the
Justice www.thejustice.org
The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXI, Number 8
of
B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
FRAMEWORK FOR THE FUTURE
CAMPUS SPEAKERS
Women grapple with families’ Holocaust legacies ■ Two granddaughters
explored their connections to the Holocaust. By GILDA GEIST JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Facing History and Ourselves, an international nonprofit whose goal is to engage and educate students on racism and anti-Semitism, held a talk last Monday called “Echoes of the Holocaust: Beyond Sides of History” with the University’s Center for German and European Studies. Rachael Cerrotti, whose grandmother was a Holocaust survivor, and Julie Lindahl, whose grandparents were Nazis, shared their experiences uncovering and documenting their family histories. Cerrotti said that throughout her childhood, she had heard her grandmother, Hana, tell her life story many times, but it was not
until Cerrotti was in college that she decided to write the story down. For the last year and a half of her grandmother’s life, Cerrotti listened to and documented her story, which she shared with the audience on Monday. Because of World War II, Hana was stateless (meaning that she was not a citizen of any country) for 17 years, according to Cerrotti. Hana was first forced to leave her home in Czechoslovakia when she was 14 years old. She was chosen to go to a foster farm in Denmark, where she worked in exchange for a safe place to stay. Hana spent the following 17 years traveling across Europe and eventually to America. Cerrotti decided to create and then follow a “travel itinerary of her [grandmother’s] displacement.” On her journey, Cerrotti met and spoke to the descendents of several people whom Cerrotti said saved
See LEGACY, 7 ☛
COMMUNITY
Excavation near SCC to end in coming weeks ■ The University expects
pedestrian walkways in the area to be open by the end of next week. By JOCELYN GOULD JUSTICE EDITOR
The replacement of steam and telecommunication lines in front of the Shapiro Campus Center should be completed in about two weeks, according to Vice President for Operations Jim Gray in an interview with the Justice. The area has been fenced off and under construction since Aug. 27, when the University began investigating and repairing an underground steam line malfunction that melted telecommunication wires and led to phone and internet service disruptions. At the beginning of the project, the University was unsure why the steam line overheated, melting phone and internet service wires in a nearby duct, according to a Sept. 4 Justice article. The University also did not know what would be needed to fix the lines and prevent future incidents. After beginning the excavation, Gray explained, workers learned that there was a leak in the steam
pipe “over time that eroded the insulation around the pipe and ended up heating up the ground quite dramatically” — enough to melt the nearby telecommunications wires. Additionally, the University now must replace the steam lines themselves, not just their insulation. “The extent of the faulty pipes was a little greater than we originally thought,” Gray added, which is why the fenced area in front of the SCC has expanded over the course of the project. The pipes being replaced run the length of the fencing that lies closest to the SCC and Sherman Dining Hall. The rest of the fenced-off area is being used to hold equipment and the dirt removed from the ground to allow for the line repairs, Gray explained. The University began laying the new steam lines a little over a week ago, and Gray expects the new steam lines to be installed this week. He also expects all the telecommunication lines to be fully repaired by that same time. The telecommunication and steam lines will be laid “a little further apart” than previously, according to Gray. The lines were unusually close together in this area, contributing to the original malfunction.
See EXCAVATION, 7 ☛
Waltham, Mass.
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
‘EXCEPTIONAL’ COMMUNITY: University President Ron Liebowitz discussed the University's strengths and shortcomings on Monday.
President Liebowitz outlines vision for future of Brandeis ■ The "Brandeis Value
Proposition" highlighted strengths and struggles of the University. By NATALIA WIATER and JEN GELLER JUSTICE EDITORS
University President Ron Liebowitz urged the Brandeis community to strive for a strong, secure and sustainable future in a speech outlining his vision for the University yesterday. About 350 people attended the allcampus presidential announcement, with more watching the livestream, in which he shared the “Brandeis Value Proposition,” his framework for the University’s future.
Brandeis Value Proposition
Liebowitz described Brandeis as an “extraordinary institution” with “exceptional” students who love to learn and care about making the the world a better place. He highlighted the faculty and staff as the University’s “foundational strength” for their deep commitment to engaging in research with undergraduate and graduate students alike. “I am inspired by the voracity and idealism that inspired this University,” Liebowitz said, noting that “Brandeis emerged from the ashes of the Holocaust.” According to him, Brandeis was founded on an early vision of inclusivity, a value he believes is not an “outdated relic,” but an integral value that should be re-committed to and underscored. Brandeis is a small liberal arts institution with features of a large research university, Liebowitz said. Although Mark Neustadt, a creative marketing consultant, advised that the University “should clearly define itself as ei-
Confronting Domestic Violence A panel discusses the nuances of combating domestic abuse.
ther a research university or a liberal arts college,” according to a Dec. 6 Justice article, Liebowitz sees the University differently. In a joint interview with the Justice and The Brandeis Hoot, Liebowitz acknowledged Neustadt’s point of view but said that “the education and the mission come first,” not potential monetary gains from increasing or decreasing the size of the University’s student population to match that of a small liberal arts college or a larger research university.
“Too complex for our size and wealth”
Liebowitz admitted that many of the University’s programs lack “youthful energy” — faculty are “stretched thin” and the University has no clear priorities. He described the root of these “self-inflicted” problems as an overcommitment of resources and attempts to compensate for scarcity with ambition. “We are too complex for our size and wealth,” Liebowitz said. Right now, “Brandeis is less than the sum of its outstanding parts.”
Vision for the future
To counteract these problems, Liebowitz proposed three strategic initiatives that will build on the University’s strengths. Later this week, a more detailed proposal will be available online at brandeis.edu/framework. The first initiative will attempt to restructure social life on campus, with the goal of creating an improved student collegiate experience. Liebowitz cited the possible introduction of smaller residential communities and the establishment of stronger connections between undergraduate and graduate students as strategies to improve student life. “Personal and emotional development should be considered alongside academic development,” he said.
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Addressing current challenges
Liebowitz then turned to specific problems that his framework aims to address. In response to an audience
See FUTURE, 7 ☛
Incendio
Workshop examines employment post-graduation
Brandeis Latinx Students Organization hosts their third annual culture show.
Harvard admissions and Asian-Americans
By BRIANNA CUMMINGS
NEWS 5
By MAURICE WINDLEY
By HARRISON PAEK
FORUM 12
Red Sox win World Series
By SAMMY PARK NATALIA WIATER/the Justice
Liebowitz recounted stories alumni tell about how much they loved participating in Greek life at Brandeis, and emphasized the need to understand why these organizations are so important to many students.“Something has to explain why students want to join off-campus activities. Are we too bureaucratic?” he asked. He explained that while he himself does not support “singlesex” organizations, which he feels are not in line with the University’s values, he remains open-minded about understanding why Brandeis students are drawn to Greek organizations. Another initiative intends to create additional opportunities for scholarly pursuits, Liebowitz said. The University should aim to provide better staff support, to increase research funding and to offer more ambitious sabbatical leave opportunities for faculty, he added. Liebowitz hopes to see more interdisciplinary collaboration between programs and departments, such as the existing Health, Science, Society, and Policy major offered by the Heller School for Social Policy and Management in conjunction with the College of Arts and Sciences. The third initiative will honor Brandeis’ founding values, per Liebowitz’s speech. He reminded the audience of the University’s Jewish roots and described his ideal Brandeis as one that is a “repository for research on Judaism” and a beacon of learning and excellence. The openness and inclusivity of the University should continue to provide opportunities to new groups today, he said.
YDALIA COLON/the Justice
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ARTS 19
By BRIAN INKER
COPYRIGHT 2018 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
SPORTS 15