(09/23/14 5:46am)
A New York Times/CBS News poll has found that President Obama’s approval ratings are similar to George W. Bush’s ratings in 2006. About 40% of Americans approve of the President and 50% disapprove, comparable to Bush’s 37% and 56% during his sixth year in office. While 70% of Americans disapprove of Congressional Republicans, 45% say they would vote for a Republican if the 2014 midterm elections were being held today, as opposed to 39% who say they’d vote for a Democrat. Do you approve of Obama, and do you plan to vote Democrat, Republican or neither in 2014?
(09/23/14 4:42am)
If you can identify the message or moral of the Rose Art Museum’s newest sculpture, Prof. Chris Abrams (FA) asks that you not tell him.
(09/22/14 1:55am)
The University announced on May 13 in a BrandeisNOW article that nine Brandeis undergraduates, graduates and recent alumni have been awarded grants from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The article also acknowledged that a Brandeis student was named a Goldwater Scholar and yet another was selected as the University’s second-ever Gates Cambridge Scholar.
(04/29/14 4:00am)
Mixed-up twins. Physical comedy. Drunk knights. Trying to find true love. And, of course, bright yellow stockings. These were just some of the plot highlights in Twelfth Night; Or What You Will, a student production co-sponsored by the Brandeis Office of the Arts and the Brandeis department of the Theater Arts, put on as part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts. The audience sat on blankets and lawn chairs outside the Foster Gal- lery at the Rose Art Museum. The set was simple, mostly made up of a large wooden structure with steps and a low tower. Beer bottles filled with sand and mason jars holding electric candles lined the stage and formed aisles through the audience for the actors to come and go. The nautical details to the set and the costumes that mixed modern and period gave a casual feel to the production. However, the occasional turkey or car horn could occasionally disrupt the performance. In the play, Viola, played by Morgan Winters '17 is a young woman shipwrecked in a foreign land, Illyria. In order to survive, she disguises herself as a boy named Curio and goes to work for Duke Orsino (Ryan Kacani '15) and quickly falls in love with him. However, Orsino is in love with Olivia (Caley Chase '16), who is mourning her dead brother and refuses to love anyone. Orsino sends Viola to court Olivia on his behalf, but in a comic twist, Olivia falls in love with Viola/Curio, thinking she is a man. Winters and Chase had hilarious counterpoint in every scene when Olivia tried to flirt with the clearly uncomfortable Viola. Kacani captured the completely oblivious Duke perfectly, making the audience both laugh and feel bad for the lovestruck Viola. Sir Toby Belch (Justy Kosek '14), Olivia's drunken uncle, is trying to set up his young, equally drunken and stupid friend, Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Levi Squier '14) with Olivia. However, after Malvolio (Aaron Fischer '15) scolds the two of them for drunkenly singing late at night, Toby and Andrew set up a plan with the fool Feste (Jamie Semel '17) and Olivia's maid Maria (Grace Fosler '14) to get revenge on Malvolio by tricking him into thinking Olivia is in love with him. Kosek and Squier played drunken idiots perfectly, slightly slurring their speech and staggering around, getting laughs from the crowd every single time they came on stage. Fischer was my personal favorite cast member. His Malvolio was hilarious, transforming from stiff and stuck-up to love-struck and ridiculous, prancing around the stage and clicking his heels. His mannerisms were especially excellent in his many scenes with Semel, who made Feste an intelligent prankster and a foil to both Malvolio and the two drunkards. The story only gets more complicated as Sebastian (David Getz '15) and Antonio (Alex Davis '15) come to Illyria. Sebastian is Viola's twin brother and everyone confuses the two of them, including Olivia, who proposes marriage to Sebastian/ Curio, leading to further mayhem. The duke is heartbroken, Viola confused, and at Toby's urging, Andrew challenges Viola to a duel. The duel scene was one of the strongest scene in the show, thanks in part to Kacani and Kosek's fight choreography. Winters and Squier minced and timidly jumped back and forth, shrieking any time their swords hit. Although not one of the main actors, Davis was utterly hilarious in his portrayal of Antonio, making silly faces at the audience and even occasionally ad-libing lines as he went on and off stage. Getz brought characterization to a more minor role as well; in a memorable scene, Getz sneaks back on stage, partially undressed, after leaving with Olivia. Getz played up the sexual humor with a swagger and plenty of winks towards the audience. As with any Shakespearean comedy, everything ends with all the loose ends tied up. Sebastian and Viola run into each other and Viola is finally able to tell the Duke that she is, in fact, a woman. The Duke improbably falls in love with Viola as soon as he learns she is a girl. The two couples, Orsino and Viola and Sebastian and Olivia, get married. Malvolio learns that Feste, Toby and Andrew played a prank on him and is forgiven by Olivia. Compared to the rest of the play, the ending was a little bit flat, although that was not the fault of the actors. After all the mayhem, ending with a wedding just wasn't quite as exciting as the rest of the play. In a fun twist, rather than taking a traditional bow, the cast ran back on stage, led by Semel, singing and dancing, before thanking the production staff. This year's production of Twelfth Night brought a refreshing perspective to a classic Shakespeare play and had the audience in stitches for most of the show.
(04/29/14 4:00am)
With another academic year coming to a close, Brandeis again finds itself in the national spotlight with continued scrutiny over its rescinding of an honorary degree to controversial women's rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali. This scandal follows the media focus on Brandeis' executive compensation earlier this year, as well as the suspension of a longtime relationship of with East Jerusalem's Al-Quds University. Several of these stories proved to be the causes for major University policy changes. Which story will prove to be most significant for Brandeis, and why?
(04/09/14 4:00am)
After a torrent of public outrage from the greater Brandeis community, University administration has rescinded the offer of an honorary degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a controversial political and women's rights activist, due to statements that she has made publically that criticize Islam. A press release from the administration, published by BrandeisNOW on the evening of Tuesday, April 8, said that while Hirsi Ali "is a compelling public figure and advocate for women's rights ... we cannot overlook certain of her past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University's core values." The press release added that the University "regret[s]" that it was "not aware of these statements earlier." The press release stated in conclusion that Hirsi Ali is "welcome to join us on campus in the future to engage in a dialogue about these important issues," but that the commencement ceremony was not the appropriate forum for said discussion. The announcement of the rescindment came after both faculty and student community members voiced outrage over Hirsi Ali receiving an honorary degree. Some community members were uncomfortable with her anti-Islamic views. Prof. Jytte Klausen (POL) wrote in an email to the Justice that she believed giving Hirsi Ali a degree would "[undermine] years of careful work to show that Brandeis University promotes the ideals of shared learning, religious toleration, and coexistence, irrespective of religion." A petition on Change.org, started by Sarah Fahmy '14, was one of the main forums used by students to voice their concerns. As of this press release, the petition had garnered over 6,800 signatures calling for the rescinding of the offer. Faculty members also signed and sent a letter to University President Frederick Lawrence protesting the offer to Hirsi Ali and calling for an immediate rescinding of it, which garnered over 75 signatures as of Monday evening. *
(04/08/14 4:00am)
Numerous members of the University community have expressed outrage at the selection of Ayaan Hirsi Ali as an honorary degree recipient for its 63rd annual commencement ceremony, which was announced last Monday along with the names of the other recipients and the individual who will deliver the commencement address. Hirsi Ali is a Somali-born women's rights activist who has campaigned against female genital mutilation but is also well known for her critical view of Islam; she has at various times called Islam a "backwards religion" and a "destructive, nihilistic cult of death" that legitimizes murder. She formerly lived in the Netherlands and was a member of Dutch Parliament until it was discovered that she had provided false information on an asylum application to gain entry into the country. In response to this, Hirsi Ali claimed that she lied on her asylum application because she was fleeing a forced marriage. She had also previously disclosed inaccurate information through several sources before the controversy, including through her book The Son Factory. After resigning from her position due to the ensuing scandal, she moved to the United States to join the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute-an organization dedicated to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity and strengthening free enterprise according to its website-where she is now a visiting fellow. The decision to award her an honorary degree has drawn strong reactions from many members of the Brandeis community, especially faculty and students. Prof. Mary Baine Campbell (ENG) said in an interview with the Justice that she believes this decision is not in the University's best interest. "Hirsi Ali represents values that Brandeis, in naming itself after Justice [Louis] Brandeis, ... was founded in noble opposition to," said Campbell. Campbell also said that she was concerned about the awarding of the degree because of a lack of consultation with the faculty during the selection process. In an email to the Justice, she wrote that she was "astonished to find out that this choice, to honor Ms. Hirsi Ali for her contributions to 'women's rights,' had been made without consulting the WGS Core Faculty." s=She noted that the core faculty in the Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies program had not been contacted either. In a statement issued on behalf of the administration, Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid wrote that University President Frederick Lawrence "is aware of concerns that have been expressed following the announcement of the selection of Ayaan Hirsi Ali as an honorary degree recipient." She also added that Lawrence was reaching out to members of the Brandeis community to discuss the controversy, but did not respond to requests for comment on which individuals have been contacted by press time. In addition to vocal opposition to Hirsi Ali, there have been more tangible measures to oppose her presence at commencement. A student petition at www.change.org, started by Sarah Fahmy '14, calls on Lawrence to rescind the offer of an honorary degree. As of Monday evening at 11 p.m., the petition had over 600 signatures. Faculty members also organized to protest the decision through a letter to Lawrence. The letter calls on Lawrence to rescind the offer because of her "virulently anti-Muslim sentiments," as well as re-institute a faculty committee to review potential candidates before honorary degrees are awarded, since such a committee could have "warned [Lawrence] about the horrible message that this [decision] sends to the Muslim and non-Muslim comminutes at Brandeis and beyond." The letter was sent to the faculty on Sunday evening, and by late Monday had received over 75 signatures from various faculty members. Prof. Jytte Klausen (POL) wrote in an email to the Justice that giving Hirsi Ali a degree "undermines years of careful work to show that Brandeis University promotes the ideals of shared learning, religious toleration and coexistence, irrespective of religion." She further wrote that Hirsi Ali should be invited to speak on campus since the University allows individuals of all views the opportunity to express them but that honorary degrees should only be given to "people who promote our mission of learning and toleration." Klausen also expressed concern that Hirsi Ali's presence would detract from the overall experience of commencement, which is "not a hard-edged talk show or forum for confrontational endorsement of extreme views," but rather "a celebration where all should feel welcome." She also called into question Hirsi Ali's political career, saying that it had been built on "complaining about refugees and immigrants" and calling for harsher measures to be directed at these groups. Klausen also noted that Hirsi Ali's false statements on her Dutch refugee application and citizenship request was an offense "severe enough for the Minister of the Interior ... to annul Hirsi Ali's [Dutch] citizenship." In addition to condemnation, the announcement has prompted Prof. Susan Lanser (ENG) to call not only for the award to be rescinded, but for a public apology issued by Lawrence to the greater Brandeis community. In an email to the Justice, Lanser wrote that she believes Hirsi Ali "is not worthy of a doctorate of humane letters from a university that claims to be committed to justice, respect, diversity and truth to its innermost parts." She added that her outspoken views on Islam "foment an intolerance that is wholly antithetical to Brandeisian values." While many faculty members and students are decrying Hirsi Ali's being offered the honorary degree, some are coming to her defense. Bernard Macy '79, an alumnus who came forward to defend the selection of Hirsi Ali as an honorary degree recipient, sent an email to Lawrence, numerous faculty members and the Justice expressing his support. Macy wrote that he was very impressed that Hirsi Ali "had the courage to speak and act out against an extremely vicious form of violence toward women, which, until recently, had been a topic that had not been politically correct to discuss." Macy further expressed hope that "protection of women from this insidious form of mental, emotional and physical abuse" would be in line with the values of the University and firmly stated that Hirsi Ali is very deserving of an honorary degree. Students have also expressed concern about the University's selection. Alina Cheema '15, co-president of the Muslim Students Association, said in an interview with the Justice that she and the MSA perceive Hirsi Ali's receiving a degree as alarming. "[Hirs Ali] is well-known for her [anti-Islamic] beliefs ... and this is a slap in the face by the administration. Are they saying that we don't belong on this campus?" Cheema said. "How can the University claim to be so focused on social justice when they award a degree to someone with such radical views?" Cheema also added that this situation has made her personally feel very uncomfortable as a Muslim on campus. "How am I supposed to tell a prospective Muslim student that [he or she] will be accepted on this campus ... when the administration condones this?" When asked if the MSA was preparing a response to the announcement, Cheema said that the MSA had been talking about the issue since the news broke on Monday. "We will not be quiet about this," said Cheema. "Any opportunity we have to work against this, we will take advantage of." In addition to the perceived disconnect between Hirsi Ali's values and the University's, some have criticized the decision for damaging the University's reputation. Campbell wrote that she is worried this will be a "[public relations] disaster, and a step down a road we cannot take without losing our identity [as a university]." Prof. Mitra Shavarini (WGS) also told the Justice in an email that the offer is not in line with the University's mission, unless it wishes to "incite hate, mistrust and division among its community." She further stated that Hirsi Ali's approach to discourse "collapses thought in obscure, non-contextualized allegations that have no intellectual merit"-something Shavarini believes is radically opposed to the University's values of "intellectual exchange and the challenging of one's ideas."
(04/01/14 4:00am)
The first day of April marks an interesting accomplishment for our country. It hasn't been written about anywhere in the news, which is exactly what makes it notable. America has officially gone a full six months without a single nationally newsworthy mass shooting. Not one "horrifying national tragedy" or "senseless slaughter" to read about, not a single presidential speech vowing solemnly to not let it happen again. Not even a photo of wailing parents or somber police officers shedding one tear of rage. It's a milestone that's worth considering. What's both curious and exciting was that I struggled to remember when and where the last of these tragedies took place. The last time we had a mass shooting notable enough to get national attention was in September, when a gunman killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard. After the alleged gunman committed suicide, reporters forced themselves on the shocked witnesses of the tragedy, President Barack Obama said a few remorseful words and that was the end of that. Just another in a long line of senseless tragedies that shock us to the core, force us to ask hard questions about the role of guns and violence in our culture and demand that we find an answer to this problem now to prevent it from happening again. And then, well, it happens again. But in this case, it hasn't-at least not for a little while. We've all moved on, and other issues have taken up the headlines. When Obama proposed a multi-million dollar gun safety program early this month, it received practically no attention from any news organization. Why should it? The proposed program's more stringent background checks and school safety pilot projects are similar to the policies of a 2013 bill that didn't pass in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. shooting, perhaps the most shocking of these events in recent history. Now, there was no impetus for the country to pay attention to yet another bill that only drags up painful memories. The surprising thing about this almost uniquely American issue is that we aren't surprised by it anymore. As a nation, we simply no longer have the emotional space to watch more Katie Couric interviews with mourners, or to hear Mother Jones and the National Rifle Association scream at each other for the 100th time over. The grief of a nation has become routine and clich?(c)d. And as strange as it is to say, that is possibly the best thing that could have happened. We have grown exhausted, and perhaps even bored, with talking about the issue. Thus, we don't want to give it attention. Among the many theories as to why America has a shooting problem, one of the most dominant is that the media promotes it. After each tragedy, journalists try to find out every detail of a shooter's life and background in search of an explanation, which may earn plenty of money, but perpetuates a very real problem. Eric Hickey, Dean of the California School of Forensic Studies, states in his book Serial Murderers and Their Victims that massacre shooters often construct elaborate inner narratives of how and why the world has wronged them, and use their shootings as a theater to express this story, what is to them a revenge tale against an uncaring world. The more attention they can get, the more people know their supposed truth. And if we put the alleged Boston Marathon bomber on the cover of Rolling Stone, it sends a clear message to other potential attackers. In a 1999 study, Paul Mullen, director emeritus of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health, found that gun massacres often occur in "clusters," since perpetrators are inspired by each other. He describes speaking to one imprisoned killer who claimed to be "going for the record," by killing more bystanders than any other similar criminal. Mullen's findings were reaffirmed in a 2002 study in Germany, examining violent crimes across multiple countries. Over and over, the most senseless and inexplicable tragedies occurred close to each other in time, especially when killers became aware of each other's actions through the media or some other source of information. Is the media single-handedly responsible for mass shootings? Of course not. To oversimplify a criminal and mental issue that no one fully understands does a disservice to everyone. To fix this problem, significant arms reform will likely be necessary (look at Australia's drop in crime since banning assault weapons), and our culture's unhealthy obsession with fictional violence will need to be seriously considered and controlled. But the more we can abstract these debates from the issue of mass shootings, the better capable we will be of not only preventing violence, but of thinking deeply and logically about the implications of potential changes in Second Amendment or censorship laws. These are issues unto themselves, and we should not allow either side to use cheap and exploitative emotional appeals. The best preventative measures to take with gun violence is simply to not give it more attention. Eventually, at some point somewhere, a group of people will be killed for no clear reason. The person who does this will be horribly troubled and in desperate need of someone to talk to. It will be a tragedy. When it happens, the media ought not to discover the life history of the murderer, or print hundreds upon thousands of pictures of the terrified masses. The media is responsible for providing a forum for the public to mourn, showing people ways they can help the grieving and then moving on. Nobody benefits from lingering on pain, and the less time we spend around exploitative shock stories and images, the longer it seems to be before they appear again. It appears that America may be on the way out of its current "cluster" of mass shootings. I hope we're better prepared for the next one. *
(03/25/14 4:00am)
Ronny Zinner, the daughter of Carl and Ruth Shapiro and a Brandeis University trustee, passed away on March 18 at the age of 70 in Boston, according to a March 20 BrandeisNow article. Following her parents' legacy of dedication to Brandeis, Zinner served as president of the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation, which is known for its widespread philanthropic work. The foundation supports organizations ranging from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis to after-school youth art programs.
(03/25/14 4:00am)
Executive compensation, changes to meal plans and dining, renovations to campus dormitories and overall transparency were just some of the topics of concern brought up at a roundtable discussion hosted by the Student Union on Thursday evening. According to an email announcing the roundtable discussion from Student Union President Ricky Rosen '14, the first half of the event was meant to be a discussion between the Student Union representatives and administrators, while the second half was meant to be a "forum for students to pose questions to members of senior administration." The panel discussion, which included Student Union members as well as two administrators, Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel and Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid, took place in the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Admissions Center presentation room. The first segment of the event featured questions posed to Flagel and de Graffenreid from Union representatives on varying topics. Union Vice President Charlotte Franco '15 kicked off the event with a question about the level of student involvement in the decision-making processes surrounding major changes, such as the upcoming bid processes for the campus bookstore and mailroom. The University is currently evaluating their options regarding bookstore vendor and is currently in the bidding process for a potentially new mailroom vendor. More specifically, she asked why the Student Union only heard two of four proposals for meal plans before the final decision on which would be offered to students was reached. "Details of [Sodexo's] contract are under a mutual non disclosure agreement," responded Flagel, who said that he was "not engaged" in the bidding process for dining providers. "But I think it's fair to say that one of the major factors that was in the [request for proposal] and a major factor of the contract is student satisfaction, so a large part of [Sodexo's] responsibility is interfacing with you over these meal plans and their development." Relaying too much information during ongoing contract negotiations could be problematic, said Flagel, because "you don't get the best possible price point with completely transparent negotiations." Franco said that, in the future, she still hoped to see more student representatives on committees that review options for outside contractors, such as the mailroom and the bookstore. Flagel agreed that "[w]e didn't really have a student input structure for any of those [bidding processes] because it hadn't changed in a decade so there wasn't a whole lot to discuss." However, he added that "ultimately, you all want the same thing we want: we want the best level of service that students can have for the best possible value." He proposed a "University administrative systems committee" to work with committees and vendors in areas related to student life. Union Secretary Sneha Walia '15 then raised concerns regarding budget transparency, specifically President Emeritus Jehuda Reinharz's compensation. Reinharz's salary has been highly scrutinized following its publication in both this paper and The Boston Globe in November. De Graffenreid responded that based on conversations she has had with "counterparts" at other private institutions, "Brandeis is now probably the most transparent private university in the country in terms of executive compensation." Releasing University President Frederick Lawrence's salary at the March faculty meeting "was a very big step for the Board of Trustees to take," said de Graffenreid, calling it "sort of precedent-setting in the United States." Flagel then noted other substantial budgetary areas. "There was a massive investment, about five million dollars in sustainable energy projects, that had a lot to do with heating and cooling across the campus. .... The cleanup of the steam pipes that were sending steam shooting in different directions up through the ground, fixing those leaks," he said. "There's investments in the infrastructure that you've all experienced like the massive overhaul of East [Quad] that went on over a two-year period. This summer, we're going to be doing two of the halls of Ziv [Quad] and the [Foster] Mods." The next portion of the event featured questions from the audience of approximately 30 students. To start the segment, Class of 2017 Senator and Chair of Senate Dining Committee David Heaton questioned who holds the ability to change the current and oft-scrutinized meal plans, "You seemed to indicate that the composition of the meal plans was actually the responsibility of Sodexo, but in our meeting with Sodexo, they said that it was the responsibility of the administration," he said. Flagel responded, "The crafting and structure came out of Sodexo and my impression was that that had been ongoing discussion, so the fact that it has this level of disconnect troubles me, but I assume that everyone is operating in good faith." The conversation then shifted from dining to executive compensation. "How much do University administrators make annually and why is this not released to the full Brandeis community?" asked David Miller '14 of the Brandeis Labor Coalition. De Graffenreid responded, saying that the Board of Trustees was "concerned that transparency on individual administrator's salary would not allow [University] President [Frederick] Lawrence to manage his team in a way that is effective." She said that administrators have tasks that they are supposed to accomplish every year, "and we're accountable to President Lawrence for those things. "Our compensation depends largely on how well we do on those work plans, and the Board thought that if it was completely transparent, that people could see how people were performing, which would limit the ability to have continuous improvement and performance in people's jobs," she continued. Andrew Nguyen '15, also representing the Brandeis Labor Coalition, then turned from the salaries of the administration toward that of the president in particular. Nguyen expressed his dismay of a quote by Board of Trustees Chair Perry Traquina '78 in a Justice article last week, namely that the University "would never get a president here" if the presidential compensation was "handcuffed to the lowest-paid staff member. "Shouldn't a president want to come to Brandeis because of its commitment to equity, not in spite of this?" asked Nguyen. "Why don't we have a full-time sexuality and gender diversity coordinator" if we can pay such high salaries to administrators? Flagel said the University is making progress toward a full-time lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer adviser position. "My hope is that in collaboration with other offices and with looking at space that we're actually going to be able to realize the full student proposal that you all voted on of creating a gender and sexuality center on campus. We're looking at space in Usdan [Student Center] right now where we can carve that out," he said. The issue of sexual assault on campus and the new blog SpeakOut! Brandeis was also addressed. Flagel expressed his surprise at the amount of people who don't think sexual assault is an issue [at Brandeis] because "people are so nice." Flagel affirmed that "[sexual assault] is already here" and "we've really just begun the work" needed to combat it. Other topics included the lighting and safety of the various South Street crossings, reductions in cost of the Golding Health Center as measures to cut costs, potentially recognizing greek life on campus and the overall image of Brandeis. Town hall meetings on marketing and presentation of Brandeis, including the University logo, will be held "toward the end of April," according to de Graffenreid. "We'll get those dates out to everyone, and we're going to buy pizza, and you should come and let your voice be heard," she said. -Marissa Ditkowsky contributed reporting
(03/11/14 4:00am)
A cappella. Dancing. Stand-up comedy. Coconuts. An American Idol contestant. These were only some of the numerous acts performed at AYALA, a variety show hosted by Brandeis' South East Asia Club to raise money for communities affected by Typhoon Haiyan, a major tropical cyclone that devastated the Philippines in November. With the theme of barrio fiesta, meaning "neighborhood party" in Tagalog, a language spoken in the Philippines, Levin Ballroom was full of students sitting at round tables, sipping on sparkling grape juice and enjoying a variety of Dum Dum lollipops. Lights and flags of a slew of Southeast Asian countries decorated the walls.
(03/11/14 4:00am)
Student Union representatives will host a "public, round-table discussion and forum" between themselves, senior administrators and members of the student body next week, Student Union President Ricky Rosen '14 announced to the Brandeis community via email Monday night. The forum will take place on Thursday, March 20, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Admissions Center presentation room. The space seats 100, according to an October 2009 BrandeisNOW article. Rosen's email stated that the forum was being held in order to address student concerns "on some prominent issues that affect current and future Brandeis students such as the [U]niversity's allocation of funds, rising tuition expenses, and the recent changes to meal plans. "We feel that as your elected representatives, we are obligated to publicly address your concerns to our university administration, but wish to approach these issues as a discussion," the email continued. Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel and Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid will represent the administration at the event, according to Rosen. Senior Vice President, Chief of Staff and Chief Legal Officer David Bunis '83 was invited, but did not confirm his attendance as of Monday night, wrote Rosen in an email to the Justice. The first hour of the event is scheduled as a public discussion between Student Union representatives and Brandeis administrators, while the floor will open for students to ask questions during the second hour, according to Rosen. Rosen's email also included a link to a Google form on which students can send questions or suggestions to the Union. They will be addressed at the March 20 meeting. The Justice, the Hoot, WBRS and individual administrators were officially invited to attend the event on Feb. 21, as it was still being planned and a date had yet to be determined. Flagel, de Graffenreid and Bunis, as well as several elected Student Union officials, were invited on the same date. -Tate Herbert
(03/04/14 5:00am)
The Student Union Senate convened on Sunday to discuss ongoing initiatives and upcoming events, such as renovations in dining facilities and changes to the structure of meal plans as well as an upcoming roundtable discussion with Student Union officers and members of the University's administration. The senators also approved one Senate Money Resolution for $380 to cover costs for an upcoming "State of Sustainability" town hall hosted by the Senate Sustainability Committee, and passed an amendment to the bylaws of its constitution which will institute an appeals process for the Senate's policy on absences at its meetings. The amendment, proposed by North Quad Senator and Ways and Means Committee Chair Brian Hough '17, allows the Senate to reinstate, by a two-thirds vote, any senator who would be removed by the Senate absence policy. The policy states that a senator who misses more than three senate meetings will be removed from his or her position. If the Senate does not reinstate the senator, he or she may also appeal the case to the Student Judiciary. A date has been tentatively set for the roundtable discussion with administration, which will be open to the public, for Thursday, March 13 at 5 p.m., Executive Senator Annie Chen '14 stated at the meeting. The location has yet to be determined, but Chen said that she hopes the event will be used as an open forum to air student concerns about dining and meal plans, tuition increases, transparency and other issues affecting the student body. "The point of this is to really bring everything that we've worked on all year to the administration in one unified platform," said Student Union Vice President Charlotte Franco '15. On the issue of dining, Off-Campus Senator Michael Kosowsky '14 reported that prices for next year's meal plans have not yet been confirmed. Although he said that he expects an increase, in line with tuition, room and board increases for the past few years, the structure of the plans is unknown. "It doesn't seem like they can get us this information before the residence selection is due," said Kosowsky at the meeting. Kosowsky also addressed his concerns with the University's Black History Month menus in a meeting with Sodexo officials. The menu, which Sodexo says was designed by a black chef in honor of the month, offered such foods as fried chicken and black-eyed peas. "The food selection was incredibly stereotypical, and ... sort of offensive," said Kosowsky. He said that Student Union representatives encouraged Sodexo to work with culture clubs on campus for such events in the future. Senator-at-Large Andre Tran '14 stated that the Senate is looking to making WhoCash compatible with the vending machines. Franco also said that Currito's, a restaurant chain specializing in burritos, would be opening a franchise in the Usdan Student Center as part of the renovations taking place there this summer. Class of 2015 Senator Anna Bessendorf reported for the Sustainability Committee that she was working on connecting individual clubs' sustainability efforts, among them a reusable bottle giveaway by TapBrandeis. Bessendorf also said that she spoke with Jay DeGoia, regional district manager of Sodexo for Brandeis, about bringing in a composting contractor next year, and also having Sodexo participate in a "real food calculation," which aims to quantify how much food at Brandeis is "local, fair, humane, [and] ecologically sound." Chen said that, following a meeting with head of procurement services John Storti, she was optimistic about future implementation of an email notification system for items received at the mailroom and that renovations to the mailroom would take place by next academic year. Tran announced that Zivwoodstock would be held April 25 during the day. Foster Mods Senator Haley Orlofsky '14 announced that Modfest would be held on the same date, but during the night. Franco also announced that she, along with a team of other senators, would be forming a committee for the academic calendar, to explore the possibility of adjusting absence policies or days off for religious holidays. -Tate Herbert
(03/04/14 5:00am)
A teaser for a Forum article stated the incorrect page. The article was on page 11, not page 12. (Feb. 11, p. 1) The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Email editor@thejustice.org.
(03/04/14 5:00am)
This week, the Brandeis chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine will host Israel Apartheid Week-a week that is designed to highlight the ongoing issues between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. SJP initiated the series of events last night with a presentation from controversial author and journalist Max Blumenthal. In an interview with the Justice, SJP member Guy Mika '17 said that the purpose of Israel Apartheid Week is to "bring the Palestinian narrative to campus." The Israel Apartheid Week movement is a national organization that has promoted Israel Apartheid Week since 2004, according to the movement's website. When asked why SJP decided to host a week of their own, Mika said that the group "feels that whenever Palestinians are represented on campus" they are "viewed through the lens of Israel, which inherently dehumanizes them and silences their stories." The current iteration of Israel Apartheid Week is the second SJP has hosted on campus, the first occurring in 2012. The group was not able to host a week last year "due to organizational problems," according to Joey Morris '14, a member of SJP. He also told the Justice that SJP decided not to have an executive board this semester, and cited the efforts of multiple club members in the organization of this year's event. When asked about the use of the term "apartheid," Mika said that SJP believes it is "an appropriate term to describe what is happening in Israel and Palestine." He further stated that SJP acknowledges that Palestinians are treated differently in Israel and the alleged occupied territories, classifying the two as reminiscent of "the racism of the United States around the time of the Civil Rights Movement" and "the apartheid of South Africa." Jewish student groups on campus have reacted to the term "apartheid" in varying ways. Catie Stewart '16, president of J Street U Brandeis, told the Justice that she believes apartheid is a very divisive term. When asked what J Street U Brandeis' official stance on Israel Apartheid Week is, Stewart said that while the group's members "share the concerns of many members of SJP about the continuation of the occupation," the group does not believe that "characterizing Israel as an apartheid state is either accurate or productive towards a solution." The term apartheid is "entirely false when it comes to describing life in Israel and Israeli policy," according to Daniel Koas '15, president of the Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee. In an email to the Justice, Koas said that "all citizens of Israel are fully equal under the law" and that Israel is the "exact opposite of the institutional, discriminatory system of actual apartheid that was in effect in South Africa." Daniel Mael '15, co-president of the Students for Accuracy about Israeli and Palestinian Affairs, said in a phone interview with the Justice that Israel Apartheid Week was "intellectually dishonest" and what he called 'Israel Hate Week' "hides behind smoke and mirrors when it is plainly Jew hatred." Mael also stated that there are "productive avenues to explore" in the conversation of furthering human rights of both Palestinians and Israelis but "supporting anti-Semitism is not an acceptable means of solving the issue." Israel Apartheid Week was mired in controversy though before it began. Last Monday, SJP member Aya Abdelaziz '16 created a Facebook event for the week. Within a few hours, according to Morris, the event's administrators were "bombarded with offensive messages" and "personal attacks against specific group members, which were very Islamophobic and racist." Eventually, this led the event's administrators to limit the commenting ability of guests attending the event. "I was very offended by what I saw," Stewart told the Justice. "I'm deeply disappointed in my campus, and we just don't have productive dialogue around this issue, in part because of SJP and because of people to the right of us [J Street U Brandeis]." What was interesting about this, according to Mika, was that "all of the worst offenders were not Brandeis students." Some of these profiles were "ghost people," according to Morris, who were only Facebook friends with each other. The Brandeis Israel Apartheid Week began in earnest with a speech by Blumenthal, a prominent author and journalist who has written extensively about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It will continue with a discussion about the word "apartheid" on Wednesday, a screening of the film Voices Across the Divide on Thursday and a peace vigil for Palestinians in the Yarmouk Camp on Friday. Blumenthal's presence on campus has also generated controversy. In his latest book, Blumenthal "used comparisons of Israel to Nazi Germany," according to Stewart, which were "offensive to many people." Thus, at the event yesterday, Blumenthal talked about the conditions for Palestinians and Sudanese refugees on the ground behind Israeli lines. He related the story of a 17-year-old Palestinian living in the Arab-Israeli city of Lod. "When he was in school, the Palestinian youth was told by his principal, 'Do not go home because your house is being destroyed,'" Blumenthal said. Blumenthal said that when he was in Israel, he saw "an entire neighborhood reduced to rubble in a core Israeli city" because the Palestinian residents had done construction without a permit. He said that when the residents discovered that he was a reporter, they told him that they wanted protection from the United Nations and that "this is worse than the Gaza strip." African immigrants face similar discrimination, Blumenthal said. According to the Times of Israel, the Blumenthal also discussed former Israel Defence Force spokesperson Miri Regev's controversial remark that "the Sudanese are a cancer in our body" during a rally protesting the rising crime rate in Tel Aviv. Blumenthal said that rally ended up launching a riot, which was, according to Blumenthal, "barely reported" despite "hundreds of right-wing thugs and vandals attacking any African business they could find." Blumenthal further stated that he called the chapter in which he discussed this riot "the night of broken glass," referencing the night when members of the Nazi Party rioted in the streets and looted hundreds of Jewish owned businesses and synagogues before World War II. The author said that he did not reference this tragic moment in Jewish history out of reverence for the Jewish people who lived through it, but because, for him, the lesson of the Holocaust "is not never again to Jews, it's never again to anyone." Luky Guigui '14, who attended the event, brought to Blumenthal's attention the fact that there were Arab representatives currently in the Israeli parliament and asked the reporter to comment on that. Blumenthal responded by talking about the former nation of Rhodesia. Rhodesia, like South Africa, was governed by a white minority. Blumenthal discussed in particular how Rhodesia had Africans in its government, "but [the white minority] made sure [the black Africans] did not get enough representation to impact the actual policies of the state" instead making them symbolic representatives. The reporter related this to the representatives of Arabs in the Israeli parliament. Israel Apartheid Week has also drawn national attention to Brandeis, through the responses of certain students to the event. Joshua Nass '14, chief executive officer and founder of Voices of Conservative Youth, recently attacked the national Israel Apartheid Week movement for featuring him in a trailer advertising the week. In the trailer for Israel Apartheid Week, Nass was seen to be nodding his head in agreement with a statement about the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement-an endeavor to pressure the Israeli government with nonviolent means-and seemingly giving his support to the movement. In an interview with the Justice, Nass said that the trailer was "blatantly inaccurate." In response to this trailer, Nass put out an offer via several news outlets. His offer stipulated that if the person who published the trailer would debate him at a public forum of his choosing, he would pay $5,000 of his personal money to a mutually agreed-upon charity. The national movement would also have to retract the trailer and issue a public apology along with the debate. On Friday afternoon, when Nass tried to access the trailer, the host website stated that it had been "removed by the user." By Saturday night, there was a new video uploaded which did not include Nass. When asked about the video's removal, Nass told the Justice that "the fact that they did this, silently as if it would go unnoticed, is telling of [the leadership of the national Israel Apartheid movement's] tactics, and that they themselves don't have the courage in their convictions to defend their behavior." -Kathryn Brody contributed reporting
(03/04/14 5:00am)
About 15 students convened outside the Bernstein-Marcus Administration Center to protest high tuition costs and the University's compensation practices on Thursday, Feb. 13. Amid winter storm conditions, protesters held signs saying "Blatant Inequality," "Education minus Capitalism is Equality" and "Where's the 'social justice' in Jehuda's 4.9 Million," while shouting chants like "Fair Pay Today" and "Freeze Tuition." Last November, an article in the Boston Globe highlighting University President Emeritus Jehuda Reinharz's salary and benefits sparked concern and outrage over administrative compensation at Brandeis. Reinharz, who served as University president from 1994 to 2011, has received $4.1 million in deferred compensation and $811,000 in untaken sabbatical payments as of Jan. 2, according to a Jan. 23 BrandeisNOW press release. Reinharz, who earned about $300,000 annually in 2012 and 2013, will hold the title of president emeritus through June and earn $160,000 for that position. After June, he will serve as a half-time professor and make $180,000 a year. In response to student concern, the University also announced that the Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to release information about senior administrative compensation and accept feedback about executive compensation in the future. "We were motivated to organize the protest because after the 'budget transparency' was released by the administration, we felt as though not enough was being done in terms of speaking out against the executive pay," wrote Aaren Weiner '16, one of the organizers of the protest, in an email to the Justice. "It is one thing for students to complain but it is another for them to feel empowered and act upon those feelings." Elaine Mancini '16, another protest organizer, wrote in an email to the Justice that "there were grievences [sic] against the feeling that Reinharz and [University President Frederick]Lawrence are essentially 'stealing our money,' and of the injustice regarding what the lowest paid worker on campus receives versus executive pay. "There were many cries for Brandeis to provide the lowest paid worker with a real living wage," wrote Mancini. "And of course there were comments on Reinharz's long awaited text on donkeys." According to Weiner, she and Mancini met with Dean of Students Jamele Adams before the protest to discuss the nature of it The Rights and Responsibilities Handbook states that anyone who plans to organize a protest or demonstration must notify the "Senior Student Affairs Officer or designee," who "may instruct organizers regarding the guidelines for such activity." "[Adams] gave us the administration's full support, showed us where the protest was to happen specifically, and let us know that we could talk to him if we needed anything," Weiner wrote. According to both Mancini and Weiner, the response to the protest has been mostly positive, particularly from other students. "We received encouragement from most passersby who verbally responded. A few students came over and said that they would like to attend if another protest was organized in the future," wrote Mancini. "I only recall one person with a negative reaction, but their comment didn't seem very well thought out, and therefore I won't bother trying to repeat it." According to Weiner, the administration has not been in contact with the group of students who organized the protest since it occurred. In an email the Justice, Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid wrote that the administration and Student Union are planning a forum "where concerns can be heard." The Student Union Senate announced a tentative date of March 13 at 5 p.m. at a location that has yet to be determined. "I can tell you that the administration supports students' right to protest. The culture of Brandeis University encourages debate, discussion and a frank exchange of conflicting views," wrote de Graffenreid in her email. "Student protests have been an important part of the University's commitment to free speech and expression since Brandeis' founding." According to Weiner, more demonstrations will be held in the future, though "nothing specific has been planned as of yet." -Rachel Hughes contributed reporting
(02/04/14 5:00am)
Did you know that tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and death in the United States? The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that tobacco use causes over 440,000 deaths in the United States each year; that's more deaths than those from HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries and firearm-related injuries combined. Did you also know that secondhand smoke is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a Class A Carcinogen, just like asbestos? Or that, according to the CDC, it causes thousands of deaths each year, in healthy non-smokers, from lung cancer and heart disease? The CDC also says that there is no risk-free exposure to secondhand smoke; even a brief exposure can be harmful to health, and nonsmokers who breathe secondhand smoke are breathing in the same carcinogens that smokers are. At least 250 chemicals in secondhand smoke are known to be toxic or carcinogenic. Those are some pretty significant statistics, and I think it is critical that Brandeis respond with a change in its current policy regarding smoking on campus. After reading about e-cigarettes in the Justice Forum on Jan. 14, "To Combat New E-Cigarettes, Inform Public About Smoking Facts," I thought it was important for the Brandeis student body to know what Colleges Against Cancer is working on. Some of you may have heard about our Smoke(less) Initiative. CAC is pushing forward a policy change that would create designated smoking areas on the Brandeis campus, in place of the current rule allowing smoking anywhere 30 feet from a building. Last spring, CAC sent out a survey on the current smoking policy, and suggested making a change; 1,006 undergraduates responded, and 73 percent said that they supported prohibiting smoking on campus, with the exception of designated smoking areas. The specifics of these designated smoking areas, including location and structure, will ultimately be up to the administration and feedback from students. CAC hopes that over time, given the data from organizations such as the CDC, Brandeis will transition to a completely smoke-free campus. This is the only way to truly eliminate secondhand smoke. The 30-feet policy is simply ineffective. It was brought into being by the hard work of a since-graduated CAC member, and while it was definitely a step forward for the campus, we realize now that it needs to be updated. The rule fails to protect non-smokers from secondhand smoke; for example, even if a smoker is standing 30 feet from a doorway, someone who wishes to enter the building often has to pass through a cloud of smoke to do so. One can imagine other problematic situations as well, such a walking behind a smoker on a path to class. In each situation, the concern stems from the fact the secondhand smoke is a public health hazard; we wish to eliminate this harmful exposure. CAC, as an American Cancer Society organization, strongly supports quitting smoking. There are multiple resources on campus to help and we encourage smokers to take advantage of them. The Golding Health Center already has programs in place through Lauren Grover, the alcohol and other drug counselor, and as the Smoke(less) Initiative moves forward, CAC is planning on working closer to help develop even more resources. For the past two years at the Great American Smoke Out, we worked in conjunction with Diana Denning, nurse practitioner at the Health Center, to provide information and resources for smokers interested in quitting. Again, we encourage smokers to use these resources, and if this new policy is enacted, CAC will work closely with the Health Center to develop even more programs. There are currently 1,182 colleges in the United States that are completely smoke-free. We have researched some of the local colleges, like Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Cape Cod Community College, Westfield State University and Bridgewater State University; all seem to rely on community enforcement of their policy. Essentially, this means that students are encouraged to enforce the policy themselves, either through words or through reporting offenders via an established email system. The same holds for faculty and staff. These colleges also have specific committees that oversee compliance and discipline for repeated offenders. Many of them have just enacted their new smoke-free policies, and as such, CAC will be contacting them to monitor their successes and hopefully gain some valuable feedback, insights that will make for a smoother Brandeis transition to a smoke-free campus. This isn't just a trend in the United States, either; it is becoming an international one. With smoking and secondhand smoke clearly linked to disease and poor health, even nations with a large smoking culture, such as China, are seeing this connection and banning smoking indoors. Many countries, including Australia, Canada, Singapore and Thailand, now also have smoke-free outdoor areas. Brandeis has always prided itself in being on the forefront of new ideas; it is time to join this global campaign. I believe that, given the clear health concerns demonstrated by secondhand smoke (noted by the CCD, American Cancer Society and other organizations), the overall goal for Brandeis should be to become a completely smoke-free campus: CAC is proposing that we take a step towards this goal by transitioning into designated smoking areas, as the undergraduate population seems to support. It's time for us to move forward and create a healthier campus environment, one that reduces (and eventually eliminates) secondhand smoke. CAC has approached the Brandeis Student Union about this issue, but they have failed to vote on it. Please contact your senators and other campus representatives and tell them how you feel about this new smoke-free trend both in the United States and worldwide, especially how it should apply to Brandeis. -Editor's Note: Elizabeth Allen '14 is the president of Brandeis University's chapter of Colleges Against Cancer.
(02/04/14 5:00am)
A photograph in News incorrectly identified the student featured. Maddie Sullivan '16 was pictured, not Alyssa Fenenbock '15. (Jan. 28, p. 1) An article in News incorrectly stated the number of community members who signed the executive compensation online petition. The petition had nearly 1,700 signatures as of press time, not 1,600. (Jan. 28, p. 1) An article in News misspelled Dor Cohen's '16 name. (Jan. 28, p. 3) An article in News failed to recognize Lori Lowenthal Marcus '80 as an alumna. (Jan. 28, p. 3) An article in News did not mention Brandon Odze '16, the other candidate for Rosenthal Senator. His name was not included in the list of candidates provided to the Justice. (Jan. 28, p. 4) A visual timeline in News should have provided Campus Operations as the source. (Jan. 28, p. 7) A Forum article should have clarified that Hailey Magee '15 is currently studying abroad in Washington, D.C . (Jan. 28, p. 12) * The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Email editor@thejustice.org.
(01/28/14 5:00am)
Students and scholars came together to tackle the conversation about issues facing Israel and its future at the second annual Brandeis Visions for Israel in an Evolving World Conference this past Sunday. While a variety of issues were raised and discussed during panels, speeches and breakout discussions, both the opening and closing keynote speakers focused on conversations regarding Zionism.
(01/20/14 5:00am)
"No meaningful discussion, about any topic, can occur without accurate facts and appropriate context." This is part of the mission statement of the Students for Accuracy about Israeli and Palestinian Affairs, a student organization that was approved to become a chartered campus club on Dec. 8, 2013. The club was founded by Daniel Mael '15, Guy Morag '17 and Ari Givner '17. SAIPA's core mission is to expose media manipulation in order to further establish campus event accuracy by attending campus-sponsored events. SAIPA then issues a report on the event with the intention of holding campus speakers accountable to any misinformation they may have shared. "This will change the nature of Middle-East affairs discussions because when people know they are being monitored they are much less likely to present their opinions as facts." Morag noted in an e-mail to the Justice. "We always want to make sure that everyone has a fair chance to explore the issues from a factual perspective. Brandeis is a perfect climate to debut a club like this because there are so many groups that care about it," Mael said. Mael, Morag and Givner had been talk for a long time about starting a group that exposes media manipulation. Mael explained that they reached their tipping point at a Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee event in which there was conflict between certain campus groups over facts and definitions. Brandeis already has several clubs that are involved in the Israeli and Palestinian debate. "We felt that every group that was talking about the Israeli conflict, [on campus] was an interest group," Mael said. "We are simply trying to make sure that students have a fair shot at that facts ... [and] can form their own opinion afterward," Mael said. SAIPA hosted an event on Oct. 29, in which it brought in guest speaker Sgt. Benjamin Anthony, an Israeli Defense Force combat veteran. "He was explicitly clear that this is his narrative, and that it did not represent what our organization thinks. We believe that it is important that we hear varying perspectives and give them a forum to speak," Mael said. The event was hosted in conjunction with the Brandeis Libertarian Conservative Union and the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America. Mael indicated that the group hosted the event as a way of raising visibility for SAIPA in their early stages, but that going forward, SAIPA will focus on exposing media manipulation and ensuring the accuracy of campus events hosted by other groups. On Nov. 12, Neil Hertz, professor emeritus at John Hopkins University, gave a presentation called "Pastoral in Palestine." The University and six other campus organizations sponsored the event. SAIPA attended and wrote a report following the presentation. "[Hertz] supported boycott divestment and sanction movement in his question-answer session. That is his opinion and SAIPA made no mention of that in our report." Mael said. "What we did make a mention of was that he said that excavating the city of David was a private-public joint venture in displacing Palestinians from East Jerusalem ... [describing what] is in the Jewish tradition a very significant place as simply a venture in displacing Palestinians is misleading to the community." SAIPA has not been well-received by all campus clubs that deal with Israeli and Palestinian affairs. "My question for those that oppose us or have problems with SAIPA is why is a group that is oriented to find the truth problematic? It should be no problem that a set of students have come together to try to ensure that an objective truth is presented," said Mael. Responding to the club's mission and activities thus far, J Street U Brandeis Co-president Catie Stewart '16 stated in an e-mail to the Justice that "[W]hile interrogating assumptions and perspectives is a value we share with SAIPA, we believe that no group is truly apolitical or 'objective' and we would hope that the organization is frank about their own political motivations." J Street U is a self described "pro-Israel, pro-peace organization advocating for a two-state solution." Anyone, despite their stance on Israel, is welcome to join the club. "I don't know many people who are happy to have others monitoring their work and then finding their biases published online for the world to see. With that said, we have encouraged members of all organizations on campus to join us," Morag noted. SAIPA plans to extend their "pro-truth, pro-honesty" agenda through a monthly or biweekly publication where they can share the perspective from two sides. "I think that's very unique because when someone actually has to articulate a thought on writing, you would hope they bring their best honesty and most well thought out ideas," said Mael. "If one student can be positively impacted and have a little bit better understanding of media manipulation and fact manipulation I think we've done a good job," Mael said.
