2000-11-18

THE TUFTS DAILY

Sunny 54/34

TUFTSDAILY.COM

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009

VOLUME LVIII, NUMBER 48

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Mail goes Proposal to prohibit carrying alcohol into undelivered in Spring Fling moves forward, sources say downhill dorms BY

MATT REPKA

Daily Editorial Board

BY

BEN GITTLESON

Daily Editorial Board

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor … delivery people?

Mail recently went undelivered in Lewis Hall for about two weeks because a student delivery person failed to sort mail upon its arrival in the downhill dormitory, leaving dozens of students waiting for letters.

Around the same time — during the last week of October and the first week of November — another Mail Services student employee delivered the mail sporadically in South Hall, causing letters, bills, financial statements and other correspondence to show up late.

In Lewis Hall, two students said that at one point they saw a pile of mail on a shelf by the dormitory’s student mailboxes.

Financial statements and letters were left out in the open.

Mail Services became aware of the undelivered post in Lewis Hall after its non-student employees, who deliver the mail to a locked area in the dormitory six days a week for the student delivery people to then sort into individual mailboxes, noticed that mail was piling up in that locked area, according to Ron Drauschke, the supervisor of Mail Services.

Reports from students living in the dorm also tipped Mail Services off to the problem.

“A couple of residents voiced concerns,” Drauschke said.

Drauschke estimated the problem lasted between a week and two weeks in Lewis.

Residents put the length of time closer to two weeks. Mail delivery in Lewis Hall resumed on Nov. 6. see MAIL, page 2

Members of the Alcohol Task Force are moving closer to recommending a policy to prohibit students from carrying alcohol onto the President’s Lawn during next semester’s Spring Fling, according to members of the task force.

Task force discussions have occurred behind closed doors, a practice the group agreed upon by consensus in an effort to encourage honest conversation and prevent false rumors about the task force’s plans from spreading, according to Director of Health Education Ian Wong, chair of the task force.

The task force, comprised of students, administrators and staff, is comprehensively examining current alcohol policy.

One of the group’s three subcommittees focuses on how to manage major on-campus events like Spring Fling. The task force aims to offer recommendations to a policy-setting steering committee on alcohol policy by winter break.

The task force plans on publicizing information as soon as it has a draft proposal, which could be as soon as today, according to Wong. Following its release, the proposal will be made public for student input, Wong said.

“We’ll go back and we’ll try to seek an open conversation with the complete student body,” he said.

Several task force members told the Daily that the body was considering a proposal to ban alcohol from being carried into the grounds of Spring Fling. The members requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record about task force discussions.

In past years, official policy has permitted of-age students to bring a limited quantity of alcoholic beverages onto the

KRISTEN COLLINS/TUFTS DAILY

Spring Fling may be one step closer to dry next April as the Alcohol Task Force considers prohibiting students from bringing alcohol into the event. event grounds. But last year’s celebration was marked by an unusually large number of students seeking medical attention for alcohol-related issues, causing a masscasualty incident when the number of students needing medical attention exceeded the capacity of health personnel on hand.

In an attempt to prevent dangerous levels of alcohol consumption among students, task force members have suggested creating a pub section for of-age students on the President’s Lawn, in a setup similar to that of the annual Winter Bash dance, according to task force members.

While a number of the members told the Daily that various proposals remain

under consideration, some said that this approach is gaining momentum. One member said the proposal “has seemed almost inevitable from the very beginning” of the task force’s deliberations.

Several other members who were contacted declined to comment on the record regarding the matter, citing confidentiality concerns.

Since the group’s formation earlier in the semester, the discussions and meetings of the body have been closed to the public.

Minutes are kept private and members are discouraged from speaking publicly about see TASK FORCE, page 2

Gelernt calls immigrant Tufts alums pursue environmental projects through Fellowship rights a ‘tricky issue’ INTERVIEW | LEE GELERNT

BY

BY

MICK B. KREVER Daily Staff Writer

Lee Gelernt (A ’84) is the deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Im m i g r a n t s’ Rights Project.

He will speak tonight at 7 p.m. on his role as a public defender in his talk on Guantanamo, immigration COURTESY LEE GELERNT and civil liberties. The Daily sat down with Gelernt to discuss his job defending immigrants.

Mick B. Krever: How does the ACLU — and maybe even more broadly, how does U.S. law in general — view immigrants’ rights?

People who aren’t American citizens, how are they treated by the Constitution, by U.S. law?

Lee Gelernt: Right, that’s a very good question and there’s no simple answer. Immigrants are a particularly tricky issue. They

are protected by almost all of the major provisions of the Constitution and the reason is that the Constitution uses the word “persons.” It says “equal protection of the law for all persons,” due process for all persons, and what the Supreme Court has said is that the use of the word persons rather than citizens means that those protections apply to non-citizens. On the other hand, what the courts have said for hundreds of years is though the Constitution may technically apply to non-citizens, it may not apply in the exact same way. So they have diminished constitutional rights. What we do at the ACLU is fight to ensure that [immigrants] have basic constitutional protections.

It may be that in certain cases they don’t have every right that a citizen has, but we try to ensure that the basic protections of our system apply to non-citizens. As you can imagine, it’s very, very controversial. Particularly in times of economic downturn or national security crises, immisee GELERNT, page 2

ADAM MANDELL

Daily Staff Writer

As employment options continue to shrink for recent college graduates, two Tufts alums are among nine recent graduates this year taking advantage of the Compton Mentor Fellowship program.

The fellowship offers a yearlong, paid research opportunity that offers youths fresh out of college the chance to pursue a project that focuses on environmental sustainability, conflict resolution and other human security issues.

The Compton Foundation selected Nadia Eghbal and Mara Gittleman, both of whom graduated in May, as two of its nine fellows this year.

“It is a great opportunity for students to pursue their academic interests in the real world after college,” said Tina Woolston, project coordinator for Tufts Office of Sustainability.

Selected applicants receive a $36,000 stipend, which covers the cost of their endeavor, starting and finishing in mid-June. Each fellow also receives a primary mentor, who often shares a com-

Inside this issue

DANAI MACRIDI/TUFTS DAILY

Tufts’ Office of Sustainability helped two recent graduates through the application process for the Compton Mentor Fellowship program. mon field of interest and functions as both a guide and soundboard for the fellow.

Gittleman is spending her fellowship in New York working closely with the Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC), a non-profit that spearheads “green” projects in the city.

Her focus is on launching a sustain-

able food system in an urban area.

As part of her position at CENYC, Gittleman researches and maps out local community gardens and is helping to start a farmer’s market in the city.

Gittleman was thankful for the opportunity that the fellowship see FELLOWSHIP, page 2

Today’s Sections

Bibio’s latest release fails to innovate. Most of the album’s songs are remixes and the new additions stagnate.

After a trip to the NCAA Tournament last year, the women’s basketball team is set to begin its 2009-10 season.

see ARTS, page 5

see SPORTS, back page

News Features Arts & Living Editorial | Letters

1 3 5 10

Op-Ed Comics Classifieds Sports

11 12 13 Back

THE TUFTS DAILY

2

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

NEWS

Students wait nearly two weeks for mail in Lewis, South Halls MAIL continued from page 1

Rachel Friedman, a sophomore who lives in Lewis Hall, said she regularly opened her mailbox looking for a check her father had sent her in October. Her father had sent a check at the same time to her sister at Cornell University and her sister had already received it by November.

Friedman grew concerned when her check didn’t arrive, and she reported the mail problem to her residential director during the first week of November.

Sophomore Quentin Lott, another Lewis resident, had similar problems during the same time period. He was looking through his mailbox every day for a check from his mother when mail stopped showing up in his dormitory. Lott lives in a triple and he said neither of his roommates received the bank statements and birthday cards they were waiting for until well into November.

One night during the first week of November, Lott noticed “a ton of mail” — at least 50 envelopes, he said — sitting on a shelf by the mailboxes.

“I was just surprised,” Lott said. “I didn’t know why it was just dumped there.”

Friedman also noticed the pile and was worried that her check could have been stolen.

“I was expecting a check in the mail, and it was a problem if it was on the shelf and somebody took it or it was lost,” Friedman said. She has since received the check.

Mail Services terminated and has since replaced the Lewis Hall delivery person, who was also responsible for mail delays in Bush and Haskell Halls, Drauschke said.

“There was a problem, and it’s been corrected,” said Support Services Manager Sheila Chisholm, who added that the Lewis Hall delivery person had not provided a good reason for his behavior.

A similar scenario occurred in South Hall, according to reports from residents.

South Hall resident Kristin Bradley, a freshman, said that she and her friends had been waiting for two bank statements and a card at the end of October, but that nothing had turned up.

One day, though, “it all came at once,” Bradley said. She added that she was not sure how sporadic mail delivery was in her dormitory because she and her friends did not check their mail frequently.

The South Hall mail delivery person was not fired and “assures us that she’ll be doing her job,” Drauschke said.

Drauschke said early this week that Mail Services had not heard about the stack of correspondence left in a Lewis common area in which Friedman said she found her mail.

Student mail delivery people are supposed to sort the mail into residents’ mailboxes between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, a process that takes anywhere from less than half an hour in smaller dorms to more than an hour in larger

ALEXIS S.Y. YUEN/TUFTS DAILY

Mail in Lewis Hall went undelivered for close to two weeks earlier this month. A pile of unclaimed mail accumulated in the dorm before Mail Services distributed it. dorms, according to Evan Chasan, a junior who sorts mail in West, Wren and Houston Halls throughout the week.

Mail must always remain locked up, Chasan said.

“The sorters aren’t supposed to leave mail unattended,” he said. “Either it goes in the person’s mailbox or it goes in an ‘undeliver-

able’ mailbag that mail services will pick up the next day.”

“We’re not supposed to ever leave mail out in the open,” Chasan added.

About 15 student delivery people sort the mail in on-campus dormitories. Drauschke said that Mail Services had never seen a problem like this before.

Task force considers alcohol limits at Spring Fling during closed-door discussions TASK FORCE continued from page 1

task force proceedings.

Most task force members interviewed for this article defended the group’s confidential nature as important to creating an honest discussion. They said it was not a concerted effort to withhold information.

“It’s not that we don’t want information to get out,” Wong said. “It’s just; how can we have a very tough discussion about a very tough issue in an open and honest way?”

Tufts Community Union (TCU) President Brandon Rattiner, a senior and the only person on both the task force and the steering committee, agreed.

“I think it’s critical to its effectiveness,” he said of the task force’s closed-door policy. He added that if task force members did not have the guarantee of confidentiality, they

would be unable to amend positions they had previously taken.

“Nothing would be discussed in honesty,” Rattiner said.

But others took issue with some aspects of the body’s lack of transparency.

“It seems very odd that they wouldn’t publicize it more and get student opinions, since ultimately they’re the ones affected by the policy,” senior Tom Bennet said.

Task force member Kevin Wong, who has no relation to Ian Wong, said that the secretive nature of the body has limited students’ access to information. He distinguished between publicizing the information up for discussion and attributing that information to individuals.

“I think it would be helpful for people to know what issues and strategies we are discussing,” said Kevin Wong, a senior. “I understand that attributing sug-

gestions to specific people might cause restraint during discourse, but publicizing the content could prove very enlightening.”

Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman said the number of students on the task force — 16 of its 24 members are students — and the many demographics they represent have made the group successful in garnering a variety of ideas and feedback.

“The reason why there are so many students on the task force and it was structured that way … was to have a broad student opinion and perspective,” Reitman said.

“It’s probably the most effective way to get the student input and, from what I understand, it’s an active and lively conversation.”

Reitman is not a member of the task force, but he sits on the steering committee.

He emphasized that while stu-

dents might not be aware of the task force recommendations now, they will learn about its work eventually.

TCU Senator Bruce Ratain is a member of the task force and the chair of the Senate’s Administration and Policy Committee, which authored the resolution on alcohol policy that the Senate passed on Sunday. He said that the goal of preventing rumors through confidentiality was logical.

“There are a lot of very legitimate issues being discussed, so to have misinformation out there is dangerous,” said Ratain, a junior.

The tendency toward privacy caused confusion last month, when Kevin Wong sent an e-mail to hundreds of undergraduates suggesting that the task force was considering canceling Spring Fling outright or banning alcohol at the event.

Task force members were quick to deny these allegations, but at the

time did not counter them with details of the body’s discussions.

Rattiner noted that students do not need access to task force discussions to stay engaged in the debate, citing the “town meeting” to be hosted by Dean of Arts and Sciences Robert Sternberg tonight as one avenue of involvement.

The town meeting, entitled “Changing the Alcohol Culture at Tufts,” will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Remis Sculpture Court. The event is open to the Tufts community.

Reitman sent an e-mail last week urging task force and steering committee members to attend.

He told the Daily yesterday that the forum could be seen as an “open meeting” of the task force and steering committee.

Giovanni Russonello contributed reporting to this article.

Gelernt, ACLU pushes for comprehensive immigrant rights in courts

Fellowship allows graduating students to help create sustainable environment

GELERNT

FELLOWSHIP

continued from page 1

was a suit that you filed against former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

grants often become the scapegoat.

MBK: It sounds like there’s a pretty foggy middle ground. So when you as a lawyer for the ACLU are defending these people, are you trying to get them as full rights as possible, or are you also drawing a line?

LG: That’s a very good question, and that’s one of the things that we are constantly grappling with. We are, generally speaking, trying to get them as full rights as we possibly can.

But there are places where we know that they, under the law, will not get full rights.

For example, if you’re in the country illegally, there’s no way we could go into court and demand that you’re entitled to all of the health benefits and various other types of benefits that the state and government give out. On the other hand, if someone who was here illegally were pulled off the street and tortured and made to wrongly confess to a burglary he didn’t do, we would certainly say that that person has the right to an attorney and a right to a fair trial and cannot be tortured. So those are two ends of a spectrum, but we constantly have to draw lines and the courts constantly have to draw lines. I don’t think we’ve ever taken a position that every immigrant in the country, no matter what their immigration status, is entitled to every right. But we do believe that they’re entitled to more rights under the Constitution and federal law than they sometimes receive. And so we are trying to push that to one end of the spectrum.

MBK: One of your more high-profile cases

LG: Right. That’s a case called al-Kidd v.

Gonzales, the former attorney general, and also v. Ashcroft, the former attorney general. That is actually on behalf of a ... native-born U.S. citizen, Abdullah al-Kidd, who got caught up in a post-9/11, what we sometimes call a “dragnet,” and was erroneously arrested and detained … What we are alleging is that after Sept. 11, a policy was instituted by the government to arrest Muslim and Arab men, who the government were suspicious of but actually had no hard evidence to arrest them on criminal charges. So what the government did, we allege, is that they would say that they need them as witnesses in someone else’s case and have them arrested as witnesses, claiming that they wouldn’t voluntarily testify, hold them under the guise of needing them as witnesses, but really what the government wanted to do is investigate them. The government knew they couldn’t arrest them on criminal charges because they knew they hadn’t done anything wrong. So our client was arrested, held under really draconian conditions for a long time, ultimately was never called to testify — even though that was supposedly the reason he was arrested — but never charged with a crime, just so that they could investigate. They held him as a kind of terrorism suspect, but never admitted that’s what they were doing. So we have challenged this whole policy and we believe that the former Attorney General, John Ashcroft, is responsible for creating and implementing the policy.

continued from page 1

provided. “This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go do anything in the world. It is my ideal job,” she said.

Gittleman said that the fellowship allowed her to pursue her interest in urban agriculture, something she likely would not have had the chance to do if she had to find a job after Tufts.

“Catering to interests is not commonly found in the job market,” she said. “My fellowship has created a venue for these interests. They are flexible and supportive.

The foundation understands that projects change frequently.”

Eghbal has spent her year so far researching the role of clean technology in industries particularly affected by climate change.

Eghbal works with several non-profit organizations as well as the Center for Social Philanthropy, an organization that analyzes the lasting impact of charitable work.

Eghbal said the fellowship allowed her to apply her interest in climate change to a practical field.

“I was very pleased to take this opportunity,” Eghbal said. “Many important fellowship projects start from that basic interest in the issue. There is a wide variety of areas in climate investment.”

The candidates for the Compton Mentor Fellowship are chosen from a pool of 10 colleges. In addition to Tufts, students are selected from Berea College, Clark University, Furman University, Lewis and Clark College, Middlebury College, Morehouse College, Oberlin College, Princeton University and Vassar College.

Fellows are required to be U.S. citizens, to be on track to graduate in the spring of their application year and to be what the foundation refers to as a “traditional age” graduating senior.

Woolston predicted that the foundation would likely select only one Tufts graduate for the program next year because of the current economic climate.

Woolston underscored the extent to which personal appeal affects the admissions process.

“It becomes more so about the person rather than their individual project,” she said. “Typically, a very interesting and driven applicant will have a very interesting and driven project. The Compton Foundation aims to look for engaged students with leadership potential, community involvement and creativity.”

Both fellows lauded the sense of community that they share with the other members of the program.

“Everyone is doing different projects all over the globe. We support each other morally and trade stories of similar problems,” Gittleman said. Eghbal agreed that the camaraderie between fellows is strong. She explained that the fellows meet at a retreat in mid-July in San Francisco and share an e-mail thread throughout their experience.

“We continue to update each other on our projects,” Eghbal said.

Both Eghbal and Gittleman were thankful for the Office of Sustainability’s active role in helping them through the application process. Both fellows received interview training from Tufts to prepare them for their interviews in April in San Francisco.

Features

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tuftsdaily.com

Academic technology on the rise in classrooms BY

CHARLOTTE STEINWAY

Gobble gobble

Daily Editorial Board

When Anthropology Lecturer Cathy Stanton proposed that students could “tweet” their first paper assignment, she wasn’t talking about ornithology. Twitter.com, blogs and wikis are all forms of new media that no longer pertain solely to the realm of social networking — many of these formats, especially at Tufts, are now considered commonplace in an academic setting.

“Giving students the option to use whatever format or form of communication they wish — including the media that we use for the most off-the-cuff or personal kinds of communication — can be a useful way to take theories out of the realm of the esoteric and to reframe them as just ideas that we might toss around when we’re thinking or arguing about a question that concerns or bothers us,” Stanton said in an e-mail to the Daily. Stanton let the students in her Myth, Ritual, and Symbol class use any forum they wanted for their first assignment, be it a Skype session or Twitter feed.

Three years after implementing “Spark,” a suite of web 2.0 tools used for collaborative and interactive work, Tufts University’s Department of Information Technology has seen a steady rise in the number of new media forms utilized in the classroom. According to Director of Educational Technical Services Dr. Gina Siesing, Spark technology allows users to create and update blogs and wikis, as well as to create Web-based video annotation through a tool called “MediaMarkup.” The wiki technology, however, has proven to be the most popular thus far. “[The wikis] took off like wildfire pretty immediately, but with a steady growth curve over the past three years,” Siesing said.

“Interestingly, they’re used in pretty even proportions by faculty, by students and by staff at the university. People use them for academic, administrative and co-curricular reasons.”

Stanton uses the wiki format in lieu of a Blackboard site for her classes, a decision she made for two different reasons.

“I shifted into using wikis a couple of years ago because I’d gotten frustrated with the inflexibility of the Blackboard template, which has its uses but which isn’t terribly adaptable,” she said. “[Also], I was teaching an urban anthropology course, and it occurred to me that making a city is not unlike making a wiki, [in which] lots of people participate simultaneously in creating infrastructure and content, so I wanted to experiment with having a piece of course software that mirrored the subject matter of the course itself.”

Another faculty member in the anthropology department, Assistant Professor Amahl Bishara, uses wikis as well, but integrates them into the course curriculum for her Human Rights in Cultural Contexts course.

T

COURTESY WIKIS.UIT.TUFTS.EDU

Wikis like the one above and other new media are increasingly commonplace in academia.

“Instead of using Blackboard, we use a wiki — so all of our class discussions are on wiki, and then we have a section on the wiki for group projects. There are basically four students per topic, and each group has a page on the wiki,” Bishara said.

In another one of her courses, entitled Media, the State, and the Senses, Bishara uses blogging capabilities through the Spark suite, which enables students to post and comment on each others’ work. Bishara explained that blogging helps students to put anthropological thought into the contexts of their everyday lives.

“People can take anthropology and use the ideas that they’re learning in class and apply it for them to think about their own lives,” Bishara said. “And then the other thing, of course, is that many students haven’t written blogs before, so it’s also an experiment in new media.”

Bishara went on to say that blogs should not necessarily supplant traditional academic assignments, but that they can add elements that more static formats cannot.

“Sometimes a research paper is absolutely the way to go,” she said. “But sometimes you decide the topic early on in the term, and then you find some more interesting stuff later, and you don’t really get to incorporate it into your research paper because you’re already set on a topic. Whereas with a blog, you can use tools as they come along.”

Stanton agreed, saying that digital formats like blogs and wikis tend to allow students greater accessibility to course materials and understanding.

“I also like to think about how to create different points of access when I’m teaching, since students find their way into a subject in many different ways; some are visual thinkers, some are more linear, some need experiential or tactile connections with what they’re learning, etc.,” Stanton said. “So to me, the various digital options are just good ways to create more ways to access course materials.”

Although Spark technology offers the vastest amalgamation of academic technology tools, some teachers continue to use the options available to them on Blackboard.

Sophomore Sarah Ann Fung said her Classical Chinese Literature class doesn’t use blogs but instead uses the Blackboard discussion board function in a similar manner.

In her class, her teacher posts questions, to which students must upload one-to-twopage responses. Students are then required to comment on others’ posts.

“I think [this format] is pretty useful, and you get to see other people’s responses, even from years past, which is cool,” Fung said.

Some professors, however, choose to utilize neither Blackboard nor Spark in creatsee TECHNOLOGY, page 4

For senior, going abroad means going home BY

MEREDITH HASSETT Daily Editorial Board

JAMES CHOCA/TUFTS DAILY

Senior Jorel Roth studied abroad in his home city, Paris, where he lived with his family.

ROMY OLTUSKI | WORD UP

For most students, studying abroad is an opportunity to explore a new culture and city. However, senior Jorel Roth, an international student at Tufts, did something unique with his time abroad. He spent a year in his home city of Paris with his own mom as his host mother.

Roth originally came to the United States to receive a different kind of university education than those offered in France.

“I’ve always thought the French system provided better education up to high school, but after that the U.S. on average is better,” he said. “The top schools in France are definitely excellent, but there are more highquality schools in the U.S.” Roth emphasized the differences in the two cultures’ approaches to higher education. While in the United States students use their time in college to figure out what interests them, in France, university students pick a direction rather than certain classes.

“As soon as you graduate [high school], you have to figure out exactly what you’re doing,” he said.

He explained that this can cause problems for students who aren’t certain they’ve chosen the right direction, since each time they change their minds, they must begin their education again with the first year. “You could be 30 and be what we consider a freshman,” he said.

Although Roth knew what he wanted to do, he thought his education would be better served through a liberal arts institution in the United States rather than a public university in France. Yet Roth decided to return to the French education system for one of his four years at Tufts.

Roth returned to Paris for his year abroad to take advantage of one of the last opportunities to live at home. “I plan on living in New York or [somewhere in] the U.S., at least in my plans I can foresee, so this was my last chance of living in Paris.”

Although Roth did consider other abroad programs in Hong Kong and Sydney, ultimately Paris stood out as the place he wanted to go. “I decided if I’m not going to go to Paris, I’m staying in Medford,” he said.

Another benefit of the Tufts abroad prosee ROTH, page 4

he descendant of German-Jewish parents and Eastern European grandparents, I’m still a bit hazy on a few parts of the Thanksgiving narrative. I can’t really tell the difference between a Puritan and a Pilgrim, and I’m not sure when Native Americans and Pilgrims went from hating each other to spending the holidays together.

Still, there are certain important things that even a first-generation American knows about Thanksgiving: the cornucopia, the Mayflower, Squanto saving our butts, marshmallow-covered sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, spending time with family and, of course, turkey.

It’s the inclusion of all of these things into one ridiculously early, decadent, coma-inducing meal that embodies the American spirit: the one day when nationalism is all the rage, when anyone in the world — regardless of religion, race, gender or nationality — can be a part of the great melting pot that is our sovereign nation, so long as they eat a feast with their families and call it Thanksgiving. Hell, even Canada has one.

Naturally, when nay-sayers try and debunk the traditional holiday story, claiming sweet potatoes weren’t available at the first Thanksgiving or that the original Thanksgiving took place in El Paso, I say I’ve had enough. I say don’t listen to those un-American quacks!

Don with me your Cosby sweaters and rejoice in the festival of thanks!

That said, I do concede that there are a few fishy things going on with the words we use as the third Thursday in November rolls around — for one, the main course’s quite literally unAmerican name.

For a bird that originates in the New World, Turkey seems like a pretty lousy namesake, but the country is in fact the sponsor of its name — only accidentally though. The name “turkey” was first applied to the guinea fowl, imported through Turkey from Madagascar.

But when European settlers began arriving in the Americas, they mistook the American bird for a species of their familiar guinea fowl and lumped them together under the title “turkey.”

Funnily enough, while Americans mistook their own bird for one of Turkish descent, the Turks named the same bird after its New World origin, of which they were aware the whole time. Only a bit confused themselves, they dubbed the bird “hindi,” meaning Indian, unsure about exactly what stretch of land the New World encompassed. (Fail.)

Once “turkey” became the accepted English title for the animal, it began popping up in slang terms everywhere. “Cold turkey,” meaning suddenly or without effort, takes its name from the speed and ease with which the dish is prepared. Another, the mid-1500s British showbiz term “turkey,” meaning a failed show, most likely comes from the turkey’s reputation as a stupid animal.

Given our long history of turkey confusion mentioned above, though, I’m not sure we should be the species doing the name-calling.

But let’s not dwell on the turkey. (There will be time enough for that during the weeks following the holiday when Carmichael gets nostalgic.) There’s still stuffing and string beans and gravy and all of the other delicious plates that make up dinner. And then there’s the moment we’re not exactly waiting for — as we stuff our faces hedonistically throughout the meal — but one we certainly appreciate … dessert.

The word “dessert,” unlike “turkey,” implies one thing and one thing only. From the French “desservir,” to un-serve dessert might sound related to the irritating task of dishwashing.

But “dessert” focuses solely on the action in the dining room: that time after supper’s dirty dishes have been removed, when a wonderful batch of Thanksgiving pies — pumpkin, apple, cherry cobbler — is laid on the table in their place, waiting for us to gobble them up and then go for seconds.

God, I love America.

Romy Oltuski is a junior majoring in English. She can be reached at Romy.

Oltuski@tufts.edu.

THE TUFTS DAILY

4

FEATURES

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Second Life, wikis used by professors TECHNOLOGY continued from page 3

ing inventive uses of academic technology, instead opting to venture into more innovative forms of new media, like three-dimensional virtual environments. Siesling said that one faculty member, Assistant Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Justin Hollander, utilizes Second Life, a “virtual online world,” in his teachings.

Siesling explained that such technologies help by “articulating an identity by both communicating in the virtual space as well as

building spaces that represent yourself.”

One student, senior Max Zarin, said that he used Second Life in one of his Ex-College classes, entitled The Social Web, as a means of online communication.

“We basically all brought our laptops in and went on Second Life as a class,” Zarin said. “Other than exploring Second Life, there wasn’t really another purpose; we didn’t have a lecture in Second Life, it was just to familiarize ourselves with what it was like and [to] see the potential that it had in an educational setting.”

Senior Jorel Roth compares benefits of educational systems in US and France ROTH

continued from page 3

gram for Roth was its relationship with the École des Sciences Politiques (more commonly known as Sciences Po), one of France’s most distinguished universities. Because Roth is an International Relations and Quantitative Economics double major, the school’s focus on political science fit him perfectly.

“If I was ever in a European job market, Sciences Po would be a strong benefit to have on my resume,” Roth said.

In fact, this summer at an internship in New York, Roth’s unique combination of educational experiences at Tufts and Sciences Po impressed his boss, who himself had studied at both Harvard and Sciences Po. Overall, the experience of returning to the French education system was positive for Roth. “It was absolutely amazing,” he said. “It was familiar, but at the same time there were so many new things. It’s different after having lived in Medford.”

However, he noted that some aspects were a bit inconvenient after having experienced the benefits of Tufts. “If you think SIS sucks, try registering at Sciences Po,” he said.

Beyond questions of registration, Roth believes the differences between his experiences of classes at Tufts and Sciences Po reflect the differences in French and

American mentalities towards education.

While taking mostly political philosophy classes at Sciences Po, Roth learned that the French style of teaching is thought processoriented, whereas the American system emphasizes individual creativity and results.

For example, having taken a course on international economics in both the French and American systems, Roth noted that while Sciences Po required essays, Tufts would require problem sets.

Whether these differences are effective depends on the student, Roth explained. “You like it or you hate it,” he said.

Because the Tufts-in-Paris program requires a homestay, Roth opted for his own mother as a host. Although Roth imagines that living with another host family would have been fine because of his independence and comfort with the culture, he wanted the opportunity to live with his family in his own apartment.

“I knew it was my last year I would really be living there with my family. It was great,” Roth said.

Yet despite the fun he had last year in Paris, Roth is still happy to be back at Tufts this year, even if his current apartment doesn’t have a view of the Eiffel tower.

“You come back for the people, to reconnect with friends and to graduate — not for the ... weather. Medford doesn’t compare to Paris,” Roth said.

Guantanamo Bay, Immigration, and Civil Liberties Wednesday, November 18 7:00 pm Braker 001 with Lee Gelernt A’84 Deputy Director of the

Immigrants’ Rights Project at the

American Civil Liberties Union

Also on Wednesday …

3:30-4:30 pm Campus Center 220 Lee will talk about getting from Tufts to law school, the ACLU, and careers in civil liberties and as a public defender Co-sponsored by the Tufts Pre-Law Society

Sponsored by the Experimental College Co-sponsored by History, International Relations, and Peace and Justice Studies Questions? Call x73384 or email us at excollege@tufts.edu

Arts & Living

5

tuftsdaily.com

ALBUM REVIEW

Bibio repeats old patterns on new album BY

MATTHEW WELCH

Contributing Writer

The Apple and the Tooth Bibio Warp Records

MYSPACE.COM/MRBIBIO

Bibio’s one-man act is challenged on new album “The Apple and the Tooth.”

Such is the case with Clark’s remix of “S’vive,” which removes the pulsating bass and synthetic guitar embellishment of the original and fails to replace them with anything as dynamic. Instead, he pumps the track full of confounding vocal samples that fail to resolve, keeping the listener trapped in a rhythmically and melodically uninteresting motif. Unintelligible syllables are repeated endlessly, while a strange ’50s-era vocal line haunts the background without melody as a tackedon afterthought.

THEATER REVIEW

Thankfully, the other remixes offer more interesting takes on the originals. Wax Stag’s remix of “Sugarette” eschews the rhythmic shuffle of the original for a more melodic approach. The charming lurch in the original’s bass line gives way to a new synth melody, which complements the textures of the song more precisely than the original.

The Gentleman Losers’ remix of “Haikuesqe” features a new acoustic see BIBIO, page 6

MOVIE REVIEW

‘Fourth Kind’ fails BY

DAVID MERGENS

Contributing Writer

In the opening scene of “The Fourth Kind,” viewers are warned by Milla Jovovich’s character, “some of the images you are about to see

The Fourth Kind Starring Elias Koteas, Milla Jovovich Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi

less in its spirit, script and style, exemplifying the show’s invocation to take risks despite the potential repercussions. The show’s morals and life lessons are not purely inspirational. “Reckless” writer Craig Lucas (writer of “Prelude to a Kiss,” 1990) created a quirky, tragic and incredibly honest script that culminates in a surprising climax for a Christmas-centered play.

“Reckless” takes place over a couple of decades which are broken down and pieced together around the Christmas holiday. The main character, Rachel (Marianna

are extremely disturbing.” Unfortunately, they are disturbing for all of the wrong reasons.

“The Fourth Kind” is a complete mess of a film: poorly written, poorly acted, poorly shot and, frankly, insulting to the audience.

The plot revolves around Dr. Abbey Tyler (Jovovich), a therapist working in the small town of Nome, Alaska. Her husband was murdered some time ago as the result of unexplained events, and no killer has been identified. One week she realizes that all of her patients are complaining about a common issue: waking up at the same time every night with a white owl staring at them. She decides to put one of her patients under hypnosis to determine the problem, only to have the patient go mad in her office. Eventually it becomes clear that the cause of the problem is close encounters of the fourth kind (alien abduction), and Abbey herself becomes the aliens’ target. The movie presents scenes of “actual” abduction footage, including an interview with the real Dr. Tyler.

As soon as abduction works its way into the plot, all of the film’s wheels start falling off. Dr. Tyler’s colleague, Abel Campos (Elias Koteas), does not believe in alien abduction and laughs at anyone who suggests it. Unfortunately, the last laugh is on Campos for his terrible acting. One of the only strong personalities on

see RECKLESS page 6

see FOURTH, page 6

COURTESY MARK L. SAPERSTEIN

A woman (Marianna Bassham) embarks on a series of outrageous adventures after she is forced to flee her home on Christmas Eve in a scene from ‘Reckless.’

SpeakEasy’s new play is beautifully ‘Reckless’ BY

MICHELLE BEEHLER Daily Staff Writer

True to its name, the SpeakEasy Stage Company’s production of “Reckless” is just that. Director Scott Edmiston’s interpretation is reck-

Reckless Written by Craig Lucas Directed by Scott Edmiston At the SpeakEasy Stage through Dec. 12 Tickets starting at $30, student discounts available

Fish features

O

A deft and distinct musician, oneman act Bibio rightly earned his reputation as a genre-dabbler with his Warp

Records debut “Ambivalence Avenue” last June. Each track played like a cut from an eclectic mix tape, colorfully mixing Simon and Garfunkel-esque harmonies, wobbly dubstep bass and vintage funk samples. Four months later, Bibio released his latest album, which seems more content with looking back than pushing forward. Although “The Apple and the Tooth” features four new tracks, the remaining eight are remixes of songs from “Ambivalence Avenue.”

When the bulk of an album is remixes, it can be hard to pin down a central idea.

While the guest artists who contribute to “The Apple and the Tooth” maintain Bibio’s glistening production values, the tracks fail to coalesce as fully as the songs on his earlier albums. After all, Bibio’s work has always been characterized by the coherence inherent to the one-man approach. There has always been something distinctive about albums that are written, performed and produced by one person.

By deferring to other artists to remix his work, Bibio loses some of the charm that made “Ambivalence Avenue” such an interesting listen. While all of the remixes are sonically distinct from their sources, the spark in the originals is occasionally lost and is not replaced by any new idea.

CARYN HOROWITZ | THE CULTURAL CULINARIAN RIAN

n Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, virtually every news source I visit on a regular basis had a story that was related to fish or shellfish on the front page — and no, they were not just all food blogs. I am officially dubbing this day Front-Page Fish Features Wednesday. (The alliteration would have been perfect if it were a Friday, but humor me.) There were articles about the beginning of the annual scallop harvest on Long Island in The New York Times and a piece about tainted imported Asian catfish from The Houston Chronicle — a source which I don’t actually check regularly, but a friend e-mailed me a link to it.

Two fish stories in particular are making quite a splash.

The first story I saw on NJ.com, home of The Star Ledger. The article discussed the results of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Lake Fish Tissue Study. The EPA sampled 881 freshwater fish in 500 lakes and reservoirs across the continental United States from 2000 to 2003 to assess contamination levels. Researchers tested the fish for 268 toxins that can cause illness in humans; 17 percent of the lakes examined contained toxins “at levels of potential concern,” according to the EPA. Two lakes in New Jersey and seven in Massachusetts had contamination problems. Who’s The Armpit now? (Obviously I understand that more samples were taken in Massachusetts because it has more lakes than New Jersey so the contamination levels are not necessarily higher, but again, humor me.)

An even fishier statistic is that every single sample contained mercury, and about 49 percent of the fish had mercury levels that exceed the EPA’s safety recommendations for consumption. If only Jeremy Piven had said he got mercury poisoning from eating freshwater fish he caught himself! He would have had an even harder time of it when he first made the ridiculous claim last December, but who would have thought he could have been vindicated by the EPA a year later?

The second story has spawned a school of articles in the past month, but things came to a head for FrontPage Fish Features Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last month announced that it wanted to ban the sale of raw Gulf Coast oysters that are untreated and harvested in warm months because they are more likely to contain Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterium that causes about 15 deaths per year.

Bacteria can be killed post-harvest if oysters are treated with processes such as pasteurization or freezing.

Everyone from senators to oyster aficionados thought the FDA was floundering.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) sponsored a bill to ban funding for the initiative, and a hearing condemning the actions of the FDA was held on Capitol Hill on Nov. 10.

The outrage was two-fold. First, most of the oyster farms on the Gulf Coast are small, family-owned businesses and the technology to treat the bivalves post-harvest is well behind their means; second, the treatments affect the flavor and texture of a raw oyster. The FDA announced on Nov. 13 that it will postpone the ban indefinitely and that it plans to look into initiatives to help small oyster farmers afford post-harvest treatments.

I think the FDA came out of nowhere with its proposed ban. There are certainly foods that cause more than 15 deaths per year — why pick on oysters? The benefits of the ban do not outweigh the costs. If the farmers need to buy expensive equipment, the price will get passed on to consumers, who will in turn be less likely to eat the oysters because they don’t taste the same. Personally, I am glad to see that the FDA’s initiative has been shucked.

Caryn Horowitz is a senior majoring in history. She can be reached at Caryn.

Horowitz@tufts.edu.

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Bibio’s remixed tracks are rhythmic traps BIBIO continued from page 5

rendition of the song, stripping down the reverb and atmospheric rhythms of the original to subtle piano accompaniment and a stronger emphasis on the track’s vocal harmonies.

The last track of the album features a reworking of “The Palm of Your Wave” by Bibio himself.

Less compelling than the original, the new version replaces the folky ,finger-picked acoustic line with a choppier electric guitar adaptation. While the original drew its strength from the intimacy of the vocals and solo guitar, the new version adds baroque ornamen-

tation to the mix and detracts from the simple, effective melody of the original tune.

The four originals that open the album reflect the inconsistent quality of the remixes. The title track reiterates the fusion of the folk and electronic guitar that characterized “Ambivalence Avenue” with less punch and vivacity. “Rotten Rudd” takes an esoteric acoustic guitar melody and plasters it over heaving rhythms that stagnate the piece, leaving the listener in the same place after the song as he or she was. “Bones and Skulls,” like the title track, seems to reiterate the less interesting pieces of the preceding album.

“Steal the Lamp” is the real gem on “The Apple and the Tooth.”

Driven by raindrop-percussion and ethereal synthetic pads in the background, this track highlights Bibio’s talent for electronic composition and interesting vocal harmonies better than anything else on his newest album.

All in all, the new tracks on “The Apple and the Tooth” feel more like B-sides to their predecessor than parts of a new album. Hopefully Bibio’s next album will be marked by a more adventurous attitude and a desire to push beyond the electro-acoustic sound that he dwelled on here.

Authentic abduction footage a disappointing scam FOURTH continued from page 5

screen, Sheriff August (Will Patton), is also one of the most unintentionally funny characters in recent movie history. When Dr. Tyler is distraught and crying, the Sheriff’s only response is to yell, throw objects across the room and arrest people without charges. These scenes were probably intended to be some of the more dramatic moments of the film, but they end up being laughable.

“The Fourth Kind” is funnier than the average Hollywood comedy, which is about the only praise it deserves (besides acknowledging its beautiful aerial shots of the Alaskan landscape). As the movie saunters toward its conclusion, some of the decisions made by the characters are so ridiculous that one wonders how any of these people received advanced degrees in psychology.

The twist at the end is frankly uninteresting, and nothing gets resolved.

There are so many potential connections and plot devices introduced and never addressed that the audi-

ence gets the impression that the filmmakers had no idea where the story was going.

Marketing for the film has focused on the fact that “The Fourth Kind” is based on actual events videotaped by the real Dr. Tyler during sessions with her patients. The film uses this original footage to prove its point.

This concept is intriguing, as any “actual” footage of an alien abduction should theoretically be pretty impressive. That intrigue grows until about 20 minutes into the movie — when actual footage is used and the whole facade starts to crumble.

In some scenes, the “actual” footage of the patients is shown side-byside with the actor portraying the character, simulating the footage in a split-screen format. What the audience sees is two people side-by-side doing the same exact scene at the same exact time. Not only does this eliminate any suspense that might have existed, it distracts viewers and takes away from the story.

Even with some questionable filmmaking decisions, “The Fourth

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

ARTS & LIVING

Kind” could have been forgiven had some of the real footage of abductions been shocking, convincing or even scary. But they’re not. In one scene, a patient starts levitating over his bed; immediately the footage turns to static and nothing is visible. Is the audience supposed to believe that the aliens purposely tampered with the camera or brought powerful electromagnets with them for the abduction? At that point it became obvious that the supposedly “authentic” footage is nothing more than an elaborately planned and terribly executed hoax on the part of the movie studio.

If the filmmakers thought they had an important story to tell, more effort should have gone into preventing the end result: a boring, insulting film that provides more laughs than scares. Viewers will probably find themselves hoping that the footage in the film is real, if only for the slight chance that they might be abducted from their seats and not have to watch the rest of this film.

‘Reckless’ creates tragic world of comedic Christmas craziness RECKLESS continued from page 5 Bassham), is an enthusiastic young mother whose tragic series of Christmases begins when her husband Tom (Barlow Adamson) inexplicably takes out a contract on her life. Rachel’s relationships with the other characters she meets revolve around love mixed with lies. Rachel’s attraction to destructive love is the source of one of the most poignant points in the show, when Rachel asks Lloyd (Larry Coen) if it is possible to ever really know somebody.

The question is never directly answered as the characters learn about and share each other’s past deceits.

“Reckless” is a show that laughs in the face of seriousness and then abruptly apologizes. The writer introduces Pooty (Kerry A. Dowling) and her husband Lloyd as Rachel’s comical rescuers on her first tragic Christmas Eve. Their relationship with Rachel is not always humorous. After the trio’s relationship is destroyed, the play takes a depressing dive for six almost entirely unseen and silent years of Rachel’s life. At this moment, the show exposes itself as something more than just a comedy. It is a disheartening glimpse of how bad life can become — even for someone like Rachel, the most persistently optimistic believer in the miracle of Christmas.

The funniest parts of the show are the recurring therapy sessions that Rachel attends.

Amazingly, Paula Plum performs all of the psychiatrists, succeeding in creating numerous hilarious characters. Here,

Rachel confesses the most wildly unbelievable elements of her story to a string of psychiatrists that are never helpful to her — or, if they ever bother to listen, are incapable of believing. At these moments, reality is questioned, dismissed or misunderstood.

Bassham’s performance as Rachel is refreshingly energetic and youthful. The character’s love of Christmas, wish for a puppy and tendency to incessantly babble associates her more closely with a child than a mother. It is probably Bassham’s portrayal of Rachel’s annoyingly childlike characteristics that make the other characters both love and hate her, allowing the audience to vacillate in their feelings toward Rachel during different moments of the show.

The set for “Reckless” is attractive and festive, complementing the comedic beginning of the performance.

Artificial Christmas trees hang upside down and right side up, creating a bright backdrop for what initially appears to be a simple, happy show. Just as Rachel quickly learns of her husband Tom’s terrible deed, the stage is able to swiftly transform into a dark and lonely place devoid of light and company — except that of a red telephone. The stage and props do not attempt to appear realistic — a couch is also Lloyd’s car — but are comical in their shortfalls and beautiful in their successes.

“Reckless” will be performing at the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts through Dec. 12.

Student tickets are available.

Where did humans come from?

How do we know?

Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Town Meeting

The Drinking Culture at Tufts: How did we get here? Can it be changed?

Please join us for this open meeting of the Alcohol Task Force

Wednesday, November 18, 5:30Ͳ7:00 PM Remis Sculpture Court, Aidekman Arts Center Pizza and soda will be served

Chem 0005/ Bio 0006 / Ast 0006 T/Th J+ block 3-4:15pm “From the Big Bang to Humankind” x Interdisciplinary course - taught by a team of professors from astrophysics, geology, chemistry, biology, anthropology x Focus on understanding scientific evidence and arguments x No prerequisites x Satisfies science distribution requirement If you have questions, please email Meredith.knight@tufts.edu

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

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ATTN: ALL STUDENTS TODAY is ELECTION DAY! It is SO EASY to vote for TCU Judiciary: ase.tufts.edu/ecom or webcenter or tuftslife.com

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THE TUFTS DAILY GIOVANNI J.B. RUSSONELLO Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL Naomi Bryant Managing Editors David Heck Alexandra Bogus Executive News Editor Nina Ford News Editors Tessa Gellerson Ben Gittleson Christy McCuaig Matt Repka Ellen Kan Assistant News Editors Harrison Jacobs Katherine Sawyer Saumya Vaishampayan

Robin Carol Executive Features Editor Marissa Carberry Features Editors Meredith Hassett Alison Lisnow Emily Maretsky Kerianne Okie Romy Oltuski Christina Pappas Charlotte Steinway Julia Zinberg Sarah Korones Assistant Features Editors Carter Rogers

Jessica Bal Executive Arts Editor Emma Bushnell Arts Editors Mitchell Geller Adam Kulewicz Catherine Scott Josh Zeidel Charissa Ng Assistant Arts Editors Benjamin Phelps

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

EDITORIAL | LETTERS

EDITORIAL

Alumni abroad offer close-to-home benefits In 2002, Tufts realized that, as an institution focused on international studies, it needed to expand its international alumni networks. At that time, there were only three overseas Tufts Alumni Chapters in existence.

Now, six years later, that number has ballooned to 22, and the Tufts international network is still growing.

Tufts’ recent focus on reaching out to alumni abroad has greatly benefited the university and, despite budget cuts, should continue to be a priority.

Until 2002, networking with international alumni was a backburner issue — the university failed to seize the many opportunities that connecting with Tufts alumni abroad has to offer.

The university was not even considering the financial and education benefits of networking with international alumni.

When Larry Bacow took office as Tufts’ president in 2002, he took a deep interest in expanding Tufts’ international profile and network. In retrospect, it is obvious that his initiatives have not only garnered financial support from previously untapped sources, but have also reaffirmed Tufts’ place as a top-ranking, internationally focused institution.

The year he took office, Bacow, along with Provost Jamshed Bharucha, launched the Beyond Boundaries capital campaign with the goal of raising $1.2 billion for the university by 2011. One of the major components of the program is broadening international alumni outreach.

Gretchen C. Dobson, the current senior associate director of domestic and international programs in the Office of Alumni Relations, was put in charge of opening international Tufts alumni chapters and cultivating a Tufts donation network with a global reach. Tufts in the World — an offshoot of the Beyond Boundaries campaign specifically focused on increasing Tufts’ global admissions, strengthening its alumni base and raising its profile — has proven to be a success. With the assistance of its alumni abroad, the Tufts capital campaign has raised 1.03 billion dollars to date and is well on its way to reaching its $1.2 billion goal despite the current economic downturn.

In addition to improving the university’s financial standing, the support of international alumni opens educational doors for Tufts students across the globe. Tufts, as a univer-

sity that prides itself on its globally focused education, has done an exceptional job of providing students with opportunities abroad. According to the Undergraduate Admissions Web site, 40-45 percent of students study abroad during their time at Tufts. Additionally, the university has made it easy for students to contact alumni across the globe, as the international chapters of the Alumni Association — as well as the e-mail addresses of the heads of those chapters — are listed online.

The new worldwide Tufts network has the potential to unite students with teachers and alumni who will provide them with a new, previously unavailable global perspective.

Though the Tufts in the World program has temporarily stopped expanding due to budget cuts, the capital campaign continues to thrive and maintain the international chapters built over the past six years. These new networks have not only increased financial support for the university but have also improved Tufts’ reputation around the world. Tufts should be lauded for its initiative to strengthen international alumni support, and it should to continue to strengthen these ties in the future.

acknowledging athletes, which is supposed to be “disappointing.”

While it should be noted that the editorial originally praised Tufts students’ non-sports interests, calling them “laudable,” it failed to demonstrate why there is a problem with the status quo. Our editorial board should not be prescribing extracurricular events to attend, nor should it be petitioning students to adopt a less egalitarian campus environment.

If current students want a college atmosphere where sports play a central role, there are hundreds of colleges to fill that niche. Boston University is right down the road and state schools have the added benefit of being less expen-

sive. But a Tufts experience is different.

Here, students prefer to attend events that cater to their own passions instead of following others’. We don’t participate in clubs for acknowledgment from athletes, just like athletes shouldn’t play sports for acknowledgment from fellow students. Why is the fact that there are more students interested in clubs than sports a problem? If the Daily actually values the one-of-a-kind experience that four years at Tufts provides, then it must stop trying to make a student body feel guilty for not attending campus athletic events.

Michelle Hochberg Executive Op-Ed Editor Vittoria Elliott Editorialists Nina Grossman Opinion Editors Andrew Rohrberger Molly Rubin Erin Marshall Editorial Cartoonists Alex Miller

ALEX MILLER

Ethan Landy Executive Sports Editor Sapna Bansil Sports Editors Evan Cooper Philip Dear Jeremy Greenhouse Alex Prewitt Michael Spera Alex Lach Assistant Sports Editors Daniel Rathman

Annie Wermiel Executive Photo Editor James Choca Photo Editors Aalok Kanani Danai Macridi Andrew Morgenthaler Josh Berlinger Assistant Photo Editors Kristen Collins Alex Dennett Emily Eisenberg Rebekah Sokol Tien Tien

Arlin Ladue Executive New Media Editor Jessica Bidgood New Media Editors Kyle Chayka

PRODUCTION Karen Blevins

Production Director Steven Smith Executive Layout Editor

Dana Berube Layout Editors Caryn Horowitz Andrew Petrone Amani Smathers Menglu Wang Adam Gardner Assistant Layout Editors Brian Lim

Grace Lamb-Atkinson Executive Copy Editor Rachel Oldfield Copy Editors Ben Smith Elisha Sum Ricky Zimmerman Sam Connell Assistant Copy Editors Sara Eisemann Katherine Evering-Rowe Ammar Khaku Niki Krieg Luke Morris Lucy Nunn Regina Smedinghoff

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Ben Schwalb Executive Online Editor Christine Jang Online Editor

Michael Vastola Executive Technical Manager Muhammad Qadri Technical Manager

BUSINESS Kahran Singh

Executive Business Director

Benjamin Hubbell-Engler Brenna Duncan Dwijo Goswami Ally Gimbel

Advertising Director Online Advertising Manager Billing Manager Outreach Director

The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community.

P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 617 627 3090 FAX 617 627 3910 daily@tuftsdaily.com

Dear Editor, In the Nov. 16 editorial, “Tufts spirit should extend to sporting events,” students and sports departments of Tufts were encouraged to increase their support for student athletes, especially in light of the athletes’ recent accomplishments. In making this case for expansion, the Daily overextended its argument, first by equivocating student attendance at a concert or theater production to attendance at a sporting event on the grounds that attending is “an acknowledgment of performers’ work and dedication.”

Because so few people attended last weekend’s sporting events, the Daily implied that students are simply not

EDITORIAL POLICY Editorials that appear on this page are written by the Editorial Page editors, and individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must be submitted by 4 p.m. and should be handed into the Daily office or sent to letters@tuftsdaily.com. All letters must be word processed and include the writer’s name and telephone number. There is a 350-word limit and letters must be verified. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length.

Sincerely, C.J. Saraceno, LA ’11 ADVERTISING POLICY All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief, Executive Board and Executive Business Director. A publication schedule and rate card are available upon request.

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OP-ED

Put your money where your mouth is BY

TEDDY MINCH | OFF MIC

You betcha

NICK PERRICONE

Democratic participation is a fine thing to advertise on an admissions tour.

Many of us probably chose to come here because of the emphatic focus we were told that Tufts places on active citizenship. I even recall University President Lawrence Bacow himself insisting on 100-percent voter turnout for last year’s presidential election in his welcome address to my class.

It is as striking as it is disappointing, then, that Tufts fails to cast its own ballot. What do I mean by this? As far as we know, our Board of Trustees fails to practice what’s almost ironically known as active ownership by abstaining from filing for or voting on shareholder resolutions — the financial equivalent of absentee ballots, according to senior Gabe Frumkin, founding member of the Advisory Committee for Shareholder Responsibility.

While the term shareholder resolution may sound like financial jargon, its real-world implications touch on issues that most of us Jumbos care deeply about. It is basically a referendum vote initiated by a concerned shareholder on a particularly disagreeable company practice. Such practices can pertain to anything from environmental impact to workers’ rights to discrimination — and they all seem to be ignored by Tufts.

What’s more, however, non-participation in this process is not really even an option: Not voting is counted as voting with management. We thus grant the companies in which we’re invested a veritable carte blanche.

Business and values, we seem to be told, are separable things.

But if the extolment of social responsibility at this university does not apply to where our most tangible form of social influence — money — is going, it means nothing at all. The happy progressive exterior of Tufts. edu is suddenly marred when one reflects that it may all be resting on money linked intimately with war and

T

DAILY FILE PHOTO

pollution. I’m not being sensational: We implicitly endorse the anonymous companies in which Tufts is invested.

To whatever social ills they inflict, we are implicit accomplices. But perhaps I am remiss in going so far as to say “we,” as this light upon a hill makes its investments in near total darkness (the Sustainable Endowments Institute recently assessed Tufts with a fat “D” in transparency). It is left, then, to our imagination as to where our trustees are sending our money. Tufts alumni are therefore rightfully leery of donating to this black hole of an endowment, as many demonstrated in last year’s petition for increased endowment transparency.

But things don’t have to be this way.

Neighboring schools, such as Williams College and Harvard and Brown universities, have already begun to make the necessary reforms. For example, Brown has established a student-run Socially Responsible Investment Fund to which alumni concerned about where their contributions may be headed can choose to donate their money. It’s a small but significant step in the right direction, and it’s just one example of ways universities can demonstrate that social and fiscal

responsibility are perfectly compatible. Furthermore, most community investments (just one form of socially responsible investing) have returns at market rates — that is, they can sustain our university financially just as well as other investments. Also, in this era of transition towards a green economy, not destroying our only planet has become both an existential and economic boon.

If Tufts insists that its students invest themselves for the common good, I think students should insist that Tufts do the same. Let any respite from the heedless accumulation of capital begin with the university. What better place than at this light upon a hill to find some of the enlightened selfinterest that has long been missing from American capitalism? For more on what we can do to demand that the administration put its money where its mouth is, come hang out with Students at Tufts for Investment Responsibility (STIR) Wednesdays at 8 p.m. in Room 112 in the campus center.

Nick Perricone is a sophomore majoring in philosophy and history. He is a member of STIR.

The importance of the public editor BY

CALEB ZIMMERMAN

The Tufts Daily ran a news article on Thursday, Nov. 12 (“Senate denies funds for public editor”), explaining that the Allocations Board (ALBO) denied funding for the salary of the public editor. In the Daily article, Tufts Community Union ( TCU) Treasurer Aaron Bartel explained that, “The general idea is that while the ALBO and the Senate appreciate the job the public editor does, we saw it as inappropriate to pay for a student at Tufts to make submissions to any publication.” I disagree with the ALBO decision, and I want to explain why the ALBO should reassess the importance of the public editor position and approve funding for the Public Editor.

As the Deputy Public Editor under Jeremy White (LA ’09), I experienced firsthand the role of the public editor and its importance to the Tufts community. Started in the spring of 2009 by former Media Advocacy Board (MAB) Chairman Patrick Roath (LA ’09), the public editor’s fundamental role is to listen and respond to students’ opinions about on-campus media. With the wide variety of publications at Tufts, it is essential that there be an avenue for students to express their concerns about ethical infractions they observe. For example, last year White began a discussion on the public editor blog addressing the anonymity of the Observer’s new marijuana columnist, Reggie Hubbard. Several students offered their opinions on the issue, including Hubbard himself, which successfully opened the discussion to the campus as a whole. This highlights the key role the public editor plays in

facilitating dialogue among members of the Tufts community.

Thus, the public editor’s job entails much more than reading every publication and checking to see that they adhere to the standards of journalistic integrity. Acting as a student advocate, the public editor facilitates constructive dialogue between media sources and the student population, an aspect of conflict resolution with which the Tufts community is very familiar.

A popular objection to paying the public editor is that someone should not be paid for such a job when other student leaders are not paid for their hard work. I understand that many motivated and committed Tufts students devote countless hours to their clubs, publications and organizations and do not get paid. However, the public editor’s job requires — especially during the early stages of holding the position — increasing the visibility of the position to ensure that students know where to turn when they have issues with an on-campus media source.

By paying the public editor, you mandate that he or she take an active role in publicizing and promoting the position. When establishing the job, the MAB intended for a small stipend to attract highly qualified candidates and draw attention to a project they felt would significantly improve the on-campus media dialogue. I believe the $250 stipend would motivate the public editor to plan educational lectures and interactive events that familiarize students with the position. For example, last semester on Feb. 25, the MAB hosted a launch event, inviting students and faculty to hear National

Public Radio’s ombudsman, Alicia Shepard, speak. Offering a salary for the position ensures that the public editor is continually keeping up with student feedback as well as articulating student sentiment in his or her columns. Without a salary, few qualified candidates will apply for such a job and Tufts could lose an essential voice for student opinion.

The Daily’s Thursday, Nov. 12 editorial supported the funding of the public editor position: “The job is not about simply editorializing on student life and campus happenings; it’s about holding media groups accountable and fostering discussion when an organization falters.” Bartel’s argument that “no other student at Tufts gets paid to write in magazines or newspapers” reflects an incomplete understanding of the public editor’s role. Being able to critique the media requires not only knowledge of journalistic ethical standards, but also the ability to represent both sides in a sensitive debate of personal opinion.

Therefore, the public editor should be paid to promote the position and act as a student advocate when there are issues with on-campus publications. Holding media sources responsible for their ethical mistakes is necessary to maintain a trusting relationship between media sources and the Tufts community. It is imperative that the ALBO reassess the importance of the public editor position and include a salary for the job in the future MAB budget.

Caleb Zimmerman is a junior majoring in international relations.

he arrival of her memoir, “Going Rogue,” further reinforces the fact that Sarah Palin refuses to go away.

The folksy, not-even-one-term governor from Alaska has absolutely captivated a large number of American conservatives; Sarah PAC, the political action committee Palin created in January 2009, raised upwards of $730,000 in just five months, presumably to support a Palin 2012 presidential bid.

Claims by Palin supporters that she is just as qualified as Barack Obama was when he began his bid for presidency are simply wrong: Obama’s three years in the U.S. Senate and seven years in the Illinois State Senate outweigh and outrank Palin’s less than three years as Alaska’s governor and six years as mayor of Wasilla, AK population 7,028. Those that herald Palin as a “true maverick” and celebrate her political arrival as the end of “politics as usual” would be well-served to observe the list of Palin’s scandals — her “bridge to nowhere” line, her dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan and the Branchflower Report findings, among others, as well as her incessant use of dirty smear tactics and gross oversimplifications, like her statements “Obama pals around with terrorists” and “health care death panels.”

Palin represents the frightening trend in American politics to completely disregard any semblance of reality in political discourse, to avoid any issues of substance and to gain political support not through some form of intelligent or rational conversation but by getting a reaction out of a crowd. This is not a trend limited to the Republican Party by any stretch of the imagination — who could forget such meaningful slogans as “Hope” engineered by our current President during the 2008 election? But Palin’s brand of mindless politics represents a unique challenge for the highly-fragmented Republican Party.

One can cite the now-infamous Katie Couric interviews as proof of Palin’s shortcomings, but surely she has matured politically since. Palin appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show on Monday and, when asked why she chose to write her book, gave a two-minute response, of which a minuteand-a-half was used to explain how she has a journalism degree, loves writing and loves looking through her childhood diary entries about stacking firewood and the highlights of her hunting and fishing trips.

The fact that Palin is in any way still relevant in American politics is sickening.

The shameful circus that is her national political career is insulting to Americans, regardless of individual political persuasion.

Those who hail Palin as the future of the party need to quit deluding themselves and take a good, hard look at reality: Sarah Palin is not and never has been a maverick. She is a small-town, former beauty queen who blatantly shirked her one responsibility to the citizens of Alaska by refusing to finish her first and only term as a scandal-plagued governor. She is the epitome of a political one-trick pony and further legitimizes the irrational state of political discourse in this country while simultaneously eroding the ideological foundations and political base of a once-proud Republican Party.

If Republican National Convention Chairman Michael Steele is truly concerned about resurrecting the Republican Party and affecting politics for the better, he will reign in Palin. Then again, asking Steele for any sort of leadership is not unlike asking New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick to punt on fourth down: It simply won’t happen, even in an obviously critical situation. In short, it would be best for all parties involved — men, women, Republicans, Democrats, blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, Rust Belt residents, Sun Belt residents, Joe Bidens, Joe Six-Packs and even Joe the Plumbers — if Sarah Palin sat down and shut up.

Teddy Minch is a senior majoring in political science. He hosts “The Rundown,” a news and sports talk show that airs from 3 to 5 p.m. every Friday on WMFO. He can be reached at Theodore.Minch@tufts.edu.

OP-ED POLICY The Op-Ed section of the Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. Op-Ed welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length. All material is subject to editorial discretion, and is not guaranteed to appear in The Tufts Daily. All material should be submitted by no later than 1 p.m. on the day prior to the desired day of publication. Material must be submitted via e-mail (oped@tuftsdaily.com) attached in .doc or .docx format. Questions and concerns should be directed to the Op-Ed editors. The opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Tufts Daily itself.

THE TUFTS DAILY

12 CROSSWORD

COMICS

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

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TUESDAY’S SOLUTION

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SUDOKU Level: Buying a pre-cooked turkey and canned cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving dinner

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Tuesday’s Solution

Ben: “I went up to one of my teachers and was like, ‘This is the most I’ve taken off my shirt in one night.’”

Please recycle this Daily

THE TUFTS DAILY

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CLASSIFIEDS POLICY All Tufts students must submit classifieds in person, prepaid with check, money order, or exact cash only. All classifieds submitted by mail must be accompanied by a check. Classifieds are $10 per week with Tufts ID or $20 per week without. The Tufts Daily is not liable for any damages due to typographical errors or misprintings except the cost of the insertion, which is fully refundable. We reserve the right to refuse to print any classifieds which contain obscenity, are of an overly sexual nature, or are used expressly to denigrate a person or group. Questions? Email business@tuftsdaily.com.

Hart steps into new roles as AllAmerican, junior captain

Jan. 29 matchup between Lord Jeffs, Polar Bears could decide NESCAC victor

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

NESCAC

continued from page 16

cessful fast-break offense: an experienced and talented point guard.

Preseason All-American Colleen Hart, on pace to break the program’s three-point record by season’s end, returns for her third year anchoring the team’s backcourt. A starter since the first game of her freshman year, Hart averaged 12.0 points, 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game a year ago.

This season, however, Hart will have additional responsibilities as one of the team’s captains, joining Miller and senior guard Katie Wholey.

The team’s floor general since the 2007-08 campaign, Hart is now the first junior captain of the Berube era.

“Colleen has always been a very stoic player, a very talented player and just a great leader on the floor,” Miller said. “That’s what we’ll continue to look to her to do. She’s very, very reliable, and she doesn’t get shaken easily when some of us can. We’re just going to continue to look to her to lead us on the court and be the player that she’s always been.”

But even with the contributions the Jumbos can expect from Hart, their success may depend on how well those who have been complementary pieces in the past handle their new leading roles. Wholey and Miller are the only returning reserves who have ever started a game in their careers, meaning there will be ample opportunity for those who flew under the radar last year — sophomore guard

Tiffany Kornegay and sophomore forward Kate Barnosky, in particular — to make an impact.

“I’m playing a completely different position than last year, but all the forwards are helping me make the transition,” Barnosky said. “It’s exciting, it’s a completely different role, it’s unexpected, but I think I’m working hard personally, and I know everyone’s working hard. I think as a whole, everyone’s stepping up.”

“We don’t have a lot of experienced depth, so some returners who haven’t played a lot and newcomers that haven’t played at all need to be able to step up right away,” Berube added. “There’s not a lot of time to grow into positions. We’ll see how quickly people grow up.”

But while Tufts is considerably less experienced than in years past, the expectations for the Jumbos are nonetheless high. Though conference rivals Amherst and Bowdoin open the season ranked in the preseason national top 10, Tufts still believes it can compete for its first NESCAC championship and return to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.

“I think our program is full of a lot of pride and used to winning,” Barnosky said. “We still have unfinished business. We didn’t go as far as we wanted to last year. Everyone, with the exception of the new people, know the feeling of NCAAs and the excitement of March. It’s a lot to look forward to and a good goal to work toward. Hopefully, we’ll surprise some people.”

continued from page 16

defense, rebounding margin and steals, a direct result of their team philosophy.

“We just play hard,” Gromacki said. “We work hard in the defensive end. We like to push the ball as much as we can. We spread stuff out a lot. We try to run a lot of different things on offense and play solid man D on the other end.”

Bowdoin, on the other hand, returns three starters to defend its NESCAC title and will be able to draw upon a strong crop of underclassmen. While the Polar Bears ranked third in scoring offense, their top scorer — then-sophomore Katie Bergeron — was ranked 19th in the league, a testament to the team’s balance and depth.

“There is huge value to having three starters returning,” Shibles said. “They have a lot of past experience, and they know what it takes to be successful, and that allows them to help some of the younger players along the way. Our sophomore class is very strong; I think they were really strong when they were freshmen. A lot of them saw time last year, and I see all of them stepping up and taking significant roles this season.”

Ultimately, Bowdoin’s calling card last season was a strong defense. The Polar Bears allowed an average of 53 points per game, second-best in the league, and were fourth in field goal defense.

“We take a lot of pride in our defense,” Shibles said. “We work on it every day in practice quite a bit. I felt like last year there were some games where we weren’t necessarily hitting all of our shots and our offense was a little bit off, but we

were able to win it on the defensive end.

We like to extend the defense full court a lot. We like to really get in the passing lanes and take teams out of their comfort zone offensively.”

Despite the history, both squads will be facing stiff competition in the NESCAC. Tufts finished the 2008-09 season at 22-5 before it was bested in the conference semifinals by Amherst 49-46. Williams underachieved last season but is likely to rebound this year under the leadership of junior Chessie Jackson — who was ninth in the NESCAC with an average of 12.6 points per game — as should an improving Colby team that has undergone a significant transformation from the squad that was last in the conference in the 200607 season.

“I just think that the NESCAC is one of the stronger conferences top to bottom,” Shibles said. “I really believe that any team in the NESCAC can beat any other team this season. The coaching is exceptional.

I think that all of the players are studentathletes and therefore are really smart players. I think that there is not one team that you can overlook.”

Two of the four losses Amherst suffered last season came at the hands of the Polar Bears, but the Lord Jeffs will have to wait until Jan. 29 to get their revenge.

The marquee matchup, taking place in Brunswick, Maine, could very well determine NESCAC superiority. But for now, both squads insist they will be focusing on the upcoming games rather than looking ahead in their schedules.

“Amherst is a rival … but that game is so far in the future,” Shibles said.

Built to Last: Sustaining Social Justice Work for the Long Haul Presentation by: Ellen Somekawa Director of Asian Americans United in Philadelphia and Founder of the Folk ArtsCultural Treasures Charter School Date: Wednesday November 18 Time: 6:15 p.m.

Place: Tufts University, Sophia Gordon Hall Multi-function Room Battling for racial and economic justice can be both exhilarating and exhausting. It often feels like hard-fought gains won over years of struggle can be taken away in a heartbeat. How do we sustain ourselves and our work over the long haul?

We will discuss ongoing projects of struggle: fighting for quality education for our children, leadership development for the young people, intergenerational community building, anti-gentrification in our communities, fighting against racial violence and anti-immigrant violence, building coalition across social locations, and continuous educating and nurturing of aware activists.

Sponsored by the Diversity Fund and American Studies courses: Race in America and Active Citizenship in an Urban Community: Race, Culture, Power and Politics

THE TUFTS DAILY

14

SPORTS

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Pierce looks to lead Jumbos back to elite NESCAC status BY

DAVID HECK

Daily Editorial Board

Four years ago, the men’s basketball team had one of its best seasons in program history. The squad went 23-7, racking up more wins than any of its predecessors and made it to the NESCAC championship game as well as the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

But ever since then, Tufts has been caught in a downward spiral.

The Jumbos posted an overall record of 15-10 in 2006-07, followed by marks of 11-13 and 9-15 in the subsequent two years. They also posted NESCAC records of 1-8 in both seasons, putting them in the cellar of the conference and out of the postseason. “Last year, our starting point guard [thensophomore Matt Galvin] got hurt halfway through the season,� said coach Bob Sheldon, who has a career 308-218 record in 21 seasons with Tufts. “That’s like losing your quarterback. The two guys we had behind him had never played point guard at all. So last year, we never got comfortable with our point situation, which is my fault; we should have had more point guards in the program. “I think in the past our defense hasn’t been where it needs to be,� Sheldon continued. “I joke that our team has ADD: attention defense disorder. So we’re taking our Adderall now, and we’re flying high.�

After letting up a conference-high 79.2 points per game last season, Sheldon and the Jumbos have placed more emphasis on their own end of the floor in hopes of returning to the upper echelon of the NESCAC standings. “We’ve worked more than we ever had on defense — individual as well as team,�

Sheldon said. “A lot of the times we’ve played a real up-tempo game, taking the first shot we’ve gotten. We’ve slowed that down, and now we’re taking the best shot, not the first shot. Teams aren’t going to get as many chances off us, so that in and of itself will help.� “Any time the other team scored the past couple years, we’d grab it and be up the floor,� senior tri-captain forward Jon Pierce added. “We want to slow down a little bit, and as far as defense goes, we’re making a huge commitment to communication and being on the

help side. It’s been an everyday focus, where no matter what drill we’re doing, if someone’s out of position or there’s no communication, coach will stop us and point it out ... Keeping the focus on defense has helped us a lot in these first two weeks of practice.�

The Jumbos will once again be led on the court by Pierce, who was tops in the conference with 21.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game last season. Pierce, who currently sits in eighth place on Tufts all-time scoring list with 1434 career points, has earned multiple NESCAC honors during his time with the Jumbos — including a Rookie of the Year award in 2006-07 and second team All-NESCAC recognition in the past two years — but will be relied on to do even more this season. “Of course, he’s our go-to guy,� Sheldon said. “We’ve asked him to do more, to make his teammates better — set better picks, get some assists. We’ve asked him to not just go out and get 20 and nine, but get assists and more rebounds and be more of a complete team guy. So far, he’s responded well.� “I’ve established what I can do individually, but basketball isn’t a game won by one person,� Pierce said. “What we’ve worked on is to pass up maybe the first good shot and instead work it around and look to get others involved so they have the confidence to take next good shot. It’s on me as captain and senior, being in program as long as I have and knowing the system as well as I do, to bring up level of play of those around me.�

Tufts will also be returning senior forward Dave Beyel, who boasts a 40.6 career threepoint percentage, as well as his classmate, center tri-captain Tom Selby, who finished second in the conference with an average of 2.0 blocked shots per game last season.

Galvin, now a junior, will be trusted to run the offense.

The Jumbos graduated one senior starter from last year’s squad — former captain Aaron Gallant (E ’09), whose 11.8 points per game last season were third on the team.

He will be replaced in the starting lineup by senior tri-captain Dan Cook, who played in all 24 of Tufts’ games last season as the team’s sixth man.

ANDREW MORGENTHALER/TUFTS DAILY

Senior tri-captain Jon Pierce, the NESCAC’s leading scorer, and the Jumbos hope to improve on their 1-8 conference record last season. “Aaron’s going to be hard to replace — he was a tough, hard-nosed kid — but [Cook] works just as hard,� Sheldon said. “He actually shoots better, but he can’t take it to the basket like Aaron. I think the point is that [Cook] and [junior] Sam Mason are going to replace Aaron ... Sam is big and long and athletic, so together they’re going to take care of the numbers from Aaron.�

The Jumbos will begin their season this weekend when they travel to Rochester, N.Y. to take part in the Chuck Resler Tournament.

Tufts will face Brockport on Friday, followed

by Rochester on Saturday. “I’m excited,� Pierce said. “Obviously, this team went through some struggles last year; we were young, we went through some injuries — guys who hadn’t played at all in college were expected to step into starting lineup.

That said, going into our first game, playing a smaller team, we’re going to utilize our size and strength and experience. It’s the first game of the year; if you can’t get excited for that, you shouldn’t be in the sport.�

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THE TUFTS DAILY

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

15

SPORTS

INSIDE MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

ETHAN LANDY | CALL ME JUNIOR

Call him … Senior?

T

MCT

The Butler Bulldogs, shown here in last year’s Feb. 22 win over Davidson, are ranked No. 10 in this season’s preseason poll, thanks in large part to a swarming defense.

Tenth-ranked Butler has what it takes to make Final Four BY

DANIEL RATHMAN

Daily Editorial Board

Although mid-major teams have produced some of the most thrilling upsets in recent March Madness history, they rarely are ranked among the elite squads in the nation. This year’s Butler Bulldogs are poised to buck that trend.

The preseason Top 25 ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll ranked Butler 10th in the country, and the Bulldogs retained that position through Week 1 with a 73-62 win over Davidson on Saturday. They are one of only two midmajor teams ranked in the Top 25 — along with the Dayton Flyers — and are the first mid-major team to earn a preseason top-10 berth in nearly a decade.

But the Bulldogs, under the tutelage of third-year head coach Brad Stevens, aren’t about to stop there. Stevens, 33, is one of the youngest coaches in the nation, but he is already considered among the elite. In his first two years at Butler’s helm, Stevens guided the Bulldogs to a combined 56-10 regular season record, including a 31-5 mark in conference play. Stevens was the Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2009, and he is the third-youngest coach to lead his team to a 30-win season in NCAA Div. I history.

Perhaps the only blemish on Stevens’ short résumé has been his inability to help the Bulldogs reach the latter stages of the NCAA Tournament. Butler has yet to earn a berth in the Sweet 16

after two trips to the big dance under Stevens, and the Bulldogs were edged 75-71 by Louisiana State in the first round of last year’s tourney. Butler has also made nine March Madness appearances without having reached the Elite Eight.

As they begin to work through a 30-game slate that includes showdowns against a pair of top-25 teams — No. 20 Georgetown on Dec. 8 and No. 15 Ohio State on Dec. 12 — the Bulldogs have one crucial advantage over many of their opponents.

Butler’s 2009-10 squad returns all five of last year’s starters — including three sophomores (guards Robert Nored and Shelvin Mack and forward Gordon Hayward), a junior (forward Matt Howard) and a senior (swingman Willie Veasley) — whose experience will prove valuable throughout the campaign, particularly in the postseason tournaments.

The hallmark of last year’s Butler team was a stifling defense that held opponents to a lowly 38.5 field goal percentage, and the Bulldogs will need to continue shutting down enemy attacks in order to maintain their success. Offensively, Butler is a balanced squad, but it does not light up the scoreboard nearly as well as many of their competitors. Howard was Butler’s leading scorer during the 2008-09 campaign, averaging 14.8 points per game, with Hayward not far behind at 13.1.

Yet, as a mid-major coach, Stevens

does not have the luxury of a sharpshooting superstar — such as former Davidson standout Stephen Curry, who almost singlehandedly led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight two years ago — or of stars with the height and wingspan of those who led coach John Calipari’s Memphis squad to three consecutive Elite Eight appearances between 2006 and 2008.

What he does have, though, is a group of collegiate veterans who excel on defense and come up big when the game is on the line. Offensively, while Butler had a tendency to fall behind in the early minutes of games last season, the Bulldogs poured in the buckets down the stretch, outscoring their opponents by an average of just over six points in the second half.

Defense, clutch shooting, experience and shrewd coaching are the four most important factors that portend success in Div. I college basketball, and the Butler Bulldogs possess all of them. They are deserving of the preseason top-10 ranking that has been bestowed upon them, and they have what it takes to make a run at the first mid-major national championship since the 1966 Texas Western squad’s legendary trip down “Glory Road” under the late Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins.

When the Final Four tips off at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on April 3, the Butler Bulldogs could very well be alive and kicking in front of their hometown crowd.

WEEKLY MUMBO JUMBO “I think in the past our defense hasn’t been where it needs to be. I joke that our team has ADD: attention defense disorder. So we’re taking our Adderall now, and we’re flying high.”

— Coach Bob Sheldon Nov. 17, 2009 The men’s basketball team enters this season looking to vastly improve on last year’s 1-8 NESCAC record, which came largely thanks to a conference-high 79.2 points allowed per game. The Jumbos also ceded a league-worst .461 field goal percentage and were the only squad to allow over 1800 total points. But, after graduating just one player, Sheldon’s squad looks to return to the success it enjoyed four years ago, when Tufts advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

here is a lot in my life that I owe to Ken Griffey Jr. I know that sounds a little strange, particularly when it comes from a Boston Red Sox fan who counts baseball as his third favorite sport, but it is true. In fact, I can name quite a few things about me that are directly related to the influence of Junior.

Take, for instance, this column name.

Yep, for those of you who have yet to figure it out, “Call Me Junior” comes from the intro to Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. No one else from that era, or really any era since, could have carried a baseball video game franchise on his back. But then again, few players have had the blend of charisma and talent that Griffey had.

What else? Well, there was my failed league batting stance (it’s not that easy to emulate that smooth swing with any success), my lucky number (24), and, finally, my penchant for wearing my hat backwards at all times. And to top it all off, in my 1996 elementary school mock Presidential election, I voted Griffey for President, with the Mariner Moose as a running mate.

Basically what I’m saying is that as far as professional athletes go, there are few that I like as much as Griffey. And after saying all that, I still wish he had retired after this past season.

But Griffey is giving it another go in 2010. It was announced last Thursday that the Mariners had signed him to a one-year deal to extend his career in Seattle. To be fair, it’s not like he was terrible last year. He hit only .214, but he did have 19 home runs and a team-leading 63 walks while playing with a sore knee. What he lacked in production, Griffey made up in personality, becoming a leader and clubhouse jokester in Seattle.

At the same time, those numbers are not going away and could even suffer a downturn thanks to the knee surgery he had last month to remove a bone spur. Griffey is, after all, going to turn 40 this Saturday and will be playing in his 22nd season in the Major Leagues.

So, I think I am justifiably worried that this could affect his legacy. No one likes to see a player of Griffey’s caliber scraping by as a shell of his former self, and no matter how you feel about a player, it is always tough to watch the slow, steady decline of any great athlete.

There is some precedent for this situation. While Griffey is the greatest five-tool outfielder of my generation, one of his predecessors also had trouble walking away from the game. Willie Mays played his final two seasons for the New York Mets, ending his career at the age of 42 by playing just 66 games and hitting .211.

Not good enough for you? Well, on the gridiron and in the NBA, there are plenty of comparisons. Two of the greatest centers of all-time — Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing — ended their careers at the age of 39 in the respective cities of Toronto and Orlando with numbers similar to Ervin (not Magic) Johnson in his prime. And the best wide receiver ever, Jerry Rice, spent most of his last few seasons wallowing in football hell, aka Oakland, before playing his last six games with the Seattle Seahawks.

I don’t want Griffey to end up on a list with these guys. I don’t want to have to look upon every home run Griffey hits as a moment of nostalgia. And I don’t want to see my favorite baseball player of all time continue his decline from superstardom.

So even though I am glad he returned to Seattle to finish his career these last few seasons, it almost makes it worse to watch such a different Griffey wearing that uniform. He isn’t the same player I used to idolize, but I’ll always call him Junior.

Ethan Landy is a senior majoring in English. He can be reached at Ethan.

Landy@tufts.edu.

Sports

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INSIDE Inside Men’s College Basketball 15 Call Me Junior 15 Men’s Basketball 14

tuftsdaily.com

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Trimmed roster looks to make another run at NCAA Tourney

BY SAPNA

BANSIL

Daily Editorial Board

One year must seem like an eternity for the women’s basketball team.

When the Jumbos take the court for their 2009 season opener on Saturday against SUNY New Paltz, they’ll debut a squad that bears little resemblance to the one that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

Gone are eight of 17 players from the 2008-09 roster, including three starters and four of the top seven players in minutes played. As a result, many who were contributors over the last two years will be instantly thrust into far more prominent positions for Tufts, which is outside the D3hoops.com top 25 for the first time since Dec. 31, 2007.

“We’re a totally different team this year than we’ve been in the past,” coach Carla Berube said. “We’ve got a new outlook, new goals and a new regime.

It’s a big year for us as far as how people step up into their new roles. There’s a lot of new identities for people, which makes it kind of exciting.”

One can perhaps get a sense of the greatest challenge facing this year’s Tufts team simply by looking at it. All eight players who departed the program because of graduation, injuries or other reasons were listed at 5-foot-8 or greater, including an often dominant low-post presence in 6-foot-3 forward Katie Tausanovitch (LA ’08).

What’s left behind is a squad whose average height is nearly two inches shorter than that of a year ago and whose lone experienced post player is senior forward Julia Baily.

“I think we really have to fight this year,” Berube said. “We don’t have 6-3 posting up on the block. The big question is, can we defend in the post and can we rebound? I think that’s something we’re working on.”

The lack of height will force the Jumbos to try and make use of their

ALEX DENNETT/TUFTS DAILY

Junior tri-captain Colleen Hart shoots free throws during the women’s basketball team’s practice yesterday afternoon. Fresh off a 22-5 season and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament’s second round, Tufts opens its season this Friday at SUNY New Paltz. quickness. Hoping to take advantage of a newly-renovated Cousens Gym court that was expanded to NCAA regulation size, Tufts will employ a run-and-gun offensive strategy and place a particular emphasis on spacing the floor.

INSIDE THE NESCAC

Two NESCAC powerhouses come into season with high hopes

BY SAM

O’REILLY

Daily Staff Writer

When it comes to NESCAC women’s basketball, Bowdoin has traditionally stood head and shoulders above the rest.

The Polar Bears have boasted the most successful women’s basketball program in the conference, and last year was no exception. With a new coach at the helm, Bowdoin went 24-5 overall, captured the NESCAC title and came within one point of advancing to the Div. III NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

But Amherst is staking its own claim to the NESCAC throne. The Lord Jeffs lost to Bowdoin twice last season, they but ultimately made it to the Div. III Final Four, losing to The College of New Jersey in the third-place game after compiling a 29-4 record during the regular season.

Now, with Amherst and Bowdoin ranked No. 2 and No. 7, respectively, in the D3hoops. com preseason top-10 poll, both NESCAC powerhouses are looking to continue the dominance that has carried them to national prominence.

“I think that due to the strong tradition of our program, people are always gunning for us,” said Adrienne Shibles, who is in her second year as the coach of the

Polar Bears. “Certainly, the preseason ranking will only intensify that, but honestly I don’t focus on those rankings at all. I don’t think they are important.

What is important is what you put forth on the court. We really don’t focus on the rankings at all, and frankly to some extent, they are kind of just opinions.”

But despite the imperfect nature of rankings, it is undeniable that both teams possess the capability to continue the dominance that led them to the top of the NESCAC standings in 2008. Amherst, for instance, is returning all five starters, including All-American junior Jaci Daigneault.

“It is always pretty rare to return all of your starters,” Amherst coach G.P. Gromacki said. “Each of them provides exactly what we need at that position. We spread the ball pretty well across the entire team. Jaci is a good scorer. She’s a solid inside player but can also hit shots and spread the floor.”

Amherst’s solid all-around approach helped it to the 8-1 record in conference play and a conference-best 20-point average margin of victory last season. Additionally, the Lord Jeffs ranked first in the league in scoring offense, scoring see NESCAC, page 13

“For us, the focus is to push the ball as much as we possibly can,” senior tricaptain Vanessa Miller said. “If we’re constantly having to set up a half-court offense every time down the court, we’re doing something wrong. We want

our transition offense to be the bulk of our offensive activity.”

At the very least, the Jumbos have perhaps the prerequisite of any sucsee WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, page 13

Field hockey’s five All-NESCAC picks further honored with New England region awards

ANDREW MORGENTHALER/TUFTS DAILY

The season isn’t over, but the field hockey team has continued to rake in awards. The latest comes with five Jumbos earning spots on the Longstreth/NHFCA New England West Region All-Stars, the most of any team in the region. Junior Tamara Brown repeats as an All-Star, having led the NESCAC in both goals and assists with 21 and 13. Senior co-captain Margi Scholtes and junior Amanda Roberts were also voted to the All-Region First Team for the second consecutive year, while junior Jess Perkins and sophomore Taylor Dyer were named to the second team. All five players were also earned All-NESCAC honors earlier this season.