ARTS Page 19
FORUM Reject toxic masculinity 11
THE NUTCRACKER
SPORTS Soccer season comes to an end 16 The Independent Student Newspaper
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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 LXIX, Number 14
www.thejustice.org
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Administration
UNDERSTAFFED AND OVERWORKED
Neustadt talks about branding in open meeting ■ In a presentation on
Thursday, marketing consultant Mark Neustadt broke down Brandeis' image. By Abby patkin JUSTICE editor
In order to bolster revenue and attract a wider array of students, the University must position itself using its Jewish values rather than its Jewish roots, consultant Mark Neustadt asserted in a presentation on Thursday. Neustadt gave an identical presentation on Wednesday. To gain insight into how Brandeis is perceived on campus and in the outside world, Neustadt, the principal of Neustadt Creative Marketing, has been interviewing the University’s constituencies since last spring, according to an April 15 email to the community
HEATHER SCHILLER/the Justice
MAKING CHANGE: Sodexo employees complained that campus dining locations are understaffed, putting extra work on employees.
Sodexo workers deliver grievances to Allen ■ A group of Sodexo workers
and allies met with Sodexo General Manager Andy Allen to protest cuts to hours. By ABBY PATKIN JUSTICE Editor
A crowd of Sodexo employees and allies filed into Sodexo General Manager Andy Allen’s office last Tuesday to protest scheduling cuts and poor labor conditions. The workers delivered a petition from the Brandeis Labor Coalition, which called upon management to create more 40-hour union positions and increase staffing during the week. The workers — many of whom were members of UNITE HERE!, which represents food service employees — demanded that Sodexo management act within a week to address the grievances. One Currito worker told Allen that the lines in Upper Usdan had become longer, because all the dining locations are understaffed. “Every day, I feel sad to come into work,” she said. “It’s a lot of work in
the morning for two people.” Another worker chimed in, highlighting long lines at dining locations around campus: “Everywhere is so busy. Currito is busy, Sub Connection is busy, Louis’ is busy and Lower Usdan is busy,” she said. “Everywhere is so busy. It’s no reason to cut our hours.” “No one cares about our breaks,” another added. “When we have to go to the bathroom, we have to wait.” Others who spoke emphasized the toll that understaffing takes on employees, forcing them to do more work than they should. “Some days we work like slaves. We’re not slaves,” one worker told Allen. Additionally, Sodexo management has relied on temporary employees and managers to do work that should be going to full-time workers, the group argued. “The point is, when we walk in the door and we see four managers and four employees, it feels wrong. In my personal opinion, we should have more workers,” one of the workers said. “We are union workers. We expect to get the hours we deserve.” “Nothing would make me happier than to hire more people,” Allen re-
from Provost Lisa Lynch. Neustadt also conducted two surveys of alumni and prospective students, according to a Wednesday email from University President Ronald Liebowitz. “The goal of his project is to provide for us a snapshot of how Brandeis is perceived both here on campus and in the wider world, and how we might better communicate the university’s strengths, exceptional characteristics, history, and, down the road, our institution’s aspirations,” Liebowitz wrote in the email. In his presentation, Neustadt stressed that his goal was not to make recommendations on the University’s values but to instead conduct marketing research and provide recommendations on marketing strategies. He added that the recommendations are geared toward generating revenue for the
See OPEN, 7 ☛
CAMPUS EVENT
sponded. “We don’t bring in temps unless we have to.” As a result of cut hours, some employees have had to take on other jobs to make ends meet. “This is hurting my wallet just like everybody else. I had to pick up a parttime job now just to make up what you people are taking away from me,” said one of the employees. “This has been going on a long time. Am I frustrated? Yes, I’m frustrated. I was hired as a 40-hour employee, and I should be getting 40 hours.” At times, some workers also became frustrated, accusing Allen of not giving them answers. “I’ve been taking input,” Allen replied. “The point here … is to get the information I need and get the management team together and figure [it] out.” BLC members and students also had an opportunity to speak at the end of the meeting, pledging their support for the workers. “The Brandeis Labor Coalition is here,” said BLC member Aaron Goodwin ’18. “We’ve been keeping track of what Sodexo has been doing since they’ve been here. We’ve been talk-
See SODEXO, 7 ☛
Scholar looks at female scientists’ role in RNA splicing discovery ■ Pnina Abir-Am is conducting
a study into the lack of credit given to female scientists in the discovery of RNA splicing. By MICHELLE DANG JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
The 40th anniversary of the discovery of RNA splicing is set to be celebrated next year, and yet credit and recognition for this scientific breakthrough is rarely given to the actual scientists responsible for it, said Dr. Pnina G. Abir-Am at the Women’s Studies Research Center on Tuesday. Biochemists Louise Chow and Susan Berget were both the first
authors of studies that contributed to the discovery of RNA splicing in 1977. Their discovery was rewarded with a Nobel Prize in 1993; however, the credit for the discovery was given not to Chow and Berget but to their lab directors — both men. “These were women who [have been involved in] science since before 1972, so they are complete science devotees, as we say, because at that time nobody encouraged women to go into science,” said AbirAm, science historian and resident scholar of the WSRC. Some scientists, including James Watson — the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA — believe that the Nobel prize credit for the discovery should have gone in part to
See RNA, 7 ☛
Against Alzheimer's
Season Finale
Prince Turki
Students to End Alzheimer's Disease hosted a coffeehouse to bring attention to stigmas surrounding aging.
The women's soccer team lost to Washington University in an intense 2-1 battle for a spot in the championship game.
Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki spoke at the University on Nov. 22, detailing the Kingdom's place in a chaotic Middle East.
FEATURES 9
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INDEX
SPORTS 16
ARTS SPORTS
17 13
EDITORIAL FEATURES
10 OPINION 8 POLICE LOG
10 2
News 3
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