You searched for "Matt Hope", who is also a writer or photographer. Search only for the writer/photographer Matt Hope.
(03/20/07 4:00am)
It's Student Union election season, which means that punny posters are covering the campus once again. Yet it isn't always the candidates' faults that they have to resort to this petty level of self promotion; the student body is so apathetic about the elections that that those running must not talk about platforms and policy in detail for fear of alienating voters-or even putting them to sleep. The flawed election system exists in a flawed environment. Yet changes to the system could possibly spark revitalized student interest. All this is not to say that candidates shouldn't be light-hearted. A completely solemn and humorless electoral campaign is even worse than one that relies solely on bad jokes, because the latter at least recognizes that humor is what students prefer. And, yes, a few of this year's puns have almost made me chuckle-"Just plain common o's," from a Finance Board candidate, for example. Still, there needs to be a balance reached between a professional and farcical system of electoral politics.A fine line exists between the "hey-this-looks-fun-I'll-give-it-a-shot-it'll-make-me-feel-important-and-will-look-good-on-a-rsum" candidate and the candidate who possesses thoughtful ideas about how to better campus life. In order for students to spot the candidate who knows what he or she is doing, the campaigning period should be extended.One week is not long enough for "official" campaigning-especially in a year with four presidential and four vice presidential candidates. In order for candidates to explain their platforms without resorting to clichs-and for students to discern who is full of hot air-they should be forced to put themselves under the spotlight for more time. Seven days is a short enough span for candidates to get away with pretending to truly care and disguising platitudes as well-considered ideas; any longer, and they'll have to discuss their ideas in some detail.I do recognize that a longer campaigning period may deepen the lack of interest many students display toward Union politics, but it's a risk that's worth taking. What definitely must be changed in the future, however, is the brief time period-just one day!-between primary and secondary rounds. Yes, in some years and with some races it will be unnecessary. Yet in years with so many presidential candidates, such as this one, one day will not be enough time for the two survivors to duke it out, so to speak. The four this year have, for the most part, only spoken in generalities; students should have more time, once the primary circus has died down somewhat, to hold the final two up against each other to determine who will make the better president. There are also too many similarities between the elections process here and the way this was all done in high school, specifically that the club endorsement system essentially germinates into a popularity contest. Those students who vote "just because," and don't know anything about the issues are more likely to vote for the candidate with the long list of clubs listed under his or her name-not a very valid representation of quality. Yes, some of these are legitimate, but only from the clubs that have a stake in the turnout such as club sports teams, or the ones that know how the system works, such as campus media. If someone could demonstrate how the support of a performance or religious group makes a better official, I will happily stand corrected. For example, The 24 Society has no business officially supporting a candidate-unless it's a sign of the candidate's time-management and terrorisist-busting skills. It seems that most of these endorsements are based on friendship. The import of endorsements is also greatly diminished when a club backs multiple candidates. The system should be changed in future years to bar clubs that are recognized-ones that aren't able to get SAF money-but not chartered from endorsing candidates, because they don't have a stake in the process. Furthermore, clubs should not be allowed to endorse multiple candidates, even if the candidates are all members of the club. Students don't get multiple votes, and therefore club endorsement for multiple candidates should similarly not be permittedVery small changes could fundamentally reform the Union's election system. Extending the campaign season and making club endorsements more significant may end up pushing more students toward apathy by making the candidates seem too self-important; yet, hopefully, if the Union took elections a little more seriously, so would its constituents.
(03/20/07 4:00am)
Six candidates who were vying for the position of Student Union president last Thursday evening presented their agendas at a candidates forum sponsored by the Justice.The candidates include Senator at Large Shreeya Sinha '09, Jonathan D'Oleo '08, Iris Uzdil '09 and Senator at Large Andrew Brooks '09. Frank Golub '10 and Asher Tanenbaum, senator for the Class of 2008, who participated in the forum, dropped out of the race last Sunday evening. Golub and Tanenbaum both dropped out and endorsed Brooks because they said they were impressed with Brooks' ideas during the campaign, including the debate. The candidates, a diverse group, include three international students and two sitting senators, drew a packed crowd in the Shapiro Campus Center art gallery. Everyone addressed student complaints over the housing lottery, ways to improve the campus social life and how to continue to attract high-profile speakers to Brandeis. Moderated by the Justice's deputy editor, Matt Brown '08, candidates first answered general questions regarding the role of the Student Union president and then answered individuali questions followed by questions from the audience. Sinha said "I want to get Brandeis back on the fast track." She spent most of her time discussing how the Union can be more transparent with students and respond more swiftly to their concerns. The audience, full of Union officials, cheered most loudly each time Sinha stepped down from the podium. "I want to be accessible, I want to be an advocate and I want to be transparent," Sinha said. "We are a pool of resources that connects you to the administration. ... We can be an agent of change." Most notably, Sinha said she would like to extend weekend quiet hours from 1 to 2 a.m., keep students better informed of upcoming events in Boston and create a World Speaker Forum, a platform for major speakers to address the campus on issues ranging from the Iraq War to genocide in Darfur. Although a couple of Union officials subsequently criticized Sinha for presenting the idea of the forum, which they say isn't her own, Sinha commented that the Union as a whole is discussing the idea (see story, p.1). Sinha said the forum would be sponsored by "whoever is interested in donating." "Brandeis needs to get back to its reputation of social justice," she said.Following cheers for Sinha, Tanenbaum took the podium. "I hope I get that much applause," he joked. The housing lottery could be much fairer, Tanenbaum said. If a student receives a poor number one year, he should be given preference for a better number the following year, he said. Tanenbaum also said the current Union officials spend too much time in their office, while they should be mingling more with the students, and staying in touch with their needs. Tanenbaum said he would hold office hours in Usdan Student Center and encourage other Union officers to do the same. "I want to be pro-active with students, and be out there with them," he said. But Monday night he said he dropped out because he was concerned that he would just split the vote with Brooks, whom he felt was the most qualified. "We share many of the same constituency, and we'll probably split some votes," Tanenbaum said. "I felt it was important that Brooks win since he is the best for the school."Jonathan D'Oleo '08, an international student from the Dominican Republic who served on the Union as Massell Quad senator for part of his first-year said the Union is not entirely in tune with the needs and wants of students, specifically with regard to party planning. "I think it should be the business of the Student Union to empower rather than dictate," he said. As president, D'Oleo said he would gather student input before planning major parties like Purple Rain. "We should broaden our approach to social life on campus," he said. During his time at the podium, Brooks emphasized that it's the Union's job to serve as an advocate on behalf of the students. "A student president is a student who sets forth a vision and advocates new policies," he said. Brooks also addressed the shortcomings of the Hiatt Career Center, and said he would push for greater networking between alumni and students. "I want to bring more businesses to campus, have more internship fairs and bring more alumni to campus that can help us with internships," he said. "I feel that once we can find a new director we can make progress." Brooks said he would like to work with the Department of Residence Life to reform the housing lottery, so that instead of individual students being assigned lottery numbers, groups of students could sign up for the lottery together and receive one number. This way, even if they don't receive their first choice housing, they could still house with their friends. Iris Uzdil '09, an international student from Turkey, said she would strive to integrate the international community into the rest of campus. Despite all of our different cultures, Uzdil said, "We all have something in common. We're in the same school; we want the same things."Uzdil also talked about giving a bigger role to the International Club to plan more events to integrate the two communities. Frank Golub '10 said, "I don't view being a first year as a liability; I view being a first year as an asset." Golub suggested that students receive their housing numbers via e-mail. But Golub dropped out of the race Sunday because he said Monday night he wanted to support Brooks' candidacy. "Brooks has a lot of out-of-the-box ideas," Golub said, such as his proposal to have the Union President use the veto power to overrule decisions made by the Finance Board. "Those are ideas that are really fresh and that the Union really needs right now.
(03/06/07 5:00am)
I came early to Cholmondeley's Saturday night and watched the crowd waiting for the upcoming performances-it was Purim, so some people were in costume-and the second barista didn't show up on time. They were out of pitas. Then cheese. One of the band members (Alicia Cattaneo, drums, A Good Front) got out Guess Who? and started playing with a girl in a spiked mohawk, pre-gaming as it were. I bought an O.K. cappuccino and stood around with my camera, hoping something would happen. The organizers finally figured out the PA system and someone hooked in a decent iTunes collection. Around 9:30, the concert finally got going: The first act, Mykim Dang, an acoustic girl-with-guitar act from Emerson. Dang was pretty good, a sweet, quiet little voice and a comparatively big acoustic guitar. After a bit of a wait, Sabrina Stone '08 was up, a slight reorganization of the lineup as the lead singer for Kissing Electric missed his commuter rail and had to be retrieved from North Station. Stone, a pretty brunette with a well-used, shiny-dirty black guitar, played acoustic rock, featuring a great voice and enjoyable lyrics. The crowd didn't seem to really be there with her, mostly talking, laughing and eating instead, possibly because so many new people were coming in the door. After Stone, another wait, and Barnett finally appeared, looking positively yummy in a lavender shirt and coiffed pompadour. The band took the stage a few minutes later and immediately started jamming. Kissing Electric refers to their songs as "sexually-driven," and so they are-lyrics emphasizing the taste and smell and whatever of the opposite sex are a major theme. The sound, as heralded by one of the editors at the Berklee Grove "is like a supercharged erotic fantasy courtesy of a posh, designer-drug cocktail." It is '80s synth, spiced with VHS or Beta, Duran Duran and a touch of The Killers. The bassist, Grant Himmler, and the drummer, Matt Sanchez, were practically partying on stage, while the synth man Joe LaChance was less enthusiastically clonking along on excellent synth lines; the tone of the music overrode the depressed body language on his face. The set was pretty much non-stop for about 45 minutes, and the band's energy level increased as they went on, despite the sweat dripping down Barnett's face. There were shouts of "Encore!" from the crowd at the end, but because of the delays, there was no time, though the enthusiasm was there. A Good Front leapt up on stage with their usual energy. I've seen the group a few times before and anticipated the usual awesome show, though I've never seen them on an actual stage before-mostly friends' living rooms. The group began well, Cattaneo enthusiastically hammering away at the drums while guitarist Bryan Winter and bassist Julian Spy kept up the pace. Gray Bouchard, their handsome and charismatic lead singer, was jumping around like a madman, as he is known to do; everything was mostly going on as usual, though they weren't as tight as they could have been. Guest musician Kitty played an electronic vibraphone on a few songs towards the end, but the microphones started acting up and lyric-driven songs suffered.The crowd, mostly people I've seen at other A Good Front concerts at Brandeis, knew the songs and tried to help the group out, but there was little to be done Saturday night; their performance Wednesday night at Chum's will probably be much better. A Good Front bills itself on Myspace as indie/alternative/punk, which is an accurate description of their music-friends listening have simply called it rock, but I think it's a bit more than that, a deeper, more driven sound with heavy, punkish rhythm and angry, nearly screaming lyrics.
(01/23/07 5:00am)
Of MontrealHissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?on Polyvinyl RecordsA-"Oh, why of course you can."That's what Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes might say, shyly and slyly, to that rock 'n' roll litmus test: "But can you dance to it?" On the band's eigth and latest album, Barnes extends the sea change he began with 2004's Satanic Panic in The Attic--which was recorded mostly solo, and consolidated into digestibly bizarre pop songs the shambolic flourishes of the band's early neopsychedelia--to its best and fullest realization.Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? is also a concept album and not the first by this Elephant 6 band. The plot is simple: In a sort of cacaphonous haze of frigid, Scandinavian weather, smeared makeup and psychotropic drugs, Barnes transforms into the glam rocker Georgie Fruit, who, like Ziggy Stardust and Maxwell Demon before him, might be even more self-destructive following a spiritual rebirth. Truthfully, Barnes recorded the album in Athens, Ga. and Oslo while battling depression and anxiety, and his tenure in the latter city culminated in his separation from his wife.In Georgie Fruit is Hissing Fauna's essential dichotomy: Waxing personal while playing a part, Barnes meditates on insanity with the steadiness of a master popsmith's hand. So did David Bowie and Marc Bolan, who also parlayed early semi-success in psychedelia into arena-scale adulation. Of Montreal won't headline Budokan anytime soon, but the progression from wide-eyed psych to infectious dance-floor bliss is unmistakeable.Speaking of transitions, Barnes does just that on "The Past is a Grotesque Animal," the 12-minute behemoth at Hissing Fauna's center. He becomes Georgie Fruit here, his stream-of-consciousness ravings jerking manically from surreal to solipsistic. "We want our film to beautiful, not realistic," he sings, suggesting that for Georgie Fruit, glamour is a bandage to mask far uglier traits. While Barnes' rant is untempered, his music is not. The song is grueling, chorusless hyperdisco, building tension but offering neither climax nor release, and it is meticulously wrought. That's glam rock at its best: pop precision with a violent underbelly.The rest of Hissing Fauna finds Barnes exploring dance music in almost all its permutations, mixing in healthy doses of the British Invasion, as he has always done. An opening three-song medley begins with "Suffer for Fashion," in which he sings: "We've got to keep our little clique clicking at 130 bpm it's not too slow / If we've got to burn out let's do it together," before erupting into a maniacal chorus: "Forever!" Also on Hissing Fauna's first half, there are moments of paranoia ("Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse"), wintertime isolation as therapy ("A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger") and philosophical crisis ("Cato as a Pun"), all to the sounds of Barnes' ebullient and idiosyncratic pop.The album's second, "post-transformation" half is mostly party music, songs about discos and "soul power" and Shuggie Otis. The best is "She's a Rejector," an instantly memorable piece of disco-punk in which Barnes (or Fruit?) laments a house-party blow-off: "There's the girl that left me bitter / Want to pay some other girl to just walk up to her and hit her." His conclusion? "But I can't! I can't! I can't! I can't!" Of Montreal hasn't made music this gloriously banal in years, and it's a delight that's not at all out of place here. In fact, murky concept notwithstanding, all of Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? is a treat, one that fans of Satanic Panic and 2005's The Sunlandic Twins will cherish. Nothing here equals the latter record's "So Begins Our Alabee"-there are few better examples of electronic psychedelia--and that's O.K.. Elephant 6ers like The Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel took unchecked creativity so far left of pop music that they never truly came back--even though the results were iconic. On albums like Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies, Barnes almost spun off into the ether himself. It's now been three albums since he tightened the reigns, and the results remain glorious.-Jonathan FischerThe ShinsWincing the Night Awayon Sub Pop RecordsB-From the first track of Wincing the Night Way, it's evident this isn't really a Shins album. Sure, The Shins wrote the songs and James Mercer sings on all the tracks, but the album is less idiosyncratic and insular than the Alberquerque band's previous two albums. For Nada Surf or Matt Pond PA, Wincing the Night Away would be a triumph. For The Shins, it's a rather average addition to their much-revered discography.Given the single, "Phantom Limb," and certain live recordings circulating the Internet, Wincing the Night Away was shaping up to be a worthy addition to The Shins' oeuvre. An early recording of "Girl Sailor" has available online for at least a year, enticing bloggers and fans with its Chutes Too Narrow-like melodies and lyrics. But early reviews of the new album were less enthusiastic. Some critics commended The Shins for making a small, laid-back album, resisting the temptation to make an ambitious and grandiose epic that might have fallen flat. It's true that hopes for the third Shins album were inordinately high. It's also true that Wincing the Night Away doesn't begin to fulfill those expectations. The album comes off like second-rate, Shins-inspired indie pop rather unlike the sweet, introspective lullabies of Oh, Inverted World! or the more active quirks of Chutes Too Narrow.What most disappointed me was its lack of a long dreamy outre. Oh, Inverted World! and Chutes Too Narrow rocked the listener to sleep with final tracks almost twice as long as their other songs. Wincing the Night Away just ends: quietly, but without purpose, like a Shins mixtape--not an album.All of this is not to say that Wincing the Night Away is a bad album. For most bands, it would bethe jewel in the proverbial crown. From The Shins, however, one expects more.-Andrea Fineman
(01/23/07 5:00am)
With a hybrid of funk and alternative rock style that is best described as the love child of Incubus and The Police, Sucka Brown brought the high energy of both bands to The Stein Thursday, as part of Student Activities' "Winter Week." Sucka Brown played a solid, 90-minute set, beginning with the lively "EASY," immediately grabbing student's attention. More mellow songs like "Fame and Money," maintained the full, relaxed audience at The Stein and the catchy "Look So Well" ended the show with a tune the audience didn't mind having stuck in its head. Their sound incorporates loud rock anthems, the twangy funk vibrato chords of late 70s rock and variations in rhythm and abrupt changes in tempo. Songs like "Chainsaw Tweezer Farm" showed off guitarist Todd Denman's smooth finger work while bassist Scott Sowden held down the rhythm that gives the band its most distinctive sound. Brendan Hall's vocals-which recalled the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis-and Matt Slowik's percussion kept the energy up throughout, reaching a high point with the erratic melody of "Wait." Lead singer Brendan Hall said one of the biggest challenges of playing in the Boston area is attracting an audience. He said the band has played everywhere from raging frat parties to empty cafeterias, but if the crowd at Brandeis is any indication, once they're out, few can keep from head-nodding, foot-tapping, and seat-swaying to Sucka Brown's groovy melodies. the band has toured from "the tippy top of Maine to Washington, D.C.," hitting around 60 college campuses, and only recently signed to the indie label RoHo Records for its first full-length album, Extra Medium. Hall said all four members of the band carry songwriting duties and credits Sucka Brown's musical influence to bands like The Police, Talking Heads, Incubus, Modest Mouse and INXS. As a second album approaches release in April, Hall hopes for word to spread on the band. He said they've watched friends from other local bands sign to major labels: "We just saw The Slip in Rolling Stone the other day," and would like to be in "quit-your-day-job" mode soon, as well. It's an unsurprising goal, given lyrics like: "And who would you be/ Another carbon copy, cookie cut/Khaki and Blue and revolution/On your way to becoming a middle mutt/And what would you pay/To ascend the ladder bourgeoisie/Call it a plan contribution/Secretly we're calling it bribery." Before and after the show, band members were approachable and friendly, handing out band stickers and encouraging students to sign up for their mailing list. All in their mid-20s, they seemed to thrive in a college setting. Well-known for its status as a college town, Boston seems to suit the band. "We love playing at colleges because of the energy and atmosphere that you find on college campuses, and these shows have been instrumental in building our fan base," Hall said. "There's usually no alcohol at college shows, so they tend to be a little tamer, but then you know people are actually listening and will remember your music."Sucka Brown will play at Boston's Paradise Rock Club on Friday, Jan. 26.
(12/05/06 5:00am)
Following a three-week layoff after the fall cross country season, Brandeis' track and field competitors shifted back into high gear Saturday for the start of their indoor track season at the Northeastern Invitational in Boston. The men's team was sparked by strong showings from its rookies, as Keith Thibault '10 finished second place out of 47 runners in the 800-meter run, while Brian McDonald '10 came in third place of 39 in the 3,000-meter run. On the women's team, captain Megan Bisceglia '07 finished sixth of 27 runners in the one-mile run and Ali Sax '09 finished fourth of 24 in the triple jump."It was a good start, and we got a chance to blow off some of the rust after taking it easy for a few weeks," coach John Evans said. "We had a great cross country season, and that should carry over to track now that there are some good sprinters in the mix for the winter."Thibault, competing in the first race of his collegiate career, managed to overcome some rookie jitters to finish with his second-place time of 1 minute, 56.48 seconds."I was incredibly nervous, and I had no idea what was going on out there, but I still ran fast," he said. "I was training throughout the entire cross country season, and I was anxious to just race."Thibault's performance only heightened Evans' already lofty expectations for the first-year runner."[Thibault] ran a great race, and he can be one of the top runners in the country over the next few years," Evans said.McDonald, who finished the 3,000-meter run in 9:03.38, had already experienced a full cross country season coming into Saturday, but this was still his first indoor race at the college level."I ran pretty well considering that I am new to indoor track," McDonald said. The rookie credited his patience for his third-place finish."Coach Evans just told me to stay behind the lead guys for the first mile and then try to see what I had left to go after people at the end," he said.Matt Jennings '09 also turned in a solid performance for the men, finishing sixth out of 36 runners in the one-mile run with a time of 4:24.05.Expectations for the men's team are high coming off a cross country season in which the Judges finished second at the University Athletic Association championships and cracked national polls. The cross country season did end in disappointment, as the team narrowly missed out on qualifying for Nationals, but Dan Suher '08 said that the Judges are putting all that behind them and getting off to a fresh start for indoor track. "It was unfortunate that we just fell short of nationals in cross country, but we are shifting gears now," Suher said. "Track and cross country have different atmospheres, so the feelings from the fall season don't carry over so much."But what Suher hopes will carry over from the Judges' cross country season was the team's groundbreaking success. "After our cross country season, the name Brandeis is going to be taken more seriously in New England and throughout the country," Suher said. "People now recognize more than just the striped jerseys. They know we are a real competitor when we step on the track."Bisceglia led the women's team in the one-mile run with her sixth-place finish in 5:20.67. She was followed by teammates Mary Schillinger '08 and Emily Terrin '08 in 12th and 13th place, respectively.Sax's fourth-place finish in the triple-jump, with a 10.77-meter leap in the finals, was especially encouraging for the Judges. Sax was hindered by knee problems for much of last season, but now looks to be back at full strength this year."It felt really good to start well since I was hurt last year," Sax said. "I really wanted to place among the Division I competitors there, and I did that."In the 800-meter run, women's captain Alyssa Ross '07 finished ninth of 34 competitors with a time of 2:27.05. "It was a decent start for me, but hopefully I will get a lot faster," Ross said. "It's been six months since I have raced, so it is hard to get back into shape." It's difficult to evaluate the women's team this early with the Judges still awaiting the return of three sprinters-Olivia Alford '08, Adie Sprague '08 and Sandra Canuto '08-studying abroad this semester.The Judges next compete Saturday at the Harvard Invitational in Cambridge at 10 a.m.
(12/05/06 5:00am)
Although only a small audience attended the project presentations of one American Studies class, its efforts toward a sustainable campus have been nothing less than large.Students enrolled in "Greening the Ivory Tower: Researching and Improving the Brandeis Environment" presented projects highlighting their efforts toward achieving the class' titular objective Friday afternoon in the Science Complex.The daunting class title was once shorter, formerly taking the name "The Environmental Research Workshop," when Prof. Laura Goldin (AMST) began to teach it over 10 years ago.Since then, "Greening the Ivory Tower" has transformed into an environmental studies course designed around experiential learning, an element that Goldin emphasizes to prepare students to become professionals educated in promoting environmental sustainability.Goldin said she wants all students "to think about how their lifestyle, especially here at Brandeis, affects our natural resources, and be willing to make changes as needed." Emily Silver '08, the undergraduate teaching assistant for the course, echoed this sentiment. "I think Laura Goldin's way of teaching, way of letting students take the initiative is also important in building a student's self-confidence, and building their ability to be creative," she said.These latest initiatives are only a small portion of the history of projects that members of the class have completed. This semester's class tackled several environmental issues, ranging from clean energy to food composting, while past student projects have re-energized the recycling program, created carpool systems and have led many departments to print on both sides of the paper. Many of the projects continue to "provide long-lasting change for the Brandeis campus" Goldin said.Brian Wartell '07, Jordan Bieber '07 and Matt Kamm '09 made up one group that attempted a Massell pond cleanup, and like other groups they had trouble in reaching some of their goals. They wanted to clean and dig out Yakus Pond, but learned they needed to apply for a Notice of Intent to the Waltham Conservation Commission and would also have to apply and pay for a permit.Despite such setbacks, these students were still able to follow through with parts of their project and cleaned up the Massell Pond wetland with other students that came to help out or just listen. Another group of students is trying to coordinate a composting program for both dining halls. Elizabeth Ginsburg '08, Miriam Landau '07, Michelle Kopelson '08 and Avraham Wachs-Cashman '08 worked on this project. These students also experienced difficulties in trying to implement a large scale composting program within one semester. But the students have been committed to continuing work on their project with the student body, the administration and Aramark to hopefully have results by the end of the spring.Although many of these obstacles sound like setbacks to achieving goals, the difficulties the students faced were all part of the experiential learning process that Goldin emphasizes, and part of her desire "to engage the students and challenge them, really to focus in on their own habits, their own lifestyle, and our community here at Brandeis."Silver said the University does not have staff members who specifically deal with campus environmental issues, and it does not have as much administrative activity related to such issues when compared with other colleges and Universities around the country, including the College of the Atlantic, which recently declared itself a zero- emission campus. Silver remained optimistic, however, that students' current initiatives, combined with the development of the University and campus clubs like Students for Environmental Action, will begin to make a difference.With the cooperation of all shareholders in the University environment, we are beginning to create a tradition of environmental responsibility and positive environmental policy at Brandeis. "It's a matter of the institution being behind all of the various national environmental movements and policies . [that] are coming to the forefront of college awareness."Editors Note: Micah Barth-Rogers is enrolled in the course, but he did not participate in any of the projects.
(12/05/06 5:00am)
With the demolition of Ridgewood set to expel an additional 109 students onto the mean streets of Waltham next year, and with over 30 percent of the junior class studying abroad next semester, now is a good a time to look into off-campus housing. Not only will there be more students living off campus, but also many of the more desireable places to live are being taken now, as opposed to late February, when all those with bad housing lottery numbers scramble to search for apartments.Given the inevitable increase in students looking for homes off campus for next year, here are some things I wish I had known before moving off campus, in hopes that at least one person will benefit from my experiences.When push comes to shove, college students are lazy. That should be a no-brainer, but it's one thing to know something intuitively, and quite another to experience it every day. The bulk of upperclassmen live in Lower Campus, and because there are a lot more people concentrated there, many Villagers, Zivites and Ridgewoodians don't have much incentive to make the trek off campus-unless you offer them lots of free booze. Add that to the fact that you will often be too lazy to hike over to campus, and the result will be that you won't see on-campus friends as often as you'd like. All this even before the winter cold sets in! You also have to be able to deal with the added responsibilities that come with living off-campus. If you're too lazy or grossed out to clean the bathroom, it's going to stay disgusting. The same goes for the sink, the floor and everything else. In the dorms, you've got a CA to help mediate room and suitemate disagreements, but off campus, all you've got are your wits. Reverse psychology doesn't work on anyone older than fiv e, so telling people that you're done doing their dishes will only make the pile higher.As in any relationship, communication is key. In the landlord-tenant relationship, if you don't do the landlord's bidding-like pay the rent on time-he can make it so he is no longer your landlord, if he should so desire. The absolute worst a CA can do for not returning the Room Condition Report in a timely fashion is ask you for it again. It's also vital that you communicate frequently with your housemates. If the landlord tells one of you not to leave trash by the sidewalk before 8 p.m. Thursday or else you have to pay the city a $100 fine, make sure that you share that information with each other. Otherwise, you will all get stuck owing Waltham money that you could have spent on frivolities, like food.If you want to live off-campus with someone who will be studying abroad spring semester, it might be worthwhile to reconsider. Most people looking to sublet a house for the second semester are probably not undergrads, and while that isn't necessarily bad, it may not be as fun. In any event, you'll probably get too attached to the guys who are leaving, and the thought of replacing them will only make you mopey.
(11/14/06 5:00am)
After countless hours of preparation since their last intercollegiate meet Oct. 28, the men's and women's swim teams proved that practice makes perfect in their first sweep of the season, beating Babson College Thursday 126-103 and 120-88. It was the women's first win of the season, giving them a 1-2 record, while the men are now 2-1 after their second straight win."We've had to take our practices a little more seriously lately," Keara Dekay '08 said. "The past two weeks our team has been working really hard, and I guess it just all paid off," Wellins said. "We have been swimming 8,500 yards, which is like 5 to 6 miles, during practices." The women were led by Dekay and rookie Hollis Viray '10, who each won two races to pick up one-third of the team's points. Dekay won the 1,000-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly with times of 11 minutes, 42.41 seconds and 2:29.81. She also captured second place in the 500-yard freestyle, only behind Viray, who won the event in 5:33.58. Viray also triumphed in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:03.89, less than three seconds better than Babson junior Erica Salisburry."All the hard work that I've been putting in has contributed to my success," DeKay said. For the third straight meet, the squad was backed by important contributions from their rookies. Rachel Sawicki '10 won the 200-yard intermedley in 2:21.67, while Donna Kremer '10 took the 100-yard freestyle in 58.35. Lisa Rice '10 finished second in the 1,000-yard freestyle event and third in the 500 freestyle. The women also received solid contributions from all three of their divers. Charlotte Rea '08 led the way in the one and three-meter dives, with scores of 219.67 and 219.86.The men's team was also boosted by its rookies, including Bobby Morse '09, Justin Wellins '10 and James Liu '10, each of whom placed first in two individual events. Wellins and Liu also captured the 400-yard medley with captains Todd Berman '07 and Matt Lerman '07."With the amount of talent in this year's freshman class, I think all of the upperclassmen have had to step it up," Morse said.For the second straight meet, Liu took first place in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:49.87. He also triumphed in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:07.07, edging teammates Hal Grossman '07 and Jon Eskow '08.In addition, Bobby Morse '09 won the 500 and 1,000-yard freestyle events with times of 5:13.10 and 10:45.39."I think every guy on our team does an amazing job," Wellins said. "We are becoming a really strong team with a real strong bond."The men hope to hand Bentley College their first loss at 6:30 p.m. today.
(11/07/06 5:00am)
Common Brandeis occurrences: hearing professors read out loud; listening to music in the Slosberg Concert Hall. Uncommon Brandeis occurrence: Combining them into one performance. University Chorus Director James Oleson did just that Wednesday, merging epic verse and classic opera music Saturday, as he led an evening titled "Orpheus-First Poet and Musician."Both the University Chorus and Chamber Choir were right on target all evening, conveying passion with an intensity only found when many sing as one voice; well-executed harmonies added even greater strength to works by Claudio Monteverdi and Christoph Willibald Gluck, among others. The choir evoked excitement and sadness as they jumped from fast to slow, loud to soft. The voices were well-complemented by a delightful performance from pianists Arum Chun '08 and Wellesley College accompanist Jenny Tang. In Gluck's "Orphee et Euridice," two of the strongest soloists performed as Orpheus (Christine Cable '08) and Eurydice (Mai Iizuka '10), characters from the famous Greek myth. Both soloists hit extremely high notes, and maintained excellent clarity doing so. One could hear absolutely every word, no matter how high or low.Another soloist deserving particular mention was Matt Stern '08, for his lengthy aria in Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo." Often in choral performances, the audience concentrates merely on the vocal sound, which while the most important aspect, isn't everything. Stern mastered his vocal performance with seeming ease, heightening his solo with intense facial expressions and swaying to the music.Before each piece, Prof. Leonard Muellner (CLAS) read segments from Virgil and Ovid's works. The poetry provided context for the music and vice versa. Muellner's expressiveness only enhanced this aspect of the evening.The evening started off with a performance by the Early Music Ensemble and Chamber Choir. Some songs were merely instrumental, some a cappella and some combined instrumentation and vocals. The 14 songs came in three languages-Latin, English, French. But as Oleson hoped, all were moving, and for a fleeting moment the Slosberg lobby seemed to resemble a Renaissance fair.Oleson best summed up the evening in an e-mail to the Justice: "Both poetry and music speak to the same human need, the need for some value beyond those we argue about all the time, particularly in western culture and particularly in the University."The concert ended on an exciting note, culminating in the famous can-can. The choir was louder and more dramatic than before. Oleson turned to the audience and encouraged them to sing along with the familiar tune, directing the audience, grinning and vigorously swaying his body to the beat of the music. After this energizing finish, audience members left with smiles on their faces.
(10/24/06 4:00am)
We were troubled by the announcement last week that Marty Ford, the director of the Hiatt Career Center, will resign at the beginning of November after nearly two years. The center has made important improvements in recent years, but we're worried that the absence of someone at its helm, however temporary, will leave a large problem-that students are not receiving preprofessional support equal to that at other comparable universities-unattended.For many students, Hiatt is a luxury largely ignored until their final semesters, when premonitions and apprehensions about entering the real world loom largest. Hiatt counselors told the Justice last week that under Ford, the center strengthened programming for seniors stretching throughout the entire school year. Such measures, as well as Hiatt's increased visibility on campus this semester, are in response to the results of a 2004 survey of alumni in the University's recently released self study for reaccredidation, in which graduates gave Brandeis a low grade for "identifying job opportunities for graduates." But their sentiment was not the result of insufficient programming, but of a far more obvious fact: There are not enough staff at Hiatt available for face-to-face counseling-and as the Justice reported last April, there is a high turnover rate among the few existing staffers .The Justice also reported last April that Hiatt has a low ratio of students to counselors compared to career centers at other schools, "as a rule" in Ford's words-at the time, about one to 803. The hiring of a fifth counselor over the summer narrowed the gap to around one to 600. The University must hire more professionals-and in more specialties-to assist students in finding employment and internship opportunities.But that's not the only work needed. According to the self study, 50 percent of alumni who responded to the survey disagreed with the statement, ".Brandeis did a good job of providing internships and other experimental learning opportunities." We find that lamentable: Out-of-the-classroom learning has more than just pedagogic value; students rely on such opportunities to make valuable contacts for seeking employment later. Hiatt must expand its assistance to students seeking internships.We're worried, however, that the absence of a Hiatt director will frustrate such efforts, if only because there is now no one to do the hiring, or spearhead an expansion of the center's work. Ford was hired six months after his predecessor's resignation, but Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy has said a replacement will be found by the spring. We hope she's right. Ms. Eddy also told the Justice last April that staff turnover rates spike when a new director comes in; students can't afford more of that-especially when they can't find decent jobs.Editor's note: Justice Editor Matt Wright is a Hiatt advisor, and recused himself from this editorial.
(09/26/06 4:00am)
Everyone knows the age-old adage "you are what you eat." For Jordan Rothman '09, that translates into a healthy mixture of beef, water, garlic, sugar, pepper and ground mustard packed tightly in casing. For the second year in a row, Rothman was crowned the hot dog eating champion of Brandeis, consuming 12 and 1/2 hot dogs in ten minutes Wednesday during the hot dog contest at Sherman Dining Hall, easily defeating seven other contestants. The six-foot-nine Rothman was rewarded with a $50 Best Buy gift card for his victory. Rothman's unique eating capacity may in fact be genetic. his brother Seth, took top prize at the Hooter's Wing-Eating Championships in South Florida."Competitive eating runs in my family," Rothman said. The event was the first of Sherman's traditional series of eating competitions during the academic year, with contests ranging from hot dogs to cereal to watermelons to matzo balls, creating Brandeis' own realm of competitive eating, a growing trend in the sports world."[These contests] build spirit," Sherman manager Matt Pierce said. "It brings kids together and everybody's watching. It simply attracts people to come down to Sherman."The Sherman staff prepared 140 standard-sized all-beef kosher hotdogs for the eight participants Wednesday. The goal was to consume as many dogs and buns as possible in 10 minutes. Jacob Kamaras '08, who is also the sports editor of the Justice, placed second by finishing ten hot dogs, joining Rothman as the only two contestants to reach double digits. Mike Morse '10, came in third with nine hot dogs.The 31 and 1/2 combined hot dogs eaten by the top three students was still more than 20 shy of the world record held by Japan's Takeru Kobayashi, who downed 53 and 3/4 frankfurters in 12 minutes at the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog contest held annually at Coney Island in New York. An energetic crowd of nearly fifty people gathered around the table to cheer on the contestants Wednesday. Rothman was a fan favorite, with the applause mounting for each additional hot dog he ate. Belts were loosened and deep breaths were taken before the contest began. Some contestants were zoned in, never looking up at the crowd. Others were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of food placed in front of them and had a much more laid-back approach. "I ate two dogs at a time," Rothman, who also dipped the buns in water before consuming them, a tactic employed by many professionals, said. "Eating the buns was much easier [than eating the hot dogs] because the smell of the dog is distinct. The smell of the buns is not as distinct."All participants had a noticeable drop off in consumption after the halfway mark. Even Rothman wolfed down his first ten hot dogs in the opening five minutes of the contest, but struggled to finish his last two-and-a half hot dogs. The crowd took a collective step back, looking to avoid getting a taste of the contestants' dinner. Luckily for them, there were no reports of regurgitation."After the first five minutes I didn't even feel full," Rothman said. "I felt really strong through the first ten hot dogs. But then the smell of the dog got to me. It was nauseating and made me gag. I was close to throwing up." Rothman said he hopes for a three-peat at the next Brandeis hot dog competition. His goal is to eventually be able to consume 19 and 1/2 hot dogs.The next eating competition at Sherman will be a pie-eating contest Oct. 17. A cereal-eating contest will also be held on Nov. 28.
(09/19/06 4:00am)
It would appear fitting that Brandeis begins with a "B." That's the grade (rounded up, actually) given to the University by Brandeis University: Off the Record, a guide geared toward prospectives, and, according to the cover, "written by students for students." The student author is Andrew Katz '06, and the book is prominently displayed in the Bookstore. Off the Record breaks down college life into 20 clear-cut categories, from "Academics" and "Facilities" to "Transportation" and "Weather". as if Brandeis had any hope for a decent grade in that last one. The individual grades were calculated from student surveys, last updated in May. It may be interesting to note that Brandeis' sole A is for "Safety and Security," while the lowest grade, a C-, is bestowed for three categories: "Diversity," "Greek Life" and "Weather." Averaging the 20 grades together gives Brandeis an overall "GPA" of 2.91-a B, for all intents and purposes.At most universities, a B is fantastic-a job well done. But Brandeis isn't "most other universities," as this guidebook-and actually, many students-doesn't seem to understand.Brandeis can't be held to the same criteria as other schools; its community and the institution itself are just too quirky. This isn't a bad quality, but rather the "good" kind of different. Because of the University's "special" nature, the student body is divided between the vocal love-it and hate-it extremes, with a silent majority falling in the "meh" crowd. But the haters can whine much louder than the lovers can praise. This is somewhat strange, as Brandeis has always been an atypical university, from its inception; it's there, between the lines of the mission statement.There's some consolation, however, in the fact that of the "Ten Worst Things About Brandeis" printed in Off the Record, two are weather-related and one is the "Brandeis Monday" thing we have a few times each semester. If these are the best (or worst) detractions out there, those who complained are reaching. The other seven items on the list, incidentally, are familiar and tired: the anemic social scene, insufficient parking, hefty tuition, the deficient Hiatt Career Center and, of course, the attractiveness (or lack thereof) of students and food.Everyone knows the parking situation on campus, especially this year, is flawed. But there's nothing that can be done immediately, so any proposed solutions are moot points. Over the last year, Hiatt has been undergoing a major reboot, so we've got to wait it out. Dining Services has been making progress lately toward addressing many students' concerns, so while the food is still not at a level most are happy with, it's slowly getting there.That leaves the "sucky" social scene and Brandeisians' lack of beauty, two facets of campus life that people really need to accept already. Students superficial enough to care about looks as the primary requirement in a hook-up, date, boyfriend or girlfriend deserve to be surrounded by uglies. It's almost poetic that way. Furthermore, the whining about parties-rather, the lack of parties-has got to stop. There are parties every weekend, and they don't get broken up when the hosts are responsible about it. Most are fun, some are lame and a few are skeezy, but they happen.There's an expectation among many students that things, like fun, should be handed to them in a silver punch bowl. But they will only listen to shouts of "get over it!" so many times. So instead of complaining, be proactive; throw a big, campus-wide party. Or find other ways to have fun with friends. The skill of compromising is most valuable; no better place to learn it than college.It isn't so much that Brandeis got a B, but that Brandeisians have a "B" attitude. Granted, some of the grievances in the book are legitimate, like the lack of parking. But unless you try to fix what's broken, you've no right to complain.
(09/12/06 4:00am)
Justin TimberlakeFutureSex/LoveSoundon Jive RecordsB+Justin Timberlake wants to have sex with you. He doesn't want to make love-like when he sang, "You're a good girl and that's what makes me trust ya" four years ago-and he's not calling you the day after. On FutureSex/LoveSounds, his second solo outing, he's also freakier. "Baby, I'm your slave" is his new mantra. "I'll let you whip me if I misbehave."Timberlake isn't, of course, the most decadent alumnus of The Mickey Mouse Club. But on FutureSex, he's accomplished a feat most peculiar: removing the sexy from sex. The disc plays like outr-disco coitus-a nod to the futuristic pop envisioned in the early 1980s by Prince, whose packaged perversity was articulated so coldly it had to be taken at face value. Unlike Prince, Timberlake is no auteur, but his brand of pop remains as smart as it was on his delightful 2002 debut, Justified.The Prince comparison is as obvious as the Michael Jackson one was four years ago. With producer Timbaland behind the knobs, FutureSex is, for a multi-platinum-album-to-be, fairly adventurous, though never visionary. The disc's first single, "Sexyback," is perfectly minimalist: all dirty and pulsing and robotic. Here, Timberlake hides his falsetto behind a veil of distortion. For him, it's an anonymous tryst, sweaty but never visceral.The other singles are even bigger highlights of the album. "What Goes Around./.Comes Around Interlude" is an ostensible sequel to the Britney-dis "Cry Me a River," and on FutureSex, the song most indebted to Justified. At a sprawling seven-and-a-half minutes, it's an impassioned, multi-part epic: Far from feeling jilted, Timberlake's lament for a love unrequited is at first characterized by self-doubt. By the song's operatic-and nearly Wagnerian-coda, he's unforgiving but not avenging. "Girl, you got what you deserved," he sings. "What goes around comes around."A bare, glitchy beat rides shotgun to an off-kilter, ethereal synthline in "My Love," a duet with the rapper T.I. and perhaps the finest track on FutureSex. The track blends the album's prevailing detachment with a far more curious purpose: "My Love" is a marriage proposal. Unfortunately, few songs on FutureSex's second side match such heights. Often, it's a simple matter of sheen over substance-of novel production trumping lackluster songwriting. This is particularly unfortunate: Many of the tracks segue into each other, an indication that Timberlake hoped to craft a cohesive work in an industry more comfortable with a handful of singles padded by filler. In that respect, FutureSex barely signals a maturation from Timberlake's boy-band days, as critic-friendly as the album is. Still, there's enough good here to compensate: He's neither our generation's Michael Jackson nor its Prince, but he's the worthiest successor we've got.-Jonathan FischerJohn MayerContinuumon Columbia RecordsA-Somewhere in John Mayer's mind-next to memories of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, the sounds of Muddy Waters and classic Marvin Gaye records-must lie a plan to take over and ultimately transform music as we know it. The next step: Mayer's latest record, Continuum, and third major-label release. Gone is the singer/songwriter's characteristic acoustic-pop sound, replaced here by a smooth mix of Motown-style soul, Chicago blues and Mayer's gifted vocals. Mayer has moved far beyond his bubble-gum past (think 2002's "Your Body is a Wonderland") and into his rightful place as a soulful leader of modern blues.Continuum's first single and opening track, "Waiting on the World to Change," has gained both critical and commercial acclaim. The track has spent a respectable eight weeks and counting on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, peaking at number 21. The song, which borrows its melody from Curtis Mayfield's "We're A Winner," features a soft funk beat overlaid with Mayer's raspy vocals, which lament political apathy and a helpless society. The song's chorus swells into a call-and-response hook that alternates between an unaccompanied Mayer and a choir of his own vocals. The track glides into a bouncing instrumental break before allowing Mayer to display his remarkable guitar prowess in a brief but powerful solo. On "Belief," perhaps the record's next single, Mayer seems to answer the questions posed by "Waiting on the World to Change" as he sings "We're never gonna win the world/We're never gonna stop the war/We're never gonna beat this if belief is what we're fighting for."On "Vultures"-a track previously released live by the John Mayer Trio-the 28-year-old singer channels the spirit of Marvin Gaye as he transforms his typically warm, bassy vocals into a rich falsetto. Mayer's uniquely bluesy guitar style is truly realized on the album's ninth track, "Bold as Love," a Jimi Hendrix cover that Mayer nails in every possible way. The track's screaming guitar solo-which drops briefly into a whisper-is enough to satisfy even the purest of blues aficionados. On Continuum, John Mayer continues to answer critics who once pegged him as a one-trick pony with an acoustic guitar. Little did they know that the clean-cut singer from Connecticut and one-time Berklee College of Music dropout would mature into the next Stevie Ray Vaughan-not coincidentally, Mayer's lifelong hero, whose initials the singer had tattooed onto his body. -Jonathan LoweThe RapturePieces of the People We Loveon Mercury RecordsB"People don't dance no more / They just stand there like this / They cross their arms / And stare you down / And drink and moan and dis."So sings Matt Safer on "Whoo! Alright Yeah.Uh Huh"-yes, the song's title is a verbatim transcript of its chorus-the centerpiece of The Rapture's Pieces of the People We Love. But if kids just aren't dancing in 2006, why are these once-celebrated but more-often-maligned Brooklynites still pumping dirty bass grooves like it's 2003-or better yet, 1979? Is their sophomore album a daring last stand or a lament? A stab at cashing in on movement long co-opted by A&R execs, or an elegy for a scene that grew, far too quickly, into a fad?Their 2003 debut, Echoes, was a revelation-inconsistent, to be sure, but daring despite its indebtedness to post-punk's club greats, Public Image Ltd. and Gang of Four. Echoes had its clunkers, but the best songs-"House of Jealous Lovers," "Killing," "Sister Savior"-were rickety, apocalyptic blends of disco and punk rock, always histrionic and never strutting. Interpol had opened the post-punk floodgates the year before, but The Rapture eschewed polish-and the genre's notorious angularities-for a far less precocious sound, even though many fans credited it to the eccentric production team The DFA.Three years later, The Rapture is sounding more cohesive. Nothing falls flat on Pieces; it's the overall product that leaves a sour taste. "Whoo! Alright" is the obvious successor to "House of Jealous Lovers": It's spastic and shimmying and manic, adorned by a stinging cowbell and electronic squeaks. Produced by flavor-of-the-year Danger Mouse, the song is much busier than anything on Echoes, and here, as on the single "Get Myself Into It," it's proficient but not comfortable. It sounds like The Rapture-not as the band was, or how you might expect it to evolve, but like some hazy recollection of how the dance-punk aesthetic that it made fashionable should sound. The difference between Pieces and imitators like Radio 4 is a rawer talent: Simply put, The Rapture is very good at what it does. Only now, the band has become cripplingly complacent.-Jonathan Fischer
(09/05/06 4:00am)
To the Editor:In regards to Matt Brown's column "Peruse the past for pride and regain the rah-rah-rah" (Aug. 29 issue), the Roosevelt Fellows created a modest program in the Spring of 2005 called "Boost Brandeis" that entailed a week's worth of student programming aiming to encourage school spirit through our history. It was modeled after a spirit week in the 50s, with help from the department of Undergraduate Academic Affairs and First Year Services, the department of Media Relations and many academic offices. As an interdisciplinary effort, it was very successful although student attendance rates were relatively low. I hope that the students do go out to learn more about Brandeis' rich history, because it truly is what makes us unique... not our star quarterback.-Ashley Firestone '05New York
(08/29/06 4:00am)
Stars and viewers alike were pleased Sunday night when the 58th Annual Emmy Awards ran only three hours. But none was so relieved as comedian Bob Newhart, who spent the ceremony trapped inside of what host Conan O'Brien claimed was an airtight capsule with exactly three hours of air. O'Brien warned the nominees that if their speeches lasted too long, "Bob Newhart dies." Whether from a desire to save the television icon or out of plain humility, the winners-who included the folks behind 24, the cast of The Office and The Daily Show bunch-kept the rambling to a minimum. Newhart, who looked increasingly concerned as the night wore on, was freed from his plexiglass prison in time to prevent a senseless death at the age of 76.*Gene Simmons is more intimidating than most. As lead singer and bass guitarist of the glam rock band KISS, Simmons was a makeup-slathered, blood-and-fire-spewing, long tongue-bedecked spectacle that 1970s parents suspected of demonic influences. So who does a guy like that look up to? Aleister Crowley? Alice Cooper?Not even close. In a video message released by Israel's Channel 2 Saturday, Simmons expressed his admiration for one Ron Weinreich, an Israeli soldier and die-hard KISS fan who was paralyzed from the waist down two weeks ago during hostilities between his country and Lebanon."Hi Ron, this is Gene Simmons. I'm talking to you from my home. I can't tell you how proud I am of you, and how much the world and Israel owes you a debt of gratitude," Simmons said on the tape. The recording was aired in honor of Weinreich's brother's wedding, which was relocated to Ron's hospital so the whole family could attend. "From the bottom of my heart, you are a real hero, you are everybody's hero, you are my hero and I wish I could be there with you," Simmons said.He then added in Hebrew, "My name is Chaim, I was born in Haifa." Indeed, Simmons, a.k.a. Chaim Witz, was raised in Israel until the age of nine, when he immigrated to New York with his mother Florence, a concentration camp survivor. No word yet on Weinreich's response. We like to hope that the brother of the groom forced the wedding party to celebrate with a rousing rendition of "L'Gene." *Friends star Matt LeBlanc is caught up in a most unfriendly situation. Alliterative stripper Stephanie Stephens has filed a defamation lawsuit against the actor after discovering that the National Enquirer had published comments about her, allegedly told by LeBlanc to a friend, claiming that she gave LeBlanc a private lap dance and engaged him in a night of "sexual debauchery ... at her place of employment." Stephens denies the allegations, and the lawsuit insists that "all sexual contact between the defendant and the plaintiff took place in the privacy of (Stephens') residence." While some may see little difference between private subdued sex at home and private, wild sex at a strip club, Stephens does have a point. Who wants to be known as the woman who got freaky with Joey Tribbiani?
(05/23/06 4:00am)
On a year's worth of tired legs, the men's and women's track teams limped to the season's finish line at the ECAC Championships at Springfield College on Friday. The Judges sent six runners to the competition, none of whom finished higher than 11th place. Williams College finished as the top men's team at the championships, while the College at Oneonta was the top-scoring women's team.The Judges do not have anyone eligible for the NCAA Championships on May 5 after being represented in the fall and winter NCAAs."This is late in the season, and people were tired," Danny Glass '07 said.Meaghan Casey '09 agreed."When you get to your peak, you usually start tapering off towards the end of the season, and you don't work out as hard," she said. The Judges' troubles started in the morning with the men's 1,500 meter run. Joel Sunshine '07 was the best Brandeis finisher, coming in 15th place out of 27 runners with a time of 4:07.62. Dan Suher '08 followed in 21st place at 4:10.06, while Matt Jennings '09 was right behind at 4:10.12."I went out pretty slow," Jennings said. "It was kind of rainy, and we just didn't run that well."Sunshine finished the race with a fury, but a slow start held him back from a better result."I passed a whole bunch of people over the last 100 meters, but I didn't run that well early on," he said.After opening the outdoor track season with a surprising victory in the 1,500-meter run at Tufts, Sunshine's performance slowed down toward the end of the year with wear and tear. After a below-average performance, Sunshine said that he was looking to improve his personal results starting next season."It was my last race of the season, and I was tired," he said. "I was very happy with the overall team success, but personally, I didn't run as well as I had hoped. Still, I am looking forward to a great cross-country season in the fall."In the men's 5,000 meter run in the afternoon, Glass came in 20th out of 25 runners with a time of 15:53.82. He was forced to battle allergies and coughed for the entire race."I ran the slowest I've run in two years," Glass said. "Feeling sick just got into my head."The women's team suffered with the same stamina issues and poor finishes as the men at Springfield. Captain Megan Bisceglia '07 finished 11th out of 19 runners with a time of 4:57.24 in the 1,500-meter run, while Casey came in 11th, last place, in the 800-meter run.A conservative running strategy Casey used early in her race ended up backfiring in the end."In the beginning, I tried to stay behind the girls in my race so I wouldn't burn out too fast," Casey said. "In the first lap, that was a strategy to try to just get through it, but by the second lap, I had lost it already, and I didn't have the kick I normally have."Casey also cited a sporadic training schedule before the meet as one of the team's problems."We haven't had a steady training period the last couple of weeks due to finals," she said.Despite the Judges' struggles at the end of the season, they are optimistic about next year."We had some great individual performances this year," Glass said. "Looking ahead towards next year, I think we could be really good, but it's just hard to put it all together.""I think the team has potential to do a lot better," Casey said. "The training that the distance coaches are giving us is preparing us for the long term.
(05/02/06 4:00am)
To the Editor:We are writing because, while we were angered by Matt Brown's dismissal of Brandeis and its reputation as "too Jewish for its own good," we feel that the essence of the problem with his argument was not addressed in the published letters in response ("Letters to the Editor," April 11 issue). Brandeis' "Jewishness" is a result of the traditions upon which the university was founded-traditions of religious and cultural acceptance, in the admissions office and beyond, which were far from standard at the time of Brandeis' establishment. That these founding principles have resulted in Brandeis' continued reputation within the Jewish community should not be a problem, as long as we are delivering these promises to the rest of the student population as well. Does Brown feel a lack of support for secular or non-Jewish religious organizations on campus? Are students of other religions discriminated against in the classroom, the playing field or the student government? If any of this is true, then yes, something does need to happen to bring us back to the policies of non-discrimination and social justice that constitute the Brandeis legacy. If Brown and others like him feel overwhelmed by the Jewish majority, our responsibility as students and alumni alike should be to encourage Brandeis' growth and reputation in its other areas of strength and activity-its acclaimed professors, research opportunities, arts, cultural and community service organizations and social scene that bring in applicants from all cultural and religious backgrounds. But calling for a reduction or quieting of any segment of the student population is disturbing and absurd. Encouraging Brandeis to become a more diverse campus has been a goal of the university's students and faculty for some time-one that, with every incoming class, becomes more of a reality. That many practicing Jews have found Brandeis to be one of the few college campuses where they can feel at home in no way prevents other students from feeling the same way. In our experience, it only provided an opportunity for learning and enrichment outside of the classroom as well as in it. We, a Jew and a Methodist, are proud of the unique tradition and principles of our alma mater and hope that they continue to live on in the actions and accomplishments of all Brandeis students. And if it is so upsetting that spring break occasionally falls the week after your friends at University of Massachusetts are headed down to the Florida beaches, well, grow up.-Danielle Friedman '04 and Sarah Orzalli '04New York
(05/02/06 4:00am)
It would be an understatement to say that I've taken a lot of flak over the past few weeks for my last article, which argued that Brandeis is too "Jewish."To address some of the issues raised by my detractors: I have no desire to vacation in Cancun, ever; I don't like partying, on Friday or any other night of the week; I love Brandeis and would never consider transferring; and I'm a Conservative Jew. So if you want to write a letter to the editor, please don't assume anything about me.With all the dissent I've encountered-some of it bordering on hate mail (for those who threw the Holocaust at me, don't confuse the reason Israel was founded with that of Brandeis)-the sane thing for me to do would be to lay low. Well, color me masochistic, but I can't let a dead horse lie; in the three weeks since my apparently inflammatory column was published, I've thought up a few addenda.I've realized the question isn't about the number of Jews, but whether Brandeis should be a Jewish university or a university with many Jews. While shrinking the number of Jews would certainly prevent the former, we should focus instead on changing mindsets independent of any demographic shift. Given the contentiousness of my last proposal, I've thought of a different method for mitigating the institutional Judaism at Brandeis. Surprisingly, it requires a return to the University's beginnings.The University's mission statement expresses the original intent for Judaism's influence here: "Brandeis was founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian university under the sponsorship of the American Jewish community to embody its highest ethical and cultural values and to express its gratitude to the United States through the traditional Jewish commitment to education [emphasis added]."It seems the University community has drifted away slightly from our mission statement. I would venture that most students-current and former-don't realize or understand the shift's ramifications. They mistake "cultural values" for culture, and culture for religion, a distinction I should have spelled out in my last column. But values and practices must not be confused; the former reflects a commitment to social justice (in this particular case), but the latter reflects ritual and dogma.Ritual and dogma are private matters, not those of a nonsectarian establishment-which is why certain institutional practices, like the holiday-driven break schedule, are a little disturbing. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur should obviously be days off-not because of their religious importance, but because most students wouldn't go to class. But not nearly as many students observe Sukkot, so virtually all classes would have quorums. Therefore having the first and eighth days of that holiday off is a religiously-based decision-especially because classes are in session on the second and seventh days, which are of equal religious importance. What goes for one must go for the other.And for the record, not everyone goes to Cancun during spring break; for those of us not from the Northeast, it is very difficult to be at home for a week and a half when our non-Brandeis friends are all away at other colleges. That's also one of Brandeis' geographical biases.College is a time for students to question their beliefs-one of the foundations of a liberal arts education is asking questions. This process can lead to new beliefs, but more often than not, it reaffirms original convictions. Given that, I cannot understand why Jewish students who come here for religious reasons do so. I would much rather be among a minority and fortify my beliefs than allow them to become lax in a majority setting.The administration, fortunately, has done much in the last two years to reassert the University's commitment to Jewish "cultural values"-and by that I mean its emphasis on outreach to Arabs and Muslims over the fierce Israel-only attitude some may expect. Last year's founding of the non-partisan Crown Center for Middle East Studies, and this year's defense of Crown Senior Fellow Khalil Shikaki, a partnership with Al-Quds University and the recent selection of the Jordanian Prince El Hassan bin Talal as the keynote commencement speaker all reveal a desire to move away from traditional "Jewishness" regarding the Middle East. Hopefully, this trend will continue.
(05/02/06 4:00am)
WASHINGTON-It's 10 p.m. last Thursday night, and a packed bus of energized college students is slowly making its way here for a national rally to call for an immediate end to the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, where an estimated 400,000 have been murdered by the government, which began carrying out a genocide on the ethnic-African population in 2003.The students on the bus come from Brandeis, Harvard, Simmons College and area high schools. The movement they are all committed to, Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, has been called one of the fastest-growing student movements in over a decade, with about 550 chapters established at high schools and universities throughout North America. "It's gonna rock," Weldon Kennedy '06, the former Brandeis STAND president, said of the rally at about 8 a.m. Friday as the bus arrived here. Brandeis sent about 25 students to the rally. As Brandeis students posed for pictures on their way to the rally, holding signs with phrases such as, "I will not accept genocide in my world," Mark Kaufman '71, who came to the rally with the Jewish Community Relations Council in Boston, said he felt proud to see the "new generation" rallying. "In 1968, that was us sitting in that photo [protesting the Vietnam War]," he said.Over 1,000 members of STAND attended a rally here last Sunday on the National Mall, where between 40,000 and 50,000 people gathered to hear forceful speeches from Sudanese refugees, celebrities, politicians, Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders and activists all calling for an end to the genocide in Darfur. The event, one of 20 held around the country, was organized by the Save Darfur Coalition, an umbrella organization of over 160 humanitarian groups, advocating for an end to the genocide. Before the rally, Massachusetts State Representative Michael Capuano told the Justice it's great to see the student movement pushing the national consciousness. He also credited Massachusetts with leading the nation on the issue. "We in Massachusetts have been pushing for this rally for over a year," he said. "Our voices will be heard." Speakers included actor George Clooney, holocaust survivor and 1986 Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, Illinois Senator Barak Obama, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Olympic speedskater Joey Cheek, Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons and Washington Archbishop Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Though President Bush called the situation in Darfur a genocide in 2004, approved billions of dollars to send to the region and called for more robust peacekeeping missions to aid the African Union's troops in protecting civilians, speakers and rally participants said the United States needs to do more. "The facts on the ground remain the same," Obama said. "If we bear witness, then the world will know. If we act, then the world will follow." Erin Mazursky, a Georgetown University junior, and executive director of national STAND, spoke at the rally."Students have stood at the forefront of this movement to stop genocide, and we've begun to write a new story," she said. "We are witnessing the emergence of a generation that heeds the words 'Never Again,' and internalizes them." Wiesel's speech was emotional. "I am here as a Jew because when we needed people to come to help us, nobody came," he said to the crowd. "Therefore, we are here. For the sake of humanity, save Darfur."Sharpton said: "We know when Americans come together we can stop anything in the world. Let history write that we came together in the 21st century and stopped genocide in Sudan." Speakers compared the situation in Darfur to the genocide the world witnessed 11 years ago in Rwanda, and demanded the world not stand by genocide any longer. Many called on the United States to use its power to get the United Nations and NATO to send peacekeeping forces to the region to assist the African Union's underfunded troops, charged with protecting civilians.Clooney, who spoke with his father, Nick, recently returned from a trip to Darfur. The two have become spokesmen on behalf of the anti-genocide movement. "The U.S. policy, the U.N. policy and the world's policy on Sudan is failing," the actor said. "There is hope,-there is you." Akor, a Sudanese refugee at the rally, has lived in Kansas City for six years. "I feel grateful to the American people for their support for the people of Sudan," he said in an interview.Jaclyn Cantor '08 and Sean Lewis-Faupel '08 were elected to serve on next year's STAND national executive committee. "I'm so incredibly pumped, and I don't think it's going to go away," Cantor said after the rally. "I was worried it was going to be anti-climactic, but it wasn't."Friday and Saturday before the rally, George Washington University hosted a STAND conference for students to lobby their elected officials on Capitol Hill and discuss community organizing strategies. Around 500 students from 46 states attended. On the bus ride here Thursday night, Matt Rogers '08, who last month became the second president of Brandeis STAND, said the rally should be a starting point, rather than a stopping point for the movement. The rally is the culmination of STAND's year-long Power to Protect campaign, which calls for protection of Darfurians.Brandeis' chapter, which has remained consistently active on awareness and advocacy campaigns, most recently has succeeded in convincing the University to pledge not to invest its funds in companies that support genocide in Darfur until the genocide ends. The Brandeis chapter has been an integral leader in the movement since its emergence. Kennedy, who became the movement's first Northeastern regional outreach coordinator. "Brandeis can't end genocide in Sudan, but if it's students, every student, everywhere [is] taking action now for Darfur, that's huge," he said. Daniel Millenson '09, the executive director of the Sudan Divestment Task force, which works on university, city and statewide campaigns, said this movement is different because members don't protest for media attention."We usually work just by meetings and presenting research," he said. "I guess that's not really sexy or anything.but it's such a different era." Though STAND will remain student-run, it becomes part of the Genocide Intervention Network next month. Joining the organization makes STAND a permanent student fixture against genocide."You can't have a movement without a people, but you also can't have it without resources and tools," Mazursky said. Samantha Power, the author of A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, spoke to STAND Saturday about pushing the United Nations to send peacekeeping forces to the region. Students in STAND make up the "Rwanda generation," Power said later. "You can't believe how Clinton could have allowed 800,000 people [to die].
