(10/14/13 4:00am)
The Brandeis men's tennis team sent several competitors to the Wallach Invitational at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, seeking to round out their season on a high note. The women, meanwhile, had the opportunity to enjoy home-court advantage, but could not capitalize, falling in an 8-1 defeat to Tufts University. In the defeat to Tufts, the lone highlight for the women came from the triumph of Emily Eska '16, who came back to win her match in three sets. She defeated her opponent, freshman Hanna Slutsky, by 4-6, 6-3 and 10-5 margins. The Judges sent just one other competitor to the third set-Allyson Bernstein '14-but she could not capitalize on her first set victory, eventually dropping the second and third set super tiebreaker by 6-2, 3-6, and 10-4 tallies. The other four matches all ended in straight set defeats, leaving the Judges at a 5-1 deficit before the doubles matches began. Meanwhile, the doubles teams did not fare much better, dropping all three of their matches in single sets to drop to an 8-1 deficit. "We scheduled the match knowing it'd be a tough result without some of our top players," said head coach Ben Lamanna. "However, [it was a] good way to see where the rest of our team is at and a lots of girls played well. [Eska] has a great future with us." The men, meanwhile, made a statement in Lewiston. The Judges sent three singles players and two pairs of doubles teams into the second round at the Wallach Invitational, facing competitors from Amherst College, Bates, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Middlebury College, Skidmore College, Trinity College and Tufts. The Judges sent eight members to the singles courts and advanced three into the second round. Michael Arguello '17 won his first round match in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 before falling in the second round to Middlebury sophomore Ari Smolyar 6-4, 6-2. He was joined in the second round by Jeff Cherkin '17, who advanced with a straight set victory 7-5, 6-3. Yet Cherkin fell in the second round to Tufts senior Zach Ladwig, 6-1, 6-1. Friday's action also saw two doubles teams-Danny Lubarsky '16 and Arguello as well as Matthew Zuckerman '14 and Ben Fine '15-advance to the second round. Zuckerman and Fine were downed 8-3, while Lubarsky and Arguello had a more competitive match, falling 8-6. Additionally, Mitch Krems '16 lost a tough match to Middlebury senior co-captain Ted Fitzgibbons 6-7 (2), 6-3, 12-10. But it was Krem's doubles partner, Brian Granoff '17, who stole the show. Granoff was pushed to the third set of his first round match before eventually winning 4-6, 6-1, 10-6. He then had been cruising through his second round match against Amherst College freshman Myles Tang 6-2, 1-0 before Tang retired. Granoff's run at the Invitational would end Sunday, when he fell to Middlebury senior co-captain Alex Johnston, 6-3, 6-4. Johnston later went on to win the A Singles portion of the Invitational. Granoff's run to the third round was the furthest any member of the men's squad advanced in the weekend. "It was really nice having the whole team watch me play in the semifinals against Middlebury's No. 1 player," he said. "It was a rematch for me personally, as I had played him two weeks before [losing 6-3, 6-0 at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional competition at Williams College]. It was definitely a better matchup for me to play him outdoors [as opposed to their first match indoors]. I'm never happy with a loss, but this time I performed much better." The Wallach Invitational marked the final set of matches in the men's fall season. The women are set to conclude their season next weekend at the New England Championships in Amherst, Mass.
(10/08/13 4:00am)
On Oct. 4, the Brandeis Osher Lifelong Learning Institute hosted an event titled "The Feminine Mystique and the Masculine Response" in the Napoli Trophy Room at the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. The discussion was centered on the late Betty Friedan, a feminist revolutionary of the 1960s and '70s, and the impact she has had on what is perceived as the role of women. The panelists were author and professor of American studies at Smith College Daniel Horowitz, Prof. Joyce Antler (AMST), Prof.Marguerite Dorn (BOLLI) and David Small, head of human resources at Steward Healthcare. Roberta Salper, scholar in residence at the Women's Studies Research Center, moderated the discussion. The panelists shared their own experiences with and the effects they saw from Friedan's life work and her renowned book The Feminine Mystique. They also analyzed Friedan's attitude during the second feminist wave in the United States and the discrepancies between her views and other feminists' views. In The Feminine Mystique, Friedan wrote about the "the problem that has no name," or the deep unhappiness of suburban housewives, what she believed was the underlying root of the problem, and how she believed women could move forward from it. She was inspired for her book after conducting a survey of her former Smith College classmates for their 15th anniversary reunion and hearing from her dissatisfied and unfulfilled female peers. Salper introduced the discussion, touching on a point that would arise in each of the panelists' commentary: the dilemma of division in women's roles at home and work as it applies to middle-class women exclusively. While Salper said she was positively influenced by Friedan, she said that "the solutions [Friedan] suggested were incomplete ... A factory girl would remain a factory girl, a maid would remain a maid. It seemed to me that unless a women's movement made changing the status of women like Juanita and Vicenta, domestic workers I knew in Spain, as important as achieving more opportunities for my upper-middle class sister-in-law or for me in the United States, the fundamental causes of women's oppression would not be eliminated." Antler shared her troubles understanding her own mother's identity, who did not have a career. "What kind of woman was she if she did not feel this mysterious fulfillment waxing the kitchen floor?" asked Antler, quoting a sarcastic Friedan excerpt. Antler said she did not see her mother at home all the time like many mothers who were exclusively housewives because she helped run her spouse's business. Antler described that rather than merely assisting their husbands in furthering their careers, Friedan insisted that women needed a life plan, or a deliberately chosen career that they followed for themselves. "My mother didn't pass the test," said Antler. Dorn brought a modern evaluation of what it is like to be a female in the workforce decades after Friedan's feminism, stating that females are still dramatically underrepresented in the workforce and have yet to get over "the maternal wall." She spoke on the importance of planning not only for a career, but also for a home dynamic. Dorn gave other tips for the younger generation, such as how to keep in mind the amount that is needed to pay off student loans and accept that tradeoffs are necessary in balancing work and family. The discussion also touched on the difference between working for the betterment and equalization of women and men's roles through structural changes versus only personal changes of learning to balance home and work. They spoke on how structural changes, meaning the expectations such as work schedule and amount of responsibility placed on workers, must better correlate with wages and lesser gender discrimination. Small spoke about how corporations have begun to try to ignore, or do not formally take into account, gender role differences. For one, he cited "parental leave" used an alternative to "maternity leave" and said he supports a protocol that does not force workers to disclose the reasons for their work hours or penalize for them. Small spoke on the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 as one means still working toward lessening gender discrimination in the workforce now that women are gaining more access to different work opportunities. "I think [Friedan] was scared. [Friedan had] tried to join the communist party, and was a writer for the largest communist dominated union in the U.S.; had people known that, The Feminine Mystique would have been trashed," said Horowitz. "I am enormously grateful to Friedan for her courage and intelligence; she was a singular American woman," said Salper, adding how far women have come from Friedan's period when the word "gender" didn't even exist. The audience was invited to take down any questions on index cards during a brief intermission, and a question-and-answer session with the audience followed. "I think it was great to hear Ms. Dorn speak about how ... the pressure is not just on young women, but on the younger generation to be more motivated. There's a huge misconception that the structure is fine and that it's just the workforce that's wrong, but the structure is definitely in need of fixing," said attendee Omar Sedky '15 in an interview with the Justice. Sedky also expressed his surprise in hearing how panelists of the older generation had a lot to say relevant to the younger generation. "What we're trying to do at BOLLI is to have more intergenerational involvement ... We want the students to be more aware that we're there," said BOLLI event coordinator Phyllis Cohen '62, in an interview with the Justice. BOLLI not only provides adults in the area with a range of services including access to courses by Brandeis faculty, but also interacts with Brandeis students through programs such as mentoring and a program for international graduate students at Brandeis.
(10/07/13 4:00am)
Fox's The Mindy Project started off it's season with an episode fraught with exposition, convoluted stoy lines and included James Franco. The sitcom, written by and starring Mindy Kaling as Dr. Mindy Lahiri, began where it left off- Mindy and her boyfriend, Pastor Casey (Anders Holm), are in Haiti, where she works as an OB-GYN and he as a missionary. Because of the difficulty of producing comedy in a struggling, poverty-stricken third world country, I was wondering how the writing team would make this unusual plot line work-perhaps in the vein of dark comedy, a risky choice for a cable sitcom. However, the writers seemed to realize they have bitten off more than they can chew, which is why they immediately send Mindy back to New York to get her gallstones removed. This convoluted twist, after so much buildup to see how the ditzy, hilarious character would function in Haiti, was disappointing and forced. The first episode seemed overly stuffed with major life events. It begins in Haiti, where Mindy had romantically joined Casey at the end of last season. Casey proposes to Mindy in a tree, and the two go to consummate the relationship back in their tent. However, their tryst is cut short when Mindy feels stomach pain. Cut to her having to be airlifted back to New York for gallstone removal. Later in the episode, her and Casey decide to get married in her apartment. Minutes later, they decide not to get married, and Mindy decides not to return to Haiti in lieu of staying in New York to work at her practice. If that sounds confusing, it is because it was. Due to the first episode's copious amounts of exposition, a lot of comedy was lost, as the writers tried to dig themselves out of a hole they had put themselves in at the end of the first season. Upon returning to she office, Mindy finds the usual gang of humorous characters. The object of her sexual tension, the dark and handsome Dr. Danny Castellano (Chris Messina) breaks up with his ex-wife Christina, who had returned to his life in the previous season. The silly overgrown child, nurse Morgan Tookers (Ike Barinholtz), continues to exist merely for one-liners. Finally, there is a new character, Dr. Paul Leotard, played by James Franco. Like many fans of The Mindy Project, I was simultaneously surprised and not at all surprised when I heard that James Franco was going to be guest-starring, considering his diverse array of projects, which include incongruous works such as Your Highness, General Hospital, and, most recently, his own roast on Comedy Central. Dr. Paul Leotard, a handsome, lovable OB-GYN, sex therapist and nutritionist, has taken Mindy's place in the office as Dr. L, her moniker arround the office, and as the "most adorable" person in the office, a status which Mindy had previously designated to herself. Franco is one of many celebrity guest stars which appear for one episode to interact with Mindy briefly-without moving the plot forward-to give the ratings a boost. The Mindy Project seems caught between wanting to establish an overarching plotline and wanting to produce stand alone episodes. While the beginning of the show set up many character dynamics, such as the sexual tension between Danny and Mindy, these were never developed. As a result, the overarching plotline is weak and sort of silly, and the show functions as a vehicle for Dr. Mindy to live out her romantic comedy fantasies in short, sketch-like segments. While I do enjoy these forays into Ms. Kaling's very perceptive, hilarious mind, I often find myself wishing she were better able to ingratiate her comedic, situational ideas within the context of the show, and not just arbitrarily drop ideas in wherever she pleases. The first episode, overall, contained too much exposition and not enough comedy. As a Mindy fan, I remain hopeful that this show can sustain itself past its first season.
(10/07/13 4:00am)
Tuesday never gets much limelight in the context of the work week. Monday has come and gone, but stuck on day two out of five, the weekend still looms somewhere far on the horizon. With the help of quirky pop groups Dead Gaze and Dent May at Cholmondeley's this past Tuesday, all in attendance were reminded of the virtues that come with perspective. If you change your outlook, the weekend is always waiting just around the corner. In fact, perspective plays a big role in the sound of both bands. Pop music can be a bland and superficial genre, but Dead Gaze and Dent May have a lot of fun playing with genre and toying with convention. Both hailing from Jackson, Miss., the bands echo their hometown's motto, the "City with Soul." Keeping the hooks, melodies and sing-along feel of pop music in place, and drenching them in reverb, delay and bass-lines taken right out of the funk handbook, Dead Gaze and Dent May craft pop music born out of their own secret recipe that yields Friday night vibes any day of the week. Dead Gaze took the stage first and cranked their bit-crushing fuzz to 12. The band's lo-fi take on the domain of pop music transformed Chum's into a veritable speaker box of glorious noise. A few songs into their set, however, the monitors decided they were taking too much abuse and refused to keep working. However, with songs compressed so far into the red, there's no real need for fine-tuning. The beauty of the lo-fi aesthetic is that it is all about texture. The noise accompanying and surrounding the notes occupies the space between primal artistic expression and fine-tuned studio gloss. After some technical fiddling, Dent May and his gang hopped up on stage, tamed the fuzz boxes and the monitors decided they could probably get back to work for a little bit. Toning down the noise aspect somewhat, Dent May crafted a type of bedroom surf-pop psychedelia that could easily soundtrack a hazy Saturday spent driving down the coast with a surfboard on the roof and eyes out toward the ocean. Touring in support of his sophomore album, Warm Blanket, May cleansed the audience's palette of his noisy predecessors and was able to elicit some laughter and adoration from the crowd with his playful banter about life in Mississippi and the band's visit to Walden Pond earlier that day. Taking notes from the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson specifically, May's music harkens to a bygone era of carefree summers and everlasting weekends, a theme doubtlessly referenced in the highlight track, "Born Too Late." While some of the crowd shimmied about to the driving grooves, and others tripped out on the light bouncing off Chum's ubiquitous disco ball, toward the end of his set, Dent May decided to ditch the guitar and join his audience on the dance floor. This was brief though. It seemed that he quickly became bored with the floor and opted to climb on top of the bar and strut back on forth before lying on his back to belt out the final notes of his set. Tuesday might not be a highlight of the week normally, but in just two hours, Dead Gaze and Dent May were able to transcend the monotony and blast the occupants of Chum's to a faraway land where weeks play out from Friday to Sunday and there are unlimited surfboards for everyone. *
(10/01/13 4:00am)
Members and alumni of the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program attended a celebration of the newly-named program last Tuesday. During the event, which took place at New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's house, Tom Brady walked in holding his three-year-old son Benjamin. Holding Benjamin's shoes, Brady addressed the students, giving them a short, inspirational speech and calling them the "leaders of tomorrow." Brady also praised Myra Kraft '64, a Brandeis alumna and former trustee who passed away in 2011, calling her a "wonderful woman," and telling the students that they "should be really proud to be associated with her name," according to a BrandeisNOW release from last Wednesday. Robert Kraft gave five million dollars earlier this year to rename the TYP for his wife. According to the Brandeis website, the TYP was founded in 1968. The one-year program admits 20 students each year, chosen from about 200 applicants each year, with unique circumstances, ranging from "having to work long hours while attending high school, tak[ing] on family leadership roles in their households, or surviv[ing] a conflict in their native country," according to Program Director Erika Smith in an email to the Justice. The students take a mixture of regular undergraduate classes and specially designed non-credit courses aimed at introducing them to the rigor needed to succeed at Brandeis. After Brady spoke to the students in Kraft's living room, Kraft led the group of current TYP scholars and alumni to his patio, according to TYP alumnus Edwin Gonzalez '14, who attended the event. Once outside, Kraft spoke about the work that Myra did throughout her life and at Brandeis and told an anecdote about the day that she proposed to him. University President Frederick Lawrence also spoke, as did TYP alumnus Jermaine Hamilton '14. Smith said that she was happy for the media attention that the event received. "I am thrilled to see [the TYP scholars] recognized for all of their accomplishments," she wrote. "As an institution, Brandeis ... really sets itself apart from its peer institutions with this level of commitment to access and equity in education." Gonzalez was similarly full of praise for the TYP. "I think that it is a wonderful experience that should be expanded or at least adopted by other elite universities," he wrote in an email to the Justice. He also gave an example of a concrete way that the TYP helped him adjust to Brandeis. He wrote, "One of the basic requirements for graduation is the [University Writing Seminar] course. During my transitional year, I took two courses (not for credit) that were structured like a UWS course. In my second MKTYP semester, we focused on writing a lens essay specifically. My writing and editing abilities increased tenfold because of the program. I breezed through my actual UWS course." A Boston-area native, Gonzalez said that the Kraft's philanthropy goes beyond Brandeis. "As a senior in high school I was awarded the Kraft Family scholarship which I used to purchase my laptop. That money helped me start off my MKTYP experience on the right foot so I am extremely grateful to them. I love the philanthropic work that Myra always did and I am sad to have never met her," he wrote. Smith also pointed to the generosity of the Kraft family and the impact they have had on Brandeis. "It is because of supporters like the Krafts that Brandeis is able have the strong orientation toward social justice that it does," she wrote. "The Krafts serve as role models for generosity and selflessness to the students in the program, as well as to many others throughout the Brandeis community," Smith added. "Their dedication to efforts intended to level the playing field for people who show admirable strength of character will reverberate throughout the world for a great many years to come." *
(09/30/13 4:00am)
Even as a six-time All-American runner from Providence College in 1993, assistant cross-country and track and field coach Sinead Delahunty-Evans had some unfinished business to take care of. She held a dream throughout college to run faster and eventually compete in the Olympics. After signing a contract with New Balance in 1994, her dream started to become a reality. Delahunty-Evans would go on to compete in two Olympic Games and four World Championships for her native Ireland in her 11-year professional career. However, it was as a spectator at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London that she had the opportunity to reflect on her professional career, and ultimately, those initial aspirations she had while a student-athlete at Providence. "For me, I relived what a great achievement it is to compete on the international level," said Delahunty-Evans. "Now, more than ever, I have grown to really be able to appreciate it." Her road to success began when she was young. As a 10-year old in Kilkenny, Ireland, Delahunty-Evans aspired to join the Kilkenny City Harriers, a renowned running club. The next eight years saw her quickly emerge as one of the club's top runners, and was when she found her favorite event-the 1,500-meter run. From there, though, her next step happened to be at Division-I Providence in the United States, where she ran for esteemed coach Ray Treacy. Delahunty-Evans starred at Providence, collecting six All-American honors and establishing numerous school records. She was quick to attribute her professional success to Treacy's adept coaching. "[Track-and-field] is a sport of attrition," she said. "It involves consistency from season to season, and in order to be the best athlete you can be, you must have an honest and clear relationship with your coach." Coaching proved to be quite important, as she embarked on her new career with New Balance in 1994 with her new coach, husband John Evans. He guided and trained his wife to some impressive accomplishments, beginning with a victory in the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York. She won the race in 1995, covering the distance in a quick four minutes, 25 seconds and beating Paula Radcliffe-who is perhaps best known as world record holder in the women's marathon-in a close finish. Yet, it was in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia where Delahunty-Evans showcased her talent on the world's largest stage. While Delahunty-Evans ultimately advanced to the 1996 semifinals for Ireland in Atlanta, finishing with a time of 4:12.52 in the 1,500 meter, she could not help but be dismayed at her close brush with a potential victory. "1996 was disappointing, especially because I was in such phenomenal shape," she said. "While I made it to the semifinals, nerves still got the best of me." However, one Olympics appearance proved not to be the only one for Delahunty-Evans. She persisted, and after a rigorous training season, managed to once again compete for Ireland in Sydney. While she fell short of another semifinals appearance in 2000, Delahunty-Evans still noted that the experiences were unforgettable for her. "You don't often get to travel around the world with some of the best runners out there," she said. "That's something you'll always have with you." Delahunty-Evans will also always have the memorable experience of competing for Ireland in four International Athletics Association Federation Track and Field World Championships. She continued her strong string of performances, securing top-four finishes in the 1,500-meter in 1997 and 2000. "It is essentially the same as the Olympics-it's the same level of competition but just under a different umbrella," she said of the World Championships. "It was the same great atmosphere, and of course, I loved having the opportunity to represent my country." She took a professional hiatus to raise the couple's first son. However, after some time off, she longed to get back into the sport. After reflecting on the excellent coaching she received as an athlete, she wished to pay it forward, which she began in 2010. "I had great coaching and it is easy to apply the lessons I learned along the way," she said. "There's an art to knowing what your athlete needs to succeed, and hopefully, I've learned that." For the past four years as an assistant coach under her husband, she has more than succeeded. Delahunty-Evans has helped coach eight Brandeis athletes to NCAA appearances, including All-Americans Grayce Selig '11 and Chris Brown '12. This year is a special one for her, though, as it will be the first in which she is a full-time coach. The most exciting part, for her, is being able to see her athletes excel on a daily basis. "The best feeling-for me as a coach-is when someone runs a [personal record]," she said. "I'm so excited to see them succeed this year." If the past is any indication, the squads are in for the experience of a lifetime.
(09/30/13 4:00am)
Being in the loop in college can be rather challenging. Poster boards, walls of buildings and kiosks on campus overflow with flyers. Sorting through the dozens of notifications and posts on Brandeis' numerous Facebook groups can become overwhelming. Now, Brandeis students have an alternate option for community interaction they may choose to rely on. Jigitt.com, commonly referred to as "Jigitt"-a meaningless collection of sounds to make the name easy to remember, is a website dedicated to consolidating a variety of information for college students. The website features user-produced content which covers the vast majority, if not all, of the information relevant to the daily functions and lives of the student body. On Jigitt, users can find housing, textbooks, event tickets, tutors, lost items, jobs and internships, transportation, household products and even parties. Founder and New York University sophomore Ethan Lew described Jigitt as a "website that organize[s] college [advertisements] in a virtual marketplace" and "a platform to connect buyers, sellers and anyone who would like to interact in the community within the categories listed." As of now, the website is open only to Brandeis and NYU students. This new resource is available on both desktop and mobile browsers. It is not, however, available as a downloadable mobile app, and is currently in beta-testing, indicating that Jigitt has yet to become a finished project. Adam Recht '16 and Nathaniel Britten '16 are students responsible for bringing it to the Brandeis campus. According to them, when the website plans to be opened up to the general public has yet to be determined and will depend on feedback and requests from interested schools. Recht's participation in the project started in the summer of 2013. He helped Lew, a friend from his hometown of San Diego, reach out to other colleges. "[Lew] contacted me saying he want[ed] to start it, and he was thinking [of bringing it to] Brandeis since he [has] visited," he said. Soon after, Recht asked fellow a cappella member Britten to provide additional support and help advertise the website on campus by word of mouth. Recht and Britten both agree that Jigitt is a vital resource at Brandeis. "Brandeis has a need for Jigitt because you go online trying to find something like, 'well, I need to buy this book and I need to do this,' so you end up having to post on a bunch of Facebook groups," Britten said. "If I'm trying to sell a textbook, I only post it on the Class of 2016 [Facebook] page, so I'm missing three fourths of the school population that I could potentially sell to," Recht said. "Sometimes, I forget when Global Brigades is having their grilled cheese [for example]. If it's all on one site, it makes it easier to see what's happening." Jigitt enables its users to navigate its boards with ease. Although Recht and Britten were unable to provide specific statistics on user traffic, fortunately for Jigitt thus far, Brandeis students seem open to the idea. Janice Fernandez '17 and Maggie Lacwasan '17 have both visited the website and had positive experiences. "The best thing about it is that it has all the options we actually care about, like the housing and internship boards," Fernandez said. Lacwasan likes the convenience of having one website that promises everything. "It's a good way to have everything that a lot of college students are looking for all in one spot," she said. Both students expressed an interest in Jigitt, but indicated that they would be more inclined to use it once more students become active on the website. "At this point, I don't have much of a reason to join," Fernandez explained. "It's not that useful yet." In addition, Lacwasan noted that despite Jigitt's usefulness, the website has room for improvement. "I'd probably use Jigitt because I want a job and because I want to study abroad... it's convenient to use, but it's not up and running yet and the web design seems plain." Despite these criticisms, Jigitt is currently only in its beginning stages, and Recht and Britten are hopeful. "I feel optimistic. I know that we had one person [at Brandeis] post trying to sell concert tickets the other day. I think Brandeis students will take advantage of it," Britten said. Once it spreads to a wider range of schools, Jigitt may even be available as a downloadable smartphone application. "The website is brand new, but there's definitely potential to have a downloadable app," Britten said. Both Britten and Recht are excited at the prospect and enthused to watch Jigitt grow. "The most exciting part was to see people's reactions," Recht said. Britten agreed. "Being part of a new site is an exciting process. It could take off and be a big deal, or if it's not, then it's still fun to be a part of a good idea. We're very excited to offer a great new tool for our community that could give Brandeis a more organized web presence," he said.
(09/23/13 4:00am)
This week, JustArts spoke with Joseph Ketner, the former Director of the Rose Art Museum from 1998 to 2005, who is currently the Henry and Lois Foster Chair in Contemporary Art Theory and Practice at Emerson College and also curated the Rose's Andy Warhol exhibition. JustArts: As part of the Rose Art Museum's fall opening, you curated the Andy Warhol exhibit that is now on display. Would you tell us a bit more about your background with Warhol's work and why you chose to curate this exhibit? Joseph Ketner: I've been working with Warhol seriously for maybe ten or twelve years. I've done a series of exhibitions, three or four, and published three or four books on Warhol. And when the Warhol Foundation, with whom I have a close relationship, offered the gift of 150 photographs to Brandeis-that gift comes with the stipulation that the University produce an exhibition with them-I made a proposal to do such a show. I gathered my colleague in Cincinnati, Raphaela Platow, who used to work with me at the Rose Art Museum, and we joined forces with [Head Preparator] Roy Dawes, who produced this. JA: So, a little bit more about your background - we're curious as to what you do at Emerson College. JK: I have the Foster Chair in Contemporary Art, the same Foster whose name is on the wing that houses the Warhol exhibition at the Rose, and I teach, and I also function as an independent curator, curating exhibitions around the world. JA: How did you first get started learning about art history and interested in curating exhibits? JK: I've been doing it for 35 years now, and I went to school to study history and European history and literature, and just one of those moments where I took a course and the light bulb went on, and I realized art history was what I wanted to do. And I wanted to be more active and less academic, so I chose to go into the museum profession. JA: What do you find the most interesting about studying different types of artwork and artists? JK: There's nothing more exciting to me than working with the living artist and participating in the creation of the art of my moment in time. And I do a lot of that too - it's really thrilling to watch something happen. JA: It is. What was the last project of that type that you worked on? JK: Well, last week, I produced an exhibition of Aldo Tambellini, a multimedia installationist at the James Cohan Gallery in New York City, and in two weeks I will do the same thing with a young Hungarian-English laser light artist at Emerson College and at the Boston Cyber Arts. JA: If you could have coffee with any artist ever, who would it be and why? JK: This question was asked of me much more colorfully once, when someone said "If you could have a cocktail with any artist, who would it be?" And I immediately answered, it would be L??szl?? Moholy-Nagy, and I know he'd be drinking frozen vodka straight up. JA: Do you have a favorite period of art or style of art? JK: No, there are many that I like to work with. You know, it's kind of like you get up in the morning and you decide, "I think I'll wear a red shirt today." Or, tomorrow, it might be a green one. I like many different things - there are certain things I'm not fond of. But for the most part, I enjoy working on a variety of things, and I've found over time that I have the luxury of working on subjects and with people whom I like. JA: So, according to your website, you're currently working on a publication about post-World War II art. Could you talk a bit more about what is in this time period and what categorizes this sort of art? JK: It's a subject that not many Americans know; Europeans know this particular niche that I'm dealing with. It's the German group zero, and a variety of artists, who at the time were known as the New Tendency, and these were the people who decided to break away from the French and American painting traditions of Pollock, de Kooning and some of the more famous French tradition of Picasso, Matisse, etc. It begins to break down painting; it began to introduce kinetic work, light work, new materials, video television, performance. And in my estimation, they should be better known because they were doing this in advance of most of the trends that are in the traditional narrative of art history. JA: How do you go about discovering new artwork or artists that you're interested in publishing or curating? JK: I spend an awful lot of time looking at artists' work. When it comes to contemporary artists, meaning, I visit them in their studios, I see what they're doing and I talk to them. And in terms of historical things, it's usually because, while I'm doing a historical research project, I'll bump into something about which I didn't know, and then I dig a little bit, and sometimes that something really interests me. So I pursue it. JA: Would you tell us a bit more about what goes into the process of curating an exhibit, specifically the Warhol exhibit at the Rose? JK: The idea. With contemporary artists, you don't start with an idea and look for the artist. With historical things, you should have a familiarity with the work done, and sometimes, like in the case of this show, the most obvious thing is the one that is hardest to find. For me, the obviousness of Warhol's use of photography had not really been treated in a critical, scholarly way. Yes, Christoph Heinrich, a few years ago, did a big publication, but I was surprised when I used the Warhol archives to find that he missed about 15 years worth of photography and the entire connection of Warhol's use of photography to his development of pop art. And that idea took some years to really refine to a point where I could articulate it this quickly on the telephone to a couple of young women from Brandeis interviewing me. It took a couple of years to get to that point. And then you start seeking the works that most appropriately realizes this idea. And then you create a visual experience. One of my hopes for many people - they're not going to go in there and read those labels, and try to get into the information, that's fine, I'm comfortable with that - but I want them to go in there and have an exciting and dynamic visual experience. *
(09/17/13 4:00am)
The Syrian conflict confronts the United States with a perplexing foreign policy dilemma: either continue to police the world or mind our own business. Morally, legally and practically, the U.S. must not be the world's policeman. It's neither in the best interest of the United States, nor in the interest of the rest of the world. A government's sole moral obligation is to protect the rights of its own citizens-not those of civilians in other countries. "Humanitarian" intervention on behalf of foreign civilians endangers the lives and property of citizens at home, whether during the actual conflict, or afterward in the form of "blowback," a term coined by the CIA to describe the hatred and possible retaliation we incur thanks to our meddling. A quick look at our meddling in Iran in 1953 and Afghanistan in 1979-and then at the causes of 9/11-has proven the CIA right. Intervention to protect "international norms" on chemical weapons isn't morally justified either. Before Bashar al-Assad's alleged chemical attack on Aug. 21 that killed 1,400 people, he murdered over 100,000 citizens with conventional weapons. Where the indiscriminate killing of innocents is concerned, it's morally irrelevant whether a club, machete, gun or gas is used. Furthermore, the use of force is morally justified only on the grounds of protecting the rights of its own citizens-in other words, self-defense. That is not the case in Syria, which poses no security threat to the U.S. Governments that violate the rights of their citizens are immoral and illegitimate, and any moral government has the right to intervene-but not a moral obligation. The moral responsibility and fault lies with the Assad regime, not with us, and though we retain the moral right to intervene-we don't have a moral obligation. From a legal standpoint, Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution vests the power to declare war with Congress-not the president. The president however, may unilaterally go to war without Congressional authorization if there's an imminent threat. When then-Senator Barack Obama campaigned for president, he argued strongly in favor of this Constitutional approach. Once in power, however, he changed his tune: President Obama didn't seek Congressional authorization for intervention in Libya nor did he originally plan on seeking it for Syria until political pressure forced him. Nevertheless, he views it as a mere formal courtesy, making it clear that even if Congress denies authorization, he still retains the right to go ahead unilaterally. At least his predecessor sought Congressional authorization for both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Also, there are the numerous practical problems of Syrian intervention. Historically, intervening in the political affairs of other countries, however well-intended, rarely produces positive outcomes, either for the intended beneficiaries, or for us. In Iran 1953, in Cuba 1961, in Vietnam 1963, in Afghanistan 1979, in Lebanon 1982, in Iraq 2003, and in Libya 2011 are just a handful of examples. And of course, there's the funding problem. The national debt is the single-biggest security threat to the U.S. We're $17 trillion dollars in debt and our economy is still in recession. The government's statistics on unemployment, increase in gross domestic product and inflation-7.3 percent, 2.5 percent, and 1.96 percent respectively-are dismal at best. We don't have the money for another war, let alone a global military. When we inevitably default on our debt, we won't be able to fund our police, military or our intelligence forces. Perhaps more troubling is that any intervention on behalf of Syrian rebels would aid our sworn enemy, Al Qaeda, present among the rebel forces, according to recent reports by the New York Times, CNN, Time Magazine, among others. We're currently aiding the "moderate" rebels with weapons, but how do we distinguish a "moderate?" How can we trust the "moderates," who have joined forces with Al Qaeda against Assad, to keep those weapons out of Al Qaeda's hands? If the rebels succeed, and Al Qaeda is an ally, there is a possibility that the perpetrators of 9/11 will replace Assad. Syria is not a battle of good versus evil, between rebels fighting for rights and constitutionally-limited government, versus an oppressive regime. Assad murders and imprisons dissenters; Al-Qaeda conducts suicide bombings, public beheadings and executions. 9/11 should have caused Washington to rethink our foreign policy. Instead, it emboldened them to pursue the very same course of action that caused 9/11, only this time, with zealous righteousness under the guise of fighting terrorism. Not even the last decade's failed military adventures are enough to change Washington. Thousands of American lives and trillions of dollars later, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya are riddled with sectarian warfare and political corruption. Al Qaeda, meanwhile, is alive and well in various Middle Eastern and North African countries. We cannot make the world a better place with bribery and bombs: for we create more enemies, waste lives and bankrupt ourselves in the process. Instead, it is better to lead by example, through diplomacy and free trade. Yet, despite the moral, legal and practical flaws in our interventionist foreign policy, it appears leadership in both political parties refuse to abandon this self-destructive course of action. It's high time we re-evaluate and change our interventionist foreign policy, starting with Syria. *
(09/17/13 4:00am)
What's your major? If you're a first-year like me, and maybe even if you aren't, you've been asked this a lot over these first couple of weeks. Maybe you know for sure that you're a Neuroscience major. Maybe you're kind of sure that you're an English major. Or maybe you have no idea; you feel overwhelmed and unsettled by even labeling yourself with a major. In any case, this seems to be a big topic of discussion (at least until we can all remember each other's names). But it's paramount that we remember why we're in school in the first place. We are not here just to get a job; we're here to learn and discover-not just about the periodic table, but about ourselves. We're here to find, explore and develop passions and curiosities. We're here to change the world. While we all have to work to live, we are not alive to work. For many of us, high school wasn't about learning and self-discovery; it was about surviving. We convinced ourselves that if we didn't get into the elite IVIES (or Brandeis), we'd end up homeless on the streets. And so it follows that choosing a major became strictly an economic analysis-the safest path into the highest-paying job. A little bit of research yields that engineering, computer science, finance and of course, law and health, come up at the top of that list. According to a recent Forbes article, the average starting salary of engineers is $63,000, while the humanities and social sciences scrape by with $37,000-sorry English majors. But performing such an analysis and calculating our chances based on income seems like a lousy way to go about living. Going to college gives us more job security and more materialistic satisfaction in the long run, but why are we looking for more security and material satisfaction? Are we insecure and discontent with our lives? I'm certainly not saying that anybody should forgo material altogether and starve on the streets, but chasing materialism will lead to an insatiable hunger of its own. Instead of trying to fill this void of insecurity and dissatisfaction with temporary material, why not fill it with something that lasts? Passions and curiosities never die. You gain and lose wealth because it's out of your control, but what you love to do in this world, what you strive to understand, doesn't go away until you find something more captivating. I won't assert that I know everyone's plans, but I will say that we are outlining the paths we'll follow for the rest of our lives, whether we like it or not. Just think about that for a second. If you still feel like you're working toward an end-that this day, this week, this semester or even this year is a necessary evil to achieve something bigger-I implore you to consider this: college is the something bigger. Take a class or join a club you've always wanted to try, or maybe even one you've never heard of. Don't waste four years of your life (and a lot of money) studying something you decided on in the seventh grade without even exploring your options first. Go outside of your comfort zone and take advantage of your time here. College has literally everything you need to explore each walk of life. In college, you can develop your inner jock, artist, scholar or whatever else. Walking through the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center last week, I saw a machine on the basketball courts that catches your missed shots and passes them right back to you, without you needing to move a step, and a machine in the Linsey pool locker room that dries your bathing suit within seconds. This place has it all. But even if you're not willing to don a speedo or pair of Jordans, how about trying out an intro class you're not familiar with? Linguistics, computer science, sociology, philosophy, theater, Chinese music and its origins-whatever it may be, just go for it. If you end up not liking it that much, no big deal; it's only one class out of around 32 you'll take in college. But if you discover something you really do love, and you find yourself eager for the next class, reading ahead in the textbook and feeling mentally engaged and stimulated, then you've made it. "Work" becomes learning. "College" becomes home. Your "major" becomes your life. You can take this time to do what you want to do. No, don't act impulsively and nap all day, but do let your curiosities take hold of you. Free yourself from society's expectations, curiosities and passions, and become captive to your own. Did you know that "Feminist Sexual Ethics in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam" is a class offered this semester? How about "Mobile Application Development?" Whatever classes you end up taking, majors you end up deciding on and clubs you end up joining or, whatever-do it for yourself. *
(09/17/13 4:00am)
To my fellow first-years, I'd first just like to say congratulations: you are in. And not only are you in, but even more relieving, you are finally out. Out of the prep classes, practice tests and Princeton Review textbooks. Out of giving the College Board dollar after dollar in the vain hope of the investment paying off. Out of the stressful nights tossing and turning over the four hours to follow in the morning, spent in one room filling in Scantron bubbles. Out of the college admissions process, a backward, bizarre game which the player cannot opt out of playing. However, it appears that people on the inside are coming to recognize how twisted the game has become and are attempting to do something about it. In July, Brandeis announced that it would be shifting its admissions process to include a test-flexible option for the Class of 2018. Under the new system, students will no longer be required to submit SAT or ACT scores. They will instead have the choice of sending their main SAT or ACTs, sending several subject-specific tests such as the SAT IIs and APs or fore going any tests at all and instead sending examples of their analytical writing, along with an additional teacher recommendation. This is a step entirely in the right direction. By eliminating the need for students to submit themselves to the culturally-biased, money-grabbing and systemically-broken institution that is standardized testing, Brandeis is demonstrating that it understands the inherent flaws in the testing system. It joins an ever-growing list of test-flexible universities and colleges, including Bard College, Bates College, Roger Williams University and Columbia University. Brandeis' new system is also well structured. Subject-specific test scores allow applicants to demonstrate the areas that they are best at and most interested in, and writing selections allow the readers to learn about the person behind the application form. At the same time, the University is still holding its applicants to a high standard. Those who send subject tests must send at least three different tests-one in math or science; one in English, languages, arts or humanities; and one of your choice-meaning applicants must still demonstrate ability in multiple areas. The third option provides readers with both a student's creative writing (from their main application essay) and analytical writing, giving a sense of their capacity for several different types of thought, as well as their overall writing ability. Critics of the shift have said Brandeis is only changing its policies so that those who do send SAT or ACT scores will be high scoring applicants, thus pushing the school up in rankings to look more prestigious. Fortunately this opinion is misinformed. Admitted students who choose not to send scores in their application will still be asked to submit them after accepting, for internal research on the program and reporting numbers accurately. Indeed, this shift is not about earning brownie points within the admissions business; it is about Brandeis recognizing the flaws in the standardized testing process and doing something to fix it. A school which preaches social justice and diversity simply cannot participate wholeheartedly in the SAT system. Many studies have found that the SAT is less a determinant of how intelligent the test-taker is, than of how white, wealthy and American the test-taker is. In fact, a Jay Rosner study in 2003 found that sample SAT questions which were answered correctly by African-American students were deleted from the SAT. This was done so that the test results would be "consistent" from year to year. The Annie E. Casey Foundation, meanwhile, recently determined that the gap in standardized test scores between rich and poor students is almost 60 percent, twice the gap between white and non-white test-takers. It is ironic that a test whose purpose is to be a universal metric of knowledge is rooted in the biases of its authors. It is time for a meaningful and lasting change in the college admissions process, and the first step is for the schools themselves to reject the validity of the system. I applaud Brandeis admissions for recognizing that standardized testing does not work, and taking necessary action to create a more just system. However, there is one area the program is clearly lacking; test-flexibility does not extend to international students, a surprising choice given that they are a group whom the testing system is stacked against. For many international students, questions on the SAT are difficult to properly interpret and cultural references specified to the test's mostly American audience, another example of how the SAT's writing style excludes otherwise excellent students. As a school with a rich international community, Brandeis should recognize and accommodate this bias. Still, the program is only in its infant stages. As applicants try the new program, research and revision will create a better admissions system that I think will become a permanent institution at Brandeis. While the admissions process will never be perfect, by giving applicants options, Brandeis has shown that it is a welcoming and open-minded place, and understands that intelligence is not shown through a number. *
(09/17/13 4:00am)
On Tuesday, Sept. 6, the Brandeis Academic Debate and Speech Society held an open demonstration round in the Mandel Center for Humanities to a packed room of both new and returning students interested in the debate team that is currently first in the nation. Debater Sarah Pizzano '16 gave an introduction to the parliamentary-style debate and discussed what it's like to be a part of BADASS, a proudly inclusive club. The club does not hold try-outs, but rather BADASS provides training to any Brandeis students who want to join. Pizzano welcomed audience members to pound on the arms of chairs, as if in parliament, when they agreed with arguments presented by the debaters. The motion for the demonstration round was to include hate crimes in our justice system. The round consisted of four debaters on two teams, with David Altman '15 and Russell Leibowtiz '14 representing government and supporting the motion, and Shira Almeleh '14 and Megan Elsayed '14 representing the opposition. Altman presented the first argument for the motion on hate crimes, stating that these crimes should receive harsher punishment because of the extensive psychological damage they induce in victims, on top of the overall negative effects to the nation's morale. Elsayed, like the other debaters throughout the round, stood up several times trying to interrupt and question the argument as it was in course. Carrying this firm rebuttal in the entire stream of arguments, she insisted that longer prison sentences would only cause resentment behind bars to rise, effectively causing racist gangs to form who would then be more pernicious forces after their time in prison. In addition to other numerous arguments made by both sides, government and opposition argued over the effect the motion would have on minorities in this country who may be subject to racial profiling and receive the short end of this motion. During an intermission in arguments, some audience members were given the opportunity to stand up to give their opinions on the course of the debate. At the end of the debate the audience members were allowed to vote on which side had won and were encouraged to stay for an ice cream mixer with the debaters. "I was very impressed with the level of intellect that people have, that it's so easy for them to think on their feet and really come up with arguments that make sense and are logical to someone who is trying to come in with as much of a blank slate as possible," said attendee Sandra Luo '15. BADASS competes in the American Parliamentary Debate Association, which is a competitive debating circuit consisting of more than 50 top universities in the nation. * -Scarlett Reynoso
(09/17/13 4:00am)
While many alums leave college and trudge into the workforce immediately, one former student chose to bike across the country, paving a new road. Harrison Goldspiel '13 chose to spend his summer in a program called Bike & Build. The organization was founded in 2002 as an expansion of a cross-country bicycle challenge organized by Habitat for Humanity at Yale University. Habitat for Humanity is an international non-profit that works to combat the issue of homelessness all over the world by building affordable housing. The program features eight different cross-country routes that riders can choose from. During the journey, riders stop and assist various organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, in their mission to build affordable housing for residents of low-income neighborhoods in America. Goldspiel chose the Northern U.S. route ,which covered a variety of American landscapes like New England, the Great Lakes, Glacier National Park, the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest. Goldspiel began his journey with 29 other bikers in Portsmouth, N.H. and finished the ride in Vancouver, Canada. "Through biking trips focused on community service, Bike & Build benefits affordable housing and empowers young adults for a lifetime of service and civic engagement," according to its mission statement. Goldspiel believed that his passions would be best suited for the physical work of "biking across the country and working on affordable housing" with Bike & Build. Participants of the program must train rigorously by biking 500 miles and doing 10 hours of volunteer work at the housing organization before joining the summer-long cross-country biking journey. Members of this trip travel to various rural communities in need of affordable housing assistance. Goldspiel explained that the build site "can be a house, it can be a local garden or it can be some sort of housing development project ... we would always work with other organizations. Usually we would work with local Habitat for Humanity chapters." Other organizations that the Bike & Build members worked with include Cover Home Repair, a Vermont-based organization that assists with repairs on low-income housing; Community Action Inc., a non-profit in Wisconsin fighting poverty by focusing on long-term benefits including urban development; and Hope Village, a North Dakota organization that is working to revitalize homes that were damaged in a flood in 2011. As another part of the pre-departure requirements, each Bike & Build member had to fundraise $4,500. Having worked at the Phonathon at Brandeis, Goldspiel was up for the challenge. "I wrote over a hundred letters to family and friends, sent out many emails and Facebook messages and asked businesses in Waltham and at home for their support," Goldspiel said. A portion of the money went toward the bike cost. Bike & Build distributed the rest of the money in three ways: competitive grants, which were allocated by participants of Bike & Build to organizations that apply, non-competitive grants donated to organizations that provide the cyclists with materials and services and rider donations by each individual rider to an organization of their choice. Goldspiel decided to donate his $500 to Waltham Alliance to Create Housing, an organization in which he was very active during his time at the University. In terms of housing for the members of the trip, living conditions consisted mostly of churches that hosted them for the night. On one occasion, they stayed in a synagogue, a night that Goldspiel fondly remembers. "Everybody kept asking me what to do in the synagogue and if I'm going to go to a Shabbat service. They didn't know it wasn't Shabbat. That was really fun." On a typical day, "we would follow directions and do any sort of tasks like framing, painting, insulating, landscaping, roofing and demolition," Goldspiel said. Goldspiel faced a number of challenges along the way including poor weather conditions, fatigue, harsh riding terrains and worst of all, Giardia, a gastrointestinal bacterial infection that left Goldspiel feeling tired and weak. "Being sick brought me down a lot because you don't want to be sick ... you want to ride. That's why you do Bike & Build," he said. Feeling the effects of homesickness, Goldspiel admitted that there was a week when he just didn't want to ride. "I wanted to do nothing ... I wanted to go home, to be honest, ... but eventually I passed over that. I got back to my normal, happy self," Goldspiel said. Goldspiel also explained the challenge of going on this adventure immediately after graduation without the chance to figure out his future plans. "It's hard to be in that state of uncertainty about your life. You're not grounded to school and you're not grounded to home, and you're anxious because you're always on the move," he said. But despite occasional anxiety regarding his future plans, Goldspiel feels, overall, that his trip was the perfect alternative to what he deems a "typical post-college road trip." He felt that it was the perfect combination of challenging and inspirational. He rarely felt physically overwhelmed because the trip was not professionally led and 90 percent of the riders had not been cyclists prior to joining. This cyclist-humanitarian is thinking about what he will do next. "I'd like to get more field experience in ecology, wildlife biology and land management ... I'm waiting to hear back from various jobs and AmeriCorps positions. Hopefully by October I'll be out in some other part of the country doing hands-on fieldwork," Goldspiel said.
(09/16/13 4:00am)
On Sunday night at 9 p.m., students gathered in Cholmondeley's for a night of laughter and leisure before the start of the first five day week of the semester, a sign that the school year is beginning its intensity. Chum's was hosting the first improvisation show of the year, a show that consisted of four popular improv groups on campus, each with a half-hour slot. I got there 10 minutes early, expecting people to be trickling in, and was pleasantly surprised to see the place packed from wall to wall. People were crammed in all the way to the back of the room and sitting on the floor in front of the stage. It seemed like the entire Brandeis community had come to support peers, hang out with friends or just enjoy a decadent chocolate milkshake from the coffeehouse. The first group, TBA, started off the night with a lively performance. The group played a unique improv game in which two members of the group verbally battled over an audience volunteer for a date with him. Throughout the game, the two members of TBA would tap members of the audience for inspirational words, which they would then use in their monologues. The game ended when Gabby Zilkha '16 got the word "sausage" and, completely baffled, announced to the volunteer that she liked sausage. The volunteer promptly chose her for his "future date." Next was False Advertising, a group that specializes in musical and long form improv, a type of improvisation in which the skits tend to be more detailed and complex. False Advertising's show was absolutely hilarious and skits ranged from children trying to find husbands to animal testing on talking mice. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of False Advertising's performance, even above their impeccable humor, was the musical improvisation. Periodically during the improvisation, False Advertising's pianist, Nate Shaffer '16 would start an improvised riff and the entire group, or select members of the group, depending on who was speaking at the time, would join in a completely improvised musical number. Kelsey Segaloff '15 did an amazing job actually rhyming lyrics on the spot, giving the impression of a well-rehearsed number. The musical numbers were not repetitive and songs had diverse tempos, keys and melodies and thus exuded an air of professionalism. The next group to perform was Bad Grammer, a group specializing in short form improv, improvisation in which the group quickly changes from skit to skit and game to game. An audience favorite was Bad Grammer's advice game, which went like this: the group called on a first-year to yell out a college-related problem he had experienced since being at Brandeis and three members of Bad Grammer would attempt to give advice on the issue. The twist was that the first member gave "good" advice, a second gave "bad" advice and the third gave "evil" advice. Problems ranged from "Massell is a dry quad" to "my roommate had sex on my bed." The "bad" solution for the former was to do a rain dance, preferably with one of those rain sticks we all had as children, and the forbidden substances would rain down. Needless to say, the audience was amused. The last group to go, Crowd Control, provided an especially comical finish to the night. The group started with a line game called "I Make Love Like I...." The game operated exactly how it sounded. In the game, the audience suggested verbs such as "drink" or "study" to finish the phrase "I make love like I" and then the members finished the analogy. One particularly entertaining analogy was "I make love like I swim: I stroke at a competitive pace." Adult content was an ongoing theme in Crowd Control's performance. In their long form improvisation, Samantha Gordon '14 and Andrew Savage '16 snuck into Usdan Student Center at four in the morning to have sex. Savage had just commented that the leftover ketchup on the tables could conveniently function as lube, when the cleaning lady walked in, ruining the mood. The couple's cover-up got them posted as culinary interns for a week. The improv showcase was the perfect way to start off the year in a fun, casual night out with friends. The humor, especially the raunchy and explicit humor, was a perfect way for students to let go of shopping period stress.
(09/16/13 4:00am)
As Passion Pit took the stage on Sunday, Sept. 8, the crowd shifted anxiously. By the end of that night, 30,000 people had danced their way across Boston's City Hall Plaza, enjoying the music, culture and excitement of the second installment of Boston Calling. Boston Calling is Boston's first midsize music festival directly in downtown Boston. Music from all genres blasted out of the speakers on the two stages continuously during the two days, and rarely was there a dull moment. The overall organization of the festival paved the way for the bands to perform at their best. The festival's two stages allowed for an almost seamless transition between acts, eliminating time wasted shuffling bands on and off stage. The crowd filled the entirety of the area in front of each stage, stretching halfway across the plaza. Sound quality was great, allowing one to hear the music from almost anywhere in the plaza. Massive screens next to the stage also allowed listeners to enjoy from a distance because they could watch the show live. Though the first day lulled slightly during early acts, the tempo and energy picked up as the day progressed, in spite of the heat. Okkervil River and The Airborne Toxic Event brought the energy level up in the midafternoon. The Airborne Toxic Event jammed as many hits as possible into their hour-long time slot, mixing their music with exciting action onstage, as singer Mikel Jollett scaled the scaffolding, dangled his feet and snapped a picture of the roaring crowd. Mayor Thomas Menino also joined in the festivities of the first day, making an appearance to thank concertgoers and to welcome Local Natives to the stage. Vampire Weekend closed the first day with their jangling, upbeat music, playing hits spanning back to their eponymous first album. The band shined on the main stage, soaking in the noise from the massive crowd and feeding it with a nonstop performance that treated fans to major hits like "Holiday" and "A-Punk" as well as lesser-known hits and some grooving tracks from their new album Modern Vampires of the City. Vampire Weekend closed their set with two lesser-known gems from their first album: a massive sing-along to "One (Blake's got a New Face)" followed by a perfect performance of "Walcott." Overall the first day provided a great smattering of indie rock bands and closed off with the charming, exciting class of one of the best bands touring today. While the first day was marked by a mix of raw indie bands and the clean-cut refinement of Vampire Weekend, the second day was a collection of electronic dance music, disc jokeys, and the electronic indie wonderfulness of Boston natives Passion Pit. The day featured DJs Flume, Flosstradamus, Major Lazer and Wolfgang Gartner, all of whom had the crowd bouncing, dancing, jumping and moving. Throughout all of the acts the plaza became a massive dance floor and outdoor rave. Major Lazer was particularly exciting, causing the crowd to erupt as Diplo, one of the DJs in the group, entered a large inflated ball and tumbled his way across the top of the crowd. Following the mix of DJ and EDM music, Kendrick Lamar mounted the stage as the festival's only rapper. Lamar delivered a solid set, though he failed to create the excited atmosphere that many earlier acts did. After fans migrated from one stage to another, Passion Pit took the reins and prepared to close out the second day and the festival overall. Singer Michael Angelakos remarked to the crowd throughout the set how great it felt to come back to the city that never gave up on Passion Pit and that supports them even today. Like Vampire Weekend, Passion Pit provided fans with a catalog of their greatest hits, stretching back to their first EP with songs such as "Sleepyhead." The crowd definitely reacted well to the music, swaying and singing along to the choruses and enjoying Angelakos' onstage excitement. Overall, Boston Calling delivered on everything that it promised to, bringing some of the most exciting touring bands and freshest music right to downtown Boston and creating an amazing atmosphere with easy access and a great diversity of acts. The third iteration of the festival will be held next May, and it's sure to be one festival you will not want to miss. *
(09/16/13 4:00am)
Rise Against's newest release is not anything new, but that's not to say the punk rock band from Chicago has lost its sound. Rather, Long Forgotten Songs: B-Sides & Covers 2000-2013, the band's newest work since 2011, is a compilation of B-sides that did not make it onto earlier recordings: singles that only had limited release, covers and even a rare live performance with members of Rage Against the Machine. The album serves as a tribute to Rise Against's growth since 1999 and the talent of the four members, while capturing the band's history of progressive activism and musical influences. Rise Against records songs that are fast, loud and, more often than not, angry and melancholic. The one downside of the album, something that is not unusual in punk music, is that it can be difficult to understand the lead singer, Tim McIlrath. Some of the songs on Long Forgotten Songs, especially covers of other punk songs, tend to fit this style, but the majority of the songs are catchy and easier to listen to and understand than Rise Against's typical fare.
(09/02/13 4:00am)
On Friday, Aug. 29 at 2 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater, students and faculty shared some insight into the visual, musical and theatrical arts programs on campus in an information session entitled "Art for Curious Minds." There was an encouragingly large turnout for an event smack in the middle of the second day of classes. The information session was geared toward first-year students, and its title paid homage to the orientation theme, "Let Curiosity Take Hold," a line from the Curious George series, written by a woman dedicated to the arts and a one-time Creative Writing professor at Brandeis, Margret Rey. Scott Edmiston, director of the Office of the Arts, gave an inspiring introduction in which he pointed to the importance of the arts in social transformation and solving some of the most pressing problems in our world today. Edmiston also encouraged the new students to try new forms of art, some "beyond [their] imagining." Sara Weininger '13, an education assistant at the Rose Art Museum, led an interactive discussion about a Roy Lichtenstein piece in order to introduce new students to visual art analysis. The audience was very vocal and their conversation encompassed everything from color to figure, from composition to associations, as the meaning of the piece came into focus. Other representatives from various visual arts programs spoke about more of Brandeis' initiatives and opportunities. Some of these included student art loans from the Rose Art Museum's permanent collection and an annual social event at the Rose, "SCRAM Jam," put on by the Student Committee for the Rose Art Museum. Deborah Rosenstein, the concert program manager, talked about the myriad of opportunities to get involved in music on campus for musicians and non-musicians alike. One such opportunity is the Brandeis concert series, where students can attend free concerts on campus that feature professional musicians from around the world throughout the year. The series starts this semester on Sept. 18 with a concert called "Music from China" as part of the MusicUnitesUS Intercultural Residency Series, one of the three programs within the long-standing University MusicUnitesUS program. Rosenstein also discussed more long term opportunities for students to be involved in the Music department. Musical students were encouraged to join the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra, the University Chorus or one of the many smaller ensembles. Students who do not sing or play instruments are still encouraged to get involved by registering for introductory private lessons or ushering concerts as a part of the work-study program. The theater presentation provided, as expected, a creative and interactive experience. In a hands-on activity, the audience's job was to direct a random audience member, whose eyes were closed, through a "minefield" composed of the audience's belongings. Afterward, the students engaged in a discussion about how the game demonstrated qualities such as working together, being a good listener and giving clear instructions-all important qualities to have while participating in theater. At the end of the presentation, Ingrid Schorr, the associate director of the Office of the Arts, who had spoken about the arts earlier in the event, encouraged every student to audition for a student-produced play, Cabaret. Auditions will be held on Sept. 15. "Art for Curious Minds" was a great introduction for first year students to the Arts programs on campus. The new students seemed largely very happy to have gone, and as I left the event, I heard lots of echoes of "I'm really glad I went to that" amongst the younger crowd.
(09/02/13 4:00am)
Set in Newton Haven, England, The World's End spins a classic tale of reliving one's youth into a movie full of plot twists and unexpected surprises. The film follows Gary King (Simon Pegg) who, after 20 years, attempts to reunite his four best friends from high school and return to their hometown to finally complete the famous pub crawl they never finished in their youth. * Gary seeks out each of his friends individually, convincing each one to join him on his adventure-though all are skeptical that their friend Andy Knightley (Nick Frost) will tag along after a mysterious "accident" they allude to in conversation. * The World's End is a hard movie to talk about without ruining its ultimate message-it reminded me of Cabin in the Woods, a horror movie released in April 2012. This is not your typical action movie: the five friends make a shocking, disturbing discovery upon returning to their hometown, while King remains adamant about completing the daunting pub crawl. Gary never grew out of high school, while Andy, Peter Page (Eddie Marsan), Oliver "O-Man" Chamberlain (Martin Freeman) and Steven Prince (Paddy Considine) have become mature adults with professional jobs and families. For example, Gary drives the same car, listens to an old mix tape and holds tightly onto old memories-all from high school. One of the first scenes of the production shows Gary at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and makes it clear that Gary struggles with many more issues in his life than just alcoholism. Reenacting the pub crawl is all he has left and Pegg portrays the character perfectly, from his unkempt performance to alcohol-induced swagger. * Toward the beginning of the film, Andy, Peter, Oliver and Steven were reluctant to give in to Gary's enthusiasm, but they slowly come around as they make their way through the bars. I thought that the camaraderie the actors developed was very convincing, and Andy especially stood out in my mind. He was Gary's best friend and proves that even old grudges can be mended when the two put aside their problems and work together to complete the pub crawl. Gary expects everything to magically be the same when they return home, but much has changed-the quaint and unique bars have even become monotonous and commercialized. * The audience really isn't supposed to like King; he's more of an anti-hero, but Andy is incredibly likable, and he is the character I became attached to the most. He was also very dynamic, demonstrating significant character change throughout the film. * As for the other characters, they helped move the plot forward and added to the movie, especially at the final plot twist. Oliver's sister Sam (Rosamund Pike) also makes an appearance at the pubs and her blossoming relationship with Steven is a cute sub-plot to their adventures. * According to director Edgar Wright, the names of the 12 pubs all have interesting and symbolic meanings that correspond to the series of events that occurs in each of the spaces. For example, at The Two Headed Dog, they encounter twins who wreak havoc on the group. At The Old Familiar, the gang meets up with Oliver's sister Sam for the first time since high school. The final pub is named The World's End, and is where the ultimate action of the film occurs. * The World's End is part of The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy-a series of comedic films directed by Wright, written by Wright and Pegg, produced by Nira Park and starring Pegg and Frost. The other two movies in the trilogy are Shaun of the Dead (zombie comedy) and Hot Fuzz (cop action comedy). * Their names come from the company Cornetto Ice Cream, and each movie alludes to a different flavor. Shaun of the Dead is strawberry because of its bloody and gory content. Hot Fuzz is the blue original flavor in honor of the police theme. The World's End is mint chocolate chip, though the reasoning behind it is a plot spoiler! * All I can say about The World's End is that although it lagged a bit in the middle, the movie leaves you with a reflective thought about humanity through a clever, comedic pitch. It uses comedy and action to build up its inevitable final crash and that moment truly defines the production.
(09/02/13 4:00am)
On Friday, Aug. 29 at 2 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater, students and faculty shared some insight into the visual, musical and theatrical arts programs on campus in an information session entitled "Art for Curious Minds." There was an encouragingly large turnout for an event smack in the middle of the second day of classes. The information session was geared toward first-year students, and its title paid homage to the orientation theme, "Let Curiosity Take Hold," a line from the Curious George series, written by a woman dedicated to the arts and a one-time Creative Writing professor at Brandeis, Margret Rey. Scott Edmiston, director of the Office of the Arts, gave an inspiring introduction in which he pointed to the importance of the arts in social transformation and solving some of the most pressing problems in our world today. Edmiston also encouraged the new students to try new forms of art, some "beyond [their] imagining." Sara Weininger '13, an education assistant at the Rose Art Museum, led an interactive discussion about a Roy Lichtenstein piece in order to introduce new students to visual art analysis. The audience was very vocal and their conversation encompassed everything from color to figure, from composition to associations, as the meaning of the piece came into focus. Other representatives from various visual arts programs spoke about more of Brandeis' initiatives and opportunities. Some of these included student art loans from the Rose Art Museum's permanent collection and an annual social event at the Rose, "SCRAM Jam," put on by the Student Committee for the Rose Art Museum. Deborah Rosenstein, the concert program manager, talked about the myriad of opportunities to get involved in music on campus for musicians and non-musicians alike. One such opportunity is the Brandeis concert series, where students can attend free concerts on campus that feature professional musicians from around the world throughout the year. The series starts this semester on Sept. 18 with a concert called "Music from China" as part of the MusicUnitesUS Intercultural Residency Series, one of the three programs within the long-standing University MusicUnitesUS program. Rosenstein also discussed more long term opportunities for students to be involved in the Music department. Musical students were encouraged to join the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra, the University Chorus or one of the many smaller ensembles. Students who do not sing or play instruments are still encouraged to get involved by registering for introductory private lessons or ushering concerts as a part of the work-study program. The theater presentation provided, as expected, a creative and interactive experience. In a hands-on activity, the audience's job was to direct a random audience member, whose eyes were closed, through a "minefield" composed of the audience's belongings. Afterward, the students engaged in a discussion about how the game demonstrated qualities such as working together, being a good listener and giving clear instructions-all important qualities to have while participating in theater. At the end of the presentation, Ingrid Schorr, the associate director of the Office of the Arts, who had spoken about the arts earlier in the event, encouraged every student to audition for a student-produced play, Cabaret. Auditions will be held on Sept. 15. "Art for Curious Minds" was a great introduction for first year students to the Arts programs on campus. The new students seemed largely very happy to have gone, and as I left the event, I heard lots of echoes of "I'm really glad I went to that" amongst the younger crowd.
(09/02/13 4:00am)
Once every four years, athletes join together on an international stage to display their skills and showcase their country's colors. In addition to the Olympics, though, there are the Maccabiah Games, which are held once every four years in Israel and feature some of the top Jewish athletes from more than 30 countries. This past summer, Brandeis sent two of its top volleyball players, Becca Fischer '13 and current co-captain Yael Einhorn '14, to the 19th Maccabiah Games to compete for the United States, display their national pride and even dominate a few volleyball matches along the way. Einhorn reflected that her most memorable moment at the games was the opening ceremony. "It's a huge area, all the seats are filled with parents and athletes," she said. "You walk around; it's amazing. We're like stars over there." The feeling at the games extended to life around the volleyball court as well as on it. "Being a Division III athlete, I still think that Division I is a whole other world," explained Einhorn, "so that was cool for me, being able to compare myself with them." The U.S. team, squaring off against athletes from Chile, Brazil, Ukraine and host Israel, stormed out to a 3-0 win over Chile in their opener before suffering defeats at the hands of Israel, Ukraine and Brazil. While Team USA dropped the third place match against Brazil, they still statistically rested at the top of the pack. Unlike most of the other teams, who used professional players, Team USA was composed mainly of collegiate athletes. While the final standings may reflect the disparity, the reality of the situation was much closer. Team USA scored 252 points for the tournament, less than 50 points behind tournament leader Ukraine and gave up 272 points against, a figure lower than both Brazil's and Chile's teams. "Unlike other teams who have played together for a long time, we're just meeting with a week to practice." said Einhorn. "It's tough, you can't expect too much, but there's a fun aspect, meeting new people and new athletes." For Fischer, the tournament was more of a last hurrah than anything else, and in the end, she was more than happy to go along for the ride. "The Maccabiah Games were my way of getting one last chance to play volleyball at a highly competitive level," she said. Fischer, who spent four years as a member of the Judges and is set to begin law school this fall, has used volleyball as a way to shape her life. "It was one more opportunity to play a sport that has been an extremely large part of my life for the last eight years," she explained. "Volleyball helped shape my high school and college years, so having this opportunity to play overseas right before starting law school is one that I'm extremely thankful for." At the end of it all, Einhorn, Fischer and the rest of Team USA had plenty of memories from their time at the 19th Maccabiah Games.
