The Justice, December 5, 2023

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T h e I n d e p e n d e n t S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9 Volume LXXVI, Number 10

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Waltham, Mass.

AREA RENOVATION

WALTHAM ENTERTAINMENT

Waltham plans to renovate the Fernald Developmental Center

■ The former mental

institution has a controversial history, sparking discourse over the city's renovation plans.

By SOPHIA STEWART JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

JACK YUANWEI CHENG/Justice file photo

CINEMA: After its closure in September 2022, the Waltham Embassy Theater re-opened with a new deal for University students.

On Dec. 3, city councilors Colleen Bradley-MacArthur, George Darcy, and Jonathan Paz held a town hall meeting at First Parish Church in Waltham to discuss their thoughts about renovating the Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center in a way that represents the public’s concerns about memorializing the institution. Residents spoke about the plans to renovate Fernald, modeling public disagreement over what changes should take place. A common theme that residents agreed on was that they expect more communication from the Waltham City Council, with some stressing how the renovations ignore the institution’s his-

tory.

“We want to shed light into what’s happened there before, into what’s kind of at stock right now, what could possibly happen, and we want to talk about the future.

So this is an opportunity for folks to kind of get on the same page. We have some councilors here and we want to make sure that we get your input on the potential uses of the 196 acres of opportunity. Fernald is a historically precious piece of Waltham and it’s on us to make sure we can secure a brighter future,” Councilor Paz addressed the town hall attendees.

The plan to renovate the institution is overshadowed by Fernald’s history. According to City of Waltham files, Fernald is the oldest institution in the United States for the care of individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Additionally, in 1848, Samuel Gridley Howe founded the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded in South Boston. In 1887, the school needed to take care

See RENOVATION, 5 ☛

Student Union partners with Brandeis suspends the Waltham Embassy Theater class to hold teach-ins on Israel-Hamas war CLASSES CANCELLED

■ The historic Waltham cinema

has been given another chance — and Brandeis' Student Union hopes to help keep it alive.

By LIN LIN HUTCHINSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

After facing closure in Sept. 2022, the Embassy Theater, located at 16 Pine St. in Waltham, reopened its doors on Oct. 13, 2023. The Brandeis Student Union has joined forces with Tim Nasson, executive director of the theater, to breathe new life into the cultural landmark.

The Embassy Theater served as a community cornerstone beginning in 1998 until its closure. The cinema experienced financial challenges exacerbated by diminished ticket sales in the aftermath of the pandemic. Now the theater has reopened with a different vision while maintaining its legacy.

The building is now under the ownership of Smaranda Albeck, the executive director of Boston Rhythmic. According to the Boston Rhythmic website, four of the six screening rooms are in the process of being turned into activity rooms that will allow for rhythmic gymnastics and

classes like aerial arts, zumba, and arts and STEM related programs.

The other two rooms will continue serving their purpose as screening rooms.

Nasson learned of Albeck's hope to find space in the Boston Globeand thought that he could be of assistance.

“I came along and showed [Albeck] what the possibilities could be,” Nasson said in a Dec. 2 interview with the Justice. “We talked about it and I looked at all the numbers that the theater did over the 30 years they were in business. We realized that it could work and it would benefit the community and I wanted some way to help the students at Brandeis too.”

Nasson has been in the movie business for over 30 years. His passion for film began at the age of 14 when he would take the MBTA Orange Line from Somerville to Back Bay just to see movies in Copley Place Cinema. Nasson began working there at the age of 15 and recalled the theater had early screenings of movies for theater owners and critics — which he would sneak into while on shift.

“I would sneak into them and I got to know all of the theater owners,” Nasson remembered.

At 17, Nasson got on the press list, exposing him to his first press

screenings. Now 52, he has been going ever since. While in the movie industry, Nasson has interviewed over 1,000 A-list celebrities. His first was with Julia Roberts in 1988, before she was a big name, for his high school newspaper. Nasson has also interviewed Robin Williams, Steven Spielberg, and Billy Porter for large publications like The Windy City Times, The Bay Area Reporter, and Boston Globe Media Partners. Nasson's collection of autographed stills that he had collected from interviewing celebrities adorn the walls of the Embassy Theater.

“The goal was to hang them up everywhere, but I'm just afraid people are going to steal them. So for now they're behind the counter,” said Nasson. “I'm going to put some more up there and we'll be adding some movie style artwork to the walls before Christmas.”

The theater re-welcomed theatergoers on Oct. 13, with the showing of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.”

About a month after the theater’s re-opening, a Nov. 14 Instagram post by the Brandeis Student Union announced that Student Union had formed a partnership with the Embassy Theater.

“I hope that this is the start of more Brandeis students getting involved in the local Waltham commu-

See CINEMA, 5 ☛

14 unique lectures relating to Brandeis' charged atmosphere regarding the war.

By RIVER SIMARD

JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Brandeis is holding 14 separate sessions throughout campus today all relating to the continuing war between Israel and Hamas.

The lectures are part of a teach-in organized to respond to increased polarization on campus over the last two months regarding various opinions about the war. These events will begin at 9 a.m. and continue throughout the day until 5:50 p.m.

In October, the campus saw an increase in war-related graffiti, and more students reported feeling threatened or bullied, according to an Oct. 13 email from Dean of Student Affairs Monique Pillow Gnanaratnam and Vice President

of Student Affairs Andrea Dine.

On Nov. 6, the University derecognized the Brandeis chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.

Five days later, on Nov. 11, three students and four others were arrested during a protest in support of Palestine. As a response to the arrests, the following Monday, Nov. 13, more than 200 students and faculty held a silent walkout protesting police violence that they felt occurred at the protest.

“We decided that we have a whole lot of very, very capable and skilled researchers and faculty on the University campus who are experts in a lot of the issues that have emerged,” the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Jeffrey Shoulson explained in a Dec. 1 interview. “And so it seemed like the thing that one should do at an institution of higher learning is actually use these occasions for real experiences of additional learning, and an investigation rather than just continuing to shout at one another.”

Shoulson’s office, alongside the offices of Provost and Executive

See CLASSES, 5 ☛

North Cut

Gloria Estefan

Nov. 10 protest police reports

 Meet Richard, the Waltham resident whose home faces the North cut.

 How famous musician Gloria Estefan created worldwide hits while maintaing a family.

By SOPHIA DE LISI, ANIKA JAIN, AND MOMOCA MAIRAJ

By CAYENN LANDAU

CAYENN LANDAU/the Justice

■ The day will consist of

FEATURES 7

Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

Good luck, fall graduates

By THE JUSTICE EDITORIAL BOARD

By ANNA MARTIN

Judges secure wins over weekend

ARTS AND CULTURE 14

By BENIE COHEN

Make your voice heard!

Submit letters to the editor to forum@thejustice.org

NEWS 3

COPYRIGHT 2023 FREE AT BRANDEIS.

FORUM 8 SPORTS 12

2

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023 ● NEWS ● THE JUSTICE

NEWS SENATE LOG The Justice did not recieve a Senate Log as of press time.

POLICE LOG MEDICAL EMERGENCY Nov. 17—An individual requested assistance from BEMCo for flu-like symptoms. They refused further treatment.

Nov. 17—A caller reported that someone passed out but was alert. The patient refused further medical treatment.

Nov. 19—BEMCo staff treated a community member.

They were transported to a local hospital.

Nov. 19—There was a medical call from a community member. BEMCo treated them, and the patient refused further medical treatment.

Nov. 21—There was a medical emergency. The patient refused medical treatment.

Nov. 26—A person was not feeling well, but they refused further medical care.

Nov. 29—A faculty member from the Golding Health Center requested assistance for a medical emergency.

Their patient was transported to a local hospital.

Nov. 30—There was a medical emergency. The patient was transported to a local hospital.

NOISE COMPLAINT Nov. 17—A caller reported a barking dog in their building. The Department of Community Living was directed to respond.

Nov. 18—A community advisor requested assistance to handle a loud group in a bathroom. The group was advised to turn their music down, and the situation was cleared.

HARASSMENT Nov. 23—A party reported that a previous partner of theirs who is unaffiliated with the University was outside of their residence. The unaffiliated party left the campus, and the situation was cleared.

Nov. 25—A caller reported that they were harassed via phone.

Nov. 28—A party reported a potential case of harassment between roommates. There will be an investigation to follow.

MISCELLANEOUS Nov. 17—A party reported that they were being harassed. An investigation is to follow.

Nov. 19—The Waltham Police Department requested backup. The situation was cleared.

Nov. 29—There was a minor motor vehicle accident involving a police cruiser. The officer in charge was notified.

— Compiled by Sophia De Lisi

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS ■ A Features teaser incorrectly spelled author’s name as Leah Zaharoni. It was corrected to Lea Zaharoni.

(Nov. 21, p. 1).

■ The photo story on Salman Toor’s “No Ordinary Love” incorrectly attributed the exhibit’s curation to Gannit Ankori. Curation credits were corrected to Salman Toor, Asama Naeem, Dorothy Wagner Wallis, and Gannit Ankori. (Nov. 21, p. 18).

■ Mikey Terrenzi was inccorectly credited as a Justice Contributing Writer in an arts article. Their title was corrected to Staff Writer. (Nov. 21, p. 18).

■ The photo story incorrectly titled Salman Toor’s

artwork “Black Lawn.” It was corrected to “Back Lawn.”

(Nov. 21, p. 19).

The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Send an email to editor@thejustice.org.

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A spotted bird peaks through the green and yellow leaves in a tree as it sits perched on a branch. The bird then flies to the top of a building overlooking the tree.

ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

THE JUSTICE ● NEWS ● TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023

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Brandeis Police report offers new information about Nov. 10 arrests ■ The Justice acquired case reports by various Brandeis police officers from the pro-Palestine demonstration.

By SOPHIA DE LISI, ANIKA JAIN, AND MOMOCA MAIRAJ JUSTICE NEWS EDITORS AND JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

On Nov. 22, an anonymous faculty member contacted the Justice with a redacted copy of the police arrest report from the pro-Palestine demonstration that ended in seven arrests — three of which were Brandeis students and four were individuals unaffiliated with the University. The complete report includes testimonies from six Brandeis Police Department officers who detailed their accounts of the demonstration’s escalation.

These reports classify the protest as a “disturbance” with Operations Lieutenant Oren Wright describing the department’s preemptive measures to surveil the demonstration.

He wrote that he, alongside Chief of Public Safety Matthew Rushton and Sergeant Dustin Botelho, led a “briefing with all public safety personnel regarding the planned protest.” Lieutenant Wright outlined that all officers were instructed to proceed by the following guidelines: “1. If contact is made with a protester, they are to be identified. All Brandeis community members are to furnish their University ID upon request.

2. If a protester is not a member of the Brandeis community, they are to be escorted off the property. If, after three warnings, they refuse to leave, a supervisor should be called to the scene. If the supervisor finds that deescalating the party and requests to leave are being ignored, then the party in question will be arrested for trespassing.

3. If there is any ‘hate speech’ or talk of committing violent acts, the protesters will be warned by a member of Brandeis University Student Affairs professional staff to cease immediately. If the rhetoric persists, then the protesters will be dispersed or arrested if they refuse to disperse.

4. A designated area for counter protesters had also been set up in front of the Shapiro Campus Center directly across from Bernstein-Marcus Building. Officers are to guide any counter-protesters to this area assuming, based on online conversations, that Jewish students may arrive to support Israel’s views on the war.”

Wright added that the Waltham Police Department and Police Reform Insight Group private security were also “enlisted to assist in the protest” in the event that there is violence or refusal to follow a dispersal order.

He cited a joint email sent to the community hours before the protest by Vice President of Student Affairs Andrea Dine and Chief Rushton that warned “as a small, private institution, [the University] will not allow outside, or third-party groups or individuals to congregate on campus” in an effort to focus its resources on safe assembly for community members. Lieutenant Wright’s report specifically points to a “No Trespassing” sign that is posted on an informational booth at the campus’ main entrance.

The “hate speech” mentioned in the guidelines for participating officers was consistent with Dine and Rushton’s email, which said that the University’s Principles of Free Speech and Expression “excludes speech that constitutes threat or harassment.”

Although Wright recognized that the protest refrained from using speech that the University had deemed threatening for the first half-hour of the protest, he designated that “Over time, this changed as the group began having speeches and chanting,” with two individuals leading the chants over bullhorns. Furthermore, Lieutenant Wright reported that the two lead speakers were using an “animated and passionate tone” that the rest of the attendees matched which, in his eyes, served to “escalate the energy and incite the crowd.”

Among these widespread chants was the claim: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which was one of the phrases that Dine and Rushton’s email highlighted.

Lieutenant Wright said that this particular phrase is “inherently understood by Jewish people as a call for the destruction of the state of Israel, and by default, its people,” hence its ban on campus. He went on to define the group’s use of “intifada” as “inherently understood as a call for rebellion to break away from the state of Israel.”

While there is an active debate about the phrases’ definitions and implications, administration banned them because they feel that some of the community understands them in those threatening and hateful ways.

“The use of language that invokes violence, death or annihilation … frightens and silences cohorts of the community,” Dine and Rushton wrote.

The Associated Press claims that “like most of the Mideast conflict, what the [phrases] mean depends on who is telling the story — and which audience is hearing it.” For instance, the American Jewish Committee asserts that “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is antisemitic because it is a “rallying cry for terrorist groups and their

sympathizers,” such as Hamas, which called for Israel’s destruction in its original governing charter in 1988 and launched an attack on Israeli citizens on Oct. 7. On the other hand, Al Jazeera acknowledges that the slogan is also a promise of freedom to some Palestinians and the “need for equality for all inhabitants of historic Palestine,” according to author and lecturer Nimer Sultany, who is a Palestinian citizen of Israel.

In his report, Wright observed that the crowd’s usage of the slogan and others like it was having a startling impact on campus and those unaffiliated with the demonstration. “I had observed community members exit from the building using the doors adjacent to the ‘Great Lawn,’ become alarmed by the crowd, and abruptly walk in a different direction,” Wright wrote. He added that Botelho informed him of an onlooker who said that the crowd was “chanting hate rhetoric bothersome to [them] and to Jewish people.”

Given these observations, Wright concluded that the demonstration created a “hazardous or physically offensive condition by an act that served no legitimate purpose of the defendant; their actions had affected the public in an alarming way and recklessly created a risk of public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm.”

Lieutenant Wright also reported a group in attendance that Chief Rushton observed on camera from the department’s on-campus emergency operations center: “There appeared to be group members facing away from the group and watching officers and other people walking by. There were approximately 7-8 of these people. All appeared to be college-age young adults and were all dressed differently except for wearing a red or maroon bandana tied around their necks and large blue backpacks that appeared full. Upon further observation, they all appeared to be taking their direction from an unknown [individual].”

Wright added that this behavior was consistent with “paid instigators/agitators within protests” whose only objective is to escalate tensions between police officers and protesters, which would provoke a confrontation.

“They usually start with observing police, counting the number of officers present and the perceived tolerance of the crowd. They then typically pull a provocative stunt or action in order to elicit a police response. They will normally encourage the leaders to resist any requests from the police and to escalate the demonstration,” Lieutenant Wright wrote.

The concept of having “outside agitators” at protests stems from the Civil Rights Movement, according to The New York Times. Robin D.G. Kelley, a social movements historian at the University of California, Los Angeles, told The New York Times that there were Black communists in the South decades prior to the Civil Rights Movement, and that outside agitation “stemmed in part from from the racist notion that insurrectionary ideas had to come from somewhere else because Black people in the South could not come up with them on their own.” The article states that “the term ‘outside agitator’ often implied links to communism, which officials used as a boogeyman to distract from demonstrators’ demands for basic human rights.”

Lieutenant Wright spoke to the individual who he and Chief Rushton identified as the group’s leader, adding that he identified himself as the “marshal” of the protest, despite being unaffiliated with the University. The marshal refused to explain what that role entailed.

The U.S. Department of Justice outlines that demonstration marshals are in charge of ensuring that the event remains safe, serving as a “point of contact” between its organizers and those in attendance.

At the protest on Nov. 10, one of the student organizers identified a number of individuals as “safety marshals.” The student instructed other demonstrators to seek out the help of the marshals if “people are getting harassed.” As of press time, the Justice was unable to confirm whether or not the individual identified by Wright and Rushton was one of the safety marshals attending the protest.

After two warnings to leave campus, the marshal agreed to leave, Wright reported. He added, “Approximately five minutes later, Brandeis Police Dispatch radioed me and other officers on the scene that the [party] who was escorted off campus had returned and was walking near the [Shapiro Admissions Center] across the street from Shapiro Campus Center.” Detective Jon Santeusanio and Officer Philip Burns arrested the individual for trespassing “without incident.”

In his report, Santeausanio wrote that he and Burns were directed to respond to the Ridgewood A area. They were notified to be on the lookout for a subject who had been given a verbal trespassing warning to leave the property but soon returned. “The subject was described as a white male, early to mid sixties and wearing a light colored fedora hat with a multi-colored jacket with dark pants.”

Burns and Santeausanio asked the individual to stand, to which he complied. They arrested the individual for trespassing. After placing him in flex cuffs, they searched him.

He refused to give any information about his identity. On him, he had a cell phone and a set of keys but no wallet. Wright confirmed that the arrestee, who was later identified, was the subject he escorted off campus moments ago.

Wright wrote that at the same time the officers arrested the protest marshal, Vice President Dine “approached the protest group as they were chanting antisemitic rhetoric.

This was the third time this group had engaged in this specific language. At this time, the group was advised to cease and desist these chants, or they would be dispersed.” For the fourth time, the group defied the warning and resumed chanting, Wright noted.

“At this time, Chief Rushton gave the order for a dispersal order to be given,” he wrote.

“Sgt. Botelho advised all officers to move closer to our location near the great lawn as a dispersal order was to be given.”

Both Detective Jon D. Santeusanio and Officer Thomas Espada noted in their separate case reports that Wright issued the first dispersal order at approximately 4:30 p.m.

In his report, Wright wrote that fewer than 20 participants began to exit the premises. After a second order was given, police waited 10 minutes to signal the emergency blue lights atop the car and initiated a third dispersal order, all of which garnered little response.

After the fourth order, “there appeared to be a movement to leave as a collective crowd, which was the desired intent.” At the same time, there were two parties with bullhorns that encouraged participants not to leave, and the group ended up not leaving despite the police’s attempts to request the group to disperse peacefully.

“Chief Rushton instructed a group of six officers to begin to walk and clear the walkway just outside of the Shapiro Campus Center,” Wright said. “Officers then began to move in groups, arms stretched out from left to right, commonly used to help guide and usher people in a certain direction.” As officers moved closer to the students, there was movement of some students starting to leave. There were still chants by one of the bullhorn holders to not move. As a result, the police decided to place the party in custody to “continue de-escalating the crowd rather than continuing confusion and escalation,” according to Wright.

At this point, many participants began to record the officers with their phones. As Botelho and Wright took hold of each arm of the male with the bullhorn, they identified themselves as police officers and advised the male that he was under arrest. According to Botelho’s, Wright’s, and Evan’s reports, the individual attempted to resist and pull free.

Wright stated that they “guided, supported, and directed this male to the ground [who] had knowingly and actively resisted our attempt to arrest while I was acting under my official capacity as a sworn police officer.”

Botelho wrote that as they directed the protester to the ground, he could hear and see protesters closing in on their position.

He then observed a liquid substance splash around them, but it did not hit him. Botelho noted that as Wright left to assist other officers with dispersing the crowd, he and Evans attempted to handcuff the party on the ground.

In her report, Evans stated that as they brought him to the ground, the protester dropped his bullhorn. She moved the bullhorn away from them for safety. “I took control of his legs and feet to prevent him from kicking out or getting back up,” Evans wrote.

“I grabbed his feet and then placed my knees on either side of his calves and legs and sat my weight back on his heels … While we were gaining control of [him], we all were splashed with water by another individual throwing it from a cup at us. This individual was also placed under arrest by another group of officers.”

While Evans assumed control of his lower body, Botelho was positioned on the left side of the protester with his knee outside of the protester’s left torso.

According to the officers, the protester continued to attempt to resist arrest, so they guided his hands to the small of his back while “maintaining a rear wristlock” and placed flex cuffs on his wrists. Botelho and Evans then turned him on his right side and “conducted a pat-frisk of his outer garments.”

They then asked the protester if he was injured, to which he explained that his left knee may have been injured. Botelho’s report states that the protester stated he recently dislocated the knee a few days earlier while Evan’s report states that the protester “had a history of dislocating it.”

The protester was offered medical attention but refused. He was transported to the Waltham Police Station for booking via Waltham Police Prisoner Transport. During booking, he was asked again if he sustained any injuries. He notified that his left knee was still in pain, commenting that it may be dislocated, according to Botelho’s report. However, he once again refused medical attention.

Botelho captured a photo of the knee, which will be scanned into the case file.

On Nov. 16, the Justice interviewed the arrestee with the dislocated knee cap. “They held my leg in a way so that my knee cap in particular was held out of place,” the indivi-

dual, who is a member of the Revolutionary Student Organization, said. During the interview, they also asserted that the police put their hands in their pants. Unlike the knee injury, there is nothing in the police report that validates these claims.

Another RSO member stated during the interview that the “police do not keep us safe, and police should not be the method of safety that is advocated by the University.”

Santeusanio and Espada worked to diffuse demonstrators after they witnessed the protesters throw a cup of water at Botelho and Evans. According to Santeusanio’s second case report, “protesters within the crowd became unruly and started to advance on these officers … This observation caused me to fear that myself as well as other officers were at risk of being physically assaulted by unruly protesters. In response I drew my department issued expandable baton and brought in a two-hand horizontal carry position.”

As he issued verbal commands for protesters to disperse, the crowd began to retreat.

“My department issued baton was only used in a display fashion; at no point was it used as an impact device. Its purpose on display was to prevent and defend against what I perceived to be an assaultive crowd of protesters,” he wrote.

Similarly, Espada noticed a crowd gathering around Wright and Botelho as they brought the protester with the bullhorn to the ground. “Concerned for their safety, I ran past both officers positioning myself between them and the protesters,” he wrote. When he felt the water hitting the back of his head and left side of his face, he began to perceive the protesters as assaultive and became concerned for his safety. “I proceeded to draw my department issued expandable baton into an outside the arm carry … It should be noted that I at no point used my baton as an impact tool. It was only used for display purposes.”

Along with Santeusanio, he drove the crowd of protesters to Loop Road to disperse.

Simultaneously, Wright — who had left the protester with the bullhorn with Botelho and Evans in order to assist other police officers — joined Rushton to assist “with dispersing and attempting to de-escalate the crowd, who were now yelling, screaming, and videotaping, demanding the release of prisoners or just outright attempting to interfere with the few arrests that were taking place at the time.”

One of the non-student protesters had been asked to leave the campus several times, but continued to “harass officers” and “incite continued resistance from the police,” Wright wrote. The protester was placed into custody to get the crowd to de-escalate after attempting to ignore the police despite being told he was trespassing and being placed under arrest. Wright described what this protester was saying to have “no legitimate purpose other than to excite the crowd and further escalate tensions between the public and the police.”

Another individual, Sergeant Jeff Callahan of the Waltham Police Department, stated that someone was “observed throwing punches at those police officers” and was placed under arrest.

The final arrestee was a Brandeis student who stood “directly at the rear of the prisoner transport van where arrestees from the protest were being held.” Due to her refusal to obey requests to leave the premises or back away from the officers, “She was placed under arrest for failure to vacate the area.”

In Espada’s second case report, he wrote that he asked the female repeatedly to vacate the area. She was once again asked to leave

by Callahan and refused to leave, “creating an unnecessary risk to officers and prisoners.”

According to Santeusanio’s third report, he witnessed a white female with gray hair approach the officers and reach over their backs with a camera or recording device.

He saw that the officers were unaware of this and her proximity. “Concerned that this female may be attempting to interfere with these police officers performing their duties, I immediately went to their assistance and placed my left arm between the female and the officers. While holding my left arm out and using it as a guide, I then began to walk this female party backwards, away from the officers … During this effort to separate her from the officers, my left forearm came into contact with the female’s front, upper torso.”

He issued verbal commands for her to retreat and ordered her to leave.

Espada stated that her “actions created a hazardous or physically offensive condition by an act that served no legitimate purpose of the defendant’s; their actions had affected the public in an alarming way and recklessly created a risk of public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm.”

She was searched by Officer Catherine Jordan and placed into the back of Waltham Police Cruiser, separate from male arrestees.

Espada wrote that he later learned that the female “would not leave until she was arrested, which is not a legitimate or lawful purpose.”

— Justice Editor in Chief Isabel Roseth contributed reporting.

THE JUSTICE ● NEWS ● TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5 2023

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CINEMA: Another University partnership

RENOVATION: Community deliberation

CONTINUED FROM 1

CONTINUED FROM 1

nity,” Student Union president Noah Risley ’24 said in a Dec. 1 interview with the Justice.

“We as Brandeis students get to benefit a lot from the Waltham community, and this is a small way we can give back by giving our patronage to this independent theater.”

This partnership is the second the Student Union has formed this semester. In September, the Student Union and Kung Fu Tea on Moody St. began a partnership, giving Brandeis students 10% off when a student ID is shown. Similarly, any Brandeis student that presents their student ID will have two reduced priced options: either a $10 ticket or $20 for a ticket, a small popcorn, and a choice of candy.

“To make the whole movie theater experience much more financially and location wise more accessible for students is something that I'm really happy to be able to bring to the Brandeis community,” Lexi Lazar ’24, Student Union chief of staff, said during a Dec. 1 interview with the Justice. “We only started doing partnerships this year, though. So the

fact that we already have two within a semester, I think, is really exciting.”

Nasson and the Student Union hope that the partnership lasts for as long as possible.

“Hopefully for as long as Brandeis and the embassy are both around,” Lazar said. Nasson shared similar sentiments: “Forever. As long as they want it.”

Both Lazar and Risley are seniors this year, meaning they won't be there to ensure the partnership continues after their graduation.

They plan to connect future Student Union leaders and off-campus partners to continue the partnership after they both graduate.

“Something that's really important to me as president and Lexi, the chief of staff, and anyone involved in the Student Union this year, is building connections, either starting them, maintaining them or strengthening them,” said Risley. “We know that these are partnerships that will have really great longevity, which is really what matters,” Lazar added.

As the curtains rise on this new chapter for the Embassy Theater, Brandeis students can look forward to a new Waltham attraction to visit.

JACK YUANWEI CHENG/Justice file photo

PANDEMIC: After facing a business shortage from COVID-19, the theater was forced to close its doors.

CLASSES: A full day of teach-in lectures CONTINUED FROM 1

Vice President for Academic Affairs Carol Fierke; Vice President of the Rabb School of Continuing Education Carmen Aguilar; Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Wendy Cadge; Dean of the Brandeis International Business School Kathryn Graddy; and Interim Dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management Maria Madison began brainstorming topics of conversation through a shared Google document relating to the response to the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel and subsequent war. This teach-in intends to focus on matters relating to the University’s internal issues regarding discussion of the war rather than discussing the intricacies of the conflict itself, Shoulson explained. Some of these topics include “Evaluating News Reports for Credibility, Bias, Authority, etc.,” “Studying Judaism and Islam at Brandeis,” “Interfaith Dialogue in a Time of Crisis,” and “Social Media’s Role in Protest, Polarization, and Disinformation.”

Once ideas for lectures began to form, Dean Shoulson’s office began reaching out to professors and asking them to take part in panels. Among those invited to speak is Prof.

Daniel Breen (LGLS). Breen will be speaking on two panels: “Dog Whistles and Political Speech” and “Hate Speech and the First Amendment.”

“I think it's important, because the issues, including hate speech, which I'm going to be talking about, are issues that will be arising more and more as the years go on. And I just think it's really important to have tools at hand to know how to think about those issues,” Breen explained in a Dec.1 interview with the Justice.

On Nov. 29, Provost Fierke emailed the student body informing them that classes would be canceled in order to allow for the teach-in.

Fierke outlined three intended goals for the day: “To address the pervasive imbalance between the polarizing rhetoric of the current moment (on and off campus) and knowledge drawn from reliable sources that are grounded in evidence. To model engagement across difference, even vehement disagreement and, to provide opportunities for members of the Brandeis community to engage with one

another in authentic, respectful discussion.”

Alongside the list of goals were eight rules for the event. “[The rules] were drawn kind of eclectically from a number of different resources that we have that are out there for having these kinds of conversations,” Shoulson explained. Some of these sources included different articles and conversations with the campus Ombuds. One of the rules included no filming or photography during the panels as to not deter students and faculty from speaking freely due to fears of doxing on social media. However, if the panel discussions go particularly well, the University may restage some of them in the future.

While some students will choose to attend the panels, others have viewed the lack of classes as a day to catch up on missing work.

Shoulson acknowledged that he is aware students will want to use the day to catch up on missing work or prepare for upcoming finals but encouraged students to come to teachin events. “My main message would be [to] please participate. And not just attend, but also, I hope people will feel comfortable asking questions, raising issues in the spirit that we hope for these sessions to be led in,” Shoulson expressed. While these events may recur in the future, it is unlikely that they will cancel a day of classes in order to accommodate them again.

Breen shared a similar sentiment to Shoulson. “Treat this as that special event that it is,” he said. “This might be something you'll remember at a time of frayed nerves. At a time of real grave national and international difficulty, we set aside a day to talk about those issues, because we value your ability to respond to them and we value the way you feel about them and want to hear more about it.” Breen added that while hopefully students will remember most of what they learn in class, not every detail from every class will always be in their minds. In this stressful time, Breen hopes that this is an event that students will remember.

of adults with more chronic disabilities, so it moved to Waltham to have more land. As it grew, the school became more focused on experimentation. Walter E. Fernald, a superintendent from 1888-1924, was an authority on intellectual disability.

In a Nov. 28 interview with the Justice, Waltham resident Josh Kastorf, whose father worked at Fernald as assistant superintendent, said that his father did not remember the institution as a good place.

Kastorf’s father said that there was violence between staff, staff and residents, and residents themselves. “He remembered when he was assistant superintendent getting lots of calls about people being beat up,” Kastorf recalled.

“My understanding is that what was going on there was very ingrained. Up until the 1980s this was normal for people with disabilities … and that was standard,” Kastorf said.

The Arc of Massachusetts, an organization dedicated to advancing the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism, has shared the history of Fernald and former residents’ stories in order to prevent institutionalization from occurring again.

In a Dec. 2 interview with the Justice, Maura Sullivan, the senior director of government affairs and health policy at the Arc said, “The Arc thinks that a memorialization is needed — one that memorializes the true and painful history. It would be best to see the land used for walking trails and to have signage reckoning with the dark history of the site.”

In the town hall meeting, along with great disagreement over how Fernald should be renovated, residents spoke about how the issue is causing political tensions because of the city’s lack of open dialogue, rather than showing disdain for ignoring the site’s history.

Susan Link, a Waltham resident, advocated to keep seniors and veterans in mind when renovating Fernald to include more affordable housing and transportation services on Trapelo Road, where the institution is located. Many individuals spoke about the need for more input in the conversation around Fernald and some spoke about the positive aspects of Fernald’s origin.

Emily Szczynek once visited a friend at Fernald and described her experience at the meeting. She talked about one of the residents pulling her hair during meal time. “I was not traumatized at all. I am traumatized [by] the fact that people are not allowed to speak about what they want done in this city,” Szczynek said. “There is no cohesion [and] no transparency … I am just really very terribly upset about what’s happening.

I feel like we are just being bulldozed.”

Waltham resident Patrice McDonald has lived near Fernald her whole life, emphasizing that there is more to the institution’s history than its worst. “I know horrible things happened at Fernald but I also know a lot of good things happened at Fernald. I was a nurse at Waltham hospital [and] the patients would come from [Fernald] and I worked in the Intensive Care Unit and they would be in really good condition,” she said.

A CBS article includes testimony from Fred Boyce, who was taken to Fernald at the age of eight after his mother died, reported that the school labeled him as a “moron” even though his tests showed him having normal intelligence levels. Mental, physical, and sexual abuse was ingrained in the school’s practices. The school did not offer formal, adequate education, which left Fernald’s alumni with even fewer job prospects

and a “feeble-minded” label in the state’s eyes. Fernald also included Ward 22, a detention section for children who tried to run away from the institution. Boyce reported that he was placed in solitary confinement and stripped naked in the detention section.

Boyce added that Fernald deprived him of educational opportunities and affection growing up. Another Fernald alum, Joe Almeida, said that he did not see loving relationships as a child within the institution and that it has made it difficult for him to form loving relationships as an adult.

In the 1950s and 1960s, with the support of Quaker Oats and scientists working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fernald conducted nutrition studies using radioactive milk and oatmeal. Smithsonian Magazine reports that Robert Harris, an MIT professor of nutrition, led three experiments that involved 74 Fernald boys from ages 10 to 17. The milk and oatmeal were each laced with radioactive iron and calcium while scientists directly injected the boys with radioactive calcium in a different experiment. The experiments violated the Nuremberg Code, established after World War II, because the scientists did not have informed consent to carry out the experiments, according to state attorney David White-Lief.

In the 1970s, after the class action lawsuit, Ricci v. Okin, abusive conditions at Fernald began to change. State institutions meant to take care of people with developmental disabilities invoked controversy at the time because people had different beliefs about the role that Fernald took.

Fernald had a direct role in the debate about the care of people in state institutions as opposed to private care institutions. The institutional movement in Massachusetts began dismantling in the 1980s by closing similar mental institutions with abusive circumstances, but Fernald stayed open until 2014.

Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy bought the 196-acre land for $3.7 million following Fernald’s official closing after a legal battle with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, according to the town hall.

The Fernald Reuse Committee, established in 2004 and chaired by McCarthy, has come up with plans to renovate Fernald multiple times since it closed. However, most of the planning has occurred behind closed doors.

Instead, the committee’s note from Mayor McCarthy emphasizes that “local community planning is imperative” because residents currently cannot access Trapelo Road to reach their homes.

An outline of Waltham’s plans from August 2022 shows the city’s intention to renovate the site by building more housing, a driving range, an electric train, and other recreational activities for children and families to enjoy. In the latest development, McCarthy requested a $9.5 million loan to support the undertaking.

“The institutions started closing and Fernald was one of the last to close. It played a lead role in closing institutions but it survived the longest, because there were people very invested in having their family members there,” Kastorf told the Justice.

Institutionalization is a dark part of Waltham’s history, and politically active members and the disability community are passionate about having a memorial included in the renovation to honor the people who suffered through Fernald’s abuse, bias, and neglect.

— Justice Editor Sophia De Lisi contributed to the reporting for this article.

Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

INSTITUTION: The Fernald Development Center closed in 2014, leaving a complex past behind.

features

6 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023 ● FEATURES ● THE JUSTICE

just

VERBATIM | TERRY PRATCHETT

Multiple exclamation marks are a sure sign of a diseased mind.

ON THIS DAY…

FUN FACT

Rapper Jay-Z was born in 1970.

There’s an ant species unique to New York City called ManhattAnts.

SafeBAE: Breaking barriers one school at a time The Justice spoke with Abbie Brier ’24, a member of the board of directors of the organization SafeBAE.

By RIA ESCAMILLA-GIL JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Content warning: topics around sexual violence and death are mentioned in this article.

For the community members of the non-profit organization Safe Before Anyone Else, prevention of sexual violence through education and advocacy are crucial to improving the lives of youth today. Founded in 2015 by a group of sexual-assault survivors, SafeBAE plays a pivotal role in ensuring that youth survivors throughout the nation are informed about their rights and the resources available to them. Daisy Coleman, a co-founder of the organization who sadly passed away in 2020, continues to be remembered through the online awareness tag #ForDaisy and the Daisy Coleman Peer Educator Program. The organization strives to create educational resources and effectively spread awareness about sexual violence to middle and high schools throughout America.

In the National School Sexual Violence Climate Survey conducted by the organization in 2023, one out of every three students agreed that school staff did not actually help assault victims. With these statistics in mind, members of SafeBAE work together to ensure that students throughout the nation are educated about topics such as consent and their Title IX rights, and that youth feel empowered in their work towards the organization’s mission.

Abbie Brier ’24, who majors in Health: Science, Society, and Policy as well as a minor in business, works

Photo courtesy of ABBIE BRIER

as a member of the SafeBAE’s board of directors. In a Nov. 30 interview with the Justice, Brier talked about her role with the organization and the impact that SafeBAE has on schools across the country. At the age of 15, Brier first heard about the organization through a friend’s father, who had recommended it to her.

By the time she was 16 Brier, along with seven other students, led an event with over 700 attendees which marked the beginning of her lifetime connection with the organization.

As part of the board of directors, Brier is in charge of the programming for schools throughout the Rhode Island district. Brier partakes in the process of decision making for the organization, a unique aspect of the non-profit: SafeBAE is completely student-led and works with students in high schools and colleges to train them in peer advocacy by hosting events in their area. Brier enjoys being able to take on a leadership role and still be able to physically visit the schools that she works with, making valuable connections with students and leaving a positive impact. When asked if there should be a SafeBAE chapter at Brandeis she said, “I definitely think there should be one.” She described her project in one of her classes titled “Provocative Art” taught by Prof. William Chalmus (CAST/ THA), in which she raised awareness about sexual violence in hopes of inspiring other students to also be advocates in their communities.

Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

A teal ribbon represents sexual assault awareness.

Photo courtesy of ABBIE BRIER

PRESENTATION: Abbie Brier ’24 (right) and Elye Robinovits ’23 (left) present for SafeBAE at a school in Lawrence, MA.

Design: ANNA MARTIN/the Justice

SafeBAE chapters create unique communities and safe spaces for students who are sexual violence survivors, as well as their allies. They work to ensure that proper action is taken within schools by advocating for students and supporting them should they choose to report their assault. Having worked with SafeBAE for over seven years, Brier has learned the importance of creating safe havens for victims of sexual violence and educational spaces that teach students to stand up for themselves as well as others in their communities.

Brier also briefly discussed an accountability initiative by the organization, in which identified perpetrators are taught about the severity of their actions and understand the harm behind sexual violence. The organization works hard to combat sexual violence through a variety of approaches and initiatives aiming to break the stigma for survivors, educate the youth, and provide a platform for training in peer education.

Through interactions stemming from SafeBAE, Brier has come across adults who never had an organization like SafeBAE in their lives. “I do not not know how I would have done this without the organization,” Brier stated. She said that SafeBAE allowed her to share her story with others in an empowering context.

This is the vision Daisy Coleman had in mind when co-founding SafeBAE: An organization that could turn feelings like shame, fear, and disorientation into power, strength, and advocacy.

With chapters in 47 states, SafeBAE has garnered a widespread presence in school communities by advocating for preventative education and giving those who need it the opportunity to heal and feel empowered. With partner organizations such as Know Your IX and Survivor Love Letter, SafeBAE is continuing to pursue its goal of spreading its mission to all schools nationwide. Members of the organization hope to expand later on to all 50 states as well as countries outside the United States — awareness and education should not stop at any border.

College students looking to participate in the organization can visit SafeBAE’s website and learn more about the different ways that they can contribute to their community and make a difference in the world around them. The role of advocating for others and speaking up for oneself is not a simple one, but with the support network of organizations like SafeBAE, more college and university students can feel confident in their voices.

THE JUSTICE ● FEATURES ● TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023 7

The guardian of the North Cut

This finals season, we’re all looking for shortcuts to get to where we want to be. The Justice spoke to a steward of one of them.

By CAYENN LANDAU JUSTICE EDITOR

The desire path cutting across the front lawn at the end of Villa Street -– Richard’s lawn — isn’t obvious until you’re actually walking along it, at which point you can see the divot in the grass at your feet. It marks the finish line of the steep forested hill above Nipper Maher Park that dozens of Brandeis students trek up every day to get to class. The route, colloquially known as the North Cut, is a way for Brandeis students walking to school from Waltham to get to classes located at or above the Rabb Steps while avoiding trekking up the entirety of campus from the main entrance.

“Getting to use the North Cut is a lifesaver for being able to get to class,” said Sheindl Spitzer-Tilchin ’23 in a Dec. 3 text correspondence. “It’s kind of a long haul to get to school if you live near the Walgreens or the 99 area [South Street area]. It’s a privilege, especially if you’re in a hurry.”

When I think about shortcuts, I think about the Donner Party, which for some reason merited an entire monthlong unit of my fifth-grade education and was taught with the kind of weight given to World War II rather than that of a hyper-specific, cannibalistic California tragedy in 1846 — which it was. Maybe it’s because of the Donner Party that I’m generally skeptical of shortcuts; they feel inherently like a bad idea — a risk that ends with undesired consequences. I never took the North Cut until this year, when my roommate convinced me to do it, to wild success. Within ten minutes of leaving the house, I’m in Richard’s yard, as opposed to the twenty it takes to walk down South Street to the main entrance of campus.

Richard didn’t want to give his last name for this piece for privacy reasons but was so enigmatic that it didn’t feel like it mattered — Cher is Cher, Richard is Richard.

He’s 65, a retired construction worker with a penchant for guitars and collecting rainwater, and has lived in Waltham his entire life. He loves tea, a personal favorite cup consists of a mix of green and mint, with a spoon or two of honey. During our hour-long Dec. 1 interview at his kitchen table, four people trudged across his lawn. He didn’t bat an eye. “It’s like watching TV, watching them walk by,” he said.

Richard’s house — or “bachelor pad,” as he called it — is warm and lived-in, with lawn chairs scattered around the front and a flag waving gently by his front door. He grew up in it, and fondly remembered moving through the woods as a kid to press his face against the fence on the upper section of campus to watch Brandeis students.

“You’d see the Beatniks,” he said of the student population in the 60s. “It was a certain time. They were a little counterculture. But why does it have to be counterculture if it’s their culture? Why can’t we just be who we are?”

Decades later, Richard still has an affinity for students.

“I got no bad vibes about it,” he said, pointing out the window over his sink in the direction of the school. “Brandeis isn’t perfect. In any institute or any institution, you can’t please everybody all the time. But I think we need to embrace them [students and the school]. It was here before and it’s going to be here long after I’m gone.”

In the past, Richard has gravitated towards shortcuts: He skipped college because he wanted to jump into a well-paying salary. “Once that fiddle starts playing, you have to dance,” he said. He considered being a cook at one point and worked in the restaurant business in Cape Cod, but eventually realized it wasn’t for him: “You have to be insane to become a chef. You have to be a little bit cuckoo.”

Richard’s career in construction was long and tedious, and he said that his 60-hour work weeks partially rendered him a “black sheep” in his family. Notably, in 1988, he helped to renovate Fenway Park, working seven days a week and 12 hours a day for three months straight. “One thing about construction is it’s almost like being in the military,” he said. “Not everyone can just walk on. If you take that route, you gotta be ready for it. You’re a servant, not a citizen.”

I asked him about his takes on Waltham politics, particularly in regard to issues that affect students — housing, for example, and rising rents. “Everyone’s a politician,” he said. “You wake up in the morning and you open your eyes and your cat is looking at you. Politics! It’s started already.” To my knowledge, Richard does not have a cat.

As a retiree, Richard takes care of everything that has

to do with plumbing and maintenance himself. But Richard’s upkeep goes beyond his own house. He frequently thinks about the people who pass through his yard to or from the park below.

“There were a couple of trees that were leaned over precariously,” he described of the forested way down from his lawn to Nipper Maher Park. “It’s like spaghetti, the longer you let it wait, the more tangled up it gets. It was a bit of an obstacle course; there were obstructions to the trail. I interviewed a few people going by who said it wasn’t really a part of the workout, so I took care of it …

You gotta grab a few shortcuts. You only get certain legs up in life.”

Decades ago, Richard saved the life of a football player named Crunch, who ended up pinned between an empty car and the outside of a building. Richard got in the car and reversed it to get it off. Later, he saved another life, which got him a short feature in New England Carpenter Magazine in 2014. The article details how Richard pulled a live wire — grabbing the shielded section — out of a man’s hands as he was being electrocuted on a construction site, saving his life. “We don’t like to think about how dangerous our work can be,” he’s quoted as saying.

I asked him if he’d saved any more lives than Crunch’s and the worker’s. He smiled. “That’s just the way it goes,” he said mildly, avoiding the question.

There are a million differences between Donner Pass and the North Cut, but an important one might be that the Donner Party was missing a steward — and the North Cut has one. “I’m no angel,” Richard kept repeating emphatically throughout our interview, in between offering me more honey for my tea. But whether he is or isn’t doesn’t matter: His care for the trail and the people who walk through it is clear. It’s lovely to know that there’s someone else thinking about the path and what we — dozens of students — experience when we walk it.

FORESTED HILL: The North Cut sits atop a steep hill facing Richard’s house.

A LIFELONG HOME: Richard has lived in his Waltham home all his life.

PEOPLE-WATCHING: Richard is used to seeing students pass through his lawn.

GUARDIAN: Richard watches over students who access campus through the North Cut.

Photos: CAYENN LANDAU/the Justice. Design: ANNA MARTIN/The Justice

8 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023 ● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE

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Brandeis University

Established 1949

Isabel Roseth, Editor in Chief Smiley Huynh, Managing Editor Leah Breakstone, Lauryn Williams, Deputy Editors Owen Chan, Dalya Koller, Cayenn Landau, Associate Editors Sophia De Lisi, Anika Jain, News Editors Grace Doh, Features Editor Tibria Brown, Forum Editor Rani Balakrishna, Sports Editor Mina Rowland, Arts & Culture Editor Eliza Bier, Ceci Xilei Chen, Photography Editors Julia Hardy, Jenna Lewis, Madison Sirois, Copy Editors Anna Martin, Layout Editor Elizabeth Liu, Ads Editor Zachary Goldstein, Eden Osiason, Online Editors

EDITORIALS

ELIZA BIER/the Justice

Semester in review: There is still more to do As we approach the final weeks of the fall 2023 semester, we as a board understand that it has been a stressful time for students with everything going on.

On Nov. 22, Brandeis announced that on Tuesday, Dec. 5, classes will be canceled and a day-long teach-in session will be held. This cancellation of classes affects a large number of class schedules with professors canceling class or having to adjust the originally planned in-class final exams at the last minute, students feel overwhelmed and frustrated by the poorly timed event. This change of classes comes at an already stressful time, as students try to wrap up final projects, cram for exams, and simply make it through the last days of the semester.

This board calls for more effective communication from the administration since there has been little information shared after the email sent on Nov. 22, no details of the event until now, and no coordination for classes, putting high pressure on both professors and students.

For the next semester, rather than a “new year, new me” attitude, the administration needs to fix lingering issues around scheduling, communication between faculty and administrators, and event planning that consults all stakeholders. While the teach-in aims to bring everyone together to improve the current sta-

tus, a single day of discussion cannot transform all the problems across campus at this time.

The administration should provide more ways and events to relieve students who are suffering at this time.

As this semester comes to an end and the spring semester arrives, there are still issues this board has pointed out throughout the fall that need to be addressed on campus. Among these issues are the lingering dissatisfaction with changes to the dining plan, undue stress caused by the midterm schedule, lack of communication and confusion with club funding, and a failure to adequately supply housing for students. This board hopes to see continued discussion from the school in the coming year to start moving towards solutions.

This board recognizes that this time in the semester is difficult for everyone, but current events are making it especially trying. We call on students to keep the discussion going when it comes to advocating for improvements and actions from the University, but to also take care of themselves.

When it comes to studying for finals, find ways to take breaks: Go for a walk, get a meal with friends, or attend some of the university’s “Stressbuster” events. Finish this semester and finals period strong.

Good luck and goodbye to our ’23 midyear graduates!

Now that the fall semester is coming to an end, a smaller, but just as important, portion of senior students will be graduating.

However, this board questions why the University, given the existence of the midyear program, does not provide midyear students — and any other fall graduates — with a commencement of their own.

Events are held throughout the year for midyear students, but when it is their time to move on from Brandeis, no event is held to send them off.

Additionally, students graduate at the end of the fall semester for a variety of reasons, and without a commencement ceremony, they walk at the spring commencement either before or after their last semester.

Either way, this dampens part of their celebration, as it is either preempted or delayed when they are supposed to be able to celebrate their achievements.

We understand that commencement ceremonies require a lot of time and planning, but there should be some type of option for a smaller celebration for these graduates.

Saying so long to our graduating editors is always a bittersweet moment. After busy weeks and countless late nights together, we are filled with both pride and hope for what they will accomplish next.

Our soon-to-be graduate remained steadfastly dedicated to the Justice, and Brandeis is all the better for her contribution to journalism. Please join us in recognizing the Justice editor graduating this fall as a 2023 midyear: Cayenn Landau.

Cayenn has graced the Justice with her incredible reporting, writing, and dedication to journalism — sometimes putting her own safety at risk.

Cayenn, a long time staff writer who started in the spring of 2022, became the Features editor at the very end of the fall 2022 semester.

She has had an immeasurable impact on the section with her amazing coverage. Her reporting does not discriminate — she covers local stories, such as the local advocacy for the Waltham skatepark and the controversy over the Rhino Lounge, to her work on more serious issues like the growing number of Nazis in the New England region.

Even then, she still kept it fun with stories such as the newly shut down classic 2010’s website Omegle. She exemplifies the good that journalism can do by humanizing people and shining a light on important and interesting stories.

In addition to her work, Cayenn is an amazing presence in the office and will be sorely missed. Her passion and care for not only Features but also every editor in the office is apparent with every interaction. She will be dearly missed, and we all wish her luck in her endeavors after Brandeis.

ANNA MARTIN/the Justice

SMILEY HUYNH/the Justice

GIANNA MORALES/the Justice

OWEN CHAN/the Justice

OWEN CHAN/the Justice

OWEN CHAN/the Justice

CECI XILEI CHEN/the Justice

ELIZA BIER/the Justice

CECI XILEI CHEN/the Justice

Photo courtesy of BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY

OWEN CHAN/the Justice

JUNJIE MA/the Justice

OWEN CHAN/ the Justice

THE JUSTICE ● FORUM ● TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023 9

The devil’s advocate: Debating the Hyde and Helms Amendments

By JACK GRANAHAN and STEPHEN GAUGHAN JUSTICE STAFF WRITERS

Context: In 1973, following the landmark Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade — since overturned — which recognized a constitutional right to an abortion, President Nixon signed into law the Helms Amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which bars the use of federal funding for abortions overseas for “family planning.”

The annual appropriation for what is now the Department of Health and Human Services passed four years later bore the first appearance of the Hyde Amendment, which now prohibits the use of federal funding for abortions excluding cases involving rape, incest, or those that are threatening to the life of the mother.

In this column, we combine the amendments in question and debate the use of federal funding for abortions in the U.S. and abroad. In recent years, the position of Democratic Party leadership has shifted against both amendments.

While both Gaughan and Granahan personally oppose the Hyde and Helms Amendments, in the spirit of critical thought and democratic political

engagement, Gaughan will argue against his own position and in favor of the amendments invoking the full nature of the “devil’s advocate” to provide a thorough and multisided overview of the issue.

Granahan will argue his own views against the amendments.

For (Gaughan): With its ruling in Roe, the U.S. Supreme Court made what would, in the long run, be among its most controversial decisions, matched in such stature by the court’s decision to overturn the same in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization forty-nine years later. For nearly five decades, the abortion debate surged among politicians, lawyers, and Americans of all walks of life, continually rearing its head before both Congress and the courts. With Roe now gone, the debate appears fiercer than ever before.

In considering issues such as federal funding for abortions and a reversal of the Hyde and Helms Amendments, we must realize that this discussion extends beyond just being pro-life or pro-choice. Instead, it is a debate over the absurd suggestion that fierce opponents of abortion should not merely be overridden in a domestic policy sense, but entirely subverted in the expenditure of both their own financial resources and those of their country.

To many of them, this issue represents an unbreakable line in the sand for public policy, creating a tense climate of deliberation even before we cross beyond the topic of legality itself. Indeed, the amendments which we debate here have long been supported by leaders in both parties until as recently as 2016.

The matter of federal abortion funding may be grounded in the same basis as a broader debate: Is it better to deprive women of bodily autonomy or to devalue the prospective life of the fetus/unborn child? But even this level of depth is unnecessary.

As a democratic society, respectful debate and disagreement are fundamental to our ability to persist as a free nation. That means understanding and accepting our unbridgeable differences, even when we fight for our own principles of justice.

It would be entirely within this tradition for Americans — both pro-choice and pro-life — to work to advance their own conceptions of the

rights and restrictions that ought to be adhered to in our society with regard to the legality of abortion.

But to suggest that all Americans, regardless of their views on the matter, should see their hardearned taxes funneled to this highly controversial procedure at home or abroad, regardless of their religious or philosophical convictions, would be entirely subversive of this principle.

Furthermore, to spill this debate into international waters would extend domestic divisions to the global scene by enabling the use of the tax dollars of pro-life Americans for abortions abroad.

To this effect, a repeal of the Helms Amendment would mean a visceral rebuke of bipartisan front Democrats like Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, as well as Republicans like Senator Arthur Vandenberg (R-MI), who worked carefully to construct our liberal world order. As Senator Vandenberg, a reliable supporter of a diplomatically integrated global community, wisely asserted, “politics stops at the water’s edge.” In challenging the Helms Amendment, Democrats threaten an already weakened, endangered consensus on international cooperation and collective security, so carefully constructed in the aftermath of the Second World War. They therefore risk jeopardizing both American and democratic aspirations by repelling Republican interest in bipartisan cooperation in international affairs.

If we are to engage truly and fully with a discussion of rights and liberties in the United States, we must consider the rights of citizens to help determine where their wealth is utilized.

As much as one may argue the right of bodily autonomy, another may argue the role of religious liberty in the conduct of the fruits of their labor.

Thus, in order to protect the rights of all Americans, tax dollars must remain withheld from such divisive procedures when not vital, both at home and abroad.

Against (Granahan): On September 25, 1977, 27-year-old Rosie Jimenez of McAllen, Texas was forced to choose between her education and her financial autonomy.

In attempting to give up neither, she was forced to give up both. Jimenez, an aspiring special education teacher, had become pregnant and feared that she would not be able to financially support a child while attending college.

Jimenez had $700 to her name but she planned to spend this money on her tuition, leaving her unable to afford a safe abortion. Thus, she opted to have an unlicensed midwife induce a miscarriage, from which she contracted a bacterial infection that spread to her heart, leading to her death a week later.

Had she become pregnant two months earlier, Rosie Jimenez would not have met this fate.

This is because her decision to terminate her pregnancy came shortly after the enactment of the Hyde Amendment.

As she was a Medicaid recipient, Jimenez’s abortion would have been one of the approximately 300,000 a year subsidized by the program prior to the Hyde Amendment’s passage.

Instead, she became one of the over one million American women who has lost abortion access due to economic constraints since the Hyde Amendment was first implemented.

It is an unavoidable truth that legal barriers to abortion beget illegal and unsafe abortions. Less than a decade prior to the Roe decision, deaths due to illegal abortions constituted almost one in five pregnancy-related deaths by 1965.

Although the Hyde Amendment — like the Helms Amendment — does not put explicit legal restrictions on the practice of abortion, its impact is not much different from that of the abortion bans of the pre- and post-Roe eras.

An estimated 40% of women who receive abortions do so as a result of financial constraints,

while almost half live below the federal poverty line.

By preventing Medicaid funding for abortion, the Hyde Amendment therefore creates a nearimpenetrable barrier to abortion for low-income individuals, who most often seek abortions.

A frequent argument posed in favor of the Hyde and Helms Amendments holds that those with a moral objection to abortion should be able to know that their tax dollars will not be used to fund a procedure they disagree with.

Indeed, I recognize the legitimate moral quandary that accompanies the abortion debate.

That being said, the Hyde and Helms Amendments have created an even larger tax burden than those that they purportedly alleviate.

In Michigan, as many as 5,800 excess births are estimated to have occurred as a result of financial barriers imposed by the Hyde Amendment.

Medicaid-covered costs associated with these births have collectively cost taxpayers over $63 million, compared to the $7 million that such a number of abortions would have most likely cost.

This is only in one state and does not even include costs associated with childcare or hospitalization in the event of potential pregnancy complications or unsafe abortions.

Additionally, this number does not even come close to the greatest cost of abortion funding restrictions: the loss of life that often accompanies pregnancy complications and unsafe abortions.

The Hyde and Helms Amendments may be well-intentioned, in that they absolve opponents of abortion of the guilt of funding a practice they find immoral.

However, if these restrictions continue to exist, then the tax revenue of abortion opponents, as well as plenty more Americans, will instead be used to bury fellow citizens like Rosie Jimenez.

ANNA MARTIN/the Justice

Two state solution: Using history to explore common ground for peace

By EDEN OSIASON JUSTICE EDITOR

Let me begin by stating that I am aware my perspective is idealistic. Solutions are not black and white and are certainly not as simple as I may make them sound. As a Jewish student, I often feel as though I am expected to either be ardently proIsrael and blindly defend all of their actions or be on the other end of the spectrum and condemn the country’s existence altogether.

However, I fall in the middle, which has somehow made me feel even more isolated during this conflict.

The actions of Oct. 7 were the result of Hamas, a defined terrorist organization. Hamas is the current government in the Gaza Strip and has been since 2007, making Gaza the target of many war actions. However, just as Israelis would not wish to be defined by the actions of oppressors, Palestinians should also not be generalized in supporting Hamas as a reason for Israeli occupation and further brutality. Israel’s establishment was meant to create a home for Jewish people who have escaped persecution and been victims of genocide themselves. However, a history of war should not be used as an excuse for further violence.

I feel this level of hypocrisy exists from Palestinians as well. After being forced into lands where they feel controlled by the Israeli Defence Force and pushed out of a country they deemed as theirs, it is valid for Palestinians to be upset and want

their home back. But the solution to being pushed out of their homes should not be to push Israelis out of theirs. It seems as though both sides have entered into a competition of victimization rather than finding commonality in their struggles and using this to promote peace and understanding.

Much of the past month on campus has followed suit with heated back-and-forth actions by pro-Israel students and Students for Justice in Palestine where the administration has failed to adequately mediate the conversation between the two sides.

Instead, I have found the Brandeis administration to exacerbate the debate on campus by blatantly taking sides and making decisions rooted in racism and bias.

When the vigil for Palestinian civilians by SJP was canceled, it became obvious whose mourning was deemed acceptable by the administration — this was illustrated in their decision to decharter SJP — making healthy conversation on campus even more unlikely.

A two-state solution is not a new idea and is a concept that has been attempted on multiple occasions. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, both Jews and Arabs laid claim to the land now known as Israel. When negotiations for divisions of this land were rejected by the Arab government, Israel was established in 1948. Later during the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank, and other Arab territories.

Two decades later, the First Intifada took place when Palestinians began uprising in protest to living under Israeli rule, eventually leading to

the Oslo Accords in 1993 between the newly established Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government. Here, a compromise and division of land to the pre-1967 borders was agreed upon, but came to a halt when Hamas took the place of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. After this time, any proposals from either side relating to a division of land were rejected by either party. While there are many battles and negotiations left out in this brief history, this simplified timeline demonstrates the longstanding struggle for compromise. However, the lack of success in the past has not made this any less of an ideal goal in my opinion.

When it comes to this current conflict, it is important to remember Hamas is a group whose goal is not to liberate Palestinians. They have purposely put weapons and operations bases under hospitals and schools, increasing the likelihood of civilian casualties.

This does not mean Israel should act without care for these civilians either, but it makes war actions less black and white as I feel the media makes it seem. Too often, war is blamed on one side rather than acknowledging the wrongdoings on both ends. Israel should not be using terrorist actions as an excuse to oppress another marginalized community. They should take note from their own history to prioritize peace and the lives of civilians.

Palestinians, too, should acknowledge how actions from Hamas have hurt their struggle for freedom and understand the actions of Israel are aimed at protecting their standing and land ownership.

The aim of closing off the Gaza Strip is meant

to weaken Hamas and protect Israel, but it does have the side effect of hurting civilians in Gaza.

Hamas as a group aims to commit acts of genocide and has admitted that they aim for Jewish extinction. Hamas official Fathi Hamad has even stated “We must attack every Jew on planet Earth — we must slaughter and kill them, with Allah’s help.”

However, the goal of many Palestinians is simply peace and safety, and these should not be conflated with one another. In fact, 62% of Palestinians in Gaza were against Hamas breaking the ceasefire with Israel, and 50% believed Hamas should accept a two-state solution based on the borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. I believe Israel also has a goal for peace. There are without a doubt some Jewish people with racist motives, as there are in almost every community. However, the thoughts of the minority should not be focused on and generalized; this is a major reason preventing these groups from finding peace.

It is true that a two-state solution may not be feasible, especially at this point in time. But if both sides could use their history of persecution as a building block for understanding, it could be the first step in finding peace. As far as conflict on the Brandeis campus is concerned, I hope students also begin to empathize with each other’s struggles and realize no side in this conflict has done everything appropriately. This is an extremely difficult situation with no clear answer, but rather than blaming each other, acknowledging the hurt on both sides may be the first step to promoting healthy conversation.

The opinions expressed on this page are those of each article’s respective author and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Justice.

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The Justice welcomes letters to the editor responding to published material. Please submit letters through our Web site at www.thejustice.org.

Anonymous submissions cannot be accepted.

Letters should not exceed 300 words, and may be edited for space, style, grammar, spelling, libel and clarity, and must relate to material published in the Justice. Letters from off-campus sources should include location. The Justice does not print letters to the editor and op-ed submissions that have been submitted to other publications. Op-ed submissions of general interest to the University community­— that do not respond explicitly to articles printed in the Justice — are also welcome and should be limited to 800 words. All submissions are due Friday at noon.

Fine Print

The opinions stated in the editorial(s) under the masthead on the opposing page represent the opinion of a majority of the voting members of the editorial board; all other articles, columns, comics and advertisements do not necessarily.

The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. Operated, written, produced and published entirely by students, the Justice includes news, features, arts, opinion and sports articles of interest to approximately 3,600 undergraduates, 2,000 graduate students, 565 faculty and 1,300 administrative staff.

The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods.

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The Staff For information on joining the Justice, write to editor@ thejustice.org.

Editorial Assistants

Forum: Jack Granahan*, Stephen Gaughan*, Mirabell

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Production Assistants

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Photography: Natalie Bracken, Owen Chan*, Smiley Huynh*, Jonas Kaplin, Gianna Morales, Daniel Oren Copy: Wenli Cai, Brynn Domsky, Sydney Duncan, Alyssa Golden, Ava Privratsky, Sara Samuel, Zoe Zachary, Daniela Zavlun*, Nataniela Zavlun* Layout: Emily Hou, Hedy Yang Ads: Sophia Stewart Online: Sabrina Waddell

10 THE JUSTICE ● SPORTS ● TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023

Men’s Basketball beats Colby College Colby College fell to Brandeis Men’s Basketball during the 2023 UAA Challenge with a score of 77-57.

Photos: DANIEL OREN/the Justice. Design: ANNA MARTIN/the Justice.

THE JUSTICE ● SPORTS ● TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2023

LIONS HOST ANOTHER TURKEY GAME

JUDGES BY THE NUMBERS MEN’S BASKETBALL UAA STANDINGS Case WashU Emory NYU Carnegie Chicago JUDGES Rochester

TEAM STATS

UAA Conf. Overall W L D W L D Pct. 0 0 0 6 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 7 1 0 .875 0 0 0 6 1 0 .857 0 0 0 6 1 0 .857 0 0 0 7 2 0 .778 0 0 0 6 2 0 .750 0 0 0 5 2 0 .714 0 0 0 4 3 0 .571

Total Points Sam Adusei ’24 leads the team with 81 total points.

Player PTS Sam Adusei 81 Quron Zene 66 Jake Bender 62 Gilbert Otoo 58 Total Rebounds Aedan Using ’24 leads the team with 42 total rebounds Player Aedan Using Jake Bender Ryan Power Sam Adusei

UPCOMING GAMES:

Thursday vs Lasell University Saturday at Salem State University Friday, Dec. 29 vs. Middlebury College

REB 42 28 28 24

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL UAA STANDINGS UAA Conf.

W L D JUDGES 0 0 0 Carnegie 0 0 0 Case 0 0 0 Chicago 0 0 0 Emory 0 0 0 NYU 0 0 0 Rochester 0 0 0 WashU 0 0 0

Overall W L D Pct. 2 6 0 .250 6 2 0 .750 5 3 0 .625 7 1 0 .875 7 1 0 .875 6 0 0 1.000 3 3 0 .500 3 4 0 .429

Today at Salem State University Thursday vs. Bridgewater State University Tuesday, Jan. 2 vs. Clark University Saturday, Jan. 6 at New York University

Total Points

Katherine Vaughan ’26 leads the team with 59 total points.

Player Katherine Vaughan Caitlin Gresko Brooke Reed Lulu Ohm

PTS 51 54 51 46

Total Rebounds Brooke Reed ’26 leads the team with 68 total rebounds.

Player REB Brooke Reed 68 Molly James 46 Katherine Vaughan 46 Caitlin Gresko 40

SWIM AND DIVE Results from Gompei Invitational at WPI on Dec. 1-3.

The Judges finished in 8th place with 2585.5 pts.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

1,650-yard freestyle TOP PERFORMANCE OF THE MEET Samuel Bundy '26 had the top performance of the meet for the Judges with a time of 16:35.77. He took 11th in the mile with a time of 17:03.82.

100-yard Backstroke NEW SCHOOL RECORD Monica Iizuka '24 broke her own school record with a time of 57.70 seconds, and won the 50-yard Backstroke.

UPCOMING MEETS:

Jan. 17 vs. Stonehill College Jan. 20 vs. Bridgewater State University

NFL: Thanksgiving games

mercies given” and had been overshadowed by this popular sporting event.

The Thanksgiving games that we watch today are a staple of the NFL, an organization that wasn’t founded until 1920. When the NFL was founded, it struggled to gain popularity. Football was seen as something for school communities, and people were not keen to begin following another circuit of teams. In order to try and gain popularity as an organization, the NFL decided to join in on the tradition of these holiday games. The first NFL-sponsored Thanksgiving football game took place 14 years after its founding in 1934. This game was hosted by the Detroit Lions, playing against the Chicago Bears, who were the world champions at the time.

1933 was the second year in a row that the Bears had won an NFL title.

The Lions have played a Thanksgiving game every year since, except for the years 1939-1944, as the games were paused during World War II. Football traditions were also upset by “Franksgiving,” referring to President Franklin D. Roosevelt shifting the Thanksgiving holiday one week earlier at the end of the Great Depression. His aim was to extend the holiday season for both economic purposes and the morale of the citizens. This angered many coaches who had scheduled games for Nov. 30,

the day that was set to be Thanksgiving, and suddenly the crowds became just a regular crowd instead of the holiday one. The Lions continued to host the annual NFL football game, a team that had come a long way from their three initial seasons as the Portland Spartans, representing a small town in Ohio.

While football was mildly popular, baseball was still the most popular sport in the United States by far. The shift to football began in the 1960s, right around the time when the Dallas Cowboys began to host their annual Thanksgiving game, starting in 1966.

As a new team, they were looking to create a fanbase, and the addition of another Thanksgiving game was a very effective way to accomplish this. They were considered to be the most popular team in the league by 1970, potentially proving the link between this holiday tradition and popularity.

Other teams eventually became frustrated with the Lions and Cowboys holding all of the Thanksgiving fame, so the NFL introduced a third game to the holiday lineup. This one is hosted by a rotating roster of teams, introducing variety into a day with a set meal and a set television station. As of now, every team that is a part of the NFL has played a game on Thanksgiving except

for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Thanksgiving football is more popular than ever, with three spectacular games taking place last week, each paired with a halftime show. The Lions played the Green Bay Packers, losing with a score of 22-29. The halftime performer at this game was rapper Jack Harlow. The Cowboys played the Washington Commanders, winning with a score of 45-10. Their halftime performance featured country superstar Dolly Parton, who was dressed as a Cowboys cheerleader. The rotating game this year was hosted by the Seattle Seahawks as they lost to the San Francisco 49ers with a score of 31-13.

The performance at this game was done by producer and DJ Steve Aoki.

Much controversy has arisen regarding Aoki’s set, as NBC cut to a commercial after airing less than ten seconds of this performance. During the earlier games of the day, both Parton and Harlow had approximately six minutes of live air time, completing their full sets for the live audiences at home.

As you begin to plan your menus for next Thanksgiving, start to take your bets on the teams that will be selected to play at the already anticipated holiday games. Do you think Jacksonville will finally get a chance to shine?

BRANDEIS: Wins secured CONTINUED FROM 12

FENCING Results from the Brandeis Invitational on Dec. 3.

4-3 today, 9-15 overall Brandeis 14, Drew 13 Brandeis 16, Drew 11 St. John's 16, Brandeis 11 Brandeis 26, Yeshiva 1 Yale 16, Brandeis 11 Cornell 16, Brandeis 11 Brandeis 22, LIU 5

Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

RELEASE: Jared Goff, a quarterback for the Detroit Lions, lofts a pass to his receiver.

CONTINUED FROM 12

TEAM STATS

UPCOMING GAMES:

MEN'S RESULTS

11

WOMEN'S RESULTS

4-2 today, 9-17 overall

Brandeis 17, Drew 10 Brandeis 23, Lawrence 4 St. John's 14, Brandeis 13 Brandeis 27, Yeshiva 0 Cornell 18, Brandeis 9 Brandeis 16, LIU 11

UPCOMING MEETS:

Beanpot Tournament on Nov. 15 at Boston College Northeast Fencing Conference on Nov. 19 Data courtesy of THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION and the BRANDEIS ATHLETICS WEBSITE; Graphics courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

defensive strategy, evident by them maintaing a lead for 98.5% of the game with their largest lead being 22 points.

The outcome of the UAA Challenge bodes well for Brandeis Men’s Basketball, setting the stage for what promises to be a promising and enthralling season ahead.

Men’s basketball was not the only team hosting a tournament this past weekend, as Brandeis Fencing dominated the annual Brandeis Invitational. The men’s team went 4-3 on Sunday, making their overall record 9-15, and the women’s team went 4-2 on Sunday,

making their record 9-17 overall.

The women’s squad’s victories were led by Kat Xikes ’26 (saber), and Bronwyn Rothman-Hall ’25 (epee), both earning 13 wins in their bouts. Mark Shamis ’25 (epee) had the most wins of the day, going 14-6. Shamis went undefeated against Yeshiva University and Lawrence University and went 2-1 against Drew University, Yale University, Cornell University, and Long Island University.

Another standout was All-American Maggie Shealy ’25, who went 11-2.

Shealy went 3-0 against Yeshiva, Cor-

nell, and LIU, 1-0 against Lawrence, and 1-1 against St. John's.

Hannah Du ’26 earned 10 wins on Sunday, going 10-3; and Du faced Drew, Lawrence, and Cornell and came away with a perfect record against the three schools. Calla Lee ’25 brought the Judges eight wins across two different weapons, an impressive feat. Lee’s saber record was 5-0, she took three more wins for the epee squad.

The Judges return in January with the annual Eric Sollee Invitational, another home meet.

Duty" is a weekly column that spotlights different athletes. Please email sports@ JURY "Jury thejustice.org if you would like to nominate a Brandeis athlete. We hope to bridge the between student athletes and non student athletes by highlighting relatable content DUTY gapto make the community feel more approachable. If you see a highlighted athlete around campus, introduce yourself! Or head to Gosman and cheer them on.

Sam Adusei ’24

By RANI BALAKRISHNA JUSTICE EDITOR

Photo courtesy of BRANDEIS ATHLETICS

Want to nominate someone? Send them this form!

Graphics: ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

Sam Adusei ’24, a senior guard for the men’s basketball team, was recently honored as one of the Brandeis Judges’ Athletes of the Week. Adusei, the leader in overall points scored, has dominated the court and led his team to several recent victories. The team’s win over Rhode Island College was powered by Adusei’s strong second half, scoring a game-high 18 points in the second half today to lead the team to a 6651 non-conference victory.

In the UAA Challenge Tournament, Adusei put up another 18 points to lead the Judges to a decisive victory over Bates College. Although the Judges held the lead the entire game, only faltering at the end and pulling away with the win after a close

4th quarter, Adusei remained poised and in control of the ball.

The next day against Colby College, Adusei kept up the intensity, dropping double figures yet again with 15 points, supported by a strong showing at the free throw line. With four assists and four steals, he hit five out of 13 of his attempted shots.

Off the court, Sam noted that he enjoys listening to “rap, electric, and overall good music.” Some of his favorite artists include Kanye West and Travis Scott. You can find Adusei in his room or in the gym in Gosman, and when the warmer weather hits, his favorite ice cream flavor to enjoy is almond joy. In his free time, one of his hobbies is playing chess.

Support Sam on the court in Auerbach Arena at Gosman.

just Sports Page 12

BRANDEIS MEN'S BASKETBALL PHOTO STORY Men's basketball hosted the UAA challenge tournament over the weekend and faced off against Bates College and Colby College, p. 10.

Waltham, Mass.

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

BRANDEIS

Judges secure wins in competition over the weekend ■ Men’s basketball and fencing hosted tournaments this past weekend, and both teams came away with several victories under their belts.

By BENIE COHEN

JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In the first game of the UAA Challenge on Friday, Dec. 1, Brandeis Men’s Basketball claimed a 68-58 victory over Bates College. Right from the tip-off, the Judges asserted dominance, surging ahead with an impressive sevenpoint streak, which fortified their lead and dictated the game's pace. Bates attempted to narrow the gap with consecutive three-pointers, but Brandeis, guided by Coach Jean Bain, responded swiftly, extending their advantage with a seven-point surge of their own.

The first half of the game witnessed Brandeis forging ahead by 14 points, yet the determined efforts of Bates saw them cut the deficit to six by halftime.

Despite Bates' spirited play, Brandeis maintained a 33-25 lead at the break. In the second half of the game, the Judges

BOSTON UNVEILS NEW NWSL TEAM

surged to a 45-29 lead before the Bobcats mounted a thrilling comeback.

Crucial moments in the latter half, fueled by Jake Bender ’26 and a pivotal 3-pointer from Sam Adusei ’24, stalled Bates' resurgence and cemented Brandeis' 68-58 victory.

Individual brilliance illuminated the team’s performance. Adusei led the charge once more with 15 points, 16 of which were pivotal in the second-half surge. Bender made a substantial contribution with a career-high 15 points and a matching career-best of five rebounds. Additionally, Gilbert Otoo ’25 added an impressive 14 points to the scoreboard.

Guard/forward Ryan Power’s ’24 versatile play was pivotal, contributing four assists and four steals, bolstering Brandeis’ defense. While Bates' standouts displayed noteworthy performances, they couldn’t overcome Brandeis’ relentless gameplay.

Statistically, Brandeis displayed remarkable efficiency, shooting just under 50% from the field for their second game against Colby. Their adept offense was complemented by a sharp

See BRANDEIS, 11 ☛

NFL

Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

A timeless tradition: Boston welcomes the The history of return of women’s soccer Thanksgiving football DRIBBLING: A former Boston Breakers player dribbles the ball down the field.

■ For many, pumpkin pie and turkey are just a background to the big football games. How did this tradition grow to become what it is today?

By ANNA MARTIN JUSTICE EDITOR

Thanksgiving is a time for yummy food, friends and family, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, giving thanks, and — most importantly — watching football.

The Super Bowl always has mindblowing numbers of viewers, but Thanksgiving games are often the most watched regular season games of the year, as millions tune in. According to CNN, the 2022 Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants Thanksgiving game held almost ten million more viewers than the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

Football began as a combination of rugby and soccer played by college students. The first “official” college football game was played by Rutgers University and Princeton University on November 6, 1869. However, Walter Camp, a rugby player at Yale University, took the lead on some rule changes in the 1880s that made American football into the sport we know today.

The tradition of these Thanksgiving games began officially in 1876, with a game hosted by the Intercollegiate Football Association. These games moved to New York in 1880, and grew in popularity as they became followed by post-game trips to the theater, and

balls were preceded by large Wednesday night dinners.

While many may think that football is a newer edition to this timeless holiday, this is not the case. Thanksgiving actually hasn’t been around that long!

The beginning of this national holiday is traced back to a proclamation made

by Abraham Lincoln in 1863, being used during the Civil War as a way to promote unionism. This was continuing a tradition that was created by George Washington, who also issued a proclamation regarding Thanksgiving.

The rise of the sport of football was nearly congruent with the popularity and growth of the holiday, an addition that was considered generally positive as it was widely appealing. Because this was prior to the founding of the National Football League, all teams were associated with academic institutions such as colleges, universities, and high schools. These associations caused people to feel a great sense of pride, as they centered around and gave voices to small communities.

However, not everyone was in support of the close link between an annual sports game and a national holiday.

An article published by the New York Herald in 1893 stated, “It is a holiday granted by the State and the nation to see a game of football. No longer is the day one of thanksgiving to the Giver of all good. The kicker now la king and the people bow down to him.” The article, referencing a Princeton University vs Yale University Thanksgiving game, explained that Thanksgiving was meant to be a “festival to God for

See NFL, 11 ☛

with new NWSL franchise ■ Although the Boston Breakers, the former Boston NWSL team, has dissolved, with the expansion of the league there comes a new face for female sports in Boston.

By BENJAMIN VIDAL CALDERON JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

When the National Women's Soccer League declared it would be expanding, it didn't take long for an all-woman led ownership group to take action.

In an exciting development for soccer enthusiasts in Boston, it was the Boston Unity Soccer Partners who were awarded the expansion team. This franchise, set to kick off in 2026, aims to bring back professional women's soccer to the city after the dissolution of the Boston Breakers in 2018.

Jennifer Epstein, the co-owner of the Boston Celtics; Anna Palmer, partner at Flybridge Capital; Ami Kuan Danoff, the Chief Financial Officer of the Women’s Foundation of Boston; and Stephanie Connaughton, an entrepreneur; formed Boston Unity Soccer Partners while investing over $100 million in the endeavor.

Part of the investment will see the refurbishment of Franklin Park's White Stadium, which was originally constructed for the use of Boston pub-

lic school athletics. The stadium is set to host 11,000 people and provide a sense of connectivity, according to Epstein. However, public schools will continue to use the amenity, only now to get the facilities they deserve.

Before dissolving as a franchise, the Breakers played at different venues around Greater Boston. While some point fingers at poor management as causing the dissolution, Epstein believes there was a lack of visibility as she preaches, “We need people not just to attend games but cover them, it's a world class product. By building a home for the team. Bostonians will know where to find us.”

When asked about the assembling of the team, the ownership believes in building the team from top to bottom. “We're always big believers in creating opportunities for women.

And at the same time, we're also creating a winning team,” Danoff said. In the process of scouting for a manager, they will ensure that plenty of female candidates are considered.

Further, in efforts to cater to the team to the identity of the city, Palmer mentions, “We want to make sure that this team feels like Boston. That people are the table, fan experience, everyone that's involved — it's truly the heart of Boston, that [it] feels like this team is something that's homegrown."

The venture aligns with a broader resurgence of women's sports in Boston, joining the ranks of the Boston Renegades and the Boston Pride. Bos-

ton Mayor Michelle Wu expressed her excitement, according to NWSL, stating, “There’s just an excitement around soccer in the city that’s always been there, and especially with the upcoming opportunities to host the [men’s] World Cup in 2026, the impact of a professional women’s sports team will be huge.” The return of women's soccer to the city coincides with the global rise in women's sports fandom and arguably the largest sports event ever returning to U.S. soil.

The announcement, featuring Mayor Michelle Wu, NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman, and the ownership group, marks a milestone for women's soccer in Boston, symbolizing a vibrant future for the sport in the city.

With the first game scheduled in three years, there's anticipation and enthusiasm building as Boston prepares to welcome back professional women's soccer.

Residing in an incredibly diverse and globally interconnected city, soccer stands out as the world's sport.

“We want to build this team within the fabric of our community and have it reflect the diversity within our region. To do that, we're going to bring this city and its communities alongside us, from now until 2026 and beyond.”

Both the manager and the name of the team remain undecided. While the investors are female-led, it's unclear if the team will be as well.

Vol. LXXVI #10

Waltham, Mass.

December 5, 2023

Photos: Jonas Kaplin/the Justice. Design: Eliza Bier/the Justice.

THE JUSTICE | ARTS | TUESDAY, JANUARYI THE 31, JUSTICE 2017 DECEMBER 5, 2023 I ARTS & CULTURE 14 TUESDAY,

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Gloria Estefan:

The epitome of strength and unity

By ANNA MARTIN JUSTICE EDITOR

Gloria Estefan is a Cuban American woman who broke down boundaries and changed the music industry forever. Both her music and her story have deeply impacted me, inspiring me to give 100% of myself to both my art and everything else in my life. I have always been amazed with her ability to balance motherhood, a successful career, and the challenges that life has thrown her way; I aspire to one day hold some of these qualities myself.

I live in a household that has always been full of music of all kinds and cultures. All four of my grandparents are artists — two even met at music school. My grandma was an aerobics instructor, and she is the one who introduced me to Gloria Estefan. She used this music in her classes and found it to be a hit with many people here in America.

The range of both Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine is truly impressive. They have songs for any occasion and mood, allowing them to be listened to frequently.

I had a chance to see “On Your Feet! The Musical Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan” with my grandparents and was moved by the humanity demonstrated on the stage. This show inspired me to learn more about Estefan’s background. I have always connected with her songs and learning more about her life has only increased my admiration for her. Created under the guidance of both Gloria and her husband Emilio, and complete with many of my favorite songs, “On Your Feet!” depicts Estefan’s fascinating life story.

When researching her further, I learned that Gloria Estefan was born in Havana, Cuba in 1957 and fled to the United States as a result of Communist dictator Fidel Castro rising to power. Estefan’s father was captured as a political prisoner. Estefan told CBS News that she remembered visiting him in jail with her mother and grandmother.

I can imagine that this was very hard as a young girl. He was later arrested again, as he was a part of Brigade 2506, a group of refugees from Cuba that had conducted a failed invasion of the Bay of Pigs.

Following her father’s release from prison, he moved back to the United States and enlisted in the army. However, after returning from Vietnam, her father was not

the same. He had been exposed to Agent Orange, a tactical herbicide that made him very sick. In an interview with the Guardian, Estefan stated: “He started losing his ability to speak as well as his decisionmaking skills, and he would forget that he couldn’t walk and would stand up.” As his primary caregiver at just the age of 12, Estefan spent a lot of time at his side. It is challenging to remain optimistic while watching people deteriorate in front of your eyes, but having a positive attitude can make it easier for them. Gloria turned to music to help her cope with this difficult situation. I think this is a very admirable quality. Channeling emotion into art has always been very helpful for me as a dancer and, as I listen to Estefan’s music, I can hear her humanity. Allowing herself to be vulnerable through song has allowed her to feel heard and understood as she explores a range of emotions similar to mine.

Gloria met Emilio Estefan as a teenager. He was leader of the Miami Latin Boys, a band with no lead singer. When he heard her sing he was immediately taken and soon after asked her to become the lead singer for their band. In the “On Your Feet! The Musical Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan” musical, 17-year-old Gloria was depicted as nervous to take this chance, and I can empathize with this fear of the unknown. As a college student, opportunities are often daunting, and I am very glad that this risk worked out for her. Sometimes taking a step in a new and unfamiliar direction can be harder than facing a known challenge.

As Estefan was still a full time student at the University of Miami at this time, she was only able to sing nights and weekends. It is often very difficult to find a balance between succeeding in school and putting as much of yourself into your extracurricular activities as you want to. After a year and a half of Gloria being a member of the band, they changed their name to the Miami Sound Machine and recorded their first record with a local label, a very exciting opportunity for all of the members of the band.

A highlight of this musical period in my mind is the song “Renacer.” I could listen to this song forever — the lyrics blending together like rich melted chocolate.

The word renacer translates to “be

reborn,” referencing the feeling of coming out of a time of wandering and uncertainty into an era of love and happiness. This song feels so sincere; it is clear that Estefan is singing from her heart.

During this same period of time, the relationship between Gloria and Emilio became more than just a professional partnership, something that I believe is reflected in the music released congruently.

They were married in 1978 and proceeded to have multiple beautiful children together. I admire how happy the couple still is today, demonstrating that unity and commitment can overcome hard challenges.

As their relationship grew, the Miami Sound Machine went on to sign a contract with Disco CBS International by 1980, the Miamibased Hispanic division of CBS records. Over the next two years, the band recorded many albums with songs consisting of sambas, ballads, pop, and disco. These albums were all recorded fully in Spanish and produced dozens of hit songs around the world. However, none of these songs became particularly popular in the United States.

The band released their first English album in 1984, called “Eyes of Innocence.” Specifically, the single “Dr. Beat” went right to the top of the dance charts in Europe. This increase in popularity caused CBS to make a big switch, shifting the band to Epic — a parent label. This success caused the band to become more interested in creating music with English lyrics — the songs that ended up becoming some of their most popular.

“Eyes of Innocence” played a large role in both Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine bridging cultural barriers through the use of fabulous music. They combined Latin inspired beats and instruments with English lyrics and rhythms seen in American pop music, creating songs that appeal to a very broad audience. My personal favorite song on this album is “Dr. Beat,” a popular opinion among Miami Sound Machine fans. As a dancer, I find this song very easy to count due to the steady rhythm from start to finish. The energy of this song is unmatched by any other on the album, as it makes everyone want to dance. I also really enjoy the “Eyes of Innocence” song “When Someone Comes Into Your Life.” While this slow ballad

is very different from the album opener “Dr. Beat,” it has a beautiful flow, the perfect backdrop for romance and relaxation.

The album “Primitive Love” was released in 1985, once again breaking records while infusing Latin tones into pop music with English lyrics. The song “Conga” spent 27 weeks on the billboard top 100 chart, and is another personal favorite of mine. This song, encouraging people to get up and dance, is a hard one to ignore. This strong call to action had people all over the world on their feet.

The album “Let It Loose” was released in 1987, once again producing many hits. This album is my favorite and the one that I find myself turning on the most frequently. My two favorite songs on this album are “1-2-3” and “Rhythm is Gonna Get You.” Specifically the introduction to “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” has such a recognizable sound — one that I really enjoy and have not heard paralleled by any other artist.

Through this growth in popularity, it became clear that Estefan was loved and admired by many, including my grandma. The deep admiration and the connection that the public felt to Estefan led to the band eventually being renamed to just Gloria Estefan.

Estefan made sure to never stray too far from her Cuban roots. The album “Cuts Both Ways,” released in 1989, has songs in both English and Spanish. Estefan worked on this album in many ways including producing, composing, and songwriting. I admire the amount of passion that she puts into her music, continuously made clear by her involvement in every step of the process.

While music focused, family has always come first for the Estefans.

Emilio stepped back from his position as the keyboard player for the Miami Sound Machine after the birth of their son Nayib. He instead worked as a producer, manager, and promoter while being a stable parent during the periods of Gloria’s tours. I believe that these actions demonstrate what a strong partnership should be like.

I often see partners as branches of the same tree, often having to bear more weight or support each other when the pressure is too much. I think that they are a prime example of what it means to work together, understanding that the work is

not always equal, and stepping up to balance out the other. This idea of companionship has been demonstrated many times during the long marriage of the Estefans.

On March 20, 1990, the tour bus was in a major accident with a tractor-trailer on a snowy day. Emilio, Nayib, and Gloria all suffered from injuries, with Gloria’s being the most severe as a vertebra in her back was broken. This injury took both surgery and intense physical therapy to recover from. Estefan’s first performance after recovery was the American Music Awards in Jan. 1991, followed by a year-long tour in March that was centered around the release of her new album “Into The Light.” In “On Your Feet! The Musical Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan,” Gloria explained that fan support and fan mail was what inspired her to recover as quickly as she did. Knowing that people she had never met looked to her as a role model showed that she had to keep going. I see obstacles that people jump over as the most reflective element of their character. Even though I do not know her personally, I am proud of how far she has come.

Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

GLORIA ESTEFAN: Estefan gives a speech at the Kennedy Center.

ART REVIEW

No ordinary exhibition at the Rose

By MIKEY TERRENZI JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Content warning: elements of the exhibition concern and confront difficult and intimate moments of the queer experience. Homophobic slurs are present in this exhibit and article.

On Nov. 16, the Rose Art Museum unveiled the Salman Toor exhibition “No Ordinary Love.”

The exhibition carries with it the life and experiences of Pakistani artist Salman Toor, his sexuality, his gender expression, and the complex relationship that culture and personal identity confront.

As such this incredibly personal and intimate exhibition was curated with the artist’s personal sentiments and ideas in mind. Dr. Ankori was kind enough to walk me through her favorites and her thought process on opening night.

As I entered the museum on opening night, I was greeted by a staff member who I briefly asked about the exhibition. The staff member, Allison, was very enthusiastic about the exhibit and how it was a departure from the usual work at the Rose. She encouraged me to consider how the work by

Design: NEMMA KALRA/the Justice

Toor interacted with the art already at the Rose, considering the Rose’s other current exhibition is “Re: Collection” the reframing of past works in the permanent collection of the Rose. She also emphasizes the accessibility of the museum for all. The Rose is a notfor-profit museum and their hours can be easily found online.

Upon entering the exhibition with Dr. Ankori, I could feel the intensity and the intimacy of the room I entered. Light teal walls guide you gently through the exhibit, changing hues and values to highlight both the pleasant memories of Toor and the unfortunate feelings of loneliness, solitude, and division. Dr. Ankori led me to some of her favorite pieces and curated parts of the exhibition.

Walking through the exhibition with her, I asked questions about her thought process, her personal voice, and her thoughts on the themes of the exhibit. Her answers were all incredibly insightful and engaged with the artwork.

To give you all some perspective before going for yourself, I will share some of my favorite pieces.

When first entering the exhibition, there is a larger open space — this feels very freeing to ex-

plore. On the first wall to the right is a painting called “Back Lawn,” depicting two young boys in an intimate situation, separated away from their families and the larger scene on the front patio.

This scene sets up the exhibition well as it frames one of the exhibition’s overarching themes — a separation between queer and heterosexual romances that the artist experienced throughout his life — in an easily seen narrative.

This separation is mirrored by Dr. Ankori’s curation which highlights the masculine and feminine forces of identity and expression.

Masculinity and femininity can be identified as themes in three more of Toor’s works. The first two are “Mommy” and “Boy with Neck Chain,” in which you can see the feminine side of the artist. “Mommy” depicts a nude woman in front of a mirror applying makeup, her body’s contours bathed in golden light capturing the viewer. Her beauty does not just capture our attention, but seen in the compact mirror on the armoire, a boy is looking at her and also simultaneously the viewer. “Boy with Neck Chain” shows that same boy, in the same armoire covered and wrapped in

warm hues, his body curved like the mother, his femininity was learned and replicated in imitation of her beauty. This is all contrasted by the opposing painting, “The Weightlifter,” which depicts an older man attempting desperately to become the masculine figure of strength. He is alone; his body limp in a mirror looking directly at us, his green room feels more like a prison than a bedroom. He is isolated in his attempt for masculinity; he is alone.

This juxtaposition of masculinity and femininity of queer experience only helps to illustrate the solidarity the artist wants us to consider. As I progressed through the works I felt more of that isolation, specifically in his series of works that include “fag puddles.”

“Fag puddles” are Toor’s amalgamations of qualities and garments that seem to pile on one another in these heaps that represent the humanity behind them. There is isolation and solitude in many of these paintings, one seen in “Museum Boys” in which a “fag puddle” is used as a museum exhibit where viewers stare in contempt and interest of the puddle.

This calls the viewer into question as a continuation of putting

queerness into a box but also as entertainment. The viewer is suddenly complicit in the “spectacle” of queer identity from non-queer spaces. These “fag puddles” are meant to disturb and call into question our view of queerness and the queer identity of people of color.

Toor sought to emphasize the intersection of queer identity and Pakistani culture — a sentiment of intersectionality that the Rose Art Museum wishes to highlight in their current and future exhibitions. Throughout this exhibition, Toor seems to identify the queer voice more than his Pakistani voice. However, much of his influence, his subjects, and his abstraction of figure highlight that which is not explicit. In his work, one can find themselves and many of their loved ones, their faces, their words, and their beauty.

See the Salman Toor Exhibit at The Rose Art Museum now until Feb. 11, 2024. This modern artist is truly a once in a lifetime experience and accessible to all, as the Rose is free to all from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023 I ARTS & CULTURE I THE JUSTICE

THE JUSTICE | ARTS | TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

CAMPUS EVENT

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‘The Nutcracker’ — Editor’s Note: Justice Photo editor Eliza Bier ’26, Justice Layout editor Anna Martin ’26 are members of Brandeis Ballet Club and did not contribute to this story.

“SUGAR PLUM AND CAVALIER”: Irina Znamirowski ’24 and Matthew Jones ’27 gracefully dance the “Pas de deux,” which was originally choreographed by Lev Ivanov.

CLARA AND THE NUTCRACKER: Liliana Aspromonte ’25 as Clara, and Charlie Eng ’25 as the Nutcracker, dance together in the magical Snow Kingdom.

PARTNER DANCE: Matthew Jones ’27 supports Irina Znamiroski ’24 as she does a beautiful bow during their dance.

WALTZ OF THE SNOWFLAKES: Liliana Aspromonte ’25 dances as Clara, a young girl surrounded by the Snow Queen, Islay Morrison ’26, and various snowflakes. The dance is as enthralling as a winter wonderland.

TEA TIME!: Claire McDonald ’25, “Tea” lead, skillfully dances in unison with the Corps, played by Miriam Grodin ’27, Rebecca Rappaport ’27, and Lulu Tsoi ’27.

TERROR!: Brynn Domsky ’27, the evil Rat King, aggressively pursues Charlie Eng ’25, the Nutcracker. This scene takes place during “The Battle,” which was choreographed by Anna Martin ’26 and Liliana Aspromonte ’25.

Photos: NATALIE BRACKEN/the Justice. Design: NEMMA KALRA/the Justice.

CHILDLIKE WONDER: Liliana Aspromonte ’25 dances as Clara, a young girl enamored with the magical Nutcracker doll she was gifted on Christmas Eve.

PAS DE DEUX: Irina Znamirowski ’24 and Matthew Jones ’27 adapted and danced the parts of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier.

16 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023 I ARTS & CULTURE I THE JUSTICE

STAFF’S Top Ten

By Dahlia Ramirez JUSTICE STAFF ARTIST

ELIZA BIER/the Justice

By TIBERIA BROWN JUSTICE EDITOR

Top 10 songs off my Spotify Wrapped In addition to my potentially embarrassing top ten songs of the year, I’d also like to share that my city according to Spotify is Davis, California. Apparently this is where all the K-pop and J-pop stans were placed!

1. “Favorite (Vampire)” by NCT 127 2. “The Summoning” by Sleep Token 3. “Pink Matter” by Frank Ocean and Andre 3000 4. “Clay” by The Garden 5. “Time Lapse” by NCT 127 6. “Sugar” by System of a Down 7. “Beetlebum” by Blur 8. “Singularity” by BTS 9. “Reckless and Sweet” by Amaarae 10. “Small World” by Jack Stauber

EXHIBIT REVIEW

A new exhibit at the Women’s Research Center on reproductive justice

By RANI BALAKRISHNA JUSTICE EDITOR

As you walk into the Women’s Research Center, a powerful exhibit entitled “Deeply Rooted: Faith in Reproductive Justice” captivates attention and brings empowering stories to light. The exhibit, curated by Caron Tabb, explores reproductive and menstrual justice in a post-Dobbs era. Following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in June of 2022, artists created these works to demonstrate the need for menstrual equity.

The exhibit highlights female and queer artists of all identities. Tabb was inspired to form and curate the exhibition as a Jewish feminist; each piece looks at abortion, menstruation, and female identity through faith and religion. There are pieces by artists who were formerly members of Jehovah’s Witness, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, and these artists include international and local voices.

Tabb commented, “We often get the impression that faith is meant to restrict reproductive justice, but it is exactly the opposite. When you do your homework, faith is widely understood to be a tool for better reproductive justice.”

Art courtesy of ZOE BUCKMAN. ELIZA BIER/the Justice

“ACCORDING TO GRANDMA” (2019): The artwork is made of a series of boxing gloves, vintage linen, and chain ribbon.

Design: NEMMA KALRA/the Justice

ELIZA BIER/the Justice

COMMENT WALL: Viewers of the exhibit were invited to share their comments on the art and reproductive justice.

Amy Powell, the assistant director of the Hadassah- often, topics of reproductive health and menstruation are Brandeis Institute, and Olivia Baldwin, the Rosalie and Jim considered taboo, so to have an art exhibit showcasing difShane Curator & Arts Coordinator of the Kniznick Gallery, ferent women’s experiences, creating dialogue within the gave me a tour of the exhibit, and I was blown away by the community, and centering the theme of reproductive jusdiversity of thought, medium empowerment that these art- tice — it’s amazing. I have recommended this exhibit to so many people, as well as to the entire club. Activism is never ists communicated incredibly intricately.

Although there has been a lot of fear, uncertainty, and easy and it can often be frustrating when the cause you are doubt in this post-Dobbs era, these artists brought together fighting for is never discussed. To have this exhibit here at stories from a wide range of truly striking cultures. The Brandeis is quite refreshing and hopeful.”

The HBI has also created a pink, colorful, comforting space Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, which hosts this incredible exhibit, has a mission to “promote and produce scholarship for visitors to provide feedback and comments on the exhiband art at the intersection of Jewish studies and women’s it. The comments hanging from the space and pasted on the and gender studies.” “Deeply Rooted” “draws on Brandeis’ walls give incredibly positive praise of the artists’ and curarich history of being a safe place to generate difficult con- tor’s work. The desire for menstrual and reproductive jusversations” and attempts to provide a space for productive tice is echoed many times over in these cards.

Looking to the future, the HBI is hoping to possibly extend dialogue.

Liza Heck ’25 came to the opening reception for the ex- the exhibit to January and host an artist talk with Dell Mahibit and also visited the exhibit with their Women Play- rie Hamilton and Roya Amigh through Zoom — and in the wrights class. Heck shared that “Cultivating a space for Liberman-Miller Lecture Hall at 12 p.m. EST on Dec. 11, 2023. artists to have a voice to express themselves when it comes I strongly encourage all Brandeis students, faculty, and staff to reproductive justice issues — allows for healing, growth, to check out the “Deeply Rooted” exhibit at the Women’s Reand a chance for a new kind of conversation, bringing light search Center and to come to these spaces with open, reflective minds. through a faith-based lens.”

The “Deeply Rooted” artists in this exhibit are Lizzy AleThe intersection of policy, faith, and art within this gallery is one that no one should miss, as it gives power jandro, Roya Amigh, Andi Arnovitz, Zoë Buckman, Nani and voice to an often underrepresented and taboo issue in Chacon and Rose B. Simpson, Susan Chen, Dell M. Hamilton, American society. Menstruation and abortion are integral Nayana LaFond, Marla McLeod, Azita Moradkhani, Jacqueto Brandeis’ values of social justice and to overlook these line Nicholls, Giovanna Pizzoferrato, Cora Ramirez-V, Winnie van der Rijn, Janice Rubin, Bahareh and Farzaneh Safaperspectives is to discredit so many powerful voices.

Grace Lassila ’25, president of the Period Activists at rani, Charlie Dov Schön, Caron Tabb, and Diana Weymar.

Deis, reflected on the significance of the exhibit to her, “So