the
Justice www.thejustice.org
The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXI, Number 9
of
B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Waltham, Mass.
DANGERS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
JUSTICE INVESTIGATION
Former Catholic chaplain was removed after alcohol-related ‘incident’ with University student The administration originally attributed Father Walter Cuenin’s abrupt departure in early 2015 to unspecified health problems. By NATALIA WIATER JUSTICE EDITOR
Father Walter Cuenin, the University’s Catholic chaplain from 2006 to 2015, was removed from ministry and his position at Brandeis due to alcohol addiction and a “related incident” involving an adult male student, the Archdiocese of Boston’s Secretary for Communications and Public Affairs Terrence Donilon confirmed in an Oct. 3 email to the Justice. The University had originally attributed Cuenin’s departure to unspecified “health reasons”in a Jan. 13, 2015 email from Dean of Students Jamele Adams. University Director of Media Relations Julie Jette told the Jusitce in an Oct. 23 statement that in late December 2014, Brandeis received a complaint from a student that Father Cuenin “behaved unacceptably on an off-campus trip in the fall of 2014.” The University informed the student of the “availability of university support services, and the option of initiating a Brandeis investigation,” according to Jette. The University notified Cuenin that he would not be allowed to return to campus and that he should have no further contact with any student or member of the Brandeis community. Brandeis informed the Archdiocese of Boston of the complaint, and the archdiocese told the University that it would conduct an investigation into Cuenin’s behavior, Jette wrote. The archdiocese informed the University that regardless of the outcome of its investigation, Cuenin would no longer practice as a priest or serve on any college campus.
In an Oct. 24 follow-up email to the Justice, Donilon confirmed to the Justice that the archdiocese investigated the complaint, the details of which he did not specify. “Out of concern and at the request of the adult male student and Brandeis University, it was determined that Fr. Cuenin’s assignment would end and the privacy of the adult male student would be respected,” Donilon wrote. He said he is not aware of any further contact between Cuenin and the University community. The Justice asked University President Ron Liebowitz why the University had not disclosed the specific reasons for Cuenin’s departure in 2015 and whether the University had sought to determine if Cuenin had behaved “unacceptably” toward other students. Jette replied on Liebowitz’s behalf, saying that because Liebowitz was not at Brandeis at the time, it “isn’t appropriate” for him to comment. She referred the Justice to her earlier statement. The Code of Ministerial Behavior for the Archdiocese of Boston states that clergy should refrain from “the use of alcohol when working with youth.” Pastoral counselors and spiritual directors “assume the full burden of responsibility for establishing and maintaining clear, appropriate boundaries in all counseling and counseling-related relationships.” Cuenin is currently a senior priest with restricted status, Donilon wrote. “Priests who reach a certain age and who have completed parish assignments can move to senior priest status,” he added. Such priests can gener-
ally serve in parishes to help with mass or confessions, but Cuenin’s restricted status bars him from exercising public ministry. A priest’s status can be restricted for a variety of reasons, according to Donilon. He did not specify why Cuenin was banned from performing priestly duties. Cardinal Sean O’Malley appointed Cuenin as the University’s Catholic chaplain in February 2006, according to a Feb. 7, 2006 Justice article. Catholic priests are appointed to the chaplaincy by the archdiocese, while the University hires them and pays their salaries. The archdiocese had forced Cuenin to resign from his previous post at Our Lady Help of Christians in Newton, Massachusetts, the year before, saying that Cuenin’s $500 monthly stipend, which had been approved by the parish, exceeded the archdiocese’s limit of five dollars per mass. Cuenin agreed to pay the archdiocese $75,000 but said an internal audit found that his stipend was within church policy, according to the same Justice article. "Some people have suggested [my removal] was because I was an outspoken kind of priest," Cuenin told the Newton TAB at the time, per the Justice article. In 2002, Cuenin and 57 other priests signed a letter calling on Cardinal Bernard Law to resign, saying he was no longer an “effective spiritual leader,” according to a Dec. 10, 2002 Boston Globe article. The letter’s publication was sparked by widespread anger over Law’s failure to “remove from ministry priests accused of sex
See CUENIN, 7 ☛
SOPHIA WANG/the Justice
REFUGEE CRISIS: Dr. Jim Anderson analyzed the way that climate change has led to food shortages and crop failures, contributing to the global refugee crisis.
Harvard prof. examines climate change impact ■ Dr. Jim Anderson argued for
changing how science classes are taught in order to inspire future problem solvers. By NAKUL SRINIVAS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Dr. Jim Anderson, a Weld professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at Harvard, blamed climate change for the rise in storms, droughts, wildfires, food shortages and skin cancer in an Oct. 29 lecture. He also explained how improvements in science education can help future generations better understand and deal with climate change in the future. Anderson started by describing the global warming effect of climate change. Rising levels of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, caused by human activity, have changed the energy flow of our climate system, according to Anderson. In addition to the energy from the sun that enters our atmosphere
every year, 170 million kilowatthours of energy is already cycling through our climate system. This heat energy, enough to power 28 million light bulbs, has led to a rise in the temperature of our climate system, Anderson said. This has three major consequences: reducing Arctic floating ice, diminishing mountain snowpacks and warming ocean surface temperatures. “Can the Earth lose 70 to 80 percent of its permanent Arctic ice volume in 35 years and return to its stable condition? The answer is absolutely no,” said Anderson, explaining that scientists currently expect this to happen. He then moved on to talk specifically about Greenland, which is covered by glaciers. In 2012, nearly all of Greenland’s glaciers experienced melting due to climate shifts. Melting water moves through fissures in the ice down to the bedrock that lies beneath the ice, breaking the bond between them and destabilizing the glaciers.
See CLIMATE, 7 ☛
COMMUNITY
J Street U petitions to add Palestinian voices to Birthright ■ The Brandeis chapter of J
Street U will meet with Hillel to discuss its proposals for Birthright trips. By AVRAHAM PENSO JUSTICE EDITOR
The Brandeis chapter of J Street U is circulating a petition calling on Brandeis Hillel to include Palestinian speakers in future Hillel-led Birthright Israel trips. Written by board member Sivan Ben-Hayun ’19, the petition explains, “Our com-
munity values complexity, nuance, and the inclusion of multiple experiences and narratives,” and asks that Birthright participants “learn about the Israeli occupation from Palestinians who are living under it.” J Street announced the petition at the conclusion of their Oct. 15 Breaking the Silence event, in which IDF veteran Merphie Bubis discussed her experience with violence and policing practices in the West Bank. Birthright Israel is an organization that sponsors one- to two-weeklong trips to Israel for Jewish young
adults worldwide in order to “ensure the future of the Jewish people by strengthening Jewish identity, Jewish communities, and [participants’] connection with Israel,” according to the organization’s website. Through visits to sites with historical significance to Judaism and Zionism in addition to modern Israeli organizations and businesses, participants learn about their Jewish heritage and contemporary Israel — including its “geopolitics, society, and statehood.” But J Street believes that Birthright trips do not provide a complete picture of the ongoing Israe-
li-Palestinian conflict, frequently leaving their participants with “a connection to Israel that is fragile at best,” per the petition. In an Oct. 28 Justice interview with Ben-Hayun and current chapter chair Talya Guenzburger ’20, Ben-Hayun cited her experience on a Brandeis Hillel-led winter 2015 Birthright trip. After the group listened to two invited speakers — a Jewish Israeli and a Palestinian citizen of Israel — share their experiences living in Israel, the group’s tour guide “proceeded to say how everything that this Palestinian just told us about his personal ex-
perience was a lie, or untrue, or unjustified,” Ben-Hayun said. “I was really angry.” All Birthright trips are led by Israeli tour guides who have been licensed by Israel’s Ministry of Tourism and receive further training from Birthright, according to a July 27, 2018 Jewish Telegraphic Agency article. These tour guides work with staff from other organizations (such as Hillel) that facilitate specific Birthright trips, such as college Hillel trips. This past summer, a number of Birthright participants affiliated
See J STREET, 7 ☛
Life Hack
Noises Off!
Author reimagines Anne Frank’s story
Brandeis student wins HackHarvard.
The UTC puts on a play within a play.
By CHRISTINE KIM
By MENDEL WEINTRAUB
Reader Commentary: In defense of PragerU
By LEIGH SALOMON
By YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY
NEWS 5 FORUM 12
Women’s soccer places fifth in UAA standings Photo Courtesy of BEN SEGAL
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ARTS 18
By MEGAN GELLER
COPYRIGHT 2018 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
SPORTS 16