ARTS Page 19, 21
FORUM Support Esports in the United States 12 SPORTS Whitaker earns UAA title 16 The Independent Student Newspaper
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SENIOR FESTIVAL of
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Justice
Volume LXVII, Number 26
www.thejustice.org
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Waltham, Mass.
ADMINISTRATION
SPRINGFEST
Search committee announced for pres ■ The Presidential Search
Committee is made up of trustees, faculty and one student representative.
By MAX MORAN AND RACHEL SHARER JUSTICE EDITORS
The members of the Presidential Search Committee were announced in an email to the University on Tuesday. The 14-person panel will include nine trustees, four faculty members and one student representative. The committee will search for the ninth University president after current University President Frederick Lawrence announced his resignation on Jan. 30. Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Lisa Lynch will serve as an interim president next year while the committee searches for candidates.
Larry Kanarek ’76 will serve as chairman of the search committee. A former senior director of McKinsey & Company, Kanarek was chosen in early March to chair the committee by Chair of the Board of Trustees Perry Traquina ’78. The University will also be “utilizing the expertise of one of the world’s leading research consulting firms, Spencer Stuart,” according to the email from the Office of Communications. Spencer Stuart’s Education, Nonprofit & Government Practice has completed 800 searches for chief executive officers, chairmen and presidents in the past five years, according to its website. Spencer Stuart has also created an email account to which students and community members can send presidential nominations or other input, brandeispres@spencerstuart.com. Trustees on the board will include Traquina; Vice Chair of the Board
See COMMITTEE, 7 ☛
STUDENT LIFE
GRACE KWON/the Justice
British pop singer Jessie J was the headlining performer at Springfest last Sunday on Chapel's Field. Other performers included iLoveMakonnen, St. Lucia and more.
FACULTY
■ Student responses to
Lawrence will recieve paid sabbatical for year ■ The most recent faculty
meeting discussed President Lawrence's end-ofpresidency compensation. By ABBY PATKIN JUSTICE EDITOR
Chairman of the Board of Trustees Perry Traquina ’78 announced at Thursday’s faculty meeting that University President Frederick Lawrence will receive paid sabbatical for fiscal year 2015, continued housing
in the Watch Factory and full salary for nine months post-sabbatical as part of his end-of-presidency compensation. Lawrence began the meeting by calling everyone to order and recognizing the four board members in attendance: Barbara Mandel, George Krupp, Larry Kanarek ’76 and Traquina. The audience then recognized the 2015 Giumette Academic Achievement Award Recipients: Zoe Brown ’17, Hatice Guc ’17, Myung Joo Khang ’17, Kahlil Oppenheimer ’17 and Leah Shapiro ’17. The faculty then recognized teaching award re-
Climate survey seeks to address sexual assault a recent sexual assault climate survey will help tailor prevention efforts. By RACHEL SHARER JUSTICE EDITOR
cipients. Profs. Isaac Krauss (CHEM) won the Michael L. Walzer ’56 Award for Teaching, Jennifer Cleary (THA) won the Louis D. Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching, Jané Kondev (PHYS) won the Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer ’69 Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring and Eva Bellin (POL) won the Dean’s Mentoring Award. Interim Dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management Marty Krauss then presented the teaching and mentoring awards for the Heller school. Profs. Brenda An-
See FACULTY, 7 ☛
Last Wednesday, students were asked in a campus-wide email to fill out an anonymous survey regarding sexual violence on campus. The email, sent by Provost Lisa Lynch and Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel, described the campus climate survey as “the appropriate tool to assess the Brandeis culture in this area [of sexual misconduct].” In an email to the Justice, Lynch wrote that the climate survey is similar to surveys administered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Yale University and Boston University and was developed with guidance from the First Report of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault that was issued
See SURVEY, 7 ☛
Guidance from Grads
Strong pitching
Divestment report
This week justFeatures profiled seven members of the Class of 2015 who are doing unique things after graduation.
The baseball team won the final two games of the weekend to salvage a difficult week.
The University's Exploratory Committee on Fossil Fuels has released its final report.
FEATURES 8-9
For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
in April 2014. The survey was anonymous so no administrators would be able to identify individual student responses. It also included trigger warnings for sexual assault and asked students to define their gender identity. The main part of the survey covered a wide range of questions related to sexual assault in the Brandeis community, including asking for student definitions of what constitutes consent, what constitutes rape or sexual assault and how well they believe the University handles such incidents. The survey also asked students willing to do so to detail their own experiences with sexual misconduct on campus: either personal experiences or witnessed incidents, such as harassment, stalking, sexual assault and incidents of bystander intervention. According to Lynch, a campuswide task force comprised of faculty, staff and students has been working for the past year to evaluate the University’s policies, response and prevention efforts in relation to sexual assault and misconduct on
Let your voice be heard! Submit letters to the editor online at www.thejustice.org
INDEX
SPORTS 16 ARTS SPORTS
17 13
EDITORIAL FEATURES
10 9
OPINION POLICE LOG
10 2
News 3 COPYRIGHT 2015 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
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TUESDAY, April 28, 2015
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THE JUSTICE
NEWS WIRE BRIEF
Study rules out link between autism and MMR vaccine even in at-risk kids At least a dozen major studies have found that early childhood vaccines do not cause autism. But one possibility remained: that immunizations could cause the disorder in a small group of children who were already primed to develop the disorder. Now, new research has ruled that possibility out as well. A study of nearly 100,000 children found that toddlers known to have an elevated risk of autism were no more likely to be diagnosed with the disorder if they were vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella than if they weren’t. What’s more, the diagnosis rate for high-risk children who were vaccinated was the same as for immunized children with no family history of the disorder, according to the report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. By hunting for and failing to find a link between the MMR vaccine and autism spectrum disorders, or ASD, in children with an older sibling who had the disease, the study leaves no doubt that the two are not connected, experts said. But the vocal minority of parents who contend that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism aren’t likely to be swayed, said Dr. James Cherry, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who wasn’t involved in the new research.“Eight million studies are not going to convince people,” he said. The idea that vaccines cause autism goes back to a 1998 study in the medical journal Lancet that described 12 young children with autism-like symptoms. Eight of those children started having behavioral problems after they got the MMR vaccine, according to their parents. That study was retracted in 2010 after its lead author, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, was found to have falsified his research. Yet his claims continue to stoke the anti-vaccination movement. Public health officials in the state say low vaccination rates, especially in five geographical clusters, are almost certain to spur new outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. The findings should reassure parents that even if they have a child with ASD, it is safe to vaccinate his or her siblings, King wrote. At the same time, the results help “move the field forward toward a more focused and productive search for more temporal and environmental factors that contribute to autism risk.”
POLICE LOG Medical Emergency
Apr. 19—University Psych staff requested an ambulance for a party in the Foster Mods. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital by Cataldo ambulance with the assistance of police. Apr. 19—University Police received a report of a party in Massell Quad with a knee injury. BEMCo treated the party, and University Police transported the party to NewtonWellesley Hospital for further care. Apr. 19—BEMCo standby crew at the carnival on Chapel’s Field reported they were treating a person with a shoulder injury. Apr. 21—University Police received a report of an elderly party off-campus feeling ill. BEMCo and Cataldo ambulance treated the party on the scene with a signed refusal for further care. Apr. 21—University Police received a report of a party near Goldman-Schwartz Art Studios who had a laceration
on their hand from a nail. BEMCo treated the party on the scene with a signed refusal for further care. Apr. 21—University Police received a call from a reporting party near the Rabb Steps that their friend was hit in the head with a lamppost. Police notified BEMCo, but the party refused medical attention. Apr. 21—University Police received a call of a party in East Quad suffering from an allergic reaction. BEMCo treated the party on the scene with a signed refusal for further care. Apr. 22—A party in the Charles River Apartments requested BEMCo for an infected ear lobe. BEMCo treated the party and police transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Apr. 23—University Police received a call of two parties who collided in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. BEMCo treated both parties on the scene and Police transported one to NewtonWellelsey Hospital for further
care. Apr. 26—Police received a report of a party in the Hassenfeld Conference Center who was vomiting in the bathroom. The party was treated on the scene by BEMCo and Cataldo ambulance with a signed refusal for further care.
Larceny
Apr. 20—A party in the Usdan Student Center forgot their laptop and returned to find it missing. University Police compiled a report on the incident. Apr. 22—University Police complied a report on larceny of a desktop computer from the Heller School. Apr. 23—A party in Usen Castle reported their computer was stolen from their unlocked room. University Police compiled a report on the incident. Apr. 24—A sculpture was taken from Fellows Garden. University Police compiled a report on the incident.
Disturbance
REFLECTING ON THE PAST
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS n A News article incorrectly stated that Trayvon Martin was killed in Ferguson, Mo. Martin was killed in Sanford, Flo. (Apr. 21, pg. 3) n An editorial stated that Special Examiners are appointed by the Dean of Students’ office. Special Examiners are appointed by the Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment. (Apr. 21, pg. 10) n The masthead listed Michelle Banayan and Mihir Khanna as Photography Editors. They are Acting Photography Editors. (Apr. 21, pg. 10) n A photo caption in Arts did not identify that the top photo was a photo illustration. (Apr. 21, pg. 19) n An editorial did not clarify that the Dean of Students’ Office cannot rule on cases where a conflict of interest is present. (Apr. 21, pg. 10) n An Arts article incorrectly stated that Bethlehem Seifu ’16 appeared in the monologue “My Short Skirt” in the Vagina Monologues. LaQuasia Cherry ’17 and Michelle Richardson ’15 performed the monologue. (Apr. 21, pg. 20)
The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Email editor@ thejustice.org.
Justice
the
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Apr. 19—University Police received a complaint about the harassment of van drivers. Police compiled a report on the incident with an investigation to follow.
Other
Apr. 23—A University Police staff member reported an active restraining order informational report was composed. Apr. 23—Police received a call from a party in the Shapiro Science Center who observed two people sitting on a hill outside and one looking like they were attempting to strangle the other. University Police checked the area and were unable to locate the parties. —compiled by Avi Gold
Alumnus wins Pulitzer Prize
The Justice will not be printing during the week of May 4th.
n An arts article incorrectly stated that Joyce Situ ’17 choreographed the dance “Pompeii.” “Pompeii” was choreographed by Meredith van der Walde ’15 and Alyssa Katzoff ’15. (Apr. 21, pg. 23)
Harassment
BRIEF
—Tribune News Service
n An arts article incorrectly spelled Shaquan McDowell’s ’18 name as Shauna MacDowell. (Apr. 21, pg. 21)
Apr. 24—University Police received a complaint that a DCL-sponsored barbeque in North Quad had music that was too loud. The parties were advised to lower the music without incident.
MORGAN BRILL/the Justice
Rosanne Libretti ’14 (left) looked on as Samuel Hagop Chakmakjian ’17 (right) spoke at the vigil last Wednesday to commemorate the victims of the Armenian genocide that took place 100 years ago.
David Kertzer Ph.D. ’74 won a Pulitzer Prize in biography for his recent book “The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe.” According to an April 21 BrandeisNOW article, Kertzer credits former University anthropology department chair Alex Weingrod “for steering him toward the study of Italy back in 1969” during his time at Brandeis and for being his mentor. “It was my experience at Brandeis that set me on the path to Italy,” Kertzer told BrandeisNOW. Kertzer’s book explores the lives of both Pope Pius XI and Benito Mussolini and the ways in which their actions in the Catholic Church and in Italy’s fascist government intertwined. The book, which relies largely on archives that were unreleased until 2002, “challenges the commonly accepted narrative that the Catholic Church fought heroically against the Italian fascists in the 1920s and 30s,” according to NPR. Kertzer’s book details how the Pope “cooperated closely” with Mussolini for more than a decade, “lending his regime organizational strength and moral legitimacy.” According to BrandeisNOW, this is the second year in a row that a Brandeis alumnus has won a Pulitzer prize—Historian Alan Taylor Ph.D. ’86 won his second Pulitzer prize in history last year for his work “The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832.” The article also lists journalists Thomas Friedman ’75 and Margo Jefferson ’68 as notable University alumni who have received Pulitzers, as well as historian and scholar David Oshinsky, Ph.D. ’71. Kertzer is a Paul R. Dupee Jr. University Professor of Social Science and professor of anthropology and Italian studies at Brown University. He previously taught at Bowdoin College. Kertzer is currently on sabbatical from the university and is working on a book about the Roman Revolution of 1848. Additionally, filmmaker Steven Spielberg “plans to turn Kertzer’s 1997 work The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, into a film,” according to the BrandeisNOW article. “This is a happy time,” Kertzer told BrandeisNOW. —Rachel Sharer
ANNOUNCEMENTS Lincoln and the Jews: A History
This event will feature a special celebration of Prof. Jonathan D. Sarna’s (NEJS) ’75 recently released book “Lincoln and The Jews: A History.” The program will include remarks both from University President Frederick Lawrence and from Sarna. Attendees must RSVP through the Office of Alumni Relations. Tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Theater.
April 29 and April 30. The Rooftop Farm will consist of 1,500 milk crates on the rooftop of Gerstenzang Science Library growing produce such as strawberries, kale, broccoli and tomatoes.Volunteers will line 1,500 milk crates, fill them with soil, set up a drip irrigation system and plant. All Brandeis and Waltham community members are welcome. Tomorrow and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the rooftop of Gerstenzang Science Library.
Midnight Buffet
Joseph J. Levitan Lecture in Visual Sciences
A midnight buffet hosted by the Student Union will celebrate the last day of classes for the semester. There will be free food and T-shirts and two guests will recieve special gifts. Tonight at midnight in Levin Ballroom.
Rooftop Farm Build Day
Join Farmers Club to help build and plant the Brandeis Rooftop Community Farm on
Professor Gina Turrigiano will give a talk titled “Self-Tuning Neurons and Brain Stability.” This lecture focuses on the brain and discusses emerging evidence that neurons and circuits within the central nervous system accomplish remarkable feats through a set of “homeostatic” plasticity mechanisms that allow neurons to sense how active they are and to adjust their properties to maintain stable firing.
Thursday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Rapaporte Treasure Hall.
Portuguese Cultural Heritage in South Asia
This event will feature two speakers. The first speaker will be Professor Filipe Themudo Barata from the department of history at the University of Évora, who will give a lecture titled “When the World Was a Place of the Unknown and Vasco da Gama United the East and the West.” The second speaker will be Professor João Magalhães Rocha from the department of architecture at the University of Évora, who will give a lecture titled “A Heritage Memory: the Portuguese Architectural Settlements on the Indian West Coast.” This event is part of the Soli Sorabjee Lecture Series in South Asian Studies, sponsored by the BrandeisIndia Initiative and South Asian Studies Program. Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Shapiro Admissions Center Presentation Room.
THE JUSTICE
ADMINISTRATION
the dangers of climate change and suggests responsible solutions. By ABBY PATKIN JUSTICE EDITOR
The University’s Exploratory Committee on Fossil Fuel has released its final report on fossil fuel divestment, according to an email sent to the community on Friday by President Frederick Lawrence and Provost Lisa Lynch. The report recommended sociallyresponsible investing as a leading option for achieving the University’s carbon-footprint objectives. According to the email, Lawrence formed the committee two years ago to “analyze the social and environmental impacts of fossilfuel companies and to understand the potential effects of divestment on the Brandeis endowment.” Written by a group of professors, Ph.D. candidates and undergraduates, the 173 page report discusses and argues for fossil fuel divestment. The report drew upon case studies at other universities—including Harvard—to make the case for fossil fuel divestment at Brandeis. Consequentially, the report suggests Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing as a plausible option for working toward the University’s carbon footprint goals. While the report acknowledges the University’s fiduciary responsibilities, it argues that investing in companies with smaller carbon footprints will benefit the school in the long run and help it attain its environmental objectives. The University will use the report’s findings to “engage in a wider discussion of how to responsibly move forward on such an important issue of our time,” the email said. Additionally, the email noted, the University’s new full-time sustainability manager will begin work in July and will begin measuring the University’s carbon footprint and encouraging reduction and eventual divestment from fossil fuels through 2020. Committee member Philip Wight, an environmental history Ph.D. candidate, wrote in an email to the Justice that the points made in the report are short and blunt, in the hopes of making the message of the report clear. “What science is telling us about climate disruption is serious and
this is going to be the fight of our generation,” he wrote. “The report shows that business as usual is not acceptable, and the University should not continue to invest blindly in only those energy companies that make the highest returns.” “Brandeis has a responsibility to its students and its stakeholders to align its investments with what it teaches its students and its social justice mission,” Wight wrote. Lawrence and Lynch’s email announcement also underscored the importance of the report both now and in the future. “The committee’s report emphasizes the imminent dangers of climate change and the need for action consistent with Brandeis’ mission. It suggests that an endowment reflective of concerns about climate change might be achievable without sacrificing performance or increasing risk,” it read. According to the announcement email, the report will be discussed during the May 14 faculty meeting. Moving forward, the University may hire an outside consulting firm to get a second opinion about divesting from fossil fuels, as is recommended in the proposal. However, “no decisions have been made yet,” according to Wight. The University will likely consult with a firm like TruCost, which was also mentioned in the proposal. Ultimately, Wight said, the decision is up to the Board. According to the email, the administration now hopes to work with students to collectively discuss both initiatives and strategies for environmentally sustainable behavior and also has plans to work with student leadership in the organization of several forums in the fall to “discuss the merits of modifying our investment policies as well as the direct actions we can take to reduce our carbon consumption.” Wight also supports the notion of divestment being a community effort. “Divestment is not the only tactic, but it’s a very powerful one, and one that the University community should discuss, debate, and ‘strongly consider’ in the words of the Committee,” Wight wrote. “Our energy investments are literally shaping the climate of tomorrow—and Brandeis students, faculty, and alumni need to ask themselves if they believe its right for our endowment to be profiting from those firms which are most responsible for the climate crisis,” Wight wrote.
HEATHER SCHILLER/the Justice
University community marches for awareness in “Take Back the Night”
■ The march last Tuesday sought to raise awareness of the problem of sexual assault on campuses. JUSTICE EDITOR
Judy Glasser has been appointed as the University’s interim senior vice president for communications and began working in her position on Wednesday, according to an email from Glasser to the Justice. The announcement came in an email on Thursday from University President Frederick Lawrence and Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Lisa Lynch. As the interim senior vice president for communications, Glasser will “oversee all Brandeis activities related to media relations, University publications, websites and official social media channels, and creative services,” according to the email. She succeeds former Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid, who resigned from her position in August 2014, according to a Sept. 27 Justice article. Since de Graffenreid’s dearture, Senior Vice President
for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel has filled the position of interim senior vice president for communications for the past nine months, according to the email sent to the community by Lawrence and Lynch. Glasser has most recently served as the senior vice president of communications at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which is a teaching hospital in Boston that is associated with Harvard medical school, according to the email. Additionally, Glasser has served as the vice president of communications at the Massachusetts Hospital Association and was previously a consultant at a Boston-based public-affairs firm. Glasser was unable to interview with the Justice this weekend due to engagements out of town. Flagel and Executive Director of Integrated Media Bill Schaller declined requests for comment. —Max Moran
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SOLIDARITY: Students hold candles at the “Take Back the Night” event to show support for the survivors of sexual assault.
By ABBY PATKIN
BRIEF University appoints interim senior VP for communications
TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015
STANDING WITH SURVIVORS
Committee releases divestment report on fossil fuels ■ The report emphasizes
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On Tuesday night, community members gathered on Rabb steps for a cross-campus march focused on discussing and eliminating sexual and domestic violence, titled “Take Back the Night.” The event was sponsored by Students Talking About Relationships, the Brandeis Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and the Brandeis Rape Crisis Center. Take Back the Night is a nonprofit organization and an international event that began in Europe and came to the United States in the late 1960s, according to the organization’s website. The University has held “Take Back the Night” walks on campus since 2005. “Since the 1970s in the United States, TBTN has focused on eliminating sexual and domestic violence in all forms,” the website reads in its description of the organization. “Thousands of colleges, domestic violence shelters, and rape crisis centers have held events all over the country.” At the top of Rabb steps, participants were given lit candles as student coordinators and administrators spoke to the crowd of more than a hundred. In attendance were Dean of Students Jamele Adams, Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel, Sexual Assault Services and Prevention Specialist Sheila McMahon, Provost Lisa Lynch and Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes. To begin the
march, student leaders of STAR, FMLA and the RCC explained to the crowd that the walk would take them through all the quads, ending on the Great Lawn in front of the Shapiro Campus Center. During the stops in each of the quads, the circle would be open for anyone who wanted to share stories about themselves or others or present statistics on sexual violence, the students said. Next, a few of the administrators in attendance addressed the crowd, discussing both the importance of the march and noting the various resources available to students, including the Rape Crisis Center and the Psychological Counseling Center, among others. “Taking back the night is where we take action, where we take back power over fear and a lot of other things associated with sexual assault,” Lynch said. “This is a special evening. Let’s take back some power.” “We walk both in solidarity with the survivors of sexual assault and some of us as victims of sexual assault,” McMahon said. Student leaders then instructed the crowd to chant, “Stop the violence, keep the fight, we are stronger, take back the night,” as they made their way to North Quad. Once the group was standing in the middle of the quad, they yelled, “Hey North Quad, take back the night,” three times. Several students stepped up to share stories of their own past experiences with sexual violence and the impact it has left on them. “What worries me is that he still walks around campus, preying for another victim,” one student said. Others spoke of “institutional betrayal” during the investigation and hearing processes, discussing how they felt the University did
not support them and help them as it should have. Specifically, many students mentioned that their attackers were able to remain on campus and have their verdicts overturned through the appeals process. In East Quad, more students addressed the crowd with statistics and accounts of sexual violence. One student told of being raped at a party during her freshman year. She described remaining silent for several years, unable to discuss her experience. For years, she said, she dismissed the sexual assault with jokes and suffered alone, subsequently feeling like she was not allowed to seek help when she decided to share her story. Of this experience, she stated, she learned that every victim has a right to ask for help at any time. “Silence does not make you ineligible to seek support and help,” she said. Another student described feeling disconnected after her experience with sexual violence. “I long for the day I can express genuine happiness,” she said. “When will I feel like myself again?” The crowd chanted, “Shatter the silence, stop the violence,” and, “The culture needs to change and it needs to change now” as it marched through Rosenthal Quad and Massell Quad, respectively. At the end of the night, McMahon addressed the crowd, likening being the victim of sexual violence to being stuck in winter, “being cold and in the dark [and] fearful and alone.” “Remember that regardless of how cold and dark the winter inside of us may make us feel … that spring always comes,” McMahon said. “When we stand together, violence cannot live.”
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TUESDAY, April 28, 2015
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THE JUSTICE
PAnel
ADDRESSING ACTIVISM
Profs talk research and liberal arts ■ A panel of current and
former professors discussed what it means to be a liberal arts research University. By NIKKI NIKOVA JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
GRACE KWON/the Justice
PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL: Chomsky spoke on several different topics, including the Vietnam war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Chomsky gives lecture on current and past foreign political issues ■ Noam Chomsky
addressed his concerns about the current IsraeliPalestinian conflict. By RACHEL SHARER JUSTICE EDITOR
Noam Chomsky, considered to be one of the most prominent public intellectuals in the world, spoke at the University on Thursday in a lecture titled “Activism from Vietnam to Palestine.” Chomsky is a well-known linguist, philosopher, political commentator and political and social justice activist. Currently, Chomsky is an outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy. He was voted the world’s leading public intellectual in a 2005 poll, according to Prof. Gordon Fellman (SOC), who gave the introduction for the event. Chomsky began his lecture by talking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in reverse-chronological order. Chomsky discussed the Human Rights Watch’s latest report on Israel, released on April 13, which addressed what the report describes as the illegal use of Palestinian children for agricultural labor in illegal Israeli settlements. He noted that this information has not received coverage in the American press. In reaction to this, Chomsky said that in his opinion, individuals need to make value judgments on current American policies. “Should we be concerned that we are providing support for [Israeli policies]?” Chomsky said. “Should we be concerned that the press is keeping this quiet?” Chomsky said that “Israel used to be one of the most admired countries in the world,” but now, according to Chomsky, it is “one of the most feared and hated countries in the world,” with the U.S. as its most supportive ally.
Chomsky said that this is not due to an increase in anti-Semitism but is a reaction to Israeli policies toward Palestine, which he described as “vicious, brutal and criminal.” He went on to discuss Israel’s recent history, starting with what he described as the turning point for Israeli support and policy change—in fall 1971 when Israel “chose expansion over security” by “continuing to occupy illegal territory” when they rejected a proposed peace treaty from Egypt. The United States backed Israel’s decision, and Chomsky says that this “fateful decision by Israel” is “what directly led” to 1973’s Yom Kippur War. Moving forward, Chomsky told the audience, Israel’s foreign policy decisions and the “catastrophe of American diplomacy” have only gotten worse, creating a “pattern of violence.” He addressed Israeli actions toward Gaza starting in 2005 and leading up to the conflict in Gaza last summer, as well as the “illegal occupation of territories” that he says Israel “is alone in denying.” Chomsky then discussed the similarities and differences between Israel and South Africa during apartheid. Chomsky stated that the analogy of apartheid in South Africa and apartheid in Israel today is “not accurate.” However, he said the “crucial similarity” between Israel and South Africa is the strong U.S. support for both. Chomsky said that just as the U.S. supports Israeli policies today, they also supported South African policies during apartheid for many years, “despite the protest movements that arose” against this under the Reagan administration. Chomsky then discussed Vietnam and moved his focus to the rise of protest movements and how they affected U.S. policy. Chomsky chronicled the rise of protests in 1965 when South Vietnam was attacked by U.S. troops, including the International Day of
Protest held in October of that year, and a second International Day of Protest held in 1966. Chomsky said that it wasn’t until 1967, however, that a “substantial protest movement developed” alongside the resistance movement as people refused to join the war. In 1968, Chomsky said that support for the war diminished even further and more protests arose. According to Chomsky, President Johnson wanted to send more troops to Vietnam but was advised against it so that there would be troops still present in the U.S. to control the civil unrest and protests that might potentially “get out of hand.” Following the war, Chomsky said that statistics showed that two thirds of the American population said that the war was not only a “mistake,” but was “fundamentally wrong and immoral.” In 1981, President Reagan was dissuaded from invading Central America due to “immediate public uproar” at the decision. This, Chomsky said, shows “the contribution of activism” to U.S. politics. Finally, Chomsky addressed recent foreign conflicts, including the 1999 East Timor conflict, the 2003 invasion of Iraq and, again, the current U.S. support of Israel. In discussing the invasion of Iraq, which Chomsky described as “the worst crime of this millennia,” he said that the nature of activism was changing; this time, Chomsky said, public protests began before the actual invasion, indicating the growing strength and power of activism. Regarding Israel, Chomsky concluded by saying that the U.S. policy toward the Middle East and backing for Israeli policies will probably not change “without substantial activism” taking place. The event was sponsored by the Sociology department, the Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies program and the Social Justice and Social Policy program.
On Wednesday evening, University faculty and deans organized a panel in honor of University President Fredrick Lawrence’s five years at Brandeis titled “The Liberal Arts Research University in the 21st Century.” Moderated by Lawrence, the panel featured four current and retired members of the Brandeis faculty – Profs. Robin Feuer Miller (GRALL), Sarah Lamb (ANTH), Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Eric Chasalow (MUS) and Prof. Emeritus Greg Petsko (BCHM). Each panelist was asked to present his or her view on what it means to be a liberal arts research university, a topic that Lawrence has been interested in during his time as president. Following a brief introduction by Provost Lisa Lynch, the panelists began their presentations. Miller focused on the meaning and value of a liberal arts education. She stated that a university is often the best setting for students to learn, think and experiment, arguing that a “liberal arts education with a strong research component is a precious commodity.” However, Miller also argued that students should not view themselves strictly as consumers of a commodity but should instead see that a “solid liberal arts education endows students with a well-roundedness … for encountering life’s myriad of challenges.” She defines well-rounded students as those who “strive to present themselves as… well versed in a variety of subjects … and dare to explore … their own pathways [and] to conduct their own research.” Petsko spoke of the uniqueness and value of the liberal arts university. Petsko began by describing a recent tour he took of several liberal arts colleges in the United States, including Union College, Elon University and Swarthmore College. Each, he said, was “absolutely in awe of Brandeis.” He stated that Brandeis is in a unique position of “having the best of both worlds”—being a research university while also offering a liberal arts
education. Petsko argued that this combination allows Brandeis to have both “cutting-edge research” and professors who teach undergraduate students. According to Petsko, this model of education “is a balancing act … which is never complete; we are constantly rocking back and forth … the process never ends, you never completely balance … you try to balance [but] it’s the act of trying that matters … the belief that balance is worth striving for.” Lamb said that she believes the center of liberal arts is “making the strange familiar and the familiar strange.” Lamb then gave the example of a biologist studying an unfamiliar disease in order to understand it and make it familiar. Lamb used these examples to illustrate how this statement is integral to each field the liberal arts. She concluded her presentation by discussing Brandeis’ roots in ethnic and religious diversity, stating that “this is at the heart liberal arts research university: the diversity of people and ideas.” The final speaker of the evening was Chasalow, who discussed how the arts “brings something to our experience of the world.” Chasalow began by speaking of the excitement of the Music department when Lawrence, a former French horn player, was inaugurated because he “would understand how the arts bring something invaluable to one’s experience.” Chasalow discussed that an arts major and career are often viewed as impractical and risky but that both he and Lawrence strongly oppose this view. He further argued that a liberal arts education is indeed practical and cited statistics which demonstrate a higher earning potential for those with a liberal arts education. After each of the panelists had spoken, Lawrence spoke briefly about his time at Brandeis. He described his meetings with Brandeis alumni and urged students to remember that “you are an undergrad for four years, but you are alumni for the rest of your life.” He also responded to each of the panelists, praising and commenting on their speeches. Lawrence concluded the evening by stating that “Brandeis is not a name to be given, but a name to be earned … [it’s] an ongoing process to [earn it].”
BRIEF The Justice elects new editor in chief for 2015-2016 year Last Tuesday evening, the Justice elected Max Moran ’17 as its editor in chief for the 2015 to 2016 academic year. The Justice’s editorial committee and staff members held an election where they questioned Moran about his time and involvement with the paper and his goals for his upcoming term as editor in chief of The Justice. The staff took a closed ballot vote, and the editorial committee met immediately after the vote to cast their own closed ballot votes and confirm the results. Moran was elected unanimously. “My time at the Justice has been wonderful,” Moran said in an interview. “It’s been one of the most important, one of the best things I’ve done—I would say the best thing I’ve done with my Brandeis career,” Moran stated. “I’m really looking forward to working with the staff and putting out a great paper over the next year.” Moran joined the Justice at the beginning of his first year at Brandeis as a writer for the Forum section. He soon became the Forum
section editor, a position which he held for a year before being voted up to deputy editor. During his tenure as editor in chief, Moran hopes to reexamine current reporting practices and improve on seeveral processes. “I want to consider new newsgathering techniques for the next year, to diversify some of the ways we do business. I want to be more proactive and reach out to people before events break in order to gather information,” Moran said in an interview. “I want to increase our use of online polling so it can serve as a data-gathering resource, so we can incorporate that into our reporting.” He also hopes to work to increase recruitment efforts for all sections of the newspaper for next semester. Moran succeeds Rachel Hughes ’15 as editor in chief of the paper. During Hughes’ tenure in the position, she led a committee of editors to create the Justice’s inaugural Code of Ethics. Her other accomplishments include decreasing print circulation of the paper and overseeing the completion of a new website for the Justice.
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Campus Speaker
Kaufer speaks on entrepreneurship
■ TripAdvisor CEO Stephen
Kaufer spoke to students about launching startups and succeeding in business. By Tzlil Levy JUSTICE Staff Writer
On Wednesday, founder and CEO of TripAdvisor Stephen Kaufer spoke about his experience building a million-user website in an event titled “Turning a Frustrating Experience Into A Business.” The event was sponsored by the Hiatt Career Center. Kaufer spoke to about 150 students about how he got the idea for TripAdvisor, his struggles keeping the business running and what he sees as TripAdvisor’s greatest strengths. He also shared his three biggest pieces of business advice for new entrepreneurs. TripAdvisor allows customers to write reviews of hotels. Hotels felt hesitant that negative reviews would hurt their services, so TripAdvisor started giving hotel owners the ability to respond to users and give their side of the story, giving “credibility to the site,” according to Kaufer. TripAdvisor has over 315 million visitors a month and 10 to 20 million visitors a day, 75 percent of which are international clients. TripAdvisor also acquired other companies and brands, as well as “new markets,” in the hotel, restaurant and attraction sectors. Andrea Dine, executive director of the Hiatt Career Center, introduced Kaufer, noting that TripAdvisor has a
reported revenue of over $1 billion and has about 3,000 employees. Dine mentioned the similarities between TripAdvisor and the University, among them the “spirit of entrepreneurship,” and TripAdvisor’s owl logo, which is similar to Brandeis’ mascot, Ollie. “The real idea behind TripAdvisor was how I avoided the doghouse by doing a little research planning a trip and actually picking the right hotel,” Kaufer began. In 1998, Kaufer reached out to a travel agent to help plan a vacation for him and his family. The travel agent handed Kaufer brochures on resorts in Mexico, ranging from inexpensive to moderately priced to expensive. His wife wanted to check the resorts before booking to see the differences between the prices. After researching online, the Kaufers finally found “the other picture” of the inexpensive resort, as Kaufer described it, which showed a lousy wooden chair on sand, and caused the family to upgrade. After this experience, Kaufer found the time to start up a company “to help travelers around the world plan and have the perfect trip.” Kaufer said he wanted the company to be “unbiased [and] truthful” by letting users post reviews and help users decide on destinations and activities. Kaufer spoke to five or six venture capitalists who dismissed his idea, thinking it would never work. The venture capitalists believed that most reviews would be negative as clients discussed the bad experiences of their trips. They also questioned the company’s ability to grow, and they doubted the company’s
ability to make money. Kaufer told the audience that the venture capitalists contributed to his depressing feeling, and he noted that most business ideas do not work. According to Kaufer, even though we hear about the successes, there are “a lot of failures behind the scenes. ... That’s the entrepreneurial way. You’re going to have some misses before you have a hit.” Kaufer said that although Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook did not have any failures, Kaufer had three failures before TripAdvisor launched. Finally, one firm gave the company a small amount of money that helped TripAdvisor get started. In discussing the reviews his company has received, Kaufer said the ratings on his website show that 4.1 out of 5 have a great time on vacation. In order to make money, TripAdvisor’s business model relies on online transactions. Hotels pay a lead fee for every reservation on TripAdvisor. They also pay TripAdvisor “cost-per-click” when someone books a hotel on TripAdvisor. Regarding restaurants, TripAdvisor makes more money on banner ads on its site because the company does not “sell restaurant reservations in most cases.” Kaufer said that he is a “hard-wired, Type A” and shared some of the challenges that he thinks about regarding the future of the business. TripAdvisor makes sure to have instant booking, customer personalization and a mobile app for its users in order to retain
DISCUSSING BUSINESS
JEREMY PERLMAN/the Justice
ADVISING ENTREPRENEURS: TripAdvisor CEO Stephen Kaufer encourages students to continue brainstorming and tinkering on business ideas despite setbacks. the customers. TripAdvisor recently expanded to China, and the company has had to do a lot of work in order to acquire the travel market. Kaufer also shared several of his favorite quotes on how entrepreneurs can succeed. Kaufer first said that “speed wins,” suggesting that within a company, entrepreneurs should get from one point to the other in as little time as possible in order to get things
Student Activism
TAKING THE PODIUM
Vigil recognizes victims of Armenian Genocide ■ Students gathered in
remembrance of the one hundredth anniversary of the start of the Genocide. By Arianna Unger JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
AMANDA NGUYEN/the Justice
SHARING INITIATIVES: Newly sworn-in Student Union President Nyah Macklin ’16 discusses her plans for next year’s agenda.
SU holds State of the Union ■ The Student Union
addressed achievements and initiatives in its spring State of the Union address. By Rachel Sharer JUSTICE Editor
Last Wednesday, the Student Union held their spring semester State of the Union, during which outgoing Student Union President Sneha Walia ’15 outlined the Union’s accomplishments and swore in new members. Walia began by addressing the purpose and goals of the Union. Walia said that while all members of the Brandeis community—administrators, alumni, parents, faculty and students—are valued, the students themselves “provide the most critical voice.” “Brandeis students deserve involvement in all areas of the institution,” Walia said, stressing that the Union is there to help do just that. However, Walia said that it can also feel as if students “rank behind other interested and invested parties” at times, and that their passions and wants are put aside. Walia acknowledged that while some things are not financially feasible for the University, there are “some wants that are not optional” to implement, which “students need and are entitled to.” She said that during the controversies that have arisen over the past few years, “it should always be the role of the University to make sure students are protected and informed during difficult times.” The Union, Walia said, is what can
serve as an “advocate” for students in these instances. Furthermore, Walia stressed that the Union is not intended to be an “administrative mouthpiece,” but rather intended to link the administration to the students to facilitate conversation and action. In order to come up with solutions to problems that arise between students and administrators, Walia said both parties must fully analyze why miscommunications might occur and why there is tension between students and administrators. Once we analyze this, Walia said, then the University community will have the “potential to bring the administration, board of trustees … and students together.” Walia then addressed the Presidential Search Committee and her upcoming role as the student representative on the committee. She said it is “critical” for students to voice their opinions throughout the search process and be fully involved. “We cannot afford to be ignored,” she said. Lastly, Walia addressed both University and Union achievements accomplished over the past year. University achievements included the opening of the Rape Crisis Center—a student-led initiative—and the Catalyst Fund, a scholarship fundraising initiative committed to granting students affordable education. Union achievements included ’Deis Impact, ’Deis Day, amendments to bylaws, round table discussions with administrators on various issues and an updated website, as well as many achievements by individual senators. President-elect Nyah Macklin ’16
done quickly. Kaufer also advised caution on the hiring process, saying, “hire slowly, fire quickly.” Finally, he advised that although people do not like change, people should “embrace change, and reinvent when times are good.” Kaufer is a Brandeis parent to alumnus Harry Kaufer (’13). He is also a recipient of the 2005 Ernest & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” award.
was then invited up to be officially sworn in as the new Student Union President. Macklin was formerly in the Union as the Class of 2016 Senator. After being sworn in, Macklin spoke about her goals for the future of the Student Union. “I want to debunk a common narrative that has plagued our student body for years,” Macklin said. “The Student Union is not here to protect the administration … we are here to empower you.” Macklin stressed that it is important for the administration to realize how much students care about the University and allow students to work with them on improving its policies. Macklin then addressed issues on campus that she hopes to improve. First, Macklin said that she hopes to bridge the gap between the “societal norms that continue to divide our student body along ethnic, socio-economic, racial [and] sexual lines.” She also addressed recent contentious issues on campus such as the closing of Cholmondeley’s Coffee House and the near-moving of the Women’s Resource Center, stressing that communication is important to resolving these issues and that students must “trust that [the] Union is here to advocate” for student needs. Macklin also said she hopes to increase this transparency, starting with the new Student Union website which will disclose how the budget is used, as well as the duties and responsibilities of each Union member. The ceremony concluded with Macklin swearing in the Fall 2015 Student Union members.
Last Wednesday, candles illuminated the dim Alumni Lounge in memory of the millions who died 100 years ago. Amnesty International, in collaboration with STAND, organized a poignant vigil to commemorate victims of the Armenian Genocide—an atrocity which began around this time of year in 1915. The co-presidents of Amnesty International, Shikha Chandarana ’17 and Christa Caggiano ’17, began by asking all attendees to stand in a circle and hold their plastic candles in the air. A number of students who had prepared remarks for the vigil then proceeded to speak in sequence. Rebecca Ottinger ’15, who is halfArmenian, explained how her greatgrandparents had fled from the Ottoman Turks—the genocide’s perpetrators—during the heart of the Genocide. She told the story of how a Muslim family hid her great-grandmother and ultimately enabled her and her family to escape Armenia. Ottinger then recited a poem titled “Vigil for Darfur” by Sabina Carlson which illustrated the incomprehensible nature of the massacre. Michael Abrams ’15 and Chandarana then both read eyewitness accounts of individuals who observed the terrors of the genocide. The storytellers graphically described the torture and mistreatment undergone by the Armenian Christians. Vardges Tserunyan ’17, born in Armenia, then presented some facts about the Armenian Genocide to the students in the room. He stated that the genocide began in 1914 and reached its peak in 1915. By its conclusion, the Ottoman Turks had murdered approximately 1.5 million Armenian Christians—at the time about three-quarters of the population. Tserunyan then discussed the ongoing phenomenon of Armenian Genocide denial and its lasting effects on the Armenian people. He explained how, for many years, the Turks and Soviets (who maintained a close alliance with each other) persecuted individuals who spoke up about the genocide. He posited that these nations, among many others, refused
to recognize the incidence of the genocide because they wanted to avoid having to pay territorial and financial reparations for the estimated $46 billion of damage. He explained how, to this day, Turkey’s government argues that the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians were unintentional and that the massacres were simply an unfortunate consequence of World War I. Tserunyan mentioned that it was not until 1965, 48 years after the genocide’s end, that the Armenians organized a protest against the Soviet government demanding that it officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. He stated that this protest marked the beginning of a worldwide movement to recognize the genocide, with Uruguay being the first nation to formally recognize the event. He commended Pope Francis for his condemnation of the Armenian Genocide on April 12 and the European Parliament’s subsequent recognition of the genocide three days later. Tserunyan did, however, express his disappointment in the United States and Turkey, who to this day still refuse to officially recognize the Turks’ culpability in perpetrating the genocide. The room then focused its attention on Samuel Hagop Chakmakjian ’17. Samuel, born to an Armenian family, explained how all eight of his great-grandparents were Ottoman Armenians, seven of whom lived in Armenia at the time of the genocide. He also spoke about how his parents, grandparents and great-grandmother frequently told him stories about the atrocities his relatives experienced. Chakmakjian shook his head as he voiced his frustration with the international leaders who refuse to recognize the genocide. “The leaders who refuse to recognize the Armenian Genocide don’t understand that these memories still follow us around. What we call the ‘Great Catastrophe’ follows us into every room. The book is never actually closed,” he articulated. Caggiano then read Pope Francis’ statement from April 12, where he openly recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide, calling it the “first genocide of the 20th century.” This was followed by two minutes of silence in commemoration of the victims who perished. Following the service, the event coordinators served an authentic Armenian dinner, which they said was purchased from an Armenian market in Cambridge.
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THE JUSTICE
ADDRESSING STEREOTYPES
Brandeis Labor Coalition sends out employment referendum
MIHIR KHANNA/the Justice
The Brandeis Asian American Student Association put signs going up the Rabb steps this week that list racial comments and address common stereotypes.
The Brandeis Labor Coalition has gained enough signatures from the Student Union Senate to send its Just Employment Policy Referendum to the student body, according to an email sent to the community yesterday by former Student Union vice president Charlotte Franco ’15. “In keeping with Brandeis’ mission of social justice, we believe that all people deserve a good job, a voice in their workplace, and freedom from all forms of economic exploitation,” the referendum begins. “Brandeis University must set a better example in its everyday conduct by taking steps to ensure that all workers have just and dignified employment,” it continues. The referendum lists seven demands of the University, which will “ensure that all workers have just and dignified employment,” according to the email. One of the demands is to implement a living wage policy for all staff, “as calculated by the Crittenton Women’s Union’s Economic Independence Calculator.” In addition to this demand, the referendum calls to “index living wages annually to keep pace with rising cost of living.” Other demands of the referrendum include ensuring that “staff members have a safe and harassment-free work environment,” and, “[that the University] create mechanisms to ensure that they are protected from retaliation should they wish to report co-workers, managers, or anyone else with whom they work.” Additionally, the referendum called for “the rights of employees to vote for or against union
representation without intimidation, unjust pressure, undue delay or hindrance in accordance with applicable law.” Likewise, the referendum demanded the University “provide appropriate grievance procedures where staff’s concerns are addressed in a timely manner and complied with, as well as create mechanisms to ensure that workers are protected from retaliation should they choose to report a grievance,” according to the email. The referendum also demanded the creation of a feedback channel to track the progress of the policy. The plan calls for the University to “create oversight infrastructure inclusive of faculty, staff, and students, to ensure that the aforementioned proposals are properly implemented, maintained, and evaluated on an annual basis,” the email said. The referendum also called for an annual report to be published that would be based off the findings of the infrastructure. Before a vote of the student body can take place, students may submit arguments for or against the referendum up until midnight on Thursday. These arguments will then be sent out with the ballot, according to the email. “This vote will be used to gauge student response to a Just Employment Policy and will dictate how BLC›s work on this project will continue,” Franco said in the email. “Please take the time to read the policy and get educated on the issue,” Franco’s email concluded. — Abby Patkin
STUDENT ACTIVISM
Students and community members hold vigil to mourn for victims of recent ISIS attacks against Ethiopian Christians By MORGAN BRILL JUSTICE EDITOR
Yesterday, community members gathered to mourn the lives of Ethiopian Christians executed by the Islamic State in Libya on April 19. The vigil, held in the John Marshall Harlan Chapel, was led and organized by Bethlehem Seifu Belaineh ’16 and was meant to raise awareness of the recent acts of violence committed by ISIS. Belaineh said at the event that the goal was to “mourn and commemorate the 28 innocent lives that were taken … due to religious intolerance.”
Belaineh, who is from Addis Ababa, explained that a video showed images of ISI fighters vandalizing important museums and churches as well as blaming Ethiopia for having a population that was primarily Christian. The video also accused Ethiopia of being a “Christian state.” “Ethiopians are not taking the lives of our Muslim neighbors,” Belaineh said. “We are simply trying to ensure the safety and growth of the West African region that has been repeatedly retarded by militant groups.” The 35-minute vigil was attended by Dean of Students Jamele Adams,
Protestant Reverend Matt Carriker and Rabbi Elyse Winick ’86, all of whom spoke briefly at the event on various topics. Approximately 25 students stood in a circle holding candles and listened to Belaineh outline the situation in Ethiopia and the surrounding countries. She expressed her gratitude to the students in attendance, thanking them for taking the time to support Africa in this tumultuous time. Additionally, Belaineh hoped to raise awareness of the danger Ethiopians are taking on by illegally immigrating to places like Europe and the West.
She stated that many Africans who resort to illegal immigration often face inequality and poverty in their new countries. “In line with recent events, I ask you all to support us in relaying information about terrorism and intolerance in the African continent,” Belaineh said. Adams then asked for a moment of silence to commemorate all those who had been lost in this struggle. Carriker touched upon the major role that religion plays in world conflict today, stating that “religion can be the best thing in the world, or it can be the worst thing in the world.”
He went on to explain the role that extremist groups play in furthering hate, saying that, “extremist groups sometimes have a monopoly on passion … but what if we, as people of faith or people of conscience, … use that same passion to be change agents for peace?” After several students spoke about their personal relationships to the issue and Winick recited Psalm 130, Carriker closed the event by speaking. Carriker concluded by asking students to “honor those that were lost and, in the spirit of peace, to be those change agents moving forward.”
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FACULTY: Kanarek gives updates on search committee
BALANCING ACT
CONTINUED FROM 1
AMANDA NGUYEN/the Justice
Members of a panel, monitored by Univeristy Preisdent Frederick Lawrence, were asked to share their views on what it means to be a liberal arts research University on Wednesday.
COMMITTEE: Students share desired criteria CONTINUED FROM 1 and CEO and founder of the Davis Companies Jon Davis ’75; Dean of Harvard Medical School Jeff Flier, parent of ’00, parent of ’11; former senior vice president of marketing for AutoZone Lisa Kranc ’75; chief executive of Berkshire Property Advisors George Krupp, whose wife Lizbeth is the Chair of the Rose Art Museum’s Board of Advisors; Vice chair of the Mandel foundation Barbara Mandel; senior managing director of Guggenheim Securities Adam Rifkin ’97; community activist and former non-profit and education management consultant Cindy Shapira; and immediate past president and former CEO of Dechert LLP Bart Winokur, honorary degree ’01. The faculty representatives will include Profs. Stuart Altman (Heller), Wendy Cadge (SOC, WGS), Robin Feuer Miller (RECS, COML), and Sacha Nelson (BIOL). Altman is an economist with a focus in healthcare policy and Medicare, according to the Heller School website. Cadge studies religion and its intersections with healthcare, immigration and sexuality in the United States, according to her profile in the Brandeis faculty guide. Miller is the Edytha Macy Gross Professor of Humanities and studies and teaches about Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and Dickens. Nelson researches cell types and circuits in the mammalian neocortex. All of the professors were nominated and by the Faculty Senate. The student representative to the committee will be Sneha Walia ’15, the outgoing student union president. According to a March 24 Justice article, Walia stated that she was appointed by Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel. Last Thursday, Kanarek, Traquina, Mandel and Miller appeared at a student forum in the Shapiro Admissions Center to hear student input on the search for the next University president. Also present were Chuck Jordan—a representative of Spencer Stuart, the consulting firm
which will be leading the presidential search—Walia. About 30 students attended the forum, many of whom were Student Union members or leaders of prominent campus clubs. Kanarek began the forum by explaining the presidential search process and what the committee hopes to accomplish. While the specific information about selected candidates and their resumes cannot be shared with the community, Kanarek said that the committee hopes to make the search an “open, transparent process” and update the community as much as possible. As the floor opened for discussion, many students expressed their desire for increased social justice efforts and diversity on campus. Citing what she described as the “shutting down of Black Lives Matter activity” on campus earlier this year, one student said that she believes the University has “quite a leap to make in terms of these issues,” detailing the feel of “racial segregation in academic and social spaces on campus." She said that the new president should be someone who not only has training or background in these issues, but also explicitly shows he or she supports diversity on campus. A second student agreed that the University needs to engage more with the idea of social justice. “We need to have a president who is willing to engage with the community … and talk about what social justice means,” the student said. In particular, the student stressed the desire that the president be open to speaking directly with students. Another student pointed out that Brandeis should increase the diversity of its funding and donors as well as increasing diversity on campus. Charlotte Franco ’15 said her ideal vision for the University is that it needs to be proactive instead of reactive to issues that arise. “Brandeis should be at the forefront of change … we shouldn’t be afraid to do new and different things,” Franco said. According to her, the president should not be afraid to take action
and be “willing to take those risks.” Risa Dunbar ’17 said that the University “should be able to begin things and not just respond to things” when under public scrutiny. In particular, Dunbar brought up the Al-Quds Student Dialogue Initiative, which she is part of, and the group’s struggle to discuss its beliefs with the president himself. Dunbar said she and many members of the community want a president who will listen to student voices and is willing to “have a conversation.” Another student addressed University donors. “I feel like there’s a disconnect between how donors and alumni perceive the school and how students perceive the school,” she said. Citing issues such as the Ayaan Hirsi Ali controversy last spring, the student said the University’s next president should be someone who can “bridge this disconnect” and communicate between students and the outside world to get the ideal results. Other students addressed the desire for the president to embrace the Jewish roots of the school, with one student saying that “we cannot lose sight” of the fact that Brandeis was a “place for Jews to go who were not allowed to go to other institutes of higher education.” Emily Conrad ’17 added that while the University’s Jewish roots are important and do need to be embraced, other aspects of the school’s diversity should be embraced equally alongside this. “These two aspects don’t need to be divergent,” Conrad said. “We need a candidate that really understands both.” Franco also discussed the need to increase access to higher education through scholarships and financial aid. Franco said that as a University founded on the principal of open access, we need to make sure we are upholding that same principle today for those who do not have easy access to higher education. Franco said that we need to not only “do the most we can do to reach out to those students”, but to make sure their “stories are heard” as well.
derson (Heller, IBS) won the Teaching Award in Heller, while Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson (Heller) won the Mentoring Award in Heller. Additionally, Prof. Leanne Bateman (Rabb) won the Rabb School of Continuing Studies Outstanding Teaching Award. Lawrence then took the podium for a brief president’s report. He began by introducing Judy Glasser, who was recently appointed as the interim senior vice president for communications. Lawrence also thanked those who helped during Admitted Students Day, noting that this year’s group of applicants is the largest in the history of the University. Lawrence then left the room as the faculty and administrators transitioned into a discussion on the end of presidency benefits he will be receiving. Traquina displayed a PowerPoint that outlined the University’s finances and the size of its staff and salaries in relation to what Traquina called “peer universities,” or colleges of similar size and stature. The 28 schools Traquina listed included Boston University, Lehigh University, Middlebury College and Vassar College. According to the PowerPoint, Lawrence’s total compensation for 2014 was $1,004,593, which was up less than one percent for the calendar year. Previously, in 2013 his compensation was $996,492, and in 2012 was $956,499. Additionally, he noted, $4.9 million for fiscal year 2013 were set aside to pay the compensation of 15 University executives, and the total compensation made to executives from 2008 to 2009 to 2014 to 2015 represents between 1.58 percent and 1.55 percent of the University’s financial intake structure in any given year. The PowerPoint also compared the University’s faculty size to other universities, noting that Brandeis has approximately 200 faculty members per 1,000 students, as compared to 350 faculty members per 1,000 students for similar schools. “We would like to do more, but we also have the pressures of size of endowment, operating deficits, trying to raise faculty salaries … [and] I think we have some priorities that are higher,” Traquina said. Traquina also discussed the end of presidency benefits and responsibilities that the University will con-
fer on Lawrence. According to the PowerPoint, Lawrence will be on paid sabbatical for fiscal year 2015. During this time, the University will continue to house Lawrence in the Watch Factory, and he will continue to receive his salary for nine months following the end of his sabbatical. Additionally, Lawrence will be required to continue to cooperate with recruiting and assisting the new president and will be instrumental in future fundraising initiatives. Next, Traquina opened up the floor for discussion. Prof. Sabine von Mering (GRALL) asked, “Is there ever actually a conversation about [faculty size and salaries] when these values are decided?” “How do you get a great person to come here if you’re not going to pay them a competitive wage?” Traquina countered. After some further discussion, the faculty moved on to the next point of order, and Kanarek stood at the podium to give updates on the ongoing efforts of the Presidential Search Committee, of which he is the chair. Kanarek discussed how the committee will discuss Lawrence’s transition from the University to potential candidates.“We have to remember that we are selling just as much as we are buying,” he said. “I think what we’re going to have to do in the next few months is decide what we have to offer." Kanarek then discussed how, despite rising tuition prices, the University is in need of more funds to function most effectively, which he said the new president will likely work on as one of his or her initiatives.“We are overdrawing the endowment we have more than we should,” Kararek said. Kanarek turned the microphone over to Prof. Thomas Pochapsky (CHEM) for his report on the Faculty Senate. Pochapsky discussed the Faculty Senate’s brief meeting with Provost Lisa Lynch about interim appointments in Heller, also discussing the upcoming faculty Senate elections, for which ballots come out later this week. Lynch then took the podium for her provost’s report. She began by thanking those who put in proposals for teaching and research innovation rewards, noting that a total of over $5.5 million of funding was requested, and $500,000 had been set aside for rewards.
SURVEY: Results will be shared with community CONTINUED FROM 1 the Brandeis campus. The results of this climate survey will provide the administration with “community perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes relevant to sexual violence,” wrote Lynch. The anonymity and confidentiality of the survey will also “provide more information regarding incident rates” than the University currently has available to them. According to Lynch, the administration will use the results to “better evaluate and tailor prevention and response efforts.” Sheila McMahon, the University’s sexual assault services and prevention specialist, also shared in an email to the Justice that in addition to providing data on the rate and extent of sexual violence in the community, the survey will also “help [the administration] understand barriers to helping (i.e. why don’t people always step in to help in situations that require a pro-social bystander’s intervention?) and bar-
riers to reporting” on sexual misconduct. McMahon wrote that the specific changes this survey hopes to shape include “campus educational efforts,” such as “programs and public service awareness campaigns” to address the specific concerns students may bring up in their survey responses. “We really want to better understand what prevents our students from coming forward for help in the aftermath of a sexual assault or experiences of dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, or sexual harassment,” McMahon wrote. Lynch also wrote that the results of the anonymous survey will be shared with the entire Brandeis community. “We must do all that we can to prevent sexual violence from occurring and support those who have experienced it,” Lynch wrote. “This survey is just one of many ways we are working to improve our support for survivors of sexual assault.”
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Seniors on the Move This week justFeatures sat down with soon-to-be Brandeis graduates Bethany Adam ’15: Commencement Speaker By Brianna majsiak justice editor
From the graduation podium to international humanitarian work, Bethany Adam ’15 hopes to impact as many people as she can. Adam has just recently been selected as the Class of 2015 Senior Commencement Speaker. “I’m really excited about it, because I feel really strongly about my class. I think it’s a really great group of people, and I’m so thankful to have grown and shared my Brandeis experience with them. So having the opportunity to say a formal goodbye is really sentimental and important to me. I hope that my speech will touch their hearts,” Adam said in an interview with the Justice. After graduation, Adam is hoping to pursue international humanitarian work with either the United Nations or the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Netherlands. She wants to work on crimes of war, specifi-
cally nuclear and chemical warfare. Adam is a Politics major and Theater and Legal Studies double-minor. It was through her study abroad program during the summer of 2014 at The Hague in the Netherlands that she became passionate about international law. “The Hague was amazing—that’s where it all [her future endeabors] became inspired, so I owe a lot of my future endeavors to The Hague [Brandeis study abroad program].” The Hague study abroad program introduced her to thinking critically about the role of law and regulations during times of war. She found it difficult to conceptualize that nuclear warfare or even chemicals that can be placed in water sources could wipe out an entire continent overnight. “To me that’s too much and that’s too crazy … is it likely that I’ll ever see complete peace in my lifetime? No, unfortunately—maybe, but it’s not likely. But there are at least ways that I can regulate the war that’s happening around me to be less inhumane,” Adam said.
When asked about her most influential class or professor at Brandeis, Adam credited the Legal Studies Department as a whole. “Between my trip to the Hague and [my] Legal Studies classes, I’m really going to miss that whole faculty a lot. They’re the best,” Adam said. Adam, coming from a small town in New Hampshire, feels that Brandeis has really opened her to new perspectives and to new understandings. “It’s okay to support something one day and not the next because you researched and figured something out. I just think it makes me really look at things a lot more critically, which I like and I think is exactly what an education is supposed to do,” Adam said. It seems that Adam feels connected to her graduating class as well as the incoming class. “I’m really so grateful for the opportunity I’ve had. The experiences on this campus and the people that I’ve had them with— I just hope the incoming students embrace that and embrace that from the start,” Adam said. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BRIANNA MAJSIAK/the Justice
Larry Yu ’15 and Perry Yu ’15: Twin entrepreneurs By Rachel Hughes Justice Editor
As both siblings and business partners, Larry Yu ’15 and Perry Yu ’15 plan to tackle the post-collegiate life together. The twin brothers and New Jersey natives are both receiving degrees in Business and Computer Science and plan to put their time into entrepreneurial efforts after graduation. “My brother and I have a company called SimplePosture, and we manufacture and import our own back pain products, and we sell them online,” Larry said in an interview with the Justice. “It relatively took off, so we’re going to go do that full time.” Larry started getting into online sales when he was a senior in high school, he said—taking out advertisements on Google and buying different types of products to sell. From there, he started learning about web design and began creating
sites for both individuals and companies. Perry started writing sales copy for companies so the two could sell more products online, he told the Justice. “And then about a year ago,” Larry said. “We thought that we’ve been doing this for everybody else for so long, why not do it for ourselves? We did some research on certain niches that we felt were profitable and we found the back pain niche and went with it.” The two also have a web design business—called DigitizeMyBusiness.com— which they’ve been working away at since their sophomore year at Brandeis. “On the site, you’ll see that it’s written by us, like ‘we’re young millenials, we get this stuff,’” Perry said. “I’m actually taking another young web designer under my wing,” Larry said. “I’m passing him a lot of my clients.” The pair credit Business and Computer Science courses at Brandeis with helping them get off the ground as they moved
through online sales and web design. “I would say Computer Science [courses] collectively taught [us] how to problem solve,” Perry said. “Computer science is pretty rough sometimes.” Larry remembers “Bus172a: Operations Management” taught by Prof. Anita Tucker (IBS). “I would definitely recommend that as being the business class to take,” he said. “All the boring, underneath-thehood type stuff that you need to run a business was taught in that class. And the professor was awesome.” Their entrepreneurial ventures have grown a lot since they began college. “During our freshman year, we had our first e-commerce venture,” Perry said. “We set up a site and were selling random products like night vision goggles, hammocks. We were selling stuff from our dorm in Cable [Residence Hall]. We did that for a summer but we never really pushed it through at that time. … We’ve circled back around now in our senior year.”
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MIHIR KHANNA/the Justice
Jessica Lin ’15: A helping hand By Mariya Greeley justice staff Writer
Jessica Lin ’15 has been interning at Asian Task For Against Domestic Violence, an organization that offers services to immigrant victims of domestic abuse, for the last year. After graduation, Lin will begin a full-time job at the ATASK emergency shelter, bridging long held interests in social work and Asian American populations. Her position at ATASK will include answering calls on ATASK’s bilingual hotline—offering information and emotional support in Mandarin Chinese and English—coordinating community building activities and assisting residents adjust to the shelter. “It’s really gratifying to know that you’re helping these people in need, especially because of this prominent cul-
tural barrier. What you find is that Asian immigrants have a really difficult time reaching out to these organizations because of the language barrier and the cultural barrier,” Lin said in an interview with the Justice. Lin is a Psychology and Philosophy double-major. She was involved in the Taiwanese Student Association (TSA), first as secretary her sophomore year and then as president her junior year. Lin explained that being a part of TSA made her more culturally aware and understanding of different perspectives on issues facing Asian Americans. In her junior year she also took “Clinical Practicum,” with Prof. Joseph Cunningham (PSYCH) where she worked at a clubhouse for those with mental illnesses. “It taught me to be a better worker, a better listener and a better helper ultimately,” Lin said. She felt these skills she
learned in “Clinical Practicum” put her ahead of the curve during her internship. Offering advice to underclassmen, Lin said she wouldn’t have put as much emphasis on her grades and would have reached out to professors more. “I kind of let myself forget that it’s more important that you feel like you learn something than actually getting an amazing grade … what I’m taking away from [my classes] can’t be reduced to a simple letter or to a simple GPA,” Lin explained to the Justice. For those interested in social work, Lin also offered important advice. “Don’t forget about self care. … I didn’t believe that I had to take a day off for self care because I felt like, who am I to take a day off when these people really need help? ... It’s okay to take a break. You’re just going to go back in and be that much more efficient,” Lin said. PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSICA LIN
THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, April 28, 2015
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Michael Kahn ’15: Breaking barriers By Brianna majsiak justice editor
After graduating this spring, Michael Kahn ’15 will be going on to simultaneously pursue a juris doctorate at Columbia Law School and a master’s of business administration at Columbia Business School. Kahn applied separately to Columbia Law School and then to Columbia Business School and was surprised to be accepted to both, through the three-year J.D/M.B.A. Program. Originally interested in the field of business, Kahn’s interest in a joint business and law degree was sparked when he worked for a real estate firm in New York City. Through this experience, he realized how critical it is to understand law, in order to run a successful business. “As I got more involved with the people that I was working with and they started letting me do more stuff, I sort of realized that anything I had to do ended up with a conversation with someone explaining
why we couldn’t do it from a legal perspective,” Kahn said in an interview with the Justice. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘this would be so much easier if you just understood both.’” Kahn is no stranger to joint fields of study. In fact, he created an independent interdisciplinary major in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. He originally intended on majoring in Philosophy, until he realized that most of the work in the Philosophy major focused around politics and economics from a philosophical framework. Then, with the encouragement of his advisor, Prof. Marion Smiley (PHIL), Kahn declared his interdisciplinary major. “[Smiley] has been absolutely outstanding. I had expressed to her in the past that [business and law] was what I wanted to do, so she sort of kept me on that path and helped me to really take control of my academic plans,” he said. Kahn met Smiley during his first-year at Brandeis in her course “PHIL [17a]:
Introduction to Ethics” and has taken countless classes with her since. She is currently one of Kahn’s thesis advisors. Kahn’s thesis is focused around microfinance in the developing world and the ethics of microfinance in developing countries like Bangladesh. During his time at Brandeis, Kahn has been an active member of the intramural sports teams, participating on football and basketball teams. He was also the senior editor for Wander, the study abroad magazine of Brandeis. Kahn is also the Undergraduate Departmental Representative for the interdisciplinary major. Ultimately, Kahn wants to continue his passion for interdisciplinary fields of study by becoming an entrepreneur after completing his JD / MBA. “I’m interested in the long term of doing something on my own, so having that background in law and business and being able to fully know both sides of it is something that really attracted me [to pursue the JD/MBA program],” Kahn said. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BRIANNA MAJSIAK/the Justice
Sela Brown ’15: Fullbright recipient By Rose gittell Justice staff writer
This September, Sela Brown ’15 will be traveling to Madrid, Spain on a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English to high school students. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program was founded in 1946 and is currently the largest U.S. exchange program. The program offers English teaching grants—of which Brown was a recipient—as well as research grants. Brown will be teaching in Englishspeaking classes, although she is fluent in Spanish as well. In the fall of 2014, Brown studied abroad in Chile, where she immersed herself in Spanish and did a homestay with a local family. As part of her teaching position, Brown will also be aiding with the Model UN program in Madrid. She will be preparing her Spanish students for their trip to the United Nations in New York, where they will engage in mock debates about global issues. Brown
is most excited about this aspect of the program, saying that she was drawn to the program in Spain in particular because of the presence of a Model UN and the opportunity to engage young people in debates about global issues and politics. “I studied Politics and International [and Global] Studies, so I’m excited to see my studies in practice and get students involved in global issues,” Brown said. Brown’s interest in policy was shaped in part by a class she took called “Advocacy for Policy Change,” taught by Prof. Melissa Stimell (LGS). “It was an experiential learning class, so you get to learn the actual process of advocating for bills in the state house, and it made me really interested in that process and doing advocacy and policy work,” Brown said. Brown ultimately hopes to live in Washington, D.C. and have a career in policy. On campus, Brown works for the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, where she performs legal studies research on people who were wrongly convicted of crimes. She also works at the information
booth in the Shapiro Campus Center and is the co-captain of the women’s ultimate Frisbee team Banshee. When asked how she feels about leaving Brandeis in a short time, Brown said, “It goes back and forth. On the one hand, I’m really excited for what I’m doing next year. I love learning, but I think learning in a different context will be exciting. I’m also really sad to be leaving campus and be leaving my friends. We are all spread out across the U.S. and across different countries.” Brown urges current Brandeis students to follow their interests, however much they may change, and not only focus on resume building. “It’s a circuitous path, and that’s okay. Even if you’ve been in a club for a few years, if you’re not interested anymore, move on and do different things. If you’ve been studying one thing and realize something else is your passion, don’t be afraid of that. It all works out,” Brown said. “What I do next year will definitely shape what I do, but it won’t define my career path,” Brown said.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SELA BROWN
Congratulations Class of 2015! Ethan Stein ’15: Classroom to company By Mariya Greeley Justice Staff writer
In a world getting smaller and smaller online, there is a bigger and bigger need for cyber security. Last summer, Ethan Stein ’15 co-founded CyberSecurityPlan to help fill that need. He says that his plan after graduating is to “devote the majority of my time to growing this company,” Stein said in an interview with the Justice. “The majority of the world thinks that if you have firewall on your computer … that’s all you need to do to keep yourself, your clients and your information secure. That’s not true,” he explained. The European Union recently said they would stop doing commerce with American businesses that don’t have cybersecurity plans in place. In order to get one, companies need an attorney, which can be very expensive. That’s where Stein’s business comes in. “We provide customized cyber security plans for businesses large, small, medical, legal, universities. ... It has taken off. We have [people] across the country pitching and selling, so we’re
really fortunate,” Stein said. Stein has recently decided that in addition to running his own company next year, he will also be pursuing a Master’s from Brandeis in Computer Science. “My master’s will enable me to further my knowledge of the ever growing field of technology and entrepreneurship, and give both myself and CyberSecurityPlan more validity as the co-founder by having a further level of higher education. By continuing at Brandeis I will be able to continue my studies under my mentors who have gotten me to the point I am currently at. They want to see my success and I want to continue this adventure under their tutelage,” Stein wrote in a follow-up email to the Justice. Stein is a triple major in Computer Science, Film, Television and Interactive Media and Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. “I’ve learned a significant amount about the issues at hand, but also about starting a company. … I’ve taken classes about [information technology] entrepreneurship, human-computer interaction and website design, making your product
easily accessible, interesting and clear for your users,” Stein said. Stein is also president of Chabad at Brandeis and a university departmental representative for the Hebrew Language and Literature program and the FTIM program. “Brandeis has enabled me to make the connections I needed. [I] know if I have an issue or a question, that there here are many, many people in a variety of fields who I can reach out to,” Stein said. He has reached out to many professors already, some whom’s classes he has taken and some of whom’s he hasn’t. “They’ve been extremely receptive,” Stein said, “If you make the effort to reach out to a teacher and to form a relationship, they themselves even more so will put in the effort and time to help you. … They are not only mentors and educators, but they are truly friends.” Stein’s advice to undergraduates is to,“leave your comfort zone. Take classes, or join clubs, or go to programs you never thought that you would join,” as well as to form relationships with upperclassman and professors. PHOTO COURTESY OF ETHAN STEIN
10 TUESDAY, april 28, 2015 ● THE JUSTICE
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Max Moran, Editor in Chief Tate Herbert and Rachel Hughes, Senior Editor Avi Gold, Managing Editor Jessie Miller and Sam Mintz Deputy Editors Morgan Brill, Glen Chagi Chesir, Rachel Hughes and Grace Kwon, Associate Editors Abby Patkin and Rachel Sharer, Acting News Editors Brianna Majsiak, Features Editor Jessica Goldstein, Forum Editor Noah Hessdorf, Sports Editor Emily Wishingrad and Brooke Granovsky, Arts Editors Michelle Banayan and Mihir Khanna, Acting Photography Editors Brittany Joyce, Online Editor Carmi Rothberg, Copy Editor Aliza Kahn and Talia Zapinsky, Advertising Editors
EDITORIALS
Applaud University campus climate survey
Last Wednesday, the Office of the Provost emailed the student body a link to a survey sponsored by the Provost’s office and the senior vice president for students and enrollment, entitled the “Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Violence.” This board endorses this survey as a positive step toward informed and meaningful action to combat sexual violence at Brandeis and urges the entire student body to participate before the survey ends tomorrow. Only through an expansive sample size of meaningful data can the University’s climate be accurately understood and thoughtfully responded to. The survey comes after both students and faculty petitioned the University to not only increase its resources for sexual assault survivors but to take preventative action on the issue: Brandeis Students Against Sexual Violence urged the administration to “be proactive in their approach to ending sexual violence at Brandeis, not simply begrudgingly reactive” in their report card on University policies in November, and the University Advisory Committee’s Subcommittee on Sexual Violence specifically advocated for “a serious survey of our campus to determine the incidence [of sexual assault]” in their report in June 2014. This survey represents precisely the type of proactive action students and staff have urged for. While the current campus resources are invaluable, preventative policies against sexual violence must first begin with objective data indicating how prevalent such violence is on campus and what risk factors unique to Brandeis must be targeted by such policies. The 2014 White House Task Force to Prevent Students From Sexual Assault lists as its very first recommendation to “identify opportunities to better understand the nature of sexual violence on your campus,” and specifically lists student surveys as a useful means to
Utilize new data
gather this information. Additionally, the Brandeis climate survey took noteworthy lessons from a similar survey conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—evidenced in an Oct. 27, 2014 New York Times article, the MIT survey was notable for gathering data not only on the prevalence of sexual assault but also on students’ understanding of sexual assault. The survey found that while 17 percent of female MIT students had described experiences constituting rape or sexual assault, only 11 percent used these terms to classify their own experiences. A key part of prevention is educating students on recognizing sexual violence. To aid survivors, the University community must destigmatize the experience of being a survivor so that those most in need of resources are not afraid to seek them. We applaud the University for constructing a survey that gathers data on these key topics so that common gaps in understanding of sexual assault can be identified and corrected at Brandeis. Finally, we commend the choice to release the results of the survey in aggregate to the public. Data on the prevalence of sexual assault is beneficial information for both administrators developing formalized policies and student activists addressing the issue from within the community. Clear communication between both parties is critical to successful action. This board applauds the University’s choice to gather data on the prevalence of sexual assault within the student bodyand urges the administration to consider thoughtful policies which respond to the specific findings of the survey. Only by understanding how prevalent sexual assault is at Brandeis specifically, where and why it happens can begin to prevent it.
Examine BLC “Just Employment” policy
By the end of next week, students have the opportunity to respond to the Brandeis Labor Coalition’s “Just Employment Policy” in a referendum vote that decides if the Student Union will support the policy in front of the administration. This board supports the points outlined in the “Just Employment Policy” and its overall ideals, but we encourage BLC to clarify some of its points. The first point of the policy outlines the concept that all staff members of the University should have access to a “living wage.” The 2014-15 Rights and Responsibilities handbook describes staff as “any person who is employed by Brandeis University. Staff may include faculty or employed students.” This board encourages BLC to further consider the implications of administering a “living wage” to student employees. While some students depend heavily on work-study employment to pay for tuition and support their day-to-day expenses, for many students, on-campus jobs are used primarily for personal expenses. We wonder if fiercely advocating for such students may be seen as devaluing to the cause of a living wage for those deeply dependent on University employment, whether or not they are students. BLC must clarify if and how students using campus employment for personal spending money are deserving of a living wage and protected by their employment policy. We do, however, strongly support the implementation of a living wage for workers who truly need such wages to live and urge BLC to push forward in their advocacy for such employees. Stu-
Address “living wage”
dents who are not dependent on their campus employment for living expenses should be considered at another time. The fifth point of the policy suggests that the University address Union agreements when hiring subcontractors and take “punitive measures” in addressing violations of such policies. This board asks for further clarification of what such “punitive measures” would entail for subcontractors who breach Union rules, and how Brandeis shall implement this ideal in a credible manner. The sixth point of the policy states that the University should prioritize full-time jobs and rarely issue part-time employment. This board asks BLC to consider that student employees already are limited in the number of hours they are permitted to work, which complicates this point of the policy if it does apply to all workers. We recommend clarification on this point. In the seventh point, BLC suggests that the University should issue an annual evaluation of how these policies are being implemented within the University community. This board wholeheartedly supports such a regular evaluation but suggests that BLC more clearly outline how this process would be implemented. We understand that ultimately the University is responsible for implementation, but supplying more specifics could only help. Once these points are refined and confusions cleared up, we wholeheartedly endorse a “Yes” vote on the Just Employment Policy.
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Views the News
Last Tuesday, President Obama called for “a full, frank and just acknowledgement” by the Turkish government that this year marks a century following what Obama called the “massacres of Armenians.” Beginning on April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Turks ordered the deportation of Christian Armenians for fear of their potential alliance with Russia during World War I, leading to the deaths of some 1.5 million. However, despite a 2008 campaign promise, Obama refused to use the term “genocide” to describe the event. According to an April 21 New York Times article, this is largely due to fear of alienating NATO ally Turkey, which has historically denied the event was a genocide. Last Sunday, Pope Francis expressed that the atrocities in Armenia describe “the first genocide of the 20th century.” How do you react to Obama’s decision to not call the massacres of Armenians “genocide,” and what effect do you think that decision has on setting international precedent for what is and isn’t considered genocide?
Prof. Leigh Swigart (PAX) The 1951 Genocide Convention has been ratified by most of the world’s nations, including the U.S. in 1988. The understanding of what constitutes genocide, and the critical element of intent underlying it, has been subsequently articulated by the UN International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, although not without some inconsistencies or challenges. The refusal by some world leaders to use the “g-word” should be understood for what it is—the playing out of realpolitik to maintain relations with strategic allies or to avoid an obligation to take action in the face of atrocities (think “Darfur” here). It is perhaps most important to acknowledge the extent of the loss of Armenian life in 2015 and afterward, which President Obama has done. The “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine, recently explored at a Brandeis conference, calls for international intervention if a sovereign state cannot protect its own population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity. Turkish Armenians were clearly subject to one or more of these acts, whether or not the term “genocide” is used. Prof. Leigh Swigart (PAX) is the director of Programs in International Justice and Society at the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life.
Prof. Jonathan D. Sarna (NEJS) ’75
“It appears that a campaign of race extermination is in progress under a pretext of reprisal against rebellion,” Henry Morgenthau, U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, wrote to his superiors in 1915 concerning the Armenian massacres. Some three decades later, amid the horrors of the Holocaust, Raphael Lemkin coined a new word for what had been done to the Armenians and what was then being done to the Jews. The word was “genocide.” National interests connected to relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan explain why President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu have both been reluctant to use the “g-word” to characterize the Armenian massacres. But national interests, in this case as in so many others, conflict with values that we all hold dear. Regardless of what terms our leaders may employ, the rest of us should not labor under any illusions. The policy of “race extermination” employed against the Armenians paved the way for subsequent genocides. We need to remember the Armenian genocide if we truly mean what we say by “never again.” Prof. Jonathan D. Sarna (NEJS) ’75 is Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish history.
Rebecca Ottinger ’15 Given the current implications of using or not using the word “genocide” to describe mass atrocities, it is ridiculous to me that the United States would stray away. President Obama agrees that there was a mass killing, and is protecting our country from potentially severing relations in the Middle East, that if broken, could cause a major shift in alliances and power of the United States. But, that may be what needs to happen. Acknowledging a genocide should not be side-stepped by monetary or political gains. I am aware that there is plenty I do not know about the (inferred) ramifications if Obama uses the word, but those ties that will be broken are worth breaking if we want to live in a world that places human rights over economy. If our political ties sever, it reflects on the ideals and priorities of our relations, and they may need to be reexamined. Rebecca Ottinger ’15 is the publicist for Brandeis STAND: A Student AntiGenocide Coalition. She is also of Armenian-Jewish ancestry.
Samuel Chakmakjian ’17
Though it saddens me to say this, having grown up aware of this conflict, I’m no longer surprised. When President Obama goes back on his word, and year after year avoids the word “genocide” to describe the government-ordered, calculated and systemic extermination of my people, we are simply reminded that the world does not value our lives the same way that it values the lives of others. America’s “interests” in the Middle East make it necessary to maintain good relations, and therefore access to military bases in southern Turkey. Essentially, oil and war are more important than the survival of an ethnoreligious minority. Oil and war are more important than American citizens. My great-grandmother, an Armenian Genocide survivor herself was still alive when I was little. She loved America because she knew she would have been martyred with the rest of her village without it. I shudder to think of how disgraced she would feel by the United States’ denial of her suffering today. Samuel Chakmakjian ’17 is of Armenian ancestry.
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TUESDAY, april 28, 2015
Misinformed editorial promotes rape culture issues
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By angela acevedo, cecile afable, ariella assouline, ava blustein and evelyn milford special to the justice
In response to the April 21, 2015 editorial “Reform sexual assault judicial practices” by the Justice Editorial Board: Brandeis Students Against Sexual Violence would like to correct the misinformation provided and speak to the harm this editorial poses to survivors and our community. This is not the first time the Justice has published false information. In November 2014, the Justice called for the creation of a task force on sexual violence which already existed at the time—an oversight B.SASV members informed the Board of and which resulted in an apology. Again, we will correct the misinformation from the most recent editorial, citing multiple credible sources, to show that the Special Examiner’s Process, while imperfect, is not skewed against accused students. We agree that the Special Examiner’s Process is imperfect and recognize that the rights of both the accuser and the accused must be protected. However, much of the criticism in the editorial stems from the belief that the SEP has not been a “suitable substitute” for the criminal justice system. This argument is flawed because the SEP is not a legal trial or court of law, nor is it intended to be one; the SEP is an investigation into potential violations of the Brandeis code of conduct, as outlined in the Rights and Responsibilities handbook. Therefore, while the University must act in accordance with a student’s right to due process, the SEP functions differently from the criminal justice system because it is not a legal process. The Board criticized Brandeis for using the “preponderance of evidence” standard of proof where it must be proven that it’s “more likely than not that sexual harassment or violence occurred.” The Office of Civil Rights mandates this standard based on the Supreme Court’s decision to use it in “civil litigation involving discrimination” from the OCR Dear Colleague Letter. Since the SEP is not a criminal case and involves students’ Title IX rights, this is appropriate. It is unproductive to compare the SEP to a criminal court or to argue that it “might overcorrect for the criminal courts,” because the SEP is a private, internal adjudication process in which a student can only be found in violation of the institution’s code of conduct. Furthermore, the estimated percentage of “false” reports is between two and eight percent according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and the National District Attorneys Association. We would like to present the following statistics: 92 to 98 percent of reported cases are true; one in five self-identified women and one in 16 self-identified men experience sexual assault in college according to NSVRC; “90 percent of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault” according to NSVRC; 68 percent of sexual assaults are never reported to the police according to Rape, Abuse and Incest
MARGOT FIELD/the Justice
National Network; 98 percent of rapists will never spend a day in jail according to RAINN. It is important to recognize, therefore, that if survivors were made to go through the criminal justice system, reporting rates would drop drastically and fewer dangerous perpetrators would be removed from our community or punished for violating our community standards. The editorial stated “all special examiners are appointed by the Dean of Students’ office.” This is untrue. Special Examiners are outside, unbiased professionals who conduct impartial investigations (OCR) and are not supervised, appointed, or paid by the Dean of Students. The new Title IX Investigation/Compliance Officer Rebecca Tillar, an attorney with experience in sexual misconduct cases in the military, acts in some but not all cases as Special Examiner. She is part of the Title IX Office and is also not supervised or appointed by the Dean of Students. The editorial says the Dean of Students “may be personally connected to the students it must objectively judge.” This again is untrue. Section 21 in Rights and Responsibilities 14-15 states that if the DOS knows any involved party or feels there is a conflict of interest, they cannot make decisions in the case, and that responsibility falls on the next senior administrator who does not have a conflict of interest. Lastly, the Board argued that in the SEP “there is no time in the process when a fully informed defendant can argue their case.” Rights and Responsibilities outlines the SEP in which the accused student is shown the relevant CSR, informed of the process and given an opportunity to accept or deny responsibility in the Statements phase (Section 22, 53). There is then a Fact-Finding Phase
and a series of interviews in which the accused argues their case to the Special Examiner, who ultimately makes a report that “summarizes factual findings, offers conclusions about the credibility of testimony and offers opinions about whether the accused is responsible or not responsible for any or all charges” (R&R Section 22, 54-55). Those who would be “ruling on it” use that report to make their decision. In addition, the SEP does not include a hearing in which the accused can confront their accuser because it is not a court of law. Obligating the accuser to testify in front of their assailant or abuser may put them under serious emotional, mental and physical duress. If the SEP were to force these interactions despite existing no-contact orders, it could jeopardize the accuser’s safety and deter others from initiating the SEP or making a report about incidents of sexual assault. By suggesting the SEP must be corrected on behalf of the accused, the Editorial Board propagates assumptions produced by rape culture, such as the belief that most incidents are simply “miscommunications,” that perpetrators of sexual violence made an honest mistake and are not dangerous enough to be expelled or that survivors are only looking to make trouble. While understanding the Board’s intention to advocate for accused students’ rights, we ask that they recognize the ways the SEP repeatedly fails survivors by allowing parties responsible for sexual misconduct, often repeat offenders, to stay on campus. One only needs to attend Take Back the Night or read submissions on SpeakOut! Brandeis to find many cases in which perpetrators found responsible for a form of sexual violence were allowed to remain at Brandeis with minimum sanctions.
We agree that the administrators currently responsible for deciding SEP outcomes are not equipped or informed enough to do so; however ,these decisions often favor the accused rather than survivors. In fact, the rise in lawsuits against universities by accused students (like the recent lawsuit reported on by the Justice) actually gives institutions financial incentive not to appropriately punish perpetrators. Given the percentages of college-aged survivors who report their experiences and the low false reporting rate, it is irresponsible to call the system flawed without also noting how SEP fails to support survivors and protect the community by often allowing sexual assailants to remain on campus. The sources we cite are accessible online or in print. We ask that all members of the Brandeis community take the time to inform themselves, using the resources listed and others found on the Office of Prevention Service’s website. The type of misinformation and skewed understanding of sexual violence found in the editorial make survivors on our campus less safe and less likely to receive support, lowers reporting rates and ultimately perpetuates victim-blaming by centering the discussion about sexual violence on false reporting and supporting assailants. —EDITOR’S NOTE: Members of Brandeis Student’s Against Sexual Violence contributed to the publication of this Op-Ed. The members who contributed are as follows: Angela Acevedo ’16, Cecile Afable ’16, Emily Appel ’15, Ariella Assouline ’17, Ava Blustein ’15, Jaime Korner ’17, Evelyn Milford’16, Michelle Miranda ’17 and Tina Nguyen ’17.
Support immunization bill in California state legislature By jennie bromberg JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Last Wednesday, a bill requiring the vaccination of all children in California moved forward in the state legislature. While exemptions can currently be applied for medical and religious reasons and for “personal belief” in California. This bill would eliminate “personal belief” exemptions. Only two states—Mississippi and West Virginia—allow parents to enroll their children in school without a vaccination if they have a medical exemption. Although this bill still faces many hurdles before it can be passed, it would be a major step forward for public health in the state of California, and hopefully, would set an example for other states to follow. With the growing measles outbreaks around the world—particularly in the United States— we have seen the importance of herd immunity when it comes to vaccinating children. Herd immunity is the concept that when all of the healthy people are vaccinated, there is enough protection against the disease to prevent it from spreading to people who are unable to get the vaccination because they have weakened immune systems or are not yet 12 months old, the youngest age the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination can be given. Problems arise when people who are able to get vaccines don’t, because the disease can then spread to these especially vulnerable populations. This is why CaliforThe Justice welcomes letters to the editor responding to published material. Please submit letters through our Web site at www.thejustice.org. Anonymous submissions cannot be accepted. Letters should not exceed 300 words, and may be edited for space, style, grammar, spelling, libel and clarity, and must relate to material published in the Justice. Letters from off-campus sources should include location. The Justice does not print letters to the editor and op-ed submissions that have been submitted to other publications. Op-ed submissions of general interest to the University community —that do not respond explicitly to articles printed in the Justice—are also welcome and should be limited to 800 words. All submissions are due Friday at 12 p.m.
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nia’s bill is so important: it would protect children who are medically unable to get the MMR vaccine from getting the disease. According to the CDC, the measles is spread through the air and is transmitted from person to person by respiratory droplets which can result from coughing, sneezing and even breathing. This is especially important in the wake of the Disneyland measles outbreak which happened earlier this year. This was when a multi-state measles outbreak started in California and affected 147 people in seven states between December 28, 2014 and April 15, 2015 according to the CDC.
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It [the immunization bill] would be a major step forward for public health in the state of California. This bill moving forward Apr. 22 from the State Education Committee still has to be approved by at least one other committee before going on to the state senate, according to the New York Times. This coincided with a study published by the Journal of the American Medi-
Fine Print
The opinions stated in the editorial(s) under the masthead on the opposing page represent the opinion of a majority of the voting members of the editorial board; all other articles, columns, comics and advertisements do not necessarily. For the Brandeis Talks Back feature on the last page of the newspaper, staff interview four randomly selected students each week and print only those four answers. The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. Operated, written, produced and published entirely by students, the Justice includes news, features, arts, opinion and sports articles of interest to approximately 3,500 undergraduates, 900 graduate students, 500 faculty and 1,000 administrative staff. In addition, the Justice is mailed weekly to paid subscribers and distributed throughout Waltham, Mass. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods. Advertising deadlines: All insertion orders and advertising copy must be received by the Justice no later than 5 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the date of publication. All advertising copy is subject to approval of the editor in chief and the managing and advertising editors.
cal Association on April 21 showing yet again that there is no scientific evidence of a link between vaccines and Autism Spectrum Disorder. This study looked at insurance claims for children in the United States born between 2001 and 2007 and found that children who were vaccinated with the MMR vaccine did not show higher rates of ASD than those who had not been vaccinated, including in children who were considered at a higher risk of developing ASD because they have older siblings with ASD. Additionally, the study found that children who had an older sibling with ASD were less likely to be vaccinated, despite the lack of correlation between vaccinations and ASD. The original study saying vaccines caused ASD was published by the Lancet in 1998 by Dr. Andrew Wakefield, who altered the patients’ histories in the study, according to CNN. By 2004, other authors on the paper had withdrawn their names from the study because they discovered that their was a conflict of interest that Dr. Wakefield did not disclose: a law firm that was going to sue vaccine manufacturers had paid him, according to CNN. The paper has since been retracted, and Dr. Wakefield’s research has been discredited. People in the United States who are against vaccinating their children have the right to believe whatever they want to, but acting on this belief crosses a line when it puts other children at risk of severe illness and even death. Children are recommended by the Centers for
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Disease Control and Prevention to get the vaccination when they are 12-15 months old, which means that infants cannot be vaccinated and are therefore not immunized against the measles. Also, at such a young age, it is difficult for them to fight off the infection, making them particularly at risk for complications. It is not fair to allow students to go to school without the MMR vaccination because it can be passed from students to vulnerable populations like babies who are not old enough to be vaccinated and people with weakened immune systems who can’t get the vaccine. It is absolutely ridiculous to let people have religious reasons and “personal belief” factors to prevent parents from immunizing their children if they intend to have their children go to a public or even a private school. Putting these vulnerable populations who are unable to get a vaccine for a legitimate medical reason at risk of severe illness or death is extremely selfish and should be deemed illegal, especially in order to be enrolled in a school. It is also not fair to the children whose parents choose not to vaccinate them—it’s like letting children ride in a car without a seatbelt. There might not be a high risk of a car accident occuring, but, if there were one, the child’s outcome would be so much worse without a seatbelt than with a seatbelt. Wearing a seatbelt is a safety measure that is easy and low-risk, just like the MMR vaccine.
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Nikki Nikova, 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, Kat Semerau Sports: Elan Kane, Daniel Kanovich, Dan Rozel, Colin Warnes Arts: Linda Maleh, Nate Shaffer, Anna Stern, Vanessa Alamo
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TUESDAY, april 28, 2015
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THE JUSTICE
FORUM
Reevaluate stance on esports in the United States Kahlil OPPENHEIMER
UNEDITED JUSTICE
Thirty-two million people tuned in to watch SK Telecom T1 issue the obligatory “good luck have fun” before obliterating Royal Club’s Nexus in the 2013 League of Legends World Championships. More people watched this match of the world famous video game in 2013 than either of the NBA Finals or the MLB World Series of that same year. Competitive gaming (more commonly known as esports) is becoming incredibly popular, especially among young people. But as esports takes off among students, we have a responsibility to help players the same way we help student athletes. Many professional gaming teams have mandatory fitness regimens for their players. The Los Angeles division of Team Dignitas mandates that all players go to the gym three times a week. It also hires nutritionists and sports psychologists to maintain health standards, according to a recent post on Western Digital’s tech blog. This should be the norm for school-based and professional gaming teams. But we can do more. Gamers on school-based teams should have minimum grade point average and class absence requirements to enforce the priority of academics, a limited number of hours of practice per week to help prevent addiction and official school recognition alongside a sanctioned practice space to feel accepted. Some schools have stepped up. Esports is now a varsity sport at Robert Morris University in Chicago and at the University of Pikeville in Pikeville, Ky. Robert Morris University budgeted $450,000 dollars for 30 annually renewed gaming scholarships, some of which cover half of the price of tuition. This is an excellent first step, but it is not enough.Many schools resist recognizing esports because they claim it is not popular enough to warrant special attention. But esports is quickly
becoming more popular than most sports. League of Legends is a free-to-play online video game that was released by Riot Games in 2009. As of 2014, it boasts 27 million daily players and 67 million monthly players, making it the most popular PC video game in the world. To put these numbers in perspective, every Call of Duty game combined had 40 million monthly players in 2011, and Candy Crush currently has 46 million monthly users. Twitch, a live video game streaming site, has more internet traffic than ESPN, Major League Baseball, and the World Wrestling Entertainmen, Inc. combined, according to Qwilt, a videogame delivery and analytics company. The Wall Street Journal reported last February that Twitch was fourth in total US peak traffic, only behind Netflix, Google and Apple. And Fortune reported on Apr. 20 that it anticipates 335 million esports fans by 2017, outstripping the NFL’s 151 million fans. In July 2013, the United States government officially recognized esports gamers as professional athletes, allowing international players from countries like South Korea, Sweden and Brazil to travel into the United States with athlete visas. Esports one sweeping the globe. But despite their popularity, many are still skeptical. Critics often claim that gaming leads to addiction and social withdrawal. These are both huge issues. But gaming is unhealthy because it is unregulated and stigmatized in the United States, not because video games are inherently unhealthy. In South Korea, video games have become a huge part of mainstream culture. Couples go to video game clubs as frequently as they go to the movies, and fans fill soccer stadiums and beaches to watch live competitions, according to a New York Times article published on Oct. 19, 2014. Moreover, gamers in South Korea are not addicted because the South Korean government and schools are able to better regulate gaming. Gaming clubs for people under the age of 18 close at 10 p.m. to prevent people from pulling all-nighters. Parents will play video games with their children from an early age to teach healthy and balanced practices. Sure, people could still go to their basements and be just as unhealthy, but when gaming is a popular and fun social thing to do, no one wants to. It is time for the U.S. to step up. We must em-
GABY YESHUA/the Justice
brace esports. Without recognition and support, gamers are susceptible to addiction and social isolation. We can easily fix this. First, we must recognize and accept esports socially as an activity. Without this, gamers do not feel like we accept them the same way we accept basketball players or dancers. We cannot let millions sit ashamed and isolated in dark basements. We must offer gamers an accepted public space, like South Korea’s gaming clubs. Esports is different from other competitive activities like basketball and chess, but it is not better or worse. It may not train someone to run a marathon, but it builds teamwork and good decision making skills. Many discussions about esports derail into debates over whether or not it is an actual sport. It
does not matter whether or not esports is actually a sport. It does not matter if it engages the mind more than the triceps. All that matters is that way too many people game for us to just ignore them. It may feel uncomfortable to accept a lifestyle that is so foreign to many of us. But this is the cultural struggle of the digital age. The new culture we must embrace is not in some country whose name we do not know; it is embedded in every country with access to the internet. We use it to scapegoat young people’s attention deficits and academic shortcomings. But young people use it to liberate themselves, allowing for anyone with access to a computer to become world famous. Esports is not going away anytime soon. We could try to fight it. But to that I say: good luck, have fun.
Promote University divestment from toxic fossil fuels By MICHAEL ABRAMS AND PHILIP WIGHT SPECIAL TO THE JUSTICE
After two years of study and debate, Brandeis University’s Exploratory Committee on Fossil Fuel Divestment has released its Final Report and Recommendations. The committee found, among other conclusions, that “By divesting, Brandeis can…[use] its position of authority as a mechanism for social change and political persuasion.” We wholeheartedly agree. During a University referendum two years ago, 79 percent of participating students voted in support of Brandeis “divesting its endowment from the fossil fuel industry in order to avert further environmental and human rights crises as a result of climate change.” In response, University President Frederick Lawrence and the administration convened an exploratory committee to study ways in which the University could “invest and divest responsibly…in the context of climate change and social justice.” After years of investigation, the committee offered this final recommendation: “The majority of the Committee advocates that Brandeis strongly considers divesting its holdings in fossil fuel firms. Student consensus and robust faculty concern suggests that continued investment in fossil fuels presents a fundamental tension with Brandeis’ proud tradition of social justice.” We applaud the committee for recognizing the logic of fossil fuel divestiture. However, we believe that the Board of Trustees and the administration must do more than “strongly consider divestment.” The Board of the Trustees should commit to divestment at their next meeting. Continued investment in fossil fuel corporations is clearly antithetical to the integrity of our institution and our social justice mission. The duplicitous actions of the fossil fuel industry, the gravity of the climate crisis and robust campus concern all indicate that Brandeis must commit to divestment. Global climate change is a complex scientific phenomenon. The source of global climate change is not. Companies that extract oil, coal, and gas are most responsible for the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. This is because they have tens of trillions of dollars invested in the extraction of fossil fuels and use their vast economic and political resources to deny most people viable
alternatives. They own five times the amount of fossil fuels that scientists warn can safely be burned and have dismissed calls from civil society to change their business model according to 350.org. They also refuse to earnestly invest in renewable technologies—such as solar and wind power—which the world needs to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Worst of all, these corporations continue to fund deceitful climate denial by institutions like the Heartland Institute. Their objective is to prolong the fossil fuel age as long as possible—regardless of mounting human rights violations and the dangerous climate they are leaving for countless generations to come. Opponents of divestment claim that blaming carbon companies while still consuming fossil fuels is hypocritical. They contend that the solution is individual action and conservation. We agree that reducing fossil fuel use is essential—but without more systemic action, green consumerism is ultimately insufficient. The rules and regulations that govern global energy flows are the product of political economy, not personal conversation. Governments structure the dynamics of energy supply and demand far more than individual consumers. Ultimately, collective political actions like divestment will influence the structure of the economy more than individual action. While reducing our campus carbon footprint is important, fossil fuel divestment offers the most significant collective action for universities to precipitate social change. Climate change is a systemic problem; through divestment we can create the social and political momentum for a systemic solution. As the Divestment Committee’s report highlights, “The obstacles in the way of speedy progress toward a low-carbon world are not primarily technical or economic in nature, they are mainly political.” The climate crisis is not merely a problem of a single corporation but rather a systemic risk of an entire economic sector. The fossil fuel industry’s business model and stock values are based on burning all of their proven reserves. Yet scientists warn this cannot happen. As an April 8th New York Times article details, if fossil fuel corporations extract all their oil, coal and gas, humanity will raise world temperature an apocalyptic 16.2°F. World leaders committed at the 2009 Copenhagen UN climate conference to not exceed
3.6°F—the tipping point beyond which scientists warn will trigger irreversible, runaway climate change. There is little doubt that Brandeis students, professors and alumni believe that it is unethical to profit from corporations that disseminate climate denial. An overwhelming majority of students and nearly 40 percent of senior faculty have asserted that Brandeis should divest from fossil fuels. 145 Brandeis professors signed the Faculty Against the Climate Threat petition, which concluded that “we must stop profiting from fossil fuel extraction.” Over 250 alumni have called for Brandeis to “divest our endowment from fossil fuel corporations, the main perpetrators of climate injustice.” Nearly 300 alumni have pledged to withhold donations until Brandeis divests. The University’s 1973 guidelines for responsible investing advocate divestment “where a corporation’s conduct is clearly and gravely offensive to the University’s sense of social justice,” especially in relation to “environmental pollution.” The Divestment Committee’s conclusion that continued investment in fossil fuels presents a “fundamental tension” with the University’s commitment to social justice is true— but this conclusion does not fully capture the moral concern of students and professors. The community’s revulsion to the funding of climate denial and the slandering of Brandeis’ own scientists affirms that investing in fossil fuel firms is definitely “clearly and gravely offensive” to Brandeisian decency in accordance with the University’s 1973 guidelines. Divestment is an effective tool for several reasons. As past campaigns reveal, divestment stigmatizes corporations that act against the public interest. It erodes their social license to operate and political capital to influence public policies. As a 2013 Oxford University study concluded: “In almost every divestment campaign we reviewed … divestment campaigns were successful in lobbying for restrictive legislation.” Far from merely being a “symbolic gesture” these researchers concluded that the “stigmatization process, which the fossil fuel divestment campaign has now triggered, poses the most far-reaching threat to fossil fuel companies.” This is accomplished via a cascade effect: community organizations—ranging from universities to religious organizations—challenge the legitimacy of offensive corporations; facing increasing social pressure, politicians
enact restrictive legislation; through a combination of public pressure, declining revenues or stock prices and/or investor concern, corporations change their egregious behavior. All across the United States and the world, millions of people are taking part in the Divestment Movement. The Rockefellers (yes, the descendants of the world’s most successful oil entrepreneur) have divested their family trust fund from fossil fuels; Stanford University has divested from coal and $50 billion in assets from churches; charities and wealth funds have been withdrawn from irresponsible carbon corporations, according to TIME magazine. And the momentum is growing against those institutions who continue to profit from the climate crisis. This past month, hundreds of students and alumni at Harvard University, Tufts University, University of Mary Washington, Swarthmore College, Wesleyan University, Tulane University and Yale University held nonviolent sit-ins to pressure their universities to divest. This is because, unlike Brandeis, their administrations have not been willing to work with their campaigns. Therefore, Brandeis has the opportunity to lead where other universities remain committed to profiting from the dirty energy of the last century. Through divestment Brandeis can become a leader in this rapidly growing movement. In divesting, we want Brandeis to be a leader in the push for a clean, sustainable and equitable future. A just transition would have renewable infrastructure under the direct control of the people who use it, as has been the case with community solar and wind. We want to democratize power. Challenging the power of the fossil fuel industry through divesting is an important step toward this goal. The alarming science and overwhelming community consensus is clear: defend our future, divest now. —EDITOR’S NOTE: Michael Abrams ’15, Iona Feldman’17 and Philip Wight PhD candidate are part of the exploratory committee on fossil fuels. All members of Brandeis Climate Justice contributed to the publication of this Op-Ed. The members are as follows: Abrams, Cassie Cain ’18, Feldman, Martin Hamilton ’16, Devon Kennedy ’17, Daniel Klein ’18, Camila López ’18, Saren McAllister ’18 and Wight.
THE JUSTICE
TRACK: Squads finish in seventh place at meeting CONTINUED FROM 16 finals in the 400-meter dash, running to a solid fifth-place finish in 58.30 seconds. Tove Freeman ’16 claimed eighth in the 400-meter dash, stopping the clock at 1:00.17. Kate Farrell ’17 grabbed seventh place in the women’s 5,000-meter run, crossing the finish line with a time of 18:34.05. Her time was just over a second out of sixth place and more than 10 seconds faster than the next competitor. Lydia McCaleb ’18 took 13th in the race, stopping the clock at 19:23.85. Ryan Stender ’18 picked up a 12th-place finish in the men’s 1,500-meter run, crossing the line at 4:05.72. He was closely followed by Mitchell Hutton ’18, who earned a
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Tuesday, April 28, 2015
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SWINGING FOR THE FENCES
13th place finish in 4:06.54. The quartet of Chi Tai ’15, Adam Berger ’15, Adam Beckwith ’18 and Nick Wactor ’17 took fourth in the men’s 4x100-meter relay, running to a combined time of 45.70 seconds. Mark Franklin ’17 earned a tie for fifth place in the men’s high jump, reaching 1.81 meters, just five centimeters out of fourth place. Jonathan Gilman ’15 grabbed sixth in the men’s javelin throw with a distance of 50.37 meters, 1.1 meters out of fifth place. The women’s squad finished the championships with 42 points while the men earned 31.5 points, both good for seventh-place finishes at the championships. Both teams return to action this weekend for the New England Division III Outdoor Championships, hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
SOFTBALL: Team walks off against Bowdoin CONTINUED FROM 16 In the second game of Friday’s doubleheader, the Judges sneaked out with a one-run lead. Wroblewski again got the start for the team, going the full seven innings of the contest while allowing five earned runs. Wroblewski gave up 12 hits and one walk but struck out an impressive eight. On the day, she threw a total of 113 pitches—77 of which were counted as strikes. Gagnon once again was active on the offensive end, this time with two RBIs off of a 2-3 day. Novotny again added an RBI while Coleman also knocked a run in on the day. Coleman had two base hits while also scoring two runs. Coleman and Buscetto also each stole a single base for the hometown Judges. The game ended in a dramatic way when Buscetto stole a base in the seventh inning of a tied ballgame. Bowdoin attempted to throw Buscetto out at second but an errant throw allowed Coleman to score the winning run to end the
day's contest. Bowdoin 9, Judges 0 Cote started for the squad, receiving the loss for her first defeat of the season. She lasted three innings while allowing four earned runs on seven hits and one walk. Bowdoin’s runs came on behalf of the homer; Cote allowed three home run strikes. Soleimani came in relief for the team, pitching 2.1 innings in which she gave up five earned runs. She allowed seven hits and another three home runs. The Judges were only able to succumb four hits on the game in the afternoon, two each from Sullivan and Gagnon. The Judges return to action tomorrow, hosting nearby Suffolk College in a doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m. The contest will mark the squad's last game of the regular season. The Judges will look to continue playing into the postseason, with a return trip to the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament possibly on the table.
MICHELLE BANAYAN/the Justice
SEARCHING FOR THE HIT: Outfielder Ryan Healy ’16 takes a turn at bat for the Judges against Trinity College on Sunday afternoon.
BASEBALL: Men lose three midweek games CONTINUED FROM 16
one hit and two sacrifice flies.
Gordon 10, Judges 7 Pocock got the start for the squad in the contest, in which he lasted 1.2 innings while giving up two earned runs. Pocock picked up the loss in the game for his first decision of the season. Pitcher Bradley Bousquet ’18 came in relief for Pocock and allowed only one earned run in 2.1 innings pitched. Falkson led the offense with three RBIs on
Curry 7, Judges 5 Miller received the start in the away contest but was unable to get out of the first inning. He lasted a third of an inning while allowing three earned runs and three base hits. Pitcher Justin Gallanty ’18 came in for relief of Miller and was handed the loss for his second of the season. Gallanty allowed one earned run on three hits in a to-
tal of 2.2 innings pitched. O’Neill ended up pitching the bulk of the remainder of the game, going 3.2 innings while holding Curry from scoring a run. Tettemer led the team with two RBIs in the contest off of a home run, while center fielder Liam O’Connor ’16 and Pontes each added an RBI to try to keep up with the Curry attack. The team will close its season at home tomorrow against the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth at 3:30 p.m.
BASEBALL SOFTBALL TENNIS TRACK Write for Sports! Contact Noah Hessdorf at sports@thejustice.org
BASEBALLSOFTBALL TENNIS TRACK
THE JUSTICE
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Tuesday, april 28, 2015
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TENNIS
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 8 4 Case 4 4 JUDGES 2 6 NYU 2 6
W 26 28 24 22 13 19
Overall L Pct. 12 .684 13 .683 11 .686 12 .647 19 .406 20 .487
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Judges conclude their season on Friday vs UMass Dartmouth.
Ryan Pocock ’18 leads the team with 24 RBIs. Player RBI Ryan Pocock 24 Ryan Tettemer 15 Nick Falkson 14 Connor Doyle 13
Strikeouts Sean O’Neill ’18 leads all pitchers with 34 strikeouts. Player Ks Sean O’Neill 34 Sam Miller 29 Kyle Brenner 19 Ryan Pocock 16
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 31 31 23 32 16 8
Overall L Pct. 7 .816 11 .738 11 .677 11 .744 14 .533 22 .267
Madison Sullivan ’16 leads the squad with 24 RBIs. Player RBI Madison Sullivan 24 Anya Kamber 19 Cori Coleman 16 Madison Gagnon 14
Strikeouts Samantha Wroblewski ’17 leads all pitchers with 78 strikeouts.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Judges conclude their season on Friday vs Suffolk (DH).
Player Ks Samantha Wroblewski 78 Nikki Cote 39 Sadie-Rose Apfel 12
track & Field TOP PERFORMERS (Men’s)
TOP PERFORMERS (Women’s)
200-Meter Run
400-Meter Run
RUNNER TIME Adam Beckwith 23.88 Adam Berger 23.94 Nick Wactor 24.29
RUNNER TIME Haliana Burhans 59.93 Gabriella Guillette 59.56 Ashley Hebard 1 :06.65
Judges earn sixth place at UAA Championships
■ Brian Granoff ’17 and Danny Lubarsky ’16 won on the No. 1 doubles court against the University of Rochester. By avi gold justice editor
UPCOMING MEETS:
May 1 at the New England Division III Outdoor Championships at MIT May 8 at the Open New England Outdoor Championships at MIT May 14 at the ECAC Division III Outdoor Championships at Springfield
TENNIS Updated season results.
TOP PERFORMERS (Men’s)
AMANDA NGUYEN/Justice File Photo
OVERHEAD SLAM: Danny Lubarsky ’16 (left) and Brian Granoff ’17 (right) play in a match against New York University on April 18.
TOP PERFORMERS (Women’s)
MEN’S SINGLES Michael Arguello
RECORD 14-7
WOMEN’S SINGLES Carley Cooke
RECORD 12-8
MEN’S DOUBLES Arguello/Cherkin
RECORD 13-9
WOMEN’S DOUBLES Cohen/Cooke
RECORD 12-8
UPCOMING MEET: The men and women’s team concluded its season at the UAA Championships this past weekend.
The men and women’s tennis team closed its seasons with respective sixth-place finishes at the University Athletic Association Championships last week, concluding a long weekend of UAA play. With the results, the men finish their season with a 9-11 record overall, while the women end the season at 11-10. No. 27 JUDGES 1, No. 21 CASE 8 The women’s team, ranked 27th overall in Division III, squared off against Case Western Reserve University in the fifth-place match on Saturday after defeating the University of Rochester by the same score earlier that day. Brandeis scored its lone point at the No. 1 singles court, where Carley Cooke ’15 swept her match by a score of 6-0, 6-2. Cooke finishes the year with a 12-8 record overall and a 10-7 record in matches against No. 1 opponents. Simone Vandroff ’15 took her Spartan opponent to a tie-
breaking third set on the No. 3 court claiming the opener 6-1 but fell by a final of 6-1, 2-6, 6-1. No. 27 JUDGES 8, ROCHESTER 1 Brandeis earned a spot in the fifthplace match by dispatching the University of Rochester in Saturday’s early match, sweeping singles play en route to an 8-1 victory. The Judges began the day with a 2-1 record in doubles play, getting victories from the duos of Cooke and Haley Cohen ’18 and Charlotte Aaron ’18 and Sara Biswas ’15. Cohen easily defeated her opponent on the No. 2 singles court, ceding two points in a 6-1, 6-1 victory. Aaron needed three sets to get by her opponent on the No. 6 singles court, emerging with a 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 victory. Maya Vasser ’16 earned a victory on the No. 5 singles court, getting by her opponent with a final of 6-3, 6-1 and holds an even 9-9 record on the year. The men’s squad, ranked 29th in Division III, ended up with a nearly identical weekend as the women’s squad did, defeating Rochester before falling to Case. No. 29 JUDGES 2, CASE 7 The men’s side put up a number of good performances in Sunday’s 7-2 loss to Case but had little to show for it, sending two of the six singles
matches to the full three sets. On the No. 2 court, Michael Arguello ’17 used three sets to squeeze by his opponent 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, while Ryan Bunis ’18 fell in three sets on the No. 4 court 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3. The duo of Alec Siegel ’15 and Michael Secular ’16 took home a victory on the No. 3 doubles court, dispatching their opponents by an 8-3 final. Brian Granoff ’17, who ended the season on a 9-12 record, fell in a close match on the No. 1 court, 6-3, 6-2. No. 29 JUDGES 6, ROCHESTER 3 Brandeis rode a 2-1 record in doubles play on Saturday to a 6-3 victory over Rochester. Granoff and Danny Lubarsky ’16 earned a victory on the No. 1 doubles court by an 8-3 final, while Cherkin and Arguello muscled their way to an 8-2 victory on the No. 2 doubles court. The Judges clinched the victory by taking four of the six singles matches, using a 6-3, 6-4 victory by Granoff on the No. 1 singles court and a 6-1, 6-3 victory by Arguello on the No. 2 court. Bunis and Cherkin both needed tiebreakers to earn straight-set victories, as Bunis won 7-6 (5), 6-1 and Cherkin earned a 6-3, 7-6 (6) win. —Editor’s note: Alec Siegel ’15 is a staff writer for the Justice Features section.
pro sports BRIEF Minnesota Wild pull off series upset against St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League playoffs The first round of the National Hockey League playoffs has almost come to an end. Only two series have not been decided as of Sunday, with the Washington Capitals hosting the New York Islanders in the Verizon Center in a deciding Game 7 and the Detroit Red Wings heading back to Joe Louis Arena to attempt to upset the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. Two series ended on Sunday as the wild card Minnesota Wild closed out the St. Louis Blues on home ice in six games and the Montreal Canadiens ended the Ottawa Senators’ amazing run over the last two months of the season, closing them out in six games on the road. The first round has had several upsets thus far, with upstart young teams like the Wild and Calgary
Flames showing that youthful depth can catch an unsuspecting opponent off guard. The Red Wings will attempt to do the same, as Tampa Bay has been a dark horse Stanley Cup contender, but the Red Wings’ coaching and offensive depth have so far frustrated the Lightning. The Flames unseated the Vancouver Canucks through the play of Sean Monahan, Calder finalist Johnny Gaudreau and Lady Byng finalist Jiri Hudler, despite having negative metrics in possession and shot attempts throughout the regular season. The Wild, led by captain Mikko Koivu and assistant captains Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, handed the Blues another first round playoff exit for the fourth straight year.
The Islanders-Capitals series has been easily the closest so far as the battle of attrition entered the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island on Saturday for what may have been the last NHL game played there. The Islanders faced elimination, and despite giving up yet another goal in the last minute of the first period, they dominated the flow of play in front of their loyal fans at the arena affectionately known as “The Barn.” They look to temporarily extend their lease through contesting another playoff round as their crosstown rival New York Rangers await in the second round after their quick series win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Rangers were able to finish
off the Penguins in only five short games. All four of New York’s victories came by the close score of 2-1, including an overtime win in the deciding game five. Other series winners include the Anaheim Ducks, who swept the Winnipeg Jets after the Jets earned their first playoff appearance since their move from Atlanta. The city of Winnipeg hosted its first NHL playoff games in 19 years, and while they were swept, the Jets showed lots of promise and hope to bring playoff hockey back to Winnipeg for years to come. The Chicago Blackhawks closed out the Nashville Predators in six closely contested games, with the series eventually ending on a Duncan Keith overtime goal. This series featured two overtime
games, one of which went into double OT and one that went to triple OT, both won by the Blackhawks. The second round matchups in the Western Conference are set, as the Wild will take on the Blackhawks for the Central Division, while the Ducks will face Calgary for the Pacific. In the East, the Rangers await the winner of Islanders-Capitals for the Metropolitan crown while the Canadiens will square off with the winner of Red Wings-Lightning for the Atlantic. Both of the unresolved matchups will have their next games on Monday, and the first round is guaranteed to end on Wednesday if Detroit-Tampa goes to seven games. —Dan Rozel
just
Sports
Page 16
RUNNING TO THE NET The tennis teams finished in sixth place at the University Athletic Association conference championships, p. 15.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Waltham, Mass.
baseball
CLUTCH HITTER
Squad endures difficult week ■ Third baseman Rob Trenk
’15 had two RBIs on a single and a double in the Judges’ victory over Trinity College. By NOAH HESSDORF JUSTICE EDITOR
After a busy week that featured five games, the baseball team took its record to 12-19 overall. The team won both games of a doubleheader against Trinity College on Sunday afternoon, 4-2 and 3-1. The squad lost to Salve Regina University 14-7 on Friday, 10-7 against Gordon College on Thursday and 7-5 against Curry College on Wednesday.
MORGAN BRILL/Justice File Photo
LEANING IN: Catcher Madison Gagnon ’16 awaits a pitch in a game versus the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on April 17.
Judges win four out of six games on weekend ■ Pitcher Nikki Cote ’15 threw
a complete game victory against Framingham State University on Sunday with a total of 79 pitches. By NOAH HESSDORF JUSTICE EDITOR
The softball team completed its busy weekend to finish with a record of 16-14, climbing above .500 for the first time in nearly a month. The Judges won both games of the doubleheader against Framingham State University on Sunday—5-2 and 4-2. The team split with Babson College on Saturday, winning 10-9 and losing 9-1. The squad also won one out of two against Bowdoin College on Friday, losing 9-0 and winning a game by a score of 6-5. Judges 5, Framingham State 2 In the first game on Sunday moring, the Judges pulled out a victory off of strong pitching and timely hitting in key situations. Pitcher Nikki Cote ’15 got the start, this time pulling off an impressive complete game. The win was Cote’s fifth of the season as she improved to 5-1. Cote went all seven innings while only allowing two earned runs off of six hits and one walk. Cote struck out five Framingham St. batters while giving up one home run. She was able to finish off the game in only 79 total pitches, 51 of which she
threw for strikes. Third baseman Madison Sullivan ’16 led the team with three RBIs off of a home run. Second baseman Madison Gagnon ’16 also added a solo shot while catcher Cori Coleman ’15 knocked in a run. The team as a whole was lethal on the base paths, garnering five steals for the contest. Shortstop Anya Kamber ’15 stole two bases while Coleman, first basemen Jordan Buscetto ’16 and center fielder Amanda Shore ’18 added one. The game was tied at one in the first inning, and the score remained at one untill the sixth inning when the Judges put up four runs on the board. Judges 4, Framingham State 2 Pitcher Samantha Wroblewski ’17 threw a complete game for the Judges, throwing seven innings while only allowing a single earned run in the contest. Wroblewski was able to strike out eight batters while only allowing three walks. She allowed five hits and one home run to Framingham State while improving to a total record of 7-11. Shore led the team with two RBIs on two base hits, one of which was a home run. Sullivan also contributed to the offense with two RBIs of her own. Her double in the fifth inning drove in Kamber and put the Judges away for good. The Judges controlled for most of the contest, outhitting the away team 11-5.
Babson 9, Judges 1 In the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Judges were handily defeated. The game ended in only five innings with Wroblewski going the full distance. Wroblewski allowed seven earned runs on nine hits. She struck out three and walked another three in the outing. The Judges only collected three hits on the day to score their single run. The base hits came from Kamber, Sullivan and Buscetto. Judges 10, Babson 9 The Judges threw out three different pitchers to try to stop Babson in the high-scoring contest. Cote started the game for the squad, going 3.1 innings while allowing four earned runs on three hits. Fellow pitcher Sadie-Rose Apfel ’18 picked up the win in relief, even though she allowed a total of four earned runs in her 1.1 innings pitched. Pitcher Melissa Soleimani ’17 picked up the save for the team in 2.1 innings pitched and only one earned run on two hits. Sullivan led the offense for the day with four RBIs and a home run. Buscetto added two RBIs of her own off of a base hit and a sacrifice fly. Gagnon, infielder Leah Shapiro ’17 and right fielder Danielle Novotny ’16 each added an RBI of their own. Judges 6, Bowdoin 5
See SOFTBALL, 13 ☛
Judges 4, Trinity 2 In the second game of Sunday, the Judges were able to pull through due to dominant pitching and timely hitting. Pitcher Sam Miller ’16 threw a complete game for the squad, going seven innings while only allowing two earned runs on five hits. Miller struck out five batters while giving up two walks and two home runs. The contest marked Miller’s fifth complete game of the season, which leads all University Athletic Association conference pitchers. On the offensive end, the Judges were led by third baseman Rob Trenk ’15, who had two RBIs on two base hits, including a double. Second baseman Brian Allen ’15 also added an RBI for the Judges in the bottom of the second inning off of a ground ball. Judges 3, Trinity 1 Pitcher Sean O’Neill ’18 led the way for the Judges, also pitching a complete game while only allowing one earned run. O’Neill was able to
strike out eight batters while only allowing one walk. With the victory, he improved to a total record of 5-2 on the season. The lone RBI on the day came once again from Trenk, this time off of a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth inning. First baseman Kyle Brenner ’15 added a steal and a base hit for the home team in the contest. The Judges also received a double from shortstop Nick Falkson ’18 and base hits from infielder Ryan Tettemer ’17 and catcher Connor Doyle ’16 as part of the team’s four hits in the contest. Salve Regina 14, Judges 7 The Judges’ pitching was not strong enough to keep them in the game on Friday afternoon against Salve Regina. Pitcher Brent Edmunds ’15 got the start and, in doing so, saw his record fall to 0-3 on the year. Edmunds lasted only three innings while allowing four earned runs on a total of six hits and four walks. Fellow pitcher Liam Coughlin ’17 came in for relief for Edmunds and went 3.1 innings while giving up three earned runs off of six base hits. Coughlin struck out four batters while only walking one batter. Falkson and Doyle led the offense with two and three RBIs respectively. Doyle’s lone base hit was a three-run homer that came in the bottom of the eighth inning. Right fielder Ryan Healy ’16 and catcher Remy Pontes ’17 each added an RBI in back-to-back innings in the third and fourth. Healy and designated hitter Ryan Pocock ’18 each went 2-5 on the day as the Judges struggled to stay in the game throughout.
See BASEBALL, 13 ☛
TRACK & fIELD
Teams run strong at UAA Championships ■ Kelsey Whitaker ’16 won
her first collegiate UAA title in the women’s 1,500-meter run on Sunday. By AVI GOLD JUSTICE EDITOR
The men and women’s track and field teams traveled to Emory University for the University Athletic Association Championships last weekend, securing a number of individual medals and earning two seventh-place finishes. Kelsey Whitaker ’16 won her first collegiate UAA title in the women’s 1,500-meter run, stopping the clock at the four minute, 38.94 second mark in Sunday’s race. Her time was nearly a full second faster than that of Carnegie Mellon University junior Erin Kiekhaefer, who took second in the race. The Judges also placed three other runners in the top-15 of the race, as Kristi Pisarik ’15 took home a fourth-place finish in 4:41.15, missing out on the podium by just under a second. Kyra Shreeve ’18 ran to a 4:54.18 time, good for 11th place, while Ashley Piccirillo-Horan ’17
earned 14th place, stopping the clock at 4:57.55. Mohamed Sidique ’15 earned his third career title in the men’s triple jump with a distance of 14.10 meters. Sidique registered his title-winning jump on his final jump of the day, 35 inches further than the second-place competitor from the host Eagles. Sidique also took home a fifth-place finish in the long jump at 6.46 meters, an improvement on his 6.39-meter jump in the qualifying round. Brian Louis ’16 and Adam Berger ’15 also competed in the triple jump, taking home ninth and 10th places, respectively. Louis ended the competition with a jump marking 12.83 meters while Berger was not far behind at 12.44 meters. Alyssa Fenenbock ’15 earned a third-place finish in the women’s javelin throw, registering a toss of 34.71 meters to earn her first career All-UAA honor. Fenenbock finished just ahead of Ashley Klein ’16, whose 33.84-meter throw was enough for a fourth-place finish. Halina Burhans ’18 earned a sixth-place finish in the women’s 200-meter dash with a time of 26.69 seconds. She also qualified for the
See TRACK, 13 ☛
JustArts
Volume LXVII, Number 26
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Your weekly guide to arts, movies, music and everything cultural at Brandeis and beyond
Waltham, Mass.
The Burning Boards >> 23
Interview Column — justArts speaks with Jez Huang ’15, the artist behind You Don’t Have to Pick Up » 18
A Night on the Clowns This show featured professional circus performers and comedians in a night of
INSIDE
hilarity. » 20
Senior Festival Eight festival plays, ranging from Springfest Jessie J headlined this year’s Springfest. Other acts included iLoveMakonnen, Stolen Jars, St. Lucia and DJ A-Smooth. » 21
modern classics to original works and comedy shows, showcase graduating students’ range of talent. » 19
18
justARTS
TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015 | THE JUSTICE
CALENDAR
INTERVIEW
What’s happening in Arts on and off campus this week
ON-CAMPUS EVENTS ‘Dept. of Theater Arts: Undergraduate Singing Party’ Join singing Prof. Nancy Armstrong as she leads students in singing a variety of songs in an informal cabaret-style party. Today from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Laurie Theater in Spingold Theater Center. The event is sponsored by the Theater Arts Department and is free and open to the public.
‘BEND: A Performance by Kimi Maeda’
The performance follows the lives of Kimi’s father and the subject of his research Isamu Noguchi, a halfJapanese-half-American sculptor, two men who were interned in a JapaneseAmerican Relocation camp during World War II. The performance examines their lives and explores memory and identity. Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Merrick Theater in the Spingold Theater Center. This event is sponsored by the Fine Arts Department, Brandeis Arts Council, Poses Fund, and the Comparative Literature Department. This event is free and open to the public.
Jez Huang ’15
Installation artist discusses work JAIME GROPPER/the Justice
This week justArts spoke with Jez Huang ’15, the artist behind You Don’t Have to Pick Up. The art installation in Usdan was part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts.
‘Drag Show 2015’
Marking the end of Pride month, Triskelion’s Annual Drag Show in Celebration of the Queer Community is a night filled with song, dance, talent and drag performed by students.
justArts: Can you give an overview of your project? Jez Huang: It’s a telephone and it doesn’t ring, but when people pick it up they hear monologues. The monologues are inspired by individuals that I’ve observed or might have met at the probation department when I was interning there.
Tuesday from 7:30 to 10 p.m. in the Levin Ballroom. Doors open at 7 p.m. This event is sponsored by Triskelion and is free and open to the public.
‘Opening Reception: Class of 2015 Senior Studio Majors Exhibition’
JA: How did you come up with this idea?
This final exhibition features the works of the class of 2015 studio majors. Meet the artists and discuss their works in this opening reception to the exhibit. Wednesday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Dreitzer gallery in Spingold Theater Center. This event is sponsored by the Fine Arts department. It is free and open to the public.
JH: The idea behind the telephone was because when I was interning [at the probation office], I would pick up the telephone. I just remember the first day I didn’t know what to say because I don’t even know how the probation department works. It was kind of like I would pick up the phone and hand it to someone else, but as time went on, I would pick up the phone, but I wouldn’t know how to answer people. If they had questions I couldn’t do anything. I would either transfer them [or] ask a probation officer, but if they didn’t know, they would say, “Just hang up” or “Just transfer them.” I would be like, “Don’t we have anything in the office that can help them?” It was kind of from that helplessness that I wanted to do this phone interaction thing, where they can hear the audience, but they can’t really help in any way or reply in any way, which is what I kind of felt.
OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS Schumann, Mozart and Brahms
MFA: Gonzalo Fuenmayor, ‘Tropical Mythologies’
The work of MFA artist Gonzalo Fuenmayor explores the themes of national identity, geographic displacement and colonial histories. The exhibit will be the artist’s first at the Museum of Fine Arts. Fuenmayor’s Colombian heritage and Latino identity collide in works that address Latin America’s colonial past and its legacy. His art references the culture clash between these two regions and is marked by references to magical realism—the literary genre that blends the fantastic and mundane. On view through June 14 at the Museum of Fine Arts. General admission is $25 but free for students with a Brandeis ID.
Psychedelic Cinema + “The Crumbling”
Psychedelic Cinema, a series of experimental movies, returns to the Institute of Contemporary Arts. The movies, which consist of filmmaker Ken Brown’s elaborately montaged 8mm movies are a unique experience. The films use colors and animations to transport the viewer to another time and place. The film will be accompanied live by the Psychedelic Cinema Orchestra, a group of silent film composers and independent musicians. The evening will open with “The Crumbling,” a short film by emerging filmmaker Alexis Gideon. In the video, a stop-motion-animation video opera set in a dream-like mythic town, the film follows an apprentice librarian as she tries to stop her city from crumbling down around her. Saturday, May 2 at the Institute of Contemporary Art. Tickets for members and students are $12 and are available at icaboston.org. Non-member tickets are $15.
Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires joins Bernard Haitnik in Pires’ first Boston Symphony Orchestra appearance since 1999 for a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23. Performances run from April 30th to May 2nd at various times. Ticket prices range from $36-$135 and can be purchaed at bso.org. Boxed dinners, appetizers, drink vouchers,and Symphony Café reservations are available for all BSO concerts.
Boston Ballet: ‘Next Generation’
Next Generation showcases students from the Boston Ballet School’s PreProfessional Program and Boston Ballet II alongside young musicians from the New England Conservatory. The onenight-only performance demonstrates the students’ technique. The dancers will perform Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15 and Peter Martins’ Les Gentilhommes. Wednesday, May 6 at 7 p.m. at the Boston Opera House. Tickets range from $25 to $100 and are available for purchase at bostonballet.org.
‘The Last Two People on Earth: An Apocalyptic Vaudeville’
In this performance at the American Repertory Theater, only two people are left on earth after a flood of biblical proportions. These survivors discover that they can only communicate to each other through song and dance . The selection of music ranges from Rogers and Hammerstein to Sondheim and R.E.M and Queen This production is running from May 12th to May 31st. Run time is 80 minutes with no intermission. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at americanrepertorytheater.org. Standing room tickets are also available at slect shows.
POP CULTURE n !
By Anna Stern
ww
JA: What was the process of creating the piece? JH: It started with an internship class that I was taking, we all had to do a final project. I was like, “Is there something I can do that’s not a PowerPoint?” because I’m a Theater Arts major, but I didn’t feel like I would be getting anything out of the class if I didn’t do anything that was related to theater. So the professor and I kind of talked, and she was very flexible about me coming up with anything that I wanted. So this idea kind of came from that freedom. That was when it first started, when I was working at the probation department and through this class, but I couldn’t actually make the telephone during the first semester, so I did another presentation, and then I was like, “It’s coming soon guys.” I still wanted to do the telephone itself, so my thesis mentor was like “Take a look at the Bernstein festival; this might help; you could get a grant, so I tried getting a grant. The monologues were kind of easy; the hard part was putting the phone together, because I didn’t know anything about engineering or anything. I asked my friend who is an engineer, and he was like, “You can use this, this and this,” and I was like, “I don’t know what these things are.” He kind of directed me as to how to put things together, and then I had to find someone else to actually put them together for me. It was kind of like buying the phone, dissecting the phone, putting the processor—the coding and the processor—in there and then putting my monologues in there and just covering it up. JA:What do you hope people take away from your piece? JH: I’m kind of not expecting deep thoughts. There are two different audiences that I can see, or in between as well. But basically, someone just going there and picking up the phone and thinking, ‘Oh, this is really fun, I hear monologues.’ Then the deeper message behind the phone is, I guess, what kind of legal system we’re working under, because I don’t want to bash the department I was working for but there were moments where I was like, “Is this really our legal system? Just transfer the person? Just hang up?” That’s my little social justice part, but I also hope people just have fun interacting with it as well, hearing the stories. —Jaime Gropper
On April 24, a powerful story involving a member of America’s favorite reality family sparked a national conversation. The story wasn’t about a viral picture of Kim Kardashian’s butt or her younger sister Kylie Jenner’s lips. It wasn’t about a wedding that fizzled into a publicized divorce. This week, the spotlight transitioned from the Kardashian children to their step-dad and father, Bruce Jenner. After months of speculation, Bruce Jenner came out to the world and announced that he was transitioning and embracing a female gender identity. Jenner made this announcement on an ABC special 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer. Jenner’s statement marked the first time a well-known public figure came out as transgender on national television, sparking a new conversation. For years, transgender identity was a topic that was unfamiliar to the general public. According to Nick Adams, director of programs and transgender media for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender monitoring group, only eight percent of people say that they know a transgender person. Just as formerly controversial and hushed topics such as interracial couples and gay marriage became accepted social norms over time, so too is the concept of transgender identity gaining acceptance and moving to the forefront of today’s cultural dialogue. Even before Jenner made his public announcement on the news, the term “transgender” was gaining publicity through other forms of entertainment. Laverne Cox, a popular cast member from Orange is the New Black, is a transgender activist and one of the most notable transgender actresses working in television today. Amazon’s new show, Transparent, followed a father coming out to his adult children as a woman. Transparent went on to win a Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy in 2015. Jenner has received incredible support from his family regarding his transition. During his interview, Jenner’s son from
James Orken/Abaca Press/TNS
A POWERFUL STATEMENT: Bruce Jenner (above) recently announced a new gender identity. his second marriage to Linda Thompson, Brandon, said that he’s “more proud than ever to be a part of the family.” The Kardashian sisters released statements saying that they are proud of their stepdad and are embracing his decision to transition. In fact, younger daughters Kendall and Kylie, as well as stepdaughter Kim, noticed him dressing in women’s clothing and were not surprised by his decision to come out as transgender. Jenner’s son Brody said that his father’s transition explains so much; as Jenner explained, during Brody’s childhood he struggled the most with his identity. Step-son-in-law Kanye West put it best when he said regarding Jenner’s transition, “I’m nothing if I can’t be me;
if I can’t be true to myself [my family members] don’t mean anything.” Kanye West’s emphasis on embracing one’s true identity holds resonance for Jenner, who said in his interview that for years he felt he was living his life as a lie. In a compelling moment in the interview, Jenner took out his ponytail and said that he couldn’t cope with hiding and running away from himself any longer. Jenner first became a public figure as the Olympic gold medalist in the 1976 Olympic decathlon event—10 events that represent the strength of human endurance and traditional masculinity. He said that although people view him as a “macho-man,” his heart and soul are those of a woman and are “part of [him].”
ARTS COVER IMAGES: MIHIR KHANNA and GRACE KWON/the Justice and Courtesy of Alyssa Avis and Samantha Laney. DESIGN: MIHIR KHANNA
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TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015 | THE JUSTICE
THEATER
Senior Festival plays showcase versatility ‘I Am the Seagull’ By TATE HERBERT JUSTICE EDITOR
I Am the Seagull or Something is an original play devised and written by Sarah Hines ’15 and Aliza Sotsky ’15. The production takes the audience behind the scenes of a new, two-woman Chekhovian play and into the increasingly complex relationship between the actresses Anna and Nina. The show follows the pair as they rehearse, using unconventional techniques designed to create intimacy and vulnerability. The one-hour production begins in medias res, a few days before the opening night of the play and continuously flashes backward and forward in time, strategically sprinkling in narrative details along the way. The time is marked helpfully by a countdown to opening night, displayed on an easel in a corner of the stage. Life imitates art and art imitates life as Anna and Nina struggle with themes of love, fear, trust and exploration. By the culminating scene— their opening night performance—it
is hard to tell which sphere has influenced the other more. One thing is certain: the interplay between them and and their lives results in a powerful, emotional work of art which has changed both women for good. Hines and Sotsky’s intensity and focus on each other is, at times, mesmerizing. The bare-bones set and minimal costume changes help to keep the focus on the two, whose complex characters were richly rewarding to watch. This intensity was not without comic relief, however, mostly from Hines, whose character has a habit of breaking the ice with jokes when things get uncomfortably serious. In one scene, while the two tackle an acting exercise to explore their sense of space and touch, Anna quips to Nina as she blindly embraces her, “You look like Helen Keller trying to get laid.” Under the direction of playwright, actor, director, teacher and visual artist Steven Bogart, the two seniors created and performed a unique, multilayered and thoroughly entertaining piece.
‘Grace’ By BROOKE GRANOVSKY JUSTICE EDITOR
Written, directed and composed by Charlie Madison ’15, Grace follows the eponymous character, as she attempts to lead a normal life. As detailed online at the Brandeis Theater Company’s website, Grace’s goal is to go shopping, have lunch with her friends, start dating and generally be a typical high school senior. When Grace starts hearing voices, her goals become compromised. The show was part of the Senior Festival and used music and songs to help illustrate its plot. In an email to the Justice, Madison wrote, “When I started thinking about ideas for my first musical, I had a lot of crazy concepts I was toying with. I wanted to tell a
story about North Korea, or a songcycle about ‘villains in everyday life.’” However, Madison kept returning to the idea of high school students struggling with feelings of isolation and eventually decided on that as his theme for the play. The play also invokes themes of high school archetypes and coping with mental illness. Madison commented that the play’s central theme is “growing up,” elaborating and writing that “[he] was raised in a wanna-be Friday Night Lights kind of town,” basing many of the characters and events on his own teenage experience. Madison also underscored the play’s more serious theme, writing that “mental [illness] is a serious issue that I feel isn’t addressed nearly enough in theater, let alone musical theater
(save for shows like Next to Normal). It was a creative wonder to entertain my audience yet let them inside the mind of someone who must grapple everyday with such a disturbing sense of reality.” When asked about the show’s message, Madison noted that maintaining relatability and prompting understanding was an important part of the play’s goal. He wrote “[E]ach person has their own individual baggage they have to carry around each day. … chances are that the person next to you feels the exact same way about themselves too.” Madison stressed the importance of viewers learning to be themselves, writing that the audience “shouldn’t be afraid of letting [their] freak flag fly, putting [themselves] out there.”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAMANTHA LANEY
TESTING LIMITS: In the play, Nina (Aliza Sotsky ’15, left) and Anna (Sarah Hines ’15)
grow closer as they work through their personal issues and strive to improve their craft.
LET’S GO BACK TO HIGH SCHOOL: Grace’s writer and director, Charlie Madison ’15, credited his experiences in and memories from high school with shaping the production’s plot, character archetypes, themes and even the production’s overall message.
‘Coerced: a documentary play’ By MORGAN BRILL JUSTICE EDITOR
Coerced, a play written and directed by Amanda Stern ’15 and Julian Seltzer ’15, tells the true and tragic story of Nga Truong, a thensixteen-year-old girl accused of
murdering her infant child in 2008 in the town of Worcester, MA. The piece deals with the question of how far police officers can go to procure a confession. The piece, styled as a documentary play, was written using words taken directly from historical and
JUSTICE FOR ALL: Truong’s lawyer Edward Ryan (Dylan Hoffman ’18, above)
defended her and, alongside Boeri, provided helpful narration throughout the play.
legal records, interviews and news articles from the time of Truong’s trial and case. The play begins with reporter David Boeri (Sumner Alperin ’18) breaking the fourth wall and posing questions about police brutality and conduct to the audience. Throughout the play, Boeri and Truong’s lawyer Edward Ryan (Dylan Hoffman ’18) serve as narrators, providing the audience with necessary context. The narrators’ connecting pieces between scenes help move the plot along where it otherwise might have been difficult to connect the dots. Centered around the initial interrogation of Truong (Christine Kim ’17), the play depicts pieces of her almost 3-hour interrogation. The lighting and set, both sparse and cold, helped to focus the audience and prompt them to realize just how traumatic this experience must have been for Truong, who was a minor at the time. The performances of the two police officers, Ryan Mouton ’17 as Det. John Doherty and Ben Gold ’18 as Sgt. Kevin Pageau, were compelling and sometimes terrifying. The characters helped reinforce just how cruel the department was in dealing with Truong’s case. The officers’ treatment of Truong raised concerns about the nature of police work, highlighting the importance of encouraging police officers to deal with trauma victims respectfully and with sensitivity. The story itself was fascinating, and the questions posed to the audience were extremely compelling and interesting. While individual performances were sometimes lacking, with actors sometimes stumbling over certain words or forgetting lines, the piece as a whole was clearly well compiled and thought-out.
‘And in longing, she bites’ By BROOKE GRANOVSKY JUSTICE EDITOR
And in longing she bites opened with the full cast onstage. The all-female cast was comprised of an overly enthusastic sex education teacher (Ayelet Schrek ’17), the poet Sappho (Caley Chase ’16), a girl sent to a weight loss camp (Emma Hanselman ’18) and two friends exploring their feelings for each other (Julie Joseph ’18 and Rachel Zhu ’18). The play, written and directed by Sophie Greenspan ’15, followed the characters as they grew up and discovered their identities, sexualities and relationships as women to the rest of society. The show used a series of vignettes to express these experiences. The play broke down the barrier between the audience and the stage in novel ways. The characters frequently ventured beyond the stage’s boundaries, expanding the stage to include the chairs, the aisles and the space right in front of the seated first row. One scene had the full cast run through the aisles, each delivering a
different monologue about her first experiences of womanhood. Another scene had members of the cast seated in the audience, talking back to other cast members on stage and interrupting their monologues. One such scene—arguably the play’s funniest—was where the sex education teacher tried to simulate and explain lesbian sex to the audience by using two cast members as demonstrators. The scene’s comedy was inhanced by cast members heckling the teacher from the audience and by the demonstrators periodically leaving the stage to begin “demonstrating” what they had learned. Despite the scene’s comedy, the sex education teacher made poignant points about the ambiguous definition of lesbian sex and about how sex education in schools is typically very heteronormative. From the short scenes and monologues where the characters expressed their feelings about various aspects of conventional femininity, to the brief dance sections and the longer, more plot-driven scenes, the play moved quickly and the hour flew by.
GROWING UP: Two teenagers (Julie Joseph ’18, left and Rachel Zhu ’18) discuss the newfound romantic feelings that the pair may or may not be developing for each other.
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TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015 | THE JUSTICE
THEATER
Senior Festival blends comedy and drama ‘The Contractual Death’ By SAM MINTZ JUSTICE EDITOR
The Contractual Death of Jonathan G Faustus managed to avoid being pretentious despite subject matter that could hardly be anything but. The show was about life, death and the meaning of both, but, to its credit, it wasn’t above the occasional phallic joke. Written and directed by Alex Davis ’15, the play followed the journey of Dr. Jonathan Faustus (Connor Wahrman ’17) after he summoned the demon Mephistopheles (Zach Smith ’15) and signed a contract selling his soul to the devil. Wahrman stuttered, hypothesized and stumbled his way across the stage in a brilliant portrayal of a troubled genius struggling to find meaning in his life (and death). Smith alternated between hellish anger and sassy sarcasm as Mephistopheles, who used his power to guide Dr. Faustus through time and space. For example, the demon had to be reminded that humans need oxygen to breathe. The supporting cast, Sara Kenney ’18, Lily Shrayfer ’18 and Morgan Winters ’17, revolved around the stage, playing roles including fellow faculty members, Dr. Faust’s subconscious, the less friendly demon
Beelzebub (Shrayfer) and Faust’s comatose wife (Winters). The cast was versatile and made the small stage seem like it was bursting with energy. The play ran smoothly, and the choreography was tight through the strong work of stage manager Nick Galinski ’15. Though few props were used, they were used smartly, with a desk, books, whiteboard, trash can and water pitcher all featuring in important moments throughout the
show. For instance, the trash can’s big moment was when Dr. Faustus flung himself to his knees and vomitted after a particularly horrifying epiphany about what hell might be like. I found the play entranced me For an hour and a half on Saturday night, Dr. Faustus had me under his spell like a lowly undergraduate sitting in awe of the great professor’s lecture, unaware of the turmoil in his lecturer’s mind.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAMANTHA LANEY
BENEATH THE SURFACE: The play examined the inner workings of a doctor, a demon and a comatose wife as they strove to understand life’s larger questions.
‘Look Me in the Eyebrows’ By BROKE GRANOVSKY JUSTICE EDITOR
Brandeis’ Senior Festival’s lone stand-up comedy show was Look Me in the Eyebrows, written by and starring Anne Chmiel’ 15. In a description on the festival’s website, Chmiel comically asked her parents to forgive her for funding an expensive Brandeis education—only to then realize that her true aim was comedy. The show covered topics ranging from her parents’ obvious dissapoitnment in her career choices to her experiences as a woman. When asked why she made the unusual choice to stage a comedy show, Chmiel responded that she wanted a chance to prove that she could hold her own and command a stage by herself. In an email to the Justice, Chmiel wrote that “[she’s] spent [her] whole life trying to get people to think [she is] funny,” and that this show was the perfect venue. Chmiel wrote that “[h]aving a fully produced show under your belt shows
you have a little more clout than reading from a joke book to your gramma (sic) in front of your fire place (which is what I did when I was 7).” Chmiel also sarcastically stressed the importance of the show to her audience, writing, “I made this for all of the people [in] my audience.” Elaborating, Chmiel wrote, “[s]o when I make it big they can now say, ‘Oh I knew her when...!’ I like it when people laugh at me [thereby] making me the center of attention.” According to Chmiel, viewers should learn from the show “that I am funny and really brave. And also the Theater department is really brave for allowing me to have this opportunity. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want and to follow your dreams.” The show touched on several themes, which Chmiel described as “comedy, since it was a stand up comedy show, but I did talk a lot about my mom and and the sexual behavior of others. (Those two topics were separate, I assure you).”
‘No Exit’ By BRITTANY JOYCE JUSTICE EDITOR
Barbara Rugg’s ’15 senior production of the classic play No Exit used Jean-Paul Sartre’s simple yet brilliant idea of hell to put on a thought-provoking production. The play’s sparse set allows for both the symbolic discussions in the play and the confined physical setting. As each character enters the room, they express an expectation of encountering a torturer or
grotesque imagery, rather than a simply decorated room. As the play goes on, it becomes clear that these characters recently died and have reached their place in the afterlife—a room in hell. Garcin and Estelle contemplate what tortures await them next, but Inez is the first to realize the intended plan; these three people have been chosen to live together for eternity because they are the perfect people to torture each other. In a slightly overheated room— poking fun at the concept of burn-
FRENEMIES: The characters in the production eventually discover that they are in hell and are meant to serve as each other’s own personal torturers.
ing in hell—the worst thing these characters encounter is how the others make them confront their past sins. The play conveys these past lives and remembrances subtly; while the actors genuinely convey the emotions necessary with confronting a lost past, the lights dim slightly and soften to show that they are looking into the past, or into what is currently happening on earth. The characters eventually begin to question how they could have gotten to the room. Garcin and Estelle romanticize their actions, denying any wrongdoing that could have led them to hell. Through the course of the play, Inez drives them to admit to their past actions and confront who they were. The actors play their parts expertly, particularly Yeshua, whose character was more wild and devilish in her confrontations with the others. Inez tells the others, “I prefer to choose my own hell,” and that is exactly what she does. —Editor’s Note: Gabriela Yeshua ’17 is the editorial cartoonist for the Justice.
NOT ABOUT THE PRICE TAG: Chmiel’s stand-up show referenced her costly decision to attempt to pursue comedy after graduating college.
‘Songs of a Murderess’ By JESSIE MILLER JUSTICE EDITOR
As part of this year’s Senior Thesis Festival, Jade Garisch ’15 presented her original onewoman show Songs of a Murderess. The performance incorporated elements of dance, song and alternative theater techniques to analyze the conception of memory. Songs of a Murderess was an excellent example of a successful one-woman play and Garisch flawlessly executed the multiple roles she played during the show. Garisch also displayed a mastery of a range of theatrical skills, from her movement across the small stage to her distinct vocals. The main role is Fallon, a young woman facing charges
for the murder of her love interest, Guy. The show depicts Fallon’s trial and uses flashbacks, music and video projections to argue her innocence. Garisch wrote the entire 45-minute play herself and managed to incorporate multiple complex themes, including psychological issues. The end of the play leaves the audience contemplating Fallon’s innocence and her mental state, as well as the concept of memory itself. In an email to the Justice, Garisch explained that the play originated as a series of short stories. She eventually strung them together to create the murder-mystery plot with guidance from peers and her thesis adviser. The show deals with very personal issues and Garisch
explained how parts of the play were influenced by her life. Both her own and Fallon’s grandmother had curly red hair and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. “The character of the fiery, vivacious grandmother, and the choice to focus on memories in general, was all a result of knowing my grandmother all through my life up to seeing her when she couldn’t even remember my name,” Garisch explained. For Garisch, her biggest challenge was allowing herself to feel vulnerable and then taking a leap of faith, not knowing how the audience would react to such a personal display. She hopes that the play “inspires people to reflect on their memories in a way that is constructive for them and lifts them up.”
TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS: Garisch’s play emphasizes the protagonist, Fallon’s (Garisch, above) struggles in her personal life, including complex psychological and emotional issues.
THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015
CONCERT GRACE KWON/the Justice
Headliner Jessie J brings pop to Springfest concert By LINDA MALEH JUSTICE STAFF
Brandeis’ annual music festival, Springest, featured Jessie J and iLoveMakonen this year in performances on Chapel’s Field. Stolen Jars opened to a mostly empty Chapels’ Field at exactly 2:32 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. There were a few people milling around, but aside from the numerous Student Events personel, the hordes of students had not yet arrived. As Stolen Jars continued to play, more people wandered over to the stage. Some went right up, crowding before the stage, while others laid down blankets to sit and watch the show. Springfest this year was composed of four acts: Stolen Jars, St. Lucia, iLoveMakonnen and headliner Jessie J. DJ A-Smooth played in between each of the acts. There were food trucks along the perimeter and a beer garden on the right side of the field. Stolen Jars were arguably the least known group at the concert, and, according to their Facebook page are unsigned by a record label. In an interview with the Justice, Cody Fitzgerald, the band’s founder and leader, explained that the group’s members are actually college students. Fitzgerald went on to say that they have friends who are a part of Student Events at Brandeis and who they contacted asking if it would be possible to play at Springfest. When asked what it was like
to find out that they were going to perform alongside artists like Jessie J, Molly Grund, the coleader of the group, said, “It was surreal.” St. Lucia played second and many students exclaimed that they had heard of the band before and were excited to see them at Brandeis. As the crowd thickened, students cheered and sang along to the songs they knew. Two of the band members wore brightly colored prints, suiting Springfest’s lively mood. St. Lucia’s best-known song, “Elevate,” was played second to
“Jessie J wore a variety of Brandeis apparel throughout her performance and talked to the crowd in between songs.” last. The students cheered and sang the lyrics at the top of their lungs when it came on. A sizable crowd had grown on the field by the time DJ ASmooth came back on after St. Lucia, and the concert turned into a dance party. By filling up the gaps between acts, A-Smooth made sure there was never a dull moment and that students were constantly entertained. During rapper iLoveMakonnen’s set, the audience’s attention wavered a little, but everyone got into the music when the rapper’s hit song “Tuesday” came on. “Tuesday” brought
BANG BANG: Jessie J was the headliner of Springfest and performed her hit songs including, “Bang Bang,” “Domino,” and “Price Tag” while wearing various Brandeis apparel.
iLoveMakonnen fame in 2014 when Drake, a prominent rapper, remixed the song. After iLoveMakonnen left the stage, the crowd bided its time dancing again to DJ A-Smooth, but it was obvious that everyone was waiting for Jessie J. Jessie J was the concert’s powerhouse headliner, and her arrival was met with a big cheer from the crowd. She entered the stage on a raised platform looking out over the crowd—quite a dramatic entrance. Jessie J opened with her song, “Ain’t Been Done.” The crowd nodded along but didn’t really get going until Jessie J began her next song, herhit, “Domino.” She acknowledged this later when she thanked the crowd for trying to pretend to know and like the songs she knew they didn’t know. Jessie J wore a variety of Brandeis apparel throughout her performance and talked to the crowd in between songs. The singer filled the space with her rich, deep voice, showing off how her vocals are much stronger than the tracks on her albums reveal. The crowd got really ramped up during her hit songs like “Price Tag,” her first hit that made her famous, and “Bang Bang,” which is her current most popular song and which was the last song of the concert. Despite the cloudy day and impending finals, students came out in throngs to Chapel’s Field for the ever-popular Springfest. Thanks to the efforts of Student Events, Springfest 2015 was another hit.
REAL SMOOTH: DJ A-Smooth kept the music going and people dancing by DJ-ing in between the performances of the other main artists.
ROCKING OUT: St. Lucia was the second performance of Springfest. The crowd roared when the band performed one of their hit songs “Elevate.”
OPENING ACT: Stolen Jars started off the music-filled day as the openers of Springfest. The band members are college students and have personal ties to Brandeis.
21
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TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015 | THE JUSTICE
PERFORMANCE ART
Candles as chess pieces light up the Rose By EMILY WISHINGRAD JUSTICE EDITOR
Five hundred and twelve candles lit up the front of the Rose Art Museum on Friday evening for “The Burning Boards,” a piece of performance artwork created by Los Angeles-based artist Glen Kaino. The event featured 16 simultaneous games of chess, played with lit candles. The piece was first performed at the Whitney Museum in New York in 2007. It was later staged at the World Chess Hall of Fame in Saint Louis, Mo., as part of the exhibit Cage & Kaino: Pieces and Per-
formances. As the highlighted event of the Festival, “The Burning Boards” exemplified this year’s theme of “Find Your Light,” not only in its use of candles but also in its location next to Chris Burdens’ “Light of Reason.” The event started with speeches by Kaino, Acting Director of the Office of the Arts Ingrid Schorr and Provost Lisa Lynch, who also took part in a match. “This is amazing because it completely takes the game of chess and turns it on its head—upside down, inside out,” said Lynch. “You have to rethink your whole approach of
PHOTOS BY MIHIR KHANNA/the Justice
PLAYING WITH FIRE: The Brandeis community came out to both watch and play Glen Kaino’s “The Burning Boards,” a piece in which chess is played with candles.
chess because your moves involve not only thinking your strategy ahead but ‘is the wind gonna blow out my candle, is the candle gonna fall over?’” In his speech, Kaino discussed his inspiration for the piece, and in true Brandeis fashion discussed how it relates to social justice. “[Chess players] imagine thousands of moves and possibilities,” he said. “And as a dreamer thinking about social justice, you think about the amount of opportunity and options that go into every move. So as the wax drips, for me, [it is] an opportunity to raise questions and think about how we might record at least the alternatives to some … worlds.” In all of Kaino’s demonstrations of “The Burning Boards,” he has never had one outdoors. Friday night happened to be particularly windy, which posed a challenge on top of the usual ones Kaino’s performance piece presents. In light of this outdoor performance, Kaino decided that there would be “unlimited relights.” When the candles were lit, the
games began. The boards were tightly packed together in four rows of four games. Players used rubber kitchen tongs to move the pieces in order to avoid touching the flames. In a match of experts, Kaino squared off against Larry List, the curator of Cage & Kaino: Pieces and Performances. Lynch faced off against President of the Chess Club Misha Vikenchuk ’16. Lynch believes that Vikenchuk took mercy on her at first, but he eventually went in for the win. “I have to say that Misha took pity on me because I begged for mercy early on. And he waited 22 moves before he took me out, but I think he could have done it much earlier,” Lynch said in an interview with the Justice. There were bleachers around the entrance to the Rose, but once the games began, onlookers moved in closer to form a ring around the boards. This turned out to be useful as the huddled crowd blocked most of the wind. But there were still bursts of wind that managed to extinguish most of the candles—causing momentary pauses in the games.
In his introduction, Kaino had said that the piece presents an opportunity for collaboration among the players. “What happens when you play is that the pieces melt at different speeds. So one also has to collaborate with their partner to remember where the pieces came from,” he said. It is true that players were constantly asking each other—asking questions like “is that a knight or a pawn?” Even Kaino and List, players who were obviously very familiar with “The Burning Boards,” had to ask one another for clarification. Near the end of the event, onlookers and players alike joined in to sing “Happy Birthday” to one of the participants. After nearly an hour, all the games were finished and the candles had melted down. In an interview with the Justice, Kaino said that he really enjoyed having the games played outside— “Having the work being presented with an unlimited ceiling, I think, is fantastic,” he said, looking up at the sky.
MATCH OF THE MASTERS: Provost Lisa Lynch (center) played against Misha Vilenchuk ’16. Vilenchuk won after one of the longer matches that night, but Lynch commented in an interview with the Justice that she believes that he went easy on her.
COMEDY SHOW
Clown show incorporates creative illusions By JAIME GROPPER JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
The curtain opened on a showgirl dressed in an elaborate, sparkling, white mini-dress. As she passionately sang about the ups and downs of show business, her false breasts slowly started to comically slide down her dress. Amy G (Amy Gordon), one of the six circus performers and comedians in A Night on the Clowns, spent the rest of her number in a simulated battle between dramatically finishing her song and arranging her false breasts. The routine immediately established the silly atmosphere that would last throughout the night. A Night on the Clowns was presented in Spingold’s Mainstage Theater this weekend as part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts. The performance was presented by the Brandeis Theater Company and was conceived and directed by Kenny Raskin ’74, who was also one of the performers. The differing backgrounds of the performers lent to the performance, which included routines based more on circus-like acts, those based more on comedy and those that were clever mixes of both. Some numbers included elements typically associated with traditional clown acts. Raskin appeared in an act that was a simulation of a clown audition. The act ended with him playing “Ode to Joy” on two flutes out of his nose.
In this “audition,” Raskin was asked to present his clown credentials. In response, he offered up his clown nose, his oversized shoes and his whoopie cushion. The variety and skill within the acts that followed Raskin’s demonstrated a different brand of comedy than the typical clown acts Raskin referenced with these three props. Kevin Brooking, a circus clown, uniquely utilized cotton candy— made fresh from a cotton candy machine on the stage—to create various items. To finish his act, Brooking fashioned a human-like head that he placed on his own body. The head transformed Brooking into another person: he performed the rest of the scene as this cotton candyheaded person, parading around onstage with his coat over his own head to heighten the effect. Two more clowns, Waldo & Woodhead, (Paul Burke and Woody Keppel) appeared in various juggling acts in which their characters’ friendly yet strained relationship shone through. As the program said, “The Waldo & Woodhead show could be best described as a character-driven amalgam of theater, music, comedy and circus arts that visually demonstrates the power of cooperation between people with vastly different dispositions.” In their first juggling act, Waldo juggled top hats by keeping two in the air and one on his head at all times, while Woodhead accompanied him with various musical in-
struments. Woodhead’s attempts to shift the attention to himself with his clumsiness added another layer of comedy to this trick. In their two-person juggling act, Waldo & Woodhead frantically juggled, seemingly with the intention to just keep juggling anything they could grab inside a box between them so long as they didn’t stop juggling. In a remarkable act by Raskin, he used a crutch, a top hat, the jacket on his back and his arm to create the illusion of another person. He shared an emotional, silent conversation that involved a lot of hugging and interaction with his imaginary friend. Through his mannerisms, Raskin truly conveyed the presence of another human, and it was almost surprising to see only one person leave the stage Several of the acts utilized audience participation. In Randy Judkins’ juggling act, Judkins instructed the audience to say certain words in response to various juggling tricks. Amy G, while wearing rollerblades, chose an audience member to dance with her on stage. For the finale, the comedians distributed bells throughout the audience and Raskin conducted the audience bellholders in song. For most of the acts, each scene began with the clown taking on a new persona, adding to the theatricality of the night. The clowns brought a level of sophistication to a variety of acts that may seem by nature to be utterly absurd.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ALYSSA AVIS
IMAGINARY FRIEND: In one of his acts, Raskin created an imaginary friend out of stage props. Like many of the clowns, Raskin created a new persona (or several) for each of his new scenes.
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TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015 | THE JUSTICE
TOPof the
PHOTOS CORNER
Brandeis TALKS
CHARTS for the week ending Apr. 26
Quote of the week “You are an undergrad for four years, but you are alumni for the rest of your life. ... Brandeis is not a name to be given, but a name to be earned. … [It’s] an ongoing process to [earn it].”
BOX OFFICE
1. Furious 7 2. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 3. The Age of Adeline 4. Home 5. Unfriended 6. Ex Machina 7. The Longest Ride 8. Get Hard 9. Monkey Kingdom 10. Woman in Gold
—--University President Frederick Lawrence (News pg. 4)
What was your favorite event from this weekend?
NYT BESTSELLERS
GRACE KWON/the Justice
MOSH PIT: This photo, taken by Grace Kwon ’17 on Sunday, Apr. 26, shows students crammed together during Springfest. The music festival featured Jessie J, iLoveMakonnen, St. Lucia and Stolen Jars.
Emily Farbman ’18
“I love the whole overarching feel of Brandeis during the spring. There are lots of beautiful art exhibits everywhere, and the whole community just comes together to have some last fun before the end of the year.”
Alexios Ladikos ’17
“I only attended one event the whole week, which was Springfest. ... It was a nice way to get away from all this work and have a breather.”
Ari Feingersch ’16 “My favorite event will have to be the whole concert thing. ... It was just a lot of fun partying and being with all these people.”
Ana Miletic ’18 “Definitely Springfest, because I was volunteering, so I got to interact with the artists a bit.
FEATURING CREATIVE PHOTOS FROM OUR STAFF This new feature will showcase our photographers’ work capturing small moments around campus
CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Physicist for whom a speed of-sound ratio is named 5 Steamers in a pot 10 Post-WWII commerce agreement acronym 14 Toast topping 15 Lose one’s cool 16 Eight, in Tijuana 17 __ and rave 18 Stars, in Latin 19 What winds do 20 Book spine info 22 Acid indigestion, familiarly 24 Snigglers’ catch 26 Not feel well 27 Serious play 28 San Francisco transport 33 Daring 34 Ottoman governors 36 Chip away at 37 Prefix with lateral 38 Auto wheel covers 40 Fishing tool 41 Henry or Jane of “On Golden Pond” 43 Kal Kan alternative 44 0 45 Area where goods may be stored without customs payments 47 Oozy stuff 49 NRC predecessor 50 Scotch __ 51 Go-between 57 Performed without words 60 Mesozoic and Paleozoic 61 More pathetic, as an excuse 63 Four-legged Oz visitor 28 Washer phase 64 No longer here 29 Manager’s “Now!” 65 Pacific, for one 30 Early computer data storage term 66 Russia’s __ Mountains 31 Be wild about 67 “Puppy Love” singer Paul 32 Update, as a kitchen 68 Campground sights 33 Physically fit 69 War journalist Ernie 35 Israeli diplomat Abba 38 Brownish-green eye color DOWN 39 Blog update 1 Satirist Sahl 42 Scrolls source 2 Jai __ 44 “Pipe down!” 3 Stripe that equally divides the road 46 Spotted wildcat 4 Detective’s breakthrough 48 Hightail it 5 Tax season VIP 51 Million: Pref. 6 Mascara target 52 Golfer’s choice 7 Start the poker pot 53 Unpleasantly moist 8 Actress Sorvino 54 Medieval spiked club 9 Sacred Egyptian beetle 55 Prayer finish 10 Male turkey 56 “No ice, please” 11 Rights org. 58 And others: Lat. 12 Son of Odin 59 Clinton’s 1996opponent 13 Chrysler __ & Country 62 BP checkers 1 Physicist for 21 Nightmare street of film whom a speedofSolution to last issue’s crossword 23 Mah-jongg pieces sound ratio is 25 “Elephant Boy” actor Crossword Copyright 2014 Tribune News Service, named 27 Blood bank participant
iTUNES
1.Wiz Khalifa—”See You Again (feat. Charlie Puth)” 2. Walk the Moon—“Shut Up and Dance” 3. Jason Derulo—“Want to Want Me” 4. Mark Ronson—“Uptown Funk (feat. Bruno Mars)” 5. The Weeknd—“Earned It”
BILLBOARD
1. Shawn Mendes—Handwritten 2. Soundtrack—Furious 7 3. Reba—Love Somebody 4. Tyler, The Creator—Cherry Bomb 5. Halestorm—Into The Wild Life 6. Soundtrack—50 Shades of Grey 7. Tayor Swift—1989 8. Sam Smith—In The Lonely Hour 9. Ed Sheeran—X 10. Drake—If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late Top of the Charts information provided by Fandango, the New York Times, Billboard. com and Apple.com.
STAFF’S Top Ten
Quick Reads By CARMI ROTHBERG JUSTICE EDITOR
Inc.
SUDOKU
Marci Rohtstein ’16 “I really liked CultureX. I had a lot of friends in it, and the performances were amazing.” Solution to last issue’s sudoku
Nonfiction 1. The Road to Character—David Brooks 2. Bill O’Reilly’s Legends and Lies— David Fisher 3. Dealing With China— Henry M. Paulson Jr. 4. Dead Wake—Erik Larson 5. The Residence—Kate Anderson Brower
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.
—Compiled and photographed by Michelle Banayan/the Justice.
Fiction 1. The Girl on the Train—Paula Hawkins 2. The Liar—Nora Roberts 3. All the Light We Cannot See— Anthony Doerr 4. Every Fifteen Minutes—Lisa Scottoline 5. The Stranger—Harlan Coben
Sudoku Copyright 2014 Tribune News Service, Inc.
With finals approaching, it can be hard to find time for much pleasure reading. Here are 10 great short literary works that can be read in under an hour: 1. “The Water Rats” by Laurie Colwin 2. “She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways” by William Wordsworth 3. “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden 4. “13 Simple Steps To Get You Through A Rough Day” by Matt Stopera 5. “since feeling is first” by e. e. cummings 6. “To Anthea, Who May Command Him Anything” by Robert Herrick 7. “Why Humor is Funny” by Dave Barry 8. “Invictus” by W. E. Henley 9. The Dot and the Line by Norton Juster 10. The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber