(09/16/08 4:00am)
Students gathered to commemorate the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001 during a memorial service in the Shapiro Art Gallery last Thursday.The service was an open forum moderated by Father Walter Cuenin, the Catholic Chaplain on campus. Ryan McElhaney '10, the co-coordinator of diversity and social programming, planned and moderated the event with the help and approval of Student Union. Jason Gray '10, the Student Union president, also helped moderate the event and explained, "I think people should share why it was important to have the opportunity to remember, commemorate, and express themselves and to know that Sept. 11 is a special day to pray and reflect."Father Cuenin began by telling the students that the events of Sept. 11 should "remind us how complicated the world is." Cuenin spoke about the difficulty of remembering such a tragic day but also about the importance of what we learn by remembering. He explained that by remembering events like Sept. 11, we can learn about the need to repair the world.Students told their personal stories about how they learned of the attack on Sept. 11, as well as their fears at the time. The one-hour forum allowed students to share their political thoughts on government policy before and after Sept. 11 and discuss the impact the event had on the nation and the world. Julion Olidort '11 shared his father's incredible survival story, detailing his escape after the first plane crashed.Olidort said, "My father was in the building in the second tower and worked on the 92nd floor." Olidort explained that his father is an engineer, so he understood the structure and design of the building. "He saw the fire in the first building and walked down to the 65th floor. [The 65th] floor was one of the highest floors that survived. He knew the building wouldn't stand for another 10 minutes, because he knew the stairwell was the central structure of both the towers. . He made it down the stairs and left the area to go and call my family."The event was publicized through a campuswide e-mail sent the day of the event. The event was attended by only eight students, but McElhaney said he was not deterred:"The number of people who attend is less important than the value of the time for the people who do come. That is to say, if only one person comes and that one person is better off in some way, then the 'forum' is successful in my mind."Olidort said, "I think an event like this is very important because it brings awareness to a national day of mourning. It should be commemorated." Gray said, "I think that it is important for all of us to remember how tragic Sept. 11 was and continues to be. We need to continue to keep the event that happened in our thoughts and prayers.
(09/16/08 4:00am)
One of Brandeis' numerous trademarks is its desire for diversity in our histories, our nationalities and our interests. And the latter shows itself in the great variety of clubs that are available to the student populace. This semester, several students have brought forth a new collection of groups that will unite students from all points on the spectrum and educate us on everything from fashion to Buddhism.The Floor is LavaIf you've read The Blowfish as of late, you may already be familiar with The Floor is Lava on account of their recently published plea in the aforementioned paper for "those boots Link gets when he gets to the fire temple." However, contrary to what name and supposed needs may imply, The Floor is Lava isn't a club dedicated to coalwalking so much as it is Brandeis' newest comedy troupe. The FL first manifested in the minds of founder Matt Hope '09 and his fellow organizers Shaked Hoter '09 and Will Friedman '09 during their sophomore year, but the group has only recently begun putting on shows. This past year, the FL's members kicked off their first season and ever since have enjoyed "bringing many different people together in one space to relax, laugh, and enjoy themselves," Hope wrote in an e-mail.Hope-who has spent considerable time in several of Brandeis' other comedy groups and believes that "being in several comedy groups is not mutually exclusive at all"-had a distinctive sort of humor in mind when he formed the FL."The Floor is Lava is different from other comedy groups on campus for two reasons: We perform a [unique] style of comedy, and our structure is also [atypical]. We do sketch comedy which is different from the many wonderful improvisational groups on campus in that all of our jokes are written down into a script before the show. . We do long-form sketch, which is comedy written as an episode or mini-theater performance with plot to go along with the jokes," Hope said. Other aspects of FL that make the troupe unique are its aversion to the audition process and its inclusion of guest stars in every episode .However, although the FL doesn't conducting tryouts, those of you who would like to be a part of this clan should not be discouraged; the FL does take on new members, just sans the traditional screening process. Fashion Design ClubWhen Aimy Tsao '10 was six years old, her mother showed her how to sew on a button. Ever since, Tsao has been interested in needlework and fashion, collecting Neiman Marcus catalogs and designing her own clothing. And when Tsao met another student who shared her interest in fashion, Maya Siegel '10, she decided it was time to form a club dedicated to clothing design. "I wrote a constitution for a fashion design club over a year ago and didn't do anything with it until I met [Siegel], who wanted to start one too. We just thought that there was enough interest in such a club and there wasn't anything like it at Brandeis yet. . At Brandeis, I [felt] that opportunities for students interested in fashion design [were] limited to costume design for theater productions." However, with the Fashion Design Club, Tsao hopes to provide a haven for those "who share a common interest so that we can learn together and learn from each other. The club will be a resource for anyone who needs access to sewing machines and fashion design textbooks, which aren't easily available on campus." And one need not have previous experience with a needle to stop by one of the meetings; anyone is welcome to stop by. At present, Tsao says, meetings are primarily informal gatherings. "People can just stop by and work on their projects, and we'll probably have Project Runway playing in the background. I think members should feel free to suggest projects, so we'll work on whatever people are interested in. That could be anything from hand-sewing, dyeing, patternmaking, [to] fashion illustration."More elaborate outings are also being planned to supplement the FDC's meetings. For example, Tsao is currently arranging a field trip to the Natick Collection in order to view an exhibit by students from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.In the future, Tsao and Siegel also hope to offer inexpensive tailoring services to students who can't (or won't) darn their own socks, hem their own jeans and the like. On a grander scale, Tsao would like the FDC to work with SEA during its eco-friendly fashion show and for the FDC to host its own fashion show in the spring. Film ClubAlthough there is a club dedicated to the production of movies, prior to the introduction of the Film Club there was no forum in which students could discuss this particular medium on a regular basis.Denisse Dubrovsky '10 has taken it upon herself to fill that void by launching the Film Club, an organization that is dedicated to uniting "film lovers and admirers on campus . [and providing] an excuse to watch films and find people who are similarly interested, discuss movements, theories, ideas, images, possibilities. Interested people should come-interest is the only [criterion]."A lover of the movie medium, Dubrovsky believes that one's interest in film is a clear reflection of one's personality and personal growth."Movies are inseparable from memories of childhood and Disney princesses-there is just one year when we grow up and realize movies are something to talk about, something to get excited about, something that can be intellectual. And then there's that age when your parents actually let you watch the good movies, and you get what the characters are talking about,"?Dubrovsky writes. She likens film to books, in that with both one "can escape into beautiful intricacies of dialogue." Dubrovsky isn't looking to produce her own movies ("I'd rather bide my time and simply enjoy what masters have achieved before me and wax poetic about their efforts"), and thus the purpose of her brainchild pertains more "to [increasing] awareness of theoretical and aesthetic aspects of film." "By exposing students to the world of film through philosophical, psychological and conceptual perspectives, the club hopes to increase awareness of the complexities and histories of the classics."Soka GakkaiThe Brandeis branch of Soka Gakkai International is part of the effort by Kathleen Fischman '10 and Miriam von Guggenberg '10 to bring Nichiren Buddhism to the campus' student body. Nichiren Buddhism, explains Fischman, is named for the 13th-century Buddhist monk Nichiren Daishonin. Daishonin studied the lessons of the Buddha and found that the Lotus Sutra held his essential teachings, as "this sutra declared that all people have the potential to attain enlightenment in this lifetime," Fischman says. "Nichiren established the practice of chanting 'Nam myoho renge kyo,' the title of the Lotus Sutra, in order to raise one's [quality of life] and attain enlightenment." Essentially, Nichiren Buddhists believe that by chanting and studying Buddhism they can cultivate wisdom and compassion, thus realizing their own potential for enlightenment and changing their karma while helping others to become happy.Fischman herself has personally practiced Buddhism for eight years and believes the practice has helped her achieve goals and overcome obstacles in addition to reshaping the way she sees her life and the world. "For example," Fischman says, "the [Buddhist concept] of turning poison into medicine has taught me not to avoid my problems but to challenge them and view them as an opportunity to learn from them and become stronger."With SG, Fischman and von Guggenberg hope to find other students with whom to study Buddhist texts and share daily struggles and victories and explore how they relate to Buddhism. Of course, SG also exists as a means by which to educate other students on the practices and various sects of Buddhism, and Fischman anticipates that film screenings and exhibits meant to expose more of the student body to Buddhism will be forthcoming. Brandeis HumanistsJoyce Wang '10 and Tom Charging Hawk '10 were inspired to start their own secular community after attending the New Humanist Conference at Harvard last year. The event, which was staged to celebrate the 30 years the Humanist Chaplaincy had existed at the university, produced the Brandeis Humanists, an organization dedicated "to offer[ing] an alternative point of view to students, besides that of religious organizations," Wang said. "Brandeis is quite diverse religiously, and we have plenty of organizations devoted to that, but before us, there was no group devoted to a secular way of life," says Wang. "The idea of a secular existence is very powerful to me, because it makes the life I have that much more valuable, knowing it is the only one I have. I think some people have this belief that atheism has to be this negative meaningless thing, and it doesn't. It just means that there's no inherent meaning in life; you have to create it."Wang and Charging Hawk have made great strides in introducing humanism to Brandeis even before bringing the BH to fruition as a resource; last year they brought to campus Greg Epstein, the current humanist chaplain of Harvard, as their first guest speaker. Epstein's lecture was followed by a visit from philosopher/novelist Rebecca Goldstein for the event "Morality Without God." Lori Lipman Brown, the only secular lobbyist for Congress, also came to campus at the behest of Wang and Charging Hawk.The BH hopes to continue the trend this year with more speakers and events, including, Wang hopes, a debate with the Chabad/Christian Fellowship in October.
(09/16/08 4:00am)
An article in News said Prof. Nagmeh Sohrabi (HIST) referred to the traditionalist's view of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in her speech, but she was actually talking about the view of people on the traditional right. (Sept. 2, p. 1)Due to an editing error, the Senate Log incorrectly reported on Students for Environmental Action's communication to the Senate. The representatives said that should the University enact a policy to reduce water bottles on campus, water bottles would still be available in key locations such as the P.O.D. Market. (Sept. 9, p.2)A letter to the editor in the Forum section spelled Prof. Mary Baine Campbell's name incorrectly. Campbell is also a faculty member in the English Department, not the Journalism Department. (Sept. 9, p. 11)An article in Sports misstated Patrick Metelus' '09 position on the roster of the men's soccer team. He has been playing midfield this season. (Sept 9, p. 16) An article in Sports misidentified the cause of Sofia Vallone's '11 leg injury, saying "the injury occurred when Vallone lost her balance." She actually suffered the injury after being tackled by a defender on the University of Massachusetts at Boston team (Sept. 9, p. 13) The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. E-mail abergman@brandeis.edu.
(09/16/08 4:00am)
Senator for the Class of 2010 Paul Balik said a Web-based service for bicycle rentals on campus looked promising. Senator for the Class of 2011 Lev Hirschhorn reported that the Queer Resource Center was urging the Social Justice Committee to look into recently reported delays in the implementation of gender-neutral housing. Senator for the Class of 2009 and chair of the Club Support Committee Sung Lo Yoon said he wanted to enforce a 10-week trial period for newly accredited clubs.Union President Jason Gray '10 reported that Union Director for Executive Affairs Jessica Blumberg '09 will supervise University committees to ensure they coordinate advocacy with the Senate and the Executive Board and meet regularly. The Senate confirmed all student representatives appointed to the committees. The Senate reconfirmed Laura Cohen '09 as director of the Student Union's Office of Student Conduct Advisors. Gray reported that he and Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer would co-chair a committee to examine areas of campus life. Gray reported that tentative speakers for the Union's Election forum on economics and environmentalism would be Prof. Anita Hill (Heller), Dean of the Heller School Lisa Lynch and Dean of the International Business School Bruce Magid. He reported that he would be meeting this week with Etta King '09 to discuss creating an Activist Resource Center. In response to a question from Senator-at-Large Justin Sulsky '09, Gray said he appointed Dayna Basri '11 and Sofya Bronshvayg '11 to assist the E-Board in day-to-day affairs. The Senate recognized Students For Shulman. Dennis Shulman '72 is an alumnus of Brandeis who is running for United States Congress. The club intends to reach out to potential constituents through phone banking and other efforts. The Senate chartered the Gastronomy Society, which is dedicated to the art and science and fine dining. The Gastronomy Society wants to teach people how to appreciate food rather than how to prepare it.The Swimming Club was recognized but not chartered.
(09/09/08 4:00am)
It is "very likely" that there will be some form of gender-neutral housing at Brandeis next fall, according to Residence Life's Associate Director for Operations and Assignments Jeremy Leiferman.Last March, former Director of Residence Life Rich DeCapua stated that the Department of Residence Life aimed to implement a gender-neutral housing policy, which would allow for mixed-gender rooms after the first two weeks of the fall semester, which would have started this past Monday Sept. 8, the day the housing freeze ended. However, Leiferman said that after the housing freeze, a two-week period at the beginning of the year during which students cannot switch rooms, students will still not be able to switch into mixed-gender rooms. According to Leiferman, ResLife still needs to look at all aspects of this policy, including floor designations, room designations, bathrooms and the structures of the buildings, before it can draft a policy. Since Brandeis already allows for mixed-gender suites, the policy's "focus will be on our corridor-style areas, so places like the Village and East, I think, will be the likely targets for implementation," said Leiferman. ResLife has not yet determined what gender-neutral housing will specifically be like, but it will most likely not be open to first-year students, Leiferman continued."Brandeis has a unique mixed interest because there's as much interest in gender-neutral housing as there is in maintaining single-gender housing. In the last few years, we've actually added more single-gender floors at the request of students," said Leiferman, who added that ResLife aims to make students as comfortable as possible with regard to housing. This year, according to Leiferman, ResLife will work on educating the Brandeis community about gender-neutral housing. "At this point, we are at a place where we need to spend some time doing some education with the community . so that everyone kind of has a really good understanding of what the issues are, what the needs are, why this needs to happen," he said.According to Student Union President Jason Gray '10, "The Social Justice Committee pushed for it last year, and there's no real opposition to this policy. This semester, I'm on the same page as ResLife in that we both understand the importance of educating the community on any type of policy change." Gray added, "We're forming the Residence Life University committee within the next week, and one of the things they'll be doing is providing student feedback to ResLife on [gender-neutral housing] and other policies."Leiferman also said that ResLife will gather student input over the next few months by working with organizations like the GLBTQ alliance Triskelion, TransBrandeis and the Student Union Residence Life Committee, in addition to University administration and Community Advisors. ResLife will also conduct programs and forums with students and staff, he said. These programs will educate students, faculty and staff regarding gender-neutral housing and will gather input from the Brandeis community to help determine how best to implement the policy. "There's no longer a need to push the idea; the issue is how to best implement the policy and how to best educate the community about its implementation," Gray said. For now, "if there are students who have concerns that relate to their gender identity and housing, we would be more than happy to have conversations with them and see how we can be helpful to them," Leiferman said. "That's always been the policy," continued.
(09/02/08 4:00am)
CORRECTION: A new version of this story has been posted due to a factual error. The Justice regrets the error.Faculty members discussed their research on the Middle Eastern economy and Iran's political situation at the Crown Center for Middle Eastern Studies' forum "What's Going on in the Middle East?" last Thursday.Director of the Crown Center Prof. Shai Feldman (POL) said the Crown Center was founded to prove the possibility of conducting "balanced and dispassionate research of the Middle East," even when most activities in that region are "imbalanced and passionate." One topic of interest researched at the Center is Iran's political climate. Deputy Director of the Crown Center Prof. Naghmeh Sohrabi (HIST) discussed how Iran is "very much in the throes of election fever." Sohrabi discussed current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's status as an outsider to the system of family and clerical connections and what this means for the upcoming 2009 election, in which he will run. Sohrabi said Ahmadinejad ran as an anti-establishment candidate in the past, and his disconnect from the clerics limits his interest in maintaining the status quo. Sohrabi also acknowledged that potential support from Iranian leaders may change Ahmadejinad's revolutionary rhetoric. Iranian Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made a statement recently in which he told Ahmadinejad to proceed as if he had four more years as president. While the statement could show signs of support, it could also be a push for Ahmadinejad to work hard in order to get re-elected, Sohrabi said.Prof. Nader Habibi (ECON) discussed his work on the history of economic developments in the Middle East after World War II.Habibi stressed that increasing oil revenue is a major factor in the recently improved economic situation in Middle Eastern countries.He said oil revenue has allowed countries to invest more and spend more money domestically. The increase in money has allowed for a cultural revolution in education with many more resources going toward higher education.Habibi said that some Gulf countries have started to use oil revenue to manufacture goods. While the region has experienced positive economic growth in the past five years, the future will only look good if oil prices stay high. Oil is a limited resource, so countries need to be careful with how they use it, Habibi said.Feldman closed the discussion with a synopsis of the Arab/Israeli conflict. He said the situation is "good" because a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, is "more or less holding" and a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is holding "in the narrow sense of the word." He said the situation is "not good" because the Bush administration is not pushing the involved parties hard enough to agree on negotiations and that "the bad guys are here to stay," referring to Islamic fundamentalist group Hezbollah's veto power in Lebanon and Hamas' control of Gaza. The forum also allowed for the professors to promote their classes.Prof. Larry Rubin (POL) discussed his fall course "Strategies of Islamic political activism in the Arab Middle East," which he said would focus on the political implications of various strategies groups pursue. In the original story Prof. Naghmeh Sohrabi was not identified as Deputy Director of the Crown Center. Sohrabi is a professor in the History department and is not affiliated with the NEJS department. She did not say that traditionalists see President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an agent of total destruction.
(08/26/08 4:00am)
There's a reason I snubbed every smug mug handing out Barack Obama pamphlets or inviting me to attend his talks. There's a reason I didn't jump on the Obama Obandwagon like most of my liberally-minded college compatriots. I am, at heart, a bitter skeptic. I don't believe in Santa Claus, I don't believe that all people are inherently good and, however much I really want to with every fiber of my being, I don't believe in Obama. I wanted to believe that he would stand his ground, defending his radically liberal ideas all the way to the White House. I wanted to see him rise above the petty squabbles and pandering, but watching Barack sitting with mega-church icon Pastor Rick Warren answering the question "What is your greatest moral failure?" I lost all hope. That seems an awful lot like pandering for someone who said he was going to rise above "old style politics."Yet my faith in Obama was shaken far before the Warren forum. It began with the Hillary-Obama slugfest that destroyed any faith I had left in the unity of the Democratic party. Then, in the time since Clinton's defeat, there have been shifts in his platform on issues like the Iraq War and oil drilling that lead me to doubt his commitment to change.Then there is the celebrity factor-the idea that Obama is winning on the strength of his persona. Republican nominee John McCain recently ran a tasteless and exaggerated ad comparing Obama to mainstream celebrities like Paris Hilton and was appropriately reprimanded by critics.Yet there is a disturbing grain of truth within that message. The American people are not known for their in-depth news examination. Too many citizens take what they hear and see on mainstream media outlets at face value. This plays right into Obama's strengths as a charismatic, well-rehearsed public speaker. The vast majority of people don't look far beyond this persona. I believe that if Obama is elected, it will not be testament to the merits of our political system, but rather to the power media holds over us. That's not to say that I support McCain. Far from it. Reasoning that having been a prisoner of war qualifies someone for office is like arguing that a Sept. 11 survivor is qualified to run an airline conglomerate. I will still cast my vote for Obama come election time, but it won't be because I believe in him; it will be because he isn't John McCain.
(08/26/08 4:00am)
When I was solicited to write an article for this issue's Forum section, I had no idea where to begin. Discussion of politics all too easily draws me into tired, inexpert rhetoric, and we've all had enough of the finer points of Barack Obama's appeal to the college student in any case. The latest scandal has yet to strike our campus, and I do not yet have a complaint with the administration that might provide some entertaining rant fodder. So, recursively, I put pen to paper on putting pen to paper.Since the end of last semester, I have been exchanging letters with friends-the first time in years that, unprompted by an essay exam, I have sat down to pen anything of length rather than simply dashing off an e-mail. And I have discovered-or, more accurately, rediscovered-an interesting quirk of the literally written word. When there is no "delete" key close at hand, when prose is splashed across the page in curls of ink in a person's own unique patterns, the process of recording thought gains a sort of indelible, organic truth that typing lacks.Even if a page is shredded and a letter restarted, the intemperate expression that perhaps prompted the abandonment of the first attempt remains in the evidence of the crumpled paper. Every slip of the pen, spelling error or lapse in logic persists, even after corrections have been implemented and final drafts drawn up.This, combined with the fact that any editing requires considerably more effort than the perfunctory tap of a backspace, encourages a deeper level of personal commitment than the typical word-processed document. Thoughts must be weighed more carefully before their recording on paper. They flow more honestly and freely to the page than when typed in a stilting staccato to appear on a computer screen.I kept a trip journal this summer in a location that lacked electricity, so, by necessity as well as inclination, I wrote with a pen. I noticed the same not-altogether-unpleasant uncertainty of letter-writing-constantly risking absurdity in a medium through which the self-conscious crossing-out of embarrassing errors and trite or too-true phrases remains glaringly and almost mockingly as evidence. I say this is not altogether unpleasant because when reading a journal entry or one of those letters written by a dear friend, the words possess a palpable humanity that all but the choicest e-mails lack.And so I write this article by hand, confronting in rewrites and strikethroughs in my third-grader's scrawl, my unconscious tendency to overuse alliteration and my knack for coming off as horribly pompous. This may well be the last sample of handwriting I execute for some time; e-mail is deliciously speedy and convenient, and nobody in his right mind would shy from directly typing papers in the midst of a deluge of classwork.But the aforementioned humanity of the handwritten is word too beguiling for me to give up writing letters. I will never attain the skill of a Sir Philip Sidney or a T.S. Eliot or any other author who has delighted us with a mastery of the personal missive.This is immaterial, though, because I do not need their unearthly talent to see the greater truth evident in a letter that contains mistakes, difficult-to-decipher words and a gush of ideas that, for better or worse, were committed to paper inexcisably through a pen warmed by the hand of a friend. Nor do you.
(08/26/08 4:00am)
Correction: A new version of this story has been posted due to a factual error. The Justice regrets the error.Daniel Ortner '10 is allowed back on campus for the fall semester and is awaiting disciplinary action after allegedly assaulting an Aramark employee at the C-store last May. Ortner was not permitted on campus over the summer.Ortner, a former Forum editor at the Justice, was neither charged nor arrested, but settled the case with Aramark Assistant Food Services Director Jessica Hill before a scheduled June 4 hearing in Waltham's district court. Hill pressed charges four days after the incident, Ortner's lawyer Sam Goldberg told the Justice in May.Ortner, Goldberg and Hill reached an agreement that "the matter had been blown out of proportion and that resolution without involving the criminal justice system was the most appropriate solution," Goldberg wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. The details of the settlement are confidential, Goldberg wrote. "I do not expect any further legal action taken toward [Ortner]," he continued. Although legal charges have been dropped, Ortner will face University disciplinary review at an as-yet undetermined date. Director of Student Development and Conduct Erika Lamarre would not comment specifically on Ortner's case but said, "Our [disciplinary] proceeding is independent of criminal proceedings." Section 19.1 of the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook says that students in violation of the handbook will be contacted to schedule a meeting with an administrator and will then receive written charges. "The student may accept responsibility and choose administrative action or may accept or deny responsibility and request a hearing before the University Board on Student Conduct," the handbook reads. If Ortner sits before the UBSC he will be permitted to appoint an adviser affiliated with the school. He is not permitted to have a lawyer present as there are no legal charges against him. Ortner is currently registered in the University and living on campus. "I missed out over the summer. I missed Brandeis," he said.Correction: The article originally stated that Ortner attended a June 4 hearing in Waltham's District Court. That hearing never took place.
(08/26/08 4:00am)
In preparation for the upcoming presidential election, the Student Union will collaborate with other campus departments and organizations on an initiative called Brandeis Votes, a nonpartisan voter registration drive and voting awareness project. According to Student Union President Jason Gray '10, the initiative aims "to make a community-wide effort to engage Brandeis in the electoral process" and to register all eligible students to vote.Students will be provided with voter registration forms and the necessary resources to obtain absentee ballots, Gray said.As part of Brandeis Votes, the Union plans to hold a competition among campus organizations that will encourage members to vote and help them register. Director of Athletics Sheryl Sousa said the Athletics department is willing to help with the drive by setting up registration tables at athletic events. The Department of Residence Life has agreed to participate as well, although the Student Union has not yet determined the details.The Student Union is currently discussing with Student Events the possibility of giving a publicity-generating concert close to the election date "to get people excited about voting," Gray said. The Office of Communications and the Union will work together to organize an educational forum on the election. "I hope that if this is successful, it will be implemented for future elections," Gray said.
(05/20/08 4:00am)
All Brandeis Public Safety officers will be armed by the time students return to campus in the fall, according to Chief of Public Safety Ed Callahan. Callahan said that the 11 or 12 Public Safety officers who have successfully completed the required tests will be armed by June 2. Officers will be expected to carry firearms during all of their shifts once they are armed. The firearms are the property of the University. When not in use they must be secured and then stowed in a separate locker, which is monitored by closed-circuit television. Concerns regarding the process of arming the police include the circumstances under which officers can use firearms, whether the officers will carry them all the time and whether the guns will intimidate students. In response to these concerns, the Firearms Policy Advisory Committee came up with a report, which was written by Senior Vice President of Communication Lorna Miles, detailing the required training and tests officers must undergo in order to carry firearms, as well as the conditions under which an officer may use his gun.The policy "outlines a continuum of force, which basically entails different steps and different processes [for dealing with situations that may entail the use of firearms]," said Callahan. The policy was developed after looking at similar policies at nearby institutions such, as Tufts University. The policy can now be found on the Public Safety Web site, along with a list of frequently asked questions regarding the use of firearms at Brandeis. "For most practices, that continuum of force works in escalation and de-escalation form," said Callahan, and "it's up to the officer to determine where he or she can start" in the continuum of responses.The first step in the process is verbalization, followed by physical strength and/or hand control. Next comes the use of a chemical substance such as oleoresin capsicum, a spray similar to pepper spray, which all Public Safety Officers carry. The next step is use of an impact weapon/defensive force, which entails a police baton, and lastly, the use of deadly force/firearms. "Deadly force can be employed ONLY when an officer reasonably believes that the action is in defense of human life," the policy reads. "Every means of employing the minimum amount of force [must] be exhausted before moving to a more severe application." "I think [the continuum of force] was one of the most important pieces of information for students to know . [because] it relieves concerns for students to know that process," said committee member and immediate past Student Union president Shreeya Sinha '09. According to Sinha, it was important for students "just to know that there would be verbal warnings" before officers would use a firearm, so that "students also know that this is a very carefully thought-out implementation process."The policy also discusses that officers must receive physical, psychological and sensitivity training. "All of the officers had to go through a medical testing process, . and they had to go through a group psychological test and individual psychological test," said Callahan. "It is the goal of the psychological evaluation process to ensure that only mature and well controlled police officers are equipped with weapons," said Callahan in an e-mail to the Justice. "All of the psychological evaluations inclusive of individual, group and written tests were initiated to determine if there were any mental health/emotional stability concerns as well as any aggressive/violent tendencies that would eliminate an officer from carrying a firearm," wrote Callahan. The policy says that in a seminar titled "Managing Cultural Diversity at Brandeis," officers learned how to deal with cultural differences and values, how to understand body language in communication and how to "work through actual conflict case resolution."According to Callahan, after completing the aforementioned training, officers completed an extensive two-week program with the Waltham police. Officers must be recertified to carry weapons every six months, said Callahan. According to Callahan, all Public Safety officers who carry firearms must possess a license to carry a firearm issued by the Waltham Police Department upon completion of training by Waltham Police firearms instructors certified by the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Training Council. According to Miles, arming the campus police is the last piece of the University's Safety and Security Emergency Response, which includes the emergency broadcasting system that was implemented last semester and consists of sirens and Universitywide text messaging in case of emergency.Callahan said, "We have this wonderful abundance of technology where you can communicate to students that there is an emergency, ... [but] you still have the police showing up without the proper tools" to deal with the situation. He said that Public Safety officers know the Brandeis campus, buildings and culture of the school better than the Waltham police. The policy also stresses the importance of "straightforward, consistent and continued communication" in the implementation of the firearms policy. "There's going to be a committee formed in the fall," said Sinha. "Hopefully they can start looking at ways to bring students and Public Safety together" in an effort to increase communication. This effort is the Public Safety University Committee, which is currently being organized by Student Union President Jason Gray '10. "I hope that as the police are armed in this coming year we will be able to monitor the implementation, keep open the lines of communication and provide ways to ensure that students feel safe on this campus and then have the venue to express their concerns if they have one," said Gray, who organized a forum last semester to receive student input regarding the process of arming campus police. The Public Safety Web site says that Public Safety officers will carry Glock .40-caliber automatics. In addition, this process of arming, including training and equipment, will cost less than $100,000 and will not affect tuition.
(05/20/08 4:00am)
A university undergraduate is not permitted on campus after allegedly assaulting an Aramark employee at the C-store when the employee refused to let him enter the store after it had closed May 9, according to the student's lawyer.The student, Daniel Ortner '10, a former Forum editor at the Justice, was neither charged nor arrested, but is due in court after the Aramark employee decided to press charges four days after the incident, his lawyer, Sam Goldberg, said. A June 4 hearing in Waltham district court will determine whether the employee has probable cause to move forward, Goldberg said."It would seem to me that [the situation] is something that has been blown out of proportion, although Daniel obviously regrets any inconvenience that this may have caused anyone involved," Goldberg said. Witnesses said Ortner arrived at the C-store, the campus convenience store, five minutes after the store had closed. The employee, who Goldberg identified as Jessica Hill, assistant food service director, wouldn't let him in, but Ortner persisted, asking to buy a drink, witnesses said. Zachary Rubenstein '11, a witness Goldberg identified as listed on the incident report, said after Hill blocked the entrance to the store with her arms, Ortner "basically charged" and tried to push his way past her.Ortner then quickly left the scene, witnesses said.University police would not comment. Director of Student Development and Conduct Erika Lamarre would not comment specifically on Ortner's case. Multiple attempts to reach Hill for comment via e-mail, phone and through other dining officials, including Director of Dining Services Mike Newmark, were unsuccessful.Ortner voluntarily resigned as Forum editor of the Justice last Sunday. He declined to comment.Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer said that in certain situations he can implement a short-term solution to settle a situation under Section 22.1 of the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.The University can put cases involving incidents that occur after the academic year has ended on hold until the fall because the University Board of Student Conduct isn't generally available during the summer months, according to Lamarre.Lamarre said that depending upon the severity of the student's offense as determined by the University, the University can take a number of actions, including a campus restraint or an emergency suspension. According to Section 19.13 of the University's Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, the Board will arrive at a finding of either not responsible, responsible based upon clear and convincing evidence and recommendation of the sanction or continuance of the case either to obtain additional information or for further consideration.In addition to action being taken by the University, Ortner has been summoned to appear in front of the clerk magistrate for a probable cause hearing on June 4 at the Waltham District Court. Both parties will be required to provide evidence at the time of the hearing and the magistrate will then decide if Hill has probable cause to issue a complaint, Goldberg said.According to Goldberg, Hill had initially stated that she would not press charges against Ortner. Goldberg also noted that Hill did not decide to take action against Ortner until four days after the alleged incident.Anya Bergman contributed reporting.
(05/20/08 4:00am)
The Student Bill of Rights and a constitutional amendment regarding finances passed in referendum in the Student Union election May 1.A total of 1084 students voted on the issue of passing the Bill of Rights and 89.02 percent voted in favor of the bill. The constitutional amendment for finances passed with a 90.2 percent majority, according to the Union Web site. The vote was intended to see "exactly how students felt about our articulation of student rights," Director of Community Development Ryan McElhaney '10 wrote in an e-mail to the Justice."While I did expect a majority of students to stand behind the [Bill of Rights], I didn't expect such an overwhelming majority and I think this speaks to the need for a document like this to be incorporated into University policy. . The vote totals will be very important when it comes to showing the administration how important this document is to the student body," said Union President Jason Gray '10. "I will be working to get the University to incorporate the Student Bill of Rights into the University's governing structure and to improve Rights and Responsibilities to accurately reflect the rights that students deserve," said Gray.According to McElhaney, forums, discussions and other events are planned for next semester to inform students about the Bill of Rights current progress and to allow students to clarify what they would like to see included in tthe bill, in order to further refine the bill. "One of the most important parts of this process that seems to be forgotten is how much of a community effort it was to create, disseminate, edit and pass this bill of rights," McElhaney said. He added, "I have worked closely with different grad students as well as undergrads so that it is understood that these rights should extend to all students, and thus all students need to be a part of the process."The other issue on the referendum, the constitutional amendment for finances, which, according to Gray, "will improve our financial system, by allowing clubs to access more money in a more efficient way," has several components. Student Union Treasurer Max Wallach '09 explained in an e-mail to the Justice that one component was "the removal of the current Capital Expenditures fund, a fund holding money in reserve for clubs which, prior to the amendment, stood at $150,000. This fund was extremely underutilized and merely contributed to the rollover issues the student union faced." Wallach wrote the CapEx was removed and replaced with a $25,000 reserve fund. This fund allows clubs access to Student Activites Fee funds that were previously unavailable. The Finance Board will be able to increase the reserve fund by about $25,000 if they deem this an appropriate measure.The second component of the amendment involves a one-year cap on the SAF. The SAF is generally an additional 1 percent of tuition, increasing with tuition every year. However, Wallach explained, in order to "catch up with rollover and ensure that there are no unspent funds, the [Student Union] decided it was necessary to cap the SAF for one year at the current value of $150,000 dollars." "At the end of the spring [2009] semester, we will be appealing to the administration and board of trustees to remove the SAF cap, assuming demand for SAF funds is sufficient," he wrote.The third component involved a succession plan for the Union treasurer to make sure that "club finances do not halt in the event a treasurer steps down or is removed from office," Wallach wrote. "This was necessary due to the high turnover rate of treasurers in recent years and the fact that club finances must operate efficiently on a day-to-day basis, or else the consequences for club life would be devastating," he wrote.Wallach also wrote that the Union has not yet decided how to implement the amendment next semester. "The capping of SAF in particular will require careful financial management, and also effective club spending to ensure that we will be able to convince the administration that SAF should be increasing each year,"?he wrote. Wallach added. "This can be demonstrated through a high demand for SAF funds from clubs throughout the Finance Board and the effective spending of the money allocated.
(05/20/08 4:00am)
We would like to pay tribute to the graduating seniors at the Justice. Although no amount of space would really be sufficient to summarize their incredible impact on this paper, we do hope this gives them a morsel of the recognition they deserve.Rachel Marder: A former News editor, editor in chief and senior editor, her strong leadership is visible in every story that runs in this paper. Her vibrant personality was a huge asset, whether it was used for contacting sources, forging key relationships with administrators or sustaining that precious staff morale.Jacob Kamaras: A former Sports editor, editor in chief and senior editor, his insurmountable work ethic provided a model for all of us, for our work on the newspaper and outside of it.Noah Bein: A onetime News editor and associate editor, his sharp news judgment will be sorely missed. Neither the News desk nor the editorials meetings nor the copy table will be the same without him.Ben Terris: A former Features editor and associate editor, his vivid writing transformed the Features section and editorial columns. His nuanced perspective will continue to be on full display as he blogs for the Huffington Post. Claire Moses: Our bygone News editor, her passion and energy pushed our News section to new heights and ensured that our production nights were never dreary. Her ability to develop and maintain sources was incredibly beneficial to our news coverage, both on campus and off. We'd also like to use this space to recognize some of the other newly minted alumni who made an impact on our paper at one point or another. Matt Brown, an erstwhile Forum and deputy editor, used his intellect and sharp wit to become arguably the most visible columnist on campus. Chelsey Berlin, a former layout editor, helped revamp the appearance of our paper. Julie Scherr, a former Sports senior writer, displayed unparalleled enthusiasm for Brandeis athletics while maintaining an objective journalistic perspective. Rachel Pfeffer, a former Features and Arts senior writer, always managed to be colorful and engaging despite the varied subjects of her many articles. Sam Ackerman, a cartoonist, consistently provided comedic relief while conveying poignant messages in his drawings, the latest of which can be seen at the top of this page.We wish each of these graduates the best of luck in all their future endeavors. They will be missed.
(04/29/08 4:00am)
The Ethics Center and the Hadassah Brandeis Institute held a conference addressing the possibilities of a reconciliation of modern law and traditional customs with regard to gender equality worldwide on Tuesday, April 15. Over 100 academics, activists and interested students participated in the conference, which took place in the Hassenfeld Conference Center, according to Lisa Fishbayn, director of the Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law at the HBI.The event opened Monday evening with a lecture by Nobel Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams. The event's conclusion Tuesday morning included a keynote speech titled "Is Pluralism an Ideal or a Compromise" by Martha Minow, a professor at Harvard Law school followed by a series of panels.The event was part of a larger research project under HBI titled "Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law," which was launched last February with a grant from Dan Fischel Sylvia Neil, a professor at Northwestern University School of Law who initiated the project and her husband Dan Fischel. Neal said that the conference provided a platform for woman activists to share strategies for advocating gender equality by listening to experiences and drawing lessons from diverse culturesBecause of its Jewish background and its commitment to social justice, Brandeis is the "perfect home" for the project, Neal said. "I also felt it was very important that since we have so many issues dealing with the intersection of gender and religion and the law in Judaism, that when we are talking with other [faiths] who also have these issues . We are in parity with each other," she said. The final panel featured two researchers and activists, Fatou Camara, assistant professor of law at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and Likhapha Mbatha, a researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, who offered comparative perspectives on the question "What Is Effective Law Reform?" Senegal's failure to recognize the widespread indigenous beliefs in animism in the country have caused women to suffer under Islamic laws, Camara said. She stated that official statistics declaring Senegal over 90 percent Muslim were misleading, because animism coexists with Islam, Christianity and Judaism in Senegal. "The [Senegalese] go to the mosque and right after they will give offerings to their ancestors," she said. She posited that unofficially the statistic should read 99.9 percent animist. She explained that according to animist belief, all that exists has life in it so that traditionally, believers would, for example, make offerings to a large tree home to sacred spirits. Those statistics are troublesome, she explained because "Islam is openly used to justify legal and social discrimination against women" through, for example, unequal inheritance laws. This development is upsetting, she explained, because the indigenous beliefs follow a matriarchal system, under which women are in the position of power. For this reason, she said, a project underway to establish a "temple for initiated women" is necessary to preserve the country's indigenous culture. Initiated women are spiritual leaders who have undergone a test to attain exclusive traditional knowledge and pass it on to later generations, she said. Many traditional laws exist in hidden forms, such as encoded writings, that only the initiated can recognize, she said. Without the special temple that could serve as a refuge for initiated women today, "No one is going to pay attention to the indigenous faith," she warned. The history of the indigenous beliefs also shows that feminism was not just a Western idea, she said. "Gender equity is an indigenous African concept," she statedIn her presentation, Mbatha spoke about the possibilities for compatibility between customary law and international human rights conventions in South Africa, where international covenants signed by the country challenged the widespread practice of polygamous marriages. The government set up a commission to oversee implementation of international laws, she said. After receiving much input from many national organizations, the commission decided to recognize customary laws regarding polygamy, with some restrictions, she reported."I strongly felt that polygamy had to be recognized," she said. The government had to weigh "the extent to which [it] was obliged to focus on the interests of the international community" and what it owed the "people it could touch and see," she said. She noted that polygamy is already becoming less popular because of financial burdens associated with it. She added that customary law also included safeguards to protect women and children within the institution of polygamy. "Following international law would have bastardized and deprived women of their [property] rights," she said. "The South African government saw that legal abolishment would not discourage polygamy," she said, but because the government restricted polygamy as much it could, "to an extent South Africa has obliged," Mbatha concluded.
(04/15/08 4:00am)
Michael J. Granoff, president of Maniv Energy Capital, delivered a speech on the future of electrically powered cars in Israel and the Israeli government's promotion of environmentally friendly cars in the Heller School for Social Policy as part of Earthfest 2008's Green Job Forum.Granott's company explores the "opportunities in the rapidly growing sectors of clean technology and alternative energy," according to its Web site. In 1997, Granoff founded Maniv Investments, LLC, parent of Maniv Bioventures and Maniv Energy Capital. While Earthfest centers mostly on the American environment, the Brandeis community is also looking at how other countries can be more environmentally friendly. Countries that were discussed included Denmark and China. Denmark is known for its self-sufficient energy resources, and China is considered as the next big energy consumer.Both undergraduate and graduate students attended the event in the Israeli government's promotion of environmentally friendly cars. Granoff presented a brief history of energy consumption. He compared the size of an oil molecule to an electron and said that an electron is more efficient. "The normal car is using about 1 percent of the energy drawn up from oil reserves. The biggest problem with oil is that it's not replaceable," said Granoff.The Israeli government announced a joint venture with Renault and Nissan Motor Company in late January. Both companies will introduce efficient electrical cars in the market hopefully as early as 2010. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the state will offer tax incentives to purchasers in order to offset the expenses of owning electric cars.Granoff said that Israel is an ideal test-drive for the electric car because the commuting distance between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is about 75 miles, the ideal distance for electric cars to travel without needing to be recharged.Granoff, who said he drives a Toyota Prius, said the "anti-Catch-22" is to create a car that is "cheaper, cleaner, totally silent and creates a fully sustainable ecosystem." He said he hopes Israelis will be interested in buying electric cars if it takes less time to replace a battery than to fill a gas tank. "We want to buy energy even at a premium . We need to penetrate [the market] pretty deeply," Granoff said. He believes electric cars can be successfully integrated into the Israeli market as soon as 2015.In 2007, Maniv worked with Project Better Place of Palo Alto, Calif., which provides lithium-ion batteries, as well as the infrastructure to power cars in Israel. Project Better Place plans to rent out electric cars for a monthly subscription fee covering battery costs, exchange stations and complimentary maintenance service. Like a cell phone subscription, the cars are free when one signs up for a plan. The cost of running an electric car will be cheaper than using gasoline, which can be as much as six or seven dollars per gallon in Israel.After the presentation, students discussed the benefits of environmentally friendly cars. Granoff admitted that one possible problem with the introduction of electric cars in Israel is increased congestion. However, he spoke optimistically about bringing electric cars to the United States in the future.
(04/15/08 4:00am)
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., urged Brandeis' members of the "green generation" to bring about what he called the "green revolution," the movement to save the environment, last Sunday in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall, as part of Earthfest 2008.Markey is the chair of the Select Committee on Energy Interdependence and Global Warming, created by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. He recently sponsored a bill setting the floor for gasoline efficiency in cars at 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The main focus of Markey's address was global warming. "The truth is, the planet has a fever, but there are no hospitals for sick planets," he said, "We have to find a way of engaging in preventative planet health care," he said.University President Jehuda Reinharz introduced Markey and applauded the environmental responsibility emphasized by Earthfest. He made clear that environmental conservation should not be confined to one week and that it's a daily responsibility."Every time I see a plastic bottle somewhere, my blood pressure goes up," joked Reinharz in reference to litter on campus, "I'm going to work to eliminate plastic bottles on this campus." Markey immediately localized the issue, saying today's problem with the environment started in Waltham when Francis Cabot Lowell and James Moody cofounded the Boston Manufacturing Company. The first factory emitted carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and since then, the amount of the gas in the air has risen from 280 parts per million to 380 parts per million, he said. "All other problems in history will be a footnote if we cannot fix the environment," he said.Markey stressed the role that young people have played in making important changes in the United States. Young people rose up and demanded civil rights, he said; young people protested the Vietnam War, and young people lead the campaign for women's suffrage. The United States tries to persuade developing countries to curb carbon dioxide emissions, Markey said, but those other countries won't acquiesce unless the United States leads by example. Unfortunately, "Most of the CO2 is red, white and blue," he said, indicating that the majority of carbon emissions come from the United States and Europe. Markey admonished the Bush administration for its stance on environmental protectionism, but said that any candidate elected to office, even Republican John McCain, will work to correct the issue.Markey recounted his recent trip to Greenland with Pelosi, describing it as a block of ice 10 Empire State Buildings high and 1000 miles across. However, due to global warming, lakes are beginning to form on top of the glacier, he said. "This is the scene of the crime; this is the canary in the mineshaft," said Markey. The lakes will eventually trickle down to the bottom of the ice cap, he said. As the water seeps underneath the icecap, it causes the glacier to slide into the ocean, he said. Rising sea levels can cause coastal communities to flood, displacing some of the most vulnerable residents.The ice cap is also melting in Antarctica, he said, but this is not as important. The Antarctic ice cap is already in the water, so when it melts, it will not cause the sea level to rise. "If the ice cubes melt in your glass, your drink doesn't go up," he said. Markey said global warming will strike developing nations the hardest because they do not have the resources or the technology to adapt to changing conditions. He said that when the Himalayan ice caps melt as temperatures increase, an abundance of water will feed the rivers, making India very fertile. However, when there is no more ice, the rivers will dry up, devastating the Indian economy. "Each generation has been challenged by something the first governor of Massachusetts, [John Winthrop], called the test of answerable courage," he said. "Will the new generation have the courage to step up and answer that problem?" he asked. Markey's lecture was followed by a forum discussion mediated by Prof. Michael Appell (IBS) featuring Dr. Mark Rentschler, director of institutional greening programs for Green Seal and Steven Strong, president and founder of Solar Design Associates. Green Seal is an organization dedicated to educating consumers about purchasing environmentally friendly products. Solar Design Associates is a firm that designs and builds solar-powered buildings and outfits existing buildings with solar panels.
(04/15/08 4:00am)
Among the most important concepts Iroka Joseph Udeinya '76 learned when he arrived at Brandeis from Nigeria were hard work, the pursuit of excellence and how to make meatloaf.Udeinya was last to speak at the 50th anniversary of the Wien International Scholarship Program, among the members of a panel of four distinguished alumni scholars. The program, established in 1958 by Arthur Laurence Wien and his wife Mae Wien, recruits exceptional students from all over the world to attend Brandeis.While Udeinya lived in the Foster Mods his junior year, "I learned how to make meatloaf. I also taught my American roommate how to make fufu! [a Nigerian dish] . I became more Americanized as I Nigerianized my roommates."There are currently 42 Wien scholars from 21 countries studying at Brandeis, according to David Elwell, Director of the International Students and Scholars Office. Eight hundred Wien scholars from 106 countries have attended Brandeis since the program's inception.The original goal of the Wien program was to "bring people to the United States so that they could bring back stories of the United States to their countries," Peter Malkin, Wien's son-in-law, said in an interview after the panel event.Admissions officers choose approximately 12 students each year from an international application pool of about 1,000 to enroll as undergraduates. Brandeis used to accept Wien scholars as graduate students but no longer does. While the Wien program used to grant all scholars full scholarships, the program currently allots some students only partial scholarships.According to Elwell, the University seeks out "not just an academic scholar," but also "unique individuals who see their role as . giving back to the community."The weekend of events included a speech from the Prime Minister of Iceland, Geir Haarde '73, a presentation by current Wien scholars and a panel of alumni Wien scholars who spoke about their Brandeis careers and current experiences, moderated by Laurence Simon, associate dean of academic planning at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Wien alumni from countries as geographically distant as Sweden and Ethiopia gathered here at Brandeis to meet up with old classmates, remark on how much Brandeis had changed since they last visited and see their own aspirations as college students reflected in the optimistic speeches of current scholars. Udeinya was strikingly charismatic as he narrated the story of his path from Brandeis to his current career at a scientific research organization in Nigeria.The Wien scholars were supposed to graduate in three years, Udeinya explained, during which time he was not allowed to get a single C grade. Udeinya managed, graduating from Brandeis with a B.A. in biology and receiving his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of West Virginia in 1979.He pursued his postdoctoral research in bioscience at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, one of the National Institutes of Health, in Maryland.Initially, he said, he was interested in studying the use of extracts from the Nigerian neem tree (azadirachta indica) as a treatment for African pandemics like malaria. Then, he says, "HIV became more interesting," and he began his current research in Nigeria as the president and CEO of the Rocitus Corporation into the plant's role in treating HIV. Speaking slowly to a captivated audience, Udeinya explained that clinical trials have indicated that that the medication he would create from the plant extracts would not have the same side effects associated with current HIV cocktail medications.Yet Udeinya's brief speech emphasized that beyond the scientific education and dedication to the pursuit of truth that he acquired at Brandeis, the exposure to people from a diverse array of cultures and ethnicities allowed him to develop a new perspective on the rest of the world."The Wien program afforded me an interesting worldview," he said. Udeinya explained that interaction with such a multicultural group of students caused him to consider his duties as a member of a global community."If I can contribute anything to my family, which is the world, I will do it," he said.At the other end of the table sat Haile Menkerios '70, who narrated with confidence and wisdom a lifetime of world travel, service in the Etitrean army and diplomatic activity in the United Nations. Speaking with enthusiasm as he described his first experiences outside of his native Ethiopia, Menkerios says his Brandeis career allowed him the "openness to learn what the hell is going on in the rest of the world."Throughout his Brandeis career, Menkerios most valued the opportunity the students had to fight for the causes and ideals they supported.Menkerios first came to the United States through a high school exchange program and graduated from an American high school. Yet he describes his pre-Brandeis education as very "America-centered" in that it ignored the perspectives of other countries and cultures.Menkerios attended Brandeis during what he describes as a "time of social awareness," most specifically, the student protests against the Vietnam War."I was part of a movement to change the world," he said.Menkerios attended graduate school at Harvard immediately after graduation, but before he'd even had the chance to complete his thesis, he took advantage of the opportunity to pursue the activist spirit he'd developed at Brandeis and joined the liberation movement in Eritrea.In the late 1970s and 1980s, the Eritrean Liberation Front fought against the Eritrean People's Liberation Front for control over the country."It's a two-way street," he said, explaining the obligation he felt to participate in the nation's struggle for freedom. "Not only do you want to learn and gain . but at the same time [you are] seeing if you have something to offer."Menkerios went on to serve in several United Nations positions, including the U.N. ambassador to Ethiopia, where he says he worked toward "regional integration" and advocated for "the sacred right of every individual to select the government."In 2007, Menkerios was appointed the UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs.His presentation was followed by that of Seung-il Shin '64, a peaceful man with a very soft smile, who recounted an equally extraordinary lifetime of scientific achievements.When Shin came to Brandeis as a young man in 1962, he had just fled a "major, devastating war" in his home country of Korea. Upon arriving in the United States, he realized "it was a completely different universe.""I gained the intellectual equipment to do whatever I wished," he said of his time at Brandeis.Yet Shin admitted that even after graduation, his experiences in Korea had made him skeptical of the idea that one person could substantially improve human life."As a person from a very poor country," he explained, "you couldn't imagine that one person could change the lives of so many people."After graduation, Shin taught graduate school classes on genetics. During one seminar that ultimately changed the course of his life, Shin says the teacher showed a slide of the last person in the world to contract smallpox before the creation of the vaccine put a halt to the spread of the disease."I thought, 'Wow, science can do something,'" Shin said, with a twinkle in his eye that inspired awed murmurs throughout the audience.Subsequently, Shin entered the vaccines business. He has visited countries all over the world in an effort to develop vaccines for viruses like Hepatitis B, which he said is especially prevalent in southern countries. Shin currently works as the senior adviser and chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of Celltrion, Inc., a United Nations-organized vaccine institute.Unlike the other panel members, who entered into academics or social action immediately after leaving Brandeis, it took some time after graduation for Wakako Kimoto Hironaka '64 to realize her intellectual potential.Hironaka, poised and articulate, came to Brandeis in 1958 as one of the first Wien scholars. She opened her speech with an ironic confession."To tell you the truth," Hironaka told the audience, "I was not a good student while I was at Brandeis. I was worried that my poor English reflected my true intelligence."Hironaka said she originally came to study in the United States because she was "strongly intrigued by new ideas such as women being equal to men." Hironaka said that, in Japan, gender roles were "based on traditional Japanese views." After two years of living in the United States, Hironaka met and married a Japanese exchange student from Harvard. After her marriage, Hironaka says she led an "ordinary, middle-class American life."But after experiencing such significant intellectual growth at Brandeis, Hironaka recalled that the idea of being an "ordinary" housewife troubled her. "I graduated from a university in Japan, I got a full scholarship, and what am I doing after that?" she asked herself.Not long after, Hironaka enrolled in the anthropology graduate program at Brandeis and pursued her dream of becoming a journalist."I wanted to share what was happening in America with Japanese readers," she said.Hironaka wrote several articles for publications, including magazines owned by Kodansha Limited, and translated books such as Shifting Gears, by George and Nina O'Neill, from English to Japanese.In 1968, Hironaka joined the Upper House of the Japanese Diet, where she became a "strong advocate for the concept of global fairness" domestically as well as internationally.In response to audience members' anxieties about ethnic diversity in WISP's future, Undeinya noted the significant decrease in the number of scholars from Africa since he was a student at Brandeis.The countries that send the largest amount of Wien scholars to Brandeis include South Korea, India and Turkey.Nicholas Senecal, associate director of undergraduate admissions, who was present at the panel, suggested that the decrease might be a result of the University's recent move to send out applications over the Internet, as opposed to by hand, at a time when many African students have only limited Internet access.Undeinya also raised the concern, seconded by many alumni scholars in the audience, that too many current scholars are majoring in economics, consequently ignoring other areas of study.Anum Khan '10, a double Health, Science, Society and Policy and environmental studies major and business minor from Pakistan, said in an interview after the panel event that part of being a "Wien and a Brandeisian" is being able to "leave knowing that you tried something else. You stepped out of your comfort zone."Other students, however, upheld the educational value of economics."They probably think the reason why we shouldn't [focus on economics] is because they want us to save the world," Ceylan Ecer '09, an International Global Studies, French and Economics major from Turkey, said in an interview after the panel event. "Doing econ, you can still do that in a very efficient way."Mai Le '07 emphasized that her mathematics major as well as her physics major were useful in preparing her for her current work as an economic consultant in New York City.At the current scholars' presentation earlier that day, alumni and current scholars debated whether or not Brandeis lacks sufficient awareness and dialogue about international events outside of the Middle East."I hear people talk about the old days when every issue was a hot issue and an open forum," one current scholar lamented. "A lot of that forum has been restricted."Yet, other students pointed to Brandeis' significant efforts at initiating discussion of international topics, including the establishment of the Office of Global Affairs last year and the array of course offerings on international topics in the Anthropology and Women's and Gender Studies Departments.Elwell said the Wien scholars organize annual trips and activities with the goal of becoming a close-knit group. In 2006, the ambassador to the United Nations from the Ivory Coast, a Brandeis alumnus, hosted the Wien scholars at the United Nations. Last year, the scholars went to volunteer in New Orleans, La.Brandeis invites all the Wien alumni to campus approximately once every five years, Elwell said.Current Wien scholars recognize their unlimited capacity for change that comes with the opportunity to interact with a group of highly motivated students from all across the globe."I don't think about skipping my 9 a.m. class," Chanont Banternghansa '08 said in a documentary current scholars presented. "I always remember that there's a million people waiting in line for my spot.
(04/01/08 4:00am)
Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan dismissed rumors circulating among students that University Police officers are in possession of red decoy guns to test student response before they obtain real guns. "This rumor is incorrect and certainly not funny. I neither know nor have heard anything about the matter," Callahan said, calling such a claim upsetting and discomforting. He stated that "this is not a question about arming the officers. It is a question of how we properly implement the arming process." University President Jehuda Reinharz's decision to arm campus police last September followed the recommendation of a firearms committee composed of faculty, staff and students under the supervision of Chief Operating Officer Peter French. Student opinion has been sharply divided on the issue. Student Union President Shreeya Sinha '09, Fanny Familia '09 and Matthew Rogers '08 have been advocating for students' inclusion on a firearms advisory committee that governs the policies in the process of arming the officers. The advisory committee has an upcoming status meeting this month. The intention of this forum is to advise officers-in-training before they are armed. Callahan explained the firearms committee, specifically the student representatives, was responsible for relaying information to students. He indicated that rumors could not have circulated from the committee. He added that "75 to 85 percent of the arming process has been initiated from the president's decision." Callahan stated that he is intent on tracking the source of these rumors. Sinha acknowledged that she had heard the rumors involving the red dummy guns, calling them "incorrect in every sense about them.""These kinds of reactions are unsafe in the sense of promoting safety," Sinha said. "Such ideas throw fear into the public, these rumors are not to be taken as gospel." "We wish to build relationships in the community by allowing students to ask questions involving the arming," she said. Founder of the now-defunct club Students Opposed to the Decision to Arms, Ben Serby '10, who said he has not heard the rumors, feels differently about Sinha's claim of student representation. Despite protests at various forums, Serby said "the Student Union representatives would not take us as seriously as we would have liked and simply discounted our proposals as unrealistic." Serby implied that the reason SODA is defunct is due to the fact that the club felt the Student Union did not take it as seriously as it would have liked.
(04/01/08 4:00am)
The University hosted a series of documentaries about immigration as part of a program titled "America's Ambivalent Open Arms: A series of films and discussions about current US immigration realities" last week.All events were held in the Zinner Forum in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and were organized by Lila Starbuck '08. Thursday's event, "Rolling up the 'Welcome Mat': The Dynamics of Local Community Response to Refugees and Immigrants," drew approximately 40 undergraduates, graduate students and professors. The program consisted of the documentary The Letter, which captured the aftermath of a controversial open letter written by Mayor of Lewiston, Maine Larry Raymond to the 1,100 recent Somali immigrants in the town. In the letter Raymond writes that the city's resources are strained and asks other Somalis not to move to the city. The tension already present in the city culminated in two rallies held in Lewiston Jan. 11, 2003: the National Alliance rally supported by neo-Nazi groups who opposed Somali immigration and integration into Lewiston and the Many and One diversity rally. Both rallies were organized in response to Raymond's letter and to the divided community response to the influx of Somali refugees.In preparation for the rallies, over 150 officers came to Lewiston to secure the area. However, there were no instances of violence."Maine may be a lot of things, but it is not and it will not be a haven for hate," said Governor Baldacci of Maine during the Many and One diversity rally. Former mayor John Jenkins, who also spoke at the rally, said that this community-wide response in support of the Somali refugees "is a defining moment in Maine's history, sending a very clear message of who we are and where we are." In stark contrast to the words spoken by the city officials at the diversity rally, speakers at the rally supported by neo-Nazi groups said such things as, "We don't want the Somalis here" and "I'd like to thank the Mayor Raymond for daring to say that the emperor is naked."The film opened with a woman's lilting voice describing the common history of humans. Then followed live clips from Somalia, including images of bombs, refugee camps and bodies as a result of the ongoing conflict in Somalia, resulting in hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the violence caused by the lack of effective government in the country, and then a cut to a picture of Lewiston, Maine and its history of prosperity followed by economic distress. The film also included interviews from two former mayors of Lewiston, including Jenkins and Kaleigh Tara, Raymond, Baldacci, Somali refugees in Lewiston, Cheryl Hamilton, who worked at the Portland/Lewiston Refugee Collaborative Program, and members of the World Church of the Creator and the National Alliance, which are pro-white groups that oppose Somali immigration to Lewiston. According to Somali refugees interviewed in the film, many moved to Lewiston in order to have a good place to raise their children. Following the film were presentations by filmmaker Ziad Hamzeh, anthropology graduate student Allison Taylor '11 and Sudanese refugee and graduate student in the SID program Panther Alier '09. Hamzeh said that this was his first documentary, and he found out about the issue of Somali refugees in Lewiston when filming his movie Shadow Glories there. "When people are put in such a vulnerability of saying someone is going to come to take your home . and take all your money and all of your dignity," paranoia sets in, and people feel that they have to protect themselves, said Hamzeh. This phenomenon created the turmoil seen in Lewiston, he said. Hamzeh said that one of the hardest things in filming the documentary was meeting with leaders of pro-white groups. "At first, I couldn't run fast enough to my shower and cleanse myself" after meeting with them, he said, but "as filthy as it began, it was a cleansing experience as I processed it in my own way." Taylor then gave a presentation about Somali refugees and discussed her preliminary fieldwork with Somali refugees in Kenya.Tuesday's event featured a documentary called Hearts Suspended by filmmaker Meghna Damani about educated South Asian women who immigrate to the United States but are prevented from working because their visas identify them as dependent spouses. On Wednesday there was a screening of the documentary Detained by filmmaker Jenny Alexander about undocumented illegal immigrants who were detained after an immigration raid at a factory in New Bedford, Mass. in March 2007.Rachel Sier '11, who helped organize the events, felt the documentaries and presentations addressed important relevant issues about immigration and U.S. policy. "There's at least 12 million illegal immigrants in America right now, . and that's astounding," said Sier. "It continues to be a problem, and we're not addressing it," she said. "Immigration is just one subset of a larger global issue."Sier said that several other students have become interested in this issue of immigration policy and hopes to form a club "to try and continue in the spirit of this program.
