University sees computer science enrollment boom
(12/10/13 5:00am)
The University's Computer Science department has experienced a boom in undergraduate course enrollment in the past six years.
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Teach computer science to students at younger ages
(11/26/13 5:00am)
"Hello World." I remember the immeasurable, heart-felt joy when my first computer program ran, displaying those two simple words. It was the 11th grade and I had decided that since my high school didn't have any sort of computer science or programming class, I'd just read and teach myself. But why didn't my school have any such class? If we learn writing for communication, history for hindsight, math for logic and other sciences for understanding the natural world, then we should learn computer science to engage with the technology that dominates our current world. Many people believe that computer science requires advanced knowledge of math and highly developed theoretical thinking-but this is false. Computer science actually has very few prerequisites, just an open mind. In fact, computer science is so different from most things we learn in school that the lens it offers is unparalleled in today's world. Despite the common misconception, you do not need deep understandings of theoretical math or binary arithmetic to study computer science. There is definitely a place in computer science for higher math but its heart lies in something fundamentally simple-figuring out the best ways to solve problems given a set of constraints. This is no euphemism or oversimplification. I agree that this sounds far less exciting than the romanticized computer science of laptops with green-text windows hacking into defense mainframes within seconds, but this is what it's actually all about. Computer science simply provides a new way to analyze familiar problems and is accessible to people of all ages, not just college students. In computer science, seemingly intuitive problems can often have interesting solutions. Contrary to popular belief, computers are actually really stupid, but they are really good at following instructions. With that fact in mind, solving problems takes an interesting twist. Take the problem of searching for a particular item in a list of sorted items, like finding a word in a dictionary. It turns out that to find the word "rupture" you can't simply tell the computer to "turn to the r section." Telling the computer to search every entry from the beginning until it finds "rupture" could take a really long time. Instead, think about how to answer when someone says, "Guess my number between one and 100." We simply guess 50, and if they say larger, we guess 75, smaller and we guess 25. We keep cutting the possible ranges in half until we find the right number. That's exactly what the solution to this problem is. We call it "binary search." To find an entry in a dictionary with 1,000,000 entries using the first proposed method of starting from the beginning and searching until we find the right one would take 500,000 tries on average, but using binary search only takes about 20. Another famous concept from computer science is recursion. Imagine you're standing in a huge line to get into an amusement park and you want to figure out how many people are in line. You could try counting it all yourself, but that would be pretty hard to do if the line were comprised of 100,000 people. We call that an "iterative solution." The "recursive solution" is a bit savvier. Instead, you just ask the person in front of you, "What position are you in?" Presumably that person doesn't know either, so he asks the person in front him, who asks the person in front of her, and so forth. This goes until it gets to the front of the line, where the person there declares that he is in position one, then the woman behind him knows that she is in position two and so forth, all the way back to where you're standing. Being able to think in this way offers a lot of practical and interesting insight into other real-world problems. Computer science can be taught at younger ages through programming languages developed specifically for learning. One such language is Scratch, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In Scratch, you don't even have to type any code or syntax. Instead, you just drag blocks together that each correspond to particular actions. You can create games, movies or whatever else you want. Students are able to focus on key programming concepts and constructs without dealing with the seemingly complex machine grammar of a programming language. If we expose younger children to this kind of thinking earlier on, imagine the possibilities. Interdisciplinary connections can easily be drawn to countless other subjects. Linguistic morphology and syntax, for instance, represent underlying sound and phrase structure with tree structures that are nearly identical to how computers often represent data. Linear algebra defines vectors and matrices in such a way that begs a comparison to another way computers store data called "arrays." In this day and age, everyone can and should apply computer science to other aspects of their lives. We should all say "hello" to the world of computer science. *
Trustees of donated academic funds allege University misuse
(11/26/13 5:00am)
Correction appended.
University to address deficit
(11/26/13 5:00am)
As a part of efforts to reduce the University's $6.5 million deficit, as announced at the last faculty meeting on Nov. 7 by faculty representative to the Board of Trustees Prof. Faith Smith (AAAS), the University plans to save one million dollars in procurement for fiscal year 2014. According to Senior Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Marianne Cwalina, the University has made some specific investments in fiscal year 2014 to improve academic and student services. "Historically, deficit spending has been the norm along with a greater draw on the endowment to support operations. The new senior leadership team has been working diligently to reduce and eventually eliminate the deficit," she wrote in an email to the Justice. Cwalina wrote that the strategic procurement staff has been reorganized under a new director and is currently working to identify preferred vendors that will cost the University less in supplies, services and contracts. All costs are currently under review and prices for services are being assessed in order to achieve more than one million dollars in procurement savings, she wrote. According to Cwalina, the University plans to save about five million dollars in procurement over the next few years, in areas including utilities, facilities services and supplies. Cwalina wrote that a majority of the savings would be seen in waste management, print, travel, facilities services and lab services, among other areas. Cwalina wrote that the science departments could see further reductions in spending for lab supplies and services but only relative to lower cost negotiated with vendors. She also wrote that facilities will see budget reductions, again, relative to negotiated contracts for snow removal, waste management and other facility services. According to Dean of Arts and Sciences Susan Birren in an email to the Justice, "[s]trategic procurement is just having agreements with vendors that leverage the buying power of the [U]niversity to get better prices for the items we purchase anyway." Therefore, Birren wrote, students should not see any difference in the supplies used in courses or available to them, "as we will be purchasing the same supplies and equipment but saving money through strategic procurement agreements." Birren wrote that these agreements actually "have the potential to help faculty in the sciences manage their grants and increase money available for their research, including research involving undergraduates." The savings and decreases in spending, according to Cwalina, will not be across-the-board, but will rather come "as we pinpoint vendor savings in specific departments as procurement identifies better rates and services." According to Director of Strategic Procurement John Storti in an email to the Justice, the strategic sourcing model is "based upon demand management and creating strategic partnerships with key suppliers in order to leverage the University's spend[ing] as a whole as opposed to decentralized spending." "As the Procurement staff continues to bid out services, we anticipate seeing continued annual savings to help defray the deficit. Supplies that affect all departments will see reductions in their budgets," Cwalina wrote. When asked if procurement savings would affect employment or administrative, faculty or facilities services salaries, Cwalina wrote that "the University is currently examining our business processes to see where we can adopt best practices that bring us in line with the higher education community. "Like other universities and colleges, our competitors, we are looking at their administrative practices. In reviewing our own, we want to implement practices that will not only get the job done but will also permit us to conserve resources for our strategic goals," Cwalina wrote. Storti could not comment on specific areas for which the University has established savings by press time. Senior Vice President for Administration Mark Collins could not be reached for comment by press time.
Senate votes against 'smoke less'
(11/26/13 5:00am)
The Senate met on Sunday to vote on the recognition of several clubs and the amendment of one club's constitution, as well as to determine their support for designating specific smoking areas on campus, among several other initiatives. East Quad Senator Andrew Savage '16 presented on the de-recognition and de-chartering of clubs that are defunct. The Senate voted unanimously to de-recognition of the Brandeis Aviation Club, which has not responded to email and has not been active on Facebook. Next, the Deis Kernel Club approached the Senate for recognition. This club would be a computer science club aimed at providing a platform for talks by students, following the style of TED Talks. Its purpose would be to teach about the abstract side of computer science, which they argued was fundamentally different from the goal of the Brandeis Initiative for Technology Machine and Programming, the reincarnation of the Computer Operators Group. The other group seeks to explain how programs work; this group would aim to talk about academic computer science. Deis Kernel was recognized with 12 in favor, two abstentions and one dissent. Next, the Chamber of Music Club approached the Senate, seeking recognition. The club plans to perform music at nearby locations, including nursing homes. Senators were concerned that the club was run mostly by students from one class and would not continue in future semesters. However, senators arguing in favor noted that the club wanted recognition to have access to practice spaces. They also noted that the club had already held one successful event. Several senators were concerned that this club should initially place itself within Waltham Group so it could gain from their resources. Eventually the Senate came to a consensus that the club had the right to choose whether to be a part of Waltham Group, so they only suggested it as a resource to which the club could turn. The club was recognized with 14 in favor and one abstention. Next, one student presented on behalf of the chartered African Dance Club to amend its constitution to allow for the incorporation of drumming. The amendment was passed with 14 in favor and one abstention. The Senate then reconvened on an issue that had been tabled two weeks prior regarding its support for the demarcation of specific smoking areas on campus. Members of the Colleges Against Cancer group on campus sought support from the Senate for their initiative. The Senate chose not to support the initiative, recommending instead the demarcation of specific non-smoking areas. Several senators said they would support the initiative personally, but the Senate agreed that they could not support it as representatives, because they had constituents that disagreed with the initiative. In her report, Executive Senator Annie Chen '14 reminded senators that, yesterday, a rebranding meeting would be taking place. Chen reported that the meeting would cover how Brandeis represents itself, including a decision between being the "judges" or the "owls." Following these announcements, the Senate began executive senator nominations for the semester-long position that Chen currently holds. Chen, Senator-at-Large Daniel Schwab '14 and Class of 2015 Senator Anna Bessendorf were all nominated and accepted. A vote will occur to fill the position during the Senate's final meeting this semester on Dec. 8. Senator-at-Large Naomi DePina '16 said in the Social Justice and Diversity Committee report that Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel asked that the Senate help in his effort to improve the Brandeis website by gathering examples of successful websites from other colleges. DePina also reported that the committee decided to postpone the poetry slam to next semester, following issues booking a location this semester. The Sustainability Committee reported that it was approved for a Brandeis Sustainability Fund grant to install 60 toilets with dual-flush capability. The committee is also working to have a sustainability coordinator hired to fill the vacant position, for which there is a salary allotted but no employee. -Sarah Rontal
Crafting polar poetry
(11/25/13 5:00am)
Specific locations often evoke sensibilities within us and inspire poetry. For poetic inspiration, you might envision a lush meadow, the Grand Canyon, a snowy mountain or even the bustling streets of Boston. The Arctic may be one of these places. On Tuesday, Nov. 19, the Women in Science Initiative, sponsored by the Brandeis Women's and Gender Studies Program, hosted an event titled "Arctic Inspired: Science and Poetry from the Far North." The event featured Prof. Elizabeth Bradfield (ENG), a naturalist and the 2012 to 2014 visiting Jacob Ziskind visiting Poet-in-Residence. The event was held in the Epstein Building. Bradfield began the session by explaining the naturalist qualities in her poetry and how her poems based on the Arctic slightly differ from her other works. "My poetry often intersects with the natural world," she said. "But rarely have I [created pieces with] a deliberte bridge to show the connections between the two." Bradfield then recited the prelude to Approaching Ice, her poetry collection published in 2010, before she displayed various photographs of the Arctic. The subjects of the photographs varied, ranging from lush landscapes of the Arctic to its flora and fauna. "It is so rich up there. The number of species isn't vast, but [the Arctic] teems with life. It's phenomenally rich," Bradfield said. The presentation also focused on the microscopic life of the Arctic: plankton. According to Bradfield, 235 plankton species are shared between the North and South poles, due to a process called thermohaline circulation-a part of the large-scale ocean circulation. In relation to this, she presented another poem, "Arctos/Antarkticos." A part of the poem is as follows, "Back before the myths were spoken/all land was lumped/on one side of the globe/like an aching tooth, there was ocean/over both poles. Then the slow spread/of earth's humors: Asia, India/Australia,/all the soft-voweled continents drifting." The next topic was about introduced exotics-species that do not originate from the region-such as the king crab. "It does so well that it pushes out other stuff," Bradfield said. As a contrast, she also noted noninvasive species, such as the taraxacum brachyceras, or as we call them, dandelions. A poem followed, titled "Nonnative Invasive." A quote from the poem is, "A swell of roadside by my house/yellows with them now, excessive petals/turning to excessive seed." Bradfield then moved on to a topic that dealt with ice itself and the communities beneath the ice. "As ice grows older, it gets fresher," Bradfield said. "The salt gets pushed out, [creating] hyper-concentrated channels of brine." Worms, bacteria and little crustaceans live in the channels, and nutrients enter the water system. "The garden of the Arctic is under the sea ice," she added before reciting a selection from "Notes on Ice in Bowditch." Continuing on the note of small Arctic creatures, Bradfield moved on to discuss copepods-three milimeter long organisms high in calories. Whales feed on the copepods, and she addressed her observations of the whale-feeding with the poem, "Historic Numbers of Right Whales Skim Feeding off Cape Cod." Part of the poem goes, "Poor plankton, adrift/in flailing clouds, poor blushing copepods/with delicate antennae, watermelon scent-/you don't stand a chance." The next topic was birds. Bradfield started by mentioning Psyjunaetur, an Icelandic festival in which children would capture confused, lost puffins and release them to the sea; the puffins will forage, they'll feed, travel and eventually return to breed. The poem corresponding with this topic was, fittingly, "Psyjunaetur." The last six lines of the poem are "They ruffle and launch from rock cleft toward/what glow they see, the streetlamps, where children wait/with outstretched boxes, catching them, nesting/them, carrying their slight palanquins to the sought shore,/learning from this tenderness, years later, when the birds/return, how delicious are the things we've freed." Next, she touched on the subject of Eider ducks' eggs and nests, reciting the poem, "Midwinter: The Poet Imagines MacMillan Eating Frozen Eider Eggs in Labrador." "In spring, what treasure to find eggs snug in breast-down laid for them on tundra. I filled/my dory to the gunwales, couldn't move for eggs, rowing like a woman stiff/in her joints, ginger with her bones. And now, November, my hatchet/through the hard, specked elliptical, my appetite for this land/that ate my father and so, cold seasons later, my mother," ended the poem. For the closing topic, Bradfield played a recording of two Inuit women playing a throat singing game. The game consists of two women-men do not play this game-holding each other by the elbows and singing with back-and-forth exchanges, and the women to laugh first loses. According to Bradfield, the singing sounds "almost inhuman." Then Bradfield recited her last poem, "Southern Music" before answering questions from the audience. Bradfield has always been interested in natural history and poetry. "Over the years, my passion for both [natural history and poetry] has developed into a public conversation-working as a naturalist, publishing poems," she wrote in an email to the Justice. At Brandeis, Bradfield finds that she can pursue both interests. She said, "I came to Brandeis because of the wonderful opportunity to teach poetry here and still maintain a tie to my life as a naturalist." In fact, she looks forward to spending more time at Brandeis. "I just had my poet-in-residence contract extended," she noted. "I'll be at Brandeis next year, too, which I'm thrilled about!"
Mark Collins et alia, departed: the students are watching
(11/19/13 5:00am)
To the Editor: At the end of December, my colleague and friend, Mark Collins, leaves Brandeis after 27 years working here. Most recently, he's been the Senior Vice President for Administration. Was he fired? Do we accept at face value words from the University's memo that he has "chosen to take advantage of other professional opportunities"? A more neutral description is evoked by the title of the Boston film, The Departed. Why would someone who is in their late fifties-an unfathomable age to undergraduates- "choose" this? Someone with college-age children and financial responsibilities, forsaking professional security and salary and retirement in sight? Why would other senior administrators of Mark's generation-Fran Drolette, Rick Sawyer, Suzanne Yates-depart similarly? It's beyond me. Others who work here, of comparable age and seniority, look upon this upheaval with anxiety. More likely, a new administration has cleaned house, evicting remnants of the old regime, replacing them with new blood pledging loyalty only to the new regime. This contemporary ritual, ubiquitous in corporate and institutional life, complements other practices of primitive societies: the need for scapegoats to be banished, carrying blame for the errors of others, and for rainmakers, to be sacrificed during droughts. We haven't evolved that much. What is "Brandeis community" supposed to mean when things like this happen? Either do away with the primordial practices, or with the communal fantasy. To maintain both is contradictory. Holding the administration responsible for this primitive sacrifice of human resources is necessary, but not sufficient. Faculty and administration eye each other warily, but obviously we're all employees, we work together, and across caste and clan divides, we inevitably develop friendships and loyalties. Why wouldn't tenured faculty, with real job security, speak publicly to protect and defend colleagues we have greeted daily, and who have had their livelihoods removed? At the start of academic year 2012-2013, at the first, most attended faculty meeting, I questioned President Lawrence about the clandestine process leading to the appointment of the current Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Manos. I spoke publicly and unambiguously to support Fran Drolette and Mark Collins, the Senior Vice Presidents for Finance and for Administration, who had been promoted to share the responsibilities of the previous COO, Mr. French. I respect Fran and Mark as decent colleagues who have carried a lot of water for Brandeis over many years. My message to President Lawrence was simple: please don't force out Fran and Mark. That this was coming next was obvious. The attending, silent faculty was unwilling to use its power of protected speech to endorse or criticize this message, reflecting a collapse of community. President Lawrence expressed-in the redacted minutes-his putative "high regard" for these (now departed) senior colleagues. The news account in the Justice ("Questions aired at faculty meeting," Sept. 11, 2012) described, pejoratively, my invoking "the so-called 'golden rule.' " No, it's simply the Golden Rule. Would the Justice ever write "the so-called 'ten commandments'?" I hope not. After the announcement that Fran Drolette had "chosen to pursue new professional and educational opportunities," I wrote to the chair of the Faculty Senate, Prof. Chasalow, urging him to take action, and received a response that "we are satisfied that the matter was handled appropriately." Note the first person plural, dissipating responsibility, and the passive voice. What kind of community is this? Is this family friendly? Or socially just? Social injustice occurs when in making an omelet, eggs are broken. Some benefit, others don't. The former usually have the means to explain that their actions were just, or at least OK: might makes right. That's why it's important to speak truth to power. We acknowledge that importance everywhere, except where we are. Accepted mores at the confluence of sexuality and politics stress the importance of consensus. But it is commonplace that in politics, if you can screw someone and get away with it, you do. If you can say it was consensual, even better. It's an awful thing to watch. All this matters at a university. To quote the title of a book by Theodore and Nancy Faust Sizer, the parents of the University's general counsel, "The Students Are Watching". With chapter titles like "Bluffing," "Shoving," "Fearing," they assert that the moral education of students comes from watching the leadership of schools. Their summary is on the mark for this communal failure: "How we adults live and work together provides a lesson. How a school functions insistently teaches ... Moral education for youth starts with us adults: the lives we lead and thus project; the routines by which we keep our classrooms, schools, and school systems ... The students watch us, all the time. We must honestly ponder what they see, and what we want them to learn from it." Harry Mairson is a professor of Computer Science at Brandeis.
Letter to the Editor: Mark Collins et alia, departed: the students are watching
(11/19/13 5:00am)
To the Editor: At the end of December, my colleague and friend, Mark Collins, leaves Brandeis after 27 years working here. Most recently, he's been the Senior Vice President for Administration. Was he fired? Do we accept at face value words from the University's memo that he has "chosen to take advantage of other professional opportunities"? A more neutral description is evoked by the title of the Boston film, The Departed. Why would someone who is in their late fifties-an unfathomable age to undergraduates- "choose" this? Someone with college-age children and financial responsibilities, forsaking professional security and salary and retirement in sight? Why would other senior administrators of Mark's generation-Fran Drolette, Rick Sawyer, Suzanne Yates-depart similarly? It's beyond me. Others who work here, of comparable age and seniority, look upon this upheaval with anxiety. More likely, a new administration has cleaned house, evicting remnants of the old regime, replacing them with new blood pledging loyalty only to the new regime. This contemporary ritual, ubiquitous in corporate and institutional life, complements other practices of primitive societies: the need for scapegoats to be banished, carrying blame for the errors of others, and for rainmakers, to be sacrificed during droughts. We haven't evolved that much. What is "Brandeis community" supposed to mean when things like this happen? Either do away with the primordial practices, or with the communal fantasy. To maintain both is contradictory. Holding the administration responsible for this primitive sacrifice of human resources is necessary, but not sufficient. Faculty and administration eye each other warily, but obviously we're all employees, we work together, and across caste and clan divides, we inevitably develop friendships and loyalties. Why wouldn't tenured faculty, with real job security, speak publicly to protect and defend colleagues we have greeted daily, and who have had their livelihoods removed? At the start of academic year 2012-2013, at the first, most attended faculty meeting, I questioned President Lawrence about the clandestine process leading to the appointment of the current Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Manos. I spoke publicly and unambiguously to support Fran Drolette and Mark Collins, the Senior Vice Presidents for Finance and for Administration, who had been promoted to share the responsibilities of the previous COO, Mr. French. I respect Fran and Mark as decent colleagues who have carried a lot of water for Brandeis over many years. My message to President Lawrence was simple: please don't force out Fran and Mark. That this was coming next was obvious. The attending, silent faculty was unwilling to use its power of protected speech to endorse or criticize this message, reflecting a collapse of community. President Lawrence expressed-in the redacted minutes-his putative "high regard" for these (now departed) senior colleagues. The news account in the Justice ("Questions aired at faculty meeting," Sept. 11, 2012) described, pejoratively, my invoking "the so-called 'golden rule.' " No, it's simply the Golden Rule. Would the Justice ever write "the so-called 'ten commandments'?" I hope not. After the announcement that Fran Drolette had "chosen to pursue new professional and educational opportunities," I wrote to the chair of the Faculty Senate, Prof. Chasalow, urging him to take action, and received a response that "we are satisfied that the matter was handled appropriately." Note the first person plural, dissipating responsibility, and the passive voice. What kind of community is this? Is this family friendly? Or socially just? Social injustice occurs when in making an omelet, eggs are broken. Some benefit, others don't. The former usually have the means to explain that their actions were just, or at least OK: might makes right. That's why it's important to speak truth to power. We acknowledge that importance everywhere, except where we are. Accepted mores at the confluence of sexuality and politics stress the importance of consensus. But it is commonplace that in politics, if you can screw someone and get away with it, you do. If you can say it was consensual, even better. It's an awful thing to watch. All this matters at a university. To quote the title of a book by Theodore and Nancy Faust Sizer, the parents of the University's general counsel, "The Students Are Watching". With chapter titles like "Bluffing," "Shoving," "Fearing," they assert that the moral education of students comes from watching the leadership of schools. Their summary is on the mark for this communal failure: "How we adults live and work together provides a lesson. How a school functions insistently teaches ... Moral education for youth starts with us adults: the lives we lead and thus project; the routines by which we keep our classrooms, schools, and school systems ... The students watch us, all the time. We must honestly ponder what they see, and what we want them to learn from it." Harry Mairson is a professor of Computer Science at Brandeis.
BU professor discusses research in mental illness
(11/19/13 5:00am)
Last Thursday, professor of sociology, anthropology and political science at Boston University and distinguished adjunct professor at Lingnan University in Honk Kong Liah Greenfeld led a lecture titled "The Cultural Foundation of Mental Illnesses" in Pearlman Hall for the last meeting of the Sociology Colloquia series. The author of Mind, Modernity, Madness: The Impact of Culture on Human Experience and several other works on mental illness, Greenfeld focused on the impact of nationalism on schizophrenia, manic depression and other mental illnesses. Greenfeld claimed that the rates of mental illness have reached "epidemic" proportions. According to Greenfeld, as many as 20 percent of adult Americans are at a lifetime risk of "succumbing to schizophrenia" or other depressive illnesses. Greenfeld noted the visibility of such mental illnesses at shopping malls, movie theaters and even colleges and universities. She also noted that high rates of schizophrenia and other depressive illnesses are high among young, educated and affluent students. "Madness is always beneath the surface around us. We have the hopeless feeling that we are losing the war against us," she said. Greenfeld attributed the development of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia to "social construction." She explained that schizophrenia is "comparable to infectious diseases in that those infectious diseases affect the organism from the outside" and that "only a fraction of vulnerable individuals" will actually develop these diseases. Although she admitted that developing mental illnesses is currently 70 to 80 percent attributed to genetic predisposition, Greenfeld said that the causes of mental illnesses are still in question, and claimed that the answer would not be found "in the organism, but in the environment." Greenfeld noted that affluent western democracies tend to have higher rates of schizophrenia than poorer, more authoritarian and Asian nations. She said that schizophrenia is "most prevalent in the freest and most populous modern democracy: the United States." Greenfeld proceeded to describe the history of schizophrenia. She explained that it had been "remarkably rare," but in 16th-century England, it became a "very salient and noticeable social problem." These chronic conditions began to attract attention, and observers described anyone who suffered from these conditions as having "great discomfort within one's social environment that is very debilitating" and "discomfort with one's self ... that would lead to paralyzed motivation. In the worst cases, the self was completely lost," Greenfeld said. According to Greenfeld, the emergence of nationalism, or the forming of nations, led everyone to play an equal part of a sovereign state. Greenfeld claimed that this phenomenon forced God to lose sovereignty, leading to a more secular environment. She said that citizens now "experience discomfort as injustice" and "attribute responsibility to other people" as opposed to God, leading to political activism. Nationalism also allowed individuals the opportunity to rise from the bottom and get to the top, according to Greenfeld. Prior to the development of nations, Greenfeld said that society was divided in "separate orders" as if they were a part of "different species." A lower order could not be elevated to a higher order; social mobility was viewed as impossible. Following the development of nations, members of the lower class could become aristocrats. According to Greenfeld, many of these members of lower classes who became aristocrats "realized the English were elite." A new mentality had developed, and citizens thought of themselves as the English people once England became a nation. With the combination of all of these developments, according to Greenfeld, citizens saw that the "best life possible" was deserved. However, Greenfeld explained that this phenomenon has placed a "heavily psychological burden on us." Greenfeld said that this burden is placed on citizens because of "the inability of the culture to provide sufficient guidance to people within it." Now, according to Greenfeld, no one else defines who we are as individuals; we have the opportunity to define ourselves. "We are left to ourselves in our self-making. ... We construct our own identity," she said. Greenfeld said that the culture of nations such as the United States "is unwilling to, it doesn't want to define us. This is against our values of liberty, of freedom of choice." For 200 years, "madness" had only been known in England and its colonies. Greenfeld said that "madness" had been "completely unknown" on the European continent; Europeans called it the "English malady." Greenfeld made the connection that nationalism had only been characteristic of England at the time. She explained that in France, nationalism was not prevalent until the French Revolution, but that when it did become prevalent, "madness traveled like a storm." A question-and-answer session followed Greenfeld's lecture. During the session, she specified generational issues and the growing rates of schizophrenia and other depressive illnesses. "Every generation has more choices," Greenfeld said. One of her specific examples was gender. She claimed that previous generations could not choose their genders like younger generations can currently. When asked about a solution to the growing rates of schizophrenia, Greenfeld said that usually patients are medicated, which wreaks "havoc in the system." She said that the best way to handle the problem is to make sure that people understand what their trouble is, so that they can decide which pressures to allow to affect them in the future. *
Returning to the Renaissance
(11/18/13 5:00am)
It can be difficult for the modern civilian to imagine historical figures as anything more than history: relics of a bygone age with little significance to the modern world. But through the work of scholars who study the lives of those who lived hundreds of years ago, we realize how they were, in fact, just as real as you are. On Nov. 16, the New England Renaissance Conference was held at the Mandel Center for the Humanities, with presentations from notable Renaissance scholars from a wide range of disciplines, including English and history. The event was sponsored by a programming grant from the Mandel Center for the Humanities and the Poses Grants for the Arts through the Dean of Arts and Sciences. The morning session featured the Director of the Mandel Center for the Humanities Prof. Ramie Targoff (ENG) as well as with Kenneth Gouwens, an associate professor at the University of Connecticut and Oliver Tostmann, who was recently named the new Susan Morse Hilles Curator of European Art at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Modern Art. The morning session highlighted a series of papers revolving around the historical figure of Vittoria Colonna, an Italian noblewoman, one of the most famous poets of 16th-century Italy and the first woman to publish a book of her own poems in the history of Italian poetry. She was a symbol of chastity and piety to the public and not only did she write poetry, but she also ventured into prose later in her career. Targoff's lecture was titled, "Vittoria Colonna: A Life in Letters." Targoff's discussion dealt with Colonna's transformation from an erotic poet, or one focused on love for the world around her to a devotional poet, or a poet focused on her relationship with the divine, through an analysis of two separate sonnet series. The English professor went on to explain that first set of erotic sonnets, at least on a surface level, follow the conventions of Italian poet and scholar Francesco Petrarch. The second series of poems on the other hand, "conforms to no existing pattern or genre within Italian Renaissance verse of the time," she said. One of Colonna's lifelong struggles was a battle with her own conflicting emotions. She felt divided by the earthly love she felt for her late husband and the love she had for God. Unlike Petrarch, whose love for his deceased wife was dependent on his love of God, "for Colonna by contrast, loving [became] not a means but an actual stumbling block for her capacity to imagine heavenly salvation," Targoff said. "She needed to forge a poetic mode that would not depend on the foundation of erotic poetry." Targoff concluded her presentation saying that Colonna unknowingly predicted the schism that would eventually develop in the decades following the Reformation in Europe, during which earthly and divine love were deemed incompatible by theologians like John Calvin. "In the broadest sense then," said Targoff, "we might consider Colonna the first Protestant poet." In the second presentation, Gouwens presented his findings on male portrayals of female physical beauty in Renaissance Italy. He spent a particularly long time discussing one of Paolo Giovio's writings. It focused on outstanding noblewomen, a category that in which Colonna stood out. "She combines in fully realized form qualities that which other women possessed only incompletely," he said. He said that "[Giovio's] description of her physical attributes is remarkably explicit as we see and yet he sees those combining with her character, talents and intellect to form a harmonious hold," Gouwens said. In the final presentation, titled "Michelangelo's 'Piet?* for Vittoria Colonna' and Sculptors' Drawings in the Renaissance," Tostmann focused on the portrait of Colonna drawn by Michelangelo, who had a close friendship with Colonna. As part of the presentation, Tostmann also discussed an upcoming exhibit at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston about the drawings of famous sculptors, premiering in Fall 2014. The exhibit will feature the "Piet?*" along with other pieces. The exhibit was developed by Michael Cole of Columbia University and Tostmann. Jodie Austin, (Ph.D.) of the English department, chose to attend the conference because it "presents a very interdisciplinary perspective on early modern literature and art ... this conference is interesting because it's not only focusing on English literature, but it's also making forays into Italian art and Italian literature as well so we have this nice kind of geographical and disciplinary intersection," she said. Austin also said that, "I think it's important that more conferences like this be held on the Brandeis campus ... Brandeis has always felt a little outside the Boston consortium." Emily Fine (Ph.D.), also of the English graduate program, explained that for her the conference is about community. "I think this conference is important because it's about building a community of scholars in New England focusing on similar things."
Gardens grow indoors
(11/18/13 5:00am)
Many people simply eat their food and don't know or understand where it comes from. Jennifer Mandelbaum '14 has planned an initiative she hopes will cultivate an appreciation among the campus community for locally grown and home grown products. The initiative, co-sponsored by Health, Science, Society and Policy Department and the Brandeis Pluralism Alliance, with additional help from 'DeisBikes and Sodexo, is known as Brandeis Garden Week. A series of events were hosted in accordance with this initiative, and have been open to the entire Brandeis community. These events began on Nov. 11 and will continue through Nov. 20 for students to learn about garden education and urban agriculture in the Waltham community. To kick off the program, Mandelbaum set up three garden displays around campus: one in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium, one in the Carl J. Shapiro Science Center Lobby and one in Goldfarb Library near the entrance closest to the Usdan Student Center. The displays are, according to Mandelbaum, "medium-sized containers, each with different plants in them and label[ed] so people can see what kinds of plants they are." Next to the garden displays are posters that were made to "touch upon what garden education is and how it is used in different ways," according to Mandelbaum. The garden display posters were each slightly different and each related to the location of the garden displays. For example, the poster next to the display in the Shapiro Science Center explains a scientific and quantitative perspective, with information on how local schools are using gardening to teach measurements and test hypotheses of science experiments in which the students are participating. The posters, Mandelbaum said, "are all different, but they convey similar messages: garden education is hands-on learning that can be applied to a number of academic subjects." Mandelbaum began thinking about this initiative last year when she became a Schiff Undergraduate Fellow. The fellowship that works with a "faculty sponsor to perform an innovative research or pedagogical project," according to its website. As a fellow she studied urban agriculture and garden education in Waltham through working with schools, after-school programs and local community farms. "I feel that we sometimes live in a 'Brandeis bubble' and don't realize a lot of what is going on off campus," Mandelbaum said. After doing her research and learning all of this information, Mandelbaum "wanted to do something to share that with people on campus," she said. By setting up the garden displays, she said that she hopes to "bring a little bit of urban gardening to the Brandeis community." Garden Week strives to promote the importance of people realizing "where their food is actually coming from and what is exactly in their food." She hopes to accomplish this through the events she planned that incorporate the importance of fresh and local produce. Because this is the first year of the initiative, Mandelbaum needed to get approval from the University administration to begin her project. According to Mandelbaum, getting the approval necessary to begin Garden Week was not difficult. At first, she said it was challenging to figure out whom to contact, but once she was directed to the right people, "it was very easy," she said. "Everyone was really open to the idea." Garden Week included events such as a trip sponsored by 'DeisBikes, the opportunity to volunteer at Waltham Fields Community Farms and an afternoon of healthy cooking with Sodexo. The 'DeisBikes trip, which took place last Saturday, was a bicycle ride through Waltham gardens that ended in the Waltham Fields Community Farm. While at the farm the bikers got to press their own apple cider and observe all of the produce on the farm. Jesse Koklas '14, participated in the 'DeisBikes trip and wished "more people would get excited about coming to cool events like garden week," she wrote in an email to the Justice. Tanvi Bahuguna '14 another participant of the garden bike trip, said that although she "didn't really learn anything new ... seeing the farm produce and pressing our own apple cider with the "bike press" was amazing and a lot of fun." Jennifer Largaespada '16 participated in the Waltham Fields Community Farm volunteer event on Wednesday. Although she wished she could have gone to the farm earlier in the year when they were still harvesting, Largaespada said, "I did enjoy volunteering at the Waltham Fields Community Farm because I got to learn more about the resources that it makes available to the Waltham community." Although the cooking event has not yet happened, Mandelbaum said she is excited to be working with Sodexo in this event. At the event, which will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 20, the participants will be making either pumpkin or squash risotto, to be made with local foods that were sustainably grown, following the initiatives of the week. In addition, after the cooking session, there will be a discussion about the importance of locally grown foods. Mandelbaum said that she hopes Garden Week will help students to "put a little more thought to where their food comes from, and where it's grown." She said that even though she is graduating, "I'd definitely look into someone else who would be willing to do something like this again."
Views on the News: Mayoral elections
(11/12/13 5:00am)
This past Tuesday, elections resulted in significant changes for the cities of Boston and New York. After 20 years with a Republican or Independent mayor, New York City elected liberal Democrat Bill de Blasio in a landslide. In Boston, Thomas Menino, who this year decided not to run after holding office for 20 years, was replaced by Martin Walsh. What impact do you think de Blasio and Walsh will have over their respective cities? Nicholas Medina '14 The impact that they will have is hard for me to predict. First and foremost, their impacts will depend on how much they care about their city. Without emotional investment, I think they are more likely to make decisions that help them stand out as politicians rather than actually improve citizens' quality of life. Second, I see at least de Blasio's landslide victory as more of a symbol that represents changes in New Yorkers' values. In a Nov. 5 article, the Washington Post commented that de Blasio is "ushering in an era of activist liberal governance," but I'd say most of the leading is done by New York City citizens on a daily basis. If the assertion of the Washington Post is true, maybe now politicians and activists will exist more harmoniously, and political activism might not feel so anti-political at least on the city level. Third, as a Dominican Bronx resident, I think it's critical that de Blasio make New York City less Manhattan-centric, especially as gentrification pushes ethnic minorities to the outskirts of the other four boroughs. Nicholas Medina '14 is a Biology major and a Science Posse Scholar. Noah Coolidge '16 A really good mayor has the potential to truly transform not just their city, but also their entire region. Marty Walsh and Bill de Blasio had very different paths to the mayor's office in their respective cities. De Blasio campaigned on a powerful progressive platform of fairness, equality and ending the discriminatory "stop and frisk" policy. Walsh has promised to focus on improving public education and economic development. Both come from different backgrounds and won in very different circumstances. De Blasio is the first Democratic mayor of New York in years and won a resounding victory. Walsh succeeds a 20-year incumbent Democrat and won by only two percent. Both will face difficult challenges as they begin leading their cities. They have ambitious agendas that will challenge the status quo and improve their cities and the regions beyond. Despite different circumstances, the two mayors-elect have at least one thing in common: they're both Red Sox fans. Noah Coolidge '16 is a History major, has worked on several political campaigns, and is a resident of Lexington, Mass. Mark Gimelstein '17 Following Bill de Blasio's win in the 2013 New York City mayoral election, it is clear that the city's populace has taken a major turn to the left on the political spectrum. In my opinion, the outcome of the election was an unfortunate one, as I believe that de Blasio's proposed policies have the potential to drive many job creators out of the city, which will make it that much more difficult for the city's poor to climb up the economic ladder. Personal opinions aside, this election matters because of New York City's great importance for the United States and global economy. As the financial capital of the world, the policies put in place by the mayor of New York City can be consequential and influential for millions, if not billions of people. Mark Gimelstein '17 is a projected Politics and Economics major, and a Long Island, New York native. Sam Mintz '15 Marty Walsh is a great guy with many supporters, and I think he'll be a fine mayor. However, what he won't do is bring many new ideas to a city that could really use some. Boston has had the same mayor for 20 years, and has had only three mayors in the last 45 years. While Walsh represents a token change, I think Boston would have been ready for a mayor like Charlotte Golar Richie, who came in third in the preliminary election behind Walsh and runner up John Connolly. She would have been both the first female and first African-American mayor in Boston history. Or what about Felix Arroyo, John Barros, or Rob Consalvo, excellent candidates, each of whom was vying to be the first Hispanic mayor of a city which now has as many or almost as many Hispanic residents as Irish-American residents? Sam Mintz '15 is a Politics major, production editor of the Justice, and a native of Arlington, Mass.
Hillel appoints Mendales as its temporary director
(11/12/13 5:00am)
Former Executive Director Larry Sternberg's M.A. '78 tenure officially ended this past week, and Hillel at Brandeis' Board of Directors appointed Samuel Mendales to take over as the interim executive director for Hillel, according to a Nov. 9 email to Hillel student leaders from student president of Hillel Rachel Mayo '14. This decision comes after Sternberg announced on Oct. 18 that he would be leaving the University after over 30 years at Brandeis as a student, faculty member and staff member. Mendales wrote in an email to the Justice that he plans to start in his position as the interim executive director this week with a few "stealth" visits. Mendales said that he plans to be on campus twice a week and "as needed in the future." According to Mayo's email, more specific details of Mendales' schedule and tasks are still in development. "My major goal is to support the terrific staff and students through this transition and work with all of you to find the best possible candidate for Brandeis Hillel." Mendales explained that the new executive director will not be him, as he has a full-time job at Hillel Council. According to Mendales, he has worked with Brandeis students over the years on Hillel Council regional events and has helped to send Brandeis students on Israel programs. "I even attended services at Brandeis when I first moved to Boston before joining a synagogue," Mendales wrote. He added that he is excited to work with Brandeis students. "I feel proud and humbled that ... the Board and the [Schusterman] International Center [through Hillel] asked me to join the Brandeis community for this transitional period," wrote Mendales. Mendales has been the executive director of Hillel Council of New England since 1985, according to a biography attached to Mayo's email. Mendales transformed Hillel Council into a regional agency, which promotes advocacy and supplies regional services and programming for Hillel staff and students, as well fiscal management for the larger Hillels in the Greater Boston area, according to the biography. Mendales is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University and the School of Jewish Communal Service at Hebrew Union College, according to the biography. Mendales is a board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, a member of the Combined Jewish Philanthropy's Board of Governors, a founding board member of the Jewish Organizers Initiative, a member of Temple Isaiah in Lexington, Mass. and a member of the Bedford Center for The Arts. Mayo declined to comment on Mendales' appointment. -Marissa Ditkowsky
New scholarship fund will provide need-based support for students
(11/12/13 5:00am)
The Hans and Mavis Lopater Foundation, which has an endowment of approximately six million dollars, will support the newly-established Hans and Mavis Lopater Scholarship Fund for Brandeis University students, according to Director of Development Communications David Nathan. "Brandeis undergraduates with a declared interest in English, American literature, history, European cultural studies, social sciences, psychology or women's studies will be eligible to receive need-based support" through the fund, according to an article on the Office of Development's website. The fund will provide more than $300,000 a year in scholarship support. "The Lopaters were warm, kind people who identified strongly with the mission and history of Brandeis University," said Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement Nancy Winship in the article. "They cared deeply about our students, and they wanted to ensure that Brandeis would continue to educate the most promising students without regard to financial need."? Hans Lopater, a Holocaust survivor who died in 2010 at the age of 82, served as a vice president at Gillette and a consultant to many companies such as Coca-Cola and Dow Chemical. Mavis Lopater, who was a painter and a volunteer at Emerson Hospital, died in 2012. The Lopaters were generous patrons of the University, according to the Development article. "We are overwhelmed by the generosity of Hans and Mavis, and thrilled that their legacies will live on" said Vice President of Development Myles Weisenberg '78, according to the article. "Their gift will make a difference in the lives of Brandeis students forever." -Andrew Wingens
Provost presents at faculty meeting
(11/12/13 5:00am)
The faculty met for its monthly meeting on Thursday, and discussed implementation of the strategic plan, strategies for addressing the University's $6.5 million budget deficit and other pressing matters. Provost Steve Goldstein '78 led the meeting in the absence of University President Frederick Lawrence, who was on the West Coast for a fundraising trip. Goldstein announced that strategic plan implementation groups are being formed, and will include academic leaders, administrative leaders, faculty and staff members. He said that these groups will be working with Prof. Anita Hill (Heller) and himself to "distill" the plan's "objectives, actions and timelines" and in order to start creating timelines for implementation by the end of this semester. He also noted that many aspects of the plan will require funding to be "fully actualized," and thus will be worked on concurrently with the design of the "case statement" for a capital campaign, which is slated to start with a "quiet phase," or a period in which major gifts are secured before making an official public announcement, in January. Prof. Faith Smith (AAAS), the faculty representative to the Board of Trustees, also presented at the meeting and shared information from last week's Board meetings. According to Smith, the University is taking several measures to address a current $6.5 million deficit. One such measure is a one million dollar savings in procurement. Additionally, she said that the new contract for dining services with Sodexo "will mean significant savings," and that the University is "trying to do something similar" with the recently-announced health services overhaul. Smith also reported that at the Board meeting there was a discussion about whether or not faculty members are underpaid. She said that it is "distressing" that "what we do has to be defended. ... Some Board members get it but some don't. ... Board members have to be made to understand what we do and what it means and to see that this is vital to the institution's existence." On another topic directly related to the faculty, Goldstein announced that his office has authorized a set of faculty "cluster hires" on the theme of the African diaspora, and that there are two open positions: one a joint-appointment position in the African and Afro-American Studies and Women's and Gender Studies departments, and the other in the History department. According to Dean of Arts and Sciences Susan Birren as quoted in an Oct. 10 BrandeisNOW press release, "This is exactly the kind of initiative identified by our faculty in our university-wide strategic planning process as an opportunity to build on areas of excellence through selective use of cluster hires in key disciplines." Also on the topic of faculty positions, Goldstein announced that three professors were formally approved for promotions to the title of full professor at the Board meeting last week: Profs. Wendy Cadge (SOC), David Cunningham (SOC) and Ann O. Koloski-Ostrow (CLAS). Chris Bedford, director of the Rose Art Museum, made the final presentation of the meeting. After making several jokes about the difficulties of preparing for the annual dance party "SCRAM Jam," which took place Thursday night at the Rose, he spoke about the ongoing restructuring of the museum's staffing organization and the achievement of forming a Board of Advisors, both of which have taken place since the museum reopened two years ago. Bedford said that the staff's size has "doubled," that former collections manager Kristin Parker has been promoted to deputy director and that there are plans to add a director of development and a collection manager registrar. Bedford called the Board of Advisors an "impressive ensemble of people," and said that the museum hopes to add three or four more advisors before the end of the fiscal year.
Doctor talks on fetal medicine
(11/12/13 5:00am)
Last Wednesday, Dr. Adam Wolfberg spoke at an event titled "Prematurity and Medicine," in which he discussed premature births and gave advice for students interested in medicine. The event was organized by The March of Dimes Collegiate Council at Brandeis in honor of National Prematurity Awareness Month. Wolfberg, who specializes in maternal fetal medicine, spoke with students in the Multipurpose Room of the Shapiro Campus Center. He started with the story of his family, which was the main focus of the talk. Wolfberg's youngest daughter was born prematurely at only 26 weeks, and he discussed the complications that his family faced after her birth. A large part of this segment of Wolfberg's talk was dedicated to describing kangaroo care, also known as skin-to-skin contact, and its benefits for newborn premature babies. Kangaroo care is the method of holding a baby to bare skin, as close to the heart as possible. When this is done, the human body acts as a natural incubator for the baby. The next portion of Wolfberg's talk was dedicated to evidence-based medicine. He helped to outline the risk factors for pre-term delivery and the possible solutions to avoid some of these risks. Some examples of risk factors that can be avoided are smoking and alcohol consumption. Unavoidable risks include a small cervix or an unusually shaped uterus. Wolfberg finished up this event by providing students with tips on how to get into medical school and some secrets to being a doctor. He provided some unconventional wisdom, saying that students interested in medicine should take a few humanities courses in their academic careers, try working jobs that are not related to lab work and find some interests outside of the sciences. He mentioned not being pre-med in his list of tips for getting into medical school. "As undergraduates, students are much less mature. When I was doing my pre-med courses as a [post-baccalaureate] student, I was much more driven and mature than those around me," Wolfberg said. The event ended in a brief question-and-answer session during which Wolfberg revealed the reason behind his passion for medicine and public health. "The ability to look at problems from a population level and figure out how to solve a group's problem by taking a systems-based approach is really compelling," said Wolfberg. Sarah Brugge '15, president of March of Dimes at Brandeis, said that her favorite part of the event was when Wolfberg discussed tips on getting into medical school. "It was things that you don't really hear much, which was really great," said Brugge in an interview with the Justice. *
Police Log
(11/12/13 5:00am)
Medical Emergency Nov. 8-University Police received a report of a person having a seizure. BEMCo treated the party, who was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Nov. 8-University Police received a report of a student who fell down a set of stairs and injured her ankle. BEMCo responded and the student was transported to urgent care. Nov. 8-A party reported that she experienced facial numbness and uncontrollable eye twitching. BEMCo responded and the student was transported to urgent care. Nov. 10-A party reported an intoxicated student semi-alert and vomiting. BEMCo was notified and the student was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Nov. 10-A student reported that she had received a leg laceration. BEMCo was notified and the student was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Nov. 10-Two injuries were reported at the soccer field: one a shoulder injury and the other a head laceration. BEMCo treated both parties with a signed refusal for further care. Nov. 10-A party reported that a student from another university had a twisted ankle on the soccer field. The student was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Nov. 10-A party reported that she was dizzy and unable to walk. BEMCo responded and the student was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Larceny Nov. 8-A party reported that her backpack and laptop were stolen off of a bench on campus. University Police compiled a report. Nov. 8-A party reported that her iPhone went missing from a bench in a building on campus. University Police compiled a report on the incident. Traffic Nov. 4-There was a two-car motor vehicle accident in the Science Lot. No injuries were reported. Nov. 4-Advancement Services reported an unsuccessful credit card fraud attempt. University Police compiled a report. Nov. 5-There was a motor vehicle accident reported in Tower Lot. No injuries were reported. Nov. 7-A party reported that her parked vehicle had been damaged. University Police compiled a report. Nov. 7-There was a minor motor vehicle accident in Theater Lot. University Police contacted the owner of a parked vehicle and facilitated an exchange of paperwork. -compiled by Sam Mintz
Fundraising down $6 million from last year
(11/12/13 5:00am)
The University raised $54.7 million in cash gifts in fiscal year 2013, an almost six million dollar decline from the previous year's $61 million total. While the Office of Development attributes this decline to a lack of major ongoing construction projects, it is still looking to alumni to increase its base of alumni contributors.crease its base of alumni contributors. According to a statement from the Office of Development, "[t]he change reflects the fulfillment by donors of major capital and endowment pledges made during the recently completed Campaign for Brandeis." The Campaign for Brandeis was the last major capital campaign, which stretched from 2001 until the beginning of University President Frederick Lawrence's presidency in 2011. In an interview with the Justice, Senior Vice President for Institutional Advancement Nancy Winship attributed the decline to the fact that there are no new facilities currently being built. "When you're building-we're not building any buildings right now-that makes a huge difference in the numbers you report because if you're building the [Shapiro] Campus Center, if you're building the Mandel Center [for the Humanities] or the [Shapiro] Science Center, there's all this money coming in for those projects." Donations for buildings are generally multi-year pledges, some of which are still being paid off by the donors, said Winship. The University will also soon launch a new capital campaign, which will focus less on constructing physical facilities and instead emphasize gifts for student scholarships and fellowships, endowed faculty chairs and funding for the strategic plan. "We're working on what the gift opportunities will be out of the strategic plan," said Winship. "What we need to do, and it's most important, it's a work in progress, is decide with the provost and trustee input, faculty input 'what are the priorities that we want to raise money for.'" By the end of this year, Winship said the administration will have a refined gifts opportunities list, which will include endowed chairs and financial aid, among more specific options. The Board of Trustees approved the final version of the strategic plan in May 2013. Winship said once the capital campaign is launched, fundraising numbers "will start going up." "I see us five years from now raising $90 million a year," she said. The "quiet phase" of the campaign, which is when the University approaches its closest alumni and friends but does not publicize the campaign, will likely start in spring 2014, according to Winship. As a broader trend, the University is shifting from being supported mostly by friends, who are nonaffiliated supporters of the University, to focusing on the potential of alumni giving. "Alumni fundraising is going exceptionally well and I give the credit to [Lawrence]," said Winship. "We are in a transition from being supported mostly by friends, remember there were times when ... 65 percent of our money came from friends," she said. "[Lawrence] is talking to a number of donors who are interested in making very large gifts to the University," said Winship. In fiscal 2013, 21.6 percent of funds raised came from alumni, as compared to 15.8 percent in 2009, said Winship. That same year, 27 percent of alumni made a gift to the University, which is up one percent from the previous year and beats the average of the top 50 national universities in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, according to Director of Development Communications David Nathan. The Office of Development said it is particularly emphasizing giving by young alumni. The Bold: Brandeisians of the Last Decade campaign has increased giving from 13 percent in fiscal 2011 to 17 percent in fiscal 2013. "I would say that's a long-term investment. We invest in Bold. We do not expect that Bold alumni are going to be making large gifts. But what we care about is what percentage of them give gifts," said Winship. "It's all about looking into the future and making sure what we do here now, with the president and in development, prepares the way for future larger and larger campaigns." The University also recently hired Patricia Fisher as the new vice president of alumni and university relations. Fisher previously worked in development at Dartmouth College for 25 years.
Investigate the metaphysical with science
(11/05/13 5:00am)
In 1907, Dr. Duncan MacDougall recruited six terminally ill individuals to scientifically determine if souls had measurable weight. They were placed on a bed of highly sensitive scales that would be able to record any changes in their mass the exact moment they died. On average, MacDougall documented a difference of 21 grams between the weight when the patient was alive and when they died. In his report, he concluded this was the mass of a soul. With this conclusion, MacDougall asks us to question if it's possible for the soul to physically exist. Not only was MacDougall's sample size too small, his methodology was flawed. According to his report, out of the six patients, the results from two had to be discarded because the patients died before MacDougall could weigh them, two more experienced a loss of weight only to regain the loss within a few minutes and another two experienced a loss of mass that continued to increase. In addition to the number of variables that could account for the changes in mass such as the involuntary movements the body makes, MacDougall and his team also had difficulties detecting the exact moment of death. While at this time it may not be possible for us to be able to determine to a degree of scientific certainty if a soul exists-physically or otherwise-it's still important for science to continue permeating the barrier to investigate the metaphysical. MacDougall's disqualifying junk science has not discouraged others from pursuing the same line of questioning. Others have been equally mystified by the idea of using science and logic to prove the soul has a tangible existence. Some claim they have pictures depicting the soul as it departs while others theorize souls are comprised of the same dark matter particles that compose much of the mass in the universe. All believe they can scientifically prove the soul is more than a compilation of interactions between our neurons. But why is the weight of a soul significant? If we can prove the soul has weight, it then has mass and, therefore, it must obey the Earth's gravitational forces. Perhaps more importantly, it would work to illustrate that the spiritual world after death may exist parallel to our own. Across religions, souls have a uniquely universal significance. While each religion has a different ideology concerning spirituality, souls are seen as the essence of a person that gives us meaning. Even to some of the nonreligious, a soul is believed to make us who we are. To separate the soul from the body would corrupt this connection within an individual. Yet, Judaism, Islam and Christianity, among others, believe the soul can continue to exist even after death. More recently in 1988, Dr. Becker Mertens, along with other Eastern German scientists as part of the Institute of Noetic Sciences that examines the human consciousness, conducted a series of experiments weighing more than 200 terminally ill patients. In each case, the weight loss was exactly .01 grams. Mertens told the German science journal Horizon that he and his team believe they discovered the soul was a form of unidentified energy. If the soul is energy, it then must be subject to the law of thermodynamics, which mandates that energy cannot be lost or destroyed and it can only change from one form to another. Theoretically, this would allow a soul to continue to exist after death. I'm not a scientist and I don't particularly ascribe to the idea of a soul, but even with my own limited knowledge I find it hard to believe any of these theories could explain its existence. But even if the soul could be measured with an instrument, science here invariably encroaches into the realm of mysticism and religion. From our current capabilities, it does not appear that it's possible to distinguish whether a soul exists in a tangible form or it is merely a construct by our brain of our personality, morals and behavior. As noetic science grows in popularity, individuals continue to be intrigued by the human consciousness. We want to believe that after our deaths some part of us continues to occupy space in the world. Perhaps this desire energizes the discussion of the physical presence of the soul, assuming that it exists. It would be the preferred truth to a soul only being a manifestation of our brains that exists while we are alive rather than an immortal entity that moves us into another world. From my research, it does not appear anyone has recently undertaken significant attempts to determine the weight of a soul. It seems as if its one of those elusive truths that we are not supposed to know. However, science inherently needs to seek answers to questions, while the metaphysical often does not have answers to offer. It is possible that a soul may exist without having weight or mass, and perhaps it would be futile to continue determining the truth of this possibility. But science would be doing society a disservice to shy away from exploring these extraordinary and new avenues. By continuing to examine the plausibility of the soul, the ability of the body to spontaneously heal itself or the existence of heaven, science would be furthering our own understanding of the world. And maybe one day they'll tip the scales.
Views on the News: Neglected Diseases
(11/05/13 5:00am)
A recent study published by Lancet Global Health found that out of the 850 new drugs and vaccines approved in the last 12 years, only four percent were for one of the 49 "neglected" diseases. Neglected diseases are those such as tuberculosis and malaria, as well as other obscure ailments that specifically impact poor, developing regions of the world. Why do you believe minimal attention is paid to these neglected diseases and how should the medical community address this statistic? Prof. Donald S. Shepard (Heller) The recent paper in Lancet Global Health pointed out that only four percent of registered clinical trials were related to neglected tropical diseasees. This limited share largely reflects the fact that clinical development of drugs and vaccines, including expensive field testing, is largely funded by the pharmaceutical industry. With some exceptions, that industry seeks profit, which generally means developing products that promise high sales in high-income countries. To interpret the findings, it is worth recalling that clinical trials are but one component of a cycle that includes basic research, clinical trials, operations research and financing and support for implementaiton. Donor agencies, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation or the World Bank, fund technical support and incentives. This support contributed to the fact that the share for neglected tropical diseases, while small, has quadrupled since a comparable study a decade ago. Donald S. Shepard is a Professor at the Schneider Institutes for Health Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Flora Wang '15 The neglected or orphan diseases of society are often overlooked for more profitable research industries such as makeup or accessory medication like Viagra. Although diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria have greater implications for human mortality, they often affect more third-world countries because of the poor living conditions that are conducive to these diseases. In order to correct this social injustice, large research companies must be incentivized to focus on these diseases with financial incentives such as subsidies from the government or other interested parties. In addition, there should be more public awareness campaigns to have more individuals become incentivized to care about these diseases to raise money for further research. With increased incentives for better venture capital investments, legislation and collaboration between different industries with a better culture of sharing information, these diseases will surely have the medical breakthrough we have hoped for. Flora Wang '15 is a double major in Biochemistry and Health: Science, Society and Policy. Bharvi Marsha Patel '14 In the modern society efficiency dictates many of our actions. In the health care field for example, diseases that can be cured, contained and even eradicated with minimal efforts are the ones to get attention and funds. The reason that such minimal attention is given to neglected diseases is because these diseases are most prevalent in communities that have low resources, political turmoil and little access to health care. Investing money in finding vaccines for these diseases will not be efficient even if such vaccinations are created because the implementation of the medication proves to be a bigger struggle. On the other hand, developed countries have already controlled these diseases and can afford to invest in rare conditions because they have the resources and the means to provide access to the vaccinations. The medical community needs to work better to collaborate with different sectors within these developing countries to ensure that political, transportation and cultural barriers do not hinder combatting neglected diseases. Bharvi Patel '14 is the chair of the Brandeis Global Brigades. Michael Kahnowitz '14 I am not surprised by this statistic at all. Massachusetts has experienced a resurgence of these "neglected" diseases like Tuberculosis and Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus. In fact last year there was a reported TB case on the Brandeis campus! Last sumer I visited the Massachusetts State House to educate lawmakers about these increased occurrences and to inform them of the potentially significant harm they could cause to a community. Most legislators were unaware of these public health hazards because until recently, the infections were relatively non-existent. While that is a testament to how successful we have been in combating various infections, we are not immune and should not relent on fighting these diseases. Contacting lawmakers about these issues is an incredibly good way to support the institutions that combat these ailments, such as the Hinton State Laboratory Institute, which is responsible for monitoring the frequency of various infectious diseases like TB, EEE, rabies and HIV. Michael Kahnowitz is currently enrolled in the dual HSSP-MPP graduate program at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.