2010-02-24

THE TUFTS DAILY

Wintry Mix 40/34

Study examines lack of faculty diversity BY

CORINNE SEGAL

Daily Editorial Board

Colleges in the Boston area are lacking in faculty diversity and have low numbers of African-American and Hispanic tenure-track professors, according to a recent survey by the Boston Globe.

The survey reveals that at Tufts these minority groups make up only 7.7 percent of the faculty, a number on par with many other Boston-area colleges.

Director of the Latino Center Rubén Salinas-Stern attributed this to the fact that minority students are deterred by the high risks associated with following an academic career path.

“The students that I work with tend to be first-generation students and tend to be low-income students, and the process of becoming a professor is a very long process,” he said. “It’s a brutal process …

I think it’s really hard to get people to think that long term with so many risks involved and also thinking about the fact that they need to be out there, working, making money.”

Salinas-Stern also noted that

TUFTSDAILY.COM

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2010

VOLUME LIX, NUMBER 18

full-time professor hires have decreased recently. “Universities are hiring less and less full-time professors,” he said.“Universities are hiring more adjuncts and part-time professors.”

Some of the lowest numbers of African-American and Latino tenure-track professors are seen at Boston University, where they make up 3.4 percent of the faculty, and Brandeis University, where the number stands at three percent.

Tufts’ figure of 7.7 percent ranks above Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which come in at 5.8 and 6.4 percent of faculty respectively. Emerson College’s percentage is slightly higher, at 8.5 percent.

Salinas-Stern said that he has not seen a significant increase in the number of Latino professors since 1994, when he began working at Tufts.

“We don’t have substantially more Latino faculty now than we had when I arrived,” he said.

“I don’t see the numbers growing at Tufts, at least in terms of Latino faculty.” see DIVERSITY, page 2

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Healthy living’s move downhill draws opposition

BY JENNY

WHITE

Daily Editorial Board

The Office of Residential Life and Learning’s (ResLife) decision to next year relocate the Healthy Living Program for upperclassmen to Lewis Hall has, according to students, led many to drop out of the program.

Data provided by ResLife showed that this year, 122 students applied and were accepted into the program before knowing about the change, an increase from 83 last year. Only 26 of these students, however, ultimately participated in the Feb. 12 healthy living lottery, a decrease from 64 last year.

ResLife defended the change as an attempt to accommodate all students interested in the program.

Healthy living is intended to be a residential experience in which students practice a lifestyle promoting physical and mental wellbeing and abide by a zero-tolerance substance policy.

The 12-year-old program was this academic year situated on the first floors of Carmichael

JENNA LIANG/TUFTS DAILY

Lewis Hall will next year be the new home of the Healthy Living Program. and Hodgdon Halls, 45 Sawyer Ave. and most of the all-freshman dorm Hill Hall, according to Associate Director of ResLife Doreen Long.

Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman explained that the relocation is an effort to ensure there is enough space in healthy living housing to

meet student demand, since ResLife has in the past been forced to turn people away.

“It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t meet student requests [in years past],” Reitman said.

“So there was a push this year to try to accommodate all the see LEWIS, page 2

Fraternities see record participation in rush BY

MARTHA SHANAHAN Daily Editorial Board

COURTESY TOM KEPPELER

The Cummings School’s renovated campus center has drawn praise.

Renovated campus center at Cummings school wins design award

BY SMRITI

CHOUDHURY

Contributing Writer

The newly renovated Agnes Varis Campus Center at Tufts’ Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine campus in Grafton was in December awarded the Silver Hammer Award in recognition of its design excellence.

The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce gives yearly Silver Hammer Awards to recognize projects that contribute significantly to the area’s aesthetic quality or enhance the region’s historical sites.

“The Silver Hammer Award signifies

the best institutional historic renovation within the Worcester region,” Jean Poteete, senior campus planner for the Cummings School, said.

The Cummings School campus center was one of three construction and rehabilitation projects awarded the prize at the chamber’s 134th annual meeting, held on Dec. 8.

Agnes Varis (C ’03), a trustee and member of the Board of Overseers at the Cummings School, donated $4 million to the renovation of the campus center, which in total cost $10 million. see CUMMINGS, page 2

Inside this issue

Members of the Greek community this year reported a marked increase in rush participation from previous years, crediting efforts to establish a more accessible and integrated Greek community.

Nine of Tufts’ 10 fraternities accepted more than 10 new members, and some reported pledge classes with close to 20 people.

Inter-Greek Council (IGC) Vice President of Public Relations Eric Swanson, a sophomore, noted there was almost an across-the-board increase in the size of pledge classes. “[We are] really excited about it,” he said.

Sophomore Jacob Schiller, president of the Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp) fraternity and IGC vice president of governance, said that the individual fraternities worked hard to distinguish the Greek community’s image at Tufts from what is conventionally presented in the media.

“I think that a lot of people come to college having a [stereotypical] view of Greek life, and the frats did a fantastic job of combating that [this] fall,” he said.

This image campaign, combined with the holistic development of an integrated Greek community, may have contributed to the increase in interest, according to Greek community leaders.

“The individual houses were working really hard on improvement … towards developing the Greek community instead of the separate houses,”

Swanson said.

Senior Sam Pollack, president of the Tufts Interfraternity Council (IFC), said that of Tufts’ fraternities, Alpha Epsilon Pi took 22 new brothers, SigEp took 18, Delta Tau Delta took 10, Alpha Tau Omega took 14, Theta Delta Chi took 15, Theta Chi took 13, Zeta Beta Tau took six, Zeta Psi took 17, Delta Upsilon took 20 and Sigma Nu took 12.

Zeta Psi President Byron Crowe, a senior, noted that rush numbers for Zeta Psi were the highest in a decade.

He estimated that approximately 40 to 45 students rushed the fraternity.

The IFC’s most recent attempt to create greater inter-Greek unity is an initiative with the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service that will involve all of the fraternities on campus in a collaborative effort to raise money for local non-profit organizations.

A contract signed on Sunday by representatives of the Greek community and Tisch College established the partnership.

The document cites the fraternities’ “strong history of philanthropy and membership of strong leaders” as rationales for the partnership and says that the purpose of the project is to “strengthen the capacity of Tufts fraternities to have a positive and constructive impact on campus, in the local area, and in the global community.”

Pollack said that the theme for this semester’s initiative will be Local Community Affairs and Engagement.

Each fraternity will choose a charitable see FRATERNITIES, page 2

Today’s Sections

Despite A-list cast, “Valentine’s Day” fails to live up to hype.

The Daily previews this weekend’s upcoming NESCAC basketball action.

see ARTS, page 5

see SPORTS, back

News Features Arts & Living Comics

1 3 5 7

Editorial | Letters Op-Ed Classifieds Sports

8 9 11 Back

THE TUFTS DAILY

2

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

NEWS

Cummings campus center recognized for success in historical preservation

Provost says that increasing information critical to tackling bias

CUMMINGS

DIVERSITY

continued from page 1

The renovation began in the summer of 2007 and ended in the fall of 2008 and had been delayed for many years due to insufficient funding, according to Director of Construction Management Mitch Bodnarchuk.

Bowdoin Construction Corporation undertook the building’s construction, and the architectural firm Finegold Alexander and Associates drew up the building’s design.

The selection of the architects for the renovation took into consideration their understanding of the project’s desired outcome, according to Bodnarchuk.

“The architects of the renovation were chosen by their experience with the renovation of older buildings that coincided with the campus theme,” he said.

The original building, built in 1913, served as a dormitory for male nurses working at the Grafton State Hospital.

Tufts in 1978 purchased the hospital’s land from the state to establish the Cummings School.

The new campus center will provide the Cummings School community with a much-needed space for both scholastic and non-scholastic activities, creating a venue that facilitates community unity, according to Tom Keppeler, associate director of public relations for the Cummings School. “[It is a] cohesive space for the campus, as we never had one place for students to eat, study and relax,” he said.

The renovation involved the replacement of all of the windows in the campus center and the restoration of the slate roof. The interior of the building was

entirely redone, along with the addition of a new 1,000-square-foot fitness room, a cafeteria, two 1,000-square-foot lounges, a bookstore, 13 faculty offices and an auditorium. The two lounges include a “loud” lounge equipped with billiards and foosball tables and a “quiet” study lounge with a fireplace.

The auditorium in the campus center is the third on the Grafton campus. The 173-seat auditorium is open to the public and has already been used by members of the Tufts Department of Music to showcase a benefit concert for relief efforts in Haiti.

The new fitness center — the first on the Grafton campus — was added partially thanks to funding from the Cummings Marathon Challenge team, Team Jumbo West.

Additionally, as part of the preservation of the historical site, which is today listed on the Massachusetts Register of Historic Places, a new two-story wing containing a 7,200-square-foot lecture hall was added using the original structure’s materials.

Beyond uniting the student community, the campus center also brings faculty and students together, as it houses private offices for Cummings School faculty.

The other recipients of the Silver Hammer Award were the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts and the Rainbow Child Development Center at 10 Edward Street.

Chris Candiello, construction projects manager in the Tufts Operations Division, won a 2009 Extra Mile Award, one of the Tufts Distinction Awards, in part for his work on the Grafton construction project.

continued from page 1

Still, Provost and Senior Vice President Jamshed Bharucha noted that the promotion of African-American professors has increased since 2002 when he first came to Tufts. According to Bharucha, Tufts in 2002 had one African-American full professor and eight tenured associate professors. Today, these numbers have increased to four and 15 respectively.

“We’ve doubled the tenured ranks of tenured African-Americans,” he said. “We can be proud of some progress. It’s noticeable to the community.”

Bharucha agreed, however, that Tufts still has room to improve with regards to faculty diversity.

“The numbers alone aren’t enough,” he said. “You need to build a culture, a community, a climate that is welcoming to faculty from underrepresented groups, whether it’s African-Americans or women in fields where they’re underrepresented.

That takes a lot of work, and we’re trying to work on that through better orientation and better workshops.”

He explained that a lot of his work has focused on creating role models for younger faculty. “My emphasis was on building faculty leadership at the senior level,” he said.

Travis Brown, manager of the Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Diversity at Tufts — established to attract and support students interested in scientific careers — noted that the presence of such role models was especially important for minority students looking to go into academia.

“It’s a difficult process for anyone, but particularly for underrepresented students,

it’s more difficult if there’s no one they can look to as an example,” he said.

Bharucha feels that increasing understanding about bias is integral to any diversity efforts.

“I think the more knowledge there is about the psychology of bias and perception of in- and out-groups and attitudes of attributions and how these things work, I think the more we can catch ourselves when we might inadvertently be biased,” he said.

He pointed out that research has disproved skeptics who claim that people are inherently unbiased.

“These studies in social psychology and neuroscience enable us to see, scientifically, that there are biases that are unconscious that manifest themselves, and we need to work to compensate for those,” Bharucha said.

This research has been presented to Tufts’ administration and faculty in the hopes of increasing diversity awareness.

“I’m hoping that by better disseminating this new info from social psychology, more people will realize that there’s a lot of work to be done still in order to create a culture, a climate where bias doesn’t exist,” Bharucha said. “Otherwise, many people are very skeptical of the need to diversify our university campus.”

Salinas-Stern said that Tufts will continue to work toward raising the number of minority faculty members. “I think you need to provide a lot of financial support, a lot of mentorship,” he said.

Bharucha echoed these sentiments, pointing out that diversification and equalization is a long-term process. “It’s not something that has an overnight solution,” he said. “You need to keep working on it and progress is slow.”

Some students back out of Healthy Living Program as it moves to Lewis Hall LEWIS continued from page 1

requests for healthy living.”

Reports from students, however, suggest that the strategy may have backfired. Despite the record-high number of interested students, many changed their minds and dropped out from the program after ResLife announced the change.

A large proportion of the students who withdrew from the healthy living program expressed disappointment in its relocation to Lewis Hall, which has generally been one of the last dorms to be chosen by students in the housing lottery.

“I just find it ironic that the dorm with the worst facilities was chosen for Healthy Living,” freshman Tiffany Tu, one of the 96 students who changed their minds, said.

Current Hill resident freshman Amy Demicco felt that Lewis would not be conducive to the creation of a closeknit, like-minded community like the one present in Hill’s healthy living floors, citing the likelihood that substances and raucous behavior would likely be pervasive.

“We were to be in a dorm where we would be exposed to the things we were trying to avoid,” Demicco said.

Long, however, said that Lewis was chosen because of its design. “In Lewis the setup is really convenient, the configuration is easier,” she said.

“It’s blocked off into wings, so if we filled up certain portions and not others, we could still keep healthy living only in certain areas.”

Long explained that Lewis stood out from the other residence halls considered for the program because it was large enough to accommodate all

members in one location, as opposed to dispersing them among at least three dorms as has happened in the past. She noted that Hill will continue to house freshman healthy Living residents.

Students reacted strongly to the change, calling it detrimental to the Healthy Living Program.

“Lewis killed healthy living,” Demicco said.

Freshman Xiaochong Yao echoed these sentiments. “I question the motive behind ResLife’s decision … because of what Lewis Hall is like,” she said. “ResLife seems to discourage students [from choosing] a healthy living lifestyle.”

Sophomore Michelle Hayes said she has enjoyed her twoyear experience in healthy living but decided to look for alternative housing options because of Lewis’ questionable reputation.

“Lewis is just such a gross dorm,” she said. “The fact that this year healthy living is in Carmichael makes Lewis seem even worse. It doesn’t make sense to put healthy living kids, who would treat the dorm facilities well, in a building that’s not that great.”

Still, freshman Adam Cohen, a current Hill resident who chose to continue with healthy living next year, believes that Lewis is not much worse of a facility than other older dorms on campus.

“I’m not quite sure what the whole deal is with people backing out,” Cohen said.

“The people make the place.

With the proper group, Lewis could be a lot nicer than it is.”

Reitman shares Cohen’s view on Lewis’ potential to foster a strong healthy living environment.

“It’s not just about location

or amenities,” he said. “It’s the program, the mix of single and double rooms. Hopefully the value and worth of the program outweighs the discontent over location.”

Freshman Karen Adler explained that she decided to stick with the healthy living program despite her dissatisfaction with the location because of her poor lottery number.

Reitman acknowledged that students with low lottery numbers often opt for healthy living to avoid an unfavorable housing arrangement. He discouraged such actions.

“I hope that the requests were to be part of a particular program and not just a means of getting in to a particular residence,” he said.

ResLife remains unconcerned about those who withdrew from healthy living due to locations concerns.

“We were hoping that people would want to be in the program and if they choose not to be part of the program, that is completely up to them,” Long said.

Still, Adler feels that students should have been consulted as part of ResLife’s decision-making process. “I feel like the move to Lewis indicates that ResLife doesn’t care much about the happiness of people who chose healthy living,” she said.

Reitman recognized students’ reservations about Lewis but is convinced that healthy living residents can improve the dorm’s atmosphere.

“The way of life there is different than in other locations,” he said. “Change is slow to take hold; expectations and community values generally take a few years to settle into a place.”

KRISTEN COLLINS/TUFTS DAILY

Fraternity chapters have seen increased rush participation this spring.

Fraternities work to integrate Greek community FRATERNITIES continued from page 1

organization in the local area on which to focus its fundraising efforts.

According to Tisch College Senior Student Programs Manager Mindy Nierenberg, the partnership will “absolutely continue past this semester” because of its participants’ enthusiasm.

Pollack added that the theme will be reevaluated each semester. He commended the fraternities’ orchestrated effort. “[The initiative is] the first time in recent memory [that all the fraternities] have really collaborated … It’s a pretty original thing,” he said.

The chapters will officially choose their respective organizations later this week, but many have decided to maintain previously existing relationships with non-profits, according to Swanson.

He added that SigEp is likely to continue donating to the Somerville Housing Corporation.

Crowe said that Zeta Psi

will donate the proceeds from future events to an organization that provides help for Haitians living in the area.

Another recent initiative is the participation of many of the fraternities in Reach Out Campaign sessions, a Health Service program that educates representatives from student groups about health concerns so that they can pass on the information to their peers.

Swanson commended fraternity involvement in the Reach Out Campaign. “[The campaign is a] good PR activity in terms of showing that the Greek community really does care about healthrelated issues … and it’s important to [expose] issues to not just the Greeks but the campus as a whole.”

Liaisons have already attended two sessions, the first of which focused on alcoholrelated health issues and the second on eating disorders.

Schiller called the project “a great opportunity for the frats and other students to really think and help the whole community to be safe.”

Features

3

tuftsdaily.com

JESSIE BORKAN | COLLEGE IS AS COLLEGE DOES

Tardy for the party

M

COURTESY TULANE UNIVERSITY

Tulane is one of many schools that issues “personal applications.”

Free, fast-track college applications simplify process with ‘preferred’ form BY

AMELIA QUINN

Contributing Writer

The college application process usually means writing essays, filling out lengthy forms, paying steep application fees and then waiting anxiously for an admission or rejection letter. Stressedout applicants might dream about a simplified process — about a college application sent to them with their names and other personal information already filled out, their submission fees waived and the promise of learning their fates earlier than usual. For some, this dream is a reality.

In recent years, a significant number of both public and private universities and colleges have been mailing out preferred applications to students deemed “good fits,” a designation often based largely on PSAT scores.

In comparison to the lengthy essays that most schools require their applicants to complete, these applications, called “VIP Applications,” “Distinctive Candidate” and “High Priority,” among other names, often require little more than a signature.

“I applied as a preferred applicant to Tulane, and it was a lot of the same information as the Common App and one short essay, and it was rolling so I found out really quickly. It was also for a scholarship,” Tufts freshman Madeline Luce said.

According to a recent New York Times article, over 100 universities and colleges used a single marketing firm, Royall & Company of Richmond, Va., to distribute these applications in 2009. This was five times as many universities who used this firm than in the fall of 2006.

Many of the universities that send out preferred applicant forms target students with impressive academic records who may not otherwise consider applying. Some of these students apply to

these schools as “safeties” because of the minimal effort required and the assurance of an early notification of their already likely admittance.

“I got a ton of VIP applications,” Tufts freshman Gene Buonaccorsi said. “I only sent in the [University of Vermont (UVM)] one. It was great, though, because I was into a school before I had even really started the application process. It made me feel a lot more at ease when I was going through applying.

“I guess it’s advantageous for the schools because they can make themselves appeal to a group of students who may not have considered them initially,” Buonaccorsi said. “Although I was considering UVM already, I know there are some people who weren’t thinking about it before they got the VIP app., but it was so easy to apply that they ended up doing it.

“It ended up being the perfect safety school situation,” he continued. “For me, it was basically like really easy early action.”

In comparison to the relatively sparse preferred applicant forms, Tufts requires a completed Common App, a supplemental application, a high school transcript, the SAT Reasoning Test with two subject tests or the ACT with writing, two letters of recommendation and a $70 application processing fee, which can be waived.

Luce is not sure how a preferred applicant program would work at a college like Tufts, which emphasizes the importance of writing skills that are exhibited by Common App essays and the supplemental application.

“I think it’s a good idea for larger schools like state schools, and it can be really good for people who have difficulties paying for school, but I don’t think that Tufts should do it because the essays are too important, and it’s a smaller, more selective school,” Luce

said. “[Tufts] needs more of an application to make a decision. It shouldn’t be just your name, your address and your grades and just mail it in.”

Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Lee Coffin stated unequivocally that Tufts will not be adopting a similar recruitment strategy.

“My view is straightforward: Those application strategies are gimmicks designed to artificially drive up applicant pools, usually for the benefit of rankings and the like,” he said.

Coffin said that considering any applicant as “preferred” over others “does not jive with Tufts’ commitment to equity.”

“We are very pleased with our application and believe that it captures salient and insightful information about our pool,” Coffin said.

Fees prospective students face Although several schools are waiving their application fees to entice applicants, high school students still face steep fees when applying to many colleges and universities. Below are the standard application fees for several Boston-area schools.

Boston University — $75 MIT — $75 Tufts — $70 Harvard — $65 Brandies — $55 UMass, Boston — $40 for Massachusetts residents, $60 for out-of-state applicants —compiled by Carter Rogers

y heart is racing, my breath ragged. I am sweating a little under all of my layers as I power walk down an empty sidewalk. I check my phone obsessively, in between taking nervous glances around at the ghost-town campus. No, I am not afraid of being mugged. I am just late.

Campus is empty because every other student at Tufts is nestled safe and punctual in their 9:30 a.m. classes, or at least has the decency to sleep through them.

I, on the other hand, am awkwardly halfwalking, half-running up the hill and across the quad, only to rush in at 9:34 a.m. with a flushed face and tea spilled down the front my clothes, which I slept in the night before.

Lateness is the perpetual state of affairs for me. I am late to work, late to class, late buying milk; I am late to speakers, for buses, to meals, to parties. I get to the airport as my planes are boarding, start papers the morning they are due and call my mom back after she is already asleep. All my clocks are set several minutes ahead, but I always end up just calculating the actual time. Sometimes I over-estimate how fast they are, making me even later.

It’s as if the things I need to do before I leave my room magically expand to fit whatever time I allot myself to do them. It doesn’t matter if I get up two hours before my lunch shift or ten minutes — I will still always walk in at 12:05 p.m., cringing as I see the rest of the staff waiting at the front desk for me to arrive.

Somehow, however, my life is not in shambles. I have not been fired from my job. I have never missed a flight. Professors whose classes I am six minutes late to every week give me A’s for participation.

The worst thing that has happened to me because of my unremitting tardiness is that horrible, sinking, guilty feeling I get in the pit of my stomach when I realize that I am going to be/already am/will for the rest of eternity be late.

I feel like I’m sentenced to living my own warped version of Murphy’s Law: Whatever I can be late for, I will be late for.

Try as I might, I can’t break the habit. But it has, after years of distress, afforded me one precious gift: the late chair.

For my last semester at Tufts, some cruel twist of fate put me in a 9 a.m.

Friday class. On my second week of walking in at 9:07 a.m. with my head down and tail between my (just sobering up) legs, I took a chair in the back, the only seat left in the whole classroom. Just as I was ruminating on whether or not the teacher hated me, I was bombarded by pleasant sensations in my lower back and behind. For the rest of the class I sat feeling like Donald Trump. I was so comfortable I actually learned something. This magical sitting device was even situated high enough to give me a good view and an excellent post from which to participate. I had discovered true academic nirvana: the late chair.

The next week, I strolled in several minutes late to discover that the late chair had already been taken. I was beside myself, or rather, beside my coveted chair, for the next two hours and 54 minutes — I had to win her back, and timeliness was the only way I knew how to do it. I’m not going to claim that the late chair will change my ways. This column, for instance, was due at noon. It is 12:27 p.m. I will, however, say this: I have not been late to my Friday morning class since.

Jessie Borkan is a senior majoring in psychology. She can be reached at Jessie.

Borkan@tufts.edu.

THE TUFTS DAILY

4

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

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Arts & Living

5

tuftsdaily.com

MOVIE REVIEW

‘Valentine’s Day’ a lackluster version of ‘Love Actually’ BY

CHARISSA NG

Daily Editorial Board

Valentine’s Day is probably the most loved and hated holiday in existence. For Hallmark and Hershey’s, it’s their biggest

Valentine’s Day Starring Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Biel Directed by Garry Marshall season commercially. For couples, it’s a special day to be hopelessly romantic with a loved one. For singles, it’s a reminder that being single is still awful.

People do crazy things for love, and the new romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day” shows that, best of all, this is a holiday when anything can happen. In the pantheon of ensemble romantic comedies, “Valentine’s Day” is more charming than last year’s lackluster “He’s Just Not That Into You,” but not nearly as original, heartwarming or fun to watch as “Love Actually” (2003). While the new film boasts an enormous cast of A-list actors, “Valentine’s Day” falters in its overabundance of clichéd plotlines and underdeveloped characters.

From director Garry Marshall, “Valentine’s Day” portrays interconnected characters at different stages of their love lives as they learn to cope with the uncertainty of Feb. 14. While its playful characters are fun to watch, the film lacks originality and substance. The underlying problem with “Valentine’s Day” is its attempt to be an American version of “Love Actually,” which forces audiences to compare the two films. And while “Love Actually” is without a doubt one of the best romantic comedies that has hit the silver screen in years, this rom-com just can’t hold a candle to it.

Consequently, the film ends up coming across as a cheap American imitation. It’s as if the writers of “Valentine’s Day” took a few love stories from “Love Actually,” stripped them of their originality and British charm (their accents, for example) and spit them back out with a notable American cast, expecting audiences not to notice. But we did.

One can’t help but weigh the precocious little boy of this film, Edison (Bryce

PHOTOGALLERY.FILMOFILIA.COM

Since when is Ashton Kutcher still a leading man?

Robinson), against the adorable, wide-eyed Sam (Thomas Sangster) in “Love Actually.”

In the absence of his mother, Edison — like Sam — finds himself head-over-heels in love with someone from his school. Of course, the only problem is that the girl in question doesn’t have a clue. At first, it’s cute watching Edison waltz into Reed’s (Ashton Kutcher) flower shop, expecting to buy a dozen roses with $13, but soon it’s clear that the charismatic Sangster definitely outshines Robinson in his performance as a love-struck schoolboy.

Though “Valentine’s Day” does have a few interesting plot twists that keep audiences entertained, overall, many of the relationships portrayed have neither the sincerity nor the authenticity of emotion needed to truly make these love stories feel real.

Take, for instance, the relationship between Reed, the film’s lead character, and his best friend, Julia (Jennifer Garner), as they begin to realize that they might be more than just friends. Since their relationship soon becomes the main thread of the film, tying all of the other characters together, it’s upsetting to see that two of Hollywood’s biggest stars have no chemistry whatsoever.

But chemistry aside, the real drawback of the film is that Valentine’s Day is only one day. Unfortunately, this time limitation makes any major changes to the characters’

GALLERY REVIEW

MFA exhibit on still-life paintings dazzles BY

ADAM KULEWICZ

Daily Editorial Board

Although still-life paintings hang on the walls of many of the world’s most famous museums, visitors tend to favor works that

Luis Meléndez: Master of the Spanish Still Life At the Torf Gallery, through May 9 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 465 Huntington Ave., Boston 617-267-9300 include figures or more elaborate compositions. At face value, the paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s (MFA) new exhibition are exactly the types of works that generally go unnoticed.

But in the organization of the new exhibit composed almost entirely of stilllife works, the MFA now offers visitors the chance to closely examine this genre of painting — in particular, the works of one of 18th-century Spain’s greatest still-life painters, Luis Meléndez.

Gathered from some of the world’s most famous collections (including the Musée

du Louvre in Paris and the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid), the 29 paintings in “Luis Meléndez: Master of the Spanish Still Life” demonstrate the artist’s aptitude for exacting detail as well as his ability to artfully arrange everyday objects. Despite their simple compositions, the works are remarkably compelling and, as the exhibition shows, sometimes conceal more complexities than the subject matter that meets the eye.

According to the gallery’s introduction, Meléndez came from a family of artists. Both he and his father were involved with the Academy of the Arts in Madrid, where he had ambitions of painting “the grand historical and biblical subjects.” Following a dispute, however, both Meléndez and his father were forced to cut ties with the institution, and Meléndez’s ambitions of painting the grand scenes of the past became implausible.

Faced with grim artistic prospects, Meléndez began working on still-life paintings. His luck eventually changed, and Meléndez was commissioned by the Prince see MELÉNDEZ, page 6

relationships in a mere 24 hours come off as insincere and completely unrealistic.

At the start of the film, Reed asks his girlfriend Morley (Jessica Alba) to marry him, while Julia has finally found herself the perfect guy in Harrison (Patrick Dempsey).

Without giving too much away, by the end of the night, things don’t go exactly as planned for the two friends. With the erratic ups and downs of these relationships, it’s as if the film is “When Harry Met Sally” (1989) in overdrive, and instead of 11 years, they have a single day to make something happen.

The film’s star-studded cast also includes Jessica Biel, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Bradley Cooper and Taylor Lautner, just to name a few. Having so many celebrities in one film is exciting because of all of the potential eye-candy, but it’s also entirely overwhelming. “Valentine’s Day” is overly ambitious as it tries to take on way too many plotlines.

With so many loose threads, the film is forced to choose breadth over depth of character. Because Marshall does not flesh out any of the characters and plotlines enough to give them each the airtime they deserve, many of the love stories feel contrived and one-dimensional.

Ultimately, “Valentine’s Day” is just another cute, predictable romantic comedy.

As a “Love Actually” knock-off, “Valentine’s Day” is a good date movie at best.

ALBUM REVIEW

Adam Green breaks up and makes up

BY JORDAN

ODIAKOSA

Daily Staff Writer

Adam Green is an artist known for quirky and eccentric lyrics that paint life as humorous slapdash. He

Minor Love Adam Green Rough Trade Records is perhaps more famous as one half of the Moldy Peaches, but as a solo artist he continues to wave his freak flag proudly. On his sixth solo album, “Minor Love,” Green remains as kooky as ever, but this time he is singing the blues. As Green’s break-up album, “Minor Love” feels like a private journal entry about a dark time and the see GREEN, page 6

ZACH DRUCKER AND CHRIS POLDOIAN | BAD SAMARITANS

Remake or break We don’t want to beat a dead horse here — well, maybe we do, but we don’t want buckets of blood poured on us by PETA — but we have to reemphasize the importance of novelty in Hollywood one more time. Movie execs are in a constant struggle to provide viewers with new and exciting plots, settings and cinematography. At the same time, each year brings its fair share of remakes. The art of the remake is difficult to master, but the idea behind it is quite simple: If a movie did well before, who is to say it won’t do well again?

The other day we almost gouged out our eyes, Oedipus-style. During one of the many “Shutter Island” press junkets, director Martin Scorsese mentioned the possibility of teaming up with Mr. I-Hate-Female-Sexuality himself, Lars von Trier of “Antichrist” (2009) fame, to remake Scorsese’s masterpiece “Taxi Driver” (1976). We’re not sure what we’re more disgusted with — the genital mutilation in “Antichrist” or the possibility of a “Taxi Driver” remake.

Last year’s box office was flooded with remakes as everything from 1974’s “The Taking of Pelham 123” to “A Christmas Carol” got a makeover. Yet both of these movies were duds, even though the Book of Denzel holds that “Denzel shalt not make a bad film, only mediocre ones on occasion, in order to balance out his usual awesomeness” (Denzel 3:16:28).

We believe that the remake films of last year underperformed because they were boring.

They did nothing to differentiate themselves from the originals and were thus unfavorably compared to their source materials.

Take a look back at some of the most successful remakes ever made. “The Italian Job” (2003), for example, was based on a British film of the same name from 1969.

So, what did this remake do to distinguish itself from the critically acclaimed original?

And why do we keep asking rhetorical questions? Well, the film put a modern spin on the story, employing intense car chases in Mini Coopers and adding in the demolitions expert Left Ear (Mos Def) and the computer genius Lyle (Seth Green) to bring character and comedy to the film. Fans fell in love with the remake because it held true to the original’s courageous-caper feel while featuring modified action. Plus, Edward Norton with a perv-stache and a bad boy attitude makes for a villain we all love to hate.

If you’re going to remake a movie, please at least make it different enough from the original. Think of Brian De Palma’s “Scarface” (1983). This blood-soaked epic serves as a critique of the excesses of the cocaine-laced ’80s, making many people totally unaware of the comparatively tame 1932 version.

De Palma succeeded — both critically and financially — because he had a distinct vision for his film. We probably won’t be able to say the same thing about the upcoming “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” Other than the mildly inspired casting of Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger, this film seems totally unwarranted and unwanted.

Next week’s “Alice in Wonderland” is half remake, half sequel, zero percent squeakquel. Director Tim Burton was smart enough to realize that the world doesn’t want yet another retelling of the original story. After all, nothing can top the 1951 animated classic. This film takes place about 10 years after Alice’s first trip down the rabbit hole and should appeal to Disney lovers and stoners alike.

Most remakes are the cinematic equivalent of plastic wrap. They are thin and flimsy, and they stifle the genius of the original work. And you should never give them to children under five for risk of accidental self-strangulation.

Zach Drucker is a sophomore majoring in International Relations, and Chris Poldoian is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major.

They can be reached at Zachary.Drucker@tufts. edu and Christopher.Poldoian@tufts.edu.

THE TUFTS DAILY

6

ARTS & LIVING

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Meléndez’s paintings bring new meaning to still-life genre

‘Minor Love’ sees Green finished with love

MELÉNDEZ

aftermath that leaves him alone with his thoughts and guitar.

As the Moldy Peaches, Green and bandmate Kimya Dawson had a unique singing style that they dubbed anti-folk. Their production values were lo-fi, and their lyrics were endearing. At the beginning of his career as a solo artist, Green’s guitar playing and deep lyricism were beefed up with poppy production. He returns to his roots on this album, leaving behind soaring strings in favor of contemplative organs and the subtle bump of a bass guitar.

Green sounds as aloof and bored as ever, but this time, it is not the result of youthful apathy. The trials and tribulations of life have seemingly caught up to Green. His voice is more grizzled and aged, and love has left him ravaged. He is despondent, and no matter how upbeat the backing music might be, Green remains inconsolable.

Green’s laid-back singing style makes the album sound improvised rather than produced. The addition of dissonance to the vocals further adds to Green’s indifferent attitude; he doesn’t care enough to be in key with the song.

The entire album sounds like it was recorded in a musty hotel where drunks and lost lovers go to drown their sorrows. It relies heavily on acoustic guitar and Green’s beautiful, deep voice. A drummer and bassist occasionally crop up, but for the most part, Green is alone. Some tracks feature a drum machine, which further adds to the feeling of solitary confinement. The mysterious female figure — only referred to as “she” or “you” — has left Green wary of love as well as women.

On “Don’t Call Me Uncle,” Green asks only that she “play [him] like

continued from page 5

of Asturias (later King Charles IV) to create paintings for the Royal Palace’s New Cabinet of Natural History. According to the exhibition’s introduction, these works were to depict “the four Seasons of the Year … with the aim of composing an amusing cabinet with every species of food produced by the Spanish climate.”

This commission was, essentially, an opportunity to paint foodstuffs, but Meléndez capitalized on royal patronage to produce canvasses that are exceptionally detailed and wonderfully colored. These very realistic paintings also employ careful manipulation of light and depict otherwise ordinary objects in extraordinary ways.

Nine of the paintings he created for the Prince of Asturias’ cabinet have been loaned from the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid and are on display with similar works from other museums and private collections. One of the most notable works at the beginning of the exhibition is the 1773 painting “Still Life with Apricots and Cherries,” which demonstrates Meléndez’s overarching style.

In this painting, the artist arranges apricots and cherries that appear freshly picked on a wooden surface. In order to differentiate this scene from a market stall on the street, Meléndez carefully manipulates the light source in the work to highlight only the most vibrant pieces of fruit, leaving the background largely dark. The result is a painting that is surprisingly striking, especially given its relatively mundane subject matter.

In a notable departure from

precedent, four paintings toward the end of the exhibition depict produce items in a monumental landscape, demonstrating that Meléndez’s abilities as a painter extended far beyond the objects he was commissioned to paint.

In “Still Life with Pomegranates, Apples, Azaroles and Grapes in a Landscape” (1771), Meléndez depicts pomegranates that appear to have just been sliced open, with their bright red, glossy arils overflowing, in front of a dramatic landscape. The resulting painting is remarkably stunning.

Meléndez’s works are, on the surface, depictions of the produce that was available to the Spanish at the time. But in “Still Life with Pomegranates, Apples, Azaroles and Grapes in a Landscape,” as in others, the careful attention to detail and overall artistry glorifies these ordinary objects and seems to allude to something other than the cuisine.

Viewed through a different lens, the wide variety of items depicted in Meléndez’s paintings (anything from chocolate to artichokes) could attest to the power of the Spanish empire — one that, as a result of its widespread land holdings, could produce a remarkable array of products.

This same bounty could also be interpreted as a reminder of the empire’s power for Meléndez’s royal patron, who would one day be in charge of Spain’s governance and expansion.

Still-life paintings may not occupy the highest stratum of academic painting, but the MFA’s new exhibition sheds a concentrated light on this genre, which, when under Luis Meléndez’s execution, is both visually compelling and culturally significant.

GREEN continued from page 5

INDEPENDENT.CO.UK

Adam Green’s new album is cryptic and a little weary. an orchestra that makes a boy your man.” Green rejoices in his sadness as opposed to simply being depressed. He is certainly sad about his lost love, but joy sneakily peeks through the fog of sadness every once in a while.

“Oh Shucks” is a perfect example of his unique form of sad joy.

Backed by video-game sound effects and a blaring upbeat riff, Green politely refers to his former love as a “creature” and a “dyke.”

“I’m staring down at my whiskey now, oh shucks/ Crying in the grass and making bad sense,” Green sings nonchalantly at the beginning of the track. On “Stadium Soul,” Green proudly announces that he “[feels] lovely/ To live in a bachelor pad,” but it remains that it is not his “choice to feel bad.”

“Goblin” is the most buoyant track on the album, infused with African melodies and a danceable rhythm. On this track, the listener gets a tiny glimpse into the former

relationship: “Then she was cursing at me/ And pointing at her witch’s cauldron/ Grabbed me/ She got in my face/ And then she punched me just like a goblin.”

One of the problems with the album is also its greatest asset: the lyrics. Green uses quirky, durable imagery that becomes clearer as the listener parses the meaning.

The lyrics hold the potential for multiple interpretations rather than broadcasting an obvious message. However, the lyrics can sometimes be clunky in an attempt to be witty. Some are difficult to digest and comprehend, and often it is difficult to understand to whom or what Green is referring.

In the end, the only person who can truly know what the lyrics mean is Green — or maybe he doesn’t even understand completely. Nevertheless, Green makes music that is neither downbeat nor uplifting. It is music for a listener who doesn’t know how to feel.

Tufts University Department of Drama and Dance presents

For an outstanding senior who has contributed to the Tufts International Community through leadership and community service.

BY

The International Center is now accepting nominations from all students, faculty, and staff for an outstanding senior who has demonstrated a strong committement to the International Community.

HENRIK IBSEN

ADAPTATION BY

CHRISTOPHER SHINN

BASED ON A LITERAL TRANSLATION BY

ANNE-CHARLOTTE HANES HARVEY

DIRECTED BY

SHERIDEN THOMAS

NOMINATIONS TO BE TURNED IN BY MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2010

Thurs, Fri, Sat Feb. 18-20 & 25-27, 2010 8:00 PM

THE RECIPIENT WILL BE AWARDED AT THE PARADE OF NATIONS ON SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2010.

$7 Tufts ID/Seniors $12 General Public $7 on February 18th $1 on February 25th

Nomination forms are available at the International Center 20 Sawyer Ave., Medford campus or online at

Balch Arena Theater Tufts University

http://ase.tufts.edu/icenter/documents/chapmanApplication.pdf

617-627-3493 for tickets & information ARTWORK BY MAGRITTE, DESIGN © MELISSA YASKO

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

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BY

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TUESDAY’S SOLUTION

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LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Tuesday’s Solution

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THE TUFTS DAILY

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THE TUFTS DAILY

EDITORIAL

Healthy living switch handled poorly

KERIANNE M. OKIE Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL Caryn Horowitz Grace Lamb-Atkinson Managing Editors Ellen Kan Executive News Editor Michael Del Moro News Editors Harrison Jacobs Katherine Sawyer Saumya Vaishampayan Marissa Gallerani Assistant News Editors Amelie Hecht Corinne Segal Martha Shanahan Jenny White Brent Yarnell Carter Rogers Executive Features Editor Marissa Carberry Features Editors Robin Carol Emily Maretsky Mary Beth Griggs Assistant Features Editors Emilia Luna Alexa Sasanow Derek Schlom Catherine Scott Executive Arts Editor Jessica Bal Arts Editors Adam Kulewicz Charissa Ng Josh Zeidel Michelle Beehler Assistant Arts Editors Zachary Drucker Rebecca Goldberg Niki Krieg Crystal Bui Nina Grossman Laura Moreno Andrew Rohrberger Devon Colmer Erin Marshall Alex Miller Louie Zong Vittoria Elliot Rebekah Liebermann Marian Swain

Executive Op-Ed Editor Op-Ed Editors

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

EDITORIAL | LETTERS

After a record number of students showed interest in the Office of Residential Life and Learning’s (ResLife) Healthy Living Program this year, the number of those who will actually be participating has fallen to new lows. Of the 122 students who applied, a 47 percent increase from last year, only 26 ultimately chose to take part. Many students have named ResLife’s decision to house healthy living upperclassmen in Lewis Hall next year rather than Carmichael Hall as largely responsible for this discrepancy.

ResLife’s decision was not made without reason. The Healthy Living Program emphasizes not just a lifestyle choice but also a tightly-woven community of students that creates an environment that embodies this lifestyle. Because Carmichael is significantly larger than Lewis, with respective capacities of 241 and 188 people according to the ResLife Web site, healthy living students would compose a much larger percentage of the population in Lewis and thus the healthy living environment would be more securely established there. Moreover,

Lewis’ internal structure is conducive to healthy living in ways that Carmichael’s design is not. Lewis’ dorm rooms are organized into wings, allowing for a relative separation of healthy living and non-healthy living areas, and the many small lounges spread out between Lewis’ dorm rooms could potentially facilitate the sociability and sense of community that is key to healthy living.

ResLife’s mishandling of the relocation, however, has undermined the apparent logic behind it. Applicants’ basic expectation when applying — that they would be living in Carmichael — was disregarded without any explanation or forewarning; students who requested healthy living were not adequately notified of the change prior to the deadline for requests, and ResLife has yet to release an official statement detailing its motives. This brusque treatment has exacerbated healthy living applicants’ initial feeling of being slighted.

Many feel that moving healthy living to Lewis is itself an affront to the program and its participants due to the dorm’s mediocre standing among students — it is

routinely among the last dorms to be filled during the regular housing lottery. Not giving students a forum to voice their complaints or providing an official response is a questionable route for ResLife to take.

There are certainly valid reasons for relocating the upperclassman Healthy Living Program to Lewis Hall. But an administration that has been making an effort to encourage students to engage in substance-free socializing should not be punishing students who choose this option by placing them in one of the least desirable dorms on campus. While administrators may say that they were looking to foster more of a community among healthy living students, there are ways this could have been done without detracting from the participants’ quality of living. And, above all else, ResLife’s failure to explain or even inform students about the change has prevented public discussion and significantly damaged the program, leading to a decrease in the number of participants. Hopefully, ResLife will be more open about such significant decisions in the future.

ERIN MARSHALL

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Editorialists

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Misrepresenting abstinence-only sexual education

BY THE

EDITORIAL BOARD The Phoenix

A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, among other institutions, found that abstinence-only sex education was the only effective method to delay the initial sexual activity of African-American middle-school students who live in an urban environment.

The study has been widely covered in the media but unfortunately is vulnerable to misrepresentation. It must not be taken out of context to stop the laudable efforts of the Obama administration to curb the use of abstinence-only programs in favor of comprehensive sexual education.

The United States has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy among developed countries. Specifically, the Guttmacher Institute has estimated the rate to be 71.5 teenage pregnancies per 1,000 women of ages 15-19 in the year 2006. It had dropped for about a decade, but the most recent data for teenage pregnancies show a significant increase from 2005 to 2006. While the rise cannot with certainty be attributed to any particular government sexual education policy,

it underlines the importance of implementing the most effective program that does not try to impose morals (religious or otherwise) on students.

The University of Pennsylvania study’s abstinence-only program differed significantly from most abstinence-only programs that currently operate or have in the recent past in the United States.

The study examined students who were exposed to a value-free abstinence program, which encouraged students not to have sexual intercourse until they were ready to do so, rather than to wait until marriage.

Importantly, the authors admit that the program they studied would not conform to the requirements of programs that until last year were eligible for federal funding of abstinence-only-untilmarriage programs. A study in January by the Guttmacher Institute confirmed that the most common form of abstinenceonly education, which often excludes any teaching on the use of contraceptives, is ineffective in preventing a delay in sexual activity.

It must be emphasized that the authors of the study are representing their own study fairly. What is dangerous is a misrepresentation of the study, suggesting

that moralistic programs are effective.

Politicians as well as the media might unfairly characterize the study as claiming something to that effect and we must not let their interpretations misguide us.

We believe that teenagers should learn about all commonly used methods of birth control, as well as alternatives to contraceptives, to delay sexual activity and reduce the chance of contracting HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases. This should include suggesting the possibility to abstain or to use the coitus interruptus method, but the primary focus should lie on teaching students about the use of contraceptives and their relative effectiveness.

We are encouraged by the Obama administration’s move away from abstinence-only-until-marriage sexual education. We hope that it will correctly choose to ignore this latest study if proponents of abstinence-only-until-marriage education try to use it to bolster their case.

Lastly, we must not forget the role parents must play in educating their children. We cannot rely solely on schools to teach our teenagers to consider the consequences of their sexual activity and to help them avoid unwanted outcomes.

Correction The photo of “The Way of the Gods: Shinto Shrines and Their Art” in yesterday’s paper was incorrectly credited to Dilys Ong. The photo should have been credited to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

THE TUFTS DAILY

9

OP-ED

On selecting the perfect study abroad program

BY WILL NICHOLS Deciding on the right study abroad program can be a daunting process.

The easiest part is deciding where you want to study ... but that’s just the beginning. Once you’ve settled on your ideal destination, there are a number of other issues to resolve: homestay, dorm or apartment? Urban or rural? Classes with other Americans or with foreign students? Will you study in English or in the local language?

Answering these questions will narrow down your program options, but a dilemma remains: With little to rely on besides word-of-mouth reviews, how do you pick the right program for you?

How do you know which programs are reputable and which leave students wanting more?

The study abroad industry has long lacked transparency; unlike in the higher-education industry, there’s no Princeton Review or College Confidential for study abroad programs. In fact, it is markedly more difficult to get reliable and unbiased information about international education programs.

Here on the Hill, Tufts’ approach to study abroad is unique in that it seeks to accommodate any and all students who wish to study abroad. As one of the leading universities in study abroad, Tufts sends about 45 percent of undergraduates on study programs around the world. Of these students, roughly two-thirds participate in programs sponsored by third-party providers or other accredited institutions.

Jumbos have the rare luxury of being able to choose from many renowned Tufts programs, as well as hundreds of study abroad programs in locations as diverse as Belgium, Belize and Botswana. But this luxury of variety and freedom to choose comes with an inherent responsibility: Tufts students must research their study abroad destinations thoughtfully and thoroughly.

In my experience, I’ve often found that the best advice on such matters comes from my peers. In this particular case, the best study abroad advice comes from students who have actually been on these programs. But where to access sound advice from likeminded peers? One recommended

ADRIAN DAHLIN

On Wednesday night, Feb. 17, a talk moderated by David Coleman, the director of Tufts University’s Third Day Gospel Choir, and featuring social historian Anne C. Bailey, aimed to answer the above question. I believe that the answer comes down to how we conceive religion, and it must focus on one concept — as the world of monotheistic theology agrees, God is love.

For those who have a personal relationship with God, this question is easy to answer. God has a positive effect on racial relations and on every worldly problem. However, for those who do not feel like they have a personal relationship with God, the question is equally easy to answer. Simply look at the record of organized religion, and we must conclude that God has had a negative effect on racial relations. After all, that record is ugly.

It’s not just about the Crusades or the history of European Christians in Africa or Islamic radicalism. Any time a religious organization acts as a political organization, that’s dangerous. But there is a clear way to cut through the contradiction between these two answers: A distinction must be made between God (love), and those who act in the name of God — especially those of them who are empowered by religious institutions.

Doughnuts and deficits

S

MCT

resource is Abroad101 (Abroad101. com), a Web site founded by Tufts alum Michael Stone (LA ’07) that hosts unbiased reviews about study abroad programs by real students and strives to match the student with the perfect abroad experience. The philosophy behind the resource is a simple one: Choosing a study abroad program is no small decision, and as such, should not be made blindly. Think about it: You narrow your options down to a few programs, and then what? You ask your friend, or your cousin or your cousin’s friend if he or she knows anyone who’s been on the same program. As the first online community for study abroad reviews and feedback, Abroad101 connects you with the right person by featuring thousands of reviews from students nationwide who have been on the programs you want to learn about.

And best of all, you don’t need to track down alums from your top programs; simply search for the program that interests you and start reading reviews right away. Or, browse the possibilities and perhaps you will even stumble

upon a program you never imagined.

Thinking Barcelona? How about considering Buenos Aires or Bogotá? You owe it to yourself to explore the multitude of options.

If you’ve already studied abroad, you can still visit Abroad101 and leave a review. From a purely altruistic point of view, you’ll help inform other students and provide insider information on your program. Think of it as a chance to let the next generation of study-abroad students know about your favorite sushi spot in Santiago, suggest a must-see site in Madrid, or share a tip about Internet access in Accra. Studying abroad is a once-inlifetime opportunity, and Abroad101 offers you an opportunity to ensure that other students have an experience as singular and sublime as yours.

Will Nichols is a senior majoring in International Relations and Spanish. He studied abroad in Buenos Aires in 2008 and is the campus representative and business development intern for Abroad101.com.

Is God part of the problem or the solution?

BY

TEDDY MINCH | OFF MIC

To keep this distinction clear, and to defend religions like Christianity and Islam from their potentially destructive representatives (and bystanders), we must adopt a new paradigm for religious practice. Those of us who wish to see God as a positive influence in our lives — and those who wish to convince others that God is a force for good — must embrace religion as a personal pursuit.

I come from a religion that focuses entirely on one’s personal relationship with God. We have no preachers, and we require no person to serve as a link from God to man. Our prayers — and therefore our lives — are focused on demonstrating, according to Mary Baker Eddy’s “Science and Health,” a “fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love and good deeds.” Because of this focus on the individual’s path toward understanding, we don’t have strong social or political institutions. So after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, my sister and I joined a local Methodist group that drove down to New Orleans and volunteered. Religious institutions like this can be strong forces for social good. However, to remain altruistic and benign, these institutions must perceive themselves as simple gathering places, venues and givers of opportunity. They can avoid doing harm by staying in touch with their purpose: providing a framework for

individuals’ spiritual development.

Some of you earnest believers in God may ask, “How can I spread God’s goodness and help other people without getting on a mountaintop or a TV and broadcasting my beliefs?” If you express your best self, if you try to live

by Jesus’ teachings, or Mohammad’s, or Buddha’s, or the Guru Granth Sahib, or the example of Gandhi, people will take note. They will wonder how you managed to forgive when forgiveness seemed impossible. They will wonder how you persisted when defeat seemed imminent. They will wonder how you were honest when deceit appeared in your self-interest. They will either want to follow your example or want to know how you did it, and this gives you the opportunity to tell them what empowered you to do the right thing and to know what was right.

Few people who call themselves religious or spiritual — anywhere in the world — will deny the connection between deity and love. Now go back to the question, but insert “love” in place of “God.” Is love part of the problem or the solution? ...Now what kind of question is that?

Adrian Dahlin is a senior majoring in political science and environmental studies.

aturday night at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., Glenn Beck declared that “it is still morning in America, it just happens to be kind of a head-pounding, vomit-for-four-hours morning in America.” Beck echoed that same note throughout his speech and concluded his keynote CPAC remarks by reaffirming that “we know tomorrow it will again be morning in America.”

With what little respect I had for Glenn Beck, lost during that speech at CPAC, I’d like to respectfully disagree and suggest something earth-shattering in American political discourse: the obvious.

We’re in trouble. Big trouble.

It doesn’t matter what time of day it is in America — it could be noon on Thursday for all anyone cares. The U.S. government ran a $1.8 trillion deficit last year, and President Barack Obama plans to stem the growing national debt, but how? By spending $10 billion to fight childhood obesity, by investing an additional $1 billion annually to provide prisoners with cleaner prison facilities and by frittering $8.5 billion away to reduce infant mortality in third-world countries. Don’t forget that tax cut, either.

The United States is in very real jeopardy of losing its coveted AAA sovereign credit rating, of becoming insolvent and losing the ability to finance its own debt — evidenced by China’s recent reduction in U.S. debt holdings — and all we can think to do is spend billions of dollars to get little Johnny to stop eating doughnuts? Or to make sure murderers have more cheerful tiles in their cells?

Or to perseverate over health care? President Obama will unveil his new health care plan tomorrow at a bipartisan summit. At a time when U.S. unemployment is at 10 percent and the national economy is flagging, Obama feels the need to go on television and push for a trillion-dollar health care bill, even when, according to a survey conducted by The Washington Times, 89 percent of Americans are satisfied with their current medical coverage, and the government can’t even afford that.

Then there’s foreign policy. We’ve tied ourselves to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, though his jurisdiction ends at the Kabul city line. But luckily, as we push into the heart of a Taliban stronghold in Marjah and onwards toward Kandahar, we’ve already told our enemies we’ll be out of their way by late next year. Iran’s mass resistance to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s bogus re-election was crushed thanks, in large part, to the United States standing idly by, cheering democracy on without acting. Then, amid the economic chaos at home, Obama thought it most expedient to meet with the Dalai Lama after selling Taiwan $6 billion worth of arms. Is it really such a wonder then that the Chinese have yet to accurately valuate and de-peg the yuan from the dollar, and allow the U.S. trade deficit to subsequently shrink?

All this being said, an American apocalypse is not imminent; to suggest anything else would be foolish. Rather, it is important to recognize the not-so-obvious obvious reality in current American politics: the President is not getting the job done. Instead of facilitating a select number of well-reasoned initiatives that would concretely address some issues, Obama has addressed every imaginable issue — but all in a highly superficial, un-robust manner.

If Obama is truly intent on creating jobs, then he will cast aside health care and bear down on Congressional leadership to pass a number of jobs bills. If Obama is truly concerned about government spending, then he will cut all nonessential spending outside of defense. And if Obama is truly concerned about China, he’ll find a more subtle way of plying Taiwan with weapons from here on out.

In short, while America will not immediately collapse from the aforementioned inefficiencies, such practices indicate a blatant lack of a hierarchy of needs in Washington. In the long term, however, the current frivolity of U.S. politics will lead to grave consequences down the line.

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

OP-ED POLICY The Op-Ed Op-ed section of the Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. Op-Ed 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 Op-ed editors. The opinions expressed in the Op-ed Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Tufts Daily itself.

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INSIDE NCAA continued from page 12

JOSH BERLINGER/TUFTS DAILY

Defending champ Bowdoin looks to knock out tournament rookie Colby NESCAC WOMEN’S BBALL continued from page 12

be absent from Saturday’s semifinal contest.

With Daigneault healthy and notching nine points and six boards at their last meeting, a 72-66 Amherst win in Lewiston, Maine, Bates was only six points short of Amherst.

This time, it seems the door is open for the Bobcats to hand the Jeffs their first loss of the season and advance to their fifth NESCAC Championship game.

“To be honest, only our seniors have NESCAC semifinal experience,” Murphy said. “This is a new group, but we’ve had a couple of big wins — beating Tufts here and winning at Williams. We’ve got a lot to gain and nothing to lose. I don’t think anyone will be betting on us, so we can play nice and loose.”

The other road upset ended No. 4-seeded Tufts’ NESCAC title hopes and put the possibility of an NCAA at-large bid for the Jumbos in serious jeopardy. In an overtime heartbreaker, Tufts fell to No. 5 Bowdoin 65-54. The Polar Bears, who are now 25-1 in NESCAC tournament play, have won the title eight out of nine times — every time they appeared in a championship game.

Despite a 5-4 conference record, Bowdoin, like Bates, tapped into its playoff experience and turned it on in the quarterfinals.

Bates coach Adrienne Shibles knows her squad will have to be flawless on defense to control Colby’s offense, which ended the season averaging 74.5 points per game and leads the league in field goal, three-point

and free throw shooting percentages. The team also sits in the top spot of all rebounding categories.

“We’re really focused on defensive intensity,” Shibles said. “And against Colby, it’s going to be really important to focus on our rebounding. They’re an outstanding rebounding team — when they talk about their own strengths they really highlight that — and we really want to keep them off the boards. We do bring a lot of experience to the tournament, but we know we need to bring our best effort to the game on Saturday, with so much depth in the conference and it being postseason play.”

Bates’ slated semifinal matchup with Colby on Saturday will be the third time the two teams have met this season. Each has beaten the other once. Though Colby has heated up over the season — going without a loss since Jan. 30 and beating Bowdoin the second time around — Saturday marked the Mules’ first NESCAC tournament win since 2001.

It seems this contest will be the one to watch. Bowdoin is defending its title and will hold years of semifinal experience over the Mules’ heads, while Colby is riding on the excitement of its winning streak. The tension of a strong Maine rivalry hangs in the air.

“Seeing what happened in the quarterfinal round, it really speaks to the strength of the conference this year as a whole,” Shibles said. “But we are 100 percent focused on Colby right now; we are not thinking about anyone else.”

remaining. But senior forward Diana Delva got a putback on a missed layup with just over two seconds remaining to give her team the 38-36 win.

Delva is one of the leaders on this team, and the two-time America East second-team all-conference selection is leading her team in scoring for the second straight year. Delva is averaging 13.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, which is also a team high, in addition to being the most efficient offensive player in the nation, shooting an astounding 67 percent from the field. Inside, along with fellow senior Erica Beverly, Delva gives the Hawks a formidable tandem.

Beverly, a preseason candidate for the Wooden Award, which honors the best female collegiate basketball player each season, gives Hartford a stalwart defender in the paint with her 2.3 blocks per game. She is also the team leader in steals and is the second offensive option inside for the Hawks, averaging 9.2 points and chipping in with seven rebounds as well. Together, Beverly and Delva can match up against almost any forward duo in the country.

Hartford has also received great contributions off the bench from its guards, including freshman Daphne Elliott and sophomore Ilicia Mathis.

Junior guard Jackie Smith gives the Hawks a steadying presence in the backcourt, averaging 7.1 points per game and serving as the top outside threat for her team.

Hartford has two games remaining before the American East conference tournament ushers in postseason play. The Hawks will head to Albany tonight, looking to bring their win streak to 17 games before Vermont comes to Chase Arena for a rematch to close out the team’s regular season schedule on Saturday.

With a chance to continue moving up in the rankings and solidify a high seeding in the NCAA Tournament, Hartford is sure to be motivated as the calendar turns to March. And if the Hawks get the trip through the tournament field, they could be a team that no one wants to match up against.

Middlebury’s inexperience could be its downfall NESCAC MEN’S BBALL continued from page 12

how they’ll react in a new environment like the NESCAC Tournament,” Brown said. “But our group has been consistent all year long and we’re certainly confident heading into the game against Colby.”

Meanwhile, Whitmore is cautiously optimistic about his own team’s chances.

He knows that the odds of the Mules upending two nationally ranked top10 squads on consecutive days are not exactly in their favor, but he is nonetheless hopeful that his team will put it all together when it matters most.

“I think we’re probably going to have to play the best game of the year to win on Saturday and then play even better Sunday,” Whitmore said. “It’s certainly a monumental task, but we’re excited and healthy and we’re hoping we’ll be ready to perform at the highest level.”

2010 Winter Olympics Medal Count Tallies accurate as of Feb. 23

Country

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Delva, Beverly give Hawks tough inside tandem

Bowdoin freshman Kaitlin Donahue, left, and sophomore Alexa Barry, right, helped with the Polar Bears’ upset of No. 4-seed Tufts last Saturday and will be key as Bowdoin takes on No. 2-seed Colby this weekend in the NESCAC semifinals.

Wanted

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Total

1) United States of America

7

9

10

26

2) Germany

7

9

7

23

3) Norway

6

5

6

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ETHAN LANDY | CALL ME JUNIOR

A ‘mighty’ victory

O

n Sunday I sat down and did something I haven’t done since middle school. No, I’m not talking about playing four square or truth or dare. I’m talking about watching an entire hockey game, from beginning to end.

Sure, I had caught bits and pieces of playoff games in the last few years. And I did manage to watch some of the Winter Classic this year, because hockey at Fenway seemed cool. But I had not seen a game in its entirety since I was probably 12 or 13.

So it was with some trepidation that I settled in to watch the Winter Olympics matchup between the United States and Canada.

But I tried to keep an open mind for two hours of hockey, and things started out well for me when the United States got a goal 41 seconds into the game from Brian Rafalski. I wasn’t sure that I could sit through a blowout

by Canada, so an early lead was beneficial.

It didn’t take long for me to start to get into the game. It helped that I recognized a handful of the players, particularly on team Canada. I made it through the first period pretty easily, thanks in part to the magic of DVR. I have to admit that I was enjoying myself, surprising as it was.

By the second period, I was hooked, spouting off my limited hockey knowledge left and right (example: Chris Drury just scored a goal, that guy went to Boston University!) and cheering like it was the Super Bowl.

The third period lived up to the first two.

Amazingly, the U.S. team scored a fourth goal against Martin Brodeur, arguably the best netminder in NHL history. But even when it looked like the game should be over, you knew Canada was going to score a goal to pull within one again. The United States was able to weather the storm, however, and emerged with an unexpected win.

A lot of people are setting this upset up as a comparison for the Miracle on Ice, which ironically enough occurred almost 30 years before, to the day, of this U.S. victory. But while it was improbable, it wasn’t of the same significance or magnitude. Instead, I prefer to make parallels to the hockey moment that defined my childhood. Sorry NHL fans because this is probably going to be blasphemous, but did this remind anyone else of the “Mighty Ducks” (1992-1996) movies?

Rafalski? He has come out of nowhere to be the Fulton Reed of the U.S. team. He scored twice on crazy slap shots and added an assist on the Jamie Langenbrunner game-winner.

Team Canada? Let’s just make them Iceland. Supremely talented, with players that are apparently infinitely better than the other side, they lost because the opposition was more cohesive. And if they don’t perform a miraculous turnaround in these games, you can bet Canadians will be blaming Sidney Crosby like he was Gunnar Stahl.

All that is missing here is a coach pressed into service because of a mandatory DUI sentence. I knew my friends and I were probably taking this a little too far when we replayed a shot because we swore it was a patented Russ Tyler “knucklepuck.” Or maybe it was when I incessantly called for the use of the “Flying V” or thought to myself that the empty netter by Ryan Kesler that sealed the deal for the U.S. 5-3 win was a “Luis Mendoza-like” moment.

At least I stopped short of comparing U.S. goalie Ryan Miller to Goldberg.

But even without any crazy comparisons, I enjoyed the game much more than I imagined I would. Was it enough to make me actually follow hockey religiously? Probably not. But maybe if I’m flipping through a Bruins game now, I’ll stick around to watch a little more. Who knows, I might even stumble upon another game like Sunday’s.

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

Landy@tufts.edu.

Sports

12

INSIDE Call Me Junior 11

tuftsdaily.com

INSIDE NESCAC MEN’S BASKETBALL

INSIDE NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Panthers and Mules to engage in defensive battle Hartford Middlebury and Colby will headline semifinal weekend soaring up rankings BY

DAVID HECK

Daily Editorial Board

The old adage in any sport is that defense wins championships.

Over the past couple of years in NESCAC men’s basketball, that saying has certainly proven to be true: Trinity, ranked third in the conference in scoring defense in 2007-08, won the NESCAC title that season, while Middlebury, ranked second in 2008-09, took home the prize last March.

So when Colby and Middlebury — the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked defensive teams in the conference this season with averages of 61.1 and 61.3 points allowed, respectively — face off in the NESCAC semifinals on Saturday, it seems that the winner would have history on its side when it takes part in the championship game the following day.

Of course, rarely has the NESCAC featured a team as good as Williams, which the winner of the Colby-Middlebury contest will presumably have to face in the finals. The Ephs, who are ranked No. 2 in the country with a 24-1 overall record, put together the first undefeated conference record in two years and led the conference with a scoring average of 86.6 points per game — nearly 11 points higher than NESCAC No. 2-seeded Amherst.

Williams, which boasts the No. 4 defense in the conference, also has averaged an astounding scoring margin of plus-21.0, significantly better than the Panthers (plus-14.0), the Mules (plus7.2) and the Bates Bobcats (plus-1.7), which the Ephs should have no trouble disposing of in the semifinals.

Led by senior Blake Shultz, who leads in the league with 19.0 points per game, and sophomore James Wang, who comes in at No. 5 with 16.7 points and an additional 4.56 assists-per-contest, the Ephs are easy favorites to claim their first NESCAC championship in three years and fourth in school history.

But Middlebury coach Jeff Brown isn’t too concerned with Williams — at least not yet. While the Panthers — ranked No. 6 in the nation on the strength of their 23-2 overall record — certainly have to be considered the favorite, Brown is still focused on the Mules and trumping them at their own game.

“I think it will be a defensive battle,” Brown said. “They’re very physical and sound defensively, and we’ve had a lot of success this year matching up with people and getting some stops. I really expect a hard-fought defensive struggle.”

Though the Panthers handled the

BY

ETHAN LANDY

Daily Editorial Board

“They’re certainly the team leaders in a lot of ways,” Colby coach Richard Whitmore said. “[We’ve got] seven guys who’ve contributed in major ways. But Adam contributes in all ways and Mike, certainly on the boards, has been very, very effective.”

In contrast, the Panthers lack superstar-type players but instead use a balanced attack that features three players who average double-digit points.

However, all three of those players are underclassmen — sophomore Ryan Sharry and freshmen Jake Wolfin and Nolan Thompson — meaning the Panthers could be plagued by inexperience in the upcoming high-pressure playoff games.

“We’re certainly confident, but the one thing I’m aware of is we’re currently starting two freshmen, and sometimes with first-year players, you don’t know

Don’t look now, but there could be a team from Connecticut making noise in the NCAA Tournament come March — outside of the one everyone already knows.

The Hartford Hawks have won a school-record 16 straight games and remain undefeated in conference play in the America East after a dominating 61-38 win over Boston University in West Hartford, Conn. on Sunday afternoon. People are starting to take notice of the Hawks’ 23-3 record, as they are now ranked No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today poll after cracking the top 25 for the first time in school history on Feb. 9.

Hartford’s last loss came over two months ago, on Dec. 19 against Marist, the top team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and its other two setbacks came at the hands of two Big East foes: Providence and the virtually unbeatable UConn Huskies. But those losses haven’t hurt the Hawks much, as they are still one of just two mid-major teams inside the top 25 of the RPI rankings, along with Xavier.

So how have the Hawks gone from a squad that lost in the second round of the women’s NIT tournament last season to a team that is now making some headway in the rankings? The answer is defense.

Hartford has held opponents to under 35 percent shooting from the field thus far and is the third-best team in the nation in terms of scoring defense, allowing just 50.9 points per game. The Hawks have not allowed a team to score more than 55 points in a game since their 70-65 victory over Binghamton on Jan. 16, and have held their opponent to under 40 points on seven occasions.

Their strong effort on the defensive side has been the key component in their recent streak. In no game was this more evident than on Jan. 26 against America East rival University of Vermont. Hartford visited the Catamounts in a key battle for conference supremacy, and a defensive slugfest ensued.

Neither team led by more than five points throughout the game, and the score was tied with 16 seconds

see NESCAC MEN’S BBALL, page 11

see INSIDE NCAA, page 11

JAMES CHOCA/TUFTS DAILY

Colby, shown here versus Tufts on Jan. 22, will put its conference-best defense to the test against Middlebury on Saturday in the NESCAC semifinals.

Mules relatively easily in their earlier meeting this year, winning 72-57, Brown does not think it will be so easy the second time around. In that game, the Mules shot just 19.4 percent in the first half — possibly a result of fatigue after playing Williams the night before — and allowed Middlebury to take a comfortable 37-18 lead into halftime.

“That sometimes happens on those back-to-back occasions,” Brown said. “I certainly expect they’ll be more efficient.

They have some players, with [senior Adam] Choice and [junior Mike] Russell, who are very talented offensive players.

We’ll certainly have to give them some attention on the offensive end.”

Indeed, the Mules’ hopes very much rest on the shoulders of their accomplished upperclassmen. Choice comes into the game as the NESCAC’s secondleading scorer with 18.8 points per game, while Russell averages 14.5 points and a conference-best 9.9 rebounds.

Jumbos earn All-NESCAC recognition

INSIDE NESCAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Bates put to test in NESCAC semis Amherst and Colby look for spot in conference finals BY

CLAIRE KEMP

Daily Editorial Board

SCOTT TINGLEY/TUFTS DAILY

Sophomore Valerie Eacret earned her fourth All-Conference award at Friday’s NESCAC Championships in the 50-yard butterfly, joining senior diver Lindsay Gardel as Tufts’ two honorees.

As the women’s NESCAC basketball tournament kicked off this weekend, it became apparent that this year’s title is very much up for grabs.

On Saturday, undefeated Amherst advanced over No. 8 Wesleyan and easily defended its top seed. No. 2 Colby knocked out a tenacious No. 7 Trinity, though it was the closest second-seed quarterfinal game ever at 65-57. And, for the first time in NESCAC tournament history, two road teams advanced to the semifinals.

A red-hot Bates squad overcame No. 3 Williams 70-63 for its second upset of the week after beating Tufts 71-55 at home on Feb. 13. The Bobcats, who sit in the sixth seed at

only 4-5 in the conference, are fourtime runners-up in the league but fell from grace early in the season going 0-7 in their first games against NESCAC opponents, three of which did not count toward their conference record.

However, Bates has turned it on lately, winning five of its last six contests, with the only loss coming to Amherst 72-66 — the Lord Jeffs’ lowest margin of victory all season.

They lived up to their legacy and previous postseason record of 11-9 and now prepare to take on the Lord Jeffs again at Amherst.

“Obviously I think it’s going to be a little more difficult,” Bates head coach Jim Murphy said. “The first time we played Amherst we played them [at home] and it’s always hard to go into the gym of a team that’s 25-0.

“Last time we turned the ball over 30 times, and while some of it Amherst forced, some of it was just bad decisions on our part,” he continued. “If we cut those turnovers in half, at least, and shoot the ball a little bit better, that will make a big difference. This [Amherst] team has absolutely no weaknesses, so we’re going to have to play really, really well. Honestly, we’re just excited and hope to get down to those last two or three minutes to fight it out.”

And although Amherst has dominated throughout the regular season, the team has been without injured star junior Jaci Daigneault for the last three games, with no certainty of her return. Daigneault, who has the highest field goal percentage in the league, is expected to see NESCAC WOMEN’S BBALL, page 11