(05/19/13 4:00am)
Held at Bentley University, the first meet of the New Balance Twilight Meet Series serves as an opportunity for local track and field athletes to test themselves against elite competition. For a select few Judges, mainly those of the squad's middle-distance and distance crews, the meet yielded top performances. "There were some disappointments for some but really awesome races for others, but I have to say I'm still really amped about how my race went," said Amelia Lundkvist '14, who finished eighth in the women's 1500-meter run in four minutes, 35.92 seconds. "I honestly surprised myself and still can't really believe I ran that fast." While some collegiate meets give the Judges the chance to compete against top talent, there are few whose caliber match the aforementioned Twilight Series. Many local athletes who train with prestigious training groups like the Greater Boston Track Club and the Boston Athletic Association attend these meets. The winning performances on both the men's and women's side are usually close to those seen in events at NCAA Division I meets, as opposed to the Division III competition that the Judges usually face. The women's 1500-meter was a fast race that could have proved challenging to collegiate competitors, but the Judges fared well. In addition to Lundkvist's eighth-place effort, Victoria Sanford '14 came in 16th in that event, running the distance in 4:45.66, just a little bit less than 10 seconds behind her training partner and teammate, as the duo, who headlined most of the Judges' middle-distance performances, finished strong. On the men's side, the 1500-meter run yielded a couple of top times from Brandeis athletes. In that race, Mik Kern '13 finished 13th in 3:54.26. He was a few seconds ahead of University Athletic Association champion Alex Kramer '13, who took 26th in 3:58.50. The previous weekend, from May 3 to May 4, the Judges competed at the New England Division III Track and Field Championships held at Colby College. In that meet, Lundkvist and Sanford also competed in the 1500. Lundkvist led the way for the Judges, finishing ninth in 4:37.51. Sanford took 15th in that race, completing the three-and-three-quarter event in 4:45.56. Similar to the aforementioned female pair, Kramer and Kern also took part in the 1500. That time, Kramer led the way in the battle between the duo, as he took seventh in 3:52.73. Kern wasn't far behind, however, as he placed 13th, crossing the line in 3:56.80. While middle distance has proven to be the Judges' forte in previous years-standout Chris Brown '12 placed fourth in the 1500 at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships-the Judges qualified two competitors for the 5000-meter race in the aforementioned New England Division III Championships. After breaking 15 minutes in the 5000 the weekend before at the UAA Championships, Ed Colvin '14 took 10th in 15:11.92. Jarret Harrigan '15 joined Colvin in the 5000, and managed to break five-minute-mile pace, finishing the race in 15:26.93. Friday's Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships saw a few Judges have one final opportunity to compete. Kramer took sixth in the 1500, finishing in 3:53.78. Kern placed 27th, timing in at 4:03.71. Lundkvist and Sanford also competed well, placing 13th and 23rd with times of 4:39.87 and 4:44.80, respectively. Though the Judges will say goodbye to Kramer and Kern, as well as Erin Bisceglia '12 MA '13, the prospects for the middle-distance and distance squads look strong on both sides. Colvin, who battled injury throughout the year, will look to return healthy. Harrigan took large proverbial strides this year, and he has the potential to be a top runner next year. Taylor Dundas '14 hopes to rebound from an Achilles' tendon injury in time for the fall. Grady Ward '16 improved a great deal during the track campaigns, which should set him up for next year's cross-country season. On the women's side, Lundkvist and Sanford have made massive improvements in the past two seasons, which they will attempt to carry over into the fall. The return of Kelsey Whitaker '16, who barely missed qualifying for the women's 800-meter final during this year's UAA Championships, as well as the return of Maggie Hensel '16, Rachel Keller '16, Molly Paris '16 and Nora Owens '16, bodes well for the future. After a short time off, the Judges will begin preparation for the fall season. Based on how they performed in the last couple of races of this season, it is very possible that they will further improve in time for the fall.
(04/30/13 4:00am)
"Look! Quick!" One of my friends pawed at my face to turn my head toward the door of Sherman Function Hall, where we were seated, waiting for Starving Artists' 14th-annual collective show, "A Cappella Fest," to begin. Laughing, my friend pointed at Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel dancing through the doorway in time with the Top-40 Spotify station that had been blasting throughout the venue to pump up the audience. I could tell that this was going to be a good show. To kick off the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts on a happy note last Thursday evening, "A Cappella Fest" assembled Brandeis' large collection of a cappella groups to showcase the impressive cache of vocal talent on campus. All 13 campus a cappella groups were present, as well as a guest group from Lexington High School. Funds raised by ticket sales for the show went to benefit a local charity, the Greater Waltham Arc, which works to improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities and their families. Starving Artists' members Ellyn Getz '13 and Abby Armstrong '13 emceed the show, which was largely inspired by the theme of this year's Festival of the Arts, "Imagine the Impossible." Groups took their creative cues from iconic pop culture fixtures that are associated with imagination-ranging from John Lennon's song "Imagine" to films like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The show opened with a massive performance in which all 13 groups took to the stage and performed Lennon's "Imagine" together. Coordinating all of the harmonies, timing and solos performed during this number with such a large group was a feat in itself, but the performance was commendable-the multivalent melodies were smooth and pleasant. After the collective performance, the groups dispersed toward the back of the room, and each group took to the stage individually, performing two or three of their favorite or most well-known songs, with some groups even making debuts of new songs. Getz and Armstrong introduced each group with a fun fact about that group's history, a member of the group or their performance. Starving Artists kicked off the group performances, its members dressed in a bold red, all smiling and clearly excited for the show to come. Their first song was a stunningly resonant rendition of Neon Trees' hit "Animal," which has been a popular Top 40 radio favorite. Starving Artists set a precedent for the rest of the groups, who, continually, put complex and harmonic twists on pop songs that we are all used to hearing performed in their original auto-tuned glory. Company B, Brandeis' coed classic hits a cappella group, made a world premiere of "Don't Stop Thinkin' About Tomorrow" for the occasion, for which Sarah Brodsky '15 delivered an outstanding solo performance. The group added in some subtle choreography that made the performance all the more cheery, and Brodsky's adorable air-guitar dance moves got the audience laughing and smiling in a few seconds. The group announced that their 30th founding anniversary will be next year, but they won't stop thinking about tomorrow anytime soon. A personal favorite performance of mine was delivered by Rather Be Giraffes, who excitedly took the stage, all wearing black shirts with a rainbow variation of neckties. Getz and Armstrong introduced the group's performance of Florence + The Machine's "Shake It Out" with a hilarious story about how the song's soloist, Ryan Mulvihill-Pretak '16, accidentally auditioned for the group thinking that he was joining a giraffe appreciation club. Another of my favorite performances came from Too Cheap For Instruments, an all-female group who wore black tops and color-coordinated sashes around their hips and flaunted beautiful, and obviously rigorously rehearsed, harmony parts. Abbie Goldberg '16 sang a solo part while the rest of the group joyously stomped their feet together to Mumford & Sons' "Roll Away Your Stone." The ladies then showcased their flawless harmonic coordination to an ethereal performance of Imogen Heap's airy "Hide and Seek," their intonations following hand directions from Deena Horowitz '13. Overall, "A Cappella Fest" provided an upbeat, dynamic event that was a perfect evening performance for students and families. While each of Brandeis' 13 a cappella groups holds various performances of their own throughout the school year, seeing all of the groups together in one room, singing with light hearts and smiling faces, was a powerful and happy moment. *
(04/30/13 4:00am)
On Saturday night, the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra, conducted by Prof. Neal Hampton (MUS), performed the first of its two semester concerts in Slosberg Music Center's Recital Hall. Both as the culmination of a semester's worth of work, and also as one of the many events of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts this weekend at Brandeis, the concert was an impressive show of collaborative effort, expertise and artistry.
(04/29/13 4:00am)
"Louder, louder!" Though it was only 9 a.m. and the majority of the class was not completely awake, Prof. Hiroko Sekino (GRALL) energetically initiated conversations in Japanese with her students, geared up to begin her final week at the University. Japanese students know Sekino as a colorful character. One student described her as "straight out of a comic book." Another described her coursework as "intense." At the end of this semester, her career as a Japanese instructor, spanning almost a quarter of a century at Brandeis, will come to an end. "It does not feel like this is actually my last week. I am busy as usual and can't imagine what it will be like when I am finally done with this," said Sekino in an interview with the Justice. Japanese is one of the few language programs at Brandeis that holds class five days a week. Sekino puts emphasis on the basics because she believes they go a long way when students are pursuing upper level classes. Sekino came to the U.S. in the 1970s to study abroad at Boston University. "I was frazzled by the student activism in Japan at that time ... I felt I wanted to do something outside of Japan," she said in an interview with the Justice. It was a big and difficult decision to move to the U.S, but she had no idea that this would become a turning point in her life. After studying at BU for two years, she became a Japanese teaching assistant at Harvard University. She felt like she had found something that she could be passionate about. "I had a memorable mentor and amazing students ... It was an eye-opening change. It made me realize how fascinating and fun it was to teach Japanese," she said. In 1988, she learned that Brandeis was looking for a Japanese instructor and wanted to give it a try. That summer, with one other Japanese instructor, Sekino initiated what would become the Japanese language program at Brandeis. "When I started here, Japanese was part of the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. We basically started from scratch," she said. Initially ,the language department was limited and higher-level courses had to be taken elsewhere. Sekino explained that building the program was new terrain and that she learned as she went. "Because I was a novice, I was trying to learn every year," Sekino said. She recalled it had been difficult to offer students more extensive courses on Japan. "It was very regrettable that we couldn't offer more courses to students who wanted to learn more," she said. The Japanese language program was later extended to six semesters when it became part of the Department of German, Russian, and East Asian Languages and Literature in 2002. With the expertise of Prof. Matthew Fraleigh (GRALL) who joined the department in 2006, students are now able to take more integrated Japan-related courses that Brandeis offers, including contemporary Japanese history, literature and film courses. In Sekino's 24 years of teaching at Brandeis, she has watched the department grow and evolve. She has seen the Japanese language student demographics change over time. "When the Japanese economy was prosperous, there were many global economy graduate students taking Japanese," she said. "For these [past] 10 years, more and more students are learning Japanese because of Japan's popular culture, like manga, anime and music." Sekino explained that although Japanese is a difficult language to learn, she consistently found her students to be up to the task. "What I like about teaching at Brandeis is that students here are really dedicated and hardworking," she said. "Japanese is not an easy language, but I always find my students are tough and motivated enough to get through it." Prof. Yukimi Nakano (GRALL), a colleague of Sekino, said Sekino was always there for her students. "She is always willing to meet students after class and lend an ear to her students," she said. "She has also planned so many Japanese-related fun events and activities to make sure her students enjoy learning Japanese." Esther Cho '14 remembers her first year taking Japanese as a worthy challenge. "We were pretty much guaranteed a quiz a week," she said. Though Cho admits that the first-year Japanese class was demanding, she said she must give credit to Sekino for providing a smooth transition to upper level Japanese courses. "Sekino-sensei is very thorough when it comes to making sure her students have a strong foundation for subsequent years of Japanese language study," Cho said. Sekino has developed special connections with many of her former students. "Some of them even write me New Year's cards! I teach Japanese, but more than that I have learned so much from my students," she said. Sekino has always strived to instill in her students a global and cultural perspective that can be useful beyond Brandeis. "I don't just teach a language, but I teach Japanese culture as well. Teaching a language means teaching a culture. Understanding a language is one of the cornerstones for mutual understanding and I believe that will lead to a more peaceful world," she said.
(04/23/13 4:00am)
Jamie Bernstein has vivid memories of tagging along with her father, Leonard Bernstein, to his Young People's Concerts, at which he would conduct the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and explain various musical topics to his audience. She and her brother Alexander would run through Philharmonic Hall, unsupervised, while her father ran through dress rehearsals, camera rehearsals and script meetings before filming the concert for the public, which was then broadcast on CBS. Bernstein was born and raised in New York City, the eldest of three children to Felicia Cohn Montealegre and Leonard Bernstein. She has fond memories from her childhood and the early days of her parents' marriage. "The house was always full of people. Our mother Felicia Cohn Montealegre, who came from South America-she had a wonderful sense of style and a sense of warmth with people, and so she made our house such an attractive, comfortable, lovely place to hang out and every- body always came to our house and there were so many people among our parents' friends," she said. Among those friends were musicians, artists and writers who filled their house with music, singing and games. The adults that surrounded Bernstein's environment when she was a child made Bernstein believe that "all grown-ups did was have fun-we couldn't wait to be grown-ups," she said. Aside from keeping her father company during the Young People's Concerts, she also enjoyed going on tour with him to places in Europe, Israel and the United States. Narrating concerts entails speaking about either the composer, music or elements of the music performed by an orchestra. Hearing her father narrate and put together the Young People's Concerts would help Bernstein later in life, more than she could know at the time. About 15 years ago, her family created a concert similar to the ones Leonard Bernstein developed. This concert, however, would focus on Jamie's father's music instead of the other composers her father's program focused on. "I volunteered to write [the concert] myself because I thought it was such a great idea, but I'd never done anything like that in my life. But I sure had been to a lot of them...so I felt like that maybe by the process of osmosis I would be able to figure out how to write one," she said. Because she was not trained to play any instruments, Bernstein joined forces with Michael Barrett, Leonard Bernstein's assistant conductor, to write the script, develop the concert and introduce what they called "The Bernstein Beat" to the world. She has hosted and narrated the concert in places like China, Venezuela, Spain and Cuba. Bernstein continued narrating concerts about various topics, mostly about her father but also about Aaron Copland, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Igor Stravinsky. First, she researches the topic, then writes the script and then sets out on the road to perform the concert. "[The job] covers all the things I like to do. I love to find out more about a topic I didn't know about be- fore-that's the research part-and I love writing ... so there's that. And I love performing-getting up and sharing what I've learned and my own excitement about my topic to an audience, preferably a young one," she said. As she narrates concerts and listens to the various orchestras play her father's music, she feels a connection to her father. "I feel happy that I found a way to share him with the rest of the world, which is a nice way to give back to him, thank him in a way for everything he gave to me in the course of his life. When I sit on the corner of the stage while they're playing my dad's music and I'm in the middle of a concert about him, I always have this great feeling that I'm sort of giving him acknowledgement or giving him a hug back," she said. Leonard Bernstein, who was a visiting Music professor at Brandeis from 1951 to 1956, founded the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts. Jamie will be hosting one of the events, "Late Night with Leonard Bernstein" this year on Friday, April 26 at 8 p.m. in the Slosberg Music Center. The event, which she describes as "a little tour inside my father's brain," will consist of pieces he might have written late at night, while he could not fall asleep. She explained that her father would write smaller pieces that would sometimes be developed into longer and more complex pieces of music later on. Bernstein described her father as an "insomniac" and as someone who "had this power motor that he could not shut off. His engine just kept going and going all the time. That was part of why he couldn't sleep at night. So instead, he would be up all night long by himself and would be composing ... or he would be up all night partying with his friends, roaring around the piano," she said. "You get a sense of an 'inner' person and an 'outer' person. There's a combination of the interior compositions and also the sorts of pieces he liked to entertain his friends with, not by him necessarily," she said. Besides the festival, Bernstein has several other developing projects in the coming weeks and months. She will travel to Venezuela in May to start putting together a concert in Spanish to introduce Aaron Copland's music to young audiences there. In the summer, she will narrate a concert of her father's music in Los Angeles, and then begin researching topics for next year's concerts. "[My father] himself taught at Brandeis, so he'd be thrilled to know that everything was coming around full circle," she said.
(04/22/13 4:00am)
The men's and women's track and field teams were all over the map this past weekend. While the majority of runners competed at the Fitchburg State Invitational at Fitchburg State University Saturday, a contingent of four distance runners made their way to Princeton University to compete in the prestigious Larry Ellis Invitational Friday. Alex Kramer '13 headlined the Judges' performance at the Ellis Invite. The senior finished 36th out of 60 competitors in the Elite section of the men's 1,500-meter run, going the distance in three minutes, 52.92 seconds, besting competitors from notable Division I programs such as Brown University, Syracuse University, Georgetown University and Iona College. "Competing at night, when the temperature is nice and being in a line with a bunch of the best guys in the country is really exciting," Kramer said. "When you run against better competition, you're going to run faster, so it was a great experience." Mik Kern '13 competed in the second section of the 1500, placing 18th out of 54 competitors with a time of 3:59.95. On the women's side, Amelia Lundkvist '14 and Victoria Sanford '14, as they have done all season, pulled together back-to-back finishes in the 1,500. Lundkvist placed 21st out of 46 competitors in the event, crossing the line in 4:43.48. Sanford was right behind her teammate in 22nd, finishing less than a second back in 4:43.84. The Fitchburg meet also yielded some impressive performances. Ed Colvin '14 took fourth out of 42 competitors in the 1,500, clocking in at 4:07.13. Jarret Harrigan '15 wasn't too far behind, taking 10th in 4:13.78. In the women's event, Maggie Hensel '16 placed 10th, finishing in 5:04.13. She was followed by Nora Owens '16, who finished 13th in 5:18.23, and Rachel Keller '16, who finished 16th in 5:24.69. Michael Rosenbach '15 led the charge in the men's 800-meter run, taking seventh in 2:00.97. Grady Ward '16 placed ninth in 2:01.96. Greg Bray '15 and Mohamed Sidique '15 placed 11th and 20th, respectively, timing in at 2:02.47 and 2:07.05. Kelsey Whitaker '16 took seventh in the women's 800, crossing the line in seventh in 2:24.24, while Gabriella Guillette '15 took 25th in 2:45.52. The men's 100-meter dash featured a quartet of Brandeis runners. Jacob Wilhoite '15 took 27th in 12.11 seconds. Galen Karlan-Mason '16 placed 31st in 12.21. Kensai Hughes finished 34th in 12.32, while Chi Tai '16 rounded out the field, finishing 41st in 12.64. Tove Freeman '16 was the Judges' lone competitor in the women's 100, taking 27th in 14.53 seconds. Casey McGown '13 was the other female sprinter for the Judges, taking sixth in the 400-meter dash, timing in at 1:02.14. The Judges featured several other competitors as well. Brandon Odze '16 took 14th in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:07.49. Adam Berger '15 placed third in the triple jump with a jump of 12.62 meters and took 15th in the men's long jump with a jump 5.80 meters. Hudges placed 18th in 5.68 meters. Wilhoite took ninth in the javelin, throwing 46.48 meters, just ahead of Jonathan Gilman '15, who took 13th in 42.94 meters. As the University Athletic Association Championships approach this weekend, where athletes who competed in both meets will join together, Kramer is optimistic that the teams-and particularly the distance contingent-have been making steady progress and are reaching their peak levels. "We did a big block of training right after the indoor season ended," he said. "Our mileage was pretty high, and we did a lot of long workouts focused on building strength. In the next few weeks, we'll be doing more pace-focused stuff and tuning up rather than get significantly fitter. We'll freshen up; the mileage will come down a bit." Following a week of training, the Judges will travel to New York University for the UAA Championships this Friday and Saturday, and given that Kramer and Kern hold the UAA's top two seed times in the 1,500, he's confident that they will perform well. "I'm honestly more worried about Mik than I am about anyone else," Kramer joked.
(04/22/13 4:00am)
Today, LauraBen Moore '14 is an All-American. She is the public relations officer for the Brandeis women's rugby football club and a regular player on Beantown, Boston's Women's Premier League rugby team. Yet, less than two years ago, Moore was none of those things. She was new-at Brandeis and at rugby. She was a kid who had a bold prediction: "We're going to win this game." As far as guarantees go, that promise before Moore's first collegiate game was as ambitious as they come. Heading into the fall 2011 season, the Brandeis team had grown accustomed to losing. The squad had gone so long without winning that not a single team member at that time had ever tasted victory. Moore decided it was time for a change. "She said 'We are going to win this game,' and everyone said 'Ok, that's cute,'" coach Matt Cameron said. In fact, they won handily, beating Framingham State University 27-5. "First thing she said when she walked off the field was 'I told you so,'" Cameron added. Nineteen months later, the team has kept the winning tradition alive. After winning games in Division IV, Brandeis moved up to Division III this fall and qualified for the playoffs. Next season, the squad will be compete in Division II. "The team as a whole is growing incredibly, and it's a really exciting time to be a part of it," Moore said. Additionally, Moore has begun to accumulate individual accolades. She joined Beantown last semester and began making regular appearances in the past few weeks. What happened next was even more impressive. Of the tens of thousands of women who play rugby in America, only 160 were chosen to attend one of four prestigious USA Rugby camps last month. Out of that pool, 38 were selected for the AIG Women's Junior All-American team. Last week, Moore learned that she was one of the few that made the cut. When that team is narrowed down to an active 26-person roster at a camp in Chula Vista, Cal., she'll have the chance to be in the Nations Cup, a U-20 tournament that will take place in Nottingham, England in July. "She's a very special person and a very special athlete," Cameron said of his decision to nominate Moore. "She's made rugby her priority." Not that long ago, rugby was the last thing on Moore's mind. After transferring from the University of West Georgia, she arrived at Brandeis as a sophomore. She decided to take up studies in anthropology and sculpture, and soon, began looking for a place to fit in. "I came in as a transfer and I really just needed to make some friends," Moore said. "I hadn't played a sport in a little while, so I thought I'd try something new. I'd never played rugby before, never touched a rugby ball, never even seen a game." As Cameron stated, the sky is the limit for his star athlete. "Nothing would surprise me with the height of rugby that she could get to," he said. Even the Olympics or the World Cup, "she has the drive to get there."
(04/16/13 4:00am)
Last Thursday night in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, 26 of the most attractive male Brandeisians strutted the catwalk, performed their talents and answered on-the-spot questions in the first-ever Mr. Brandeis Pageant. All proceeds from the event went to Relay For Life and the American Cancer Society. The turnout was huge-the crowd filled most of the Gosman bleachers. The event started off with all the contestants in a choreographed dance to The Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men," a move of pure genius on somebody's part. The contestants sported black shorts, button-down white shirts and ties-a comical combination of apparel that was both classy and sexy. The laughter, cheering and general noise from the onlookers was able to compete with the music, quite an impressive feat. After the opening number, the judges were introduced. The panel consisted of two Brandeis students, Clayton Campbell '13 and Mohamed Sidique '14; Brandeis alumna Amanda Kelly '08, named Miss Massachusetts in 2009; and the infamous Stephanie Grimes, director of Student Activities. The judges awarded each contestant a certain number of the 25 points for each event. Students could also participate in the decision by donating money to their favorite contestants. Each dollar donated to a contestant awarded him one point. The swimwear contest, probably the most anticipated event, came next. Each contestant walked out to the song of his choice while the two hosts read the contestant's statement about why he is involved with Relay for Life. However, the music and cheering were so loud that hosts were barely audible. Contestants accessorized with shower caps, boogie boards, turtle floatees and one contestant even came out playing a guitar. The formal wear came next, which gave the contestants an opportunity to strut their stuff in classy outfits. Some contestants got very creative with their suits and ties. David Alpert '16 walked out shirtless in a blazer and a bowtie and dropped his pants in the middle of the runway to revel, in a strictly PG-13 manner, his shorts underneath. While the contestants walked, the hosts announced the on-campus clubs in which they were involved, as well as some of their hobbies. After the two catwalk contests, it was time for the audience to vote. The event took a quick intermission so that the audience could donate to their favorite contestants. After the intermission, the final 10 contestants were announced. Only the final 10 could go on to perform their talents. Next came the talent portion. Some of the more memorable talents were Fred Berger '15 making a sandwich with his feet; Dillon Morris '14 playing the "Four Chords Song" on his guitar; and Yoni Sebag '13 making a chocolate cake while wearing a frilly pink apron. After the talent portion, there was another short intermission during which members of the audience could again vote for their favorite contestants by donating to their Relay fund. The contestants were narrowed down to five: Berger, Gustavo Lopes '15, Makalani Mack '16, Pat Seaward '13 and Sebag. These last five contestants then competed in possibly the most difficult challenge of all-answering on-the-spot questions. Some of the questions were about Relay for Life, such as: "How would you convince someone to join your Relay for Life team?" And, "If you could start a Relay for Life initiative, what would it be?" Other questions were comical such as: "Which Disney princess would you date?" Or, "If you could be any building on campus, what would it be?" At a particularly touching moment, Mack answered the question: "Define endless love" by pointing to his girlfriend in the audience. After another break to donate money to contestants, the winners were announced. Sebag won Mr. Congeniality and Seward was crowned pageant king. After the pageant, there was a live date auction in which all the contestants were raffled off. There were some interesting back-and-forth fights for contestants. Two female members of the audience engaged in a fight over Mack that was so intense it must have been planned and culminated only when the two bidders started counting up pennies. A coordinator of the event who would like to remain unnamed told me that they hope this will be an annual event to fund cancer prevention but with a couple changes, such as having the event in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater and planning performances during the small intermissions. The event was hilarious and extremely entertaining. The contestants were really good sports about all of the events, however embarrassing, and even seemed to be having a great time. I personally hope it will become a lasting Brandeis tradition.
(04/16/13 4:00am)
Congress is broken. It has become helplessly polarized, wallowing in partisan gridlock, virtually incapable of getting anything done. Or is it? Signs of productivity are beginning to show in the 113th Congress. The Senate has passed a budget for the first time in three years, and with a competing one being produced by the Obama Administration, the stage is set for a robust debate over the financial future of America. Further evidence of life is the recent bipartisan gun control plan from Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Pat Toomey (R-PA). Influential Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer (NY) has also agreed to support the plan, which will expand background checks to better prevent criminals and the mentally ill from acquiring firearms. But this is just one of many compromises that will need to take place if Congress is really going to start working again and get back to its true business: solving the problems of America. At the vanguard of such efforts is an organization Senator Manchin was recently named the honorary co-chair of: No Labels. Formed in 2010 by a coalition of Republicans, Democrats and Independents, No Labels seeks to bring together the millions of Americans who have lost faith in Congress to produce substantial, structural changes. I believe a major cause of this loss of faith is the lack of productivity from Congress. That in turn, I think, is caused by fear of many members of Congress to compromise with members of the opposing party because extremist factions in both parties are currently the most vocal groups. They intimidate members of Congress into toeing a strict party line lest they lose the support and financing of these unbending wings. This gets reduced into a political stalemate and no meaningful policy changes. This is where No Labels comes in: to change the conversation and show our representatives that reasonable Americans are the true majority in this nation. This will reassure our leaders that compromise and quality legislation are the best ways to public support and re-election. As a testament to the power of organizing this majority, this past February, No Labels had its first victory when a version of its "No Budget, No Pay" suggestion was signed into law as part of the debt ceiling compromise. The provision states that if Congress is unable to pass a budget for the next fiscal year (in this case, 2014), then Congress's pay will be withheld until an agreement is reached or the next session starts. The recent passage of a Senate budget illustrates the effectiveness of "No Budget, No Pay" as an incentive for Congress. No Labels also proposes a new policy that would set a 90-day limit in which the Senate must hold an up-or-down vote on a presidential nominee or he/she is automatically confirmed. This is to prevent a single Senator from holding up presidential nominations indefinitely. Since 2011, over 200 offices ranging from federal judgeships to key positions in the Treasury Department remain unfilled because there is no time limit on how long a Senator can delay the confirmation or rejection hearing for a presidential nominee. Another No Labels structural change in Congress is to allow a majority on any Congressional committee to override the committee chairman's decision not to move a bill to the full House or Senate to vote upon. This would empower coalitions of Congress members who support and have compromised on legislation, as they can now bypass any obstructionist chairmen. Other reforms include a monthly session in which the President would report to Congress to be asked questions directly from the legislature as well as a five day work week for Congress-members. This would require them to be in Washington DC for three full weeks out of the month and then get one week per month to return home to fundraise, meet with constituents, campaign, etc. In the status quo, our officials are free to leave D.C. whenever they choose, leading many to have 3-day workweeks where they travel on Mondays and Fridays, preventing comprehensive work from getting done. Perhaps the most promising feature about No Labels is how rapidly it has garnered support, both inside and away from the Beltway. Exactly 59 members of Congress have joined No Labels "Problem Solvers" coalition. These bold representatives are holding regular meetings to foster a spirit of bipartisanship, draft legislation together, and encourage compromise. In terms of external support, over 500,000 Americans have joined No Labels in some capacity, with over 1,300 attending the group's first national convention this past January in New York City. I myself attended and I was inspired by the show of support for compromise and the comprehensiveness and depth of No Labels's organizational and reform efforts. I see the ultimate goal of No Labels as producing a constituency of compromise. By uniting as many Americans as possible under a banner of inclusiveness and non-partisanship, we can motivate our elected representatives to take the bold actions necessary to fix Congress and America. By showing Congress that the extremes, both on the left and the right, are no longer the loudest or most organized voices; we can bring an end to the political stalemate this polarization of the body politic has produced. We can lift the gridlock paralyzing Congress and we can start moving our country forward again. *
(04/15/13 4:00am)
The Brandeis Haiti Initiative once again hosted Hoops for Haiti-a basketball game which pits University faculty against students-this past Sunday, and once again, the event proved to be both successful and wildly entertaining. The event raises money for Camp Empowering Through Education, a camp started by Brandeis alumna Shaina Gilbert '10 that works to educate nearly 100 Haitian children each summer and is staffed each year by current Brandeis students. Brandeis Haiti Initiative Co-President Amanda Dryer '13 explained that the event not only creates unity within the community by joining students and faculty members, but also highlights the importance the University places on social justice. Dryer explained that the event was purposely placed on Admitted Students Day as a way to tell the students "welcome to the family. This is what we do here." Given the amount of fun that the event proved to be for both spectators and participants this year, it appears that the event could become a staple in Admitted Students Days for many years to come. After going into the half down by five points, 25-20, coach Michael Coven led the faculty on the comeback trail during the second half, as the team stormed back to win 51-43 in a thrilling encounter. Coven, who had guaranteed a victory for his team before the match, was pleased with both the outcome of the game and the sentiment of the event, which is in its fourth year. "That's one of the things I love about Brandeis, that we are socially aware," he said. "It's a great cause." Basketball aside, a plethora of the individuals at the Red Auerbach Arena admired the Brandeis Haiti Initiative and that the event highlighted the University's commitment to social justice. "It's always great to come out and do a charity event. I've heard it's a great event, and I'm happy to take part," said men's basketball forward Ishmael Kalilou '15, who played for the student team. Kalilou was one of several members of the men's basketball team to take part in the event and, on a lighter note, said beforehand that he was looking to "take the game over" in response to Coven's guarantee of a faculty victory. Ultimately, Coven's guarantee proved to be merited, but the game wasn't short of drama. For quite some time, it appeared that it would be Kalilou's day. Once the game began, he drained back-to-back three-pointers that allowed the students to jump out to a 9-2 lead after the first five minutes. The faculty, however, responded with a 9-3 run of their own to cut the students' lead to one point with six minutes left in the first half. With both sides constantly changing players to give everyone a chance to play in the fun spirit of the event, it took time for each squad to develop a rhythm, and the first half drew to a close with the students leading 25-20. One of the bright spots for the faculty was Darryl David '08, who now works for the University in the Office of Student Activities. David, who had six points in the first half, knew that the key to the second half was to "just have fun." After the students pushed their lead to 29-26 with 15 minutes left in the second half, the faculty began clawing their way back with mid-range jumpers. They took the lead and never looked back with 6:09 remaining. David dribbled behind his back and converted a layup in traffic to give the faculty a 32-31 lead. That particular play proved to be crucial, as the faculty would not relinquish the lead after that point. The faculty pushed their lead as high as 10 points, which resulted in a 45-35 advantage with 3:05 remaining and survived a final push by the student team over the last three minutes that cut the lead to within six points at 47-41. However, the faculty team's abilities proved to be just too much for their student opponents, however, as they were able to cruise to the 51-43 victory. Despite the outcome of the game, participants on both sides were appreciative of the overall sentiment of Hoops for Haiti. "It's a beautiful thing to be part of. It's just a blessing," said David of the event. Senior Vice President for Administration Mark Collins, who coached the student team, was equally appreciative of the cause. "We all had a great time for a great cause, so I'm happy I was here," he said after the game. Coven joked afterwards that, while he has enjoyed his time coaching the men's soccer team, his time had come to move on to bigger and better things. "I want to thank Brandeis for the past 40 years, but I'm headed to the NBA right now," Coven said.
(04/09/13 4:00am)
College women are four times more likely to be raped than any other group. This statistic seems incredibly foreign to the Brandeis experience. I remember well being introduced to the Brandeis Counseling and Rape Crisis Hotline during orientation and thinking that it seemed like such a superfluous resource at a place like Brandeis. It's such a tiny campus and we never hear about rape, so it must not happen here. The sense of security that the Brandeis bubble gave me was shattered two years later when I joined the Student Conduct Board. During our trainings I learned that not only does rape happen at Brandeis, but also that it happens about as frequently as at other colleges. Since the 2008-2009 academic year, there have been five official Community Standards Reports (CSRs) of sexual misconduct to date. In addition to official CSRs of sexual misconduct, The Department of Student Rights and Community Standards (SRCS) also receives a number of disclosures of sexual misconduct, which can range from a detailed account from the survivor, who does not want to go forward with official proceedings, to a vague question from a third party, which does not specify who the perpetrator is or where the incident occurred. SRCS does not compile statistics on disclosures of sexual misconduct that do not advance to a CSR, however it is important to note that there is a larger quantity of unofficial disclosures. The fact that both reports and disclosures happen and that it is estimated that between 75 and 95 percent of sexual assaults go unreported suggest that with regard to sexual assault, Brandeis is just like every other college campus. With this knowledge in mind and with the knowledge that there are many survivors of sexual assault on our campus-whether or not they choose to identify themselves as such-I was nauseated to learn about our community's newest Facebook page, "Brandeis Hookups." The premise of "Brandeis Hookups" is that anyone can anonymously submit their "raunchiest, craziest Brandeis hookup story" to the page's administrators, who then supposedly vet the stories for content before posting them publicly on the page. Admittedly, I deactivated my own Facebook page at the beginning of March to better focus on my thesis, so I have been lucky enough to never lay eyes on the page. The idea that a public forum for sharing private sexual moments exists, however, makes me squirm. When I first heard about the page, my visceral reaction was an overwhelming sense of panic. What if someone decided that an unfortunate or uncomfortable experience they had shared with me would be appropriate fodder for the page? No one would ever know that the story was about me but that would not stop them from jeering and excitedly whispering about whatever humiliating detail someone decided to share about me. On the flip side, what if someone decided that an experience with me was an accomplishment they wanted to share so that they could get public approval for their "conquest?" Then a moment that I expected to remain private and personal has suddenly turned me into an object-a trophy to be put on display. Given my fears about my own consensual experiences, I cannot imagine the fears of someone who has had a sexual experience at Brandeis that was not so clearly consensual. To wake up one day, log onto Facebook, and see that a traumatizing and violating experience, which perhaps has not been fully processed, dealt with, or understood, has been publicly posted for the whole world to see has the potential to be just as traumatizing as the original experience itself. It is irrelevant whether or not a post was submitted by an actual perpetrator of an actual incident of sexual assault. If the details of any post are similar enough to someone's experience of a forced sexual contact, the traumatizing effects will be the same. Publicly displaying forced sexual experiences in this way is what survivors of rape and their advocates call a "trigger." What makes the triggering effects of the "Brandeis Hookups" page all the worse is the fact that people can and, as it seems, frequently do, comment on any post encouraging, condoning and applauding the sexual conquests of their peers. The potential bragging rights that any of my consensual partners have about their experiences with me are humiliating and objectifying, but those of a perpetrator of forced sexual contact are degrading, further traumatizing and incredibly perverse. Perhaps Brandeis is no different from any other college with respect to the incidence of sexual assault, but do we really have the kind of community where we applaud sexual assault when it happens as well? Unfortunately, the existence of a public page like "Brandeis Hookups" makes it seem like we do. Despite our ideas about our safety inside the Brandeis bubble, the fact of the matter is that we still live on a college campus, and women at Brandeis are still college women, who are, like all college women, four times more likely to be raped. Given that this statistic applies to us, we need to be more sensitive than anyone about the potential effects of the way we talk about sex. By allowing the "Brandeis Hookups" page to exist, we are denying the impact that our sexual discourse can have on survivors of sexual assault. Whether we actively participate in the page or tacitly support it by saying nothing against it, we are promoting and participating in the kind of culture that not only allows rape to happen, but also says that it is OK, and that the traumatizing experience of the survivor is not valid. The "Brandeis Hookups" page has shattered my perceptions of Brandeis once more. I want to believe that Brandeis is a safe, supportive and respectful environment, particularly for members of our community who may be survivors of sexual assault. As long as this page exists and is considered acceptable however, the safety and well-being of our community is compromised. *
(04/09/13 4:00am)
President Obama's new science initiative, Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, will have a Brandeis touch as Prof. Eve Marder (BIOL) has been named to the advisory board of the initiative, according to an April 5 BrandeisNOW press release. She will join 13 other scientists who will form the "brain trust" to direct the project. "This is an extremely exciting time for neuroscience research," wrote Marder in an email to the Justice. "The new initiative is to foster development of technological innovation in support of understanding how the brain works." "I was pleased to be included in the delegation to the White House in support of the BRAIN initiative," she continued in her email. The initiative will research all levels of brain function, ranging from individual neurons to entire circuits, according to the press release. One of the goals of the initiative is to "provide insight into devastating diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and autism." The initial goal of the advisory board will be securing funding for the project to go forward. "As a member of the 14-person BRAIN working group for the [National Institutes of Health], I will be part of intensive discussions that will start very soon and will be designed [to] formulate some of the implementation of the funding plans for the NIH's part in the initiative," wrote Marder in her email. According to the press release, President Obama is planning to ask major scientific institutions such as the NIH, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation for help with funding for the project. Brandeis is the smallest research university represented on the advisory board, according to the press release, joining Stanford University, Harvard University, Brown University, Princeton University and the California Institute of Technology. Marder, who has been a member of the Brandeis faculty since 1978, has a distinguished professional history, picking up numerous awards, prizes and recognitions, including the 2012 George A. Miller Prize in Cognitive Neuroscience and the 2012 Karl Spencer Lashley Award. She is also a Massachusetts Academy of Sciences Fellow. In the press release, Marder expressed unwavering enthusiasm about the potential of the project. "We're at a very interesting and exciting moment in neuroscience research right now because the technological innovations of the last decade have completely transformed the kinds of experiments we can do today," said Marder. "We couldn't even dream of these experiments 15 years ago." "Do I think new technologies will drive exciting new experiments?" she continued. "Absolutely. Will there be completely unanticipated breakthroughs in health? Absolutely."
(04/08/13 4:00am)
Cholmondeley's is usually a relatively mellow hangout spot where artsy music-lovers gather and crank up some tunes while sipping on vegan milkshakes. However, this past Friday night, the arrival of Ducktails, indie contingent Real Estate's Matt Mondanile's side project, turned the small venue into a bumping party house. Previously touring unaccompanied for his solo effort, Mondanile recently recruited keyboardist Dorian D'Angelo, Big Troubles' guitarist Alex Craig, drummer Sam Franklin and bassist Luka Usmani for onstage support. While the band set up for the show and hung out with the concertgoers in a wonderfully friendly fashion, D'Angelo informed me that, "Most of these guys have been playing together for a while. They all played on his [most recent] record, [The Flower Lane]." D'Angelo was asked to join as a replacement for Ian Drennan, who performed on the album. "I spoke to Matt a few times on the phone beforehand and was like 'Yeah, this is going to work out," D'Angelo concluded. Watching and listening to the quintet blast into its opening number, The Flower Lane's first track, "Ivy Covered House," it was hard to tell that this was a recent Ducktails incarnation and not a group that had been rocking together for years. The band's live renditions were both satisfactory representations of the album versions and possessed an added edge, supported by many extended jam intervals, as well as Franklin's powerful percussion grooves and rhythms. Mondanile sang in almost a whisper, which created an interesting, contrasting dynamic between the louder, harder music and his vocal performance. Despite the evident connection between the band members, Mondanile's control of the group was clear within the dynamic. His ability to lead the group while still interacting fantastically with the other musicians shined during what was perhaps the strongest number, "Under Control," the longest track on The Flower Lane by almost a minute. Though the tune stands as a mellow, yet trippy jam on the album, this third song was the hardest rocking, loudest blasting moment of the entire night, highlighted by Craig's raw guitar solo and Franklin's slamming drum fills. The band remarked on how full Chum's was by the end of the show; packed to the brim with a large, bouncing audience. After the concert, the party continued inside the venue, as the Chum's staff sustained the flow of dance tunes. I was able to speak to opening act, Monopoly Child Star Searchers, a.k.a Spencer Clark, for nearly an hour. He and Ducktails hung out with many audience members outside of Chum's and continued to chat, relax and have fun for several hours with some friends. As one might expect, one friend confessed to me his anti-corporate beliefs about society and government, which several members of Ducktails seemed to share, though much less strongly and passionately. Perhaps this type of interpretation was one that I am not necessarily accustomed to, hailing from the Upper West Side of New York City and attending a private collegiate institution. However, it was this attitude that dominated the 1960s and 1970s, an era during which rock 'n' roll music, in my opinion, thrived most prominently and magnificently. Thus, I welcomed his words. That being said, the concert wasn't just about the music for me, but about the overall vibe and community that was attracted to Chum's and the specific musicians who were playing there. The bands actively embraced the student population that swarmed their van after the show and had no issue talking politics, music, art and life for hours on end. That is cool-that's rock 'n' roll. It's not just about the music; it's about much more. It's about the lifestyle, which Ducktails certainly seemed to live up to.
(04/08/13 4:00am)
It is the first day of an Economics class at Brandeis University, and you find yourself sitting next to a boy of average height and light brown hair. Perhaps he's just another student, ready to hear a lecture from Prof. Michael Coiner (ECON) and his elaborate descriptions of supply and demand. Or, perhaps, he's a chess Grandmaster, one of the top players in the world and quickly improving. If the latter is true, chances are that boy is Sam Shankland '14, an Economics major. At the age of 21, Shankland has just been named the 29th Frank P. Samford, Jr. Chess Fellow, which entitles him to a $42,000 stipend awarded at the beginning of July with the sole intention of allowing him to make chess his first concern. Another $42,000 will be awarded in his second year of the fellowship when it is renewed. Shankland says the money will go toward hiring more coaches, each specified toward different aspects of his technique. Now that he's becoming more of an elite player, he says, "I understand my own game well enough that I can see its weaknesses, and I can hire specific people to target specific areas." As a Grandmaster, a prestigious title given to the top tournament players of the world, and the winner of the under-18 World Championship, Shankland's chess career is already impressive. A a native of Berkeley, Calif., he first was introduced to the chess at the age of nine when his father taught him the basic rules of the game. He joined a chess club at his school soon after. "When I started playing chess it was just a hobby," he says. This hobby turned into a lifestyle when he began attending World Youth Chess Championships his junior and senior years of high school. "At that point I had made chess my top priority, and at that point it was really clear it was a main part of my life and my main goal," he says. Competitive in his youth, chess "fueled my need to win," Shankland adds, especially as he realized that he had the potential to go far. And he has certainly gone far. Along with the title of Grandmaster and U18 World Champion, Shankland also became the youngest state champion in California history at the age of 16, and defeated the former second ranked player at the World Cup in 2011. With the Samford Fellowship, Shankland says he will be able to further improve his playing by attending elite tournaments where he is learning from professionals. "I've mostly been playing in tournaments that I'm winning money in and I'm getting paid to play in ... because I'm an elite player for them. I want to start going to tournaments where I'm the guy learning from the elite players," he says. And in the world of chess, that means traveling. His first time playing outside of the U.S. came in 2007 and 2008, when he attended two World Youth Chess Championships in Turkey and Vietnam. More recently, while other Brandeis students adjusted to life back at school after winter break, Shankland was in Brazil playing for the U.S. chess team. Even though he missed a week and a half of school, "it just wasn't a question," he says. Shankland is both reasonable and level-headed, two qualities that shine through in his style of play. A "universal" and "versatile player," as he describes himself, Shankland is able to approach matches with the ability to focus on attacking opponents' weaknesses. "If I see someone who's very good at one thing, and not very good at another, I feel very comfortable switching styles when a lot of other people have the one thing they do well, and just do that," he says. He also attributes his success to his hard work, conceding that, "there are a lot of players out there who are more talented than me and who didn't get as far because they didn't work as hard," a humble admission that translates into thorough preparation for each game. Part of this preparation, says Shankland, is studying numerous past games of his opponents in order to learn their style. For example, "I'll filter through all their games to look at what openings they play, and how they compare with my openings," he says. "It's not uncommon for the first 15 moves of chess to be completely prepared at home. There are lots of different ways they could play, so I have to prepare for all of those." Shankland, who is fondly known on campus as having set up multiple chess boards in a circle using tables in Upper Usdan and challenging any student to a match, certainly has a tenacious dedication to the game. Although, according to a previous interview done with the Justice, Shankland considered quitting upon entering college, his accomplishments in the sport have amazed the chess world. The Frank P. Samford Fellowship ensures that Shankland's chess career will be well supported. And while he may still be found attending Economics lectures at Brandeis for another year, his favorite place is in front of a chessboard, one checkmate away from victory.
(03/14/13 4:00am)
Generations of students have continually redefined the Justice, and each year, the newspaper's leadership changes as another cohort graduates. Alumni play an integral role in preserving the institutional memory of the Justice far beyond what goes into print. Your experiences both at Brandeis and beyond continue to inform the ways we cover campus today and we'd love the opportunity to learn from you further. Please provide your information below so we can stay in touch and keep you posted about the Justice's alumni events in the future. * Please note: We will not share your contact information nor use it for other purposes.
(03/12/13 4:00am)
Fire and ice-that's what the words brand and eis mean in German. That's why to me Brandeis is the most exciting place to be-a place of radically high aspirations that embraces difference and transformation. We don't shy away from tackling questions others may deem too big, or too small, or too controversial. Brandeis students are made of that same stuff-they thrive in an environment that allows them to seek "the truth even unto its innermost parts" without giving a hoot about whether it is considered appropriate or fashionable by the rest of the world. Brandeis is different from other universities in that everyone in this community shares in these aspirations. We're not na??ve. We truly believe that we can make a big difference. And our students go out into the world and do just that. If we know so well who we are and what we want to accomplish, why do we need a strategic plan? This plan is a pragmatic document for the president. It aims to streamline fundraising efforts and direct attention to areas that need expansion. It is not a "rallying cry" or a call to action on our part. It does not say "we've gone astray and need to refocus our attention." It does not try to reinvent us. We know who we are, and we know we're good at what we do. The strategic plan just presents our portrait to those who don't know us yet so they, too, will fall in love with us and be inspired to join our community. The plan is more like Brandeis' Match.com profile. Which is why we need to get our profile right and not try to 'retouch' it beyond recognition or avoid saying things about ourselves that people may not like. There are a few places where the current profile could still be improved. As it is currently written, the plan does not do justice to the very foundation of our academy-the liberal arts. The humanities and the social sciences are the bedrock on which a liberal arts education thrives. Our largest school may be called the College of Arts and Sciences, but its foundation is not only in arts and sciences, but also in the classical and modern languages, philosophy, history and literature. And it is in the social sciences (from economics to psychology) where most students choose their major. The plan also proudly tells the story of how the Jewish community's gift to U.S. higher education has become this gem among the top research universities in the country, and how Albert Einstein dared us to achieve the name Brandeis. But that includes embracing our history, not just our future. Brandeis, after all, was not only a Supreme Court Justice, but also a Zionist. The controversies that come with this are part of what makes Brandeis unique. If we want others to recognize us in this document, we have to own it. We can check 'non-sectarian' and still acknowledge our Jewish family background. Overall, students should be very happy with this plan. It puts their experience first, not faculty research ambitions or lofty goals for a fancier campus. Many objectives outlined in the plan will lead to more small-class experiences for all students, to even closer contact with faculty from first-year seminars to capstones for seniors. Students will have more flexibility to complete their degrees and more options to pursue their multi-dimensional interests.When our alumni talk about Brandeis they don't typically talk about their major. What they often remember most about Brandeis is a class they dared take that lay far outside their chosen path, a class that challenged them to think differently. If funded, many initiatives in this plan will make more such experiences possible. The plan's most important goal is its embrace of diversity, especially of diversifying the faculty. This is an ambition truly worthy of Brandeis, and one that's long overdue. Just last Thursday Prof. Tom Shapiro from the Heller School for Social policy and Management's Institute of Assets and Social Policy spoke at the Women's and Gender Studies' annual Lubin Symposium about the devastatingly increasing wealth gap between whites and minorities in the United States. By embracing and expanding the work of the Posse Foundation, and by training and promoting new leaders with diverse backgrounds, Brandeis shows its commitment to walking the talk. All our students stand to benefit from this initiative. My personal favorite, an emphasis on sustainability, still needs elaboration in the plan. It's not just a "domestic" issue about health and student retention, but one that aims to tackle the fires and loss of ice our whole world is facing. Our very name urges us to become leaders in the fight against climate change. We have expertise in all schools to tackle the many open questions that are crying for answers, from chemistry, to economics, to sustainable development, to philosophy. Here is a perfect opportunity to align our commitment to cutting-edge science and research across the disciplines with our mission to protect and heal our world, tikkun olam. All our prospective students know that their future depends on the knowledge we produce in this area. We owe this commitment to them. Ultimately, the best part of this strategic planning exercise will not be the document that forms its conclusion. It's the very Brandeisian process that's getting us there. The many meetings, discussions and drafts meant many in our community had to learn more about the University as a whole and grapple with each other's different opinions. Everyone who participated understands Brandeis a little bit better as a result. Which is why this plan will ultimately strengthen us as a community, no matter how many well-heeled new lovers it attracts. We will continue to be hot and cool... (and that's not just meant as a pun on the HVAC system in Shiffman...) Professor von Mering is an associate professor of German and the Director of the Center for German and European Studies. She also served as the chair of the faculty senate in 2009-2010.
(03/11/13 4:00am)
I must confess I was rather unnerved when I first joined the drum circle during Thursday's event "Music+Rhythm+Community." Usually, an event review requires me to sit in the audience as I take notes on my iPhone about the actors in a theatrical production or the harmonies in a musical ensemble. At most, I stand up and applaud when I feel the performance warrants it. But I have never been asked to involve myself in the event. After all, those who can't do so write, right? Wrong. My experience with Brandeis Beats' event "Music+Rhythm+Community" wrested passivity straight from my uncoordinated hands. As I beat the Ghanaian drums, I found myself completely immersed in the rhythm of the circle. Building the beat from the bottom up, we were unified through the most unlikely of mediums. Cohesion required a certain restraint, a willingness to listen to the pulsating conversation of percussion before we could add any commentary of our own-strengthening unity among us without a spoken word. This is precisely what Brandeis Beats endeavors to facilitate. Founded last semester by Aliza Gans '15, the club fosters a creative space dedicated to bridging gaps within the Brandeis and larger Waltham communities. Led by Boston-based drummer Jeremy Cohen, professional percussionist and founder of ThisWorldMusic, the workshop taught valuable skills on how to facilitate and conduct successful drum circles in future outreach programs. Cohen stressed the importance of improvisation in making drumming accessible and creating a base from which to build a unique and cohesive sound. He encouraged students to step in the middle of the circle and conduct the various sections, and emphasizing inclusion and involvement within a medium where everyone might not feel completely comfortable. In the past, the club has visited the local elementary school in order to expose students to the power of music and to cultivate a sense of such community. Their efforts were so successful that they even enticed ten-year-old Gabriel and his mother to join us in Thursday's drum circle. Too shy to speak, Gabriel beat his drum with such intensity that he lost himself in the music. Gabriel's involvement revealed the significance of Brandeis Beats' mission, as well as the relevance of music in uniting different communities. By the end of the workshop, the rhythm in the room transitioned into a magic that transcended technicality. For a few moments I experienced what Gabriel had-I lost myself in the beat and forgot that I was drumming, entranced and mesmerized. The music was euphoric, funky, contagious, sensational and addictive, but the only word I can think to accurately describe my experience with is soul-lifting. I left the drum circle feeling invigorated, refreshed, impassioned and anxious to return the next week to immerse myself in the rhythm all over again. *
(03/05/13 5:00am)
Last Friday evening, Levin Ballroom looked nothing like it has ever looked before. Bright lights adorned the ceiling, the walls and the stage, and the audience's excitement filled the room. The audience was itching for the much-anticipated show, K-Nite Star. Sponsored by the Brandeis Korean Student Association, K-Nite featured various performing acts, and the audience voted for a winner at the end of the show. K-Nite mixed traditional Korean culture with a modern twist-a spin-off of Korea's televised nationwide talent show, the popular K- POP Star, Korea's televised nationwide talent show. For the most part, the show did a great job in showcasing modern Korean pop culture, grounded in traditional performance, blending the contemporary with deep history. They served traditional Korean cuisine-rice, Kimchi, Bulgogi and Japchae-while blaring popular K-Pop music from the speakers. The BKSA girl group Fan-Narra gracefully glided through a traditional fan dance, creating vivid fan-shaped illusions as their pink skirts paralleled the flowing movement of the fans. Halfway through their performance, they slyly transformed into little-black-dress clad dancing vixens, evolving from traditional garb into modern and fashionable Korean style. They continued to perform the Korean fan dance, but with an edgy and innovative twist. The juxtaposition of the old and new intrigued, compressing centuries of Korean culture into one exciting night. However, the performances were far from perfect, and some did prove awkward and uncoordinated. The lackluster emcees did little to excite the audience, staring nervously at their notecards the entire night. Guest performer LK, a New Jersey Korean-American rapper, floundered with technical difficulties (the electrical cord disconnected from his microphone within the first minute of his performance), and struggled through minutes of performance while pounding background tracks drowned out his verses. His odd pelvis thrusts seemed to excite the audience, but frankly looked like a overly sexualized Elvis impersonation. While he laboriously gave his performance his full energy, there was something sadly missing to bring it all together. BKSA's a cappella group Rhythm, Blues and Seoul also began equally as worrisomely. They disappointed with flat background harmonies and less-than-coordinated dance moves, but as their performance continued, they kicked up the energy with their humorous rendition of PSY's "Gangnam Style." Though their amateurish quality made it evident that they were a relatively new group, they shone with soulful high notes and fresh musical choices. The guest group Massachusetts Institute of Technology Oori, a traditional percussion music troupe, proved very impressive and stood out among previous groups. Their resonantly vibrant and intricate beats fluctuated in volume and in tempo. Throwing their bodies into Poongmool and Samulnori styled music, they mesmerized and entranced the entire room. Their electricity flowed through years of history, keeping the show grounded in the roots of Korean performance culture. Yet, the group who truly stole the show was the Brandeis rock band IndiGo6, causing the ladies in the audience to swoon and scream. With their Justin-Bieber-styled hair cuts and their boy band feeling, they ran the risk of entering territory that can only be categorized as "utterly corny," but their funky rhythms and punching percussions succeeded in submerging the room with a musical frenzy. They struck a high note with the audience, who voted them best performing act of the night, proving that the language of music speaks just as forcefully across all cultures. BKSA's K-Nite Star proved to be a night of duality. It mixed deeply traditional Korean performance with exciting contemporary K-Pop production. It shone with electric highs, but, in the same manner, sometimes flopped with disappointing lows. Yet, the audience seemed to enjoy every minute of it, and the jam-packed room was filled with continual screams and applause. Everybody left energized and delighted-and regardless of the caliber of each performance, K-Nite Star turned out to be a huge success.
(03/05/13 5:00am)
On Thursday night, Professor Inderpal Grewal, chair of the women's, gender and sexuality department at Yale University, gave a lecture titled "Bureaucracy and Masculinity in India after Independence" as part of the Soli Sorabjee Lecture Series in South Asian Studies. Grewal discussed how masculinity and patriarchy are seen in the history of Indian bureaucracy. She is currently researching the memoirs of Indian bureaucrats who joined the British civil service and continued in the Indian bureaucracy after India gained independence in 1947 and was partitioned into India and Pakistan, including Dharma Vira, H.M. Patel and S. Bhoothalingam. Grewal said the literary content of the memoirs, the accompanying photographs, the subjects of the memoirs and the people who compiled the memoirs, usually the subjects' relatives, create a snapshot of Indian history. "These memoirs have often been read simply as archives of historical information. I'm trying to understand how that moment of national significance is produced through the genre of the memoir," Grewal said. The bureaucrats were part of a group of powerful men, the "ruling class," who were viewed by some as incongruous after India gained a democratic government. In the Indian Civil Service, as the bureaucracy was called prior to independence from Britain in 1947, these men served as lawyers, doctors, teachers and government officials. They became part of the "powerful patriarchy that governed India after independence," Grewal said. New opportunities and jobs were available to the bureaucrats after independence, who became "technocrats, management experts, bankers and finance workers and workers in industrial technology," as Grewal explained. The characteristics these "national elites" tried to embody were "reason, rationality, and objectivity," as it said in one of the memoirs. The memoirs are rarely personal accounts and do not usually include information or photographs of the bureaucrats' wives and children, instead focusing on their work for the government. The exception to this is the memoir of one bureaucrat that was compiled by his daughter, and therefore includes more family-oriented photographs. The rest of the memoirs, however, focus on "key moments in national history, and include reflections on governance," Grewal said. Grewal says the bureaucrats' memoirs are "narratives of how they learned to govern," and that they "provide lessons for younger generations of administrators." They contain insights into two areas of gender: the legal world and the family, through what they include, as well as what is left out. The bureaucracy was changing at the time that these memoirs were written, and later this group of elite men was broadened to include women, which connects to Grewal's feminist research. This research differs from her studies on women and feminism, but is related as it deals with the theme of gender. "Because I've done feminist research for so long, I'm fascinated by thinking about masculinities and patriarchies," Grewal said. "How is a patriarchy formed by all sorts of masculinities that work together? How does governance become a masculine endeavor?" Grewal has written and contributed to numerous publications dealing with feminist and gender-related themes, including Home and Harem: Nation, Gender, Empire and the Cultures of Travel, and Transnational America: Feminisms, Diasporas, Neoliberalisms, according to the Yale University website. The lecture series, sponsored by the South Asian Studies Program and the Brandeis-India Initiative which focuses on themes of justice, began in 2009 and is named after the former attorney general of India. Past lectures have featured authors and professors from institutions including Harvard University, Trinity College and the University of Delhi, as well as Sorabjee himself. Grewal's lecture drew undergraduate and graduate students interested in Global and South Asian studies. "India is a really important country in terms of international relations, and the way Indian bureaucracy works is important to the way India works, not just Indian government but also Indian business," Mitch Mankin '16 said. *
(03/04/13 5:00am)
* In their first home match of the season, the Brandeis University Men's Tennis team found themselves in a 3-3 tie against Vassar College this past Saturday in Gosman Athletic Center. It was then that the squad's depth shone through to pull out a 5-4 victory. * The day got off to a good start for the Judges, as they won two of three doubles matches behind strong play from captains Josh Jordan '13 and Steven Milo '13 who won their match 8-6. They were followed by an 8-4 loss by Michael Secular '15 and Alec Siegel '15 before David Yovanoff '13 and Mitch Krems '16 won their match 9-7 to give the Judges a 2-1 advantage in the match. * The good play in doubles matches spilled over into the beginning of singles play when Jordan rolled over Vassar senior Dan Freeman 6-1, 6-2 for the easiest win of the day. From there, the men dropped two straight matches when both Milo and Yovanoff were defeated, in the tiebreaker and straight sets respectively. Milo fell 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-1) while Yovanoff lost 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. The two losses tied the match at 3-3, and it was then that the squad displayed its ability to win close matches. * Krems dropped the first set tiebreaker 7-5, but rebounded with determination to take his match 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-2 to give the Judges a 4-3 lead. * According to Matthew Zuckerman '14, Krems has been the Judges' "biggest clutch performer." * "Mitch has been really delivering big for our team. He's a hard worker and he steps it up big when we need him." * He was followed by Secular who was defeated 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to tie the match at 4-4, leaving the match in the hands of Siegel. Siegel dropped the first set 7-5 before rallying to take the second set 6-4 and cruising to victory in the third set 6-2. Siegel's comeback victory clinched the overall 5-4 victory for the Judges. * Earlier over mid-winter break, the men defeated Cal Lutherean University 8-1 in their California trip before falling to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 9-0 and the University of Redlands 8-1, nationally ranked 5th and 16th respectively. * The women's tennis team had a similar fate in California, defeating 23rd ranked Chapman University 7-2 before falling to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Redlands, ranked nationally 8th and 24th respectively. The women had the day off from matches this past Saturday. * According to Zuckerman, the Judges are focusing on typical early-season things: conditioning, efficiency and consistency. * "We've been practicing at 7 a.m. in addition to our normal practices while focusing on the task at hand," he said. "We're looking to reach our potential. If we can maximize each of our own individual levels of performance, then we have a strong possibility of being a nationally-ranked team. * Both men's and women's tennis return to action this upcoming Saturday. The men face Oneonta State before travelling to Middlebury College, while the women join them for an away match at Middlebury.
