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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 LXXIV, Number 24
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
Major administrators, dept. heads leave Univ. ■ Over a dozen administrators and department heads have left or planned to leave the University over the course of the academic year. By ARIELLA WEISS JUSTICE EDITOR
Over the past academic year, at least 15 administrators and department heads have left their positions or have announced that they will be leaving soon to pursue work elsewhere. Vice President of Student Affairs Raymond Ou announced in an email on April 2, 2021 that Dean of Students Jamele Adams would be leaving the University after 15 years at Brandeis and eight years as dean. Adams now serves as the first Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Scituate School District in Scituate, Massachusetts. On May 3, 2021, students received an email from President Ron Leibowitz that Brandeis’ first Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mark Brimhall-Vargas would be leaving his position to accept a job at Fenway Health, an LGBTQIA+ healthcare provider and research center, as the organization’s first Executive Vice President for Racial Equity and Social Justice. In a June 3, 2021 letter, Brandeis community members were notified that Dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management David Weil would be leaving his post at Brandeis to accept President Joe Biden’s nomination of Weil to resume his post as the administrator of the Wage and Hour Division in the U.S. Department of Labor, a role he served under President Obama. The latest announcement came from Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Carol Fierke on April 13, 2022. Fierke announced that the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Dorothy Hodgson would not be renewing her appointment as dean after the coming academic year. Fierke wrote that Hodgson would be staying with Brandeis for AY 2022-2023 to “ensure a smooth transition” for her successor, followed by a sabbatical leave in AY 2023-2024. Though not officially communicated to the entire student body via email, other Brandeis staff have been leaving as well. In early October, former Director of Student Activities Dennis Hicks left his position and was
replaced by Matt Galewski in Jan. 2022. Though she stayed for fall 2021 orientation, former Director of orientation Jenny Abdou vacated her position in the Division of Student Affairs Office. On their website, the position is still listed as “vacant.” On the same webpage, it lists Scott Berozi as the associate director of community living and orientation. In spring 2022, Berozi left the University to be the program director of the Dynamy Internship Year at YOU, Inc. Melody Smith, the former associate director of community living alongside Berozi worked for four years at Bentley University before joining Brandeis in Feb. 2020. She has left Brandeis to work at Bentley again as an academic advisor. Former Assistant Director of Community Living Maira Pantoja had already left in fall 2021 to work as the new director of residence life at her alma mater, Elms College. The Division of Student Affairs also oversees the Prevention, Advocacy, and Resource Center. PARC’s former director, Sarah Berg, came to Brandeis in 2018 and left this year to work at TJX, the parent organization of retailer TJMaxx. In a Dec. 8 email to a Justice editor, Julie Le, the department coordinator for the Gender and Sexuality Center and the Intercultural Center, said she had resigned at the GSC the week prior and would be working at the ICC until the end of the fall semester, and resigning from the University after that. Sonia Jurado, Brandeis’ inaugural director of the Office of Equal Opportunity, came to Brandeis in March 2019 and will leave the University to begin working as the vice president for access and equity and Title IX coordinator for Emerson College beginning May 9. Sebastian Chai-Onn, the budget analyst in the Dean of Students Office, who approves budgets and spending for clubs on campus, will also leave as the semester’s classes come to a close. Waltham Group coordinators received word from Director of Community Service Lucas Malo on April 29 that he will be leaving to work in the non-profit arm of “Life is Good” apparel company on May 20. He has worked for Brandeis’ Waltham Group since 2008. Further, Colby Sim, who joined the University’s Department of Community Service in spring 2019, will be leaving May 5 to work in Boston University’s Center for Career Development and Educational Resource Center, according to an April 29 email she sent to Waltham Group coordinators.
THOMAS TIANCHENG ZHENG/the Justice
GREEN THUMBS: Students came together on the roof of the Gerstenzang Science Library, potting and planting seeds.
Brandeis hosts Earth Week ■ The week-long event included a variety of activies and events across campus, aiming to educate students and celebrate the earth. By SAMANTHA GOLDMAN JUSTICE EDITOR
Brandeis Earth Week, presented by the Office of Sustainability and the Center for Spiritual Life, was part of an international effort to focus on environmental issues. Earth Week is an extension of Earth Day, which occurs every year on April 22. According to the Earth Day website, the event was founded in 1970 by Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D-WI) who wanted “to infuse the
■ The newest Brandeis dining vendor is highly anticipated, but with an air of caution. By DALYA KOLLER AND ARIELLA WEISS JUSTICE EDITORS
Harvest Table Culinary Group was unanimously voted in by the Dining Services Request for Proposals Committee to become Brandeis’ new food vendor, according to an April 14 email from Vice President of Campus Planning and Operations Lois Stanley. The new contract will begin in July 2022, and Harvest Table’s arrival on campus is eagerly anticipated by students, who have become disenchanted with the current vendor and catering giant, Sodexo. Brandeis’ major considerations and values when
as well as “the most impactful actions (both personal and systemic)” according to the Brandeis Earth Week schedule. On Thursday students were encouraged to make their own pot and plant a seed to grow plants in their rooms. At the close of Earth Week, Larry Spotted Crow Mann, an “award winning writer, poet, Native American Culture educator, Traditional Story Teller, Tribal Drummer/ Dancer, and Motivational Speaker,” according to the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness, hosted “When the Land Speaks: A Journey into the Stories, Songs and Culture of the Living Presence of Nipmuc People'' in the Shapiro Campus Center. Additionally, Brandeis Dining featured Future 50 Foods at Sher-
See EARTH DAY, 5 ☛
selecting the new vendor were, according to the same email, “food excellence, hospitality, collaboration, and sustainability.” After an extensive seven-month decision-making process, the Dining Services RFP Committee has unanimously selected Harvest Table as the candidate that they believe will most align with these values. This timeline included stakeholder interviews during the fall semester, extensive vendor materials posted online, a student portal through which students could share comments regarding the decision, and presentations from each potential vendor that included food served to the “hundreds of students, faculty, and staff” that attended, according to the same email. Though the unanimous decision was ultimately that of the RFP committee members, other organizations on
See DINING, 5 ☛
Univ. partakes in Holocaust Rememberance Day
Festival of the Arts
Over the weekend, the Bernstein Festival of Arts took over the whole campus. By MINA ROWLAND
By LEAH BREAKSTONE
NEWS 3
Board calls for clarity from University about registration By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
FORUM 8
The New York Yankees deal with various injuries
By ISABEL ROSETH
For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
energy of student anti-war protests with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution.” In conjunction with Davis Hayes, a young activist at the time, Nelson and Hayes organized a teach-in on college campuses on April 22, 1970. The movement grew until 1990 when Earth Day went international, with 200 million people in 141 countries participating. On Monday, the week started off with a continuation of Meatless Monday in Sherman and a clothing and book swap in the SCC Atrium. Tuesday featured environmental justice jeopardy along with a screening of Fast Fashion: The Real Cost of LowCost Fashion. Prof. Sally Warner (ENVS) led a conversation in OlinSang discussing “the science of why we need to reduce carbon emissions”
Harvest Table chosen as new dining vendor
Marta Kauffman '78, speaks about how her time at Brandeis helped shape her and her career.
FEATURES 6
Waltham, Mass.
EARTH DAY CELEBRATIONS
‘Friends’ creator and alum speaks to Justice
Photo Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
Waltham, Mass.
ZHEN QUAN/the Justice
ARTS AND CULTURE 19
Make your voice heard! Submit letters to the editor to letters@thejustice.org
By MEGAN GELLER
COPYRIGHT 2022 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
SPORTS 12