ARTS Page 19
FORUM Change blood donation policies 12 SPORTS Men’s basketball drops first two games 16
‘MATTRESS’ NATALIA WIATER /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 11
www.thejustice.org
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
DIVESTMENT RALLY
Waltham, Mass.
BRIEF Armed robbery prompts lock-down The University went on lockdown for just over two hours shortly before midnight on Monday following a report of an armed suspect on campus. The initial alert, sent out at 11:54 p.m. via the Brandeis University Emergency Notification System, told students to “take shelter in the nearest room, lock doors and windows, silence your cell phone, and remain quiet. Do not let anyone into the room until area is deemed clear by authorities.” A phone alert sent out via BENS added that University Police has received a report of
an armed robbery in one of the residence halls and that there were two suspects and a “possible firearm shown.” The Justice has received multiple unconfirmed reports that the residence hall in question was East Quad. This story will be updated online as more information is substantiated. University Police Patrolman Dustin Botelho told the Boston Globe that there was no active shooter on campus, according to a Nov. 21 Globe article. The shelter in place was lifted at 2:09 a.m. on Tuesday. —Abby Patkin
COMMUNITY
Play cancellation about protection, says Bruce
NATALIA WIATER/the Justice
RALLY: Students rallied for divestment and marched from Rabb Steps to the administration buildings on Wednesday afternoon.
Students rally for divestment ■ Brandeis Climate Justice
organized the rally on the day President Liebowitz met with the Board of Trustees. By NATALIA WIATER JUSTICE EDITOR
In a call to action, students marched from the Rabb Steps to the administration buildings last Wednesday, the same day the Board of Trustees was meeting, and urged University President Ron Liebowitz to engage with the Board and
discuss fossil fuel divestment. Organized by Brandeis Climate Justice, a group of about 40 students and faculty members held up signs that read “Climate Justice = Social Justice,” “Don’t invest in death” and “‘There is no such thing as an innocent purchaser of stock’ — Louis Brandeis.” Making their way to lower campus, they chanted “UMass did it, so can we, let’s make Brandeis fossil-free!” and “Hey, Brandeis, step off it! There’s poison in your profit!” General guidelines for managing the University’s endowment, adopted by the Board of Trustees in
1973, recognize that while it is not the University’s primary mission to “influence the conduct of business corporations with regard to the social consequences of their activities,” the University also should not ignore the ethical implications of investing funds in certain corporations. A university’s ability to influence corporate actions is limited, the guidelines state, because the amount of funds the University invests is too small to result in any economic detriment to a corporation, and every corporation will
See DIVESTMENT, 7 ☛
■ In an interview with the
Justice, Kitty Bruce rescinded her support of the FIRE open letter on censorship. By ABBY PATKIN JUSTICE EDITOR
Michael Weller’s ’65 controversial play “Buyer Beware” uses comic Lenny Bruce’s legacy and routines out of context, and the play’s cancellation was not a matter of censorship, but of “protection,” according to Kitty Bruce, the comedian’s daughter. Three days after co-signing an open
letter from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education that criticized the University for “censoring” the play, Bruce has changed her opinion on the matter, she said in a phone interview with the Justice. The decision came after Bruce spoke with a student involved in ongoing dialogue about the play. It was in this conversation that she realized the controversy was a matter of students protecting themselves and their peers from potential harm, she explained.
Letters to Letters
The Nov. 13 letter, addressed to
See BRUCE, 7 ☛
COMMUNITY
Provost notes tax bill reform will affect graduate students ■ Provost Lisa Lynch sent
an email to the community regarding student concerns about the federal tax reform. By DANIELA MICHANIE JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Provost Lisa Lynch discussed the potential impact of a major Republican tax bill on the affordability of higher education in an email sent to the University community on Friday evening. The email was sent in response to
student concerns about the bill’s impact on the tax's treatment of loans and tuition waivers. “Most of the emails that Deans, the President and I have received have come from concerned graduate students,” said Lynch in an interview with the Justice. “But we also heard from faculty and staff who are worried about the ramifications of the tax legislation.” The 440-page legislation to overhaul the current U.S. Tax Code is the biggest rewrite of the code since 1986 and could dramatically impact undergraduate and graduate students’ ability to afford the costs of higher
income tax, the treatment of tuition waivers as taxable income and the elimination of the tax deductibility of student loan interest. The house bill also eliminates the Lifetime Learning Credit and reduces the American Opportunity Tax Credit. The Lifetime Learning Credit offers up to $2,000 per year to cover tuition costs for individuals with a modified adjusted gross income of $65,000 or $130,000 or less for a married couple who files jointly. The American Opportunity Tax Credit offers a slightly higher credit of $2,500 per child enrolled in college per year, which is available to indi-
viduals who earn $80,000 or less or married couples who earn $160,000 or less. The House bill would allow individuals to claim the credit for five years instead of four but at a reduced amount. The Senate bill would leave the tax credit untouched. Patience Misner, a graduate student at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and an executive board member of the Graduate Student Association, spoke about how the passage of the bill in its current form could reduce the affordability of higher education in an interview with the Justice.
See TAX BILL, 7 ☛
Opioid Crisis
Judges Reign Supreme
Global Bazaar
A panel of experts discuss how to solved the Opioid abuse epidemic.
The women’s basketball team started its season strong by winning the Brandeis Invitational tournament.
The community celebrated its annual I Am Global Week festival.
MICHELLE BANAYAN /theJustice
For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
education. The new tax code, which is being referred to by Republicans as a “middle-class tax cut,” would add an estimated $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the course of the decade. The bill roughly doubles the standard deduction, or the dollar amount that reduces the amount of income on which individuals are taxed. Yet in order to cover this cost, certain deductions, including some tax benefits for those with college costs, are eliminated or reduced. Lynch detailed what the effects of the bill would be on students, including increases in individual student’s
Let your voice be heard! Submit letters to the editor online at www.thejustice.org
FEATURES 8
INDEX
SPORTS 16
TALYA GUENZBURGER /the Justice
ARTS SPORTS
17 13
EDITORIAL FEATURES
10 OPINION 8 POLICE LOG
10 2
News 3 COPYRIGHT 2017 FREE AT BRANDEIS.