2011-12-02

THE TUFTS DAILY

Sunny 52/33

VOLUME LXII, NUMBER 55

Where You Read It First Est. 1980 TUFTSDAILY.COM

Friday, December 2, 2011

Tufts Med Center and Blue Cross continue contract negotiations by

Kathryn Olson

Daily Editorial Board

“The Reader is an attempt to document, at multiple levels, the history of African people of Latino descent in the United States,” Miriam Jimenez Román, executive director of the afrolatin@ forum and co-editor of the Reader, said The Reader aims to look at historical racial hierarchy in the Afro-Latino community while unpacking the lived experiences of colorism — discrimination based on skin tone — according to James Jennings, contributing author of the Reader and Tufts professor of urban and environmental

Tufts Medical Center and health insurance provider Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts are back at the negotiating table after a tense month of contract negotiations. If negotiations fail, Blue Cross customers would have to find new doctors or insurance providers. The setbacks highlight faults in the state’s health care system, according to healthcare advocates.

Tufts Medical is the main teaching hospital associated with the Tufts School of Medicine.

Tufts Medical and its affiliated physicians group, the New England Quality Care Alliance (NEQCA), announced on Nov. 15 that they planned to end their contract with Blue Cross on Jan. 17, 2012, according to a Blue Cross statement.

Following the announcement, Blue Cross sent a notice to its members to alert them of the impending split.

Two days later, Blue Cross and Tufts Medical announced that they would instead actually continue negotiations mediated by an unnamed third party.

Blue Cross insures approximately 200,000 members who use Tufts-affiliated primary care physicians, according to Tufts Medical Center Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications Brooke Tyson Hynes.

If negotiations fail, those members would have to find new doctors or insurance providers, Hynes told the Daily.

“Our goal and our hope is to reach an agreement and to prevent such a disruption from happening,” Hynes said.

Negotiations have been ongoing for approximately four months, and have drawn attention to underlying problems in the state’s health care system, according to Brian Rosman, director of research at Health Care for All, a health care advocacy group.

“Even if these negotiations are successful, this incident highlighted the need for some

see FORUM, page 3

see MEDICAL, page 2

Alex Dennett/Tufts Daily

Students, faculty and visiting lecturers unpacked centuries of lived experiences last night at the Afro-Latino Forum.

Afro-Latino forum fosters dialogue on colorism, lived experiences Brionna Jimerson and Gabrielle Hernandez

Daily Editorial Board

Academic study and lived experience converged last night at the AfroLatino Roundtable Forum, where an assembly of over 50 students, faculty and visiting speakers participated in a dialogue about the Afro-Latino experience in the United States.

The evening event was held in the Lincoln Filene Center. Associate Professor of Art and Art History Adriana Zavala explained that, although the event was originally planned to take place last year, last night’s event came by

at a good time, given increased discussion in recent months on the topics of race and ethnicity on campus.

“We’re incredibly happy it happened this semester, since we are in the midst of talking about activating race academically on campus,” she said.

The discussion took place on the heels of the release of The Afro-Latin@ Reader produced by Duke University, a collection of academic articles, poems, short stories, newspaper articles and personal testimonies about Afro-Latinos in the United States context. The Reader formed the base of last night’s discussion.

Alex de Waal sheds light on humanitarian intervention

by Josh

Weiner

Daily Staff Writer

Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation (WPF) at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, yesterday discussed ongoing conflicts in East Africa and means of effectively resolving them. The talk was held with Tufts’ Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) class in Barnum Hall.

Students in EPIIC appreciated de Waal’s knowledgeable and innovative approach to the bleak situation in Sudan.

“Alex de Waal is one of the leading scholars of the Horn of Africa,” EPIIC student Amy Calfas, a junior, said. “He has a very profound background studying this region and is highly respected in the international community.”

“I think Alex brought a very interesting perspective to this issue,” senior Amy Ouellette, a student in EPIIC, said. “He’s

met with many of the leaders of Sudan and can speak about their personalities. It was very cool to have a first-hand account enhance our understanding of the conflict.”

De Waal is an expert in peace studies and conflict resolution in northeast Africa. Formerly, as a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, de Waal worked as part of a mediation team for the African Union in the 2008 Darfur peace agreement.

He was asked to lead WPF — which brings intellectuals with expertise in peace studies to the school to engage students in applied research and outreach programs — when the program moved from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government to The Fletcher School in July.

De Waal said he became interested in the study of refugees during his time at the University of Oxford as an undergraduate

Students treated to dinner and trashion show

Josh Berlinger/Tufts Daily

Tufts Sustainability Collective teamed with Tufts Dining Services last night to offer a sustainable dinner in Dewick-MacPhie Dining Hall. The meal featured locally grown and organic food and was accompanied by a trashion show hosted by Eco-Reps.

see DE WAAL, page 2

Inside this issue

Today’s sections

For many international Tufts students, every day is a foreign language test.

‘Breaking Dawn: Part 1’ is both terrible and disturbing.

see FEATURES, page 3

see ARTS, page 5

News & Features Arts & Living Comics

1 5 6

Classifieds Sports

7 Back

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THE TUFTS DAILY Carter W. Rogers Editor-in-Chief

Editorial Niki Krieg Adam Kulewicz Managing Editors Amelie Hecht Executive News Editor Elizabeth McKay News Editors Kathryn Olson Laina Piera Corinne Segal Saumya Vaishampayan Bianca Blakesley Assistant News Editors Gabrielle Hernandez Brionna Jimerson 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 Jyot Singh

News & features

Friday, December 2, 2011

Financial bargaining characterizes Sudanese conflict negotiations, de Waal says DE WAAL

continued from page 1

and traveled to East Africa to study the subject.

“I got engaged in the issue of human rights in the context of the famine and conflict that was going on there at the time,” he said, referring to regional upheaval caused by the Ethiopian civil war and a massive drought in Sudan throughout the 1980s.

De Waal explained that democratic institutions and respect for human rights can often increase following times of war, as was the case during the American peace movement in the early part of the 20th century, but warned that such positive developments are not guaranteed.

This type of post-war transformation cannot necessarily be expected to occur in places like Sudan, which has been engaged in ongoing conflict for nearly 50 years, he said.

De Waal stressed that the United States should not set high expectations during periods of international intervention, as it did in during the American invasion of Somalia in 1993.

Instead, de Waal suggested that the likelihood of success — rather than a set of established norms or rules — should determine whether states undertake humanitarian intervention.

“We shouldn’t try to set norms and standards by which we intervene,” he said. “Trying to establish a ‘rulebook for interventionism’ is a flawed enterprise.”

This notion was especially true in the case of Sudan, he said. Although Sudan has a long history of human rights abuses that merit international attention, humanitarian intervention may not be the best way to resolve Sudan’s underlying political problems, he said.

De Waal said that in the Sudan crisis, negotiations between rebel leaders, the

provincial and metropolitan elite and the incumbent operate as they would in a commercial marketplace, where adherence to a peace agreement can be bought.

In these cases, de Waal said, outside intervention can be problematic.

The main reason the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which was meant to end the Second Sudanese Civil War, failed was because the United Nations did not understand the extent to which this financial bargaining was happening, he explained.

Until this is resolved, de Waal believes the CPA is unlikely to be successfully implemented.

Interventionists also often fail to recognize that conflicts in Darfur are not unique to the region.

“What’s going on is not just a Darfurian conflict,” he said. “It is a Sudanese conflict as manifested in Darfur. We need to be part of the national process, not just the regional process.”

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Tufts Medical Center and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts continue tense negotiations over a 3 percent pay raise.

Tufts Medical and Blue Cross stall over 3 percent pay raise MEDICAL

continued from page 1

fundamental changes in how the health care system operates,” Rosman said. “The patients should not be penalized due to a financial dispute. The key thing is that the system needs to recognize that there’s a public interest in these contracts, and there has to be a way to keep patients from being harmed in these negotiating strategies.”

The dispute centers on the amount Blue Cross pays Tufts Medical, Boston’s sixth largest employer, for its services and how those payments are distributed among Tufts Medical and its physicians group, according to Hynes.

Tufts Medical is not seeking a large pay increase compared to similar hospitals’ Blue Cross funds, Hynes said, but a 3 percent increase to keep up with inflation.

Although Blue Cross has informally indicated it would accept a 3 percent increase, Tufts Medical Center has not yet seen a contract that meets that requirement, Hynes explained.

Blue Cross and Tufts Medical experienced a similar showdown over pay in 2009. The two parties eventually resolved the dispute and continued a working relationship.

Blue Cross reimburses certain hospitals more for similar procedures than others, an issue that has continued to plague contract disputes between Blue Cross and Tufts Medical and that has reduced Tufts’ leverage in the disputes, Hynes said.

The company makes reimbursement decisions based not on a hospital’s qual-

ity of care or costs of their services but on market clout, according to Rosman.

Rosman noted that a recent report, completed by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley titled Examination of Health Care Cost Trends and Cost Drivers, found a dramatic variation in what health insurance companies pay health care providers.

“The underlying reason [that Blue Cross pays some hospitals more] has nothing to do with quality or cost but market power, whether it be geographic, brand label or reputation,” Rosman said.

“For us, this points to the need for some public oversight and a way to guide the market so that these decisions are made in the public interest instead of just the financial participants.”

Blue Cross pays Children’s Hospital Boston 95 percent more than Tufts Medical for delivering the same service, Hynes said.

“Tufts Medical Center and our physicians are not paid what similar providers are paid,” she said. “It’s really not a fair system.”

A 3 percent payment increase is necessary for the hospital, according to Hynes.

“We embrace the idea of being a low cost provider and using patients’ dollars efficiently,” Hynes said. “We’re not looking for the same payment rate as these other hospitals, but we do need some additional compensation in order to continue to provide for our patients.”

Hynes said that Tufts Medical Center has fully met Blue Cross’s standards in the past, and has improved patient care in recent years.

“For the last two to three years, we have done an excellent job of meeting its standards and have improved patient health and the patient’s experience,” she said.

University President Anthony Monaco and Tufts Medical School Dean Harris Berman issued a joint statement earlier this month in response to the stalled negotiations urging members of the Tufts community to directly contact Blue Cross to ask them to reconsider their position.

The statement claims that the success of the negotiations directly affects the success of the School of Medicine.

“Our partnership with Tufts Medical Center is critical to our ability to provide outstanding teaching experiences for our students. It is important that Tufts Medical Center be paid fairly in this market in order to continue to deliver excellent patient care, research and teaching,” the statement said.

Blue Cross has historically underpaid Tufts Medical and Floating Hospital for Children, the children’s hospital located at Tuft Medical, compared to other member hospitals, the statement noted, and it asked that Tufts Medical only be treated fairly and equally.

Patients should not have to suffer the consequences of stalled negotiations, Rosman said.

“The key thing is that the system needs to recognize that there’s a public interest in these contracts, and there has to be a way to keep patients from being harmed in these negotiating strategies,” Rosman said.

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.

Friday, December 2, 2011

The Tufts Daily

3

News & Features

International students come prepared to tackle English at Tufts by

Falcon Reese

Daily Editorial Board

Because of Tufts’ focus on global community, the university requires that students in the School of Arts and Sciences study and gain proficiency in a foreign language before they graduate. However, for Tufts’ contingent of international students, the study of foreign languages began long before they became Jumbos, and unlike most other students, they are now required to use their foreign language of choice — English — both inside and outside the classroom.

Junior Emilia Luna, who is originally from Ecuador, began her English education at an American international school.

“There [are] two good schools in Ecuador,” she said. “Mine … just had an American system.”

Although some international schools are run through the U.S. Embassy, Luna explained, hers adhered to an accredited American curriculum in which classes — taught by Americans — were conducted in English and points were taken off whenever a student spoke in Spanish. This dynamic proved a vital part of the process of learning a foreign language.

Luna’s future plans played a large part in the original decision to attend an American school, especially since she had always planned on eventually studying outside of Ecuador.

“If you do want to go abroad like my parents wanted me to, you do need a very high level of English,” Luna said. She was able to gain a substantial amount of practical experience in English before coming to Tufts by attending two summer camps in America.

“I think what changed the most [afterwards] was how comfortable I was with my English,” she said.

When she was 13, Luna attended a writing program offered by Johns Hopkins University, and she took a journalism course at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire the summer before her junior year of high school.

“I’ve always loved to write,” Luna said, further explaining that, in her case, the immersive environment and the chance to write provided by these camps was key to learning English.

“In order for you to appreciate a language, the language needs to be part of more than the academic realm,” she said. “The main difference, learningwise, [is that] English is considered only an academic language.”

For junior William Luk, a native of Hong Kong, learning English also began as a purely academic endeavor.

“I went to a local school for the first six years of my primary education,” Luk said. “My English was one of the best in my year.”

When he realized his son’s potential in the English language, Luk’s father decided to transfer him to an international high school. Moreover, the decision to learn English in Hong Kong made sense because the territory — a British colony until 1997 — conducts much of its government and business in English.

Josh Berlinger/Tufts Daily

International students coming to Tufts with a strong English background navigate the tricky phrases with a sense of humor.

As a student at the Canadian International School of Hong Kong, Luk participated in an Ontario-based curriculum with Canadian teachers and textbooks. All courses taught English very formally, he said.

“I learned English in a more structured way [with] a lot of grammar, drills, vocabulary,” Luk said.

Luk added that his English as a Second Language (ESL) class at the school was instrumental in breaking through the learning curve.

Like Luna, Luk was able to gain practical experience speaking English outside of an academic context before he began studying at Tufts.

“My dad also enrolled me in theater.

I joined an outside theater group,” Luk said. “I did that for seven or eight years.”

He elaborated that theater was also a way to practice speaking the English language confidently and fluently.

“You put yourself out there where you’re put in a position that you have to speak English out loud in front of other people,” Luk said, adding that, by doing this, he naturally improved.

Luk’s eventual decision to study abroad was impacted largely by where he went to school.

“Being in an international school where everyone is going to study in English-speaking countries, that influenced [my decision],” he said. While he could have studied in Hong Kong, Luk explained that he preferred Westernstyle education and culture, seeing it as more creative.

Sophomore Ye Shen, who is originally from Nanjing, China, was also drawn to school in the United States because

she preferred a liberal arts-style education.

“I liked American undergraduate education because it is more liberal arts based. I had no idea what I wanted to study when I was applying to schools, and in China you have to decide before you apply.”

Since coming to Tufts, Luk explained that every day is a constant learning experience, and that despite feeling as though he was prepared when he arrived in America, there are still little things that he picks up.

“I’ll pronounce a word in a different way and people will correct me,” he said. “I rely on my friends to explain things … If it’s something that alters the meaning of what I’m doing, if it’s something important, I’ll ask.”

While Shen experiences the occasional difficulty with English as her second language, she is comfortable overall.

“I definitely have problems in terms of awkward wording, because I don’t know the more natural way to say things,” Shen said. “Other than that, I am able to express my ideas in English.”

Now, Luk considers English his primary language.

“I think in English,” he said, and added that it has even become more difficult for him to converse in Mandarin or Cantonese.

Luna described a different experience upon first arriving at Tufts.

“I knew I had the academic English, but I didn’t have the conversational English that I thought I did,” she said. Now, more than two years later, she speaks English fluently and has

declared it as one of her two majors.

Nevertheless, she admits that a small degree of apprehension will always remain.

“When you’re in an international setting, it almost doesn’t matter how good your English is,” she said. Although it does not bother her in excess, Luna said her freshman fears of stumbling on words or making grammatical mistakes stick with her, despite her best efforts.

“Even if I’m an English major, it’s still my second language,” Luna said. “I still confuse ‘in’ and ‘on’ … I guess that never goes away.”

Luna added that this includes her accent.

“Every time I go back to Ecuador, I come back and my accent is huge,” she said.

After spending so much time in the United States, and now being fluent in English, the students still manage to find little slip-ups to laugh at. Luk explained that he once mixed up the expressions “I love you to death” and “I love you more than life itself.”

“I confused [them] and said, ‘I love you more than death,’” Luk said. “My friend just said, ‘Thank you?’” he said, laughing. “I know those two sayings, I just mixed them up for a second and embarrassed myself.”

Luna experiences similar stumbles, though she has another international friend to catch their own mistakes.

“One of my Greek friends says food is ‘nice.’ Food can’t be ‘nice,’” she said.

“We just mock each other back and forth.”

Reader shares people’s histories that are not generally taught FORUM

continued from page 1

policy and planning.

The work draws its strength from its commitment to identifying experiences as lived histories, Zavala said.

“The experiential aspect of the Reader is important,” she said. “It gets people to locate themselves, and it builds a scholarly discourse.”

The pieces employ different historic and geographic lenses, including transnational migration and the inalienable realities of individually lived experiences, according to Juan Flores, professor of social and cultural analysis at New York University and co-editor of the Reader.

“The reason to do the Reader was

not about celebrating our heroes. It gives you the idea that all these little stories are about community,” Román said. “You take these stories, another way of looking at U.S. history, black history, Latino history … as a way of looking at the people’s history, and those are the histories we’re not being taught.”

The evening conversation focused on a variety of topics, ranging from colorism — surrounding and within Afro-Latino communities — and the conflation of race and ethnicity.

“Cultural prejudice isn’t the same as racism,” Flores said. “The whole point is to question our exclusive possession of ideas. There are bigger issues involved about power and who gets to

decides these things.”

Román shared a real-life example of how race and colorism works within power structures, especially in the context of employment.

“In the Carolinas, there are 35,000 Afro-Mexicans working in processing plants,” she said. “Most people don’t understand them as Afro-Mexicans, and they’re ‘passing’ for Puerto Ricans or Dominicans, because they’re dark enough.”

Even in the discourse within the Afro-Latino community, Flores explained that pervasive stereotyping exists, particularly of women.

“The hyper sexualizing of women, it’s demeaning women in so many ways,” Flores said. “There are prob-

lems. We have to try to be ahead of that, and keep the political and intellectual understanding to the foreground so it’s not taken over as a fad.”

When a student in the audience asked the speakers a question about the role of academic departments teaching about these topics, Román explained that academic institutions move slowly in venturing into new fields of study.

“The whole system [of academia] is structured in a way so that it reproduces itself,” she said. “Innovation is not part of the academy. It is something that happens after the fact. It’s our experiences that force the academy to do something different.”

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NEWS & FEATURES

It sounds like a regular Tufts event, blanketyblank cheer and wonder. I might show up.

Campus comment

WinterFest

NQR may be gone, but students next weekend have WinterFest, a four-day series of campus events and performances, to look forward to as they gear up for finals. WinterFest features food trucks, prize giveaways, a nighttime pancake breakfast hosted by University President Anthony Monaco, a carnival on Saturday afternoon and performances by campus music and dance groups. Here’s what the campus had to say about the clothed seasonal offerings that will cover the Hill.

WinterFest is likely going to be some hot fire fun times, although it’s going to be pretty chilly I hear. Some snow, just a little sprinkling might be nice. I’m hopng it’s festive and ‘wintrous’ and hopefully filled with a lot of rhythm.

Where is the fake snow?

—Jack LeMay, junior

—Karen Bustard, junior

I wish the school wouldn’t throw so much money at traditions to make them happen when they would grow organically.

It sounds like a less fun version of Tuftonia’s Day —Shir Livne senior

—Hilary Ross, senior

— Ruben Sonz-Barnes, freshman

I hope that it’s a fun substitute that in no way is trying to fill the shoes of NQR, which we all miss dearly.

Friday, December 2, 2011

I feel that it’s something that is being produced; it will never have as much meaning [as NQR].

People will probably go and get drunk but it won’t be as fun.

—Aaron Ratoff, senior

WinterFest sounds like a fun idea but it kind of takes away from Tuftonia’s Day. Still, arguments are kind of useless, and we will have fun no matter what.

—Emma Wise, sophomore

—Hilary Ludlow, junior

—compiled by Jon Cheng and Martha Shanahan

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Arts & Living

5

tuftsdaily.com

Movie Review

Hilariously bad ‘Breaking Dawn’ contains disturbing messages by

Anna Majeski

Daily Editorial Board

Let me just preface this by saying that I have never picked up a copy of “Twilight” (2005). Stephenie Meyer’s

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1 Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner Directed by Bill Condon now cult-classic novels were published after I had already gotten out of my painful middle school years, and perhaps because of this I never sought solace in Bella Swan’s awkward and insecuritystrewn love life. Minus the hot vampire, I had already had plenty of moments of self-denial and I certainly didn’t need to relive them word by angsty word alongside Ms. Swan.

After seeing the latest installment of the “Twilight” saga, I was reminded why.

“Breaking Dawn: Part 1” — yes, there will be a Part 2 — is two hours of awkwardly breathy soundtracks and Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) biting her lip anxiously. Throw in an opener in which Jacob (Taylor Lautner) takes off his shirt within the first 30 seconds of the film, and you’ve set the scene for this cinematic gem.

There is, of course, plenty of teenaged love, and the movie starts off with Bella and Edward Cullen’s (Robert Pattinson) much-anticipated wedding scene. Ms. Swan becomes Mrs. Cullen — gag — and Edward whisks Bella off to a romantic island getaway, which seems an odd choice on the part of Edward, a member of the undead community. One would think that a nice vacation basking in the island sun wouldn’t exactly be up his alley. Whatever.

The awkwardness between Edward and Bella is palpable. I’m not exactly sure why these two fell in love, but if the books fill in the cracks with meaningful conversation and discussions about life choices, that part is conveniently left out by director Bill Condon. In fact, I would say the two barely speak, and most of their honeymoon is spent playing chess and avoiding sexual contact.

Speaking of sexual contact, the virginity-losing moment is completely blown up to the point where any young woman would think having sex for the time is like preparing for a nuclear disaster.

See: the scene in which Stewart frantically brushes her teeth, shaves her legs and generally preps like a Kardashian within a 50-mile radius of a camera.

Despite this fact, the new couple doesn’t really sit down and have a chat about the game plan. In fact, I’m fairly certain the word “sex” wasn’t mentioned the entire movie — probably because it’s dirty and even married people are embarrassed to talk about it. Sex obviously isn’t meaningful to these two characters, and since conversation doesn’t seem to make a big showing, either, I left the theater feeling perplexed about why the hell these two got married.

Above and beyond the shamelessly mockable acting, plot and grapplings with sex in a movie aimed at 13-yearolds, there are some truly disturbing aspects to “Breaking Dawn.”

We find out within the first halfhour that Bella has somehow gotten herself knocked up by her vampire husband, which starts the ball rolling on the remainder of the plot. Despite the fact that enduring the vampire baby pregnancy will probably kill her, Bella decides to keep the baby. In the space of five minutes we see her body transformed from that of a young and supposedly happy newlywed to a har-

Summit Entertainment

Mr. and Mrs. Cullen start out their short-lived honeymoon: eggs for her, blood for him. rowing figure that looks like a victim of anorexia. The number of screen shots which focus on her physical torture is truly disturbing, considering she is supposedly depicting an 18-year-old girl, and the producers of the film seem to go above and beyond in their task to emphasize her absolute physical agony.

Beyond the semi-sadistic images of Bella’s emaciated body, the problem is that none of this is deplored. Bella’s quest is righteous — Edward and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) make a fuss, but beyond that, her choice is seen as undeniably correct. Bella becomes a poster child for

martyr-like sacrifice, she is encouraged to completely disregard her own wellbeing and this saga is only glorified.

“Breaking Dawn” hits all the same notes as its Twi-hard predecessors, but this film more than any of the others brings up the truly disturbing nature of its message for young women. It’s literally impossible not to laugh at this movie — it’s filled with way too much bad acting and too many intense moments that come across as slightly spastic.

But beyond the tweeny packaging is a troubling message that makes “Breaking Dawn’s” box office success just a little more embittering than amusing.

TV Review

Grammer gives an impressive performance as Chicago mayor in ‘Boss’

by Joseph Stile

Daily Editorial Board

Starz’s original programming has gained a new series, “Boss.” The show stars Emmy-winner Kelsey Grammer,

Boss Starring Kelsey Grammer, Connie Nielsen, Kathleen Robertson Airs Fridays at 10 p.m. on Starz who plays Tom Kane, Chicago’s corrupt mayor secretly dealing with his declining health. While the series has many strengths and Grammer handles the role admirably, “Boss” falters by prizing melodramatic storytelling over strong characterization.

As Mayor Kane, Grammer is convincing as an old-fashioned political boss. Here, he has none of the uppity charm he mastered in the 11 years he worked on “Frasier” (1993-2004). Kane is a crafty leader who speaks with lyrical grace during his speeches, but makes his assistants and colleagues cower with his strong words behind closed doors.

Kane learns in the first scene that he has a degenerative disorder that will kill him in a few years and leave him brain damaged much sooner. He quickly decides to cover up this diagnosis — predictable for a politician in the practice of covering up his illegal backdoor dealings. The show demonstrates Grammer’s acting prowess; he hints with nuance to Kane’s burden and his struggle to remain strong despite feeling vulnerable.

The isolating force of Kane’s power becomes clear, as he even keeps the news of his impending death from

Starz’s original program boasts an impressive cast and crew. his cold and distant wife Meredith (Connie Nielsen).

The show splits its focus between Kane’s health and his meddling in the race for governor. The storyline proves that “Boss” isn’t afraid to show an unsympathetic side of Kane. Over the course of the election, Kane betrays his friend to support a newcomer, Ben Zajac ( Jeff Hephner), in an attempt to

Starz

gain more influence in the governor’s office. Kane’s knowledge of Zajac’s sexual escapades allows him to blackmail Zajac once he takes office. These episodes often feel overdone and take themselves too seriously, and the show as a whole suffers greatly as a result.

“Boss” is at its best when it examines the little details of state and local power struggles, and at its worst and

most ridiculous when it throws in violent or sex-filled storylines. It’s as if the writers assumed it needs drugs and nudity because it’s a cable show, so they just threw them into the story with little point.

The most thrilling parts of the show are often the ones that should be the most mundane. Small conversations on campaign buses and city council discussions pose huge problems that could derail Kane. The show would be smart to stick to these over the stereotypical political drama plot mechanisms.

“Boss” features truly beautiful cinematography: It instantly captures the mood of the scene without overshadowing the drama. The polished shots emphasize some of Kane’s bigger speeches and make some of the weaker scenes nice to look at. As with many high-profile cable shows, “Boss” has an eye for detail.

The first episode was directed by Oscar-nominated director Gus Van Sant, and the impressive use of closeup shots captures Kane’s mental state — Sant simultaneously allows viewers to get entrenched in Kane’s character while also giving them a sense of all the other corrupt political actions that are going on around him.

This ambitious show does everything on such a big scale, and has potential to become one of the most intriguing shows to premiere this year, but as of now it’s a mixed bag.

It would serve “Boss” to avoid imitating great cable shows like “The Sopranos” (1999-2007) and “Mad Men.” It needs to find a way to make its tone more consistent and play to its strengths. With such a stellar lead performance and some exceptionally talented people working behind the camera, “Boss” will hopefully find a way to tighten up and create a worthwhile program.

The Tufts Daily

6

Comics

Friday, December 2, 2011

Doonesbury

Crossword

by

Garry Trudeau

Non Sequitur

Tuesday’s Solution

Married to the Sea

www.marriedtothesea.com

SUDOKU Level: Not being creeped out that Santa sees you when you’re sleeping

Late Night at the Daily Thursday’s Solution

Carter: “Has anyone here played CastleVille? I think it might be the -ville game for me.”

Please recycle this Daily.

by

Wiley

The Tufts Daily

Friday, December 2, 2011

7

Sports

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Inside NHL

David McIntyre | The Beautiful Game

Shanahan alters NHL’s discipline policy by

Matt Berger

Daily Editorial Board

More than a quarter of the way through the NHL season, few players have had as big an impact on the league as Brendan Shanahan.

Shanahan, who was drafted in 1987 by the Devils, spent 21 years in the NHL with New Jersey, St. Louis, Hartford, Detroit and the New York Rangers. An eight-time allstar, he won three Stanley Cups with the Red Wings and retired in 2009 with 656 goals, the most among active players at the time. Shanahan left the league having scored more than 600 goals and recorded over 2,000 penalty minutes, the only player in NHL history to do both.

Considering his familiarity with the penalty box, it’s hardly a surprise that Shanahan succeeded Colin Campbell as the NHL’s head disciplinarian before the start of the 20112012 season. His insistence on following the NHL rules by the book has led to more suspensions for illegal hits so far this season, and for that reason, Shanahan has made a greater contribution to the league this fall than any active player.

The first guilty man this season was Minnesota Wild center Pierre-Marc Bouchard, who was hit with a two-game suspension for an egregious high-sticking violation on Columbus left winger Matt Calvert on Oct. 8. Agitated by Calvert’s jostling before a faceoff late in the second period, Bouchard caught him in the face with his stick, a direct violation of rule 60.1 of the NHL rulebook which prohibits “any [non-accidental] contact to an opponent above the height of the shoulders.”

That two-game penalty, however, was only a slap on the wrist compared to the longest suspension of Shanahan’s reign, which came in a Sept. 23 preseason game between, once again, Minnesota and Columbus. With the Wild forwards making a rush up the ice, Blue Jackets defender James Wisniewski

MCT

An enforcer during his playing career, Brendan Shanahan is now tasked with preventing players from taking the aggressive role too far. blindsided Minnesota’s Cal Clutterbuck with a vicious hit to the head, knocking the big right winger to the ice.

Since the hit came so early in the preseason, the incident gave Shanahan a great opportunity to exercise his disciplinarian muscle and show players that there would be serious consequences for reckless and potentially dangerous plays. Wisniewski received a 12-game suspension, which included the Blue Jackets’ eight remaining preseason contests as well as their first four regular season games.

In a safety video on the NHL website, Shanahan referenced rule 48.1 — a restriction on any hit “where the head is targeted and the principal point of contact is not permitted.” The same video shows Wisniewski’s hit on Clutterbuck from several different angles with commentary from Shanahan himself.

These safety videos — which the league has posted on its website after every suspension — have been extremely effective in deterring reckless and illegal contact. Not long ago, Shanahan announced that concussions were down 50 percent this season, a clear indication that his proactive policies have been working.

But more importantly, Shanahan’s diligence has led the NHL out of a time when suspensions and fines seemed to be handed down more arbitrarily. Now, each disciplinary decision made by Shanahan is accompanied by comprehensive description and explanation. Even in cases where illegal hits did not bring about suspensions, the league’s safety czar has explained why he felt each incident did not warrant additional discipline.

Of course, some fans have felt that Shanahan came down too hard on some players — such as the three-game suspension that he issued to Montreal Canadiens’ left winger Max Pacioretty for a supposed illegal check to the head of Pittsburgh Penguins defender Kris Letang — they should appreciate Shanahan’s transparency in creating each video and explaining his interpretation of the NHL rulebook and the degree to which players should be punished for particularly egregious offenses.

From Shanahan’s work so far this season, it’s clear that he is committed to judging these instances consistently and always in the interest of player safety. As a former player who suffered many knocks over the years and is well-respected throughout the sport, Shanahan is able to objectively evaluate illegal hits and determine what punishment they warrant.

Research has shown that the effects of contact sports like hockey or football can end the lives of players early. The NHL — and Shanahan in particular — are working to make hockey safer without removing the inherent intensity of the sport.

Games of the Week looking back (Nov. 26) | Here’s to You, Mr. Robinson Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson accounted for five touchdowns in the No. 15 Wolverines’ 40-34 win over Ohio State on Saturday that snapped a sevengame losing streak against their Big Ten rivals. Under the shadow of the Buckeyes’ impending hire of coach Urban Meyer, Robinson took care of business at The Big House, throwing for 167 yards and three touchdowns while tacking on 170 rushing yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns.

In the winning effort, Robinson became the fourth Wolverines quarterback to throw three touchdowns against the Buckeyes and posted the third-most rushing yards by a Michigan player in the rivalry. Though

losses to Iowa and Michigan State quelled Michigan’s shot at reaching the Big Ten title game — Michigan State will take on Wisconsin this Saturday for an automatic BCS bid — Michigan has reeled off three straight wins, including a 45-17 rout of Nebraska on Nov. 19 in which Robinson put up 263 total yards and four touchdowns.

Given the Wolverines’ recent surge, both Mark Schlabach and Brad Edwards have projected Michigan to earn an at-large bid to the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 3, 2012 to take on Houston.

As of the Nov. 27 BCS standings, Michigan was ranked 16th.

MCT

looking ahead (Dec. 2) | ice hockey opens home slate with weekend doubleheadER

Alex Dennett/Tufts Daily

The ice hockey team salvaged a third-place finish at the Rutland Herland Invitational this past weekend, falling to Morrisville State 4-2 in the opening round before shutting out Becker 3-0 to move back above .500 after a two-game slide. Now the Jumbos head to the Malden Forum for the first time this season, hosting Williams and Middlebury in a Friday-Saturday doubleheader.

Tufts is currently 2-0 in NESCAC play after opening its season with 4-1 and 3-2 wins over Trinity and Wesleyan, respectively. The victory over the Bantams on Nov. 18 was the Jumbos’ first since Feb. 2006.

Williams enters unbeaten at 2-0-2 this season and 1-0-1 in the NESCAC, while Middlebury, ranked 11th in the latest

USCHO.com Div. III Men’s Poll, is 2-1-1 after falling to Elmira 3-2 at the Great Northern Shootout and salvaging a tie versus Plattsburgh State at the PrimeLink Shootout Third Place Game. The Jumbos and the Panthers are the only two teams with 2-0-0 records in conference play.

For the Jumbos, look for goalie Scott Barchard (.933 save percentage, NESCAChigh 153 saves) to lead the way on defense, buoyed by Tufts’ first shutout since a 3-0 win over Middlebury in last season’s opener.

Sophomore Kyle Gallegos currently ranks second in the NESCAC with four goals, while junior Jared Barker and freshman Tyler Voigt are each tied for third with four assists.

World Cup Waste

U

ndoubtedly, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was a success from a philosophical standpoint. The first World Cup on the African continent drew gobs of good publicity, exposed the diversity and the wonders of South African culture to the world and ended with a victory

by Spain, who play some of the most visually pleasing soccer in recent memory.

However, amidst all the euphoria and vuvuzela-filled celebrations, the real effects of holding the World Cup in such an underdeveloped country were lost in the shuffle, and without proper examination, the same outcomes threaten the next three World Cups.

Firstly, the investment and construction required to hold a World Cup in a non-Western country are enormous, and beyond what one would initially expect. Not only do numerous, expensive stadiums need to be built — five in the case of South Africa, at the cost of over $1 billion — but public transportation needs to be drastically improved to handle increased traffic. Indeed, the sheer enormity of the project almost swamped South Africa, and there were whispers even until 2009 that the country would not be ready to host the tournament and that FIFA would have to move the Cup to Europe or North America.

But why is this important, especially considering World Cup 2010 was a success?

Because not only is such massive investment drastically misplaced, it is wildly unfair. When all the numbers were totaled, South Africa, a country with dire social problems, spent over $4.7 billion on construction, while FIFA raked in revenues of $3.5 billion. South Africa is also now left with so-called “white elephants” huge stadiums that cannot possibly be filled to capacity by local sports, and sit empty while citizens live in abject poverty nearby.

The same exact thing is happening now in Brazil, and will happen in Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022. These countries are not even close to ready to host a World Cup, to say the least. Most pressingly, just two and a half years prior to the tournament, Brazil remains woefully unprepared; the legendary Brazilian striker Pele said simply that the country is “not ready” and echoed fears that the showcase Maracana stadium will not be renovated in time and that the country’s transportation system will be overwhelmed with visitors.

Russia and Qatar are in exactly the same situation: they both need nine to 11 new stadiums — and upgrades to the stadiums they already have — and massive improvements to public transportation, all at the cost of billions of dollars. Meanwhile, FIFA continues to cash in, already signing record-setting deals for the television rights to the 2014 Cup. In essence, FIFA is engaging in legal highway robbery. As long as soccer remains wildly popular and attracts large attendances — and it doesn’t look like that’s changing anytime soon — developed and underdeveloped countries alike will continue to bid for the World Cup. Then, under the mantle of “spreading the World Cup around,” FIFA will saddle countries in urgent need of social development with the bill for unnecessary sporting infrastructure expansion, while continuing to rake in money themselves.

The benefit of holding a World Cup in a developing country is really just all mental, a figment of the imagination. Sure, for a month, visitors and visibility increase, and everybody gets a nice story to tell their grandchildren about when they saw the best in the world play right in their backyard.

But the bottom line is that these countries should not be holding the tournaments at all: They are unprepared, and the investment required to make them prepared isn’t worth it. FIFA should go back to deciding World Cup host based on merit, rather than trying to create feel-good stories that saddle poor countries with massive debts.

David McIntyre is a sophomore who is majoring in political science. He can be reached at David.McIntyre@tufts.edu.

Sports

8

INSIDE Inside NHL 7

tuftsdaily.com

Women’s Swimming and Diving

Jumbos make a splash against the Blue Adams’ two wins propel Tufts over Wellesley by

Zach McGowan

Daily Staff Writer

The women’s swimming and diving team has started the season with a bang, going 3-1 through the first two weeks. Tufts has been propelled by strong performances from freshmen while still relying on major contributions from more experienced swimmers.

After more than a week off, the team returned to action for the first time since Thanksgiving break against Wellesley on Wednesday night. The Jumbos posted another impressive victory, outscoring the Blue 180-119 en route to their third straight win.

The Jumbos were aided by a strong performance from senior co-captain Courtney Adams, whose sprint victories are becoming routine. Adams touched the wall first for Tufts in the 50- and 100meter freestyle.

Fellow senior co-captain Valerie Eacret and classmate Katie Russell continued the sweep of freestyle races, winning the 200and 500-meter, respectively. Also contributing first-place finishes were junior Christine Garvey in the 1,000-meter freestyle, senior Paulina Ziolek in the 200-meter breaststroke and freshman Scarlett Hao in the 200-meter individual medley.

The Jumbos again started and finished the meet strong, a staple of their success in the early going. The 200-meter medley relay team — made up of freshman Samantha

Scott Tingley/Tufts Daily

Sophomore Mia Greenwald swam the butterfly leg for the winning 200-meter medley relay team that catalyzed the Jumbos success on Wednesday.

Sliwinski, junior K.J. Kroetch and sophomores Ellen Gage and Mia Greenwald — put the Jumbos ahead early with a first-place time of 1:53.47. Adams, Ziolek, Sliwinski, and fresh-

man Kathryn Coniglio won the 200-meter freestyle relay to seal the overall victory.

“Our relay teams have been very successful so far this season, and a lot of that has to

do with the freshman class,” Adams said. “We have a lot of new talent on the team this year, and it has added strength to our sprints and relay teams.”

The diving squad has also aided the Jumbos’ success so far, as sophomore Sami Bloom and senior Kelly Flanagan have both impressed. Bloom placed second in both the one- and three-meter dives against Wellesley, while Flanagan took fourth and third, respectively.

Head coach Nancy Bigelow also took time to praise the Class of 2012 for its contributions and leadership.

“The senior class is doing a great job,” Bigelow said. “Many have set very high season goals for themselves and they are great role models, both in and out of the water, for their younger teammates.”

The Jumbos will look to maintain their winning streak at the MIT Invitational this weekend. Adams emphasized the importance of this meet as a barometer for the team.

“It’s the only time we meet [fellow NESCAC competitors] Colby and Bowdoin, and MIT, NYU and Harvard are all elite programs,” Adams said. “It’s a good chance for us to compete against fast swimmers early on in the season.”

The Jumbos will strive to improve on their fifth-place finish at last year’s MIT Invitational, and — with continued depth and contributions from a variety of events — they are poised to do so.

Ice Hockey

Jumbos ready to do battle with NESCAC’s other unbeatens Fan bus to game leaves Campus Center at 6 p.m. tonight by

Kate Klots

Daily Editorial Board

This weekend, the hockey team begins its home season with two NESCAC matchups, facing Williams tonight and Middlebury on Saturday afternoon. Both of last year’s matchups against these teams served as crucial lessons for the development of head coach Brian Murphy’s squad.

Last year, Tufts suffered a disappointing 5-0 road loss to Williams in just its second game of the season. Ironically, the Jumbos hope to reverse that result this evening by channeling last year’s play against Middlebury. In Tufts’ first game of the 2010-2011 season, the Jumbos soundly defeated the Panthers 3-0, marking the program’s first win over Middlebury since 1955.

So far, the Jumbos are a perfect 2-0 in conference play, and despite two tough non-conference losses, Tufts showed potential in its opening road series against Trinity and Wesleyan.

“Our two strong NESCAC wins are important going into this weekend,” senior forward Evan Story said. “They give us the mindset that we can play with any team, and this year NESCAC play is much more important because we play each team twice as opposed to once.”

Last year, the Jumbos went just 5-14 in NESCAC games, but they can improve to 4-0 this weekend if they use those performances as learning experiences and this year’s disappointing losses as motivation. The fans and home atmosphere at Malden Forum, enhanced by students traveling to the game on the fan bus, will also provide the Jumbos with an added edge.

“Playing at home always has its benefits, especially on Friday night when there’s a good crowd in the stands,” said sophomore forward Kyle Gallegos, who leads the Jumbos in scoring this season. “It certainly gives us an upper hand in terms of momentum and energy.”

As the Jumbos welcome the Ephs to the rink, Tufts hopes to avenge last year’s embarrassing shut out, during which then-senior Connor Olvany and then-sophomore Eric Rubino contributed two goals apiece in the Ephs’ dominant effort.

While Williams graduated Olvany, Rubino returns to face the Jumbos once again, and the forward already has two goals during his junior season.

Williams comes into tonight’s game undefeated, boasting a 2-0-2 record that includes wins over Colby and Babson. The Ephs, however, have also narrowly escaped three overtime contests in four games, indicating that if the Jumbos can capitalize late, they can hand the Ephs their first loss of the season.

Tufts must also score early, however, and prevent Williams from doing so. Last winter, Rubino netted the first Williams tally just 15 seconds into the opening period, stifling the Jumbos’ momentum and giving the Ephs an immediate 1-0 lead.

“Last year Williams obviously played a very good defensive game by clogging up the middle of the ice,” Gallegos said. “I think to be successful we need to use our speed and get pucks to the net, otherwise we’re going to be caught on the perimeter trying to make low-percentage plays.”

This season, the Jumbos have continued to struggle early in games. Last weekend, the team

Alex Dennett/Tufts Daily

Sophomore forward Kyle Gallegos leads the Jumbos with four goals and six points through five games. dug itself a deep hole, falling behind 3-0 to SUNY Morrisville, and was unable to come back, losing 4-2 to the Mustangs. The Jumbos must improve on their first-period play and focus on limiting penalties in order to maximize their chances for a win on Friday.

“Williams plays a similar style to Middlebury,” Story said. “In order to shut them down we will need to be disciplined and mistakes must be minimized.

As far as scoring we need to be stronger in and around the cage; we’ve been getting opportunities but we need to capitalize on them especially when we’re close to the goal.”

On Saturday, however, the Jumbos hope to replicate their play from last November against a Middlebury team that is now 2-1-1 overall and perfect in the

NESCAC. Last winter, dominant performances from then-senior quad-captain Dylan Cooper (LA ’11) and classmate Zach Diaco (LA ’11) helped Tufts to a monumental victory on the Panthers’ home ice.

“Beating Middlebury last year was great for our confidence early in the season,” Gallegos said. “Being a freshman, I didn’t know much about them but hearing from some of the older guys that they are always a good team I knew it would be a big win if we could pull it off.”

“That game helps with the preparation going into this weekend because having experience against a top NESCAC team can really be an asset, especially since we have a much younger team this year,” he added.

Senior tri-captain Scott Barchard will be the corner-

stone of Tufts’ defensive efforts as the Jumbos look to post a second straight shutout against their foes from Vermont. Last season, the All-American keeper posted 29 saves in his team’s winning effort, including a blocker save with three minutes remaining in the game to preserve the blanking.

Barchard has allowed just 11 goals this season while posting 153 saves.

“Through our first five games our team seems to have a great work ethic,” freshman defender Blake Edwards said.

“If Scotty can continue to stop the puck the way he has been, and everyone else does their job, we’re all confident in our chances.”

It is crucial, however, that the Jumbos test Middlebury’s sophomore goalkeeper Nick BonDurant. In his first collegiate appearance last winter, the Panthers’ netminder saw just fifteen shots, but if the Jumbos can overwhelm BonDurant with quality looks while holding Middlebury in their own defensive end — Tufts has what it takes to move up the NESCAC standings in the doubleheader.

“Saturday we will be prepared for the usual Middlebury style of hockey,” Story said. “They’ll try to stretch the ice out and open the game up, but the smaller size of our rink will be advantageous [to us] and force them to play in tighter a space.”

“Williams and Middlebury are always at the top of the conference, and the returning players make sure we know that,” Edwards added. “They will be some of the toughest games we play all year, and we’ve had to prepare that much harder this week in order to be ready Friday and Saturday.”