2010-03-19

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THE TUFTS DAILY

Air Force ROTC, ALLIES enact crisis simulation BY

CARTER ROGERS

Daily Editorial Board

A massive cyclone has hit Karachi, Pakistan, devastating the coastal city. Oil fires are raging in the city’s port and another storm will hit the region in two weeks.

Thankfully, this nightmare disaster scenario is not real, but rather was a crisis simulation that occurred on March 16 testing the abilities of Air Force Reserve Officers Training Core (ROTC) Detachment 365 and members of Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services (ALLIES).

Air Force ROTC Detachment 365 is based at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and includes students from Tufts, MIT, Harvard, Wellesley, Gordon College, Salem State and Endicott College. ALLIES, which is under the Institute for Global Leadership’s umbrella, is an organization dedicated to forging stronger ties between future civilian and military leaders.

The crisis simulation featured a panel of moderators: Fletcher Military Fellows United States Air Force (USAF) Lt. Col. Robert Bortree and USAF Lt. Col. Dan Tulley; Harvard Military Fellows USAF Lt. Col. Chase McCown and United States Army (USA) Lt. Col. Rumi NielsonGreen; Army Senior Military Fellow at the MIT Center for

TUFTSDAILY.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010

VOLUME LIX, NUMBER 35

Logistics and Transportation Marc Sukolsky; and USAF Col. Lawrence McLaughlin, who is also the Air Force ROTC Detachment 365 Commander.

The idea for a joint effort between ALLIES and Air Force ROTC took root when senior Nathan Elowe, an Air Force ROTC cadet, approached ALLIES about a joint simulation.

Air Force ROTC had done a crisis simulation in the past at Tufts in the fall of 2008 in which a hypothetical earthquake struck Taiwan.

“We wanted to do another natural disaster because the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti was so recent and fresh on everyone’s minds,” junior Chelsea Brown, one of the simulation planning committee’s co-chairs and a member of ALLIES, said. “We kind of wanted to experiment with that ... because natural disasters call on U.S. military power to help with humanitarian intervention.”

Brown added that the reason Pakistan was chosen was because the recent Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship symposium focused on South Asia.

“We had a lot of intellectual capital dealing with that,” Brown said. “We thought it would be interesting to do an area of see SIMULATION, page 2

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Senior David Mok wins Wendell Phillips Award BY

AMELIE HECHT

Daily Editorial Board

Senior David Mok received this year’s Wendell Phillips Memorial Scholarship, an award that affords him the honor of serving as the sole student speaker at the May 22 Baccalaureate Commencement Ceremony.

The Wendell Phillips Award is granted each year to a junior or senior who has demonstrated remarkable public speaking skills and a strong commitment to public service.

Five students, all majoring in either International Relations or political science, were this year named finalists for the award.

The finalists, seniors Mok, Arun Yang, Elizabeth Herman and Daniel Wolf and junior Michael Hawley, each on Wednesday gave a presentation in the Alumnae Lounge to a panel of judges from the Committee on Student Life (CSL).

The Wendell Phillips Memorial Scholarship was created in 1896 in honor of the Boston preacher and orator Wendell Phillips, who dedicated his life to the abolition of slavery. The scholarship is one of two prizes given out by the Wendell Phillips Memorial Fund Association; the other is awarded to a student at

SCOTT TINGLEY/TUFTS DAILY

Senior David Mok is this year’s recipient of the Wendell Phillips Award.

Harvard University.

An open nomination process sponsored by the CSL began in November. Sixteen nominees were selected to submit application materials, including a résumé, a writing sample, a list of past community service activities and an audio recording, according to Yang.

The CSL committee then narrowed the pool down to the five finalists who during the presentation were asked to discuss a situation in which they were required to contribute to a larger social cause and what they learned from that experience. see WENDELL, page 3

Medford meals tax raises revenue with minimal impact BY

KATHERINE SAWYER

Daily Editorial Board

The City of Medford’s move to instate a local meals tax has in the past seven months raised double the expected revenue, although local businesses say that they have not been significantly impacted.

The state legislature last summer granted local communities the authority to impose a 0.75 percent local meals tax as part of the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s work to provide cities and towns with options to vary their income sources. The legislature also approved increasing the state meals tax from 5 to 6.25 percent.

Medford joined a minority of cities in the state in implementing the tax in October after the city council approved the measure at the request of Mayor Michael McGlynn.

Only one in five cities in the state chose to instate the tax. Some communities opted not to adopt the tax for fear of hurting local restaurants, and the Massachusetts Restaurant Association has consistently opposed the legislation.

Revenue earned from the tax has far surpassed the Massachusetts

Department of Revenue’s estimates.

The department estimated that Boston would raise approximately $1.4 million per month from the tax, but the city in October amassed $1.5 million. Medford brought in $42,760, double the original projection.

Medford restaurant owners, however, say they have not seen any significant decline in business despite this huge windfall for the city.

Marlena Najar, general manager of Bertucci’s Italian Restaurant in Medford, does not think the tax has adversely impacted the restaurant or consumers.

“It definitely has not in any way negatively affected our business,” she said. “Only on very rare occasions do people even question the tax. On the receipt, tax is broken up as state tax and local tax and very infrequently is there even a question about it.”

John Kermanidis, manager of Nick’s House of Pizza located on Boston Avenue near Dowling Hall, has similarly not seen any decline in sales.

“As far as negatively impacting business, I don’t think the tax has had any effect,” he said. “There were no adverse affects as far as business is see TAX, page 2

Inside this issue

ANNE WERMIEL/TUFTS DAILY

Professor Avner Baz spoke at yesterday’s After Hours lecture.

Baz discusses philosophical inquiry at After Hours lecture BY

HARRISON JACOBS

Daily Editorial Board

Assistant Professor of Philosophy Avner Baz yesterday evening discussed the discontinuity between philosophy and the real world and the answers provided in each area.

Baz explained that there is a gap between how academics deal with questions in the classroom and in the real world.

“There is a discontinuity between what [philosophers] do in theoretical examples and what they do in everyday life,” Baz said see PHILOSOPHY, page 3

Today’s Sections

SMFA alum Monika Navarro’s film will debut on WGBH March 28.

The spring sports season will be in full force over the break, with six Tufts teams in action.

see ARTS, page 5

see SPORTS, page 10

News | Features Comics Arts & Living

1 4 5

Classifieds Sports

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NEWS | FEATURES

Friday, March 19, 2010

Simulation builds bridges between military and civilians SIMULATION continued from page 1

Pakistan that’s not very well known: the coast … Pakistan seemed like the perfect option because it’s such a volatile area and it seemed like there were a lot of different factors that come into play because of it.”

At the start of the simulation, participants were briefed on the situation and told to quickly develop a response plan and timeline. They were also given a list of resources they could use, such as the hospital ship USNS Mercy. Air Force ROTC cadets represented NATO, while Tufts students represented various governmental organizations, including the United Nations, the United States Agency for International Development and the United States Embassy.

The six groups of participants consisted of both Air Force ROTC cadets and Tufts students, not all of whom were ALLIES members. They were given a little over an hour to plan a response timeline for the crisis, which is considered a realistic timeframe for a real disaster scenario.

“They were told to worry less about rebuilding and more about humanitarian relief efforts,” freshman Katie Monson, one of the planners of the simulation and a member of ALLIES, said, adding that the hypothetical oncoming second cyclone necessitated this.

However, the situation did not stay stable during the planning period, Monson explained.

“We had three separate ‘injects,’ is what we called them. The first: They were told that the oil port had been destroyed such that the Pakistani government was requesting help to stabilize the port so that the entire country could get energy resources. The second inject was that they were told the Karachi police were unreliable. The police were defecting to help their family members, so the U.S. military couldn’t count on local support on the ground,” Monson said.

The final inject was that each group had a member playing an undercover CIA operative pretending to be an economic advisor at the Karachi consulate.

“That person was given a briefing that requested they procure a helicopter and support system to evacuate a terror subject, and they were not allowed to tell anyone else in the scenario their actual role, nor were they allowed to explain why they were requesting those resources,” Monson added.

The idea for undercover operatives was not Elowe’s, but came from one of the ALLIES simulation writers. “That was kind of an experimental role …

When I first saw it, I looked at it and thought ‘This could either really not work or provide a really good insight for students afterwards,’” Elowe said.

He added that the success of the CIA operative role depended largely on whether or not the participants blew their covers, which was the case in several groups.

“One thing the colonel [Lawrence McLaughlin] mentioned in his debrief when he was giving some feedback was it really highlighted some of the things that happened in a real response like this,” Elowe said. “Each group that comes to the table planning might have hidden agendas that they’re not going to disclose to the whole group

ANNE WERMIEL/TUFTS DAILY

Crisis simulation participants presented their plans for disaster relief to the other groups and moderators at the end of the exercise. because whole group might not agree with what they’re doing or prioritize in the same way.

“Normally in a [crisis simulation] like this, because each of the role players isn’t coming from that organization directly, they just kind of read up about it and try and have that perspective,” he added. “They don’t explicitly have these hidden agendas. I think it was interesting adding in a hidden agenda and seeing how people dealt with it, and everybody learned from that.”

After the planning period, the groups presented their disaster response plans, which involved everything from setting up airfields to deliver supplies, putting out oil fires in the city’s port and evacuating U.S. citizens in the city.

The reason that the simulation was a joint military and civilian effort was because, according to planners and participants, in real humanitarian crises, civilian relief organizations and the military are most effective when working together.

“In the real world there’s no real separation in the response,” Elowe said. “It’s extremely important to integrate the responses, because civilian organizations have a perspective that the military can’t provide. All the aid organizations and the embassy … the State Department, they understand the governments of those countries and the people in those countries more than military forces will, even if there’s a military base in the area.

If we have a military presence in the area, it’s still a base, separated from the rest of the country.

“So, the civilian organizations are very important and they bring different perspectives to it, [but they can’t] really provide the same response as the military because the military has so many assets that can be used for humanitarian aid and security if there’s a lot of unrest in the area,” Elowe added. “It’s just so important to have both working together.”

Junior Kelly Holz, who was one of the simulation’s participants, is looking to become a humanitarian aid worker and said that the exercise helped her better understand the dynamics of working with the military.

“I went in thinking that I wouldn’t be very actively engaged because I don’t have that much knowledge of

the interactions between civilians and the military, especially on a college campus, but I’m really glad that I did the simulation because I ended up participating a tremendous amount and working in a very engaged manner with the cadets,” Holz said.

Effective communication between civilians and the military is also one of the key missions of ALLIES in general.

“We’re trying to bridge this gap that I think is becoming increasingly apparent, especially with the Afghanistan war — that policy makers don’t understand the tribulations of being in the military and don’t understand the specific struggles,” Monson said. “Likewise, the military personnel sometimes get frustrated with the political process. The idea is to start this bridge early so that when those groups become leaders in the field, there’s more of an understanding, there’s more of a kinship, and we can avoid particular miscommunication issues.”

Monson noticed the difference in civilian and military demeanor in her own group. “As soon we started the simulation, all of the military cadets in my group instantly stood up and [were] speaking very intensely, whereas the civilians have less of a sense of urgency. They remained sitting ... I thought it was interesting even in the dynamic of the group how it’s instantly fractured in terms of demeanor,” she said.

“I think that says a lot about the struggles of civil-military relations in the real world, where the military is trained to be very fast-response and most civilians then are willing to take a much slower response, so it’s interesting to see the different dynamics play out there,” Monson said.

Elowe thinks that the simulation went a long way toward accomplishing the goal of improving civilian-military understanding. “Overall, it was a great success,” Elowe said. “It was a lot of work to plan but totally worthwhile because it really integrated these groups.

We haven’t had as much involvement between ROTC and ALLIES as we would like, so bringing an Air Force ROTC event to the Tufts was a great thing ...

I’m a senior … so I can’t make sure this happens, but I’m hoping that they continue this and do events like this in the future. I think it would be great.”

Business managers say tax has had little impact on sales TAX continued from page 1

concerned. It’s no big deal as far as I’m concerned.”

Kermanidis said that some of his customers inquired about the tax, but after he told them about the citymandated tax increase, there were no negative repercussions.

“Initially, some people who are regulars questioned the tax and I explained it,” he said. “As long as you initially explain yourself, people don’t have a problem with it.”

Most students have not noticed an impact or changed their behavior due to the tax; some were even unaware

about the new tax.

Sophomore Milas Bowman did not know about the meals tax and was not opposed to it after learning about it.

“I guess it hasn’t really affected me because I didn’t know it existed,” he said. “I think it’s fine, I’m not strongly opinionated about it.”

Hilary Ross, a sophomore, felt similarly. She had not heard of the tax before but expressed her support for the measure after learning about it.

“I didn’t know that there was an increase in the meals tax, so I didn’t change my habits in any way,” she said.

Ross explained that the tax would not affect her behavior because she

valued convenience and supporting local businesses.

“I don’t think the tax will change my habits,” she said. “That’s not a very high tax and because Medford is closer to [ Wren Hall] than [Davis Square], convenience will probably win out ... Also, taxes go back to the community so I don’t feel bad about paying them.”

Kermanidis thinks that businesses have not been hurt by the imposition of the meals tax because Massachusetts residents are so accustomed to paying taxes.

“People in Massachusetts are used to it,” he said. “That’s why they call it ‘Taxachusetts.’”

THE TUFTS DAILY

Friday, March 19, 2010

3

NEWS | FEATURES

Senior David Mok to speak at this year’s baccalaureate ceremony

Baz’s lecture addresses gap between philosophy and real world

WENDELL

PHILOSOPHY

continued from page 1

The exact prompt, following a quote from President Barack Obama, was “Discuss a situation in which you hitched your wagon to something larger and what you learned from doing that.”

Associate Professor of Classics Steven Hirsch, chair of the CSL, said that the candidates gave very good presentations.

“I thought that in general we had a very strong crop of applicants this year,” he said. “It was a strong pool altogether; everyone did a really good job and we ended up choosing somebody who we think did an especially fine job.”

According to Hirsch, the judges considered four criteria, namely the relevance of the presentation to the prompt, the clarity of the presentation, the quality of oration and the candidate’s enthusiasm. “[Mok] was very strong in all the categories,” Hirsch said. “He seemed not to be working from notes but just spoke his piece. He was strong and clear and had a compelling story that really was an excellent response to the topic we had given.”

Mok discussed his experience creating his own social entrepreneurship company — a Web site that helps connect service organizations with young people interested in volunteering their time.

Mok told the audience that he created his Web site to capitalize on the opportunities offered by the Internet.

“I don’t want future generations to look back at us and see that we had the Internet, and all we did with it was watch YouTube videos, stalk your

friends on Facebook or order pizza at three o’clock in the morning,” Mok said in his presentation.

Mok also discussed the significant role that his father has played in inspiring his career choice.

“My dad was a surgeon. When he would come home every day I would say, ‘How was your day?’ and he would say, ‘It was a normal day,’ but I would know that for someone else he saved a person’s life that day,” Mok said. “I want to be able to say the same thing.”

Mok expressed his excitement at being selected as the award recipient, explaining that he had been eager to win it since learning about the prize as a sophomore.

“The thought of one day getting the award has been in the back of my mind ever since I learned about it sophomore year,” Mok told the Daily. “That I actually got it is sort of like a dream come true.”

Mok said he first arrived at Tufts eager but unsure of how to make a difference. He said that he feels that he has finally found his means of contributing to the greater world and is happy to receive recognition for his efforts.

“When you realize that people do take notice of what you are doing, it is really thrilling,” Mok said. “All in all, I am just really grateful.”

In addition to speaking at the baccalaureate ceremony, Mok will also receive a cash prize.

Despite not having received the award, Yang said that the experience was a valuable one.

“I thought it was a really good process for me, and allowed me to do a lot of introspective thinking,” Yang said.

Brent Yarnell and Ellen Kan contributed reporting to this article.

continued from page 1

in his lecture.

The problem with philosophy versus reality, Baz said, is that in philosophy people expect there to be a right answer when in real life, there hardly ever is.

“The theoretical distortion happens not at the level of what is the correct answer but at the level of the assumption that there is a correct answer,” he said.

Baz went on to discuss how arguments about the right answer are brought up not only by philosophers but also by nearly every observable group of people whether grouped by social data or by geographical boundaries.

Baz was speaking in Brown and Brew at the Tufts Community Union Senatesponsored After Hours, an informal conversation series featuring lectures and question-and-answer sessions aimed at promoting intellectual life on campus.

Last evening’s event was titled “Philosophical Intuition and Therapy,” and Baz spent the lecture portion of the event explaining the problems inherent in answering the questions posed by philosophers.

Baz explained that questions themselves are pointed toward answers that people are expected to give.

“What we trade when we give our answers to the theory’s question is our concepts, and our concepts are what [guide] us to our answers when we talk about the question outside of philosophy,” Baz said.

According to Baz, the larger question is that of language. He contends that whenever people are asked to answer a question, they are immediately asked to give themselves over to a whole series of assumptions about the power of language.

To illustrate his point about the problems inherent in philosophical questions, Baz

handed out a case study, commonly used in philosophy classes. He then proceeded to describe the study not just as an analysis of the participants mentioned in the study but also from the standpoint of the author.

The lecture turned largely into a question-and-answer session about halfway through, at which point students began to question Baz’s assessment of philosophy.

Among the questions asked was how one finds an absolute truth if all that is observable are relative truths. Baz answered that this was at the crux of his argument. “[Philosophers] all assume that knowledge requires truth,” he said. “So when they give their examples they always assure such and such because they want to eliminate the doubt that it is truth. They give you assurance that in earthly matters, you just don’t know.”

Baz did provide one final solution to the problem of philosophical queries.

“The proper way [to answer questions] would be to not seek to apply concepts but to remind ourselves what actually applies in the in the actual and imagined part of the world,” he said. “That is how we are going to learn about our concepts. That’s how philosophical difficulties will get resolved.”

Junior Tomas Valdes found the lecture enlightening despite his inexperience with philosophy.

“As someone who hasn’t taken philosophy courses before, it was interesting to have a discussion about experimental philosophy, because it’s something I wouldn’t have been exposed to in the classroom,” he said.

Freshman Yulia Korovikov found the discussion especially interesting in light of the start of spring break.

“It was a great way to start spring break and have time to think about something that definitely doesn’t get enough recognition,” she said.

CAMPUS COMMENT

Last week, it was announced that this year’s Spring Fling will be an alcohol-free event. What do you think of this?

“Making it a dry event will make people want to drink more before.”

—Amy Bean, freshman

“I don’t think it’ll make it any less drunk.

People will just be getting really trashed beforehand.”

—Heather Buckner, senior

“It doesn’t really affect me because I’m a freshman, but it’ll probably support pregaming and drinking beforehand.”

—Andrew Garsetti, freshman

“It won’t stop anyone from getting drunk, they’ll just pre-game right before [the event].”

—Libby Shrobe, freshman

“I definitely don’t think that it’s going to help.

I think that not letting kids drink there will only make them drink beforehand.”

—Ford Nickels, junior

“It’s a mistake because everything we know about underage drinking shows that people will over drink beforehand.

It won’t encourage responsible drinking, even with those over 21.”

—Lisa Pollan, senior

“I’m not 21 yet, so it doesn’t really affect me, but if I was I’d be pretty upset. I am happy about there being less trash on the lawn.”

—Miki Vizner, junior

—compiled and photos by Mary Beth Griggs

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COMICS

Friday, March 19, 2010

DOONESBURY

CROSSWORD

BY

NON SEQUITUR

GARRY TRUDEAU

BY

THURSDAY’S SOLUTION

MARRIED TO THE SEA

www.marriedtothesea.com

SUDOKU Level: Finishing your thesis over spring break

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Thursday’s Solution

Sapna: “She picked Cole Aldrich to be her MOP?” Jen: “Her meals on points?”

Please recycle this Daily

WILEY

Arts & Living

5

tuftsdaily.com

ARTS FEATURE

SMFA alumna creates deeply personal film following deported family member BY

CATHERINE SCOTT

Daily Editorial Board

When Monika Navarro was in her second year at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA), two of her uncles were deported back to Mexico after living their entire lives in the United States.

One died shortly after reaching Mexico; the other, her Uncle Augie, struggled to survive as he faced displacement from his home and a lifelong drug addiction that had taken him away from his family numerous times.

Navarro, seeing an opportunity for an artistic endeavor, traveled to Mexico in 2000 to document how her uncle was faring. What began as a seed for a filmmaking idea turned into a full-blown documentary — “Lost Souls,” a film exploring not only Augie’s deportation, but also the lasting effects of the situation on Navarro’s entire family.

In her film, Navarro explores how Augie’s deportation affected his children and his sister (Navarro’s mother). In exploring Augie’s life in Mexico, Navarro also learned about her father, Danny, a man she hadn’t seen or talked to since she was a young girl. All of these buried issues came to the surface as Navarro explored the demons plaguing her family.

“At 21, I wasn’t mature enough

to take on this project; it was clear to me how personal it was going to be,” Navarro said. “My uncle was the first one to talk to me about my father ... and that ended up becoming a big part of the story.”

The film begins by centering on Augie’s deportation and drug addiction, but the film takes on new meaning when Navarro changes the focus to her own issues of abandonment and places herself in the film as a subject.

“I didn’t think I’d be forced to explore the relationship with my father,” Navarro said. “It mostly came about when I started talking to people about the past in order to understand what brought our family to that point.”

Navarro, who took many courses at Tufts to fulfill her Museum School requirements, said that many professors, classes and students helped her with the project. She graduated from the SMFA in 2003.

“My professors were really excited about this project,” Navarro said. “I was close with Professor [Gerald] Gill; I learned to interview in his class.”

Along with Tufts alumni Jason Mann (LA ’01) and Sean Aaronson (LA ’02), Navarro taped hours of footage documenting the movements of her family members as they coped with Augie’s absence.

COURTESY MONIKA NAVARRO/ PHOTO BY BRITTANY HUCKABEE

SMFA alumna and director Monika Navarro shares her personal story in her documentary.

Mann became the primary cameraman after Navarro realized she didn’t have enough camera work to continue on alone, and Aaronson provided the sound

work until the film wrapped.

“For years it was just Jason and I,” Navarro said. “He helped me write the story and assembled the footage. When we just had the

film, we were just trying to push it as far as we could.”

“I don’t know how much of the see NAVARRO, page 7

GALLERY REVIEW

FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW

Final installment of Boston Public Library’s exhibition reveals more institution treasures

Looking ahead to the Boston Independent Film Festival in April

BY

For those who don’t know, Somerville has hosted the Boston Independent Film Festival (IFFBoston) for the past seven years, and on April 21, the eighth festival will begin. Just last week, Adam Roffman, program director of IFFBoston, announced that “The Extra Man” would open the festival this year right in Davis Square at the Somerville Theatre. Last year the Daily got to see many of last year’s indie hits — like “(500) Days of Summer” and “The Brothers Bloom” — months before they came out in theaters. Looking at major festival hits coming out of Sundance and South by Southwest (SXSW) has us anticipating what the lineup for this year’s IFFBoston will be when it’s finally announced in the coming weeks. Though we can’t know for sure that these films will make it to Boston early for the festival, we’ve got our fingers crossed for these select few:

ANNA MAJESKI

Daily Staff Writer

Libraries hold millions of stories on every imaginable subject, but the institutions themselves also have histories

Cool + Collected: Treasures of the BPL, Chapter 3 At the Johnson Lobby through June 30 The Boston Public Library 700 Boylston St. 617-536-5400 and stories to tell, from why they were founded to who has kept them going.

The Boston Public Library (BPL) is one such institution. Founded in 1848, the library is the oldest free and full-scale municipal library in the United States.

Since its creation, the story of the BPL has grown with its collection of books; its story is, in part, told by the people of Boston who were part of the library’s community and who left a reminder of their connection to the BPL behind them.

The final portion of “Cool + Collected: Treasures of the Boston Public Library” helps to tell part of the story of the library’s long history. On display until June 30 in the Johnson Lobby of the BPL’s central branch at Copley Square, “Cool + Collected” is the third and final part of a year-long exhibit meant to showcase some of the library’s more unusual and interesting acquisitions over the years.

Set up in the entranceway of the newer portion of the library, the show isn’t particularly structured, but still holds some interesting objects. The pieces in the exhibit range from a stamped copper griffin that once stood atop the library roof to letters by such literary and political greats as Henry David Thoreau and Harriet Beecher Stowe. All of the donations are from Boston-area

COURTESY THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Despite the diverse array of objects on display, all share common ties to Boston and the BPL. residents to the BPL, so despite their widely varied nature, the objects are all connected by the common thread of a Boston heritage.

One of the most interesting objects in the exhibit is a painting titled “Our Lady of the MBTA” by Allan Rohan Crite from 1953. The dynamic, bright gouache and gold leaf painting shows people exiting the T. In the middle of the normal crowd of people who hurry down the stairs and into the city are Mary and Jesus. Mary protectively shelters her son in her cloak as the two hurry down the stairs like all of the other passengers, differentiated only by their dress and halos. In fact, the image of the young Jesus is remarkably similar to the image of the young boy right next to him — placing the two on see COLLECTED, page 7

“Winter’s Bone:” Coming off winning the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic film at Sundance in January, this film looks to be one of those small, sleeper hits (like last year’s “Precious,” which won the same award) that can go the distance through awards season. A young girl, Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence), goes searching for her bail-jumping father after he puts up his family’s house as collateral in Ozark Mountain territory.

Part detective story, part white-trash survival tale, “Winter’s Bone” would be one of the films to see at the festival should it make it into the lineup (and word on the street is that it will).

“Blue Valentine:” Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling star as a couple who fall in love and then fall apart, as Williams turns into a nagging, chubby wife and Gosling a lazy loser of a husband. The film opened to rave reviews at Sundance, despite the fact that it

walked away empty-handed in terms of awards. Plus, these two actors together should provide for a tension-filled story about the perils of young love.

“Hesher:” Here’s to hoping we get a Joseph Gordon-Levitt film two years in a row. Here, instead of playing a lovesick puppy dog, Gordon-Levitt is a loafing hippie with long hair and tattoos — quite a stretch for this normally clean-shaven pretty boy. The critics were divided about the actual merit of the film, but there are a select few who passionately asserted that this film was the one to see at Sundance.

“Restrepo:” Another award winner at Sundance — this time the Grand Jury Prize for documentary — this film follows one platoon in Afghanistan for a year. While documentaries are often ignored by the movie-going crowd, IFFBoston often features many amazing nonfiction films (sometimes better than its dramatic offerings). This year’s Sundance came out with a few stand-out documentaries, including “Catfish,” a film about Facebook stalking, and “Waiting for Superman,” an in-depth look at America’s public education system — any of which would be welcome at IFFBoston.

“Micmacs à Tire-Larigot:” Independent film festivals are some of the only places where American viewers can see foreign films. This new film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet (best know for directing “Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain” (2001), aka “Amélie”) has been making the rounds and received highly favorable reviews at this past week’s SXSW festival. We at the Daily think the more foreign films, the better (just look at last semester’s Best of the Decade list).

— by Catherine Scott

THE TUFTS DAILY

6

Friday, March 19, 2010

ARTS & LIVING

THEATER REVIEW

‘Adding Machine’ explores expressionism through theater Things go awry when disgruntled employee is replaced by an adding machine BY

KYLE SIRCUS

Contributing Writer

The first line of “Adding Machine: A Musical” asserts, “In numbers, all truth can be revealed.” While the play does

Adding Machine: A Musical

Written by Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt Directed by Paul Melone At the Roberts Studio Theatre through April 10 Tickets $30 and up more to alter the audience’s perception of how the world works than to actually answer any questions of truth, SpeakEasy Stage Company’s production of this contemporary musical offers an exploration of expressionist drama as well as a reevaluation of the American dream.

“Adding Machine” is the Boston premiere of the 2007 musical adaptation by Joshua Schmidt and Jason Loewith of the 1923 play of the same name by Elmer Rice.

The musical tells the story of Mr. Zero, an everyman accountant whose name denotes his bottom-shelf position in life.

After 25 years of working for the man, his boss informs him that he will be replaced by a mechanical adding machine.

As if Zero’s life at work is not depressing enough, his marriage to Mrs. Zero is not exactly desirable; she depressingly demands a kiss on the cheek in each scene as she sings to her husband about the thrills of the romantic movies and about the lives of other couples whose names are always, appropriately, higher integers.

MARK L. SAPERSTEIN/COURTESY THE SPEAKEASY STAGE COMPANY

Human irrelevancy is addressed in “Adding Machine: A Musical” when Mr. Zero loses his job to a machine.

In response to being fired, Mr. Zero makes the bold move of murdering his boss, which promptly lands him in jail.

The musical follows him on his journey to the “Elysian Fields,” Rice’s imagined version of heaven for only the best

of the good. Why Zero ends up there remains intentionally ambiguous but still troubling.

“Adding Machine” ends with final thoughts on the meaning of life and human experience that is typical of

expressionist drama, especially when the musical considers Mr. Zero’s spiritual state after murdering his boss. The story is not exactly complicated, but Rice’s see MACHINE, page 7

ALBUM REVIEW

New Titus Andronicus album fills void in indie rock

BY SETH

HURWITZ

Contributing Writer

Titus Andronicus is still a mostly unheard of band. They neither sell out arenas nor per-

Monitor Titus Andronicus XL Recording form at any large summer festivals — but what they lack in recognition, they make up for in their well-defined identity.

Their first album, “The Airing of Grievances” (2007), came onto the shelves with overwhelmingly positive reviews and brought a much-needed dose of energy to indie rock.

Their sophomore attempt, “Monitor,” employs the same high-powered, fuzz-covered indie rock as their first with an even greater degree of success.

“Monitor” opens with “A More Perfect Union.” The song rumbles to life with a speech about war and bloodshed lifted directly from Abraham Lincoln’s Lyceum Address from 1838. The speaker declares, “As a nation of free men, we must live through all time or die by suicide,” and chaos ensues. The song swiftly kicks into an exuberant pounding of drums and distorted guitars reminiscent of the Dropkick Murphys and Neutral Milk Hotel. Seconds later, the lead vocalist lets loose a tirade of scowling with The Killers-influenced vocals.

Fuzzed-out guitars, bass drums and Peter Stickles’ constant drunken wailing are, fittingly, the most prominent musical pieces of the lo-fi Titus Andronicus. For the most part, “Monitor” rocks with a unique Celtic/Americana mix.

LASTFM.ES

These hipsters’ newest album is a surprising mix of history and different musical genres.

Interestingly, the band’s New Jersey roots require a mention of Bruce Springsteen. Though hugely different in sound, Titus Andronicus apparently has some sort of affinity for the legendary rocker, as seen through some altered, yet borrowed lyrics such as “… tramps like us, baby we were born to die” in “A More Perfect Union,” and the occasional use of Springsteen-like “whoa-whoa, na-na” chants and even a Boss-channeled sax solo.

Still, most of the tracks are an awesome batch of high-energy, 100 mile-per-hour punk. “Titus Andronicus Forever” perhaps best exemplifies the band’s sound and lyrical content. The track grabs the listener’s throat and lands a few good punches while screaming things like “The

enemy is everywhere.”

Unfortunately, the one misstep that “Monitor” suffers from stems from its energy. Though the rousing barroom romps are indeed well made, a more prolonged respite from the raucous would be greatly welcomed. The constant liveliness might appeal to some, but for the average listener, the few occasions of downtempo serve only as a teaser for the possible diversity in sound that Titus Andronicus could perhaps achieve.

Despite the fact that no track does actually maintain any sort of respite from the speed and vitriol of the majority of the work, tracks like “A Pot in which to Piss,” “Four Score and Seven” and “To Old Friends and New” grant the listener an opportu-

nity to mellow out for a moment.

After being subject to 20 minutes of throbbing freneticism, the album’s fifth track, “A Pot in which to Piss” — in a timely fashion — opens with a mercifully serene organ coupled with a new, more tranquil Stickles, yet it then merges into an almost Franz Ferdinand-like syncopation.

Similarly, “Four Score and Seven” changes the tempo with a moaning cello, a somber pub piano and a high-squealing harmonica, but it loses itself again in the familiar punk-rock march.

Most unique of these down-tempo efforts, “To Old Friends and New” equips the beaten, shoegazing vocals of a female guest, Cassie Ramone of the Vivian Girls (who, remarkably, sounds just a bit like Yael Naïm at times). This

song actually manages to remain chill all the way throughout.

Many attributes of “Monitor” point to a distinct relation to the Civil War. The name of the album itself was inspired by the Civil War vessel USS Monitor, the first United States ironclad ship ever used in battle. In addition, the final track on the album takes its name from the first battle that the Monitor engaged in, the Battle of Hampton Roads. Several songs open or close with a reading of a document from the Civil War-era, such as a speech or a letter from figures like Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, and the band’s own lyrics attempt to mirror them in a manner.

In “Richard II or Extraordinary Popular Dimensions and The Madness Of Crowds (Responsible Hate Anthem),” Stickles evokes Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea: “Soon you’ll be burning the orphanages down/ watching ash scatter all over town/ …you’ll see blue trampling over grey…”

However, the ambition may have been too great, for the Civil War tribute doesn’t entirely serve its purpose. This is not to say that the song is either distracting or just plain bad. Rather, “Richard II” comes off as a peculiar effort or an interesting side-thought with some slight connections to the majority of the album.

Despite the sometimes-confusing choices by the band, Titus Andronicus managed to craft a masterful album of Civil Warinspired punk rock opuses and vignettes. An hour-long experience of high energy indie rock should please anyone who misses Neutral Milk Hotel and wants something to contrast the mellowness that seems to characterize the indie scene as of late. And, of course, maybe one can learn some history in the meantime.

THE TUFTS DAILY

Friday, March 19, 2010

7

ARTS & LIVING

Museum School graduate’s film to air on Boston’s WGBH later this month NAVARRO continued from page 5

final product is a result of what I did,” Mann said while laughing.

“There were a dozen stories we could’ve told. My job was helping [Monika] to make those tough decisions, because it was a tough emotional road for her to walk.”

Navarro said her greatest challenge came when interviewing her parents. Though she wasn’t surprised by her estranged father’s unwillingness to answer questions about his past, she didn’t expect that her mother would avoid digging into the issues.

“One thing I learned that I didn’t expect is that when you try to learn about your family, the people who can tell you the most about yourself are your parents,” Navarro said. “At the same time, my parents were the most unwilling to talk about the past.”

In one scene, Navarro tries to ask her mother how she met her husband, Navarro’s father.

Navarro’s mother tells a seemingly unrelated story about Danny being pushed on her by her parents.

“You always want a specific answer to a question. I want to

know how they got together, and she’s talking about her father,” Navarro said. “It’s not the answer you want, but it’s an answer. In talking about my father, she’s telling a story about her parents not protecting her.”

The theme of abandonment runs throughout the film, as does addiction — both Augie and Danny’s father were at one time drug addicts. The film not only tracks one man’s journey to get clean from his addiction, but an entire family looking to come back together after being broken apart.

“Everyone was waiting for a moment to talk about these things,” Navarro said. “There were times in making the film where I was being too sensitive and trying to honor everyone’s stories. When you’re making a documentary, you’re a journalist in some ways, so you have to tell the best story no matter how it makes someone look.”

The film was eventually picked up by PBS, giving Navarro the means to finish it just in time for an airdate on Boston’s WGBH station that coincides with the 10-year anniversary of Augie’s

COURTESY MONIKA NAVARRO/ PHOTO BY JASON MANN

Navarro’s documentary follows the deportation of Navarro’s uncle and the aftermath. deportation. Ten years is also the amount of time deported immigrants need before they can apply for reentry into the United States.

“It’s impossible to know what would have happened if I wasn’t filming,” Navarro said. “I hope that forcing my family to deal with the issues must have had

some effect.”

Navarro’s very personal film will air on WGBH on March 28 at 9 p.m. as a part of the “Independent Lens” series.

Walt Whitman manuscript among many objects on display in BPL exhibition COLLECTED continued from page 5

an even field.

Crite was active in Boston, and in his art he communicated both religious and progressive social imagery. He was a champion of African American rights and, through his religious imagery, sought to convey the common tie that binds all of humanity. Through showing Mary and Jesus hurrying down the stairs, as much a part of the crowd as any of the other people depicted, Crite makes a statement about the equality of humanity in the eyes of God. Furthermore, he asserts God’s continued importance in the modern age through his incorporation of religious

figures into a modern setting.

Another interesting object from the exhibit is an original draft in the hand of Walt Whitman. The draft is of Whitman’s poem “To a Locomotive in Winter” and is dated Feb. 23, 1874. Numerous revisions to the poem can be seen scrawled on the page, and Whitman continued to revise it until it was published in “Two Rivulets” (1876). The poem would later be included in an edition of his famous “Leaves of Grass” (1855), and in this manuscript, the numerous re-workings of the poem — which has portions that are crossed out, written over and commented on — display the literary genius’ thought process.

Another object of interest is a woodcut

‘Adding Machine’ poses questions about the human experience MACHINE continued from page 6

artistic roots rely more heavily on a character’s mood and emotions than a complicated plot.

Considered to be one of the first American expressionist plays, Rice’s original play provides a clear inspiration for the musical and dramatic styles that Schmidt and Loewith incorporate.

Its titular categorization as a musical is deceptive, as its musical demands could certainly be tackled by a chamber opera company. The score sounds incoherent at first but reflects the varied theatrical styles that Rice employs in his play.

Schmidt’s styles run the gamut, from classical musical theater and 20th century classical to gospel and spoken chorus with a rhythmically-challenging, but well-executed recitation of the various receipt values. The dissonant score wonderfully enhances the scenes in the musical, in which characters talk more often at each other than to each other.

“Adding Machine,” in true expressionist form, allows all of the characters’ feelings to be further put on display for the audience via the artistic mode of song.

Brendan McNab plays the down-andout Zero and provides a dramatically strong and vocally on par performance.

He portrays a mostly unlikable character and does so with enough gusto to keep audience members in their seats. But he also successfully rounds out the character with just enough empathetic qualities to make the audience actually sympathize with him when they see him with another woman in heaven, the tautologically wrong choice that is absolutely believable and right within the world of the play.

Amelia Broome portrays Mrs. Zero,

whose obsession with early motion picture romances highlights the lack of any romance in her own drab domestic sphere. Her portrayal was strong, too, but lacked the grit and ferocity of a Mrs. Zero who would make her husband’s life that much more miserable and believable.

Rounding out the cast are Liz Hayes as Zero’s mousy secretary (whose own toils in life lead her to meet and awkwardly waltz with Zero in heaven); John Bambery as Shrdlu, another murderer who joins Zero in heaven and is extremely well cast in this role that requires the green actor to belt gospel tunes; and a strong ensemble of veteran Boston musical theater actors.

The production’s design team turned the intimate Roberts Studio space into a spacious industrial warehouse, most notably with Susan Zeeman Rogers’s set design. A large trough in the middle of the stage serves as Zero’s office, a courtroom and a conveyor belt.

Ironically, in a play that straddles the real and supernatural worlds, this rift was not used to its full effect. While clear, the portrayal of heaven via two awkwardly draped white sheets was not the most adventurous choice in an otherwise ambitious piece.

“Adding Machine” certainly poses many questions about the human experience and the American dream in ways that remain relevant today, although they may be better suited for a slightly rethought Mr. Zero as Mr. Billions in a fall from grace (Bernie Madoff, anyone?).

SpeakEasy’s production steps up to the plate but does not have enough momentum or grounding to hit it out of the park. The show is certainly worth a trip for someone willing to take a risk and explore a challenging theatrical genre.

by Käthe Kollwitz titled “Self-Portrait, Face Front” from 1923. Kollwitz, a German artist, used her art to comment on the social unrest that she saw around her, as well as to champion the cause of the oppressed masses. Although she achieved considerable critical acclaim during her lifetime, she asserted that her art was for everyone, not for the artistic elite.

The BPL acquired a number of her works in the 1950s. Her style is unapologetically realistic, and she makes no attempts to beautify her imagery. In “SelfPortrait, Face Front,” she brutally represents her own face with harsh lines and jarring contrast; her face emerges from a black background and is framed with no

hint of the body to which it is connected.

Her expression is grim and unforgiving, as if she tried to put the struggles and the bleakness of the lifestyle of the masses into her own portrait.

“Cool + Collected: Treasures of the Boston Public Library” is a fun and interesting exhibit filled with a variety of objects. At times it seems that in the exhibit descriptions, the library is simply plugging its connections to various famous figures. Despite this fact, the objects on display are undoubtedly worth seeing. The exhibit makes no effort to unify the objects that it holds, other than the fact that all are connected to a group of people who have flowed in and out of the BPL community over its long history.

THE TUFTS DAILY

8 Event

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Friday, March 19, 2010

SPORTS

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

Xavier a potential upset special in Sacramento region

Tufts heads to Navy this weekend for Truxtun Umstead regatta

INSIDE WOMEN’S NCAA

SAILING

continued from page 12

over teams that were ranked in the top 25 at the time.

The Dayton region starts and ends with Connecticut, the No. 1 overall seed. Winners of 72 in a row, the juggernaut Huskies are aiming to become the first team to complete back-to-back undefeated seasons. And really, who would even dream of betting against them? UConn is second in the nation with 81.5 points per game, first with a 51.6 field-goal percentage and first in scoring defense, allowing a measly 46.8 points per contest.

Sacramento: Out West, top-seeded Stanford is about as big a lock to make the Final Four as Connecticut is. With dominating players Nnemkadi Ogwumike and Jayne Appel, in addition to a bevy of playmaking guards, Stanford should make its third straight trip to the national semifinals. But

aside from the Cardinals, Sacramento features a litany of potential Cinderella squads, headed by Xavier.

The 27-3 Musketeers might be better than the No. 3 seeding they received, and although ranked as one of the country’s best teams, they should still be considered a sleeper given that Stanford is in their bracket. Playing in the relatively weak A-10, Xavier compensated with a tough out-ofconference schedule, which featured wins over Kansas, Arizona State and Michigan State. The Musketeers also went undefeated in conference play.

This region also offers a fantastic first-round game between No. 7 Gonzaga and No. 10 UNC, as well as up-and-down No. 2 seed Texas A&M, which earned its seed thanks to the upset of Nebraska but has a résumé that includes a combined three losses to TCU and Baylor.

Unlike the men’s bracket, the women’s tournament historically has featured few upsets, as the talent gap between the top and bottom seeds is simply too great. Only once has a team lower than a No. 8 seed reached the Final Four, and that happened in 1998.

Even fifth-seeded teams, which in the men’s bracket tend to get upset by 12th seeds, have won 81 percent of games in history. And this year should be no exception. While it would be no surprise if No. 2 seeds like Texas A&M or Duke reached the Final Four, expect all four No. 1 seeds to reach San Antonio for the first time since 1989.

continued from page 12

our first weekend of sailing, though, so I think it was a good way to get the rust off and get back into the swing of things.”

Even though the weather permitted racing to occur on Sunday, conditions were certainly not ideal throughout the day. Rain persisted through the weekend, and to add to the obstacles, winds began to diminish to gusts of 10-15 mph as the afternoon went on.

“We had to make sure we were transitioning and dealing with all of the wind conditions and the constant change,” Pesch said. “That definitely made things more challenging.”

Tufts faced a difficult opponent in Boston College, currently ranked as the No. 1 college team by the Sailingworld.com coaches poll. The Eagles went on to win the Wood Trophy with an impressive score of 25 points.

The Jumbos can now look forward to the continuation of a fresh season in their next competition in the Truxtun Umstead Trophy at Navy this weekend.

“In terms of the women’s regatta coming up this weekend, I think we’re pretty well-matched for that,” Pesch said. “We have a great senior team going, and this year we’re definitely looking to qualify for nationals.”

The members of the Tufts team, many of whom are incoming freshman and high-potential sophomores,

WE’RE LOOKING FOR TALENTED STUDENT PERFORMERS!

are looking to come back strong in the second half of the year after a disappointing end to the fall. Senior skipper Tomas Hornos is considered by his teammates to be one of the most talented members of the team, and he is gunning for a stellar finish to his sailing career at Tufts, beginning with the Truxtun Umstead Trophy.

“We didn’t do as well as we wanted to in the fall,” Hornos said. “I think we all learned a lot, though. All the talent in the country will be at Navy this weekend. Historically we do well at this regatta. We’re hoping to finish in the top 10.”

The Truxtun Umstead might only be a regatta that features 20 teams, but colleges must qualify based on previous performances in order to compete. The Jumbos feel that they are worthy opponents for this year’s regatta, especially with the young talent they have.

“Our top freshman is William Hutchings,” Hornos said. “He’s sailing this weekend at Navy, and it’s pretty rare to have a freshman compete at this regatta since it’s mostly juniors and seniors, but he will definitely do well.”

The prospects for the season thus far are shaping up nicely for a team with so many new faces. Tufts looks forward to a packed schedule over the next two months and is hoping it will be a top contender for the New England and National Team Racing Championships at the end of May.

Stay updated on the latest Tufts news

The Disney College Program is seeking Animated Character Performers and Parade Performers to perform at the Walt Disney World® Resort near Orlando, FL. Special consideration will be given to Disney Animated Character “look-alikes” and individuals 4’8” – 5’ and 6’ – 6’3”.

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AUDITION Wednesday, March 24 10:30 AM The Dance Complex 536 Massachusetts Ave Cambridge, MA 02139

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Friday, March 19, 2010

9

SPORTS

THE WHEEL AND CHAIN: A CYCLIST’S TALE

Racing in the rain: Evan Cooper details his cycling in New York BY

EVAN COOPER

Daily Editorial Board

Editor’s Note: Evan Cooper is a sophomore, a sports editor for the Daily and an aspiring professional cyclist.

He races for the Tufts cycling team and for the elite amateur squad Team Ora presented by Independent Fabrication.

This series will chronicle his season as he tries to make racing into more than just a hobby.

“One day it started raining, and it didn’t quit for four months. We been through every kind of rain there is.

Little bitty stingin’ rain ... and big ol’ fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself, so I’ll just thank Forrest Gump for describing so accurately what last weekend was like for all of us in the Northeast.

And for a decidedly obsessed cyclist set on getting his training and racing in no matter what Mother Nature has to say about it, those few days of apocalyptic weather were nothing short of torture.

But before getting into any specifics, there is something I think you need to know about bike racers (or cyclists as I will refer to us from now on): We will stop at almost nothing to race our bikes. It could be pouring rain, gusting wind or even hailing, and a bike race still would not be cancelled. The only exceptions to the rule are lightning and sometimes snow, with an extreme emphasis on the sometimes.

Needless to say, cyclists are just a bit stupid.

So when the monsoon-like weather descended upon New York City last weekend, where there was a bike race scheduled that the rest of the Tufts cycling team and I happened to be attending, there were cyclists aplenty toeing the line to take on each other and the elements.

Have I told you that I’m stupid?

The Tufts cycling team is a member of the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC), a collection of schools ranging from the University of Vermont in the north down to Delaware in the south and encompassing just about everything in between.

The ECCC is one of the most densely peopled collegiate cycling conferences in the country, and despite the disadvantages of the low altitude and often cruel weather as compared to other conferences, it is one of the strongest.

Last year, at Collegiate Nationals in Fort Collins, Colo., the ECCC claimed three of the four mass-start events, and many of its graduates are currently among the professional ranks.

Clearly there are some talented cyclists amongst these ranks, but the men and women of the ECCC are also slightly stupid.

Do you see a theme here?

Last weekend was the second weekend of racing on the ECCC calendar, and the teams of our conference were

COURTESY COLE ARCHAMBAULT

Aspiring professional cyclist Evan Cooper will race under any conditions, even when it puts his well-being at stake. gathered on Saturday to race around Grant’s Tomb in New York City. From the early morning on, the weather was anything but hospitable for bike racing. Temperatures hovered in the low 40s, winds gusted off of the Hudson at 40-plus miles per hour — and then there was the rain. Suffice it to say that kayaks and jet skis would have been better-suited to the conditions than bikes precariously balanced on centimeter-wide tires. But still, we insisted on racing.

The original course was shortened to a track-style event, with two long straight-aways linked by a 180-degree turn-around at either end. On the uphill stretch, the wind blew at our backs. On the downhill stretch, it was in our faces. The wind was so strong, in fact, that going uphill proved faster than going down. Then, in the turns, the wind whipped our skinny cyclists’ bodies — or at least mine — so hard that steering our bikes became little more than a desperate attempt at survival. It was a mess. And still, the racing continued.

As the day wore on, conditions did not improve. In fact, by the time the Men’s A race, the final collegiate race of the day and the race in which I was

entered, was set to go off at around 2:30 p.m., the weather was worse than ever. The rain came down harder, the bitter cold increased and the wind most definitely blew harder. In fact, as I reluctantly climbed out of the safe and hot car to ride my bike up to staging, I was knocked against the rear of the vehicle, unable to remove myself from the trunk port without risking being knocked to the ground for the second time that day. ( The story behind the first time is immeasurably more embarrassing.)

But still, every race on the schedule took off on time and lasted for the full duration it was planned for, even with the shortened course. It just meant everyone had to ride a lot more laps.

Our race was no different.

I won’t lie: It was just too much for me to handle. These 133 pounds don’t provide a whole lot of warmth. When I decided to steer off course and get my idiotic self back to the car to get naked and warm as soon as possible — the only sane decision I made that day — I realized I wasn’t alone. A lot of people did not finish that race.

Normally, a race report would give the details of a race and all that played out on the road. There would be a win-

WEEKLY POLL | TUFTSDAILY.COM/SPORTS

Which star Tufts winter athlete was most crucial to his/her team’s success?

ner’s name and probably a picture of his victory salute as he crossed the line first. But this year’s edition of Grant’s Tomb was unlike any other race. Every single racer — whether in the Intro categories, the Women’s C or the Men’s A — who was brave enough to clip-in at the line and give it their all was a winner that day, as corny as that sounds.

Many of us did not finish our races, succumbing to the absolutely brutal conditions before time was up. But on that day, possibly more so than ever, winning was about more than crossing the line first.

In a sport that is all about pain, a sport that rewards those who can best accept and embrace their suffering, one thing is essential above all else in order to succeed: love. If you don’t love what you are doing, there is just no way to endure that much pain. It was pretty clear on Saturday, though, that everyone standing out there, shivering in their spandex and quaking in their cleats (and I am not kidding because that’s what I was doing), loves this sport. And that’s what I’m in it for: love.

Next time you hear from me, though, I hope I’ll be telling you about how the sport loved me back.

7% 15% 34%

36 percent — Scott Barchard (Hockey) 34 percent — Julia Baily/Colleen Hart (Women’s Basketball) 15 percent — Jared Engelking (Men’s Track and Field) 8 percent — Jon Pierce (Men’s Basketball) 7 percent — Nakeisha Jones (Women’s Track and Field) Results are out of 73 total votes. Poll is not scientific and reflects only the views of those tuftsdaily.com users who chose to respond.

36% 8%

10

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SPORTS

Friday, March 19, 2010

Tufts athletic teams will see plenty of action over spring break Baseball | Jumbos to hit the ground running

Softball | Tufts hoping to avoid drop-off from last season

DAILY FILE PHOTO

JAMES CHOCA/TUFTS DAILY

Coach John Casey’s squad will travel to Virginia for its annual spring-break trip to start the season, playing 11 games in 10 days. Though the Jumbos are just seeing real-game action for the first time, they will be taking on teams that are essentially in midseason, a difficulty that led to the team going just 2-9 on the expedition last year.

But with the team having graduated just five seniors last year, the players are confident that the trip will go a bit better than last time. And even if it doesn’t, they know that they will come back to Tufts prepared for the highest level of competition. That’s what happened last year, when the team returned to go 17-10 over the rest of the season.

The Jumbos use the trip as a chance to establish starters and roles for the rest of the season, and it will be interesting to see which players, particularly among the underclassmen, emerge as contributors. Keep an eye on sophomore Chris DeGoti, who led the team with a 3.43 ERA in 39.1 innings pitched last season, as he could emerge on a Tufts team that lacks a clear ace at the front of the rotation.

—David Heck

Tufts will take the field on Sunday for the first time since its World Series run of a year ago, opening its 2010 season with a doubleheader against La Sierra University in Orange, Calif.

The Jumbos’ demanding spring break schedule at the Sun West Tournament will feature 12 games in the course of one week, with some marquee matchups on tap against national contenders Redlands and St. Thomas. Thus coach Cheryl Milligan will be given plenty of opportunities to gauge the progress of her new-look squad, which graduated eight members of last year’s record-setting, 44-win team.

Tufts would be hard-pressed to match the prolific results it recorded at the Sun West Tournament a year ago, when it swept the 11-game slate — and got two extrainnings wins along the way — to kick-start a regular season in which it went a sparkling 35-1. Since 2007, the Jumbos have gone a combined 26-11 during their annual spring break trips out West.

—Sapna Bansil

Men’s Lacrosse | Team looks to continue early dominance

JAMES CHOCA/TUFTS DAILY

The nationally ranked No. 9 Jumbos have started the season as well as they could have hoped, beating NESCAC opponent Amherst on the road 18-8 and trouncing Lasell at home 20-4. The team will look to continue that success this week, when it plays three games: two against conference opponents Colby and Williams, and one against No. 20 Skidmore.

The Jumbos will kick off the action against Colby, which appears to be the easiest opponent of the three. The Mules finished sixth in the NESCAC last season, and Tufts went 2-0 against them by a combined score of 26-17.

Tufts will then take on Skidmore, which won its first three games of the season by an average of 7.3 goals but lost its most recent contest to No. 14 Haverford by a score of 12-8. The last time the Jumbos faced the Thoroughbreds was in their 2008 season-opener, when Tufts won by a comfortable 12-3 margin.

The Jumbos will end the spring-break action with a game at home against the Ephs on March 27. Williams has finished fifth and sixth in the conference the past two years, but the Ephs did upset Tufts in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament in 2008, so the Jumbos are sure not to take them lightly.

—David Heck

Friday, March 19, 2010

THE TUFTS DAILY

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SPORTS

While most Tufts students spend spring break either going home to relax or taking a trip to warmer climates, the athletes of many spring teams will be hard at work on the court or the field. Here’s a look at those teams that will be competing over the next week.

Women’s Lacrosse | Jumbos to face defending champs VIRGINIA BLEDSOE/TUFTS DAILY

The women’s lacrosse team could face its toughest test of the early season over spring break in the form of the two-time defending NESCAC champion Colby Mules. The Mules have picked up where they left off last season, winning their opener against Williams and delivering a dominating effort in a 21-4 win over Southern Maine.

Tufts and Colby have historically played close games, as five of the last seven contests between the two sides have been decided by just a single goal.

Tufts will also be taking a trip over the break to upstate New York to take on Buffalo State on Wednesday. The Bengals were the best team in the SUNYAC conference in the regular season before losing in the conference tournament to Cortland State, and could provide a non-conference test for Tufts.

The Jumbos will then head to Williams next weekend to face the Ephs, who beat them twice last season. Williams handed Tufts its only regular season loss and then upset it in the NESCAC semifinals in overtime 11-10, so the Jumbos will be looking for some revenge when they head to Williamstown on March 27.

—Ethan Landy

Women’s Tennis | Team set for challenging break schedule

Men’s Tennis | Tufts taking trip to New Jersey

JAMES CHOCA/TUFTS DAILY

DAILY FILE PHOTO

The women’s tennis team will head back to Florida for its annual trip to the Sunshine State over spring break, but this time it will be hoping to actually get in some matches.

Last year most of the team’s scheduled contests were rained out, allowing it to only play one match to open the season, a 5-2 loss to Rhode Island. But this time Tufts is hoping to play a fuller schedule to get back into the swing of things for the spring season. It will be the Jumbos’ first time back on the court after a banner fall campaign which saw senior tri-captain Meghan McCooey and junior tri-captain Julia Browne win the Intercollegiate Tennis Association doubles national championship and five players reach the final 32 of New Englands.

Tufts will play five matches over the course of a five-day span, starting with Monday’s contest with Northwood and ending on Friday with a match at the Florida Institute of Technology against Div. I Cornell University. The Big Red will be a great test for the Jumbos before they return home and start the brunt of their NESCAC schedule after the break.

—Ethan Landy

Last year, coach Doug Eng and the men’s tennis team took a spring-break trip to Florida, playing the No. 32, 31 and 17 ranked programs in the country at the time.

This season, the Jumbos will again be going on a trip — but it won’t exactly be Disney World. Tufts will travel to New York to take on nationally ranked No. 22 Vassar on March 27, and they will follow up by taking on Stevens in New Jersey the next day.

The high level of competition will be crucial to preparing the Jumbos for their spring season in the cutthroat NESCAC, which boasts four teams in the top 19 of the national rankings and three in the top 10.

Tufts put together a winning 9-7 record last year, but the team stumbled to a 3-5 conference record. The Jumbos will hope to get the ball rolling during their spring-break matches and keep that momentum going into the next week, when they will face both Middlebury and Bowdoin.

—David Heck

Sports

12

INSIDE The Wheel and Chain 9 Spring Break Athletics Preview 10

tuftsdaily.com

INSIDE WOMEN’S NCAA BASKETBALL

Tournament preview: UConn the favorite to remain undefeated Juggernaut Huskies will not encounter many challenges en route to San Antonio BY

ALEX PREWITT

State marked the first time coach Pat Summitt’s squad had failed to reach the Sweet Sixteen. But this year, with vengeance on their minds, the deep Lady Vols are poised to make a run and breeze through this regional. Tennessee is the only one of the No. 1 seeds to not have a player averaging at least 15 points per game, but it has five averaging double figures.

This region, however, might be the toughest not because of Tennessee, but because of No. 4 seed Baylor. With electrifying freshman Brittney Griner fresh off a two-game suspension for her now-infamous punch, the highflying first year could very well lift her team to a big upset.

The Bears’ youth is reminiscent of the Kentucky men. When Baylor beat then-national No. 15 Texas A&M on Feb. 22, underclassmen Shanay Washington, Kimetria Hayden and Terran Condrey played a combined 75 minutes, giving them experience against top-notch opponents necessary to make a run in March.

Despite a middle-of-the-pack offense, second-seeded Duke is one of the best defensive teams in the nation, as is No. 3 seed West Virginia. Look for both the Blue Devils and the Mountaineers to slug it out in a crucial Sweet Sixteen matchup, with the victor likely earning the right to take its hacks against the heavy-hitting Vols.

Daily Editorial Board

When the bracket for the women’s basketball NCAA Tournament was released on Monday, there were few surprises in the 64-team pool. Heading the list is national No. 1 Connecticut, the odds-on favorite to win the championship running away. Deadspin.com called it a “63team play-in tournament.” Everyone else is an underdog; it’s as simple as that.

But three other teams have to make it to the semifinals, and the tournament still has to be played. In preparation for Saturday’s opening-round matchups, the Daily is taking a look at the overall prospects in the four regions, as well as some of the best matchups, top sleepers and favorites to make it to San Antonio to the Final Four.

Dayton: The Dayton region starts and ends with Connecticut, the No. 1 overall seed. Winners of 72 in a row, the juggernaut Huskies are aiming to become the first team to complete back-to-back undefeated seasons. And, really, who would even dream of betting against them? UConn is second in the nation with 81.5 points per game, first with a 51.6 field-goal percentage and first in scoring defense, allowing a measly 46.8 points per contest.

What’s more, Connecticut has the pedigree. The Huskies won the tournament last year, and the squad is 108-2 since junior Maya Moore joined the squad. This year, UConn has been downright dominant, winning every game by double digits and trailing at halftime in only two games.

So can anyone in the Dayton bracket possibly end the Huskies’ stranglehold on women’s college basketball?

Not likely, but No. 2 seed Ohio State might at least mount a challenge. The Buckeyes lead the nation in threepoint field-goal percentage at a blistering 39.6-percent clip, and if Jantel Lavender steps up in the Elite Eight — provided her team gets there — Ohio State could very well make it a close game and take it down to the wire.

Third-seeded Florida State, on the heels of a close 67-60 loss late in the season to Boston College, had won eight

MCT

Junior Maya Moore and the UConn Huskies are widely favored to blow their way through the competition in the NCAA Tournament. consecutive contests before that and currently sits at 26-5 overall. Like all opponents of Connecticut this year, however, the Seminoles fell to the Huskies on Dec. 28 in a 78-59 game, though Florida State was only down six at halftime.

Memphis:

In

what

SAILING

Sailing team opens spring season BY

EMILY BEINECKE

Contributing Writer

There was a brief pause before the sailing team could kick off its spring season, but when it finally got out on the water at the Wood Trophy Regatta at Salve Regina in Newport, R.I., the Jumbos were able to deliver a solid seventhplace finish out of 14 competitors.

After Saturday’s events were cancelled due to 30-mph winds, races resumed on Sunday. Both the A and B divisions of the fleet regattas competed in four races. In the A division, junior skipper Megan Pesch joined up with fellow junior Sarah Carnahan at crew.

The duo finished sixth in both of its races for a total of 33 points.

The B division fared somewhat better on the day, finishing fourth out of the 14 teams with 20 points. Freshman

Andrew Meleny skippered all four races while sophomore Will Pelleteri and Carnahan split races at crew — Pelleteri on the first and second races and Carnahan on the third and fourth. The total of 53 points left the Jumbos in the middle of the pack, behind several talented opponents led by the likes of Boston College and Brown.

As any member of a competitive team will tell you, cancellation due to weather is always a setback that can be difficult to overcome, even with a level head and victory still in sight.

The shortened schedule clearly played a part in the Jumbos’ performance on Sunday.

“We only really had four races because Saturday was cancelled,” Pesch said. “It’s usually easier to get a better gauge of how you did when there are more races. It was see SAILING, page 8

most

experts

have pegged as the toughest region, Tennessee figures to have home-court advantage up until the Final Four. The top-seeded Volunteers will play the opening rounds in Knoxville before traveling just across the state for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight.

Last year’s first-round loss to Ball

Kansas City: Probably the weakest of the four top seeds, No. 1 Nebraska recently saw its campaign for an undefeated season end in the Big 12 Tournament with a loss to Texas A&M. But double-double machine Kelsey Griffin could help prove that to be an aberration. Before that happens, though, the Cornhuskers will likely have to go through No. 8 UCLA, a team that is far better than its seed would suggest, and No. 2 Notre Dame in the Elite Eight.

The Fighting Irish are an extremely versatile and deep squad and have a legitimate shot at reaching San Antonio.

Notre Dame has been tested — having played Connecticut three times this year — and has proven itself, with five wins see INSIDE WOMEN’S NCAA, page 8

Barchard is hockey’s first All-American

JOSH BERLINGER/TUFTS DAILY

Sophomore Scott Barchard was arguably the best goalie in Div. III hockey this season, and now he has the title to prove it. Barchard became the first ever All-American in the history of the Tufts program after he was named to the RBK Hockey/American Hockey Coaches Association All-America Second Team East squad. No one in New England Div. III history has had more saves — he had the most saves in the country this year with 986 — and Barchard also had the highest save percentage at .939. His strong play was a huge factor in Tufts having its best season since 2000-01.