2010-02-25

Rain 42/33

THE TUFTS DAILY

TUFTSDAILY.COM

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2010

VOLUME LIX, NUMBER 19

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Somerville seeks to Senate adds voice to Spring Fling discussion be trial site for new Google network BY

ELLEN KAN

Daily Editorial Board

BY

MICHAEL DEL MORO Daily Editorial Board

Off-campus residents may soon become the guinea pigs for Google’s new ultrahigh-speed Internet connection, pending the success of Somerville’s application in the company’s ongoing selection process.

The service, a broadband network, which relies on a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) system, would provide customers with connection speeds of up to one gigabit per second, easily surpassing its competitors.

The City of Somerville announced in a Feb. 11 press release that it has responded to Google’s Request For Information (RFI) to identify community partners, and is seeking to become a site for the new network’s trial period.

While students living on campus and using on-campus Internet services will not be affected a great deal by the see GOOGLE, page 2

The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate on Sunday passed a resolution concerning changes to this year’s Spring Fling that senators hope will be considered by the steering committee as it reviews the Alcohol Task Force’s recommendations.

The Alcohol Task Force, chartered last May by Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman, has concluded its discussions and submitted a report with Spring Fling recommendations to the steering committee, which sets policies on matters relating to alcohol.

While task force members declined to comment on the specifics of the report, a number of sources, including the Senate’s meeting minutes, indicated that the main recommendations involved banning students from bringing alcohol into the event and the establishment of a 21-plus pub area where of-age students would be able to buy a limited number of alcoholic beverages.

TIEN TIEN/TUFTS DAILY

see SPRING FLING, page 2

Spring Fling has come under the spotlight as a steering committee considers possible changes to the event.

Flytzani-Stephanopoulos named first Haber professor of sustainable energy BY

Education advocate shares her experiences

KATHRYN OLSON Daily Staff Writer

TIEN TIEN/TUFTS DAILY

Professor Maria Flytzani-Stephanopoulos was named to the first Haber energy sustainability professorship.

Professor of Chemical Engineering Maria FlytzaniStephanopoulos was named to the first Robert and Marcy Haber Endowed Professorship in Energy Sustainability in the School of Engineering (SOE) for her pioneering research contributions in clean energy production.

Dean of the SOE Linda Abriola said that Flytzani-Stephanopoulos’ selection was a clear choice. “[We wanted someone] who was doing cutting edge research in the field of alternative energy production, and it was no question that we had one outstanding faculty member working in that area,” she said.

Abriola cited FlytzaniStephanopoulos’ numerous awards for her research, including a fellowship at both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Flytzani-Stephanopoulos currently serves as the director of Tufts’ Nano Catalysis and Energy Laboratory and is co-teaching a course entitled Clean Energy see ENERGY, page 2

SCOTT TINGLEY/TUFTS DAILY

Erin Gruwell, an advocate for educational reform and subject of the movie “Freedom Writers” (2007), last night spoke at the fifth annual Merrin Distinguished Lecture about the current education system and her views on education. She shared her experience working with children whom the system had written off. The lecture was sponsored by Moral Voices.

Labeling crucial to passing policy, state senator says BY

MARTHA SHANAHAN Daily Editorial Board

Speaking at The Roosevelt Institute at Tufts’ first policy-training session, Massachusetts State Sen. Patricia Jehlen (D-Somerville) emphasized the need to pay attention to presentation and language when advocating for policy.

The Roosevelt Institute, a national student think tank which on Feb. 10 officially launched

its Tufts chapter, encourages and equips students to engage in policy research and writing.

It aims to further a progressive national and foreign policy and presents students’ proposals to policy makers and advocacy groups.

The Tufts chapter is this semester hosting three policy-writing workshops. Last evening’s first session featured Jehlen as an expert on policy from a legislative point of view, according to Tufts Roosevelt Institute Co-President Sigourney Norman, a sophomore.

Inside this issue

In her talk, Jehlen highlighted the importance of labeling and language in attempting to pass legislation on both the state and national level.

“Evidence is not often the top thing in people’s minds,” she said. “Marketing is important.”

Jehlen cited the example of a recent bill in the Massachusetts State Senate that expands access to charter schools in the hopes of closing the achievement gap between students of

different socioeconomic backgrounds.

She voted against the bill, which passed in January, and explained that despite evidence that charter schools “only sort kids … and don’t close the achievement gap,” the bill succeeded because it was portrayed as an effective proposal.

Jehlen acknowledged the importance of discussions and think tanks such as The see POLICY, page 2

Today’s Sections

The Daily follows the evolution of a Major :Undecided sketch comedy show.

Men’s swimming and diving travels to Williams this weekend for the NESCAC Championships.

see WEEKENDER, page 5

see SPORTS, back

News Features Weekender Editorial | Letters

1 3 5 10

Op-Ed Comics Classifieds Sports

11 12 14 Back

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Thursday, February 25, 2010

NEWS

Professor recognized for sustainable energy research

Senate suggests allowing Spring Fling reentry

ENERGY

In response to the task force’s suggestions, the TCU Senate passed its own resolution highlighting certain issues that it felt should be considered in the discussion.

“The idea was that these are ideas that, as I understand it, had not been presented or necessarily discussed in the context of the task force and were ideas that we believed should be discussed because they were potentially helpful ideas,” TCU Senator Bruce Ratain, a junior, said.

The resolution called on the steering committee to consider allowing of-age students to bring in alcohol to Spring Fling and consume it at a designated 21-plus area. It cited the fact that at last year’s Spring Fling, which was declared a mass casualty incident, all of the students requiring medical attention were underaged and largely freshmen.

Ratain, who co-authored the resolution with fellow senator senior Xavier Malina, said that it was partly motivated by cost concerns and avoiding a situation in which students would have to shoulder heavy costs to purchase alcohol at the bar.

“One of the proposals of the task force was to create a bar area for students over 21,” he said. “So that allows students to have alcohol at Spring Fling. If that’s on the table, we thought it prudent to have alternatives to the cash bar be considered, especially because that’s a costly venture.”

The resolution also calls for a break from past policy, which would allow for reentry into the event, and recommends that the $10,000 that would otherwise have been used to establish the cash bar go toward adding personnel to supervise reentry.

Ratain suggested that this could reduce the level of dangerous drinking by eliminating the need for students to pre-game heavily before the event.

“There is a theory that students drink exorbitantly before the event knowing that they won’t be able to drink over the course of the day while at the event,” he said. “If that’s the case … then students might drink more moderately before that event if they know they can leave

continued from page 1

Technologies and Policy Issues at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Her work aims to discover more cost-efficient ways of producing clean energy through catalysis. “[The] goal of the research is to design catalysts/agents that speed up reactions — to produce hydrogen, the ‘future fuel’ more efficiently,” Flytzani-Stephanopoulos said. “We want to design with less and achieve more.”

She is also trying to create cleaner biofuels through a process that uses biomass fermentation and catalysis to produce liquefied petroleum gas.

If successful, FlytzaniStephanopoulos feels the process will have a huge impact in improving energy sustainability and energy security.

“It will be an easier way to produce biofuels and would reduce our necessity to import oil,” she said.

Robert Haber (E ’79, GE ’80), a member of the Board of Overseers at the SOE, and his wife Marcy established the Haber professorship to which Flytzani-Stephanopoulos has been named.

Robert Haber sought to create an opportunity that would promote interest and research in the field of sustainable energy, a cause he has cared deeply about since his firsthand experience with the international oil crisis at Exxon Mobil Corporation in the late 1970s.

He believes that the crisis was caused by a supply constraint and thus easily resolved, whereas tackling today’s demand-driven crisis, fueled by a growth in oil purchases, will require a different approach. This belief motivated his creation of the professorship.

“Research will create a resolution for today’s problems,” Haber told the Daily. “If we can create more positions such as these, the odds go up that we will make important discoveries.”

Flytzani-Stephanopoulos explained that having an

endowed professorship focusing on sustainability was critical for the university, which boasts a long history of commitment to clean energy.

“A chair in energy sustainability is an important attraction point for Tufts, as well as a testament to the school’s commitment to the environment,” she said.

Flytzani-Stephanopoulos brought up the fact that Tufts was a lead signatory of the 1990 Talloires Declaration: University Presidents for a Sustainable Future, which was an official statement of university administrators’ commitment to environmental sustainability.

“This chair will complement that commitment,” she said.

Abriola acknowledged the Habers’ generosity and said that this endowed professorship would go a long way toward enabling the engineering school to attract and retain quality faculty.

Flytzani-Stephanopoulos highlighted the opportunities that the endowed professorship would provide to students, especially the chance to conduct research abroad, attend conferences, present their work and become more visible as a community that promotes sustainable energy.

Such research opportunities, she said, allow “students to become real believers and take the energy crisis into their own hands, building on previous work little by little. It’s an evolution.”

Stephanopoulos’ passion for energy sustainability stems from both a personal and scientific interest in the issue. “Unless you have a good motivating force, you can’t produce good research,” she said.

Her hope is that her research with new catalysts for energy and fuels will achieve a “breakthrough and create sound building-blocks for the global building of sustainable and clean energy.”

Haber noted that the United States, despite importing approximately $500 billion worth of oil yearly, does not have a comprehensive energy policy. “The country needs to come off of our addiction to oil,” he said.

SPRING FLING continued from page 1

Somerville officials aim to attract trial of fast, competitively priced Internet service GOOGLE continued from page 1

new network, those living in off-campus houses and apartments may eventually become Google clientele if they choose its service.

University Information Technology (UIT) Manager of Network Engineering Philip Pascale said that Google’s network would provide a competitive alternative to services like Verizon’s FiOS Internet and Comcast, which currently have connection speeds of 20 megabytes and 50 megabytes, respectively.

“What [Google]’s proposing would be significantly faster,” Pascale said. He could not comment on the service’s cost, as Google has yet to establish a monthly rate, except to say that it would be competitive.

The company’s press office could not be reached for comment.

On campus, students already have access to a wired connection with potential speeds of one gigabit per second, though this is sometimes inhibited by software performance, according to Pascale.

“Having a high-speed connection is one piece of it, but having the computing power on

your laptop is the other part of it,” he said.

These speeds are also only accessible at the majority of wired locations. Wireless connection speeds are more often slower, ranging between 54 megabytes per second to 130 megabytes per second.

According to the company’s Web site, Google plans to provide the service to between 50,000 and 500,000 households nationally during its short trial period and plans to solicit responses from local governments as well as the public.

While Pascale said the news of the service was mostly relevant to the city, Somerville officials are highlighting the city’s student population in an effort to increase its chances of being selected.

Somerville Deputy Director of Communications Jaclyn Rossetti pointed to the student population as a technologically savvy demographic that makes the city a better candidate.

“Obviously, a lot of students do live in Somerville and utilize businesses in the city,” Rossetti told the Daily.

She added that both the density and diversity of the population in the area will hopefully make it an attractive candidate.

Though the application process has been time-intensive and requires much information gathering on the part of city officials, it will likely be completed

by Google’s March 26 deadline, according to Rossetti.

“We’re hopeful that we’re one of the cities that is highly considered for it and we’re extremely hopeful that we’ll be selected,” she said.

Though Google’s service will offer a much faster connection, Rossetti thinks the other providers will stay in the business and should keep their spot in the market.

“We would like to have different options available to our community residents,” she said.

“That’s what we’re hoping for — more competition.”

Pascale added that the possibility was an interesting development that UIT would keep an eye on.

“This is something that has just recently been brought to our attention, so I think we’ll continue to watch it closely, as it might mean improved service for our students and faculty that live in the area,” he said. “It may afford members alternatives and competition to the current providers with a higher-performing service.”

KRISTEN COLLINS/TUFTS DAILY

Last year’s Spring Fling was declared a mass casualty incident, prompting a review of the event. later and then come back.”

The Concert Board, which organizes the event, also drafted a set of recommendations. According to the Senate’s meeting minutes, these include shortening Spring Fling, booking fewer acts, moving the show to a later time and hosting an event before Spring Fling.

Programming Board Co-Chair Sarah Habib, a junior, declined to comment on these recommendations.

Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) Capt. Mark Keith commented on the suggested reentry policy, saying that it would enable students’ drinking.

“One of the issues there is if, as I understand, there won’t be any alcohol coming into the venue, some of the concern there would be people coming in and then shooting out to do some drinking and then coming back, and that’s not what we’re looking for,” he said.

He acknowledged some of the concerns associated with banning alcohol from the event.

“If people weren’t allowed to bring in alcohol, what I would suspect is that people would tend to be drinking more outside before they get into the venue,” Keith said. “In the past, most of [TUPD’s] resources are inside the venue; we may have to reallocate our resources … to monitor things on and around campus.”

Still, Keith supports the proposal.

“I think we need to based on the last

several years … and if they do prohibit alcohol coming I think that’s probably a good thing,” he said.

TCU President Brandon Rattiner, a senior who is a member of both the Alcohol Task Force and the steering committee, declined to comment extensively because deliberations are still ongoing.

“I can’t really be too specific about it but … it’s a compromise, and [the steering committee is] going to do the best we can to come up with a solution,” he said.

He added that he will present the Senate’s resolution and its recommendations to the committee.

The steering committee will be meeting today.

Rattiner believes that the task force was representative of Tufts students. “The task force put together this document, and the task force was two-thirds students … from all walks of life,” he said.

Habib stressed that despite all the attention possible changes to Spring Fling are getting, the event would not be much different and would still be enjoyable for students.

“Things are not changing that much,” she said. “People are blowing this out of proportion; things are going to be fine, and it’s still going to be an amazing Spring Fling. Spring Fling is not fundamentally going to change.”

Brent Yarnell contributed reporting to this article.

Jehlen stresses policy relevance POLICY continued from page 1

Roosevelt Institute but went on to encourage the event’s attendees to consider entering the world of politics to fulfill their policy ambitions.

“You cannot do policy in academia,” she said. “In order to make ideas real you have to participate in politics.”

Politics, she explained, is about shaping discussions to support one’s desired policy.

Jehlen feels that running for office is a great learning experience. “It forces you to think about what people in the real world think,” she said.

“My job is all about policy. It’s about making laws, making jobs … and helping my constituents with problems in the system.”

She also highlighted the importance of connecting with constituents on a personal level, something she said was critical to her job and putting a face to an otherwise impersonal government.

Sophomore Leslie Ogden, defense and diplomacy director for the institute’s Tufts chapter, said that Jehlen was a great speaker whose talk was very thoughtprovoking. She welcomed Jehlen’s emphasis on being connected to the people she serves.

“I admire her dedication to her constituents,” Ogden said.

“A lot of times when we look at policy from an academic standpoint, we forget about the peo-

ple it really affects. She did a great job of connecting policy … with people … and really driving that point home.”

Ogden added that Jehlen’s talk was a good reminder that any policy must be relevant to the community’s needs. “You can write papers, but it needs to be pertinent to people,” she said.

Norman said that Jehlen was chosen as a speaker for the workshop because she had a lot to offer the institute’s members.

“She is a great resource, and is [...] invested in [the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service],” Norman said. “We do want to [...] start fostering relationships with these types of people for when we start drafting policy.”

Responding to a question about her choice of career path, Jehlen explained that she started out by running for her daughter’s school system committee after being frustrated about her inability to get things done from outside the system. “I never had a plan,” she said.

Jehlen credited her experience after college with Americorps, an organization facilitating community service and volunteering, as integral to shaping her worldview and values.

The institute’s next two training sessions, planned for later in the semester, will focus on the advocacy and judicial aspects of legislation, according to Norman.

Features

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BEN KOCHMAN | BETWEEN THE SLICES

FROM THE HILL TO THE STREET Alum helps classic children’s show enter the realm of social media BY

CARTER ROGERS

Daily Editorial Board

While most leave “Sesame Street” behind along with sippy cups and diapers, Tufts alum Dan Lewis (LA ’00) recently returned to the show that is a childhood fixture for many in order to help the 40-year-old program better adapt to the 21st century.

Lewis was appointed this year to fill the newly created Director of New Media Communications position for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind “Sesame Street,” and is still settling into his new position.

S e s a m e Workshop has more shows in its stable than just “Sesame Street,” including “Dragon Ta l e s ,” “Pinkey D i n k y Doo” and a remake of the literacy program “The Electric C o m p a n y ” (1971-77), whose cast included Bill Cosby, Joan Rivers, Mel Brooks and Morgan Freeman.

However, as the organization’s name implies, none of its other shows have ever surpassed the popularity of the one featuring characters like Big Bird, the Cookie Monster and Elmo.

Lewis said that there was not a natural path from Tufts to Sesame Workshop. Lewis attended Cardozo School of Law in New York City and graduated in 2005.

After that, while acting as a practicing attorney, Lewis helped found ArmChairGM.com, a sports forum and wiki, with several friends. Wikipedia. org founder Jimmy Wales later purchased the Web site for his new startup Wikia, Inc. Lewis’ new position involves the “social media communications” side of Sesame Workshop, rather than the side involving the production of the shows themselves. “I’m in charge of how the organization uses Facebook[. com], Twitter[.com], its corporate Web site and other new media platforms — blogs, generally, and potentially other things as well — for marketing and PR purposes,” Lewis said.

Lewis feels the Internet was an entirely different beast when he was at Tufts. “At the time, the Web was very young,” Lewis said. “To put it in perspective, it took about two months for everybody to get Internet connectivity in their dorms. They had to go from dorm to dorm and connect people. When I was there, the Internet was just emerging, and broadband adoption certainly wasn’t there yet.

It would be a couple of years after I graduated that my parents had broadband, for example.”

Lewis still gained some experience with online media while on the Hill.

“On the other hand, [Tufts] gave me and a lot of others the opportunity to do things that many people wouldn’t have the opportunity to do,” he said.

“For example, I had my own space on the Tufts server and I could build my own Web page

MCT

and I did some of that, and I think that’s where I really started to get interested in how the Web and the Internet in general is an incredibly valuable communications tool.”

Although many “Sesame Street” viewers are too young to use computers and social media, Lewis sees new media as a useful tool to promote Sesame Workshop. “The target audience is probably parents of the preschool set, but also there are numerous fans of our shows, especially ‘Sesame Street,’ and just the fact that we’re a cultural touchstone itself means that having our brand out there on these platforms is a good idea generally,” Lewis said.

As both a parent and childhood viewer, Lewis feels honored to be involved with a program with the impressive reputation of “Sesame Street.”

“It’s absolutely incredible.

Especially on a personal level for me, I have two sons, two and four years old, so I quite literally live in a very Sesame- friendly household, so for me on a personal level, it’s rewarding for that reason as well,” Lewis said.

Although much of his work involves promoting Sesame Workshop to adults, Lewis sees the potential in using technology to reach the target audience of the group’s programs. Lewis said his children regularly watch “Sesame Street” through the show’s YouTube. com channel.

Lewis also sees potential in mobile devices as well as computers. “We have an iPhone app where you can build your own Muppet, called Elmo’s Monster Maker, and it’s clearly targeted toward kids,” Lewis said. “If … I was sitting there, building a friend for Elmo would be rather silly, but you give that to a three- or fouryear-old and you

might never see your iPod again.

There are sort of the exceptional numbers of platforms out there which pre-schoolers are using, [like] Youtube, iPhones, etc., that we will certainly try and be in front of.”

While many think of a television show when they hear “Sesame Street,” Lewis believes that “Sesame Street” isn’t completely tied to the medium of television. “We’re a media company generally, so we want to use the power of media to educate and entertain children. I think that’s the overall goal,” Lewis said.

With “Sesame Street” in its 40th year, Sesame Workshop has plenty of history and content to draw on when branching into new forms of media, but it is still focused on creating new and compelling programming.

“We have a YouTube channel — it’s YouTube.com/SesameStreet — and you’ll see a lot of our older things there and a lot of new stuff as well,” Lewis said. “We also have at SesameStreet. org an absolute ton of video content, some more nostalgic, some more current, and we also have a lot of Flash-based games which are designed for the zero-to-five crowd. When you have the 40 years of history that we have, it’s important that we use that, MCT but also that we continue going forward with our new stuff to put everything everywhere.”

As for his favorite character of the cast, “It’s definitely Grover,” Lewis said.

Getting funky in Dewick

F

or my 19th birthday, my friends in my hall decided to make me a giant sandwich. They went to the dining hall and used every item on the sandwich bar that they could find, and the result was a triple-decker so massive that I could not fit the whole thing in my mouth at once.

Although the gift was undoubtedly very considerate (my passion for the sandwich is well known by my friends, and the inclusion of the number “19” written in Dijon mustard on top of the bread was a special touch), the construction of the sandwich was an arbitrary mess.

Yet because I appreciate my hallmates’ efforts, I hereby dedicate this week’s column to describing ways for them to make sandwiches in Dewick that are a bit more palatable: 1. The Jumbo McGriddle: When McDonald’s introduced its “McGriddle” sandwich a couple years ago, many sandwich enthusiasts gasped in horror.

Or at least I know that I did. But after trying the “McGriddle,” I had to admit that the combination of savory eggs and bacon between two pancakes that are miraculously infused with maple syrup was delightful.

My dining hall version of the “McGriddle” uses, instead of pancakes, cinnamon raisin bread, which is less sticky to the touch.

Put about a quarter of a butter packet on a piece of bread, and then stick it in the toaster. Then add eggs, bacon, a hash brown or two if you are feeling feisty, and stick the whole creation in the panini press for 30 seconds to make it easier to maneuver. For an added flavor kick, mix Sriracha hot sauce into the butter.

2. The Salinger: I named this lunch sandwich after the recently deceased master writer for two reasons. First, it is as simple and unpretentious as possible, and Salinger was a genius at making great writing look effortless. And second, I use rye bread.

This is a tuna melt, and the key to any tuna melt is making sure that the cheese melts all the way though. Using the panini press alone is too unpredictable and often leads to cheese that looks melted but is, in fact, still cold. A good solution to this problem is to take some tuna salad, put two to three slices of Muenster cheese on top (don’t be shy with how much cheese you use, as the melty texture is one of the biggest appeals of The Salinger), and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute.

Then, remove the tuna/melted cheese, place it on two slices of marble rye bread, garnish it with the mixed greens on the salad bar and a couple slices of tomato, stick the whole thing in the panini press for a minute, and The Salinger is complete.

And I can say with all confidence that this sandwich tastes a lot less “phony” than the inevitable “Catcher in the Rye” (1951) movie Hollywood will surely make in the near future.

3. The Beighley: This dessert sandwich is dedicated to my roommate, who I caught one night going at an apple pie from Hodgdon from the center outwards with a big spoon. To make The Beighley, wait until the sundae bar is out, and take a handful of rainbow sprinkles. Then make a Belgian waffle, placing the sprinkles in the batter. Next, cut the waffle in half, and put two scoops of vanilla ice scream and a smear of Nutella on top of one half. Top the ice cream/Nutella mixture with the second half of the waffle, and maybe drizzle some hot fudge on top of the whole deal.

The result? A colorful, sugary taste explosion that my roommate can expect to see on his desk when his next birthday rolls around.

Ben Kochman is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at Benjamin.Kochman@tufts.edu.

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Thursday, February 25, 2010

Division of Student Affairs Social Justice Leadership Initiative

Let’s Talk About

Race

Social Justice 201 Workshop

Friday, March 5 3:00 - 6:00pm Metcalf Hall Lounge Optional dinner after workshop, 6 - 7pm

Interested in increasing the level and quality of communication about race and ethnicity among students, student leaders, as well as with the administration?

Then plan on attending this workshop!

Facilitator: Amy Albert Amy Albert is a Conciliation Specialist at the U.S. Department of -Xstice CommXnity 5elations SerYice Zhere she meGiates conÀicts between local governments, schools, police departments, and communities regarding issues of race and ethnicity.

Social Justice t-shirts will be given to all who attend the entire 3-hour workshop.

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THE JOURNEY OF A COMEDY SKETCH by jessica bal, daily editorial board Ever wonder how sketch comedy makes its way from concept to cackle-inducing performance? For a little over two weeks, Major:Undecided (M:U) has been planning and practicing for its upcoming show. The Daily follows the tedious (and hilarity-inducing) process of how a sketch moves from an original idea to a final production.

Inspiration It begins in an apartment, where seven friends are hanging out and joking around — being, well, regular college students. Except that they’re all members of the comedy group Major:Undecided.

Strands of conversation that might otherwise be left to dissolve like any other casual afternoon banter slowly evolve in their minds into the beginnings of a new sketch.

Gilad Gray, a junior and the group’s campus liaison, has an idea. He’s been to enough boring meetings to have thought about what could have spiced them up.

One of the best options? Getting drunk.

“It was sort of this fantasy I had,” said Gray. “But then with the sketch, it turned into, ‘What if this really happened?’”

Fast forward a few hours and a script is born, the comedy child of Gray and six others: seniors James Folta, Sam Gammerman and Dan Casey, as well as juniors Anit Das, Brian Agler and Irene Richardson. It’s not uncommon for a skit to develop from the quips and outrageous thoughts that the Majors so often toss around in average conversation. They think their script is funny. From here, they just have to cross their fingers and hope that the rest of the group agrees.

I.

Presentation At 9 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 8, the entire group assembles in the red hangar near Jackson Gym. It takes some time for everyone to settle down and find a seat on the floor or in one of the few folding chairs scattered throughout the room.

Folta, the group’s artistic director and a member since his freshman year, stands next to a blackboard that’s almost larger than himself and scrawls the names of proposed sketches. There are about 28 of them, with

II.

PHOTOS BY JODI BOSIN/TUFTS DAILY; DESIGN BY ALLY GIMBEL

tantalizing names ranging from “Foodultery” to “AntiBro” to the simple “Meth.”

This meeting is lovingly nicknamed “The Death Meeting;” the daunting list on the board means that the pitches and subsequent voting last about three hours.

Anyone who has been to two-thirds of the meetings — or has been in the last M:U performance — can vote.

“Drunk Business Meeting” is an instant hit, and laughter ripples through the crowd of comedians observing the sloppy spectacle. With eight characters and a riotous amount of stumbling and slurring, the sketch makes a promising debut. The temporary cast members, many of whom include the original writers, read straight from the script and crack up during their own lines when they reach them, but the potential is there. It just needs a little polish.

Everyone in the hangar votes on scraps of paper, heading home to tackle homework while the board members huddle together to tally up the bids and make a final decision.

Unsurprisingly, “Drunk Business Meeting” makes the cut, along with 10 other skits ranging in length.

Preparation On Monday Feb. 15, the Majors audition for their roles. Gray organizes the “Drunk Business Meeting” tryouts, selecting a portion of the script for the reading. Most of the M:U members audition for almost everything, and the process is laid-back. One of the benefits of an informal audition, Gray explained, is that it leaves a space for ad-libs and new interpretations to shape the script.

“A lot of the ad-libs from the auditions actually end up in the final script,” Gray said. “That’s really where some of the best lines come from.”

Afterward, the directors discuss the cuts for each sketch.

“We pick an A-team, and obviously that’s who you’re hoping to get,” Agler said. Since this ideal cast often overlaps with the selections for other sketches, compromises have to be made. “The directors all have to negotiate, because we want to include as many members of [M:U] as possible without sacrificing the quality of the final performance,” Agler added.

For “Drunk Business Meeting,” the original cast from the first pitch remains relatively intact. The finalized selection includes only three swapped actors, introducing sophomore Sarah Soffer, junior Michael MotolaBarnes and senior Shea Sullivan, while Folta, Gray, Das, Agler and Gammerman round out the rest of the cast.

Sullivan represents one of the unexpected but eagerly-adopted changes to a “Business Meeting” character. She auditioned for the male role of Jim, but her wild interpretation of one swashbuckling speech convinced the writers of “Drunk Business

III.

Meeting” to include her.

“It wasn’t even a girl’s part at first, but Shea just blew it away,” Agler said. “She just nailed the pirate lines; her accent was outrageous.” After a character re-naming (“Jim” becomes “Jane” in the final script), Sullivan is in.

“If you make a bold choice in auditions, sometimes that just gets you the part,” Agler added.

Revision At 11 p.m. on a Tuesday night, the group is navigating a maze of rooms in the lower level of Aidekman in search of rehearsal space. After passing by some students from Traveling Treasure Trunk doing their cute antics in the hallway, they eventually settle in Aidekman 9.

“This is perfect!” Agler says as the door swings open to reveal a long table lined with chairs. They take their seats and pull out scripts.

Motola-Barnes is nodding off at the end of the table with his head cradled in folded arms. After the “30 Rock” and “Dilbert” references subside, it’s business time. Drunken business, that is. The eight Majors attack their scripts with pens, scratching out lines that don’t work, don’t make sense or just don’t elicit enough laughs. After one line is cut, someone throws a balled up piece of paper and cries out, “Wait, that was my joke!”

“We’re pretty brutal about changes. If it’s not funny, we cut it,” Das said.

“Your joke is always your baby, but we try to be flexible,” Agler said. “We’ve got to be rational about what stays and what goes.”

The revision session is actually a healthy mix of addition and subtraction. New lines replace some of the scrapped ones, and the cast fine-tunes some of the character portrayals. One point of focus is Soffer’s interpretation of her character, Carol — or, at least, of drunk Carol. She’s taking a giggly approach, but her cast members insist that she needs to be more irritable. “Show us an angry, sullen drunk!” Folta yells across the table.

Soffer runs her line again, this time in a grave sneer that shocks the group.

“OK, not demon-drunk!” Folta corrects, and the other actors laugh appreciatively.

This meeting, for the most part, is about gauging the reactions to ad-libs and getting a feel for what should stay in the script and what has to go. At 11:35 p.m., they’re still at it, and the script is still about two or three minutes longer than it should be.

They run through the entire sketch from their seats about three times within the course of the night, and it changes with each performance. Cast members cut

IV.

see MAJORS, page 9

THE TUFTS DAILY

6

Thursday, February 25, 2010

WEEKENDER

MOVIE FEATURE

The top 10 most anticipated movies for spring Guaranteed to keep you entertained through March, April and May BY

CHARISSA NG AND ZACH DRUCKER

Daily Editorial Board

To get us through the nasty February weather, we at the Daily Arts Department decided to compile a list of movies whose releases we anticipate with bated breath. So ready the popcorn and Milk Duds, because here are the 10 feature films you won’t want to miss this spring.

Without further ado: 10. “Kick-Ass” (April 16): Have you ever wanted to be a superhero? Well, you can’t be, because you most likely don’t have heat vision, and you definitely can’t shape-shift into a ham, egg and cheese Hot Pocket. Yet the upcoming “Kick-Ass” tells the story of Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), an average, nerdy high school kid who decides he wants to don a suit and fight some crime. Based on the eponymous comic, this film plays off of childhood dreams and hysterical antics.

9. “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” (April 23): As a sequel to the Academy-Award winning drama/thriller “Wall Street” (1987), “Money Never Sleeps” picks up 23 years later with the release of former corrupt Wall Street corporate raider Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). With his tarnished reputation, Gekko must work with young Wall Street trader Jacob Moore (Shia LaBoeuf ) to warn the financial world of the economic crash he fears is looming ahead.

Hopefully, LaBoeuf will bring a fresh face to the sequel, as he’s quickly proven in the last few years that he is on his way to becoming one of Hollywood’s leading men.

8. “Leaves of Grass” (April 2): This comedic thriller follows Ivy League professor Bill Kincaid (Edward Norton) as he returns to his hometown in Oklahoma upon the faked murder of his pot-dealing identical twin brother, Brady.

Now that he’s left the stability of his life back in the Northeast, Bill somehow finds himself entangled in a scheming, dangerous world of drugs. With a cast including Norton, Susan Sarandon and Keri Russell, and writer-director Tim Blake Nelson, “Leaves of Grass” could turn into the little-indiethat-could for this year.

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Anne Hathaway stars in the upcoming update of “Alice In Wonderland.”

7. “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (April 30): Samuel Bayer has made a name for himself directing commercials and music videos, but he will make his directorial debut in film with the upcoming remake of Wes Craven’s classic “A Nightmare On Elm Street” (1984).

The knife-handed, murderous antagonist, Freddy Krueger, is getting an even more sinister makeover as Jackie Earle Haley takes over Krueger duties from Robert Englund. With Michael Bay producing, audiences will see whether Krueger can carve up some cash or if this series is mincemeat.

6. “Remember Me” (March 12): In this new romantic drama, Robert Pattinson plays Tyler, a young New Yorker whose brother’s suicide has led to a strained relationship with his father (Pierce Brosnan) and a life of not caring. Soon after Tyler unexpectedly falls in love with Ally (Emilie de Ravin), their relationship is tested as they are forced to deal with hidden secrets and tragedy. As much as people may hate to admit it, this being the vampire Edward

Cullen and all, Pattinson actually looks like he has some potential in this film.

5. “Greenberg” (March 26): Writer-director Noah Baumbach (“The Squid and the Whale,” 2005) offers up another poignant dramedy about Greenberg (Ben Stiller), a snarky, middle-aged guy whose primary pastime is doing nothing. After leaving New York, Greenberg meets another aimless soul, Florence Marr (Greta Gerwig), and the two try to sort out their unsettled lives in Los Angeles. This sharp-witted indie flick looks like it’s got just enough biting comedy and wellintentioned sarcasm to make it worth watching.

4. “Date Night” (April 9): Steve Carell plus Tina Fey equals a dynamic comedy duo, as the NBC Thursday lineup can attest.

Playing a traditional, suburban married couple, Carell and Fey decide to get a bit dangerous on their night out, and they steal another couple’s table at a fancy restaurant. Yet, when they are mistaken as the other couple, the pair goes down a road

that includes ruthless gangsters, a psycho cab driver and … Common? This film promises laughs, action and plenty of shirtless shots of Mark Wahlberg.

So why not take a date to this flick in April?

3. “Green Zone” (March 12): With his last roles including a South African rugby player and a pudgy, grain-working, FBI informant, Matt Damon returns to a more Jason Bourne-esque character in this action thriller.

Director Paul Greengrass returns to war-torn Iraq as Damon sets out on a one-man mission to uncover weapons of mass destruction and kill some terrorists along the way — not to mention the reunion of Damon and co-star Greg Kinnear.

2. “Iron Man 2” (May 7): As the eye-patched Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson hinted at another “Iron Man” (2008) film after the credits of the first film finished rolling.

Finally, audiences will get what they have been waiting for as “Iron Man 2” hits theaters in May. With Robert Downey, Jr. returning as Tony Stark, the movie will

also feature Mickey Rourke as the Russian villain Whiplash and Don Cheadle as Stark’s best buddy, War Machine. Expect more technology, more special effects and more heavy-metal action.

1. “Alice in Wonderland” (March 5): Tim Burton is famous for developing quirky characters and dark, sinister plotlines, so his remake-update of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” (1865) and “Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There” (1875) will surely be no exception.

Burton has once again taken a childhood classic that everyone knows and loves, added his signature twist of eccentricity and given the tale a whole new life.

Of course, what would a Burton film be without his right-hand man, Johnny Depp, as the Mad Hatter, and his equally strange and brilliant partner, Helena Bonham Carter, as the Queen of Hearts? One can expect that the pair, alongside co-stars Mia Wasikowska and Anne Hathaway, will have kids squirming in their seats and adults loving the darker side of “Alice in Wonderland.”

TOP TEN | TOP TEN OTHER THINGS WE’RE EXCITED FOR IN SPRING Going along with our anticipated movies top 10, we decided to brainstorm 10 more things we can’t wait to get here (warm weather is a gimme): 10. Sundresses: Playful, printed frocks always make their way back on campus by the time April rolls around to add some color to the President’s Lawn and prove that Tufts students can, in fact, be stylish. Until then, we’ll have to satisfy ourselves with hiding our spring wear underneath bulky parkas or just tossing on some sandals anyway to show those icy Memorial Steps who is boss.

9. Conan O’ Brien: So it’s not official, but there have been rumors that Conan O’Brien will be doing stand-up shows in major cities across America, and we in the Daily Arts Department would like to say that we are SO EXCITED about this.

We think NBC screwed up big time, we miss him dearly and we will support any and all future performances. By the way, one thing we are NOT excited for this spring: “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Yuck. That’s so 2008.

8. “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” (2009) DVD: You’ve seen him on the big screen (twice), in countless interviews and on your bedroom door every morning when you wake up, but soon you will finally be able to see the pasty Robert Pattinson in DVD form! Coming out March 20, this release promises to dazzle like the skin of a vampire in sunlight.

7. “Raymond v. Raymond:” Usher’s newest album is set to come out in late March, making die-hard fans shout, “Yeah! Yeah! ...Yeah. Yeah!” The ripped, gyrating, Grammy-winning singer’s upcoming installment will feature many exciting collaborations, so this one’s gonna “Burn.”

6. “Art in Bloom:” This April, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston will celebrate the spring season by unveiling 50 floral arrangements in its galleries, an annual tradition. The arrangements, which will be inspired by works from its famed collection, promise to be a sight to behold and will be complemented by activities throughout the museum.

5. “Beatrice and Virgil:” Yann Martel’s latest novel is coming out on April 13, approximately eight years after his bestseller “Life of Pi” hit the shelves. With a donkey and a howler monkey who embark on a haunting journey as the story’s main characters and plot, Martel might not have strayed too far from his previous style and use of exotic animals to represent and delve into complex issues.

4. “The Addams Family” Musical: Beginning March 8, Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth will bring their renditions of Gomez and Morticia to Broadway, after a startlingly successful run in Chicago. We cannot wait to snap along to the theme song. No family can make an audience laugh and cringe at the same time the way the Addams’ can.

3. The Boston Independent Film Festival: Most of the movies of this little-known festival screen right in Davis Square at the Somerville Theatre.

Last year included sneak peeks of “The Brothers Bloom” (2008) and “(500) Days of Summer” (2009) before they were

released widely, and this year’s lineup promises to be just as good. Tickets are cheap, but you have to get in line early to get a seat; plus, you can almost imagine you’re in the snow-decked mountains of Sundance.

2. “Parenthood:” What do Lorelai Gilmore, Nate Fisher, Mr. Incredible, Ann “Her?” Veal and Richie Cunningham have in common? Why, it’s this promising-looking new dramedy from the producers of “Arrested Development” (2003-2006), premiering March 1 on NBC. 1. Spring Fling: No matter what the administration decides in terms of alcohol policy, we at the Daily are literally quivering in anticipation of the announcement of this year’s lineup.

While past years have yielded such critically acclaimed acts as Common, Tea Leaf Green, Dropkick Murphys, Lupe Fiasco and Spoon, we just have three words for Concert Board: “WE WANT MILEY!!!!”

— compiled by the Daily Arts Department

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, February 25, 2010

7

WEEKENDER

MOVIE REVIEW

Horror film series profiles murders in Northern England BY

ALLEN IRWIN

Daily Staff Writer

An image of a dead angel, tinted bloodred, adorns the advertising posters for the “Red Riding” trilogy. This image gives a

Red Riding: 1980 Starring Warren Clarke, Paddy Considine, James Fox Directed by James Marsh proper introduction to the bleak world that this trio of crime films inhabits, in which characters search for truth but find only corruption and death. The gloomy, overcast skies of northern England are an everpresent backdrop, and their darkness is so pervasive that it threatens to snuff out all sources of light and hopes of escape.

A real-life series of murders and a subsequent investigation of police corruption form the historical basis of the trilogy, which aired on television in England last year before being released in the United States this year.

The film “Red Riding: 1980” takes place in the middle of this crisis, when an outside police officer is brought in to assess the integrity of the police investigation surrounding the Yorkshire Ripper murders. This installment, directed by James Marsh (“Man on Wire,” 2008) follows Peter Hunter (Paddy Considine) as he uncovers evidence implicating members of the police force in one of the murders.

Peter’s choice of team members for his inquiry also becomes a source of his problems. The local police officers find out that he has had an affair with one of his partners, Helen (Maxine Peake), making him an object of ridicule. With threats of blackmail looming over him and a constant worry for his wife’s safety, Peter continues his investigation. He is contacted by a male prostitute who witnessed even more questionable police involvement with a barroom murder that occurred in the first film, leading him to suspect the culpability of his own team members.

As the film progresses toward its final revelation, the feeling of overwhelming dread and hopelessness weighs down on the characters to the point where they find it hard to function. Helen practically stops working on the case, while Peter presses on despite being

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“Red Riding: 1980” — a chilling film. almost totally alone in his struggle. Although he finds some explanations to the mysteries afoot, there is one final gut-wrenching twist that Peter never expects.

One of the truly amazing feats that “Red Riding: 1980” and the other films achieve is their pervasive atmosphere and mood. A different filmmaker directs each movie, but the style remains fairly consistent throughout.

The subtle differences in cinematography, however, function in service of the stories.

“Red Riding: 1974,” shot with grainy 16mm film, simultaneously has a documentary-like look as well as an ambiance that is uniquely ’70s. The alternatively colder approach that director Marsh brings to “Red Riding: 1980” suits the more procedural aspect of the picture well.

Marsh also uses small, stylistic techniques to his advantage. The home video-style foot-

age of one scene with Peter and his relatives contrasts their happiness, which is slipping away, with the harsh world of crime and corruption. “Red Riding: 1983” uses digital video to show the color and life-drained existence of its protagonists as the story wraps up.

Yet another aspect that remains consistent within the series — and is particularly prevalent throughout “Red Riding: 1980” — is the sense that the film itself views the events of the story through a predetermined lens of doom and failure. It is as though everyone in the film’s world knows that there is nothing to be done about the corruption and no solution to be found to the murders — but certain individuals push back against this knowledge despite the inevitability of their fall. Even with this feeling of eminent failure, the conclusions to the films still manage to arrive naturally and

CONCERT REVIEW

Editors’ mellow sound still makes good concert BY

KATHERINE GRIFFITHS Contributing Writer

Birmingham, UK-based band Editors played at the House of the Blues last Thursday, Feb. 18, to one of the more mellow audiences the venue has likely ever seen. The supporting acts, The Antlers and The Dig, displayed a performance as good as any unknown, small band generally could give, lending an impatient atmosphere to the venue as audience members shuffled and nodded their heads, anxious for the main act to come on.

During the break between the end of The Antlers’ set and Editors’ coming onstage, the main floor filled up quickly and a crowd began chanting the band’s name in the hope that it would entice the group onstage faster. But, when the lights finally dimmed and Editors walked onstage, the crowd did not rush forward; it became clear that this would be a more tranquil concert than one might have thought for such an energetic band.

Frontman Tom Smith entered with a quick hello, and then the ’80s synthetic, post-punk notes of “In This Light and on This Evening” (2009) filled the room. As the song progressed into its heavier chorus, the band seemed to find its footing and Smith’s obvious enjoyment of his music bled through into the crowd as he

EDITORSOFFICIAL.COM

British indie rockers Editors have discovered the essentials of making it in the music business: wear all black and stand awkwardly. slapped the piano in time to the drums.

The purpose of Editors’ current tour is to promote their newest album “In This Light and on This Evening” (2009) but they still played the crowdpleasers from their first two albums as well. When Editors played “The Racing Rats” from their second album, “An End Has a Start” (2007), about half an hour into the gig, some audience members finally started to stir more. While the center of the crowd remained fairly static, Smith’s frenetic movements inspired small pockets of people around the

edges of the room.

While he was singing, Smith cupped the microphone and seemed so immersed in his singing that he appeared to not even realize he was performing live anymore. The next song, fan favorite “Blood” from the album “The Back Room” (2005), finally got most of the crowd moving as red lights swept through the room, and guitarist and synth player Chris Urbanowicz threw his guitar pick to fans dancing madly in the front row.

During the concert, Smith see EDITORS, page 8

with a certain sense of surprise.

The uniformly excellent acting in each film can also explain the constant sense that events are occurring just as they unfold onscreen. Each film has a different lead, and the entire supporting cast delivers pitch perfect performances. When the characters finally realize the futility of their endeavors, their reactions and despair are plausible.

The “Red Riding” trilogy leaves few lessons for the characters lost in its world and equally few for its audience. Against the face of what seems like an unbreakable wall of corruption, the few decent characters beat their heads to no avail. In presenting a dark, hopeless, claustrophobic place where betrayal and murder lurk around every corner, “Red Riding” presents a question with no answers — but a beautifully crafted epic trilogy nonetheless.

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE TUFTS DAILY

Dear February, So about yesterday … thanks for that. No really, it’s cool; we love walking outside in a windy, wintry swamp, and your clever mix of down-pouring rain and snowstorm was really quite inspired. Almost like a painting, actually.

Shouldn’t you be over by now? Clearly you’re the puniest month of the 12, and you’ve got no leap year to juice you up to 29 days. Not so tough without your performance-enhancing calendar tricks, are you?

You’re probably just ashamed of always coming in second place behind January. Heaping insult on top of injury, the early Anglo-Saxons nicknamed you “Solmonath” and “Kale-monath,” meaning “mudmonth” and “cabbage-month,” respectively. Nobody wants to be called “cabbage,” not even cabbage itself.

And we don’t think we need to tell you that there are exactly zero pride points to be had in being dubbed “mud.” Heck, no one even pronounces your English name correctly — come on, when was the last time you actually heard somebody pronounce it “Feh-BREWairey?” Clearly, you’re the ugly month that everybody has hated for centuries like a red-headed stepchild.

But seriously, Feb-dawg, we’re glad that you’re about to come to an end. It’s been too long, and we at the Daily Arts Department have to say that we’re ready for you to be over. You’ve pushed us to our breaking point, and (as today’s paper subtly shows) we’re just SO excited for what’s to come. We’re looking forward to the Oscars, regular TV and temperatures above 35 degrees Fahrenheit. Frankly, your few redeeming aspects — like Groundhog Day, Black History Month and Shakira’s birthday — just don’t do it for us anymore.

So next year only two wintry/wet/storm-aganzas, please. OK? OK. Or you could just vanish from the year entirely, making everybody a whole lot happier.

We honestly hate you, and so do the other months.

Please just kill yourself already.

Love, The Daily Arts Department

THE TUFTS DAILY

8

Thursday, February 25, 2010

WEEKENDER

Editors’ concert at House of Blues includes both new songs and old favorites EDITORS continued from page 7

barely spoke any words to the crowd, except to thank everyone for coming and to introduce the members of the band between songs. His voice proved to be just as exceptional live as it is on record. Compared to the likes of Robert Smith of The Cure and Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Tom Smith has a rare depth and passion to his voice that one might think would not come across so well live. But Smith’s vocals happen to be the integral part of the band’s success.

After playing several more old songs, the band began to promote its new album, playing the more melancholy tune “The Boxer,” which prompted several audience members to start swaying in time to the slower beats. After finishing with “Bricks and Mortar,” another selection from the new album, the band walked off stage, with Urbanowicz throwing three more picks to the front row. As with any show, several audience members clearly didn’t realize that there would be an encore and started to find their way through the mass of people in the dark, stopping short only when a shout of “Encore!”

started up from everyone else in the crowd.

The encore presented the obvious choices; the lights flickered back on to the bittersweet tones of “Walk the Fleet Road,” showing a more sensitive side to the band and more range to Smith’s voice. The mood instantly changed, however, with the upbeat guitar riff for “Munich,” the second single from the band’s first album. Perhaps the fact that audience members knew the concert was coming to an end gave them incentive to enjoy themselves more, as this song especially produced more dancing in the crowd.

After this song, Editors moved on to “Papillon,” the first single from their newest album, which kept the buoyant atmosphere going. Finally, the band finished up with “Fingers in the Factories,” a callback to their first album and a good way to keep all the fans happy.

While Editors admittedly have a mellow sound and don’t play the kind of music that encourages moshing at their concerts, one would expect a little more energy to be present for a band whose first album was praised by British music magazine New Musical

BRITMUSICSCENE.COM

The Editors formed in the United Kingdom in 2002.

Express as being “dark disco.” The fact that they manage to retain the same sound live as they do on thei records

and magnify it to a high intensity is an accomplishment for which they must be commended.

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

Admission is free. (Friday, 9 p.m.-midnight)

Action Guaranteed!: Come see Tufts’ hardest-hitting classic-rock group in its firstever off-campus show! Get free Swing Juice and tasty, mixed drinks, and support your local musicians in the process.

Hosted by Michael’s Bar at 97 Washington St. in Somerville.

No car? Take the MBTA #80 Bus from Professors Row & College Ave, and get off at Medford St. & Washington St.

TASA Culture Show “Ek Jhalak:” Tufts Association of South Asians’ (TASA) annual culture show is offering up a fun mix of South Asian music and dance with “One Glimpse.”

The show includes comedy skits, Hindi a cappella acts and performances by Tufts Bhangra, Garba and Fusion. Tickets are free at the Cohen Box Office.

(Friday and Saturday from 7-9 p.m. in Cohen Auditorium)

Jumbo Jam: Ingrid Michaelson brings her indie-pop to the Somerville Theatre in this Concert Board event. Tickets are still available at the Campus Center Info Booth, and they’re only $15. (Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Davis Square) boom: The New Repertory Theater’s current production stars Karen MacDonald, the theater gem of Boston, in a fresh dark comedy by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb that includes a meeting through Craigslist.

com, a hurtling comet and one scientist’s attempts to save Earth before it’s too late. Tickets are $25. (Arsenal Center for the Arts: Black Box Theater, 321 Arsenal St., Watertown. Friday at 8:30 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. through Mar. 13) Howie Day: For one night only, Howie Day heads to the Paradise Rock Club for some smooth, acoustic jams. Tickets are $20. (967 Commonwealth

Ave., Boston. Sunday, doors open at 7 p.m.)

Sculpture at the Gardner: Join a Museum Educator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for an introduction to a new special exhibition, “Modeling Devotion: Terracotta Sculpture of the Italian Renaissance.” The talk is included with the price of admission (FREE for Tufts students!) and will highlight the works of the new show. (280 The Fenway, Boston. Saturday at 12 p.m.)

%HDGV DQG %LGV

LCS Faculty-Waits-On-You Dinner and Auction DINE IN STYLE AND BID ON PRIZES SUCH AS:

March 4 6:30PM-9:00PM 51 Winthrop Street

BOWLING WITH SOMMERS AND MADDOX • LUNCH WITH LARRY • RED SOX TICKETS • DINNER WITH THE GITTLEMANS • FIRST CHOICE AT SENIOR WEEK ...AND MUCH MORE!

Tickets on sale at the info booth $10/ticket, group rate (10+): $8/ticket

lcs@tufts.edu

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, February 25, 2010

9

WEEKENDER

M:U actors conceive, practice and execute comedy sketch in about three weeks MAJORS continued from page 5

into each other’s lines constantly and get sidetracked mid-sketch. When they reach Folta’s line (“Wanna order 50 pizzas on the corporate credit card?”), someone chimes in quite seriously, “Speaking of, I’m starving!” while MotolaBarnes still nods wearily from the corner of the table.

“Let’s crank it!” Folta says. “No interruptions this time!”

They run the script once more, and it clocks in at six minutes, an acceptable length. They’re ready to call it a night at almost 12 a.m.

Experimentation The following Sunday night at 10 p.m., the cast of “Drunk Business Meeting” is back in Aidekman. They’re ready to plot out the positions and physical motions for their characters — a stage of the rehearsal process called “blocking.” Das takes the piano and pounds out a jaunty tune while the rest of the group arranges chairs and argues over who should sit where. Once the chaos dies down, they begin.

Agler’s almost climbing out of his chair, balancing on his toes, while Gammerman and Das share a missed high-five. During a part in which Gray’s character confesses his love for Soffer’s, Sullivan (who is seated between them) decides to grasp their hands and bring them together with a giddy smile on her face. Some things stay the same, like the way Agler’s voice always hits a pitch higher than the others when they contemplate whether or not to start slamming down shots, or the jaw-drop that Motola-Barnes delivers when he’s fired without explanation.

“If you think you’re doing something that’s funny, just keep doing it in future rehearsals,” Agler says to everyone.

“And tell someone if something they’re doing is funny.”

Motola-Barnes decides to puke into Soffer’s lap instead off to his side, which makes her burst into a fit of giggles that she has a hard time disguising. “I’m gonna lose it when you do that during the show!” she laughs. Das and Agler improvise a bit where they lock eyes, lean toward each other and come almost close enough to kiss. It’s hysterical, so they keep it.

“This sketch is great because it’s extremely ensemble and extremely physical,” Agler said.

V.

Tedium Things get serious (relatively, for a comedy group) the week before the performance. The group meets every night of the week to practice the entire collection of chosen sketches, meaning that the rest of M:U gets to see how

VI.

JODI BOSIN/TUFTS DAILY

The cast of the Major:Undecided sketch “Drunk Business Meeting” rehearses for this Friday’s show.

“Drunk Business Meeting” has progressed since pitch time. At this point, the script needs to remain relatively static, and the focus is on making the performance crisp and clean.

Some of the most critical suggestions they receive after the first “Business Meeting” showing encourage the group to find a balanced level of drunkenness that doesn’t overshadow important lines.

“We need to work on our speed and on not upstaging each other,” Folta said.

At the next night’s meeting, their performance is decidedly less drunk. They’ve cut down sufficiently on the slurring and have more choreographed responses, but the sketch still successfully manages to crescendo into hilarious drunken chaos.

“At this point, all the ad-libs are no longer ad-libs, so it’s about doing it right,” Das said. Members of the ensemble explain that by the next rehearsal, they’ll be sick of the

sketch and will have to resist the urge to alter their jokes.

“Someone will change a line and it’ll kill, and we’ll be like, ‘We have to change this!’” Folta said. “But we have to resist.”

“A lot of the funny [sketches] aren’t getting laughs because we’ve seen them so many times,” Agler added.

“We have to trust that they’re funny even if we’re not laughing anymore.”

Tonight, rehearsal takes on a strict no-script policy in preparation for this weekend’s show, and props come into play.

Production To see the final product, check out Major:Undecided’s show “Don’t Look Bacow” this Friday at either 7:30 p.m. or 9 p.m in Cabot Auditorium. Both shows are free.

VII.

The Department of Art and Art History

INVITES YOU TO AN ART HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES OPEN HOUSE AND

PIZZA RECEPTION

SUMMER ABROAD

Internships> Liberal Arts> Language> Financial aid is available.

APPLY TODAY! APPLICATION DEADLINE: MARCH 1, 2010

www.bu.edu/abroad

This will be a perfect time to meet with the faculty and current majors, and to learn about the Major and Minor in both Art History and Architectural Studies.

Monday, March 1, 2010 11:30 – 1:00pm The Art History Department 11 Talbot Ave. Across from Aidekman Arts Center

An equal opportunity, affirmative action institution.

THE TUFTS DAILY

10

THE TUFTS DAILY 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

Thursday, February 25, 2010

EDITORIAL | LETTERS

EDITORIAL

Spring Fling debate focusing on wrong problem With this year’s Spring Fling on the horizon, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate and the Alcohol Task Force are busy deliberating on one of the perpetual sources of concern surrounding Tufts’ major events: how to regulate and moderate student alcohol use. Following last year’s disaster of mass underage drinking and subsequent medical issues, a steering committee is seeking to make changes to the structure of the event in order to reduce such incidents and to increase Spring Fling’s potential for being a fun, safe event.

Currently, two major proposals have been prepared for consideration by the steering committee. One, proposed by the Alcohol Task Force, suggests banning students from bringing alcohol into the event, but setting up a 21-plus pub area in which of-age students could buy and consume alcohol.

While this proposal is practical as a means to reduce pre-gaming and to prevent of-age students from providing alcohol to their younger classmates, it is hardly financially realistic. According to the TCU Senate’s “A Resolution Proposing Changes to Spring Fling 2010,” about $10,000 of Spring Fling’s budget would be spent on the cash bar if this proposal were approved. Additionally, a similar system caused widespread dissatisfaction at previous events, such as this year’s

Winter Bash, as students were unhappy with the limited bar and its steep prices.

The TCU Senate has offered a viable alternative to the Spring Fling alcohol policy submitted by the task force — a policy in which of-age students would be able to bring their own alcohol to the event (in a limited quantity) and consume it in a specific, closed-off area. This arrangement would reduce the heavy costs that students are faced with when purchasing drinks at a 21-plus pub area, and would still help to prevent underage students from consuming alcohol at the event. The proposal, however, also calls for students to be able to come in and out of the event throughout the day. While originally intended as a means to limit alcohol consumption by reducing students’ need to pre-game Spring Fling, this strategy would instead generate chaos and still leave the problem of more alcohol finding its way into the vicinity.

The proposal by the Senate to allow students to bring alcohol and set up an area in which they can drink it, however, is certainly a smart idea and would be a feasible alternative through which students and administrators could meet in the middle.

It is commendable that the steering committee is listening to the Senate’s proposal and taking student opinions into consid-

eration before making drastic decisions regarding policy changes to Spring Fling.

It is important, however, to remember that limiting access to alcohol by restricting students who are 21 or older is not going to be a cure-all. Most of the students who required medical care at last year’s Spring Fling were first-year students who were under 21. While the Senate’s proposal to confine drinking to a 21-plus area seems like a conceivable plan to reduce need for Tufts Emergency Medical Services, the most important focus should be on ensuring that there will be enough food and water at Spring Fling — something that was not provided in a large-enough quantity last year. This lack of essentials exacerbated the health risks of students who were already dehydrated after consuming alcohol, and it may have been a large contributor to the strikingly high number of students who required medical attention.

Whether or not they have access to alcohol once inside Spring Fling, underage students will inevitably find ways to remain intoxicated throughout the event. When considering making changes to Spring Fling in the future, efforts should focus on keeping the majority of students healthy, not on restricting the minority percentage of students who are allowed to consume alcohol legally.

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OFF THE HILL | UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI

Proper citation a must at all levels

BY STEPHEN

BONE

The Miami Hurricane

The University of Miami Undergraduate Honor Council, like many similar organizations at universities around the country, annually hosts a number of events to raise awareness of the importance of academic integrity and the consequences of cheating.

While the focus of these events is to dissuade students from plagiarizing, they also encourage proper citation and discourage academic sloppiness.

Occasionally, cases are brought before academic integrity councils that involve carelessly cited references that are incorrect or incomplete rather than merely missing.

Under such circumstances, it is difficult for judiciary panels to ascertain whether an honest mistake has been made or whether a student has provided random citations in order to make a paper appear more complete.

Because of this ambiguity, an incautiously cited paper can result in a student receiving an official academic warning or probation ruling.

A recent high-profile example of the

EDITORIAL POLICY Editorials that appear on this page are written by the editorialists, and individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

importance of correct and careful citations occurred in President Obama’s State of the Union Address. Obama made the following statement regarding the strengths to be found in America’s diversity by referencing “the promise enshrined in our Constitution, the notion that we are all created equal.”

Almost any middle-school civics student could clarify that the principle that “all men are created equal” is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, not in the U.S. Constitution.

Perhaps, Mr. Obama was referring to “equal protection of the laws,” which is guaranteed, not in the body of the Constitution, but instead in the 14th Amendment? Either way, by the standard of strict academic scrutiny, this was an ambiguous reference.

It is unfortunate that such examples are set by character models, especially by a trained attorney and former college instructor. It was, however, not the first error of its kind in a State of the Union Address.

In President Clinton’s final State of the Union Address he made the following assertion in regard to a list of goals: “And we will become at last what our founders pledged us to be so long ago — ‘one nation,

under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’”

Like President Obama, President Clinton did provide an attribution for the quote.

Also like President Obama, however, he misattributed it, in this case to the founders (presumably, of the United States). The quote is from “The Pledge of Allegiance,” written by the Reverend Francis Bellamy in 1892 and modified by Congress in 1954.

Since the United States was founded in 1776, Reverend Bellamy would not qualify as a “founder.” Further complicating this misattribution is the fact that Bellamy’s beliefs (he was both a nationalist and a socialist) were antithetical to those of the founders.

All things considered, many academic judicial boards would most likely find both President Obama and President Clinton guilty of some degree of academic misconduct if such misattributions were to be found throughout their submitted class materials.

Academic integrity means more than simply not stealing someone else’s work.

It also means getting the facts correct, and not randomly filling in the blanks with attributions to support whatever point you wish to make.

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OP-ED ELISHA SUM | OUR GENDERATION

A proposal for no classes on Veterans Day BY

Not my daughter, you...

BRUCE RATAIN

This past fall, classes were held on Veterans Day. Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator and junior Chas Morrison, former TCU Senator and junior Sam Wallis and I responded to student feedback and our own beliefs by requesting that classes not be held on Veterans Day next year. Having followed up with the administration, we now know that a change is feasible.

We can change it — but we need to know whether you want us to. The issue is that the administration has sound reasoning for having organized the calendar as it stands. The question, then, is whether those reasons are more important to us than not having classes on Veterans Day. Since this decision affects us all, I’m going to present both sides and ask you to let us know what you think. Our proposal will be made on Monday, March 1, at the Educational Policy Committee studentfaculty committee meeting. Because of this, we would like community feedback and responses as soon as possible.

To begin, most are asking why classes are scheduled on Veterans Day for next year. The answer is, actually, to make our semester easier. Columbus Day, the other day that classes could have been held, is a Monday in October. Having that day off breaks up the semester — providing a three-day weekend in October, and then Thanksgiving off in November. In contrast, if we have Veterans Day off, our first break comes in November. Further, Veterans Day falls on a Thursday, so having it off does not inherently provide a three-day weekend. Concern also exists that a Thursday off will create incentives to skip Friday classes (for those poor souls who have them).

Though these previous justifications are all reasonable, to me, the Memorial Steps serve as a daily reminder of why this holiday matters so profoundly to our

T MCT

community. Throughout our nation’s history, Tufts students, faculty and administrators have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Many have given their lives for our freedom, and, as noted by senior Charles Vlahakis in his Nov. 12, 2009 Daily op-ed titled “Veterans Day at Tufts,” Tufts as an institution has greatly benefited, and indeed perhaps even exists today, because of support from the military.

Even today, there are still Tufts students who train to serve in ROTC programs and even attend our university as veterans through the Resumed Education for Adult Learning program.

With that said, the calculations could not be clearer. I am willing to sacrifice much more than a well-placed three-day weekend to honor those willing to sacrifice their lives for mine. Having class off on Veterans Day gives our community a day to focus on those who serve, removing distractions of classes and tests. Not holding classes on Veterans Day also sends a

powerful symbolic message that we, as a community, value the sentiment of the holiday — and those it honors.

While faculty and administrators are correct that a three-day weekend in October would be a welcomed break, I simply don’t agree with sending the message that says time off is more important than standing with our veterans.

So, that’s my perspective on the issue.

Because this administrative decision is one that will affect us all, please let Senate and me know what you think — whether you agree with me or not. You can contact the Senate by e-mailing tcusenate@ tufts.edu, or me directly at bruce.ratain@ tufts.edu — and, of course, if you do know anyone on Senate, you can let him or her know in person.

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

Laptops: a public menace BY

K.C. HALLETT

On the first day of classes this semester, one of my professors warned our class that he was not a fan of laptops in the classroom.

Now I do not, as a personal rule, usually bring my laptop to class. I prefer to focus intently on the professor’s brilliant words, taking every detail to heart, because I care deeply and passionately about learning — and because every nanosecond of class costs like $600 of my tuition fees or something ridiculous like that. I also do not bring my hulking PC to class because it gets self-conscious around all the younger, sleeker Macs. Not to mention, I am also too lazy to lug it uphill. But mostly, the reason I do not bring my laptop to class is because of this learning thing we are supposed to be doing.

However, even with all my reasons, I was still surprised when my professor gave us his fair warning on in-class laptop use. How could he say something like that? What are students supposed to do without laptops? Taking notes on a laptop saves paper and also allows one to easily organize ideas. Laptops are used as tools of learning!

I believed this until last week when I came back to my senses upon arriving late to a certain class and having to sit in the only seat left in the very last row.

From this new vantage point, I counted numerous laptops in use around the

room. Through the course of a 75 minute class, I observed what was on these screens: One person on Blackboard. com, four people taking notes in Word documents, three people viewing the professor’s PowerPoint presentation; four people on Wikipedia.com, seven people on Facebook.com and eight people checking their e-mail. There was also one guy who played games for literally the entire class period. In fact, it could be that most students were actually on Facebook, and I just didn’t see because I was so distracted by the laser shooting around this guy’s screen.

As I continued to be distracted by the browsing all around me, I noticed students visiting other notable Web sites and programs. These included: Gmail, Google.com, the Bloomingdale’s Web site (such cute boots this season!), iChat, PerezHilton.com, Google Calendar, CNN. com, SI.com (oh, Sports Illustrated...), YouTube.com (including a trailer of the upcoming “Toy Story 3;” did you see it? It looks so good!), online versions of sudoku and solitaire, Verizon.com and various blogs.

One kid in the second row was even checking his bank account. Everyone I creeped on seemed to be using at least one application that was not strictly class-related; most used several.

A few conclusions can be drawn from this study.

Firstly, laptops give you enormous power to distract yourself or goof off

in class in a more covert way than doing The Tufts Daily’s crossword under your desk.

Secondly, you can be pretty sure that if you’re doing something personal on your laptop during class, some creeper like me is going to be looking over your shoulder. We can’t help it. The Interwebs are so full of flashing lights and pretty colors; it’s like a carnival on your screen.

So you might want to think twice about what you’re looking at (this means you, Bank of America guy), or who you’re Facebook-stalking.

Clearly, most laptop-in-class users are paying no attention in class and therefore shirking duties as committed undergraduate students at such a fine institution of higher learning (and active citizenship).

Never mind that most of these in-class laptop users are actually the most knowledgeable students (and active citizens).

If we all really cared about learning, instead of “taking notes on our laptops” we would simply take notes on real paper and avoid the temptations of distracting those around us and our own selves.

Making these observations has made me realize something valuable. I know next class, I will be sitting up front with the people who care about learning. Better yet, I’ll be closer to my cute teacher’s assistant.

K.C. Hallett is a senior majoring in psychology.

LET THE CAMPUS KNOW WHAT MATTERS TO YOU. The Op-Ed section of the Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. Submissions are welcome from all members of the Tufts community. We accept opinion articles on any aspect of campus life, as well as articles on national or international news.

Opinion pieces should be between 600 and 1,200 words. Please send submissions, with a contact number, to oped@tuftsdaily.com. Feel free to e-mail us with any questions.

ori Amos once sang, “Now, you’ve cut out the flute from the throat of the loon.”

A rather famous line (truncated in the title of this column) from the last Harry Potter book and the lyric from Amos’ “Blood Roses” together provide a suitable frame for this column to the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM). Amos’ metaphoric line might express the victim’s sentiments, while the shock and outrage of Mrs. Weasley in the face of violence about to be enacted upon her daughter could perhaps typify a Western reaction to hearing that FGM occurs in, you know, the primitive areas of the world. (I’m not really sure where they are, but perhaps Miss Teen South Carolina could buy you a map.)

In this column, I want to expand the universality of the hot-button term by excising the modifier “female,” for it has perhaps left out the minority population of intersex people (previously known as hermaphrodites) from the support of public outcry.

Addressing an issue requires consciousness of the problem. Though hard to believe, genital mutilation has been happening in the United States for quite some time. Of course, the prominent discourse has not framed the repeated medical procedures as such, in part due to ignorance and to avoid the acknowledgement of the infringement of human rights. Throughout the decades, doctors faced with intersex babies have gone ahead to surgically fashion a proper external genital expression of a certain gender for said babies because the cultural concept of a gender binary requires that everyone fit within a male-female schema. The circumstances in which doctors perform the procedure differ in terms of safety and rationale, but don’t let that praise of our supposed modernity suppress the potency of the truth.

Before I go further, I want to stress that I do not aim nor mean to equate these two practices, but rather, I hope to use the relative notoriety of one to promote awareness of a related, underreported occurrence. While FGM shocks Westerners, the genital mutilation that happens right under our noses receives almost no attention. Having said this, I’d like to redirect our attention back to the decisions doctors have historically made to focus on the idea of a two-gender system.

Held as natural, the binary system obviously does not allow for ambiguous bodies to exist untouched. The surgeries, claimed necessary, have ultimately served to harness the power of nature and nurture to create acceptable bodies that fall more easily into the category of male or female. It seems that nature’s destabilization of the societal norm played a role in instigating immediate medical responses that seek to fix what is deemed “unnatural.”

The debate concerning what constitutes natural takes place in the artificial realm of societal discourse; that is to say, our own notions and preconceptions shape and determine what is allowed within nature, rather than creating new paradigms based on observations of nature. Thus, the phenotypic variation of our bodies does not always meld beautifully into our own imagination of what is “natural,” and therefore, doctors function as the mediatory tools to manufacture nature into embodying a socially acceptable mold.

In this way, human bodies become sites of mutilation — I use this word to emphasize the forced change away from the natural product — even in our progressive, modern nation.

I admit that though this type of treatment has happened in the past, that is not to say the modern treatment of intersex babies occurs in the same fashion, in terms of whether doctors now allow these individuals agency, access to information and frankness — all of which were previously neglected in medical history.

Of course, if that is the case, other situations may exist in which this type of approach is abandoned for the sake of society’s two genders. But hopefully, I have helped the cause by highlighting the power of linguistic framing in demonizing or endorsing certain acts.

Elisha Sum is a junior majoring in English and French. He can be reached at Elisha.

Sum@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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12

COMICS

Thursday, February 25, 2010

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CROSSWORD

BY

NON SEQUITUR

BY

WEDNESDAY’S SOLUTION

MARRIED TO THE SEA

www.marriedtothesea.com

SUDOKU Level: Walking across campus when it is completely iced over

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Wednesday’s Solution

Every person on the Daily: “Kerianne, what the eff happened to your face?”

Please recycle this Daily

GARRY TRUDEAU

WILEY

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Thursday, February 25, 2010

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EMERGENCY

This time, were testing twice In an effort to benchmark and evaluate new technology, the Tufts Emergency Alert System will send you two test messages on

Thursday, February 25 You may receive email, voice and text alerts—twice. Thank you for your patience and help in testing this important system.

To learn more, visit http://emergency.tufts.edu/teas

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Matera, Stack to lead Jumbos’ diving squad at NESCACS MEN’S SWIMMING continued from page 16

lead a distance unit that has been working hard on turning what was a weakness last year into a strength this season.

“I feel like the coaches have split us up better this year, into sprinters and distance guys,” Jenkins said. “The distance guys have worked more on their specialties, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see us pull out the 500 [-yard freestyle] and the [1,650].”

“We have a more balanced team this year,” Hoyt added.

“People have done a better job improving their weaker events … It’s clear that we’ve definitely improved in that area, and I think we’ll do well across the board.”

The team’s depth will be tested over the course of the three-day competition, and a group of young freshmen, led

by Jack Thomas, Brian Marko and Dylan Portelance, hope to give the team a boost in their first NESCAC Championship appearances.

“What they’ve told us has been to get ample rest and not to let anything affect us during the meet — not to over-analyze the swimming, not to think about all of the races at once,

but to take each one individually,” Thomas said.

In the two diving events, senior quad-captain Rob Matera will be looking to finish his final year of eligibility with wins in the 1- and 3-meter diving events. Matera and junior teammate Trevor Stack hope to capitalize on the graduation of thensenior Kai Robinson of Amherst, who dominated the competition last year. But the Tufts duo’s primary competition this year should come via Wesleyan sophomore Gianfranco Galluzo, who finished within a point of first place in the one-meter dive against Matera in a meet earlier this season.

The team’s plan this week is to take it easy and continue to taper off its workout routines leading up to Friday’s races. After beginning the season with some of the hardest workouts in his time at Tufts, Coach Hoyt is making sure that his swimmers are staying relaxed and loose. Fresh legs are paramount to Tufts’s quest to both set personal records and achieve team glory.

“We’ve been swimming well all year, but there’s nothing like swimming when you’re tapered,” Thomas said. “We’re all so excited.”

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Engman adds intrigue to potential matchup WOMEN’S SQUASH continued from page 16

deep, covering the front court and attacking shots.”

Competing in the B division are numerous teams that the Jumbos have seen already earlier this season — and that did not put up too much of a fight as Tufts handily put those matches in the “win” column.

Squads like the Northeastern Huskies, Wellesley Blue and Conn. College Camels were all silenced by the Jumbos, who yielded just five games out of 36 in matches against the B-division rivals. While the Jumbos are confident in their abilities, they will need to stave off complacency in a do-or-die tournament that could give rise to opportunities of vengeance from their past opponents.

“I think being top-seeded is going to give us the confidence we need,” Koo said. “We also beat other teams in our division fairly convincingly before.

We could get to final if all goes as planned.”

“Based on our record against three of the teams in our division that we’ve played before, we should have a good chance at winning,” sophomore Alix Michael added. “But it’s not going to be an easy road, and we need everyone to go out, play their hardest and be con-

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Thursday, February 25, 2010

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sistent. Consistency is going to be a big factor in our success this weekend.”

Complicating matters is the fact that the Tufts squad will be matching wits with one of its own if it plays Columbia: former Jumbo coach Kelsey Engman. Engman, who now serves as the head coach of the Lions, was for the past two seasons an assistant coach under current Tufts head coach Doug Eng. But the Tufts program has experienced somewhat of a rebuilding year, in which a number of new players and freshmen have found their way into the top nine positions, shaping a different team altogether when compared to the 2008-09 roster.

“Because Kelsey coached us, she knows how some of us play, which could be an advantage to them,” Koo said. “However, we’ve improved from last season and we have a game plan to follow. We’re going to try to go on the court and make them play our game.”

“The improvement of the returning players has been so much that a couple of us don’t play anything like we did last year,” Michael added. “With four completely new players [Engman has] never seen play before and returning players that play differently since she

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left, the history here shouldn’t have too big of an impact.”

This season hasn’t been easy for 4-13 Tufts, but the trials it has faced may have brought the players closer together as a team. Beginning the season without even enough players to fill the top nine positions, the Tufts squad has wrapped up the year with respectable wins over some formidable nationally ranked opponents.

While the Howe Cup may not be the main determinant in judging the season, it would surely be meaningful for a team that has overcome difficult setbacks in the past few months.

“I think we’re pretty happy with how our season is going, considering how our team is so young,” Koo said. “We lost a lot of experienced players last year.

Also, considering how we started out this season and not having enough players for a team and having to do last-minute recruiting, it would be great to be successful this weekend.

We’d like to win the division because it would show how far we’ve come together as a team in just the past few months.”

“If this weekend goes poorly, we obviously will be upset,” Michael added. “But … we just want to go out and play our best and play to the high level that we know we can.”

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Be sure to check out Eat at Jumbo’s at the Tufts MOPS Food Festival on Monday March 1st from 12-1 in the Mayer Campus Center!

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Thursday, February 25, 2010

15

SPORTS

INSIDE THE NBA

DAVID HECK | THE SAUCE

Big moves for Cavaliers, Mavericks paying off BY

ALEX SCAROS

Senior Staff Writer

As expected by many — due to the upcoming free agent class this summer — last Thursday’s NBA trade deadline was one of the most action-packed in recent years.

Teams like the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks traded away talent for cap space, a strategy that has been used by many organizations in the last few years. Among the teams with the biggest acquisitions were the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks, both of which made the old-fashioned move of trading for talent to win a championship this season.

The Cavaliers acquired former All Star power forward Antawn Jamison from the Washington Wizards for Zydrunas Ilgauskas and a 2010 first-round pick. They also received former high-school phenomenon Sebastian Telfair from the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team deal.

Jamison is the obvious centerpiece of the trade: the 33-year-old North Carolina Tar Heel is putting up big numbers again this season despite an unfortunate situation in D.C., averaging 20.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. The move gives the Cavs a versatile power forward who can handle the ball in the low post and has the ability to step back and shoot the three. A career 34.7 percent, threepoint shooter, the 6-foot-9 Jamison also has the ability to shoot over anyone and stretch the floor to make room for LeBron James.

As the Cavs’ third option behind James and Shaquille O’Neal, Jamison provides Cleveland with depth, as hustle specialist Anderson Varejao will be able to spell Shaq or Jamison as coach Mike Brown sees fit.

This greatly bolsters the Cavaliers’ post play, something that should complement James nicely.

During their trade negotiations, the Cavaliers’ front office was asked by every team to put second-year swingman J.J. Hickson in a deal. Cleveland refused, and for good reason. Hickson is a budding talent: At 6-foot-9, 242 pounds, the North Carolina State product is incredibly athletic and is quietly averaging a solid 7.4 points off the bench this season. With the addition of Jamison, Hickson will see better matchups on offense because defenders will respect Jamison’s outside shot more.

Before the trade, the Cavs were the favorite to win the Eastern Conference, and they have gotten even stronger after the deadline. With King James having another MVPcaliber season, averaging 29.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game, the Cavs

A

MCT

While Brendan Haywood might not be as big a name as fellow deadline addition Caron Butler, he gives Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks some much-needed help at the center position. have their sights set on their first-ever NBA championship.

Out West, Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks are making moves again that have this squad looking like the strongest version of the Mavs since the 2006 Western Conference champions. In another trade deadline day move, the Mavs traded forwards Josh Howard and Drew Gooden and two other players for Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood. Butler is averaging 16.7 points per game this season and gives the Mavericks another scoring option to take the pressure off of Dirk Nowitzki and sixth-man Jason Terry.

On paper, the Mavs have very few weaknesses. They have a potential league MVP and dominant scorer in Nowitzki — who is averaging 24.7 points per game this year — a future Hall-of-Fame point guard in Jason Kidd, arguably the best bench player in the NBA in Terry (16.7 points per game) and now a former All Star swingman in Butler.

But there were some holes in the middle, and that is where Haywood comes in. He is averaging 9.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game, and with the 7-foot Nowitzki playing the power forward position, the Mavericks now have the size and talent up front to match up with Andruw Bynum and Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers, the most formidable post duo in the West.

At 36-21, the Mavericks have the fourth best record in the Western Conference and

are seven games behind the Lakers for first place in the conference. Currently riding a four-game win streak, though, the new acquisitions seem to be fitting right into the mix. Either the Phoenix Suns or Oklahoma City Thunder is likely to be the No. 5 seed, and if the Mavericks hold onto their current spot and give themselves home-court advantage in the first round, they will be in prime position to make a playoff run. Phoenix is 20-7 at home but only 15-16 on the road, so a potential first-round matchup with the Suns would be ideal for the Mavericks.

In the Eastern Conference, the Cavs have to worry about an aging Boston Celtics team, which recently acquired the young Nate Robinson at the deadline, and an Orlando Magic team that Cleveland is no doubt gunning for after falling to the Magic in last year’s Eastern Conference finals.

Out West, the Lakers are once again the favorite, and with Kobe Bryant back after spending 18 days resting a fractured finger, the road to the finals will most likely go through southern California. The Denver Nuggets, at 37-19, and the improved Mavericks now pose the biggest threat to the Lakers for their third straight trip the NBA Finals.

But give both Cleveland and Dallas credit for their recent acquisitions. While some teams were looking ahead past the season to the summer, these two squads are gunning to still be playing in June.

AL East powerhouses have internal position battles in spring SPRING TRAINING continued from page 16

as his first organized showing with the A’s after being acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in the Roy Halladay-Cliff Lee blockbuster this winter — will have to work hard to stand out amid a glut of outfielders that includes fellow offseason additions Coco Crisp and Jake Fox. The 24-year-old excelled at Class-AA Reading last season, batting .333 with 15 homers and a .977 OPS, and held his own at Class-AAA Lehigh Valley, with a .282 average and five homers in 110 at-bats. Taylor is on the fast track to The Show and could speed up the process with an outstanding spring.

“I am eager to show the skills that I have and to prove that I can play at the highest level in my sport,” Taylor said. “But at the same time, I have to remember that it’s a small sample size, so it’s a mix between me doing what I have to do to get ready for the year and also trying to perform at a level high enough that people making the decisions think I am ready to contribute in the majors sooner than later.”

The same is true of every young player competing for a big league job this spring.

But perhaps the most-watched position battles this spring will be waged in the camps of the Yankees and Red Sox, where there are far more candidates than openings in the teams’ respective starting rotations.

Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi must decide which of his promising youngsters — Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes — is more worthy of pitching every five days, and then weigh that choice against a veteran, such as Chad Gaudin or Sergio Mitre. The Red Sox, meanwhile, will have to ascertain whether Daisuke Matsuzaka is poised to rebound

The tragically ignored

from an injury-plagued 2009 before handing back his rotation spot over Tim Wakefield, who could also be competing with Clay Buchholz to remain in the starting-five just a year after he earned his first trip to the AllStar Game.

Those position battles and the opportunities given to young prospects are the essence of spring training. A veteran’s slump is easily

attributable to a hitch in his swing or a kink in his pitching motion that will be corrected long before Opening Day. But for a player trying to earn his first major league job, a rough performance is not so easily written off.

Each year, breakout players and impact rookies abound in Major League Baseball.

In many cases, spring training is when they come to light.

2010 Winter Olympics Medal Count Tallies accurate as of Feb. 24

Country

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Total

1) United States of America

7

9

12

28

2) Germany

7

10

7

24

3) Norway

6

6

6

18

s everybody knows, 2009 was a bad year for celebrities. Among the dozens of literal casualties were Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Brittany Murphy, Natasha Richardson, Dom DeLuise, Billy Mays, Steve McNair, Walter Cronkite, Ted Kennedy, Patrick Swayze and, of course, Eddie Fatu.

OK, so I’m willing to bet you don’t know who Eddie Fatu is. That’s not much of a surprise. It might help if I told you he also went by the moniker “Umaga,” but even then, unless you’re a 13-year-old boy, I doubt you’ll have any idea who I’m talking about.

He was a professional wrestler, most notably a performer for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for five years. He died on Dec. 4, 2009 of a heart attack at the age of 36.

But my plan is not to write specifically about Umaga, his legacy and how tragic it was that he died at an early age. Because his story, sadly, is not a unique one.

Between 1985 and 2006, 89 wrestlers died before the age of 50, according to Congressman Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.).

Meanwhile, numerous wrestlers have been linked to steroid usage. (See how I phrased that? Now Vince McMahon can’t sue me for libel.)

I’m not saying that every wrestler who passed away before his time did so because of steroid abuse. But the whole situation is analogous to that of a wife smashing in the windows of her cheating husband’s car with a golf club and then the husband being found unconscious in the street — it’s pretty easy to draw your own conclusions.

Now, wrestlers obviously know the danger that they’re putting themselves into, whether they take steroids or not.

Wrestling is a violent, punishing profession, and a lot of guys do it until the very end. “The Wrestler” (2008) was dead-on in its portrayal of most professionals — at least the ones not named “The Rock” or “Stone Cold” — and how their lives tend to deteriorate.

But just because the wrestlers know what danger they’re getting themselves into doesn’t mean that somebody shouldn’t look into all these suspicious deaths. If this were a real professional sport (or, rather, if it were Major League Baseball) Congress would have already had a hearing about it. And to his credit, Rep. Stearns tried his best to organize one. I guess nobody in Congress cared, because it’s not going to win them points with their voters like questioning baseball players will.

The stories of these men are numerous and tragic — there are suicides, strokes, drug overdoses. But one in particular blows you away.

Chris Benoit was a likable wrestler — no flash, no costume, just a straight-up badass. He was ripped to high heaven, and his special move, the “Crippler Crossface,” is one of the few that I still remember (maybe because the name is so awesome).

On June 25, 2007, Benoit, his wife and his seven-year-old son were found dead in his home. It was later determined that, over a three-day period, Benoit himself had committed the double-murder and suicide. His wife was bound and gagged before he strangled her, while his son was drugged with Xanax before meeting the same end. Benoit then finished himself off with a weight machine.

No motive was found for the crime, but toxicology reports stated that Benoit had anabolic steroids, among other drugs, in his system at the time of the incident.

Police said that there was not enough evidence to suggest that the steroids were in fact linked to the incident, and I’m in no position to refute that. But I’m also not an idiot. Murder-suicides don’t happen every day, and they don’t happen without a reason.

The phenomenon of wrestlers dying early needs to be investigated. And it needs to happen before there’s yet another tragedy — whether it’s as public as those of Benoit or as anonymous as Umaga.

David Heck is a senior majoring in philosophy. He can be reached at David.Heck@ tufts.edu.

Sports

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INSIDE Inside the NBA 15 The Sauce 15

tuftsdaily.com

MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

Tufts heads to Williams looking to dethrone the champs BY

BEN KOCHMAN

Daily Editorial Board

The men’s swimming and diving team started its rigorous workout schedule earlier AT HOME IN THE WATER The men’s swimming and diving team had an historic showing at last year’s NESCAC Championships, placing second overall — the third time in the past four years the Jumbos have done so. Tufts looks to continue its recent success at NESCACs this weekend at Williams. In preparation, the Daily takes a look at last season’s meet for the ages.

Statistic

Tufts’ numbers

School records broken Points scored Conference titles won NCAA A- or B-cuts Pool records set

15 1,538 2 24 1

than usual this season. Four months ago, in mid-October, senior Lawrence Chan and his fellow quad-captains were leading the team in grueling practices and weightlifting sessions.

During these hours in the pool, when his arms and legs turned to jelly, Chan kept telling himself, “One day, all of this work will pay off.”

This weekend, at the NESCAC Championships in Williamstown, Mass., the culmination of weeks of preparation will finally arrive.

The Jumbos will attempt to snap Williams College’s sevenyear streak of winning NESCAC championships. And the Tufts team has every reason to be optimistic, after it last year

garnered its best performance at the meet — second-place, only 237.5 points behind the first place Ephs — in the last decade.

“I would say that the main difference between last year and this year is experience,” coach Adam Hoyt said. “The majority of these guys were at last year’s meet and know what it’s all about. We have a large group of juniors and seniors who have been there and know how to be successful.”

Last year, when the NESCAC meet was hosted by Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., the Jumbos surprisingly sprinted to a lead after the first day. Then-senior quad captain James Longhurst (E ’09) was a part of two first-place victories on that Friday, including the fastest 50-yard breaststroke performance (25.82 seconds) in NESCAC history and the 400yard medley relay. The three swimmers with whom he swam that relay will return to the championship meet this weekend: current senior Patrick Kinsella and juniors Matthew Glenn and Andrew Altman.

While Longhurst and talented sprinter Andrew Shields (E ’09) — who finished third in last year’s NESCAC 50-yard freestyle and is a part of the fastest Jumbo teams of all time in the 200- and 400-yard medley and freestyle relays — have graduated, the 2010 Jumbo team features many swimmers who are favored to contend in the sprints.

Sophomore Owen Rood, who

SCOTT TINGLEY/TUFTS DAILY

Senior quad-captain Lawrence Chan and the men’s swimming and diving team will travel to Williams this weekend for the NESCAC Championships, in which the Jumbos finished as the runner-up last year. currently holds the program record in both the 100- and 50-yard freestyle events — the latter of which he set last year at the NESCAC championships when he finished second in the event — is one such swimmer.

And with Kinsella looking to contend in the short butterfly events, sophomore Chris Vorlicek hoping to improve on his third-place performance last year in the 200-yard individual medley and junior Gordy Jenkins anchoring the 200yard freestyle relay team that

WOMEN’S SQUASH

returns three out of four swimmers from last year’s recordbreaking team, the Jumbos expect to repeat their strong performance on the first day of competition and get out to another early lead.

“I think that we’re better than last year,” Jenkins said.

“We lost a lot of good swimmers, but all of the guys that were there last year are faster now. I think we’ll get ahead early and have a better chance to beat Williams.”

If Tufts is able to get the

early edge, the deciding factor this weekend will be whether the Jumbos can hold onto the lead in some of the long-distance events that take place on Saturday and Sunday.

In last year’s final day, no Jumbo was able to finish in the top five in either the 500- or 1,000-yard freestyle events. But junior Joe Lessard, who finished fourth in the 1650-yard freestyle event last year, and sophomore Alex Strittmatter see MEN’S SWIMMING, page 14

INSIDE SPRING TRAINING

MLB’s top prospects battle for spots in spring training BY

DANIEL RATHMAN

Daily Editorial Board

ALEX DENNETT/TUFTS DAILY

Sophomore Alix Michael and the women’s squash team will compete as the top seed in the B division of the Howe Cup at Yale University this weekend.

Jumbos gear up for nationals this weekend BY

MICHAEL SPERA

Daily Editorial Board

With the women’s squash team’s season coming to a close, the Jumbos still have one hurdle ahead of them that could define their success this season: nationals.

This weekend, the nationally ranked No. 25 Tufts squad will travel to Yale to compete in the B division of the Howe Cup, the last team competition of the year. And in earning the top seed in the division, the Jumbos have high hopes for a deep run in the bracket. The road

to a championship, however, will not be an easy one, as the second-seeded Columbia — ranked just below Tufts nationally — may have what it takes to pull off the upset.

“We know we’re top-seeded in the B division right now, so our goal is obviously to win our division,” junior tri-captain Valerie Koo said. “We know that Columbia … should be a tough opponent we could see in the final. We’re doing everything we can to prepare right now. We’re working on keeping the ball see WOMEN’S SQUASH, page 14

While most Major League Baseball fans continue to freeze, the players annually spend their late February and March warming up for the upcoming season in Arizona and Florida. So far, each team’s pitchers and catchers have made the trip south, and the position players are to follow in the coming days.

Dating back to the 1920s, teams have participated in spring training at locations other than their home ballparks. Back then, the New York Yankees held their camp in New Orleans, while in the 1940s the then-Brooklyn Dodgers traveled down to Havana, Cuba or the Dominican Republic.

During World War II, teams were forced to stay close to their home-base, so in 1943, the Boston Red Sox held their spring training on — where else — the Tufts campus in Medford, Mass.

For veteran players, spring training is merely a time to prepare for the grind of a 162 game season. Experienced major league pitchers routinely throw bullpen sessions to get their arms back into shape, while hitters take batting practice to fine-tune their swings and then test them out in some 30 exhibition games played in March. Spring training statistics are meaningless for veterans. Albert Pujols, for example, hit just .293 with one homer in 75 at-bats, yet still cruised to his third National League MVP award. Kansas City Royals’ ace Zack Greinke was torched for 47 hits and a 9.21 ERA in 28.1 innings, but proceeded to dominate the American League during the regular season en route to his first Cy Young crown.

But for first-year players and minor league prospects invited to big league

facilities, spring training is the greatest opportunity they have to showcase their skills to the team’s coaching staff and executives.

“Young players and prospects are definitely looking to open some eyes and impress the coaches, managers and talent evaluators at the big league level,” Oakland Athletics outfielder prospect Michael Taylor told the Daily. “You want to show that you can handle the routine and the increased pressure to perform in a small sample size.”

Last year, for example, young left-hander Brett Anderson convinced the prospecthappy Oakland Athletics that he was ready for a spot in their big league rotation by going 3-1 with a 2.83 ERA in 28.2 spring innings. Meanwhile, Texas Rangers’ shortstop Elvis Andrus put a stranglehold on the position by batting .284 and putting his tremendous fielding skills on display. The Red Sox’s Daniel Bard also made his mark during spring training, hurling 10.1 innings and allowing just five hits and three walks, while striking out 14.

Similar opportunities are available to young players each year. This spring, the No. 5 rotation spot is up for grabs at the San Francisco Giants’ camp in Scottsdale, Ariz., where top prospect Madison Bumgarner has a chance to earn the job. Atlanta Braves fans, meanwhile, will have their eyes fixed on the outfield in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., where the No. 1-ranked position player prospect in baseball, Jason Heyward, will try to convince the organization that he’s more worthy of playing right-field in the majors than the platoon of Matt Diaz and Eric Hinske.

Taylor — who is making his first appearance at a big league camp, as well see SPRING TRAINING, page 15