the
Justice www.thejustice.org
The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXII, Number 11
of
B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GOLDFARB!
Waltham, Mass.
CAMPUS PROTESTS
Univ. makes changes to student protest policies ■ Provost Lisa Lynch
announced updates to Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook on Aug. 29. By CHAIEL SCHAFFEL and ARI ALBERTSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITERS
SARAH KATZ/the Justice
The Goldfarb Library celebrated its 60th annivesary on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Read more about the anniversary festivities and the library’s history and resources on Page 3.
RESEARCH
University releases 2019 Campus Climate Survey ■ The survey asked about
topics surrounding sexual misconduct and is a follow-up to a survey from 2015. By NATALIA WIATER JUSTICE EDITOR
The 2019 Campus Climate survey found that students with marginalized identities reported experiences with sexual violence and misconduct at higher rates than their peers. The report details students’ experiences with and attitudes toward sexual misconduct, reporting procedures and prevention resources on campus. University President Ron Liebowitz released the survey on Thursday in a campus-wide email, calling the results “disturbing and deeply troubling.” This survey, conducted in March, is a follow-up to the 2015 Campus Climate Survey, but according to the 2019 report, a comparison between the two reports cannot be reliably used to determine whether or not the University has improved in certain areas, due to the fact that the responses to each survey were provided by different people under different circumstances and at different times between 2015 and 2019. 22% of students participated in this year’s survey — compared to the 34% who participated in the 2015 survey — though neither set of results can be used to represent the Brandeis popu-
lation as a whole, but rather solely the people who participated in the survey. “I don’t need this to be a representative sample to know I have a problem,” Provost Lisa Lynch said in a joint interview with the Justice and The Hoot on Wednesday. Sexual violence and misconduct are problems all members of the community have to “engage in and be part of the solution,” she said. “I want people to be angry reading this report.” Liebowitz wrote in the email that “the results remind us that preventing sexual assault and supporting survivors requires the focused work of all of us, not just those of us who are designated by job title to grapple with these issues.” He explained that students are unable to focus on their education when they fear for their safety. Though the Association of American Universities conducted a separate, similar survey of 33 institutions, with a similarly low response rate of 21.9%, Brandeis chose to conduct its own survey. “We wanted control over a survey about our community and [that] reflected our values,” Lynch explained. The AAU survey was also shorter in some areas, and did not ask where certain incidents happened, unlike the Brandeis survey. The AAU survey used different gender categories than the 2019 CCS: man; woman; transgender woman, transgender man, non-binary or genderqueer; not listed or decline to state. The Brandeis survey used man, woman and gender non-con-
forming, with additional options to self-disclose whether the respondent considered themselves transgender, intersex, non-binary or an identity not listed as an option. Throughout the 2019 Campus Climate report, the survey data is broken down by different population categories, such as undergraduate and graduate students, and by gender, including gender non-conforming and transgender. In addition, race, ethnicity and international status, affiliation with Greek Life and affiliation with varsity or club-level athletics are also included in the breakdown.
Addressing gender discrepancies
2% of undergraduate men participants and 6% of undergraduate women participants reported instances of rape, the majority of which happened in on-campus residence halls (65%) and were perpetrated by Brandeis students (58%). The number of gender non-conforming participants who reported rapes was not included; the minimum threshold to include results is five students, as reporting any number smaller than that may make the individuals identifiable within the Brandeis community, according to the report. 10% of men, 21% of women and 36% of gender non-conforming participants reported having experienced sexual violence, while 10% of women graduate student respondents reported such experiences. The 2015 survey found that students identifying as
See SURVEY, 7 ☛
The University administration made changes to the student handbook this semester to mandate the administration’s prior approval of protest demonstrations by student groups. The changes to Section 7.1 of the Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook makes campus demonstrations more difficult, according to a student activist group that spoke with the Justice. The language in 7.1 is identical to a section in the Princeton University handbook, but Brandeis applies it differently. The changes were announced by University Provost Lisa Lynch on Aug. 29 in an email to the Brandeis community detailing the administration’s response to issues raised by #StillConcernedStudents last spring. The changes read, “In asking groups and individuals to seek prior approval for schedule and location, the University’s goal is not to restrict free speech or peaceable assembly.
Rather, it is to give the University the opportunity to provide space that accommodates the reasonable needs of both the University community and those engaged in acts of speech or protest.” The language change is followed by a note to see Section 6.2 for the University’s sign-posting policies, which were also changed this semester. This change came in response to allegations of unequal reactions by the administration to protests by Brandeis Climate Justice and #StillConcernedStudents. Both groups held protests that involved hanging banners during the 20182019 academic year, but the groups’ banners were dealt with differently by the administration. In an Aug. 29 email to the community, Lynch wrote that the administration had “Not followed our protocols on banners and that, therefore, students were not treated in an equitable manner.” She wrote that the removal of banners hung by #StillConcernedStudents had been “mishandled.” In an email to the Justice on Friday, Assistant Dean of Student Rights and Community Standards Alexandra Rossett said that the punishment for not having a protest approved would be meted out on a “case-by-case” basis and did not
See R&R, 7 ☛
BRIEF Kendal Chapman ’22 wins Student Union vice presidential seat unopposed in special election Student Union Director of Outreach Kendal Chapman ’22 won the special election for Union vice president with 120 votes, Union Secretary Taylor Fu wrote in an email to the Justice on Sunday. Although she ran unopposed, Chapman won the election by just four votes, with ten abstentions, 36 votes of no confidence and 70 write-in “other” votes against her, according to Fu. The full election results will be released on Tuesday. Chapman told the Justice she will address structural issues within the Senate to promote accountability for individual senators. The line between serving as a senator and a senator for a specific constituency can be blurred, she said, and she wants senators to recognize that they have a representative role and must work on projects that explicitly serve their constituents. During the candidates’ debate last Tuesday, Chapman said she wants the community to perceive the Union as a resource rather than a barrier and that she will work to change the Union’s image by clarifying the structure and conducting outreach instead of being too internally focused. She said one method of outreach will involve creating a public document
explaining the functions of all the Union positions. “It’s not that people don’t know the Union exists, it’s that they don’t know what we’re doing and how we can help them,” she said during the debate. Chapman said she also wants to change how senators communicate their senator reports during the Senate’s meetings by eliminating the option to pass. She also wants to further distinguish between committee chair and senator reports. The special election for vice president came after former Student Union Vice President Guillermo Caballero ’20 resigned abruptly during the Oct. 27 Senate meeting, partly because of a Judiciary case which found him and Student Union President Simran Tatuskar ’21 in violation of the Union constitution and bylaws. Caballero was a complainant in the case. When asked if she could ensure she would not resign from the job, she said, “I know the time, I know the commitment and I’ve been around to see those past three VPs be here, so I actually know what I’m getting into. I know who I’m working with, so I have a better understanding of what the job is before I’m getting into it.” —Emily Blumenthal
How does recycling and compost work on campus?
Kindness Week
Adagio
The Justice took an in-depth look at Brandeis' nicest event of the year.
The Adagio Dance Company presented their annual fall showcase.
By ELIANA PADWA
By HUILIN LI
By SAMANTHA GOLDMAN
NEWS 3
Settling the ‘Ok, Boomer’ debate By GABRIEL FRANK
FORUM 11
Volleyball ends a tough season THU LE/the Justice
FEATURES 9 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
JEN GELLER/the Justice
ARTS AND CULTURE 19
Make your voice heard! Submit letters to the editor to letters@thejustice.org
By HANNAH O'KOON
COPYRIGHT 2019 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
SPORTS 15