ARTS Page 13
FORUM Support fair employment policies 10
THE BIBLE
SPORTS Cain named to All-Star game 11 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 LXVII, Number 23
www.thejustice.org
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Waltham, Mass.
BRONSTEIN WEEK
student life
Chums staff to remain paid
■ Operations have been suspended at Chum’s
following concerns about a safety incident last week. By rachel hughes JUSTICE editor
Daily operations at Cholmondeley’s Coffeehouse have been suspended following an incident on Friday, March 6, and the employment status of its 13 student workers still remains under dispute. In an interview with the Justice, four students who worked at Chum’s described the incident: on that Friday, the smoke alarm went off in Chum’s because students were smoking in the coffeehouse’s back room. The two student workers who were staffing the coffeehouse that night did not evacuate it. When Public Safety arrived at the coffeehouse and found that occupants were still inside, they evacuated the facility and closed it for the night. According to Niri Halperin ’15, Halperin and her co-general manager Josh Berman ’15 received an email that night from Robert Steinberg ’13, the Student Activities specialist who acts as a liaison between Chum’s and the Department of Student Activities, saying that the venue was closed for the weekend and that the staff was not to go into the space. The next day, Halperin said, when Chum’s staff members tried to get inside the coffeehouse, they found that all of the locks had been changed. In the weeks since then, the staff of Chum’s has met with several members of the University’s administration—including Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes, Dean of Students Jamele Adams and Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel—to sort out the situation.
MICHELLE BANAYAN/the Justice
PAINT NIGHT: Students relax and socialize in Sherman Function Hall by learning how to re-create a painting. The event was taught by an instructor from Paint Nite, a company that organizes group painting events, and was a part of the University's Bronstein Week.
student life
Space challenges result in tension ■ Several student groups
faced issues of space constraints, including the Women’s Resource Center. By rachel HUGHES JUSTICE editor
Last week, the University announced and then reportedly reversed a decision to revamp the Women’s Resource Center—a space in the Shapiro Campus Center used by the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and Students Talking About Relationships— into a space for Dharmic prayer. Social media pages for FMLA and STAR first shared the news on Face-
book on March 18 about the move, which would have seen FMLA and STAR relocating into the office currently used by Student Sexuality Information Services. SSIS’ office is also in the Shapiro Campus Center, just down the hall from the Women’s Resource Center. As of press time, the only communication the student body has received
See SPACES, 5 ☛
Faculty
Faculty meeting discusses budget, new hires ■ The faculty meeting
last Thursday addressed concerns about next year ’s university budget. By max moran JUSTICE editor
See CHUMS, 7 ☛
Last Thursday’s faculty meeting included discussion on next year’s university budget, ongoing administrative search committees and the unequal treatment of non-tenure track faculty. Provost Lisa Lynch facilitated the meeting in Olin-Sang 101. The meeting began with two memorial tributes to Prof. Emeritus Andrew Szent-Györgyi (BIOL) and
Prof. Barbara Levy (ENG). Lynch then began her provost report by noting that the March meeting of the Board of Trustees, which historically has focused on a presentation of the University’s budget for the upcoming academic year, will take place this week. Lynch stated that the proposed budget will include requests for increases in the salary pool, tuition
increases and room and board increases. She noted her personal request to use some of the funds from the sale of Brandeis House in February in order to address concerns about faculty retention and salary gaps. Lynch characterized the upcoming budget as “a steady-as-you-go budget” and “not a budget that has
See FACULTY, 5 ☛
Healthy Ice Cream
Overhead Slam
Club Soccer
Michael Shoretz ’09 creates a nutritious ice cream alternative in 10 different flavors with his company Beyond Better Foods.
The men and women’s tennis team travelled to Wesleyan University this past weekend.
Brandeis Football Club seeks to overturn the club sports duplicate clause to gain equal access to resources.
FEATURES 6
For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
about the Dharmic prayer space came in a few paragraphs on March 19 in Grimes’ weekly “What’s happening at Brandeis this weekend” email. “The WRC is not cut nor closed,” Grimes wrote. “A number of moves have come about as a result of the opportunity created by the new Gender and Sexuality Diversity Center in Usdan [Student
Let your voice be heard! Submit letters to the editor online at www.thejustice.org
INDEX
SPORTS 12 ARTS SPORTS
13 11
EDITORIAL FEATURES
8 6
OPINION POLICE LOG
8 2
News 3
COPYRIGHT 2015 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
2
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
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THE JUSTICE
NEWS SENATE LOG
POLICE LOG
Senate discusses incidents on campus and presidential search
Medical Emergency
On Sunday, the Senate convened for their weekly meeting to discuss recent conflicts on campus and upcoming initiatives. Undergraduate Representatives to the Board of Trustees Grady Ward ’16 and Mohamed Sidique ’15 began the meeting by speaking to the Senate about the upcoming Board meeting that will be held this week. Grady and Sidique said they are open to suggestions about what to talk about, including sharing student views about what qualities the next University president should embody with the Board. Many of these views were shared at a forum held last Thursday, and Senator-at-Large Naomi DePina ’16 reiterated her views that the next president should “be open to diversity.” Student Union Chief of Staff Flora Wang ’15 then discussed several recent campus conflicts, including the recent incident at Cholmondeley’s Coffee House and the debate over the space that the Women’s Resource Center occupies. Wang said that while there are many details that students cannot know due to privacy issues, the administration is working to resolve the conflicts and trying to get to a point where people can agree. Wang also discussed additions to the upcoming ’Deis Day, which will take place on April 19, and general space allocation in the Shapiro Campus Center. Lastly, Wang addressed the recent meal plan announcement, saying that many students are trying to put together an event next Tuesday to discuss the meal plan options. Next, the Senate went through the process of recognizing and chartering clubs. The first group to present was the Greek Awareness Council, who wanted recognition as a club from the Student Union. The club was approved for recognition with a vote of 14 in favor, two abstains and three against. The second club was BeWise, which wanted chartering from the Student Union. The club was approved for chartering with a unanimous vote of 19 in favor. Student Union Vice President Charlotte Franco ’15 then discussed the recent elections and their results, saying that Vice President-elect Dennis HermidaGonzales ’16 is now in training and should be contacted with any questions. Also mentioned were the new round of elections to be held Wednesday, with new senators coming in next week. The Senate then voted on two Senate Money Resolutions, which were both approved, and a new bylaw amendment proposed by North Quad Senator Lorenzo Finamore ’18, which was approved with a vote of 13 in favor, two abstains and zero against. The Senate will vote on another by-law amendment next week. Finally, the Senate Committee Chairs gave reports on upcoming events and plans. The Services and Outreach Committee discussed the updated Senate Money Resolution for the Midnight Buffet and the increased outreach they hope to accomplish through their Facebook page. The Club Support Committee discussed the introduction of mandatory bystander training and increasing club accountability, and the Social Justice and Diversity Committee discussed their upcoming social justice poetry slam.
Mar. 15—A party in North Quad reported rolling their ankle playing soccer. University Police transported the party to the hospital for further care after being treated by BEMCo staff. Mar. 18—University Police received a report of a party in East Quad lying on their back in the women’s bathroom feeling ill. Police requested BEMCo aid and BEMCo reported the party was conscious and alert with abdominal pain and requested Cataldo ambulance. The party was treated on site and refused further medical treatment. Mar. 19—A party in the Goldfarb Library tripped and fell down stairs, hurting their ankle. University Police transported the party to the NewtonWellelsey Hospital for further medical attention, accompanied by a BEMCo staff member. Mar. 20—University Police
received a report of a party in Farber Library having an allergic reaction to nuts. The party was treated on site by BEMCo and transported to the Golding Health Center for further care. Mar. 20—Police received a report of a party in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center with a severely sprained ankle. The injured party refused medical treatment and visited the emergency room on their own at a different time. Mar. 21—A caller from the Charles River Apartments reported their friend may have broken their arm after falling. The caller indicated that the injured party could not move their arm. The injured party was treated by BEMCo staff and transported to NewtonWellesley Hospital by University Police. Mar. 21—A caller from Usen Castle reported that their friend had a fever, sore throat and trouble breathing, but not to the point of passing out. The
party was treated on site by BEMCo with a signed refusal for further care. Mar. 22—A party in the Charles River Apartments reported they caught their hand in a door and were bleeding. The party was treated by BEMCo staff and transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for for further care by University Police.
Larceny
Mar. 17—A party in the Charles River Apartments reported their credit card was used in Europe without their authorization. University Police compiled a report on the incident. Mar. 19—A party in Ziv Quad stated their credit card was stolen. University Police compiled a report on the incident.
Sex Crimes
Mar. 18—A party in East Quad reported a past peeping Tom incident. University Po-
PUPPIES AND PIZZA
n A News article did not clarify that Steven Schwartz, who spoke at the event “Tel Aviv and Boston: Two Perspectives on Affordable Housing,” is the father of David Schwartz ’16, the head of the Real Estate Club. (Mar. 17, pg. 3) n A News article misspelled the name of an activist who was killed in Libya. The woman’s name was Salwa Bughaighis, not Salma Buhaighis. (Mar. 17, pg. 3) n A photo caption in News incorrectly credited Zachary Anziska as taking the photo. Heather Schiller is the photographer. (Mar. 17, pg. 3)
The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Email editor@ thejustice.org.
Justice
the
www.thejustice.org
The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods.
AMANDA NGUYEN/the Justice
Carrie Chung ’17 visited the “Puppies and Pizza” event hosted by the Psychological Counseling Center last Wednesday. The event featured licensed therapy dogs and free pizza as a way for students to de-stress.
editor@thejustice.org news@thejustice.org forum@thejustice.org features@thejustice.org sports@thejustice.org arts@thejustice.org ads@thejustice.org photos@thejustice.org managing@thejustice.org copy@thejustice.org layout@thejustice.org
The Justice Brandeis University Mailstop 214 P.O. Box 549110 Waltham, MA 02454-9110 Phone: (781) 736-3750
Disturbance
Mar. 21—A caller reported people yelling in the Foster Mods. University Police checked the area and found all quiet upon arrival.
Other
Mar. 19—University Police received a report of parties dropping bottles of alcohol in a stairway of East Quad and leaving the building. University Police complied a report on the incident and notified the custodial staff. —compiled by Avi Gold
Last Tuesday, Prof. Jonathan D. Sarna ’75 (NEJS) released his newest book, Lincoln and the Jews: A History. The book is co-authored by Sarna and Benjamin Shapell, the founder of the Shapell Manuscript Foundation. The book launch was accompanied by an exhibition with the same title, which opened Friday at the New York Historical Society. According to the New York Times, the exhibit includes over 100 letters, photographs and artifacts that trace Lincoln’s life and highlight his interactions with the Jewish community from the Shapell Manuscript Collection, many of which were “never previously exhibited,” according to the Times. The exhibit is on display at the Society through June 7. University President Frederick Lawrence attended the launch, according to Provost Lisa Lynch at the faculty meeting on Thursday. A review in the New York Times says the book “illustrates how President Abraham Lincoln … intended to secure equality and freedom for all Americans, including another growing minority group in Civil War-era America: The Jews.” In addition to this, the Times said that both the book and the accompanying exhibit “explore how Lincoln’s remarkable regard for and friendships with American Jews directly and indirectly impacted both his path to the presidency and his policy decisions once in the White House.” “Lincoln played an important role in turning Jews from outsiders in America to insiders,” Sarna told the Times. “It’s a subject that has really been overlooked.” Sarna, a historian of American Judaism, is the chair of the University’s Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program. Sarna has written more than 30 books, including When General Grant Expelled the Jews and American Judaism: A History, which was a winner of the Jewish Book Council’s Jewish Book of the Year Award in 2004. He is also a Brandeis University alum, and graduated summa cum laude with highest honors in Judaic Studies and History in 1975. —Rachel Sharer
ANNOUNCEMENTS Tea, Cookies and Conversation Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy
with
Please join us as we welcome the first female mayor of Waltham to the Women’s Studies Research Center for a lovely afternoon of tea, cookies and conversation with scholars, staff and board members, Brandeis students and invited guests. Today from 2 to 4 p.m. in Lieberman-Miller Lecture Hall.
Talk with TruthRevolt’s Ben Shapiro
Editor News Forum Features Sports Arts Ads Photos Managing Copy Layout
Mar. 19—A staff member in the Spingold Theater Center reported that they had been threatened by a contracted service bus driver. University Police compiled a report on the incident.
Professor authors new book
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
n A Sports article incorrectly listed Cori Coleman as a member of the Class of 2016, when she is actually a member of the Class of 2015. (Mar. 17, pg. 16)
Harassment
BRIEF
—Rachel Sharer
n A Sports article incorrectly listed Kyle Brenner as a member of the Class of 2016, when he is actually a member of the Class of 2015. (Mar. 17, pg. 16)
lice compiled a report on the incident.
Join Brandeis Conservatives for a talk by one of the most prominent conservative political commentators in the media today as he speaks on the case for conservatism, liberalism in academia and other crucial matters. Ben Shapiro is an American conservative political commentator, best selling author, radio talk show host, attorney and media consultant. He has written five books, starting with Brainwashed: How Universi-
ties Indoctrinate America’s Youth in 2004; he writes a column for Creators Syndicate; is editor-at-large of Breitbart News and founder and editor in chief for the media watchdog group TruthRevolt. Today from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Usdan International Lounge.
Living with Lynching: African-American Drama and Citizenship Koritha Mitchell will discuss her work on on the cultural legacy of lynching in America, and how art making can inform and expand the evolution of this history. Mitchell is a literary historian and cultural critic. Her research centers on African-American literature, racial violence in U.S. literature and contemporary culture, and black drama and performance. She examines how texts, both written and performed, have helped terrorized families and communities survive and thrive.
Thursday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Mandel Center for the Humanities 303.
’Deis Talks
Education for Students by Students is hosting ’Deis Talks, Brandeis’ own TEDTalk event. There will be speeches from students, faculty and alumni, who will grapple with issues involving community, personal identity and more. Thursday from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Shapiro Admissions Center.
Robyn Ochs, hosted by Triskelion & Queer Resource Center
Robyn Ochs is an American bisexual activist. She is a professional speaker and workshop leader, whose primary fields of interest are gender, sexuality, identity and coalition building. Thursday from 8 to 9:30 p.m. in the Gender and Sexuality Center in Usdan.
THE JUSTICE
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TUESDAY, march 24, 2015
3
STUDENT UNION
Students discuss presidential criteria ■ The Student Union hosted
a forum in which students could share what they want to see in the next president. By TZLIL LEVY JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
On Thursday, students had the opportunity to share their perspectives on what aspects the next Brandeis president should embody during a student forum titled “What Do You Want to See in Our Next President.” Student Union President Sneha Walia ’15 and Student Representative to the Board of Trustees Grady Ward ’16 facilitated the forum. The event was held in the International Lounge and was sponsored by the Student Union. Walia and Ward explained the purpose of the discussion and the presidential search process. Students then broke into smaller groups to discuss the qualities they want to see in the next president. Walia and Ward monitored the conversations for opinions, ideas and thoughts. Walia explained the role of the president of the University. “The most significant role of the president is fundraising,” she said. President Lawrence works and negotiates with donors in order to receive large donations, according to Walia. Walia told the students that he is often “traveling to meet different alumni who are considering giving gifts or have given gifts in the past in order to get some level of recognition.” The president also reaches out to recent alumni, past fundraisers and members of the Board of Trustees, “who donate significant amounts to this University every year to stay on the Board,” said Walia.
“[The] president needs to make sure that they [the Board of Trustees] put forward information about Brandeis that works in the interest of those donors,” Walia said, mentioning that “making sure that Brandeis and [its] donors are comfortable” is important so as not to “alienate donors and members of the board.” Ward added that students often “want our president to be accessible,” making it “frustrating” when past presidents have not been around as much. “I think what we want from this discussion is to really better understand the needs of our community and how our community wants to engage at the high levels of our administration,” Ward said. Students expressed a wide range of views in what they would like to see in the next University president. Student Union Minority Senator Marlharissa Lagardere ’16 said she wants to see a person of color or a woman as president. Another student asserted the next president should be a Brandeis alum. Lagardere disagreed and said she would be concerned because if the president was an alum, he or she would not be familiar with the changes the university has experienced because “back then diversity [didn’t exist]” so he or she “wouldn’t know the caliber of what the University has come to.” Ben Margolin, class of 2017 senator, argued that the future president should be Jewish due to the university’s relation to Jewish principles and values. Nyah Macklin, class of 2016 senator and Student Union presidentelect for 2015-2016, added that the next president should be involved with all communities and not just the Jewish community. “If we do have a president who is Jewish, [it’s important] that he doesn’t forget about all the other communities
CAMPUS CLUBS
Brandeis FC seeks new policy change ■ Members of the team
met with Sheryl Sousa to address their frustration. By ABBY PATKIN JUSTICE EDITOR
After several months of discussion and preparation, Brandeis Football Club, the University’s club soccer team, met with Director of Athletics Sheryl Sousa ’90 to discuss overturning the club sports duplicate clause. Under the clause, club sports teams for which there is also a varsity team cannot operate within the realm of the University’s club sports program— which is a part of the Brandeis Athletics program—and instead must operate as a club chartered by the Student Union. Essentially, while Brandeis FC is currently a chartered club, it does not receive the same amount of funding or opportunities that other clubs sports teams do. According to Brandeis FC’s co-captain Ben Berson ’15, chartered clubs face trouble organizing field time, traveling to away games and storing equipment, among other issues. “We’re not being put on the same playing field [as other club sports teams],” Berson said in an interview with the Justice. “It just seems a little bit unbalanced in that sense.” Berson also described a meeting with Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes, Associate Director of Athletics Tom Rand and Club Sports Coordinator Matt Callahan, during which the team leaders discussed the necessary steps for becoming a part of the club sports program. According to Berson, Grimes referred the team to the Club Sports Council, which according to the Brandeis Athletics page, is “made up of seven club leaders and is the body that approves any changes to the program.” After Brandeis FC gave a presentation to the council on why the duplicate clause should be overturned, the council voted unanimous-
ly in favor of allowing duplicate teams to apply for the club sports program. However, Berson noted, the final decision was left to Sousa, who decided not to approve the council’s decision. Berson noted that Sousa reasoned that the policy change would open the door to growing the club sports program, and the program would be unable to provide all the clubs with enough resources, such as funding, athletic van usage and practice space. “In order to change the rule,” Berson said, “the council would need a strategic plan for a larger program.” According to Berson, however, the council only meets once every other month, “essentially meaning [a strategic plan] would never happen.” Berson also expressed frustration with the system, stating that the channel of communication between students and administrators is not operating as it should. “The Club Sports Council was made as a bridge between the Student Union and Athletics … and right now, despite the students saying they wanted a change, administrators said ‘no,’ and that’s the end of it, there’s no discussion,” Berson said. “So why is there even a club sports council? Looking toward the future, Berson discussed his desire to get more parties involved in the discussions, which he said he believes will help the campaign gain more traction. “If we’re the only ones who think this is unfair, then maybe we’d need to reevaluate, but if everyone agrees that this was an unfair thing that happened, then maybe someone else can step in,” he said. Of the past few months, Berson said that while he is proud of the advances the team has made, he is ultimately disappointed and frustrated with the system. “It was very upsetting to just be on this upward trajectory and then just stop because of the administrators,” he said. —Editor’s note: Brandeis FC Treasurer Sam Mintz ’15 is a Deputy Editor of the Justice.
FUTURE-FOCUSED
AMANDA NGUYEN/the Justice
STUDENT VOICES: Grady Ward ’16 and Sneha Walia ’15 helped monitor the discussion at the student forum on Thursday. that we have on campus,” Macklin said. Junior Representative to the Board of Trustees 2015–2016 Emily Conrad asserted “[Brandeis] was founded as a space for people who didn’t have a space and at the time it was a large Jewish population.” Student Union Vice President Charlotte Franco ’15 mentioned she wants a president who will engage with the student body and fundraise but also “find the middle ground between the Board of Trustees [and] being there for the students.” She said the presidential transition is “very rough” and Brandeis should
have both “a representative who wants to stay and a team that wants to stay.” Student Union Chief of Staff Flora Wang ’15 agreed with Franco and also said “this is a chance to grow diversity as well.” “We need a president who is able to impart that vision of Brandeis, and able to make people who care about the Jewish mission of Brandeis also care about the diversity mission of Brandeis,” said Ward. “We have a dual identity, and I really want to see a president who’s able to make people of either really care about both.” President Lawrence and Provost
and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Lisa Lynch will work together until July 1, when Lynch will transition into the role as Interim President. The search process will take a full year before a new president of the University is selected. Walia said she will be the student representative to the presidential search committee. In an email, Walia clarified that “no one reached out to ask me, but I was nominated and Andrew Flagel let me know that I was appointed to it.” Walia will meet with the members of the Board next week at the Board Meeting.
BRIEF Kanarek to lead presidential search committee Lawrence S. Kanarek ’76 has been chosen as the chairman of the presidential search committee. In an email to the Justice, Kanarek confirmed that he was appointed by Chairman of the Board Perry Traquina ’78 in early March and that he is still forming the committee itself at this time. Traquina did not respond to requests for comment by press time. Prof. Thomas Pochapsky (CHEM), the chair of the Faculty Senate, confirmed in an email to the Justice that there will be faculty representation on the committee. The Faculty Senate is currently reviewing nominations for faculty members who wish to appear on the committee, which Pochapsky called “a time-con-
suming but important task” at Thursday’s faculty meeting. Student Union President Sneha Walia ’15 told students at a forum last Thursday that she will be the student representative on the committee. She later clarified in an email to the Justice that “no one has reached out to me, but I was nominated and [Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment] Andrew Flagel let me know that I was appointed to [the presidential search committee].” Kanarek was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2010, according to the University’s website. He is a senior director at McKinsey and Company Inc., a global management consulting firm. Kanarek is the head of the company’s Washington, D.C. office, according to Brandeis magazine
,and is also a member of the civic council for D.C. Agenda, a private organization that works to improve governance in the D.C. area, according to the University website. Kanarek served on the Board of Overseers at the International Business School. He chaired the fundraising campaign to establish the Barney Schwalberg Endowed Scholarship at Brandeis, named in honor of a professor emeritus of economics. He received a B.A. in Economics summa cum laude from Brandeis at age 20, according to Brandeis magazine, and received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School as a Baker Scholar with high distinction in 1980. —Max Moran; Tzlil Levy contributed reporting.
BRIEF Bemis resigns as the VP for Human Resources Scot Bemis has resigned as the University’s vice president for Human Resources. He will be starting a new position as chief human resources officer at Dartmouth College on April 27, according to Dartmouth’s website. Bemis did not respond to requests for comment by press time. In an email to the Justice, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Manos said that Assistant Vice President for Human Resources Michelle Scichilone will serve as the interim vice president for Human Resources starting on April 1. This will be Scichilone’s second time as interim vice president, as she served for four months before Bemis was hired in 2007. In a March 17 interview with Dartmouth Now, Bemis said, “I
feel incredibly honored to be joining the Dartmouth College team … It will be a privilege to work with senior leadership, faculty, students and Human Resources staff.” Manos will be leading a search committee to find Bemis’ replacement. The committee will begin searching in the next academic year. The members of this committee have not yet been decided. At last Thursday’s faculty meeting, Provost Lisa Lynch stated that the search for Bemis’ replacement will not wait until the next University president is chosen because “[Bemis’ position] does not report directly to the president.” Bemis’ responsibilities during his tenure at the University have
included overseeing staff and budgets for the Office of Human Resources, overseeing recruitment and staffing for all nonfaculty positions, negotiating collective bargaining agreements and managing the University’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, according to Brandeis’ website. Prior to his work at Brandeis, Bemis also held several human resources positions within the U.S. Army. Bemis previously served as the director of the National Guard human resource operations in Washington, D.C. He also served as director of the leadership center in Tikrit, Iraq and senior director of human resources in Baghdad, Iraq. —Max Moran
4
TUESDAY, march 24, 2015
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THE JUSTICE
Dining services
Dining services announces new changes ■ The University faces
changes to meal plans and renovations to Sherman Dining Hall and Einstein Bros. By ZACH REID JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
In the past few weeks, Brandeis University Dining Services has announced numerous changes for the upcoming academic year, including meal plan revisions, physical renovations and the implementation of a customer service survey. The meal plan revisions, announced in a campus-wide email last week sent by Student Union Vice President Charlotte Franco ’15, will include a more flexible meal-equivalency option that will allow students to use meals at additional locations such as “the Stein, Louis’ Deli and the Hoot Market,” according to Franco. The meal plans themselves are also being restructured, and next
year’s offerings will include a 19, 15, 12 and 10 meal plan. While members of the Class of 2018 who live on campus must choose from the above-mentioned meal plans, students in the Class of 2017 have additional options when making their decision. These include two “block plans,” which allow a fixed number of meals for the semester instead of each week; these are the 120 meal plan and the 80 meal plan. Students in the Class of 2016 who live in a residence hall with a kitchen are not required to select a meal plan but have the option if they so desire. There will be two main areas of dining renovation over the summer: Sherman Dining Hall and the Einstein Bros. Bagels stand located in the Shapiro Campus Center. Sherman Dining Hall will undergo a major renovation, according to Sodexo general manager Shawn Monaghan. In an interview with the Justice, Monaghan stated that both the dining area itself and kitchens
would receive updates, with the goal of “creating a crisp, modern feel for Sherman” that is still “a unique dining location.” When asked about the specifics of the changes, Vice President for Campus Operations James Gray told the Justice that “the interior will be updated and refreshed, some equipment will be changed and the service area will contain more ‘action stations,’ where the food is being prepared or finished for individual students as ordered.” Monaghan echoed these sentiments, telling the Justice that the current kitchen space is over 40 years old. “Moving forward,” said Monaghan, “we’re putting in versatile equipment in the front of the house and back of the house that will allow us to respond to student needs. If students say that they want to see more Greek food, for example, we will have the equipment to support this.” Einstein’s, located in the Shapiro Campus Center, will also undergo
Author delivers lecture on history of evidence Lepore visited the University on Thursday to discuss the historical reliability of evidence. By RACHEL SHAW JUSTICE sTAFF WRITER
On Thursday, Jill Lepore, Harvard University professor and staff writer for the New Yorker, delivered a lecture called “Bodies of Evidence: The Rise and Fall of the Fact” at Brandeis. The lecture was sponsored by the Mandel Center for the Humanities. Lepore’s lecture, one of two she delivered at the University on Thursday, centered on the investigation of the 1919 murder of Lucina Broadwell, whose body was found in a field in Barre, Vt. During the lecture, Lepore argued that the history of investigators searching for facts created the idea of the need for privacy. Facts are presented through the use of evidence, like photographs and clues, which discount context, she explained. She used historical articles; statements from historians, writers and journalists; photographs and a short film. In particular, Lepore discussed the ongoing debate on the reliability of photographic evidence. Lepore said she used the case in her lecture “because I like to make an argument through the vehicle of a story.” According to Lepore, the case set the precedent that investigators could use evidence in a trial that could not appear in print due to laws of censorship and public decency. Lepore juxtaposed the forensic science practices that were new in the early 20th century, including crime-scene photography and putting greater emphasis on looking for clues, with examples of past ways to acquire evidence of guilt. For instance, Lepore mentioned the ordeal of the bier, a medieval belief that an accused murderer was guilty if the corpse began to bleed when the accused was in close proximity. According to Lepore, the bier was an early method of gathering evidence that led to fallacious conclusions, yet it was the “only way for years to gain judicial proof [of guilt] across Europe.” Lepore mentioned that the trial by bier became outdated by the time of the Broadwell case. Instead, she explained, finding facts became necessary. In the case of the Broadwell murder, she said, the investigators had to use the relatively new practices of forensic photography and clue-finding. In the process of the investigation, the detectives located several pieces of evidence, including a “gold watch cached with the initials LPC” and tire tracks belonging to lead suspect George Long’s car, both of which played large roles in both the media coverage of the case and the subsequent trial. The emphasis investigators put on this evidence, Lepore argued, represented the type of “sci-
entific facts, journalistic facts” that create circumstantial cases that were not based enough on motive . Lepore also argued that the growing emphasis on searching for evidence created invasions in privacy through the rise of detectives. According to Lepore, the nature of privacy changed due to the rise of media coverage and photographic investigation, where witnesses and victims became the subject of media sensationalism. Lepore said she realized through her research that “privacy had become necessary because of the rise of the public eye. The eye of the detective, the eye of the camera.” The challenges to privacy are represented in the Broadwell case, Lepore argued, because the public press was unable to share facts due to privacy concerns. Broadwell, according to Vermont historian Patricia Belding’s written account of the murder, was a prostitute who operated out of the same boarding house where Long resided. During Long’s trial for the murder, according to Lepore, the press was unable to share a “blue pill bottle”—likely a bottle of birth control pills—as evidence because the Comstock Law of 1873 prevented the printing of anything considered obscene or immoral, which then included contraception. However, the “blue pill bottle” was important evidence that led to Long’s conviction. This duality, Lepore said, showed that “conventions of journalism were defeated by the bailing of women’s bodies that lies behind arguments about the rights to privacy.” Lepore then explained how the case played out in the media and the courtroom, stating that, according to Detective James Wood, who was hired to investigate the murder, the trial came down to a question of “who is easier to find contemptible, Broadwell, [a prostitute], or Long, [an alleged murderer]?” Lepore also summarized how these controversies of facts arose from new techniques to locate evidence. Early photography, she said, had the benefits of showing “what the human eye can’t see” but also the drawback of the “taint of deception in photography,” essentially meaning that reality is not always as it appears in a photograph. This potential deception, she said, becomes especially significant in the era of Internet accessibility. Were Broadwell to have been murdered in the present day, Lepore concluded, crime scene evidence would be more abundant in the media and online and subject to more interpretation, which would put less emphasis on the importance of context, thus creating circumstantial trials. “[Broadwell] would be ripped from her context and stripped bare of her meaning. She would be faceless and factless. She would be evidence.” Lepore has written nine books. Her most recent is The Secret History of Wonder Woman, which was published in October 2014.
bookstore to engage in events without the presence of Dining Services personnel to unlock the space. A dining survey was also sent out to the student body two weeks ago, in which students were asked to give feedback on a variety of dining locations around campus. According to Monaghan, student feedback is an important step in Sodexo’s decision-making process. “We heard the students loud and clear in the fall,” said Monaghan in regard to past feedback. “And we want to get an understanding of what’s important to the students.” Monaghan added that survey questions were designed to elicit a variety of responses, such as what additional types of food students would like to see in the future and where on campus students feel their meal plans are best being utilized. “If a student takes the time to write a response [on the survey], they’re passionate about it,” he said, “and that’s important to us.”
CULTURE CHANGE
Campus Speaker
■ Harvard professor Jill
a major design overhaul. The main change will be that the storefront will be shifting 90 degrees in order to face outward towards the seating area and SCC Atrium and will be where the current entrance to the Bookstore is located. The current student seating area will also be filled with Bookstore merchandise racks while the bookstore is open, according to Gray. In an e-mail interview to the Justice, Gray also explained that the seating areas displaced by this change would move to the Atrium and occupy the space facing the Faculty Club lawn. According to Monaghan, this change was prompted so that the Bookstore could operate without a Dining Services presence required, since Dining Services has the keys to the metal grate that can bar the way to the Bookstore and Einstein’s. Monaghan further stated that “it makes more sense for the Bookstore to be independent of Dining Services” and that this would enable the
HEATHER SCHILLER/the Justice
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: James Barnaba spoke about the necessity of empowering African youth in order to promote real change.
Speakers talk change in Africa ■Students and faculty
discussed Africa’s current issues and possible solutions for implementing change. By Nikki Nikova JUSTICE Contributing WRITER
On Friday evening, Nadege Seppou ’15 and the Brandeis African Students Organization organized L’Afrique Talks, an event for Brandeis students and faculty to discuss modern day problems in Africa. Seppou, who moderated the event, began by stating that “before change can happen it must first be envisioned and so that’s why I believe it’s important for us to speak and begin thinking about these things.” Seppou then introduced the event, which consisted of nine students speaking on different topics that they believed were essential to promoting change in Africa. The first three speakers—Boaz Kisivuli ’17, Etiosa Obasuyi ’15 and Cleophas Kalekem ’17, who are all originally from Africa—spoke about the economic hardships rural Kenyans face. According to Kisivuli, “lack of technology is the reason for the widespread disparity between the rich and the poor nations, and you can see this in Africa.” Kalekem added that the lack of electricity in rural areas makes the use of most technology impossible. He told the audience that he believes that “the first thing we need to improve in rural areas is the electricity supply; that is what we really lack.” Obasuyi then spoke about the economic challenges caused by nearly nonexistent technology. He described how students did not have the resources to learn about computers, which later put them at a disadvantage in the workforce. He also noted that business owners could not expand their businesses because they had no way of communicating with people outside of their villages. All three student speakers said they believe that Africa
is “losing a lot of human capital” and that improved connectivity will benefit the economy and the continent. Rima Tahini ’16, who is from Sierra Leone, spoke about empowering women in Africa. She began by describing several mechanisms through which women were being empowered in business and in culture. According to Tahini, empowering women “will go a long way in alleviating poverty in Africa” as it will nearly double the workforce and provide two incomes for families. Tahini concluded by stating that although there has been moderate progress, the global community should “not mistake progress for success, we are still far behind [in empowering women].” Yasmin Yousof ’15 then took the podium to discuss language in Africa. She began by summarizing the colonization of Africa, and how Africans were forced to speak the language of their colonizers. Yousof described how the colonizers managed to make their Western languages seem “superior,” by forcing all natives to learn them, while native languages were labeled “inferior” and were even forbidden in some countries. She explained that throughout Africa “speaking one’s native languages, especially in formal settings, was seen as barbaric.” Yousof argued that culture and language are very closely tied and that native African languages should be preserved because “ Josiane Fofana ’15 spoke about education in Senegal, her native country. She described the conditions in Senegalese high schools and colleges, where students are sometimes forced to study under street-lights when dorms and libraries do not have electricity. Fofana argued that the lack of practical training in schools, such as the lack of science and computer labs, limits the students’ educational options. She also described how teachers’ small salaries result in strikes and the “cancellation of academic years,” which students then must repeat. Fofana also noted how these schools still
follow the old French colonial education system, stating, “I know more about the West than I know about my own continent.” According to Fofana, major educational reform needs to occur because “if you don’t go to school, … you don’t have a real future.” Brontte Hwang ’15 then spoke about her passion for Africa—particularly the country of Namibia—even though she herself is not African. Hwang explained that, as a Korean, she had never had much interest in Africa until she visited Namibia. Hwang described teaching math and English to local Namibian children and developing a deep connection with them. She explained how the remnants of apartheid and poverty are still challenges that many children face. Hwang also stated that helping children “starts with education” and expressed her desire to move to Namibia after graduating to help improve education. Next, Bezaye Teshome ’16 discussed the challenges faced by people with developmental disorders, particularly by those with autism, in Ethiopia. She explained that autism is often seen as “supernatural” in Ethiopia, meaning that there is “a lot of [negative] stigma attached to it.” Teshome stated that this view causes many challenges for families because “not a lot of professionals are specializing in the area,” making it difficult to find treatment. She said that she hopes to work toward “break[ing] the silence that is associated with these developmental disorders” and to “get the word out … that [they’re] not associated with anything supernatural.” The final speaker, James Barnaba M.A. ’16, argued that youth civic engagement is essential when it comes to solving the many problems in Africa. Barnaba stated that African youth should be empowered and civically engaged to promote change, noting that “all the issues in Africa need to be tackled today” and that they “cannot be solved by ‘I wish’” but by action.
THE JUSTICE
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CHUMS: Venue SPACES: Univ searching for operations under room to house prayer center close scrutiny CONTINUED FROM 1
CONTINUED FROM 1 The University community has seen widespread social media response to the March 6 incident, in which students and alumni have used the hashtag #FreeChums. Social media and email communications from both the Cholmondeley’s Coffeehouse Facebook page and Flagel have led to the circulation of dissenting opinions over the fate of the 13 students who were employed by Chum’s. While the students claim that they have been told several times that they have been fired from their positions as Chum’s workers and that they have also been told that their positions are “under review,” in an interview with the Justice on Monday, March 23, Flagel said that the 13 students “were not fired.” In an interview with the Justice, Halperin, Events Manager David Stiefel ’16, Co-Advertising Manager Jenn Largaespata ’16 and new hire Saren McAllister ’18 discussed the work environment and practices during their time at Chum’s. While Chum’s is a student-staffed business, it is officially overseen by the Department of Student Activities. According to Halperin, she and Berman met weekly with Grimes and Steinberg. After Chum’s hiring practices became a topic of public debate last year, Halperin said they began to talk collaboratively with Steinberg about hiring and worked together to reform practices for this year. When they were hired at Chum’s, Halperin, Steifel, Largaespata and McAllister said, they did not receive any sort of orientation or training from Student Activities or any written materials in the way of training. “There was one time I remember they [Student Activities] said, ‘You guys should have trainings, you should come back early during winter break to have trainings,’ but didn’t give any more specific direction,” Largaespata said. This year, Halperin said, Student Activities “didn’t really provide us with any training, except they said that a staff member had to get ServSafe [certified],” which would let the staff legally serve food in Chum’s. “Now, I think they see that that is an issue,” Largaespata said of Student Activities’ lack of training for Chum’s employees. “It’s kind of gross, the way we had this incident and then came to them and said, ‘We want to work with you on this’ … and they have disregarded it,” Halperin added. On the Wednesday following the March 6 incident, the four said, the entire Chum’s staff met with Grimes and Steinberg and brought a ninepage long proposal they had drafted which focused on issues of accountability and the rights and responsibilities of workers. The proposal included measures to add positions to the student management structure they had practiced at Chum’s this year, to implement fire safety trainings, as well as proposing that student employees sign contracts, they said. On Monday, March 23, the 13 student employees of Chum’s sent an email, obtained, by the Justice to Flagel, Grimes, Adams and Steinberg seeking to repair Chum’s relationship with the University administration. “While Chum’s staff maintains that Student Activities has not handled
this in the best way possible, we feel that our relationship can be repaired,” the email reads. “We are enthused to move forward if you agree with the following conditions we discussed.” The email lists as its conditions that current Chum’s employees are not to be terminated or relocated to other positions without “documented evidence as proper justification;” that Chum’s is “immediately opened, so that it may return to business” and that “any revisions to the managerial structure of [Chum’s] are fully approved by its staff.” Flagel responded to the 13 students in an email provided to the Justice, writing that “it does not seem reasonable to demand the commitments you suggest ahead of a reasonable review process in response to serious concerns that have been raised.” “As it stands,” he wrote, “Chum’s will be open for regular operations as soon after that General Manager hire as possible, and following a reasonable and collaborative review of current staff members.” He added that his expectation is that “most if not all staff members will resume work at Chum’s,” contingent upon review of documented performance reviews. “In the meantime, also as discussed, events will continue to take place [at Chum’s] and your wages will be sustained, to minimize any negative impact on you or the community,” he wrote. In an email to the Chum’s staff sent Monday, March 23 by Flagel and provided to the Justice, he wrote that the students “do not have hours while operations are suspended,” but added that this is “functional suspension WITH PAY.” “I assured students Friday that they will be paid for the hours they would normally be working to ensure that no student loses income while this review is completed.” Grimes and Steinberg did not respond to requests for comment by press time. Since the March 6 incident, the students said, changes have been underway to Chum’s physical appearance. McAllister mentioned that she was back in Chum’s this Sunday night for an event, saying that “they washed all the chalk off the walls and took down all the momentos [sic] and stickers that were up, even behind the counter.” Formerly covered in student’s chalk drawings, with posters, pictures and other souveneirs hung all over its walls, McAllister said that she was “shocked and saddened” to see Chum’s barren. “The walls are clean except for one spot they couldn’t reach... It was really weird. It made it clear that they don’t appreciate what the students created.” Moving forward, Steifel said, “We really see no reason why any employee who has a completely clean record can’t get their job guaranteed back to them.” “In addition to being able to get the space back open again so we can resume service to the student body—” Steifel started, and Largaespata continued, “We maintain that current Chum’s employees have the best understanding of the historical value of Chum’s and how to maintain it as a space for creative expression.” “A sense of community is necessary for generating a safe space amongst the student body,” Largaespata said.
let’s eat grandma Let’s eat, Grandma!
Center], when [Triskelion], the QRC [Queer Resource Center] and QPOCC [Queer People of Color Coalition] moved into that space in Usdan.” “As happens when space is available the current clubs spaces have been shifted to meet a pressing need to provide our growing Dharmic student population a suitable prayer space,” Grimes wrote. “This was shared with ample notice provided for the move.” Both Grimes and Student Activities Operations Specialist Darryl David ’09, who oversees space usage in the Shapiro Campus Center, did not respond to requests for comment by press time. According to Vice President of FMLA Cecile Afable ’16, in an email to the Justice, her club first heard of the relocation plan on March 13 in an email from Grimes. Afable wrote that they were notified that “FMLA would need to vacate the room by March 20 so the Dharmic Prayer Center could open by March 26. We were told that we could hold FMLA meetings in a shared space with SSIS in that email as well.” FMLA, Afable clarified, does not have a permanent office space but holds its meetings in the WRC space. On Wednesday, March 18, all of FMLA’s executive board, several peer counselors from STAR and some members from SSIS met with Grimes to discuss “political and spatial differences that would make sharing a suite uncomfortable,” according to Afable. “Stephanie Grimes did propose that FMLA have meetings elsewhere, but when FMLA e-board members asked if there were any plans to relocate or re-establish a Women’s Resource Center, she said no,” Afable wrote.
“The WRC is a space that serves various functions, as resource centers do. Only one of those functions is providing a space for FMLA to meet. Merely moving FMLA meetings elsewhere would not have re-established a Women’s Resource Center.” In her March 19 email to the student body, Grimes acknowledged that “moves and changes can often cause some level of stress,” writing that “we will continue to meet with any groups that have concerns about these moves to work towards the best possible models. In addition, the Student Union is undertaking a more comprehensive review of student organization space and we look forward to collaborating on seeking the best space allocations for our student group needs.” In seeking a solution to the space issue, members of FMLA as well as Hindu Chaplain Vaishali Gupta had meetings with Dean of Students Jamele Adams. Gupta clarified the role of the a Dharmic prayer space in an email to the Justice.“The Dharmic prayer space would be primarily used by the people of Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist faiths,” he wrote. “Right now, people pray in small groups in whatever space they find or in their rooms. We have used the ICC Multipurpose room for Hindu services in the past.” “The talks about the Dharmic prayer space began in the beginning of last semester,” Gupta wrote, adding that talks regarding finding a space began on Sept. 22, 2014, with Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel, the students of Namaskar, Sangha, Jain students, other practicing Buddhists, former Catholic Chaplain Fr. Walter Cuenin and Director of the Intercultural Cen-
ter Monique Gnanaratnam. Representatives from FMLA—including Afable, the club’s President Zuri Gordon ’15 and Secretary Tina Ngyuen ’17—met with Adams on Friday, March 20. Grimes was present at the meeting, according to Afable. “Dean Adams apologized for the mistakes in the This Week at Brandeis email sent out on March 19, in which the administration conflated the WRC and FMLA, and took full responsibility,” Afable wrote. “He also said that any plans to move anything would be paused until more conversations could happen with us, SSIS, STAR, and the Dharmic Prayer Center committee to find a solution that will work for everybody.” Dean Adams clarified in an email to the Justice that “no one is moving for now” and that he is working on a statement regarding Dharmic prayer space, as well as “a way to review and potentially reallocate space moving forward.” Adams wrote that he also plans to issue apologies for the “delayed messaging and lack of engagement on the issue that has caused these concerns to arise. Gupta met with Adams on Monday, March 23, and called that meeting “promising,” adding that the administration is evaluating a few space options for a Dharmic prayer center. “As of now,” she wrote, “there is no space option other than the SCC that is in consideration.” “The Dharmic prayer space should be in a quiet location which offers some privacy for quiet reflection, meditation and prayer,” Gupta wrote. “There will be alters dedicated to each of the faiths with other supplies like bells, sculptures, lamps etc.” STAR did not respond to request for comment by press time.
FACULTY: Lynch speaks about search processes, applications CONTINUED FROM 1 cuts in it, but it’s not a budget that has massive new initiatives associated with it.” She added that the University’s current financial status is secure, which she believes is “a good place to be in terms of we’re not going to scare the hell out of any presidential candidates.” The Board will also be viewing a 10-year projection for the University’s financial model. Lynch stated that the University has received applications from across the country for the position of vice provost for research but urged faculty to consider applying for the position themselves. The University will begin reviewing applications at the end of the month, according to Lynch. Interim Dean of the Heller School Prof. Marty Walsh (Heller) asked about the search processes for other positions, including for the vice president of human resources, which will be vacant after Scot Bemis steps down on March 31. Lynch said that a search process has begun. In an email to the Justice, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Steven Manos confirmed that he will lead the search committee. Prof. Tom Pochapsky (CHEM) delivered the Faculty Senate report. According to Pochapsky, the Sen-
ate has been reviewing faculty nominations to appear on the presidential search committee at the request of Board of Trustees member Lawrence S. Kanarek ’76 who, according to Pochapsky, has been appointed the chair of the search committee by chairman of the Board Perry Traquina ’78. Kanarek and Traquina will have the final say on which faculty members appear on the committee, according to Pochapsky. Pochapsky described the presidential search as “a time-consuming but important task.” Pochapsky also noted the International Business School’s recent completion of an internal climate assessment for Title IX compliance, which involved bringing in the retired ombudsperson of Dartmouth College, Mary Childers. Pochapsky said that “there were no major issues identified” at IBS. According to Pochapsky, the faculty senate is also gathering data on how adjunct faculty are used across the University’s schools and departments, in response to such faculty being contacted by the Service Employees International Union. According to Pochapsky, the term adjunct “means different things in different departments” and “different departments use the same type of faculty for different jobs,” which is why the Senate is gathering data on the different roles adjunct faculty play across the University.
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However, Walsh questioned why this data collection was necessary, as a committee completed a thorough assessment of the role of adjunct faculty across all three schools over the course of two years “about 10 or 12 years ago.” Lynch added that she used the previous report as a template for discussing relations between tenure track and non-tenure track faculty during her time as academic dean at Tufts University, stating that it was “at the frontier” of discussing the issue. Pochapsky claimed to be unaware of the previous assessment but reinforced the importance of the issue, saying that “people who don’t feel like they’re part of the process are nevertheless doing quite a bit of teaching work—even the brunt of the teaching work.” Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Prof. Eric Chasalow (MUS) stated that investigating equity for non-tenure track faculty after the previous assessment “makes a lot of sense to me,” but that it was important not to conflate such an investigation with SEIC contacting adjunct faculty members. According to Lynch, University President Frederick Lawrence was unable to attend the meeting due to being in New York for the launch of Prof. Jonathan Sarna's (NEJS) new book, Lincoln and the Jews: A History.
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TUESDAY, March 24, 2015 ● THE JUSTICE
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VERBATIM | John F. Kennedy There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.
ON THIS DAY…
FUN FACT
In 1958, rock ’n’ roll teen idol Elvis Presley was drafted in the U.S. Army.
87 percent of Americans have ice cream in their freezer at any given time.
Raising the bar Brandeis alum Michael Shoretz ’09 uses his passion for nutrition to create healthy ice cream By MIRA MCMAHON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
How often have you found yourself torn between choosing an apple or a bowl of ice cream? The struggle between choosing to eat healthy and indulging in your favorite treats is a difficult one, but Michael Shoretz ’09 doesn’t believe that you have to compromise. That is why he created the company Beyond Better Foods, which launched ENLIGHTENED Ice Cream in 2013. According to Shoretz, the ice cream is not just “better-for-you” but actively healthy. “Our ice cream is probably more similar to a well-formulated protein bar than any other ice cream on the market,” Shoretz said in a phone interview with the Justice. As a Health: Science, Society and Policy major at Brandeis, Shoretz was able to learn about making healthy choices available to the public. Shoretz was inspired by his love for fitness and nutrition to make one of his favorite treats healthy. He found that even “better-for-you” ice cream was lower in fat but still high in sugar and lacked macronutrients such as protein. He believed that he could create a product that was not just less bad for you but actually good for you. In 2010, Shoretz began experimenting in his kitchen, trying to formulate a recipe that was both healthy and tasty. At first, the endeavor was to satisfy his own personal curiosity; he had no prior experiences with creating food products. “I just had experience eating ice cream,” Shoretz said. As his experimentation progressed, Shoretz sought out help to create the perfect recipe. “I worked on the formulation for over two years in the kitchen, starting in 2010, [because of a] personal interest. And then kind
of becoming more formularized with the help of scientists and dieticians and actual experts in the ice cream industry,” Shoretz said. By the end of his project, Shoretz had created an ice cream bar that had 50 to 75 percent less sugar, 30 to 40 percent fewer calories and twice the protein of any other ice cream on the market. The ice cream treats are sweetened with monk fruit and erythritol, which are all natural, zerocalorie sweeteners. The bars are now available across the country in health food and specialty stores such as Whole Foods and mainstream supermarkets such as Hannaford. ENLIGHTENED Ice Cream comes in both ice cream bars and sandwiches in 10 flavors including coffee, peanut butter, fudge and orange cream. This year, Beyond Better Foods expanded its repertoire to include ENLIGHTENED Crisps, savory snacks that come in five flavors including mesquite BBQ and sea salt. However, in order to keep with Beyond Better Foods’ goal of offering “simple, clean ingredients,” the crisps are made of broad beans roasted in sunflower oil. They are certified vegan, kosher, gluten-free and non-GMO. Like ENLIGHTENED Ice Cream, the crisps are high in protein and fiber and low in fat. Pleased with the progress the company has made with introducing the crisps, Shoretz hopes to keep creating other healthy alternatives to food products. “We just want to continue to innovate and bring products with really superior nutrition and brand taste to the market, and we hope to do that in many areas of the supermarket,” Shoretz said. As for now, the positive reviews for ENLIGHTENED products pour in every day. On March 4, Shoretz was featured in the New York
Times for his success creating healthy ice cream. “We’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of people who take the time to write long emails or call us or send us messages or even write letters just thanking us for creating our product and sharing with us how our product has helped them. It’s very gratifying, and we are happy to be able to help so many people,” Shoretz said. Beyond Better Foods is also active in supporting charities. According to its website, the company supports an array of organizations focusing around holistic health. These include the American Diabetes Association, Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure, Walk for Obesity, Kids Walk for Kids with Cancer and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. “We support a number of organizations through free product giveaways. We’ve given out well over 100,000 ice cream bars to charitable causes to date,” Shoretz explained in a follow-up email to the Justice. Shoretz first became interested in healthy living when his father was diagnosed with diabetes in 2005, which inspired him to major in HSSP. While studying at Brandeis, he especially enjoyed taking “American Health Care: Law and Policy” with Prof. Sarah Elisabeth Curi (LGLS). Shoretz recalled in an email to the Justice that it was a “fascinating, well-taught class with a professor who cared about the subject and more importantly, engaging with her students.” In 2008, Shoretz received a World of Work Fellowship from Brandeis that allowed him to spend the summer in Washington, D.C. to research calorie posting requirements for restaurant chains. His research mainly focused on understanding consumers’ deci-
BETTER BARS: ENLIGHTENED Ice Cream comes in 10 different flavors—from sea salt caramel bars to mint ice cream sandwiches—and contains significantly less sugar than the average ice cream bar with high fiber and protein, too.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MICHAEL SHORETZ
FAMILY: Carol Ann Finkelstein, Shoretz’s mother and president of Beyond Better Foods, stands with Shoretz by the first airplane to carry ENLIGHTENED Crisps. sions around eating and why people make healthy choices. “That summer of research solidified my interest in a career connected to health,” Shoretz explained, “[The research] really got me excited about the food industry, especially as it relates to trying to give people information and affect healthy outcomes.” Shoretz’s passion for health didn’t stop at nutrition. He also took part in Olympic weight lifting on campus. In 2008, Shoretz and a friend wrote a proposal to use a special Student Union fund to revitalize the fitness center, which was, according to Shoretz, in disrepair. After a popular vote from the student body, the proposal was approved and the gym underwent a
$100,000 renovation. It was likely this drive to make healthy choices available to the public that helped Shoretz create Beyond Better Foods. However, Shoretz has experienced challenges in the initial stages of his startup company. “It’s a constant challenge as a smaller company to spread the word about your product and market your product,” Shoretz noted. To Brandeis students hoping to start their own businesses, Shoretz advises to stick to your passion. “If you wake up every morning and you’re still excited about the idea, stick with it because the most telling factor of whether a business is going to succeed or fail in the early stages is persistence,” Shoretz said.
ROOMMATES: [from left to right] Noah Kaplan, Ryan Schwab, Elie Sternberg, Shoretz, Perry Bell and Jonathan Freed were all roommates and Class of 2009 graduates.
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EDITORIALS
Communicate student life policy shifts
In the past week, the University administration has made clear with its actions involving Cholmondeley’s Coffeehouse and the Women’s Resource Center that it is critically out of touch with the student body. First, it temporarily shut down the daily service of Chum’s in a “restructuring” that Executive Director for Integrated Media Bill Schaller said has been in the works for 12 months but which Chum’s employees say came after an incident when the coffeehouse was not evacuated after a fire alarm. All 13 Chum’s employees have been unfairly held accountable for the failings of the two employees. Despite administrative assertions that payment has not been suspended to any employee, Chum’s staff report that administrators have constantly changed the terminology regarding their employment status, and none have been permitted to work since the March 2 incident. While this board recognizes that Chum’s has been problematic in its food service, hiring practices and overall management, Student Activities has handled the start of this restructuring in a draconian way. There has been a confusing balance between responsibility and accountability among Student Activities and the students who run Chum’s. Though Student Activities technically oversees Chum’s, in an interview with the Justice, Chum’s staff said their actual coordination with the Department of Student Activities amounted to little more than weekly conversations with Student Activities staff. Chum’s staff received no training or orientation materials from their bosses, instead relying on institutionalized memory to acquaint students with their duties running a business. While this board is glad that the issues are ultimately being addressed, the University has displayed a problematic lack of communication, both while Chum’s was still open
Increase transparency
and currently in its contradictory communications with employees. As of press time, no official communication has been transmitted to the student body about Chum’s. Secondly, the University decided to replace the Women’s Resource Center, the space in which the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and Students Talking About Relationships meet, with a Dharmic prayer center and move the two clubs to the room in the Shapiro Campus Center currently housing Student Sexuality Information Services. On Friday, the administration reversed that decision, yet the only campuswide communication on the subject remains a defensive three paragraphs in Stephanie Grimes’ weekly activity update email on Thursday. While this board agrees that a Dharmic prayer center is an essential resource to provide to students, we also agree with FMLA’s assessment that moving the WRC was a poor decision. The WRC’s purpose of providing a safe space for women and furthering advocacy conflicts with SSIS apolitical goal of promoting safe and healthy sexual activity; assuming the two are compatible without assessing the actual compatibility of the two clubs is problematic. Part of the responsibilities of the Departments of Student Activities and Student Life should be to be in touch with what students think about the resources provided to them. This board is discouraged that the administration seems to place such low priority on student desires and carries out its student life directives so carelessly. It would pay significant dividends to start doing things right the first time instead of constantly having to find new ways to apologize, reverse decisions and placate angry students and alums.
Encourage future president in fundraising
At the most recent faculty meeting, Chairman of the Faculty Senate Prof. Thomas Pochapsky (CHEM) announced that Lawrence Kanarek ’76 would head the search committee to replace University President Frederick Lawrence. Kanarek is tasked with finding a candidate who fits the unique mold of a true Brandeis president. Yet, this substantial process begs the question: what exactly is the Brandeisian presidential mold? What qualities are vital for the next president of our University to be successful? On Thursday, the Student Union held a forum with students expressing criteria ranging from religious beliefs to a dual commitment to social justice and diversity. In the Feb. 9 edition of this section, student leaders noted the necessity that the president understand the complexity of our student body and “respond to the needs of the student body rather than to outside pressure.” As was stressed at the student forum by Student Union President Sneha Walia ’15 and representative to the Board of Trustees Grady Ward ’16, the organizers of the event, the primary responsibility of the president is fundraising and relations with the donor base. An ability to fundraise effectively is therefore our primary recommendation for the presidential search committee criteria. Disposable cash opens a tremendous number of attractive doors. Yet fundraising becomes onerous with a perennial cycle of negative media attention. Therefore a nuanced view of fundraising ability is necessary. If the University would like the next president to succeed in fundraising, then the next president must have the imperative skills required to succeed
Understand public relations
outside of fundraising phone calls as well. This seems esoteric but, in reality, is quite practical. A pitfall of the University as of late—specifically the Office of the President—has been chronic indecisiveness. To determine the fate of the Al-Quds University partnership, Lawrence first sent three professors to analyze the situation and then suspended the partnership without even consulting with them. Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s degree was revoked after offering it to her in the first place. And just recently, the Women’s Resource Center was set to be moved until student and alumni uproar pressured the administration to cancel those plans as well. Aggregating community feedback is essential to the decision process itself, not merely as a tool of public relations post-facto. In fact, if feedback had been leveraged in any of these decisions, it would have been clear that the impending decision was faulty. Understandably, part of this indecisiveness stems from misjudgements of those underneath the president in hierarchy; it is integral for the next president to surround himself with a qualified administration that he trusts, whether they be current employees of the University or not. However, the buck always stops at the president’s desk. No decision will be welcomed by all. Above all else, what we hope for in the next president of the University is someone who is both willing to make the well-reasoned decision when it matters most and handle the consequences accordingly. We want a leader resolute in his decisions— whether we agree with them all or not.
GABY YESHUA/the Justiice
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Last week, Starbucks announced a campaign to start conversations about race by having its baristas write “RaceTogether” on cups in addition to the customer’s name and specialty drink. The decision came after several baristas attended open forums about race following the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown and other unarmed black men killed by police this past year. On Sunday, Starbucks announced that it would be ending the RaceTogether campaign next week. Starbucks is not new to these types of campaigns--in 2013, its baristas wrote “come together” on cups to encourage collaboration between the political parties deadlocked on Capitol Hill. How do you react to the Starbucks’ “RaceTogether” campaign? Should big corporations discuss politics with their customers and employees?
Prof. Chad Williams (AAAS) When Starbucks scrapped its “RaceTogether” campaign, it corrected a remarkably ill-advised initial decision. While perhaps well intentioned, the entire idea sadly encapsulated all that is wrong with so-called “conversations” about race that lack substance and clearly identifiable goals. Critics were correct to pounce on the superficiality of this corporatedriven approach to confronting the still trenchant problem of race in the United States. Starbucks, however unwittingly, disrespected the hard work of anti-racist education by reducing it to a hashtag and transparent marketing ploy. I suspect Starbucks’ decision to cancel the campaign had more to do with profits than moral conscience. Nevertheless, the episode is a useful reminder that forced conversations about race initiated by people who have no training in facilitating such conversations, much less deep knowledge about the history and nature of racial inequality in American society, can actually be more damaging than productive. Prof. Chad Williams (AAAS) is an associate professor of African and AfroAmerican studies and chair of the department.
Meredith van der Walde ’15
I think that Starbucks’ “RaceTogether” Campaign is fairly reasonable and expected given the current political climate in the United States. It seems that many individuals, families, organizations and larger institutions have begun to rally behind issues of race and police brutality in one way or another. While people’s viewpoints inevitably vary, the recent killings of unarmed black men remain a prevalent, and usually controversial, topic of conversation. For Starbucks to take a stance, in my opinion, is predictable. Starbucks, like many corporations, probably wants to project an image of itself as a socially conscious company, one that is sensitive to issues of racial and social equality. I do not think there is necessarily a problem with big corporations bringing politics into places of leisure like Starbucks cafes. However, corporations should anticipate that some employees and customers may not react so favorably to these kinds of gestures, especially if the gestures are perceived as deceptive marketing tactics. Meredith van der Walde ’15 is the undergraduate departmental representative of the Sociology department.
Shikha Chandarana ’17 Although I do not reflect the views of Amnesty International because the organization does not have an opinion on this issue, I think that any kind of activism movement is appreciated for something like race relations, and if Starbucks wants to take any initiative for it, I don’t think there is anything wrong with it at all. While I can’t say much about how helpful a campaign like this would be, the fact that large corporations want to get involved with such a human rights movement is a large and positive step towards progress. Writing “RaceTogether” is a small movement, but it is still extremely valuable. I think corporations have a responsibility to talk about injustices and human rights since they have the monetary and the social resources to bring about change. In fact, the presence of corporations in movements like this, involving their employees and customers with these in small ways is, I think, a brilliant way to spread awareness. If a corporation wants to be an active part of any movement, I think it should be encouraged, not questioned. Shikha Chandarana ’17 is the co-president of Amnesty International’s Brandeis Chapter.
Shaquan McDowell ’18 In regards to the Race Together campaign, I can see how some may feel that the campaign was inappropriate. I’ve heard members of the AfricanAmerican community discuss how they feel as though it’s insensitive, as it ignores the element of experience and how that shapes perspectives. It’s important though that we remember that, fundamentally, dialogue must occur for opinions to be shared. The intention of this campaign was not to assert Starbucks to be an expert on race relations yet instead to create an environment where conversation could flourish. It’s important that we aim to keep places of business humanized, generating a comfortable setting for employees and customers alike. When an issue is of obvious importance to the world, to conduct business as if it is irrelevant does only a disservice to everyone. Thus, I do believe conversation is necessary and beneficial to all parties in business, if conducted appropriately. Shaquan McDowell ’18 is the co-founder and president of the Purple Party.
THE JUSTICE
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TUESDAY, march 24, 2015
Reconsider facts before reinstating Al-Quds relationship By DOR COHEN special to the justice
On Nov. 15, 2013, a rally took place at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem. Demonstrators marched in support of Hamas, the terrorist organization governing the Gaza Strip, wearing dark military gear, holding large, fake weapons and conducting Nazi salutes. In a report issued to the Brandeis community on Dec. 9, 2013, the incident was described as including “glorifying portrayals of hatred and violence that are antithetical to the institutional values of both Brandeis University and Al-Quds University.” After the demonstration, the partnership between Brandeis and Al-Quds was suspended until further notice. Three days later, University President Lawrence also suspended Al-Quds University’s then president Sari Nusseibeh from the advisory board of the International Center of Ethics, Justice and Public Life. Recently, there has been a growing voice on campus to reinstate the partnership between Brandeis and Al-Quds. Led by the Brandeis University-Al-Quds University Student Dialogue Initiative, these students have been vocal in their argument that the administration’s severing of the partnership between the two schools represents a breaching of Brandeis’ ideals of dialogue and inclusiveness. The initiative’s argument ignores the true realities of the situation. The partnership was not suspended due to the fascism but rather because of Nusseibeh’s statement in response to the situation. Nusseibeh issued a statement to his students about the demonstration in both Arabic and English, at Brandeis’ request. However, rather than an apology or a bland distancing of Al-Quds from the demonstration, Nusseibeh opted for inflammatory rhetoric and finger-pointing. In his statement, he blamed “Jewish extremists” with starting “vilification campaigns” in order to discredit the reputation of Al-Quds University. While Al-Quds students were marching in support of a terror organization, it is in fact these students that, according to the published statement, are subjected to “extremism and violence.” Finally, Nusseibeh stated that the true problem of the “massacre of the Jewish people in Europe” (purposefully refraining from using the word ‘Holocaust’ as part of a larger culture of refusing to acknowledge the existence of the genocide) committed during the Holocaust is that it led to the “enduring Palestinian catastrophe.” Nuesseibeh’s statement was completely inappropriate. Instead of taking responsibility for the vile display that occurred at his university, he decided to engage in an anti-Semitic act of blaming a Jewish conspiracy attempting to ruin Al-Quds’ reputation. His pronouncement that the Holocaust’s real tragedy is that it led to the Palestinian “catastrophe” is immensely insulting, especially due to the fact that Brandeis is a Jewish-founded and sponsored school and thus
BEN JARRETT/the Justice
a significant portion of the Jewish students that make up near half of its student population are related to Holocaust victims and survivors. Thus, Lawrence was correct in asserting that the language that Nusseibeh’s letter contained was “unacceptable and inflammatory” in suspending the relationship between the two schools. Further, if students at Al-Quds are indeed as moderate and willing to engage in dialogue as members of the initiative state, why was there a rally in support of terrorism and fascism in the first place? Why was there no group of students who publicly opposed this heinous display of hatred? And if there are moderate students protesting against those supporting terrorism, why are they not as large a presence on campus? Why is nothing being heard about them? If these students are indeed moderate, why was there a second march in support of Hamas on March 24, 2014, after which President Nusseibeh resigned? There are a litany of further examples evincing that Al-Quds is not the supposedly moderate beacon of enlightenment some would have you believe. In April 2006, a large poster was hung in one of the Al-Quds’ buildings to honor Sami Salim Hammad, a former Al-Quds student, who blew himself up in Tel Aviv, killing 11 people— including an American teenager, according to the Jewish Press. Further, Al-Quds has in the past offered a “Human Rights and Democracy” course named in honor of Wafa Idriss, the first Palestinian female homicide bomber. Additionally, Al-Quds is home to the Abu Jihad Museum. The museum is named for Khalil Al-Wazir, whose moniker, “Abu Jihad,” means
“father of the holy war.” Abu Jihad is linked toseveral of the most horrific incidents of terror in modern memory—including the Munich Olympics attacks, in which 11 Israeli athletes were murdered, and the Coastal Road Massacre, in which 38 were killed, including 13 children. In November 2014, four days after Palestinian terrorist Ibrahim Al-Akari killed two and injured more than 13 Israelis in Jerusalem, AlQuds honored Al-Akari by naming a tournament after him. Ahmad Al-Khawaja, in charge of the physical education faculty of the Al-Quds, which organized the tournament, explained that “the Martyr (Shahid) Ibrahim Al-Akari Tournament ... was a national activity held in honor and appreciation of the soul of the heroic Martyr Ibrahim Al-Akari.” More recently, in June 2014, Al-Quds Professor Mohammed Dajani resigned after intimidation, death threats, and campus riots, all because Dajani took his students to visit the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz. Instead of releasing a statement in support of the trip and emphasizing the university’s promotion of dialogue and mutual understanding, the Al-Quds Staff Union voted to fire Professor Dajani for his actions, and the Student Union distributed leaflets “condemning the visit to Auschwitz.” Those who decry the ending of the partnership as depriving of free speech should first attune themselves to the level of dialogue that exists within Al-Quds itself. Dialogue between Palestinians and a Jewishsponsored institution is a worthy goal, but it is one that can only be maintained when both sides are willing to support peace and understanding. Dialogue is pointless when one side continues
to call into question the literal existence of the other and has shown no official signs of changing its views. In reality, it is not the Brandeis administration holding the partnership back. Nor is it Jewish students completely opposed to engaging in communication with Palestinian counterparts. Rather, both Al-Quds and its student population, through engaging in hateful acts and promoting anti-Semitism, prevent Brandeis from restarting its partnership with them. Academia is meant to be a place of mutual respect, objectivity and open-mindedness. As it stands, Al-Quds does not meet that requirement, and Brandeis, which truly stands for those ideals, should not feel pressured to engage with Al-Quds. Lawrence has come under fire during his tenure for several different actions and stances. The decision to sever the partnership with Al-Quds should not be one of them. Lawrence was willing to give Al-Quds the benefit of the doubt after the rally, but Nusseibeh’s statement proved that Al-Quds is not a desirable partner for Brandeis . Further actions by the new administration fail to present any shift in attitudes. The partnership should not be reestablished until Al-Quds sincerely apologizes for the events that occurred, the school repudiates Nusseibeh’s highly unacceptable and anti-Semitic rhetoric and the university delineates a clear plan for ensuring that such hateful actions will not be tolerated and that incitement against Israel and the Jewish people will be officially denounced. — Dor Cohen ’16 is the co-president of Brandeis Conservatives.
Deny Beijing 2022 Olympics bid on human rights violations Jessica
Goldstein Ubuntu I remember it well. It was 2008, and among the bookshelves in my library were signs for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics—promoting books related to the place, I suppose. SBeing the suppressed twelve-year-old activist I was at that point, I proceeded to turn the sign on its face, covering the icon of the games that I believed represented such evil in our world. In my mind, the responsibility China had in encouraging the genocide in Darfur was all too much to handle, making my stomach churn. The Olympic Games were intended to exist as a symbol of global collaboration and harmony, not a representation of self-interest and violence. Now, I couldn’t watch them. So, after I flipped over the sign, I scuttled away with a ray of hope. Maybe my action would make a difference. I can tell you, it didn’t. All it got me was a glare from a librarian and some disapproving words, ones not open for discussion. So when I heard that the Chinese government was once again vying for the chance to be the host for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games—against Kazakh-
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stan’s Almaty—I thought it be wise to make another argument against Chinese involvement in such a momentous game. After all, the mission of the International Olympic Committee is to promote the Olympic spirit throughout the world. In fact, one of the committee’s expressed roles is “to cooperate with the competent public or private organisations and authorities in the endeavour to place sport at the service of humanity and thereby to promote peace.” How, then, could China possibly be a viable candidate? Beginning in 2003, the Sudanese government began a campaign of genocide against its own people with the help of international backers like China. According to United to End Genocide, some 300,000 people have perished in the conflict, and another three million have been displaced. Although not directly complicit in the genocide, the Chinese government has been accused of helping the Sudanese government fuel its military campaign. Panorama TV programme, an affiliate of the BBC, found an exported batch of military trucks from China to Sudan in 2005. BBC was also informed that the Chinese were training fighter pilots to use Chinese A5 Fantan fighter jets in Darfur. The country funneled some $83 million in weapons, aircrafts and spare parts to the genocidal government in exchange for Sudanese oil in 2005, according to an Amnesty International report. Not only was this a shady business deal it also violated the U.N. arms embargo on Darfur. The lack of response by China led to international reproach, ultimately affecting the 2008 Beijing Olympics. During the games, athletes
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and observers alike sported armbands and held banners against the Chinese government’s actions in Darfur. Others protested at Chinese embassies. Some, like director Steven Spielberg chose to pull out of the games entirely. He had been an adviser to the games but chose to leave the position, expressing, “My conscience will not allow me to continue with business as usual.” Our consciences were only mildly alerted when we heard about this country’s role in the first genocide of the 21st century. We shouldn’t allow China to host such an esteemed international event again. China will always be China. Today, China’s human rights record continues to present other challenges spanning from longstanding violations in its own backyard to emerging conflicts in the Middle East. Beijing’s bid to host the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was met by criticism from a coalition of 175 Tibetan activist groups citing greater suppression of rights by the Chinese government in a report to its president Thomas Bach. They concluded that the repression of Tibetans is “currently at an all-time-high” and wanted him to avoid “making the same mistake twice.” Tibet is considered a semi-autonomous region by the Chinese government. However, Tibetans have been fighting for their independence following the territory’s occupation in 1950, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and led to the torture and imprisonment of many more. In 1959, the Dalai Lama was exiled from the country. Since the occupation of the country by com-
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munist China, more than 99 percent of Tibet’s monasteries have been closed by the Chinese government. The Tibetan language is also stifled, as Mandarin has largely replaced Tibetan in secondary school, and all entrance exams are in the language. If that isn’t enough, Tibet ranked 7 on a scale of one to seven (with “one” being the most free and “seven” being the least free) on a Freedom House 2013 report which cited “communication blackouts, ‘patriotic education’ campaigns, travel restrictions and intrusive new controls on monasteries.” These actions were taken in response to increasing protests by Tibetans, including 84 self-immolations against Chinese Communist rule. China not only has no qualms about oppressing those in other parts of the world for resources, it has none about oppressing their own neighbors. How can we allow China to be the global host for such a significant world event that prevails as a symbol for world peace and global collaboration, especially when China’s government is so bent on breaking down and destroying Tibet’s? Today I choose to take a different approach. Instead of merely flipping over a sign calling for the end of something, we need to actively call on the IOC to prevent Beijing from once again hosting these games. The purpose of the Olympics is to promote global collaboration, peace and a sharing of culture. The games shouldn’t serve as a place where self-interest and violence entrench these values. In 2022, I plan on watching the Olympics in the hopes they are held outside of China.
Editorial Assistants
Copy: Annie Fortnow, Mara Nussbaum, Rebecca Shi,
Arts: Jaime Gropper
Sabrina Sung
Photography: Mihir Khanna, Michelle Banayan
Layout: Corey Cohen
Layout: Josh Sander
Illustrations: Margot Field, Jason Lipow, Gaby Yeshua
Staff News: Marissa Ditkowsky, Tzlil Levy, Saadiah McIntosh, Zachary Reid, Rachel Shaw, Sherry Simkovic, Arianna Unger Features: Mariya Greeley, Rose Gittell, Mira McMahon, Alec Siegel Forum: Jennie Bromberg, Abe Clark, Aaron Dvorkin, Mark Gimelstein, Kahlil Oppenheimer Sports: Elan Kane, Daniel Kanovich, Dan Rozel, Colin Warnes Arts: Nate Shaffer, Anna Stern, Vanessa Alamo Photography: Tommy Gao, Leslie Kamel, Amanda Nguyen, Jeremy Perlman, Abigail Rothstein, Heather Schiller
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TUESDAY, March 24, 2015
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THE JUSTICE
FORUM
Encourage alternatives to present US-Iranian deal Mark
gimelstein give me liberty
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walked down the halls of Congress to deliver his speech on the implications of a nuclear Iran, many thought he was irreparably harming U.S.-Israeli relations. It was, to many on the left, a partisan ploy to play to the conservative members of Congress, to embarrass and gain leverage over President Barack Obama and ultimately interfere with and stifle a nuclear deal with Iran. Netanyahu talked about the dangers of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons capability through the channels of their nuclear energy proliferation program without any substantive reproach and action by the West. A number of Democrats either chose to boycott the speech or stay seated for the majority of it, rarely applauding the Israeli leader in an act of defiance against Netanyahu and the perceived politicization of his speech. Meanwhile, Republicans commended the speech, a sign of an increasingly polarized Congress on the topic of Israel and the containment of Iran. But elections have consequences. And one thing is crystal clear in light of Likud’s resounding win in the March 17 Israeli Knesset elections, which gives Netanyahu’s party the highest chance of forming a government with Netanyahu at the helm: Israel is serious about its security from all existential threats. America should be too. The terms of the deal with Iran have been murky, with more being leaked to media outlets than to actual members of Congress, much to the dismay of Washington, D.C. politicians like Texas Senator Ted Cruz. But what is known is that the drafte nuclear deal would “cap Iran’s centrifuges at 6,000 for [a] decade” while phasing out economic sanctions on the nation over time, according to the Associated Press. The Obama administration believes that this deal would extend the duration of time that Iran would need to develop a bomb to “at least a year for the 10 years it is under the moratorium.” Then all bets are off. One doesn’t need to look far to see just how rotten this impending deal is. It does absolutely nothing to stop an incredibly dangerous country from acquiring nuclear weapons. Ever since the Shah of Iran was deposed in the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Iran has been a state-sponsor of global terrorism by channel-
ing funds to and ordering terrorist attacks on the United States, Israel and other nations through external terrorist groups. One of the many execrable attacks happened in 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon, when a delivery van—armed with 18,000 pounds of explosives—struck a U.S. Marine barracks while another car bomb targeted a French military building, killing a total of 299 servicemen. The perpetrators were members of Hezbollah, Lebanon’s prominent Islamist terrorist organization operating on direct orders from the Iranian regime. The Iran-Hezbollah partnership is just as strong—if not stronger—today, with the U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper stating in 2012 that Iran and Hezbollah are in “a partnership arrangement ... with the Iranians as the senior partner.” Indeed, even in light of austerity measures implemented by the Iranian government in 2014, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “continues to fund Hezbollah through his separate budget,” according to the Jerusalem Post. And it shows, with Hezbollah having thousands of rockets and missiles at its disposal and possibly having a tunnel network that leads straight into Northern Israel, according to Foreign Policy. Still more, there is mounting evidence suggesting that Iran was actually behind the 1993 Lockerbie bombing, which downed a Pan Am Boeing 747. The murders of 270 innocent people, according to defected Iranian intelligence officer Abolghassem Mesbahi, allegedly were ordered by Khomeini in response to the accidental shootdown by an American Navy missile cruiser of an Iranian jumbo jet that saw 290 people lose their lives in 1988. But there’s even more. Iran’s campaign of global terror goes farther than just Hezbollah alone. After the 2008 Gaza War, Iran aided in the rebuilding of Hamas’ underground tunnel infrastructure which was damaged or lost during the conflict. And in 2013, with help from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Iran was able to expand the smuggling of rockets and other weapons into the Gaza Strip by land and sea, according to a Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs report. Iran’s funneling of money, weapons and aid to Hamas, the premier terrorist organization of the West Bank and Gaza, was then used to terrorize Israel and its people. The labyrinth of terror tunnels that led straight to Israeli kibbutzim discovered in this past summer’s hostilities between Israel and Hamas, as well as the thousands of rockets launched at Israel, seem directly through the work of Iran. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Iran
MARGOT FIELD/the Justice
actively seeks to surround Israel from the North and the South by aiding and abetting terrorist groups–just this past November, Ayatollah Khamenei emphatically stated that the “barbaric” Israel “has no cure but to be annihilated.” Besides waging a campaign of global terrorism, Iran is also notorious for hiding their nuclear ambitions from public view. In 2010, the New York Times covered Iran’s increasing tendency to hide “its atomic complex in networks of tunnels and bunkers across the country.” Foreign Policy cited the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which found that Iran was clandestinely building a nuclear plant underground in Natanz, where the Institute for Science and International Security found that Iran was enriching uranium. Moreover, in 2005 NCRI “announced that Iran was digging tunnels for missile and nuclear work at 14 sites, including an underground complex near the city of Qom,” violating the International Atomic Energy Agency’s safeguards. Why such secrecy and inaccessibility for a “peaceful nuclear energy program?” Iran cannot be trusted. But President Obama wants this deal badly. He and his administration castigated the 47 U.S. Senators who wrote a letter informing
Iran how our constitutional system of checks and balances for foreign treaties works, claiming that the senators wanted “war.” The administration even went so far as to just a few days ago take Hezbollah and Iran off the U.S. Terrorist Watchlist, an unprecedented move especially during a time with high-profile attacks on Jews and Westerners in Israel and in Western Europe by terrorists who subscribe to the same radical ideology and just two months after Hezbollah killed two and injured seven Israeli Defense Forces soldiers on Israel’s northern border. The cynical nature of this deal, which points directly at an attempt to boost President Obama’s legacy on foreign policy rather than focus on what is best for America, Israel and the rest of the West underscores the seriousness of standing up to Iran. No deal is better than a bad one. More importantly, Prime Minister Netanyahu, in his speech to Congress, said that the alternative to a bad deal is “a better deal.” That’s why President Obama must stop vacillating over to what extent he should appease Iran and start focusing on the safety and security of our citizens and allies. Radical Islamists already have arms, funds and followers; a nuclear weapon in the hands of religious extremists is something the world cannot afford.
Realign employment practices with University’s values By JULIA DOUGHERTY, TAMAR LYSSY AND ANDREW NGUYEN special to the jUSTICE
Within the past few years, there has emerged a global movement of fast-food workers from 33 countries demanding a living wage and better working conditions. Days after a 2014 Labor Day speech in which President Barack Obama praised the “Fight for 15” movement, thousands of fast-food workers in 150 U.S. cities walked off their jobs. Nearly 500 striking workers were arrested in sit-ins, demanding a $15 per hour minimum wage and union rights. Legislators have also begun to respond to the concerns of low-wage workers. Due to the work of “Raise Up Massachusetts,” a grassroots coalition of 250 organizations, Massachusetts voted at the end of last year to raise the state minimum wage from $8/hour to $11/ hour over the course of the next three years. Brandeis University is not immune to labor concerns. During the past few years, unjust labor conditions and practices have led us astray from our roots in cultivating social justice in our own community. Last June, Brandeis switched mailroom providers from Canon Inc. to Xerox Corporation. This change left former mailroom workers, whose combined years of service are longer than Brandeis’ existence, unemployed. Some workers were offered the option to be rehired by Xerox, but at wages far below their previous level, ignoring their long-time commitment to the Brandeis community. As reported by The Hoot, William “Bill” Bowen, well known as “The Singing Mailman,” rejected Xerox’s offer of $12.50/hour for a 90-day trial period, which is about half of his previous
wage after 35 years of service. Other long-time mailroom employees such as Nancy Landry similarly felt cheated and disrespected by the University, stating, “Brandeis was a family and had family values .... I still loved working there and thought when I started there some 28 years ago that it was a place I could work ’til I retired. It felt like a home, which a lot of people felt as well, ’til things started changing quite a few years back .... It kind of blows my mind that [President] Fred Lawrence was saying you’re a family, you’re a family. But [Brandeis] is not a family anymore … you don’t care about your people, per se.” A further indication of valuing profit over people, the switch from Aramark to Sodexo as Brandeis’ dining provider in Fall 2013, also led to deteriorating working conditions. After numerous interviews with Sodexo workers, an open letter by Brandeis Labor Coalition last Fall describes how managerial staff harassed and intimidated workers, coerced them into doing tasks not in their job description, and cut hours without notice. The letter goes on, “Even if workers address abuses with management, their grievances are not acknowledged. Sodexo is required to respond to grievances filed by workers within five days. However, there is a backlog of grievances dating back to April, which clearly communicates that Sodexo is not invested in working with or supporting their employees.” Although Sodexo employees are unionized under UNITE HERE!, the union faced resistance in addressing management’s malicious practices, which continued for months in violation of union agreements. Even if workers are represented by a union, Brandeis must step in as a steward of all members of our community
in instances when outside contractors continuously mistreat workers. Fortunately, Brandeis is already ahead of many universities. Workers employed directly by Brandeis receive a living wage, calculated as being $15.05 for a single adult in Waltham by the Crittenton Women’s Union. This does not extend, however, to workers employed by outside contractors. Workers employed by Sodexo make $12.51 an hour for the first five years of employment before reaching the union-negotiated rate of $16.68. Similarly, terminated mailroom staff, if given the offer, were rehired at lower wages, below the living wage. To fully serve our commitment as a university to social justice, there should be no difference between University and contracted employees. Brandeis should be committed to living wages and fair labor conditions, not just under its own policies but in its dealings with contractors. Brandeis Labor Coalition therefore is pushing for the implementation of a Brandeis Just Employment Policy for all workers, including those employed by outside contractors. This Just Employment Policy will provide an indexed living wage standard, ensure all workers have harassment-free work environments and ensure there exists effective, safe grievance procedures. The University will respect the right of workers to vote in union elections and uphold union agreements. Secure, full-time employment will be prioritized over temporary jobs. Lastly, oversight infrastructure will be created to enforce the Just Employment Policy and publish an annual report on labor conditions at Brandeis. Georgetown University’s Just Employment Policy, which has served as a model for our
policy, guarantees a living wage, annually indexed to keep up with the costs of good and services in the area, to both University employees and full-time contract workers oncampus. Implemented in 2005, the policy also includes measures that ensure all workers have secure and just employment. Administration at Georgetown, at first hostile to the policy, now frequently tout it as an example of its commitment to social justice, and it has been successful in the ten years since its implementation. It has only cost Georgetown 0.2 percent of its annual budget to provide a living wage to about 500 campus workers. Having such a policy codified also provides a means for accountability of wage and labor issues in a central location instead of numerous disjointed policies that are inconsistently enforced. By implementing our own Just Employment Policy, Brandeis would take a major step forward in embodying the University’s commitments to social justice and community. At the end of April, BLC will be leading the way for a student-wide referendum vote of the proposed Just Employment Policy, and we hope you join us in support. Without dining, custodial, facilities and all the other workers on-campus, the Brandeis community would not be able to function. As part of the Brandeis family, all workers deserve the right to a living wage, fair grievance procedures and safe working environment. We cannot truly call ourselves a family if we deny any member these basic rights. —Julia Dougherty ’15, Tamar Lyssy ’14 and Andrew Nguyen ’15 are members of Brandeis Labor Coalition.
THE JUSTICE
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Tuesday, March 24, 2015
11
ATHLETE PROFILE
jUDGES BY THE NUMBERS baseball TEAM STATS
UAA STANDINGS
Runs Batted In
Not including Monday’s games. UAA Conference W L Emory 6 2 WashU 6 2 Rochester 4 4 Case 4 4 NYU 2 6 JUDGES 2 6
W 11 12 5 4 5 4
Overall L Pct. 5 .688 8 .600 7 .417 4 .500 8 .385 10 .286
UPCOMING GAMES: Saturday at NYU Sunday at NYU Thursday, Apr. 2 vs. Rhode Island
Ryan Pocock ’18 leads the team with 14 RBIs. Player RBI Ryan Pocock 14 Connor Doyle 6 Nick Falkson 5 Liam O’Connor 5
Strikeouts Kyle Brenner ’15 leads all pitchers with 19 strikeouts. Player Ks Kyle Brenner 19 Sean O’Neill 13 Sam Miller 9 Ryan Pocock 9
SOFTBALL UAA STANDINGS
TEAM STATS
Not including Monday’s games.
Runs Batted In
UAA Conference W L Emory 8 2 WashU 8 2 Rochester 6 4 Case 5 5 JUDGES 3 7 NYU 0 10
W 20 18 8 12 6 2
Overall L Pct. 2 .909 6 .750 5 .615 5 .706 7 .462 14 .125
Madison Gagnon ’16 leads the squad with 9 RBIs. Player RBI Madison Gagnon 9 Cori Coleman 8 Madison Hunter 7 Anya Kamber 7
Strikeouts Samantha Wroblewski ’17 leads all pitchers with 26 strikeouts.
UPCOMING GAMES: Friday at Salve Regina (DH) Sunday vs. Worcester State (DH) Wednesday, Apr. 1 at Wellesley (DH)
Player Ks Samantha Wroblewski 26 Sadie-Rose Apfel 9 Melissa Soleimani 6
FENCING Results from the UAA Championships on Mar. 1.
TOP PERFORMERS (Men’s)
TOP PERFORMERS (Women’s)
200-Meter Run
1 Mile Run
RUNNER TIME Nick Wactor 23.82 24.54 Adam Berger Adam Beckwith 24.71
RUNNER TIME Kelsey Whitaker 5:00.90 Kristi Pisarik 5:16.06 Ashley Piccirillo-Horan 5:16.90
PHOTO COURTESY OF JUSTIN GALLANTY
BRINGING THE HEAT: Justin Gallanty ’18 pitches in the Judges’ 8-7 defeat to Warner University Feb. 18 at the Russ Matt Invitational.
Gallanty looks to make impact in rookie year ■ Pitcher Justin Gallanty ’18 has amassed five strikeouts in 2.2 innings pitched this season for the Judges. By dan rozel Justice staff writer
UPCOMING MEETS: Mar. 28 at the Tufts Snowflake Classic at Tufts University Apr. 4 at the Amherst Invitational at Amherst College Apr. 10 at the Connecticut College Distance Carnival at Connecticut College
TENNIS Updated season results.
TOP PERFORMERS (Men’s)
TOP PERFORMERS (Women’s)
MEN’S SINGLES Michael Arguello
RECORD 8-5
WOMEN’S SINGLES Haley Cohen
RECORD 4-3
MEN’S DOUBLES Arguello/Cherkin
RECORD 9-6
WOMEN’S DOUBLES Cohen/Cooke
RECORD 4-5
UPCOMING MEET: The men’s team will play at home on Friday against Wheaton College while the women will be at Bentley University tomorrow.
Like many others on the Brandeis baseball team, Justin Gallanty ’18 started his career in the Little Leagues, playing for his hometown team in Westport, Conn. While hailing from Conn., Gallanty maintains strong ties to his home city of New York through his fanhood of the New York Yankees, New York Knicks and New York Giants, but, obviously, his passion for baseball supersedes all. While he has only made a few appearances for the team this season as a first-year player, he is enjoying his time as a young member of the Judges’ team. “It’s interesting, because it’s the first time ever really where people four, five years apart in age are all playing together. I mean, in high school that was technically true, but freshmen didn’t really get any playing time; it was mostly the seniors. But here, it’s an interesting dynamic that you don’t get anywhere else
in your life,” Gallanty said. As an 18-year-old, he is one of the youngest members of the team, and he acknowledges the value of playing and bonding with the older upperclassman veterans. “Everyone on the team has things in common, mainly the fact that they play baseball and love baseball enough that they’ve chosen to continue it in their four years here [at Brandeis],” he added. So why choose Brandeis? Gallanty was particularly attracted to some of the non-baseball opportunities offered at the school, emphasizing the “academics and the opportunity to keep playing baseball.” He is currently undecided on a major, but he is leaning toward a business major with a possible journalism minor due to his interest in sports. He is a featured guest on a weekly sports talk radio show and shares valuable baseball and college athletics insight. Additionally, he has broadcasted basketball games for WBRS as a color commentator and hopes to continue to do so in his offseasons. As a passionate baseball fan, he can make the claim that he has been inside the stadiums of all 30 Major League baseball teams in the United States and is a proud supporter of his brother’s and parents’ colleges—
Syracuse University and Duke University, respectively. So far, in three pitching appearances for the Judges, Gallanty has a 0-1 record with two earned runs in 2.2 innings pitched. All of his innings have come in relief, in which he has allowed five hits. Gallanty looks to get batters out with the use of the strikeout, as he has amassed three strikeouts in his outings. For now, while pitcher Kyle Brenner ’15 remains the Judges’ ace, Gallanty remains waiting in the wings for his opportunity to be a more prominent part of the Judges’ starting rotation. This season, the conditions have not allowed for many game opportunities, but as the snow begins to melt, the resolve stays the same, and Gallanty is more than aware of the commitment needed to compete at a collegiate level, no matter the division of play. Gallanty and the Judges will be back in action on the road against New York University on Saturday and Sunday. After that conference showdown, the squad will play its first home contest against Rhode Island College on April 2. It will then be up against regional foe Tufts University on April 4.
pro sports BRIEF Former Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers point guard Steve Nash retires from professional basketball Steve Nash ended his 19-year NBA playing career Saturday, announcing his retirement in a letter published by The Players’ Tribune website. “I heard someone once say there comes a day when they tell us all that we can’t play anymore,” Nash, 41, wrote in his letter. “We’re not good enough. Surplus to requirements. Too slow, maybe. When you’re a teenager with outsized dreams and a growing obsession, and someone tells you this ain’t gonna last forever, it’s scary. I never forgot it.” Nash, who has twice won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, ranks third all-time in NBA-history with 10,335 assists during his 21year career. He added that he was most thankful for being given the opportunity “to be completely im-
mersed in my passion and striving for something I loved so much—visualizing a ladder, climbing up to my heroes. The obsession became my best friend. I talked to her, cherished her, fought with her and got knocked on my ass by her.” “And that is what I’m most thankful for in my career. In my entire life, in some ways. Obviously, I value my kids and my family more than the game, but in some ways having this friend — this ever-present pursuit — has made me who I am, taught me and tested me, and given me a mission that feels irreplaceable. I am so thankful. I’ve learned so many invaluable lessons about myself and about life. And of course I still have so much to learn. Another incredible gift,” he wrote. Nash started his career in 1996
after being drafted 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns. He was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998 but returned to the Suns as a free agent in 2004, where he played until signing with the Lakers in 2012. Nash finished his career as the most accurate free-throw shooter in NBA history at 90.4 percent. From 2001-02 through 2008-09, Nash led the number-one ranked offenses in the league playing with the Suns and the Mavericks. He won back-to-back MVP awards in 2005 and 2006 while with the Suns and was an eight-time All-Star selection. For his career, Nash averaged 14.3 points per game and 8.5 assists per game, shooting 49 percent from the field. Nash signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012, but his career in Los
Angeles was marred by injuries. After breaking his left leg in the 201213 season, Nash missed 24 games. In the 2013-14 season, Nash was sidelined for all but 15 games due to back, neck and knee injuries. He did not make an appearance for the Lakers this season. Though Nash felt some backlash from critics for his limited time playing in Los Angeles due to the injuries, he still felt welcomed by the Lakers and their fans. “Last spring, when I returned to the court, I was given a standing ovation at Staples Center. It was a dark time in my career and that gesture will be one of my best memories. There’s been a lot of negativity online, but in my nearly three years in L.A., I’ve never met anyone who didn’t show me anything but love
and support for my efforts. There’s a lot of class in Lakerland, and the organization and staff have given me unwavering support,” Nash wrote. Nash said he would miss playing basketball, the sport, he admitted, he might never play again. He said he was excited for the next phase in his life, adding that he hoped to inspire kids who are currently searching for their passion. “At the heart of this letter, I’m speaking to kids everywhere who have no idea what the future holds or how to take charge of their place in it,” Nash said. “When I think of my career, I can’t help but think of the kid with his ball, falling in love. That’s still what I identify with and did so throughout my entire story.” —Elan Kane
just
Sports
Page 12
INSIDE THE DUGOUT Pitcher Justin Gallanty ’18 attempts to make his mark on the baseball team during his first season, p. 15.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
STRAIGHT SETS
BRIEF Inclement weather leads to cancellations for baseball, softball and track and field This week, Brandeis athletics saw numerous cancellations due to inclement weather. The softball team’s game on the road at Clark University on Saturday was postponed until a date yet to be determined. The Judges will face off against Bates College tomorrow for the team’s first home matchup of the season. The team stands at 6-7 on the season after coming back from a 10-game University Athletic Association tournament in Florida. The squad went 3-7 in conference play. Likewise, the baseball team had three of its contests moved to future dates. The Judges were supposed to square off against Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Friday for its first home game of the season before traveling to Suffolk County Community College on Sunday. Even before the weekend’s cancellations, the baseball team’s matchup with Bridgewater State University last Tuesday was also moved. Due to the number of cancellations, the team had added a contest with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that was also later scratched. The game was supposed to be held at the New England Baseball Complex on Thursday. A third contest was cancelled yesterday. The team was originally scheduled to play against Salem State University at home
at 3 pm. First, the game was moved to Salem State's stadium and then Monday afternoon it was postponed indefinitely. In addition to the baseball and softball teams, the men and women’s track and field team was also unable to participate in planned contests because of the weather. The team was supposed to travel to Bridgewater State University for the Bridgewater State Invitational, but the meet was cancelled, according to the Bridgewater State athletics website. The meet was supposed to feature regional competition, including host Bridgewater State, Roger Williams University, Worcester State University, Bentley University and Wheaton College, among others. The teams will be back in action at the Tufts Snowflake Classic at Tufts University on Saturday afternoon. After that meet, the Judges will compete again on the following Saturday, April 4, at the Amherst Invitational, hosted by Amherst College. The men’s tennis team’s matchup against Wesleyan University was moved back one day from Saturday to Sunday. The Judges were shutout 9-0 in the matchup with the home town Cardinals. —Noah Hessdorf
BRIEF Cain selected to represent Judges at regional All-Star game Guard Hannah Cain ’15 of the women’s basketball team was selected to participate in the 2015 New England Women's Basketball Association (NEWBA) Senior All-Star Game last Tuesday night. The captain and only senior on the team was also named to the All-University Athletic Association second team this past regular season. The award was the second of her collegiate career, after she previously earned the achievement in her sophomore season. Cain was the all-around leader for the Judges this season. She led the team in scoring with a nearly double-figure average of 9.9 points a game. She was also the team leader in assists, with 2.4 per game, and steals, at a rate of 1.6 a game. Even though she plays at the guard position, she placed third on the team in rebounding while she corralled 4.7 boards per contest. Cain was particularly strong in conference play, where she averaged 5.2 rebounds against UAA opponents. She scored in double figures for the Judges in 16 contests, including an exceptional performance against Salve Regina University on Nov. 16. In that game, Cain posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the team’s dominant victory. After that game, the second contest of the season, Cain was named to the Brandeis Invitational All-Tournament team. Cain’s best individual result
during conference play came against the University of Rochester on Feb. 8. In the game, Cain scored a career-high of 18 points in a 60-52 win over the Rochester Yellowjackets. Another impressive performance for Cain came in a contest against conference rival Carnegie Mellon University.During the game, Cain scored 12 points while adding seven rebounds and two assists. Cain started in 27 of the Judges’ 28 contests this season. For the three seasons in which she was healthy and able to play, Cain started for the team for an impressive 77 of 78 contests. Cain missed the entirety of her junior season due to an unfortunate knee injury. Cain ended her collegiate career by bringing home a championship in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on March 8. During the tournament, Cain averaged 12.3 points and 2.7 assists while earning Most Outstanding Player honors. On the way to the ECAC championship, the Brandeis squad, ranked as the No. 6 seed, knocked off the top three seeds in the tournament. The squad defeated #3 Roger Williams University, 63-44; #2 Emmanuel College, 91-78 and #1 Westfield State University, 75-65 in overtime. The All-Star game will be held at Ainsworth Gymnasium at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. on Mar. 28. —Noah Hessdorf
Waltham, Mass.
AMANDA NGUYEN/the Justice
TOP SPIN: Danny Lubarsky ’16 wins a point during his match against the Coast Guard Bears this past Saturday at home.
Judges shut out Bears at home on Saturday ■ Brian Granoff ’17 won both
of his matches on Saturday to lead the Judges to victory over the Coast Guard Bears. By gabriel goldstein JUSTICE contributing writer
It was quite a roller coaster ride for Brandeis tennis this past weekend. While the men’s team, ranked No. 33 in the country, mounted momentum with a convincing 9-0 shutout of the Coast Guard Bears on Saturday, the team’s third win of the season, they subsequently got a taste of their own medicine, falling 9-0 to the Wesleyan University Cardinals on Sunday. In similar fashion, the women’s team struggled to hold their own in competition against the Cardinals’ women’s squad, falling 9-0 on Saturday afternoon. The men’s team swept doubles play on Saturday, behind several notable performers. To start the day, Brian Granoff ’17 and Danny Lubarsky ’16 secured a convincing 8-4 doubles victory on the No. 1 court. At the No. 2 court, Michael Arguello ’17 and Jeff Cherkin ’17 proved their worth, duking out an 8-5 victory. It was much of the same at No. 3, as Ryan Bunis ’17 and Alex Siegel ’15 paired up for an 8-2 win. The Judges’ onslaught didn’t stop with the end of doubles play. The Judges’ decimation extended to singles competition, resulting in an emphatic sweep. To start singles play, Granoff defeated Bears junior Robert Renfrow at No. 1 convincingly, winning 6-2, 6-0. Up next, Arguello, playing at No. 2, stifled Coast Guard junior Mark Guentert en route to a 6-2, 6-1 victory. At No. 3, Bunis, Saturday’s stand-
out performer, dismantled junior Weston Fortna of Coast Guard, 6-2, 6-1. Bunis and the team were excited and ready for their home opener of the season. “We all felt we had a chip on our shoulder and wanted to prove a new, inspired start to the season with our first home match against Coast Guard,” he said. Coming in at No. 4, Michael Secular ’15 battled hard to score a 7-5, 6-2 victory over freshman Michael Melampy of the Bears. At No. 6, Miller pulled out a gritty victory over freshman John Hu, winning the tiebreaker match en route to a 6-1, 5-7, 10-4 victory. Finally, Kevin Dupont ’17 wasted no time in quickly securing a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Coast Guard freshman Benson Errington. While Saturday brought victory for the men’s squad, Sunday proved difficult for the team to ride their momentum into their matchup with the Wesleyan Cardinals. In both doubles and singles play against the Cardinals, the Judges struggled to find a rhythm, losing in a clean 9-0 sweep. To open doubles play, Granoff and Lubarsky fell 5-8 to Wesleyan sophomore Michael Liu and junior Zachary Brint at No. 1. The doubles play losses kept coming for the Judges, as the partnerships of Arguello and Cherkin (No. 2) and Bunis and Siegel (No. 3) failed to pull out victories, falling by scores of 2-8 and 1-8, respectively. Singles play brought much of the same for Brandeis, as Granoff (3-6, 4-6), Sam Berg ’18 (0-6, 3-6), Bunis (57, 1-6), Siegel (1-6, 0-6), Secular (0-6, 2-6) and Miller (3-6, 1-6) fell in their respective matches. For the men’s team, there was certainly a large contrast between the two days. While the men’s team found success on Saturday, the women’s team
failed to bring home any victories against the same Wesleyan University Cardinals. To open doubles play, Haley Cohen ’18 and Carley Cooke ’15 fell at No. 1 to Cardinal freshmen Eudice Chong and Helen Klass-Warch, 8-0. At No. 2, Simone Vandroff ’15 and Maya Vasser ’16 lost a tough match to freshman Nicole McCann and senior Anna Howard of Wesleyan, 8-4. In similar fashion, Charlotte Aaron ’18 and Sarita Biswas ’16 fell 8-1 at No. 3 to freshmen Aashlia Budhiraja and Dasha Dubinsky. In singles play, the women’s team continued to struggle against an inspired Cardinals team. At No. 1, Cooke lost convincingly to Wesleyan’s Chong, 1-6, 0-6. In the No. 2 slot, Cohen fell 1-6, 2-6 to Klass-Warch. At No. 3, Vandroff fell in a similarly convincing fashion to Wesleyan’s Buhiraja, 0-6, 2-6. The Judges’ fortune failed to turn around entering the second half of singles play, as Emily Eska ’16 (1-6, 1-6), Vasser (3-6, 4-6) and A a r o n (2-6, 2-6) dropped the No. 4, No. 5 and No.6 games respectively. Looking forward to the rest of the season, Bunis remarked that the team wants to “string together some nationally ranked wins and gain momentum going into UAAs … [We also want to] have a focused attitude and trust the work we put in every practice.” On the season the men now stand at a record of 3-6. They are looking to improve upon last year’s record of 11-9. The women’s team ended the weekend at 1-6, having lost its last five games. The squad is hoping to build upon last season’s even record of 11-11. The men look to regain momentum on Friday against Wheaton College. The women look to rediscover their footing Wednesday against local foe Bentley University.
JustArts Volume LXVII, Number 23
Your weekly guide to arts, movies, music and everything cultural at Brandeis and beyond
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Waltham, Mass.
‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ » 19
Question and Answer—justArts speaks with Director of the Office of the Arts, Ingrid Schorr, about the Festival of the Arts » 15
INSIDE
‘THE BIBLE’ Rose Art Museum video installation looks at the ancient text of the Old Testament through a modern lens » 17
Festival of the Arts Office of the Arts releases finalized schedule for spring arts festival » 15
‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ Netflix original series explores a young woman experiencing the modern world for the first time » 19
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justARTS
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015 | THE JUSTIce
CALENDAR
INTERVIEW
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What’s happening in Arts on and off campus this week
ON-CAMPUS EVENTS The 250th Anniversary of the Stamp Act: A Revolutionary Exhibit and Performance
This exhibition will feature texts and images celebrating the anniversary of the stamp act as well as rare books from the Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections. Students will perform as American revolutionary figures including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. Light refreshments will be served. Today, from 2 to 3 p.m. in Rapaporte Treasure Hall. This event is free and open to the public.
Post-Baccalaureate Painting Sculpture Opening Reception
Meet the student artists during this opening reception for the PostBaccalaureate studio art program. Tomorrow from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Dreizter Gallery in Spingold Theater Center. This event is free and open to the public.
Sarah Hines ’15
Students directs Tymp’s ‘Spelling Bee’ BROOKE GRANOVSKY/the Justice
This week, justArts spoke with Sarah Hines ’15, director of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
A Reading by Katherine Heiny
Katherine Heiny will read excerpts from her celebreated debut collection of short stories entitled “Single, Carefree, Mellow.”
justArts: How did you choose to perform this show? Sarah Hines: So the way that it works in the UTC is that every semester there are proposals that get submitted, so I didn’t actually propose this show, but someone else proposed it, and then we have meetings where each of the shows that were proposed get talked about, and people vote on them, and so [Tympanium Euphorium], which is the organization that’s producing this show as a whole—everyone involved in that voted to do Spelling Bee, so it was a collective choice. And then, from there, people can apply to direct the show, so the show was actually chosen before I came on board, so then I just applied to direct this one.
Thursday from 5:30-7 p.m. in room 113 in Pearlman Hall. This event is sponsored by Creative Writing and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. This event is free and open to the public.
‘Legally Blonde’
This musical follows fashionobsessed Elle Woods as she attends Harvard Law School to spite her exboyfriend. However, in law school, Elle finds real friends and realizes her greater potential.
JA: Did you have any challenges as director? SH: There are always challenges. I’m trying to think if there’s anything very specific. Well, we had a lot of snow days, so that was something special that we had. We had a good week [of rehearsals despite the snow days, and] we only actually missed, like, one and a half rehearsals, I think. Other than that, everyone trudged through blizzards to get to Spingold to rehearse, which was really great because they weren’t forced to, but almost all of them were able to make it anyways. I even had one kid walk from off campus to get [there]…. The actor that we initially casted as Chip, for health concerns and stuff, had to [step down]. We all decided it was best for him to step down from the role, just because his voice was having a lot of issues with that, so hopefully he’ll get better, and get back up on the stage next semester. We had to recast that role about half way through the production, which was a little stressful. We were all up until 2 a.m. trying to figure out what to do, but we ended up asking Brian [Haungs ’15] to step in who’s now the current Chip, and he, I mean the original Chip, was great, but Brian picked up everything so quickly, like I’ve never seen it, he was off book in three days. I was afraid that we were going to be two weeks behind in rehearsal and we [were] not going to be able to do anything, but he really picked it up really quickly, which was good. Yeah, that was a little twist in the plot. JA: Was everyone happy with opening night? SH: I think so, I was thrilled. I mean, you know, it’s the UTC and just the way it works is you have one week of—I mean we started building our set on Sunday, so just the amount of time you have for tech wasn’t, isn’t like you would have in the real world. So we still had a few technical, lighting things that maybe we just weren’t on the same page for opening night, but I think as of last night, everything was exactly the way that I wanted it. You know, opening night is the night where you are like, “Oh, we’ll fix a few little things.” But the actors killed it. They worked really hard. It’s a hard show, but by last week they were ready to go; this week it was really just about putting on the tech things. But yeah, I was thrilled. I think last night went even better. JA: Was there one thing you wanted the audience to take away from the show? SH: That’s a really good question. For me, I think, the show can be done with not a lot of set, with, you know, it’s fewer actors. I’ve seen it done very poorly a lot of times. It’s a really easy [show] to make simply fun. For me, part of the reason that I love this show is because it is so fun and hopefully everyone is laughing almost the entire time That’s so great and the audience is right along there with you, which I love about it, but I also love the show because I think there’s so much more to it. I think that this show is about [how] each of the characters grow so much in the moment they enter the opening number to the time they get out, or after the time they get out. So I hope, overall, people had a blast, but that they also were able to see themselves on the stage and that they were able to see themselves in certain characters, see their childhoods or see their story of growing up or whatever that looked like. I think it has some real messages. I think Olive is really just looking for someone to love her and I think that Coneybear is looking for self-assurance in himself to say to himself that he is smart and that he can do it. I think as a senior, as someone who is about to take this giant next step—I think that there is something really cool in watching these characters grow up, in a seemingly irrelevant spelling bee, yet at the same time is such a huge transition for all of them, so I guess that’s what I hoped people would see in it. —Jaime Gropper
and
Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at various times at the Shapiro Campus Center Theater. Student tickets are $3 and are available at
the Brandeis Tickets booth. The performances are sponsored by Hillel Theater Group.
Intercollegiate Improv Night
Improvisation groups TBA Improv and Sketch Comedy will perform with other improv groups from around the Boston area. Saturday at 9 p.m. at Cholmondeley’s Coffee House. This event is free and open to the public.
Peter Kalb with Shimon Attie and Joseph Wardwell, Panel Discussion: Language and Landscape
Acclaimed NY-based multimedia artist Shimon Attie will participate in a panel discussion with Prof. Joseph Wardwell (FA), moderated by Prof. Peter Kalb (FA). Thursday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Goldman-Schwartz Art Studios, room 115. The event is presented by the Department of Fine Arts and funded by the Poses Fund, Brandeis Arts Council and the Schusterman Center and is free and open to the public.
IMPROV FESTIVAL: Improvisation and Social Transformation
Author and improvisational specialist Prof. Thomas Hall (MUS) will speak with Cindy Cohen, director of the Brandeis program in peacebuilding and the arts. The pair will discuss the relationship between improvisation and social transformation, arts, culture, justice and peace. Friday from 3 to 4 p.m. in Slosberg Music Center. This event is sponsored by the Brandeis Arts Council.
IMPROV FESTIVAL: The Sound Line— Live Art and Music
Artist Lennie Peterson will create large-scale drawings of famous musicians based on improvised music by saxophonist Prof. Tom Hall (MUS) and bassist Marty Ballou. Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center. This event is free and
open to the public and is sponsored by the Brandeis Arts Council.
Brandeis Improv Festival Keynote Speaker: Milford Graves
Improviser, drummer, healer and polymath Milford Graves will give the keynote to the Brandeis Improv Festival. During the festival, Graves will also perform in the Festival’s inaugural concert, and who will also perform solo. Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Slosberg Music Center. This event is sponsored by the Brandeis Arts Council and is free and open to the public.
OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS Inside the Box: Massachusetts State House Time Capsule Revealed
On Jan. 6, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston opened a time capsule that was originally placed under the Massachusetts State House cornerstone in 1795 by Governor Samuel Adams, patriot Paul Revere and Colonel William Scollay. The time capsule was previously opened in 1855, when its contents were documented and cleaned and additional objects were added. The contents of the box, including coins, newspapers and a medal depicting George Washington are now on view at the Museum. The exhibit will be on view through April 22 in the Kristin and Roger Servison Gallery (Gallery 133). General admission is $25, and admission is free with a Brandeis ID. Tickets are available at mfa.org
‘Shades of Sound’
The Boston Ballet will perform a compillation of three ballets—Chroma by Wayne McGregor, Episodes by George Balanchine and Black Cake by Hans van Manen The show runs through March 29 at the Boston Opera House. Tickets range from $29 to $142 and can be purchased at bostonballet.org
Pop Culture n !
ww “The hills are alive with the sound of music.” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music is being re-released in theaters next month in honor of the film’s 50th anniversary, as well as a release of a 50th anniversary edition DVD and Blu-ray. The Sound of Music, starring the goddess Julie Andrews and the legendary Christopher Plummer, is one of the most well known movie musicals of all time. The Sound of Music tells the story of Maria, a nun-to-be in her twenties who is told to leave her Abbey. Maria is told that she is not “nun material” because she sings, wears curlers in her hair and is late for prayers. The Reverend Mother sends her to be a governess for seven children of a widowed naval captain, Captain Von Trapp. Maria and the Von Trapp family do not get along at first. The captain runs a strict household, because he takes out his grief over his wife’s death on his children, depriving them of a childhood. Maria disagrees with this approach and decides to govern the children differently. She wins the children’s love and affection by taking them around the city of Salzburg and teaching them how to sing. The captain becomes happy again when the children bring music and laughter back into his house. Eventually, he and Maria fall in love and live happily ever after with the seven children in tow. As a child, I completely disregarded the film’s sub-plot of the Nazi occupation of Austria. When I rewatched the film the other day, I realized that this plot is more frightening than I thought it was. The end of the film shows the Von Trapp family escaping Austria to avoid Captain Von Trapp’s appointment to the Nazi navy. Captain Von Trapp is a devout Austrian nationalist who would do anything for his country. He makes this clear in the song “Edelweiss.”
By Anna Stern
20TH CENTURY FOX/TNS
NO SMILES HERE: The Von Trapp siblings line up to greet their father, Captain von Trapp. As a child, I thought that the song “Edelweiss” was a beautiful lullaby of sorts about a flower when in fact it was a love song to Austria. When the captain sings it at the Austrian Music Festival at the end of the film, he is singing it in protest of Nazi occupation and uses the song as a way of defending his homeland. The Sound of Music is the kind of cultural phenomenon that didn’t disappear in 1965, when the film was first released. The musical remains a classic because the story is universal and reaches across generations. For instance, I can watch the film and sing along with my nine-year-old cousin and 84-year-old grandmother. My little cousin loves the song “Do-
Re-Mi” and identifies with the seven children. My grandmother also loves the beautiful music, but watching this film, for her, brings back memories of sharing the experience with her children when they were small. The Sound of Music follows one woman’s journey to finding who she truly is and where she belongs. Maria realizes she cannot be a nun because she belongs on a different path. My favorite line from the film is, “When the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.” We can learn from The Sound of Music that new opportunities are available every day. All we need to do is “climb every mountain” to find them.
ARTS COVER IMAGES: MIHIR KHANNA and GRACE KWON/the Justice, Creative Commons and courtesy of the Rose Art Museum. DESIGN: GRACE KWON/the Justice.
ON CAMPUS
THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
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festival of the arts
Festival of the Arts schedule released By brooke granovsky justice editor
This week, the Office of the Arts announced the events for this year’s Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts. The festival, which will run from April 23 to 26, will host various public arts installations and use the Rose Art Museum’s “Light of Reason” sculpture as a stage for performances. The festival has various activities each day, and a website for the festival is expected to launch within the next few days, according to Acting Director of the Office of the Arts Ingrid Schorr in an interview with the Justice. Thursday’s main events will be a creativity symposium; a seminar on women’s rights and activism; several workshops; two performances and extended hours at the Rose Art Museum. There will be an a cappella show later in the evening featuring student groups like Rather Be Giraffes and Ba’Note in addition to a singer-songwriter spoken word café at Cholmondeley’s coffee house. Friday’s highlight will be an unusual high-stakes chess game. The festival’s life-sized chess game, Glenn Kaino’s “The Burning Boards,” will follow 32 players as they attempt to play the game using chess pieces forged from burning candles. The performance is expected to unite players against an unusual opponent. Instead of focusing on each other, the players are expected to band together against time as they attempt to make their moves before time runs out. In a press release last Tuesday from the Office of Communications, Kaino mentions that “no matter what level of chess player you are, the fire becomes a meditation in a different way.” The game will take place beside
Chris Burden’s sculpture at the Rose. In her interview, Schorr mentioned that “some of the confirmed players [are] Lisa Lynch, the provost, the artist Glenn Kaino [and] the President of the Chess Club Misha Vilenchuk [’16].” Elaborating, Schorr said that “There will be 32 altogether.” Saturday’s events will focus on dance and musical performances from all different genres. The day will see Ghanaian music, dance performances at the Rose, a second performance of Twelfth Night and even an electro acoustic concert/ “half marathon.” The marathon concert will feature works by Brandeis undergraduate and graduate student composers. Threaded throughout Saturday’s events will be Brandeis’ Folk Fest, a concert of folk singers. In the 1960’s, the concert featured a young Bob Dylan, and this year it will offer sets by new folk artists and bands. Brandeis ensembles, such as the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra and the Brandeis Early Music Ensemble, will also give concerts. Sunday will arguably be the busiest day of the festival; on April 26, the festival will honor founder Leonard Bernstein’s commitment to arts engagement by hosting free events for families and children from 1 to 5 p.m. There will be a cappella performances, musicians, orchestra performances and improvisation shows by professionals, amateurs and students alike. More mature crowds on Sunday will be able to watch a performance piece at the Women’s Studies Resource Center based on the center’s new exhibit, Father Tongue. Milcah Bassel P.B. ’11, the Hadassah-Brandeis artist in residence, created the exhibit based on Hebrew letters and language. Later on Sunday, the Lydian
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JARRET BENCKS
RACING AGAINST TIME: Kaino’s chess game pits players against time and each other in a race to win before candles melt. String Quartet will join violinist Prof. Daniel Stepner (MUS) for a performance. The concert will include sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven and Ives. The concerts’ ticket proceeds will benefit the Aston Magna Music Festival scholarship fund. When asked what she hopes students and attendees will take away from the festival, Schorr stressed that the students’ participation, creativity and enthusiam. She elaborated and said that “we have so many students who are presenting work as the culmination of their year or of their four years at Brandeis, like the senior festival of plays, seniors in Theater Arts who are directing or writing or producing original work.” The festival should have an event to suit every person’s tastes, and will be a comprehensive showcase of talent both on and off campus.
CLOWNING AROUND: Kenny Raskin ’74 will lead a show of physical comedy on Friday and Saturday. The show will feature clowns and other circus acts.
Q&A with Ingrid Schorr This week, justArts spoke with Ingrid Schorr, the acting director of the Office of the Arts, about the finalized line-up for featured events for this year’s Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts. JustArts: I saw that there was a lot of new information released, which is really exciting. Ingrid Schorr: Yeah, the planning is going great. We have our featured events finally set and we’re ready to make that announcement. I guess we already have informally, but there will be a press release coming out soon. The Sunday schedule is full, and everything’s looking pretty great.
JA: Is there a specific event that has been challenging or rewarding to plan? IS: It’s always both of those things to work with artists from off campus. So our featured event is “The Burning Boards,” which is a performance by the Los Angeles-based artist Glenn Kaino. That was part of the challenge…communicating with a very busy artist who’s literally working all around the world. Communicating with his gallery, with his studio to get all those pieces in place. While [Kaino] said months ago “Yes, I would love to come to Brandeis!” we had to work with his gallery and studio to make sure that all the pieces were
in place for him literally to be here. JA: Is there an event that the staff and yourself are most looking forward to? IS: We’re really looking forward to “The Burning Boards” for a number of reasons. Visually, it’s just beautiful and unlike anything we’ve ever seen on campus before. It involves communities that have not been traditionally part of the festival of arts. We’re co-producing it with the Chess Club, [that has] a very diverse range of members and also contact with people off campus, for example, the Waltham Chess Community. And then we’re bringing in artists, and scholars,
and thinkers and people from Brandeis to be part of the chess match. Some of the confirmed players: Lisa Lynch, the provost, the artist Glenn Kaino [and] the President of the Chess Club Misha Vilenchuk ’16. There will be 32 altogether. A very diverse group of people from lots of different nationalities, different ages, different skill levels, and it’s a really interesting event for the chess world because traditionally in the chess world, you play matches to advance your ranking, because everyone wants to get the ranking of master or grandmaster. This is not going to do anything for your ranking; it’s a social event and a community event. JA: How do you expect to attract students to the event? IS: I’m hoping of course that people will come out to see their friends, professors or favorite staff people play. Also, it will just be such a beautiful visual event at dusk. I don’t know the exact number of candles that will be burning, but 16 chess boards, times however many chess pieces per board, and those will all be lit. Blazing away outside the Rose Art Museum, at dusk. And we’ll have some other pieces to the event—there will be some live music performed by students, and Provost Lisa Lynch will make some remarks, but by and large it’s going to be the chess match. So I’m hoping that students will come because it’s a lovely interlude before Friday day and Friday night.
FOLK FESTIVAL: The festival will showcase folk artists like the band Molasses Jones, pictured above, as part of Folk Fest. In the 1960’s, a young Bob Dylan performed at the festival, which highlights up-and-coming artists and performance groups.
JA: Is there something that you want students to take away from the festival?
IS: The theme of the festival is Find Your Light. We hope that people will find inspiration that brings them illumination and maybe lightens their spirits or sheds light on their understanding of the world or their understanding of what it means to be an artist, or to make art, or to shed light on the campus so they see it in a different way. Every new experience means seeing your landscape with new eyes, and we’re hoping that the events of the art festival will bring that new perspective, even if just for a moment. For example, we have a lighting design class that’s going to be doing an outdoor installation. I won’t tell you where it is because I want people to find it on their own. It’s a place on campus that’s a little dreary, and they’ll be making a spectacular sculptural installation with light. I’m sure you’ll find it. It’s a place that people walk by every week. I’m also hoping that people take away pride in their own achievements. We have so many students who are presenting work as the culmination of their year or of their four years at Brandeis, like the senior festival of plays, seniors in Theater Arts who are directing or writing or producing original work. A lot of the music ensembles are giving concerts, the early music ensemble, the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra and the chamber choir and Safali (music and dance from Ghana) have concerts. In visual art, we have a graduate program in Studio Art, and they’ll be giving their final exhibitions of the year. —Brooke Granovsky
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TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015 | THE JUSTICE
THEATER
PHOTOS BY: MIHIR KHANNA/the Justice
READY TO SPELL: The six main contestants of the spelling bee wait for their turn to be called up to the microphone to spell.
‘Spelling Bee’ is comical and profound By JAIME GROPPER JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee proves that much more than just spelling happens at a spelling bee. This particular bee focused on six children, each struggling with personal worries and problems typi-
cal of middle school students. Even though at the end of the bee there was only one winner, it seemed as though all of children in the show were left with a better understanding of themselves. Presented by Tympanium Euphorium in the Shapiro Campus Center Theater this past weekend, the musical was technically just a very
long one-act. It required only one set that consisted of a modestly furnished middle school gymnasium with everything necessary for a middle school spelling bee. There were bleachers for the spelling contestants on one side, a table for the moderators on the other and, crucially, a single microphone directly in center stage for the contestants to come up to and spell. The actors managed to truly capture the essence of middle school children. Marcy Park (Jessie Eichinger ’17) was a speller who grappled with always having to win and be perfect. Park realized, with some special help from Jesus, that it is okay to not always win. Chip Tolentino (Brian Haungs ’15), the returning champion who was confident that he would win, learned about dealing with puberty when an untimely erection caused him to misspell a word. Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Jenna Kahane ’15) was the speech impaired, half-Jewish activist daughter of two men who put too much pressure on her. By the end she realized it is okay to not do everything and let them down. Olive Ostrovsky (Becca Myers ’18) was lonely to the extent that she has made the dictionary her best friend. In one of the most moving moments of the show, Olive sang about her wish for her parents to be more involved in her life. By the end, she found a friend in William Barfée (David Getz ’15) who used what he called his “magic foot” to spell, had medical problems and who ultimately realized that he
could rely on his own intelligence rather than his foot. Wearing brightly colored, mismatched clothing and a cape, Leaf Coneybear (Rodrigo Alforo GarciaGranados ’18) was a little goofy and extremely energetic. Leaf’s problem was that he thought he was not smart, especially since he made it to the bee by default. By the time he was eliminated, Leaf accepted that he just gets a little bit distracted but that he does have potential. In an interview with the Justice for this week’s interview column, director Sarah Hines ’15 said that her goal with the show was to have the audience laughing almost the entire time, and she definitely succeeded. The moderators of the bee, passionate previous Putnam County Spelling Bee champion Rona Lisa Peretti (Gabi Nail ’18) and bored vice principal Douglas Panch (Jason Haberman ’15), were exceedingly entertaining in their delivery of the words to be spelled. Every word brought laughter by either sounding ridiculous, having a comical definition or by being used in an absurd sentence. Another comedic highlight was the cast’s interaction with the audience. Before the bee began, Perreti called up four additional spellers from the audience. These spellers were not simply tested and eliminated within five minutes. Rather, they were truly incorporated into the show, and some even lasted longer in the bee than some of the cast members. The audience spellers struggled to follow the lead of the cast members
as the cast dragged them around the stage in musical numbers, trying to get them to do the choreography, and during one song “Pandemonium,” herding them into the center of the stage and throwing balls at them. The choreography of “Pandemonium” had the cast and audience spellers utilizing all areas of the stage. All of the musical numbers displayed vocal talent, particularly the harmonies during the “Goodbye” songs sung when spellers were eliminated. Mitch Mahoney (Dennis HermidaGonzalez ’17) brought attitude to the show as a convict on parole completing his community service by serving as the comfort counselor and giving out juice boxes to eliminated spellers. Despite his back-story, at times Mahoney seemed to be the most sensible person in the room. In one monologue, he spoke about his desire to tell the children that their problems in the spelling bee will be nothing compared to their problems as adults in the real world. However, it is these children’s problems that the spelling bee brought up and addressed. The musical hit upon a number of coming of age themes and lessons that we learn in our childhoods. The take-away messages included that cheating is bad, one should not let others dictate one’s self worth, not being perfect all of the time is okay and erections can come at unfortunate moments. All of the children were likable, and because the audience sympathized with every child, it was difficult to determine who should win the spelling bee.
AM I SMART?: Leaf Coneybear (Rodrigo Alforo Garcia-Granados ’18), who thinks he is not capable of winning, attempts to spell a word while his co-competitors look on.
STAYING CALM: Logainne SchwartzandGrubenniere (Jenna Kahane ’15) shows off her balance while she sings about the extreme pressure her two fathers place on her.
ATTENTIVE MODERATORS: Enthusiastic previous spelling bee champion Rona Lisa Peretti (Gabi Nail ’18) and uninterested vice principal Douglas Panch (Jason Haberman ’15), the moderaters of the spelling bee, provide spellers with context for words.
THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015
17
ROSE ART MUSEUM
‘THE BIBLE’ depicts stream of beautiful and horrifying imagery in 48 minutes By EMILY WISHINGRAD JUSTICE EDITOR
Tommy Hartung’s featurelength film THE BIBLE (2014) is haunting and beautiful at once. The film, which is currently on view at the Rose Art Museum, is something similar to a dream. Beautiful images flash across the screen, each preserved for only a fraction of a second in the mind of the viewer. The experience is captivating nevertheless, and by the end, it is hard to imagine that 48 minutes have passed. In the film, Hartung weaves together animated objects, composed scenes and footage from citizen journalists to create a masterpiece of images that is nothing short of brilliant. “It should be noted first that neither synopsis nor ekphrasis [is] possible in the case of THE BIBLE,” writes Christoper Bedford, the Henry and Lois Foster director of the museum, in the video’s accompanying materials. I would have agree with Bedford. The whole film is so complex and multidimensional that it is not worth describing singular images—one can only begin to describe the enormous intricacy and scope of the film through an emotional or metaphorical lens. The film, as communicated through its name, references materials and ideas from the Old Testament. But it is very hard to discern these references because the images move and transform so quickly across the screen and are so abstract. The visuals are bold, vibrant, colorful and threedimensional, and they sparkle and shine. The experience is like one of looking through kaleidoscope for an extended period of time—but a kaleidoscope sometimes containing gruesome and haunting images and sometimes riveting beauty. The opening passage of the film reads, “THE BIBLE is a multidimensional, worldwide network of networks in which users at
any point in the world can connect information with another user, and sometimes talk directly with the source of this network.” The typed words scroll down the screen, littered with what look like grammatical changes scribbled in pencil. This passage sets up the video well, designating it as a look into the Bible through a modern and universal lens. It may be better to look at Hartung’s work as a whole and let yourself fall into the emotional spaces and beautiful aesthetics he explores rather than trying to think about individual frames or sequences. But if you can manage to focus on frame or a series of frames for a couple seconds, you will see absolute beauty. Each frame, if separated, would be able to serve as a complex and beautiful piece of still artwork. Interwoven into the fabric of the film are narrated stories and testimonies about modern realworld events that are mostly horrifying and upsetting. These segments are extremely powerful, as they break up the abstract swarm of images and glimpse into the real, tangible implications of the film. The film includes the testimony from WikiLeaks convict Chelsea Manning (formerly Bradley Manning), who talks about what she believes to be a harmful war against Afghanistan and Iraq. There is a story about a South African gay couple attacked in the act of having sex—one person was stoned to death, the other escaped. There is a story about a Vietnam veteran who set himself on fire on the National Mall, his motives for which are still unknown. It is difficult to recall the enormous series of images that went flitting by on the screen but the emotional experience is extremely moving. Do not overlook the museum’s note that viewer discretion is advised, but if you can stomach the horror, you will be rewarded with an incredible experience. And if you have time, watch the whole thing.
IMAGE COURTESY OF THE ROSE ART MUSEUM, FROM TOMMY HARTUNG’S THE BIBLE
LOST IN SPACE: The film uses many sequences of that portray mannequines, creating a sense that it is both real and crafted.
OTHERWORLDLY: The neon, glittery, bright and 3-D imagery in the film make for a vibrant experience from start to finish.
MIND WARP: THE BIBLE uses sequences of intricately composed pieces that are cut up into frames, allowing for a constantly shifting of the point of view and constant adjustments to the compositions.
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TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015 | THE JUSTICE
TELEVISION
Netflix original follows cult escapee in NYC By MIJAL TENENBAUM JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
In an age filled with so many sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots and spin-offs, a breath of fresh air can be nice once in a while. Of course, we’d probably appreciate it even more if we’d spent over a decade hiding in an underground bunker. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the new series released by Netflix on March 6, tells the story of Kimmy Schmidt (Ellie Kemper), who spent half of her life in a shelter in Indiana along with three other girls. The four were kept underground by a doomsday cult reverend, who claimed that the apocalypse had arrived and they were the only survivors. The show opens when the group is rescued, and it follows Kimmy as she attempts to reinvent herself and experience her adulthood, like many other fictional characters before her, in New York City. Because Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, this show’s creators, were also behind NBC’s 30 Rock, many have pointed out the similarity in the feel of both shows. There is the constant sarcasm, the acidity of the jokes, the pop culture references to people like Billy Madison and the Hanson brothers and stores like Sam Goody that tie the shows together. However, this show also holds strong resemblances to the type of humor seen in shows like Parks and Recreation, Scrubs and Community: it’s quick and skeptical while ultimately hopeful and constantly filled with the great levels of
irony that have become a defining characteristic of our generation’s culture. For Kimmy, 2015 is a whole new world, and she is more than happy to embrace it. Kimmy tries to fit in as hard as she can, but she can’t help but have a few mishaps in the process. She calls hashtags “hashbrowns,” doesn’t quite understand modern slang and has to be taught what selfies are and how take them. The contrast between her childlike naivete and the undeniable strength she gained from years of self-preservation in the bunker makes it really hard not to root for her. As viewers, we laugh at her but also with her. The show doesn’t mock Kimmy; it praises her ability to remain strong and optimistic even after being trapped for such a large portion of her life. She struggles, but not for lack of trying, and she adapts more quicker than most of us probably would. A more controversial aspect of this show is Kimmy’s boss, Jacqueline (Jane Krakowsky) a rich socialite who dyes her hair blonde and wears light blue contacts to conceal her Native American heritage. The actress who plays her is white, so it is rocky territory for a lighthearted sitcom to get into. However, this plotline turns out to be a really good and smart addition to the show. It takes a different approach to race than its viewers might be used to seeing in mainstream media, which is a good thing. She feels restricted by society’s perception of Native Americans, causing her to do whatever it takes to escape the racism imposed
CREATIVE COMMONS
A WHOLE NEW WORLD: Kimmy Schmidt arrives in New York City after living underground in a doomsday shelter for her whole life. on her group. She even says to her parents, “If you want to get anywhere, you need to be blonde and white.” Jacqueline’s story shows how similar we all are, regardless of our ethnicity or where we come from. Hopefully, this story will develop further in upcoming seasons, as it is so impor-
tant and so thoughtfully done. The show’s quick and funny witticisms make it easy to get hooked, and the fact that most of its episodes are around 25 minutes long make it even easier to binge-watch than other Netflix shows like Orange is the New Black or House of Cards. Its characters are easy to love, and
each of their storylines are interesting and dynamic. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is, overall, a great addition to Netflix’s collection that combines the originality and freshness of Tina Fey’s work with old tropes that have already brought instant success to hundreds of movies and shows.
SPORTS PHOTOS FEATURES COPY
JOIN THE JUSTICE! FORUM NEWS LAYOUT ARTS ADS For more information, contact Rachel Hughes at editor@thejustice.org.
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TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015 | THE JUSTICE
TOPof the
PHOTOS CORNER
Brandeis TALKS
CHARTS for the week ending Mar. 22 BOX OFFICE
Quote of the week “The death of a language often means the death of a culture, the death of a way of life and the death of an entire people.”
1. The Divergent Series: Insurgent 2. Cinderella (2015) 3. Run All Night 4. The Gunman 5. Kingsman: The Secret Service 6. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 7. Do You Believe? 8. Focus 9. Chappie 10. The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
—--Yasmin Yousof ’15, a speaker at L’afrique Talks, a TED talkstyle event where participants discussed the future of the African continent, its countries and cities.
If you could make a March Madness bracket for anything but basketaball, what would it be?
NYT BESTSELLERS
TOMMY GAO/the Justice
DRAWING THE LINE: Justice photographer Tommy Gao ’18 captured Artist Milcah Bassel P.B. ’11, HadassahBrandeis Institute artist-in-residence, installing her new exhibit at the Women’s Studies Research Center.
FEATURING CREATIVE PHOTOS FROM OUR STAFF
Nonfiction 1. Dead Wake—Erik Larson 2. Being Mortal—Atul Gawande 3. Every Day I Fight—Stuart Scott with Larry Platt 4. Killing Patton—Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard 5. Yes Please—Amy Poehler
This new feature will showcase our photographer’s work capturing small moments across campus Eli Green ’18 “Strains of weed.”
Taylor Dundas ’14, M.A. ’15 “Something along the lines of industry earnings, of like a tech bracket. For example Apple versus Samsung, earnings per share.”
Leah Stein ‘15 “Brandeis housing.”
David Matthews ’16 “For League of Legends.”
CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Spill the beans 5 Hindu deity 9 Spore-producing plants 14 Subtle emanation 15 Put out 16 How food is often sautéed 17 Sheepish smile 18 2001 Redford/ Gandolfini film, with “The” 20 Rap session? 22 Aunts in la familia 23 Cut down 24 Part of Q.E.D. 26 Letters on a Soviet uniform 28 1990 Connery/Pfeiffer spy film 34 Charged particle 35 Unable or unwilling to hear 36 Barcelona’s nación 38 Frame of mind 40 “The Twilight Zone” creator Serling 42 Sought damages 43 Mercedes-Benz model series 46 More than a few 49 Dr. who has co- produced many Eminem tracks 50 2003 Eddie Murphy film, with “The” 53 __ weevil 54 PayPal parent company 55 Pan Am rival 58 Garden nuisance 60 Saw eye to eye 64 Nostalgic films for family gatherings ... and what 18-, 28- and 50Across are? 67 Wrist-to-elbow bone 68 Kitchen attraction 29 Liquor, in slang name on a 1945 69 Brush fire op bomber 70 Garden area 31 Poker player’s “Too rich for my 71 Varnish ingredient blood” 72 Fiddle-playing emperor 32 Riyadh resident 73 Postage-paid encl. 28 IBM 5150s, e.g. 33 Año starter DOWN 37 Port in Yemen 1 Airport carousel riders 39 Apply crudely 2 Fish attractor 41 Stephen King’s “Under the __” 3 Solo for a diva 44 Frosty, notably 4 Welcome sign hung over a street, e.g. 45 Canonized fifth- cen. pope 5 Prisoner’s goal 47 Cajun condiment 6 Doc bloc 48 Unexpected obstacle 7 Waterfall phenomenon 51 Gridiron quota 8 1971 prison riot site 52 IHOP array 9 Debacles 55 “__ she blows!” 10 USN rank 56 Had on 11 Senator for whom an IRA is named 57 “Famous” cookie maker 12 River of Egypt 59 Seedy joint 13 Did in, as a dragon 61 First lady of scat, familiarly 19 Secret supply 62 Grandson of Adam 21 Gunk 63 Dinner and a movie, say 25 Russian ruler until 1917 Solution to last issue’s crossword 65 Brit. record label 27 Litter yippers 66 Musician’s asset 28 Iconic news magazine Crossword Copyright 2014 Tribune News Service,
iTUNES
1. Mark Ronson—“Uptown Funk (feat. Bruno Mars)” 2. Ed Sheeran—“Thinking Out Loud” 3. Ellie Goulding—“Love Me Like You Do” 4. Rihanna and Kanye West— “FourFiveSeconds” 5. The Weeknd—“Earned It”
BILLBOARD
1. Soundtrack—Empire: Original Soundtrack From Season 1 2. Madonna—Rebel Heart 3. Luke Bryan—Spring Break... Checkin’ Out 4. Soundtrack—50 Shades of Grey 5. Tayor Swift—1989 6. Sam Smith—In The Lonely Hour 7. Drake—If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late 8. Ed Sheeran— X 9. Maroon 5—V 10. Big Sean—Dark Sky Paradise Top of the Charts information provided by Fandango, the New York Times, Billboard. com and Apple.com.
STAFF’S Top Ten
FICTIONAL BEARDED CHARACTERS Inc.
SUDOKU INSTRUCTIONS: Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.
Cori Coleman ’15 “Flavors of ice cream.”
—Compiled and photographed by Michelle Banayan and Mihir Khanna/the Justice.
Solution to last issue’s sudoku
Fiction 1. The Girl on the Train—Paula Hawkins 2. All the Light We Cannot See— Anthony Doerr 3. Endangered—C. J. Box 4. A Spool of Blue Thread—Anne Tyler 5. The Buried Giant—Kazuo Ishiguro
Sudoku Copyright 2014 Tribune News Service, Inc.
By MAX MORAN JUSTICE EDITOR
Over the past few weeks I’ve gone from toting a big scruffy beard, to being completely clean-shaven, to my current semi-stubbly look. I grew out the beard to play an older character in a play. It was the longest I’ve ever grown out my beard. When it comes to facial hair, though, you can’t beat the world of fiction. Here are the 10 owners of my favorite impossibly cool pieces of facial hair. 1. Dumbledore 2. Khal Drogo 3. Gandalf (the Grey) 4. Jafar 5. Tom Hanks in Cast Away 6. Tony Stark 7. William Riker 8. Captain Jack Sparrow 9. Master Pai Mei from Kill Bill 10. Walter White