The Brandeis Hoot - 12-05-08

VOL 5, NO. 13

DECEMBER 5, 2008

B R A N D E I S U N I V E R S I T Y ' S C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R

THEHOOT.NET

Community begins to heal after terror attacks in Mumbai, India

BY JAMIE FLEISHMAN AND ARIEL WITTENBERG Editors

One hundred members of the Brandeis community stood in silence, eyes turned down in the late afternoon sun in front of the Goldfarb Library Wednesday, commemorating the victims of the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.

The wind whipped the faces of the crowd that had come together and braved the cold to combat terror with love.

The moment of silence was broken by students Avram Mlotek ’09 and Adam Ross ’10, whose voices rose toward the heavens in a Hebrew melody entitled “Lo Yisa Goy”—a prayer for peace whose words, had they been sung, would read “nation shall not lift up sword against nation. They will not learn war anymore.”

Their humming was joined by the rest of the onlookers, as other students rushing to the library to study for finals slowed their gait and listened.

Words, as Brandeis Protestant Chaplain Alex Levering Kern had said only moments before, were

Girl Talk

not enough to express the “gathering of hearts in solidarity” that took place yesterday afternoon, but silence and song were.

In the week following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed over 180 people and injured at least 300, the Brandeis community united behind a common cause of remembrance and resilience, trying to both pay homage to those killed in the attacks and help those affected to bounce back.

Naman’s Story Naman Pugalia ’09, who is from southern Mumbai, was at Logan Airport on Thanksgiving on his way to Las Vegas with four other friends from his hometown when he first heard reports of the attack.

Shortly after stepping on his Jet Blue flight, he learned from the inflight televisions (which he called a “blessing and a curse”) that his “close family friend, mentor and father-figure,” Hemant Karkare, had been killed in the attacks.

“As you can imagine I was devastated,” remarked Pugalia. “Un-

fortunately Jet Blue did not have satellite telephones, so I couldn’t call.”

As soon as his plane touched the ground, Pugalia said, he called his family. His parents were safe.

Pugalia’s friends were not as fortunate – one friend lost a mother, one friend lost a father, and a third lost an uncle.

Pugalia later found out that he had lost at least 10 people he knew in the attacks, including one of his teachers, who founded an NGO that he helped establish in Mumbai.

He was “shattered.” His teacher, he said, “had a heart of gold and worked tirelessly just to provide basic amenities to all those who are not as privileged as we are.”

Pugalia’s vacation, which had started out as a celebration among friends, took a sharp, somber turn.

In the week that followed, Pugalia said, he struggled to prepare himself for what he will encounter when he flies back to Mumbai for winter break.

“I have to now come to terms See MUMBAI p. 13

PHOTO BY Napoleon Lherisson/The Hoot

COMMEMORATION: Chabad Rabbi Peretz Chein encourages community members to commit acts of loving kindness in honor of those killed in the Mumbai terrorist attacks at a gathering Wednesday.

Academic expenditure cuts focus on faculty costs

BY ALISON CHANNON Editor

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

GIRL TALK: DJ Gregg Gillis, AKA ‘Girl Talk,’ performs at Brandeis on Nov. 24, to a full crowd in the Levin Ballroom. Check out The Hoot’s exclusive interview with Gregg Gillis at www. thehoot.net.

Professor hiring freeze causes concern in affected departments

BY MATT KIPNIS Staff

The hiring freeze recently instituted by the university in response to a $10 million budget shortfall for the 2009 fiscal year will impact both the courses and the nature of instruction students receive in the immediate future. As part of a package of cutbacks meant to deal with the university’s deficit for the current fiscal year, 10

INSIDE:

or 12 of 16 ongoing faculty searches will be suspended.

The departments affected by the hiring freeze include Biochemistry, History, Math, Politics, Romance Studies, and Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, according to an e-mail by Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe. The Hornstein Professional Jewish Leadership Program was also affected.

See FREEZE p. 12

SHOPPING FOR TRUTH SHOOTING RANGE

University seminars will no longer be mandatory and fewer sections of foreign language classes will be offered next academic year in response to a predicted $5.8 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2010.

The Special Faculty Advisory Committee, formed by Provost Marty Krauss and chaired by Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe, has been charged with considering possible academic expenditure reductions for fiscal year 2010.

Jaffe explained that options for reducing academic expenditures are constrained because “we don’t have the ability to reduce tenured positions.”

“The vast majority of courses are taught by tenured faculty,” Jaffe said, “we can’t reduce that cost.”

As such, offering fewer sections of large introductory courses taught by tenured faculty would have little effect. “[the Committee was] really unable to identify…changes of that sort that would save enough money,” he commented.

For that reason, efforts to reduce expenditures in academics have focused on direct and indirect ways of saving faculty costs in required course areas.

“We were looking everywhere we could,” particularly at universal requirements, Jaffe said. “Non-Western doesn’t cost us anything,” he explained. Courses fulfilling university distribution requirements are not offered specifically for that pur-

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WOMEN’S BBALL

pose, differentiating them from USEMs, which are currently required, and foreign language, which some students take only to fulfill their requirement.

In foreign language, an area that often hires part-time faculty, fewer sections of foreign language classes will be offered, Director of Language Programs Prof. Hollie Harder (FREN) said.

The university will reduce “the number of total sections that would be budgeted,” Jaffe explained. Each language department will decide how to reduce the number of overall classes they offer in a given semester. Fewer sections will reduce the number of nontenured faculty required to teach language courses.

Foreign language faculty had been presented with the option to reduce the language requirement from three semesters to two or to offer fewer language sections, Harder explained.

The faculty chose to offer few sections because “a reduced requirement would be something that wouldn’t be reversible,” she said.

In the romance languages, the enrollment cap will rise from 18 students to 25. Changing the enrollment cap “can change from semester to semester,” Harder added. Thus, there is a “way to respond again when [the economic situation] gets better.”

Additionally, Harder commented, “with two semesters [of foreign language instruction], students really don’t have a basis to make progress…it doesn’t make sense for See ACADEMIC CUTS p. 12

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THIS WEEKEND

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COMICS

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The Hoot

Decmber 5, 2008

ED ITORIAL Established 2005 "To acquire wisdom, one must observe."

Sri Kuehnlenz Editor in Chief Kathleen Fischman Editor in Chief

Alison Channon News Editor Bret Matthew Impressions Editor Ben Sacks Features Editor Chrissy Callahan Features Editor Kayla Dos Santos Backpage Editor Alex Schneider Layout Editor Danielle Gewurz Copy Editor

Jamie Fleishman Advertising Editor Ariel Wittenberg Design Editor Max Shay Co-Photography Editor Napoleon Lherisson Co-Photography Editor Leon Markovitz Business Editor Vanessa Kerr Business Editor

Senior Editors Jordan Rothman, Zachary Aronow

FOUNDED By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

Coping as a community The Brandeis community’s reaction to last week’s attacks in Mumbai shows how in a time of crisis, all groups from student organizations to religious leaders to administrators can come together to provide support and help in the mourning and healing process.

As noted in a previous editorial, it seems that sometimes Brandeis students adopt a “save the world” mentality, but the reaction to the attacks in Mumbai was focused more on lending support to members of our own community in a time of crisis. The Brandeis community came together to simultaenously grieve and cope with the tragedy.

The two vigils held to commemorate the victims of the Mumbai attacks drew large crowds of the Brandeis community from different backgrounds, who came together to grieve and stand in solidarity with those affected. The organization of these vigils and their turnout is a symbol of Brandeis’ solidarity in a time of tragedy. In addition to grieving the loss of life, in the following days, various efforts are being put in motion to cope and recover from the attacks.

The idea to establish a scholarship in honor of Mumbai Chabad director Rabbi Holtzberg and his wife, who were killed in the attacks, is a perfect example of Brandeis trying to move on and create something positive without forgetting the tragedy. In addition to the emotional healing, Brandeis is also planning a way to help students intellectually interpret the attacks. Next Tuesday, the South Asian Studies program, Student Union, and Office of Communications will be holing a forum to give professors and students a chance to discuss the social and political implications of the attacks.

The Indian cuisine dinner sponsored by the Revive Mumbai Project also showed how Brandeis is reaching outside the campus to raise money for recovery efforts.

Naman Pugalia ‘09, who is from southern Mumbai, has been a driving force behind many of the efforts to cope with the attacks, and the greater Brandeis community has come together to support him and his mission.

As we continue to cope with the devastation of last week’s attack’s, we should acknowledge the university’s efforts to provide emotional and educational support for the Brandeis community as well as reach out beyond the boundaries of the campus.

SUBMISSION POLICIES The Hoot welcomes letters to the editor on subjects that are of interest to the general community. Preference is given to current or former community members.

The Hoot reserves the right to edit any submissions for libel, grammar, punctuation, spelling and clarity. The Hoot is under no obligation to print any of the pieces submitted. Letters in print will also appear on-line at www.thehoot.net.

The deadline for submitting letters is Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. All letters must be submitted electronically to editor@ thehoot.net. All letters must be from a

valid email address and include contact information for the author. Letters of length greater than 500 words may not be accepted.

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

The Hoot is a community student newspaper of Brandeis University. Produced entirely by students, The Hoot serves a readership of 6,000 with in-depth news, relevant commentary, sports and coverage of cultural events. Our mission is to give every community member a voice.

E-mail: editor@thehoot.net

Letters to the Editor: To the Editor: I’m very concerned with Eli Sedransk’s ability to review musical theater productions effectively if he knows so little about the art as to reduce Gypsy - the near perfect combination of a mastermind book by Arthur Laurents and some of the most well-known songs in the industry thanks to Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim, two of the most accomplished musical theater artists in history - to “a meandering, schmaltzy plot,” “halfconceived characters,” and songs which “are contrived at best.”

As a Brandeis Alum, I find it quite troubling that despite the wealth of musical theater talent and knowledge at the university, this paper is unable to find a writer suitable enough to understand how important Gypsy was in the history of musical theater.

Sedransk poses the question, “How did this do well on Broadway?” I figured I’d offer this writer an answer in hopes that he would find a way to become more informed before ever attempting to review a theater production again. Gypsy tells a tragic, heartfelt, and inspiring story of not only a mother who is unable to let go of her children, but also of an American who is unable to let go of Vaudeville theater in a time when history is shifting the

popular tendency in the direction of Burlesque. In fact, the significance of this is brilliantly portrayed in the music as what was the Vaudeville number “Let Me Entertain You,” becomes the much more suggestive Burlesque “Let Me Entertain You.” Apparently that glaringly obvious and poignantly smart detail didn’t strike Mr. Sendransk.

It is not simply that “Louise’s talent does not suffice,” as the author speculates in his opening paragraph, but that her talents are the product of the new generation in which she was born.

The creators link Mama Rose’s insatiable need for Vaudeville with a mother’s connection to her children, something that most average American’s can understand.

The author also seems to ignore that this “meandering plot line” is the true story of the “halfconceived” Gypsy Rose Lee’s life, a fact that was present in the director’s note of the program in case a hypothetical reviewer was incoherent enough to note that in the research he/she completed before seeing the show.

As for the contrived songs, I’m fairly certain that “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” “Small World,” “You’ll Never Get Away from Me,” “Some People,” and “Let Me Entertain You” did not enter the canon of American

standards because they were contrived. Gypsy’s score happens to be notable, outside of these songs, for its difficult and astonishing brass parts, its overture that ranks among the best (if not as the best) ever written, its smart lyrics, and its excitingly paced harmonic rhythm, which is not often paralleled in other musical theater works of the time.

The role of Mama Rose, often considered the most complex role ever written for the American Musical Theater, has been a vehicle for numerous stars including Ethel Merman, Tyne Daly, Angela Lansbury, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, and Patti LuPone. In terms of the music, there is no other Broadway score in which one character has so many powerhouse numbers. In other words, this show cultivates a star in a way that no other show can.

So, Editor, I do hope that in your next musical theater review, you can find some way to assure that your reviewer is capable of aptly reviewing a show, and is incapable of shooting down some of the best material that the industry has ever seen. That is, after all, what I feel I can expect from my alma mater.

- Matt Stern ‘08

Water bottles: How a misleading poll got it wrong

BY SCOTT ROTHSTEIN Columnist

A few months ago the student body of Brandeis University was presented a poll for the reduction in the consumption of bottled water. The poll questioned, “Recognizing the social, environmental, and economic implications of bottled water, should Brandeis University reduce the sale and distribution of bottled water on campus?” The response in the affirmative for this poll was astounding; according to the student union 80.3% of respondents voted YES on the poll question.

Environmental activists on campus took this as an affirmation that their actions will be supported by the majority of the student body. Union President Jason Gray declared, “On a personal level, I’m proud that so many students are in favor of making a reduction to create a culture of conservation on this campus.” Matt Schmidt, President of SEA (Students for Environmental Action) was quoted as saying, “The results speak for themselves, and we hope that they translate to some direct policy action by this administration.” However, is that really what this water bottle poll told us? Was this water bottle poll even legitimate? The answer of course is no, this poll was scientifically and politically illegitimate. This poll amounts to nothing more than a moral blank check for environmental activists on campus to do as they see fit to move their agenda forward while claiming to have the backing of the student body.

Looking at the question posed,

there are two parts, a preceding statement and a question. I will go straight to the problem with the poll, the root question, “Should Brandeis University reduce the sale and distribution of bottled water on campus?” The answer to this question is yes, Brandeis University should reduce the sale and distribution of bottled water, and in fact this should be true with the whole nation, even the whole world. Water bottles negatively effect the environment and their sale and distribution should be reduced. While we are at it I think most Americans agree we need to reduce the number of abortions taking place in the United States and the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. should be reduced as well. The problem is that while pro-choice activists want to reduce the number of abortions, their belief of how to do that differs greatly from pro-life activists.

The same goes for those who support tougher immigration action

versus those who prefer amnesty for illegals. Going back to the water bottle poll, it is simply too vague to be considered legitimate.

Everyone agrees that we need to reduce water bottle sale and distribution on campus, but everyone has their own idea how to do so, just as with all issues. Simply asking people if they believe pollution is a problem does not constitute a just cause of action in the pursuit of rectifying that problem.

It only amounts to a moral blank check for environmental activists such as the members of SEA to push policy on the students of Brandeis that they may have serious contentions with.

A second problem with this poll is that the responses were voluntary. Student’s voluntary went onto the student union webpage to vote in the poll, which allowed many students to opt out of taking it. This favors representation See WATER p. 4

December 5, 2008

The Hoot

3 Decembe

IMPRES S IONS

Drug and alcohol policy is 'out of touch' courage any behaviors that build community and enhance enjoyment therein.

The community has to take One Saturday evening earlier back the right to establish its own this semester a group of sopho- standards. mores put on music and cracked What does it mean that Branopen a few beers in a Castle single. deis calls its student residence At about 12:30 a.m. a CA knocked life employees community, rather on their door and asked them to than resident advisors? A true lower the music. community advisor is not an enAlthough the room’s resident forcer or a guard, but a friendly happily agreed, the CA called him counselor and an advocate. Their outside and accused, “I saw beers loyalty ought to lie with the stuin there.” dent body, their peers, rather than None of the friends inside with the administration. were of legal Regardless of drinking age, what the rules but none of Brandeis student behav- state, CAs ought them were ior indicates widespread to support stubelligerently dents’ recreor danger- disbelief about the “in- ational activities ously drunk. herent wrongness” of of choice and The CA should never nonetheless drugs and alcohol. write them up insisted on for behavior that entering the violates regularoom, coltions levied by lecting the those outside of the immediate beer and escorting the resident to community. a sink where the CA watched him “But it’s illegal!” pour it all out.

While it is obvious that underAfterward, the CA lamented age drinking and drug use are something like, “I hated doing illegal, illegality is not a rigorous that, but I had to.” argument for not doing someSome other evening, another thing--alcohol, after all, was progroup stood just beside the court- hibited from 1920 to 1933 and in yard separating the Village from Massachusetts, as in several other Slosberg sharing a marijuana states, the consequence for poscigarette when another student session of marijuana was recently approached. reduced to a civil penalty. FurtherAnnouncing his position as a more, Brandeis student behavior CA, this student insisted that the indicates widespread disbelief group cease smoking there and about the “inherent wrongness” demanded that the group throw of drugs and alcohol. the spliff aside even after they Nullifying, as a community, offered to move out of sight. Al- those policies that prohibit acthough confrontations like these tions that are not inherently are ultimately unnecessary, they wrong would allow CAs to more are unfortunately common when effectively advise residents on some of our CAs choose to en- drug and alcohol use and reduce force an ineffective and out-of- tensions between them and their touch drug and alcohol policy. residents, their peers.

What is a sensible drug policy?

How should the administration While one may argue the legal, act? Ideally, it would condone and medical and social implications foster responsible drug and alcoof drug use, any policy must ulti- hol use so that a greater majority mately be based on responsibility. of it would happen responsibly Moreover, the policy must take and within an informed and cointo account the sensibilities and hesive community. habits of community which is exSince it is unfortunately unpected to abide by it. likely that the administration will By this we arrive at a basic stan- ever condone illegal activities, it dard: Any behavior that reflects should instead turn a blind eye to complete disregard for the needs them. This requires that students of one’s neighbors is unaccept- acquire knowledge about these able, regardless of whether or not activities and practice them redrugs or alcohol are involved. sponsibly.

A majority of Brandeis students Thankfully, there are numerous do not endorse, by their behavior, CAs who observe a policy more the University’s fundamentally consistent with what we’ve sugabstinence-based approach to gested here. drugs and alcohol.

Still too many act complacently It seems clear then that the as an enforcer serving regulations student body would overwhelm- that don’t make sense. ingly prefer a more tolerant polInstead of intensifying students’ icy that acknowledges alcohol fears that their peers might write and drug use, discourages abuse them up for perfectly reasonable and respects people’s choices. A behavior, CAs should side with community standard, by its very the student body in observing unnature, must be reflexive; it can- spoken rules of tolerance, ignornot come from on high and must ing the insufficient status quo and reflect careful deliberation by the nurturing community. community about its wants and needs. Moreover, it ought to enBY RYAN MCELHANEY AND AARON TAYLOR Special to The Hoot

One Tall Voice

Reflections on a trip to the shooting range

BY JORDAN ROTHMAN Editor

A few weeks ago, I had a splendid time going to a shooting range with the Brandeis Republicans and several other Brandeis students.

That Sunday was only the third time I had ever been shooting and I was a bit nervous. This feeling was added to the fact that the worker at the range only gave us a 90 second tutorial on each weapon we rented and his only safety instruction was to, “keep the gun pointed down range.” Nevertheless, after I had gotten my gear and fired my first shot, I felt like a kid in a candy store. Improving one's ability to aim and shoot a weapon is an enjoyable affair and makes for a wonderful hobby. Furthermore, the event allowed all who participated to bond with each other and partake in a time-honored American tradition. Shooting a firearm for only the third time in my life also reminded me of my views on weapons.

I’d like to get them on the table, as my delightful experience at that shooting range has substantiated my love and admiration for firearms.

Holding a gun in your hands is an inspiring feeling. You can feel the power that you then posses, and know that your actions must be thought out carefully.

You can understand the trust that the people around you have in your competence and any rational person discovers that this weapon must be used with caution. I am reminded of the NRA saying, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” which is in fact correct.

Any rational and sane person knows that guns should be used carefully and they should therefore not be denied a weapon as long as the state deems them to be competent. Sure, accidents will always happen, but for the most part, people are smart and knowledgeable about the immense responsibility of owning weapons.

I therefore do not see the right that the government has of limiting the use of guns, just as they have little right to limit the use of automobiles to able people. Once an individual proves to the state through a written exam and driver’s test that they are competent to drive they are allowed to operate vehicles.

Both cars and guns come with great responsibility as each can take a person’s life. So long as a screening process is in place, guns should also not be denied to a responsible and able American citizen.

Furthermore, guns represent a time-honored hallmark of American culture.

From the very early days of the colonies, gun-owners assisted in the common protection. Militias and others with guns helped quell rebellions, stop invasions, and af-

GUNS N' MOSES: Jordan Rothman exercises his right to bear arms with the Brandeis Republicans last Sunday.

forded the community many other benefits.

“Home Guards” and other voluntary associations were in full force until World War I, and some forms of these groups are still in operation today.

It may seem unlikely to the modern observer that citizens with guns will be needed, but who can tell? One can never know if they will need a weapon to stop someone from burglarizing their house.

One can never tell if this country will be invaded, and regular citizens are charged with the task of defending the nation. Taking away guns and putting up restrictions on the right to bear arms is therefore not only wrong but somewhat dangerous. It denies citizens their time-honored right to guns and takes away their ability to defend themselves.

I would wager that many people who oppose guns have never fired a shot before in their life.

Though they don’t support other people owning and using arms, these individuals have not experienced the awe and responsibility that comes with holding a lethal weapon. This is hypocritical. Before anyone makes a judgment about guns, please go to a range a shoot a couple of shots yourself.

The Republicans are even planning on going shooting again next semester and if the F-Board is better to us than they have been in the past, we might even be able to subsidize the cost. Only then can you make a fully informed decision on the issue free from bias or ignorance.

I would also like to note that it is sickening how some states

have overly-restricted gun laws.

Washington D.C. has severely limited one's ability to possess a fully-assembled firearm in one’s house, disallowing its use during an emergency. Other jurisdictions have limited the use of assault weapons, handguns and other forms of arms.

Although some regulation and protection is necessary, most handguns and assault weapons should be legal. If citizens needed to take up arms, they should have the best means possible. If someone needed a handgun to stop a robber in a quick moment, they should have their chance.

Although background checks, waiting periods, and other precautions are important, some regulations are completely deleterious as they undermine a citizen’s freedom and right to own arms.

I cannot wait to own a gun or two when I get older. I shall use them not only for sport, but for personal protection and service to my community.

Simply holding a weapon allows the user to feel the immense power and responsibility of the firearm they are carrying. Bad people will get guns despite any efforts to dissuade them and accidents will always happen.

But good and responsible individuals should be allowed to possess weapons, to do otherwise violates a sacred constitutional right and rescinds a valuable service to the community.

And if you can’t get firearms, there is another way to posses “guns.” Just go to the weight room next semester, the new additions are sure to allow the opportunity to indeed bear arms.

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December 5, 2008

IMPRESSIONS

The Hoot

SEA Change

Shopping for Truth

Black Friday: An animalistic exhibition

Bad economy no excuse for neglecting environment

BY DANIELLE HOLLENBECKPRINGLE Special to The Hoot

BY CHRISSY CALLAHAN Editor

In the wild, herds of animals race to find their prey--the early bird catches the worm. Herds prepare for battle, strengthening themselves with a pre-battle feast, and a plan of attack is formulated.

In the Un it e d States, herds of frenzied shoppers pack together to scour shelves for the latest deals--the early bird catches the bargain.

This ritual, like any other, requires intense preparation: an intense study of the previous day’s newspaper and the glossy, beckoning inserts inside, a trip to the ATM and a filling meal for starters.

Like any other avid shopper, I was up before the sun last Friday.

I had scoured the ads, searching for that perfect deal; that reason to wake up way earlier than any college student should on their day off. And I did it all in the name of the shopper’s holy day— Black Friday.

As any die-hard shopper knows, Black Friday is the height of the shopping year. This is the day when prices are slashed and bargains are had. This is the day you use your recently padded stomach to fend off the crowds and hope to burn off all those holiday calories.

Black Friday is traditionally the day that marks the start of the profit making season for retailers as the herds come out from their caves and hunt—for bargains.

It’s not traditionally the day an innocent Wal-Mart employee gets trampled to death. But that’s exactly what happened Friday.

As many employees enjoyed a few days off from the 9-5 grind, retailers woke up in the wee hours of the morning (if they even went to sleep) to accommodate the crowds.

Some stores opened at 6 a.m. or later, but those that really meant business yanked open those doors at 4 a.m. or even midnight.

As I zigz a g g e d through the narrow tiled aisles of the first store I visited, clutching to the items I’d checked off on my list before entering the store around 6:45 a.m., I couldn’t help but marvel at how tribal it all was.

As someone who goes shopping on a regular basis, I’m used to the crowds. I’m used to rude people bumping into me with their carriage they can control no better than their car or their whining child. I’m even used to waiting in long lines. And I’ve done Black Friday before, so it wasn’t anything new. But I don’t think anyone can ever really come to terms with how tribal it all is.

Somehow, when a retailer mentions ‘lowest prices of the year,’ people hit their moral lows also.

Forget saying excuse me, forget all façade of propriety, just get out of my way and let me buy my $80 camera.

And though shoppers certainly didn’t forget to leave their wallets at home, it seems they forgot their manners, especially in the New York Wal-Mart where the man

In the United States, herds of frenzied shoppers pack together to scour shelves for the latest deals.

was killed. How many heartless shoppers does it take to trample a 6-foot-5, 270 pound man?

2000, approximately.

2000 shoppers in the pursuit of a bargain. 2000 shoppers who didn’t care that that was a human being they were stepping over.

You have to wonder what was so alluring about Wal-Mart’s sale that it generated so much foot traffic.

Was a stupid electronic device or some trite trinket really worth the life of an innocent bystander? Was getting a DVD for $5 really worth losing integrity or manners? Or did these people ever really have them in the first place?

I love a good shopping day as much as the next shopaholic—just look at the title of my column! But doesn’t the whole point of holiday shopping-finding something special for the ones you love-go against the behavior so many people exhibit at these animalistic exhibitions?

The holidays are supposed to be a season where people put aside their differences for a short time and join in on the ‘season to be jolly.’ But somehow we all get so caught up in the stress to find the perfect gift that we forget about all this.

Perhaps we’re all just in a rush like we are on a daily basis. We’re all trying to find perfection that isn’t out there. We expect our holiday to be the best and forget about the feelings of others. But what about the holiday of the family of this New York Wal-Mart employee? Something tells me that their holiday will be far from perfect because of the selfish actions of a few frenzied shoppers.

Nothing-not even a dirt cheap digital camera or TV is worth losing your morals over. And that lesson is one holiday gift that should be in all our stockings this holiday season.

Visit us online at www.thehoot.net

Before the economic crisis, activists, environmentalists, scientists and economists warned climate change could affect the economy. At the end of 2006, the British Government released a report warning the failure to “curb the impact of climate change could damage the global economy on the scale of the Great Depression.”

The climate change movement shifted from an environmental fringe movement to a concern that ranked highly on the agendas of many governments around the world. The world began to realize the measures to curb climate change were needed to do more than protect our ecosystems – to protect our economy.

The global economy is damaged. Its official, the US is in a recession. In fact, we have been since last December. The exponential increase in oil prices sparked conversations on reducing our use of oil through driving less, developing new technology that would use energy efficiently, and increasing our clean energy use. Although the oil prices have compounded the economic crisis by increasing the prices of just about everything, especially food, it also was a push for real action to be taken to reduce our carbon emissions. Fortunately, and unfortunately, the oil prices have gone down. For you and me, this is great news. For the environment – this could be deadly.

Just as Brandeis has “tightened its belt” in terms of spending, so has the rest of the country. Investment in clean energy and other sustainable products requires money. In the long run, they will pay off; however, in the short run

they are costly. Costly is not an option right now.

A few days ago, Reuters released an article on the Poznan UN Climate Change Conference titled “Economy Offers Excuse to Avoid Climate Fight.” In two years (and one month), the economy has gone from being the reason to promote the climate fight to the scapegoat to not fighting it. However, we cannot afford to stop fighting. Rajendra Pachauri, the head of the UN climate panel said rich nations need to be at levels 25 to 40 per cent below 1990 levels to keep temperatures below what some countries see as a "dangerous" 2 degree Celsius rise by 2020.

I do not believe the responsibility lies only within the “rich nations” to spend the extra money needed to reduce and eventually stop climate change. However, I do believe that we cannot allow the economy to be used as a scapegoat. If anything, we need to continue to look at what was being said two years ago. The effects of climate change – to the extent it is projected without any action taken now – will still cause huge economic problems. It is our responsibility to tighten our belts in ways that will continue to benefit the environment. Continuing to buy local foods (which are often less expensive), continuing to buy quality goods that last so you can reduce use, continuing to encourage friends and family (and yourself if your lucky) to buy hybrid vehicles (or diesel), and continuing to pay that 10% extra for a good you know was made with clean energy will prevent this recession putting a halt on change that is vital to the future of our economy.

Union’s water bottle poll flawed

WATER (from p. 2)

of environmental activists in the responses because they will be more motivated to vote yes on the poll. However, people who would vote no are less motivated and so they will not vote in the poll at all resulting in their underrepresentation in the poll. As any respected pollster would tell you, letting participants opt out of a poll would skew the results making them inaccurate. Even worse is that only about 40% of students voted in the poll anyway and of those 40%, 20% still voted no. This means that from this poll we can only assess that 32% of the student body is actually in favor of this initiative.

When the Justice asked SEA president Matt Schmidt about the poll, he stated about the results, “80 percent said yes; to me, that's a mandate.” However, 32% of students definitively favoring this initiative is no mandate; it is not even a definite approval. These polls results can simply not be taken seriously due to the ability for many students to opt out of it combined with the low turnout. Had President Schmidt stood in Shapiro with this poll and asked twenty random students this question, the results would have been much more accurate and legitimate.

If the Student Union and SEA would like to ask students about specific policy toward water bottle sale and distribution reduction then they can take the time to brainstorm ideas and then present those ideas in a poll. The Student Union and SEA can work to reduce the sale and distribution of bottled water on campus, however trying to get the students of Brandeis to sign a moral blank check is not a proper means to this end. This poll should not be considered a legitimate reason for any specific policy action to reduce bottled water sale and distribution. Many students do probably want to see a reduction in water bottle sale and distribution, but it is probable that many want to achieve this through consumer choice, not policy mandates.

December December 5, 5, 2008 2008

II M MP PR R EE SS SS II O ON N SS

Naomi Narrative

The The Hoot Hoot

5 5

Hiatt Career Corner

My last day with grandma Grants available for summer internships

BY NAOMI BARTH Columnist

I used to have this toy monkey. It was highlighter green and made of shiny plastic. At face value it was nothing more than a tchotchke, cluttering my room like all my other pointless nicknacks.

A self-avowed pack rat, my desk had spelling quizes from the first grade sitting next to prized jewelry, which shared a ledge with a defunct cell phone. I never meant to keep them all, but purging my room of possessions felt more like purging my life of memories. If I didn’t have that certificate marking my fifth grade graduation it never happened. Letting go was never my thing.

It's still not my thing. That little toy monkey that I had never bothered to name became my last link to my grandmother. She died when I was 10, on my baby sister’s first birthday. My memories of her are anecdotes, adding brief flavor to my life. I remember her chocolate bundt cake, used to mark birthdays. I remember her affinity for sunflower seeds, and her Middle Eastern ability to crack them with her teeth. I remember her tanned, capable arms, used to embrace her 11 grandchildren.

But that’s it. I heard stories of course. Of her generosity, her wit, her sensitivity. Her phenomenal skills as a mother. Her cooking.

Her ability to keep my grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, on the right track and one with humanity. Relayed to me time and time again, these have become my distant memories. Almost like my brain knows they happened, but my heart is clueless, and so remains emotionally numb.

I look at the toy monkey and hazy images of our last day together saunter into my memory. My sister Talya and I had spent Shabbat at my grandparents' apartment in the Bronx. It was a Sunday and we went to play paddleball with Grandma. She was short and quick, and I remember being impressed by her skills. Afterward we stumbled upon this huge outdoor carnival. It was a hodgepodge event, sprawling and disorganized. There were used books for sale, and entire worlds made out of blow up plastic castles, slides, jumping booths. It was a wonderworld of helium and leaving my shoes behind ensured a passport to the land of high jumps and somersaults.

My memory then turns faulty.

I remember the loud music that hurt my ears. I remember the nonkosher food that Grandma refused to buy for us, even though we whined so loudly you would have thought we were asking for candy, not hotdogs. I remember a funny African American man trying to sell used white hightops.

And then there was the toy monkey. Did I win it, in a coin toss or ring game? Did I find it on the coarse grass, waddling under a table with my eyes on the prize? Did Grandma buy it, out of guilt from refusing our request for food? All are equally likely scenarios. My consumer-driven 10 year old self only remembers the shiny toy and not the process by which I procured it.

And then Grandma was gone.

Her hair loss because of the chemo, her frail body propping itself up to see her grandchildren, her vomit appointments with the bedpan.

All gone. The stuffed monkey we hopeful and naïve grandchildren gave her sat in my grandparents' apartment taunting me. “I’m here and she’s not,” the immobile bastard of a monkey sing songed, in a high falsetto.

But life continued. I had other concerns, like navigating the fourth grade with my glasses, retainers, and new haircut that made me look like Corey from Boy Meets World.

I often thought of Grandma, but mostly about how her not being around anymore affected me.

Now I didn’t have a grandmother to bring in for show and tell on Grandparent’s Day. No one would brush my hair and let me try on her clip-on earrings. No one would sew us fancy dresses for our birthdays. I felt robbed about not having her in my life.

I didn’t quite know what it meant that she had died. She was in the ground on a far off mountain in Israel. Wasn’t she lonely in the ground with no one to play with and no one to talk to? But she was also up in heaven, playing cards with God on a wispy cloud. God liked to play casino and he and my Grandma were pretty evenly matched. How could she be in two places at once? Was it like magic?

I thought she would come back.

I knew her death didn’t mean that I could never see her again. I always imagined that we’d pay 1 million dollars- an exorbitant sum- and she’d have one day to spend with us, her entire family. What would we do for that one day? My mind always went to the zoo. A sunny summer day at the zoo. Hot enough to be comfortable in shorts and short sleeves.

We would stroll around the zoo for a few hours, me and my siblings scrambling ahead, picking the flowers we weren’t allowed to touch and shrieking excitedly at the animals. My Grandma and father would stay behind and talk.

Nothing intense, just talk. There were no tears anywhere, no sadness. We just played and my dad and Grandma talked and we got to see Grandma smile and laugh again. It was so simple.

Of course this day never happened. I’ve been to the zoo since then, but always with a heavy heart. Unfortunately, my day at the fair remains my final day with Grandma. Fogged by mis-memory, this sad fact makes me pine for the zoo, the memory clearer than my true last day with Grandma.

I don’t remember if Grandma really was good at paddle ball, which siblings came with us that day, or if there actually were helium filled activities. I sketched the day with my pen of fantasy, my instrument of illusion.

All I have is vague uncertainty, a curse to a budding writer. The toy monkey magically appeared in my hands and consciousness, with no inkling as to its origin. The nameless monkey is a figment, a connection to a day that is more dreamlike than true. Just like Grandma

BY JESSICA PAQUIN Special to The Hoot

For Rachel Nadas ’09, the Louis D. Brandeis Legacy Fund for Social Justice enabled her to pursue her passion to empower the disenfranchised.

Rachel spent last summer as an intern at Farmworker Justice in Washington, D.C., helping the non-profit advocacy organization with environment a l and occupational health campaigns for migrant workers. Although the internship was unpaid, the funding program provided her with a $3,500 stipend to cover travel and living expenses in the nation’s capital.

“Working at Farmworker Justice was a wonderful opportunity that I would not have been able to pursue without the generous stipend,” said Rachel, an International and Global Studies major from Raleigh, North Carolina.

“I am interested in working at a non-profit organization committed to doing good work, and I had the chance to experience that environment on a day-to-day basis

over the summer. I definitely got a lot out of the internship.”

During her internship, Rachel researched the avian flu and learned that migrant workers would be more susceptible to an avian flu pandemic than the general population. She also examined the health effects of certain pesticides on workers. Rachel wrote summaries that appeared in Farmworker Justice’s newsletter and her research was used in reports prepared by her supervisor.

“I felt the work I was doing was important to the organization and that my contributions were valued by my colleagues,” Rachel said. “I wasn’t just sitting around making copies all day.”

Rachel received her stipend through the new Louis D. Brandeis Legacy Fund for Social Justice internship program, which provides funding ($3,500 domestic, $4,000 international) for students working at mission-driven organizations committed to social justice. The program, established through a generous gift from a

Rachel spent last summer as an intern at Farmworker Justice in Washington, D.C.

Brandeis alumnus, has been doubled for summer 2009 and will now award up to 20 internship funding grants through the Hiatt Career Center and its World of Work Fellowships.

Placement professionals agree that internships give students an important jump on their postgraduation job search, particularly in this challenging economic environment.

“Not only do internships allow students to conduct an in-depth exploration of a specific field or industry, but they provide students valuable real-world work experience to build their resumes and make themselves more attractive to prospective employers,” said Joseph Du Pont, the director of the Hiatt Career Center. “This program exposes students to careers in social justice – one of the pillars of Brandeis- allowing them to explore careers that have a social impact.”

Application deadlines for summer internship funding programs range from January 20 to April 4. For more information, contact Rusmir Musić (rusmir@brandeis. edu or x63618), the assistant director for experiential programs at Hiatt.

Editor’s Note: Jessica Paquin is the academic internship administrator for the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences/Hiatt Career Center

Book of Matthew

Losing my religion: A rant about non-believing

BY BRET MATTHEW Columnist

“Are you Jewish?”

It was a simple question, almost trivial. Let’s face it, here at Brandeis, everyone gets asked at least once.

“No,” I answered plainly, without giving it much thought. But no sooner had the word left my lips did a mental conversation ensue in my head.

Wait, I am Jewish, aren’t I? Yes, I am.

What am I saying, then?

Well, either I have a serious memory problem, or a serious religion problem.

I’m pretty sure my memory’s fine.

I thought about it for a while.

A long while, in fact. I reflected upon my life, a life that, whether I like it or not, has been strongly influenced by both Judaism (the religion of my mother) and Christianity (the religion of my father).

But in the end, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t believe any of it.

I did not attend Hebrew School, attend services, celebrate religious holidays, or become a Bar Mitzvah because I wanted to. All of these took up a lot of time, a great deal of effort, and more often than not bored me out of my mind. If

at any point in my life I had been given the option to ignore these traditions, I would have. I followed them for the simple fact that my family wanted me too.

But family traditions aside, I’ve become convinced that organized religion is detrimental to humanity. Think, for a moment, about the hundreds of wars that have been waged over religion, and the millions who have died in the name of some “god”. Is it not ironic that most religions preach peace, but constantly practice war against non-believers?

Think about the promising political careers, especially those of American politicians, that have been cut short, the strong leaders who never were, because they did not follow a certain religion.

At the time of this writing, I can only think of one openly atheist member of Congress: Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA), and he is a lucky one, serving in a relatively liberal district. Now that I think about it, unless the nature of politics changes, I am sacrificing the possibility of my own political career with this publishing.

Think about the scientific progress that has been hindered, from the Catholic Church's suppression of science during the Renaissance to modern government opposition. Stem cell research, which

has the potential to improve or save thousands of lives, has been constantly assaulted because of a few powerful men who feel that their “god” is more important than the rest of us.

I do not believe in a “god,” at least not the “god” that the various holy books depict. While I acknowledge the possibility of their being elements of our universe that we do not understand, I feel that it is the height of human hubris to take all of this, revere it as a “god,” and put it in a book, to assume that this book is the absolute word of "god," and to follow it blindly.

With the holiday season looming ever closer, I cannot decide whether it is appropriate to forgoe my ususal political talk and print this column. But here it is. I’m sure many of my family members will have some questions about my rant when I go home over semester break, so to help answer them, I will end by including a quote by Stephen F. Roberts, often repeated by my good friend Adam: “I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.”

Perhaps you ought to think about it as well.

The Hoot accepts submissions to the Impressions section on any topic of consequence to any member of the campus community. Our mission is to give every community member a voice.

The views expressed in the Impressions section do not necessarily reflect the views of The Hoot's editorial board.

6 The Hoot

FEATURES

December 5, 2008

Home on the range, not at the ‘Deis

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

On Nov. 4, a bus and two cars of Brandeis Democrats and their supporters drove to the small town of Raymond, New Hampshire to knock on doors in an effort to remind the town’s residents to vote for thenpresidential hopeful Barack Obama.

It had been a warm day, about 50 degrees, and the leaves—seemingly foreshadowing the results of the election—had just begun to change.

The efforts of these Brandeis students were well-known around campus, and were written about in both student newspapers and the Brandeis-based blog Innermostparts.org.

On Nov. 21, four cars worth of Brandeis Republicans and their friends drove to the town of Manchester, New Hampshire to fire guns at a shooting range in an effort to have some fun exercising their second amendment rights.

It was a brisk day, about 30 degrees, and the leaves—along with Republican hopes of another four years with their chief executive in office—had already fallen.

The journey of these Brandeis students, unlike that of their bluer brethren, was not well-known. While the trip was open to the public (eight of the 20 students on the trip were not members of the Brandeis Republicans club), the event wasn’t publicized.

A small facebook event was created, but those who attended heard about it mostly through word of mouth.

Barack Obama, beloved by many Brandesians, had polarized the campus—a place where it had already been uncomfortable to be a Republican, or even a moderate.

While the trip to the shooting range was planned long before Sarah Palin was the constant topic of many a Saturday Night Live skit, the students who went shooting that Sunday were afraid that in a postObama world, their actions would label them as embittered Republicans—clinging to at least their guns, if not their religion, in the last days of the Bush presidency.

So they kept quiet, a silent minority, huddling together in the Shapiro Campus Center at 8:30 on a Sunday morning to go shoot some guns.

Once in New Hampshire, however, the group exploded with excitement.

Cries of “I love America,” “I love New Hampshire,” and “live free or die” were repeated numerous times in reference to New Hampshire’s gun laws, which allow all citizens over the age of 18 with no criminal record or history of mental illness to shoot guns at a shooting range, as long as they show government issue I.D. The gun shop located at the front of The Manchester Shooting Range looked the part. The walls were lined with rifles and the cases filled with handguns, all of various shapes and sizes. The range was being remodeled, but if it weren’t, a stuffed bear would greet customers as they walk in.

The Scarface poster that hung over the door to the shooting range would have seemed out of place if two of the more zealous Brandeis shooters hadn’t decided to rent two MP5 machine guns for the duration of the visit.

The rest of the group, most of whom laughed nervously at the machinegun rentals, rented less glamorous guns: two Ruger rifles, a magnum, an HK USP .40, a Glock and a double action revolver.

Many members had never shot a gun before, or even seen a real gun in person, but after an hour-long safety lesson, they went to the range.

Cowering against the back wall of the range, Miriam Glicksberg ’12, clad with

protective eye and ear gear, keeled over at the first gunshot. In the stuffy, concrete range, the shot reverberated so loudly that an unaccustomed ear might mistake it for a cannonball being fired.

“I’ve seen a water gun before,” she shouted above the machine gun fire that followed, “but I want to learn to do this. I’m determined to get used to the noise.”

Glicksberg is from L.A. Her mom’s conservative, her dad isn’t. Neither of her parents have ever shot or really seen a gun, but Glicksberg wants to because it’s a Second Amendment right.

She said she’ a Republican because “it’s the right way,” and voted for McCain. Consequentially, Nov. 4 was “a sad day” for her.

When most of the Brandeis population was sitting in the Campus Center watching the election returns on a projector, Glicksberg, together with the rest of the Brandeis Republicans, was watching on a T.V. in someone’s room.

Even though the event held in the Campus Center had been advertised as a “bipartisan” one, once Obama was announced the winner and the chanting of the “Obama mantra of ‘Yes We Can’” had begun, the atmosphere was not very conservativefriendly.

Not that the campus usually is, according to Brandeis Republican President Naomi Cohn ’11.

Cohn, who had never shot a gun before and who was surprised to learn that machine guns really do spout fire when in action like in the movies, said she was a liberal moderate in high school, but coming to Brandeis has pushed her to the right. The campus is “polarizing,” she remarked.

“A lot of my moderate views are attacked here,” she continued. “On the Brandeis campus, you’re seen as either on the far left, far right, or apathetic. You’re not allowed to just be in the middle.”

Watching the election returns at the Shapiro Campus Center “wasn’t the most comfortable atmosphere” for the Republicans, she said.

They knew that McCain probably wasn’t going to win, and knew that if he didn’t, or even if he did, they would be faced with even nastier comments than they had received in the past.

One senior republican shooter wished to remain anonymous because his friends were under the impression that he had voted for Obama. Though they knew he was a Republican, once Obama had won the Democratic nomination, this senior said, he stopped discussing the election because he was met with such animosity. Many interpreted his silence as an indicator that he voted for Obama.

While he maintains that he has not lied to anyone about whom he voted for, he has made no effort to correct his friends’ impressions.

“It’s a lot easier this way,” he said. “Republicans at Brandeis have had a rough time this month, worse than the rest of our Party.”

This sense of misunderstanding is at the core of why the Republicans did not widely publicize their event. They were afraid that the stigma that guns have at Brandeis, one that has intensified this past year with the arming of campus police, would label them as “stereotypical republicans.”

Andrew Brooks ’09 didn’t even tell his Republican parents that he was going to the shooting range for fear of what they might say, let alone his Brandeisian friends.

One junior at the range wished to remain anonymous precisely because of the stigma that comes with shooting guns.

“I’m well versed in guns, but that doesn’t

PHOTO BY Ariel Wittenberg/The Hoot

THE RANGE: Republican Arthur Serer ‘11 shoots a Glock pistol at the Manchester Shooting Range in New Hampshire. Though Serer has never shot a gun before, he hopes to one day own one.

stereotypically line up with my political beliefs,” said the liberal who voted for Obama but also grew up shooting guns in rural New Jersey. “I don’t want people to think I’m a gun toting loon.”

While the junior said that at the range he felt he was “among friends” who would not judge his actions as incongruous with his political beliefs, he feared that the rest of the Brandeis population would not see it that way.

He did, however, point out that the members of the group who had the most experience with firearms were Democrats or moderates—not Republicans.

Haley Baron ’11, from Colorado is one such moderate. Baron, who defines herself as a moderate liberal, had shot a rifle a few times before coming to the range with the Republicans. She said that the junior’s concerns were valid, even though she herself didn’t think it was necessary to remain anonymous.

“No one here thinks that all people should own all sorts of guns,” she said. “No one wants machine guns and firearms out on the streets, but Brandeis students won’t understand that.”

“It all depends on how Brandeis students interpret this trip,” Baron continued. “If they see it as a just a bunch of kids who went shooting, they’ll just be like, okay, sounds like fun, and let it go. But if they hear that the kids went with the Brandeis Republicans, they won’t think it’s about fun, they’ll think it was just to make a point about Second Amendment rights.”

Baron also noted that the club’s trip will get even more of a negative reaction once students find out that the trip was, in part paid for by the Student Union F-Board, which reimbursed drivers for gas money and paid the $300 fee for renting the range.

Participating students had to pay and average of $20 out of their own pockets to cover the costs of bullets and the rental of protective eye and ear gear.

The feeling that Republicans are misunderstood at Brandeis is not a new one. The members of the shooting trip, both liberal and conservative, said they have seen the misunderstanding for a while now.

What is new, however, is the animosity.

When he came to campus this fall, Jordan Rothman ’09 put two “McCain for President” stickers on his door. Within two months, both were vandalized. On one, the words “for President” were crossed out, and replaced with “sucks.”

On the second, the entire message was

overwritten with the words “douche-bag homophobe.”

Other Republicans present said that the issue of same sex marriage has been a particular area where their views are not tolerated.

“We’re not gay bashers,” one student said, “but believing in civil unions instead of same-sex marriage just isn’t seen as acceptable on this campus.”

A few years ago, the Brandeis Republicans tried to hold a “conservative coming-out day” and were met with reactions seething with indigence that they would compare their struggle within the Brandeis community to that of homosexuals around the globe.

While some Republicans admitted that the “coming out day” might have been taking it too far, the intolerance on a campus that prides itself on liberalism and accepting others renders them disappointed.

But they are not quite discouraged.

As the shooting came to an end, plans to start a Brandeis Shooting Club were discussed. The club, which would be open to anyone, would be called AFY—an acronym that would officially stand for “Arms For Youth” but that would unofficially stand for “America, Fuck Yeah;” the theme song of the 2004 film “Team America—World Police.”

As Cohn, the President of the Republicans, put it the campus conservatives “are trying to be proud on a campus that expects stereotypes.”

So when the shooting range fell quiet, both bullets and dollars spent, the only sound to be heard was the whir of the fishing line, pulling in Republican Arthur Serer’s ’11 target.

The target, which featured a human silhouette, swayed back and forth as it whispered its way to the front of the range through the stuffy, gun-smoke ridden air that tasted sweet and chalky and smelled burnt from an hour of barraging bullets.

When the target arrived, Serer starred at it for a moment, surveying the myriad of holes he had pierced through the thick paper.

One bullet had hit the fist-sized red area at the center of the target’s chest.

Bull’s eye.

Serer unclipped his prize, and began to walk out of the now silent range.

“Dude,” he said, “I’m definitely hanging this up in my room when I get back.

Editor’s Note: Jordan Rothman is an editor for The Hoot.

December 5, 2008

The Hoot 7

F E AT U R E S

A funeral for Tate Lucas

In Africa, HIV/AIDS is percieved as just another aspect of daily life

BY AMY TAYLOR Special to The Hoot

I had just returned from the December holiday. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I lived in a village in the northern region of Namibia, known as Ovamboland. I was sitting under a tree trying to ignore the desert heat when one of the children on the homestead came to me and said, “Tate Ismael is waiting for you in the truck.”

“Am I going somewhere?” I asked. I received a short nod in the affirmative. After three months, I had learned to stop asking questions. I had accepted a status quo that included a general lack of understanding, which could be attributed to the language barrier—my limited Kwanyama and the villagers limited English. So, I grabbed my water bottle and some sunscreen and took off across the yard.

Sure enough, my host brother, Ismael, was waiting behind the wheel with his wife and mother beside him. A truck bed of extended family members filled the back.

I jumped in, and it was not until we were bouncing across the African bush that I thought to ask where we were going. The answer was unexpected. “The funeral for Tate Lucas,” said one of the men.

I was heartbroken. Tate Lucas was an incredibly sweet, older man who worked on the homestead. He spoiled me with gifts

of papaya and homebrew, and through a UNAIDS 2008 Report on the Global AIDS translator, he told me harrowing stories Epidemic. Although I knew the statistics about treks to Botswana to work in the and had heard the funeral guns going off in mines and Namibia’s struggle for indepen- the village, I personally had not lost anyone dence. I had made a promise to to the disease. myself to become fluent in As it turned out, Tate Kwanyama so that we Lucas was not lost at could communicate all. As the truck Humanitarian Notes freely with each pulled up to

- Humanitarian Notes works with local other. another small African artists to produce music promoting HIV/ And now I homestead AIDS awareness was on my way some sad --The organization employs a participatory approach to his funeral. kilomeand an understanding of the culture to raise awareness of One of my ters later, AIDS host sisters Tate Lucas --NamibiAlive, Humanitarian Notes’ first compilation CD in the capital came forfeaturing HIV/AIDS awareness by popular Namibian had confided ward in artists was released on Dec. 1 2006 in me that his Sunday --More than 15 million Africans have died from AIDS Tate Lucas was best to welsince the beginning of the epidemic HIV-p o sit ive come us. I --Humanitarian Notes is currently working with but that he had was shocked.

Liberian artists to raise awareness about kept it a secret to I turned to the

AIDS through the Liberia Music avoid being stigmaman beside me

Project tized. I had not seen and in utter confuhim on the homestead since sion I said, “I thought we my return a couple of days earlier, were going to the funeral for but I thought maybe he was away receiv- Tate Lucas.” ing treatment for tuberculosis, an HIV “We are,” he said. “Tate Lucas’s brother related opportunistic infection. Namibia has died and we must support him.” has one of the highest HIV/AIDS infecI stayed close by Tate Lucas’s side for the tion rates in the world, estimated at 15.3% rest of the day, and for the first time, I fulamong adults, with close to 180,000 people ly absorbed the reality of his disease. By living with HIV/AIDS , acccording to the the time we got home that evening, I had

changed my promise to speak Kwanyama fluently—I have always been terrible with languages—to a promise to do everything in my power to assist the fight against HIV/ AIDS. I started with HIV/AIDS activities in the classroom where I taught English and Geography, then expanded to regional youth events with other volunteers. Finally, I helped produce an HIV/AIDS awareness CD that was distributed to 5,000 taxi drivers throughout the country. After returning to the United States two years later, I co-founded Humanitarian Notes with another returned Peace Corps volunteer to continue making HIV/AIDS awareness music in Africa. I am now in West Africa working to produce a Liberian HIV/AIDS awareness CD that will be played in even the most remote corners of Liberia through a network of community radio stations.

Tate Lucas is still alive and well, but more than 1.5 million people in sub-Saharan Africa have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS, and another 22 million are living with the diseas. I am more convinced than ever that we cannot afford to wait until the next funeral to take action.

Note: Humanitarian Notes is a registered non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible and can be made online at www. humanitariannotes.org.

A major popularity contest

BY LEEYAT SLYPER Staff

A group of economics students huddle around a table, analyzing last night’s problem set, throwing around terms like “consumer surplus” and “law of diminishing returns.” Two sophomores frantically try to finish up that afternoon’s biology lab. A group of psychology students continue the perpetual, unending, eternal, interminable nature vs. nurture debate. Does this sound like a typical tour of the Brandeis library?

According to research conducted by Brandeis’ Office of Admissions, the most popular majors during the 2007-2008 term were Economics, Biology, Psychology, History, and International and Global Studies.

There are over 320 undergraduates majoring in Economics (10% of Brandeis students), while just under 300 leave Brandeis with a major in Biology (9%). Psychology and History boast about 260 students each (8%), which, on a more practical scale, means that far from just witnessing these scenarios, many of you have been a participant in one such scene.

For Akiva Landsman ‘12, these numbers are not surprising, gauging the palpable tension that seems to run through the school prior to any economics or chemistry test: “Whenever there’s an econ or chem test you can see it in the freshman class—they’re all worried.”

Netanela Faratci, a first-year on the pre-med track and planning on majoring in Biology, guessed the stats from her own “insider” viewpoint: “There are about 900 students in the freshman class and about 200, maybe more than

that, in [General] chemistry. And a lot of them want to major in Bio—maybe the majority. I would even expect there to be a higher Bio percentage.”

Either way, anyone who has been at Brandeis long enough to overhear a conversation about popular professors such as Coiner, the popular Introduction to Economics professor, can almost assuredly guess that at Brandeis, Econ and Bio reign.

The popularity of these majors has led many students to reflect on why this is the case. Jeremy Elkins ’12, sees it from the perspective of college students being “a self-selecting group of people.”

Prospective students choose a school that advertises the departments that they themselves are most interested in pursuing, furthering the popularity of certain majors at Brandeis. For example, in recent years about one third of the first-year class has entered with an interest in pre-health, possibly lured in by Brandeis’ ofttouted 75 percent acceptance rate to medical school. Many of these first-years become sophomores who choose to major in either Biology or number seven on the popular majors list, HSSP. With Brandeis’ link to the business school on campus, economics is similarly a likely choice.

Others see the high concentration of students in these areas as a result of students’ familiarity with the subjects before they encounter college level classes. Jennifer Kim, advisor for the sophomore class, regularly helps students with the process of choosing potential majors. “I think that people come in with those types of interests because most of their high school classes are in those types of sub-

jects.” Subjects like psychology and history are often offered by high schools, possibly even as core classes. History of Ideas and Linguistics are rarely offered as electives, if at all.

With statistics such as the ones listed above, it seems likely that Brandeis students often choose a major that seems to have the most linear link to a highly-paid profession in the long run and, eventually, help pay off that college loan.

Undergraduate Advising Head of the Economics department, Professor Michael Coiner, explained, “With college costing more and more, students and parents are, to some extent, looking for majors that they perceive as more ‘career-oriented’ or ‘practical.’ The perception among students is that economics (along with some other majors) will pay off in terms of access to a future career.”

Economics Undergraduate Department Representative Mohit Gourisaria ’09 echoed that perception: “An economics major has the best prospects as far as getting a job right out of college is concerned. Finance and Consulting (both of which look favorably upon econ majors) are some of the best paid jobs in the market, even in the current economy.”

According to Dean of Admissions Kim Godsoe, this reflects an underlying attitude demonstrated

by Brandeis students when choosing their majors. “Why are majors in the social sciences more represented than majors in another school [of study]? I think that it goes back to the idea of people thinking of social sciences as being a very applied area of study and being very linear with careers,” said Godsoe.

Andrea Dine, a career counselor

at the Hiatt Career Center, often deals with students’ concerns about ways to incorporate their passions and majors into a legitimate career. Though she concedes that majors like Economics and Biology do have very apparent career links from an outsider’s perspective, she disagrees with the commonly-held perception that students who major in these fields will have an easier time finding a career than an Art History major, for example. Dine does agree, however, that economics students will most likely have an easier time finding jobs in the international arena, citing the fact that “economics is often a popular major of international students because it is widely recognized globally.”

In fact, a study recently done

by CNN entitled “10 Most Popular Majors and What They Pay” compared the typical beginning salaries of college graduates with various popular degrees. They found that though an Economics major’s typical salary is an impressive $57,132, Marketing tops them all, with a beginning salary of around $59,471. Also fairly lucrative is Computer Science (which has yet to make the top 10 majors list at Brandeis) with average earnings per year of $46,849.

Earnings aside, most students agree that being in a “popular major” has both advantages and disadvantages. Landsman, a potential philosophy and IMES major, points to the support system that popular majors offer. For instance, general chemistry, a pre-requisite of the Biology major, offers help with chemistry six days a week. “In my philosophy class the teacher can organize

study sessions but there’s nothing supplemented like chemistry.”

In Elkins’ opinion, popular majors are “well-established, well-grounded in Brandeis curriculum… It’s a safe bet. It’s like investing in government bonds as opposed to investing in the stock market.”

There are downsides to popular majors, however. For Faratci, a pre-med first-year, the sheer size of some of her classes can seem “intimidating” and “overly competitive.”

Proponents of some of Brandeis’ less popular majors citetheir own advantages, such as increased ineraction with faculty. Dan Weisz ‘09 is the UDR for the Chemistry department, which historically has attracted only about 10 students per year. For Weisz, the small size has a definite positive side: “Upper-level class sizes are small, usually between seven and 15, allowing for good interaction between students and professors.

Most undergrads who want to work in a professor’s lab have the opportunity to do so, and benefit from substantial access to the professor, due to the relatively small size of the labs.” However, this also means that “there are fewer options to choose from when deciding on a lab to join, and certain interest areas might not be represented in the department.”

So, at Brandeis, is choosing one’s major, as an oft-quoted line from the Broadway play Wicked implies, “all about popular?” The consensus at Brandeis is yes, students’ academic interests do overlap, but with that comes advantages and disadvantages. Everyone agrees however, that making the choice is a major decision.

12

December 5, 2008

The Hoot

N E W S Students discuss anonymous free speech on gossip site

The Brandeis Brief Union Senate passes food sustainability resolution The Coalition for Food Services Reform has written a list of recommendations that they will bring to Aramark and the university administration on ways to improve infrastructure sustainability, food sustainability, financial transparency and labor conditions.

For infrastructure sustainability, the committee recommended that Dining Services use only reusable or recyclable utensils and that Dining Services reduce its packaging waste by buying in bulk whenever possible.

The committee also recommended that Dining Services increase its fair trade purchases, especially in the case of coffee and green tea.

For food sustainability, the committee acknowledged that it would be fiscally irresponsible for Dining Services to change which products it buys without an assurance that students will purchase it.

Therefore, the committee recommended that students be conscious consumers and attempt to purchase local products as much as possible.

In financial transparency,

the committee recommended that a meal plan should not cost more than 110% of the price one would pay if they paid for every meal in cash.

Also, the committee asked that multiple meals be allowed to be used in a given meal time, allowing students to use one meal at 11:30 a.m. and again at 3:00 p.m.

For labor conditions, the committee asked that dining services workers be given seniority when choosing hours.

--Ariel Wittenberg

Money for CA hall programs unfrozen Funding for hall programs from the Department of Residential Life was frozen only to be reinstated before the Thanksgiving holiday break.

The freeze, which came at a time when many departments are revaluating priorities, will now be replaced by more stringent rules for Community Advisors (CAs) to obtain funding.

“We will need to more clearly review funding requests this year to ensure we are making

the best use of our money while operating in a reduced budgetary environment,” Interim Co-Director of Residence Life Jeremy Leiferman explained. “We need to use our money smartly.”

As part of the new process for receiving funding for hall programs, CAs must plan events and submit proposals for funding earlier, according to Interim Co-Director of Residence Life Dean Gendron.

“The funds that CAs have available to them … will be subject to an increased volume of consideration prior to approval,” Gendron said.

Indeed, CA Mina Kim ’11 acknowledged that the additional rules pose “a little more work for us.” Nevertheless, she feels that the temporary freeze was a good way to reevaluate spending.

Gendron also made clear that no funding proposals had been rejected due to either the freeze or the increased planning required for events. “We will continue to honor the spirit of our department’s mission while also honoring our responsibility to the University’s need for fiscal balance.”

--Alex Schneider

To reduce cuts, USEMs to be made optional, fewer language courses to be offered ACADEMIC CUTS (from p. 1)

Brandeis to do that given its emphasis on global education.”

Unlike reducing the number of foreign language sections offered, eliminating the USEM requirement offers indirect savings “because USEMs are taught by faculty,” Jaffe said.

“The main purpose of this change is to then deploy those teachers who are no longer teaching USEMs to other courses and save Brandeis some money so that we can help balance the budget in these hard economic times,” Prof.

Malcolm Watson (PSYC), chair of the USEM committee wrote in an e-mail.

Jaffe explained that reducing the number of USEMs offered will limit the number of adjunct faculty the university would need to hire.

The university writing seminar, taught by graduate students, will remain a requirement because of writing’s important in a liberal arts education, Jaffe said.

According to Jaffe, the faculty committee and the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, which he also chairs, believed it worthwhile to continue to offer USEMs as an option for first-years.

Also, “in some cases, there isn’t another course we need a professor to teach, and secondly some

faculty like teaching USEMs,” he said.

While Jaffe felt “we are losing something,” by eliminating the USEM requirement, he believed that the university seminar experience might be “more universally positive” if students and faculty both want to be involved.

In meetings with the faculty, President Jehuda Reinharz emphasized that the administration would focus on reversal expenditure reducing changes. “The [USEM] degree requirement will be eliminated,” but in keeping with Reinharz’s promise, “we will continue this and see how it goes.”

Has your semester been meaningless?

Missing adventure in your life?

Write for The Hoot E-mail achannon@brandeis.edu

BY KAYLA DOS SANTOS Editor

On Tuesday, students discussed anonymous free speech during the first meeting of Students Against JuicyCampus.

A website founded last year, the mission of JuicyCampus is to “enabl[e] online anonymous free speech on college campuses…[and create] a forum where college students discuss what interests them most, and in the manner that they deem most appropriate.”

About eight members of Students Against JuicyCampus, which has a facebook group with 400 members, met in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium for an informal meeting to decide on what actions to take against the website.

The majority of the meeting was spent discussing the negative and positive effects of anonymous free speech. Erica Lubitz ’12 stated, “the purpose of anonymity is to make [people] comfortable to speak, but then it is used as a weapon.”

Damien Lehfeldt ’09, the creator of the group, stated that his main problem with the website is that hurtful statements are posted anonymously. “[The anonymity] leaves people feeling helpless because they can’t argue against the posters,” Lehfeldt said.

Lehfeldt suggested that the forums would be improved if posters had to sign their names, which was met with approval from other members of the group. Later on during the meeting, Omoefe Obgeide ’12 said, in regards to reducing the anonymity of the site, “at least that way we can engage in dialogues instead of just sitting and getting attacked.”

Dean of Student Life Rick Saw-

yer explained in an e-mail that many Brandeis students have been detrimentally impacted by the website. On the issue of the anonymous posters he wrote, “[they] are negatively impacted through the practice of anonymously posting disrespectful and hurtful things about other students…I worry about their motivation and the lack of self confidence and values exhibited” A lot of the discussion focused on how JuicyCampus is not parallel with Brandeis values. During the meeting, Lehfeldt said, “the site is against everything the university stands for, it’s not used for free speech, but to target students.”

Ogbeide commented that she was surprised by some of the forum’s racist content, “it’s so surreal to me that this is happening under Brandeis’ name.” Another student, who wishes to remain anonymous out of fear of being posted about on the website, said, “I don’t trust people anymore.”

The group considered attempting to get the website banned from the campus, which means blocking the site from the university’s network, and discussed the tensions between freedom of speech and protecting students’ reputations.

Sawyer wrote in an e-mail about his own views on blocking the website. “[It] would be an act of principle, and we are certainly willing to act with that motivation.

But such an act would not actually keep students or anyone from accessing the site via other means.

And once done, what will be the next site brought forward for us to consider because of offensive material?”

Hiring freeze hurts Politics dept.

FREEZE (from p. 1)

An examination of three of the departments Jaffe named revealed numerous courses currently being taught by lecturers, not full professors.

The History and Politics departments both have three classes now taught by lecturers, while the Mathematics department has 14 such courses. Politics and Mathematics currently have three professors on leave each, while the History department has four professors on leave.

Asked about the impact of the hiring freeze, History Department Chair Jane Kamensky explained that the department was had been looking for two tenure-track positions this year, but that she has had to suspend the search.

At the time the searches were suspended, the department had received over 300 applications.

Before the freeze, Kemensky said, the department hired Stephen Platt, an expert in Modern Chinese History. Platt will replace Prof. John Schrecker (HIST), who retired at the end of last semester.

Politics Department Chair Ste-

ven Burg also regretted the suspension. In particular, the failure to replace Prof. Jeffrey Abramson, who took a position at the University of Texas law school, “creates a major hole in the curriculum, in an area of great importance to our undergraduates and to the historical character of the university,” Berg said in an e-mail.

“The teaching of constitutional law and civil liberties,” Berg continued, “is reflective of the institution’s historical commitments to inclusion and equality, and to teaching generations of students to be sensitive to these concerns.”

With Abramson gone and the department’s other political theory instructor Bernard Yack, on leave, both Political Theory offerings for the 08-09 year are being taught by Timothy McCarty, a Politics Department graduate student. McCarty did not respond to requests for comment.

Berg also lamented the termination of the Arts and Sciences Faculty Travel Policy. One of the programs eliminated due to the budget shortfall, Berg said.

In the meantime, both Berg and Kamensky hoped the search process would be reopened next year.

December 5, 2008

NEWS

The Hoot 13

Community response to attacks inspires students MUMBAI (from p. 1)

A Proposal

The attacks in Mumbai have also affected with the fact that the home I will go back Brandeis’ Jewish community. to, is not the home I left,” Pugalia said. “You One of the places the terrorists attacked just don’t want to believe that.” was the Mumbai Chabad, where they murdered the Chabad director, Rabbi Gavriel SASA Responds Holtzberg and his wife, Rivkah.

“Gavriel and Rivkah left behind a son, Only one week before the terrorist atMoishe, who was saved by his Christian tacks in Mumbai, the South Asian Student nanny, and cared for by his Muslim cook,” Association (SASA) had brought the BranPugalia said.

“That is the story of Mumbai. deis community together for Mela—SASA’s But it is also the story of Brandeis, a place annual celebration of South Asian culture. that I came to because of its diversity and The week-long celebration included dance acceptance. ” and musical performances, had unified the “Moishe,” he continued, “is looking to us cultures of eight different countries, includto build for him a better future.” ing those of India and Pakistan.

As part of that better future, Pugalia Ten days after the celebration, SASA was wants to raise funds to assist in the rebuildbringing the community together again, if ing of the Chabad house and other affected only for a more somber cause. monuments in Mumbai.

As Brandeis students returned to campus “I don’t want this to be one of the efforts after Thanksgiving, SASA co-presidents Brandeis makes, I want this to be a joint Juhi Chadha ’09 and Richa Sahay ’09 deinitiative of the global Chabad community cided to organize a vigil at the peace circle. and Brandeis University because Brandeis The group ordered 40 candles, not knowis known for its activism, ” Pugalia said. ing what type of a turnout to expect, and Pugalia has also begun working with Gray about 100 members of the Brandeis comand Hillel Executive Director Larry Sternmunity came to commemorate those who berg in order to establish a new scholarship died in the attacks Monday night.

“The support that we’ve gotten has been in honor of Rabbi Holtzberg and his wife.

Pugalia called the scholarship a “very overwhelming. I hadn’t even expected this positive step both for Brandeis and I think support. It’s so nice to see that everyone is as a global response.” on the same page,” said Sahay.

Sternberg, decided to help with the project when he heard Pugalia speak. He said, The Brandeis Family “the energy of this [project] is something I The support of those who lost loved ones wanted to nurture.”

Since Pugalia first initiated his proposals, in the terrorist attacks on Mumbai last week he formed the Revive Mumbai Project and expands far beyond SASA. set up a blog.

Sidak Pannu ’12, who is from Mumbai Already the Revive Mumbai group teamed and lost many friends in the terrorist atup with students at NYU to have a “Dine for tacks, said that the Brandeis community Mumbai” dinner. has been crucial to helping him through Brandeis’ dinner was held in the Shapiro this difficult time. atrium, and served Indian cuisine for $10.

Pannu said he was struck by the support The group made a net profit of $1,115. he received after the attacks from not only Also planned for next Tuesday is a forum the three e-mails he received from the Insponsored by the South Asian Studies proternational Students and Scholars Office, gram, Student Union, and Office of Comand two from SASA, but also from Resimunications that will feature professors and dence Life. students to give an opportunity to talk more “Can you believe it that in the span of six about the “social and political” implications, days, I’m been contacted by three different [Community Development Coordina- according to Prof. Harleen Singh (WMGS), who is helping to organize the event. tors]?” asked Pannu.

“That’s remarkable in itself, that so many Moving On people would care about me, especially the CDCs. I’m a stranger to them, but they still Back at the memorial on Wednesday, reached out,” he said.

Waltham Chabad Director Rabbi Peretz Pannu also had the support of friends Chein urged those gathered to “do one exwho constantly visited him after the attacks. treme act of goodness this week in memoOne of those friends, Michelle Kawas ’12, rial to all those who can never do an act of said that “it’s hard to deal with something kindness again. ” like this – we were all just there trying to “We were attacked on Friday by the funmake [Pannu] smile, trying to lead a nordamentalists of hate and the extremists of mal conversation. Everyone cared.” darkness, ” he said. “We must respond back “It’s very heartwarming because here we with the fundamentalism of good.” would think that we are away from home,” Pannu agreed.

While he is shaken by his Pannu said. “But here we see that it’s family losses in the terrorist attacks, he is deterin itself, the Brandeis family who wants to mined that he will move on—refusing to stand up against things that are done wrong allow the terrorists to disrupt his life as they against its community.”

Pugalia was also overwhelmed by the re- disrupted those of so many others.

As the students who were gathered dissponse. “I’m so touched,” he said, “ I’m so persed, Pannu urged the community to proud to be on this campus. I can’t express carry on with their lives—to remember the how much pride I’m filled with.” tragedy, but to not let it stop them.

Student Union president Jason Gray ’10, “The best way to combat terrorism is to who also attended both vigils and has taken continue living lives in which we love more an active role in the student reaction to the than we have ever loved before,” he said. “I tragedies, said, “It’s powerful when you see look forward to returning to my home in so many different people rallying together, Mumbai over winter break and telling my mourning together, crying together.” friends about how the Brandeis community The vigils, Gray said not only “reaffirm is united with us in our cause. ” the common bond that we all as Brandeis He added, “the only thing we have going students have and members of this commufor us right now is each other.” nity, but also it’s powerful in that it reminds You can follow Namun and the Revive us that we’re all a part of the same people, Mumbai Project at: http://revivemumbai. and what impacts you, impacts me.” blogspot.com/

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

VIGIL: Naman Pugalia ‘09, speaks to a solemn crowd outside Usdan, on Monday night. Pugalia spoke about the attacks in Mumbai, India, and how the attacks have had a strong personal affect on him.

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

DINE FOR MUMBAI: Brandeis students gather, Thursday night, in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium, to attend a fundraising dinner. The dinner was organized by Revive Mumbai. The funds will go towards rebuilding the Chabad house in Mumbai.

14

December 5, 2008

The Hoot

SPO RTS Men’s b-ball climbs out of hole

By ZACHARY ARONOW Editor

Brandeis men’s basketball experienced as disastrous start to the season, dropping their first three games and plummeted out of the d3hoops Top 25 poll after opening in the top ten. With that in mind however, the Judges regained their grasp of the season with a victory over 25th ranked Rhode Island College 75-61 to bring them back to .500. After quickly trading leads early in the game, Brandeis went on a 12-2 run to build up a nine point lead. The Anchorman however rallied to cut the deficit to one thanks to a three pointer from Kaseem Johnson. The Judges though embarked on a 15-3 scoring break and through out the rest of the game, never saw their lead fall below double-digits in their season equalizing win.

Terrell Hollins ’10 led the scoring with 18 points along with a career high 16 rebounds – 10 in the second half alone and seven assists. Steve DeLuca GRAD followed up with 17 points and nine rebounds and Andre Roberson ’10 had 14 points and six assists. Christian Yemga ’11 chipped in with eight points and ten rebounds. Tirrell Hill led the scoring for Rhode Island College with 11 while teammates Mason Choice and Kaseem Johnson each had 10.

Brandeis’ defense held the Anchormen to 31 percent shooting on the day and outmuscled them for the rebounds by a 44-33 margin.

“We lost our two scrimmages in the beginning of the year, things weren’t going well.” Terrell Hollins said after the game.

“We didn’t know – they thought they wanted to bring me off the bench. That changed, we went to a bigger line up, now we’re clicking. We’re going inside more with me and DeLuca more inside and opening up the shooters for the second half and then – just getting DeLuca back is key, he’s a tremendous inside and outside player. Just getting him back in shape and just ready to play I mean he sat out a whole year so that’s tough and the transition of him coming back to the team is definitely helping us now and as the season goes on, we’ll be a lot more tough – tougher.”

“Our team is clicking,” DeLuca explained in an email Wednesday, “and we are getting what we need to do offensively and defensively. It took us a little longer to get things going than years past and with our difficult schedule, it resulted in some bad losses.”

The Judges picked up their second straight win at Babson Tuesday night as four starters, led by DeLuca reached double digits in scoring to cement the 70-60 win. Both squads traded leads early in the first half until a three pointer by Babson’s Matt Florlo gave the Beavers a four-point lead. The Judges responded with an 11-0 run fueled

by DeLuca and Kevin Olson ’09 to go up by seven. Babson however clawed their way back to cut the deficit to three at the half.

Babson gained the momentum early in the second half, tying the score with 17:28 left in the game and then took the lead after a three pointer from Shelton Ladson two minutes later. Brandeis though promptly took away the momentum, going on a 16-0 run over the next four and a half minutes to take the 48-35 lead. Babson would come as close as six points but Andre Roberson ’10 made six consecutive free throws and Brandeis left with the “W”.

‘The victories over Tufts and Babson are definitely signs of the season turning around.” Steve DeLuca explained, “We are playing much differently than our first 3 games. Our offense is much crisper and the defense is stepping up as well.

DeLuca led the way with a complete per-

formance: 24 points on 11-15 shooting, 8 rebounds – both team highs along with 5 assists and 2 steals. Roberson was a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line, overcoming a rocky 2-9 shooting from the field to finish with 15 points and a team leading 7 assists. Kevin Olson and Terrell Hollins ’10 each had 10 points on the night. Ladson led Babson with 19 points on 5-7 shooting from beyond the three-point arc. Teammate Zach Etten also converted 5 three pointers to finish with 17. Brandeis shot the lights out, converting 56.5 percent of their shot attempts in the game including a scintillating 61.9 percent in the first half. The Judges also made their second chances count, outscoring the Beavers 17-2 in second half points.

The budding streak comes after dropping their November 25 home opener to MassDartmouth 62-68 thanks in large part to 23 Judges turnovers and converting a paltry four three throws out 13 first half attempts.

However the Judges emerged a team anew against Tufts at home on November 30 as the duo of Hollins and DeLuca both had dominating performances in the 80-56 rout.

The Jumbos came out tough in the opening minutes, but after a jumper from Matt Galvin put Tufts up by one with around 13 minutes left in the first half, the Judges promptly took the lead back on two free throws from Andre Roberson ’10 and never looked back. Up by 10 after the first half, Brandeis locked down on Tufts, holding them to 22.6 percent in field goal attempts (7-31) in the second half while keeping up the scoring needed to earn their first win of the season.

Terrell Hollins had his sixth double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Steve DeLuca matched Hollins’ 19 points but was two rebounds shy of having his own double-double. DeLuca was also deadly from long range, converting 3 of 4 attempts from the three-point line. Kenny Small ’10 provided 11 points off the bench. Jon Pierce and Aaron Gallant led the losing effort for Tufts with 13 points each. Brandeis dominated the paint throughout the game, out-rebounding Tufts 42-32 and doubled them up on points in the paint 42-32. The Judges also made the Jumbos pay for their mistakes, converting 12 turnovers into 13 points while only surrendering 3 points off their own 10 giveaways.

“It’s good” Hollins said about the chemistry he has with DeLuca. “We compliment each other really well. I just remember my third or fourth game against Tufts one day in my freshman year. We both had 21 points and that’s like when we found out we could both play together. At first they wouldn’t play us usually together then we found our way. And then we found certain plays we can run where both of us can get the ball where we like it and also feed other players off the team. Having him out there, you can’t double team him because that leaves somebody open and we have tremendous shooters, especially if Kenny’s in the game or Kev’s (Olson) in the corner, I mean you can’t really leave our shooters and Andre is such a good penetrater and Christian’s a pretty good passer too so I feel like you have to play us single or one on one.”

The victory against Rhode Island College gives the Judges a chance to have their first winning record of the season they take to the road December 6 for a 1 pm date at Emerson before returning home to wrap up the 2008 year hosting Clark on December 9 at 7 pm and Framingham State on December 13 at 1 pm.

A start to forget indeed but as the phoenix is born anew from the ashes of its own pyre, so too could the Judges re-emerge as the force that people took them to be.

PHOTOS BY Max Shay/The Hoot

B-BALL: Brandeis Forward Terrell Hollins ‘10 (No. 33, center) wrestles the ball away from Rhode Island College’s Kaseem Johnson (No. 2, right) ‘09, during the first half of their game thursday night.

PHOTOS BY Max Shay/The Hoot

Men’s B-Ball: Brandeis Guard Andre Roberson ‘10 (No. 1, left) goes up for a layup in the second half of Brandeis’ win, thursday night. Roberson ended the game with 14 points. year.

Women’s fencing takes second place at the beanpot

By ZACHARY ARONOW Editor

Brandeis men’s fencing were unable to repeat last year’s success at the second annual Boston Beanpot Fencing championships, opening up with a 15-12 victory over MIT before bowing to Boston College 12-15 and Harvard 11-16. Will Friedman ’09 had a good performance in the losing effort, the All-American foilist finished with a 7-2 record for the evening.

The women’s squad had a better run in the championship, knocking out Boston College 17-10 and MIT 19-8 but had to settle for second place once again as defending champions Harvard once again proved too strong, falling 7-20 to the Crimson. Caitlin Kozel ’09 finished with a 6-2 record in the epee while saber fencer Anna Henley ’11 finished 8-1.

The men’s squad is now 6-2 for the season, the women are 8-1. The Judges fencers return to action on December 7 as they host the Brandeis Invitational. Brandeis will take on Brown, Cornell, St. John’s, and Yale starting at 9 am.

December 5, 2008

SPORTS

The Hoot 15

Women’s Basketball wins six straight

By ZACHARY ARONOW Editor

You may not have noticed but there’s a basketball team here that has been shooting up the d3hoops top 25 rankings, vanquishing their foes left and right as they aim for another NCAA post season appearance.

I am of course talking about the currently 12th ranked Brandeis Judges women’s basketball squad.

Their blazing start to the season continued with their sixth straight win, taming the Wheaton College Lyons 6954. Lauren Orlando ‘09 and Jessica Chapin ‘10 each had 15 points while Cassidy Dadaos ‘09 had 11 points, eight rebounds. Krystin Hickey led Wheaton’s offense with 17 points. The Judges outrebounded Wheaton 40-27 and outshot them 48 percent to 34 percent.

The road win follows a 94-52 annihilation of Emmanuel College as Coach Carol Simon got to play all of her available players in front of a rousing handful of family members and friends Tuesday night.

A three pointer by the Saints’ Kristen LeBel tied the game at three, ninety seconds into the first half. It also was the only time Emmanuel didn’t trial as Brandeis ran wild, scoring 14 unanswered points and took advantage of 7 turnovers over the next five minutes. After ending the first half up 45-26 the Judges offered Emmanuel no opportunity of salvation, shooting a season high 55 percent in the game (33-60) including an astonishing 65 percent clip in the second half alone.

“Every game is a big game for us” Coach Simon explained. “We have to win all our non-conference games, we understand the importance of that. We understand how good Emmanuel is, they’re a very good team. I just thought we did a very good job defensively on ‘em, we really went according to our game plan, we followed it well, you know we shot very well so that doesn’t hurt either.”

Brandeis had four players reach double digits in points, lead by forward Lauren Orlando ’09 with a game high 22 points. Lauren Rashford ’10 had 10 points to go along with 7 assists, most of any team while Jessica Chapin picked up 13 points thanks to three three-pointers along with 6 rebounds. Amber Strodthoff ’11 celebrated her birthday

with a career high 14 points in 15 minutes of action. Kristin LeBel and Iman Davis accounted for over 65 percent of Emmanuel’s 52 points, LeBel leading the team with 21 points thanks to a sharp 5-7 from three point land while Davis converted seven free throws in 12 trips to account for the bulk of her 13 points.

Not only did the Judges outgun the Saints but completely dominated the interior, racking up 43 rebounds to Emmanuel’s 26 including a decisive 32-15 edge on the defensive end. Cassidy Dadaos ’09 lead the interior game with 8 rebounds.

The 94 points was the most Brandeis scored in a game since 2002-03 when they racked up 95 against Gallaudet.

The victory over Emmanuel comes two days after Brandeis pulled off a stunning upset on the road over then 16th ranked Tufts 81-76. Tufts tied the game up at 63 apiece with 5:18 left in the game but Brandeis pulled ahead for good after Amanda Wells ’09 pulled down a critical offensive rebound on the next possession and assisted it to Dadaos who picked up the basket and the foul to put the Judges up by three. Clutch free throw shooting; particularly Lauren Orlando’s 8 straight conversions in the final minutes preserved the lead and the upset.

Orlando led with 20 points and Chapin was close behind with 19. Diana Cincotta ’11 and rookie Morgan Kendrew ’12 each had 10.

With victories over Tufts and then 15th ranked Bowdoin, Brandeis was rewarded with a meteoric rise through the d3hoops Top 25 poll to number 12 overall. Still, Coach Simon isn’t getting caught up with the early success.

“You know, again I don’t get caught up in the rankings this early, you know to me it’s what happens at the end. I mean I think it’s a nice honor, you know we beat some very good teams that were ranked, I figured we were going to get ranked somewhere.”

Co-captain Jessica Chapin raised another point about the new ranking, “Right now, it puts a bulls-eye on our back and right now we got to continue to keep playing.”

The Judges continue their season with a December 6 1 p.m. home match against Babson and wrap up 2008 with Regis coming in Dec. 31 at 1 p.m..

PHOTOS BY Max Shay/The Hoot

Women’s B-Ball: Above: Brandeis’ Lauren Rashford ‘10 (No. 22, right) rushes up-court, past Emmanuel guard Iman Davis ‘10 (No. 32, left) on tuesday. Below: Brandeis Forward Amber Strodthoff ‘11 (No. 44) lines up for a free-throw.

The Deis Board TEAM MBasketball

WBasketball

Fencing

Swimming

LATEST SCORES November 22 at WPI - L, 78-64 November 25 UMass.-Dartmouth - L, 68-62 November 30 Tufts - W, 80-56 December 2 at Babson - W, 70-60 December 4 Rhode Island College - W 75-61 November 22 Widener - W, 67-48 November 23 Bowdoin - W, 71-44 November 25 Wellesley - W, 76-44 November 30 at Tufts - W, 81-76

December 2 Emmanuel (Mass.) - W, 94-52 December 4 at Wheaton (Mass.) - W, 69-54 New England Fall Collegiate Championships @ Smith College MFencing Epee gold & silver WFencing Saber, Epee golds November 22 Northeast Conference Meet @ UNH MFencing W5-L0 WFencing W6-L0 December 3 at Boston Beanpot Fencing Championship Brandeis 15, MIT 12 Boston College 15, Brandeis 12 Harvard 16, Brandeis 11 WFencing W2-L1 Brandeis 17, Boston College 10 Brandeis 19, MIT 8 Harvard 20, Brandeis 7 November 23 at Tufts MSwimming L 82-205 WSwimming L 114.5-169.5

Track and Field MXCountry

NEXT GAME December 6 at Emerson December 9 Clark (Mass.)

December 13 Framingham St. January 5 Curry January 9 Rochester (N.Y.) * December 6 Babson December 31 Regis (Mass.)

January 6 at Rhode Island College

1:00 PM 7:00 PM 1:00 PM 7:00 PM 8:00 PM 1:00 PM 1:00 PM 6:00 PM

December 7 Brandeis Invitational 9:00 AM vs. Brown, Cornell, St. John’s, Yale

December 5-7 at MIT Invitational December 6 Husky Invitational @ Northeastern 12:00 p.m.

December 13 at Harvard Invitational 12:00 p.m.

November 22 NCAA Championships @ Hanover, Ind. 20th of 32 teams

16

December 5, 2008

The Hoot

E nd of semester F U N Spotlight on Boston

Great Scott:

Urban Nutcracker:

Friday, Dec. 5, 2008, 9 p.m.

1222 Commonwealth Ave., Allston

Are you tired of hitting the books and want to have a good time? If you're 21+ party the night away at the city's longest running dance night, the Pill.

Lights Out, a band which blends rock and indie, will perform. $5/person.

Not 21? You can see stand-up comedy at the Great Scott on Saturday. http://www.greatscottboston.com/

What's going on at Brandeis?

Cloud 9:

Friday to Sunday, Dec. 5-7, 11 a.m.

284 Amory St., Jamaica Plain

Want to get into the holiday spirit?

Go see Tony William's contemporary take on the classic ballet. Interweaving modern music with Tchaikovsky, ballet wih hip hop, this is a performance you won't want to miss.

http://www.balletrox.org

Fair Trade:

Saturday to Sunday, Dec. 6-7, 8 p.m.

Schwartz Auditorium Need a laugh? Check out Free Play Theatre Cooperative's production of Caryl Churchill's "Cloud 9." It's a surrealistic comedic play which deals with gender and sexuality during the Victorian era.

Nutcracker:

Midnight Buffet:

Friday to Sunday Dec. 5-7, 7:30 p.m.

Spingold Theatre

Tuesday, Dec. 9, 10 p.m.

Levin Ballroom, Usdan

In the mood for a more traditional version of the Nutcracker? Jose Mateo's Ballet Theatre tells this winter tale through an emphasis on dancing. Tickets start at $10 with Brandeis I.D. Photo courtesy of Eleni Shouftas.

COMICStrips Sleazy

laughingwarlock

Friday, Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sherman Function Hall Want to do some holiday shopping? Need to get gifts for friends or family members?

The Brandeis Labor Coalition is sponsoring a Free Trade Fair. All merchandaise has been made under fair circumstances.

Take a break from studying and celebrate the last day of classes!

Dance, grab free food, and snag free goodies. Don't miss out on this chance to de-stress.

Insert Comic Here

By Anthony Scibelli

Floppsie

By Grace Alloy-Relihan

By Matt Kupfer

By Ian Price