(01/23/07 5:00am)
Continuing its quest to improve campus social life, the Student Union has found what is by far its best idea to date: subsidized parties.It turns out, according to the results of a Union survey on myBrandeis and a forum on social life it hosted, students by and large do not prefer campuswide events like the now-defunct Modfest, which the administration had been so on-edge about. It seems we instead favor smaller parties in on-campus suites. And so, having met an unsurprising defeat with the relatively underattended Purple Rain, the Union, as its President Alison Schwartzbaum '08 announced in her State of the Union address in December, is shifting gears.By subsidizing up to $50 one registered party per week, the Union hopes to encourage small-scale partying on campus. Drawing from the Union's social-life fund, Union Director of Social Affairs Cindy Kaplan '08 and an ad hoc committee will choose the most worthy parties, whose hosts-typical open parties can cost well over $100-will no doubt find the assistance a boon.We commend the Union for this idea, but hope they will recognize that its implementation will be tricky. There's no sense in allowing a good idea to fizzle for lack of foresight.Those evaluating applications should reward creative or themed parties; a receipt that includes tortilla chips, sombreros and a piSata should be more deserving than one listing only a few handles of tequila. But the question of who should make those decisions-and exactly how they should be made-remains. As it stands, Ms. Kaplan and other Union members will decide which parties receive funding. The Union should strive for objectivity when choosing which party gets the money, however. Codifying the policy will prevent whoever selects the "winning party" from playing favorites-now and in the future.With only one grant available each week, a selection process makes the most sense, but the reality that dry parties will attract fewer party-goers raises questions about how-and whether-the grants should be restricted. The allowance would not be paid out until after the parties are held so that suites that are written up for violations of University policy-including serving alcohol in a dry quad or suite-can have their money withheld. Although students in dry suites run the risk of being written up if they serve alcohol at their parties, they shouldn't necessarily be barred from applying for funds in the first place. But the alternative-forbidding dry suites from applying for the funds-is not ideal, either, because it would unfairly bar underage students from having their parties reimbursed. The catch-22 seems unavoidable, and merits much conversation. The possibility for abuse exists, as well. Of course, Union officials should not be stopping by parties for compliance checks, but they must also ensure that the money isn't being squandered by five roommates for a private game of Tour de Franzia. If the program grows-and we hope it will, quickly and considerably-this will become a greater issue.These concerns aside, the Union's initial plan is undoubtedly praiseworthy. But even with this notch on its belt, the Union should not lose sight of its main mission: advocacy. This new emphasis on smaller parties must not distract the Union from negotiating for less stringent rules at campuswide events that serve alcohol, because those vital parts of campus social life are in even more need of revitalization.
(01/23/07 5:00am)
-Because of an editing error, a front-page article in last week's issue about the opening of Einstein Bros. Bagels incorrectly stated that Aramark owns Einstein Bros. Bagels. The bagel chain, owned by New World Restaurant Group, is franchised to Aramark.-A page 2 article in last week's issue about the new interim Hiatt director was mislabeled as a U-Wire article. The article was written by a Justice staff writer.-Because of an editing error, the article about Alan Dershowitz stated that The Hoot's editorial board had already revoked an invitation sent by one of their members to Dershowitz to speak on campus. They had not done so yet, but said they would in the near future.-In last week's Features section, the picture of Jehuda Reinharz was not identified as a photo illustration. All other photos in the section were not illustrations.-Also in last week's Features section, the article about Jehuda Reinharz incorrectly stated that Reinharz removed the Palestinian art exhibit in the Goldfarb Library. Reinharz said he took responsibility for the exhibit's removal.-In the letter from last week's Forum section about Student Union President Alison Schwartzbaum's '08 criticism of the administration's alcohol policy, her first name was misspelled.-On the back page Arts article about the MLK Day celebration, Jonathan D'Oleo '08 was misidentified as the student pictured in the photo. It was a photo of William Chalmus '07.The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. E-mail corrections@brandeis.edu.
(01/23/07 5:00am)
To the Editor:In regards to the Jan. 16 article "Carter to speak," I have a graduate degree from Brandeis and my son Nick graduated in the undergraduate Class of 1997. Many members of our family are Brandeis grads. As such, I was appalled by the initial decision to invite President Carter only if he was paired with Alan Dershowitz. The presence of a former president enhances the reputation of any university and suggesting that he be paired with anyone else insults the president and the presidency. In this case, Brandeis behaved not like the great university it is, but like a Jewish organization, which it isn't. There is no "correct" Brandeis position on Israel or on anything else. As anyone who tries to "sell" Brandeis to prospective students knows its unfair image as some kind of Jewish summer camp limits its appeal to some of the best potential students. The negative publicity produced by the attempt to restrict Carter's appearance because of his statements on Israel replaced the summer camp image with that of, say, the Zionist Organization of America-not exactly a cool image. I'd appreciate it if the administration would stop taking actions that degrade the value of my son's diploma. Act like the great university you are. Thank you, Gordie Fellman, for saving the situation. -MJ Rosenberg, MA '72Chevy Chase, Md.The writer is the Director of Policy Israel Policy Forum in Washington, D.C.
(11/21/06 5:00am)
An evaluation team from the New England Association for Schools and Colleges completed its three-day visit to campus Wednesday and will now begin work on its assessment of the University. The visit is the second step in an 18-month reaccreditation process the University undergoes every 10 years. Prior to the team's visit, the University finished a thorough self-study on topics ranging from diversity of the student body to how faculty salaries have changed over the last decade. "The team members and I enjoyed our visit to Brandeis," John Sexton, the team's chairman and president of New York University, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. "Those we met with-administrators, faculty, students and staff-were extremely helpful and forthcoming."The nine-member NEASC accreditation team, composed of administrators and professors from Brown University, Dartmouth College, New York University, Wesleyan University and Washington and Lee University, visited Brandeis to assess the institution in light of the self-study. "The team was particularly complimentary about the extent to which the curriculum complements the University's mission and the commitment to a strong liberal arts education that is clearly evident among faculty, staff and students," University President Jehuda Reinharz wrote in an open letter to the community,Sexton declined to comment on the team's findings until his team's report, which includes recommendations for improvements to the University, is released next spring. "It's like getting a report card: I think we're going to get mostly good grades," said Alwina Bennett, the assistant dean of student life, who met with the team. "But I think we're like the average Brandeis student: We want a 4.0 and some extra points."The team's jam-packed visit included meetings with executive administrators, Library and Technology services staff, academic department chairs, graduate school directors and student leaders, Provost Marty Krauss said. "It was an important time to take stock of all that the University has accomplished since the last visit in 1996 and to help focus on the future," she said. The evaluation team will report back to NEASC's Commission on Institution of Higher Education, and the process will officially end when the commission submits its report. Krauss, who oversaw the reaccreditation process with Chief Operating Officer Peter French and Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy, said the NEASC evaluation serves a useful purpose for the University.Administrators emphasized the University's improvement over the last decade. "The point of reaccreditation is not to play 'gotcha,' it's to help us improve over the next 10 years," Bennett said. Krauss said students and staff alike were involved in the reaccreditation process. "The participation of the community in these visits was outstanding. It was really a community event," Krauss said.But Bennett disagreed with Krauss: "A certain part of the community was very engaged in the self-study and the reaccreditation process, [but] we forget that there's a whole 90 percent out there that didn't know it was even going on," Bennett said. In an open meeting with Glenn Nicholls, vice president for student affairs at Case Western Reserve University and Prof. Nancy Armstrong, chair of Brown's English department, students spoke about ways the University can improve. Armstrong said during the forum that student voices are vital to the review team's understanding of Brandeis. "To get a complete picture we really need to hear what [students] have to say about the Brandeis experience," she said.NEASC accredits over 2,000 private schools ranging from prekindergarten through the university level in New England and abroad.
(11/07/06 5:00am)
The front-page teaser to last week's "Rabbi on the Run" article incorrectly stated Peretz Chein was untrained for the marathon. Chein had trained one year in advance for the race.In last week's Senate Log, it was incorrectly stated that Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe will hold an open forum on possible pass-fail changes. Representatives from the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee will hold the forum.The headline for "Psychedelic, energetic and well-honed rock from a Brandeis band" (Oct. 31, p. 19) incorrectly stated that Oh No ! Oh My! is a campus band. The band is from Austin, Texas.The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. E-mail corrections@brandeis.edu.
(11/07/06 5:00am)
In the summer of 1954, the American photographer Berenice Abbott set out with a couple of friends to photograph the length and breadth of U.S. 1, from its beginning in Fort Kent, Maine to its terminus in Key West, Fla. Abbott later explained that she did what she did because the American landscape was changing so rapidly. "Photography can only represent the present," she said in an interview. "Once photographed, the subject becomes a part of the past."Except that nowadays, subjects don't necessarily become a part of the past once they have been photographed. In this Age of Google, they may very well become a part of some distant present-a present that involves a job interview, perhaps, or even an online dating encounter. It's a reality that I fear many young people who set up blogs or MySpace pages don't pay enough attention to, and they really should.But should newspaper editors pay attention to this reality, given that nearly all papers in the country now produce online versions of their print editions? Are the editors of college newspapers any more obliged than the editors of mainstream papers to take the perennial properties of the Internet into account before choosing the photographs they feature on their cyberpages?There is, I'm afraid, no easy answer.It's a dilemma that I discussed with Dan Hirschhorn '07, editor-in-chief of the Justice, long before the Oct. 10 and Oct. 17 editions of the paper brought the issue to the fore. And although Hirschhorn and I seem to differ on the matter, we are both equally ambivalent about our points of view.Let me begin by stating that I do not believe it was inappropriate for the Justice to run its story about the administration's reaction to the "Less You Wear" dance with a pair of photographs showing exactly how little some of the people at the dance were wearing. If the administration believes, as Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett stated, that the dance has deteriorated to "just naked people in a dark room," I think it is important for those of us who were not at the dance to see the photographs in order to evaluate Bennett's estimation of the event. One reader of the Justice wrote in to say that she didn't think the photographs should have been used without the permission of the subjects. I disagree. If a behavior occurs in the public square, it is fodder for news coverage. How, whether, when and where that coverage takes place is, of course, an editorial decision-but except in the case of children, journalistic ethics do not require an editor to obtain the permission of a subject who has acted in a public forum.That same rule applies to the photograph of a student being taken into protective custody that was featured on the front page of the following week's edition of the Justice. This photograph was, I think, more problematic, simply because so-called "perp-walk" photographs tend to undermine our collective commitment to the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" (although, properly speaking, this was not a perp-walk, since the subject was not being deliberately paraded in front of a camera by police). Nevertheless, I think it is the damage that might have been done to that principle, more so than the damage that might have been done to the student's reputation on campus (which at least one reader has expressed concern about), that should have guided the editors of the Justice when determining whether and how to use the photograph in their print edition.But then there is the complicated matter of the paper's online edition, which serves a community that exists beyond the boundaries of Brandeis University-and beyond the boundaries, even, of the year 2006. I have stated that newspaper editors are not ethically obliged to obtain permission from a photograph subject who is an adult, and Brandeis students legally are adults. But the majority of them are living on that part of the adult landscape that most closely resembles the American landscape Berenice Abbott photographed in 1954-that is to say, the rapidly changing part. Not only that, but Brandeis students are enjoying four very special years on that changing landscape, years when they are allowed, and sometimes even encouraged, in the spirit of discovery, to make some mistakes. The boy on a bicycle who's featured in one of Berenice Abbott's photographs became a part of the past as soon as Abbott clicked the shutter on her camera. The young adults in panties and handcuffs, though, who are featured in the online archives of the Justice will be very much a part of the present should the photographs be pulled up by a potential employer five years from now-even if the young woman who brazenly wore her underwear in public or the young man who attracted police attention in the Mods back in 2006 no longer exist.So am I saying the photographs should not be featured in the online edition of the paper? No. My thoughts on this issue are not nearly so well-defined. Editor-in-Chief Dan Hirschhorn is firmly committed to the idea that any information conveyed in the print edition of the paper ought to be available in the online version as well, and I respect this point of view. Indeed, the general trend in newspaper publishing is to use the Internet to convey more information than a print version allows, not less.At the same time, though, I wonder if it might not be appropriate to set up some kind of filter such that the simple "googling" of a name will not automatically bring an Internet user to the Justice's website. This would, of course, mitigate one of the truly remarkable contributions the Internet has made to our society, and that is the ease with which information can now be identified and accessed. As I sat in the microfilm room of the Farber Archives last week, looking at nineteenth-century journals that have yet to be scanned online, I was painfully aware of what an amazing research tool the Internet is-and I hesitate to limit its potential in any way. But I don't think putting a filter on the Justice's website would really limit the Internet, per se. It would just require people to be a bit more discriminating when they dig-and sometimes, discrimination can actually be a good thing.The ombudsman serves as the readers' representative, writing a regular column evaluating the newspaper's journalistic performance. Prof. Maura Farrelly (AMST), the director of the journalism program and a former brodcast reporter for Voice of America, can be reached at farrelly@brandeis.edu.
(11/07/06 5:00am)
A chorus of cries rang out in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium Thursday night as about 30 students reacted to their release from a day of silence in protest of racial prejudice.The students wore black tape over their mouths during classes and throughout the day in an effort to show solidarity with those unable to speak out about discrimination and racism. Many also sported black shirts with messages written on them, such as "unconditional love," "unity" and the word "silence" crossed out. In the evening, a group of participants gathered to contemplate racial sentiments in American society, as well as their own attitudes."Racism does exist at Brandeis, on a subtle level," one participant said during the program. "But I'm very optimistic that students are aware of this and try to make an effort to improve it."Ashley Pham '08, a coordinator of Students Organized Against Racism, which planned the event, began by telling the assembly the group aimed to "bring together the Brandeis community, faculty [and] staff, in a common goal to fight racism and to eradicate prejudice and bigotry."In an initial group exercise, the two moderators read statements and asked participants to step into the middle of the circle if they felt a statement applied to them. The statements "I sometimes think I'm racist" and "I have witnessed acts of racism" each brought a majority of those assembled into the circle. About five students professed to "enjoying racist jokes."Students then formed groups to discuss questions about racism, as well as issues facing double-minorities, people who identify with two minority groups. Slightly more than half of the students agreed with the statement, "Brandeis is racist." "Racism is so prevalent, it's invisible," said Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett, who participated in some of the activities. "Because it's so prevalent, you can't grow up in this culture without being racist."Aaron Voldman '09, a Democracy for America coordinator who wore the tape during the day, said he felt "a great amount of solidarity with those around me who were also participating," adding that silence "definitely took people off guard." Pham said the event grew out of the impression that racial issues are not discussed at Brandeis.Controversy over a poem published last year in the Hoot revealed the lack of an effective forum for discussing racial issues on campus, Pham said. "A lot of people didn't have voices that were being heard," she said.Pham called the event a "major success," adding that the 100 shirts the group had ordered for the event were insufficient.The day of silence was planned partly as an inaugural event for a reinvigorated SOAR, which Pham said has been active on-and-off since its founding six years ago.
(10/31/06 5:00am)
CORRECTION APPENDED (See bottom)Mark Magidson '09 was sworn in as the new senator for the Charles River Apartments.Senior Representative to the Alumni Association Beth Wexelman '07 said the Brandeis House, an alumni and member-only mansion on Manhattan's Upper East Side, may undergo a significant set of improvements, including the addition of a bar. Wexelman spoke about a proposal for an online interface, tentatively titled "BConnect," for Brandeis alums and recent grads to network.University Curriculum Committee Representatives announced that the Italian Studies interdisciplinary program will be continued after a review and will be reviewed again in another three to four months. The Representatives said they wish to hold an open forum on the possibility of changing the pass/fail policy so passing grades lower than a C- would no longer be covered.Jordan Rothman, president of the Brandeis marching band, submitted a petition with the signature of athletes, coaches and trainers as evidence of the overwhelming demand for the new fight song. The Fight Song Resolution, sponsored by Robbie Schwartz '08, senator for Ziv Quad, and Joshua Karpoff, senator for the Class of 2007, was passed. Senior Representative to the Board of Trustees Albert Cahn '07, Senator for the Class of 2008 Michael Goldman and Union Secretary Alex Braver '09 submitted a bylaw amendment which would have ended mandatory office hours for Union representatives. The amendment was rejected by a wide margin. The Senate approved a request by Castle Quad Senator Eric Alterman '09 for $200 to fund a Castle Quad Barbeque. An emergency request submitted by Senators for the Class of 2010 Jenna Brofsky and Rajiv Ramakrishnan to provide money for face paints and brushes to be used at Louispalooza was passed. -Bernard HermanThis article incorrectly reported that Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe wanted to hold an open forum to discuss changes to the pass/fail system. It was actually student representatives to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee wanted to hold such a forum.
(10/17/06 4:00am)
Director of the Hiatt Career Center Marty Ford addressed the Senate for feedback on recent developments within the department including internships, career counseling and a larger staff size. He spoke of the success of the Hiatt Assessment, a career evaluation targeted toward first-year students, and the sophomore-targeted career shadowing program. Beth Wexelman '07 and Reuven Solomon '08, respective senior and junior representatives to the Alumni Association, approached the Senate for comments in order to represent student opinion at next week's meeting. They also discussed BAMD! '06 (Brandeis Alumni Making a Difference), a program that invites returning alumni to speak about their lives after Brandeis.Director of Academic Affairs Jason Brodsky '07 announced the invitation of Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe to discuss the academic pass/fail policy with the Senate.The Brandeis Marching Band distributed copies of its proposed Brandeis "Fight Song."The Senate recognized Students Organized Against Racism, a group that previously existed under the Intercultural Center and involves other local universities. The club advocates pluralism and provides forums for dialogue surrounding controversial issues.Director of Social Affairs Cindy Kaplan '08 discussed plans for Purple Rain on Oct. 20. She said event planners worked with the administration to make the event safer than past Modfests.Senior Representative to the Board of Trustees Albert Cahn '07 and Brodsky proposed a more lenient academic probation policy.Under the current policy, the Committee on Academic Standing can place students with a semester grade below a D or a semester GPA below 2.0 on probation. The senate will introduce a more transparent and "forgiving" policy to administration officials and University committees.Union President Alison Schwartzbaum '08 discussed potential plans for the reconstruction of Ridgewood, which may result in a 70-to-85 net gain of beds. She said the University ultimately aims to accommodate 90 percent of students on-campus. Other potential housing plans include a lower C-store and the eventual renovation of the Charles River Apartments.Brian Paternostro '07, director of communications, said he is considering delivering the Union's new newsletter door-to-door in response to students ripping them down from the walls.The Senate went into executive session for unknown reasons. -Lindsay Vacek
(10/10/06 4:00am)
In their book, The Elements of Journalism, Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel lay some pretty hefty obligations at the feet of America's journalists. Members of the Fourth Estate, we are told, are obliged to monitor power, seek and verify "the truth," provide citizens with the information they need to exercise their rights and create a public forum, where the criticism and compromise that are so essential to any democracy can take place.All the while, Kovach and Rosenstiel insist, journalists must strive to be "interesting and relevant."It seems to me that the way reporters and editors can best accomplish this final obligation is by fostering a sense of community through their product. They can monitor power and verify truth all they want, but if their audience has not been encouraged to identify with the power and the truth, journalists will not have met their obligations in a free and democratic society.To foster community, journalists do not always have to focus specifically on such grandiose notions as "power" and "truth." Communities, after all, are made up of people-some powerful, some not-who all have different ways of discerning and understanding the truths in their lives. A good news product will introduce citizens to one another and challenge readers to understand the "different ways of knowing," so to speak, that are expressed by individuals and groups within their community. It will also compel readers to constantly redefine the boundaries of their communities.This brings me to the commitment the Justice clearly has to reporting on the arts at Brandeis. I was delighted to discover that each week, the paper devotes an entire pull-out section to the wealth of artistic expression on this campus-music, theater, photography, sculpture, painting and dance. Not only that, but the writing is good-often very good. I was able to learn from Kendra Fortmeyer '08, for example, that the obscenely wealthy Mexican women in Daniela Rossell's photography exhibit at the Kniznick Gallery are "bored out of their tanned, bleached-blond skulls," and that their houses are full of the "desperate possessions of those who long ago lost all sense of what it was to want." Michelle Minkoff '08 made me sorry I had missed the "camaraderie" that was apparently quite evident between and among the four cellists who kicked off this year's classical music series at the Slosberg Recital Hall. I'll be sure not to miss the next performance.Poetry is another mode of expression the Justice recently touched upon, in the profile of poet-in-residence Franz Wright that was put together by Claire Moses '08 and Shana Lebowitz '10. The feature alluded to some of Wright's poems, but it was really about the man-how he works, what inspires him, and how he feels about his art. In this respect, the piece was similar to the profile of my American Studies colleague, Prof. Brian Donahue, that was written by Rachel Pfeffer '08 and printed the week before. Both profiles provided me with a very personal window (a llama, Brian?) into the lives and motivations of two men who contribute to the unique intellectual identity of this community I recently joined. I encourage the editors at the Justice to continue with these profiles of faculty and to look beyond the professoriate to administrators, staff and students. Each of us brings to this community elements of the other communities that have shaped us-ethnic communities, racial communities, political communities, religious communities.And speaking of religion, it strikes me that a newspaper at "a nonsectarian university under the sponsorship of the American Jewish community" probably ought to have much to say about the issue of faith on campus-starting, perhaps, with an exploration of what that phrase actually means to the people who live and work in this community.The Justice is not alone in the short shrift it has given to religion. Until very recently, mainstream American journalists were quite loath to recognize that as Western democracies go, the United States is a pretty gosh-darned religious nation. Even after the election of 2004 forced members of the media to stand up and take notice, the coverage of religion in America has seemed, at times, to border on pandering. And so I issue a challenge to the reporters and editors at the Justice: Do better than some of the people you aspire to be.The ombudsman serves as the readers' representative, writing a regular column evaluating the newspaper's journalistic performance. Prof. Maura Farrelly (AMST), the director of the journalism program and a former brodcast reporter for Voice of America, can be reached at farrelly@brandeis.edu.
(09/19/06 4:00am)
Two actors climb cautiously onto a wide structure jutting out from the wall and hanging over, like a makeshift balcony, an imaginary audience. They wander together for a minute, practicing an awkward dialogue perfectly matched by the uneasiness of their movements. To a casual observer, the space is nothing special, but once the figurative curtain lifts (this space doesn't have a real one), the room, located in the Lena and Joseph Gluck Building in upper Usdan, turns into an avant-garde performance space.The room will house the upcoming production of Charles Mee's A Summer Evening in Des Moines, directed by Katie Nadworny '09.The newly formed Free Play Theater Cooperative, which is presenting the work along with two other productions this semester, is responsible for the unusual location. The student-run theater company is the brainchild of Josh Mervis '08, its artistic director, and Brian Paternostro '07, its managing director. The two friends, both active participants in theater at Brandeis, were frustrated by the staggering time commitment of the theater department's Brandeis Theater Company and the less professional quality of the Undergraduate Theater Collective, which includes five troupes."We thought that Brandeis students deserved to have a true alternative," Mervis said, "which would mean they could do productions on the high-quality level of the department while still maintaining the flexible and normal life schedule of the UTC." This alternative became the FPTC, organized by Mervis and Paternostro with the help of Prof. Eric Hill, the chair of Theater Arts, and countless other supporters within that department, its graduate program and the undergraduate community.The flexible scheduling of rehearsals and performances is a change for students who want to be involved in professional-quality theater without a heavy time commitment. Mervis and Paternostro, however, want the FPTC to offer more than the typical campus theater group: They want to expose the community to several different kinds of theater experiences which they feel are lacking on campus. "A lot of the works that we would want to do are more controversial than the BTC's," Mervis said. "We hope to bring in the types of shows that other people are afraid to do . they don't want to deal with the subject matter, or they don't want to deal with the idea of not making their money back." Free of the burden to break even or make a profit from productions, the FPTC intends to choose shows that will address important issues or expose students to atypical theater experiences. "We want people to think," Mervis said.Mervis said he hopes to work with Jamele Adams, the assistant dean of student life in support of diversity, and the Intercultural Center (which Adams oversees) to produce one play each semester that promotes diversity or highlights an issue they find important. "I will not shut down a show because someone disagrees with it," Mervis said. "An open forum does not mean that you can say, 'I disagree with it, let's shut it down.' It means, 'I disagree with it, but I acknowledge that . if I want to be able to present my ideas, then I have to listen.'" Later this semester, the FPTC will present The Black Eyed by Betty Shamieh, directed by Jennie El-Far '07. The show is about four Arab women who meet in the afterlife and struggle to come to terms with their lives and their choices. It is the first of many potentially controversial plays that Mervis hopes to produce as the FPTC grows.The FPTC hopes to use not only the Shapiro Theater, which is often used by the UTC, but also unconventional venues like Gluck, and the more professional stages in the Spingold Theater Center. The FPTC's production of Jason Robert Brown's musical The Last Five Years, directed by Justin Becker '09, will be the first undergraduate production ever to go up in Spingold, a personal goal of Mervis'. Mervis hopes the FPTC will become a part of the Brandeis Theater Company eventually, and Leslie Chiu, BTC's production manager, said that anything's possible. "We're definitely interested in increasing undergraduate experience in the department . so [the BTC and the FPTC] both have the same goal." Chiu said that although the department's space is limited, they are working to make sure that Spingold's facilities are available for an FPTC production once a semester.Mervis hopes to produce many student-written works, as well as hosting round-table discussions of scripts in progress. The FPTC is also eagerly recruiting first-years, both to utilize their talents and, as Mervis puts it, to "ensure that we'll stay alive." This outreach includes plans for a musical review and freshman showcase coordinated by Jenny Paul '07.The FPTC's first three shows promise to be thought-provoking, and should prove a strong inaugural semester. Dates have not yet been set for The Black Eyed and Summer Evening in Des Moines, but The Last Five Years will run the first weekend of December. For more information about the Free Play Theater Cooperative, e-mail Josh Mervis '08 at jmervis@brandeis.edu.
(09/19/06 4:00am)
Candidates for Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth John Bonifaz and Jill Stein told students that replacing incumbent William Galvin, a democrat, would restore a responsive and transparent public servant to the post."Most people don't know what the Secretary of State does," said Stein, a Rainbow-Green Party member, last Tuesday in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall to about 45 students."They don't have a clue if he's appointed or elected or what," Stein said "The secretary oversees the infrastructure of democracy. The secretary should be a watchdog of that democracy."The Brandeis chapter of Democracy for America and the Brandeis Democrats sponsored the forum, which was moderated by Julia Gordon '07, director of communications for DFA.Stein and Bonifaz agreed that Galvin, who declined an invitation to attend, does not represent the values of an average Massachusetts resident."He's an insider's insider," Bonifaz said. "He's part of that old-boys network that's been in power for too long."More specifically, the two candidates said Galvin has not been an effective check on the powers of the republican governors who have served during his three terms, has not made Massachusetts elections as fair as possible and did not fight to stop the Massachusetts legislature's universal health care bill, which will provide health care to nearly the entire state by July 2007.Stein, a physician, was particularly vocal about her frustration with that bill, because she said it forces "people to buy a useless policy" that doesn't provide adequate coverage. Worse, according to Stein, is the manner in which the bill was negotiated. "The health insurance lobby spent $7.5 million to basically write the bill to benefit themselves-and not the people of the state needing health care."The vote was passed unanimously by the legislature without lawmakers having even read the bill, at the behest of the powerful insurance lobby, Stein said. "It's really important to note how money is changing hands behind closed doors."Regarding that issue, Bonifaz spoke more broadly about how the "powerful and politically connected are clearly running Beacon Hill."At the state Democratic Party convention, Bonifaz said many delegates told him they wanted to vote for him but said they were afraid of the repercussions because they were either government employees or the family of government leaders."'I would have voted for you, but I'm afraid to lose my job,'" Bonifaz said many delegates told him.One of the most important duties of the secretary is to serve as chief of elections, and Bonifaz and Stein clearly were not happy with the way elections have been handled under Galvin.Bonifaz said his "Voters' Bill of Rights," a list of nine items for increasing voter turn-out, ensuring votes are counted properly and allowing more candidates to receive public funding for their campaigns, would "take our democracy back and level the playing field."Stein lamented what she saw as a "merger of corporations and political power under Galvin's nose.""People are hungering for a change on Beacon Hill-a big one," she said.Bonifaz, who founded the National Voting Rights Institute, received a MacArthur Fellowship for his leadership on voting rights. He served as chief council in a lawsuit against President George W. Bush challenging Bush's authority to wage the war in Iraq without a congressional declaration of war.
(09/12/06 4:00am)
Sitting with his arms and legs extended, Adam Green '07 laughs as he discusses his childhood sports background, which included an uncommon fascination with the 2000 Southern Methodist University basketball team. But when asked about how he became a player in the sports blogging world, Green, a Dallas native and former varsity golfer, energetically recalls the evolution of his sports blogging career. His brainchild, the WBRS Sports Blog, has registered over 30,000 hits since its inception last March and has become a favorite of Deadspin.com, arguably the largest independent sports weblog on the internet.Although Green began the blog as an outlet for Brandeis sports radio personalities to express their views, it has since expanded and moved into the independent sports blogging scene. Green's creativity, enthusiasm, and affinity for obscure sports stories have enabled the blog to undergo this transformation."The blog provides the reader with funny, less known stories that they wouldn't otherwise read about," Green said. Green's journey into sports blogging began differently than most. After he was a mainstay on WBRS as a member of the sports talk show "Overtime," Green was temporarily kicked off the air for neglecting to complete co-op, the required 3 hours per month of outside service to the radio station. Without his show, Green decided the best way to get back on the air was to think outside the box. He entertained the idea of starting a weblog for WBRS sports radio personalities. Faced with the possibility of being off the air for the remainder of the semester, Green decided that convincing WBRS leaders to count the blog as co-op would be his only chance to get back on "Overtime." After initially being denied, Green eventually convinced the station to make the weblog co-op and allow him back on "Overtime" in a series of persuasive e-mails."If co-op means helping the station and trying to making the station more successful by gaining more listeners and helping the station's reputation, then that certainly has to count as co-op," he said. Initially, Green said the WBRS Sports Blog's primary goal was providing a medium for sports department members to express their views. Green worked to ensure that goal was met, signing up past and present WBRS sports personalities to post. Although the blog wasn't a success immediately, it still increased activism within WBRS sports.However, once WBRS sports department members stopped posting during the summer, Green decided to find a niche for the blog in the general sports world. He started commenting on other independent blogs to publicize his own blog using the alias "Mini Me." One weblog he targeted was Deadspin, a website that averages nearly 5 million visitors a month. Green e-mailed Deadspin editor Will Leitch a post he wrote about Daisuke Matsuzaka, a Japanese pitcher who was thinking about jumping to Major League Baseball. The next day, Leitch dedicated one of his posts to Matsuzaka, linking the WBRS Sports Blog in the process. Loads of Deadspin readers clicked on the link and became new readers of the WBRS Sports Blog, giving Green an entirely new audience."Making Deadspin is like an athlete making Sports Center's Top 10," fellow WBRS Sports Blog writer Michael Carnow '07 said. "It's always cool to get public recognition."Green was linked on Deadspin nine other times throughout the summer, posting on a range of topics, including stories about a mistreated Philadelphia Phillies groundskeeper and a rock-paper-scissors tournament that saw the winner claim two tickets to the Ohio State-Texas football game. "[The WBRS Sports Blog] is good because it's not just like 'here's what's going on in sports and here's what I personally think about it,'" Leitch said. "The best sports blogs are not like that."Deadspin wasn't the only sports blog to notice Green's accomplishments. "Most general sports blogs find the basic stories from the AP wire," Zach Landres-Schnur, an independent sports blogger, said. "[The WBRS Sports Blog] finds more interesting stories which add a nice element to a cluttered blogosphere."Now that he's back at Brandeis, Green's primary hope is for the weblog to return to its original purpose as a forum for WBRS sports. Green says that he hopes to pass the weblog down like an heirloom to other WBRS sports members."I think I have built up a reputation, so hopefully the focus will go more towards getting WBRS sports members involved," Green said. "I may be the webmaster, but ultimately, it is WBRS Sports' blog, not my blog."No matter what the future of Green's weblog holds, one thing is certain: WBRS sports, and the world of sports blogging as we know it, will never be the same.
(08/29/06 4:00am)
In a continuing effort to improve the product we provide to the community, the Justice is debuting several new services this semester. Our completely redesigned Web site (www.thejusticeonline.com) will allow the Justice to follow the rest of the media industry in shifting its editorial focus online. The Web site is more interactive and user-friendly than before, and includes podcasts and an article-comments feature that will allow every story to act as an instant forum for community discussion. We will also regularly break stories online between issues, and improvements to the Web site will continue throughout the semester.Starting in October, issues of the Justice will be available in stainless steel newspaper boxes and racks throughout campus and Waltham.Also this semester, the Justice will join a very small number of newspapers by having a readers' representative, commonly referred to as an ombudsman. Prof. Maura Farrelly (AMST), the new director of the journalism program, will write regular columns critiquing and evaluating various aspects of the Justice's journalistic performance. Her columns will never be edited for content, nor will she be given guidelines for subject matter, providing a separated and external check on our credibility.
(05/23/06 4:00am)
The University has had its share of press this year, taking repeated criticism for its various attempts at Arab-Israeli dialogue. But the administration says it's not stirring under the pressure, despite a recent report to the contrary.The Boston Globe reported this week that Brandeis hired a New York-based public relations firm "to showcase its efforts at even-handedness" in Arab-Israeli dialogue.But Lorna Miles, the senior vice president of communications, downplayed the University's relationship with Dukas Public Relations, a firm which she said has been "filling in" the void the last couple months left by former spokesperson David Nathan's move to the office of development in March.The Globe article, "A question of culture," focused primarily on the debate sparked by a column published in the Justice last month by forum editor Matt Brown '08, who asserted that Brandeis is "too Jewish."The article also pointed to the media attention the University has seen recently for removing artwork by Palestinian youths from the Goldfarb Library and presenting playwright Tony Kushner, who has been accused of expressing anti-Israel sentiments, with an honorary degree at commencement. The University "went on the counteroffensive," when it hired the firm, the article said, suggesting that the extra publicity would improve the University's image in the media.But Miles disputed that account. "It wasn't represented in exactly the way that was accurate," she said. It made it seem as though "we had gone out and hired a New York PR firm to do damage control . and that's not what happened." Miles said the University hired Dukas when Nathan's departure freed up funds. It also helps that Dukas has a toehold in New York media, she said. Nathan now serves as the director of communications in the office of development. "We had a big hole in our organization, so I said, 'why don't you guys fill in the work that [Nathan] would have been handling, and they've done a good job," she said. "They've basically acted like another pair of hands for us."Miles said Dukas won't be as "involved" now that a full-time staff member, Marsha MacEachern, was hired two weeks ago. "I like some of the things that [Dukas is] doing, but I probably don't have the budget to keep them, to tell you the truth," Miles said. "If they did stay on it would be in a very specific capacity, not in the day-to-day kinds of things they've been doing with us."Richard Dukas, the President of Dukas Public Relations, said the firm became involved with the University when his client, Michael Steinhardt, a major Brandeis benefactor, donated $12 million to establish the Steinhardt Social Research Institute in Fall 2005.Dukas said his firm works on publicity "placements" for the University in major newspapers, specifically on publicizing its Jewish and Middle Eastern programs. "The idea of the program is to help make the larger public aware of many of the tremendous programs and activities that the University has in relation to the Jewish community [and] in relation to the Middle East," Dukas said. The firm works closely with the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, he said. Crown Center Director Shai Feldman was "prominently quoted" on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle this week, an example of one of their placements.
(04/11/06 4:00am)
Among fans of the Civilization computer game series, Sid Meier is something of a hero. This weekend, he spoke via satellite to attendees at the International Business School's "Get Civilized" symposium and revealed a bit about the vision behind what is widely hailed as one of the best computer games ever made.Unlike Meier, Jeff Briggs, founder and president of Firaxis, the company responsible for the Civilization game franchise, appeared in the flesh. Other prominent visitors were Firaxis Chairman of the Board Jonathan Plutzik '76, global entrepreneur Leonard Asper '86 and Walter Mossberg '69, a leading technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal.The event took place Friday and Saturday to celebrate several happenings within the institution, including the third annual Asper Forum for Global Entrepreneurship, the dedication of the Asper Center for Global Entrepreneurship and the honoring of Firaxis Games with the 2006 Asper Award for Global Entrepreneurship. The symposium began with a short speech by Peter A. Petri, Dean of IBS. He was followed by Asper, who, as the president of Canada's largest communications company CanWest, has not only funded the new Center for Global Entrepreneurship but has also played a vital role in its creation and vision. He expressed commitment on his behalf and for other alumni to maintain Brandeis' reputation as a top business school via the expansion of entrepreneurial studies.Next up was Briggs, who in partnership with Meier, is largely credited with the creation of the "God Game" genre, in which the player directly controls manipulation of a microcosm, including the award-winning Civilization series. Briggs spoke of the game's history and Firaxis' unique, community-oriented business model that has made the company so successful, which includes mantras such as "Never compromise on fun or quality" and "Use profits to invest in employees."The symposium concluded with a discussion panel moderated by Mossberg and involving the Firaxis members, who discussed business and its application in the game industry. The audience was impressed; attendee Alex Toplansky '07 described the event as "an important transition ... Brandeis [has] always been on the cutting edge, and the acceptance of games as a cultural phenomenon marks an important step in [the school's] progression."Afterward, attendees were invited to participate in a hands-on Civilization 4 training session, and to participate in a tournament Saturday to see who at Brandeis is truly the most civilized.
(04/11/06 4:00am)
To the Editor:Matt Brown seems to want to return to the era of quotas limiting qualified applicants ("Brandeis: too Jewish for its own good," April 4 issue). He openly declares the campus should be 30 percent Jewish so it is not so "suffocating." If he had written the campus should only be 10 percent black or 20 percent Christian, he would have been branded a racist and bigot.I hate to be so direct to a young student, but I can't hold back: Brown is a self-loathing Jew. For some reason, it seems to be OK to ridicule Jews for being Jews. What would happen if a black student at Howard University wrote in the forum pages the "road to recovery" involved limiting black admissions?He would be called an Uncle Tom. It is disgusting that it is normal in society for Jewish people to still be seen as somehow inferior to people of other faiths. It is also disturbing that having a large Jewish community somehow must be fixed by Brown and others. What makes the problem even worse-as evidenced by Brown-is that the view is held by so many well-educated Jews.I wish there were a reasonable and comprehensible explanation for that, but there is not. What sets Brandeis apart from the approximately 25 schools that it is competitive with in terms of prestige?Its rich Jewish community. Brandeis wouldn't be Brandeis if it weren't for its "Jewish feel." It provides a place for a shomer shabbos student not to feel so isolated. It provides for a Jew who may have not been from a Jewish area to experience the joys of the Jewish traditions. Just as the Jewish religion and tradition has a place for non-Jews, Brandeis provides ways for everyone to feel welcome and included. From the Transitional Year Program to the Muslim Student Association to the Brandeis Christian Fellowship (to name a few), Brandeis allows all people to enjoy what Brandeis is: a living tribute to the American Jewish traditions of education and social justice. - Carol MaymudesSyosset, N.Y.
(04/04/06 4:00am)
WBRS, BTV and he Archon are committed to serving the Brandeis community. We recognize the flaws in the current SAF structure and want to see responsible reforms which make more money available to chartered clubs. The SAF reforms proposed by the Student Union, however, do not do nearly enough to remedy the key flaws in the current system. As our school has grown, our organizations have strived to use our resources to improve social life on the Brandeis campus. Using money from the SAF, WBRS deejays, co-sponsors events and organizes free concerts. BTV uses its portion of the SAF to provide the campus with access to recent Academy Award-winning blockbusters such as Brokeback Mountain and King Kong. The Archon gives a yearbook to graduating seniors. These services are provided without an additional charge in order to enhance the overall social atmosphere at Brandeis. The centerpiece of the Union proposal is an increase in funding for all chartered clubs. The proposed system, however, would merely provide the Finance Board with increased funds. Because the Finance Board operates independently of the Senate, the chartered clubs are not assured an increase in their funding despite repeated Union guarantees. Giving more money to the F-Board does not mean that the F-Board will change the way it distributes money. The Union proposal merely places new stresses on an already overwhelmed system. While WBRS, BTV and the Archon support SAF reform in principle, we believe it must go beyond simply cutting the budgets of secured groups and increasing the burden on the F-Board.Public debate is crucial to the democratic process. While Union officials have made initial efforts to keep secured groups informed and to seek their input and concerns, the Union constructed the majority of the amendment without consulting us. More importantly, the amendment was constructed with no time allotted for public comments; public forums were only held once the amendment was fully formed. This amendment, if passed, will have a far-reaching impact on the student body and yet the student body was not consulted. We cannot support this lack of transparency. At WBRS, BTV and the Archon we are all students, we are all active members of chartered clubs and we are all a part of the Brandeis community. We want to see chartered clubs get what they need not simply to function, but to succeed. At the same time, we cannot support an amendment that does not address the roots of the problem. But regardless of the outcome of this vote, we are, and will remain, committed to serving the Brandeis community.Craghead, Gedalius and Schnitzer are presidents of WBRS, the Archon and BTV, respectively. Members of each group's executive boards contributed to this op-ed.Editor's note: Gedalius is a copy editor of the Justice.
(04/04/06 4:00am)
Three students and a professor spoke to a packed room Thursday about how their disabilities have affected their lives at Brandeis and elsewhere. This Disability Panel, organized by the Student Committee on Disabilities, was the first event of its kind at Brandeis and sought teach the audience that one definition of disability does not fit all. Hearing the daily struggles that each person experienced on account of his or her disability was very moving. "Weird" is a term that my family and I have coped with almost my entire life. Growing up with a brother with Asperger Syndrome-a well-known form of autism that typically induces extreme social awkwardness, among other things-I have heard and witnessed every cruel joke and name imaginable. Harmless fun is always seen differently from the receiving end of the line and can often cause serious repercussions. Educating people about disabilities would do a substantial amount to make the lives of people like my brother much easier. The committee's coordinator, Mara Blumenthal '06, along with Gabe Sassoon '06, Noah Wolfson '08, and Prof. Stephen Gulley of the Heller School, made it clear from the beginning that they hoped telling their stories would help to raise the shocking lack of awareness present on this campus. As Gulley so quaintly said, the fact that these people each have a disability does not make them particularly inspiring or brave. Rather, they are courageous because they exposed themselves to a large crowd in order to help better educate people about the extensive meaning of the term disability.Getting up in front of a crowd is not easy to begin with, but to open up your private life in a public forum must take a level of bravery that many of us may never know or understand. At a campus like Brandeis, which prides itself on its supposed dedication to social justice, why is there so much widespread ignorance on the issue of disability?True, there is an amazing course offered each fall, currently taught by Gulley, called "Sociology of Disability," which presents the topic of disability by requiring students to think beyond the traditional view of disabilities, which classifies people as "invalids," and to instead understand that individuals with disabilities do in fact lead very valid lives. After taking the course last semester, I definitely believe its content challenges conventional thinking, but I still feel as though so much more could be done to keep people informed. We need campus-wide events seeking to educate and enlighten, such as information sessions where people can feel free to ask and receive answers to their questions about disabilities. The campus should also be improved so that those with physical disabilities don't need to find longer and inconvenient routes in order to get around.Despite the fact that Brandeis does meet the Americans with Disabilities Act regulations, which mandate that all new buildings built after 1990 must be fully handicap-accessible, there is more the school could do. For example, panelists spoke of the difficulty that a student with cerebral palsy faces in climbing the Rabb steps alone due to the lack of railings. While railings may not be covered under the act, clearly they are a necessary accommodation for someone who has difficulty walking, and one that Blumenthal said she has long sought.Having worked closely with adults with both physical and mental disabilities at the Life Focus Center in Boston for seven years, I have witnessed how difficult it is to push or self-navigate a wheelchair up or down an incredibly steep hill, such as the one leading up to Kutz or down to East Quad due to a lack of efficient ramps. At least a portion of the exorbitant $42,000 we pay in tuition and fees should fund the much-needed campus work, such as adding railings to Rabb steps that would eliminate such unnecessary struggles. Most buildings, rooms and classrooms should also be fully handicap-accessible so that students and visitors, as well as professors, are not restricted to the few rooms on campus that they can easily reach.Though the panelists all said that they have never suffered blatant discrimination due to their disabilities at Brandeis, I myself have witnessed, and verbally stopped numerous students exhibiting open hostility and mockery towards students classified as "weird." While it might be annoying when a perfect stranger attempts to sit with or speak to you as though you're life-long friends, but mild annoyance is not a reason to overreact and say something nasty or rude. Something that you perceive as socially inappropriate can seem entirely normal to someone else, especially someone dealing with disabilities that restrict perception of societal norms.College students are supposed to be too mature for such displays of ignorance. Simply knowing that students with disabilities attend Brandeis should inspire the proper authorities to organize events to educate the student body in which these individuals must exist, and ultimately survive. The Student Committee on Disabilities seems to go forgotten under the giant umbrella of the Diversity Committee.The committee's efforts are also diminished because its events, such as the panel, are poorly advertised. Students were only notified of the panel via an all-campus e-mail the day before, and no fliers or advertisements appeared anywhere on campus. It is highly revealing that the entire student body is notified and encouraged to attend dances weeks in advance and only given a day's notice in a small e-mail to come listen to an hour-long Disability Panel attempt to raise awareness. Clearly, something is drastically wrong with our priorities.
(03/21/06 5:00am)
Plans to reform the club funding system have shifted course somewhat, primarily with the elimination of a proposed board to fund social events. Campus entertainment will continue to be planned and funded by a slightly modified Student Events, while six of the eight secured groups will lose their guaranteed funding and protected statuses.The proposal is the result of a yearlong review by Student Union officials of the current model by which student organizations are financed. The specifics of the proposal were presented to near-unanimous support at the senate meeting Sunday evening as amendments to the Union constitution. The proposal will be put before the student body April 6. Any amendments to the Union constitution require the approval of two-thirds of voting students to take effect."People have been to afraid to tackle [the issue] because of the power or supposed power of secured groups.," Union President Jenny Feinberg '07 said. "We've addressed the major concerns." Nearly all student groups on campus are funded through the Student Activities Fee, which is paid by every student and is equal to one percent of gross tuition.Under the current system, eight secured groups, including the Justice, receive approximately 62 percent of the fund, while more than 200 chartered clubs request funding from the Finance Board, which has less than $400,000 to distribute.The ChangesMost notably, Feinberg abandoned her initial idea of a Student Programming Board, made up of representatives from major campus groups, which would have been granted about $100,000 to allocate money to other groups for events. Such a board would have taken significant control of event planning out of the hands of Student Events, the campus's primary programming group. Although she initially said the board would increase the range of campus events by not leaving all decisions to Student Events-which has fallen under scrutiny for not incorporating sufficient student input-Feinberg said she withdrew the idea because of concerns voiced by both students and administrators that two event boards would be "cumbersome." Union officials said they have instead started working with Student Events leadership on making event planning a more collaborative process. Also changed in the proposal are details of an emergency fund to provide relief to secured groups in the case of one-time expenditures outside of their normal operating budgets. The Capital Expenditures Fund, which under both forms of the proposal would be monitored by the F-Board, would originally have been capped at $100,000. But after leaders of the BEMCo became concerned the fund would be unable to pay for vehicle replacement, the proposed cap was increased to $150,000. The fund would be created by siphoning off two percent of the F-Board's semesterly total, and the F-Board would have discretion to make additional deposits into the fund.The Big PictureFrom its beginnings, the reform attempt has aimed to allocate more money for chartered groups that are often under-funded, while placing more accountability on secured groups that have for years received guaranteed funding-with little oversight.With the exception of the Union government and the Justice, secured organizations that previously only had to have their budgets approved by the Union treasurer would now have to go before the F-Board each semester to receive their SAF allocation. Each group has been assigned a "baseline" amount, which is a recommended level of funding required for their operations. With the exception of BTV and the Waltham Group, the secured groups' baselines will be significantly lower than amount they are guaranteed under the current system. The constitutional language stipulates that the F-Board cannot deny secured groups' "reasonable operating expenses consistent with the approved purpose." Any further costs can either be requested directly from the F-Board's general fund or from the Capital Expenditures Fund.If secured groups spend less than their baseline amount, any remaining money would revert to the F-Board."We're not going to require the same stringent proof-of-cost for every item as we do now [for chartered groups]," F-Board chair Harrison Chizik '07 said. "But we're not giving $50,000 checks and saying, 'Have fun,' anymore."Chizik attempted to assuage the fears of several secured group leaders by saying that "groups have nothing to worry about if they articulate why they need things."Only the Justice and the Student Union would remain financially secured. The newspaper will not need to consult the F-Board to receive its funding, which will be reduced by about 25 percent under the proposal to only cover its printing. Feinberg has this measure is to protect the newspaper's journalistic independence. The newspaper should not need to have its budget approved by the government it writes about, she said. The Justice will also not have access to the Capital Expenditures Fund or any money controlled by the F-Board.With significant cuts to the Union, WBRS, Archon, Student Events and the Justice, an additional sum of more than $100,000 would be made available to chartered groups that request F-Board money.Student EventsStudent Events, which currently receives 22.47 percent of the total fund, or about $218,000 this year, would see a cut of about 10 percent under the proposal, setting its minimum funding to about $196,000.After both administrators and Union officials questioned the group's transparency over the last year, Director of Student Events Helen Pekker '06 said she is willing to make Student Events more open and inclusive in its planning.To this end, the group has opened up the selection of its new director to its entire organization, instead of a closed committee, Pekker said. The group has also invited all students to hear the candidates speak, although they will not have a vote.In the future, Student Events plans to decide positions through campuswide elections, and to add appointments of minority representatives, Pekker said.The group's budget cut would come from money the group uses to co-sponsor events, and its ability to turn to the emergency capital fund. Some smaller programming will also be eliminated, according to the proposal.The ArchonThe Archon, the University's yearbook, currently receives 8.35 percent of the total fund, equal to about $81,000 this year. The proposal will cut the group's funding by about $25,000.The Archon has fallen under recent scrutiny by Union officials who said some of the group's funding was unaccounted for. The 2005 Archon was only recently mailed to students late.Rebecca Gedalius '06, the editor in chief of the Archon who is also a copy editor of the Justice, said she didn't approve of the reduction in the Archon's funding because she worried it would lead to a decline in quality of the yearbook."If we're being told, don't worry, you'll get your money [from the F-Board], why not just go to the treasurer?" she said.BEMCoBEMCo, which currently receives 3.14 percent of the total fund, or about $31,000 this year, will face a cut of $7,000 under the proposal.Jonathan Sham '06, the group's operations officer, said he approved of the cut, but that he was "a little weary about F-Board having control of the Capital Expenditures Fund. It's the only recourse the club [would have] for capital expenses."He said BEMCo couldn't endorse the amendment. Sham said he fears the F-Board will not be able to provide the approximately $65,000 to buy new emergency vehicles every seven to nine years.But Feinberg said that the F-Board would have "more than enough to fund the truck."WBRSWBRS currently receives nearly nine percent of the total fund, about $87,000 this year. The group would see a cut of about $26,000.The radio station's $10,000 emergency fund would no longer be needed in light of the Capital Expenditures Fund, Feinberg said. WBRS would also no longer be able to co-sponsor campus events. The station's general manager, Julie Craghead '07, said she was pleased WBRS would no longer be responsible for numerous co-sponsorship requests. She declined to comment on how she felt about the proposed budget cut and having to seek F-Board approval for its budget.Waltham Group and BTV Both the Waltham Group and BTV's baseline funding would be equal to their current allocations.But the Waltham Group's coordinators Cassandra Shamallas '06 and Liz Steinfield '06 said they were opposed to having to go before the F-Board.Steinfield called the increased oversight "a little bit unnecessary because it will take time away from our mission to spend our time serving the greater Waltham community."Ari Schnitzer '07, BTV's president, said he was pleased with the recommended funding level. "We've have achieved more parity just on the fact everyone else's funding has gone way down," he said.The Justice and the Student Union: the lone secured groupsThe Justice--which would have nearly a quarter of its current allocation reduced to cover only its printing costs--will continue to be guaranteed funding without F-Board approval. Feinberg has said she does not want to see the Justice's objectivity hindered if it were required to have its entire budget approved by a Student Union panel.That aspect of the proposal seemed to be the most controversial at an open forum last Tuesday.Feinberg said it was necessary to "prioritize" the oldest publication on campus. If other media outlets "can prove themselves to be as well-read and as thorough [as the Justice], they absolutely have right to be considered for secured status" in the future. She said it was much too soon to secure The Hoot, a newspaper that was founded in 2005.Heather Zajdel '07, the editor in chief of The Hoot, said that only securing the Justice and claiming that this move is to maintain journalistic independence is "backwards logic" because securing one media group is like "an endorsement."The Justice's editor in chief, Dan Hirschhorn '07, said the Union's plan to only cover the Justice's printing cost is "more than fair." As the only secured group that "acts as a watchdog on the government," he maintained that not guaranteeing the Justice's funding would be a "disservice to the community." He declined to comment on if The Hoot should be secured.Of all eight groups, the Union government would face the biggest budget cut, giving up more than 40 percent of its current allocation under the proposal. This will prevent the Union from planning events such as ModFest, putting more pressure on Student Events.
