10 TUESDAY, setember 12, 2017 ● forum ● THE JUSTICE
the
Justice Established 1949
Brandeis University
Abby Patkin, Editor in Chief Amber Miles, Managing Editor Carmi Rothberg, Senior Editor Michelle Banayan, Abby Grinberg, Lizzie Grossman, Noah Hessdorf, Mihir Khanna, Jerry Miller and Sabrina Sung, Associate Editors Michelle Dang, News Editor, Kirby Kochanowski, Features Editor Nia Lyn, Forum Editor, Ben Katcher, Sports Editor Hannah Kressel, Arts Editor, Natalia Wiater, Photography Editor Mira Mellman, Layout Editor, Pamela Klahr and Robbie Lurie, Ads Editors Jen Geller and Avraham Penso, Copy Editors SABRINA SUNG/the Justice
EDITORIALS
Acknowledge President Liebowitz’s DACA address President Donald Trump announced last Tuesday his decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The 2012 program, which protects individuals brought to the United States as children, affects approximately 800,000 immigrants across the country, some of whom are Brandeis students. Trump’s announcement gives Congress six months to pass immigration legislation on the issue. If they are unable to do so, Trump warned in a tweet last Tuesday, he will “revisit this issue.” In a Sept. 5 letter to President Trump, University President Ronald Liebowitz urged the White House to reverse its decision. In his letter, a positive development in the University’s stance on immigration, Liebowitz cited the unlikelihood that Congress will pass meaningful legislation within the six month window. “Here at Brandeis University, we value our DACA students, who enrich our campus in many ways and are integral to our community,” Liebowitz wrote. “Reversing DACA inflicts harsh punishment on the innocent. As a nation founded by immigrants, we can, should, and must do better.” This board commends President Liebowitz for his letter; as he rightly states, DACA recipients enhance the community as typical Brandeis students with a unique perspective. However, it is crucial to keep in mind that actions often speak louder than words. With this in mind, the University must ensure that it does all it can to consult and help DACA students. According to a Nov. 22, 2016 Justice article, Chief Diversity Officer Mark Brimhall-Vargas asked the audience at
Support students in need a discussion on sanctuary campuses to consider whether visibility or lack of visibility would work best in protecting undocumented students. Ultimately, the only individuals who can determine the right course of action — visibility or lack thereof — are the affected students themselves. In this regard, the University must consult with DACA students in order to gauge which actions will be most helpful to them. While the Department of Homeland Security will no longer accept DACA applications, renewal applications for those whose two-year work permits expire before March 5, 2018 will still be accepted if submitted by Oct. 5. With this deadline looming overhead for some, the University could offer affected students legal resources and help with renewal paperwork. The Brandeis Counseling Center might also offer special mental health services tailored for students facing the threat of deportation or familial separation, as 993 community members suggested in an open letter to administrators in November. Additionally, faculty members could offer extensions and extra support to students whose immigration status might take a toll on their academics. In a Sept. 7 tweet, Trump wrote that DACA recipients concerned about their immigration status during this six month period “have nothing to worry about.” Brandeis is already on the right track in making undocumented students feel safe on campus. However, with much at stake and immigration status left uncertain for many, it is time for the University to put meaningful changes into action.
Address the lack of printer availability in the library
Although the screens in Goldfarb Library report that the printing system is now up and running, this board urges the University to examine what went wrong, particularly poor planning and a lack of communication. Due to issues with the printing payment system, library printing was offered for free at the start of the fall semester. Ideally, any issues with the payment system should have been resolved prior to the start of classes. This board acknowledges that this matter may have been out of the library’s hands, but it also finds the library’s lack of communication on the matter irresponsible. Except for posting signs, the library did little to make the student body aware of the initial free status of printing, leaving news of it to spread as a rumor. As students discovered the free printing, egregious overuse began, leading to the breakdown of not only one but — at one point — five of the six printers available to students in Goldfarb. If the library had made an announcement explaining the situation, as well as giving guidelines about courteous usage or limitations, the situation could have been controlled. Further, the library should have notified students when printers started to be put out of order. Not all students have the resources to access other means of printing, and the library was clearly aware of this, given their decision to allow free printing rather than temporarily removing the services at the beginning of the school year. As such, the library should also have known to alert the student body by the time there was only one available printer left. Had the library
Acknowledge student concerns sent out an announcement, students would have known to take their printing needs elsewhere. The reality of college is that many students print assignments shortly before class. With over a 20-minute backlog to the sole functional printer on Thursday, students were forced to choose between arriving to class late or arriving without their assignments. Additionally, the library’s silence meant that instructors were also unaware of the printing circumstances, leaving students to explain the situation themselves. Further, while the library’s initial decision to enable free printing — rather than rescind printing altogether — was commendable, this board believes that it was shortsighted. There were several students who viewed the free printing as an opportunity to print unlimited pages, some documents well over 40 pages long. Such inconsiderate behavior, in the end, directly caused both the printer breakdowns and backlogs. Paper and ink were wasted on PDF files of whole textbooks, and other students attempting to print more immediate documents were left waiting. Moreover, when impatient students abandoned their place to collect their printouts later, their documents joined an oversized collection of similarly abandoned papers on the table near the printer to be lost and, later, reprinted. This board urges students to take this situation as a reminder to be considerate of their peers.
Views the News on
According to a recent study from Pew Research Center, 67 percent of Americans revealed that they get at least some of their news from social media. Of this 67 percent, 74 percent of individuals receive their news from Twitter — a value that has significantly increased since the election of President Donald Trump. In the era of “fake news,” does there need to be more scrutiny on what news sources are trusted, or is social media just a convenient way to receive updates?
Prof. Jordan Pollack (COSI) In the history of civilization, there has rarely been a free-to-publish system. Soapboxes had limited audiences, lost-dog flyers needed labor to draw and staple, pamphleteers had to pay for printing. Then came spam: Anyone can send you email without your permission. Suddenly free broadcast could be achieved for advertising (“Viagra with no prescription!”), chainmail (“forward this to everyone you know!”), pyramid schemes (“send $1 to the top name, add yours to the bottom, and get rich!”) and conspiracy theories (“Building 7…”). Computer Science was just coming to grips with how to inhibit global chaining phenomena when Twitter was invented. It has evolved into permission-based spam where celebrity and outrage are more powerful than truth. Even if circuit-breaker technology can inhibit the spread of fake news, deranged individuals who can freely broadcast to millions are dangerous. Still, I’m supporting Katy Perry for President in 2020: She has 100m followers. Jordan Pollack (COSI) is a professor of Computer Science.
R Matthews ’19 I spend a lot of time on the internet, especially social media, and I understand completely why people are concerned about “fake news”, but we should be doing this already. Most news is biased in some way, and I feel as though people don’t do enough research on the news they are receiving or the sources they are getting it from. I feel as though not enough people do their due diligence when it comes to reading the news, regardless of what platform they get it from (online, social media, television, etc.). I do my best to remind people that the media is inherently biased. All these companies are ultimately run by a person or group of people who share a certain belief system. These biases most definitely flow into their companies and make their way into the minds of the public without most of us realizing. So ultimately, I don’t think censoring or trying to control what news sources people see on the internet is going to be very helpful. What is more helpful is the public doing their research, doing their due diligence and filling in the pieces that news sources or the media may leave behind. R Matthews’ 19 is a Computer Science and African and Afro-American Studies double major.
Farzana Parveen ’19 I feel like it’s fine receiving news on social media platforms. Everyone is on social media nowadays so news being provided on those keeps people updated on what’s going on in the world. I personally enjoy the news updates on Facebook, for example. It’s a nice way of being aware. News on social media is another way of advertisement. They are reaching a wider and younger audience. In our generation we don’t really watch the news on TV or read the papers. Technology has taken over and one way to reach out toward an audience is through social media platforms. People that would like to read more into news out of their own interest can look up relevant articles on other news sources. However, for most Americans, technology and social media are a part of our everyday life so receiving news on it is most convenient. Farzana Parveen ’19 is a member of Brandeis Robotics.
Alice Wu ’20 It is undeniable of the impact that social media has had on this generation. Content is constantly being uploaded in all social platforms. In fact, according to Fortunelords, 300 hours of video are being uploaded to YouTube every minute! The power of social media is a double edged sword. It may be beneficial to constantly be updated on current events, but it is not uncommon for information to be uncovered as “fake news.” As much as I would like to say there should be a measure to confirm that an article is from a credible source or trusted news, I know that it is not practical. People have grown accustomed to accessing information as soon as possible and adding an additional process would decrease revenue. Social media serves as a platform to update people. Although the information presented may not be the entire truth, the post encourages a discussion for people to talk about and debate. Alice Wu ’20 is a Computer Science major.