Partly Cloudy 68/41
THE TUFTS DAILY
TUFTSDAILY.COM
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009
VOLUME LVIII, NUMBER 29
Where You Read It First Est. 1980
92+7-'6"#/"(':-2/#;'<&/#;'27,+2( !"#$%&'()*++&')+,-&"$"(' ./0"1($+23'"4-%#(/+# BY KATHERINE SAWYER AND MATT REPKA
Daily Editorial Board
A subcommittee of the Alcohol Task Force met yesterday to discuss potential improvements to student safety at Spring Fling, amid rumors that originated from a senior’s e-mail to hundreds of undergraduates in which he erroneously suggested the administration might cancel the annual event. At a regularly scheduled meeting, the task force’s events subcommittee discussed the role of alcohol at the annual celebration, and how to make Spring Fling safer for attendees, members of the group told the Daily. The administration chartered the task force this year in response to conduct at last year’s Spring Fling and other alcohol-related concerns. The task force is comprised of students, administrators and staff.
BY
KATHRYN OLSON
Contributing Writer
JENNA LIANG/TUFTS DAILY
An e-mail sent by a senior on Tuesday suggested that the university might cancel Spring Fling. Above, people attend last year’s event. “Right now, the committee is trying to balance reasonable policy with behavior change,” said Tufts Community Union President Brandon Rattiner, who sits on the task force and
A different kind of thrift store
KRISTEN COLLINS/TUFTS DAILY
Buffalo Exchange — the newest of Davis Square’s various thrift, consignment and vintage fashion stores — will pay customers up front for their used clothing. See Features, page 3, for the full article.
attended yesterday’s meeting. “We’re looking at pre-gaming and drinking at the event. Ultimately the committee is just see SPRING FLING, page 2
Nearly a decade of planning and construction have finally resulted in the completion of an ambitious, $68 million five-floor vertical expansion to the School of Dental Medicine, one of the most significant improvements to the school since its founding over 140 years ago. The addition enlarged the dental school building by 50 percent and will result in significantly more clinical space for doctors and students. Administrators, staff and faculty members plan to move into the new facility around Christmas and will be able to see patients by January, according to Professor Charles Rankin, director of the predoctoral endodontics program. Four of the dental school’s postdoctoral programs will gain an entire floor when the facility opens, doubling those programs’ space to
42,000 square feet, according to the school’s executive associate dean, Joseph Castellana. The renovations expanded a preclinical simulation laboratory, and administrative offices will move to the new floors to allow for additional class space. The expansion will also add new continuing-education facilities to the dental school, letting dentists receive ongoing training in order to maintain their licenses. Most of the improvements will serve post-graduate programs, including a new clinic for the endodontics program. The significant upgrades in technology and facilities will place the school “heads and shoulders” above its contemporaries across the country, inevitably drawing more students and improving the overall level of academia at the Bostonsee DENTAL, page 2
5%#*+&"'"4-&+(/+#('6/(27-$'5"68+26 BY
BEN GITTLESON
Daily Editorial Board
As students wandered around a campus without electricity on Friday, and visiting parents changed their weekend plans to deal with altered activities, flames were shooting out of manholes less than a mile from campus. Businesses closed, traffic was disrupted and thousands in Medford were left without power. Two manhole explosions on Friday shut down for two and a half hours an area known as Cavanaugh Square, located at the intersection of Main Street and Mystic Avenue near Medford Square and the Mystic Valley Parkway (Route 16) overpass. An underground fire in utility tunnels caused the explosions and knocked out power for about 7,000 National Grid customers in south Medford and Hillside, as well as much of Tufts’ Medford/Somerville
ALEXANDRA LACAYO/TUFTS DAILY
A utility worker labors yesterday near a manhole on Medford’s Main Street that exploded on Friday. campus. The flames caused a manhole to blow at 95 Main Street at around 10 a.m., according to Capt. Tom Brennan of the Medford Fire Department. As firefighters evacuated the area and shut down traffic on
Main Street, Mystic Avenue and Route 16, another manhole a block away exploded 40 feet into the air, he said. “It sounded like something had come in and crashed see MANHOLES, page 2
=#$"2#%$/+#%&'0/(/$+2('+#'$+72'+8'>,"2/)%#')+&&";"('0/(/$'?78$(@'(-"%A'B/$*'($76"#$( BY
CORINNE SEGAL
Contributing Writer
A group of twelve university administrators, faculty members and education officials from around the world visited Tufts yesterday to learn about American college life as part of a U.S. Department of Statesponsored program. The group represented a diverse range of nations, including Angola, Croatia, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, as well as the West Bank. Its stop in Boston marks the last leg of a three-week, cross-country tour of American universities. WorldBoston, a nonprofit organization that facilitates international professional exchange and cultural education, arranged the group’s local itinerary. The organization offers several-week-long tours designed to
ALEXANDRA LACAYO/TUFTS DAILY
Twelve teachers, administrators and education officials from abroad toured Tufts yesterday. expose young professionals to the American sector of their respective field of work. At Tufts, the group addressed the theme “Best Practices and Challenges in Enhancing the Student Experience.” It examined student resources, the quality of campus life
Inside this issue
and the role of student government. The visitors began their day with a tour of Ginn Library led by Ginn’s director of library services and information technology, Jeff Kosokoff. “It’s very different than how our libraries
back home are,” Hanan Bennoudi, a professor of English at Ibn Zohr University in Morocco, said after the tour. “It’s very modern, very well-equipped.” Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate President Brandon Rattiner spoke to the group about the role and operations of student government at Tufts. “The thing that they were certainly most surprised about was how independent we are financially,” said Rattiner, a senior. The student body’s ability to organize autonomously and the Senate’s financial independence impressed the visitors, Rattiner added. Daily Editor-in-Chief Giovanni Russonello, a senior, met with the group in the afternoon to discuss the role of student media at Tufts. Topics of discussion see VISITORS, page 2
Today’s Sections
The first Boston Book Festival will draw Beantown bibliophiles with panel discussions and events this Saturday.
After its first loss of the regular season, the field hockey team took out its frustrations on Gordon College, winning 9-0.
see WEEKENDER, page 5
see SPORTS, back page
News Features Arts & Living Editorial
1 3 5 10
Op-Ed Comics Classifieds Sports
11 12 14 Back
THE TUFTS DAILY
2
NEWS
Thursday, October 22, 2009
!"#$%&'()*++&',-#-(*"('./0'1-&&-+#'23+4")$
5+3"-<#"3('($78='>1"3-)%#')+&&"<"('
DENTAL
VISITORS
based graduate school, Rankin said. Planning for the expansion began at the beginning of this decade. The added clinical space will allow the school to see more patients from the surrounding community. The dental school is located in the center of Boston’s Chinatown, and according to Castellana, remains the almost-exclusive provider of dental services to the surrounding Chinese community, serving mostly children. “The decision to expand was made around 2001 when it became apparent that the school had outgrown its facility,” said Castellana, who has been involved with the development and planning of the expansion from the beginning. “We are fortunate in that the demand exceeds the supply,” he said. The dental school is the second-largest private dental school in the country in terms of enrollment. A slow start to fundraising marked the beginning of the project, and relatively early on construction workers found that they could not work on an entire side of the building because it rested directly above the MBTA subway’s Orange Line, making it impossible to place a crane in the area. The realization forced major exterior and landscape modifications. During building, the simulation lab became unusable to make space for construction, and administrative offices had to move offsite. Fundraising during the economic downturn proved to be surprisingly challenging, but the dental school relied heavily on its loyal alumni population and on innovative fund raising techniques to keep potential donors updated. Alumni have contributed $31.3 million toward the $68 million project, according to Maria Tringale, senior director of development and alumni relations at the dental school. The school still has $4.5 million left to raise to meet its alumni fund-raising goals, Tringale added. Meanwhile, money received from the dental school’s reserves and from the university, through debt financing, has covered the rest of the expansion’s costs. Dental school Dean Lonnie Norris played
included the Daily’s approach to funding, distribution and circulation. Russonello and the visitors also discussed administrative censorship at universities; the status of Tufts publications stood in stark contrast to those at their universities. Tatyana Ivanovna Dzhakhanova, the chief of the section of international affairs at Kalmyk State University in Russia, said during the talk that her school’s administration must pre-approve all publications. “The president of our university or the vice president reads everything before it is published,” she said. “If he doesn’t like it, nobody will see it.” Ragnhild Skaalid, the senior adviser in the Department of Higher Education at the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, offered a different perspective, saying that Norwegian universities give their students a lot of freedom in publication. “I don’t think any institution would dare interfering with what the students will say in their newspapers,” Skaalid said during the discussion. “We try to teach our students to have critical thinking, so of course they should have their own newspapers and not be influenced by an institution.” In the afternoon, the group spoke with Dean of Student Services Paul Stanton and Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser. These meetings addressed the general topics of student resources and campus life. “The point is that they can take away some ideas to implement back home,” Ilya Lozovsky (LA ’06), WorldBoston’s international visitors program coordinator, told the Daily. “We just want the visitors to come and hear what resources Tufts has, to see what a typical American university looks like in terms of student life, and to ask whatever questions they have,” Lozovsky said. The State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) sponsored the trip. American embassies located in foreign countries select professionals to participate in IVLP programs; the
continued from page 1
continued from page 1
ASHLEY SEENAUTH/TUFTS DAILY
The School of Dental Medicine recently completed a five-story expansion to its campus in Boston’s Chinatown. an instrumental role in employing new fundraising techniques to get alumni excited about the expansion, Tringale said. The school invited graduates back to campus for events centered around the construction. The university also launched a Web site with updates on the project and posted a slideshow of the project’s progression. “[Fundraising] was challenging, but the mere fact that it had never been done before and that it was such a big project allowed people to find it in their hearts to donate,” Tringale said. Alumni’s “unique love of their school,” combined with a general feeling among alumni and others that the expansion was a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity worth contributing to, bolstered contributions, Tringale said. “We are family, basically,” Rankin said. “Everyone was pulling in the same direction and very pumped up about the expansion.”
State Department then organizes their overall schedule depending on their field of expertise. Embassies choose individuals who are experts in their field and show signs of a promising career, Lozovsky said. “What they’re looking for is a person who’s expected to have a successful career and who’ll be a good person to introduce to the United States in this intimate way,” he said. The group first met in Washington on Oct. 2, after which members traveled to San Francisco, where they visited the University of California, Berkeley; the University of San Francisco; and Stanford University. “In San Francisco, it was a multicultural environment,” Bennoudi said. “We met people from different fields, and we had the chance to exchange views about culture and religion.” The group then split into three parts to travel to separate universities, namely Mississippi’s Jackson State University, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Alabama State University. The group will also study universities’ approaches to community and government relations at Boston University and Harvard University today, according to Lozovsky. Following the conclusion of the tour tomorrow, the visitors will return to their respective home countries. Dzhakhanova said the amount of student involvement at American universities had impressed her. “What I liked most in the United States is that people are so creative,” she said. “In Russia, most people need to work most of the time, they don’t have time to do some extra volunteer [work].” WorldBoston hopes to provide the educators with an authentic view of American education, according to Lozovsky. “Our point is not to push any kind of agenda or have any preconceived ideas of what they should take away, just that they have a true to life experience,” he said. Ben Gittleson contributed reporting to this article.
5-3"('&"%6"'$*+7(%#8('-#' 9"8:+38';-$*+7$'2+;"3
?"#-+3@('"A1%-&'-<#-$"(')+#)"3#('+6"3'?23-#<'5&-#<
MANHOLES
trying to do something that will make Spring Fling safer.” Many seniors and other undergraduates worried this week that the administration might go so far as to cancel or ban alcohol at the event, possibilities mentioned in an e-mail sent Tuesday by task force member Kevin Wong, a senior. “I believe that these ideas would form an incomplete policy that only considers one particular part of the problem,” Wong said in the e-mail, which he sent to at least 800 seniors and other students. “I need your help to represent this school in delivering our opinion as students to the administration who will ultimately enact these decisions into policy. Wong sits on the committee in part because of a current internship he has at Health Service. Other task force members yesterday adamantly denied that the cancellation of the event had ever been deliberated, and Wong later backtracked from his statement. “There has not been a discussion about canceling Spring Fling,” Rattiner said. “It has never ever, ever been a realistic possibility.” “That’s not true,” said task force member and Director of Health Education Ian Wong when told of Kevin Wong’s assertions. But Ian Wong declined to comment on whether the task force was considering limiting or prohibiting alcohol from being carried into the event, which traditionally takes place on the President’s Lawn at the end of the spring semester, citing the preliminary nature of the task
continued from page 1
into the building,” said Gary Conserva, who was in his store, Broadway Piano Exchange, at the time of the first explosion. The store is located on the same block as the second manhole that went into the air. Firefighters proceeded to remove other manholes and control a third fire, in which 10-foot flames emerged from a manhole on Main Street, according to Brennan. No injuries were reported, Brennan said. Both explosions occurred within a couple of blocks of the fire department’s headquarters, facilitating a rapid response from firefighters. “We’re very fortunate,” Brennan said of the location. An office building largely made up of medical offices stood less than a block from the first explosion. When power went out shortly after the fires began, workers tried to save tens of thousands of vials of seasonal flu vaccination which had to be refrigerated, according to building manager Paul Larkin. The fire department asked the building’s tenants to leave at around 10:15 a.m., Larkin said. “I ran through every unit and got people out,” he said. “The reason why they had us abandon the building was because they were scared of the fire feeding into it.” The fire department’s evacuation was slightly problematic for tenants of the building, located at 101 Main
Street, as patients who come to see doctors and clinicians often have disabilities that limit their mobility, according to Larkin. “We have a lot of people [with] walking problems,” Larkin said, adding that some people were in the middle of minor oral surgery at the time. But everyone made it out safely and area hospitals stored the flu vaccine vials, said Larkin, who unlocked the building for tenants the next morning. Streets reopened at around 12:30 p.m., but periodic closures have occurred in the area as technicians work in manholes there. The city made Medford High School available as a shelter for those who had lost heat because of the fires, and the Medford Hyatt on Friday night provided rooms at a discounted rate for those still without electricity. All affected National Grid customers regained power by Saturday afternoon. At Tufts, electricity returned at around 5:30 a.m. on Saturday. Approximately 20 Medford firefighters, 20 Medford police officers and 10 emergency medical technicians responded to the fires, according to Brennan. Because the blaze was electrical in nature, firefighters could not use water and had to wait for it to burn out itself. Brennan said manhole explosions come rarely. “It’s not common, but we’ve had a few of them here in the city,” he said.
SPRING FLING
continued from page 1
force’s discussions. “It’s too early to say” what specific recommendations the group will make, Wong said. In his e-mail, Kevin Wong directed students to a specially created Web site devoted to his message. On it, visitors could watch a video entitled “Tufts Policy Petition — Save Spring Fling 2010,” in which Wong called on students to “voice their opinion so that we may have a direct influence on these policy decisions.” The site contained a survey asking students for their opinions on alcohol and Spring Fling festivities; around 400 students responded, Wong said last night. “My goal for the petition was to encourage and foster discussion on the policy decisions that have not been set in stone yet, so that students would have the opportunity to voice their personal opinions on the subject,” Wong said in a statement sent in an e-mail to the Daily last night. Rattiner said he doubted Wong intended to spark a controversy. “I think he didn’t realize that throwing the word ‘cancel’ in would ignite such emotion and cause such a reaction,” Rattiner said. Wong said he was merely interested in making the process more democratic. “I regret if my actions or words seemed to imply that other representational forces are not enough because that is not what I believe,” he said in the statement. “I was hoping to empower students to speak for themselves and make it easier for them to contribute their creative and progressive solutions to age-old problems.” The petition was intended to increase student involvement
in the decision-making process, Wong said. “I’m trying to open the discussion to the student body as much as possible, and make the information about this issue as clear as possible,” he said in a phone interview yesterday evening, adding in a later phone interview that he also wanted to make the information as inclusive as possible. Rattiner said the student-driven nature of the task force, which has representatives from Tufts Emergency Medical Services, the Senate, resident assistant staff and other groups, makes the drastic changes originally suggested by Wong unlikely. “We’re looking out for what’s in the student body’s popular interest,” Rattiner said. “The committee is two-thirds students, so if some part of the committee ever said we’re going to cancel Spring Fling, the students would say no and that would be the end of the conversation.” The Alcohol Task Force will make recommendations to a specially formed steering committee also looking at alcohol policy. That committee is made up of administrators and staff, as well as Rattiner, the sole student representative. Ian Wong cautioned against reading too much into the proceedings at meetings of the task force, citing the limited authority of the body. “The Task Force only has the power to make a proposal, not to implement it,” he said. “Whatever we come up with, that doesn’t mean that’s actually going to happen.” The group will meet again next week to discuss the issue of Spring Fling further, he said.
Features
3
tuftsdaily.com
GRIFFIN PEPPER | EIGHT GIRLS AND A GUY
Controlling life
L
KRISTEN COLLINS/TUFTS DAILY
Selling clothes and buying secondhand can make shopping easier on the budget.
!"#$$%&'()*+("*+,(#-%&(#.,().#/"%'0(+#/()*'"0( 1#&(,%'23+%&(4&*+,'(*/(+%5(6*-2'(!78('/#&% 9$%+2+3(#1(:;<(*.#(=>)"*+3%(/;&+'(6*-2'(2+/#(/"&21/('/#&%(4*//.%3&#;+,( BY
CATHERINE SCOTT
Daily Editorial Board
Davis Square is undeniably the onestop shopping locale for Tufts students, and when there’s a need to splurge on something unnecessary without breaking the bank, the numerous thrift, consignment and vintage fashion stores in the area certainly come in handy. Tufts students are not the only ones who have picked up on
the square’s success, though, which is why Buffalo Exchange decided to join the neighborhood and opened up a new store on Elm Street last month. The store is most aptly characterized as a chain thrift store. It started in Tucson, Arizona and has spread across the country, mainly clustering in West Coast locations but slowly branching out through the South, Midwest and East Coast states as well. The chain’s most recent opening in Davis Square
has seemed to continue its success, bringing in a host of students and Somerville residents to sell and shop there. Maggi Windsor, Buffalo Exchange’s Boston manager, explained that the chain sets itself apart from other nearby thrift stores by purchasing clothing, shoes and accessories from customers directly, right as they bring in their see THRIFT STORE, page 4
?&%+)"()#+';.*/%(&%.#)*/%,(/#(:#'/#+ @"&2'/#$"%(A;2."#;(12+,'($%&'#+*.()#++%)/2#+(52/"(@*B4&2,3% BY
ADAM KULEWICZ
Daily Editorial Board
In Christophe Guilhou’s office, a portrait of the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, hangs on the wall, a gold-fringed French flag stands next to his desk and there’s an elegant, classical bust on the windowsill. But the view outside Guilhou’s windows isn’t of the Champs-Élysées; rather, it’s of a busy, downtown Boston intersection. Since arriving here in August as the newly appointed consul general of France in Boston, Guilhou has called Boston his home. In his long career in the French government, Guilhou has found himself in offices across the globe, overlooking cities like Abu Dhabi, Damascus, Geneva and, of course, Paris. While Paris remains the primary center of the French government’s work, Guilhou, from the start of his career, had a decidedly international vision. “I didn’t imagine myself going to France, studying France and settling in the same place for 40 years with the same bakery … and having the same neighbors,” Guilhou said. “I love Paris, but at the same time I’m very happy being here and discovering [this] country.” In his new role as leader of the French community in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, as well as the primary
COURTESY CONSULATE GENERAL OF FRANCE IN BOSTON
Christophe Guilhou, French consul general, has found a temporary home in the Boston area. business and cultural representative between New England and France, he is just beginning his discoveries. At 47, Guilhou has lived in more
places than most people ever hope to visit. His father was the French diplomat and Ambassador to Costa Rica, and as a result, he grew up with multiple homes in countries all over the world, some of which have included France, Spain, Italy, Costa Rica, Tanzania, Chile and Nigeria. After his intercontinental childhood, Guilhou developed an interest in international affairs and pursued a degree in political science at Paris’ prestigious Sciences Po. In addition to taking an interest in political science, Guilhou said he “was fascinated by the Arab world and … by Africa,” which is why he also pursued Arabic and Swahili degrees at l’Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales. “I have contracted a kind of virus,” Guilhou said, reflecting on his childhood experiences with a smile. “I like to travel, and I like to know people and to understand [them].” His career has certainly allowed him that opportunity. Over the past decade and a half, Guilhou has served in France’s African Department, the United Nations and the French Embassies in the United Arab Emirates and Syria. He has also held posts in the French Ministry of Health and French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Most recently, he worked at the United Nations in Geneva. see GUILHOU, page 4
ast week, I thought the mood of the house had forever changed. My closest girl friend in the house had a breakdown. I could usually depend on her to brighten up my day with her seemingly endless enthusiasm for life. But she had been stressed about classes, work and everything else that routinely comes up this time of year. She broke down in tears, threatened to drop her classes and her senior thesis and told me she thought she was dying. I was legitimately frightened. Only one thing had changed from the week before. She started on the pill. I thought I knew everything about birth control, but this past week has shown me how much I didn’t understand. It’s like the ring in “Lord of the Rings.” Something so small can create some pretty awful situations. I knew the pill screwed with hormones, but I thought the worst that could happen was weight gain or acne. After my housemate’s incident, I decided to learn more about birth control from the other girls. Most guys expect girls to be on the pill if they’re in a relationship. But all guys should know how different girls react to it. One of my housemates fits with my previous ideas about birth control users. She tried three different varieties before finding the one that worked best. She went through a minor depression and some accelerated weight gain. Now she’s fine. On the other end of the spectrum, one of my housemates almost died from the pill. She’s allergic to some ingredient that caused a serious seizure freshman year. She’s fine now, but the pill isn’t an option for her. Going on the pill isn’t an easy decision. Unlike other medications, birth control pills are unpredictable and affect everyone differently. I’ve heard stories of boyfriends insisting that their girlfriends take the pill. Guys like to have that extra security, since the last thing we want to think about while having sex is the possibility of pregnancy. Condoms don’t always do the trick, and having a backup plan in place is reassuring. That being said, guys should know what they’re asking of their significant others. The pill have some pretty terrible side affects, and finding the right one can be a long, stressful, scary process. It seemed almost serendipitous that, last week, one of my professors showed us a video called “The Pill.” It chronicled the creation of the birth control pill and analyzed its social implications. My professor argued that the pill is the single most important invention of modern history. And after thinking about it a little more, I came to see his point. The pill puts women in control of their own fate. Before, if a woman had sex, she was in danger of getting pregnant, and an unplanned pregnancy could threaten her future, her education and perhaps even her happiness. I told my housemates about the movie, and a few of them looked at me with frustration. One housemate exclaimed that although the pill regulates reproduction, it effectively deregulates hormone output and psychological well-being. Is it worth it to be in control of your body but be at the mercy of artificial hormones? When they control pregnancy, some people aren’t able to control themselves. Choosing whether or not to go on the pill is something I’ve never had to consider, and that is one of the fundamental differences between the sexes. Us guys should take the time to understand the consequences of such a decision. If you and your significant other decide to go through with it as a couple, be prepared to support each other and be patient, no matter what happens. That’s all I can do for my housemate. Griffin Pepper is a senior majoring in political science. He can be reached at Griffin. Pepper@tufts.edu.
THE TUFTS DAILY
4
FEATURES
2"3)1$&)45/%1.6-)&*-.()#.)718#(9)"*()/&:*-,#,#&. THRIFT STORE
continued from page 3
unwanted goods. Many other thrift stores and consignment shops either accept donations only or pay people only once their clothing has been sold. “There’s nothing around here like [Buffalo Exchange], where we actually give you cash that day. We buy it straight out,” Windsor said. “You don’t have to wait for your clothes to sell.” All clothing brought into the store is appraised by a store employee, at which point the seller has the option of either receiving 30 percent of the offered price in cash or 50 percent in store credit. All items must be in good condition — no holes, tears, stains, etc. — and they must keep with the fashion of the last five years. The new store occupies the old Hollywood Express lot, quite a large space compared to some of the cramped stores around Davis. With two floors, there is a substantial enough space for women’s clothing and shoes, as well as a small section on the ground floor dedicated to menswear. Upon walking into Buffalo Exchange, there is a massive amount of clothing hung and piled onto the racks, which only continues downstairs. The store has something for everyone, as long as customers are willing to dig a little to find the perfect item. And it’s no mystery as to how the store amasses its large collection. “We’re always buying clothes. There’s never a time in the day when we’re not buying clothes,” Windsor said. This constant influx of goods
not only means that there is a great variety of styles for customers, but also that items are sold for quite a bit lower than the retail price. Within the thrift store community, however, Buffalo Exchange’s move to Davis Square has caused a bit of an uproar. The corporation thrift store, which earned over $3 million in 2006, has certainly upped the competition amongst local businesses such as Poor Little Rich Girl and Artifaktori. The Goodwill Store of Somerville, known for its cheaply priced items, is also located only a few doors down the street.
“People who like to spend the afternoon vintage or secondhand shopping will be more apt to go to Davis knowing that they can hit up more than one or two stores at once.” Meredith Byam owner, Poor Little Rich Girl Still, there are subtle differences between all of these stores that might alleviate worries. Artifaktori deals predominantly in vintage and retro items, while Goodwill accepts donations without the payoff (or the selectivity) of Buffalo Exchange. Poor Little Rich Girl, however, does pay people who want to sell their goods, but on a consignment basis. While the
consignors working with Poor Little Rich Girl only receive payment upon the sale of their items, they receive 40 percent of the selling price in cash. Meredith Byam, the owner of Poor Little Rich Girl, was a little wary when Buffalo Exchange first opened almost directly across the street, but she took a positive stance when asked about it. “People who do not know of Poor Little Rich Girl but know the Buffalo Exchange name will travel to Davis and discover my store,” Byam said. “People who like to spend the afternoon vintage or secondhand shopping will be more apt to go to Davis knowing that they can hit up more than one or two stores at once.” Byam added that she believed the two stores have a different clientele, especially after having built up a solid standing with residents of Boston and its suburbs since opening in 2002. She also mentioned that Poor Little Rich Girl has won the Boston Magazine “Best of Boston: Consignment” award two years in a row and is soon opening a second branch in Cambridge due to success and high demand. The fact remains that Davis Square continues to grow in popularity and add stores that cater to a younger crowd. Byam insisted that Davis Square is the place to be for her consignment store and any other business looking for students. “I chose Davis Square because I lived right down the street and I loved the square! I thought it was a lovely vibrant neighborhood that really appreciates and supports local business,” she said.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
!"#$%&"'()*+#&+#,#-()#./$"0-) /"$,"+1$)/&&*-+1,#&. GUILHOU
continued from page 3
Although Guilhou has held many different positions in widespread locales, he has enjoyed them all and said comparing the posts would be very difficult. “Each one is a singular posting. You cannot compare Boston to Damascus because the issues in Damascus were very different. I love Damascus, I love Abu Dhabi, I enjoyed Geneva and I think I will be very happy here in Boston, but I wouldn’t compare,” he said. “And why did I end up here in Boston? It was a personal choice. It has to match with the Ministry, but I wanted specifically to come to the U.S. because I think that the history of the U.S. … is very interesting … I came precisely because we have an excellent relationship between the two countries.” Guilhou said he was most intrigued by the Northeast. “I was very interested by New England and by Boston, specifically, because I think that Boston is a place like no other in the world where you have that concentration of knowledge and of expertise,” Guilhou said. “I wanted to be part of that; I wanted to bring my contribution and the contribution of my country to the movement and the innovation that takes place here in Boston and in the region.” As consul general, Guilhou’s job is to look after the French community, he said. “The French community is
about 10,000 people, but it’s a very integrated community that poses no problem.” Another one of Guilhou’s main priorities is fostering cultural cooperation. He has worked hard to “to enhance the cooperation between [American] universities and research centers [and] their counterparts in France.” Guilhou’s appointment in Boston was also important to his family life. “It was the best opportunity to be here with them. I wanted them to share with me that new experience in the United States and in New England.” Guilhou’s wife, Nargues, was born in Iran and also works for the French Foreign service. The two met during their studies at Sciences Po in Paris. Their three children all attend the French school in Boston and have spent their childhoods moving with Guilhou wherever work took him. However, his eldest daughter, Roxanne, is nearing university age, so it “is the last chance to be the five of us together,” he said. Boston is proving to be a fine home for the consul general and his family, who are all enjoying the lively character of their new neighborhood in Cambridge. “It’s not only about steel, concrete and glass; it’s a very good combination,” Guilhou said of Boston and its diverse neighborhoods. Guilhou is not yet sure where his next diplomatic appointment will be, but he suspects it might be back in Paris.
Develop skills for social change in the
Come and see the theatrical presentation created by Tufts students working in collaboration with Dr. Alma Martinez, Chicana, actor, activist, scholar and American Studies Artist-in-Residence for 2009.
When: Where:
Saturday, Oct. 24 from 5:00 - 6:30 pm Sophia Gordon multipurpose room
Reception to follow
Scholars Program Applications due Wednesday, November 4! Come to any information session to learn more: Tuesday, October 20th, 6:00 – 7:00 pm Lincoln Filene Hall, Rabb Room Thursday, October 22nd, 7:30 – 8:30 pm Lincoln Filene Hall, Rabb Room Monday, October 26th, 12:00 - 1:15 pm Braker Hall, Room 226 Freshmen and sophomores, join us to learn about Tisch College’s Citizenship and Public Service (CPS) Scholars Program and how to apply to Education for Active Citizenship (E4AC), the spring course required to become a CPS Scholar.
Alma Martinez, M.F.A., PhD. is an actor, director and Professor of Theatre at Pomona College. She has appeared on Broadway, Off Broadway, and in regional theatres across the US and in Europe. She is one of the leading Chicano Theater practitioner/scholars in the country. In a collaboration that has spanned over 30 years she has been the lead actress in numerous works by Luis Valdez and El Teatro Campesino beginning with the American theatre and film classic Zoot Suit in 1979. Her film and television work can be accessed at www.imdb.com and complete profile at www.almamartinez.com
Funded by the American Studies Program, the Martha and Nat R. Knaster Charitable Trust, the Latino Center and the AS&E Diversity Fund
For more information visit activecitizen.tufts.edu/Students/ScholarsProgram
Weekender ARTS & LIVING
5
tuftsdaily.com
Boston bound in literature First ever Book Festival brings authors to Beantown
BY
CATHERINE SCOTT
Daily Editorial Board
Turn off that TV, stash the remote and bury your nose in a book — or better yet, book it to Copley Square this weekend for a festival sure to make any bookworm squirm. This Saturday, Oct. 24th, marks the very first Boston Book Festival, a free all-day extravaganza for book lovers of any age that will last from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Famous authors will gather to meet fans, discuss literature and celebrate the joys of writing. Deborah Porter, the founder and president of the Boston Book Festival, said the event has been in the works for over four years. She brought on Emily Pardo, the festival’s executive director, a little over a year ago to finally make the idea a reality in 2009. “Boston is probably one of the only major cities that doesn’t have a book festival,” Pardo said. “It seems pretty amazing given the number of colleges and universities that are here.” As Boston has been home to more than a handful of great writers — including Hawthorne, Longfellow, Emerson and Thoreau — it seems a natural location to celebrate literature. The festival will take place inside buildings that highlight Beantown’s history, notably the Boston Public Library, Old South Church and Trinity Church, as well as outdoors in Copley Square. Pardo has been working non-stop for the past year to bring authors to town to speak at the festival, organizing panels and events and working to raise funds. She received significant support from Tufts for the festival, with students interning over the summer and fall. “There’s a lot of Tufts muscle behind the festival,” Pardo said. The result is a literature lover’s dream. About 100 authors and presenters are expected to attend, and a variety of events cater to every reader’s taste. The festival features everything from historical works to fiction to children’s books. Joseph Finder, one of the presenters in a panel entitled “Thrillers and Killers,” has written eight novels set in the corporate world. His work focuses on themes of corruption and espionage. Finder segued into fiction after beginning his career as a journalist and admitted that the transition was difficult. “I had to really teach myself how to write a novel,” Finder said. “I was really bad, but I read a lot of thrillers and a lot of novels and taught myself how.” One of the most important aspects of writing today, according to Finder, is understanding how entertainment and literature are related, and how each meshes with the
goals of the author. “Readers want to be entertained, even if it’s literature. Fiction is escapism,” Finder said. “I think people who write entertainment and people who write literature have two different objectives, but you still have to grab people.” Finder first wrote a non-fiction work about a real-life corporate scandal. The book got him into a lot of trouble and prompted him to move to fiction. Though Finder is still interested in the corporate world, he now builds on true events to create spellbinding fiction rather than factual accounts. “When you’re writing this kind of book, there are questions like how accurate do you need to be, how obligated are you to get all the facts right, how do you do research, those sorts of things,” Finder said. “I always want to figure out if you can use fiction to reveal truths that non-fiction can’t.” Finder’s newest book “Vanished” (2009) has become a bestseller, and another novel of his, “Paranoia” (2004), is lined up for a silver screen adaptation. Finder will speak at “Thrillers and Killers” at 4 p.m. this Saturday in the Boston Public Library’s Popular Reading Room. Another panel at the festival, “And Now for Something Completely Different,” highlights the works of three writers, all of whom are putting a new spin on fiction writing. One of the panelists, R. Sikoryak, has written a psuedo-comic book novel, “Masterpiece Comics” (2009), in which he inserts classic stories, such as Dante’s “Inferno” or Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment,” into old comic strips like “Batman” or “Garfield.” “I wanted to retell these stories in comics, in my own language that I understand,” Sikoryak said. “These stories have withstood the tests of time. It’s a way of combining two things that mean a lot to me.” Sikoryak noted that although some may see his work as irreverent or frivolous, he feels that there is a depth to comics that is only now being understood in American culture. He argued that comics are being taken increasingly seriously, while literature is being relegated to a lower rung. “I hope that people see the affection with which I’m treating these classic stories as well as the cartoons, and I get the sense that they do for the most part,” Sikoryak said. Sikoryak will be discussing these issues as well as his process for writing a comic book novel starting at 2:30 p.m. in the Trinity Church Forum. The Boston Book Festival promises to engage readers in discourse about the written word and allow fans and newcomers alike to meet a slew of literary artisans.
DANAI MACRIDI/TUFTS DAILY
Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Wondering what to explore at the Boston Book Festival? The Daily breaks down a few highlights to get you started. For a full list of events, visit bostonbookfest.org.Boston Out Loud: The festival kicks off on Friday night at the Trinity Church with a celebration of words emceed by Robin Young, the host of “Here and Now” on WBUR. Tickets are $12. Spoken Word Showcase: Hosted by poet Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo, this event will showcase dynamic Bostonians as they perform their own words as well as recite the language of well-known poets at 11 a.m. in the Old South Church. Documenting History: Ken Burns makes an appearance at 11:30 a.m. in the Library’s Rabb Lecture Hall for a discussion on documentation, including talk about his latest film and book “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” Sexiest Vegetarian Alive: At 11:30 a.m. in the Library’s Popular Reading Room, Alicia Silverstone, the star of “Clueless” (1995), will discuss her new book, “The Kind Diet,” about her journey to vegetarianism.
We Are the Champions: Sports writers gather at 1:30 p.m. in Trinity Church Forum to talk about their love for the game. Digital Inclusion: Two philanthropic entrepreneurs will discuss spreading education and literacy to the poorest regions of the world in the Rabb Lecture Hall of the Boston Public Library from 3-4 p.m. Writer Idol: Starting at 3:30 p.m. in the Old South Church, visitors will be encouraged to submit writing for actors to perform. Three judges will assess the pieces, either to public celebration or degradation, but with laughs for all. Boston Noir Launch: A party in the Boston Public Library from 6-9 p.m. celebrating the new fiction collection “Boston Noir” with editor Dinnis Lehane, as well as contributing writers such as Brendan DuBois, Dana Cameron and Jim Fusilli. Literatini, a champagne cocktail, will be served, and awards will be given to the best dressed femme fatale and hard-boiled private eye. — Catherine Scott
DANAI MACRIDI/TUFTS DAILY
THE TUFTS DAILY
6
WEEKENDER
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Did You Knowâ&#x20AC;Ś !
In 2009, an estimated 192, 370 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women
!
Only lung cancer accounts for more cancer deaths in women
!
In 2009, approximately 1,910 cases of breast cancer are expected to occur in men1% of all breast cancer cancers
!
Approximately 440 men will die of breast cancer in 2009
!
Risk factors for breast cancer include age, family history, age at first full pregnancy, early menarche, late menopause, and breast density
!
Controllable risk factors for breast cancer are postmenopausal obesity, use of hormones, alcohol consumption, and inactivity
!
Currently, a woman living in the U.S. has a 12.1%, or 1 in 8, lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer
!
Breast cancer has little to no symptoms in the earlier stages
!
In a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 20s and 30s, it is important to perform self breast examination as well as be clinically examined by a physician
!
It is recommended that at age 40 women begin getting annual mammograms
!
In 2006, 95% of new cases and 97% of deaths occurred in women over the age of 40
!
Between 2002-2006, women 20-24 had the lowest incidence rate; age 75-79 had the highest
!
During 2002-2006, the median age at diagnosis was 61 years old
!
White woman have a higher incidence of breast cancer than African American women beginning at age 45. In contract, African American women have a higher incidence rate before 45 and are more likely to die from breast cancer at every age
Source: American Cancer Society Brought to you by Tufts Hillel
To Learn More, Come to
Pump It! For the Cure Friday 12-4 at Hillel
THE TUFTS DAILY
Thursday, October 22, 2009
7
WEEKENDER
THEATER REVIEW
ZACH DRUCKER AND CHRIS POLDOIAN | BAD SAMARITANS
Kids Films These Days
W
ith fires a-blazin’ in the Medford manholes, we decided to hole up in the movie theater and see Spike Jonze’s “Where the Wild Things Are.” While we both had positive experiences, we felt differently about the film. So for the first time, the Bad Samaritans will give you (drum roll please) our first article with contrasting takes on a film.
LYRICSTAGE.COM
‘Dead Man’s Cellphone’ explores the question of lying to a dead person’s loved ones.
Who answers a ‘Dead Man’s Cellphone’? BY
MEAGAN MAHER
Contributing Writer
Nowadays, people take their phones with them everywhere. Cell phones interrupt an alarming number of events in a variety of different places, including movie theaters, plays and even church. The thought of a missed phone call or text worries many Americans so much that they now answer their cell phones even while urinating. “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” Sarah Ruhl’s latest play, addresses this mobile phone
epidemic. Ruhl is an up-and-coming playwright who takes the absurd seriously. Her trademark is creating a charac-
Dead Man’s Cellphone Written by Sarah Ruhl Directed by Carmel O’Reilly At the Lyric Stage through Nov. 14 Tickets $25 to $50 with $10 Student Rush
ter with a personality typically suited for a protagonist’s sidekick and putting that character in the spotlight. It’s like writing a play about Robin sans Batman. Jean (Liz Hayes), the main character of “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” is timid from the very first scene. She is sitting in a café when a Gordon Gottlieb’s (Neil McGarry) cell phone rings several times. He won’t pick up. She inches toward his table, wringing her hands, unsure if she is allowed to answer the phone and end the see CELLPHONE, page 8
WEEKENDER INTERVIEW | MICHAEL STUHLBARG
MOVIE REVIEW
Coen Bros’ new star finds humor, depth on set BY
ALLEN IRWIN
Daily Staff Writer
ROTTENTOMATOES.COM
“It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s … SERIOUS MAN!”
!"#$%&'($)*$"$#+,&%-./0$1./%# BY
ALLEN IRWIN
Daily Staff Writer
Dreams can quickly turn into nightmares. In “A Serious Man” (2009) this realization dawns slowly and painfully
A Serious Man Starring Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick Directed by Ethan and Joel Coen on Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a physics professor whose life has taken a turn for the worse. The film, set in 1960s Minnesota, is more aware of how easily pleasant fantasy can change to frightening phantasm than any of its characters. It is constantly tiptoeing along the line between comedy and horror. “A Serious Man” comes from the Coen Brothers,’ a duo notorious for creating
films in which their characters face a series of trials without ever seeming to deserve any of the difficulties inflicted on them. Accordingly, Larry begins the movie with far too much on his plate: he is waiting to see if his tenure at the University will be accepted, his son, Danny (Aaron Wolff), has a bar mitzvah coming up, his unemployed brother Arthur (Richard Kind) is staying at his house and a student is trying to bribe and/or blackmail him. On top of these concerns, Larry finds out that his wife is leaving him for his colleague Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed). And things just get worse from there. The feeling that Larry is some kind of marked man pervades the film, though the Coens wisely refuse to disclose whether or not he deserves this fate. Perhaps because of his scientific nature as a physics professor, Larry spends most of the story in a constant state of disbelief; he can’t find any certifiable evidence to support the existence of his problems. His family is no see SERIOUS, page 9
Zach’s take: Though I thought “Wild Things” was an artistic and aesthetic triumph, I don’t think it can be considered a children’s film because it was not kidfriendly. Kids venture to the cinema for adventure, laughs, animated characters, fun and candy. While “Wild Things” may have delivered some of those qualities, the film as a whole was dramatic, actionpacked and a little frightening. To me, it seemed like Jonze constructed a tribute to childhood, targeting the people who grew up with Maurice Sendak’s eponymous book as their bible. Now, I don’t claim to have a portal into the minds of young children, but I have a 10-year-old sister, Abby, and I still play with Legos. After contemplating her movie-going experience, Abby revealed her expert, concise opinion, admitting that the film was “a teeny bit” scary. At one point in the film, Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini), a hungry wild thing, chases Max (Max Records) through the forest vowing to eat him up. Next, in a fit of rage, Carol tears off the arm of another wild thing. Not since Tufts lost $20 million to Bernie Madoff has anyone been ripped off that badly (ba-zing!). Furthermore, though there were a couple of laughs (I giggled at the thought of Catherine Keener bagging the much younger chick-flick guru Mark Ruffalo), the film seemed more cute than funny. I believe children would not understand the poignant representations of adolescence that made me smile rather than chuckle. At 111 minutes, the film has several dry exchanges that will leave kids dazed and confused. So, for those of you with younger siblings, cousins or friends (that would be a little creepy, though), if you’re going to the movies with a child to see a film based on a children’s book, I urge you to head towards “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” (2009). You know you wanted to see it anyway, but you never had the right excuse.
So I checked in periodically over the
Chris’ take: I think that we don’t give kids enough credit. As a wee lad, I was into the Disney scene. When I turned five, I had a Sleeping Beauty-themed birthday party replete with a pin-the-tale-on-the-Maleficent-Dragon game. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy adult movies. I remember enjoying all of “Titanic” (1997), not just the special effects-laden finale. My VHS copy of “Forrest Gump” (1994) was destroyed by countless viewings. While I admittedly lacked the historical knowhow to get all the references, I got the film’s love-story core and Forrest’s goofy friendship with Lt. Dan and Bubba. While kids may not appreciate the existential quandaries and neuroses of “Wild Things,” they will be able to identify with the protagonists’ need to feel happy. No, kids won’t analyze Carol’s attachment to K.W. (Lauren Ambrose) and Max’s relationship to Claire (Pepita Emmerichs) with a Freudian fervor, but they will be able to relate to the dirt-clod war and the snowball battle. As for the movie not being “funny enough,” I don’t equate kid-pics to comedies. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” (1937) has very little humor, unless you consider seven sexually repressed, coalmining midgets funny. Also, scary is not all bad in kiddie films. Think about “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993). Santa Claus gets kidnapped and locked in a basement by a Buffalo Bill-esque Boogie Man. I remember being freaked out, but that’s the thing: kids like getting scared. “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” (1997) was rated TVY7, but that didn’t stop
see INTERVIEW, page 8
see SAMARITANS, page 9
“A Serious Man,” the new film from the Coen Brothers, tells the story of a college professor at a Minnesota University who experiences a stroke of bad luck that amplifies to near-Biblical proportions. Michael Stuhlbarg, the film’s lead actor, sat down with The Daily to discuss his first big Hollywood role, where he finds inspiration and what it is like to work with the Coens. Question: Can you tell us a little bit about how you came to the project, when you got the script? Michael Stuhlbarg: Well, I got a call from my agent that Joel and Ethan wanted to see me for the part of Velvel, the husband in the Yiddish parable at the beginning of the movie. It was entirely in Yiddish, so I found a Yiddish tutor and learned the whole scene in Yiddish and brought it back to Joel and Ethan. They laughed a lot and that made me very happy. At that point, they weren’t sure if they wanted an actor who could learn phonetically or someone who could actually speak Yiddish, so as it ended up they went with some folks who could speak it fluently. Then the project sort of went away, and then maybe five or six months later I got a call to come in to audition and learned three scenes for each of those characters, and did them for Joel and Ethan, and they laughed a lot again and that made me happy again.
THE TUFTS DAILY
8
WEEKENDER
TOP TEN | FEUDS In an effort to promote world peace (exercising our “active citizens” within) the Daily Arts Department has decided to call out the worst battles of all time. In the words of the band War, “Why can’t we be friends? Why can’t we be friends? Why can’t we be friends? Why can’t we be friends?” 10. Carly Simon vs. Mick Jagger: You’re so vain, you probably think this Top Ten is about you. Though it’s not known for sure whether Mick Jagger (or one of a whole host of other egotistical fellas) is the target of Simon’s hit song, the sheer musical power of this feud is undeniable. 9. Lobsters vs. Men: In the style of “Deadliest Catch,” the Discovery Channel brings viewers “Lobstermen” this year, and it’s a boatload of man drama if there ever was one. The only thing more epic than a fisherman battling a small crustacean is a fisherman battling a slightly larger crustacean. 8. Rosie O’Donnell vs. Donald Trump: They’re both so ugly that they could only feud with each other because no one else would
touch them. Plus, is it a feud if what each person says is true? Isn’t that just good banter? Maybe they’re secretly lovers ... 7. Tom vs. Jerry: Cats and mice might hate each other, but there’s something fishy between Tom and Jerry. Why doesn’t Tom just eat Jerry? Why doesn’t Jerry just leave the house and go somewhere else? Another case of secret lovers? 6. Family Feud: What was always disturbing about this show is that it was supposed to be a feud, but the famlies were always so happy — even when they lost! There should be a new show where two families just take each other on in a massive physical battle, in the vein of “American Gladiator.” 5. Nickelback vs. Your Ears: These “nu-metal” Canadian dirtbags are probably the worst aural assault your ears can encounter. Seriously, they’re just awful. We wish they’d just stop what they’re doing to rock and roll, give up, and go back to Canada. 4. Vader vs. Skywalker: So many hands were cut off in this battle between Sith father and Jedi son that they couldn’t shake to make
up if they wanted to. Vader may be Luke’s father, but they’ll never have a thumb war again. 3. Feudalism: Peasants and jousting and bubonic plague, oh my! We’re not entirely sure what put the “feud” in “feudalism,” but it was probably something to do with the landed gentry brutally repressing the serfs and exploiting them for larger annual tithes. Now that’s just begging for a bloody revolution! 2. Montagues vs. Capulets: “What is in a name?” Well, if you’re a Montague or a Capulet, just about everything. The Montagues versus the Capulets is undeniably the worst family feud in literary history, resulting in the tragic deaths of everyone’s favorite star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. 1. The Feud Network: We don’t get the name, but we love all the cooking shows! “Essence of Emeril,” “Good Eats,” “Iron Chef” and “Chopped.” We don’t know who they’re fighting with, but our stomachs want in! — compiled by the Daily Arts Department
Thursday, October 22, 2009
What’s Up This Weekend Want to make your weekend artsy? Check out these events! Harry and the Potters at Hotung: Take a break from charms class and head over to an on-campus, musical Hogwarts-fest sponsored by WMFO, the Harry Potter Society and the Musicians Collective at Tufts. Costumes are required for entry. (Tonight in Hotung at 9 p.m.) The World Premiere of “Morgan Taylor”: Tufts student Eric Nichols premieres his film about college life starring all Tufts students. (Friday in Braker 001 at 8:30 p.m.) “Harold and the Purple Crayon”: The Enchantment Theatre Company presents a show based on the picture books of Crockett Johnson. This family-friendly production follows Harold’s adventures as he draws his way through the world of his imagination. (Saturday at the Colonial Theater at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.)
Somerville Horror ‘Thon: Head to the theater for 12 hours of chills and thrills. Films include “Near Dark” (1987), “The Hunger” (1983) and “Vampire Lovers” (1970). Award-winning burlesque dance ensemble Babes in Boinkland will perform. (Saturday at the Somerville Theater at 7 p.m.) Monster Boston Monster March and Halloween Carnival: Get into the Halloween spirit early — and generously! — with food, costume contests, and 10,000 charity walks for various causes. Access to the carnival is free for charity walkers. (Saturday at Boston City Hall Plaza at 12 p.m.) Jukebox the Ghost at the Middle East: Piano-rock trio Jukebox the Ghost, who opened for Ben Folds when he played the Tufts-exclusive show last year at the Somerville Theater, brings the noise this weekend with openers Wheat. Tickets are $12. (Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Middle East Downstairs) — compiled by Jessica Bal
!"#$%&"'()*+##,'-.$#/'0)1,2'3%"0')1-4)#,-')1.#)&%)1&'5%,-.)$1CELLPHONE
continued from page 7
annoyance. Finally, Jean can’t stand it. She picks up the phone, only to realize that its owner has suddenly died. Jean takes the cell phone, believing that she may be able to keep Gordon’s memory alive by taking his phone calls. Via the phone, Jean meets Gordon’s mistress, his mother, brother and wife. She slowly uncovers a poorly kept secret: Gordon’s profession. He was an organ dealer. Jean is then thrown into danger, confronting confusion and love in her search for normalcy. The scenery is simple and the cast small, but director Carmel O’Reilly gets creative with what’s available. The play remains visually appealing by utilizing unique lighting. A few times throughout the performance, actors appear on tall, dark platforms on either side of the stage. Towards the end of the play, Gordon appears on one of these platforms and informs the audience what happened on the day of his death in a comical monologue.
One of Ruhl’s trademarks is mixing humor with serious situations. “I’m of Irish ancestry, so I grew up in that culture, where you have to have a sense of humor about terrible things. It’s a survival mechanism. I think we can only process so much grief, and then the mind needs to retreat from it, and we need to laugh,” Ruhl told the Boston Globe. The play is both humorous and thoughtprovoking. The plot moves quickly through most scenes, though the second act is both wittier and more action-packed than the first, which suffers from a couple of corny love scenes. The audience is left wondering whether being available to answer the cell phone at all times confirms a person’s existence, or inhibits him from existing in the moment. Another dilemma and source of contemplation comes from Jean’s dishonesty throughout the play. She tells Gordon’s mistress that in his dying moments he confessed his love for his
mistress. She promises his mother that he had tried to call her the day he died. None of these things are true. Some may see the lies as tall tales with good intentions; Ruhl likes to see them simply as stories. Classifying fibs as tales rather than ethical trespasses prompts the audience to question if there even is such a thing as a lie. The play takes an interesting perspective on reality, on life and death, blurring what are conventionally seen as strict delineations. In addition, Jean’s lies, or stories, lighten the mood of the play, which would otherwise have an entirely grave tone. “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” is playing until Nov. 14 at the Lyric Stage on Clarendon Street (Copley Station on the MBTA Green Line is close to the theater). Tickets cost between $25 and $50, but only $10 if purchased via Student Rush. Tickets are available online at lyricstage. com, over the phone at 617 585 5678 or at the box office.
LYRICSTAGE.COM
Death isn’t funny.
6$,1'(#$.",#-'&+7,'8.%"0(+#&'9#,,'#,)1'.$')1.,#4#,.'")-':"+#+:.,# INTERVIEW
when I get there. I don’t want to be thinking so much in my conscious mind when I get on the set. I want to have asked those questions and made as strong decisions as I can beforehand, so that I can just live it when I get there.
continued from page 7
course of time asking if I was still in the running and they said, “Yeah you’re still in the running.” Eventually I got the call saying, “You’re going to get one of these parts; we just don’t know which one yet.” So I just started working on both of them. Then about six or seven weeks before the shooting was to start I got a call from Joel saying, “We’ll put you out of your misery; you’re playing Larry,” and that’s sort of how it happened for me. Q: Were you hoping for one [role] or the other? MS: I would have been glad to do anything in this movie, you know? They’re both great parts and it just happened that this was the one that I ended up getting. Q: So what was it like working with the Coens versus other projects you’ve been on? I know people call them the “two-headed director.” Any interesting stories from that? MS: Yeah, I mean, once they cast their actors they’re very hands-off and respectful in terms of allowing us to do what we need to do in order to bring the character to life. I asked a bunch of questions initially, and they answered them
Q: I was wondering if you have a favorite Coen Brothers movie, and if so, is there a certain character you wish you could have played?
Q: You had mentioned that you had written three pages of notes on the script originally. Can you talk about what you were unclear about and what intrigued you?
MS: I love all their movies and I don’t think any part would be better served if I had been cast in it, no way. But it’s been really fun to get to [work] with them. Before we started, I got a chance to look at a number of their movies that I had seen before, just to see them again with a fresh mind and from a different place in my life. That was thoroughly exciting because they all hold up so remarkably well. All the performances are fantastic, and I had forgotten so many of the nuances of these pieces. I had my memory refreshed and pleasantly so.
MS: Well, there are so many questions in terms of the interaction between characters, what the backstory is, how well do I know people? What’s a gett? How do you pronounce Mentaculus? Also, strange “isms.” It’s my job to know all when I show up and not to ask them
Q: Did you feel any kind of pressure working on a Coen Brothers movie after they were coming off of two of their biggest hits [“No Country for Old Men” (2007) and “Burn After Reading” (2008)]? Did it seem like they were trying to do a smaller movie now with mostly
ROTTENTOMATOES.COM
Michael Stuhlbarg plays Larry Gopnik, the main character of “A Serious Man” (2009). all. Those questions that they didn’t have answers for, they just said, “Do whatever you want.” They don’t do a lot of takes, which makes their job easier in the editing room because they edit their own movies. They were really fun to be with, great sense of humor, wicked smart, and I hope I get a chance to do it again. Q: How was preparing for this role different than preparing for a role in the theater? MS: Well the work is pretty much the same in terms of my job: asking the same kinds of questions and familiarizing myself as much as possible with the arc of what the character goes through. Because when we
shoot it it’s out of sequence ... I have to know when I show up on a particular day what it is that I’ve gone through, so I can make it come to life as much as possible.
unknown and character actors? MS: I didn’t think of it as a smaller movie, but in terms of its budget and unknown actors, absolutely. I tried not to let it get to me, just show up and make sure I wasn’t the one who was slowing down production. I’ve been in enough films and on enough sets in television to know that you just show up and do your work and there’s time to think about all that afterwards. I just showed up and did my work, and I think it served me well. Q: This is one of your first big film roles. What’s in the works? What’s next? MS: Next is an HBO series called “Boardwalk Empire” which is executive produced and the pilot was directed by Martin Scorsese. It’s co-produced by Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson and Timothy Van Patten. It’s written byTerenceWinter, who wrote for “The Sopranos.” It’s based on the book “Boardwalk Empire” by Nelson Johnson which is about the birth and high times of Atlantic City. We pick up the action on the eve of Prohibition in 1920. I’m playing Arnold Rothstein, who is allegedly responsible for fixing the 1919 World Series. We jump into shooting the second episode at the end of this month, so that’s what I’m up to.
THE TUFTS DAILY
Thursday, October 22, 2009
9
WEEKENDER
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE TUFTS DAILY Dear Reality TV, You are what is wrong with the world today. Because of you we have an obnoxious collection of so-called “celebrities” who, in their quest to be famous, do stupid, stupid things. Take Richard Heene, for example. Before last week, few knew his name, but now a handful more do. Heene appeared on ABC’s “Wife Swap” not once, but twice, and last week, he may or may not have fabricated a disaster. Heene’s son, Falcon, was thought to be trapped inside a giant floating balloon. Thinking that the Falcon really took flight, news stations carefully tracked the balloon on TV and viewers were frantic. At the end of the day, it was revealed that Falcon had been hiding in the attic of his family’s house after he had accidentally set the balloon free. Rumors ran wild that this was Heene’s attempt to land a reality TV series — or just garner a few more minutes of fame — after TLC rejected his pitch for a show several months ago. Whether or not Falcon’s family had a hand in fabricating this fiasco doesn’t matter. No reality TV “star” has ever gone on to do anything helpful or useful for society. Take Richard Hatch, the winner of the first season of “Survivor,” for example. After all those long days building shelters and urinating in the woods, he didn’t pay taxes on his winnings. The long and the short of it is that reality TV is a stain on our lives. If the scramble for exposure leads reality show fanatics to silvery balloon scams, we want no part of it. Reality TV, as 6-year-old Falcon did to NBC cameras in an interview, we vomit in your general direction. So go, Reality TV; we’re banishing you to the wilderness. And not like Bear Grylls: if you bring a film crew ... well, we can’t be held accountable for our actions. The love we may have felt for you, at one point, is gone. It’s over, Reality TV. You are the weakest link, goodbye. Sincerely, The Daily Arts Department
3.*-%.$2%!-0',%4"%-#.25+"5-#.2%"$%67'(2%8-'$4,9% SAMARITAN
continued from page 7
me from joining the Midnight Society every Saturday night on SNICK. Many claim that the movie is too long, scary, melancholy and complex for kids to appreciate. Some will claim that Jonze made a $75 million arthouse film for hipsters. They’ll say that it’s a good movie but the wrong one. My question to those naysayers is: What would they have preferred? Pop-culture references and fart jokes? The wild things
aren’t Shrek and Donkey, and they don’t need to be. There are plenty of musically-inclined anthropomorphic animals in other films out right now. I say, give kids some variety in their films. The kids — and we kids at heart — deserve better. Though we have dissenting opinions about the appropriateness of the film, we do agree on one thing. “Wild Things” is an evocative, emotion visual experience that will make you reminisce on your childhood days of yore, when you could
frolic in the sandbox, play with your Barbies or Creepy Crawlers and chow down on the typical feast of Spaghetti-Os and PB&Js. So, see the film, think about your own youth, and let us know who you think is right. Zach Drucker and Chris Poldoian are sophomores who have not yet declared majors. They can be reached at Zachary.Drucker@tufts.edu and Christopher.Poldoian@ tufts.edu, respectively.
ROTTENTOMATOES.COM
The Coen Brothers; it’s almost like they’re brothers or something.
!"#$%&'()%*"))#$+,%"$%+-#% *-."+'*%$.+/0#%"&%+-#%1"0(2 SERIOUS
continued from page 7
help — each of them is caught up with his or her own problems and is always yelling at him to fix the poor reception on the TV or asking to borrow money. Larry turns to his Rabbis, asking each of them in turn what he should do to live a good, honest life. The closest thing he gets to actual advice is a strange parable about a Jewish dentist who finds the words “help me” carved into the teeth of one of his gentile patients. When Larry asks the Rabbi what the point of this story is, the Rabbi replies that there isn’t one: The only one who might know is God, and He’s not telling. Through careful direction and writing, the Coen Brothers construct Larry’s world as a place where chaos reigns while its inhabitants try in vain to impose even the smallest semblance of order on things. The film mirrors Larry’s desire for order and meaning by neatly organizing itself into chapters, and the title of each appears on screen as title cards and labeled in relation to the Rabbis he questions. But order is not what
the film endorses. There are too many loose ends, and reality itself is sometimes called into question, especially when Larry begins having increasingly strange dreams which turn into nightmares. All of this seems to paint the film as a bleak drama, but its execution and inclusion of things like the Jewish dentist story and a Yiddish prologue turn “A Serious Man” into enough of a fable to keep the darkness at arm’s length. The film is a comedy, albeit a black one. Much of the humor hinges on Michael Stuhlbarg’s pitch-perfect performance as Larry and his believable incredulity. As he repeats throughout the film, “I haven’t done anything!” The film ends with most of its issues unresolved, but neatly tying up all of the plot’s loose ends isn’t the point. Like the story of the dentist, the Coens have told a tale that only they know the meaning of (if it has any meaning at all). At the very least, it seems apparent that Larry, in accordance with the Jefferson Airplane song that bookends the film, could use “Somebody to Love.”
Study in the most exciting, vibrant city on Earth. Tel Aviv University Study Abroad Program Undergraduate Courses: wMiddle East Studies wFine Arts Studies wManagement & Economics wLife Sciences
Graduate Programs: wMasters in Middle Eastern History wMasters in Conflict Resolution and Mediation wTESOL –Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
www.telavivuniv.org
THE TUFTS DAILY
10
THE TUFTS DAILY GIOVANNI J.B. RUSSONELLO Editor-in-Chief
EDITORIAL Naomi Bryant Managing Editors David Heck Alexandra Bogus Executive News Editor Nina Ford News Editors Tessa Gellerson Ben Gittleson Christy McCuaig Matt Repka Ellen Kan Assistant News Editors Harrison Jacobs Katherine Sawyer Saumya Vaishampayan
Robin Carol Executive Features Editor Marissa Carberry Features Editors Meredith Hassett Alison Lisnow Emily Maretsky Kerianne Okie Romy Oltuski Christina Pappas Charlotte Steinway Julia Zinberg Sarah Korones Assistant Features Editors Carter Rogers
Jessica Bal Executive Arts Editor Emma Bushnell Arts Editors Mitchell Geller Adam Kulewicz Catherine Scott Josh Zeidel Charissa Ng Assistant Arts Editors Benjamin Phelps
Michelle Hochberg Executive Op-Ed Editor
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL | LETTERS
Thursday, October 22, 2009
NYC ban on bake sales overreaches
“Freshman 15” is the first term that appears on the list of suggested search inquiries when one types the word “freshman” into Google. The infamous expression refers to the 15-pound weight gain that supposedly afflicts so many college freshmen. But many colleges and universities now work to ensuring that dining hall options encourage students to maintain healthy eating habits and fend off that extra heft. Cafeterias for younger students are also embracing more health conscious offerings. This is an important move. But the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) went too far this school year when it effectively banned most bake sales in schools in order to limit students’ sugar and fat intake. The new ban on sweets was part of a wellness policy that also limits what can be sold in vending machines and studentrun stores. The rules, released in June by the NYCDOE, explicitly state, “To improve the nutritional quality of food and beverages available for sale to students at school, this regulation provides that only foods and beverages approved by the Office of School Food and purchased through central contracts may be sold to pupils during prescribed times within the school day.” It would have been wiser to focus on regulating the inclusion of nutrition and health
education and exercise in the curricula of young students — providing students with the resources and materials necessary to promote and educate themselves about healthy eating habits. New York’s school system, like so many others, has vaguely worded policies on nutrition education. The city defers to state guidelines, which read, “Students will have the necessary knowledge and skills to establish and maintain physical fitness, participate in physical activity, and maintain personal health.” No specifics are mentioned. It is clear that good nutrition plays an essential role in youth development. According to the surgeon general, overweight adolescents have a 70 percent likelihood of becoming overweight or obese adults. But the NYCDOE’s choice to restrict what students can sell to each other on campuses does not address that the real problem behind the childhood obesity epidemic: a lack of awareness and understanding. What it does do is to annul a time-tested tradition for student clubs in which industrious students can learn the values of hard work in promoting causes that they care about. Limiting young people’s sugar intake between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. does not do enough to limit their likelihood to reach for
the candy jar after school. The NYCDOE should concentrate on what its job entails — that is, educating children. The Daily believes that instead of simply banning fatty foods, schools must work to educate students in ways similar to those of many colleges and universities. For example, Tufts’ freshman pre-orientation program Fitness & Individual Development promotes student knowledge by leading discussions on healthy living and by bringing in guest speakers, who present information that equips students with knowledge to make healthier decisions throughout their lives. Disallowing students from selling each other brownies in order to support causes they believe in does nothing to solve the obesity epidemic, and compromises an important leadership development tool. It only provides an overreaching solution that hides behind the misguided assumption that students won’t eat later what they cannot have now. This is a mistake. Instead of banning bake sales, it is necessary to educate young students so that they can develop lifelong healthy eating habits. With that in place, it is possible that by the time those students go on to attend college, the term “freshman 15” could be a thing of the past.
ERIN MARSHALL
Vittoria Elliott Editorialists Nina Grossman Opinion Editors Andrew Rohrberger Molly Rubin Erin Marshall Editorial Cartoonists Alex Miller
Ethan Landy Executive Sports Editor Sapna Bansil Sports Editors Evan Cooper Philip Dear Jeremy Greenhouse Alex Prewitt Michael Spera Alex Lach Assistant Sports Editors Daniel Rathman
Annie Wermiel Executive Photo Editor James Choca Photo Editors Aalok Kanani Danai Macridi Andrew Morgenthaler Josh Berlinger Assistant Photo Editors Kristen Collins Alex Dennett Emily Eisenberg Rebekah Sokol Tien Tien
Arlin Ladue Executive New Media Editor Jessica Bidgood New Media Editors Kyle Chayka
PRODUCTION Karen Blevins
Production Director Steven Smith Executive Layout Editor
Dana Berube Layout Editors Caryn Horowitz Andrew Petrone Amani Smathers Menglu Wang Adam Gardner Assistant Layout Editors Brian Lim
Grace Lamb-Atkinson Executive Copy Editor Rachel Oldfield Copy Editors Ben Smith Elisha Sum Ricky Zimmerman Sam Connell Assistant Copy Editors Sara Eisemann Katherine Evering-Rowe Ammar Khaku Niki Krieg Luke Morris Lucy Nunn Regina Smedinghoff
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 | WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
The changing face of journalism BY EDITORIAL BOARD The Wesleyan Argus
On his national lecture tour, New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief Ethan Bronner made a stop at Wesleyan [a couple of weeks ago] to offer his perspective on the Middle East conflict. While discussing various facets of the issue, including the increasingly militant slant of Israeli diplomatic policy to the difficulty he experienced procuring a Syrian visa, Mr. Bronner emphasized the challenges journalists face as they attempt to strike a middle ground on a polarizing conflict. In reference to the partition the Israeli government erected along the 1949 Armistice Line dividing Israel and the West Bank, Mr. Bonner said that even word choice can elicit debate; while Palestinian groups refer to the construct as a wall, Israeli sources prefer the more neighborly “fence.” In the end, the Times went with barrier, to neither side’s approval.
Linguistic squabbles aside, Mr. Bonner’s lecture also raised the issue of objective journalism and the difficulty an individual faces in determining the reliability of news sources. Although the twenty-first century has offered the public an unprecedented level of ease in media accessibility, it is increasingly difficult to separate balanced journalism from subjective, or even accurate, news sources. As a larger percentage of the public turns to blogs, on-the-ground tweets, chattering television personalities and the like for news coverage in place of classic sources of media, objectivity is being muddled by the vast sea of citizen journalism. And while these may be well sourced and include a diverse range of viewpoints, dubious regulation allows for far more misrepresentation and even fabrication of fact. The explosion of Internet media raises other questions: Does the journalist’s
role as an intermediary between the government and the citizenry remain relevant in a world in which individuals increasingly seek out and obtain information directly from other individuals? Has subjectivity, which is said to characterize much of Internet journalism, already become so ingrained in the media-at-large that its qualities have become unrecognizable by the average citizen? Do we face any other option than stocking non-perishables and retiring to bomb-shelters to reread twentieth century Times headlines? We at The Argus, having sufficiently exhausted ourselves debating these questions, turn them to you, the reader. After all, journalism is produced for an audience; your opinions matter just as much, if not more so, than those in the journalism industry. What is the value of striving for objectivity? What would you like to see from journalism? Feel free to respond.
Corrections The Oct. 20 Op-Ed “Commitment pledge, where’s the credit?” inaccurately listed Jillian Joseph as the former president of the Panhellenic Council and the president of Chi Omega. She is the president of the Panhellenic Council and the former president of Chi Omega.
EDITORIAL POLICY Editorials that appear on this page are written by the Editorial Page editors, and individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of the Tufts Daily. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Tufts Daily editorial board.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must be submitted by 4 p.m. and should be handed into the Daily office or sent to letters@tuftsdaily.com. All letters must be word processed and include the writer’s name and telephone number. There is a 350-word limit and letters must be verified. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length.
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 22, 2009
THE TUFTS DAILY
Setting the record straight for the Greek community BY SAM POLLACK On Oct. 13 the Daily published an editorial titled “Pledge a commitment to philanthropy.” The piece criticizes the Greek community, stating that “aside from the provision of music, dance floors and beer, little is known about what fraternities and sororities do to help the community.” This is a claim that opponents of the Greek system have been making for years. While this was never completely true, there was a time when Greeks’ participation in philanthropy was undeniably lacking. At that point in time, I may have responded by pointing out that Greek organizations are primarily social organizations and that it is unfair to set a double standard when there are plenty of other social groups on campus who don’t do any community service. At that point in time, I also may have pointed out that fraternities and sororities provide a much-needed part of the otherwise lacking social life on campus and that fraternities specifically have developed a positive relationship with the Tufts University Police Department by working with them to host safe and organized parties that centralize weekend activities and keep them away from Medford and Somerville residents. At that point in time, I may have also argued that Greek members become leaders in many other on-campus organizations and excel academically to the point that numerous chapters have grade point averages that are higher than that of the general Tufts student body. However, at this point in time, the claim that Greek organizations do not and have not pursued philanthropic endeavors is just plain false, and so I will get straight to the facts. Below is a summary of the charitable programs that Greek organizations have run or participated in during the past year, organized alphabetically by chapter. I will preface this by saying that some of the programs on this list are repeated from an op-ed published on Sept. 28, 2008, titled “Give Greeks the credit they deserve,” in which the philanthropic activities of the Greek community were explicitly stated. However, there is clearly a need for some revisiting: Alpha Epsilon Pi: Luckiest Run On The Face Of the Earth ($1,500 raised for ALS research), Halloween Party to benefit Children’s Hospital Boston ($1,750), Spring Cuisine ($600 raised for Shaare Zedek Medical Center). Alpha Omicron Pi: Italian Night to benefit AOII Foundation, Mr. Fraternity ($1,300 raised to combat juvenile arthritis), Trickor-Treat for Cans for the homeless, Boston Arthritis Walk, volunteering at local schools. ATO of Massachusetts: Holiday toy drive for homeless children, food drive for local pantries. Alpha Phi: Alpha Phi Charity Denim
Foundation, Punk Rock for Puppies ($500 raised to benefit local animal shelters), Cooperative Peace Games to promote peace in local elementary schools. In addition to these events, the Greek chapters were the primary organizers and participants for Tufts’ annual Read by the River event. Each of the three sororities participated in the benefit walk for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. Every Greek chapter also participated in Kids’ Day and Halloween on the Hill. A majority created Dance Marathon teams, and Greek organizations collectively raised over $20,000 for the American Cancer Association through their Relay For Life Teams. It is also important to note that while the above list encompasses the work of the Greek chapters, it does not begin to touch on the work done by individual members of the Greek community outside of their fraternities or sororities. There are few Greeks who are not also involved in other community service-oriented organizations such as the Leonard Carmichael Society or Hillel. While Patrick Romero-Aldaz worked to unify the Greek system, he in no way mandated or drove the accomplishments of the past few semesters. As a fraternity president, last year I witnessed firsthand how tirelessly fellow Greeks in each of the chapters worked to pursue philanthropic endeavors. This was not done as a result of pledging requirements, university requirements or national requirements. This was done by choice and was fueled by a desire to have a positive impact on the Tufts campus and in the global community. The departure of RomeroAldaz and his temporary replaceDESIGN BY EMILY COHANE-MANN ment by Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman has had and will Delta Tau Delta: $3,500 raised for have absolutely no negative impact on the a war-torn village in Sudan, hosted lost continued commitment of Greek organizaboy of Sudan speech in Sophia Gordon tions to philanthropy. Many of the events listed above are annual events that will once Multipurpose Room. Delta Upsilon: Mystic River Clean Up, again occur this year if they haven’t already. weekly tutoring at local elementary schools. Furthermore, nearly all of the chapters have Sigma Phi Epsilon: Planet Earth screen- new programs in the works that will raise ing ($300 for YouthAIDS), Fight Gone Bad money or provide services for charitable organizations all over the world. ($150 raised for Tufts Timmy Foundation). In the past, the Daily and everyone Sigma Nu: Sausage Fest ($400 raised for else on campus could criticize the Greek testicular cancer research). Theta Chi: Toys for Tots Drive, $2,350 system just for the fun of it. However, that was at another point in time. Over the raised for American Heart Association. Theta Delta Chi: Mustachio Bashio past few semesters, the Greek community ($1,500 for BUILD Guatemala), $10,000 has done more for charitable causes than raised for Relay for Life (top team at Tufts a majority of the organizations on the and top 10 of U.S. colleges), over $1,000 Tufts campus. The next time somebody already raised for the upcoming Walk for is inclined to criticize Greeks for inaction, I urge them to do their research first. Autism. Zeta Beta Tau: Get On the Ball ($2,400 for Instead of wasting time writing a misinChildren’s Miracle Network and Children’s formed editorial, it may be best to join us Hospital Boston), Trick-or-Treat for Cans, in doing something productive. Softball Marathon ($1,000 for Children’s Miracle Network), service project with soup kitchen in Boston and CHASE program with Sam Pollack is a senior majoring in ecoTufts Hillel nomics. He is the former president and a Zeta Psi: $200 raised for Arthritis current member of Alpha Epsilon Pi. ($500), Alpha Phi-esta ($200), Women’s Day Bake Sale ($400), Eat Your Heart Out ($100). All proceeds donated to cardiac care. Chi Omega: Swishes For Wishes to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation (raised $2,200 within the past two years; totaled cumulative $5,000 since program’s inception, the amount needed to grant a wish), Dishes for Wishes ($986), Midnight Pancake Brunch.
What does 350 mean to you? BY CHELSEA HOGAN America’s waistline isn’t the only thing increasing these days. Currently, the level of CO2 in the atmosphere is 384 parts per million (ppm) and rising. NASA’s leading climatologist James Hansen says that “to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted,” CO2 must be reduced to 350 ppm. As a leading contributor of harmful emissions, the United States has a responsibility to act, but legislation in the U.S. Senate is completely inadequate to meet the target of 350 ppm. Without legislation to enforce this limit, there’ll be drastic consequences: rising sea levels, disappearing wildlife habitats, severe weather patterns and new public health challenges. In response, the Leadership Campaign,
a movement of hundreds of students in Massachusetts, with help from community and clergy members, is taking action to get the state legislature to pass a bill committing to 100 percent clean electricity by 2020. This would give Sen. John Kerry a bargaining chip when he represents the United States at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark on Dec.7. This conference may be a last opportunity for an international agreement on climate change action, but it’ll be hard convincing other nations to reduce their carbon footprints if we’ve done nothing ourselves. To get this legislation passed, this Saturday night, Oct. 24, the International Day of Climate Action, we’re sleeping outside in tents on the academic quad to show that we reject the use of dirty electricity. We’ll sleep outside every night until legislation is passed, or until December’s
11
OP-ED
conference. This Sunday night, we’ll try to gain legislators’ attention by sleeping on the Boston Commons with students from Boston-area colleges. Massachusetts has a long history of leading the nation — think back to the American Revolution — so here we are again, ready to lead, because it’s our responsibility, because we want to sustain life as we know it, and because we love and respect our planet. The Leadership Campaign wants more students to join us, so consider sleeping outside this Saturday. We’re ready to lose these extra parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere. Here we come, 350! Chelsea Hogan is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. She is a Tufts media coordinator for the Leadership Campaign.
JACOB KREIMER | THE SALVADOR
The effects of dollarization
I
f you get the chance to swing through El Salvador while on the Pan-American Highway, you might notice that you won’t need to change your currency from what was sitting in your wallet north of the border. This is because back in 2001, El Salvador’s government was the first Central American government to dollarize. They phased out the traditional Salvadoran monetary unit, colóns, and replaced them with the U.S. dollar as the official national currency. Unlike the process of “pegging,” in which countries such as Argentina have picked one-to-one match rates of local currency against the dollar with the intent of stabilizing domestic currency, dollarization is when governments literally reject their old currency and all new transactions happen with greenbacks. About seven other countries have dollarized as well: Ecuador, East Timor and Palau to name a few. The incentive to dollarize, more or less, is that developing countries get to enjoy the relatively stable currency of the U.S. Federal government, giving investors a little more faith that they will actually get their money back. Even in these Great Recession times, people are pretty sure that the dollar will not fail completely. The dollar, it seems, is a pretty good bet. Or so we hope. If I did some hardcore economics research, I could probably tell you the amount of growth — or decline — El Salvador experienced following this pretty hefty change in the economic system. But this column is far from big business, and instead I’ll recount some of the realities I saw in the countryside as a result of dollarization, even eight years later. Dollarization was a decision made by the government of El Salvador, and even here in the United States we can safely assume a close relationship between big business and the people in power — we need not look any further than the huge impact of the insurance and medical industries on the current health care debate to see this in practice. Yet the move to the dollar may also have made sense because so much of the rural areas have a constant inflow of cash from menial-labor jobs in the United States; the CIA World Factbook identifies that remittances — money sent back from the States — as measured by per capita inflow is “equal to nearly all export income.” In other words, monies sent back from the United States make up an enormous portion of the economy, especially rural parts where the dollar goes furthest. Part of the problem in El Salvador, as in many Central American countries, is that there is simply no work to be had, and the small amount of work available pays extremely low. If an illegal immigrant makes it to the United States and can manage to score the federal minimum wage of $7.25, he earns almost three times in one hour what most Salvadorans live on per day. He is then able to send this money home without having to deal with tricky conversion rates, and his family’s purchasing power is much higher than had he stayed at home. Unfortunately, there is a flip side to the benefits experienced in the countryside. One organization I was able to witness in action was the local “popular radio” station, which was run by and for the people in rural parts. When their equipment breaks and they need to replace it, they have to go to the world market price — in dollars — to buy what they need. While international media conglomerates can afford these prices to pipe right-leaning messages across the country, community initiatives have dollars but far too few of them to buy what they need. Is dollarization to blame for inadequate community radio programs? Salvadorans are poor, no doubt about that. But I have a feeling the system could use some tweaking to help level the playing field to make community activism a little easier. If only we could figure out how .
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
12 CROSSWORD
COMICS
Thursday, October 22, 2009
DOONESBURY
BY
NON SEQUITUR
BY
WEDNESDAY’S SOLUTION
MARRIED TO THE SEA
www.marriedtothesea.com
SUDOKU Level: Escaping the quarantine
LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Wednesday’s Solution
Dave: “Don’t test my poké knowledge.”
Please recycle this Daily
GARRY TRUDEAU
WILEY
Thursday, October 22, 2009
THE TUFTS DAILY
ADVERTISEMENT
13
THE TUFTS DAILY
14 Housing
Housing
Three to Seven Bedrooms Available! Available for next year`s school year, June 2010-May 2011. Shop now and get what you want. Very convenient to school. Call for appointment now: (617) 448-6233
Housing
Across from Professors Row! (2) 6 bedroom, 2 bathroom Apts. w/ living room, hardwood floors throughout, ceramic tile eat-inkitchen, dishwasher, refridgerator, washer/dryer, front and rear porches, 4 car off street parking for each apt. $4650/mo incl. heat and hot water. Avail 9/1/10. Call (781) 249-1677
234&5',4& 4++6%&!"#$%
SPORTS
Thursday, October 22, 2009
-
-
-
4 Bedroom Apt. Somerville, Teele Ave. 4 Bedroom Apt. Across the street from campus. Available June 1, 2010. $2400. Plus utilities. 617-625-3021 CLASSIFIEDS POLICY All Tufts students must submit classifieds in person, prepaid with check, money order, or exact cash only. All classifieds submitted by mail must be accompanied by a check. Classifieds are $10 per week with Tufts ID or $20 per week without. The Tufts Daily is not liable for any damages due to typographical errors or misprintings except the cost of the insertion, which is fully refundable. We reserve the right to refuse to print any classifieds which contain obscenity, are of an overly sexual nature, or are used expressly to denigrate a person or group. Questions? Email business@tuftsdaily.com.
SCHEDULE | Oct. 22 - Oct. 28 THURS
FRI
SAT
SUN
Football
at Williams 1:30 pm
Field Hockey
at Williams 1:00 pm
MEN’S SOCCER
MON
TUE
WED
continued from page 16
five stops, made his most brilliant save earlier in the second period when he stopped a header by Prophet. Disaster struck in the 80th minute when freshman defender Max Feit picked up two fouls in a span of 80 seconds and was handed the first red card of his collegiate career. Feit’s departure left the Jumbos a man down for the second time this year. But unlike their first experience playing shorthanded, Tufts was trailing at a pivotal point in the match when the first-year was sent off, and the game’s momentum was completely reversed. “We had a good stretch in the second half where we were moving the ball well and had it in their third for awhile,” Coleman said. “But it was hard to keep that up once we lost a man.” “The red card really changed the game,” Muakkassa added. “It put us back on our heels, and while before we thought we had a great chance to equalize and tie the game up, they scored three minutes later.” Conn. College’s insurance goal was driven home with seven minutes to go in regulation by sophomore forward Brian Morgan on an assist by senior defender Mickey Lenzi. Morgan beat Tonelli with a shot into the lower-left corner of the net, sealing the deal for the Camels. “Our heads really went down after the second goal,” Muakkassa said. “It’s hard to come back from two goals down when you’re down a man as well.” Sophomore keeper Alan Bernstein, who played well in his collegiate debut against UMass-Dartmouth earlier in the month,
Quinsigamond Head of the Fish Fall Novice Saratoga, NY Championships tba
Women’s Crew
Men’s Soccer
at Williams 12:00 p.m.
Women’s Soccer
at Williams 1:30 pm at Smith 5:00 p.m.
Volleyball
at Hall of Fame Tournament tba Mayor’s Cup Boston tba
Cross Country Quinsigamond Fall Novice Championships
Men’s Crew
replaced Tonelli after Conn. College took the 2-0 lead and collected a save of his own before the final whistle. Even though it fell to 2-8-2 on the year and 0-6-1 in NESCAC action, the squad is not waving the white flag on what has been a frustrating and arduous season. “We have two very difficult games left against really good teams in Williams, who are in second place and having a great year, and Bowdoin, and realistically we probably have to win both of
them,” Muakkassa said. “We obviously must win one and then hope that Colby and Bates aren’t able to get a win in their last few games. “But the good news is that we have nothing to lose at this point, and that’s a great mentality to have for a team like ours, where we can just go out and play now,” he continued. “It’s good to know that mathematically we are not out, and Williams and Bowdoin might take us lightly because of the way we’ve been
FIELD HOCKEY
continued from page 16
in Finance in an innovative program for students
"!
Focused finance curriculum that can be completed in one year
"!
A leadership-oriented approach to finance education
"!
Generous merit-based scholarships
"!
Personalized career management support
"!
Outstanding alumni network
"!
Dedicated faculty with experience in academics and industry
For more information, please visit
www.cmc.edu/rdsgraduate/finance
C L A R E M O N T ,
playing. This is a good time to show them that we can compete and get a couple of wins.” The outlook might be bleak for the Jumbos, but they nevertheless remain confident in their abilities with just two games left on the schedule. “No one on the team thinks we’re out of it just yet,” Muakkassa said. “We know our backs are up against the wall, but we really have nothing to lose now, and hopefully things will go our way.”
!"#$%&#'((%&)*&*'$)+*'(& ,'*-)*.%&$+&/+0&1
Master Finance. Earn a Master’s degree with leadership potential.
Head of the Fish Saratoga, NY tba
MEET US OCT. 27 at the Specialized Programs in Graduate Business Fair Sheraton Copley Dalton Street 7:00 pm
C A L I F O R N I A
Defensively, both teams had success in shutting down offensive drives. In the Tufts backfield, sophomore keeper Marianna Zak and junior Katie Hyder shared the win, with Zak making the only save of the day on Gordon’s single shot in 70 minutes of play. In the cage for the Fighting Scots, sophomore Alicia L’Heureux racked up 15 saves over the course of the match on Tufts’ 38 shots. Overall, however, it was the Gordon defenders that played the biggest role in breaking up the Jumbos’ offensive drives. “Defensively, Gordon had strong block tackles, so we had to adjust and lift the ball over their sticks,” Scholtes said. “We had to keep the ball moving to work around the defenders to get into the circle; we couldn’t just dribble through them.” Despite holding an 11-1 record overall, with just a single loss in conference play, the national coaches poll dropped Tufts two spots to No. 5 after its overtime loss to the undefeated Bantams. Though Tufts fell in the rankings to its lowest position all season, the Jumbo squad is still one of just three NESCAC teams among the top 10 in the nation. “We’ve come to learn that the poll isn’t the best indicator of a team’s talent,” Brown said.
“If anything, I think our team feels a sense of relief going into the postseason that we don’t have to try and prove anything; we just need to go out on the field and play our best. That wouldn’t necessarily be the case if we were going into the tournament undefeated.” After recording their fourth consecutive shutout over Gordon and sixth consecutive victory over the Fighting Scots overall, the Jumbos turn their attention to NESCAC competition on the horizon. This Saturday, the No. 2 NESCAC team will be on display at Bello Field against the No. 3 Williams Ephs. While Tufts has beaten Williams each year since 2006, the Ephs seem to be enjoying a stronger season than in past years. With a 5-2 record inconference, Williams has fallen only to Bowdoin and Trinity, both of which are among the stronger teams in the nation. However, after learning lessons from the Trinity match, the Tufts squad is ready to cross sticks with strong conference opponents once again. “Williams is having a great season,” Brown said. “They’re one of the stronger teams in the NESCAC, and we learned last week we have to play our best to beat the better teams in conference. We’ll be ready, but we’re going to have to come out playing our best.”
THE TUFTS DAILY
Thursday, October 22, 2009
15
SPORTS
INSIDE NCAA FOOTBALL
!"#$%#&'()*#+,"-"')#$")."/0&01#&")%23&"34"$' BY
RORY PARKS | THE LONG-SUFFERING SPORTS FAN
ETHAN LANDY
Daily Editorial Board
When the first BCS rankings of the college football season came out last Sunday, two surprise teams were standing side-by-side perennial juggernauts like the Florida Gators, Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas Longhorns: the Cincinnati Bearcats and Iowa Hawkeyes. The fifth-ranked Bearcats are undefeated at 6-0 after taking down the then-No. 21 South Florida Bulls last weekend. Behind an explosive aerial attack led by senior quarterback Tony Pike and arguably the nation’s best wideout in classmate Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati has taken control of the Big East and exploded up the polls after starting the season out of the top 25. Cincinnati is the fourth-highest scoring team in the nation at 40.7 points per game, albeit a figure that is slightly skewed by the 70-point barrage the Bearcats put up against lowly Southeast Missouri State in their second game of the season. Still, Cincinnati has never been held under 28 points in its six games and is racking up over 450 yards a game. The passing attack is the marquee portion of the Bearcats’ potent and high-powered offense, although the team still averages 146.8 yards a game on the ground. But Gilyard, who is likely to start sky-rocketing up NFL draft boards, has seven touchdowns and 43 receptions already this season. Pike, who was named to the second-team All Big East last season, has become a darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidate in his senior campaign by throwing for over 1600 yards and 15 touchdowns so far. The Cincinnati defense, which came into the year with questions after switching to a 3-4, is also performing well above expectations and is in the top 15 in the nation in points allowed per game. Behind defensiveminded coach Brian Kelly, the Bearcats have tallied 13 interceptions. With his success, Kelly has proven himself to be one of the best coaches in the nation, maximizing the talent at a historically poor football school to turn it into a BCS Championship contender. He has led Cincinnati to double-digit win totals in each of his first two seasons since coming over from Central Michigan and is well on his way to a third. The Bearcats are a legitimate threat to return to a BCS bowl this season, and they have a shot at the biggest game of them all if Pike’s recent arm injury does not keep him out for a prolonged period of time. While Cincinnati is only a mild shock — after all, the Bearcats were in the Orange Bowl last year — Iowa’s meteoric rise has been more improbable. Although the Hawkeyes were ranked at the bottom of the preseason
I
MCT
Coach Brian Kelly has led his Cincinnati Bearcats to an undefeated record, a first place standing in the Big East and a No. 5 ranking in the national AP Poll. top 25, few would have predicted that they would be a justifiable candidate for the BCS Championship at 7-0. Iowa has already upset the then-No. 5 Penn State Nittany Lions in Happy Valley, notoriously one of the hardest places to play in the nation, and also has beaten Michigan and Wisconsin, two of the better teams in the Big 10. After starting the season with a one-point win over Northern Iowa, a game in which the Hawkeyes needed a last-second field goal block to hold on for the victory, few would have envisioned this. Coach Kirk Ferentz has his team looking like the class of the conference. With a
playmaking defense, led by sophomore Tyler Sash, that is tops in the NCAA in interceptions, as well as an ever-improving quarterback in junior Rickey Stanzi, Iowa could keep its undefeated record intact throughout the rest of the year. With no clear cut team that is head and shoulders above anyone else — witness near losses for both Florida and Texas last weekend — this could be a year in which some team comes out of the blue to snatch a spot in the BCS Championship in January. And as of right now, it is apparent that the surprising Cincinnati and Iowa squads are both candidates to fill that role.
Games of the Week LOOKING BACK (OCTOBER 17) | USC TROJANS VS. NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH Trailing 34-27 in the closing seconds of Saturday’s battle between two of the country’s best squads, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish had three chances from the five-yard line to put the ball into the end zone against their rivals from Southern California. Up until that point, quarterback Jimmy Clausen was enjoying a day to remember, having completed 24-of-40 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns. The pieces all seemed to align to give the Irish their first win against the Trojans since 2002. But, as they’ve done so many times before under the reins of Charlie Weis, Notre Dame fell MCT just short. Clausen threw three incomplete passes, and USC held on to get the victory. To their credit, the Irish rallied back from a 34-14 deficit in the fourth quarter to get it to 34-27. But they froze when it counted the most against the BCS-ranked No. 7 team. Clausen finished the day 24-of-43 for 260 with two touchdowns and no interceptions, but he was outmatched by USC’s freshman and rising star Matt Barkley, who completed 19-of-29 attempts for an astonishing 380 yards with two touchdowns and one pick. Charlie Weis said after the game that he thinks “anyone that doesn’t realize the fight that’s in the Fighting Irish is missing the boat.” Sorry, Charlie, but fight doesn’t really matter much if you can’t put the ball in the end zone when you have multiple opportunities during crunch time.
LOOKING AHEAD (OCTOBER 24) | SOCCER AT WILLIAMS
The Tufts women’s soccer team travels to Williams this Saturday to square off against the Ephs, who are a perfect 11-0-0 on the season and 7-0-0 against NESCAC opponents. Williams has not lost a game since the NCAA Tournament semifinals against Wheaton (Ill.) last year and will provide the toughest test of the year for the Jumbos. Last year, Tufts was able to give the Ephs a competitive contest, outshooting Williams 13-6. But the Jumbos could not find the back of the net in that game, losing 1-0 despite a strong overall effort against the then-No. 1 ranked squad. The Jumbos (6-4-1 overall, 4-2-1 in NESCAC play) know they will have their hands full again this year, but last year’s experience should be helpful in showing that they can play with ANNIE WERMIEL/TUFTS DAILY the Ephs, who are the top-ranked team in New England and No. 2 in the nation. Williams enters the game with a potent offense, having scored at least four goals seven times. Tufts is 2-0-1 in its past three conference games and is coming off a 2-0 non-conference victory over Salem State. The Jumbos have allowed just one goal in their last three games, but the undefeated Ephs have surrendered only three goals all season. A positive result on Saturday will firmly entrench the Jumbos as one of the elite teams in the conference, potentially putting them in prime position to overtake the third spot in the conference standings.
This sucks
recently read a story on ESPN.com that described the new policies regarding social media that the NBA has put into place. The first paragraph of Marc Stein’s Sept. 30 article on the website reads, “The NBA formally announced its new social media guidelines ... informing teams through a league memorandum that the use of cell phones, PDAs and other electronic communications devices — and thus accessing Twitter, Facebook and similar social media sites — is now prohibited during games for players, coaches and other team personnel involved in the game.” The ban extends from 45 minutes before the opening tip-off to 45 minutes after the postgame locker room is open to the media in addition to the coaches and players having fulfilled their obligation to be available to media attending the game. My first reaction to this was one of pleasant surprise. Maybe, I thought, Commissioner David Stern has finally stopped trying to force-feed the NBA to half the world’s population and is actually doing something to improve the game. But my second reaction was one of disappointment. Not only is Stern continuing to hatch plans for the next NBA Kuwait, NBA Micronesia and God knows what else, but the fact that the league felt the need to institute this type of social media policy is truly disheartening. By no means am I blaming the NBA front office here. They did what they had to do. It’s the players, who have seemingly always felt that they are the most important people on the face of the planet — all due apologies to folks like John Stockton and Tim Duncan here — that made such a measure necessary. Okay, say it is 45 minutes before game time. What should you, as a professional basketball player and an alleged adult, be doing? The obvious answer would be something like shooting free throws, maybe doing some quick film study, or just relaxing and getting yourself mentally and physically ready for the game. Apparently, it’s not that simple. Forty-five minutes before the game, the Denver Nuggets’ Chris Andersen might be busy checking the Facebook statuses of all his peeps back in rehab, or maybe the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard is sending a text message to the Miami Heat’s Quentin Richardson reminding him that, if he wears a costume when he plays, everyone will think he’s ten times better than he really is. It’s also entirely possible that the New York Knicks’ Nate Robinson is sending out mass e-mails to remind everyone just how awesome he is and how they can expect legendary things from him when he comes off the bench in about an hour or so. To be fair, though, this rule was really only put into effect to curtail “tweeting.” Stern will not come right out and say so, but if that’s not the case, then why is this policy going into effect right now, as Twitter’s popularity has officially reached dizzying heights and shows no sign of slowing down? It’s because the NFL has already had problems with its players and their Twitter accounts, and the NBA, which has a whole host of its own issues, cannot afford to add another one to the list. But the thing is, tweeting is something that should only take about thirty seconds, maybe a minute if you’re a slow typist — you’re only required to enter 140 characters. And yet, the NBA is so fearful of it becoming a distraction for its egomaniacal players that it had no choice but to deprive the world of learning what wild antics the Washington Wizards’ JaVale McGee — otherwise known as @bigdaddywookie — was up to half an hour before game time. Coming from a league that is used to being driven by star power, this just strikes me as kind of sad.
Rory Parks is a senior majoring in international relations and Spanish. He can be reached at Rory.Parks@tufts.edu
Sports
16
INSIDE Inside NCAA Football 15 Long-Suffering Fan 15 Games of the Week 15
tuftsdaily.com
FIELD HOCKEY
!"#$%&'()%*('%"+',-./+-).'0*%+&'-)'123'$45+6%7) BY
MICHAEL SPERA
Daily Editorial Board
After last Saturday’s devastating 2-1 overtime loss to the Trinity Bantams, the Tufts field hockey FIELD HOCKEY (11-1, 6-1 NESCAC) at Wenham, Mass., Tuesday Tufts Gordon
5 0
4—9 0—0
team was forced to go back to the drawing board. In Wednesday’s 9-0 road win against the Gordon College Fighting Scots, the Jumbos proved that taking a step back made all the difference. “I think Saturday was a huge disappointment,” junior midfielder Tamara Brown said. “It was a wake-up call for our team, and it has definitely lit a fire under us as we head into the last couple games of the season. “[Coach] Tina [McDavitt] reminded us that we should be going out there and having fun and be excited every time we score,” Brown continued. “That one game on Saturday doesn’t define our season. We had fun against Gordon, and it reflected in the way we played in a big way.” In a relentless offensive effort, the Jumbos wasted no time attacking Gordon’s circle, firing off 19 shots in the first half alone. Only 53 seconds into the match, Tufts was on the board, thanks to a Brown goal off a feed from junior forward Michelle Kelly. While six different players hit the back of the net for the Jumbos, senior co-captain Amanda Russo came up particularly big, logging her first hat trick of the
season, and becoming the third Jumbo in the past month to record three goals in a game. Earlier in the month, Brown and junior forward Melissa Burke each notched a hat trick in the conference match against Colby Mules. Blowing out the Fighting Scots 19-1 in shots and heading into halftime with a 5-0 lead, the Tufts squad showed its depth of talent to take the nonconference victory. “We’ve worked on two-touch passing, transferring the ball, shooting and rebounding, so I think we’ve refined our skills in some areas that weren’t wellexecuted against Trinity,” senior co-captain Margi Scholtes said. “We went back to basics. We kept to our fundamentals, took a step back, slowed down and [kept] our heads on our shoulders.” In the second frame, the Jumbos continued to control the pace of the game, finding the back of the net four times in the midst of a flurry of shot opportunities. While Russo completed the hat trick with two goals, Scholtes capitalized on a penalty stroke play for the second time this season. Putting the icing on the cake, the Tufts squad showcased the talents of its underclassmen, with first-year midfielder Rachel Gerhardt and sophomore midfielder Dana Aidekman teaming up to tally Tufts’ final goal of the match. In all, the Jumbos’ nine goals were enough to raise the team’s total to the secondbest in the history of the program. Compiling 56 on the year, this year’s Jumbos are overshadowed only by their all-time record of 82 goals scored during the 2008 season. see FIELD HOCKEY, page 14
ALEX DENNETT/TUFTS DAILY
It didn’t take long for the field hockey team to rebound after Saturday’s heartbreaking overtime loss to Trinity. The Jumbos, led by senior co-captain Amanda Russo’s seven points, thrashed the Gordon defense in a 9-0 win on Tuesday.
MEN’S SOCCER
!"#$%&'+85#9:46'$;'<5#4:&=':%&4'*/5)*4'>%8'&9%+'-)'9:5;%?'& BY
DANIEL RATHMAN
Daily Editorial Board
Still winless in NESCAC play and mired in the cellar of the conference standings, the men’s soccer team headMEN’S SOCCER (2-8-2, 0-6-1 NESCAC) Bello Field, Tuesday Conn. College Tufts
1 0
1 — 2 0 — 0
ed into Tuesday’s home contest versus Conn. College determined to revive the hope of gaining the final spot in the NESCAC playoffs. With Colby (4-6-2 overall, 1-5-1 in NESCAC play) clinging to the eighth seed in the postseason tournament, the Jumbos needed a victory to have a realistic chance of unseating the Mules in their last two games of the season. But Tufts could not fend off the fifth-place Camels — who improved to 7-3-1 on the year and 4-3-0 against conference opponents — falling 2-0 in a hard-fought and physical match. Before the start of the Jumbos’ final home game, Coach Ralph Ferrigno and the Bello Field crowd honored and thanked seniors Pat Tonelli, Bear Duker, Dan Schoening, Ari Kobren and Michael Putterman for four years of dedication to the program. Their younger teammates entered the game bent on honoring the seniors with a win. “We thought winning our first NESCAC game would be a really nice
ANDREW MORGENTHALER/TUFTS DAILY
Senior forward Dan Schoening and the men’s soccer team had several scoring opportunities late in the game but couldn’t convert as the Jumbos fell 2-0 to Conn. College on Tuesday night. way to send the seniors off in their final home game,” junior tri-captain Naji Muakkassa said. “Everyone was really looking up to the seniors and hoping to pull out a win for them. Obviously we didn’t do it in the end, but it was nice to know that everyone was really playing for them today.” The Jumbos — who have notched their only two victories at home against Suffolk and UMass-Dartmouth — gave a spirited
effort in the early minutes, looking to get on the board before the visiting Camels could get settled. By pressuring the Conn. College defense right out of the gate, Tufts earned three corner kicks in a span of five minutes. Unfortunately, none of these efforts resulted in a quality attempt on goal. “The first half of the first half, we were playing very good soccer,” Muakkassa said. “We had those three corner kicks
and moved the ball really well. But all of a sudden, the tide changed and they started playing much better and took control.” Despite the early Tufts pressure, the Camels struck first with the game’s opening shot, when junior forward Trevor Prophet tallied for the eighth time this year, climbing into a tie for the NESCAC lead. Prophet took a well-executed cross by sophomore midfielder Oscar Brown, and drilled it past Tonelli to open up a 1-0 lead for the visitors. “We were really disappointed to give up that goal, but we knew we had to keep battling and hope to get back in the game,” junior midfielder Ron Coleman said. Play was even for the remainder of the first half following the goal. The teams split possession of the ball, and each had four corner kicks and seven fouls at the 45 minute mark. Though Conn. College out-shot Tufts four to three, Tonelli made two more saves and got some help from his defense on a third attempt, preventing the Camels from extending their lead and keeping hope alive for the home team. “We talked at halftime and thought we had a good chance to come back,” Muakkassa said. “In the second half, we were beginning to play very well again and I thought we were unlucky not to get a goal.” Freshman Kevin Maxham and senior Dan Schoening each had solid chances to score, peppering the Camels’ net and forcing senior net-minder Alex Martland to make the two most difficult of his three saves. Tonelli, who finished with see MEN’S SOCCER, page 14