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Brandeis Players staged 1984 this weekend, a play production of the classic George Orwell novel written by Michael Gene Sullivan. While the cast conveyed the intensity and emotion required for the serious material, the execution of the play at times left me baffled.
Based on Veronica Roth's bestselling novel of the same name, the new film Divergent premiered last weekend, and now holds the top box office spot for the second weekend in a row, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Despite mixed critical reviews, the film is riding a recent wave of dystopian teenage-rebellion movies following the highly successful Hunger Games franchise. Divergent is set in a post-apocalyptic Chicago, where society is divided into five factions: Dauntless, Abnegation, Candor, Amity and Erudite. Each faction is introduced to viewers through voiceovers, but it is hard at first to keep them straight. The most important ones end up being Abnegation, Dauntless and Erudite. In this universe, each teenager takes a test to determine for which faction he or she is best suited. They are told to "trust the test," but also that they are free to choose to join a different faction than the one their test tells them. Beatrice Prior, later known simply as Tris, has grown up with her parents and brother in Abnegation, not knowing if she fits into the selfless, charity-oriented faction. Played by The Descendants' Shailene Woodley, Tris appears to be an observer rather than an active participant in her own life. Tris' test results are inconclusive, and she is told that she is Divergent. She doesn't fit into any faction, and the Erudite, who are trying to wrest control of the government from Abnegation, find these few abnormal minds dangerous. The next day at the choosing ceremony, after her brother shockingly chooses Erudite, Tris joins Dauntless, the city's fearless protectors. It is in these scenes where the visual imagery of the movie is the most striking. The color scheme of the film is mostly grey, white and black, in concordance with its dystopian theme. Dauntless members, dressed in all black, run through the streets like a demented army, jump on and off trains and hang out in their stronghold, "the Pit." Once Tris joins Dauntless, her real personality begins to show. Despite some clich?(c)s, including the romantic tension between Tris and her instructor, Four, watching Tris prove herself worthy of being part of Dauntless is entertaining. At first, Tris doesn't have one specific skill to set her apart from the others. Her strength is in her mind rather than her body, and this is especially apparent when she begins mental training in the Fear Landscape. This is a sort of virtual reality in which the trainees are put into a trance and forced to face their fears while one of the trainers watches their experiences on a screen. The visual effects here are impressive, and not over-the-top. Viewers are able to feel Tris' fear from a flock of demonic crows and a wildfire, without any out-of-place visuals. The sparse landscape, dusty and punctuated by barbed wire fences, enhances the post-apocalyptic feel. Four, played by Theo James, who viewers might recognize from his brief but memorable role as the Turkish Kamal Pamuk on Downton Abbey, is the quintessential bad boy. He is technically Tris' teacher, which adds some interesting intrigue to their romance, but is virtually ignored later. Little is known about Four until Tris joins his Fear Landscape, but even then, he comes across as an attractive love interest with a tough past. The two do have chemistry, but the romance seems contrived at times in the middle of the conspiracy plot. At the same time, the film drags on for almost two-and-a-half hours. After each new twist the film seemed like it would end to save some of the story for the next films, based on the novel's sequels, since it is a projected trilogy. The film stays relatively close to the plot of the book until the ending. In the novel, the ending showcases Four's intelligence, but in the film the ending scenes showcase his bravery and strength instead. Also unlike the novel, Tris' fear of intimacy is played down in the film and her Dauntless friends are portrayed as cool instead of as awkward misfits. The score and soundtrack, which feature a few songs from Ellie Goulding, fit well with the film and do not detract from the story. Overall, the film is enjoyable, even if predictable. Tris' transformation from weakling to Dauntless, as well as her romance with Four, is expected. The film, however, lacks the conventional love triangle, adding a refreshing change to the plot. Divergent is obviously directed toward a teenage audience-from the soundtrack to the casting choices. Fans of the books should enjoy the faithful interpretation, as well as those who are still anxiously waiting the next Hunger Games installment.
The results of a survey administered by the Justice to students in a large University Chemistry course over the past month indicated that women in the sample appeared to perceive their class performance in a poorer light than men did. Over half of men who responded estimated their current grade to be at an A+, A or A-, compared to 36 percent of women, while a larger percentage of women estimated their grade to be in the B+ to B- range than men. As of press time, 80 students had completed the survey. The respondents received the survey in an email from their professor. Out of those, 58 respondents identified as female, making up 62 percent of the sample. The remaining 35 respondents were male. Only four respondents identified as black or African-American, 33 as Asian or Asian-American, three as two or more races, 42 as white and three identified ethnically as Hispanic or Latino/a, making it difficult to draw conclusions about differences in confidence among racial groups. Confidence: Gender and Race A University event organized by the Women in Science Initiative during the fall 2013 semester drew attention to a newly-emerging phenomenon known as "imposter syndrome," in which students feel insecure and incompetent in their academic abilities despite often being quite successful and capable in their field of study. As the panel specifically focused on an imposter syndrome for women in the sciences, the Justice surveyed students in an undergraduate Chemistry lecture to determine how confident students were about their ability to succeed in a science course, particularly looking at historically underrepresented groups in the sciences: female students and students of color. The survey administered by the Justice inquired what grade the participants received in their previous semester of Chemistry. Those results did not point to any difference in competency in the subject between men and women, although women in the sample did appear to earn slightly lower grades than men. Nearly three-fourths of men in the sample reported that they did not at all feel less academically capable than their peers, compared to slightly under 50 percent of women. Additionally, a much smaller percentage of women than men in the sample indicated that they believed they were definitely smart enough to succeed in this course. Despite these results, women in the sample did not appear to be any less enthusiastic than men about continuing in the sciences. According to the survey results, women were actually slightly more likely than men to enroll in further science and math courses, major in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics field and write a thesis for that major, suggesting that they are committed to studying science despite current feelings of insecurity. As for race, given the very low number of respondents who identified as people of color, differences among racial groups were more difficult to interpret. However, in an interview with the Justice, Afzal Ullah '14, a science Posse scholar majoring in Biology and Psychology, said that while he feels that he is as capable as his classmates, he felt inadequately prepared academically entering college. Ullah, who identifies racially as Bengali, noted that many students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, who are often students of color, face a gap compared to their wealthier, often white, classmates-which can impact their performance and confidence. A professor's perspective Three professors who sat for interviews with the Justice expressed differing views about the current issues that women face in science. Prof. Judith Herzfeld (CHEM), the only female full professor in the Chemistry department, expressed a belief that women today are equally active in science as men. "There are plenty of women who are energetically engaging in the classroom, so I don't see that problem," Herzfeld said in an interview with the Justice. ""In chemistry, the women are doing great straight through to the Ph.D. in proportionate numbers, and that's very different from the way it used to be," she added. Prof. Eve Marder '69 (BIOL), the head of the University's Division of Science, said that in the classes she teaches now, she sees overconfidence and lack of confidence in both men and women, though men, she noted, are somewhat more likely to raise hands to answer questions in class, regardless of whether or not their answers are correct. Prof. Ruth Charney '72 (MATH), the University's first tenured mathematics professor and the current president of the Association for Women in Mathematics, acknowledged that female students may feel like "imposters" but should remember that their mentors had similar experiences. "We all felt that way, but look, we kept going and we were successful and we felt just like you do," said Charney in an interview with the Justice. "So don't let that-don't just be scared away. Don't just assume just because you're unsure of yourself, because somebody else seems better than you, that you're no good. That's the wrong conclusion." Charney and Herzfeld both emphasized that they got through graduate school because they simply weren't very concerned with what others thought of them. Charney recalled that any gender discrimination that was present "went over our heads. We didn't see any of it and that's probably why we were successful. I'm not saying it wasn't there. We were blind. We were doing what we wanted to do." Similarly, Herzfeld noted that she "tended not to compare myself with other people very much." Faculty: Then and Now When Marder eventually returned to the University in 1978 as a faculty member, she was the fifth woman to join the Biology department faculty, which was unusual at the time. "Most of my peers were being hired into department as the first [woman]," she said. Today, Marder said there is relatively little trouble recruiting women for positions in the department. Charney, who returned to the University in 2003 after many years at Ohio State University, explained that the Math department has few opportunities to diversify its faculty. "We don't hire very often-we're a small department. Then there was the financial crash, you know, we haven't done much hiring in the last few years. When we have, we always have female candidates," she said. Charney mentioned that the department is currently hiring a female postdoctoral fellow, who would be at the University for three years. Herzfeld joined the University's Chemistry department in 1985 after teaching at Harvard Medical School and Amherst College, where she was the first female faculty member in the physical sciences. At Brandeis, Herzfeld joined Prof. Emerita Emily Dudek (CHEM), who retired in 2003, and was later joined by Prof. Christine Thomas (CHEM) in 2008, who was awarded tenure last year. The department also includes Prof. Claudia Novack (CHEM), who does not conduct research but regularly teaches the large lecture classes CHEM 11a: "General Chemistry I" and CHEM 11b: "General Chemistry II." Race Brandeis has taken note of the low numbers of minority groups in the sciences and, with support from Prof. Irving Epstein (CHEM), launched the first science program in the nation, bringing in its inaugural class in 2008. As for representation of people of color in faculty, Marder said, "the landscape for minorities and people of color has been very complicated." She said that students from disadvantaged backgrounds have often opted to pursue professional degrees rather than academic ones to achieve financial stability. "There was a real wave of trying to create options for people of color in professional schools and graduate schools. That first wave happened as a consequence of the '60s, so many of the people in that first wave came from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds and therefore they enriched into professional schools where they would be guaranteed financial opportunities," she explained. "So people went to law school. People went to medical school. People went to dental school. People went to engineering school. Relatively few of them had the luxury to just go into academics," she added. Ullah also said that the ability to choose a career based solely on interest is "a luxury." "You have to understand that that's already a statement of privilege," he said. "[People of color] have learned that, because we're of economically disadvantaged backgrounds, we can only achieve so much in life. We should only try to achieve so much for practical reasons," Ullah later added. For undergraduate students of color, race plays a significant role in their experiences at Brandeis. "I was the only black student in my Physics class, my second semester. In my first semester there was only one [other] girl and she dropped," said Bethlehem Seifu Belaineh '16, an International Wien scholar from Ethiopia who is a Biological Physics major, in an interview with the Justice. "I never really realized it until someone pointed it out and by the time I realized it I felt extremely self-conscious to the point where I started to question, 'Am I actually in the right major? Am I setting myself up for failure or something?'" "You don't feel isolated but you feel different, because you are different. You do look different. You have a different cultural background," Belaineh added later. "You just are different but that difference does not mean you are less. It just means you are a different kind of person, but it took me a while to recognize that." Nicholas Medina '14 made a similar point, acknowledging his position as one of a few Hispanic science students. "Because there are so few Hispanic students in the sciences, I feel like I more wholly represent my ethnicity in the sciences and Hispanic science students in general," he said. "It makes me feel like when I achieve higher grades, it's more of an accomplishment." However, said Marder, the number of students from underrepresented groups entering graduate school is now increasing, at Brandeis and across the country. For now, recruiting people of color to the department is a challenge, given how small the pool is, according to both Marder and Herzfeld. "Part of what makes it not easy is when the pool is small and all of us really want that diversity. The big, rich places win out in the recruiting," said Herzfeld. "It's not entirely satisfactory, but that's not for lack of trying or lack of interest," she later added. Conclusion Ullah said he believes that "there is a lack of conversation" about the issues students of color face and that the University should "become more comfortable" discussing them. "It's going to be very important for me to make sure that, whatever field I go into, to make the space more accessible and accommodating for people of color, regardless of their background and preparation," he said. "Once you provide the tools for people of color to actualize their full potential, they are just as likely to be very successful in any career as anyone else," he added. Despite the fact that female students in the sample of the survey seemed to feel less confident in science classes than their peers, they nonetheless showed a commitment to pursuing an education in science. Such an enthusiasm fits well with Charney's goal: "I think the message we need to be getting out there is to tell people that careers in science are great for women. Do it!"
The Politics and History departments, the Center for German and European Studies, the Russian Studies program and the International and Global Studies program co-hosted an event titled "Crimea and Beyond: Russia and Its Neighbors" on Thursday. During the event, a panel consisting of Profs. Steven Burg (POL), David Engerman (HIST) and Chandler Rosenberger (IGS). The panel discussed the recent international crisis in Ukraine and the referendum held in Crimea on whether the peninsula would remain part of Ukraine or become integrated into the Russian Federation as a federal subject. The panel was held in order to create a discussion on campus about how to look at this ongoing series of geopolitical events. The peninsula is in a strategic place historically, by the mouth of the Dnieper River, a major waterway that ultimately connects the Black Sea and the Baltic, going through Europe. Crimea was in the possession of Russia until 1954 when Nikita Khrushchev, the first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, gave the peninsula to Ukraine. There was no official statement at the time as to why the Soviet Union transferred Crimea to Ukraine. As of late, Crimea has been the center of international attention. In November 2013, former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych rejected an association agreement that was to be signed with the European Union. This led many Ukrainians to take to the streets of Kiev in protest, resulting in Yanukovych fleeing the country on Feb. 22. On March 16, the citizens of Crimea voted to join Russia with an overwhelming 96.8 percent in favor. However, Andrey Illarionov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's former senior economic adviser, stated that the results were falsified and that the referendum had a turnout of only 34.2 percent of the population of Crimea instead of the 83.1 percent turnout that Putin claimed. When the United Nations Security Council voted on a resolution that would declare the referendum invalid, 13 members voted in favor of the resolution. China abstained but Russia exercised its right to veto, causing the resolution to fail. Engerman started off the discussion by pointing out that the act of Ukraine moving closer to Western Europe was a "cause of legitimate concern on the part of Russia." Ukraine, prior to the revolution, had a complicated, but not entirely negative, relationship with Russia according to Engerman and Burg. For instance, as Burg later brought up, Russia has gone out of its way to give Ukraine a rather large discount on oil and gas from Russian companies. Continuing, Engerman said that the crisis in Crimea should be partially attributed to the "inability of U.S. policy makers" to acknowledge the fact that Russia is not conforming to Western powers by seeing democracy as a sign of progress. Russia, he went on, is a powerful country in international politics, but this does not necessarily mean the Russian government would see democratization in a positive light. The Cold War was a largely ideological war between communism and the Soviet Union ,and democracy and the United States. Engerman said that the assumption of Western Powers revealed a certain "blindness" to how Russia might interpret the European Union moving into a Russian-friendly state. Engerman acknowledged that the crisis that occurred in Crimea concerns not only Crimea and Ukraine, but all former members of the Soviet Union. In his speech on March 18, Putin focused on how the temporary Ukrainian government removed Russian from the country's official languages, using statements such as "the Russian nation," was the largest "ethnic group ... to be divided by borders" and saying that it was in an attempt to gain sympathy from the rest of the world. Engerman said that Putin's push for a Russian ethnic identity in his speech is making countries with large populations of Russians including Kazakhstan, Latvia and Estonia nervous, especially since Russia seems to be pushing for the ability to go into a country based on a Russian population. Engerman alluded to the infamous precedent of one nation invading another with the claim of protecting ethnicity, for example when Nazi Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. Burg began by noting that "Crimea is most certainly now lost," and there is no real way to return the peninsula to Ukraine. Furthermore, Burg said that now the real danger of the Crimean crisis is from possible clashes between "Ukrainian nationalists and neo-fascists and the opposing Moscow backed pro-Russian volunteers." If violence escalates, Burg said, there are risks of a "serious global economic crisis," especially concerning Russian oil in the stock market, but also, in the long run, Russia would face economic collapse. Going on, Burg noted that until a few weeks ago, Ukraine "wasn't worth a 15 billion dollar loan" from the EU, the denial of which, in his analysis, jump started the crisis in Ukraine. So, in his opinion, the "best achievable deal" currently would be to make Ukraine neutral in a state of "non-NATOness." This refers to the fact that Ukraine became a candidate for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an alliance with roots in the Cold War, and designed to contain the Soviet Union, in 2008. By denying Ukraine membership in NATO as well as in the EU, Burg argued that there will be less likelihood of a real clash between Russia and the West. Rosenberger argued against doing nothing about the situation between Russia and Ukraine. He cited a poll published in October 2013 by the Gesellschaft f??r Konsumforschung Group, a market research institute. The poll asked how Ukranians felt about Ukraine signing the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, an agreement that would commit the Ukraine to economic, judicial and financial reforms in exchange for access to financial and political support from the EU. This pact would hopefully allow for Ukraine to at some point become an EU member, 45 percent of the Ukrainian respondents replied affirmative to seeing the agreement take place. According to the will of the sovereign people of Ukraine, Rosenberger said, Ukraine should have been part of the EU. In his opinion, Russia's invasion in Crimea proved to not only be a case of bullying a smaller nation but also a case of invading a sovereign country.
On Thursday, President Obama announced a new wave of economic and political sanctions against Russia, in response to the country's recent annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. The new sanctions will target senior Russian government officials, a bank and broader sectors of the Russian economy. Additionally, Obama and other world leaders moved on Monday to suspend Russia's membership within the Group of 8 leading nations. Obama acknowledged that the sanctions could be "disruptive" to the global economy, but has stated that he does not want to do anything to "trigger an actual war with Russia." What do you think of these new, heavier sanctions? * Prof. Emerita Rachel McCulloch (ECON): Along with most Americans, President Barack Obama has no wish to expand the nation's military commitments. Sanctions represent an alternative way to signal U.S. support of Ukraine's sovereignty. Yet the initial sanctions were so limited as to invite more derision than consternation in Moscow. The second round, aimed at increasing economic pressure on President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, did have some impact on Russia's financial markets, at least temporarily. Even more recently, the U.S. and six other major western nations voted to "suspend" Russia's membership in the G8. At this point the action is largely symbolic. History suggests that sanctions can be effective only when nations act in concert. The key question remains whether the European Union, which relies significantly on business with Russia, is willing to coordinate its policies with those of the U.S. For example, an embargo on Russian energy exports would likely have a greater effect than the current sanctions but would also inflict considerable pain on the EU. Moreover, a possible unintended consequence of sanctions would be to reinforce Russia's efforts to increase political and economic ties to Asia and especially China. Prof. Emerita Rachel McCulloch (ECON) teaches ECON 160a: "International Trade Theory." * Tzvi Miller '16 I believe that these new sanctions are more of a symbolic move on President Barack Obama's part than anything else, and will ultimately do little to affect Russia's policies regarding Crimea. Russia in turn recently banned Speaker John Boehner, Sen. Harry Reid and Sen. John McCain, among other government individuals, from entry into their country, so it appears that the two powers are playing a game of tag. That being said, some people play tag simply for kicks, but sometimes people play tag just to cover their true intention of wanting to run really fast at someone and hit them. I'm not going to say which version of tag is being played here, but I do want to point out that Vladimir Putin stands at 5'5", and Obama is 6'1", so I like our chances. Tzvi Miller '16 is an International and Global Studies major. * Jesse Freedman '16 While I disagree with President Vladimir Putin's actions, I believe Obama should not have placed sanctions on Russia. Economically, sanctions hurt both parties because goods are no longer traded. They can also lead to trade wars, which would hurt an already fragile U.S. economy. The situation in Russia is tense and there is a possibility of war. If Russia does not change their policy then the relationship between the U.S. and Russia will become more heated. These sanctions are designed to coerce Russia into returning Crimea to Ukraine. The Petersen Institute for International Economics found that sanctions "succeed" about one-third of the time. Taking these factors into account, is it necessary for the U.S. to create this risk, which would damage the economy, potentially lead to war and only has roughly a 33 percent chance of succeeding, in return for a small piece of land in which the majority of people voted to join Russia? I believe not. Jesse Freedman '16 is a member of Brandeis Libertarians. * Connor Wahrman '17 On the whole, sanctions aren't an effective response to the Crimean crisis. Putin has overwhelming support in both Russia and Crimea, drawing upon the demonization of Ukraine's EU and NATO leanings, and the call to protect Crimea's Russian-speaking majority. Backing down at this point, then, would not only be degrading, but also foolish from President Vladimir Putin's position of strength. But given President Barack Obama's options, sanctions can be seen as a reasonable choice. The U.S. is not in a position to seek out another armed conflict, least against the major power in Eastern Europe. As such, when negotiations fail and U.N. action is made impossible by Russian veto power, sanctions become the clearest option. Putin, however, can then respond in kind, justifying the U.S. response to the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty as a threat to Crimea's self-determination. These bilateral sanctions only increase tensions and do little to change the situation. Connor Wahrman '17 is an International and Global Studies major and writes for the Brandeis International Journal.
On March 1, the Boston Bruins departed from TD Garden fresh from a heartbreaking 4-2 loss to the Washington Capitals. Since returning from the three-week Winter Olympics hiatus on Feb. 26, the Bruins had failed to win a game and were struggling. Three weeks and a 12-game winning streak later, the Bruins look like an entirely different squad. Boston reeled off three straight road victories against the New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche and Phoenix Coyotes, before finally falling to the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 in a shootout last night to improve to 49-17 on the season with 103 points, a mark that places them at the top of the Eastern Conference and 17 points ahead of the next closest Atlantic Division opponent. The Bruins' 12-game winning streak allowed the team to clinch a playoff spot, the first team in either conference of the NHL to do so. "We still have to play our hockey and really focus on the little details going into the playoffs," said Bruins captain and defenseman Zdeno Chara. "Not being satisfied or complacent and keep pushing our team." Meanwhile, the status of the Bruins' winning streak stood in grave danger on Saturday against Phoenix. Boston trailed the host Coyotes by a 2-1 margin heading into the third period. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, with 39 seconds left in the second period, just fired off a power-play goal past Bruins goalkeeper Tuukka Rask and the near post for the lead. However, the Bruins came roaring back. Three minutes and 48 seconds into the third period, Chara fired a shot that deflected off of left wing Jarome Iginla and past Phoenix goalie Mike Smith to tie the game at 2-2. From there, Boston took control of the game. Right wing Shawn Thornton broke through for the go-ahead goal with 3:18 remaining in regulation, tipping in a feed past Smith from left wing Daniel Paille. Iginla put the icing on the cake, slotting home an empty-netter with 31.7 seconds left to ice the 4-2 victory for the Bruins. There was no doubt, though, for Boston in a road match at Denver the previous night. Goalie Chad Johnson made 31 saves and the Bruins cruised to a 2-0 victory. While Colorado outshot the road team by a 14-6 margin in the first period, Boston struck first. Center Patrice Bergeron, with 5:12 remaining in the period, slotted the puck right at Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov, but then picked up a critical rebound. He found an opening past Varlamov's outstretched left pad and fired it right past the goalkeeper for the 1-0 advantage. Center Carl Soderberg added an insurance goal at the 13:11mark in the second period with a shot that soared to an exposed part of the net over Varlamov's right shoulder. On Tuesday, the Bruins had to rely once again on its offense for a 4-2 victory over the Devils. Bergeron opened up the scoring at the 14:33 mark in the first period with a backhand shot through New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur's legs for the early lead. After ceding a power-play goal to New Jersey center Patrik Elias, left wing Brad Marchand responded with a resounding one-timer into the top right corner to hand the lead right back to the Bruins. Iginla joined the scoring frenzy just 59 seconds later, slotting the puck past a beleaguered Brodeur for a 3-1 lead. Bergeron netted the Bruins' lone goal in Monday's 2-1 shootout loss, when he redirected defenseman Dougie Hamilton's snap shot into the net at 14:34 of the third period. Rask stopped 21 shots in the loss. The Bruins will square off against the Chicago Blackhawks in a home match on Thursday at 7 p.m. *
Correction appended. The University recently announced thee hiring of two new professors as part of a cluster hire around the African Diaspora, while the Education program and African and Afro-American Studies department look to fill an opening under the Florence Levy Kay Fellowship, a two-year post-doctoral fellowship that rotates between different departments and programs for each appointment. Both new professors and the post-doctoral fellow will begin teaching in fall 2014. AAAS and the Women's and Gender Studies program hired Jasmine Johnson, who recently completed a post-doctoral program at Northwestern University. Greg Childs, who earned his Ph.D. from New York University and is currently on the faculty of George Washington University, will join the History department. Johnson will teach one course in AAAS and one course in WGS each semester, according to Prof. Wendy Cadge (SOC), chair of the WGS program. According to Cadge, the details for Johnson's WGS course have not been finalized. Cadge wrote of the hire in an email to the Justice: "It influences our program tremendously-mostly by diversifying the classes we can offer." Johnson described her work as "an attempt to understand the politics of African diasporic movement" in an email to the Justice. While her work focuses on West African dance, Johnson wrote that she is also interested in movement in general. "How does movement shape racialized and gendered identities? I draw from the African diaspora, black feminist, and dance theories in answering these questions," she wrote. Johnson wrote that she looks forward to sharing in "Brandeis' intellectual and artistic life." As a professor in both AAAS and WGS, she wrote about her excitement to be able to offer different cross-listed and interdisciplinary courses, particularly in the area of dance, where she hopes to work with the School of Creative Arts. She is also excited to join the Brandeis community, writing that the "African Diaspora cluster hire indicates Brandeis' commitment to AAAS and WGS. It means that Brandeis understand[s] these intellectual communities to be essential to the mission of the university" and that it shows Brandeis is committed to interdisciplinary work. Greg Childs' work focuses on the history of the African Diaspora to Latin America. According to Prof. Jane Kamensky (HIST), chair of the History department, Childs' "work on Brazil, urban history, the African Diaspora, and the global eighteenth century will lead to crucial new course offerings." Kamensky wrote in an email to the Justice about her excitement at the interdisciplinary possibilities of Childs' appointment, writing that "Childs is poised to be a transformative teacher." Childs did not respond to requests for comment by press time. The AAAS department and the Education program are also looking to fill a post-doctoral Kay Fellowship position, Prof. Chad Williams (AAAS) wrote in an email to the Justice. This year, the Kay Fellowship will fit under the African Diaspora cluster hire, as AAAS and Education seek a specialist in urban education. This year's Kay Fellow candidates are Derron Wallace, Aaminah Norris and Tess Bundy. All of the candidates are visiting Brandeis to speak about their work: Wallace gave a lecture yesterday titled "Bad Blacks and Better Blacks?: Exploring the Role of Black Cultural Capital in the Educational Experiences of Afro-Caribbean Youth in London and New York;" Norris will give a lecture titled "Make Matters: Teaching and Learning Literacies and Identities in Urban Schools" this Thursday and Bundy will give a lecture titled "'The Schools Are Killing Our Kids!:' The African American Fight for Racial Democracy in the Boston Public Schools" on Tuesday, April 8. This African Diaspora cluster hire initiative was formed to fill an area of study not present in the University and to bring more diversity to course offerings, according to the Jan. 14 issue of the Justice. Editor's Note: The online version of this article has been edited to clarify Greg Childs' education. He received his Ph.D. from New York University and is currently on the faculty at George Washington University. He did not receive his Ph.D. from George Washington University, as the article previously stated. *
Lean In, a group that advocates for women to achieve their career goals and hold positions of power, has partnered with the Girl Scouts in a new campaign to end the use of the word "bossy." The "Ban Bossy" campaign argues that when young girls assert themselves and are called "bossy," it discourages them from pursuing positions of leadership, and may potentially lead to major self-confidence issues. The campaign has earned endorsements from public figures such as Beyonc?(c) and Condoleezza Rice, but critics wonder whether banning "bossy" may lead to the word holding a more negative connotation, making it more hurtful when used. They also question whether the campaign actually addresses the underlying issues of sexism in the workplace. What do you think about the "Ban Bossy" campaign? * Prof. Jane Kamensky (HIST): When my older son was in first grade, the kids used to call him "Teacher Calvin." He was (and is) a smart kid, and he liked to tell his classmates how to improve their work. He was, in a word, bossy. But nobody ever called him that, because his gender didn't match the adjective. I'm bossy too: "Teacher Jane." I set deadlines and I stick to them. I expect my students to show up on time, prepared and ready to work. Bossy means taking my job seriously. Can feminists like me find a way to reclaim "bossy"? Writing in The New Yorker, Margaret Talbot argues that we should appropriate the word, making bossy the new queer: a term of in-group pride, a label for women who embrace leadership. Bosses are bossy. And every day, more women become bosses. How about a T-shirt that says, "Yeah, I'm Bossy, Deal with It!" Prof. Jane Kamensky (HIST) is chair of the History department and the Harry S. Truman professor of American Civilization. * Zuri Gordon '15 I'm sure "Ban Bossy" has the best of intentions but I find it to be problematic. I think Girl Scouts is a cool and radical organization that could create legitimate change for young girls, but Lean In just puts a Venus symbol over capitalism and corporations and calls it feminism, when obviously so many women do not have access to those institutions, or those institutions have failed them. So I think that the kind of feminism that Lean In promotes does more harm than good, and I don't believe that their "Ban Bossy" campaign will be successful. I would be more interested if they pushed for reclaiming words like bossy or at the very least trying to dismantle a cultural inequality that unfairly targets girls and women for being assertive. I definitely understand how "bossy" has negative connotations but I would rather see campaigns allow girls more freedom in how they chose to define themselves rather than restricting them from words. Zuri Gordon '15 is president of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance. * Joseph Babeu '15 Most advocates in the feminist movement know that the misogyny embedded in our popular culture runs far more deeply than challenging a single term would fix. After all, what does terminology matter if pay is still not equal across genders? However, it is not feasible to expect the entire country to jump from institutionalized sexism to equal pay overnight. Advocates must start with the lowest common denominator-those who may not understand why using "bossy" may have a negative impact on young women, or even those who agree with its use. To make any substantive progress, it is essential that these people be educated on issues of gender discrimination. Furthermore, this education does not begin with a radical push. It begins with advocates meeting people where they are and taking a first step, together. Lean In is taking this first step with "Ban Bossy". Joseph Babeu '15 works for the Lemberg Children's Center. * Christa Caggiano '17 I love Beyonc?(c). She is an excellent performer and an ultra-successful businesswoman, and I think deep down, all Americans want to be just a bit like her. So, when Beyonc?(c) joins a campaign like Ban Bossy, people pay attention. Average Americans see Beyonc?(c)'s video campaign and then share it on Facebook or email it to their nieces. These are people who have no reason to think about feminist theory in their daily lives, who are now thinking about why there are not that many female leaders, or why they call their daughters "pretty" but not "smart." In my opinion, this discourse is infinitely more important than actually banning the word bossy. I think this campaign is about changing the tide of our culture, forcing people to really think and talk about the role women play in leadership, and not necessarily about altering the modern lexicon. If it takes a sassy Beyonc?(c) in a viral video to make people have those conversations, I am completely okay with that. Christa Caggiano '17 is a student scholarship partner at the Women's Studies Research Center.
Adjuncts across the country and throughout Boston have been unionizing due to a general lack of benefits and low wages. Although the Brandeis Fair Pay Coalition has taken an initiative in meeting with a representative from the Service Employees International Union and several adjuncts have expressed concerns about the current situation at the University, no specific plan to unionize at Brandeis could be confirmed by the Justice. Adjuncts at the University currently receive about $6,000 per course in the Arts and Sciences, according to Prof. Bernadette Brooten (NEJS) in an email to the Justice. Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid wrote in an email to the Justice that $6,000 is the minimum that adjuncts are paid per course, but that disparities can exist between adjuncts' pay based upon areas of expertise and experience. An adjunct is "someone whose primary employment is not at Brandeis," de Graffenreid wrote. Adjuncts were first introduced in higher education so that universities could hire professionals to teach a course as a unique opportunity for students. The University hires adjuncts in order to fill in for a faculty member who is on leave or sabbatical, to bring specific expertise to Brandeis "often in more applied fields ... because those people bring real-world experience to students in a way that is really usefu (sic)" and to "fill out the curriculum in areas where there is a need for a specific course in a major or program," according to de Graffenreid. However, a lecturer, who requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the topic and job security concerns, explained that many adjuncts have doctorates in their fields from prestigious universities. "We're getting top quality-trained professionally-academics to do these sort of jobs that were traditionally done by adjuncts to come in and go," the lecturer said in an interview with the Justice. According to de Graffenreid, two courses per semester is considered half-time employment, and there is not an hourly requirement. De Graffenreid wrote that this means that faculty members hired on a per-course basis teaching as few as two courses may be eligible for benefits their first semester at the University. According to Assistant Vice President for Human Resources Michelle Scichilone in an email to the Justice, the University offers benefits to any faculty member who is "classified as half-time or more regardless of title." Such employees are eligible to participate in the University's health and dental insurance "and pay the same premium as our full-time faculty members," according to Scichilone. All half-time faculty are also eligible to participate in the University's flexible medical and dependent care reimbursement accounts, the group life insurance plan, 403(b) retirement plan, the Employee Assistance Plan, and discounted auto and homeowners insurance, among other benefits. Despite the availability of benefits for part-time faculty members, the anonymous lecturer said many adjuncts and individuals who get paid per-course can only teach one or two classes per semester, depending upon time constraints. This individual said that he or she only teaches an average of two courses per semester, and that grading papers, responding to emails, answering student questions and other responsibilities are not accounted for in the pay per course. "I'm always here in my office around 8:30 in the morning. I leave around 1:30 after I teach, I send some emails out, but then I go back, at night I spend from 6 to 9 [p.m.] again behind the computer, so I think I work a full-time job," the lecturer said in an interview with the Justice. In addition, the lecturer must work additional jobs apart from his or her employment at the University. "There's no way you could make ends meet on $6,000 a course per semester. That's $12,000 a year, way below poverty," the lecturer said. The lecturer said he or she knows of other colleagues who also work other jobs outside of the University. The lecturer added that students should also be fighting for appropriate pay and benefits for adjuncts because adjunct pay could affect the quality of education for this reason. One reason adjuncts may begin working at a University is the hope that they would eventually be able to land a tenure-track position, said the lecturer. Adjuncts such as Prof. Peter Gould (PAX), who co-teaches "Inner Peace/Outer Peace," continue to return to the University as adjuncts despite the lack of benefits-he only teaches one course that meets for three hours per week-and low pay. Gould has been an adjunct professor at the University since 2009, and shares half of $7,000 to teach this course with an "equal co-teacher," he wrote in an email to the Justice. The course generally attracts 35 to 40 students, according to Gould. "It is not a financially wise arrangement, but I am willing to do it because I am very good at what I do, I take pride in the work, I get great response from students, and I love the work, the students, the material, and the stimulation," Gould wrote in an email to the Justice. "The [U]niversity knows all this, so that puts me in a weak position, since, they know I will likely continue, although I am underpaid, and they also know that there are probably lots of people out there, more desperate than I am, who would love to step into my job if they had the opportunity." Gould wrote that he receives no University benefits. In fact, according to Gould, "the benefits are minus." Gould wrote that he has to pay all his travel expenses to work to Brandeis, with his "long trek" from Vermont. Gould acknowledged that the need for adjuncts does exist, but he said adjuncts should receive more pay. "If [the University has] these very believable reasons why they hire adjuncts, they should bend over backwards in showing their appreciation by paying these specialists a reasonable reward for their work," Gould wrote. The anonymous lecturer added that many universities hire adjuncts because there is no required long-term commitment. The lecturer said that those who maintain a certain number of students in their classes might be able to teach that course again, but that those who do not have no job security. The lecturer's contract is on an annual basis. Differences in standing According to de Graffenreid, there is a distinction between contract status and rank. Contract status would define whether or not an individual is, in fact, an adjunct. Rank would determine whether or not the individual is an instructor, senior instructor, lecturer, senior lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor or professor. De Graffenreid defined a lecturer as a "rank." Although the anonymous lecturer has an annual contract, de Graffenreid wrote that there are long-term, or five-year, contracts for lecturers, as well. In regard to the claim that the anonymous lecturer was paid per course like an adjunct, de Graffenreid wrote that her "understanding is that per course vs. salary depends upon their individual contract." According de Graffenreid, there are 202 tenured faculty members, 59 faculty members on the tenure track, 103 long-term and full-time faculty members and 46 adjuncts. Adjuncts that fit the part-time criteria comprise 11 percent of instructional faculty, according to de Graffenreid. Comparing salaries According to the 2013 American Association of University Professors Faculty Salary Survey on the Chronicle of Higher Education website, full professors at Brandeis make $131,400 per year on average, while associate professors make $93,400. Assistant professors make an average of $83,400 and instructors make $59,000 per year. According to these figures and the Chronicle of Higher Education, Brandeis has the 14th highest paid faculty in Massachusetts. By comparison, adjuncts typically make $6,000 per course. If "a person were able to piece together four courses at different schools-which itself is hard to line up, that person, with a doctorate and the resulting high student debt, would be earning $24,000 per year, without benefits," Brooten wrote in an email to the Justice. The $24,000 per year figure assumes the adjunct only teaches four courses in one year, or two courses per semester. The SEIU, a union that is currently working with adjuncts to unionize, published a report through Adjunct Action titled "The High Cost of Adjunct Living: Boston." The report states that the average annual pay in 2013 for a tenured professor at a private research university in the United States was $167,118, while the average pay per course reported by adjunct faculty was $3,000. According to the report, by 2009, nationally, tenure and tenure-track positions had declined to about 33.5 percent of faculty positions, leaving 66.5 percent of faculty ineligible for tenure. Unionizing efforts Efforts have recently taken off for adjuncts to unionize at universities in the Boston area, including a successful vote last month to unionize at Lesley University. Adjunct Action through SEIU "is a campaign that unites adjunct professors at campuses across the country to address the crisis in higher education and the troubling trend toward a marginalized teaching faculty that endangers our profession," according to its website. According to a Feb. 24 post to the website, the Lesley University adjuncts voted to join SEIU. The post states that 84 percent of adjuncts across the four campuses were in favor of unionizing. Tufts University adjuncts voted to join SEIU last September, and are currently bargaining their first contract, according to the website. "Quickly rising tuition has resulted in record levels of student debt, putting higher education out of reach for more and more working families," the SEIU website reads. "At the same time, ... being a university professor, once the quintessential middle-class job, has become a low-wage one." Andrew Nguyen '15, one of the student leaders involved in the Brandeis Fair Pay Coalition, said in an interview with the Justice that the group had been working to meet with an SEIU leader who had helped to organize adjuncts into unions at other colleges in the area. According to Nguyen in the interview, the coalition had not met with many adjunct faculty members, although some were invited to attend the meeting. Nguyen did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the results of the meeting by press time. "I have not heard about a union, more than in some news stories, but I would be happy to join in an organization working for the general benefit of adjunct teachers at Brandeis and throughout the world of education in the US," wrote Gould of the possibility of unionizing adjuncts at Brandeis.
It's not every day that the label "most stylish" is applied to members of the Brandeis University community-especially by one of Boston's premier lifestyle publications. But in a March publication of the Boston Globe's Style Magazine, one of Brandeis' own made the cut. This year, the Boston Globe Style Magazine named the Henry and Lois Foster director of the Rose Art Museum, Christopher Bedford, as one of the "Most Stylish Bostonians 2014." Joining the ranks of 16 other young professionals in the Boston area chosen by the publication, Bedford is recognized in a profile and accompanying video feature on the Style Magazine's website. The Boston Style Magazine highlighted Bedford's impeccable and forward-thinking taste-something that the Style Magazine sought out in all of the list-makers-and asked him questions about how visual taste influences his lifestyle. The online profile focused on the way that Bedford presents himself-what he wears to his own museum openings, what he looks for in new art acquisitions and which artists or designers influence him. When asked what he prefers to wear to openings at the Rose, Bedford answered: "I tend to wear at least one new thing. [At first] it was just an amusing habit, but now it's become a good-luck charm, so now I have to do it every time. I think there's an impulse to redo yourself just as you redo the museum for the public." The two-minute-long video, published online along with the article, followed Bedford through a brief viewing of an exhibit of German artists Wols and Charlene von Heyl's works in the Rose-one of the museum's new exhibits this season. Bedford commented both on the works and on his personal style, and how he takes inspiration when dressing for museum events. This year's "Most Stylish Bostonians" compilation marks the nineth annual list by the Globe's Style magazine.
William Kentridge's The Refusal of Time, which is currently on view at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, is a tour de force, combining sound and moving images in a installation utilizing a five-channel video and sculpture. Kentridge is an artist of Jewish and Caucasian ethnicity who was born and raised in South Africa and is currently based in Johannesburg. The exhibition explores the intersection of time and memory, science and globalization. Though these themes are frequently present in the South African artist's work, the idea for this installation developed through years of discussion between the artist and Peter Galison, a professor of history of science at Harvard University. The five-channel video with sound, megaphones and metronomes, surrounds a wooden sculpture, which Kentridge refers to as an "elephant," and a "breathing machine." The piece is the product of a collaboration between four individuals: Galison, composer Philip Miller, video filmmaker Catherine Meyburgh and Kentridge himself. Rustic, old world-inspired animations that evoke European colonialism and the early 20th century are gracefully utilized to inspire nostalgia in the piece. The five screens, which each play separate images, at times will randomly, but with panache, join together to play the same image at the same time. The drama of the installation, which places the viewer in the midst of a lost time, is heightened by both the time-ticking metronomes and the wooden sculptural "elephant" in the center of the room. In my opinion, however, the wooden sculpture does not resemble an elephant but rather a large bellows. Kentridge calls the sculpture an elephant, though, in reference to Charles Dickens' novel, Hard Times, where machines can move "like an elephant in a state of melancholy madness." In this way, the elephant does evoke a sense of grace as it is keeping track of time. However, it is hard to know exactly how the machine is measuring time. The movements of the clunky contraption mimic the 19th-century Parisian method of regulating clocks by pumping air through tubes beneath the streets. As the machine moves forward and backward, to a slow, rhythmic beat, it appears slightly clunky-an anachronistic symbol in our world of fast cars and progressing technology. From the moving elephant sculpture to the metronomes, to the animations, which combine black and white images, it is apparent that the passing of time and our desire to measure time is at the center of this installation. Working within the framework of the relativity of time as articulated by Albert Einstein, the installation juxtaposes the relative nature of time in a world obsessed with measuring, fixing and standardizing, as reflected in Britain's declaration of a universal time throughout its empire. This is just one instance of our refusal to work with time. As Kentridge writes, "Everybody knows that we are going to die, but the resistance to that pressure coming towards us is at the heart of the project. At the individual level, it was about resisting; not resisting mortality in the hope of trying to escape it, but trying to escape the pressure that it puts on us." On the global scale, refusal reflects "the European sense of order imposed by time zones; not only literally, but this refusal also referred metaphorically to the other forms of control as well." An adjoining room that combines a series of drawings from Kentridge helps to contextualize Kentridge's work as the artist has always argued that the root of his work is drawing. The charcoal and ink drawings and etches combined with the impressive installation render the viewer with pangs of nostalgia as the fleeting nature of time is revealed. It is through the exhibition that one realizes the transient nature of time. The days may feel long, but the years and decades, our arbitrary markers of time, are short. The exhibition is on view until May 4.
This year marks the centennial anniversary of the birth of Irving Fine, a composer and former professor at the University. Two years after Brandeis' founding, Fine left his position at Harvard University to join Brandeis' up-and-coming Music department-a risky move at the time. He proved to be an enormous asset to Brandeis as he expanded the Music department tremendously, bringing in talents such as Leonard Bernstein, Harold Shapero, Arthur Berger and Caldwell Titcomb during his tenure. On Sunday afternoon, the University Concert Series held a performance in Slosberg Music Center titled "A Tribute to Irving Fine"-commemorating Fine's work and influences. The concert highlighted Fine and Shapero's professional and personal relationship, and the program provided photos of the two working together at both Brandeis and the Tanglewood Music Festival in the mid-1940s. The concert also featured works composed by both Shapero and Fine, both neoclassicalists of the 20th century, as well as works by B?(c)la Bart??k and Claude Debussy, also 20th-century artists. Earlier in the year Sally Pinkas Ph.D. '91 and her husband, Evan Hirsh, performed a memorial concert for Shapero, who passed away last spring. This Sunday, Pinkas returned to play again, this time in memory of Fine. Pinkas, solo pianist and professor at Dartmouth College, and Prof. Daniel Stepner (MUS), first violinist of Brandeis' Lydian String Quartet, performed duets as well as solos from the early to mid-20th century. The concert began with Sonata for Violin and Piano, written by Shapero in 1942. The three movements were drastically different from one another-the "Moderato" light, airy and playful; the "Adagio" sad, soulful and longing; and the "Alegro preciso" fast and frantic with a few melodic sequences woven in. Next came Bart??k's Sonata for Solo Violin, written in 1944 and performed by Stepner. The program mentions that Bart??k was highly influenced by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. The first movement, "Tempo de ciaccona," "owes a great deal to the grand nineteenth-century manner of playing unaccompanied Bach," the program commented. The piece featured many differing musical techniques such as chords, fast sequences of notes that ran up and down the instrument and pizzicato to create a complexity of sound. At one point in the piece, Stepner played pizzicato while still playing arco, a technique that required a great amount of coordination. Next, Pinkas performed Debussy's Estampes, written in 1903. The movement, the "Pagodes" at times sounded like bells, the Pinkas playing the piano rapidly, scaling up and down the instrument and oscillating between notes. The next movement, "La sori?(c)e dans Granada" (The Evening in Granada,) felt much as the title of the piece suggested-like a party scene with many things happening at once, converging in a complexity of notes and rhythms. The piece drifted off at the end, reminiscent of a night on the town that was finally dying down with people returning home. The last piece the duo played was composed by Fine himself. Sonata for Violin and Piano, written in 1946, definitely had traces of the previous three pieces. The program mentioned that Fine said that his Sonata is "essentially tonal, diatonic and moderately dissonant, neoclassic in its formal approach and (according to some critics) neo-romantic in its expressive attitudes." I could definitely hear some of the dissonant tones that Fine describes, especially in the "Lento con moto," as notes diverged from the key signature. The piece was just as beautiful though, indeed embodying these "expressive attitudes" and romantic tropes that Fine described. The final movement of the Sonata, "Vivo," was, as the title suggests, lively and very bold and rousing. At times though, the movement would transition into a more morose and intense melody. These breaks from the high energy of the piece allowed the listener to appreciate the liveliness and notice the fast, vibrant parts even more. The concert was very impressive-Pinkas and Stepner are clearly extremely talented and experienced with these composers and musical styles, and the concert did justice to Fine's life and legacy.
After a week of occupation by Russian soldiers, the government of Ukraine's Crimea region voted Thursday night to leave Ukraine and become part of Russia. The referendum will be put to a regional vote in 10 days. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent soldiers to Crimea at the request of ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, but Ukraine's new Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has stated that Crimea "was, is, and will be an integral part of Ukraine." Yatsenyuk denies seeking military aid from the United States, but both the U.S. and European Union have considered placing economic and political sanctions on Russia. How should the U.S. respond to the situation in Crimea? * Prof. Chandler Rosenberger (IGS) First, repeat simple facts. Russia invaded a sovereign state, seized its territory, then overthrew the elected government of the region it occupied. A referendum under those conditions won't be worth the paper that Moscow's fake ballots will be printed on. Russia pretends that its assault is the moral equivalent of Ukraine's constitutional removal of a felonious president. We must not let Moscow's smokescreens obscure its belligerence. Second, we should commit to the success of democratic Ukraine. Ukraine can't take Crimea back, but it can make a mockery of Putin's paranoid protection racket. Let's help the Ukrainians secure their currency and make it easy for U.S. and European firms to invest in Ukrainian businesses. Let's bring Ukrainian legislators to Washington, D.C. and Ukrainian students to Brandeis. Let's pay for Yo-Yo Ma, Beyonc?(c), and Michael Chabon to visit Kiev. Let's help Ukraine become the prosperous and free country that 104 people died dreaming of. Prof. Chandler Rosenberger (IGS) is the chair of the International and Global Studies program. * Lilia Leybova '15 The situation in Ukraine is very dangerous and unsteady. The logical answer would be to figure out a way to reach a solution peacefully, however this would only be possible if Russia was [sic] willing to cooperate. I agree with the current actions that both the United States and the EU are taking to try and reason with Russia and pressure them into ending their current seize of the Crimean Peninsula. I do not believe that the U.S. should take any military action as this could easily escalate and lead to unwanted consequences. Hopefully, the current political sanctions, including issuing visa bans to those who are considered responsible for undermining Ukrainian sovereignty, being taken will cause Russia to re-evaluate its decisions. In addition, I think that it is critical for the U.S. and the EU to support Ukraine throughout this troublesome time while still trying to resolve it as peacefully as possible. Lilia Leybova '15 was born in Ukraine. She is a biochemistry major. * Elizabeth Zharovsky '15 This is definitely a complex issue, especially given the history between the U.S. and Russia. The Crimea region was given to Ukraine under the Soviet regime because at that time, it didn't really matter who the land belonged to. Now, Putin has decided he wants it back, presumably to use the land as leverage in negotiations with the new Ukrainian government. The United States and EU have tried to conduct peaceful talks with Russia. Honestly, at this point, the U.S. should stay out of it because our continued involvement will just further tensions between us and Russia. Whatever Putin has in mind has already been decided, regardless of what the U.S. has to say about it. Elizabeth Zharovsky '15 is a Russian Studies minor and president of Russian Club. * Dan Rozel '16 The situation in Crimea is a cause for concern throughout the entire international community, and like Kosovo and Abkhazia, there is no simple course of action for the United States as a world superpower. This is a particularly delicate situation for the United States, as the imposition of sanctions on Russia flies in the face of the American belief of self-sovereignty. One could say that these sanctions would be the United States essentially not acknowledging the right of the autonomous people of Crimea to choose their own associations. However, I am still of the belief that the U.S. and EU should impose sanctions purely based on the method by which the Russians "liberated" the Crimeans. Sending troops into an autonomous region to "protect" it, especially when that region subsequently votes to join the invading country, feels like an unacceptable return to imperialism and brute force colonization. Dan Rozel '16 is an undergraduate fellow of the Brandeis Genesis Institute for Russian Jewry.
The men's and women's tennis teams knew, upon traveling to Vermont on March 8 and 9 for the Middlebury College Invitational, fierce competition lay ahead. The Middlebury Panthers men's and women's teams-ranked 10th and sixth, respectively-tested the Judges' physical drive and emotional mindset. "The mindset was that we could beat them," said coach Ben Lamanna. "We're not scared of anybody." While both squads failed to garner an overall victory against Middlebury, the men's team managed to leave the weekend with a win. Coming off of three consecutive victories, the men dropped their match 8-1 to Middlebury, while the 24th-ranked had similar struggles against the Panthers, losing 9-0. On the second day of the invitational, though, the men's side regained its momentum, responding with a 6-3 defeat of Colby College. The women's tennis team valiantly competed against Middlebury, but ultimately, their efforts did not produce a win. A glimmer of hope came for the Brandeis side as Carley Cooke '15, at the No. 1 court, challenged Middlebury sophomore Ria Gerger. Cooke, ranked No. 17, showed great promise in the first set by leading 5-2, however, dropped the match in straight sets. The Judges failed to recover from the initial defeat. Ally Bernstein '14, Roberta Bergstein '14 and Simone Vandroff '15 all fell to their Middlebury competitors. In a close match at the No. 5 court, Emily Eska '15 matched her opponent shot for shot in the second set before falling by a 6-4, 7-5 score. Middlebury built on their initial successes with a sweep in doubles competition, where Cooke and Vandroff lost to Middlebury 8-6. The men, meanwhile, saw an opportunity to break through against the Panthers. At No. 1 singles, Michael Arguello '17 lost to senior Alex Johnston, ranked 39th nationally for Middlebury. Although Arguello fell to his opponent, he took Johnston to a tie-breaking round, eventually losing 7-5. "Arguello has improved by leaps and bounds since he arrived in the fall," said Lamanna. "Particularly, his doubles skills have improved. He's a great competitor on the court and he does everything right off the court. When you watch him play, it's like watching a laser show. He crushes the ball." Brian Granoff '17 continued to improve with each passing match. Much like his class and teammate, Granoff could not pull off an overall win against Middlebury senior Brantner Jones, losing 6-4, 7-6 (2) to the 31st nationally ranked player. In the remaining singles positions, the Panthers defeated Ryan Bunis '17, Alec Siegel '15 and Michael Secular '15. Bunis, however, managed to earn three points in his loss. "Arguello, Granoff [and] Bunis are all talented players who continue to impress with their hunger and fire for improvement," said Lamanna. "We've got a great thing going right because the sky is the limit with this group. It's all about continual improvement and staying hungry." The team responded with a win over Colby on Sunday, following a 6-3 victory from Siegel at the No. 5 position. The Judges went 2-1 in doubles and 4-2 in singles play. The women's squad will welcome No. 30 Wellesley College on Friday before joining the men in New York to square off against New York University on Saturday.
The men's and women's tennis teams knew, upon traveling to Vermont on March 8 and 9 for the Middlebury College Invitational, fierce competition lay ahead. The Middlebury Panthers men's and women's teams-ranked 10th and sixth, respectively-tested the Judges' physical drive and emotional mindset. "The mindset was that we could beat them," said coach Ben Lamanna. "We're not scared of anybody." While both squads failed to garner an overall victory against Middlebury, the men's team managed to leave the weekend with a win. Coming off of three consecutive victories, the men dropped their match 8-1 to Middlebury, while the 24th-ranked had similar struggles against the Panthers, losing 9-0. On the second day of the invitational, though, the men's side regained its momentum, responding with a 6-3 defeat of Colby College. The women's tennis team valiantly competed against Middlebury, but ultimately, their efforts did not produce a win. A glimmer of hope came for the Brandeis side as Carley Cooke '15, at the No. 1 court, challenged Middlebury sophomore Ria Gerger. Cooke, ranked No. 17, showed great promise in the first set by leading 5-2, however, dropped the match in straight sets. The Judges failed to recover from the initial defeat. Ally Bernstein '14, Roberta Bergstein '14 and Simone Vandroff '15 all fell to their Middlebury competitors. In a close match at the No. 5 court, Emily Eska '15 matched her opponent shot for shot in the second set before falling by a 6-4, 7-5 score. Middlebury built on their initial successes with a sweep in doubles competition, where Cooke and Vandroff lost to Middlebury 8-6. The men, meanwhile, saw an opportunity to break through against the Panthers. At No. 1 singles, Michael Arguello '17 lost to senior Alex Johnston, ranked 39th nationally for Middlebury. Although Arguello fell to his opponent, he took Johnston to a tie-breaking round, eventually losing 7-5. "Arguello has improved by leaps and bounds since he arrived in the fall," said Lamanna. "Particularly, his doubles skills have improved. He's a great competitor on the court and he does everything right off the court. When you watch him play, it's like watching a laser show. He crushes the ball." Brian Granoff '17 continued to improve with each passing match. Much like his class and teammate, Granoff could not pull off an overall win against Middlebury senior Brantner Jones, losing 6-4, 7-6 (2) to the 31st nationally ranked player. In the remaining singles positions, the Panthers defeated Ryan Bunis '17, Alec Siegel '15 and Michael Secular '15. Bunis, however, managed to earn three points in his loss. "Arguello, Granoff [and] Bunis are all talented players who continue to impress with their hunger and fire for improvement," said Lamanna. "We've got a great thing going right because the sky is the limit with this group. It's all about continual improvement and staying hungry." The team responded with a win over Colby on Sunday, following a 6-3 victory from Siegel at the No. 5 position. The Judges went 2-1 in doubles and 4-2 in singles play. The women's squad will welcome No. 30 Wellesley College on Friday before joining the men in New York to square off against New York University on Saturday.
Dean of Students Jamele Adams announced in an email to the Department of Student Life that Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes and Director of the Intercultural Center Monique Pillow-Gnanaratnam will be promoted to the positions of assistant deans. According to Adams in the email, two assistant deans have become "part of our design in the Office of the Dean of Students." "These positions are part of a reorganizing of departments to best serve our students and meet goals of the strategic plan," explained Adams in an email to the Justice. According to Adams, Grimes and Pillow-Gnanaratnam will continue to fulfill all their duties as directors while assuming new responsibilities in their roles as assistant deans. In an email to the Justice, Grimes wrote that she will now oversee New Student Orientation and "join the Dean's Office team in assisting with the daily management of issues that challenge our student body as well as assisting in crisis situations. "Students should also see increased collaboration between Student Activities and Admissions which creates the opportunity to create synergy between our recruitment and retention efforts," she wrote. Pillow-Gnanaratnam was not able to respond to the Justice by press time. According to Adams' email to the Office of Student Life, Grimes has worked at Brandeis for 16 years, and was previously in Community Living as a quad director before working in Student Activities. Before directing the ICC, Pillow-Gnanaratnam worked at Northeastern University as its director for off-campus student services and later as assistant director for orientation. Grimes said she has already begun assuming her new responsibilities and is being "integrated into the Dean's Office." Grimes wrote that she is "very excited" about her new role. "It will expand my knowledge base on campus," she wrote. "Hopefully I can make a larger impact on student life at Brandeis, and I can use the my 16 years of experience at Brandeis to learn from the past to create a [sic.]impact in the future," Grimes continued. "[T]hese promotions are exciting for our students and community," wrote Adams in his email to the Justice. "Brandeis will continue to appreciate the experience, wisdom, energy and love Stephanie and Monique have for our students, student development and student success." This change to the Office of Student Life follows changes to its leadership within the past year. Adams was appointed as Dean of Students over the summer, after University President Frederick Lawrence announced that Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer would be leaving Brandeis after 32 years.
Last Tuesday, the Department of Community Service sponsored a discussion about scenarios in volunteer work titled "Sexism in Service." The event was led by Lindsey Miller from AmeriCorps VISTA, member of an AmeriCorps program aimed at fighting poverty, working with the Department of Community Service and its higher education intern Jack Korpob. A diverse group of students and staff, including Associate Director of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life Marci McPhee and Director of the Department of Community Service Lucas Malo, attended the event. Opening the discussion, Kateri Spear '15 shared an experience from her recent work with Habitat for Humanity over February break, during which she and other Brandeis students went to Pennsylvania to build a home. On the last day of the trip, Spear said the overheard an older volunteer make "demeaning comments about one of our female-bodied volunteers" due to the assumption that she could not perform the manual labor of constructing a house as effectively as he could. The experience was "very uncomfortable" for the volunteer, according to Spear. Miller noted that there are "always external factors involved" with working on a service project, and acknowledged that volunteers face the dilemma of how to address these sorts of situations in a respectful manner. Korpob also shared a similar story from his undergraduate study at the University of California, San Diego about a service trip to Belize that he helped lead. Once his group arrived, he noticed that the local workers and liaisons would only speak to him. At first, he said that he did not think much of it, but it soon became apparent that the local members of the organization would not interact with his co-leaders because they were female. "I told [a liaison] that service was the reason that we were there," said Korpob, adding that "telling someone they can't do the same service because they are female simply wasn't going to happen." While Korpob admitted this situation made the trip awkward, he said that his team "fought back" against this discrimination. "Sometimes, you have to be the person to say [something] is wrong." Korpob added that volunteers working in another culture could encounter cultural norms that make it difficult to stand up for their beliefs. While he "saw it to be appropriate" in this instance, he acknowledged that often it is "very difficult" for volunteers to feel empowered in foreign environments. McPhee also added that Sorenson Fellows-students who are given a financial stipend by the Sorenson Fellowship so they may serve abroad with an organization of their choice during a summer-often "feel like they sold out their beliefs" if they choose to accept the gender norms of a different country. The latter half of the discussion was dominated by a recent advertising campaign of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Boston, a service organization that pairs children with older role models. The advertising campaign, called "Chicks Dig Bigs," is an effort to address the chronic shortage of male volunteers for the organization. In a video put out by the campaign, a female narrator claims "93 percent of women are more likely to admire a guy who volunteers with kids." The campaign's web page calls on women to "ask that special guy in her life ... and urge him to help make a difference in a child's life." When the discussion turned toward the reasoning behind the campaign, McPhee acknowledged that a shortage of male volunteers has been an issue for BBBSB, but added that she didn't know "what [she] would do to solve this problem, but [she was] not sure this was it." Spear also called into question the reasons a person volunteers to serve, and remained unconvinced that an individual who joined after seeing this campaign would be "the best person to commit to mentor a child," as opposed to an individual who opted to serve in order to create a meaningful relationship with a child. Sharon Passov '15, a coordinator for Language and Cultural Enrichment, a branch of the Waltham Group that pairs Brandeis students with English language learners from the Kennedy Middle School in Waltham, stated that she found the campaign "silly" and that it played on cultural norms, but did acknowledge that it showed the "desperation that the [organization] faces" with regard to male volunteers. Passov added that male volunteers at Brandeis typically ask to be paired with male children, and desire to spend time in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center "instead of [doing] arts and crafts or other activities." Sophie Brickman '16, a coordinator for Brandeis Big Siblings said that Brandeis Big Siblings' lack of male volunteers could be addressed in more productive ways, such as having "male volunteers speak to other males" to show them that "it is cool to serve." She also said that Brandeis Big Siblings has started working with the Athletics department, and that having a male athlete attest to his experiences with the organization have been successful. This event was the last in a series of discussions put on by the Department of Community Service in an effort to promote dialogue about service.
Last summer, a few weeks before I first came to Brandeis, a bunch of my high school friends and I were sitting around in a basement thinking about what we wanted to do in college. There were the usual suggestions-party, sleep, wake up and party some more-until one girl chimed in. "I want to be part of a protest," she said. Everyone nodded and murmured in agreement. An image of myself standing outside a government building, shaking a picket sign and chanting in unison with a massive crowd floated through my brain. It was a common enough daydream, one that I'd had before and which I share with many of my friends, regardless of whether they've ever been part of a real protest. A lot of it stems, I think, from the common idolization of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the great historical heroes of the modern age. He stood up against the most powerful and ingrained evils in his society, and was able to open the world's eyes to them through nonviolent protest. King is an inspirational figure to many, and though he is certainly not the only cause, he is part of the reason why protest is so romanticized in our society nowadays. We want to be angry at something, to vocally express our most deeply held beliefs and shout in the face of authority, "We will not be silenced!" For some, what the protest is actually about doesn't matter as much as the fact that it is happening, and that they can become a part of it. On Feb. 13, a group of students assembled outside the Bernstein-Marcus Administration Center to protest the University's executive payment practices. This was a protest I could get behind: It was time for the students to show their anger at President Emeritus Jehuda Reinharz's salary. We need to hold the Board of Trustees accountable for putting the ludicrous amount of money we pay toward making the rich richer. When I went to see the protest however, I was more than a little disappointed. The group of students stood huddled in a circle outlined by orange cones, the area specifically given by the University for the protest after the students submitted a formal request. They chanted slogans like "Fair Pay Today" and "Cut Jehuda's Salary," but also "F*ck the bookstore prices" and "Free tuition." As heavy snow began to fall, fewer and fewer students passed by the protest or gave it any attention, and soon, some of the angry chanters began to pack up and head home. The event's Facebook page even stated the incorrect amount of money being paid to Reinharz. If anything, the Feb. 13 protest made the University look better for allowing student discourse on campus. The protest was sectioned off in a little bubble of safety, where administrators could look down from their offices and admire the cute gang of angry children. Advocating executive pay changes is a goal that's both admirable and achievable, but free tuition? Something that absurd devalues the whole protest, and delegitimizes the very real concerns that students have. Likewise, getting mad over something as petty as inflated bookstore prices is an exercise in futility. Brandeis is a university that has sanctified the phrase "social justice," yet it has executive practices that create a class divide. That's a very real ethical concern, but if the student body is only worried about having to pay a few extra bucks for their textbooks, who is going to listen? This is the critical difference between the romantic image of King-esque protest, and the reality of what King did. King was strategic. He waved signs and sang songs, but he did so in ways that would specifically damage the institutions he was trying to change. The Montgomery Bus Boycotts weren't successful because people said they were angry; they were successful because the public transit system was losing money. The protesters made it clear that Montgomery buses wouldn't turn a profit until they changed their racist practices, and eventually the laws of economics prevailed. King didn't start his civil rights work by running for president. He started by supporting one woman who refused give up one seat on one bus. He built his way up to big targets, earning a name for himself in the media and showing persistence in the face of challenges. But he didn't just march in circles and hurl slogans in the air. All of the most effective protests of the Civil Rights Movement were deeply symbolic, and specified to the targeted goal of each specific protest. It was the way King was able to paint his opposition as so clearly in the wrong that he was able to earn followers and succeed in his goals. Who wouldn't let a tired woman sit on a bus after a long day? Who wouldn't serve a kid who had sat in a restaurant for hours on end? Who would dare to blast pressurized water at a group of peaceful men and women walking down the street and singing about freedom? The Brandeis student protest lacked any of the strategy, symbolism and realistic aims that lead to successful protests, and which were at the heart of King's victories. One has to start with demanding change on one specific issue and work up to sweeping reforms. Most of all, what the Brandeis protest movement needs is organization and clearly stated goals. Ten different people shouting 10 different slogans won't earn anyone's attention. Ten different people shouting one simple slogan ("Fair pay to janitors! Fair pay to janitors!") for hours upon hours will turn a few heads. Then if 10 more people join in the next day, and 10 more the day after that, people will start to pay attention. Then when all 30 protesters refuse to spend at the bookstore, dining halls and other retail locations until their demands are met, and more and more students join in, who's to say what could happen. Am I advocating anything as dangerous as the Birmingham Ala. boycotts? No, that would be inappropriate for the subject of concern. But if the student body wants to actually change Brandeis' executive practices through peaceful protest, we need to be willing to be unsavory. An effective protest cannot be something that one walks away from at night and ticks off as just another event in a busy day. It cannot be something that you do for the thrill, only because it's something people do in college. An effective protest is done to create change, even if it comes at a cost. *
Like many others at this University, I took a gap year between my high school graduation in June 2010 and my first year of Brandeis in September 2011. I spent the year in Mevaseret, the first suburb outside of Jerusalem along Route one, the highway that connects the Israeli capital of Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. I remember the day, March 23, quite vividly. A few friends and I had joined a gym, called "Jump," located in Binyanei Hauma, an office complex in downtown Jerusalem a few months prior-we were going through our inevitable workout phase all teenagers seem to experience. As we were leaving the gym that day, we heard a large bang. A pillar of smoke erupted just across the street and mass chaos ensued. We were far enough away to not be engulfed in the hysteria that immediately occurred, but close enough to know what had happened. A bus had just exploded. The number 74 bus that runs from Talpiot to Har Nof had been bombed. Just a few moments later, the sirens began. In the days after, the numbers were finalized: one person was killed, 59-year-old Mary Jean Gardner, a Scottish Bible translator who was studying Hebrew at Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Rothberg International School. At least 24 others were injured, including four Americans. In September 2011, as I was starting my college career here in Waltham, four Hamas militants were finally arrested for the bombing, one of whom is a permanent resident of Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority joined the U.S. and the U.K. in denouncing the attack. Hamas praised it. Bus bombings, air strikes, rocket attacks, suicide bombers, counter-operations-these are the violent acts that characterize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. All those in the region want this violence to be stopped with a permanent peace deal. The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University estimates that 63 percent of Israelis support the two-state solution, and the Arab World for Research and Development estimates 54 percent support from Palestinians. Peace is the goal. This past week Students for Justice in Palestine hosted a series of events as part of the international movement labeled as Israel Apartheid Week. Although the Facebook event page's description has changed many times-most notably it originally listed a falsely credited quote to Nelson Mandela-it now reads, "We wish to devote this International Apartheid Week to deconstructing this powerful word and the narratives that comprise it." The week was about discussion, they say, constructive dialogue, social justice and most notably, ending the conflict and human rights violations, once and for all. Yet, it became clear that the week had nothing to do with dialogue. The sentence before the one quoted above in the Facebook event description currently reads, "Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine invites you to join them in wrestling with the reality of apartheid." Let's deconstruct these two sentences. First, all who attend Israel Apartheid Week events must wrestle with the reality of an apartheid Israel-as an objective fact. Only after accepting this matter-of-fact statement can we then proceed with the "deconstructing of this powerful word and the narratives that comprise it." The mere labeling of Israel as an apartheid state is deemed a narrative, yet is only secondary to it being a matter of fact. The name of the week itself exudes the same sentiment: the week is not labeled in an inquisitory fashion such as "Is Israel an apartheid state?" Rather, the week is labeled again as a matter of fact: "Israel Apartheid Week." The title forces an opinion regardless of the subsequent discussion. Compounding the implicit lack of productive discussion within the weeklong event was the highlight last Monday-the keynote speech of renowned author and journalist Max Blumenthal. Blumenthal spent the first half hour of his speech vilifying the "right-wing zionists" who had attacked him previously-including two Brandeis students specifically. His speech virtually echoed the highlights of his book Goliath: Life and Loating in Greater Israel. It is a highly disputed book that, for example, compares Israel to Nazi Germany-a claim Blumenthal did not dispute when asked. To add to the suppressive nature of the speech, Blumenthal inculcated seemingly endless ad hominem attacks on any person who has ever voiced dissent from his personal views, including but not limited to: President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, University President Frederick Lawrence, Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz and Brandeis student Joshua Nass '14. Even extreme left-wing Jewish Daily Forward writer J.J. Goldberg has labeled the Blumenthal book as the "I Hate Israel Handbook." The intent of the speech had absolutely nothing to do with a productive conversation; the intent was to push a highly controversial and accusatory platform of anti-Zionism. An opinion Blumenthal is entitled to nonetheless-but to pretend the speech was promoting discussion is laughable. But say these problems are nitpicky. I'd rather not assume the worst of my fellow Brandeis students; rather let's assume the sentence configuration was a mere oversight in a Facebook description, the lackluster name was simply following the title of the national movement, and the content of Blumenthal's speech could not be controlled. Let's assume the intent of the week on our campus was in fact about discussion. Does the call for productive dialogue justify Israel Apartheid Week? Is the greater Israel Apartheid Week even associated with productive discussion? But we must first define why we place such an emphasis on discussion in general. Why do we constantly strive for civil discussion? Discussion breeds understanding of opposing views. Discussion fosters common ground on which opposition can disagree. Discussion helps us find a mutual ground on which we can agree; a ground on which we can move forward in productive fashion to resolve conflict. Brandeis Israel Apartheid Week is part of the international Israel Apartheid Week movement. A quick tour of IAW's website-and by extension the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that Israel Apartheid Week lists as one of its two main goals-is not about reaching a fair solution that is beneficial for both sides of the conflict. As one of the founders of the BDS movement-and current Tel Aviv University student in Israel-Omar Barghouti stated in one interview, "'If the occupation ends, would that end your call for BDS?' No, it wouldn't." Israel Apartheid week is about ending the Zionist state of Israel, not reaching a mutually beneficial end to the conflict. Those with this end-of-Zionist-Israel mentality are certainly entitled to their opinion and to express themselves accordingly. However we at Brandeis must realize the flaws in the IAW movement. Curbing the violence I witnessed firsthand must be the focus of our dialogue on this complex issue. The goal of any discussion should be to end the fighting and death; not end the players involved. We must strive toward the solution that ends the conflict and violence, and fosters equality for all, not the solution that ends Israel. I invite those supporters of Israel Apartheid Week to discuss their concerns, and how to rectify those concerns, at any point-but Israel Apartheid week was simply not that discussion. Let's call this spade, a spade-not a peace-yearning heart.
The women's basketball team dropped a tough loss on Sunday to New York University 68-50 at the Red Auerbach Arena on Senior Day in the final game of the regular season. The loss came following a ceremony that honored the team's five seniors for their services to the team. At the pregame ceremony, each of the honorees' highlights of their time on the team were read out to the Senior Day crowd. Nicolina Vitale '14, Kasey Dean '14, Julia Scanlon '14, Janelle Rodriguez '14 and Angela Miller '14 all accepted their honors and proceeded to have strong games for the Judges. Unfortunately, the hosts ended up falling to their University Athletic Association rivals to cap their winning season off with a fourth-place finish in the division and an overall record of 13-12 and a UAA record of 7-7. To begin the game, NYU went on an early 11-2 run, and after a brief timeout, the Judges responded with a 7-2 run of their own to cut the deficit down to 13-9. However, this was the closest the Judges would get. For the rest of the game the Violets maintained their lead with timely offensive runs. NYU eventually took a 31-17 halftime lead behind an impressive 11-point performance from NYU freshman guard Kaitlyn Read. NYU was impressive from behind the arc, shooting 10-for-27 and outscoring the Judges from three-point range by 27 points. Brandeis had very little opportunity to close that gap, attempting only seven three-pointers of their own during the half. Niki Laskaris '16 and Scanlon contributed eight straight points with under 10 minutes left in the second half to cut the lead down to 38-27. However, the Violets maintained their grip on the game, never allowing the Judges to pull within nine points over the remainder of the contest. Laskaris and Paris Hodges '17 shared the team lead with 10 points, but it was not enough to keep the Judges in the game. Another key difference besides the advantage in three-pointers was NYU's edge in free throw shooting. The Violets went 12-for-14 from the line while the Judges could only muster up 11 free throws on 22 chances from the line. Brandeis finished its regular season in a stretch of difficult games against UAA opponents, playing to mixed luck on a road trip in late February. Brandeis dropped the opener of the trip 74-51 to the University of Rochester on Feb. 21, but responded two days later with a win over Emory by a 75-72 final. At Rochester, not one member of the Judges could record double-digit point totals. However, Hodges finished with a team-high nine points and added a pair of steals in 20 minutes. Miller added an effective 17 minutes off the bench, recording five rebounds, an assist and six points to pace the way for the Judges. While Rochester cruised to victory, the Judges survived a nail biter in their win over Emory on Feb. 23. Although the team entered the half down 48-30, Brandeis dominated the second half. The Judges outscored the host Eagles 37-32 in the second half to secure the 75-72 win, clinching the team's winning record on the season. The Judges put three players in double figures. Forward Maria Jackson '17 led the charge, collecting 15 points and seven rebounds to go along with a steal and an assist. Vitale, who contributed 14 points and eight rebounds and guard Samantha Mancinelli '16, who gathered 13 points and five rebounds, joined her in the double-digit scoring column. While Sunday's loss to NYU put a damper on the overall mood of the day, the seniors still performed admirably in what was potentially their last career home game. Vitale put up eight points and nine rebounds to the scoring for the seniors. Scanlon and Miller contributed seven and six points respectively while Dean and Rodriguez had good games on both sides of the ball, balancing their points, rebounds and assists. Rodriguez ended up leading the team with three assists. The women next travel to Emmanuel College tomorrow night for a first round matchup of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament as the eighth seed. The team could not be reached for comment at press time.