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T h e I n d e p e n d e n t S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9 Volume LXXVII, Number 1
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Potential vote of no confidence in President Liebowitz Faculty Senate met multiple times to discuss the possibility of holding a vote of no confidence in the President. By ANNA MARTIN
JUSTICE EDITOR IN CHIEF
Following the 2023-2024 academic year, the Faculty Senate met to discuss concerns with the recent leadership and actions of President Ronald Liebowitz. This May 30 meeting was a special faculty meeting, meaning that it was not scheduled at the beginning of the year through the Office of the Provost. According to the meeting transcript, Provost Carol Fierke responded to questions regarding administration attendance by stating that “[no] one in the administration was consulted about the timing of the meeting nor explicitly invited to this meeting” and that “President Liebowitz was not available at [that] time.” At the meeting, a motion titled “The motion for vote of no confidence” was proposed. The motion reads as follows: “The Faculty note with grave concern a consistent pattern of damaging errors of judgment and poor leadership by President Liebowitz. The results this year include badly handled budget shortfalls, failures of fundraising, excessive responses to student protests, indifference to faculty motions, and the recent damaging staff layoffs. The faculty have no confidence in the President’s leadership and we call upon the Board of Trustees to act.” If the Faculty Senate passes the motion with the majority vote, the motion will be brought to the Board of Trustees for their review. As stated on the Brandeis University website, the board “is responsible for and is the final authority on all aspects of the university’s operations,” including the selection of the University president. The Board of Trustees is composed of 50 elected members, many of whom are Brandeis University alumni. As of press time, the Board of Trustees member contacted by The Justice declined the request to comment on this matter. In terms of student representation in the face of the board, two undergraduate students and one graduate student have been elected to attend Board of Trustees meetings. The Justice was able to sit down with Quentin Cox, the graduate student representative, to get his take on the matter. One of the points touched on in the interview was that while the students are elected as representatives to the board, they don’t have to be given time to express their opinions, nor does the board have to take their statements
into account during the decision making process. According to Cox, “Most likely if this goes to the board, it will be handled in a closed door executive session,” highlighting the lack of transparency. “Student representatives are not always provided an opportunity in [meetings] to share their concerns or topics of interest.” This idea was echoed in an email exchange between The Justice and Student Union President Rani Balakrishna ’25, who stated that “two years ago the Board of Trustees did not cooperate with our representatives, but to the best of my knowledge they are now working closely with our undergraduate student representatives.” The Justice then asked Cox if it was possible to predict an outcome if the faculty did take this vote of no confidence to the board. He explained that it is hard to know, as “in the past there has been tension between the board and the president.… His contract was in jeopardy a couple of years ago. I also know that last year the board took out a full page ad in the Boston Globe to express their support of President Liebowitz and his handling of matters on the campus after Oct. 7.” The special faculty meeting on May 30 concluded without a resolution, and a second special faculty meeting was scheduled to take place over Zoom at 4 p.m. on June 5. Prior to this meeting, faculty members were given the opportunity to add further information that they had regarding the motion to a shared Google Drive. One of the documents shared was a petition to postpone the discussion of the vote of no confidence signed by over 80 current and emeritus professors as of Sept. 9. The primary demographic of the names on the petition is Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics based departments, with some additional members from the International Business School and Hebrew program through the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. There is a clear lack of humanities and social science based signatures. The petition calls for postponement of the discussion “until there is sufficient time to review and research the data underlying the arguments presented by the proponents of the motion, and for the administration to respond to these arguments thoroughly.” They asked that the vote would not take place until August 2024 at the earliest. The signing faculty acknowledged that no matter the outcome of the vote and the potential outcome of the discussion with the Board of Trustees, “Any one of these outcomes may shake the confidence of many of our current students, faculty and staff in the viability and future of our institution, may cause many pro-
See DECISION, 7 ☛
Waltham, Mass.
FINANCIAL CONCERNS
BIG DECISION
■ Over the summer, the
ELIZA BIER/The Justice
WAGES: Over the summer university workers gathered to advocate for increased wages as union contracts expire
Brandeis employees rally for fair wages ■ Over the summer, Brandeis employees
and members of local Service Employees International Union branches came together to voice their need for higher paying contracts. By ELIZA BIER AND ZOE ZACHARY
JUSTICE MANAGING EDITOR AND JUSTICE EDITOR
On Tuesday June 11, a protest with the purpose of negotiating better contacts took place in front of the Berstein-Marcus administrative buildings. Shouts including “Brandeis works, because we do” and “What do we want? Contracts. When do we want them? Now.” could be heard emanating from the area. Beginning the protest, one participant started “admin would like us to believe that there is no money in the budget for us or to give better wages.” This was a sentiment that was held across the gathering. Others questioned the size of President Ronald Liebowitz’s salary in comparison to the salary of Brandeis faculty and staff, especially amidst ongoing layoffs. Joanna Fuchs, a member of the Brandeis library staff and the Local 888, spoke at the rally expressing that President Liebowitz and the Brandeis faculty have each other's backs.“If they valued us they would be out here to listen to us,” Fuchs said. She also spoke on the fact that layoffs were occurring and the Science 2A plan was put on pause, all while plans to build a new dorn were being set in motion. The university’s financial state has impacted many if not all unions on campus, including the graduate student union, who have been trying to negotiate better contracts as they are facing housing and food insecurity. There was another rally on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at 1:30 p.m. The event included members of SEIU Local 509, SEIU Local 888, 32BJ SEIU, graduate students and other supporters from the Brandeis and Waltham communities. The protestors gathered on a stretch of grass in front of the University’s main gates, allowing visibility from passing cars. Shortly after 1:30 p.m., the rally kicked off. Participants marched in a circle, brandishing posters reading “Grad needs dental,” “Brandeis runs on SEIU
Summer abroad
Students reflect on inaugural Puerto Rico study abroad program. By GRACE DOH
FEATURES 8 & 9
Embassy Theater owners clash
The Justice interviews Brandeis alumnus Alissa Fagin '20 about her current documentry project on synethesia.
By LIN LIN HUTCHINSON
Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
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labor,” “Respect us - pay us what we’re worth” and more. Additionally, they chanted in support of their cause, “No contract? No peace! No justice? No peace! No respect? No peace!” and “Who’s got the power? We’ve got the power! What kind of power? Union Power!” Shortly afterwards, the protestors gathered to hear the first spokesperson, Lennie Dohonoe, a 32BJ member and plumber at Brandeis, give opening remarks. During an interview after the rally with The Justice, Donohoe said Brandeis employees are “not settling this time.” Donohoe explained, Brandeis is “20-30%” further behind than other universities in terms of paying their service employees. As a result, many employees are unable to support the costs of living in Massachusetts and have been forced to move to neighboring states such as Rhode Island or New Hampshire. The second speaker was Maritza Ayala, a Brandeis service employee. Ayala, in Spanish and then English, spoke on her personal experience as a Brandeis employee. She capitalized on her struggle to meet her family’s needs on her salary, saying that she makes “933 dollars a week but brings 500 home after deductions,” pointing out that her rent is $3300. “Think about that,” she prompted. “Think about us. We have a family, we need a chance.” Currently, Ayala must work overtime to meet her needs and put her son through college. Following Ayala was Representative Thomas M. Stanley, a Waltham resident and Massachusetts representative for the 9th Middlesex District. In his address, Stanley voiced his concerns regarding Brandeis’ impact on the Waltham community. He articulated that while Waltham is proud of Brandeis, “these workers deserve a fair wage.” He also pointed to the large number of community members who have needed to leave Waltham due to insufficient wages, demonstrating the effects of how Brandeis pays its workers. Roxana Rivera, he head of 32BJ SEIU,put the rally in the context of labor day, pointing out that the intended purpose of labor day is to support workers and elevate the value and dignity of work. “It’s not enough to do a cookout,” Rivera said. “We have to fight to ensure that we can fight for our families, and ensure
Documentary Discourse
By NEMMA KALRA Photo courtesy of SALLY WARNER
Waltham, Mass.
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ARTS 18
The Devil's Advocate By JACK GRANAHAN AND STEPHEN GAUGHAN
See RALLY, 7 ☛
NEWS 5 FORUM 11
New recruits for Brandeis Athletics By MILES GOLDSTEIN
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SPORTS 16