(05/20/13 4:00am)
Family, friends, alumni, current students and the candidates of the graduating Class of 2013 gathered in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center to witness the 62nd annual commencement ceremony on May 19, during which 850 bachelor's degrees, 803 master's degrees and 93 doctorates were awarded. Dr. Rick Hodes, medical director of Ethiopia for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, presented the commencement address to the Class of 2013.
(05/20/13 4:00am)
Last Monday, Prof. Bernadette Brooten (NEJS) emailed a letter to University President Frederick Lawrence, expressing the concerns of several undersigned faculty members about the diversity of honorary degree recipients. Sixteen professors signed the letter. The professors wrote that they were "dismayed that this year's list of honorary degree recipients is neither diverse nor inclusive," noting that "[o]f the six, none are persons of color, and only one is a woman." Lawrence, in his response, echoed this sentiment. "Each year, I try to make sure that all of our values-including diversity-are reflected in our group of honorary degree recipients," wrote Lawrence in an email reply. "I, too, was disappointed that our honorary degree recipients' process this year did not result in a group that is more diverse and inclusive." The co-signers of the letter included professors from various departments including Economics, the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, History, English, Classical Studies, Comparative Literature, Sociology and African and Afro-American Studies. All signers were part of the Women's and Gender studies faculty. "The issue came up at a [Women's] and Gender Studies meeting and we did some research to better understand the history and patterns," explained Prof. Wendy Cadge (SOC) in an email to the Justice. "I signed the letter because I am concerned about the inequities in who receives honorary degrees." "In the past ten years," the letter read, "men have received 73.2 [percent] of the honorary degrees from Brandeis. In only one year (2006) did an equal number of women and men receive honorary degrees, and in most years (6 of 10), only one woman received an honorary degree." The letter went on to address the apparent lack of recognition of gender non-conforming persons, as well as the overall lack of diversity in award recipients at Brandeis. Lawrence wrote that the diversity of the group each year depends upon whether or not the people who are invited to receive honorary degrees accept, as well as the diversity of the list of nominees. "Going forward, we will refine our selection process and redouble our efforts to create a pool of potential nominees that is diverse, inclusive, and representative of the ideals we cherish," wrote Lawrence. To do this, he clarified, both the honorary degree and commencement speaker invitations would be extended earlier, and Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid is in the process of updating the nominating system. Lawrence also hinted that efforts to diversify have already achieved "positive results that I cannot announce at this time." Cadge wrote that she and other WGS faculty "plan to nominate a diverse slate of individuals in the future." Prof. Faith Lois Smith (AAAS), who signed the letter and is also a faculty representative to the Board of Trustees and on the Provost's Committee on Diversity, indicated that nominations and invitations were only part of the problem. "While we understand the President's constraints regarding extended invitations that are not accepted ... our letter indicates that the problem is more systemic," wrote Smith in an email to the Justice. "For many years now we have conceived of our ideal recipient for this and other awards as a man, and most often a white man. "I believe that Brandeis' record of diversity does not currently match our rhetorical commitment to it," she continued. "We need more diversity in our curricular requirements, our undergraduate and graduate student body, our faculty, our administration, and our Board of Trustees." Brooten wrote in an email to the Justice that she hoped to work with Lawrence to ensure that Brandeis' honorary degree and award recipients "reflect the ethnic and gender diversity that is central to who we are." "I agree with the letter and [was] pleased to sign it," wrote Prof. Anita Hill (Heller), senior advisor to the provost, in an email to the Justice. "I look forward to working with my colleagues and the President on the future selection of honorees." "I thought [Lawrence] took our concerns seriously and I look forward to working with him and other colleagues to improve the situation," added Cadge. The honorary degree recipients this year were Vartan Gregorian, former president of Brown University and the New York Public Library; Ellsworth Kelly, the abstract painter, sculptor and printmaker whose paintings "Yellow Curves" (1954) and "Blue White" (1962) are part of the permanent collection of the Rose Art Museum; Chaim Peri, former director of Yemin Orde Wingate Youth Village in Haifa, Israel; Elaine Schuster, co-founder of the Elaine and Gerald Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis and a public delegate to the United Nations General Assembly; and Leon Wieseltier, literary editor of The New Republic and author of several works, both fiction and nonfiction. According to the Office of Communications, all members of the Brandeis community may nominate candidates for honorary degrees. A committee composed of trustees, faculty and staff submits a final list each year, which is subject to approval by the Board of Trustees. President Lawrence makes the final selection.
(05/19/13 4:00am)
The second-ranked Brandeis University women's softball team lost a heartbreaker at home in the opening round quarterfinals of the 2013 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III New England Tournament, falling to seventh seed Worcester State University 6-4 in 8 innings on Wednesday, May 8 on Marcus Field. The Judges struck early against Worcester State, capitalizing on a leadoff single from centerfielder Amanda Genovese '15, who scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the first inning to give the Judges a key 1-0 advantage. Brandeis would double its lead one inning later when second baseman Leah McWilliams '14 hit a single that deflected off the Worcester third baseman's glove. In that inning, however, the Judges were not able to keep momentum going and extend their lead, as they failed to score again, even with the bases loaded and only one out. Behind starter Melissa Nolan '14, who allowed only one hit in the first five innings, the Judges looked to be in cruise control until Worcester State pushed across a run in the top of the sixth when Worcester State freshman second baseman Hayley Terry singled home their first run with two outs. Nolan was spared any further trouble when Genovese corralled a sinking line drive to retire the side. Worcester State refused to go away and pushed across the tying run just one inning later when sophomore left fielder Katie Storro singled down the right field line to bring in an unearned run that tied the game at two. Nolan finished the night with an impressive line-seven innings pitched, five hits, two runs (one earned), three strike outs, and only one walk-however was left with a no decision after the game was tied with Worcester State down to their last strike. The late-inning heroics of Storro forced the game into extra innings, but not before the rain began to fall, which ultimately forced a 20-minute delay that disrupted play in the top of the eighth inning. The Judges might have wished that the delay came earlier, as Worcester State scored two runs, one unearned, off pitcher Casey Ducinski '13 before the game was paused. Both runs scored on back-to-back wild pitches that slipped from the hand of Ducinski, who was trying to deal with a soaked softball that ultimately proved decisive in the outcome of the game. "The rain was a huge factor in the loss for us, so it isn't exactly how I want to picture my last game," said Ducinski, who gave up four runs in her one inning of relief and took the hard-luck loss. Worcester State would score twice more in the top of the eighth to extend its lead to 6-2 before Brandeis responded with two of its own in the bottom half of the inning that brought the game to its final score of 6-4. Though there would be no more scoring for the rest of the game, there were certainly a few more twists in the competition's plot. The Judges began the bottom of the eighth with successive extra base hits that brought in a run, beginning with a leadoff double from McWilliams who scored on Genovese's triple into the right field corner. The Judges would tack on a second run in the frame when Ducinski stepped to the plate and singled to third to bring the Judges within two runs. At this point, it seemed that the Judges were in a position to potentially make the momentum count and embark on a comeback, as they were pushing the visitors to their limits. However, Worcester State junior pitcher Hannah Everson neutralized the threat when she induced three straight groundouts to seal the upset victory for the visiting team and resultingly consign the Judges to a defeat that ultimately ended their successful season. With the loss, Brandeis ends its season with a 23-19 overall record and a fourth place finish in the University Athletic Association. However, a bright future is on the cards for the young squad, as everyone but Ducinski will return next year. For Ducinski, however, the only senior on the team, this season represented the chance to build strong relationships with her teammates, which she felt she accomplished. "Whenever I could give advice I was more than willing and happy to," she said of her role as a mentor for the younger members of the team. "I only wished to provide my teammates with the tips I wish I had been told earlier in my career." Although she was saddened by the loss and the end to her Brandeis softball career, Ducinski had positive reflections on the season as a whole and appreciated the tributes that were paid to her. "Even though the loss was tough, I am an optimistic person and will always remember my best games of the season and overall career." She also cited Senior Day as being "incredible. The recognition I received from all the parents, my family, friends, teammates and coaches was so heart-warming. I could not have asked for anything better. Having all eyes on me that day was extremely rewarding."
(05/19/13 4:00am)
Autism, which affects one in 88 children, is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the United States. Autism spectrum disorders consist of a range of neurological disorders characterized by challenges with both verbal and nonverbal communication, difficulties with social interaction and repeated behaviors. There is no cure for the disability, but new technologies help people like Carly Fleischmann bring awareness to autism with their stories and improve their lives through enhanced communication. Arthur Fleischmann '84 wrote a book published in 2012 about his daughter, Carly, who was diagnosed with autism when she was two years old. After an appearance on 20/20 during which he told part of Carly's story, Fleischmann was encouraged to narrate his family's experiences with their daughter's autism, which he did from his point of view in Carly's Voice. The book's title is a nod to the way her story reaches people who do not necessarily understand her disorder, as well as people who live with it. In addition to autism, her developmental delay and oral-motor apraxia make her unable to speak. Through technology and this book, however, Carly has gained another form of communication. Carly, now 18, lives with her parents, her twin sister Taryn and their older brother Matthew, who is 23. She enjoys typical teenage activities like listening to music, being with friends, reading books and seeing movies, but "she finds crowds to be challenging, so going to malls or that sort of thing can be very hard on her," Fleischmann said in an interview with the Justice. "She has a pretty ... programmed life because repetition and routine works out much better for her than surprises or variation." According to Fleischmann, Carly's greatest challenge is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, an anxiety-based disorder which "makes her do things that she knows are wrong ... like feeling like she has to shred something up or empty an entire container of something. If she doesn't do what her body craves doing, she says it actually causes her physical pain," Fleischmann said. Because of the pain, she reacts with shrieking and pounding her fists at times. Carly employs meditation, relaxation and yoga to help control her OCD. Besides her difficulty with OCD, Carly also struggles with daily habits that others take for granted, including typing, which she does slowly with one finger. She works with an occupational therapist to help her with some basic motor skills, like tying her shoes and preparing snacks. Carly feels, however, "like someone always has to supervise her, help her, shadow her," through her routine. "[While] she still has a number of physical and behavioral challenges, intellectually she has no challenges. In fact, she is highly intelligent. Her last IQ test put her somewhere between 120 and 130," Fleischmann said. Carly has made such progress academically that she was recently accepted to the University of Toronto, where she will be working toward a Bachelor of Arts in the fall. Carly has attended a range of schools, from public schools, to private schools, to schools specifically for people with autism. Carly prefers not to attend schools for autistic individuals, however, because she does not want autism to define her, according to Fleischmann. She performs well in the classes she takes, but she is unable to take certain math and science classes because she cannot grip a pen, although she has demonstrated that she can solve problems in her head. Carly has a clear understanding of her condition. A few years ago, Fleischmann's wife, Tammy, asked Carly if she knew what autism was, to which Carly typed, "it's something I have that other people don't like to see." Fleischmann says she types how she feels about the disorder and says she feels "like her body traps her and doesn't let her do the things that she wants to do." Facebook and Twitter have been essential outlets for Carly to express how she feels about her disorder, as she has not developed any spoken communication. Her Facebook page currently has over 93,000 likes and she has over 43,000 followers on Twitter. Her posts include messages such as "Just because words don't come out of your mouth doesn't mean we have nothing to say" and "I am off to Washington DC on Monday and I'm trying to get some meetings with some senators. Elizabeth Warren has agreed to sit down with me and talk autism." The technology Carly uses to communicate on a daily basis with her family, therapist and peers changes constantly. At first, the family was unaware that Carly could access words. They used picture cards to understand what Carly wanted to say, but then discovered she could write. Now, she uses programs that are always evolving, including apps on the iPad with preprogrammed phrases that read out loud with the press of a button, which works especially well in an academic environment with other students. "I think she likes the fact that somebody with a disability who was told would never communicate, would never have a life outside a group home, has this ability to communicate and inspire so many people around the world," Fleischmann said. Because of her love for expressing herself in writing, Fleischmann asked Carly about the idea of writing her story in a book. She thought it was a good idea because while articles and blogs are a few hundred words, they both thought a book could tell their whole story including both hardships and breakthroughs. There are some parts of her autism that Fleischmann knows Carly appreciates, like the ways she thinks, hears and sees, including her photographic memory, "which she would never give up," according to Fleischmann. Another part of her autism that empowers Carly is her ability to show people who she really is and what she can do. "She likes surprising people. People look at her and assume she is incapable, and then she does these things that are so awe-inspiring, and I think she likes that ability to shock people," Fleischmann said. Fleischmann said he has the greatest aspirations for his daughter. "Carly doesn't need any help coming up with visions and plans and dreams. While some teenagers need direction and encouragement, she is a very hardworking, self-directed kid."
(04/30/13 4:00am)
On Friday night, Visions of an Ancient Dreamer, advertised as a part of the Festival of the Creative Arts, took the main stage in Spingold Theater Center. Consisting of two classic works by Euripides-Orestes and Iphigenia at Tauris- the Brandeis Theater Company's production was directed by Prof. Eric Hill (THA) and Aparna Sindhoor and translated by Prof. Leonard C. Muellner (CLAS) and his students. The two-part play was excellently performed, from the individual performances to choreographed movements to the production's thoughtfully staged set. For the first part of Orestes, I was slightly confused and disinterested, but after seeing the rest of the show, I attribute this to the complicated plot. The story started with Helen of Troy, who ran away from her home of Argos after Aphrodite offered her as a gift to another king. After defeating Troy in an attempt to regain Helen, the soldiers, including the infamous hero Odysseus, return home, but complications quickly arise for Agamemnon, a famous soldier. He is murdered by his wife Clytemnestra, and in an act of revenge, his son Orestes murders her. The play starts at this moment, in the aftermath of the murder. He is racked with guilt, and soon goes mad-ostracizing himself from everyone in Argos except for his sister Electra. Agamemnon and Clytemnestra never actually appear onstage, rather both are only present through the stories of other characters. Orestes (Sam Gillam, MFA) gave an emotionally-charged performance as the haunted, twisted murderer who does not regret his actions, yet realizes their magnitude. His performance was definitely a highlight of the show, especially in interactions with Electra (Sarah Elizabeth Bedard, MFA) and his best friend Pylades (Brandon Green, MFA). At times, I thought the play was very impersonal and lacked emotional connections between characters, but that ended up making these heightened moments particularly poignant. Oretes and Pylades' relationship can easily be described in modern terms as a "bromance"-they are infallibly loyal to one another despite the life-or-death situations they repeatedly find themselves in. Throughout Orestes' mental attacks , Pylades declares his allegiance to his friend despite whatever anyone else in the city thinks. Both actors were spectacular, and facilitated one of my favorite character dynamics in the entire show. Oddly enough, my favorite character of all had one of the most minor roles in the show-Alex Davis '15 as an unnamed old man who explains to Electra exactly what happened at Orestes' trial for killing his mother. I have seen Davis in several productions, most recently in Hold Thy Peace's Much Ado About Nothing, and I am always enchanted by his performances. His stage presence and character portrayals are always dynamic, enthusiastic and captivating. After only a few minutes on stage, I was left wishing he had a bigger role in the production. The second portion of the play, Iphigenia at Tauris, picks up a little while after the first part ends. In the end of the preceding portion, Orestes and his sister had avoided execution and the god Apollo (Nathanel Peleg '13) sorts out all the problems that arose throughout the play. Predating the time periods of both plays, it is told that Agamemnon had sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia (Sara Schoch, MFA) to Artemis in order to win the war against Troy. However, unbeknownst to her entire family, Iphigenia is saved and taken to the island of Tauris where she has since performed sacrifices for the gods. Orestes and Pylades end up washed up on the shore of Tauris, where they meet Iphigenia-neither of them knowing that they are siblings. After much back-and-forth banter, they realize their relationship and conduct a plan to escape from the island. Orestes' ability to develop an emotional connection with his other sister, Iphigenia, is a highlight of the show. Overall, I liked the second part of the play most because it was faster-paced and fostered a much greater emotional depth. Visions' set was very simplistic-opening with red-colored draping, which was removed to show bare platforms for the second act. This contrasted with the complexity of the plot and offered a stable backdrop to the performance. The play did not feature any classical dance choreography, but the precise movements of the characters added to the mystical, Greek epic vibe of the play. Most noticeably, five girls acted as pseudo-narrators who stood usually behind the main action of a scene while delivering supportive lines that whelped add substance to the plots. At times, they ranged from Electra's minions to screaming for Orestes' innocence. Their movements were synchronized and added to the impact of their lines. I thoroughly enjoyed the play, both for its theatrical and historical values. The visually stunning set and costumes added another dimension to the already superior acting. Visions was a great addition to the Festival of the Arts lineup and is a clear demonstration of what makes the arts so outstanding at Brandeis.
(04/30/13 4:00am)
At the end of this academic year, Brandeis University will be losing an invaluable resource that has irrevocably changed campus discourse; a resource that is both an integral and necessary piece of the University's purported mission of social justice, a resource that has saved the lives of many students who otherwise may have contemplated committing suicide, a resource that the administration at Brandeis is arbitrarily making the choice to get rid of. This resource is the program coordinator for sexuality and gender diversity, Jessamine Beal. At the end of this academic year, Beal will be leaving Brandeis and entering into a full-time, assistant director position at Suffolk University solely because the Brandeis administration has refused to create a full-time position for her. Yet, that is not the worst part. Currently, there are no concrete plans to hire a new program coordinator for gender and sexuality. The Brandeis University administration chooses to ignore that the intentional absence of Beal's position is not only deplorable, but highly hypocritical, considering that Brandeis prides itself as a social-justice-oriented campus. Are Harvard University, Tufts University, Suffolk University, Massachusetts Institute Technology and Bridgewater State University known for their record on social justice? No, but they all have Queer Centers that receive secured university funding and at least one full-time staff person with a position similar to Beal's. In what seems to be an effort to save, the Brandeis higher-ups are choosing not to refill positions that they view as unnecessary resources, such as the program coordinator. However, as the administration is frugally leaving positions unfilled due to apparent money restraints, there are many other projects on campus that are receiving funds. These projects include things such as replacing the carpeting in East Quad, campus landscaping and the recently-purchased iPads that students may rent from the library. However, how will an iPad serve me if I need a person on campus to counsel me who is knowledgeable about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer struggles? What use will new carpets in East do me if I am terrified of and overwhelmed by how my unconventional gender identity will allow me to function in a university setting? The staff at the Psychological Counseling Center currently on campus is not properly trained to deal with these issues and thus does not meet my needs, jeopardizing my, and many other members of the LGBTQ community's, mental health. Neither my professors nor the staff at Academic Services would understand, have experience with, or could properly address these potential issues simply because they are not trained to do so. Additionally, the Intercultural Center, while an ally, is focused mainly on problems of race and ethnicity, and by itself does not possess the resources needed to put on successful educational and social programming for LGBTQ students. Beal's position is 20 hours a week, for 10 months of the year, and services the needs of students regarding LGBTQ issues on the Brandeis campus. Beal routinely has to deny meetings with in-need students because it is physically and financially impossible for Beal to be on campus as a resource for them as much as is needed. Even with Beal here, the need for her position heavily outweighs the support she is able to offer. If the position remains vacant, all of the students who currently rely on Beal as a resource will be left to fend for themselves. Because of this, it is my belief that if someone less qualified and passionate than Beal were the program coordinator, then the position would ultimately fail to succeed in its mission. This is due to the qualifications and salary of her position being exceedingly low, while the level of qualification needed to be effective is exceedingly high. The only current requirements for the position are to hold a bachelor's degree in either women and gender studies or queer studies to be considered adequately qualified by the University. No prior training, counseling experience or graduate degree is needed. Think of the current Brandeis seniors who will soon be leaving the campus. Can you imagine them filling such an important position, fresh out of their undergraduate program, holding the lives of students in their hands? Somebody filling a position this important should be a trained and experienced conflict facilitator who has a deep understanding of the mental and physical needs of LGBTQ students. An undergraduate degree is not likely to provide one with this experience. At the end of this academic year, Beal will be leaving Brandeis, but not by her own choice. If it were logistically possible for her to stay, then she would. Beal must leave because Brandeis chooses to ignore the necessity of her position. The administration is forcing the Brandeis student body to suffer a horrible disservice and are putting its mental and physical health at incredible risk. Does the Brandeis University administration care more for how attractive the University looks than for the safety of its students? I cannot answer that, but their actions speak louder than their empty calls for social justice ever will. *
(04/30/13 4:00am)
This past weekend I went on a wilderness retreat to Agape-a lay Catholic community in Hardwick, Mass. Agape is located in pristine woods near a gorgeous reservoir that we had the pleasure of walking to and meditating by-it's really a wonderful place. As someone continuously exploring his spirituality, it was refreshing to spend time focusing on it. However, by no means was Catholicism pressured upon me, as Suzanne and Brayton Shanley-the couple that founded and maintain Agape-are very open-minded and non-evangelical. Together, we spent a considerable amount of time discussing non violence both in practice and in principle. The Boston Marathon bombings had just happened the week before and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured the previous day. This meant a lot of our conversations about non violence related to Dzhokhar, his brother Tamerlan, and how we ought react to the whole situation. The Shanleys have firmly convinced me, or rather helped me realize something I knew all along: vengeance is not the proper response in this case. Understanding the Tsarnaevs and trying to rehabilitiate Dzhokhar is. Now, I am not saying that we should not be angry at what happened nor am I saying we should not feel anger towards the Tsarnaev brothers. I am also not saying that we should not try Dzhokhar, and if he is found guilty, send him to prison. He needs to be incapacitated so he cannot hurt anyone else. I am, however, advocating for a more complex reaction to the situation; one that does not merely involve rage toward Dzhokhar and punishment for punishment's sake. In prison we should endeavor to rehabilitate him, to help him recognize the evil of his crimes and give him the chance to redeem himself. After all, Dzhokhar was not always a terrorist. Numerous stories and accounts of friends of his from high school described him as "friendly" and "sweet," certainly not capable of such a heinous act. If all we do is send him to jail for life or perhaps even execute him, we will be committing a terrible crime. We will be answering death with death (either with a switch or over a long period of time in a cell) and adding more suffering to the world. And not just for Dzhokhar and his family, but for us as well. Every time we give in to the intuition that drives us to seek retribution for crimes, we serve only to harm ourselves. We do not undo the bad thing that has occurred, but instead merely add more suffering into the world. Rather than grieving and peacefully letting go of the negative emotions, we allow them to fester. Why? Many would say the answer to that question is simple: justice. He did something illegal and very cruel and thus deserves a grievous punishment. But justice is not about taking our anger out on someone, it is about making amends-correcting the system so tragedies of this nature do not happen again. If all we do is continue a cycle of violence, without understanding why the Tsarnaevs committed this act or trying to help Dzhokhar, we would be committing a grave injustice. We need to understand why, what was wrong in his life that compelled him to do something so awful and how can we prevent this type of incident in the future. This cannot stop with just Dzhokhar however. The entire prison culture in American needs to change to be considerably less vengeful and much more rehabilitative. It is possible Dzhokhar will never be rehabilitated. It is possible he will always remain a threat to society and must therefore remain imprisoned for life. That is for parole boards and medical professionals to determine. However, that possibility of failure does not mean we do not have the moral responsibility to try. We need to help him understand the gravity of his crimes, teach him not to be violent, and help him work through any psychological issues that may have motivated his actions. Stories are coming out that assert Tamerlan was primarily influenced by a radical and violent form of Islamic thought. We need to better understand what is attracting people to these harmful doctrines. Why do they even exist? The only way to counter such hate is to fully understand its sources, as destroying the branches leaves the root intact. We would also do well as society to better understand Muslim faith. The vast majority of Muslims are peaceful and kind, the exact type of people who would be excellent allies in the fight against terrorism-regardless of its ideological justifications. We need to also find out how Dzkhohar, a seemingly mild-mannered and well-liked college kid, became a homicidal terrorist. None of this is meant to excuse Dzhokhar's actions. Instead, I am making the case for recognizing the humanity that still lies within him. I am arguing for punishing him and all criminals like him, not for the sake of causing him injury. We must endeavor to reform him, to give him a chance to make amends and redeem himself, and, hopefully, he can live a peaceful and productive life. Letting ourselves be consumed by anger and hatred will only lead to vengeance, not justice. It will produce a bloodier and darker tomorrow, not the gentler world we all seem to want. *
(04/30/13 4:00am)
I remember that she had a dirty smock on that was at some point a pretty shade of lavender. The hemline was torn and the pants didn't quite reach the floor. Her face was looking up at me expectantly, watching the condensation burgeon and fall to the sides of the cup. I was around nine years old the last time I visited Pakistan, walking through the market streets of Karachi. My mom protectively had anchored her arm across my chest as she shepherded me through the crowd to the drink stand on the other side. I was jealous my older brother got the mango smoothie so my parents made him trade with me, the perks of being a middle child. I had only taken a couple sips when I saw this girl making her way through the crowd toward me. She was around my age. Her short brown hair framed her small, bony face punctuated by two round, curious eyes. They found my drink, fascinated by the novelty of the bright orange. My mother tugged me with her anchor away from the girl. I ineffectually pushed her away, and gave the little girl my drink. Without hesitation, she swiped it from my hands and melded back into the crowd. Eleven years later, I'm not really sure where that childish act of kindness came from. Even at nine, I didn't think I was fixing any of the world's problems by feeding the homeless with smoothies. But I was left with a residual global awareness that has, unfortunately, only faded over time. I went to college, got caught up in my own life and indulged in my own problems in my own Brandeis bubble. But now I've had to pop that bubble. This semester abroad in Italy has forced me to unwillingly accept that no, neither I nor America is the center of the world. Italy doesn't have fabric softener and America doesn't have bidets, but that doesn't make either culture superior to the other. However, it hasn't been my time abroad that has reminded me about the detriment of ethnocentrism to the importance of global awareness. Two weeks ago when I clicked on Facebook, I was overwhelmed by the news of the Boston Marathon bombing. For two weeks, there were peace vigils, memorials and prayers from all over the world. From Serbia to Zabul, Afghanistan, people were tweeting and posting pictures holding signs to show their support; "Boston From [Insert place] With Love." We were united in our pain. But the sign that stuck with me was from Syria. "Boston bombings represent a sorrowful scene of what happens everyday in Syria. Do accept our condolences." While constantly making headlines, the two-year-old conflict has seemingly blended in with the white noise of the Middle East. Like a kick in the gut, the sign forces you to consider the pain other countries must feel with bombs tearing through their streets everyday. But who needs that perspective when the world seems to stop and watch every major news event in the United States? On the same day as the Newtown, Conn. school shooting last December, a man stood at the gates of an elementary school in the Henan Province in China and stabbed 22 children as they entered the gates of their school. In the past two years, this violence has become part of a series of other attacks on Chinese school children. In a similar incident in April 2010, a man stabbed three teachers and 29 children in the Jiangsu Province. Last September, a man with an axe entered a day care center in China's southern province of Guangxi and killed three while wounding 13 others. Almost immediately after the Newtown shooting, people around the world held signs in solidarity with America's grief and pain. But for China, other than the obligatory news story from the world's major outlets, there hasn't been anything near the amount of attention as seen with Newtown being paid to this country's heartache. Why does America pull so much attention to its tragedies from a willing world audience? Have we evolved into a new form of ethnocentrism, where even our tragedies are superior to others? I don't mean to be insensitive, nor am I diminishing the distress so many people have experienced during these events. If anything, for this one day were we not allowed to just think about ourselves, our country? Our pain, our suffering, our loss? Do we need to be politically aware and informed citizens even through our own national crises? No, but hopefully once our own grief has been acknowledged, we can take a global, more active role in seeing and responding to the grief of others around the world. These tragedies and the world's reaction to them have shown above all else how connected we are. Whether a developing or a first world country, none are immune from these attacks. Our citizens are dying in the same way, we have a common, enraging enemy and we need to make more of an effort to showcase that connection. Whether it's a smoothie or a sign, it'll be from America with love. Shafaq Hasan '14 is a former editor of the Justice and is currently studying abroad in Siena, Italy.
(04/29/13 4:00am)
"Louder, louder!" Though it was only 9 a.m. and the majority of the class was not completely awake, Prof. Hiroko Sekino (GRALL) energetically initiated conversations in Japanese with her students, geared up to begin her final week at the University. Japanese students know Sekino as a colorful character. One student described her as "straight out of a comic book." Another described her coursework as "intense." At the end of this semester, her career as a Japanese instructor, spanning almost a quarter of a century at Brandeis, will come to an end. "It does not feel like this is actually my last week. I am busy as usual and can't imagine what it will be like when I am finally done with this," said Sekino in an interview with the Justice. Japanese is one of the few language programs at Brandeis that holds class five days a week. Sekino puts emphasis on the basics because she believes they go a long way when students are pursuing upper level classes. Sekino came to the U.S. in the 1970s to study abroad at Boston University. "I was frazzled by the student activism in Japan at that time ... I felt I wanted to do something outside of Japan," she said in an interview with the Justice. It was a big and difficult decision to move to the U.S, but she had no idea that this would become a turning point in her life. After studying at BU for two years, she became a Japanese teaching assistant at Harvard University. She felt like she had found something that she could be passionate about. "I had a memorable mentor and amazing students ... It was an eye-opening change. It made me realize how fascinating and fun it was to teach Japanese," she said. In 1988, she learned that Brandeis was looking for a Japanese instructor and wanted to give it a try. That summer, with one other Japanese instructor, Sekino initiated what would become the Japanese language program at Brandeis. "When I started here, Japanese was part of the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. We basically started from scratch," she said. Initially ,the language department was limited and higher-level courses had to be taken elsewhere. Sekino explained that building the program was new terrain and that she learned as she went. "Because I was a novice, I was trying to learn every year," Sekino said. She recalled it had been difficult to offer students more extensive courses on Japan. "It was very regrettable that we couldn't offer more courses to students who wanted to learn more," she said. The Japanese language program was later extended to six semesters when it became part of the Department of German, Russian, and East Asian Languages and Literature in 2002. With the expertise of Prof. Matthew Fraleigh (GRALL) who joined the department in 2006, students are now able to take more integrated Japan-related courses that Brandeis offers, including contemporary Japanese history, literature and film courses. In Sekino's 24 years of teaching at Brandeis, she has watched the department grow and evolve. She has seen the Japanese language student demographics change over time. "When the Japanese economy was prosperous, there were many global economy graduate students taking Japanese," she said. "For these [past] 10 years, more and more students are learning Japanese because of Japan's popular culture, like manga, anime and music." Sekino explained that although Japanese is a difficult language to learn, she consistently found her students to be up to the task. "What I like about teaching at Brandeis is that students here are really dedicated and hardworking," she said. "Japanese is not an easy language, but I always find my students are tough and motivated enough to get through it." Prof. Yukimi Nakano (GRALL), a colleague of Sekino, said Sekino was always there for her students. "She is always willing to meet students after class and lend an ear to her students," she said. "She has also planned so many Japanese-related fun events and activities to make sure her students enjoy learning Japanese." Esther Cho '14 remembers her first year taking Japanese as a worthy challenge. "We were pretty much guaranteed a quiz a week," she said. Though Cho admits that the first-year Japanese class was demanding, she said she must give credit to Sekino for providing a smooth transition to upper level Japanese courses. "Sekino-sensei is very thorough when it comes to making sure her students have a strong foundation for subsequent years of Japanese language study," Cho said. Sekino has developed special connections with many of her former students. "Some of them even write me New Year's cards! I teach Japanese, but more than that I have learned so much from my students," she said. Sekino has always strived to instill in her students a global and cultural perspective that can be useful beyond Brandeis. "I don't just teach a language, but I teach Japanese culture as well. Teaching a language means teaching a culture. Understanding a language is one of the cornerstones for mutual understanding and I believe that will lead to a more peaceful world," she said.
(04/23/13 4:00am)
Over the past few days, details about the Marathon bombings have continued to emerge, culminating in Friday's wild manhunt. Various outlets have recently started to talk about "responses." The Boston Globe, in its Tuesday editorial, called for the city of Boston to "Confront the worst of human nature...strive to live up to its best." Moving forward, what do you think is the proper response to this series of events? Prof. Jytte Klausen (POL) Large parts of Boston and its surrounding areas are recovering from the shock of having 14,000 armed police and soldiers on the streets trying to capture a 19 year old. Cries for revenge are inevitable, yet I trust that people will also feel sorrow for this kid who followed his older brother into an unspeakable crime. He can do no more harm. The FBI has, in a matter of days, gone from being lauded for a heroic effort to becoming the scapegoat for what happened. We were hit from a blind angle. The reality is that zero-risk counter terrorism policing is not possible. The costs to civil liberties are staggering. That said, a measured self-examination about why the older brother was cleared after a six-month investigation in 2011, when the usual indicators of radicalization were present, is required. It is important to learn where things went wrong in terms of prevention and yet also be on guard against overreaction. Professor Jytte Klausen is the Lawrence A. Wien Professor of International Cooperation. Rick Sawyer It has been hard for me to be part of the mainstream reaction and response. My thoughts have been caught up in a very personalized way in a way that comes from what I am ... a dean of students. I was present at the Marathon finish and I know that my daughter might have run right past one of the bombs. That thought makes me very angry. My daughter, the runner, has an additional layer of feelings that we, those who were not in the Marathon, can't experience. As a dean, the nightmare that this was is multiplied in knowing that one of the bombers was a college student. I am still processing that. My thoughts have been with my colleagues at his college; with his college friends; with the faculty who had him in class. How does hate trump what we on campuses are so intentional about-teaching, learning, supporting, engaging and fulfilling the promise of success. As the hours have gone by since Friday night, I have come to realize that maybe taking this thing so personally is not mine to own alone. I have a feeling we all, especially we here in Boston, we all took this very, very personally. Rick Sawyer is the Vice President for Student Affairs and?Dean of Student Life at Brandeis. Emily Duggan '15 After the necessary safety precautions are taken, those who can, should address the children in our lives. These are times that age each of us. For some children, this is their first experience of such disillusionment. But these are teaching times. An orchestra of explosions play across the planet with heartbreaking regularity. How do we act-if behind the bulletproof vest of our particular privileges-toward expanding safety? How do we teach our children to live through this-and come out the other side hyperconscious of their role in such a society? We teach them to breathe. We hold them tightly but eventually let them go. We trust, blindly. We orate. We art. We legislate. We have some hard talks about what safety means, and we turn to each other: we see therapists. We act as therapists. We accept this awakening to our vulnerability as a call to strength. We start with the children. Emily Duggan grew up in Boston and is a member of Bad Grammer improv and Boris' Kitchen sketch comedy. Andrew Wingens '14 I can't help but think that for that one Friday, the terrorists had won. We allowed the manhunt to shut down one of the nation's oldest and largest metropolises. And now, we must move forward with a sense of normalcy and get back to our lives. Equally important to healing, though, is that we must remain true to our American values. Despite all the evil acts of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, we must afford him the same civil liberties we give to other citizens-a Miranda warning, a lawyer and a fair trial by jury. These procedural rights given to all citizens are what makes America exceptional. If we allow the terrorist to create a precedent of the government evading civil liberties then we will have lost even more than what Tsarnaev has taken from us. At this point, procedural rights would in no way jeopardize our safety, and they are too important to be ignored. So give the terrorist a lawyer. That's what makes America great. Andrew Wingens is the senior editor of the Justice.
(04/23/13 4:00am)
Last week, I proudly signed a petition to put University divestment from fossil fuel companies on the ballot this Thursday. It was, and still is, inspiring to see students coming together and mobilizing on the issue of climate change. There is an incredible amount of support on campus for this worthy cause-the movement has already gathered hundreds of student signatures and received the support of almost every electoral candidate for Student Union-and I have no doubt that if the University does in fact divest from fossil fuels we will be sending a strong message to the rest of the nation and the world. Yet, despite seeing all the passion surrounding this movement, I must question its effectiveness. Is divestment the best way to preserve the planet for future generations? Why are we putting so much energy into divestment when there are other environmental issues that must be addressed? How much does divestment actually hurt the fossil fuel companies? The truth is that divestment is largely symbolic. Universities do not have that much invested in these companies in the first place, and even so, reducing our stock shares by divesting is not the same as lowering actual company profits. So long as there is a market with demand for fossil fuels, the companies will continue to produce fossil fuels and make money. As Christian Parenti, a professor of sustainable development at the School for International Training puts it, divestment "does not hurt Big Carbon's bottom line." Moreover, while it's been widely touted that colleges and universities have over $400 billion in endowments, only a small percentage of that is actually invested in fossil fuel stocks. In fact, a recent article in a publication by the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies comes to the conclusion that although universities may hold numerous shares of fossil fuels companies, "it's still nowhere near the amount of money it would take to have a real impact on the oil giants." Additionally, there is legitimate concern that losing investments in fossil fuels could impact the University's ability to offer financial aid and scholarships. This was the case at the University of New Hampshire, where the president of the university responded to students pushing for divestment late last year by saying: "Those who would seek to limit the scope of foundation investments should introduce themselves to the current UNH students who would have their financial aid suspended as a result of such actions." While I do not believe that this is a reason to halt the divestment campaign, it is definitely something that must be taken into consideration. Some sort of work-around must be found to make sure that students who are currently receiving financial aid are still able to attend Brandeis. Divestment sends out a loud and clear message to the public and thus should continue to be encouraged, but environmentally-committed students at Brandeis should not be giving it all their attention. Petitions, displays of solidarity and symbols can only do so much-what we truly need to focus on are concrete actions to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and green our campus as a whole. Simply put, divestment should only be one part of a many-faceted approach to make our campus greener. This means that other environmental issues on campus should be addressed. Whether it is installing solar panels on roofs or making sure that buildings are energy-efficient, it is within our power to reduce our own fossil fuel consumption. Nothing bothers me more than seeing lights left on in classrooms overnight or having to crack open a window in mid-April because my residence hall is still being heated. I should not have to use disposable silverware at Usdan Student Center because that is all that is left and I should not have to use paper towels to dry my hands in the bathroom because there is no dryer. These are small, workable changes that can lead to impressive results, and I am confident that students can push for and accomplish these changes. Such initiatives would not only reduce our carbon footprint, but would arguably send an even stronger message to the public and the fossil fuel companies. Our communities, our nation and our entire planet are suffering because of our fossil fuel addiction, and it is abundantly clear that immediate action must be taken. I am firm in my belief that divestment is a step in the right direction and that it is a way to express our frustration with the fossil fuel companies. It is encouraging to see many students from different clubs gathering signatures to put divestment on the ballot, and I urge such environmentally-committed students, along with the administration, to continue giving other green initiatives more attention and support. Divestment alone is not enough, but when combined with other methods it can be a useful tool in the fight against climate change. *
(04/23/13 4:00am)
The student body elected Executive Senator Ricky Rosen '14 to be the Union's next president last week. Rosen defeated challengers Student Union Treasurer David Clements '14 and Char;es River/567 Senator Daniel Schwab '14, who received 30 percent and 18 percent of the vote respectively. Rosen won with 635 votes, coming in at 41 percent of voters. "I am privileged that the student body has placed its trust in me to represent them. But at the end of the day, it's not about me or the other newly-elected officials-it is about the 3600 students that we represent, and we cannot lose sight of that next year," wrote President-Elect Rosen in an email to the Justice. Rosen wrote that he plans to transform the way that the Union communicates with students. In addition, he has already begun to communicate with administration and next year's E-Board members. "I intend to spend the next two weeks meeting with administrators and newly-elected Union members to make sure they know what to expect from me and what I expect from them," he wrote. Senator at Large Charlotte Franco '15 was elected Student Union vice president with 35 percent of the vote. "Winning this election means a lot to me," said Franco in an interview with the Justice "I've put in a lot of work over the past two years to get to this point, and it is very humbling to know that the student body believes in me to fill this position." Franco said she plans on meeting with Rosen to establish "a structure for how the next year is going to go," and decide "what our main initiatives will be, and how we plan on delegating them and bringing them to fruition." She also said she would meet with current and future Executive Board members as well as senators to share ideas and perspectives. "I can't wait until next year," said Franco. "I am confident that myself, the rest of the newly elected E-Board and soon to be elected Senate will continue to uphold the Brandeis mission and strengthen the union so that we are able to serve the student body to the best of our abilities." Senator Sneha Walia '15 won the position of secretary with 47 percent of the vote. "I'm really excited, very happy," said Walia in an interview with the Justice. "A lot of hard work paid off, and I'm really excited. I know I'm going to be working with a lot of great people." She said her first goal would be to start working on the Union's social media outreach. Sunny Aidasani '14, the off-campus senator and former assistant treasurer, was elected to the position of Union treasurer with 36 percent of the vote. "The Treasurer has a lot of responsibilities and I feel honored that the student body has entrusted me with these responsibilities," wrote Aidasani in an email to the Justice. "It is my duty, in return, to serve the student body to the best of my abilities, and I have already begun working on a couple of things." Aidasani said he has been in touch with Clements, the outgoing treasurer, and the newly elected Finance Board members to discuss the duties and responsibilities of the position. Class of 2015 Senator Daniel Novak won the position of junior representative to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. "I plan to establish a very strong relationship with the deans of arts and sciences and the rest of the academic deans to ensure that all of the students voices are heard," said Novak in an interview with the Justice. "I will reach out to different students in different majors and see what they would like to see changed within their majors." Alex Thomson '15 was elected junior representative to the Board of Trustees. Thompson said he would begin to meet with Senior Representative to the Board of Trustees Jack Hait '14 and administrators to "make sure that the student voice is heard at the administration level as well as the board level." He said his most important goal would be transparency in the process of tuition increases. Flora Wang '15 and Joseph Robinow '14 were elected to serve as Brandeis Sustainability Fund Representatives. Wang had previously served in the position. "I hope to continue working on the projects in progress and see them through into the next year as well as reach out to students who have spoken to me about their potential proposals," said Wang. Mohamed Ali '14, Teresa Fong '15, Bronia Goldman '14 and Aliza Kahn '15 were elected to the four open seats on the finance board. Xiaoyue Sun '16 was elected Racial Minority F-Board Member. The second round of elections will take place from midnight to midnight on Thursday, and will include the following positions and candidates: Claire Sinai '15, Sarah Park '14, Maris Ryger-Wasserman '16, Michael Abrams '15, Michael DeFeo '15, Jordan Schwartz '16 and Zakaria Hussein '15 for Associate Justice; Andre Ve Tran, Annie Chen and Owen Voelker for Class of 2014 Senator; Caiwei Zheng and Anna Bessendorf for Class of 2015 Senator; Andrew Chang, Jonathan Jacob, Zack Weaver and Kathy Nguyen for Class of 2016 Senator; Biana Gotlibovsky '15, James Polite '15 and Daniel Schwab '14 for Senator at Large; and Ari Azani '15, Naomi DePina '16 and Khadijah Lynch '15 for Racial Minorty Senator. There are two seats available for each class and for Senator at Large, five seats for Associate Justice and one seat for Racial Minority Senator.
(04/22/13 4:00am)
In anticipation of her upcoming project for the Festival of the Arts, JustArts talked with Livia Bell '13 about her project, entitled "Structural Healing." Bell describes her project as a commentary on the dilapidated architecture on campus and the idea of a Band-Aid as a quick fix. Bell, who took several years off before coming to Brandeis, is an Education Studies major and Sculpture minor. JustArts: What are your plans for after graduation? Livia Bell: As of right now, I'm going to be spending the summer in either Philadelphia or Seattle. In late July, early August, I'm heading to Samoa for six months to work in an art center. Basically, I'll be teaching art classes to children and working with two artists, Wendy Percival and her husband Steve Percival. He is a documentary filmmaker and she mainly works in ceramic, but also bone carving and woodcarving. JA: Do you work in other art mediums besides sculpture? LB: I used to paint, but I don't consider myself a painter ... I would love to paint more, but I haven't really been brave enough to go into that. We use a lot of different mediums within sculpture, which is great. Lately, I've been working with latex paint, but this semester I've also been getting into working with clay and forming the human body. JA: What is it about sculpture that initially drew you to it? LB: Specifically at Brandeis, I took a 3-D design class with Prof. Tory Fair (FA) and she made it so that it was accessible to everybody and made it clear that it was something that could be done by anybody. I didn't feel that way about painting or drawing and I felt like I could develop my sculpture skills in a much more free environment. JA: Can you explain to me your Festival of the Arts project, "Structural Healing?" LB: I'm trying to make students more aware of what's around them on campus and help foster this feeling of responsibility-the fact that we can help take care of our campus and make things happen. It's also commentary on Band-Aids as an inaccessible tool in a sense that they are not the color of everybody. I wrote in my first description of the project that I read this article called "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" and in it they talk about [the color of Band-Aids] and it's a really amazing article. I read it years ago, but it's still in my mind. My project is putting brick patterned Band-Aids on every building, including the new non-brick buildings, to highlight the disparity between the conditions. Similar to the way a Band-Aid's color does not reflect the skin it sits on, these Band-Aids use the universal color of brick to describe architecture in very much the same way as skin tone. JA: What else besides art helped give you the idea for your project, including the anthropology article about the knapsack you previously mentioned? LB: I was a preschool teacher before I came to Brandeis for about five years and I'm always trying to make art projects that are accessible to children and everybody. I would see these Band-Aids that had dropped on the ground and in the beginning, it wasn't yet about the ideas I've developed for the project. It was just about making art that was accessible to all-people who would recognize what that is and hopefully ignite some spark in them. That's kind of my idea with children-I'm always trying to encourage them to create and express themselves through whatever they choose. A lot of what I do in art is me being a teacher through my art. JA: What do you hope the Brandeis community will take away from your project? LB: I'm hoping that they see it as something that they can partly appreciate as something interesting and accessible. There's also the social justice factor aspect of it and wanting people to see a difference between the buildings that are repaired, newer, and the ones that are dilapidated. Ignite that sense of responsibility for our campus. JA: Have you been part of the festival in previous years? LB: No. Last year, I helped my friend Sarah Hershon '14, who was the "yarn bomber." I didn't have a big enough idea until this year. JA: Could you describe previous sculptures you've created or any projects similar to this? LB: I haven't worked with latex paint before and this is the first time I've attempted to create large Band-Aids. I did another large-scale sculpture three semesters ago, which was an eight by eight umbrella and represented a form of shelter because that was an assignment for a class. It was so much fun to make something so giant. Mostly what I do are things in smaller scale. I like working with my hands a lot and forming things. JA: What's your favorite class you have taken at Brandeis? LB: I would have to say "Implicating the Body in Sculpture" with Tory Fair. Basically, we get to form bodies with our hands or we get to cast pieces of our body or someone else's. It's an exploration class and we got to experience all these different materials and body parts. JA: How would you describe the purpose of the Festival of the Arts and its significance on campus? LB: I think it is Brandeis giving students an opportunity to do art and feel supported when they do it. In sculpture, it's really difficult to find funding and the money to pay for everything you need, as well as the advisers that the festival supplies who are rooting for you. That's what you're getting with the festival-these people who are saying yes, we do believe in this project that you want to do and we see the merit in it, so let's make it happen. JA: Do you have a particular memory or moment in your past that inspired you to do sculptures? LB: When I was younger, I would go to this camp at the Museum of Contemporary Art, in California, and we would be doing art including sculpture. I would be sitting at the table and I would want to spend hours more doing this project. My favorite project I made was a giant giraffe out of toilet paper tubes and my mom kept it for like 10 years. I can still see that image in my head, how proud of myself I was that I made that. It wasn't even whether it was a good giraffe, but that I made the giraffe and someone appreciated it. JA: If you could describe your art style in one or a few words what would it be? LB: Accessible and interactive are the two words I would go with because that's how I like to experience art. At the museum, if I could, I would go up and touch every painting but obviously I can't. With my art, I want everyone to think that they can touch the Band-Aids, and experience what they feel and look like in every aspect. JA: Is there any particular piece of artwork at the Rose Art Museum that you identify with? LB: Most recently, what I can think of is when they put the mirrors on the ground. It was just the fact that the mirrors were something people could come in and break. I love a lot of the artwork there but because of the sculpture aspect of me, [the floor] was like a huge sculpture to me. JA: Is there any particular artist who has impacted you as an individual and artist? LB: I've been working a lot with Prof. Deb Wheeler (FA). She's been really influential. We don't have similar artistic styles, but it's just the way she thinks about her art, the pace at which she does things and it's great to have another artist on campus to work with. JA: Are there any other experiences you have had that have impacted you as an artist? LB: It took me a long time to come to this point in my thinking about art and being able to even apply for a grant for the Festival of the Arts and thinking that I could do this large-scale project. Part of it is obviously that I took a break and then came back to college and had all these life experiences in between, which really changed me for the better. It's also that my brother is an amazing artist, so I've had that around me my whole life and being able to see what he can do has been a big positive influence on me. JA: What was the biggest challenge you faced while creating "Structural Healing?" LB: It has been a series of challenges. I started the project last semester before getting the Festival of the Arts grant. It took me all last semester to figure out the right paint to use for the Band-Aids. So I would say the entire project has been a challenge that I was not willing to give up on. JA: Is there any one sculpture you have done that was the most challenging to create? LB: I guess it would be this project because it's something that is so in the public eye and that's a big deal for me. Usually, projects are small and internal, but now I am throwing it out there and hoping that everyone appreciates it. But if they don't appreciate it, that's great too. Whatever they have to say about it because I just want them to have something to say. Making this project has taken a lot out of me-in a good way. JA: Do you have any piece of artwork that stands out in your mind as more meaningful, or a favorite? LB: Yeah, I'm working on something right now that I feel very connected to. It is part of a series I'm starting to do-the transformation from liquid to a solid. I'm trying to form liquids into clay or hard materials, and then that liquid is going into the form of a woman. I've made two so far. One of them is this woman who is a big woman and it looks like she has been poured into a mug. She's made out of bronze. There is another woman that is in the form of a stream of water. I'm going to make her out of wax. They are small pieces and every mark I've made with my hands and I feel very invested in the project. JA: Where do you see yourself in 10 years? LB: I see myself, hopefully, making art or opening an art-based daycare somewhere where that usually wouldn't be available to children and families because that's usually only in affluent areas.
(04/22/13 4:00am)
This week, JustArts sat down with Victoria Cheah, a Ph.D candidate studying Music Composition, to talk about her project for the upcoming Festival of the Arts. JustArts: Can you explain to me "Mirror, Mirror," your Festival of the Arts project? Victoria Cheah: This installation consists of two designated places for communication-each one contains a parabolic dish that reflects sound to the other. In front of each "whisper dish" is a specially made instrument, which a visitor can make sounds with and communicate non-verbally with someone at the other dish. JA: Where did you get the inspiration for the project? VC: I've always been interested in indirect communication and weird monuments of mammoth scale-I was up late one night wasting time online and found a site about these gigantic concrete sound mirrors in Britain, which they built during the war in order to hear any enemy approaching. Something about these leftover devices struck me and I started thinking about how to use that kind of technology in a smaller-scale piece. As a musician who has terrible stage anxiety, the issue of performance, in public or in private, is also very interesting to me-I wanted to explore modes of performance that called to attention the line between private communications and public proclamation, both intentional and not. JA: What do you hope the Brandeis community will take away from the artwork? VC: I hope that those who choose to spend time with the work will have some kind of moment with it, whether a positive one connecting with a stranger or a friend or a negative one. JA: Have you been part of the Festival of the Arts in previous years? VC: Yes-last year I built a large white wooden corridor that involved sound outside the Rose Art Museum, taking a cue from the Ellsworth Kelly piece "Blue White." It was about a physical relationship with sound and form. I wanted to change an arbitrarily defined space into something different, a guided experience. JA: How would you describe the purpose of the Brandeis' Festival of the Arts and its significance on campus? VC: The Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts is an amazing thing. The Festival is when art of all kinds really takes over the campus and becomes part of campus life for a few days. It's so important to support emerging art-when I say art, I refer to all artistic disciplines-music, dance, visual arts, etc.-and to encourage people to interact with art, especially if they don't make it. JA: As an artist, what kinds of works would you say represent your artistic style, either something you created or like? VC: I'm not sure if I have a style yet, but I am drawn to works by artists like Ann Hamilton, Doris Salcedo, Yayoi Kusama, Richard Serra, Caravaggio, Olafur Eliasson and composers G?(c)rard Grisey and Salvatore Sciarrino. JA: How have your studies at Brandeis influenced your project? VC: I have been so lucky to have had the chance to take sculpture classes with Prof. Tory Fair (FA) and Prof. Deb Todd Wheeler (FA), and to learn from Prof. Jon Koppel (FA). When I was a kid I actually thought I would go into visual arts, not music, so it has been really gratifying to close the loop, so to speak. My studies in Music at Brandeis have been key to my development as an artist, especially since music is my primary medium. In my studies so far, I realized I want to develop different methods of communication and connection, which this project directly addresses. JA: Do you have a favorite class or professor at Brandeis? VC: All the professors I've worked with at Brandeis in the Music and Art departments have been fantastic. I've particularly enjoyed working as a TA for Prof. David Rakowski (MUS)-teaching is an integral part of my development as an artist and it's been great learning from Davy. JA: What in your life has influenced you most as an artist? VC: Everything! But especially a handful of special aesthetic moments with other work, and my relationships with specific people. JA: How did you get started making art? VC: I think I've always made things-I desperately wanted to be a fashion designer when I was in high school. I studied piano since I was little, and really decided to get into music through my high school choir. I think I've never been satisfied with one discipline or tradition and have been working on my skills in several disciplines in order to find some way between them. Interdisciplinary anything begins with a deep exploration of a discipline! I've decided to make music my home base, but I'm interested in learning much more. -Jessie Miller
(04/22/13 4:00am)
First book in the thrilling trilogy hits it off in movie form In the summer of 2010, I became obsessed with Stieg Larsson's Millennium book trilogy, the first of which is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I quickly devoured the books and, shortly afterward, heard the producers were starting production on an American movie version of the first book. David Fincher (The Social Network) donned his director's cap for this movie, which came out in 2011. I was simultaneously looking forward to and dreading this adaptation. One of my favorite parts about the book was that Larsson described the scenes he wrote in such great detail that I was able to easily imagine exactly what was going on, but with my brain filling in the tiny, unmentioned details-something I love about books. So, I worried about how the detail-rich text would translate into a movie-a problem all book-to-movie adaptations face. Fincher's interpretation of the book was spot-on: He captured the anxiety-ridden and eerie setting created by Larsson's words and perfectly altered them to suit his medium. Because the novel was lengthy, there were some plot points and details left out of the movie, but I did not find myself wishing that a specific part had been represented that wasn't. Also, I found that I cared more about Fincher's adept representation of the feel of the novel than every tiny detail being exactly the same as the book. This was one of the best book-to-movie adaptations I have seen. -Marielle Temkin Classic romance novel evolves well into movie A Walk to Remember, a 1999 romance novel by Nicholas Sparks, tells the story of an unexpected love that blossoms between two high school seniors from complete opposite ends of the social spectrum. Landon Carter (Shane West), who is class president and considerably popular, is required to ask a girl to the school dance due to his position. He asks Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore) and after she changes Landon's life and priorities, Landon learns that she is terminally ill with leukemia. The 2002 film, directed by Adam Shankman, was based on Sparks' best-selling novel. Due to the fact that the film takes place in the 1990s and the novel takes place in the 1950s, Landon's character becomes more delinquent and troubled in the film, but Jamie is more similar to her original character. Moore plays the role perfectly with a shy yet confident air; she is quiet and sweet, while also being poised and determined. "Only Hope," a song by Switchfoot, was performed by Moore, whose vocal performance is incredibly touching lyrically-listening to her dulcet sound adds to the experience. West's performance is just as convincing. West is able to transform himself from a teenage boy trapped by social expectations of high school to a young gentleman who would do anything for the love of his life. The extent to which Jamie changes West's life in the film is more exaggerated due to his previous actions and family situation, making it a more touching experience. I suggest either reading the novel or watching the film to see how the story pans out. Your perspective on what is most important in life will change. Take it from me. I am not a fan of romantic novels, specifically those by Sparks such as The Notebook. For me, however, the film was certainly more effective in getting the point across, specifically due to the use of a score and the musical choices throughout the film. -Marissa Ditkowsky Hunger Games venture fails to adapt into an action-packed film The movie The Hunger Games, based on the first book of a popular trilogy by Suzanne Collins, does an excellent job representing the grim, dystopian world described by the novel. The makeup and special effects are fantastic and the fight scenes got my heart racing in a way that I wasn't necessarily expecting from a movie rated PG-13. However, the movie is brought down a rung by poor acting and a lack of character development. While Jennifer Lawrence has been rightly awarded plaudits for her roles in other movies like Silver Linings Playbook and Winter's Bone, her portrayal of Katniss-the protagonist-falls flat on the big screen. Lawrence gets the fighting and action right, and she looks great while doing it, but when she tries to push through the emotion that is a big part of the character in the novel, she seems monotone and unengaging. Lawrence's co-stars, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson, seem similarly emotionally detached; Katniss and Peeta's (Hutcherson) relationship just doesn't pop with the same level of melodrama that the book showcases. Gale (Hemsworth) seems slightly more authentic, but it still seems like Hemsworth is there more for his good looks than his acting ability (after all, we're talking about an actor who's previous biggest role was in Knowing-a Nicolas Cage movie.) Overall, I found that the bad acting made it hard for me to enjoy the movie, despite the fact that the filmmakers successfully created a beautiful and haunting world that mirrored the novel well. -Sam Mintz Film adaption still entertains I read the book version of It's Kind Of A Funny Story in my rebellious, lost soul days of high school, and I immediately connected with the main character, Craig. Written by Ned Vizzini and based off of his own psychiatric hospitalization, the book chronicles Craig's rehabilitation after being hospitalized for depression, among other things. While in the hospital, he meets an array of other patients-all of whom have their own psychological issues. Vizzini develops the characters with expertise and precision and I was completely consumed by the novel. Not only did I love the storyline, but the novel also reveals themes about mental illness, growing up and problems we face that I have kept with me since then. When I saw that the movie version was coming out, starring Emma Roberts, Keir Gilchrist and Zach Galifianakis, I could not wait to see it. I watched the movie with my little sister and though the performances of all the actors were great, it was much less hard-hitting than I had hoped. But I think it comes down to the fact that the book had such a profound effect on me and had already left a powerful mental image that a movie version couldn't live up to. With that said, I still thoroughly enjoyed the movie version and appreciate its existence. -Jessie Miller * Chbosky's coming of age themed novel makes a powerful translation to film On the surface, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a novel written by Stephen Chbosky and adapted for the big screen this past November, represents the typical coming-of-age narrative. Charlie, the protagonist, struggles to adapt in the "survival of the fittest" environment of high school, and along the way, overcomes adversity with a fiercely loyal friend group. Yet, as one embarks on this cinematic journey, it is anything but a cookie-cutter film. Even though I had read the novel three years prior, Chbosky reeled me in. Logan Lerman, acting as Charlie, stirringly displayed the rapid and troubling emotional growth of his character. I quickly became immersed, applauding Charlie's accomplishments while tearing up at his struggles. Yet, I also developed that intimate emotional connection with Sam and Patrick, Charlie's two "guardian angels," played by Emma Watson and Ezra Miller respectively. It is tough for any director to connect with a teen audience and depict the intricacies of high school life. I felt as if Chbosky, though, did just that. The signature track of the film was "Heroes" by David Bowie, and throughout the film, we see how the most familiar host of characters-the popular beauty, the Harvard-bound intellectual and the outspoken yet troubled gay friend-can be heroes in their own right. Yes, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off stand as the icons of a genre; however, for me, Perks and its powerful representation of the difficulties of teen life should stand right alongside both. -Adam Rabinowitz
(04/22/13 4:00am)
This week, JustArts sat down with Victoria Cheah, a Ph.D candidate studying Music Composition, to talk about her project for the upcoming Festival of the Arts. JustArts: Can you explain to me "Mirror, Mirror," your Festival of the Arts project? Victoria Cheah: This installation consists of two designated places for communication-each one contains a parabolic dish that reflects sound to the other. In front of each "whisper dish" is a specially made instrument, which a visitor can make sounds with and communicate non-verbally with someone at the other dish. JA: Where did you get the inspiration for the project? VC: I've always been interested in indirect communication and weird monuments of mammoth scale-I was up late one night wasting time online and found a site about these gigantic concrete sound mirrors in Britain, which they built during the war in order to hear any enemy approaching. Something about these leftover devices struck me and I started thinking about how to use that kind of technology in a smaller-scale piece. As a musician who has terrible stage anxiety, the issue of performance, in public or in private, is also very interesting to me-I wanted to explore modes of performance that called to attention the line between private communications and public proclamation, both intentional and not. JA: What do you hope the Brandeis community will take away from the artwork? VC: I hope that those who choose to spend time with the work will have some kind of moment with it, whether a positive one connecting with a stranger or a friend or a negative one. JA: Have you been part of the Festival of the Arts in previous years? VC: Yes-last year I built a large white wooden corridor that involved sound outside the Rose Art Museum, taking a cue from the Ellsworth Kelly piece "Blue White." It was about a physical relationship with sound and form. I wanted to change an arbitrarily defined space into something different, a guided experience. JA: How would you describe the purpose of the Brandeis' Festival of the Arts and its significance on campus? VC: The Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts is an amazing thing. The Festival is when art of all kinds really takes over the campus and becomes part of campus life for a few days. It's so important to support emerging art-when I say art, I refer to all artistic disciplines-music, dance, visual arts, etc.-and to encourage people to interact with art, especially if they don't make it. JA: As an artist, what kinds of works would you say represent your artistic style, either something you created or like? VC: I'm not sure if I have a style yet, but I am drawn to works by artists like Ann Hamilton, Doris Salcedo, Yayoi Kusama, Richard Serra, Caravaggio, Olafur Eliasson and composers G?(c)rard Grisey and Salvatore Sciarrino. JA: How have your studies at Brandeis influenced your project? VC: I have been so lucky to have had the chance to take sculpture classes with Prof. Tory Fair (FA) and Prof. Deb Todd Wheeler (FA), and to learn from Prof. Jon Koppel (FA). When I was a kid I actually thought I would go into visual arts, not music, so it has been really gratifying to close the loop, so to speak. My studies in Music at Brandeis have been key to my development as an artist, especially since music is my primary medium. In my studies so far, I realized I want to develop different methods of communication and connection, which this project directly addresses. JA: Do you have a favorite class or professor at Brandeis? VC: All the professors I've worked with at Brandeis in the Music and Art departments have been fantastic. I've particularly enjoyed working as a TA for Prof. David Rakowski (MUS)-teaching is an integral part of my development as an artist and it's been great learning from Davy. JA: What in your life has influenced you most as an artist? VC: Everything! But especially a handful of special aesthetic moments with other work, and my relationships with specific people. JA: How did you get started making art? VC: I think I've always made things-I desperately wanted to be a fashion designer when I was in high school. I studied piano since I was little, and really decided to get into music through my high school choir. I think I've never been satisfied with one discipline or tradition and have been working on my skills in several disciplines in order to find some way between them. Interdisciplinary anything begins with a deep exploration of a discipline! I've decided to make music my home base, but I'm interested in learning much more. -Jessie Miller
(04/22/13 4:00am)
The men's and women's track and field teams were all over the map this past weekend. While the majority of runners competed at the Fitchburg State Invitational at Fitchburg State University Saturday, a contingent of four distance runners made their way to Princeton University to compete in the prestigious Larry Ellis Invitational Friday. Alex Kramer '13 headlined the Judges' performance at the Ellis Invite. The senior finished 36th out of 60 competitors in the Elite section of the men's 1,500-meter run, going the distance in three minutes, 52.92 seconds, besting competitors from notable Division I programs such as Brown University, Syracuse University, Georgetown University and Iona College. "Competing at night, when the temperature is nice and being in a line with a bunch of the best guys in the country is really exciting," Kramer said. "When you run against better competition, you're going to run faster, so it was a great experience." Mik Kern '13 competed in the second section of the 1500, placing 18th out of 54 competitors with a time of 3:59.95. On the women's side, Amelia Lundkvist '14 and Victoria Sanford '14, as they have done all season, pulled together back-to-back finishes in the 1,500. Lundkvist placed 21st out of 46 competitors in the event, crossing the line in 4:43.48. Sanford was right behind her teammate in 22nd, finishing less than a second back in 4:43.84. The Fitchburg meet also yielded some impressive performances. Ed Colvin '14 took fourth out of 42 competitors in the 1,500, clocking in at 4:07.13. Jarret Harrigan '15 wasn't too far behind, taking 10th in 4:13.78. In the women's event, Maggie Hensel '16 placed 10th, finishing in 5:04.13. She was followed by Nora Owens '16, who finished 13th in 5:18.23, and Rachel Keller '16, who finished 16th in 5:24.69. Michael Rosenbach '15 led the charge in the men's 800-meter run, taking seventh in 2:00.97. Grady Ward '16 placed ninth in 2:01.96. Greg Bray '15 and Mohamed Sidique '15 placed 11th and 20th, respectively, timing in at 2:02.47 and 2:07.05. Kelsey Whitaker '16 took seventh in the women's 800, crossing the line in seventh in 2:24.24, while Gabriella Guillette '15 took 25th in 2:45.52. The men's 100-meter dash featured a quartet of Brandeis runners. Jacob Wilhoite '15 took 27th in 12.11 seconds. Galen Karlan-Mason '16 placed 31st in 12.21. Kensai Hughes finished 34th in 12.32, while Chi Tai '16 rounded out the field, finishing 41st in 12.64. Tove Freeman '16 was the Judges' lone competitor in the women's 100, taking 27th in 14.53 seconds. Casey McGown '13 was the other female sprinter for the Judges, taking sixth in the 400-meter dash, timing in at 1:02.14. The Judges featured several other competitors as well. Brandon Odze '16 took 14th in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:07.49. Adam Berger '15 placed third in the triple jump with a jump of 12.62 meters and took 15th in the men's long jump with a jump 5.80 meters. Hudges placed 18th in 5.68 meters. Wilhoite took ninth in the javelin, throwing 46.48 meters, just ahead of Jonathan Gilman '15, who took 13th in 42.94 meters. As the University Athletic Association Championships approach this weekend, where athletes who competed in both meets will join together, Kramer is optimistic that the teams-and particularly the distance contingent-have been making steady progress and are reaching their peak levels. "We did a big block of training right after the indoor season ended," he said. "Our mileage was pretty high, and we did a lot of long workouts focused on building strength. In the next few weeks, we'll be doing more pace-focused stuff and tuning up rather than get significantly fitter. We'll freshen up; the mileage will come down a bit." Following a week of training, the Judges will travel to New York University for the UAA Championships this Friday and Saturday, and given that Kramer and Kern hold the UAA's top two seed times in the 1,500, he's confident that they will perform well. "I'm honestly more worried about Mik than I am about anyone else," Kramer joked.
(04/16/13 4:00am)
We're living in a pop culture world that is currently inundated with a pregnant Brit who is as well-known for her chic style as her royal hubby; a reality star who is struggling with maternity style; and the increasing transparency of celebs using in-vitro fertilization and surrogacy (think: Khloe Kardashian and Giuliana Rancic). So it's pretty rare to come across celebs who aren't jumping aboard the baby wagon. And yet, one of the hottest Hollywood couples is happily choosing not to create a "plus one." Just like she said, "Yes, I'm gay," Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi are saying N-O to having a child. To fans of the couple, who wed in 2008, this news isn't entirely surprising. DeGeneres has never hid the fact that she doesn't want to be mom material. Last year, the comic/talk show host set the record straight on The Tonight Show: "I've said it so many times; we're not going to have a child." But the tabloids aren't ready to give in just yet. Many, especially the National Inquirer, have reported that the ladies were shopping around for sperm, considering a man to father their child. DeGeneres, 55, scoffed at the rumors, telling host Jay Leno that a child with his sperm would "have a good shot at an NBC show," but ultimately putting the kibosh on the whole thing. Now, it's de Rossi's turn to give a thumbs-down to the idea of an addition to the famous family. She explained to Out Magazine that she's too busy enjoying life with her wife to even think about having a child. "We've settled into happily married life. We really support each other in whatever we're doing and we're incredibly happy." But the 35-year-old admitted she's been a little affected by the adult peer pressure to procreate: "Here comes some pressure in your mid-30s, and you think, am I going to have kids so I don't miss out on something that other people really seem to love? Or is it that I really genuinely want to do this with my whole heart? I didn't feel that my response was 'yes' to the latter." So it seems like the duo will be attending baby showers rather than throwing them, especially given the crazy baby boom. Just last week, 46-year-old actress Halle Berry announced that she is expecting a son with her fianc?(c), Olivier Martinez. And this past Thursday, Donald Trump's oldest daughter, Ivanka, let the Twitter-verse know that she is a few months along with their second baby. But that's not to say that the power couple is alone in their decision to keep their family small. Oprah Winfrey and long-time boyfriend, Stedman, have been together for over 25 years and don't have any offspring. Food-talk-show host Rachael Ray has explained that kids are not in her and her husband's future: "I don't have time. I work too much to be an appropriate parent." Nonetheless, it's sad to think that Ellen and Portia won't be pushing their own baby stroller down Hollywood Boulevard, don't ya think?
(04/16/13 4:00am)
This week, JustArts spoke with Jessie Field '13, who wrote and directed a musical production based on the life of environmentalist author Rachel Carson, Always, Rachel, for the Senior Theater Arts Festival. JustArts: Could you tell us how you chose the topic of Rachel Carson and her life's work as the focus of your musical? Jessie Field: That's a question I ask myself sometimes. I guess it was in some ways luck because I started reading a biography, and it just really got to me. I immediately thought that the arc was so dramatic and the issues were so strong that I just couldn't walk away from it. I started writing the play three years ago, right after I read the biography. JA: Do you have a personal connection to the material? JF: I think it's personal for everybody. I think the issues are very strong for me certainly-the biggest ones of environmentalism and feminism certainly. You feel them all the time but I think it's also about a love story and that's always what I'm interested in as an artist-just finding the connection between people and sharing it. JA: You said you've been working on it for three years. How has the work been spread out? JF: In the beginning I started very slowly at a very comfortable pace for me, which is too slow. And then as it got closer, I produced more than half of it in this last year. But it's hard to really say because the first half was so much research, was so much reading through all the biographies and all the letters and all the materials. It took me a long time to feel like I knew these characters or these people or this time period enough to dare to write a play before that. This year, especially last semester, was getting it done and then putting it into production. JA: How did the process of actually making this into your thesis project come together? JF: The process was crazy! I don't know why, but from the moment I started writing it, a couple weeks later, I was like this is going to be my thesis. And the department was very much like "Yes! Go do it!" And these wonderful, wonderful, crazy Brandeis people took this idea and made it their own and jumped on board this crazy train without so much as seeing a script. I got my actors. Some of them know me, some of them I had worked with before, but they hadn't seen the script! I was just like "I have this idea..." and they were like "We love to act, we love you, let's do it!" And I could cry just thinking about it. It meant so much that they were willing. My co-director is actually my best friend, Alisa Roznerita '14. But my advisor said to me, "Jessie, if you're going to direct this, go find someone who can look at it and tell you this looks like sh*t, this is awful, someone who is brave enough to tell you that. And so I picked Alisa, and she did every time. I needed that. The team of people who worked on it were the best. The way they took on the work, and made it their own, and loved it as much as I loved it. JA: This is your last official production at Brandeis; what have you learned with this production that is different from the others? JF: I've done so many productions here, and I really think that, in a way, every one has been a little bit safe. And I've been moving, through my time here, towards things that are less safe. The first show I did was Proof, a show that I actually directed, and it was very small, and it didn't require a lot of stuff. And I went further-I went to do Into the Woods and we went outside in the woods and it was a very risky production, but I knew the score, I knew the people. And so this was, for me, very much letting go of control. Because I didn't know how this was going to look, or sound, or work. It ended up meaning the most, by far. And I am changed forever... and all that stuff. JA: Do you hope to continue with theater as you move into the professional world? JF: I do! I do entertain that crazy fantasy. I'll be in the area, I'll be trying to work as a director or as a writer, trying to pursue this script, I think, first. And you know, eating rocks and living in boxes. It's scary for all of us! But you have to try. Because it means so much, and that's what brings you alive. You can tell-I never talk like this! JA: Is there anything that you hope that people who saw Always, Rachel will take away from it? JF: I'm grateful for anyone who came! I just wanted them to get what we're going for. Certainly, overall, I just want them to be inspired to recycle and care about our planet because it's really in trouble. And to think about other people. But the message overall, of that story, to me, is to have the courage to do what matters to you, no matter what. Even if it's hard, or scary or terrifying, and it is. Always! The most important things are the most scary things. But go do it! -Emily Wishingrad and Rachel Hughes
(04/16/13 4:00am)
* Tuition is going up! Next year, the price of attending Brandeis will be raised by 3.9 percent, to $58,170. Tuition is being hiked from $42,682 to $44,380. Brandeis University's sticker price takes the silver medal on the "Most Expensive Colleges in Massachusetts" list. If you're willing to sacrifice your free time to save yourself a semester of tuition by overloading courses, forget about it: that exit is barred, as Brandeis will now charge a per-credit fee of $1,375 for any credits above 23. * College education in general has become more expensive in the past few decades, and Brandeis is no exception. Understandably, people are outraged by the increasing unaffordability of a higher education. After all, when four years of college costs nearly $225,000, a degree is practically unattainable without a tremendous financial commitment. Regardless of how much of your tuition is paid by parents, grants or student loans, every student bears a heavy burden. * When making such a large commitment, it is important to step back and gain perspective. "Am I getting what I am paying for?" You might be willing to pay $60,000 for a BMW, but not for a Kia. Each of us ought to ask ourselves this sort of question about our tuition. * According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans aged 18 to 29 have 13.1 percent unemployment. Opportunity is drying up: the National Bureau of Economic Research says that wage prospects in the current recession are down more than 10 percent. Things don't look very good. To pile on more bad news, the average college student will graduate with $26,500 of debt, and given the recent trend in tuition rates, this number only bodes to increase. If we zoom in to a smaller scale, several experiences have made me second-guess the price of my education. Recently, I purchased 33 hours of MP3 recordings of a 12-lecture Introductory Philosophy class taught by Dr. Leonard Peikoff in the 1970s. It discusses the founders of Western philosophy, with detail and analysis comparable to-if not better than-similar courses that I've taken here. The price of the download: $11. * Modern college students can easily benefit from information and literature proliferating on the internet. A university library and a classroom are no longer needed to analyze and discuss ideas. The internet has transformed self-guided adult education and has begun to render the traditional university approach obsolete. While face-to-face access to a university professor can be an educational advantage, does this alone justify such a colossal expense? * In the past, having a college degree demonstrated a higher level of learning ability which employers still seek. Even humanities majors, who are not taught a specific marketable skill like science or engineering students, have always been considered to have this intellectual leg-up over non-college graduates. * Because of this historical advantage, people advocate for laws intended to make college more affordable. Such government programs are numerous: Pell Grants already give students up to $5,500, while Perkins Loans will allow students to borrow up to $30,000 at only five percent interest. Stafford Loans are similar, but with a higher interest rate. There are also PLUS loans, which are made to parents. * These programs, however well-intended, have actually served to bid the price of college to the current stratospheric high. They have helped to dilute the value of higher education to the point where a course priced in the thousands of dollars is no better than one which costs no more than a pizza. * The programs that were created to make college more affordable have inflated a bubble in higher education, not unlike the housing bubble which burst in 2008. According to FinAid.org, college tuition prices have increased at 1.25 to two times the rate of other prices in the economy since 1975. While price has steadily grown, quality has not kept pace. The government's programs have provided easy credit to anyone willing to borrow. There is no assessment of risk, so students can continue to borrow as prices increase, without considering how they will pay these loans off in the future. This artificially stimulated demand results in colleges being immune from the consequences of raising their prices-look at the throngs of admitted students. While our bills grow, the value of a degree shrinks. Class sizes have increased, and curricula are tailored to the average students rather than the exemplary ones. College graduates were once a rare commodity for employers, now they are a dime a dozen. With cheap, convenient access to information on the internet, non-college graduates can learn crucial skills on their own. Applying for a job with a college degree will no longer be a leg-up; it is currently a prerequisite, but an empty one, not unlike any Introductory class. * As a degree no longer signifies to an employee who will be more competent with technology, employers of the future will put less emphasis on that expensive bachelor's degree. Students who have benefited from government-subsidized loans may find themselves in deep water, if they are unable to afford their debts. If many people default on their debts, the bubble will pop, and the price will collapse to reflect the significantly lower true value of a college education. * Now that you are sufficiently depressed, I should remind you that your purpose here is still to learn and improve yourself. Don't rely solely on a curriculum to guide you in achieving your goals; blaze your own trail. Develop your own skills according to your strengths. Despite the fact that the old-fashioned university model is growing obsolete, some old-fashioned hard work, practical knowledge and computer savvy will put you far ahead anyone who treats a piece of paper called a "bachelor's degree" like a golden ticket.
