The Brandeis Hoot - 4-3-09

VOL 5, NO. 24

APRIL 3, 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

Union Senate holds executive session for bribery bylaw debate

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

The Union Senate went into executive session on Sunday, despite protests from members of the campus media, to discuss a new bylaw amendment that would effectively outlaw bribery in Union elections.

The Senate chose to go into executive session in an effort to avoid negative press coverage prior to Union elections.

The bylaw amendment, which would make it illegal for candidates to give favors

in exchange for support in an election, was written in response to inquiries made by The Hoot last week about whether then Presidential hopeful Andy Hogan ‘11 had offered executive board positions to potential competitors if they would not run against him.

Hogan did not deny to The Hoot last week that he offered an executive board position to one potential competitor, but said that the offer occurred before either See BYLAW, p. 2

Admissions not need-blind for all students

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

The university has decreased the number of merit scholarships allocated for the class of 2013, Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy announced at the faculty meeting yesterday.

Eddy explained that this decrease is necessary in order to “focus on financial need.”

Yet while the university is need-blind when it comes to financial aid, in the cases of international, transfer and wait-listed students, the university is “need aware,” Eddy wrote in an e-mail to The Hoot.

Dean of Admissions Gil Villanueva told the New York Times this week that the university accepted 10 percent more international students than usual this year.

Eddy told The Hoot in the e-mail that number will probably manifest into 10 to 20 more international students in the class of 2013 who “will bring additional insight about their cultures and customs” to the university.

Eddy did say that she did “not expect wide fluctuation” in the numbers of accepted transfer students or students accepted See ADMISSIONS, p. 2

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

Science library to lose a floor

BY ALEX SCHNEIDER Editor

The Gerstenzang Science Library’s print collection of periodicals is undergoing consolidation in order to clear the upper level of the library for occupation by the Genetics Counseling Program next year.

This change is keeping with plans finalized in 2006 for the future of Library and Technology Services and has no relation to the

university’s current budget crisis.

The Genetics Counseling Program currently occupies the Kalman science building, which will be torn down as part of the science complex construction project.

According to Provost Marty Krauss, “The facility will continue to offer access to science materials, study space, computer[s], and seminar rooms.”

Krauss explained that the reorganization See SCIENCE LIBRARY, p. 3

29 faculty urge administration to postpone final Rose decision

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

Twenty nine members of the university faculty urged university administrators to keep the Rose Art Museum open as a public museum until June 30, 2010 in an open letter to President Jehuda Reinharz and Provost Marty Krauss on Wednesday.

The letter lists four concerns about the future of the museum; that the exhibitions currently in the rose close on May 19 and that there are no other exhibitions planned, that students are no longer able to pre-enroll in Rose internships and that the contract of Museum Director Michael Rush ends on June 30 and has not yet been renewed.

“We are thus concerned that the Museum will be effectively closed as of June 30, 2009,” the letter reads.

In response to the letter, President Reinharz told The Hoot that “I don’t think we could be more transparent in the way we have handled the Rose,” pointing out

that Krauss is currently leading a Committee on the Future of the Rose Art Museum comprised of students, faculty, trustees and Rose staff to decide the museum’s future.

Reinharz said that he will not “constrain the committee” by telling them to keep the Rose open for an additional year if that is not what they recommend.

“What do we have a committee for if we are going to make constraints to bind their hands?” he asked. “We are going to let the committee do their work.”

While the Rose Committee is charged with making a recommendation for the future of the museum, ultimately, the fate of the Rose will be determined by the Board of Trustees.

Reinharz did say “if the committee gives their recommendation for the rose before the sum-

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

mer at a time that we cannot discuss the decision with the community, we will postpone the final decision until the fall.”

“I know of no institution that has been as democratic in its process as Brandeis has,” Reinharz said.

GRAPHIC BY Alex Schneider/The Hoot

IN THIS ISSUE:

Inside the mind of the Chief Features, page 6

Philadelphia shares its story Diverse City, page 8

AUDIO @ THEHOOT.NET Sportz Blitz: Talking trading Jay Cutler and ‘Deis baseball Off the Beaten Path: Sitting down with the original Hoot editors

2 The Hoot

April 3, 2009

N E W S Louis-Rosenberg explains dangers of Mountain Top Removal Mining

BY ROBIN LICHTENSTEIN Staff

Whenever Mathew LouisRosenberg is asked for a one line summation of his work with the Coal River Mountain Watch and the Sludge Safety Project, a collaborative effort of Coal River Mountain Watch and other groups concerned with the harmful effects of Mountain Top Coal Mining, he simply responds: “people are dying - that’s the one sentence.”

Rosenberg started with some “coal slurry 101,” introducing his Monday night audience to the coal mining processes that are slowly poisoning the residents of Boone County, WV. Rosenberg, along with co-presenter Glen Collins, spent almost two hours talking about Mountain Top Removal Mining (MTR) that involves taking explosives, blowing off the top of a mountain, and scooping out the coal.

The excess waste is then thrown into surrounding valleys. The coal is “wet washed” to get a purer product. The result of this process is coal slurry, a toxic waste that has created Erin Brockovichesque woes for the 250 or so families in the Boone County mining town of Prenter. A handout further explained that, “coal slurry is

a fluid produced by washing coal with water and chemicals prior to shipping the coal to market.”

The left over water is then either stored in multi-million gallon dams, or pumped back into the ground.

In Prenter, these dams and pump sites are located precariously close to the wells from which the town gets its water.

The town, explained Rosenberg, “was founded as a town to mine coal,” and the coal companies employ almost all the town inhabitants. Coal has been at the heart of this town since the 1800’s, but it has only began causing problems in the past decade.

The water stored in the ground and in the dams has began to leak into the wells from which Prenter gets its tap water.

A handout contained a partial list of the organic compounds and heavy metals that proceed to seep into Prenter’s tap water, including arsenic, benzidine, tin, and a host of other toxins.

In case you couldn’t picture the tiny particles floating around in the water, Rosenberg and Collins passed around three samples of tap water from Prenter, all a different hue of brownish-yellow, with an odor possible to smell even through the glass jars that contained the sample.

The presentation was started with a Youtube video ( h t t p : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / watch?v=5aLaH9bxzNU) that depicted how this very same water reacted with a shiny new penny.

After six minutes in this water, the penny was streaked in different colors as it began to tarnish.

Rosenberg later pointed out the irony in the fact that coal is what is poisoning the water. Most water filtration systems (like Brita) actually use coal as a filter, as it naturally functions, even while still in the ground, as a filter by absorbing gasses and impurities.

Collins and Rosenberg stopped at Brandeis as part of a tour that includes Northeastern and Wesleyan in an effort to raise awareness and funds. President of Fresh, Nathaniel Lazar ’10, had heard that the pair would be speaking in Boston, but were not available at that time to speak at Brandeis.

Lazar was, “hoping they’d be here before I graduated” and he obviously got what he had hoped for.

Lazar got them to come to campus after contacting them directly, “they were incredibly accommodating.”

The pair was also the first speakers brought to campus by Fresh, a club started Spring 2008, dedicated to bringing clean water to wherever it is needed.

PHOTO BY Abraham Berin/The Hoot

MOUNTAIN TOP MINING: Mathew Louis-Rosenberg explains the health hazards of mounain top mining and its effect on water supplies on Monday.

“It was the first speaker we ever brought to campus and it went really well,” said Bruce Strong ’10 a member of Fresh and member of Monday night’s audience.

Coal River Mountain Watch and the Sludge Safety Project have seen some success for their efforts; they have been able to ship

potable water into Prenter, and the coal companies have picked up some of the costs of bringing in fresh water.

However, the solution is only temporary and they have yet to get clean water to all of Prenter, let alone the entirety of Boone County, WV.

Genesis Group donates $10.8 Bylaw amendment will outlaw bribery if passed mil. to create scholarship fund ment, it would negatively effect from The Hoot on First AmendBYLAW (from p. 1)

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

The university received a $10.8 million dollar grant from the Genesis Philanthropy Group (GPG) in order to establish a Brandeis Genesis Institute for Russian Jewry.

The grant would provide scholarships for Russian-speaking Jews.

The money will fund up to 60 undergraduates, 14 master’s degree candidates, six Ph.D candidates and 132 participants in Brandeis summer programs over the next five years starting in 2009.

University President Reinharz said that he was excited about the GPG’s grant because it fits in with the university’s academic purpose.

“The intention of this scholarship is to acquaint these students with their heritage,” he said.

“That’s something we do with any number of our students every day on campus.”

While there are no existing statistics for how many Brandeis students are Russian-speaking Jews, the Russian club has roughly 100 members on their listserv and university administrators estimate that there are approximately 150 more Russian speaking students attending the university.

Reinharz said that the negotiations over the grant began two

years ago, long before the university was thrust into its current financial crisis; however, Reinharz said that the university’s current economic situation only makes GPG’s donation more important.

Currently, 70 percent of the undergraduate population is on financial aid--a symptom of Brandeis’ need-blind admissions policy.

“Nothing is more important to the university right now than scholarship funding,” he said.

“This is an opportunity to fund up to 60 students, it is not something we could turn up.”

Additionally, Reinharz said that over 60 percent of graduates from Brandeis’ summer programs end up attending the university as undergraduate students. Increasing funding for students to attend summer programs at the university is “a great way to attract students,” Reinharz said.

Reinharz said that he views this scholarship as a way to increase the number of applicants to the university without decreasing the quality of student admitted, and said that if the university is able to offer money to unique interest groups, it may attract students who might otherwise have looked over the university.

“Right now, everyone applying to school is worried about how they are going to pay for this,” he said. “These kinds of funds are win-win.”

candidate had signed up to run for President.

The bylaw amendment will be voted on this comming Sunday.

If passed, the bylaw amendment would not be able to retroactively effect Hogan or the result of this election; however, East Quad Senator Jenna Rubin ‘11, the author of the amendment and the senator who motioned for the Senate to go into executive session last Sunday, said that she was concerned that if the press was able to report upon the bylaw amend-

the election.

“We went into executive session because I didn’t want the bylaw to make it into The Justice,” Rubin said.

“This bylaw is important regardless of the current situation, and I didn’t want the debate to be framed in the context of the election,” she continued.

The Justice did not report on the bylaw.

The executive session lasted approximately five minutes, however, despite an “official objection”

ment grounds, representatives from The Hoot, The Justice, and Innermost Parts, along with one interested student, were forced to leave the Senate session while the bylaw amendment was discussed.

Class of 2011 Senator Alex Melman also left the senate meeting for the designated period of time as, what he called a “symbol of solidarity” with the press.

Rubin said that she is not planning to move to executive session for the discussion of the bylaw amendment this Sunday.

Admissions not need-blind for transfer, international, and wait-listed students ADMISSIONS (from p. 1)

off the waitlist.

While the university often advertises itself as a need-blind university, Eddy said she did not think the policy toward international, wait-listed, and transfer students was unfair.

“When we talk with domestic students and their families about applying to Brandeis, we explain that students are accepted on the basis of their academic record and personal accomplishments,” Eddy wrote. “We also tell them that we are need blind up to our waitlist, when financial aid dollars have usually been expanded.”

“For international students, we explain that we are need aware,”

she continued. “While we give significant financial aid to our international population—a practice not employed by many institutions—we can not afford to give all international students financial aid.”

The number of undergraduate applications to the university dropped this year from last year from the 7,000 range to 6,687, and Eddy announced to the faculty that the university has accepted two percent more students this year than

O

last year with the hope of increasing the freshman class population by 25.

However, she said “our ability to yield a class is unpredicatable.”

Eddy did say that the university has traditionally relied on admitted students day to yield the firstyear class and said that two thirds of the students at the open houses usually attend the university in the fall.

Currently there are 1,200 prospective students registered for accepted students day.

ur ability to yeild a class is unpredictable - Jean Eddy

NEWS

April 3, 2009

The Hoot 3

“God Sleeps in Rwanda” provides insight on living with HIV after the Genocide

BY JAKE YARMUS Staff

“[HIV medication] costs 550 Rwandan Francs. I make 551 Rwandan Francs a month. I cannot afford the medicine for my child,” Odette, the HIV positive mother of three living in rural Rwanda said into the camera.

Having contracted the virus shortly after her marriage, Odette is lucky because only one of her three children has the virus. She is also a genocide survivor who saw the death of her husband and family in the struggle. Now, she is too poor to afford medication to help heal her child.

However, her story, like many others, doesn’t just end with that fact. She works as a National Policewoman, and is pursuing her law degree because “my opportunity is not money. My opportunity is to do something for people.”

Odette is one of many female survivors featured in the documentary “God Sleeps in Rwanda,” which was shown Tuesday in Levin Ballroom. Her words of hope and focus on the future

resonate throughout the film.

Other survivors featured in the film range from a rape victim who has watched all of her friends die of HIV, while she remains safe, to a 12 year-old girl running a house full of younger siblings. The documentary follows these women as they find grounding in which to progress from the horrors they witnessed in 1993.

This aspect of the film distinguishes it from the other film shown that night. The other film, a short by photojournalist Jonathan Torgovnik, entitled “Intended Consequences,” similarly featured female Rwandan genocide survivors. The films had many differences – this one was shorter, more artistically shot, and only focused on women who had born a child from the rape they suffered during the genocide.

One of the events hosts, Noam Schouster ’11 pointed out a key distinction between Torgovnik’s film and “God Sleeps in Rwanda,” saying that “[Torgovnik’s] film really makes them seem like victims. Sometimes they may appear to be just victims, but they are re-

ally survivors.”

Though Schouster, and fellow hosts Margo Moinester ’09 and Supreetha Gubbala ’12 had critiques regarding Torgovnik’s film, Shouster still saw the value in the project, calling it an “incredible work.”

Accompanying these two films was Mochilla, a Brandeis studentled band, who sought to commemorate the night by playing their first song in the honor of the all of the “Rwandan mothers.”

The entire night cost around 5$ a head, with all of the money to be sent to Torgovnik’s foundation that supports the education of children featured in his work.

The funds raised from the 40 people in the room will help send 3-5 kids to school for a year, Gubbala pointed out. At the end of the event, Gubbala announced that the display of Torgovnik’s work in the Women and Gender Research Center would be leaving on April 7th.

That night, a collection of students and faculty will read the women’s testimonies as a final farewell.

PHOTO BY Judy Kaufman/The Hoot

GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA: Supreetha Gubbala ‘12 introduces the film “God Sleeps in Rwanda” in Levin Ballroom monday night.

Hoot History Jay Cutler Spotify

4 The Hoot

NEWS

Students will be able to take tours of the Rose Art Museum vault today as part of Bronstein Week’s “Crave A Masterpiece” event. Tours will be available from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will be given every 15 minutes.

Shapiro Science Center tours The Shapiro Science Center will be holding an open house from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. today. Community members will be able to take guided tours of the newly built center as part of the open house. President Reinharz will offer brief remarks in the Atrium around 3:15. The formal dedication of the building will occur in fall, 2009.

Pigasus for Union President Students for a Democratic Society organized a write-in campaign to elect a pig Student Union President. The campaign harkens back to 1968 when the Youth International Party, lead by Abbie Hoffman ‘59 nominated a pig named pigasus for President at a protest outside of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

The name Pigasus is a play on the greek mythological winged horse “pegasus.”

Deis 5k charity run Brandeis will be holding its first ever charity run on Sunday. Participants will have to pay five dollars which will be donated to the Waltham Boys and Girls Club, the Lealand Home in Waltham and the Waltham Family Preschool. Registration for the 5k run--which will consist of three laps around the loop road, starts at 8:15 a.m. and the race will begin at 10 a.m.

science library consolidated SCIENCE LIBRARY (from p. 1)

of the Gerstenzang Library was created as part of the LTS “Master Plan” in 2006 that detailed the future of LTS facilities. As part of the plan, library services would place more importance on online resources. One example of a change, according to Krauss, was the reorganization of the Goldfarb Library to include an Information Commons.

“The plan recognized changes in library services, including greater reliance on digital resources delivered online,” Krauss wrote in an e-mail to The Hoot.

“The master plan defines the most efficient and effective use of LTS facilities in anticipation of smaller print collections.”

When asked about student in-

put into the process, Krauss also explained that in 2006, “The LTS Master Plan was created with input from faculty, students, and staff. … Faculty leaders in the sciences were also consulted during the early planning stages of the process.”

The science library does employ students at the info desk on its upper level, however, there has been no discussion of cutting back student jobs.

President Jehuda Reinharz told The Hoot that the decision to use parts of the library for the Genetics Counseling Program was made after careful analysis of the use of the library. “The times I’ve gone though, very few” students have been in the library, he said.

He later added, “It’s just not a great use of that space.”

The Palooza Crave Bronstein will be sponsering a Palooza in the Fellow’s Garden, located behind the Shapiro Campus Center from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The Palooza is supposed to emulate a block party with live music, BBQ and games. STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition will be accepting donations.

Brandeis Briefs

Rose Art vault tours offered today

April 3, 2009

The Hoot 4

April 3, 2009

E D I TO R I A L

Practicing what we preach Established 2005 "To acquire wisdom, one must observe."

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

FOUNDED BY

Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

Last Sunday, the Student Union considered a bylaw amendment which would ban forms of bribery in Student Union elections. In other words, the amendment would prevent Union candidates from promising favors and positions to others in exchange for support or for not contesting a candidate’s run.

Many Executive Board positions, the spots most likely to be promised in a preelection deal, are appointed, not elected.

As such, we depend on the discretion and judgment of our elected campus leaders to fill the E-board based strictly on merit, not on politics.

The issue is important, and one that the

entire student body deserves to understand. Calling executive session in order to discuss the bylaw is simply unacceptable.

This editorial board has called time and again for our leaders to behave with integrity and a strong sense of community responsibility, even when no rules exist to control their actions.

As we have seen at the many forums with President Jehuda Reinharz following the initial announcement about the Rose Art Museum, the student body holds the administration to a high standard of integrity. It only follows that we would hold our Union officials to that same standard.

Certainly in the real world of politics,

backroom dealings and favor exchanges are commonplace. But this is not the real world. College campuses are a locus of change, activism, and idealism. The Student Union itself advocates for social justice and transparency for the university administration. They should expect the same from themselves. Going into executive session in an effort to exclude members of the press during a highly important discussion reflects the very behavior the Union has condemned in the administration. The Union cannot advocate for that which it does not practice.

Yesterday, 29 members of the faculty signed a letter urging President Jehuda Reinharz to keep the Rose Art Museum open through June of 2010. The letter came in response to indications that the museum would be effectively shuttered at the end of this academic year.

Currently, there is a committee charged with determining the Rose’s future. Reinharz has deferred to the committee, refusing to respond to the faculty’s call.

If, as the administration initially explained when the decision to close the Rose was made, the operating costs of keeping the museum open would be det-

rimental to the university in a time of fiscal crisis, then Reinharz should say so, and call for the closing.

If, on the other hand, the operating costs of keeping the Rose open alone are not substantial, then there is no reason not to keep the museum open. The Hoot has previously reported that, if the university should ultimately choose to sell some of the artwork in the Rose, the review process required to do so would likely not be complete until after June 2010.

Given that constraint, there is no reason for Reinharz not to step up and keep

the museum open for next year while the future of the Rose is still being determined.

By claiming deference to the Committee on the Future of the Rose Art Museum, Reinharz is merely stalling to avoid a controversial decision. It is even possible that his refusal to make a decision now indicates a de facto closing of the museum, since without a decision, no new exhibitions will be planned, and the Museum Director’s contract will not be renewed. There’s only two available options; Reinharz needs to pick one.

Time to make a decision

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.

Letters to the Editor Publishing letter to the editor was irresponsible

Science prooves condoms effective

Dear Editor,

Dear Editor,

As a Brandeis student, I appreciate The Hoot’s commitment to publishing articles of all sides and viewpoints. However, I find your publishing of a Letter to the Editor entitled “Condoms not the answer to HIV in Africa” (Mar. 27) without annotation to be inexcusable. In the letter, the author claims “the HIV virus actually passes through condom materials.” Whatever the author’s views on uses of contraceptives including condoms, it is absolutely irresponsible of both the author and The Hoot’s editors to make and publish such a claim. There is a near scientific consensus that proper condom usage helps pre-

vent the spread of HIV, and that latex material forms an impermeable barrier to this infectious agent. These claims are backed by agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Furthermore, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have studied latex condoms with scanning electron microscopy, and while this method had sufficient resolution to visualize HIV particles, its resolution was not powerful enough to find pores in the latex condom, signifying that the HIV virus must be larger than any pore in a condom.

Condom distribution is certainly not a magic bullet to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa

and across the world, but it is profoundly incorrect of the author Ms. Morse-Karzen to make the claim that condoms “do not protect people.”

Condom usage in combination with other strategies does help prevent the spread of HIV. Regardless of the author’s opinions on contraceptives, abortion and her religion, her making and communicating such a claim is both irresponsible and unethical, and can have a life-altering effect on the lives of many. The author’s fear of an “abortionist” conspiracy does not justify disseminating falsehoods.

Nathaniel Lazar ’10

My decision not to run for president was mine alone Dear Editor The article “Senators question politics of Union presidential race” in the March 27th, 2009 publication of the Hoot portrayed a very different situation from what actually occurred by taking all of my quotes out of context. It attempted to draw a relationship between a pattern of events that were, in reality, based on false assumptions.

As many of us know, running for Student Union President is a very serious matter. I had been approached by a few senators who suggested that I consider a run for the position; however, it was not something I had planned on doing during my junior year. Nevertheless, I scheduled two separate

meetings with [Student Union President] Jason Gray [’10] and [Director of Community Advocacy] Andy Hogan [’11], both of whom were incredibly helpful when explaining the role and commitment of the presidency.

What the article failed to articulate correctly was that those two meetings were extremely valuable and very much appreciated.

It gave me a much deeper understanding of what the Presidency entails and the security that, if I won, I knew I would have help for the transition.

I agreed completely with Jason’s advice; my inexperience in the Student Union was something that I knew was a legitimate issue, and one that Jason expressed was his concern as well. But I

never once thought that he was purposefully dissuading me from running as a candidate. Rather, I felt that Jason was open, approachable, and honest. As the article mentioned, I would have been upset if I were mislead – and I am sure anybody that in my situation would want to know if they were as well. But such a situation was raised in my interview with The Hoot journalist as a hypothetical, not one that I, even for a second, took seriously. The decision not to run for President was my own, and mine alone.

Matthew Kriegsman ’11 Associate Justice of the Student Union Judiciary

I couldn’t help but feel outrage upon reading the Letter to the Editor: Condoms not the answer to HIV in Africa in the March 27th edition of The Hoot.

The other spurious claims and conspiracy theories in the letter are not worth responding to (the notion that contraceptives are designed to fail and increase pregnancies so that Planned Parenthood can get rich off of abortions is laughable, and about as likely as the Illuminati’s campaign to establish a New World Order), but one that does need addressing is the question of the effectiveness of condoms at preventing HIV transmission.

The author’s “scientific claims” are the same type of pseudoscience that asserts that HIV does not cause AIDS, and that the world was created 6,000 years ago and people lived with the dinosaurs. In fact, to those who believe these claims, I recommend a trip to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, (conveniently only 5 hours away from the author’s hometown of Wilmette, Illinois) where the author can examine scale models of dinosaurs in the Garden of Eden and chilling on a scale model of Noah’s Ark. Although condoms do not offer foolproof protection against HIV/AIDS, when they fail, it is usually due to either poor manufacturing or incorrect and inconsistent use. The majority of studies show that condoms drastically reduce the risk of trans-

mission. In one study of couples in which one partner had HIV and the other did not, among those who used condoms consistently there was not a single case of transmission, and among those who used them inconsistently there was a transmission rate of 10%.

The Center for Disease Control and the United Nations both have stated that condoms are extremely effective at preventing HIV transmission. UNAIDS cites not only laboratory studies which indicate the virus cannot pass through latex, but also theoretical reasons (that the semen and vaginal fluids which carry the virus cannot pass through), epidemiological studies which compare infection rates, and empirical evidence based on reduced transmission in Brazil, Thailand, and the US, all attributable to increased condom use.

The author’s claim that the virus can pass through condom material is based on the notion that pores in the latex are larger than the AIDS virus. Although numerous empirical and laboratory studies disprove the conclusion of this theory, which has not a single laboratory test supporting it, the theory also operates on several flawed scientific assumptions. First, it is based upon an analysis of latex glove material, not condom material.

Condoms are dipped in latex twice and held to much higher standards; the number of leaky latex gloves permissible in a See CONDOMS, p. 14

6 The Hoot

April 3, 2009

FEATURES

BY CHRISSY CALLAHAN

He does it his way

Editor

On the door to Ed Callahan’s office there is a sign that reads “Will retire.” Its plastic red dial is carefully spun to the year 2040.

Above the sign is a crinkled piece of paper with the words “Never ever” scrawled in pen.

Inside, the cramped office of the Brandeis police chief is lined with police hats, award certificates, family photos and filing cabinets filled with police reports.

In his dress attire, Callahan, 5-foot -11 with grey hair and a mustache, stands out among a uniformed staff of men in blue.

Callahan does not fit the stern stereotype of the campus police chief he has been for a decade.

Maybe this is because of the way Callahan runs the show. The hallway echoes with the sound of Callahan’s voice calling out “D.B.” or “Peewee” – nicknames he has assigned various officers.

Maybe this is because of the affection in which he is held. The office overflows with gifts that mirror the friends, students and acquaintances he has touched during 30 years on the Waltham campus.

Maybe this is because Ed Callahan is my dad. Being the daughter of the chief of police certainly has its merits and its drawbacks, but it has given me a unique perspective on the man behind the title, not an impartial perspective certainly, but perhaps an insightful one.

Before rising to chief, Callahan worked at Brandeis for 20 years as patrolman, investigator, detective sergeant, captain and deputy chief. Prior to joining the police force at Brandeis in 1978, he worked for the police departments of Children’s Hospital in Boston and Boston City Hospital.

Each morning, Callahan shows up for work in a dress shirt, slacks and, when he feels like it, a sweater vest. You know it’s a special day, one of his student workers once said, if he pulls out the purple dress shirt.

When asked what he would wear given the choice - a suit or casual wear - Callahan says he would always go for the suit because “You dress for success.”

So, who is the man behind that impeccably ironed Paul Frederick dress shirt?

He’s the man who’ll return your email within minutes, the man for whom vacation means answering phone calls every five minutes, the man most people at Brandeis call Chief.

The phone rings late at night and the voice on the other end says, “Good evening, is Chief Callahan home?”

Maybe it’s a sign of respect, maybe it’s a habit, but whatever it is, Callahan often tells people they can just call him “Ed.” When asked which he prefers--Chief or Ed-- he says, “It doesn’t matter. Just don’t call me late for lunch,” and then laughs.

This wisecrack is typical of Callahan’s “work hard, play hard” attitude. When it comes down to it, he probably works more than 50 hours a week, but he has fun doing it.

Callahan, 55, grew up in Cambridge and later moved to Medford with his parents and older brother. This is where he lives today with his wife Jean, myself, and my sister Kim, 21, a senior at Suffolk University.

An English major at Boston State College, Callahan had originally planned to be an elementary school teacher. At the time, many teachers were being laid off, so he thought it might be more practical to pursue a career in his second major---law enforcement.

Some would say he didn’t veer too far from his original path. After all, Callahan works alongside students and has shaped the minds of many an employee over the years, preparing them, he says, for “life, for the real world, for reality.” He runs Brandeis’ escort safety service, including the famous “Branvan.” In addition to a student crew of 70, Callahan works closely with four student managers.

The man demands a lot from his students, who essentially are on call all hours of the day just as he is, ready to take care of any emergency that might arise. From middle-of-the-night calls to his house to trips to campus on a weekend, Callahan’s job is anything but nine to five.

Case in point: It’s a Sunday night. Callahan is sitting in his living room, cell phone in his lap, Blackberry on the armrest and house phone in his hand. Just minutes before, he sat in the same position with only one piece of technology - his Nextel Blackberry - reading glasses lining his nose, and hands clicking the keys, checking his messages.

Then the phone rang, as it often does.

It’s snowing outside, and Callahan’s student workers need to check in to insure the safe running of the Branvan. One of them calls and they get disconnected. Callahan calls him back and gets the voicemail. Within a minute, he calls again and leaves another message. Just seconds later, he has another student on the line. When asked how he is, Callahan says, “I’ve been better.”

“He dropped the ball,” he continues, disappointed his student worker let his call go to voicemail yet another time.

Though Callahan strives to foster close, trusting relationships with his students, they are, at the end of the day, still students. And as such, he takes it on himself to serve as a father figure, doling out advice and often referring to them at home as “my other kids.” And as with his actual children, tough love is often on the menu.

“There’s no time for mistakes,” he says.

“We expect perfection and give nothing else.”

During his time in public safety, Callahan has seen it all--or at least as much as can be seen on a college campus as small as Brandeis’. While coordinating security for campus events, Callahan has even met the likes of the Dalai Lama, Whoopi Goldberg, Ted Koppel and Barbara Streisand.

Holding his position also inevitably requires being the bearer of bad news. When the decision to arm the Brandeis police was announced last year, for instance, Callahan took the brunt of the abuse, though the decision wasn’t fully his. For him, even this experience is seen in a positive light.

“It’s part of the job, I guess. You have to deal with people who have difference of opinions,” he says.

Such a demanding job leaves little room for relaxation, but Callahan finds the time here and there.

It’s a Wednesday: two days after President’s Day, to be precise. It’s also Brandeis’ February break, so the campus is relatively quiet. Most students have gone home for break; some employees have taken time off.

Callahan has decided to take the day off as well. It’s a rare occurrence. Callahan has accumulated so much vacation time he has actually lost some of it.

So today he drives up to Laconia, N.H., where Callahan and his family have a vacation home. It’s there he seems to be happiest; in the mountains, away from the chaos of campus.

But not so far that he loses cell phone re-

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

CHIEF: Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan has worked at Brandeis for the past 30 years and has served as chief of police for the past 10 years. Before coming to Brandeis, Callahan worked at Children's Hospital in Boston and Boston City Hospital. While most police chiefs are seen as stern and authoritative, Callahan infuses fun into his job and is a well-known figure on the Brandeis campus.

ception, of course. Between the one and a half hour drive up Route 93 and a leisurely survey of the condo, Callahan inevitably checks his Blackberry for the unavoidable emails. He receives, on average, 100 a day.

So why did he decide to take today off?

No reason in particular.

“I have a lot of time,” he says, referring to his vacation days. But you can’t help but think there’s some kind of an existential meaning lying underneath.

Callahan was diagnosed with prostate cancer when he was 48 years old. The diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma came a year later. Not even months of chemotherapy and radiation could keep Callahan from going to work, though. It got to the point where his boss, a fellow workaholic, told Callahan he needed to stay at home.

Workaholic though he might be, Callahan is anything but a boring cubicle worker.

While many employees are content to sit in their office for eight hours, you can find this police chief cruising around in one of the police cars or his own car several times a day.

Perhaps you’ve noticed him calling out to people from up on the third floor balcony of the Shapiro Campus Center, causing them to look around and wonder if they really heard their name or if the stress has really gotten to them. Or maybe you’ll see him at the corner convenience store picking up a pack of his favorite licorice.

If there’s someone driving on the path in

front of the campus center, it’s most likely Callahan as well.

Whether it’s from these trips around campus, the very nature of his role as director of public safety or his endearing personality, Callahan knows everyone. From the janitors working in the Usdan Student Center (quite a walk from his office in Stoneman), to the members of the Student Union, to at least one employee in just about every office on campus, Callahan is certainly a well-known figure. At the mention of his name, these admirers often refer to him as “My friend Ed” or “Mr. Wonderful.”

Sergeant Michael Walsh of Brandeis public safety has worked at Brandeis for 39 years and watched Callahan work his way up to the post of chief.

Walsh says Callahan is certainly a wellloved figure among students, staff and faculty and has worked to speak for the students in many a situation.

“He’s always had the university close to his heart,” he says.

Though he’s spent his whole life in New England, Callahan swears he’ll move to Florida when he retires--that is, if he ever does. Nearly every night, he stands in front of the TV set in his kitchen, listens to the meteorologist, and reports, “It’s 76 degrees in Florida today.”

Here’s to hoping it might be half that tomorrow where he lives, but Callahan has a See HIS WAY, p. 7

F E AT U R E S

April 3, 2009

The Hoot 7

Balancing fatherhood and college

BY HANNAH VICKERS Staff

Balance is a part of daily life for students at Brandeis. We all stress about having enough time to do all the reading and papers for class, making it to practice, being a member of a ton of clubs and still trying to have a social life on the weekends. This already might seem like a lot to deal with, but for Taylor Bracken ’10, this is only the beginning of his work. On top of all the normal parts of life at Brandeis, Taylor has something even more important he has to make room for: his daughter Adelaide.

When he first found out about the pregnancy last spring, he wasn’t exactly thrilled.

“I met [the baby’s mother] Annie through a friend and we started hanging out. I couldn’t believe it when she told me [she was pregnant]. I was in shock,” he said. “I couldn’t even begin to think how much stuff was about to change. Even after she told me she was keeping it, I just didn’t want to deal with it.”

Bracken tried to keep up appearances of a normal life during the pregnancy. The Brandeis soccer player spent time with friends and attended team practices, all the while keeping quiet about what was going on. It wasn’t until the summer when reality truly began to sink in.

“I got really depressed. I didn’t want to see friends and I just hung out on the couch. My mom knew there was something wrong. A few times she asked me if there was a problem or what was going on with me, but I played it off,” he said. “I didn’t want to tell them… I was scared.”

The depression continued when Bracken returned to Brandeis last fall. Many of his friends were concerned about him including his suitemate Suzy Bernier ‘10 .

“He wouldn’t get off the couch some days,” Suzy said. “I’d make him Mac & Cheese so he’d have something to eat.”

With everything going on in his life Bracken wasn’t even able to find joy in his true passion: soccer. For him it had always been something he loved, and even one of the reasons he came to Brandeis.

“I was recruited to play at a bunch of different schools, but none of them came close to Brandeis academically,” he said.

During his first two years at Brandeis, Bracken worked hard and improved his game. His freshman year he played 22 games with six shutouts and a save percentage of .733 while the team as a whole scored 55 goals. His sophomore year he played fewer games - only 18 - but still put up five shutouts and a .768 save percentage behind a team that had less than half the offensive strength as the year before, only putting up 26 goals.

Unfortunately his third season on the team was cut short when he was told he would no longer be starting. Shortly after he got the news, Bracken left the team for “personal reasons,” choosing not to tell the

PHOTO COURTESY OF Taylor Bracken

BALANCING ACT: When Brandeis soccer player Taylor Bracken '10 first found out he was going to be a father, his life changed dramatically. After leaving the team last summer, and welcoming his daughter Adelaide into the world last November, Bracken is now returning to the soccer team and learning that life is really a balancing act.

coach or the team about the pregnancy.

“Of course I was upset about not starting,” Bracken said. “But soccer just became a huge stress on top of everything. In the past it [had] always been great, but after losing my starting spot and everything else going on I just couldn’t do it.”

At this point the majority of people in his life were still in the dark, even his parents, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long. Annie and Bracken were fighting a lot at that point, especially over the issue of telling his parents what was happening. Ultimately she decided to take matters into her own hands and sent his parents an invitation to the baby shower. That sparked even more questions from Bracken’s parents, and he finally came clean.

“They weren’t as mad as I thought they’d be,” he said. “They were just aggressive, you know? They felt like they’d missed out on a lot and they wanted to be filled in quickly.”

After filling his parents in, things started looking up for Bracken. Once he realized they weren’t as upset as he thought they’d be, he was finally able to think about the steps they needed to take as a family. It wasn’t long before Nov. 3, 2008 came and his life was changed forever by the birth of his daughter.

A smile couldn’t help but creep onto

After 30 years, it's his prerogative HIS WAY (from p. 6)

lot to hope for, or so he always says. Two bouts with cancer have taught him not to take himself too seriously and to treat everyone with respect.

“I try not to get stressed out since I’ve been ill,” he says.

Perhaps that’s the reason for his funloving personality. Maybe that’s the way he’s always been. Who knows? The one certain thing is that Callahan does what

he wants to do.

Case in point: It’s late at night and Callahan’s phone rings one last time for the day.

It’s Mark Collins, his boss.

“Yo-yo,” he calls into the phone, using his nickname for Collins.

Most employees wouldn’t call their boss “Yo-yo,” but Ed Callahan isn’t most employees.

Bracken’s face as he recalled this day. “I think it hit me, like really hit me, when I held her for the first time,” he said. “I never wanted to put her down; I just loved her.”

Since then Bracken has been slowly figuring out how all the other pieces of his life fit together. It hasn’t been easy and it sometimes instigates fights with Annie, but Bracken says he’s working towards something too important to let it go to waste.

“I’ve come too far to drop out,” he said.

“When I’m done here I’ll have a degree that will help me get a great job and let me support my Addie, so for now school is my job.”

Between getting his work done during the week and trying to spend most weekends with his daughter, Bracken admits he doesn’t have a lot of free time left over. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that he feels like something is missing from his life - soccer.

“I know it’ll be hard to make time for everything, but it’s always been such a big part of my life… I miss that feeling I got on the field, it was a great release,” he said.

“I can totally see Addie coming to my games,” he added. “She might be young, but she picks up on emotions and she knows when I’m happy.”

Bracken spent a good part of the winter months starting to figure out how he would

balance everything if he rejoined the soccer team. He participated in captain’s practices and talked with the assistant coach, Gabe Margolis, about the possibility of returning to the team.

All that remained was for Bracken to talk with head coach Michael Coven who was concerned about Bracken’s decision to leave the team.

“We cleared up everything,” Bracken said. “He didn’t know what happened in the fall and just assumed I quit ‘cause I wasn’t starting. He understands now and is cool with it.”

Bracken knows the next months and years will be filled with new challenges, but he remains optimistic that he will be able to tackle them.

“Having Addie in my life changed a lot of things. I had always dreamed of trying to go pro[fissional] for soccer and I’ll have to give up that dream,” he said. “I don’t know what I’ll do, but she’s got to be my focus now.”

Considering Brandeis’ rigorous academic standards, Coach Coven said Bracken’s doing a good job staying determined in the face of adversity: “Brandeis is a difficult [enough] place to do the work and combine that with fatherhood–-it’s an admirable thing he’s doing.”

Like what you read?

Check us out online at www.thehoot.net to check out archives and listen to audio.

12 The Hoot

April 3, 2009

IMPRESSIONS Book of Matthew

Four years later, remembering the tragedy of Terri Schiavo

BY BRET MATTHEW

pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and move on. But this was not the final act.

On Oct. 21, 2003, 15 days after the reThis past Tuesday marked the fourth anniversary of the death of Terri Schiavo, moval of Terri’s feeding tube, the Florida who, on Mar. 31, 2005, died at her hospice state government became involved. At in Pinellas Park, Florida after spending 15 the urging of the Schindlers, who still reyears in a vegetative state. She was 41 years fused to accept their daughter’s impending death, the Florida legislature, led by several old—far too young.

Many of you, if not almost all of you, rec- religious right-wing lawmakers, passed a ognize the name Terri Schiavo. No doubt piece of legislation known as “Terri’s Law.” you followed her story closely back when The law gave Governor Jeb Bush, another it was controversial, back when it was be- member of the religious right, the authoring broadcast by every media outlet imag- ity to have the feeding tube reinserted. Alinable. Maybe some of you still remember though arguably an unconstitutional law (it some of the details: the family feud, the gave the executive branch of the state govendless court battles, the state and federal ernment powers reserved for the judicial government involvement. Perhaps, at one branch), it was signed by Governor Bush point in time, you even had a strong opin- that same day, who proceeded to carry it out. ion on the matter.

And thus, the court battles resumed.

Four years later, I believe it is worth takThis time, they went all the way up to the ing a look back.

The story began on Feb. 25, 1990, when Florida Supreme Court, which, on Sept. 23, Terri was suddenly and mysteriously found 2004, ruled in a unanimous decision that lying unconscious on the floor of her St. “Terri’s Law” was, in fact, unconstitutional.

Petersburg apartment, not breathing and The law was overturned, and despite furlacking a pulse. Upon being rushed to the ther appeals from the Schindlers, Terri’s hospital, it was determined that she had feeding tube was once again removed on suffered cardiac arrest. The lack of oxygen Mar. 18, 2005.

But even this was not the end of the story. had caused severe damage to her brain, and after a two-and-a-half month coma she re- As the debate had raged in Florida courtmained in a vegetative state, subsisting off rooms, Terri and the fight over her life had begun to pick up considerable national ata feeding tube.

For a while after the incident, the Schiavo tention.

In Congress, several Republicans, includfamily focused solely on Terri’s rehabilitation. They took her to several different fa- ing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Rcilities and had her undergo many experi- TN), Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert mental treatments in the hope of making (R-IL), and House Majority Leader Tom some progress. Terri’s husband Michael, DeLay (R-TX), took great interest in Terri’s who had been appointed her guardian, story. Like Governor Bush and his allies in even went to school to be trained as a nurse the Florida legislature, Frist, Hastert, and in order to take better care of her. How- DeLay all subscribed to the ideology of ever, months and years passed, and despite the religious right. They felt that no matthe extensive therapy, Terri’s condition did ter what the circumstances, Terri should be not improve. Finally concluding that there kept alive, and in order to make that hapwas no more hope for his wife, Michael pen they enlisted the help of several Republican lawmakers in drafting legislation chose to file a “Do Not Resuscitate” order.

By now, the strained relationship be- that would allow the Schindlers to sue in tween Michael and Terri’s parents, Bob federal court. The legislation, unofficially and Mary Schindler, completely fell apart. referred to by Rep. DeLay as the “Palm SunMichael claimed that Terri’s condition was day Compromise,” was passed by Congress irreversible, and he felt that if she had a say, on March 21, 2005 and signed into law by she would not have wanted to be kept alive President Bush (yet another member of the artificially. The Schindlers, on the other religious right) that same day.

Interestingly, just like in the Florida state hand, were more optimistic and wanted to keep Terri on the feeding tube in the hope government, this Act of Congress was also arguably unconstitutional. that one day she would eventually improve. hether or not these Opponents called it a bill of attainder—a piece of In 1998, Michael fithings should hap- legislation banned by the nally decided to have the feeding tube re- pen, they do--almost every Constitution that only applies to one individual. moved and to allow day.

Also, due to clever maTerri to die of dehynipulation, Congressional dration.

Although Republicans managed to doctors assured him that with the proper pain medication the get the bill passed and on President Bush’s death could be peaceful and pain-free, the desk without a quorum in the Senate (only Schindlers were appalled by the very idea. three Senators were present when the vote And so, from 1998 until 2003, Michael and was called and all three voted yes) and a the Schindlers took to the courts, arguing significantly smaller House of Representaover everything from Terri’s last wishes to tives (174 Representatives were not presMichael’s status as guardian. It was a long, ent). Finally, as in Florida, Congress was brutal process, but after countless testimo- accused of usurping powers normally renies by doctors and several appeals, Mi- served for the courts.

Despite these problems, the “Palm Sunchael was able to retain his guardianship and to have the feeding tube removed, al- day Compromise” went into effect. As lowing Terri to die. On Oct. 15, 2003, he soon as it did, the Schindlers began to file appeals. They reached the US Supreme did so. Or at least, he tried.

Had this been the final act of this tragic Court, at which time the highest court story, most of us would never have heard in the land decided not to hear the case. the name Terri Schaivo. She would have This was the end of legal action for the been allowed to die in peace and escape Schindlers; on Mar. 31, 2005, Terri sucthe prison that her body had become. Her cumbed to dehydration and died.

At the time of her death, news of Terri’s family, though wrenched apart by years of argument, would have at least been able to story had reached just about every part of Editor

W

PHOTO from Internet source

the country. The question on everyone’s mind was, who was right? Had Terri simply been an unresponsive vegetable, as Michael had claimed? Or had she been aware of her surroundings and capable of recovery, as the Schindlers claimed?

The autopsy provided a clear answer. Terri’s brain, it was discovered, had shrunken to half the size of a normal female brain.

According to medical examiners who performed the autopsy, this fact strongly suggested a vegetative state that would not have been cured by therapy or other treatments.

Michael and the doctors who advised him were correct. The Schindlers, their doctors, and the governments of both the State of Florida and the United States were wrong.

Four years later, it is still easy to see how entirely screwed-up this whole affair was.

No person should have to suffer the way Terri suffered. No husband should have to watch the empty shell that was once his wife and wonder if there is any spark of consciousness left inside. No parents should have to look into the eyes of their daughter, searching for a trace of their little girl.

And yet, whether or not these things should happen, they do—almost everyday.

And they are difficult enough for despondent families to deal with without outside intervention. So was it really necessary for politicians—who could clearly see the anguish of both the resigned husband and the desperately hopeful parents—to take part in this affair? No. But they did nonetheless. As word of a controversial social issue reached their ears, the politicians dusted off

their Bibles and entered the fray, ready to spread the good gospel of Jesus Christ and strengthen their pro-life voter base.

This is only barely an exaggeration on my part; it is no accident that the most active politicians by far in this case were, as I pointed out earlier, religious right-wing Republicans.

It is highly doubtful that these Republicans—who claimed to care about Terri and hold her best interests at heart—still remember her today. They have likely moved on to the next major social issue (gay marriage, perhaps?) and therefore her memory serves no use to them. The votes they could have gained have already been gained.

But Terri must be remembered. Because whether you took the side of her husband or her parents (and given the telling results of the autopsy, I hope that you at least come to understand Michael’s view) we must all realize that this debate had no business expanding beyond the Schiavo-Schindler family. It should have stayed out of the public eye and been kept in that hospice in Florida, where the three family members could have made that painful decision without help from two legislatures, a state governor, and his complete idiot brother who just happened to be President of the United States.

Can we, with our historical experience and wise voting choices, manage to prevent such a controversy from ever erupting again? Can we, the voters, the consumers of news, the constituents of politicians, finally learn how to give people the privacy that they deserve?

IMPRESSIONS

April 3, 2009

Man against nature

The Hoot 13

You should vote

PHOTO BY Aaron Udel/The Hoot

ROUGHING IT: While studying abroad last semester in Scotland, Aaron Udel braved the formidable hills and vigorous winds in an effort to experience the real Scotland, and get in touch with himself.

BY AARON UDEL Staff

I chose to start my week by running ten miles through the pouring rain on Sunday morning. I woke at 9:15 to the sound of my alarm, reluctantly rolled out of bed, ate some food, and walked over to the gym for track practice.

By 10:30 I was sloshing through puddles down South Street, sporting a water proof jacket to help protect myself against the rain.

In a way, adverse weather can be quite enjoyable. During the autumn I went hill walking in Scotland where the weather is notoriously unpredictable. Hill walking is harder than the name of the activity implies. The “hills” in some parts of Scotland rise up over 3500 ft. The ones that I climbed were not quite that high, but they still provided a challenge. The highest of them reached about 600 m, just shy of 2000 ft.

On the day that I went walking, the wind was remarkably powerful. There was no shelter, no trees to provide protection. As I plodded along the path with other walkers, strong gusts of wind caused me to stumble. The wind

impelled me forward one minute and blew into my chest the next.

While eating lunch, I lost grip of a plastic lid and had to chase it for several meters when the wind sent it flying. Back in the comfort of a pub after the walk, I asked our guide if the weather was normal for the time of year. He said that that it was. I later learned that some of the wind gusts that day had reached over 100 kilometers (or 60 miles) per hour.

These types of conditions have an interesting effect on me. They make me somewhat giddy and excited. I like pitting myself against the elements; in a sense it makes me feel more alive.

During my junior and senior years of high school I had similar experiences when I went cross country skiing. I would often return from the trails half-frozen, my toes and fingers stiff and numb, my face raw. While the weather could be awful, it was also what made skiing such an interesting and worthwhile experience. Coming back into the shelter of a warm building, I felt like an artic explorer returning from an expedition, or like a character in a Jack London story. I felt

a sense of accomplishment—machismo, for lack of a better word.

I get this feeling shoveling snow in a blizzard, or running long distances on a hot and humid summer day. It’s a kind of stubbornness, an attitude left over from the days when people had no choice but to toil in the open air.

Anyone can think of a thousand excuses not to spend time outdoors. It is easy to stay inside when the weather turns rough, but it can be more fun to brave the elements. A little rain and cold make the indoors seem even more comfortable by comparison.

I am not saying that you should risk hypothermia or frostbite, but I do think that the weather is not always the impediment that some may think it to be.

There is something to be said for getting outside and experiencing less than ideal weather conditions. Sure we can always settle for the luxury of our carefully controlled living and working environments, but that’s too easy, too tame. An occasional adventure outdoors can help us reset ourselves. It stirs our dormant survival instincts; it keeps us on our metaphorical toes.

Are you angry?

Are you nostalgic?

Are you angry with Barack?

Are you worried about apathy?

E-mail impressions@thehoot.net to let your voice be heard!

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

BY ROBIN LICHTENSTEIN Staff

It is 12:30AM on Thursday and I have just cast my vote for the next group of Student Union officials.

My inboxes, Bmail and Facebook alike, are being bombarded by messages from candidates, CA’s and current Student Union officials telling me to go vote. Yet, despite all of their efforts, I know that in the end only a couple hundred Brandesians will vote.

“The Student Union doesn’t do anything.” “Nothing actually changes.” “I’m too lazy.” I’ve heard all of these excuses as to why people don’t vote. On a campus of about 3,000 undergraduates who are supposed to be the best and the brightest, you would think we would know a little better. Let us take a moment to look at these excuses: The student union doesn’t do anything: The Student Union definitely doesn’t sit there and twiddle their thumbs. If nothing else, look at the success of the recently installed ‘Deis Bikes program.

Forget any sort of administrative work and advocacy work, especially surrounding the Rose, and whether it was good, bad, or useless. ‘Deis Bikes is something tangible, and the collective Brandeis campus seems to like it.

Want to see more of this kind of programming? Vote for the candidate who says he or she wants to do more of this type of programming for the student body.

Nothing changes: What is supposed to change? According to the Student Union website, the Union is suppose to, “Represent constituents to the administration, the community, and each other. Our goal is to improve University life, advocate for student needs, and protect student rights.”

We are not voting for a group of students who will come in and take over the school; rather, we should vote people in who will be able to uphold the job of the Union.

This should be more important than ever, as we have all been witness to the crucible the Union was put through this year. The financial meltdown this school is witnessing and the subsequent Rose Art Museum crisis should be enough to show any Brandeisian how important it is to vote.

The people we put into the Student Union are the front line for us. If you didn’t like what how the Union responded, well here’s your chance to say so.

Change doesn’t have to be a new campus or something on a massive scale. Go vote for the people who agree with you, who are running on a platform different from the one this year’s Student Union ran on and executed. There is your change.

I’m too lazy: this is the sorriest excuse out of them all. As students, our job is to sit on the computer. Whether you are writing a paper, or more likely, on Facebook, the elections are right there.

Look at your newsfeed or your inbox and someone will have given you the link. You just have to click, and then check off some boxes. You don’t have to move, and in fact you could even look at it as a cool new way to procrastinate!

If you don’t care that’s fine, just say it—and while it is in your best interest to care, don’t give me any other excuse.

While this wont be published until after the polls have closed, take this into account the next time a voting opportunity arises: even if you abstain, vote.

14 The Hoot

IMPRESSIONS

April 3, 2009

Before I graduate, the few things that I will miss about Brandeis

PHOTO from Internet source

BY JORDAN ROTHMAN Editor

I am trying hard not to make these last few articles of mine controversial. Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of ideas in my head that would set this community ablaze and launch more agitation at me than has ever before been conveyed. But, I guess I don’t see the point in making anyone upset with me these last few weeks and would rather like to use my column for a different purpose alto-

gether. My imminent graduation has made me quite sentimental about my years at Brandeis. There are things that I would love to forget, but there are also things that I am certainly going to miss. I’d like to relate a few of these things here so that all of you may cherish these events when they occur in the future.

One of the things that I truly cherish about the beginning of each semester is the Physical Fitness Exemption Test. This ex-

amination, which occurs at the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, is designed for people to demonstrate their physical aptitude so that they may get out of one or two semesters of Physical Education. Each semester, people come in all shapes and sizes to take the test. Some are fat and unathletic, while others are trim and lean. Some are wearing street clothes, while others have all the appropriate gear. It is always a delight to see the Orthodox Jewish women running around the track at high speed in their full garb. It is also equally satisfying to see pudgy, red-faced Brandeisians huffing and puffing as they slowly make their way around the oval. I will truly miss this event.

It gives me pleasure to observe it every time.

I advise you to make your way down to Gosman next fall, cheer on your friends, and watch the wonder that is our Physical Fitness Exemption Test.

Another event that I will truly miss at Brandeis is Thirsty Thursday. I discovered this event as a sophmore, and I don’t think there has been one Thirsty Thursday I have missed since the Fall of 2006. It is absolutely fantastic to

be with friends and chill out with colleagues in a laid back environment. The free food is also a great plus, and I must say, it goes a long way when you are on the stingy meal plan.

Plus, since turning 21, I have really enjoyed drinking beer at the occasion, and The Stein typically serves great brew from the tap (which includes Sam Adams White Ale at the moment). I will truly miss this event, and I envy those who have years more to enjoy it. Fortunately there are a few Thirsty Thursdays left and I hope to see as many of you as possible there having a good time.

One other event that I will truly miss about Brandeis is first-year move-in day. It has been my sincere pleasure to have witnessed this event four times, as I have lived with freshmen for the entirety of my Brandeis career. There are certain things about this day that makes it unlike any other event of the year. Here, new students are filled with the ambition and nervousness of entering a new phase of their lives. Like a blank slate, each can forget the transgressions of the past and open up a new chapter at Brandeis. The energy is contagious, the enthusiasm sin-

cere. It is amazing how quickly freshmen can become apathetic, but on this day there is nothing but fervor for the future.

I will miss many other things about this school. Some have already been taken away from us by the administration (like the “naked dance” and modsfest) and some should be taken away (principally, Pachanga).

Others, like room selection and course selection, cause trepidation, but nevertheless seemed gilded by retrospective analysis.

And sure, I will miss these upcoming days, Senior week, and my eventual commencement.

Yet I hope to have new memories and revel in the knowledge that countless individuals can, in future days, enjoy these characteristics of the university.

Man, has my impending graduation made me sentimental! I think of all the things I will never again experience, and this brings emotions of sadness and nostalgia. I can only hope that with this article, you, dear reader, may find greater enjoyment for these otherwise unremarkable campus events and drink them all in for what they’re worth (especially do the drinking at Thirsty Thursday!)

Borde-nough

Obama discusses the supposed decline of American power

BY CHRIS BORDELON Columnist

In London on Apr. 1, President Barack Obama faced down “fairly broad challenges to American economic leadership”-- or, at least, he faced down a question about them posed by a journalist from the Associated Press. “What do you say to the talk,” asked Jennifer Loven, “that there's a decline in the American model, American predominance?”

Obama's confident reply has a lot about his outlook on the world and America's place in it. “I think if you pulled quotes from 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago,” he opined, “you might find similar contentions that America was on decline.”

But the president asserted that “somehow it hasn't worked out that way,” and explained that this was “because... there is a vibrancy to our economic model, a durability to our political model, and a set of ideals that has sustained us through even the most difficult times.”

Claims of American economic decline have indeed been legion, and have been made over a long period of time. Such claims are often made in relative terms, with the Soviet Bloc, Japan, and most recently, China serving in succession as the most likely challengers to American economic predominance. Obama is surely right to conclude that the rhetoric of American decline is nothing new.

But was he also right to say that, when it comes to American economic decline, “somehow it hasn't worked out that way?”

I think that he was, but only if, by “worked out,” the president was referring to the short-sighted and selfish way in which American leaders have taught the public to think about their prosperity.

The way Americans have worked things out, decline has been illusory. People who talk about it (who are almost invariably outside the government) either don't know the facts or hate America. And any Doubting Thomases who wish to see some measure of America's continued dominance need only look at the wreckage of the Soviet Bloc and Japan strewn by the wayside, and listen carefully for the sound of China huffing and puffing from miles behind in an improbable attempt to, as some commentators put it, catch up.

It's tempting to believe that this way of looking at the world is the right one. Our economy is still the largest in the world.

We make more and spend more on a per person basis than does any other country.

However much people complain about our enormous inequalities of income and wealth, our economy still supports a large majority of Americans in lifestyles that would look affluent in many parts of the world. Our shelves are probably the best stocked. When other countries' leaders want to show how tough they are, they rat-

tle their sabers at the US, paying us and our great power an unintended compliment.

Nevertheless, I think that the worldview that Obama evinced in his answer to Ms. Loven, and that many Americans embrace, is based on a misconception. We base our outlook too much on our massive consumption, and too little on where the money supporting that consumption actually comes from. In contrast to the footrace that is our favorite metaphor for international economic competition, we think of and measure our own affluence and wellbeing in terms of a kind of cumulative pieeating contest. Even if all the statements in the preceding paragraph about the US economy are entirely true, we need to be much more circumspect about our relative affluence because of the increasing extent to which it is supported by debt, both public and private, that we owe to foreigners.

That our need for foreign money to prop up our affluence is growing greater suggests that our affluence itself is less real-- and less permanent-- than anyone wants to admit.

The Obama administration has not been circumspect about debt and what it means for our affluence. It has asked Congress to take on an enormous amount of public debt. And the core of the administration's solution to America's economic problems is, as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has put it, to “free up capacity for lending” and to “get credit flowing again.”

If Geithner meant facilitating loans that will be invested in America and used to enhance productivity, the administration's strategy might make sense. But I don't think those are the kinds of loans Geithner's moves will facilitate. Whatever his goals, I think that the loans facilitated will often be used for consumption.

And I don't mean frivolous consumption. Too many Americans now depend on credit to obtain necessities. The loans the administration wants to facilitate won't generate the money needed to pay them back. They'll only stave off the day of reckoning when no more loans are forthcoming, because creditors who have extended them in the past to our government, our businesses and organizations, and ourselves as individuals no longer think that we're worth the risk.

Necessities cost something, and as humans, we should be loathe to withhold from the needy what they need.

At their best, the American “ideals” that Obama referred to in his answer to the reporter work to ensure that human dignity is never destroyed by economic conditions or any other threat to it. But as we hand over money and “get credit flowing,” we should not mistake borrowing more money for affluence, or pretend that the passing circumstance of our access to credit somehow makes for an immunity to economic decline.

Letter to the editor

Condoms go a long way toward solving the problem

batch is ten times that of condoms. An actual analysis of condom material (not glove material) by the National Institutes of Health using an electron microscope found no holes. Second, the HIV virus requires a host cell. In order for transmission to occur, the entire cell would have to squeeze through these

theoretical microscopic holes in the condoms, not just some free ranging virus.

There is no “scientific research” that supports the author’s claims, and it is telling that the Lancet, one of the most respected medical journals in the world, issued a statement condemning the Pope’s state-

ments as hostile to science.

The Catholic Church does not have a unified stance against condoms; many within the Church’s own ranks condemned the Pope’s remarks, a Cardinal who was a candidate for the papacy four years ago has supported condom use to fight HIV transmission, and the United

States Catholics Bishops, who the author encourages us to google, released a statement in support of condom education, acknowledging that not everyone will avoid intravenous drugs and adhere to policies of abstinence and the more realistic solution is a compromise between moral teachings and prevention

though condoms. It is sad to see the Pope’s regression to policies less reasonable than those of the Church 21 years ago, when there was much less scientific knowledge or empirical evidence on the matter.

Josh Waizer ’11

The Hoot 15

April 3, 2009

SPORTS

BY ZACHARY ARONOW Editor

All the world’s a stage and we are merely players in it. Thursday afternoon presented a stage for a grand comeback. With no outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Judges dented Fitchburg State reliever Jake Barbarotta with Nick Gallagher ’09, leading off the inning with a walk and Jeff Dennis ’11 moving him over to third with a single to center bringing up lead off hitter Mike Alfego ’09.

The good news was that Alfego brought home Gallagher cutting the deficit to 9-7.

The bad news was that the run came as result of a sharp grounder to first sparking a 3-6-3 double play. Now down to their last out, Deschler managed to work the count, fouling off a bunch of pitches until Barbarotta coaxed a fly out to right, ending the comeback and the game. An unfortunate curtain call that now extends Brandeis’s winless streak to three games.

Things started rough for Brandeis starter Pat Nicholson ’11 after getting the lead-off hitter to fly out, a double and single by the next two batters put Fitchburg State on the board. Errors once again hurt Brandeis as a dropped throw from second baseman John O’Brion ’10 put runners on first and second with one out as opposed to having one on with two outs.

Fitchburg State took advantage of the charity, a double from Richard Graham made the score 2-0, a sacrifice grounder and a single later, the Falcons had established a 4-0 lead.

Brandeis however was not ready to give.

A sac fly in the first, an RBI double in the second and a sacrifice grounder in the third brought the score to a 4-3 nail-biter.

A Brandeis throwing error brought Fitchburg State back up by two but the bottom half of the inning saw the Judges break loose. After bringing one run across, the Judges had one man on and two outs, bringing up O’Brion who came through with a two run homer to give the Judges the 6-5 lead.

“That was huge, we were pumped.” Drew Brzozowski ’10 said. “That was big, first lead of the game, I think it really turned the momentum towards us and I think we fed off that a little bit.”

Unfortunately, the luck ran out in the seventh. Fitchburg jumped on a tiring Nicholson, tying the game up with their first two batters.

Nicholson managed to recover to get the next two batters out, but a walk and a single would follow, loading the bases and ending the day for Nicholson.

Charged with getting the final out was Justin Duncombe ’11; however, things did not break his way. A bloop single from John Phelan down the right field line brought across the go ahead and winning runs. An insurance run was added on a wild pitch later that inning.

“I think they were pitching well,” Brzozowski explained in defense of his team mates. “I think Patty (Nicholson) obviously might have just got a little tired since it was the seventh.

And they made good pitches, it was just that the hit that killed us was a little dink bloop, and obviously, there’s nothing you can do about that. Obviously as a pitcher, it’s the most frustrating hit, but there’s nothing you can do about that, they made good pitches.”

Nicholson was branded with his second loss of the season covering 6.2 innings, giving up 9 runs on 10 hits; five earned and also surrendered five doubles.

Duncombe pitched 1.2 innings of relief, giving up one hit, no runs earned or charged and rounding out the Brandeis

hurlers was James Collins ’09 who had a scoreless 2/3 inning. Falcon reliever Tyler Kendrick earned the win, throwing two shutout innings of relief before handing the ball over to Barbarotta who gave up one run on one hit over two innings to get the save.

Leading the charge on offense was O’Brion, who finished 2-4 with the two run homer. Drake Livada went 0-3 but knocked in 2 RBI’s. Jon Chu ’12 had a solid day at the plate as the productive rookie finished 1-2 with a double. The Judges also finished with 3 errors, bringing the combined total up to 12 over the last three games.

Fitchburg State’s offense was paced by John Phelan; the leadoff hitter finished 3-4 with 2 RBI. Also with three hits and 2 RBI was outfielder Richard Graham. Graham also had two doubles.

The loss comes two days after Brandeis fell quietly to MIT 8-2 to close out the month of March.

Things looked good for Brandeis in their first at-bat, singles from Tony Deshler ’11 and Jon Chu ’12 placed runners on first and third with one out.

All was for naught, however, as the next batter, Drake Livada ’10 grounded back to the pitcher for a 1-4-3 double play to end the inning. The game would go downhill from there.

Errors once again proved costly for Brandeis in the top of the second as Engineer’s leadoff batter Kenneth Lin reached safely on an error from shortstop Sean O’Hare ’12 and would score two batters later on a throwing error from centerfielder Deshler.

The winning runs were brought home two batters later as MIT shortstop Bryan Macomber made the score 3-0 with a run single.

Three singles in the fourth inning made the score 5-0 when Brandeis finally entered the board with a single from Pat Nicholson, which brought home Chu. MIT, however, broke through again in the sixth, as two singles and a wild pitch made it 8-1. A sacrifice ground out by Livada brought home Mike Alfego ’09 to make it 8-2 after six. That would be all she wrote for the Judges’ offense; they were held hitless in the final three innings by MIT reliever Ryan Munoz who picked up his third save of the season.

Kyle Ritchie ’10 was saddled with the loss, going 5.1 innings, giving up 7 runs on eight hits, 5 of them earned. Alex Tynan ’12 had a rough outing in relief, giving up a run on two hits in the third of an inning pitched.

James Collins, Justin Duncombe and Nick Pollack ’11 covered the remaining two and two-thirds innings, not allowing another run across.

Torre Swanson got the win for MIT, scattering 5 hits and 2 runs over six innings. Munoz picked up the save, holding Brandeis without a hit, the only allowances being two walks. Both hurlers also had three strikeouts.

Jon Chu had a good day at the plate, reaching base at every appearance with two hits and two walks. Livada and Nicholson each had an RBI. Five MIT players finished with multi-hit performances.

Leading the Engineers was left fielder David Nole who went 3-4 with 3 runs scored.

Lead-off hitter Brian Doyle went 2-5 with 2 RBI’s, also driving in 2 runs across was Macomber who went 2-4.

With their third straight loss, Brandeis is now 10-12 and will look to break out of their slump as they take on Clark for a Saturday April 4 afternoon double header followed with a Sunday matinee against Keene State. Then it’s nearby rival Tufts coming to Stein Diamond on April 7 at 3 pm.

Softball

Overall: 11-9 ConferenceL 3-5 RESULTS Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at WPI 3:00 L 3-1 at WPI 5:00 W 8-3 Thursday, April 2, 2009 vs. Framhingham State W 8-1 vs. Framingham State W 6-0 UPCOMING Sunday, April 5, 2009 vs. Bowdoin 12:00 PM vs. Bowdoin 2:00 PM Tuesday, April 7, 2009 vs. Suffolk 4:00 PM vs. Suffolk 6:00 PM Wednesday, April 8, 2009 vs. Pine Manor 4:00 PM vs. Pine Manor 6:00 PM Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at Wheaton (Mass.) 3:30 PM at Wheaton (Mass.) 5:30 PM Thursday, April 16, 2009 at Salve Regina 4:00 PM at Salve Regina 6:00 PM Friday, April 17, 2009 at Babson 3:00 PM at Babson 5:00 PM Saturday, April 18, 2009 vs.Wesleyan (Conn.) 12:00 PM vs. Wesleyan (Conn.) 2:00 PM Wednesday, April 22, 2009 vs. Salem St. 4:00 PM vs. Salem St. 6:00 PM

Men’s Tennis Overall: 5-8

RESULTS Saturday, March 28, 2009 at Trinity (Conn.) L 9-0 UPCOMING Saturday, April 4, 2009 at Amherst 10:00 AM Monday, April 6, 2009 vs. Babson 3:00 PM Tuesday, April 7, 2009 vs. Boston College 3:00 PM Monday, April 13, 2009 vs. Colby-Sawyer 3:00 PM Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at MIT 3:00 PM Friday, April 17, 2009 vs. TBA @ Rochester, N.Y. *TBA UAA Championships Saturday, April 18, 2009 vs. TBA @ Rochester, N.Y. *TBA UAA Championships Sunday, April 19, 2009 vs. TBA @ Rochester, N.Y. *TBA UAA Championships Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at Bryant 3:00 PM

Track and Field UPCOMING Saturday, April 4, 2009 Skyhawk Invitational at Easton, Mass. (Stonehill) Saturday, April 11, 2009 George Davis Invitational at Lowell, Mass. (UMass-Lowell) Saturday, April 18, 2009 at MIT Co-ed Invitational Saturday, April 25, 2009 through Sunday, April 26, 2009 UAA Championships @ Pittsburgh, Pa. (Carnegie Mellon)

Baseball Overall: 10-12 Conference: 2-4

RESULTS Saturday, March 28, 2009 vs. Springfield W 6-2 vs. Springfield W 5-3 Sunday, March 29, 2009 at Wheaton (Mass.) L 19-2 Tuesday, March 31, 2009 vs. MIT L 8-2 Thursday, April 2, 2009 vs. Fitchburg St. L 9-7 UPCOMING Saturday, April 4, 2009 vs. Clark (Mass.) 12:00 PM vs. Clark (Mass.) 2:00 PM Sunday, April 5, 2009 vs. Keene St. 1:00 PM Tuesday, April 7, 2009 vs. Tufts 3:00 PM Saturday, April 11, 2009 at Western New Eng. 12:00 PM at Western New Eng. 2:00 PM Wednesday, April 15, 2009 vs. WPI 3:30 PM Thursday, April 16, 2009 vs. Johnson & Wales 3:30 PM Friday, April 17, 2009 vs. Salem St. 3:00 PM Saturday, April 18, 2009 at Babson 11:00 AM at Babson 1:30 PM Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at Amherst 3:30 PM Wednesday, April 22, 2009 vs. Mass.-Boston 3:00 PM

‘Deis Board

Baseball drops third straight 9-7

Golf UPCOMING Saturday, April 4, 2009 through Sunday, April 5, 2009 at Babson Invitational Wednesday, April 8, 2009 Lou Flumere Invitational @ Stow Acres CC Saturday, April 18, 2009 through Sunday, April 19, 2009 at Johnson & Wales Invitational Tuesday, April 21, 2009 Worcester State Invitational at Sterling GC

Women’s Tennis Overall: 8-4 Conference: 1-0

RESULTS Saturday, March 28, 2009 at Trinity (Conn.) L 5-4 UPCOMING Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at Wellesley 3:30 PM Wednesday, April 15, 2009 vs. Connecticut Col. 3:30 PM Thursday, April 16, 2009 at Babson 3:00 PM Sunday, April 19, 2009 at Skidmore 2:00 PM Tuesday, April 21, 2009 vs. MIT 3:00 PM

16

The Hoot

April 3, 2009

W E E K E N D Spotlight on Boston

Down2Earth:

Speech & Debate:

Friday, Apr. 3, 5 to 9 p.m.

Hynes Convention Center

Friday to Sunday, Apr. 3-5 140 Clarendon St. Is your favorite movie "Election"?

Get a ticket to this dark high school comedy. The Lyric Stage company tells the story of three teenagers in a scandal's aftermath, dealing with growing pains.

Photo courtesy of event website.

Interested in sustainable living? Go check out businesses who are exploring green options.Grab a bite to eat from green restaurants and chefs. $20. www.d2eboston.com

www.lyricstage.com

What's going on at Brandeis?

Anything Goes:

Hecuba:

Friday to Sunday, Apr. 3-5, 8 p.m.

Shapiro Campus Theater

Friday to Sunday, Apr. 3-5, 8 p.m Mainstage Theater, Spingold

Feel like a laugh and didn't find April Fool's Day to be funny? Then, check out the Hillel Theater Group's comedic musical about the hijinks and happenings on a cruiseliner travelling from Photo courtesy of toolusing.

NY to London.

Crave Bronstein:

Friday to Sunday, Apr. 3-5 Everywhere on campus

Photo courtesy of event website.

Unless otherwise noted, photos are from Google images.

What is Bronstein and why should you crave it? Does it matter? Take a peek into the Rose Art Museum's vaults, run for charity in the Deis 5k, or spend Saturday relaxing with free manicures, free coffee, and free massages.

Hoot Comic Strips Sleazy

Like drama? Grand speeches, tragedy, and revenge, what's not to love? The Brandeis Theater Production takes on this Euripides' classic. Hecuba, former queen of Troy, plots the revenge of her son's murderers. Get your two half-priced tickets (w/ Brandeis id).

By Ian Price

Editor's Pick:

Culture X: Rise up!

Saturday, Apr. 4, 7 p.m. to 10:15 p.m.

Levin Ballroom This year's Culture X is better than ever!

Embrace diversity at Brandeis by watching a variety of performances by your peers. Suggested donation is $4. Proceeds will go to Live Campus 2009 in part of the effort to combat global poverty.

For more info on LiveCampus 2009:www. livecampus2009.org

Insert Comic Here

laughingwarlock

By Anthony Scibelli

By Matt Kupfer