The Justice, May 31, 2019

FORMING NEW BRANDEIS MEMORIES

NEWS

President discusses Brandeis’ future ■ Ron Liebowitz, Brandeis’

ninth president, looks to reignite students’ and alumni’s passion.

By HOWARD JERUCHIMOWITZ ’94 JUSTICE ALUMNI EDITOR

Three years ago, Ronald D. Liebowitz became the ninth president of Brandeis University. In honor of the Justice’s 70th anniversary, the Justice sat down for a one-on-one with President Liebowitz to reflect on Brandeis’ past and discuss its future.

Connected to Brandeis’ mission

Photo Courtesy of AMANDA GENOVESE, Photo by HERATCH EKMEKJIAN AND ASHLEY MCCABE

BACK TOGETHER: Alumni reconnected with their class and other members of the Brandeis community at the 2018 reunion.

Alumni return, reconnect, reengage at Brandeis reunion ■ Classes celebrate five-year

reunions, alongside reunions for the Justice, the AAAS department and the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program.

By HOWARD JERUCHIMOWITZ ’94 JUSTICE ALUMNI EDITOR

Every year, approximately 1,000 to 1,200 alumni and their families return to the Brandeis campus to reminisce and reconnect with this special institution they once called and still call home. Between May 31 and June 2, Brandeis will be welcoming the fiveyear class year reunions back to campus (the 4s and the 9s), including the 25th reunion for the Class of ’94 and the 50th reunion for the Class of ’69.

Vice President of Alumni Relations Patsy Fisher is looking forward to welcoming alumni back to campus.

“Reunion provides a fantastic opportunity for alumni to reconnect with life at Brandeis and with one another to relive their experiences when at Brandeis,” Fisher said in an interview with the Justice. “That nostalgia is intangible.”

That nostalgia could not be more evident than between Denise Silber Brooks ’84 and Lewis Brooks ’80. Denise, who is currently chairing the 35th class reunion, and Lewis, who has been a class volunteer collecting slide shows and photographs for Brandeis reunions and is the incoming president of the Alumni Association, met on campus during a reunion in 1983. Lewis was returning to Brandeis for the Class of ’78 reunion to show his collection of slideshows when he realized he forgot an extension needed in Schwartz Auditorium.

This is when Lewis met Denise, who was still a student and chairing the committee he needed assistance from.

They returned to campus again to get married.

Their daughter, Hannah Brooks ’16 continued their family tradition and went to Brandeis. Lewis recalled that their daughter even dressed in the Ollie costume to interact with students

and alumni during her time on campus. “Brandeis is my happy place,” Denise recalled, and she looks forward to being on campus, “back in a place and in an environment so special, so good and so welcoming.”

Takes a village

To put the reunion together, “it takes a village!” Fisher exclaimed.

Organizing the reunion is “not top down, but more volunteer-led,” she said. The Alumni Office contacts past students from the classes celebrating that year or shared interest groups to volunteer as chairs. “There has to be a tie in to partner with us to make program effective,” Fisher said. In addition, Fisher highlighted the dedicated teams and staff that work on reunion to bring the program together, to make logistical arrangements, to work on the invitation, website and communications and to manage collateral issues.

Current students are also an integral part of reunion. For example, Sage Rosenthal ’19 has been working with Alumni Relations since her sophomore as a liaison and coordinator for this year’s and last year’s reunions.

“As a coordinator, I have never felt more pride in the amount of work and effort I have put into this huge event.”

She added that “everyone wants to be on campus during Alumni Weekend, and those feelings are incredibly contagious.”

Being part of reunion also had an impact on Keri Lehtonen ’19, who started participating at reunions her freshman year. “I was able to find a community of students that were so passionate about the school, and I was able to learn just how much of a positive impact Brandeis can have on your life from alumni.”

But, in the end, the key to the success of reunion are the alumni. “We hope what alumni do is the outreach, peer to peer outreach, to drive attendance,” Fisher requested. “It is really, really critical.”

Class years and special reunions, too

One initiative Brandeis has worked on is including special reunions as part of the annual reunion. Therefore, For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

instead of having just the class year reunions, which has brought back a smaller number back to campus, last year, Brandeis expanded the reunion to be for all classes. The goal, Fisher explained, is to “encourage alumni to come back.” Attendance was flat or falling and “we have to innovate to drive attendance and engagement,” Fisher explained.

So last year, Brandeis saw the attendance number climb — not for class reunions but for special reunion groups, according to Fisher. This year, in addition to the class year reunions that remain first and foremost for recognition and celebration, the special reunions this year feature a media reunion — including the 70th year anniversary of the Justice and the 50th anniversary for both the African and African American Studies and the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program.

However, this has created some dismay and confusion amongst alumni.

Betsy Sarason Pfau ’74, who has worked on all her class reunions since her 15th and co-chaired her class 25th, 30th, 40th and now 45th this year, expressed some alumni concerns with the new format because it “has confused many would-be reunion-goers, who now probably won't attend because the weekend isn't just for them,” Pfua said. “My committee is already getting that feedback, but in part that is because our classmates are not reading the registration material carefully enough to see what is special just for our class.”

Fisher believes it is one of messaging. “Last year was our first year with this change and the message got a little muddled,” Fisher said. “We are not changing the model,” she explained, but the need to communicate better that they are “honoring class reunion but also know we are erecting a bigger tent.”

“We are not taking anything away from class reunions, but where there is a special event, we want to make sure there is an opportunity to gather,” Fisher explained.

The Brooks agree with this new format. Lewis explained that a major

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When Liebowitz stepped down as Middlebury College’s 16th president after 11 years, he “had no desire to be a university president” elsewhere. So when Brandeis formed a search committee in 2015 to select the school’s next president, Liebowitz was not interested, but he decided to take a second look after encouragement from people connected to Brandeis, including calls to his wife about concerns over the value of a Brandeis degree.

Liebowitz explained that he took out three books about Brandeis from founding President Abram Sachar, Prof. Stephen Whitfield (AMST) and founder Rabbi Israel Goldstein. “Once I read the history of Brandeis and what it stands for, any hesitation went to the wayside,” he explained.

Attracted to Brandies because of its strong liberal arts education and high-quality research, Liebowitz discovered more about the University’s founding that gave Jewish and underrepresented students an opportunity to study at a first-rate university. “I was connected to the founding mission,” he added, “and what Brandeis stands for.”

President’s plan and vision

Liebowitz had a six-month learning period before assuming the presidency in July 2016.

Liebowitz discussed how at its founding, Brandeis broke a lot of mores and did not follow a template. For example, Brandeis required an arts course for a degree because “arts are important as a citizen.” Brandeis also hired faculty who could not get jobs at other colleges and became quickly a university of “research excellence.”

Sachar and the founders took a chance, Liebowitz explained, and it had a huge positive “impact on the culture of the faculty.”

The president’s vision has focused on finances, infrastructure and relationships between the University and its students. As the University has grown over time, Liebowitz has observed that “Brandeis has gotten a little less confident” about its identity and purpose. He also found that students and alumni loved “the academics, faculty and social interaction,” but gave low ratings on social life. But “the students are superb,” he said, and so is “the intensity of the academic programs.”

Liebowitz’s hope for Brandeis is to “shine a light on Brandeis and get the energy back.” He hopes to reenergize the institution so that,

COPYRIGHT 2019 FREE AT BRANDEIS.

for students, Brandeis is their “first choice.” Brandeis should trumpet the story of its history and shine the light on its “niche, liberal arts higher education,” according to Liebowitz.

To that end, Liebowitz has engaged the whole University community in the process of redefining the school’s goals and priorities.

From engaging different task forces comprised of students, alumni, administrators and faculty, Liebowitz came out with a framework focused on revving up its research, redefining student life and finding Brandeis’ identity again.

Another issue that the president identified is that while Brandeis has focused on the last 30 to 40 years on its academic programs, it “deferred maintenance” and did not focus on its infrastructure.

With respect to research, Liebowitz wants to make sure Brandeis is supportive and focused on both horizontal and vertical opportunities. Liebowitz explained that horizontal connectivity reflects “departments working across other departments” and vertical connectivity refers to undergraduates working with graduate students and faculty.

As to redefining student life, Liebowitz said the University is supportive of engaged undergraduates and is focusing on priorities for students. One change the new first year class will see is a general education reform where Brandeis has broken down “department silos” to “think about curriculum of the future,” which will connect multiple departments such as arts and technology or business and ethics.

In addition to academics, Brandeis is focused on improving the infrastructure for the old buildings, such as the business school which is “bursting at its seams,” or the science buildings, as well as generally upgrading and modernizing the technology infrastructure. Brandeis is also studying the location of departments and where departments are best located. In addition, Liebowitz explained that, in the back office, Brandeis is redoing its whole financial underpinnings and examining its subsidies “to review programs worth subsidizing.”

With respect to identity, Liebowitz stressed that Brandeis was founded as a Jewish University open to others, but it is a delicate idea because, in the past, nonJewish students may not have felt part of the institution and Jewish students may have felt a little guilt about the identity of the University. The president has chaired a task force to focus on the school’s identity and strengthening that identity.

Brandeis is not without controversy

Brandeis is a university of “openness and critical thinking,” Liebowitz stressed, and said that this has become even more important in the current climate of racial and ethnic tensions in national politics.

But Brandeis has also been the focus of these same tensions. Liebowitz had taken the helm following a few years when Brandeis made national news on the hot-button issues of campus free speech and racial diversity. In 2014, the

See INTERVIEW, 4 ☛

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FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019

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ALUMNI ISSUE

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THE JUSTICE

Justice

the

Established 1949

Howard Jeruchimowitz ’94 and Amy Fishbein Brighfield ’94 Former Editor in Chief

Former Features Editor

Alumni Editors in Chief

Martin Lieberman ’96, Vijay Rao ’95 and Doug Stark ’94 Former Arts Editor

Former Sports Editor

Former Staff Writer

Alumni Contributing Writers and Cartoonists

Ruth Greenberg Bernstein ’94, Amy Fishbein Brightfield ’94, Former Arts Editor

Former Features Editor

Michelle Shalit Sosin ’94 and Howard Jeruchimowitz ’94 Former Managing Editor

Former Editor in Chief

Alumni Financial Contributors

Jocelyn Gould, Jen Geller, Noah Zeitlin, Natalia Wiater, Avraham Penso, Megan Geller and Sammy Park Current Justice Editors

Thu Le, Current Justice Production Assistant, Sarah Katz, Current Justice Editorial Assistant

THEN AND NOW: THE JUSTICE

Brandeis University

Jocelyn Gould, Editor in Chief Jen Geller, Managing Editor Avraham Penso and Natalia Wiater, Senior Editors Andrew Baxter, Eliana Padwa and Maya Zanger-Nadis, Associate Editors Emily Blumenthal and Gilda Geist, Acting News Editors Sammy Park, Features Editor Gabriel Frank, Forum Editor, Megan Geller, Sports Editor Luke Liu, Acting Arts Editor Noah Zeitlin, Acting Photography Editor Yael Hanadari-Levy, Acting Layout Editor Liat Fischer and Devo Meyers, Ads Editors River Hayes and Mia Rubinstein, Copy Editors

Images Courtesy of THE JUSTICE

The Justice’s front page has had over 15 designs since its debut (top) through today (bottom).

FORUM

After 70 years, the Justice remains a ‘scolding conscience’

Final exams at the end of the semester — at nearly every university, that’s just a matter-offact aspect of campus life. But in 1949, Brandeis was only in the second semester of its first academic year. Buildings still had to be built, professors still had to be hired and students still had to be recruited. The school was not even fully accredited yet. Suffice it to say, there was plenty of work left to do to get the fledgling university off the ground.

So the close of the first exam period for Brandeis’ 107 first-year students was, indeed, a significant accomplishment. And that’s why, when the Justice published its first issue that March, the four-column headline at the top of the front page was “Exams Climax First Brandeis Term.” It was literally big news.

Since then, the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University has covered it all: from the challenges of campus planning to student activism to goings-on in the greater Waltham area, and much more.

Just as important, in its 70 years of existence, the Justice has served as the independent mouthpiece of the student body and remains an essential read every Tuesday. Even in this day and age when every member of the campus community has their own social media megaphone, and even though it is currently not the only student newspaper or media organization on the Brandeis campus, the Justice continues to put the news of the week into context, adding needed clarity and perspective and serving as a tireless advocate for student rights.

Early days

When Ford Hall was taken over by about 70 student members of the Brandeis Afro-American Society in January 1969, the students published their list of demands in the Justice.

That’s just one example of the key role the paper has played in the University’s history over the years. Equally important, the paper serves as the school’s collective memory of what has transpired.

“If something happens on campus, the Justice will cover it, and then in 50 years there’ll be that Justice article that someone can look back at and see,” Jocelyn Gould ’21, who recently became the paper’s latest editor in chief, said in an interview with the Justice.

There are many other cases where the Justice had a significant effect on the school. For example, in 1953, the Justice’s editorial board argued strongly that Sachar’s plan to build one Jewish chapel on campus went against Brandeis’ inclusive ideals. Their articles, combined with feedback from the student union and other parties, led Sachar to change course and opt to build three different religious chapels instead.

In 1978, the Justice published multiple articles encouraging the University to divest from 15 companies that had commercial ties to South Africa, which was then operating with a formal policy of apartheid. Following additional protest, the Board of Trustees eventually agreed to use the University’s leverage as a stockholder to urge for improvement.

The fight for social justice also inspired Justice editors to raise questions about the merits of invited 1994 honorary degree recipient Jeanne Kirkpatrick, United States Ambassador to the United Nations under Ronald Reagan. Thanks in large part to the paper’s reporting and advocacy, she declined the honor, calling the school “ideological zealots.”

More recently, in 2014, the Justice’s coverage of the controversy regarding an honorary degree offered to feminist and activist Ayaan

Hirsi Ali was cited by Al Jazeera America, The New York Times, Reuters and others as an instrumental part of the community backlash.

Current events

Although much about the Justice’s mission and its coverage of campus events and news has remained consistent over the years, technology advances such as computer layout programs and digital photography — as well as the internet — have changed the paper’s reality beyond just how the weekly issues are produced.

For example, since issues are now posted to the paper’s website, those outside of Waltham are able to keep tabs on the school quite easily. This has brought wanted and unwanted national (and sometimes international) attention to Brandeis. It has also eliminated a professional development opportunity for Justice editors and staff members, who used to be hired by The New York Times and Boston Globe as campus stringers, a role that is no longer needed.

Such exposure has inevitably led to personal challenges, as well. Prof. Maura Jane Farrelly (AMST) told the Justice she has offered counsel to multiple editors who struggle to balance their journalistic responsibility with being part of a campus that seemingly grows smaller every year, thanks in large part to social media.

“It’s like being a journalist in a really, really small town,” Farrelly described, adding that she can recall at least one incident every year in which a student who has been photographed or quoted in an article sees it online and asks for it to be taken down.

“It happened. It was in public. [The Justice] reported on it. You have to keep it up,” she explained. “But it’s hard. It’s hard for the student journalists to say no to their friends.”

On the other hand, social media has made finding article ideas easier, and changed some of the types of stories the Justice publishes. “A

lot of times, when I see big campus conversations pop up, there’s misinformation,” Gould said. “So, one role of the Justice today is to figure out what the whole story is, write an article that can lay that out for people, and then use social media to share that article across platforms so people can have more informed discussions.”

Another motivation for current editors is a friendly rivalry with other media organizations — specifically, the Brandeis Hoot, which was launched in 2005. Though there have been discussions about dechartering that publication and merging it with the Justice, the Justice has supported The Hoot. The proposal was ultimately withdrawn in April 2019.

The Hoot hasn’t been the Justice’s only competition over the years: In 1949, there was also the Turret, a publication that Levenson recalled as having been started by some more “bohemian” students. It did not last very long.

And while there is now an official journalism minor, the Justice remains an independent publication. But that may soon change: In April 2019, the Student Union passed a bylaw saying that all secured clubs, of which the Justice is one, would be required to have a faculty consultant. Gould says the specific advisor, as well as the specific role this person plays, is up to the organizations to decide. As of press time, editors are still deciding on their next steps.

For now, as the Justice celebrates its 70th birthday, the editorial board remains focused on creating the best possible newspaper every week, because the board knows that, one day, future editors will look at their work as an important piece of campus history, just as they look at former editors’ work today.

“Being a part of the Justice’s history means you’re not just independently working for your year and then leaving. You’re joining a legacy and building a legacy, and also taking on the legacy that other people have left you,” Gould said. “It’s great to be part of something that’s been around for so long.”

THE ADVENTURES OF THE AMAZING MR. STICKMAN Mr. Stickman!

Th eA ma zin g

It is easy to look at the Justice today and almost take it for granted. But in the second semester of Brandeis’ first year, when Paul Levenson ’52 and his classmates hatched their plan for a student newspaper, it was not an easy endeavor to take on. For one thing, the editors actually had to go to a print shop where linotype was being used and physically create the newspaper there. “It was very primitive, very hands on and not forgettable,” Levenson recalled in an interview with the Justice. After that premiere issue, another one was not even published until nine months later, in December 1949.

But that first issue set the stage for what was to come: its six pages included a mix of news reports about campus happenings, multiple commentary and humor pieces, arts and culture reviews, intramural sports recaps, advertisements from local businesses and an editorial in which Levenson, the paper’s first editor in chief, presented what was essentially the Justice’s mission statement: “Let us be your voice.”

Early issues documented many milestones of the University’s development, including the progress — or lack thereof — of its large-scale construction projects. And the Justice quickly became an outlet for students to express their concerns about the school’s growing pains, citing the “Ridgewood Quagmire” and the “dark, damp and crowded” dining hall, among other grievances — none of which pleased administrators.

In fact, Levenson can still vividly recall being summoned to Founding President Abram Sachar’s office multiple times for fiery lectures about the paper’s less-than-positive coverage.

“Sachar was concerned that some of the dissatisfaction might leak out and discourage potential donors from contributing to the school,” Levenson said. “To give him credit where it’s due, though, [Sachar] never interfered with anything that we printed. There was no censorship, and there were no restrictions. He would just, from time to time, when something appeared in the paper that he didn’t like or didn’t agree with, he would let me know in very direct terms.”

Years later, in “A Host at Last,” Sachar’s 1976 book about Brandeis’ founding and early days, Sachar would describe the Justice as “a scolding conscience” for the school.

Activism and controversy

A

JUSTICE ALUMNI WRITER

OF res u t n dve

By MARTIN LIEBERMAN ’96

By Y. Vijay Rao ‘95

The 2020-30s: Mr. Stickman is doing everything he did during 201020s with VR Glasses on. He has no need or desire to interact outside of his VR glasses.

The opinions expressed in the article and the cartoon are those of the respective authors and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Justice.

The 2030s onward: Mr. Stickman has died as he was over stimulated and forgot to eat, exercise, and sleep. He has been replaced by Mr. Robot.

The End To view all the Adventures of Mr. Stickman from the Justice in the mid-90s, see www.mrstickman.com

VIJAY RAO ’95/the Justice Alumni Issue

THE JUSTICE

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FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019

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Justice alumni reflect on time at Brandeis

By AMY FISHBEIN BRIGHFIELD ’94 JUSTICE ALUMNI EDITOR

For the 70th anniversary of the Justice, we thought it fitting to interview three alumni who are prominent journalists and authors. Here’s how Brandeis shaped the careers and character of Letty Cottin Pogrebrin ’59, Thomas Friedman ’75 and Walt Mossberg ’69.

Letty Cottin Pogrebrin ’59

Photo Courtesy of LETTY COTTIN POGREBRIN ’59, Photo by MIKE LOVETT

Pogrebin is a founding editor of Ms. magazine, a social justice activist, a renowned author and a lecturer.

How did your experience at Brandeis shape where you are now?

Writing for the Justice and working with other students who valued print journalism helped solidify my goal of becoming a professional writer. Though in those years I wasn’t sure what genre suited me best, but I eventually published eleven books and more than a thousand articles and op-eds.

However, I’m an advocacy journalist whose goal is to persuade readers the rightness of a cause — whether it’s women’s equality, racial and economic justice or the urgency of a two-state solution to

Thomas Friedman ’75

Photo Courtesy of THOMAS FRIEDMAN ’75, Photo by JOSH HANER/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Friedman is a columnist for The New York Times, an internationally renowned reporter, an author and a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner.

How did your experience at Brandeis shape where you are now?

the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In many ways, Brandeis taught me that advocacy and activism are the rent you pay for living on this planet.

Why did you choose Brandeis?

Because it was young and vibrant and by the time I was ready to apply to college, I felt I knew something about the school; its atmosphere and ethos. My mother was a member of the Brandeis Women’s Committee from when it was founded.

In my early teens, I used to thumb through the Women’s Committee bulletin, and the photos of student life on campus made me want to go there.

Was there a professor who had a particularly important impact on you?

Several of my professors left a deep imprint on my intellectual and political development, most notably Herbert Marcuse, with whom I took a course in American Communism, Philip Rahv, who taught the Russian novel and a course on early American literature, and Abraham Maslow, my psychology professor whose “Hierarchy of Needs” course helped me make sense of human needs and priorities.

I wish I could name a female professor, but women academics were few and far between at Brandeis in the early years. I had only one — a French professor. But I do recall with great pleasure when one

of the guest lecturers in my [general education] course was Eleanor Roosevelt, who was known as “First Lady of the world.” At that point, she was retired from the U.N., where she was the first U.S. delegate and the first chair of the U.N. Commission on human rights, but she was still an active spokesperson.

How did Brandeis prep you for the real world?

By teaching me to question authority, and clarifying that while everyone has a right to be heard, not everyone is always right — even your professors.

What would you want current and/or prospective students to know about Brandeis?

The best of Brandeis is the gritty part of our history, the transgressive part, the oppositional instincts we acted upon in the fifties, when most American college students were politically passive and complacent. Brandeis students were always resisting something or other, whether it was Soviet Russia’s invasion of Hungary, Dr. Sachar’s decision to raze the apple orchard to make way for the science building (we lost), or the University’s sexist dress code which prohibited women from wearing pants. (That, we won.)

Three words to describe your Brandeis experience.

Affirming. Empowering. Joyful.

The most important thing Brandeis did was propel me into being a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University where I got a graduate degree in Arabic and Middle East Studies. Brandeis really prepared me for that. Brandeis also came at a time right after my father died suddenly, when I needed to be in the warm embrace of community. And that’s what Brandeis gave me: I met one of my best friends to this day, Victor Friedman, at Brandeis, and another good friend, Randy Levitt, who introduced me to my wife. I wouldn’t be where I am today without several important stepping stones — and Brandeis was one of them. A lot of really good things happened there.

Why did you choose Brandeis?

They had a Middle East Studies program, and I knew that’s what I wanted to focus on. And my sister had a boyfriend who went there. I liked him, and he spoke fondly of Brandeis. I transferred to Brandeis my junior year.

What were your favorite spots on

campus?

I liked going to Friday night services, so the spot with the three chapels around the pond was one of my favorites.

Was there a professor who had a particularly important impact on you?

My favorite professor was Elanie Leffler; she taught me to love art history. And my advisor, Gordon Newby, who taught Arabic and really prepared me to take on the Middle East.

What would you want current and/or prospective students to know about Brandeis?

Brandeis has really high quality academics and a nice community where you can find like- minded people and forge your own community.

College is about what you learn and who you meet — and I made lifelong friends.

Describe your Brandeis experience in three words.

Warm. Intellectually rigorous. A springboard.

Walt Mossberg ’69

Photo Courtesy of WALT MOSSBERG ’69, Photo by ASA MATHAT

Mossberg is a veteran technologist columnist, commentator, reviewer and conference producer.

He is widely credited with pioneering the modern, consumerfocused, technology review and commentary at The Wall Street Journal. He also co-founded AllThingsD, Recode and the D and Code Conferences, and co-created and co-hosted a popular podcast, Ctrl-Walt-Delete.

How did your experience at Brandeis shape where you are now?

The biggest thing from Brandeis that has shaped my life was the political activism: the anti-war, anti-administration in some cases, civil rights and civil disobedience that was going on in the 1960s. I had rigorous classes and professors who influenced me, but I learned as much outside the classroom as I did inside the classroom. We had strikes. We marched on the Pentagon.

We did sit-ins in front of the administration building to keep the Dow chemical recruiter from getting inside to meet with students because Dow made napalm. We took over a building and made it a sanctuary and protected an AWOL soldier from Vietnam; we created a ring of bodies around him that the army and police didn’t want to go in and ambush. There was a Ford Hall takeover by the Black students and the state police were on campus ready to move in with guns. There was a big mediation effort by the student government, and thank God it was resolved.

In fact, it’s the 50th anniversary

of the African American Studies department, which was formed as a result of one of the demands of that takeover.

Most of the campus — whether it was in a moderate way or a radical way, or whether it was a national or campus issue — got involved.

Was there a professor who had a particularly important impact on you?

In my senior year, I, along with two other students, one of whom is my best friend to this day — Ira Shapiro — got a grant to do an independent studies paper on George Wallace. That was thanks to a professor in the politics department — my major — Gene Bardack. We wrote a 450 page independent studies paper on Wallace, who in 1968 ran for president. We each had sections; mine was Wallace and the media, and I went on Wallace’s campaign plane representing either the Justice or WBRS. We were on this terrible two propeller junky plane that a segregationist had lent him. But there were genuine reporters on that plane and that’s where I learned what it was like to cover a presidential campaign.

Any favorite spots on campus?

For my first two years at Brandeis, my then-girlfriend and now wife lived in Massell. There was this enormous lawn between the chapels that almost went all the way to Sherman. We used to hang out there; when the weather was nice it was a great thing.

How did Brandeis prepare you for the “real world?”

The biggest lesson I learned that helps if you’re going to be a journalist, and perhaps other fields too: Question authority and don’t be afraid to take a stand.

What would you want current and/or prospective students to know about Brandeis?

Brandeis is an unusual place.

Take courses in everything you can from the smartest professors and try to stand out. Find a path for yourself; it doesn’t have to be your life’s career path, that can change, but you ought to find a path for yourself while you’re there — whether it’s music, art, politics or journalism — and pursue it.

Describe your Brandeis experience in three words.

Love. Friendship. Protest.

BRANDEIS: THEN AND NOW

By AMY FISHBEIN BRIGHFIELD ’94 and NOAH ZEITLIN

JUSTICE ALUMNI EDITOR AND JUSTICE EDITOR

Photo Courtesy of the ROBERT D. FARBER UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY

NATALIA WIATER/Justice File Photo

The Spingold Theater Center was erected in the 1960s (left) and remains the hub of the Theater department today (right).

Photo Courtesy of the ROBERT D. FARBER UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY

The Brandeis The Science cheerleading team has department changed their technique at Brandeis from human pyramids University (left, 1978) to modern was originally stunting (right) as the housed sport has developed. only in the Gerstenzang Science Library (top, 1966). In 2009, the Shapiro Science Center (bottom) was built around Gzang. —Editor’s Note: Jen Geller and Megan Geller are members of the Brandeis cheerleading team.

THU LE/Justice File Photo

Photo Courtesy of THE ROBERT D. FARBER UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY

Photo Courtesy of the ROBERT D. FARBER UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY

NOAH ZEITLIN/Justice File Photo

The Castle, a staple of Brandeis University’s architecture, was erected in 1928, and it provided University housing (left, 1964) until the Skyline Residence Hall (right) opened in 2018.

Photo Courtsey of JEN GELLER

Brandeis University’s Commencement exercises previously took place in an outdoor amphitheater (top, 1957), but have since moved to the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center (bottom).

Photo Courtesy of THE ROBERT D. FARBER UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY

YVETTE SEI/Justice File Photo

Design: Sammy Park/the Justice, Jocelyn Gould/the Justice

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THE JUSTICE

SPORTS

Taking a look back at three Brandeis Judges

■ Brandeis alumni have

gone on to have successful athletic careers. Here is a look at three athletes who did exactly that.

By DOUGLAS STARK ’94 JUSTICE ALUMNI WRITER

There is a scene in the movie “Airplane” that goes like this: Flight Attendant: Would you like something to read?

Passenger: Do you have anything light?

Flight Attendant: How about this leaflet, “Famous Jewish Sports Legends?”

While recounting this scene always seems to elicit a chuckle, this stereotype has existed in popular culture for nearly a century. But this is largely untrue, as great athletes like Hank Greenberg (baseball), Sandy Koufax (baseball), Benny Friedman (football), Sid Luckman (football) and Barney Ross (boxing) have had great impact on and off the field.

Brandeis has had its share of great athletes through the decades, both Jewish and non-Jewish, and it should be a point of pride when any athlete from Brandeis has transcended the proverbial sporting mountaintop.

While it may be difficult to single out any one athlete for their accomplishment, here are three that have made significant contributions in the last 25 years. As we celebrate reunion weekend, let us a take a moment to appreciate some of the sporting accomplishments of our alumni.

Nelson Figueroa ’98

On June 3, 2000, Nelson Figueroa finished his warm-up pitches in the bullpen in Arlington, Texas, and took

the long walk to the dugout. His team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, were in town for an interleague contest, and Figueroa was preparing to pitch and help his team try to win the game. This routine occurs daily during the Major League Baseball season, but for Nelson, it was different. For him, it was his Major League debut. While a big accomplishment for any player, this time it was more than that. This game marked the first time that a Brandeis graduate played in a Major League game. It was history in the making for a Division III school to have a graduate pitch in a regular season Major League baseball game.

On that day, Nelson threw 93 pitches for 57 strikes and gave up four earned runs as his team lost 4–3. He would pitch twice more that season before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.

He earned his first victory a month later and finished the year with a 1–2 record.

Figueroa grew up a New York Mets fan, and his childhood dream came true when the Mets drafted him in the 30th round in 1995 Major League Draft. In a nine-year career, he pitched for six teams, including the New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. He also pitched in the Taiwan League and represented Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. For his career, he won 20 games, lost 35 and had a 4.55 era.

Tim Morehouse ’00

Tim Morehouse is the most accomplished fencer in Brandeis history.

However, it did not start that way for Tim. A New York native, Tim attended Riverdale Country School and only took up fencing as a way to get excused from gym class. The ruse worked, and his new pastime caught on. In his ju-

nior and senior years of high school, he captained the school’s fencing team and was named the team’s most valuable player.

While at Brandeis, Tim enjoyed a stellar collegiate career. In his final three years, he was ranked in the Top 10 of the NCAA’s Division I men’s sabre. An All-American each of those three years, he led the Judges to be ranked tenth among all Division I schools in 2000. Also that year, he was named the NCAA’s men’s sabre Fencer of the Year.

Upon graduation, Tim continued fencing and became a three-time member of the United States Fencing Team at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

He earned a Silver Medal in the men’s saber team event at the 2008 Olympics.

He is also a nine-time senior world team member and two-time individual U.S. National Champion (2010, 2011). He was a teacher in the Teach for America program, was honored by the White House as a “Champion for Change” in 2012 and now operates Morehouse Fencing Club in New York.

the Celtics’ former coach and general manager.

Kenny Graves is the next in a long line of Brandeis-Celtics connections.

While at Brandeis, Graves double majored in American Studies and Sociology, and when he graduated, he left as the school’s all-time assist leader with 473 assists. Graves, who was born Kwame Graves-Fulgham, was a member of the men’s basketball team that advanced to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight during the 2007–08 season.

It was the beginning of a renaissance for the team that made the second round the following year and then a return trip to the Elite Eight in 2009–10.

After his playing career, Graves began the long climb up the ranks of working for a professional team. He began as an video coordinator/assistant basketball development intern with the Celtics in 2008–09. After two years, he joined the Cleveland Cava-

THEN, NOT NOW: FOOTBALL

Basketball has enjoyed a successful history at Brandeis for many decades. Both the men’s and women’s teams have made successful runs in the NCAA tournament within the last decade. Furthermore, there has been a strong connection between the school and the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association.

After retiring from his Hall of Fame career with the Celtics, K.C. Jones began his coaching career at Brandeis, and he was soon followed by Bob Brannum, another former Celtics player.

Former Brandeis players have also been drafted by the Celtics. When the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center opened on campus, the basketball court was named after Red Auerbach,

Photo Courtesy of THE ROBERT D. FARBER UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY

Former Director of Athletics Benny Friedman coached the University's short-lived football team from 1951 to 1959.

REUNION: Alumni respond to new format CONTINUED FROM 1 part of reunion for him is the “sandwich years” surrounding his graduating class. “I wish I could have seen them,” he said. Denise admitted that the initial reaction was that the special reunion diminished the 5-year cycle, but her observation is that it does not diminish it at all but increases the amount of alumni coming back.

Reunion favorites

NOAH ZEITLIN/Justice File Photo

VISION FOR THE FUTURE: University President Ron Liebowitz spoke to the Justice about his decision to join the Brandeis community and the direction he would like to see the University go in the coming years.

INTERVIEW: Liebowitz shares message for students, alumni University withdrew a speaking invitation to human rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali over comments she had made criticizing Islam, prompting a divided Brandeis.

Then, the campus was divided over inflammatory comments tweeted by an African American student following the funeral of two slain New York police officers and the critical response by a conservative Jewish student. Following that, the prior Brandeis president issued a statement to the Brandeis community to be a “climate of mutual respect and civility.”

Then, in 2017 and 2018, Brandeis was faced with allegations of discrimination and harassment regarding the actions of the men’s basketball coach, Brian Meehan.

After putting the coach on administrative leave, Brandeis decided to fire him after a full investigation. Liebowitz stressed that the “campus responded” when the allegations arose. As a part of his statement to the Brandeis community, Liebowitz wrote, “The issues strike at the heart and soul of what Brandeis represents, and we will work with integrity and great intentionality to make things right.”

Message to students and alumni

One area Liebowitz would like to see improved is a stronger relationship with alumni. Brandeis has a lower percentage in the alumni fund than it should, he said. Liebowitz observed that Brandeis operated and focused on a year-to-year basis, thus losing strong ties to alumni. He acknowledged that Brandeis must

—Douglas Stark ’94, is the author of several basketball books including “The SPHAS: The Life and Times of Basketball’s Greatest Jewish Team”; “Wartime Basketball: The Emergence of a National Sport during World War II”; “When Basketball Was Jewish: Voices of Those Who Played the Game” and “Breaking Barriers: A History of Integration In Professional Basketball”; and is the co-author of the children’s book “Shikey Gotthoffer.”

Kenny Graves ’08

INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT LIEBOWITZ

CONTINUED FROM 1

liers for a season before returning to Causeway Street. He has served as head video coordinator and coaching associate before being promoted to director of Player Development for the 2018–2019 season. In 2013, he was an assistant coach for the Celtics summer league team. He has also been on the staff of Great Britain’s senior men’s program.

“connect much better with students and alumni.”

For current students, the president would love to see residential communities where the residence hall are supportive communities, as well as strong interaction between students and between students and faculty. For alumni, Liebowitz would like to see a welldeveloped class network.

When asked to describe Brandeis, Liebowitz said he would like to use the words “daring and prideful” and hopes Brandeis returns to that image. In five to ten years, Liebowitz sees the University as “a more outward looking institution feeling more prideful.” The president’s lasting message to alumni: “Brandeis is a remarkable institution in need of and deserving alumni support.”

Brandeis has “reunion down to a science,” Pfau expressed. There appears to be a unanimous agreement that the Saturday tradition of the Ralph Norman Barbecue is a reunion favorite.

Pfau reminisced how young classes likely do not know that Ralph Norman was the campus photographer.

According to a Brandeis archives blog post, “Before Brandeis officially opened in the fall of 1948, a portrait photographer with a studio on Newbury Street was hired, on a contractual basis, to document the emerging university. In 1950 Ralph Norman became Brandeis’s first university photographer and was well on his way to becoming one of the most beloved members of the Brandeis community.” The archives explain that “in 1950 he decided to throw a barbecue for the first graduating class (Class of 1952), and it was so popular that it grew to become an annual event attracting hundreds.”

Another popular event is the alumni college that spans the whole weekend.

Alumni college is always excellent,” Fisher said. Regardless of the year graduated, alums have an academic connection to reconnect with faculty and academic engagement, she said.

Other events highlighted are the Saturday Night Fire and ‘Deis Gala Celebration and the afternoon speech

by University President Ronald Leibowitz. Along with the special reunion throughout the weekend, Brandeis also holds an open house — Visit the Maker Lab: Building a Culture of Innovation the 'Deis Way, which provides an opportunity to the Brandeis community to learn about emerging technology and innovation to improve the world.

From a student’s perspective, Lehtonen said that her favorite event

has to be the class dinners. “I love going to the older alumni's dinners and watching alumni reunite with one another after not seeing each other for a while.”

Some alumni wish that some other events were consistently part of reunion. Pfau stated that from over the years the reunions she chaired, it was important to keep the class year photograph. The important event that Pfau really wishes Brandeis would have is a class dinner, rather than a whole alumni dinner. For some alumni, Pfau explained, “not having a special class dinner is a problem,” as some alumni are not seeing enough events specifically tailored for individual classes.

What reunion should mean to the Brandeis community

Reunion, Fisher explained, is the “best opportunity [for a] large engagement of the year.” “Every college needs goodwill [and] support of the alumni” and Brandeis “needs to encourage deep engagement to make a connection,” Fisher continued.

“Alumni engagement is important to the success of Brandeis and its endeavors.”

If alumni could leave with one message about reunion, Fisher stressed that alumni should “reengage, refresh and reunion” with their fellow alumni. “Have a reunion [the alumni] won’t regret,” she said.

Rosenthal encouraged “alumni to come to Brandeis with arms wideopen willing to accept the changes and evolution of the university, while understanding that the values we were founded upon are still maintained in the students.” She observed that “buildings may have changed, majors may have been added and professor[s] come and go, but I always like to encourage alumni to look at Brandeis now through the students, because they are the ones that truly shape our institution.”

Pfau reminded alumni to “give back to the institutions that created us” and to “come back and say thank you in some way, shape and form.” Pfau’s wish for alumni is to “connect to whatever you liked about [Brandeis], see what changed, this is where you grew up and became what you are today.”