2009-10-27

THE TUFTS DAILY

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TUFTSDAILY.COM

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

VOLUME LVIII, NUMBER 32

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Some administrators oppose medical amnesty BY

MATT REPKA

Daily Editorial Board

This article is the second in a two-part series looking at the alcohol policies of Boston-area schools. The first article, which ran in yesterday’s issue, focused on the implementation of medical amnesty at nearby institutions.

While students on Tufts’ Alcohol Task Force consider whether to argue for a medical amnesty policy at Tufts, administrators stand by the stricter regulations implemented this semester, as they worry that more lenient rules on alcohol abuse might bring unintended, dangerous consequences.

Tufts’ Director of Health Education Ian Wong questioned the fairness of a policy that guarantees disciplinary clemency to students who seek medical attention for excessive drunkenness.

Wong described a hypothetical situation involving two intoxicated students. Under a medical amnesty policy, Wong said, if only one required attention from Tufts Emergency Medical Services (TEMS), the university would be eligible to punish the less acutely drunk student but not the one who sought treatment.

“It’s not fair to both people, to say that just because you weren’t TEMS’ed, you get written up,” Wong said.

Many nearby peer institutions, includingHarvardandNortheastern Universities and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), use medical amnesty.

JODI BOSIN/TUFTS DAILY

Somerville is extending permit parking to all of the city’s residential streets to address limited spots and budget issues.

For students parking off campus, Somerville permits cause headaches BY

DAPHNE KOLIOS

Contributing Writer

The City of Somerville plans to implement a new policy requiring parking permits for all vehicles parked on residential streets in the city, complicating an already difficult parking situation for many Tufts students living off campus.

In an attempt to simultaneously raise money to balance a budget deficit and free up crowded parking spaces, the new policy would require all non-

commercial vehicles parked on Somerville’s residential streets to have a resident parking permit or visitor pass. This highlights a problem unique to Jumbos who don’t live on the Hill.

To receive a resident permit — renewable annually — a car must be registered in the city. “The problem is that many Tufts students don’t have their cars registered in Somerville,” Somerville Alderman Walter Pero told the Daily.

Students often do not register their cars in the city because doing so can result in large

increases in their vehicle insurance payments. Cars often remain on family insurance plans and are registered to students’ homes away from Tufts during the students’ one or two years off campus in the vicinity of Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus.

The new policy is a response to too little money and too few open parking spaces, according to City of Somerville spokesman Tom Champion. Two thirds of residential streets already fall under see PARKING, page 2

Students’ company makes BusinessWeek’s ‘Top 25’ BY

CORINNE SEGAL

Contributing Writer

BusinessWeek’s search for the top 25 entrepreneurs under 25 recently led it to the Emergent Energy Group, a business created by Tufts students to harness renewable energy sources.

Current senior Greg Hering teamed with then-sophomores Jayson Uppal and Jared Rodriguez in 2006 to found Emergent, a business that advised cities, landowners and developers on how to harness sustainable energy in the form of wind and solar power.

He said BusinessWeek’s recognition of their company validates their efforts, though they are relatively younger than the typical business founder.

“It gives us credibility. Someone goes, ‘You guys are young.’ And we go, ‘Yes, but we’re the best of the young people,’” he said.

Hering thought of the idea for the company as a freshman during the fall of 2006 and later teamed with Uppal and Rodriguez, who were at the time members of the Tufts Energy Security Initiative (now the Tufts Energy Forum), to develop a business plan.

Together they run Emergent as a partnership along with Jesse Gossett (LA ’09) and

Until this semester, underage Tufts students who sought TEMS’ assistance during bouts of intoxication could expect to receive no more than a warning, as long as they had filled out a health survey. But Tufts has done away with the warning system, and students caught drinking underage are immediately put on level-one disciplinary probation (pro-one).

Detractors of the amnesty model see it as a sort of “get out of jail free” card that does nothing to prevent dangerous alcohol abuse.

As a way to reach a middle ground between zero disciplinary measures and a hard-line approach, a number of schools have instituted a system of monetary fines for alcohol infractions.

A first incident of providing alcohol to a minor at MIT carries a $50 fine, as well as a conference with a dean. At Boston College (BC), fines for alcohol or drug violations accompany other modes of punishment, such as community service requirements, and can become increasingly severe for repeated offenses.

BC adopted the fine system last year, the school’s Associate Dean of Community Standards Brent Ericson told the Daily.

The money collected from fines goes toward student programming, he said.

At Northeastern, an elaborate system of fines — with individual penalties equaling up to $200 — see ALCOHOL, page 2

Tufts researchers contribute to particle accelerator experiment

Chris Jacobs, who graduated from Babson College last year.

Since its inception, Emergent has completed over twenty consulting projects, according to Hering. The company is now expanding into development with the creation of a solar project for nine buildings in New Jersey as well as a wind farm in New Hampshire, he said.

“We empower communities to power themselves, essentially,” Hering said.

This marks the fifth year of the rankings.

Over the summer, BusinessWeek readers nominated companies for the list. Then BusinessWeek staff chose the finalists.

Hering said that Emergent takes a community-based approach to installing power plants. “We engage town administrators and local community members much earlier on in the entire development process,” he said.

Hering said that the group rose above the difficulties of being young entrepreneurs in a field dominated by an older generation. “We get past that by presenting the best of what is expected from [our] generation,” he said.

Emergent currently has about 30 clients. BusinessWeek stated that the firm’s

A consortium of Boston-area researchers hopes to fill in a missing piece of a fundamental theory of physics within the next couple months, when groundbreaking tests are carried out at the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator.

The group of researchers will analyze data from an experiment to take place in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 17-mile-long particle accelerator located under the French-Swiss border. Built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) near Geneva, the LHC has been plagued by setbacks since researchers first used it briefly in Sept.

2008, but it is set to fully start back up next month.

Tufts students and faculty members, partnering with physicists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston, Harvard and Brandeis Universities, hope “to find out more things about fundamental particles,” according to Austin Napier, a Tufts professor of physics and astronomy who is participating in the project.

see EMERGENT, page 2

see CERN, page 2

BY

KIRA HESSEKIEL

Contributing Writer

COURTESY ATLASEXPERIMENT.COM

Inside this issue

The LHC is a 17-mile-long particle accelerator.

Today’s Sections

Dark, musty theaters in old, colonial towns can provide some optimal settings for Halloween spooks and surprises.

The volleyball team beat Williams to win the hallowed Hall of Fame championship over the weekend.

see ARTS, page 5

see SPORTS, back page

News Features Arts & Living Editorial | Letters

1 3 5 8

Op-Ed Comics Classifieds Sports

9 10 11 Back

THE TUFTS DAILY

2 Police Briefs PLANNING AN ESCAPE ROUTE FOR NQR? A student living in West Hall called the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) at 7:50 a.m. on Oct. 23 to report a break-in in her dormitory room. Officers responded and found pry marks by a lock on a door in the room that led outdoors.

TUPD received a call at 1:45 a.m. on Oct. 24 from someone who reported seeing a person drop off someone else in a Tilton Hall dorm room.

The caller did not believe the room belonged to the person dropped off. Officers responded and found two intoxicated students passed out on the floor in the room. Neither stu-

dent lived in the room. Both were transported to Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

A HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE END FOR A VERY BELOVED BOX A TUPD officer smelled something burning in a stairwell on the side of South Hall facing Lower Campus Road at 3:12 a.m. on Oct. 24. The officer noticed that someone had lit cardboard on fire and thrown it into the stairwell, which leads to the basement of the dormitory. Officers used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire and called the Somerville Fire Department, which responded and gave the all-clear.

SEXY HOSPITAL PATIENT>SEXY NURSE TUPD officers were dis-

An interactive map is available at tuftsdaily.com

patched to 13 Conwell Avenue in Somerville at 2 a.m. on Oct. 25 to check on a woman dressed in a French maid outfit, sitting on the steps of her house and crying.

She was wearing a costume “a week early,” TUPD Sgt. Robert McCarthy said.

The woman, who graduated from Tufts in May, had difficulty speaking, smelled of alcohol and was confused.

“She thought she was in Harvard Square,” McCarthy said. She was transported to Somerville Hospital.

— compiled by Ben Gittleson

Somerville parking restrictions frustrate students PARKING continued from page 1

permit restrictions, according to Champion, and the changed restrictions will significantly alter parking on Somerville streets near Tufts.

Streets near Tufts affected by the change include College Avenue from Powder House Square to Morrison Avenue and Boston Avenue from Pearson Avenue to Broadway.

The policy will seemingly not apply to streets running through campus, as the university administers parking regulations in school lots and streets.

“Somerville was dealing with a situation in which parking — which had always been a scarce and valued community resource — was coming under even greater stress, and therefore it made sense to alter the longstanding parking regulations,” Champion told the Daily.

But the universal nature of the new policy poses problems, Somerville Alderman Rebekah Gerwitz said, as not all neighborhoods see high demand for street parking.

“I think that we should be thoughtful about the policies that we enact in the city and make sure that they’re responses to the needs of each neighborhood,” Gerwitz told the Daily.

Still, she added, there are some positive aspects to registering cars in Somerville.

“It’s not very expensive and they’re legally parked on the street,” she said. “And then students can

park anywhere they want throughout the city and not worry about getting a ticket or finding a street that’s not permit parking.”

Junior Mike Niconchuk disagrees. He lives on Sunset Road in Somerville, already designated permit parking, and said changing his insurance would result in drastically higher fees.

His car is registered to his home in Topsfield, Mass., and he said changing its registration to Somerville — designated by his insurance company as an urban area — would raise his payments by several hundred dollars.

Niconchuk believes the new policy is just a simple way for the city to take advantage of something for which demand will not significantly decrease anytime soon.

“When I’m walking down Sunset every morning, I see at least two or three parking tickets,” he said. “It’s just a very easy way for them to capitalize on fundraising.”

Somerville is taking advantage of residents who aren’t going to change their driving and parking habits, Niconchuk said. This summer, before he worked out an arrangement to park in a house’s driveway, his street-parked car received three tickets.

“I’m either going to keep getting parking tickets or find a new place where the police don’t patrol as much,” he said of his mentality this summer.

Parking permits are expected to raise $1.75 million to $2 million in much-needed revenue annually, which will contribute to closing the city’s $12 million budget deficit.

Commuter traffic into Somerville also played a significant part in the decision, Pero said.

“We have T stations in the western and eastern parts of the cities, and the streets in those vicinities have all become permit parking over the years, because we don’t want commuters coming in from the suburbs leaving their cars here all day, clogging up the streets and then taking the T into Boston,” Pero said.

Though the new policy may pose some challenges to residents, Champion said that mandating permits is a preventative move against more serious future problems.

Some students in Somerville have gotten around resident passes by increasingly turning to one alternative offered by the city: visitor permits.

Those permits, two of which are available to all households in Somerville, allow vehicles to park in areas with permit restrictions for two days each week. The passes are confined to a certain geographical area, according to Champion.

JuniorYael Stern, who uses visitor parking passes outside her house on Teele Avenue in Somerville, said that her street does not have many occupied spaces. Time restrictions on visitor passes seem unwarranted, she said.

“It makes the rule more frustrating,” Stern said. “They do a pretty good job of discouraging [parking] if you don’t have a permit.”

continued from page 1

2008 revenue totaled $150,000 and is expected to reach $250,000 in 2009.

Though the company flourishes in culling new clients nationwide, Emergent’s roots remain at Tufts.

Pamela Goldberg, director of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program in Tufts’ Gordon Institute, said that the institute provided support throughout Emergent’s development.

“We gave them a lot of advice as they developed their business plan, and I would say that there were a few entrepreneurial faculty who gave advice, counseling and mentoring,” Goldberg said.

Hering also said that the student group Young Entrepreneurs at Tufts (YET) was integral to his group’s initial planning process.

“At the very beginning, in the fall semester of freshman year, the Young Entrepreneurs at Tufts helped us out so much in picking our business plan apart and giving us great advice on what we should do, who we should talk to and how we should grow this idea,” he said.

YET President Jason Nochlin, a junior, said that Emergent’s rankings as one of the top young companies in the country was a positive sign for the strength of the university’s entrepreneurial programs.

“It’s really cool for Tufts to have a business like that, that was started by Tufts students and got national exposure,” Nochlin said.

“It’s great for both the entrepreneurship program and our club.”

On the tails of Emergent’s success, Goldberg said that a growing number of Tufts students are showing interest in entrepreneurship courses.

“This year, we will have close to 450 students taking entrepreneurship courses,” she said. “That’s a pretty significant piece of the population.”

Goldberg said that while the founders’ young age may have proven to be a difficulty, a strong company can easily surpass such hurdles.

“There are more and more startups being created by young entrepreneurs and sometimes age is a barrier, but I think that strong leadership and strong skills tend to overcome those

Largest particle accelerator to host Boston researchers’ work CERN continued from page 1

The consortium’s work centers on ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC Apparatus) detector, one of six experiments in the LHC. Researchers in the Tufts delegation will take advantage of data gleaned from ATLAS’ tests to study specific aspects of fundamental particles.

An electrical failure led to a coolant leak within days of the LHC’s opening last year, forcing it to shut down and placing experiments on hold until now.

The LHC is set to resume normal operations next month. Last week, a preliminary test of the collider’s equipment beamed particles most of the way through the accelerator.

In LHC experiments, two beams of subatomic particles, or hadrons, are smashed together at high energy levels.

Over the past few years, the Boston group — called the Boston Muon Consortium — has helped build parts of the muon detection system for the LHC, according to Napier. Muons are negatively charged subatomic particles.

The physical construction of the system’s parts took place at Harvard, and “Tufts and Brandeis played a big role in its design,” Napier said.

Krzysztof Sliwa, a professor of physics and astronomy, heads up the Tufts team.

Napier and Simona Rolli, a team member and research associate in the departments of physics and astronomy, are most interested in using data from the experiment to verify the existence of the Higgs boson, an elementary particle that has been predicted to exist but has so far remained undetected.

The Boston researchers’ work could change this. Data confirming the existence of the Higgs boson would complete the Standard Model of particle physics, a theory that attempts to explain the existence and interac-

Ben Gittleson contributed reporting to this article.

obstacles,” Goldberg said.

While Emergent’s appearance in BusinessWeek has validated the group’s efforts, the rankings have proven advantageous in other ways.

Since the rankings came out, Emergent’s daily Web site hits have jumped from about 25 to 10,000, according to Hering, who sees this increase as having a direct correlation with the company’s profits.

“A greater amount of exposure will lead to a direct increase in sales,” he said.

Goldberg said that Tufts’ environment is highly conducive to the creation of companies such as Emergent.

“Clean energy is such an important field right now, and I think that Tufts being one of the top universities in the nation in terms of environmental sustainability makes it a rich place for that kind of opportunity to exist,” she said.

BusinessWeek is currently holding a vote to choose the top five businesses from the 25 finalists. Anyone can vote for Emergent at bit.ly/voteemergent.

tions of three or four fundamental visible particles.

Other members of the consortium are more concerned with top-quark physics and muons.

Napier said he is “not optimistic about finding the Higgs [particle] for at least a year.”

Still, he said, “there’s always room for surprises.”

Napier and Rolli have written much of ATLAS’ software and the software used to analyze data from the experiment. Napier hopes to set up a live display in Anderson Hall of the data collected from the collisions.

ATLAS experiments began last spring but were pushed back because some of the magnets that line the collider developed spots that were more resistive and would heat up during particle accelerations, eventually causing the magnets to push apart, according to Napier.

The system was repaired over the summer. “The energy [used in the collisions] will be lower than originally hoped” this time due to safety precautions, Napier said.

“People are optimistic that things will work,” he added.

The Tufts team also includes two graduate students, Samuel Hamilton and Jeffrey Wetter.

Hamilton has spent the last two summers at CERN working on the project.

Junior Matt Rosenfield, meanwhile, is helping Napier put together data displays.

In the past, Tufts faculty members have called on students to help build and design the components of ATLAS, but with the project just weeks from beginning, this kind of hands-on work will only occur if the group decides to upgrade the experiment’s technology in the future.

Rolli believes the spirit of international cooperation is very much alive at CERN, which involves thousands of scientists from around the world.

As part of the program, “you feel very much the sense of being in a team,” he said.

Administrators see problems with medical amnesty ALCOHOL continued from page 1

Tufts resources helped launch student business EMERGENT

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

NEWS

is outlined in the Code of Student Conduct and covers all disciplinary infractions, not just alcoholrelated ones.

Wong rejected the notion that fines might be an effective way to curb alcohol abuse, noting that a similar system was in place at Babson College while he worked there and it had disproportionately negative effects for economically disadvantaged students.

“The problem is, for some students, it’s a big hardship; for other students, it’s a drop in the bucket,” Wong said. “It becomes a socioeconomic issue and not always a deterrent.”

Tufts utilized a fine system for a number of years, but the university stopped it close to 10 years ago under criticism that “the university was ‘nickel and diming’ students,” Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman said in an e-mail.

Reitman echoed Wong’s belief that fines are likely to prove ineffective among wealthier students.

“There was … a concern that monetary penalties do not fall evenly across the population and that many students could just write a check without much impact on them,” he said.

Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator Bruce Ratain, a junior who serves on the Alcohol Task Force, said he objected to implementing a fine system because it could become a deterrent to call-

ing TEMS, a chief concern on the task force.

“Anything that makes students less likely to call for help is potentially dangerous,” Ratain said.

“Whether the student’s afraid of probation, afraid of a fine — it’s a similar situation.”

Ratain said he would like to see medical amnesty at Tufts coupled with deterrents to underage drinking, like “social norms marketing” and an information hotline. But he cautioned that an amnesty clause is not a cure-all to a dangerous problem.

“Changing drinking behavior isn’t just about a policy change,” Ratain said.

Reitman, who has defended Tufts’ harsher drinking policy, agreed. He stressed that “more severe penalties for offenders are not likely to directly stop abusive drinking.” Instead, only a “culture change” on campus would put the problem of excessive drinking to bed, he said.

Wong said that an amnesty policy might fail to distinguish between types of drinkers — students who simply “screwed up” and those with a more serious alcohol dependency problem.

Wong’s primary focus is identifying and helping students who fall into the latter category. Students who are written up under the current alcohol policy must meet with him, and also undergo an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test screening.

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“No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks:” This is no longer a joyous tune for CSU students.

Furlough frenzy hits California colleges California State University budget cuts cause stir among students BY

KERIANNE OKIE

Daily Editorial Board

College students generally revel in the prospect of missing class without repercussions, rejoicing over snow days and surprise class cancellations. But for students in the California State University (CSU) system, in which statewide budget cuts have led to a marked decrease in the number of classes being held, the joy is becoming increasingly bittersweet.

In an effort to reduce expenditures, the CSU system is requiring faculty and staff across its 23 campuses to take a

10 percent salary cut and forego teaching classes for two furlough days each month for the 2009-2010 academic year. These mandatory days off are one attempt to confront a shrinking budget amid the national recession, which has hit California’s state budget particularly hard.

Erik Fallis, media relations specialist at the CSU chancellor’s office, said that furloughs are one of a number of measures that the state is taking to reduce the budget by their target of $564 million.

“Eighty-five percent of the CSU opera-

tional budget goes to salaries, so we obviously had to do something in salaries,” Fallis told the Daily.

Fallis explained that when looking into ways to save money, the CSU negotiated with the various employees’ unions to figure out the best option.

“Most of the unions, including our two largest, which was our faculty union and our … employees union, decided to go with furloughs,” Fallis said.

While the salary reductions have saved the CSU approximately $275 million, the see FURLOUGHS, page 4

Seeking to raise awareness, community forum to address sexual violence tonight

BY WILLIAM C. WINTER AND WILLIAM K. WINTER

Daily Staff Writers

Approximately 16 percent of women living in the United States are reported to have been victims of rape, based on data from the Department of Justice. However, since rape victims often keep quiet about their experience out of fear and embarrassment, it’s possible that this statistic is actually much higher. Recognizing how difficult it can be for rape survivors to speak out, Prevention, Awareness and Consent at Tufts (P.A.C.T) will hold its second Sexual Violence Community Forum tonight.

According to Tufts Sexual Violence Resource Coordinator Elaine Theodore, “We exist in a sexualized culture in which objectifying women is normalized; this makes it really difficult for both men and women to call each other out on their behavior.” The Forum aims to help students overcome this difficulty in order to address issues that are rarely discussed in public but can seriously impact their personal lives.

The two-hour discussion, starting at 7:30 in the Metcalf Hall lounge, will highlight changes in on-campus policies involving rape and sexual assault. According to Theodore, the university’s sexual assault policies are quickly evolving.

“So much has gone on since last spring.

I think students will be pleasantly surprised with how much progress has been made,” she said.

The event does not only seek to inform

attendees about policy changes; it also hopes to educate them about the various forms of sexual assault. According to the Tufts Counseling and Mental Health Service’s Web site, sexual assault isn’t limited to unwanted intercourse; the term also includes the act of caressing another’s breasts or genitals without explicit permission.

“For the most part, people are very unclear about what constitutes sexual assault and what doesn’t. It’s really concerning that some people only become aware of what happened to them when they hear other people talking about their own stories,” Theodore said.

The event also seeks to empower attendees that are rape victims.

“Without exception, the survivor remains in a place of power when reporting. If an assault did occur, we want students to know that there are resources for them if it happened last night, last week or even last year,” Theodore said.

The first discourse on sexual assault policies at Tufts was held last year. The event featured a panel of university officials including Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman, Judicial Affairs’ Officer Veronica Carter and Medical Director Dr. Margaret Higham.

According to Theodore, about 80 students attended the event.

“Last year, we had people in the audience who were survivors of violence and people who had no idea what was happening and were brought by a friend,” she said.

Students are being encouraged to work alongside the university’s deans to change

JAMES CHOCA/TUFTS DAILY

Health Service offers a variety of services to help students avoid and cope with sexual assault. sexual assault policies. “[The] students’ role is critical; they are being listened to.

Students can really see what’s going on and [policy changes] aren’t away from student’s eyes and voices,” Theodore said.

Sophomore Laura Panadero said she see SEXUAL ASSAULT FORUM, page 4

dmit it or not, most of us stress over and debate about relationship issues, whether it be through whispering during TDC rehearsals, getting advice from roommates or “doing work” in Tisch.

Breakups, hookups and the awkward-inbetween-phase (or what have you) are interesting to gossip about while ignoring our textbooks, but we can learn a lot from relationships outside the Tufts gossip-bubble, too.

And no, I’m not talking about splitting a bottle of wine and listening to your crazy aunt’s dating stories.

Allow me to let you in on one of my favorite guilty pleasures. True confession: I’m a huge sap for the Weddings/Celebrations section of The New York Times.

Don’t write me off just yet as a little girl with a princess fantasy — it’s not about the marriage thing.

Ignore the handful of plain-old, boring wedding listings and focus on the longer (admittedly cheesy) feature stories on how each couple met and ended up walking down the aisle.

I see the articles as a sneak peek into the lives of people I’ll never meet, from the feminist author who used to harshly criticize big weddings to the woman who wrote “The Rules” to a formerly homeless couple who tied the knot. These people make fascinating human-interest stories.

But of course, don’t forget the relationship drama, or in this case, all the backlash and sociological dissection regarding these wedding articles.

Current Times columnist David Brooks devoted a whole section of his book, “Bobos in Paradise: the New Upper Class and How They Got There,” to analyzing the newspaper’s marriage announcements and their unequal representation of members of a particular social class.

In 84 percent of marriages in the Times, Brooks points out, either the bride or groom comes from an upper-middle class family and has a parent in the professional class.

He goes further, classifying all the brides and grooms as either predators (read: prestigious MBAs at top financial firms) or nurturers (former Peace Corps volunteers and elementary school teachers). Despite these distinctions, they are always overachievers who strive in their announcements to seem as accomplished as possible yet still “normal,” down-to-earth and fun-loving.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I realize that the Times’ wedding announcements evolved from a WASP-y, elitist, society page for New Yorkers. The section tries to be meritocratic and attempts to diversify from its upper-class history, but it’s still “the” place to brag about brand-name educations, bottom-rung financial jobs at prestigious banks,and daddy’s latest Fortune 500 company takeover.

I get that. Peg me as one of Brooks’ new yuppies, but if you look past the occasional posh vestige, the Times’ marriage announcements offer insights and examples into all sorts of relationships, from high-school sweethearts to third marriages to the couple that broke up four times over 20 years and still managed to make things work.

I’m sure the editors are aware of the criticism they receive, too. They didn’t neglect to cover Ivanka Trump’s wedding this week, but the leading feature on Friday was an offbeat story about Regis Philbin’s failed attempt to set up one of his show’s production coordinators.

After later attempts at online dating, the poor coordinator in the story fell flat on her face while pulling out a picture of her dog on a first date … And you thought you had an embarrassing time? Just think, the woman in the story never thought the guy she went out with would call afterwards, yet three years later, he is now gushing about her in their wedding announcement.

Emily Maretsky is a senior majoring in engineering psychology. She can be reached at Emily.Maretsky@tufts.edu.

THE TUFTS DAILY

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Sexual assault has affected other Boston area schools SEXUAL ASSAULT FORUM continued from page 3

would like to learn more about regulations regarding rape and sexual assault.

“It would be interesting to hear the difference between the law and what Tufts’ policy is,” she said.

Erin Shanahan, a sophomore, believes that knowledge of Tufts’ guidelines is essential to protect herself and her friends. She said that it is important to “understand the policy so if [a sex crime] happens to someone you know, you know what to do.”

Sexual assault and rape, while not widely publicized, do occur at Boston-area colleges.

According to The Daily Free Press, Boston University’s (BU) student newspaper, a BU student was allegedly sexually assaulted by a group of men at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology two years ago. The article’s author wrote that this was the third reported sexual assault of a BU student during a two-month span. The two other incidents occurred near BU’s campus: one was on a street a few blocks away from the campus and the other occurred in a dormitory’s bathroom.

Fortunately, college students around the nation have taken matters into their own hands and formed groups designed to implement policy reform. Most notably, California Polytechnic State University has an organization known as the Student Assault-Free Environment Resource, which is devoted to examining its institution’s sexual assault guidelines. The group also hosts several annual events, such as the “Run to Remember,” “ReMEmber Week” and the “I Heart Consensual Sex Campaign,” designed to raise awareness and money for their cause.

Ultimately, Theodore hopes that tonight’s event will encourage both those who have been victimized by sexual assault and those who haven’t to speak out.

“Everyone has permission to look out for one another,” she said.

FEATURES

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Budget cuts lead to fewer, more crowded classes FURLOUGHS continued from page 3

decision has been met with opposition on the campus level, especially because they have not stopped the schools from effecting a marked increase in tuition.

Protests have been occurring frequently on state university campuses across California, and an estimated 5,000 students attended a rally at the University of California, Berkeley this past Saturday — although that school is not part of the California State University System.

CSU students say the effects of the furloughs have been readily apparent.

“It’s not fair that we’re paying more money for a significant amount of less class,” Julianne Reed, a junior at San Francisco State University, told the Daily. “I’ve had midterms and it felt like I hadn’t learned anything because I’ve had no class.”

Charlotte Bell, a junior at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, feels the same way.

“Last week I went to school for a total of four hours and that was ridiculous,” Bell told the Daily. “And teachers have literally just scratched whole sections out of our courses because they can’t cover everything.”

Each campus decides specifically how the furloughs will be carried out, with some holding campus-wide closings and others allowing the professors themselves to decide which days to take off. Some professors have opted to continue teaching most of their classes, pay or no pay.

“There are quite a few who are still holding class,” Bell said. “I haven’t encountered anyone whose teachers are not canceling any days, but each teacher I think is supposed to cancel six class periods; a lot of them are only doing about three or four.”

Even if professors do decide to hold classes in spite of furloughs, the budget cuts are causing other difficulties with instruction.

“My art teacher decided to still have class, but since it’s a figure drawing class

the school will not provide a figure for four days out of the semester. So it’s kind of hard to get around that,” Reed said.

“A lot of classes were dropped, a lot of teachers were fired. So for instance, I had my whole schedule planned out in May and then [four] of my classes were dropped because of the cuts. The classes are definitely impacted because people are required to have 12 units for being a full-time student, so the teachers are trying to allow as many people in their classes as possible. One of my classes has [roughly] 100 people in it and there are only 75 seats,” Reed said.

Fallis explained that the CSU is attempting to address these problems, acknowledging that fewer classes would indeed cause crowding, but pointing out that this had more to do with budget cuts aside from the furloughs.

“A lot of classes were dropped, a lot of teachers were fired. So for instance, I had my whole schedule planned out in May and then [four] of my classes were dropped because of the cuts.”

Julianne Reed junior at San Francisco State University “We’re trying to minimize the impact,” Fallis said. “What’s probably going to be the hardest thing for students is the fact that they may have more trouble getting into particular course sections because we won’t be able to offer quite as many course sections because of the reduced budget.

“So I think that that’s more an impact of the other cuts that are having to occur around this, more than something that’s driven by the furloughs in particular,” he continued. “But yes,

clearly, if we have a $564 million reduction, if universities are being asked to make these reductions, it will have an impact on students, but we’re trying to minimize that impact — especially when it comes to their progress to degrees — as much as possible.”

While many students remain upset about the furlough days, Bell and Reed admitted that they do have their benefits.

“I [had] a four-day weekend because I have furlough days. [My friend] had a week off last week so she went to New York,” Reed said. “We like it, but we don’t like liking it.”

Bell said some students were glad to have the free time. “A lot of students are actually really into having the days off,” she said. “I’m kind of upset about the paying more and not having as much class, and I think that is frustrating, but when the day comes and you can sleep in you always take it with a positive attitude.”

In addition to cutting payment to staff, Fallis noted that the CSU has taken a number of other measures to reduce expenditures.

“We also have done a number of smaller things that we started actually last year to try to get ahead of this. That included curtailing travel, deferring a number of purchases and maintenance unless they were absolutely critical, and it involved a sort of a soft hiring freeze where positions remained open unless they were critical to the mission of the university,” he said. “Wherever we could we were reducing expenditures coming into this next year.”

Bell said she understands why the cuts have occurred, but she was especially critical of the state’s decision to solve its budget crisis by reaching so deeply into education.

“I think they could have figured something else out,” Bell said. “I think there are a lot of different ways to handle the budget other than just simply cutting the days that the students go to school and going straight to education.”

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Arts & Living

5

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HALLOWEEN EVENTS PREVIEW

DEREK SCHLOM | I BLAME POP CULTURE

On being ‘serious’

T

PIFEEDBACK.COM

”The Rocky Horror Picture Show” offers Halloween night fun at Loews Harvard Square.

Local theaters serve up tricks and treats BY

KEITH HINTON

Daily Staff Writer

No Halloween plans yet? Have no fear (or have a little bit of fear), because on Friday and Saturday nights the Somerville Theatre, Brattle Theatre and Loews Harvard Square have events for

Jukebox the Ghost debuts fresh material at Middle East Piano-rock trio Jukebox the Ghost, having first gained the attention of many Tufts students as the opening act for Ben Folds at a Tufts-exclusive Somerville Theatre show last semester, played a set of mostly new material to an enthusiastic and receptive audience at the Middle East Downstairs on Saturday.

The crowd, mostly unfamiliar with the unreleased material, bobbed and clapped along to the new tunes nevertheless, quickly picking up on the catchier hooks.

The band admitted to having had a bit of apprehension at predominantly Splaying songs that their fans wouldn’t know.

Drummer Jesse Kristin said before the show, “This will be our third show playing [songs from the upcoming album,] and we kind of feel like jerks doing it. I mean, we love the new stuff, and we’ve been getting good reactions from audiences so far, but I, for one, usually hate it when I go to see a band and they play all new stuff instead of the songs I know.”

Pianist and vocalist Ben Thornewill expressed a bit more confidence. “The new stuff is high-enough energy that it’s sort of immediate, and I think that’ll make up for [the new songs] being unknown,” he said.

Jukebox the Ghost faithfully delivered on its promise of energetic and compelling songs, so enthusiastically that Thornewill even broke a key on his piano during the show. New tunes, such as “Half Crazy,” “The Stars” and “Schizophrenia,” saw the band executing tight melodic runs and rhythmic breakdowns, while Thornewill and guitarist/vocalist Tommy Siegel harmonized flawlessly.

The band explored new sonic territory with synth-laden songs and guitar effects, but made sure to return to more familiar ground when playing its older tracks. Precise and impressive renditions of older favorites like “Hold It In,” “Static” and “Victoria” kept the audience engaged and singing along — especially on the final refrains of “Good Day,” the show’s triumphant closer.

— by Josh Zeidel

the young, the old and the undead.

Over at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead 2” (1987) kicks off the festivities in classic, horror-film style.

This film follows its hero Ash (Bruce Campbell) as he fights for his life again against zombies and other supernatu-

ral forces of evil from a secluded mountain cabin. “Evil Dead 2” proceeds at a frenetic pace with a minimalist plot, but Raimi and Campbell deliver a sick, stylish and fiendishly funny movie in the process. see HALLOWEEN, page 6

INTERVIEW | JUKEBOX THE GHOST

Jukebox the Ghost asserts merits of little formal training

BY JOSH

ZEIDEL

Daily Editorial Board

Piano rockers Jukebox the Ghost played with Wheat and The Motion Sick at the Middle East Downstairs last Saturday night. The Daily had a chance to sit down with Ben Thornewill (keyboards, vocals) and Jesse Kristin (drums) before the show to talk about their new album, musical influences and the Book of Revelations: Josh Zeidel: Last year, you released “Let Live and Let Ghosts” (2008) which came off sounding remarkably polished for an indie debut album. And yet you recorded it in only eight days.

Looking back on it, were there things you wish you could have done in the studio that you didn’t have time to do?

Ben Thornewill: Absolutely. It’s funny because the record did sound pretty good … recorded in eight [days] and mixed in five or six. There’s lots we wish we had done, but it’s hard to look back and say, “We should have done this or that,” because we’re so used to the recording. But we’re working on a record now; we’ve got a lot more time for experimentation.

JZ: And how’s that process coming along? What will the new album sound like?

BT: The process is going great, we are four weeks in and we have two weeks to go. We’re working with a producer named Peter Katis, who’s worked on Interpol, The National, the latest Mates of State [album] … We’re in Tarquin Studios, which is a beautiful studio.

It’s going to sound awesome and classic and big and more mature than our first record. And we have no idea when it’ll come out, probably sometime in the spring.

COURTESY OF SETH KALLEN

In their spare time, the white-T-shirt clad members of Jukebox the Ghost enjoy climbing on buildings.

JZ: A lot of your songs seem preoccupied with the apocalypse, and sometimes reference hypothetical, direct dialogues with God. Do you consider yourselves to be religious or particularly inspired by faith, or is it more a philosophical preoccupation?

BT: None of us are religious people, but Tommy [Siegel, guitar and vocals] spent a lot of time reading the Book of Revelations.

Jesse Kristin: Yeah, I think he was mainly reacting to the imagery in it, he wasn’t mocking it or criticizing it, but he also wasn’t so much inspired by it, see JUKEBOX, page 7

he purpose of this column, ostensibly, is for me to vent through the lens of pop culture about my problems and neuroses. But my issues don’t hold a candle to those of Larry Gopnik, the protagonist of “A Serious Man” (2009), the hilarious, moving, odd and deeply puzzling new film from Joel and Ethan Coen.

Larry, a physics professor in 1960s Minnesota, hits a bit of a rough patch in the two weeks leading up to his pothead son’s Bar Mitzvah. His wife is leaving him for a holier-than-thou jerk while his daughter steals money from his wallet to save up for a forbidden nose job. His deadbeat brother is too busy gambling, soliciting prostitutes and draining a gargantuan cyst on his neck to move out of Larry’s house.

A failing student is alternately bribing him and threatening to sue him for defamation, and his potential tenure is being put in jeopardy by an anonymous smear campaign. And that’s just the beginning of the pile-up. Seriously.

Larry, a devout Jew, seeks guidance from his temple’s three rabbis in an attempt to find signs or clues about God’s intentions.

Why has his life come to this? What does he need to do to be a “serious man,” as his wife’s new boyfriend describes himself?

How should he get in God’s good graces?

Does God even care about humans?

The questions are major, and it’s no spoiler to say that the film does little to answer them — because, I mean, to do so would be to pretty much figure out the meaning of life — but I actually found some clarity about my own existence amid the chaos of Larry’s breakdown.

I obviously related to Larry’s son dutifully practicing his Haftorah portion (umpteen voice cracks included) and struggling through the banality of Hebrew School when all he wants to do is listen to Jefferson Airplane on his transistor radio (for me it was Death Cab for Cutie on my iPod, but same difference). But what I can’t seem to shake about the film is Larry’s search for meaning and purpose.

For Larry, being a “serious man” doesn’t just mean being considered worthy in God’s eyes; it entails having accomplished something, having studied, thought and felt deeply. Religious context aside — as hard as that is, considering the film tackles pretty much every significant Jewish stereotype from schnozes to guilt-induced nightmares — I’ve considered life’s big questions, particularly when working on problem sets while deprived of sleep and hopped up on caffeine and precious candy. A sampling: What am I doing with my life? Why am I even in college? Though I have figured out the answer to the latter: higher earning potential. And, like, learning and stuff.

The topics I write about here are kind of frivolous and superficial, but I do seek to think and feel deeply. Instead of looking for guidance from a higher power in my quest to become a “serious man,” I’m gleaning advice from my professors, peers and courses here at Tufts. My uncertainty hasn’t quite reached the level of Larry’s midlife crisis, so the problems have more immediate, concrete solutions. What do I want to be when I grow up (besides a fireman or the President of the United States, duh)? What do I want to major in? How do I forge meaningful connections with the people around me?

I may reach the point of an existential dilemma like Larry’s in the future, but as of now, I’m content to solve the puzzles in front of me. As Larry says (in a dream sequence, natch) in “A Serious Man,” “It’s not fair to blame Hashem for everything.

Sometimes you’ve got to help yourself.”

Derek Schlom is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at Derek.Schlom@tufts.edu.

THE TUFTS DAILY

6

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

ARTS & LIVING

MOVIE REVIEW

Thurman deserves time out for overacting in ‘Motherhood’

BY JORDAN

TEICHER

Daily Staff Writer

Uma Thurman’s career hit its high point in 2004. Fresh off the release of “Kill Bill: Vol. 2” (2004), the actress

Motherhood Starring Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards, Minnie Driver, Samantha Bee Directed by Katherine Dieckmann received widespread acclaim from critics. In the five years since then, Thurman has fallen from the spotlight, sputtering in romantic and comedic flops such as “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” (2006). Unfortunately, Thurman’s latest acting effort in “Motherhood” (2009) continues her downward spiral.

She stars as Eliza Welch, a do-itall mother who has lost her sense of individuality. For Eliza, every day flies by the same way: wake up, take care of her two young kids, clean, cook and do chores. Her husband (Anthony Edwards) spends most of his time at work and helps out with the kids minimally, leaving all the grunt work to his underappreciated wife. The film takes place over the course of one day, as Eliza is pushed to the brink. She tries to prepare for her daughter’s sixth birthday party, meet a writing contest deadline and deal with the chaos that is New York City all while completing the daily chores of motherhood.

There are a number of reasons why the film does not succeed, but a lack of effort is not one of them. None of the actors give lazy performances and the script tries very hard to be simultaneously heartfelt and funny.

Unfortunately, effort alone doesn’t produce a quality project. When an action film fizzles, there are explosions and shootouts to carry the viewer through. When a comedic drama fails to be comedic or dramatic, it’s about as interesting as watching paint dry.

Thurman overacts right from the beginning. She frets, agonizes and complains to the extreme. She looks the part of the loving, disheveled mother, but her personality is a complete caricature.

ROTTENTOMATOES.COM

“Look at me working on my writing in public with my kid in a stroller – am I not a brooding intellectual who also has a softer, maternal side? Am I likeable yet?”

Edwards isn’t terrible as her husband, but he’s not exactly great either.

In fact, the only good acting comes from Minnie Driver. Viewers may remember her as Matt Damon’s love interest in “Good Will Hunting” (1997), and here she excels in her supporting role as Eliza’s best friend Sheila. With every second Driver appears onscreen, the movie improves; she is so charming and natural that viewers wonder whether “Motherhood” would have been better with her in the title role instead of Thurman.

Though the acting is awful, the script is what really brings the movie down.

Writer/Director Katherine Dieckmann fills her film with enough neuroticism to make Woody Allen blush, and some of the dialogue feels like it was written

with a dictionary at hand. The concept of motherhood is so universal that simpler, more realistic dialogue would have packed a stronger punch.

Also, by setting the film over the course of only one day, Dieckman has to rush through plot points to create tension. In the climax, Eliza makes a questionable decision after all the stress from the day gets under her skin, but the viewer is not emotionally invested enough to care.

Only one scene manages to captivate the audience. A handsome Indian messenger arrives at Eliza’s door to drop off an envelope just as she returns home from running errands. He offers to help carry her bags up the stairs to her apartment and afterwards, she lets him in for a drink. The two talk about

writing until the topic of conversation switches to music. Eliza plays him a rock song that reminds her of past days, before motherhood dominated her life. Then they begin dancing in her living room — nothing overtly sexual or choreographed, just two people jumping and spinning like wild animals.

Dieckmann lets the music control the scene, eliminating dialogue as the song progressively gets louder and Eliza and the messenger keep jumping closer together, suffusing the situation with sexual tension.

Regrettably, there are not enough raw scenes like this to pump life into the movie. For the most part, “Motherhood” stalls on the screen and is nothing more than a below-average dramedy.

Judging by past years, Halloween events in Somerville, Cambridge are to die for HALLOWEEN continued from page 5

If 1980s horror doesn’t sound like your brand of Halloween candy, Brattle Theatre is also showing “Trick ‘r Treat” (2008) as part of its Halloween double feature. Starring Anna Paquin of “True Blood” (2008) and “X-Men” (2000) fame, as well as Brian Cox from “The Bourne Supremacy” (2004) and “Zodiac”(2007), this film finds Michael Dougherty making his directorial debut with a chilling tale about the origins of Halloween.

The film focuses on the inhabitants of one small town who learn the dangers of not respecting tradition on All Hallow’s Eve. At the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, Halloween weekend will boast more than movies. The theater is showing “Paranormal Activity” (2009) and the brilliantly stupid “Zombieland” (2009), but that’s just the beginning.

On Friday, the Somerville Theatre will present “The Big Broadcast,” a twopart radio show featuring Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band and a cameo from Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone.

The first part of the radio show will be “The Frank Cyrano Byfar Hour,” which harkens back to the golden age of radio, complete with music and spooky Halloween fun. Afterwards, the Big Broadcast will present an untold story of a supposed 1938 Martian invasion, from Boston’s perspective. The tale is to be based on CBS’ Oct. 30, 1938 “War of the Worlds” broadcast, narrated by Orson Welles, which caused some listeners to panic because they thought the fictional story about an

SLASHFILM.COM

Prepare for a scare with Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead 2” at the Brattle Theatre. alien invasion was real.

The Big Broadcast will unveil what happened when the Martians invaded Boston, and how an MIT scientist, a North End mobster and the Massachusetts National Guard were able to deliver the deathblow to the invading aliens.

According to Ian Judge, the Somerville Theatre’s general manager, Halloween weekend has brought big crowds to the

theater in the past, and he expects a similar turnout this year. “People can get pretty into it,” Judge said. “Every year, we have this one group of people that comes in these great elaborate costumes. One year, one of the guys came as a demented butcher, completely covered in blood. It was quite a costume.”

For a more audience participation-

friendly Halloween, Loews Harvard Square will offer the unforgettable “Rocky Horror Picture Show” on both Friday and Saturday nights. “Rocky Horror” first-timers should beware that the experience is part movie, part performance, and according to Director Gary Coreenbalm, a 100-percent blast. “It’s a very interactive performance,” said Coreenbalm. “The movie plays on the screen while our actors act the movie out on stage as well. Our regulars will shout out lines, and throw props on stage as well. It really is a lot of fun.” But the “Rocky Horror” is not for the shy or the meek. “Before the show we grab a bunch of people who have never been to the show before and have contests on stage,” said Coreenbalm. “Whoever wins the various contests gets inserted into our performance of the big wedding scene at the beginning of the movie.” Those who want them should grab “Rocky Horror” tickets quickly, because the two big Halloween weekend shows typically sell out every year.

The “Rocky Horror Picture Show” experience takes place at Loews Harvard Square every Saturday at midnight, and the show is never exactly the same. “The nature of the show, the contests we play and such things are all very dependent on who is emceeing that particular night,” said Coreenbalm.

“Sometimes we have a theme night.

One Saturday I remember we had a Star Wars night where we edited the film and the performance and added some scenes from Star Wars. A local group [that has] completely accurate Storm Trooper costumes came to that show in full gear, which was really great.”

THE TUFTS DAILY

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

ARTS & LIVING

7

Piano rockers use biblical imagery as inspiration JUKEBOX continued from page 5

as really interested in it.

BT: It’s a tongue-in-cheek reaction to the Book of Revelations, which, taken out of context, has some pretty ridiculous things in it. But no, I’d say none of us are particularly religious at all.

JZ: What are your musical backgrounds like? Have you received formal musical education, and how has that affected your sound?

BT: I’m the only one with real formal musical education; I went to [George Washington University] on a classical scholarship, studying jazz and classical composition. Tommy in high school had his own band, played jam-band-type stuff. Jesse was a drummer in punk bands, and I led him away from that dark, dark path.

JK: And how has that affected my drumming style? I think it’s made me much better, actually, not having a formal education.

BT: Because you end up writing more creative parts … you know a studio drummer when you hear one. I mean, Berklee [School of Music], right, there’s a bit of a Berklee sound that a lot of the musicians coming out of that school have. They’re very technically proficient, but often you can sort of predict what they’re going to play in a given situation.

JK: For example, Apollo Sunshine is a band we really like a lot, and you can sort of hear their formal music education in their playing style.

JZ: Speaking of bands you like, who are your biggest influences? And what

COURTESY DAVEY WILSON

“Staring contest? Trust me, we’ll win.” music have you been listening to recently?

BT: I’ve been really influenced lately

by Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman both as songwriters and performers.

Jesse’s been digging a lot of The Avett Brothers.

JK: Yeah, and Tommy’s been into Deerhoof. We kinda fuse punk, jam bands and classical and jazz piano.

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JZ: As an up-and-coming band on a smaller, independent label, do you ever feel shut out by the mainstream music industry? Or do you feel that it’s advantageous not to be on a major label?

BT: In our position, it’s been pretty advantageous not to be on a major label — we’re not even on a label right now; we have distribution through a label, but for the most part we’ve done it all ourselves in a very new-music-industry

way. We have management and a booking agent, but we don’t have any big, figurehead organization. Hopefully this new record will be on a label, either major or indie, but it doesn’t really make a huge difference these days. Back in the ’70s that would have been a big deal, because the industry then was entirely major labels, but it actually doesn’t matter for a band our size and with our aspirations if we’re on a major label or not.

THE TUFTS DAILY

8

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 Vittoria Elliott Editorialists Nina Grossman Opinion Editors Andrew Rohrberger Molly Rubin Erin Marshall Editorial Cartoonists Alex Miller

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

EDITORIAL | LETTERS

EDITORIAL

Cutting costs, compromising education Universities both public and private are struggling to deal with the financial realities of this national recession without compromising their commitment to education. Economic constraints have made budget cuts unavoidable for most universities, and the California State University (CSU) system, hamstrung by a particularly tight state budget, has cut costs in ways that directly harm student education. The CSU’s decision was unwise, but all the blame cannot be placed on the schools, subject as they are to California’s capricious state funding.

In response to major funding cuts from the state, professors in the CSU system are now required to take off two teaching days per month and accept a 10 percent salary cut. Students’ testimonies indicate that they are feeling the effects of this decision, and they are not pleased. Teachers faced with less classroom time are forced to slash entire sections from their curricula. In short, students are losing out.

In addition to the furloughs, lecturers are being laid off and entire courses are being cut. Students find themselves learning less than they were, now in overflowing lecture halls. A degree from a CSU school may well become less valuable than it was just a year ago.

Although some professors have generously chosen to teach classes for which they are not being paid, universities cannot rely on the charity of their pro-

fessors to ensure that students learn what they are paying to learn.

The purpose of universities is to educate. Why, then, have state schools in California chosen to cut costs in a way that directly and dramatically harms students’ learning? Universities should prioritize the academic experience, and when facing financial constraints it should be their highest goal to cut costs in sectors that do not compromise academics.

Tufts is a private university, not subject to state budget restraints, but it too has been dealt a tough hand by the recession. The university has put a premium on finding ways to cut costs that do not compromise students’ intellectual welfare. Facing major endowment losses, Tufts focused on cutting spending not directly tied to the classroom.

When planning Orientation 2009, Tufts looked for ways to “save money without hurting programming,” Joseph Golia, director of the Office for Campus Life and co-director of undergraduate orientation, told the Daily. Instead of giving away goodie bags of Tufts paraphernalia, orientation offered students deals and giveaways from local businesses looking for a promotional opportunity.

Overall, Tufts managed to reduce its orientation budget by $50,000. If each of the CSU’s 23 campuses could achieve this level of savings, the system would retain over $1 million.

This would still be a drop in the bucket. Additionally, as a private institution with a more than $1 billion endowment, Tufts does not face budget cuts of the same magnitude as those felt by the CSU system.

The biggest issue here is the $564 million in cuts that California’s state government has levied on the CSU. The state’s frustratingly idiosyncratic tax code suffers from one particularly glaring — and costly — eccentricity.

Proposition 13, passed in 1978, reset assessed home values to 1975 levels, barred property tax from exceeding 1 percent of a home’s value and, most importantly, stated that a property’s assessed value cannot rise by more than 2 percent per year. This leaves owners of multimillion-dollar homes paying taxes that resemble the rates from decades past — and it forces California to look elsewhere for income. To income tax, for example. And to cuts to its education budget. Thanks to Proposition 13, the state with one of the highest average property values in the country is shooting itself in the foot.

The CSU system should avoid cutting back on funding that goes directly to the classroom. More importantly, California should take a hard look at its tax code, and realize that solid education is more important than the rights of lavish estate holders to keep their taxes unreasonably low.

DEVON COLMER

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

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OFF THE HILL | HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Smarter affirmative action

BY EDITORIAL BOARD The Harvard Crimson

A recent study conducted and released by Princeton sociology professor Thomas Espenshade has unearthed alarming racial disparities in the SAT scores of those admitted to elite American universities. Epsenshade’s research suggests that Asian Americans with perfect 1600s in 1997 were being accepted into top colleges at the same rate as whites scoring 1460 and African Americans scoring 1150 — a disturbing 450-point discrepancy.

These statistics underline the outsized role that the color of one’s skin plays in the college admissions process and highlight the need for a fundamental transition of American affirmativeaction policies toward a socioeconomically oriented program to supplant the race-based status quo.

Granted, due to the educational

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.

rewards of a culturally diverse learning environment in which students are forced to interact with students of different life experiences, there is still room for race to be a factor in the college admissions process. However, it should cease to hold the dominant place it currently enjoys. Universities should recognize that, while race-based admissions are an effective way to guarantee a certain measure of diversity, socioeconomic-based preference is a better way to guarantee fairness and a meaningful range of experiences among their student bodies.

It should be the goal of our nation’s universities to cultivate a society in which all are granted an equal opportunity to succeed, and there are few tools more potent with which to address inequality than higher education. And while race still plays a role in determining an individual’s prospects in current American society, socioeco-

nomic status is an even more meaningful determinant.

President Obama’s daughters Sasha and Malia, for example, are far less in need of affirmative action than many white children living in poverty in the hills of Appalachia. The President himself has stated as much, declaring during the presidential campaign that affirmative action ought to operate “in such a way where some of our children who are advantaged aren’t getting more favorable treatment than a poor white kid who has struggled more.”

Due to its role as a leader among universities, Harvard ought to take the initiative in refashioning affirmative action along the lines of Obama’s postracial vision. Race-based affirmative action has played an important role over the course of its four-decade existence. But socioeconomic-based affirmative action is now the more effective way to fight for social justice.

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.

THE TUFTS DAILY

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

9

OP-ED

The faces of violence at Tufts BY

KRIS COOMBS, JR. AND KHUDEJHA ASGHAR

Domestic Violence Awareness Month, October, is geared toward spreading awareness that domestic and sexual assault and violence are serious societal concerns that can affect everyone, regardless of stratifying categories such as race, class, gender, religion, political beliefs and sexual orientation. They are issues that must be addressed. By us.

Right here. And right now.

There, we said it. Yet another global problem is thrown at the student population, as if it single-handedly had the magical ability to change the hearts and minds of millions of people worldwide or the institutional power to change or strengthen legislation. This isn’t uncommon for our generation, and especially for our school, where many students spend as much — or, in some cases, more — time talking about the problems facing us and our world as they do actually working to solve or helping to solve them.

But we’re not here to rant about or glorify the actions of some students over others. We are writing this op-ed because this is an issue that could affect us — all of us. For most of us, it probably already has. And for the rest of us?

It definitely will. Whether by witnessing the side effects of an abusive relationship, helping a friend cope with scars from an abusive childhood that last a lifetime and surface every time he or she tries to be intimate or being directly involved with a couple whose relationship is abusive and/ or violent, domestic and sexual assault and violence is inescapable. While it is a larger problem that takes more than the efforts of one or a few to outright stop these situations from occurring, we can influence and help decide on policies meant to protect victims and deter aggressors.

I’m sure many of you might be thinking something along the lines of “How is this more of our problem than anyone else’s?” or “What if you’re just another typical activist-oriented Tufts student trying to get me to go to one more event or rally around one more cause?” Well, if personal accounts do not work, there are always facts. We’ll start with the more well-known statistics first, and move on to some you might not know.

Fact: On average, one in four women at a college or university will be sexually assaulted or raped.

Think: If you lined up your four best female friends, know that one of them will likely be a victim. Who will it be? Do you want to play that guessing game for the rest of your college career, if not your life?

Fact: The 18 to 24 age bracket represents around 12 percent of the U.S. population, whereas it represents 42 percent of the reported cases of violence committed by a boyfriend or girlfriend. Fifty-seven percent of cases of sexual assault or rape occur on dates.

Think: That’s us, ladies and gentlemen. And all those supposed lovers’ quarrels may be indicative of more than you think. No relationship is without its road bumps, but make sure that what you’re witnessing isn’t the sign of something much, much worse.

Fact: Around 75 percent of victims knew their attackers (estimates range from 62 to 90 percent, and many stay between 70 and 80 percent) and about 42 percent told no one about the incident. Don’t get too optimistic about what you think the inverse means; only about 5 percent of rapes are reported to the police — a statistic that didn’t change from 1980 to 2000, and likely hasn’t changed since.

Think: Remember those four female friends you lined up earlier? Well, for the one likely to be a victim, chances are one of your buddies is the perpetrator. And people wonder why these things often go unreported, especially if 84 percent of men who are accused of rape think that what they did was not rape. Who are you going to believe?

Fact: Seventy-five percent of the men and fifty-five percent of the women involved in acquaintance rapes were drinking or taking drugs just before the attack.

Think: Yeah, we’re a college campus, and let’s face it: Drinking is part of many of our social lives, and when you’re going out at night, the end goal is commonly to not go home alone. Additionally, when you get drunk, you’re much more likely to say or do things you wouldn’t when sober. (Peeing on a wall, anyone?) So a lot of people

COURTESY CHRITYADVANTAGE.COM/SHELTER_INCUSMWRN

come dressed to impress, sexually hyped up, then after a few drinks they start to lose inhibitions and the ability to tell the difference between the subtle yes or no that could make or break the night.

Of course, it’s a double-edged sword. While drinking lowers those inhibitions and could make it easier for guys to make a first move, in many cases they also report feeling more aggressive. To top it all off, many report perceiving women who drink as sexually looser and more active than women who don’t. Now, rather than looking at alcohol as the excuse for behavior, perhaps we should consider that maybe men drink — and encourage women to drink — to ease their own consciences, and blame everything on the alcohol later on.

After all, he didn’t really mean to do it; he was drunk, and that excuses everything. That narrative certainly can’t be applied to anything else…

Fact: Twenty-two percent of men experience some sort of domestic violence during their lifetime.

Think: Women are not the only victims of domestic violence. Both heterosexual and homosexual men are victims of domestic violence in both romantic and familial relationships, but are much less likely to report abuse or seek help. Violence is cyclical — without proper support and counseling, victims can become abusers.

Fact: Ten percent of men are victims of rape; seventyone percent of these victims were assaulted before age 18.

Think: If you lined up 10 of your male friends, one of them is or will be a victim of rape. Unfortunately, society largely ignores the issue of sexual assault and abuse in boys and men — these victims are conditioned to feel shame and can act out in self-destructive ways, including becoming perpetrators of violence. As students on this campus, we must deconstruct the image of a man and the constructed connection between masculinity, power and invincibility to create an environment where men feel comfortable sharing experiences in which they are vulnerable and have the needed support and respect to heal. As a society, we must identify and address the attitudes that allow sexual violence in boys to remain under the radar of our commitment to protect children from all types of harm.

Fact: Eighty-two percent of victims say that the assault permanently changed them. Vague, right? Let’s put it another way: Thirty percent of victims contemplate suicide. Forty percent of rape victims contract an STI/STD. Eighty percent suffer from physical and/or psychological damage. Around fifty percent seek mental health treatment after the assault.

Think: Whether it’s committed by someone you care about and love, or think you love, or by someone you don’t know (which is quite rare, actually), domestic and sexual violence and assault is violating — physically, mentally and emotionally. Among the long-term scars are issues relating to physical intimacy and self-worth.

Yesterday, you might have noticed a few outbursts around campus that looked like relationship fights, or maybe something more serious. These were, in fact, situations of domestic violence and abuse portrayed by actors from the Social Justice Arts Initiative (SJAI), simply to bring to light the many different faces and forms of violence and assault. The actors and actresses were second-year graduate student Kris Coombs, seniors Khudejha Asghar, Emerald Carter, Christine Kim and Courtney Payne, and juniors Jason Roos and Nadia Nibbs. If you saw anyone else, then they were not a part of our program and the incident you witnessed should be dealt with immediately.

The point of all of this? Tonight, the follow-up to last year’s Sexual Violence Community Forum will take place in Metcalf Lounge at 7:30 p.m., followed by Take Back the Night. We encourage all of you to attend to learn more about the issue, voice your thoughts, and, most importantly, learn what you can do to end the violence. Only through your own actions can you save that fourth or tenth friend of yours from becoming a victim. Do your part, and together we can create a better and safer Tufts for all.

Kris Coombs, Jr. is a second year graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in child development. He is the co-chair of the Graduate Student Council’s community outreach program and a co-director of SJAI. Khudejha Asghar is a senior majoring in international relations. She is a codirector of SJAI.

OFF THE HILL | BOSTON UNIVERSITY

World wild Web

BY LAUREN RODRIGUE The Daily Free Press

Web mogul Google announced Wednesday that its upcoming partnership with social-networking giant Twitter will allow Google searchers to see tweets related to their search topics in the list of results. The Google blog referred to the tweets as valuable real-time observations for the searched topic. But as the world gets seemingly smaller and smaller thanks to an ever-increasing obsession with self-expression through social-networking sites, will Google searches end up more muddled than enhanced, now causing users to not only sift through obnoxious ads and spam but also random tweets by perfect strangers?

Google’s blog announced the partnership with enthusiasm, as if it were opening up a whole new service to users of the online search engine. But it seems more like

a way for Twitter to get more hits — and therefore, more money — and a way for Google to control yet another wildly popular avenue of the Internet. As for the users, exactly how useful will this development be for them?

Google searches are used to seek fact or reliable sources to answer some kind of inquiry, whether the pursuit is academic, business or curiosity motivated. Peoples’ tweets mentioning a particular term searched in Google likely won’t help the searcher, and will only clutter an already over-stimulated interface.

The integration could be well received if the Twitter results have a show/hide option by which users can choose to allow or block these types of results. Or, if Google established a Google-powered search engine on the Twitter Web site, people can search through Twitter whenever they need to and they will receive far more thorough results to their searches than the current Twitter search option. Otherwise, tweets showing

up in regular Google search results will corroborate critics’ accusations that Americans, especially the college-aged and 20-something generation, are too wired to the social-networking sphere and too out of touch with reality.

Depending on Twitter for “Balloon Boy” cracks and keeping in touch with what one’s friends are doing during the weekend is the lighter side, but putting these not-at-all-credible sources of information into Google searches, and possibly using them as legitimate reference points, is going too far. Google has integrated the Web to a point where fact is inseparable from fiction, ads coalesce with original content, and opinions and rumor are presented on the same pages as credible resources.

And with search engine users being subjected to this kind of bombardment of useless information, Google will be held responsible for fostering a generation of very connected but very mindless Americans.

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

10 CROSSWORD

COMICS

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

DOONESBURY

BY

NON SEQUITUR

GARRY TRUDEAU

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MONDAY’S SOLUTION

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SUDOKU Level: Going as something sexy, slutty or undead.

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Monday’s Solution

Caryn: “Can you squirt me some?”

Please recycle this Daily

THE TUFTS DAILY

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 Around Campus

Housing

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11

SPORTS

Housing

Housing

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

Jumbos more versatile due to shuffling of lineups MEN’S CREW continued from page 16

three weeks, as several members of the team have fallen ill with flu-like symptoms.

“With a small squad such as ours, it is tough to have consistency with boat lineups when people are sick for a few days at a time,” Ambrozavitch said.

Tufts was missing four varsity rowers due to illness this past weekend, forcing novices into the roles of the more experienced team members. Under such conditions, the team’s goal was to simply try its hardest and hope for the best.

“In the past, novices haven’t done much with varsity, but now they have to step up and row with us,” junior Ryan Flood said. “Some rowers had novice championships on Saturday and then came out to Saratoga to row with varsity on Sunday.” “[ They] had a good row together and a strong showing considering their short experience with the sport,” Ambrozavitch added.

Considering how undermanned the Jumbos have been in recent weeks — and how such a lack of depth impacts the healthy rowers — simply taking part in the race was an

accomplishment for Tufts.

“The illness going around has affected us a lot, especially when we sometimes don’t know our lineup until the day of [the race],” Flood said. “We had to take two days off [at] the start of this week so we could recover, but even then a few of us weren’t able to fully recover in time for the regatta.”

While some teams might be disheartened after facing such hardships, the Jumbos believe that the troubles they’ve endured this fall could serve to benefit them in the future.

Forced to change roles due to missing teammates, the Tufts rowers are now more versatile than ever.

“Everyone on the team is comfortable with each other,” Ambrozavitch said. “With so many lineup changes, we can now row anywhere in any boat comfortably.”

The novices’ participation in the varsity races should also be a positive for the future, as it could help to keep them tied to the team.

“A lot of times we have novices who drop out because they don’t get to participate in varsity races,” Flood said.

“Now they have an opportunity to row with the team, and we

KRISTEN COLLINS/TUFTS DAILY

The men’s crew team wrapped up its fall schedule at the Head of the Fish Regatta Sunday, with its top Collegiate 4+ team coming in 10th. hope it’ll keep them wanting to stay with us for all four years.”

Pleased with their fall results in the face of numerous difficulties, the Jumbos are eager

to see progress over winter training and into the spring.

“We have a larger team this year than in years past,” Ambrozavitch said. “Hopefully

we can use that internal competition as motivation to get much faster as a team in anticipation of a strong spring season.”

THE TUFTS UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA AND DANCE PRESENTS

CUBA at the Half-Century Mark: A view from the grass-roots

Professor Claudia Kaiser-Lenoir (Emerita, Spanish/Latin American Studies, Tufts),

specialist in Cuban culture and society, reports on most recent field-work conducted over extended stay in Cuba this past Spring

MUSIC AND LYRICS BY

COLE PORTER.

BOOK BY

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Directed by BARBARA WALLACE GROSSMAN Choreographed by LAURA ESPY A06 Musical Direction by JARED TRUDEAU A11

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$7 on October 29, $1 on November 5 OCT. 29-31 AT 8PM, NOV. 5-7 AT 8PM, NOV. 7 AT 2PM

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Tuesday, October 27th 7-9pm Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room Sponsored by Tufts Latino Center Co-sponsored by Latin American Studies and The Dept. of Romance Languages

THE TUFTS DAILY

12

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

SPORTS

Jumbos can clinch No. 1 seed in conference with two weekend wins VOLLEYBALL continued from page 16

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team is] doing a great job of keeping mind over matter. It was great to see them doing well and being successful.”

The victory over Williams came after a 3-1 dispatching of host Smith College in the first round of the tournament on Friday night and a 3-0 sweep of MIT earlier in the day on Saturday.

After being upset by the Ephs in the semi-finals of last year’s NESCAC tournament, the Jumbos have trampled Williams thus far in 2009. Saturday’s win moved Tufts to 3-0 versus the Ephs on the year, and the Jumbos have only dropped one out of the 10 sets between the two teams. The Jumbos may still face the Ephs one more time this season in the NESCAC tournament.

“It definitely gives us more confidence against them,” Helgeson said.

“But every time they step on the court they are a different team. They are very athletic and can switch offenses and defenses. If anything we are more determined to beat them again — just because we beat them three times doesn’t mean that they are going to lie down.”

With its win on Saturday, Tufts improved to 25-2 on the season. The Jumbos will have an opportunity to clinch the regular-season NESCAC title this weekend, when they travel to Amherst to play Trinity on Friday and then tangle with the Lord Jeffs on Saturday.

Victories in both matches would guarantee the Jumbos the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC tournament, as Tufts currently sits a half-game ahead of second-place Conn. College. The squad could theoretically still capture the top seed via a tiebreaker if it loses to Amherst on Saturday but are able to win at least one set against the Jeffs, since Tufts defeated Conn. College 3-0 on Sept. 19. Still, the Jumbos are

focused on winning both weekend contests.

“Trinity and Amherst are good teams that will test our mental strength,” Helgeson said. “At this point we’re not necessarily getting physically better; it’s more that we are staying focused and having better execution. At this point it’s about team chemistry and the small details.”

The Jumbos spent the last three weeks on the road after a home victory versus Bowdoin, and will not have another match on campus until the NESCAC tournament. This week, coach Thompson gave the team an extra day off, realizing that the season has been long and grueling. But when the players do practice, she noted, they go full speed, relentlessly pushing to improve and avoid an upset like last year’s.

“It takes so much focus to be consistently good against great opponents,” Thompson said. “It takes a lot of mental exertion to win these tournaments.

But every team in New England is playing as much as we are. Mentally we need to get tougher as the season goes on.”

Helgeson is adamant that the key to excelling under pressure for this year’s team is to live in the present, stick to a game plan and stay disciplined. According to the veteran cocaptain, if the Jumbos can keep their emotions in check and play with the same sense of purpose that brought them to their 25-2 mark in the first place, the rest of the pieces should fall into place.

“We talk a lot about keeping our composure, making sure that we are all doing our jobs the right way,” Helgeson said. “We all have the same goals. And basically, if we continue in our rhythm, take care of our bodies and use our energy to execute rather than get nervous, there’s nothing in our way.”

Attention Clubs and Organizations…

Don’t Forget to get Your Group’s Picture in the 2010 Tufts Jumbo Yearbook!

Let us take it for you…

Student Organization Group Photo Shoots…

November 2, 2009 (11 am – 2 pm) November 3, 2009 (5 pm – 9 pm) November 4, 2009 (11 am – 2 pm) Large Conference Room – Mayer Campus Center TO REGISTER FOR YOUR GROUP go to www.ouryear.com (enter Code 9267) (ignore information about senior portraits)

Remember to enter all Contact Information.

If your group has more than 50 members please schedule two consecutive times.

THE TUFTS DAILY

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

13

SPORTS

Cleveland gambles with trade for Shaq

Men’s and women’s cross country display depth at Mayor’s Cup

INSIDE NBA

to-back championships were derailed

by Kevin Garnett’s knee injury, Boston primed itself for another title run by adding free agent big man Rasheed Wallace to the mix. Again, Boston followed the prevailing theme in the East of acquiring veteran players whose best years are behind them, hoping that they will provide a spark despite their diminished skills.

In Wallace’s case, if he is willing to play off the bench he can provide the depth that the Celtics lacked last year when Garnett went down. In addition, though he plays outside too much for someone with his skills, he is a perfect fit next to the emerging Glen “Big Baby” Davis in the second unit. While Wallace should play a large role, the Celtics’ other key offseason addition, Marquis Daniels, might actually be more important to the hopes of the team as a ball-handler off the bench who can also spell Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

While all these teams were taking risks, the contender that made the most logical move might have been the San Antonio Spurs. The addition of Richard Jefferson from the Milwaukee Bucks is a great fit, as he has experience playing alongside stars like Carter and Jason Kidd in New Jersey.

Putting Jefferson in the lineup with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and a healthy Manu Ginobili gives the Spurs another offensive weapon for opponents to defend and makes them a threat in the West.

While it remains to be seen how these major moves play out, one thing is for certain: the NBA is wide open this season, and all six of these teams feel they have a shot at putting a banner in the rafters this year.

continued from page 15

him, and Orlando gave up on promising second-year man Courtney Lee to obtain their guy. But the Magic shed Rafer Alston, a potential chemistry killer with Jameer Nelson returning from injury, and also received a talented young big man in Ryan Anderson, who might be the jewel of this deal.

However, this deal hinges on Carter.

He is no longer the go-to option in Orlando thanks to the presence of Dwight Howard, and he should theoretically benefit from playing second fiddle. But if Carter cannot accept that his numbers may take a dip, Orlando’s grand plans could go up in smoke.

The Cleveland Cavaliers likewise took a gamble of gargantuan proportions with their trade for Shaquille O’Neal. Despite having the best regular season record in the NBA last year, the Cavs crumbled in the Eastern Conference Finals with their loss to Orlando. Hoping to find the kryptonite to solve Dwight Howard, the Cavs traded spare parts for the Big Aristotle.

Though O’Neal is well past the days when he was the most dominant big man in the game, simultaneously rapping and starring in “Kazaam,” Cleveland is hoping that the chance to contend for a championship alongside the best player in the league, LeBron James, can motivate its new acquisition. How much O’Neal has left remains to be seen, however, and though he is seemingly the perfect sidekick for a top player, he still views himself as more of a co-star.

Last but not least in the East is the Boston Celtics. After its hopes at back-

With both the men’s and women’s cross country teams resting their top runners, other members of each team had a chance to shine last weekend at the 20th annual Mayor’s Cup at Franklin Park, sponsored by the Boston Athletic Association.

The men’s squad finished second out of 20 teams in the 5K race, which was primarily comprised of amateur and collegiate running clubs as well as many individual runners. Tufts’ top finishers were senior Matt Tirrell, who came in sixth overall with a time of 16:47, and fellow seniors Jason Hanrahan and Billy Hale, who finished in 12th and 14th place respectively.

The women’s squad had an even better showing in the 5K, finishing first in a field of 11. The team’s top runner on the day was sophomore Caroline Melhado, who finished third with a time of 20:40.

First-years Evelyn Orlando and Melanie Monroe were on her heels, coming in fourth and fifth with times of 21:02 and 21:04, respectively.

In the 8K race, the men didn’t fare as well as they did in the 5K, finishing last out of a field of 11 teams, though the majority of their competition came from high-quality Boston-area running clubs.

Freshman Andrew Haskell was the top finisher for the Jumbos, coming in with a time of 27:42 for 98th place.

— by Philip Dear

Jumbos will look to carry success into spring WOMEN’S CREW continued from page 16

the race. But Holec, one half of the winning pair, went in with notable experience, helping the Jumbos to victory.

“Kathleen Holec has actually been sculling for many many years,” Woodward said. “She sculled in high school. Kaylee Maykranz just picked it up this week. She did really well. They were just on their own for the race and ended up winning by a really large margin.”

Despite the steep learning curve, coaches and members of the team saw sculling as a valuable way to improve technique.

“Being in a sculling boat as a teaching tool gives each athlete the opportunity to be responsible for both sides,” coach Gary Caldwell said. “When you are in a sweep boat, like we are most of the time, you are only responsible for your own side.”

“In the spring, sculling is not as practical,” Woodard added. “But in the fall and in the future I think it is something we will continue to pursue.

Our coach, Brian Dawe, is a really big advocate of sculling. I think he sees a benefit in the technical work. It was fun, but I think it helped all of us with our blade work.”

The Head of the Fish marked the end of the fall season for the Jumbos.

However, the winter is an important time for the team, as members must stay in shape and prepare for the remarkably different spring season, which features more sprint races.

“In the spring season we race 2,000 meters,” Woodard said. “We race 5,000 or 6,000 in the fall. A lot of people will have multiple races in the same day. It is very different.”

“There are general offseason goals on both the men’s side and women’s side,” Caldwell added. “One is to improve strength. Two is to improve flexibility. Three is to improve overall fitness. This interval of time that we have between now and February is three times as long as the amount of time we spent organized as a team this fall. The individual and the team progress are critically important to the success of the program come spring racing season.”

Although rowing is a year-round endeavor, Tufts certainly deserves to take a moment and appreciate its performance at the Head of the Fish before launching into further training for the the more extensive spring season.

“I think this was a really good way to end the season,” said Woodard.

“Everybody felt really good about what they did and now we are looking ahead to the future.”

SCHEDULE | Oct. 27 - Nov. 2 TUES

WED

THURS

FRI

SAT

SUN

MON

Amherst 1:00 p.m.

Football

Field Hockey

at Bowdoin 5:00 p.m.

NESCAC Tournament tba

Men’s Soccer

at Bowdoin 3:00 p.m.

NESCAC Tournament tba

at Bowdoin 3:00 p.m.

NESCAC Tournament tba

Women’s Soccer at Hall of Fame Tournament tba

Volleyball

vs. Trinity (at Amherst) 8:00 p.m.

NESCAC Championship 1:00 p.m.

Cross Country

Football

JumboCast

STATISTICS | STANDINGS Field Hockey

Women's Soccer

Men's Soccer

Volleyball

Football

NCAA Div. III Field Hockey

(12-1, 7-1 NESCAC)

(7-5-1, 4-3-1 NESCAC)

(2-9-2, 0-7-1 NESCAC)

(25-2, 7-1 NESCAC)

(2-3, 2-3 NESCAC)

(Oct. 20, 2009)

NESCAC

OVERALL

W L 13 0 12 1 10 3 10 3 5 8 9 4 4 8 7 6 5 8 1 10

T 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

T. Brown A. Russo M. Kelly M. Burke M. Scholtes L. Griffith J. Perkins T. Guttadauro K. Eaton

G 16 11 8 6 4 3 2 3 2

A 9 4 5 3 1 3 4 1 0

Pts 41 26 21 15 9 9 8 7 4

Goalkeeping M. Zak K. Hyder

GA 5 2

S S% 25 .833 10 .833

W Trinity 8 Tufts 7 Amherst 5 Middlebury 5 Williams 5 Bowdoin 4 Conn. Coll. 3 Wesleyan 2 Colby 1 Bates 0

L 0 1 3 3 3 4 5 6 7 8

OVERALL

NESCAC

W 8 Williams 7 Amherst Middlebury 7 4 Tufts 3 Trinity 3 Bowdoin Wesleyan 3 2 Colby 1 Bates Conn. Coll. 0

L 0 1 1 3 3 5 5 5 7 8

G W. Hardy 7 C. Cadigan 3 A. Michael 3 S. Nolet 2 A. Maxwell 2 B. Morgan 1 F. Gamal 0 L. O’Connor 0 J. Love-Nichols 0

NESCAC

T W L T 0 13 0 0 0 11 2 0 0 9 1 2 1 7 5 1 2 5 4 3 0 7 6 0 0 7 5 1 1 6 6 1 0 4 8 1 0 4 9 0 A 0 4 0 1 1 0 2 2 1

Pts 14 10 6 5 5 2 2 2 1

Goalkeeping GA S S% K. Minnehan 8 54 .871

Wesleyan Williams Amherst Trinity Conn. Coll.

Bowdoin Middlebury Colby Bates Tufts

W 5 6 5 5 5 4 3 1 0 0

L 0 1 2 2 3 3 3 6 7 7

G 2 Blumenthal 2 B. Duker D. Schoening 1 S. Saropoulos 1 1 R. Coleman 1 F. Silva 1 A. Lach 1 K. Maxham N. Muakkassa 0

T 3 1 1 1 0 1 2 1 1 1

OVERALL

W 9 11 9 10 8 9 7 4 3 2 A 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1

L 0 1 2 2 3 3 4 7 8 9

T 4 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2

Pts 5 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 1

Goalkeeping GA S S% 23 57 .712 P. Tonelli 0 8 1.00 A. Bernstein

NESCAC OVERALL

Tufts Conn. Coll.

Amherst Middlebury Williams Bowdoin Trinity Wesleyan Bates Colby Hamilton

W 7 7 6 5 5 4 4 4 1 0 0

Offensive C. Updike D.Joyce-Mendive B. Helgeson L. Nicholas E. Lokken B. Neff K. Ellefsen Defensive A. Kuan C. Updike B. Helgeson D. Feiger N. Shrodes K. Engelking

L 1 2 2 2 2 4 4 5 6 7 8

W L 25 2 19 5 19 5 18 4 15 8 18 9 11 8 12 12 15 7 7 16 5 26

Kills SA 284 21 257 0 204 15 94 1 77 10 51 13 34 0 B Digs 0 362 13 182 31 181 25 179 3 106 1 97

Amherst Trinity Williams Bowdoin Colby Middlebury Tufts Wesleyan Hamilton Bates

Rushing P. Bailey D. Ferguson McManama

W 5 5 4 2 2 2 2 2 1 0

L 0 0 1 3 3 3 3 3 4 5

PF 100 154 142 136 64 145 53 62 53 66

PA 47 77 86 125 104 125 76 88 110 137

Att. Yds. Avg. 75 254 3.4 39 88 2.3 39 36 0.9

TD 1 0 0

Passing Pct. Yds TD INT McManama 46.3 608 4 2 Receiving P. Bailey B. Mahler

No. Yds Avg. TD 16 249 15.6 2 9 94 10.4 0

Defense T. Tassinari M. Murray A. Perry

Tack INT Sack 0 53 0 1 42 0 1 35 0

Points (First-place votes) 1. Messiah, 972 (44) 2. Salisbury, 901 (1) 3. Ursinus, 856 (1) 4. Trinity College, 821 (2) 5. Tufts, 761 6. SUNY Cortland, 720 (1) 7. Lebanon Valley, 675 8. Rowan, 562 9. Lynchburg, 548 10. Middlebury, 485

N.E. Div. III Volleyball (Oct. 18, 2009) 1. Tufts 2. Williams 3. UMASS Boston 4. Springfield 5. MIT 6. Conn. College 7. Brandeis 8. Coast Guard 9. Middlebury 10. Amherst

THE TUFTS DAILY

14

American Studies Informational Meeting

Tufts Department of Drama and Dance presents

AUDITIONS FOR

HEDDA GABLER

Thursday, October 29th 123 Eaton Hall 4:00-5:00 p.m.

By Henrik Ibsen Directed by Sheriden Thomas

Auditions:

Get all your burning questions answered:

Sunday & Monday, November 1 & 2

What is the American Studies major all about?

Callbacks:

Why Study American Studies?

Tuesday, November 3 All audition info and sign up times is posted on the callboard in the Balch Arena Theater lobby, Aidekman Arts Center.

Questions? contact Balch Arena Theater Box Office at X7-3493.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

SPORTS

Will there be free pizza? (yes, indeed!)

American Studies Clusters x

Community Based Studies

x

Comparative Race and Ethnicity

x

Institutions and Power in the US

x

Representation and Performance in the Arts and Humanities

x

Issues in U.S. Education

x

Health, Environment and Society

x

Individually Designed Cluster

Think this advertisement is bland? So do we.

The Daily is looking for people with backgrounds in graphic and/or Web design. Responsibilities of various positions include online branding, logo design, motion graphics and Web layout.

And if you don’t know how to do any of these things, come tweet for us.

Interested? E-mail editor@tuftsdaily.com to learn more.

THE TUFTS DAILY

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

15

SPORTS

ALEX PREWITT | LIVE FROM MUDVILLE

INSIDE THE NBA

After offseason shuffles, contenders line up for a shot at the NBA title BY

ETHAN LANDY

Daily Editorial Board

The old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But try telling that to an NBA general manager.

When the league opens up its 2009-2010 regular season tonight with four games, a quartet of top contenders will display the new additions to their arsenals. New players are just part of the wholesale changes that were made in the offseason by six contenders looking to take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June.

That list begins with the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. Rather than stand by and give their championship roster a chance to defend its title, the Lakers jettisoned Trevor Ariza, an up-andcoming small forward who was arguably the most important player in the team’s postseason run last year, and gambled on Ron Artest. The 10 year veteran was once one of the most feared defenders in the game, but his reputation is fading.

Last season, Artest displayed his offensive wares on a Houston Rockets team that did not have a go-to guy due to injuries.

Artest averaged 17 points a game but is unlikely to duplicate those numbers while sharing touches with Pau Gasol on the inside and Kobe Bryant on the perimeter.

But what really makes ousting Artest a gamble is his volatile personality. Rumors abounded last year of Artest’s antics during the postseason, and the Rockets did not seem too displeased to take Ariza off the Lakers’ hands to fill their hole at small forward.

Another Western Conference team that is tinkering with its chemistry is the Portland Trail Blazers. Blessed with a bevy of young talent and one of the best emerging players in the game in Brandon Roy, Portland made a curious financial choice this summer.

As one of the few teams with cap space, the Blazers searched high and low for an idea of how to spend it. After being jilted by marquee free agent Hedo Turkoglu, who decided to head north of the border to the Toronto Raptors, Portland shelled out the cash for point guard Andre Miller.

The move was curious for a number of reasons. Roy likes to play with the ball in his hands, as does Miller. Then there is Portland’s strange fascination with veteran Steve Blake, who it turns out will be the team’s starter. So now the Blazers have spent seven million a year over

E

MCT

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal was one of several marquee moves made by top teams in the NBA this offseason. three years for a backup point guard who cannot play on the floor with their best player and is sure to be unhappy coming off the bench.

In the Eastern Conference, three teams that were dissatisfied with how their seasons ended also saw huge roster shakeups, with varying degrees of severity.

That list starts with the Orlando Magic, a team that surprised many by getting to the NBA Finals, only to fall to the Lakers

in five games. Unsatisfied with the tag of runner-up, Orlando altered its roster in dramatic fashion. Exiting was Turkoglu, a key crunch-time contributor and component of Orlando’s outside offense. As Turkoglu fled in free agency, the Magic filled their need for a scorer by acquiring Vince Carter from the New Jersey Nets.

At 32, Carter’s best years are behind see INSIDE NBA, page 13

DAILY DIGITS

316 Rushing yards for the New York Jets in their 38-0 rout of the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. Starter Thomas Jones chipped in with 122 yards and rookie Shonn Greene added 141 of his own, as Gang Green became the second team to torch Oakland’s NFL-worst run defense for at least 300 yards on the ground in as many weeks.

1.7 Yards per rushing attempt for the football team in its 30-7 loss to the Williams on Saturday. The Ephs’ defensive front kept Tufts quarterback Tom McManama and running back Pat Bailey at bay throughout the afternoon, stopping the offense behind the line of scrimmage on numerous occasions.

7 Shutouts by senior goalkeeper Kate Minnehan, who leads all NESCAC netminders in that category. Minnehan’s stellar play between the pipes has been vital to lifting the women’s soccer team to its 7-5-1 record and fourth-place spot in the conference standings, as all the Jumbos’ wins have come in games in which they have not allowed a goal.

21 Points for Los Angeles Kings’ center Anze Kopitar, who leads the NHL with 10 goals and is second with 11 assists. Kopitar, the first Slovenian native to play in the NHL, compiled just 66 points in 82 games last season, but he already has 21 in just a dozen contests this year.

38 Walks surrendered by Los Angeles Angels pitching in the ALCS, for an abysmal average of 6.33 per game. The Halos coughed up nine free passes in Sunday’s Game 6, and four of them directly resulted in Yankees runs, handing New York a 5-2 victory that sent the Yankees to the World Series, which starts tomorrow.

365 Kills by the women’s volleyball team in NESCAC play this season. The Jumbos are tops in the conference with 13.52 kills per game, and juniors Caitlin Updike and Dawson Joyce-Mendive — ranked second and third in the NESCAC in kills — have led the way. The Jumbos’ ability to put away points has been a key asset to them all season.

The World Series of Prognostication

veryone has his or her own specific way of attempting to predict the future.

The Mayans have their calendar, Tom Hanks had the Zoltar Machine and Nostradamus had his patented Magic 8 Ball.

But when it comes to baseball, barely anything is set in stone. Who would’ve thought the Tampa Bay Rays would rise and fall faster than Disney stock? Was Zack Greinke as a Cy Young candidate even imaginable before the season?

Could anyone have foreseen that Barry Bonds would be accused of doing steroids? Okay, that last one was obvious.

The point is that Major League Baseball is simply one roller coaster ride after another.

With the World Series starting Wednesday night, I will attempt to do the unthinkable.

Here, for the low, low price of nothing, I offer you 10 Fall Classic predictions, plus one bonus prognostication, all hassle-free, gluten-free and 100 percent guaranteed to come true.

Prediction 1: Kate Hudson, Alex Rodriguez’s girlfriend, and Matthew McConaughey will star in the sequel of their 2003 hit movie, titled “How to Lose a Slump in 10 Days,” featuring the story of Rodriguez and how he shook off his playoff woes to help carry the Yankees to the World Series. Of course, the story will end as Hudson, playing herself, and McConaughey, starring as A-Rod, ride off into the distance on a motorcycle, the former injecting the latter with anabolic steroids and feeding him tictacs as the credits roll.

Prediction 2: I will get blasted for my extensive knowledge of Kate Hudson’s filmography.

Prediction 3: Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, second-baseman Chase Utley and outfielder Jayson Werth, as well as New York’s pitcher A.J. Burnett, will form the “Bro Chill Bro Club” for people whose names sound like they belong on the quad shirtless, strumming a guitar, with a Natty in hand. Consequently, Ryan Howard and Cliff Lee will get jealous and form the club for people with two first names. The verdict is still out on whether or not Jorge Posada will be allowed into this group, as my Spanish is quite rusty.

Prediction 4: Yankees hurler Phil Coke will either be exploited by the Coca-Cola Company, which will force him to do a repeat of the Mean Joe Green Coke commercial, or he will be the poster boy for the Columbian drug trade.

Prediction 5: Some cute kid will sing the Star Spangled Banner, lisping on “Oh say can you see.” Simultaneously, 50,000 hardcut New Yorkers previously shouting at each other about “red lights,” “pizza pies,” and “yo mamas” will swoon.

Prediction 6: Phillies pitcher Chad Durbin will become the first baseball player to Tweet from the mound, posting “lolz totes strux out Jeter. Go Phillz!”

Prediction 7: When A-Rod hits a gamewinning home run, the New York media will break the unofficial record for most “New Mr. October” references, originally set by our most esteemed managing editor Mr. Dave Heck.

Prediction 8: The first Joba the Hut joke will be made about Joba Chamberlain. I can’t believe this hasn’t gotten more popular. It’s like the “Little Big League” of nicknames.

Prediction 9: My friend, who inexplicably likes every sports team from Philadelphia except the Phillies, will tell me for the 1,856th time that the Yankees suck. It’s a good thing his beloved Braves are doing so well as to validate that statement.

Prediction 10: Should Pedro Martinez start Game 2 in the Bronx, the sheer magnitude of boos emanating from the stands will register on the Richter scale, replacing the 1989 World Series as the official “Earthquake Series.”

Prediction 11: In light of the news regarding a potential transit strike in Philadelphia, the Yankees will be unable to attend Game 3 after finding no one to drive their team bus, forcing the Phillie Phanatic to have a fist fight with George Steinbrenner to decide the winner.

The former will emerge victorious, helping the Phillies avoid a New York sweep.

Regarding whether or not these will actually come true, I deferred to my Magic 8 Ball, which promptly spit back in my face the message: “outlook is bleak.”

Guess I can’t be Nostradamus for Halloween.

Time to find that slutty nurse costume.

Alex Prewitt is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at Alexander.Prewitt@tufts.edu.

Sports

16

INSIDE Inside the NBA 15 Live from Mudville 15 Daily Digits 15

tuftsdaily.com

VOLLEYBALL

Jumbos take home Hall of Fame Tournament championship BY

BEN KOCHMAN

Contributing Writer

For the past two seasons, the Tufts women’s volleyball team has ventured to Smith VOLLEYBALL (25-2, 7-1 NESCAC) at Northampton, Mass., Saturday Tufts Williams

25 25 20 21

25 — 3 19 — 0

Tufts MIT

25 25 17 15

25 — 3 23 — 0

at Northampton, Mass., Friday Tufts Smith

25 17 11 25

26 24

25 — 3 12 — 1

College for the annual Hall of Fame Tournament to test its skills against the best in New England only to come up short on the final day in the championship bracket. But on Saturday, this year’s Jumbos squad broke new ground, sweeping perennial rival Williams to capture Tufts’ first ever Hall of Fame Tournament championship.

In 2007, Tufts fell to MIT in the semifinals, finishing third overall; last year, the Jumbos came in second after losing to Springfield College. But the third time proved to be the charm, as the Jumbos took first this year.

Senior co-captain Dena Feiger was named tournament MVP and led Tufts on both the offensive and defen-

SCOTT TINGLEY/TUFTS DAILY

Junior Dawson Joyce-Mendive had double digit kills in all of Tufts’ three matches over the weekend as the Jumbos breezed to a Hall of Fame Invitational championship. sive side against Williams, with 45 assists and 13 digs.

Yet, the offensive assault was spread out amongst the whole team, with senior co-captain Brogie Helgeson and junior

MEN’S CREW

outside hitters Caitlin Updike and Dawson Joyce-Mendive all reaching double-digits in kills. Sophomore libero Audrey Kuan led a stalwart defensive effort with 21 digs, while fel-

low sophomore Cara Spieler chipped in with 13 of her own.

“It’s always exciting to win whenever we’re posed with a challenge,” coach Cora Thompson said. “To win these

tournaments is tribute for all the hard work that we’re doing at practice. It’s a long season and it can get tiring, but [the see VOLLEYBALL, page 12

WOMEN’S CREW

Tufts overcomes Jumbos finish season strong at Head of the Fish illness, fatigue to end fall season

BY SAM

O’REILLY

Contributing Writer

After a successful run at the Head of the Charles, the men’s crew team continued to show promising talent at the Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga, N.Y. this past weekend.

Despite the cold weather and strong winds, the Jumbos persevered and finished the race pleased with their accomplishments.

The first varsity foursome placed 10th out of 21 total boats, while the second varsity quad, a combination of varsity and novice rowers, placed 19th in the same event.

Tufts also raced a varsity eight, which placed 16th out of 17 boats.

Though that finish was far from ideal, the Jumbos do not believe their results matched their efforts.

“We had a strong race against a tough field and a headwind, but overall we went out and accomplished what we wanted to,” Ambrozavitch said. “We all felt like we left our best out there and rowed well together.

“This particular course is a little shorter than most races, so we attacked the race a little harder than a normal fall regatta, with a higher stroke rating for the shorter distance,” he continued. “It was a good segue into training for the spring season.”

The Jumbos have not been able to compete at full strength for the past

Last week, senior captain Kate Woodard said this past weekend’s trip was a chance for the Tufts women’s crew team to “have fun.” But that did not mean the Jumbos put any less effort into the competition.

The fruits of their labor were evident on Sunday, as Tufts junior Kaylee Maykranz and sophomore Kathleen Holec won the Collegiate Double race at the Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga, N.Y. The pair crossed the finish line first out of 13 teams in the race with a finishing time of 14:56 which put them nearly 28 seconds ahead of second-place Colgate.

Overall, the Jumbos entered four boats in the Collegiate Doubles, including the eighth place finisher, and two in the Collegiate Quads. In the latter race, one Tufts boat placed fourth with a time of 14:55.05 and the other finished just behind in fifth place. The high finishes were a pleasant surprise considering that Tufts was sculling, a fashion of rowing that the Jumbos were not accustomed to.

“It is totally different because [usually], we only have one oar,” Woodard said. “You are either a port or a starboard. You kind of learn how to row on that side and it’s very difficult to row on the other side. In sculling, you have an ore in each hand. I am a port so it is especially hard for me to learn how to control my starboard oar. It’s just a very different feeling.”

The Head of the Fish was the first sculling event for most of the women on the team. Many only learned how to scull in the week leading up to

see MEN’S CREW, page 14

see WOMEN’S CREW, page 13

BY SARAH

NASSER

Contributing Writer

KRISTEN COLLINS/TUFTS DAILY

The women’s crew team excelled in sculling at the Head of the Fish Regatta on Sunday, earning a first-place finish in the Collegiate Double and fourth and fifth place finishes in the Collegiate Four race.