The Justice, November 20, 2018

Page 1

SPORTS PULLOUT: BASKETBALL PREVIEW

the

Justice www.thejustice.org

The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXI, Number 11

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 20, 2018

Waltham, Mass.

‘HEALTHY AND HUNGER-FREE’

BRIEF Brandeis alumnus donates $10 million for Japanese students Toshizo “Tom” Watanabe ’73 has donated $10 million in scholarship funds to be allocated to undergraduate and graduate students from Japan. This is the single largest donation the University has received from an international graduate, according to the University’s Nov. 14 press release. The Toshizo Watanabe International Scholarship Program will be available to students who are currently studying or who have studied at “top-tier” Japanese universities with whom Brandeis has a partnership, according to the press release. Brandeis’ International Business School has already established relationships with the Keio and Waseda Universities, both based in Tokyo, per the IBS website. Watanabe Scholars will be eligible to attend Brandeis as undergraduates or graduate students in three of its schools: IBS, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Through the scholarship, they will receive full tuition and a partial stipend for living expenses, according to the TWISP website. Watanabe, who grew up in Kamakura, Japan, was admitted to the University as part of the Wien International Scholarship Program, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, per the TWISP press release. That program covers the full demonstrated need of its recipients, who are chosen based on academic success and extracurricular or community involvement, per the Scholarships and Admissions page. Since the program’s inception, there have been 894 Wien Scholars from 115 countries, according to its website.

YVETTE SEI/the Justice

HELPING THE HUNGRY: The Brandeis Food Pantry is located in Kutz Hall and is open to all members of the University community.

Brandeis Food Pantry opens to counter student food insecurity ■ The initiative, created

this summer to benefit international students, officially launched this week. By LIAT SHAPIRO JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

After months of work behind the scenes, the Brandeis Food Pantry celebrated its official opening on Friday. Located in Kutz Hall across from the Registrar’s Office, the BFP is open to all members of the Brandeis community and provides non-perishable canned items and personal care prod-

ucts. In an interview with the Justice, Senior Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences for Undergraduate Education Elaine Wong explained that addressing food insecurity among Brandeis students Brandeis has been “a matter under discussion for many years now.” According to Wong, the current Brandeis Food Pantry initiative started in July 2018 when a committee focused on international student concerns raised the issue of food insecurity for Brandeis’ international students. Wong shared that Kim Godsoe, the associate provost for Academic Affairs, spoke to University Provost

Lisa Lynch, who donated funds allowing the committee to purchase food for international students this summer. The temporary food pantry was set up in the Shapiro Campus Center’s TV lounge. Later in the summer, the pantry was moved to its current location in Kutz Hall, which is a “more secure location,” according to Wong. In an email to the Justice, Lynch cited 2017 research from the Urban Institute that showed that anywhere between 11 and 20 percent of students who attend four-year institutions suffer from food insecurity. Leah Berkenwald ’07, the Univer-

According to the press release, Watanabe was inspired to donate to the University while attending a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Wien program, during which Lawrence Wien, co-founder of the Wien program, gave a speech. “That is when a seed was planted for me,” Watanabe said. “Since then, I have always wanted to repay the Wien family’s generosity by helping other students.” Watanabe credits the Wien scholarship with making his career possible, according to the University’s statement. He graduated from Brandeis with a bachelor's degree in Politics, and went on to achieve a Masters of Business Administration from Pepperdine University, according to a Bloomberg profile of Watanabe. Watanabe served as CEO and president of Nikken, a health and wellness company, and is now chairman emeritus. In the press release, University President Ron Liebowitz called Watanabe’s donation “emblematic of the university’s mission,” and said he was “deeply grateful” for it. “This scholarship program will not only enable us to welcome deserving students, it will also further diversify our campus, add new perspectives to our classroom discussions and emphasize our university as a global institution,” he wrote. Watanabe has also established the Toshizo Watanabe Fellows Program at Stanford University, the Toshizo Watanabe Endowed Scholarship Fund for the U.S.-Japan Council and the Toshizo Watanabe Scholarship at Nikken. —Natalia Wiater

See PANTRY 7 ☛

COMMUNITY

Open letter prompts administration to hold accessibility forum ■ The letter, sent via email,

was coupled with student accounts of living with a disability on campus. By SAM STOCKBRIDGE JUSTICE EDITOR

In response to an open letter sent to University President Ron Liebowitz two weeks ago, Brandeis will hold an open forum to discuss accessibility on campus. The announcement, made by Liebowitz at Sunday’s Union Senate meeting, marks a success for the group that wrote the letter, Addressing Accessibility at Brandeis. Jack Rubinstein ’20, representing AAB, sent the open letter to Liebow-

itz in a Nov. 8 email, along with a document of personal accounts from Brandeis students with disabilities sharing their experiences on campus. More than 250 students and alumni signed the letter. The email was also sent to the Justice and The Brandeis Hoot “for the purpose of transparency.” In the open letter, students expressed their concern at the “growing unrest” in the Brandeis community around “the big question: is Brandeis truly accessible? Or is it just accessible to some, and, if so, which communities of students are left out?” The letter added: “We as a Brandeis community are hurt, harmed, and demoralized when not everyone has ac-

cess on this campus. … This is a letter asking for our voices to be heard, seen, or signed.” To address this, the letter implored the Brandeis administration to “hold an open forum to discuss accessibility on this campus.” In an email to the Justice, Liebowitz wrote that he has “been in touch personally” with Rubenstein and that the pair “have a meeting set up to discuss the issues [identified in the email].” Asked if the administration plans to make any changes in response to the email, Liebowitz reiterated that his administration is “committed to improving student life … and to … being open and inclusive.” Liebowitz also expressed his desire to make campus more accessible,

Pond Inspiration  Walden Pond is still an escape for students. By VICTOR FELDMAN

noting that he personally intervened during the planning of Skyline Residence Hall to make it more accessible to students with mobility disabilities. “Though the plans [for Skyline] met all [Americans with Disabilities Act] requirements, … it would have been impossible for students who couldn’t navigate stairs to go to the upper floors of the building. … I requested that we change our plans [to make Skyline wheelchair accessible], even if it meant… additional costs,” he explained. Having some students be unable to visit their friends on upper floors would not have aligned "with our philosophy and values,” he said. The authors of the letter wrote that they understand the great financial costs of making a college campus

accessible for students with disabilities, emphasizing that they were “asking what [the University] can do now to pave a path for a later generation of students.” There is little question that parts of the Brandeis campus are inaccessible to many students with mobility impairments: For example, none of the buildings in East Quad, Massell Quad, Rosenthal Quad or North Quad contain elevators. The attached five-page document, titled “Personal Accounts,” contained a number of anecdotes from students who wrote about difficulties they encountered with transportation across campus, learning disabilities, academic accommodations and housing.

See ACCESSIBILITY, 7 ☛

Circle Mirror Transformation

Union working to provide free menstrual products

 The Theater Arts dept. produced a stirring show.

Uyghurs remain oppressed in China

By GILDA GEIST

By LEAH SAMANTHA CHANEN

By HARRISON PAEK

NEWS 5 FORUM 11

MLB postseason comes to an end EITAN MAGER-GARFIELD/the Justice

FEATURES 9 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

Make your voice heard! Submit letters to the editor to letters@thejustice.org

ARTS 18

By BRIAN INKER

COPYRIGHT 2018 FREE AT BRANDEIS.

SPORTS 15


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
The Justice, November 20, 2018 by The Justice - Issuu