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(09/27/14 10:11pm)
We value keeping in touch with our Justice alumni and hearing about your experiences beyond your Brandeis careers! If you worked for The Justice during your college years and have any questions, concerns or simply would like to stay in touch, drop us a line at editor@thejustice.org. We'd also love to see any photos from your time on The Justice. Additionally, we warmly welcome alumni as guest speakers and would be delighted to give you a tour of our office if you find yourself on campus.
(09/25/14 12:49am)
With the 2014 commencement ceremony now behind us, this board would like to express sincere gratitude to the newest alumni of the Justice, who have each contributed to the paper immensely over the past few years. We wish you all tremendous success in the future and look forward to covering your future accomplishments.
(04/01/14 4:00am)
The University will begin renovations to Ziv Quad buildings 129 and 130 and all of the Foster Mods this summer, said Casey Russo, the assistant project manager for Facilities Services, in an interview with the Justice. The budget for the Mods renovation is two million dollars, and the budget for the Ziv renovations is $800,000, according to Russo. The funding will come out of the University's capital fund. "Right now we're just trying to understand what that amount gets us," said Russo. The exact nature of the renovations will depend in part on the cost of bids received by the University. Administrators are pricing a range of options to see which they can afford. In the two Ziv buildings, the plan is to renovate the bathrooms and install new carpet, window shades and furniture. The Ziv renovations are "more of a repair project that the University wants [in order] to get some more life out of those buildings," said Russo. The Mods will undergo more extensive renovations to make them "feel really refreshed," said Russo. The University is pricing a list of items that includes new roofs, windows, shades, siding and bricks on the exterior. Inside the Mods, fixes may include drywall repair, new carpet and new furniture. Bids are due back in the next few weeks, and work will begin over the summer. Only two of the four Ziv buildings will undergo renovations because of funding constraints and prior agreements with summer camps, which may house campers there during the renovation period said Russo. -Andrew Wingens
(04/01/14 4:00am)
The Brandeis chapter of Phi Beta Kappa elected 62 new members from the Class of 2014. Seven members from the Class of 2015 were also elected. The Brandeis chapter of Phi Beta Kappa elects about 10 percent of the senior class and about one percent of the junior class each year. Selection is based on three criteria: the quality of academic record, breadth of interest and letters of recommendation from faculty and senior administrators. The following students from the Class of 2014 were elected to Phi Beta Kappa: Laili Amighi, Kochava Ayoun, Benjamin N. Barber, David J. Benger, Ariana L. Boltax, Aliza D. Braverman, Daniel Brog, Jenny Cheng, David Meir Clements, Rebecca M. DeHovitz, Katherine Gordon Doody, Katey Duchin, Charlotte Rose Erb, Kara Lynn Faktor, Gabriella E. Feingold, Avital Batsheva Fagen Friedland, Heather G. Friedman, Philip Meyer Berlin Gallagher, Adam P. Gelman, Katharine P. Glanbock, Jack Z. Hait, Shafaq Hasan, Jeffrey Michael Herman, Leah Meryl Igdalsky, Joseph R. Jacobowitz, Chunhui Ji, Anita Lee Kao, Rafi Kohen, Margo Louise Kolenda, Michael S. Kosowsky, Cindy Kui, Sarah Sue Landau, Rebecca Tamara Loewenstein-Harting, Jacob Michael Lurie, Yael B. Marks, Laura Ben Marger Moore, Dillon T. Morris, Kerry Morse, Anthony Huy Nguyen, Ryan James Nicoll, Zoe Fay Oppenheimer, Samuel L. Porter, Isaac Jonathan Rabbani, Richard Dylan Rosen, Julia Rosner, Danielle I. Sackstein, Mara Alyssa Sassoon, Suzannah Lee Scanlon, Jeremy Michael Schmidt, Martha R. Schwarz, James L. Shen, Abigail Michelle Simon, Christopher M. Stanton, Helen Stolyar, Abraham B. Troen, Kyle J. Van Gorkom, Andrea Verdeja Vicente, Naomi L. Volk, Samantha R. Weinerman, Andrew E. Wingens, Qiyu Zhang, Rebecca Lan Zhang. The following students from the Class of 2015 were elected to Phi Beta Kappa: Isabel S. Ballan, Michael Benjamin Kahn, Jessica Gorman Kramer, Jeffrey M. Lowenstein, Melissa Faith Tannenbaum, Meredith Hope van der Walde, Benjamin Bo Wang.
(04/01/14 4:00am)
The Senate voted to recognize one club, approved a nonbinding paperless campaign pledge and received an update from the Constitutional Review Task Force at its Sunday meeting. The Senate approved the CRTF proposal, allowing the constitutional changes to be sent to students for a vote in the coming weeks. The Senate voted in favor of a nonbinding paperless campaign pledge proposed by Class of 2015 Senator Anna Bessendorf. Bessendorf said the proposal would save about 4,000 sheets of paper, as each candidate is allotted 100 sheets. The pledge stated: "Any candidate who voluntarily adopts the Sustainability Pledge as a component of their platform demonstrates their commitment to reducing the amount of waste the Student Union, and Brandeis University, as an institution committed to social justice, produces." There was some debate in the Senate about whether the Senate's vote of approval would improperly bestow a Senate endorsement upon those who take the paperless pledge. Fourteen senators voted in favor of the pledge, one opposed and four abstained. The Senate voted to recognize a chapter of the Jubilee Project, which uses video and social media to increase awareness of social issues, including disaster relief and cancer research. The Senate also passed a Senate Money Resolution for $285 to fund a cultural potluck in the Intercultural Center. In his executive report to the Senate, Student Union President Ricky Rosen '14 emphasized 'Deis Day, which is scheduled for this Sunday, April 6, and the upcoming Union elections. Rosen said that a committee of International Business School students tasked with finding a solution to the problematic shortage of parking on campus would present its findings to the administration within the next two weeks. The Union is also looking to hire course evaluation guide editors and will be sponsoring vouchers for the Take your Professor to Lunch program. Rosen and Senate Dining Committee Chair and Class of 2017 Senator David Heaton both said that they have met with Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel and Sodexo's Resident District Manager of Dining Services Jay DeGioia to discuss meal plans. -Andrew Wingens
(03/25/14 4:00am)
The Women's and Gender Studies program recently published a report card on women at Brandeis that indicates there has been an increase in the percentage of female faculty members in the last 40 years. However, when it comes to the percentage of women receiving honorary degrees, holding senior administrative positions and serving on the Board of Trustees, several faculty in the Women's and Gender Studies program say the University falls short. "We were concerned about how monolithic the senior administration is," said Prof. Wendy Cadge (SOC) in an interview with the Justice. She continued to say that it is important "to have a leadership structure that represents who we are as a university in terms of gender and race and sexual orientation and gender identity and a range of other things." The percentage of full-time female faculty has increased over the past 40 years, rising from 14 percent in the 1972 to 1973 academic year to 42 percent in the 2012 to 2013 academic year. Only 20 percent of the honorary degree recipients since 1972 have been women, and women only make up 23 percent of the Board of Trustees, according to the report. While the Justice was unable to find data about the national average of females receiving honorary degrees, Cadge pointed to a 2010 study published in the Chronicle of Higher Education that cited the national average of women on boards of trustees to be around 30 percent, indicating that Brandeis is below the national average. The senior administration has also been historically male-dominated. Since 1972, only one of five University presidents was female. Of the seven senior administration positions that the report card examines, only two are currently held by women: the senior vice president for communications and the senior vice president of institutional advancement. However, the University's website identifies a 12-person senior management team, which includes deans as well as senior vice presidents. Five out of the 12 of these individuals are women. "I think that there needs to be some commitment to seeing that it's a problem," said Cadge. "I think some kind of public statement from them that affirms that would take us a long way and then a process of following it up when it's time to hire." Cadge, who authored the report along with other WGS faculty, said the particularly low representation of women among honorary degree recipients spurred the creation of the report card. In an interview with the Justice, Cadge said that last spring that she and some of the WGS faculty members were concerned that only one out of six honorary degree recipients were women. "We think that there are more than 20 percent of Brandeis alums and supporters and people worthy of honorary degrees that are women. ... So, we think there is a clear call for change there," Cadge said, referring to the percentage of women who have received honorary degrees since 1972. Cadge also said that out of the five honorary degrees awarded each year, there has never been a year in which the majority of recipients have been women. This can also be seen on the Board of Trustees' website in a list of all past recipients. Senior Vice President for Communication Ellen de Graffenreid, who is a staff member on the Board's honorary degree committee, said the Board has organized a "dashboard" to continuously monitor the diversity of honorary degree nominees in order to help them reach their goals of more diversity among the candidates. "The Board is very cognizant of the need to have diversity in those chosen for honorary degrees," she wrote in an email to the Justice. Prof. Bulbul Chakraborty (PHYS), a former faculty liaison to the Board of Trustees, agreed that encouraging the community to nominate more diverse candidates would help solve the disparity. Chakraborty, who was the first female tenured faculty member in the Physics department, said in an interview with the Justice that she believes that the people who have been responsible for nominating recipients in the past "nominated in a self selected way that is more biased towards men." However, she said that she thinks "we can fix that by making the community broadly aware that they can nominate." The 28 percent increase in the number of female faculty members over the past 40 years was a pleasant surprise to those involved with the report card. "I expected there to be some increase, but I didn't realize how dramatic it would be," said Prof. Susan Lanser (ENG) in an interview with the Justice. She clarified, however, that "we are still not at parity." Lanser speculated that a large reason the ratio was not closer to 50-50 was due to "historical hiring. "More women have come in to the academy in the last 30 years but also we had a pretty male-dominated faculty, and it takes a while for that to turn over and change," Lanser said. Despite this growth, there is still a discrepancy between the percentages of female faculty members on the tenure track and those not on the tenure track. In fall 2012, of the full-time faculty on the tenure track, only 36 percent were women, whereas of the full-time faculty not on the tenure track, 56 percent were women. According to the 2006 American Association of University Professors report, 11 percent of full-time tenure track faculty members were women, while almost 19 percent of full-time, non-tenure track faculty was women. Cadge said she recognized this discrepancy when compiling the report. "There are still mostly men who are senior faculty, and still mostly women in lower status positions like lecturers and contract faculty," said Cadge. "We have questions as to whether there are enough women sort of in the pipeline," she explained. The report card also recorded the percentage of women composing the Board of Trustees. The University's Board is comprised of 23 percent women, while Cadge told the Justice that the national average at private universities is about 30 percent. While Cadge said the low national average is problematic unto itself, at Brandeis "we were surprised to see that we are quite a bit below that average," said Cadge. The professors interviewed said that the report card is just the beginning, and that the administration and those hiring new faculty should consider this and future reports in composing their departments. "I think one thing that they shouldn't do is to take this as evidence that they have succeeded and not do anything more," said Chakraborty. Prof. Faith Smith (AAAS) wrote in an email to the Justice that the report "is an excellent jolt to our community: hard facts sometimes have the effect of cutting through hot air or 'good intentions.'" Cadge said that she hopes to make this report a regular publication every few years as a way to keep tabs on the success of the school, and Lanser said that she did not think it should stop at gender equality. Lanser said that she hopes that a report is published on racial diversity as well and said that she hopes to see Brandeis "hold ourselves accountable to the standards we profess and to the university's founding values, so that everyone has a place at the table." -Andrew Wingens contributed reporting
(03/04/14 5:00am)
Over 370 students, including six Brandeis University undergraduates, were arrested outside the White House Sunday as part of a protest against the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. One of the Brandeis students who was arrested, Martin Hamilton '16, wrote in an email to the Justice that Iona Feldman '16, Kristina Bergquist '15, Ben Hirsh '15, Josh Wertheim '17 and Ph.D. candidate in History Phil Wight were arrested as well. Hamilton and Abbie Goldberg '16 are both active members of Students for a Just and Stable Future, a New England-based student network of climate justice activists. In an interview with the Justice, Goldberg said that "the unique thing about it was that it was not put on by any organization-it was completely student-organized." Goldberg said that at least a dozen Brandeis students went to Washington, D.C. and participated. The protest on Sunday began in Georgetown and made its way to the White House, where some tied themselves to the White House gate with zip ties. U.S. Park Police, waiting with buses and vans, warned the protesters they would be arrested if they blocked the sidewalk in front of the White House, according to the Associated Press. Environmentalist groups oppose the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry tar sands through the United States, on the grounds that it would pose dangers to the environment. To move forward with construction, the pipeline requires approval from the State Department, which released a report at the end of January that renewed debate, as the Obama administration has not made a decision about construction. Goldberg said that the group of Brandeis students stayed in D.C. until late Sunday evening, spending nights in a local church with other students attending the rally. Hamilton, who was processed by police and has returned to Waltham, wrote that "I think the fact that nearly 400 young people feel that the situation is desperate enough that we are willing to be arrested to demonstrate our dissent is a hugely powerful message, and I have high hopes that [it] will be heard by President Obama, and by the rest of the country." -Andrew Wingens and Rachel Hughes
(02/04/14 5:00am)
A car accident on South Street Sunday night sent three students to the hospital with serious injuries. The students, an 18-year-old male, an 18-year-old female and a 22-year-old female were crossing the street at 6:24 p.m. at the crosswalk by the Foster Mods when they were hit by a car headed northbound, according to a Feb. 2 press release from the Waltham Police Department. The victims, all undergraduate students, were taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with serious injuries. In an interview with the Justice, Stephanie Guyotte, a spokesperson for the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, said that two of the victims have since been released from the hospital and the third is in stable condition as of 4:30 p.m. yesterday. According to the statement, the driver of the vehicle was a 42-year-old resident of Belmont, Mass. He was not found to be impaired by any substances at the time of the accident. According to Guyotte, the investigation is still ongoing. The press release stated that "charges against the operator will be determined after the investigation is complete." Elan Kane '16 was walking from East Quad to the Foster Mods and was near the Stoneman Building when he heard the collision. "The crash almost sounded like snow being shoveled," he said in an interview with the Justice. Kane said he heard someone yelling "I'm going to die, I'm going to die" and another person reassuring them that they would not. He recalled seeing one person on the ground and another on the sidewalk, but did not know who was yelling. According to Kane, another driver got out of his car to help the person on the ground. Kane said he did not see whether the lights at the crosswalk were blinking. South Street has a history of accidents involving pedestrians. In 2005, a student crossing the road was struck by a car driven by an elderly woman and suffered minor injuries. According to Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan in a Nov. 8, 2005 article in the Justice, a pedestrian crossing South Street was also hit in November 2000 and another in November 2002. In 2006, the city of Waltham installed two button-activated blinking yellow traffic lights at the crosswalk. The $20,000 project was initially requested by students living in the Foster Mods three years prior. In a Sept. 26, 2006 Justice article, Waltham Transportation Director Franklin Ching expressed concern that the lights would give pedestrians a "false sense of security," as the law requires drivers to stop for pedestrians in the street, but not necessarily for those waiting to cross. According to Ching, many pedestrians walk into the street anyway. In 2007, a first-year student was hit while crossing South Street in front of the main gate, suffering minor injuries. In 2008, the University stationed a police officer at the crosswalk during random times to ensure that students used the blinking lights when crossing South Street. In a Sept. 23, 2008 Justice article, Waltham Ward 7 Councilor Joseph Giordano, who represents Brandeis in the City Council, said he was concerned that many students were not using the crosswalk lights. A Nov. 6, 2009 police log entry in the Justice stated that University Police "received several calls about a pedestrian struck by a car in the crosswalk at South Street and the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center." In 2010, Waltham police officers were again stationed at the South Street crosswalk to both make sure students were using the lights and to issue citations for cars that were speeding or not stopping for pedestrians, according to Callahan. In the article, Callahan said that Waltham police officers have given 20 to 40 citations per day to drivers for speeding on South Street and that the addition of police officers helped to slow down cars. When asked if any safety measures will be adopted in the near future, Callahan, in an email to the Justice, referred to an email he sent to the student body yesterday urging students to take precautions when crossing and driving along South Street. -Marissa Ditkowsky and Andrew Wingens contributed reporting. Editor's Note: Elan Kane '16 is on the Justice Sports staff.
(12/10/13 5:00am)
By the end of January, the University Registrar will make a new official electronic transcript available to students and alumni and introduce a slightly changed official paper transcript. Assistant Registrar Shohreh Harris said the change is in response to students who have requested official electronic transcripts and an increase in other institutions that prefer electronic transcripts to paper ones. "Also there are instances when students and alumni urgently need a transcript," wrote Harris in an email to the Justice. "With the ability to provide electronic transcripts, students and alumni will be able to obtain ... transcripts within one hour of making the request." As a result of the move to electronic transcripts, the technology used to produce the paper transcript also had to be updated. The paper transcript will change from landscape to portrait and it will feature longer course descriptions than currently available. The transcript will also now be able to combine Brandeis careers, both undergraduate and graduate, in a single transcript, and it will include graduate student grade point averages. "The change towards one standard official transcript which consolidates all careers puts us in line with standard practices at other universities," said Harris. While the new paper version will continue to be free to students and alumni, the electronic transcript will cost four dollars in most instances, and $2.25 for transcripts being sent to institutions such as the Law School Admissions Council and the American Medical College Application Service. The University's third-party electronic transcript provider, the National Student Clearinghouse, will provide the electronic transcripts. According to the Registrar's office, Brandeis does not receive any revenue from the charge. "Brandeis will continue to remain one of the few universities that do not charge students and alumni for official paper transcripts," wrote Harris. "The cost for official e-transcripts is the base fee as assessed by The National Student Clearinghouse. While most schools add additional fees on top of the NSC fee, Brandeis has chosen not to do so." Harris said that the Registrar and Library and Technology Services have been working to develop this project for about two years. The Registrar expects to release the new paper transcript by the end of this semester, while the electronic version will be available in mid to late January. -Andrew Wingens
(11/26/13 5:00am)
Correction appended.
(11/19/13 5:00am)
University President Frederick Lawrence has suspended the University's formal academic partnership with Al-Quds University, a university in East Jerusalem, effective as of last night, and will "reevaluate the relationship as future events may warrant" according to a Nov. 18 BrandeisNOW press release. Al-Quds University's statement regarding recent demonstrations on the Al-Quds campus that "involved demonstrators wearing black military gear, armed with fake automatic weapons, and who marched while waving flags and raising the traditional Nazi salute," according to BrandeisNOW, was "unacceptable and inflammatory." BrandeisNOW reported that upon learning of the demonstrations, Lawrence "contacted Al-Quds President Sari Nusseibeh and requested that he issue an unequivocal condemnation of the demonstrations" and "also requested that the condemnation be published in both Arabic and English." The release explained that the University is "obliged to recognize intolerance when we see it, and we cannot-and will not-turn a blind eye to intolerance." The statement by Nusseibeh, which BrandeisNOW described as an English translation from Arabic, began by saying that Al-Quds "is often subjected to vilification campaigns by Jewish extremists with the purpose of discrediting its reputation as a prestigious academic institution." Nusseibeh also wrote that "students making a mock military display ... allow some people to capitalize on events in ways that misrepresent the university as promoting inhumane, anti-Semitic, fascist, and Nazi ideologies. Without these ideologies, there would not have been the massacre of the Jewish people in Europe; without the massacre, there would not have been the enduring Palestinian catastrophe." Earlier this week, Lawrence had sent Daniel Terris, director of the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life and the project leader for the partnership between Brandeis and Al-Quds, Prof. Susan Lanser (ENG), and Prof. Daniel Kryder (POL) to Israel to learn in greater detail the nature of demonstrations that took place on the Al-Quds campus, according to Terris. Terris, Lanser and Kryder and three faculty members from Al-Quds University are together the recipients of a research grant from the Bronfman Brandeis-Israel Collaborative Research Initiative. Terris, Kryder and Lanser sent a statement to the Justice after the partnership's suspension, writing that "[w]e are still in the middle of the process of honoring President Lawrence's request to find out what we can about the November 5 rally and Al-Quds University's response to it." They emphasized that "everything that we have learned on this trip so far has affirmed our conviction ... that the leadership of Al-Quds University is genuinely and courageously dedicated to the causes of peace and mutual respect." The demonstrations were first reported by Tom Gross, an independent Middle East analyst, on his website in a post dated Nov. 6. The Washington Free Beacon, an online newspaper that describes itself on its website as "[d]edicated to uncovering the stories that the professional left hopes will never see the light of day," published a story dated Nov. 11 detailing the demonstrations and reporting that Brandeis declined multiple requests for comment. According to Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid, the University had not been able to verify that the photographs were taken at Al-Quds University when the Washington Free Beacon had originally asked for a comment on the afternoon of Nov. 8. On Nov. 11, Lawrence published a blog post condemning the demonstration and explaining that he was informed that the demonstration was not sanctioned by Al-Quds. Lawrence published a second blog post on the demonstrations on Nov. 15, writing that the University should speak out "where such events [on campuses of our international partners] fly in the face of our communal values." Lawrence received Nusseibeh's statement on the demonstrations on the evening of Nov. 17, according to BrandeisNOW. The partnership was suspended on Nov. 18, with the University's action being made public that evening. Daniel Koas '16, the president of the Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee, said in an email to the Justice that he "fully support[s] the university's decision to take a firm stand against such despicable acts, especially given the fact that Al-Quds had the chance to condemn the demonstrations, but instead decided to release an inflammatory statement. While it is upsetting to lose a partner university that Brandeis has such a longstanding relationship with, the events of the past weeks have given the administration no choice." The campus organization Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine provided a statement to the Justice regarding the suspension of the partnership. "BSJP is disappointed at Brandeis's decision, which reflects the university's double standard regarding social justice when it comes to Palestine. We wish a quick recovery to the 40 injured students from the [Israel Defense Force] attack today on al-Quds University. We urge Brandeis to evaluate the moral standing of other partner institutions as well: Technion, for a start, develops drones and other deadly weapons," the group wrote. Chen Arad '15, a co-director of Brandeis Visions for Israel in an Evolving World, expressed in an interview with the Justice his concern with the Al-Quds statement. "I thought the statement was offensive, and I was very disappointed that there was no clear condemnation of the events there. I'm specifically disappointed because I feel that the best way to negate, to battle extremism, like the one that was very clearly ... exhibited in those demonstrations, is by strengthening moderates, is by dialogue between people who are interested in talking ... and through education," he said. Prof. Ilan Troen (NEJS), the director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, expressed his opinion in an email to the Justice that "it stretches the imagination to believe that such an outrage occurred without anyone in authority in the Al-Quds administration not being cognizant of it. Nothing less than a clear condemnation is appropriate of such an outrage." Profs. Shai Feldman (POL), director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Mari Fitzduff (Heller) and Alain Lempereur (Heller), former director and current director, respectively, of the M.A. program in Coexistence and Conflict could not be reached on Monday night by press time. The partnership had its genesis from a visit by Nusseibeh to Brandeis in 1997 and was originally funded by a nearly one million dollar grant from the Ford Foundation, according to the partnership website. By press time, the partnership website had been taken down. Nusseibeh is listed as a member of the advisory board of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life. Dr. Khuloud Khayyat Dajani, the contact person at Al-Quds University listed on the former website for the academic partnership, could not be reached for comment by press time. -Marissa Ditkowsky, Sam Mintz and Andrew Wingens contributed reporting.
(11/12/13 5:00am)
The Hans and Mavis Lopater Foundation, which has an endowment of approximately six million dollars, will support the newly-established Hans and Mavis Lopater Scholarship Fund for Brandeis University students, according to Director of Development Communications David Nathan. "Brandeis undergraduates with a declared interest in English, American literature, history, European cultural studies, social sciences, psychology or women's studies will be eligible to receive need-based support" through the fund, according to an article on the Office of Development's website. The fund will provide more than $300,000 a year in scholarship support. "The Lopaters were warm, kind people who identified strongly with the mission and history of Brandeis University," said Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement Nancy Winship in the article. "They cared deeply about our students, and they wanted to ensure that Brandeis would continue to educate the most promising students without regard to financial need."? Hans Lopater, a Holocaust survivor who died in 2010 at the age of 82, served as a vice president at Gillette and a consultant to many companies such as Coca-Cola and Dow Chemical. Mavis Lopater, who was a painter and a volunteer at Emerson Hospital, died in 2012. The Lopaters were generous patrons of the University, according to the Development article. "We are overwhelmed by the generosity of Hans and Mavis, and thrilled that their legacies will live on" said Vice President of Development Myles Weisenberg '78, according to the article. "Their gift will make a difference in the lives of Brandeis students forever." -Andrew Wingens
(11/12/13 5:00am)
The University endowment increased 17.6 percent over the 2012 to 2013 fiscal year, and a seven percent increase is projected for the 2013 to 2014 fiscal year, according to data provided by Chief Investment Officer Nicholas Warren in an email to the Justice. Warren wrote that updates on the current state of the University endowment were presented at the Oct. 31 Board of Trustees meeting. According to the data, the endowment for FY2013 reached $767.7 million, with $13.8 million donated. The projection for the 2013 to 2014 fiscal year is at $785.4 million, and $10 million in donations are anticipated. The five-year forecast projects that the endowment will be at $881.9 million, including expected donations of $35 million. Warren wrote that the donations listed were only those that were invested in the endowment and do not include annual fund donations. According to Senior Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Marianne Cwalina, annual gifts are not invested, but are designated for current use in the University budget. Cwalina wrote in an email to the Justice that annual funds can either be temporarily restricted for a particular purpose or unrestricted so that they may be used "for any of the University's priorities." Permanently-restricted gifts are gifts that increase the endowment and "are subject to donor-imposed specifications that do not expire with the passage of time and must be used for the purpose that the donor specifies, for example for scholarships, a professorship, or to support a particular program or department," Cwalina wrote. According to Cwalina, the University endowment is composed of several restricted funds. These endowed gifts are unique from annual gifts in that they are invested. Although a certain percentage of the endowment is distributed "to benefit the University," according to Cwalina, the remaining funds are re-invested. "When you raise money for endowment, you're raising money from people who want to give you a gift that will be there in perpetuity," said Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement Nancy Winship in an interview with the Justice. According to Winship, the University has pledged to raise $210 million in endowment to support the operating budget of the University, a lot of which, she said, will be allotted toward financial aid. Brandeis is relatively young compared to peer institutions and this means that the University endowment has not had the chance to grow for as many years, according to Cwalina. Cwalina wrote that one of the University's goals under the strategic plan will be to grow the Brandeis endowment through a fundraising campaign "in order to provide a predictable, long term source of funds for the University's needs." "We have a goal to get the endowment above a billion and we will do that. ... That's what this campaign is for," said Winship. "The campaign we're going into now will get the endowment at a billion or over." -Andrew Wingens contributed reporting
(11/05/13 5:00am)
The Health Center and the Psychological Counseling Center will undergo a major shift in their reporting structures, as Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel announced this past week to the centers' directors. They will now comprise part of a "comprehensive student health care model." The new unit will be headed by Director of Athletics Sheryl Sousa '90, who has been promoted to assistant vice president for health and wellness. The Health and Psychological Counseling Centers formerly reported to the Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams. Flagel announced the changes in an email sent to all staff in the division of students and enrollment on Monday. According to a draft of the email that Flagel sent to the Justice, reorganization into this new model was spurred by recommendations from a review of the Health Center and Psychological Counseling Center conducted by Hodgkins Beckley Consulting. According to the email, the University also plans to hire an executive director for health and wellness, who will "oversee operations" in both centers. While the job description for this position has yet to be developed, Sousa is currently gathering a team to compose it and search for candidates. "That will be one of the first things that I'll be looking to do ... to work with folks in the Health Center, the counseling center to develop a job description and then be launching that search," said Sousa in an interview with the Justice. Sousa said she hoped to have an executive director in place before the end of the spring semester. Sousa, who will retain her current duties as director of Athletics, said that she was offered the promotion at the end of October, and that the report was shared with her, along with other relevant parties, around the same time. "The new structure takes effect immediately," said Sousa. The review process was initiated earlier this year when requests for proposal were sent out to several consulting companies. HBC was chosen to review the structures at the Health Center and Psychological Counseling Center, beginning their research in the late spring to early summer, said Flagel in an interview with the Justice. HBC collected data and conducted interviews on campus during the summer, and "we began to get feedback reports this fall," he said. While several other members of senior management were briefed on the consultation throughout the process, said Flagel, the decision to restructure was solely his. Flagel did not give the Justice specific dates for the decision-making process, but said that "this was all crystallized by the end of the summer." In an interview with the Justice, Sousa described the change in mentality that she felt the new model would bring. "The idea of this model which works together [with] all of these offices that deal with student health and wellness in some capacity," said Sousa, would "bring them together in a more focused way so that, so my role would be to look at it in a more broad, university-wide perspective from a strategic planning perspective." When asked about the decision to promote Sousa to this role, Flagel said that "one of the key aspects was the talent and the background that [Sousa] brings to a role like this," and that there seemed to be a strong alignment with health services and athletics. However, he also noted that, specifically in regard to the shift in oversight from the Dean of Students' office, "There's not a particular set of qualifications in any one of those offices for aligning or managing the health of our students. ... Is athletics or the chaplaincy more or less aligned with health care? I don't know that there's an easy answer to that question." When asked about the new model in an interview with the Justice, Dr. Debra Poaster, medical director of the health center, said "[t]his is a pretty new thing for us. I think that it was actually in the strategic framework [and] I'm hopeful that it will be a great plan." Poaster said she did not know whether she or other representatives from the Health Center would be involved in the search for an executive director but added that "we're excited about the possibility of working with Sheryl Sousa." Dr. Robert Berlin, senior director of the Psychological Counseling Center, declined to comment and said that Flagel instructed him not to answer the Justice's questions. Berlin directed the Justice to Flagel's office. Adams was unable to be reached for comment by press time. -Marissa Ditkowsky, Sam Mintz and Andrew Wingens contributed reporting
(09/24/13 4:00am)
This year's edition of the Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook contains revisions to the special examiner's process and other minor additions to various sections of the handbook. Last Friday, Dean of Students Jamele Adams released the changes in an email to the Brandeis community. The special examiner's process, which is the University's procedure to address allegations of sexual misconduct or harassment, was first included in the 2012 to 2013 iteration of the Rights and Responsibilities handbook. Among the changes to the process in the 2013 to 2014 handbook is a new panel to be composed of three administrators and/or faculty members who will receive the special examiner's report and make a recommendation about the outcome of a case. The recommendation will then be sent to a senior student affairs officer or designee for a final decision. Previously, the dean of student life would make a final decision without any outside recommendations. Other changes to the special examiner's process include the fact that "the University Appeals Board composition will include only the faculty members of that pool, not student members" and "an Advisor may not also serve as a witness," as stated in Adams' email. -Andrew Wingens
(09/03/13 4:00am)
Last week, President Obama revealed a lofty plan to transform the way higher education is financed. The plan would tie federal aid to both studet and college performance. The plan aims to make student-loan debt repayment more manageable by lowering interest rates and could also potentially curb rising tuition costs by rewarding cost-effective and fiscally responsible schools. Do you think the plan is feasible? Anita Palmer '15 It is assuredly certain that students and families alike seek access to certain metrics when reaching a decision on their chosen higher education institution. Nevertheless, it is just as important to recognize that there is a huge spectrum of educational institutions in the country that serve to suit the varying needs of their students. Using a standard and potentially trite method to evaluate these schools could deteriorate the very characteristics that are the backbone of American higher education. A school focused on vocational workplace training shares little in common with a research university promoting a liberal and innovative career path. Proposed factors such as graduate earnings could further undermine a liberal arts education and emphasize the need for timely majors that stereotypically yield high incomes. The success of Obama's proposition is heavily dependent on the factors chosen. If done thoughtfully, with the cooperation of Congress, federal aid could be appropriately allotted to those who need it most and political friction surrounding student loan rates could be minimized. Deciding on which students and what institutions deserve it, however, will be difficult to determine. Anita Palmer '15 is the president of the Brandeis Economics Society. Andrew Wingens '14 Expanding access to higher education is one of the most important steps this nation can take toward bolstering our economy and improving our quality of life. However, just as higher education has become a prerequisite for many jobs, the costs of attaining a degree have skyrocketed. The president's focus on this issue should be applauded because he can leverage the distribution of federal financial assistance to force colleges to find new and innovative approaches to provide a more affordable model. The president's plan is necessarily bold and may face resistance from institutions of higher education entrenched in ways of the past. The plan's quantitative approach is an effective means to hold colleges accountable. The difficulty, however, may be in which statistics the government uses to evaluate the schools. If the administration works in conjunction with universities to determine the best metrics by which to evaluate these institutions, then the plan can be both feasible and transformative. Andrew Wingens '14 is a Politics major and senior editor for the Justice. Max Moran '17 While President Obama's education proposal is in the right spirit, it is utterly implausible and is designed as a distraction, not a serious initiative. The president's proposal comes on the heels of a scandal: the White House is peering into Americans' internet activities, threatening net neutrality, a huge issue for Obama's young, liberal support base. So, to save face, Obama did what he does best: he gave a speech, a fiery one surrounded by University of Buffalo's young and liberal students, on an issue that appeals to the young and liberal-college costs. The devil, as usual, is in the details: How does one measure college "performance" or "value" accurately? How can yet another college ranking system enact any change? How will Obama make a deadlocked Congress approve anything he proposes, especially legislation that won't be enacted untill after he leaves office? Education needs real reform, not a presidential bluff to save face. Max Moran '17 is a first-year at Brandeis University. Adam Rabinowitz '14 President Obama's transformative student-loan plan is certainly innovative, incentivizing universities across the United States to raise retention rates, employment for its students, as well as various educational standards. Instead of indiscriminately allocating financial aid, the federal government will hopefully be wiser in distributing its Pell Grant funds toward colleges that provide concrete, tangible benefits to their students. While this makes higher education more accessible and allows for student-loan repayment plans to align more closely with one's salary, the feasibility of the plan will still rest on a highly intransigent Congress and additional funding that is just not present. It is also critical to note that schools with limited endowments and fewer resources may suffer from an inability to meet the seemingly lofty standards of the ratings system, leading to a potential results-driven disparity between particular tiers of institutions. It is an ambitious plan that may change the landscape of college affordability-but at what greater cost? Adam Rabinowitz '14 is the former president of Brandeis Democrats, a Community Advisor and the managing editor for the Justice.
(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.
(04/19/13 4:00am)
A day of anxious waiting in lock down at Brandeis came to an end this evening as police captured 19-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, the remaining suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings. A mere two hours after Gov. Deval Patrick declared the lengthy "stay at home" lockdown over, allowing Bostonians to go back to their usual business, state and local police announced that Tsarnaev was taken alive. The suspect was brought out of a boat in the backyard of a Watertown home and subsequently taken to Mount Auburn Hospital, according to reports from Boston's ABC affiliate, WCVB. Police had been searching for Tsarnaev for about 19 hours. Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel confirmed the news in an email to the Brandeis community. "All stay in place orders have been lifted and we are returning to a normal schedule of activities," the email read. Flagel went on to acknowledge the efforts of campus safety staff and the students themselves. "As we return to our routines, all of us at Brandeis express our profound gratitude to [Director of Public Safety] Ed Callahan and his dedicated team of police officers who have worked tirelessly to ensure that our campus remains safe and secure," he wrote. "We are so proud of the way you are all supporting one another, and our hearts and prayers continue to be with those who were hurt." The news first came just before 9 p.m. Friday, following a day during which University officials cancelled activities and stepped up security on campus while local and federal forces searched the area for the bombers. The events of the past 24 hours included a wild chase and shootout, which culminated in Watertown early this morning. Brandeis administrators say that the school was under no specific threat at the time, but advised off-campus students to stay home. The Brandeis Office of Communications first alerted students to the situation in an email sent out at 2 a.m., informing readers of events but assuring them that "[t]here is no threat to the Brandeis campus at this time. All students should stay inside their residence halls and off campus dwellings and report any suspicious activity." Campus lockdown mode was suspended around 7:30 p.m., shortly after Patrick declared it over for the rest of the area. Security efforts had been ramped up by the Department of Public Safety during the day, with Brandeis police stationed at the main entrance to campus. "Officers are identifying all individuals who request access to the campus. Perimeter locations are being monitored and are secure as well," wrote Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan in an email to the Justice. The University sent text message alerts to students early Friday morning, notifying them that Brandeis was closed for the day. Flagel later announced that classes were cancelled via email, in compliance with a request from the Governor's office. "We have not been informed of any specific threats to Brandeis or our campus," the email read. "Our police are on alert and on-campus students should feel free to go to dining halls and elsewhere on campus. Because of area travel restrictions, off-campus students should remain in place and should not attempt to travel to campus." Sherman dining hall, Usdan Boulevard and Usdan Caf?(c), Einstein Bros. Bagels, the Stein and Ollie's remained open, following their usual schedules today, according to Brandeis University Dining Services' web page. All other campus dining locations were closed. Goldfarb Library was opened at 2:30 p.m. and stayed open until 8:30 p.m., with the Farber Library available until midnight. The Waltham and Boston-Cambridge shuttles were suspended all day Friday, but are scheduled to resume tomorrow, according to Flagel. The Crystal shuttle continued to operate on campus, including service to the Charles River apartments, throughout the day. In addition to Waltham, Boston and Watertown, the communities of Newton, Belmont and Cambridge were in lockdown mode most of the day, according to boston.com. Residents of these cities were advised to stay inside and to not answer their doors for anyone other than a clearly identified member of law enforcement. Patrick lifted this restriction at about 6:30 p.m. Also according to reports from boston.com, all public transportation provided by the MBTA was suspended until Patrick lifted the ban at the conference. The lockdown provisions left an eerily empty city. Taxi service in Boston was also forbidden for about a span of about half hour earlier this afternoon, but has returned since. Logan Airport remained open, according to its website, but was "operating under heightened security." Flights appeared to be arriving and departing normally. Amtrak, however, suspended its service between Boston and Providence, RI on Friday, according to reports from boston.com. The efforts of local law enforcement, Massachusetts State Police, the FBI, Homeland Security, SWAT and K-9 teams were focused on an area surrounding Arsenal Street in Watertown as of Friday afternoon, but moved to Franklin Street later in the night-the eventual site of Tsarnaev's capture. The search around Arsenal Street, which involved going door to door through many neighborhoods, took place about six miles from the Brandeis campus. The FBI identified the suspects early on in the process as Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, both of Cambridge. Multiple news outlets confirmed that Tamerlan was killed during a shootout with police in Watertown early this morning, while his brother is still on the run. Dzhokhar was described by the FBI as "heavily armed and extremely dangerous." Several local and national news outlets also confirmed that Dzhokhar was enrolled at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. The campus, in North Dartmouth, was evacuated this afternoon. Police confirmed early this morning that the two suspects also carried out the Boston Marathon bombings and were behind a fatal shooting at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology late Thursday night. The MIT shooting was the catalyst that started this series of events. State Police said at the Friday evening press conference,that a convenience store robbery that occurred nearby, at around the same time, is not connected, to the best of their knowledge. Just 10 minutes later, an MIT police officer, 26-year-old Sean Collier, was found shot in his patrol car. Collier was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and later confirmed dead. Police then followed leads regarding an armed carjacking nearby and pursued the suspect to Watertown, where they engaged the two in a lengthy gunfight at around 1 a.m., according to the NPR timeline. Police reported that the two threw improvised explosive devices from their SUV. Tamerlan was severely wounded as a result, and was later pronounced dead at Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center. MBTA police officer Richard Donohue, 33, was also seriously injured in the shootout and remains in critical condition. Dzhokhar fled on foot, and, earlier this evening, it seemed that he had been able to elude today's massive manhunt. While the mention of a possible third suspect was denied in the press conference this evening, the Boston Globe reported that three people were arrested in New Bedford after Tsarnaev's capture, in connection with the bombings. The Boston Marathon bombings to which the Tsarnaev brothers are connected took place Monday afternoon at the finish line of the marathon. According to boston.com, three people died and over 170 were injured as a result of the attacks. - Sara Dejene, Marissa Ditkowsky, Sam Mintz and Andrew Wingens contributed reporting *
(04/16/13 4:00am)
Tate Herbert '15 was elected editor in chief of the Justice at a staff-wide meeting on April 10. The Justice editorial board met following the election and confirmed Herbert as the newspaper's next editor in chief. The votes took place following a speech and subsequent discussion in which Herbert outlined her experience on the paper and ways to improve the Justice. She also spoke fondly of the two years that she had already spent as part of the staff. "I came into the Justice with no journalistic experience whatsoever and I feel very fortunate that this turned out to be something that I'm very passionate about," Herbert said. "I feel like the Justice is my home now and I'm proud to lead it for the next year." Herbert explained that during her tenure as deputy editor she expanded her knowledge of the paper as a whole. She began to write for the News section during the first semester of her first year at Brandeis. During her second semester she was designated a News editorial assistant and later News editor. In those capacities, she wrote numerous articles for the paper covering content ranging from campus speakers to major University developments. Herbert noted that her plans for next year include working with other editors to enhance the paper's multimedia presence, look into an ombudsman for the paper and expand the advertising revenue brought in by the Justice. Andrew Wingens '14, senior editor and former editor in chief, said, "With Tate's great attention to detail and superb news instinct, I know the Justice will have a very successful year under her leadership." "Tate was also an assistant News editor while I was News editor so it has been a pleasure to train her for two positions."
(03/21/13 4:00am)
At its March meeting, the Board of Trustees voted to approve a 3.94 percent increase in the total cost of attendance, according to Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid in an email to the Justice. De Graffenreid said the Board approved the fiscal 2014 budget, which maintains a "commitment to financial aid," and "supports the academic and student institutional priorities, including maintaining class sizes and student-instructor ratios." The tuition of a continuing student will be $43,980. When taking the technology and health fee, the student activity fee, and housing and dining expenses into account, the total cost for a continuing student will be $58,170. In comparison, the tuition for a new student will be $44,380 and the total cost will be $58,570 De Graffenreid said the fiscal 2014 budget also "includes extensive redeployment of resources through efficiency and procurement improvements, as well as sustaining aggressive annual giving and endowment funding targets." When asked to explain the "redeployment of resources," De Graffenreid wrote, "we are looking at ways to improve our business processes, for example by negotiating better prices for the things the University has to purchase every day, and that is the redeployment of resources. The savings will be reinvested into the operating budget." Earlier this month, in a statement to the press, Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel said that the administration anticipated a four percent increase in the cost of attendance. Last spring, tuition and fees were raised by 4.1 percent for returning undergraduates and 4.85 percent for new students. Following the cost hike, the Boston Business Journal ranked Brandeis University as the second most expensive college in Massachusetts. --Marissa Ditkowsky and Andrew Wingens *
