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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 3
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Faculty vote against President Liebowitz ■ Over the last week, the faculty have cast their votes regarding the motion of no confidence in President Liebowitz. By ANNA MARTIN
JUSTICE EDITOR IN CHIEF
On Monday, Sept. 23 at 8:51 a.m., faculty members received an email from Chair of the Brandeis Faculty Senate Prof. Jeffrey Lenowitz (POL) regarding the results of the vote of the motion of no confidence in Brandeis University President Ronald Liebowitz. This email stated “The motion has passed, with 159 votes in favor, 149 votes in opposition, and 26 abstensions.” The email went on to explain that 76.4% of all eligible faculty members participated in this vote, and clarified that the abstention votes do not count, as the faculty senate follows the rules stated in the 1876 publication, Robert’s Rules of Order. The concluding sentence of the email from Lenowitz stated “we will discuss next steps and the implications of these results at our next faculty meeting,” but the results of this vote have already begun. The main purpose of this
STUDENT SEXUALITY INFORMATION SERVICES NEWS
motion was to take this vote to the Board of Trustees, as they have “the final authority on all aspects of the university’s operations.” The board would be the ones responsible for the search for a new president, in addition to being able to remove the current one. In a Sept. 23 email correspondence with The Justice, Lenowitz confirmed that conversations among the board are ongoing, explaining that the board is meeting on Sept. 23 and 24, and the vote of no confidence is one of their pre-scheduled meetings. In this email correspondence, Lenowitz stated "The motion of no confidence passed by ten votes. This reveals what our multiple faculty conversations and debates on it made clear: while faculty are united in their care for Brandeis and their great desire for it to flourish, they are closely divided on this motion.” This has been an exciting start of this new position for Lenowitz, as the role of the chair of the faculty senate is a new one for him, as he steps into this position at the start of this academic year. When discussing the potential for the rest of the year, he told The Justice, “I am excited that so many of our faculty, on
See VOTE, 5 ☛
Waltham’s Fernald Developmental Center has attracted a slew of unwelcome guests ■ The former institution
designed to serve the mentally disabled, continues to be neglected by the city. By BRIANNA EARLE
JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
In 2022, Waltham Mayor Jeanette McCarthy unveiled a major development plan for the site of the Fernald State School which included an extensive recreational facility spanning across the northern portion of the Fernald campus. Although this development has been in the works since the city purchased the land in 2014, there has been little progress made on the site. With the lack of maintenance, there has been an uptick in vandalism in recent years and the city of Waltham has been unable to keep it under control. There has also been a lack of transparency from the city about the progress of the development program. After acquiring the property in 2014, it was taken over and directly maintained by the state of Massachusetts. Originally, all of the condemned buildings had been protected and fenced off. Bryan Parcival, a photographer contracted by the city to take photos for the recordation process, was hired directly after the purchase of the Fernald. In a Sept. 20 interview with The Justice, Parcival said he was unable to
Waltham, Mass.
begin working until nearly five years later due to a delay in greenlighting his contract and that the property was already in bad shape by the time he and his team were able to start. According to Parcival, “One of the first things Waltham did was fire the groundskeeper. All of the maintained grounds by the time I came back had been overgrowing for nearly five years. Buildings were falling into disrepair, Waltham had one city employee who would occasionally board things up.” Although the city has begun construction on the site, it has been a slow process. As the site remains in the early stages of development, there has been an increase in vandalism on the lot, and Waltham residents have expressed concern with the present and future of the project. Since the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, vandalism at the site has been on the rise, as many of the buildings remain abandoned and deteriorating. “There was vandalism, certainly, between 2015 and 2019, no question about that - but not massive. The massive vandalism happened in 2020 and that was directly coincidental with [Covid-19],” said Parcival. “A lot of kids were home from school and had nothing better to do than to show up with baseball bats and just smash things over at Fernald.” This is an ongoing issue. Early this year, it was reported that graffiti featuring markings of Neo-Nazi groups
See FERNALD, 5 ☛
Photo courtesy of Student Sexuality Information Service
ORDER: Student Sexuality Information Service's order and pickup process for gender affirming products.
Brandeis Student Sexuality Information Service offers new services to students ■ On Sept. 13 Brandeis’
Student Sexualtiy Information Service announced the arrival of new gender-affirming products. By ELIZA BIER
JUSTICE MANAGING EDITOR
On Friday, Sept. 13 the Student Sexuality Information Service announced on their Instagram the arrival of new gender-affirming products, expanding their presence on campus. Previously, the only other organization on campus that offered gender affirming products was Brandeis Gender and Sexuality Center, with a gender affirming clothing closet and dressing room. Individuals are encouraged to “drop off clean and gently used or new clothing to a GSC staff member” according to the GSC website. Nonetheless, the new SSIS offerings are a welcomed expansion to gender-affirming products on the Brandeis campus. Gender-affirming products, according to SSIS and the Trans Wellness Initiative, are any piece of clothing, garment or gear that helps individuals feel more confident and comfortable in their own body and “explore their gender presentation on their own terms.” Gender-affirming care is vital
to those who identify with a different gender than that which they were assigned at birth. Studies conducted by the Office of Population Affairs found that gender-affirming care is a “supportive form of healthcare” that comprises many services including “medical, surgical, mental health and non-medical services.” Currently, out of these categories, SSIS offers only nonmedical services. Research from the Office of Population Affair shows that gender-affirming care “improves the mental health and overall well-being” of individuals that are trans or gender nonconforming. SSIS as described by GSC is a student-led organization whose mission is to “decrease sexual stigma” at the University as well as support the sexual health and wellness needs of Brandeis students. Operating since 1973, SSIS is a confidential and non-judgemental space where students can receive peer support, education on sexuality, access subsidized sexual health and wellness products as well as resource and product referrals. SSIS now offers Spectrum Binders ranging from sizes XXS7XL and in 16 colors, as well as a TransTape starter pack. The TransTape starter pack includes one roll of TransTape offered in
Brandeis on Survivor
Just Journalism
Students react to graduate Andy Rueda MS'24 competing on "Survivor."
Justice Editor in Chief, Anna Martin '26, uses the limited series "Inventing Anna" to delve deep into the representation of journalists in popular media.
By GRACE DOH
By ANNA MARTIN Photo courtesy of BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY and GAIL SHULMAN/CBS
FEATURES 6
Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
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ARTS AND CULTURE 14
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four skin tones and three sizes, four ounces of Jojoba Removal Oil, a small repairing salve and one 10 pack of nipple guards. The way chest binding works is by flattening breasts “by spreading them evenly and compressing the tissue” according to SSIS. In their Instagram post, SSIS gives possible reasons for chest binding. Reasons for chest-binding can include gender dysphoria, defined by the Mayo Clinic as the “feeling of discomfort or distress that might occur in people whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth or sex-related physical characteristics,” gender euphoria or “simply wanting to look different in clothing.” SSIS also dedicated several Instagram slides to best practices of binding safely. Wearing a binder for longer than eight hours at a time or going to sleep in a binder can cause rib cage damage and should be avoided. They note that ribcage damage can result in complications for those seeking top surgery. Binding while exercising can impede breathing and movement; thus, it is recommended to size up or use alternative methods of binding if you plan to bind while exercising. Additionally, wearing more
See SSIS, 5 ☛
Free Expression Listening Session #1 By DIANE MEYER NEWS 3 Thank you to Brandeis students By THE BRANDEIS EDITORIAL BOARD
FORUM 8
New Brandeis Director of Athletics By SOPHIA STEWART SPORTS 12
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