2010-10-22

THE TUFTS DAILY

Sunny 52/35

TUFTSDAILY.COM

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2010

VOLUME LX, NUMBER 31

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Somerville named one of 100 top communities for youth

BY SMRITI

CHOUDHURY

Daily Staff Writer

Somerville last month nabbed a top spot in a nationwide competition seeking the best neighborhoods for youth.

The 100 Best Communities for Young People list, sponsored by financial institution ING, is designed to recognize communities that concentrate on the future of youth by decreasing high school dropout rates and preparing youth for college and the workforce.

This marks the second time that Somerville came out as one of the nation’s “100 Best.”

The city also earned the distinction in 2008, according to

Somerville Superintendent of Schools Tony Pierantozzi.

America’s Promise Alliance, a nation-wide partnership organization of businesses and non-profits aimed at improving youths’ lives, spearheaded the competition. The group received more than 350 community nominations from across the nation. The winning communities demonstrated efforts to improve educational opportunities for youth and implemented initiatives focused on youth health care and civic engagement.

Somerville spokesperson Jaclyn Rossetti said the city’s second recognition in the see SOMERVILLE, page 3

DILYS ONG/TUFTS DAILY

The MBTA is increasing its presence at a number of trouble stations, including Kendall and Central Square on the Red Line. Above, the Red Line’s Harvard Square station.

MBTA cracks down on fare evaders, steps up enforcement across system BY

LAINA PIERA

Contributing Writer

VIRGINIA BLEDSOE/TUFTS DAILY

Somerville last month earned the designation as one of the nation’s best communities for children and young adults.

Ad agencies embrace female empowerment as sales tactic

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is cracking down on would-be free riders who try to use the T without paying their fares.

More uniformed officers will be on watch for fare evaders on the subway system, and there will be an increase in plainclothes officers standing near the gates, according to MBTA Chief of Police Paul MacMillan.

“Our goal is to do selective enforcement and obtain voluntary compliance,” MacMillan told the Daily. “We do it on different days and different locations. We realize we can’t be at every gate all the time, but we

EMILIA LUNA

Daily Editorial Board

Open up a magazine or flip on the television, and odds are you’ll come across an ad that brands its product as “empowering,” particularly for women. Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty displays women of all races, shapes and sizes showing off their natural, Dove-smooth bodies. Verizon Wireless’s “Rule the Air” campaign touts that air, the particular medium of its service, “has no prejudice” against women. Even Victoria Secret’s Very Sexy campaign markets female sexuality as a source of girl power.

But is Verizon’s promise to provide female customers with the

same cell phone reception they offer males really “empowering,” and if not, why are so many brands latching on to a similar concept?

Professor Nancy Bauer, chair of the Department of Philosophy and expert in feminist philosophy, explained that the concept of empowerment is one that that has become culturally trendy.

“Even if people don’t talk about it, I think it is in the air, culturally,” she said.

But feminine empowerment, Bauer said, does not necessarily manifest in the disappearance of conventional female objectification or sexualization in advertissee ADVERTISING, page 3

“While Davis is not high on our list, problem stations in the area include Kendall and Central,” Lenehan said. “There are more entrances there than at Davis, and some have unattended areas. We try to rely on the honor system, but it doesn’t always happen, which is why we put police officers there.”

MacMillan said that the Green Line — an easy target for fare evaders on its trolley cars — will also feature a personnel increase.

“They have to open the rear doors, and there’s no fare box, so people can just get on without tapping their CharlieCards,” MacMillan said. see MBTA, page 2

Electrical work leaves Hodgdon Hall without power for longer than expected on Saturday BY

BY

can be at any gate at any time.”

Fare evasion most often occurs when individuals follow other riders through the turnstiles, MacMillan said. Others may attempt to run through an open gate or use reduced fare passes for which they are not eligible.

While fare evasion is not limited to certain stations, there are some locations that will be receiving more attention.

“We try to have a strong uniform presence, especially in places with a problem,” Robert Lenehan, Lieutenant Commander at MBTA Transit Police Service Area 2, told the Daily. Area 2 contains all Red Line stops from Alewife to Kendall, including Davis Square.

CORINNE SEGAL

Daily Editorial Board

Hodgdon Hall residents faced a longer-than-expected power shutdown on Saturday when scheduled maintenance repairs were compounded by the discovery of electrical problems.

The Department of Facilities Services informed residents in an e-mail earlier this month that Hodgdon’s power would be shut off on Saturday morning and afternoon while workers replaced a defunct transformer.

The e-mail specified that power would be shut off again from 7 to 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 16 while Facilities installed generator cables, and from 2 to 2:30 p.m. while work-

Inside this issue

ers reconnected the main service cables. Afternoon maintenance work lasted one hour longer than expected, however, due to the need for other electrical work, according to Vice President for Operations Dick Reynolds.

“It went about an hour longer in the afternoon because it turned out that some of the old cables were corroded and they had to be replaced,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds said that a transformer replacement was unusual.

Facilities, he said, discovered a problem with the transformer over the summer during routine testing of electrical equipment and wanted to install a new transformer quickly before it caused problems.

“What happened on Saturday

was not a routine occurrence,” Reynolds said. “It was unplanned work that was done to avert an emergency.”

Reynolds said the quick response was largely a preventative measure.

“We immediately ordered a new transformer and wanted to get that in as soon as possible, rather than waiting for the next holiday period, because there’d be risk of more serious damage if we lost it,” he said.

Reynolds said he had not received complaints from students regarding the maintenance.

Sophomore Zara Fishkin, a Hodgdon resident, said that since see HODGDON, page 3

Today’s Sections

Tufts and MIT researchers have developed a cost-effective way to produce a compound in an anti-cancer drug.

The Tisch Gallery plays host to an exhibition bridging the gap between art viewer and participant.

see page 2

see ARTS, page 5

News | Features Arts | Living Comics

1 5 8

Classifieds Sports

9 Back

THE TUFTS DAILY

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THE TUFTS DAILY BENJAMIN D. GITTLESON Editor-in-Chief

BY

Managing Editors

Matt Repka Executive News Editor Alexandra Bogus News Editors Michael Del Moro Nina Ford Amelie Hecht Corinne Segal Martha Shanahan Brent Yarnell Jenny White Daphne Kolios Assistant News Editors Kathryn Olson Romy Oltuski Executive Features Editor Sarah Korones Features Editors Alison Lisnow Emilia Luna Alexa Sasanow Derek Schlom Jon Cheng Assistant Features Editors Maya Kohli Amelia Quinn Emma Bushnell Executive Arts Editor Zach Drucker Arts Editors Mitchell Geller Rebecca Goldberg Benjamin Phelps Anna Majeski Assistant Arts Editors Rebecca Santiago Matthew Welch Rachel Oldfield Larissa Gibbs Elaine Sun Seth Teleky Devon Colmer Erin Marshall Lorrayne Shen Louie Zong Rebekah Liebermann Ashish Malhotra Josh Molofsky Alexandra Siegel

Executive Op-Ed Editor Assistant Op-Ed Editors Cartoonists

Editorialists

Philip Dear Executive Sports Editor Lauren Flament Sports Editors Jeremy Greenhouse Claire Kemp Ben Kochman Alex Lach Alex Prewitt Daniel Rathman Noah Schumer Ethan Sturm Assistant Sports Editor Aalok Kanani Meredith Klein Danai Macridi Andrew Morgenthaler Tien Tien Josh Berlinger Virginia Bledsoe Kristen Collins Alex Dennett Emily Eisenberg Dilys Ong Jodi Bosin Jenna S Liang Meagan Maher Ashley Seenauth

Executive Photo Editor Photo Editors

Assistant Photo Editors

Staff Photographers

Mick B. Krever Executive New Media Editor James Choca New Media Editors Kerianne Okie

PRODUCTION Leanne Brotsky Production Director Andrew Petrone Executive Layout Editor Sarah Davis Layout Editors Adam Gardner Jason Huang Jennifer Iassogna Alyssa Kutner Steven Smith Sarah Kester Assistant Layout Editor Zehava Robbins Executive Copy Editor Alexandra Husted Copy Editors Isabel Leon Vivien Lim Linh Dang Assistant Copy Editors Andrew Paseltiner Melissa Roberts Elisha Sum

MINYOUNG SONG Senior Staff Writer

Researchers from Tufts and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have come one step closer to making strides against cancer with the recent discovery of a more efficient and cost-effective method of producing taxadiene, the precursor to the anti-cancer drug Taxol.

Taxol, also known as Paclitaxel, has powerful medicinal properties and is used as a treatment for many types of cancers, including lung, ovarian and breast cancers, according to Blaine Pfeifer, the lead researcher on the project and an assistant professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Tufts.

The new technique, which creates the molecule taxadiene using E. coli bacteria, allows scientists to produce 1,000 times more of the molecule than previous engineered microbial techniques.

Researchers published the results of the project in the Oct. 1 issue of the journal Science.

Taxadiene was originally procured from the bark of the yew tree, but this technique was inefficient, according to Greg Stephanopoulos, a professor of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at MIT, who led the team of project researchers.

“It was inefficient because two to four fully grown trees of [the] age of 100 years had to be destroyed in order to extract enough materials for the treatment of one patient,” he said.

The 1990s saw progress as bioengineers resorted to extracting molecules from the needles of the decorative yew instead of relying on fully grown trees to produce Taxol, according to Stephanopoulos.

The overall yield, however, was nevertheless modest and uneconomical.

Researchers therefore became interested in the possibility of synthesizing Taxol through a procedure that was free of plant biology, according to Pfeifer.

Stephanopoulos noted that the solution was discovered within E. coli bacteria found in the intestinal tracts of warmblooded organisms.

The scientific procedure involves retrieving a cell from the yew tree and transplanting it into E. coli via molecular biological methods, Pfeifer said.

E. coli was chosen as the principal agent in this project, which relied on chemical engineering, because of its simple structure, according to Pfeifer.

“E. coli grows much more frequently, is easy to manipulate and is engineeringfriendly,” Pfeifer said.

The success the project achieved was groundbreaking, according to Yong Wang, a professor at East China University of Science and Technology, who contributed to the research.

“To get this kind of complex compound [Taxol] from E. coli without introducing additional pathways for precursor supply is unprecedented,” Wang told the Daily in an e-mail.

Ammar Khaku Executive Technical Manager Michael Vastola Technical Manager

BUSINESS Benjamin Hubbell-Engler Executive Business Director Laura Moreno Advertising Director Dwijo Goswami Receivables Manager The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community.

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JUSTIN MCCALLUM /TUFTS DAILY

Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering Blaine Pfeifer was the lead researcher on a project that improved the production of an anti-cancer drug.

Even though the taxadiene discovery presents just one step in Taxol production, Pfeifer views the project as a stepping stone for further advancements in the production of the anti-cancer agent.

“With this success, we hope that similar engineering can be done to reach the final compound,” Pfeifer said. “There’s hope that there must be a more cost-effective, resource-effective route towards Taxol.”

“We are also hopeful that we could make new derivatives of Taxol by manipulating the pathways to produce better anti-cancer drugs,” Pfeifer added.

Some of the noteworthy challenges

to the project were molecular biological in nature, like the obstacle of bottlenecks, which arise when a lack of enzymes slows molecular synthesis, according to Stephanopoulos.

“When bottleneck is overcome, then that allows the microorganism to synthesize the molecule at a much higher rate,” Stephanopoulos said.

National Institutes of Health, a federal organization that provides financial support for biomedical research, was one of the critical sources of funding for the project, which lasted about three years, according to Stephanopoulos.

More MBTA police on watch to combat fare evasion MBTA continued from page 1

Darcy Mann Executive Online Editor Audrey Kuan Online Editors Ann Sloan

Friday, October 22, 2010

Tufts researchers engineer new way to produce compound for anti-cancer drug

EDITORIAL Ellen Kan Carter Rogers

NEWS | FEATURES

The MBTA plans to impose harsher consequences for fare evasion at some point in the future.

“We are planning on increasing the fine, shortening the time period people have to pay the fine and continuing to not allow their licenses to be renewed,” MacMillan said.

Fines currently stand at $15 for a first offense, $100 for a second offense and $250 for additional offenses.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles prohibits fare evaders from renewing their driver’s license if the fine has not been paid within 90 days of its issuance, according to the MBTA’s website.

MacMillan described the increase

in vigilance as a continuation of the MBTA’s ongoing efforts to enforce fare payment.

“We have been addressing it for years now through our fare evasion program,” MacMillan said. “The fact that it got publicized recently is just an indication that we’ve been doing it for a while but the media finally called.”

A law enacted in January 2007 enabled the MBTA to issue citations for fare evasion for the first time, the Boston Globe reported that year. Prior to this, MBTA police could previously charge fare evaders with disorderly conduct if they resisted an officer’s request to pay the fare, according to the Globe.

All additional personnel are existing members of the MBTA Transit Police,

MacMillan said. He praised the cooperation between all departments of the MBTA in working together to fight fare evaders.

The MBTA will keep close watch over the commuter rail as well, as it lacks an automated system and is susceptible to counterfeit passes and expired tickets, Lenehan said. Fare evasion is not widespread on MBTA buses, he said.

Lenehan warned against the negative consequences of fare evasion.

“The average person thinks they don’t have to pay the fare because it’s too low, but people forget that if they don’t pay, everyone else will start paying for it,” he said. “None of us enjoy writing tickets, but it’s a real crime. It actually does have an impact; we have to make up the shortcomings.”

Correction Yesterday’s article “No. 4 field hockey team devastates Gordon” incorrectly stated that Bowdoin was in ninth place in the NESCAC with a 1-6 record in the conference. In fact, Williams holds these statistics.

THE TUFTS DAILY

Friday, October 22, 2010

Somerville gets top honors in nat’l youth ranking SOMERVILLE continued from page 1

competition reflects its achievements in creating youth programming.

“It’s really just a support of the fact that so many community partners are working with the city and the public schools to make programs for youth of all ages,” Rossetti told the Daily. She highlighted the arts, library programs, education and the childhood obesity program Shape Up Somerville as such examples.

Winners of the competition included communities in 37 states, 30 of which were first-time recipients. Somerville was one of five communities in Massachusetts that won a spot on the list. The other four Massachusetts winners were Barnstable County, Bedford, Brockton and Cambridge.

Each community was asked to complete an application over a 3-month period that detailed the community’s actions in targeting problems affecting youth, according to Jordan LaPier, senior director of 100 Best Communities for Young People.

“Somerville was chosen as one of the ‘100 Best Communities’ because of its ability to address its unique challenge of a densely populated community by bringing the Somerville community together to address problems that face their youth, such as substance abuse and high school dropouts,” LaPier told the Daily.

Rossetti emphasized collaboration among community members and organizations as a key factor that helped Somerville achieve the award.

“The biggest thing is the collaboration between the city and the schools and our businesses and community partners,” Rossetti said.

Pierantozzi was pleased by Somerville’s second distinction on the list.

“The educational faculty, as well as many municipal offices, such as the police and fire stations, continually support our youth, from sponsoring programs on drug prevention and healthy living choices to college scholarships,” Pierantozzi told the Daily. “The national recognition as a ‘100 Best’ further highlights the successful work Somerville has done to achieve a community collaboration to aid youth.”

The communities were honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 21, during which they received two honorary road signs and a trophy.

Nina Ford contributed reporting to this article.

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NEWS | FEATURES

Advertisers appeal to female pride but often don’t promote it ADVERTISING continued from page 1

ing — if these ads demonstrate anything, it is that female sexuality can actually be harnessed to communicate empowerment, she said. According to Bauer, Lady Gaga is the prime example of a public figure that embodies both.

“She dresses in these outrageous ways and is invested in the idea of presenting herself as totally different from anybody else and completely her own person, yet at the same time, she is still conventionally sexualized,” she said.

Bauer explained that even though Lady Gaga wears provocative clothing and high platforms and shows a lot of skin, she still has a conventionally attractive body.

“She sends the message that part of what empowerment is, is exactly what the culture is showing,” Bauer said. “Feminine sexuality is a kind of power that can be wielded, provided that you are genuinely accepted in a feminine way.”

Sophomore Kelsea Carlson, a prospective women’s studies major, said that themes relating to female pride, now more than ever, pervade the advertisements she sees on television.

“One of the main examples that comes to mind is the Gillette Venus razor ads that generally display women getting ready to go out but rarely, if ever, show men,” she said. “This shows that a woman feeling sexy and confident comes from within herself, rather than [from] the gratification of a man,” Carlson said.

Junior Eva Sikes thinks that Dove’s campaign, in particular, successfully capitalizes on appealing images of self-esteem.

“They use rhetoric about healthy body image … to capture women’s interests, which seems to undermine the mainstream pressures women feel to look a certain way or behave a certain way,” she said.

Yet the question remains whether these commercials actually promote female empowerment and self-esteem or simply capitalize on the appeal of those ideas, Sikes said. The same ad company that runs the Dove campaign, Unilever, is responsible for Axe commercials, which feature female bodies as hyper-sexualized props for male consumers’ enjoyment, she pointed out.

“They’re selling self-esteem there, too, for the average American young male, but the ways in which self-esteem is defined for men versus women is really different,” she said.

Modhumita Roy, a faculty member of the English Department and the director of the women’s studies program, agreed. Ultimately, she said, female empowerment in advertisements is just another cheap method to appeal to potential buyers.

“We need to look at the bigger picture and see whether advertisers put these images in our vision for empowerment

TIEN TIEN/TUFTS DAILY

Advertisers have been increasingly integrating empowering messages in their ads, but some question whether they’re promoting anything positive or just selling products. and equality or just use them to sell more things,” Roy said. “That’s a tricky business.

Usually, it’s because empowerment sells.

They’ve realized there’s a particular constituency that wants to see this empowerment in the mix. And I’m not certain this is out of any kind of political commitments. I feel a little uncomfortable equating buying things to our empowerment. It reminds me a little bit of Bush asking us to go shopping after 9/11.”

But, as Roy expected, empowerment is marketable, and according to a recent New York Times report, more and more advertising agencies are tapping into this knowledge and filling their ads with a sense of female pride.

Bauer pointed out that while many advertisements create the illusion of promoting female empowerment and pride, they sometimes simultaneously undermine those very values. While Dove’s campaign claims to support self-esteem for women of all body types, she said, it does not exactly stand by the message it sells.

“The fact of the matter is that virtually everybody they show is still nowhere near as imperfect as some female bodies in reality are,” she said.

Assistant Professor of Sociology Sarah Sobieraj, who teaches Media and Society, emphasized that even those advertisements that do manage to portray female empowerment effectively are not necessarily feminist.

“These ads don’t strike me as particularly feminist,” she said. “Gender inequality creates real, very powerful challenges for women in the United States and globally — poverty, violence, discrimination — none of which are solved by choosing one

running shoe over another, and at some level it’s anti-feminist. Selling girl power wrapped in acne medicine and cellulite cream is eye-roll worthy.”

Bauer agreed, explaining that many ads empower potential customers only superficially — for a long enough time to attract buyers, but not enough to have any longlasting or significant effects on viewers.

“What can feel to somebody at one moment as pride can very quickly dissolve and evolve into a feeling of simply being an object of a culture,” Bauer said. “A lot of times, the gambit that women take to present themselves as feminine and to sexualize themselves in a feminine way doesn’t produce the kinds of results that all the ads promise they’ll produce. And even when they do, it’s much more complicated than merely being empowered. The real world is much more complicated.”

Both Sobieraj and Carlson agreed, explaining that marketers and advertisers have one goal in mind: to sell products.

“What the ads really offer women is what advertising today offers all of us — urgent prompting to express our unique and irrepressible individuality through the consumption of mass-produced and -marketed consumer goods,” Sobieraj said.

Advertisers are more astute than kind or caring, Carlson said.

“It is not necessarily the ads that are trying to promote equality, but rather they know that more and more women are feeling empowered, and showing empowered women is more likely to sell a product,” she said.

Romy Oltuski contributed reporting to this article.

Facilities schedules power shutoff to avert future outages HODGDON continued from page 1

MEGAN MAHER/TUFTS DAILY

Students living in Hodgdon faced a scheduled power shutoff on Saturday while workers replaced an electrical apparatus at the dormitory.

residents received notice of the repairs, they were able to plan accordingly.

“If they hadn’t informed us, it would be just like any other power outage, but since it was a scheduled maintenance, it shouldn’t have caused any other issues,” she said.

Fishkin added, though, that some residents had issues when they lost connection to the Internet. “It was inconvenient for some people because it wasn’t just the power that went out, it was the Internet that went out, too,” Fishkin said.

Sophomore Travis Kahn, a Hodgdon resident, said the power shutoff did not affect any of his electronic devices, as far as he knew. He said the repair work did not pose a problem for him.

“If it has to happen again, I have no objection,” he said.

Reynolds said transformers usually last for a long time, and replacing one on Saturday was a

rare occurrence.

“That’s really quite unusual.

These things last for a long time,” he said. “While I don’t know for certain, I wouldn’t be surprised if that transformer hasn’t been there since they built Hodgdon.”

Facilities routinely inspects buildings to ensure functionality, according to Reynolds.

“We look at all the utility infrastructures on a regular basis, particularly the electrical [systems],” he said. “That was why we do those investigations — so that we can, as best as possible, try to stay up on the potential for problems that might occur and see if we can fix them before they turn into an emergency.”

Reynolds called the event “conscious repair work,” pointing out that the purpose of the maintenance was to prevent a future power outage.

“The point of it was to avoid the transformer blowing up and having no power for a lengthy period of time while we replaced it,” he said.

THE TUFTS DAILY

4

NEWS | FEATURES

Friday, October 22, 2010

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Arts & Living

5

tuftsdaily.com

ALBUM REVIEW

Sufjan Stevens addresses darker themes in ‘The Age of Adz’ BY

WES ENGEL

Daily Staff Writer

“The Age of Adz” is eclectic singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens’ first full-length studio

The Age of Adz Sufjan Stevens Asthmatic Kitty Records album in five years, but it may not be what fans have been waiting for. While fans of Stevens’ earlier music might be put off by the radical change in style, though, “The Age of Adz” is still a strong record.

The opening track, “Futile Devices,” makes use of the mellow instrumentation and breathy singing that were Stevens’ claims to fame, but the album immediately branches out into far more electronic and thickly layered arrangements. The mixes are saturated with numerous strange digital instruments and noises.

It’s a stark contrast to the open, acoustic sounds of “Illinois” (2005) or “Michigan” (2003), but “The Age of Adz” is a totally unique and interesting departure for Stevens. He explores a lot of new territory and crafts an engaging series of songs exploring aging, bitterness and disillusionment.

Thematically, the album is darker and more personal than previous outings, but there’s a wide range of musical approaches to these themes. Frequently, the entire atmosphere of a song will change multiple times within a single track.

The busy, almost cluttered arrangements allow for dynamics in both directions. Songs can build to heavy crescendos of noise but also drop back to just a single rhythm track accompanied by Stevens’ intimate vocals.

Compared to the soft, airy vocals of previous albums, Stevens uses a wider range of deliveries in “The Age of Adz” to match the more extensive

musical backdrops. Extensive use of different reverbs, echoes and other effects also adds to the variety of the vocals.

The heavy reliance on effects and electronics doesn’t always pay off, however. During parts of “Impossible Soul,” the 25-minute final track, Stevens employs the overused Auto-Tune, which seems out of place. Other songs, such as “Bad Communication,” use jarring noises or screeches in a way that feels at odds with the simple vocal melodies and dreamy harmonies.

The best thing that can be said about “The Age of Adz” is that it is a very diverse production.

One never knows what to expect next, and styles or instrumentation can change radically from moment to moment. This helps keep the long songs — and there are a lot of them — from feeling too long.

It can be hard to tell when one song has finished and another

GALLERY REVIEW

AMAZON.COM

‘The Age of Adz’ is different, but certainly never boring.

see SUFJAN, page 6

BOOK REVIEW

‘A Week at the Airport’ takes off but remains grounded BY

ALLISON DEMPSEY Daily Staff Writer

Sometimes the most mundane things make for the most compelling stories.

Such is the case with Alain de Botton’s

A Week at the Airport Alain de Botton

Profile Books

COURTESY ALONSO NICHOLS

A photo studio is among the many facets of the exhibition.

‘Renovating Walden’ breaks down barriers of art exhibits BY

ANNA FURMAN

Contributing Writer

A Ouija board, stacks of books, pinecones, mushrooms, glass boxes and a refrigerator — an endless stream of objects inhabits the walls and floors of the Tisch Gallery in the current exhibit, “Renovating Walden.”

The installation, spearheaded by artists J. Morgan Puett and Mark Dion, will be at the gallery from Sept. 9 to Nov. 14. The exhibition explores the Transcendentalist Movement and Henry David Thoreau’s seminal 1854 book, “Walden, or, Life in the Woods.”

“Renovating Walden” was developed at Mildred’s Lane, Puett and Dion’s artists colony in Pennsylvania, which uses an experimental and social approach to art making. At the core of this exhibition is the rethinking of “being as a practice,” which parallels Thoreau’s assertion that “being is the great explainer.”

The multidisciplinary exhibition is composed of a series of talks, or “lyceums,” held in the gallery about “Walden,” a photographer’s studio and the construction of a cabin in the gallery. This combination is completely unconventional in its attempt to convert art viewers into art participants by providing a space that is interactive and functional.

The first room of the gallery is where

the lyceums are held. The walls of the room are decorated with items of a rational, hierarchical style. Oddly, this mathematical structure is aesthetically pleasing against the backdrop of a pinegreen wall. The objects dotting these walls do not seem to have intentional placements in relation to each other, beyond their aesthetic harmony.

The room features a medley of chairs and round tables, all at different levels and some even topped with pillows. These directly invite the visitor to inhabit the space and make it necessary for the visitor to explore the space. In this sense, this arrangement is reminiscent of Allan Kaprow’s “Yard” — a gallery courtyard he filled with tires — because the visitor must navigate through the work using his or her own body.

When I had to weave through the maze of furniture pieces, I felt active in a way that is atypical for a formal gallery setting. In this way, the exhibition engages a childlike yearning to explore and to examine stimuli with wonder.

The first room’s space endorses the sort of intellectual curiosity that spans across disciplines but studies particular facets. The objects on the salon’s walls suggest a range of interests, from scientific classifications of species to spiri-

newest nonfiction work, “A Week at the Airport.” De Botton, a renowned philosophical writer known for such works as “The Art of Travel” (2002) and “The Architecture of Happiness” (2006), now explores travel on its most basic level: the fundamentals of life at the airport.

In August 2009, British Airways asked de Botton to serve as the “writer-in-residence” for one week at London’s Heathrow Airport. He would sleep in an airport hotel, eat only airport food and while away the hours exploring the mechanics behind airport security, checked luggage, flight delays and passenger antics.

Heathrow, the busiest airport in the European Union, sees a total of approximately 185,000 passengers per day, so de Botton by no means lacked material.

Upon first consideration, de Botton’s work hardly seems worthy of a book at all. The airport is merely a pit stop on the way to the final destination, the stopover that everyone must experience but that no one considers a vital part of their travel experience. It is stressful, crowded, timeconsuming and expensive — necessary but not enjoyable.

Fans of travel writing as a genre will likely be surprised by de Botton’s endeavor. He does not explore any of the recognizable facets of travel writing: He doesn’t travel to any foreign lands, and he doesn’t venture into the unfamiliar.

A book about the worst parts of a vacation — one of life’s most enjoyable leisure activities — does not sound appealing.

However, de Botton uses his loquacious and articulate methods to draw the reader in and present a view of this usual hassle in an entirely different light.

De Botton looks beyond the trials and tribulations of air travel and exposes a see AIRPORT, page 6

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

see WALDEN, page 6

Author Alain de Botton in his newest book turns the airport into more than just a pit stop.

6

THE TUFTS DAILY

Friday, October 22, 2010

ARTS & LIVING

COURTESY ALONSO NICHOLS

The lyceums, talks led by Tufts professors from various disciplines, are held in the first room of the gallery, a space filled with a hodgepodge of objects.

Puett and Morgan’s exhibit explores the multi-faceted legacy of Thoreau WALDEN continued from page 5

tual pursuit, to aesthetic appreciation of nature.

Topics of lyceums have ranged from “Drawing Rooms and Disturbed Consciences: Parlor Politics on the Anti-Slavery Home Front,” taught by Assistant Professor Radiclani Clytus of the English Department and American Studies Program, to “What does Thoreau teach us about sustainability?,” taught

by Professor Gilbert Metcalf of the Department of Economics.

Future events include a discussion about the philosophical significance of Thoreau’s “Walden,” a performance by the Tufts Dance Ensemble in response to the ideas and receptions of Thoreau and open class sessions. This compre-

hensive approach to learning is reminiscent of Aristotle’s Lyceum and Black Mountain College (1933-57), both institutions that promoted active dialogue and cross-disciplinary exploration.

This demonstrates the practicality of this intentional space in the same way that Mildred’s Lane provides a site for collaboration and explorative learning for artists.

In the central room, a cabin construction project attracts a flow of people and uses a variety of tools. This more social art system is unconventional, both in the workers’ experiences with one another, and with the visitor’s experience wading through equipment and people in the gallery space. The cabin is intended as an inspired response to the exhibition itself, capitalizing on

the integration of discourse and participation as a theme in the exhibit.

The artist’s goal is to make a process of the social methods of work, and the exhibition is more concerned with this process than with its final result.

The process of learning outside of a conventional framework connects to the focus of “Renovating Walden” on system rather than product. The replicated cabin within the gallery has been evolving, but the fact that the cabin’s construction will cease and the exhibition will eventually be over suggests that everything we experience is temporary, and that life itself is fleeting. Parallel to Jackson Pollock’s emphasis on the event of painting instead of the final product of a painted canvas, the event of constructing a cabin is seemingly

more important than what the cabin as a product will look like.

In the central room of the exhibit, this theme of repeated forms that are concurrently chaotic and organized is explored even further with a large arrangement of woodworking tools. This styling suggests that out of the chaos of life, humans like to find structure and document it, but at a certain level, entropy will always exist and be relevant to life.

While the goal of bridging art and the outside world is near impossible, “Renovating Walden” succeeds in exploring crosscurrents of social, artistic and educational practices.

A public closing reception with the artists will occur on Nov. 12, and in the meantime, the gallery is open to all visitors or, in this case, participants.

Sufjan Stevens’ album ‘The Age of Adz’ proves lively and unique

Alain De Botton’s new book turns airport banality into insight

SUFJAN

AIRPORT

continued from page 5

continued from page 5

has started, but this usually works to Stevens’ advantage. “The Age of Adz” is one of Stevens’ most coherent albums, flowing seamlessly from start to finish. Compared to previous records, “The Age of Adz” is more about the listening experience of the whole album than of any track in particular. Songs that might not be immediately accessible as singles are improved when listened to in the context of the rest of the album. With the long final song especially, one needs to set aside a block of time to listen through and enjoy the experience.

Certainly, the record is never boring.

Many tracks aren’t as melodic as one might expect, but the complex layering of instruments and electronic noises, as well as the sheer variety of sounds, keeps the album interesting for its entire duration.

For those who can appreciate the more experimental aspects of the album, “The Age of Adz” definitely warrants a listen.

It sounds like nothing else out there, and in the end, just the multitude of sounds and feelings within the larger, unifying framework mark “The Age of Adz” as a successful accomplishment.

certain charm in the way we get from place to place.

“Nowhere was the airport’s charm more concentrated,” he writes, “than on the screens placed at intervals across the terminal which announced … the itineraries of aircraft about to take to the skies.”

People arriving at the airport are struck with a sense of wonder at the names of far-off destinations and the treasures they may hold, all the more elusive due to the lack of information on these screens; they are “all … promises of alternative lives, to which we might appeal at moments of claustrophobia and stagnation.”

The book consists of four sections: “Approach,” “Departures,” “Airside” and “Arrivals.” Each chapter chronicles a different facet of airport activity, from checkin and life in an airport hotel to baggage claim and the wide variety of shops available to passengers.

Full-color photographs accompany the text throughout the book, putting an artistic spin on the seemingly banal nature of hours spent at the airport.

De Botton truly tries to become one with his surroundings. He sets up a desk in the middle of Terminal 5, the

COURTESY DENNY RENSHAW

Sufjan Stevens is back with a new sound on his latest album.

international terminal, and attempts to befriend passers-by and learn their stories. Characters vary from a man living a double life with two families on two different continents, completely ignorant of each other, to an ordinary family of four taking a much-deserved vacation.

De Botton’s philosophical background clearly shines through as he weaves his tale of airport life. His accounts need the extra depth he adds: an hour-by-hour chronicle of eating airport food and people-watching would not, alone, keep a reader interested for over a hundred pages.

He analyzes the heavy anticipation of a vacation, the excitement involved in planning and waiting and then the immediate crash to reality as the selfcheck-in kiosk malfunctions, the flight is delayed or the transportation on the arrival end doesn’t show up.

“A Week at the Airport” helps us to better understand the mechanisms behind transporting us from place to place, and though the airport is a temporary destination, de Botton says, “We will recover an appetite for packing, hoping, and screaming. We will need to go back and learn the important lessons of the airport all over again soon.”

Friday, October 22, 2010

THE TUFTS DAILY

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COMICS

Friday, October 22, 2010

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NFL player safety takes center stage in Players’ Association debates INSIDE NFL continued from page 12

was not unanimously ratified by the league’s players. Defenders bemoaned the fines, saying that they stripped away the aggression and the “hit ’em in the mouth” mentality that have defined football for years. Others said they will continue to play the same way because they can’t afford to be cautious when coming in for a hit, since it could give the receiver the opportunity to break the tackle and escape.

But tell that to Jackson, Cribbs, Massaquoi or Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who has suffered multiple concussions in his brief career. Worse, tell it to Rutgers University defensive tackle Eric LeGrand, who may have been par-

alyzed from the neck down after going in head first to make a hit in the team’s game on Saturday against Army.

The NFL has no intention of dismantling the smash-mouth style of football that was popularized in the 1980s by then-Chicago Bears linebacker and current San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary. In fact, current Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher has been one of the most outspoken against change, suggesting that the NFL is turning into “the National Flag Football League.”

But the league has an obligation to protect its players — to keep them on the field during their careers and to ensure that they can lead normal lives after retirement.

Many of the NFL’s best defensive

players have kept their hits legal and, as a result, have never been flagged or fined for a helmet-to-helmet blow.

New York Jets’ cornerback Darrelle Revis, one of the toughest defenders for receivers to beat, is also one of the cleanest defensive backs in the league.

Patrick Willis, Singletary’s protege in San Francisco, whose 514 career tackles are the most for any single player since Willis entered the NFL, has never elicited any reprimand from the league.

With the NFL considering tacking two more games onto the current 16-game regular season schedule, and the NFL Players’ Association haggling with the owners over the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, the issue of safety in football will take center stage

over the next several months.

Players are concerned that the 18-game schedule will result in even more serious injuries, partly because injuries happen every weekend, and partly because players are more likely to get hurt when they are fatigued.

Of all the injuries that players can sustain on a football field, repeated concussions have some of the worst long-term consequences after they retire from the NFL. And although many of those players will have earned millions of dollars during their careers — compensation, in part, for the risks that they take — no amount of money is worth living 40 years with chronic headaches, mental illnesses and the inability to lead a normal life.

Recklessness of defense appeals to crossover Jumbos on football squad FOOTBALL continued from page 11

linemen in Croteau and Gardner, in addition to a regular contributor in Levinsky. In 2009, Croteau led all Tufts receivers in yards per catch, while Gardner saw special teams action as a freshman while playing behind All-NESCAC fullback Noah Hatfield-Biondo (LA ’10).

Through three games in 2010, Levinsky has added a pair of tackles, and he recovered a fumble

in the season-opener against Hamilton, while Croteau, who has played sparingly since suffering an injury early in the season, has tallied three tackles. Gardner has been a rock on the defensive line, recording 14 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a team-high 4.5 tackles for loss while starting in all four of the Jumbos’ contests.

All told, the three have contributed to a defensive unit that’s fourth in the NESCAC in scoring defense, first in pass defense and

fifth in sacks. In this sense, moving to the spread offense has benefited the defense as well.

“Just in terms of volume, we’ve had two more rotational guys who have gotten a lot of reps, and Ian is right on the cusp of that,” Scott Rynne, the team’s defensive coordinator, said. “There are three guys right there who we wouldn’t have, had there been a fullback and a tight end in our offense.

“I think they’ve been flourish-

ing, and I’ve been very impressed with what they’ve done,” he continued. “I think where we’ve been in preseason and in the first half of the season, those guys have done everything we’ve asked them to do and have been solid defensive contributors.”

As Tufts attempts to end a three-game losing streak when undefeated Williams arrives at Zimman Field on Saturday for the Parents Weekend game, the defensive line will be anchored

by some relatively fresh faces.

For now, though, the trio is simply enjoying the thrill that comes with being a little bit more reckless on defense.

“You get to do a lot more yelling and screaming as you just try to make a play out there,” Levinsky said. “Offense is much [calmer] and cool as you try to do everything right and do your job. On defense, though, it’s all about being reckless and flying around and making tackles.”

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THE TUFTS DAILY

Friday, October 22, 2010

11

SPORTS

Tufts places 30th of 37 in golf championship

FOOTBALL

GOLF continued from page 12

with an 80, while Moll had the lowest single-day score for the Jumbos with a 78 on Monday.

“Golf is a game of honor,” Shapiro said. “Sometimes the game just doesn’t go your way.”

Adam Vaccari of UConn won the tournament with a combined score of 143, edging Kevin Josephson of Central Connecticut State University on the second hole of a playoff.

After the competition, Shapiro, Moll and Heffernan reflected on the past four years of playing together.

“We have a great atmosphere, a great camaraderie,” Shapiro said.

The Jumbos credit their coach, Bob Sheldon, for a great deal of their success over their years as players and during the tournament this week.

JOSH BERLINGER/TUFTS DAILY

Sophomore Sam Gardner, second from left in a game against Hamilton, has excelled since converting to a defensive lineman and ranks second on the team with 1.5 sacks.

Positional switch pays off for three Jumbos

Cal Shapiro senior tri-captain

New scheme forces change from offensive to defensive line BY

ALEX PREWITT

Daily Editorial Board

There are some days when Ian Levinsky still longs to catch a touchdown pass, to be an integral part of the offense again and feel the glory of surging into the end zone.

As it turns out, blindsiding a quarterback feels pretty good, too.

When coach Bill Samko and offensive coordinator Jay Civetti in February made the executive decision to switch the football team’s offense to a fast-paced spread attack, the Jumbos found themselves no longer needing the fullbacks and tight ends that were previously a staple of its traditional I-formation set. With as many as five wide receivers lined up at any given time, players like Levinsky were left homeless with nowhere to fit into the nohuddle scheme.

That is, until they found a home on the other side of the ball.

Levinsky and Nick Croteau, both juniors, and sophomore Sam Gardner make up the three Jumbos who, as a direct result of the formational change on

offense, were nudged over to the defensive line. Thus far, the trio has thrived in its new role.

“It’s been a great move,” Levinsky said.

“We talk about it every day. It’s more about going forward and really full-on; we’re just having a lot of fun out there being able to smash people.”

According to Samko, part of the reason why the coaching staff felt so comfortable switching to the spread formation was because of the quality of athletes at the “big-skill” positions like tight end and fullback. Natural playmakers such as Levinsky, Croteau and Gardner, reasoned Samko, would fit in regardless of their position on paper.

“I think most guys here really don’t have a huge personal ego. It’s really about team stuff, and they were willing to make moves for the team,” Samko said. “We thought about this before we implemented the system. We have a real hard time finding a lot of big-skill guys, because there just aren’t enough of them out there. So part of the benefit of going to this system is that it allows you to move some pieces around.”

“Golf is a game of honor. ...

Sometimes the game just doesn’t go your way.”

At the high school level, it’s hardly uncommon to witness the most athletic players starring on both offense and defense, but specialization becomes more imperative as the physicality and skill level increases in the collegiate game.

For Levinsky and Croteau, the positional switch heading into the offseason came as a total surprise. Yet both had doubled as defensive linemen before coming to Tufts, thus shortening their adjustment period.

“I had heard that they were going to the spread, but I didn’t know whether they would keep me at tight end or make me into a receiver. I didn’t think that they would make me into a defensive lineman,” Croteau said. “But it was much easier than I thought it was going to be.

It probably took me less time to learn the defense than it would have to learn the new offense.”

“For me, it was just about unlocking what I learned in high school and remembering what to do,” Levinsky said.

Had the switch not occurred, the Jumbos would be without two starting defensive see FOOTBALL, page 9

“Bob Sheldon put his heart on the line, running around out there for us, and knew exactly what to say to encourage us,” Shapiro said.

Looking forward, the Jumbos feel they have a strong core of younger players.

“We have some good young players and will be strong” in future seasons, Moll said.

The current seniors aren’t done quite yet, however, and will look to strengthen in the offseason for the spring season.

“We hoped to run with the momentum in the middle of the season,” Shapiro said, referring to earlier in the fall.

“Hopefully we can put it together for one last hurrah,” he said.

Heffernan agreed.

“We got the feeling like we were gonna kill it,” Heffernan said of the middle of the season.

The captains, plus senior Lindsay Walker, have a few final chances to play together and leave their mark on the golf team this spring.

Editors' Challenge | Week 7 We’re going down to Eds’ Challenge, going to have ourselves a time. Friendly faces everywhere, egotistical folks with all sorts of temptations, but correct picks to more than compensate for those sin-laced nights. Going down to Eds’ Challenge, going to leave our woes behind.

Parking is hardly ample at the Daily, and no one is really that friendly, because it’s totally a cutthroat atmosphere. Well, that theme song degenerated quickly.

Crass and rude references to Mel Gibson, Satan and that one bearded Iraqi leader who was found in a hole aside, it’s time for Week 7 of the NFL challenge for the Daily sports section, where we try to push the envelope.

Back in first place after sitting in second for Week 6 is Ethan “Butters Stotch” Sturm, who moved into the top spot following a 10-4 week and now sits one game in the lead with a 56-34 overall mark. Little does he know, however, that this is all just a clever ruse created by the rest of the staff and that his gullibility will eventually be his demise that sinks him into last.

Moving up into a tie for second is Steve “Stan Marsh” Smith, whose 11-3 week was enough to bring him into the esteemed company of Jeremy “Chef” Greenhouse, the defending champion and cooking extraordinaire. Rumor has it that Greenhouse may be killed off from Eds’ OVERALL RECORD LAST WEEK

Challenge because of his ideological differences with the rest of the staff.

Sitting in a two-way tie for fourth is Alex “Towelie” Lach, who was barely awake enough to make his picks, and Alex “Kenny McCormick” Prewitt, the impoverished writer of these Editors’ Challenge blurbs. Lach moved up to 54-36 overall after going 11-3 last week, as did Prewitt, who redeemed himself after an embarrassing Week 7 and will look to make it through the rest of this paragraph without getting kille— Whoops. Someone killed Prewitt. Whatever. Anyway, back to the standings. Alone in sixth place is the boss of the section, Phil “Eric Cartman” Dear, whose stellar 11-3 mark bumped him up one game ahead of Claire “Sheila Broflovski” Kemp, who sits at 52-38.

Further down the list is Noah “Kyle Broflovski” Schumer, whose 6-8 week knocked him down all the way from third place into sole possession of eighth. One game behind Schumer is Lauren “Wendy Testaburger” Flament, who is slowly moving her way up from the cellar and into ninth at 50-40. Finally, in a tie for last place, way down in Hell with Satan (too soon? too mean?) and Daniel “Randy Marsh” Rathman and Ben “Mr./Ms. Garrison” Kochman. At least they’re finally above .500. And the token guest picker this week is Aalok “Token” Kanani.

Ethan

Jeremy

Steve

Alex L.

Alex P.

Phil

Claire

Noah

Lauren

Daniel

Ben

56-34 10-4

55-35 8-6

55-35 11-3

54-36 11-3

54-36 11-3

53-37 11-3

52-38 9-5

51-39 6-8

50-40 10-4

47-43 7-7

47-43 9-5

Jacksonville at Kansas City Kansas City Philadelphia Philadelphia at Tennessee Baltimore Buffalo at Baltimore Cleveland at New Orleans New Orleans Washington Washington at Chicago Atlanta Cincinnati at Atlanta Pittsburgh Pittsburgh at Miami San Francisco at Carolina San Francisco St. Louis St. Louis at Tampa Bay Seattle Arizona at Seattle New England at San Diego New England Denver Oakland at Denver Green Bay Minnesota at Green Bay NY Giants NY Giants at Dallas

Kansas City Tennessee Baltimore New Orleans Chicago Atlanta Pittsburgh San Francisco Tampa Bay Seattle New England Denver Green Bay NY Giants

Kansas City Kansas City Kansas City Kansas City Kansas City Kansas City Kansas City Kansas City Kansas City Tennessee Tennessee Philadelphia Tennessee Philadelphia Tennessee Philadelphia Philadelphia Tennessee Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore New Orleans New Orleans New Orleans New Orleans New Orleans New Orleans New Orleans New Orleans New Orleans Washington Chicago Chicago Washington Chicago Chicago Washington Washington Chicago Atlanta Atlanta Atlanta Cincinnati Atlanta Atlanta Atlanta Atlanta Atlanta Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Miami Pittsburgh San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco Tampa Bay St. Louis St. Louis St. Louis St. Louis St. Louis Tampa Bay Tampa Bay St Louis Seattle Seattle Seattle Seattle Seattle Seattle Seattle Seattle Seattle New England New England New England New England San Diego New England New England San Diego San Diego Denver Denver Denver Denver Denver Denver Denver Denver Denver Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota Green Bay Green Bay Green Bay Green Bay Minnesota NY Giants Dallas NY Giants NY Giants NY Giants NY Giants Dallas Dallas NY Giants

GUEST Aalok Kanani Kansas City Philadelphia Baltimore New Orleans Washington Atlanta Pittsburgh San Francisco St. Louis Seattle New England Denver Minnesota Dallas

Sports

12

INSIDE Football 11 Editors’ Challenge 11

tuftsdaily.com

VOLLEYBALL

Senior Night ends in disappointing loss to Endicott BY

DAVID MCINTYRE Daily Staff Writer

The volleyball team wanted nothing more than to add to its two-match winning streak and honor senior quad-captains VOLLEYBALL (7-3 NESCAC, 16-7 Overall) Cousens Gym, Wednesday Endicott Tufts

14 25 25 25 — 3 25 23 14 22 — 1

Dawson Joyce-Mendive, Nancy Shrodes, Caitlin Updike and Kelly Engelking on Wednesday’s Senior Night.

But playing without sophomore setter Kendall Lord, and with Updike leaving after the first set, the Jumbos were unable to close out the pesky Endicott Gulls.

The Jumbos dominated the first frame, jumping out to a 21-8 lead and continuing to stay ahead by at least 7 points. After the first set, though, Updike was forced to withdraw from the match due to a lingering ankle injury that she suffered Oct. 9 against Middlebury.

“My ankle feels OK,” Updike said. “I could only play one set today, though, so I can make sure I play as much as possible in our upcoming matches.” Updike finished with eight kills in her one set of play.

Losing their star hitter with only one set in the books was clearly a blow to the Jumbos, and the match went steeply downhill from there.

The Gulls eked out a 25-23 win in the second frame. Tufts rallied to within 23-21 on the service game of junior libero Audrey Kuan, who is also an online editor for the Daily, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Endicott’s fierce attack, led by senior hitter Brittany Phillips, who finished with 15 kills and 10 digs.

The Gulls then took the third set with ease, thoroughly dominating the Jumbos to win the frame 25-14. With Endicott up 2-1 heading into the final set, all signs pointed to an easy Gulls victory.

But the Jumbos did not go quietly, building a five-point lead against a Gulls team that came into the match with a 16-12 overall record. Ultimately, however, Endicott would not be denied — the team quickly rallied to tie the score at 21 and then reeled off three straight points,

eventually took the set 25-22.

It was clearly a disappointing defeat for Tufts, which dropped to 16-7 on the year.

“We’ve had some adjustments in the lineup, and we just weren’t able to pull this game out,” junior Cara Spieler, who led Tufts with 13 digs in the losing effort, said. “We’ve got to keep our heads up high and make adjustments in practice.”

Playing a significant role in the match was the limited action from Updike, Tufts’ leading hitter and a NESCAC Player of the Week earlier in the season. The Jumbos were also forced to play without Lord, who leads the team with nearly 10 assists per set and is currently taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons. But even though they were playing shorthanded, the Jumbos refuse to make excuses.

“It’s not just about Caitlin’s ankle; everyone has to step up and play better when our backs are against the wall,” head coach Cora Thompson said.

“We’re struggling with our consistency.

We’ve had moments of brilliance this year; it’s just a matter of stringing those moments together.”

The loss hides the fact that a few members of the Jumbos squad had some of their best performances of the season on Wednesday night. For example, in Lord’s absence, freshman Michaela Sinrod had an impressive 47 assists in her first career start.

“Obviously, it’s a lot of pressure, but I felt prepared,” Sinrod said. “We played really hard, but unfortunately, it didn’t pan out, and it was tough not being able to get the win on Senior Night.”

The Jumbos must put the loss against the Gulls behind them quickly, as they travel this weekend to South Hadley, Mass., for the Hall of Fame Invitational Tournament.

The tournament represents the start of the final stretch of the season for Tufts, which has just one other tournament — the Judges Classic at Brandeis — before the NESCAC Championships in November.

“We’re ready for the last part of the season,” sophomore Brittany Neff, who had three kills against Endicott, said.

“We’ve learned from this game, and we’re going to come out this weekend with fire.”

ANDREW MORGENTHALER/TUFTS DAILY

First-year setter Michaela Sinrod had 47 assists in her first-ever collegiate start, but Tufts ultimately fell on Senior Night.

INSIDE THE NFL

GOLF

Concussions and fines shock NFL BY

Golf team ends fall season in frustration

DANIEL RATHMAN

Daily Editorial Board

A receiver streaks across the field to make a catch. A defender charges from his position nearby and launches himself head first at the receiver in hopes of dislodging the ball.

The two collide and fall to the turf, motionless or slow to get up. One gets a hefty fine, the other a concussion.

That sequence of events has become routine in today’s NFL, where helmet-to-helmet hits are praised by those who enjoy watching players get “jacked up” and derided by those who worry about their safety. On Sunday, several players were forced to leave their games as a result of violent collisions, including Cleveland Browns receivers Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi and Philadelphia Eagles star wideout DeSean Jackson.

Earlier this week, the league responded by handing out a $50,000 fine to Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson, who delivered the hit on Jackson and recieved a concussion of his own. The NFL also issued a $75,000 bill to

BY

HARRY POTTER

Daily Staff Writer

MCT

DeSean Jackson (10) and Dunta Robinson, pictured behind Christopher Owens, both suffered concussions as a result of this recent helmet-to-helmet collision.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who KO’ed both Cribbs and Massaquoi and has a reputation for going out of his way to harm other players.

The commissioner’s office also threatened players who continue to hit defenseless

receivers or lead with their helmet when making tackles — including first-time offenders — with suspensions.

However, the emphasis on avoiding helmet-to-helmet hits see INSIDE NFL, page 9

After mixed results last month and early this month, the golf team sought to end its season on a high note on Monday and Tuesday at the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association (NEIGA) Championship.

Although ultimately the Jumbos didn’t dominate the course and may not have met their own expectations, their 30th-place finish out of 37 came in the context of a particularly diverse and competitive playing field.

Hosted by The Captains Golf Course in Brewster, Mass., the tournament pitted the Jumbos against 36 other teams in the NEIGA, which is unique for bringing Div. I, II and III schools together.

The University of Rhode Island won the tournament with a two-day total of 585.

Tufts’ 666 put it in a tie with Brandeis.

Not only was there tough competition from schools

in higher divisions, but the Jumbos were forced to battle the books, too. Different from a normal weekend competition, the tournament left the team with very little time between golf, travel and schoolwork.

“It was a tough tournament on a school day,” Cal Shapiro, a senior tri-captain, said.

Fellow senior tri-captain Dan Moll also noted that on top of schoolwork, the course itself proved particularly difficult for the team.

“There were tough conditions on the first day,” Moll said. “We improved the second day, which was important.”

Moll led the team with a two-day total of 159 that tied for 69th overall.

Freshman Sebastian Vik shot a 163, and Shapiro, like fellow senior tri-captain Luke Heffernan, shot a 172 to round out the team’s two-day performances.

Vik led the team on Tuesday see GOLF, page 11