(01/22/13 5:00am)
On Wednesday night, a panel of experts discussed the upcoming Israeli elections and their possible ramifications. As Prof. Ilan Troen (NEJS) said, the purpose of the debate was "to understand where we have come from, where it is that we might be going and what might happen after the elections." The event was sponsored by the Crown Center for Middle East Studies and the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies. The panel consisted of Prof. Shai Feldman, Judy and Sidney Swartz Director's Chair of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies; Dr. Hussein Ibish, senior fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine and executive director of the Hala Salaam Maksoud Foundation for Arab American Leadership; and Prof. Yehuda Mirsky (NEJS).
(01/21/13 5:00am)
When living with a body of students as artistically inclined as Brandeisians, who seem to always be turning out new works of art, one becomes used to the rapid change and development of the artistic community. When we're always expecting new art, it is easy to overlook the art that we pass by while walking on campus every day. Although Brandeis' campus isn't the most architecturally or aesthetically unified, the distinctive sculptures nestled between buildings and higher-traffic walking areas all help tell the institution's story. One of the most recognizable and iconic artistic landmarks on campus is the Louis D. Brandeis statue, which honors the University's namesake and was dedicated in 1956 by the honorable Earl Warren, chief justice of the United States. Sculptor Robert Berks created the gallant figure of Brandeis mid-step, his cloak cascading in a wind, arms and legs ready to keep treading. Mounted on a small hill in between the Shapiro Campus Center and Sherman Function Hall, it is probably the most frequently admired statue on campus as it looks over a main walking path, almost as if it is watching over the school. The statue of Brandeis is used to anchor the University's branding, appearing on its website and in mailing materials-therefore, it has been used on the websites of many school clubs to identify them as belonging to the institution. Students dress up the majestic statue on a regular basis for various holidays and campus events, adorning it with everything from colored tape to flyers to bandanas. In a way, it is our artistic mascot. As one walks toward upper campus, the variety of permanent artwork moves from a broad representation of the University to works that represent historical benchmarks in the University's growth. Another popular sculpture that is, like the Louis D. Brandeis rendering, an almost interactive work, lies in front of the Goldfarb Library. This sculpture portrays an adolescent reclining on a rock, and is situated so that the young person is looking over toward the library. As its nameplate reads, this playful piece serves to recognize the generous contributions and abiding commitment to the University of Leonard L. Farber, whose generosity helped establish the University's Farber library, which is named for him. As one walks from the library toward Schwartz Hall, the Psychology building, one passes a tall, elegant, pillar-like sculpture. The medium-gray, softly curved figure has an ambiguity to it, and could resemble the general form of a woman's silhouette, or even of a flower stretching into bloom. This sculpture speaks to the way that art at Brandeis is flexible and, to each viewer, represents a different ideal in culture and time. The sculpture stands in honor of Lucille and Samuel Lemberg, for whom the Lemberg Children's Center is named. It was donated by the sculptor Maurice B. Hexter in 1970. Heading back in the direction of lower campus, on a walking path to the Shapiro Campus Center, one will pass a sculpture in between the Shapiro Science Complex and the Bernstein Marcus Administration Building that is quite unique from the other art fixtures at Brandeis. Secluded among a cluster of trees, looking out to South Street and the entrance of the University, sits a sculpture of two women cheerfully spinning around with two children within the form of a ring. Called "Family at Play," this sculpture echoes the voice of femininity and strength that is central to the progressive culture of Brandeisians. It was created out of bronze by Chaim Gross in 1963, and was a gift of Antje and Leonard L. Farber to the University. While there is much dynamic art moving around the University throughout each school year, it is important to acknowledge the works that are constant throughout each student and faculty member's time at Brandeis. Sometimes, a walk around campus can be just as refreshing as a visit to an exhibit.
(01/14/13 5:00am)
The path to becoming a doctor is seemingly never ending. It starts in high school, where one must work hard to get into a reputable undergraduate institution. Then college, where a series of weed-out science classes with labs, pre-med requirement classes, research experience hours, clinical experience hours, and classes for whatever one is actually majoring in. Then you have to take the MCAT, which is essentially a cumulative final over general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology and physics. Once one manages to get into medical school, there are four more grueling years of intense studying, exams and tuition. And, if one gets through that, they make it onto their residency, which can last up to eight years depending on the specialty. One may not hold their desired career until after age 30. The New York Times recently published an article about how schools, such as New York University's School of Medicine, are creating and implementing three-year medical school programs as opposed to the traditional four years. Not only does this cut back the time of being in school, but it also cuts one year of tuition. But, according to the article, there would be a need to cram more information into less time. Moreover, the med school students may not have enough time to explore the many different fields of medicine. In the 1960s and 1970s, similar trials for a three-year approach to medical school were implemented to help the shortage of doctors, and those students even scored higher on tests than their four-year program counterparts, according to The New York Times. The problem that arose was these students found it more difficult to get into residency programs, which then reflected poorly on the medical schools, and most of the programs were revoked. The whole situation is quite backwards-if test performance is better and patient care is not compromised then there is no reason that three-year programs should not be implemented. One way to help the three-year approach become successful would be to create a program where students are accepted out of high school and are put on track to complete an undergraduate degree as well as an M.D. in seven years. Special classes could be created to aid the transition between the two, or eliminate any information in classes that is repetitive. There would also be the opportunity to switch out of the program at any point during the first year or so, and the student would pursue any other degree at the undergraduate institution. Another way that the three-year program can be successful is to prepare specifically family care doctors, which is what Texas Tech Health Science Center School of Medicine and Mercer University School of Medicine in Savannah, Ga are trying out, according The New York Times. It is noted that this is implemented not because being a family physician is any less difficult or prestigious than other fields of medicine, but rather because there is a growing demand for family doctors that cannot be ignored. Regardless of whether or not that is true, if family doctors can go through medical school in three years and be adequately educated and prepared then there is no reason to tack on an extra year. The last year of medical school is dedicated to more specific rotations that are elected by the student, and, because a family care physician doesn't usually deal with such specificities, the final year of medical school is less relevant compared to a student who wants to specialize in a certain field of medicine. But a three-year approach to medical school is just one step in fixing the greater problem of the growing shortage of physicians. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, fewer than 50 percent of medical school applicants are being accepted, meaning thousands of potential doctors are lost. That is not to say that anyone should be able to get into medical school, but there are probably a few thousand applicants who would make perfectly fine doctors. Expanding the size of the medical schools, even slightly, would greatly increase the number of physicians in the United States. Hopefully implementing three-year approaches to medical school will be a step in the right direction that universities continue to take. As the physician shortage looms as one of the most pressing issues in the near future, solutions should be explored and applied before we start feeling the effects. *
(01/14/13 5:00am)
This December, University President Frederick Lawrence officially announced Ellen de Graffenreid's appointment as senior vice president for communications, effective Feb. 1. De Graffenreid will be replacing Andrew Gully as SVP of communications, a position that has been vacant since June. Gully left his position to become senior vice president and worldwide director of communications for Sotheby's. De Graffenreid will also have the opportunity to build her own staff following Bill Burger's departure as the former vice president for communications last December to work at Middlebury College. The selection was officially announced to the University community in an email from Lawrence on Dec. 20. "Ellen is an integrated communications and marketing leader with deep experience in higher education and the high technology sector," the email read. De Graffenreid will oversee such endeavors as media relations, government relations and public affairs, advertising, Web services and publications. De Graffenreid will report directly to Lawrence. "I am thrilled to welcome Ellen to campus and to the executive team," said Lawrence in a Dec. 20 BrandeisNOW article. "She is an experienced and skilled communicator with an impressive background in academia, health care and the corporate sector. I know she will have a tremendous impact in raising Brandeis' profile across the country and around the world." De Graffenreid hopes to showcase all of the causes and activities Brandeis students pursue. "I'm really looking forward to working more closely with students and learning about what the students are doing," said de Graffenreid in an interview with the Justice. "What I think is great about Brandeis is the students take initiative ... and that is where the super great stories come from." According to de Graffenreid, communications and marketing involve storytelling. "You have to have fantastic stories and things going on, and Brandeis has a lot of things going on ... that will be very engaging to people," said de Graffenreid. De Graffenreid also noted the University's focus in specific areas of excellence. "I have been working at big public universities that all have programs of excellence, but they have broad missions ... But [at] Brandeis, you have this fabulous liberal arts education ... with a research enterprise in specific locations," said de Graffenreid. According to de Graffenreid, the University's distinctive nature is one of the reasons she chose Brandeis. "Working at these types of institutions in marketing is very attractive because you can show what is unique about that school," she said. De Graffenreid is leaving her position as director of communications and marketing at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center to come to Brandeis. Prior to her position at UNC, de Graffenreid acted as director of communications and marketing at the University of Louisville Health Sciences Center and director of communications and donor relations at the Washington State University Foundation. Preceding her employment at the university level, she worked for Hewlett-Packard Corporation, and has provided free marketing consulting for Planned Parenthood of Louisville, the Louisville e-Health Initiative, Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program and Fearrington Cares.
(01/14/13 5:00am)
The largest unseen collection of Beatles photography collected dust in a basement for over 40 years. It was only recently that photographer Henry Grossman '58 retrieved them from his archives for publication. How had so many pictures of such an international sensation been left untouched for decades? "I was always busy working," Grossman said. Grossman is a photographer from New York City whose work has featured a large assortment of some of the most celebrated individuals alive, including members of the world-renowned band The Beatles of which he shot hundreds of photographs during the 1960s. After attending a performing arts school for a year, Grossman transferred to the Metropolitan Vocational High School where he studied photography. Despite his early academic pursuits, he wasn't focused on developing photography into a career. "I expected to be an actor" he explained, "but I knew I needed a living between acting jobs." Grossman came to Brandeis on a four-year Theater Arts scholarship. "My father died when I was 11-I could not have afforded to come to Brandeis had it not been for the scholarship," he said. The skills and connections of the now-seasoned photographer were cultivated through a job he held working for Ralph Norman, the Brandeis campus photographer. The gig allowed him to take pictures of famous visitors the University hosted, including Russian artist Marc Chagall and and former Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. "I was doing printing and developing, and eventually I ended up taking pictures of some of these famous people with students for Ralph," Grossman said. He also got to photograph Eleanor Roosevelt because she had a monthly broadcast from Brandeis. The day John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for president he came to be on her show, giving Grossman an opportunity to take a headshot of the future president, which was then used by JFK's team in the campaign. When asked whether Grossman ever felt starstruck during his engagements with iconic figures like Roosevelt and Kennedy, he plainly stated, "No, I appreciated who they were and what they had done." His comfort level with famous faces came in part because his father, Elias Grossman, was an etcher who did portraits of people such as Albert Einstein and Mahatma Ghandi. "His etchings hang in my living room," said Grossman. In 1958 he went on a Brandeis archaeological expedition for six months to Iran and Israel. He returned to the states in December and acted in New York for a semester before returning to Brandeis for a fellowship in the Graduate School of Anthropology. Throughout his graduate studies he continued to take photographs on campus. Grossman left Brandeis with an impressive list of names. "I made up a three-page three-column single-spaced list of a lot of the famous people I photographed at Brandeis which, after four years, was long," he said. He was armed for the workforce with a list that would be noteworthy for an established photographer, let alone a student who did photography in his spare hours between classes and theater productions. The young photographer approached various publications with his famous names in the hopes of landing work. They would tell him, "so-and-so isn't on your list but could you photograph them on an assignment for us." By accepting these, his assignments quickly grew in number with multiple publications including Life Magazine and TIME magazine. In 1964, TIME magazine asked Grossman to cover the American Television debut of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, a performance that began a four-year long photography relationship between Grossman and the "Fab Four." Grossman was not a fan of The Beatles initially; his musical tastes rested solidly in opera and classical music. "I didn't know their music," Grossman explained. "I was there as a friend, I wasn't demanding anything of them ... I saw them as regular people having a lot of fun," Grossman said. After his run with the band was finished, more assignments piled on and the photos were pushed to the back of his mind. But in 2006, Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan of Curvebender Publishing requested two photographs from Grossman for their first book, Recording the Beatles, a request that led them to discover Grossman's obscured collection of Beatles photographs numbering in the thousands. Since then, Curvebender has published two books pertaining solely to Grossman's Beatles shots. The first, titled Kaleidoscope Eyes and released in 2008, was a collection of 250 photographs taken in the Abbey Road studios while the band was recording music for the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. This year, a second book of photographs titled Places I Remember: My Time With The Beatles was made available for purchase. "The current book weighs around 15 pounds," said Grossman. The book contains over 1,000 images that offer a perspective into the musicians' private lives that could only be captured by someone who knew them on a personal level. Grossman's unique relationship with The Beatles may be unlike the ones with many of his photography subjects at Brandeis, but it does resemble the close connections he formed with his professors. "I made so many great friends at Brandeis," Grossman recalled. He was especially affected by his relationship with physics Prof. Herman Epstein (BIPH) who taught an introductory course on physical science. "[Epstein] would say 'I want you to get one thing out of this class and that's the scientific method-how to ask questions,'" said Grossman. Grossman also discussed how a theater instructor encouraged him to be more outgoing. He said, "I wrote in a theater essay about a play I acted in that I didn't think a particular person had been forthcoming in a scene, so I had nothing to react to. The professor wrote in the margins of my paper, 'By what right did you feel she had to be the one to open up and extend herself.'" In between his photography jobs, he pursued a number of acting opportunities. He played Ernst Schmidt in the Broadway production of Grand Hotel from 1989 to 1992, to the surprise of many of his colleagues who knew him in the context of shooting Broadway plays as opposed to being cast in them. While his acting opportunities have slowed down, Grossman is still a busy photographer. The key to a long and successful career like Grossman's comes from relating on a "personal, rather than on a technical level," as he described it. His advice to aspiring photographers: "Watch and keep your ears open. Don't try to interject yourself into the scene."
(01/14/13 5:00am)
For Frodo and Sam, the two adventurous hobbits in the New Line Cinema adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series, the New Zealand landscape served as the backdrop for their epic quest. For Beth Cohen '14, New Zealand became the setting of her own adventure, filled with new experiences and exciting opportunities. The small Pacific island country served as Cohen's escape from the rigor of Brandeis University's pre-med program and a chance for her to embrace her love of the wild outdoors. Renowned for its stunning landscapes and undeveloped terrain, New Zealand offers opportunities for explorers of all kinds to enjoy the natural setting. Avoiding the fickle New England weather and disastrous superstorm Sandy, Beth Cohen spent the fall 2012 semester studying abroad in the agreeable New Zealand climate at the Victoria University of Wellington. Located at the southwestern tip of the North Island, the capital city of Wellington allowed Cohen to experience one of the few urban areas in the country, while also enjoying the rural areas that make up most of the landscape. On July 16, after four days of orientation, Cohen began her four-month dive into the New Zealand curriculum. During her stay at VUW, Cohen lived with four students native to New Zealand in student apartments known as flats. She said that living with people familiar with the culture was "definitely a big help, because there would be things we would learn in class, or that we would hear on the streets, and references about the culture that I wouldn't understand ... and they would help explain it to me." On an average weekday, Cohen would wake up at 8 a.m. and walk up a large hill to the campus, where she would have class from 9 a.m. until noon. Her courses included a marine biology and environment class, which she said "focused on New Zealand's perspective on environmental science." After her classes finished for the day, she would generally find her way to the Wellington Botanic Garden, hang out with her four New Zealand native flatmates or spend time with the other American students participating in the program. "It was pretty similar to my life at Brandeis, just less going on," she said. Cohen explained that "most of what I did there was just spend time outside. You go there and go hiking, kayaking and swimming." Her favorite place to explore was Cape Reinga, located at the northernmost tip of the islands where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea. "You see these two water bodies colliding and there's a cliff that is supposed to be spiritual for the Maori people," she said. The Maoris, people indigenous to New Zealand, consider this spot to be the place of final departure for their spirit. Because the seasons are opposite of those in North America, Cohen had her spring break in August and she spent two weeks helping out on a New Zealand farm near Hawke's Bay. After an exciting first day, during which the farmer she was working for managed to get his fingers "stuck in a lawn mower," Cohen was able to focus on getting hands-on experience with New Zealand farming. She was also able to get involved with the agriculture of Australia after her final exams. "I was done with finals on Halloween, and I didn't really want to come home and sit for three months before Brandeis started," she said. After two extra weeks in New Zealand, which she spent "hanging out and hiking," she traveled to a region known as Queensland, Australia where she worked on an organic farm. She arrived at the farm at the beginning of their summer, when temperatures "reached about 105 degrees every day." In order to avoid the heat, she woke up early enough to begin the day's work at 6:30 a.m. Her duties included milking the cow, which, she admits, was more difficult than it seemed, and feeding the animals. The farm had "lots of animals, like chickens, ducks and turkeys," who all had to be fed and provided with fresh water and clean cages. "Probably by 10 o'clock it would be scorching hot, so we hung out inside until about four o'clock when we went out and did the same thing," she explained. While she is on track to complete a double major in Biology and Environmental Studies, Cohen said her study abroad experience allowed her an opportunity to "rethink my plans ... and decide if I would want to continue into pre-veterinary medicine, or choose a different career path." Now, she is "leaning towards something where I can be outdoors. Maybe a wildlife biologist, or some sort of conservation expert." Although no other students from Brandeis were participating in the program, which was set up through Arcadia University and she found on the approved list of study abroad programs for Brandeis, 15 other students from colleges around the United States were in New Zealand with her. Studying abroad without any other students from Brandeis did not affect her experience, as she "was able to explore independently." Cohen's advice to other Brandeis students planning to study abroad is to simply do it. "It makes sense because we're already paying Brandeis tuition, so for one semester instead of being in Waltham, it's pretty cool to go out and see the world, learn new things, meet new people and get a new perspective," she said. She also advises students to plan ahead and apply early. "I started applying winter break sophomore year ... and it allowed me not to have to worry about applications when they're all due and you're in the middle of midterms," she explained. As she prepares for the second half of her junior year at Brandeis, Cohen affirms that after her time in New Zealand, where "the lifestyle is so laid back and relaxed, I feel very refreshed."
(12/11/12 5:00am)
As another semester comes to a close, students will once again encounter the stressful obligations inherent in preparing for final examinations. University officials in the past few years have made strides in alleviating stress for students, including the maintenance of 24-hour library hours as well as collaboration with former Student Union President Herbie Rosen '12 to open academic buildings for extra study locations. While this board appreciates these aims, we still believe that more enhancements are possible. This board recommends the establishment of extended hours for newer buildings such as the Mandel Center for the Humanities and the Carl J. Shapiro Science Center. The lounge setting of these buildings provides for a more productive, yet comfortable environment, as opposed to older buildings such as Olin-Sang American Civilization Center. However, having opened additional study spaces for two semesters in Olin-Sang and Levine Ross, the University has still not opened the Mandel Center and Science Complex for additional study hours this semester. We believe the establishment of these new study locations, in turn, would be welcomed and properly utilized. This is especially pertinent in light of the study spaces in the library removed in the construction of the new EcoGrounds coffee shop in the library. This board also believes the new coffee shop would be even more beneficial to students if it were open for 24 hours a day during finals period. While we recognize that it requires foresight and logistical planning to ensure the shop can be open all day, it would have been wise for the University to anticipate the benefits of this expanded service. Creative solutions and initiatives are always appreciated by students. The Hiatt Career Center recently introduced programming that will allow for use of its space during finals week for free printing, pizza and as yet another study destination. With Hiatt's recent innovation, as well as the initial efforts to open study spaces, we encourage the University to continue keeping its students' needs in mind at this crucial time in the semester. *
(12/11/12 5:00am)
P.J. Dickson, director of Class-Based Academic Advising and coordinator of First-Year Academic Programming, will be leaving Brandeis on Friday for his new roles as the assistant dean of Academic Services and the director of the Advising Center at Bentley University. Dickson also supervises the Roosevelt Fellows academic peer mentoring program and is the academic advisor for students with last names beginning with letters L through Q. According to Dean of Academic Services Kim Godsoe, a search to fill his position has begun. "We have a good application pool, and we're starting interviews," she said. Until the position is filled, students with last names L through Q may see Godsoe or any of the other four class-based advisors, she continued. According to an email from Dickson, Assistant Director of Class-Based Advising Katie McFaddin and Senior Department Coordinator Talia Abrahams, who have jointly supervised the Roosevelt Fellows program with Dickson this semester, will take over his role with the program. In an interview with the Justice, Dickson said that some of his "day-to-day responsibilities" in his position at Bentley, which is also located in Waltham, will be the same as he performed at Brandeis. At Bentley, he will "continue to work with students individually as well as support professional advisors as they're doing their work with first-year students," he said. He will also run a peer-advising program "not unlike the Roosevelt Fellows," he added. Additional responsibilities that he will take on include overseeing Bentley's faculty advising program, Dickson continued. Dickson first came to Brandeis in 2002 as a full-time student in the U.S. History doctoral program. He has now completed all but the dissertation portion of his Ph.D. degree, he said. He then began to work part-time with the Office of Student Enrichment Services, one of the two offices that merged to become what is now the Office of Academic Services. During this time, he was also a mentor for Brandeis Liberal Arts Posse, a merit-based scholarship program that has now expanded to include a Science Posse. Dickson then became the advisor for the first-year class, and transitioned to his current position in 2009, around the time that the advising system shifted from a class-based advising split to the alpha split by last name, he said. According to Dickson, the position at Bentley is "one of those opportunities that was just too good to pass up." "It was one of those few things that I would think of leaving Brandeis for and was fortunate to be offered it," he said. Though excited about his future endeavors, "it is hard to say goodbye to Brandeis," Dickson said. In an interview, Roosevelt Fellow Maya Jacob '13 said that Dickson has set a "tone of ... work and play" in supervising the program, and Abrahams and McFaddin are "definitely able to bring that" in their work with the Roosevelt Fellows. Of Dickson, Roosevelt Fellow Margaret Huey '13 said in an interview that, "I really value what he has to say and his techniques in terms of listening and how to be a good and effective advisor." "[Dickson] gives so much to us [the Roosevelt Fellows program] that it's really rewarding and refreshing to work with him," she added. Roosevelt Fellow Dave Benger '14 said in an interview, "I think it's hard for the average student at Brandeis to really know how much P.J. does for them, even if they've never come into contact with him." "He lives and breathes helping students, and he's been a phenomenal asset at Brandeis, and I think he's going to be a phenomenal asset to Bentley, as well," Benger added.
(12/11/12 5:00am)
On Dec. 3, the University announced the Justice Brandeis Semester course offerings for the summer and fall of 2013, including two new offerings and two returning popular programs.
(12/11/12 5:00am)
Thursday's faculty meeting began with a moment of silence and concluded with a heated discussion on the role of graduate programs in the forthcoming strategic plan. After a tribute to and moment of silence for Prof. Emeritus John Lowenstein (BCHM), who passed away Nov. 3 from pancreatic cancer, discussion launched full force into broad plans, the achievements of various programs and professors and the current status of the strategic plan. University President Frederick Lawrence presented the framework of the plan to the Board of Trustees at its most recent meeting on Nov. 27, and will present a final draft to the Board in January. University administrators began work on the plan early last fall. "Not surprisingly ... much of the feedback from the board at the afternoon plenary session was that all seems well and good, but where's the pop, where's the fizz, where's the great, landscape-changing views?" said Lawrence at the faculty meeting. He said he saw their perspective, and said that it was a good thing to receive this kind of critical feedback. He said his method of approaching the board was "how we can build what we need to be in a sustainable, ongoing way, and let them push back and say, 'let's lift the ambitions even higher.'" Lawrence called them an "extremely engaged" Board of Trustees. Addressing the financial plan for the University, Lawrence said that "we've reached a level of stability that lets us think more long-term going forward." However, this stability is largely based on "extensive borrowing from the future," he added. This includes borrowing from the endowment and not investing. Prof. Sacha Nelson (BIO), a faculty representative to the Board, reported that the faculty perspective on the board meeting was the same as Lawrence's. Nelson said he was surprised to hear a lot of similarity between Board and faculty concerns. "There was a lot of concern on the part of the faculty over the lack of specific details, specific vision, and that was ... what the Board was saying as well. Is, as one Board member put it, 'tweaking the model' really sufficiently visionary to serve as the foundation for a capital campaign?" However, Nelson added that Lawrence made a compelling case for the plan at the meeting, and that he argued that "fulfilling the promise" of a liberal arts education at a research university was, in fact, visionary. He described a "feisty" discussion of the plan, in which one of the trustees urged the other representatives to garner concrete feedback from students. Overall, Nelson's impression of the Board was that "They seemed to really get it." According to Nelson, feedback from the student representatives to the Board, Beneva Davies '14 and Jack Hait '14, was that the academic model we have now is what brought students to the University. Over the next decade, the University will also address deferred maintenance on buildings and infrastructure. According to Lawrence at the faculty meeting, the current budget funds about $2.5 million a year in deferred maintenance, which he said was "not sufficient." The plan will build a "serious multiple of that number." As a part of the 10-year financial plan, tuition would hopefully increase less than in recent years, but the University should still expect some difficulty with financial aid and affordability, which "hardly makes us unique," said Lawrence. However, he emphasized that, "This is a plan that is not designed to make cuts in the academy." The end of the plan projects surpluses, he said. Sponsored faculty research is expected to maintain a "flat line," which Lawrence said was optimistic. Conversation for the bulk of the rest of the faculty meeting turned to the role of graduate studies in the strategic plan, with Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Prof. Malcolm Watson (PSYC) moderating the discussion. Provost Steve Goldstein '78 estimated that the student population at Brandeis is now approximately 40 percent graduate students, adding that there is "certainly not parity" in the resources for undergraduates and graduates. "The growth of the master's programs has changed the dynamics of their ability to balance between education and scholarship," he said. Faculty debated the need for such a large graduate program and what the appropriate size might be, with two prevalent topics being which programs might stay or go, and the revenue brought in by master's and doctoral programs. Many nodded their heads in agreement with Prof. Len Saxe's (Heller) comment that, "My preference, in fact, would be a strategic plan that says 'we're going to have master's students because the world today needs people that are trained in a different way and we have a unique opportunity,' rather than, 'this is a way we can bring in revenue.'" Lawrence also announced that the search for a new Senior Vice President of Communications is nearing an end, as they are "down to the last couple candidates." Lawrence said he has interviewed both, and is confident that they are both very good options to fill the position. All have "extensive University experience," he said. Lawrence also recapped his recent travels to London and Israel, mentioning that he had met with a few potentially significant donors to the University. Donations that have already materialized include $50,000 to renovate Laurie Theater in the Spingold Theater Center. Director of the Rose Art Museum Chris Bedford addressed faculty with an update on plans for the museum, including strategies to "align" the Rose's exhibitions and programming with classroom curricula. Bedford also announced progress on plans to bring an outdoor sculpture installation to the area in front of the Rose, and showed the audience a sketch of a light installation that he had received from artist Chris Burden.
(12/10/12 5:00am)
Students walking through Fellows Garden, between the Shapiro Campus Center and the Shapiro Science Center, this past week may have noticed the appearance of some new benches.
(12/04/12 5:00am)
Of all the books I have read for school over the past ten years, I can confidently say that only a select few have truly proven to be a good read. Some of those books have even left an indelible mark on my life as a student and an individual. For an anthropology class this semester, I was assigned The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, an anthropological case study in Merced, Calif. by Anne Fadiman. Although hesitant at first, I was captured by Fadiman's vivid prose within the first few pages. Her language is precise, but more importantly, she effectively creates an emotional connection with the reader through the use of anecdotes and scientific fieldwork evidence. Originally published in 1997 and again in 2012-after Lia passed away-with a new afterword by Fadiman, Spirit painstakingly chronicles the medical journey of a young child, Lia Lee, who is born to Laotian immigrants to the United States, and whose family clashes with the American medical system while trying to receive treatment for her epilepsy. At its core, the book is an emotional example of real life medical anthropology and how the cultural differences of an immigrant family and western doctors complicate their interaction. Lia was born in Merced in 1982 after her family's difficult refugee journey from Laos to the U.S. after being persecuted by other Southeast Asia groups. Her father and mother, Nao Kao Lee and Foua Yang, are from Laos and belong to the Hmong ethnic group, which has historically been discriminated against, constantly fighting for their right to exist. Fadiman does an exquisite job capturing the essence of the Hmong people, which she attained from hours of fieldwork talking to the Lees and other Hmong families in Merced. The Hmong are known for their resilience against adversity, according to Fadiman's research, something that was vital as they fled their home country to refugee camps in Thailand due to violence and persecution. The Lees arrive in Merced, already an area with a substantial Hmong population, with no knowledge of English or American culture. At three months old, Lia suffers her first seizure, thus beginning a four year-long journey through the American medical system. Because of the language and cultural barrier between the Lees and the American doctors, Lia's condition is misdiagnosed, thus perpetuating the seizures until she is finally diagnosed with epilepsy by the doctors at Merced Community Medical Center. From that point on, there is constant conflict between the Hmong and American medical practices in terms of Lia's care. Her parents believe in Shaman ritual practices, in which a healer performs elaborate rituals that attempt to reunite the body with soul; in comparison, the American doctors believe that epilepsy is caused by overactive electric impulses in the brain. In terms of anthropological vocabulary, both groups are ethnocentric-viewing their culture as the correct way of doing something and not accepting that of other cultures. Instead, I believe that Lia's life could have turned out very different if both groups had been able to efficiently communicate and make compromises, like combining Western medical practices and the Hmong's Shamanism. Spirit has won many literary reviews, including The National Book Critics Circle Award, and is also required reading at many medical schools. Not only a good novel, Spirit exists to advocate for cross-cultural interaction and understanding, something all too needed in an increasingly global world Within the context of my anthropology class, I viewed this book as a case study of existing cultural boundaries and how attempts to lessen the divide are difficult to execute. Because of the language difference, medical beliefs and different cultural norms and values, the chances of effectively communicating about a complicated health matter are slim. Western medicine is based in science-doctors are extensively trained to know the human body and treat problems that arise. In the information presented in the book, the Hmong don't understand medical practices that Westerners find commonplace, like drawing blood or taking medication for an illness. Fadiman brilliantly layers her insight on these topics and conflicts while relaying Lia's tragic story. In comparison to other anthropological fieldwork books I have read, Spirit captivated my interest for these very reasons. Fadiman was not just another anthropologist in a far-away land giving descriptions of a foreign culture. Instead, I grew attached to Lia and wanted to know her story. My thoughts wandered between trying to imagine what I would do in a similar situation to how these types of cultural misunderstandings could be avoided in the future. Fadiman suggests ideas like having more interpreters who could help mediate cultural differences.
(12/04/12 5:00am)
A study by Northeastern University found that the majority of Americans are simultaneously satisfied with U.S. colleges and deeply concerned about the direction in which they are heading, rooted in rising tuition prices and decreased accessibility. Brandeis is no exception-proud of its accomplishments, while concerned about its future. Brandeis has chosen to steer its future path with a Strategic Plan. What do you think of the administration's strategic planning process so far? What do you hope future stages of the plan will include? Todd Kirkland '13 So far, I think the strategic planning process is going well. The overall trajectory of the plan has been, on par. I think there was a lot of confusion and concern with the initial preliminary plan, primarily driven by the lack of detail. It was great to see the release of the task force reports so members of the community could have a better sense of potential tactical decisions to achieve some of their strategic goals. I hope that as the process winds down that it continues to be an inclusive one. The proposed plan for the rest of the process appears to achieve that goal effectively and I am excited to see the final product. Todd Kirkland '13 is president of the Student Union and is on the Strategic Plan Steering committee. * Prof. Gordon Fellman (SOC) Nationally, students, parents and faculty should demand serious cuts in military spending, higher taxes on the very rich and ending tax loopholes. The vast monies saved should support education and more. Sharp youth will shun schools that ignore climate change. Brandeis should promote it as a core focus of our work. The strategic plan framework say little about the quality of teaching at Brandeis. Liberal arts education is about confronting history and culture, science, social science, humanities, the arts and the other and the self. The University is there to pique curiosity, encourage questioning and growth and hone critical analytic skills, all in relationships of faculty and students. How might we become better at all this? Brandeis students tend often to live with excessive stresses and strains. A proper strategic plan would address mental health of our students in college and beyond. In this vein, more could be done to build community effectively. Brandeis makes much of social justice. If we put our money where our mouth is, we need to examine where and how social justice appears in the curriculum, the mission and the realities of institutional practices and everyday life at Brandeis. Gordon Fellman is a professor of Sociology. Alex Thomson '15 The strategic plan offers a pragmatic way forward for Brandeis. It is imperfect, as any framework would be, but it clearly lays out the priorities for the University's future. I found the administration's outreach to be wide in scope and allowed a very diverse array of opinions to be considered. Going forward, I hope the plan is implemented with the same level of enthusiasm in which it was debated and drafted. I would like to see social justice remain the bedrock of the plan and allow that to be the lens in which the University makes its key decisions. This plan should showcase Brandeis to the greater community in a way that exhibits all of the components that make our University so unique. Alex Thomson '15 is co-president of the Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee. Elly Kalfus '13 Having served on the Student Task Force of the Strategic Planning Committee last semester, I was initially encouraged by the University's openness to hearing student input as to the school's trajectory. However, I have not seen much come from this. From the Strategic Planning documents I have read, the plan seems to have been condensed into a list of overarching themes applicable to any university, rather than Brandeis-specific. While students are forming groups of their own volition to address campus issues such as gender-inclusive facilities, divestment from fossil fuels and a lack of transportation, I have not heard about the administration addressing these issues or including them in their longer-term plans for the school's future. Meanwhile, the task force I was a part of was mysteriously put out of commission and the majority of students I talk to do not feel they have a voice in the strategic planning process. Elly Kalfus '13 is a Finance Board representative, member of the Brandeis Pluralism Alliance Steering Committee and a member of the Strategic Planning Student Task Force. *
(12/03/12 5:00am)
One of the central tenants of anthropology is that any given way of life is not universally true, but rather a unique construction of society, historical time and geopolitical location. While it is easy to understand this concept in terms of societies that are foreign to us, it is very difficult to accept a view that says one's own beliefs and way of life are not necessarily always right or true.
(12/03/12 5:00am)
John Seager, President and CEO of Population Connection, lectured about population control last Tuesday during Prof. Charles Chester's "ENVS 2A: Fundamentals of Environmental Challenges" class.
(11/20/12 5:00am)
The South Asian Students' Association's MELA, an event named after the Hindi word for celebration, was by far the most well-attended of all the cultural events I have been to this semester. The line snaking out the door of the entrance to Levin Ballroom suggested that it was going to be crowded inside. However, I was not prepared for the enormous number of people I encountered. The event sold more than 600 tickets and Levin couldn't have been more packed.
(11/20/12 5:00am)
* No band compares to 1970s to 1980s hard rock group Aerosmith, dubbed the "Bad Boys from Boston," when it comes to intermember conflict. Between constant breakups, a public feud between front man Steven Tyler and lead guitarist Joe Perry, Tyler's season as an American Idol judge and a band-wide attempt to find a replacement lead singer, it has become near impossible to keep up with band drama. No one expected Aerosmith to ever get its act together. However, all of a sudden, in the summer of 2012 the band announced a countrywide tour in support of its highly anticipated album Music From Another Dimension!-the group's first studio effort since 2004's lukewarm Honkin' On Bobo. * Given Aerosmith's reputation for lack of communication and trust between bandmates, key aspects of producing quality material in a group setting, it is difficult to conceive that Music will be a good album. Unexpectedly, Music From Another Dimension! greatly resembles the musical style of classic Aerosmith releases such as 1975's Toys in The Attic, 1987's Permanent Vacation and 1989's Pump, though it leaves much to be desired. * The record opens with an ominous, robotic voice that matches the science-fiction theme touched upon by the album cover and title. The warning states that, "You are about to enter a great adventure ... from which you may never return." This introduction matches the science fiction theme of the album title, Music From Another Dimension! and the supporting tour's title, "The Global Warming Tour," but not much else. The opening track, "Luv XXX," which sounds unmistakably like typical Aerosmith, strongly kicks off the hour-long odyssey as a loud, raunchy sound explodes out of the speakers. Drummer Joey Kramer truly shines on the track, sounding as energetic as he did in 1975 on "Walk This Way." The next standout track is, "Out Go the Lights," which blends stadium funk and hard rock in a way truly unique to Aerosmith, only crippled mildly by its length. * "Out Go the Lights" signifies the beginning of the strongest set of songs on the album, which includes the lead single and best track off Music From Another Dimension!, "Legendary Child," the power ballad, "What Could Have Been Love" and "Lover Alot," another raunchy jam reminiscent of "Luv XXX." * Music From Another Dimension!'s most obvious anomaly is its ninth track, "Can't Stop Lovin' You," which oddly enough, since Aerosmith is by nature a hard rock and blues rock band, features country singer Carrie Underwood. Straying from anything an older reincarnation of Aerosmith would compose, "Can't Stop Lovin' You" is, by nature, a generic, cheesy country pop song that confuses listeners as to the motives of the album. The album's overall purpose needs to be clarified. * Although the record certainly contains several diamonds in the rough, the album as a whole lacks cohesion. An album should rely on every track to pull the listener through, and the individual songs on Music fail to flow into one another. * That being said, the album is certainly bearable. It's actually a decent listen and better than anything the band has put out in this millennium. However, when one thinks of Aerosmith, one thinks of a level of power, in sound and performance, that Music From Another Dimension! approaches but does not quite reach.
(11/20/12 5:00am)
JustArts spoke with Prof. Cameron Anderson (THA) about her career in set design as well as her interest in working with undergraduates on campus. JustArts: How has your first semester at Brandeis been so far? Cameron Anderson: My semester has been wonderful so far-I have been so impressed with Brandeis students. My students are making such striking work. I am having a great time working with them. JA: What types of design projects are you currently working on? CA: Currently I am designing a production of The Magic Flute for Boston Lyric Opera that will perform at the Shubert [Theater] in Boston. It is going to be a really exciting production-we are modernizing much of the libretto and creating a very evocative visual world for the opera. I am also designing a production of Britten's The Turn of The Screw for [the] New England Conservatory, which opens in February. In October I opened a new play called, The Company We Keep, at Boston Playwrights' Theatre. JA: What led you to pursue set design as a career? CA: I found set design through a liberal arts experience at Wesleyan University. I was an English major, but also studying drawing, painting and architecture. I discovered set design through my interdisciplinary thesis in the English department which was about Renaissance drama. I walked into the Theater department and was given the opportunity to design a show. That was the beginning-when I walked onstage and saw the set I felt like I was walking into my own mind. I moved to [New York City] and assisted a designer there-and went to grad school a year later. I have been freelancing for the past ten years in NYC, all over the U.S. and abroad. We hope to give that same opportunity to Brandeis undergraduates. Students interested in designing for the department should get in touch with me. JA: What advice would you give to students interested in pursuing careers in theater? CA: My advice would be that at an undergraduate level, students should get as well-rounded an education as possible. Theater is about telling stories, and if you don't know anything about the world, you can't be an effective story-teller. Take classes in art, history, science, as many and as broad a swath as possible-while at the same time beginning to hone in on what it is that interests you about theater. JA: What led you to an academic career after working in theater? CA: I have always kept my eyes open for undergraduate teaching opportunities not too far from NYC. I knew I wanted to teach design as a part of a liberal arts education- allowing students to think about design as a part of life-after all, everything in the world is designed. I hadn't made the decision that I wanted to enter the academic field this year, but I saw the job posting at Brandeis and thought it could be a great fit for me-and allow me to continue my professional career at the same time. JA: Set design classes have not been very common in the undergraduate theater curriculum. Do you have plans to reverse that trend? CA: Yes! This semester and next I am offering "[THA] 40a: The Art of Visual Narrative and Production Design." This is a course where we learn to tell stories with space and three-dimension. It is a gateway course into theater design fields-with the purpose of teaching students to think with visual metaphors and make expressive, not descriptive work. In the future, we will be offering set and other design courses-all for undergrads-so look out for them. JA: Your courses so far have been targeted primarily to undergraduate students, such as "THA 10b: [Theater as Design]" and "THA 40a: [The Art of the Visual Narrative and Production Design.]" Will you also be teaching graduate students or will you work with them primarily through productions? CA: There are no longer any graduate students in design in the Theater department. All of our resources are now being dedicated to undergraduate designers. It is a great time for students to get involved, as there are many design opportunities open undergrads.
(11/20/12 5:00am)
In an email to the student body on Friday, Provost Steve Goldstein '78 and Dean of Arts and Sciences Susan Birren announced that Brandeis will join an online consortium in fall 2013. While this board understands the benefits that online learning could bring to our University, we are hesitant about how this technology could best be used to suit the student's needs. Dean Birren explained that in fall 2013 a student who is off campus for the semester would be able to take a full four classes of credit. However, students who are absent from campus for an entire semester due to illness or internship opportunities likely will lack the time to take an entire semester of courses. It would be more practical for students to be able to take fewer than four courses while away from campus. Signing up for fewer than four courses may have an additional advantage. If a student majoring in Psychology, for example, is interested in a particular facet of the subject for which Brandeis does not offer a class, he or she could take the class from one of the nine other schools in our online consortium if one of the schools happened to offer it. This would allow students to further explore their fields of study with specific classes that Brandeis might lack. Furthermore, a student studying abroad would be able to take one or two classes that would go toward his or her major or minor, off-setting the time crunch that some who study abroad feel when trying to finish their requirements. Additionally, online classes should only be a supplement to in-person classes. Brandeis prides itself on its small class sizes and opportunities to interact with professors. We believe that the growth into the field of online learning could undercut this image. Students should be limited in the number of online courses they can take and the amount of University requirements they can satisfy. The convenience of online courses should not replace the importance of face-to-face interactions with professors. As this Semester Online will not be put into place until fall 2013, we hope that the administration will consider making some changes to its plan to make this new endeavor most useful for students.
(11/20/12 5:00am)
Earlier this week, Brandeis began the first steps toward an experimental new frontier in technology-aided education by announcing that the University has joined a consortium of schools in a program called "Semester Online." Starting next fall, students will be able to take a semester of classes online if they are abroad, doing an internship, staying at home or for whatever reason not able to be on campus.
