Volume 9Number 4

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass. February 10, 2012www.thebrandeishoot.com

araabmuzik performs Students attend a concert on Thursday. Turn to page 17 for The Hoot’s review.photo by haley fine/the hoot

Pool temporarily closed after student fell ill from heatBy Connor Novy

Editor

Newly opened Linsey Pool closed last Saturday, Feb. 4, following an incident involving a Brandeis student requiring medical assistance after swimming laps in pool temperatures that reached more than 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Though the pool is now open and has returned to a normal temperature, staff felt it neces-sary to discontinue service for the re-mainder of the weekend to ensure the safety of swimmers.

The announcement Saturday morn-ing cited “emergency repairs” to the pool as the reason it closed.

Reports are mixed on whether the swimmer, a graduate student, lost con-sciousness. According to Sheryl Sousa, Director of Athletics, “the lifeguard ob-

See POOL, page 5

’Deis monitors securityafter Israel-Iran tensions

By Jon OstrowskyEditor

Univ among siteson DHS alert list

As Israel debates whether to launch a preemptive strike against the rising threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, the U.S. Department of Homeland Se-curity has issued security alerts and warnings to Brandeis University and other Boston-area sites, Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan said.

“All it takes is a little information to put people on high alert,” Callahan said in a phone interview Thursday. “We’re aware of this concern but at this point in time, we just need to go about our daily lives.”

Brandeis regularly receives e-mail

bulletins from Homeland Security and the Massachusetts State Police Fusion Center, a division that pro-vides warning to private entities in the state, Callahan said.

Because of the university’s spon-sorship from the American Jewish community and its large population of Jewish students, Public Safety of-ten communicates with the federal government to ensure its police and officials are up-to-date on security threats related to conflict in the Mid-dle East.

Following a U.N. report last No-vember from the International Atom-ic Energy Agency citing concerns that Iran was using nuclear power to build a bomb, rather than peacefully produce energy, the United States and its European allies have adopted

See SECURITY, page 4

President Lawrence’s official trip to India, now at the end of its two weeks, is notable both for its length and the sheer number of goals the administration and community has laid on its shoulders. All the while, according to the univer-sity, Lawrence has also been running the place “business as usual.”

Brandeis initially sold the event as one to “expand Brandeis’ India pres-ence.” Lawrence has also been working on the links between this university and those abroad, meeting with his coun-terparts on Indian colleges and with non-academics involved in university and international tie promotion.

Lawrence told an audience of Indian students and other community mem-bers that the importance of his trip could not be overstated.

“We should not expect the world’s two largest democracies to travel iden-tical paths or reach identical results,” Lawrence said, but they will “have a great deal to teach each other and to learn from each other in the quest to build tolerant and diverse societies.”

This learning was stressed by Law-rence to mean collaboration, not detri-mental competition.

“As we aim for the stars and as we try to do too much, we are keenly aware and deeply grateful that we are not in this alone,” he said. “Together we will indeed keep grinning … Together we can continue to argue with the world, and to challenge ourselves to imagine a world as it should be, as it might yet be,” he continued.

The president also met with the India National Center for Biological Sciences to promote what BrandeisNOW called

Lawrence runs the show, even

from IndiaBy Nathan Koskella

Editor

Blasting hip hop in Levin

Four students capture ’Deis culture and limits in viral video

By Nathan KoskellaEditor

If you haven’t yet seen “Sh*t Brandeis Students Don’t Say,” then

you may actually have been helped by the Hiatt Career Center or be the lone kid in the stands at the Judges game.

The video created by four Brandeis students pokes fun at more than 100

you-have-to-go-to-Brandeis-to-get-it stereotypes and has been viewed more than 8,500 times and counting since it was uploaded to YouTube two days ago. Not only will Brandeis stu-dents be the only people who can get most of the sardonic humor, but the video’s makers assert that just about each and every Brandeisian will be able to understand it, without fail.

“Sh*t” demonstrates, for instance, that no Brandeis student goes to Ol-lie’s sober, enjoys UWS or misses Je-huda Reinharz. No student is having much sex and never, ever wonders where the “weird kids” are.

Paul Gale and Adam Lapetina, both class of 2012, and Aaron Sadowsky and Joshua Seiden, both class of 2013, put the video together this week, go-ing from brainstorming session hold-ers to viral video makers in a matter of days.

“We had this idea and wanted to make a funny video, and even though the ‘things people say’ meme is tried and old, it’s the most universal way to

attract people and apply to everyone,” Gale said.

The project started out of Brandeis Basement, the local chapter of the Campus Basement network that, ac-cording to Seiden, “provides blogging for campus-specific comedic con-tent.”

The comedic cohort have produced videos as part of Brandeis Basement before, but none of the other short clips presaged the success that “Sh*t” has seen. Former videos had about 1,000 to 2,000 hits.

“We thought it was pretty well done, maybe figured that people would see it and like it,” Seiden said, “but we didn’t anticipate the level of mouth-to-mouth spreading this would take on.”

This week’s stereotype sensation has of course been viewed by a num-ber more than twice as high as that of all Brandeis students enrolled.

And the success has not been lim-

analyzing linsey Student lifeguard monitors chemicals of the pool after heating malfunction. photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

photo from internet source

what we don’t say Co-creator Paul Gale ’12 illustrates Brandeis-isms in short film.

See VIDEO, page 3See INDIA, page 3

NEWS2 The Brandeis Hoot February 10, 2012

Marion Levin has been fundraising for Brandeis University for nearly 50 years. Then living in Chicago, she was inspired by Brandeis University’s mes-sage of equality and progress. “There were problems for my husband in getting into universities; there were quotas. But Brandeis had this feeling of ‘why not? You are welcome here.’” The sentiment moved her to support the university and higher education. At the time, Brandeis’ library was still in its infancy and Levin decided to raise money through book sales for the burgeoning library.

Years later, she found herself a salesperson in a bookstore, and real-ized her mission: “I would see these young children going to buy their first book and they would be so excited,” Levin said. “I thought a great univer-sity should have a great library.” She quickly became chairperson of the sales and then eventually the national chair.

Levin has a long history of innova-

Brandeis National Committee to honor Marion LevinBy Aly SchumanSpecial to the Hoot

tion in fundraising for Brandeis Na-tional Committee. The BNC concen-trates on fundraising and conducting activities that promote the social jus-tice, service and intellectual values on which Brandeis was based. The phi-lanthropy of the BNC has helped raise more than $120 million since 1948 to fund student scholarships, scientific research and the libraries. The Boca Raton, Fla., chapter, of which Levin is part, is no exception.

And now, decades after beginning her work, Levin will be honored in a tribute luncheon at her home of 30 years in Boca Raton on Monday. Members of the community will honor her and enjoy the entertain-ment provided by Jeanne Lynn Gray, a singer, actress and cabaret star.

A neighbor and a friend of Levin’s both wrote songs to play at the occa-sion.

She has held many positions, from director to Florida region president to president’s councilor.

Most of her fundraising endeavors support the library, particularly after she became involved with the Wom-

en’s Committee. “No matter what I do for Brandeis I enjoy working with the women,” said Levin. “I will have a conversation with them and they tell me what they have studied. They are so bright.”

Fran Ritter, vice president of Op-tions for Giving at the Boca Raton chapter and chair of Marion Levin’s tribute luncheon, spoke on why it was decided to have a luncheon in Levin’s honor. “She’s a woman [whom] I ad-mire and [I admire] what she’s ac-complished over the years … She has always been there.

“She’s nurtured many people who seek her advice.”

Ritter describes Levin as warm and personable. “Wherever she goes she makes friends. People always seem to surround her; there’s a kind of mag-netism about her.”

The proceeds from the luncheon will go to the Sustaining the Mind: Scientific Research and Scholarships campaign, a national $3 million cause, which Levin chose. The cam-paign supports cutting edge research for neurological and neurodegen-

erative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and A.L.S., as well as provides students with science schol-arships. Last year a similar event for neurodegenerative diseases raised $40,000 in a single day.

The cause has reached Marion Levin personally. “I’ve lost a lot of friends, older people, suffering through these diseases,” she said. “I want Brandeis to be the place where a cure is found for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.”

The hope is not unfounded. Break-throughs have already been made, as Ritter, also the liaison chair for the Sustaining the Mind campaign for the Florida region, describes. Recent-ly, large strides have been made at Brandeis when researchers were able to produce and determine the struc-ture of a particular protein, which may be able to help find a cure for Parkinson’s.

Money will also be raised for the cause in the form of a tribute book, in which friends and family will be able to take out ads to write messages to Levin.

Her family is widely involved in the Jewish Federation, despite geo-graphic barriers. “This gives them the opportunity to get involved even though they will not be here. There is so much going on in the world that is disappointing that you should be able to do what you can to do good,” Levin expressed.

Ritter describes Levin’s selfless atti-tude. “She’s always ready and smiling. She never says no [and] always vol-unteers before you can ask her.” And now the Boca Raton chapter is given a chance to acknowledge all of Levin’s hard work.

With the luncheon only a few days away, Ritter describes Levin’s excite-ment. “She’s very busy right now get-ting ready for her event. She loves to dance and is going to dance at the luncheon with her son. She’s turning 92 next month. This will be one last dance for her.”

As a long supporter of Brandeis and with a belief in education, Levin is eager to give advice for current stu-dents: “Whatever you do, make sure its what you want in your heart.”

Students from Brandeis and other regional universities were provided the opportunity to network with corporate leaders and international agencies at the second annual Com-munications Forum, sponsored by Hiatt Career Center. Joey Reiman, CEO and founder of BrightHouse, commenced the evening with his keynote address, emphasizing pur-pose as the crucial attribute of a suc-cessful business.

According to Caroline O’Shea, as-sistant director of employer relations at Hiatt, the event is designed to “give students the chance to network, learn about diverse career paths and de-velop connections with recruiters.” As in the previous year, the forum is not dominated by students pursuing a specific field, but rather by a blend of majors ranging from biology to fine arts to business. Representatives from marketing, PR and communi-cations divisions of major corpora-tions were present, including those from Liberty Mutual, Puma, Staples and Tufts Medical Center, to name a few. Commenting on the diverse in-dustries present at the forum, O’Shea acknowledged Club Passim, a non-profit arts organization based in Har-vard Square.

Commencing the evening was keynote speaker Reiman, a Brandeis graduate of the class of ’75, who has de-livered speeches to more than a million individuals across the globe. Professor Grace Zimmerman of the International Business School spoke of Reiman’s nu-merous accolades, referring to his title as “one of the top 100 people named by Fast Company who will change the way the world thinks.”

As coiner of the term “ideation,” Reiman defines the story of pur-pose as “a combination of intention and contribution, where intention without contribution is impediment and contribution without intention is blind.” Recalling a devastating car accident that resulted in permanent damage to his right arm, he acknowl-edges the invaluable notions shared with him by a South African minister who visited the hospital. It was from this individual that he realized “ideas can cause action which can change one’s character and, subsequently, one’s destiny.” At the mere age of 29,

Hiatt communications forum braves tough economy By Victoria Aronson

StaffReiman headed toward a future of fame and fortune, a path that lead him to become founder of the global consultancy company BrightHouse and professor at the Goizeta School of Business at Emory University. Bright-House has garnered renowned clients such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola, and Proctor and Gamble, among others.

Asserting “the most amazing aspect of business is that it is part of every human endeavor,” Reiman further states “as humans, we are meaning seeking creatures” and thus “busi-ness must be created for purpose, not solely focused on profit.” Tracing the history of industrialization, he ad-dresses the “four dark horses running rampage across the globe,” symboliz-ing prominent global issues, with “the fourth dark horse as the meanest, standing for the crisis in meaning.” Within this new era, Reiman depicts business as possessing “a saving role in an Olympian sense, of society it-self.”

Furthering his message of purpose-ful business motivations, Reiman traced the roots of successful compa-nies, such as Paper Mate, Pepperidge Farm and Apple, the last of which he claimed distinguished itself from competitors in the technology indus-try through the message of “creativity as intelligence having fun.” Reiman said, “There is nothing more impor-tant in business, nothing more im-portant in the world, than going to work and knowing going to work will make the world so much better.”

Following the conclusion of the keynote speech, students were en-couraged to network in a speed dat-ing fashion, speaking with company representatives for 15 minute inter-vals. Due to the style of networking forums, O’Shea recommends that students research employers before-hand in order to develop intelligent, insightful questions. Although the forum might appear most pertinent to juniors and seniors seeking intern-ships or employment after gradua-tion, she encourages first-years and sophomores to “attend as early as possible in order to engage in career exploration.”

When questioned as to the success of similar events in the past, O’Shea revealed that Hiatt often receives next day follow-ups regarding Brandeis students, some of which lead to valu-able internships and employment op-

portunities. For instance, Karen Hu ’12 was recently hired as a communi-cations intern for the Adidas Group.

Regarding last week’s fashion show, held in collaboration with Lord & Taylor, O’Shea remarked it is always

better to “err on the side of being pro-fessional” and was impressed with the clarifications of minute distinctions between appropriate business casual and professional wear. The Hiatt Ca-reer Center will also be engaging in

’Deis Impact, co-sponsoring Social Justice in American Health Care: Op-portunities to Serve the Underserved as well as a film screening and panel discussion of “Waiting for Super-man.”

the job search continues Employers speak with prospective employees at the Hiatt forum. photos by ingrid schulte/the hoot

February 10, 2012 The Brandeis Hoot NEWS 3

Sound off!The Hoot is launching a projectto review campus academics.

We need your help.Share what you know at

http://thebrandeishoot.com/survey

ited to just the campus. Lapetina said, “We’ve heard from alumni, who are passing it on to older and older gen-erations of Brandeisians.”

Nor, even, has the phenomenon been just students. When one of the lines in the meme had the sentence “I just had my first meeting with J. Scott Van Der Meid,” followed by “You mean Scott Van Der Meooow,” the man himself, the director of study abroad, gave his approval.

According to Gale, “he just won’t stop talking about it.” Van Der Meid even sent a group e-mail informing all his staff and co-workers that “No, you cannot start calling me ‘Meow.’” Now he’s made sure his entire staff sees “Sh*t” and will be calling him this new moniker behind his back.

But so will the rest of Academic Services and administration: Even the head of academic advising, P.J. Dick-son, has the video splashed all over his Facebook page.

Lapetina said the making of the video was a completely collaborative effort, with each of them contribut-ing to the stream of satire that fills the 3:53 minute video.

“We all had specific lines that we wrote and were attached to, and others that were more ambiguous in terms of authorship were spread around to each other and some ex-tras,” he said. All involved took turns shooting the scenes, which are quick-paced and were out of order before editing.

These scenes of the video them-selves were filmed all around campus, and the ease of shot locations helped the crew put in the precisely 156 Brandeisian witticisms. For seniors Gale and Lapetina it was described as “a farewell tour.”

One of the especially memorable pokes involved the names of some of the most well-known names on cam-pus—which happen to be the same one.

“Who’s … Herr—biee Rosen … ?” the video asks (which no Brandeis student does), blatantly referring to the student body president.

Next, pretending to correct: “Do you mean Ricky Rosen, the people’s president?”

The second Rosen is (by compari-son, anyway) an active student sena-tor who has this year worked seem-ingly parallel to the executive Rosen’s

efforts, with the two often working toward the same goal without coor-dination.

“Ricky was seemingly pleased he was featured—until he found out the specific joke,” one creator teased.

The makers of “Sh*t” confessed that they have no opinion on the two’s Union (counter)activities one way or another, and simply meant to acknowledge their widespread name-recognition.

Much of the material is meant in that way, satirical rather than nega-tively sarcastic. Perhaps the most striking line in the video comes from Sadowsky:

“I’ve never been to the psychologist before.”

Dark and caustic, but so very apt, those informally polled said.

That reaction, the writers said, is exactly the one for which they were shooting.

“We almost felt bad, because every clip was so harsh,” Gale said but, as Seiden finished it, they don’t antici-pate anyone being offended.

“We meant only to be satirical, harp on the commonly accepted no-tions that make Brandeis what it is,” he continued.

The “Sh*t” staff never anticipated the sheer popularity of the piece,

“a formal institutional partnership that could involve graduate students, under-graduates and post-docs.”

It went on to say, “There is currently a fit between U.S. and Indian research organizations, according to scientists in both countries in that there are many highly qualified researchers in America but a relative shortage of funding and a lot of funding in India but a relative shortage of high-level researchers.”

The president is also participating in religious exercises in the country, go-ing to Chabad of New Delhi. He wrote about the experience on his official blog.

“Our small group comprised young and old, and people from at least three continents—for that morning, a com-munity,” the president wrote.

In typical Brandeis form, he even met with the Israeli ambassador to India to discuss the apparently clear connection between Brandeis and the ambassador’s own home nation.

Two weeks being a long time to be away, the university has been under the supervision of President Lawrence from abroad and, according to Senior Vice President for Communications

Andrew Gully, he checks in often.In the meantime, “Brandeis never

missed a beat,” he said.“Thanks to today’s technology, the

president [has been] in regular touch with his staff, the provost, other mem-bers of the administration, faculty and trustees, so it was really business as usual,” Gully explained.

The committee that reorganized the administration chain of command last year upon Lawrence’s accession to the presidency explicitly described the pro-vost, currently Steve Goldstein, as first among equals among top brass under the president.

But “we often meet as a group, or as small groups, to work on assorted issues when the president is here or away on university business,” Gully said. “We all work on a variety of issues but all major decisions would be discussed with the president, who has the final say.”

Gully confirmed that while “the pro-vost is the second-ranking member of the administration and in consultation with the president manages university affairs when he is away from campus,” this has not been diminished contact between the president and top mem-bers of the university while Lawrence had been in India.

INDIA, from page 1

photo courtesy brandeisnow

lawrence of india According to BrandeisNOW, “President Fred Lawrence and Vice President for Global Affairs Dan Terris met Vatsala Thirumalai, who worked on her Ph.D. in the lab of Division of Science Chair Eve Marder. Thirumalai now has her own lab in the National Center for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India.”

Lawrence, in India, talks to admins there and at home

VIDEO, from page 1

but now they are already planning a sequel. “We just have to top it,” Gale said. “What makes the video is the sheer amount of extras,” Seiden said, “and we were very inclusive, had ev-ery element of Brandeis in the piece.”

Gale said the primary reason for “Sh*t Brandeis Students Don’t Say” having exploded and been so success-ful was because students are actually seeing and confirming this, that the video “is Brandeis, as a whole.”

Video satirizes everything Brandeis is–and what it is not

do they say that? Adam Lapetina ’12 stars in the new film “Sh*t Brandeis Students Don’t Say.”

4 NEWS The Brandeis Hoot February 10, 2012

Even as Eco-Reps work to celebrate “Brandeis Loves Recycling Month” with fun events such as Recycle-grams and as Hillel collaborates with Students for Environmental Action (SEA) to celebrate Tu B’Shvat, aware-ness and waste reduction still remain challenges for environmental activists on campus.

Five years ago, Brandeis received a C in overall sustainability and a B in recycling and waste management from the Sustainable Endowments Institute. Since then, campus sustain-ability efforts have increased and im-proved dramatically.

SEA and Brandeis University Recy-cling Program (BURP), both student-run initiatives, have a strong presence on campus. More than 100 students attended the first SEA meeting of the semester, in which they split into sub-groups to work on 20 separate initia-tives. The projects range from the Lo-cally Grown Food Banquet held each semester to environmental activism, all meant to turn environmental con-sciousness into action.

First-years have also been exposed to more environmental opportunities since arriving at Brandeis than previ-ous classes. This past fall semester was the first time first-years could apply to live in the Thinking Green Com-munity, a sustainability-themed floor in Massell Quad, which learns about environmental issues outside of the classroom and participates in projects such as gardening in the Fellows Gar-den behind Massell.

The results of an online poll re-vealed that all first-years surveyed were at least aware of recycling ini-

By Rachel HirschhautStaff

tiatives on campus. They were aware that every dorm room receives a re-cycling bin. Brandeis Recycling and Waste Web page gives students clear instructions on what can be recycled and which Eco-Reps to contact with questions.

There are still factors, however, that affect the success of recycling on cam-pus. In many residence halls and cam-pus buildings, recycling bins overflow with wrappers and other trash even though there is a clearly marked trash can nearby. Some students rarely empty their own recycling bins, even after getting green-room certified.

In Usdan, which attempts to oper-ate sustainably, easily recyclable wa-ter bottles can be found in the trash. When purchasing takeout, most stu-dents use the non-recyclable card-board boxes instead of recyclable plastic containers placed at checkout.

Sara Feit ’15 says there are not enough recycling bins in some cam-pus buildings. “Sometimes I’ll have to carry a water bottle with me for a while to recycle it,” she said, explain-ing why it’s easy to forgo recycling.

SEA member Elise Sobotka ’15 adds, “The placement of the bins is a problem. They are often placed in awkward, hard-to-notice areas and there just aren’t enough of them on campus.”

But the misplacement of trash has a negative impact on the quest for sustainability. According to Sustain-ability Coordinator Janna Cohen-Rosenthal ’03, trash and recycling are handled precisely with the Single Stream system. While recycling goes to a recycling-only single stream facility, trash is burned in an incin-erator. There it is turned into energy,

which is “better than doing nothing” according to Cohen-Rosenthal, but still, “less trash is better.” This is why proper disposal of trash is important. Recyclable items mixed into the trash are incinerated when they could be reused instead.

Certain Facilities workers, who asked to remain unnamed, have claimed that both trash and recycling are thrown away together. This is be-cause one piece of trash in a recycling bin renders the entire bag un-recycla-ble and, despite caring, Brandeis stu-dents still fail to dispose of their waste properly.

“Despite the obvious intellect and passion for social justice here, this has been a real challenge for Brandeis,” Cohen-Rosenthal says about recy-cling. Still, there is hope for the fu-ture of Brandeis environmentalism. People agree that there needs to be an equal combination of heightened awareness and waste reduction. Jesse Koklas ’14, the Waste Reduction and Recycling Eco-Rep, mentioned the Eco-Reps’ efforts to raise awareness. These include more signs that specify what is or isn’t recyclable, a March field trip to the trash incinerator and a waste sorting competition in Usdan next week. Students can win prizes for separating the trash from the re-cyclables.

Professor Laura Goldin of the En-vironmental Studies department uses her academic position to help with waste reduction as well. In her course “Greening the Ivory Tower,” which discusses sustainability, students visit WeCare, a recycling and recycled products plant.

Goldin says the biggest challenge we face is “the need for far greater participation in conscientious waste

Actual environmental record belies public green cred

separation and recycling.”“However, the real need for im-

provement precedes the recycling challenge; we need to focus on greatly reducing materials consumption and waste reduction overall.”

Cohen-Rosenthal adds: “I will al-ways go back to that first step—re-

duction. That is the best way to reduce waste—don’t make it to start with! Initiatives such as reducing bottled water, using double-sided printing, and avoiding to-go containers are a great start.”

photo by ingrid schulte/the hoot

University Registrar Mark Hewitt believes that Brandeis’ peculiar break schedule, one during February and another in April, is actually advanta-geous to the students, faculty and ad-ministration.

“Oddly enough, I think this actu-ally works,” remarked Hewitt as he discussed the two-break system. “It seems appropriate for Brandeis.” With Brandeis’ large Jewish population, maintaining a break during Passover is convenient, as it allows students, faculty and administrators to cel-ebrate Passover with their families. For students who do not celebrate Passover, it permits another break be-tween midterm recess and the last day

By Marisa BudlongSpecial to the Hoot

of classes.Midterm recess was not always

practiced at Brandeis. It was not un-til 1986 that Brandeis decided to have two one-week breaks instead of the standard one two-week break that would fall during Passover.

“My understanding is that it came from the dean of students’ request,” says Hewitt. “The thought was that students needed a break between the start of classes and the time of Pass-over break. When it’s really late, you can make a fairly good argument that people need a break some time before then.”

Academically, the two breaks do not appear to create conflict. Joseph Wensink, who has taught UWS at Brandeis for five years, appreciates the timing of midterm recess. “It works

pretty well because it gives a definite barrier for that first essay. It actu-ally falls at the perfect time for my course.” Though Wensink is thank-ful for the schedule in February, he believes that Passover break is more disruptive in terms of class schedule.

In terms of timing, this might not be understandable since this year’s midterm recess arises only five weeks after classes begin and Passover break falls two weeks before classes of-ficially end. That leaves a large gap between the two breaks—far from the midterm recess being between Passover break and the start of class-es. The reasoning behind the timing of the midterm recess makes sense. It coincides with the school breaks in Massachusetts and, unlike other universities, Brandeis gives a break

during this time in February so that faculty and administrators may spend time with their families.

Students do not always have the option, however, of returning to their hometown. Many Brandeis students do not live locally and some are not from this country. Some students find that traveling during the midterm re-cess is a problem, and not even worth returning to their hometown.

One student, Alexis Perry ’15, will not go back to California during midterm recess. “I’m not going back because it’s expensive to get a plane ticket, and what’s the point to go back for a week?”

Students often feel conflicted about the choices of returning to their hometown, especially for such a short period of time. Difficulties also arise, not only for students, but for the faculty. Jorge Arteta, who has been teaching in the Hispanic Studies department at Brandeis since 1999, describes the midterm recess as a positive thing for families, but detri-mental for traveling.

“It does allow me to spend time with friends of mine and their chil-dren,” says Arteta, “but, if I were very selfish, a bigger chunk of time would allow me to go to Spain at a time when the fare is not so high—because in February break, all the airfare goes up. Every thing is too expensive. I can’t afford it.”

Arteta, however, is not discour-aged. He finds manageable ways to travel and explore the sites around him. He even suggests advice for stu-dents, “I think it’s a matter of creativ-ity—coming up with something to do. For those who can’t afford it, it’s an opportunity to explore Boston. It’s a great city; there are lots of things to do.”

Registrar: break in Feb. an anomaly with advantage

spring break How will you spend your spring break? photo by alex schneider/the hoot

strict economic sanctions. Yet the international community, led by Israel, must now debate whether those sanctions can ef-fectively stop Iran from produc-ing a bomb or whether Israel will run out of time to defend itself against a first strike.

Senior Vice President for Communications Andrew Gul-ly said the university is aware of increased tensions and security alerts but believes current poli-cies on campus are effective.

“We’re always aware of any heightened security alerts that come out of the State Depart-ment, the commonwealth or out of local law enforcement,” Gully told The Herald this week. “The university is aware of warnings that have been out there. We’re assessing those warnings. We’re confident in the safety and secu-rity of the campus.”

Israeli government offices in Back Bay and other Jewish loca-tions in Boston have added po-lice patrols because of the secu-rity threats issued, The Boston Herald reported on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for the Bos-ton Police Department did not respond to requests for com-ment Thursday afternoon.

SECURITY, from page 1

Univ aware of security risks, admin says

served a male on the pool deck who appeared not to be feeling well,” but, in an e-mail to the lifeguarding staff, Ben White said “a swimmer feinted [sic] on the deck after finishing a swim.” The police log does not report unconsciousness. All agree, however, that the pool staff reacted admirably. The lifeguards on duty activated the Emergency Action Plan and notified both BEMCo and Public Safety. The swimmer was treated by BEMCo but signed off for further assistance.

As swimming in water that is warmer than body temperature de-lays the dissipation of heat and can cause nausea, vomiting, light-head-edness and dehydration, as well as muscle spasms and lack of control and heart arrhythmia, Linsey staff

POOL, from page 1

February 10, 2012 The Brandeis Hoot NEWS 5

Pool closes again, this time just briefly

The first ’Deis Impact highlighted the university’s social justice mission statement this week, with speaker events, question-and-answer panels and workshops. Faculty and students joined forces in discussions to address social justice in the Brandeis curricu-lum across departmental lines.

“Social Justice” is a popular cause at Brandeis, though its definition is often ambiguous. In a round-table discussion with students, Professor Timothy Hickey (COMP) defined the term as “the process of seeking out unfairness and injustice and looking toward the creation or evolution of a more fair society.” Professor Alyssa Stimmel (LGLS) defined it as, “listen-ing and empathizing with those who don’t have a voice in our institutions and helping them find a voice.”

Individual efforts, participants agreed, were necessary to the pursuit of justice. Students took their own stands and donated money to low-income families in a “Giving Tree” exercise, in which the donors paint-ed their own leaf on the glass of the Atrium.

Ruth Messinger, the president of the American Jewish World Service

Bridging domestic action and global impactBy Gilda DiCarli

and Sarah RaykhtsaumSpecial to the Hoot

(AJWS), addressed Brandeis as ’Deis Impact’s keynote speaker with a mes-sage of individual activism having the potential to profoundly improve the world. She discussed the intricate connection between local and global social justice efforts.

Messinger urged Brandeis students to follow their passions and pursue social justice. “If you don’t work in an area of your passion,” said Messinger, “you will burn out much too soon.” Brandeis’ social justice initiatives make the university a valuable re-source to institutions like the Ameri-can Jewish World Service.

Messinger described the AJWS’s goal as supporting every individual who believes things can be better. It works together with grassroots NGOs to improve various aspects of life in developing countries. AJWS leads several programs across the globe where volunteers can experience im-proving the lives of others.

Student Union President Herbie Rosen ’12 and Marci McPhee of the International Center of Ethics, Justice and Public Life, alluded to the power of the individual. Working through local organizations, says Messinger, allows a single person to make a posi-tive impact in developing countries where issues such as hunger, poverty and gender-based violence are prom-inent. Often when discussing social

justice, people underestimate the power of the individual. The world’s greatest leaders and social justice ac-tivists, however, are all individuals who act on their desire to make an impact.

Tempering idealism, one workshop taught, was necessary to successful progress. AJWS is regularly able to make profound impact on these so-cieties by paying close attention to the actual needs of the community. “Westerners do not have all the an-swers,” Messinger warned. Traveling to an impoverished African country and building a school may sound noble; however, it is not an effective effort if that school was not what the community truly needed at the time.

Messinger also made the point that it is possible to take small steps toward social justice on a daily basis right at home. The interconnected-ness of our world makes it important for us to pay close attention to our re-sources: from where our food comes, where our clothing is made, etc.

As consumers, she says we are not always as ethical as we would like to think. As Messinger said, “govern-ment policies can make it difficult to be ethical.” Being conscientious of from where the products and services we use come can help us come closer to achieving social justice at small yet progressive steps, she said.

photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

ruth messinger

determined that the pool was to be closed for the remainder of the shift and remained out of service until Monday morning once the problem was resolved.

The facilities department and con-tractors investigated the cause of the high air and water temperatures at Linsey, and discovered a faulty sensor on the unit that controls the pool and air temperature, though by Saturday the pool had dropped to 84 degrees, only slightly above the normal tem-perature.

Maintenance had noticed fluctua-tions in the temperature control ear-lier in the week and were monitoring the pool closely but not until the wa-ter temperature peaked on Friday af-ternoon did facilities call in contrac-tors, who, according to Sousa, “had a

team of people working all weekend to diagnose and correct the problem.”

The sensor that dehumidified and regulated temperature was meant to keep both the room and the pool at approximately 80 to 82 degrees Fahr-enheit, but was arbitrarily activating and causing the pool and natatorium to be unduly warm.

Indoor pools, according to Michael Kern of MGK Pool Services, a water maintenance company in the Massa-chusetts area, only need to be checked about once a day, depending on how heavily used it is.

“It is possible,” he explained, “for everyone to be doing their jobs, and have the pool temperature go out of range in between service intervals,” if a thermostat or sensor had malfunc-tioned.

photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

ImprESSIONS6 The Brandeis Hoot February 10, 2012

By Yael KatzwerEditor

Too often we say things without truly thinking about them first. We are all guilty of it. I am guilty of a fair number of these and am trying to kick myself of the habit. Most often these oral faux pas occur because we have been programmed to say these things; certain words and phrases are so ingrained in our minds that we say them all the time—even when we re-ally should not. Now, this is not about words or phrases that we should not say because they are offensive or hurt-ful; this is about words or phrases that make us sound stupid.

Literally is literally used far too of-ten. The Oxford English Dictionary—a once most hallowed source for the English language but somewhat less hallowed since it made “<3” a word—defines literally thusly: “In a literal, exact, or actual sense; not figuratively, allegorically, etc.” This is unfortunate-ly not how most people use literally today. Most people use literally as a superlative just to make their every sentence more intense and more over-the-top.

How often have you heard some-one say something along the lines of: “I literally could not get out of bed this morning”? Now you probably just take this as a statement meant to tell you how exhausted they are or what a crazy party they had attended the night before. But, if you take that “literally” literally, they are saying that they could not escape the clutches of their beds this morning and are, pre-

Is this really what you want to be saying to me?The Katzwer’s Out of the Bag

Brandeis fitness facilities out of shapeBy Betty Revah

Staff

graphic by linjie xu/the hoot

A good university needs a good gym and Brandeis should be no ex-ception. Although we have the Gos-man Sports and Convocation Center, and I admit that you can pretty much do anything you want there (there’s a place for volleyball, track and field, basketball, football, softball, fencing room, tennis, soccer, etc.), the cardio and weight rooms need improve-ments. Both rooms are very small and seem almost hidden; I got lost a lot while trying to find the cardio room, which is accessed by opening the door at the end of a corridor and going down three flights of stairs. Ad-ditionally, these rooms should not be separated. To be more efficient there should be one large gym with both cardio machines and weights.

Brandeis is not known for being a very athletic university, (we have a Quidditch team but not a football team) and I understand that more im-portance is given to academics than to sports, which is the way it should be. The problem is that, for those of us interested in exercising but not in-terested in sports, the choices are very limited.

I wonder why, if the Village has its own gym, other quads don’t have at the very least a few machines avail-able for students. I have often heard people complain about the location of Gosman; during the winter it is too cold and too far to walk there. Hav-ing a small cardio room in each quad would solve this problem and make students happier.

See FITNESS page 9

graphic by sindhura sonnathi/the hoot

sumably, still there. That is a mighty fine hologram you’ve got there.

The next time someone says some-thing like that to you—even if it is me—quote Inigo Montoya from “The Princess Bride” and tell them: “I do not think that means what you think it means.”

Another thing that people say too often is “no offense” either right be-fore or right after an offensive state-ment. Here’s a good rule of thumb to follow: If you feel the need to say “no offense,” then what you are say-ing is offensive. Rather than say “no offense,” just do not make your of-fensive comment. Either that or be proud of your offensiveness and just hurl that insult with all the force you can muster. Do not weaken your barb with a meaningless phrase.

Another is “How are you?” Now, I know what you are thinking: But that is just common courtesy! What could possibly be wrong with asking someone that? The next time you are about to ask someone how they are, ask yourself: Do I really care? If the answer is no, then just don’t ask. A quick “hello” will not offend your ac-quaintance because, by asking them how they are, you are forcing them to ask how you are in return. And there’s a really good chance they do not care either.

Also, once the question is out, you can’t take it back. Most often your friend will say “good” just because she doesn’t want to get into it with you right now but, every once in a while, you’ll get that “fine,” which begs for a follow-up question, or you’ll get the honest “bad,” to which you need to

feign sympathy.The worst is when people pass each

other on a Brandeis walkway and ask this question. We are both clearly headed somewhere and if I’m not slowing down to have a conversation with you, I probably don’t have time. Also, timing your speech when you are walking is really difficult. If you begin speaking too early, your friend won’t be able to hear you. Side note: If your friend can hear you, you are shouting and probably being really embarrassing. Inversely, if you begin speaking too late, you both have to stop walking in order to finish your salutations.

So, the next time you see me walk-ing to class, don’t be afraid just to say a quick hello and then continue on your merry way. That is unless you want to hear me complain about the Registrar’s Office and their endless forms … because I totally can.

Lastly, try to avoid those semi-rhetorical questions that one asks to make sure your victim is still listening to you. These include: “Am I right?”; “Do you know what I mean?” and “Yeah?” By adding these onto the ends of each of your sentences, you are doubling the length of our con-versation and yet halving the amount of content covered. You might have some really fascinating things to say but, if you check to make sure I’m with you after every sentence, I will just start tuning you out.

Of course, this is semi-acceptable when on the phone. I cannot tell you how many times I have been on the phone with my mother only to hear an ominous silence and realize

the call has dropped. I have become somewhat paranoid now and dur-ing long stories, will stop talking and question “Ema?” I won’t start talking again until my mother confirms she is still there, whether she wants to be or not.

But if you are in the same room as someone and facing each other, there is no reason to check that they are lis-tening to you. Also, if I disagree with you, I’ll usually tell you unprompted. In case you hadn’t realized this yet by reading this column, I am kind of opinionated. Also, there is no rea-son to force someone to participate in your monologue. It’s your mono-logue; own it.

So, before you speak, run through

a quick checklist: Am I saying some-thing I really don’t mean? Am I tor-turing my friend with lengthy delays in our conversation? Am I bullying my friend into responses he doesn’t want to give? If you have to answer yes to any of these, there is an issue.

As I said before, I am certainly guilty of all of these but I am working on weeding them out of my speech. It is a slow process but an important one nonetheless. If you hear me say-ing one of these things, please call me out on it (unless you’re my brother, then just shut up). We can all work together to improve our interactive experiences and to prevent the ob-noxious wandering thoughts that oc-cur when we speak to others.

February 10, 2012 The Brandeis Hoot IMPRESSIONS 7

In closing student newspaper,school abandons principles of journalism

By Alex SchneiderEditor

The Weekly Jelly

The primary problem: why partisan politics focuses voter attention on parties, not presidents

By Josh KellyColumnist

If administrators have their way, volume 51 will be the last for my high school’s newspaper.

Plans are underway to shutter Denebola, the paper that has in-formed members of the Newton South High School community in Newton, Mass., since the school first opened in 1960. The plan comes on the heels of the decision across town at Newton North High School to con-vert The Newtonite student paper to an online-only paper after 90 years in print.

These decisions have taken place behind closed doors and have not been subject to outside scrutiny. They are also flawed, cutting back on expe-riential learning opportunities with-out clear reason.

These papers do not deserve the same fate of the United Kingdom’s News of the World—during the last five years, Denebola has received top recognition at scholastic press com-petitions including from the New England Scholastic Press Association and from Suffolk University. The pa-per is the size of The Boston Globe and prints multiple pages in color. The quality has always surpassed that of other local school publications.

In fact, Denebola has a long his-tory of important contributions to the school. As an independent pa-per funded completely with outside advertising revenue, the paper has always had a rare degree of freedom, often shedding that all important sunlight on school policies. When administrators installed security cameras hidden within fake smoke-detectors outside bathrooms in 2007, my peers and I on the paper revealed the story, resulting in new school sur-veillance policy measures.

As I watched results pour in from the Missouri and Colorado primaries and the Minnesota caucuses, I must say I was a little bit stunned at Rick Santorum’s victories. In election sea-son it is always interesting to see how the country feels about various politi-cians, why they vote the way they do

graphic by yi wang/the hoot

A newspaper, after all, can have a vital function in fostering commu-nity debate. Schools that allocate re-sources to student newspapers signal that they take seriously the lessons of open inquiry that they teach.

Newton South administrators led by English Department Head Brian Baron argue that journalism is chang-ing. The argument is that moving Denebola to an online format would be a step forward for the school in keeping with national journalism trends.

But, especially in a school environ-ment, online news is not as effective. Journalism has suffered because tra-ditional sponsors—advertisers—no longer consider print papers to be the best way to spread their message. But at a high school—or college campus for that matter—the school news-paper retains a clear monopoly as a source of news. Students lead busy lives, and the print newspaper ac-commodates them. They can pick up the paper around the school build-ing, flip through and perhaps seren-dipitously land on an article they may never have thought to open in a Web browser.

Today, Denebola is vulnerable. George White, the paper’s long-term adviser, retired recently and Baron has taken over the newspaper. Baron, who has few ties to the newspaper, has less interest in seeing the paper as an institution continue.

But closing a newspaper sets a dan-gerous precedent. Like at Brandeis, Newton South has two newspapers and, if the administration can shutter one, the other is similarly at risk.

There is no doubt: Student news-papers cost money. But Denebola always managed to fund itself, even through the recession, without re-ceiving more than a small stipend for the adviser from taxpayers. When I led Denebola, we raised more than

$25,000 in advertising. Advertis-ers continue to be happy to fund the newspapers and, were the city to al-low it, advertisers would likely be able to pay the stipend as well.

Cutting Denebola has proven much too easy. The adviser is not invested in the paper, the administration has not suggested a better solution and the community has not even been con-

sulted. And, no surprise, the newspa-per has not even examined the issue in its own pages.

But, as an alum of Newton South High School and as an advocate of student journalism generally, I know that ending Denebola is a mistake. Students will miss an opportunity to engage their community, to think critically about the decisions made

about their education and to ask those questions only a member of the press has the standing to ask.

The very notion of viable journal-ism suffers if a newspaper as eco-nomically stable and award-winning as Denebola is at risk. One question remains: Will the residents of New-ton—and the journalism community at large—remain silent?

and who in fact will wind up rising to the challenge of attempting to defeat President Obama. The elections on Tuesday, however, led me to realize a serious problem in the way we think about electoral politics.

While my fiscal ideas may shift a little bit more toward laissez faire than most Democrats would be com-fortable with, I am clearly a Liberal. I have always identified with the Dem-ocratic Party and I do not see that

changing anytime soon. As is quite common, a political junky surrounds himself with many people of the same opinion. I hang out with people who are liberal to the point that I’d venture a guess that they would make Marx cry out “down with big government! Cut spending! Adam Smith rocks my socks!” What I continually find is that when they see things like Rick Santo-rum making huge gains in primaries and caucuses, they are happy.

Rick Santorum is a man who advo-cates many very conservative policies. He is the man who wants to open up the dialogue on making contracep-tion illegal. He is the one who, rather than Ron Paul who makes the cop-out states’ rights argument, actually wants to impose a law at the federal level defining marriage as between a man and a woman. He is what the typical northeastern collegiate lib-eral despises and ridicules. What my friends also realize, however, is that the chances of Santorum winning against Obama are very slim.

I would agree with what many have already said. Santorum is far too con-servative to be able to capture inde-pendent voters, and likely many who are unsure about Obama will choose what they see as the lesser of two evils. This leads to feelings of utter euphoria on a night such as tonight, because it signals disunity in the Republican Party. Some would hope that with

Santorum showing strength, Romney will need to drift further right in his rhetoric to capture Santorum’s base.

This could be problematic against Obama when trying to appear mod-erate. Some would even hope that Santorum could pull off a stunning victory in the primary and caucus series, and thus essentially hand the president the election.

As I approached the voter registra-tion table this week, students were ad-vocating for Elizabeth Warren, who is running against Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts. While there I ex-plained that the way I’m registered right now I will be allowed to vote in the Republican primary in Mas-sachusetts. To this, one friend nearby replied something along the lines of “oh, that’s so mean. Why would you do that? You know you’d hate it if Re-publicans came to our primary.” He had assumed that I would go to vote for a bad candidate simply for the purpose of ruining the Republican chance at winning the White House. Nothing could be further from the truth and I find it rather detrimental to our political system that people would have that impulse.

I believe that we should vote in any given scenario for the person with whom we would be most OK be-ing our leader. While I will vote for Obama, on the chance that a Republi-can will wind up winning, I want him

student news Newton South students put together graduation issue of Denebola. contributed by alex schneider/the hoot

to be the most capable leader in the field. It just seems logical that most liberals would prefer Romney to San-torum. No matter how much they try to say “I hate all of them,” deep down, they know that, if Obama absolutely could not pull off a win, then they would prefer Romney.

What this indicates is a trend of over-politicizing the system to an in-appropriate level. The political drama is just an offshoot of a much bigger issue. As zealous as we get over the goal of getting “our” guy into office, we should be concerned at the most basic level with maximizing the util-ity for the country in our viewpoint. We should want what we see as best for the country regardless of whether or not we are perfectly happy with it.

If someone sees getting the presi-dent re-elected as their principal goal then that’s terrific. That is a great goal to pursue. They should not be so ex-treme, however, as to eliminate even the possibility of an Obama loss. Once they accept that despite their greatest efforts he might lose, the way seems clear: Rank the candidates based on with whom they are most OK. What a person should not do is throw their vote away on someone whom they ac-tually despise. One should not cheer when a man they see as incapable wins a victory. That is why I will be voting for Mitt Romney in the Mas-sachusetts Primary.

8 IMPRESSIONS The Brandeis Hoot February 10, 2012

When a man and a woman really love each other, a stork flies by and drops a baby down their chimney. We’re all familiar with this story. Our parents used to tell it to us when we were little. Yet any adult who still believed this story literally would be met with a well-deserved mix of laughter and incredulity. And teach-ers who actually tried to teach this in health class would likely be ridiculed and fired for not doing their job.

What does this have to do with anything? Right now, in the United States, we’re in a very similar posi-tion in science classrooms. There’s a movement underway that is push-ing an agenda to inject something called “intelligent design” into the standard biology curriculum. Intel-ligent design, or ID, is the pseudo-scientific idea that life was created by a supernatural intelligence, instead of evolving from previous life forms by means of natural selection. This probably sounds familiar. Indeed, this concept of “creationism” is a common element of many religions. Yet proponents will try to argue that ID is science and not just a re-brand-ed, more politicized form of religion.

If you paid attention in his-tory class, you know that the First Amendment guarantees everyone the right to believe whatever they

By Nick IftimiaSpecial to The Hoot

Keep ‘intelligent design’ out of science class

graphic by diane somlo/the hoot

Standstill in the Middle East may havehelped the community gain footing

By Rick AlterbaumColumnist

By now, I would argue that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is officially dead.

Last month officials from both sides convened in Jordan to try to re-initiate negotiations. As promptly as they began, the discussion to restart talks came to a grinding halt.

There are other related recent de-velopments. The ostensibly moder-ate Fatah has continued the process of officially reuniting with Hamas, a terrorist group that refuses to reject armed struggle against Israel. Salam Fayyad, who actually wanted to im-prove the lives of his people instead of glorifying Palestinian victimhood and castigating Israel, is on the verge of being sacked. The Palestinians are continuing to pursue unilateral rec-ognition of a state through the Unit-ed Nations in complete defiance of their obligations under the Oslo Ac-cords to negotiate with Israel directly on a bilateral basis.

Things were not always this way. From the early 1990s all the way until 2008, the two sides at least met on an intermittent basis to try to negotiate a deal. These efforts culminated in Ehud Barak’s generous offers to Yas-sir Arafat in 2000 and 2001 as well as Ehud Olmert’s proposal to Mah-moud Abbas in 2008. Although the Israelis were rebuffed each time at least something was happening, for better or worse.

Then Barack Obama, who made Israeli-Palestinian peace a top for-eign policy priority, was elected into

Altered Consciousness

office. In an effort to accomplish this goal, the president essentially co-erced Israel into making concessions, namely an unprecedented settlement freeze, even before talks began. This was followed by his demand that the ’67 borders be used as a starting point for negotiations. He also implicitly ac-knowledged that East Jerusalem was occupied territory, reneging on his promise to recognize Israel’s sover-eignty over its capital during his 2008 campaign. There was never a word though on the rejection of the Pales-tinians, namely their refusal to recog-nize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

The results of Obama’s one-sided pressure were twofold: First, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in fact complied with America’s requests by declaring his support for Palestin-ian statehood, issuing a 10-month settlement freeze, loosening the Gaza blockade, and ordering the dismantle-ment of hundreds of roadblocks and checkpoints in the West Bank. But the second impact of President Obama’s policies was that they entrenched Palestinian intransigence and recalci-trance to the point where Netanyahu’s concessions were not enough even to re-initiate negotiations, with the ex-ception of a very brief and mostly in-significant period of talks in late 2010.

And here we are today, stuck with no progress on the creation of a two-state solution. Is this a positive or neg-ative development? Most observers would probably argue for the latter, but perhaps there are some unintend-ed benefits resulting from this state of inertia.

Firstly, the peace process is a huge distraction from the main threat to

peace and stability in the region, which is Iran. Supreme Leader Aya-tollah Khamenei recently reiterated his claim that Israel was a “cancerous tumor” that must be removed from the earth. The world should focus its attention on stopping this messianic lunatic from obtaining nuclear weap-ons instead of debating the status of Jerusalem or the Jordan River Valley.

Secondly, the peace process has, paradoxically, caused immense suf-fering and misery for both Israelis and Palestinians. In the name of peace, Is-

See EVOLUTION, page 9

rael readmitted the PLO to the West Bank and Gaza in the early ’90s. Since then, the main consequences of ne-gotiations, which subsequently led to various Israeli concessions and ter-ritorial withdrawals, have included intifada, terrorism, rockets, missiles and suicide bombings, justifiably fol-lowed by counter-reprisals, which have caused the deaths of thousands. Maybe it’s time to give things a rest.

Finally, the status quo actually is sustainable for the time being. The Israeli economy is as strong as ever.

The conditions in the territories are relatively stable. Why risk injecting more uncertainty into the situation, especially given the recent tumult in Egypt, Syria and other neighbor-ing countries? The two sides should instead focus on more incremental steps, such as improving the Pales-tinian economy and ensuring that its media is not saturated with anti-Israel propaganda and incitement.

In sum, President Obama’s under-mining of the peace process may have been a blessing in disguise.

photo from internet source

February 10, 2012 The Brandeis Hoot IMPRESSIONS 9

By Andrea BokobsaSpecial to the Hoot

The fear of virtual bureaucracy

ronment has slowly shifted from ab-surd to alarming. Indeed, Net surfers’ fear about their privacy for the last couple of years intensified along with the emancipation of the Information Technology industry.

I have never given much thought to this issue until the beginning of this

In the past two decades, the field of information technology has changed significantly. As time passes and tech-nologies advance, the idea of these changes creating oligopolistic envi-

semester when I enrolled in “Internet and Society,” a class that examines the way that the creation of the Internet and other associated technologies im-pacts our society.

In one of the books assigned for this class, “The Social Life of Informa-tion,” authors John Brown and Paul

Duguid explore how technology has altered the way that individuals inter-act with information.

Brown and Duguid discuss how these changes have affected the mass distribution of information. It explains: “Given that information technologies are particularly good at taking advantage of large networks, the information economy in certain circumstances actually favors the ag-gregated, massified firm.”

What the rational and analyti-cal “Web consumer” can deduce from this popular assertion is that the world-wide Web will ultimately merge and integrate itself just like the PC industry did in the 1990s. The recent global recession and the fail-ure of many financial and real-estate firms gave incentives to sophisticated investors to proliferate the Internet revolution; and just like almost any of these, what comes after is bureau-cracy. Indeed, the Web has distinct characteristics from the rest of profit-able businesses: (extremely) low bar-riers to entry along with the ability to reach hundreds of millions of online users through substantial social net-works such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, LivingSocial and so forth.

Despite that, we continue to have confidence that it will end defectively for the simple reason that the main players and platforms will sooner or later consolidate in a form of virtual overpowered bureaucracy. We are missing something here though; the large volume of the high technology Venture Capital and Angel Invest-ment market (in 2011 in the United States only) approximated $22 billion in 2700 deals. In consequence, the overcrowded early stage investment market limits and contradicts as de-scribed in Brown and Duguid’s argu-ment; they say that “the small, agile firm with big ideas and little money is less likely to be the viable start-up of legend.”

Yet, it is true that since 2001, Google acquired more than 100 multi-stage start-ups, spending about $23 billion to date in a wide range of acquisi-tions. Nonetheless, the fact that high technology is today’s fastest growing

sector eventually derives into a tal-ent drain. In turn, the Net titans are finding much more difficulty in at-tracting the best software developers and designers, who could have had a huge impact at places like Google or Microsoft. One reason for this is that those talented engineers, armed with “the next big thing” can get funded easily enough that they would rather start their own projects. Therefore, this inevitable cycle of breakthrough technological innovations will allow for this diffusion of skilled develop-ers and product designers. Indeed, with the help of an over-funded start-up market, it seems that this cycle is the only escape to our phobia of the “massified firm.”

Let’s pause to recollect the notion of transaction costs as proposed by the Nobel Prize-winning economist Ronald Coase in the 1930s: “These are the costs of using the marketplace, of searching, evaluating, contracting, and enforcing. When it is cheaper to do these as an organization than as an individual, organizations will form. Conversely, as transaction costs fall, this glue dissolves and firms and or-ganizations break apart. Ultimately, the theory suggests, if transaction costs become low enough, there will be no formal organizations, but only individuals in market relations, [...] information technology is relentlessly driving down these costs.”

This issue suggested is outdated. One cannot deny the fact that the downtrend of these costs systemati-cally eliminates thousands of jobs and intermediaries in today’s economy.

Nevertheless, in the long run, peo-ple will benefit from these institutions and the environment that is driving down these costs. In the future, the current employment cuts triggered by Information Technology during the last 20 years will be strongly at-tenuated, if not replaced.

How is this possible?The growing number of tech/so-

cial start-ups requiring substantial human resources to shape our social system and fulfill the needs of a grow-ing Internet community will cover the losses incurred today.

FITNESS, from page 6

Brandeis gyms inadequate

Adding exercise equipment is expensive, but I wonder why Brandeis approved the use of $3 million on a pool that has limited hours for stu-dents not on the swim team. The pool hours are challeng-ing; students can use the pool for two hours at a time, three times a day—with the excep-tion of weekends—(lap hours are 7:15 to 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday). Not only is the pool inconveniently crowded during this times but it is also very inefficient and very unfair. Many more stu-dents would be able to take advantage of the brand new pool if, instead of limiting its use, they simply gave the swim team three or four hours per day to practice (preferably in the morning) and left the rest of the time open to the re-maining student body. I have to confess that I was extremely

disappointed by the manage-ment of the pool.

Another problem that I have with athletics at Brandeis is the lack of a space designated exclusively for dancers. Last semester I went to “Dancing with Adagio” twice a week and I was very surprised and upset when I realized that even a dance club as important as Adagio does not have its own room to practice (they usually alter-nate between a few rooms in Gosman).

Although there is more than one problem with athlet-ics and facilities at Brandeis, there are many things that could be improved very easily. In fact they do not require the use of millions of dollars (as was the case with a pool that almost no one can use any-way). The few problems there have more than one solution, they could be solved quickly and make students much hap-pier to be at Brandeis.

EVOLUTION, from page 8

Science and religion clash

wish to believe, and the freedom to practice those beliefs as long as they don’t infringe on the rights of oth-ers. So what’s the problem? The First Amendment also implies a separation of church and state, so the govern-ment cannot interfere with religion and vice-versa. Teaching any form of creationism in government-funded schools would therefore be uncon-stitutional. Thus, ID should not be a mandatory part of public science education.

Why should you care about any of this? Because those who are educated in the present control the future. We cannot allow the integrity of science to be compromised.

The subject of science and religion has always been a tense one because it makes people uncomfortable. Politi-cal correctness aside, can science and religion get along? Or are they fun-damentally at odds with each other? Yes and no. To be more specific, they can indeed coexist but—here’s the important part—only as long as they both know their limitations, and stay within those boundaries. They can live in peace but they shouldn’t mix. Keep science in science class and reli-gion in church.

The reason science has been so suc-

cessful—the reason it works—is pre-cisely because science has only dealt with that which can be measured and observed directly or indirectly. On all other matters, science must remain si-lent. Otherwise, it would no longer be science. It can’t and shouldn’t tell you what to “believe” or how you should live your life. But in those cases where religion oversteps its bounds, when it’s no longer dealing only with mat-ters of faith and morality but starts to make factual claims, claims that can be tested, then it has trespassed into the territory of science.

ID is not just bad science; it’s bad religion. It tries to find spirituality by contradicting or misrepresenting sci-ence, or looking at the gaps that sci-ence cannot yet explain—gaps that are getting smaller with every pass-ing day. Science starts with the facts and follows them to a conclusion. ID starts with the conclusion and tries to bend the facts to justify it. I’m not going to go into all the “arguments” for ID as all are based on a misun-derstanding of evolution. We should respect other people’s beliefs, but we shouldn’t tolerate ignorance.

Intelligent design is “not even wrong,” because there’s no experi-ment that could disprove it, even in principle. That’s a bad thing. To clar-ify, what ID claims about evolution is wrong, but what it proposes instead of

it—an intelligent agent that designed all life—is not falsifiable, and hence not scientific. Some ID advocates have argued that ID doesn’t actually postulate a designer or concern itself with the designer’s identity, but only tries to look for evidence of design—by disproving part or all of evolution. Either way, ID isn’t actually offering a new scientific theory, only trying to discredit an existing one. It’s not an “alternative explanation” because it explains nothing. Research-wise, it’s a dead end. Even in the unlikely event that evolution turned out to be wrong, that still wouldn’t mean that ID is right.

The problem with teaching both ID and evolution is that it’s a lot like teaching the “stork theory of repro-duction” as an alternative to sex ed, and letting the students “decide” which one is true. There’s no “con-troversy” between ID and evolution. There is only a war for your mind.

photo from internet source

photo from internet source

VIEWS OF THE WEEK10 The Brandeis Hoot February 10, 2012

Hooked on Tap: Hot and dangerous

photos by nate rosenbloom/the hootfast feet Students perform with the group Hooked on Tap in Brandeis’ only all-tap show on Feb. 4.

Sweets from Switzerland

swiss chocolate and study abroad Audrey Stout ’13 (left) talks about her experience studying abroad in Switzerland to Nettie Faratci ’12 at an informational program on Feb. 7.

photo by haley fine/the hoot

An act of giving

photo by ingrid schulte/the hoot

the gift that grows The Poverty Action Coalition hosts a fundraiser for Care International, an organization working for the economic and social empowerment of women, as a part of ’Deis Impact from Feb. 6 through 9 in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium.

FEATUrESFebruary 10, 2012 The Brandeis Hoot 11

The Brandeis Chinese Cultural Connection (BC3) welcomed in the Year of the Dragon last Saturday with a Lunar New Year celebration, com-plete with food and entertainment. Levin Ballroom took on a festive at-mosphere as BC3 members and vol-unteers decorated the room with a giant dragon backdrop, red streamers with Chinese characters, and other Chinese symbols of luck and prosper-ity.

The customary celebration of the Chinese New Year lasts 15 days. Each day is filled with festivities deeply rooted in Chinese tradition. On New Year’s Eve, families reunite and feast on an eight- or nine-dish meal as they welcome in the new year. At least eight or nine dishes must be served since the number “eight” is regarded as a symbol of fortune.

On New Year’s Day, adults or young married couples give red en-velopes filled usually with money to the younger generation as an offer of prosperity, good luck and education. Everyone then travels downtown to

watch a Lion Dance.The Lion Dance, which rids evil

spirits from its location, was thus the opening performance at Brandeis’ Lunar New Year Show. The Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy was in-vited this year to perform this choreo-graphed work of art.

Other off campus performances included a band from the Berklee School of Music and an a cappella group from MIT. Brandeis students also participated in a variety of danc-es, singing performances and even a fashion show.

Each dance was choreographed by the Lunar New Year coordinator, Ju-lie Yiu ’13. Hoping to integrate both international- and American-born students, Yiu ensured that each song and dance combined Chinese tradi-tion with Western culture.

“[The Performances] can help con-nect the Chinese students with lo-cal students … We have traditional dancing and folk singing, and I think that’s something that can help people understand the Chinese culture. If they understand the culture, they can communicate better,” Yiu said.

The fashion show models similarly took on a multi-cultural approach as

they picked through their wardrobes, deciding which outfits to showcase. Some chose traditional North or South Chinese attire, such as the qipao, a Chinese traditional dress.

Others modeled more Western styles, such as short dresses or three-piece suits. Each outfit derived both appreciation and laughter from the audience. Peter Yang ’12, BC3’s senior representative, even stripped off his suit jacket to the sound of the crowd’s cheers.

“Most members of BC3 are from overseas and they wore more tra-ditional Chinese outfits. I chose to model a western business casual suit because I wanted to showcase the American-Asian side of BC3. At the same time, I’m happy to reconnect with my Chinese background,” Yang said.

Organizers said the evening ef-fectively brought the Chinese Lunar New Year to Brandeis.

“The main goal is to promote Chi-nese culture. We want to put on a show that can help Chinese students get together and celebrate the holiday … and we want to help [other] stu-dents experience Chinese culture and language,” Yiu said.

By Alana BlumStaff

BC3 rings in Lunar New Year

lunar new year celebration The Brandeis Chinese Cultural Connection (BC3)welcomes the Year of the Dragon with a festive celebration.

photos by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

12 FEATURES The Brandeis Hoot February 10, 2012

Yoni Appelbaum is taking history into the 21st century. With a dis-sertation at Brandeis, a position at the Atlantic, and a lecture series at Babson College, Appelbaum is ex-ploring one of the greatest conflicts of American history. The Civil War, he says, is still alive in the collective imagination and he works “to trace the twists and turns in our collective memory of the conflict.”

He lauds a former professor as his source of inspiration: “As an un-dergraduate, I studied the Civil War with Professor Eric Foner. There is no substitute for a talented teacher.”

For a long time, though, he “large-ly set aside” his interest in the war between the states. It was not until he met Atlantic editor Ta-Nehisi Coates, who, according to Appel-baum, had “embarked on his own exploration of the period” that Ap-pelbaum began once again to in-spect the motives and consequences of the conflict.

Appelbaum said his dissertation at Brandeis focuses on the American population in the late-19th century who “developed social institutions in a manner that seemed constant with their deep commitment to in-dividual independence.” He believes

Doc. candidate studies modern significance of Civil War

By Anita PalmerStaff

Dear Leah and Morgan,

I am not a very touchy-feely guy.I am not freakishly sensitive to touchiness—I can get through

the normal handshake and hug pleasantries of life—but I don’t go out of my way to initiate physical contact with friends or family members. In fact, whenever it is an option, I prefer to maintain at a reasonable distance from most people.

While I have many close friends about whom I care and with whom I enjoy spending time, I am not always entirely comfortable with the level of physical attention I receive.

Sometimes, it is difficult to communicate the way I feel without coming off as rude or insensitive.

Most of my friends respect my need for space, but I have one friend in particular who really has trouble with it.

This girl has a crush on me—it is quite obvious—and often hugs me, sits very close to me and comes over to rub my back.

While I can grit my teeth and bear it, she crossed a line the other day when she patted my butt. What do I say to her to let her know that this is not OK?

I do not want to hurt her feelings and I don’t want to make a scene—or rather, for her to make a scene—but I seriously can’t take this anymore.

How can I get her off my back … and away from my butt.

Sincerely,Still Blushing ... Again

Dear Blushing,We get that not everyone is cool with cuddling and that some

people need to learn that personal space is … well … personal!You are totally entitled to be as touched as much or as little as

you see fit.That being said, it can be really difficult to explain to friends that

for some people, affection can turn into discomfort.Luckily, we have a few suggestions of how to deal with your

touchy situation and stay cool, calm and contact-free!

Confront the situationYou think that you’re doing your friend a favor by ignoring her

touchiness and suffering in silence. Unfortunately, by playing along you’re really just prolonging your own suffering and possibly hurting her as well.

Not confronting your friend about her actions is annoying you (obviously) but it’s also allowing her to continue to think that something might happen between the two of you. If you’re sure that she has feelings for you then you are leading her on, plain and simple, and that’s not cool.

Also, by pretending like you don’t notice her touchy-feeliness, you’re signaling that your friend’s actions are totally normal. From what you’re telling us (especially the part about the butt touching), that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Chances are that if you can tell that she has a crush on you, everyone else can too.

You need to talk it out with your friend to save her (and you) a ton of unnecessary awkwardness and embarrassment.

That being said, feelings are at play in this situation. Whenever you are calling a friend out, you have to be sensitive to the preser-vation of their feelings.

It seems like your friend is going to require some extra-careful handling, so when you confront her, please ...

Be clear and carefulClear that what she’s doing isn’t OK.Make sure that your friend knows that the level of physical affec-

tion that she shows you is too much and that you don’t appreciate touchy-feeliness. Beating around the bush has not worked out in the past, so do you (and your friend) a favor and be honest!

Careful that she doesn’t take it personally.Asking someone to stay away from you can (understandably)

come off kind of cold. If you want to make sure that your friend understands that it’s nothing personal, articulate that the reason you are asking her to stop isn’t about her. Make sure she knows that your friendship is important and something about which you care, you’re just not the biggest fan of physical contact.

No matter what, remember that this girl is your friend and that she would want you to be honest with her in the end.

Good luck!

Peace, love and good advice!Leah and Morgan

Have questions that you want answered by the lovely ladies of The Hoot? Submit your questions to advice@thebrandeishoot.com or at formspring.me/leahandmorgan!

—Leah Finkelman ’13, Production Editor, and Morgan Gross ’14, Impressions Editor. We’re so excited to hear your questions!

these motivations are still “alive and resonant today,” that people still “grasp intuitively its ongoing signifi-cance.”

Appelbaum substantiates his doc-toral studies through lecturing as well as writing contributions for The Atlantic, for which he has written for more than a year. He began his course at Babson with the hope of inspiring students just as Foner had initially inspired him, but taking the scholarship into the 21st century.

“In the fall, I offered my own course on the Civil War and Ameri-can Freedom at Babson College, in an effort to convey to a new genera-tion of students the same excitement that Foner had offered me,” Appel-baum said.

His posts for The Atlantic, he says, allow him to explore topics outside the realm of traditional academia, and in a format conducive to study. “In the age of Google, all scholarship is digital scholarship—it’s just that some is consciously composed to take advantage of the format, while the rest isn’t, but gets scanned and digitized anyway.

“If scholarly work has value, and I think it does, then communicating with our several publics is an essen-tial part of realizing that value,” Ap-pelbaum added. “My writing for The Atlantic is, in part, a series of experi-

ments to try to work out what his-tory will look like in the digital age.”

At Brandeis, Appelbaum also finds encouragement from the commu-nity—faculty and students included. “I’ve been mentored by professors who offer terrific models of engaged scholarship and teaching,” he said. “The value of Brandeis resides in its people. It’s not the largest history de-partment in the country—far from it—but the quality of its faculty is unsurpassed,” Appelbaum said.

“Perhaps most importantly of all, I’ve had a chance to teach Brandeis students who approach the world with a diverse array of perspectives, but with a common degree of inter-est and excitement.”

yoni appelbaum

Hoot Advice

As Massachusetts and the prima-ry here nears, Mitt Romney, recent losses aside, is still the front-runner in the Republican nomination race. Brandeis students have varying rea-sons as to why they do or do not sup-port him, and whether they believe he is electable.

“I support him and I will be vot-ing for him in the general election,” said Avi Snyder ’13 and head of the Brandeis Libertarian-Conservative Alliance. “He is the only candidate that has everything thought out and I don’t think anyone else is a credible alternative to him.”

Romney is generally regarded as the most presentable of the Republi-can candidates this election season. “He looks like he could be a president and, sad to say, looks really are im-portant,” said a Brandeis student who asked not to be named.

Aside from looks, overall pre-sentation is also key to how well a politician fares in the eyes of the voter. “Newt Gingrich is offensive to many people and he is prone to say many silly and offensive things, even though he probably could win the general election, but I doubt he’ll win the primary,” continued Snyder. “San-torum is doing well with his recent string of victories, but he did not get many delegates and his appeal is very narrow.”

Another issue which has arisen in the race is his financial background. Romney was born in Detroit, Mich., to an automobile executive and at-tended elite private schools, before matriculating to Stanford and then transferring to Brigham Young. Af-ter attaining a joint business and law degree from an exclusive program coordinated by the Harvard Law and Business schools, he became a man-agement consultant at Boston Capital and eventually CEO of Bain Capital, a private venture firm.

“He is detached, I mean he is a pa-trician,” said Snyder. “He came from

Romney on students’ mindBy Justin BurackSpecial to the Hoot

this big political family in Michigan, and he grew up with a lot of privilege. Even though the wealth he has today is almost all self-earned, he really is the typical 1-percenter.” Continuing in this vein, he said, “I don’t think it will really become an issue, however, in the general election as long as he learns to relate to the average blue-collar worker.”

And, indeed, you can see he is mak-ing an effort if one looks at his web-site. The rhetoric used in the context of jobs aims to present Romney’s pro-gram as both a break from the past and a return to conservative values. One must “recognize the severity of the break that Mitt Romney proposes from our current course,” using lan-guage in some ways reminiscent of Obama, while calling for a “deeply conservative return to policies that have served our nation well.”

“Romney is a centrist Republican who just really, really wants to win,” said Jacob Weiner ’13, head of the Brandeis Democrats. “Like many centrist Republicans, Romney started out as a more moderate candidate but then lurched really far to the right when he realized that he couldn’t get the evangelical vote.”

He continued, “He appears stuck in the ‘I’m very wealthy’ mindset and doesn’t really care about the bottom 99 percent, and you can tell when he said he didn’t care about the poor.”

“I think it’s also very important to note that he has literally been inca-pable of coming up with any concrete solutions to just about anything,” said

Ula Rutkowska ’11 during the course of the same interview. “Though he is also the only candidate that appeals to both moderates and intense conserva-tives.”

“If people are sick of Obama enough to elect a Republican, then Romney would be the other choice. He is not radical enough for most Republicans, the way the party is now,” opined an-other student who asked to remain anonymous.

On the issues that directly affect Brandeis students the most, namely college tuition, student loans and the cost of health care, most seemed to agree that Mitt Romney has not formulated a particular stance in re-sponse to these concerns.

“I don’t really know, actually, what his stance on student loans might be since he hasn’t really addressed them,” Avi Snyder said. “I believe the govern-ment’s involvement in giving student loans plays a large role in hikes in tu-ition rates, and I know there are some things that will affect me adversely if Romney is elected.” But, he contin-ued, “I believe on a more holistic level, there are more things Romney is right about than he is wrong about.”

“I think the important thing to keep in mind is how these issues affect people our age,” said Naomi Volk ’14, a member of the Brandeis Democrats. She further said, “Things like health care, social security, and the possibil-ity of losing these things when we get older … we really have to think about what the consequences of those poli-cies will be.”

photo from internet source

Advertising information

Advertising in The Brandeis Hoot helps spread your message to our readers across the Brandeis campus, in the Waltham community and beyond through our website.

All campus organizations receive a 25 percent discount off our regular prices. We also design basic ads for campus organizations free of charge.

To reserve your space in the paper, contact us by phone at (781) 330 - 0051 or by e-mail at ads@thebrandeishoot.com.

SUBMISSION POLICIES

The Brandeis Hoot welcomes letters to the editor on subjects that are of interest to the community. Preference is given to cur-rent or former community members and The Hoot reserves the right to edit or reject submissions. The deadline for submitting letters is Wednesday at noon. Please submit letters to letters@thebrandeishoot.com along with your contact information. Letters should not exceed 500 words. The opinions, columns, cartoons and advertisements printed in The Hoot do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editorial board.

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editor-in-ChiefJon Ostrowsky

Managing EditorsYael Katzwer

Nathan Koskella

STAFFSenior Staff

Nafiz “Fizz” Ahmed Alana Blum

Debby BrodskySavannah Pearlman

Sam Allen, Rick Alterbaum, Victoria Aronson, Louis Berger, Alex Bernstein, Emily Breitbart, Adam Cohen, Haley Fine, Jeremy Goodman, Edwin Gonzalez, Rachel Hirschhaut, Paula Hoekstra, Adam Hughes, Gabby Katz, Josh Kelly, Samuel Kim, Christina Kolokotroni, Sarah Sue Landau, Arielle Levine, Ariel Madway, Estie Martin, Juliette Martin, Adam Marx, Anita Palmer, Alex Patch, Lien Phung, Andrew Rauner, Betty Revah, Alexandra Zelle Rettman, Ricky Rosen, Imara Roychowdhury, Aaron Sadowsky, Jessica Sashihara, Sarah Schneider, Alex Self, Naomi Shine, Diane Somlo, Sindhura Sonnathi, Ryan Tierney, Alan Tran, Dana Trismen, Sarah

Weber and Linjie Xu

Volume 9 • Issue 4the brandeis hoot • brandeis university

415 south street • waltham, maFounded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

Alex Schneider Editor Emeritus

Connor Novy News EditorMorgan Gross Impressions EditorCandice Bautista Arts, Etc. Editor

Brian Tabakin Sports EditorIngrid Schulte Photography Editor

Nate Rosenbloom Photography EditorEmily Stott Layout Editor

Steven Wong Graphics EditorLeah Finkelman Production Editor

Gordy Stillman Business EditorSuzanna Yu Copy Editor

Morgan Dashko Deputy Copy Editor

Destiny D. Aquino Senior EditorSean Fabery Senior Editor

CONNECTphone • (781) 330 - 0051

e-mail • editor@thebrandeishoot.comonline • thebrandeishoot.com

twitter • twitter.com/thebrandeishootfacebook • facebook.com/thebrandeishoot

MISSIONAs the weekly community student newspaper of Brandeis

University, The Brandeis Hoot aims to provide our readers with a reliable, accurate and unbiased source of news and information. Produced entirely by students, The Hoot serves a readership of 6,000 with in-depth news, relevant commentary, sports and coverage of cultural events. Recognizing that better journalism leads to better policy, The Brandeis Hoot is dedicated to the principles of inves-tigative reporting and news analysis. Our mission is to give every community member a voice.

Invest in social justice at home

As the Brandeis community cel-ebrated ’Deis Impact this week, the university’s first festival of so-

cial justice, we were reminded that service in a community must begin at the local level before it extends to the global one.

We applaud students for organizing the festival. And we hope that it will serve as a reminder to our community that a school built on the value of social justice requires activism at home just as much as it requires activism abroad.

Brandeis students are well aware of the socioeconomic injustices in the world. We have a multitude of clubs to promote international development and humanitarian relief for the world’s most vulnerable citizens. Yet, as we evaluate our entire community’s commitment to not only upholding the value of social justice but also seeking to broaden and strengthen it, we must not forget the in-

justices that demand our attention right here on campus.

Dining workers from Aramark at risk of losing their health insurance in contract renegotiations, homelessness in Waltham, underperforming students at the Stanley Elementary School, im-migrant advocacy programs—these are programs that demand passionate advocates of justice to speak up.

They are not the stories that dominate international news headlines. But the role of a campus dedicated to social justice is to work on those issues and protect the most vulnerable people in our community, particularly when oth-ers are not listening to them.

The theme of this week’s festival was that different groups on campus can find ways to connect with the community through social justice—whether through the arts, language or sports. ’Deis Im-

pact is the ceremony that launched this campaign to reaffirm our mission and vision as a university.

But how students think about and collectively work both to measure and improve their level of service to this community is not a task that can be accomplished in one month or one year. This week, we exposed the problems facing our Brandeis community, our Waltham community and the world we in which we live. We began to talk about solutions.

Brandeis has much of which to be proud when it comes to serving the community. Waltham Group serves as an example for the ideal use of leader-ship skills and academic potential. The challenge is now for all students, whether natural leaders or not, to dis-cover new ways to serve their neighbors, friends and fellow citizens.

EDITOrIALSFebruary 10, 2012 The Brandeis Hoot 13

Give a Hoot,

Join The Hoot!

The Hoot is looking for writers, editors, photog-raphers and illustrators

this spring semester.

thebrandeishoot.com/join

SpOrTS14 The Brandeis Hoot February 10, 2012

Men’s basketballTeam UAA All

NYU 7 – 2 18 – 2

Washington 7 – 2 15 – 5

Brandeis 6 – 3 12 – 8

Emory 5 – 4 16 – 4

Rochester 4 – 5 13 – 7

Chicago 4 – 5 11 – 9

Carnegie Mellon 2 – 7 7 – 13

Case Western 1 – 8 9 – 11

Box Scores

Case Western Loss 91 – 68

Carnegie Mellon Win 77 – 76

Kriskus leads Judges as they split UAA road trip By Brian Tabakin

Editor

The Brandeis men’s basketball team suffered a defeat to Case Western Reserve this weekend losing 91-68 and then bounced back with a thrill-ing 77-76 overtime victory against Carnegie Mellon two days later as guard Tyrone Hughes ’12 converted an off-balance jumper at the buzzer. Forward Vytas Kriskus ’12 had a stel-lar weekend scoring 16 points in both the loss and the win. After the week-end, the Judges improved their record to 12-8 overall (6-3 UAA).

The previous three games between the Judges and the Spartans had been decided by a total of 12 points and it initially seemed that Friday’s contest would be no different. The first half featured five ties and six lead chang-es. Brandeis led by as many as six points just more than eight minutes into the game after a put-back from center Wouter van der Eng ’13 that gave Brandeis a 20-14 lead; however, the Spartans responded with a 12-2 run with six different Case players contributing during the run. Case at-tempted to stretch their lead heading into halftime but late buckets from Kriskus and Eng cut the Case lead to 36-35 at halftime.

While the Spartans were not able to establish separation from the Judges in the first half, they did not waste any time giving themselves some breath-ing room in the second half. Case scored on their first seven possessions of the second half while the Judges failed to convert their first five shots and committed one turnover in the first 3:09 of the second half. Following a three-pointer by Case rookie guard Julien Person, guard Ben Bartoldus ’14 responded with a three-pointer of his own to slow the Case momentum briefly. A layup by forward Youri Das-cy ’14 at the 13:40 mark of the second half pulled the Judges within eight at 51-43; however, Case responded with a 10-0 run to put the game away. The Spartans shot a staggering 70 per-cent from the field in the second half, missing just nine shots as they scored

their highest point total of the season.Senior forward Tom Summers led

the Spartans with a career-high 31 points scoring 20 of his 31 points in just 14 minutes of action in the sec-ond half. He finished the game 13-of-16 from the field including 5-of-5 from the line, and also tied for the game-high in rebounds with nine. Additionally, Summers did not miss a shot in the second half as he shot 8-of-8 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.

Brandeis had three players in dou-ble figures for the game. Kriskus led the team with 16 points with eight points coming in each half. Overall, Kriskus was 6-of-14 from the field in-cluding a three-pointer and was 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. Dascy and guard Jay Freeman ’13 each finished with 13 points. Dascy led the Judges with seven rebounds, but he was the only Brandeis player with more than four rebounds as the Spartans finished with a decisive 43-31 edge on the boards. Hughes finished with nine points and three assists.

Coming into the game, Brandeis was the Division III-leading three-point shooting team at 42.7 percent; however, they struggled from beyond the arc in this game shooting just 4-of-14 (28.6 percent).

Looking to bounce back from their decisive loss against Case Western Reserve, Brandeis faced Carnegie Mellon two days later. The contest was a classic game of two halves. The Judges dominated the play in the first half, leading by as many as 13 points and had a 36-27 lead at halftime be-hind a blistering 65 percent shooting from the field (15-of-23) including 63 percent (5-of-8) from beyond the arc. Furthermore, the Judges held the Tar-tans to just 34 percent shooting (11-of-32) including 30 percent (3-of-10) from downtown.

Once the second half started, the tables turned as Brandeis went cold and Carnegie Mellon caught fire. The Tartans shot 62 percent in the second half (13-of-21) while the Judges shot just 35 percent (10-of-29). Carnegie Mellon stormed out of the locker

photo from brandeisnowyouri dascy ’14 drives to the hoop past his defender

room and started the half on a 15-3 run to take their first lead of the game at 42-41 with 12:47 left in regulation. The Tartans began padding their lead and led by six, 64-58 with just 2:48 re-maining in the game.

Brandeis answered with a crucial possession. Freeman calmly drained the first of his two free throws to cut the deficit to five and then rebounded his own miss on the second free throw and put it back to cut the Tartans’ lead to just three points.

On their next possession, the Tar-tans could only make one of two free throws and then, on the other end, Kriskus made both of his free throws to make it a two-point game. Mo-ments later, Kriskus would give the Judges the lead again, 66-65 after an and-one with just 46 seconds remain-ing. Senior forward Joe Kromka got to the free throw line with 18 seconds left but was only able to hit one of his free throws to tie the game at 66-66. Fortunately for the Tartans, Kromka was able to block Freeman’s game-winning attempt to force overtime.

Overtime featured two ties and two lead changes. Despite both Kriskus and Bartoldus fouling out, the Judges were able to take advantage of the Tartans’ inability to convert at the free-throw line. While Carnegie Mel-lon was 12-of-14 from the charity stripe in regulation, they were just a paltry 5-of-10 from the line in over-time. The Tartans led 76-75 with 37 seconds remaining in overtime. The Judges intentionally fouled Case sophomore guard Christian Manoli. Manoli missed both free throws and forward Alex Stoyle ’14 grabbed the rebound to set up Hughes’ game-win-ning jumper at the buzzer.

Brandeis had four players in double figures for the game. Kriskus led the Judges with 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds. He shot 5-of-9 from the field including a three-pointer and was 5-of-5 from the line. Freeman added 12 points off of the bench single-handedly outscoring the Tartans’ bench as the Judges bench outscored their counterparts 27-11. Hughes and guard Derek Retos ’14

each scored 11 points with Retos con-necting on 3-of-6 from downtown.

The Judges will continue their UAA road trip this weekend as they face Rochester on Friday. The Judges will return home on Feb. 17 to face Wash-ington University-St. Louis.

Judges fail to capitalize on momentum as they drop both gamesBy Alex Bernstein

Staff

The Brandeis women’s basketball team suffered two defeats during the weekend, losing 60-47 to Case West-ern Reserve on Friday and 65-56 to Carnegie Mellon on Sunday. Judge guard Morgan Kendrew ‘12 had a big weekend, scoring 21 points Friday and 18 points Sunday, but her per-formances were not enough for the Judges to get a W. The Judges are now 8-12 overall, including 1-8 in Univer-sity Athletic Association play.

Brandeis started off Friday’s game well, taking a 13-9 lead early in the first half. During the next eight min-utes, however, the Spartans would go on a 19-2 run.

Kendrew’s big first half, which in-cluded nine points in the final four and a half minutes, was the reason that the Judges went into the locker room trailing by only seven. Kendrew scored 20 of her 21 points in the first half of Friday’s contest.

Guard Hannah Cain ’15 spoke after the game about what happened in the first half for the Judges. “At halftime, we talked about doing a better job of getting back in transition on defense,” Cain said. “We wanted to do a better job of getting the ball to the post and finishing in the paint.”

Eight minutes into the second half, Brandeis still trailed by seven with the score 39-32. The Judges would then go

on an 11-1 run during the next three minutes, taking a 43-40 lead with less than 10 minutes left in the game. The Judges then went cold from the field, while the Spartans heated up. Brandeis shot 2-for-16 from the field for the remainder of the game, while being outscored 21-5. The final score was 60-47.

Kendrew finished the game shoot-ing 9-for-18 from the floor, while adding three rebounds, a steal and a block. Forward Shannon Hassan ’12 came up with a huge game for the Judges, recording her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

Brandeis headed into Pittsburgh looking to improve its win streak against Carnegie Mellon to 21 straight games—but the Tartans would not let that happen, riding the back of for-ward Emily Peel, who would drop 33 points on the Judges.

Once again, the Judges started the game off well, taking a 9-4 advantage through the first five minutes. Carn-egie Mellon fought back to take a 17-14 lead; the Judges trailed for the remainder of the game. The Tartans brought the lead to seven points at halftime, with a score of 28-21.

In the second half, the Tartans ex-panded their lead to take a 34-22 ad-vantage. After trailing 41-33, Brandeis went on a 9-2 run, cutting the lead to only one point at 43-42 with seven minutes remaining in the game. The Tartans then went on a seven-point

photo from brandeisnowmorgan kendrew ‘12 gets position on her defender

run to go up by eight with five and a half minutes remaining in the game, and went on to win 65-56.

Although the Judges outscored Carnegie Mellon 26-11 in second-chance points and 21-8 in points-off-the-bench, Carnegie Mellon held a huge advantage in field goal percent-age (47 percent to 25 percent).

Kendrew, who finished with 18 points overall, scored 13 in the sec-

ond half, while adding seven re-bounds. Guard Kelly Ethier ’12 added six points and five rebounds off the bench. For the Tartans, Peel scored 33 points on an extremely efficient 14-of-16 shooting performance.

“[Peel] had a really good game, and there’s nothing we could do about it,” said Cain after the game. “We played hard for the entire weekend, and it’s a shame that we couldn’t come away

with a victory. We didn’t lose because of lack of effort and these losses really hurt.”

Cain said that although the team is still having trouble winning games, the Judges’ play is at a much higher level than it was a couple of weeks ago.

“We’ve been playing a lot better as a

See W. BASKETBALL page 15

February 10, 2012 The Brandeis Hoot SPORTS 15

Box Scores

Case Western Loss 60 – 47

Carnegie Mellon Loss 65 – 56

Women’s basketball

Team UAA All

Chicago 9 – 0 20 – 0

Rochester 6 – 3 17 – 3

Washington 6 – 3 16– 4

Emory 5 – 4 14 – 6

Case Western 5 – 4 12 – 8

NYU 2 – 7 10 – 10

Carnegie Mellon 2 – 7 8 – 12

Brandeis 1 – 8 8 – 12

The Boston Celtics and Brandeis: a tragic partnershipBy Brian Tabakin

Editor

The Boston Celtics are one of the most iconic franchises in all of sports. Their past success is unparalleled in sports and will probably never be matched.

From 1957 to 1969, the Celtics dominated the NBA, winning 11 ti-tles in 13 years including eight titles in a row. Hall of famers Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and John Havlicek led the Celtics during this period of unri-valed domination.

After the former big three retired, legendary Celtics coach and general manager Red Auerbach once again put the Celtics to the forefront of the basketball landscape by drafting Larry Bird and, in what is largely con-sidered the biggest draft steal in the history of sports, by trading two first-round picks in the 1980 NBA draft, Joe Barry Carroll and Rickey Brown (both players would have forgettable NBA careers) to the Golden State Warriors for future hall-of-famer Robert Parish. The third pick of the draft was future hall-of-famer Kevin McHale.

With this new Big Three, the Celt-ics once again dominated the NBA, appearing in five NBA finals during a 10-year span in the 1980s and win-ning three titles.

With Bird, McHale and Parish starting to decline and near retire-ment, it seemed Auerbach had once again positioned the Celtics for con-tinued success until tragedy struck.

In the 1986 NBA draft, the Celtics selected forward Len Bias with the

second overall pick. Bias had played college basketball at Maryland Uni-versity and was widely considered the closest player in terms of talent and explosiveness to legendary Michael Jordan.

Shortly after being drafted by the Celtics, however, Bias died of a car-diac arrhythmia stemming from co-caine usage. Experts maintain that Bias is one of the greatest players never to be able to play at the profes-sional level.

In the following year’s draft the Celtics selected Reggie Lewis. In his first few years with the Celtics, Lewis emerged as one of the best young talents in the league, averaging 20.8 points per game. Tragically, Brandeis University will always be connected to the horrible death of Reggie Lewis.

In an off-season practice at Brandeis on July 27, 1993, where the Celtics used to hold their off-season training camps, Lewis collapsed. The shift sergeant was performing a rou-tine check of the Gosman facility when he was approached by a patron telling him of a “person down” in the Shapiro Gym, Director of Public Safe-ty Ed Callahan said.

Several individuals, mostly fellow players and coaches, were surround-ing Lewis when the officer arrived on the scene at 5:15 p.m. Additional of-ficers arrived just a few minutes later.

Upon arrival, the first-responding officer initiated a primary survey and determined that Lewis was not breathing and did not have a pulse. The officer attempted to revive him with CPR but his efforts were unsuc-cessful.

After Lewis’ vitals failed to improve

following CPR, he was transported via ambulance to Waltham/Weston Hospital, where he died shortly after arrival. Lewis was just entering his prime at the age of 27.

A 2009 Boston Herald article con-cerning the controversy between Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley identified Crowley as the officer who tried to save Lewis.

“I wasn’t working on Reggie Lewis the basketball star. I wasn’t working on a black man. I was working on another human being,” Crowley told The Herald. “Some people were say-ing ‘there’s the guy who killed Reggie Lewis’ afterward. I was broken-heart-ed. I cried for many nights.”

Lewis had shown signs of a heart condition in the previous season when he collapsed on the court dur-ing a first round playoff series against the Charlotte Hornets; however, no-body expected it to threaten his life.

The cause of his death was subse-quently attributed to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a structural heart defect that is widely considered to be one of the leading causes of death in young athletes.

Following the deaths of Bias and Lewis, the Celtics entered a period of relative irrelevance for roughly 15 years. The Celtics did not make it back to the NBA Finals until 2008; they won the title that year as well, when the general manger, Danny Ainge, formed a new Big Three con-sisting of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.

In a nod to the connection between Brandeis and the Celtics, the Judges play all of their home contests in the

Red Auerbach Arena.The Celtics are one of the most

storied franchises in professional sports. As in any story, however, there is a dark point. Through no fault of the university, Brandeis will forever be linked to the rapid decline of the Boston Celtics following the deaths of

photo from internet sourcereggie lewis drives past michael jordan

Women lose again

team,” she said. “We’re doing a much better job of improving our passes and being smart by not forcing the ball.”

With five games left in the season, Cain mentioned the importance of practicing hard. “As a team, we’ve talked about working hard and push-ing each other in practice. You don’t want to get down on yourself, so we’ve put our losses behind us and have just focused on learning from our mistakes.”

The Judges, who lost eight of their last nine games, hope to return to their winning ways when they visit the University of Rochester Friday at 6 p.m.

Track and field impresses at Tufts

Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams had decent show-ings at the Tufts Invitational this past weekend. The men finished 16th out of 22 teams while the women finished eighth out of 19 teams.

Despite bringing the fewest run-ners of any competing team, Brandeis was able to maximize their point to-tals with outstanding performances in the 1,000-meter and 3,000-meter race.

Marc Boutin ’12 finished third in the 1,000-meter race with a time of 2:33.63, just a second off of second place, while Michael Rosenbach ’15

Men shine while women struggle at Brandeis TournamentBy Brian Tabakin

Editor

While the men’s fencing team had an outstanding performance this past weekend at the Eric Sollee Invitation-al at Brandeis University, going 4-1, the women’s team struggled, going just 1-4. The men defeated Haverford (18-9), Hunter (25-2), New York Uni-versity (17-10) and Johns Hopkins (14-13) with their only loss coming from seventh-ranked Pennsylvania University (6-21). On the women’s side, their sole win was against Hunt-er (19-8) with losses coming from Haverford (11-16), seventh-ranked Pennsylvania (5-22), Johns Hopkins (8-19) and NYU (7-20). The men’s record improves to 11-8 on the sea-son while the women’s record falls to 9-14.

The most exciting match on the men’s side was their match against Johns Hopkins. After the Judges’ sa-ber squad posted a 7-2 victory behind three wins from Jess Ochs-Willard ’15, the Blue Jays then edged the

Judges in foil competition 5-4. Johns Hopkins proceeded to win five of the first six epee bouts to tie the match at 12-12 heading into the final round. Fortunately, the Judges’ epee fencers pulled it out, winning two of the final three bouts. Harry Kaufer ’13 won the first bout 5-0 against Johns Hopkins’ Jay DeYoung to get the Judges 13th point; however, Johns Hopkins’ Baron Redick won the next bout 5-2 against Mike Zook ’13 setting up a decisive fi-nal bout between Alex Powell ’12 and Alex Szlgofi of Johns Hopkins. Powell won the bout 5-0 clinching the vic-tory for the Judges.

Against their UAA rival, NYU, the Judges won two out of three weapons, going 7-2 in saber action and 6-3 in foil action to defeat the Violets for the first time since 2007. Ochs-Willard and Adam Mandel ’15 each finished 3-0 in saber competition while Noah Berman ’15 was unbeaten in foil ac-tion against NYU. Powell earned two of the Judges’ four points in epee.

Against Haverford, Brandeis won the saber and foil again with 7-2 and 6-3 respectively, while epee took a

5-4 decision. In the rout of Hunter College, saber and foils completed sweeps while the only two losses came in epee action.

In the loss to Penn, Kaufer was the only Judge to register multiple points against the Quakers, finishing 2-1 in epee competition.

On the women’s side, the Judges coasted to victory over Hunter Col-lege winning all three weapons. The epee squad had the most decisive win, with Kristen Ha ’14 and Leah Mack ’14 each going 3-0 in an 8-1 victory. Zoe Messinger ’13 and Emmily Smith ’13 each finished 2-0 in saber action. Finally, Hallie Frank ’14 won both of her foil matches.

Aside from their trouncing of Hunter, the Judges only had two oth-er weapon wins in the tournament. In their five-point defeat against Haver-ford, the sabers went 5-4 with Mess-inger finishing 3-0 and Smith going 2-1. Mack also registered a few wins in epee action. Additionally, the epee squad won 5-4 against NYU with both Mack and Ha finishing 2-1 and Emily Mandel ’12 getting an addi-

tional point in her only bout.No Brandeis fencer was able to pick

up multiple wins in the loss to Penn; however, in the loss to Johns Hopkins, Messinger, Mack and Vikki Nunley ’13, who has been limited in competi-tion due to illness this semester, each finished with two wins.

Both the men’s and women’s teams

will return to action this weekend when they travel to Duke University for the Duke Invitational. They will face some of the top-ranked teams in the nation including first-ranked Penn State and the eighth-ranked Duke Blue Devils. Other competi-tors will include North Carolina, Air Force and Johns Hopkins.

photo courtesy brandeis sports

W. BASKETBALL, from page 14By Brian Tabakin

Editor

finished sixth with a time of 2:37.55, only two-tenths of a second be-hind the fifth place finisher. In the 3,000-meter race, Ed Colvin ’14 fin-ished in fourth place with a time of 8:46.28.

In the sprinting events, Vincent As-ante ’14 and Kensai Hughes ’14 each barely missed the finals in the 60-me-ter dash with times of 7.28 seconds and 7.37 seconds respectively.

On the women’s side, sprinter Brittany Bell ’13 led the Judges. She turned in fantastic performances in both the 60- and 200-meter dash.

She qualified for the finals in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.13 seconds and then improved her time to 8.03 in the finals to finish in fifth place.

Furthermore, Bell completed the 200-meter dash in 26.84 seconds to finish in second place, just four-tenths of a second off the pace for first place.

In the 800-meter race, Ali Kirsch ’15 and Erin Bisceglia ’13 finished in sixth and seventh place with times of 2:25.88 and 2:27.20 respectively.

Kim Farrington ’13 and Lily Paren-teau ’12 capped off the top performers for Brandeis. Farrington finished fifth in the triple jump with a 34’ 4” effort while Parenteau finished in a tie for third in the high jump with a measure of 4’ 11.75”.

Both the men’s and women’s teams will look to build on their perfor-mances this weekend when they trav-el to Boston University for the Valen-tine Classic meet.

Len Bias and Reggie Lewis. While the Celtics no longer use

the Brandeis facilities for off-season training camps, opting to use a larger facility in Waltham, the tragic link between the two will forever remain in the blood, sweat and tears shed on that fateful day 19 years ago.

ArTS, ETc.16 The Brandeis Hoot February 10, 2012

Musical ‘Smash’ shows promiseBy Sean Fabery

Editor

“Revivals and movies … why doesn’t anyone do new musicals any-more?” songwriter Julia Houston (Debra Messing ’90) wonders aloud in the pilot episode of “Smash,” a new show on NBC that explores the drama that occurs behind the scenes of one Broadway musical.

Julia’s question is one that crops up frequently both online and in the trade press, so it’s indicative of the intentions of creator Theresa Re-beck PhD ’89 that it appears within three minutes of the show’s open-ing. “Smash” clearly tries to hit every musical sweet spot imaginable in an effort to reach its target audience of theater devotees, and it largely works.

As far as showbiz stories go, “Smash” is nothing new. Native Io-wan Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) is a waitress in Iowa, but of course she dreams of hitting it big on the Broadway stage. Unsurprisingly, her parents are not at all confident about her prospects. Karen luckily has a very supportive, very successful and very British boyfriend (Raza Jaf-frey) around to make sure she sticks to her dream. When he tells Karen’s father that he admires her courage, you can hear every theater major sigh with adoration.

Karen catches her big break when she auditions for “Marilyn,” a musi-cal documenting the rise, fall and immortalization of Marilyn Monroe. It’s the brainchild of Julia and her fellow songwriter Tom Levitt (Chris-tian Borle); we quickly find out that they are the hottest creative ticket on Broadway. Of course, they simply can’t do it alone, which is how mega-producer Eileen Rand (Anjelica Hus-ton) gets involved. Eileen in turn brings director Derek Wills (Jack Davenport) on-board, which natu-

photo from internet sourcesmashing Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty star as competing actresses on the new NBC series “Smash.”

rally leads to a battle of egos when he clashes with Tom.

Of course, Karen’s rise to stardom isn’t easy. Although she gets a callback in the pilot, she’s competing against Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty), a musical veteran who has put in the necessary time as a member of one ensemble af-ter another. Tom and Julia clearly pre-fer Ivy, and it’s easy to see why—she perfectly replicates Marilyn’s voice, appearance and public attitude. Kar-en, however, possesses that indescrib-able something that Derek seeks.

What’s immediately striking about “Smash” is how perfect the cast is. Many shows shake up their casts af-ter the pilot episode, but here not a single person feels out of place. As the most famous of the lot, Messing

and Huston don’t disappoint; Messing imbues Julia with the neurotic charm that characterized her work on “Will and Grace,” while Huston grabs every scene she’s in and refuses to let it go until she’s taken total control.

McPhee and Hilty, meanwhile, prove impressive both as actresses and singers. McPhee will be familiar to many viewers as one of the more memorable “American Idol” finalists, while Hilty has appeared on Broad-way in both “Wicked” and “9 to 5: The Musical.”

Pilots are rarely perfect, however, and “Smash” certainly finds itself un-able to escape this distinction.

Take Julia’s story as an example. Though the show first introduces her alongside Tom, it also exposes

us to her home life, specifically her relationship with her husband Frank (Brian d’Arcy James). Though they share a teenage son, they now want to adopt an infant. Of course, the ex-pected happens: Frank worries that Julia’s dedication to her career will jeopardize their chance to adopt. Julia is such a dynamic character, yet the show already mires her in a conven-tional “career versus family” plotline. It doesn’t help matters that Frank is such a bore.

The dialogue, meanwhile, is heavy on capital-letter ideas—Dreams, Star-dom, Destiny. Usually this works in the context of the show, but sometimes it comes across as overbaked. We first meet Eileen in an antiseptic legal of-fice, where she is engaged in negoti-

ating a messy divorce settlement with her husband (Michael Cristofer), who is also her form production partner. In a moment of passion, he declares that she “came into this marriage with nothing,” to which she retorts “Except love!” What a groaner.

Still, these missteps are minor in the grand scheme of things. Though shaky at times, “Smash” shows a lot of promise, especially for those al-ready in a serious relationship with theater. To paraphrase Tom Levitt, I’m not complaining—just dreaming like everybody else. And while “Smash” doesn’t quite embody the dream ver-sion I had in mind when I sat down to watch it, it has just as much promise of becoming a breakout star as its two talented rival singers.

Early screening shows ‘Jiro Dreams’ dreams bigBy Dana Trismen

Staff

“Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” director David Gelb’s film combining his love of sushi and filming, premiered this Thursday at Brandeis two months be-fore it officially opens in Boston. The documentary, which originally was screened at the Berlin Film Festival, centers on an 85-year-old Japanese man named Jiro, a legend in sushi making.

Jiro, at 85, works constantly, insist-ing that if he retired he would only “be bored.” The film opens with Jiro’s life philosophy: “You have to fall in love with your work. Dedicate your life to mastering your skill.” Jiro is a perfec-tionist, following his own motto to the extreme. Even though Jiro left his home at age seven and started from nothing, nowadays, tables at his res-taurant have to be booked a month in advance. The starting price for a su-shi meal is 30,000 yen (equal to $300 or $400). Jiro is his own worst critic: Others cite him as being extremely hard on himself, a strong promoter of self-discipline. Jiro claims he “dreams of sushi,” which indeed he must, since he has created new and exquisite sushi dishes unequal to anything else in the world.

While the documentary is partly a tribute to Jiro’s skill and to sushi itself, it takes on a more humane tone when describing Jiro’s relationship with his sons. Jiro has two sons, Yoshikazu,

photo from internet source

jiro dreams Director David Gelb hosted a Q&A session Feb. 9 for a screening of his movie, “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.”

who works with him, and younger Takashi, who opened his own sushi restaurant. While both sons expressed desires to go to college, Jiro declared they should both enter the sushi busi-ness. Though Yoshikazu started his training at 19 and is now 50, he still works under his father.

People doubt that Yoshikazu will be able to carry on his father’s dynasty, restaurant critics citing that “some-times if the father is too successful it dooms the son.” Since Yoshikazu is the older son, it is expected per tradition that he will carry on his father’s work, while Takashi is allowed to open his own restaurant with a “more relaxed atmosphere.” Although Takashi has a wife and three children, the director calls Yoshikazu a “sushi monk,” his life dedicated to pleasing his father.

Though the documentary does raise questions about the extreme pressures placed on Yoshikazu, he insists that he is happy and feels that he needs to continue his father’s tradition. The documentary plays both sides of the field: While it shows Yoshikazu’s loss-es, it also explores his deeply rooted relationship with his father. While Jiro was a “stranger” to his sons when they were growing up, director Gelb inge-niously includes scenes showing how close he and his son have become, as Yoshikazu teases his father gently.

While Jiro was never easy on his sons, the film manages to show both the positives and negatives of their upbringing. Gelb wields his camera so it displays humanity in all its forms

by explaining the difficult father-son relationship.

The reason “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” succeeds is because it is not just a food-network special on how to make good sushi, or even an exploration of a father-son dynamic; it expands itself even further to cover environmental issues. Jiro mourns how current types of fish are hard to get, for overfishing

has lead to a shortage of fish. Since the popularity of sushi has exploded, it has led to catching younger and younger fish, and not letting the fish repopulate. Yoshikazu expresses his concern for the ocean, for not only does it provide his lifestyle but it has deep connections to all life. It is by choosing to include scenes like this and by tackling these tough topics

in environmental conservation that Gelb transforms his film into one that is even more respected, and deserves acclaim.

Brandeis’ screening of “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” was made more unique by the question and answer following the film with the director. David Gelb is a

See JIRO, page 19

February 10, 2012 The Brandeis Hoot ARTS, ETC. 17

AraabMUZIK creates percussive hip hop

Usually when you think of a con-cert, you think of guitars, drums, a jazz band, an orchestra. That wasn’t the case Thursday when Basic Phys-ics and AraabMUZIK took the stage at Levin Ballroom, complete with six-foot-tall speaker towers and spin-ning light projections, blasting waves of synthetic hip hop sound that left concert-goers half deaf and begging for more.

The two unconventional electronic music artists drew a crowd of approxi-mately 350 students, raising more than $1,500 toward Springfest accord-ing to Student Events.

Director of Concerts for Student Events Bryan Flatt said afterward, “I thought it was an unbelievable show. There was clearly high energy in the room. Both Basic Physics and Ara-abMUZIK commanded the crowd, it was an extreme success.”

Basic Physics, a.k.a. Alex Syse, only put out his first song in 2010, but since then he has played with A-list artists such as Chiddy Bang, Steve Aoki and DJ Logic. More than 74 of his tracks that are available online (though Googling him is a pain—you’ll find a lot of introductory textbooks that way) include mash-ups of Daft Punk, Skrillex, even Coldplay, as well as original works.

For his performance, he created a

By Alan TranStaff

continuous flow of Top 40 pop song remixes and mash-ups. The Wiscon-sin-based music artist sped up vocals into higher registers and interspersed them with electronic verves and tech-no pop. It was light, fast-paced house music with artistic flow and trance vibes in the background. Halfway through his set he dropped his first bass-heavy remix, the oddly-choiced “Play That Funky Music,” but he made it work, and for the second half of the night he pressed forward with dubby bass-hitting music. Throughout his performance he could be seen with a smile on his face, obviously enjoying himself.

Part of that enjoyment may have been because Syse also released his new album “Lift Off!” earlier at 2:30 p.m. on the same day, featuring 16 tracks lasting more than an hour with each track flowing into the next to be listened to from beginning to end. The songs are labeled as mash-ups sam-pling more than 160 songs in total. The entire thing is available online for free on Facebook—definitely worth checking out if you missed the con-cert or enjoyed hearing Basic Physics perform.

Headliner AraabMUZIK, a.k.a. Abraham Orellana, took to the stage with a more serious face, allowing someone else to introduce him and hype up the crowd. While his music is impressive, what he’s best known for is his live show. The video projection set up on the wall at the back of the stage

was for him, or more specifically, for his hands; watching his fingers glide over the MPC, or Music Production Center, a boxy contraption covered in gray buttons, was watching an artist at work. He’s not just a man with a ma-chine—his background as a drummer and pianist was clearly evident in his performance.

Orellana began with some slow hammer-stroke beats that quickly evolved into an experiment of percus-sive power, oscillating between rap-id-fire key strokes and high-pitched repetitive trills and the occasional scream. The vivid drum and bass beats pumped intensity into an atmo-sphere of synthetic trance waves. He maintained a deft sense of control, if less engaged in the audience; while Syse included callouts to the crowd in his performance, Orellana instead had a recorded “This is AraabMUZIK!” play on his MPC. While his tracks online showcase a variety of different music styles fused together, for most of the night he kept playing similar-sounding beats, ratcheting the energy up toward the end of his concert to the delight of the audience.

With a metal detector and a no coats or bags policy, it was no Pachan-ga, with hijinks kept to a minimum. And the concert started late—not such a grievance considering Brandeis time—and ended a half hour early, which was more disappointing. But with stellar music and high energy from the crowd, that’s just as well.

photos by haley fine/the hoot

18 ARTS, ETC. The Brandeis Hoot February 10, 2012

‘Touch’ of glory, hint of decayBy Yael Katzwer

Editor

NBC’s “Heroes” began well but truly fizzled out by its second season. Despite this, Fox is giving producer Tim Kring another chance with his new show “Touch,” which had an early premiere last month. “Touch” focuses on Martin Bohm (Kiefer Sutherland), a man struggling to make ends meet and to connect with his seemingly autistic son, Jake (Da-vid Mazouz). While that sounds like an incredibly boring show—to me at least—“Touch” is in fact a science fiction program in which it turns out (in the first episode, so no spoilers) that Jake is not actually autistic, but merely experiences the world differ-ently and is able to see all the con-nections and sound waves and who-knows-what-else that normal people cannot see.

The first episode centers on Jake telling Martin through signs and scribbled numbers—Jake is mute—that Martin needs to be in a certain place at a certain time to prevent something bad from happening. Sound familiar? Here’s a hint: “Save the cheerleader.” Anyways, despite the familiar and somewhat dry plot of the pilot episode, “Touch” shows a lot of promise.

One of the show’s greatest assets is its actors. Kiefer Sutherland is very good and convincingly portrays the single father struggling with a chal-lenged child—so much so, in fact, that it was at times difficult to watch. His obvious grief at his wife’s pre-mature death on 9/11 and his anger at his son’s disabilities were palpable and a little too real. While I was look-ing for a fun, sci-fi show to watch, I instead got a sad family drama—not

photo from internet source‘touch’ Kiefer Sutherland stars as the single father of secretly gifted Jake, played by David Mazouz, in the new NBC show “Touch.”

that I am complaining. Although Jake is not in fact autistic, it was difficult to watch Martin’s struggles because we know that all too many people face those struggles in real life but without the easy out of “Your child’s not autis-tic, he’s gifted!”

There is not much to say about Da-vid Mazouz’s Jake because the show focuses on Sutherland and Mazouz very much seems to be a prop. The ac-tor has no lines and, due to his inabil-ity to connect with those around him, displays a blank face for most of his

screen-time. It was more interesting to watch the other actors act around him than actually to focus on Mazouz at any point.

The amazing Danny Glover co-stars in this series and, although he was not in the pilot very much, I look forward to seeing him again in later episodes. Glover plays Arthur Teller, the man with the answers; Teller in-forms Martin that his son is not au-tistic but is instead hyperaware of his surroundings. This character can ei-ther be a great source of information

or become excessively annoying—no one likes a know-it-all.

Also co-starring is Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Clea Hopkins, a social worker sent to the Bohm’s home to evalu-ate Jake’s situation. Mbatha-Raw is a breath of fresh air. She complements Sutherland nicely and there may even be a chance of some romance between their characters later in the series. In the beginning of the pilot episode, she appeared to be a cold social worker whose only purpose was to destroy what Martin Bohm has attempted to

create but, as the episode wore on, we saw more sides to her character and, as she comes to believe that Jake is in-deed special, she warms up a bit.

Also, her American accent is spot-on. Sci-fi fans will recognize Mbatha-Raw as Martha Jones’ sister Tish from “Doctor Who.” While her subtle New York accent is entirely believable despite growing up in the United Kingdom, Sutherland’s is less convincing—which is weird because

Blast from the past: ‘The Simpsons Arcade Game’By Gordy Stillman

Staff

Last Friday, for the first time in my life, I felt old while playing a video-game. “The Simpsons Arcade Game” had just been re-released as a port on XBox Live. It was the same game I had played every chance I could get in a real arcade when I was a kid, no matter how many tokens it took.

“The Simpsons Arcade Game” is more than the average arcade game. Even though the show didn’t have the extensive history that it currently has when it was first released in 1991, the arcade game took enough from the early seasons to make it feel like something worthy of “The Simp-sons” franchise. While some arcade games feel overly generic, as though a popular series was pasted on top of it, this game felt like it was built from the ground-up with the Simpsons in mind.

The Simpson family is walking through Springfield when Smith-ers and a few goons run out of the jewelry store. The two groups col-lide and baby Maggie takes a giant diamond and uses it as a pacifier. To avoid being caught, Smithers grabs Maggie and runs, setting the stage for the game: to save Maggie from Smithers. After progressing through seven side-scrolling levels and an eighth final level, the Simpsons face off against Smithers and Mr. Burns before rescuing Maggie. As the fam-ily heads home, Homer throws the diamond in the garbage, apparently ignorant of the value of the jewel. The

game is overall very simple and un-memorable.

There are four character options: Bart, who can use his skateboard to attack goons; Lisa, who attacks en-emies with a jump rope; Marge, who fights by swinging her vacuum clean-er; and Homer, who uses his fists. One of the more amusing elements is the ability to use combination attacks, which is a completely innovative idea. Combination attacks does not, how-ever, mean pressing a combination of

photo from internet source

8-bit wonder “The Simpsons Arcade Game” was released on XBox Live Arcade on Feb. 3, an upgraded version of the 1991 arcade game.

buttons to unleash a strong attack. It allows for two players to team up for a stronger attack.

Each duo has their own attack, for a total of six combinations. While I’ve always preferred to use Bart, the XBox Live port has allowed me to try out the other characters more than I usually would because I don’t have to pay quarters for every play.

Aside from the characters, the level design is great for its age. Various lo-cales from the series, including down-

town Springfield, Krustyland and the Springfield nuclear power plant make an interesting progression that flows naturally. Each level has a “boss” at the end of the level that requires a lot of work to defeat. The only level that is at all challenging is the nightmare “Dreamland,” which takes place near the end during a moment in which the characters are unconscious.

Aside from the characters and lev-els, the other big thing to consider when playing an arcade game is the

music. “The Simpsons” game doesn’t disappoint with familiar music that differs from level to level. This makes each level fresh and unique, which is important with each passing level of new and increasingly stronger goons. Other classic arcade games, such as those based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or the X-Men, suffer in this respect because each series was originally developed as a comic, so they don’t have a library of musical accompaniments to keep things fresh.

Another great thing about the re-cent re-release is the inclusion of bonus content. While I don’t care much for the ability to play the game’s Japanese version, the bonus features that showed the making of the game proved to be interesting and a worth-while addition to the experience. Xbox achievements and PlayStation trophies created replay value in try-ing to accomplish tricks and other challenges.

There are only a couple of arcade games that I would always play when-ever a place has them and “The Simp-sons Arcade Game” is one of them. It would be a great addition to any gamer’s collection.

Arcades are a dying breed. The rise of consoles and personal computers made sure of it because, thankfully, modern consoles and PCs have the capacity to extend the arcade game experience to newer generations of gamers. In that sense, while playing “The Simpsons Arcade Game” might make me feel old, it’s still a great ad-dition to the library of top arcade games that are getting second lives with modern releases.

See TOUCH, page 19

February 10, 2012 The Brandeis Hoot ARTS, ETC. 19

Arts Recommendsfilm

‘The Artist’“The Artist” is a very intriguing film. It is a silent movie done in tradition-

al silent film style, including actors using pantomime and overly expressive facial expressions that are typical in the silent movie genre. The topic of the movie, however, is inherently modern in that it follows the life and career of a silent movie actor as silent movies decline and “talkies” become popular. While technically fictional, the plot of the movie was indeed what actu-ally happened for many silent movie stars who, while very popular in their genre, became obsolete and forgotten once talkies arrived on the cinematic scene. The movie is entirely silent, an interesting artistic decision on the part of the filmmakers, which is both challenging and engaging for modern audi-ences who are accustomed to a different type of movie. This film is a must for any movie buff or cinephile interested in the history of film.

candice bautista, editor

books

‘The Stand’ by Stephen KingStephen King is basically a god among men. “The Stand,” which came

out in 1980, focuses on an eclectic group of people maneuvering a post-apocalyptic world. This hefty tome has everything: a devastating epidemic, the struggle to survive after civilization has fallen and a truly terrifying fight between good and evil. Just one of these things would have made for an en-joyable and fulfilling read but, combined, they make this book one of King’s true standouts. Reading “The Stand,” you will be shocked at the variety of emotions you will feel: fear, pity, anger, revulsion, love and just about every other emotion there is.

The 1994 miniseries of “The Stand” is also worthwhile. Let’s be honest, you need eight hours to do “The Stand” justice, and this miniseries truly does represent the novel to its full extent. Also, if you want to read an even longer version of “The Stand,” King re-released the novel with all the parts that his editor originally excised; warning: this version is not for the weak of stomach. But, the original 1980 edition of “The Stand” is a must-read—for everyone.

yael katzwer, editor

photo from internet source

photo from internet source

JIRO, from page 16

‘Jiro’ connects sushiand people

likable, vibrant man, one who wears jeans and crosses his legs while still seriously answering the audience’s questions. Brandeis students in the audience commended Gelb on his ability to keep a cultural bias out of the film and not im-pose American values on it. Gelb asserted that he wanted the story to be told from the point of view of Jiro, thus going so far as not to in-clude any English in the documentary, for Eng-lish does not really exist in the Japanese world of sushi. Gelb also described how the Japanese culture of specialization intrigued him, how mastering a single thing and becoming a crafts-man is for him “magical” and a great aspect of traditional Japan. Gelb described how he con-nected with the people in his film: like Yoshi-

kazu, he feels as though he lives in the shadow of his father, but is also striving to be happy in his own right.

Gelb described how after filming and since the earthquake in Japan occurred, Jiro’s business has been hurt. This is due to Japan’s damaged economy and circulating feelings of uncertainty and dread. Gelb himself might become a saving grace to Jiro though: His documentary express-es true feeling, exposing Jiro not only as a sushi legend but as possessing human emotions and desires to which we all can relate. Gelb decided to film Jiro because of the “human thread line” his point of view offered. It is this focus on the people in Jiro’s life that makes this documentary important not only to food critics but to any-one who is interested in studying connections among people.

‘Touch’ has possibilityof impressing

TOUCH, from page 18

he has lived in the United States for about 20 years. I don’t know why, but whenever Suther-land is doing his “everyman American” accent, he just sounds off. In “A Few Good Men,” he did a Southern accent as Lt. Jonathan Kendrick and nailed it. Yet here, there is just something unreal about his accent. I honestly cannot put my finger on what it is but I have noticed it in some of his other roles, such as Nelson in “Flat-liners” and General W.R. Monger in “Monsters vs. Aliens.”

Nevertheless, this pilot episode was certainly intriguing and definitely piqued my curiosity. Although the plot was a bit too complicated with too many pieces, this is Kring’s specialty

and perhaps the few wrinkles will be smoothed out as the series progresses.

My main concern for this show is that it will either turn into a “movie of the week” series, with each episode standing alone and focus-ing on a specific person with a specific problem that is resolved by the end of the episode, or it will become “Heroes,” with a story arc so long, convoluted and confusing that if you miss one episode, you’ll have missed something vital and will be unable to continue watching. It looks like it is leaning toward taking the “Heroes” route. Tim Kring, do not do that! Find a balance.

“Touch” will begin airing regularly on March 19 on Fox. Tune in with me and see if this will be a visionary show or another visionary show cum train-wreck. Either way, it should be a fun journey.

photo from internet source

photo from internet source

February 10, 2012 The Brandeis Hoot ADVERTISEMENT 20