THE TUFTS DAILY
Sunny 48/31
TUFTSDAILY.COM
Friday, October 28, 2011
VOLUME LXII, NUMBER 35
Where You Read It First Est. 1980
Interdisciplinary programs prepare for review Tufts Greeks to hold community block party today by
Brionna Jimerson
Daily Editorial Board
by Victoria
Leistman
Contributing Writer
Tufts’ sororities and fraternities will today host the annual Greek Block Party, open to the entire Tufts community, at 1 p.m. on Professors Row between Curtis Street and Packard Avenue. All of the Greek houses will be holding events during the block party, according to sophomore Sarah Gottlieb, the Inter-Greek Council (IGC) vice president programming co-chair. Gottlieb, a member of Alpha Omicron Pi (AOII), said that the block party activities change each year based on recommendations made by representatives from each chapter during IGC meetings. “The block party is my favorite project this year,” she said. The tradition, which began in 2007, is an opportunity for members of Greek houses to reach out to the greater Tufts community, according to Gottlieb. The IGF is responsible for reserving and assigning block space to each of the chapters, according to IGC President Eric Swanson, a senior. Each house chooses an activity and then the IGC provides them with a booth or table, he said. This year’s block party will feature, among other activities, a barbecue by Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) and Zeta Psi that will take place outside of ATO at 134 Professors Row. Alpha Phi will host cupcake decosee BLOCK PARTY, page 2
Tufts will launch an external review of its interdisciplinary studies programs beginning in March 2012, according to Dean of Arts and Sciences Joanne Berger-Sweeney. This marks the first time the university has conducted an external review of its interdisciplinary studies programs, Greg Carleton, director of the Center of Interdisciplinary Studies and associate professor of Russian literature, said. The Center of Interdisciplinary Studies administrates four of the university’s academic programs and is affiliated with 20 other interdisciplinary studies programs, including the Community Health, Biochemistry, Africa in the New World and International Relations Programs, among others. The review committee will examine the overall structure of interdisciplinary studies at Tufts rather than each program individually, Berger-Sweeney explained. “The idea isn’t to review specific programs, but to review our structure and how we support it,” she said. An external committee consisting of administrators and faculty members from Brown University, New York University and the University of Virginia will conduct the review, according to Berger-Sweeney. Dean of Academic Affairs James Glaser will lead the committee and select its membership, she said. “Dean Glaser is looking at particular individuals who had peak knowledge of interdisciplinary programs at those universities,” Berger-Sweeney said. As part of the evaluation, each interdisciplinary studies program will create a fact sheet containing quantitative and qualitative data about its inner workings that will help guide discussions with the committee, Carleton explained.
Virginia Bledsoe/Tufts Daily
Edith Balbach is the director of the Community Health Program, one of the interdisciplinary studies programs that will be reviewed by an external committee this spring. “We want to give [the reviewers] a landscape idea of interdisciplinary studies at Tufts, to examine the history of interdisciplinary studies, our future and our obstacles,” Carleton said. Berger-Sweeney said that the review stems in part from feedback she has received from students and faculty regarding a need for stronger institutional support of the interdisciplinary studies program. “Many people had concerns about interdisciplinary studies and programs, and how they were supported,” BergerSweeney said. “I thought it was important to have a review to sense what we do, and how we may move forward.” Community Health Program Director Edith Balbach, who is also
a faculty member in the American Studies Program, is one such professor who sees a lack of institutional support for the interdisciplinary studies programs at Tufts. “Most of the programs need more support than they have,” Balbach said. “You have to volunteer to spend your time teaching interdisciplinary courses and negotiate your load.” Balbach expressed a desire to see tangible improvements made to the interdisciplinary studies programs as a result of the review process. “I hope that the reviews will bring conscious attention to building a stronger infrastructure to support our existsee INTERDISCIPLINARY, page 2
Taste & Tell previews new recipes
Students campaign for ‘real food’
by
Bridget Boyle
Contributing Writer
Justin McCallum/Tufts Daily
In honor of Food Day, members of the new student group Food for Thought earlier this week asked students in Dewick-MacPhie Dining Hall to participate in a photo petition event calling for the university to serve more local, sustainable and organic food options. Organizers plan to deliver an assessment of the current food offerings on campus along with the more than 50 pictures of students holding signs calling for “real food” to the administration later this year, according to Food for Thought co-Founder Mariah Gruner, a junior.
Inside this issue
Tufts University Dining Services ( TUDS) held its first Taste & Tell Dinner, a recipe sampling event, last night in Dewick-MacPhie and Carmichael Dining Halls. TUDS created the event to collect student feedback on new recipes, according to Carmichael Chef Manager Peter Kourafalos. At the event, students in both dining halls were able to try entrees, sides, sauces and desserts that have not often appeared on the menu this fall. TUDS distributed comment cards to students throughout the night, according to Tufts Nutrition Marketing Specialist Julie Lampie. Students who returned their cards were entered into a raffle, she added. TUDS plans to take students’ feedback into consider-
ation when determining which dishes to make a permanent part of the dining halls’ menu, Lampie said. “We’re hoping that student have fun with it, participate and give us feedback so we can create menus that are more popular,” Lampie said. “Students get tired of the same old food and variety makes for happy customers.” New entrees on the menu included a Bloody Mary flank steak, grilled chicken with an avocado citrus sauce and shrimp enchilada. TUDS also presented a number of new vegetarian dishes, including chipotle tamale pie and Tom Kha tofu, and vegetables like sauteed spinach with toasted sesame seed oil and roasted pumpkin with cranberries and sage. The Carmichael stir-fry station featured the popular Korean see DINING, page 2
Today’s sections
Elizabeth Olsen shines in ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene.’
Tufts women’s soccer will host Wesleyan in a quarterfinal matchup on Saturday.
see ARTS, page 7
see SPORTS, back
News & Features Arts & Living Comics
1 7 10
Classifieds Sports
15 Back