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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 LXXV, Number 17
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
2023 RICHMAN FELLOW
SUSTAINABILITY
Brandeis begins shift to organic land management ■ The Office of Sustainability
plans to implement a newlyimproved irrigation system to cut down water waste. By SOPHIA DE LISI
JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
This year, the University’s Facilities, Services, and Grounds Offices worked closely with the Office of Sustainability to transition from inorganic land products, gas-powered equipment, and outdated irrigation systems. In a March 20 interview conducted over email, Mary Fischer, associate director of the University’s sustainability programs, told the Justice that these changes come from a successful Brandeis Sustainability Fund Proposal by Herbicide Free Brandeis and were completed in partnership with Chris Gould and Lori Kabel from Facilities Services and Campus Operations. Herbicide Free Brandeis’ proposal was approved for a trial last spring, and after a successful run in the lower campus, the Sustainability Committee intended to expand the new land management program over the west side of campus, from the
Faculty Club area through the North Quad, according to Fischer. In a March 20 email interview with the Justice, Chris Gould, the Facilities Grounds and Fleet manager, explained that this expansion comes from a need for more data before the project moves toward the center of campus. He said, “We, however, wanted to make sure we still expanded the program so [we] looked towards the adjacent west-side to move to next.” The pilot introduced a successful set of changes that are to come to these areas of campus within this season. Some of these changes include: replacing the use of the inorganic herbicide Roundup with organic herbicidal soap FinalSan; replacing an inorganic pesticide with organic Grubgone G, adding new fertilizers and grass seed, and introducing a new team of electrically powered appliances. The University is also beginning to upgrade its irrigation system to include controllers manufactured by BaseLine in an effort to reduce water consumption on campus. Replacing the use of Roundup as the lands’ herbicide was a significant change because it contains glypho-
See GOING GREEN, 5 ☛
BRIEF Faculty to host seminar on gender-based violence Throughout the 2023-2024 academic year, Brandeis will host a seminar titled “Imperiled Bodies: Slavery, Colonialism, Citizenship and The Logics of Gender-Based Violence.” The seminar aims to study the origins of gender-based violence in the Americas, Mexico, Jamaica, India, Israel/Palestine, South Korea, and Trinidad. In addition, the seminar will feature academic research about resistance to gender-based violence in different countries in different historical contexts. Brandeis profs. Anita Hill (Heller), Harleen Singh (SAS, WGS), and ChaeRan Freeze (NEJS, WGS) led the application process for the seminar through the Sawyer Seminar grant from the Mellon Foundation. The Sawyer Seminars Program provides support for historical topics of major scholarly significance. Each session of the seminar will be hosted by a Brandeis faculty member. Throughout the nine sessions of the seminar, faculty will seek to understand how society can break down the power structure that gender-based violence thrives in.
der-based violence that pervades our lives,” Singh said in the March 6 article in BrandeisNow. The seminar’s purpose is to showcase faculty research about violence in different parts of the world in order to compare, contrast, and find common themes. In the long run, the seminar aims to identify ways that institutions, cultures, and nations can detach themselves from gender based violence. For the first time, the Women’s Studies Research Center and the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies are collaborating to put on the seminar. Many centers are involved in the seminar, including the Mandel Center for the Humanities, the Hadassah Brandeis Institute and the Rose Art Museum. Additionally, for students attending, the Gender Sexuality Center and the Prevention, Advocacy and Resource Center will provide support on the content of the seminar.
“Our global, interdisciplinary approach seeks to make sense of how we continue to view and experience but not really ‘see’ the gen-
— Sophia Stewart
JACK YUANWEI CHENG/the Justice
Q&A: Prof. Neil Swidey (JOUR) moderated the discussion and Q&A session with Pulitzer-winning journalist Baron.
Martin Baron defends objectivity as the ultimate standard for journalism ■ The former editor of the
Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and Miami Herald is the 2023 Richman Distinguished Fellow in Public Life. By ANIKA JAIN
JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
“Everybody has an opinion. With social media, everyone is expressing their opinion. We [journalists] have to offer more value than that,” said Martin Baron, who is Brandeis’ 2023 Richman Distinguished Fellow in Public Life. From March 15 to 17, Baron participated in multiple forums, in which he engaged in discussions with Brandeis students, faculty, and the greater community about his experiences in newsrooms such as the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Miami Herald. During his residence at Brandeis, Baron emphasized one main message to student journalists: prioritize objectivity. The Richman Fellowship website defines the recipient as someone “whose contributions have had a significant impact on improving American society, strengthening democratic institutions, advancing social justice or increasing opportunities for all citizens to realize and share in the benefits of
Eagle deaths
this nation.” Throughout Baron’s career as a journalist, he has led newsrooms to 18 Pulitzer Prizes for groundbreaking journalism, including the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2003 for uncovering the extent of sexual abuse by priests in the Roman Catholic Church. That coverage became even more renowned following its depiction in the 2015 award-winning movie “Spotlight,” named after the Spotlight team at the Globe — a group of investigative journalists that consisted of editor Walter “Robby” Robinson and reporters Michael Rezendnes, Matt Carroll, and Sacha Pfeiffer. “Spotlight” won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. Along with Baron, Brandeis welcomed back Prof. Emerita Eileen McNamara (JOUR), winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. On March 15, Brandeis hosted a screening of “Spotlight” followed by a Q&A with Baron and McNamara in Levin Ballroom. In response to a question about the accuracy of the movie, Baron and McNamara confirmed that writers Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy researched thoroughly into the Spotlight team’s coverage process and accurately depicted the journalists’ efforts into investigating the priests. “Spotlight” begins with Baron’s first day as executive editor at The Globe in 2001. Prior to The Globe, Baron was the executive editor of
A take on ‘Puss in Boots’ Gianni reviews the newest movie from the franchise and discusses the importance of animation for all ages.
Read an exposé into the death of a local, beloved eagle. By ARIELLA WEISS
Image courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
Waltham, Mass.
By GIANNI STORTI
FEATURES 7
Image courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
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ARTS 14
the Miami Herald. Not only was he the first editor hired from outside the Globe, but he was also the first Jewish editor there. During the Q&A, McNamara claimed she could name the three other Jewish writers who worked there at the time, thus highlighting the significance of Baron’s leadership role. His first goal as editor was to pursue an investigation into whether the clergy intentionally concealed the sexual abuse perpetrated by Father John Geoghan, a priest accused of molesting more than 80 children. Baron’s leadership and commitment to objectivity shines through in his characterization in the movie, specifically during a scene where he refuses to cooperate with Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, who repeatedly relocated priests accused of sexual abuse to different parishes rather than administering justice to the survivors. When Cardinal Law’s character claims that Boston “flourishes when institutions work together,” Baron, played by Liev Schreiber in the film, dissents, insisting that the media must operate independently from the agendas of other institutions — a philosophy he reiterated throughout his residence at Brandeis. Although Baron has seen the movie multiple times around the time of its release in 2015, this was the first time he has seen it in the past eight years. He shared that he
International Women’s Day By DALYA KOLLER AND SOPHIA DE LISI
See MARTY BARON, 5 ☛
NEWS 3
Board pushes for better counseling By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Winter sport photo recap By ANNA MARTIN
COPYRIGHT 2023 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
FORUM 8
SPORTS 11