the
Justice www.thejustice.org
The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXI, Number 12
B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9
of
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
‘BABY STEPS’ TOWARD DIVESTMENT
Trustees make long-awaited divestment choice ■ The University will change its investment strategies to decrease future investment in fossil fuel businesses. By JEN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR
After months of deliberation, the Board of Trustees adopted a set of policies regarding fossil fuel investments at their November meeting, updating the 1973 guidelines that previously informed their investment decisions. Brandeis students have been pressing the administration to divest from fossil fuels for several years and have continued to do so in response to the recent policy announcement. In a Nov. 28 email to the Brandeis community, University President Ron Liebowitz outlined the new policies that will guide future investment. From now on, the University’s endowment funds will not be invested directly in “public or private companies or partnerships whose
principal business is the mining of coal for use in energy generation.” Investments that presently exist in “fossil fuel private limited partnerships (i.e., private limited partnership funds that make investments, the focus of which is deriving profit from the exploration and production of fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas) … will run off in accordance with the funds’ typical life cycles,” Chief Investment Officer Nicholas Warren wrote in an email to the Justice. These funds have an average life cycle of 10 years. “The overall portfolio is mature, with many funds reaching the later stages of their life cycle. Therefore we expect it to slowly wind down over the next 5-7 years,” Warren wrote. This is specific to private limited partnership funds that invest with a focus on gaining profit from exploiting and producing oil, natural gas and other fossil fuel. As of Oct. 30, 2018, “fossil fuel private limited partnerships[’] [market value] [was] $63.3 million,
See DIVESTMENT, 7 ☛
STUDENT UNION
Special election called to fill open positions ■ The Union's vice president
and treasurer will step down and be replaced at the end of this semester. By CHAIEL SCHAFFEL JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
The Student Union announced that Vice President Benedikt Reynolds ’19 and Treasurer Jerry Miller ’18 will resign at the end of the semester. Their seats will be filled in a special election to be held on Dec. 10.
Vice President Benedikt Reynolds ’19
Reynolds announced his intent to resign during the Nov. 20 Union Senate meeting. He said in a Dec. 3 interview with the Justice that his personal heath was the reason for his resignation. An incident in November in which two senators publicly criticized Reynolds for his involvement in a resolution that would have purchased pianos for the first-year residence quads affected his decision to step down but was not the driving factor, Reynolds said in the interview. Reynolds accepted the apologies of Class of 2022 Senator Alex Chang and International Student Senator Linfei Yang ’20 and said he was “thankful” that they apologized. “They have been open to communication with me as well as with the president and
chief of staff,” he said, adding, “I don’t bear any ill will toward them. They’re both very passionate and very smart. … I’m really excited to see where things go.” “I understand [Chang] has been given a painted target on his back, and I don’t think any student should feel that way, especially as a freshman,” he said. Reynolds said he would help his successor develop contacts with the administration, as well as catch them up on projects relevant to the vice presidency. He will also show his successor how to help student groups. Looking back on his time in the Union, Reynolds said he thought his work with environmental groups at the University stood out the most. He also expressed concern about how the Senate weighs its constituents’ opinions. “Senators, and any elected positions, are expected to be liaisons and communicators for the student body,” he said. “Right now, it seems as if we’re decision makers for the student body. These [campus] newspapers probably talk to our constituencies [more] than we do.” Reynolds stressed that being a member of the Union is a strenuous undertaking for full-time students and suggested that the Union should
See UNION, 6 ☛
Waltham, Mass.
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
The Brandeis Mountain Club hung a banner in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium on Monday to protest the Board of Trustees’ decision on fossil fuel divestment.
ADMINISTRATION
Report details campus shortcomings on diversity
■ The report presented a comprehensive picture of how community members view the University's diversity, reporting policies. By NATALIA WIATER JUSTICE EDITOR
University President Ron Liebowitz released the Campus Climate Report last Thursday, which detailed the “exceedingly high standards” and broader shortcomings of the University, as well as the steps the administration is taking to address them. This second and final report, authored by independent investigators the University hired last spring, follows up on the initial findings regarding the complaints lodged against former men’s basketball coach Brian Meehan. For the second half of the investigation, the Board of Trustees tasked the investigators — Walter Prince, Malcolm Graham and Daniel Tarlow — with examining the systems, climate and culture of University’s procedure for handling complaints related to bias or discrimination and to recommend corrective action accordingly. Throughout the report, the investigators stressed their role as “lawyers and investigators,” not experts in the educational field, writing, “We will not substitute our judgement for [the administration’s].” They pointed to the steps the administration is already taking, and declined to give their own specific recommendations, saying that doing so would be “presumptuous.” To understand the campus climate, investigators interviewed a number of faculty, staff, administrators, students and alumni to examine concerns about the way the University handles complaints. They then placed their findings in a larger context of how the Brandeis culture has contributed to
problems such as Meehan’s behavior, and what steps are being taken to prevent such problems from arising in the future.
Brandeis’ climate and culture
The University was founded on principles of “anti-discrimination, inclusiveness, academic freedom, independence, and the highest standards of academic quality” in an era of segregation, discrimination and quotas, the investigators wrote. However, some community members brought up controversies surrounding the University’s Jewish identity, which many agreed is important to Brandeis. One faculty member explained that identity-based schools face additional pressure to maintain their reputations, which discourages individuals from raising issues with the institution. Others mentioned confusion about whether or not Brandeis markets itself as a Jewish institution, and noted that conversations about Israel have become “charged,” which in turn put “fundraisers on the defensive with Jewish donors,” according to the report. Many students spoke well of the University’s academic rigor and relationships they formed with faculty, and faculty praised the “niceness culture” that exists within the school. Others raised concerns about faculty members’ cultural sensitivity. One Diversity, Equity and Inclusion expert said professors and staff are “illequipped to respect cultural differences,” according to the report. This issue of culturally insensitive “bullying” was prominent in Meehan’s behavior toward his players. The investigators also described “widespread anxiety about lodging complaints” among the Brandeis community due to concerns about retaliation, confusion surrounding procedures and a lack of belief that things will change. For example, student
athletes may fear being forced off the team or not being allowed to play, according to Liebowitz. However, over the course of their interviews, the investigators found no evidence of retaliation and determined there was simply a perception that it was occurring. To combat this perception, Liebowitz explained in an interview with the Justice and The Brandeis Hoot on Monday that the administration needs to build the community’s trust in the system, which will take time. Previous policies were unclear, he said, and made it difficult to report issues. Liebowitz said he believes the University must ensure that the community is aware of resources that are available to them — such as the Reporting at Brandeis web page — and create alternate channels for reporting, along with educating them on why reporting is important. In addition, investigators learned that instead of reporting issues, many in the Brandeis community choose to speak about them among themselves — an example of what they call a “small town mentality.” Administrators admitted to investigators that they are “too quiet” about their progress in improving the campus culture, which further adds to the climate of poor communication.
Diversity, equity and inclusion
Brandeis has historically faced issues of race and segregation, the investigators noted, citing both the original 1969 Ford Hall protest, its 2015 counterpart and Meehan’s firing. From their interviews with the community, the investigators found that while there was “deep and wide acceptance of the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion” among students, administrators and deans, there was “notably less consensus” among the faculty. Administrators tended to focus on the “business case” for increasing di-
See CLIMATE, 7 ☛
Student Fashion
MELA
Scholar reflects on U.S. curation of Chinese art
A Brandeis student transforms his love of fashion into a business.
The South Asian Students Association celebrates “Our Shared Connection.”
By GILDA GEIST
By SAMMY PARK
By ELLA RUSSELL
NEWS 5
School starting times make no sense By VIOLET FEARON
FORUM 11
Women’s basketball plays hard Photo Courtesy of IRA BORNSTEIN
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ARTS 19
By JEN GELLER
COPYRIGHT 2018 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
SPORTS 16