2011-11-07

THE TUFTS DAILY

Sunny 62/40

VOLUME LXII, NUMBER 41

Where You Read It First Est. 1980 TUFTSDAILY.COM

Monday, November 7, 2011

Rutgers Professor, to speak today, comments on importance of Iowa caucuses by

Kathryn Olson

Daily Editorial Board

Professor of Political Science and Director for the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University David Redlawsk will discuss his new book, “Why Iowa?: How Caucuses and Sequential Elections Improve the Presidential Nominating Process,” today at 12 p.m. in Barnum Hall 008.

The Daily spoke with Redlawsk last week to discuss the role of the Iowa caucuses in American politics and the 2012 Republican presidential primaries.

Kathryn Olson: In your book, “Why Iowa?”, you claim that had the New Hampshire primary taken place before the Iowa caucuses in the 2008 election, [Secretary of State] Hilary Clinton may have won the election instead of [President] Barack Obama. Can you explain the importance of the Iowa caucuses in electing America’s first black president?

David Redlawsk: We opened the book with this counterfactual. Actually, if Iowa hadn’t happened at all, the election would have been really different, and the reason for that is that Iowa gave Barack Obama an opportunity to a build strong grassroots organization. He used Iowa as a way to test this and you have to remember that in late 2006 and early 2007, Obama was well behind in the polls, but Clinton had a really strong advantage ... Had there been no Iowa, we speculate that Obama would not have been able to get the kind of traction he got because of the need to build grassroots operation in Iowa which served him well for the rest of the nomination and the general election campaign.

KO: Is the importance of the Iowa caucuses a result of the ability of candidates to build this kind of momentum, or is it more a result of the media spectacle that surrounds it?

DR: It’s a bit of both. The most important point is that the Iowa caucuses come first in a sequential system. Over time, candidates can take key states, which sends information to later voters. The decisions made at an early stage have an

effect on later voters. But it doesn’t have an effect without media involvement.

What we find in the research is that why Iowa really matters is because the media can shift to whatever candidate does better than expected. This was the case for Obama. Iowa created a sense that he had a real chance. It’s about Iowa being first, about Iowa being a caucus and the media shift that results after failed or raised expectations.

KO: Can you explain why the dynamics of a caucus differ from that of a primary?

DR: In a caucus, you have to motivate voters to come out at a certain time and to spend two hours talking politics. It’s harder to get them to do that, and it takes a lot more personal contact. Candidates have to be accessible in Iowa. They have to go to town halls, to people’s houses, to diners. In later primaries, you can’t do that. You really have to do most communication on television. Candidates can become sucked into a bubble. They’re surrounded by people that agree with them and become disconnected with voters. Iowa forces them to go out and talk to voters. Candidates learn a lot about interacting with people. If all they did were television appearances, they would never interact with voters.

KO: If candidates lose in Iowa, what disadvantages do they have to work against compared to the winners, and how can they recover from such a setback?

DR: Iowa is characterized by a large pool of candidates going in and a small number coming out. The ones who really fail to get any attention drop out fairly quickly. For the most part, candidates who get no traction in Iowa have a difficult time recovering. It’s also possible that you can barely win in Iowa, but the media hypes up the victory. For example, a 10 percent margin of victory isn’t very good but if the media is able to talk about you, it can work to your advantage. But if you’re in the bottom half, you’re not going any further.

KO: What are your expectations for this see CAUCUSES, page 2

Josh Berlinger/Tufts Daily

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton yesterday called for the country to create ‘a strong economy and a good government working together.’

Clinton encourages optimism, creativity to solve global problems by

Elizabeth McKay

Daily Editorial Board

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton last night challenged the Tufts community to consider how they can meet the challenges of an interconnected world during the 10th Issam M. Fares Lecture.

The 42nd president addressed a crowd of around 6,000 Tufts students, faculty, staff and guests during the lecture sponsored by the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies.

Clinton, highlighting his experience combating the spread of HIV/AIDS through the Clinton Health Access Initiative, encouraged members of the audience to ask themselves how they can each work to solve pressing global problems like climate change and economic inequality.

Clinton, also the U.N. special envoy to Haiti, called the question of global interdependence

Lizz Grainger

Daily Staff Writer

Virginia Bledsoe/Tufts Daily

Inside this issue

see CLINTON, page 2

Massachusetts ranked most energy-efficient state in the US by

Tufts fraternity Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) and sorority Alpha Omicron Pi last week went doorto-door in Tufts’ neighboring communities to ask for charitable donations on behalf of the Somerville Homeless Coalition’s Project SOUP. The groups collected approximately 300 non-perishable food items, according to sophomore ZBT Vice President and Philanthropy Chair Mitch Mosk.

the fundamental question of the 21st century.

“If we do live in an interconnected world where all the world’s borders look more like nets than walls, are going to keep trying to fill in the nets to make them look like walls, or are we going to strive to build a world we can share?” he asked the audience.

He added that the responsibility of answering this question will fall to the students of today.

“The students here and your generation will have to make a decision, live with it, vote by it and work for it, about what kind of world you want, whether you really want the world of shared prosperity, shared opportunities, shared responsibilities and shared sense of community,” he said.

“If you do want that kind of world you have to ask a simple question: how do I get it?” he added.

Massachusetts last month was ranked the most energy-efficient state in the country by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), due in large part to recent state energy policies.

The ACEEE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting energy efficiency as a means of increasing economic prosperity, and the council each year ranks states’ energy efficiency in six different policy areas through its State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, according to ACEEE Policy Analyst Michael Sciortino.

Massachusetts scored a total of 45.5 points out of a possible 50, rising three points since 2010 and surpassing former front-runner California.

The Green Communities Act, passed in Massachusetts in 2008, improved the energy efficiency in several categories, especially in the field of the utility and public benefits programs and policies, which counts for 40 percent of

a state’s total ACEEE score, according to Sciortino, who served as one of the authors of the Scorecard.

The act aims to invest $2.2 billion in energy-efficient initiatives between 2010 and 2012 and is expected to save approximately 2.5 percent of Massachusetts’ electricity sales, according to Sciortino.

“Clearly the biggest impact of the Green Communities Act was in the utilities sector, and I think what the act did was make the utilities of Massachusetts leaders in saving energy,” Sciortino said.

Massachusetts scored 18.5 out of 20 points in the utility and public benefits programs and policies category, according to the ACEEE website.

Massachusetts uses its public benefits fund for programs that conserve energy in buildings and businesses by statewide utilities companies like NSTAR and National Grid, according to Sciortino.

“In Massachusetts we have legissee ENERGY, page 2

Today’s sections

TUPD and local police work to maintain a balanced relationship.

The Daily takes a look at 3Ps’ new production, “reasons to be pretty.”

see FEATURES, page 3

see ARTS, page 5

News Features Arts & Living Editorial | Letters

1 3 5 8

Op-Ed Comics Classifieds Sports

9 10 15 Back

The Tufts Daily

2

News

Monday, November 7, 2011

Visiting the Hill this Week MONDAY “Why Iowa? The Influence of the Iowa Caucuses on the Presidential Nomination Process” Details: David Redlawsk, professor of Political Science and director for the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, will speak about the role of the Iowa caucuses in the election of American presidents.

When and Where: 12 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.; Barnum Hall, Rm. 008 Sponsors: Department of Political Science “Science Learning and Teaching as Intercultural Work” Details: Ann Rosebery and Beth Warren, co-directors of Cheche Konnen Center at TERC, an organization that promotes forward-thinking math and science learning,

will lecture on how science, learning and teaching as intercultural processes are influenced by race, culture, language and subject matter.

When and Where: 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m; Anderson Hall, Nelson Auditorium Sponsors: Center of Engineering Education and Outreach, Department of Education WEDNESDAY “Holocaust Survivor Lecture” Details: John Saunders, a Holocaust survivor from Poland, will speak about his experience of escaping five concentration camps before immigrating to the United States.

When and Where: 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Granoff Family

Hillel Center Sponsors: Moral Voices of Tufts Hillel FRIDAY “Annual Veterans’ Day Ceremony” Details: The annual ceremony will honor members of the Tufts community who are military veterans. Following a flag-passing ceremony on the Memorial Steps, Elliot L. Ackerman (LA ‘03, F ‘03) who served in Iraq with the U.S. Marines, will speak at a reception.

When and Where: 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; Memorial Steps, 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Ballou Hall, Coolidge Room Sponsors: Advocates for Tufts ROTC, Tufts University Alumni Association

Dilys Ong/Tufts Daily

Massachusetts was ranked last month as the most energy-efficient state in the country.

Tufts contributes to state’s efforts to improve energy-efficiency ENERGY

continued from page 1

lation that allows utilities to fund programs to a level that achieves all cost-effective energy efficiency,” Sciortino said. “Programs are the incentives to improve the efficiency of public buildings.”

Massachusetts also excelled in the building energy code and

the transportation categories, which make up approximately 30 percent of the Scorecard, according to Sciortino.

These scores are based on policies that improve vehicles and transportation and building energy codes that set standards to ensure that buildings save a certain amount of energy, he explained.

Clinton calls for healthy bipartisan debate CLINTON

continued from page 1

Clinton praised Tufts and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy’s commitment to global thinking, and thanked the community for contributing to making the world more peaceful, sustainable and equal in the 21st century.

He also warned the audience against the temptation of pessimism during times of national crisis.

“The most important thing we can do in this economic crisis is to shed our negative thinking and our pessimism about the future and get up every day and look forward to finding something we can do that will make a positive difference at home and around the world,” he said.

“If you focus on the ‘how’ question, you can always find something that is worth doing,” he added.

“You shouldn’t be pessimistic about the future, but you shouldn’t be in denial either,” he said.

Clinton, whose upcoming book, “Back to Work,” focuses on America’s current economic crisis, also spent a significant portion of his speech addressing current domestic issues.

He called suggestions to reduce the deficit by cutting foreign aid “a terrible mistake,” and argued for allowing increased immigration to the country.

He also stressed the need for healthy debate between ideologies, criticizing Washington partisans’ refusal to cooperate over

issues of national importance.

His argument that the country should spend less time waging expensive wars and more time making friends across the globe was met with a round of applause from the audience.

Clinton called Tea Party-like antigovernment sentiment “nonsense.”

“The biggest problem in the United States … is the anti-government ideology that has driven the right wing of our county for 30 years,” he said.

“There is not a single successful country on earth … that does not have both a strong economy and a good government working together,” he added.

Clinton concluded his address with an optimistic call to good sense.

“We are condemned to share the future. The world is interdependent.

But we are not condemned to a bleak future,” he said.

The lecture was followed by a brief question and answer session with University President Anthony Monaco, in which Clinton fielded pre-selected questions from the Tufts community.

When asked about how the government can eliminate growing domestic economic disparities, Clinton called for increased taxes to the wealthy as a matter of “citizen responsibility.” He also stressed the need to create more jobs through improved education of the workforce.

The remainder of ACEEE’s Scorecard includes the categories of combined heat and power, state government initiatives and, finally, appliance efficiency standards.

Massachusetts yielded a perfect score in both combined heat and power and state government initiatives, according to Sciortino.

“The other half of the scorecard is really who’s putting their money where their mouth is, who’s actually doing good work saving folks energy and money,” he said.

“States that don’t implement policies are at a disadvantage because energy efficiency is actually a very cost effective resource.”

Tufts contributes to the state’s efforts in con-

serving energy and saving money by working with utilities companies that prioritize energy-efficient projects.

“When we do a lighting project, a lighting control project or even a new construction project, we are typically working with utility companies to install equipment or design our systems in a way that is supported by their programs,” Director of Facilities Technical Services Betsy Isenstein said, referring to state programs that provide funds to utilities companies that subsidize energy-efficient projects.

Tufts students who utilize MassSave, a company that provides Massachusetts residents with a free home-energy assessment, are also contributing to the state’s energy-

efficiency efforts, according to Tufts Urban Environmental Policy and Planning graduate student and 2012 Tufts Energy Conference Chair Katie Walsh. “[Students] are both saving money for themselves if they’re paying their bills, but they also are essentially contributing to improving the environment by lowering energy usage,” Walsh said.

Isenstein said that Tufts will continue to strive towards energy efficiency even as the university grows.

“I would consider it a success if we could just maintain and not grow in our energy consumption,” she said.

“We’re always adding, and if we’re able to mitigate the additions with reduction then we’re doing OK.”

Unclear environment among Republican candidates going into 2012 Iowa caucuses CAUCUSES

continued from page 1

January’s Iowa caucuses?

DR: Right now, it’s a really unclear environment. There’s no question about that. This is a crazy year partly because Republican primary voters aren’t quite sure what they want. [Mitt] Romney may not be able to close the deal with the conservative elements of his party. It seems sure that he will win in the New Hampshire primary, and if he doesn’t win, he’ll regroup.

Because Republican voters in Iowa will be very split, it will be hard for the media to develop a clear narrative coming out of Iowa. As for [Herman] Cain, you’ve got a guy riding high who has no experience and who isn’t running a traditional campaign.

What this all means is that these next elections will witness the comings and going of many different Republican candidates.

courtesy Rutgers University

Rutgers Professor of Political Science David Redlawsk will speak today about his new book analyzing the importance of the Iowa caucuses.

Features

3

tuftsdaily.com

Hannah Furgang | The Tim Tam Slam

Rage o’clock?

A

Andrew Schneer/Tufts Daily

On safety and discipline, TUPD strikes a balance with local police forces.

Jurisdictions of TUPD, local law enforcement overlap around campus by

Margaret Young

Daily Editorial Board

Party hosts may do a double take when Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) officers find their way to the door in the middle of that Halloween house bash or a particularly rowdy get-together. Living off campus can encourage a sense of independence that contradicts TUPD — rather than Medford or Somerville police — jurisdiction. In reality, while TUPD and police departments from Medford and Somerville face widely varying challenges and maintain largely separate duties, the forces have struck a balance and developed a cooperative relationship when it comes to managing the safety of, and disciplinary measures against, Tufts students.

If neighbors of Tufts-occupied residences call the Tufts emergency or non-emergency numbers in order to file a noise complaint, the call goes directly to TUPD and automatically falls under their jurisdiction. If they decide to call 911, the procedure is a little different.

According to TUPD Sgt. Robert McCarthy, 911 calls that come from campus go to the state dispatcher, then to the city police department — either Medford or Somerville — before finally being forwarded to TUPD. The line becomes a bit more blurred in the case of off-campus student houses. McCarthy said that in these instances, there is a high level of collaboration between TUPD and the local police departments.

“We share the same jurisdictions, so if an incident off campus happens and Tufts students are involved, we are notified and we respond together,” McCarthy said. “We provide mutual aid, and if there is an emergency they call us and we help out.”

Deputy Chief Paul Upton of the Somerville Police Department added that local law enforcement keeps TUPD abreast of happenings in the area.

“Any time there is something going on in or around the Tufts campus, we share that information with [TUPD],”

Upton said. “They have the ability to come on our radio frequency and vice-versa.”

However, the penalty a student receives from a TUPD officer and a Medford or Somerville police officer may differ. McCarthy explained that while local policemen can issue a fine to an apartment in the event of a noise violation, TUPD officers can’t.

“We write a report, it goes to the dean and it’s handled up there,” McCarthy said. He added that while TUPD and Medford/Somerville police have the power to make arrests and take legal action against students, they usually utilize university disciplinary measures instead.

“Even on campus, [a student] could be arrested for underage drinking,” McCarthy said. “We could arrest somebody for possession of alcohol. Usually we just turn it over the dean’s office.

Somerville police could arrest someone for possession, but they don’t usually because they know that we are handling it,” McCarthy said.

Because of the potential overlap of disciplinary measures that could rack up against a student, local police officers try to consult with TUPD before taking action against students.

“If there are students involved, generally we notify TUPD,” Upton said.

“We may not know that that student has some other issues on campus.

If there is some kind of violation, like underage drinking or noise late at night, we may, after discussing the matter, turn it over to the Tufts Disciplinary Committee, or we could issue a city civil violation, which is a fine,” he said.

According to the TUPD website, “Tufts Police officers are authorized to make arrests for criminal offenses in or upon lands or structures owned, used, or occupied by the university, or in places where university business is conducted. This authority extends beyond the confines of the various campuses as determined by the acquisition of local special police status or deputy sheriffs’ authority or by previous court decisions.”

McCarthy explained that TUPD

officers have jurisdiction even in offcampus locations because they are sworn in as sheriffs in Suffolk and Middlesex Counties. He added that as a result of this, TUPD officers sometimes help out with events in Medford and Somerville, and likewise call on Medford and Somerville police to assist with special events at Tufts. This mostly occurs around large events like Spring Fling and graduation, and during the beginning of the fall semester when students begin moving onto campus, according to Upton.

There are limits to the authority of TUPD officers, especially in the case of parking violations and fines.

According to McCarthy, there are only specific areas around the Tufts campus where TUPD can administer tickets. Additionally, if the ticketed car does not belong to a Tufts student, TUPD has no means of collecting the amount fined on the ticket.

However, if a non-Tufts car owner receives three tickets from TUPD, his or her car can be towed.

Upton said that on the whole, Somerville police have not encountered any major problems when working to protect members of the Tufts community. He issued a reminder, however, that Jumbos living off the Hill have a responsibility to be good neighbors.

“All we’re looking for is for everyone to enjoy their time here in our community, but they have to remember that when they live off campus, they are in neighborhoods, and our neighborhoods are very, very close, so if you’re having a loud party, that’s going to very disruptive,” Upton said.

Upton added that altercations with students are infrequent, occur primarily at night and are usually related to noise levels.

“I can never remember getting a call about a disturbance before midnight,” he said. “We have very few problems with Tufts students. Most students come, do their four years, and we never see them. In general, I think we get along pretty well with the student body, which is the same in any part of society.”

nother Friday night. It’s approximately 6:25 p.m. and, surprise surprise, I don’t know what I’m going to do.

My friend is coming in about two hours. She’s visiting from that crazy land of big state schools where weekdays don’t even get their own drinking-related nickname because getting wasted on Wednesday just isn’t that big of a deal.

It took a lot of begging and pleading to get her to make the trek out east, so I’m counting on Tufts to represent in the best way it can.

But silly me, because I’m a freshman and it’s Friday night.

My current conundrum would surely please my mother. In my mind she is already telling me to break out the board games and brainstorm some killer Charades clues. Now, I love a good round of Taboo more than probably anyone you’ve ever met, but tonight is not the night for that.

A visiting friend calls for dance parties of epic proportions and nothing less.

Well, you know what this means: it’s time for Ask Your Hallmates What to Do Tonight!

Question: If you have no plans for a Friday night, what do you do? Let’s see what they have to say!

“Go out?” “‘Call of Duty.’”

“Drunk COD.” “Oh yeah, I meant drunk ‘Call of Duty.’”

“Usually I walk around, you know?

Or keep working on my apocalypse preparedness plan.”

“I would watch a television show on my computer and then if I run out of current shows I’ll continue watching ‘That ’70s Show’ (1998-2006) on YouTube.”

“I can’t say that type of stuff.”

“Go out and get bombed.”

“Play video games.”

“Go on Internet [sic].”

“Well, I have a backpack full of [incomprehensible].”

“Hmm. Usually ask my friends what they’re doing?”

“Watch a marathon of old TV shows.”

“Kings.”

“Go to a movie.”

“I sleep early.”

“I don’t know now, but ask me in like four hours what happened to me.”

“I’m going to Haskell.”

Thank goodness for friends. With this wealth of advice, I’m sure I’ll find something worthwhile to do. I suppose that by the time you read this, Friday night will be nothing more than a fond memory.

To end on an uplifting note, I’ve learned that the company you’re with can be more valuable than an expensive speaker set and a neat flashing light setup.

I’ve had my fair share of weekend nights spent lounging in the common room way before Moe’s departs from Packard. But that’s all right.

Who says getting shushed by an RA for excessive laughter past quiet hours can’t be the mark of a successful night? My friend can get her dance party anytime.

I’m going to give her a taste of the real Tufts experience.

I hope my friend likes “Call of Duty.”

Hannah Furgang is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. She can be reached at Hannah.Furgang@tufts.edu.

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Arts & Living

5

tuftsdaily.com

3Ps’ production delves beneath the surface by

Melissa MacEwen

Daily Editorial Board

How would you interpret it if someone said that you looked “average” or “normal?” Chances are, you wouldn’t take it well.

America’s one-two punch of perfectionism paired with a deep-rooted obsession with physical beauty makes all of us — both male and female — want to be perceived as at least above average in terms of appearance.

However, what brews beneath the skin-deep power of attraction as soon as it is taken away?

Playwright Neil LaBute examines this question in the context of young romance in his Broadway hit, “reasons to be pretty,” which Tufts’ Pen, Paint, & Pretzels (3Ps) have taken on as one of their two semester workshops.

The play centers around two couples and aims to show how the progressive breakup of couple Steph (junior Leah Bastacky) and Greg (senior Erik Leupp) affects their best friends, another couple comprised of Kent (junior Ross Beighley) and Carly (senior Eliza Earle). The play derives much of its power from its blunt examination of vanity, anxiety

Courtesy Douglas cavers

Junior Ross Beighley and senior Eric Leupp star in 3Ps’ ‘reasons to be pretty.’ and the unacknowledged factors that comprise all social bonds.

3Ps picked “reasons to be pretty” as one of their workshops because they believed college students would be able to relate to the characters of the play, and because of the play’s cinematic, melodramatic feel.

“I’m into indie Hollywood films, and this play speaks to that same kind of audience,” the play’s director, senior Thomas Martinez, said.

“When I first read the script, I was shocked to be playing myself,” Bastacky said.

The piece takes unconven-

tional approaches to its subject matter, and focuses intensely on realism.

Because Greg appears in every scene, Leupp had nearly 50 pages of dialogue to learn during the play’s four-week see REASONS, page 6

TV Review

Strong acting saves ‘How I Met Your Mother’ by

Michael Ferdico

Contributing Writer

her wedding. Both films earned much praise after their exhibition at various international film festivals, and many fans eagerly anticipate their American release.

Of the two directors, David Cronenberg has evolved the most over the course of his career. A few of his first films, such as “The Brood” (1979) and “Scanners” (1981), are now classified as B horror pictures, although their shared focus on bodily transformation would be expanded and deepened over the course of his subsequent work.

Cronenberg’s first big financial success was his poignant remake of “The Fly” (1958), which was released in 1986. The impressive details of the film proved Cronenberg could deftly mix his penchant for horror and grossout moments with taut screenwriting and poignant character development.

His releases since 2000 have been more psychologically oriented with less horror, and include the critically acclaimed films “A History of Violence” (2005) and “Eastern Promises” (2007).

In the seventh season of CBS’s “How I Met Your Mother” (“HIMYM”), viewers are finally seeing some hints that an ending is in sight. Though the show has yet to reveal whom Ted Mosby ( Josh Radnor) will actually marry, it has addressed a couple of old possibilities.

First, “HIMYM” brought back Victoria (Ashley Williams), Ted’s fan-beloved girlfriend from season one. Now, in the show’s aptly named Halloween episode, “The Slutty Pumpkin Returns,” Ted is reunited with Naomi (Katie Holmes), whose phone number he legendarily scored and lost many Halloweens ago. The episode is a success — but not for the reasons one might expect.

Surprisingly, of the three separate plots in the episode, Ted’s courting of Naomi is the weakest link.

Though it gets off to a good start — “Halloween, 10 years ago. Now that’s a slow play,” Naomi says after Ted knocks on her door — the pair’s story runs its course too quickly.

Their fling offers viewers a few awkward laughs, but viewers have been waiting six years to finally meet Ted’s wife, and both Ted and Naomi have spent a decade’s worth of Halloweens trying to find each other again. The weight of those expectations leaves the episode feeling anticlimactic, unsubstantial and unfinished.

Meanwhile, Marshall ( Jason Segel) deals with Lily’s (Alyson Hannigan) “pregnancy brain” as the couple decides whether or not to move to the suburbs. Though at times campy, this arc offers more natural and comical scenarios. Sometimes Lily’s absent-mindedness is exaggerated a bit too much — for example, she forgets how to get back from the bathroom — but it’s a solid gag, largely due to Hannigan’s acting prowess.

Stellar performances from both

see FILMS, page 6

see YOUR MOTHER, page 6

Sony Pictures Classics

Keira Knightley stars alongside Viggo Mortensen in Cronenberg’s most recent psychological thriller.

Cronenberg and von Trier to release psychological dramas by

Matthew Welch

Daily Editorial Board

Two of modern cinema’s most renowned directors will be releasing new films this November. David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method” will have its American debut on Nov. 23, while Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia” will open in theaters on Nov. 11. This makes November a particularly rich month for film buffs around the country, since both directors have earned much acclaim for their edgy, thoughtprovoking productions. Cronenberg and von Trier both emerged as relatively controversial directors whose films unflinchingly examined masochism, voyeurism and the darker aspects of the human condition.

“Melancholia” and “A Dangerous Method” seem to be logical extensions of these core themes. While “A Dangerous Method” explores the formative stages of psychoanalysis and Carl Jung’s tutelage under Sigmund Freud, “Melancholia” depicts the apocalypse from the perspective of a disenchanted fiancee on the night of

Chris Poldoian | Extra Butter

Rappa ternt ackta an we take a moment to acknowl-

C

edge the brilliance of R. Kelly?

This must seem entirely out of left field, but trust me. After watching parts his magnum opus, “Trapped in the Closet,” there is no doubt in my mind that Kelly is the best narrator ever. ... Well, at least the best berretta-toting, falsettosinging narrator to ever find an adulterous midget in his kitchen cabinet.

Watching Kelly’s performance reminded me of all the other rappers who pursued acting careers. While musicians of other genres occasionally cross over into acting — Frank “Ol’ Blue Eyes” Sinatra or Justin “Dick in a Box” Timberlake come to mind — it is the hip-hop genre that attracts the most crossover artists. Just this week, RZA was cast in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming film “Django Unchained.”

There’s an expression that goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I’m fairly certain that no rapper has ever heard this phrase. If they had, we wouldn’t end up with albums like Lil Wayne’s attempt at punk rock, “Rebirth” (2010). Wayne once proclaimed himself to be “the s--t” and all other rappers as merely “poop stains.”

Sorry Weezy, your album was plain s--t, and no amount of Lysol is going to clean up that stank.

Now, though this column’s name sounds like a cooking show hosted by Paula Deen, it’s a movie column, and at the end of the day, movies are my trade. So don’t expect me to dig too deep into the rap world — I’m just looking at its influence on Hollywood.

A lot of this started in 1991. It was a frigid year for movies: Ice-T and Ice Cube appeared in “New Jack City” (1991) and “Boyz N the Hood” (1991), respectively.

Ice Cube’s role as Darin “Doughboy” Baker was an extension of his rap persona — a guy trying to survive in the hood — whereas Ice-T’s portrayal of a cop directly contradicted his rapper tendencies. In fact, Ice-T wanted to be cast as the drug lord, played instead by Wesley Snipes. Either way, both “New Jack City” and “Boyz N the Hood” address the same topics and ideas with rap music: Acting was merely a change in style, not in substance.

These two rappers used gritty acting roles to supplement their thuggish personas, and this method has essentially become the standard rapper-cum-acting career path. Think of Ludacris’ roles in “2 Fast 2 Furious” (2003) and “Crash” (2004) — in both films, his characters engage in unlawful conduct.

Alternatively, rappers use movies to retell their beginnings as fledgling rappers. Think of Eminem’s sole lead-acting role. “8 Mile” (2002) can be seen in two ways: either as an extension of one of his songs that recounts his start in Detroit, or as a 90-minute music video prelude to his Oscar-winning song, “Lose Yourself.”

50 Cent made a similar Hollywood debut in “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” (2005).

Since then, he’s made more unsuccessful forays into Hollywood with “Home of the Brave” (2006) and “Righteous Kill” (2008).

But there might be hope for him. His role in “All Things Fall Apart” (2011) bucks the tough-guy trend. In the film, 50 Cent plays a football player with a crippling disease that slowly eats away at his body.

To prepare for the role, he lost over 50 pounds! Maybe he should’ve drunk more Vitamin Water…

Given these examples, it’s safe to say that most rappers are incapable of acting in front of a film. André 3000 once said that many rappers move to acting because hip-hop is ruled by the youth. As rappers get older, he argues, they obsolesce. If that’s the case, he’d better get working — I can’t imagine all the “Hey Ya” dividends can make up for the box-office failure that was “Semi-Pro” (2008).

Chris Poldoian is a senior majoring in Spanish and economics. He can be reached at Christopher.Poldoian@tufts.edu.

The Tufts Daily

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Arts & Living

Monday, November 7, 2011

Characters are greatest strength of ‘How I Met Your Mother’ YOUR MOTHER

continued from page 5

Segal and Hannigan keep the dialogue from falling flat. In their hands, an innuendo-laden musing on life in the suburbs was funny, if not particularly original or unique — “You can get that pinball machine you’ve always wanted, you can put it anywhere you want ... you can stick it in the back.” In lesscapable hands, the scene could have been painful to watch, but the couple’s interactions are generally well-done and believable. Marshall’s character continues to move audiences as he values his wife’s desires over his own.

However, as usual, Barney Stinson’s (Neil Patrick Harris) storyline stole the show. Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), the show’s resident Canadian, discovers that Barney’s grandmother hailed from Manitoba, a fact previously unknown to either of them. This discovery is preceded by a quick montage of Barney ridiculing Canada — complete with clips from the show’s history — and followed by Robin taking revenge on Barney by cracking numerous Canadian jokes at his quarter-Canadian expense. This storyline sounds like a very simple premise, but Smulders and Harris both play their parts brilliantly.

Harris and Smulders are also aided by excellent writing. The script includes nicely executed references to “Star Wars” (1977), “Rocky IV” (1985) and “Superman III” (1983). Barney squeezes a couple of great quips into the other plot lines.

Without his and Robin’s contributions, the episode might merit only a lukewarm response, but the dynamic duo’s brilliantly executed back-and-forth turn it into something praiseworthy.

In context with the rest of the season so far, “The Slutty Pumpkin Returns” falls somewhere in the middle — it certainly does not reach the heights of “The Best Man” or “Ducky Tie,” epi-

Monty Briton/CBS

The strong ensemble cast makes ‘How I Met Your Mother’ an enduring, hilarious comedy. sodes penned by series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. It has funny moments, but altogether it feels a little pointless. Though Ted, Naomi and longtime viewers have waited a long time for the reunion of Ted and his fabled slutty pumpkin, it seems that “HIMYM” touched on the story only for

the sake of closure.

That’s not to say the return of the slutty pumpkin was a bad plot, but it felt forced and worked against the two more natural and entertaining arcs in the episode. Yet, this failure may speak to some of “HIMYM’s” more impressive triumphs. In this episode, the sim-

ple banter between familiar and welldeveloped characters saves the show from disappointing audiences with a storyline they’ve anticipated for half a decade. This unexpected success is a testament to the caliber of the show’s characters as well as the writers and cast members that bring them to life.

3Ps examines relationships REASONS

continued from page 5

rehearsal period. However, the realistic rendering of Greg’s dialogue hardly helped: Clusters of “ums,” “likes” and profanity added a natural rhythm to his lines, but — according to Leupp — also made the dialogue exceptionally difficult to accurately memorize.

Because “reasons to be pretty” is one of the 3Ps workshop productions, the stage is required to be minimalist, but said minimalism will likely accentuate the power of the dialogue; there will be no theatrical bells and whistles to distract from the play’s underlying message.

On the whole, the play is dialogue-based, which is important because it is strictly through these conversations that the characters reveal their shifting relationships to one another. Interestingly, except for one very brief moment, no more than two characters are ever on stage or talking at any given point in the play. This unusual approach attempts to mirror reality. After all, people’s deepest revelations about others will probably occur in direct, one-on-one dialogues rather than in a group setting.

“I think it’s just so true about the interpersonal and romantic

relationships, the miscommunications,” Bastacky said about the play’s unusual approach to realism.

Audience members may be surprised by the depth of “reasons to be pretty” because the play only uses superficial beauty as a launching point for deeper themes. As the romantic relationship of Steph and Greg begins to erode, deeper revelations about the characters’ relationships to one another become more obvious. Indeed, as Martinez suggested, “reasons to be pretty” almost forces viewers to make assumptions about the characters, just so that it can prove them wrong.

“It’s really about how we project our own thoughts on others’ words,” Martinez said.

In spite of the play’s drama, it does also manage to be darkly, and unexpectedly, funny. In the middle of an argument, for example, Steph tells Greg, “Don’t try to Lance Armstrong out of this one!” and promises to murder his goldfish if he dares leave while the couple is in the middle of an argument. Such humor saves the play from being hopelessly depressing.

3Ps will be performing “reasons to be pretty” tonight at 7 and 9 p.m. in the Balch Arena Theater. Admission is free and no tickets are required.

Courtesy Douglas Cavers

‘Reasons to be pretty’ examines intricacies in young-adult relationships.

Sony Pictures Classics

‘A Dangerous Method’ examines the relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud.

Dark films will haunt theaters this month FILMS

continued from page 5

“A Dangerous Method” continues Cronenberg’s trend of making more approachable, incisive psychological portraits. Early screenings of the film have earned widespread praise for the work of Michael Fassbender ( Jung), Viggo Mortensen (Freud) and Keira Knightly, whose volatile performance as Sabina Spielrein reveals her aptitude for more challenging dramatic roles.

Von Trier’s career is widely varied, ranging from comedies like “The Boss of It All” (2006) to brooding tragedies like “Antichrist” (2009). Given the scope of von Trier’s output, it is more difficult to discern any overarching trajectory of his work or even decide on its major themes. While depression and estrangement are

frequently addressed through von Trier’s films, they are usually dealt with in widely different ways, depending on the film. “Melancholia,” however, bears a great stylistic resemblance to “Antichrist.” Both films reportedly open with poetic, slow-motion montages that detail a central calamity which provides the drama for the rest of the film.

In recent interviews, von Trier stated that “Melancholia” opens with a depiction of the world ending, essentially telling the audience how the story concludes. Von Trier is interested in showing how certain people coped with the prospect of their impending deaths within the context of a secluded villa in the countryside.

Given the dark subject matter of Cronenberg and Trier’s films, it is remarkable they get

such widespread distribution.

Both directors have their work screened across Europe and the United States, in addition to distribution in even more exotic locales. Their ability to portray commercially unfriendly topics while retaining larger appeal has put them in a relatively small echelon of directors. This unique reputation has made the release of the films anticipated by independent film buffs worldwide. Since both films have been premiered at European film festivals well in advance of their American release dates, the public’s expectations are all the more great.

So, if you’re in the mood for a dark exploration of humanity’s less pleasant sides, “Melancholia” and “A Dangerous Method” are this month’s must-see films.

The Tufts Daily

Monday, November 7, 2011

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The Gates of Hell Art Exhibit Zinovii Tolkatchev was a private in the unit of the Russian army that liberated Auschwitz. Trained as an artist, he sketched a series of drawings depicting the horrors of the camp. Twenty of his drawings are on exhibit in the Granoff Family Hillel Center from Nov 7-11.

Join us for a lecture by

Dr. John Saunders A Survivor of Auschwitz Wednesday, Nov 9 at 8:00 PM Granoff Family Hillel Center

Sponsored by the Cummings/Hillel Program in Holocaust and Genocide Education Exhibit made possible by the American Society for Yad VaShem Holocaust Museum in Israel

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Editorial | Letters

Monday, November 7, 2011

louie zong

Carter W. Rogers Editor-in-Chief

Editorial Niki Krieg Adam Kulewicz Managing Editors Amelie Hecht Executive News Editor Kathryn Olson News Editors Laina Piera Corinne Segal Saumya Vaishampayan Bianca Blakesley Assistant News Editors Gabrielle Hernandez Brionna Jimerson Elizabeth McKay Marie Schow Minyoung Song Mahpari Sotoudeh Martha Shanahan Executive Features Editor Jon Cheng Features Editors Maya Kohli Amelia Quinn Falcon Reese Derek Schlom Victoria Rathsmill Assistant Features Editors Margaret Young Rebecca Santiago Executive Arts Editor Zach Drucker Arts Editors Anna Majeski Charissa Ng Joseph Stile Matthew Welch Ashley Wood Melissa MacEwen Assistant Arts Editors David Kellogg Bhushan Deshpande Seth Teleky Anna Christian Devon Colmer Westley Engel Louie Zong Craig Frucht Jonathan Green Michael Restiano

Executive Op-Ed Editor Op-Ed Editors Assistant Op-Ed Editors Cartoonists

Unified voices can bring change The Miami Hurricane Editorial Board

Editorialists

Daniel Rathman Executive Sports Editor Matthew Berger Sports Editors Lauren Flament Claire Kemp Ben Kochman Aaron Leibowitz David McIntyre Alex Prewitt Ann Sloan Ethan Sturm Kate Klots Assistant Sports Editors Josh Berlinger Virginia Bledsoe Kristen Collins Alex Dennett Justin McCallum Ashley Seenauth William Butt Lane Florsheim Caroline Geiling Meagan Maher Oliver Porter Scott Tingley Dilys Ong

Off the Hill | University of Miami

Executive Photo Editor Photo Editors

Assistant Photo Editors

Staff Photographers

Ellen Kan Executive New Media Editor

PRODUCTION Jason Huang

Production Director Alyssa Kutner Executive Layout Editor Rebecca Alpert Layout Editors Jennifer Betts Shoshanna Kahne Sarah Kester Emily Rourke Elliot Philips Assistant Layout Editors Andrew Paseltiner Executive Copy Editor Ben Considine Copy Editors Patrick Donnelly Sara Eisemann Katrina Knisely Drew Lewis Ashley Cheng Assistant Copy Editors Linh Dang Lauren Greenberg George Le Gregory Witz Audrey Kuan Executive Online Editor Darcy Mann Online Editors Ben Schwalb Ammar Khaku Executive Technical Manager

BUSINESS Laura Moreno Executive Business Director Christine Busaba Advertising Director Saanya Gulati Receivables Manager P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 617 627 3090 FAX 617 627 3910 daily@tuftsdaily.com

The Miami Hurricane

There is strength in numbers.

Bank of America is just one example: In response to massive outcry from disgruntled customers, the bank announced Tuesday that it will drop its proposed debit card fee.

This new policy stated that customers would be charged $5 a month if they chose to use their debit cards to make purchases. Other major banks, including JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, have also backed down from plans to institute such new fees.

These banks’ decisions to retract the new fees come at a time when participants in Occupy Miami, which was involved in the opposition to Bank of America’s fees and other similar movements worldwide, have proclaimed themselves as “the 99 percent” who are protesting the overwhelming power of the wealthy “1 percent.”

And according to the Huffington

Post, Occupy Wall Street — the umbrella movement that sparked Occupy Miami — is gaining momentum in Congress.

This week, three Congressmen introduced a jobs bill that would target largescale stock market investors.

Also, Netflix dropped its new branch, Qwikster, a DVD-by-mail service, so that Netflix could solely focus on streaming movies online. Customers denounced Qwikster as inconvenient, and the 60 percent price increase for all Netflix services didn’t help.

With consumers protesting -- 800,000 accounts were cancelled — and stocks dropping, Netflix was forced to react accordingly.

Collectively, these changes prove that the public can indeed have a strong, influential voice when used appropriately.

These failed experiments in the marketplace as a result of customer dissatisfaction are not a new phenomenon. In 1985, Coca-Cola dropped its unpopular “New Coke” after the public demanded

that the company return to the original Coke recipe. Delta nixed a $2 fee for tickets not purchased online in 1999.

PepsiCo, Inc. dropped a new Tropicana logo in early 2009, a mere six weeks after unveiling it, because of an overwhelmingly negative reaction.

Regardless of the power that the wealthiest in society have, consumers undeniably drive the market. Purchasing power is an influential force that should not be underrated. Companies are nothing without their customers, and there has to be a balance between profit and customer satisfaction.

If enough people speak their minds, change will never be out of reach. Nobody can do anything about the fact that Kim Kardashian made $236,111.11 for each day she was married to Kris Humphries.

Unfortunately, that’s how some of the 1 percent lives. However, living in the other 99 percent does not mean that nothing can be accomplished.

Great things can happen when many voices take a stand.

Off the Hill | Baylor University

Kim-Kris split shows problems with media’s focus by

Kendall Kaut The Lariat

Kim Kardashian is famous for a lot of reasons that society would hate to admit, but on Aug. 20, the world had an American wedding that could challenge the Royal wedding in terms of importance to People Magazine.

On that day society took great hope because, as bad at basketball and, seemingly, at life, as Kris Humphries was, he could get with someone like Kim Kardashian. As many people continue to wonder what happened, we are left to speculate on what crashed this couple.

Kim Kardashian is one of those people like Paris Hilton or Joe the Plumber — it is hard to describe why they’re still famous. Kim’s claim to fame ranges from being the daughter of someone on O.J. Simpson’s defense team to a having public relationship with Brandi’s brother.

Kim’s staying power has centered on dating a number of athletes, including Miles Austin. The E! Network has shown “Keeping up with the Kardashians” over the last five years. The show centered on her fam-

ily and is possibly the worst television experience since “Deal or No Deal.”

At least “Deal or No Deal” didn’t have spinoffs for Kim to appear on.

Kris Humphries is an NBA player.

Devoting any more space to him is a tragedy while the NBA is locked out, but is necessary to fully understand this divorce.

Humphries played one season at Minnesota and was then drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2004. After several mediocre NBA seasons, he ended up in New Jersey. This past season Humphries averaged a triple double for the Nets in a career year. Humphries’ success can largely be attributed to playing on a terrible Nets team and having one of the NBA’s best point guards, Deron Williams, feed him the ball.

Kim and Kris’ marriage had obvious signs of failure. First, Kim was too intelligent for Kris. If you believe America’s education system does not risk leaving people behind, you have not heard Kris Humphries speak.

Kim is attacked for being illegitimately famous, but demonstrates her intelligence in interviews, displaying an advanced knowledge of legal proceedings and business concepts. If

there’s something to gain from this marriage it’s finding out how we could produce someone like Kris Humphries in America.

In reality, Kris Humphries was probably the first casualty of the NBA lockout. Kris Humphries should have been spending September and October preparing for the NBA season but instead had a ton of free time.

Kim Kardashian was an independent woman, who for all her discussions on wanting to find love and get married, traveled the country promoting her brand.

In the brief time they dated, Kim probably enjoyed the few moments she got to spend with Kris but as those moments turned to weeks, and those weeks turned into more than a month, Kim took decisive action.

Kim was not about to wait around like the NBA and the players union toward an inevitable 50-50 split; she was going to take everything Kris Humphries had given her and walk.

Before we jump to criticize Kim and Kris, maybe we should stop to ask ourselves why they get the attention they do. We’re almost as much to blame as they are for this little media circus.

correction The Nov. 3 article “Tufts earns silver star rating” incorrectly stated that the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System awarded Tufts’ Office of Sustainability (OOS) a silver rating for its efforts to improve environmental sustainability on campus. Tufts University as a whole, not simply OOS, received the recognition.

The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. EDITORIAL POLICY Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. Individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must be submitted by 2 p.m. and should be handed into the Daily office or sent to letters@tuftsdaily.com.

All letters must be word processed and include the writer’s name and telephone number. There is a 450-word limit and letters must be verified.

The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length.

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

Monday, November 7, 2011

The Tufts Daily

I’m wearing leggings as pants and it’s awesome by

and go with pretty much everything.

You can wear us during exercise and you can wear us during sleep. We come in many different colors. Oh, and “flesh-colored” is not a color. You may have meant “beige” or “tan” but there are many colors of flesh besides those. In any case, we do not appreciate the slander of any of our compatriots! We can make you feel great about yourself! We tuck in nicely to your boots! We appreciate your bodies, whatever shape or size they are.

We are sorry that some people “feel self-conscious when they wear us to yoga, and couldn’t imagine feeling OK with wearing us as fully functional trousers” but other people feel differently! Some people actually prefer us to pants, and we would appreciate your acceptance too.

In a highly scientific survey conducted on Nov. 2, the following Facebook status was “liked” 46 times.

This sounds like support to us:

Kathryn Robinson and Sadie Lansdale

As I sit here musing on some of the content I’ve just encountered in the Daily in an article entitled, “Why, leggings, why?” do you know what I’m wearing? Go ahead, hazard a guess.

They’re not pants but right now they’re functioning as such. They are lined in fleece. (FLEECE, for god’s sake!) It’s lovely. They are forgiving and can be pulled on and off with ease — I never have to waste time unbuttoning and zipping. My butt is the size of Jupiter so why not drape it boldly in some tight Spandex? Please look at my childbearing hips. Yes, I am wearing leggings as pants right now. I wore my leggings to CVS today to buy toothpaste. I flaunted my way around the Mayer Campus Center and I think a lot of people could see that I have legs and thighs. I ran into my friend Sadie, and she was wearing leggings as pants too. It warranted a high-five.

What I’m sayin’ is, ladies (and gents), all these prescribed definitions of what is and is not attractive … they’re so tiring (and sometimes silly, and sometimes mean). Who determines what is and what is not “flattering?”

My most recent favorite look has been pairing long skirts with layers upon layers of enormous sweaters.

Quite opposite to the body-hugging leggings look, this cloaks my body in a shroud of cotton and wool — mystery — and allows me to spend the day in a shapeless cocoon. It feels good. And in turn, I feel good. Can we take a moment to re-think the purpose of fashion? Shock of all shocks, what you put on in the morning does — not — have to be chosen with the intent of attracting someone’s sexual attention.

So hey, y’all, I urge you to wear whatever you want. What is “in?”

What is “trendy?” Why do we care?

We need more articles in the Daily championing the diversity of women’s bodies, not policing them. Come on, Tufts.

See you in the mom-jeans aisle. Oh, and here’s a letter of support from our

Dear authors of articles about leggings as pants— 1. Stop policing women’s bodies.

Seriously. Telling other women what to wear is unacceptable and writing things like “no one wants to see that” is hurtful. You’re not funny.

2. Assertions like “no one looks good in leggings” are simply incorrect. Your ignorance of how great I look in leggings is really upsetting, as is your prescribed definition of what is attractive.

Sincerely, I’m being funny, but I’m also not kidding.

As this witty yet poignant Facebook status points out, telling women what to wear or what not to wear is hurtful and tired. Don’t you have more important things to do?

MCT

friends, The Leggings: Dear Editor, No longer will we go unheard! What an outrage! On Wednesday in the Daily we have been maligned. We, the leggings of Tufts University, are so much more than pants could ever aspire to be. We are comfortable! We are plain

Sincerely, Kathryn Robinson, Sadie Lansdale and The Leggings of Tufts University Kathryn Robinson and Sadie Lansdale are seniors who are both majoring in English and women’s studies. They can be reached at Kathryn.Robinson@tufts. edu and Sadie.Lansdale@tufts.edu.

Off the Hill | Boston College

Google TV’s second chance

by

Paul Witko The Heights

Google is at it again. Ever since it became an Internet pioneer, Google has ventured into the cell phone industry and social networking with the Droid and Google+. Now Google is hoping to take that online success and bring it into our living rooms.

In a post on its official blog this past Friday, Google announced that it would release a new version of software for Google TV. This new software will come equipped with a smoother user interface, an easier way to navigate content and access to the huge Android app market. The update will first arrive to compatible Sony TV units and to external Logitech devices soon after. With this news, Google stock stayed relatively stable on Friday but closed on Monday down 1.25 percent. When the opening bell rang on Tuesday, the stock had dropped even more.

Surprisingly, this marks Google’s second attempt at making Google TV a success. In May of 2010, Google announced the release of its first version of Google TV. This initial version was considered largely unsuccessful and failed to reach any noteworthy level of prominence. After launching at a price of $299, Google TV quickly fell in value and the price was cut to $99.

Because of this lack of success, many people are unaware of what Google TV offers as a product. Let me explain.

In essence, Google TV brings the limitless world of the Internet and online video to your living room television. Companies like HBO, YouTube and Netflix allow you to stream content through Google TV. Not only can users stream content from these select companies, but they also have access to the full Android app market.

The powerful Google Chrome web browser allows users to surf the web at their leisure. Google TV is available on all Sony Internet TV models and also on an external device called the Logitech Revue that is compatible with most other television sets.

The new software upgrade now allows you to use your iPhone or Droid as a remote control, which could be a nice perk.

However, the issue with Google TV lies with what you cannot do. NBC, CBS, FOX and ABC do not allow Google TV to stream their content, which eliminates a large part of the television market. Even aggregate content sites like Hulu and Fancast do not have streaming content on Google TV. The new version of this Google TV still does not include content from these major networks, but if it is any consolation, Google TV has improved the video quality of its existing content.

How will Google’s attempt to expand into the living room fare this time around? To me, these changes are nice on the outside, but they do not seem to be enough just quite yet. There is no doubt, though, that Google is on to

9

Op-Ed

something. For only $99, Google TV is probably worth a shot. Expanding the World Wide Web onto the living room television is just a matter of time, and I applaud Google for trying to be the pioneer.

Google TV seems to just be a mishmash of good ideas that do not fit together in quite the right way. I think the missing piece is the valuable content from major network companies.

A partnership with them would allow users to watch any show that they missed on regular TV. Instead of paying a fee to access them online or searching for hours for a pixilated version of an episode, users could simply watch it in HD on the big screen.

I think that is where Google TV has the best chance of success. Viewing online content in high definition on a big screen television is something that appeals to everyone. Getting the Internet off of the tiny computer screen and onto the HDTV is inevitable. Like I said before, Google is on to something. Google may not have had the most success its first time around with Google TV, but I think eventually this idea will succeed.

Unfortunately for Google though, their friends at Apple have developed “Apple TV” as well. Yet again, this competition between Google and Apple is bound to produce another great piece of technology.

Will Google finally beat Apple to the punch and be the first to perfect Internet television? Only time will tell.

Prashanth Parameswaran | The Asianist

Obama’s Middle Road

W

hen President Barack Obama pledged to seek “a new beginning” between the United States and Muslims in Cairo two years ago, he received a standing ovation.

Two years later, the response to Mr. Obama’s Middle East policy is more muted. Domestic political constraints, tectonic changes in the Arab world, and his deliberative presidential style have yielded mixed results in the region.

Even at the outset, the change Mr. Obama touted in Cairo proved hard to believe in. Early signs suggested that he believed that a relative decline in American power called for shifting military focus to other regions like Asia, refocusing U.S. power on engagement and diplomacy, repairing America’s image in the Arab street, and rethinking U.S. policies toward Arab regimes facing public discontent. Such a dramatic reorientation would undoubtedly take more than one presidential term to accomplish. His approach to decision-making is also more risk-averse and deliberative than his predecessor, which means he requires more time to decide on policy and often makes more middle-of-the-road choices.

This has produced a checkered record for Mr. Obama in the Middle East. Perhaps his greatest success has been in the battle against Al-Qaeda and its affiliates. His administration has waged a relentless campaign of drone strikes and covert operations that has decimated terrorist leaders from Pakistan to Yemen.

He has also balanced this with an attempt to win Muslim hearts and minds: banning torture and making it clear that America is not at war with Islam. These seemingly symbolic moves have gone a long way in recovering the moral legitimacy America lost during the dark Abu Ghraib years.

Although the jury is still out on the Arab Spring, Mr. Obama has mostly balanced American ideals and interests judiciously. He always tended to think about political reform in the region in a country-specific way, an approach that has been largely vindicated over the past year. Mr. Obama overcame his initial unwillingness and intervened in Libya to avert a clear massacre. In places like Egypt, where more vital U.S. interests were at stake, he wavered but eventually found the right balance, trying to support reform (despite protests from other autocratic allies like Saudi Arabia) while ensuring an orderly post-Mubarak transition. He watched as Saudi Arabia led a counter-revolution among the Gulf countries, but powerful U.S. interests in those cases proved difficult to overcome.

However, Mr. Obama’s middle road approach fares poorly with respect to those issues that need firm decisions and substantial commitments. The Arab-Israeli peace process is a case in point. The Obama administration’s early symbolic initiatives did not translate into the sustained action required to succeed in Arab-Israeli peacemaking. Instead, in the face of Arab and Israeli resistance and domestic political pressure, the Obama administration backed off from attempting to put forward a systematic peace agreement plan.

A similar trend can be seen with respect to Iraq and Afghanistan. In both cases, Mr. Obama’s middle-road approach risks not equipping U.S. forces with the appropriate resources to complete the objectives he has himself outlined. In Iraq, while most agree that at least 10,000 U.S. troops will have to remain to help Iraqi forces prevent a very likely slide back to civil war, the administration announced it will only limit troops to 3,000, a size too small to protect itself, let alone the region. In Afghanistan, the president has repeatedly shied away from providing the troops his commanders need.

Taking stock of Mr. Obama’s Middle East policy as the campaign season begins, Americans will find that his deliberative approach has fared well in waging the war against Al-Qaeda and dealing with the Arab Spring. But on other matters like the Iraq and Afghanistan quagmires and the Arab-Israeli deadlock, they may soon be yearning for the decisiveness they chastised just a few years ago.

Prashanth Parameswaran is a student at The Fletcher School studying international relations. He can be reached at Prashanth.

Parameswaran@tufts.edu.

Op-ed Policy The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length. Op-Ed cartoons are also welcomed for the Campus Canvas feature. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. All material should be submitted to oped@tuftsdaily.com no later than noon on the day prior to the desired day of publication; authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions. Submissions may not be published elsewhere prior to their appearance in the Daily, including but not limited to other on- and off-campus newspapers, magazines, blogs and online news websites, as well as Facebook. Republishing of the same piece in a different source is permissible as long as the Daily is credited with originally running the article.

The Tufts Daily

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Comics

Monday, November 7, 2011

Doonesbury

Crossword

by

Garry Trudeau

Non Sequitur

by

Married to the Sea

www.marriedtothesea.com

SUDOKU Level: Opening at the close

Friday’s

Late Night at the Daily Friday’s Solution

Carter: “Wait, water stops a snitch?”

Alyssa: “No, but it stops a Roomba.”

Please recycle this Daily.

Wiley

The Tufts Daily

Monday, November 7, 2011

In love with movies?

Always wanted to make your own?

Maybe you can!

TuftsFilmWorks Find out about

And next semester’s ExCollege class

Making Movies

Special Info Session TONIGHT!!!! 9:00pm, Miner 112 Sponsored by the ExCollege

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Monday, November 7, 2011

The Faculty Progressive Caucus, American Democracy in Crisis series:

Sheldon Krimsky

Professor of Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning, Tufts, will discuss the

“Commercialization of American Universities” 7 PM Tuesday th November 8 Braker 001

Monday, November 7, 2011

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Notes from the

ExCollege Looking for ExCollege courses for Spring? Check out our website (www.excollege.tufts.edu) in midDecember. Registration will start on the first day of Spring semester, January 19th.

Going abroad this Spring? Get a start now on your application to teach Explorations or Perspectives in Fall 2012. More information and applications are on our website (www.excollege.tufts.edu) Have you heard of Auditing for Breadth? It is intended to provide students with an opportunity to broaden their education by attending courses in which they might not otherwise enroll. With the approval of the instructors in question, students may elect to audit any three full-credit university courses during their four years as an undergrad.

One course credit is awarded upon completion of the three audits, and the audited courses are listed in the notes section of your transcript. For more information or to start the program, stop by the ExCollege at 95 Talbot Avenue, call 617-6273384, or email us at excollege@tufts.edu

13

The Tufts Daily

14

Sports

Monday, November 7, 2011

Quidditch

Tuff love: Emerson sweeps Tufts in World Cup tune-up by

Ethan Sturm

Daily Editorial Board

In the final tune-up before next weekend’s Quidditch World Cup in New York City, No. 14 Tufts faced off in a trio of games with No. 4 Emerson College Sunday on the Res Quad. After falling 90-0 in the opening match and falling behind 60-0 in the second, Tufts found its rhythm, outscoring Emerson for the remainder of that match, but ultimately lost the final game on a snitch catch, 100-50.

The roster Tufts will be sending to the World Cup was playing together for just the second time in their matchup with Emerson. Against Boston University the previous weekend, the squad often looked disorganized and was picked apart by a strong passing game from the Terriers.

With another week of practice in the books, Tufts came out far better prepared.

Despite the improved coordination, Tufts suffered badly from a lack of bludger control throughout the first match. Emerson’s beaters maintained possession of two of the three bludgers for nearly the entire game, all but stopping the Tufts attack.

Defensively, they struggled early to deal with Emerson keeper David Fox, who scored two of the team’s first four goals as they jumped out to an early 40-0 lead.

The team noticed their bludger struggles, and is ready to make adjustments for the future.

“One of the things we are considering doing is switching up our starting lineups for the games to put our fastest beaters in first,” junior beater Carly Boxer said. “The goal with that would be to go out, get both bludgers, and then sub out as we need to.”

The snitch returned to the field with the Lions in complete control. Tufts junior seeker David Meyers did his best to hold off Ryan Barnada, but when Meyers was forced to return to his hoops after being bludgeoned, Barnada quickly capitalized, ending the game with a snitch grab and giving Emerson a 90-0 victory.

The second game got off to a humor-

Kyra Sturgill/Tufts Daily

The No. 14 Tufflepuffs struggled on defense in their matches against No. 4 Emerson. ous start when the snitch picked up the quaffle from midfield before the game began and handed it to Tufts University President and honorary game-starter Anthony Monaco, who proceeded to hide the ball in the back of his sweater. When the teams began play, chaos reigned until Monaco finally pulled the ball back out and handed it to the closest chaser.

Emerson, this time led by chasers Pablo Santiago and Carlyle Thomas, once again jumped out to a 60-0 lead on the

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worked, so all the players started being as aggressive as they could.”

With the teams still within a snitch grab of each other, the snitch returned to the pitch. But the game did not last long, as Emerson seeker Gabe Albright made the grab in under 30 seconds. The 30 points propelled the Lions to a 100-50 victory and a clean sweep of the set of games.

“For the first game and a half, we didn’t have the right mentality,” Kerr said. “In the second half of the second game and the third game, we kind of grew into the mindset we were supposed to have. We started being more aggressive, picking off people, marking people and taking more control of the flow of the match.”

Carp finished the day with 20 points, a team-high for Tufts. Santiago had 50 points for Emerson, while three other players each contributed 30. Albright earned the only deciding snitch catch of the day, beating out Meyers.

With that match in the books, both teams will now be looking forward to the World Cup next weekend. Tufts was drawn into a pool with No. 10 University of Pittsburgh, No. 36 University of Maryland, the Silicon Valley Skrewts and Bowling Green State University. The top three finishers from the pool will advance to day-two action. The squad’s matchup with Pittsburgh will be a rematch of last year’s World Cup semifinal, which Tufts won.

“I’m fairly optimistic about the Cup,” Boxer said. “I think we will do well.

Expectations from other teams are high after what we did last year, and we are going to do everything we can to live up to them. We have a very solid team, and we have been improving exponentially over the last two weeks, so I think we have a very good chance of succeeding.”

Volleyball

th

at noon (open block) in Dowling Library and 7:00 PM in Hill Hall Lounge.

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back of bludger control and quick bursts of speed. But Tufts began to settle down, using physical play to protect their goal and using the quaffle to block bludgers offensively. When the snitch returned to the pitch and Emerson sent out a beater to help, Tufts capitalized and scored two quick goals, the first by freshman Brook Nichols and the second by classmate Andrew Carp. But the gap was too large to fill, and a second grab from Barnada gave the Lions the victory.

“We needed to focus a little more on our strategy,” freshman keeper Nick Hill said. “We got a little distracted as we were working out the kinks. One of the big things we tried this week was creating different lines within our lineup, and once we get that down pat I think we will be in good shape.”

The break was slightly larger before the third and final match, with both teams beginning to look a bit winded.

Emerson had brought just 12 people to the match a standard World Cup roster is 21 and their tired legs showed as the game got started. Sophomore Rajah Reid scored immediately out of the gates, giving Tufts its first lead of the morning. But Emerson settled down, scoring three unanswered goals, including two from Santiago. It was a back and forth physical affair from there, as Hill and fellow freshman keeper Steve Mullahoo stymied the Emerson attack with strong tackles and did their part on offense, each contributing a goal.

We weren’t as timid as we have been in the past,” sophomore chaser Graham Kerr said. “One issue with our keeping in the beginning is that the keeper wasn’t really sure if he was supposed to be aggressive and take them down or wait. But as soon as we started being aggressive, we saw that

Panthers oust Jumbos in NESCAC semifinals While the Polar Bears were on fire, the Tufts volleyball team got left out in the cold.

The second-seeded Jumbos, ranked fourth in the region entering this weekend’s NESCAC tournament, fell to defending champion Middlebury in the semifinals 3-1, leaving Tufts hoping for an at-large bid to NCAAs when the field is announced Monday morning.

The third-seeded Panthers carried a 2-1 lead into the fourth set and rallied from a 22-19 deficit to earn a 28-26 victory that clinched the match.

Senior tri-captain Cara Spieler had a match-high 19 kills and 19 digs in the loss, while classmate Audrey Kuan —

who is also the executive online editor for the Daily — posted 28 digs. Freshmen Hayley Hopper and Kelly Brennan combined for 26 kills.

Middlebury advanced to the finals on Sunday, only to run into a Bowdoin squad that won its first-ever NESCAC title in a 3-0 decision in Brunswick, Maine yesterday. In the midst of the program’s bestever season, the Polar Bears got 12 kills from senior Kristin Hanczor to stifle the Panthers’ shot at their fourth conference crown.

For a full recap of Tufts’ loss to Middlebury, see tomorrow’s Daily.

—by Alex Prewitt

The Tufts Daily

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Tufts advances to NERFU semis RUGBY

continued from page 16

fans, parents and alumni,” Wells said. “It was a really good environment, and we were really positive going into the game, and we managed to stay that way. It was very cold and it got tense between the teams at points, but we kept our heads on straight.”

The Jumbos hope to carry Friday’s momentum into the semifinals this weekend. The team will travel to Keene State Saturday for their matchup again Eastern Connecticut State University, a team that Tufts defeated 24-17 last fall in the first round of NERFU play-offs. “[Last year, Eastern] was very physical; they weren’t the most skilled team, but they were big physical guys who knew how to kick and how to run,” Wells said. “We’re not going to win by just out-muscling them or being superathletic. We’re going to have to play goodtechnique rugby in order to win.”

Meanwhile, Keene State will face off against Salve Regina, 2010’s NERFU’s champion that advanced to the national championships. The winners of each game will meet in the finals on Sunday at Keene.

“The current crop of players has been in this position for the last two seasons, so it’s not unfamiliar territory going into the final four of our division, and they’ve seen all the teams in the final four before,” Kauff said. “I expect both of those games to be really competitive.

It sounds like we match up pretty closely to Eastern Connecticut.”

Because this is the first time that the Jumbos will see these three schools this fall, they will focus more on themselves and less on how they match up to their competitors, according to Kauff.

“What we’re really focused on is just tucking up the things we need to improve and making sure we execute our game plan to a high level,” Kauff said. “We want to make sure our players are comfortable identifying what other teams are doing and knowing how to adjust and account for things that we may not have seen before.”

Tufts last advanced to the finals of the NERFU Championships in 2004, when they earned the runner-up spot.

“I feel very confident that we have a good game plan, good coaches and good players, so if we do what we are training to do, we should be able to win,” Perrone said.

The winner of the NERFU Championships will take on the top team from the New York Rugby Union for the Northeast Div. III Championships on Nov. 19. The winner of that event will compete in the national championships in April.

Tufts has its sights set high for the rest of the season, and looks to seeing how far its new coaching staff and new style of play can bring them.

“Basically from the moment we met the coaches, we fell in love with them,” Wells said.

“I really believe that we are where we are right now because of Tom Collins, Jamie Green and Maurice Kauff. We were already at a pretty high level, but they brought us to a completely new level, with their passion and their knowledge and their commitment to the team.”

“The other coaches and I are really pleased with the team. They’re a good bunch of athletes, a good bunch of people, and they really come together in an excellent way,” Kauff added. “They take a lot of pride to put on the Tufts’ jersey and they’re very much looking forward to the next time putting it on.”

15

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Interceptions stifle Tufts’ comeback efforts FOOTBALL

The Jumbos committed an offsides penalty earlier in the drive that allowed the Mules to continue down the field.

The Mules would have been faced with a fourth-down situation and would have been forced to punt, but the penalty allowed them to pick up the first down, and eventually go on to score. A typically focused team, having committed the fewest penalties this far in the NESCAC, the Jumbos were uncharacteristically called for 10 penalties for 84 yards, many of which were in crucial situations.

“They were mental breakdowns, unfortunately they probably had a lot to do with the outcome of the game,” Rinciari said. “No team is good enough to overcome that amount of penalties and still win games.”

The Mules shut down the Jumbos offense on the next possession, forcing them to punt. Kmetz took over from here, connecting on several long passing plays before running the ball into the end zone from 11 yards out for his second rushing touchdown of the game.

With the Jumbos down 20-10 at this point and eight minutes left to play, Tufts went to work. Lindquist put together a string of passes and rushes that brought the Jumbos to about midfield.

The Jumbos ran a halfback pass play, hoping to catch the Colby defense off guard, but the play backfired. Pollock’s continued from page 16

pass, intended for Nee, was intercepted by defensive back Christian Romano.

The Jumbos tried one more time late in the fourth quarter, but Romano again quelled Tufts’ comeback hopes with an interception, this time on a pass from Lindquist.

“It was the first time we went into the half with the lead, and for a team that lacks experience, it was a new challenge,” head coach Jay Civetti said. “The theme was drawing a line, asking for execution. The frustrating part was that in the first half we were on that line. Because of penalties and a few breakdowns, we were pushed off that line. It was exciting and encouraging to see them play the way they did, and motivates us that much more to work hard this week and get ready for next game.”

Nee had a strong game, catching five balls for 48 yards. The other notable Jumbos were senior linebacker Zack Skarzynski, who added to his NESCAC leading tackles total with 14, and junior defensive end Curtis Yancy. Yancy had nine total tackles, a forced fumble and a sack for a nine-yard loss.

Despite major improvements from recent weeks, the play of Kmetz and the Mules combined with mental mistakes and turnovers ultimately cost the Jumbos the game. The Jumbos will look to build off these improvements and avoid going winless this season next Saturday against Middlebury College on Zimman Field.

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Sports

16

INSIDE Volleyball 14 Quidditch 14

tuftsdaily.com

Men’s rugby

Tufts defeats Bowdoin to go to NERFU semis Eastern Connecticut next up on Saturday by

Lauren Flament

With a win on Friday night over Bowdoin, the Tufts Rugby Football Club has earned a spot in the semifinals of the Div. III New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) Championships for the third straight year.

Finishing its regular season with a record of 5-1 and atop the Boston sub-division of the North conference, the team earned the playoff game against undefeated Bowdoin, representing the Maine sub-division. Both teams looked strong entering the matchup, but it was the Jumbos that controlled the game, shutting out the Polar Bears, 26-0 on Bello Field under the lights Friday night.

“The game went really well,” sophomore Peter Wells said. “Bowdoin is a really good team and they were very competitive, but we were able to shut them out, and I thought the team was very passionate and really busted our butts out there.”

The Jumbos came out strong, getting onto the scoreboard early and earning their first try just five minutes into the game.

“We had two scores really early on, so that kind of set the tone for the rest of the game,” senior co-captain Gabe Perrone said. “It boosted our confidence and we really kept that momentum going throughout the game.”

Tufts continued their domination in the first half, scoring four tries and three conversions. The closest Bowdoin came to putting a mark of their own on the scoreboard came just before the end of the first half.

“Bowdoin had the ball in our end probably 10 yards from our try-zone for a good five minutes, and we really had to step up and play some good defense. The forwards played great and [freshman] Ed Bell made

Zach Drucker | The Loser

No-Power Rangers

Daily Editorial Board

Courtesy Ed bell

The men’s rugby team dominated Bowdoin in the first half of Friday’s quarterfinal victory. some good tackles,” Wells said. “That would have been a big momentum change if they scored before half-time, so it was really good that we held strong.”

And with that defensive stand, Tufts ended the first half up 19-0.

The Jumbos continued to control possession of the ball in the second half, though they added less to the scoreboard than in the first, earning one try and one conversion.

“During the second half, we still had the possession advantage, but Bowdoin’s defense made some adjustments that made it harder to score,” coach Maurice Kauff said. “Defensively, we were able to apply enough pressure that Bowdoin’s offense couldn’t ever really get going with

any consistency.”

In what Kauff described as “overall the best performance of the season,” the Jumbos found their strength from all the players across the board.

“We had an all-around good game, defensively and offensively. The forwards set the tone and we capitalized off their positive play,” Perrone said. “We won almost all the set pieces, including [Bowdoin’s], so that helped us keep the ball for most of the game.”

The Friday night game drew a good crowd to support the Jumbos, fueling a fire in Tufts to defend their home field.

“It definitely helped that we had a lot of see RUGBY, page 15

FOOTBALL

Jumbos fall to 0-7 with loss at Colby

The football team fell to 0-7 following a tough loss to the Colby Mules at Harold Alfond Stadium in Waterville, by

Zach McGowan

Daily Staff Writer

FOOTBALL (0-7 NESCAC, 0-7 Overall) Waterville, Maine, Saturday Tufts Colby

7 3 0 0 — 10 7 0 6 7 — 20

Maine, on Saturday.

Tufts showed immense improvement from its 30-0 loss to Amherst a week ago and took a 10-7 lead into halftime.

However, the Jumbos could not hold back the surging Mules in the second half, and Colby pulled away with a 20-10 victory.

With the help of junior wide receiver Dylan Haas, the Jumbos were able to start the game off with a bang, as he returned the opening kickoff 43 yards.

Senior quarterback Johnny Lindquist, who missed the previous game with a separated shoulder, picked up where Haas left off, throwing a 22-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Pat Nee on the first play from scrimmage. Lindquist topped a seven-play, 43-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to junior fullback Mike Cresham. It was the first time all year that the Jumbos both scored first and took the lead.

“Anytime you go on top first it gives confidence to the team as a whole, and defensively it’s nice to have a lead,” senior tri-captain linebacker J.T. Rinciari said. “The offense for the rest of the game going forward knew they could score. It was huge [for us].”

Colby struck back right before the end of the first quarter, however. Mules senior quarterback Nick Kmetz posted 26 rushing yards on that drive, including a 17-yard scamper for a touchdown. Kmetz continued to pound the Jumbos defense, both through the air and on the ground

Virginia Bledsoe/Tufts Daily

Sophomore running back Ryan Pollock had 67 rushing yards and led the Jumbos with six receptions. throughout the game. He finished with 183 yards passing and 49 rushing yards, and a pair of rushing touchdowns.

Tufts responded on the very next drive with a methodical, 16-play march that ate up more than seven minutes of the game clock. The Jumbos went to the ground attack on this drive — sophomore running back Ryan Pollock accumulated 26 rushing yards, and Lindquist chipped in with 36. Senior place kicker Adam Auerbach connected on a 35-yard field goal to put the Jumbos back ahead.

The field goal was significant for another reason, as well, because it tied Auerbach with Chris Wild (LA ’91) for the Tufts career record.

Colby threatened again on the last drive before the end of the first half, but a strong stand by the Jumbos defense prevented the Mules from putting any more points on the scoreboard. After several completions by Kmetz and a key pass-

interference penalty, the Mules were just 14 yards from the end zone with the clock winding down. A sack by senior linebacker Carlo Cervini, one of two sacks on the day for the Jumbos, ended the threat.

The success would be short-lived, however, as the Jumbos could not hold onto the lead in the second half.

Colby dominated the time of possession in the second half and was able to craft several long drives that prevented the Jumbos from having many scoring opportunities. The Mules started their second drive of the half with a 38-yard pass from Kmetz to senior wide receiver Robert Turner, who had a game-high 64 receiving yards. Running back Ian Leitche ended the 84-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run and following a failed extra point attempt, the Mules led 13-10. see FOOTBALL, page 15

T

he Texas Rangers almost did it. They almost inscribed their names into the annals of history. They almost celebrated with champagne showers, raucous revelry and a triumphant parade. They almost earned the right to be called “World Champions” for a full year.

Yet, “almost” is never good enough.

The Rangers came as close to winning the World Series — without actually winning the World Series — as any team in history. After a lopsided thwacking in the 2010 World Series courtesy of the San Francisco Giants, the Rangers seemed poised for sweet redemption. Up three games to two with a two-run lead, the Rangers had the St. Louis Cardinals down to their final strike. A former no-name in the midst of a breakout postseason, David Freese — ice-water (pun intended) coursing through his veins — smacked a two-run triple to send the game into extra innings.

Freese, however, was only prolonging the inevitable, because Josh Hamilton’s tworun, Kirk Gibson-esque shot into the rightcenter bleachers in the top of the 10th gave the Rangers a seemingly insurmountable lead. Yet, in a deja vu moment that has since been seared into the minds of Rangers fans for eternity, the Rangers again blew a lead with one strike to go.

The “Cardiac Cards” won the game (Freese delivered with a walk-off homer in the 11th) and clinched their 11th World Series championship the following night.

Just as it looked like Dallas could overtake Boston as Titletown, USA, the Rangers lost.

Texas was left despondent: Ron Washington scratching his leathery scalp and Nolan Ryan turtling his graying head shamefully into his collar.

So the Rangers franchise still has as many World Series titles as LeBron James has NBA titles/moral scruples: none. Throughout their 51-year history, the Rangers have always come up short, further exhausting the excruciation generated by successive failures in the Fall Classic.

Immersed in a realm of enduring curses, meddling fans and infamous collapses, baseball is arguably the most droughtprone professional sport. The Chicago Cubs haven’t been World Champions since 1908 and have not even competed for the Grail since World War II. In coming seasons, the Rangers could be fated for more failure and grief.

After all, the statistical chances of a team making it to the World Series three seasons in a row are slim. Plus, the Rangers have an aging squad, they have graduated or traded some of their farm talent and they have many off-season questions. Atop said list of questions is whether they can (and want to) re-sign their top starting pitcher, C.J. Wilson. Wilson has anchored the Rangers’ pitching staff for the past two seasons, but he has yet to establish himself as an “ace” in the league and his postseason resume is lackluster at best.

Consistent pitching has proven itself time and again as the essential ingredient to postseason success. Don’t believe me?

Consider the magnitude of Game 6’s postponement due to rain. The Cards earned a day of rest, allowing Chris Carpenter’s bionic arm that much more time to become magically rejuvenated. Carpenter pitched a gem in Game 7, giving up only two runs in six innings of gritty work.

Not to mention, the emotional torment of an ostensibly Sisyphean pursuit can take its toll on some players. If the Rangers do manage to make it back to the World Series next season, the pressure will be firmly on their shoulders from the outset. Until then, the Rangers must not wallow in self-pity.

Rather, they must look to build on their experience and fortify their pitching staff in the coming offseason.

Zach Drucker is a senior majoring in international relations. He can be reached at Zachary.Drucker@tufts.edu.