ARTS Page 19
FORUM Criticize play cancellation 11 SPORTS Men’s soccer advances to Sweet 16 16
NIGHT FOR AFRICA YDALIA COLON/the Justice
The Independent Student Newspaper
the
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
Justice
Volume LXX, Number 10
www.thejustice.org
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
YOU ROCK
COMMUNITY
FIRE addresses play dispute ■ The Foundation for
Individual Rights in Education and Lenny Bruce's daughter addressed the University. By NATALIA WIATER JUSTICE EDITOR
Free speech watchdog the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education posted an open letter addressed to President Ron Liebowitz on Monday, calling upon the University to re-examine its principles of “freedom of expression, inquiry, and debate” in the wake of the “Buyer Beware” controversy. In the letter, FIRE urged the University to either provide a better explanation for the recent cancellation of the play or run the production as originally planned. The letter was signed by Kitty Bruce, comedian Lenny Bruce’s daughter and founder of the Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation; Robert Corn-Revere, the at-
torney who successfully petitioned New York Governor George Pataki to issue a posthumous pardon for Bruce; and magician Penn Jillette, among others. The open letter follows a statement issued by the Dramatists Guild of America and the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund on Nov. 8, which criticized the University for failing to meet its obligation to the legacy of Lenny Bruce, whose stand-up is quoted by one of the play’s characters. The statement described his legacy as a “landmark in the advancement of free speech” and asserted that the decision to cancel the play after student and alumni protests was a violation of the trust that went along with preserving Bruce’s archives. Brandeis acquired Bruce’s photographs, papers and recordings last October. While Lenny Bruce is considered a champion of free speech today, he was put on trial for using obscene words during his time as a comedian and was only issued a pardon 37 years
See FIRE, 7 ☛
COMMUNITY
Students count fish in citizen science event ■ Students and community
members participated in a citizen science event to aid the monitoring of river health. By ELIANA PADWA JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Prof. Hitchcock (BIOL) is a proponent of public participation in science because it allows non-scientists the opportunity to increase scientific literacy and “learn by doing.” On Tuesday, her Ecology class hosted a “Virtual Herring Count Data Sprint” as the first of many ’Deis Does Citizen Science events, intended to involve the greater Brandeis community in science, advocacy and education. Tuesday’s event gave University students a chance to participate in the work done by the Mystic River Watershed Association. MyRWA
runs a variety of environmental advocacy projects, including monitoring yearly river herring migrations in the Mystic River. In the past twenty years, populations have decreased by 95 percent due to habitat destruction and pollution. The organization’s executive director, Patrick Herron, explained that the number of fish swimming upstream each year is an indicator of the river’s health; to monitor it, citizens volunteer to count the fish. MyRWA runs primarily on volunteers: “If they have the data collected by volunteers, that gives them more leeway to do advocacy work,” said Liam Garvey ’18. MyRWA’s advocacy work includes writing letters opposing harmful development proposals and testifying at environmental hearings. To collect data, a camera records herring swimming through the
NATALIA WIATER/the Justice
Students scrawled inspirational messages on rocks in celebration of Kindness Day.
Brandeis Counseling Center hires staff to meet demand ■ The Brandeis Counseling
Center added staff for the growing number of students seeking services and programs. By ABBY PATKIN JUSTICE EDITOR
In response to peak student demand this fall, the Brandeis Counseling Center has hired more staff members, added new therapy groups and extended its hours, according to BCC Director Joy von Steiger. Comparing a span of time between August and November of last year to 2017, the BCC has seen a 2,000 percent increase in student utilization of the after-hours counseling line — in other words, an increase in emergency or non-routine care — and a 90 percent increase in walk-ins, von Steiger said in a joint interview with the Justice and the Brandeis Hoot. As of Nov. 8, 489 students have sought initial assessments, and 591 students have been seen at the BCC this semester, according to von Steiger. With this increased demand, the wait period between initial assessments and first appointments reached a peak of four weeks earlier this semester, leaving many students stuck
on the waitlist. One student told the Justice that they have found both group therapy and one-on-one sessions at the BCC helpful, though they initially had difficulty making an appointment. “It took me a long time to get my appointment, and now that I’m finally in the system, I’m fine, but for the first couple appointments, it was hard to find times, since they were so booked,” the student said. To address the high student demand and personnel turnover — a total of five staffers left after the spring semester — the BCC hired four new therapists in the last few weeks, with a fifth to be hired soon. With these new hires, the BCC can now offer a first appointment within a week of initial assessment, according to von Steiger. This August, the BCC also hired Case Manager Vanessa Mena-Gibson, who helps facilitate referrals for students whose needs cannot be met within the BCC. However, this increased demand for counseling services is not isolated, von Steiger asserted. In the past year, college counseling centers across the country have seen more students seeking mental health care, and the BCC anticipated increased demand this fall, she said. In conversations with other college counseling centers, von Steiger said
that she and other directors anticipated more demand, discussing “how much stress the whole country is under and how that stress potentially translates to there potentially being more felt experience of stress on the college campus.” Boston College, Clark University and Wesleyan University, for example, experienced more counseling emergencies, while Emmanuel College and Lesley University had wait lists at their counseling centers for the first time, she said. But while the increased demand has been something of a universal trend, one thing sets the BCC apart from other college counseling centers: its overwhelmingly part-time staff. While most colleges employ fulltime counseling staff, the BCC employs 24 part-time therapists and only three full-time staffers, including von Steiger. “It’s just more the way we’ve always done it,” von Steiger said of the setup, which she said allows the center to attract more seasoned therapists who might also have private practices in the area. If the center limits the positions to full-time, she said, it would likely attract applicants who are less experienced. Additionally, the larger staff has al-
See BCC, 7 ☛
Action for Autism
Season Over
Kindness Day
While treatments have improved, there is still a long way to go.
The women’s soccer team’s season ended on Sunday with a 3-0 loss against Williams College.
The University community celebrated its eighth annual Kindness day.
DILLON GARVEY/the Justice
For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
See FISH, 7 ☛
Waltham, Mass.
Let your voice be heard! Submit letters to the editor online at www.thejustice.org
FEATURES 8
INDEX
SPORTS 16
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
ARTS SPORTS
17 13
EDITORIAL FEATURES
10 OPINION 8 POLICE LOG
10 2
News 3 COPYRIGHT 2017 FREE AT BRANDEIS.