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(03/08/05 5:00am)
Big names and large crowds gathered to hear presentations about leadership in the post-Holocaust era at the Truth at Stake conference Wednesday in the Shapiro atrium and theater. The conference, presented by the Fisher-Bernstein Institute for Jewish Philanthropy and Leadership, consisted of three sessions with prominent figures from around the world, including former Ambassador to the European Union Stuart Eizenstat, philanthropist and Limited Brands CEO Leslie Wexner, and renowned historian Deborah Lipstadt, M.A. '72, PhD '76.Lipstadt, who teaches Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University, spoke to a crowded atrium about her six year legal battle in Britain against charges of libel levied against her by author David Irving, whom she dubbed a Holocaust denier in her 1993 book, Denying the Holocaust.Lipstadt's latest book, which received international attention, History on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving, chronicles her experiences during the case, which she ultimately won in 2000."I did not feel as if I was anybody's great hero," Lipstadt said. "I fought to defend myself and preserve my belief in the freedom of expression." Describing Irving's books as "a complete distortion of history," Lipstadt and her team of historians proved to the court that his "version of the Holocaust is that there was no Holocaust." After the trial, Lipstadt said the jury found Irving "perverts, distorts, and misleads" in his "falsification of the historical record." Lipstadt said her defense team consisted of some of the top historians in the field, testifying against evidence in Irving's books where he denies the existence of gas chambers and the programmed annihilation of Jews. "I had the privilege to stand up for those who did not survive or could not stand up for themselves," Lipstadt said. "I feel gratified to have been that one to fight this battle." In the second session, Eizenstat, who served in the Carter and Clinton administrations, spoke about his experiences representing the United States government in negotiations with Switzerland, France, and Germany about Holocaust survivors' confiscated bank accounts and unpaid insurance policies."It is a question of countries being willing to face their histories," Eizenstat said "[Private companies must be] held accountable for their actions in war time." Margot Stern Strom, the executive director and president of the Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation, an organization that develops a curriculum for teachers on looking at humanity's history of racism and anti-Semitism, spoke about the need for educating students about "bad history." Strom said her organization's workshops "help students connect history to themselves, see the world through many perspectives [and] walk in one another's shoes."Howard Gardner, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, discussed the "decline of truth, trust, and the rise of hypocrisy" in society and how to combat this by facing our responsibility and demanding truth from our leaders and from each other. In the final session, "Partners in Truth," Lipstadt and philanthropist Leslie Wexner, who was listed as the world's 196th richest person in Forbes' 2003 rankings, spoke about their unprecedented partnership. Wexner said because Lipstadt was sued under British law, the burden of proving she was innocent fell solely on her. So he said he felt compelled to rally support and contribute to Lipstadt's fight, who, along with fellow donors, raised $1.5 million for the case."I believe the study of history and setting the record straight is vitally important," Wexner said. "Deborah [Lipstadt] and six million Jewish people will have their day in court. I am just happy I was part of the mitzvah.
(02/15/05 5:00am)
Stumbling in the hall and speaking incoherently, a first-year laughed to himself as he went back to his room. When he arrived, clearly intoxicated, his roommate was unsure of how to handle the situation. "It was like taking care of a child," said the roommate, Justin, who declined to give his last name. "I wasn't prepared for some of the things." Many students have been faced with the situation of having a roommate come home drunk, but it can be difficult to decide how to handle it and what the potential responsibilities are.On this night, after assessing his roommate's condition, Justin gave him some water and put his roommate to bed.According to the Rights and Responsibilities handbook, "all members of the community share the responsibility for protecting and maintaining community health and safety," of the entire Brandeis community."Our first priority is to each other and to each other's safety, health and well-being," Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer said. If anyone's life is in danger, including situations of alcohol use, Sawyer believes students are obliged to take action because they are "supposed to be caring about each other." Justin said that even though he and his roommate are not great friends, he thinks it is his obligation to "look out for his physical welfare and to be there to talk." Though he is concerned about how much his roommate drinks, he feels that it is not his place to tell him that it may be too much. "We have an understanding," Justin said, "...we help each other out. It's part of our roommate social contract." In his opinion, it is the roommate's job to look out for the other, but not to tell him when he is drinking too much. It can be challenging to assess a roommate's state and to know if everything is under control. Kathleen Maloney, a nurse practitioner at the Brandeis Health Center, advises, "do not take on more than you can handle. If you are concerned, call BEMCo. The decision on what to do should be theirs, not yours." According to the Health Center's Web site, BEMCo should be contacted if the person is unconscious or semiconscious, if they are breathing slowly or if their skin is cold, clammy, pale or bluish.Sawyer believes students are concerned about being punished for reporting another student's unstable condition to a community adviser, BEMCo, or campus police. "If students see somebody they're concerned about they should not even think about the consequences in terms of themselves or that person. Pick up the phone and get them some help," he said.If a student notices a pattern of drinking in a roommate, Sawyer recommends helping him or her get in touch with one of the many health and counseling resources on campus, including health services and, when she returns from maternity leave, the drug and alcohol counselor, Dawn Skop. Sawyer believes Brandeis is a campus in which people are conscious of each other's health and safety. "The culture at Brandeis is for students to take action when others are in danger," he said.
(02/15/05 5:00am)
Harvard Professor Gregory Nagy delivered a lecture titled "The Three Songs of Demokodos in Odyssey VIII" to the Brandeis community on Feb. 9 as part of the first annual Jennifer Eastman lecture in Classical Studies.Classical Studies professor Leonard Muellner, a student of Nagy's in the 1960s, introduced the "revolutionary" professor and prolific author as the foremost scholar of Greek literature of his generation. Nagy is also Director of the Harvard center for Hellenistic studies in Washington and an award-winning author.Nagy's lecture focused on his latest research concerning the performance of Homeric poetry in ancient times. Nagy proposed that performance of the Iliad and the Odyssey have evolved throughout time. "To understand the ancient texts," Nagy said, "you have to make contact with it and it has to make contact with you." Nagy spoke about the transformation of Homeric poetry from encompassing a variety of epics to including only the Iliad and the Odyssey. These works were performed in Athens until around 520 B.C., Nagy said, when actors could perform nothing but Homeric poetry."Homer has become the poet of only the Iliad and the Odyssey," Nagy said. Classical Studies Chair Prof. Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow said the annual lecture, which is open to the general public, was made possible through the donation of Jennifer Eastman '68, a lifelong student of the classics. "Jennifer Eastman gave us her gift to stage lectures...on the importance of Classical Studies in the world at large to all of us," she said."The direction of the series is definitely to get cutting edge classicists, classical art historians and archaeologists, or ancient historians and philosophers to come to talk to Brandeis students about their work and the excitement of our field, to engage the students in their research interests and problems," Koloski-Ostrow said.Koloski-Ostrow said she had hoped the donation would demonstrate to the administration the support that exists for Classical Studies. But she said nothing so far has seemed to have "captured the attention of the administration." "The lecture series will continue to give the department more visibility," she said.
(02/08/05 5:00am)
In the final event in the Boost Brandeis Week, students gathered around University President Jehuda Reinharz in Cholmondeley's last Thursday night to hear stories about his days as a Brandeis graduate student in the late 1960s, his decade as a professor in the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies department and about his current position as president, which he has held since 1994.Reinharz spoke about his admiration for Brandeis' 10 founders, many of whom were immigrants from Russia without formal education."It was an unlikely group to create a university," he said. "[They] called Albert Einstein, the smartest person they knew in America," who one afternoon, "told them how to start a university."Reinharz recalled his arrival as a graduate student here, during the height of the revolutionary 1960s, to study in the NEJS department. He said that when black students took over Ford Hall to protest academic policies, then University President Abraham Morris, "a very smart lawyer and a great orator," called the demonstrators' parents, who came to campus and persuaded their children to vacate the building. "Brandeis was one of the centers of [revolutionary] activity," he said. "The sociology department was the locus of this activity." Upon joining the faculty in 1982, Reinharz said that he discovered Brandeis' "culture of questioning, talking and debating" through an experience he had during his first class as an instructor. "I said the first sentence," Reinharz said. Then he said another student replied, "I disagree with everything you just said." Reinharz said it turned into "a wonderful class discussion."On becoming president, Reinharz said that he was heavily involved in his academic work and was hesitant to take on the position, but his wife, Shulamit, convinced him."You always criticize everybody," she said. "Let's see what you can do." Reinharz shared stories about the visits by the Dalai Lama, who ate his first piece of challah at the president's home and about the chancellor of Germany, who caused great controversy as the commencement speaker in 1998.Looking into the future, Reinharz denied one student's assertion that Brandeis is moving away from providing a liberal arts education by offering more interdisciplinary programs. "Students are more interested in professional training," Reinharz said. In response to a question of what the president would give to Brandeis if he had a blank check donation, he said, "I feel very strongly about scholarships. I couldn't have gone to college or graduate school without someone paying for me." Roosevelt Fellow Ashley Firestone '05 says hearing from Reinharz about his personal experiences gave students the chance to "see him as someone we can relate to.
