the
Justice www.thejustice.org
The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXV, 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, January 24, 2023
FREE MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS
and Student Union leaders about their latest endeavor to provide complimentary, campus-wide pads and tampons. By GRACE DOH AND ANIKA JAIN JUSTICE CONTRUBUTING WRITER AND STAFF WRITER
After five years in the making, Period Activists at ’Deis has officially launched the Free Menstrual Product Pilot Program in collaboration with the Student Union. Facilities Services has installed free menstrual product dispensers in the women’s and gender neutral bathrooms in Massell Quad, North Quad, and East Quad over winter break. Three students — PAD President Kyla Speizer ’22, PAD Advocacy Chair Grace Lassila ’25, and Student Union President Peyton Gillespie ’25 — spearheaded the project over the past year and collected data to demonstrate the need
Waltham, Mass.
MEMORIAL SERVICE
PAD, Student Union install free period product in dorms ■ The Justice spoke with PAD
Waltham, Mass.
for free products in every building on campus. Last year, the former PAD advocacy chair, Savannah Jackson ’22, conducted a comprehensive report on the needs and preferences of menstruators at Brandeis. The 2020-2021 PAD Report quantified the struggles of students experiencing a lack of accessibility to period products. Findings indicated that over half — 51.7% — of the 242 respondents have bled through underwear or clothes on campus because they were unable to obtain menstrual products. “We think that being on a college campus and paying tuition, there should be free access to these products that are a necessary part of menstruators’ lives,” Gillespie said in a Jan. 21 interview with the Justice. According to the 2020-2021 PAD Report, approximately 50% of the surveyed have missed class at least once due to “lack of access to products, period pain, or health conditions.” “That feels like too many. Even just a few classes feels like too many. Especially at a school like Brandeis
See PAD, 5 ☛ Photo courtesy of HERATCH EKMEKJIAN
UNITY: Brandeis students, faculty, staff, and others gathered for a touching memorial service to honor Vanessa Mark.
CALENDAR CHANGE
Spring break schedule change sparks discourse among students ■ Students shared their
opinions about the additional day off for Passover. By SOPHIA DE LISI
JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Classes will be canceled on Wednesday, April 5, to accommodate students who observe Passover and require the time to travel before they start observing the holiday, per a Jan. 5 email to community members from Vice Provost of Academic Affairs Kim Godsoe. To make up for canceling class on that day, classes will be held on Wednesday, May 3, to provide instructors with the class time that would have been lost. Although this change might seem insignificant, Godsoe explained that students will lose one study day before finals as a result of this adjustment to the spring 2023 calendar. May 3 was initially determined to be one of two study days, and now the only study day will take place on Thursday, May 4. Although students had one study day during the recent fall semester, the change has sparked concern for religious and academic equity. Students took to the campus community app, Sidechat, to discuss
their perspectives anonymously. Sidechat is an app users log into with their university emails to connect them with the rest of the student body to share university-related memes, jokes, and discussion. In this instance, many users utilized the platform to help the school justify the change, reminding users that Brandeis is a university “founded based on Jewish principles” and that it makes sense to have Jewish holidays off. Defending the change by emphasizing Brandeis’ Jewish roots was a common point made by Sidechat users. “You CHOSE to come to a school that takes Jewish holidays off you guys were not [complaining] about all the other long weekends [sic] it was a mistake in the schedule to not get the most important night off [sic] I get why you’re annoyed but this is now unreasonable,” one user said. Another pointed out that “This is one off [sic] the ONLY schools in the country who accommodates Jews even Tulane who has a higher percentage of Jews doesn’t get Jewish holidays off please stop complaining about ONE day we get off that most schools don’t.” These supportive comments, and ones similar to them, had high numbers of upvotes — the equivalent of a “like” on Instagram — and sup-
See CALENDAR, 5 ☛
Vanessa ‘Ness’ Mark leaves legacy of ‘impossible goodness’ ■ The community gathered
on Dec. 6 to remember Vanessa’s life, light, humor, and kindness. By LEAH BREAKSTONE JUSTICE EDITOR
“She demonstrated all of the wonderful things the human spirit is capable of,” Paul Weir ’25 said of student Vanessa — better known by her close friends as Ness — Mark, who tragically passed away in the shuttle accident on Nov. 19. Sherman Function Hall was filled with community members coming together to commemorate Vanessa. The memorial service on Tuesday, Dec. 6 provided an opportunity for friends of Vanessa to share memories and reflect on the time they spent together. Some of Vanessa’s past professors also shared insight into the life she led. The service fostered a supportive environment, and many attendees could be seen comforting and leaning on each other as they absorbed all of the powerful words shared about Vanessa. The ceremony began with a few words from Senior Chaplain Rabbi Seth Winberg. “The death of a student — of a young adult — is an enormous rupture in what we expect college to be,” Winberg began. He expressed his condolences to Vanessa’s family, who were pres-
Union efforts
‘Matilda’: A review
Matthew Warchus’s ‘‘Matilda: The Musical’’ reinvents the Roald Dahl’s classic novel ‘‘Matilda.’’
After efforts to organize an election, baristas at a local Starbucks ultimately voted against forming a union.
By MINA ROWLAND
By NATALIE KAHN
Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
ent on the livestream, and acknowledged that while words are inadequate in addressing their grief and pain, he hopes that “hearing these reflections from Vanessa’s beloved friends and teachers helps you to know how much people at Brandeis admire and love Vanessa and the hope and encouragement that she gave to her friends and to the community.” Winberg continued that the memorial service is an opportunity for those who knew Vanessa to “remember her [and] to share their memories [of] what she was like, things she said, art she created, her personality, her comedic and artistic talents, her qualities, and her hopes,” and provides a chance for those who did not know Vanessa to learn about her and her lasting impact on the Brandeis community. University President Ron Liebowitz spoke next, expressing that he was filled with gratitude for being “part of a community that cares so deeply for one another.” He thanked Brandeis community members, saying, “You have helped your classmates, your students, and your colleagues confront this tragedy by offering your time, your resources, and certainly an ear to those needing an ear, and you have done so with profound compassion.” Liebowitz spoke of Vanessa’s connection to Brandeis, explaining how she chose to remain in
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Waltham to be near the community even when she was not taking classes. Additionally, “Vanessa exemplified one of Brandeis’ enduring values, to make the world a better place,” Liebowitz said, alluding to her devotion to the Prospect Hill Community Center, which provides academic and professional development service to residents of Waltham. Vanessa’s most dominant involvement on campus, though, was with the False Advertising musical improv group. Many of her friends who spoke at the memorial reflected on their memories from the group and Vanessa’s talent for making people laugh. Weir explained how “she was the most brilliant performer I ever saw, she dazzled anyone who ever watched her. Her ideas just seemed to come completely out of nowhere, towing the line between completely nonsensical and absolutely brilliant.” He continued that “at the same time, for how talented she was, one could never feel as loved as they felt when sharing the stage with her. Despite her talents, she cared most about making her scene partners and friends look and feel good.” Weir shared a story about how Vanessa once heard Weir profess his love for pears, which resulted in Vanessa gifting him pears every time they saw each other, because nothing brought her more joy than
See MEMORIAL, 5 ☛
Dining changes at Upper Usdan By ANNA MARTIN
NEWS 3
The board thanks University community for continued support By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
FORUM 8
Men’s and Women’s Basketball split the weekend MINA ROWLAND/the Justice
Make your voice heard! Submit letters to the editor to forum@thejustice.org
ARTS 14
By JACKSON WU
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SPORTS 12