2010-03-09

THE TUFTS DAILY

Sunny 50/30

TUFTSDAILY.COM

TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2010

VOLUME LIX, NUMBER 27

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Patrick celebrates DU house shut down due to health concerns Rumors swirl about interfraternity conflict after fire alarms set off Somerville All America City Day BY

ELLEN KAN

Daily Editorial Board

BY SAUMYA VAISHAMPAYAN

Daily Editorial Board

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday visited Somerville High School to celebrate the city’s All America City (AAC) status with community members. He designated the day as “Somerville All America City Day” and commended the strong community partnerships in the city.

The National Civic League (NCL), a nonprofit organization advocating citizen democracy, yearly presents 10 cities with the prestigious AAC Award, which recognizes grassroots activism and cooperation that effectively tackle community problems.

Somerville in July 2009 was named one of the winners, marking its second time garnering the award, which it first won in 1972. The city was one of 10 across the country to be honored with the recognition, selected from an original pool of 30 competitors.

Patrick, speaking at the event, praised Somerville’s residents and businesses for working together to attain Somerville’s community goals, a key judging criteria for the award. He noted that this was especially commendable given the economic situation.

“You are proof that challenging economic times are no excuse for [inaction],” he said.

Patrick called for Somerville’s success to be used as a model for other cities across Massachusetts. see SOMERVILLE, page 2

Brothers from Delta Upsilon (DU) fraternity found themselves homeless after the City of Somerville’s Board of Health on Sunday shut down their house in response to health concerns.

Allegations and rumors have surfaced about what set off the early Sunday morning fire alarm that triggered the inspection and possible retaliatory action later in the night.

Board of Health inspectors were called in by firefighters from Somerville Fire Department who were responding to an alarm that went off while the house was having a party.

According to Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) Sgt. Robert McCarthy, firefighters were concerned about the state of the residence.

He said that upon arrival, the health inspector found that the smoke detectors were covered, and there were holes and mold on the walls and trash throughout the house. One of the walls on the third floor was also torn apart, and the front door was broken off its hinges. Additionally, the third-floor bathroom’s stall door had been removed from its hinges.

These findings prompted the board to shut down the house indefinitely, forcing the brothers to find alternative residences.

Junior Alex Ross, president of DU, said that a lot of the disrepair observed by the inspector was due to the ongoing party, including the removed front door and the trash. He added that the mold was the result of water damage over the winter when the pipes broke.

Ross alleged that a member of another

DAILY FILE PHOTO

The Delta Upsilon house was shut down Sunday due to health concerns. fraternity pulled the fire alarm that triggered the fraternity’s evacuation.

“So, we were having a party Saturday night; at some point during the party the front door came off its hinges, which was obviously a bad sign,” he said. “Later, someone from another fraternity pulled our alarm; when that fire alarm got pulled, some of the fire department people came to make sure everything was alright.”

Rumors have surfaced that an Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) brother pulled the alarm at DU and that the fire alarm that went off at the AEPi house later that same night was pulled in retaliation. Ross declined to com-

ment further on this.

Sophomore Abe Stein, president of AEPi acknowledged the rumors. “I’ve heard rumors that DU pulled our fire alarm, I don’t know if that’s true or not,” he said. “I’ve also heard people saying that AEPi pulled the alarm at DU; I’ve heard that from people outside the fraternity.”

He said that he did not know the truth of the rumors but expressed his doubts that his fraternity was involved.

“I’m positive that if somebody from AEPi did it, it has nothing to do with the rest of the see FRATERNITY, page 2

Dodgeball tournament raises funds for Haiti

COURTESY COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA STUDIES PROGRAM

Amy and David Goodman will host the inaugural “Inside the Activist’s Study” event.

Interview series on the craft of social change launches BY

DAPHNE KOLIOS

Daily Staff Writer

The inaugural “Inside the Activist’s Study” event taking place today at 6 p.m. in Barnum Hall will bring Amy Goodman, host of television

show “Democracy Now!” and her brother, David, an investigative journalist, to Tufts to discuss the relation between media and social change.

The event is the launch of a series that seeks to highlight and interview distinguished activ-

ists in the area of social change.

It is co-sponsored by the Peace and Justice Studies (PJS) and the Communication and Media Studies (CMS) Programs.

The series is based on the tele-

Inside this issue

The Student Athlete Advisory C o m m i t t e e ’s (SAAC) Help Haiti Dodgeball Tournament on Friday raised over $500 to aid relief efforts in Haiti.

The committee, which is comprised of representatives from the varsity sports teams on campus, seeks to reach out and serve the community. It is part of the NESCAC SAAC. “We’re part of the [NESCAC] SAAC, which decided to have an event to raise funds to donate, and this is the one that we chose to do,” junior Dawson JoyceMendive, one of the event’s organizers, said.

According to JoyceMendive, a little over $520 was raised, and 16 teams registered to participate in the conference, totaling approximately 120 people.

Participants ranged from members of sports teams to members of fraternities and sororities.

All of the funds raised will be donated to the Red Cross.

Joyce-Mendive explained that the organizers chose to do something different from their past fund-raisers.

“We decided that we just

wanted to do one big event so we can advertise better,” she said. “Before we’ve just had cans, and people go around and collect money.

We wanted to get more people involved.”

Joyce-Mendive feels that the event was a success. “It was our first event like this, so there was a lot of trial and error,” she said. “But it ended up being very successful. I think all the participants really got into it; they came in costumes and had a lot of fun.”

Sophomore JT Rinciari, a member of the winning team “Smut Gremlins,” agreed that a good time was had by all.

“Everyone enjoyed themselves, and at the same time we were doing it for a really good cause,” he said. “We thought it was an awesome idea to help out a country in need.”

He attributed the team’s success to one of his fellow teammates. “We were pretty confident going in, but the pristine leadership of [junior] Anthony Fucillo pushed us there.”

— by Ellen Kan

see ACTIVISTS, page 2

Today’s Sections

Talented cast and crew should be a formula for success in NBC’s “Parenthood.”

Juniors Valerie Koo and Alex Gross represented Tufts squash at last weekend’s Individual Championships.

see ARTS, page 5

see SPORTS, back

News Features Arts & Living Comics

1 3 5 7

Editorial | Letters Op-Ed Classifieds Sports

8 9 11 Back

THE TUFTS DAILY

2

CAN I HAVE THAT TO GO?

Police Briefs ARMED ROBBERY Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) received a call at 5:52 a.m. on March 3 from the victim of an armed robbery.

A Tufts employee was walking from Powderhouse Boulevard when he was approached by two individuals at the corner of Curtis Street and Whitfield Road. One of them grabbed the employee’s arms; the other pulled out a knife, placed it by the employee’s cheek and demanded money.

The employee’s cash, ATM card and iPod were taken. The employee was not seriously harmed, but he received a small laceration on his cheek from the knife.

Both suspects fled toward Powerhouse Boulevard following the robbery. TUPD Sgt. Robert McCarthy said that TUPD is working with the Somerville Police in an ongoing investigation.

TUPD officers responded to an attempted larceny at 2:46 p.m. on March 4 at Tisch Library.

A female student said she had placed a tote bag and her coat near her while studying on the lower floor of the library. She noticed a suspect leaving with her tote bag and ran after him, yelling that he had her bag several times. The suspect dropped the bag and fled up the stairs, which led to the front door.

None of the student’s property was missing from the bag. She described the suspect as wearing a dark blue baseball cap and a dark blue sweatshirt with a hood. TUPD officers were unable to locate the individual.

TWO TIME’S THE CHARM TUPD officers at 12:45 a.m. on March 5 noticed a female student loitering in front of the Mayer Campus Center without a coat. The student appeared to have trouble walking.

Officers verified that she had been drinking, and Tufts Emergency Medical Services

NEWS

(TEMS) responded to examine the student.

TEMS workers decided that it was safe for the student to leave without being transported to the hospital.

The same student’s roommate later called TUPD from an off-campus house on Powderhouse Boulevard to report her intoxication.

TEMS checked the student for the second time and again found that she did not need to go to the hospital. TUPD officers accepted a signed refusal from the student for medical attention.

JOYRIDE KILLED TUPD received a report at 1:30 p.m. on March 5 that a vehicle identified as a black Honda was circling the Residential Quad with people on top of its roof and trunk.

Three TUPD officers located the vehicle on Dearborn Road. When they arrived, there were no longer individuals on the roof of the car, although the driver admitted that there previously had been.

The driver questioned why it took three officers to deal with this incident when people had been stabbed on the cheek recently.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

“She said we could better be serving the community if we didn’t waste our time stopping people from having a good time,” McCarthy said.

TAKING A PUKE SHOWER? TUPD received notice at 3:38 a.m. on March 6 that a student in Tilton Hall was vomiting in the bathroom and refused to answer the door or receive help.

Officers upon arrival forced the door open and found the student in the bathroom. The student claimed he had been unable to open the door because it was damaged.

“The student said that even though there was half an inch of water in the floor and vomit all over the place, that he had not vomited and he was just taking a shower,” McCarthy said. He signed a refusal to be transported to the hospital and did not receive medical attention.

—compiled by Corinne Segal

An interactive map is available at tuftsdaily.com

Inside the Activist’s Study hopes to shed light on social change efforts ACTIVISTS continued from page 1

vision show “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” which features in-depth interviews with accomplished artists to uncover the secrets of their craft, according to Dale Bryan, assistant director of the PJS Program.

“Immediately the format of ‘Inside the Actor’s Studio’ came into my mind — that would be an interesting way to have students learn how key leaders go about their work,” Bryan said. “It occurred to me that that kind of format would be an excellent way to have students reflect on the craft of writing and the craft of strategic thinking.”

Amy Goodman and brother David Goodman, who both have extensive backgrounds in independent, investigative journalism and advocacy of social issues, will serve as the interviewers for today’s event and those held in the future.

The Goodmans were chosen to headline the program because of their strong commitment to social issues, according to Julie Dobrow, the CMS program director.

“Their careers have really been exemplary in using media to promote social issues,” she said. “Amy is the host of ‘Democracy Now!’ and her brother David is an investigative journalist.

The two of them have collaborated on a number of pieces.”

“Democracy Now!” is a national, independent news program that seeks to provide audiences with viewpoints that are not commonly heard.

Bryan explained that the Goodmans tonight will interview each other concerning their respective work.

“Let’s say that David is interviewed as the key guest; then the audience will be following the dialogue between the two of them, and there will be questions asked of them from the audience,” he said.

The primary focus of the event will be on their careers and the various trials and triumphs they’ve faced while developing those careers.

“I’m hoping that they will talk about some of the stories they’re most proud of, some of the work that’s gotten them in hot water, and finally I’m hoping that they will talk about the journalistic ethics that come up,” Dobrow said.

Senior Sarah Ullman, who helped to organize the program as a part of both her Tisch Scholars project and CMS senior capstone project, said that she believes the event will illuminate the many uses of media for the purposes of effecting change.

“I think that this will be a nice exposure into to how journalism is used to inform the public, and for the public good,” she said.

Ullman explained that her involvement in this project evolved naturally from her academic work.

“I’m really interested in how media is used for social change, and I’ve been studying that all throughout school, so this was just sort of the latest extension of my interest,” she said.

Bryan noted that the series as a whole is not intended to address any specific social issue, but rather the process of enacting change. “[The series will instead concentrate on] the roles and steps a person undertakes to get it done, especially in collective action with others,” he said.

Dobrow likewise believes the lessons students will take away from the presentation transcend any specific area of interest that they might have.

“Regardless of what students want to pursue professionally, they will hear some things what will resonate with them about what does it mean to try to advocate for something that you believe in, and what sort of skills ... you have to have.”

The second event in the series, which is scheduled for April 5, will feature environmentalist Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, an international climate campaign.

According to Bryan, the purpose of bringing in a noted environmentalist such as McKibben is not necessarily to talk specifically about climate change but to show what taking a leadership role on social change issues looks like.

Bryan hopes that the program will demonstrate to students what it means to be an active citizen in the real world.

“We’re really hoping to help students understand that if you want to effect positive social change through public interest work … then it’s a craft to be learned on how to do this strategically, theoretically and practically,” he said.

MCT

Gov. Deval Patrick visited Somerville to celebrate its selection as an All America city.

City recognized for community partnerships and activism SOMERVILLE continued from page 1

“We must build off of this success, forge new ways to lead us to lasting recovery and encourage other people to heed that same call to service,” Patrick said.

Mayor of Somerville Joseph Curtatone also spoke at yesterday’s celebration. He echoed Patrick in highlighting Somerville residents’ high level of involvement in projects to improve the city. “[The NCL] saw the innovation and success of this citywide campaign,” Curtatone said.

“They saw high school students volunteering in their community, young professionals getting involved in city government, people moving to Somerville, and more importantly, people staying in Somerville.”

Curtatone credited in particular the Shape Up Somerville program, as well as the city’s ongoing commitment to improving public transportation access as major impetuses for the award.

The experience and success of Shape Up Somerville, a healthy living campaign that began as a research project at Tufts, influenced first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign, which aims to end the growing issue of child obesity within a generation.

In recognition of this, Curtatone was invited to speak at the campaign’s Feb. 9 launch in Washington D.C. In regard to transportation options, Somerville has expanded the number of bicycle lanes and pedestrian friendly roads and upgraded infrastructure to improve traffic efficiency.

Curtatone emphasized that despite receiving the AAC Award in recognition of its achieve-

ments, the city still has a lot to accomplish.

The extension projects on the T’s Green and Orange Lines and attempts to improve Somerville’s public school system are two of the significant ongoing endeavors that the city has undertaken.

“Our future includes increased public transportation and improved public education for all of Somerville’s children,” Curtatone said. “Somerville, an All American City, has a pretty bright future.”

The Green Line extension is scheduled to open in 2014 and will include up to six new stops in Somerville. The Orange Line extension, set to be open in 2013, will create a T stop at Assembly Square.

Meanwhile, Somerville’s efforts to improve public education are already paying off, according to Superintendent of Schools Tony Pierantozzi.

Somerville High School was awarded a bronze medal in the U.S. World and News Report’s annual ranking of high schools.

One of the Somerville initiatives that the NCL — which places a heavy emphasis on the importance of involving youth in community missions — lauded was Somerville Cares About Prevention, a citywide coalition partnering with high school students to decrease the prevalence of substance abuse in the area.

Somerville in 2008 was a finalist in the AAC competition but did not win. Its 2009 application for the award was boosted with increased examples of community activism and new initiatives such as Somerville Cares About Prevention and the mayor’s Suicide Prevention Task Force.

Jenny White contributed reporting to this article.

Fire alarm leads to evacuation of DU house early Sunday morning FRATERNITY continued from page 1

members of the fraternity,” Stein said. “I can’t say for DU, but I highly doubt that somebody in AEPi pulled the alarm there. We’re a bunch of pretty mature guys, and I don’t think anybody would have done that.”

Senior Sam Pollack, president of the Tufts Interfraternity Council, said that the events of early Sunday morning were not unusual.

“Things like this happen, and there’s always a lot of speculation and rumors,”

he said. “This time is particularly notable because one of the houses … had structural issues.”

Pollack explained that it is unlikely that further action will be taken, stressing that allegations have mostly been speculation.

“I’ll probably address it with all the presidents,” he said. “Honestly, it’s all speculation, and I have no reason to believe that anyone from any of the houses was involved. But I want to make sure we’re on the same page that such things don’t happen again.”

DU brothers are currently awaiting clearance from the Board of Health to move back into their house and have in the meantime found alternative accommodations.

According to McCarthy, they have to pass a re-inspection of the house. “They’re going to have to get someone to fix all the problems,” he said.

Ross said that work is already underway to resolve the outstanding issues. “I talked to the Somerville Board of Health [yesterday] morning, and they gave me a list of things

we need to get fixed before people can move back in,” he said.

He has already arranged for the repair of the holes and the door and is awaiting an estimate from a cleaning service for removing the mold.

Pollack expressed his regret about the situation and the conflict. “It’s just unfortunate that it happened … hopefully it doesn’t happen again in the future.”

Corinne Segal contributed reporting to this article.

Features

3

tuftsdaily.com

Army ROTC cadets balance college lifestyle and the call to serve their country BY

CARTER ROGERS

ROMY OLTUSKI | WORD U UP

The Pen 15 Club

Daily Editorial Board

While many Jumbos might shudder at the thought of getting up earlier than 9:30 a.m., 10 Tufts students regularly roust themselves out of bed as early as 5:20. They aren’t athletes getting up for practice, however.

They are cadets in the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC).

Students partaking in Army ROTC receive merit-based scholarships or living expense stipends and are commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the Active Army, Army Reserve or Army National Guard upon completion of the program.

Tufts ROTC cadets have Physical Training (PT) early every Monday and Friday morning at Tufts and take ROTC courses and do more PT every Wednesday morning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). ROTC cadets wake up as early as 5:20 on Wednesdays to commute to MIT. Tufts ROTC cadets are part of the Paul Revere Battalion at MIT, which consists of about 90 cadets from Tufts, MIT, Harvard, Wellesley, Gordon College, Salem State College and Endicott College.

Sophomore and ROTC cadet Nick Falk said that the reasons students join the ROTC vary from student to student. “It’s hard to categorize [all ROTC students] as the same,” Falk said. “Some people are doing it for financial reasons … some people are doing it for service … A lot of them are premed students, and the medical corps is a great way to gain experience … There’s so many different reasons.”

Just as there is no one mold for students in ROTC, cadets say that ROTC participants really aren’t all that different from the rest of the student body.

“To be honest, I don’t think there’s much that really separates an ROTC cadet from other college students,” junior and ROTC cadet Edward Chao, who wished to make clear that the cadets were not speaking as official representatives of the Army ROTC, said. “I mean, a lot of ROTC cadets choose this program to have a college lifestyle.

“I was first introduced to the idea of ROTC my senior year of high school,” Chao added.

“I applied for the United States Military Academy, I got in, and I ultimately decided that I did not want to go into the military Academy, and I felt that I could actually get really good leadership training if I went to Tufts … and participated in ROTC.” Sophomore Karen Castillo decided ROTC might be for her late in her freshman year. “I was just thinking that I was at a point freshman year [when] I didn’t feel like I had any focus, and I felt that I needed some more motivation in a way,” Castillo said. “I felt like I wasn’t really doing as much in college as I should be taking advantage of. Also, my sister is in the National Guard, so she was kind of an influence as well.”

Castillo also hopes her time in the ROTC will help her with a career after graduation.

“I was also thinking of working in the military after college as a physician assistant, but it’s kind of complicated how that works out.

Once you’re commissioned as an officer, you also have to do training within your branch, and that lasts about six or seven months. It depends on the branch you go into. Then you have a four-year active duty obligation

I

EILEEN GUO/TUFTS DAILY

ROTC cadet Karen Castillo presents an American flag during a Veteran’s Day ceremony. … or an eight-year reserve [commitment],” she said.

Although Falk had been considering ROTC since high school, he decided to wait until arriving on campus to see how he felt about making the commitment. “I didn’t contract until my second semester of freshman year … I’ve believed that service is a big part of how everyone should live their life; I know it sounds corny, but service is a big thing in my family. I have a bunch of service members in my family. So I thought there wouldn’t be any better way to do that than serving the country through ROTC,” Falk said.

Despite their different reasons for entering ROTC, if they have one thing in common it’s that cadets are often “morning people,” according to Falk. “I think the main thing is that is the difference between an ROTC cadet and a student here at Tufts is … it seems like many of them are a lot more driven. A lot of them are early morning people … there’s no difference based on the intelligence level …

I just feel they’re just a different kind of person. It’s kind of hard to explain.”

ROTC cadets also partake in a variety of other events aside from their regularly scheduled training. “We have … training and events through the year. Like last Friday, we had a military ball with everyone from Harvard, MIT, Tufts, with all the services, Air Force, Navy and Army. Then we have field training exercises,” Falk said.

“We take helicopters over to Fort Devens in Massachusetts.”

It was during one of these field training exercises that Castillo first learned how to swim. During combat water survival training, Castillo had to maneuver 15 meters in a pool with a full load of equipment on.

“Doing this without any prior swimming experience was like the scariest thing ever, but I did it, and I managed to maneuver 15 meters, and that’s the day I learned how to

ROTC By The Numbers Over the past five years:

75

30,721

The percentage by which the Army has increased the number of ROTC scholarships.

The number of students enrolled in ROTC nationwide since it has increased by 26 percent over the past five years.

263 million

60

The number of dollars that the Army has spent on ROTC scholarships.

The percentage of new Army officers each year that come from ROTC programs.

— compiled by Emily Maretsky with data from The New York Times

swim, and I figured that was probably one of the most profound moments in my life,” Castillo said.

Although it might not be a common sight to see a student walking around campus in military uniform, ROTC cadets say they feel welcome whether in or out of uniform.

Falk praised his teachers and University President Lawrence Bacow for their support of his ROTC participation. “President Larry Bacow last semester went on a run with us, he came over to MIT, and he basically gave us all a speech about how much he respects what we’re doing, about how Tufts is a very service-first oriented school. He said, ‘There’s no better service than serving your country,’” Falk said. “In terms of the faculty, they’ve all been great. My teachers knew that I was in ROTC, and they knew that if I had training, they’d accommodate for that.”

However, Falk thinks that Tufts could do more to acknowledge those involved in the armed forces. “I know Tufts stresses to try to take in and learn about as many cultures as possible, but I feel like the military culture, which is a huge culture in the United States, is pretty much overlooked by the student body here in general … That’s just what I’ve been seeing here,” Falk said.

Cadets say that while in uniform, they get a variety of reactions from passersby. “I get all different kinds of reactions. A lot of times it’s a lot of older people coming up to me and just saying, ‘Thank you for your service, or for your future service.’ Some other students will just … say ‘Oh my God, I didn’t know you were doing it,’” Falk said. “But it’s not like coming back from Vietnam where people were screaming at you, or calling you ‘baby killer’ or anything like that. Actually, students have basically been giving me respect and all that, so it’s been good.”

“I just feel that at Tufts, a lot of people don’t realize a lot of people are in ROTC, so maybe [there’s] ambivalence,” Chao said.

“Whenever I go around walking around campus in my uniform, it’s like ‘Oh, you’re in ROTC.’ That’s pretty much it.”

“Not many people know about the ROTC,” Castillo said. “I feel like I have to explain myself a lot. Not many people know about it. I didn’t know much about the Tufts ROTC. When I Googled it, I noticed it was part of MIT ROTC, so I wouldn’t really say we have that big of an influence here at Tufts.”

Although ROTC might not get much publicity on campus, Castillo feels that ROTC has changed her for the better.

“When I compare myself from before, I definitely feel I’ve changed for the better in a way. Now that I’m part of the program, it has definitely motivated me more and given me more focus and definitely helped me try harder than I normally would in other things,” she said.

t was in kindergarten that I made the mistake of joining the Pen 15 Club. My induction was relatively harmless — I was offered membership by a fellow classmate, accepted the invitation with excitement and arranged to have the club’s name tattooed onto the back of my hand in thick Sharpie marker later that afternoon.

But alas, it was too good to be true; when spoken aloud, the club was advertised to me clearly as “Pen 15,” but scribbled in semi-permanence on my skin it read — unmistakably — “penis.”

I was tricked! In retrospect I should have picked up on something from my snickering “friends” enjoying the spectacle of my induction. But then, it was my naiveté — and that of the other Pen 15 members — that made the club so hysterical, embarrassing and possible to begin with.

It was the same reason why, several months later, I sat blushing in the fifth-floor principal’s office for calling a classmate “Scheißkopf,” German for sh--thead — a word I’m not allowed to print in a college newspaper, but back then simply heard around the house without understanding.

And it was the same reason why Adam and Eve walked around naked until they ate from the tree of knowledge, suddenly realized their junk was hanging out and ran to fetch the nearest grape leaves around.

Blinded by a lack of world experience, it’s easy to act without hesitation — to join the Pen 15 Clubs of the world. But blinded by a bit of world experience, it’s even easier to do the opposite and forget that, as adults, we still fall victim to our own spotty knowledge, naiveté and unintended vulgarity.

For example, have you ever giggled after uttering the word “porcelain?” Probably not, unless you’re among the few who know that the P-word takes its name from a pig’s vagina. The material is named for its resemblance to the glossy surface of a cowrie shell, “porcelaine” in French, “porcellana” in Italian. The curious name for the shellfish, however, comes from the Italian “porcella,” meaning young sow. Some dictionaries, including the American Heritage Dictionary, explain the shell-baby pig connection by likening the shell’s appearance to a pig’s back. However, the more trusted tale the Oxford English Dictionary tells is that the shape of the cowrie’s orifice was once thought to evoke a pig’s lady parts.

Some others say “porcella” was euphemistic for human — not pig — lady parts, which in turn renders the etymology far less creepy and rids the story of implied human familiarity with pig vaginas.

“Porcelain” is not the only ordinary word with a loaded past, though. You might associate orchids with sophistication or elegance. Probably not with testicles, though.

Reconsider, my friend, because if you’ve ever mentioned an orchid before, the botanists who named the plant after the testicular shape of its roots (from the Greek “orkhis,” testicles) might as well have offered you a spot in the Pen 15 Club.

Meanwhile, plant-namers on the other side of the world seemed to have envisioned balls a bit differently. More … avocado-like. The word “avocado” came to us through Spanish but originates from the Aztec “ahuacatl,” also meaning testicle, which leads me to think that the Aztecs either really enjoyed bathroom humor or had very few round objects lying around to poke fun at.

The truth is, whether back in kindergarten you were the kid who fell for the Pen 15 Club, or the Scheißkopf who started it, you’ll eventually end up the butt of that joke one way or another. You can’t avoid the Pen 15 Club. You can’t rise above it. Membership is for life, and, like with most things we get ourselves into during those early days of childhood, there simply are no backsies.

Romy Oltuski is a junior majoring in English. She can be reached at Romy.

Oltuski@tufts.edu.

THE TUFTS DAILY

4

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

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TV REVIEW

CARYN HOROWITZ | THE CULTURAL CULINARIAN

Stellar cast and crew show promise for NBC’s ‘Parenthood’ REBECCA GOLDBERG

BY

Daily Editorial Board

As NBC struggles to get back on its feet and wiggle its way out of fourth place in the ratings, it has picked up “Parenthood,”

Parenthood Starring Peter Krause, Lauren Graham, Craig T. Nelson Airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on NBC a new series that seems to be orchestrated from some scientific formula for television success. Based on the 1989 film of the same name, the freshman series reunites the film’s director, Ron Howard, with his “Arrested Development” (20032006) producing partner Brian Grazer.

Howard produced a similar, eponymous NBC series, also based on the film, but that series was cancelled after one season (from 1990 to 1991).

Now he and Grazer have hired “Friday Night Lights” head writer Jason Katims to pen the series and Aaron Sorkincollaborator Thomas Schlamme to direct the pilot. To head the cast, “Parenthood” snared Peter Krause (“Six Feet Under,” 2001-2005) and Lauren Graham (“Gilmore Girls,” 2000-2007). NBC scheduled the show to air after its biggest ratings hit, “The Biggest Loser,” and spent the entirety of the Winter Olympics promoting it.

This scientific formula hasn’t quite paid off yet; last week’s premiere pulled in mediocre-to-good ratings. Still, such an impressive TV pedigree seems to indicate that the show, no matter how pedestrian its concept, will continue to be at least very well done.

“Parenthood” follows the four adult siblings of the Braverman family: Adam (Krause), Sarah (Graham), Julia (Erika Christensen) and Crosby (Dax Shepard).

Jules Aarons exhibit explores city through photographs CAROLINE DICZOK Daily Staff Writer

It has long been debated whether or not photography is an objective discipline. Some say that a photo-

Man on the Street: Jules Aarons Photographs Boston, 1947-1976 At the Wiggin Gallery, through June 4 Boston Public Library, Central Library 400 Boylston St. 617-536-5400 graph captures a moment in time, a seemingly direct representation of the physical world with no distortion.

But many have come to the conclusion that photography is ultimately subjective and celebrated for the photographer’s power to appropriate that which he or she photographs.

What appears as a mirror of reality is, in fact, a carefully executed and deliberately chosen image.

The exhibition “Man in the Street: Jules Aarons Photographs Boston, 1947-1976” at the Boston Public Library is a testament to the power and allure of photography. Aarons, a largely self-taught photographer, began to seriously take snapshots in 1947, choosing the streets and neighborhoods of Boston as his subjects.

Born and raised in the Bronx, N.Y., Aarons witnessed firsthand urban energy and sought to reflect this in his work, illustrating how people lived

U

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Gilmore Girl Lauren Graham as a single see PARENTHOOD, page 6 mom: What else is new?

GALLERY REVIEW

BY

Games gripes

their lives on the streets of the city.

Beginning his work in the late ’40s, Aarons had before him a city about to enter an era of post-war renewal, a city whose stability and community were quickly dissolving. His photographs, therefore, double as historical documents, freezing moments in time from this era of change and rebirth.

Inspired by the discipline of street photography, Aarons’ type of documentary photography captures its subjects candidly within public places. He juxtaposes his subjects against the urban background of Boston.

Interestingly, whereas most street photographers at the time primarily used 35mm single-lens reflex cameras, requiring the photographer to bring the camera to his eye and shoot directly at his subject, Aarons used a Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex, a camera that is held at the waist. Aarons was able to take photographs without looking at his subjects, holding only the camera in their direction — resulting in truly candid shots.

But Aarons’ images are more than simple candid shots; rather, they achieve a level of spontaneity mixed with a deliberateness and decisive intention. The photographs are almost staged, as if the subjects are set against a choreographed background, but a closer look reveals deeper complexity. The photographs radiate a sense of drama and excitement, and Aarons’ sympathy for his subjects is clear.

The energy abounding in the city see AARONS, page 6

MOVIE REVIEW

‘Good Guy’ fails to distinguish itself BY

LORRAYNE SHEN

Daily Editorial Board

Oh, the timeless love triangle: It’s pretty much the setup for every human story ever told since Homer’s time, and we bear

The Good Guy Starring Alexis Bledel, Scott Porter, Bryan Greenberg Directed by Julio DePietro witness to it again in Julio DePietro’s directorial debut, “The Good Guy.” In this postrecession glimpse into the dating world of twenty-somethings in Manhattan, Tommy Fielding (Scott Porter) is a cocky, charming Wall Street suit engaging in a budding romance with Beth Vest (Alexis Bledel), another young urban professional.

It’s clear from the start that things somehow will go awry, as Tommy is first pictured begging for help outside Beth’s apartment as she enjoys the company of another man. Enter Daniel (Bryan Greenberg), an all-around sensitive soul whose favorite book is Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” (1813). Daniel happens to be Tommy’s protégé both in the Wall Street office and in life.

Tommy begins to narrate his story from the start of the romance, which gives “The Good Guy” somewhat of a unique edge: It’s a romantic dramedy from the male’s point of view.

Half of the film is set in the high-powered sales office of a Wall Street bank. Tommy is a successful salesman and juggler of million-dollar clients. The environment is cutthroat and full of bluffs and lies — a mirror to the romantic side of the film. When one of his team’s underlings leaves the office, Tommy promotes Daniel, an ex-military computer techie, and takes him under his wing. Soon the two are out on the streets of Manhattan, exploring the nightlife, hopping bars and trying to pick up women.

Much of the attempted humor is derived from this “makeover” portion of the film.

Tommy has a certain amount of pity for Daniel and tries to mold him in the image of a proper Wall Street hotshot. He tells Danny at one point, “I’m not telling you the way things should be, but the way they are,” and proceeds to impart the wis-

COURTESY BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Jules Aarons’ photos, such as “The Onlookers, North End #2” (1950s), caputred life in Boston.

see GOOD, page 6

nfortunate peanut incidents from last week aside, I have been bored out of my mind since the Vancouver Olympics ended on Feb. 28. No more mid-afternoon curling marathons on CNBC, no more awesomeness that is the biathlon, no more South Korean figure skaters breaking all kinds of records. And don’t even get me started on how much I miss holding my breath every time Apolo Ohno stepped onto the ice for short track speed skating.

The only silver lining to the end of the Olympics is the end of the advertisements airing during the Games and, in turn, the end of the inane complaining associated with the food ads.

Every Olympics has some sort of foodrelated buzz around it, whether positive or negative. Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, concerns over poor food safety practices circulated. Event organizers responded by creating the Olympic Food Safety Command Center to monitor food preparations. Turin, Italy, is a hotspot for the slow foods movement, and the organizers of the 2006 Winter Olympics received praise for their use of local ingredients. Vancouver had its own scandal when 147 out of the 424 food vendors at the games failed health inspections.

These are actual food problems, unlike the mudslinging that has been going on over ads from Olympics advertisers McDonald’s and Coca Cola surrounding the Vancouver Games. Every food writer, blogger and critic that I can think of from here to British Columbia has put in his or her two cents about the ads. The general consensus is that it’s inappropriate for companies to use the Olympics as a platform to promote unhealthy fast food and soft drinks. McDonald’s ads featuring Olympians chowing down on Big Macs and McNuggets in particular have taken a lot of heat, with critics claiming that the scenario is completely unrealistic, as athletes maintain strict diets in order to be in peak physical condition. Canada’s Childhood Obesity Foundation has spoken out against McDonald’s and Coca Cola, claiming that the it sends a bad message to children who look up to Olympians by spreading an image that they gorge on soda and burgers.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would support the Golden Arches, but come on people, enough is enough.

The Olympics are a business, and they need advertising partners just like any other corporation. If the money that McDonald’s and Coca Cola give to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) makes the Games possible, then so be it. And the advertisements are not exactly false; athletes are not shown eating Mickey D’s as part of their training regimen, just as a meal after a victory.

The partnership between McDonald’s and the IOC extends through the 2012 London Games, so unfortunately, the cry against the 2010 ads has recently changed to a call to end McDonald’s status as the Official Restaurant of the Olympics. It’s not going to happen.

McDonald’s and Coca Cola are two of 12 corporations that are part of the Olympics’ TOP sponsorship program. In exchange for their sponsorship, TOP members get exclusive benefits, such as the use of the Olympic logo in their advertisements.

To the further chagrin of critics, early reports of McDonald’s’ post-Olympics performance indicate that the advertisements have done their job. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company reported a 4.8 percent increase in sales in restaurants open more than a year in the United States, and an 11 percent increase in same-store sales internationally. This is a major upswing from five straight months of slumping same-store sales.

Personally, I can’t wait for two more weeks of non-stop, 24-hour entertainment during the London Games, and if that means Coke and Mickey D’s are at the helm, so be it.

Caryn Horowitz is a senior majoring in history. She can be reached at Caryn.

Horowitz@tufts.edu.

THE TUFTS DAILY

6

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

ARTS & LIVING

NBC’s ‘Parenthood’ shares common themes with ABC’s ‘Modern Family’ PARENTHOOD continued from page 5

All of them have, in some capacity, families of their own. But when Sarah moves back to her parents’ house with her two teenage children in tow, the Bravermans become one large unit once again.

The soul of the show, like that of ABC’s thematically similar “Modern Family,” lies in the big family gatherings that allow everyone to interact and weigh in on everyone else’s lives. Though each sibling has his or her own distinct conflict or struggle, “Parenthood” would do well to

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The cast of “Parenthood” is one big, happy family.

concentrate on the relationships between the Braverman siblings.

Krause and Graham, who both turned in stellar TV work throughout the last decade, are unsurprisingly the standout performers here. Graham manages to play the single mother of a teenage girl and differentiate her character (mostly) from Lorelai Gilmore. Her relationship with her daughter, Mae Whitman’s swarthy, snarky Amber, finds believability in the two women’s mutual frustration.

The show has fun with the oscillation of Sarah’s roles between mature disciplinarian and immature loose cannon.

Krause delivers the spotlight emotional scene in the pilot as he breaks down in front of his father, Zeek (Craig T. Nelson), admitting for the first time that his young son Max (Max Burkholder) has Asperger Syndrome. In fact, Max’s entire storyline is handled with impressive sensitivity, especially considering that this could be scripted television’s first story that specifically confronts the issue of parents and children dealing with the disorder.

It’s hard to be sympathetic

with Christensen, however.

Julia is easily the show’s the most stereotypical character: the workaholic lawyer who feels like she doesn’t have the time to be a good mother to young Sydney (Savannah Paige Rae). Her plight is both the show’s most bourgeois conflict and simplest solution — one wants to tell her to just shut off the Blackberry and be home for more bedtime stories. Julia is resigned to the way Sydney favors her father Joel (Sam Jaeger), but she still takes out her frustrations by being unnecessarily catty to Sarah.

Crosby, the youngest and least responsible sibling, is a sound engineer with commitment problems and a long-time girlfriend so ready to conceive that she purchased someone else’s sperm.

Shepard, who got his big break on MTV’s “Punk’d” (2003-2007), handles the drama of “Parenthood” with surprising deftness. Crosby’s storyline may prove to be the most intriguing; near the end of the first episode, Crosby is surprised to learn that an old relationship has yielded a young son.

But much in the way that “Modern Family” often attempts to shoehorn poignancy where it sometimes doesn’t fit, the climax of the “Parenthood” pilot features an emotional payoff that doesn’t quite feel earned.

To the soundtrack of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” (1974), the entire extended family — all thirteen of them — rallies behind Max to prepare for his Little League game. But with so many stories going on in this first hour, it can feel like some of these characters — especially the grandchildren — barely know each other.

For “Parenthood” to be what it’s meant to be, it needs to mine the full potential out of its vast and talented ensemble.

There are just enough scenes in the pilot in which some of the four central siblings interact, share problems, tease and offer support. But much of the show can feel like four or five smaller shows that have been awkwardly interwoven.

Audiences need to be able to believe the Bravermans are a real family to understand what “Parenthood” means.

Aarons’ images of Beantown prove both historic and timeless

Monotony and uniformity plague DePietro’s directorial debut

AARONS

GOOD

continued from page 5

streets and neighborhoods, the lives being lived out in the public sphere, truly captivated Aarons. This genuine curiosity makes the photographs so much more than snapshots in time. Instead, the images capture emotions along with action and construct a lens through which this era can begin to be viewed and contemplated.

There is a wealth of images in this exhibition, and all are from the Boston Public Library’s collection of photographs by Jules Aarons, the largest collection of his photographs held by any institution. With a brief introduction to Aarons’ life and work, the viewer can wander around the room, taking in the photographs and leafing through several of the books published about him and his photography.

As an interesting touch, the curator has added quotations by Aarons on several of the labels that identify each image. Rather than serving as text to explain the work, these statements strengthen the images by allowing the viewer to understand the images not

just through his artistry, but through Aarons’ own voice.

All of the photographs in the collection were produced during the ’50s and ’60s, and they are at once charming and thought-provoking.

Rather than attempt to encapsulate all the emotions, actions and realities of his time, Aarons tried to simply capture single instances as a reflection of his own understanding of the world around him.

“These photographs … assume a double purpose as historical documents, freezing moments in time from this era of change and rebirth.”

And he succeeded in this endeavor. The images selected are quintessentially Boston; they are undoubtedly of a past era, but at the same time seem as if they could have been taken yesterday.

THEATER PREVIEW

3Ps presents ‘Dining Room,’ ‘Sylvia’ In Pen, Paint and Pretzels’ (3Ps) upcoming workshop this week, one dining room and its WASP-y inhabitants will be the focus in a series of interrelated scenes. Sophomore Jonathan Hendrickson is directing the performance of A.R. Gurney’s “The Dining Room,” which challenges its actors to play multiple characters and personalities with the change of each scene.

The scenes in “The Dining Room” deal with a variety of aspects and confrontations of WASP culture, creating a cohesive feeling while integrating many different meanings into the play. The show’s unique format is what drew Hendrickson to the play. “There’s so many things you can access in this one play, more than there are in others,” Hendrickson said.

The disrupted narrative provides a variety of tones, characters and meanings, forcing its actors and

audiences to switch from one to the other instantaneously.

Hendrickson added that the play deals with the relationship between reputations that people put forward for others to see and the reality behind them. Despite being set in one subculture, the play’s theme is universally relatable.

Also, to make sure audiences get their Gurney fix, the other 3Ps workshop this week directed by senior Corey Briskin will be Gurney’s “Sylvia,” a play about a stray dog whose presence heightens tensions between a young couple.

“Sylvia” is playing Tuesday, March 9, at 7 and 9:30 p.m., and “The Dining Room” will be presented on Thursday, March 11, at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Both shows are free to students and are on stage in the Balch Arena Theater.

—by Michelle Beehler

continued from page 5

dom of what clothes to wear and what women like to hear. Tommy is joined by his Wall Street posse of similarly minded men. They’re condescending and misogynistic to everyone around them, reminiscent of the banter in a high school locker room.

On Beth’s side of Manhattan, however, her clique of female friends meets in the back rooms of chic Soho coffee shops and discusses their latest book club picks. Much of their conversations are about the men in their lives, and here the source of comedy comes in the form of cynical, man-hating friends.

Overall, “The Good Guy” is filled to the brim with one-liner quips about the nature of dating. The characters, especially the protagonists, are not bland and archetypal; on the other hand, they do not say anything particularly thought-provoking or original. Audiences have seen shadows of these characters in every romantic comedy that has come out in the last five years, and thus will likely feel emotionally disconnected from the film.

DePietro tries to paint an honest picture of the dating landscape

ROTTENTOMATOES.COM

Did you see the hiney on that Alexis Bledel? of Manhattan, especially the lifestyles of ambitious Wall Street professionals. The contrast, however, between the lives of young men and women as depicted in the film is unsettlingly clichéd. The men frequent stripper clubs and bars and find entertainment in breaking piñatas full of prescription drugs. Meanwhile, the women eat designer desserts and provide endless support for each other when faced with cheating boyfriends and loveless lives. The so-called comedy portion of the movie draws solely from commentary on these

typical gender roles.

“The Good Guy” eventually takes a twist that gives the entirety of the film a different meaning, but it’s nothing that will neither shock nor awe an audience. The characters meet their deserved endings, and the audience can safely exit this 102-minute slice of life unscathed and unimpressed. All in all, Beth, Tommy and Danny are people the audience will not likely remember. Their story is like the gossip one hears from a friend of a friend — interesting for a while, but quickly forgotten.

THE TUFTS DAILY

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 CROSSWORD

7

COMICS

SUDOKU Level: Stress eating over midterms

MONDAY’S SOLUTION

Monday’s Solution

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY

Jeremy: “I was listening to it the other day, and it got me in the mood.”

Dave: “The mood for what?”

Jeremy: “Don’t worry about it.”

Please recycle this Daily

Looking for

Romance?

The Department of Romance Languages invites you to

Majors’ Day! Come meet the Department Faculty, learn more about majors and minors in French, Italian, and Spanish, and preview next Fall’s courses.

Wednesday, March 10th, 12-1:30pm 2nd floor of Olin Center

PRE-DENTAL APPLICANT MEETING Are you planning to apply to dental school in 2010?

Attend this presentation by the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine to learn more about the application process followed by a workshop.

Tuesday March 9th, 4:30 pm Braker 001

Pizza and light refreshments will be served Sponsored by: Health Professions Advising

THE TUFTS DAILY

8

THE TUFTS DAILY

EDITORIAL

Students should not ignore the census

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 Lorrayne Shen Louie Zong Vittoria Elliot Rebekah Liebermann Marian Swain Seth Teleky

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

EDITORIAL | LETTERS

Tufts counts. All students, both citizens and non-citizens, should fill out and return a 2010 Census questionnaire when it is delivered to their mailboxes this month for residential addresses or in April or May for on-campus housing.

While taking five minutes to answer 10 simple questions may seem like an insignificant task, the results of the census will have a huge impact on funding and representation for our host communities of Medford and Somerville and will also affect funding for student grant and loan programs. Filling out and returning the 2010 Census is one of the easiest and most important ways for Tufts students to help out their community and ensure that they are represented in the government.

Census data, collected every 10 years, is used in determining the distribution of more than $400 billion of federal funding.

Many important public services on the local level, such as transportation and pub-

lic safety, receive funding based on population data from the census. For example, in the Medford/Somerville community, census data will be considered in allocating funds for the proposed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Green Line extension. It is also important that every resident be counted in the census, because census population data is used to determine congressional representation and to redraw electoral districts.

Tufts students live, work and vote in the Medford/Somerville community and enjoy many public services that it offers. We drive on the roads and highways, take the T, get medical care in the hospitals and count on the security provided by the local police departments. Especially in the Boston area, where there are hundreds of thousands of student residents, it is important that college campuses be counted as part of the demographic. We are part of the

community, and we should do our part to ensure that Medford and Somerville receive appropriate representation and funding to maintain the environment that Tufts students and community members currently enjoy.

The census is conducted based on where people live during most of the year, and where they are as of April 1. Thus, students living on or off campus fill out a census questionnaire at Tufts and should not be counted at their parents’ homes. Noncitizens and international students should also participate in the census, since they are residing in the United States during their time at Tufts.

When you receive a census form in the mail, take a minute to fill it out and send it back. Campuses have historically been underrepresented in the census. Tufts students should break the trend and take this opportunity to improve their representation in the community.

ALEX MILLER

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PRODUCTION Jennifer Iassogna Production Director Leanne Brotsky Executive Layout Editor Dana Berube Layout Editors Karen Blevins Adam Gardner Andrew Petrone Steven Smith Menglu Wang Sarah Davis Assistant Layout Editors Jason Huang Alyssa Kutner Samantha Connell Executive Copy Editor Sara Eisemann Copy Editors Lucy Nunn Ben Smith Ammar Khaku Assistant Copy Editors Katrina Knisely Isabel Leon Vivien Lim Ben Schwalb Executive Online Editor Hena Kapadia Online Editors Audrey Kuan Darcy Mann Assistant Online Editors Ann Sloan Muhammad Qadri Executive Technical Manager Michael Vastola Technical Manager

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OFF THE HILL | UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Spring break should be restful period BY

MICHAEL LAMBERT

The Daily Gamecock

If your classes have looked a bit emptier than usual these past few days — then you know spring break is upon us. Looking around, I can almost feel everyone’s fingers itching for a steering wheel, ready to point their cars to the closest beach they can smell.

Maybe the warmth hasn’t quite caught up to us, but the exodus is ready; all we need is some sunny, beer-filled promised land.

Getting caught in the frenzy is always tempting, but you don’t have to submit to the crowd. Not everyone fits the fist-pumping, party-loving mold that this school holiday creates every year. If it’s not your scene, it’s not your scene, and there’s one option that everyone shrinks from like the plague: just going home.

I know, I know. The sound of those words rings in your head like an empty can crushed against a frat boy’s skull. Go home when everyone else is living it up in locales

unknown? You’re young, and you’re in college. Isn’t skipping spring break against your DNA? But that’s just the point: You’re young and you’re in college. Staying here, going to classes, giving every day of your four years working toward that elusive diploma — our lives here take a serious toll on us. Add the intensity of spring break, and you’re headed for a breakdown somewhere down that “long and lonesome highway.” Spring break should be exactly that: a break, a chance for us to rest, relax and recuperate. Home for many of us still remains that sanctuary, that far-off world where college-age lives and collegeage troubles leave us behind.

Perhaps the one thing unappealing about going home is what’s already there: our families. I’ll admit that hearing your mother nag at you about your sleeping habits or listening to your father’s lectures won’t be any way to stay sane for a week. But our families don’t have to dominate our holiday. Meet up with some local friends who are still in town; if anything; go see what’s happening at your

local schools. Why not give up the party that’s six hours away for the party that’s down the road? You can have a good time while still feeling like you’re in your comfort zone. You just have to be resourceful.

What does the spring break vibe — getting wasted at the beach or elsewhere for that matter — have to offer to you, anyway? A good time you can barely remember probably isn’t a good time. The holiday atmosphere can threaten your health, your relationships and your reputation. Why would you willfully risk humiliation for just a wild night on a sketchy Florida or Carolina beach? Choosing between one week of peace versus a regret you might never shake, I think I’ll pass on the regret. Don’t let the masses govern what you do or change your idea of a good time.

Do whatever makes you happy, and consider one thing: You’ve got your entire youth to do something incredibly fun and incredibly stupid. But you don’t have to rush it. Live for your needs, and don’t let someone else tell you what they are.

Correction Last Wednesday’s article “Dining services to pilot ‘going trayless’” incorrectly stated that the trayless initiative will last for three days.

The pilot program will in fact last three weeks.

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.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must be submitted by 4 p.m. and should be handed into the Daily office or sent to letters@tuftsdaily.com. All letters must be word processed and include the writer’s name and telephone number. There is a 450-word limit and letters must be verified. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length.

ADVERTISING POLICY All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief, Executive Board and Executive Business Director. A publication schedule and rate card are available upon request.

THE TUFTS DAILY

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

9

OP-ED

Believing in something without questioning is never right

BY KEREM SAHIN It’s hard to start an article about a very sensitive issue. You may go against the world and be right, but still people will get angry. Then how can I approach this? Outright denial is never constructive, even when you have enough solid evidence to know that what you believe is the truth. I am writing because I feel the responsibility to represent a different angle to Tufts students: one that is being ignored, either deliberately or out of ignorance.

The issue at hand is the so-called “Armenian Genocide.”

Throughout the years that have passed since World War I (WWI), the issue has become a much more of a political and emotional issue rather than that of a historical one. It’s used against Turkey in its attempts to join the European Union or with regards to other political issues. Many nations such as France and Greece, and 44 U.S. states which have considerable Armenian minorities or value the opportunity to get leverage against Turkey, have acknowledged that such a genocide occurred. It is no surprise that the most vocal U.S. state about this issue is California, which has a sizeable Armenian minority. On the other hand, nations such as Israel, Denmark and the United Kingdom are not among the countries to acknowledge the genocide claims.

The international knowledge of the issue is close to minimal, if not nonexistent. Almost all of the people that are voting for the recognition of the so-called “Armenian Genocide” appear to only know one side of the story while ignoring many facts in order to keep this story intact. In fact, there are many facts that Western nations are either ignoring or these facts are denied to them.

The reason I bring this issue up is because I came upon an “Armenian Genocide Commemoration” event on TuftsLife last semester. I attended this event to ask two questions, but seeing that the majority of the attendees were elders, I didn’t want to disrespect their emotions. In addition, the other half of the people in the room were sleeping because the lecturer of the event was practically reading her presentation from a paper which was hardly based on the events of WWI. I left early because I thought that having a poorly presented lecture in a commemoration ceremony is worse than someone confronting it.

I realized that people take this claim of genocide as the truth without questioning its credibility or even trying to learn something about it. I have two very simple questions that alone shake the credibility of the issue and demonstrate that it is not as apparent as the Holocaust is, a claim many “Armenian Genocide” defenders make.

My first question is about the base of the genocide argument. In 1920, Aram Andonian, a French-Armenian, published a book called “The Memoirs of Naim Bey”. This book contained the “Talat Pasha telegrams” partially based on the Armenian argument that the Ottoman government

COURTESY AREVIK GARAMOVA, CC

ordered the killings of Armenians. These documents, which are purported to be the proof that the Ottoman government executed Armenians, were suggested to be forgeries by Şinasi Orel and Süreyya Yuca in 1983. In Orel and Yuca’s book called “The Talaât Pasha Telegrams: Historical Fact or Armenian Fiction?” they analyze the documents on the basis of signature types, dating and language and found them to be forgeries.

Simply put, why would the Armenians feel the need to forge documents to back up their argument if it’s so compellingly recorded and proven to be true?

The second question regards the history of Armenians themselves. The first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Armenia, Hovhannes Katchaznouni, was a member of Armenian Revolutionary Federation, which served a key role in the formation of Armenia as a separate state. He published a critical report in 1923 called “The Federation Has Nothing More To Do.” In his report, he claims that Armenians had a part in the escalation of the violence throughout the empire and points out the massacres done by Armenians

against Turks. Unfortunately, his report was banned and collected to be destroyed in Armenia. In 2005, this book was found in Russian archives by Mehmet Perinçek and started to be published in many languages. Quite simply, why would the very man who fought for Armenia’s existence undermine the “genocide” claim?

I have no doubt that there are more things that are being mistakenly left out. A very brief research on the issue from the Internet and written sources would show that small but important facts like those that I have mentioned in this article are not pointed out at all. This summarizes the overall treatment of the issue in the Western nations. Only one side is heard, and only one side is remembered. It is important to remember contentious events like this one, but we should remember all sides of an issue. We’re living in a world where only the loudest voices are heard. Until all are, I will keep raising questions that need answering.

Kerem Sahin is a junior majoring in electrical engineering.

OFF THE HILL | UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA

Sleep trumps all-nighters BY

LACEY MASON

The Daily Nebraskan

How are you feeling today? Tired? Exhausted? Completely incapacitated? Then why are you reading this? It’s probably because you’re a student and you’re sacrificing a full night’s sleep to ensure your paper is in tip-top shape or so you can get every question right on your next test.

Though the all-nighter seems like a worthy sacrifice for the A you want to get — it can actually cause you to remember less. In tests conducted at both Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, rats deprived of sleep showed signs of either memory loss or an altered ability to learn a new task.

According to the blog Divine Caroline, rats in the University of Pennsylvania study that were allowed to sleep after learning a new task remembered the task better than those who were not. The article went on to point out that studies showed children who had more sleep performed better on memory tests.

In an EurekAlert! Article, a study reported in the Neuroscience Letters journal says those with sleep apnea (the disorder that causes its victim to continually stop breathing while sleeping, causing them to either wake up or never fully fall asleep) have tissue loss in the areas of the brain that store memory.

In studies performed on rats who were prevented from sleeping (by being put on a turntable that rotated every time the rat showed signs of falling asleep), they died after about 3 weeks. Though scientists are unsure of exactly what kills the rats, one thing is for sure — the rats that slept did not die.

In a 2003 WebMD article, scientist Hans P.A. Van Dongen,

Ph.D., assistant professor of sleep and chronobiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine explained that after going for so long without sleep, a person can actually become too tired to recognize his or her own fatigue.

Mark Mahowald, M.D., director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center and a spokesman for the National Sleep Foundation and professor of neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, goes on to say in the article that most everyone is sleep deprived. “Anyone who uses an alarm clock to wake up is sleep-deprived by definition. Their brains would have awakened spontaneously if they have accumulated the amount of sleep they need.”

These results are startling. I can’t name a single person I know, student or otherwise, who doesn’t wake up by force.

Is there something wrong with the amount of work students are being asked to complete if they aren’t able to complete it while getting enough sleep? Are students biting off more than they can chew? Are they being expected to bite off more than they can chew? If the quality of work suffers as well as the quality of life — what is the point?

The answer to those first questions is probably “yes.” And the answer to the last is a big, fat question mark. The obvious tendency of students, and people in general, to “go, go, go” isn’t changing any time soon. So instead of the obvious solutions to fatigue, supplements are often sought out.

While it’s common knowledge that caffeine is addictive, the longest lines in the morning are always at the coffee shop in the [Student] Union. The health benefits of coffee are many. Rich in antioxidants, coffee has been known to lower risks of certain diseases as well as help with headaches and menstrual cramps. However, coffee

is not a substitute for sleep.

Coffee, or rather caffeine, works by tricking the body into thinking it’s not tired, but when the caffeine wears off, the body feels worse than it would have without the coffee.

On a personal note, a doctor I used to do paperwork for told me that water actually works better than any amount of caffeine for sleep. He said that when people are dehydrated, and most are, the body tends to get groggy and shut down.

Though water is not a replacement for sleep either, it certainly isn’t causing any damage or tricking the body.

Some good news might lie in this: You can catch up on sleep. In the WebMD article, Van Dongen goes on to explain that if a day arises that you are able to sleep more, let your body do this. While chronic sleep deprivation can cause problems, if lack of sleep happens in moderation, the negative effects can be reversed with more-than-adequate sleep in subsequent nights.

The only true fix to being tired is sleeping. The phenomenon of human sleep is something scientists are still trying to understand, but what is known is this: We need it. And though that all-nighter may give you a false sense of security over being better prepared for a test, the longterm effects are going to do more harm to your grades and yourself than it’s worth.

If the lack of sleep due to studying and writing papers is because of procrastination and misplaced priorities, try to budget your time more effectively. You owe it to your health and your education. If you’re pulling those all-nighters because you’re a dedicated student, go to bed. You’re doing just fine.

In other words, when sleep calls, stop hitting the snooze.

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.

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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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

THE TUFTS DAILY

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 Around Campus Noontime Concert Noontime Concert at Goddard Chapel March 11, 2010 - Thursday - 12:30 p.m.

Barbara Owen, organ

Around Campus A Look at Religions Chaplain`s Table - “A Look at Religions” - March 11, 2010.

MacPhie Conference Room.

5-7PM. Professor Paul Waldau, Barker Lecturer (Spring 2010).

Harvard Law School. “Yet Another Religious Frontier? Ecology and Animals”

11

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continued from page 12

a decisive 11-7 fifth game to advance into the round of 32. Later that day, he crossed rackets with No. 3 seed Princeton junior Peter Sopher, who received a first-round bye. In the three-set loss, Gross’ bracket dreams were busted, but the Washington, D.C. native was just pleased to have had the opportunity to advance. “[My Middlebury game] was winnable, but it was really tough,” Gross said. “It wasn’t my best squash, but I came out on top in five games … My Princeton opponent was really good, but I just went out to have fun. I lost in three, but I played pretty well. He made me work really hard.”

In the women’s tournament, Koo was eliminated in her opening game.

Unfortunately, she did not find much suc-

cess in the consolation bracket either, as she fell in a straight-set loss to Hamilton senior Kelly Whipple.

“She was a really strong player, and she had a better day than I did,” Koo explained.

“She figured out my game pretty fast, and in that respect, she played better than I did, and that’s how she took the game.”

In her main-draw match, Koo was up against a player hailing from the best team in the country: the undefeated Harvard Crimson. In the first-round game Friday, Harvard junior Bethan Williams held Koo to 10 points in a straight-set victory, pushing the Tufts player into the consolation bracket. With knowledge of her opponent’s successful season, Koo’s objective was to keep the game competitive despite the likelihood of elimination.

“I mean, Harvard is the No. 1 team

in the nation, and they’re undefeated,” Koo said. “I just tried to go out there and win some points, but I wasn’t realistically expecting a victory in that game.”

As both players wrap up the squash season for good, Koo and Gross look ahead to their last season at Tufts this upcoming fall, as well as the possibility for improvement during the offseason.

“This summer will be my last to really work on my court strategy,” Gross said. “I’d really like to make some improvements in my game before next season, which will be my last as a senior.”

“I just want to work on my confidence and being more consistent,” Koo added. “I’d like to be able to adapt to different styles of play and learn how to dissect other people’s strategies faster this offseason.”

Spurs need Duncan to be at his best in stretch run NBA continued from page 12

NBA in the 1976-77 season?

Parker, who had already missed time this season with an ankle injury as well as a hip flexor issue that flared up in the last couple of weeks, will now likely miss the rest of the regular season, leaving the Spurs without their best playmaker and floor general as they head down the stretch run. Despite his numerous injury struggles this year, Parker was still averaging 16.5 points and 5.7 assists per game, well below his numbers from the last few seasons but still enough to help complement Duncan.

San Antonio has gone 5-5 in the 10 games Parker has missed this season, and, interestingly, has suffered more on defense statistically — giving up 95.4 points per game without him in the lineup as opposed to 101.9 points with — than on offense. Still, a Spurs team that was already relatively thin at guard with the departure of Michael Finley now has to rely more on Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson to shoulder the load in Parker’s absence as George Hill will likely take the point-guard duties.

It was Ginobili who missed much of last season, playing in only 44 games and missing the playoffs due to an

ankle injury. Ginobili has struggled in his return this season, posting the lowest field-goal percentage of his career and the worst points-per-game average since his second season. But he has shown flashes of his past brilliance, coming through with 20-point games in seven of the Spurs’ 11 contests in the month of February.

Jefferson, on the other hand, has largely been a disappointment. San Antonio was lauded this summer for acquiring him from the Milwaukee Bucks, giving the Spurs a relatively young scorer to help reinvigorate the team. But Jefferson has averaged just 12.1 points, 7.5 fewer than last season, and has not provided the scoring punch many had envisioned.

Gregg Popovich will now likely try to give Jefferson a larger role to try to reignite his offensive game.

Hill should take over as the floor general. Even before Parker’s injury, he was on a roll, leading his team in scoring in six of its last 15 games. Hill, the secondyear guard from IUPUI, has been playing big minutes for Popovich and will be increasingly relied on now.

Still, the fate of the Spurs will really rest with one man: Tim Duncan. Though he is now 33, Duncan has not lost much of a step. He is still one of the top

10 rebounders in the NBA and averages almost 20 points per game. Duncan might be on the downside of his brilliant career, but he is still capable of carrying this team into the playoffs.

The Spurs have some quality big men around Duncan, including veteran Antonio McDyess and rookie DeJuan Blair. But Duncan will need to be dominant in the middle and get easy shots to offset the loss of Parker.

San Antonio’s win last Saturday over the Memphis Grizzlies was important, as the Grizzlies are chasing both the Spurs and the Portland Trail Blazers for the last spot in the Western Conference playoffs. But we will really know what this team is made of in a five-game stretch that starts March 21, featuring visits to Atlanta, Oklahoma City and Boston and home games versus the two teams with the best record in the NBA: the Lakers and the Cavaliers.

While the sun might be setting on the Spurs in the next few seasons, they are still a team that no one will want to face come April. Even if San Antonio is unlikely to challenge for a title, it still has the pedigree to steal a playoff series. The question is whether the Spurs can still get there without one of their fearless leaders in the lineup.

DAILY DIGITS

9 Members of the men’s swimming and diving team who qualified for the NCAA National meet when the qualifiers were announced on midnight this Monday. Sophomore Owen Rood leads the pack of Tufts swimmers with a No. 2 seed in the 50-yard freestyle and also was seeded seventh in the 100-yard free.

The Jumbos also earned the sixth seed in two separate relays — the 200-yard medley and freestyle — while senior Rob Matera qualified on the diving board and hopes to earn repeat All-American honors.

0 Losses by the Kentucky men’s basketball team at home this season. At Rupp Arena, the Wildcats are a perfect 18-0, capped off by a 74-66 victory over Florida this weekend.

Though Kentucky had already clinched the top seed in the SEC Tournament, coach John Calipari’s squad sent its seniors off on a winning note. The Wildcats are 29-2 overall this year and, barring some sort of collapse in the conference tournament, will likely get a No. 1 seed when March Madness kicks off in the upcoming week.

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Two third-years to use national experience next season SQUASH

Wanted

9:56.97 Time run by the men’s track and field distance medley relay this weekend at the IC4A Invitational at Boston University. The time, which was adjusted ahead three seconds to 9:59.97 due to BU’s banked track, slaughtered the old Tufts record of 9:59.33, which was set last year.

Sophomore Ben Crastnopol, senior Jesse Faller, senior quad-captain Billy Hale and senior Matt Tirrell combined to post the NCAA automatic qualifying time and will compete this weekend at the national meet.

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1.5

Bottles of champagne, each priced at $350, that recently introduced Chicago Bears defensive lineman Julius Peppers bought to celebrate moving to a new team. Peppers, who signed a six-year, $91.5 million deal with the Bears on Friday, bought the bottles of Perrier-Jouet Fleur de Champagne for patrons at the River North Club and had them distributed at 2:30 am, with sparklers, in Peppers’ unique way of saying thanks for the warm welcome to the Windy City.

Points needed by senior Julia Baily, heading into what proved to be the season’s final game, to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career. In the Jumbos’ second-round loss in the NCAA Tournament to national No. 2 and host Kean University, Baily tallied 17 points on seven for 20 shooting and 11 rebounds to push her over the milestone. Baily, who reached the mark in the second half, became the 10th Jumbo to pass 1,000.

Amount, in millions of dollars, that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick will receive in a roster bonus on Tuesday. Vick, who is under contract for $5.2 million this year, played sparingly last season in his return from prison for federal dogfighting charges, accumulating 86 passing yards and one touchdown, in addition to 95 rushing yards and two scores. The roster bonus buys the Eagles more time to hear offers for the agile QB.

ALEX PREWITT | LIVE FROM MUDVILLE

Stuck in tar

T

here is a proud tradition of collegiate athletics along Tobacco Road. Duke, NC State, Wake Forest and, of course, UNC all sit no more than six miles from Interstate 40 in North Carolina, continuing fierce rivalries throughout the sporting seasons. Indeed, fans of these four southern powerhouses, especially in college basketball, have had much to be proud about in recent years.

Boy, though, it is a bad time to be a Tar Heel fan. Capped off by an embarrassing obliteration at the hands of No. 4 Duke on Saturday, UNC has tumbled to 16-15 overall and is in danger of entering postseason play with a .500 record, a mark nearly unheard of in the Roy Williams-era of Chapel Hill. Heck, that’s nearly unheard of in Chapel Hill, period.

Just for giggles, let’s break down the Tar Heels’ résumé, which reads more like that of a McDonald’s applicant than a program with 2,000 total wins and five national championships. Currently, UNC is 16-15 and 5-11 in the ACC, just one game out of last place. The Tar Heels lost to College of Charleston, UVA and Boston College. Their only impressive nonconference win came when they beat Ohio State and Michigan State at times when the Tar Heels were ranked in the top 25.

Oh, how things have changed.

What’s more, Saturday’s loss to the Blue Devils marked UNC’s lowest point total under Williams and its worst loss in seven years. The Tar Heels’ football team, amid a very average season, scored 42 points on Oct. 10, 2009.

The basketball team scored 50 this weekend.

Williams, one of the best coaches on a sideline today, is almost guaranteed to have his lowest win output of his career and will finish below .500 in conference play for the first time since 1988-89, when his Kansas squad was ineligible for postseason play due to NCAA violations.

But fear not, because all hope is not lost.

This season seems to be more of a product of a miserable situation in Chapel Hill than an indication of future events. Gone from last year’s national-championship unit are Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson, leaving in place a core of inexperienced players forced to step up on the offensive end.

Only two of the Tar Heels’ starters are seniors: defensive specialist Marcus Ginyard, who can hardly be expected to shoulder a scoring load, and Deon Thompson, the team’s leading scorer at 13.7 per game.

But coming in will be Harrison Barnes, the No. 1-rated player on ESPNU’s 100, in addition to Reggie Bullock, the No. 16 player on the list.

Given time to mature this year, twins Travis and David Wear, in addition to five-star recruit John Henson and the Tennessee Div. II-AA two-time Mr. Basketball in Leslie McDonald could very well prove this campaign a mere anomaly in the program’s books.

Furthermore, the Tar Heels have displayed some flashes of brilliance this year, leaving a glimmer of hope for upcoming seasons.

Versus Ohio State, four starters scored in double digits, while the Michigan State win saw sophomore forward Ed Davis pour in a careerhigh 22 points. That has been offset by the 11 ACC losses, far overshadowing any small moral victories the Tar Heels can muster.

The last time UNC fared this poorly, aside from former coach Matt Doherty’s abysmal 8-20 year in 2001-02, was in 1961-62, when a new coach named Dean Smith took over and promptly went 8-9. After that, we all know the story.

This situation, though, is different. Williams is not an incoming coach expected to suffer through a year of growing pains. This marks his seventh season at UNC in front of fans who consistently demand instant success.

And success the fans will get. Just give it time.

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

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SQUASH

Koo, Gross represent Tufts at Individual Championships BY

MICHAEL SPERA

Daily Editorial Board

In this past weekend’s College Squash Association’s Individual Championships, juniors Valerie Koo and Alex Gross made the trip to Trinity College, coming home with mixed results.

Playing in the “B” division for the Molloy Cup, Gross ended the weekend with a 2-2 record in a mixture of main-draw and consolation games. With this tournament marking his third consecutive appearance while playing for Tufts, the No. 1 position player took pride in his more relaxed and confident approach to his games.

“Finishing 2-2, I was pretty pleased with the weekend overall,” Gross said. “I had a lot more confidence going into this tournament. I wasn’t sure in the past how good I was in comparison to other players. I knew this time around that I had a good chance of winning at least some games, and I was able to enjoy it a little more.”

For Koo, the tournament brought new challenges that were hard to reconcile with an imperative desire for victory. She had to deal with opponents with different styles of play, as well as the stress of her first appearance at the tournament. Consequently, the tri-captain wound up going 0-2 and dropping games by wider margins than expected.

“I think I could have done better against my opponents, but it was tough because it was my first time in the tournament,” Koo said. “It was different from team competition because all

the pressure is on you. Instead of focusing on how to win the game, I think I was preoccupied at times with other mental pressures.”

After suffering elimination in the first round of 32 on Friday, Gross moved to the second round of the consolation bracket on Saturday, from which he emerged with a close five-game win against 14th-seeded Rochester sophomore Joe Chapman. In the upset, Gross traded wins and losses with Chapman until a final 11-8 victory broke the 2-2 tie, catapulting Gross to the consolation quarterfinals.

“That win was probably the biggest win I’ve had at Tufts,” Gross said. “This kid was ranked very high, and I knew he was going to be tough. I’ve been working on my game the past couple weeks, and it’s paid off personally. He wasn’t as creative as some other opponents were, and I got control of the tempo of the [games], which helped the game go in my favor.

“That five-game win is something I’ll be taking into next season as a big accomplishment and something to build off of.”

In the quarterfinals game later on, Gross faced off against Rochester freshman Juan Pablo Gaviria but didn’t find as much success, falling in four games.

Gross pulled out just one win, a 15-13 victory in the second set, citing fatigue after a toughly fought game earlier in the day. “[Gaviria] had a considerably different [style], and I already felt beat,” Gross said. “He played short all over the court and he was able to beat me in four. My shots weren’t completely on, and I was

ALEX DENNETT/TUFTS DAILY

Junior tri-captain Valerie Koo represented the women’s squash team at the CSA Individual Championships at Trinity last weekend. pretty tired at that point.”

In the main draw on Friday, Gross began the weekend with a heart-pounding five-game win

INSIDE THE NBA

Will Parker’s injury knock out Spurs?

BY

ETHAN LANDY

Daily Editorial Board

If it seems odd to be considering the potential demise of a team that was on a four-game winning streak heading into last night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers and is closer to creeping up on the team with the second-best record in the West, the Dallas Mavericks, than giving up a playoff spot, that’s because it is.

And yet, one can’t help but wonder if the San Antonio Spurs’ run as annual NBA title contenders has come to an end.

Last year was the first time the Spurs had not won a title in an odd calendar year since 2001, when the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers were in the midst of their three-peat. It was also the first time since the 2000 playoffs that San Antonio was sent packing in the first round, as the Mavericks made quick work of Tim Duncan and company in a 4-1 series win, which included a humiliating 88-67 Dallas victory in Game 3.

After the offseason, many felt that the Spurs would challenge the Lakers in the West if San Antonio stayed healthy. Now, with Tony Parker’s broken hand likely keeping him off the court for the foreseeable future, it begs the question: Is this the devastating injury that will cause the Spurs to miss out on the playoffs for the first time in Tim Duncan’s career, and only the fifth time since San Antonio joined the

MCT

see NBA, page 11

Star center Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in his career.

against Middlebury first-year Jay Dolan. After gaining an early lead with an 11-3 first-set win, Gross fell in the second set in a tight

12-10 loss. Splitting the third and fourth games, Gross pulled out in see SQUASH, page 11

SKIING

Bresee posts top-25 finish at nationals BY

ETHAN STURM

Senior Staff Writer

As the first Tufts skier to qualify for nationals since Andrew Benson did so in 2006 and 2007, junior captain Brian Bresee had little left to prove as he headed up to Sunday River in Maine this weekend.

But with two days of strong runs, Bresee was able to hang with the best collegiate skiers in the country time and time again, and he finished the weekend somewhere among the top 25 — where, exactly, he is uncertain, because only the order of the top 15 finishers is announced following the end of the race.

Bresee’s best performance of the week came on Saturday in what has been his strongest event all season: the slalom. Bresee finished his first run in a brisk 54.30, but it was his last run of the weekend that defined his performance. Facing a course that had slowed throughout the day, Bresee recorded a time of 55.72, vaulting him up to a 19th-place finish in the event.

“There was some real strong competition there, so to be top-20 was pretty big,” Bresee said. “I had a bit of a tough first run. I made a mistake one or two down at the bottom. But the second run went well, and I was happy with how I skied on the day.”

The giant slalom had been Bresee’s worst event throughout the year, and he had failed to finish two of the four regular season

events in the discipline. However, he managed to put together two good runs Thursday to keep himself at the top of the leader board.

He began the day with a 1:07.15 in the first run but fell slightly off the pace in the second with a time of 1:08.28, tumbling down to 27th in the event.

“In [giant slalom], I have been having some trouble this season, but I definitely skied a lot better this weekend,” Bresee said. “I really felt a lot better than I had over the course of the season.”

Although Bresee missed the top 15 in both races, he was within three seconds of the 15th spot both times. Overall, Bresee’s top25 result for the competition was a great finish to what has been a bit of a bumpy road this season.

Bresee’s performance bodes well for a team that will be returning three of its top skiers next season. After only missing qualifying for nationals as a team by one spot this year, Bresee and the Jumbos are excited for their chances next season. And with the top-caliber experience of Bresee and the return of juniors Arlin Ladue and Thomas Valentin, who has been out with an injury, Tufts feels optimistic about its chances at succeeding as a team in 2011.

“I think the team could have made it to nationals if we had a full healthy team going into regionals,” said Bresee. “The talent was there. Hopefully, if we can get some training in, stay healthy and perform well all season, we will be able to qualify next season.”