The Justice, September 18, 2018

the

Justice www.thejustice.org

The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXI, Number 2

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, September 18, 2018

A REPORT MONTHS IN THE MAKING

WALTHAM

Crime numbers contest beliefs ■ The Justice examined

poll results and crime stats to form a nuanced picture of safety in Waltham.

By CHAIEL SCHAFFEL JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Public safety on and around campus is a constant issue for college students and concerned family members. Students are often reminded to lock their doors, use blue light systems and contact University Police at any sign of trouble. Yet for many students, the safety of their college’s host cities off campus remain clouded with uncertainty. Students are often unaware of the reality of safety in their campus neighborhoods, an issue Justice reporters attempted to address.

This week the Justice concluded a monthslong student survey about perceptions of safety in Waltham, providing new insight into the

University’s relationship with its host city. A total of 79 students answered a number of questions that attempted to quantify the crimes students had experienced in Brandeis University’s host city.

The majority (63 percent) of students polled feel unsafe on Main Street at night, while Moody Street and the neighborhood immediately surrounding the University campus are considered safe by a thin majority (53 percent and 57 percent, respectively) of students.

The Justice compared student perspectives on crime in these three focus areas with a map of all reported crimes in Waltham from July 2017 to March 2018. In contrast to student perceptions of safety, the crime map shows that Moody Street was the site of more than twice as many crimes as each Main Street and the area around campus. Main Street and the area around campus had similar rates of criminal activity.

The survey also asked students

See STATS, 6 ☛

ANDREW BAXTER/Justice File Photo

ACTIVE LISTENING: University President Ronald Liebowitz, Provost Lisa Lynch and Board of Trustees Chair Meyer Koplow ’72 held a town hall meeting in April after Brandeis men’s basketball coach Brian Meehan's termination. Months later, the independent investigators hired to investigate this issue further released the first of two reports of their findings.

Favoritism, HR procedures delayed response to Meehan ■ A 25-page summary

COMMUNITY

Carter joins University as new swim coach ■ The swim team moves

forward after the departure of its previous coach.

By LIAT SHAPIRO JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Nicole Carter, the newly appointed head coach for Brandeis University’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams, arrived on campus last Monday ready to dive into work.

On Aug. 29, the University announced that Carter would replace Mike Kotch following a Human Resources investigation into Kotch.

In a Sept. 6 joint interview with the Justice and the Brandeis Hoot, University President Ron Liebowitz explained that the administration did not put out a press release regarding the investigation and departure of Kotch because of “privacy issues in terms of our personnel.”

Liebowitz confirmed that the administration received an anonymous letter from members of the swimming teams. The letter was forwarded from Human Resources to the independent investigation team tasked with investigating

the Athletics department after Brandeis men’s basketball coach Brian Meehan’s 2017 dismissal. Liebowitz said he hopes that a future report from the independent investigators will help the University “improve our policies and procedures.”

In a separate interview with the Justice, interim Athletics Director Jeff Ward echoed Liebowitz’s sentiment: “With personnel issues, it’s always difficult to share details,” he said.

Ward praised Carter, saying, “I’m excited to be working with her. I think she understands what it means to be at an institution like Brandeis. I think she’s an excellent coach, I think she’s full of passion and enthusiasm, I think she’ll do a great job.”

Carter graduated from Wheaton College in 2002 and brings with her eight seasons of experience as assistant coach to the Wheaton swimming team. She has coached “two All-Americans, four Junior National swimmers, and five Massachusetts state champions,” according to the University’s announcement of her hiring.

In an interview with the Justice, Carter explained how she wound

See SWIM, 7 ☛

Waltham, Mass.

report detailed holes in a ‘safety net’ that should have protected athletes.

By JEN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR

On April 6, 2018, Brandeis men’s basketball coach Brian Meehan was dismissed following accusations of discrimination against and abuse of members of the team. Since then, there has been an independent investigation into the inner workings of the Athletic Department, and on Sept. 4, University President Ron Liebowitz sent a 25 page summary report to the Brandeis community, the first part of two updates that will be released to the Brandeis community.

The full report contains texts and supporting materials totaling about 300 pages, President Liebowitz said in a Sept. 6 joint interview with the Justice and the Brandeis Hoot. The investigators updated the Board of Trustees throughout the investigation, and the Board received the complete report before passing it on to Liebowitz on Aug. 22. The summary, which is available to the public, is designed to protect the privacy of those who came forward to the investigators, Liebowitz said.

The summary report concludes that “over a number of years, there was inadequate supervision of Coach Meehan and a failure to address his unacceptable conduct, especially toward his players.” The report argues that a “safety net” should have protected the players facing Meehan’s behavior and explains seven ways in which the safety net failed.

Relationships between administrators

The summary documents the University’s failure to recognize the

consequences of close friendships between Meehan, former Athletics Director Lynne Dempsey and former vice president for Student Affairs Sheryl Sousa. The report explains the personal connections that existed within the Athletics Department.

Dempsey is credited with introducing Meehan to his wife. In addition, she was a former roommate of Sousa and officiated Meehan’s wedding.

Dempsey confirmed to the investigators that she and Meehan are “close friends.” According to the report, Dempsey “repeatedly indicated that she had no reason to believe that Meehan engaged in abusive or discriminatory behavior towards his players because she had never personally witnessed it.”

“Stunning” lack of diversity

Another problem identified in the report was that the Athletics Department had “invested relatively less time and effort … in diversifying its leadership and coaching ranks.” The investigators wrote that that the resulting lack of diversity in the “backgrounds, skills, experience and talent” of the Athletics Department staff made it difficult for the department to recognize the issues it faced.

Meehan's perceived “untouchability”

The perception among the athletic community that Meehan received favoritism from both Dempsey and Sousa was cause for concern as well, according to the investigators. The report states that although Sousa and Dempsey “did not consider themselves personally biased towards Meehan,” they “failed to demonstrate to others that they had no such blind spot.” The report highlights that “without the robust efforts required given Sousa's, Dempsey's, and Meehan's personal relationships, players, trainers, and coaches were likely discouraged from

complaining about Meehan, reinforcing his ‘untouchability.’”

Meehan's behavior “ignored”

The report also found that Meehan engaged in troubling behavior that was “unreported, discounted or ignored.” When the basketball team’s winning streak ended in 2014, one mother of an African American player complained to former University President Frederick Lawrence that players were being “humiliated,” according to the summary report. The player met with Dempsey, who told him that he should work harder. After reading Meehan’s negative end-ofyear surveys, Sousa helped Lawrence respond to the mother’s concerns and verbally reprimanded Meehan for directing profanity toward his players, the report found. Dempsey, on the other hand, saw these surveys at the end of the year as a chance for players to “vent,” rather than expose real concerns, according to the report.

Dempsey never recalled discussing the surveys with Meehan.

In 2015, another African American player met with Dempsey because Meehan cut him abruptly from the team; Dempsey responded that she could not question a coach’s decision.

Dean of Students Jamele Adams requested a meeting with Meehan and Dempsey to speak on behalf of the student, but the player did not raise concerns of discrimination or harassment to Adams and no meeting took place. Therefore, the report said “The matter dropped from the Department's radar screen as soon as the player declined Meehan's unusual suggestion that the player put his questions in writing.” The player questioned whether Meehan’s decision to remove the player from the team was fair. Neither Dempsey nor Sousa saw Adams’s

See REPORT, 7 ☛

Booked!

Fall Flex

Election yields new Student Union members

 Find out what Brandeis librarians do behind the scenes.

 Kiiara rocked out in Gosman on Saturday night.

By LIAT SHAPIRO AND GILDA GEIST

By LEIGH SALOMON

By ANDREW BAXTER

NEWS 3

Kavanaugh inches towards SCOTUS

By VIOLET FEARON

FORUM 11

Women's soccer remains unbeaten ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

FEATURES 9 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

YVETTE SEI/the Justice

Make your voice heard!

Submit letters to the editor to letters@thejustice.org

ARTS 18

By MEGAN GELLER

COPYRIGHT 2018 FREE AT BRANDEIS.

SPORTS 16

2

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

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NEWS

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THE JUSTICE

NEWS FALL FLEX

SENATE LOG Student Union welcomes new members, looks to the year ahead at semester’s second meeting Newly elected senators were introduced at the second Union Senate meeting of the year this past Sunday.

The Senate began by approving Executive Board appointees to their positions. Before the vote, each appointee discussed goals for their time in the position.

Serving in a recently created role of chief strategist, Aaron Finkel ’20 hopes to reform the Union and increase transparency, particularly through the release of monthly reports on the accomplishments of the Union.

As chief of staff Emma Russell ’19 plans to make sure that Union members are committed to their positions and hopes to work on financial issues related to printing in the library and club funding.

Director of Programming appointee Adrian Ashley ’20 will oversee Union programming and plans to implement panels addressing student needs, as well as help other senators with programming.

As director of Academic Affairs, Brandon Stanaway ’19 said he intends to facilitate lecture series on topics of interest to students and to serve as a representative to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.

Alanna Levy ’19, the Union’s director of the Office of Student Rights and Advocacy, hopes to advocate for student mental health and improve campus accessibility.

Director of Communications Rachel McAllister ’21 will run the Union’s social media and manage communications. She hopes to complete the Union website and improve its social media presence.

After the Senate confirmed the appointees, all newly elected senators were sworn into office.

Union Vice President Benedikt Reynolds ’19 then introduced the eight Union committees. Each senator must serve on at least two committees, or one if they chair a committee. Reynolds then outlined the expectations and duties of the Senate: Senators must attend meetings of the committees they serve on and are allowed to miss three Senate meetings per semester.

Previous Senate committee chairs and members then described the past accomplishments and goals of each committee. Reynolds explained that of the eight committees, all are open to student participation in meetings except for the Bylaws Committee.

Reynolds said that the Senate has an operating budget of $20,000 this year. Senators can introduce Senate Money Resolutions for projects they wish to fund, and those resolutions are voted on by the Senate.

Finally, the senators introduced themselves and talked about which committees they were interested in serving on.

—Avraham Penso

The next two issues of the Justice, Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, will be published exclusively online.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS n The Justice has no corrections or clarifications to to report for this week.

The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Send an email to editor@thejustice.org.

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The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods.

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BRIEF Gas line explodes in northern Boston area

YVETTE SEI/the Justice

ABIR opened the Campus Activity Board’s Fall Flex 2018 concert, energizing the crowd before Kiiara took the stage on Saturday night.

Gas line explosions in three cities north of Boston killed one man and injured at least 20 others on Thursday afternoon, according to a Sept. 13 article from the New York Times.

The explosions followed an announcement from Columbia Gas of Massachusetts earlier on Thursday that they would be upgrading natural gas lines across the state.

The benefits of upgrading would include “enhanced safety features,” “reliability for years to come” and “less future maintenance work in your neighborhood,” according to the company’s website. As a result of the explosions, more than 8,600 homes and businesses were evacuated while inspectors determined whether it was safe to return, according to a Sept. 13 article in the New York Times.

According to the Times article, shortly before 5 p.m. on Thursday, local officials responded to reports that residents were smelling gas and witnessing fires and explosions. As firefighters struggled to battle the fires, residents received contradictory orders about whether to stay or leave. By dusk, electrical power had been halted for more than 18,000 residents. Some towns experienced huge lines of traffic as locals fled their homes, not knowing when they would return.

At a press conference on Friday, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency and harshly criticized Columbia Gas for their delayed response.

“Since yesterday, when we first got word of this incident, the least informed and the last to act have been Columbia Gas,” he was quoted as saying in a Sept. 14 Washington Post article.

On Saturday, Robert Sumwalt, a federal investigator, said there was “no evidence” that the explosions in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, Massachusetts were planned, according to a Sept. 16 Associated Press brief. In a Sunday press conference, Sumwalt said the investigation will focus on the high pressure in the gas pipelines — the suspected cause of the explosions.

Gov. Baker also announced Sunday that residents could return to their homes.

—Sam Stockbridge

POLICE LOG MEDICAL EMERGENCY September 3—A party at the Shapiro Campus Center required assistance after having an allergic reaction. BEMCo and University Police responded. Party signed refusal for further care.

September 3—A party on the Great Lawn was treated for a minor hand burn, with a signed refusal for further care.

September 3—BEMCo staff treated a party feeling dizzy outside the Golding Health Center with a signed refusal for further care.

September 3—BEMCo staff treated a party for a minor abrasion on the Great Lawn, with a signed refusal for further care.

September 4—Golding Health Center staff requested an ambulance for a party experiencing chest pain. BEMCo staff treated the party and the area coordinator on call was notified. A Cataldo Ambulance transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

September 4—BEMCo responded to a report of a minor with a foot injury near the fitness center in the Village. The party’s mother was present while the party was treated. University police transported the party and the party’s mother to NewtonWellesley Hospital for further care.

September 5—BEMCo staff treated a party for heat exhaustion in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. The area coordinator on call was notified, and a Cataldo ambulance transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

September 5—BEMCo staff treated a party in Rosenthal Quad for malaise. A Cataldo Ambulance transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. The area coordinator on call was notified.

September 6—An intoxicated party at the foster mods was treated by BEMCo staff. The area coordinator an call was notified,

and the party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital by a Cataldo Ambulance for further care.

September 6—BEMCo and University police responded to a party with an ankle injury in the Science Lot. BEMCo staff treated the party, who signed a refusal for further care.

September 7—A party in Goldfarb Library requested BEMCo treatment for an allergic reaction. BEMCo staff treated the party, who was then transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. The area coordinator on call was notified.

September 7—BEMCo staff treated a party in the Carl J. Shapiro Science Center who believed they had inhaled something while soldering. The party signed a refusal for further care.

September 7—University police and BEMCo responded to a request to treat an intoxicated student in Cable Hall. BEMCo treated the party, who was then transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

The area coordinator on call was notified.

September 10—BEMCo and University police responded to a report of a party having a seizure in Skyline. The area coordinator on call was notified and a Cataldo Ambulance transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

September 11—A party requested BEMCo assistance after banging a knee on a chair. BEMCo staff treated party and University police transported party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

September 12—University police and BEMCo staff responded to a party experiencing vision loss who had fainted on the soccer field. A Cataldo Ambulance transported the party to NewtonWellesley Hospital for further care.

September 12—BEMCo staff and University police responded to a party suffering an allergic re-

action to peanuts in the Science Center. The area coordinator on call was notified, and BEMCo staff administered an EpiPen to the party. A Cataldo Ambulance transported the party to NWH for further care.

September 12—A party came to the police station after spraining their ankle playing soccer.

BEMCo staff treated the party on scene with a signed refusal for further care.

September 14—BEMCo staff responded to a request to treat an intoxicated party in North Quad. The party was treated on site with a signed refusal for further care.

September 14—An intoxicated party in Massell Quad was treated by BEMCo staff and transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital via a Cataldo ambulance. The area coordinator on call was notified.

September 15—BEMCo staff treated a party in Cable Hall for intoxication. A Cataldo Ambulance transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. The area coordinator on call was notified.

September 15—A caller reported a party suffering from nausea and dizziness in Gordon Hall. BEMCo staff treated the party and the area coordinator on call was notified. A Cataldo Ambulance transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

September 16—An intoxicated party in Massell Quad was treated by BEMCo staff with a signed refusal for further care.

September 16—BEMCo staff treated a party in the bathroom of Cable Hall who was intoxicated. The party signed a refusal for further care.

September 16—BEMCo staff received a report of an intoxicated student in the bathroom of Shapiro Hall. The area coordinator on call was notified, and BEMCo staff treated the party. A Cataldo Ambulance transported the party to Newton-Wellesley

Hospital for further care.

DISTURBANCE September 10—University police stopped a backhoe operator near Sherman after receiving reports that it was disturbing religious services inside.

September 15—University police responded to complaints of loud music at 567 South Street.

The party was cooperative and shut their music off.

September 15—A group gathering in Charles River J Lot was dispersed by University police after receiving reports of a noise disturbance near the Charles River Apartments.

September 15—University police dispersed a group of students in the roadway near the Foster Mods without incident.

TRESPASSING September 6—A staff member from DCL reported a former student trespassing in the Department of Community Living office in the Usdan Student Center.

The party was arrested without incident and transported to the Waltham Police Department for processing.

HARASSMENT September 6—University Police identified a suspicious party attempting to enter the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center.

University Police gave the party a verbal trespass warning and escorted the party off campus without incident.

OTHER September 8—University police confronted two parties carrying a patio stone paver under the Lemberg traffic gate. The parties returned the paver to its original location at the request of University police with no incident.

September 14—A University police officer responded to a minor motor vehicle accident near the front of the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. No parties were injured, and damage was minor.

— Compiled by Sam Stockbridge

THE JUSTICE

CAMPUS EVENTS

researchers discussed issues including gender politics and Turkish police.

By JOCELYN GOULD JUSTICE EDITOR

The Crown Center for Middle East Studies kicked off its 14th year by inviting four Crown Center Research Fellows to highlight the untold stories of the region.

The discussion was moderated by Crown Family Director of the Crown Center Shai Feldman (POL) and Associate Director for Research at the Crown Center Naghmeh Sohrabi (HIST). Sohrabi explained that the panelists’ research shows stories and developments that are “not necessarily visible to those of us that read newspapers or listen to the news.”

Crown Center Sabbatical Fellow Daniel Neep spoke first, challenging the traditional narrative of how and why the Syrian civil war occurred.

He believes the media has “reduced [the civil war] to geopolitics… [and] dynamics of sectarianism: ancient religious groups who hate each other, and that’s why we have conflict in Syria today.” This narrative, he explained, is tied to the 1916 Sykes– Picot Agreement in which Britain and France divided up the Middle East into spheres of influence, or areas in which each state would have power and that are commonly seen as establishing modern states. As the common narrative goes, these countries were artificially created to suit European great powers’ interests rather than to reflect ethnic or religious identity and were therefore doomed to fail.

To highlight the inaccuracy of this version of history, Neep pointed to “waves of statebuilding” in the region happening from the nineteenth century onward, especially in the 1950s through the 1970s.

“What I want to suggest is perhaps the conflict in Syria today is not the weakening of the Sykes-Picot state from World War I. It’s the weakening of this post-World War II state,” Neep said.

He also stressed how recently the Syrian collapse into civil war occurred and how quickly people lost knowledge of what Syria was like before the conflict. “It’s taught me … that civilization is thin. We lose it very quickly.”

Hind Ahmed Zaki, the Harold Grinspoon Junior Research Fellow, challenged another oft-discussed aspect of the Middle East: women’s rights. Even though “it seems like everybody is talking about women in the Middle East,” Zaki said that these discussions are stuck in a binary view that sees only oppression and empowerment.

To challenge this, Zaki stressed the diversity of women’s experiences

across the region.

She explained that political scientists often see that “the status of women is the result of what happens in politics.” Her research examined it the other way around. “Can we look at the status of women as something that actually affects those political processes?” The answer, she believes, is yes.

While the first two speakers focused on underrepresented aspects of well-known issues, the next two speakers discussed topics which are rarely mentioned in mainstream coverage of the Middle East. Neubauer Junior Research Fellow Yazan Doughan researches corruption in Jordan and local reform efforts. In his discussion, he talked about wāsta, a type of day-to-day bureaucratic corruption in which citizens receive resources via favors from people they know in the bureaucracy.

Wasta holds an “ambivalent status” in Jordanian society, which sees it as both good and bad, according to Doughan. Many see wasta as a form of corruption and want it eliminated, but at the same time they expect that they will need to use it in the future.

Doughan also said it is seen as virtuous to give wasta to friends and family as it is an important way to secure employment in Jordan, where the unemployment rate is high and 60 percent of the jobs are bureaucratic.

“This ambivalence around wasta and its connection to corruption says something about what is going on [in Jordan] ... It tells us that there is a certain uncertainty about what constitutes justice [there],” he said.

Crown Center Junior Research Fellow Hayal Akarsu ended the discussion by analyzing police reforms in Turkey.

“You would probably ask, ‘What reform are you talking about?’” she said. The first untold story of the region is that any such reforms exist.

Akarsu explained that while Turkey has a history of police using disproportionate force, the government and social programs attempted to address the problem with a series of reforms beginning in the 2000s.

Yet while these reforms still exist today, starting in 2015, the authoritarian government started to manipulate them, according to Akarsu.

For instance, police officers can use mechanisms developed recently as reforms to legally justify their abuses of power, allowing them to “reclaim violence … in a more expert way,” she said.

Following each panelists’ explanation of their research and the untold stories they have discovered, the moderators and the Fellows took part in a Q&A period, delving deeper in the specifics of their research and conclusions. As each panelist discussed their untold story further, it became clear that they had only given the audience a small glimpse into the worlds that the mainstream media does not discuss.

NEWS

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

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BINGO NIGHT

Scholars highlight untold stories of the Middle East

■ The Crown Center

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ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

Students got a break from schoolwork as they played Bingo in the Stein on Thursday.

STUDENT UNION

Students voted to elect board, Senate members ■ 24 hours of voting led

to 19 students joining the Student Union.

By LIAT SHAPIRO AND GILDA GEIST JUSTICE STAFF WRITER AND CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Sept. 13, 41 candidates ran in the Student Union election for 19 open seats in the Senate, Allocations Board, CEEF Board, Alumni Board and Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.

Biographies of the candidates were released by the Student Union prior to the election, and the winners were announced in a Sept. 14 email to the Brandeis community.

Senator for Class of 2022—Topaz Fernandez Fragoso ’22 Fragoso is one of the two elected Senators representing the Class of 2022. In her candidate biography, Fragoso said that she will draw on her high school experience as the student body vice president to work with students and faculty to represent peer “needs, concerns, and wants.”

In the same bio, Fragoso shared that “moving seventeen hours was scary and I wasn’t even sure I would like Brandeis.” She continued, “But, after meeting a lot of you and hearing people’s different backgrounds, ideas, and stories, I couldn’t be more thankful for the class of 2022.” Fragoso did not return the Justice’s request for a comment.

Senator for Class of 2022—Alexander Chang ’22 Alexander Chang won the second seat for Class of 2022 Student Union Senator. In his candidate biography, Chang highlighted three issues that unify the Class of 2022: fair representation on the Senate and Allocations

Board, housing accommodations and upholding of social justice values both on and off campus.“I know that this year’s Freshman Class has some powerful potential, and I want us all to realize that,” Chang wrote in his bio.

Senator for Massell Quad—Kendal Chapman ’22 Kendal Chapman ’22 won the seat for Massell Quad Senator. In her candidate biography, Chapman presented improving the quality of quad spaces and number of quad events as foundation of her campaign platform.

Chapman wrote, “As senator, I want to represent your interests as new students and improve the place we now call home.”

Senator for North Quad—David Hui ’22 Newly-elected North Quad Senator David Hui ’22 ran uncontested. During his campaign, Hui outlined the importance of improving life in North Quad, particularly the bathroom conditions.

Senator for Rosenthal and Skyline Quads—Joshua Hoffman ’21 Joshua Hoffman ’21 previously served as the North Quad Senator and member of the Campus Operations Working Group during the 2017-2018 academic year.

In his candidate biography, Hoffman mentioned taking part in various initiatives on campus, such as the Tampon Initiative and programs in collaboration with the Brandeis Health and Safety Committee. Regarding his plans for the upcoming year, Hoffman shared in his candidate biography that “there are quite a few big issues regarding limitations for club approval as well as finally implementing successful initiatives” that he started last year and would like to see finished.

Senator for Village and 567—Jake

Rong ’21 In an email to the Justice, Jake Rong ’21 said that he plans to “improve communication, increase administrator visibility and foster a greater sense of campus community” as the newly elected Senator for Village and 567.

Rong also sent words of advice to fellow students. “I encourage ... all students to get involved,” he wrote in the same email. “[Send] ideas, comments, or questions, [visit] the Student Union during our office hours, [join] a Senate Committee, and most importantly, [vote] in elections.”

Senator for Ziv and Ridgewood Quads—Leigh Salomon ’19 Salomon ‘’19 has previous experience serving as a senator to the Student Union. “If I’ve learned anything about representation from my first term as a senator, it’s that there is no secret trick or level of experience for getting the job done that can replace one-on-one interactions,” Salomon wrote in an email to the Justice. He added that as a Quad Senator “with a smaller constituency than, say, a Class Senator, I can devote more time to each of my fellow residents.”

Salomon plans to reduce the meal plan requirement for those living in suite-style dorms. He also wants to more closely monitor facilities employees and submitted work orders in Ziv and Ridgewood.

Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program Senator—Gisel Urena ’22 In her candidate bio, Gisel Urena ’22 shared that encountering homelessness when she first moved to the United States in 2009 also taught her “the value unity and teamwork holds.” As the newly elected Senator for the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program, Urena carries

See ELECTION, 6 ☛

ATHLETICS

University chooses Jeffrey Ward as interim Athletics director

■ The former swimming

coach will lead the department until a national search finds a new director.

By LIAT SHAPIRO JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Jeffrey Ward was recently named the University’s interim Athletics director, according to an email sent by President Liebowitz on Sept. 4, 2018.

Ward earned his bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Dartmouth College and his master’s degree in higher education from Columbia. His coaching career began in 1978 when he was appointed assistant swimming coach at the United

States Military Academy at West Point.

Ward created the women’s swimming program at Columbia University, according to a Feb. 1998 Bowdoin College statement.

In an interview with the Justice, Ward explained that after Columbia, “I was the Assistant Director [of athletics] at Brown for eight years, and then I was the Athletic Director at Bowdoin for fourteen years.”

According to the same Bowdoin statement, Ward oversaw Bowdoin’s NCAA Division III program that consisted of twenty-nine intercollegiate varsity and five club teams.

In 2012, Ward chose to leave Bowdoin’s athletic department to join Asphalt Green, a nonprofit dedicated to “change lives through sports and

fitness,” as the chief program officer.

When asked how he came to be at Brandeis, Ward explained that President Liebowitz “and I knew each other from past jobs when he was at Middlebury and I was at Bowdoin.”

In a joint interview with the Justice and the Hoot, Liebowitz explained that it was at the New England Small College Athletics Conference (NESCAC) that he first observed Ward at work. Liebowitz said, “NESCAC … is very hands-on, so we met three times a year. Jeff was one of the Athletics directors.”

Liebowitz continued, “I watched them all, who are respected all along the way... I found [Ward] to be incredibly fair, open and honest when criticisms came to the presidents.

About any issue in Athletics, he was

always reasoned and reasonable.”

When asked about how his previous professional interactions with Ward might affect their current relationship, President Liebowitz replied, “There is no reporting line here, because Jeff is going to be reporting to Lisa Lynch, not to me.”

Ward describes the job of athletic director as dealing with “a lot of people going in a lot of different directions.” For example, he must “make sure the culture is correct, the values are in line with the institution” and “run the business side of the department.”

“The foundation of athletics [at Brandeis] is very strong,” Ward said.

“We certainly have things to work on and some challenges, but there are very good people and, I think, so is

their commitment to really making sure we provide students with what they deserve.”

“One of the first things to make sure is that it’s the right educational experience for students,” Ward continued. “In Division III athletics, sports exist for the players. We love crowds, but that’s not who we design things for.”

Ward said he will serve in this role until August 2019. According to Liebowitz, the national search will commence in the new year.

Ward believes that his “task is pretty clear. It’s to ensure that the culture in the Athletics Department is what we want it to be and to identify what we need to do for the department to provide students with what is appropriate.”

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NEWS

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

5

NOT EVEN CLOSE

BRIEF University’s ranking among other colleges drops in recent U.S. News and World Report update Brandeis dropped one place in rankings of national colleges and universities to number 35, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report.

Released on Sept. 10, the rankings place the University between Boston College, College of William and Mary and the University of California Davis in 38th; and the University of Rochester and the University of California Irvine in 33rd. Brandeis ties with the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Florida.

The 2019 update continues the University’s 10-year trend of fluctuating between 31st and 35th, according to an archive maintained by Public University Honors. Among the four private schools rankings between 30th and 40th this year, Brandeis has the highest combined tuition, fees, and room & board — estimated at $70,835.

The University is the fourthhighest-ranked school in Massachusetts, after Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Tufts.

U.S. News made several al-

terations to its ranking criteria for the 2019 rankings, according to a Sept. 10 post on its website.

Acceptance rate is no longer a factor in a school’s ranking, and the report now attempts to quantify whether a school promotes “social mobility” by factoring in the graduation rates of its Pell Grant recipients.

Other changes to the formula include slightly reducing the influence of student high school performance — including average standardized test scores and the percentage of students who finished in the top 10 percent of their high school class, per the same website.

U.S. News faced criticism for making frequent changes to its methodology, potentially limiting the usefulness of analyzing trends in the rankings. Colleges have also cheated when reporting information: In 2012, Claremont-McKenna College admitted to sending U.S. News false SAT scores for the past six years in order to boost its position in the rankings.

—Avraham Penso

ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

The Reverend Doctor Kirk Jones met with students on Sept. 5 to discuss the ideas in his new book “Soul Talk: How to Have the Most Important Conversation of All.”

SUSTAINABILITY CAMPUS EVENTS

Pre-Health students share advice with interested first-years

■ A junior and a senior

shared lessons they learned during their first years on the Pre-Health track.

By MAURICE WINDLEY JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

First-years and aspiring premedical track students gathered on Wednesday to discuss how to navigate their time at Brandeis. The session, titled ‘What I Wish I’d Known My First Year,’ featured upperclassmen panelists Jen Geller ’20 and Leah Pearlman ’19 as they shared tips for continual survival and success they learned from their time at Brandeis.

The event was the first in a series of Weekly Wednesday Workshops hosted by Pre-Health Advising. Each workshop serves to help first-years and continuing students who are interested in pursuing health careers prepare for the pre-medical track.

The event was broken down into a discussion panel and a Q&A session for an interactive meeting between the panelists and the attendees.

During the event, Pre-Health Administrator Erika Tai asked the panelists questions ranging from course and major selection to common misconceptions about the pre-medical track.

Geller described her experience switching majors during her first year at Brandeis. Although she initially wanted to major in mathematics, a general chemistry class “changed how [she] thought about chemistry” and spurred her to study chemistry instead. She also developed a passion for biology after taking a biology lab, and inquired with Professor of Biology Dr. Kosinski Collins about becoming a Biology major.

Geller explained that “reaching out to her professors for her courses” was important in becoming a Chemistry and Biology double major.

Pearlman explained that although she reached out to various labs at Brandeis prior to her first year, she “used freshman year to figure out how to study, and how to manage her time,” figuring out how to do research. Each of these skills helped her in more complex classes such as “Organic Chemistry Laboratory” and “General Biology Laboratory.”

The next section of the discussion focused on how to find shadowing

opportunities and how to balance exposure. Shadowing any professional, such as a doctor or a physician, allows students to experience firsthand how the job works in real time, making it a great opportunity for anyone looking to study in medical fields.

There are many varieties of shadowing, depending upon the professional as well as the field. When asked about how to balance these opportunities, Pearlman explained that many of her shadowing opportunities came from “people whom [sic] were her physicians already,” such as her family’s pediatrician, adding that it is beneficial to “shadow multiple people and get to know many aspects of medicine.” Geller said networking is an important part of managing future opportunities, as it provides exposure to a “wide variety of different specialties.”

The discussion also focused on how to find a community while pursuing a major. Geller explained that many of her close friends came from her classes as well as her clubs, and that “learning about different people’s experiences fosters very unique friendships.” Pearlman explained that it’s also helpful to make “friends that are outside your major” by going to club events and by “making time for things that you really enjoy.” For students following the pre-medical track, a varied community can help students learn more skills toward the Association of American Medical Colleges Core Competencies, a list of personal skills required for incoming medical students, and market themselves according to skills they have learned in their communities.

When asked about how to approach professors for office hours and what to ask them, Geller explained that it is important to have “specific content” when attending office hours for any professor. In her experience, Geller found that having a specific question or starting a discussion about “how professors chose what field they were interested in” were positive ways to meet professors, especially early on in the school year.

The panelists concluded the event by explaining the importance of a diverse course selection, both acknowledging that receiving a well-rounded education is a crucial way to “bring diversity” into different campuses and to any careers beyond college.

— Editor’s Note: Jen Geller is a Justice editor.

Facilities staff shares impact of Turn It Off day program ■ Reducing energy

consumption at critical times can save the University money on future energy bills.

By JOCELYN GOULD JUSTICE EDITOR

On some of the hottest days of the summer, the Brandeis community is asked to join a campus-wide effort to reduce energy consumption called “Turn It Off days.” This program aims to both reduce carbon emissions and save the University money on its electrical bill.

Turn It Off days are announced through emails to the University community and signs posted by custodial staff around campus. On these days, people on campus are encouraged to save energy by turning off lights, unplugging unnecessary electronics, closing windows, lowering window shades and accepting slightly warmer building temperatures, per Turn It Off day emails. Associate Vice President of Facilities Robert Avalle and Sustainability Programs Manager Mary Fischer explained in a joint interview with the Justice that these actions reduce building temperatures, saving money and energy on air conditioning.

In the utilities industry, the actions taken on Turn It Off days are known as “demand response,” a common way to reduce energy consumption on the days that the most energy is consumed. These peak demand days — usually the hottest days of summer — play an important role in calculating how much the University pays for its energy throughout the year, according to Avalle.

“Electrical grid providers have to have the capacity to meet peak demands in their areas. … If those providers and grid operators can keep that peak low, then that means that they have to build fewer power plants to meet that peak demand.”

Building new power plants is expensive for providers, he explained, so it is in providers’ best interest to encourage customers to decrease their peak demand. Providers supply incentive for making this change monetarily: Part of the University’s electric bill is based on how much energy is consumed on the peak day the previous year, so the lower the University can get its consumption on that specific day,

the cheaper the next year’s electricity will be. “[It’s] a few hours of discomfort for a lot of dollars in savings,” Fischer said.

Thus, the University finds itself playing a kind of guessing game, Fischer and Avalle explained.

When a particularly hot day is forecasted, Campus Operations works with an energy consultant to decide if they should institute a Turn It Off day, with as many as five or six such days occurring each year. At the end of the year, they explained, the University’s energy provider, Eversource, reports which day during the year was the peak demand day for the New England grid. The University’s goal is to have implemented a Turn It Off day on what turns out to be the region’s peak day, setting itself up for a lower electric bill.

However, more often than not, the success of a Turn It Off day is determined by the temperament of New England’s unpredictable weather. Last year, the University did not institute a Turn It Off day on what turned out to be the peak demand day, according to Fischer and Avalle. The day came early in the summer, on June 13, according to a data spreadsheet given to the Justice by Fischer.

“Pretty much everyone missed it,” Avalle said of the 2017 peak day.

He explained that while the day was forecasted to be warm, a Turn It Off day was not instituted because historical patterns suggested there would be higher temperatures in the middle of the summer. Instead, “the rest of the summer was really cool.”

The timing of this year’s peak demand day presented a different challenge. Peak demand days normally occur between Spring and Fall semesters; from 2009 to 2018, six of the 10 peak demand days happened in July. Yet this year’s peak demand day (assuming no hotter day occurs later in the year) was Aug. 29, the first day of classes Fall semester. As the two explained, there were around 6,000 additional people on campus than there would have been if the peak day had occurred before classes started.

Compared to 2017’s peak energy use of slightly less than 6.5 megawatts, 2018’s peak was about 7 megawatts, reflecting the impact of the increased campus population.

Nevertheless, this is still about half a megawatt lower than the University’s normal peak energy use consumption before the Turn It Off program started in 2015. This decrease

demonstrates the impact of the program, even when it occurs when campus is full, what Fischer called the “worst case scenario.”

The University has a set protocol for Turn It Off days that focuses on warming buildings slightly, from a normal summer range of 74-76 degrees to a range of 76-78 or 79 degrees, according to Avalle.

Air conditioning is not turned off, but turned down in residential, assembly and classroom spaces.

Significantly, scientific research areas are not affected by Turn It Off protocols. This temperature change only occurs in the afternoon, when energy consumption peaks in New England, he explained.

This protocol does not control the energy consumed by lights or wall outlets, so Avalle and Fischer stressed the importance of individuals taking personal steps to reduce energy usage, such as turning off lights and lowering window shades.

According to Fischer, keeping window shades down is one of the most important things community members can do, as it keeps the sun from warming buildings throughout the day. The custodial staff also helps by closing open windows and doors and lowering shades.

Avalle and Fischer emphasized the importance of individual actions. Avalle likened it to voting, in which many feel that their individual vote does not matter. But “if 6000 people vote, that really does matter. So we’re asking people to … vote for sustainability” by working together as a campus to reduce energy usage, he said.

Fischer also described the “real time” nature of energy use and conservation, explaining that energy has to be produced at the time it is consumed, rather than being stored and used later. On peak demand days, cleaner sources of energy are often entirely in use, forcing energy providers to resort to “dirtier” energy sources, like oil, to meet the demand for electricity. Reducing energy consumption on these days helps curb the harmful emissions released from these other energy sources.

The first Turn It Off day occurred in July 2015, per a digital letter from then-interim president Lisa Lynch. Fischer explained that this program, along with her hiring as Sustainability Manager and a task force’s rewriting the University Climate Action Plan, represented a “recommitment” to sustainability at Brandeis.

6

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

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NEWS

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THE JUSTICE

WALTHAM CRIME BY AREA

STATS: The Justice looks at Waltham crime CONTINUED FROM 1 if they had experienced any crimes while in Waltham and in which neighborhoods the crimes had occurred. The most common response was sexual harassment; nearly 40 percent reported being sexually harassed within a 15-minute walk of the University campus.

This article, which focuses on the statistical results of the survey and the Waltham crime map, is the first of a two-part series on student public safety in Waltham. Next week’s article will cover responses to the survey results from city officials and the University administration.

sults of the survey to see what could be done about curbing sexual harassment in the city. Unfortunately, she said, the crime is practically impossible to prosecute because of the elusive nature of the perpetrators and the brevity of the crime.

“It doesn’t seem that a lot of governments have the will to go after catcalling as an enforceable criminal complaint, so I don’t see it changing in the near future. Which sucks. I’m not happy about it, but I think it’s going to take a lot more pressure from people from the community to actually try to do something about it,” Mackin said.

Within 15 Minutes’ Walk of Campus

Main Street

The area immediately surrounding the University campus was considered relatively safe at night by respondents. When asked if they agreed with the statement, “I feel relatively safe walking alone just off campus (within 15 minutes’ walk) at night,” 57 percent either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement.

Though respondents felt safer in this area than on Main Street, it did not have less reported crime. 55 crimes were reported in the area between July 2017 and March 2018, compared to 52 on Main Street during the same window. The crimes were mostly nonviolent and property-based: 12 cases of assault or assault and battery were reported, while nonviolent or property-based crimes like theft, drug crimes, and property damage totaled 43. Students reported the highest levels of sexual harassment in the University area. 38 percent of respondents reported being sexually harassed within 15 minutes’ walk of the Brandeis University campus, compared to 29 percent on both Main Street and Moody Street.

Waltham Ward 7 City Councillor Kristine A. Mackin Ph.D ’14 discussed the poll results with the Justice in a phone interview. Ward 7 consists of much of the area immediately surrounding Brandeis University.

Mackin was candid about her experiences with harassment in Waltham.

“The nastiest thing anyone’s ever said to me was at the corner of Moody and Main Street,” she said. “It wasn’t surprising to see that number, but it was dismaying.”

Mackin said that she called Waltham Chief of Police Keith MacPherson after receiving the re-

The highest number of respondents felt unsafe in the Main Street area of Waltham. When asked if they would feel relatively safe walking on Main Street alone at night, 63 percent of respondents said they disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Contradicting student beliefs, the Waltham crime map showed fewer reported criminal incidents than the neighborhood surrounding the University’s campus.

52 crimes occured in the Main Street area between July 2017 and March 2018, three fewer than the area immediately surrounding the University campus, and the lowest total crimes for any area in the survey. The makeup of these crimes was similar to that of the crimes that occurred around the University campus, though it also included robberies and shoplifting reports.

When asked why students might see the Main Street as more unsafe than other places in Waltham, City Councilor Mackin explained: “There’s less traffic, and it’s darker,” referring to the relatively dim lighting and limited foot traffic in the area compared to Moody Street.

Moody Street

Student perceptions of Moody Street ran counter to the crime data of the area. In contrast to their fears about Main Street, respondents judged Moody Street to be far safer than it actually was. 54 percent of the respondents felt safe walking around Moody Street alone at night.

Image Courtesy of SAM STOCKBRIDGE/the Justice

METHODS

The survey, called “The Justice 2018 Waltham Satisfaction Survey,” was posted in class Facebook pages several times from April 17 to Sept. 11, 2018. The poll was developed by Justice writers and editors. Before publication, the poll and polling practices were assessed

by Prof. Teresa Mitchell (PSYC) for accuracy. Mitchell teaches about polling practices in her course PSYC 52A, “Research Methods and Laboratory in Psychology.”

The Justice defined the area around campus as the section of Waltham that extends from Curtis Street in the east, north to Winthrop Street, west to Route 20, and

south to the border of Weston, then examined the Waltham Police crime reporting map statistics in this area. These boundaries were based on Google Maps walking time estimates and form a rough semicircle around the campus. The Justice defined the Main Street area as the street itself, plus one block to either side of Main Street (Russell Street to the south and School Street to the north) extending in a strip from Waltham City Hall in the east to Prospect Hill Road in the west.

The Justice defined Moody Street as the area between the Moody Street Bridge in the north to Crescent Street in the south and extending one block to either side.

FURTHER STATS

The following statistics have been rounded to the nearest whole percent.

72 percent of respondents identified as female, 24 percent identified as male, and six percent identified as neither.

Only 15 percent of students polled said they spent the majority of their childhood in an urban setting; 72 percent said they spent it in a suburban setting.

62 percent of those surveyed said they travel through Waltham two or fewer times a week for entertainment or shopping.

Image Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

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Next week, a second installment of this article will feature responses from Waltham and Brandeis officials.

ELECTION: New Union members share goals for their terms CONTINUED FROM 3 this life lesson into her position.

In an email to the Justice, Urena shared her belief that “a true leader is someone who feels comfortable sharing power by fostering others’ capacity to lead and makes decisions to reach their potential.”

Senator for Off Campus Students—Hanyu Deng ’21 In her candidate biography, Hanyu (Andrea) Deng ’21, described how difficult it was for her to “adapt to this new environment called America and Brandeis.”

“There still [remain] many struggles in off-campus outreach and communication. [We must] engage and support off-campus students and commuters,” she wrote.

Deng declared that while in office, she will ensure that off-campus students are “as equally essential as other members of the entire Brandeis community.”

Racial Minority Senator—Coco Zhang ’22 Zhang just started her first year here at Brandeis after attending an international high school, according to her candidate biography. Born and raised in China, Zhang said that she plans to work on reducing the cost of printing in the library and getting more air conditioning in the residence halls.

“My goal is to speak on behalf of racial minority students in this Brandeis community, and to ensure that your voice is heard, encouraged, and valued,” Zhang wrote in her candidate bio.

Two-Semester Representative to A-Board—Aseem Kumar ’20 Kumar’s time serving as Chair-

person of the Allocations Board gave him the experience he needed to be reelected to the Allocations Board, Kumar wrote in his candidate bio.

While serving on the A-Board previously, Kumar worked on club reports, marathon reports, Allocations Board infographics, and more, increasing the transparency of ABoard’s decisions. “I don’t have any comments really,” Kumar said in an email to the Justice. “My work speaks for me.”

In terms of his future plans, Kumar said in his candidate bio that he wants to enforce accountability for A-Board members and clubs. He also emphasized his commitment to diversity and equity when it comes to the allocation of resources for clubs.

Kumar cited his economics major as a reason for his focus on efficiency in student government.

Two-Semester Representative to A-Board—Kate Kesselman ’19 New York City native Kesselman has been serving on the Allocations Board since her freshman year, according to her candidate bio. Now a senior, Kesselman said she hopes to continue the improvements she has making to the Board for the past three years. “I want to help clubs continue to grow and make well supported, attended and embraced events,” Kesselman said in an email to the Justice.

According to Kesselman, the ABoard has not always been an efficient entity. “When I first joined the Board three years ago,” she wrote in her candidate bio, “the Allocations Board was disorganized, lacked leadership and was not helpful to our students.” Kesselman said that she

has been working to make changes to the A-Board and plans to continue that. “I have spent three years of my Brandeis’ career improving the Allocations Board and I am excited to continue my efforts this year,” she said in the same email.

Two-Semester Racial Minority Representative to A-Board—Marshall Smith ’21 Smith is a sophomore from Atlanta, Georgia, who ran unopposed for the Racial Minority Representative to Allocations Board seat. In an email to the Justice, Smith explained his plans for his time in office. “I want to ensure the chartered and secured clubs understand the established policies ... [and] funding decisions.”

Smith said in his candidate bio that his time as a finance intern in the allocation department of Turner Broadcasting prepared him to serve in the position. Smith said that after allocating funds to different projects at Turner Broadcasting, he “can help ... projects come to life here.”

Three-Semester Representative to A-Board—Roland Blanding ’21 Blanding is going to be working with the Student Union for the first time this year as Three-Semester Representative to A-Board. According to his candidate bio, while in office, Blanding wants to “have a pragmatic, enduring, and unifying impact on this university.”

“I intend to stick to my platform of pushing to expand cultural events on campus by working with the Multicultural Council, [the Brandeis African Students Organization], [Brandeis LatinX Student Organization], [Brandeis Asian American

Student Organization], etc.,” Blanding said in an email to the Justice.

He also said that he is working on reaching out to various campus organizations “to familiarize myself with all of their narratives, as well as to educate myself to better represent the interests of the student body.”

Representative to the Community Emergency and Enhancement Fund (CEEF) Board—Tal Richtman ’20 According to Richtman’s candidate bio, his experiences serving as Class of 2020 Senator, Senate Representative to the CEEF Board and Club Support Committee Chair are what qualify him to be Representative to the CEEF Board. In addition to helping redesign the CEEF Board, Richtman is also a two-time winner of the Student Union Innovator of the Year award.

Richtman wrote in his candidate bio that he plans to “bring innovation, creativity and improvement” to the Brandeis community. “I’m excited for the year and for what projects [the CEEF will] approve this year,” Richtman wrote in an email to the Justice.

Representative to the CEEF Board—Michael Scott Bender ’22 According to his candidate bio, Bender’s experience in an office environment, where he “developed organizational and clerical skills,” prepared him to be on the CEEF Board.

Bender also said in his candidate bio that he wants to “make sure that the Brandeis student body gets what they want,” citing bus station heaters and additional coffee shops as examples. “I am excited about the prospect of working in allocating money

to support what you, the students, want to see happen on campus,” he added.

Representative to the Alumni Board—Samantha Barrett ’20 Barrett ran unopposed for the position of Representative to the Alumni Board. According to her candidate bio, Barrett’s time serving as Senate as the Class of 2020, East Quad Senator, and Health and Safety Committee Chair over the past two years has given her the necessary experience to serve on the Alumni Board.

“I believe that cultivating a relationship with the Alumni Board is an opportunity to share current student interests and update alumni on the students attending today,” Barrett said in her candidate bio.

Representative to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee— Brandon Stanaway ’19 Stanaway, an Economics and History major, has served as Ziv Quad Senator and the Non-Senate Chair to the Dining Committee. He is currently the Director of Academic Affairs as well. Stanaway ran unopposed for the position of Representative to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.

According to his candidate bio, Stanaway has “worked on the free menstrual products pilot program, Meatless Monday initiatives, and other [Student] Union projects.”

Sam Zuckerman ’20 was elected Senator for Charles River Apartments, but provided no biography and did not respond to the Justice’s request for comment.

—Editor’s note: Leigh Solomon is a staff writer and Roland Blanding is a contributing writer for the Justice.

THE JUSTICE

SWIM: New diving coach arrives aiming for championships CONTINUED FROM 1 up at Brandeis. “I was at Wheaton College in my ninth year. … My supervisor, Barrett Roberts, head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving team, saw it posted online and said, ‘You better apply for this.’”

The Brandeis University swimming and diving team held their first meeting on Wednesday. Carter said, “I’ve not seen such an attentive, energetic group in a long time. They were just locked in.

They want to hear about the future of the team, my coaching philosophy, my priorities. … [The team] was so welcoming, just coming in to say hi and introduce themselves.”

Carter also shared that she will be holding one-on-one meetings with each member of the swimming team. She explained that she wanted to “go over what they want to get out of this experience, not only as an athlete, but also as a person.”

Carter acknowledged that adjusting to a new coach is always difficult as it requires building trust, “communicating and just having an open mind.”

Uniting the team is part of Carter’s long-term goal to “[get] us on the national stage — … NCAA.” Carter explained, “We can’t be successful on paper until we come together as a unit, as a family.”

Success, she said, has a lot to do

with “recruiting and bringing in higher caliber athletes. But,” she continued, “we can’t bring those athletes in until the team is solidified.”

In response to being asked whether such recruitment is realistic, Carter said she feels confident, and that the team is “so eager to get going and so supportive of each other. They just want to be channeled in the right direction, challenged and supported.”

Carter is not the only one who is excited. In an interview with the Justice, swimmer Ben Francis ’21 said, “We met as a team in the athletic room and talked with Nicole.

The energy we felt going out of the team meeting was one of real motivation.”

Gazelle Umbay ’22, a first-year swimmer, added, “I have met some of the most welcoming and enthusiastic people on the swim team and I’m even more excited to be competing together with everyone. Everyone plays a part that contributes to the team as a whole, so that’s what makes me the most pumped for the season.”

Tamir Zitelny ’20 added, “I think as a team we’re all very excited to see what Nicole can do for us.

I know she has a proven track record and we’re ready to work hard under her guidance. … We see a lot of success in our future. We’re hoping to get more people to NCAA this year and make some serious moves in the UA conference.”

Image Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

Do you have a nose for news?

Want the scoop?

Contact Jocelyn Gould and Sam Stockbridge at news@thejustice.org

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NEWS

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

7

STUDY ABROAD FAIR

ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

More than 30 study abroad programs met with University students at Thursday's fair.

REPORT: Coach’s abuse was allowed to continue for years CONTINUED FROM 1 involvement as grounds for further investigation.

Meehan again received negative year-end surveys for the 2016-17 season, after which the team’s star player left suddenly at the end of his junior year. At the time, no one questioned him or Meehan about his departure. However, the report found that Dempsey knew that the player — who asked her, rather than Meehan, to help collect his personal belongings — did not want to engage with Meehan at the time.

A Human Resources investigation was initiated in fall 2017 to examine Meehan’s behavior. Upon the conclusion of this HR investigation, according to the report, Sousa decided that the coach had used profanities and unprofessional language with the team. She delivered a “final written warning” to Meehan following this investigation — but Meehan continued his inappropriate behavior during the 2017-18 season without sufficient oversight, according to the summary.

The investigators also discovered that assistant coaches and trainers were aware of and discussed Meehan’s treatment his players, but did not report these to senior administrators. “Silence from below reveals a Department culture that failed to encourage staffers to bring such problems to management's attention with confidence that they would be handled appropriately and without fear of retaliation,” the report notes.

Levels of command in HR

The fifth problem was that the University had “gaps, ambiguities and known problems in the Claim Resolution Procedure.” These issues were present and recognized before the HR investigation, but the review of procedures had not yet been completed.

The report highlights numerous flaws in the HR process that were exposed by the Meehan case.

One concern raised by the report is that the HR investigator is able to choose who decides the consequences of an investigation. Additional problems with the process cited by the investigators include unclear policies surrounding the deference accorded to HR findings, conflict of interest concerns, not providing written reports and disclosing “preliminary conclusions” of a report to involved parties before the final decision is reached.

Sousa's conflict of interest

Sousa’s appointment as the ultimate arbiter of the 2017 HR investigation created a major conflict of interest. The HR investigator was aware of Dempsey’s personal relationship with Meehan and deemed her inappropriate to be the decision maker, but assumed Sousa would be appropriate.

Sousa was conscious of her close ties with Meehan, but felt she could still be impartial. According to the report, “Meehan told another coach that although he was under investigation and had been ‘found guilty,’ Sousa was ‘taking care of it.’”

Weak claim resolution procedure

The seventh failure in the safety net was the flawed Claim Resolution Procedure. Principal HR investigator Linda Shinomoto initially suggested to the complainants that the issue could be resolved in a few weeks,

which former vice president of Human Resources Robin Nelson-Bailey knew was unrealistic.

The investigation found evidence of “discrimination and emotionally abusive conduct,” but it did not find any evidence that Meehan favored his two sons, members of the basketball team.

Sousa requested a written report to make her own independent decision as to how to discipline Meehan. Her final report was redacted for privacy reasons for the people who came forward, Liebowitz said in his interview.

Instead of supporting Shinomoto, Nelson-Bailey did not trust the findings of the report and made this clear to Sousa. Nelson-Bailey requested a written report and helped edit drafts of it. Sousa disagreed with Shinomoto’s findings, and then-Vice President of Student Affairs Andrew Flagel offered to draft a written decision for Sousa to look at. Her final decision “tracked” the draft from Flagel, but she also emphasized that this message was his “final warning.”

Although the preliminary findings of the 2017 HR investigator were set to be released to students, Flagel delayed the disclosure. The investigators acknowledge that Flagel may have done this to save Meehan's or the University's reputation, but criticize the delay as “an unwarranted variance of the process. … Such deviations inevitably raise concerns about potential manipulation, concerns that may never be laid to rest.”

In the Sept. 6 interview, Liebowitz said that this case was not related to the departure of Flagel, which was announced in an Oct. 30, 2017 email from Liebowitz to the University.

Meehan’s abusive behavior continued into the 2017-18 season. After Deadspin released its April 5, 2018 article describing Meehan’s behavior, Sousa “had just learned that the HR investigator had redacted material information from the previous HR investigation report that, in Sousa's view, justified Meehan' s termination for demeaning comments and his treatment of injured players — not discrimination — at the conclusion of the 2017 HR investigation.” Therefore, “Sousa never disciplined or terminated Meehan for discriminatory behavior.”

After examining these holes in a safety net that should have protected students, the report concludes that “this lamentable series of process failures involved many at Brandeis.”

The independent investigators found that “in the months leading up to the ultimate decision to terminate Meehan's employment, the interests of the student-athletes appear to have been subordinated to the goals of having a winning basketball team and protecting the institution (or a long-term colleague) from harmful accusations.”

The report states that the players did not deserve to wait for a six-monthlong process to address Meehan’s actions.

When asked about the University’s HR policies, Liebowitz said, “We, as an institution, bear some responsibility in not being up to speed on all of our policies and procedures and protocols.”

Investigators issue recommendations

Following the investigation, Sousa resigned as vice president of Stu-

dent Affairs, and Nelson-Bailey and Dempsey both received six-month probationary periods in their new roles, after which they will be re-evaluated for continuing employment.

Nelson-Bailey was demoted and will now work on “special projects” in HR. This may include transferring some of HR’s work over to the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and reviewing policies and procedures in light of the independent investigation, Liebowitz said in the interview.

Dempsey also received a demotion and now oversees Gosman Sports and Convocation Center’s facilities operations, Liebowitz said. She does not have a supervisory role, and nobody reports back to her.

The interim Athletics director will be Jeffrey H. Ward, the interim vice president for Student Affairs will be Dr. Karen Muncaster and the interim vice president for Human Resources will be Larry Lewellen.

Title IX reporting and adjudication is being moved to the new Office of Equal Opportunity; this new office will able to hear any complaint of harassment, discrimination or bias related to the University’s non-discrimination policy, and will report back to the ODEI and Chief Diversity Officer Mark Brimhall-Vargas.

Additionally, HR non-discrimination and harassment policies and procedures are in review. Liebowitz and senior managers that report to him are undergoing extensive training in diversity, equity and inclusion, according to the Sept. 4 email.

The ODEI will offer instruction throughout the University to address complex topics such as race and diversity, and will partner with the Prevention, Advocacy and Resource Center for bystander training and creating programs for upcoming orientations, according to the email. The ODEI’s director of education, training and development, Dr. Allyson Livingstone, and PARC’s director, Sarah Berg, will be available as resources throughout the year on campus. During the 2018 orientation, they offered bystander trainings that specifically focused on racial justice interventions and sexual assault prevention.

Additionally, the University website has launched a new page called “Support at Brandeis” that clarifies support and reporting mechanisms for the University community. There are now multiple channels to report community concerns, as opposed to only one avenue which left room for bias. The "support" website offers links to resources that are in place for all members of the Brandeis community. There is also a "report" website that provides the basic steps for reporting discrimination or violence on campus. In addition, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has a redesigned website that summarizes what steps have been taken to help to improve the climate of the University and the continued progress made.

This site will be updated as improvements are made.

Liebowitz met with the Athletic Department along with University Provost Lisa Lynch on Sept. 5. Liebowitz said, “It was an opportunity to talk about the state of the Department, where we go from here, what we are doing to support them.”

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features

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 ● FEATURES ● THE JUSTICE

just

VERBATIM | SALVADOR DALI Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.

ON THIS DAY…

FUN FACT

In 1962, the USSR ordered 58.5 million barrels of cereal from Australia.

An irrational fear of fun or happiness is called cherophobia.

YVETTE SEI/the Justice

RISKY BUSINESS: Catherine L. Mann lamented that many firms play it safe instead of investing in riskier but pioneering technologies.

It’s the economy, stupid!

Panelists talk about how students should understand our economy

By EITAN MAGER-GARFIELD JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

“I hope you cannot go through an international business school and think that tariffs are a good idea,” said David P. Kelly, the chief global strategist and head of the global market insights strategy team for J.P. Morgan Chase, to a room of wide-eyed Brandeis students. The audience had gathered for an hour of conversation about the state of the economy, and while words terms like “treasury securities” and “normalization path” don’t usually raise eyebrows, on Thursday evening, talk of “rising debt” and the “gig economy” had some Brandeis students on the edge of their seats.

At the event, called “Global Growth” former Brandeis International Business School professor and current managing director and global chief economist at Citi Catherine L. Mann joined David P. Kelly for a discussion about what Brandeis students need to understand about the economy.

The conversation was moderated by Prof. George Hall (ECON) in the Wasserman Cinematheque in IBS. Both Mann and Kelly spoke to the concerns of students and faculty in attendance and agreed that the economy is growing more slowly, but dissagreed on whether that was a bad sign or not. The central thesis of Kelly’s presentation was that “in the long run the global economy is

going to grow more slowly, but there will be fewer recessions and more stability.” He pointed to countries whose economies are in decline, such as Argentina and South Africa, and argued that they only marginally affect the global economy. He believes the U.S. economy is as stable as it’s ever been, pointing to the rebound of the U.S. housing marking and growth in manufacturing jobs as two key indicators of a trend upward.

In contrast, Mann cautioned students, saying, “Young people are bearing the burden of the failure of the global economy to rebound.” She noted that while Kelly invoked the virtues of what he called a “slow and steady” economy, she said that she didn’t believe in such a thing, and

instead would like to see more rapid economic growth, even if it comes with more volatility.

The big question on the minds of economists today is whether or not there is “one policy rate hack that can satisfy all our objectives for the U.S. and global economy?”

Mann believes the answer is no. She lamented that too many firms are conservative in their investments, following a “herd” mentality. She argued that firms that employ a contrarian attitude, on the other hand, sometimes make the most money.

Kelly agreed, saying economists need to be more creative in finding sensible ways to invest in emerging technologies like solar and wind power. He cautioned students to be careful in judging the health of the U.S. economy

YVETTE SEI/the Justice

TAKE CONTROL: David P. Kelly told students their economic future doesn’t have to be in the hands of stock market fluctuations.

by simply looking at the stock market, which he said “is just really a system by which wealthy investors shuffle money around.”

The panelists acknowledged that this event is being held in the context of an important moment in the history of the U.S. economy — at a time when the “gig economy” is transforming the transportation and hospitality industries with companies like Uber and Airbnb and the Trump administration is slapping billions of dollars of tariffs on imports from countries like China. Kelly worried that institutions that protect the economy from volatility are under threat from a rising tide of populism sweeping Europe and the U.S. “Populism is like shutting of the left side of your brain and just doing whatever feels good, and in the economy, that’s almost always a bad thing,” he noted.

After the presentations, the floor was opened up for questions from the audience.

One by one, IBS students voiced their concerns to the panelists about their prospects of gaining employment after graduation and what types of economic sectors are seeing the most growth in wages. Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence, which has made the headlines in media outlets from Wired to the Wall Street Journal, took center stage during the questioning.

Hall noted that artificial intelligence has changed how many firms operate and opened doors for smaller companies to compete with their larger corporate rivals.

Echoing the words of Mann, he stressed that there isn’t a “silver bullet” but that at a regional level, both corporate leaders and politicians are ultimately responsible for how the economy affects the average American.

As if to provide some relief to the students who had voiced their anxiety about the market, Kelly ended the evening by telling the audience that ultimately the economy doesn’t have to dictate their lives, saying “You could be born into the worst of depressions or the best of economies, but your future is going to be determined by you.”

THE JUSTICE ● FEATURES ● TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 , 2018 ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD: Laura Hibbler sees the library as a place for students under stress to gather on campus and study together.

Always Booked What Brandeis librarians do behind the scenes

By LEIGH SALOMON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Cider, donuts and iMacs: what do all of these apple products have in common? They were all in the Brandeis Library on Thursday, Sept. 13, to mark the annual Meet Your Personal Librarian event, offering students the opportunity to mingle with their librarians over autumnal refreshments. Students could ask general questions, receive help with research, connect with various library resources or just get to know their personal librarian better. Among the attendees was Associate University Librarian for Research & Instruction Laura Hibbler, who talked about her job in an interview with the Justice, about what it’s like to be a personal librarian at Brandies.

Hibbler oversees the library’s Research and Instruction department, which entails working with classes, providing informational literacy instruction, helping with research assignments, consulting with individual students and more.

“It’s really fun. I sometimes joke that I get to learn about everyone’s research projects and, you know, I don’t have to write the paper at the end!” she teased. “But I get to hear about all the cool stuff everyone else is doing,” she added.

She is also the personal librarian for first-years whose last names begin with L through M, explaining that the idea to provide new students (first-years and transfer students) with their own librarians originated a couple of years ago to help facilitate the transition from a high school library to a college library. As Hibbler put it, “there’s been

some research done comparing the average high school library to the college library, and it’s just so much bigger –– and sadly, a lot of K-12 public school systems have had to even reduce library services –– so it can be a little overwhelming to come here.”

She said that the biggest obstacle in her job is simply hav-

about what they’re researching,” she elaborated, adding, “The faculty here are amazing.”

Hibbler’s day-to-day work usually involves a couple shifts at the Research Help Desk and on the Chat Service, but beyond that, her work varies from answering general questions, to tracking down obscure sources,

and the MakerLab. Later in the semester, with finals approaching, the librarians will advertise research help services, extended hours and de-stress events, such as the therapy dogs and farm animals brought last Spring.

Other recurring events that the librarians promote include the Artists’ Book Award (a ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

READ IT AND EAT IT: Laura Hibbler, the Associate University Librarian for Research and Instruction, loves the annual Edible Book Festival.

ing enough hours in the day for everything she does, emphasizing how much she loves her work and the people she works with. “There are really great people who are really passionate about what they do and really like helping people. I think Brandeis students are so engaged with learning, and I’m always so impressed to hear

to preparing and hosting workshops. Her month-to-month work depends on how far along students have progressed in the semester. For example, in early September, the librarians shared news about course reserves, equipment students can check out and resources such as Getz Media Lab (now part of Sound and Image Media Studios)

judged art competition for students), Blind Date with a Book (book display for the week before Valentine’s Day), Voter Registration Celebration and Voter Absentee Jamboree (help or guidance registering to vote or submitting an absentee ballot), Edible Book Festival (creation of edible books to be judged in commemoration of the birthday

of gastronome and author Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin), Pi Day at the Library (celebration of Pi by eating pie) and Printathon (24-hour competition to solve a practical problem using the MakerLab’s resources).

Hibbler especially enjoys the Edible Book Festival for its literature-inspired creativity and puns. She remembered, for example, that one of the winners from last year’s Festival was a rabbit sculpted from Velveeta cheese, inspired by the British children’s book “The Velveteen Rabbit.” “I’m always really, really impressed,” said Hibbler. “I enter it every year, and I never win, nor should I win … But I have fun doing it.”

One of the lesser-known sections of the library that Hibbler highlighted, was the Archives & Special Collections. Located on level 2, the department “houses Brandeis University’s unique and rare primary sources,” according to the Brandeis Library website. “Considering Brandeis is relatively young, the collection is really, really impressive,” she said, noting such highlights as the Shakespeare First Folio and Spanish Civil War Posters, as well as a history of Brandeis.

Ultimately, Hibbler sees the Brandeis Library as a gathering place on campus and an outlet for students going through a stressful period of studying. She reminisced how during the eclipse in summer 2017, students and library staff gathered outside the library to watch the eclipse with eclipse glasses, which everyone shared while eating Starbursts and Milky Ways. “It was just a really neat way to bring people together,” she recalled. “And I think libraries can often serve that role on campuses, and we really try to serve that role.”

9

10 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 ● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE

Justice

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Avraham Penso, Editor in Chief Natalia Wiater, Managing Editor Amber Miles, Senior Editor Jen Geller, Deputy Editor Nia Lyn, Associate Editor Jocelyn Gould and Sam Stockbridge, News Editors Victor Feldman, Features Editor Judah Weinerman, Forum Editor, Zach Kaufman, Sports Editor Maya Zanger-Nandis, Acting Arts Editor Yvette Sei and Andrew Baxter, Photography Editors Morgan Mayback, Layout Editor Liat Fischer and Devo Meyers, Acting Ads Editors Eliana Padwa and Lily Swartz, Copy Editors

EDITORIALS

Investigation report should spur policy improvements On Sept. 4, University President Ron Liebowitz sent an email to the Brandeis community with an update on the independent investigation into the abusive environment created within the University’s basketball program.

While the initiatives the University has set out on to curtail the behavior that allowed for such gross misconduct are a good start, more should be done to make sure that this kind of abuse is not repeated.

The investigation began after the dismissal of longtime basketball coach Brian Meehan, who had fostered a racially and emotionally abusive environment within his team and program. The investigation resulted in the demotion of Athletic Director Lynne Dempsey and Vice President of Human Resources Robin Nelson-Bailey, as well as the resignation of Sheryl Sousa, the vice president of Student Affairs.

In addition to spurring leadership changes, the investigators’ report delineates nine recommendations to reform the University’s administrative processes. All nine proposals have the same principal goal: ensuring the safety of students by giving them avenues to report any wrongdoings, and giving staff the proper training to intervene in instances of bias or discrimination.

In the past, little recourse has existed for students abused or mistreated by an administrator who was respected and supported within their department. In Meehan’s case, his longtime professional relationships and friendships with Dempsey and Nelson-Bailey resulted in student complaints about his racist and emotionally abusive behavior.

Administrative misconduct has also been handled through a single chain of command. This meant that the ability to field complaints related to Meehan was largely limited to a small range of administrators, all of whom failed to take disciplinary action.

This board supports the University’s efforts to rectify past problems and ensure more regulation for the Athletics Department. Educational institutions across the country are struggling with the problem of accountability and transparency within student athletics, and the University should be at the forefront of reforming the current systems in place.

The release of the special investigators’ report also brought about a conversation on how to “create a campus environment that embodies fairness and equity,” as stated by Liebowitz in the Sept. 4 email. This involves the creation of a new department, the Office of Equal Opportunity, one that will directly report to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Instead of having to directly report to administrators who may or may not act on the information given to them, students will now be able to report misconduct directly to the Office of Equal Opportunity. ODEI will also work with the Division of Student Affairs to create a workshop related to diversity issues to provide incoming students with the skills to cope with differences and conflict.

Post-Meehan changes needed Additionally, during first-year Orientation, Dr. Allyson Livingstone, director of the ODEI, and Sarah Berg, director of the Prevention, Advocacy, and Resource Center will provide bystander training, focusing on racial justice and sexual assault prevention.

This past Orientation, Orientation Leaders participated in a pilot version of the program, which will be extended to all incoming students next fall.

Furthemore, we believe that the University should institute a mandatory reporting system against abuse, a common practice in sensitive educational and athletic environments.

If an administrator or faculty member is made aware of abuse, they should be required to report it. If they fail to do so, they should face some sort of internal disciplinary action, such as a warning or a reassignment.

Mandatory reporting would ensure that administrators see acting against abuse as a duty, not an extraordinary feat. Instead of waiting for a particularly motivated or sympathetic administrator to take up their cause, students could be confident that any administrator aware of abuse will act on that knowledge.

This board commends the University for giving incoming students the skills needed to effectively address structural issues found on college campuses through Orientation training. More than anything else, students need to know that a system of accountability exists, and that those resources should be accessible to them if needed.

We are wary about the volume of responsibilities and tasks being placed upon the ODEI, as this constitutes a large expansion of their duties.

However, we also understands the need for a streamlined process, and believes the ODEI is the correct department to assume these new roles.

While these advancements are commendable and certainly needed, there are still underlying issues the University has failed to address.

The investigation report suggests bias, discrimination and harassment training for athletic staff. Since bias and discrimination can affect any department, the University should consider implementing such trainings throughout the administration.

In light of the Athletics Department’s failure to recognize and admit its bias toward Meehan, bias training for administrators should be a top priority in the University’s reform efforts. As a school that prides itself on social justice, the University must seek candidates that fit in with the school’s ideals.

Instead of hiring popular or complacent candidates and subjecting them to training in the outside hope that they will absorb it, the University should focus on creating a system where administrators and faculty share its institutional values. We hope that the University attempts to change the institutional fabric of the administration instead of merely bandaging over issues as they arise.

JULIANNA SCIONTI/the Justice

Views the News on

On Sept. 5, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Stop BEZOS Act, a bill that would enact a tax on large corporations such as Amazon and Walmart equivalent to the federal benefits their low-income workers receive. Sanders and co-author Rep. Mo Khanna (D-CA) argue that the current system forces taxpayers to subsidize corporations that could easily pay their workers a living wage, while opponents argue that the bill would have little impact on large corporations but present grave consequences for small businesses. Is corporate overreliance on welfare an issue, and would legislation like the Stop BEZOS Act be a reasonable method of curbing it?

Dean David Weil (Heller) Senator Sanders’ and Rep. Khanna’s proposed Stop BEZOS Act seeks to address a fundamental problem in the US: the fact that millions of working people have seen little real earnings growth for decades. Over the last year, real earnings for non-supervisory production and other workers did not increase despite significant growth in the economy as a whole. That continued an almost 30-year trend of real earnings stagnation for more than half of all US households. The real problem to address are the causes of growing earnings inequality and its impacts on the economic and political health of our society. Addressing inequality requires more fundamental and comprehensive public policies than found in the proposed law.

David Weil is the Dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. He previously led the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor under President Obama.

Prof. Daniel Bergstresser (IBS) Income inequality and the increasing concentration of economic and political power are real problems. To the extent that Bernie Sanders draws attention to these problems he is playing a useful role. However, I worry that the Stop BEZOS Act would be impossible to implement at any reasonable cost. The monitoring and compliance aspects would be difficult and extremely expensive to work out. And if you did charge ahead and try to implement the policy it would very likely hurt the people that you might be hoping to help. Finally, the proposed act is also ad hominem, being named after Bezos himself, in a way that sets a bad precedent for future legislation.

Prof. Daniel Bergstresser (IBS) is an associate professor of finance at the International Business School, specializing in municipal finance and household financial behavior.

Miriam Krugman ’20 The Stop BEZOS Act is a piece of legislation that places a check on large corporations like Amazon, which treats their workers in an absolutely unacceptable manner. This bill brings to the fore, in an official way, an issue that many people choose to ignore as they may support these large corporations by buying from them.

Unfortunately, I do not know how effective this bill would be with regard to large corporations worth $1 trillion, however I think it is a step toward prioritizing workers rights and checking large corporations through means of taxation, a necessary step if we want to see meaningful change in this realm.

Miriam Krugman ’20 is vice president of Brandeis Democrats.

Sagie Tvizer ’19 Any corporate reliance on welfare is an issue. There is no such thing as “overreliance.” The Stop BEZOS Act is an exceptionally reasonable attempt to curb this exploitation by calling attention to an otherwise forgotten issue. The message of Stop BEZOS is clear: taxpayers are being wronged. They are subsidizing selfish behavior by corporations, and corporations are designed to be selfish. The Sanders wing is demanding that something be done to address this wrong and create a an equitable society, rather than accept the premise that our society is meaningfully meritocratic. This bill shifts the ethereal ‘political conversation,’ if only for a moment, in a positive direction. The Kavanaugh hearings are characterized by drama, and necessarily so. From my understanding, reputable political commentators and policymakers have dismissed the Stop BEZOS Act as unreasonable. That said this bill demands tangible counter-proposals which can be negotiated and are the basis of much needed conversations within our government. Even if this particular attempt at momentarily shifting media attention to a specific issue long enough to actualize some progressive change, there will surely be more.

At the very least, I think there ought to be.

Sagie Tvizer ’19 is the vice president of finance for Brandeis Academic Debate and Speech Society.

Photos: the Justice; David Weil ; Daniel Bergstresser; Miriam Krugman

THE JUSTICE ● FORUM ● TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 , 2018

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The stakes of Brett Kavanaugh’s SCOTUS nomination

By VIOLET FEARON JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Not many college students are avid C-SPAN viewers. This makes a lot of sense; even the quietest campus offers more exciting Friday night options than watching the nuts and bolts of our nation’s political process. But anyone who was watching C-SPAN from Sept. 4 to Sept. 7 would have seen the initial screening of the confirmation hearing of Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.

The most dramatic feature of the screening is not Kavanaugh himself; he responds to all pertinent questions with careful and precise evasion, as is expected of Supreme Court nominees during their confirmation hearings.

The most forceful words came from the Democratic senators interviewing him. In one pointed moment, Sen. Kamala Harris, (D-Calif.) asked, “Can you think of any laws that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body?” Suspicious baseball ticket purchases and possible gambling debts were also discussed.

But the hearings were only the beginning.

In the days following, intense scrutiny was directed towards the small handful of undecided senators who will make the ultimate decision.

The attention was for good reason: Kavanaugh’s confirmation is a major issue that should interest not just the type of college student who watches C-SPAN, but all Americans.

There’s no question about it: In the upcoming vote, the confirmation of Kavanaugh is a likely thing. A quick recap of the process of seating a new Supreme Court justice, in case AP Government wasn’t your jam. The judge in question is nominated by the president and, after a long and complex series of background checks, committee hearings, and debates, is voted on by the Senate. All that is needed to confirm the judge is a simple majority of 51 senators voting yes. The vote on Kavanaugh will take place in late September, at the earliest. The Senate’s voting falls along disturbingly partisan lines, making it very likely that Kavanaugh, a conservative justice, will be voted in by the majority-Republican Senate. Those of you who did take AP Government may be wondering, “Shouldn’t Supreme Court justices, meant to be figures of impartiality, be elevated beyond the partisan divide?” This may have been true in Justice Brandeis’ day — but this is 2018.

The odds are in favor of Kavanaugh’s confirmation, but it is far from inevitable.There are senators who are undecided or at least haven’t told the media which way they’ll vote.

On the Democratic side, there are senators from Trump-leaning states like Joe Manchin, (D-W. Va) and Heidi Heitkamp, (D-Minn.) who are up for re-election in the 2018 midterms. They’re in a tricky predicament. Either they vote for Kavanaugh and anger their core left-wing supporters, or they vote against him and anger the more conservative voters whose support they also need to win. On the Republican side are senators like Lisa Murkowski, (R-Ark.) and Susan Collins, (R-Maine) whose voting records are quite conservative, but who also rely on voters repulsed by Kavanaugh’s nomination.

Now, if all these details makes your eyes glaze over, remember that the stakes here are huge.

Democrats are already frustrated at President Trump’s successful nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the court, as they believed the seat rightfully belonged to Merrick Garland. Garland, the chief judge of the Third Circuit court, was nominated by President Obama in 2016 to fill the vacancy created when Justice Antonin Scalia passed away. Before Garland’s name was even announced, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-Ky.) flat-out refused to consider replacing Justice Scalia until President Obama was out of office. But for all that controversy, Gorsuch was a right-wing judge replacing another right-wing judge; Justice Scalia was among the most conservative justices ever to sit on the court. Even with Justice Gorsuch, the tenuous balance of the court’s political makeup remained the same. Kavanaugh, on the other hand, would replace the newly retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy was definitely right-wing, but made exceptions, leaning to the left on issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion access. Kavanaugh would undeniably be a far more conservative justice.

Substituting a “center right with occasional allowances” judge for a hard-right one might not sound too dramatic, but don’t underestimate it. The Supreme Court is a mind-blowingly powerful body. Issues as diverse as labor union power, LGBT issues, affirmative action and healthcare could be fundamentally impacted if Kavanaugh gets confirmed. What’s more, Supreme Court justices hold their positions for life, meaning the right-wing court that the Trump administration is forging will continue long after he leaves office. For a historical reference point, both Justice Kennedy and Justice Scalia were appointed by President Ronald Reagan. They got their jobs back when people thought perms were a good idea.

To illustrate Kavanaugh’s importance, let’s discuss one issue he could influence: abortion access. Currently, the law of the land is defined

HARRISON PAEK/the Justice

by Roe v. Wade, a landmark 1973 Supreme Court case. Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide in the first and second trimesters while leaving the legality of third trimester abortions up to individual states. The letter of the law paints a far more pro-choice picture than the modern reality, however, since conservatives have been gradually weakening Roe v. Wade for decades. They’ve passed so-called “TRAP laws”, or Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers, which put a host of legal restrictions on abortion clinics designed to increase operating costs.

Additionally, some states require women go through extra procedures before getting an abortion, such as listening to their fetus’s heartbeat, going through state mandated counseling that tells them having an abortion will give them breast cancer, and so forth.

These laws have been plenty successful on their own. Mississippi, for instance, has only one remaining abortion clinic, according to a March 8 article in the LA Times. But with a more conservative court, these restrictions could get even more stringent.

Alternatively, Roe v. Wade could be overturned altogether. There are currently 13 abortionrelated cases making their way through the

courts, and if selected to be decided by a court with Kavanaugh on it, any one of them could provide a platform for overturning Roe v. Wade.

If this were to happen, not only would many state legislatures move to ban abortion — but some wouldn’t even need to. North and South Dakota, Louisiana and Mississippi have “trigger laws” on the books that will automatically ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. In short, the vote happening early next month could very easily lead to a 50-year backslide in women’s reproductive rights — and that’s only one issue.

C-SPAN may be boring, but these are not topics that only concern policy wonks and political junkies. Whatever your political views, it is impossible to deny that these potential rulings will fundamentally affect the lives of everyday Americans.

At the end of the day, the situation looks grim for the Democrats. True, there are undecided senators, but both Sen. Murkowski and Sen. Collins voted to confirm Justice Gorsuch last time around. Our current hyper-partisan environment makes a Kavanaugh confirmation quite likely. Elections have consequences.

And when it comes to the Supreme Court, the consequences are dramatic.

What in the world is going on with Elon Musk? A closer look Judah

WEINERMAN CHATTERBOX

At one point in time, no name generated quite as much enthusiasm and reverence in business or engineering as Elon Musk’s. The sharp-witted and eccentric founder and CEO of Paypal, Tesla, SpaceX and the Boring Company was the rock star of Silicon Valley, a spark of excitement amid a wave of Harvard dropouts in matching gray hoodies. Musk’s promised innovations were straight out of the Isaac Asimov novels that he once quoted regularly. Self-driving, fully electric mass market cars! A vacuum-sealed pod train that could travel from New York City to Washington D.C. in under 30 minutes! Commercial spaceflight for the cost of a business class plane ride! A human settlement on Mars within our lifetimes!

No other tech mogul could hope to compare in terms of forward thinking.

Buoyed by Tesla’s meteoric ascent up the Dow Jones and the cult of personality rapidly growing around him, Musk could seemingly do no wrong. If you were to believe his most fervent admirers, he was Steve Jobs, Tony Stark and Rick Sanchez rolled into one. You don’t get to have a hagiographical episode of The Simpsons where you voice yourself and become Homer’s new best friend for nothing.

More astute observers might have seen Musk’s downfall coming for some time. The happy-golucky, mad-scientist persona Musk cultivated

didn’t mesh well with his brutal crackdown of unionization attempts within Tesla, or his ‘news verification’ website Pravduh that seemingly was founded to quash criticism of his management skills. For any readers planning on becoming Silicon Valley moguls, a piece of advice: Promising to build workers a roller coaster and give them hourly ice cream, as Musk did according to May 24 Reuters story, will not defuse the want of labor to agitate for fair wages and reasonable hours. If anything, by offering them goodies instead of a raise, you’re just showing your contempt for them.

As his stature has grown, Musk has shown himself to have incredibly thin skin, shutting down any and all internal or external criticism regardless of validity. Arguably, this is his Achilles’ heel, a fatal flaw that threatens to wholly subsume his companies and his career.

A particularly embarrassing moment in this regard came when Musk spent most of the maiden voyage of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket on Twitter arguing with Existential Comics artist LinuxFreeOrDie over how Musk’s lionization of Ayn Rand clashed with Tesla’s heavy reliance on government subsidies. Billionaires should not spend the launch of their flagship program tweeting “No use arguing with you, chimp.

You’re blocked,” at webcomic artists, especially if they are from South Africa and fully knows the loaded nature of the term “chimp.”

However, this misplaced Twitter slapfight over Ayn Rand’s awfulness was just a prelude to the disaster on the horizon. Musk’s annus horribilis began in earnest with his bizarre attempt to create a personal submarine for the Thai youth soccer team trapped underground, a move roundly considered to be a crass publicity stunt in a time of crisis. Rubbing salt in the wound, Musk responded to rescue diver Vern Unsworth’s

criticism of the submarine by calling him a “pedo guy” on Twitter, as reported in a July 15 article in the Guardian. Doubling down on the accusation, Musk emailed Buzzfeed News reporter Ryan Mac on Sept. 4 and told him to “stop defending child rapists, you fucking asshole,” further alleging that Unsworth had moved to Thailand for “a child bride who was about 12 years old at the time.” It’s not that Elon failed to realize what he was getting into by taunting the press in this manner. “As for this alleged threat of a lawsuit,” wrote Musk in the same email, “I fucking hope he sues me.” Musk simply could not comprehend someone beneath his stature daring to question his sincerity. What was meant as a goodwill-engendering stunt for SpaceX and the Boring Company had become an albatross around their necks.

Hot on the tails of a half-hearted apology to Unsworth, Musk sent out an surprise tweet on Aug. 7 proclaiming “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” Even discounting the juvenile cannabis reference, which Musk claimed was the brainchild of his girlfriend Claire “Grimes” Boucher, this surprise announcement was a truly awful idea.

With a mere nine words, Musk sent Wall Street and the future of his tenure at Tesla into chaos.

First, Musk’s claim of “Funding secured” proved to be dubious at best, relying on a possible cash infusion by the Saudi royal family. Having a self-proclaimed “environmentalist” company like Tesla kowtow to the oil-loving Saudis would have been a terrible look, particularly after Musk was caught donating money to Republican Congressional campaigns. Furthermore, by falsely claiming that he had secured private funding, Musk was potentially defrauding his stockholders. Unsurprisingly, this drew the ire of the Securities and Exchanges Commission.

According to an Aug. 24 New York Times article,

the agency has launched a formal investigation into Musk’s claims, a decision that could precede criminal charges.

Seeking to quash calls for his ouster and a bizarre accusation from rapper Azealia Banks that he sent out his pivotal funding tweet while tripping on LSD, Musk set out once more to the media circuit that had previously served him so well. So far, he has only managed to make things much worse. On Aug. 16, the New York Times’ interviewed Musk, capturing the executive on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Musk claimed to be working 120 hours a week for months on end, admitted to a dependence on Ambien as a sleep aid, and appeared to be on the verge of tears several times throughout the interview.

Unfortunately for Musk, a worse interview was to come. During a scatterbrained appearance on comedian Joe Rogan’s Sept. 7 podcast, wherein Rogan and Musk incoherently rambled about living in the Matrix and played with samurai swords, the Tesla CEO happily took a hit of a blunt offered to him by Rogan. While marijuana is legal in California, Tesla’s code of conduct expressly prohibits cannabis use, and the FAA rules SpaceX is bound to prohibit drug use within 60 days of operations.

While Musk’s ongoing fall from grace has certainly provided endless schadenfreude for his critics, the real takeaway from his disastrous fall should be a close look at how he was able to generate so much goodwill in the first place. The warning signs were there all along, but Musk pulled the wool over the eyes of investors and media outlets. Instead of questioning his motives or trying to apply a critical lens to his outsized promises, the fourth estate took his claims at face value and allowed him to mask yet another Silicon Valley investment scheme as a benevolent futurist operation.

The opinions expressed on this page are those of each article’s respective author and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Justice.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 ● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE

FORUM

EU’s draconian directive puts memes on the chopping block

By GABRIEL FRANK JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Sept. 12, the European Parliament, the elected legislature that represents all 28 member states of the European Union, passed a suite of laws under the name “Copyright Directive.” This new set of regulations and statutes pertains to the use of unique content in internet-related publications such as videos, news articles and, much to the discontent of young people, memes. Though this piece of legislation is quite wordy, as all laws tend to be, two sub-articles within this directive have attracted quite a bit of controversy.

One segment of the directive, labeled “Article 11,” seeks to add a rather hefty price tag to the third-party use of any copyrighted content, regardless if the rights holder is actively pursuing royalties. For example, if a YouTube movie review features a clip from an independent filmmaker, or an article finds its way onto Google’s News Feed, which in turn attracts millions of visitors to the search engine, the entity responsible for sharing it would then have to pay a royalty to the original creator for use of said snippet.

In arguing for the passage of the Copyright Directive, German media publisher Axel Springer has argued that large tech companies like Google and Reddit have made themselves indispensable in the digital space. In an open letter to employees Mathias Doepfner, CEO of Axel Springer, wrote “The statement ‘if you don’t like Google, you can remove yourself from their listings and go elsewhere’ is about as realistic as recommending to an opponent of nuclear power that they just stop using electricity.”

According proponents like Axel Springer, Article 11’s passage would result in a more well-balanced distribution of wealth and profits across the internet landscape, in addition to greater press freedom. In theory, tech behemoths such as Google and Facebook will suffer the greater financial burden, as any content publisher linked to by said platforms can theoretically charge some form of fee, labeled a “link tax.”

Indeed, one case put forth by the Parliament pointed to the fact that Google and Facebook can provide links and references to a virtually unlimited array of information, potentially attracting billions of clicks and advertising revenue. Most, if not all, of that content does not belong to them. Even though they reap the benefits of linking to them, content hubs get all of their material without having to pay a single cent; the logical conclusion

upon learning this fact is that Google seems to control the news. At first glance, this may seem like a clever and justified regulation of the world wide web, because the “little guy,” i.e. any individual or company that creates and proves ownership of a piece of intellectual property, is given a greater chance to prosper and succeed.

Previously locked out of the loop, content creators can theoretically benefit from the use of their brainchild by a much larger and more economically powerful internet presence.

However, a caveat must be included here -- Article 11 might end in disaster for these small publishers. If Wikipedia, Facebook or any other content aggregator is forced to start paying link taxes on European content, they’ll just stop linking to it. Instead of getting a small piece of a large pie, publishers could be getting the whole cut of a non-existent reader base.

“

Instead of getting a small piece of a large pie, publishers could be getting the whole cut of a non-existent reader base.

AARON MARKS/the Justice

The other, significantly more controversial facet to the Copyright Directive is Article 13, which many critics have dubbed as a ban on internet memes. This subset of the edict halts the spread and use of copyrighted material by third parties, which gives Google and other major media-sharing sites the ability to forcefully take down any post even remotely containing material not attributable to the original poster. This includes internet memes, comedic parodies of movies or television shows and even commentaries and subjective analsyes.

Most memes, or comedic internet content in general, are usually based off of some kind of media created by a separate entity entirely.

Not very original, but a bedrock of posting culture.

For example, a popular meme circling around the internet last year depicted the Star Wars villain Kylo Ren without a shirt, whereupon the viewer is exposed to Adam Driver’s oddly wide physique. Under this new

law, anything, even something as trivial as a picture with a funny caption such as “Han Swolo” that containes Mr. Driver’s shirtless torso, must be removed, as that picture can reasonably be classified as the intellectual property of Disney.

While this is a more humorous example, memes at their core are an art form and vital to satire – one of the cornerstones of a healthy democracy – and self-expression as a whole.

The most immediate conclusion one can draw is that this new law is a restriction of free speech as a whole, as even individuals can no longer use any form of third-party media without payment.

Essentially, Article 13 would completely invalidate Fair Use, the longstanding legal framework that allows reasonable use of copyrighted content within a transformational context. Losing memes may be one thing, but without Fair Use, most of the internet’s content as we know it would be vulnerable to deletion.

After contrasting the relative good of

Article 11 with the real threat presented

by Article 13, a philosophical question can be raised; is it worth it to level the playing field of a landscape virtually dominated by virtually omnipotent search engines and social networks and better-protect intellectual property at the cost of a major component of free speech in the 21st century? Many have taken to poking fun at this law by, of course, making it into a meme, but this has others worried.

Can humor that also serves as a form of criticism be censored under the guise of “copyrighted material” to the point where protecting intellectual property is no longer the priority? With a scope as wide as the Copyright Directive’s, such wide-ranging censorship powers are within reach.

As the Copyright Directive is further analyzed and debated, the issues described above are of the utmost importance to both ensuring the survival of free speech on the internet and protecting the hard work of individual publishers.

Enviromental film prompts tough questions on divestment

By KENT DINLENC JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

On Sept. 5, Brandeis Climate Justice hosted a screening at the Wasserman Cinematheque of the 2016 climate change documentary “To the Ends of the Earth,” directed by David Lavalle. The feature tells stories spanning North America, from Denver, Colorado to the town of Clyde River in the Canadian Arctic. Aross the continent, public outcries against oil expeditions generated lawsuits, jumpstarted political careers and united communities against family displacement.

The documentary focuses on the futility of fossil fuel production from an economic standpoint, along with the usual commentary on its environmental impact. I attended this event for an arts review. However, once I observed the post-screening discussion and discovered that BCJ’s true purpose in hosting the screening was to convince the invited head of the Board of Trustees, Meyer Koplow ’72, to divest University funding from fossil fuels, it seemed there was a more important topic to address.

The documentary told three major stories to roughly 30 audience members, only half of whom were students. The first story was about the use of seismic cannons in Canada’s Baffin Bay for the purpose of discovering oil deposits beneath the sea floor. These cannons use deafening sound waves that disrupt the lives of the underwater mammals that live in the bay, such as narwhals and right whales.

The second story addressed the impact of the construction of a hydroelectric dam in British Columbia that would be used to power tar sands refineries. The documentary explained that the project will displace farmers and indigenous peoples due to predicted flooding.

The third discussed the protests surrounding the placement of a pipeline by a company called Kinder Morgan, an aggressive energy firm that specializes in controversial pipeline projects. Locals in Denver used peaceful protests led by a local chemistry professor to voice their concerns over the project, which would displace farmland and potentially pollute the local drinking supply.

As important as all of these issues are, the documentary focuses unsatisfactorily on a few consequences of these fossil fuel efforts. For one, it is littered with lax displays of scientific data. There are tacky pi and infinity symbols floating across the screen when discussing scientific calculations. None of the graphs shown contain a labeled y-axis! As a student of the sciences and the Economics departments, mistakes like these not only hurt me on an academic level, but also show me that the filmmakers had spread themselves too thin in terms of chosen subject matter. In one scene we see an in-depth look at the economics of fossil fuel consumption, in the next we learn about geology, and they are followed by a one-minute segment featuring six different interviewees. The feature’s effort to combine scientific, economic and social commentaries comes across as scattered and disjointed.

“

Even Emma Thompson’s soothing and authoritative narration can’t fool me into thinking this was good.

With barely any opposing perspective on the matter, much of the documentary’s messaging is not fleshed out, giving it an unfinished feel. Emma Thompson’s soothing and authoritative narration can’t fool me into thinking this was good.

Luckily, the post-screening discussion of the film was much more interesting and informative. It lasted roughly 40 minutes, more than half of which Koplow spent answering questions about the Board of Trustees’ stance on fossil fuel investments.

According to him, “The reaction from a lot of the trustees is [that] we need, as a society, to

resolve to use a lot less [energy].” He argued that divestment from fossil fuels is a costly request to make of a college with a tuitionbased endowment and that “if there were an apparent willingness to address both sides of the problem, the demand as well as the supply, [Brandeis] would see a whole lot more willingness to treat the supply-side issue with the kind of seriousness that [Koplow] certainly thinks it deserves.”

He continued to explain that there are two types of investments Brandeis could make: The Un could participate in a partnership to own interest at an energy-producing field or well, or hire managers who have demonstrated the ability to achieve good returns at low risk. Koplow stressed, “If there’s one thing that Brandeis can’t afford, it’s the kind of aggressive investing that you can do if you have a larger endowment.”

One option the Board has considered is not investing in the aforementioned fossil fuel partnerships, but “the University would take a significant loss if it left [them]. There is no real market [for the current investments], so [the Board] would sell at a fairly steep discount.”

While all of these financial reasons are agreeable, I believe we must move away from this mindset. When the audience suggested investing in renewable energy companies, Koplow disputed that, saying, “If you take a look at the returns in major solar companies in the U.S., unfortunately you find bankruptcies, you find companies overloaded with debt.” However, according to a Jan. 23, 2018 Forbes article, renewable energy costs are decreasing at a rate that veers fossil fuel companies away from profitability. The article quotes Tom Sanzillo, director of finance for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, who said, “Clean energy is now cheap energy.”

If this is the case, why can’t Brandeis divest?

Renewable energy is growing at a rapid pace, and the upfront costs involved are going down as well. While Skyline is impressive with its geothermal heating/cooling system and the solar panels covering the roof, there

The opinions expressed on this page are those of each article’s respective author and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Justice.

is always more to be done. One member of the audience suggested minimizing our reliance on single-use plastics in our dining halls.

Another pleaded for more solar panels on the roofs of our buildings. As the green energy industry skyrockets, there are many methods to introduce renewable energy into our daily lives.

Mr. Koplow seems to relegate the burden of initiative to the individual, but it’s our country’s institutions that point the way.

We live in a society that is unfortunately heavily influenced by funding provided by these institutions, so any divestment would be a push in the right direction. There were some in the theater who argued that we are too far gone to prompt significant change.

This sentiment is why we are in this mess in the first place. Though our climate trajectory for the coming decades is not optimistic, we can still take strides toward minimizing the inevitable damage. Mr. Koplow insists that the Board has “taken a look at the rosters of universities out there” and that “there are really not a lot of U.S. universities that have gone ahead and divested.” Just because other institutions have not does not mean Brandeis should not.

While “the trustees have a fiduciary obligation to maximize returns for the University at the lowest reasonable risk,” Koplow informs, sometimes the best course of action requires some risk. If Brandeis were to lead by example, or at least convince neighboring institutions to divest, managers would observe these trends and find it less risky. Universities are responsible for setting an example for the rest of society. If you have suggestions or want to make your voice heard by the Board of Trustees, join an environment protection club or the Senate Sustainability Committee, which talks to the manager of Brandeis’ Sustainability Program, Mary Fischer. Universities need to guide their best and brightest in order to address and solve what may seem to be insurmountable hardships;positive change is always inhibited by those who wait.

THE JUSTICE

●

SPORTS ● FEBRUARY 14, 2017 10 THE JUSTICE ● SPORTS ● TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

MSOCCER: Judges look to reverse early losing streak CONTINUED FROM 16 by a defender from Springfield.

However, it deflected toward the foot of Stephen DePietto, who slammed home the goal.

The Judges will resume their season today when they take on Massachusetts Maritime Academy at 4 p.m. On Friday, they will welcome Tufts University to Gordon Field.

Following that, the team will continue the home stretch and face Wheaton College next Tuesday. That following Saturday will be the team's homecoming game against Case Western Reserve University. This game will also be the opener for

SIGNIFICANT SAVE

UAA conference play.

At the quarter mark of the season, things are not going exactly as expected. For a team that began the season ranked fourth nationally among Division III schools, a 2-3 record through five games is a disappointment, as at this point last year the team was 4-1. However, the club possesses the personel, coaching and skills to turn their season around. The next few games will be critically important in setting the stage for UAA play, which will eventually determine the team's conference record. The Judges' high seed in last year's tournament was a result of their conference record.

CROSS COUNTRY: Men's team finish WSOCCER: Club will look near the middle of to stay undefeated at Tufts the pack

YURAN SHI/Justice File Photo

FANCY FOOTWORK: Midfielder Becca Buchman '19 attempts to shoot the ball past the Johnson and Wales Goalkeeper on Sept 8.

CONTINUED FROM 16

CONTINUED FROM 16

The Judges will travel to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine for the Bowdoin College invitational on September 29th. The teams will make a point to learn the course back and forth as this will also be the sight of the NCAA Division III regionals meet for New England on November 10. After Bowdoin, the team will travel to Conn. College to take part in the Conn. College Invitational. The next week begins

the championship meets.

After two meets, both teams are confident in their abilities going forward and look to continue to make noise at every race in which they participate.

As we make our way through the last cross country season with the Bryson twins leading the charge for Brandeis, new runners will have to step up to lead the team and fill that hole. Both teams are loaded with plenty of young and eager talent to help secure the programs future.

minutes later, the second goal of the game was scored by Brandeis’ Zoe Ballas ’20. Ballas gave the extra push needed to cross the ball into the goal after an initial header by Emma Spector ’20.

After halftime, the opposing team scored a free kick from 20 yards away. Later in the game, the third goal came from Juliette Carrao ’22, set up by senior Becca Buchman.

Finally, the last goal of the game was scored by Makenna Hunt ’22.

This was the third game in a row in which Hunt had scored.

In a Sept. 10 interview, Kerin

Miller ’20 explained that the current women’s soccer team has a lot of talent and that she cannot wait to see what they are capable of. In addition, Miller explained, “A strong start to the season is important to help gain positive momentum as we head into more challenging and competitive games.

These first few wins have provided a strong foundation of confidence that will help bring success in the future.”

Next Saturday the Judges will travel to Medford, Massachusetts to go head to head with Tufts University. This will be followed by a game against Wellesley

University on Tuesday, Sept. 25th.

UAA conference play begins the game after with the team's first game against Case Western Reserve University on Saturday, Sept. 29th.

This will also serve as the team's homecoming game.

As the season progresses, it is important for the loyal Jury to support the Judges when they play at home. In a final quotation

by Miller, she states, “We really do appreciate all the support from students and faculty members. We love seeing familiar faces in the stands at games. Please come out and support us. It really does a mean a lot.”

SOCCER VOLLEYBALL TENNIS TRACK

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SOCCER VOLLEYBALL TENNIS TRACK

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THE JUSTICE

JUDGES BY THE NUMBERS

● SPORTS ●

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 , 2018

15

VOLLEYBALL

MEN’S SOCCER UAA STANDINGS

Emory Rochester Chicago Carnegie Case NYU JUDGES WashU

UAA Conf.

W L D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TEAM STATS Goals

Overall W L D 6 0 0 5 0 0 6 0 1 4 0 1 5 1 0 5 1 0 2 3 0 1 3 0

Andrew Allen ’19 leads the team with two goals.

Pct. Player Goals 1.000 Andrew Allen 2 1.000 Bryant Nardizzi 2 .929 Jake Warren 1 .900 Stephen DePietto 1 .833 .833 Assists .400 Michael Burch ’22 is tied for .250 the team lead with one assist.

Player Assists Michael Burch 1 Jake Warren 1 Max Breiter 1 Bryant Nardizzi 1

EDITOR’S NOTE: Today vs Mass Martime Friday vs Tufts Sept. 25 at Wheaton

WOMEN’S SOCCER UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Goals

UAA Conf.

W L D WashU 0 0 0 JUDGES 0 0 0 Chicago 0 0 0 Carnegie 0 0 0 Rochester 0 0 0 Emory 0 0 0 Case 0 0 0 NYU 0 0 0

Overall W L D Pct. 7 0 0 1.000 5 0 0 1.000 5 0 1 .917 4 1 1 .750 3 1 1 .700 4 2 0 .667 3 2 0 .600 3 2 0 .600

EDITOR’S NOTE: Saturday at Tufts Sept. 25 at Wellesley Sept. 29 at Case Western

Katie Hayes ’20 leads the team with two goals.

Player Goals Katie Hayes 2 Daria Bakhtiari 2 Sam Volpe 2 Mackenzie Smith 1

Assists Makenna Hunt ’22 leads the team with two assists.

Player Assists Makenna Hunt 2 Juliette Carreiro 2 Emma Spector 2 Sasha Sunday 2

VOLLEYBALL UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Kills

Chicago Rochester NYU JUDGES Emory Case Carnegie WashU

UAA Conf. Overall W L W L Pct. 0 0 12 0 1.000 0 0 12 1 .923 0 0 9 3 .750 0 0 8 3 .727 0 0 8 3 .727 0 0 8 3 .727 0 0 5 4 .556 0 0 6 5 .545

EDITOR’S NOTE: Thursday vs. Emerson Saturday at Bates College Saturday vs. Colby College

Emma Bartlet ’20 leads the team with 80 kills.

Player Kills Emma Bartlett 80 Shea Decker-Jacoby 66 Belle Scott 44 Stephanie Borr 34

Digs Yvette Cho ’19 leads the team with 58 digs.

Player Digs Yvette Cho 129 Kaitlyn Oh 80 Grace Krumpack 67 Marlee Nork 43

CROSS COUNTRY Results from the Wellesley College Inivitational on Sept. 1.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

5-Kilometer Run RUNNER TIME Matthew Driben 16:35.0 Josh Lombardo 16:36.6 Simon Powley 17:28.9

5-Kilometer Run RUNNER TIME Emily Bryson 18:11.7 Julia Bryson 18:38.1 Jac Guerra 18:49.1

EDITOR’S NOTE: Sept. 15 at UMass Dartmouth Invitational Sept. 29 at Bowdoin Invitational

THU LE/the Justice

DOUBLE DEFENSE: Marlee Nork ’19 and Kaisa Newberg ’22 provide towering defense against Bowdoin College on Sept. 8.

Team looks to bounce back from two losses ■ After starting off strong, the Judges have lost two of their last three games to tough opponents.

By JEN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR

This season has been a roller coaster coaster so far for the Judges, who are 5-4 for the season. They lost two out of their last three games.

After defeating Gordon College, the Judges fell to Endicott College and Tufts University.

Judges 2, Endicott 3 The Judges suffered a close loss to the Gulls of Endicott College on Friday Sep. 14. The Judges began to fall behind during their fifth set and never made it back to defeat the Gulls. In the first set, the Gulls quickly obtained a 9-1 lead. In the second set, the Judges started with this same speed, capturing a 10-3 start. The Gulls won the first set 1425 and the Judges won the second set 25-14. In the third set, the Judges were set up with the advantage of 7-1; however, the Gulls did not back down. They fought back to tie the set at 15-all. Thanks to Marissa Borgert ’21 and Emma Bartlett ’20, the team

would get the next five points in the set. Ultimately, the Judges would go on to win the set 25-19. With this 2-1 lead, the Judges entered the fourth set. This set started close in score, but Endicott pulled ahead and took the set with a score of 25-17. With the teams tied at two sets each, it was the final set that determined the overall victory for Endicott. They started the set with a 4-0 lead and continued to dominate, winning the set with a score of 11-15 and thus winning the overall match.

Judges 1, Tufts 3 The Judges fell to 5-3 for the season with their match against the Jumbos on Wednesday Sep. 12, while the Jumbos improved to 4-2 on the season. The first set started off with both teams battling for the lead as teams exchanged the. However, Tufts’ Brigid Bell tied the score at 11, and the Jumbos were able to dominate the first set after this point. Overall, they ended up winning this first set 25-17.

In the second set, though, the Judges began with an early lead. In fact, this set tied a total of seven times.

When the score was tied at 20 points for each team, Emerson White ’22 and Belle Scott ’21 helped the Judges make kills that allowed the Judges to take the second set with a lead of 25-22. The match was then tied 1-1. Set

three began with a tie, 7-7. However, the Jumbos’ Cate Desler put the team ahead with a kill followed by an ace by their own Mackenzie Bright.

Ultimately, they led the rest of the set with a 25-19 victory. Tufts took the lead in the final set early and the Judges were not able to recover. With a 25-17 win in the set, the Jumbos took the entire match 3-1.

Judges 3, Gordon 1 The Judges’ most recent victory was against Gordon College on Saturday, Sept. 8, improving the Judges to 5-2, overall. The Scots won a close first set against the Judges.

Both teams battled the entire time as they both struggled offensively.

Combined, both teams had only three more kills than attack errors.

Despite the troubling first set, the Judges were able to win the next three sets to take the match against the Scots. The second set was most remarkable, as they hit 0.450. In this match, Borgert, Bartlett and senior Shea Decker-Jacoby finished with eight kills each. The Judges really showed strength in this match and Kaisa Newberg ’22 accounted for 11.5 points of the match with six kills and six blocks. She also accounted for six out of the 13 blocks the Judges performed that day. The Judges will take on Emerson on Thursday.

PRO SPORTS BRIEF US Open headlines have been dominated by three Serena Williams code violations and fines On Sept. 8, the U.S. Open women’s singles final took place — the last of the four grand slams of tennis that occur every year.

Within the tournament, hundreds compete against top-ranked competition on the world’s biggest stage, New York City. This year, however, the women’s finals was overshadowed by drama that took place away from the action on the court. The match featured longtime American icon Serena Williams versus an ultra-talented 20-yearold, Naomi Osaka. The contest was set to be a great battle: the present against the future, a JapaneseHaitian newcomer playing her idol, a woman of color who took over the sport. Yet everything changed during the second set.

Before discussing any of the drama, it must be said that Osaka

displayed immense talent and outplayed Serena for the majority of the match. She beat Williams handily in the first set 6-2, followed by a closer 6-4 win in the second set. This followed her win against rising American star, Madison Keys, by the same score in the semifinals. Her serve and forehand are quickly becoming two of the most feared in tennis, touching speeds of 125 mph and 100 mph, respectively.

She is in a class of only nine other female tennis player who have reached that kind of velocity while serving. Her win stands as a major accomplishment for her career and the sport as a whole. It marks the first singles grand slam win by a Japanese national — a testament to the increasing global influence of the sport.

The drama unfolded in the

second set when Williams received three code violations, costing her a full game and $17,000 in fines, the first of which occurred after Serena was given a warning when her coach was spotted making hand signals her way. Although such a warning is within the right of an umpire to call, it is extremely rare, especially in the context of a grandslam final.

Williams, one of the country’s most famous athletes, and a definite fan favorite, was targeted in a manner most of her less accomplished peers never experience. Understandably, the call prompted public outrage, perhaps most notably from fellow tennis legend Billie Jean King: “Coaching on every point should be allowed in tennis. It isn’t, and as a result, a player was penalized

for the actions of her coach. This should not happen,” she asserted.

King’s point is gaining traction in the aftermath of the match and a movement to remove this rule from the sport is gaining momentum.

After the coaching violation, Serena bounced back to the tune of 3-1 lead in the second set, only to have Osaka gain a game by breaking her serve. This rallycrusher led to Serena breaking her racket in frustration, quickly drawing a response from the chair.

Unlike the other penalties, the second violation is not nearly as questionable. Time and time again, slamming one’s racket will result in action taken by the umpire. In this case, Serena lost a point for her behavior and was visibly shaken — a foreshadowing to her last and most severe penalty.

After these two penalties were called, Williams had had it with chair umpire Carlos Ramos.

Following the coaching call, Williams demanded an apology from Ramos mid-game, claiming she has never cheated in her life. Later, after she slammed her racket, she exploded on the referee calling him a “thief” and claiming his poor penalty-calling cost her the match and the U.S. Open. It seems as if the public is on Williams’ side, validating her claim that the referee would not have taken similar action if the penalized was a male player. Other male players have shown similar anger outbursts in the past with no penalty.

— Brian Inker

just Sports Page 16

WILLIAMS IN THE SPOTLIGHT Serena Williams has been making the headlines following controversial penalty calling, p. 15.

Waltham, Mass.

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

WOMEN’S SOCCER

FIRST TOUCH

Team has yet to lose a game ■ The Judges have started

off their season red hot, winning all five of their contests thus far.

By MEGAN GELLER

JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Brandeis women’s soccer team is 5-0 in their strong season so far. This hardworking group has really had a great start to their season, resulting in many victories. In the past two weeks, the team has won three more games.

Babson 0, Judges 1 For the fifth game of the season, the Judges went head to head with Babson College. Not a single goal was scored until the 90th minute of play by Sam Volpe ’19. With no assist and 43 seconds left in the game, Volpe beat an opposing defender to a loose ball and sent it into the goal, ending the game with a score of 1-0.

The goal was Volpe’s second of her career and her second in as many games. This was the 44th meeting between Brandeis women’s soccer and Babson

College, making them the longest standing rival in Brandeis Women’s Soccer history.

Eastern Conn. State 0, Judges 1 The next team the Judges faced was Eastern Connecticut State University. With a perfect record to uphold, the team started off strong in this game. The only goal of the game was scored by Sam Volpe ’19 in the 30th minute of the game, the first goal of her career.

Volpe was assisted by Julia Jaffe ’19 in her first assist of the season.

Throughout the game, goalkeepers Sierra Dana ’20 and Victoria Richardson ’20 kept the opposing team from scoring a single point.

This game ended with a score of 1-0, making it another victory for the Judges.

Johnson and Wales 1, Judges 4 In their third game of the season, the team played Johnson and Wales University. In this match, Brandeis defeated the opposition 4-1. In the 24th minute of the game, Daria Bakhtiari ’21 scored her second goal of the season and third of the game. About seven

See WSOCCER, 13

☛

CROSS COUNTRY

Women's team wins UMD Invitational ■ The Brandeis women's

cross country team won the UMass Dartmouth Invitational.

By ZACH KAUFMAN JUSTICE EDITOR

The Brandeis men’s and women’s cross country teams both competed on Saturday in the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Cross Country Invitational. This was the team's second meet of the young season, and the meet offered a much more complete picture of how the team stacks up against its competition.

The Wellesley invitational had the Judges competing against only Wellesley College, Wentworth Institute of Technology and Regis College. The UMass Dartmouth Invitational however, saw the Judges in a 41 team field that was a lot more diverse in skill and strategy. Each team had varying degrees of success as well as their own individual standout performances. Here is how both teams fared against their competition.

The women’s team came into the meet ranked 25th nationally and ready to prove their might.

It did not take much for the team to do just that, as the women won the competition for the third time in four years. This victory was headlined by Emily Bryson’s ’19 first place finish in the 5k race.

In her previous three UMass Dartmouth invitationals, Bryson had placed fourth, third and second, consecutively, so it was only fitting in her last one she would win. She finished with a time of 17:54.6.

Jac Guerra ’22 came in fourth place, with a time of 18:21.4, a 28-second improvement from her

collegiate debut. Julia Bryson ’19 placed 12th in the race, with a time of 18:58.8, her first finish outside of the top 10 since her first year. Danielle Bertaux ’20 was just three places and eight seconds off of her career-best finish at UMass Dartmouth, placing 16th overall in 19:05.7.

Rounding out the top five was Niamh Kenney ’21, who ran the race for the first time and placed 23rd with a time of 19:10.2.

Meaghan Barry ’19 improved her time by two seconds, but was two spots lower in the finishing standings. A testament to the team's overall improvement, Barry was the fourth finisher last year.

Erin Magill ’22 rounded out the top seven in 36th place, with a time of 19:34.8.

The men’s team did not share the success of their counterparts, finishing 13th overall at the meet.

However, the Judges still had a few top finishers in the 8k race.

Josh Lombardo ’21 and Matthew Driben ’22 came in back-to-back, placing 44th and 45th respectively, with times of 26:25.9 and 26:27.3.

Lombardo improved his rookie time by 30 seconds, jumping 14 places from last year’s race as a result. The second place team finish from Driben is impressive for a rookie running in his first UMass Dartmouth Invitational.

Dan Curley ’20 placed 87th in his first varsity run at UMass Dartmouth with a time of 27:20.7.

Rookie Simon Powley ’22 posted a time of 27:57.1 in his first-ever collegiate 8k race, making 119th place. Rounding out the Judges’ top finishers was Jacob Judd ’20 who ran the race in 28:02.9, good for 125th place. This was a personal best for Judd, beating his previous record by 13 seconds in his first varsity race at UMass Dartmouth.

See XC, 13 ☛

CHARLIE CATINO/the Justice

KICKIN IT: Rookie Isaac Mukala ’22 gains control of the ball during a game against Springfield College on Sept. 5.

Judges' season starting slow on two-game slide ■ After starting off the

season 2-1, the Judges have dropped two straight games and stand at 2-3.

By ZACH KAUFMAN JUSTICE EDITOR

The Brandeis men’s soccer team has had a relatively slow start to their season. Given that the team made it to the Division III final four just last year and came into the season ranked fourth in the nation, expectations were very high, and the team hoped to see their success repeated. However, in the past few games, the team has not displayed the skills that brought them so far just last year.

WPI 1, Judges 0 The Judges were shut out for the second game in a row, this time against the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. After starting off the season 2-2, the Judges fell from fourth in the preseason coaches poll to ninth. Meanwhile, the Engineers improved to fifth nationally for Division III. The game was

relatively uneventful, with the score still deadlocked at 0-0 at the end of regulation. Shots were pretty even as well, with Brandeis holding the slim lead 12-11 (4-2 on goal).

Josh Handler ’19, Skylah Dias ’22 and Max Breiter ’20 were all credited with at least one shot on goal for the Judges. The Engineers did not take long to end the game, however. Frank Ciliberto '19 scored a screamer to give WPI the 1-0 win. This was the fourth straight overtime game between the two teams.

Babson 2, Judges 0 The Judges travelled to Babson College to take on the school's oldest sports rival — this was the 67th meeting of the two teams in a fight that has been raging since 1955. The first half was again relatively quiet for both teams, with neither team able to get anything going. Babson recorded the only shots on goal in the first half, but goalkeeper Greg Irwin ’20 kept the game tied with a key diving stop.

However, in the second half, the Beavers broke things open. After a foul was called near midfield, Babson sent a ball into the box that

was headed in by a Beaver striker, making the score 1-0. They would add to that lead just 11 minutes of game time later. The Judges were not able to get anything going and would end up losing the game 2-0, falling to 30-26-10 in the all time series.

Springfield 0, Judges 2 In their home opener, the Judges were able to defeat Springfield College by a score of 2-0 right here in Waltham. The first half of the game was relatively quiet, with Brandeis owning a 4-2 lead in shots taken, but neither team broke through. Springfield landed the only shot on goal of the half.

However, in the 55th minute, the Judges were able to break the tie.

After a throw in from the right, Max Breiter ’20 sent a cross pass straight towards the goal. After being deflected by the Springfield goalie, the ball made its way to the foot of transfer student Bryant Nardizzi ’20 and was slammed home. Later in the game, with the score still 1-0, the Judges added some insurance.

Nardizzi kicked the ball into the box, but it was soon headed back

See MSOCCER, 13

☛

Vol. #2 Vol. LXXI LXX #2

September September18, 12,2018 2017

KIIARA just

Ar ts just >>pg. 18

Waltham, Mass.

Photo: Yvette Sei/the Justice. Design: Yvette Sei/the Justice.

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TUESDAY, THE JUSTICE SEPTEMBER | ARTS 18,| 2018 TUESDAY, I ARTS JANUARY I THE JUSTICE 31, 2017

FALL FLEX

Photo illustration by YVETTE SEI/the Justice

Kiiara headlines Fall Flex 2018

By ANDREW BAXTER JUSTICE EDITOR

Photos by YVETTE SEI/the Justice

Campus Activities Board hosted Fall Flex featuring Abir and Kiiara on Aug. 15, 2018.

Opener, New York based artist, Abir, wowed the crowd with her charming personality, her entertaining performance and, most of all, her powerhouse vocals.

Kiiara headlined the Fall Flex concert, entertaining the crowd with a medley of her many chart-topping hits including crowd-favorite, Gold.

In a move that left many disappointed, Kiiara opted to sing over the studio tracks for some of the songs in her set.

ROSE ART MUSEUM

Transport to ‘Another World’ at the Rose

By LUKE LIU

JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Rose Art Museum Fall Opening premiered several new exhibitions last Friday composed of a variety of different media, leaving me amazed.

“To Build Another World” is a series of protest signage made by Brooklyn-based artist Tuesday Smillie that explores how different materials and color combinations can express a strong message with only a few words.

Among all of the textile works in the exhibit, “Again” struck me as the most powerful. At first, my attention was drawn to the structure of the sentence, which is unusually worded, “The razor blades we’ve swallowed will cut us again as we cough them up, to cut each other.”

Going beyond the words, the raw cut of the cloth and the red loose threads appeared to be dripping off the edge, which matches the “razor” theme in the sentence. The transition from literal presentation to a more abstract, graphic one enhances the message that fighting maliciousness with cruelty will only lead to more brutal pain.

While Smillie’s slogans present a direct message to the public, “Plunder” by Tony Lewis is a more abstract work that focuses on the use of space and other alternative materials. While the piece looks simple from far away, every part of the work imparts a sense of uneasiness: The whole structure is made from slices of rubber bands with charcoal handprints all over the wall behind it. Contrary to the surrounding area, which is nice and clean, the dark

rubber forces a sense of heaviness on viewers.

To strengthen its effect, the exhibition is displayed next to a set of stairs. Museum-goers need to walk down the stairs while appoaching the object, as though they are entering into a void. This reminds me of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., designed

by Maya Lin. Both works use basic elements: granite in the Memorial and rubber bands in “Plunder” to create a force field that grabs the viewers’ focus.

Last but not least, “The Undisciplined Collector” by Mark Dion is probably my favorite among all the exhibitions. Because the piece is structured as a room, it feels as though you are entering into a different world from the museum. On one hand, the details of the room reflect the taste of the “Undisciplined Collec-

tor.” From little bottles containing paintings to large sculptures, the curator of the room evidently has keen interests in a variety of cultures. On the other hand, this does not seem like any room you would find in a house — it is filled with antiques, old books and an excessive number of trinkets, to the point that there is little space to move around. More precisely, it feels like a room set up solely for its owner to sit down on the couch and enjoy the view, which makes it a perfect room for a museum.

This was my first time in the Rose Art Museum, and I very much enjoyed it. Not only does it contain a surprisingly extensive collection of artwork, but also the exhibitions cover a diverse variety of art forms. It won’t take a long time to walk through the building, but there is always something for everyone.

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THEI ARTS JUSTICE I ARTS I TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017 THE JUSTICE I TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

THEATER REVIEW

Deis does ‘Annie’ in 24 hours

ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

ROUGH RIDE: New Yorkers gather together in close quarters to ride the subway across town.

By MADDIE HERRUP JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Every year, a group of students have the opportunity to perform in a musical with only one day of preparation. Nothing, not even the name of the musical, is revealed until exactly 24 hours before the start of the show, and each student must do their best to perform a solid, often comical, production for the quickly-sold-out event. Pulling off this large-scale performance in such a small time frame requires a lot of skill, and this year’s musical, “Annie,” did not disappoint.

“Annie” takes place in the 1930s and stars 11-year-old Annie, a girl living in an orphanage with the ruthless Miss Hannigan. Annie feels trapped until she gets the opportunity to spend the Christmas holiday with billionaire Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks. The residents of his household, including Warbucks himself, come to love Annie and wish to help her find her longlost parents, despite Miss Hannigan’s and others’ attempts at sabotage.

With a large number of actors and an enthusiastic audience, the energy in the room was unmistakable even before the musical began.

Considering the time constraints of the 24-Hour Musical, you can imagine the tiny mishaps that inevitably happen. That is part of the fun! Talented students come together with only a day to learn everything, and the result is a room full of laughs and cheers.

Maybe Annie’s wig falls off, maybe another actor improvises their lines, or maybe during a musical number the students are out of sync for a moment. That is all part of the show, and,

ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

SERVANT ENSEMBLE: The servants all gather to take orders from Grace, Mr. Warbucks’ secretary and household manager.

rather than having any worries or cares about messing up on a line, the show goes on, with the actors laughing along with the audience. Perfection is an ideal that rarely happens in even the most meticulously rehearsed shows, thus making “Annie” enter-

taining for everyone.

Mia Rubinstein’s ’22 enthusiasm and laughter through every imperfection kept the audience giggling cheerfully. The audience especially delighted in her humorous interactions with Annie’s dog. Sandy, played

by Jesse Blackman ’22. The two were frequently onstage together and consistently made the audience, or each other, laugh during their unrehearsed scenes. Then there was Talia Jacobson ’22 as Ms. Hannigan — with each memorable phrase, angry scream and

swig of liquor, she truly got into and stayed in her role.

All of these and more amazing actors, along with skillful singers, brought together a performance that students on and off-stage can reminisce happily about.

FILM REVIEW

‘Young Marx’ biopic proves soporific

By MENDEL WEINTRAUB JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The Goethe-Institut, an international organization that promotes the worldwide study of German culture, came to Brandeis to show Raoul Peck’s 2017 film “The Young Marx” as part of its continuing “Marx NOW” film series, a celebration of Karl Marx’s bicentennial. The event, held on Sept. 5 in Wasserman Cinematheque, saw the convergence of many groups from both inside and outside the Brandeis community, and was co-sponsored by the The Center for German and European Studies, the Department of German, Russian, Asian Languages and Literature. The program opened with introductions from both

Prof. Sabine von Mering (GRALL), the director of CGES, and Karin Oehlenschläger, program curator for the Goethe-Institut in Boston.

In her introduction to the film, Oehlenschläger explained that it was a passion project not only made to depict the life of its subject, but also to convey his ideas through film.

“The Young Marx” begins eerily: The camera fades in on a foggy wood, filled with peasants (Marx’s proletariat) collecting fallen branches off the forest floor. As the scene unfolds, Marx’s voice narrates off-screen, explaining the plight of the workers and how they are forced into performing “criminal acts,” which he does not believe are crimes. As he goes on, men on horses attack the peasants. These conditions, Marx (portrayed by

August Diehl) explains, will only lead to a proletariat rebellion. The scene accomplishes precisely what Peck set out to do: represent Marx’s philosophy through cinema.

From there, the film takes a wrong turn, and coasts until the credits roll. What begins as an homage to Marx turns into a conventional biopic, laced with forced discussion of communist ideas. The movie practically yells these ideas at you; yet, no matter how loud it gets, it never bears a modicum of urgency. For a film that was made with the intent to visually depict Marx’s philosophy, it conforms far too strictly to conventions of narrative cinema, focusing on the microcosm instead of the collective.

The principal characters therefore become a small bourgeois society

in their own right, completely detracting from the desired message of the movie. In his emphasis on the central characters, Peck forgets to depict the crippled proletariat in a sympathetic way.

“The Young Marx” suffers from the same problem that many films about writers tend to have: It forgets to emphasize the importance of Marx’s work. Alternatively, you could look at another film that screened at the Wasserman Cinematheque, “Spotlight,” to see how such a task would be done right.

“Spotlight” does not just depict characters trying to tell a story; the story they are trying to tell becomes the main focus of the movie.

The film features a serviceable supporting turn from the criminally under-recognized Vicky Krieps, who

plays Marx’s wife Jenny. However, her on-and-off presence is not enough to buoy the film up to the point of making it watchable.

The movie is hard to sum up, because how does one realistically summarize the infinite? Truly, the film feels endless and aimless. Too many of the scenes are fixated on conversations between Marx and his comrades.

Unsurprisingly, they agree with each other and any presence of conflict is sucked through their nostrils as they gleefully breathe the same air.

Put simply, “The Young Marx” is painfully boring. Just ask the woman at the screening who literally snored through the final half hour.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 | ARTS | THE JUSTICE

INTERVIEW

Brandeis TALKS

If you could pick the 24-Hour Musical, what would you choose and why?

Leah Sherin ’19 YVETTE SEI/the Justice

This week, justArts spoke with Leah Sherin ’19, one of the directors of the 24Hour Musical this year.

Reika Oshima ’21 “‘Heathers: the Musical’ because it has an awesome soundtrack. ... The main lead Heather is such a badass and I would love to play [her].”

JustArts: What is your personal experience with the Undergraduate Theater Collective at Brandeis?

MAYA ZANGER-NADIS/the Justice

Emma Kenney ’21 “I would have to say ‘Hamilton’ because I wouldn’t be able to afford to go otherwise.”

Zoe Klein ’21 “I would like 24-Hour Musical to put on the play ‘Cats’ because I miss my cat.”

Julian Snyder ’21 “It should definitely be ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ because I feel like Brandeis isn’t Jewish enough.”

—Photographed and compiled by Andrew Baxter/the Justice.

STAFF’S Top Ten

ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

Top Ten Business Ideas

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Diva’s delivery 5 Cold War concern 9 Grade school subject 14 High-ranking mafioso 16 Sing gently 17 Home to the U.N. 18 “___ español?”

19 Grp. that disapproves of things that are NSFW? 20 ____ Tour 22 Like some meds, for short 23 Diner on “Alice” 26 “Enough already!”

27 Summer hrs.

28 Glass on air 29 Washington’s San _____ Islands 32 Harry Potter’s mom 34 Talk out of 36 Good person to recommend a restaurant 39 Proverb that doesn’t support homeschooling 42 Frequent foe of Larry on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” 43 Like a well-loved book 44 Jessica of “Good Luck Chuck” 46 Omnia vincit _____ (love conquers all) 47 Chemical suffix 48 Smash into 50 Word on a famous poster 52 Concordes, for short 53 “Aladdin” monkey 54 Gen _____ 55 Desert rock formation 58 Goose-step 60 It’s not recognized by Brandeis ... or a hint to 3 squares in this puzzle 65 Caesarean section?

66 Defeated in a contest of endurance 67 Place for vagrants, metaphorically 68 “_____ of the D’Urbervilles” 69 Chem. info

JA: Neither the audience nor the actors know anything about the musical until it’s time to start getting ready.

Who gets advance information and what info do you get?

LS: The production staff knows the show in advance — that’s directors, music directors, choreographers, set designers, lighting designers, sound designers and many others. We mostly do planning — we don’t start building the set or anything like that until the actors and techies arrive. But, we are able to familiarize ourselves with the show, think about how we want to put it on. We put together scene breakdowns in advance, but everything really happens once the 24 hours starts besides that.

CROSSWORD COURTESY OF EVAN MAHNKEN

15 Certain Soviet rifles, for short 21 Fa follower 23 Calf-length dresses 24 1-Across by Verdi 25 Tom Cruise movie, with “The” 26 Vitamin regimen 29 Foreigner hit 30 OPEC member 31 Pitches 33 _____ Bunny (character first seen in “Space Jam”) 35 Participate in a regatta 37 ____ provocateur 38 Bad things to bury 40 Certain theater area, for short 41 Words repeated by Puck in DOWN “A Midsummer Night’s 1 Who called the media Dream” “nattering nabobs of 45 Shinzo ____, PM of Japan negativism” 48 Harold who directed 2 Moore who is suing Sacha “Groundhog Day” Baron Cohen 49 One way to be taken 3 Promise often made in front of 51 Grain disease friends and family 52 Guac alternative 4 Big dos 55 Players in 17-Across 5 Yen 56 Morays, e.g.

6 Type of “pet” with an Obama 57 Music genre for a rudeboy variety 59 Mil. authority 7 Wager 61 Regret 8 Character in a ‘70s PSA for 62 “Addams Family” cousin Poison Control 63 Swamp 9 Talking Heads song with some 64 Former name for Tokyo lyrics in French 10 Tide rival 11 “Enough already!”

12 Team for Andrew Luck

SOLUTION COURTESY OF EVAN MAHNKEN

SUDOKU

Thank me later, Wall Street.

INSTRUCTIONS: Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

1. Rent-a-Buscemi 2. Japanese Killer Wasps R Us 3. I Break Mirrors With My Face In The United States 4. Starbucks, But They Sell Filing Cabinets Instead of Coffee 5. Mommy & Me & Manto’orok, the Dreaded One 6. Blockbuster, Again 7. Frat Bros Without Borders 8. Kanye Everywhere System 9. Viking Funerals for Weasels 10. Brain Hurting Juice Stand

JA: Why does the 24-Hour Musical need three directors and two music directors?

LS: There is so much happening all at once. At any given time, we might be rehearsing two different scenes and a song, or a dance and a scene and a song. So, we have to be in a lot of places at once. That’s why there’s three directors, two music directors, two assistant music directors, two choreographers [and] two assistant choreographers. They also served in different roles. The music directors sit in the audience during the show to conduct, and the assistant music directors actually stand backstage helping to whisper the words to the actors. We have a lot of production staff to keep it all going … because there is so much happening at once.

JA: What is one thing that completely went wrong that you just had to give up on?

By Judah Weinerman JUSTICE EDITOR

Leah Sherin: I’ve been involved with the UTC since freshman year. I’ve acted, directed and been on production staff for a few different shows throughout the years. I’ve been in [the 24-Hour Musical] every year since freshman year and it’s been one of my favorite parts of being involved in theater at Brandeis.

LS: Towards the end of the show, there is a song called “I Don’t Need Anything But You,” and it’s one of my favorite songs, one of the most beloved songs in “Annie.” And we were sitting there, the song is about to start, and we’re like, “Where’s the music?” And there’s no music for this song! But the music directors just … started the song and the actors sang it beautifully a cappella. And as soon as it started, I knew it was going to be just fine and they were going to have a lot of fun with it. The audience started clapping and snapping along and that’s what 24-hour is all about. … It turned out totally great and it was a really memorable moment.

JA: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

LS: I love 24-Hour! I’m sad that this is my last one.

Solution to last issue’s sudoku

Puzzle courtesy of www.sudokuoftheday.com

—Maya Zanger-Nadis