ARTS Page 18
FORUM Condemn collection of ethnic data 11 SPORTS Women’s basketball makes playoffs 16
‘iphigenia’ andrew baxter/the Justice
The Independent Student Newspaper
the
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
Justice
Volume LXX, Number 18
www.thejustice.org
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Lantern festival
admissions
Univ. addresses applicant fears ■ Brandeis assured high
school applicants that they will not jeopardize their admission by protesting. By Abby patkin Justice Editor
chelsea madera/the Justice
Student dancers performed at the Brandeis Chinese Cultural Connection's Lantern Festival on Friday night, marking the traditional end of Chinese New Year celebrations.
Leaders evaluate inclusion and diversity at Brandeis ■ Students and staff discussed the progress the University has made on diversity and inclusion. By Avraham Penso Justice Editor
Despite recent improvements, certain challenges remain in the effort to fulfill the agreements negotiated after Ford Hall 2015, Chief Diversity Officer Mark Brimhall-Vargas explained in an interview with the Justice. The interview followed a Feb. 12 presentation by Brimhall-Vargas and Student Union Diversity and Inclusion Officer Amber Abernathy ’18 that discussed the University’s efforts to improve student, faculty and staff diversity and ensure equitable club funding. Abernathy described her work assessing whether clubs centered around minoritized racial and ethnic groups received equitable treatment in the club allocation process. She explained her preference for the term
“minoritized” over “minority,” saying that the latter has been “placed upon individuals through an oppressive power structure.” Displaying graphs of student demographics and funding requests, Abernathy noted that although Hispanic/ Latinx, Black and Asian students together comprise around 50 percent of the student body, the percentage of money requested by clubs that serve these minoritized groups is smaller. As a result, Abernathy said, these clubs might not be receiving equitable resources, despite having funding requests approved at roughly equal rates with other clubs. To help these groups secure equitable funding, Abernathy urged the Student Union to ask, “How can we, as a Union, be a little bit more accessible to … students that identify as minoritized groups?” She emphasized that improving accessibility would require examining the “historical aspects of [minoritized students] asking for money to higher power structures” as well the possible role of bias in the allocation board’s funding process. Abernathy plans to speak with minoritized
student groups to understand how the Union can better represent them and provide “the safe space where they can ask for more money.” Following Abernathy’s presentation, Brimhall-Vargas discussed the University’s progress toward enacting the policies agreed upon following the Ford Hall 2015 student protest, as well as some of the challenges that have arisen in attempting to do so. He mentioned notable accomplishments, such as addressing the needs of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and temporary protected status students, as well as the creation of a diverse ombuds office and the hiring of Maria Madison as associate dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. However, Brimhall-Vargas admitted, other goals were not “practical, feasible [or] legal.” In an interview with the Justice, Brimhall-Vargas explained that he chose not to mandate diversity trainings, saying, “If you force someone into a diversity training, they usually don’t approach it
See diversity, 7 ☛
Participation in peaceful protest and any resulting disciplinary action will not affect applicants’ chances of admission to Brandeis, the University announced on its social media accounts on Feb. 23. The announcement came at the heels of a Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which saw 17 fatalities and 14 injured. In the wake of the shooting, students across the country have staged or begun planning class walkouts in memoriam the survivors and victims, also demanding tighter gun measures, according to a March 1 WBUR “All Things Considered.” There will be a slew of “March
for Our Lives” walkouts across the country on March 24, and on March 14, Brandeis students will hold a walkout in solidarity with Parkland, featuring a 17-minute moment of silence to honor each of the victims. Hundreds of students around the United States — high schooland college-aged alike — will walk out of class in protest this month. However, WBUR notes, some high school administrators have threatened to discipline students who miss class to protest. Yet the University will not penalize applicants for participating in peaceful protests. “Brandeis supports students’ right to stand up for their beliefs. Those who participate in peaceful protests will not jeopardize their admission to Brandeis. Speak up, speak out,” read the University’s statement, which was posted on Facebook and Twitter. The University’s message echoed similar ones from colleges
See admissions, 7 ☛
campus speaker
Journalist speaks on antibiotic resistance ■ Independent journalist
Maryn McKenna spoke about the risk of antibiotic use in poultry and farming. By Emily Blumenthal JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER
On Christmas Day 1948, scientist Thomas H. Jukes checked the results of an experiment with chicken feed — he noticed that chicks who were fed small amounts of antibiotics gained more weight than those who were not. Jukes was one of a number of scientists conducting experiments to find an inexpensive feed for livestock to compensate for the market losses following WWII, and he thought he had stumbled upon a possible solution. According to journalist and Schuster Institute of Investigative Journalism fellow Maryn
McKenna, Jukes’ discovery caused a massive upheaval in the system of raising livestock as well as “a profound human health threat that would sweep the world.” When McKenna first heard about the use of antibiotics on healthy animals, she was “perplexed,” and, having recently finished writing a book on the antibiotic-resistant bacteria MRSA, decided to learn more about the subject. The result was her book “Big Chicken,” in which McKenna discusses “how we came to give antibiotics routinely to most of the meat animals on the planet.” McKenna presented the tale at a Feb. 26 forum, followed by a Q&A. McKenna began her presentation with the history of antibiotics, starting from Alexander Fleming’s invention of penicillin in 1943. She stated that “antibiotics were a miracle and a shock,” and empha-
See big chicken, 7 ☛
When an EP Dropped
Driving It In
Boston Landmark
Mathias Boayar ’20 dropped his first EP on Spotify and Itunes.
The men’s basketball team concluded a disappointing season in the UAA cellar.
An architectural history scholar discussed the importance of Boston's Prudential Center.
andrew baxter/the Justice
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FEATURES 9
INDEX
SPORTS 16
yvette sei/the Justice
ARTS SPORTS
17 13
EDITORIAL FEATURES
10 OPINION 8 POLICE LOG
10 2
News 3
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