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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 5
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
‘It’s hindering the arts at Brandeis’: Clubs react to weekly rehearsal limitations ■ A new regulation
restricting clubs to four hours of reserved rehearsal space per week has created a new obstacle for Brandeis’ performing arts community to surmount. By ZOE ZACHARY JUSTICE EDITOR
For performing arts groups, the beginning of a new academic year is a time of excitement and novelty. Auditions bring in new members, and preparations for an exciting new set of performances are set into motion. this year, however, came with an unexpected obstacle: The University had decided to restrict the amount of time per week for which these groups could reserve rehearsal space. With a new four hour per week restriction, groups have been forced to adapt in order to continue their usual rehearsal schedules. In a Sept. 27 interview with The Justice, Boris’ Kitchen Sketch Comedy members Phoebe Liss ’25 and Greg Roitbourd ’26 commented on their reactions and frustration with the new restriction. “I feel like there wasn’t enough transparent information of why [the University] is doing this,” Liss said. According to her, this regulation was surprising and confusing to many groups, and a satisfactory motive for its implementation had not been provided by the University. Roitbourd, who is heavily involved in campus life, was able to share his understanding of why the restrictions were implemented. “Certain groups were utilizing certain spaces in the wrong way or overbooking spaces … it became unfair to the events office,” he explained. “There’s some logic behind it, but overall, it’s still not fair to student art groups.” According to Liss and Roitbourd, Boris’ Kitchen uses a classroom in Shiffman Humanities Center for their evening rehearsals. “Who is actually using these rooms?” Liss asked, questioning whether Boris’ Kitchen’s usage of their room was actually preventing other activities from occurring there. The group would usually start their rehearsals around 6 p.m, so the building was usually empty at the time of their rehearsals. Whatever the motive, the four hour restriction has proved to be a challenge for Boris’ Kitchen. The group puts on one to two shows per semester which typically comprise of 12-18 individual sketches, each requiring attention, practice,and creative revision. “We need 20 hours [per week],” Roitbourd stated. Four hours per week, he said, is “quite literally a fifth of our rehearsal time … that’s barely getting through four sketches.” Within four hours
FACULTY MEETING
per week, he explains, “there’s no room to explore, there’s no room to do anything.” Liss and Roitbourd see these rehearsal restrictions as “probably the most restrictive thing [the University] [has] implemented on us,” one of the sentiments which the group expressed in an email to University Event Operations on Sept. 12. As of press time, the group has not received a response. Without support from Administration, Boris’ Kitchen and many other groups on campus have found alternative methods of extending their rehearsal hours. Some groups have considered using student living spaces, and some just use empty spaces without reserving them. “We were on the verge of doing that,” commented Roitbourd. One of the most effective alternatives for performing arts groups has been reserving rooms through Spingold Theater. According to Roitbourd and Liss, understanding and accessing this route has “hinged very much on the theater members of the group,” as they were not given guidance on how to do so from Administration. As performing arts groups share their solutions among each other, several of Brandeis’ improv groups and a cappella groups have also begun reserving rooms through Spingold. Natalie Omori-Hoffe ’25, a senior advisor from Company B A Cappella, described some of the issues in reserving space through Spingold Theater in a Sept. 27 comment to The Justice. “Priority is often given to theater groups or individuals, leading to sudden and unexpected cancellations,” she explained. Omori-Hoffe expressed a similar frustration to Liss and Roitbourd toward the restrictions, hoping for a more “accommodating and reliable” system for navigating space reservations. Roitbourd also implied in his interview that reserving rooms through Spingold Theater was not a sustainable solution. “The theater department can’t physically hold every single rehearsal group on campus,” he commented. Cole Simmons ’26, a member of the Undergraduate Theater Collective who is heavily involved in student theater, was also able to comment on the origins of the restrictions. “Last year was an incredibly crowded semester in student theater,” he described. “There were not enough spaces for University Events and not enough spaces for clubs.” According to him, clubs were not booking spaces appropriate for their needs, leading them to overbook rehearsal spaces, which interfered with University events. “I think this was misguided, and reckless in a sense,” Simmons commented on the restrictions. Though he recognizes the legitimacy of Brandeis’s space issue, he still believes that the University
See REHEARSAL, 7 ☛
ELIZA BIER/The Justice
MEETING: Dean of Admissions, Jennifer Walker spoke at the most recent faculty meeting.
Faculty express dissatisfaction as budget cuts result in removal of Lydian String Quartet, and receive admissions updates ■ The faculty meeting on Oct.
18 reviewed recent admissions data, plans for the future, and recent budget and staff cuts. By ANNA MARTIN
JUSTICE EDITOR IN CHIEF
At 2:00 pm on Oct. 18, the Brandeis faculty met in Rapaporte Treasure Hall for their monthly meeting. The meeting opened with Chair of the Faculty Senate Prof. Jeffrey Lenowitz (POL) giving a welcoming address, informing the staff of a change in timing of the next meeting in order to be able to accommodate an address from Interim President Aurthur Levine, Ph.D. ’70. Additionally Lenowitz stated “Though leadership is changing at the University, the structural problems are not. So to this end, I want to assure you all that the senate remains dedicated to working with the administration to ensure that these are addressed in a manner that safeguards faculty interests.” He also discussed future plans to hear and address faculty concerns such as a survey and small group
meetings. The floor was then ceded to the Dean of Admissions, Jennifer Walker. Walker presented data on the new freshman class, as well as future recruitment plans. She began by providing context for the past 10 fiscal years, starting with FY’16. Following COVID-19, enrollment dropped, with 750 students joining the Brandeis community in the fall of 2021. In the past 10 years shown, the only year that had lower enrollment than that was the fall of 2024 with 738 students, a stark contrast to two years ago with a matriculating class of 980. Walker explained that following the dip in enrollment during Covid, Admissions was tasked with working on gaining larger classes for the next two years in order to round out the size of the total undergraduate population. Walker then expressed changes in the market, meaning that trends supported the idea that public institutions were becoming more favorable than private for many students, bringing some public schools into Brandeis’ “competitor set,” which has generally been private schools in the past. She went on to relate this to
the U.S. News and World Report ranking system, which has recently changed, now utilizing an algorithm that favors public schools. At its peak, Brandeis University was ranked 35 but has dropped down to tie with many other schools for 63 following these algorithm changes. Walker also outlined that admissions teams from across the country have seen a general increase in the number of schools that high school students are applying to since the pandemic, with 28% now applying to 10 or more institutions. This increase has caused challenges when deciding who to admit, as it is harder to tell which students are the most likely to choose to attend Brandeis. Walker then detailed the statistics of the first year class, something that has generated much conversation since the elimination of affirmative action this past year. She shared that 48% of domestic first-year students are students of color, that these students come from 36 states and 29 countries and that the majority of them attended public high schools. Walker then went on to discuss the transfer class, this
See FACULTY, 7 ☛
Author Q&A
Film festival
A Conversation with Danielle Allen
Author Kate Risse discusses her summer release, "Inland."
Justice associate editor, Dayla Koller '25, gives an inside look into the upcoming Albertine Film Festival, the first French film festival at Brandeis.
By DIANE MEYER
By MIRABELL ROWLAND
Photo courtesy of KATE RISSE
Waltham, Mass.
FEATURES 8
Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
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Brandeis voters called to action By THE BRANDEIS EDITORIAL BOARD
By DAYLA KOLLER
WNBA finals recap
ARTS AND CULTURE 19
By MILES GOLDSTEIN
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NEWS 3
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FORUM 10 SPORTS 13