VOL 5, NO. 3
SEPTEMBER 12, 2008
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
Brandeis National Women’s Committee changes mission BY KAYLA DOS SANTOS Editor
At the start of its sixtieth year, the Brandeis University National Women’s Committee has changed its mission statement, fundraising priorities, leadership, and its name. The BUNWC will now be called the Brandeis National Committee, a decision, Vice Provost of Academic Affairs Michaele Whelan explained in an e-mail to The Hoot, that has been “discussed over the past ten years.” Whelan wrote that the new title represents a connection to the organization’s past, indicates that
the organization has male members, and comes at a time when the BNC is making various changes. Founded in 1948, the same year as Brandeis, the BUNWC began as a group of eight women who were tasked by the university’s president, Abram Sachar, to raise funds for a library. Since then, the BUNWC has raised over $113 million for the university, has 76 chapters nationwide, and has welcomed men as members. According to the BNC’s Executive Summary, in 2006, then BNC president Dorothy Pierce ap-
THEHOOT.NET
City Councilors concerned with university’s actions BY ALISON CHANNON Editor
See BNC p. 12
CEL and Res Life team up for community service dorm BY ALISON CHANNON Editor
As part of a partnership between Residence Life and Community Engaged Learning, the university created the first living community dedicated to community service for first-year students. This year, 27 first-year students moved onto the second floor of Gordon as members of Partners for Civic Engagement. The students submitted an application and
were then chosen to be part of the living community. “This is a dorm specially committed to community service and civic engagement,” faculty advisor to the program Prof. Mark Auslander (ANTH) explained via email. PCE students are required to complete 50 service hours over the course of the year. According to the floor’s CA Paul Balik ’10, “this is the first year Res
PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot
RIDGEWOOD: University representatives requested a lodging license from the City Council last Monday.
Brandeis-Waltham relations were strained this week when the university requested a lodging license for the Ridgewood Residence Halls at last Monday’s Waltham City Council meeting. Councilors expressed anger that Brandeis came to request a lodging license for Ridgewood a year after construction began. Ward 9 councilor Richard Logan wondered why the university had not come to request a permit earlier. “It was rather presumptuous, as if we didn’t have a choice” Logan said. “It takes the city for granted.” Lodging house licenses are required for all university dormitories. “Permits have to be renewed every year,” Logan explained, “there’s no reason why they shouldn’t have been aware.” He added Brandeis ought to “pay more attention to how they handle relations with the community.” Councilor at Large Kathleen McMenimen explained that the timing See CITY COUNCIL p. 13
See PCE p. 12
Car-sharing program arrives on campus Club plans civic week BY ALISON CHANNON Editor
Nearly a year after a Union senator first proposed the idea, the car-sharing program Zipcar is now available at Brandeis. According to a Zipcar press release, a Toyota Matrix and a Honda CR-V are available for student use. Zipcar’s business model suggests two cars for a population like Brandeis, explained Vice
President of Campus Operations Mark Collins. Students 18 and over, faculty, and staff will be able to join the program for a fee of $35. Cars are available starting at $8.25 an hour, the release explained. The hourly rate covers fuel costs, insurance, and car maintenance. Waltham residents also have access to the program though the fee structure is different. Non-students must be 21 years old to join the program. Zipcar is already available at universities including MIT, Harvard, Columbia, University of Minnesota, and University of Chicago. Former Class of 2008 Senator Asher Tanenbaum approached Collins with the Zipcar idea last fall. Zipcar was “Asher Tanenbaum’s vision,” Collins remarked. “I’m so pleased he brought it to me. He’s the one who worked with us for six months to get this off the ground.” The Hoot reported in November that Tanenbaum had begun gathering survey data in order to gauge student interest in the program. At that time, Collins expressed support for the program but he also commented that it could only be implemented if it were financially See ZIPCAR p. 12
INSIDE:
SARAH PALIN
PG 3
SOCCER CHARITY
24 HOUR MUSICAL
PG 8
LAUNDRY PRICES UPPED
PG 6 PG 12
BY ALEX SCHNEIDER Special to The Hoot
Citizenship week, sponsored by the year-old club Gen Ed Now, will begin Sept. 21, bringing opportunities for civic engagement to Brandeis. The event features keynote speaker Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach for America, who will discuss inequality in education. “We wanted to hit the ground running, so all summer we’ve been planning this event,” co-president Ari Jadwin ’10 said. The weeklong event will also feature community service opportunities, chances to meet with various representatives of volunteer groups, and chances to learn more about the upcoming election. Co-president Jonah Seligman ’10 explained that these topics were chosen by Gen Ed Now “based on our personal interests” and in keeping with “one of the pillars of Brandeis: social justice.” As explained in its club constitution, “The purpose of Gen Ed Now is to fulfill the growing demand for speakers on campus.” The club is modeled after Gen Ed S (General Education Senior), an See CITIZENSHIP p. 12
THIS WEEKEND
PG 16
COMICS
PG 16
2
The Hoot
September 12, 2008
EDITORIAL Established 2005 "To acquire wisdom, one must observe." Sri Kuehnlenz Editor in Chief Kathleen Fischman Editor in Chief
Alison Channon News Editor Bret Matthew Impressions Editor Ben Sacks Features Editor Chrissy Callahan Features Editor Kayla Dos Santos Backpage Editor
Danielle Gewurz Copy Editor Jamie Fleishman Advertising Editor Ariel Wittenberg Design Editor Max Shay Technology Officer Adam Hughes Sports Editor
Napoleon Lherisson Photography Editor Senior Editors Jordan Rothman, Zachary Aronow
FOUNDED By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman
Bursting the bubble one hall at a time
T
his week, the Waltham City Council complained about off-campus students disrespecting the neighborhoods they lived in. However, that may change with the creation of Partners for Civic Engagement, a living environment for students dedicated to community service. Located on Gordon 2 and comprised of 27 first-years, PCE aims to foster a new generation of students capable of creating tangible change off-campus. Through their direct involvement with Waltham residents, the students seek to understand their concerns and use their access to university resources to better the community. PCE is a good step towards bursting the Brandeis bubble and giving students a more in-depth picture of the city where we actually live. For many, Waltham is just a place they occasionally venture into to buy groceries or grab dinner. Students in the Community Engaged Learning program, on the other hand, see Waltham as a place to invest time and resources. Bringing together new students with a shared passion for community service and giving them resources to make their ideas happen seems like a promising formula for success. PCE will also strengthen internal connections within the Brandeis community, drawing upon the expertise of Residence Life staff, faculty and student organizations in order to create a strong and effective program where first-years can develop their interest in community service. Moreover, the program will make essential resources more easily accessible to students as they pursue their project goals. While at first glance it may seem that this program will isolate PCE participants from the rest of the Brandeis community, it may actually have the long-term benefit of preparing these students to pass their knowledge on to other members of the Brandeis community. Having spent an intense year focusing on community service, these first years will be prepared to share their experience and expertise with their new neighbors in their years to come at Brandeis. Hopefully by the time this inaugural class reaches their senior year, the Waltham City Council will have a different sentiment to share about Brandeis students. Rather than being branded as the kids who leave Dartmouth Street dirty after a weekend of parties, Brandeis students will be known as the community members who get dirty cleaning up the grounds at Prospect Hill Community Learning Center. 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 to editor@thehoot.
net. All letters must be from a valid email 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 meaning of diversity BY kevin Yim Special to The Hoot
I remembered during my orientation at Brandeis, Jamele Adams declared that the definition of diversity, in its entirety, could be summed up by the phrase, “unconditional love.” Soon after his declaration, Orientation Leaders prodded the students to challenge the truth they were told to swallow. Many of the students, including me, were skeptical to accept such a complex idea without questioning it first. One student raised his hand and asked: “How can I give my unconditional love to someone when I don’t even know anything about that person?” I agreed with that student at the time. However, somewhere between one of my morning trips from my room to the bathroom, I had my epiphany, and then I suddenly understood what Jamele was trying to say. Simply put, the definition of unconditional love is that not everyone is worthy of love, but the people who are worthy of love can come from all different types of backgrounds and walks of life. Diversity is a statement that one should always give oneself a chance to get to know someone regardless of any preconceived condition attached to a person’s race, gender, sexuality, spirituality, etc. When one does find the person to love, that love isn’t colored by a pre-conditioned stereotype, but the love comes from actually getting to know that person. In a recent article “Celebrating racial diversity is pointless,” by Jordan Rothman, Rothman contends
that the adoption of racial diversity separates people along specific ethnic lines and thus makes society as a whole more bigoted. He then submits that to correct this flawed view of diversity, we should adopt a “Bill of Sameness” that entail that people focus on the things they have in common. I submit that the reason Rothman rejects the celebration of racial diversity is because of his mistaken view of why one sets out to achieve racial diversity. Rothman first rejects celebrating racial diversity because it does not “accomplish its stated mission,” which is to bring “greater perspectives and experiences to intellectual discourse.” However, the successful celebration of diversity, by its definition, should increase dialogue and discourse. It would make sense to say that the way we currently celebrate diversity is failing because it has never accomplished its stated mission, but it is hogwash to say that diversity itself is not achieving its mission of diversity, i.e. we can fail to accomplish the main goal of a mission, but that just means we need to try harder to achieve it, not abandon it. He then argues that diversity has caused people to “attempt to differentiate classes of people along racial lines,” which in turn leads to societal bigotry. But this thought runs into the same problem as before: if an event where there are people who squabble over racial differences, diversity should open up dialogue, not increase the tension. Bigotry can only be derived from the lack of understanding, not through the idea that states
that you should try to understand more. Nonetheless, if diversity’s mission were to eliminate squabble over racial differences, wouldn’t it make sense that this is because they are talking about the things they like and have in common? This point is a lot harder to prove wrong, but I still believe it is. Because I believe that commonality is only a stepping-stone that people use to get to know the different aspects of other people that they originally didn’t know before! For example, suppose I like object A (a painting, a recipe, anything) and another person likes object A for the exact same reasons. If we keep talking about the same things we like about object A, then after exhausting everything we like about that object in conversation, there would be nothing left to talk about. The conversation only gets interesting whenever someone introduces something different. And when two people try to get to see the world through each other’s differences, can there be meaningful discussion. Therefore, only diversity can create that atmosphere. It is incoherent to abandon diversity when our current celebration of it is failing, but the purpose of diversity entails greater perspectives and meaningful discussions. But to surrender to a culture of sameness would mean that we give up listening to new ideas. In fact, this should only mean that we should try harder to make diversity actually work. And I agree. Diverse City is a wonderful cultures section.
Education was supposed to be my passport out of this world. The question “paper or plastic?” was never supposed to pass through my lips. I was destined for a cushier job. If my parents had their way, one of the doctor-lawyer-business person variety with a six figure job, benefits, and yearly vacations. I was not meant for menial labor, they told me. Oh, no one said that explicitly, but it was understood. That was for them. The Mexican tending our neighbor’s yard, the Czech secretary filing away at the doctor’s office. Your hands should remain a soft milky white, with the brain being the only muscle you flex. Notwithstanding the stereotype (or dare I say truism?) of pale, pasty white, cerebral Jews, I knew where I was headed. Why? Because of my zip code? Because of the color of my skin? Perhaps it had to do simply with the passage of time, the quick turnover associated with the immigrant experience. My grandfather was a Polish immigrant who drove a taxicab for the entirety of his professional life. And he did a damn good job. He schmoozed like no other, entertaining his passengers in 7 languages. He sang songs from the old country, making the trek across the Triboro a trip down memory lane instead. He knew the
city like the back of his hand, and was an honest businessman. One day sheer chance brought Donald Sutherland into his taxicab. When the famous actor bid his humorous driver farewell, he left his wallet behind. My grandfather made sure to return it, and was written up in the newspaper for his honesty. The financial situation and educational limits that created my grandfather’s reality do not create mine. Ice cream scooping and dishwashing that summer were a means to an end, not the end in and of itself. I was looking for some petty cash, not next month’s rent. I am not looking at a future as a maid, window washer, or convenience store clerk. Yet I appreciate and hold their contribution to society in high esteem. We should value people for the work they do and the capacity in which they are able to do it. A good friend of mine chose to leave her potentially high-earning career in its infancy to care for her newborn son, born with disabilities. If someone dismissed her as “just a housewife,” I’d be tempted to literally slap some sense into him. Yes, I am fortunate to have career choices. But I hope that if I did not have that privilege in the future, I would scoop with my head held high (albeit with ice cream staining my forehead).
Scoop above the rest BY naomi barth Special to The Hoot
Marci had this chirping voice, this high-pitched squeak that would get on your nerves. She was my boss at Coldstone, where, unfortunately, being vocal was a big part of the job. When a grateful customer threw some coins into the cup, she would cheer, “Hey guys, we got a tip!” And we’d have to break out into song. That was bad enough, but she would accompany it with this bump and grind motion that was more appropriate for the dance floor than behind the counter. To make matters worse, she was 19 years old, younger than me, and making more than my paltry $7.15 an hour. Maybe it was just my irritability about being thereI needed a second job, which left me slinging ice cream for 4 year olds. Having to serve jappy former classmates you’d rather forget was hard. Add to that the Oreo shmear on your forehead, the Coldstone visor, and frizzy hair from doing dishes for 2 hours made it socially painful. It seemed like a shift didn’t go by without looks of pity being thrown my way, by friends and acquaintances alike. The gist was clear- this kind of labor was supposed to be beneath me.
September 12, 2008
The Hoot
3
IMPRESSIONS
Palin: A good choice for John McCain BY Scott Rothstein Special to The Hoot
Ever since Senator McCain surprisingly tapped Governor Sarah Palin of the state of Alaska to be his running mate for the presidency, there has been a political firestorm to find out just who exactly she is, what does she bring to the ticket, and how does she alter the state of the presidential race that most of us were just beginning to get comfortable with. The answer to those questions depends on who you ask. Republicans are ecstatic that Senator McCain chose the best running mate in recent political history, while Democrats contest that she is by far the worst running mate in the history of running mates, even worse than Dan Quayle. Some even argue that Governor Palin will not make a difference in the election because people vote for the top of the ticket, even if Senator McCain is 72 years old. However, looking at recent polls and how the race has been playing out over the last week, it seems that Governor Palin might have just shaken up this race in Senator McCain’s favor. In this pick, Senator John McCain has solidified and energized his base, he has allowed himself to reach out to certain swing constituencies, and has successfully thrown Senator Obama off his message When Governor Palin was introduced as Senator McCain’s running mate, the Republican base was ecstatic. Senator McCain had been having trouble during his campaign energizing his base with his moderate views and this left his ground organization considerably flimsy. However, Governor Palin’s arrival saw an immediate enthusiasm jump among both social conservatives for her staunch pro-life advocacy and fiscal conservatives for her strong energy credentials and positions. In the latest polls released this week by ABC, CBS, and NBC, Senator McCain’s supporter’s enthusiasm levels spiked with some polls showing the number of enthusiastic supporters of McCain tripling. Now, a majority of these voters would have unenthusiastically voted for McCain anyway, albeit in slightly reduced numbers, but it is not just voters that Senator McCain is looking for in his base, he needs volunteers. Senator Obama’s ground organization has been astounding during this election; it had to be to beat the Clinton political machine, so McCain needed greatly to strengthen his own base and Governor Palin has proved to be his answer. Just three days after his announcement that he would choose Palin, McCain received about ten million dollars in donations to his campaign, which were passed on to the national Republican party. The number of volunteers coming out to support Governor Palin, and I guess Senator McCain too, will especially help in swing states that were once Republican strongholds such as Virginia and North Carolina. This could prove to be a real blow to Obama who hoped to turn these states red
and now has to go against the full force of the Evangelical conservative base. What’s worse for Obama is that he has not been raking in the amount of donations that had been expected and since he did not take public financing he is forced to spend an uncomforting amount of time in Democratic stronghold states raising money instead of campaigning in those swing states that are about to become much more difficult for him to win. While Palin greatly enhances the enthusiasm of the Republican base, the greatest benefit of Governor P a l i n ’s addition to the ticket is that it allows Senator McCain to do what he does best, be a maverick. Senator McCain has b e e n criticized for the past few months for deviating f r o m his maverick stances and leaning right to satisfy his base, but Governor Palin’s strengthening of the Republican base allows McCain to tout his maverick stances on the campaign trail, while not having to worry about a large backlash from his supporters like he used to. The willingness of the Republicans to allow for reaching toward the middle now was quite evident at the Republican National Convention last week when the convention delegates were willing to cheer on Joe Lieberman, who had been forced out of a chance for the VP pick when it became evident that those same delegates would stage a political coop, when he praised President Bill Clinton for his ability to cross over the party lines. Recent polls have also reinforced this with results that show McCain gaining support among independents, the recent Gallup poll showed a twelve point surge in support from independents in recent days. It is likely now that many undecided voters show up to see the McCain-Palin ticket because they are interested in the Palin phenomena that has arisen lately and while they probably do
not agree with her staunch rightwing beliefs they do end up falling behind the much more moderate Senator McCain. Women also seem to be falling more behind the McCain-Palin ticket according to the newly released polls. The ABC/Washington Post poll shows that the deficit of white women supporters McCain had to Obama has completely reversed and that McCain now leads among that key demographic. The NBC/WSJ poll also shows that McCain has
gained a large amount of ground with women voters. Many on the left felt confident that Palin would not cut into the female supporters of Obama, but it looks like they were overly optimistic as women flock to McCain and female running mate. Why this has happened is unclear as Palin’s views do not line up with that of many women, especially those who supported Hillary Clinton. However, one explanation could be the media’s treatment of Palin over the past week. Much of the overtly sexist coverage on Palin’s life could have struck a cord with many women, especially women who felt the same happened to Senator Clinton during her campaign. While it is unclear whether or not those numbers will stick, it still does seem to have many Democrats worried who still remember the wounds from the primary season that may not have fully healed as of yet. The same ABC/Washington post poll also shows that Palin may have strengthened McCain’s support in the Midwest where there are several key swing states.
According to the poll McCain has gained from a nineteen point deficit to a seven point advantage in the Midwest. All of these demographic groups swinging toward McCain have Obama obviously worried as he has spent the past week completely forced off message by the Palin Phenomena. Many political experts and pundits agree that for Obama to win this election he must turn it into a referendum on Bush and then link McCain to Bush. Over the summer, Obama had been doing that quite successfully as most Americans believed that President Bush was bringing the country in the wrong direction and that Senator McCain would only continue the “failed” policies of the Bush administration. When Palin was announced as the VP pick of McCain, the Obama campaign immediately pounced on her small town credentials and tried to discredit her experience. However, Obama himself quickly rebuffed the comments made by his campaign and intelligently tried to keep the focus on McCain and Bush. In Obama’s response ad to McCain’s VP choice, Palin’s name was not even mentioned. However, constant media attention and growing interest in Governor Palin have forced Obama to turn his attention off of Senator McCain and onto Governor Palin. This past week, Senator Obama spent a large amount of time trying to attack some of the claims made by Palin instead of going after McCain and Bush. Since Obama must continue to spend time fundraising off of the campaign trail, he must make every day that he has on the trail matter and he simply cannot do that if he is forced into a fight with Governor Palin and not Senator McCain. Senator Obama cannot even truly go after Governor Palin to hard for fear that he might get linked into the sexism allegations that have been thrown at the media and liberal bloggers. He in fact has already faced some pretty tough criticism for his remark that, “You can put lipstick on a pig…
it’s still a pig,” a harsh reference to Governor Palin who had made a lipstick joke during her acceptance speech. On top of this, Senator Biden has seemed to largely disappear off of the media’s radar. Senator Obama’s attack dog cannot really do much damage if he is not getting strong media coverage, which forces Obama to get involved in the dirt himself. McCain in the meantime has been trying cleaning up his negative appearance as of late, as was clear in his acceptance speech, where he barely tried to attack Obama. Democrats have been attacking McCain’s apparent lack of a strong vetting process for Governor Palin, however it seems that the Democrats should be more worried about their lack of a strategy to neutralize McCain’s running mate. Palin has led the Obama campaign off of the Bush referendum message for the time being, which grants McCain even more of an ability to separate himself from the unpopular president. Palin seems to have been successful for the past few days; however, she does have some more obstacles to overcome before she can truly be an asset to the McCain campaign. This election still has a long way to go and if the past few months are any indication, there are sure to be more twists and turns in the race before the finish line is reached. During this time Governor Palin will have to prove herself as a strong vice-presidential candidate in order to keep the McCain campaign afloat. This election might just show how much a VP candidate can affect a closely contested race. She has put a good foot forward with her strong first appearance at the rally in Ohio where she was first introduced and her nomination acceptance speech was phenomenal. However, she still has a few tests to prove her worth. This Friday will be her first major interview since her rise to the national stage. She will be asked many difficult questions regarding her past and some of the new controversies surrounding her. Palin’s performance during this interview could very well define her for the remainder of this race, so no pressure. Secondly, she must perform well in her debate with Senator Biden in order to alleviate concerns of her so called lack of experience. The low expectations for her will play to her advantage as he is a well known and strong debater while she is largely unknown, young, and perceived as inexperienced. If she can hold her own against him it will come across as a victory for her and if she actually out performs him, then it could prove horribly disastrous for the Obama campaign. There will be many more unseen trials for Governor Palin during the remainder of the race and the outcome of this presidential election could surprisingly end up on her shoulders, though I’m sure we are all used to surprises by now.
4
Book of Matthew
Obama's Experience BY BRET MATTHEW Editor
Thursday is good for a lot of things. It’s a great day to go to the BMC, work on the next issue of The Hoot, and have a good time. Unfortunately for me, Thursday is not the best day to realize that you haven’t written your weekly opinion yet. Needless to say, today’s column is going to be short. But since I don’t want to waste your time, I’ve decided to at least write about something that I think everyone should know about: Senator Obama’s government experience. Yes, it does exist, and no, most people don’t know much about it. The Republicans spent their entire convention spreading the lie that Obama has done nothing with his career in the Illinois and US Senate, and they did so rather easily, for many of Obama’s own supporters can barely name his accomplishments. However, thanks to this little thing called the public record, there is no excuse for such ignorance. Elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996, Senator Obama proceeded to sponsor a total of 823 bills. Those that passed included:
•A bill that would establish a commission to develop a plan for providing universal healthcare in Illinois (passed in 2004). •A bill meant to initiate a study of welfare success rates and making the information available to research institutions (passed in 1997). •A bill that would provide job skills training for recipients of federal aid (passed in 1999). •A bill that would require police to videotape interrogations of criminal suspects (passed in 2003). •A bill that would ban almost all gifts by lobbyists, and barred the personal use of campaign money (passed 1998). In 2004, Senator Obama was elected to serve in the United States Senate. Since then, he has sponsored or co-sponsored 647 bills, and yes, there are some fairly important bills included in that number. For example: •The Lugar-Obama Non-Proliferation Act, passed in 2006 and signed into law in 2007, was meant, according to its authors, to “seek out and destroy surplus and unguarded stocks of conventional arms in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.”
•The Coburn-Obama Transparency Act, passed and signed into law in 2006, provides that all federal contracts be made public and available for viewing online (Tom Coburn, by the way, is a very conservative Republican from Oklahoma, yet he and Obama worked together just fine). •The Fair Share Act of 2008, sponsored by Senator Obama and Senator Kerry, closed a loophole that had allowed defense contractors to avoid paying taxes by setting up “shell companies” in the Cayman Islands. •The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008, also sponsored by Senators Obama and Kerry, will provide tax relief for men and women serving in the Armed Forces, the Peace Corps, and AmeriCorps. Interestingly enough, this tax relief was paid for by the Fair Share Act of 2008. So readers, I encourage you to continue looking into Senator Obama’s record. Although you are free to disagree with his legislative work, or question whether or not this work can match Senator McCain’s, no one can deny that Senator has been an active member of two legislatures.
Pyle File
Nas: Not worth seeing BY ZACH PYLE Columnist
Student Events is bringing Nas to campus. His greatest years of fame are behind him, and arguably the only reason he has been able to maintain some degree of presence in the spotlight is because of his attempt to use a racial slur as the title of his most recent album. In 2007, Nas was blasted by civil rights leaders and media until commercial pressure eventually forced a title change. Is such a vile publicity stunt ample justification for cursing the Brandeis campus with his presence? I remember the campus reaction to a racially insensitive cartoon in Gravity a couple years ago. Hundreds upon hundreds of Brandeis students showed their solidarity in condemning the cartoon in the way they knew best, joining a Facebook group entitled “We do not tolerate hate speech on the Brandeis campus.” Simple logic would suggest that no one is on that side of the fence ( For the record I joined “Gravity magazine is a shameless Zionist ploy.” Isn’t it great when there are Facebook groups to express how we feel about stuff ? They’re like bumper stickers with more words and pictures). Some might argue that it would be better to go to the concert and protest rather than simply not show up, but it is important to remember that at Brandeis, unlike at other schools that provide con-
September 12, 2008
IMPRESSIONS
The Hoot
certs with listenable acts, students pay not just once, but twice, first to the SAF and second for a ticket, and so attending to protest would be providing Student Events the financial support they seek to waste. It is now my final semester at Brandeis, and I will graduate having not attended even one Students Events concert. They have failed us. It would be one thing if we elected these officials, but instead they gain access to at least several tens of thousands of dollars while annually allowing incompetence to replace incompetence. The top positions are appointed by an elite selection committee. Officers select their replacements. Not even every member of Student Events has a vote! This system of favoritism and inner-politicking provides no suggestion that this embarrassingly dysfunctional organization will ever be run by those who represent the students. Student Events received much praise after adding the positions of elected class representatives, but after a few bumps in the road they inexplicably scrapped the whole idea. Clearly, infrastructural reform is necessary if Student Events is ever to rise to respectability. So what do we get for our SAF money and additional ticket money? Talib Kweli, the band that Bob Marley used to play with, a singer who yelled at the audience to quiet down during her performance, a
band whose last album came out in 2003 and last commercial success came in 1999 (a more obscure reference… Third Eye Blind), and now an “artist” who uses racial epitaphs to gain attention. Nas is a bad choice because he does not have a significant audience here at Brandeis. He is a bad choice because his racial insensitivity is inconsistent with the Brandeis culture. He is a bad choice because he was selected by those appointed by cronies rather than elected by popular opinion. Send the message to Mr. Nasir Jones that we at Brandeis do not tolerate his language of hatred. Send the message to Student Events that we demand better. It should not be too much to ask to have a say in who gets to spend tens, even hundreds, thousands of dollars in student money. Come on Brandeis, we have protested over much, much less (police officers carrying guns- yes freshman, you read correctly, people were actually complaining about that), and the incompetence of Student Events knows no political boundaries. Join me in staying home on the night of the fall concert and sending a message that Brandeis students deserve better. I would suggest not attending any of those extremely lame dances Student Events puts on, but chances are you already do that anyway. Now bring on the hate mail…
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.
Shopping for Truth
Fakeness
By CHrissy Callahan Editor
If life is a stage are we really all just actors? If second chances are just that, then how come we always seek a third or a fourth? And if someone appears to be nice, why can they turn out to be a, well you know. Unfortunately, I think I’d be setting myself a pretty big goal to answer all these questions in one column, but maybe I can share some important perspectives I’ve recently gained. At this point in my life, I’ve never been more convinced that we all should come equipped with one thing: a set of x-ray vision glasses (mine would be pink of course). These goggles would allow us to see through the pretenders. Because let’s face it, there are a lot of fake people out there. We’ve all experienced the ageold story where someone pulls the wool over your eyes and you’re left scratching your head wondering how you didn’t see through them. But enough metaphors for one sentence. Fakeness is prevalent in so many areas of life-current events, politics, and yes, even our beloved school in the form of half-baked friendships. For example, John Edwards’ recent adulterous scandal, Boston’s two recent pretenders of Albert Arroyo-the ‘injured body building pretender- and Clark Rockefeller-man of many identities but no memory of his past- all prove that a lot of people aren’t what they portray themselves to be. We’re all guilty of being a bit fake; let’s not kid ourselves. We all put on pretenses to present ourselves in a shiny light. For example, isn’t it amazing how people always clean up so nicely for job interviews? And on the first day of classes, everyone puts on their friendly face, but then you get to know everyone and you can easily separate the pretenders from the genuine souls. A facial expression or a gesture can go a long way. Even though you might not know it, you might be presenting a fake and actually genuine image all at once. For example, there’s nothing that gets me more upset than when someone who clearly thinks they’re God’s gift to the Earth tries to pretend they’re not by playing the modesty card. But when the cameras are off and the crowd has dispersed, there they are, and the reality isn’t as pretty as you thought it would be. So, when does the honeymoon end and when do mere acquaintances or even supposed ‘best friends’ show their true colors? What happens when someone you hold close makes a mistake and you decide to forgive and forget? What happens when someone has exhausted their stock of second chances? And do second chances really foster a culture of
fakeness? There’s a reason they call it a second chance, people. Because second means second and final. I guess it all sort of relates to my column on saying what you mean to say two weeks ago. If we were all more honest-both with ourselves and others- we would realize that repeatedly saying we will change and never actually doing so is a waste of energy and emotion. There are only so many times someone can “promise” they will do better and there are only so many times you can regret foolishly believing that someone will do so. So why do we allow people to continually fool us? Perhaps it’s the fact that we’re so ready to assign labels such as “best friend” to those we hardly know, and immediately let them in our inner circles. Or maybe we’re just naïve. Maybe it’s a combination of them all. Who knows? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for forgiveness, but I think that encouraging endless second chances only encourages people to continue to be fake. If there are absolutely no repercussions for our mistakes, of course we’re going to go on making them until someone stands up and puts us in our place. But how can we recognize those who will only disappoint us? Over the summer, I met an amazing person who told me they had cut all the fat out of their life, and by fat, she meant friends. I’ve always valued the one on one relationship with a best friend and now realize more than ever how vital it is to be honest with yourself and decide which people really matter in your life. A recent chain email I received “There comes a point in your life when you realize: who matters, who never did, who won’t anymore…and who always will.” This is something I think a lot of people just don’t realize. As one of my fellow columnists formerly pointed out last year, we are too quick to trust that people are our ‘best friends.’ And it seems like deeming random acquaintances as close friends only sets us up for disappointment. If someone is a friend, than they should be held to a higher level and you should be able to count on their word. But someone who acts like your best friend then ignores you all of a sudden or continually seeks another second chance isn’t worth your time. As I’ve formerly said, I find it a waste of my time to pad a Facebook resumé with a list of faceless friends. And I firmly believe that what you see should be what you get. So stop pretending to be perfect when you’re not. Call it stage fright, but I just can’t seem to bring myself to jump on this bandwagon of fakeness that seems to be permeating our highway of life.
September 12, 2008
IMPRESSIONS
The Hoot
5
One Tall Voice
SEA Change
Recycling on campus Obambastic: time for change? BY Jordan rothman Editor
It seems safe to say that many Brandeis students are going to vote for Barack Obama in this upcoming election. Many people actively supported his campaign throughout the primary season and numerous students are now engaged in promoting his candidacy today. I keep hearing phrases like “Brandeis united for change” or “got change?” around campus, and know that all of these statements are aimed to promote
BY ADAM HUGHES Editor
It's safe to say that we are living in the most environmentallycounscious period in all of human history. For most of our time as a manufacturing species, we were naive of the damage were could do to the planet; before the creation of a global economy and the vast amounts of energy it requires, it seemed ridiculous to image that our minor actions could possibly have such large consequences. Even as the envirnomental movement blossomed, it was easy for activists to be dismissed as alarmists or to simply be ignored. Thus, even as the warning signs of large-scale disaster mounted, the general population remained blissfully unaware of the magnitude of a rapidlygrowing problem, and humanity's progress on environmental issues was painfully slow. Now, however, we can see the dawn of a new global consciousness, a recognition that we have a respoinsibility to our planet and to ourselves. Our ecological footprint has grown too deep to be ignored, and all but the most hardened skeptics can read the warning signs. High temperatures break records across the world. The polar ice caps shrink to levels unseen for up to one million years. Extreme weather ravages our coastlines. Species go extinct at an unprecedented pace. Gas prices climb as our supply of crude oil dwindles. Suddenly, obliviousness has become an indulgance we can no longer afford, and our national dialogue has shifted because of it. Advertisers play up the "green" aspects of their products. Candidates cross ideological lines and battle to claim the mantle of most eco-friendly. We, as a species, begin to wake up. But as people recognize that our many environmental problems need to be solved, they sometimes fail to realize how central to the solution each individual is. Even as old habits of consumption change, there are still possibilities for greener living that go ignored. This isn't a failure on anyone's
part, however; almost everybody is well-intended and makes an effort to make a difference. Rather, this is an opportunity to join together, to spread information on environmentally-friendly routines, and to change behaviors collectively, with a measurable positive gain as a result. This is the purpose of SEA Change: to serve as a weekly forum for simple, eco-conscious ideas applicable to campus life at Brandeis that nonetheless will make a big difference. We don't want just to lecture people on how to live; rather, we'll open the door to each one of you, changing authors every week so everyone with good advice on how to live greener has a chance to share it with the Brandeis community. Brandeis's new Single Stream Recycling policy is a good example of this kind of minor change with major results -- recycling on this campus has just become a whole lot easier. Under the new policy, the recycling facilities will take care of all the sorting of seperate materials. That means that every single recycling bin on campus can take all of the following: Paper Cardboard Metal Glass Plastics numbered 1-7 (note the change from last year, when only 1-5 could be accepted) Not only does single stream recycling make it easier for everyone on campus to recycle, it also saves the University money. Collection costs decrease because single-compartment recycling trucks can be loaded faster, and the greater automation of the sorting process means that the recycling process is more efficient. Recycling uses fewer resources and emits less air pollution than manufacturing new products, so take advantage of the new system and help make Brandeis a more sustainable campus! If you'd like to contribute to SEA Change, contact Danielle Hollenbeck-Pringle at danihp3@ brandeis.edu.
the site resembled a fascist political rally. It seems that Obama is not trying to reach voters by intellectual pursuit, but is rather relying on simplistic but effective mind tactics. Change this, change that. As Frank Golub ‘10 said during his Student Union Presidential campaign “change so real you can put it in a washing machine.” I am disgusted and saddened by the mindless adherence of many Obama supporters as they follow him without any deep justification. Obama is a “change-monger” and this strategy is just as dangerous and disgusting as using the visceral emotions of fear and hate to win an election. In fact, it is perhaps more h a z a r d o u s, as many are oblivious to this mindless cult of personality adhering to the Obama camp. People seem to like Obama for other equally absurd reasons. When I was teaching politics through Americorps two summers ago I asked my students who they would vote for in the upcoming election. They were all junior high school students who were almost
I am disgusted with the popular response received by the Obama campaign. Obama. I, however, will certainly not vote for Barack Obama this Fall. In fact, I have never in my short life been so disgusted with the campaign of a Presidential candidate. Many blindly pursue Obama as they heed the call of several ambiguous messages. Numerous people are not fully aware of his entire platform and many do not judge his fitness as a candidate based on the right prerequisites. Furthermore, a deeper look at Obama as a candidate will reveal that he is not the right person for the job. His inexperience and stance on many issues, for instance, are somewhat dangerous for the country as we enter these next formidable years. John McCain is certainly the better choice of the candidates. As the Henry Clay of our generation, McCain has showed time and again his patriotism and competency in politics. It would be a shame if he wasn’t elected, especially since many dismiss him offhand due to superficial and irrelevant characteristics. I am disgusted with the popular response received by the Obama campaign. His almost propagandistic efforts even remind me of the tactics used by fascists in order to take power. People have been passionately following the influential sayings of a charismatic demagogue. Many have been repeating extremely mindless phrases and instead of shouting “heil” they shout “change!” Standing in the Shapiro Atrium during a viewing of Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention only reinforced this notion. The thunderous response, people waiting on bated breath. All in all,
inner conviction to make their decision and are no better than the people using superficial symbols to cast their votes. Furthermore, for many reasons, I do not find Barack Obama to be the better candidate when analyzing his attributes from a deeper perspective. He has very little experience in the national political realm as he has only served in the Senate for a number of years I can count on one hand. He also seems weak on foreign policy in a time when we cannot become isolationist. The biggest issue I have with him regards his domestic initiatives. Obama wants to increase taxes, establish new entitlement programs and otherwise blossom the presence of the government. In a way he wants to bring our country closer to socialism, a move that makes me apoplectic. McCain on the other hand has all the right traits to become an excellent President. He has served in Congress for dozens of years and has truly learned the ins and outs of Washington. While Obama spent most of his Senate term running for President and not initiating valuable bills (I challenge you to name one important law he helped create), McCain has been the sponsor of many important pieces of legislation such as the McCain-Feingold Act. In addition, McCain promises to be tough on our enemies and this is the stance we need to take as we approach the next four years. Domestically, he also supports conservative values such as small government and lower taxes, which lifts a heavy burden off of many ordinary Americans. Importantly for me, John McCain has truly served our wonderful country. His tour in Vietnam and his heroic ordeal as a prisoner of war are inspiring. His service in the Senate has truly earned him a place in history. For all these reasons and more, I can’t wait to mark him on my absentee ballet as soon as Bergen County, New Jersey sends it to me. Obama may be sexy, he may use persuasive tactics, and he may appeal to your desperate desire for change. But I urge you all to step back from the propaganda, lift yourself free from the popular tide and deeply analyze the candidates in this upcoming election. I hope then you will see that Obama is full of smoke and mirrors, laden with shallow promises and superficial slogans. I also think that you will see the value of McCain, a true patriot and the man who can adroitly manage this country for the next four years. Change for the sake of change is wrong. Blindly voting based on superficial attributes is foolhardy. I hope that your Brandeis education can make you aware of the propaganda, and cast a fully informed and uninfluenced vote on your own, preferably for McCain!
As the Henry Clay of our generation, McCain has showed time and again his patriotism and competency in politics. entirely African-American. Every one of them answered Obama. When I asked why, the response I got was “because he’s Black.” Of course these students were just kids, but many are truly voting for Obama simply because of his physical characteristics. People say he’s young, Black, good looking, and this has influenced their vote. How despicable! One should never vote for someone on the basis of how they look aesthetically, judge someone on the color of their skin, select someone because of their handsome appearance. One’s views, dedication, and other characteristics should be the only deciding factors. I once heard that some African countries use symbols to represent parties at the ballot box because many are illiterate. Instead of a platform, the image of a fish or a knife represents a political party. This is how low some in our country have come. They disgustingly rely on outward appearances rather than
6
September 12, 2008
The Hoot
FEATURES
Kicking AIDS to the sidelines Brandeis volunteer uses the power of soccer to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS alent in Africa, soccer players have the chance to use their fame to do good through the GRS program. Rosenbauer explained, In a little high school in Massachusetts, “These players who go into the schools and Brooke Rosenbauer ’09 was showing a small work with the kids are just like superhegroup of students and their teacher a video roes. It’s like having Michael Jordan and all depicting the impact of HIV/AIDS on the these other great players just come into your world. school, and I think that’s a really powerful What had started out as a crowd of 15 message, especially for me as a soccer player high school students quickly turned into a being able to understand why that would be room filled with more than 40 perspiring so effective.” athletes and their coach, all equally as aweSpeaking about the power of soccer, Zohn struck by the powerful video as Rosenbauer agreed: “The beauty about it is you can go had been the first time she had heard about anywhere in the world with a soccer ball and Grassroot Soccer. you put it on that ground and you instantly When she received an email about an or- have 25 friends. Soccer breaks down cultural ganization called Grassroot Soccer (GRS), stereotypes, it brings people together and it Rosenbauer had been playing Brandeis soc- forces a community to come together over a cer for two years. Intrigued, she decided common cause.” to attend a GRS presentation at Brandeis, GRS’ mission extends through the United one she almost missed because of an ath- States as well. Last week, Zohn kicked off letic banquet. Getting soaked from running Dribble 2008, his 550 mile dribble spanning in the rain to rush there was a small price from Boston to Washington D.C. Zohn will to pay for Rosenbauer, who instantly knew alternate between dribbling and giving prethat this organization was made for her. The sentations in local schools to educate youth rest is history. on the mission of GRS and will complete his In 2002, former professional soccer player journey in Washington D.C. on December Tommy Clark founded GRS. Having lived 1, World AIDS Day. This event introduced in and played soccer in Zimbabwe, Clark the newly named Grassroot Soccer United had seen the heartbreak AIDS had caused (GRSU), a youth movement to end HIV in teammates and loved ones. He also recog- Africa. GRSU includes the Lose the Shoes nized the power that soccer had to influence (LTS) program, of which Rosenbauer is diyoung minds, especially in making important rector. life decisions. Ethan Zohn, winner of SurviOriginally, Lose the Shoes was otherwise vor Africa, former soccer player in Zimba- known as KickAIDS. As a KickAIDS Ambwe, and co-founder of GRS, offered initial bassador, Rosenbauer’s gave presentations monetary support for the organization and about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and GRS has worked ever since to spread word in the itself to high school students. media about GRS. Though certain instances like that with With their main focus in the countries the perspiring athletes were a bit intimidatof South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, ing, Rosenbauer recalled how they taught along with several other partners through- her an important lesson. “What could have out Africa, GRS connects professional soc- been a public speaking horror story turned cer players and other community role mod- into a testament to the truly universal nature, els with African youth to increase education of Grassroot Soccer. It didn’t matter that about HIV/AIDS. Playing on the idea that they were football players–as athletes, they HIV/AIDS is 100% preventable, GRS fea- still felt a connection to the cause,” she extures an activities-based curriculum to enlist plained. soccer players, as well as other community Named after its signature bare-foot 3V3 role models such as coaches and teachers, in soccer tournaments held at high schools and educating their own communities and those colleges around the country and the globe, beyond about this reality and various pre- LTS seeks to raise both money and awarevention strategies. ness of HIV/AIDS among today’s youth. In addition to teaching youth the basic Through Lose the Shoes events across the facts about HIV, GRS also provides them country, over 50 schools have raised nearly with the life skills necessary to help make $100,000 in support of GRS since 2007. In the right health choices and ultimately to re- January of 2007, Brandeis became one of the main HIV-free. first schools to host an LTS tournament. As role models and as Rosenbauer said the chance to bring topart of the soccer gether various groups on campus phenomenon for one common cause previs a testament to the power of GRS. “The beauty of Grassroot Soccer is that it connects people from • In 2002, former professional soccer player Tommy all corners Clark founded Grassroot Soccer (GRS) • GRS connects professional soccer players and of the globe other community role models with African youth to for a comincrease education about HIV/AIDS mon cause. • Brooke Rosenbauer ’09 is director of GRS’ program My favorLose the Shoes • Lose the Shoes events are bare-foot 3V3 soccer tourite part of naments held at high schools and colleges around the Brandeis the country and the globe tour naments • Through Lose the Shoes events across the country, is the mixing over 50 schools have raised nearly $100,000 in support of GRS since 2007 that occurs be• September 27 from 4 to 8 p.m. on Chapels Field, tween the activist Brandeis will hold its fourth LTS event which will community and be barefoot for the first time athletes. Those two crowds don’t seem to cross paths very often, which is sad because we By CHRISSY CALLAHAN Editor
Lose the Shoes
PHOTO COURTESY OF Brooke Rosenbauer
LOSE THE SHOES: Brooke Rosenbauer '09 plays soccer to fight HIV/AIDS
really are more powerful as a unified force,” she said. September 27 from 4 to 8 p.m. on Chapels Field, Brandeis will hold its fourth LTS event which will be played barefoot for the first time. For Rosenbauer, the role as director “was just perfect for me, you know, it sort of encompassed all of my passions and interests and I stuck with it and so here I am,” she said. As director, Rosenbauer’s responsibilities are endless and include directing interns, maintaining the Grassroot Soccer website, and researching potential sponsors and chances for student outreach. In addition, she also works alongside other organizations and maintains GRS’ database of contacts. Rosenbauer has forged connections all across the globe, as she helps teachers, coaches, student coordinators, and organizations worldwide with any general questions they might have and also in the planning of LTS events. Rosenbauer does this all as a GRS volunteer. Of her volunteer work, Zohn said, “People like Brooke are just an inspiration. You know they’re a shining light in what we’re doing because it’s completely volunteer what Brooke is doing…she’s working almost a full time job as a volunteer for Grassroot Soccer and that’s awesome.” With all of the work Rosenbauer has done with Grassroot Soccer, it is no wonder that she was recently named a Truman Scholar.
This national scholarship, like its namesake, President Truman, exhibits a dedication to and understanding of the importance of education in molding the leaders of tomorrow. The academic year of 1977-78 featured the first issuance of a Truman Scholarship and the program has since expanded to offer scholars not only monetary support, but also support with internships and career counseling. Awarded to college juniors, the Truman Scholarship grants $30,000 to assist students seeking to pursue graduate programs in public service. In return for receiving this money, Truman Scholars must work in public service for three of the seven years after they finish their graduate studies. Of the breadth of possible GRS events, Rosenbauer says, the sky’s the limit. It does not matter whether an event has been done before or not, because some of the most successful ideas are also the craziest. And from GRS, Rosenbauer has learned that anyone can make a difference and that using what you know truly will take you far. “I think especially as idealistic college students we often become discouraged or overwhelmed by all the problems in the world. It's easy to think, “but what can I do?” My only advice is that it's ok to have crazy ideas. Most importantly, find something that you're passionate about,” she said. “It is overwhelming to find something [that lets you feel] like you’re making a difference, but I mean, doing something is better than nothing.”
September 12, 2008
F E AT U R E S
The Hoot
7
The Art of Dorm Storming By LEEYAT SLYPER Special to The Hoot
The sounds of a first-year residence hall on a Monday evening: the tapping of laptop keys, the slow and reluctant flipping of an Economics book’s pages, the beeping of a printer as it comes to life. And then… chaos. Shouts, pounding on the doors, and upperclassmen screaming, “Free a-cappella in the stairwell! Free a-cappella!” Before long, bewildered first-years, in various degrees of undress, stumble out of their dorm rooms to witness a performance by a Brandeis a-cappella group in their very own stairwell or lounge. Many refer to this bi-yearly ritual—almost like an initiation rite into the very active Brandeis a-cappella culture—as dorm storming. During their first week on campus, firstyears are literally bombarded with clubs to join and activities in which to take part. Walk down a freshman hall and you can see flyers ranging the entire gamut of Brandeis student activities, from women’s rugby to the Waltham Group. Besides the usual signs, acappella groups on campus have their own unique technique: going directly to the people via dorm storming. Dorm storming is a ritual practiced by many a-cappella groups during the first week of classes—this year the repertoire included Starving Artists, Up the Octave, Voicemale, and Manginah—in which the singing groups perform back to back shows in all of the Freshman residence halls. During the week before auditions, the groups strategically prepare to infiltrate the freshmen dorms. “Brandeis is notorious for giving people homework early. So if you go after the first two days of class on a school night then people will be in their dorms, doing work or just being social,” said Adam Barish ‘09, the president of the all-male acappella group Voicemale. Doing seven shows (one in each freshman residence hall) over the course of an
hour and a half takes an incredible amount of stamina and strength, and not just when it comes to how hard performers can pound on a first-year’s door. Training for dorm storming includes long rehearsals and sometimes even more intense preparation. Damien Lehfeldt ’09, president of Starving Artists, described the group’s preparation. “We go in a room and take what we call ‘blending pills,’ which are really just PEZ candies. We warm up, we get energetic. It’s been a tradition that’s apparently been around since the group was in its existence.” Lehfeldt added “you only get one first impression. So every time that we perform we have to be really, really on our game.” Once they arrive at a building, performers make their presence known, urging every last freshman to come hear their performance in the stairwell. Adam Ross ’10, a bass in Manginah, said, “I personally guilt people if they don’t want to come. I make them feel bad. That’s the art of selling.” Performing three or four songs several times in a row can be an intense strain on the singers’ voices. Said Barish, “We pretty much destroy our voices. We sing in the halls—there’s no ventilation whatsoever. You’re sweaty, you’re disgusting. Your voice is completely gone by the end of the night. It’s tiring… but man is it fun.” So why do they do it? Many believe that the purpose of dorm storming is twofold—to recruit freshmen to audition, and to garner a new fan base for the group. “Brandeis is for people who pursue arts, who pursue creativity, who pursue spending way too much time not doing their homework, and a-cappella is
a great way to do that. So we find them if they don’t find us,” Barish said. But even more than that, dorm storming gets the word out to potential fans, so that, according to Barish, when an a-cappella group puts up a flyer six weeks from now advertising a concert, the freshman class will recognize who is performing. A-capella groups view dorm storming as a great method to gather followers early on. Case in point: Up the Octave, an all-female group, and Voicemale perform for all the freshman in a building, including ones on the opposite gender single-sex floors. As Barish admitted, “I know that we probably have more female fans than male fans.” After interviewing a-cappella heads, however, it is clear that dorm storming is not just an effective tool to get fans and future members excited for the upcoming a-cappella season. It’s also a way for the a-cappella groups themselves to flex their --Adam Ross '10 (somewhat rusty) singing muscles after the summer break and, to continue the metaphor, get pumped for the performances yet to come.“Without [dorm storming] we’d start practicing each year without having done the slightest performance. That kind of thing really energizes us to do the work, [since] it takes at least six weeks to get the group up to par,” said Barish. Dorm storming is also an opportunity to showcase a little friendly rivalry between the different a-cappella groups on campus. As Lehfeldt summed it up, “It’s great for building interest for auditions; it’s great for getting fans early on. A lot of [first- years] have never really heard a-cappella before Brandeis. Now, they hear it for the first time.” For some freshmen, their first dorm storm can be an upsetting experience. First-
I personally guilt people if they don’t want to come. I make them feel bad. That’s the art of selling.
year Alison Uliss’s '12 first dorm storming incident, during which she nearly walked out into a crowded hall clad only in her bathrobe, prompted her to warn future first years, “Tip for the future: Don’t shower during a-cappella promotion week. That’s my advice to you.” But for most freshmen interviewed, the concerts came as a welcome surprise after the initial shock and after the first performance first years eagerly anticipated the next a-cappella group’s arrival to hear great music at their doorstep. For Shane Morris, a resident of Reitman Hall, dorm storming appealed to his innate sense of laziness. “I liked it because I didn’t have to go anywhere—just to my stairwell. I didn’t have to walk all the way to Spingold to go listen to an a-cappella group. It was a nice study break.”Overall, most freshmen interviewed appreciated the performances, even leading some, including Calliope Desenberg ‘12, to speculate on whether dorm storming might be a good technique for recruitment for other clubs on campus. Though residence hall invasions by a club like, say, the Brandeis Marching Band, might be a little far-fetched, many could imagine dorm storming being instigated by other performance-oriented groups. Desenberg suggested that it would be a good idea for other performing arts clubs, such as the many improv groups on campus. “It’s a great tool for a club to get the word out for what they do, particularly for more obscure clubs. If there was a jiu jitsu club” “or something unique [first- years] might not know about,” Lehfeldt said. As to where the actual term “dorm storming” came from, no one really knows. But it seems to resonate with freshmen and acappella singers alike, readily lending to vivid military analogies. “It’s like a blitz,” said Ross. But for Lehfeldt it’s even more dramatic. Dorm storming, he said, is a way to “get the word out—guerilla style.”
O n -C a m p u s Research As s istant Job s Availab le !!
On-Campus Research Assistant Positions available with the
Student-Scholar Partnership (SSP) Program! Help create a movie! Develop a marketing plan for a published author! Organize a Silent Auction! Work with artists and their exhibits! This is only a small example of possibilities waiting for you through the SSP! The SSP Program is an exciting and innovative employment and learning opportunity sponsored by the Women’s Studies Research Center. Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Students gain valuable experience, benefit from a mentoring relationship with an established professional, and are p a i d $ 9 . 2 5 / h o u r ! Openings are in various fields all relating back to Womens’ Studies, and all are amazing opportunities to contribute and learn. For more detailed info on available jobs, view our website: http://www.brandeis.edu/centers/wsrc/ssp/apply.html, or visit the WSRC (Epstein Building – across from the commuter rail parking lot) or view the binder in the Women’s Studies Program lounge in Rabb 120.
Come and check out available spots now! http://www.brandeis.edu/centers/wsrc/ssp/apply.html Questions? Contact the SSP Coordinator at e-mail: mullin@brandeis.edu
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12
September 12, 2008
The Hoot
NEWS
Students complain of increased laundry prices BY JASON WONG Staff
Up by a quarter, the prices of using the washers and dryers, in dorms have been raised from .75 $1. Although it has been over 10 years since Brandeis last raised them, students still find the raise to be costly, inconvenient, and somewhat unfair. “[Doing laundry] considerably taxes on my financial resources,” said MaryCate Brower, ’10. Brower has adopted the use of a clothes line this year to dry her clothes for both monetary and environmental reasons. Mark Collins, Vice President of Campus Operations, explained that energy prices have significantly multiplied in the past decade with water and fuel prices climbing in recent years as well. “We’re still on the low end of the spectrum of prices compared with our peer institutions,” said Collins. Neighboring colleges such as Bently, Emerson, and Tufts all
charge $1.25 to their residents for a wash. “Nobody charges less than .75. I believe this [raise] was a reasonable adjustment.” Besides increased utility prices, the application of new technologies in recent years also furthered the decision to increase laundry prices. Brandeis now allows students to check which machines are in use by logging onto laundryview. com – a convenience installed just a year and a half ago and which is still spreading. Laundry machines at Brandeis also allow students to use their Who Cash as an alternate payment method to quarters. Some students suggested they want even more flexibility than the use of Who Cash. “Why can’t they let us use other forms of change or at least dollars since that’s what they’re charging us now,” asked Jared Shackelford ’10. Another student proposed a change to the laundry system
PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot
“I know it’s still a lot cheaper than bringing our clothes to a Laundromat, but other college [students] get to do their laundry for free,” said Jess Wood, ’10. “There’s nowhere else I can really do my laundry. They’ve got like a monopoly on [the service].” Brandeis has recognized the op-
Are you intrepid? Join The Hoot! Contact Alison Channon at achannon@brandeis.edu
Zipcars available on campus ZIPCAR (from p. 1)
implemented if it were financially viable for the university. Collins and his department, along with Zipcar were then charged with the task of developing a model appropriate for Brandeis. Contracts were under review as early as February, The Hoot reported and at that time, it was thought possible that the cars could arrive before the end of the semester.
However, Collins explained in a follow-up e-mail, “I wanted them here in the fall when they could be put to use quickly. I did not want them sitting here all summer with minimal use.” The program has garnered the support of the university’s sustainability coordinator, Janna CohenRosenthal. She commented in the release, “[w]e are encouraging students to leave personally owned
vehicles at home during the school year, while teaching them to make sustainable transportation choices that we hope will extend beyond their college years.” “The success of the program is dependent on people using it,” Collins said. “I’m excited for it,” he added. “It will make students more empowered to leave campus.”
Gen Ed Now plans citizenship week GEN ED NOW (from p. 1)
early Brandeis club that arranged for talks by interesting speakers. These speakers included such famous intellectuals as E.E. Cummings, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Thurgood Marshall, and Eleanor Roosevelt. When organizing the new Gen Ed Now, the club founders reached out to alumni to learn about what Gen Ed S meant to them. Sample responses included, “What? There’s no Gen Ed S! What is the world coming to?” as well as, “We learned how to take apart an idea, how not to believe everything that we heard.” By reviving, or – as the club constitution puts it – “resurrecting” Gen Ed S, the challenge is to once again bring speakers and programs
to campus to elevate discussion on leaving a discussion feeling as though “contemporary issues that are or they read a good article.” should be at the fore of the nationThe topics, he adds, are ones al and global which are little consciousness.” discussed at “[The goal is We are trying to get students Brandeis: “For to] foster dia- engaged intellectually and all the dialogue logue on these also in a practical sense...not on the Middle pressing isthere’s just...at Brandeis but after East, sues that aren’t not much on getting talked Brandeis. the rest of the about,” Selig--Ari Jadwin ’10 world.” For this man said. Along reason, Gorelick with Citizenship hopes that these Week, Gen Ed Now is also pre- Global Affairs Round Tables will paring for a Global Affairs Round be more than just lectures – they Table to hold “discussions to pro- will jumpstart a wider “discussion” mote understanding,” according to of these issues. sophomore and Gen Ed Now Vice Jadwin adds, “We are trying to President for International Affairs get students engaged intellectually Ben Gorelick ’11. and also in a practical sense… not The goal of this program, accord- just [for discussions] at Brandeis, ing to Gorelick, is “to have people but after Brandeis.”
tion of bundling a universal laundry fee into the price of paying for residence halls—which would mean free washes for students—but has not yet examined each implication of that option. “There are a lot of variables to this,” said Collins. “[A non-resident] could potentially come to Brandeis,
do their laundry here and the students would be paying for it.” Collins also discussed issues with student preference and fairness in creating a universal laundry fee. “We may look into [bundling laundry costs],” said Collins. “It would require a lot of discussion with the students.”
Women’s committee switches focus BNC (from p. 1)
proached Marty Krauss, Provost for Academic Affairs, with objectives the BNC would like to reach. One of the goals was to establish “a model of shared governance” with the university. Shortly afterwards, a strategic planning steering committee was formed, co-chaired by Pierce and Whelan. Whelan wrote, “This strategic planning process was unique in that the university, the national staff and the volunteer leaders all participated in mapping out future directions for the organization.” A national executive committee composed of 20 BNC representatives and seven university representatives now governs the organization. In an effort to strengthen ties between the BNC and the university, the BNC also reports to the Provost Office. Another change initiated July 1 of this year is a revision of the BNC’s mission statement to focus on the themes of philanthropy, learning, and community. Over the years, the BNC has offered its members learning programs including study guides to be discussed in peer groups, faculty lectures, and applied learning courses. Recently, the BNC partnered with the alumni association in order to put together joint programs. Nancy Winship, Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement, said that one such program is Alumni College. The program takes place during Reunion Weekend and is a day-long event where Brandeis faculty will teach classes to participating Brandeis alumni, family, friends, and BNC members. Janice Fineman, newly appointed Executive Director of the BNC, wrote in an e-mail that these learning programs will attempt to “strengthen our members’ connections to the University.”
In addition, the BNC has put a renewed emphasis on the philanthropic goals of the organization. The BNC will attempt to raise funds for the university as a whole instead of just the library. The BNC has already contributed $2.4 million for the Science for Life Campaign, which will finance the construction of a lab in the new Carl J. Shapiro Science Center. Winship stated that the BNC will also help the Campaign for Brandeis raise $154 million in funds for student scholarships, one of the university’s “highest priorities.” The BNC will fundraise for the Students for Science Campaign, providing scholarships for science majors. However, the BNC has encountered obstacles in attempting to focus on the philanthropic goals of the institution. In the June 2008 BNC meeting minutes it was noted, “It is difficult for the older chapters to accept the idea that BUNWC is a philanthropic organization, and there is a reluctance to increase their program fees.” Annual member dues have increased to $60 this year in order to cover operating costs. Whelan commented on the tension between the learning community aspect of the BNC and the philanthropic aspect, “Often the balance among these is difficult to maintain, and there is a renewed sense that BNC’s philanthropy is vital to support the University.” In regards to future difficulties that the BNC might face, Fineman wrote that “change is the biggest challenge.” The meeting minutes noted, “Change is hard to accept; other previous plans were studied and adopted but never implemented. Regulatory changes will be made, and BUNWC must be aware, compliant, and sufficiently flexible to adapt. Everything the organization does impacts the University.”
September 12, 2008
NEWS
The Brandeis Brief Hurricane Relief
Brandeis Votes
The Student Union has set up tables in Usdan and the Shapiro Campus Center to raise money for the victims of hurricanes Hannah, Gustav and Ike. Student Union President Jason Gray said that the effort is collaboration between the Student Union and National Collegiate Volunteers. Gray also said that the proceeds from this weekend’s Pachanga will also be donated to the American Red Cross to help victims of the hurricanes. This is not the first effort on behalf of Brandeis students to help hurricane victims in need, as a similar effort was made after hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in the fall of 2005. According to Gray, it is the duty of Brandeis students to get involved. “It is uniquely Brandeisian to use the opportunities we have to make an impact on the community in which we live, whether it is the university community, the national community or the international community,” he said. “The tabling just gives students an opportunity to positively impact one of their communities. It’s just what Brandeis students do.”
20 campus clubs are competing to see which club can register the most students to vote, as part of the Student Union’s “Brandeis Votes” initiative. The competition is only one way in which the initiative aims to register voters and raise awareness about the upcoming election on the Brandeis Campus. In fact, the month of Sept. will be riddled with political-awareness raising activities, including a forum on the 24th, and as part of the intitative, each Community Advisor will have information about absentee ballots on hand in the dorms. The idea for “Brandeis Votes” was conceived by 2011 senators Lev Hirschhorn and Alex Melman, who were inspired by MTV’s “rock the vote” effort. “Brandeis is such a great climate for making change at our school, so why not make change in our community by voting?” Hirschhorn said. Democracy for America is one of the clubs participating in the competition. It’s president, Phil LaComb, said that the club decided to join the competition in order to register students who live in swing states. “We want to make sure people get registered at home so they can make the biggest impact possible,” he said.
– Ariel Wittenberg
The Hoot 13
First-years move into Civic Engagement residence hall PCE (from p. 1)
Life is implementing living learning communities with first years.” This hall will serve as a “pilot,” he said. Balik, who is also a Waltham Group coordinator, explained that the PCE program aims to “gather together like-minded students [and] give them resources so they can participate in community service.” Along with his other duties as CA, Balik said, his job is to create hall programming geared towards community service. “I’m interested in ways to break down the Brandeis bubble and get
people to have an investment in the community,” he said. Prof. Ellen Schattschneider (ANTH), who serves as faculty advisor to PCE alongside Auslander and Prof. Laura Goldin (AMST), described PCE as “revolutionary.” PCE, she said, is an “experiment in creating links between Brandeis and the community and an experiment in creating a new community at Brandeis.” PCE students expressed excited for the experiment. “I’ve always been interested in community service and helping people,” said Sarah Michael ’11, “it’s exciting to
– Ariel Wittenberg
have a floor committed [to community service].” Leanne Ortbals commented, “it’s really nice to live in a place where everyone has the same values as you do.” “My strong hope,” Schattschneider said, “is that the [students’] hopes for working in the community will get worked out more fully” because of their “proximity and shared purpose.” “They’re all very energetic,” Balik remarked, “hopefully we can channel that energy into some really cool programming for the year.”
PHOTO BY Olivia Batket/The Hoot
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: Dedicated to community service, Gordon 2 residents show their hall pride.
Off-campus housing upsets City Council CITY COUNCIL (from p. 1)
of the license request “angered us.” “The rub in this whole issue was that they started construction and then came after the fact,” she said. Even so, Mcmenimen believed it “better for everybody all around,” if Brandeis is able to house more students on campus. The university’s request for a lodging license will be sent to the Licenses and Franchises Committee, of which Logan is the chairman. The committee will meet Monday to deal with the request. Vice President of Campus Operations Mark Collins will be present at that meeting to answer the committee’s questions. Project Manager Deborah Elliott, who was present at last Monday’s meeting, did not respond to requests for comment. “We’re going to the meeting Monday and hopefully answer any questions that the council has. We look forward to meeting with them,” Collins remarked. He declined to elaborate further. Along with aggravation caused by the timing of the lodging license request, according to the Daily News Tribune, Councilor at Large Paul Brasco used the opportunity to express anger regarding the behavior of off-campus students. Brasco complained of trash from parties on Dartmouth Street. Logan, whose ward includes Dartmouth Street, complained of an “Animal House
mentality.” “Every couple years,” he said, “a police department” as well as a letter from group comes in that has no respect for the Residence Life about “being neighborly.” people around them.” “We’re trying to be proactive,” Fadavi reOf Brasco’s and Logan’s comments, Mc- marked. “We’re trying to keep relations and Menimen said, the lodging license request communication open with the city.” “created a firestorm. That request then swirled Part of that collaboration between the and took university and on a differI know it was just some pre-emptive damage the city has ent flavor.” included visits W h i l e control, and I recognize that some students from Waltham M c M e n i - will not exactly make model neighbors, but it Police to varim e n t was not a very pleasant way to be welcomed to ous off-campraised pus residences. President the community. The visit by Jehuda police was not Reinharz --Leah Boudreau ’09 welcome for for being some students. “very proDar tmouth active…to benefit students, alums, and trust- Street resident Leah Boudreau ’09, whose ees while still accommodating the neighbor- residence was visited by two Waltham Police hood,” she added, “any community such officers last weekend, explained in an e-mail, as Waltham that houses a higher education “They cautioned us against having noisy parfacility has a mixed blessing,” McMenimen ties and they also said that local residents said.“We have done a lot to build up relations complain that Brandeis students are messy with the city of Waltham and Brandeis stu- and responsible for a lot of garbage that is dents,” said Assistant Director for Off-Cam- left out on the curbs and littered in yards.” pus Housing Nicole Fadavi. Police also collected Boudreau’s name and Officials from Residence Life recently met number and those of her roommates. with the Waltham Police Department, the Boudreau continued, “I know it was just city’s health department, city councilors, and some pre-emptive damage control, and I the mayor’s office to discuss students living recognize that some students will not exactly in the community, Fadavi explained. make model neighbors, but it was not a very Students living off-campus, Fadavi said, re- pleasant way to be welcomed to the commuceived a “joint letter from the mayor and the nity.”
Visit us online at www.thehoot.net
Student Union VP Candidates Andrew Brooks ’09 Christina Khemraj ’09 Gustavo Pardo ’10 Chaely Marrow ’10 Adam Hughes ’11 First-round elections start Monday, Sept. 15. Second round begins Wednesday Sept. 17.
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September 12, 2008
The Hoot
SPORTS
Volleyball: Errors, inconsistency doom Brandeis against Wellesley
Sloppy match comes after upset of perennial powerhouse MIT BY ZACHARY ARONOW Editor
After soaring to new heights following their tri-match victory in Cambridge over the weekend, the Judges plummeted back to earth as errors and sloppy play left them at the mercy of Wellesley 3-1 for their home opener. “We just didn’t play very well,” Brandeis Coach Michelle Kim said. “We practiced servicing the other day, but our passing was just off, and serving is, you know, sometimes not our focus, and we – look, lost focus on the serve. The last game, the last set there we lost by three points, and we made five service errors in that game, so that’s a big difference right there.” The night proved to be a long one in the first set when the Blue jumped out to an 8-2 lead. Comeback efforts by Brandeis brought the deficit to within two, but Wellesley proved to be too much and prevailed 2520. The second set started closer, but a six point rally, including three service aces from Wellesley’s Jessica Duff, turned an 8-7 nailbiter into a 14-7 head dangler. Wellesley went on to coast to a 25-14 win and a commanding 2-0 lead.
The Judges came to play though in the chipped in with 10 points of her own while third set. Wingenbach and Abby Blasco ’11 led the “After the first two games, we said, ‘Look, defense with 18 digs each. Abby also had 33 this team isn’t that good, and we’re better assists. than this, so let’s play like it, let’s show our For the visiting Blue, NEWMAC Player of home crowd,” Lorraine Wingenbach ’09 ex- the Week Alice Cummings (16 kills, 18 digs) plained. and Jessica Duff (10 kills, 20 digs) paced the The Judges built up a team while Samantha Du 23-14 lead in the third assisted with 13 kills and I think if we played with libero Emily Peters had set. A furious Wellesley rally scored seven better passing and better a match high 21 digs. straight to tie the set Victoria Peng provided up at 24, but the Judges serving, we could have 43 assists in the winning managed to claim the had a chance at beating effort. win on a service ace The defeat comes affrom Paige Blasco ’11. them [Wellesley]... ter Brandeis triumphed The Blue reasserted in their first tri-match --Coach Michelle Kim of the season, surpassthemselves in the fourth set by jumping out to a ing Johnson & Wales 3-1 5-1 lead, but Brandeis thanks to 18 digs from responded, eventually claiming a 16-15 lead. Abby Blasco and a balanced attack led by However, Wellesley scored four straight, and Piera Carfagno ’10 (nine kills) and Wingenthough the Judges came within one, the gap bach (eight kills) and stunning hosts MIT 3proved too great to traverse, and Wellesley 2. Paige Blasco (17 kills, 11 digs) and Wingwalked away with match, 25-21. enbach (12 kills, 20 digs) led that winning Paige Blasco recorded a double-double effort. for the Judges, leading the offense with 12 “You know, the MIT game we passed rekills and provided 10 digs. Nicole Smith ’11 ally well, and we served them tough, and we
played great defense, we picked up our defense a lot against MIT,” Coach Kim said. Kim later went on to say about the home opener, “I think if we played with better passing and better serving, we could have had a chance at beating them [Wellesley]… we’re right there with them, and I think our players realized that we just didn’t have our A-game today, and I think we all know that if we had our A-game that we would have had them.” Brandeis will look to correct course at home as they host the Judges Invitational September 12 and 13, starting with Smith College at 4:00 pm today. After the weekend, they continue to defend the home turf against Endicott on September 18 at 7:00 pm. The Judges will get a boost as Violette Ruggiero ’09 will make her season debut today. After a tough loss made worse by the errors and the fact that this was a team the Judges could have defeated, this weekend will prove to be a good chance for the Judges to reclaim their turf and keep their season on the right track.
Women’s Soccer: Matching 2-0 wins pad Judges’ perfect season BY ADAM HUGHES Editor
The Brandeis women’s soccer team knew they were better than the sixth place they received in the preseason UAA poll, but even they must be surprised at how smoothly the season has gone for them so far. Now four games into the season, the team has not only won every game they’ve played, they haven’t allowed a single goal. This week’s action started on Saturday, September 6th at home against a thoroughly outgunned UMass-Boston. Brandeis outshot the Beacons by a 13-0 margin in the first half and found the goal six times, utterly dominating the action. The strong play of UMass goalie Courtney Haroules ‘10 kept the game close, as the barrage of shooting only yielded the Judges one goal. The hero was Sophia Vallone ‘11, converting the rebound from a shot by junior Melissa Gorenkoff, who was credited for an assist. The goal was a costly one for Vallone and Brandeis; the team’s third-leading scorer suffered an injury that could keep her out of action for several weeks. The Judges cooled off a little in the second half, only out-shooting the Beacons by an otherwise remarkable 7-1 margin. Tiffany Pacheco ‘11 padded the Judges’ advantage by scoring off an assist from fellow sophomore Taryn Martiniello, and UMass-Boston failed
to register even one shot on goal, giving ‘Deis the 2-0 victory. Hillary Rosenzweig ‘10 earned the shutout despite going untested in the net for the entire game. Gorenkoff and rookie Alanna Torre each took four shots to lead Brandeis’s 20 shot attack. Babson was the next team to test the Judges’ mettle, and they met with just as little success as any other opponent. Tiffany Pacheco staked a powerful claim for team leadership, scoring twice in the first half to provide the only goals of the game. The first came in the 22nd minute off a pass near the goal from the talented rookie Izabella Miranda. The second came in the 35th minute on an incredibly strong shot from 20 yards out; again, Miranda picked up the assist. Hillary Rosenzweig saved all three shots she faced, and the Judges had their eighth straight shutout in a row. Pacheco currently leads the Judges in every major statistical category with five goals, 10 points, 13 shots, 10 shots on goal, and an astronomical .385 shooting percentage. Miranda’s five points place her second, a very strong showing for the freshman forward. The team is getting almost half of its shots to go on goal, and their goalkeepers have saved all eight shots they’ve faced. Brandeis plays next on this upcoming Saturday, taking on Springfield College at Gordon Field.
PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot
VOLLEYBALL: Brandeis’ Nicole Smith (No. 16, at net left), along with team-mate Bridget McAllister (No. 5, at net right), get ready to return a bump by Wellesley’s Emily Peters (No. 11, bottom center) in the first set of the game.
September 12, 2008
SPORTS
The Hoot 13
Men’s Soccer loses physical match against Clark, rebounds with late goals vs. Babson BY ADAM HUGHES Editor
The Brandeis men’s soccer team suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday 2-1 against Clark University but rebounded on Wednesday with a 3-1 defeat of Babson. Brandeis and Clark were both undefeated heading into their match-up, Brandeis at 2-0-0 and Clark at 2-0-1. The hard-fought game was scoreless until the 15th minute, when Ben Premo ‘09 was fouled in the penalty box, setting up a penalty shot taken by Patrick Metelus ‘10. Metelus converted, giving Brandeis the lead. The celebration would not be long lasting, however; Clark’s Baran Doenmez ‘11 found himself in the same position as Metelus just six minutes later, and he too found the back of the net with his penalty shot, giving him five goals in just four games. For the third game in a row, Brandeis head coach Mike Coven opted to switch goalkeepers at halftime, sitting Tyler Bracken ‘10 and his two saves in favor of promising rookie Sean O’Hare. The Brandeis defense tightened, O’Hare made
saves in the 52nd and 59th minutes, and the game looked to be headed for a tie until the 72nd minute. Jenner Alpern ‘09 found Adrian Blackadar ‘12 clear near the Brandeis net, and the Clark rookie buried his shot to give Clark a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish. The game was a highly physical battle, with a total of 49 fouls and four yellow cards being handed out, mostly in the second half. Brandeis’s play was sloppy; they took only five shots, seven fewer than Clark, and none of them came from the eight Brandeis substitutes. The Judges were whistled for five offsides violations, keeping them from any offensive momentum. Brandeis got the chance to rebound four days later, however, and they took full advantage thanks to the powerful Ben Premo. After a scoreless first half, Babson took a brief lead at the 47 minute mark when their star forward Tim Winn ‘09 snuck the ball past Sean O’Hare, who was making his first start in the Brandeis net. Patrick Metelus answered for the Judges just nine minutes later with his
PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot
PHOTO BY Natasha Rubin/The Hoot
WOMEN’S SOCCER: ‘Deis’ Allison Maresca (23) heads the ball.
fourth goal of the year, once again converting after being called on to take a penalty kick. From then on, Premo took over. In the 87th minute, Alex Zenerovitz ‘10 made a beautiful pass, setting up a difficult play that Premo converted for the lead. Two minutes later, Premo played the role of set-up man, serving a feed to Alexander Farr that the rookie finished for his second goal of the year. When the dust had settled on the 31 victory, Premo had earned three points on a remarkable eight shots, helping Brandeis double Babson’s shot total. Brandeis’s offensive advantage was made even clearer by their 8-1 edge in corner kicks. Brandeis is now 3-1-0 on the season, averaging almost three goals a game while allowing less than one and converting almost 18% of their shots. They’ve dominated their opponents in almost every offensive category, and the one-two punch of Premo and Metelus have combined four eight goals. Brandeis’s next match is on Monday, September 15th at home against ColbySawyer at 7:00 PM.
WOMEN’S SOCCER: Izabella Miranda ‘12 controls the ball.
With Brady gone, Patriot fans turn to Matt Cassel BY JOSH GELLER Staff
It has been 111 games since we last saw the New England Patriots start a game without Tom Brady as the starting quarterback. Following this past Sunday’s devastating injury to Brady, Patriots fans are going to get used to Brady’s replacement. This man is Matt Cassel. So let’s meet Matt Cassel. Perhaps Patriots fans will let out a collective groan when they learn that this is Cassel’s first start at quarterback since High School.
It’s not his fault really. As a communications major at USC, he backed up two Heisman Trophy winners: Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. His entire pro career has been spent backing up Tom Brady. His numbers are spotty at best. He sports a 56.4% completion rating heading into this year, in addition to a 71.8 QB rating. Cassel nearly found himself cut by the team heading into this year. I’m not making you Patriots fans feel any better am I? Cassel is a pretty good athlete. In 1994, he was a member of a Little
League World Series team that won the U.S. Championship. Matt was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2004. His brother Jack is a pitcher for the Houston Astros and actually entered his game as an injury replacement mere hours after Matt replaced Brady last Sunday. Simply put, this Sunday, the Patriots will be on the road to face the rival New York Jets. Instead of #12, a Super Bowl winner, at quarterback, they’ll have #16. Patriot fans can only hope that Cassel will give them 16 wins this season like Brady did last season.
'Deis Board:
Golf
9-07: Brandeis 5th @ Trinity Invitational
Men’s Soccer
9-06: Clark 2 - Brandeis 1 9-10: Brandeis 3 - Babson 1
Women’s Soccer
9-06: Brandeis 2 - UMass-Boston 0 9-10: Brandeis 2 - Babson 0
Volleyball
9-06: Brandeis 3 - Johnson and Wales 1 9-06: Brandeis 3 - MIT 2 9-09: Wellesley 3 - Brandeis 1
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September 12 , 2008
The Hoot
WEEKEND FUN Spotlight on Boston
Boston Arts Festival:
Friday to Saturday, Sept. 12-14, 2008 Chris Columbus Waterfront Park, Boston Go to the 6th annual Boston Arts Festival, view over 60 artist exhibitions and take part in workshops. Haven't seen the Blue Man
group yet? Now's your chance! The group
along with the Boston Ballet, and local indie bands will perform on the Waterfront stage.
www.bostonahtsfestival.com
How Shakespeare Won the West: U n f o r t u n a t e l y,
Friday to Saturday, Sept. 12-1, 2008 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston
PHOTO BY Napoleon Lherisson/The Hoot
Shakespeare isn't a cowboy in this Huntington Theater Company
production. Disappointing, but there are still tons of reasons to give this play a shot. Written by Richard Nelson, the story follows a Shakespeare company troupe as it performs in the West during the Gold Rush.
www.huntingtontheatre.org
What's going on at Brandeis?
Human Foosball/Bowling:
Friday, Sept. 12, 2008, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. If you participate in this tournaGreat Lawn, Shapiro Campus Center ment you will have the chance to be a bowling ball in this Student
Activities event. Be the ball. Or if bowling isn't your thing, get some friends together and play human foosball on a larg inflatable court.
PHOTO BY Napoleon Lherisson/The Hoot
Pachanga:
Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008, 10 p.m. to 2 a. m. Levin Ballroom Dance, dance, dance. You know you want to. Good music and good company, what's not to love? Party like a rock star late into the night.
Stuart Ferguson:
Friday, Sept. 12, 2008, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Shapiro Campus Center Go to the WBRS Coffee House and listen to
the acoustic stylings of Stuart Ferguson. His songs tell the story of his personal experiences. laughingwarlock
By Ian Price
Insert Comic Here
PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot
By Anthony Scibelli