2009-10-1

Partly Sunny 62/41

THE TUFTS DAILY

TUFTSDAILY.COM

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2009

VOLUME LVIII, NUMBER 15

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

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BY

Contributing Writer

Tisch Library recently compiled a series of research guides aimed at assisting students and faculty in conducting credible and scholarly research on a collegiate level. The project intends to make research a less daunting task for students — particularly freshmen who may be unfamiliar with the process — by collecting all relevant information in one place, hopefully ending the fruitless Internet searches so many embark on when faced with a paper or research project.

LibGuides.com, a content management system that is now utilized at 900 colleges and universities, such as Boston College and Northwestern University, allows reference librarians and staff bibliographers at Tisch to author userfriendly guides tailored to specific populations’ needs.

Eighty-eight guides have been added since Tisch implemented the system this

summer, and the number is expected to increase. Each guide, with topics spanning the scope of academics offered at Tufts, offers a direct link to reference librarians along with a myriad of information including a list of books, background information and a comprehensive list of recommended, relevant databases.

“The system was designed to meet the needs of Tufts students and faculty, and to make it easier [for librarians] to publish and put as much information as necessary in the same place, so it is easy to find,” said Chris Strauber, humanities reference librarian at Tisch.

Strauber, working directly with representatives from other Tufts libraries to collect information, acted as a chief organizer in the creation and implementation of the research guides.

With the program, the research process should become easier and more efficient, helping scholars find relevant informasee RESEARCH, page 2

VIRGINIA BLEDSOE/TUFTS DAILY

Sophomore Margaret Belchic spent two-and-a-half days last week sequestered in this “closet single,” after a doctor at Health Service diagnosed her with swine flu, or the H1N1 virus.

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BEN GITTLESON

Daily Editorial Board

ANDREW MORGENTHALER/TUFTS DAILY

Tisch Library recently unveiled 88 research guides authored by its reference librarians and staff bibliographers.

Battling an increase in cases of the swine flu among students, university officials have begun secluding ill campus residents in empty rooms across campus and forcing them to wear masks.

Isolation in single rooms has become the preferred method for health officials dealing with students reporting fevers and other influenza-like symptoms, although Tufts has only used the technique a handful of times.

Health Service encourages students to travel home and stay with family until influenza-like symptoms subside, but when home is too far away, approximately 50 vacant on-campus singles provide recourse.

The university prohibits students in isolation from attending classes, and they must wear a mask when leaving their rooms for

essential purposes. Any visitors to sequestered students’ rooms must wear masks or stay at least six feet away from infected students.

In Wren Hall, a few sick students have been isolated in informally titled “closet singles,” small rooms set aside in the dorm, which is mainly made up of 10-person suites for sophomores.

“They don’t even have closets in the closet singles,” said Margaret Belchic, a sophomore.

She lived in one of these small rooms for twoand-a-half days last week after she went to Health Service with flu-like symptoms.

After examining Belchic at Health Service on Sept. 21, a doctor told her that she would have to go home or go into isolation. The sophomore praised Health Service officials, who she said handled her case well and called her every day to check on her condition. But see FLU, page 2

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MATT REPKA

Daily Editorial Board

Barnum Hall will host an advanced screening of Michael Moore’s latest film, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” tonight as Tufts Film Series (TFS) continues to expand its scope and profile on campus.

The Film Series-sponsored showing of the firebrand left-wing filmmaker’s most recent work will make Tufts the only college campus to host an advanced screening of said Moore film. The movie hits

theaters nationwide tomorrow.

“We have some connections to the industry. Promotion companies are able to come to us with proposals for advance screenings,” said TFS cochair Talia Scotchbrook, a fifth-year senior graduating in December.

Vivian Chong, a promotions coordinator for Amp Agency, which is conducting some advertising for the Moore film, explained that her marketing firm reached out to TFS because of their shared history.

Last fall, TFS held an advanced screening of “Four Christmases”

Sudanese lost boy speaks in Sophia Gordon

with the firm’s help.

“They’re always very professional, very organized,” Chong said of TFS. “They really do a great job ... they don’t just book the theater and wait for students to show up.”

TFS operates 35mm film projection equipment — the industry standard — in Barnum 008, where “Capitalism” will screen at 8 p.m.

Handling the film requires trained student projectionists, according to Scotchbrook. see MOORE, page 2

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LAURA HILL

Senior Staff Writer

The nation’s struggle with an ever-increasing obesity rate will take center stage on Saturday at the One Health Obesity Awareness Fair at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton, Mass.

One Health is a national organization that seeks to improve public health by promoting collabora-

tion and communication between physicians and veterinarians. Each year, the organization chooses a theme for its events nationwide, and the theme for 2009 is obesity.

Cummings School students Annie Shea and Lauren Baker coordinated the fair, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

One Health’s emphasis on communication between medical disciplines is an attempt to address a long-standing dearth of interac-

tion, said Shea, the chair of the One Health Committee of the Tufts Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

“There have not been any other programs that focused on getting students from other programs working together,” she said. “Even the medical students don’t really understand what a vet student is and what our cur-

Inside this issue

see OBESITY, page 2

HELAINA STEIN/TUFTS DAILY

Gabriel Bol Deng, who was displaced by the Sudanese civil war, last night delivered a motivational speech in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room. Deng founded the non-profit organization HOPE for Ariang, which provides education and health services to people affected by the conflict in Sudan.

Delta Tau Delta fraternity sponsored the talk.

Today’s Sections

Student group FoodTalk and Tufts Dining bring the first-ever Tufts Farmer’s Market to campus today.

Guerilla Opera modernizes a classical genre through innovative direction and a relevant theme.

see FEATURES, page 3

see ARTS, page 5

News Features Weekender Editorial | Letters

1 3 5 12

Op-Ed Comics Sports

13 14 Back

THE TUFTS DAILY

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NEWS

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tion, according to Evan Simpson, the head of reference and instruction at Tisch.

“Google and Wikipedia are good first stops, but everything on the Tufts library guides is credible information, academic journals, essays, et cetera,” Simpson said. “These are primary sources. Accessibility is key.”

Faculty feedback, Strauber said, has been positive, with numerous professors requesting more guides specific to their courses.

Laurie Sabol, a social sciences reference librarian at Tisch, has been at the helm of the research-guide initiative since its beginning. She authored research guides on psychology, education, occupational therapy and child development.

“The guides are designed to be practical and specific for students

during research,” Sabol said. “The sources are credible and academically oriented; the information is up to date, and targeted to specific areas.”

Regina Raboin, science reference librarian at Tisch and author of the biology reference guide, has played an active role in the library’s evolution since the mid-1990s, when Raboin said computer systems were beginning to take the place of file cabinets, and graphics were starting to accompany texts in computer databases.

Over the summer, Raboin and a team of other reference librarians and bibliographers collaborated to develop guides for topics ranging from anthropology to women’s studies, and several course-specific guides.

Raboin said the work over the summer was an attempt to “make

a good, dynamic research-guide system for a broad range of areas and to translate into particular course guides.”

Most librarians at Tisch hold master’s degrees or higher in their respective areas of expertise, according to Strauber.

“The creators are more important than the creation,” he said. “The guides are a way to make visible all the work we quietly do.”

Those involved with the project hope that it will make research for students and faculty more centralized. The software also turns over full editorial power to librarians to change and add information as it becomes available.

Strauber and his team, along with representatives from all Tufts libraries, will address problems and defects in the system later in the fall semester.

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continued from page 1

“That surprises some people,” she said. “A lot of colleges just put in a DVD.” Advanced screenings can be a winwin event for all involved, according to John-Michael P. Sequeira, TCF’s co-chair and programmer.

“It’s publicity for ... the movie, but it raises the profile of our organization on campus,” he said. “Everyone gets a lot of good publicity, and we put on a really cool event.”

The documentary takes a critical look at the culture of corporations and unfettered capitalism closely associated with the United States, and also examines capitalism’s implications in the recent context of the global economic crisis. Moore’s previous works include “Bowling for Columbine,” “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Sicko.”

Tonight’s screening is one of several advanced showings taking place this week in the Boston area. Three early screenings took place last night at movie theaters in Boston and Harvard Square, according to the Greater Southern Massachusetts Labor Council’s Web site.

TFC’s advance screening fits into a grand advertising strategy to attract college students — already a

MCT

Left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story” premieres tonight in Barnum 008. large part of Moore’s fan base — to the documentary.

“Michael Moore seems to have a pretty strong following with college students,” Chong said.

“Students are more open-minded and more liberal,” she added, saying Moore’s aggressive style is also “good entertainment.”

Scotchbrook predicted a full house would turn out for tonight’s screening.

“It’s a good way to get the conversation going, and also to bring in new people who’ve never been to Film Series before,” she said.

TFS plans to continue the many new initiatives it began last year, including screening more outdoor films, according to Sequeria.

Also, the group may again sponsor a trip to a movie premiere featuring discounted tickets; last spring, TFS took students to see “Watchmen” in IMAX. Passes for tonight’s screening of “Capitalism: A Love Story” are free and available at www.tuftsfilmseries.com and the campus center information booth. Even with passes, though, admission will be first come, first serve.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

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continued from page 1

riculum looks like.”

Undergraduates and others interested in attending can take advantage of a free shuttle that will run between Tufts’ Medford/Somerville and Grafton campuses. “[The] key thing that I wanted was to get students together,” Shea said. “Obesity was a pretty easy sell in terms of getting students together to see how their disciplines could contribute.”

The fair will feature informational student-run booths, tours of the Grafton campus and educational farm and a free barbecue featuring locally grown food. Tufts professors will give talks on subjects like how to read pet-food labels, heart disease in dogs and the way dietary decisions impact the environment.

The fair will be Tufts’ first collaboration with One Health, according to Shea.

“Classically, when you think of One Health, it’s three overlapping circles: human health, animal health and environmental health,” Shea said. “We have tables from students from five or six different schools doing interactive, educational presentations on how their interests overlap with One Health and obesity.”

Veterinary medicine has a great deal to contribute to public health discussions, despite the fact that veterinarians have been on the fringe of such conversations and debates in the past, Shea said.

“Increasingly, veterinarians are becoming key players in the public health field, especially with emerging infectious diseases,” she said. “They’re doing research in terms of where the next outbreak is going to come ... or studying ways to minimize risk in how people interact with animals.”

Dawn Undurraga, a master’s student in nutrition communication at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, will run a table with a presenta-

tion entitled “Feeding Healthy Humans.” She aims to educate students on reading labels, sizing portions and making healthy smoothies.

“We just want to encourage people to think about healthy lifestyles as a way to prevent obesity from occurring in the first place,” Undurraga said.

One of her games will focus on portion size. Students will be asked to pour the same amount of dried goods into two differently sized bowls.

The game illustrates the impact of larger plates and bowls on food consumption.

“It’s kind of amazing to see that even when people are trying to pour the same amount, they always wind up with a larger portion when they’re pouring into a larger bowl,” she said.

“We’re helping people to realize that really small changes can make a significant difference.”

Representatives from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy will discuss policy issues surrounding the complex relationship between food and the environment.

One table, run by Fletcher School student Ginny Fuller, will address food security and food policy.

Food security is “a community’s ability to ensure a constant supply of food,” said Fuller, who is studying international environmental and natural resource policies. It can be measured by the livelihoods, human capabilities and resiliency of any given community, and is linked to a community’s reliance on international aid, according to Fuller.

“We definitely had to wiggle around the obesity thing,” said Fuller of Fletcher School students’ participation. “It’s not something most of the Fletcher people are dealing with. We’re dealing more with issues of starvation.”

Fuller praised the opportunity for collaboration, though.

“Events like this are an important way to tie it all together,” she said.

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Belchic said that a feeling of being deeply alone combined with a lack of clear information made the experience distressing.

“I felt like I was kind of dumped,” she said, explaining that her roommates received no word on where she was, her illness or steps they should take. But she added that none of her friends have since fallen ill.

Health Service reported 38 cases of students with influenza-like symptoms between Sept. 7 and Sept. 27, with nearly half of those cases surfacing last week, according to Director of Health Service Margaret Higham.

Only a few students have moved to special isolation housing so far. Most students with flu-like symptoms either live off campus or in on-campus singles, or have elected to return home.

“We are strongly encouraging people to go home if they live anywhere in the greater New England area,” Higham said. “We’d really prefer people go home.”

The university requires students to stay secluded for at least 24 hours after their fevers subside without the use of fever-reducing medicine. For most people, isolation lasts from four to five days. One student who was put in isolation this month told the Daily that Health Service did not originally make the 24-hour rule clear to her.

Freshman Virginia Bledsoe said she entered isolation on Sept. 21, but only had a fever for that first day. She said Health Service officials gave her conflicting information over the next few days about how long she would have to stay secluded, even once she had made clear that her fever had gone away.

A nurse eventually called her three days

into her period of isolation. “She said, ‘Well, why are you still there? You should have left two days ago,’” Bledsoe said.

While students are not generally tested for it, public health officials have determined that the influenza virus currently infecting people is most likely H1N1, or swine flu, according to Higham. Common symptoms include fever, coughing, sore throat, body ache and headache. Higham said the virus is spread by close contact.

A “large percentage” of students who have come to Health Service recently, though, have had temperatures of less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the cutoff currently used for diagnoses. Residential staff and other university officials have been passing out thermometer strips that people can apply to their foreheads to roughly determine their temperature.

The isolated-housing policy, which was instituted after administrative meetings over the summer, only applies to students living in on-campus dorms with at least one roommate; students in singles need not self-isolate. The university encourages ill students living off campus to return home if possible or to isolate themselves in single rooms in off-campus housing.

“Since students who live in a single will be returning to their single, every dorm is an isolation dorm.” Higham said.

A lack of extra housing limits the university’s ability to fully remove infected students from dorms. Some colleges around the nation have demarcated particular dorms entirely to house students with influenzalike conditions, while others have required healthy roommates of ill residents to move out temporarily.

When rooms in Wren were first turned into

isolation housing this month, residential staff put up signs on the doors of nearby bathrooms labeling them as “sick bathrooms,” and signs on others marking “healthy bathrooms.”

A lack of clear communication left some residents confused. Some found themselves having to leave their suites to use the bathroom or saw an influx of people using their own facilities, some residents said this week.

Director of Residential Life and Learning (ResLife) Yolanda King held a meeting on Sunday for Wren residents at which she clarified isolation-housing policy and listened to concerns. She said yesterday that residential assistants may not have originally conveyed all information in a timely manner.

ResLife is “working out the kinks as we’re going along,” King said.

The office has decided after hearing feedback from students that henceforth only students already living in Wren will move into the dorm’s “closet singles” for isolation, King said.

King did not know of any other time isolation of ill students has been used at Tufts in the past. She said that administrators might consider additional precautions if they become necessary. She suggested that ResLife could require healthy students to isolate themselves from their sick roommates, if the rising number of H1N1 cases creates such a need.

“This is, I think, a first for not only Tufts, but I think for many institutions, in terms of the flu season that we’re about to enter,” King said, referring to the decision to separate ill students in singles.

The university has attempted to ease sequestered students’ situations by allowing those students’ friends to pick up meals for them from Dining Services,

which will also deliver food to the students’ rooms if requested.

Belchic, the sophomore in Wren, advised sick students to get checked out by Health Service officials and to isolate themselves if necessary. She said, though, that fear of being removed from friends and day-today activities might be discouraging some people from doing so.

“Now some of my friends who have symptoms won’t go to Health Services,” said Belchic, who has recovered from the flu.

“They’re just afraid of having to miss four days of classes for a cold.”

VIRGINIA BLEDSOE/TUFTS DAILY

Sophomore Margaret Belchic, who entered isolation after exhibiting influenza-like symptoms, praised Health Service for its response.

Features

3

tuftsdaily.com

GRIFFIN PEPPER | EIGHT GIRLS AND A GUY

Just another one of the girls

E

The dining halls highlighted their local offerings in last week’s Harvest Food Festival.

ALEX DENNETT/TUFTS DAILY

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ROBIN CAROL

Daily Editorial Board

Tufts students can now put their money where their mouths are, thanks to a variety of local food programs that have recently cropped up at the university.

Today, the first Tufts Farmer’s Market will be held at the Campus Center and will feature local produce as well as products made with local ingredients.

The on-campus market is the brainchild of senior Arielle Carpenter, the founder of the organization FoodTalk. “[FoodTalk] focuses on collaboration between Tufts Dining and the student body, so students have a voice in what they’re eating on campus,” Carpenter said. “In the spring, we decided that we were going to merge FoodTalk with the Tufts Culinary Society. At that point, we were discussing different ideas for the next year and we came up with the idea of a farmer’s market during the fall to encourage supporting local agriculture and eating locally.”

FoodTalk’s partnership with Tufts Dining is an important element of the farmer’s market, as Dining Services is handling the financial end of the event.

“What’s really great is that Tufts Dining is supporting us with this. They’re helping us buy all the produce that they

would normally buy from their vendors.

We’re able to use their resources, and whatever we aren’t able to sell, they will absorb back into the dining halls,” Carpenter said.

Tufts Nutrition Marketing Specialist Julie Lampie said that Dining Services has long been a supporter of incorporating local foods into its menu and agenda.

“Dining Services has been purchasing local foods for many years, especially during first semester when the harvest in the northeast is at its height,” Lampie said. “The farmer’s market is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time to highlight the benefits of purchasing of local foods.”

The market will offer both fresh fruits and vegetables — such as pears, peaches, apples, zucchini or squash, green peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and corn — as well as apple cider and homemade pumpkin and zucchini breads baked at Tufts with local ingredients.

“We're starting small, so we’re only ordering a case of each type of fruit and vegetable,” Carpenter said. But because of Dining Services’ role, “we really shouldn’t be losing any money in case it doesn’t go as well as we planned.”

Despite the abundance of other farmer’s markets in the area, Carpenter felt that bringing local food to the Hill was

an important priority.

“There are some staff members who don’t have time to get to farmer’s markets, and if they could buy them during lunch break … they were really excited about that. And there are people on campus who have their own kitchens; they’d be interested in having the farmer’s market come to them.

Bringing them to campus is a good way to educate students about local food and have everything be really accessible,” she said.

In addition to being a convenient way to fill the fridge, the market will also serve as an educational tool about the benefits of eating locally. Lampie and Carpenter explained that besides being tastier and more nutritious, local food helps support local businesses and cuts down on the energy costs associated with shipping, leading to positive environmental effects.

“Either people will be really interested, or people can get things they don't have to cook, like apple cider and breads,” Carpenter said. “We have educational materials to hand out to people. My goal specifically is just education and awareness — if we can have people come by and we help them realsee LOCAL, page 4

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CARTER ROGERS

Daily Editorial Board

A college degree is generally associated with a better chance of career success in the United States, but, while U.S. high-schoolers contribute to a very high rate of enrollment in higher education programs, now more than ever they are failing to stick to the plan and complete their college degrees.

According to the Census Bureau, the 2007 median annual income of high school graduates without a college degree was $26,894. Those with some college education averaged about $32,874, while those with a bachelor’s degree averaged $46,805.

According to PayScale.com, a Tufts bachelor’s degree will get graduates a median starting salary of $48,200 and a median mid-career salary of $105,000.

True, the average bachelor’s degree recipient graduates approximately $20,000 in debt, according to a 2009 College Board Policy Brief, but given the drastic income increase most believe the degree is financially worth it.

Still, the U.S. college graduation rate currently stands at about 50 percent, according to the New York Times. Among other wealthy nations, only Italy has a lower graduation rate.

According to Steven Cohen, a lecturer in the education department at Tufts, the difference between the United States’ and other countries’ graduation rates has more to do with the factors used to calculate statistics than real differences in education systems: the United States simply sends a higher proportion of students to colleges to begin with.

“When you send more kids to college,

you’re probably going to have more kids drop out of college,” Cohen said. “[In] England, the percentage of kids going on to higher education is far lower than [in] the U.S. So statistics can be very funny.”

Cohen added that student finances could be another major factor in America’s high college dropout rate.

“In some places, college education [and] university education is largely subsidized by the state, and that’s not always the case here. We have very different gradations, obviously. A Tufts education costs a lot more than a Framingham State education, but a Framingham State education costs a lot of money, too,” he said.

Associate Professor of Economics Thomas Downes believes that the discrepancy stems from problems with the U.S. see GRADUATION, page 4

veryone likes to gossip. If you say you don’t, you’re lying. Come on: Nothing is more exciting than news about other people. It’s like intellectual peoplewatching. We let loose and judge people, laughing and sneering at our friends and, sometimes, family.

And it’s one thing my female housemates do very well. What’s more, they each have certain idiosyncrasies that become more apparent when engaging in this sinful pastime. One of my female housemates gets louder and louder with ironic anger as she voices juicy jeers. Another starts to quiver with hidden excitement and curls her lips into cute, curved smiles. And yet another keeps her cool and just raises her eyebrows at every turning point in the succulent piece of defamation.

It’s an interesting contrast to monotone guy-gossip, which is mostly packed with selfappreciative chuckling and bragging. There’s the big difference. My guy friends gossip about themselves. My girl friends gossip about other people.

The girls’ uncontrollable alter-egos can create a symphony of noise in my kitchen and living room. There, the Yeller, Smiley and Miss Smooth, respectively named, spit out people news, the stuff of tabloids and melodramatic soap operas. The Yeller raises her arms in subdued fauxanger as Miss Smooth furrows her brow in cute faux-opposition. Smiley giggles in her sundress.

When I join in the conversation, I have to preface it with false hesitance. I stutter. I make it sound as though this is hard to say. “I ... eh ... well ... I know I shouldn’t say this, but it’s just you guys...”

There’s no real hesitation. I love gossiping, but it’s looked down upon, and I want to be in the right.

Sometimes the Yeller will come into my room late at night, lie next to me in bed and taunt me with some new piece of meaty secrecy. And although it’s usually past 2 a.m., she won’t turn down her volume.

Miss Smooth will usually give a personal anecdote that relates to the gossip, never mentioning the names of our victims. She directs the conversation and can find solace in the fact that she never utters the name of our sacrificial lamb.

Smiley will spontaneously start in with her boy troubles and how the awkward tension of an unlabeled relationship can sometimes destroy the whole thing. She seems frustrated, and she lets us in on some details most guys would probably prefer remain secret. But it’s just the girls and me.

Last week Miss Smooth referred to me as “just another one of the girls.” I didn’t mind. I took it as a compliment. We’re all comfortable with each other. That’s all it meant. Right?

I know gossip is bad. I hate to hear other people doing it, but love taking part in it.

Hypocritical you say? Perhaps.

I will never write about something too private. It discourages me a bit that, as I become further entrenched in the lives of my eight female housemates, all conversations might become secretive. As friends begin to learn more about the new house dynamic, they begin to question relationships and strain that ideal synergy that keeps the house runing smoothly.

One of my housemates told me she’s starting to watch what she says, since it’s all fair game for my column. That upset me. I have some tact, and I know that some things should remain between the gossiper and the gossipee.

But in the meantime, I’ll enjoy this bonding. We laugh, we cry, we shout and scream.

It’s a fun, seemingly harmless exercise. I just don’t want it to sneak up on us and create more problems than it solves.

Griffin Pepper is a senior majoring in political science. He can be reached at Griffin.

Pepper@tufts.edu.

THE TUFTS DAILY

4

FEATURES

Thursday, October 1, 2009

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LOCAL

GRADUATION

ize that farmer’s markets are around, that it’s a really good way to support local agriculture, and that it’s really healthy.”

Students’ awareness of local food and organic produce has been growing, due in part to events like food writer Michael Pollan’s lecture last spring and the efforts of many student groups, including Environmental Consciousness Outreach, which led a sustainable agriculture campaign last year, and a new Slow Food group at the Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy. Despite this emerging interest, Lampie said that college students today know less about how their food gets from the pasture to their plate than did generations past.

“It’s hard to say, but that’s why we try to promote it every year. I would say probably they’re not all that aware of where their food is grown and probably aren’t as knowledgeable as they could be of the local politics regarding food,” she said. “I think this generation is just not aware necessarily of where food originates from. My generation, we knew about farms. Farms were near cities.

Now with the sprawling suburbia, there are [fewer] farms that are in these areas.

People are less exposed to the family farms of yesteryear, and a lot have been sold off and developed.”

Farmer’s markets attempt to make the connection between buyer and producer less nebulous, and it may be this effort that has made them so successful.

“Farmer’s markets are a lot more popular and people are supporting the local food market in droves. It has taken off in the last five years beyond belief. I’ve never seen a movement gain so much strength in so short a time,” Lampie said.

Besides being locally grown, the produce at the Tufts Farmer’s Market is also unique because it will be supplied by the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, an initiative run by the Friedman School in partnership with an anti-poverty organization in Lowell, Mass. Although New Entry’s core program offers training on farm education so that participants can start farms as business enterprises, it also has a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) component to distribute produce and provide a reliable market for the program’s participants.

The CSA allows members to help out with some of the farms’ production costs in exchange for the delivery of a weekly box of fruits and vegetables.

“Right now, the multi-producer CSA has about 15 producers, and we service about 300 families. We started doing the Lowell area, but now we have drop-offs at various locations, including Tufts,” Kimberley Fitch, the program and finance coordinator for New Entry said.

“Interest has been growing. If people sign up, they get to experience neat crops from farmers from all over the world. [The farmers] grow what’s familiar to them and they’re from all over the world so people get to experience ethnic crops and be adventurous.”

CSA Coordinator Matthew Himmel will be at the farmer’s market talking to students about the program.

“Matthew Himmel is overseeing the CSA, and this could be an opportunity for his group to get involved. They’re capable of running a farmer’s market,”

education system, specifically the lack of preparation for college in the American public school system.

“From a public provisions perspective, the lingering question that’s out there is the one of quality of preparation for college.

This is not an issue that institutions like Tufts run into for the most part because selective institutions are choosing people who are well prepared,” Downes said. “It is far more of an issue for state universities, state colleges and community colleges,” as these institutions have higher dropout rates, he added.

One issue relating to insufficient preparation, according to Cohen, is a lack of funding for public K-12 education.

“The message for most people is the way American education is funded is: Buy a house in the richest suburb you can, [and] then you’re going to have better schools. And for the most part, that’s true,” he said.

Cohen said that another failure on the part of U.S. K-12 education is large class sizes.

The national college graduation rate is much lower than the one at Tufts.

According to Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser, 90 percent of Tufts students graduate in six years.

“We have our challenges, but we’re doing pretty doggone good,” Glaser said.

High dropout rates don’t just apply to undergraduate graduation, however, and even at Tufts, there are a fairly high number of students in post-graduate education programs who choose not to complete their degrees, said Lynne Pepall, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Nationally, 10 years after starting a Ph.D. in the humanities, roughly 50 percent of candidates finish. Many disciplines in engineering fare little better, with the 10-year completion rate for electrical engineers at roughly 50 percent and the rate for civil engineers at

continued from page 3

continued from page 3

ALEX DENNETT/TUFTS DAILY

Local produce will be sold at the Campus Center today from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Lampie said. “This is like a trial for them.

We’ll see how much interest there is among students and faculty. We’re hoping it’s so successful that it will become a weekly event during the fall next year.”

Even if Tufts proves to have enough “locavores” to make a weekly farmer’s market feasible, it will only become a regular occurrence further in the future — not because of a lack of interest or funding, but simply because of nature’s harvest cycle.

“This is kind of it for now,” Carpenter said. “Maybe in the spring when stuff starts growing again, but this is kind of the end of the season actually. Things are starting to die out, and we're not even sure if we'll be able to get nectarines and peaches [for this week’s market].”

“The challenge is that local food is only available in the summer — when students don’t tend to be here — and the fall, and in the next few weeks it will start declining,” Lampie said.

To highlight the local items provided in the dining halls, each year Dining Services puts on the Harvest Food Festival. This year’s festival took place last week and featured a caramel apple station, apple cider and one other unique event.

“A few years ago, someone suggested that [Dining Services] buy the corn unshucked, which is cheaper for them.

We have volunteers standing at the doors of the dining halls asking students to shuck one or two ears of corn that will be served for dinner. For every ear shucked, they will donate money to Groundwork Somerville, which encourages gardens and healthy eating for elementary school children,” Carpenter said.

The various partnerships that have formed to promote local eating at Tufts reflect the many connections it takes to bring just one meal to the dinner table.

“The whole industrialized food that we’ve come to know in this country, the cheap food that is provided to us, it’s cheaper than probably everywhere else in the world, but there are environmental costs associated with factory farms,” Lampie said.

Four ways to go local at Tufts 1. Frequent the farmer’s market: Davis Square hosts a farmer’s market every Wednesday until Thanksgiving. The Boston area has markets every day of the week. Find one at www.massfarmersmarkets.org.

2. Dine at Dewick (or Carmichael): Though the pickings are scarcer during the winter months, Dining Services has a select number of products that they buy locally all year round. “Local apples we supply throughout the year, and winter squash. We buy greenhousegrown tomatoes from Maine, called Backyard Beauties, that we source all year round,” Tufts Nutritionist Julie Lampie said.

3. Buy a box: Purchasing a share of a farm through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) guarantees the buyer a box of produce every week during the season. Registration for the 2010 season of Tufts' own World PEAS CSA will begin shortly (November or January). To receive information, send an e-mail to Coordinator Matthew Himmel at mhimmel@comteam.org.

4. Grow a garden: From a simple potted herb garden to a vegetable patch, you can’t get more local than your own backyard!

— by Robin Carol

roughly 70 percent. Life sciences stand at between 50 percent and 70 percent over the same time period.

“We do better than this at Tufts,” Pepall said. Still, the general dropout trend holds true at varying rates for each of Tufts’ three types of graduate programs: professional master’s programs, academic master’s programs and doctoral programs.

According to Pepall, the professional master’s programs see relatively few dropouts, as the program is very goal-oriented.

“The students who enter these programs we hope will be able to be gainfully employed when they leave, so they have a strong incentive, and we have a strong commitment to see them through from beginning to end,” she said.

Students entering academic master’s programs, on the other hand, might not be as firmly committed to their chosen field.

Because students enrolled in academic master’s programs do not always have a set career plan in their field while studying, they sometimes decide, “‘you know what, I thought I liked it, but I didn’t like it as much as I thought,’” Pepall said.

As for doctoral students at Tufts, “there’s a fair amount of attrition in Ph.D. programs,” Pepall said. “It’s a concern at Tufts, [and] it’s a concern nationally.”

Finances likely do not factor into the attrition rate for doctoral programs as much as they do for undergraduate programs because Tufts often awards its doctoral students merit-based scholarships, while undergraduates remain at the mercy of need-based financial aid only.

Doctoral dropouts usually discontinue their studies for personal reasons, which is why Tufts likes to see its doctoral students graduate within six years, before the complications of family life, jobs and time limitations set in, Pepall said.

“One my greatest concerns is that if people are spending that many years of their life in a degree program and not being successful, what are we doing about that?” she said.

Tufts University Counseling and Mental Health Service Free and Confidential Groups Fall 2009 Groups Begin in October Questioning and/ or Coming Out? (co-led with Tufts LGBT Center director) Thoughts and feelings about sexuality and the possibility of coming out can feel challenging, confusing, and possibly even exhilarating. This support group offers an opportunity to talk with a small group of your peers about sexuality and the coming out journey in a confidential setting.

For more information, email or call Tom at tom.bourdon@tufts.edu / 617-627-5770 or email or call Allyson at allyson.livingstone@tufts.edu / 617-627-3360

______________________________________________________________ Relationship Dynamics This is a confidential group in which students will discuss relationships with family, friends, significant others, and the Tufts community. The group will help students build stronger, healthier relationships and increase their understanding of themselves in relationship to others. Students will work towards feeling more empowered in relationships and realizing their social potential.

For more information email or call Elizabeth at elizabeth.varney@tufts.edu / 617-627-3360

______________________________________________________________ Mindfulness and Meditation for Stress Reduction Meditation and mindfulness have been practiced for millennia to train and calm the mind, body and spirit. More recently, research has proven the efficacy of these practices for mental health and physical health, as well as boosting academic and athletic performance. Learn a range of techniques to help your concentration, creativity, and manage your stress.

For more information send an email to mindfulness@tufts.edu / 617-627-3360

______________________________________________________________ Healing from Loss This is a confidential support group for students who have experienced the death of an important person in their life. This group offers the space to talk with others in a safe, supportive environment.

For more information email or call Deborah at deborah.forman@tufts.edu / 617-627-3360

______________________________________________________________ For general group information, send an email to groups-cmhs@tufts.edu .

For information about other Counseling and Mental Health Service offerings including individual counseling, couples counseling, psychiatric services, emergency coverage, stress management, and consultation, please visit our website http://ase.tufts.edu/counseling or call 617-627-3360.

Weekender tuftsdaily.com

COURTESY OF DOUGLAS DESPRES PHOTOGRAPHY FOR GUERILLA OPERA

Guerilla Opera attacks!

ARTS & LIVING

5

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EMMA BUSHNELL

Daily Editorial Board

Boston Conservatory’s Zack Box Theater is a classic black box. Tolerably comfortable plastic chairs face a dark, small and versatile stage for intimate theater viewing.

The shows usually performed in this type of venue are newer or lesser-known works with small casts; one would expect to see a hilarious one-man show or a playwright workshopping a one-act play. What one might not expect is opera.

Yet that is what Guerilla Opera, a professional chamber opera company in residence at Boston University, offers audiences in the Zack Box. While opera is a medium modern audiences largely view as inaccessible, Guerilla Opera brings the art form to an intimate space where it would be impossible not to connect with viewers.

“Opera is very much a product of the 19th century,” said Mike Williams, the president and co-artistic director of Guerilla Opera. “What we are focusing on making here is something more accessible.”

Guerilla Opera is the only company in the area whose season is comprised entirely of new, commissioned work. The experiment began very recently, with a song cycle written by Vice President and Co-Artistic Director Rudolf Rojahn in 2007. Since then, the group has put on two shows every season, tackling the daunting mission of performing only experimental premieres.

Guerilla Opera features small casts and lacks any conductor, two very unusual characteristics. The company may perform opera, but it is a far cry from one of Mozart’s grand productions.

The cast size by play standards would be considered small, but by opera standards it is downright miniscule. The company’s most recent production, “Say it Ain’t So, Joe!,” had an ensemble comprised of a mere four singers who appeared onstage

with a four-piece orchestra.

“We want to present opera that is written for a modern audience,” explained Williams. “We want to promote a new kind of opera that is instrumentally strong.”

Hence the absence of a conductor in any of the company’s productions. Williams compared leaving the conductor out of the performance to eliminating a middle man, describing the group as doing “more chamber music with singers.”

While speaking with the Daily, Williams and co-founder and General Manager Aliana de la Guardia sat in the seats of the Zack Box Theater. Both had just finished a mostly sold-out run of “Say it Ain’t So, Joe!,” an opera centered on Sarah Palin.

De la Guardia, sitting mere feet from the stage where she had portrayed Palin only minutes before, was eager to share why she has chosen to explore this project with her co-founders.

“Opera is usually so opera-singer-heavy that the instruments are often overlooked,” she said while watching the technical crew strike the production’s set. “We want to expose the audience to more contemporary music. Often people leave opera and are exhausted by it; we want to excite.”

In addition to contemporary music, the company sometimes performs work with current themes. The Sarah Palin opera was not chosen because of the company’s political positions, but rather to incorporate opera into a modern discourse.

“Say it Ain’t So, Joe!” is half libretto, written by composer Curtis K. Hughes, and half taken directly from the public record.

The show revisits the vice presidential debate in 2009 between then-Senator Joseph Biden and then-governor Sarah Palin. Interspersed between the debate scenes are, in the words of the composer, “brief glimpses of other contemporaneous events and political figures with some fantastical digressions.”

The music plays off the natural cadenc-

es of the two candidates’ actual speaking voices. The music is almost exclusively recitative, with the natural blunders in everyday speech leading the way in the music’s ups and downs.

The music also cleverly complements themes in the candidate’s speeches. For instance, when addressing the possibility of the president dying in office, Biden’s response is backed by distinctly dirge-like instrumentation, further highlighting the back-and-forth between orchestra and singers that the company is attempting to promote.

True to Williams’ vision, the instruments are indeed the centerpieces of the opera. Seated boldly onstage instead of in a pit, the orchestra is given music that is all its own, separate from the sung melodies of the singers and sometimes even responding to them.

Director Nathan Troup was not content to merely play contemporary music with present-day themes and call it new, accessible opera, though. Throughout the debate scenes, a cameraman with a hand-held camcorder films the performance as it unfolds, displaying the images being recorded on a large screen above the orchestra. This further accentuates the mix of new technology with an old art form. The technique engages a modern audience with a notoriously short attention span by presenting not only real people on stage, but also a live screening of a debate-broadcast-gone-art-film.

Instead of watching images recorded on a fixed camera as during the election last year, the audience is treated to artistic close-ups of Sarah Palin’s eye and clever angling that shows seven Bidens on the screen at once.

The camera work created one very interesting moment during the show when it deviated from the candidates and filmed the orchestra. Though dressed in performance blacks, the orchestra was not allowed to merely blend in with the

set; the musicians were performing as well as the singers. Thus, the cameraman was interested in them as well.

One weakness was the somewhat baffling set. Covered in images of Americana, the walls were lined with faded color copies of football games or static from TV sets.

In addition, upon entering the space, a stack of old TVs, some bright with static, greeted theater-goers. These representations of a slightly older America seemed at odds with both the new technology in the show and the plot’s very current theme.

The debate scenes were definitely the strongest parts of the show. By taking something so familiar; in fact, it is surprising how many sound bites from the debate are easily recognizable; the composer automatically gives the audience a frame of reference and can play off the viewer’s assumptions and past experiences. Every odd-numbered scene (i.e. scenes 1, 3, 5, etc.) shows an imagined Palin, Hilary Clinton or “Joe the Plumber” whose illogical rhetoric is sometimes too nonsensical to follow.

That said, there are some distinctly clever moments in the score. When de la Guardia as Palin no. 2 (the non-debate Palin) sings straight to the audience that she “is your future,” she ends on a long note sung in unison with the orchestra.

At one point, she stops singing, but that point is unclear, as the musicians continue to hold the note. The effect is very chilling, as she smiles before the audience is aware that she is no longer singing, and it is the orchestra that has taken the show.

“Say it Ain’t So, Joe!” perfectly embodied Guerilla Opera’s mission. With its small cast drawing heavily on what are becoming the company’s defining characteristics, modern music and present-day theme, the show played out on stage what today’s young, talented artists are trying to bring to the theater scene: something that is cutting edge that is not completely divorced from a beloved art form.

THE TUFTS DAILY

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WEEKENDER

Thursday, October 1, 2009

FIND YOURSELF ABROAD Argentina Australia China Ecuador England France Germany Guatemala Ireland Israel Italy Mexico Morocco New Zealand Niger Peru Senegal Spain Switzerland Syria USA

Internships Liberal Arts Language Science Engineering

www.bu.edu/abroad Financial aid is available.

An equal opportunity, affirmative action institution.

The Biology Department Presents: THE BARNUM MUSEUM LECTURE SERIES 2009

DOUGLAS EMLEN University of Montana

“The Origin and Evolutionary Diversification of Beetle Horns” Friday, October 2nd, 2009 4:00pm-5:00pm, Barnum 008

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, October 1, 2009

7

WEEKENDER

TV REVIEW

ZACH DRUCKER AND CHRIS POLDOIAN | BAD SAMARITANS

Indie Elitism

W

UK.EONLINE.COM

Three families are the charm in new ABC series.

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BEN PHELPS

Daily Editorial Board

After canceling two-thirds of their Wednesday night lineup (“Pushing Daisies” and “Dirty Sexy Money” ) and moving “Private Practice” in order to

Modern Family Starring Ed O’Neil, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet Airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC

powerhouse Thursdays, ABC made a risky move this season: launching five new shows on Wednesdays, four of them comedies. So far, though, it looks like the network will at least find success with “Modern Family,” one of the funniest new shows on television.

While the other three new ABC comedies are relying mostly on star power — Kelsey Grammer on “Hank,”, Patricia Heaton on “The Middle” and Courteney Cox and “Scrubs” creator Bill Lawrence with “Cougar Town” — the strength of “Modern Family” lies with its smart, funny writing and diverse cast.

In an age when everything tries hard

to be innovative and high-concept, “Modern Family” succeeds by proving that the funniest and most original idea is sometimes the most familiar — the experiences of the people who call each other family.

The pilot introduces three different families, all seemingly disconnected but with their own distinct comedic appeal. Ed O’Neill (“Married … with Children”) and Sofia Vergara play Jay Pritchett and Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, a recently married, May-December couple. Her fiery personality nicely consee FAMILY, page 10

GALLERY REVIEW

Classical inspires contemporary at the Gardner Museum’s special exhibition BY

ADAM KULEWICZ

Daily Editorial Board

Seeing contemporary art in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, renowned for its collection of Italian

Su-Mei Tse: Floating Memories Through Oct. 18 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 280 Fenway 617-566-1401 Renaissance paintings, may surprise visitors. Indeed, the special exhibition “Su-Mei Tse: Floating Memories” is jarring at first, as it contrasts so sharply with the rest of the museum’s collection.

Artist Su-Mei Tse had the opportunity to live in the museum through the Gardner’s Artists-in-Residence program. As a result, her work is intimately connected to the museum in nuanced and reflective ways.

“Floating Memories,” located in the Gardner’s special exhibition gallery, consists of a raised wooden panel situated on the floor and a streaming video projected on the rear wall of the gallery. The panel, which nearly matches the color of the gallery’s wooden floor, incorporates both a rich gold rug and an intricately-carved pattern, and the

COURTESY OF ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM

Artist-in-Residence Su-Mei Tse adds a contemporary space to an otherwise classical collection of work at the Gardner. video displays a continually spinning vinyl record.

The gallery in which “Floating Memories” is displayed is dark except for a few lights concentrated on the raised wooden panel, and the sound of a spinning record played by speakers in the gallery enhances the video’s presentation.

“Floating Memories” is very different from the museum’s stunning courtyard — decorated with classical sculpture, mosaics and columns — around which visitors must walk to reach it. Upon closer inspection, though, the work see MEMORIES, page 9

e’re not big fans of witty, ironic t-shirts. You have to be pretty insecure if you feel the need to supplement your personality with a shirt made from cotton and the tears of emaciated Cambodian children. However, there’s one shirt sold on Threadless that we enjoy. This manila T’s simple yet witty slogan — “I listen to bands that don’t even exist yet” — means a lot to us. The phrase makes us think of the people who roll their eyes when you list your favorite recent movies. You know these people as bullies or jerks or Angelica Pickles, but we have a technical term for them — Indie Elitists.

These people used to be a minority, but they have become more numerous and vocal as of late. These negative-Nancys believe that mainstream films are merely mimicking independent films, and they see most films as artless filth spewed by money-hungry businessmen anyway.

Before we get any further, let’s define independent films. Any film not produced by a major film studio falls into this category. The vast majority are low-budget and rather idiosyncratic. Nowadays, studios cherry-pick from film festivals like Sundance and Cannes with hopes of finding the next Quentin Tarantino or “Juno” (2007). Most normal people complain about things like the upcoming production of “Pirates of the Carribean 4: Of Stranger Tides” (2011). Everybody knows a fourth “Pirate” project will tally three movies too many. Yet, indie elitists are of a different breed. We’re talking about people who hated this summer’s “Away We Go” (2009) without actually seeing it. Their reasoning: The film tries too hard to be an indie flick, even though it’s not. After all, it was directed by “American Beauty” (1999) director Sam Mendes and featured actors from recent seasons of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and “The Office.” Well, we’ve got a newsflash for these people. “Away We Go” was written by two rookie screenwriters, one of whom has gone on to write the upcoming “Where the Wild Things Are” (2009), which is an indie fan’s nighttime fantasy: a Spike Jonze film saturated with Arcade Fire songs.

Elitists hate movies that get picked up by major studios because this means the possibility of success and wider viewership. Elitists want to see films wallow about in obscurity, unfit even for Netflix’s massive library.

“Juno” is a perfect example: Here was a film written by an ex-stripper named Diablo about a quirky (minor aside: Since when has quirky been tied to indie?) teenage preggo. As soon as 20th Century Fox snatched up the rights, it marketed “Juno” to the Urban Outfitters crowd.

After much ballyhoo (and several Oscar nominations), the Elitists came in to rain on everyone’s parade. They scoffed when you commented on how “fresh” the film felt, and ground their teeth when you commended the soundtrack’s showcasing of Belle and Sebastian. They even spat in your face when you called it the best indie since “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006). Well, maybe they didn’t spit, but they certainly were not happy.

Furthermore, elitists saw “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008) as proof that director Danny Boyle sold out to the suits. Here’s something you didn’t know: “Slumdog” was rejected by Warner Brothers and almost became a straight-to-DVD film. It was only when Fox’s independent subsidiary (Fox Searchlight) picked it up that the film won Best Picture.

These Elitists are just snooty people who have a false sense of superiority. Just because you love a movie that no one else has ever heard of doesn’t make you an insider or an expert of cinema. A movie should be judged by what’s occurring on the screen, not what’s going on behind it.

Zach Drucker and Chris Poldoian are sophomores who have not yet declared majors.

They can be reached at zachary.drucker@ tufts.edu and christopher.poldoian@tufts. edu, respectively.

THE TUFTS DAILY

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WEEKENDER

Thursday, October 1, 2009

On the holiday of Sukkot, the Jewish people are commanded to dwell in the sukkah (the hut), as our ancestors the Israelites did in the desert after the exodus.

The commandment to "dwell" in a sukkah can be fulfilled by simply eating one's meals there or some people even study and sleep in the sukkah.

Check!out!all!the!Sukkot!festivities!happening! this!week!!

Sukkot!Services!

Saturday!and!Sunday!October!3rd!and!

4th!at!Hillel!@10!am!

Pizza!in!the!Hut!

Wednesday,!October!7th!

12pm!in!the!Sukkah!behind!Hillel

Tzedakah!Shabbat!

Friday,!October!9th!

6pm!services,!7:15pm!dinner!at!Hillel! *Bring!your!spare!change!to!donate!to!charity

Shmini!Atzeret!Services!

Saturday,!October!10th!@!9:30am!! followed!by!a!free!kosher!lunch,!at!Hillel

Super!Simchat!Torah!Shindig!in!the!Sukkah!

Saturday,!October!10th! !6:15pm,!at!Hillel! *Go!to!www.tuftshillel.org!for!more!information!about!any!of!these!events!

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, October 1, 2009

9

WEEKENDER

What’s Up This Weekend Want to make your weekend artsy? Check out these events!

Boston Tattoo Convention: Now its 8th time running, this convention celebrates all things ink with events from Skin Anatomy lectures to gallery shows and burlesque performances this weekend.

(Check bostontattooconvention.com for schedule of events.)

Boston Ballet’s “Giselle”: The Boston Ballet’s season opener, this poetic and romantic production from Maina Gielgud is sure to haunt and charm audiences. (At the Boston Opera House. For times, check bostonballet.org.)

Ra Ra Riot at the Paradise: These indie rockers from New York will pump up the energy at the ’Dise, headlining with Maps & Atlases as well as poppy foursome Princeton. (Saturday at 8 p.m.)

J. Cannibal’s Feast of Flesh IX Feat: It’s going to be a fright fest in Coolidge with a screening of “Return of the Living Dead” (1985) accompanied by a grotesque burlesque troupe and a Goth band. Free gory goodie bags included! (Saturday at Coolidge Corner Theater at midnight.)

Sheer Madness: After over 12,000 performances, “Sheer Madness” is still a hilarious who-done-it for all ages. Bring a student ID for half-price tickets. (Thursday through Sunday at the Charles Playhouse.

Check shearmadness.com for times.)

Boston Pops with Ben Folds: The pairing of Keith Lockhart and piano rocker Ben Folds is sure to bring surprises. Last time a brawl broke out in the audience, so gear up for a charged performance. (Friday in Boston Symphony Hall at 8 p.m.)

20th Annual Harpoon Octoberfest: Harpoon encourages you to raise your glass this weekend. Once you’re feelin’ a buzz, join chicken dancing and chocolate cake-eating contests. Tickets are $20.

BUZZNET.COM

Ra Ra Riot takes the stage this Saturday.

(Friday at The Harpoon Brewery from 5:30 -11 p.m.)

Love in Stockholm at Harper’s Ferry: This Allston-based band plays in rock city, infecting the crowd with their groovy, harmonica-laden tunes. (Saturday at 9 p.m.)

Films of Mystery and Madness: Brattle Theater’s new repertory series premieres this weekend with “Edgar Allen Poe On Screen” (2009), a nod to Boston-born Poe’s 200th birthday. “The Masque of the Red Death” (1964) kicks things off.

(Check brattlefilm.org for times.)

Chocolate Bar 21st Season: All it takes is little chocolate to relax ... at least temporarily.

Indulge in an all-you-can-eat chocolate buffet of desserts. Tickets are $38. (Saturday at The Langham Hotel from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

Rockapella: Sick of bad American Idol tryouts? Tired of “Glee”? Check out the 5-piece singing sensation this weekend.

Whoopi Goldberg summed the event up when she said: “These guys knock the s--t out of me!” (Saturday at the Berklee Performance Center at 8 p.m.)

— Jessica Bal

COURTESY OF ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM

The Dutch Room is a prominent part of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the location of several empty frames marking works stolen in 1990.

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continued from page 7

is linked to the museum in subtle but compelling ways.

As the gallery’s explanation indicates, the panel is carved with the partially-worn and faded pattern of the Italian silk damask that covers the walls in the Dutch Room. The Dutch Room, located on the second floor of the museum, is home to part of the museum’s collection, but it is also the room in which several empty frames hang on the walls in the place of the works that were stolen in an unsolved crime from 1990.

Perhaps in a reflection of The Dutch Room’s now-incomplete nature, the artist did not correct the fabric’s imperfections in her carving. This conveys a sense of loss that is complemented by the gallery’s darkness and the projected video. The streaming video of a rotating record, which plays continuously on the wall behind the raised panel, references a childhood memory of artist Su-Mei Tse’s. It adds a bizarre dimension to the work and, as the exhibition’s title suggests, encourages visitors to reflect on both the museum’s tragic losses and also on their own personal experiences.

Su-Mei Tse is a contemporary artist who splits her time between Luxembourg and Berlin. She has exhibited in museums and galleries around the world

and was invited in 2007 to live in the Gardner museum to interact with and be inspired by its collection. After this opportunity, which has been routinely offered to artists since 1992, she created “Floating Memories” to reflect her experience in the museum and to blend her subsequent inspiration with her own artistic style.

Although the majority of the museum has remained unchanged since the early 20th century at the express wish of its creator, this contemporary exhibition is something that Isabella Stewart Gardner would have likely enjoyed.

Gardner, an eccentric Boston millionaire, assembled the museum’s remarkable collection in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and built an elaborate Venetian-style palace in which to house her art. She left the mansion to the public after her death.

While she was alive, Gardner was a devoted patron of the contemporary arts, a facet of her personality that is reflected in the Artist-in-Residence program.

At first, “Floating Memories” appears to share little with the museum’s esteemed collection of paintings by Titian and Botticelli. But, as a result of Su-Mei Tse’s unique relationship with the museum, she has created a work that links to the collection in subtle ways and encourages viewers to reflect upon both the institution and their own lives.

From the Office of the Tufts Daily

Hours Mon-Wed 11-10 Thurs -Sat 11-11 Sun. 12-8 37 Davis Square Somerville, MA 02144 (617) 440-7361

Dear Roman Polanski, Please come home.

We miss you. So what if you’re going to get arrested and prosecuted for the statutory rape that you committed 32 years ago?

You loved too much. No one can contest that.

But, sir, own up to it.

You made some amazing movies.

“Chinatown” (1974) is considered one of the best films of the 20th century.

“Rosemary’s Baby” (1968) set the standard for horror films made since the 1960s. We need your filmmaking. You are an artist and as such we will give you some special allowances. You can be eccentric. You can be erratic. You can dress funny and eat funny and say funny things. Regardless of everything, however, sex with younger people — and, oh, how much younger she was — is not ok.

There is nothing artistic about statutory rape. There is no art in, well, forcing it.

Let’s be honest, Mr. Polanski, if you made a movie about a 44-year-old man forcing a 13-year-old child model to have sex people would go see it. They would praise your filmmaking and they would discuss the implications of its social commentary, but never, ever

GUARDIAN.CO.UK

His real name is “Creepy McCreepster.” would people say that portrays a fun activity that people should imitate.

You did something dirty. Go to jail for a bit. Serve your time. But man up to it.

We’ll all still love you, Roman.

Love, The Daily Arts Department

10

THE TUFTS DAILY

WEEKENDER

Thursday, October 1, 2009

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continued from page 7

trasts his laid-back approach, and Gloria’s young son Manny (Rico Rodriguez), from a previous relationship, steals scenes as a hopeless romantic.

The traditional nuclear family is represented through parents Claire and Phil Dunphy ( Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell) trying to raise their three kids.

Burrell especially stands out for his hilarious role as the cool dad. He knows texting lingo (but thinks WTF stands for “Why the face?”) and all the dances to “High School Musical” (2006), and truly thinks his kids like him more for it. His deadpan delivery makes his humor all the more realistic and entertaining.

Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell ( Jesse Tyler Ferguson) make up the third family, a gay couple who recently adopted a Vietnamese baby girl. Although their characters fall dangerously close to stereotypes, Stonestreet and Ferguson imbibe Cameron and Mitchell with so much genuine chemistry that they come off just as developed as the other two clans.

By the end of the first episode, it is revealed that (spoiler alert!) all three families are actually related, setting the scene for some crazy family get-togethers in later episodes. The great thing that the pilot showed, though, is that the three groups already have their own stories, personalities and humor. Bringing them all together has wonderful comic potential, but it won’t be a necessary weekly plot device that would eventually drag the show down.

The series borrows the popular mockumentary technique used so well by Christopher Guest and “The Office,” but it doesn’t feel repetitive. The shots are much wider, allowing for a view of the whole room instead of just headshots, and thus a broader glimpse into the char-

acters’ lives and personalities.

Like other mockumentaries, there is no real explanation as to why these people are being filmed, but the style adds a welcome element of character backstory that might otherwise feel forced.

“In an age when everyone tries hard to be innovative and highconcept, ‘Modern Family’ succeeds by proving that the funniest and most original idea is sometimes the most familiar — the experiences of the people who call each other family.”

“Modern Family” feels real.

Yes, some of the situations are clearly invented for television, like the humorous sequence in which the Dunphys schedule a time for Phil to shoot his son with a BB gun to teach him a lesson for shooting his sister. But most of the situational humor feels organic and relatable, something the audience will no doubt appreciate as the series progresses.

Critics across the board have lauded the show, and the audience so far seems to agree with the positive consensus. A grand total of 12.7 million viewers watched the premiere, and while high ratings don’t always mean quality programming (see: “CSI: Miami”and “Two and a Half Men”), in this case the viewers are on to something good; Great, even.

Hopefully viewers who can only watch one new show this season will pick “Modern Family.” With smart writing, clearly-established characters and broad-spanning humor, “Modern Family” will keep everyone laughing.

TOP TEN | PEOPLE WHO SHOULD HOST SNL Megan Fox, the robot she is, did a shabby job hosting the premiere of SNL this week.

We can guarantee the following individuals would have topped her performance: 10. Garfield: He’s lazy, fat and orange. What could be funnier than a totally apathetic animal host? Sure, Odie might be cuter, but Garfield would hopefully hit on Kristen Wiig.

9. Judd Apatow: The man behind many recent, smashhit comedies is often heard from, but rarely seen. Let’s get Mr. Apatow in front of the camera for once and see what kind of chops he has.

8. Zombie Michael Jackson: Too soon? We think not.

7. ET: Those buggy eyes!

That long, wormy neck! Who wouldn’t love to see an adorable alien conduct skits in broken English?

6. The Tisch Library Voice: “Attention, attention please.

I will not shut up for the next 30 minutes.”

5. Robert Pattinson: No one’s asking him to be funny ... or even act. All Rob has to do is stand on set and he’ll have

girls in the audience swooning and screaming for him.

4. Dick Cheney: The heart attack and accidentally-shooting-people-while-hunting jokes alone would keep us entertained for hours. We are, however, a little scared that he’d come after us if we laughed at him.

3. Julia Child: Meryl Streep as Julia Child would also do.

Just so long as that highpitched voice and towering figure take the stage.

2. Joel McHale: With a hilarious new TV show this season (“Community”), this host of “The Soup” has proven he’s got staying power. McHale is practically satire royalty, and a one-night reign on SNL is long overdue.

1. Alec Bladwin: Even though this “30 Rock” star has hosted before, we love him too much to give up hope that he’ll host again. Baldwin’s versatility and ability to keep a dead-pan expression are much needed traits in any SNL guest star these days. We’re looking at you, Jimmy Fallon.

—compiled by the Daily Arts Department

Thursday, October 1, 2009

THE TUFTS DAILY

11

WEEKENDER

More than 90 employers from the non-profit, education, government, and private sectors will be available to speak with you about internship and full-time opportunities.

Abcam Amnisure International LLC BAE Systems Boston Teacher Residency Boston Urban Mechanics Program Cambridge Associates Catholic Charities, Refugee & Immigration Services CB&I (sponsor) CDS International The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. Citizen Schools City Year College Advising Corps Contact Singapore CoreStreet, Ltd Cornerstone Research Crittenton Women's Union Crossroads School for Children Diversified Technologies, Inc. e-Dialog, Inc. Eliot Community Human Services Eze Castle Software LLC Federal Bureau of Investigation Fidelity Investments General Dynamics Electric Boat General Electric Aviation General Services Administration Genscape Green Corps GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. Harvard University HealthBridge Management Hillstone Restaurant Group

Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston J. Robert Scott Jumpstart Lime Brokerage LLC LSP Association MASA Israel Journey Massachusetts Division of Banks Massachusetts Highway Department MATCH Corps Medford District Office of U.S. Representative Edward J. Markey Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. Millipore MIT Lincoln Laboratory The MITRE Corporation New England Consulting Group Nonproliferation Graduate Fellowship Program Northwestern Mutual Financial Network Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP Paytronix Systems, Inc. Peace Corps Pegasystems Inc. (sponsor) Playworks Public Conversations Project Putnam Associates, Inc. Putnam Investments QinetiQ North America Raytheon Company R. G. Vanderweil Engineers, LLP

Roux Associates Inc Rutland Regional Medical Center Somerville Local First State Street Corporation Sun Life Financial Teach for America Textron Defense Systems TIAX LLC The Tobin Project TripAdvisor LLC Tufts Medical Center Tufts University United Planet United States Air Force ROTC U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection (CBP) U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Transportation Security Administration (TSA) U.S. Department of State U.S. Dept of Transportation / Volpe National Transportation Systems Center U.S. Marine Corps UpToDate, Inc. VinfenCorporation VistaPrint Walnut Street Center, Inc. Weston & Sampson Engineers The William J. Clinton Foundation WilmerHale Windham Capital Management Woodard & Curran WorldTeach Inc.

More information available at http://careers.tufts.edu/students/careerfair.asp

THE TUFTS DAILY

12

THE TUFTS DAILY 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

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

Thursday, October 1, 2009

EDITORIAL

Selling sex, the news media sells out

GIOVANNI J.B. RUSSONELLO Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL | LETTERS

The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Time Magazine, The New Yorker, US News and World Report, CNN, NBC News, ABC News, CBS News and countless other national news sources have all taken on an issue of grave importance that they feel they must cover — despite the fact that it only affects a small group of a few thousand young adults in the Boston area.

The Daily ran a story on Sept. 24 exposing the Office of Residential Life and Learning’s new policy that “prohibits any sex act in a dorm room while one’s roommate is present.” The new rule further states that any sexual activity in the room should not interfere with a roommate’s privacy, studies or sleep schedule.

Soon after the article ran, news stations began picking up the story. Now, a week later, Google News has archived approximately 300 recent articles about the rule. Students at Tufts are largely unperturbed by the policy (they’re more interested in why it has caused such a stir among the approximately 6.95 billion people who do not attend Tufts). The fact that national news publications feel the need to report on this insignificant story should provide some insight into the reasons for the degradation that marks today’s news industry.

The only reason that this story has seen such broad coverage is that sex sells — that much is clear. But this is not necessarily the best reason to slap a story on the front page.

While this editorial was being written, “Tufts University: No sex in room while roommate is present” held the number-one spot on CNN. com’s list of its most popular stories. Not a single article concerning politics or international affairs penetrated the top seven.

In the unendingly competitive realm of online news, clicks count. Newspapers and magazines are still caught in an adolescent period of growing pains and insecurity as they move onto the Internet — a mutation that’s as unavoidable for them now as growing taller is for children. Consequently, we’re in the era of “search engine optimization,” a practice by which Web sites — including some news sites — figure out how Google. com and other search engines generate results, and then manipulate their own Web pages to fit into that formula. It’s the reason that Esquire Magazine, known to be a cut above its relatively low-brow competitors like Maxim and FHM, titled the Web page for its photo shoot of Mary Louise Parker in her underwear, “Mary Louise Parker Naked Photos - Mary Louise Parker Ass - Esquire.” A page’s title tag is a major determining factor in a Google search.

The cutthroat competition for readers could also be seen as a contributing factor to CNN’s misreporting of Tufts’ sex policy; its article states in the second paragraph, “The Massachusetts university’s formal rule also bars so-called ‘sexiling’ — exiling a roommate from the room so the other roommate

can engage in sexual activity.” This is entirely untrue. Perhaps the latent necessity of sensationalizing to attract Web viewers came into play in the crafting of that sentence, or made CNN’s editors that much less concerned with its validity.

As newspapers slash their staffs and cut their investigative units right and left, it can be frustrating to witness the amount of attention given to this relatively inconsequential story. The new regulation might involve the word “sex,” but it seems to have really been intended more as a safety net than as an excuse for the university to investigate students’ private lives. That point of view is not featured in most of the articles that Google News turns up. Both the choice of content and the way it has been presented do not do very much justice to the implicit code of ethics that national news sources are expected to follow.

But when New York magazine’s site traffic jumped by 2,000 percent in February 2008 because of a photo spread of Lindsay Lohan posing in the nude, it might have been understandable — at least from a fiscal perspective — if the magazine had altogether stopped writing stories about the presidential election or the city’s mayor and become a semi-nude photos outlet. And what’s to say there’s no temptation to reorient things here at the Daily? After all, our Web traffic spiked by nearly 300 percent a couple days after we published our piece on the policy.

ERIN MARSHALL

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

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

OFF THE HILL | WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY

It’s time to stand and deliver on education BY

EDITORIAL BOARD

The Daily Evergreen

Educators across Washington are being forced to do more with less. School districts in eastern Washington and Idaho are striking entire subjects from their curricula, combining oversized classes and requiring teachers to assume new responsibilities — all at the expense of students.

Students are now forced to pay additional fees for aspects of their education once considered sacrosanct: transportation for extracurricular activities, music classes and hot lunches. Vital tools for students, such as Spanish language classes, are being cut entirely, hampering students’ ability to succeed in a globalized world.

College students arrive on campus every year lacking essential skills like basic algebra and critical thinking. America’s schools have been underfunded for decades, and this disregard for education highlights the nation’s skewed priorities and a gross negligence by our elected leaders.

The deluge of fees and cuts are not limited to K-12. Thousands of faculty members and students at the University

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.

of California-Berkeley protested state budget cuts Thursday that would impose furloughs on instructors, cut enrollment and increase tuition.

As tuition costs at public universities increased over the past three decades, the burden of paying for public education was transferred from the state to the student, placing further duress on an already weak system. Foreign nations understand that education is a long-term investment that fuels economic growth.

Declaring that children are the nation’s future, politicians often espouse the importance of education, but rarely deliver. President Barack Obama has promised sweeping changes for the American education system, but many of his education policies are a mere continuation of the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind Act, which actually left millions of children behind.

Fortunately, $100 billion in emergency public aid was designated for schools and colleges in the economic stimulus bill, according to a Feb. 16 article in The New York Times. Often handicapped by a limited budget, Secretary of Education

Arne Duncan is now burdened with a new problem: how to properly allocate the discretionary funds. With more and more cuts on the horizon, Duncan needs to cut through the layers of bureaucracy and find a way to efficiently disburse the $54 billion in stabilization funds to prevent more public education layoffs.

Despite this new level of power afforded to the secretary of education, the funds designated for Duncan’s department pale in comparison to the hundreds of billions given away to the nation’s banks. Students need to become vocal about the quality of their education. When business interests are threatened, Capitol Hill is inundated with lobbyists. We may lack the ability to bankroll high-profile lobbyists, but we are just as capable of shaping education legislation.

What students lack in power, we make up for it with volume and voice.

Providing public education is one of the primary functions of a government and the current plight of education in America cannot be ignored. Regardless of the times, education funding must be insulated from the winds of economic change because schools should not be forced to do more with less.

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.

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.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

THE TUFTS DAILY

13

OP-ED JACOB KREIMER | THE SALVADOR

Out of sight, out of mind

KRISTEN COLLINS/TUFTS DAILY

A new paradigm for alcohol strategy

BY BRUCE RATAIN Last semester, I took a course on international negotiations in which my class learned what was described as the preeminent strategy taught to all negotiators.

The book from which this theory stemmed, “Getting to Yes,” by Roger Fisher and William Ury of the Harvard Negotiation Project, challenges conventional negotiation strategy by putting forth a new, principled form of negotiation. The authors’ call to reexamine traditional approaches to negotiation has direct and critical relevance to the current debate about the university’s alcohol policy.

Fisher and Ury characterize conventional negotiation strategy as positional bargaining — in which each party claims a position and then negotiates and bargains with the other parties to find a compromise. Classic examples include haggling over a price or fighting about which movie to see. Fisher and Ury deplore positional bargaining for three primary reasons: It produces unwise agreements, it is inefficient, and it harms the relationship between parties. Instead of working together to find the best solution to a problem, parties fight over entrenched positions; a discussion turns into a battle.

The current evolution of the alcohol debate seems like positional bargaining.

Administrators put forth a position: All alcohol violations will lead to level-one disciplinary probation. In response, students shot back, arguing that we should revert to the old warning policy or some position in between. Since then, much of the debate has been negotiation between these two positions. A quote from Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman in a recent Daily article illustrates the entrenchment of these positions: “I will be open-minded to different ways to approach this issue, but we’re not going to abandon the new effort.” In this fight, we’ve lost sight of trying to find the best way to solve the underlying problem of student drinking.

So what is the alternative? Fisher and Ury’s answer is principled negotiation — separating the people from the problem, focusing on interests rather than positions, inventing options for mutual gain and insisting on objective criteria. This is precisely the method that I believe is necessary to find a solution to the alcohol problem.

1. Separate the people from the problem.

This step says that to reach successful agreements, parties must be willing to work together as equals, ensuring that prior history or interactions do not cloud their willingness to collaborate. Coming together on alcohol policy, it is important that as student leaders we view the administration not as adversaries but rather as partners who care about the school as we do. I think that of Fisher and Ury’s four criteria, this point is the most minor issue — both sides do seem very willing to work together — but nonetheless it is one of which we should remain cognizant.

2. Focus on interests, not positions.

This one is critical. To reach the right solution, parties need to start not by laying out positions but by thinking about and expressing their interests. What are the issues that we truly care about in the debate? What are the problems we are trying to solve? Once we identify the problem and our priorities, then we can discuss solutions.

In our negotiation on alcohol, we should begin by focusing on interests. To me, our interest should be mitigating the dangerous drinking that we’ve seen in the past few years and changing a culture that encourages excessive drinking over safe and responsible behavior. With this interest clear and the problem we are trying to address defined, we can then move to the next step: thinking about the causes of that problem and brainstorming creative solutions.

3. Invent options for mutual gain.

4. Insist on objective criteria.

One of the problems with our current positional bargaining is that we seem to be locked into viewing alcohol abuse as something that can only be addressed through various levels of disciplinary action. Once locked into this paradigm, we lose sight of other potential solutions.

Rather than asking how severely we should punish students for alcohol violations, we should be exploring why students are drinking in such excess and brainstorming innovative solutions to address that problem. Then, once we have collected potential solutions, we should evaluate them based on an objective standard.

Fortunately, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Colleges across the country deal with excessive drinking and many, such as Dartmouth and Washington University

in St. Louis, have come up with unique approaches to keep students safe. Even more exciting, these programs work appear to work.

Increased penalties should certainly be one of the options on the table — along with innovative educational approaches, student support services, campaigns to change societal norms and medical amnesty. Then, having collected these options, we should evaluate them based on what works. If we find that schools have successfully reduced student drinking through harsher penalties, then that may become the frontrunner for Tufts’ strategy. However, if we find that schools have greatly reduced student drinking through programs such as medical amnesty, independent external hotlines and other measures, then those should be the ones we choose.

As students and administrators, we must commit ourselves not to our positions, but to the objective standard the student body deserves. If we are serious about addressing alcohol abuse, then we should be serious about pursuing whichever solutions have been proven to work best. In essence, rather than debating over an alcohol policy, we need to be working together to devise an alcohol strategy — an integrated approach combining the most effective policies, support systems and tools used in colleges across the country.

As chairman of the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate Administration and Policy Committee, I, like administrators, stand fully cognizant of the gravity of the dangerous problem we confront. If we don’t take serious action to change current drinking habits at Tufts, it is likely that someone will die from alcohol abuse.

My interest lies in making students safer and in confronting a culture of dangerous drinking. Rather than engaging in ineffective positional bargaining, I agree with Fisher and Ury and with TCU President and president Brandon Rattiner that we need to consider all options and select those which have been proven to work rather than jumping into a new policy.

Bruce Ratain is a junior majoring in political science. He is a TCU senator and is the chair of the TCU Senate Administration and Policy Committee.

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Every time you leave the bathroom, you hit the lever and watch the water swish away another gallon and a half of wastewater. Your relationship with trash is probably similar: put it in the bin, haul it to the street (or let OneSource do it for you if you live at Tufts), and rest peacefully knowing that some truck has taken it somewhere far away. Indeed, our purchasing patterns show that consumers respond to marketing through bulked-up packaging. We buy excessively knowing that if we dislike something, we can just throw it out and, within a few days, have it carted off to some landfill. Waste isn’t something that Americans are accustomed to thinking about, and when we do, we know it will be down a pipe or in a truck on the way to someplace else very shortly.

Yet this out of sight, out of mind mentality is one that people in the developing world are perhaps decades away from adopting.

In the mean time, their options are pretty simple: sh-t in a hole and burn the trash.

While in El Salvador, I saw that one of these issues was dealt with pretty well. With grants from various international organizations, many rural communities have been able to introduce cheap, easily-made composting toilets which look a lot like those on the Appalachian Trail. This system has proven better than the typical hole-in-the-ground by a long shot: The toilets don’t fill up, they leach less pollutants into the soil and they require fewer holes, which saves land and preserves property value. Adding soil to organic human waste and allowing natural bacteria to take its course also produces an incredibly rich fertilizer, which is helpful for the subsistence farming population. I would even contend that the composting systems of rural El Salvador are more advanced than our own current system, considering all the hype to go green. Almost two gallons of water every time you flush? If you really want to reduce your waste, go defecate in your backyard and compost the feces to fertilize your garden. I’m certain Michael Pollan would approve. (Last spring’s Snyder Lecture, anyone?)

If poor Central Americans have beat us in using environmentally sound approaches to human waste, what ingenious solution do they have for trash? Nothing. People in the developing world are largely dealing with their trash the way they have for centuries: by burning it. A hundred years ago, burning wasn’t too harmful, as wood scraps, food waste and worn fabrics were all organic.

Now, proto-capitalist markets are bringing goods to El Salvador that could be found in a 7-Eleven. Burning a ripped cotton shirt is one thing; burning a Lay’s chip bag, a Suave shampoo bottle and a broken Chinese-made action figure is another. Community health issues — not to mention global warming issues — are suddenly a concern. Breathing in hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride from the shampoo bottle is less than ideal for anyone’s health.

The obstacles in creating a landfill are practically insurmountable when one factors in the power dynamics of local governments (read: the rural poor are practically always politically powerless). Salvadorians know that every item they buy will likely eventually be burned in their backyard. They themselves will rake the pile together, bend down, light a match and tend the fire as they maneuver themselves upwind.

Am I saying that by being less wasteful, the impoverished of the global south are more responsible than we Americans are?

For one thing, they could never afford to buy as much excess as our culture promotes, thereby cutting down on the amount they waste. But the moral is that, since they are aware of everything they produce and must personally deal with its disposal, they seem to be more responsible about how much they buy and consume. And I think there is something to be learned from that.

Jacob Kreimer is a junior majoring in international relations. He can be reached at Jacob.Kreimer@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

14 CROSSWORD

COMICS

Thursday, October 1, 2009

DOONESBURY

BY

NON SEQUITUR

GARRY TRUDEAU

BY

SOLUTIONS TO WEDNESDAY’S PUZZLE

MARRIED TO THE SEA

www.marriedtothesea.com

SUDOKU Level: Making it onto Leno, Conan and Kimmel in the same night

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Solution to Wednesday's puzzle

Steve: “Obesity is ready when you are, Amani.”

Please recycle this Daily

WILEY

Thursday, October 1, 2009

THE TUFTS DAILY

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Thursday, October 1, 2009

FREEMAN DYSON

NUKES AND GENOMES : TWO GENIES OUT OF THE BOTTLE

The twentieth century was the century of physics

and the twenty-first century

will be the century of biology.

T H U R S D AY , O C T O B E R 1, 2009 LECTURE 4:30–6:00 P. M .

RECEPTION TO FOLLOW ASEAN AUDITORIUM CABOT INTERCULTURAL CENTER PACKARD AVENUE MEDFORD / SOMERVILLE CAMPUS TUFTS UNIVERSITY Freeman Dyson is professor emeritus of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

A graduate of Cambridge University with a B.A. in mathematics, he came to Cornell University as a graduate student in 1947. Among his most notable contributions to science was the unification of the three versions of quantum electrodynamics invented by Feynman, Schwinger, andTomonaga. He subsequently worked on nuclear reactors, solid-state physics, ferromagnetism, astrophysics, and biology, looking for problems where elegant mathematics could be usefully applied.

Dyson has written a number of books about science for the general public, including Disturbing the Universe (1979), a portrait gallery of people he has known during his career as a scientist, Weapons and Hope (1984), a study of the ethical problems of war and peace, Origins of Life (1986), a study of one of the major unsolved problems of science, and The Sun, the Genome and the Internet (1999), an inquiry into whether modern technology could be used to narrow the gap between rich and poor. Dyson is a fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the Royal Society of London. In 2000 he was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion.

Richard E. Snyder P R E S I D E N T ’ S LECTURE SERIES

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, October 1, 2009

!"#$%&'()%*+,("+%-.#/+,( 0#1"(,#&/#/&('2(3',,% NHL

continued from page 19

sent a message to the rest of the NHL that the Broad Street Bullies are back.

As if Holmgren had not revamped his team enough, he also opted to add Colorado Avalanche grinder Ian Laperriere — who has compiled 1794 career penalty minutes — and rugged Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen to the roster. Additionally, bruisers Riley Cote, Daniel Carcillo, Arron Asham and Darroll Powe are all still wearing Flyers uniforms, as is star captain Mike Richards, who will drop the gloves at a moment’s notice.

So what can we expect from Philadelphia in the 2009-10 season?

The Flyers were already first in the NHL last year in penalty minutes, so we can expect to see plenty of black and orange in the box.

But more importantly, the Flyers will be on a mission to continue being an extremely potent goal-scoring team. Led by Jeff Carter (84 points) and Richards (80 points) — and with Pronger and Emery holding down the fort — look for the Flyers to make a Stanley Cup run this year.

Should Philadelphia make it, one team that could oppose them from the Western Conference is the Chicago Blackhawks.

Despite a heart-breaking departure from last year’s postseason, the Blackhawks’ season was filled with numerous bright spots. For one, the team led the league in home attendance with 912,155, averaging 22,247 fans per game. This, paired with the Blackhawks’ playoff success, marked a great renaissance of hockey for a franchise that had

failed to clinch a playoff berth since the 2001-02 season and had not reached the conference finals since 1995.

While Patrick Kane and the other Blackhawks hit the gym this offseason to stay in shape, Chicago management hit the phones, making the bank-breaking deal of the summer. On July 1, the day free agency began, then-general manager Dale Tallon — who has since been replaced by Stan Bowman — announced that the Blackhawks had signed superstar forward Marian Hossa for 12 years and $62.8 million.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound former Detroit Red Wing posted 40 goals in the 2008-09 regular season to bring his career points total to 719 points in 775 games (339 goals, 380 assists). In addition to signing Hossa, Tallon also brought over Tomas Kopecky from Detroit and veteran center John Madden from the New Jersey Devils.

Chicago’s blend of experience and youth will make for a multifaceted approach to playing the game. Young Blackhawks such as Kane and Jonathan Toews will be able to overwhelm their opponents with skill, speed and tenacity, but experienced players like Hossa, Kopecky and Madden will bring a much-needed calmness and structure to Chicago’s system. The offensively savvy Brian Campbell (52 points) and 40-plus point-scorers Duncan Keith and Cam Barker give the Blackhawks some serious depth at the blue-line.

All in all, Chicago means business this year, so don’t be surprised if the Blackhawks play host to the Stanley Cup Finals in May.

SPORTS

EARN YOUR MPA IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLICY

The Master of Public Administration Program in Environmental Science and Policy is a twelve-month program that combines Columbia University’s hands-on approach to teaching public policy and administration with pioneering thinking about the environment, educating today’s environmental leaders for a sustainable tomorrow. FOR MORE INFORMATION, please call 212-854-3142, e-mail ael2130@columbia.edu, or visit www.columbia.edu/cu/mpaenvironment. For information about SIPA programs, visit sipa.columbia.edu.

Come to a talk by a Tufts Geology alumnus!

Forensic Geology: Solving Earthly Crimes with Dirt by

Raymond C. Murray, PhD Forensic Geologist Friday, Oct. 2

3:30 PM

Room 100 Lane Hall

17

THE TUFTS DAILY

18

SPORTS

Thursday, October 1, 2009

!"#$%&'())&)**+&#*,&-(,%$&./0121&'(3&(3&4567&545(3%$&85$7% MEN’S SOCCER

“Dan is a real good player, but sometimes real good players miss a shot,” he added. “It is telling of him that he scored that goal.”

For the Jumbos, the goal was welldeserved, as they dominated the overtime period and a great deal of the game. Tufts got off the only three shots in extra time, and finished the game with 10 more shots than Suffolk. The Jumbos also had the edge in corners on the night, finishing with a 9-4 advantage. For a team that had out-shot its opponent just once over its first five games, extra offensive pressure made a substantial difference.

“Obviously the teams we played before were stronger teams with better

defense, especially the NESCAC teams because the NESCAC is the best division for men’s soccer in Div. III in the whole country,” Duker said. “So it is hard to win and get goals in those, and I think that was part of it.”

“We had two or three goals called back, so 2-1 in overtime doesn’t really state how we played,” he added. “It should have been a four or five to one win.”

The game was tied at one thanks to two quick first-half goals. Less than two minutes into the game, sophomore defender Stratos Saropoulos sent a header at the Suffolk net that hit the post. Classmate Matt Blumenthal, however, was properly positioned to gather the rebound, scoring his first goal of the season.

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VOLLEYBALL

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Beacons, clawed their way back into the game with tough defense. The team compiled 12 team blocks on Tuesday, eight more than in the first meeting. Sophomore libero Audrey Kuan contributed 26 digs and senior co-captain Brogie Helgeson came up big with five blocks and 13 digs, including two outstanding “pancake” digs when the Jumbos were down 6-7 in the fourth set.

“Once we started playing defense first, that was the turning point for us,” Helgeson said. “We were so focused on our offense that we didn’t pay attention to serving and defense, and once we started being strong on defense things turned around.”

Down two sets to one, the Jumbos relied on leadership from both Helgeson and Feiger, who battled against a tough serving game from the Beacons but still executed the offense with precision by tallying 52 assists on 135 attempts.

Tufts also excelled at remaining calm and composed at the critical moments of the game. Down 9-11 in the fifth set, with the game on the line, the Jumbos came out of a timeout appearing relaxed, smiling and even joking on the court.

“Even though we lost, we still had the majority of possession and we still played really well,” DeGregorio said. “We’re taking it as a learning experience. If you let down even for a minute and lose focus, it can change the whole game. Playing for 85 minutes isn’t good enough, especially at this level.”

“It only would have taken one shot to tie it up and two to win. If we had twenty five, we definitely should have converted at least two of them,” Cadigan added. “But it’s just something else to work on and make sure we improve.”

The Jumbos expect to put the loss behind them quickly before Saturday’s game at Bates, where they will look to post their second straight NESCAC win. Tufts’ last loss to Bates came in 2005, and they have shut out the Bobcats on three consecutive occasions, including last year’s 2-0 victory on homecoming weekend.

Both squads will enter the game with 1-2 NESCAC records, making this matchup a crucial one: With six conference schools amassing at least two losses, the result of the contest will have a significant impact on each team’s NESCAC standing.

“Bates is always tough, but I think we’re looking forward to playing them and getting back on track as quickly as possible,” DeGregorio said.

“We expect them to come out hard, so we have to come out hard, too,” Cadigan added. “We can’t really wait back on our heels to start playing because that’s what we did [on Tuesday]. We have to start out strong, and we need to be able to convert our shots to goals.”

continued from page 20

continued from page 20

“We love defending our house ... It’s so much fun to play here, and any team that comes here is going to have to play really, really hard to even have a chance against us.”

Dena Feiger senior co-captain

“One of our goals this year was not only to be physically tough but also mentally tough and mentally loose,” Thompson said. “We don’t want to get so worried that we get tight. A phrase that we use is, ‘Love this challenge right now.’ We want the best teams, and they are going to come at us, so even if we’re two points down, we say, ‘Now here’s a chance to come back against a great team.’”

With Tuesday’s victory, the Jumbos improved their record to 12-1, putting themselves in prime position to move up into the No.1 ranking which was held by UMass Boston as of Tuesday.

The Jumbos continue their season Friday when they host Union College at Cousens Gym in the opening round of the Tufts Invitational. The team will attempt to prolong its undefeated record in its new home.

“We love defending our house,” Feiger said. “It’s so much fun to play here, and any team that comes here is going to have to play really, really hard to even have a chance against us.”

For Tufts, it was just the second game this season in which the team held a lead. But it would be short-lived, as less than a minute later the Rams scored an equalizer. Senior forward Nick Celia sent a pass over the top of the Tufts midfield to classmate Bernhard Lotterer.

The forward took the ball and slotted in a low shot past Jumbos senior keeper tri-captain Pat Tonelli.

“We came out well,” Coleman said.

“We scored a goal and could have made things a lot easier for ourselves if we hadn’t had that mental lapse and let them score ... I thought we dealt with it pretty well not giving up another goal.”

Both teams had opportunities to score later in the game, each having a defender step in for a key save with the

goalie out of position. But neither side could muster a goal over the next 93 minutes until Schoening’s game winner.

“We had a couple shots where they saved it on the line — we were all wondering how those didn’t go in,” Coleman said.

The win brings the Jumbos’ record to 1-4-1 on the season, while Suffolk falls to 4-2-2. Tufts will try to carry the momentum from its victory into Saturday’s game at Bates, where the team will be searching for its first NESCAC win.

“It is definitely good to get that first win, but personally I don’t think too much about games that are out of conference,” Duker said. “To me everything is about the NESCAC wins.”

continued from page 20

JOSH BERLINGER/TUFTS DAILY

Despite their best efforts, which included sophomore Alix Michael’s rebound attempt following a shot off the cross bar, the Jumbos were shut out by Babson.

SCHEDULE | Oct. 1 - Oct. 7 THURS

FRI

SUN

MON

TUES

WED

at Bates 1:00 p.m.

Football

Field Hockey

SAT

vs. Endicott 4:00 p.m.

at Wellesley 4:30p.m.

at Bates 12:00 p.m.

Men’s Tennis

vs. MIT 1:00 p.m.

Men’s Soccer

at Bates 2:30 p.m.

at Plymouth St. 6:00 p.m.

Women’s Soccer

at Bates 12:00 p.m.

vs. Brandeis 4:00 p.m.

Tufts Invitational 12:00 p.m.

vs. Bowdoin 7:30 p.m.

Volleyball

Tufts Invitational 5:00 p.m.

Women’s Tennis

JumboCast

at MIT 4:00 p.m.

Volleyball

Volleyball

vs. Babson 10:00 a.m.

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, October 1, 2009

19

SPORTS

INSIDE THE NHL

RORY PARKS | THE LONG-SUFFERING SPORTS FAN

I hate you

E

MCT

The addition of defensive stalwart and veteran bruiser Chris Pronger will make the Philadelphia Flyers a serious contender in the Eastern Conference this season.

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ADAM PARDES

Contributing Writer

Summertime can be an enjoyable time, lounging on the beach and taking in the tide with a cold beverage by your side. Unless you’re a hockey fan.

But while fans are at rest, NHL teams work nonstop throughout the summer to try to piece together a Stanley Cup contender. And perhaps no teams have labored harder this offseason to do so than the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks.

After his team suffered an early dismissal from the 2009 playoffs, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren knew he had work to do over the summer.

Goaltending has been an issue for several decades for Philadelphia, which could not find a consistent starter in either Martin Biron or Antero Niittymaki

over the past two years. To fill the hole between the pipes, Holmgren decided to recruit former Ottawa Senator and Stanley Cup netminder Ray Emery, who did not play in the NHL last season.

Instead, without interest from any NHL team, Emery went to play in Russia’s KHL. The netminder has been notorious for his violent behavior, which resulted in numerous suspensions throughout his early career and caused most teams to shy away from him despite his talent.

But the Flyers have faith that Emery has tamed his temper and will fill the void in net. Emery certainly has the ability, as he has compiled a respectable 2.71 GAA, .907 save percentage and eight shutouts in 134 career regular-season games.

Yet Emery was just the beginning of a series of blockbuster signings by Philadelphia. On the night of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the Flyers made their

biggest move of the summer: Forward Joffrey Lupul (25 goals, 25 assists), along with promising defensive prospect Luca Sbisa and two first-round draft picks, was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks in return for defensive powerhouse Chris Pronger and forward prospect Ryan Dingle.

At 6-foot-6, 214 pounds, Pronger adds the physical presence the Flyers were lacking in their own zone following long-time defenseman Derian Hatcher’s career-ending injury. The Flyers signed the sturdy blueliner for seven years — a contract that extends through Pronger’s 42nd birthday.

But like Emery, Pronger has been at the center of several controversies during his career, having dished out some terrifying — and occasionally illegal — hits. Without a doubt, signing Pronger see NHL, page 17

Games of the Week LOOKING BACK (SEPTEMBER 29) | VOLLEYBALL VS. UMASS BOSTON With pride, regional dominance and two double-digit winning streaks all on the line, Cousens Gym was teeming with energy on Tuesday night as the Tufts and UMass Boston women’s volleyball teams took the court.

Two of the region’s top squads, the Jumbos and the Beacons had faced off once earlier this season, when the Beacons toppled the Jumbos 3-2 in Tufts’ first match of the year.

Eleven matches and 11 wins later, the Jumbos did not want a repeat of the first encounter, in which they were unable to complete a nearly successful comeback.

Down two sets to one in their most recent matchup, the Jumbos pulled out a gritty win in the fourth set, converting a five-point run into a 10-5 lead that they would never relinquish to even the score at two sets apiece.

In the match decider, it appeared that the Jumbos would once again be unable to convert, falling behind 11-9. But after using a timeout to collect themselves, the Jumbos retook the court with purpose, immediately knotting the score before finally securing the match with a 15-12 win.

By snapping the Beacons’ 13-match streak of perfection and extending their own to 12, the Jumbos left little doubt that they are one of the top teams — if not the top team — in New England.

ANDREW MORGENTHALER/TUFTS DAILY

LOOKING AHEAD (OCTOBER 5) | GREEN BAY PACKERS VS. MINNESOTA VIKINGS The moment has finally arrived. Brett Favre’s career will come full circle on Monday night in Minnesota when the undefeated Vikings host the 2-1 Packers in the classic NFC North matchup. All eyes will of course be glued to the former Green Bay deity as he takes the field against the team for which he played in all 16 games for 16 straight seasons, won a Super Bowl and accumulated countless NFL passing records. The man who many consider to be the face of the Packer franchise is now playing on the other side of one of the NFL’s most heralded and bitter rivalries.

Favre’s former understudy, Aaron Rodgers, will undoubtedly be looking to outdo the man who has caused him so much anguish over the past few years with all of his pseudoretirements. Meanwhile, Favre himself will try to show the Packers that he’s still got it and that they made a mistake by letting him go to the Jets in 2008.

Favre has been playing decently so far this season (65 percent completion rate with five touchdowns and one interception, as well as another heroic pass in the waning seconds against the 49ers on Sunday), but Rodgers has performed equally well with a similar stat line. The verdict? Who knows. They’re both solid teams with a lot to prove and plenty of hatred toward each other. What can be said for sure is that it’s going to get messy.

MCT

veryone enjoys making lists.

Many people seem to feel that there is no greater pleasure in this world than compiling exhaustive lists of their favorite things — favorite songs, restaurants, Bath & Body Works scents, etc. — and sharing those with their 600 closest Facebook friends, 99 percent of whom couldn’t care less.

I do it too, and while I don’t necessarily want everyone to be aware of my affinity for cucumber melon hand lotion, I can see how having a few select people in the know would come in handy during the holiday season.

However, I have grown increasingly weary of the lists that include the word “favorite,” particularly ones having to do with music. After all, if the Tufts population hasn’t yet proved that Guster and Ben Folds Five are the greatest bands the world has ever known, then they’re probably not going to.

What does fascinate me, though, are the “hate” lists. I am especially intrigued by the simple question: “Who are the five people you hate most?” The diversity of responses as a whole is overwhelming, but almost every list that I have seen includes at least one professional athlete.

Now that’s something I can relate to.

Having suffered through the cheapshot tactics and arrogant smile of Hines Ward for the past 11 years, I can safely say that if someone has to be run over by a bus while crossing the street, I hope it’s him.

Ward has been on the top of my “hate” list for some time now, but the rest of it changes with time. For example, I used to hate Tony Romo, but that was back when he was dating Carrie Underwood.

Now that she has come to her senses and dumped him, I can reserve some of my Romo hatred for that no-name hockey player she’s been seeing.

Since I arrived at Tufts, however, certain staples of Boston sports life have come to dominate the list. The mere sight of Kevin Youkilis makes me want to return my lunch to the bottom of a toilet bowl. And Dustin Pedroia, who exudes obnoxiousness from every pore and who must be one of the world’s highestprolife sufferers of Short Man Syndrome, has a similar effect on me.

As far as the Patriots are concerned, it’s easy enough to despise people like Bill Belichick and Vince Wilfork, and I never had a hard time rousing up some welldeserved anger for Rodney Harrison. It also made me sick to listen to analysts gush over Belichick’s ingenious use of defensive players on offense, and viceversa, when all that really amounted to was playing Troy Brown at cornerback out of necessity and throwing one-yard touchdown passes to linebacker Mike Vrabel on every goal-line possession.

But try as I might, I have never been able to truly hate Tom Brady. He is everything the media says he is and then some, and even if he gets a little pouty on the sidelines, he is usually nothing but humble and gracious during his interviews.

But I, like most sports fans I know, am very passionate about this whole hate thing — it is, after all, a lot of work — and I would like to add Brady to the collection. Given the way I feel about the Patriots as a whole, and given that my New England friends are arrogant enough to expect that Brady will simply walk across the Atlantic when the Pats play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at London’s Wembley Stadium in October, I feel as though I should hate him.

I just can’t.

Even though his classless performance during his “interview” with Suzy Kolber at the end of this season’s first Monday Night Football game gives me some hope, it seems as though my own version of what I consider to be the most intriguing list that a person can compile — the all-important “most-hated people” list — will remain incomplete.

Rory Parks is a senior double-majoring in international relations and Spanish. He can be reached at Rory.Parks@tufts.edu

Sports

20

INSIDE Inside the NHL 19 Long-Suffering Fan 19 Games of the Week 19

tuftsdaily.com

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

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BEN KOCHMAN

Contributing Writer

The women’s volleyball team entered Tuesday’s game against UMass Boston with revenge on its mind. Boasting an 11-1 record, the Jumbos had only one blemish on an otherwise perfect season: a Sept. 11 defeat at the hands of the very same Beacons team at the season-opening Brandeis Invitational.

On that day, the Jumbos rallied from a 2-1 deficit only to lose the match in the fifth and decisive set 15-8. On Tuesday night at home in Cousens Gym, the Jumbos had a similar hill to climb — only this time around, they showed their ability to come back from adversity. The team grinded out its most dramatic victory of the year with a 15-12 win in the fifth set, stamping its authority on Div. III New England volleyball.

“We have heart, we have grit and we know that we have the ability to come back from any deficit,” said junior outside hitter Caitlin Updike, who struggled with the UMass Boston defense on Sept. 11 but contributed a teamleading 20 kills on Tuesday.

The Beacons walked into Cousens on Tuesday with a little swagger, having won their last 13 matches, including seven straight without dropping a set.

The Beacons had earned their No. 1 ranking in New England with disciplined defense and strong hitting from senior Kate McWhorter, who registered 22 kills in Tuesday’s loss, the most from any player on the court. “[The Beacons] are a team that forces you to earn your points,” coach Cora Thompson said. “They aren’t going to serve out a lot, they don’t make a lot of hitting errors. They really force you and challenge you to be the best team that you can be.”

The Jumbos were sloppy in their first matchup against UMass Boston in early September, committing a season-

high 27 errors overall and sporting only a .152 kill percentage as a team. Updike and fellow junior hitter Dawson JoyceMendive struggled in that meeting with the Beacons, as the two normally steady hitters had abysmal kill percentages of .108 and .075, respectively.

But on Tuesday, Updike and JoyceMendive were the top two offensive presences for the Jumbos; Updike made only two hitting errors to go along with her 20 kills and Joyce-Mendive scored 15 kills to go along with just five errors.

“We’ve made a 180 degree flip,” Joyce-Mendive said. “When we first played [UMass], our offense was bad, our defense was bad. Since then we’ve been working really hard in practice; our defense has improved and everything is starting to come together.”

After winning the first set 25-22 on Tuesday, the Jumbos dropped the next two 25-12 and 25-23. The team had difficulty dealing with powerful serves from the Beacons, often forcing starting setter and senior co-captain Dena Feiger off the net and limiting her ability to make efficient offensive choices. UMass Boston ended the day with eight total aces, including one from freshman Frana Burtness-Adams during a string of eight unanswered points that turned the tide for the Beacons in the second set.

“They served us very tough,” Thompson said. “They had more than a few aces there, and when they pushed [Feiger] off net, she really had only one or two options, and their blockers were getting their hands on the ball. So really we wanted to get our passes on the net to Dena so she could run a more dynamic offense, which is eventually what started happening.”

The Jumbos, facing the prospect of yet another defeat at the hands of the

ANDREW MORGENTHALER/TUFTS DAILY

see VOLLEYBALL, page 18

Junior Caitlin Updike and the Jumbos avenged their only loss of the season by beating UMass Boston Tuesday night.

MEN’S SOCCER

WOMEN’S SOCCER

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ETHAN LANDY

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ALEX LACH

Daily Editorial Board

Daily Editorial Board

Tufts senior forward Dan Schoening had his fair share of missed opportunities against Suffolk on Tuesday. But when the game was on the line, he redeemed himself, giving the Jumbos a 2-1 victory, their first of the season.

“It was important just for everyone’s spirits and to get that monkey off our back,” junior defender Ron Coleman said. “But we knew that we played some tough opponents and we knew we would get a win at some point. It was just a matter of time.”

With 4:19 to play in the first overtime, junior Mike Fitzgerald fired a shot at the Suffolk net. But Rams junior keeper Jack DeJesus, who was recently named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference goalkeeper of the week, made what looked like a game-saving stop. He failed to corral the ball, however, and the rebound came to Schoening, who headed it in below the crossbar for the golden goal.

The play made up for a series of near-misses by the senior earlier in the game and in overtime. Schoening, the team’s leading scorer last season with eight goals, had two chances to put the team ahead, but he missed a pen-

In Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Wesleyan, senior forward Whitney Hardy scored what turned out to be the game’s only goal in the first minute of play. In Tuesday night’s match against Babson, the game would start the same way.

The only difference was that this time, it was the Jumbos who were retrieving the ball from the back of their own net.

Babson junior forward Kristy Benoit scored less than two minutes into the game, netting what would stand as the game winner in a 1-0 victory for the host Beavers. On one of the game’s first attacks, Benoit took a through ball from sophomore midfielder Annie Kenney and calmly chipped it over Tufts’ senior goalkeeper Kate Minnehan.

“We were caught off guard,” senior co-captain forward Cara Cadigan said. “It’s never fun to feel like you have to dig yourself out of a hole, which is what we had to do.”

Over the next 88 minutes, and especially in the second half, Tufts would control the game, with play rarely leaving Babson’s end of the field. The Jumbos outshot their opponents 25-3 — 17-1 in the second half — but their efforts came up short.

“Right after they scored we really recaptured the momentum and started playing well, especially

ANDREW MORGENTHALER/TUFTS DAILY

After a number of near misses and tough overtime losses, the Jumbos finally earned a victory Tuesday thanks to senior Dan Schoening’s golden goal in the first period of overtime. alty shot in the first half and sent a shot high and wide earlier in the overtime period.

“Already this season we have lost in overtime, and it is a really bad feeling,” senior tri-captain Bear Duker said.

“So we really wanted to win.

And obviously it was really good when he scored and he missed a penalty kick and redeemed himself. see MEN’S SOCCER, page 18

possessing the ball,” junior midfielder Geneva DeGregorio said.

The Beavers played with a compact defensive mentality that allowed Tufts to possess the ball in their half but denied the Jumbos the necessary space to create legitimate opportunities around the net. Many of Tufts’ chances came on shots from outside the box.

“It’s pretty telling that we clearly dominated the second half if we outshot them by eight times,” Cadigan said. “It’s frustrating to not be able to put that goal away and to have [to] come away losing a game we could have won.”

The Jumbos’ best opportunity came in the 54th minute, when senior midfielder Fanna Gamal hit a shot from outside the box that nailed the crossbar.

Sophomore forward Alix Michael collected the rebound and managed to get a shot on target, but Babson junior goalie Sarah Macary snared one of her eight saves to preserve the lead.

“It was frustrating, but sometimes soccer is an unforgiving game,” DeGregorio said. “But we’ve been on the other side of it too, in games that maybe we didn’t deserve to win and luck was in our favor. It’s frustrating, but that’s how the game is.”

The Jumbos noted that while the result didn’t go in their favor, there are still many positives that came out of the game. see WOMEN’S SOCCER, page 18