Volume 12 Issue 14
www.brandeishoot.com
Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.
Many concerns brought up at town hall
Off-campus students report increased police monitoring
By Jess Linde
By Hannah Schuster and Charlotte Aaron
Editor
Editors
Students brought up a number of concerns at a Sept. 9 town hall held by Brandeis University’s Interim President Lisa M. Lynch, Senior Vice President of Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel and Vice President of Operations James W. Gray, but few were addressed in full. At the meeting, Lynch confirmed that she was not a candidate for the Brandeis presidency, and will resume her duties as provost once a permanent president is chosen. Most questions were addressed quickly, except for those asked by Abbie Goldberg ’16 and Saren McAllister ’18, both student environmental activists at Brandeis, who demanded a definitive opinion from Lynch on divestment from fossil fuels. “We were promised an update last year, but we never heard from the committees on this,” McAllister said. In response, Lynch said, “We do not have a very large endow-
Officer Cory Amarante of the Waltham Police Department approached Brandeis students at their off-campus homes on Saturday, Aug. 29 and warned them, in what students called a “threatening” manner, not to host any parties at their residences. Off-campus homes approached include several of Brandeis’ unaffiliated fraternities such as Phi Kappa Psi, Zeta Beta Tau and Alpha Epsilon Pi, according to students present at their homes at the time of the visits. Amarante also approached residences of Brandeis’ soccer and baseball team members, as well as the home of at least one other group of Brandeis students. The previous night, several student groups hosted parties off-campus, including the baseball team, Sigma Alpha Mu and Phi Kappa Psi. Two officers from the Waltham Police Department shut down parties at Sigma Al-
lisa lynch and jim gray answering student question
ment, so it is hard to talk about divestment without also talking about having enough money to keep Brandeis running.” MacAllister and Goldberg refused to back down, promising to keep fighting for divestment, but Lynch encouraged them to contact Brandeis’ newest sustainability manager and contact her
photo by sharon cai/the hoot
office after the meeting. The meeting took place Wednesday evening in a sparsely-populated Levin Ballroom, and began with several students addressing financial issues. “After paying all my fees for tuition, housing and books, I have almost See TOWNHALL, page 3
Secured clubs’ allocations lower than expected By Rafael Rodriguez Special to the Hoot
In response to several large funding requests and alleged policy violations, the Brandeis Allocations Board has decided to limit the allocated budgets of several secured clubs on campus. According to Brandeis student and A-Board representative Alex Mitchell ’17, “More people [have] asked for more money than ever before, and we’ve had less money than we’ve had in previous years.” Mitchell has been keeping track of recent expenditures by clubs such as WBRS, the Brandeis radio station. According to Mitchell, WBRS’ budget request included funding for an all expense paid trip to the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, TX, for the General Manager and vice president of the club. According to Mitchell, this funding would have paid for the air-fare, price of entry, hotel cost and dining fee for the General Manager and vice president exclusively. “Most of WBRS’ requests were down right absurd,” said Mitchell. “This is a clear violation of A-board policy, and thus they were not funded.” Mitchell continued to stress that this is not new behavior for the club. “T-Shirts are forbidden by A-Board policy, but WBRS has given out T-shirts for years.” The Brandeis Hoot contacted current WBRS General Manager Harris Cohen ’16 for comment,
Inside this issue:
but Cohen declined to discuss the matter. SUMS (Student Union Management System) documents that WBRS requested $71,000 in addition to a separate $130,000 requested for Springfest. WBRS received 56% of the $71,000 and 87% of the $130,000 Springfest request. In addition to violations of policy, A-board has decided to cut back on secured clubs with funding that is immense in proportion to non-secure and chartered clubs. “Student Events’ request alone was more than every other non-secured club combined,” said Mitchell. The SUMS website documents Student Events’ $300,000 request as well, reporting a 53% allocation. “There are over 220 clubs at Brandeis we have to fund, and that number seems to only go up every year,” Mitchell said. “Especially given that this is a tight year for the budget, we felt it might be better to target larger clubs than pick on the smaller ones.” Until Sept. 16, the Allocations Board will be accepting appeal submissions for secured clubs that feel they need or deserve more funding. As of now, both Brandeis Television (BTV) and Student Events have filed for appeal. Due to a clerical error, BTV received zero percent of their requested allocation, but A-board approved their appeal, and BTV was budgeted for the fall semester.
News: Former SFS Dean returns to Brandeis Page 2 Opinion: New Sherman lacks old charm Page 15 Features: Lemberg offers impressive youth ed. Page 5 Editorial: Dialogue needed on- and off-campus Page 10
September 11, 2015
pha Mu and Phi Kappa Psi. Sam Krystal ’17, a member of Phi Kappa Psi, reported that the officer warned him to be prepared with $40 for bail if the fraternity hosted a party at the house. Krystal identified the officer who approached him as Amarante, the Waltham Police Department’s liaison to Brandeis. Krystal was sitting on the porch of his fraternity’s house with two other students, including Leon Tillmanns ’18, when Amarante approached his house in uniform around 5 p.m. on Aug. 29. According to Krystal, as well as students from other residences, Amarante stressed the repercussions of hosting a party. “This officer also made it very clear that should we engage in any external social behaviors at that house, they, being the Waltham police, would immediately come to our house, and we should have $40 cash in hand in preparation to be charged with the following charges: disturbing See POLICE, page 3
Hill, Pogrebin speak on generational gap
discussions on letty cottin pogrebin’s new book “single jewish male seeking soulmate”
By Emily Sorkin Smith editor
Professor Anita Hill (HS) and author Letty Cottin Pogrebin ’59 held a discussion focused on the changing dynamics of feminism, Judaism and social justice over the course of generations. Both Hill and Pogrebin are prominent feminists in their fields, studying topics like race, gender and women in religion. Pogrebin’s newest book, “Single Jewish Male Seeking Soulmate,” published in 2015, served as the basis for the conversation between Hill and
24-Hour musical
Theater rookies and veterans join forces to put on production of ‘Peter Pan’
Arts, Etc.: Page 9
her. The discussion was attended by over 500 members of the Brandeis community. Hill and Pogrebin discussed the disconnect that often exists between generations of social movements, and the desire of older generations to see their efforts and culture carried forth by the younger generations. In Pogrebin’s case, the gap is seen in terms of both Judaism and the feminist movement. They raised the question of whether these gaps can, or even should, be reconciled. The two expressed that while continuity is important,
photo by karen caldwell/the hoot
people should pay attention to what kind of continuity they value. Pogrebin’s book follows a young, Jewish man who has just promised his dying mother, a Holocaust survivor, that he will marry a Jewish woman, and raise Jewish children. He instead falls in love with a woman who is not Jewish, but rather a radical African-American activist. The book explores the same questions about how values and identity
Chum’s reopens
ZEBU! and Guerilla Toss rechristen Chum’s with punk-rock show put on by BAM/CO
Arts, Etc.: Page 7
See GAP, page 3