2009-12-04

THE TUFTS DAILY

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TUFTSDAILY.COM

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009

VOLUME LVIII, NUMBER 57

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Omidyars top list of ‘Best Givers’

BY SAUMYA VAISHAMPAYAN

Daily Editorial Board

JAMES CHOCA/TUFTS DAILY

Undergraduates in the classics department played a key role in a research project to put classics texts online.

Classics department researchers earn grant BY

ELLEN KAN

Daily Editorial Board

An international group including researchers from Tufts’ Department of Classics was one of eight teams selected from a field of over 80 to be awarded a grant from the first Digging into Data Challenge.

Professor Gregory Crane, chair of the classics department and a member of the team, said its grant-winning research project features meaningful undergraduate involvement that will further efforts both within the department and throughout the university to promote undergraduate research.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the

National Science Foundation (NSF) and peer agencies in the United Kingdom and Canada sponsored the Digging into Data Challenge and announced Crane’s team as a grant winner at an awards ceremony in Ottawa last night.

The challenge is targeted at developing tools to process and analyze data in the humanities and social sciences. The digital revolution has made such information available on an unprecedented scale.

“The challenge asks, ‘How does this notion of scale change the way you do your research? How do you use sophisticated tools to see CLASSICS, page 3

Barron’s financial magazine on Monday named preeminent donors Pierre (E ’88) and Pam Omidyar (LA ’89) the world’s top philanthropists.

In selecting them for the top spot in its rankings of this year’s “25 Best Givers,” the magazine cited the couple’s continued efforts toward increasing global access to capital and education.

The Omidyars, who have earned great wealth thanks to Pierre’s founding of eBay, established the Omidyar Network in 2004 as an alternative to traditional philanthropic foundations. The organization functions as an investment firm that infuses money into both for-profit and nonprofit social change enterprises.

Barron’s magazine applauded the Omidyar Network for its innovative take on philanthropy. “They’re applying a lot of business practices to philanthropy, which is a relatively new approach,” Phil Roosevelt, assistant managing editor of Barron’s, told the Daily.

University President Lawrence Bacow said the Omidyars were optimal examples of Tufts graduates who reflect the school’s commitment to active citizenship. “We are incredibly proud of Pierre and Pam for all they have done since graduating from Tufts,” he said in an e-mail. “They

are true active citizens. This latest recognition by Barron’s is yet another illustration of how they continue to influence the world through their energy, imagination, and philanthropy.”

The Omidyars in 2005 gave Tufts $100 million to establish the Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund (OTMF).

Microfinance involves the

lending of small loans to poor clients who normally do not have access to financial institutions. The goal of the fund is to facilitate $1 billion in loans to these clients by 2015.

Roosevelt cited the OTMF as an example of the impact the Omidyars’ giving has had.

“Tufts’ microfinance fund is see OMIDYARS, page 2

Tufts’ microfinance director reports strong growth for fund BY

CHRISTY MCCUAIG

microfinance sector.

Daily Editorial Board

Tryfan Evans is director of the Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund. He sat down with the Daily to speak about microfinance in general and the investments of Tufts’ fund.

Christy McCuaig: We wanted to talk to you today about the microfinance industry in general and, of course, the fund specifically. Can you give us a sense of the fund’s mission and what it’s striving to do and the status at this point?

Tryfan Evans: The fund has two objectives. The first is to support the university, as with any other long-term investment asset within the endowment, and the second is to … demonstrate the viability of institutional investment in the

CM: At this point, in light of the current economic downturn, how is the fund doing?

TE: … I guess what I can tell you now, before we have that final sign-off from the auditors, is that the fund produced a positive return in fiscal year 2009 ... Looking beyond that, the crisis has had a broad impact across the microfinance landscape. In particular, Eastern Europe has been hard hit by the crisis. This is largely because Eastern Europe as a region is more integrated into Western capital markets than perhaps other parts of the developing world, particularly where microfinance predominates. So for example, we saw a great contraction in bank see MICROFINANCE, page 3

The hub of funny people: Comedy scene thrives in Boston BY

ALEX PREWITT

Daily Editorial Board

It’s his moment to shine, and Pete Davis is nervous. With the spotlight beating down on his pale face and 60 slightly drunk eyes staring back at him, the 19-yearold Virginian continues to sweat. Drops cascade from his forehead as he uncomfortably shifts back and forth on stage.

He inches up closer to the microphone, clutching the note cards in his hand as if afraid they will fly away. The only sounds emanating from his mouth are incomprehensible stutters as he weakly smiles at the audience.

And then he speaks.

“Hi, I’m Pete Davis, and I’m here to speak affirmatively about trains,” the Harvard University sophomore says. “This is an interactive presentation, yes, but an interruptive one, no. So please turn off all your cell phones, pagers and pacemakers.”

A titter ripples through the once mute crowd as it slowly begins to realize that his behavior is part of the act. The tension is finally lifted. Armed with a laptop at his side, Davis then launches into a 10-minute set, feigning a youth’s PowerPoint presentation about how trains are the most effective — and admirable — form of transportation.

While nerves have dismantled even the most composed of figures at Cambridge’s The Comedy Studio, tucked above the Hong Kong Chinese restaurant, the audience realizes that a sweaty Davis is a funny Davis.

Across the city many hours before, Myq

Kaplan has woken up. With the sun slowly poking up on the horizon, Kaplan rises out of bed and walks through his living room, glancing at a table covered with empty Netflix envelopes. This is the life of a true comic: waking up early to watch DVDs and crack jokes. Kaplan, who recently recorded a stand-up special for Comedy Central, takes a deep breath as he recounts his lengthy journey to the big time. He has made it in this industry.

Davis and Kaplan are just two of many stand-up comedians in the greater Boston area who represent a blossoming trend that, amidst depressing economic times, has seen an inordinate spike in recent years.

“The percentage of comics who come out of this small area is insane,” said Rick Jenkins, owner and manager of The Comedy Studio in Harvard Square. “I think it’s because we’ve always got new people coming in; colleges in Boston really supply people with the opportunity to get involved and really work at what they want to do.”

“Particularly in recent years, there’s a new surge of clubs coming along,” said Boston City Councilor John Tobin, who also owns Tommy’s Comedy Lounge and is the founder of the Boston Comedy Hall of Fame and the Boston Comedy Festival.

“That’s been driven by college kids who neither have the money nor the stage time to move out to New York or L.A. Given that, the best thing to do with college kids is to provide opportunities for them on stage.”

COURTESY PETE DAVIS

see COMEDY, page 2

Pete Davis, a sophomore at Harvard, has been doing stand-up comedy for the past four years. He’s one of many budding, college-age comedians in the Boston area.

Inside this issue

Today’s Sections

Lady Gaga knows how to make a radio hit. She could use a bit more work when it comes to constructing a full album.

The men’s basketball team finally got a hold on things after starting the season with four straight losses.

see ARTS, page 5

see SPORTS, back page

News | Features Arts & Living Comics

1 5 6

Classifieds Sports

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

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

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

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

Michelle Hochberg Executive Op-Ed Editor Crystal Bui Editorialists Vittoria Elliott Rebekah Liebermann Victoria Stevenson Marian Swain Nina Grossman Opinion Editors Laura Moreno Andrew Rohrberger Molly Rubin Devon Colmer Editorial Cartoonists Erin Marshall Alex Miller Louie Zong

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

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

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Production Director Steven Smith Executive Layout Editor

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Friday, December 4, 2009

Magazine acknowledges Omidyars as philanthropy leaders OMIDYARS continued from page 1

an excellent model for modern philanthropy,” Roosevelt said. “This microfinance fund helps [impoverished] communities and the benefits go on and on.”

Barron’s rankings focused on the influence, rather than the amount, of the philanthropists’ donations. “What the list aims to do is see who’s having the biggest impact right now for the amount of money they’re putting in,” Roosevelt said. “We looked at the multiplier effect. If you give a dollar, how can you have three dollars’ worth of impact?”

Roosevelt explained that the rankings’ emphasis on immediate effect is the reason that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation did not earn a top spot in the rankings.

“Bill Gates, who has the largest fund, tends to focus on long-term impact.

They don’t have the immediate results,” he said. “So Gates, who would be at top of big philanthropists, is number seven on our list.”

The Omidyars remain active within the Tufts community. Pierre Omidyar serves as a university trustee, and the couple makes up two of the four chairs of Tufts’ Beyond Boundaries campaign, the goal of which is to raise $1.2 billion to support the university.

Half of the returns earned from the OTMF are directed back to Tufts, while the remaining half is reinvested in the fund. In addition to the OTMF, the couple was also instrumental in the establishment of the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service.

Early supporters of the college, the Omidyars went beyond giving a sizable financial support, also providing experienced staff to aid the college’s early development, according to Tisch College Dean Robert Hollister, who holds the college’s Pierre and Pamela Omidyar professorship.

Hollister said that the effectiveness of the Omidyars’ unique approach to philanthropy — adopting a strategic investment approach rather than sim-

COURTESY TUFTS.EDU

Pierre and Pam Omidyar were recognized by Barron’s as this year’s top philanthropists. ply a grant approach — was key to the development of Tisch College. “[The Omidyars] made it clear that they intended for their participation with active citizenship at Tufts and Tisch College to be a long-term partnership and backed that up by assigning staff to help develop the college,” Hollister said. “As a result, we made much quicker progress than if the support had come from a traditional foundation grant.”

This effectiveness of the Omidyars’ donation strategy distinguishes them as leaders in the philanthropic field, Hollister said. “[This recognition is] naturally appropriate because they’re pioneering, not only in that they’re hugely generous, but they’re also being innovative and strategic in how they give,” Hollister said.

Trustee Jonathan Tisch (A ’76), whose

donations largely funded Tufts’ library and Tisch College, explained that the rankings’ focus on measuring the actual impact of philanthropy is important — especially given today’s unstable financial situation.

“The needs in the world today are growing exponentially. As governments have fewer resources, it is going to become the responsibility of those in the private sector to do more,” he said.

Tisch lauded the Omidyars as exemplary models of active citizenship. “It is essential for individuals to understand their roles and responsibilities in societies today,” he said. “The Omidyars have shown this through their gifts to Tufts University … They embrace and embody what it means to be active citizens.”

Katherine Sawyer contributed reporting to this article.

Boston a breeding ground for stand-up comedians COMEDY continued from page 1

With open-mic nights strewn across the city, Boston now rivals New York and Chicago as the country’s largest concentration of funny people. Some might explain the blossoming trend as purely based on numbers, a direct correlation to the sheer volume of students.

Others see the inordinate number of successful comedians coming out of Boston as related to the town’s nature, which inherently breeds comedy.

“There’s a certain wise-ass, wise-guy cynicism that is very prevalent,” Tobin said. “The sports teams weren’t doing well until the Red Sox won the World Series, the weather here stinks, and they’re very cynical about the politicians. That anger gets picked up by comedians and fed back to audiences.”

Davis, though, has come up with what he considers his own revolutionary theory. “L.A. had Hollywood, New York had ‘Greatest City in the World,’” he said. “But Boston, aside from the Freedom Trail and the Red Sox, what were they going to define themselves as? With a lot of people getting off work and wanting to rant about getting off work, it just took off.”

Regardless of the scene’s origins, one thing remains the same: Boston has produced some of the world’s most famous comedians. While household names like Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, Denis Leary, Dane Cook, and Louis C.K. all boast different comedy styles, the one common denominator remains the same: They all got their start in Beantown.

Davis also fits this description. He performed his first stand-up act for his high school’s spring variety show, and once he moved to Boston for college, continuing his comedic career seemed the logical step.

“Boston is thriving,” Davis said. “In Boston, there’s the elite, the gatekeepers of comedy. It takes more work and more organization to make it in Boston. Here, if you’re being amateurish about it, you’re only going to get a coffee shop or a bar.”

For some older and more experienced

comedians like Kaplan, Boston provided the starting point for honing their unique talent. Kaplan attended Brandeis and then Boston University (BU) for his master’s degree in linguistics. At BU, he worked as a graduate assistant, teaching during the day and then performing at clubs throughout the city by night.

His big break came in 2006, when he won an award at a showcase that was part of the D.C. Comedy Festival. This led to an appearance on Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham,” a program showcasing budding comedians. Shortly after, Kaplan recorded his “Comedy Central Presents” half-hour special.

Having moved on from telling jokes like, “Philadelphia used to be named ‘Liberty Bell Town,’ but they changed it because it didn’t have a good ring to it,” Kaplan now lives the life of a professional, traveling across the country and lounging at home, where his girlfriend Myka Fox — also a comedian — occasionally interrupts his thoughts by entering the room and clucking like a chicken.

Especially in dreary economic times, the ultimate goal for prospective college stand-ups is to make it in the industry. For some, like Shane Mauss, this has become a reality thanks to the Boston area’s scene.

Mauss knew from an early age that stand-up was the right career path.

After performing in the Boston Comedy Festival in 2006 and winning an award for best stand-up at another festival, Mauss appeared on the “Conan O’Brien Show.”

Like Kaplan, he performed on “Live at Gotham” before getting his own Comedy Central special. For him, being on television constituted “making it.”

“The special was definitely my dream the whole time growing up,” he said.

“Coming up in high school, I would always watch those, and that was the ultimate goal for me then. It was really incredible that I’ve gotten to do that so quickly.”

In reality, succeeding in the comedy industry, especially for college students, involves much more work than some may think, as budding college comedians must

dedicate themselves to perfecting jokes and performing on stage. Doing so can be difficult, especially for a college student focused more on getting A’s than openmic nights.

“When I see someone really killing it, my first thought is if they’re going to come back and be able to match that energy and focus next time,” Jenkins said. “I’m not looking for how well they did on this test, but how good their study patterns and work ethics are that they’ll be able to repeat that performance.”

Whether it is in the classroom, in the dating scene or at a fraternity house, the college environment naturally fosters competition. But in the comedic scene, all this jealousy disappears, even as stand-ups vie for different slots in shows. Jenkins, for instance, likens it to a playground where the inexperienced get to play and learn with the seasoned veterans. This lack of competition tends to encourage college students to keep with their dreams.

“The comedians are really friendly and nice to each other, and they’re excited about young people,” Davis added. “Say there’s this gay Iranian in the Boston scene, and he’s doing a bit about being a gay Iranian and not something about being awkward.

We’re not competing against each other.

He’s trying to be the best gay Iranian he can be, and I’m going to be the best awkward I’m going to be. We can both win.”

So what does the future hold for college students looking to break into the industry? As the entertainment industry gradually evolves into the digital age, the stand-up comedy scene figures to remain a staple of the Boston area.

“People have cable with 4,000 channels and movie theaters in their garages,” Tobin said. “But when you see someone doing 45 minutes on television, it’s not the same in a comedy club where a waitress can drop a tray of drinks or a heckler or a fire alarm goes off. Anything can happen in a live performance; there’s an excitement and energy that you can’t get in your living room. I’ll take it any day of the week over Twitter or Facebook.”

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Friday, December 4, 2009

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NEWS | FEATURES

Tufts microfinance fund invests in over 30 countries across the globe MICROFINANCE continued from page 1

funding in Eastern Europe that came about because of this crisis. That has had an impact on growth rates across the region, as these microfinance institutions have not been able to attract the liquidity to refinance their portfolios and grow. That being said, we’re still seeing strong demand [globally], though not as strong as before the crisis, from the underlying customer segment, and for the most part microfinance institutions continue to grow, albeit not at the rate prior to the crisis … The fundamentals of the sector have remained positive during the crisis despite a temporary contraction, and the long-term outlook remains positive …

CM: Can you sort of explain …

how exactly the fund goes about supporting different microfinance companies or groups? Someone was telling me it’s through a bank instead of directly with the companies or the directly with the people who are affected by microfinance.

TE: What the fund does is that it makes two different types of investments. Primarily we are an investor in funds, that is to private equity funds, venture capital funds and hedge funds, and those funds take money from investors such as us and invest in microfinance institutions, which then in turn provide loans to the micro-entrepreneur. The funds pursue different strategies, and they provide different types of investment to these microfinance institutions. For example, some funds will lend to these

microfinance institutions, and the institution then uses that capital to then lend to their borrowers. Other funds are investing in equity issued by these microfinance institutions; it’s a longer-term, higher-risk type of investment aspect. … What we have done is to build a portfolio of investments in those funds that we think is optimal for the university.

CM: Do we try to focus on certain areas, or are we near anywhere where poverty and microfinance is effective?

TE: We are broadly focused on the global opportunities there are. We will look at absolutely anything. We have exposure in [every region].

We’re in 34 different countries right now, and those are across

Eastern Europe, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia, Africa and Latin America. We have invested, for example, in South Asia … in a fund that makes equity investments in microfinance institutions. We have another investment in Africa that is also making equity investments in microfinance institutions across that region.

years. And so we still see ourselves as in the early stages of this fund’s evolution. We’re past the first stage — the fund is largely invested — but these are still early days. The goals remain the same. They have not changed, and I don’t anticipate they will change in the near future.

CM: Going back to microfinance in general, can you speak to the future of it or maybe the future goals of the [Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund]?

TE: First, to support the university. Fifty percent of the total return of the fund in any given year is provided to the university in the form of a grant, and that goes into the operating budget of the university. And then the other 50 percent is reinvested in the fund, and then that capital is distributed back out among microfinance institutions. Second, to test the viability of institutional investment in the sector.

TE: Well, the goals for the fund remain the same. We are now four years into this project, and we are making some very long-term investments, and some of the partnership agreements we are entering into have terms of up to ten

CM: And the goals specifically are?

Classics department’s undergraduate research reflects university-wide trend CLASSICS continued from page 1

process these huge amounts of information?’” Director of the NEH’s Office of Digital Humanities Brett Bobley told the Daily.

The team’s project addresses variances in ancient texts. The technology that Crane is working on alongside scholars from Imperial College London and Mount Allison University will produce editions of digital classics texts that allow scholars to link to associated translations and citations in a massive digital library.

“This would be pretty much impossible to do manually,” Bobley said. “You couldn’t write a book that included all this information, but on a computer you can. It’s a really interesting first step towards creating new tools that other scholars will find quite useful.”

Undergraduates were and continue to be involved with this project, an element Crane sees as reflecting a wider trend of technological advances that both enable and necessitate undergraduate contributions to

research.

“We have an infinite amount of work that needs to be done, that exceeds what the small number of us as professional scholars are able to perform,” Crane said.

Crane said that with new technological developments, the results of undergraduates’ work can be published in the Tufts Digital Library, making them “far more visible than the most well-read scholarly books of a generation ago.”

He said this is paralleled by an ongoing cultural change in academia to recognize the value of undergraduate research.

“We have moved from a very hierarchical discipline where the professor knows everything, and the students just learn as much as they can,” Crane said. “Now you can have the expectation that you will be able to contribute in some tangible way early on in your career.”

University administrators’ support has led them to start initiatives that facilitate undergraduate research, including the creation of the Tufts Summer Scholars Program by

University Provost and Senior Vice President Jamshed Bharucha.

Another recent measure taken to encourage students’ studies has been the consideration of potential faculty members’ ability to support undergraduate research as a hiring criterion. The classics department is at the forefront of this development. In its job description for an open tenured position, department administrators specified that they “especially welcome candidates who can support contributions to and original research by undergraduates.” Crane called this move “revolutionary.”

According to Crane, the administration’s emphasis on making research an integral component of the undergraduate experience and encouraging faculty to actively engage the undergraduate community positions the university to play a leadership role in the academic field.

Dean of Academic Affairs for Arts and Sciences Vickie Sullivan attributes this to the makeup of the university.

“Tufts is well-positioned to be a leader in undergraduate research because of its outstanding undergraduate population and because of its faculty, who are leaders themselves in research,” Sullivan said in an e-mail.

“This combination which Tufts offers is particularly powerful.”

Dean of Arts and Sciences Robert Sternberg agreed that engaging in research enhances the learning experience for undergraduates.

“Universities really care about extending the frontiers of knowledge, and research is a chance to be personally involved in that,” he said. “It’s active learning, not just sitting and reading. It’s doing.”

Bobley indicated that the involvement of undergraduates in Crane’s project could offer valuable insight to the NEH. “At the moment, we don’t have any grant programs that specifically target undergraduate participation,” he said. “But I do think it’s a very interesting idea, and I’m very curious to see how it goes and see other fields take better advantage of what the undergraduate community has to offer.”

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Arts & Living

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TV REVIEW

REBECCA GOLDBERG | ABROADWAY

Cutting room floor

‘Scrubs’ still has a pulse in season nine BY

BEN PHELPS

Daily Editorial Board

Every great performer — a movie star, an athlete or, in this case, a television series — hopes to end his career (or final season) on a high note of fame and glory.

A

Scrubs Starring Zach Braff, Donald Faison, John C. McGinley, Eliza Coupe Airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC Most fans were satisfied that “Scrubs” would go out on top at the end of last season, and for good reason. After seven tumultuous seasons on NBC, many with little promotion or support, ABC, which produces the show, picked it up for an eighth, and presumably final, season. The idea behind this move was to allow the show’s creator Bill Lawrence to finish the medical sitcom as he envisioned.

The eighth season was widely praised as a return to form for the series, toning down J.D.’s (Zach Braff) silliness and letting all the characters develop into people the audience would feel at peace saying goodbye to. And the season finale, which viewers saw as a series finale, was about as perfect as one could imagine.

Then something unexpected happened: ABC ordered a ninth season with 13 more episodes. Confident in the “Scrubs” legacy and not wanting the show’s crew to lose their jobs in a time of economic downturn, Lawrence agreed to the new order and began developing what he described as a brand new show, just with some old characters.

And now we have “Scrubs: Med School” (although nothing but the title card will refer to it as such). J.D. introduces the new format in a classic voiceover — the old characters now work on a medical school campus, and the doctors are now professors — and that’s that. The show also wastes no time making the new locations unique and interesting, which helps ease the transition.

Because there is so much focus on the old cast, it’s hard for this new show to completely differentiate itself from its original form. Braff is still the star for now (though he is only

ABC.COM

Flashbacks to J.D. and Turk’s college days never get old. signed on for six episodes), and his voiceover narrations continue to be the guiding heart of the show. New med student Lucy (Kerry Bishé) is clearly being positioned to take over his role — she is sharing voiceover duties and is reminiscent of an early, unsure J.D. — but, so far, Lucy is hard to cheer for when J.D. is still right there beside her.

Old favorites Drs. Turk (Donald Faison) and Cox (John C. McGinley) are also still around and will anchor the show once Braff leaves. Dr. Cox shines in the show’s new format as his sarcastic, cynical self — calling the new class of students a bunch of murderers and assassins sent to kill his patients.

As with J.D. in the show’s younger seasons, he finds the optimistic and panicky Lucy annoying. For the most part, viewers probably share this sentiment, though thankfully Lucy’s character begins to tone down her neurosis in the second episode. Despite his curmudgeonly attitude, Cox takes a liking to second-time-around student Drew (Michael Mosley), admiring his age and outsider attitude.

Now a TA/mentor to the new class, Denise (Eliza Coupe, continuing her winning performance from last season), also takes a liking to Drew — albeit a more heated one than Dr. Cox’s. It looks like their romance could be going in the right direction. The writers are

already starting to expand Denise’s character to show her more emotional side while keeping her tough-chick persona.

The new “Scrubs” is certainly not skimping on the comedy. J.D. and Turk are always good for some funny bromance, a new “douche” student, Cole (Dave Franco), has some zingers (though they could get old fast) and the fantasy sequences are spot-on. And of course, The Todd (Robert Maschio) pops up for his quintessential high-fives every now and then.

The one element that seems to be missing from “Scrubs” is the poignant drama that past seasons of the show masterfully mixed with its comedy. It’s understandable that the first two episodes shy away from the dramatic, but it would be a shame if the series took away this element altogether.

While it is certainly strange not having Elliot (Sarah Chalke), the Janitor (Neil Flynn) or Carla (Judy Reyes has reportedly declined to appear in any episodes this season, even as a guest star), the mix of new and old seems to be working for now. The real test will be when J.D. leaves and the new cast has to fly solo. To really be a different show, “Scrubs” will have to make this transition a good one.

It may still be a little shaky, but judging by where the show is heading, viewers’ fears about a disappointing farewell should fade as “Scrubs” enters its ninth season.

ALBUM REVIEW

Brief, incoherent album missing Lady Gaga’s radio magic BY

REBECCA GOLDBERG Senior Staff Writer

Songs alone are not enough to create a pop icon in this post-album market. The genius of Lady Gaga is in the calculated, symbiotic relationship between her music and her persona.

The Fame Monster Lady Gaga Streamline/Konlive/Cherrytree/Interscope But one prong of Gaga cannot be fully enjoyed on its own. “The Fame Monster,” her sophomore effort, suffers in part for that reason. With this album, clocking in at only 34 minutes and consisting of just eight tracks, Gaga is trying less to create a cohesive whole and more to present a collection of potential future singles. The success of this business plan remains to be seen — but from here, it’s not looking entirely promising.

As Britney Spears 2.0, Lady Gaga makes some questionable choices, especially considering her already-stunning success: obtuse and abstract music videos, frank lyrics, unpredictable performances and a truly avant-garde fashion sense. But Lady Gaga isn’t trying to be merely this year’s pop tart. The former student of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts has never tried to conceal the fact that she is, first and foremost, a performance artist.

Gaga, née Stefani Germanotta, cultivated her ear for the mainstream pop template as a behind-the-scenes songwriter for several artists, including Spears herself. Last year saw the release of Gaga’s debut album, “The Fame.” Since then, she has consistently saturated the radio waves. Her infectious lead

single, “Just Dance,” was followed by “Poker Face,” which was without question one of the biggest songs of this year.

Gaga’s music is just as meticulously designed as her on-stage persona. Beneath the glitzy production, she is a piano chanteuse who has chosen to use her powers for disco-pop. Her hits — including “Bad Romance,” the lead single from “The Fame Monster” — present a how-to guide for making pop hits. All of her songs feature simple pop melodies, repetitive lyrics and sing-along phrases that create natural earworms. Gaga’s more acoustic performances on “Saturday Night Live” and in various YouTube.com clips prove that, while the songs sometimes work better as piano ballads than as disco tunes, she knows instinctively what makes a hit, and she pursues it.

“The Fame Monster” begins, predictably, with “Bad Romance,” which fits in perfectly with the rest of Gaga’s oeuvre. The song seems to be directly opposed to another track ruling the airwaves now — in particular, Britney’s “3” (2009) (“Bad Romance” is heavily orchestrated, whereas “3” is sparse, and while “Bad Romance” is dramatically melodic, “3” is hindered by Britney’s vocal limitations). Like the earlier “Poker Face,” “Bad Romance” benefits mightily from repeated, fevered listening; it’s better after it’s burrowed into the brain.

For the most part, the rest of “The Fame Monster” consists of more mid-tempo, less explosive dance tracks. At its worst, the album evokes dated, sub-Gaga radio hits. “So Happy I Could Die” sounds like Gaga’s reinterpretation of Natasha Bedingfield’s bland “Pocketful of Sunshine” (2008). The track “Monster” is like an ’80s dance song produced by the poor man’s Timbaland.

The album’s weakest track is “Telephone,” featuring Beyoncé. With its flat melody and

AMAZON.COM

flashy production, it’s a more straightforward dance record than the rest of the songs on “The Fame Monster.” It seems perhaps better suited for Rihanna than for these two divas. Beyoncé’s vocals sound awkwardly mismatched with Gaga’s melodically limited contribution, and no one seems to be having any fun.

In the middle of all the synthesizers and drum machines is one standout track: “Speechless,” a Queen-influenced, pianofueled power ballad. The orchestration is deliberately over-the-top, with strings and bombastic drum fills. Gaga’s vocals are uncharacteristically bare, though. She’s not a virtuoso vocalist, but her belting is better than her disco hits let on. Finally, Gaga is revealing what she can really do, rather than what she merely chooses to do.

Hopefully, “Speechless” is a sign that Lady Gaga will continue to develop both her music and her artistic experiment of creating the perfect pop star. She gives every indication that she has room to grow, mature and evolve, even if this album doesn’t get her particularly far.

mid all of the minutia about Hollywood agencies and development deals and networking (God, shut up about that already) that I’m learning here, there’s an intangible skill that I had a hard time articulating until tonight: I’m learning to see media as a fully malleable product.

It’s easy to watch TV or a movie and wish it were different or even enumerate what would make it better. I mean, I do it all the time. That’s what being a critic is. But what I didn’t know until I came out here is this: In Hollywood, you don’t have to just wish things were different.

You can change them yourself.

It’s not hard to watch a scene in a movie or read a pilot and suggest some reshuffling, maybe something as small as a new line of dialogue to replace an awkward one. It’s quite another thing to suggest changing the ending, eliminating characters or redefining entire storylines. But this is what I asked for. This is what the development execs I work for do and what I’ve been asked to do (in an abstract way) more and more.

I was bored at work recently, so I decided to root through my computer at TCFTV and read the earliest draft I could find of ABC’s “Modern Family,” an excellent freshman show my bosses developed. In the first studio draft, the show was originally titled “My American Family.” The director of this ostensible documentary serves as the narrator. At the end of the pilot, he reveals that he also has a personal relationship with the family.

I don’t really have a problem with this conceit, besides the fact that the director would bring the number of series regulars to a staggering 11. But otherwise there’s something that appeals to me about the unifying nature of this idea, and I can see a lot of stories in it.

I didn’t read any of the other drafts that became the aired pilot, so I don’t know when and why the narrator got cut in favor of the anonymous “Office” format.

But it blows my mind that someone in the department had the power to say, “Yeah, I like the basic idea, but scrap this guy and the entire central concept.”

In class a few weeks back, my professor invited a pair of new filmmakers to screen a rough cut of their unsold horror film, “YellowBrickRoad” (yes, no spaces, for maximum fear!). Afterwards in the Q&A, there seemed to be a lively consensus among the class that the ending of the film was completely wrong. We decided that at the very least, the directors should have stuck with the ending they described from their original script (although that also needed work, to be honest). What was so crazy to me was how we had just watched an entire cut of a feature film — nearly two hours long — and yet these two guys were open to the idea of completely rethinking the plot of their baby.

After a lifetime of only experiencing media as finished products that have passed the approval processes of studios, networks, editors and even the MPAA, it’s a real crisis for me to suddenly be told that nothing is set in stone. I think studio execs are probably successful for the most part because they possess that particular, dubious skill of looking at something and thinking, without conditions or reservations, “How can I hack this up to make it better?”

My love for media means that I have those conditions and reservations, so I’m going to start shaking them off now.

Deep breaths, and ...

Rebecca Goldberg is a junior majoring in American studies. She can be reached at Rebecca.Goldberg@tufts.edu

THE TUFTS DAILY

6 CROSSWORD

Friday, December 4, 2009

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ETHAN FRIGON | THE BEARD ABIDES

INSIDE THE NHL

Sex, lies and Tiger’s desperation

I

MCT

Last year’s NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field reaped the highest ratings for any hockey game in recent history. With this season’s Classic being played in Fenway Park between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers, the NHL’s solidifying a new tradition.

Bruins, Flyers gearing up for Winter Classic BY

ADAM PARDES

Daily Staff Writer

Fenway Park, which opened in 1912, is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium still in use today. Since 2003, every Boston Red Sox home game has filled capacity, shattering the MLB alltime record for consecutive sold-out games. With nearly a century of history and renowned features like the Green Monster in left field and the only manual scoreboard in the game, the worldfamous Fenway Park is the perfect place for the 2010 NHL Winter Classic. The Classic will feature the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers and is sure to be an exciting event for players and fans alike.

The Winter Classic serves as a special tribute to the origins of hockey: fastpaced neighborhood games played on frozen ponds and in backyards. “[The Winter Classic] is unique, but it goes to the very essence and roots of our game,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told NHL.com. “It captures the imagination of the fans, and it also captures the imagination of the players, many if not most of whom learned to play hockey outside.”

The first annual Classic was played on Jan. 1, 2008 in Ralph Wilson Stadium, the home of the Buffalo Bills, in Orchard Park, N.Y. It seemed as if hours of pregame snow would postpone the event, but the omnipotent hockey gods lifted the clouds and allowed the game to be played in clear conditions. In the matchup, which pitted the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Buffalo Sabres, Sidney Crosby scored a shootout winner in a deadlocked battle to give the Penguins a 2-1 decision.

The game marked the first ever regular-season outdoor NHL game held in the United States and snatched the NHL record for attendance with an immense crowd of 71,217 fans.

Following its remarkable success in 2008, the NHL held another New Year’s Day matinee in 2009 between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. This matchup between two of the league’s Original Six took place in Chicago’s Wrigley Field, the second oldest ballpark in the United States. The Wrigley Classic saw the highest television ratings of any hockey game in 33 years, illustrating the growing public appreciation for the NHL’s latest attempt to gain more viewers.

Philadelphia Flyers goalie Brian Boucher — a Red Sox fan himself — is especially thankful for the opportunity to play in this year’s televised version of pond hockey, describing Fenway as a place where you go “to watch sporting events, not to take part in them.” In a recent interview, Boucher spoke glowingly about the event.

“To see it at Wrigley Field, such a historic sporting venue, you’re just like, ‘Wow, that’s awesome,’” he told NHL.com. “I think every player probably watched that Winter Classic. If they didn’t watch the whole game, they watched some of it … I never thought what it would be like to play in it, but now to have a chance to potentially play in one is really exciting.”

Boston Bruins left winger Steve Begin, who grew up in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, played hockey outdoors daily from the time he was five years old until he was 15.

He also took part in the Heritage Classic in 2003 in Edmonton, Alberta as a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

“Every day I was outside,” he told NHL. com in an interview. “Every day I would come back from school, eat and go to the outside rink. I would be there the whole night, come back home, do my homework and go to bed. Every day I was there, and I was so excited.

“I can’t wait to play this one,” he continued. “It’s a great experience in front

of, I don’t know, 40,000 or something like that. It’s something special. You want to show up for that game and you want to experience that day. It’s magical.”

As great an opportunity as it is for the players to play in the Classic, both teams also know that this is a regular season game with two points up for grabs.

The Bruins have battled back from a tough start to their season, having won five of their last six games. Boston traded young goal-scorer Phil Kessel to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the offseason and then was forced to cope with injuries to first-line center Marc Savard and fan favorite Milan Lucic. Savard, who signed a seven-year contract extension on Tuesday, has four points in five games since returning from an absence due to a broken foot.

On the other hand, the Flyers have lost five of their last six games after successfully winning seven out of eight before that. This inconsistency is in part due to injuries to superstars Simon Gagne and Danny Briere, but it mostly stems from an inability to play intense hockey for a full 60 minutes. The Flyers have, however, shown glimpses of being a Cup-worthy team on the backs of defensive stalwart Chris Pronger and acrobatic goaltender Ray Emery.

Both teams feature a physical style of play that is sure to excite the Fenway crowd on Jan. 1. The game is unlikely to be a blowout and is almost certain to be full of highlight-reel goals, saves and hits.

The Bruins and Flyers split last year’s season series with two wins apiece, including a thrilling overtime victory by the Flyers in Boston last February. This year, the Flyers nabbed a 4-3 shootout win just three weeks into the season, the teams’ only meeting thus far. The two squads will play again in two weeks, serving as the final preview for this year’s Classic at Fenway.

Beyel nets career high in Jumbos’ first win this season MEN’S BASKETBALL continued from page 8

together. They led as seniors should.”

The Jumbos got an effective 10 points and six assists from their floor general junior Matt Galvin, while Long finished the game with nine points and 11 rebounds in just 14 minutes. Tufts also dominated the glass, out-rebounding Keene State 53-26 for the game.

“We’ve been talking about working hard on every play and rebounding is one of those hustle stats: You’ve got to go

get it,” Sheldon said.

Throughout the game, Keene State employed full-court pressure to try and force Tufts turnovers and to quicken the speed of play. The Jumbos, however, were well prepared for the tactic, and routinely broke the press for 2-on-1 and 3-on-2 breaks.

“We knew they were going to press and we wanted to attack,” Sheldon said. “We struggled against Thomas [University] with the press and then we beat the press against Lesley, but didn’t attack. Tonight,

we told them we’re going to beat the press and then attack; that’s the progression.”

Tufts now looks toward the weekend, when it will host the inaugural Big Four Tournament against Brandeis, Babson and Salem State. The Jumbos’ first game in the tournament will be on Saturday night against Babson at 7 p.m. With its first win in the books, Tufts is already looking forward to their second.

“I think we showed tonight we can still be a very good team despite our 0-4 start,” Pierce said.

kind of feel responsible for Tiger Woods’ recent scandal. Was I just setting him up to fail by singing his praises in a column from September?

What other sorts of vast powers do I have that I have no knowledge of? And how much of a chump do I feel like for buying into the “Tiger Woods, all-American family man” illusion just like everyone else?

In all fairness to myself, I never really had a choice. The Tiger I wrote about — the Tiger we’ve seen for 13 years — never seemed anything less than squeakyclean, which was the gist of that column: that the media was trying to bring Tiger down for minor flaws, because there was nothing actually wrong with him. Well, we were all wrong.

Honestly, though, it’s hard to crucify Tiger for his indiscretions. One of the most famous men of our time lives in a world we could never comprehend. It’s naive and condescending to criticize his decisions when we can’t understand his circumstances.

What we can blame Tiger for, however, was his initial, lame insistence on respecting the privacy of his family.

Sorry, Tiger, you entered into a social contract years ago. In return for those billions of dollars, we get to know every detail of your private life that we can uncover. For you to claim that you “have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means” suggests that you went through the first 34 years of your life with your eyes and ears shut. Really, Tiger, you’re surprised that an industry that pays millions of dollars for exclusive baby pictures and makes claims about the president’s gay lovers on a weekly basis will go to any length to tarnish the legacy of the most squeaky-clean athlete of our time?

You were sleeping with a girl who appeared on VH1’s “Tool Academy.” You really thought that was going to end well? The idea never crossed your mind that a girl who whored herself out to the money-grubbing pimp that is reality television might not be particularly trustworthy? You should have known that telling a young woman who was clearly emotionally unstable (she was dating a guy whose nickname on “Tool Academy” was “Loud Mouth Tool”) that you wanted to only be with her (“Quietly and secretly we will always be together”) might come back to bite you in the ass when she realized that that was a complete lie. Your pathetic pseudo-apology isn’t helping matters either; admit what your “transgressions” were, or it doesn’t mean anything.

Again, Tiger is human and we all make mistakes, but for one of the world’s biggest celebrities, with a carefully crafted public persona, to ask for privacy is hypocritical and a joke.

Other notes on the scandal: Tiger apparently told his “Tool Academy” mistress that he felt he wasn’t as financially secure as he wanted to be.

Jesus, how’s that supposed to make the rest of us feel?

Professional athletes, if you needed any more evidence that Derek Jeter should be your relationship role model, here it is. The man has dated and broken up with an almost absurd string of attractive women and has never received any negative publicity. Don’t marry and you won’t get in trouble. Simple as that.

How has no one thrown “gate” at the end of a word for this scandal yet?

Tigergate? Escaladegate? Overzealous, cliché-loving media, you’ve had 35 years to figure these things out. Step it up.

Ethan Frigon is a junior majoring in economics and international relations. He can be reached at Ethan.Frigon@tufts.edu.

Sports

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INSIDE The Beard Abides 7 Inside the NHL 7

tuftsdaily.com

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Jumbos hold off Owls for first win of the season BY

ALEX LACH

Daily Editorial Board

The Tufts men’s basketball team knew it was only a matter of time. After an 0-4 start to the 2009 campaign, with its latest MEN’S BASKETBALL (1-4, 0-0 NESCAC) at Cousens Gym, Yesterday Keene State Tufts

JAMES CHOCA/TUFTS DAILY

Senior tri-captain Jon Pierce had double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds to help Tufts earn its first win of the season last night, a 91-79 victory over visiting Keene State.

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53 — 79 54 — 91

loss a two-point heartbreaker to Lesley on Tuesday night, Tufts finally tasted success against feisty Keene State. The Jumbos led nearly the entire first half, built a 19-point lead early in the second half, and held on to earn their first victory of the season, 91-79.

“It was absolutely a relief to win,” senior co-captain forward Jon Pierce said. “We hadn’t won since last January, if you look back. We lost five straight to end the year last year and four straight to begin the year this year. From the beginning of the game, we wanted to get that monkey off our back. We came out and played aggressive, everyone played within themselves and we were able to pull it out in the end.”

After Tufts built an 18 point lead on a three-pointer by senior co-captain forward Dave Beyel with 13:59 to play, the Owls started mounting a comeback sparked by three-pointers and Tufts’ turnovers. A three-pointer by Keene State freshman Geoffrey Woodbury cut Tufts’ lead to just six with 10:19 left in the game. Having blown a five point lead with less than two minutes to play on Tuesday night, the Jumbos learned from their past mistakes and were able to bounce back against Keene State. “[After Tuesday], we learned to play as a team,” coach Bob Sheldon said. “We told them to forget about the score and just play hard. We’ll do the coaching. Just play hard and do everything right. During the timeouts we told them, ‘We’re alright.

Don’t panic. We’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing.’”

After Owls sophomore Derek D’Amours’ jumper once again cut Tufts’ lead to six with 9:37 to play, the Jumbos went on a 13-5 run to push the lead back up to 14 with just under six minutes in the game.

Sophomore forward James Long was a key contributor off the bench in the second half for the Jumbos, scoring all nine of his points and pulling down six rebounds in eight minutes of play while also assisting on a nifty backdoor pass to junior forward Sam Mason.

“I can’t say enough about the performance that James Long gave off the bench,” Pierce said. “He’s been sort of up and down in terms of minutes, but he hasn’t complained at all, and he’s worked his ass off in practice. He came ... to tonight and crashed the glass so hard and pulled down rebounds in traffic and did everything we asked him to do.”

Tufts got out to an early 15-4 lead, thanks in part to its defense and its rebounding.

The Jumbos held an Owls team that came into the game averaging 87 points to a paltry 28 percent shooting in the first half, a large part of the reason Tufts took an 11 point lead into halftime.

“The thing we’ve been working on all off-season and the month leading up to the first game is help defense,” Pierce said. “We were able to contain them even once we got beat. We had good rotations, we kept the ball out of the middle well, we challenged shots. In the first half we really made a commitment to the help defense, and it really showed.”

The Owls didn’t stop fighting in the last five minutes, but Tufts had an answer for every run, largely thanks to Pierce and Beyel. Beyel finished with a career high 29 points on 12-18 shooting, while Pierce, after not seeing much of the ball in the opening minutes, finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

“This is the first time in our first five games that they’ve both come up big on the same night,” Sheldon said. “Until now, it’s been one and not the other. This is the first time they’ve combined to play well see MEN’S BASKETBALL, page 7

WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

Jumbos beat Wellesley to even record at 2-2

BY JESSE WEINBERG Contributing Writer

After losing in its first NESCAC tri-meet of the season to Connecticut College and Middlebury College, the Tufts women’s swimming and diving team rebounded by defeating Wellesley College 166-123, evening its record at 2-2.

“We were really tired at the Middlebury and Connecticut College meet because we had the Colorado College meet the night before and a long bus ride,” senior tri-captain and All-American Lyndsey York said. “We kept practicing and we had a long rest over Thanksgiving break, and we were excited to get in the pool and race against Wellesley.”

The Jumbos bounced back in impressive fashion, dominating the diving events and seeing some stellar individual performances across the board.

Wellesley did not put up too much of a fight, as Tufts won 14 of 16 events. Sophomores Valerie Eacret, Katie Russell and Paulina Ziolek each won two events to lead the Jumbos.

Sophomore Kelly Moriarty and freshman Kathryn Sullivan joined Eacret and Ziolek in the 200-yard medley relay, which set the tone for the Jumbos as they bested Wellesley by six hundreths of a second in a great race to open the meet.

“Wellesley wasn’t as strong as us, so it was really important that we tried our hardest and raced against ourselves,” York said.

Russell was dominant in the distance events, winning the 1000-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle. Eacret’s two victories came in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, while Ziolek delivered wins in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events.

In the backstroke events, Tufts benefited from great performances by sophomore Courtney Adams, who won the 100-yard event, and senior tricaptain Meredith Cronin, who won the 200-yard backstroke.

Freshman Christine Garvey also contributed a first-place finish for the Jumbos, coming out on top in the 200-yard butterfly The only blip in the otherwise stellar Tufts performance was the team’s inability to win any of the sprint events.

Wellesley junior Dana Dutton won the 100-yard freestyle, narrowly out-reaching Tufts sophomore Annie Doisneau by a half a second, while fifth-year senior Savannah Johnson won the 50-yard freestyle for the Blue.

“We are trying to look forward,” said York. “We are getting Maureen O’Neill back soon and we have our training

trip over Christmas break and we’ll be ready to compete in the second half of the season.”

With the victory wrapped up, Tufts continued to pile up first place finishes. Adams finished first in the 200-individual medley, and earned the best time in the 400-yard freestyle event, in which Ziolek, Eacret and Cronin also competed.

In the diving events, Gardel won the three-meter event, while freshman Noa Palmon earned an unexpected top score in the one-meter event, narrowly beating Gardel.

“It was great to see Lindsay and Noa do so well at the meet,” sophomore diver Rachel Lew said. “With so many of the stronger members of our team being seniors, it’s exciting that we have such an awesome new talent on our team to carry us forward through the upcoming seasons.”

This weekend should be a big test for the Jumbos, as they will compete in the two-day MIT invitational. The Jumbos will be looking to build on past success at the MIT meet.

“The Wellesley meet was a great warm-up for the MIT invitational on Friday and Saturday,” Lew said. “Hopefully, we will be able to keep our energy up and dominate this weekend.”

Last year, the Jumbos finished second in a seven-team

ANDREW MORGENTHALER/TUFTS DAILY

Sophomore Kelly Moriarty was part of Tufts’ 200-yard medley relay team that bested Wellesley by .06 seconds Wednesday night. The Jumbos won the meet 166-123 to improve to 2-2 on the season. field, which included NESCAC rivals Bowdoin and Colby. They will be looking to duplicate that performance, but hopefully with a better result.

“We are really looking for-

ward to the MIT invitational,” York said. “They have a great pool, and we have a lot of experience swimming there, so we are excited to put in some fast times.”