The Justice, Oct. 28. 2014

ARTS Page 23

SPORTS Judges drop three games on the road 14 FORUM Ebola quarantines are an overreaction 12 The Independent Student Newspaper

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ROSE TALK

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B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9

Justice

Volume LXVII, Number 9

www.thejustice.org

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Waltham, Mass.

ADMINISTRATION

COMIC RELIEF

Krauss named interim dean ■ Professor Emerita Marty

Krauss will be the interim dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. By HANNAH WULKAN JUSTICE EDITOR

Professor Emerita Marty Krauss (Heller) will be taking over as the interim dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management while the University searches for someone to fill the position permanently. Lisa Lynch, the dean of the Heller School, was chosen as the new provost of the University, and will assume her new position tomorrow. She chose Krauss to replace

her temporarily. University President Frederick Lawrence announced Krauss’ appointment as interim dean in an email to the faculty on Thursday. In a phone inKrauss terview with the Justice, Krauss said, “I’ve been a member of the Heller community since I was 25 years old, so I consider that Brandeis and Heller are now part of my DNA.” Krauss came to Brandeis in 1977 as a Ph.D. candidate at the Heller School and earned her degree in 1981. She became an assistant pro-

See KRAUSS, 7 ☛

IN-DEPTH REPORT

Investigation has historical context

GUILLERMO NARVAEZ/the Justice

■ The results of the current

Comedian Dave Coulier, known for his portrayal of Uncle Joey on sitcom Full House, performed at the University on Friday. See Arts page 19 for full coverage of the event.

Title IX investigation could range from revamping protocol to loss in funding.

ROSE ART MUSEUM

Installation’s impact in question ■ How much energy the

“Light of Reason” is using, and how much it costs, has come into question. By RACHEL SHARER JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Since the “Light of Reason’s” opening on Sept. 10, community members have raised questions regarding the environmental impact of the installation, which consists of 48 bulbs that are lit from sunset to sunrise every night. On Oct. 14, Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment

Andrew Flagel held an admissions volunteer meeting for tour guides to talk about how to properly discuss safety and security on campus with visiting Brandeis families, according to an email obtained by the Justice. He asked admissions volunteers to share difficult questions that they have encountered, and several said that the topic of the “Light of Reason” and its environmental impact have come up. According to the email, Flagel stated that the lights are environmentally friendly and that each light bulb should last approximately five years. Furthermore, Flagel stressed that Brandeis has a generally low energy footprint, which

JUSTICE EDITOR

With Brandeis currently on the list of over 75 colleges and universities that are under federal investigation by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights for potential noncompliance with Title IX, the University could face, at worst, a loss of federal funds if an agreement to improve policies to meet federal standard is not reached. Although the University has been handling cases of sexual misconduct for decades, the implementation of the adjudication process in comparison with the Department of Education standards laid out in the April 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter is in question.

will continue to decrease because of the millions of dollars the University has invested toward sustainability over the past few years. According to Prof. Laura Goldin (ENVS) in an interview with the Justice, the light bulbs used in the “Light of Reason” are energyefficient bulbs, called “induction bulbs.” An induction bulb, according to the Environmental Protection Agency website, is “essentially a fluorescent light” but without the materials that “frequently cause other bulbs to burn out quickly.” Vice President for Operations James Gray wrote in an email to the Justice that this induction tech-

See ROSE, 7 ☛

See TITLE IX, 7 ☛

Safe space

Through the midfield

Disinfecting Ebola

 New Gender and Sexuality Center opens, uniting LGBTQ+ groups across campus.

 The No. 3 men’s soccer team defeated Mout Ida College in its final home game of the regular season last night.

 A Brandeis graduate has created a special disinfectant for the Ebola virus that is already in use in Africa.

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

By MARISSA DITKOWSKY

The OCR is currently investigating on behalf of the accused party in a case chronicled in a June 24 Justice article. The accused student was found responsible for sexual misconduct through a Special Examiner’s Process. According to a letter from the department obtained by the Justice, the main components of the accused student’s complaint against Brandeis include the University’s failure to address a complaint of sexual misconduct that he also filed against accusing party, his allegations that he was wrongly disciplined due to this mishandling and his allegation that the University failed to equitably consider his counterallegations. Following its investigation, the department’s website outlines, should the department find that there is sufficient evidence to support a conclusion of noncompliance with Title IX, the department will engage in

Let your voice be heard! Submit letters to the editor online at www.thejustice.org

INDEX

SPORTS 15

ARTS SPORTS

17 16

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 8

OPINION POLICE LOG

10 2

News 3

COPYRIGHT 2014 FREE AT BRANDEIS.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014

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THE JUSTICE

NEWS SENATE LOG

New club basketball team chartered On Sunday, the Student Union Senate held its weekly meeting. Senior Representative to the Board of Trustees Mohamed Sidique and Junior Representative to the Board of Trustees Grady Ward addressed the Senate and said that Wednesday and Thursday, they will be attending their first meeting with the Board of Trustees. They told the Senate that, for this meeting, they are planning to observe and “see how [the Board] works.” However, at future meetings, the two representatives said they are prepared to take large-scale issues from the Senate to the Board, including housing, dining and other issues that are beyond the scope of the Senate’s jurisdiction. One of the long-term issues Ward said that he was particularly involved in was making sure there is appropriate professor compensation in comparison to schools similar to Brandeis. He said that, according to his own involvement with the Academic Peers Committee, “we are slipping in regards of our professor compensation,” which he noted could cause issues in the future. Brian Hough ’17, a senator-at-large and representative on the Ways and Means Committee, said that he and the representatives to the Board of Trustees had discussed placing boxes around on campus where people can anonymously submit their thoughts on particular aspects of the University. Next, the Senate swore in one of their new members, the Foster Mods Senator Kira Setren ’15. The newly elected senator for the Village Resident Quad, Shereen Undavia ’17, was not present at the meeting. Then, the Senate turned to two clubs that sought recognition. The first club to present was a new a cappella group called No Singer Left Behind. The club plans to be an all-inclusive a cappella group that will have no limitations on the number of members. Although there will be auditions, these auditions are to act purely as evaluations to find each member’s range. The Senate voted unanimously to recognize the club. The next club that sought both recognition and chartering was the club basketball team. This club would act as an intermediary step between intramural basketball and the varsity team and would allow interested parties of all genders to play full-scale basketball games and improve their skills. The club also planned to create a team that would compete with similar club teams from schools in the surrounding area. The Senate passed both the vote to recognize and charter the club unanimously. Student Union Vice President Sofía Mühlmann ’16 said that a roundtable with the administration will take place on Nov. 5. A Night with the Deans will take place on Nov. 11 and will act as an informal mixer with the deans of the University. Mühlmann said that the Student Union website will be updated and will include a newsfeed of everything that is happening in the Senate, as well as all of the committees. Class of 2017 Senator and Chair of the Dining Committee Ben Margolin announced that the Committee is planning a dining forum so that the roundtable with the administration won’t be dominated by dining issues. Class of 2015 Senator and Chair of the Sustainability Committee Senator Anna Bessendorf announced that the deadline for submitting proposals to the Brandeis Sustainability Fund will be Nov. 10. Bessendorf also said that the Sustainability Committee is also searching for a non-senate co-chair.

POLICE LOG Medical Emergency

Oct. 19—University Police and BEMCo responded to a report that a student in Ridgewood Quad had accidentally lacerated his finger with a razor blade. BEMCo staff treated the party on-scene with a signed refusal for further care. Oct. 19—University Police at a sanctioned event on South Street reported that a student was feeling faint. BEMCo responded and treated the party on-scene. Police transported the student to the hospital for further care. Oct. 19—A party called to report that a student in Sherman Dining Hall was not feeling well. BEMCo treated the party onscene. University Police then transported the student to the Doctors Express clinic for further care. Oct. 22—BEMCo and University Police responded to a report of a party suffering from a possible allergic reaction in the Bernstein-Marcus

Administration Center. BEMCo staff treated the party on-scene with a signed refusal for further care. Oct. 22—A staff member working in the Sherman Dining Hall kitchen slipped and fell, hitting her head and causing bleeding. University Police and BEMCo responded to the scene, and BEMCo treated the party with a signed refusal of further care. Oct. 24—University Police and BEMCo responded to a student’s report that she had “thrown her back out.” BEMCo requested an ambulance, and Cataldo Ambulance transported the student to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Oct. 25—A party called to report that there was an intoxicated female in the restroom in Sherman Dining Hall. University Police and BEMCo responded, and requested an ambulance. Cataldo Ambulance transported

the party, who was not a Brandeis student, to the hospital for further care. University Police will file a Community Standards Report on the party’s Brandeis host. Oct. 25—A party called to report that a person at the Charles River Apartments had a possible concussion, but was conscious and semi-alert. University Police and BEMCo responded to the call. Cataldo Ambulance transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Oct. 25—A party reported to Stoneman Building with a possible broken finger. University Police notified BEMCo, and BEMCo staff treated the party with a signed refusal for further care. Oct. 25—BEMCo assisted someone with a scraped knee outside the Stoneman Building. BEMCo treated the party, and University Police transported him to the urgent care facility in Waltham for further care.

The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Email editor@ thejustice.org.

Justice

the

www.thejustice.org

The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods. Editor in chief office hours are held Mondays from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Justice office. Editor News Forum Features Sports Arts Ads Photos Managing Copy Layout

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Disturbance

Oct. 24—A party called to report a group of people being loud in the middle of Ziv Quad. University Police checked the area, but the parties were gone upon the officers’ arrival.

Alcohol

Oct. 22—University Police were called to Usen Hall to help Community Living staff confiscate unauthorized alcohol. —compiled by Tate Herbert

WVU students expelled and charged for riot damage

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

n A news article incorrectly identified Prof. Chris Miller as a member of the Biology department, when he is actually a member of the Biochemistry department. (Oct. 14, pg. 5)

Oct. 20—A graduate student stated that her cell phone had been stolen at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. University Police compiled a report on the incident. Oct.23—University Police received a call that a scooter had been removed from a student’s unlocked room in Scheffres Hall. Police compiled a report on the theft.

WIRE BRIEF

PARENTAL PERSPECTIVE

—Kathryn Brody

n To clarify about a news article about threats made towards several female students on campus, Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel wrote in an email to the Justice that the student who reportedly made threats has been “in a secured location under supervision since being removed from campus.” The University administration is “closely monitoring the situation with all of those involved, and we understand that this individual will remain in protective custody for the foreseeable future. The student is barred from campus and will not be permitted to return while any of the involved students remain enrolled,” he wrote. (Oct. 21, pg. 1)

Larceny

HANNAH CHIDEKEL/the Justice

Dean of Students Jamele Adams (left), along with other faculty and staff, spoke with students and parents during the Welcome Reception for Fall Fest on Friday in the Faculty Club dining room.

West Virginia University on Thursday expelled three students who were charged with the most serious offenses following Saturday’s riots, and more expulsions and disciplinary actions are possible, university officials said. University President E. Gordon Gee said students should be treated like adults when misbehavior occurs. Those “three out of 33,000” students committed crimes including throwing rocks at police, setting things on fire or tearing things down, Gee said. If found not guilty of those crimes, he said, they could be reinstated. The students were among 14 charged this week by local law enforcement agencies and are prohibited from university property and activities pending further proceedings under the conduct code, the university said in a news release. University officials would not identify the students. New charges could lead to other expulsions or student conduct sanctions such as suspension or community service for those who commit lesser offenses, said Becky Lofstead, university assistant vice president for communications. In the past five years, 60 students have been expelled for non-academic violations. This time, the school chose to take immediate action, she said. Riots coordinated on social media began in Sunnyside, a student-populated area near campus, at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday—hours after the Mountaineers’ big football win over Baylor University—and spilled into at least one other neighborhood, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage and drawing several law enforcement agencies, some using pepper spray and tear gas to control crowds. Morgantown police, the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office or university police arrested eight people, five of whom were students, mostly for public drunkenness or underage drinking during the riots. Two of those people were charged with assault on a law enforcement officer and another with malicious burning. No one was charged with a felony, Chief Preston said. An additional 24 people were cited. —Tribune News Service

ANNOUNCEMENTS Chronic Pain in America

Chronic pain affects 100 million Americans, says author Judy Foreman, a longtime Boston Globe and nationally syndicated health columnist. In her book, A Nation in Pain: Healing Our Biggest Health Problem, Foreman says there is an appalling mismatch between what people in pain need and what doctors know. Out of 238 million adult Americans, she says, 100 million live in chronic pain. Yet, most doctors know almost nothing about it, much less how to treat it. Among the topics she covers are the culture wars and politics of access to prescription painkillers, medical marijuana and factors influencing how men and women experience pain. While an expert on the topic, Foreman also speaks from her own experience dealing with chronic pain. She talks about Why Women are Living in the Discomfort Zone For the Wall Street

Journal. Today from 12:20 to 2:20 p.m. in the Epstein Building multipurpose room.

The Future of the Energy Frontier

The Higgs Boson discovery requires us to think differently about planning for the future of particle physics. While the decades-long confirmation of the standard model itself an historic episode, as a dynamic model of nature, it is unhelpful as a clear guide to the future. Raymond Brock of Michigan State University reviews the features of the standard model that make it superb, points out why it is frustrating and describes the hints that motivate us in the coming decades. Today from 4 to 5 p.m. in Abelson room 131.

Shave the Date Shave the Date is an event to get cleanshaven in honor of Movember to raise

awareness for men’s health issues, including prostate and testicular cancers, as well as mental health issues. The organizers will be providing shaving materials to men so they can get cleanshaven before they spend the next month growing out their mustaches for these causes. Come help change the face of men’s health by getting clean-shaven (razors and food provided). Donations for the Movember Foundation are requested but not in any way required. Friday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Ridgewood Commons.

A Campus Center Team Halloween

The Campus Center Team is hosting a halloween playground for the larger campus. Come decorate and carve pumpkins, see a secret performance, get your face painted and much more. It will be an evening to remember.

THE JUSTICE

STUDENT UNION

Mods senator and Village senator were filled after a second special election. By ZACHARY REID JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

On Thursday, Brandeis students voted on two empty seats in the Student Union and elected two new senators to the Student Union Senate. This was the second special election held in order to fill the seats. Kira Setren ’15 was elected as the Foster Mods Senator. In the previous election, the write-in option of “Mod Cat” won the election; no individuals ran in the previous election for Mods Senator. Setren wrote in an email interview with the Justice that she believes the Mods “have always been emblematic of a connected senior community,” and that she wants the Class of 2015 to have the same opportunity as previous classes to

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014

3

FACULTY DISCUSSION

Senate fills two vacant positions after third election ■ The positions of Foster

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connect with each other. Her goals, Setren wrote, include fostering community and improving safety and comfort through additional interior renovations. Setren also noted that she wants to advocate for improvements to the crosswalk on South Street. As a member of the greater Student Union, Setren’s goals include “lessening Brandeis’s environmental impact, improving student dining and re-evaluating funding decisions” to better address the needs of students, among others. Shereen Undavia ’17 was elected as the Village Senator. Undavia wrote in an email to the Justice that she was always “very interested in getting involved with the community, and running for Village Senator seemed like a great way to be involved” and support the community. She further wrote about her hope to “make the Village a little more social and strengthen the bond” of community through additional community bonding events for the quad. MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

MONTHLY MEETING: Prof. Sue Lanser (ENG) spoke about multiple issues, such as admissions policies, at Thursday’s meeting.

BRIEF Alumnus, researcher develops Ebola virus disinfectant system A group of Massachusetts researchers at the United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center, including Brandeis alumnus Dr. Christopher Doona MA ’89 Ph.D. ’91, have developed “a next-generation disinfectant system that kills the Ebola virus on surfaces,” according to an Oct. 21 Army press release. Doona holds both a Master of Arts degree and a doctorate in Chemistry from Brandeis and works as a chemist at the NSRDEC. Along with fellow researcher Florence Feeherry, Doona engineered a disinfectant that can be used to safely and effectively sterilize equipment used to treat Ebola patients. The patented technology is already being used to combat the disease in West Africa by doctors and aid workers, according to the press release. The disinfectant uses chlorine dioxide to kill bacteria and viruses without the use of power or electricity. It does not pose a hazard to human or environmental health, according to the army press release. New Jersey-based company ClorDiSys Solutions is currently producing and marketing the disinfectant. According to its website, the NSRDEC specializes in developing decontamination technologies that help keep soldiers safe while at war. The center uses research and development to “maximize the warfighter’s survivability,

sustainability, mobility, combat effectiveness, and field quality of life.” Over the years, NSRDEC has developed crucial military innovations, including shelter systems, ballistic and chemical protection systems, clothing for soldiers and enhanced food technologies. According to an Army Technology online article, NSRDEC’s mission also includes “disaster response, humanitarian aid, peacekeeping efforts, and low intensity conflicts,” in addition to making their technologies available to other groups, such as consumers, astronauts and police officers. Doona received the Outstanding Service Award from the Nonthermal Processing Division of the Institute of Food Technologists for his work with the Molecular Sciences and Engineering Team contributing to the accessibility of safe food around the world, according to a Jun. 2013 U.S. Army press release. The Ebola disinfectant system is preceded by previous technology developed by Doona and other researchers at NSRDEC, including a 2006 portable chemical sterilizer for medical equipment in combat environments. Like the Ebola system, both disinfectants do not require electricity to use and are portable for army medics in the field.

University sees rise in international students ■ University faculty

members held their monthly meeting to discuss a number of topics last Thursday. By SAM MINTZ JUSTICE EDITOR

Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel announced unofficial admissions statistics for this year’s class of first-years at the monthly faculty meeting last Thursday. Twenty-four percent of the 859-student class are international students, up from 16 percent in 2012. Of those students, 77 percent are from China. According to Flagel, this large increase was due to an unexpectedly high matriculation rate, or yield, in students from China. Several professors at Thursday’s meeting questioned how these changes in demographic trends in admissions might affect the University in the present and the future. Prof. Ilan Troen (NEJS) asked about the implications of the dramatic rise in international students on the internal structure of the University. In response, Flagel described an “infrastructure on the administrative side where we … added addi-

JOIN —Jessie Miller

the Justice

tional orientation support, additional writing support, additional tutoring support, added a Mandarin speaking counselor in the Psychological Counseling Center.” Troen clarified that he was concerned about the fact that admissions policy drives change in the structure of the University. “I’m not sure that’s what ought to be. It’s certainly something that ought to be discussed … What should the character of Brandeis be?” Troen said. Prof. Steven Burg (POL) also asked several questions of Flagel, including what the target enrollment for international students is for next year. Flagel said that “if yield holds where it did this year, then we would be back under 20 percent of our class being from overseas.” Flagel also addressed statistics from the first batch of test-optional applications that came in this year as part of a two-year pilot program. There were 783 applicants who chose the test-optional application, out of 10,004 total applicants. 314 of those who applied test-optional were admitted, or roughly 40 percent. For the class as a whole, the acceptance rate was 35.22 percent, down from 39.11 percent in 2012. The class of 2018 is six percent African-American and six per-

cent Hispanic, according to Flagel. Twenty-eight percent of the class is from New England, 25 percent is from the mid-Atlantic and 23 percent is from the rest of the United States. Also at Thursday’s meeting, Faculty Senate Chair Prof. Thomas Pochapsky (CHEM) announced that the Faculty Senate is planning a forum about academic freedom and civility and invited members of the faculty to participate in planning the event. The announcement came in the wake of a heated discussion about the “Concerned” faculty Listserv at last month’s meeting, when several faculty members debated the appropriateness of comments made on a private Listserv and University President Frederick Lawrence’s response to those comments. The meeting opened with a memorial tribute to Professor Emeritus Fred Sommers (PHIL), who passed away on Oct. 2 at the age of 91. In his eulogy, Prof. Andreas Teuber (PHIL) said that Sommers had a fruitful career filled with “moments of brilliance and startling originality.” According to Teuber, Sommers’ unique approach to philosophy involved wanting to solve philosophical problems that were “manageable.”

For more information, contact Rachel Hughes at editor@thejustice.org.

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THE JUSTICE

DISCUSSING VIOLENCE

By SHERRY SIMKOVIC JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Lisak addresses sexual assault ■ Dr. David Lisak spoke on

his research about sexual assault on college campuses. By rIVER HEISLER JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies department’s 11th annual lecture in the Roosevelt Lecture Series underscored the importance of addressing the issue of sexual assault on college campuses and proposed ways in which it could be addressed. David Lisak, Ph.D., who has a background in forensic and psychological work, including many research credits and faculty positions, gave this year’s lecture, titled “Institutional Betrayal: Confronting the Epidemic of Sexual Violence on College Campuses,” last Thursday. Prof. Deirdre Hunter (WMGS), who is a former officer at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, introduced Lisak. He spoke on sexual violence from both a psychological and a forensic perspective, describing it as a “planetary problem,” meaning that communities of humans throughout the world, regardless of location, experience the issue of sexual assault. “This is a universal problem in our species,” Lisak said. Lisak is regarded in the sexual assault activist community for his research. One such well-known project is the “Frank” video, in which an actor re-enacts parts of an interview with a man who committed acts of sexual violence as a college student but was not prosecuted. The lines the actor speaks are from an interview that Lisak conducted in one of his noted research endeavors. Lisak spoke at length in his lecture about the history of sexual assault policy in higher education and the military. Sexual assault in the military became a more prominent issue in 2003, when it was discovered that 12 percent of the women who graduated from the Air Force Academy had been victims of rape or attempted rape. According to a 2009 study titled “Report on Rape Reperpetration by Newly Enlisted Male Navy Personnel” by Stephanie K. McWhorter of the Naval Health Research Center and Cynthia J. Thompsen of Northern Illinois University, 13 percent of 1,146 individuals surveyed had committed acts that met the legal definitions of attempted and completed rape. “Among those men, most (71 [percent]) reperpetrated attempted and completed rape incidents,” the study’s abstract shows. Lisak cited these statistics and mentioned that he believes that the military has made great strides in improving its handling of sexual assault. How-

ever, he said that there is still work to be done to improve the culture in the military toward sexual assault. The statistics found in the Navy study hold true for college campuses as well, according to Lisak. Lisak said that the criminal justice system has failed victims of sexual assault because of the lack of discipline and lenient sentencing laws and practices in the system, leading victims to severely underreport their rapes. College administrations have become responsible for adjudicating cases of sexual assault due to this failure, Lisak added. However, he noted that universities have also failed to handle sexual assault cases as they should, leading to underreporting at universities as well. Students, he said, are a vital part of change to the way in which university administrations handle sexual assault because they “are very difficult to control.” Students can exert pressure on the administrations of universities and colleges to act, leaving administrations little choice but to make changes. Lisak spoke about how the next step in addressing sexual violence is through the criminal justice system because the issue of sexual assault policy has already been brought up in the context of the military and higher education. Lisak referenced many studies in his lecture, notably a 2002 Bostonarea study conducted by Lisak and Paul M. Miller of the Brown University School of Medicine in which 1,882 college-aged men were asked questions in order to determine if they had committed acts of sexual violence that had gone unreported. He presented the statistics gathered from the study and noted several points that the study brought up. Specifically, the study confirmed that previously-established national statistics which reveal the instances of sexual violence and reperpetration also applied to higher education. The Boston-area study demonstrated that 91 percent of rapes studied were committed by serial rapists. These offenders, Lisak asserted, need to be “isolated and removed from the community” because their behavior cannot be changed. This can be done, according to Lisak, by making it clear that the culture on campus is one that is not accepting of sexual assault. Lisak said that victory in achieving the proper atmosphere would mean that “Brandeis is no longer a place where he/she [sex offenders] wants to troll for victims.” Brandeis, like all college campuses, has a problem with sexual assault, but with enough commitment from the administration and students, it can be fixed, Lisak said.

5

Researchers deliver Heskel Gabbay Award lectures about their research on the CRISPR-cas9 system and its applications to cancer research and various other scientific studies.

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

TUESDAY OCTOBER 28, 2014

CAMPUS SPEAKER

■ Three doctors spoke

CAMPUS EPIDEMIC: Dr. David Lisak spoke on issues of sexual assault in the college setting last Tuesday in the International Lounge in the Usdan Student Center.

●

Brandeis hosted the 17th annual Heskel Gabbay Award Lecture, titled “Genome Editing with CRISPRCas9,” yesterday. Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier of Hannover Medical School, Dr. Jennifer Doudna of University of California, Berkeley and Dr. Feng Zhang of the McGovern Institute were the award recipients who presented their work. The award recipients each individually presented their work on the CRISPR system. CRISPR systems, locations of genes containing short repetitions of base sequences, provide a form of acquired immunity to bacteria and can be applied to all types of cells. Cas are genes that code for CRISPRrelated proteins. Cas9 refers to a specific gene. The first presenter was Dr. Charpentier. Her lecture was entitled “CRISPR-Cas9: A bacterial adaptive immune system harnessed for genome engineering.” She presented her work to show where the CRISPR project had started and the current and future trajectory of the project. “The CRISPR-Cas9 system allows precise gene ‘surgery’ in any cell and organism,” she said. Charpentier explained how she and her team came to develop this novel tool for genome engineering.

According to Charpentier, in the future, the cas9 system could offer considerable potential for genome editing in cells for biotechnological, biomedical and gene therapeutic purposes, including cancer cures. Dr. Doudna was the second presenter. Her presentation was titled “CRISPR-Cas9 Biology: From Basic Science to Breakthrough Technology.” Doudna’s part of the project focused on the mechanics of the system and more specifically, how an in-depth understanding of the system could be applied to future developments in CRISPR biology. She explained current challenges to genetic engineering including the expense and the slowness of systems. According to Doudna, initial experiments performed to further determine the structure and function of the CRISPR system indicated that it was “fully programmable.” Doudna added that CRISPR is simpler to use than any other technology currently available. Doudna concluded by providing a real-world example of application of the CRISPR system. She explained that dairy companies are constantly trying to combat the problem of how to protect their products from viral infection and as a result, are interested in building up immunity by using the CRISPR system. However, this application still needs to be further investigated. The final segment of the event was a lecture presented by Dr. Zhang and was titled “Development and Applications of CRISPR-Cas9 for Genomic Editing” and focused on applications of the system in the laboratory. Zhang first provided the background for his own lab, which focus-

es on how to restrict synthesizing certain proteins in certain populations of neurons. Through his research with the CRISPR system, Zhang and his team aimed to develop foundational technology, expand modes of genomic perturbation, develop an open source of information for the community and demonstrate uses in biological and therapeutic contexts. This last goal was particularly relevant to brain cancer research, which is Zhang’s focus. By using the CRISPR system, experiments could be conducted to discern the mechanisms of tumor growth and infection in cells by testing genetic mutations, which significantly broaden researchers’ understanding of cancer mechanisms. After all three presentations had concluded, audience members were encouraged to ask questions. The audience members ranged from former researchers to future graduate students of CRISPR biology. Most questions asked concerned further application of the system in other branches of microbiology, as well as the more specific mechanics of the CRISPR system. According to the three presenters, with other people joining in the field of CRISPR biology and more significance placed on the field, further developments are sure to emerge. The Jacob Heskel Gabbay Award in Biotechnology and Medicine recognizes scientists in academia, medicine or industry whose work had outstanding scientific content and significant practical consequences in the biomedical sciences. Nominations are solicited in industry and academia, and then a panel of distinguished researchers is assembled to consider nominations.

CAMPUS SPEAKER

Rabbi speaks on Israeli immigration ■ Brandeis Bridges hosted

Rabbi Bob Samuels ’54 to discuss the lives of Ethiopian Jews and challenges that members of the black Jewish community face. By abby patkin JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Last Wednesday, Brandeis Bridges hosted Rabbi Bob Samuels ’54 for a discussion titled “Tales of African Asylum Seekers and Ethiopian Jews,” which focused on the obstacles that Ethiopian Jewish immigrants face both en route to and in Israel. According to Integrated Regional Information Networks humanitarian news and analysis, which, according to its website, is a service of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, many Ethiopian Jews face issues such as poverty, racism and segregation, despite having given up their previous lives and belongings to travel to Israel. Samuels made Aliyah, or moved permanently to Israel, earlier in his life. He worked in Israel as an educator for a number of years, most notably as the director of the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa, Israel, which, according to the school’s website, provides “community programming in Haifa’s underprivileged neighborhood, which empowers individuals of all ages to fulfill their potentials, and become agents of social change.” Throughout the discussion, Samuels detailed his experiences working with Ethiopian immigrants and students of all different backgrounds. Samuels also described how prejudices come into play in the tensions between different racial groups in Israel, much as they do in the United States.

Samuels said that race played an enormous role in the failed integration of black Sephardic Jews—from regions including the Iberian Peninsula and northern Africa—into the predominantly Ashkenazic— central and eastern European—society. “What can I say? They [the Ethiopian Jews] are black,” Samuels said, explaining how the Ashkenazic Jews treated the Sephardic immigrants “like homeless people.” Additionally, Samuels explained how efforts toward integration failed due to a lack of consideration for the Ethiopian immigrants’ roots, stating that placing the immigrants in apartments in “backward parts of cities” instead of in farming communities likely contributed to the high poverty rates among the Ethiopian communities. “I think there are many cases of Ethiopians who have been integrated into Israel and feel good about being in Israel and feel empowered with opportunities, just as anyone else.” Samuels said. “I think most of them feel that they have had a less than equal shot and … I think it is an open question as to what the next 25 to 50 years will see in what percentage of the black Jews in Israel integrate.” Despite his current outlook, Samuels said that he does not believe that the issue is a random one nor that the problem is singular to Israel. According to Samuels, the issue boils down to one basic belief. “I believe in the philosophy of equality despite differences. Everyone has the right to respect and to equality irrespective of all things: race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic background and socioeconomic conditions. And that’s hard to do because most people who have power don’t like to share it,” Samuels said. Though Samuels tried to suggest a fix for this issue, he expressed doubt. “[Y]ou need people in powerful

positions who control different aspects of lots of peoples’ lives who believe [this philosophy],” he said. “And believe me—I’m in my eighties now—my experience is that they are few and far between. People come with their prejudices and sometimes don’t even know it, and it’s very hard for them to overcome those prejudices.” Samuels praised Brandeis students for their continued efforts toward social justice, urging them to constantly be aware of ongoing social issues worldwide. These efforts—coupled with an open mind—will help end intolerance and establish better relationships between different racial and ethnic groups, Samuels said. “Fight the good fight; keep doing the right thing. Keep accepting people for who they are,” Samuels said. “And who knows if one of those black families might be a solution for Israel—some amazing, charismatic, powerful person who would be a great integrator for Israel.” Samuels praised Brandeis Bridges as one example of Brandeis students doing just that. The club formed around the Brandeis Bridges initiative, which is sponsored by the Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee and sends five Jewish students and five black students to Israel each year and encourages positive relations between the two groups. “It’s really good to approach topics like [Ethiopian Jews’ asylum seeking] to open dialogue,” Gabi Hersch ’17, the club’s vice president, said in an interview with the Justice. “That was really the main reason we had this event, because in events like these that hold very strong emotions for both the black perspective and from the Jewish perspective, since we come from different backgrounds, we approach the topic differently, and it’s good to get to know each others’ viewpoints on some deep level like that.”

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KRAUSS: Timeline to pick new dean ‘variable’ CONTINUED FROM 1 fessor at the Heller School in 1984 and received tenure as an associate professor in 1990. Krauss later became an associate dean for faculty and programs at Heller. She is an expert in intellectual disabilities, with a focus on the impact on families, social services and public policy of having a family member with intellectual disabilities. In 2003, Krauss became provost of the University under then-University President Jehuda Reinharz. In her time as provost, she co-chaired the successful reaccreditation process in 2006 and was instrumental in launching the Office of Global Affairs. She is also known for supporting the University’s decision to sell the artwork from the Rose Art Museum to improve finances in 2009. In 2011, Krauss stepped down as provost and took a one-year sabbat-

ical. She officially retired in 2012, though she has served on the Heller Board of Overseers for the past two years and chaired Heller’s 55th anniversary reunion this September. “I’ve been on the faculty at the Heller School, and I’ve held high level administrative positions within the University, so I have a very good understanding of how the University works,” Krauss said. “I think that’s essential for someone who will be in a time-limited position as interim dean, so I don’t have a huge learning curve for the position.” Krauss said that she expects to serve in the position of interim dean until a new dean is named, and that process can typically take a year or longer. She said that the process is “highly variable, and my goal is just to continue to serve the Heller School and the University until the new dean is ready to take over.”

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SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION

While she currently has no plans to make changes to Heller, Krauss said, “I need to obviously reengage with the academic programs and research programs and student support needs of Heller. I know a lot, but I haven’t been at the school for 11 years, and a lot of things have changed, so I will certainly take my time to make sure I know about all the nooks and crannies of the Heller School.” She said that any changes she does make while in the position would be done in close consultation with Lynch. “The Heller School is in great shape, it’s a wonderful school, and I want to build on strength,” she said. While the invitation to serve as interim dean was a surprise to Krauss, she said, “I’ve got a lot of energy left, and I’m thrilled with this opportunity to go back to the Heller School that I love so much.”

TITLE IX: Past lawsuit provides comparison to current case CONTINUED FROM 1 negotiations with the University in order to reach a resolution agreement. Resolution agreements generally involve an agreement on the University’s behalf to reform policy and meet the Title IX compliance standards that the OCR determines, as demonstrated by previous resolution agreements on the department’s website. The agreements state how the university or college involved must improve its sexual misconduct procedures and meet the standards that it failed to meet. However, the University has made several changes to its policy already, including clarifying the Special Examiner’s Process and definitions of consent as well as which punishments accompany certain offenses. Should the University and the department not reach a resolution agreement, the department of may refer the case to the Department of Justice or refuse to grant financial assistance to the University “where appropriate,” the department website reads. This is not the first time that the University’s sexual misconduct policies and procedure have been in question in a legal context. The 2000 case Schaer v. Brandeis University provides a comparison to the current ongoing Title IX investigation, in which the department is investigating on behalf of the accused party. In 1996, David Schaer ’97 made similar complaints regarding the University’s adjudication process in a lawsuit filed against Brandeis, stating that the University denied him due process in its investigation of his alleged sexual misconduct. In 1996, Schaer was suspended from the University for the summer after being accused of sexual misconduct by a female student. The University found Schaer responsible for engaging in unwanted sexual activity and “creating a hostile environment,” the Oct. 5, 1999 Justice article reads. Some of the evidence used against Schaer during the conduct process included witness testimonies that the complainant “looks like a rape victim,” and a reference by a witness to Schaer as a “self-motivated, egotistical bastard who had no respect for women,” according to a Sept. 26, 1999 Justice article. Schaer did not believe he was subjected to a fair assessment and filed a complaint against the Uni-

versity with the Middlesex Superior Court in June 1996. Schaer claimed that the University was responsible for a breach of contract in their findings and punishment, arguing that he was denied due process. The case was dismissed. Schaer appealed the decision, and the state appeals court agreed that his case could be heard. However, in September 2000, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts dismissed the case in a 3-2 decision. The Court ruled that the contractual agreement—in this case, the Rights and Responsibilities handbook, the terms of which every Brandeis student agrees to upon matriculating at the University— was not violated. The dissenting opinions came from Justice Rederick Ireland, who claimed that the University did, in fact, violate its own procedures, and Justice Judith Cowan, who claimed that the case raised enough questions about the University procedure to be heard, according to the Sept. 26, 2000 Justice article. Finding the University guilty of breaching a contract in the Schaer lawsuit would have simply forced the University to compensate for damages caused to the defendant. Former Assistant Provost for Graduate Students Alwina Bennett was quoted as stating in the Oct. 5, 1999 Justice article that “[w]e’re not a court. Our process has never been intended to be a court.” It was also noted in the article that the University gave more rights to all participants in the conduct process than legally required. Today, universities have a legal obligation to handle sexual misconduct cases, which is detailed in the April 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter. The letter addresses the rights of survivors and individuals involved in the adjudication process, and explains Department of Education preferences and requirements for grievance and investigation procedures. Although the letter expresses a requirement for schools to take steps to protect complainants—including interim steps even prior to the final outcome of the investigation—it also determines that there must be “equitable grievance procedures.” Both the accuser and accused, under Title IX and in the letter, must have the same opportunity to have others present for any and all proceedings and must be informed of the outcome of any disciplinary

proceeding. The letter also identifies a particular standard that universities must make in such decisions—preponderance of the evidence. This means that it is “more likely than not” that the incident occurred. “In addressing complaints filed with OCR under Title IX, OCR reviews a school’s procedures to determine whether the school is using a preponderance of the evidence standard to evaluate complaints,” the letter reads. The University implemented changes consistent with both the directives of the department and best practices in higher education during the 2012 to 2013 academic year. Brandeis created the Special Examiner’s Process for which “generally outside consultants were employed for the complex investigations of sexual misconduct,” wrote former Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid in a June 30 email to the Justice. A “preponderance of the evidence” standard was also adopted. “Brandeis staff members have striven in every way to meet the spirit and letter of all of these changes, including the ongoing interpretations of Title IX and directives of the Violence Against Women Act,” wrote de Graffenreid. “We continue to constantly evolve our entire conduct code and process, for compliance as well as seeking the best ways to support our student community.” However, whether or not these policies were properly applied is also in question. Despite procedural compliance with such guidelines, implementation standards are currently in question, specifically in regard to following the “preponderance of the evidence” standard and allowing for equitable grievance procedures. The accused party noted that his witness list was not fully utilized and some of his witnesses’ statements were ignored. “I was found responsible for these instances with little regard for any fairness during the process,” the accused student told the Justice in a June 24 article. The Department of Education letter states that, simply because the complaint has been opened for investigation, the OCR has made no determination about the merit of the complaint, and will act as a “neutral fact-finder.” There is no known timeline for when the investigation will be complete.

ABBY KNECHT/the Justice

Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier discussed her scientific research at the Heskel Gabbay Award lecture yesterday. For full coverage of this event, see News page 5.

ROSE: Lights use less than 0.1 percent of total campus energy CONTINUED FROM 1 nology was not originally planned for the sculpture but was chosen because the bulbs are known for their energy efficiency and longevity. Gray wrote that, while induction bulbs are known to last longer than average lights, the “number of hours a lamp is lit each day will ultimately determine its lifespan.” The lights in the “Light of Reason” are only on at night, meaning that the bulbs should have a relatively long lifespan—lasting about five years before they will be replaced. Gray wrote that it is not possible to measure the exact amount of energy the “Light of Reason” installation uses since it is not “on a separate electric meter.” However, he wrote that a good estimate would be that is uses less than 0.1 percent of the total electricity on campus. In an interview with the Justice, founder and Chair of the Student Union Senate Sustainability Committee Anna Bessendorf ’15 said that the administration has made great improvements toward sustainability in the past few years. She said that although the University's environmental footprint is pretty low, "we could do a lot more to enter the modern age of sustainability efforts." The University has taken several steps over the past few years to improve sustainability and reduce energy usage on campus.

Brandeis began an Energy Savings Program in 2004, according to its website, resulting in financial savings and a vast energy reduction. In 2012, the University implemented the Brandeis Sustainable Energy Program, which was a $5 million investment toward energy efficiency. According to Gray, the money has gone toward projects such as the completion of maintenance in heating and ventilation equipment, the replacement of leaking piping and of inefficient air conditioning systems, and the installation of energy efficient lighting. So far, this program has helped to both reduce the University’s carbon emissions and to save almost $550,000 in annual utility costs. Gray wrote that, in the past decade, Brandeis has greatly reduced its energy usage—despite the 15 percent increase in students and greater demand for energy use. The University has reduced the amount of kilowatt hours of electricity used by more than nine percent in fiscal year 2014. He also stated that “the amount of electricity used in FY 2014 is level with the amount used in FY 2005,” despite the increase in students. Brandeis has also reduced the amount of natural gas usage by 13.8 percent since FY 2005. Goldin also wrote in an email to the Justice that Gray will soon start the search for a new sustainability manager on campus.

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VERBATIM | OSCAR WILDE I love to talk about nothing. It’s the only thing I know anything about.

ON THIS DAY…

FUN FACT

In 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev ordered the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba.

The ‘Artists’ icon on the iPhone music app menu bar is a silhouette of Bono.

A day in Usdan Usdan employees from diverse backgrounds and work experiences come together to provide food service for the community By MAX SHPILMAN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

PHOTOS BY MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

BURRITO TIME: Andy works on Mondays at the Currito station in the Usdan Food Court. HEALTHY OPTIONS: Lucia, who works at the salad station in the Usdan Food Court, refills the station with carrots.

Sodexo has been quite the hotbutton topic on campus as of late. Speculation as to how the company treats its workers as well as the changes to campus meal plan policies has sparked a passionate discourse regarding the company’s standing. But the people who work for Sodexo, the employees who serve and prepare meals every day in the dining halls, are often overlooked or are awkwardly caught in the middle of such discussions. Some of the dining hall workers are household names to students, while others are hardly recognizable because they work in the kitchen where they aren’t immediately accessible to students. I spent a day in Usdan chatting with dining hall employees to hear their perspectives on life inside and outside work. Joe is caught somewhere in between these two types, splitting his time between the kitchen and the stir-fry station in Lower Usdan. An Egyptian native, Joe moved to the United States in 1985. A few years later, he became the owner of an Italian restaurant in Newton. Now a Sodexo employee, Joe has a strong affinity for his working environment at Brandeis. “We’re like family. Both the students and the people I work with,” he said. One thing that Joe brings to the trade is his background in the food industry. He knows a lot about the production process. “If I see a practice that I think is wasteful, I’ll let my manager know. I have a good sense of how to run a business, and I am proud that I can help the team in that way,” he said. The first time you interact with Joe you’ll see that he loves to chat

and joke around. “I love to talk,” he said. It’s no surprise that he is disappointed whenever his manager needs him to work in the back. As a Coptic Christian living in Egypt, Joe experienced some hardships as a religious minority living in a country that has often been looked down upon by the international community for its human rights abuses. Living in the U.S., he is truly grateful for the opportunities he now has. “I have a lot more freedom here than I had back home,” he said. “I can speak about my religion openly. I can work hard, enjoy my job, and make enough money to buy a home. I live a good life here.” Talking to Joe at the stir-fry station in Lower Usdan, one might be able to turn around, and spot the salad station across the hall. There you might find May, one of Joe’s fellow co-workers. Born in Hong Kong, she moved to the U.S. in 1966. Now in her ninth year working for Brandeis dining services, you can often find May chopping up lettuce and making Caesar salad. May finds her job physically challenging. “Making salad and cutting fruit is hard,” she said. When you watch her work on the fruit, you can see what she means. It requires elbow grease. And patience. And more elbow grease. “It hurts my hands,” she said. May’s knee hurts her too, although it’s not clear that her job is the culprit. Recently, she underwent knee surgery and often experiences discomfort. What is heartwarming when talking with May, however, are the words of support that she gets from students who frequent her station. “The students will call for me and ask me how I’m feeling,” she said. “Those students are my

favorites—they are so good to me.” As a Sodexo employee, Zach Marlin ’16, shares a few things in common with Joe and May. He too works in Lower Usdan, and he finds his job to be the most pleasurable when he is interacting with other students. A junior, Marlin has been working at the dining hall since his first year. He’s been witness to all of the changes that the dining services have undergone. One of them in particular has had an impact in the way that students treat him. The transformation of lower Usdan into an all-you-can-eat dining hall means that Marlin no longer deals with meal equivalencies, and the difficulties that ensued. “Oftentimes last year, I would have to tell people that what they purchased exceeded the cost of a meal. Some would give me an annoyed look or complain and ask ‘can’t you just let me through?’ It’s nice to not have to deal with that anymore.” Marlin rarely receives negative attitudes from students. “Although the company may garner a lot of criticism, it’s rare that any individual employee receive the same treatment,” he said. However, Marlin does feel that some of the workers may not get the positive recognition that they deserve due to the company’s reputation. Someone has to make the University’s food, and Sodexo employees carry out that task every day. Whether students choose to interact with them or not is up to each individual. Yet, it seems that interactions between students and Sodexo employees are what make the employees’ work experiences the most pleasurable for them. That sort of joy can make all the difference in someone’s day.

STUDENT INTERACTION: Marie, who works at the sandwich station in Lower Usdan, is always chatting with students.

THE JUSTICE

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A unified spectrum

PHOTOS BY MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

OFFICE HOURS: Sara Brande ’15 holds office hours for TransBrandeis in the new Gender and Sexuality Center in the Usdan Student Center.

The new Gender and Sexuality Center is an improved and central campus location for LGBTQ+ community By JAIME KAISER justice EDITOR

Around this time last year, students from different LGBTQ+ groups across campus came together with a clear goal in mind: to create a Gender and Sexuality Center with a full-time program coordinator. They didn’t know how long it would take to secure funding and get the administration on board, and they couldn’t be certain that the center would ever become a reality. As of last week, the efforts of those students have been rewarded with the completion of such a center, located on the first floor of the Usdan Student Center. The Center will provide a home for all the branches of Triskelion and the Queer Resource Center, which were formally housed with Student Sexuality Information Services in the Shapiro Campus Center. It will also house the office of the gender and sexuality diversity program coordinator, a full-time position soon to be filled. The coordinator will spearhead education and outreach on issues surrounding inclusion, sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. Trisk is an umbrella organization that encompasses four different clubs on campus, namely the Queer People of Color Coalition, the Sex and Sexuality Symposium Club, typically called SASS, Shalem, a Jewish queer group and TransBrandeis, an interest group advocating for everyone across the gender spectrum at Brandeis. SASS coordinator Bethany Clark ’15 ex-

plained the center as a long-awaited and much-needed space for queer groups on campus. “Having a center in a central location staffed full-time was the next step in making the campus safer,” she said. The former space for Trisk and the QRC was tucked away in a room in the top corner of the SCC. The need for a safe, accessible space for the LGBTQ+ community was only reinforced by the process of advocating for it. On a board with sticky notes for members of the Brandeis community to respond to the question “What would a gender and sexuality center do for you?”, certain comments along the lines of “we don’t,” and “that’s so gay,” were left on the wall, according to Clark. Clark described the previous challenge of coordinating between the Trisk groups, the QRC and SSIS—all of which were housed in the same small office space on the third floor of the SCC. “With Trisk having so many different organizations under it and the QRC having to meet one a week, it was really hard to coordinate when people could be there,” she said. QRC staff member Nikk Wasserman ’15 reiterated that the old space presented a number of logistical issues that the configuration of the new center is designed to resolve but also stressed that “those are technical issues for us, but the Center isn’t only about us. The center is designed to best serve the [Brandeis] community as a whole,” they said. The original task force was composed of Alex Thomson ’15, former representa-

tive to the Board of Trustees, the Queer Resource Center’s Margaret Bouchard ’14, Trisk head coordinator Molly Gimbel ’16, Queer Policy Alliance representative Michael Pizziferri ’15 and Sara Brande ’15 from TransBrandeis. Their proposal, in addition to detailing the need for a center with a full-time staff member, “included the effect of not having visibility and a support system ... we included what other schools of our caliber have in respect to a gender and sexuality diversity center,” Gimbel wrote in an email to the Justice. The administration has been supportive of the task force’s initiative. Much of the funding for the Center comes directly from Vice President of Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel’s discretionary fund, a pool he gets to allocate to student initiatives of his choosing on a yearly basis. “Personally, I think having the center is a very legitimizing factor,” said Clark. Trisk received all the funding it requested for the academic year of 2014, in contrast with previous years in which receiving funding had been difficult. Clark has high hopes the center will get the LGBTQ+ community more visibility. In

the absence of a full-time coordinator, the brunt of LGBTQ+ initiatives has fallen on the backs of students, which Clark attributes to the proactive nature of Brandeis students. The search for a program coordinator, organized by the Intercultural Center, is currently underway and in its final round of interviews. It seems as though the task force’s full vision for the center will become reality. The queer community at Brandeis still has progress to make, says Clark, including getting gender-neutral bathrooms installed in more locations on campus. Many single-stall bathrooms also lack a gender-neutral designation. Yet, the Center is a huge step in the right direction. “My hope is that people will be able to come in and use the space in a way that is dynamic to what the LGBTQ/ Queer community needs,” said Wasserman. When Clark came to Brandeis, she felt instantly enthused after attending her first Trisk event. She is devoted to Trisk’s fulfillment of her first impression of the organization. “It seemed like a community that was so welcoming and so active.” She said. “I wanted to be a part of that.”

FOLLOW THE DOTTED LINE: LGBTQ+ groups across campus hope this new center will provide a central, well-used location for gathering.

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Justice

Brandeis University

Established 1949

Rachel Hughes, Editor in Chief Tate Herbert, Senior Editor Glen Chagi Chesir, Managing Editor Jessie Miller and Sam Mintz, Deputy Editors Jaime Kaiser, Associate Editor Marissa Ditkowsky, News Editor Hannah Wulkan, Acting News Editor Rose Gittell, Acting Features Editor Max Moran, Forum Editor Avi Gold, Sports Editor Emily Wishingrad, Arts Editor Morgan Brill, Photography Editor Grace Kwon, Acting Photography Editor Rebecca Lantner, Layout Editor Brittany Joyce, Online Editor Catherine Rosch, Acting Copy Editor Aliza Kahn and Talia Zapinsky, Acting Advertising Editors

EDITORIALS Welcome Gender and Sexuality Center On Oct. 20, the new Gender and Sexuality Center opened in the Usdan Student Center, following up on the efforts of a group of students who proposed the center to the Board of Trustees last October. This board congratulates the students from the Student Union, Queer Resource Center, Triskelion, Queer Policy Alliance and TransBrandeis for their proposal’s success and also recognizes the University’s willingness to respond to and, more importantly, fund student demands. The Gender and Sexuality Center now occupies its own permanent space, allowing easier access and privacy to individuals who visit. Before now, these student groups held an office in the Shapiro Campus Center within the office for the Student Sexuality Information Service, but the purposes of these two resources are distinct and merit separate spaces. As the Gender and Sexuality Center performs the critical service of advising students who struggle with their sexuality, identity and other issues, it is encouraging that a permanent space has been established specifically to address these problems. In an Oct. 15, 2013 special to the Justice, Alex Thomson ’15 explained that LGBTQ individuals face name-calling and even violence at Brandeis.

Hire full-time employee However, this board also also note that a full-time coordinator has yet to be hired. Though students involved in the center are an active and valuable resource, the nature of the center demands a dedicated and qualified full-time staff member who can best address the needs of the Brandeis community. We ask that the administration quickly complete the final rounds of interviews to hire an employee with formal training and experience in providing advice of this sensitive nature, to ensure that students receive only the best counseling. In addition, a full-time coordinator will hold more programming and have more time for appointments with students—things Thomson specifically mentioned the old center lacked. The self-motivation and effective advocacy displayed by the group of students who wrote the original proposal last year is highly admirable, especially seeing as they have not stopped at merely securing the permanent space and have gone on to seek out a full-time employee. We are therefore optimistic about the future of this center and hope it continues to perform its services at a high level.

GABRIELA YESHUA/The Justice

Views the News on

Three years ago, the University of North Carolina faced a scandal when it was revealed that students had been taking so-called “paper classes,” which almost never met in person and required only one paper submission, often plagiarized, to pass. On Wednesday, a new report detailed that the classes were mostly devised to keep up the grade point averages of struggling UNC athletes. UNC has admitted that athletes were steered toward the classes by advisors, and have set up new checks to ensure that classes are meeting regularly. Four employees have been terminated at UNC as a result of the scandal, and disciplinary proceedings are beginning against five more. How do you react to the UNC scandal, and what can be done to prevent a similar situation at other schools?

Coach William Shipman As an alumnus and supporter of athletics of UNC at Chapel Hill I am especially cognizant of and sad about the recent academic issues involving UNC athletics and academics. But the system existing now in major college football encourages these types of actions. Alumni and students of state and some private universities place high pressure on university administrators and coaches to present a winning team. Literally tens of millions of dollars of personal, university and local business money can be at stake, some of which fund academic programs in the university. This pressure to produce wins results in the admission of some athletes who are not near the academic level of the predominant university population. Undoubtedly UNC must raise its accountability of academic preparation and performance for its athletes, to prevent this type of incident. But let’s look at the deeper influence of a Division 1 college athletics system that places too much pressure on underprepared young men and those that lead them to win and make money on the field while they minimize the primary mission of universities. Coach William Shipman is the coach of the men’s and women’s fencing teams.

Coach Michael Kotch My initial reaction is that I cannot believe that this fraudulent class scheme grew so large. I would think that after two or three people got involved, someone with morals or values would ultimately have said no to being involved and blown the whistle. I’m sure some did say no to getting involved, but why they chose to ignore it is probably a topic in itself. I wonder if the allure of working with high level athletes sucked people into this decision making process, but I still can’t believe that so many people got together and thought this was going to continue into perpetuity without a bad ending. It’ll be interesting to see how deep the fallout is, but in my opinion there is no way the coaches of these athletes didn’t know about what was happening. I think back to all my interactions with student-athletes over the last 13 years and I have learned more about them than I probably needed to at the time...because they tell you! Coach Michael Kotch is the coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams.

Address key issues at Trustees meeting This Wednesday marks the beginning of the University’s first formal Board of Trustees meeting of this academic year. This will also be the first meeting for student representatives Mohammed Sidique ’15 and Grady Ward ’16. With much to discuss, this board recommends the following issues be at the forefront of of our student representatives’ agendas and of the greater Board of Trustees’. First, the University must reexamine its identity as both a liberal arts college and a research university and better determine what balance between these two criteria it will strike under the new Strategic Plan. The plan’s implementation has placed an added emphasis on the sciences and the International Business School. Results have been positive in these disciplines as both have seen success in recent years: Prof. Eve Marder (BIOL) was recently chosen by the Obama administration as a panelist on the BRAIN Initiative, and the undergraduate business program has worked to become more comprehensive, specifically by adding extensive higher level classes in corporate finance and accounting. We are glad to see the University expand these growing departments. However, we wonder how this new focus will mesh with our historic place as a liberal arts college. While business and the sciences are critical and often lucrative fields of study, the liberal arts have been important to the University’s identity since its founding. We hope the University does not divert so many resources to these expanding departments that it comes at the cost of other areas of academic study. We also urge the Board of Trustees to se-

Evaluate strategic plan riously consider the issue of prohibitively high tuition costs. Too many qualified students now find themselves incapable of pursuing higher education due solely to the problem of affordability. As a university, Brandeis must not allow these students to be excluded from academia. Another topic we feel warrants added consideration is the process of choosing honorary degree recipients. This past commencement season exposed flaws in the nomination process for honorary degrees. The Board must make an effort to nominate and choose recipients that the student body feels deserve honor. After all, commencement is a celebration of the graduating class and is not the time for controversial speakers. This must be reflected in the nomination process. Lastly, the University has recently seen much success with the cluster hires of many younger professors. These cluster hires rejuvenate our faculty base and further the scope of academia pursued at our University. We hope the Board continues to implement them in the future. The University was displayed in a negative light on a national stage multiple times this past year, culminating recently in a multiple spot drop in the U.S. News and World Report rankings. We hope our new student representatives, and the greater University Board of Trustees recognize this moment not as one of despair, but rather as an opportunity to place the University on a stronger path for success in the future.

Sarah Jaffe ’15 Upon hearing about the situation with the UNC athletes, I was disappointed, but honestly not tremendously surprised. While the situation is obviously a problem for the specific students that it’s affecting, it actually demonstrates a larger national issue. With an emphasis in political rhetoric on “increased accountability” and “standards” within education, teachers at different educational levels feel pressured to pass their students, even if they may not deserve the passing grades or credits. They may think it’s a favor to students that they don’t have to stay behind or repeat classes, but they are actually doing them a great disservice in the long term. Additionally, when University-level student athletes are being given credits they don’t deserve, their institution of higher education is sending them the message that they value athletics more than academics. If this is the message that universities are sending, we need to honestly examine the hypocrisy and question the values within our education system. Sarah Jaffe ’15 is an Education Studies minor.

Jesse Ruth ’16 I was taken aback by the actions of the staff at Chapel Hill. I think it safe to assume that we expect our institutions of higher learning to build upon their ingrained tenets of principled discourse and the transmission of knowledge in an ethical and open setting. As more information on the UNC scandal comes to light, it is quite evident that the staff members who facilitated this pseudo academic department were the primary instigators. However, it is unfair to place all responsibility for the longevity of their scheme on them— students at a university have an obligation to their integrity to conduct themselves with honesty, and those who colluded over the years with the staff are just as culpable. The actions of all involved—students and staff—are reprehensible, and in direct opposition to the ethos of the university. Jesse Ruth ’16 is a member of the Tennis club.

THE JUSTICE

READER COMMENTARY Fully evaluate Vatican’s new direction In response to your article “Consider true motivations for liberal bishops’ synod document” (Oct. 19) As a Catholic historian, I take issue with this recent piece. The Pope is not solely a political figure: he is the Vicar of Christ. The fact that 88 percent of Americans like him is not relevant to the article’s argument, which is that the author desires “a church that says it welcomes change and then actually enacts it.” The author can find this in other denominations, but never in the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Church encompasses all people: past, present and future. This is why the teaching authority, or the magisterium, honors past theologians. The author’s linking the Church to the “current American political climate” is not only wrong but ignorant. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen once said on his television show, “Right is right if nobody is right, and wrong is wrong if everybody is wrong.” Dogma is right because it is right, not because it is popular. The author’s argument that “young people do not want to participate in Catholic life” is true for the wrong reasons. The theological decline is not because of the Church’s ancientness but rather because it tried to become modern, a grandparent failing to be “hip.” The “spirit” of Vatican II led to unfounded aesthetic changes that complicated the Church’s future. The recent attempts to inspire faith in youth (i.e. Juventutem movement) have been censored by supposedly “liberal” bishops. If the author wishes to go to “a church [she] can respect,” she can go to the Episcopal Church or any other progressive church. The Catholic Church is unchangeable, and as an ardent, practicing Catholic, I will accept Her, despite what some see as flaws. If She is hated by the world for Her beliefs, so be it. —Joe Lanoie ’15 is the President of the Brandeis University Tea Party Nation.

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TUESDAY, october 28, 2014

Trust government to start fixing economy Glen

Chesir Chagi’s Chop

Since Janet Yellen took over as chairman of the Federal Reserve, conventional wisdom has been that Treasury interest rates would slowly rise as the economy continues to improve, especially as unemployment dips under the six percent benchmark that many analysts placed. Futures markets on the question of “will interest rates remain the same through 2015?” started October with only nine percent of markets responding in the affirmative. And yet, after two weeks of extreme fluctuation in virtually all the American public markets, the futures markets now come in at almost 36 percent agreeing interest rates will not rise next year. Just three short weeks ago, the 10-year treasury rate was at 2.6 percent—last week, that number dipped as low as 1.8, albeit now standing at around 2.2. Massive fluctuations like this are not common and certainly are not emblematic of the direction the American economy is supposed to be headed. So what gives? Why are interest rates still so susceptible to fluctuation? And why are they still so low to begin with? A bit of oversimplified background information: corporations, small business and even places of higher education like Brandeis all have to borrow money if capital is needed. They meet these capital needs through the issuance of debt or bonds. The interest rates that these bonds borrow at is at some level dependent on what rate can be earned by the safer, less risky options. The treasury bonds of the United States are considered the creme de la creme of the investment grade, or ultrasafe bonds; after all, the U.S. treasury can always print more money to meet its financial obligations. Therefore, as federal interest rates stay low, the price to borrow money

also remains low. To put the current numbers in perspective, the 10 year treasury was at 6.66 percent at the turn of the 21st century, and 4.76 percent on the first day of January, 2007, the year right before the financial crash of 2008. Back to the original question; why are our federal interest rates still so low and oscillating at such an extreme rate? Why does a presidential election in Brazil or Ebola striking New York City cause the massive volatility that it has over the past two weeks? And perhaps most importantly, what can be done by the Fed and federal government as a whole to stop this?

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The core issue behind the volatility...is a lack of faith in our government.

Neil Irwin, senior economics correspondent for the New York Times, hypothesizes that the issue stems from a complete lack of trust in the Fed by the general public to properly navigate the continued climb out of the great recession: “Investors lack confidence that policy makers have the tools they would need to avert a new slide into recession after years of throwing everything they have at it to try to encourage recovery.” Irwin even goes a step further: “Add it all up, and the markets aren’t betting on catastrophe per se … they are betting that central banks and other policy makers aren’t going to be able to get a handle on global deflationary forces that have been unleashed.” The core issue behind the volatility, states Irwin, is a lack of faith in our government. It would appear that Irwin’s argument is heavily supported by the statistics. A Gallop poll updated each year measuring trust in

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the government, with the two options being either “Just about always/ most of the time” or “Only some of the time/ never” has 81 percent of respondents distrusting the government. This statistic represents the highest number of distrust in government since 1994. A CNN poll from late August produced an even more drastic outlook, with only 13 percent of those polled feeling that they can trust the government to do what’s right all or most of the time. And surely the skepticism toward our current government is warranted: response over issues ranging from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Ebola claiming the lives of half of its victims and now breeching American soil, Putin in Russia and beheadings in Iran have all been tenuous and have needed reformation. Moreover, domestic issues like gay rights, equal pay for women in the workforce, the immigration crisis on the border and Obamacare all fall under a similar lessthan-ideal category. And the government that our country does not trust is tasked with dealing with these seemingly uncontainable and ever-growing list of problems. The sky must clearly be falling—or maybe it should be, to save us all from our misery. This distrust, therefore, creates an economic cycle of continued volatility. Many economic indicators are, in fact, pointed in the right direction, most notably, unemployment dipping below six percent as mentioned earlier. And yet, despite these positive indicators, the American public still doesn’t trust the government to continue on the road of recovery. So despite economic signs implying higher interest rates, general distrust allows for any macro event to immediately force those rates back down. By extension, this extreme distrust in government is actually making it more difficult for the government to further the road to economic recovery. So to answer the question of what can be done to stop this unhealthy volatility, the answer might just be—despite the apparent failures on a variety of other fronts—to trust that the government has the answer.

Promote vegetarian and vegan lifestyles through inclusive advocacy By JESSICA GOLDSTEIN Justice staff writer

Reading through the ingredients label on the back of the box, I wonder at the infinite ways this can go wrong. It can be kosher but not vegetarian. Vegetarian but not vegan. There it is: another dreaded ingredient, whey. Anyone who has dietary restrictions shares this struggle. According to a 2012 Gallup poll profiling adults, five percent of Americans identify as vegetarians, only slightly less than those who identified as vegetarian in 1999 and 2001. Gallup also found that some two percent identified as vegans. With both of these results, the terms “vegetarian” and “vegan” were not defined for the respondent but by the respondent. For those who do not know, veganism is the practice of abstaining from consuming any animal products like meat, dairy, eggs and honey. This practice sometimes extends to abstinence from purchasing “cruelty-free” clothing choices such as not wearing leather or makeup products. People for Ethical Treatment of Animals’ slogan sums up the motivation of ethical veganism perfectly: “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment or abuse in any other way.” “Ethical veganism” is one of the three common motivations for adopting this diet. Other motivations include dietary veganism and environmental veganism. As we are a minority in this population, identifying as an “ethical vegan” may not be fully understood by the general populace. My lifestyle choice is often deemed much too “extreme,” even by fellow animal lovers and vegetarians. Instantly, individuals conjure up images of radical holier-than-thou PETA activists or hippie vegans (which, granted, I may very well be) when they discover I am a vegan. The responses range from quite comical to downright offensive. Among the comical responses is the slogan: “Save a cow, eat a vegetarian/vegan.” More offensive responses come in the form of moral equivalencies. In a 2012 article in The Guardian, Sali Owen shares some of these responses thrown at her. “Why would you care about intensive cattle farming when there are children dying of malaria in Ethiopia?” One must not be so competitive when it comes to

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compassion. Fighting for animal rights and human rights are not mutually exclusive. In fact, my passion for the fundamental rights of animals and humans pushed me to become a vegan in the first place. After being a vegetarian for around five years, I learned more about the system of factory farming. Farm Sanctuary, an organization founded to protect farmed animals from cruelty and promote the cause of vegan living, share some of the experiences faced by farmed animals. Unlike common promotional images of perfect and natural farm life, the conditions farmed animals live in are quite horrific. Generally, these animals live in extremely confined conditions and are injected with powerful hormones intended to bring about unnatural growth and inevitably painful conditions. The close confines of living lead to greater illness and, in turn, overuse of antibiotics. Oftentimes, the laws that are intended to protect these animals provide little support. Farmed animals generally remain excluded from state animal cruelty laws and the Animal Welfare Act, which the United States Department of Agriculture describes as “the only federal law in the United States that regulates the treatment of animals in research, exhibition, transport and by dealers.” The 28 Hour Law only protects animals in transit for slaughter. It is supposed to allow for animals to receive a break of food, water and exercise before traveling again, but it is not strictly enforced, according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Another law, the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act, requires that livestock be unconscious before slaughter, but this excludes birds, who make up 90 percent of those animals slaughtered for food. According to the ALDF, enforcement of this law is spotty, and oftentimes terrible violations continue. Unfortunately, the most vocal voice for animal rights in the United States is PETA, which alienates the majority of the population and frequently uses distasteful forms of protest. While PETA stands for the values ingrained in ethical veganism, it goes about alienating everyone who doesn’t follow its way of life (sometimes even alienating vegetarians). PETA creates a culture of shame surrounding eating animal products and

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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 3,700 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. A publication schedule and rate card is available upon request. Subscription rate: $35 per semester, $55 per year.

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frequently uses campaigns through their gross comparisons of animal suffering and human suffering. Although I can relate to the phrase, “meat is murder,” I don’t think anyone should really believe that it is okay to stage a protest with humans wrapped in giant meat containers. PETA should realize that these displays don’t make people empowered to become vegetarian but instead guilted into it if they are even convinced in the first place. Oftentimes, these displays help solidify stereotypes against vegetarians and vegans. During this summer, I experimented with the possibility of returning to lacto-ovo vegetarianism permanently—a type of vegetarianism where the individual does not consume animals but does eat dairy and egg products. As my lifestyle had become more “extreme,” it seemed as if PETA became more extreme as well. Suddenly, it seemed as if they were saying it isn’t good enough to just be a vegetarian. It seems as if everything on their website promotes “veganism” instead of “vegetarianism.” I would like to say that I returned to veganism on my own volition, but I would be lying if I said PETA’s message did not partially influence my decision. However, there are other organizations, like Meat Free Monday, that are going about their ac-

The Staff

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tivism in an encouraging way. They are presenting an accessible solution—simply don’t eat meat on Monday. This allows for the development of an animal rights movement outside of the vegan and vegetarian community. MFM helps spread the movement instead of alienating it through fringe extremism like PETA. I don’t take issue with anyone who is not a vegetarian, but abstaining from meat for one day out of the week is an encouraging step in achieving greater animal rights. The most profound struggles vegans face is not by the numerous non-vegan additives found in foods but the social stigma that surrounds their lifestyle. When reflecting on the actions of animal rights groups such as PETA, I am not surprised that ethical veganism would be misunderstood. Veganism should be portrayed as through a quote by Mahatma Gandhi: “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” In this sense, we should realize that human rights and animal rights go hand-in-hand, and ethical vegan activism should equally be presented in this way. Nov. 1 is World Vegan Day. Two percent of people in the U.S. are vegan, but not every individual should be labeled by one characterization.

Editorial Assistants

Arts: Carly Chernomorets, Kiran Gill, Ilana Kruger, Nate Shaffer

News: Rachel Sharer

Photography: Michelle Banayan, Hannah Chidekel, Rebecca

Sports: Noah Hessdorf

Freedman, Mihir Khanna, Abby Knecht, Bri Mussman, Jeremy

Arts: Brooke Granovsky

Perlman, Abigail Rothstein

Photography: Guillermo Narvaez

Copy: Allie Goodman, Kathleen Guy, Mara Nussbaum, Rebecca

Copy: Carmi Rothberg

Shi

Layout: Sydney Miller

Layout: Corey Cohen, Rachel Cohen, Jane Kwon, Ricky Miller, Josh Sander

Staff

Illustrations: Ali Santana, Mozelle Shamash-Rosenthal, Jason

News: Kathryn Brody, River Heisler, Saadiah McIntosh,

Lipow, Gabriela Yeshua

Abby Patkin, Zachary Reid, Sherry Simkovic, Arianna Unger Features: Brianna Majsiak, Casey Pearlman, Max Shpilman Forum: Aaron Dvorkin, Mark Gimelstein, Jessica Goldstein, Kahlil Oppenheimer, Jassen Lu Sports: Daniel Kanovich, Colin Warnes

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TUESDAY, october 28, 2014

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THE JUSTICE

FORUM

Overturn court rulings favoring political action committees By AARON DVORKIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

With midterm elections only two weeks away, political advertisements are flooding the airwaves as Americans decide who will get their vote come Nov. 4. However, more and more of these advertisements are being aired by outside groups, namely political action committees, rather than the candidates themselves or their political party’s national committee. These wealthy PACs and the donors who fund them are also exerting a disproportionate influence on the candidates’ own advertisements. Previously, caps on campaign contributions limited the extent to which corporations, wealthy individuals and other politically active groups could influence elections. Now, government’s ability to regulate campaign spending for large donors and corporations has been compromised due to various pieces of legislation and Supreme Court decisions over the past decade and a half. As a result, the upcoming midterms will be the most expensive in our nation’s history and are projected to total $4 billion, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Unfortunately, the ever-growing political clout of outside spenders coupled with the overall growth in campaign contributions has turned our most vital democratic exercise into a financial war fought almost exclusively by the wealthiest few. Ironically, the problem precipitated with the passing of legislation which is commonly thought to be one of the most significant regulations of campaign finances in recent years. The 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act— commonly referred to “McCain-Feingold”— limited contributions to political parties from wealthy individuals and corporations. Proponents of the legislation believed it would reduce the influence of the wealthiest few on national party committees, and by extension, on the policies of the candidates for whom the parties advocate. Ideally, political parties would be forced to rely on smaller donors and would subsequently become more grassroots oriented. The proponents of the new law did not anticipate that the bill would instead divert funds from political parties into outside groups such as Super PACs. The problems which resulted from the passage of McCain-Feingold were greatly intensified by a series of Supreme Court decisions delivered recently, starting with Citizens United v. FEC in 2010. The decision stated that the government could not limit corporate spending on advocacy for or against candidates. Another decision in 2010 called Speechnow v. FEC created the current super PACs, which spend their own money to fund their own advertisements instead of contributing directly to campaigns like a normal PAC. Then, in October of 2013, the court outlawed limits on individual spending in McCutcheon v. FEC. Old regulations ensured that individual donors could only donate to 18 federal elections per cycle. As a result of the court’s ruling in McCutcheon, individuals can donate to as many candidates as they want. Super PACs tend to focus on a small number of issues which are most concerning to

JASON LIPOW/The Justice

them and their donors rather than the broad range of issues which are most concerning to the majority of the population. Advertisements run by Super PACs can help shape the conversation surrounding each election. In addition, individuals can make unlimited donations to candidates as a result of McCutcheon, and corporations may donate to political action committees who funnel donations in limited amounts directly to the campaigns. This may explain why candidates across the country are focusing on issues which seem irrelevant to the states they are campaigning in.

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Such great disparities in influence over elections undermines the democratic nature of the process. For example, Scott Brown—who is running for the Senate in New Hampshire—has been running advertisements which aim to create fear regarding illegal immigration from Mexico despite the fact that the only foreign border New Hampshire has is with Canada and the

state has one of the smallest illegal immigrant populations in the country per the New York Times. During a recent debate, Brown also claimed that weak border security could lead to our country being permeated by the Ebola virus and ISIS terrorists. It is a weak argument with little to no evidence to support it, but nevertheless Brown’s position and similar arguments made by candidates across the country regarding the same issues have succeeded in making voters fearful during this election cycle. While issues of national concern should be discussed in local congressional races, the fact that these issues have garnered so much more airtime than others that perhaps more directly affect the people of states like New Hampshire may leave some citizens ignorant about what their newly elected officials feel about that which is of greater concern to them. Voters will vote based on what they know about the candidates’ positions. If irrelevant issues dominate the conversation, many voters may decide who to vote for based on issues which are not pertinent to them or their interests. `When one person can have such disproportionate influence on the future of the country, there is a reciprocal effect that renders those with lower incomes almost irrelevant to the election process. While most people only have one vote and perhaps a little time to volunteer

for a campaign, wealthy individuals and corporations have significant influence on both the opinions of the candidates whose campaigns that they or their company’s PACs donate to, and the opinions of the voters if they choose to donate to super PACs who run advertisements. Given the ever increasing correlation between one’s wealth and one’s political clout, the Supreme Court rulings effectively endorse the idea that certain individuals and entities with more money can have more speech than those with less money. This system seems inherently undemocratic. Such great disparities in influence over elections undermines the democratic nature of the process. In order to make our most important democratic process more fair, Congress must over-turn Citizens United as well as passing limits on campaign contributions for wealthy individuals. Political campaigns should rely on grassroots involvement, rather than corporate donations and advertisements run by outside groups. The issues discussed by candidates which voters subsequently vote on should be decided based on the concerns of the citizens in each state, rather than big donors who may live in a different part of the country. Our government must make sure that the economic inequality, which is pervading our society, can no longer infect our most important democratic process.

Placing potential Ebola patients in quarantine is an overreaction By jennie bromberg JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Last Friday, Oct. 17, the governors of New York, New Jersey and Illinois declared a mandatory 21-day quarantine for anyone who came back to the United States after being in any of the West African countries facing the Ebola epidemic. Sunday night, Governor Chris Christie loosened the quarantine in New Jersey so that rather than enduring 21 days in hospital quarantines, “at risk” patients could stay at home and be compensated for the work that they missed. But, even with the more relaxed restrictions, he stood by the mandatory policy. This is the newest and most exaggerated example of how people in the United States are overreacting to the Ebola epidemic. Unforunately, this overreaction could have many negative consequences. The mandatory quarantine is dramatizing the medical facts behind how Ebola is contracted and spreads. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ebola is spread when blood or body fluids from the infected person come in direct contact through broken skin or mucous membranes of a noninfected person. It is nearly impossible to get Ebola from, say, standing next to an infected person on the subway, even if they cough on you. Additionally, if a person with Ebola is

not showing any symptoms of the virus, they are not contagious. But, despite these facts, the mandatory quarantine persists. The issues of the mandatory quarantine were publicized in the United States when Kaci Hickox, a nurse treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone through Doctors Without Borders, was quarantined last Friday when she arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport. On Saturday, Hickox published an article in the Dallas Morning News about her experience with the quarantine. She was treated almost as if she was a criminal and kept in the quarantine even though she did not have a fever and tested negative for Ebola. That is worth reiterating: Hickox was completely Ebola-free but was still kept from seeing her family and friends due to pure paranoia. In the article, Hickox said, “this is not a situation I would wish on anyone, and I am scared for those who will follow me.” On Monday morning, according to the New York Times, Governor Christie said that Hickox could go home if the CDC approved. From the perspective of a governor, a mandatory quarantine may seem like a good idea. It eliminates any potential risk of Ebola coming into contact with the general population. And it is true: If you take every person who is coming to the United States from West Africa and do not allow them to have any hu-

man contact except with medical professionals dressed from head to toe in protective gear there is absolutely no chance anyone else in the country will contract Ebola. This is especially true when the quarantined person doesn’t have Ebola in the first place, which is absolutely what is going to be the case for many of those quarantined.

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The mandatory quarantine is a terrible concept that is a complete waste of time, effort and money. The mandatory quarantine is absolutely inane. Beyond its isolation of people who may not necessarily be infected with Ebola, it is treating those who are brave and willing to go to West Africa to help fight the epidemic with a disrespect that nobody deserves. The people who go to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone should be treated like the heroes that they are. The quarantine also discourages people from going to West Africa to help fight the

epidemic. Why would one go and help when they would come back to a mandatory 21-day quarantine and disrespect from the government and health officials? Additionally, those who are going to West Africa and working with Ebola patients know the symptoms of the disease better than anybody else. If they were symptomatic, they would be aware to seek help and take the proper measures to not spread the disease. Additionally, the CDC has specific protocol to follow for those who aren’t health care workers and are traveling from West Africa to the U.S. that doesn’t include a mandatory quarentine. Because this disease is not spread by just simply sharing air with people who are infected, it would be easy for a medical professional to ascertain quickly whether they may be carrying Ebola without it spreading to anyone else. The mandatory quarantine is a terrible concept that is a complete waste of time, effort and money. It discourages health volunteers from traveling to West Africa where patients need the most help. Ebola is terrifying and a huge threat in West Africa, but in developed countries that have highly developed healthcare and information systems there is no major risk of an epidemic. It is time that the U.S. shifted their efforts away from quarantining uninfected people to helping those who actually need it.

THE JUSTICE

MSOCCER: Men score four goals in the first half during victory CONTINUED FROM 16 finally got one. It’s a great feeling.” The squad entered the halftime break with a 4-0 advantage, but could easily have scored more, holding a 20-2 shot advantage in the half. The Judges had a 27-4 shot advantage by the time the final whistle was blown. Bradley added a second goal in the 81st minute, when he dribbled along the end line, beat his defender and chipped the ball over Pils to give Brandeis the 5-0 final. The squad played relatively conservatively in the second half, not in need of anything but an injury-

side hitter Shemira Pennyman ’15, who gathered two kills, and Bernaiche, who notched a pair of serving aces. However, the squad was unable to continue the work from that impressive set as Middlebury came storming back to take the match. Middlebury came back strong, winning the third set 25-17 and comfortably dismantling Brandeis 25-13 in the final set. The Judges got standout performances from Engeler, who finished with 12 kills and an impressive .258 hitting percentage, and Bernaiche, who finished the match with 12 digs. Setter Julie Kim ’18

october 28, 2014

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TECHNICAL SKILL

free 45 minutes. Goalkeeper Joe Graffy ’15 saved the only shot on goal he faced to pick up his 15th win on the season. “There’s no way I could have done that without my teammates,” Bradley said. “They’ve been encouraging me from day one, supported me, and they keep telling me that when you get your opportunity, you have to take advantage of it.” The Judges return to action on Friday night in a UAA contest at Washington University in St. Louis before traveling to Chicago to take on the University of Chicago on Sunday afternoon.

VOLLEYBALL: Judges falter in non-conference matchups at Amherst CONTINUED FROM 16

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also added 29 assists for the squad. “We just need to put it all together for [three] games in a row to pull out a [win],” Engeler explained. “We need to work on finishing games and consistency, but there is no lack of talent or desire on [the team as a whole].” After a rough weekend against tough opposition, the Judges can look forward to their next three matches at home. The squad squares off against Lasell College tonight at 7 p.m. in Gosman Sports and Convocation Center and then returns to the court with a double-header on Saturday against Babson College and Eastern Connecticut State University, beginning at noon.

GRACE KWON/Justice File Photo

AHEAD OF THE PACE: Max Fabian ’15, who took fourth in the 1,650-yard freestyle on Saturday, races at home on Oct. 18.

SWIMMING: Squads travel for meeting with conference foes CONTINUED FROM 16 Theresa Gaffney ’16 finished the 1650-yard freestyle race in 20:41.13, picking up a 10th-place finish Murphy also secured a time of 5:23.91 in the 500-yard freestyle, good for sixth place. The time was also about four seconds faster than she completed the race in last week’s meet. Along with Murphy, the women also had a solid outing from Erin Gawronski ’18. Gawronski, in only her second collegiate meet, finished the 400yard individual medley in in sev-

enth place with a time of 4:59.80. The time placed her about a second ahead of Murphy. Fay Laborio ’16 took 15th place in the race with a time of 5:23.75. Gaffney also placed 15th in the 200-yard freestyle, a race she completed in 2:16.13. The slow start to the season was expected, as the Judges team includes 19 first-years, the majority of the squad. The swimmers seem optimistic for the rest of the season, as there is plenty of time to improve in the long season, according to Diamond. “The team is headed in a very am-

bitious direction,” he said. “We are always ready to attack the next practice, and are willing to try new challenges that will make ourselves as a team only better,” Diamond continued. “If we focus on just one thing that can improve our swimming as a whole, come February [the UAA Championships], there will hopefully be some amazing results.” The Judges next competition will be at Babson College on Nov. 9, where they will face off against hosts Babson and Worcester Polytechnic Institute in a tri-meet, beginning at 3 p.m.

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Tuesday, october 28, 2014

15

ATHLETE PROFILE

Men’s Soccer UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Goals

2014-2015 Statistics JUDGES Chicago Carnegie Case NYU Rochester Emory WashU

UAA Conf. W L D 3 1 0 2 0 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 0 1 2 1 1 3 0 0 3 1

Overall W L D 15 1 0 8 5 2 8 4 1 8 4 3 11 3 0 7 4 3 11 3 1 7 5 2

Pct. .938 .600 .654 .633 .786 .607 .767 .571

Tyler Savonen ’15 leads the team with nine goals. Player Goals Tyler Savonen 9 Zach Vieira 6 Michael Soboff 6 Josh Ocel 4

Assists Josh Ocel ’17 leads the team with seven assists. Player Assists Josh Ocel 7 Evan Jastremski 3 Foti Andreo 2 Mike Lynch 2

UPCOMING GAMES: Friday at WashU Sunday at Chicago Saturday, Nov. 8 at NYU

WOMen’s Soccer UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS

2014-2015 Statistics

Goals

Carnegie WashU Chicago NYU JUDGES Case Emory Rochester

UAA Conf. W L D 3 1 0 2 1 0 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 0 1 3 1 3 0

Overall W L D 11 1 0 11 1 2 11 2 1 10 4 1 11 3 1 8 4 3 8 1 5 5 7 3

Pct. .917 .857 .821 .700 .767 .633 .750 .433

UPCOMING GAMES: Friday at WashU Sunday at Chicago Saturday, Nov. 8 at NYU

Sapir Edalati ’15 leads the team with nine goals. Player Goals Sapir Edalati 9 Samantha Schwartz 8 Cidney Moscovitch 3 Lea McDaniel 2

Assists Holly Szafran ’16 leads the team with seven assists. Player Assists Holly Szafran 7 Sapir Edalati 6 Samantha Schwartz 3

VOLLEYBALL UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Kills

2014-2015 Statistics UAA Conf. Overall W L W L Pct. Emory 6 1 27 3 .900 WashU 6 1 27 4 .871 Carnegie 5 2 21 8 .724 Chicago 4 3 20 11 .645 Case 4 3 15 10 .600 NYU 2 5 18 13 .581 Rochester 1 6 12 17 .414 JUDGES 0 7 5 20 .200

UPCOMING GAMES: Tonight vs. Lasell College Saturday vs. Babson College Saturday vs. Eastern Conn. St.

Maddie Engeler ’16 leads the team with 159 kills. Player Kills Maddie Engeler 159 Jessie Moore 147 Liz Hood 113 Summer Koop 105

Digs Elsie Bernaiche ’15 leads the team with 416 digs. Player Digs Elsie Bernaiche 416 Shemira Pennyman 190 Julie Kim 170 Liz Hood 86

cross cOuntry Results from the Conn. College Invitational in Waterford, CT on Oct. 18.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

8-Kilometer Run RUNNER TIME Quinton Hoey 26:28 Jarrett Harrigan 26:43 Mitchell Hutton 27:06 Liam Garvey 27:07

6-Kilometer Run RUNNER TIME Maddie Dolins 22:44 Kelsey Whitaker 23:34 Lydia McCaleb 23:48 Kyra Shreeve 23:57

UPCOMING EVENTS: Saturday at the Universtity Athletic Association Invitational Saturday Nov. 15 at the New England Division III Regional Championships

GRACE KWON/Justice File Photo

LIFT OFF: Sam Zucker ’18 launches off the diving board during a home meet versus Wheaton College (Mass.) on Oct. 18.

Zucker settles into new sport with diving squad ■ Sam Zucker ’18, a former gymnast, has adjusted to the swimming and diving team in his first year. By siddharth mehra justice contributing writer

For first-year diver Sam Zucker ’18, being at the forefront of a niche varsity sport like diving glues his schedule together. “It helps me with time management and efficiency, more than anything,” he said. While other students browse the Internet, Zucker twirls and glides gracefully through the air high above pool in the Joseph M. Linsey Sports Center before plunging into the water. Despite being Brandeis’ first male diver in more than a decade, Zucker said he is unfazed by the challenges that lie ahead. It has been a year of changes for Zucker—he has settled into college, moved between states and adopted a new sport. “I only really started diving a year ago,” he said, noting that he is a former gymnast. “As soon as gymnastics season ended [after] senior year [of high

school], I spent a month just learning how to dive at the University of Texas, Austin,” he explained. While this month-long boot camp helped him get acquainted with the diving board, Zucker says he has learned a lot of his new diving skills in his time at Brandeis over the course of his first year. “I’m learning new dives almost every single practice, which is fun—it gets me motivated for the next practice,” Zucker remarked. Zucker does falter on occasion, as can be expected of anyone adjusting to a new sport. What surprises him, he said, is how similar the pain from diving is to that of gymnastics. “I never thought the water could hurt so much,” he said. “I wake up sometimes with all these bruises that I didn’t know I had,” he continued. Zucker compared diving pains to the gymnastics pains he already was used to. “In gymnastics, you’re worried about hitting metal bars, a leather pommel horse or the floor,” the diver explained. However, Zucker powers through the pain and is eager to build on his newly acquired skill-set, having already competed in the 1-meter dive in each of the Judges’ two competi-

tions so far this year. In addition, Zucker also completed the 3-meter dive at the University of Rochester Invitational this past weekend. His coach believes that his freshness to the sport can be utilized, he said. Zucker explained that his coach believes while most of his opposition has plateaued, he gets tangibly better each time he breaks the water’s surface. Even though being the only male diver does give him undivided face time with the coaches, Zucker says he cannot wait for the program to grow. He confesses that it can get lonely during long conditioning periods, but Zucker finds refuge in the camaraderie he shares with the swim team. “I’m really close with the swim kids; I love hanging out with them,” he said. “It’s really cool to have a set friend group and to get to know upperclassmen.” As he settles into a new sport on a new campus, Zucker looks to take the lessons he has learned in the pool and to apply them to the rest of his life. For now, however, he is focused on nailing his dives and getting used to his singular place in a niche sport among the varsity teams on the Brandeis campus.

PRO SPORTS BRIEF Boston Bruins defeat two Eastern Conference opponents but lose defenseman Zdeno Chara to injury The Boston Bruins accrued two wins and one loss this past week, putting them in seventh place in the Eastern Conference and eighth place in the entire league. The Bruins have played a total of 10 games since their season began on Oct. 8, recording five wins and five losses in that span. Last Tuesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks at TD Garden started out as a relatively even affair, with a goal by winger Brad Marchand at 13:57 of the first period and one by Sharks winger Logan Couture less than three minutes later, leaving the two teams level after one period of play. However, the Sharks took control during a hectic second period. Defenseman Torey Krug scored a power play goal 6:54 into the period

to give the Bruins a lead, but it was followed by two goals from the visitors within one minute of each other to give the Sharks a lead. Couture scored his second goal of the game at 16:15 into the period and Sharks center Joe Thornton tipped a pass from winger Joe Pavelski past Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask for a 3-2 San Jose lead heading into the third period. The Bruins reclaimed their lead in the third period and held on for the win. winger Seth Griffith tied up the game just 4:50 into the period. Minutes later, winger Gregory Campbell put the Bruins ahead for good, giving the team a 4-3 lead. Center Patrice Bergeron sealed the win with less than one minute left in the game with a short-handed empty-net goal, giving the Bruins a

5-3 victory over San Jose. On Thursday night, former Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuck played at TD Garden for the first time as a member of the visiting New York Islanders. Boychuck was traded to the Islanders on Oct. 4 for a pair of second-round draft picks in upcoming drafts in order to give the Bruins more salary cap room for this season’s trading deadline. Though the game ended in a loss, Boston was dealt a bigger blow when defenseman Zdeno Chara went down with a knee injury that could keep him out anywhere for the next four to six weeks. Islanders center Frans Nielsen scored the first goal of the game at 6:21 of the first period, but the Bruins fought back and tied it up with a goal

from winger Milan Lucic with less than two minutes left in the period. Chara was injured with 8:44 left in the first period when he checked Islanders center John Tavares. Though Chara finished his shift, he did not return to play after he left the ice with 8:12 remaining. The Islanders solidified their lead during the second period, with a goal from Islanders winger Kyle Okposo at 1:30 and one from winger Cal Clutterbuck at 9:27, closing out the 3-2 win. The Bruins finished off the week in Toronto on Saturday with a 4-1 win. With Chara out, the Bruins, behind young defenseman Dougie Hamilton, stepped up to take on Chara’s role. Hamilton scored a goal against the Maple Leafs and produced two assists in the win.

The Bruins dominated the majority of the game against Toronto, with winger Carl Soderberg putting the Bruins on the scoreboard just 3:27 into the first, assisted by Bergeron and Hamilton. Cener David Krejci scored at 15:58 in the second period—again with an assist from Hamilton. The Bruins secured their win in the third, with a short-handed goal from Campbell at 2:32 and a goal from Hamilton less than two minutes later. Maple Leafs winger Richard Panik scored the first and only Maple Leafs goal 14:27 into the third period. The Bruins will take on the Minnesota Wild tonight at 7 p.m. at the TD Garden.

— Marissa Ditkowsky

just

Sports

Page 16

DEGREE OF DIFFUCULTY Sam Zucker ’18 has adjusted to both a new sport and a new team with the Judges, p. 15.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Swimming and diving

UNDER THE LIGHTS

Judges travel to Rochester for meet ■ Joanna Murphy ’17

improved on her time in the 500-yard freestyle with a sixth-place finish on Saturday. By Noah Hessdorf JUSTICE editorial assistant

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams lost both meets at the University of Rochester Invitational this past weekend—scored as a dual meet with University Athletic Association rivals Rochester and New York University and a meet against Division I Canisius College. The Judges entered the competition after facing Wheaton College (Mass.) on Oct. 19, giving the squads just under a week to prepare for the meet at Rochester. The men lost to Rochester by a score of 242-111, to NYU 294-62 and finally to Canisius 296-69, but saw a few bright spots with in the distance freestyle events. Captain Max Fabian ’15 secured fourth place in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 16 minutes, 47.11 seconds. Fabian was not far away from one of the top three spots, as the second through fourth-place finishers each finished within a second of each another. Fabian holds the school record in the 1650-yard freestyle, a race he finished in 16:10.36 at last year’s UAA Championships. In only the second meet of his collegiate career, Zach Diamond ’18 finished the 1650-yard freestyle in fifth place. Diamond posted an excellent

time of 17:04.01, a full 20 seconds faster than the sixth-place competitor’s time. Diamond and Fabian also finished in sixth and seventh in the 500-yard freestyle with times of 5:00.10 and 5:01.22, respectively. “I felt that my performance was pretty well for this time of year,” said Diamond. “I was trying to work on my pacing, especially for my longer races,” he explained. Brian Luk ’16 turned in another strong showing for the Judges as he finished in fourth place in the 50-yard freestyle race with a time of 22.27 seconds. The top relay of the weekend from the Judges came during the 800-yard freestyle relay, composed of Luk, Diamond, Fabian and Taku Harada ’18. The four took fifth place in the competition with a time of 7:25.69. According to Diamond, this Judges team definitely has a strong group mentality. “As a team, we always strive for improvement as a whole and for each member themselves,” said Diamond. “I could not find one race where someone was not cheering for another person on the team.” The women fared around the same as the men, losing to Rochester 311-59, to NYU 311-49 and to Canisius 289-56. For the second meet in a row, the star for the Judges was Joanna Murphy ’17. Murphy finished the 1650-yard freestyle race in second place in with a time of 18:08.24, the first time she has swam the race this year. The time had her about 10 seconds off of the first-place finisher.

See SWIMMING, 13 ☛

VOLLEYBALL

Women lose all three games in tournament ■ Middle blocker Maddie

Engeler ’16 earned AllTournament honors with 20 kills over the weekend. By COLIN WARNES JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The women’s volleyball team traveled to Amherst College this past weekend for the 2014 Hall of Fame Invitational against New England Small College Athletic Conference opponents but was unable to pull out a single win. The squad faced host Amherst, Tufts University and Middlebury College and was only able to win one set during the weekend. The losses drop the Judges’ record to 5-20 overall for the season. Outside hitter Maddie Engeler ’16 earned All-Tournament honors for her play over the weekend, picking up 20 kills, a pair of assists and three blocks. “I feel as if we are making great strides as a team, even though our record does not reflect this,” Engeler said. “We are coming off a windrought, but I am confident we can turn this around and end the season on a high note.” The squad went up against Tufts on Saturday afternoon, who entered the contest with an impressive .708 winning percentage.

Brandeis fought well but ultimately fell to the Jumbos in a straightset loss, 25-14, 25-9, 25-6. Libero Elsie Bernaiche ’15 had a match-high 15 digs for the Judges, capping an impressive streak for the weekend with at least 10 digs in each game. Engeler finished the match with five kills and an assist. The Judges faced Amherst earlier that day but ended up with a straight-set loss. After losing the first two sets 2510 and 25-14, the Judges put forth a very good effort in the final set, losing 25-19. Bernaiche again impressed with a team-high 11 digs. Engeler recorded two solo blocks and added an assist and three kills on the match. Setter Maggie Swenson ’16 almost matched her season-high assist total with 16, a game-high for the squad but fell two short of her personal record. The Judges faced off against Middlebury in the first match of this tournament on Friday night, ultimately falling in four sets by a score of 25-14, 21-25, 25-17, 25-13. The Judges faced an uphill battle after losing the first set by an 11-point margin but were prepared for the fight and managed to win a very impressive set 25-21 with a hitting of percentage of .290. In the second set, the squad got standout performances from out-

See VOLLEYBALL, 13 ☛

Waltham, Mass.

ABIGAIL ROTHSTEIN/the Justice

UNDER PRESSURE: Midfielder Gustavo Lopes ’15 (right) tries to get around a Mount Ida College defender in the team's 5-0 victory.

Team tops Mount Ida in nonconference victory ■ The squad netted three

goals in a six-minute stretch in the first half, two of which came off set pieces. By Avi gold JUSTICE editor

The No. 3 men’s soccer team entered last night’s game against Mount Ida College fresh off a pair of hard-fought 1-0 victories over University Athletic Association opponents on Oct. 17th and 19th. The Judges were looking for an easy win during a break from UAA play and got just that, cruising to a 5-0 victory in their final home game of the season on Gordon Field. The Judges improve to 15-1 on the season, matching their best ever record after 16 games. In the midst of a tough UAA schedule—the average UAA opponent has a winning percentage of .660 percent—the team knew it had to remain focused on the task at hand and not get caught focused on upcoming games. The Judges scored four times in the opening 45 minutes, including three times in a six-minute span that put the game away for good before it even reached halftime. “We’ve been talking about this for the past two or three days, that every game counts,” said coach Michael Coven. “You take [games] one at a time.”

The senior class heavily populated the Judges’ starting lineup, producing seven of the team’s 11 starters, and rewarded Coven’s team selection by netting the first goal of the game fewer than 20 minutes into the contest. In the 17th minute, midfielder Andrew Bennie ’15 collected the ball off a turnover and stepped up to the top of the 18-yard box. With multiple teammates charging toward the net and calling for the ball, Bennie elected to shoot instead, rocketing a shot into the upper part of the net for his first collegiate goal and a 1-0 Judges’ lead. The goal sent the Judges’ bench into an eruption of cheers, as he has only made appearances in three games this year and has only attempted five shots in his collegiate career, including two on Monday night. The Judges spent the next 10 minutes deep in the attacking third of the field, anchored by creative passes through the middle and shots that just missed their target. The Judges got off three shots in the 10 minutes following the goal and controlled the ball the entire time even as Coven elected to return some regular starters in lieu of the seniors. The Judges nearly struck again in the 23rd minute when midfielder Brandon Miskin ’18 forced Mount Ida senior goalkeeper Mat Pils to make a terrific diving save. Miskin, who was all alone in front of the goalkeeper, tried to slot the ball

into the bottom right corner but could not get it past the diving Pils to double the Judges’ lead. However, just five minutes later, the Judges went on a scoring barrage that put the game far out of the reach of the visitors. In the 28th minute, forward Tyler Savonen ’15 netted his ninth goal of the season off a header to increase the Judges’ lead to 2-0. After the squad won a corner, midfielder Josh Ocel ’17 swung the ball in from the left corner, where it found Savonen and had to be picked out of the back of the net by Pils. The Judges continued their offensive pressure, earning another corner kick just 74 seconds later and converted when Miskin’s attempt from the left corner bounced off a Mount Ida defender and into the back of the net. The own-goal gave Brandeis a 3-0 lead, but the squad was not done scoring. In the 33rd minute, forward Chris Bradley ’16 capitalized on an error by Pils to push the lead to 4-0 and put the game away. On a counterattack, the Judges sent a high bouncing ball toward the top of the 18-yard box that Pils charged and attempted to play. While the goalkeeper misplayed the ball, Bradley tapped it in behind him for an easy goal, his first on the season. “[The goal] felt great; it was a huge load off my back,” said Bradley. “The guys have been getting on me a little bit about scoring, but [I]

See MSOCCER, 13 ☛

JustArts Volume LXVII, Number 9

Your weekly guide to arts, movies, music and everything cultural at Brandeis and beyond

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Waltham, Mass.

Angels in America »

20

INSIDE

Artist Talk— Prof. Anita Hill (Heller) and artist Mark Bradford talk about artwork and its social implications » 23

‘Big Bounce’ WSRC exhibit features media-defying art created out of the unconventional material of spandex » 21

Dave Coulier Comedian famous for his role on ‘Full House’ comes to campus for Fall Fest » 19

The Painter’s Table Boston Athenaeum hosts a symposium, sponsored by the Rose Art Museum, focusing on the work of Mark Bradford » 23

18

justARTS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014 | THE JUSTICE

CALENDAR

INTERVIEW

$

What’s happening in Arts on and off campus this week

ON-CAMPUS EVENTS Hollywood and the Blacklist:

Come see Arnie Reisman, an award-winning writer, producer and performer speak about the film industry in the days of the Hollywood blacklist. He has produced specials and documentaries for the Public Broadcasting Station. He was also the former executive editor of the Boston After Dark (now the Boston Phoenix). This October, Reisman was named Martha’s Vineyard Poet Laureate for a two year term from 201 to 2016. Wednesday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Mandel room G03. This event is free and open to the public.

Reality as Palimpsest: Walter Benjamin as Flâneur

Sarah Waldron ’17

Waldron directs Kushner’s ‘Angels in America’ MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

This week, justArts spoke with Sarah Waldron ’17, the director of Brandeis Players’ Angels in America. JustArts: How did you choose Angels in America? Sarah Waldron: I had gotten it recommended to me by a couple of different people that didn’t know each other at all, so I was like, maybe the universe is telling me something. And then, just when I read through it, I sort of wasn’t expecting to like it that much, because it is a very well-known play. I didn’t want to do something that was tired. When I read through it, I connected with a lot of the themes and thought it was still relevant and that it would be interesting to do. It was also kind of a challenge, definitely, which I was looking for. JA: What has the rehearsal process been like? SW: I mean—intense. It’s very episodic. So, it was difficult sometimes, making sure that the cast always knew what was going on. Because, you know, they’d have their own scenes that are scattered throughout the play but then have no idea what was going on the whole rest of the time, because they’re only in specific sections. So that was definitely one thing—making [the play] cohesive as one single piece, making it flow. That was definitely something that we [focused] on a lot. I had an assistant director, her name was Margot Grubert ’17, and she was fantastic to have around and very helpful once we started crunch time, because we were able to have two rehearsals going at once. I’d be working with one pair, and she’d be working with one pair, and we’d make sure that we were ready for the stage at the same time because we did have a very short rehearsal process. JA: Did you have any challenges as director? SW: One of the challenges was cuts because the play itself, Angels in America, is a two-part play. And we only did the first part, and I even, like, cut that down. The original script for part one is about three hours long. It’s a three-act play. And for one, just attention span—I knew nobody had that. And also, I wanted to make it like more succinct, because I think that in the original play, the writer tries to accomplish a lot in a single sitting, and it’s not really conducive, I think, for our theater setting. So that was one thing, just deciding when and where to make those cuts and still keep the continuity and [make] sure that everyone was on the same page about the cuts. Because, you know, it’s hard when you tell someone that one of their scenes is missing. There [were] a couple times that we rewrote scenes, a couple times that scenes were overlapping when they weren’t written that way in the script. A lot of changes happened, and making sure that everyone was onboard with them was important. And it worked out! It wasn’t too much of a challenge. JA: Was there something that the cast was most excited for? SW: I think that they were hoping to shock the audience. They were excited for those moments, and I think that they were accomplished a couple times throughout the play. Which was good, because it was, for a lot of the actors, an incredibly emotionally taxing piece to be working on. Having the audience experience some of the emotion that was put into it was really rewarding. We were having a discussion about whether or not we should have an intermission because I’m not a fan of intermissions, and a couple of the actors were like, no, I want there to be an intermissions. I want [the audience] to have to think about it for 10 minutes before they get to see [what happens], you know. A lot of the actors were excited to throw people off and kind of make people uncomfortable, and we had a lot of parents in the audience, so I think we accomplished that. JA: Was there one thing you wanted the audience to take away from the show? SW: For me, the most important question about this play is the question of identity. Which is why, I think, in some ways, this play is timeless ... The stuff about identity and struggling with your identity is a timeless question. Everyone struggles with it. So I just hope that everyone in the audience at some point was able to connect with the identity struggle of one of the characters, because there are such a wide variety of characters in this cast. They’re from all different economic and religious and racial backgrounds and sexualities and genders. I would just hope that everyone was able to connect with at least like one character and just understand their identity struggle. —Brooke Granovsky

part of the I, Claudius television series. Pizza will be served. Thursday from 7 to 10 p.m. in Mandel room G10. This event is hosted by the Classical Studies department and is free and open to the public.

Student Events Fall Film Series Presents ‘Maleficent’

Come and join Student Events for a screening of Maleficent. Maleficent stars Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning. A vengeful fairy is driven to curse an infant princess, only to discover that the child may be the one person who can restore peace to their troubled land. Friday and Saturday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Mandel room G03. This event is free and open to the public.

Kaotic Halloween

‘I, Claudius’

OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS

Levin Ballroom is hosting a dance party for Halloween. Th event is not officially a costume party but attendees are allowed to come dressed up. Saturday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. in Levin Ballroom. This event is hosted by Student Activities and is free and open to the public.

From the Monochromatic to the Technicolor Cold War

Come see a screening of Saludos Amigos (Hello Friends) (1942), a Walt Disney Motion picture and hear a leacture from Seth Fein. Fein is a scholar of international and tranational history and focuses on audiovisual culture in the Americas. Currently, he seves as a fellow in Multimedia History at Harvard University. Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:50 p.m. in Shiffman room 219. This event is free and open to the public.

College Night: MFA After Dark Start

Halloween

Boston Ballet: ‘Swan Lake’

Boston Ballet presents the world premiere of Mikko Nissinen’s Swan Lake, the classic fairytale of the Swan Queen Odette, Prince Siegfried and the sorcery, betrayal and love that unites them for eternity. Showing from Oct. 30 throgh Nov. 16 at the Boston Opera House. Tickets range from $29 to $152.

‘The Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy’

Stop by a thought-provoking talk by Professor Howard Eiland (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) as he discusses the work of renowned critical theorist Walter Benjamin and the Benjaminian and Proustian theme of “Reality as Palimpsest. Eiland is one of the world’s foremost Benjamin scholars. He has has co-edited several volumes of the English edition of Benjamin’s Selected Writings, was one of the translators for Benjamin’s famous Arcades Project, and, this year, co-authored a book that is now the benchmark for Benjamin scholarship: Walter Benjamin: A Critical Life. Thursday from 2 to 3:30 in the Mandel room 303. This event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the History of Ideas program, European Cultural Studies program and the Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections Department.

The Classics department and Undergraduate Department Representatives will be screening

students in the New England area. Exhibits will be open for students to peruse. There will also be free gelato, a photo booth and a performance from Grey Season. Costumes are optional. Thursday from 7 to 9:45 p.m. at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This event is free and open to the public.

early

with

Loosely inspired by the Hindu trinity of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the protector, and Shiva the destroyer, The Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy posits that deities dwell among us in the bodies of the most unexpected underdogs. Identity, postcolonialism, puberty and love are remythologized as history is made new in these three hilarious and heartbreaking coming of age stories. Showing from Oct. 22 through Nov. 24 and presented by the One Theater Company at the BCA Plaza Theater in Boston. Tickets usually range from $25 to $38, but there are special offers on select days.

Rockapella

This unique pop music group has taken a capella to a whole new level. The group creates a full-band sound without any instruments that keeps crowds coming back. “We’re making every bit as much music as the whole Glee chorus—but with only five guys,” says Rockapella’s human beatbox Jeff Thache Friday at 10 p.m. at the Scullers Jazz Club. Tickets range from $40 to $80.

POP CULTURE n !

ww Whether or not you are a fan of Top 40 radio, it’s pretty remarkable that in today’s digital culture, we still have radio stations that the majority of people tune in to on a regular basis. Yes, many of us stream our favorite stations on the Internet now, but the concept of the radio station still seems to be the same. The radio industry is so successful that there are two major music concerts featuring top radio acts: the two-day iHeartRadio Music Festival and the touring Jingle Ball concert. iHeartRadio is an online radio platform with its own station and music discovery system (like Pandora) that also streams live radio stations. The platform started its music festival in September 2011 in Las Vegas and added a second “Village Stage” in addition to its main lineup in 2013. The main lineup includes mainstream favorites and the Village features up-and-coming and lesserknown artists. This year, rock bands Coldplay and Bastille were featured at the main stage, while Nico & Vinz, which have a current hit with “Am I Wrong,” played in the Village along with country newcomer Kacey Musgraves and rapper Childish Gambino. The 2015 lineup has only been partially revealed and will include Bruno Mars, Muse and Maroon 5. Can’t make it to the festival? Each year’s concert is broadcast on television network The CW, and the recording can be found on its website shortly after. Jingle Ball is an annual concert in December started by Los Angelesbased radio station KIIS-FM in 2000. The lineup shifts year to year as musical acts come and go. The original lineup at the first concert consisted of JoJo, Third Eye Blind, Christina Aguilera, Bon Jovi, Macy Gray and 98 Degrees. This year, country-pop crossover singer Taylor Swift, who currently has two singles off of her fifth album

By Ilana Kruger

CREATIVE COMMONS

SECOND TIME AROUND: Singer Ariana Grande will be performing at Jingle Ball again this year. on the iTunes Top ten, joins British crooner Sam Smith and Australian boy band, 5 Seconds of Summer. Producer, rapper and singer extraordinaire Pharrel is also performing, along with newcomer Meghan Trainor, whose number-one hit “All About That Bass,” might just be the song of the year. This is singer Ariana Grande’s second year performing at Jingle Ball, but rapper Iggy Azalea is performing for the first time at the concert. Some of these acts might be one hit wonders, or some might be headliners next year as well. If Jingle Ball can be described with one word, it’s “current.” Only the most popular artists each year are

featured. If an artist is having an off year, they aren’t featured. While the Los Angeles Jingle Ball is the original, there are also other Jingle Ball concerts produced by KIISFM’s sister stations, such as Z100 in New York City, Kiss 108 in Boston and Power 96.1 in Atlanta. The lineups vary city to city due to availability (only New York and California get Taylor Swift), but the concept is the same. If you missed the iHeartRadio festival, Jingle Ball is rolling into Boston on Dec. 14. Even if neither show is in your immediate future, the stations release exclusive content and giveaways, so you can still be part of the action.

ARTS COVER IMAGES: GUILLERMO NARVAEZ, EMILY WISHINGRAD and ABBY KNECHT/the Justice. DESIGN: JEREMY PERLMAN and GRACE KWON/the Justice.

ON CAMPUS COMEDY

THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014

19

Coulier proves his comedy doesn’t stop at ‘Full House’ By KARL HAKMILLER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

GUILLERMO NARVAEZ/the Justice

CUT IT OUT: Dave Coulier, known for his role on Full House as Uncle Joey, was the star of a comedy show on Friday night.

Dave Coulier’s voice-over work is impressive, his stand-up comedy career is extensive, but his work as Joey Gladstone on Full House represented goofy uncles across America for an entire generation. That is why there was so much stir on campus when everyone’s favorite uncle came to visit on Friday evening as part of Fall Fest. Coulier’s uncanny impersonation and voice-over abilities were first noticed while he was doing stand-up comedy in Los Angeles. He has done voice-over work for shows from Muppet Babies to The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, but his most famous liveaction role was Joey Gladstone in Full House, which ran from 1987 to 1995. On Friday, as part of the Fall Fest activities, Coulier showed off his comedy chops, his impressive impersonations and even his harmonica skills to a crowd of students, family and friends. Opening for Coulier was Los Angeles-based comedian Prashanth Venkataramanujam. Accordingly, Venkataramanujam’s opening material focused on growing up with a 25 letter long name. He also talked about growing up in an Indian family, racism and American values. His family friendly but nonetheless funny comedy set the stage for Coulier. The crowd roared when Coulier took the stage, and immediately his act addressed his Full House career. “Some of you have these little Full House thought bubbles over your heads,” he said. He told a joke about his awkward encounters with fans as they botch his famous Full House catchphrase, “cut it out.” He went on to joke about the stupid questions fans so often ask, like “Do you really know all of the actors from Full House?” “No,” he said with an eyeroll, “we were all holograms.” As quickly as he addressed Full House, he left the topic behind. Soon it was clear that Coulier’s comedy chops reach beyond his television career. He addressed everything from airline travel to professional sports to life with a family. “My father,” he said introducing a new joke, “is only prejudiced against one group of people—people with long hair.” He crossed his arms and made a grimace, acting as his 84-yearold father. “Dave, c’mere.” he said, motioning his head at the imaginary longhaired target. “Look at this guy. Look at his hair. He’s doped up something.” The joke went on. “He’s standing by a van!” he said in his dad’s grizzly voice. “Van plus hair equals drugs!” Coulier engaged in some audienceinteraction sketches. When an audience member tried to leave for the bathroom during Coulier’s impersonation of The Dark Knight super-

GRACE KWON/the Justice

FIRST ACT: Prashanth Venkataramanujam opened for Coulier. His opening focused on his 25 letter long name and his struggles with its length during his youth. villain Bane, Coulier demanded in Bane’s voice that she sit down again. To the crowd’s delight, she actually did. After toying with her a little longer, Coulier’s Bane excused her to the bathroom. But he did not stop there. “I am worried about her,” Coulier said. “That was a poop walk. And not a good one.” Not even Andrew Flagel, senior vice president for students and enrollment and his family were safe from Coulier’s wandering comedy. When Flagel walked in and sat down late, Coulier asked him if he was getting high in the parking lot. Then he said to Flagel’s son, “is that your dad? You guys are going to have a fun car ride home.” While his regular stand-up was funny, Coulier truly excelled through his spot-on impersonations. He skillfully mimicked Chris Rock, Matthew

McConaughey, Tom Hanks, Bill Murray and even Robin Williams. He showcased his Muppets impersonations with Kermit and the judgmental balcony duo Statler and Waldorf. After sharing story styled jokes about his relationship with his son and their failed attempts to bridge the generational gap, Coulier introduced his harmonica. Skillfully, Coulier played a wailing, heart wrenching harmonica solo. This was how he introduced a bit he calls “HarmonyThoughts.” Dave Coulier and his opener Venkataramanujam gave a show that left the audience laughing and thoroughly entertained. These days, it is difficult to find a comedian who can accomplish this with family-friendly jokes. One thing is for sure. By the end of the show, the audience had forgotten about Joey Gladstone.

Interested in graphic design?

Check out layout for the Justice! Contact Rebecca Lantner at layout@thejustice.org.

20

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014 | THE JUSTICE

THEATER

‘Angels in America’ re-examines tragedy

PHOTOS BY ABBY KNECHT/theJustice

ALL DRESSED UP: Prior, played by Sumner Alperin ’18, a character struggling to come to terms with his terminal illness, appears here in drag in a hallucination scene.

By RIVER HEISLER JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches, as performed by Brandeis Players and directed by Sarah Waldron ’17, makes the audience think deeply about themes such as love and loss in a time when AIDS was just coming into the public’s attention. Angels in America follows the stories of Joe (Joe Tinianow ’17), Harper (Sarah Duffet ’17), Prior (Sumner Alperin ’18) and Louis (Reno Kersey ’17) as they attempt to reconcile their conceptions of themselves with their experiences with AIDS and sexuality. Prior and Louis are a couple who have been together for four and a half years at the beginning of the play. Harper and Joe are a couple who have been married for

KISSING CAM: Louis (Reno Kersey ’17), left, and Joe (Joe Tinianow ’17), right, share a kiss. When his boyfriend, Prior, contracts AIDS, Louis deserts him.

several years, but their relationship is strained by Harper’s struggles with addiction and Joe’s sexuality. The play opens on a somber note when the audience learns that Louis’ grandmother has died. Soon after, it is revealed that Prior has AIDS. The disease strains their relationship and ultimately tests the emotional strength of both of them. In parallel, Joe and Harper’s marriage is strained by Harper’s addiction to Valium and Joe’s homosexuality, something with which he does not come to terms himself until late in the first act. Duffet portrays the emotional struggles of her character in an extremely moving manner. Her use of her hands and motion in general is remarkable. She wrings her hands throughout, which conveys her character’s uncertainty and men-

tal issues. She uses her voice in a way that shows the insecurity of her character and the sadness that results from her situation. Alperin is convincing as a man struggling to come to terms with his illness. Kersey is both likeable and unlikeable at the same time which is effective given Louis’ struggles. The set design, created by producer Gabby Lamm ’17 and Waldron conveys the setting of the Bronx while avoiding being excessive or taking away from the acting of the show. The stage changes during scenes add to the show because they help to convey how intertwined the parallel stories of the play are. Waldron makes many interesting choices in the staging and acting philosophy of the show. There are many times when there are two or more different scenes taking place

simultaneously onstage, and while the scenes are distinct, they too convey the intertwined nature of the show. This is also emphasized by the lighting design of the show, through the use of spotlights on certain parts of the stage and not others. There are many strange aspects of Millennium Approaches as it is written. It has a fairly regular structure in the first act, but it devolves and makes much less sense in the second act. The second act is complicated by the introduction of many characters that seem to play very small roles in the plot. The play features many hallucinations, and it is in one of these hallucinations that Prior, clad in drag, first meets Harper. In the production, the hallucinations were handled very well by the actors and Waldron. There is a dreamlike quality to them, conveyed by the

softer lighting and dreamy music, though they manage to maintain some degrees of reality, portraying how the hallucinations seem real to Harper and Prior. “Even hallucinations have rules,” notes a real estate agent (Christian Romero) in one of her hallucinations. In the play, they do seem to have rules, which gives them a quality of both being dreamlike and grounded in reality. Though there is an air of levity throughout the show, Angels in America is ultimately a tragedy and comes across as such. The actors, especially Alperin and Kersey, balance the humor and the tragedy masterfully. All the important aspects of theater—lighting, set design, acting, sound design—combine in Angels in America to create a very enjoyable and moving production.

SPREAD YOUR WINGS: In one of the play’s many hallucination scenes, an angel appears to Prior, (center) while he is in the hospital with AIDS.

THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014

21

ART EXHIBIT

‘Big Bounce’ stretches art’s boundaries

“Big Cheese” (2014) Oil paint, acrylic polymer, used zip ties, latex tubing and spandex on wood and masonite panel

“Sitting Holy” (2012-2014) Oil paint, acrylic polymer, upholstery tacks, pillow and spandex on stretched canvas

By BROOKE GRANOVSKY JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Have you ever looked at a building and thought: this would look better covered in spandex? Have you ever wondered if a painting can still be called a painting if it is created entirely out of fabric? Have you ever tried to turn your old tights into a work of art? Artist Leeza Meksin likely asked herself these questions at some point, and now we can all benefit from the answers she has discovered. Meskin’s spandex and fabric-based site-specific exhibit, Big Bounce, opened at the Women’s Studies Research Center with a reception on Friday. Every piece in the exhibit featuring a different pattern, texture and color of spandex—and there are a variety of ways that spandex is used throughout the exhibit. A crowd turned up at the reception to see the exhibit and hear the artist talk about her work. Meskin is a Brooklyn-based artist who uses a variety of materials in unconventional ways that redefine our ideas of conventional art. Meskin said that her favorite material is spandex, a material that unifies all of her work to date. Her past installations have combined spandex, with materials such as sand, weights, plastic and cloth. On her website, Meskin writes that her “use of spandex explores the behaviour and potential of a fabric that revolutionized … our experience of clothing while shifting civilization towards a more plastic reality.” Meskin explained that she chose to work with spandex because it is more than a fabric for clothing— it can be expressive, its elasticity has interesting implications in modern art, and it is easy to mould and twist into new shapes.

Spandex comes in an almost infinite variety of colors, sizes and patterns, making it especially apt to use in art, which comes in a similarly infinite forms. The material interacts with conventional materials such as paint and polymersand less conventional materials like sand and ropes to give depth to Meskin’s works. Meskin writes on her website that her use of the material “seeks to explore the intersection of painting, sculpture, architecture, design and fashion.” The exhibit at the WSRC features three-dimensional canvases and structures. Although there were a few typically sized canvases hanging from the gallery walls, many pieces left the canvases behind and stretched across entire walls instead. Mixed-media sculptures were propped up against walls and hung from the ceiling, requiring thick ropes to lower them to eye level. One sculpture, titled “Landing Gear, Deinstalled,” (2014) used fishnet, ratchet straps, yarn, neoprene and zip ties to cover a long rectangular piece of wood with a steel frame. The sandy-brown, fraying fishnet hung over the wooden panel like a curtain, with various stripes of colored neoprene threaded throughout the material. Interestingly, this piece could be classified as a sculpture based on its use of freestanding materials, but its placement against a wall suggested that Meskin was using the piece to further challenge the public’s idea of what defines a painting. This method, where works are not strictly defined as either sculptures or paintings, allowed Meskin to make the observers question art’s relation to space and architecture in ways they might not have considered before.

The most extreme example of this was the installation that covered the side of 32-foot tall WSRC in multi-colored, overlapping layers of spandex. The installation is so large and bright that it can be seen from South Street and the Brandeis train station. One eye-catching piece, titled “Big Cheese,” (2014) used oil, acrylic polymer, zip ties, latex tubing and spandex over a 24 by 18 inch wood and Masonite panel. The work featured a yellow sheet of spandex covered with a pattern of (cheese-like) holes over layers of similarly patterned pink spandex and plastic. The piece is abstract in nature, and Meskin described it in her talk as a painting, although no paint was used in its creation. The exhibit enhances the center not only aesthetically but also thematically. WSRC docent Phyllis Shapiro ’56 commented that Meskin’s use of spandex has a strong connection to feminism. Shapiro said that we associate spandex with clothing and housework, domestic activities that we often (incorrectly) assume correlate to meekness. She said that Meskin’s unconventional style, use of bright neon colors and unconventional sense of structure defy the idea that domestic materials, and by extension, activities, must always correlate with fragility or timidity. In a larger sense, the exhibit also allows Meskin to take something commonplace—a common material and the common practice of housework—and find the beauty in it, reclaiming the everyday as art and showing that there is beauty even in doing the simple tasks needed to keep a house running smoothly. The exhibition will be on view through Dec. 16.

“Landing Gear, Deinstalled” (2014) Fishnet, ratchet strap, yarn, neoprene, latex tubing and zip ties on wood and steel frame PHOTOS BY GUILLERMO NARVAEZ/the Justice

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23

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014 | THE JUSTICE

ROSE ART MUSEUM

Bradford and Hill discuss art and society By EMILY WISHINGRAD JUSTICE EDITOR

A pairing of one in a million; abstract artist Mark Bradford and Prof. Anita Hill (Heller) spoke together on Friday afternoon, discussing art in a societal context. The two met in the Henry and Lois Foster Gallery of the Rose Art Museum where Mark Bradford’s exhibit Mark Bradford: Sea Monsters is currently housed. The event was part of the Art Blackness Diaspora program, presented by the department of Fine Arts, the department of African and Afro-American Studies and the Rose Art Museum. Funding for the program comes from the Brandeis Arts Council. Rows of seats lined the squareshaped first floor of the Museum, all facing the right back corner where Hill and Bradford sat in front of one of Bradford’s large canvas paintings, “Sea Monster” (2014). Chris Bedford, director of the Rose Art Museum, started off with an open question to both of the speakers and, from there, let Bradford and Hill engage in an open discourse with each other. Bedford asked about how we narrate history—the difference between a liner and a messy version of narration and which one is preferable. To this, Hill stated boldly and somewhat jokingly, “Everyone knows about my messiness.” The conversation then got serious as Bedford and Hill discussed their respective and, one could argue, messy paths to getting to where they are today. Hill talked about how she never envisioned being a professor. “I really had no intention of teaching at Brandeis about social justice,” she said. She was on a path to be a lawyer when she decided to work in academia. Bradford had a similarly non-

linear track. He talked about wanting to be a flight attendant in high school. Bradford lacked access to many resources; he said that he had never even heard of the SAT and had no huge prospects for his future. When he realized he was going to be 6’8”, it was clear that his dream of being a flight attendant wasn’t going to work out. So he became an artist. Hill expressed her admiration at what a brave decision Bradford had made in deciding to go into art. “No, no, no. No brave,” Bradford said, seemingly flustered by Hill’s comment. He talked about how working in his mother’s hair salon growing up, art was always part of his life. Bradford explained that the creativity in his paintings is just a continuation of his childhood days arranging wigs and writing on signs the different services in fancy fonts. Hill asked Bradford what he learned from the women in the hair salon, which started a longer conversation about his childhood experiences there. “They dealt with the good and the bad with dignity,” he said. Hill then shifted to asking Bradford about his work for a nonprofit group, The RightWay Foundation, an organization that works to provide foster children with mental health resources and career opportunities. The foundation actually works from within Bradford’s mother’s old hair salon. He talked about how the participants in the program resembled himself as a child—these are the same students who, like him, did not even know what the SAT was. Bradford said his goal in working with the organization was to help create a “safe space where [the participants] can be vulnerable, without the public hearing about them as foster kids.” Bradford encouraged

other artists to pair up with organizations in the outside world. He noted that the art world has a lot of great ideas, and the outside world has a lot of people. With that combination, he said, something great could happen.

A question-and-answer segment followed the talk. The three audience members who asked questions were actually all artists. They asked Bradford about his artistic career and some sought advice for their own. Bradford’s main piece of

advice to artists was not to be artificial and to go with whatever happens. “I don’t make the work that I should make. I don’t say the things that I think I should say,” he said. It is clear that Bradford has embraced the messiness.

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

CONTEXTUALIZING ARTWORK: Abstract Artist Mark Bradford and Prof. Anita Hill (Heller) spoke at the Rose Art Museum on Friday.

ART TALK

Boston Athenaeum presents art symposium By EMILY WISHINGRAD JUSTICE EDITOR

“I only have an intellectual life because of artists,” said Chris Bedford, director of the Rose Art Museum, addressing a room teeming with visitors who were waiting to hear four of today’s prominent artists talk about their work. This artists’ panel was part of an all-day symposium presented by the Rose at the Boston Athenaeum titled “The Painter’s Table: Abstract and Otherwise.” The symposium was engaged in discussing artists in the field today, focusing on work of abstract artist Mark Bradford. The programming included three segments—the first included two paper presentations from professors of art and art history, the second a “curator’s roundtable” and the third an artists’ panel. Bradford’s exhibit Mark Bradford: Sea Monsters is currently on view at the Rose.

At 6 p.m. the artists’ panel—the most well-attended event of the day—began. Artwork surrounded the audience and guest speakers. The ornate and luxurious room was full of ancient sculptures as well as more currently ones from the 18th and 19th centuries. The panel included four established artists—Jack Whitten, Laura Owens, Mark Bradford and David Reed. Hamza Walker, director of education and curator of the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, moderated the panel. He took 15 minutes to ask each artist a few questions about their work. Walker started with Whitten, an artist who was highlighted in an exhibition at the Rose titled Light Years: Jack Whitten 1971-73 in the fall of 2013. Walker asked about the problem of transcending cultural specificity as an artist. He questioned whether Whitten thought that it was important to label art-

work as being by a “black artist” or whether it would be better not to label it. Whitten answered the question without hesitation. “It is important that people know that I’m black—I insist that they know.” He then went on to talk about the racism he was confronted with while growing up in Alabama during segregation and then moving to New York to attend college. He discussed the fellow painters he worked with and his experiments in abstract painting, especially his experiments with the speed of abstraction. Sometimes, he said he got so fast at painting that he would cover the whole canvas in one stroke. Reed came next and was asked about the concept of geometric abstraction, specifically working in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Before Reed answered the question, he took a moment to notice how extraordinary the symposium was

EMILY WISHINGRAD/the Justice

ARTISTS IN DIALOGUE: Four artists gathered at the Boston Athenaeum on Thursday evening for a panel talk as part of the symposium “Abstract and Otherwise.”

in the context of modern times. “There were times in the ’70s when I thought there would never be interest in painting again,” he said, mentioning that given that feeling in the ’70s, the panel was a moving occasion for him. Reed then launched into his discussion of his “Neo Geo” artwork, a style that he described as “abstract and something else at the same time.” He talked about his particular focus on cinematic-themed artwork. “Sometimes, I think I’m not really a painter, but I use paint to create cinema,” he said. Is the painting dead because of the cinema and photography industries, asked Walker. Not at all, Reed argued; like giving painting a vampire’s kiss, cinema and photography have made painting immortal. Walker turned to Owens next and asked her about feminism in abstract art, but did not get the answer he expected. Owens told

Walker that she took issue with the word “abstraction”—ironically, a term in the title of the symposium. “It’s a painting,” she said, suggesting that the object of the painting is already in another realm than the physical, real object anyway. Walker saved Bradford, the honoree of the symposium, for last, asking him about, as Walker termed it, “the real” in his work. But Bradford said that he has never actually felt like his artwork is real. He discussed how he has always seemed to embody the urbanity of what it means to be a black man in his street work. But he has also taken on the role of a studio artist and has his work exhibited in galleries. “I like the idea of not being pure,” Bradford said. “One of the things I’ve learned today is that painting is pretty complicated,” Reed said at the end of the panel discussion. Based on Thursday’s dialogue, I think the whole audience would agree.

24 “

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014 | THE JUSTICE

TOPof the

ARTS ON VIEW

Brandeis TALKS

CHARTS

Quote of the week

for the week ending Oct. 26 BOX OFFICE

“I’ve been a member of the Heller community since I was 25 years old, so I consider that Brandeis and Heller are now part of my DNA.”

1. Ouija 2. John Wick 3. Fury (2014) 4. Gone Girl 5. The Book of Life 6. St. Vincent 7. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day 8. The Best of Me 9. The Judge (2014) 10. Dracula Untold

—Professor Emerita Marty Krauss on her appointment as interim dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management (News, p, 1)

What is your favorite Halloween costume that you have worn?

NYT BESTSELLERS

CARMI ROTHBERG/the Justice

AGAINST THE WIND: Justice editorial assistant Carmi Rothberg ’18 drew his piece, The Brandeis Statue, with graphite and then edited it digitally to add color in the figure and the autumn leaves behind it.

Rebecca Epstein ’18 “I don’t know. I’d say a scarecrow.”

THE JUSTICE WANTS TO SEE YOUR ORIGINAL ARTWORK! Send works to photos@thejustice.org for a chance to be featured in next week’s issue.

CROSSWORD

Kyra Borenstein ’15 “A Despicable Me minion.”

Rebecca Sternberg ’16 “Well I don’t know about Halloween, but for Purim last year, a Jewish version kind of, I was Cleopatra. That was really awesome.”

Andrew Savage ’16 “I was Charmeleon from Pokémon when I was in third grade.”

ACROSS 1 Player with a record 14 100RBI seasons 5 Dancer’s rail 10 Fake 14 Numbskull 15 “Love Story” co-star 16 Hookah, e.g. 17 *Flashy theatricality 19 Soccer shower 20 Parting that’s bid 21 Childlike sci-fi race 22 Abbr. before a date 23 Remitted 25 Good to go 27 Medicinal shrubs 29 Hoists with difficulty 32 Can opener 35 Prepare for a bout 36 Cereal usually served hot 37 Hardly first-class fare 39 Fans’ disapproval, and a hint to the starts of the answers to starred clues 41 Bowl over 42 Snorkeling spots 44 Boozehounds 46 Fr. religious figure 47 Dressed for choir 48 Do like Vassar did in 1969 50 Co-Nobelist Arafat 52 GI’s work detail 55 They may be saturated 57 Takes for a ride 59 Unsteady on one’s feet 61 Piece of farmland 62 *Folk music shindig 64 Landlocked African country 65 Like cardinals 66 Belg.-based alliance 67 Copy editor’s find 68 Pomme de __: French potato 69 Tax cheat chaser briefly DOWN 1 Incantation opener 2 Places to find forks 3 David and Ricky’s dad 4 By the __: in quantity 5 Scary squeezer 6 Insect’s pair 7 Not fake 8 Maugham’s “The __ Edge” 9 Popeye creator Segar 10 Ones ignoring limits 1 *Tantrums 12 Date with a Dr. 13 Heal 18 Makes an unsound decision about? 24 Dressed for dreamland, briefly 26 “Bingo!” 28 “You __ Beautiful”: Joe Cocker hit 30 Threaded fastener 31 Right upstairs?

iTUNES

1. Taylor Swift—“Shake It Off” 2. Meghan Trainor—“All About That Bass” 3. Jason Aldean—“Gonna Know We Were Here” 4. Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj—“Bang Bang” 5. Florida Georgia Line—“Sun Daze”

BILLBOARD

1. Florida Georgia Line—Anything Goes 2. Jason Aldean— Old Boots, New Dirt 3. Bob Seger—Ride Out 4. You+Me—rose ave. 5. Barbra Streisand—Partners 6. Sam Smith—In The Lonely Hour 7. The Game—Blood Moon: Year of The Wolf 8. Hoodie Allen—People Keep Talking 9. U2—Songs Of Innocence 10. Jessie J— Sweet Talker Top of the Charts information provided by Fandango, the New York Times, Billboard. com and Apple.com. 32 Abdicator of 1917 33 Violist’s clef 34 *Hidden hazard 36 Camera setting 38 “Sure, go ahead!” 40 Fan club focus 43 Brigham Young’ gp. 45 Auto leasing choice 48 Furrow 49 Three-time NBA scoring champ Kevin 51 Mac messaging program 53 Early brunch hr. 54 Busybody 55 Trivia champ’s tidbit 56 In need of liniment 58 Roulette bet 60 City on the Rhône 63 Pittsburgh-toBoston dir.

STAFF’S Top Ten

Children’s Books By JENNIE BROMBERG JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Solution to last issue’s crossword Crossword Copyright 2014 Tribune News Service, Inc.

SUDOKU INSTRUCTIONS: Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

Jay Feinstein ’17 “I don’t have any good recent memories, but I remember one time when I was a kid and I dressed up as Blues Clues and my sister dressed up as a Bumblebee, and there was a cute picture of that.” —Compiled and photographed by Grace Kwon and Mihir Khanna/ the Justice.

Fiction 1. Leaving Time—Jodi Picoult 2. Deadline—John Sandford 3. Edge of Eternity—Ken Follett 4. Burn—James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge 5. Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good—Jan Karon Nonfiction 1. Killing Patton—Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard 2. Not That Kind of Girl— Lena Dunham 3. As You Wish— Cary Elwes with Joe Layden 4. Being Mortal— Atul Gawande 5. The Innovators—Walter Isaacson

Solution to last issue’s sudoku

Sudoku Copyright 2014 Tribune News Service, Inc.

This is a list of my favorite books that I read as a child—inspired by both my mom and the little girl who I babysit now. During midterms, it’s nice to remember that not all books are dense with long words. You can always revisit the good old days when books were fun and colorful. 1. Goodnight Moon—Margaret Wise Brown 2. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom— Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault 3. Where the Wild Things Are— Maurice Sendak 4. Go, Dog, Go—P.D. Eastman 5. The Very Hungry Caterpillar—Eric Carle 6. Curious George- Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey 7. Make Way for Ducklings— Robert McCloskey 8. The Little Engine That CouldWatty Piper 9. Jamberry—Bruce Degen 10. Everyone Poops—Taro Gomi