Wash. U. responded with a number of steals that turned into baskets.

The last 7 minutes of the game saw both teams struggling for the win, but despite closing the gap to within four and a beautiful

3-pointer by guard Lauren Rashford with 2 seconds left, Brandeis was not able to push through.

Although the Judges didn’t come out with a win in Friday’s game they did have the two high scorers: guard Jessica Chapin ’10 and forward Lauren Orlando ’09.

Chapin had 9 points in each half as well as 9 total rebounds while Orlando went 9-for-9 from the line and was responsible for adding 13 points.

Next weekend Brandeis will face both teams again, this time on the road. Friday the Judges will play in Chicago followed by a game in St. Louis against Wash. U. on Sunday. After this weekend Brandeis is 13-4, 3-4 in the UAA.

16

February 6, 2009

The Hoot

W ee k end F U N Spotlight on Boston

Eve 6 Concert:

Frost/Nixon Play: Friday to Sunday, Feb. 6-8 106 Boylston St., Boston

Friday, Feb. 6, 8 p.m.

158 Brighton Ave., Allston

The famous Frost/Nixon interviews have been adapted for film and the stage. Now's your chance to see the stage version at Colonial Theatre!

View the struggle between a reporter and Richard Nixon, to get the former president to admit his actions during www.bostonscolonialtheatre.com the Watergate scandal were wrong.

What's going on at Brandeis?

Winter Gala:

Photo courtesy of Nicole Lawton.

Black Mozart:

Saturday, Feb. 7, 8 p.m.

Faculty Club

Don't miss out on good food, good company, and a good cause!

Wine (w/id) and dine with your peers in order to support the hopefund. The organization provides services for members of the the homeless in Boston. $15

Year of the Ox: Saturday, Feb. 7, 6 p.m.

Shapiro Theater

Photo courtesy of Maria Grazia.

Futureman, Roy Wooten, presents a musical tribute to the life of Joseph Boulogne de Saint Georges, the Black Mozart. With a mixture of classical and hip hop music, Wooten and an ensemble of musicians celebrate the life of this 18th century French musician. $10 w/Brandeis Id.

Jazz at the Rose:

Like Jazz? Like art? You can have both when Brandeis jazz groups perform at the Rose. Listen to good music while enjoying Photo courtesy of George Georgiades. fine art.

Insert Comic Here

COMIC Strips

By Anthony Scibelli

By Matt Kupfer

Floppsie

laughingwarlock

Saturday, Feb. 7, 8 p.m.

Slosberg Music Center

Sunday, Feb. 8, 2 to 4 p.m.

Rose Art Museum

It's a new lunar year, so go see a variety of performances: from drum troupes to skits. There's a suggested donation to raise money for the China Care Foundation, which provides programs forspecial-needs Chinese orpahns.

Sleazy

Go to the club Harper's Ferry and celebrate Eve 6's return to the music scene. Sing along to hits like "Inside Out," in one of Boston's live music venues. Best of all? Cover charge is only $20 at the door and the event is 18+. www.harpersferryboston.com

By Ian Price

By Grace Alloy-Relihan