JUMBO Magazine - Spring 2014

THE TUFTS ADMISSIONS MAGAZINE ADMISSIONS.TUFTS.EDU

They Shoot, They Score!

MEET THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE TUFTS BASKETBALL TEAMS

+ WHY TUFTS? You’ve got a decision to make.

We want to help.

FROM WALL STREET TO SESAME STREET Meet some recent Tufts graduates

IT’S COOL TO BE SMART Tufts students who are passionate about research

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Explore the Tufts area

ISSUE 8 SPRING 2014

Contents

9 HOW TO DECORATE YOUR DORM ROOM

12 OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO TUFTS ALUMNI TALK ABOUT LIFE AFTER GRADUATION

25 THE ACTIVITY IN OUR ENGINEERING LABS WILL GET YOUR HEART RACING

30 ON THE COVER TARIK SMITH ’17. BECOME A JUMBO FAN OF THE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAMS

34 HELP! I HAVE TO PICK A COLLEGE! OUR EXPERTS ANSWER YOUR PRESSING QUESTIONS

38 THAT’S OUTRAGEOUS! TUFTS PROFESSORS COLLABORATE TO UNDERSTAND NEWS MEDIA

Greetings April is a complicated month

Lee Coffin, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions. Read the Dean’s blog at admissions.tufts.edu/blogs.

THE TUFTS ADMISSIONS MAGAZINE

OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS Tufts University Bendetson Hall 2 The Green Medford, MA 02155 617-627-3170 admissions.tufts.edu jumboeditor@tufts.edu

in the world of college admissions. It’s a fourweek sprint when just about every possible constituency is somewhere in the admissions process: accepted seniors are deciding where to enroll, high school juniors are launching searches, and transfer applications are under review.

For high school juniors, it’s time to explore.

Campus visits, blogs, and magazines like JUMBO are all part of the discovery phase as your college list takes shape. Time is your friend as you get your bearings.

But for the seniors and transfers, spring is the time to decide. And those decisions can be complicated. Many of you will procrastinate as you dissect your decision, compare the pros and cons, mull over this program versus that major. Some will seek guidance on Facebook as you face the moment of truth. “Help!” you will type to your online peers. “Tufts or X? I can’t decide!!!” While I don’t (won’t) add my voice to the Facebook chorus, here’s my procrastinator’s “guide” to picking your college. And it’s just four words: stop thinking about it.

While “thought” is usually a sound approach, too much thinking about where you should enroll creates a jam. With a few exceptions, you negotiated the analytical aspect of your college search when you decided where to apply. If a

Meet the Student Communication Group

Adam Kaminski Hometown Arlington, MA Possible major Cognitive Science, English Why Tufts At Tufts, I learn purposefully (from classes, professors, assignments, and all that good stuff) about as often as I learn inadvertently—from zany friends, the collaborative culture, and conversations on which I’m not ashamed to have eavesdropped.

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Chandler Coble Hometown Alexandria, VA Possible major Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Psychology Why Tufts Everyone I’ve met at Tufts has a story or something interesting about them. I feel like the students here have really found a balance between academics and having fun.

Nicholas S. De Chiara Hometown Chicago, IL Possible major Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology Why Tufts The thing I looked for and found at Tufts more than anything is a sense of community; the campus itself is together, not spread out or divided, and that is reflective of the people who make their home here at Tufts.

Aditya Hurry Hometown Mumbai, India Possible major Political Science, Economics, English Why Tufts Tufts, to me, is about playful, startling intellect and the coexistence of my loves of Political Science, English, Economics and Boston.

college wasn’t a viable option—using whatever criteria you determined was important to you—it wouldn’t have been one of the places to which you applied. As May 1 inches closer, trust those assessments you made in late December.

Ignore the buzz about acceptance rates, rankings, percentages, and ratios. The odds are strong that your final choices share more commonalities than differences. Assess how your options make you feel.

Whenever a student tells me “I’m still deciding,” we rarely talk about data. The debate is usually about fit rather than quality. You wouldn’t ask the scooper at an ice cream shop which flavor is “best.” The answer is too personal. As you pick your college, trust your (metaphoric) taste buds. Do you feel a connection to the community? What’s the vibe you picked up when you visited (in person or online)? These are important clues for you. Follow them. You’ll know what’s right for you.

For seniors and transfers, JUMBO VIII is one last invitation to check things out. For the juniors, stay tuned!

Sincerely, y

Dean of Undergraduate Admissions

As Dean Coffin says, “fit” is important. JUMBO is one of many ways to find out what that means at Tufts. You’ll hear from these freshmen throughout this issue; consider them your guides to the Tufts ‘vibe.’

Lauren Day Hometown Honolulu, HI Possible major Computer Science, minor in Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies Why Tufts It was the small classes, personal attention, and extraordinary professors that made me certain I would get the best education at Tufts. Plus, there is so much fun to be had and things to learn in the bustling city of Boston.

Abigail McFee Hometown Chadron, NE Possible major English or Sociology Why Tufts Here, I leave my comfort zone every day to have new experiences, while feeling—at the same time—that I belong in a way I have never belonged anywhere else. I get to feel both rooted and inspired.

Annahstasia Enuke Hometown Los Angeles, CA Possible major Thoroughly undecided Why Tufts Tufts was a university that seemed to have copious amounts of personality and heart. I was right.

Infographic

Study Time In Tisch Library Level 3

ABBY MCFEE ’17 GIVES YOU A TOUR!

Level 3 houses the media library full of movies to rent, and the Digital Design Studio, where students can create multimedia projects.

Level 2

Hirsch Reading Room Open until 3 AM, this is the quietest study space on campus. Flipping textbook pages in diligent silence will make you feel like Descartes.

Study Space I recommend the comfy chairs nestled against the back wall.

Think lamplight, room to stretch out your legs, and a side table for your coffee.

Microforms ... that get as specific as “Myology of the Purple-Throated Carib & Other Hummingbirds.”

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Center Students use specialized equipment to input, analyze, and display spatial data.

Interested in seeing the relationship between traffic density and asthma diagnoses across the globe, or polling trends for the last ten years in your home state? Map it!

Current Periodicals Browse through more newspapers and journals than you could ever have delivered to your doorstep.

Group Study Spaces Group study rooms are a hot commodity among library goers.

They’re great for collaborative projects, particularly difficult problem sets, or just some camaraderie during reading period.

Main Entrance

Tower Café Tower is ideal for meeting up with friends or catching up on reading. Take a professor out to coffee and your drinks are free!

Level 1

Level G

700,000 books are housed in Tisch library. I recommend The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.

The ground level houses over 3,000 periodicals… and there are thousands and thousands more available through online databases.

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Ins & Outs

PUBLIC SERVICE

21.8 % of Tufts graduates go on to work in public service. This year, Tufts was listed at number 20 on The Washington Monthly’s list of the top 50 universities with the highest percentage of students entering public service after graduation.

Making an IMPACT

Founded by a group of friends and student athletes from Tufts, Team IMPACT is a non-profit that aims to improve the lives of children facing life-threatening illnesses by matching them with college athletic teams. The kids become official members of the team to which they’re drafted, attending practices and games through their treatment and beyond. Tufts was obviously eager to step up to the plate (the founders are Jumbos, after all). Jumbo teams to recently draft Team IMPACT players include women’s basketball, men’s lacrosse, men’s football, and women’s soccer.

Go Jumbos!

Tufts Alumnus Wins Nobel Prize in Economics This fall, Tufts alumnus Eugene Fama ’60, shared the Nobel Prize in economics for his research on how financial assets—like stocks and bonds—are priced. His research resulted in a huge growth of stock and bond index funds.

According to the Nobel committee, Fama and his colleagues have “laid the foundation for the current understanding of asset prices.”

YES, YES, AND...

AND...

The Tufts improv troupe, Cheap Sox, made it into the

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BRAND

SPANKIN’ NEW This year saw the renovation of Halligan Hall, which houses the Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering departments. The new and

finals of the college improv

improved Halligan provides students in these majors

regional championship this

a centralized space for collaboration and innovation.

fall. Yes, and … they won!!!

Plus it’s just so pretty!

WHEN IS IT OK FOR EMPLOYERS TO CHECK OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES? THIS YEAR SAW THE FIRST ANNUAL TUFTS ETHICS BOWL, which tackled questions just like this one. Some other ethical dilemmas Tufts students debated included: Should public funds cover smokers’ lung cancer treatment? Should revenue from gambling fund public education?

Should the police use drones to monitor private citizens? The winning team of the competition, which was co-hosted by the Department of Philosophy and the Experimental College, went on to compete at the regional level.

Extreme Parfait As created by Lauren Day ’17 in Carmichael Dining Center INGREDIENTS

Greek yogurt (plain) Blueberry or strawberry yogurt Chocolate granola Cap’n Crunch cereal Pineapple

@ MonacoAnthony Tweets!

It’s always fun to check out what has the Tufts campus all a-twitter. Usually the culprit is a quick 140 characters from Tufts president, Anthony Monaco. Here’s one of our favorite Twitter conversations between him and Tufts student Taylor Barnard-Hawkins, who both happened to be at the same Red Sox game. @T_Barnard: @MonacoAnthony where are you sitting?

I’m w/ @sruggiero23. We’ll send some popcorn your way. @MonacoAnthony: @T_Barnard @sruggiero23 thanks!

We are LOGE 112 EE 1-4. Go Red Sox! We just hope he got the popcorn.

DIRECTIONS Take one of the clear cups in the dining

hall and start with two spoonfuls of plain Greek yogurt. Next layer it with a flavored yogurt; I chose blueberry. Then head over to the cereal wall and put half a scoop of your favorite granola in the cup.

You should now see the layering effect that makes your creation look extra impressive. Now add a half scoop of Cap’n Crunch cereal to add sweetness and texture. Put a final layer of Greek yogurt and top it off with some pineapple or another fruit of your choice.You’ll definitely want to Instagram your masterpiece when you’re done.

STOP, HEY, WHAT’S THAT SOUND?

Marco!

This fall, the Tufts club water polo team placed third in the Division III National Collegiate Club Championship tournament.

This is the team’s seventh (yes, seventh) appearance in the tournament over the past eight years. They’re gunning for the win next year. Can you hear the Jaws theme song as you read this?

Ever have a hankering for the West African drums or the bamboo flutes found in Javanese gamelan ensembles? You should make your way over to Tufts’ World Music Room, where everyone from seasoned musicians to the absolutely tone-deaf can find a place of zen. Anyone can drop by during the Music Center hours and destress after a long day by playing the kendang or the metallophones.

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Edwin is a member of the Tufts all-male step team, BlackOut. But off-stage he’s engineering children’s toys and testing medical filtration devices. All in a day’s work.

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AT FIRST GLANCE, EDWIN DIAZ FITS THE MOLD OF THE “TYPICAL” ENGINEER. “[When I was little],” he said, “I liked playing with old appliances and ripping them apart.” Stay and listen a while, though, and the Jumbo in him comes to light; “Right now,” he said, “I’m working on a senior design project where I’m making toys for children.” Engineering at Tufts is home to people like Edwin, who has both the classic engineer’s inspiration to tinker, design, and experiment, and the Tufts’ attitude of exploration and new thinking. Following his sophomore year at Tufts, he had the fortune to intern with W.L. Gore and Associates, where he got hands-on experience in engineering medical and filtration devices. Edwin’s job was to design a machine for testing the medical filtration membranes that the company was producing.

“It was great, because I came in knowing nothing about controls, nothing about what automation was. I studied … completely new languages.” The summer was completely self-taught and handson, and the learning curve was steep. By the end of the summer, though, the machine he designed to test membranes worked, and it is still in use there today. He was able to work there again the following summer; this time he had to design an experiment, rather than a machine, “to prove the optimization of one of their products,” he explained.

Edwin applies this same determination around campus as co-president of the Tufts Society of Black Engineers. As a veteran member of BlackOut, an all-male step team on campus, Edwin is also a performer. After performing in the World of Dance Boston event, he and his group were able to go to Toronto to perform with the World of Dance a second time; “we performed, did well. The crowd loved us … the crowd was huge!”

Now, as always, Edwin is back to learning new languages. In his Electrical Engineering Senior Design Project class, he is designing a children’s toy with a novel approach. “I haven’t [even] delved into the technical aspect of the toy yet,” he said, “[Right now] I am really just getting involved in the psychology of children. How do they play? How do they enjoy toys? How do they learn?” After robotics projects like this one, and internships like the one at W.L. Gore and Associates, Edwin is excited to get into the robotics industry. As an engineer, Edwin understands that you need the right tool for the job. As a Tufts student, he understands also that sometimes that tool is outside the toolbox.

—NICK DE CHIARA ’17

EDWIN DIAZ ’14 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR FROM NEW YORK, NY

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Top Ten 1 Tufts’

TOP TEN

“Time to do research. resea Tonight Tonig I need watch Tim to wa Minchin on Minc Conan Cona O’Brien.

I love this class.”

OVERHEARD D CONVERSATIONS S You know when you tune into a conversation at just the right time?

Yeah, we do too. We asked our spies (the Student Communication Group) what the word on the Hill has been lately. Here are some of our favorites.

AS A FEW STU STUDENTS WERE LEAVIN LEAVING THEIR MUSIC CLASS, THE AMERICAN MUSICAL, AMERIC I HEARD HEAR THEM CHATT CHATTING.

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WHILE WE WERE WAITING FOR MY ARABIC CLASS TO START, I HEARD MY CLASSMATES IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS CONVERSATION:

Girl one: “Isn’t it funny to think about how much John Travolta in Grease would cringe at John Travolta in Hairspray? Or, like, Wild Hogs?”

Girl two: “Yeah, Danny Zuko would hate them, huh?”

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AS I WAS WALKING TO CLASS, I HEARD A GUY SAY TO HIS FRIEND:

“And water! People don’t realize how structural water is!”

I OVERHEARD THE END OF THIS CONVERSATION IN THE DANISH PASTRY HOUSE, JUST OFF CAMPUS. IT WAS BETWEEN A TUFTS BIOLOGY PROFESSOR AND A PROSPECTIVE STUDENT (YOU COULD TELL SHE WAS A PROSPECTIVE STUDENT BECAUSE SHE WAS PORING OVER A MAP WITH HER MOM).

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Professor: Well, here, it’s been so nice speaking with you. Let me give you my card. Email me whenever you like!

Prospective student: Thank you! It’s nice to have a friend at Tufts.

Professor: Oh, you’ll find a lot of us here.

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LATE ONE NIGHT WORKING ON PHYSICS HOMEWORK, I HEARD THIS:

Guy One: “You know what I really want to do right now?”

MY ROOMMATE WAS ON THE PHONE WITH A FRIEND. THEY WERE GOING OVER THEIR PROBLEM SET, BUT THEN SHE JUST MUSED:

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“It’s funny how fiction can be so realistic and reality TV is so fictional.”

Guy Two: “What?”

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AS I WENT BACK FOR DESSERT AT DEWICK, I HEARD ONE GIRL AT THE TABLE NEXT TO ME SAY EXCITEDLY:

“Did you hear they found a new species of dinosaur in Utah? It weighs three tons!”

Guy One: “Calculate how much the earth accelerates when I jump. How much does the earth weigh?

Oh crap, I don’t know how much I accelerate!”

Guy Two: “Jump right now and we’ll estimate.”

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WHILE I WAS STUDYING IN THE TOWER CAFÉ, I OVERHEARD ONE STUDENT SAY TO ANOTHER:

“The Breakfast Club is essential to my education.”

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IN THE NEW TISCH ATHLETIC CENTER, I HEARD TWO STUDENTS IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS CONVERSATION:

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“Sometimes I walk in here and it’s so pretty I forget I was dreading my workout, you know?”

I SUPPOSE SOMEHOW THE CONVERSATION OF LINT ROLLERS CAME UP IN MY DORM’S COMMON ROOM, BECAUSE WHEN I WALKED IN I HEARD…

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“Yeah, I tried to lint roll my dog once.

He was NOT happy.”

Living

The Decorators’ Guide to Dorm Living Shai Slotky and Kobi Walsh, roommates from the class of 2017, reveal their secrets for a beautifully decorated dorm room.

Take your time—don’t settle for mediocrity.

We searched far and wide to find a rug that fit our dorm and our style. Ironically, the rug that we were searching for was here at the Tufts Bookstore the whole time.

A splash of color and a dash of light make a boring room look bright.

You have the rest of your life to be boring. For now, decorate your room with lively paraphernalia like records, photos and bed sheets. Also, when your roommate is trying to sleep, bedside and desk lamps will let you read those calculus equations without illuminating the entire room.

Let’s not sugarcoat it: college can be overwhelming. Organization makes life easier.

Before you know it, you’ll have a political science midterm and a computer science exam on the same day; or an intramural volleyball game on a Thursday night and an Arabic quiz Friday morning.

If you know where your econ book is, or you can easily find your left shoe, life will be far more manageable. Free up floor space by storing items in under-bed bins and don’t forget to utilize the drawers, shelves and other storage space that’s provided to you: it’ll save your sanity, we promise.

Once your guests come for the day, they should never want to go away.

Your room will quickly become the hang-out room with a homey beanbag chair or fluffy pillows. And if you’re debating whether or not to lug along that old T.V., we recommend you go for it. You’ll thank us when your weekly movie nights make you lots of new friends.

There’s no place like home. So, remember where you came from, but embrace where you are now.

Of course, don’t forget the classy senior prom photos, the childhood print of you and your dad apple-picking, and the poster of your favorite movie. But also embrace this next chapter in your life. Document your experiences by putting up a bulletin board for photos and memorabilia of your most recent adventures.

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Class Highlight

DRAMA 0010 + 0012

ACTING I AND ACTING I I SOMEONE ITCHING TO GET INVOLVED in theater at Tufts can find themselves in front of quite a dramatic smorgasbord. HYPE! mime troupe; Cheap Sox improv comedy troupe; Traveling Treasure Trunk children’s theater company; Major: Undecided sketch comedy troupe; Torn Ticket II musical theater group … the list goes on.

But these are just the student groups; Jumbos can also hone their craft in the classroom. The drama department offers courses in production, makeup design, costume technology, screenwriting, theater history, and, yes, acting.

Acting I and II are just two of the acting classes offered this semester, and they’re a refreshing change from lectures or problem sets. Imogen Browder ’16, from Calabasas, CA, described Acting II as an opportunity to become bolder in your performance. “Class exercises included things like screaming for thirty seconds to release all of our tension, creating the ‘weirdest’ character we could think of and then sparring with someone else’s ‘weird’ character, and acting out an ‘honest’ moment from our day,” she explained. The class had to see two different plays over the semester and write about how one of the characters inhabited the world that the stage created, and they spent the whole semester acting and re-acting scenes from Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge.

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MISHA KILMER PROFESSOR AND CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS

GEORG CANTOR ONCE SAID THAT THE “ESSENCE OF MATHEMATICS IS ITS FREEDOM.” The Mathematics Department at Tufts is one that exemplifies that phrase to the utmost degree. Math can mean so many things! Here, undergraduates profile serial killers as part of mathematical contests, graduates go on to model the movements of Norwegian fish, and professors research things like computational plasma physics and topological fluid dynamics.

Professor Misha Kilmer acts as Chair of the department, which is slowly but surely changing the face of mathematics.

Applied math is one of those fields where the on-the-ground applications themselves are as astounding as the complex equations and formulae behind them. Professor Kilmer took the “on-the-ground” part literally— she researched how to detect buried land mines. “[This involved] taking ground penetrating radar measurements from the surface of the earth and looking for changes in permittivity,” said Professor Kilmer, “and using that to get as high resolution an image of what’s underground as possible.” Anomolies in the permittivity image may indicate a land mine, she explained.

Professor Kilmer is now collaborating with a Tufts group led by Professor of Biomedical Engineering Sergio Fantini on breast cancer detection using diffuse optical tomographic data. “Every time you see a medical image,” Professor Kilmer explained, “it’s a realization of some physical quantity based on the measurements you take and the model you use.” Professor Kilmer is involved in designing the image model and developing the fast algorithms to produce the image. The better the image, the better the clinical appeal.

It’s exciting to realize that what we’re learning in the classroom can be applied out there in the real world. Professors like Misha Kilmer get me excited to leave my seat and use what I know, just like she did.

—ADIT YA HURRY ’17

Misha Kilmer proves math isn’t confined to blackboards. She’s used mathematical concepts to locate land mines, detect breast cancer, and more.

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Just Beyond the Hill Where are recent Tufts alumni now?

The announcement that Tufts alumnus Eugene Fama had received the Nobel Prize in Economics got the JUMBO team thinking. What would Tufts alumni say about the role Tufts played in their professional accomplishments? With just a little research we had a list of hundreds of recent Tufts alumni — powerful professionals who have all graduated in the last ten years — whose lives after Tufts spoke volumes about the values and virtues of this place. It is a diverse and fascinating lot: the principal of a charter school in Baton Rouge; the author of one of the Best American Short Stories in 2012; the Vice President of Business Development at FTS International; and a Foreign Service officer in Myanmar. Not to mention a Development Associate at the Museum of Modern Art, the music duo Timeflies, an engineering education roboticist, and any number of future doctors, dentists, and veterinarians. All of them have one thing in common: they bring to their job the skills, passions, and perspectives they developed as Jumbos. Here’s an introduction to just a few of the ones that made us beam widest.

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Tim Ryan’06 Political Science major PHD CANDIDATE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE / FROM VERONA, NJ

Joel Perez ’08 Drama major ACTOR / FROM LAWRENCE, MA

Joel admitted he began his freshman year convinced he’d pursue medicine. My, how much can change in four short years! Joel graduated as a drama major, and quickly dove into the vibrant Boston theater scene. He honed his craft at local theater companies, in various films shot in New England, and through a fair amount of commercial work, before moving to the Big Apple. Not long after he arrived, he had landed a role in the first national tour of the Tony Award winning musical In the Heights. “[The best day of my career] so far,” said Joel, “was my very last callback for In the Heights. I left the audition thinking, ‘I totally nailed that.’

I bought a piece of strawberry cheesecake from Junior’s and sat in the middle of Times Square.” For Joel, whose parents are from Puerto Rico, the role was a dream come true.

“I remember seeing the Broadway production [for the first time],” he said. “I was so moved to see my family’s story on a Broadway stage …

It gave me the confidence to really pursue an acting career.”

Returning to New York, Joel had his first TV role in Showtime’s The Big C, which stars fellow Jumbo Oliver Platt ’83. And the roles keep coming: Joel just finished the world premiere of Fun Home at the Public Theater. The play, based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir about coming to terms with her sexuality, is “a touching and provocative piece of theater,” Joel said. “It’s beautiful to think that the existence of this production will change how people perceive the queer community.” There are rumors of a Broadway transfer, meaning Joel may soon be making his Broadway debut.

“Tufts is a place of brilliant minds and innovative thinkers,” said Joel. “We were taught to really question our world and push the boundaries of what we are capable of achieving. Tufts has made me a better person and, in turn, a better actor.”

Tim’s journey began with Tufts Professor Jim Glaser’s class, Introduction to American Politics. Tim was interested in public opinion and political psychology, and he asked Professor Glaser for more learning opportunities in the field. Soon, the two of them were collaborating on a summer-long research project funded by Tufts. After Tim graduated, Professor Glaser approached him about collaborating on a book.

Two years later they published Changing Minds, If Not Hearts: Political Remedies for Racial Conflict. “[In Changing Minds],” said Tim, “we examine ways to reframe racially sensitive issues that neutralize [tensions and] make it easier for minorities to win in politics.” Tim and Professor Glaser explored historical examples throughout the book, like the vote on school bonds in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1990s. At the time, said Tim, “[Jackson] was 56% black, but blacks comprised 78% of students in the public schools. To pass, the bond required support of [60%] of voters.” The bond failed twice, until officials tweaked their strategy. “[When] officials asked voters to consider several small bonds funding specific items, rather than one omnibus bond … several of the [bonds past], including the most expensive one.” Turns out, the way you structure political choices does a lot to determine their outcome.

Now Tim is at the University of Michigan pursuing his PhD. His dissertation is about moral psychology as applied to politics. He examines why we care about the political opinions of others, and why we find it hard to compromise in politics. These questions have held Tim’s attention since that first day of Introduction to American Politics.

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Duncan Pickard ’10 History, Middle Eastern Studies, and American Studies triple major DEMOCRACY REPORTING INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY DIRECTOR, LIBYA / FROM OAK BLUFFS, MA

As a triple major, Duncan was the epitome of the “go-getterness” he found so prevalent at Tufts. “Tufts pushed me to get out there and do it,” Duncan said, “whatever ‘it’ is.” Turns out, “it” is a position at Democratic Reporting International (DRI), an NGO that promotes public participation and international standards in elections, constitutional design, and parliamentary systems around the globe. Before he became the Country Director for Libya, Duncan worked closely with the Tunisian parliament to write a new constitution. At the time of this interview, Tunisia was finishing their constitution and voting on articles that Duncan had worked on. “I went back to Tunisia to attend their plenary sessions on the constitution,” Duncan said. “The most invigorating moment came when the parliament voted to guarantee gender parity in all elected bodies. Directly after the vote, the entire parliament stood up and began singing the national anthem. [It was] deeply moving.”

Now Duncan has shifted his focus to Libya, a country at the beginning of the process.

“Libya has not yet elected their parliament,” Duncan explained. “In the meantime, we are working with law faculties, lawyers’ unions, and civil-society groups on international standards, hoping they will lobby the parliament for those same standards after the election.” Duncan and his team present on issues like constitutional law, electoral systems, the balance of power, international standards in Islamic law, and more.

At Tufts, said Duncan, there was an emphasis on international cultural competency, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a focus on public service that have been consistent themes in his professional life. And the go-getterness, don’t forget about that.

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“A community like Tufts attracts amazing people. I’ve made connections with students, professors, and researchers that have lasted much longer than my four years as an undergraduate.” — Titania Ng ’10

Brittany Sommer ’08

Neesha Bhagat ’11

Child Development major

Economics major and Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies minor

CURRICULUM SPECIALIST AT SESAME WORKSHOP / FROM NEW YORK, NY

Brittany Sommer can tell you how to get to Sesame Street. A few years after Tufts, she landed a dream job on the stoop she remembers from her childhood. Sommer works in Sesame’s Content and Curriculum Department. Her primary role on the Street has been to develop multimedia products for families facing a variety of challenges. “We make multimedia kits [that include] a guide for parents and caregivers, a children’s storybook, and a DVD with a Muppet story about the topic,” she said. Sommer helps create the curriculum and content, and works with families who are featured in the liveaction segments.

According to Sommer, Sesame’s Little Children, Big Challenges resilience initiative, which debuted in December, is groundbreaking, especially in the creation of the incarceration kit.

She and her team visited Rikers Island Prison Complex and Sing Sing Correctional Facility to speak with inmates who are parents to inform their development of the materials. “Children who have an incarcerated parent will see their favorite Muppets discussing the situation and know that they’re not alone,” said Sommer.

The interdisciplinary nature of the Tufts Child Development program allows graduates to pursue unique paths like Brittany’s. And the fun, playful atmosphere on campus makes them game for a job with coworkers with green fur who occasionally break into song.

UNITED STATES EQUITY SALES ASSOCIATE FOR CITIGROUP / FROM ROCKY HILL, CT

Citigroup, the third largest bank holding company in the US, produces thousands of pages of equity research per day. Neesha’s job is to filter this information into thoughtful recommendations and resources for Citi’s clients. “The coolest part of my job is the wealth of readily available information,” said Neesha. “I doubt I would know much about the real estate market in Namibia or the aggressive monetary policy in Japan if it weren’t for this job.” Since news is an important driver of markets, it’s important for Neesha to keep up on current events to make informed decisions for clients. The best recommendation could change by the minute.

In such a fast-paced environment, Neesha always felt armed with the skills she needed to succeed. “The technical knowledge [is something that] can be learned on the job,” she said.

“What can’t necessarily be learned are things like public speaking, networking, and analyzing situations and ideas from a more qualitative approach.” Those are the skills Tufts gave her, and they’ve allowed her to stand out in her fifield.

Neesha is now part of Citi’s Emerging Leaders group, which consists of only 20 junior-level employees across all departments at the bank.

The group recently had dinner with the CEO of Citi, Michael Corbat, a man in charge of almost 300,000 employees. Talk about networking!

Where it All Begins

Simon Metcalf ’13

A Sample of Undergraduate Internships from Last Year

Mechanical Engineering major VEHICLE ENGINEER FOR TERRAFUGIA / FROM NORTHAMPTON, MA

You know how everyone’s dream is to be like the Jetsons, flying around Orbit City in an aerocar with Rosie the robot maid back home tidying up? (OK, maybe not everyone’s dream.) While he can’t promise you Rosie, recent Tufts grad Simon Metcalf can tell you all about the car from the future — because he’s on the team that’s building it. Simon is a vehicle engineer at Terrafugia, a company designing a “roadable aircraft”— the first practical flying car. It’s first and foremost an airplane, said Simon, “albeit an airplane with features like lights, mirrors, folding wings, and crash safety systems that enable it to be driven on public roads.” Considered a “transition vehicle,” the roadable aircraft has two sets of controls: rudder pedals, a control stick, and throttle for flight, and gas and brake pedals and a steering wheel for driving.

Simon set his sights on the skies during his junior year at Tufts. When he became interested in composite air and space craft design, Simon’s advisor told him about Terrafugia, a company where several Tufts alumni worked. Simon secured an internship, and a few months later he was offered a full time position in ergonomics and user experience.

“When I first started we were testing and troubleshooting,” Simon explained. “Now we’re in a redesign cycle, so I do a lot of part design and component positioning.” He’s grateful for the skills he developed as part of the Tufts Hybrid Racing Team, which prepared him for the job.

Simon said his favorite day at work so far was when he joined in on an aerobatic flight with their test pilot. Just call him George Jetson.

Titania Ng ’10 Biology and Environmental Studies major ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST / FROM BROOKLYN, NY

Haley & Aldrich is a Boston-based environmental and engineering consulting firm that provides research and recommendations for clients focusing specifically on their built environment.

Titania’s expertise is in environmental services.

“On any given day,” Titania said, “I could be conducting historical research, interviews, site visits for … environmental site assessments, or [I could be] out in the field collecting soil, groundwater, air, sediment, or fish samples.”

Her job is to make sure clients are making environmentally sound decisions, whatever that may mean for them. Sometimes this job brings her to the lab, sometimes it brings her to a construction site … and sometimes it brings her to a boat in the middle of the Hudson River. “I [recently] conducted a surface water sampling program on the Hudson,” said Titania. “Water was freezing seconds after splashing on the boat deck; it was a tough, icy day.” But days like these are often the most satisfying, even if Titania couldn’t feel her toes by the time she reached shore.

Titania landed her job at Haley & Aldrich through the Tufts Career Center and alumni network. “I reached out to Tufts alumni in the environmental consulting field and I discovered there are a lot of us,” Titania said. The community welcomed her with open arms and helped her find her current position, and it was this warmth that made Titania feel at home out in the real world. “A community like Tufts attracts amazing people,” Titania said. “I’ve made connections with students, professors, and researchers that have lasted much longer than my four years as an undergraduate.”

For many students, careers after Tufts sprout from undergraduate internships, whether those are over the summer or during the semester. The Career Services team offers $3,500 research grants for unpaid summer interns, and also finds for-credit opportunities in all fields for Jumbos during the school year. With online databases, alumni connections, internship fairs, and workshops in networking, resume writing, and interview strategies, the Career Center will make sure you find an internship that fits your interests. Here’s just a sample of some internship locations from last year.

Internships Boston Museum of Science Planetarium Chicago Symphony Orchestra Smithsonian Institution Museum of Fine Arts Dow Jones DreamWorks Animation CBS Sports Clear Channel Media and Entertainment American Express America’s Test Kitchen Harley-Davidson Jumpstart Upward Bound IBM Google General Electric Aviation Lincoln Laboratory EcoLogic Fidelity J.P. Morgan Morgan Stanley Department of Public Health NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory U.S. House of Representatives Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center Boston Children’s Hospital Middle East Institute World Policy Journal Project HOPE Department of Justice Cure Alzheimer’s Fund Family Equality Council The Marine Mammal Center Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine

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Found

Hot Items

WHAT: RED SOX CAP AP WHERE: MY FRIEND JENNY’S CLOSET

Your opportunity to learn about Tufts, one random item at a time.

One of my favorite Tufts memories so far is the night that the Red Sox won the World Series. About halfway through the game, several of my friends and I hoppe ed on a train into Boston. I know nothing about baseball, butt standing amidst cheering crowds on the streets outside of Fenway, the exciitement was contagious.

WHAT: SPOON ON WHERE: NO ONE KNO O WS… THAT’S WHAT MAKES THI HIS GAME SO STRESSFUL!

—ABBY MCFEE ’17

This fall, Tufts stu students udents had the opportu opportunity tunity to play a campus-wide game tunit of Spoon Assass Assassins ssins for charity. Each h par p participant is given a target whom he must “kill” by tagging the unluck unlucky ck fellow with a spoon. As long as the target is holding his spoon at least 50% visibly, assassination complete.

—ADAM KAMINSKI ’17

WHAT: KING CHESS PIECE WHERE: SOUTH HALL

Chess fever struck my hall recently, and now there are constantly games in the common rooms, accompanie ed by a horde of backseat chess players commentating on the e moves. For the record, yes, I am certain I want to put my y knight there, and no, I did no ot see that bishop.

—NICK DE CHIARA

’17

WHAT: PARADISE LOST, BY JOHN MILTON WHERE: A FLOOR-MATE’S DESK

What happens when you put two kids who love English literature together in a common room?

A lot of great late-night discussions about favorite authors, and spontaneous gifts of books you “absolutely have to read or you haven’t lived.”

This is next on my list.

—ADITYA HURRY ’17

WHAT: ELEPHANT CHARM BRACELET WHERE: ON THE WRISTS OF EVERY TUFTS FENCER

The captain of my fencing team made us all Jumbo charm bracelets for our first fencing meet of the season. They were obviously some great inspiration because we went undefeated in the meet, beating all eight schools there! Now we wear the bracelets around everywhere.

—CHANDLER COBLE ’17

WHAT: OXFORD COMMA POSTER WHERE: THE WALL OF MY DORM ROOM

My roommate and I bonded randomly one day over our love of the Oxford comma. We think it’s necessary, tidy, and cool. My roommate is a hardcore crafter with a love of graphic design, so she created this poster for us. Now it hangs proudly on the wall above our snack bin, where everyone can see it.

—ABBY MCFEE ’17

WHAT: HAPPY BIRTHDAY BALLOON WHERE: HASKELL HALL

For my friend’s 19th birthday, we all got together to hide balloons in her dorm room … lots of balloons. She’s still finding all of them.

—NICK DE CHIARA ’17

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COLLEGE IS A TIME WHEN EVERYTHING IS FLIPPED, be elie liefs fs are ch chall a leng eng ged, an and d what w a ma makes you u, you yo is que questi stt one oned. d. Gav a in n Imm mmer, a se senior ma m jor joring ing in econom eco om mics ics, was a as s uns sure ab bout u his occcu hi cup upati ationa o l path a as the restt of us, s, but bu he took bu o every ery twist an and tu n of his tur hi col o leg ege e jour journey ey wi w th ggra ace e and an am ambit b ion on an and d wher whe e he end ded up is s pre pretty tty ph pheno enomen m al. a A lea eader in the LGBT L com ommunity ity on the he Tu Tufts f ca campu mp s, Gav a in has as be been en an n am ambass assador for the Out For Und derg ergrad rad Business B Conference— a prog rogram ram dedicated to giving n LGB BT ind n vid ndi v uals a mo odell fo f r succces cess s in big busine n ss. With this th s oppo p rtunity he was able to pp com mbin ne his social conce c rns r and nd d hi h s instinct i t for f busine in ss s and a nd d pr probl o em obl e solving. Clearly this intters erse ec o of social activism and ection busine bus iness ss is a sweet-spot for Gavin: in n an n Entrepreneurial nt Leadership Stu tudie dies clas a s, Innovative Social E erp Ent rpri ris ises, e he es h proposed a bus usine in ness s pla p n for a homeless pl she helte lterr for o LGB L T youth in Kan K ansas s Ciity ty.

Surpri S prisin s ngly gly ly,, a large rge part of G in’ Gav n’s s jou urney at urney a Tufts has been in lan in ngu gua age and an cu c lture. Gavin be an beg be nh his is Tu Tufts f ts ca fts caree reer as an Asian

As a sophomore, Gavin took four language classes in one semester. And he’s found that to be a vital experience as he graduates an economics major interested in business.

Studie Stu dii s majo ajor. r. “My M fresh frresh eshman man n yyear, ar spring spr ing se sem mester,, I wa mester was s taki tak a ngg fou f r langua lan guage ges s at a th the e same same ti time— me— — P tug Por u ues se, Spa Sp nis nish, h, Chi Chines nese, e, and Jap ap pane a ese se e. I th e. thoug ought, oug ht, ‘f ‘for orr the re r st off my col c leg ge ccar areerr I’m m go going in n to take tak e only langu nguage age cl class asses es ...’”

But ut no now w Gavi avin is an econ o omi om cs major, maj or, wo orki rking n his love of langua ng guage ge into o tthe h e wo orld d of o bus bu iness.

T s past Thi a su umme mm r he h workked for or Facts set Re Resear Res ear ea a ch System Sys ystems, s Inc nc., one of th the ew worl orld’s orl d le d’s eadi ad d ng financ nan ial ia d data com ompan pan anies an ies.. Duri ies uring ng his su s mm mer inte nte terns te rrns n hip i , Gavi ip avin n helped hel ped FFa acts a c et reo eorga rga aniz i e Chin nese s se eco conom nomic ic cen ensus us da data. ta. “I re eali a zed ed d tha hatt Fact Facts set co s ould u re reall allyy impr imp ove e on the h irr C Chine Chi nese data co nes c ver v age ge,” ,” said d Gavi vn n. “So So oIw was as ab a le to t leverage m myy Ma Mandar dar arin in ski sk lls s an nd go onto th he Chi Chine nese e gove gov rnm n ent nm website e and find nd all a l of thi th s miss m ssing ing data that at Fa Facts ctse et cou co ld d rea really re lyy us use.” e.”

He even crea eated ted ed a fa factbo fac tbook ok on n China tha at Fact Fact ctset set ma se mayy deve deve e lop to includ lude e othe therr coun ountri triies. e Th That at would the then n beco come m sof me softwa twa w re for o Factse et and and the eirr par partne tners, rs, kkind nd of likke a virtu r al che cheat at she s et on sh o eve ery cou ountrr y’s y ec e ono no omy and a the he fa facto cto torrs pul pu lin lingg on on it. it. “Ch hiina na is a comm muni un stt com commun m ity mun ity,” ,” sai aid d Gavi Gavi a n n. “Th Th here ar a e so so many ma y reggula ulatio tion ns and re restr stt ict str c ion ions s tell e ing g you ou wh what at yyou ou ca can n and and n can cannot no o invves est in n. It’s ’s re reall allyy impo imp rta rtantt to o und un erstan tand d the h culture of a cou o ntr ou ntry.” y.”

It’’s this this i rre ealizat zat a ion on th that at has at as provided dG Gav avin in a nich nich che e in i a world rld of num mbe b rs and n ffac a ts. s He takes kes pri ride d in de i un understan tandin di g the h hum he human an eleme ele m ta men and using g it for or po posit sittive ve ch cha h nge nge..

—ANNAH —A —AN NAH A H STA T SIA IA EN ENUK UKE KE ’17 7

GAVIN IMMER ’14 ECONOMICS MAJOR FROM FAIRFIELD, CT

17 17

Professor Peniel Joseph sparks national discussions on race and democracy.

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PENIEL JOSEPH PROFESSOR OF HISTORY

TALKING WITH PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, PENIEL JOSEPH, was simultaneously like a cram history lesson and a long awaited reunion.

I left our conversation completely blown away, but I guess I should have anticipated it - anyone with two single authored books to his name and a third on the way might have a lesson or two to share.

His latest book, Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama, came out in 2010 and was at the center, at least at first, of our conversation.

“My wider interest is this idea of race and democracy,” Professor Joseph explained, “in which race shapes the story of America.

There’s no way of getting away from race, so what’s interesting is if you use it as a wider analytic.”

Facilitating conversation on race with discussions and seminars, Professor Joseph organizes classes where students can bring their own personal experiences

into the classroom. Often at the center of discussion, and often at the core of his work, lies what Professor Joseph calls Black Power Studies, a subfield of both American history and Africana studies.

“Certainly there’s violence, certainly some people are anti-white, but that’s not all the Black Power movement is.” By examining the historical evidence, and by likening the work of a historian to a crime scene investigator, Professor Joseph strives to flesh out the vision of the Civil Rights movement and contemporary American history.

And what could be more contemporary in the dialogue on race than our current President, Barack Obama? Here there are certainly parallels to the past, parallels which Professor Joseph claims will greatly affect our future: “The audaciousness of running for

President when people were telling you ‘look, they would never elect a black man’ is very much in keeping with the ethos of the Black Power activists,” Professor Joseph said.

Professor Joseph suggested that these elections have prompted new dialogue on race, and have profoundly affected “the way in which a contemporary generation thinks of and conceptualizes race.”

Bringing those conceptualizations into the classroom, sharing them, and taking them beyond is key. Indeed, Professor Joseph recalled that “for me the idea of activism through the work we do as scholars always went hand in hand.”

At Tufts, Professor Joseph has been no small advocator of action and scholarship. In 2012 he conceived The Center for the Study of Race and Democracy.

Its mission: to engage students in research, scholarship, and

discussion, focusing on issues of race and democracy and deconstructing the lives of global citizens. This fall, the Center hosted its first annual National Dialogue on Race Day, and Professor Joseph is excited for the scholarly discussions on race to continue. “We have ten Gerald Gill Fellows graduating,” Professor Joseph told me, “undergraduate students who are doing a yearlong project on race.” Their projects vary widely, on topics from mass incarceration and democracy, to race relations, to Barack Obama, to transnational and global democracy, to race and child care, mental health, and transportation.

“These projects are faculty facilitated but they’re really student run,” Professor Joseph assured me. He attested that students’ own curiosities and scholarship are what will advance a nation’s discussion on race.

These students will inform the next history book.

—ADAM K AMINSKI ’17

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* IT’S

COOL TO BE

SMART

—

By Anna Burgess ’13

20 20

G

—

rowing up, I would often bring a book to recess. I would read Greek myths for fun and, in high school, I made sure Jeopardy was recorded every day so my friends and I could demonstrate our trivia prowess. It never occurred to me that being smart could be cool. Then I came to Tufts.

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“I’M REALLY INTERESTED IN EDUCATI Everyone here—from the captain of the football team to an a cappella singer to a fraternity president—has intellectual passions that make them even more interesting. They may be a quantitative economics major and the former captain of their high school’s math team. They could be so into psychology that they asked for the DSM V for Christmas. They could read historical non-fiction for fun, or learn programming languages in their free time. They are exceptionally smart, talented people, and Tufts celebrates this. Our peers bolster this intellectual atmosphere with their enthusiasm and collective interest. As a community, we want to hear what fellow students are doing. You can bet that when you ask, “Want to know what I learned today?” you will have Jumbos at the edge of their seats.

Cannon, an architectural studies major, is fascinated by the structural elements of these synagogues—for instance, how the narrower end of each building held the bema, where the speaker would present, physically funneling everyone’s attention to a single point. But she’s also researching the ornamental aspect of the buildings. “[Jews] were forced to live in this area, and they weren’t technically allowed to have synagogues. They couldn’t really put this grand façade on the buildings … so they just renovated the entire interior spaces.” The interiors, though, said Cannon, “are incredibly ornamental, beautiful, and sculptural.”

MICHAEL LATIMER ’14

Research is often the way these high school passions evolve into serious intellectual undertakings. By giving students the opportunity to conduct in-depth research projects on topics that fascinate them, Tufts encourages the curiosity in all of us. As a top-tier GENESIS GARCIA ’15 research university, Tufts provides the resources we need to make groundbreaking discoveries in fields ranging from engineering to philosophic theory. There’s a reason why the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium is one of the biggest events of the year.

This year, from environmental engineering to architectural studies, Tufts students are upping their cool factor with funded research, capstone projects, and senior theses. Their work will have an impact in Boston and Iran and even on Mars. The one thing these students have in common is an unbridled passion for what they’re learning.

“You should only write a thesis when you truly enjoy learning about your topic,” said Michael Latimer ’14. As an International Relations major, Latimer is exploring the implications of an American-Iranian rapprochement in his thesis. Latimer studies the stability of Afghanistan and Iraq and the economic development of Central Asia all as it relates to the US-Iran relationship. And he’s loving every minute of it. Emily Cannon ’14 has a similar obsession with her thesis, an in-depth look at 500-year-old synagogues in the Venetian ghetto. The topic caught her eye during her semester abroad in Italy, and she was inspired to go where her intellectual curiosity took her. “I didn’t want to [stop researching],” she said. “I just wanted to read more and more and more!”

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EMILY CANNON ’14

Cannon has wanted to be an architect since she doodled houses as a little girl.

Hey, some things you just know early in life. Yuki Tanimoto ’14 knew he wanted to be an engineer since he saw his dad, a civil engineer himself, engaged in urban planning.

Now Tanimoto is completely enthralled by his thesis project on water-borne pathogens like cholera. Tanimoto, an environmental engineering major, uses models to predict the movement of certain pollutants down river channels, adjusting for factors like UV rays and riverside city populations.

While Tanimoto goes global, Genesis Garcia ’15 is exploring issues right here in Boston. Garcia, an American Studies major, is filming a documentary at Charlestown High School about Diploma Plus, a program for students who are lagging behind or have dropped out.

“I’m essentially trying to deconstruct the dominant narrative about dropouts,” said Garcia, “and I realized that in looking at this population that has already left school you could find really important information

ON AS A TOOL FOR EMPOWERMENT.” —GENESIS GARCIA ’15 about what is working in schools and what’s not.” She started her project as part of the Tufts Summer Scholars program, which allows upperclassmen to conduct 10 weeks of research with a stipend and a faculty mentor.

Chemistry major Stacey Berkowitz ’14 was also a summer scholar this year, though she was working with space rocks instead of students.

Berkowitz worked with materials YUKI TANIMOTO ’14 all the way from Mars. “We had meteorites [from Mars] in the lab and chondrites, which are like pieces of asteroids,” she said. Berkowitz spent her 10 weeks analyzing the meteorites and chondrites looking for a chemical called perchlorate that has been found on Mars. With an eye to the future Berkowitz said, “I learned a lot, and got a little bit more of an insight of what it’s like for students in graduate school working in Chemistry.”

These five students have different stories when explaining how they came to their projects, but they all agree that being at Tufts has given them a variety of resources for pursuing their interests. The first step, for them and others like them, is often finding a professor to connect with. “Professor Kounaves was my professor for Analytical Chemistry,” said Berkowitz, “and I thought his work was really interesting, so I asked him if he would be my mentor for summer scholars.” Tanimoto explained that he had a professor who was a modeling expert and environmental engineer, while Latimer said his advisor has “shown me a lot of resources, criticized my outline, and told me where I could improve.”

Once a project is set in motion, the students have a variety of resources to help them on their way. There are obvious resources like the library, skills taught in classes, and thesis support groups. Then there is the stipend that helped Garcia pursue the summer scholars program; the Tufts connection that gave Latimer access to renowned political scientists for interviews; and access to thousand-dollar meteorites that would not have been available to Berkowitz without the Tufts chemistry department.

Iran. “I want to lead the reader to the conclusion that it’s in America’s best interest, as well as Iran’s best interest, to normalize relations,” he explained. “The United States cannot remain a hegemonic power by being at odds with the entire Middle East.” Tanimoto hopes his research can be helpful in curtailing water-borne pathogens, and plans on publishing his findings. Berkowitz also hopes her work makes a positive impact. The chemical she’s been working with, perchlorate, “is soluble in water, and it could be a source of oxygen for future Mars missions. It also shows a possibility for life on Mars.” She adds that perchlorate is toxic to humans, so further research regarding perchlorate on Mars could have a large effect on NASA sending astronauts there.

These students also have big plans to pursue the interests they nurtured at Tufts. Cannon said she’ll take a year off to expand her portfolio before heading to architecture school, and Garcia is making plans for graduate school as well. “I definitely want to be a teacher ...

I can actually picture myself teaching at Diploma Plus,” she said. “The thing I’m really interested in is education as a tool for empowerment.”

Tanimoto will go into environmental consulting; he’s already gotten an offer from one firm. Berkowitz is considering a master’s degree in chemistry. Latimer is determined to keep adventuring, and specifically wants to visit Iran.

STACEY BERKOWITZ ’14

As for me, the girl who recorded Jeopardy and devoured Greek mythology for fun? I became a Communications minor, and then the Editor-in-Chief of the Tufts Observer, and now a paid reporter. Tufts encouraged my curiosity, and I proudly followed my intellectual passions surrounded by a community that supported them. I think I followed them somewhere pretty cool.

With this support Tufts students can think big. Latimer said he hopes that others read his thesis and have a shift in their thinking toward

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PROFESSOR MESSNER’S INTEREST IN ENGINEERING GOES WAY BACK. As we chatted, he pulled out a picture of him when he was just three years old holding a V8 engine that his dad had built for him. His “latest invention”, a headphone holder made from cardboard, was sitting next to his computer. “A lot of the best engineering is just elegant solutions to problems,” he said, smiling as I inspected the cardboard contraption.

Professor Messner’s area is automatic control systems— things like cruise control in your car or the thermostat in your house. He’s spent time programming and directing the Baxter robot in Tufts’ Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO). Baxter is a robot with eyes and arms that is meant to be an intuitive, safe machine in manufacturing environments, and Professor Messner has been programming it to do different things like sort Legos in the CEEO. But recently, Professor Messner has enjoyed getting out of his wheelhouse and collaborating with others, using his “elegant solutions” in fields like biology and medicine.

collaborating with Professor of Biology Mike Levin, who experiments with embryonic development in frogs. (“He got an eye to grow on the tail of a tadpole!” Professor Messner exclaimed.) Professor Messner joined Levin’s team as they began experimenting with hyperpolarizing and depolarizing embryo cells to see how it might affect the development of things like eyes.

Always one to look for simpler, more efficient methods, Professor Messner thought up a contraption that functions like a toilet, which could alternatively hyperpolarize and depolarize the embryos without removing them from the solution needed to do this. “Put a little mesh in there, so that the embryos can’t go through, but the liquid can,” and you can flush the liquid out without damaging the embryo.

I think he could see my eyes widen, because before I left, Professor Messner offered me a position to help with this research! Just goes to show you how quickly a research opportunity can pop up at a place like Tufts.

— CHANDLER COBLE ’17

He shared with me one such solution—the “tadpole toilet.” If he’s going for “elegant” he may want to rethink the name, but the idea behind it is fascinating.

Professor Messner began

BILL MESSNER PROFESSOR AND CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

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ENGINEERING RESEARCH THAT’LL GET YOU PUMPED BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR LAURA BURNS ’14 GROWS HEART TISSUE IN THE LAB

Laura Burns ’14 is currently the captain of the varsity women’s swim team, the president of the Engineering Student Council, and a studio art minor. She’s taken many classes in the art of calligraphy. “I think it’s a hallmark of Tufts, that you can study all of this really hardcore math and science but also have the opportunity to take art classes,” she said.

Poke your head into some of the engineering labs at Tufts and you may find students building hybrid race cars, designing a biodegradable ukulele out of silk, or having a philosophical debate with a robot named Cindy. But poke your head into the Lauren Black Lab in the Science and Technology Center and you won’t find vehicles, musical instruments, or robots. What you will find is a lot of heart … literally. Laura Burns gives the inside scoop on the heart tissue that Tufts engineers are growing right here on campus, and how it could completely change the lives of heart attack victims. If that doesn’t get future engineers’ blood pumping, nothing will.

Biomedical engineering students at Tufts, by design of the major itself, conduct a research project every semester, starting in their sophomore year. Yup, every semester. For Laura Burns, though, that research project has been the same one since her first semester sophomore year; she became absolutely hooked on the research happening in the Black Lab and has been there ever since. After a heart attack, Laura explains, part of the heart basically dies, because it’s not receiving enough blood. Cardiac muscle doesn’t proliferate, or multiply, which obviously causes a lot of problems when part of your heart essentially dies.

Eventually, the hope is that the

research Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Lauren Black is doing will lead to the production of a patch of heart tissue. “[This tissue] could be used to repair the heart after you have a heart attack,” Laura says. “We could put this patch on [your heart] so the cells in the tissue can regenerate and grow there.” Laura’s work in the lab is completely hands-on. “[I work on] creating an extra-cellular matrix that [heart] cells can grow in. My work is about finding the conditions that make the best heart tissue.” The work, Laura says, is something she gets “totally pumped about”… pun most likely intended.

25

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A grrea ea at sp pot po ott tto o o wa watch ch h th he Red ed So Sox oxx, o Bru Br ruins ns s, Patr ttrriot io ots s,, or or Ce Cel C eltic ics wiin na an any ny nu n num umber u ber be er off ch c amp am mpion m on onshi nshi sh hip h ps s (K (KN KNO KN NO OCK CK K ON W ON WO OO O OD AND AND ND THR HRO HR OW W SA S LT OVE SAL VER VER YOU YO Y OU O UR SHOU HOU HO O LDE LD D R!) R!) !)

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Davis Square Davis Square is a quick ten minute walk—or, in case of cold weather or temporary laziness, a 5-minute Joey shuttle ride—from the Tufts campus. A vibrant center of food, shopping, and music, Davis is a stop along Boston’s Red Line, the T (subway) line that shoots right into downtown Boston. But you’ll find you don’t really need to go further than Davis for a delicious meal, a fun shopping trip, or an evening of entertainment. Check out just some of the many spots to explore!

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SYLVIA MONTIJO ’16 CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND AMERICAN STUDIES DOUBLE MAJOR FROM CHICAGO, IL

Sylvia volunteers through Tufts’ Refugee Assistance Program and takes American Sign Language classes in addition to her double major. And the best part? She’s the nicest girl our freshman writer has ever met.

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AS I RACED TO HOTUNG CAFE TO MEET SYLVIA MONTIJO, I was definitely nervous. I’m only a freshman, and it was a bit nerveracking to interview a sophomore with such an impressive resume.

Right off the bat, though, it was obvious that Sylvia was incredibly humble and friendly, and I had nothing to worry about.

Casually, Sylvia told me about how she dedicates a big portion of her time to helping refugee families in the Boston area through the Tufts University Refugee Assistance Program (TU-RAP). Sylvia visits a family’s home once a week to help them with whatever they need. But Sylvia’s favorite part of her work with TU-RAP is the opportunity to work with children. “Children are my passion,” she admitted, “So I work mostly with the kids, helping them with their English and their homework.” Taking this passion further, Sylvia has a documentary in the works. The film will be her capstone project for Synaptic Scholars—a leadership group at Tufts that encourages intellectual risks and collaboration. The film will be a long term project that encompasses her love for children.

Sylvia also got in touch with Career Services her freshman year and by doing so landed a summer internship with an organization called RefugeeOne back in her hometown.

The resources Sylvia uses are evident in her use of sign language, too, a skill she learned in a course at Tufts. It has helped her to communicate with refugee children, she says, who struggle with English. “The class [also] taught me all about the beauty of silence,” said Montijo. Once the door to the class closes, she explained, no one speaks a word until the class is over.

Aside from excelling at Tufts, helping refugees, and learning sign language, Sylvia’s just the nicest— so impressive yet not intimidating at all. By now, I suppose I should be used to expecting the unexpected from nearly everyone on this beautiful hill.

— L AUREN DAY ’17

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Athletics

Women’s Basketball

Sweet 16 and Beyond For the he past two seasons, the Tufts women’s team has hosted the first weekend of the NCAA tio national tournament and made it all the way to the Sweet 16 round. Last season was a record bre breaker for the brown and blue, who had the highest winning percentage and the longest winning streak (22 games) in program history. They led the nation in scoring defense and fewest turnovers s per game. They shared a piece of the NESCAC title and were ranked number 5 in the polls by the end of last season.

This year women’s basketball has consistently been ranked in the top ten nationally and the winning has continued under the direction of NCAA Division III Regional Coach of the Year Carla Berube. The team completed a perfect NESCAC season (10–0) and made it yet again to the national tournament. By the time you read this article you’ll know how they did! Check out gotuftsjumbos.com to read up on the team’s record. That’s also where you’ll find info on our other varsity teams. But even if you’re not going to be on the court, you should get your butt into the bleachers—these girls are on fire.

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Men’s Basketball Gunning for the National Championship Last year, the Jumbos finished their season with a 17–9 record in the NESCAC semi-final round.

Four players were named in the Academic All-NESCAC selections and the team looked strong.

This year, all you have to do is look at the rookies to see blue skies ahead. At 6’8”, freshman Hunter Sabety from Oceanside, NY has a soft-spot for dunking. Only 13 games into this season he averaged 14 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He also had 27 blocks at that point. Center Tom Palleschi ’16 was named D3hoops.com Northeast Region Rookie of the Year last season with the second best block average in the league. Tarik Smith ’17, featured on the cover, is excited for next year, when the boys will be gunning for the national championship. “We have to push each other every day in order to achieve this goal,” he says. “But I believe we have the pieces to do it.” Go Jumbos!

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Top Profs

Now You’re Speaking

Mingquan Wang

Kamran Rastegar

Zeina Hakim

Greg Carleton

SENIOR LECTURER OF CHINESE

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ARABIC AND DIRECTOR OF THE ARABIC PROGRAM

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF FRENCH

PROFESSOR OF RUSSIAN AND DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

What’s your course this semester all about?

What is your research all about?

Can you describe your research?

You teach a course called War Stories. What’s that all about?

I will teach a course on Chinese characters this year, which will explore historical, cultural, and linguistic aspects of Chinese characters.

I research the ways by which cinema and literature contribute to the collective memory of difficult or traumatic social histories such as war, focusing [mostly] on conflicts in the Middle East. I also examine 19th century Arabic, Persian, and European literatures.

I study the poetics of the French novel in the eighteenth century.

[Many novelists employed] a wide range of literary devices designed to “sound true,” while simultaneously going to great pains to “sound false.” As a result, the readers find themselves constantly oscillating between two positions: being drawn into the fiction, and being driven away from it.

Can you give an example of something you might learn in that class?

Chinese characters are not only written symbols of the words we use, they are also records of history. The character 取, for example, has two components: “hand” on the right and “ear” on the left, and it means “to take by force.”

The form and the meaning of the character came from a practice in ancient battles, when the victor cut off the victim’s left ear as a trophy.

For a student interested in studying Chinese, why Tufts?

The Chinese program at Tufts benefits from dedicated faculty, a comprehensive curriculum that covers Chinese literature and culture as well as language, special programs like the guest lecture series, Chinese house, and Chinese Festival receptions, and a study abroad program in Hangzhou, China.

What’s one thing you find fascinating about the topics you teach?

Our collective memories of experiences such as war are very much produced by cinema, photography, and literature—but most of these are “imaginative” rather than factual representations. This leads to a set of ethical questions about how closely collective memories relate to historical events.

Why should someone study Arabic, generally and at Tufts specifically?

Arabic is the lingua franca of a large part of the world. It’s at the heart of the religion followed by a quarter of humanity. Tufts has one of the best Arabic programs in the US. Our program uses a holistic, communicative pedagogy that emphasizes real-life use of the language. The program is also closely linked to a dynamic Middle Eastern Studies program at the university.

Why should someone study the French language?

French, along with English, is the official working language of the United Nations, UNESCO, NATO, the International Labor Bureau, the International Olympic Committee, and many other international organizations. French also provides the base for more than 50% of the modern English vocabulary!

For someone interested in studying French, why Tufts?

“A program is as good as its people” is a truism that explains why Tufts’ programs are so good.

The students and faculty are exceptionally curious and engaged. [We] offer a wide range of courses … beyond literary and artistic movements, which explore critical theory, film studies, gender studies, postcolonial studies, or the Islamic world.

and how it is understood and represented differently there than in other parts of the world. We explore the consequences of that in how Russia has seen itself in the world and in history.

What is something you find cool about the Russian language?

People often exaggerate how difficult Russian is—imagine a language with only three tenses: past, present, and future!

Why is it important to study Russian?

Russian is a key foreign language to know whether one’s chosen field is business, law, journalism, or government—all four of which are fields our students pursue.

In our undergraduate application, we ask “Why Tufts?”

What’s your answer?

The Russian department has a lot of flexibility in terms of meeting each students’ interests. Tufts offers small classes, individualized attention, and research-motivated faculty who know how to bring their work into the classroom and engage students.

Foreign language study is an important part of the Tufts experience.

With faculty like this, that’s not so surprising.

My Language Recommended Reading from our Foreign Language Professors Leg Over Leg

by Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq

Pablo Martín Ruiz ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE

Marie-Claire Beaulieu

“A very profound work that follows a fictoautobiographical protagonist from the Arab world across Europe and to Britain, all the while providing brilliant commentary and insights into all the societies he explores.”

—KAMRAN RASTEGAR

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF CLASSICS

In Search of Lost Time

by Marcel Proust

What classes do you teach?

Describe your research.

I am particularly interested in the works of Jorge Luis Borges, one of the giants of twentieth century literature, and I teach a class about him. I’m now starting a research project about song. This semester I’m teaching a class I call “The Poetics of Song” in three major South American songwriters: Caetano Veloso, Luis Alberto Spinetta, and Jaime Roos.

I study how the ancients understood the world and their place in it. I want to know how people talked about the things that mattered in their lives like love, family, community, and the gods. I look at ancient poetry, maps, and art to puzzle out where people thought they fit in the broader organization of the cosmos.

What is your favorite thing about the Spanish language?

Greek and Latin are highly inflected languages; grammatical categories are expressed by modifying the words themselves. The result is a language that can express complex ideas in very few words and pithy statements. One of the best such ancient quotes is γνῶθι σεαυτόνv “know thyself”, a maxim which was inscribed on the temple of Apollo at Delphi. There’s a big debate on the meaning of the phrase in Antiquity.

“Lucifer visits Moscow in the 1920s, en route from Jerusalem in the first century A.D … and, literally, all hell breaks loose.”

Why Tufts?

—GREG CARLETON

I am particularly fond of the creative ways in which we use diminutives: “perrito” means small dog, while “besito” means an affectionate kiss; “verdecito” means a light green, and “despacito” means very slowly. There are many possible meanings of the diminutive, some of them quite unexpected and charming.

Why is it important to study Spanish?

The more we do in relation to language in general, the richer our life experience as humans becomes. In the US, [Spanish] is becoming a very present second language. Also, many of the literary masterpieces of the twentieth century were written in Spanish, not to mention classics like Don Quixote or the works of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. You don’t want to miss them!

What’s one thing about Greek and Latin that fascinates you?

Learning Greek and Latin at Tufts is about connecting the past with the present. Students have the occasion to use their language skills to annotate, translate, and analyze ancient documents, which we then publish electronically. Our students enter the ongoing global conversation about history, law, literature, philosophy, and art.

“What is most extraordinary about Proust is his ability to capture the subtlest nuances of human emotions. To me, Proust is the Shakespeare of the inner world.”

—ZEINA HAKIM

The Wisdom of Chinese Characters Beijing Language and Culture University Press “For anyone who wishes to have a basic understanding of the Chinese characters.”

—MINGQUAN WANG

The Master and Margarita

by Mikhail Bulgakov

Trilce by César Vallejo Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo “There are so many books in Spanish that I love. These are three twentieth century classics.”

—PABLO RUIZ

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Advice You u th thought you got through the hard part: applying to college. Now that yo you’ve been admitted to some great schools, you realize that applying wasn’t actually uallyy the hardest part, because now you have to pickk one. But don’t worry! There are plenty of other high school seniors in your boat. Take a look at their questions and see what our experts (admissions officers and Tufts students just on the other side of this process) had to say. Juniors keep reading; this might help you finalize your list of schools for next year’s application cycle!

So You Don’t Know Where You’ll Be

NEXT YEAR?

I won’t have the opportunity to visit many of the schools to which I’ve been admitted before I have to make this decision. What should I do?!?!

Of the schools I have to choose from, I have a clear favorite. But my parents have really been pushing a different one. We’re at a standstill, what should I do?

Aditya: I wasn’t able to visit the schools I got into either. Like all life’s big decisions, “follow your heart” is the best advice someone could give you. That’s not to say you shouldn’t research further. You can check out a school’s website, read up on this semester’s course offerings, and get in touch with students and professors via email to get your questions answered. At admissions.tufts.edu, you can peruse blogs of current students or take a virtual tour of campus. Once you’ve done all of that, step away from the rankings and statistics and choose the school where you feel yourself fitting in. Your education will be taken care of at that point; it it’s s the people you you’llll be surro ounded by that’ll make all the differen nce.

Kim: Choosing your college can often bring up K all kinds of emotions for students and parents a alike. This is a moment in time when you are a rrequired to respond to this decision as an adult.

We know that to bring others around to our W position we must be armed with strong facts and p cconviction. If you have a school that is a clear ffavorite, take the time to articulate why it makes yyou swoon. For some students, a conversattion with your parents will work; for others an email articulating your thoughts will do the trick. e Remember, as parents our ultimate goal is that R yyou are happy and have a secure future. Your job iis to reassure them that you have found the best school that will give you both.

Aditya Hurry ’17 From Mumbai, India

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Greg Wong Assistant Director of Admissions

I need guidance in choosing where to go to college, but I don’t want too many people weighing in. Who should I include in the decision-making process?

Greg: When I was a high school senior, there e were so many others weighing in with their ow wn advice about this process. My parents thought I should stay close to home and pick the col-lege with the best job prospects. My friends overshared their opinions so it was hard to filter out their “college hysteria.” Remember: choo osing the “right” college is an individual process. You are in the driver’s seat! I finally made a very personal choice to stay true to what I needed d— and I ended with an amazing college experien nce.

Advice—whether from parents, siblings, teachers, or friends—comes from good intentions..

Everyone hopes to support you until the end of this stressful journey, and exploring your options with those who know you best can be helpfull.

But ultimately the next four years will be yourrs to experience, so start it off with a decision that is yours as well.

Kim Barth Kembel Senior Admissions Officer

Q&A Before May 1st, I’ll be visiting the schools I got into one more time.

What should I do while I’m on campus to really figure out if I should attend?

Abigail: The spring open houses hosted by any school are helpful because your agenda is planned out for you! Tufts’ Jumbo Days* for admitted students in April are wonderful, because they incorporate tours, mock classes, opportunities to meet current students, and even fun shows to watch. Whether you attend an open

Abigail McFee ’17

As I decide which school to attend, how much should the financial aid package come into play?

Denny: Let’s be honest, cost is a big question floating around in your head as you make this decision, and that makes a lot of sense. Every family has different priorities, and this is something that should be discussed as a team. Hopefully, though, that’s not what the final decision is all about. The point of a fifinancial aid award is to help you pursue a world class education and allow you to make this decision based on which school you’re most excited about. Tufts will meet 100% of demonstrated need for all of our students—so when you’re making your decision, think about where you’d be happy, challenged, and inspired. Can you picture yourself on stage in the campus theater or in a science laboratory performing research? The best college for you will be the one that fits your own interests. At Tufts, we strive to create a learning environment that incorporates the widest possible range of student perspectives, backgrounds, and diversity. As you consider Tufts, weigh the balance between opportunity and affordability keeping in mind we are serious about making sure that all of our qual qualifi lified fied applicants can afford a Tufts education.

From Chadron, NE

house or plan your own visit to a school, one of the most important things you can do is this: allow yourself a chance to be alone. Take a shorr t walk through campus without a tour group. Go and sit in the student café, amidst the buzz of conversation, and get a feel for the school’s atmosphere. Relax for a minute on a bench in the center of campus, underneath the trees, and watch people walk past. Those are the mo oments when you can get quiet and sort through h all of the complicated emotions that come with h college visits. You can focus on yourself, and that will help you know where you belong. * For information on Jumbo Days, visit the admitted student website, admissions.tufts.edu/2018.

Matthew Wittman ’12 Admissions Counselor

If I don’t know anyone who goes to the schools I’m looking at, how do I meet or talk to current students?

Matthew: Alright, we all know it’s tough to get to know every school, especially if you’re far away. If you can’t see every campus, or if you’ve got lingering questions, try a school’s Facebook page. Trust me when I say they’re not just for cat pictures—you have the opportunity to get lots of great info from the school itself and, more importantly, have your questions answered by current students. Take the Tufts Class of 2018 Facebook page: just in the last few months you’ve got folks giving gap year advice, telling others why they cchose Tufts, sharing the low-down on dorm life, and commiserating about the weather. Join the a TTufts Class of 2018 group or check out the Tufts A Admissions Facebook page for even more insider info—every school has one like it!

LET’S TALK MASCOTS. From all of us at Tufts: While in no way do we think this should be a factor in this decision … Jumbo the elephant. ‘Nuff said.

Denny Paredes Associate Director of Admissions

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Programs With nearly 150 majors and minors, 30 interdisciplinary programs, and the courses of the ExCollege, Tufts’ offerings require more than a brief skimming, so you can find an expansion of this quick list on our website. But in the meantime, skim away. Just note that Tufts undergraduate programs are offered in two schools: Arts & Sciences and Engineering. You can choose majors and minors in either or both schools, and many students do. You may even transfer from one school to the other.

School of Arts & Sciences Majors *available as a second major Africana Studies American Studies Anthropology Applied Mathematics Applied Physics Arabic Archaeology Architectural Studies Art History Asian Studies Astrophysics Biochemistry Biology Biomedical Engineering Sciences* Biopsychology Biotechnology* Chemical Physics Chemistry Child Development Chinese Classical Studies Cognitive and Brain Sciences Community Health* Computer Science Drama Economics Engineering Psychology/Human Factors English Environmental Studies* French Geological Sciences Geology German Language and Literature German Studies Greek Greek and Latin History Interdisciplinary Studies International Literary and Visual Studies

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International Relations Italian Studies Japanese Judaic Studies Latin Latin American Studies Mathematics Middle Eastern Studies Music Peace and Justice Studies Philosophy Physics Political Science Psychology Psychology/Clinical Concentration Quantitative Economics Religion Russian and Eastern European Studies Russian Language and Literature Sociology Spanish Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Five-year Combined Degree Programs Tufts/New England Conservatory: B.A. or B.S. and Bachelor of Music Tufts/SMFA (School of the Museum of Fine Arts): B.A. or B.S. and Bachelor of Fine Arts

School of Engineering Majors *available as a second major Professional Degrees Biomedical Engineering Chemical Engineering Civil Engineering Computer Engineering Electrical Engineering

Environmental Engineering Mechanical Engineering Additional Degree Options Architectural Studies Biomedical Engineering* Biomedical Sciences* Biotechnology* Engineering Physics Engineering Psychology/Human Factors Engineering Science Environmental Health

Minors Africana Studies Arabic Architectural Engineering Architectural Studies Art History Asian American Studies Asian Studies Astrophysics Biotechnology Engineering Chemical Engineering Child Development Chinese Cognitive and Brain Sciences Computer Science Dance Drama Economics Education Engineering Education Engineering Management Engineering Science Studies English Entrepreneurial Leadership Film Studies French Geoengineering Geology Geoscience German

Greek Greek Archaeology Greek Civilization Hebrew History Italian Japanese Judaic Studies Latin Latin American Studies Latino Studies Leadership Studies Linguistics Mass Communications and Media Studies Mathematics Medieval Studies Multimedia Arts Music Music Engineering Philosophy Physics Political Science Religion Roman Archaeology Roman Civilization Russian Sociology Spanish Studio Art Urban Studies Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Check out just some of the classes offered in this department this semester.

Class Highlights ENGLISH

CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

The Poem Black World Literature Underworlds Girls’ Books Shakespeare II Literature of the Jazz Age Romantic Literature and Culture I British Modernism Cooper, Emerson, and Thoreau Environmental Justice and World Literature Philip Roth and Company War and American Values The Politics of Reading How Films Think Creative Writing: Fiction, Journalism, NonďŹ ction, and more

Steel Design Fundamental Epidemiology Finite Elements Analysis Advanced Reinforced Concrete Field Methods in Hydrogeology Structural Mechanics Wastewater Plant Design Advanced Soil Mechanics Site Remediation Computer Methods in Geotechnical Engineering Earth Support Systems Occupational and Environmental Health Health Effects and Risk Assessment Water Diplomacy Environmental and Water Resource Systems

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THE OUTR AGE INDUSTRY Tufts professors of sociology and political science wrote the book on outrage media

On the political Left and Right, outrage media appeals to the beliefs of its audiences through flattery while creating fearful opposition to the views of others. The consequence, Professor Berry explains, is that cross-party compromise becomes difficult to achieve.

Maybe you’ve never heard the phrase “outrage media,” but you’ve probably experienced it—as a raucous clip from a political radio show you caught while surfing stations, or the title of a controversial talk show in your TV guide. In the book they co-authored, Professor of Sociology Sarah Sobieraj and Professor of Political Science Jeff Berry examine the industry that has sprung up around political opinion media: radio shows, TV shows, and blogs designed to elicit an extreme response. “That desire to rile people up is driven primarily out of the need to get ratings and advertising dollars,” Professor Sobieraj said.

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For viewers holding the remote, however, outrage media carries immense power by creating a sense of intimacy. “There’s a lot of trust in the hosts,” said Professor Berry.

“They act as pseudo friendships,” Professor Sobieraj continued. “It’s not just anger that [audiences] get. It’s reassurance, it’s validation, it’s comfort.”

Professor Sobieraj focuses primarily on people: their fears, their motivations, and their relationship with outrage. Professor Berry fluently weaves in both historical and modern

references to political movements. They complement each other, demonstrating why collaboration between professors isn’t hard to come by at Tufts.

They also joke with each other like old friends.

In terms of the future of outrage media, Professor Berry said, “It’s ambiguous in the sense that we don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s clear in the sense that we know what will drive it, which is the market. When it stops making as much money, [outrage media] will contract.”

For now, Professor Sobieraj says, those raucous clips and controversial titles aren’t going anywhere, because frankly, “It’s good business.”

Athletics

Bleeding Brown & Blue Lauren Creath ’14 from Corte Madera, CA, is a member of the women’s cross country and track teams. As a Jumbo student-athlete, she offers her take on “Fan the Fire,” where spirit, sports, and service collide.

Being a student-athlete at Tufts has given me a broad community of friends among all of the sports teams, and has helped me excel in my classes by better managing my time and keeping me focused. During every competition and practice, I take pride in representing Tufts as a studentathlete, which is why I love getting others involved in Tufts athletics through Fan the Fire.

Two years ago, members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee created Fan the Fire, or FTF, as a school spirit initiative. FTF events are held at major home competitions in order to draw as many Tufts students to the games as possible. Fans enjoy free brown and blue t-shirts, blankets, and rally rags, and we have raffles for bigticket items like iPods or concert tickets. For

each FTF event we partner with an organization to raise awareness for their cause. The commitment to service has given student-athletes a greater sense of purpose and pride come game day when they put on their brown and blue uniforms.

For the football and soccer FTF event this past fall, we paired with the Alzheimer’s Association to raise awareness for their organization. The father of a Tufts football player is currently suffering from the disease, so there was a strong personal connection to this game.

Seeing the stands packed with hundreds of students, parents, children, and members of the surrounding community wearing blue and brown shirts and purple wristbands in support of the Alzheimer’s Association was a powerful sight.

The energy that the FTF events have created among the students is new, exuberant, and fun, which has made being a Tufts student-athlete right now more exciting than ever.

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Jumbo Sightings

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Tufts students can’t look at elephants without seeing Jumbo. If you’ve spotted one lately, send an email with your photos and captions to jumboeditor@tufts.edu.

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1. Jennifer Simons, Director of International Recruitment and Associate Director of Admissions Baby Jumbo, Halloween 2013! 2. Jaime Morgen ’14 from San Rafael, CA Jumbo cake! 3. Rachel Shapiro ’14 from Baltimore, MD These adorable little Jumbos were in a jewelry store in Girona, Spain. I spotted them on a family trip in March 2012.

4. Benya Kraus ’18 from Pak Kret, Thailand I used to always build a huge Lego railroad system with my brother every Christmas when we were younger, so my dad got me this new set to continue the tradition ‘Jumbo style.’ 5. Greg Wong, Assistant Director of Admissions This Jumbo lamp sits on my desk at work. 6. Lexie Kirsch ’18 from Los Altos Hills, CA The cookie that my little sister, Julia, made for me after I told her that I was accepted to Tufts. 7. Abbie Cohen ’15 from Cambridge, MA My favorite Jumbo photo from my semester abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina!

8. Akshita Vaidyanathan ’16 from Singapore I got these elephant earrings in Koh Samui, Thailand right before my freshman year at Tufts, and I still wear them all the time. 9. Tom Esponette, Admissions Counselor On my visit to Miss Porter’s school in Farmington, CT, I found a few of these vases in the guidance office. 10. Jessica Mar ’18 from Boston, MA Ready to take the world by storm with these guys!

Credits Cover: Kelvin Ma/Tufts University Ins & Outs: Public service by ©Jupiter Images/TongRo Images, p.

4; Dilemma by ©istock.com/oh_design, p. 5; Baseball by ©istock. com/browndogstudios p. 5; Water polo by ©istock.com/Aliaksei_7799 p. 5; World music room by Joanie Tobin/Tufts University p. 5.

Top Ten: Conan O’Brien by ©Getty Images; Grease by ©Getty Images; Blue water splash by ©veer.com/Irina Tischenko; Engraved globe by ©istock.com/johnwoodcock; Retro tv set by ©istock.com/ senkoumelnik; T-Rex by ©istock.com/4x6; Weight by ©istock.com/ AlonzoDesign; Grunge Dog by ©istock.com/quisp65. All images p. 8.

Class Highlight Acting: Top image by Melody Ko/Tufts University p.10.

Just Beyond the Hill: ©2013 John Hersey c/o theispot.com, p.

12-13; Joel Perez by Xanthe Elbrick p. 13; Tim Ryan by Kristyn Karl p. 13.

It’s Cool To Be Smart: Elephant Flying by ©Getty Images, p. 20-21; Elephant skin by ©istock.com/Minute, p. 22-23.

Engineering Research: Heart by ©SciencePhotoLibrary, p. 25.

Around Town: Martin Haake, Represented by Lindregn & Smith, p. 26-27.

Top Profs: Leg Over Leg c/o Library of Arabic Literature; In Search of Lost Time, Ficciones c/o Random House; The Master and Margarita c/o Vintage Anchor; The Wisdom of Chinese Characters c/o Beijing Language and Culture University Press. All images p. 33.

All other photos by Alonso Nichols/Tufts University, Kelvin Ma/Tufts University, and various students (thanks!).

Produced by Hecht/Horton Partners and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Tufts University.

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In addition, Tufts has formulated an administrative policy that educational and employment decisions are based on the principle of equal opportunity. The consideration of factors such as sex, race, color, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, veteran status, or disability unrelated to a person’s ability, qualifications, and performance is inconsistent with this policy.

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