Innermost Parts

Alright, so we had a successful peace rally and vigil last week, as noted on this blog and in various publications. But we need to keep that enthusiasm and unity alive. Within the last few days, the number of confirmed American deaths in Iraq has reached the 4,000 mark. Vigils have been held all over the country to mark this, and currently the Protestant chaplain here, Alex Kern, is organizing an event.

The time is on Thursday, from 12:10 to 12:30, and the location is at the Peace Circle by the Library.

Everyone should try to be there, or at the very least spread the word. We need to follow through on our conscious commitment to ending this war, and building a movement of people who will see to it that we do not senselessly enter similar conflicts in the future. (Also, bring signs if you’ve got ‘em).

Louis Brandeis said

There is no such thing to my mind as an innocent stockholder. He may be innocent in fact, but socially he cannot be held innocent. He accepts the benefits of the system. It is his business and his obligation to see that those who represent him carry out a policy which is consistent with public welfare.

Debby Kuenstner, Brandeis’ administrator in charge of investment management, said

We have to decide which issues are important to Brandeis. Do we cut off so much investment opportunity that the endowment cannot fulfill its primary goal? You can’t keep the endowment at equal value for this generation and the next, and say “don’t invest in tobacco companies, do invest in environmental companies,
only socially responsible cases.”

When she told me this, I was troubled. I understand the need to make money with our investments. Yet unfortunately Brandeis seems to have been consumed by that hunger at the expense of any consideration of those investments’ social, environmental, or political impact. Our University has strayed from its founder’s dedication to responsible public citizenship.

Independent Voices for Endowment Sustainability and Transparency (InVEST), is trying to bring his dedication back to the forefront. Since we coalesced about one month previous from members of several campus activist clubs, we have been making promising progress. We have drafted a petition calling for greater investment transparency and responsibilty, and have obtained 500 written student and faculty signatures in support. Two days ago, the Student Union, often fractured when it comes to political positions, unanimously voted its enthusiastic support for a working proposal for the formation of an advisory committee to the Board dealing with these issues. Community opinion is behind us, and the administration and board must start to listen.

This is an issue I first addressed here on Innermost Parts months ago, after I found out Brandeis failed all the endowment-related clauses of its 2007 College Sustainability Report Card. Since then, the 2008 Report Card has been released, and Brandeis has again failed those clauses. By 2009, I want to reform our policies so that we do not fail three years in a row; I want our policies to be brought to the forefront among private Universities instead of lagging behind. If you’d like to get involved in this growing campaign, we’d love any help we can get. Email me at loki@innermostparts.org, or check out InVEST’s website.

InVest , the coalition to promote a transparent and sustainable Brandeis Endowment,  is trying to introduce its resolution to the Student Union right now.

Update: 10:18
The InVest resolution passed unanimously. I must say I was very impressed with the professionalism, preparedness, and general good presentation by the InVest crew. Kudos!

Brandeis Students Against the War (BSAW), the umbrella organization of Democracy for America, Students for a Democratic Society, Brandeis Democrats, and Amnesty International, the people who organized last wednesday’s protest event, has done something smart.

BSAW has leveraged its contacts with people who showed up to its event to create a sizeable facebook group. This shows sophistication: rather than start a new group and wait for people to join, they used their existing contacts to jumpstart their membership. We’ll keep on eye on their future activities.

The power to tax is the power to destroy.

The power of the purse is the power to create.

I am committed to creating and cultivating a stronger activist culture, a stronger progressive culture on campus. I want Brandeis University to conform to the ideals of the great Justice Louis Brandeis: values of activism, empowerment, true democracy, honest government. Brandeis valued the public good, the freedom of speech, and the rights and dignity of the individual. Justice Louis Brandeis was famous for his staunch opposition to concentrated power, his strong defense of individual liberty, and his dedication as a public advocate.

We are straying off that path.

The power of the purse is the power to create and to cultivate, to energize and engage.

Whenever I talk to leaders of activist groups on campus, the complaint is the same: “f-board fucked with us.” “f-board won’t fund our projects”. “f-boad really shortchanges activist groups”

Over at the Student Union, funding for “social justice” is 40% of the funding for E-board “outreach”, and less than 15% of the funding for the nebulous category of “services”.

We are straying away from our ideals.

At a time of low confidence in the Student Union, at a time following the Mike Goldman disgrace, at a time when the Student Union feels the need to spend seven times as much money on public relations than on social justice, we need more transparency in government, not less. The Student Body deserves to know what its elected officials are up to.

And yet, the Finance Board refuses to disclose its recusals. Essentially, the F-Board assures us: “Don’t worry, we’ll handle all conflict-of-interest cases ethically. Trust us. And also we refuse to let you check up on us as well”. I’m sorry, but after Mike Goldman, blind trust (which is never good enough) must clearly become a thing of the past. As they say in the industry, “Trust, but Verify”. Without the latter, we cannot have the former.

The power of the purse is the power to create. That great power cannot operate in the dark.

“Sunlight is the best disenfectant” –Justice Louis Brandeis

For all these reasons, it is time to announce that I, Sahar Massachi, am running to become a member of the Finance Board of the Student Union of Brandeis University for the 2008-2009 term. I run on the principles of openness, integrity, and transparency. I run to re-nurture the activist spirit on campus. I run because I am a patriotic Brandesian: I may not agree with current policy and trends, but I love the founding principles of this University and will fight deeply to defend them.

I have no great wish to work long hours throughout the year. The idea of cutting my vacation early due to F-Board responsibilities is not a pleasant one. I have no love of finances or long meetings. Yet I am no armchair general, asking others to run for office while I do not. I am not very good at getting elected for things; I believe in my cause, so I will try regardless. If you also believe in the cause of F-board transparency and a more perfect Union, won’t you please lend me a hand?

Innermost Parts will have a big announcement later today. Get excited.

Here is an article on the peace march and rally that was released today.

I love this picture showing a long line of people. I find it greatly encouraging.

(click on the picture for a full-size version)

It’s a big internet out there.

Yet, as we all know, the internet is not a dump truck. It is a series of tubes. And now, in true Monty Hal style, you can choose which tube to use and understand what Atrios calls “The Big Shitpile”

Tube A contains an imaginary conversation between an economist who understands the subprime mess and another who doesn’t. Pretty detailed but still understandable.

Tube B contains the recent New York Times explanation of the mess. Short, easy to understand, concise.

Tube C, the best tube of all, uses cartoons and profanity to make it all very clear.

Hope that helps.

My personal interests in architecture and planning have led me to do some research on the history of Brandeis’ grounds and buildings, and I have found many interesting things through both the university archives and my own exploring. This will be the first in a series of posts about poor decisions and unfortunate changes that have been made to our campus.

Did you know that Brandeis used to have an amphitheater? We did–it was called the Ullman Amphitheater and hosted commencement ceremonies from 1952 until 1992 (except for 1971–they were at the Chapels that year) when they were moved to Gosman Sports and Convocation Center.

Brandeis: Host at Last by Abram L. Sachar speaks of this former landmark, “Constructed on three acres of ground with seating for two thousand, but with space on the grassy slopes for seven or eight thousand more, it was equipped with a huge se and an orchestra put for forty musicians. Beneath the sing area were facilities for dressing, storage, and utility, as well as a number of classrooms.” It was designed by architects Harrison and Abramovitz, the same men who designed the beloved Three Chapels.

In a very unfortunate event, the Ullman Amphitheater suffered heavy damage due to fire, disabling its electrical equipment so that it was made virtually useless. The university did not repair the amphitheater but instead tore it down. It was located near Bernstein-Marcus and the location of the new Carl J. Shapiro Science Center. Here are some photos to give you a better idea of its location:

I know that Brandeis wasn’t doing as well financially in the ’90s, but I wish that the university had chosen to repair the amphitheater rather than demolish it. In just about 15 years it has faded away into memory. It could have continued to be an integral part of our campus today.

I hope you enjoyed learning this little tidbit of Brandeis campus history. There’s much more where that came from–you can be sure I’ll be back soon with another Blunder of Brandeis.

Yesterday went great. But, as Lavar Burton says, you don’t have to take my word for it.

Lev S. Hirschhorn, one of the main organizers of the event:

That was a fantastic protest, I was really impressed by everyone’s dedication. Our very rough counts estimate that at our largest we had about 120 people present.

Father Cuenin and Alex Kern will be holding another vigil tomorrow (as they do every thursday), from 12:10 PM to 12:30 PM in the peace circle. Lets all show up and keep the energy alive!

The Daily News Tribune -

“Five years” was scrawled across her face.Liza Behrendt displayed her war opposition with face paint as she led her fellow students on a march across the Brandeis University campus yesterday.

“Brandeis has a history of social activism. We felt that if we didn’t hold something on campus we’d be neglecting that legacy,” she said. “We really want people to think about the human impact of this war.”

And, my favorite, on the front page of the highly-excellent TPMCafe:

My office is at Brandeis University. Today as, I walked down the curving path that carries everyone through campus, I noticed that, lining the path, at very short intervals, were small American flags. A sign explained that there was one for every 10 American soldiers who had died in Iraq.

It’s a long path. There were hundreds of flags.

By the time I made it across campus, tears were running down my face. It’s not the Vietnam Memorial, but I found it profoundly moving nevertheless. I send my admiration to the students who organized it.

…

And we had to walk through it simply to cross the campus. There is no way to avoid that path: you were surrounded by a numbing repetition of death, death, death. I found that turning the American flag into that meaning was simultaneously affecting and respectful.

That last blurb was written by E.J. Graff, “Senior Researcher at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism … Resident Scholar at the Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center, ” and, most intriguingly,” a senior correspondent for The American Prospect and a contributor to TPMCafe.com.” A contributor to TPMCafe and TAP on campus? Brandeis just got so much cooler.

Never forget - we students occupy a space of cultural symbolism. Our actions reverberate farther than just across campus. The world is watching.