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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 LXXVI, Number 22
Monday, May 20, 2024
Waltham, Mass.
Ken Burns delivers address at undergraduate commencement
2024 COMMENCEMENT
■ Esteemed director Ken Burns
encourages the Class of 2024 to look beyond simple truths and seek nuance in the world around them. By ZOE ZACHARY JUSTICE EDITOR
ELIZA BIER/The Justice
ADDRESS: Ken Burns addresses the Brandeis class of 2024 at the undergraduate commencement ceremony.
As a part of Brandeis University’s 73rd undergraduate commencement, acclaimed director Ken Burns received an honorary Doctorate of Creative Arts and gave an address to the Brandeis undergraduate Class of 2024. Burns is well known for his historical documentaries and television series, which cover a wide range of topics in United States history. These include ell known for the documentaries “Civil War,” “Baseball,” “Jazz” and “The U.S. and the Holocaust.” Over the course of his career, Burns has won a plethora of awards, including two Oscar nominations, 17 Emmy Awards and two Grammy Awards. In 2022, Burns was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. Burns began his speech by contextualizing his work in the business of history. He recognized the current challenges in addressing history on college campuses,
Brandeis employees demand higher pay ■ Union and non-union employees
gather in unity as they enter new contract negotiations. By LIN LIN HUTCHINSON and SOPHIA DE LISI JUSTICE EDITOR, JUSTICE ASSOCIATE EDITOR
On Tuesday, April 16, members of the Brandeis community, including undergraduate students, graduate students, staff, faculty, translators and union members of Service Employees International Union Local 509, SEIU Local 888 and 32BJ SEIU rallied outside of the Bernstein-Marcus Administration Center. The gathering was an effort to show union unity as all three unions enter contract negotiations for current contracts expiring on June 30. The unions represented at the University include faculty and Ph.D student teaching assistants and fellows (SEIU, Local 509); librarians and library support staff (SEIU Local 888); and Facilities staff (SEIU 32BJ). All three unions are seeking an increase in wages and expanded benefits to match the cost of living in the greater Boston area. Rally attendees gathered as early as 15 minutes before the 11:30 a.m. scheduled time, with union stewards and organizers walking around with clipboards having people sign in. Many carried signs, expressing their dissatisfaction with the University’s treatment of its employees. “I helped Brandeis maintain R1 status and all I got was underpaid,” read one rally sign, referencing the University’s “high research activity,” according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Universities with R1 classifications are evaluated by their dedication to research, financial investments in science and engineering, the number of doctoral degrees granted in diverse disciplines and a sizable research faculty. “One of The Top 10 PhD Programs for Social Policy
But…LOWEST Stipend in all of Brandeis! $21k Is Not A Living Wage Is this social justice?” another sign questioned. These signs reflected the demands of graduate student employees for increased stipends and wages. Going into negotiations, many union members are pushing for increased wages that will better support the cost of living and reflect the work they perform. Representing SEIU 32BJ were Maritza Ayala and Dagma Quiles, both stewards of the union and members of the facilities team at Brandeis. Ayala, who has been working in facilities for 18 years, shared her gratitude for being picked as a union steward and emphasized her determination to fight for a fair contract and respect for the workers. “All my brothers and sisters, let's fight for our rights. We won’t stop. Let's fight for our rights.” Ayala’s chant was translated from Spanish to English. In an interview with The Justice , Ayala shared that she has to work full-time just to make ends meet. This means working seven days a week, taking over time and any additional work to pay rent and bills and assisting her son with paying for his college tuition — all while balancing being a single mother. “They know that we’re here 100% for them — cleaning, doing really dirty work, cleaning everything necessary to clean. They should be able to recognize that if we weren’t here, Brandeis wouldn’t function,” Ayala told The Justice. Ayala described this workload as much heavier than when she first started at Brandeis because administration refuses to hire more custodians, forcing the remaining staff to take on more work in the same amount of time for the same pay. Similarly, in an interview with The Justice following the rally, Quiles explained that over the last two years, the University has increased the amount of work that facilities had to perform due to staff shortage. She described her work shifts being around eight hours long and pay does not increase to reflect any additional shifts that she picks up. The Justice reached out to the University for comments, but did not receive comments as of See RALLY, 7☛
“particularly when forces seem determined to eliminate or water down difficult parts of our past.” While many parts of history are difficult to process, Burns explained that it is his job to embrace the power of the past and to use it to interpret “our dizzying and sometimes dismayed present” using storytelling. Burns has strived to maintain a conscious neutrality, allowing his work to speak to as many of his fellow citizens as possible. In context of popular beliefs and phrases, Burns went on to examine the nature of history as something repetitive. He pointed out that while “no event has ever happened twice,” the inherent strengths and weaknesses of humankind have permeated generations upon generations. In other words, history does not repeat itself, “it just rhymes.” Burns stated that as an interpreter of these “rhymes,'' he is interested in “listening to the many various voices of a true, honest, complicated past that is unafraid of controversy and tragedy but equally drawn to those stories and moments that suggest an abiding faith in the human sphere.” To the Class of 2024, he suggested these these voices might help them make sense of the trajectory of their lives today. Building on the importance of using voices from the past, Burns chose to highlight an excerpt from Abraham
See BURNS, 7 ☛
Ruth Simmons gives graduate commencement ■ National changemaker
Ruth Simmons spoke about the Brandeis community and provided advice to graduating students. By ANNA MARTIN
JUSTICE EDITOR IN CHIEF
On May 19, students, faculty, administration, family and friends came together to celebrate the Brandeis graduate school Class of 2024. The ceremony acknowledged students from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis International Business School and the Rabb School of Continuing Studies, as well as gave out honorary degrees to Rabbi David Ellenson and Ruth Simmons. Simmons was introduced to the audience by President Ronald Liebowitz, who listed her many accolades including holding university presidency at Smith College, Brown University and Prairie View A&M University. She has had a great impact on these universities, including leading Prairie View to be classified as an R2 research university and helping Brown to “[make] signifi-
cant strides in improving its standing as one of the world’s finest research universities,” as stated in the event program. Simmons was the first African American president of an Ivy League institution and has received many awards including the Centennial Medal from Harvard University, the Brown faculty’s highest honor, the 2002 Fullbright Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2001 President’s Award from the United Negro College Fund. Simmons was also named a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor in 2012 and holds many positions including senior advisor to the president of Harvard University on Historically Black Colleges and Universities initiatives and member of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Following the distribution of the honorary degrees, now Doctor of Humane Letters, Simmons presented the keynote address to the audience. She began her address with the statement “I congratulate you on the singular milestone that we celebrate today. But I know that this is only the beginning of the accomplishments that you will accumulate in the years ahead.” Simmons went on to acknowledge that the graduates sitting before her will make significant contributions to the legacy of the institution. She acknowledged Brandeis graduates that have gone on to do great things, such as Deborah Bial ’87 founding a
See SIMMONS, 7 ☛
Fullbrighters graduate
Marvelous Magazines
Elaine Wang gives lecture
Four seniors plan to go abroad after graduation through Fullbright grants
Mina Rowlad ’25 and Kenyatta David ’24 create a BIPOC literary magazine.
By AMANDA CHEN
By MINA ROWLAND and GRACE DOH
By NEMMA KARLA
Thank you and good luck By THE JUSTICE EDITORIAL BOARD
NEWS 6 FORUM 10
Men's tennis team forefits Photo courtesy of ERICK COMAS HERNANDEZ.
FEATURES 8 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
SKYE ENTWOOD/The Justice
ARTS AND CULTURE 18
Make your voice heard! Submit letters to the editor to forum@thejustice.org
By ELIZA BIER
COPYRIGHT 2024 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
SPORTS 16