The Brandeis Hoot 03/20/2015

Volume 12 Number 8

www.brandeishoot.com

Students discuss ideal characteristics for future president

By Jess Linde

Student coffeehouse undergoes sudden reorganization

By Charlotte Aaron Editor

editor

A small group of students agreed that candidates to replace Fred Lawrence as Brandeis’ President ought to envision themselves as a long-term member of the Brandeis community, in a Thursday, March 19 discussion sponsored by the Student Union.

Attendees gathered in the International Lounge in Usdan for the event, led by Student Union President Sneha Walia ’15, Vice President Charlotte Franco ’15 and Student Representative to the Board of Trustees Grady Ward ’16, where they broke into three groups before sharing their conversations and ideas as a larger group. Ward and Walia began the event by clarifying the duties of the university president. “In our interactions with the administration, we have found that the number one feature the board looks for is fundraising ability,” Walia said. “In our discussion

March 20, 2015

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.

photo by emma hanselman/the hoot

discussion Students come together to discuss what qualities they are looking for in the next

president of Brandeis Univeristy

today we would like to discuss what students want, and how we can work to make sure our interests are represented,” added Ward.

Ward, who will be speaking

for 30 uninterrupted minutes at the upcoming board meeting, also asked that students be specific and respectful in their disSee PRES., page 11

The Cholmondeley’s Coffeehouse’s (Chum’s) staff of 13 students is unsure of their continuing roles at the coffeehouse after the unexpected Chum’s “reorganization” announced this week.

The employees were told not to return to work after an incident with the fire alarm on Friday, March 6. Since then, they have been told they will have the opportunity to reapply for their jobs in the future. Brandeis has not released a statement regarding the current status of the employees, but has stated that all positions are being redefined, and regular hours and service will not resume until a new staff is hired, but previously scheduled events at Chum’s will still be held.

Despite the suddenness and firmness of the notification, the Chum’s staff has not been “fired,” according to Brandeis spokesman

Bill Schaller. Yet the employees disagree with this statement.

“Flagel and the administration are claiming that we are not being fired and that they never told us we were going to be fired, which is obviously not the case because Chum’s is shut down, and we are not being paid, and we haven’t been working, and we are being asked to reapply,” stated Eli Philip ’15, a former Chum’s employee.

On the night of March 6, the fire alarm went off in Chum’s, a student-run space on campus.

When the two employees on shift checked the back hallway, they found students smoking. Against protocol, the employees did not evacuate the building, and when Brandeis Public Safety arrived, they told the students to close for the night.

The following Monday, March 9, three Chum’s employees met with Stephanie Grimes, assistant See CHUMS, page 3

Dharmic prayer center to replace Women’s Resource Center

By Mia Edelstein Editor

As of Friday, March 20, the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) will be vacated so that a Dharmic prayer center can occupy the space.

Following a meeting in the fall, the university notified the student groups that use the WRC that they would be required to relocate to the Student Sexuality Information Service suite, also in the SCC. The groups were given a week to relocate after a March 13 email from Assistant Dean of Students Stephanie Grimes. The new prayer center will be a space for followers of the Jainist, Sikh and Buddhist faiths and open on March 26, according to a Facebook post from the Dean of Students’ Office.

Located on the third floor of the SCC, the WRC houses Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) meetings, Students Talking About Relationships (STAR), peer counseling and an expansive library.

FMLA’s primary grievance is the university’s refusal to commit to and specify a new permanent space for the WRC. “Unfortunately, misogyny, sexism and violence against women in various forms is still very present in society at large and at Brandeis,” the FMLA E-board wrote in a

Inside this issue:

press release circulated on the club’s listserv and Facebook.

“Given this, we find it unacceptable that Brandeis is eliminating a space that is absolutely crucial—without actively working to find either an acceptable interim space or a permanent space for the Women’s Resource Center to occupy in the future.” FMLA is concerned that the Brandeis community will lose a safe space for marginalized genders.

FMLA President Zuri Gordon ’15 made clear that she supports a Dharmic prayer space, but she is upset that it will take over the space currently held by the Women’s Resource Center. “I don’t really mind if future FMLAs have to meet in a new room, but I do think that a Women’s Resource Center is a necessity,” Gordon told The Brandeis Hoot.

“I also don’t have a problem with the addition of a new chaplaincy, I just wish it didn’t have to come at the expense of the WRC.” A page called “Brandeis Deans,” which was deleted on March 19 hours after its first post was made, explained that the SSIS suite was chosen because of the vacancy following the moves of Triskelion, the Queer Resource Center and Queer People of Color to a suite See WSRC, page 3

News: Students push for Al-Quds partnership Arts, Etc.: Author Katherine Heiny to visit Opinion: New Meal plans are unacceptable Features: Brandeis faculty hold Pulitzer prizes Editorial: Admin. needs to listen to students

Page 2 Page 6 Page 12 Page 7 Page 10

photos by sharon cai/the hoot

pepose award

Stanford neuroscience William Newsome received the award this year.

Stanford neuroscientist receives sixth annual Jay Pepose ’75 Award in Vision Sciences

By Hannah Stewart staff

On Wednesday afternoon, March 18, in Gerstenzang 121, Stanford neuroscientist William Newsome received Brandeis University’s sixth annual Jay Pepose ’75 Award in Vision Sciences.

The ceremony was called “A New Look at Gating: Selective Integration of Sensory Signals through Network Dynamics.”

Introducing himself and his background relating to vision, Newsome stated, “Over the last

bronstein week

Spirit week celebrates fromer profssor Leo Bronstein with fun activites

Hoot Scoops: Page 9

10-15 years, I’ve used the visual system as a platform to ask questions … with a real emphasis on visual decision-making.”

Working with two post-doctoral students from Stanford’s School of Medicine, Newsome’s research focuses on the relationships between different types of visual stimuli and their influence upon the decision-making process in primates, as well as the neural map that processes stimuli and turns it into an output reaction.

Newsome described his

work as “context-sensitive decision-making. The classic example of context-sensitive decision-making is the Wisconsin card sorting task.”

In this experiment, subjects are presented with four cards, each with different combinations of shapes and colors printed on it.

“The key thing about the card-sorting task is that you run different trials under different instruction sets… Under See PEPOSE AWARD, page 3

tsa hosts comedy night

TSA hosts lively event with improvisational comedy games

Arts: Page 16

NEWS

2 The Brandeis Hoot

March 20 , 2015

Students return to Lawrence’s office to promote renewal of Al-Quds partnership

By Hannah Schuster editor

More than 30 students and alumni from the Brandeis University and Al-Quds University Student Dialogue Initiative staged a press conference in President Fred Lawrence’s waiting room to express their dissatisfaction with the administration’s behavior regarding the Brandeis/Al-Quds partnership on Friday, March 13.

Participants sought to express why they believe the university must reinstate the partnership. They believe dialogue is an essential value of the university, which suspending the partnership threatens.

In November 2013, demonstrators marched at Al-Quds wearing dark clothing, carrying fake weapons and shouting anti-Semitic slurs. According to an August 2014 Hoot article, the Al-Quds president issued a statement condemning the events, which Lawrence found “unacceptable and inflammatory.” Lawrence suspended the partnership and Catie Stewart ’16 and Eli Philip ’15 founded the Initiative shortly after.

Initiative students have attempted to meet with Lawrence for five months. On Friday, March 6, they held a sit-in at Lawrence’s office demanding a meeting, and on Tuesday, March 10 Stewart ’15, Philip ’15 and Naomi Hornstein ’15 met with Lawrence and Provost Lisa Lynch. However, they were disappointed with the meeting, leading them to host the press conference.

Participants expressed their dismay that Lawrence was not present during the event, even though it was held during his student office hour.

During her opening remarks at the conference, Stewart stated that at the Tuesday meeting Lawrence “demonstrated clearly that he is uninterested and unwilling to take a step toward renewing the partnership.” Stewart stated Lawrence refused to support student dialogue initiatives or look at their proposal for renewing the part-

photo from internet source

nership.

“It is unacceptable to silence student voices and to mislead the student body,” said Stewart. “Calling the status of the partnership suspended is only acceptable if the administration has plans to renew it.” Stewart feels renewing the partnership “has always been a ‘no’ in [Lawrence’s] mind.”

Philip and Hornstein also spoke at the beginning of the conference.

Philip believes it is Brandeis’ duty to “make right the hurt” caused to those who value the partnership and dialogue, noting they’ve “made strong connections and relationships with students at Al-Quds, and our experience with Al-Quds students have shown the power of dialogue between and across cultures.”

Hornstein discussed the past Brandeis/Al-Quds relationship, explaining that Brandeis offered training and support to Al-Quds faculty.

She also stated, “[F]aculty exchanges created a lot of really close bonds,” between faculty and staff.

“It … allowed for a really amazing exchange of knowledge and ideas.”

Hornstein believes the relationship between a Jewish-sponsored and Palestinian university signifies an ability to “reach across barriers.”

At the conference, Leah Susman ’18 shared the proposal the Initiative had hoped to share with Lawrence.

It calls for Brandeis’ administration to reach out to Al-Quds and devise a plan to reinstate it this year. It compels the administration to support student dialogue initiatives, including a summer trip to Al-Quds.

During a Q&A in which Stewart, Philip and Hornstein discussed their meeting with Lawrence, Stewart said they asked Lawrence to match financial contributions from Al-Quds for the summer trip and to help bring Al-Quds students to Brandeis, but he refused.

According to Stewart, Lawrence ws unphased by student support for the partnership. “He didn’t understand the full power that we have, and how dedicated this group of people is,” she

said.

During the event many students spoke, discussing the importance of the partnership and dialogue, telling stories of how they became involved with this issue and reading poetry.

Elizabeth Villano ’16 shared an email in which Al-Quds students thanked Brandeis students for striving to renew the partnership and promote cross-cultural understanding.

For Risa Dunbar ’17, the partnership was a major reason she came to Brandeis. Though she believes Brandeis encourages students to acquire knowledge, she said, “I’m outraged that my university is not doing all that it can to give me the modes to experience a critical kind of learning and that’s cross-cultural exchanged academia.”

Josh Berman ’15 said he was eager to explore different perspectives on issues related to Israel in college, discussing his involvement with bVIEW. Though at first he felt the university supported open-dialogue, he believes curtailing the partnership is a depar-

ture from this.

Susman also feels the university “is not living up to its values.” She asked, “If the Brandeis administration claims to be a liberal-minded institution that firmly believes in embracing plurality and respecting all perspectives, then why is dialogue with Palestinian students now unacceptable?”

Niri Halperin ’15 read an excerpt of the statement from the Al-Quds president, which Lawrence found “unacceptable and inflammatory.”

She believes suspending the partnership harms the people of Al-Quds and Palestine.

“We silenced a people already muted. We continued a narrative that says that these are people who are not deserving of rights or anything of that sort,” said Halperin, who feels Lawrence does not recognize this.

Sophie Warren ’18 (Hoot staff writer) described her experiences working with Seeds of Peace International, which promotes dialogue between youth from areas of conflict.

“In spite of everything that they’ve gone through, they’re willing to sit down and talk about it,” said Warren.

Relating to Brandeis, Warren stated, “We need a partnership because dialogue is a revolution for peace and justice and truth, all the things that I believe this university has stood for in the past and can stand for again.”

Philip concluded the event by thanking students for attending both on that day and on all future days and for continuing to work towards the restoration of the partnership. “This movement and this partnership is going to grow, and we’re going to make it grow,” said Philip.

The Initiative has now begun a photo campaign, where students are photographed holding signs that express support for the partnership.

The Brandeis Hoot inquired as to Lawrence’s reaction to the students’ efforts and requests, but Lawrence and the Office of Communications did not respond to The Hoot’s questions by press time.

Reinharz speaks about experiences in Germany

By Emily Smith editor

Shulamit Reinharz, director of the Women’s Studies Research Center (WSRC), screened a film of her time in Germany on Thursday afternoon, exploring a phenomenon she calls “anti-anti-Semitism.” In October 2013, Reinharz went to Germany to see the town where her father lived, Gunzenhousen, and meet with a group of students taking an active role in learning about the lives of Jews killed or displaced by Nazis.

Her experiences exposed her to many other Germans who are researching Jewish communities that once existed and trying to educate themselves and others on the Holocaust. Reinharz is the wife of former University President Jehuda Reinharz Ph.D. ’72.

Anti-anti-Semitism is, according to Reinharz, is “an attitude among some Germans and others that [it] is important to educate other people to be respectful of Jews, that [it] is important to understand Jewish history.

It is important to express regret about what happened to the Jews of their town, it’s important to develop relations with the descendants of people who were murdered from their town, and it is important to understand the feelings of the descendants of the former Jewish residents of their town.”

Reinharz’s mental connection between Judaism and Germany began

when she was very young and living in a house where German language and culture played a huge role. Her parents often spoke German around the house.

“They particularly lapsed into German when relatives and their friends got together for the Passover Seder. In fact, the only people I ever heard speak German were Jews”, she said.

Though Reinharz grew up hearing German and associating it with Jews, she felt a strong hatred towards Germany. She explained this, saying, “I hated the Germans because of what that country and its people had done to my family and to the Jewish people in general.”

Reinharz never intended to spend any time in Germany, she said, visiting the first time only in passing on the way to another European nation, and the second time on invitation from the German government.

Her experience in Germany the first time was very negative, and very different from her experience on her last trip. “We stayed in Germany for a few days, and I had very strong psychological reactions. First, I couldn’t get over the fact that everyone seemed to be Jewish, because everyone was speaking German. Second, I was furious all the time,” she explained.

When she was planning her third trip, she decided to write to the German consulate in Boston and asked

to be connected to Gunzenhousen’s Jewish community. She was told, to her surprise, that no Jewish community exists in her father’s hometown. Instead, she was contacted by a German schoolteacher whose ninth grade class has been conducting an in-depth interdisciplinary research project on the lives of the Gunzenhousen’s Jews.

Her video shows the presentations these students gave to her while standing outside of houses where Jews once lived, places where synagogues once stood and the Jewish area of Gunzenhousen.

The students talked about the lives of the Jews they had researched, describing their professions and families, whether they had been killed in concentration camps or had been able to escape. Reinharz frequently paused the video to point out how similar the children were to American children, or note how enthusiastic they were about the project.

While outside the home of a Jewish doctor who lived before the Holocaust, the young children read some information they received from a German priest. They told Reinharz that the doctor was known to be very talented and generous, explaining that he helped Christians as well as Jews.

In another part of the video, the students showed Reinharz to a memorial constructed in Gunzenhousen. The work of art had plaques commem-

photo from internet source

orating entire families of Jews killed in the Holocaust and quotes from the Bible.

At one point in the video, a man from Gunzenhousen walked by carrying a tote bag with the Israeli flag and the word “Mossad,” the name of the Israeli secret service, on one side.

The other side had an image of a menorah. After showing this segment of the video, Reinharz argued that it was a testament to how much interest the citizens of Gunzenhousen have in Jewish history.

At the end of the video, Reinharz shows a meeting she had with the mayor of Gunzenhousen and other people involved in the teacher’s project at the city’s Town Hall. The mayor

explained his belief about anti-Semitism to Reinharz, saying that it is just like young German’s negative views of immigrants. He described how many young people in Germany see immigrants as people who steal their jobs, take their tax money and require assistance from the government. However, the mayor said that these immigrants, like everybody else, are doing nothing less than escaping war and fighting for their lives.

Though Reinharz formulated her theory of “anti-antiSemitism” based on her time in Gunzenhousen, she believes it can garner interest worldwide. As she put it, education is crucial in the prevention of future genocides.

March 20, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot

WRC services transferred to SSIS office

NEWS

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Pepose Award winner examines the relationship between types of visual stimuli From PEOPOSE AWARD, page 1

From WRC, page 1

in Usdan. The deleted post also stressed that “the WRC is not cut nor closed.”

FMLA, STAR and SSIS contend that this is not an appropriate space, however, mainly concerning the fundamental difference between SSIS and FMLA: that SSIS is apolitical while FMLA is explicitly political. Currently, the WRC reflects the political, pro-choice nature of FMLA, but FMLA worries that because “SSIS cannot have the word ‘feminist’ on their walls, the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance cannot … meaningfully claim that space as our own in any way,” according to an extension of the press release.

Student protests of the university’s decision have flooded Facebook, with many people posting and sharing FMLA’s press release with the hashtag “#ProtectTheWRC.” Other student organizations, including Brandeis Students Against Sexual Violence, the Brandeis Labor Coalition and Jaded, criticized the university’s decision.

The WRC has been in existence for more than 17 years and has amassed a library of books, artwork, videos, periodicals and pamphlets. It also serves as storage space for FMLA and STAR materials.

STAR and Grimes could not be reached for comment before publication.

Advertisement

one instruction set, you’ll be asked to report the color that’s on the card … On another instruction set, you’ll be asked to report shape … On yet a third instruction task, you’ll be asked to report the number of items …

The point is, you have the same stimulus coming into your visual system, but you have different behavioral reports depending on the context, or the instruction set, you’re running under.”

In other words, the cards are exactly the same from trial to trial. The only difference is in what the subject is being asked to do.

Newsome is interested in how the instructions, or the context, changes subject behavior patterns.

“We have trained monkeys to do the context-sensitive visual task and we don’t use cards [or] verbal reports, but we use these dynamic motion stimuli,” Newson elaborated. “In the new version of this task, the dots that the animals look at on a TV screen … they have two properties. First of all, they could be drifting … either to the right or to the left, and the monkey will, under one context, report the direction of motion, right or left, by making an eye movement to the right target or the left target. The dots also have this property of color … some proportion is green, some proportion is red, and the second instruction set the monkey gets to report is, is the dominant color green or red?”

With three different intensity levels for each of the four characteristics, there are 36 possible

photo by sharon cai/the hoot

combinations for the monkey to view in any trial. Newsome attempted to arrange two trials with each combination, without overstressing the subject animals. If the monkey makes the correct choice, he is rewarded.

If he makes the incorrect choice, he loses the opportunity for a reward.

Explaining how complicated the decision-making process actually is, Newsome explained, “He [the monkey] has to process the information, render a decision based upon the relevance of the information, he has to somehow ignore or disregard the irrelevant information … and make a decision, in which direction is he going to move his eyes.”

His results indicated that, at the level of a single unit, the values of color and motion were

completely intermixed. There was no distinct relationship between the two signals.

However, at the population level, the two quantities can be separated. Together, these results seem to indicate that both relevant and irrelevant sensory inputs are present in the decision-making process, regardless of the provided instruction set.

Newsome had expected that the irrelevant data would be “filtered out” in the pre-frontal cortex.

The selection of a choice appears to occur comparatively late in the process, possibly within the pre-frontal cortex, or other related areas of the brain.

Newsome predicts that in the next five years, “The whole field will be vectoring in on this problem … and trying to invent the best tools”

Univ. ‘restructures’ Chum’s staff, employees claim wrongful termination From CHUMS, page 1

dean of students and director of student activities, and Robert Steinberg, a student activities specialist and the liaison between the Chum’s employees and the administration. At the meeting, the employees were told that because of the fire alarm incident, they were thinking about firing the staff, Niri Halperin ’15, a Chum’s employee, explained. On Wednesday, March 11, the entire staff met with Grimes and Steinberg and were told that they would hear about whether or not they would keep their jobs by the end of the weekend.

Immediately after the meeting, the Chum’s employees convened to write a proposal about how to move forward from the incident.

They wanted to prove to the administration that they were willing to, and wanted, change. “We sat down with the staff and really poured hours and our souls into this Google Doc,” said Liz Villano ’16. In the final document that was sent to the administration, the Chum’s employees proposed seven new managerial roles, fire protocol training for all employees and outlined ways to improve Chum’s employee relationships with Student Activities.

On Monday, March 16, all 13 Chum’s employees received an email that stated Brandeis was

“restructuring” Chum’s. “They did not say we were being fired in the email, but they did say there was ‘restructuring’ happening, and that we were welcome to reapply” said Halperin. While the email did acknowledge and thank the employees for the effort they put into the proposal and their ideas, the employees were not invited to any further discussion regarding the restructuring of Chum’s.

“We are reviewing how Chum’s operates as there have been significant challenges associated with it, and we deem it necessary to review and reorganize the management and staffing structure,” wrote Bill Schaller, executive director of integrated media, in an email to The Brandeis Hoot. While the Brandeis administration is reorganizing Chum’s, the former employees are left without shifts and without pay.

“Being encouraged to reapply basically means that we’re fired.

They just could not use the word because they are not legally able to do so because we are entitled to a verbal warning and a written warning,” said Josh Berman ’15.

Berman, in addition to the other employees, believe that because Brandeis did not follow proper protocol when firing the employees, as described in the student handbook, Rights and Responsibilities, under “Involuntary Termination,” Brandeis neglects

save chum’s

photo from internet source

Meme created by former Chum’s staff member went viral this week among Brandeis students.

to acknowledge the fact that the employees were fired.

While the Chum’s employees are unable to distinguish their current employment standing from being fired, Schaller wrote, “All current members of Chum’s staff are being evaluated for positions in the reorganization,

and many of the changes being implemented were suggested by the student leadership of Chum’s.

Any student currently employed who is not matched with a position will be offered another on-campus student employment slot, so no one has been fired by any measure.”

As of now, the Chum’s employees are without hours, without pay and waiting to reapply for their jobs in the future. “We think that it’s totally unjust and possibly illegal to fire all of us, and we are looking to organize students to make their voices heard,” said Berman.

ARTS, ETC.

March 20, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot 4

Brandeis prof. wins Grammy award

By Michelle Kim Editor

Jason McStoots, a Brandeis music lecturer, is a tenor vocalist and was part of an ensemble with the Boston Early Music Festival. This year, the ensemble won the Grammy for Best Opera Performance for their album “Charpentier: La Descente D’Orphée aux Enfers.”

McStoots grew up singing in church and school choir. However, he was not seriously exposed to classical music until he went to college.

In his first year, he performed Bach’s “Magnificat.” “That experience has stayed with me and inspired my love of baroque music. At this point in my career, I basically specialize in Early Music. A simple way to describe that would be music before Mozart,” he explained in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot.

Almost 10 years ago, McStoots began singing with the Boston Early Music Festival when he heard that the festival had a chorus member drop out. “After an audition, I was asked to sing in the chorus for that production and the following festival was also given a solo role in Lully’s ‘Psyché,’

brandeis pride

Jason McStoots sings his way to a Grammy.

which was my first Grammy nomination, BEMF’s third nomination,” he said. According to McStoots, the BEMF is a regular annual concert season presenting its own concerts and bringing in outside groups as well as

a biennial international music festival that brings the most influential performers of baroque, renaissance and medieval music together. It highlights the efforts of musicians involved in Historically Informed Performance,

photo from internet source

which a movement of music historians and performers that approaches the performance of ancient music in its historical context.

BEMF recorded “La Descente” in Bremen, Germany. “We had per-

formed the work many times before we recorded it, so it was like returning to an old friend. Speaking of friends, one of the best parts of my work with BEMF, besides the impeccable music-making, is the fact that we are a regular corps of performers who have been together very consistently over the last eight years and have become close friends,” said McStoots fondly.

“The piece itself is hauntingly beautiful, but I can’t honestly say I expected it to win. Who knows why people like what they like, but I am very happy it did win.”

As with every Grammy winner, McStoots is extremely thrilled about the honor. What makes him the happiest is that the win will bring more attention to BEMF and its beautiful work.

People who may never have experienced the beauty of music from the French baroque era will hear these gorgeous sounds.

Besides BEMF, McStoots also sings regularly with a renaissance vocal ensemble called Blue Heron and with the NYC early music ensemble TENET. McStoot’s future plans include exploring the music of Bach and a series of concerts leading up to 2020 delving into the music of Johannes Ockeghem.

This year’s BEMF will feature the three operas of Claudio Monteverdi.

Brandeis PCC planning ‘Healing HeArts’ event

By Sabrina Pond Staff

Though Brandeis is a comparatively small university with about 3,000 students and 1,000 staff members, it is still a large community in a sense.

If you think about it, it is almost impossible for any one undergraduate to know all the staff, though he or she may become very close to a handful of professors over their tenure at the university.

Despite the fact that many of Brandeis’ staff is exemplary in many ways, there are those precious jewels that remain hidden and unknown to students over four years. Even so, their exceptionality shines through and catches our eye. Joy von Steiger is one of those glistening jewels.

Joy von Steiger is the Senior Associate Director and Clinical Director of Brandeis’ Psychological Counseling Center (PCC). She earned her doctorate from Berner Institute at Adelphi University, and trained at Beth Israel Hospital and McLean Hospital.

In those places she treated children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families and developed a specialization in the treatment of bipolar disorder, and gained a lot of experience counseling women who have experienced trauma. She is an extremely devoted staff member here at Brandeis, and provides psychological counseling services for both undergraduates and graduates alike.

In an exclusive interview, the psychologist recounted her academic journey, stating, “So, I always knew I wanted to be a psychologist as far back as high school.I found psychology fascinating and I was the person [that] all of my friends came to with their problems.I was very interested in what motivates people, peoples’ relationships, and how people develop

from children into adults.” Though many students change their majors and minors as they meander through their undergraduate years of college, Steiger was one of those few who discovered at a younger age—early adulthood—what she was meant to do. Or, at the very least, what interested her the most. It was this initial curiosity and interest that would define her college years and life beyond.

For Steiger, one particular point of intrigue led her on a trip of discovery. Even though her interests began in a very specific place, she allowed them to develop and grow over time: “I dabbled in a wide range of psychological pursuits through college and graduate school, from research with rats to teaching autistic children, but finally settled on an interest in trauma and childhood development.I expanded my areas of interest during my post-doctoral training to adoles-

cent and family treatment and developed an expertise in young adults and bipolar illness.” Her varied experience makes her incredibly well rounded and shows her versatility in the field.

Steiger explored so many potential avenues, so many side streets and boulevards, only later determining her focus and her intended career.

Steiger is one of those people who really like their job. In a world overrun by feelings of inadequacy, this is really a rare find. Actually, she feels incredibly at home in Brandeis’ community, and recounts her smooth transition from academia to the working world: “It was a natural progression for me to come to a college counseling center where I might be able to use the range of my experience to continue to work with young adults.The exciting thing about this job is that I am able to work with students as a psychotherapist but I am also able to spend time with

students doing workshops and other outreach efforts.” And in the most sincere way, as if it explains it all, she openly and very genuinely expresses, “I love my job.”

Steiger’s talents, however, don’t end there.

Steiger is planning an upcoming event called “Healing HeArts,” which focuses on the ability of art to express that which words fail to. Basically, the event calls students from around campus to submit their visual artwork, which will be displayed at the Psychological Counseling Center on April 24th from 4 to 7. In her own words, the purpose of the event is meant to encourage people to be creative as a way to detox and encourage mental health: “The creative process can be expression of how we change and grow and can help us to change and grow.Therapy itself is a very creative process.Healing HeArts was

HEALING WITH ART Joy von Steiger of the PCC is the mastermind behind the “Healing HeArts” event.

conceived of as an opportunity for students to share with others their expressions of growth and change or what mental health means to them.

We are hoping that this exhibit will be an opportunity to share with the community the diverse expressions of growth, change, and mental health/ illness and will help to reduce the stigma of mental healthcare and the range of the human emotional experience.”Healing HeArts gives students the opportunity to display their work and impact the lives of other people— art is a truly amazing medium to express oneself and question the things we only naturally believe are true.

Acceptable forms of visual art for submission include music,video, and poetry. If you’re interested to submit work,email jvonst@brandeis.edu by April 2nd. Depending on the artist’s wishes, artwork may be exhibited throughout the year.

photo from internet source

March 20, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot

ARTS

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Sophomore Jessie Eichinger discusses extensive theater experience

By Lisa Petrie Staff

Brandeis’ Tympanium Euphorium will be performing “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” through March 22. The Brandeis Hoot was lucky enough to interview Jessie Eichinger ’17, who will be starring as Marcy in the production.

Eichinger has been performing in musical theater since she was seven or eight years old, one of her earliest roles being Gretel in “The Sound of Music” in a local theater in her hometown, where her mom, aunt and grandma worked in the box office. The theater was having auditions for “The Sound of Music,” and her mom asked her if she would like to go, and Eichinger told her yes. Her mother asked her if she could sing, and she was able to show her that she could match notes on the piano. According to Eichinger, she “never left the theater” after getting the part.

Eichinger has a hard time answering what was her favorite show she has ever been in. “All of the parts I’ve played have been so rewarding,” she says. She lists Sarah Brown from “Guys and Dolls,” Chuckie from “Ru-

grats” and Penny from “Hairspray” as some of her favorite roles, but if she was forced to choose a favorite role she would probably say Penny, because it was different from anything else she had ever done and it helped her develop a new type of character.

According to Eichinger, every show probably has a dream role in it for her.

However, she cites Natalie from “Next to Normal” and Cathy from “The Last Five Years” as her dream roles of the moment.

“I like [‘Spelling Bee’ because] it’s funny and focuses more on character development than plot. You learn so much about the kids and the adults as well, and the audience really grows to love them. It’s also incredibly difficult musically and I don’t have much experience with harmonies, so I’m learning a lot and it’s really helping me grow. Personally, I like working on something so unique with such a talented cast that I am so lucky to be a part of, and working with a wonderful prod staff.”

According to Eichinger, her favorite song in “Spelling Bee” is “Pandemonium” because it is so chaotic. She said that although the show is about a competition, Pandemonium is the one number where the kids are all united by a common difficulty or annoyance, “going completely crazy.”

Her favorite part of the Brandeis performance arts programs is the people. She told us, “Once you join the UTC in some capacity and make friends, you are family there. There is just so much love from everyone in-

volved that it really is so comforting and everyone is just so silly together.

In ‘Spelling Bee’ rehearsals, we are just so crazy and comfortable with each other, it’s so nice.”

If you haven’t already caught Jes-

talented Eichinger will be starring in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

sie performing in Thursday’s performance of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” you still have a chance to see her perform Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. or Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.

photo by jessie eichinger

Artistic Director Tom Hall gives insight into first campus improv festival

By Jessica Chow Staff

“Improvisation is a large part of practically everything we do, and everything we create,” says Tom Hall, the artistic director of Brandeis’ first Improv Festival. So what exactly is improv, and what is its importance to Brandeis? How did improv get its start on campus, and how has it changed over the years? What is the Brandeis Improv Festival? Hall takes us behind the scenes of the development of the Improv Festival and the history of improv at Brandeis.

According to Hall, Brandeis has always embraced improv. “Improvisation is a big part of Brandeis history, beginning with Leonard Bernstein, who was a great advocate of jazz and improvisation,” Hall said.

Over the years, Brandeis’ improv community has grown and expanded its presence on campus. “It has changed over the years in the same way that improvisation has changed in society as a whole” said Hall. “More and more people are consciously aware of it when they are working, playing, learning and creating. When the Brandeis Improv Collective first started in 1997, there were five jazz saxophonists in the group. Now it numbers 24 students.”

Seeing as improv has such a big presence on campus, it’s natural that it has become so important to the Brandeis community. “Improvisation is important to Brandeis because it is an important part of being human … in today’s world improvisation is becoming increasingly important, as we are being asked to process, react

photos from internet source

to and create with larger and larger amounts of constantly changing information that is coming to us faster and faster. Being able to improvise effectively is one of the most important skills of our era,” said Hall.

Hall brought up an important point about improvisation that many people don’t pick up: It is something that we make use of on a daily basis. Improv is prevalent in daily life, whether we are aware of it or not. From being cold-called in class to having an unexpected conversation, we are often put on the spot to respond to a sit-

uation. However, we never think of it that way because it’s so natural to us. I personally think that improv is important to Brandeis because it furthers the sense of community on campus; it brings us together.

This is the first year that the festival will take place. Hall’s vision for the Brandeis Improv Festival is a threeday event with all kinds of different events. “What connects them all is that the people involved are masters at what they do, passionately involved in creating, and open to the spontaneous possibilities of every moment,”

he explained. It is surprising that an event like this hasn’t been hosted on campus before.

Hall first proposed the idea of an improv show in 2013. He said he had originally discussed the idea with Yu-Hui Chang, the music department chair and Mark Kagan, the senior academic administrator. He had just finished a yearlong video series about spontaneous creativity called ImprovLive 365, and was excited about presenting what he had learned from that project in a festival format.

Chang mentioned the idea to Debo-

rah Rosenstein, the concert program manager, who helped prepare a funding proposal. The proposal was then sent to the Brandeis Arts Council in the spring of 2014, who, according to Hall, “were excited about the idea and agreed to fund it for the following year.”

The Brandeis Improv Festival makes its campus debut on March 27. “I would love to see this become an annual Brandeis event, involving more and more students and more and more departments at the University,” stated Hall.

The Brandeis Hoot 6

March 20, 2015

Little India serves delightful Indian dishes

By Ethan Saal

Special to the Hoot

Little India on Moody Street is the perfect little restaurant for people in search of reliable Indian cuisine when they desire adventurous spices, naan straight out of a tandoor oven, and maybe even a refreshing mango lassi.

A friendly but reserved waiter calmly approaches as you make your way into a room filled with picture frames of Indian deities along the walls accompanied by decorative lights that are hung around the little room. As you are escorted to your table, which you are generally given the leisure to choose, you are enshrouded by the Indian culture and aroma all around you. Little India provides an escape from the dreary streets of Waltham and an opportunity to experience a taste of India, not only in the culinary sense, without the need to take a plane for over ten hours.

Shortly after being seated the waiter comes back with three jars of different sauces accompanied with thin, crunchy pieces of what we guessed at the time to be un-

leavened bread, or since Passover is right around the corner, matzah-like.

However, unlike matzah, this unique, brownish colored delicacy is full of different sorts of seeds that add a distinguished flavor to it. The only seed I was able to identify, which is used in many Indian dishes, is cumin. As for the sauces, they were each very distinct from on another. One is a sweet, brown chutney that is made with a tamarind base and is called imli chutney in Hindi.

Another is a lime green color, called hari, translates to green in English, chutney in Hindi, that is mildly spicy and made with a mixture of coriander, also known as cilantro, leaves and mint leaves. A few tablespoons of lime juice are also thrown in to prevent oxidation and add even more tanginess.

The last, and also mildly spicy sauce, is the red, onion based one with some chili powder and other spices. Since we were famished, all of these thin strips, which are the restaurant’s homemade poppadum as we later discovered, were swiftly devoured along with all the sauces.

Luckily, since the owner of the restau-

rant was so kind we were brought two more servings, because we continued to wolf down all of the poppadum, of it with all the savory sauces.

Finally, after eating all of their supply of poppadum we each dug into our main courses. I shared a Baingan Bharta, which is roasted eggplant cooked with green peas and spices, and the Chicken Mughlai, which is boneless chicken cubes cooked with coconut, raisins, and the restaurant’s special sauce made with cashews and almonds. For eggplant lovers, the Bharta see ms like a no brainer at first. However, it ended up being disappointingly mediocre because, even though it was flavorful,the spices drowned the taste of eggplant out. The Mughlai, on the other hand, is a must have if you do not want a spicy curry. The proportions of all the various ingredients were perfectly balanced. On top of the rice, which was cooked “al dente” (as an Italian would say), the semi-sweet curry tasted so delicious that I found myself scraping every last bit of it out of the copper bowl, the traditional Indian bowl that curry is usually served in, with the heavenly naan bread we

ordered on the side.

The chicken in both the Mughlai and the Tikka Masala that our party friend ordered tasted fresh and soft. It was not dried out, as many under par Indian restaurants generally tend to do.The sauces on the chicken dishes left everyone’s taste bud happily content.

Unfortunately, we did not have time to order some of the most traditional Indian desserts such as Gulab Jamoon, a deep-fried milk ball that is drenched in warm syrup, or the Rasmalai, cheese patties in a sweet and creamy sauce for dessert.

However, a review on trip advisor, which ranks Little India as #35 out of 162 restaurants in Waltham, states

photo from internet source

Prominent author to speak on campus next week

Dana Trismen Editor

The New York Times likened Katherine Heiny to “Cheever mixed with Ephron,” while Lena Dunham (of the HBO series “Girls”) reported her “work does something magical.”

Heiny has had stories published in the The New Yorker, Seventeen, The Greensboro Review and more, and her recent book of short stories titled “Single, Carefree and Mellow” has become one of this winter’s biggest publishing hits. And one time, she used her last dollar to buy a cinnamon bun, just to face walking 60 blocks to work because then she didn’t have subway fare. Welcome to the life of Katherine Heiny, and she is coming to Brandeis next week.

Heiny will read at Brandeis on Thursday, March 26 at 5:30 p.m. The event will take place in the Pearlman Lounge on campus. This is the first fiction reading this year sponsored by the Creative Writing Department.

Despite the massive amounts of praise surrounding Heiny’s publication of “Single, Carefree, and Mellow,” she remains apprehensive about readings. “I love to give readings but I’m always haunted by the fear that no one attend and I’ll feel like a loser with no friends,” she said in an interview with the Hoot this week. “I gave a reading here in DC about a month ago and my own children chose to stay home and play Far Cry on the

Xbox. So I’m really grateful when anyone shows up.”

Heiny has had an unusual road to becoming an author. She majored in pre-law at the University of Kansas, but enrolled in primarily creative writing courses. When she didn’t get into law school, she instead attended Columbia for her MFA degree. When she was 25, one of her short stories was published in The New Yorker, and incredible feat for a young writer. Soon afterward though, Heiny seemed to disappear altogether from the literary world, as she wrote romance novels under a pen name.

Later, her family became her primary focus. And now, “Single, Carefree and Mellow” is Heiny’s literary debut.

“I took the scenic route to being an author, I guess - 22 years between publishing my first story and my first collection,” she said, mentioning that bursts of creative energy played a big part in her winding path to success.

“It’s relatively easy to find time, but finding time when your brain is firing on all cylinders? That’s something else entirely.” Heiny’s preferred medium is short stories, often written in the second person using the address “you.” When asked why she prefers to write short stories, Heiny stated, “I can take chances in a short story that I wouldn’t in a novel. A whole novel in the second person or from a child’s point of view would be unsustainable for me, but I can make it work in a short story.”

The Future By Katherine Selector

Second person is a rather unusual point of view choice for most authors in general. Heiny enjoys using it because, as she says, “I think with the second person, you can be both close to and far away from the story’s protagonist. Also, some things are funny just by virtue of being in the second person.” The stories in Heiny’s collection are often about everyday life, with situational humor. She also writes about relationships, and individuals’ illicit lovers. Lena Dunham, who blurbed her, noted that Heiny “gives women’s interior lives the gravity they so richly deserve.” When asked what she draws her inspiration from, Heiny replied, “Usually from something very small in real life, like a stressful parent-teacher conference or an insult from a hairdresser, and it grows from there.” Writing about what she is most passionate about has helped Heiny combat writer’s block.

She also added, “[I know by now that I] can’t set insane goals for myself, like saying I’m going to write ten pages a day until my novel is done. Nothing makes me shut down more quickly than doing that.”

Following the reading on Thursday, Heiny will be available to speak with students, but she has also already provided her advice to aspiring writers: “I guess I would say that there are a million ways to be a writer - find the one that works for you. Not everyone lives in a remote farmhouse and gets up at dawn.”

that these desserts are high in demand and totally worth every calorie.

Along with the desserts there are so many other dishes to try and flavors to experience. On Yelp, an application developed by passionate food lovers, a review mentions the convenient $9.95 lunch buffet: an ideal and affordable option for those curious to try as many Indian dishes as possible or just to have a superb lunch! Just as dishes at Little India are not too spicy neither are they too pricey.

It is no cheap hamburger joint, but it sure is a reasonably priced, exquisite meal. As we walked out of the restaurant we all smiled at one another in agreement that we had found our Indian home.

Oh, Poop By Linjie Xu

7 The Brandeis Hoot

FEATURES

March 20, 2015

Pulitzer winners on the Brandeis faculty

By Katarina Weessies Staff

Brandeis’ brash spirit and unique heritage attract an arguably unexpected amount of acclaimed professors. Specifically, we have three Pulitzer Prize winners and two MacArthur fellows. The Pulitzer Prize Winners, David Hackett Fischer (HIST), Eileen McNamara (AMST) and Yehudi Wyner (MUS), have created works spanning a wide range of disciplines.

Their works include narrative American histories, columns about infant mortality and solo instrumental compositions. The opportunity to be taught by an acclaimed professor is an incredible chance that Brandeis students should appreciate. Since the Pulitzer Prize is such a recognizable award, the fact that many of our renowned professors are Pulitzer winners contributes to the intellectual value of the school.

Fischer is one of our most recognizable, if not most famous, professors. Over 50 years ago, after receiving his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins, he began working as a history professor at Brandeis. He has written an incredible variety of books analyzing American history. His books involve tactics of historical argument, analysis of terms like “freedom” and an explanation of American nationalism. His texts are well known in politics; campaign strategists working for Al Gore and Bill Clinton report reading his book “Albion’s Seed.” One of Fischer’s better known works, this book details

how dated British norms have come to affect American culture. His most recent book, “Chaplain’s Dream,” is a historical account discussing the founder of Quebec City. The book that won Fischer the Pulitzer Prize, “Washington’s Crossing,” describes George Washington’s efforts in leading the Revolutionary War. It is understandable how Fischer’s insightful pieces about American ideologies and histories are of such great value to politicians and academics alike. Fischer’s books deepen his students’ or readers’ understandings of America and expose the hidden complexities of the nation in which Brandeis is located. Today, Fischer teaches several American history classes on campus, including American History, American Literature and Slavery and the American Civil War. Another notable Brandeis professor is McNamara. McNamara is a professor of journalism who won her Pulitzer Prize while working at The Boston Globe. McNamara’s works are provocative and often controversial. She writes about daunting and difficult topics such as domestic violence, police brutality and clergy sexual abuse, the latter winning her the Pulitzer Prize. Her works effectively expose and analyze societal ills. They profoundly affect the understanding and perspective of their reader, and thus affect societal discourse about the issues she exposes. She is a fairly public persona who has made several appearances on recognizable programs such as “The Daily Show” and “Larry King Live.” McNamara’s stu-

photo from internet source

dents admire her passionate and positive teaching style. She is described by the student body as a personable teacher who cares deeply about journalism and about her students.

A unique professor emeritus of composition at Brandeis is Wyner, who won a Pulitzer Prize in Music.

Wyner’s profile on the Brandeis website states that “Professor Wyner’s main objective is simple: to write the best, the most personal and the most communicative music I can and to play the music of others with clarity and eloquence.” Wyner has degrees from Yale, Harvard and the Juilliard School. He has written over 60 works

that span a wide range of genres. His compositions include orchestral pieces, solo vocal compositions and piano concertos.

His Pulitzer Prize was won for “Piano Concerto: ‘Chiavi in Mano.’”

Wyner’s musical talents make sense given his family history. His father, Lazar Wyner, composed Yiddish art songs, and probably passed down his unique talent for composition to his son. Wyner’s works are deeply moving to the listener, and are incredibly diverse. His effect on the world of musical composition makes an enormous contribution to the worldwide impact of the Brandeis community.

Obviously, these three professors are only the tip of the iceberg as far as acclaimed Brandeis professors are concerned. The Pulitzer Prize, being a highly recognizable award, is an excellent lens through which we can discover what genius teachers are accessible to us as Brandeis students.

Brandeis’ history is a bit more rebellious than those of most universities.

Our rebellious heritage is part of what makes our school interesting and attractive to distinguished professors.

It’s important that we as Brandeis students appreciate the scholars in our midst and try our best to learn from them.

Deis3D generating competitive, collective spirit

By Katlyn Huang

Special to the Hoot

On Saturday, March 7, Deis3D participated in a 3D Printathon from 10:30 a.m. until the next day. Along with MIT, Olin College of Engineering, University of Connecticut and Columbia University, Deis3D consecutively printed for 24 hours, working together with high schoolers from Waltham to teach them printing skills and let them use a 3D printer, provided by Brandeis, for the first time.

The Printathon took place in the Farber Mezzanine, allowing teams of three to six students to enter, as long as they provided their own designs and materials. Judging of the final products was based off of various qualifications, including the use of the theme, which was unsurprisingly “social justice.” Prizes were given to winners at the end of the 24 hours, and up to two final products were judged from each team.

Along with the students directly involved in the club, members of LTS pitched in to create the LTSMakerLab, which originally inspired the printathon. Jeffrey Stein, an LTS project manager, expressed optimism about the future of 3D printing at Brandeis and within Deis3D, after the event. “I hope to put Brandeis on the map for 3D printing,” Stein said. “The university has made a big commitment to this: creating the lab, supporting the club and its activities. I’d like Brandeis to get recognition for that, and I’d like the lab, its manager, Ian Roy, and the club to get recognition for the huge strides we have made so far and the innovation that continues to come out of our shared space.” Stein praised the organization of the club and the level of commitment the team put

photo from internet source

into the event, which was both a learning experience for Deis3D, as it was for the high school students of Waltham High School.

Gabriel Seltzer, the managing assistant of Deis3D, explained that Deis3D extended their materials and printing knowledge to the high school students, in order to introduce basic printing skills to them. “They’ve never worked with a 3D printer be-

fore, so I got them up to speed with a few of ours,” explained Seltzer.

Using the theme of social justice and the help of Deis3D, the students decided to design a customizable water wheel. With the use of a spare motor, the two parts could be used to generate electricity, which might be used to aid poor or rural communities. Eventually, after 24 hours of hard work and printing, Waltham Public

High School’s team obtained third place, winning a piece of filament as a prize which they could use as material to print from their own printer. “In fact, since then, they’ve contacted me and asked if we could help them build a printer to start a club at their school!

I look forward to working with them in the near future,” Seltzer said.

Though exhaustive and competitive, the organizers kept the event’s

atmosphere fun and enjoyable for contestants by providing food, drinks and prizes during the event. While Deis3D is relatively new to Brandeis, the club is excited to continue collaborating with other groups to hold more events. With the support of LTS and the success of their Printathon, Deis3D already appears to be increasing the presence of 3D printing to Brandeis University.

8 The Brandeis Hoot

THIS WEEK IN PHOTOS

JILL LEPORE: Harvard professor gives talk called Foolproof: A Brief History of Evidence

PUPPIES AND PIZZA: PCC sponsored event features puppies and free pizza

photo by emma hanselman/the hoot

March 20, 2015

STRESS RELIEF: Dogs trained in stress relief visit Brandeis photo by emma hanselman/the hoot

photo by emma hanselman/the hoot

POETRY: Student speaks about how cancer in his family has impacted him photo by karen caldwell/the hoot

PUPPIES: Students are excited to have puppies on campus photo by elana rombro/the hoot

MR. BRANDEIS: Men of Brandeis participate in annual pagaent

photo by karen caldwell/the hoot

MANDEL: Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation sponsor event

photo by emma hanselman/the hoot

9 The Brandeis Hoot

HOOT SCOOPS

Bronstein Week celebrates former prof.

By Emily Smith editor

Students celebrated the Buzzfeed-themed Bronstein Week with activities that included painting, the third annual Mr. Brandeis Pageant and a performance by comedian Jay Black this past week. The spirit week commemorates professor Léo Bronstein, who served as a member of the Brandeis faculty from 19521967. Run by Student Events, the tradition began when students threw Professor Bronstein a farewell party at his final lecture in 1967. Past years’ themes included American Road Trip, Camped Out and, last year’s, Throwback Bronstein.

Bronstein Week, according to Student Events, is a time for the community to “celebrate life, happiness and support within and outside of the Brandeis campus.”

Bronstein, born in what is now Poland, was fluent in Russian, Polish, English and several other languages. He was a prolific writer whose books ranged in subject from “Kabbalah and Art” to the relationship between metaphysics and art. During his time at Brandeis, he taught in the Fine Arts and Near Eastern Civilization departments. He is remembered as a passionate instructor who inspired his students to appreciate life.

Bronstein Week has changed in many ways since its inception in 1967. Emily Mostow (GRAD), director of Student Events’ social department, talked about some of these changes in an email with The Brandeis Hoot. “It used to be a Bronstein tradition to end the week with a ‘Screw Your Roommate’ dance, where everyone sets

up their roommate with a date.

One way or another, they end up screwed,” Mostow wrote.

This year’s Bronstein Week began with a Wake ’n Shake outside of Usdan, where Student Events volunteers passed out free coffee and donuts, as well as Bronstein-themed shot glasses and tumblers. Later that evening, comedian Jay Black performed in Usdan’s International Lounge.

On Wednesday night, Student Events and Relay for Life cohosted the Mr. Brandeis Pageant, now in its third year. Jonathan Schlussel ’15 was named Mr. Brandeis, with Jonathan Greengarden ’15 winning Mr. Congeniality. Nine contestants competed in the Pageant, which raised $840 this year.

In organizing Bronstein week, volunteers had to consider the schedules of Brandeis students.

Mostow explained that many students are too busy to attend the events planned throughout the week.

“We combat that with events like Wake ’n Shakes and stress busters that provide a nice little surprise for students who are passing by, along with events like Paint Nite and Live Band Karaoke that are so enticing that they make it into our students’ planners,” Mostow wrote.

Student Events has hosted many events this year that aim to bring the campus together and provide opportunities for students to relax and have fun. Louis Louis Week, held this past November, featured many of the same events. In addition to a Wake ’n Shake and Paint Nite, there was a comedy performance and a bar night, just like during Bronstein week. Mostow explained the similarities, stating, “There’s no functional differ-

ence to what kind of events would happen, because we always try to think outside the box.” She added that Bronstein Week is different only in that it is themed and happens in the spring.

The original celebration of Professor Bronstein might not have borne much resemblance to the one Brandeis students know today. Peter Gould ’67 wrote in letter to The Justice in 1987, the 20th anniversary of Bronstein Day, in which he describes Bronstein as a humble pacifist, a professor who inspired his students.

tba

Student’s in comedy group TBA perform during Bronstein week

comedy night

photo by marian siljehorm/ the hoot

Gould wrote that at the first celebration for Bronstein, students burned draft cards in a movie theater, ending the night with multiple arrests. Gould, in his letter, describes students’ plans for the celebration, saying, “Let’s hold a medieval pageant for Léo. Let’s do it in the Castle courtyard. Let’s serve wine from giant goat skins; let’s roast an ox on a spit.”

Whether Bronstein Week in fact began as the wild, debaucherous celebration Gould describes, it is clear that the tradition has always united the Brandeis commu-

Comedian Jay Black performs in the International Lounge

March 20, 2015

nity.

Though there are many challenges that go with planning a week of events, there is one that stands out most. “The biggest challenge in staffing the week, though, is definitely being mauled by students who are trying to get free shirts,” Mostow said.

Bronstein Week will end on Friday with an event in the SCC titled “6 Ways to Bust your Stress.”

The event will provide mugs for students to decorate, free red velvet cake and other relaxing activities.

photo by sharon cai

photo by sharon cai/the hoot

photo by markam siljeholmr/the hoot

EDITORIALS

10 The Brandeis Hoot

Admin.’s opacity unacceptable

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editors-in-Chief Dana Trismen Andrew Elmers

Senior Managing Editor Victoria Aronson Managing Editor Theresa Gaffney News Editors Emily Belowich Jess Linde Arts Editor Michelle Kim Sports Editor Sarah Jousset Opinions Editor Kevin Healey Deputy News Editors Charlotte Aaron Hannah Schuster Deputy Features Editor Jacob Edelman Deputy Hoot Scoops Editor Emily Smith Senior Copy Editors Mia Edelstein Julie Landy Copy Editor Allison Plotnik Senior Layout Editor Sasha Ruiz Deputy Layout Editor Ludi Yang Graphics Editor Linjie Xu Website Editors Zak Kolar Zach Phil Schwartz

Volume 12 • Issue 8 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

Founded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

STAFF

Clayre Benzadon, Ethan Berceli, Rachel Bossuk, Robin Briendel, Sharon Cai, Karen Caldwell, Shikha Chandarana, Jake Greenberg, Talia Franks, Emma Gutman, Emma Hanselman, Curtis Zunyu He, Emma Kahn, Shayna Korol, Joe Lanoie, Nabi Menai, Monique J Menezes, Joon Park, Lisa Petrie, Sabrina Pond, Emily Scharf, Hannah Schuster, Marian Siljeholm, Chesta Singh, Eliana Sinoff, Hannah Stewart, Michael Wang, Sophia Warren, Katarina Weessies MISSION As the weekly community student newspaper of Brandeis University, The Brandeis Hoot aims to provide our readers with a reliable, accurate and unbiased source of news and information.

Produced entirely by students, The Hoot serves a readership of 6,000 with in-depth news, relevant commentary, sports and coverage of cultural events. Recognizing that better journalism leads to better policy, The Brandeis Hoot is dedicated to the principles of investigative reporting and news analysis. Our mission is to give every community member a voice.

SUBMISSION POLICIES

The Brandeis Hoot welcomes letters to the editor on subjects that are of interest to the community. Preference is given to current or former community members and The Hoot reserves the right to edit or reject submissions. The deadline for submitting letters is Wednesday at noon. Please submit letters to letters@thebrandeishoot.com along with your contact information. Letters should not exceed 500 words.

The opinions, columns, cartoons and advertisements printed in The Hoot do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editorial board.

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March 20, 2015

T

his week, the Brandeis administration surprised the student body with the sudden reorganization of the staff of Chum’s Coffee House and the closing of the Women’s Resource Center in favor of the establishment of a Dharmic prayer space. The Brandeis community was made aware of the changes only after they had occurred, with many people learning only via social media. The administration has yet to send an email or make an official statement to the community. This has rightfully been met with backlash, as the suddenness of the actions reveals the administration’s lack of dedication to transparency and building trust with students.

The administration’s choice to make such dramatic changes, without any apparent communication with the Student Union, only strengthens the opinion of students that the university represents them in rhetoric only.

The administration has been urged multiple times in the past to work toward a more transparent relationship with students. At the most recent Student Union roundtable, which focused on student life, Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel expressed dissatisfaction when he listened to students express a lack of trust in the administration.

Other administrators, including Vice President

of Operations Jim Gray, echoed this sentiment and offered support for clearer communication between students and administration. This week’s announcements do not reflect that.

The administration’s understanding of the importance of Chum’s is appreciated and its dedication to a new prayer space for under-represented faiths on campus should be praised.

Brandeis’ no-tolerance policy for drug offenses is completely warranted, especially if those offenses put students in danger, as with the incident at Chum’s on Friday, March 6.

However, the university’s handling of these changes can only be met with disdain. Despite multiple statements from university officials that the Chum’s employees have not been “fired,” the fact remains that these students, many of whom have no other source of income, have had their pay stopped and must reapply to continue to work at Chum’s. Student Activities’ lack of proper communication with the employees is also deplorable.

Chum’s is and always has been a friendly environment, and it is an unjust action to punish all 13 employees based on the actions of the few who were on duty at the time of the fire alarm incident.

Meanwhile, the action of merging FMLA and STAR to the SSIS office rather than des-

ignating a new space also shows a disturbing lack of knowledge about student groups on the part of the administration. It conflates an apolitical student service (SSIS) with a political group (FMLA). Sexual safety and information have no political bent, while FMLA is clear that they are a student group focusing on feminist discussion and activism. Despite some shared values, not every SSIS employee is an FMLA member, and not everyone in FMLA visits SSIS. To lump them together is to ignore their autonomy as safe spaces and organizations with different aims and structures. Though the establishment of a Dharmic prayer space on campus will have a positive effect on the community, two groups’ club space should not be compromised and forced to move into a space already in use.

In a March 17 tweet, Flagel responded to a misinformed statement about Chum’s being permanently closed: “that is incorrect & such misleading information reinforces that the reorganization is justified.” While this may have been an emotionally charged reaction, this kind of response leaves the impression that students must always be wary of the administration crossing the line into student-run clubs, spaces and resources. This state of affairs is unacceptable and cannot continue.

Tennis struggles against Middlebury

By Sarah Jousset Editor

The Brandeis men’s and women’s tennis teams took on Middlebury College this past weekend. The women’s team lost 9-0 to No. 10-ranked Middlebury Sunday afternoon, March 15, while the men’s team lost 7-2 to No. 3-ranked Middlebury and 5-3 against No. 29 Stevens Institute of Technology.

For the women’s team, the closest match for the Judges against Middlebury was in the number-three spot. Charlotte Aaron ’18 and Sarita Biswas ’17 lost 8-4 in doubles play. In singles, Carley Cooke ’15 competed in the number-one spot but fell short 6-4 and 6-2.

The Brandeis women’s tennis team is 1-5 on the season with all of their losses being against

teams with higher national rankings. The Judges will face Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, this Friday, March 20.

The men’s tennis team struggled against Middlebury, as well. The judges fell in doubles play 3-0. The Judges’ only win against Middlebury came at the number-two spot in singles play. Michael Arguello ’17 won a first-set tiebreaker. At number four, Alec Siegel ’15 won in a super tiebreaker, 6-2, 2-6, 10-8.

In play against Stevens Institute of Technology, the Judges won in doubles, taking two matches. Brian Granoff ’17 and Eric Miller ’16 took a 8-4 win over their opponents at number one. Arguello and Jeff Cherkin ’17 won in the number-two spot by the same score of 8-4.

Brandeis couldn’t keep up the same intensity in singles play, though. Arguello continued his

strong performance for the Judges, completing a 3-1 weekend with a 6-2 win in the number-two spot. Granoff lost both sets in a tiebreaker in a tight loss in the number-one spot. Siegel won the first set in the number-four spot in a tiebreaker, but couldn’t maintain the momentum, and his opponent came back 6-3, 6-2 in the next two sets to win the match.

The men’s tennis team is now 2-5 on the season, and like the women’s team, all of their losses have been from teams ranked higher than they are in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III national rankings.

The men’s team is back in action in their home opener Saturday, March 21 against the U.S. Coast Guard Academy at 10 a.m. The Judges then move on to an away match against Wesleyan University at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Corrections An article in The Brandeis Hoot on March 13, 2015 was incorrectly titled. The article originally titled “Student curators speak about

photography collection” has been changed to read “Student curators speak about Rose exhibit.” The exhibition in Farber Library consists of

only photography, but the collection that the exhibited works came from is not limited to photography.

Photos that were published in The Brandeis Hoot for the March 13, 2015 issue were incor-

rectly credited. The photos for the “Criminal justice symposium examines socioeconomic

inequalities” article were credited to Karen Caldwell. They were taken by Sharon Cai.

NEWS

March 20, 2015

Brandeis to host first Plympton Family Night

By Victoria Aronson editor

In light of the success of Stanley Family Night, Clubs in Service (CIS) will be hosting the first annual Plympton Family Night on April 13.

The event will be hosted at the local Plympton Elementary School, where Brandeis students and organizations will have the opportunity to volunteer with children and their families.

According to Ariana Sachne ’15, co-facilitator of the CIS Committee alongside peer Erica Schutzman ’17, “The goal of this event is to get Brandeis students involved in the Waltham community in a positive way.”

Modeled after the popular Stanley Family Night, most recently hosted in December of 2014, Plympton Family Night will feature activities for elementary school children at no cost to the families, thereby extending the event to families of all socioeconomic backgrounds.

Sachne explained, “We also want to give the students of Plympton Elementary School a chance to have fun for free!”

Sachne explained that the primary distinction between Stanley Family Night and Plympton Family Night will be size, with Plympton Elementary School possessing limited space.

Despite this challenge, Sachne explained that more than 10 Brandeis clubs and organizations are planning to attend, including Brandeis Football Club, Brandeis Television Club and various Waltham Group programs.

“We have all types of activities from picture frame making to soccer drills. We welcome all types of activities to this event,” Sachne stated.

Although the event is primarily targeted towards elementary age children, Sachne explained that students are encouraged to bring older siblings and their families as well.

Incentivized by the success of Stanley Family Night, Sachne stated that with the support of the Department of Community Living and the CIS Committee, as well as through collaboration with co-facilitator Schutzman, she was able to seize the initiative to contact the principal and vice principal of Plympton Family Night with her proposal for the event.

Previous collaboration with Plympton Elementary School has been fostered through programs such as Junior Brandeis Achievers (JBA) and Tutoring in Public Schools (T.I.P.S.), Sachne stated.

“CIS is a committee of 10 people who coordinate large scale events to get Brandeis students involved in social justice and the Waltham community,” Sachne concluded.

The Brandeis Hoot 11

Students gather to share opinions on what would make the ideal Brandeis president From PRES., page 1

cussions. Despite the wide range of opinions, many attendees had specific wants. “I would like a president of color,” said Union Minority Senator Marlha Lagardere ’16. “I also think it would be important to have a president who openly supports the student population and is not just at the whim of the Board of Trustees.”

Other students agreed that a future president ought to be more honestly engaged with the student body and ready to put many years of work into their time at Brandeis. “Change takes a long time, so we need a person who’s ready to be here for a long time,” said Franco. “President Lawrence was definitely around, but it would be great to have a president who engaged and really got to know students.”

Students also cited being upset with the extreme amount of confidentiality around the Board of Trustees, considering that the Board has the final decision on serious issues like tuition increases.

Class of 2017 Senator Ben Margolin insisted that because of Brandeis’ close ties to the Jewish community, any future president should be Jewish and religious to some degree, regardless of gender. This received support from Tzlil Levy ’17, and Margolin brought up the idea that because Brandeis was founded in part to provide higher education for Jews rejected from colleges because of their religion, a non-Jewish president could not represent Brandeis’ values. Another student also argued that a Brandeis alumnus would be the ideal choice. This was met with some resistance from students

such as Lagardere and Union Chief of Staff Flora Wang ’15.

Wang reminded the group that Brandeis was founded on ideals that are applicable to any marginalized group, such as equality and nondiscrimination, and that on a campus that is increasingly ethnically and religiously diverse, that search categories ought to be wider. “I know that we’ll probably never see an immigrant Asian woman president,” Wang said, before clarifying that she had nothing against a Jewish president. “But we also can’t focus on one group being represented at a time at Brandeis when we’re so diverse.” Overall, the students in attendance seemed to agree that no matter who the next president ends up being, they want a president who not only represents them but is willing to get to know them, fight for them and lead them with pride.

Faculty discuss adjunct unionization in meeting

By Jess Linde editor

Multiple Brandeis faculty members suggested caution at Professor Thomas Pochapsky’s (CHEM) announcement that the Faculty Senate will investigate complaints brought to the university by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a union representing an increasing number of adjunct and contingent Brandeis professors.

According to Pochapsky, the Faculty Senate is working with SEIU in order to understand the origin of adjunct and contingent faculty complaints.

Department heads at this Thursday’s faculty meeting expressed some displeasure at the announcement, worrying that the Faculty Senate did not trust Brandeis’ academic departments to address complaints themselves.

Pochapsky asserted that the issue was “probably not that big of a deal” and encouraged faculty to come forward with their concerns.

Provost Lisa Lynch used the meeting to announce that for Brandeis’ 2016 Financial Year proposal, the university will be focusing on higher operating funds, better compensation and discussing the sustainability of the university’s tenure process.

“We’re at a better place than we were five, even three years ago,” Lynch said. $200,000 has also been set aside for teaching innovation grants for faculty, for which there have been 45 proposals, according to Lynch.

The next faculty meeting will feature the second annual presentation on compensation and salaries from a member of the Board of Trustees.

The meeting also featured two tributes to recently-deceased faculty members: Professor Barbara Levy (COMP) and Professor Emeritus Andrew Szent-Gyorgyi (BIO).

The two were memorialized in moving presentations by fellow faculty members, who spoke on Levy’s skill and love of teaching writing, and Szent-Gyorgyi’s essential role in establishing the physiology discipline at Brandeis.

photos by emma hanselman/the hoot

students share opinions

Students expect different things from their future president.

OPINIONS

12 The Brandeis Hoot

March 20, 2015

Sodexo monopoly pushing bad deal on students

By Zach Phil Schwartz Editor

A recent email from the Student Union outlining changes in next year’s meal plans has students in an uproar. All of the classes (minus the class of 2016, which was grandfathered out of the changes) must register for a meal plan if they are to get on-campus housing, even if the residence hall has a kitchen. Today, if you live in Ridgewood, you have a kitchen and are not required to have a meal plan. If you live in Ridgewood next semester, you’ll still have your kitchen, but you’ll need to purchase a meal plan. This change, along with other recent dining alterations, seems more like a method for the university and Sodexo to gain more money at the expense of students. Something needs to be done.

This year’s 12 meals per week plan allows 875 points per semester for a total of $2850 per semester. Next year’s 12 meal plan allows 850 points per semester for a total of $2978 per semester. Something doesn’t add up; the plan is losing 25 points but is increasing in price by $128. We’re seeing a price hike—something that isn’t particularly new for meal plans. However, given that the class of 2017 is required to have a meal plan regardless of where they live, this is a totally new situation.

The price hike along with the forced meal plans for rising juniors may force students off campus for financial reasons in a fi-

nancial environment unfriendly to students.

The monopoly that Sodexo is exercising on campus is not just limited to next year’s arbitrary price hike.

Recently, Sodexo removed most of the non-food items from the C-Store, items frequently purchased that use up a fair amount of points, especially for those that want to use them. Until recently, you could purchase dental floss, filler paper and other useful supplies there. Now, there’s but a small shelf of shampoo and toothpaste at the front of the store.

To be totally honest, this seems strictly like a course of action taken by Sodexo to make sure we don’t use all of our points. Now, we are inconvenienced in having to go to the expensive bookstore or off campus to procure things we used to be able to get with points from our meal plans.

This certainly seems like a money saving plot. Maybe it would have been a bit more palatable had Sodexo done this at the end or beginning of the semester instead of the middle, when we need to restock on supplies. Obviously, the C-Store isn’t an option for that anymore.

When you put all of this together, we can see that our contracted food provider is exercising a monopoly on campus and is reaping the benefits of such a status at the expense of us students. With mandatory meal plans and the elimination of items that can be

purchased with points, many students are left with plans they don’t want that come with points they don’t need. Unless you’re Sodexo, it’s a huge waste of money that has the capacity to drive students off campus.

The university needs to step in more to monitor how Sodexo operates its monopoly. Its recent actions have proven more than unfair to a student body that pays an ever-rising tuition for a private university. On top of rising tuition costs, now everyone under the class of 2016 must pay for a hiked meal plan if they wish to live on campus, and that’s just not reasonable.

First and foremost on the university’s plate is to attempt to reverse the mandatory meal plans for students living in residence halls with kitchens. If it wants the financial gains of having students residing in on-campus housing, offering voluntary meal plans to students with kitchens again is the best course of action. In full knowledge that the price of meal plans tends to rise yearly, the university should let Sodexo keep this year’s pricing plan and then freeze it so that it only rises with inflation, not at the whim of the provider. At the C-Store, the university should attempt to persuade Sodexo to restock the popular non-food items once sold there: items that students wanted to spend points on.

We need to start holding our food provider accountable for

photo by katherine selector/the hoot

how it capitalizes on its monopoly here at Brandeis. Sodexo’s number one priority should not be to maximize profits at the expense of

students; it should be to provide an affordable and manageable dining experience for students sick of wasting money.

Social justice, just not for student workers

By Zach Phil Schwartz Editor

Many students have noticed that Chum’s has closed. Recently, the staff took to Facebook to tell us what exactly was going on.

According to the statement, on March 6, Public Safety shut down Cholmondeley’s Coffee House after its fire alarm was set off and the location was not evacuated properly. Some non-staff students had apparently been smoking in

the back of the popular student venue, prompting Public Safety’s arrival and subsequent shutdown of the establishment. The Chum’s staff attempted to get in contact with university authorities, to no fruition. Soon after, all 13 staff members—students—were fired from their posts at Cholmondeley’s. Most of these staff members, some of whom were recently hired, were not at the coffee house at the time of the incident. The university was wrong to fire these student workers, especially given

that only two of them were on duty at the time.

The punishment enforced on the staff did not even remotely fit the infraction. Non-staff students that had been smoking set off the fire alarm, not the staff. It’s true the two staff members on duty did not handle the evacuation properly; the former staff admit to that.

Perhaps these two staff members deserved reprimanding or maybe even retraining, but in no way did the actions of a few smokers and a lapse in judgment of a few work-

ers justify the obliteration of the entire staff.

Since the statement, there’s been an outcry on behalf of the staff from students all around campus.

The unjustness of the mass layoff resounded through overwhelming student support for the staff, and out of this support emerged a campaign to save Chums. Although it has not closed, the staff and student body are treating the issue as though if the coffee house is revived without the current staff, it will be but a shell of its

former glory. And they are right in doing so.

The university has clearly turned a blind eye to the needs of student workers and, to be honest, fair judgment. Many student workers need their jobs. Now, 13 are out of work and out of pay.

They’ll need to reapply for a position as a new Chum’s staff or for a position in some other area on campus. However, that takes time and, for the fired staff, lost paychecks. In firing all 13 staff mem See CHUMS, page 14

photo from internet source

March 20, 2015

OPINIONS 13

The Brandeis Hoot

Students have company in urge to excel

By Monique J Menezes Staff

The world does not seem like a friendly place. Seniors are facing the realities of the job market and the obstacles they must face for entry-level positions. Meanwhile, underclassmen struggle against each other for unpaid internships or even volunteer opportunities.

Even in classrooms, students push themselves either to get that ‘A’ they have their eye on or for that esteemed occasion when they set the curve. The fact is that competition is fierce.

It’s that time of year. Some like to call it March Madness, while others call it a test of their sanity.

It’s the time of midterms, which means exams, papers and presentations, but that’s not all. This is also the time when students apply for summer internships, fellowships, jobs, scholarships and study abroad programs. For those in their final semester, it might mean the time to stress about life after commencement. Even firstyears are feeling the pressures of what classes will they take next semester, needing to focus their interests and begin to think about a major if they haven’t already. It does not matter where we are in our college career. The pressures

of the future are plaguing the student population.

Despite the sheer amount of applications we are filling out, these opportunities we seek in the real world are not the most significant part of our competition. Let me direct you to the closest bathroom. Walk up to the nearest sink and look up; you should see yourself in the mirror. Each of us; we are our own biggest competition.

It’s not true for all of us, but characteristically, Brandeis students like to double major, double minor or something to that extent.

I’ll let you in on a secret; that’s not normal. Brandeis students are an ambitious lot. We push ourselves harder than anyone else.

This leaves the origins of such drive up for question. Some might claim it’s their parents who forced them into high-achieving mindsets, while others will describe their independent recognition of academic priority. Either of the aforementioned, however, directly or not, acknowledges the role they played, appeasing themselves or their parents to get where they are today. So, one reason why Brandeisians strive more than others is that they’ve learned to work hard. It sounds a little too simple.

Another potential explanation is one that describes many

photo from internet source

in the prestigious college setting, imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is this psychological phenomenon where people are unable to internalize their accomplishments. It does not matter how much they actually achieve or how much evidence there is to illustrate their capabilities. Mostly, it is misconceived as modesty or an individual’s self-depreca-

tion, when truly, it is an inability to acknowledge one’s self-worth.

I have heard the stories of those who claim they got into college by accident or those who say they just got lucky. Maybe they don’t think they deserve to be here, despite their admission and despite the work they constantly undertake to maintain their status as a student here. Sometimes, we can

have a conversation with one of our fellow students, whether it is in a classroom or the casual venue of a dining hall, and leave dumbfounded. We may even think we’re not smart enough to be among some of these individuals. I know I’ve felt like that more See COMPETITION, page 15

How the snow has plagued our campus

By Jake Greenberg staff

While no campus in New England has managed to avoid this winter’s below average temperatures and blizzard conditions, it seems that Brandeis’ grounds have experienced an excessively hefty toll from the accumulation of snow.

As the last of the snow melts, it is hard to imagine that there were over 100 inches of snow this year, 105.7 inches to be exact. Likewise, it is impossible for anyone who wasn’t on campus during the Blizzards of February Break, to understand that much of this snow actually accumulated in a matter of days. However, this near-record snow buildup did happen, and through salting, shoveling and plowing the roads and walkways, Brandeis persevered.

Unfortunately, the amazing work that Brandeis has done to keep the campus running whenever possible and to maintain its students’ safety has come at a cost to the grounds of the university.

One wouldn’t notice the damage unless they looked toward the ground, but as the snow melts the costs of snow removal to our grounds’ infrastructure is very clear. We have destroyed benches, walkways and staircases through inefficient removal practices, each of which will likely cost thousands of dollars to repair. These damages must be mended as a matter of student safety (an expense that will likely come directly from students’ tuition costs), but one has to wonder if such destruction could have been somehow prevented, even with the extreme onslaught of snow.

The primary way to prevent winter damage is by limiting the amount of salt used on roads and walkways. This is important because salt is known to be extreme-

photo by linjie xu/the hoot

ly corrosive, eating up cement and metal and damaging nearby plant life. While salt is meant to melt ice and prevent further accumulation, a simple alternative is sand, which is applied on top of ice to provide traction, and causes much less surface damage. Interestingly, many communities are

using beet juice and other plant juices to bind salts to the road, thus reducing the amount that has to be poured. In addition, the runoff is less damaging to nearby grounds and is actually known to melt snow and ice at lower temperatures.

Of course neither sand nor salt

mixes can prevent snow build-up that is well over two feet, as we’ve seen from the blizzards of February. Therefore, the campus should be more proactive in removing snow as it accumulates. This proactive removal process would prevent accumulations on concrete roadways, which are very sensi-

tive to the melting and refreezing of snow piles. Currently there are huge depressions in the campus walkways, as a result of repeated snow accumulations. These depressions are inconvenient for many students in the spring See SNOW, page 15

14 OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot

March 20, 2015

Eliana’s Advice: Coping with messy roommates

By Eliana Sinoff Staff

Dear Eliana, My roommate regularly leaves litter on my desk. I’ve asked him to dispose of it properly instead of using my desk as a landfill, but he didn’t listen. How do I get him to take out the trash?

–Trashy’s Roommate Dear Trashy’s Roommate, That is an unfortunate situation. If your roommate is going to leave trash on someone’s desk, it should be his own. You could be really passive-aggressive, and leave garbage on his desk as well, but I don’t recommend that strategy. If you’ve already talked to him about it and it hasn’t helped, then you might want to try talking to your CA. CAs have more power and can help talk some sense into your roommate, because they are trained to deal with this type of thing. Try to be patient, and keep explaining nicely how to throw out trash. Maybe also invest in Febreeze.

–Eliana Dear Eliana, Is it a good idea to room with my friends next year, or will we all hate each other by the end of the year?

–Afraid to be Homeless Dear Afraid to be Homeless, Housing is a very difficult time of year, and deciding who to live with is a hard and sensitive issue. Living with people can definitely affect friendships. The first thing to consider is whether you are living in the same room or just in a suite together. If it’s a suite, having your own space helps a lot. If someone gets on your nerves you can take a moment to cool off, or just get away from people. If you are in a double, then it is not impossible to room with friends, but you need to have a serious conversation about how that living situation would work.

It is much better to express all of your concerns now than to just go for it and then hate each other by the end of the to cooperate and communicate.

–Eliana first month. Consider how often you see that friend now, and if spending considerably more time with them Dear Eliana, would be possible. It is definitely posI recently had the flu, and spent sible to live with friends without hating them by the end of the year, but all a good week lying in bed hoping I the people involved need to be willing would finally get better. I’m now back

photo from internet source

to my normal self, but I’ve missed a week of classes! How would you recommend I go about catching up?

–Recently Ill Dear Recently Ill, The flu is the worst, and I’m glad you are feeling better. A week of class-

es feels like a lot to miss, but if you put in some time, it’s very possible to catch up. First, check LATTE and talk to your friends to find out what you missed. Most professors put up presentations and class work on LATTE. You can also ask classmates to give you notes or to explain what happened on

the days you missed. Your next step can be to talk to Professors or TAs in person and have them explain concepts you missed or can’t understand without explanation. I also suggest looking at any readings that you had for the days you missed. Good luck!

–Eliana

Univ. wrong in ‘restructuring’ Chum’s staff CHUMS, from page 12

bers, the university shows that it does not care for the average student worker.

For the party responsible for the mass layoff, it was obviously best to reboot the coffee house with a clean slate, like wiping a hard drive. A clean slate offers fresh faces and fresh opportunities, but things get mucky when this is done with real people. Humans are not bytes; they won’t just disappear when someone decides to reboot a system. This is the problem at hand: the university manages on a macro level in the context of student workers. Rebooting the Chum’s coffee house is a macro-level decision. What the university needs to do is operate on a micro level, taking the workers’ needs and opinions into account when making decisions.

If the party responsible for the firings had been operating in a micro level, it would’ve done more

photo from internet source

to find out what happened from all sides of the situation. This is the optimal course of action when trying to figure out what happened in any case, not just with Chum’s. First, the staff on duty should’ve been in contact with relevant authorities to explain their

side of the situation, as the staff tried to do to no avail. In the worst of situations, the relevant authorities could’ve punished the two workers and had the entire staff train (or retrain) in fire safety. This course of action would not have resulted in any layoffs and outcry.

My message here is simple: It’s not too late. The university can still have a change of heart and rehire the entire staff. It could still force fire training unto the entirety of the staff in order to make sure such a situation does not occur again. It could think of the 13 jobs

they took away from the students who give it thousands upon thousands of dollars per semester and reconsider the unjustified firing and anguish that ensued. I urge everyone reading this to find a way to persuade the university to reconsider.

March 20, 2015

OPINIONS15

The Brandeis Hoot

Bronstein Week disturbs our academic needs

By Andrew Elmers Editor

With the change in the weather comes students and groups looking to take advantage of it and hang out outside. Even somewhat moderate conditions, such as those over the past week, bring folks to turn their frowns upside down and actually show some signs of life. One of these signs, however, can get to be irritating when different clubs and groups set up tables on the path between Usdan and the library to promote some sort of event going on, blasting loud music and creating traffic along the footpath.

This past Monday featured a table promoting Bronstein Week, a festival put on by Student Events that celebrates nothing in particular. Other times throughout the year, there are tables for Roosevelt Fellows, Louis Louis Week and other events going on, with t-shirts and free food typically being handed out to those who pass by. While it is nice to receive free gifts just for walking past a table, and these tables do liven up the campus aura a bit, their location is not the best for what is taking place.

The path that these tables are placed along is one of the narrowest ones on campus, in terms of space between buildings, and one of the most frequented as hundreds of students make the

photo from internet source

trek up from lower campus to the Rabb Steps and the humanities quad, and also stopping at the library and Usdan. With the lure of free food and t-shirts, or free shot glasses from Monday’s table, a lot of students do stop at the tables hoping to get their hands on something for free. The ensuing bottlenecking effect leads to students who are rushing to class to have to navigate through the channels of other students milling around. It makes sense that these tables are then placed right in this spot, because a majority of students are likely to pass by this location at some point, but the frustrations it causes can be easily prevented.

Down in the Fellows’ Garden outside of the SCC, there is a great amount of space to set up a lot more tables than what is afforded in the current preferred location. This would allow a much more impressive production to be put on by the group and offer a lot more entertainment than a few tables with donuts and cheap screen-printed t-shirts. And with paths leading in all directions, instead of just the two-way path outside Usdan, students can both find ways around the mass of people standing around a table and find ways to actually get to the table, and therefore, the free swag. The Fellows’ Garden is just as centralized a location as the path be-

tween Usdan and the library is, as it is surrounded by the SCC, the Science Center and the Massell and Rosenthal residence quads.

The same amount of students pass through this spot of campus—it only appears to not be as busy because it isn’t as tight a space as the path by Usdan is.

Besides the difficulties of traversing these tables and the people who line up there, an even more pressing issue is the noise pollution they cause. Whenever these tables are set up, they’re usually accompanied by a few large speakers connected to someone’s laptop playing the latest top-40 hits and dance remixes to draw attention, at the highest possible

volume. Simply walking past it for two seconds creates a literal headache since the speakers are set up so close to the walking path.

The location creates more issues since it is right by the library and you can wind up hearing the music on the first floor of Goldfarb, creating unnecessary distractions for students studying. The library is probably the most sacred space on campus reserved for peace and quiet and the expectation exists for everyone to respect their peers as they try to study. Yet these student activity tables are always allowed to set up shop right outside the library. The Fellows’ Garden once again allows a more open space for the sound waves to escape and is further away from the Science Center than Usdan is from the library, so students studying there will be much less affected than those studying in the library.

Free t-shirts and food are exciting; everyone likes getting something for free. And there are some positive vibes from the upbeat music and fun nature of the tables, but just as many negative vibes are produced to negate it. By moving the permanent location of these booths down the hill to the Fellows’ Garden, a lot less agitation will hit students that pass by.

Besides, with more open space to use, perhaps these booths and tables can actually turn into something you want to stop at instead of trying to find a way to walk past them as quickly as possible.

Snowfall plagues campus maintenance SNOW, from page 13

months, as they are filling excessively with water and are thus becoming impassible.

In addition, it is clear that while the plows worked to clear the snow, they ignored the grounds themselves, as areas of turf have been torn up by Sherman, stairways have been completely destroyed and much of the snow has been placed indiscriminately on bushes and trees all around campus. Designating certain lots and

spaces to place snow piles before the storm could have prevented this extensive damage.

This method has been used at many Boston-area colleges, such as MIT, where one designated area of snow has become known as “the Alps of MIT,” because it is over 15 feet high and holds much of the snow from the campus. An additional benefit of these snow pileups is that they can be purposely placed away from campus buildings so students would be less likely to jump from their windows into hazardous snow banks

below.

Overall, the campus should be more conscious of effective solutions for snow removal and prevent further damage in the future.

While none of the damage caused by the snow cleanup was intentional, the problems are still apparent, and innovative approaches should be implemented to improve cleanup processes for the future.

After all, this is Massachusetts, and I have no doubt that there will be much more snow for years to come.

photo from internet source

Competition is a fact of life COMPETITION, from page 13

than once. This thought of not being smart enough or good enough falls under the umbrella of imposter syndrome.

Maybe that’s why everyone works so hard. We work to one-up ourselves or to accomplish something, especially if it looks good on our resume, so that we can prove to ourselves we are good enough.

We all have that worry that our teachers might find out that we’re not as smart as we have been perceived, that our friends will figure out that we’re really not that funny and that we don’t deserve the good things we have worked for.

Competition is a fact of our lives. No one will avoid it, in the present or in the future because getting handed things is not the norm. So, let’s push ourselves and work for our futures. Nonetheless,

along the way, we need to recognize our individual and self-evident greatness. Small or not, we have all accomplished something.

Most do not believe being in college is an accomplishment. For someone who’s the first in his or her family to make it this far, it is.

Many minimize the significance of being at Brandeis. For those who had community college or the local state school they didn’t want as their only other alternative, it is.

Everyone feels like they’re pretending sometimes, but it’s normal. We’re not alone in feeling the need to strive. Let’s try and not be hard on ourselves. We all have obstacles and will overcome them to get where we’re supposed to be, just like we have to get to Brandeis. Still have that mirror nearby? Look into it again. We’re not an imposter feigning intellect or competence. We’re Brandeisians. photo from internet source

ARTS, ETC.

March 20, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot 16

Photos: This week in arts

so unique goes the ‘distance‘

Step team performs at ‘Distance‘ coffeehouse.

bronstein comedy night

mr. brandeis

photo by sharon cai/the hoot

Students perform alongside comedian Jay Black.

Confident contestants compete for title

photo by karen caldwell/the hoot

TSA brings comedy to campus with improv

By Talia Franks Staff

On Wednesday, March 18, I had a great time at the Improv Night put on by the Taiwanese Student Association, and organized by Austin Luor ’17 and Emily Wu ’18. I had never been to a TSA event before, and I was extremely pleased with the atmosphere there. Everyone I talked to was welcoming and approachable. There was also a good musical selection as we waited for the event to start, which took a little while to get everything together, but everyone was so pleasant I hardly noticed. I’ll freely admit that I do not have much experience with improv comedy, but this was very fun. The night was set up as a series of five games for groups of four to compete in, and the group that won the most games received prizes. All of the games had a Taiwanese theme and were generally very entertaining.

Before any of the games actually started, we were all shown a video that depicted a shy and lonely college student without friends who then found her inner self and became a better person for it, ending with her being handed a pamphlet for the improv night itself. The video was interesting and was a good introduction.

The first game was a Pictionary/ charades combination as a warm up before they got to the actual improv part of the night. Each team was given a series of Taiwanese objects that they could either act out or draw.

This game didn’t particularly draw my attention, because Pictionary and charades are only really fun if you’re

playing. However, the rest of the games absolutely made up for this.

In the second game the groups pretended to be hosts on a cooking show.

What made the game funny was that the groups were also playing “not my arms,” a game in which one person stands behind the other person and acts as their arms.

Each food that the groups “made” was a cultural food from Taiwan, and after the group was finished the type of food and the culture behind it was explained. However, after the first couple of foods there were some concerns about time so these explanations were shortened. I had a lot of fun watching this game, as all of the teams had a unique and hilarious way that they approached it.

I think one of the best comedic elements was accidental: Often actors would forget that the front person wasn’t supposed to use their arms and they briefly became a four-armed person. The game was especially confused by the fact that the competitors could be told to switch who had control of the arms at any time throughout the game.

The third game was the funniest because the audience had to choose a relationship between the four members of a group and TSA’s E-board provided the groups with a location.

One of the groups had their 69th Brandeis alumni reunion in a night market, and watching them imitate the elderly playing ring toss was one of the most comedic moments. Another group was a pet store owner with three pets—an octopus, a parrot and a loris—and the animals were in a love triangle. The last group had the four characters rowing boats near each other, when the two guys real-

ized that the girls were pop stars and acted like crazy fanboys, jumping out of the boat.

In the fourth game, each group came up with their own skit, but at random points had to read a different prompt off of a piece of paper. One of the teams was decorating Levin Ballroom for a night market and ended up incorporating reading Harry Potter on the beach and sitting on porcupines. Another team was made up

cultural improvisation

of two evil villains who turned everyone into bacon and made them speak Chinese. On a scavenger hunt, the final team read each prompt like it was a clue, which was very clever of them.

In the final game, each group was shown a clip and given 30 seconds before the clip was played again and they had to act out the clip as it played and then continue the scene. They could also be commanded to pause, fast forward or rewind the scene at

TSA holds fun cultural game night.

any time. This was fairly entertaining, and I think it was a good game to end on. I didn’t really understand the initial clips, because I do not understand Chinese well, but I thought the skits were fantastic.

All of the competitors performed really well, and I had a great time watching everything. The commentary from the judges was also fun to listen to, and I think the night went very well overall.

photo by karen caldwell/the hoot