the Justice, October 17, 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 4

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Brandeis celebrates its 75th anniversary and family from around the world visited the University to connect with former classmates, current students, and to attend celebrations.

By RIVER SIMARD

JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

This weekend Brandeis celebrated its 75th anniversary across campus, inviting family and alumni alike to attend. The schedule boasted more than 70 unique panels, lectures, class reunions, and activities that began on Oct. 13 and concluded on Oct 15.

Of the more than three thousand that registered for events this weekend, there was a healthy mixture of families and alumni. These events provided opportunities to discover or rediscover campus in a new light.

Even for some who live locally and have returned to campus before, it didn’t feel the same. “[I feel] a little bit like I'm a stranger; I mean, this whole building here — the Shapiro

Campus Center — this wasn't here when I was here,” Dave Sherman ’81 said in an Oct. 13 interview with the Justice. Sherman currently lives a few minutes away in Needham, Massachusetts. He explained that while he has occasionally returned to campus in the past, he was interested in attending some of the scheduled events and connecting with old classmates he lost touch with over the years.

Other alumni traveled from far away with a plan of who specifically they were going to see. Stan Goldberg ’68 from Houston, Texas and Richard Tolin ‘68 from New Jersey first met one another during their first year attending the University. They were living on the same floor of the Shapiro Residence Hall. 58 years later, the two remain friends. “I'm happy to be here because I'm meeting my friends.

I've seen the campus a few times over the years, and it's pleasant to be back.

But mostly it's to see my friends. I saw Stan a few months ago but the others I haven't seen in a few years,” Tollin said, sitting beside Goldberg.

During their 25th reunion they began emailing and connecting with

See ANNIVERSARY, 7 ☛

NOBEL PRIZE RECOGNITION

Drew Weissman ’81 wins Nobel Prize for research ■ Brandeis alumnus Drew

Weissman ’81 and Katalin Karikó won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in recognition of their vaccine innovations.

By ANIKA JAIN JUSTICE EDITOR

It was 4:00 in the morning when Katalin Karikó H’23 received the call that she and Drew Weissman ’81 GSAS MA ’81 P ’15 H ’23 had been awarded the Nobel Prize for their seminal messenger RNA research, which ultimately led to the expedited development of COVID-19 vaccines and the prevention of millions of deaths worldwide.

“We don’t have a good number for Drew,” Thomas Perlmann, the Nobel Assembly Secretary, told Karikó.

“We tried to call him and couldn’t reach him.”

“Originally we thought it was a joke — that somebody was playing a prank on us and we really didn’t win the Nobel Prize,” Weissman said in an Oct. 6 interview with the Justice.

“I didn’t hear anything until around 5:20 in the morning when they called me and said, ‘You and Kati won the Nobel Prize.’ I still waited for the an-

OWEN CHAN/the Justice

VIGIL: Students embrace to comfort one another during a candlelight vigil hosted by Mishelanu, an Israeli culture club.

Behind the war: a historical look into the Israel-Palestine dispute ■ The aftermath of Hamas'

nouncement on their website before I fully believed it.”

25 years ago when Weissman and Karikó first met at a photocopier at the University of Pennsylvania, they could have never anticipated that their research would be pivotal in the battle against one of the deadliest pandemics in human history.

Weissman, who completed his allergy and immunology fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in the lab of Dr. Anthony Fauci, was studying new approaches to an HIV vaccine when he met Karikó. Weissman explained how he started a new project at UPenn developing HIV vaccines using dendritic cells and loading them with antigens, DNA peptides, viruses, and proteins. “I had everything but the mRNA,” he said. “That’s when I met Kati at the Xerox machine and she told me she makes mRNA so we started working together.”

Once Karikó made the mRNA, Weissman would check if it was immunogenic or not by injecting the mRNA into cells to elicit an immune response. However, the mRNA was incredibly inflammatory, which is part of the immune response that they wanted to limit as much as possible because the cells would immediately destroy the injected mRNA. Years later, they discovered that encapsulating the mRNA in a particular lipid curbed inflammation and

See RECOGNITION, 7 ☛

unprecedented attack on Israel reveals a complex web of geopolitical factors and a humanitarian crisis as Israel grapples with the fallout.

By DALYA KOLLER JUSTICE EDITOR

The recent attack On Oct. 7, at around 6:30 a.m. local time in Israel, Hamas — the political and militant that serves as the governing authority of the Gaza Strip — launched a surprise attack on Israel. Hamas is officially recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Australia.

The violence included large-scale breakthroughs of the Gaza-Israel border by Hamas, who gained entry into many Israeli settlements and army bases close to the Gaza border. The attacks, which targeted civilians throughout more than 20 Israeli towns and villages, and even an outdoor music festival, resulted in — in the first day alone — more than 1,300 deaths and the taking of at least 150 Israelis as hostages as of press time. Oct. 7, 2023 is now marked as the day that the largest number of Jews were killed since the Holocaust. Gruesome videos of the massacre have since been released and can be viewed on The New York Times' website, revealing the violence, bloodshed,

Black time travel

 Mirabell discusses police brutality in film and the ethics of time travel in the film “See You Yesterday.”

 The Justice took a look back at previous Brandeis Octobers.

By ISABEL ROSETH AND CAYENN LANDAU

FEATURES 8

and absolute terror that unfolded throughout the day. In addition to the unprecedented infiltration by these militants, Hamas fired roughly 2,200 rockets in its initial attack according to the Israeli Defense Forces, Israel's national military.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally declared a “state of war” on Sunday, Oct. 8 and began striking back, sending rockets into Gaza and bombing what the IDF refers to as military targets places where they claim to have intelligence regarding the whereabouts of Hamas leadership.

Netanyahu addressed the country during a speech on the night of Oct. 7. “What happened today has not been seen before in Israel,” he said. He explained that the Israeli military was working on evacuating the Israeli towns near the Gaza border, and told Israelis to brace themselves; that “this war will take time … and will be hard.” He also said that “The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” and warned those in Gaza to “get out.”

He referred to Hamas as “an enemy who kills children and mothers in their homes and beds.” Though he did not say what Israel's next steps would be, he told Israelis to prepare for a protracted campaign.

“This war will take time," he added.

“It will be hard.” Israel has called up 360,000 reservists to join the standing army of 170,000. While Gaza itself does not have a formal military force, Hamas does have a military wing, which operates as the de facto military for the region.

According to an anonymous source

By MIRABELL ROWLAND

Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

quoted in an article by Reuters, this “mini army” is made up of roughly 40,000 people.

“The Israeli generals say they are intent on wiping out Hamas as a political movement. I think that’s pretty much impossible. I don't know that militarily they have the capacity to do this and sustain the cost in terms of civilian losses and Israeli soldier losses to completely obliterate Hamas as they say they want to,” Prof. Eva Bellin (POL) said in an interview with the Justice on Oct. 13. Prof. Bellin is the Myra and Robert Kraft Professor of Arab Politics in the Department of Politics and the Crown Center for Middle East Studies.

The civilian death toll thus far is among the most devastating that both sides have seen in decades: 4,100 total fatalities as of press time, consisting of 1,400 Israelis and 2,700 Gazans, not to mention the tens of thousands of people who have been injured on both sides. It is unclear how many members of Hamas broke through the Gaza border, but according to NBC News, the IDF said that the bodies of an additional 1,500 Hamas terrorists have been found inside of Israel’s borders, which would attest to the significant force that Hamas was able to muster. As of press time, about 220 Israeli soldiers have been killed according to the IDF. In a 10-minute recording, Mohammed Deif, Hamas’ military leader, called the attack “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood." He stated that Hamas’ reasoning for the attacks is so that “the enemy will understand

See DISPUTE, 5 ☛

Brandeis history

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SPORTS 14

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 ● NEWS ● THE JUSTICE

NEWS SENATE LOG

Student Union charters BRASA and confirms new board members At its Oct. 8 meeting, the Student Union Senate chartered one new club, elected a Brandeis Sustainability Fund representative, held a policy discussion, and confirmed new Executive Board members.

Lígia Azevedo ’25 and Ingrid Nascimento ’24 requested that the Senate charter the Brazilian Student Association. BRASA’s purpose is to provide a supportive space for students to learn about Brazilian culture.

The Senate chartered the Brazilian Student Association by acclamation.

Charles River Quad Senator Kat Xikes ’26, who is the chair of the Facilities, Housing, and Transportation Committee, wants to put up flyers advertising a survey students can fill out to report housing problems.

Senator Sahil Muthuswami ’24, chair of the Health and Safety Committee, will submit a Senate Money Resolution to buy COVID-19 tests for students. Senators can use SMRs to request funding for an initiative. They would

need to notify Mid-Year and Executive Senator Matthew Norris ’26 and Vice President Erica Hwang ’25 to put the SMR on the meeting’s agenda and pitch it to the Senate.

Then, the Senate will discuss and vote on it.

Hwang asked for people to run for the position of Brandeis Sustainability Fund Representative. Senator Eamonn Golden ’24 explained that the BSF is a $55,000 fund that the University had previously administered but is now under Student Union control. The BSF Representative would be a Student Union representative on the board that votes on projects and chooses which ones receive funding. The Senate Sustainability Committee Chair used to be the BSF representative, but this year the position will be elected by a plurality vote. Senator Vivienne Scott ’26 was the only candidate running and was chosen to be the BSF Representative.

The Senate held a brainstorming session to discuss policy ideas addressing the following: adjusting dining

POLICE LOG

MEDICAL EMERGENCY Sept. 24—There was an injury. BEMco responded. Patient refused transport.

Sept. 24—A patient was transported to a local hospital for stomach pains.

Sept. 25—A caller felt dizzy. Refused further medical treatment.

Sept. 26—A patient was transported to a local hospital for a medical emergency.

Sept. 26—Patient refused further medical treatment for asthma attack.

Sept. 26—Patient had a dislocated kneecap. Transported to a local hospital.

Sept. 27—There was a medical emergency. A patient was transported to a local hospital.

Sept. 27—There was a medical emergency. Patient refused medical treatment.

Sept. 27—There was a medical emergency. Patient refused medical treatment.

Sept. 28—There was a medical emergency. Patient refused medical treatment.

Sept. 28—There was a medical emergency. Patient refused medical treatment.

Sept. 28—A party made a medical call for congestion. A patient was transported to a local hospital.

Oct. 1—A community member was treated by BEMCo and transported to a local hospital.

Oct. 1—A community member was treated by BEMCo and transported to a local hospital.

Oct. 1—A party reported an individual with injuries from falling off a bike. A patient was transported to a local hospital.

Oct. 1—A community member wanted their vitals checked. Patient was cleared.

Oct. 2—A community member was treated by BEMCo staff and transported to a

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS ■ A Features article incorrectly attributed an

article to Cayenn Landau ’23 and Natalie Kahn ’23.

The article was written by Lea Zaharoni ’25 and the byline has been corrected. (Oct. 3, p. 7) The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Send an email to editor@thejustice.org.

MISCELLANEOUS Sept. 24—A caller reported a lost or stolen bluetooth speaker from a restroom.

Sept. 25—A caller reported that the residents living next to them have been too loud and drinking.

Oct. 1—A party reported emailed threats from a community member. All appeared to be in order.

Oct. 3—A caller reported that their backpack was taken. The backpack was found.

Oct. 4—A party walked to the station, claiming they were “blackmailed” but fell on the way. BEMCo staff checked the individual and cleared them. Investigation to follow.

— Compiled by Sophia De Lisi

INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY

ICC celebrates Indigenous Peoples’ Day

■ The ICC’s teach-in focused on building Indigenous sovereignty through language reclamation and cultural revitalization.

By HEDY YANG

Justice

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local hospital.

Oct. 2—A community member was treated by BEMCo staff and refused further medical care.

Oct. 2—There was a medical emergency. Patient refused medical treatment.

Oct. 3—An individual was feeling ill. A patient was transported to a local hospital.

Oct. 3—There was a medical emergency. A patient was transported to a local hospital.

Oct. 4—There was a medical emergency. Patient refused medical treatment.

Oct. 4—There was a medical emergency. Patient refused medical treatment.

Oct. 4—There was a medical emergency. Patient was treated by BEMCo staff and refused further medical care.

JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

hall plans, fixing problems with the GrubHub app, creating more quality and diverse food options, providing more student parking, reducing single-use plastic usage, adding shower heads to Village bathrooms, and sprucing up the first-year dorms.

The Senate confirmed Roee Maor ’24 as director of outreach; Xan Maddock-Mark ’25 as appointed head treasurer; Rani Balakrishna ’25 as director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and Clay Napurano ’24 as Director of Health and Wellness. President Noah Risley ’24 appointed all the nominees.

“Land back, language back” — this was the focus of community organizer Eva Blake’s remarks at the Intercultural Center’s annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day teachin on Oct. 5, which was centered around the theme of building Indigenous sovereignty through community. The event included a discussion with Blake, a member of the Wampanoag Nation, on Indigenous language reclamation and the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, as well as the opportunity to participate in a round dance, a type of Indigenous group dance performed in social settings.

The event opened with remarks from ICC Director Habiba Braimah, who emphasized the significance of observing Indigenous Peoples’ Day as an alternative to Columbus Day. This is the second year that Indigenous Peoples’ Day has been observed as a federal holiday, and over the past decade, over 29 states and 195 cities, including Boston, have adopted Indigenous Peoples’ Day in place of Columbus Day. Indigenous Peoples’ Day at Brandeis was traditionally observed as a staff holiday with classes still in session; beginning last year in fall 2022, it has become a day of observance for the entire Brandeis community.

Braimah called upon the Brandeis community to use their day off to remember the historical legacy of colonization and to stand in solidarity with Indigenous peoples.

“I call on us to join in solidarity with Indigenous peoples by honoring and respecting the sovereignty and life of Indigenous nations and call for justice and equity … I invite us to move towards reconciliation and healing by promoting critical and healthy dialogue and collaboration between Indig-

enous and non-Indigenous communities.”

Following Braimah’s introduction to the event, Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Lee Bitsoí discussed the inspiration behind this year’s teach-in theme and its connections to the evening’s discussions. “When we’re talking about sovereignty, we’re talking about really understanding that government-to-government relationship that tribal nations have with not only the U.S. government, but also the state governments as well,” he said. “Part of that sovereignty is recognizing the importance of maintaining language and culture.”

Blake focused her discussion around the idea of reclaiming Indigenous languages as a political act and the connection between climate justice and the protection of Indigenous languages. Following her discussion with an introduction in the Wôpanâak language, Blake affirmed that “it was important for me to introduce myself to you today in my native language … as a political act to establish who I am and who my people are.”

Blake discussed her background learning Wôpanâak and her involvement with the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, which was co-founded by community member Jessie Littledoe Baird. Baird, who holds a master’s degree in Algonquian Linguistics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had a prophetic dream about the return of the language. She worked with linguists at MIT and Indigenous communities to establish what became the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, which includes an orthography — a set of conventions for Wôpanâak as a written language — and a dictionary, in addition to curricula and educational programs, including the language immersion camps where Blake had first started learning and teaching Wôpanâak.

Blake also drew attention to the idea that the loss of Indigenous languages occurred through intentionally constructed systems of oppression that still exist today, which further inhibit Indigenous communities’ abilities to reclaim and revitalize their lan-

guages. According to the Harvard International Review, an Indigenous language dies every two weeks. Blake emphasized that it’s not just a language that dies — it’s also an ancient way of understanding the world and how to care for it through acts of reciprocity. She pointed out the fact that regions in which Indigenous languages are spoken are heavily correlated with biodiversity hotspots, a testament to Indigenous peoples’ history of living sustainably with the land and the embodiment of these principles in their languages.

According to Blake, these principles make it all the more important to protect, revitalize, and return Indigenous languages to their communities, and also offers a glimmer of hope that the solution to many pressing environmental problems today may lie in the protection of Indigenous languages.

“Protecting our languages is working towards protecting our Earth,” she stated.

Blake also emphasized the relational nature of language and its role in building community and Indigenous sovereignty.

“Language is life, and language is community.” she said. “For me, sovereignty means self-determination. What better way to determine your own life than to be able to speak it into being?”

Following Blake’s remarks, Visiting Professor Evangelina Macias (WGS) of the Amskapi Pikuni Blackfeet and A’aninin GrosVentre nation led a Round Dance in the ICC Multipurpose Room. For many Indigenous communities, Round Dances take place in social settings and embody themes of unity, inclusivity, and community. These themes are represented through the shape the dance takes — most notably, as its name implies, a circular formation with movement in the clockwise, or “sunwise,” direction.

Attendees packed into the small room, held hands, and formed two concentric circles that moved in time to rhythmic drum beats.

The event concluded with a dinner, where attendees continued the conversation on language reclamation and building community.

THE JUSTICE ● NEWS ● TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023

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UNDERSTANDING HISTORY

Schusterman Center hosts teach-in on Israel-Hamas war ■ The event featured prominent members of

Brandeis faculty, who shared their expertise and experiences to help the Brandeis community unpack the current war between Israel and Hamas.

By DALYA KOLLER DEPUTY EDITOR

In the midst of the ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas, the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies organized an event titled “Teach-In: War in Israel, Reflections from Brandeis Faculty.” Featuring esteemed members of Brandeis faculty, the event aimed to provide intellectual insight and scholarly perspectives on the complex dynamics surrounding the conflict, offering the Brandeis community a platform to navigate the challenging discussions surrounding the war.

Alexander Kaye (NEJS), the director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies; the Karl, Harry, and Helen Stoll chair in Israel Studies; and associate professor in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, moderated the event. He started acknowledging that the “unprecedented magnitude and cruelty of the attacks on Israel, the intensifying violence on Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria, the continuation of Hamas’ bombardment of Israeli population centers, and the unfolding conflict inside Gaza and the suffering of people there, including the suffering of very many people there who in no way support the leadership of Hamas” have culminated in a series of events that are “almost impossible to even speak about let alone to make sense of intellectually.” However, despite the overwhelming emotions, “and perhaps even because of those things,” the participants of the panel felt a responsibility to use their expertise to analyze the events from a scholarly perspective. A strong emotional response is inevitable, but Prof. Kaye said, “We also need guidance on how to think in these circumstances, so that we, and perhaps more importantly, those who are making decisions on a geopolitical level can ask with wisdom, with an eye to a goal of a long-term and sustainable better future.”

Eva Bellin (POL), the Myra and Robert Kraft professor of Arab Politics in the Department of Politics and the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, began by discussing the Palestinian peoples’ relationship to Hamas, which she referred to as “very mixed.” Hamas did not campaign in 2006 on a commitment to “creating a theocratic state in the entire land of Israel.” Hamas is a political party and militant organization that has spread to become a social movement within Gaza. It is also officially recognized as a terrorist organization by countries and entities such as the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Australia. Hamas receives funding from a few countries in the Arab world, including Iran, Syria, and Qatar, although even the latter has reduced funding in recent months. Other Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates are opponents of Hamas as well.

Hamas was seen as an alternative to the “corruption and poor governance of Fatah,” one of the major Palestinian political parties, but over the last 16 years has retained its hold of the people in Gaza “through repression and corruption,” and according to Prof. Bellin, “has proven as guilty of poor governance as the Palestinian Authority before.” The Palestinian Authority was created as a five-year interim governing body during the Oslo Accords; however, it continues to exist as a political entity. Citing a Washington Institute poll conducted in Gaza, Prof. Bellin said that while 57% of Gazans hold a somewhat positive view of Hamas, the majority of Gazans — 70% — supported a proposal of the Palestinian Authority sending officials and security officers to Gaza to take over the administration there, with Hamas giving up separate armed units. Additionally, 62% of Gazans have endorsed maintaining a ceasefire with Israel and 50% agreed with the following proposal: “Hamas should stop calling for Israel’s destruction, and instead accept a permanent two-state solution based on the 1967 borders.”

During the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel launched an attack against Egypt, after months of escalating tensions between Israel and its neighbors. During the war, Israel conquered the Golan Heights from Syria, the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt. The United Nations has called for peace processes to be based on a return to Israel’s borders prior to the Six-Day War. In 1979, as part of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt; Egypt did not want to regain control over the Gaza Strip. Israel also made peace with Jordan in 1994, but Jordan did not want to retake control of the West Bank.

Prof. Bellin then spoke about what these facts can tell us about any support for Israel’s apparent plan to remove Hamas from leadership by force. “As far as outside powers go, specifically in the Arab world, there’s little love lost between Hamas and the major Arab states such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, [and] the United Arab Emirates.” She explained that they “all see Hamas as a radical terrorist movement” and that “they would be very happy to see Hamas go.” Even Qatar, said Prof. Bellin, which has in the past been one of the major benefactors of Hamas, has retracted financial support in recent months.

But she is skeptical that these powers would come together to negotiate some sort of replacement of Hamas. The first reason that Prof. Bellin cited is the “extraordinarily costly” removal of Hamas by force in terms of both civilian and Israeli military casualties, which she does not see as something that Israel can politically manage as it may very well lead to Israel’s allies softening their support. Additionally, should Hamas be unseated, there is “no obvious cohort of Palestinian leadership waiting in the wings … that would be in a place to really lead Gaza in a new direction.” Though this attack may lead to Hamas’ popularity in the short term, as it “satisfied a deep desire for revenge after years of suffering,” at the end of the day, the Gazans are truly “eager for good governance.”

Assistant Professor Yuval Evri (NEJS), who grew up in Be’er Sheva and whose family still lives in Be’er Sheva, Ashkelon, and

the Gaza envelope (the populated areas within seven kilometers of the Gaza strip), highlighted the prolonged impact of the ongoing events, emphasizing that his family has been “suffering from this event for a long time.” He also stressed the significance of unpacking the historical context of these events to achieve a deeper understanding. “The attacks, the atrocities, the massacres, the numbers of casualties in one day never happened in the history of the conflict in one day,” he said, but Israel’s aggressive response is one that has been building up for decades due to the ongoing violence from Hamas. There is constant conflict, but Prof. Evri explained that during some of the major peaks of violence throughout the last 16 years — such as 2009, 2014, and 2021 — Israeli generals made the same kinds of promises that we are hearing now: “They’re gonna crush, they’re gonna dismantle, they’re gonna take over. But nothing happened.” The hostility between Israel and Palestine has been festering for years, and the situation has been building up in Israel, especially near the Gaza border, but also within the Gaza Strip. “Every cycle of violence, hundreds of people, thousands of people have been killed … we see every time it only intensifies the next cycle.”

This time though “the [Israeli] generals are back in full force, and all of them are talking in one voice. There’s no other voice, barely other voices, and all the … voices are talking about ‘winning.’” Prof. Evri said that he doesn’t even know what “winning” means during this time, elaborating that “everybody[’s] talking about crushing, dismantling, crushing … nobody, when you ask them another question, nobody gives it any details what it means.”

Prof. Evri argued for thinking through alternatives to the violence of Israel’s retaliatory attacks against Gaza: “I think if we here, as scholars, as people, as activists, as people that care about the area of Israel-Palestine, need … to bring about other possibilities into the discussion. What are the other possibilities?”

Prof. Evri explained that “The Israeli sentiment of revenge or collective punishment is coming from this history, but it doesn’t mean that this is the thing that needs to happen. We always need to think about Gaza and the Gazan people, 2.4 million, that live seven kilometers away … We need to live in the future together, and this is something that we need to find a solution for.”

Additionally, Prof. Evri spoke about what conversations he’s had with his Palestinian friends in Israel who are “very much afraid” because they have begun to understand that there is a “growing sentiment in Israel that all Palestinians will be a threat.” These collective fears growing in Israel have been the result of the prime minister and chief of staff using terminology such as “animals” and “non-human” when referring to the people of Gaza, and Israeli Arabs and Palestinians in Israel are “really afraid, genuinely afraid of going outside, speaking Arabic, maybe to be looked at as suspicious, maybe as people who came from Gaza.” Prof. Evri emphasized the importance of calling out “anyone who is not doing this differentiation.” He referred to this collective labeling as “really dangerous” and that “we need to call out and stop … immediately,” stressing that there is “no justification to say something like that.”

Shai Feldman (POL), the Raymon Frankel professor in Israeli Politics and Society at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, began by explaining how Israel could have so greatly underestimated the force of Hamas and ultimately suffer “the most basic strategic surprise that it ever, ever, since October 1973, suffered,” but emphasized that “because the blood is boiling, it’s very, very, very difficult for us to try to explain what happened without this being misinterpreted as trying to justify what happened. There is a big difference between understanding and justifying.”

Prof. Feldman explained that Israel was surprised because they misunderstood the notion of deterrence: “There is a tendency to think that if you are strong, you deter. That completely ignores the centrality of the issue of motivation … the fact of the matter is that Gaza was a gigantic, 2.3 million-prisoner jail.

And when you are in jail, you will go to great lengths to get out of jail.” He said that there is “no doubt in [his] mind that most of the Hamas people crossed the fence with the assumption that they are more likely than not to not survive it. Why were they not deterred? Because they were highly, highly motivated to get out of jail.”

To truly emphasize the power of motivation, Prof. Feldman drew a comparison to the victories of Israel in 1948, 1956, and 1967: “All these so-called miracles were not really miracles. It was simply because the balance of motivation was on Israel’s side. Israel perceived and fought an existential threat and won.”

Now, though, Prof. Feldman explained that Israel is trapped.

Hamas has given Israel no alternative, according to Prof. Feldman. Hamas’ ideology is split between what they say to themselves and what is written in their charter, and then what they say to seem “more appealing to the Western press and the Western ears.” The former ideology is to “destroy Israel” and the latter, which is much more toned down, is “to end the siege.” But according to Prof. Feldman, “There is a link between the two. If the movement … adheres to its commitment to destroy Israel, Israel cannot afford to end the siege.”

This is where, according to Prof. Feldman, “Hamas completely misunderstood the situation.” Israel “is not going to seize as long as Hamas does not change its ideological commitment.” Contrasting the current situation to former peace processes made in the past, Prof. Feldman said that “because Egypt made it very clear to Israel that it is interested in peace … Israel … went to great lengths and took many risks in its agreement with [the] Oslo [Accords].”

The Oslo Accords were a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1993 and 1995.

The PLO is often confused with the Palestinian Authority, but they are different entities. The PLO was founded in 1964; the PA was founded in 1995 by the PLO. The PA has “‘municipal authority’ over the affairs of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” according to the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, and the PLO takes the responsibility for any broader decisions regarding Palestinians worldwide and the status of Palestine. The PLO holds no legal authority or governance position. Both bodies are currently led by the

same person, Mahmoud Abbas, and thus “they are intrinsically linked,” according to PASSIA. The PLO was the signatory of the Oslo Accords, the outcomes of which resulted in an increase of self-rule in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for the Palestinians, as well as the establishment of the Palestinian Authority. “But Oslo didn’t come out of nowhere,” said Prof. Feldman. “Oslo was at the very important face at the process of privatization that the Palestinian Liberation Organization went through beginning at 1974 … of making it clear that they accept Israel’s existence, and then the negotiations were about what kind of coexistence.”

Hamas, on the other hand, “has not offered Israel anything of the sort. And this is why we’re at the trap … As long as they adhere to this ideological commitment, Israel actually has no option of ending the siege. Hamas is not offering us an option, an alternative, and we’re trapped,” said Prof. Feldman.

Abdel Monem Said Aly, founding senior fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, began his remarks by stating that he is “just an individual who happens to be 75 years old and 50 years of them have been with this conflict.” He said that if he “learned anything from the war that [he] participated in 1973, [it] is that war is a very horrifying thing. To be in war and see the blood … even when you try to save them and carry them, they are so heavy.” He stated that “wars get the peace out of us,” and expressed his condolences to “everyone here who are affected directly because I know what it means to lose someone.”

Prof. Said Aly explained that this situation is different from past situations, that there has been a complicated mix of “denouncing and saluting and condolences” across the Arab world.

As an example, he explained that initially Egyptians viewed the current situation as “just a Palestinian response like the intifada … to respond to a long time of feeling that they have been damaged in many ways.” But seeing the images the next day, they felt “very bewildered and abhorred.” He explained that there has been “action and reaction and dualities as the developments are taking place.”

He said that he is “afraid that we are like the blind who are trying to measure a cube of ice while it is melting in our hand.

We are into the situation as we speak now, so it’s very difficult,” but he aimed to clarify the difference between three things: the Palestinian people, the Palestinian cause, and the current situation. The Palestinian people are “part and parcel of the history of the Arab world — the Islamic world.” The Palestinian cause “is a case that evolved over the last 100 years and became much more specific since 1948, with all the pains and sorrows attached to it, and that is treated from the Arab side that peace is possible. And peace can be accommodated.” And the third concept, the current situation, is part of current “extremisms … 9/11, Afghanistan, the Taliban, Iran revolution.”

Prof. Said Aly explained that “there was a glimpse of a serious geopolitical change for the better in the past few weeks, in which there was the issue of how to bring Saudi Arabia into the camp of peace,” but this current situation, he said he believes, “is imagining a response to that.” He stressed that regardless, “peace is less difficult than war.”

Jonathan D. Sarna (NEJS), Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun professor of American Jewish History, spoke about the American Jewish experience, watching this war unfold from afar and touched on two main takeaways: the newfound unity of the American Jewish people, and the full impact that the digital revolution has on a wartime world.

He began by saying that it is “hard to remember that just one week ago we had a sense that American Jews are divided among themselves” and that there was a “distancing” between American Jewry and Israel, citing recent rabbinical high holiday sermons that were “deeply critical of the Israeli government.” A week later he said, “It seems like a century ago.” He spoke about the “wall-to-wall unity” of the American Jewish community, explaining that “one really has to go back, I think, to the Six-Day War to see the kind of response,” and pointing out that the current question is will we look back at this moment and view it as “the parallel to the Six-Day War … for the current generation … which was truly a turning point in American Jewish life in the relationship to Israel.”

Prof. Sarna also said that “American Jews are always at their happiest when they are in sync with the policies of the United States Government.” During World War II, for example, “being a good American, being a good Jew, both led you to the same conclusion: you should fight the Nazis.” Prof. Sarna spoke about Biden’s “absolutely unprecedented speeches,” explaining that there is a sense that “Jewish policy and American official policy are completely in sync. Nobody is worried that in supporting Israel they are running afoul of the government.” He explained that “in many ways, the response of the president is completely unprecedented, at least in recent decades, 1967, 1973, even more so in later years. As one Israeli put it … they gave us the keys to the ammunition before we even asked for it.”

Touching on the impact technology has had on the war, Prof.

Sarna explained that what sets this war apart from all wars Israel has fought in the past is that firstly, “scenes from the horrors have appeared everywhere in the world.” To emphasize the even greater impact that technology has had on this war, Prof. Sarna asked the audience if they had been in touch with someone in Israel over the last week — to which a significant majority of the room raised their hands in affirmation.

The panelists set aside time to address many questions from the audience. One of the questions was regarding whether this situation may result in a shift in Hamas’ popularity and whether the situation will change Israel’s current policies in dealing with Hamas and the situation in Gaza. Prof. Bellin responded that this is an important moment with the “potential to be a time of extreme political shift,” explaining that 50% of Gazans are below 18 and had no involvement in the voting in of Hamas, and that Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, is 87 years old. “There are going to have to be new elections, and that’s an opportunity, maybe to see a shift in who is leading Palestinians.” She also emphasized that to “boost” the idea of a

See PANEL, 4 ☛

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 ● NEWS ● THE JUSTICE

PANEL: Esteemed Brandeis faculty shed light on Israel-Hamas war CONTINUED FROM 3 potential political shift, “many regional great powers would support moving away from Hamas and seeing a more responsible leadership. Egypt would support it, Saudi [Arabia] would support it, even Qatar would support it.”

However, Prof. Bellin expressed her concerns: “If there’s too much violence, if Israel gets bogged down in a Vietnam in Gaza, and just continues to kill and kill and kill civilians … which is the inclination of generals … if you have a hammer and you find a nail, generals think about killing, and how you win on the battlefield, but that’s not how you win politically. And I’m really hopeful that the violence won’t persist so long that we will lose the support of some of these other forces in the region and miss this opportunity for generational shift, to be able to seize the en-

ergy of more centrists in this conflict.”

Additionally, Prof. Bellin said that the logic behind Israel’s initial policies toward Gaza, such as their “mowing the grass” policy — once in a while responding to Hamas rockets with violence, with the hope that these operations maintain periodical quiet — was that they contained threat at a low cost. However, what Israel has seen from Hamas’ attack is that this was not low cost at all, “not morally, not militarily” and that the policy of mowing the grass “is not a viable solution.” Instead, Prof. Bellin stressed that “We must work at the core of the problem.”

There were many questions regarding the role of the American academy and of academics in these situations, to which Prof.

Sarna responded with an anecdote of a similar question posed to Martin E. Marty. According to Prof. Sarna, Marty responded: “You know, I’m a scholar, that means 10 minutes after anything

happens, I can tell you why it was historically inevitable.” Prof.

Sarna elaborated that “in some ways, that’s what you are hearing when you have analysis. None of those people a week ago predicted anything of the sort, but that’s what scholars do — we tell you why it was historically inevitable.” He also said that from his understanding, you can hear “whatever pundit” depending on where you look. “There’s a whole range. And they’re quite predictable. And their job in many ways is to explain it in a particular fashion.” Gesturing to his fellow panelists, he remarked, “What’s so wonderful about what we’ve been able to do here is you have people actually with quite different politics who are coming together.”

Prof. Kaye thanked the panelists and ended the event with “wishes and prayers for wisdom, and for understanding, and for resilience, and for healing, and for comfort.”

SHOWING SOLIDARITY

Brandeis students stand with those impacted by war in Gaza ■ The University’s vast community expressed a spectrum of stances regarding the conflict, with some feeling alienated from the majority.

By SOPHIA DE LISI JUSTICE EDITOR

The morning of Oct. 7 saw an attack on Israel by Hamas, targeting civilians after breaking through the Gaza-Israel border.

The impacts of such an attack were instantaneous, with the immense loss of life and destruction going as far to impact countless members within the Brandeis community halfway across the world.

University President Ron Liebowitz issued a statement addressing the attacks later the same day. “We condemn in the strongest way terrorism such as we have seen today perpetuated against innocent civilians; it has always been our belief at Brandeis that engaging and wrestling with divisive issues from a place of compassion is how we begin to heal our broken world,” he wrote, suggesting that those who feel they are uninformed should pursue learning from faculty and staff who are experts in the region and the conflict. Furthermore, President Liebowitz clarified that the University is in contact with two students who are currently studying in Israel for the semester and will continue to support them.

The Brandeis community’s response to the intensifying war has been polarized as the global response has, with community members lauding Liebowitz’s statement, condemning the language he used, to some claiming total neutrality.

“Some university leaders seemed to be trying to thread the needle, acknowledging the devastation in both Israel and Gaza without taking a side,” the Boston Globe reported, comparing Brandeis’ response to the Hamas attacks with other universities — such as Harvard University, Tufts University, and Dartmouth College. These institutions were more reluctant to label the Hamas attacks as “terrorist” and only did so after previous statements or in initial statements preceded by days of silence.

In fact, President Liebowitz told the Boston Globe that he received “angry” emails from alumni about this statement. “They felt it was a weak message. They thought I should have been much more condemning.” Liebowitz recalled.

At the same time, parts of the Brandeis community feel that his statement was entirely incorrect altogether.

“The [University’s] failure to acknowledge Palestinian life is deeply indicative of our school’s transactional relationship to its minority students, especially those of Muslim and Arab positionality,” Yasamine Brown ’26 said in an Oct. 15 statement to the Justice. “Although I am not surprised by the staggering polarization, the neglect to make space for truth and [ensure] safety of all its students is quite hypocritical coming from an institution founded on the notion of equity and inclusion,” Brown expressed.

The University’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine similarly found fault with President Liebowitz’s statement.

In an Oct. 10 Instagram post, the organization wrote: “We reject the characteristics of Palestinian resistance as ‘terrorism’ as indicated in President Ron’s email to the student body. Such a label ignores the ongoing occupation of Palestine, the expansion of illegal settlements, and the denial of basic human rights.

We must understand that the Palestinian resistance, in all of its manifestations, is a response to a history of dispossession and oppression.”

The organization also postponed its Israelism Screening Event to Nov. 13 “in light of current events in Palestine.”

Out of concern for their members’ safety, the SJP denied the

Justice’s request for comment on Oct. 15.

In an Oct. 15 statement to the Justice, Hillel Student President Eitan Marks ’24 expressed his appreciation for Liebowitz’s statement: “I am grateful for the swift and decisive condemnation of the horrific Hamas terror attacks, and expression of support for the Jewish community.” Marks mentioned his regrets for those who are unable to express the same support.

Hillel, the University’s center for Jewish life on campus, organized a community gathering in the Berlin Chapel on Oct. 9, welcoming families, students, faculty, and other community members to support one another. There were too many attendees for the chapel to seat, causing the Hillel staff to leave the doors open for a small crowd to watch the gathering from behind those seated.

The gathering featured remarks from Hillel President Marks, various students, rabbis, and President Liebowitz. These speakers also led the group in prayer, including the Prayer for Captured Soldiers and Civilians; Prayer for the state of Israel; Prayer for Peace; and mourners’ Kaddish. The gathering also featured Debbie Friedman’s Misheberach and Hatikvah, which is the Israeli national anthem. After the gathering formally concluded, Zachary Gondelman ’26 and Noah Simon ’25 stayed to play the guitar and sing for those with music requests. Many attendees continued to converse outside of the chapel.

Marks described his hopes for the war: “I hope that my friends and family in Israel remain safe. I hope that Hamas is swiftly defeated, for the sake of Israel and the Palestinian civilians,” he wrote, “I hope the hostages are returned safely and quickly to their families. I hope that the rampant increase of anti-Jewish violence we’ve seen across the globe this week is stopped.”

For instance, London has seen rising rates of antisemitic incidents compared to now and this time last year, resulting in the closure of two Jewish faith schools in London due to security concerns. According to the Guardian, the London Metropolitan police stated that there were 75 antisemitic incidents from Sept.

30 to Oct. 13, compared to 12 during the same time period last year.

In the wake of this war’s escalating violence, there has also been increased violence against Palestinian individuals.

The Associated Press reports that a six-year-old boy was fatally stabbed 26 times in his home in Chicago — the assailant left the boy’s mother in critical condition from over a dozen stab wounds. A family member and the Council on American-Islamic Relations identified the boy as Wadea Al-Fayoume. On Oct.14, Will County’s Sheriff’s office announced that detectives surmised that the suspect, the victims’ landlord, targeted the pair “due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.”

In a further effort to build a sense of community solidarity, Israeli culture club Mishelanu also organized a candlelight vigil on Oct. 11 in Chapels Field. The club’s website specifies that they “hope to be unique as an Israel club that is nonpolitical and solely cultural” with a commitment to bringing Israeli, IsraeliAmerican, and Jewish communities together at Brandeis.

Vigil attendees formed a large circle in the field, standing next to each other. Mishelanu’s table displayed candles and QR codes to connect attendees to charity organizations such as ZAKA Search and Rescue as well as the Hadassah Foundation that will use donations to provide medical and humanitarian aid to Israeli civilians.

The event featured several student speakers leading in prayer, song, and providing their personal experiences with the war.

The vigil started with opening remarks from a Mishelanu copresident who stated that they hope the vigil brings attendees “some sense of community as well as support” during these “dark” times.

Ido Petel ’24 recalled an instance on Sunday, Oct. 8 where he felt unsafe on campus after returning from an Israel solidarity rally in Boston. Petel was walking back to his room with a poster when two students “yelled ‘Palestine’” at him. He mentioned that University property has also been vandalized with “pro-Palestine rhetoric.” An Oct. 13 email from Dean of Students Monique Pillow Gnanaratnam and Vice President for Student Affairs Andrea Dine confirmed that there have been “several recent incidents of graffiti on campus.” The email encouraged students to review the University’s Rights and Responsibilities policies, specifically Section 7, which states that students have freedom of debate and protection from censorship, but the University may limit the time, place, and manner of demonstrations, especially if they are disruptive in nature. Gnanaratnam and Dine clarified that “vandalism is not an acceptable form of protest, nor is it a protected speech — it is property damage, and can be criminally prosecuted … We also condemn the use of graffiti to attempt to intimidate any community members.”

Brown echoed feeling unsafe as well, telling the Justice that she does not think any Palestinian or Muslim feels safe “especially when there have been such vast attempts to make [the war] a religious conflict.” In her address, Brown referred to any attempt to make the conflict a construction of anti-semitism “vile” and clarified that it is not a conflict between Jewish people and Muslims from her perspective.

“This is not a Palestinian vs. Jews issue,” Brown said. “This is Palestine vs. genocide.”

Reuters outlined that as of Oct. 16, there have been at least 2,750 Palestinian casualties with 9,700 wounded from Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7. According to the Washington Post, Israel’s military ordered the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from Gaza, but the main roads leading south were blocked with traffic. The source reports that many Palestinians are also refusing to evacuate, fearful that fleeing civilians will die in airstrikes.

“Moving more than one million people across a densely populated warzone to a place with no food, water, or accommodation, when the entire territory is under siege, is extremely dangerous — and in some cases, simply not possible,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres wrote in an Oct. 13 announcement.

“The war that began Oct. 7 has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides with more than 4,000 dead,” AP stated.

“More Jews were murdered four days ago than any other single day outside of the Holocaust,” Steven Berchin ’25 said during his speech at the candlelight vigil. The Times of Israel explores this claim, finding that it “appears to be accurate” given that the other high-casualty days in Israel and for global Jewish communities since 1945, but none of them have had death tolls that have climbed this high until now. The closest is Israel’s War of Independence, which resulted in over 6,000 deaths, a number that is mostly composed of soldiers who were fighting in the war rather than civilians.

“I hope that students on this campus who are unfamiliar with the ongoing conflict or its history reach out to knowledgeable professors to learn more — Instagram is not a reliable source,” Marks wrote, echoing Liebowitz’s sentiment to look to the University’s experts on the issue for the facts necessary to create an informed opinion. Marks also specified that Hillel staff is available for individual conversations and support with plans to have visiting therapy dogs in the upcoming weeks.

Furthermore, the Brandeis community is also offering other resources for those who are looking for support. In his statement, Liewbowitz directed students to the Brandeis Counseling Center’s full time support, as well as the Center for Spiritual Life’s staff of campus clergy.

OWEN CHAN/the Justice

VIGIL: Members of the Brandeis community gather in a large circle on Chapel’s Field, standing next to one another, to commemorate the thousands of Israeli citizens who died this week due to the war with Hamas.

THE JUSTICE ● NEWS ● TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023

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DISPUTE: A look into the Israel-Gaza war tensions CONTINUED FROM 1

that the time of their rampaging without accountability has ended.” In the recording, Deif identified Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and the “defense of the Aqsa mosque” as two reasons for the attack, according to The New York Times. For both Jews and Muslims, Al-Aqsa Mosque holds deep religious significance. In Islam, it's the third holiest site in the world; for Jews, it's associated with the historic Temple Mount, making it a place of shared importance and historical connection.

The area has also been a historical flashpoint, often witnessing clashes due to competing religious claims and political tensions in the region. Deif called the infiltration the “day of the great revolution,” and, according to the Times of Israel, called on Arabs within and around Israel’s borders to join in on the attack. “Enough is enough,” Deif said. “We warned the enemy not to continue its aggression against the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is only the first stage."

According to Bellin, even in the unlikely event of Hamas' complete dismantling, Hamas functions not only as a militant group and the governing body of Gaza, but as a social movement as well. As such, institutions such as schools, mosques, and charities associated with Hamas may persist in the societal sphere, as people will remain committed to them. “There is support for Hamas — the ideology, the movement — among Gazans. And that’s even after 17 years of very bad governance in the area, so does that mean Hamas will survive after this?

I guess my answer is yes, but maybe if the Israeli military is as militarily successful as they hope to be, maybe it won’t be a Hamas that will be able to directly threaten Israel the same way they had before,” Bellin said.

This attack differs from previous attacks for multiple reasons, but perhaps the two most significant are the unprecedented number of people who were able to breach the border wall and the fact that Israel was caught completely off guard.

The Washington Post released satellite images that pinpoint three breaches in the border wall, although according to the IDF, there were breaches at 20-30 different points. As of Oct. 10, the IDF had secured most of the border. Hamas employed drones to disable crucial cell towers that were critical to Israel's high-tech surveillance and defense mechanisms set up along the border. Disabling these cell towers disrupted and prevented communication between the border and the military regarding any potential breaches, and rendered inactive the machine guns on the border wall designed to automatically activate during such breaches, Bellin explained.

“There was a great deal of confidence that this electronic barrier would provide sufficient information and advance warning of any problem, so they did not have to amass a huge contingency of Israeli armed forces along the Gaza border,” Bellin said. Indeed, there was only one major unit of military forces guarding the Gaza border, and they were quickly overpowered due to the lack of advance notice and communication failures. According to Bellin, the IDF chose to prioritize deploying armed forces in the West Bank, as opposed to Gaza, due to ongoing tensions in the area. Gaza and the West Bank are two distinct Palestinian territories with separate geopolitical dynamics. “They felt ‘Well, we got the Gaza border covered because of this billion dollar high tech fence,’ and they were mistaken,” Bellin explained.

Israel found itself unprepared due to another factor highlighted by Bellin: Hamas’ leadership has become technologically savvy. “The Israelis are so technologically advanced, and now Hamas is saying, ‘Well, we can work around that.’

And in their case, it’s not by using counter technology; it’s by avoiding technology altogether.” Rather than communicating plans for the attack via cell phone, which Hamas knows Israelis can track, they reverted to old-fashioned face-to-face communication, catching the Israelis off guard.

On Oct. 10, Israel ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that “no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel” would be allowed into Gaza. Israeli warplanes have struck hundreds of sites in Gaza. At least 2,700 people have been killed in Gaza, of which roughly 724 are children, and thousands of others have been wounded by Israel’s retaliatory air strikes as of print date, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, said that every time an airstrike hits a Gazan “in their homes without warning,” they would execute a hostage — although according to Hamas, the hostages are being held in “safe places and tunnels.” While not all of the hostages taken by Hamas have been identified, there is a believed age range of 9 months to 85 years old. It is also believed that there are about 20 Americans among those held hostage, and the U.K. has said they are missing 10 of their nationals, although it is unclear whether they have been killed or are among those taken. The exact number is unclear at the moment, but National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in a press statement that 17 Americans are still unaccounted for in Israel.

On Oct. 12, Israel dropped thousands of leaflets via military planes overhead Gaza, warning over one million civilians to evacuate northern Gaza. The warning and the buildup of Israeli soldiers near the northern Gaza border has led many to speculate that Israel plans for a ground invasion of Gaza, which has not been seen since the 2014 war, sparked by the

kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas terrorists. A United Nations spokesperson in a statement to CBS News said that a ground invasion would be “impossible … without devastating humanitarian consequences.” According to CNN, Hamas has urged its citizens not to evacuate, claiming that the IDF is just using “psychological warfare” and aiming to “create confusion among citizens and undermine the stability of our internal front.” Though Egypt has agreed to provide Gazans with humanitarian aid during this war, Reuters has reported that Egypt has refused to provide a haven for any Gazan refugees, and as of press time, has not allowed anyone, Gazans or otherwise, to cross through their portions of the border.

Bellin helped clarify why Egypt has refused to absorb any Gazan refugees, or even open their borders at all: “First of all, Egypt is in very bad shape right now. Economically, they are in a terrible position.” Because of a combination of debt, inflation, tourism levels that have not yet recovered since COVID-19, and the taking in of millions of refugees, Egypt doesn’t even have the capacity to provide for its own people right now, Bellin explained. The Egyptian government holds a negative stance toward Hamas and isn’t “too eager to see Hamas affiliates flood into the country … They are not looking for [a] new huge socioeconomic burden, and they are not looking for new political threats to come in,” Bellin said. However, she remains hopeful that despite Egypt not opening its border, there might be a possibility for the UN and the Egyptian government to establish refugee camps or designated areas for receiving humanitarian aid near the border.

Hamas’ October attack came 50 years and a day after the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when an Arab coalition launched a joint surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. The coalition was led by Egypt and Syria. Egypt’s initial objective in the attack was to gain a foothold on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal and to use this control as leverage to negotiate the return of the land that was occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. These territories included the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula, the latter of which was traded for peace subsequent to the Yom Kippur War. In this war, Israel saw nearly 2,700 deaths. Hamas’ 2023 attack has been called unprecedented and unimaginable, and the scale of the attack is one that has not been seen in Israel since the Yom Kippur War. A brief history of Gaza To understand the complexity behind the fighting, it is necessary to understand the history of the Gaza Strip. The area became Israeli territory when it was captured from Egypt during the 1967 Six-Day War. Though some of the other captured territories, such as the Sinai Peninsula, were later returned to Egypt after peace negotiations and the Camp David Accords, the return of the Gaza Strip was never explicitly addressed during these negotiations. According to Bellin, “Gaza was not historically part of Egypt, so better to leave that aside and make that part of the ultimate solution to the Palestine problem which [former president of Egypt] Anwar El-Sadat was committed to.” Egypt did not want to govern the Palestinian people, and Sadat believed that the Palestinians should have their own territory, Bellin said.

Israeli settlements were built within the area, and many Israelis moved there, but in 2003, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, formerly the general who had led Israelis to victory over Egypt in 1973, proposed a complete disengagement from the Gaza Strip. The proposal was accepted by the government and approved by the Knesset in 2005. Though many Israeli citizens were against the idea of the withdrawal from Gaza — polls on public support for the plan have consistently shown 50–60% of the population in support and 30-40% in opposition — Sharon and many other Israelis deemed it a necessary step toward the ultimate goal of peace with the Palestinians.

The disengagement included the complete dismantling of 21 Israeli settlements within Gaza and the evacuation of all Israeli settlers and soldiers from the area. Many of the settlers, because they were so adamantly opposed to the idea, had to be forcibly evacuated from their homes, which were subsequently destroyed. A total of 8,000 settlers were evacuated.

After Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians were given control over the area, except for the borders, the airspace, and the territorial waters, of which Israel maintained control (with the exception of the Egypt-Gaza border controlled by Egypt). Gaza gets water from a combination of sources, including wells, a pipeline from Israel, and desalination plants on the Mediterranean Sea, and gets most of its electricity from Israel.

The Palestinian Authority, which was dominated by the Fatah party, initially had control over the area. In 2006, the Palestinian territories held elections for leadership, and Hamas won a majority of the seats with 44.45% of the vote and won 74 of the 132 seats, while Fatah received 41.43% of the vote and won 45 seats.

In the election, “Hamas was not pushing itself as a radical movement at that point. It was emphasizing that [they] are going to deliver non-corrupt governance, [they] are going to

deliver good governance to the people of Gaza, because the Palestine authority had been tainted with very poor governance and corruption prior to that … and they won on those rounds, which of course they have not delivered on,” Bellin said.

The hand-off of power was complex and tumultuous, and there was factional fighting between the two groups until 2007, when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip. Fatah retains control of the West Bank. There have not been elections in Gaza since Hamas gained control of the area.

Bellin cited a poll from the Washington Institute, which was put out in Oct. 2023. Overall, 57% of Gazans express at least a somewhat positive opinion of Hamas, while 64% support Fatah. The majority of Gazans, 70%, supported a proposal for the Palestinian Authority to send in officials and security officers to Gaza “to take over the administration there, with Hamas giving up separate armed units.” 62% of Gazans have endorsed maintaining a ceasefire with Israel, and 50% of Gazans agreed with the following proposal: “Hamas should stop calling for Israel’s destruction and instead accept a permanent two-state solution based on the 1967 borders.”

Hamas first began firing rockets into Israel in 2006. When Hamas took control of the area, Egypt and Israel worked together to blockade the Gaza Strip, with both countries strictly measuring the movement of people and goods, and Israel imposing a naval blockade. The two countries cite security concerns and attack prevention as the reasons for the blockade, explaining that the blockade allows them to maintain control over whether any weapons, ammunition, or militant groups can enter Gaza. Both countries deem Hamas as a terrorist organization and have sought to isolate the group. The relationship between Hamas and Israel has grown more and more violent over the years. Hamas has sent rockets into Israel every year since the blockade began, often justifying the violence by arguing that it is retaliation for the occupation, symbolic resistance, a call for national attention, or defense against Israeli military actions, which are frequently in relation to the al-Aqsa mosque.

Israel and Egypt have blockaded Gaza since 2007. Israel provides almost all of Gaza’s liquid fuel and about half of its electricity, and its only power plant runs on crude diesel imported via Israel. Israel allows some humanitarian supplies into the Gaza strip, but not “dual-use” items such as goods and software. The blockade has been a source of significant humanitarian concern, as it limits access to basic necessities and hinders economic and societal development within Gaza. Many international organizations and human rights groups have criticized the blockade, deeming it illegal and saying that it violates the Geneva Convention, a framework of international humanitarian legal standards for humanitarian treatment during war. Israel and Egypt both claim that the blockade is necessary for security reasons, and Egypt has thus far refused to allow any Gazan refugees to cross their border.

As for the end of the war, Bellin says there is no way to predict what will happen. In her eyes, the best possible solution — one that she admits would be highly unlikely to occur — would be that “Israel makes some real inroads and manages to wreak some real damage to Hamas in the next, let’s say two weeks or three weeks, and then because there will be great civilian suffering, there will be a huge move by the United States and Egypt and Qatar and maybe Turkey — who knows — to come in and say we’ve got to negotiate something — and much of the Hamas leadership is killed,” Bellin said. These negotiations would be for the release of the hostages and for a new election in Gaza. “Maybe we could see a somewhat more technocratic elite come forward to govern … for the last 20 years, politics in the region in Israel and among Palestinians in Gaza at the very least have been seized by extremists and the center has just lost its hold, but that doesn’t mean that the majority of people, at least for now, are still not centrists,” Bellin said.

Bellin explained that in the year 2000, the Israelis and Palestinians were very close to achieving peace and a two-state solution had the support of many Arab countries. U.S. President Bill Clinton hosted Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat at Camp David in an effort to find a solution for peace. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter hosted Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to negotiate a peace agreement, which ultimately resulted in a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel— Egypt being the first Arab nation to officially recognize the state of Israel. There was a collective hope that the 2000 Camp David Summit could result in a similar outcome but the Summit ended without an agreement. Though Barak expressed support for a two-state solution, Arafat dallied and in the end, refused to officially agree to any peace treaty. The failed agreement was a major setback for the potential for peace and presumably was the impetus for the Second Intifada in 2000, a major Palestinian uprising and wave of violence against Israeli civilians. Bellin believes that major Arab powers would exhibit the same support today as they did in 2000, feeding into her optimism for eventual peace.

— Editor’s Note: Justice Editor Leah Breakstone contributed to the reporting of this article.

ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 ● NEWS ● THE JUSTICE

DEVASTATION IN THE COMMUNITY

Brandeis Professor emeritus Ilan Troen loses his daughter and son-in-law during tragic Hamas terrorist attack on Gaza ■ Deborah and Shlomi Matias died shielding

their son from Hamas gunmen, who broke into their home. The war has already taken the lives of thousands.

By DALYA KOLLER DEPUTY EDITOR

In an unprecedented act of violence, Hamas terrorists breached the border wall between Israel and Gaza on Oct. 7, infiltrated neighboring towns, killed 1,300 civilians, and took 150 hostages. The attack caught Israel by surprise and triggered one of the most devastating waves of violence that the region has seen in decades, and the Brandeis community has suffered a heartbreaking loss as a result of the war. Brandeis Prof. Emeritus Ilan Troen (NEJS) lost his daughter and son-in-law, Deborah and Shlomi Matias, who were killed while shielding their 16-year-old son, Rotem, from Hamas terrorists. During the initial series of attacks that triggered the subsequent war, Hamas terrorists entered the Matias home in Holit, a kibbutz (a collective community) near the Gaza border, and unleashed gunfire on the family.

Daniel Estrin ’06, NPR’s international correspondent in Jerusalem and a former student of Prof. Troen, recounted on NPR’s All Things Considered how he ran into Prof. Troen in a hospital in Southern Israel, who told him about the traumatic series of events that his family experienced earlier that morning.

“My daughter and son-in-law were killed today, but in their dying [they] saved [Rotem’s] life. They followed his body. They were all together in the secure room. And they covered his body, and he was saved. He — nevertheless, a bullet penetrated them and went into his abdomen,” Troen said.

Rotem is recovering from a gunshot wound and is expected to survive. Prof. Troen provided more details of the attack in a live NBC interview. He explained that Hamas terrorists used explosives to break through the doors of the family’s home as well as

the

their bomb shelter/safe room. The terrorists then lit the house on fire as they did all the other houses in the neighborhood, so that, according to Prof. Troen, “if there were a survivor, that survivor would run out, and then they could shoot him.”

Deborah Matias called her father at around 6:30 a.m. local time and told him that they heard gunshots and people speaking Arabic outside of their home. She then reported broken glass and that was the last he heard from her.

“The next we heard was from her son saying … they’re dead, and we learned that he was lying under her and was covered in part by his parents’ blood, and that he himself had been wounded,” Prof. Troen said.

Rotem survived after hiding for 12 hours. Prof. Troen and other relatives helped him through the excruciating wait via a family group chat, because they did not want him to speak lest anyone outside the house hear him and realize that he survived.

Rotem’s two sisters, Shir and Shakked, who were not home, found out about their parents’ death in a six-word text message from Rotem, as he tried to preserve his battery while hiding: “Mom and Dad are dead. Sorry.” Shakked recounted in an interview with CNN that she lost her cell service right after receiving that text message and waited for at least 13 hours until she was able to verify the well-being of her parents and her brother.

In a statement to the Boston Globe, Prof. Troen said the events were a “well-rehearsed act of unbridled violence,” and that “Deborah and Shlomi Martias were not murdered in a mere ‘attack.’

It was a pogrom.” In the same NBC interview, Prof. Troen said, “These were people who came bent on murder, and they succeeded to such a significant extent that in this house right now, the siblings and the surviving children are together discussing how and where they’re going to bury their parents. It can’t be done in the community in which they made their home, because it’s still a warzone. So where does one go?”

Born and raised in Boston, Prof. Troen is the founding director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, the Lopin Chair of Modern History at Ben-Gurion University, and the Karl, Harry, and Helen Stoll Professor of Israel Studies at Brandeis — the first

such chair to be appointed in the United States.

Prof. Troen joined Ben-Gurion University in 1975 and was a pioneer in the academic field of Israel Studies. He was the founding editor of “Israel Studies,” the leading journal in the field. His work and research in this field brought him to the attention of Brandeis, which then recruited his help in 2007 with the founding of the Schusterman Center, the largest and most significant center for Israel Studies outside of Israel. He has authored and edited numerous books on American, Jewish, and Israeli history.

Prof. Troen now lives in Be’er Sheva, the largest city in Israel’s Negev desert. His daughter, Deborah, attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston and met her husband, Shlomi, at the Rimon School of Music in Ramat Hasharon. “Deborah was a child of light and life,” Troen said in a CNN interview. “She, rather than becoming a scientist or a physician, she said to me one day, ‘Dad, I have to do music because it’s in my soul.’”

In the same CNN interview, Rotem recounted the dedication and love that his parents bestowed upon him and his sisters.

“They wanted us to be happy — to be whimsical. They wanted us to be joyful. They wanted us to be in peace. They didn’t want us to be [in] a situation like this, and they wanted us to live, more than anything.” While Rotem, Shir, and Shakked comforted one another during the CNN interview, Rotem said about his parents, “They won’t die there. They won’t die. They will live on in memories and in stories.”

The Schusterman Center sent out a statement on Oct. 9, in which they wrote that “The Troen family tragedy is deeply felt by all of us at the Schusterman Center, which was shaped by years of his wise leadership and by the field of Israel Studies more broadly. For decades, Ilan has devoted himself to founding and leading a number of the field’s most significant institutions and publications. He is beloved by countless colleagues and students … We wish Ilan, Carol, and the family strength, comfort, and an end to suffering.”

The statement also said that any notes of condolence sent to scis@brandeis.edu will be sent to Ilan and Carol.

Justice!

ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

THE JUSTICE ● NEWS ● TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023

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RECOGNITION: Weissman's breakthrough mRNA usage CONTINUED FROM 1

enabled the mRNA to be taken up by the cells with a suppressed inflammatory response.

With this new innovation, Karikó and Weissman opened a new realm of possibilities for vaccine development. Weissman explained in an interview with The New York Times that initially other scientists were not interested in the new approach to vaccination. While mRNA vaccines use synthetic mRNA to teach cells how to make a protein that triggers an immune response within the body, traditional vaccines inject an inactive or weakened virus into the body to trigger an immune response.

In 2005, Karikó and Weissman’s paper was finally published by Immunity after being rejected by the more well-known scientific journals Nature and Science.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, Weissman and Karikó were working with Moderna and BioNTech on five Phase I clinical trials of vaccines, including one for the Influenza virus, but the majority of the public did not know about it. Although the other vaccines were stuck in clinical trials for a while, Karikó and Weissman’s work came together rapidly to fight the spread of COVID-19. “We’ve been ready for a pandemic for years,” Weissman told the Justice.

“We made an mRNA that encoded the spiked antigen,” he explained. “We put it into LLPS and started immunizing animals. Moderna and [Pfizer-]BioNTech did the same thing. They actually went straight to people … before they did animal studies. That’s why the first people were immunized two months after the sequence was released. They went as fast as they possibly could to get the [COVID-19] vaccine made and approved quickly.” Weissman clarified that the animal trials were safe.

The NIH found that mRNA vaccines were more effective in producing antibodies to fight COVID-19 than the inactive virus vaccine.

In the United States alone, medical centers have administered 400 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 250 million doses of the Moderna vaccine. Globally, pharmaceuticals

have administered hundreds of millions more, with mRNA vaccines enabling updated boosters to protect people from new variants.

“The human data, which is most important, showed that within a couple weeks after the first immunization people started to see protection [from the virus],” said Weissman. “It was 60-70% that came up — as I remember — around two weeks after the first vaccine. After the second vaccine was five to seven days when the antibodies were boosted. And people got 95% protection.” He explained that it is natural for the response to the primary vaccine to be slower than for a booster vaccine.

The mRNA vaccine has completely innovated vaccine technology, paving the way to one day equip immune systems against many other fatal diseases such as cancer, malaria, sickle cell anemia, leptospirosis, and even peanut allergies.

Weissman explained that winning the Nobel has not changed his perception of his responsibilities as a global citizen. “Once we made the mRNA vaccine, that was my role already. I travel the world talking to young people to encourage them to go into science and talking to scientists around the world to help them develop vaccines.”

Weissman and Karikó have worked with the World Health Organization to build 15 good manufacturing practice sites across sub-Saharan Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe. “GMP is the grade of production you need for vaccines and drugs,” explained Weissman. “We actually have one being built in Ukraine right now during the war,” he added.

“The hope is that as [the sites] come online, they’ll give local regions access to the GMP drug.” In addition to helping researchers develop new vaccines, these sites enable lower and middle class countries to rapidly make and distribute vaccines if another pandemic hits. Large pharmaceuticals do not have an interest in making vaccines for dengue or tularemia because they will lose money by only selling vaccines to poor countries, Weissman explained, but these

sites empower those countries with the resources for vaccine research and development.

Last May Weissman delivered the commencement address in which he explained how it was during his years at Brandeis that he realized the importance of applying social justice to his scientific research.

“We’ve got malaria vaccines in clinical trials,” Weissman told the Justice. “Moderna has a dengue vaccine in clinical trials. We’re collaborating with researchers in Brazil who are making Zika mRNA vaccine. We have vaccines for C. difficile infection. We’ve got vaccines for miragic fever viruses, for herpes viruses. The scope is enormous. We also have vaccines for autoimmune diseases and for food allergies and aeroallergen allergies.”

When asked if those vaccines will also require multiple doses, Weissman said that it is still unknown. “My assumption is that there will be one vaccine for malaria, but you might need to get boosters every five to ten to 20 years — and probably similar for dengue. We get the tetanus [shot] every 10 years; we get our MMR boosted every so often. Vaccines require boosters.”

Brandeis is also where Weissman got his start in scientific research, receiving both a BA and MA in biochemistry and enzymology in 1981 — at only 22 years old — while working in the lab of Prof. Gerry Fasman (BCHM). Weissman recalled being excited at the prospect of working with Fasman’s minicomputer. “Minicomputers were just being released at the time. He did such high dimension calculations with it,” said Weissman.

“Gerry was a great mentor, and I still have a lot of friends from the lab.”

During his commencement speech, Weissman fondly recalled some of the long-lasting bonds he made at Brandeis, including meeting his wife Mary Ellen Weissman. “It was here where I met my wife, now a gifted child psychologist, while tutoring her in calculus,” he said to the audience. “Although I’ll admit the only thing she seems to remember from those sessions is that I explained the concept of infinity by comparing it

to her boundless desire for shoes.”

The Justice asked Weissman what funny moments stand out from his years at Brandeis.

“Most of those moments I can’t share with you for a variety of reasons,” he joked. “There was one day — I forgot the name it was called — but it was named after a professor who used to smoke pot with all the students. And we had a day — Brandeis had gotten rid of it since the 80’s — where the student activity group could buy a ton of pot and roll it into joints and pass the joints out to everybody on campus. That was always an interesting day. I didn’t smoke, but it was fun just watching people … I don’t know how they got rid of [that tradition]. If you want to bring it back, you have my support.”

Weissman also offered some genuine advice to Brandeis students: “I think the most important thing is to find a career or a future in something you love … Your time at Brandeis, you’re exposed to lots of different things to help you decide what kind of careers and what kind of futures you want. I would take advantage of as many of those as possible.”

A heart-warming video circulating YouTube captures the special moment when Weissman told his 90-year-old mother and 91-year-old father that he won the Nobel. His mother said to him, “You’re the product of our hearts, Drew.”

In 2021, Brandeis awarded Weissman and Karikó with the 50th Annual Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award in basic medical research and the Lasker Award in clinical medical research. At the Class of 2023 graduation ceremony, the University also awarded Weissman and Karikó with Honorary Doctorates of Science.

— Editor’s Note: Justice Editor Sophia De Lisi contributed to the reporting of this article.

ANNIVERSARY: The University hosts campus-wide events CONTINUED FROM 1

eight other alumni from their graduating class.

Over the course of the weekend, they connected with the other eight in their group of friends and hoped to connect with others from the class of 1968. Though the campus is not nearly the same as it was when the two graduated, they were still able to share a laugh and reflect upon memories such as Goldberg falling into the Massell Quad pond while chasing a football.

“Alums come back and don't get to interact with current students and they regret that. They love seeing their classmates. That's why they come back. But I think this is an incredible opportunity for students to talk to, and alumni to talk to one another. And I think it's going to be interesting because this generation is very different from the earlier generations,” Liebowitz said during his Oct. 12 interview with the Justice and the Hoot.

The events appealed to a diverse range of interests, including family bingo, a Brandeis soccer game, and a student performance showcase, as well as more than 30 distinct alumni reunion events. For many events, there was a large emphasis on academia, such as “Brandeis Women Who Changed the World,” a talk with Brandeis Prof. Anita Hill (WGS) and Prof. Emerita Joyce Antler ‘63. Another featured talk was “Groundbreakers, Game Changers, and Education,” a conversation with leading Brandeis science Profs. Dorothee Kern (BCHM), Michael Rosbash

(BIOL), Eve Marder ’69 (BIOL), Gina Turrigiano (BIOL), and James Haber (BIOL) about their research on campus. Members of the panel were past recipients of prestigious awards such as Rosbash, who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, and Turrigiano, who received the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant. “I think the panels really do reflect the intellectual breadth, and also the interests of our students and our faculty,” President Liebowitz said.

The University gave out several awards this weekend including the Perlmutter Award for Excellence in Global Business Leadership and Reception to the Chief Executive Officer of the investment management firm Wellington Management, Jean Hynes.

The BNC Sachar Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in education, was given to broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff.

“It's an incredible honor to have been invited to come to receive this award. In the name of your first president, who was an extraordinary educator, and extraordinary mentor,” Woodruff said in an Oct. 14 interview with the Justice. Prior to a dinner where Woodruff officially received the award, she spoke on a panel organized by the Journalism department with Profs. Neil Swidey (JOUR) and Ann Silvio (JOUR). Throughout the talk, Woodruff addressed issues such as partisanship in politics and the media, the traits of a good politician, and advised that if students took

one anecdote away from her talk, it is to go into journalism. “The American people are always going to need information,” she said.

“To be here on this weekend, the 75th anniversary of this extraordinary school that came together in the aftermath of what happened in World War II and the Holocaust is a privilege,” Woodruff expressed. “And then the sobering reminder that I'm here on the weekend after terrible, terrible, unthinkable events in Israel is a reminder to me that we can never take for granted what we have as human beings and we can never assume that humans will treat each other with respect. And as equals. We still have a lot of work to do as human beings.”

While the diamond jubilee was a celebration of what has been accomplished in the last 75 years at Brandeis, the weekend had a somber tone given the recent attacks in Israel. “I think it's inevitable that it would make it a little more solemn — more of a commemoration than a celebration. But I do think that the milestones and what the institution has achieved need to be celebrated and commemorated because it is quite remarkable what this institution has done over 75 years,” Liebowitz told the Justice.

On Oct. 11, Liebowitz sent an email to the Brandeis community detailing how the events for the 75th anniversary would continue as planned, but there would be some changes in order to reflect “the ongoing war in Israel.” Many

events acknowledged the war in some form, such as the Sunday memorial service that commemorated deaths from the war in addition to Brandeis community members who passed away.

The University also added security from local and state police to ensure campus security — some of which had canine detection units that patrolled the campus and classrooms after events. Additionally, signs near a larger white tent set up for this weekend on the great lawn stated “Large bags/backpacks may be subject to search. No banners or signs allowed.” There were no major security incidents that occurred during the events.

As Brandeis begins to move past its 75th anniversary, a young age compared to many other top-ranked universities in the U.S., many have hopes for what the University will look like approaching its centennial celebration. “I hope that we're able to hold on to what is great about Brandeis — its ethos, its willingness to innovate, its willingness to be different,” Liebowitz said.

He emphasized that he hopes students going forward will be cognizant of the needs of future generations.

— Editor's Note: Special thanks to Hoot Editor-in-Chief Cooper Gottfried ’25 for his contributions to the President Liebowitz interview.

CECI XILEI CHEN/the Justice

EVENTS: Brandeis hosted a number of events in honor of its 75th anniversary celebration from a homecoming game to a pumpkin carving in time to welcome the autumn season.

features

8 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 ● FEATURES ● THE JUSTICE

just

VERBATIM | THE VIVIENNE All tea, no collusion.

ON THIS DAY…

FUN FACT

Gangster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion.

Bananas give off small levels of radiation.

October in Brandeis history Following a Saturday Justice reunion involving graduates from as far back as the 1960s — and inspired by an old practice of “This Week In Brandeis History” — we decided to dig through our archives for standout October stories.

By CAYENN LANDAU AND ISABEL ROSETH JUSTICE EDITOR AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Oct. 7, 1995: Radioactive hazard contained in biology lab On Oct. 7, 1995, a researcher spilled Phosphorus 32 — a radioactive isotope with a 14.3 day half life — in a lab in Kalman Science Center.

According to an Oct. 15 Justice article, it took two hours for the spill to be caught, at which point the researcher had tracked the phosphorus from their shoes into other parts of the building. While the quantity spilled wasn’t particularly dangerous, according to radiation safety officer Robin Bell, “some surfaces” where P-32 was tracked in Kalman were “porous” and therefore there were concerns about removal. Simultaneously, a multitude of people stepped in the spill prior to the containment by Bell and his team, causing worries about poisoning.

“Quite a few people have come to me with concerns, but none of the students who have come forward tested positive [for radioactivity],” said Bell, who used a Geiger counter to scan for contamination. He said that the rubber soles of shoes are actually good barriers to P-32.

“We don’t expect any problems.”

The outside of the building was covered in “non-stick, weatherproof resin” in order to contain the spill. The covering was set to remain for four to five months, according to Bell, which would give the substance enough time to break down away from students.

Justice file photo

PHOSPHOROUS SPILL: The radioactive spill was contained.

Oct. 11, 1996: Lower Usdan becomes the hottest new marriage venue On Friday, Oct. 11, as a part of National Coming Out Day, six student volunteers were married in a Lower Usdan mock wedding before an audience of approximately 150 people. The event was put on by Triskelion, a campus organization for queer students, and was performed as a form of protest against the just-signed Defense of Marriage Act, according to an Oct. 15 Justice article. The act allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages that were performed in other states.

“I think it was really important to have [it] on campus because even though it’s a really open community, there are still people who are homophobic,” said Rebecca Polleck ’98. “It was a kind of step to show that homosexual love is just as valid as heterosexual love,” said Amara Whitham ’99, one of the wedding volunteers.

The student volunteers proceeded through Lower Usdan where participants read aloud the Marriage Resolution of the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, which supported queer and same-sex marriages. “I think some of the people who walked by and saw it were really affected because it’s not the norm for them,” Pollock said of the ceremony.

Triskelion also planned a multitude of events outside of Oct. 11 for National Coming Out Week, including facilitated discussions and a “Camp Out With Trisk” night.

“People were really accepting,” said Rebecca Meyer ’99, who performed the ceremony. “We had a lot of support.”

Justice file photo

WEDDING: Six students were married in lower Usdan.

Design: HEDY YANG/the Justice

Justice file photo/ANDREW BAXTER

THE JUSTICE ● FEATURES ● TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 9

Oct. 23, 1962: Students organize a “Drive-Around” to protest new driving regulations

Justice file photo

BAN NOT ENFORCED: The demonstration was successful.

University administration was set to enforce a new driving regulation in October of 1962. Under the rule, resident students would not be permitted to drive onto campus between 8:15 a.m. and 5:15 p.m.; students would also be prohibited from parking in the lot by the campus gymnasium. Commuting students would be allowed to continue to park on campus as usual. The Council Executive Board at the time, which was made up of students, had been “led to believe” that students would have the ability to park by the gymnasium before 5:15 p.m. and walk to the main campus from there, but discovered that there were no extra spaces in that lot and only cars with the proper stickers would be permitted to park there. I. Milton Sacks, the dean of students at the time, asserted that the new regulations served as a “safety precaution,” citing the dangers of cars speeding by the “academic quadrangle.” Before the protest happened there were already concerns, including from campus security officers who believed the new regulations would be difficult to enforce.

The Council Executive Board originally planned the protest to be at 4:45 to 5:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 12, 1962, and was endorsed by President Alan Rapaport ’63, Vice President Kenneth Kemper ’63, Treasurer Donald Newman ’63, and Justice editor and Council representative Larry Goldman ’63. It was eventually rescheduled for the next Wednesday at 4 p.m. However, the drive-around was in danger of being canceled following an on-campus car accident less than 48 hours before the protest, in which a car containing two students skidded into a tree near the chapels. Goldman told the Justice that although “this accident does not affect the validity of the protest, at this time a demonstration would be most inopportune.” The Council eventually endorsed the protest by a 6-2-2 vote, and it went on scheduled.

The “car-picket” took place on Wednesday, Oct. 17. 45 cars and over 100 students drove around the campus with their headlights on until 5:15 p.m. Under the protested regulation, such driving on campus was illegal until 5:15, but security made no effort to stop the protest. One professor was even reported to have canceled his class so students could participate. The regulation was supposed to go into effect on Oct. 15, 1962, but “no effort was made by Security to enforce it,” nor was it enforced following the drive-around. A spokesman for the Committee of Public Safety deemed the picket a “success” and stated that the regulation was now a “dead letter.”

Cayenn Landau/the Justice

THE ARCHIVES: Old paper copies sit on a desk.

Oct. 29, 1986: Students plan to strike against University complacency in apartheid regime On Oct. 29, 1986, the Justice covered student plans to protest against the University’s refusal to divest from businesses profiting in South Africa through an Oct. 31 mass absence from Friday classes. Writer Peter Joshua reported that the boycott was organized the week prior to Oct. 31 to stand in solidarity with Black students living under the racist policies of the South African regime known as apartheid.

Nine years earlier, Shelly Pittman ’79 had helped to create the Committee for Divestment from South Africa, an organization that pushed for the University to sell its stock holdings in companies working in South Africa. But by the late 1980s, the University had still not fully divested. “You still haven’t done it [divestment] around here?” responded former Massachusetts state governor Mike Dukakis when asked about the issue by students during a separate speaking event, according to the article.

Spearheaded by the Brandeis Divestment Coalition, the boycott offered action items in the place of classes. Reportedly, 40% of the student body polled said they were planning to participate, a number that the Coalition and other involved students hoped would rise.

In lieu of classes, on-campus screenings of Mandela (1986) and Witness to Apartheid (1986) were set to show on campus, as well as a guest-speaker event hosting Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Mel King, former congressional candidate George Baruch, the daughter of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Naomi Tutu, African National Congress representative Themba Villakenzi, and chairman of the African and AfroAmerican Studies Department Wellington Nyangoni. Reportedly, Boston mayor Ray Flynn and daughter of Nelson Mandela, Maki Mandela, expressed interest in speaking as well.

“It’s a social obligation that overrides the need to go to classes,” said student Andrew Evans of the strike.

Design: HEDY YANG/The Justice

Justice file photo/ANDREW BAXTER

10 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 ● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE

Justice

Asking for a friend

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Isabel Roseth, Editor in Chief Smiley Huynh, Managing Editor

If you are interested in submitting advice for the upcoming column, follow our Instagram: @thejusticenewspaper.

Q:

Leah Breakstone, Dalya Koller, Lauryn Williams, Deputy Editors

What resources or counseling services are available for students who may be directly or indirectly affected by the Israel-Hamas situation?

A:

Sophia De Lisi, Anika Jain, News Editors Cayenn Landau, Features Editor Tibria Brown, Forum Editor Mina Rowland, Arts & Culture Editor Owen Chan, 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

“The Center for Spiritual Life offers students the opportunity to have a supportive, confidential conversation with a chaplain. Any Brandeis student (religious or not), regardless of how directly they are impacted, is encouraged to utilize this resource. Students can email slife@brandeis.edu or contact a specific chaplain at brandeis. edu/spiritual-life/chaplains.”

— Lara Ericson associate director, Center for Spiritual Life Remember that you are not alone and there are people and resources available to help you navigate these challenging times. The Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC) is making space to meet with students affected by this conflict, and are offering a drop-in support group on Thursday, Oct 12.

— Leah Berkenwald Health, and Wellness Promotion Office ANNA MARTIN/the Justice

EDITORIAL

The Justice editorial board’s statement on the Israel-Hamas Conflict In the wake of the conflict in Israel and Gaza and the brutality we have all witnessed this past week, the Justice editorial board would like to offer our most sincere condolences towards anyone and everyone impacted by the war. This board condemns violence in any form and any justification of said violence is unacceptable. We understand that the Brandeis community is shocked and shaken over the many lives that have been lost already and that will be lost, and

we extend our support in this difficult and horrific moment. If you are particularly struggling, please take the time to support yourself. If your studies are being affected by what is happening, be transparent with your professors and seek support.

There has also been a monumental influx of content on social media pertaining to the current crisis, and as a result, doom scrolling has increased by a wide margin, adding even more to everyone’s desolation and stress. If

possible, we recommend stepping away from social media and the constant inundation of disturbing and distressing content.

The internet is rife with misinformation, which, especially now, is incredibly important to recognize and avoid. Instagram infographics are readily accessible, but are not always trustworthy. We urge students to seek out reliable and detailed sources if you are looking for information and reference multiple sources. We recognize that there is

always bias regardless of what news source you use — which is why it is incredibly important to use vetted, trusted, and truthful resources. We hope that our community will support one another in the following days, especially now that war has been officially declared and there will no doubt be further casualties. In the face of such constant violence, this board encourages everyone to take care of themselves to the best of their ability and hold space for each other’s grief.

When it comes to Israel, remaining partial is no longer an option

By JACKLYN GOLOBORODSKY JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

As a daughter of immigrants, attending a top American university was a lifelong dream. I longed for the chance to participate in what I imagined were the highest levels of intellectual discourse.

To me, America’s elite institutions of learning represented the embodiment of curiosity, the opportunity to strive for knowledge, and ultimately, a path to the kinds of influence that comes with such knowledge.

As passionate and high achieving students of my generation worked towards this goal, however, college campuses underwent a drastic transformation.

The campus became an environment of hyper-sensitivity, with free speech monitored for microaggressions and professors kicked out due to the slightest opposition to mainstream thought.

In fact, the Prevention, Advocacy and Resource Center at Brandeis, along with groups at Stanford and other elite universities, published a list of harmful language in 2021 which should be removed from campuses. This list included harmful phrases such as “master bedroom” and “you guys.”

Nevertheless, the growing atmosphere of this new progressivism proved insufficient in deterring students like me from pursuing their dream of attending a top American

universities. But the events that followed Hamas’s attack on Israel on Saturday, Oct. 7th should be.

Merely hours after Hamas stormed the border between Israel and Gaza, torturing, raping, kidnapping and murdering innocent Israeli civilians, pro-Palestine groups on campuses around the country began to speak up. 34 student clubs at Harvard declared that they “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”

Columbia students marched across the New York City campus chanting “five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state.”

Across the U.S., Students for Justice in Palestine clubs held a “Day of Resistance for Palestine,” the poster for which featured the Hamas paragliders that committed the mass murder of over 270 young men and women at the Re’im music festival.

On our own campus, property was vandalized with the statements “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Palestine lives.” The list goes on.

To Jewish students like me, it has suddenly become evident that American universities’ commitment to equality, justice, and advocacy for minorities does not apply to their Jewish minorities.

Anti-Zionist and antisemitic rhetoric has been entirely normalized as university leadership urges students “to see the conflict from both sides.” In their blindness to the recent outbreak of torture, rape, kidnapping, and murder, campus progressives have forsaken their Jewish allies. The same

OWEN CHAN/the Justice

Jewish community that stood for Black Lives Matter, Ukraine’s independence, and the rights of the LGBTQ+ community is now shocked to see those we once fought side by side with abandoning us in their activism.

This recent eruption of protests in support of Hamas and the mass slaughter of Jews has led me to ask the same question Bari Weiss recently raised: “What of ‘safe spaces’ for Jewish students?”

In an age of hypersensitivity, how does the call for eradication of the Jewish homeland not fall onto the ever-expanding list of harmful language? After all the talk of creating a safe and respectful environment for students of all backgrounds, how can American universities let Jewish and proIsrael students be openly harassed?

College campuses have become the third front of this war. We have a choice between fighting for human rights or terrorism, between truth or promoting a false narrative, between impartially fighting for justice or picking and choosing our activism.

Unfortunately, campus activists and university administrators across the U.S. have chosen to turn a blind eye to Jewish suffering and even in some cases, stand firmly on the side of terrorism. During a time of unimaginable tragedy and continuous pain, American campuses have become a hotbed for violent anti-Israel and anti-Jewish rhetoric.

A statement made by the New England’s director of the Anti-Defamation League during Boston’s solidarity rally for Israel

on Monday, Oct. 9 captured the genuine fears of many Boston-area students when he responded to the Harvard student groups apparent support of violent terrorism: “We do not want to see crimson in this city become blood on the hands of those student groups who have signed on to such a despicable letter.”

Brandeis, with its deep roots in Judaism, must stand proudly as a defender of its Jewish students and faculty. Professor Ilan Troen, a beloved professor here at Brandeis, experienced the heart-wrenching loss of his daughter and son-in-law, brutally murdered

by Hamas. Brandeis must recognize the consequences of Hamas’s terror not only felt in Israel, but reverberated across the globe, including on our campus. This war is on our ground. The green grass of Chapels Field bears our responsibility to fight for justice; to fight for the land of Israel.

As I witness young progressives wave their Palestinian flags and yell “death to Israel, death to Zionism,” I search in vain for the revered values that once made America’s institutions of higher education great.

I hope and I pray that our university and universities around the country will recover their willingness to pursue truth and justice in an atmosphere of civility and intellectual seriousness.

And I hope that Brandeis will honor the legacy of its namesake, Louis Brandeis, by standing by its Jewish brothers and sisters in the fight against violent antisemitism — on our campus and around the world.

OWEN CHAN/the Justice

THE JUSTICE ● FORUM ● TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 11

​​Media mavens: Let’s talk about “female journalism”

By CINDY NIE

JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

As a humanities student, I tend to be in classes that are mostly female students, particularly in my journalism courses. On one hand, I feel a sense of empowerment in that there are individuals like myself who are interested in and want to be involved in the journalism sphere. However, it also makes me wonder about the newsroom dynamics in our contemporary society. How are women being represented in the journalism sphere? How does the media capture this perspective?

In mainstream media, it is hard to find a movie like “The Intern” in which an editorial, online retail business is spearheaded by a woman. Like many industries, journalism both began as and continues to be a male-dominated field.

“Female journalism” we see in movies and films doesn’t always seek to empower the female perspective. There is often the trope of a female character who is passionate but struggles to be taken seriously as a journalist. At the beginning of the film, the character is often hardworking and passionate about trying to gain more recognition to report “real news.” However, their work and the plot of the movie turn out to be a story about some sort of confession about love and revolves around the man lead.

In “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” Andie Anderson is a columnist for a women’s magazine, called Composure. She specializes in writing “How-to” articles, but she yearns to write about more serious topics. After being inspired by her friend’s breakup, Andie decides to write about dating a man with the intention of breaking up with him within 10 days, which is the premise of the movie. As she writes the article, Andie develops feelings for the male lead, leading her to quit her magazine job.

In the more recent Netflix show “Love Hard,” Natalie Bauer, a dating columnist based in Los Angeles, writes about her disastrous dates through a dating app. On the surface they seem to be different movies, but the same trope is played out.

At its core, these movies are supposed to feed into the idea of

love. It plays out a reality of how professional women struggle to find love, but it always ends up with the consequence of giving up her career.

The fact that there are female characters in journalism on-screen can be refreshing, especially in a male-dominated field. However, representation can be counterproductive when the main message it sends is that a woman is not valued for her work as a journalist but rather are how it serves her romantically in a relationship with a male lead. The female character is not the heroine of her own story.

This trope is not unique to journalism. The same cliches are often perpetuated in other fields, such as medicine or law.

The professional ambitions and dedication of women are not valued but rather seen as secondary and disposable — if the right man comes along.

There is also a plethora of films that focuses on the diaries of female characters. I have watched TV shows of this sort, from “The Carrie Diaries” to “Bridget Jones’s Diary.” However, there isn’t a single mainstream TV series about a man who is placed in the same trope. Diaries just don’t seem to exist among male characters. It almost seems that the selling point of a TV show or film is the content of a female character’s diary, which often represents their quest for love.

The missing narrative of a female journalist is clear in the media. However, the underrepresentation of female journalists in our society at large is a concerning trend. I was surprised to learn that even during the height of news reporting during the pandemic, women’s perspectives continue to be overlooked and undervalued. According to “The Missing Perspectives of Women in COVID-19 News,” by International Women’s Media Foundation were disproportionately affected by the impacts of COVID-19 but coverage of the virus remained to be dominated by male voices.

There is a significant bias towards men’s perspectives in the news coverage of the pandemic in both the global north and

south. For every woman’s voice in the news on COVID-19, it can be compared to the voices of three to five men. This bias is further exacerbated by the political invisibility of women in COVID-19-related decision-making processes and the various challenges that women face in terms of socioeconomic status, health, and psychology.

Currently, women comprise 61.6% of bachelor’s degrees and 65.3% of master’s degrees in journalism and communication.

As a collective, women represent 53.4% of all journalism working in the newsroom. However, women continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions within newsrooms.

It’s not enough for women to simply receive an education in journalism; they deserve to have their perspectives heard.

Women need to be given the opportunity to hold major roles in newsrooms, rather than just being in the majority of those receiving journalism education.

ANNA MARTIN/the Justice

The devil’s advocate special edition: Debating the ouster of speaker McCarthy

By JACK GRANAHAN and STEPHEN GAUGHAN JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Context: On Sept 30, with no time to spare, Congress passed an appropriations bill in bipartisan fashion, averting a government shutdown for at least 45 days that would have seen an estimated 3.5 million federal workers either furloughed or working without pay.

In response to the bill’s passage with Democratic votes, among other disagreements, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) initiated a motion to vacate the chair of (oust) the House Speaker. The motion passed passage on For (Gaughan): Republican moderates in Congress have voiced interest in withdrawing from vital organs of bipartisanship like the Problem Solvers Caucus, in order to spite their Democratic colleagues who voted in favor of the motion. Yet another controversial speakership election suspends the activities of the House, including its ability to negotiate and vote on appropriations packages to keep the government funded.

Self-serving members of Congress have worked to position internal divisions to pour beyond the walls of the Capitol.

And yet, we should keep ourselves from falling into the trap of the GOP’s intraparty civil war. Ostensibly, the immediate impetus behind Rep. Gaetz’s introduction of the motion to vacate was former Speaker McCarthy’s support for a bipartisan government-funding stopgap. McCarthy allies have suggested that on this ground, the termination of his speakership should be viewed as an attack from the right and betrayal by the left. But a clearer look at his tenure and behavior in office prove that one necessary stance could hardly render McCarthy a noble martyr.

This past January, McCarthy took the speaker’s chair after fifteen rounds of majority-requiring ballots, the most taken to elect a speaker since 1859. Speculation over a noble withdrawal after initial defeats to allow the House to begin its business proved fruitless, as he prioritized his own crusade for the gavel over the commencement of business in the 118th Congress. The cost of his accession to power after such a tense fight, predictably, proved his convictions.

As suggested by House Minority Leader

Hakeem Jeffries prior to the vote on the Gaetz motion, the nature of the speakership has long been left to the party the American electorate has granted a majority, leaving it to act as a stable coalition alongside a reasonable opposition. Historically, on this matter aisle-crossing is simply negligible, because it is imperative that any legislature be led by someone who commands its legitimacy. To do so, they must first hold the support of their own faction within.

McCarthy could not. His vulnerability was in significant part based in broken deals and pugnacity, as disgruntled supportersturned-adversaries subsequently explained.

Our 55th Speaker was deposed for his foolish empowerment and frequent submission to radicalism, along with endless heel-turns and hypocrisy on everything from funding a vital ally’s fight for its sovereignty, to the democratic procedures of impeachment inquiries, to opposing corrupt politicians in Congress.

He denounced hatred and antisemitism in the opposing party, only to bolster its mouthpieces in his own, politicizing it for his own political survival.

In the end, his efforts at appeasement failed. His brashness presented itself, encouraging Gaetz and other fellow Republicans to “bring it on.” They did. And from beginning to end, the responsibility for his fate is his own.

Supporters may argue his fall followed a dismissal of radical partisanship in favor of common sense. They are mistaken.

McCarthy built his coalition, and the responsibility for its instability lies squarely at his feet. McCarthy did not fall because he stood up to the extreme; he fell because he bowed but would not kneel.

Oct 3 with eight Republican and all present Democratic votes, ousting Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). This marked the first of such removals in US history.

In this special edition, Gaughan will argue in favor of the decision to oust McCarthy, while Granahan will argue against.

Both hold the positions they represent to varying extents.

Against (Granahan): In September of 1987, then-recently retired House Speaker Tip O’Neill (D-MA) stated his belief that Ronald Reagan was the worst American president he had ever witnessed.

And yet, many who were alive during the Reagan administration hold a revisionist viewpoint of O’Neill’s speakership, postulating that O’Neill, a progressive stalwart, and Reagan, the father of modern American conservatism, were fast friends.

This can be explained by the fact that, although they didn’t like each other and could barely even tolerate each other, O’Neill and Reagan worked with each other. The two worked together to implement crucial legislation such as the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984, which allowed individuals with disabilities to vote by absentee ballot. Additionally, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which gave amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants and allowed them to become members in the American workforce.

Kevin McCarthy tried to do what Tip O’Neill’s legacy is arguably defined by.

Faced with the prospect of a devastating government shutdown that would leave millions without food assistance, throw a wrench into the air travel industry, and delay the paychecks of servicemembers actively defending the United States, McCarthy committed the gravest of offenses in modern politics: he dared to cooperate with the other party. One day before the government was set to shut down, McCarthy pushed the stopgap through the House. Due to McCarthy’s openness to the Democratic priority of preserving disaster

relief funding, the bill was able to pass by a massive margin of 335-91.

When a political leader is able to put their country and their constituents before their party and compromise with those they disagree with, they should be praised, not punished. But even though House Democrats achieved their goal of guaranteeing disaster relief funding while averting a government shutdown, they welcomed the challenge to Kevin McCarthy’s speakership with open arms.

For his willingness to buck the party line, Kevin McCarthy will not be remembered as a skillful political realist and compromiser like Tip O’Neill. Instead, he will be remembered as the only speaker to be ousted from office in American history, with his fall coming at the hands of Democratic representatives, all of whom voted against him. As of now, who will be the next speaker is unknown; Kevin Hern (R-OK) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) are the primary speaker candidates. What is known is that, when a government shutdown looms again in 45 days, the next speaker will not be willing to compromise with Democrats to the extent that McCarthy did, lest they meet the same fate as their predecessor.

Every Democrat in the House of Representatives has demonstrated that they are unwilling to work with Kevin McCarthy. Perhaps that is warranted to those who see the R next to McCarthy’s name as a non-starter. But in the absence of any kind of concurrence with McCarthy, the Democrats of the House have instead shown their willingness to work with Republican extremists like Matt Gaetz in their mission to chip away at the integrity and reliability of the United States government.

ANNA MARTIN/the Justice

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12 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 ● SPORTS ● THE JUSTICE

Women’s soccer loses homecoming game Brandeis Women’s soccer lost by one point to University of Chicago during their Homecoming game.

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

THE JUSTICE ● SPORTS ● TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 13

No points for anyone at homecoming No one scores during the men’s soccer game against the University of Chicago.

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

14 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 ● SPORTS ● THE JUSTICE

UAA

CONTINUED FROM 16

SMILEY HUYNH/the Justice

FOBA: Friends of Brandeis Athletics Co-Chair Brandon Pick '08 speaks.

CONTINUED FROM 16 faced such as the flu epidemic at the end of the season and personal challenges such as being a single parent of four.

Current basketball senior Ryan Powers ’24 then introduced Steve Katzman ’69, a former member of the Brandeis basketball team. Katzman, a native of Brooklyn, New York, expressed his sincere gratitude for his nomination and induction. He was just 62 points shy of joining the 1000-point club at Brandeis, but lived and breathed basketball for his entire life. Katzman put up an impressive 6.7 assists and 3.5 steals per game his freshman year, setting and still holding those records. He was named a team captain in his junior and senior years, and he heaped high praise on former Celtics player and coach KC Jones, the first black basketball coach at Brandeis. Katzman also spoke about the antisemitism that his team faced in the 1950s as the team had a primarily Jewish roster and was booed at games a couple of times. His sons Aaron Katzman ’05 and Danny Katzman ’08 continued his legacy at Brandeis and both were varsity athletes.

Gabe Haithcock ’25, a member of the Brandeis men’s soccer team, introduced the next inductee, Dean Hanks ’79, a former member of the 1976 championship soccer team. Hanks spoke very highly of Mike Coven, the legendary men’s soccer coach at Brandeis who coached the 1976 Hall of Fame team to the NCAA Championships.

Hanks had an incredibly impressive 48-8-4 record with 32 shutouts over four years with the Judges, and like several other inductees, noted how in a game against North Adams State antisemitic chants that later were apologized for, spurred his interest in social justice; Hanks is now a successful fundraiser for a variety of different charities and organizations. He spoke of other fond memories as a Manager of The Stein Manager, and overall “fell in love with Brandeis” as a student-athlete, like many other inductees.

Olivia Zarzycki ’24, a member of the Brandeis track and field team, then introduced Christine (Brace) Chai ’87, a former member of the women’s track and field team. Chai, a two-time All-American in the heptathlon, was named the Max I. Silber Female Athlete of the Year as a senior. Her impressive accolades and resilience also included winning the GBC heptathlon title as a junior and the ECAC crown as a senior. The heptathlon, a multi-day event with running and throwing, is one of the most grueling and difficult events of the sport. Chai also concluded her induction speech by speaking

about Title IX and how the landmark legislation allowed her to compete.

Kaitlin (Streilein) McClelland ’08, a former member of the softball team, joined the Hall of Fame following introductions by Ragini Kannan ’26, a member of the Brandeis softball team. McClelland was not only a pitcher and first baseman but also an incredible hitter.

Her statistics landed her among the career top 10 in 24 different hitting, pitching, and field categories at the time of her induction, and she also helped lead the Judges to two ECAC Championship berths, where she won MVP honors in 2008. McClelland was the first NFCA All-American in program history and also earned second team honors as a senior. Her induction speech brought everyone to tears as she thanked her family, friends, coaches, and especially the unwavering support of her father.

The 1999 Brandeis baseball team, which won the Division III World Series and finished with an impressive 33-10 record, collectively hit a school record of 56 home runs. Mike DiCenso ’24, and one of the team captains, Bryan Haley, the current head baseball coach at Endicott College, gave a rousing speech to introduce the star studded team to the Hall of Fame. Reminiscing about the success of the team and its strong bond, Haley’s speech mentioned fond memories of traveling together, living together, and being competitive with everything together. He had high praise for head coach Pete Varney, noting one of his famous lines: “Don’t tell me, show me” as a hallmark of how he led the team to victory.

Carley Cooke ’15, a former member of the women’s tennis team at Brandeis had arguably some of the most impressive statistics of the evening. Introduced by Sabrina Loui ’25, Cooke played first singles and doubles and was a five-time All-American: four times for singles and once in doubles.

Her recognitions also included winning Brandeis’ first women’s tennis individual NCAA tournament victory as a junior and a whopping 105 career victories. Cooke also touched on the war in Israel and her support for the victims, as well as her gratitude for her head coach.

The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony celebrated incredible inductees, with one inductee or team from each decade receiving a well-deserved plaque in Brandeis athletic history.

Cooke had a fitting end to the day, noting how “pressure is a privilege,” and I think that is a mantra that all studentathletes should internalize. Maybe it will lead to some more Hall of Fame inductees some day.

ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

just didn't come back to their sport the way that they wanted to. You know, there are stories of people who, like, don't come back the way they want to, but there are also stories of people who come back the exact way they had left or better and I wanted to be in that ‘or better’ pool.”

Her analytical focus on recovery reflects her play style, according to Emma Smallcomb, the assistant volleyball coach: “In the game, me and her will talk during time-outs or in between points just on specific technical things I want her to shift, and she just really absorbs those and implements them right away.” Praising Verstovsek as “a coach’s dream” and “super fun to coach” she cites Verstovsek’s ability to implement Smallcombs coaching guidance and consistent desire to improve. “She's one of our best defenders as a 6'1'' outside and she just moves really well on the court.”

Verstovsek lives and breathes volleyball, unable to imagine her life without it. “It's definitely a place I can go … if I'm really stressed out or like, I have a lot of anxiety or I'm just feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, I can always go to volleyball as my happy place or my safe place, and I can just tune into that and put all my focus into that.” However, she acknowledged that volleyball “caused [her] a lot of frustration and stress and probably a lot of unnecessary pain,” even citing her ACL. “But in the end, like, I wouldn't change anything. I don't have any regrets or anything like that. If anything, it's made me so much stronger physically.”

Verstovsek started playing sports due to influence from her older brother, who “always had the upper hand” being six years older than her, giving her a drive to also get into sports after seeing he was also heavily involved in sports. She started with a variety including soccer, dance, swimming, basketball, and flag football. She excitedly proclaimed she liked “Anything I could to tackle someone!” She thought she found her specialty in gymnastics after having done it for ten years, but she was growing too tall. In sixth grade, her ‘can do’ attitude and hunger to try as many sports as possible led her to start noncompetitively playing volleyball. The significant height difference between her and everyone else in her class gave her the upper hand giving her the drive to continue playing.

At the beginning of high school she still hadn’t thought about competing in college. It “wasn’t even a thought in my head. It wasn’t going to happen; it was just not a priority.” But when she transferred to a new high school that equally valued the arts, athletics, academics, and religion, she decided she was going to take volleyball more seriously and started playing for a club volleyball team. Despite her change in attitude, this club was very small and underfunded but that “did not change my mindset, but [instead] I learned to deal with negative thoughts and frustrations, especially when your team isn't as good as the other team on the other side of the court.” This experience helped her learn to “be in tune with your thoughts and make sure that you're lifting and supporting other people even when you're down.”

Due to a club coach change during her sophomore year, she switched to a much more competitive club, Houston Skyline, which quickly became her second home. “I would be there like, every day during the summer, at all the clinics, all the camps, all the tournaments, everything.” She knew she wanted to go to a small school because she valued student-professor relationships, cognizant of the fact that close relationships with professors can lead to more opportunities.

After visiting the team twice and seeing the academic side of Brandeis and bonding with the volleyball team, she realized the school was the right fit for her.

Verstovsek has had an amazing career as a Judge, earning Brandeis

“Athlete of the Week” multiple times as well as earning All-UAA honors, and is on the top ten for best singleseason average. Her laundry list of achievements as a Judge has recently gotten longer, earning UAA athlete for the first time for the week ending on Oct. 1. She was shocked when she found out from a fellow teammate and went straight to the Brandeis website for confirmation, where she saw herself and her friend, Quintin Wrabley listed for the week. She was “at a loss for words because the athletes who get UAA player of the week are like amazing athletes.”

She cites her success, as well as her high kill count to her team and coaches, “It's not an individual sport at all and it can quickly become that, especially with statistics and getting all of that stuff in your head. It can become very individualistic very quickly, because obviously … you want to perform as well as you can, but you have to remember every simple thing that you do on the court will affect and influence how the other people will play as well, whether that be the actual skill you do or your emotions and how you handle yourself on the court and how you're handling bad situations or frustrations or stressful events.”

She also mentioned how the team took bonding and communication very seriously and following their game plans even if it may not look pretty in the team statistics, because “if it won't look pretty for you, it will look pretty for the other hitters,” which was something she personally struggled with as the statistics could easily get to one’s head.

Following her recovery, Verstovsek has to wear her brace all season, but she embraces it positively: “I think it looks pretty cool, you know …

I got to pick the color — it's white, but it's also pearly glittery. It gets annoying at times because I obviously am sweaty, so … it keeps slipping down.

But other than that, it's not that big of a deal.” She has also been honing in on her recovery, working on always landing on two feet and listening to her body which has paid off her once again being a key player to her team.

She now leads her team in kills by 43 at 229 and points by 59 at 258, with a kill-per-set ratio of 3.95, having played every set. In the future, Verstovsek plans to go to graduate school to study psychology and has no plans to give up volleyball: “just keep up doing what you love, because once you stop you're not going to be able to perform at such a high level physically. Obviously, when you're 50 you're not gonna be performing how you were when you were 18. But I definitely wanna, like, keep doing it because, I mean, I can't even imagine what life's gonna be like without playing volleyball. So I don't wanna, I don't even step into that path. I'm always gonna have volleyball in my life.” Verstovsek has an exemplary story of how one can come back from injury better and how if you push yourself the possibility to be good is greater.

Photo courtesy of Brandeis Athletics

Quintin Wrabley ’25 Starting as a goalkeeper playing with friends, Quintin Wrabley ’25 didn’t always know he was going to become a collegiate soccer player.

Wrabley just became a goalkeeper because his best friend's club team needed a goalkeeper. In his sophomore year, after having a great soccer season and a horrendous basketball season, Wrabley decided to pick soccer and pursue it further as it seemed like the best option. Wrabley stopped playing basketball his junior year and set all of his focus on playing soccer and improving.

Unfortunately, like many high school athletes, Wrabley's season was cut short when COVID-19 hit in March 2020. Even worse for him, it was during the spring of his junior year, which was the bulk of his club season when recruiting for soccer occurs. Luckily when he reached out to the Brandeis soccer team, he fell in love with the coaching and culture, which pushed his decision to come to Brandeis.

Wrabley has had his ups and downs with soccer, including during his time at Brandeis. A major hurdle in his path was that he was unable to play because as a goalie “if you're not starting, you're not playing at all, because it’s unlike every other position, that you come in and out and play like 20 minutes a game. But it's unique in the fact that if you're not starting you're not playing. So my first two years, I played one game, and I backed up Aiden [Guthro ’23] for two years.” The change from playing every game to never getting to play was tough, and because of COVID and the team, but Wrabley persevered, saying, “when I go out for practice, I'm getting better and I'm putting out my full effort there instead of in a game.”

Prior to this semester, he only got to play during one game against Rochester on Oct. 14. 2022, in which he saved 4 shots. His one mistake allowed the other team to score a goal, costing the team the game. This is different from many other positions, where mistakes are typically at least somewhat recoverable because “there's still like 10 people behind them that can help them out.” While he’s not in a position to be as physically involved in the game, he still has to be focused the entire time, as his unique position allows him to see the whole field and relieve pressure off his teammates. This focus is a major requirement because, without it mistakes could occur. These mistakes "tend to be very important because if I make a mistake, most of the time it's gonna be a goal.” Minor moments could be the deciding factor in a game and he’s the last player that can defend his team.

Following his sophomore year and the previous goalie graduating from the team, Wrabley has played every game for the entirety of each game this season. He has made many notable contributions, saving his team from many possible opponent goals.

Most recently, Wrabley completed his first clean sheet against a team in the University Athletic Association conference in an Oct. 14 game against the University of Chicago and in the previous game against Babson on Oct. 10 he had a career-high of nine saves.

Wrabley attributes both his and his team's improved performance this year to the team culture: “We've been working harder on the field and, competing more, and since we've been working harder, it's been more fun. So then you wanna work harder. So it's just kind of like a snowballing effect.”

Additionally he said “goalkeeper coach Zach Abdu-Glass, [has] helped me grow and improve as a player over my 3 years at Brandeis. My coaches have contributed heavily to my success and without their guidance and motivation I would not be the player I am today.” His positive attitude doesn’t stop there, as he also celebrated his UAA “Player of the Week” ending on Oct. 1 with one of his good friends, Lara Verstovesk ’25. “I think it's fun to see how she's doing well in her sport.” Wrabley stands out not only as a notable player on the men’s soccer team but also for his attitude and sportsmanship.

ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

THE JUSTICE ● SPORTS ● TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 15

JUDGES BY THE NUMBERS

BRIEF

MEN’S SOCCER

The Hidden Opponent: new mental health group for student-athletes

UAA STANDINGS

Emory NYU JUDGES Case Chicago Rochester Carnegie WashU

TEAM STATS

UAA Conf. Overall W L D W L D Pct. 3 0 0 9 1 3 .808 2 1 0 4 5 2 .455 1 0 2 3 5 5 .423 1 1 1 7 2 2 .727 1 1 1 6 2 4 .667 0 1 2 6 1 5 .708 0 1 2 7 3 3 .654 0 3 0 4 6 1 .409

UPCOMING GAMES:

Sancho Moroto Tobias '24 leads the team with 4 goals.

Player Goals Sancho Moroto Tobias 4 Rainer Osselmann-Chai 2 Roee Maor 2

Assists

Sancho Moroto Tobias '24 leads the team with 3 assists.

Player Assists Sancho Moroto Tobias 3 Aidan Chuang 2 Christian Godinho 1 Juan Vera 1

Friday at Emory Sunday at Rochester

WOMEN’S SOCCER UAA STANDINGS

WashU Case Carnegie Chicago Rochester NYU Emory JUDGES

Goals

TEAM STATS

Overall W L D Pct. 12 0 0 1.00 10 0 2 .917 11 0 2 .923 9 2 3 .750 9 0 4 .846 10 2 0 .833 5 3 3 .591 6 4 3 .577

UAA Conf.

W L D 3 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 1 2 0 2 1 0 3 0

UPCOMING GAMES:

Friday at Emory Sunday at Rochester

Goals

Sydney Lenhart '24 leads the team with 5 goals.

Player Sydney Lenhart Tanvi Raju Yasla Ngoma

Goals 5 3 3

Assists

Rachel Watler '25 leads the team with 4 assists.

Player Assists Rachel Watler 4 Lacey Mbugua 2

VOLLEYBALL UAA STANDINGS UAA Conf.

W L Emory 5 0 WashU 4 1 NYU 3 2 Case 3 2 Carnegie 3 2 Chicago 2 3 Rochester 0 5 JUDGES 0 5

TEAM STATS Overall W L 14 0 17 6 17 4 17 5 15 6 6 12 13 6 7 9

UPCOMING GAMES: Today vs. Tufts Friday vs. Emerson Sunday vs. Emory Sunday vs. Rochester

Kills Pct. 1.00 .739 .810 .773 .714 .333 .684 .438

Lara Verstovek ’25 leads the team with 229 kills.

Player Kills Lara Verstovek 229 Anna Ertischek 186 Tatiana Wainer 65 Arianna Jackson 53

Digs Lara Verstovsek ’25 leads the team with 135 digs.

Player Digs Lara Verstovsek 135 Olivia Nirode 127 Ines Grom-Manseneca 122 Ella Pereira 112

terwards founded THO. Dominique Paglia ’25, a member of the women’s soccer team and Lexi Kaufman ’24, a member of the women’s swim and dive team serve as THO campus captains for Brandeis student athletes. Paglia heard about the opportunity from a teammate who graduated from Brandeis and applied for the role, and Kaufman followed the founder of THO on Instagram, who was promoting the opportunity to apply to be a campus captain. The two report to and collaborate with other campus captains from fellow University Athletic Association schools.

The club recently elected an e-board and is currently seeking chartered status in order to expand and host events.

Monthly meetings began in September, and the e-board has many goals for the future of the club. Paglia noted that becoming chartered and rec-

ruiting members have been the Brandeis chapter’s biggest challenges. Once they find their footing, Paglia hopes to hold a seasonal awareness game along with host events about bouncing back after injuries, external pressures, navigating relationships with coaches, and post-college life for student-athletes.

Because THO is the only Brandeis organization that provides mental-health services and counseling to student athletes, going forward Paglia is hoping to promote THO across campus and inspire other students to apply to the group. Advocacy is one of the group’s primary goals and principles, and it is exciting to see how this group helps student-athletes at Brandeis.

— Rani Balakrishna

NBA: Celtics preseason CONTINUED FROM 16

at the numbers from last season, they attempted 42.6 shots from above the three-point line per game, second only to the Golden State Warriors. In the preseason, the Celtics signed a four-year, $30-million contract extension with guard Payton Pritchard.

Following the deal, Pritchard definitely showcased his worth, leading the entire squad in points per game with 21.3 and sinking 41.9% of the shots from the downtown in the preseason.

Another highlight of the preseason as of now is Ukrainian shooter Svi Mykhailiuk’s outstanding display.

In the two games played last week against the Sixers and the Knicks, Mykhailiuk scored 15 in both games while making six out of 11 three-point attempts. Although he is known as a spot-up shooter, he demonstrated his

ability to shoot off dribbles, attack closeouts, and to even get up in the air for a put-back dunk during his Celtics debut. Eager to look for more scoring options and firepower from a distance, the Celtics could really use Mykhailiuk in the regular season.

In these preseason games, we also saw the Celtics going into a zone defense here and there, especially when the bench players are on the court.

This is a very clever strategy given that most of the bigs on the team are nowhere near brilliant when it comes to defending isolations, particularly young players off the bench who lack NBA experience. Typically, perimeter defense would be of great concern in zone-defense settings, but the Celtics have two of the best perimeter defenders in the league–White and Holiday–

on their roster in addition to the many bigger-size wings who could also play guard when necessary. Utilizing a zone-defense system could help the Celtics conceal their biggest disadvantage defensively.

Personally, I had some doubts when the Celtics traded for Porzingis, but with the benefit of hindsight, the trade makes sense now. The front office in Boston was trying to make something new happen and eventually, by trading for Holiday to complement Porzingis defensively, built new and possibly better overall lineups than the original ones. Celtics’ fans should be hopeful moving forward into the regular season and pay attention to potential rising stars including Pritchard and Mykhailiuk. It will be interesting to see how Mazzulla uses his roster!

BRIEF Brandeis hires Miles Ketchum as new head track and field coach

CROSS COUNTRY Results from the Connecticut College lnvitational on Oct. 14.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s) 8-Kilometer Run RUNNER Lucas Dia Robert King TJ Carleo Henry Nguyen Willem Goff

Over the past few years, national headlines have highlighted a critical lack of support and awareness for student-athlete mental health.

In response to a push for additional resources across all NCAA sports, The Hidden Opponent, a nonprofit and advocacy group dedicated to raising awareness about student-athlete mental health, has opened up chapters on over 750 college campuses, including Brandeis.

The Hidden Opponent is a national organization, founded by Victoria Garrick, a former volleyball player for the University of Southern California. THO provides individual chapters with panels, information on how to start their clubs and other educational resources for student leaders. Garrick gave a TED Talk in 2017 titled “Mental Health in Athletes: The Hidden Opponent” and af-

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

TIME 26:16.5 26:34.2 26:40.1 26:45.2 26:57.4

6-Kilometer Run RUNNER Zada Forde Lizzy Reynolds Ella Warkentine Kyra Au Juliette Intrieri

TIME 23:12.9 23:35.2 23:56.5 23:56.8 24:06.9

UPCOMING MEETS:

Saturday, Oct. 28 at the UAA Championships at Case Western Data courtesy of THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION and the BRANDEIS ATHLETICS WEBSITE; Graphics courtesty of CREATIVE COMMONS

ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

After the announcement of former coach Sinead Evan’s decision to step down in June 2023, a coach who headed the track and field team for 10 straight seasons which included great successes in the NCAA Division III championships and other track and field events, the University began their search for a new coach to fill her shoes.

Prior to joining Brandeis, Miles Ketchum spent the past 12 years as a member of Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s track and field coaching staff.

He started his career there as an assistant coach, and was later promoted to head coach in 2021. There, he coached 11 All-Americans, had teams with three New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference titles, helped multiple athletes achieve the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-region honors, and even coached an Elite 90 winner, an award given to the

student-athlete with the highest GPA in the finals competition, Katherine Pawlak in 2022.

In 2022, Ketchum helped the WPI women’s track team to a ninth place title at the outdoor championships where they were 5 points away from a top five standing. In 2021, the WPI women’s track team won their first NEWMAC conference title since 1994 and the men’s won their first ever NEWMAC title. During Ketchum’s tenure at WPI, the Engineers’ track and field team set 17 school records and earned five New England region titles.

Due to his success as a coach, Ketchum has been named the USTFCCCA “Assistant Coach of the Year” four times — first receiving the honor in 2016. Ketchum’s success has the Brandeis track and field team optimistic about how the team will compete in the winter.

Ketchum graduated from

Wheaton College in 2012 with a B.A. in sociology. There, he was a student-athlete himself, earning All-American honors in the 4x400 meter relay and NEWMAC titles in the 4x100 and 4x400 relay. He is also certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the USTFCCCA as a strength and conditioning specialist in the sprints, hurdles, and jumping events.

Given Ketchum’s expertise in several different events and vast history as both a coach and a player, the Brandeis track and field team has a bright future ahead of them.

— Jeffrey Wang

— Editor’s Note: Justice editor Smiley Huynh ’24 is a member of the track and field team and did not contribute to nor edit this story.

ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

just Sports Page 16

BRANDEIS SOCCER PHOTO STORY The Brandeis women's soccer team fell to UChicago 0-1 p. 12 ; The Brandeis men's soccer team tied with UChicago 0-0 p. 13.

Waltham, Mass.

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

HOLIDAY TO THE CELTICS, PRESEASON STAR

BRANDEIS

Univ. inducts athlete alumni to Hall of Fame ■ On Saturday, Oct. 14, Brandeis Athletics held its 22nd annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Faculty Club.

By RANI BALAKRISHNA

JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Speeches from inductees at the Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday night did not disappoint, ranging from pure emotion and gratitude to rousing nostalgia. Alumni, staff, and studentathletes gathered in the Faculty Club to celebrate the individual inductees and the 1999 Brandeis baseball team induction.

Assistant Vice President of Health, Wellness, and Career and Director of Athletics Lauren Haynie opened the evening by holding a moment of silence for those affected by the violence from the current war in Is-

rael and continued by introducing Friends of Brandeis Athletics CoChair Brandon Pick ’08 as the emcee.

Pick introduced the current studentathletes who presented and spoke about the accolades and accomplishments of the inductees.

Bronwyn Rothman-Hall ’25, an athlete on the Brandeis fencing team introduced Dave Bouchard ’59, a member of the 1957 Hall of Fame Brandeis football team, and a dual football and baseball athlete.

Rothman-Hall noted Bouchard’s success as a quarterback and a three-year starting centerfielder, and Bouchard spoke about “those games that you never forget” as an athlete, highlighting a pivotal game against the University of Bridgeport that the Judges won 33-10 in the second to last game of the season. A native of Concord, Massachusetts, Bouchard also touched on challenges that the team

GOING UP: Jrue Holiday, formerly of the Milwaukee Bucks, is now with the Celtics.

Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

NBA

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT New faces in town, See BRANDEIS, 14 ☛

UAA Athletes of the week

By SMILEY HUYNH

JUSTICE MANAGING EDITOR

Photo courtesy of Brandeis Athletics

Lara Verstovsek '25 On November 3, 2022, Lara Verstovesk ’25 was on the floor writhing in pain. “[It was] immediately the worst type of pain I've ever felt in my life. I’m on the floor rolling back and forth screaming bloody Mary. Corey [an athletic trainer] runs over. He's grabbing my shoulders trying to stop me from rolling around and I'm grabbing onto him and I'm like, ‘Corey, I can’t do this like I need to pass out, I need to pass out’ because you know when the pain is so bad, like you just need to not be conscious anymore?

My coach ran over. She's yelling at me like ‘Look at me like, look at me’ and I looked at her and she was like, ‘You

need to take a breath’ because I was hyperventilating. I didn't cry because the pain was unbearable. I knew it was my ACL.” When Verstovsek started the UAA conference match against New York University in 2022, she was already regarded as the top attacker on the volleyball team, leading by over 20 in kills and ending the previous season with 278 kills — 109 more than the next person on the team. During the second match, she got blocked while trying to get a kill, landing on one foot, and tearing her ACL, forcing her to start the recovery process. She diligently waited the required three weeks before getting surgery, doing what she had to do to get the swelling on her knee down and regain full range of motion to prevent complications.

After getting the surgery at the end of November she was able to stay home and rehab there, as she was previously bedridden in her dorm in East Quad on the fifth floor, unable to fully live her life. Two days after surgery she started physical therapy. “[It] was really rough because my God, like, it's so crazy how, like, how quickly your leg can deteriorate like that. Like, I … couldn't even lift my leg … I was … working so hard, like you can do this, you can do this. But [the athletic trainers] were just … pushing me to do things that I physically couldn't, like, I couldn't lift my leg onto the table.” An attest to her focus and dedication to the sport, she took rehabilitation just as seriously as she took volleyball. “I really, like, honed in on physical therapy because I knew that and I had seen people who … didn't take physical therapy seriously. They

See UAA, 14☛

hopeful expectations for this year's Celtics ■ The Boston Celtics played three preseason games last week, and the future looks bright.

By JACKSON WU

JUSTICE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The National Basketball Association commenced its preseason game schedule on Oct. 5. The Boston Celtics have played three games­two against the Philadelphia 76ers and one against the New York Knicks. Since this is the preseason, this article will not dive deep into what causes the wins or losses in these matchups but will instead discuss some valuable takeaways for the Celtics going into the 202324 NBA season.

New faces in town: How Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday complement each other Latvian big man Kristaps Porzingis joined the Celtics as a part of the three-way trade involving former Celtics guard Marcus Smart. Given Porzingis’ history of injury and his diagnosis of plantar fasciitis over the summer, his availability and lateral mobility were reasonable concerns for some Celtics fans. However, from what was presented last week in the preseason matchups, it seems like the Celtics front office and coaching staff have already taken care of the problem.

The recent trade for Jrue Holiday, a five-time all-defensive team player, solidified the Celtics defense in an unique way while providing a lot of flexibility in potential lineups.

Before the trade, Derrick White — ranking the first in both shots blocked and attempts contested last season amongst

guards — was the projected starting point-guard for the Celtics. Adding Holiday enables head coach Joe Mazzulla to start White off the bench or put both White and Holiday as starters when necessary. If the Celtics are starting either one of White or Holiday alongside Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Porzingis, and Al Horford, White or Holiday — the primary defender of the guards — would be chasing the guard playing the pick-and-roll into Porzingis’ help with Horford helping the helper and protecting the rim, as exemplified by this possession.

When Mazzulla feels like having two defensive guards on the court, Holiday or White — with their sizes at 6’4” and 6’5” respectively — could perform Porzingis’ original defensive task by helping firsthand off the pick-and-roll, with Porzingis dropping into the paint and guarding the basket (as exemplified by this possession). Trading away Robert Williams III for Jrue Holiday not only brought the Celtics a better perimeter defense but also freed up Porzingis’ versatility to be both a helper off pick-and-roll actions and a backup rim protector. In comparison to Porzingis, Williams III is not as agile defensively, could not provide consistent scoring energy, and does not necessarily have a better availability in season. The Celtics ultimately brought in two better defenders this offseason who perfectly complement each other defensively and could potentially provide more scoring energy than the departed players.

Hopeful expectations: Better shooting and potentially zone defense from the reserves Moving onto the bench, the Celtics signed some great talents that could come in handy during the season. Threepoint shooting is a big part of the Celtics’ game. Looking at the numbers from last season, they attempted 42.6 shots from above the three-point line per game, second only to

See NBA, 15☛

Vol. LXXVI #4

October 17, 2023

>> pg. 19

Waltham, Mass.

Photos: Smiley Huynh/the Justice. Design: Ceci Xilei Chen and Eliza Bier/the Justice.

THE JUSTICE ARTS | TUESDAY, JANUARY 31,JUSTICE 2017 OCTOBER| 17, 2023 I ARTS & CULTURE I THE 18 TUESDAY,

MOVIE REVIEW

Be your own weird Barbie

By HELEN HOU

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The release of the film “Barbie” undoubtedly raised a frenzy this past summer as the allure of Barbie and her dream world not only applies to young girls who dream of “becoming” Barbie, but also to women of all ages who seek their childhood memories. However, rather than immediately showcasing Barbie’s iconic dream house and the signature Barbie pink, the movie takes a different approach by retelling the history of Barbie.

In the early days, baby dolls were the sole type of dolls that girls would play with, which confined girls to the role of mothers.

It was not until the invention of Barbie that girls were no longer constrained to the role of a caregiver but were instead encouraged to become who they aspired to be. This raises an important question: Who do these girls aspire to be? Is it merely the image of perfection embodied by Barbie? Stereotypical Barbie — the quintessential image that comes to mind when we think of Barbie — takes center stage in this movie.

Her peaceful life is disrupted when two bizarre things happen: The idea of death consumes her thoughts and her once-perfect high-heeled feet become flat.

Weird Barbie makes it clear that there is a rip in the barrier separating the Barbieland from the real world and compels Barbie to embark on a journey into the real world in search of the girl who plays with her to together solve the problem, as Barbie and the girl from the real world are “inextricably intertwined.”

A stereotypical Ken, Beach Ken accompanies Barbie to the real world. He discovers that patriarchy rules the society in the real

world and introduces this to Barbieland. When Barbie returned to the Barbieland with Gloria and Sasha, the mother and daughter who play with Stereotypical Barbie in the real world, they were all shocked by what they saw: Barbie’s dream house was overrun by Kens, horses were all around, and Barbies seemed to become appendages to Kens.

The once-familiar world of Barbieland had undergone a perturbing transformation — it became “Kendom.” Subsequently, Gloria and Sasha played a crucial role in aiding Stereotypical Barbie to dismantle the powerful union of Kens and ultimately to dissolve Kendom by deprogramming Barbies’ minds.

The entire movie begins to evidently embody the notion of feminism after Ken introduces patriarchy to Barbieland. This prompts us to ask: How do we achieve feminism? In this case, achieving feminism is to have the freedom and opportunity to embrace your true self in a patriarchal society and resist being defined by males. Barbies’ thoughts were manipulated by Kens to the extent that they no longer had the right to be themselves but became Kens’ subordinates to follow their rules. It is important to break the societal label and expectations imposed upon you, as every individual is not a mere extension of someone else. You should be the one to manipulate yourself and make yourself happy.

Beyond feminism, a broader concept also emerged: empowerment — the freedom to autonomously pursue one’s own desires.

The concept of empowerment becomes apparent after the collapse of Kendom, when Ken openly expresses his affection toward Barbie and says that he is purposeless without Barbie’s attention.

Barbie told Ken that he is not “Ken,” but Ken. Ken is not the

“Ken” that is defined by others — the one we think would usually follow Stereotypical Barbie.

Instead, Ken is defined by himself — the one who has valid feelings toward his own thoughts.

As we can observe, besides embracing her imperfection, the Stereotypical Barbie also underwent a profound transformation during her adventure to the real world, where she gained a clear sense of autonomy and self-definition. In the end, Stereotypical Barbie tells Ruth, the inventor of Barbie, that she wants to become a real person who “does the imagining, not to be the idea.”.It is evident that she is aware of the imperfection of the real world through her experiences, yet she resolutely opts to transform into a real girl to embrace the experience and make changes. Much like her conversation with Ken, Barbie is not “Barbie,” but Barbie; she is not what we expect, but what we don’t expect. This time, she chooses that pair of Birkenstock sandals rather than the usual Barbie high heels by herself.

On one hand, Barbie’s ending is her decision to become a real person, while on the other hand, she doesn’t have an ending.

Barbie explicitly states, “I don’t think I have an ending.” Ruth then replies, “That was always the point. I created you so you wouldn’t have an ending.”

The core message underlying “Barbie” is that each aspiration that is under careful consideration holds its own significance: You can do anything you dream of and you have endless possibilities to become your authentic self. I must admit I found the ending somewhat disappointing at first. As an audience member, I was hoping to see a more concrete ending regarding Barbie’s life in the real world, rather than leaving it to our imagination. How-

ever, as I read through countless comments from girls who shared how “Barbie” had inspired them to embrace their authenticity and pursue their dreams, it dawned on me that we the audience are in fact Stereotypical Barbie’s true ending. The lasting impact she has had on countless individuals is her ultimate legacy, as it empowers more and more girls to have the courage to embrace their true self. Therefore, I believe the movie was successful

in pushing the idea of feminism and authenticity in owning one’s identity is possilble To answer the question at the beginning: Who do thesegirls aspire to be? The answer is themselves. Everyone is authentic when they are themselves — when they can acknowledge their imperfections, embrace their ordinariness, and fearlessly become who they like. Now, have you discovered your own pair of Birkenstock sandals?

Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

BARBIE: The first Barbie doll was created by buisnesswoman Ruth Handler in 1959.

MOVIE REVIEW

The Black handguide to time travel: A review of ‘See You Yesterday’

By MIRABELL ROWLAND

an entire plan to win their school’s sive. The characters are smart, her family are left to pick up science competition, a TechExpo; determined, and resourceful, and the pieces of their shattered break out of poverty and create their authenticity is noteble. lives and try to make sense of new lives as college students at Another noteworthy aspect the tragedy. The community is Ivy League schools.

And I have got of this film is the rich culture of shaken and is left feeling powAs a young Black woman who loves engaging with and consum- to say, that is a pretty solid plan! Black and Jamaican origins. Set erless. Claudette, even in her The most notable aspect of this in East Flatbush, the imagery of grief, is determined to do someing all kinds of media, I strive to find stories that reflect my iden- film is the use of time travel. As the city expresses a sort of vibran- thing — to take action. Thus, tity and interests and tell amazing someone who may not be the most cy that is not often seen or heard she convinces Sebastian to use stories in powerful ways. Often engaged when learning about of when thinking about the Black their time machine prototype to within Black media in particular STEM-oriented subjects, the film’s and Brown neighborhoods in New change the events leading up to it can become cacophonous to see style of portraying time travel and York. The cinematography im- prevent the shooting. Throughthe same stories repeated — the the multi-layered complexities of bues a sense of home and belong- out the entire movie, CJ and films about slavery or the Civil invention is so interesting. The ing from scenes of older Jamaican Sebastian continue to go back Rights Movement that are only teens’ invention of time travel has and Caribbean folks playing chess in time to try to change the really showcased during Black its laws, of course, as any science or speaking their native language past and prevent the unjustified History Month. I would be remiss does, but it is intriguing to think as they celebrate Juneteenth and death of her brother, yet she is to not express and acknowledge about temporarily going back all of Black culture. Britol’s work unable to successfully prevent that these stories are important into time and changing events. is so colorful and bright, which is the death of Calvin. No matand necessary to talk about. These There is a catch though. They can a likely intentional choice to not ter what they do or how many stories need to be told and remem- only go back for ten minutes at a only prove that Blackness is not times they try to outthink the bered in order to educate and in- time and each time they go back just strife and sadness but also situation, something always spire us to create a better future. they can not run into their other prove that Black lives carry worth goes wrong.

Bristol’s choice in how he It is also important to recognize selves. This creates a lot of com- and weight.

Initially, the premise seems to ended this scene captures the that these stories do not define us, plications, but I am here for the but rather are part of our shared complixity of it all. The opening be quite light-hearted, especially reality of the Black commuscene is brilliant as it seamlessly with the focus on the teens’ intel- nity’s struggle. By the end of history.

A powerfully poignant film di- exposes us to the dynamic duo, ligence and genius-like abilities Stefon Bristol’s film “See You rected by Stefon Bristol, “See You Claudia — who goes by CJ — and showcasing Black excellence. Yesterday,” it can be expected Yesterday” explores the social is- Sebastian as they document their However, that is not the center of that audiences are exhausted. sues plaguing our society in an invention of temporal relocation. the story. Unfortunately, in the Exhausted from going on a jourunconventional way. For those We can tell that they have been midst of all this joy, the untimely ney with CJ as she continues of you who have not watched or passionately working on this proj- murder of Claudette’s brother to try despite her failures, exheard of this film, it tells the story ect for some time and their chem- by the police occurs only thirty hausted from the non-stop vioof two brilliant Black teens who istry as friends — pun intended — minutes into the film. Claudette’s lence against the Black commubrother Calvin Jr. was unjustly nity. And although time travel invented time travel — in high is beautiful to see on screen.

The fact that these two young shot and killed because the police is not real, the unfortunate school nonetheless. Claudette Walker (Eden Duncan-Smith) and Black students are determined to believed he matched the descrip- factor is that the loop of Black best friend Sebastion Thomas create one of the most complex sci- tion of a burglar. This not only violence is. Yet, the last scene (Danté Crichlow) are only in their entific ideas — and one of them is a disrupts the entire family but the could also be interpreted as one sophomore year and have created Black woman — is purely impres- community as well. Claudette and of hope and of tragedy.

JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Design: MINA ROWLAND/the Justice

Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

SPIKE LEE: “See You Yesterday” was directed by Steve Bristol and produced by Spike Lee.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 I ARTS & CULTURE I THE JUSTICE

THE JUSTICE | ARTS | TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

CAMPUS EVENT

FAMILY WEEKEND

By ANNA MARTIN JUSTICE EDITOR

This past weekend at Brandeis was alumni weekend, family weekend, and homecoming as well as the primary celebration of the University’s 75th anniversary. The weekend was full of many events including student performances, craft events, and sports games.

CECI XILEI CHEN/the Justice

PUMPKIN: The Student Union’s Pumpkin Fest allowed families to show off their artistic side.

JONAS KAPLIN/the Justice

CRAFTS: Prospective buyers look at a students’ handmade jewlery.

CECI XILEI CHEN/the Justice

SLAY: Brandeis’ mascot rocks out for Homecoming.

SMILEY HUYNH/the Justice

DANCE: Brandies’ K-pop dance group WAYSTER performs.

SMILEY HUYNH/the Justice

MOVEMENT: Adagio performs for Brandeis Got Talent.

CECI XILEI CHEN/the Justice

DISNEY: An artistic design recreates Jack Skellington in pumpkin form.

ELENA GIACOELETTI/the Justice

ART: Another student succesfully sells their handmade crafts on Parents Weekend

Design: ANNA MARTIN/the Justice

SMILEY HUYNH/the Justice

PUMPKIN: Starving Artists acapella group delights parents at their Oct. 14 performance.

19

20 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 I ARTS & CULTURE I THE JUSTICE

STUDENT ART SPOTLIGHT

STAFF’S Top Ten

JACK YUANWEI CHENG/the Justice

By ZACHARY GOLDSTIEN JUSTICE EDITOR

Top 10 Fall favorites Since fall is the best season, how about we take a look through my fall favorites?

1. Pumpkin doughnuts 2. American football 3. Apple cider 4. Fall foliage 5. Thanksgiving 6. Apple picking 7. Hoodie season 8. Everything plaid 9. Halloween 10. The “back to school” feeling

MINA ROWLAND/the Justice

Mina Rowland is a self-taught illustrator who creates a more diverse landscape within art. She is interested in storytelling through film, animation, and creative writing. If you can’t find her in the Justice office editing her articles, she is probably taking pictures of plants or writing poetry. Her favorite color is yellow.

WEEKLY HOROSCOPES

By ELLEN RICHARDS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

Your romantic relationships may undergo a significant shake up. Use this time as an opportunity to reassess your needs and desires. You may find it easier to focus on deepening your relationships in the present if you can stop fixating on your romantic past. Otherwise, don’t pass up the opportunity for a deep philosophical inquiry if it arises. You may come into some unexpected money. Don’t spend all those extra meal points in one place!

It’s a time of renewal for your health and academics — positive changes are ahead. It’s also a good time for romance and business endeavors — except maybe not both with the same person. Focus on being proactive within your personal relationships and be prepared to make contact first when needed. However, don’t neglect taking time to foster a positive relationship with yourself too. Your independence is a virtue that will benefit you this week.

The planets are emphasizing your health and wellbeing this week — did you fulfill all your HWL requirements?

You may feel more energetic than usual or gain motivation to follow through with your exercise routine. It would be prudent to focus on your academics as well.

You have the gifts of a natural teacher. It may be beneficial to teach relevant concepts to a friend. Expect new beginnings in your relationships with your pets and your passion projects.

CANCER

LEO

In the coming months you may experience a change in housing or expand your found family. Keep an eye out for new locations and new people to let into your heart. It’s an ideal time to work on creative projects and launch entrepreneurial endeavors. Set aside time to reconnect with your childhood — message an old friend or do some cartwheels. You may fall in love soon. Otherwise, prepare for a time of joy in your life.

You may have been neglecting taking care of your living space lately — there’s no shame in that. It’s a good time to start cleaning and making any changes that will bring you more pride in your space. Soon, you will have a breakthrough in how you go about communicating with someone important to you. Making small adjustments to how you go about speaking and listening to this person will dramatically improve your relationship. If you want to master a new skill, you must create a routine to practice and hold yourself to it.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

VIRGO

Expect a surge in your popularity this month, Venus is moving into your sign. You may consider switching up your appearance or setting aside extra time for self care. You may gain a new perspective on money and your finances — keep an eye out for unexpected sales. If the opportunity should arise, partake in a spontaneous trip this week. A shopping spree perhaps? A little treat?

Otherwise, stay focused on your academics, writing especially, and you will be rewarded for it.

SAGITTARIUS You may feel as though you need to dedicate much more time to your social life than you normally do. The connections you are creating and strengthening now will be worth the effort. You are a good friend; expect appreciation for this fact. Despite the temptation to only live in the present moment, it is also important to consider your future plans. Do you find your routine fulfilling?

What small changes could you make to your daily routine to bring yourself more joy?

You are completing one cycle and beginning anew.

There is a focus on your journey of self exploration.

Take time to relax in nature and reconnect with the animals in your life. New week, new you. If anything does not go to plan, embrace the change — strive to be flexible with yourself and others. Expect a job offer or to otherwise come across some unexpected money. Any business ventures you pursue soon will be especially lucrative.

Even more of your gifts are being revealed. It is a good time to share your talents, skills, and passions with the world. Where there is an audience, there is harmony in the crowd. Your friends are standing by, eager to support your next endeavor. Any issues that remain stagnant will become easier to resolve. Expect a burst of energy in the coming days. It may be wise to use any extra time available to follow through with a new exercise or self care routine.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Soon you may find yourself forming a deep connection with someone who lives far from you. This will be a significant relationship in your life. Use your leadership skills to bring people together. Whether it be initiating plans or forming a study group, you should take the initiative. Actively listening to others can make a positive difference in this process. Your hobbies and interests are important and deserve your attention. Take time to pay attention to activities that you may have been neglecting lately.

You are learning and growing all the time, and that is beautiful. Prepare for a period of emotional healing and compassion. Be extra patient with yourself as you navigate this sensitivity. Travel opportunities may arise suddenly, follow through with them if possible.

Your personality and humor are desirable qualities in a friend, don’t shy away from making new acquaintances. You may be preparing for a change in living space — whether it be moving or redecorating. Making the change will not be as difficult as you believe it will be.

Love surrounds you. You may soon begin a new romance or deepen an existing relationship. The planets are in your favor. Regardless, ensure you focus on yourself and your academics as well. Consider taking up a new routine for relaxation, whether it be meditation, yoga, music, or a hobby. Setting aside some quiet time will protect your peace and ensure your future success.