2012-02-06

Sunny 50/30

THE TUFTS DAILY

TUFTSDAILY.COM

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2012

VOLUME LXIII, NUMBER 7

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Tufts students to study Burton receives Eliot-Pearson in Cuba this summer award for ‘Reading Rainbow’ by

Melissa Mandelbaum Contributing Writer

Thirteen Tufts students will have the opportunity to study abroad in Cuba this summer through Norfolk State University’s (NSU) six-week program.

The program will award two course credits to Tufts students and is offered in Havana at Casa de las Américas in the Academic Unit of the Schools of Letters and Art History at the University of Havana.

Both undergraduate and graduate students can enroll. “[Casa de las Américas is] one of the biggest intellectual centers historically in Cuba,” Nina GerassiNavarro, an associate professor of Latin American literature and culture and director of the Latin American studies program, said.

Professor emeritus Claudia Kaiser-Lenoir, a former associate professor in the Department of Romance Languages and coordinator of the trip, suggested that Tufts students be invited on NSU’s program after a recent regulation change allowed universities to include students from other universities on their Cuba programs.

Kaiser-Lenoir taught classes in Cuba last summer when NSU first brought students to Cuba in a tenweek program.

Lodging will be in the Casa de las

Americas dormitories, and the program will have an estimated twentyfour participants in total, Director of International Programs at NSU William Alexander told the Daily.

Courses, including KaiserLenoir’s “Special Topics in Cuban Culture and Society Since the 1959 Revolution,” will give students access to local experts.

“I taught a similarly organized course at Tufts, but we didn’t have any Cuban experts, just experts on Cuba,” Kaiser-Lenoir explained.

“Cuba attracts people from all over the world that flock there to see how things are put together. It’s not that everything works well, but there are some things that work intriguingly effectively, so it’s an interesting laboratory… [Cuba has] very impressive records in many key areas that are of central importance to people like health, education, and the environment.”

Alexander said he is happy to be offering the program in conjunction with Tufts. “[Kaiser-Lenoir] taught our students for five weeks this past summer [in Cuba], and the students were just thrilled with her energy and knowledge,” he said.

Although faculty of the International Relations Program, the International Letters and Visual see CUBA, page 2

by

Lizz Grainger

Daily Editorial Board

Actor and entertainer LeVar Burton took to the stage to a standing ovation while being honored at Friday’s 6th annual Eliot-Pearson Awards for Excellence in Children’s Media in Distler Performance Hall.

Burton earned the award for his work as host and executive producer of the PBS television series “Reading Rainbow”.

The annual event is co-sponsored by the Communications and Media Studies (CMS) program and the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development. Its purpose is to recognize individuals, organizations or companies with a commitment to innovation, creativity, diversity, non-violence and developmental appropriateness in children’s media.

In addition to his twentysix years of work on “Reading Rainbow”, which came to a close in 2006, Burton is well-known for his role as Kunta Kinte in “Roots” and as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge in the “Star Trek” franchise. He also directed the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie “Smart House”.

“We selected LeVar Burton this year because of his long-standing commitment to promoting diversity, equality and literacy in his many outstanding roles as an actor,

Qualters named CELT director by

Mahpari Sotoudeh

Daily Editorial Board

Donna Qualters on Jan. 3 was appointed the new director for the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT). The center, which was founded by Former Dean of Arts and Sciences Robert Sternberg in 2006 and is part of the Office of the Provost, works with and supports university faculty in pioneering new and innovative teaching methods through initiatives such as the Academic Leadership Development Program and the Faculty Fellows Seminar, which helps faculty hone their skills as teachers.

Qualters was selected from a nationwide search following the departure of former CELT Director Linda Jarvin. She previously held the position of director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Suffolk University where she was also chair of and associate professor in the Education and Human Services Department.

Experience in the field makes Qualters a good fit to lead CELT and her legacy of encouraging research opportunities for the faculty at the previous institutions in which she has worked adds to her credentials, according to CELT Associate Director Annie Soisson.

“Donna brings to CELT a depth and breadth of experience working in faculty development and has, in the last two institutions where she worked, created teaching and learning centers,” Soisson said. “She has also published research on teaching and learning in higher education, which made her a compelling candidate.”

Assistant Dean for Faculty Development at the School of Medicine Maria Blanco added that Qualters’ multidisciplinary per-

spective in the field of education made her a good candidate.

“I think that one of the things that I really liked from Donna when we got to know her as a candidate is that she has the multidisciplinary perspective to education that we need for a university,” Blanco said. “I think she’s bringing a strong experience in professional education and graduate and undergraduate education from different fields and different perspectives.”

Soisson emphasized Qualters’ interest in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, a program which encourages faculty to publish educational research, as a key reason for Qualters’ appointment to the post. Soisson added that encouraging faculty to conduct and publish research on educational methods would improve standards of teaching within the higher education milieu.

“She has a track record for highlighting opportunities for faculty using innovative teaching methods to share them through conducting educational research,” she explained.

“Publishing Tufts faculty research on teaching and learning will mean that we can have an impact on a wider audience in higher education and contribute to innovative thinking about how we can better help students learn.

This is a logical next step for CELT, and one that Donna is very ready to lead.”

Qualters plans to uphold CELT’s current programming and aims to develop her plans for the center during this semester.

“The CELT has a wide variety of programming going … we work with the faculty on many areas of teaching and leadership,” she said. “We’re thinking about getting more

Scott tingley/Tufts Daily

Actor and entertainer LeVar Burton was honored at Friday’s sixth annual Eliot-Pearson Awards for Excellence in Children’s Media. director and producer of children’s received the award. media,” CMS Program Director Dobrow said the criteria for the Julie Dobrow said. “LeVar has been award reflect media that are free not only versatile, but truly ahead of stereotyping, show children varof the curve in his efforts to use the ied cultural contexts and creatively power of television, film and now reflect thoughtful and civilly-enthe digital world to inspire children gaged characters.

“In evaluating children’s media and encourage them to read.”

Dobrow presented Burton with content, we look for media that are the framed Eliot-Pearson Award appropriately pitched for children as well as a Tufts Jumbo hat and in different developmental levels,” Dobrow said. “We look for media sweatshirt.

Last year, comedian, writer, actor that have good humor, intelligence and producer Bill Cosby along with and good production values. We Harvard Medical School Professor of Psychiatry Alvin Poussaint see BURTON, page 2

Deja Blue!

MCT

As in 2008, the Giants marched the length of the field in the final minutes to sink the Patriots in the Super Bowl last night. There was no helmet catch this time, but there was a clutch 38-yard grab from Mario Manningham along the

sideline that led to Ahmad Bradshaw’s eventual game-winning touchdown run.

The Super Bowl XLVI victory marked the fourth championship in Giants history, and Eli Manning took home MVP honors for the second time in his career.

see CELT, page 2

Inside this issue

Today’s sections

Tufts students use solar power to power a Haitian school.

The Sightlines gallery transcends traditional canvas.

see FEATURES, page 3

see ARTS, page 5

News Features Arts & Living Editorial | Letters

1 3 5 10

Op-Ed Comics Classifieds Sports

11 12 15 Back

The Tufts Daily

2

News

Monday, Frebruary 6, 2012

Visiting the Hill this Week TUESDAY “Breaking the Cycle of Bodily Shame: A Former Miss America Contestant Speaks” Details: Former Miss America Contestant Nancy Redd, an author of popular books that deal with young women’s body image and attitudes toward diet and exercise, will discuss the importance of developing healthy relationships with food, exercise and body image.

When and Where: 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Metcalf Hall Lounge Sponsors: The Women’s Center, the Africana Center, Health and Wellness Services, the LGBT Center, the Women’s Studies program.

WEDNESDAY “G.I. Judas: Soldiering, Betrayal, and American Civil Religion” Details: Jonathan Ebel, assistant professor in the Department of Religion at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will compare Christian worship and the betrayal of Judas to the modern American worship of the image of the soldier and the betrayal of current and former soldiers of that ideal.

When and Where: 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Rabb Room, Lincoln Filene Center Sponsors: The Department of Religion, the American Studies program

THURSDAY “National College Comedy Competition Search at Tufts University” Details: Tufts students vying for a spot on the team for Rooftop Comedy’s National College Comedy Competition presented by TBS will each perform a three-minute standup set. The audience will vote for eight students,who will compete against other schools in the competition and will have the chance to perform at the TBS Just for Laughs Chicago festival.

When and Where: 10:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.; Dewick-MacPhie Dining Hall Sponsors: Tufts Standup Comedy Collective —compiled by Laina Piera

New CELT director Qualters surveying campuses for broad perspective on Tufts CELT

continued from page 1

involved in the schools.” we work with the faculty on many areas of teaching and leadership.

Qualters also plans on incorporating educational research into faculty programming.

“I see faculty development as the faculty life-cycle and I’m hoping that if we talk to the faculty, there will be some interest in scholarship writing, bringing together faculty groups so they can be writing and conducting research around their tasks,” she added.

Soisson also cited several of Qualters’ project proposals, including a green initiative, as reasons for bringing her on board.

“CELT has developed a network of faculty who are committed to continuously improve and develop innovations in their teaching, and with Donna’s guidance, we can add to our support of these efforts,” she said. “In addition to the already solid offerings of the CELT Faculty Fellows, reading groups, consultations and the Academic Leadership Development Program, cosponsored with the Office of the Provost and Human Resources, Donna hopes to pilot a faculty mutual-mentoring program and a green-course initiative.”

Soisson also mentioned that

she and Qualters aim to create a program that would tackle the issue of diversity within the classroom. “[We] also hope to develop a long term effort to ensure that faculty can effectively teach in diverse classrooms,” Soisson said.

“Addressing diversity in the classroom is an increasingly important issue, and one that will require our focused attention.”

Qualters will also hold an appointment as associate professor of the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at the School of Medicine with a secondary appointment as adjunct associate professor in the

Department of Education in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Qualters said that she is excited to be working at Tufts and explained that she has been attending faculty meetings and visiting Tufts’ three campuses in order to better understand the needs of the university and adapt her plans to fit the requirements of the school.

“There’s some amazing teaching activities going on here, and I think there’s a rich opportunity to bring what goes on the campus here,” she said. “I’m really spending the time listening and meeting faculty and going to the different schools and seeing where their needs are.”

SCOTT TINGLEY/Tufts Daily

Donna Qualters was previously the director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Suffolk University.

Star Trek veteran LeVar Burton honored for contributions to children’s media BURTON

continued from page 1

look for media that are both educational and entertaining.”

The ceremony began with remarks from Dobrow, Dean of Arts and Sciences Joanne BergerSweeney, Child Development Department Chair Jayanthi Mistry and Associate Professor of Child Development Chip Gidney.

“Your impact factor is off the charts,” Berger-Sweeney told Burton in her introduction.

Mistry provided a brief history of the Child Development department, founded at Tufts in 1964, and the Eliot-Pearson Award, which honors innovation and creativity in media. She explained that the award is affectionately known as “The Abby” after Abigail Adams Eliot, after whom the department is named.

“For over eighty years, our department has been dedicated to promoting the well-being of children, families and their communities,” Mistry said. “Our department’s historical roots actually resided in the early part of the childhood movement of the first part of the twentieth century when Abigail Adams Eliot and Elizabeth

Pearson established the Ruggles Street Nursery School in Boston to serve children living in poverty; and this was in 1922.”

Gidney began his remarks by telling a story of being mistaken for Kunta Kinte — who Burton portrayed in the 1977 television miniseries “Roots” -— while traveling in Poland.

Gidney noted that while media reveal some negative influences through stereotypes and advertising, there are still a lot of positive benefits in media.

“Media opens up a window through which children can see into other worlds,” Gidney said.

After the introductory speeches, a slideshow was shown highlighting Burton’s many roles throughout his career.

Burton took the stage to a standing ovation and opened by mentioning “Smart House,” which resonated well with an audience that grew up with the Disney movie.

He said his mother’s passion for reading and his family’s history as teachers, ministers and soldiers helped him arrive at where he is today.

“This is genuinely an honor. I believe there is such a thing as

genetic encoding,” he said. “All of the members of my family are teachers. I feel that I come to the work I do very honestly. Being a teacher bears and comes with certain responsibilities. You have to take a personal interest with growth and development.”

Burton believes that combining the two mediums of reading and television are tools for creating positive change in the world.

“I’ve said for many years that I believe that television and the attendant web we have created around communications in this world is the most powerful tool for creating growth and change in society in the history of civilization,” he said.

Before leaving the stage after his address, Burton thanked the Tufts community for the award.

“I thank you for this,” he said.

“I will hang it with genuine pride and appreciation. It isn’t often that you realize or recognize that there are people out there paying attention.”

Burton energetically read one of his favorite books, “Enemy Pie” (2000) by Derek Munson, to first and second graders sitting in the first two rows in Distler.

Courtesy of hl_1001a01 via Flickr Creative Commons

Thirteen Tufts students this summer will be able to study abroad in Cuba for six weeks through Norfolk State University’s abroad program.

NSU gives Tufts students opportunity to study in Cuba CUBA

continued from page 1

Studies Program, the Latin American Studies Program, the Department of Romance Languages and the Institute for Global Leadership last year made proposals for a semesterlong non-Tufts program in Cuba in conjunction with the Juan Marinello Cuban Institute for Cultural Research, that program never came to fruition.

A student-organized petition last spring in support of a study abroad program in Cuba collected more than 100 signatures, according to Rosario Dominguez, who was involved with the petition.

“A group of interested students decided that we should get the word out to the entire Tufts community, so some of us started the petition,” Dominguez, a junior, said.

Kaiser-Lenoir said that a general interest meeting on Jan. 25 for the summer program attracted about forty students and many email inquiries.

Averi Becque, a junior, is considering participating in the program because of Cuba’s current role in international affairs.

“The changes [Cuba] is going through right now are really compelling ... with the political reforms, now is a good time to get to know the country while there are still a lot of vestiges of Castro’s rule, before it opens up to US markets,” Becque explained.

While NSU students will enroll in three courses, due to a Tufts policy that prohibits transfer of more than two credits during a

six-week period, Tufts students will only enroll in two courses, and the program cost of $5,450 reflects the difference, according to Kaiser-Lenoir.

Tufts students will be accepted on the basis of their academic standing and particular interest in the program, according to KaiserLenoir.

NSU gives preference to applicants with some previous experience with Spanish in either high school or college, according to Alexander.

In 2004, regulations under former President GeorgeW. Bush were enacted that forbade American undergraduates from studying in Cuba unless their accredited university offered courses for credit for an entire semester within the nation, Kaiser-Lenoir explained.

An annual license was required to offer such programming and few universities were able to maintain a license. Although Tufts held one, it utilized the license solely for graduate study, usually for shortterm trips led by Kaiser-Lenoir.

Despite the legal challenges, some Tufts students have found ways in recent years to study in Cuba. According to Foreign Study Advisor Brian Libby, a handful of Tufts students were able to study in Cuba in 2010 by technically withdrawing from the university and temporarily transferring to the State University of New York Oswego or Presbyterian College to attend their programs in Cuba.

“Students are eager to immerse themselves and increase their proficiency,” he said.

Compared with last year, Winter Bash a ‘well-oiled machine’ Thanks to some major logistical changes, this year’s Winter Bash ran much more smoothly than in recent years.

Changes to last Friday’s event, in which more than 2,000 students were in attendance, included a return to the Sheraton Boston Hotel, as well as the addition of a separate DJ for the 21-plus section and a larger event staff.

“I think there are a number of changes, this year over last year, which helped a lot,” Greenberg, a senior, said. “It’s a pretty well-oiled machine now.”

Although a handful of students were hospitalized, Greenberg said significantly fewer students were taken to the hospital at this event than at last September’s Fall Ball, during which 17 students were hospitalized.

“The vast majority of students were well behaved, and everyone seemed to be having a pretty good time,” Greenberg added. “Only a small handful [of students] had isolated problems, so there wasn’t too much that was unexpected.”

Instead of hotel staff organizing students back to the buses at the end of the night, some of the undergraduates who work for the Office

for Campus Life guided their peers.

“Our event staff has a really good system for bus loading, so they have it down to a science to do a great job,” Greenberg said. “It helps everyone get out of the event faster and with less chaos.”

This year’s event also marked the second year using a self-service coat check system, which has resulted in fewer lost items. A few students who left miscellaneous items behind can pick up their belongings at the information booth in the Mayer Campus Center starting Monday, Greenberg added.

“Over 2,000 people brought their coats to the event and there were only maybe a dozen or so that were left behind,” Greenberg said.

“Keeping everything organized kept things from getting out of hand.”

Greenberg added that he considered the event a success because the Sheraton Boston Hotel would allow Tufts to host another Winter Bash there in future years. While nothing about next year’s event is set in stone, Greenberg said the changes Programming Board made to the event this year will help next year’s Winter Bash run as smoothly as last Friday’s.

—by Stephanie Haven

Features

3

tuftsdaily.com

With solar panels, Tufts organization brings light to rural Haitian village by

Nadezhda Kazakova Daily Editorial Board

Securing a donation of solar panels from BP Solar seems like it would be the most difficult part of a student-run sustainable energy project in an impoverished country. But a group of Tufts students still had much more to do before they could bring electricity to a village in northern Haiti.

Supported by the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL), the members of Sustainable Energy Access for Haiti (SEAH) recently completed the installation of an off-grid solar energy system in the rural community of Balan, Haiti. The panels electrify three rooms and illuminate the community space near Lycee Nationale Jacques Roumain, Balan’s public school. SEAH has spent the last two years working on all aspects of their experimental energy project, from assessing and refining the design to funding and budgeting.

According to senior Michael Graifman, one of SEAH’s leaders, the school of over 300 students is located in a neighborhood that had no publicly illuminated areas. Graifman’s team communicated with a local group of community leaders and identified lighting as an important need in the town. “[The fluorescent lights] would not only increase the amount of time available per day for commercial activities,

MIKE GRAIFMAN/Tufts Daily

SEAH spent this past winter break installing solar panels in Haiti. but also provide the students at the local school with a space to study their lessons,” Richard Novak, a Ph.D. candidate in bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley, said in an email to the Daily.

In addition to helping SEAH with the design of the 1.4-kilowatt power system, Novak joined Graifman, two other SEAH members and executive director of the Haitian Coalition of Somerville Franklin Dalembert at the installation site.

There, they learned from the school’s principal that students normally study by walking around and reading out loud.

“This was a completely different notion of studying for us,” sophomore Naika Pierre, a Creole-speaking member of

SEAH, said. “So, we concluded that external lights would be more beneficial for the students to prepare for exams.”

Because the classrooms get very hot in the summer months and the school’s secretary has to work several miles away to access the newest computer, the group also installed outlets to power two computers, fans and lights in two classrooms, Novak said.

According to Graifman, these simple electrical improvements will allow the school to increase its capacity by 90 students.

Once the general energy needs were determined, SEAH had to align its technical and financial capabilities with the community’s expectations.

Junior Andrew McGlathery said

that this process happened in a “backwards way.”

“Normally, you first make the energy assessment and then acquire all resources,” he said. “But we are a student group, so we had to give the community our budget and let them decide how they wanted to distribute it.”

With the help of local volunteers, the group spent the next few days preparing for the installation by digging holes for the solar panels and assembling and wiring all of the equipment that they had either shipped from the United States or bought at local hardware stores. According to Graifman, after mounting the solar panels properly, they built see HAITI, page 4

A Taste of Tufts: Joanne Berger-Sweeney

by Victoria

Rathsmill

Daily Editorial Board

Dean of Arts and Sciences Joanne BergerSweeney presented her research on neurological disorders last Friday at the first installment of “A Taste of Tufts: A Sampling of Faculty Research,” a weekly lecture series organized by the Experimental College.

Berger-Sweeney is a well-known neuroscientist who came to Tufts in August 2010 from Wellesley College. Her research focuses on memory and learning and how they malfunction in disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Rett syndrome.

Entitled “How Understanding Brain Development Will Aid in Treating Rett Syndrome,” Berger-Sweeney’s talk began with a playful warning that this was her first scientific lecture for a general audience in years before delving into a discussion of her research into Rett syndrome.

Rett syndrome, which primarily affects girls, is considered a regressive development disorder that is part of the autism spectrum and occurs in about one in 10,000 children, according to Berger-Sweeney.

In girls who have Rett syndrome, development is normal until six to eighteen months, and then there is a rapid regression period from about one to three years of age. During this time, there is a loss of purposeful movements, which are replaced with repetitive movements such as hand-wringing. Other symptoms Berger-Sweeney cited included decelerated head growth, emotional disturbances, difficulty walking and mental retardation. Adulthood brings accelerated decline, with high incidence of osteoporosis, scoliosis and motor deterioration. The average life expectancy for a woman with Rett syndrome is in the mid-40s.

The vast majority of Rett syndrome cases are associated with spontaneous mutations in a gene in the X chromosome called the methyl-CpG-biding protein 2 (MeCP2) gene, Berger-Sweeney said. Normally, the

Courtesy of Lisa Dacundo

Dean of Arts and Sciences Joanne Berger-Sweeney investigates how brain development research can aid in the treatment of Rett syndrome.

MeCP2 gene provides instructions for making a protein that binds to DNA and prevents genes from being transcribed. Those afflicted with Rett syndrome do not have sufficient amounts of this important protein, according to Berger-Sweeney.

“Genes that are normally not activated or activated for a while and then shut down are going to be on all the time,” she said.

“Most of what we see from Rett syndrome is with genes that are on more than they

should be.”

She explained that scientists do not understand exactly why this results in the abnormalities of Rett syndrome.

When the gene associated with Rett syndrome was discovered in 1999, it was possible to create animal models that had the same type of genetic mutation.

Berger-Sweeney recounted that in 2001 see RESEARCH, page 4

Alyson Yee | Odd Jobs

Don’t question my plans

L

et me preface this column by saying this: I am a senior. This means that, as we edge closer and closer to graduation, I need to find better hiding places. I’m spending most of my time evading the inevitable Question. Total strangers want to know my Plans for the Future before they even know my name.

Remember high school, when your dreaded parents’ friends asked where you wanted to go to college and made judgmental “hmm” noises? Remember how excited you were when you could say, “Tufts,” and shut them up? The satisfaction was shortlived, because soon it was replaced by inquiries about majors. And when you finally declared one, the questions just got harder.

Well seniors, it’s springtime and we have just four months to come up with a good answer. In the interim, though, you can try: “I’m not going to grad school right away.

I’m going to be a chocolatier instead.”

This column is going to explore those careers that you’ll never hear about in Dowling Hall. It’s based on the fact that from an early age, I’ve been fickle when it came to career choice. I was never one of those kids who knew what they wanted to be when they grew up — not that I know now, either. When I was four, my parents were slightly disappointed by my aspirations to be a “grocery store checker-outer” (cashier), but pushing buttons and playing with the barcode scanner seemed a lot more fun than rustling papers around on a desk like most lawyers.

I flirted with every job idea: astronaut, dentist, NFL player (too bad I’m a 5-foot-3 girl), animal rights activist, professional lemonade vendor. More recently — and more seriously — I’ve considered architecture, botany, the Foreign Service and screenwriting. I even went through an extended neurosurgeon phase. Out of desperation, I took a MyersBriggs test to determine which careers fit my personality. Apparently, I’m destined to become a mortician.

Some of you already have jobs lined up.

Some of you are underclassmen who have wanted to be cardiologists since before you could walk and already have impressive internship resumes. Good for you! We’re not friends.

But for the rest of us, the job search doesn’t have to be stressful. The recession is receding (knock on wood), and jobs are being created, not destroyed. (If not, with all our study-abroad experiences, maybe we can outsource ourselves.)

The way I see it, when we leave the safe bubble of the Tufts hill, we have a few options. We can reflexively apply to graduate programs and dig ourselves deeper into debt and postpone reality. We can take an underpaid, glorified internship and spend our days fetching coffee for our bosses, complaining the whole time. Or, we can find a really cool and interesting and unique job that challenges us and stimulates us.

Maybe your dream job is completely unrelated to your major. Maybe you have a secret skill set or hidden talent. Maybe you need more time to “find yourself.” I don’t have any wisdom or experience to share, but I can commiserate. I’m going to seek out the lighter side of the job search. Haven’t you ever wanted to dabble in landscaping?

Thought about why elevator repairmen are so highly paid? Wondered how to break into the electronic music industry? I guarantee that you’ve never heard of some of the jobs on the market I’ve considered. I guarantee you’ve never considered some of the jobs on the market I’ve heard of. Sometimes this is with good reason, but sometimes it can be fulfilling to think about a career that breaks the doctor-lawyer-consultant-teacher-accountant-engineer mold.

When people ask me what I want to do when I grow up, I want to say, “Make people smile.” (And no, Myers-Briggs, not dead people.)

Alyson Yee is a senior majoring in biology.

She can be reached at Alyson.Yee@tufts.edu.

The Tufts Daily

4

Students work with community leaders to power Haitian school HAITI

continued from page 3

a cement wall around them and installed a security light.

Although the latter steps of the installation were considered vital for security reasons, they might prove to be unnecessary because many townspeople were heavily involved in the project. According to McGlathery, this provides a “social deterrent against theft.”

“When the community feels ownership of the project and the new energy system, they are more likely to protect that investment,” he said.

Training the community in system maintenance has also been a crucial component in the endurance of SEAH’s initiative. This comprehensive training — organized through IGL’s Reseach and Engagement Supporting Poverty Elimination in Haiti — included quizzes on various troubleshooting scenarios and continued with weekly updates to the U.S. engineers, according to Graifman.

He added that the agreement that RESPE made with the government-run school stipulates that the school will be responsible for covering maintenance costs.

“These costs are expected to remain inexpensive, and in the future SEAH would like to explore ancillary revenue streams that could be generated using the electricity from the system,” Graifman said.

Novak said that the several reports he has received since returning from Haiti indicate that the system has already had a positive impact on the community.

According to Graifman, SEAH’s decision to work closely with the Balan locals is a key lesson for international development projects.

“The idea for a project should always be driven by the stakeholders in a community,” he said. “It’s important to consider the perspective of beneficiaries from different social strata.”

Graifman also said that SEAH avoided imposing U.S. norms on their decisionmaking. For example, they did not assume that students in Haiti study by sitting at desks; they turned to local experts for advice, instead. This information made illuminat-

ing the outdoor space as much of a priority as illuminating individual classrooms.

In addition to developing a sustainable off-grid energy solution for the community of Balan, SEAH aimed to document the best practices for sourcing energy equipment to Haiti so that they could be replicated in the future.

“If we had to do this again, we could do it much quicker and on a much bigger scale,” Graifman said.

The success of this project, however, came after overcoming several logistical and technical obstacles.

According to Graifman, the most unnerving part was shipping the eight donated solar panels from Boston. SEAH had no idea if the 520-pound crate carrying the panels would protect the cargo or if it would get lost or held at Haitian customs.

“Our team definitely had a collective fist pump when I got the message that the ‘big boxes’ arrived safely,” Graifman said.

According to Novak, the project could have easily been dismissed as a student pipe dream if SEAH members hadn’t shown so much persistence and dedication to the cause.

“Technical preparation is only a small part of a project of this scale,” Novak said. “The members’ diverse abilities really helped drive the project forward more effectively than if it was a team of engineers.”

Director of the IGL Sherman Teichman said the group’s success was due to their dedication and the synergy of several programs, including Engineers Without Borders and the Empower Program for Social Entrepreneurship.

“SEAH’s most recent project is another benchmark of integration and value … and part of an unbroken chain of accomplishments,” Sherman said.

Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering John Durant also praised the team for their resourcefulness.

“I was particularly inspired by the fact that none of the students had in-depth training in solar panel installation and wiring,” he said.

“Yet they were able to get the right advice and find the right people to work with in a troubled land like Haiti.”

Features

Monday, February 6, 2012

Berger-Sweeney’s mouse models yield insights into Rett Syndrome RESEARCH

continued from page 3

she read an article in Science magazine revealing Rudolf Jaenisch, a biologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had created a mouse model with a mutation in MeCP2.

“After I read the article, I called and emailed him. I wanted to see this mouse, and how carefully or similarly it produced Rett syndrome. It took multiple calls and emails to Rudolf Jaenisch’s secretary, until I finally spoke to him and he said he would be more than happy to give me some of the mice,” she said.

Berger-Sweeney received the mice from Jaenisch in 2003. With the help of undergraduate students at Wellesley College, she looked at the physical and sensory characteristics of the mice, including their motor skills, anxiety levels, sociability, cognitive ability and life span, to check for the same symptoms found in girls with Rett syndrome.

This task, Berger-Sweeney said, was difficult and time-consuming.

“It took about six years of characterization. It takes a long time to do this, you have to do it with lot of animals and have to make sure you are able to repeat what you’re doing. It was not easy,” she said.

“What was so interesting is when we got the animals and started breeding them in our labs, we saw the mice doing the hand wringing motion. We saw how they were moving and walking, and my best guess was data would recapitulate symptoms of Rett syndrome,” BergerSweeney said.

Indeed, the mice displayed many symptoms that are seen in humans with Rett syndrome. However, the male mice appeared to recapitulate Rett syndrome symptoms better than the female mice.

“If you think about a male, with one X and one Y chromosome, it means a male that has the mutation has no protein, where females have one mutated and one normal,” Berger-Sweeney said. “In females, some cells aren’t producing proteins and

some are. Thus, the null male appears to recapitulate better than the females that are heterozygotes.”

According to Berger-Sweeney, one possible underlying cause of Rett syndrome is the reduced functioning of the cholinergic system early in development.

Berger-Sweeney is particularly interested in the cholinergic system — a system of nerves that uses acetylcholine as its neurotransmitter — and the development of the brain.

Her original hypothesis was that acetylcholine is extremely important for the progress of the cerebral cortex early in development. She theorized that something that boosted the cholinergic system at birth would reduce the initial symptoms of Rett syndrome.

In 2009, she was contacted by a drug company in Italy asking if her lab would be interested in using their cholinergic compound, acetyl-L-carnitine, in the mouse model to see whether it had an impact on Rett syndrome. She decided to give it a try.

“We basically took the animals from birth and injected the medicine every day until the end of experimentation,” BergerSweeney said. “We looked at various factors, including motor function and cognitive function, and looked at chemical factors after the mice died.”

Berger-Sweeney saw that impaired mice who received the drug treatment showed significant cognitive improvement — the first such observation in animals with the Rett mutation, she said.

Berger-Sweeney, who has not yet published the data, added that the drug seemed to make the mice look normal for about 30 days before the symptoms of Rett syndrome became visible.

“My hypothesis that the cholinergic system has something do with performance is part of it, but it is not the whole story,” she said. “However, we did demonstrate that the drug is capable of improving cognitive performance if you do it early.”

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Arts & Living

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tuftsdaily.com

Gallery Review

Holt’s three-dimensional installations defy conventional exhibition by

Caroline Welch

Contributing Writer

Art has traditionally been thought of as a two-dimensional, individual experience; indeed the term “art” itself often evokes the image of a solitary viewer looking at a flat painting hanging on a flat wall. Artist Nancy Holt seeks to defy that perception by forcing her audience to engage in an entire landscape, extending art out of its standard, rectangular canvas into a living, three-dimensional environment. Unfortunately, this interactive aspect of her work is lost at her Tufts University exhibition. Because many of Holt’s pieces are large-scale, outdoor installations assembled in remote locations, the gallery is forced to use photographs and videos of these projects to display them.

Although these substitutes can still provoke interest among visitors, they are ultimately incapable of capturing the true visionary grandeur of some of Holt’s more prominent productions.

Nancy Holt ( J ’60) began her career in the late sixties, just as the Land Art Movement was beginning. This evolutionary branch of art grew out of the escalating environmental movement in the United States. Land Art aimed to showcase the diversity of the American landscape by taking art out of the studio and integrating it into a natural, ecological setting.

In many of her compositions, Holt experiments with certain like light and time. In her 1973 “Holes of Light” exhibition, Holt positioned a wall with circular cutouts of different sizes arranged in a wavy line in the middle

Courtesy Nancy Holt

Nancy Holt’s works incorporate the environment around them to create inspiring pieces. of a room. She placed a group of lights on either side, which she rotated on and off with a timer. As the beams from one side hit the central wall, they filtered through the cutouts, causing the holes to appear dark and the wall to appear light. On the other side, the opposite occurred, as the circles of light shining through the cutouts contrasted against the dark backdrop of the second wall.

Her 1968 “Over the Hill” consists

Concert Review

Lo-fi heroes Vile and Moore put on introspective performance by

Melissa MacEwen

Daily Editorial Board

Though they were born generations apart, there are many similarities between the music of fellow longhairs Kurt Vile and Thurston Moore.

Their emphasis on lyrics and lo-fi production make them perfect tour partners.

To the delight of their fans, the two have joined up once again after a summer of joint touring to promote their latest albums. The pair swept through Somerville Theater last Tuesday night and put on a solid performance.

With its wry, introspective lyrics and intricate guitar, Vile’s most recent studio effort, “Smoke Ring for My Halo” (2011) earned glowing reviews and launched the Pennsylvania native into the public eye.

The key to Vile’s music is its intense, overwhelming sense of intimacy. On recordings, he carefully and methodically layers his voice and guitar into delicate soundscapes. The effect is one of poignant sincerity, as the listener feels privy to Vile’s personal musings and mumbles.

Unsurprisingly, this musical approach does not translate to live performances in any sort of conventional way. Like the shoegaze and ambient bands he is so frequently associated with, Vile’s performances have a tender fragility. Tall, thin and slightly bow-legged, Vile looked vulnerable as he performed his minimally accompanied opening set.

Despite his touring experience, he still seemed somewhat uncomfortable on stage. His fingers audibly stumbled a few times, and it was exceptionally difficult to understand

of a series of sixteen chronologically ordered pictures of a woman climbing a sand dune. The figure becomes increasingly smaller in the sequence as she gets higher up the hill, finally vanishing over the top.

Yet the most significant theme of Holt’s work is space. In one of her first ventures into the realm of Land Art, Holt situated eight “locators” on each see HOLT, page 8

Movie Review

Glacial pacing limits scares in ‘The Innkeepers’ by

Coorain Devin

Contributing Writer

Despite its slow pace, “The Innkeepers” manages to keep audiences engaged. The film focuses on

The Innkeepers

Starring Sara Paxton, Pat Healy and Alison Bartlett Directed by Ti West

what he was saying from beneath his trademark mane of hair.

Still, Vile put on quite a performance. If anything, his isolation on the stage highlighted the intense introspection and loneliness of his songs. He spoke very little, pausing only to tune and to note, “You guys are beautiful. I used to live here.

And playing here, I saw some sweet shows.”

Harpist Mary Lattimore joined

dorky hotel employees Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) as they work the last weekend at the spooky Yankee Peddler Inn. The inn is closing for good on Monday, so this is Claire and Luke’s last chance to find proof that the hotel is haunted. Luke’s previous encounters prompted him to create a website and record any of the hotel’s strange happenings.

Claire begins to document bizarre occurrences like a piano playing by itself. Inspired by her findings, she works harder to find more evidence and makes contact with the hotel’s spirits with the help of one of the inn’s last remaining customers, Lee (Kelly McGillis). Lee’s healing psychic abilities are the perfect aid to Claire, whose quest is not just to find ghosts, but also herself.

Sara Paxton plays Claire as an accessible but unconventional lead.

Her looks — too childlike to be

see THURSTON, page 6

see INNKEEPERS, page 6

Melissa MacEwen / Tufts Daily

Thurston Moore, frontman of Sonic Youth, took the stage with youthful vitality.

Jacob Passy and Alex Kaufman | Sassy Cinema

Help a ‘sista’ out

W

hen Viola Davis received an Academy Award nomination for her leading performance in “The Help” (2011), she achieved a feat that only one other black woman had before her. She received the second Oscar nomination of her career. The other woman to have done so is Whoopi Goldberg, who won an Oscar for her performance as Oda Mae Brown in “Ghost” (1990).

Overall, the narrative of black women and the Academy Awards is a disappointing one to say the least. Since Hattie McDaniel became the first black person to be nominated for or win an Academy Award in 1940, only 24 women have followed in her footsteps for a total of 26 nominations. In the Academy Awards’ 84-year history, five black women have won for acting.

A look into further landmarks in the history of black actresses in this context is even more disappointing. The first year that two black actresses received nominations in the same category was 1967, when Carol Channing and Beah Richards received nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Channing is a surprising inclusion in this list; a woman of biracial descent, she hid her ethnic background until 2002. “The Color Purple” (1984) was the first film to garner nominations for multiple black actresses.

Now, we at Sassy Cinema love the Oscars, but let’s face it -- Oscar can use some more sistas. This year’s nominations put everything in perspective. Hattie McDaniel was the first woman to ever win an Oscar. What did she play? A maid. This year, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer joined the lucky few black women to be nominated. Oh, and they also played maids.

We don’t want to chalk this all up to being the Academy Awards’ fault -- Hollywood certainly doesn’t do any favors for women of color, be they black, Latina, Asian, etc. But there’s a problem when the black women being nominated for Academy Awards seem to play the same roles over and over again: maids, abused women, and singers (We’re looking at you, Diana Ross, Queen Latifah, and Jennifer Hudson.)

The problem only gets deeper when you look beyond the roles these women play.

Halle Berry’s performance, the only by a black woman to have won for Best Actress, was notable for its use of frontal nudity. Therefore, in the story told by the Oscars, black women are still subjugated, used, and abused.

To keep things recent, let’s discuss the two nominations for “The Help.” We’ve seen the critiques of the film — it does “whitewash” black history and creates a definitive Caucasian superhero-like character with Emma Stone’s role. Beyond that, though, Davis and Spencer (nominated for Best Supporting Actress) give performances that fall in line with Oscar’s stereotypes of black women. Davis is the hurt woman. She has a dead son and works for and ungrateful employer who (spoiler alert!) kicks her to the curb at the film’s close. Spencer, however, is a wholly different woman. She’s sassy, something Oscar loves (see Goldberg in “Ghost” or Hudson in “Dreamgirls” (2006)).

We do love sassy ladies, but did the filmmakers need to include the subplot of Spencer’s character’s abusive husband? Yet another stereotype to add to the film.

Overall, these women delivered great performances that were certainly better than the film they appeared in. That said, it’s a shame that less stereotypical work by black actresses isn’t also nominated this year. One great example — Adepero Oduye’s rave-worthy performance as a lesbian teenager in “Pariah” (2011), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year. Repeatedly, performances by black actresses like Oduye go unnoticed despite breathtaking work. And while Meryl Streep deserves all the praise and nominations she can get, maybe our sistas should start to get some of that attention too, and not just for playing maids.

Jacob Passy is a junior majoring in international relations. He can be reached at Jacob.Passy@tufts.edu. Alex Kaufman is a sophomore majoring in sociology. He can be reached at Alexander.Kaufman@tufts.edu.

6

The Tufts Daily

Arts & Living

Monday, February 6, 2012

Moore, Vile bring radically different personalities to stage THURSTON

continued from page 5

Vile on his album “Smoke Ring for My Halo,” most notably on “Ghost Town” and “On Tour.” During the show, however, she accompanied nearly every song. Lattimore’s minimal playing added a valuable element of complexity and melody to Vile’s otherwise solo guitar playing. Their live rendition of “On Tour” stood out in particular, as it showcased Lattimore’s music box-like harp playing and gave Vile an opportunity to focus on singing.

Vile occasionally missed the mark, but the songs he performed well were truly gorgeous. In particular, his rendition of “Runner Ups” mesmerized the audience. The performance’s modest presentation highlighted his careful plucking and the song’s rich imagery.

“Baby’s Arms” also stood out, as Vile dreamily crooned, “I will never ever ever be alone.”

Sweetly, though somewhat abruptly, Vile’s performance came to an end and the audience began to mill for the halfhour intermission.

Despite being 54 years old, Thurston Moore still rocks with the best of them, as he clearly showed during his set.

With his lanky frame and boyish locks, Moore hardly looked older than 30 as he ripped into feedback-heavy solos and grumbled about how he could use a drink. His performance felt fluid and natural the whole way through and, despite the accompanying musicians around him, he maintained a strong presence throughout the show.

Like Vile, Moore is promoting a solo album he released in 2011, also through Matador Records. His critically acclaimed third album, “Demolished Thoughts,” was produced by Beck.

Unlike Vile, however, Moore seemed

perfectly at home on the stage. He smoothly interspersed his songs with poetry recitations and frequent interaction with his audience, resulting in an engaging set that was musically compelling and surprisingly witty.

To the delight of the Sonic Youth fans in the audience, Moore also recounted a number of stories about his old band.

During one exchange, he realized he had played in the Somerville Theater before: “Sonic Youth played back in Somerville, back in the ‘80s. Do you know where that was? It was here? Damn.”

With this knowledge, Moore recounted losing his temper and storming back to his band’s van during his last performance at the Theater. He said he would try to “atone” for his behavior this time around, and it seems he did. The set flew by as Moore showcased his latest songs with accompaniment from Mary Lattimore, violinist Samara Lubelski, a drummer and a second guitarist.

Moore has consistently stood out as a solo artist, mostly because he has fully embraced his music as a separate entity from Sonic Youth. Rather than trying to make something new out of his old band, Moore has managed to meld a sort of alternative/punk vibe with instruments rarely found at a rock show. His musical pairings with Lubelski’s violin are particularly impressive, as her vibrato adds a great degree of warmth and depth to his guitar playing. The group’s throbbing performance of “Circulation” was an excellent example of this, as was “Mina Loy” (though Moore introduced the song as “Onyx Eyes” for some reason).

Moore’s group also performed a lovely rendition of “Orchard Street,” with Lubelski’s violin once again in the spotlight.

Melissa MacEwen / Tufts Daily

Kurt Vile’s introspective music paired well with his vulnerable stage presence.

Magnet Releasing

Sara Paxton and Pat Healy try to record as many paranormal events as they can in “Innkeepers.”

‘The Innkeepers’ includes tributes to past horror films INNKEEPERS

continued from page 5

glamorous — break from Hollywood’s usual standards for female characters in horror films. Claire’s adolescent looks betray her transitional state.

“I’m kind of, like, in between stuff,” she says when asked what comes after her hotel employment ends. This uncertainty about the future provides most of the characters’ motivation throughout the plot and reflects the fear of the unknown that permeates the film. The film is deliberately paced with relatively few but wellconstructed scares.

If you’re planning to take a date out to “The Innkeepers,” its slow pacing may be to your advantage. The movie is thrilling enough to induce some fearful snuggling in the theater but sparse enough to let your attention wander to the body next to you, making “The Innkeepers” a remarkably good date movie.

Unlike classic haunted house movies, “The Innkeepers” maintains a sense of realism. Claire’s asthma is both terrifying, with gasping breaths making the audience itself feels asphyxiated, and a great source of tension; after each scare she goes straight for the inhaler and anesthetizes herself and the audience. Once she can breathe, the audience knows it’s OK. The film smartly manipulates our emotions, unlike recent torture porn films, such as those of the “Saw” franchise.

“The Innkeepers” is clearly aware

of its connection to previous horror films. There are cinematographic references, such as askew camera angles and lighting changes similar to those in “Amityville Horror”(1979) and “The Shining” (1980). There are also explicit references in the dialogue to these films.

When Lee is introduced, one cannot help but wish she were Jamie Lee Curtis instead. The irony of Curtis, who’s early career labeled her as a “scream queen,” would have created the perfect tension for the film. Kelly McGillis instead reminds the audience of one of the many TV movies or series she’s had minimal roles in.

One wonders how an actress manages to be so ubiquitous and yet so forgettable. This is not to discredit “The Innkeepers” because of its low budget — McGillis’ casting is really the only part of the film in which more money could have helped.

Unlike “Paranormal Activity” (2009) or “The Blair Witch Project” (1999), “The Innkeepers” thankfully doesn’t read as a low budget project.

As a movie, “The Innkeepers” is good, but it’s not a great film by any stretch of the imagination. Horror fans will appreciate its adherence to genre cliches without being entirely boring or formulaic. While thrilling, this movie isn’t scary enough to rob more than two hours of sleep from any viewer.

The best part of the film is its handling of Claire’s inability to move on to the next stage of her life — a problem that many Jumbos can understand.

Monday, February 6, 2012

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The Tufts Daily

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Arts & Living

Monday, February 6, 2012

Courtesy Nancy Holt

Huge landscapes give scale to Holt’s sprawling art projects. “Sun Tunnels” was carefully designed for sunrise and sunset viewing during the summer and winter solstices.

Holt’s work presents a unique challenge to galleries HOLT

continued from page 5

of the cardinal points in an open field in Missoula, Mont. The locators were essentially telescope-like tubes, made of a hollow steel pipe welded perpendicularly onto another one staked in the ground. When spectators looked through the locator with only one eye open, their view of the landscape was limited to a circular area with a twoinch diameter. The installation called for observation through each of the eight locators in order to generate new perspectives of the same space.

One of Holt’s most famous pieces, “Sun Tunnels,” was erected in the Great Basin Desert in Utah. Holt brought in four massive concrete cylinders, eighteen feet long and nine feet in diameter. She arranged them in a very specific “T” cross position so that on the summer and winter solstice the sun would be perfectly encircled by the cylinders at sunrise and sunset. In the sides of the cylinder, Holt also drilled smaller holes that represented specific constellations, which, during the day, cast spots of light onto the dark interior of the tunnel.

While the photographs and videos taken of these sites are extensive and detailed, it is still impossible for anyone to experience the full effect of the art. Seeing snapshots of the Missoula Ranch Locators can’t possibly encompass the entire atmosphere of the scenery. The two dimensional video of the Sun Tunnels offers no way to understand the true scale of the project. This is not the fault of the gallery but rather a fundamental flaw of Land Art itself.

Ironically, the primary purpose of Land Art, to engage people with the space itself, is hard to achieve in the distant,

secluded locations where it is normally established. Because the sites are so inaccessible to the public, pictures and documentaries must suffice instead.

But, in a classic catch-22, this undermines one of the main intentions of the artwork.

Though the entire genre of Land Art suffers from this flaw, it does not detract from the overall sense of creativity and originality present in Holt’s art.

Through a diverse assortment of media, Holt is able to harness the essence of the wilderness and, if not fully, at least partially, convey that to audiences.

Sex happens. Relationships happen. LET’S TALK.

Read and comment on our new blog, filled with info and insights into healthy relationships, sexual assault, and sexual health: http://sites.tufts.edu/pact/

You can also follow us on Facebook: PACTatTufts Twitter: @PACTatTufts Please contact Elaine.Theodore@tufts.edu in Health Ed. for more information about the blog or sexual violence.

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Monday, February 6, 2012

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Black History Month at Tufts 2012 Events

Dr. Cornel West American Democracy in Crisis

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27

Nancy Redd - Breaking the Cycle of Bodily Shame: A Former Miss America Contestant Speaks

Annual Diversity Networking Night

Jazz and Life Balance - A Workshop by Tufts Dance Lecturer Mila Thigpen

7:00PM Metcalf Lounge

7:00-8:30PM Alumnae Lounge

Sponsored by the Women’s Center and cosponsored by the Africana Center, Health and Wellness Services, the LGBT Center, and the Women’s Studies Program.

Sponsored by Tufts Latino Center, Asian American Center at Tufts, Tufts Africana Center, Tufts Career Services, and the Tufts University Alumni Association.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17

The Shaolin Jazz Project

Sunu, the God Parent of Funk

A panel discussion about the intersection of jazz and hip hop

A dance workshop by Gregory Coles, lecturer in Time and location TBA. the Tufts Department of Drama and Dance WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29 7:00PM Jackson Dance Lab

6:00PM, Granoff Music Center Rm. 155 Sponsored by the Africana center with special Shaolin presenters Gerald Watson and DJ 2Tone Jones and panelists including: Tufts Lecturer Joel Larue Smith, Tufts Assistant Professor Stephan Pennington, and Emmett Price III, Chair of the Department of African American Studies Northeastern University FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10 ASO Evening of Romance An evening celebrating old school soulful love artists hosted by African Student Organisation.

(College ID Required).

8:30PM-12:00AM Hotung SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11

Join 20 alumni to hear about life after Tufts.

(Online registration required).

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 Dr. Cornel West: “American Democracy in Crisis” (Tickets required - available after Feb. 6).

7:30PM Cohen Auditorium Sponsored by the Diversity Fund, Peace and Justice Studies, the Africana Center, the Office of Intercultural and Social Identities Program, Student Affairs, and Campus Life

10PM-2AM Hotung

A class on flexibility, cardiovascular health, and stress management through jazz music.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28 Caribbean Culture Conversation Caribbean Club presents a conversation with guest speaker Patrick Sylvain, Visiting Lecturer in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Brown University.

Dimensions of Diaspora, Black Europe, Africana Studies and Queer of Color Critique 5:30PM Barnum 008 A lecture by Fatima El Tayeb, Associate Professor of Literature/Ethnic Studies/Critical Gender Studies at the University of California, San Diego.

Sponsored by the Transnational Studies Working Group.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24 BMG’s 2nd Annual End of Black History Month Celebration

“Remembering Our Leaders of Change” A evening hosted by Caribbean Club with Zouk, Time and location TBA. Hompas, Reggae, & Soca. (College ID required). Sponsored by Black Men’s Group.

Zouk Night of Love

7:00PM Jackson Dance Lab

For up to date information on Black History Month, location, times, and specifications for events, please check the Africana Center web site, The Scoop newsletter, or with individual events’ sponsors.

The Tufts Daily

10

THE TUFTS DAILY Daniel J. Rathman Editor-in-Chief

Editorial Craig Frucht Ethan Sturm Managing Editors Laina Piera Executive News Editor Brionna Jimerson News Editors Elizabeth McKay Mahpari Sotoudeh Jenna Buckle Assistant News Editors Shana Friedman Nina Goldman Lizz Grainger Stephanie Haven Leah Lazer Victoria Leistman Patrick McGrath Melissa Wang Falcon Reese Executive Features Editor Amelia Quinn Features Editors Victoria Rathsmill Derek Schlom Hannah Fingerhut Assistant Features Editors Nadezhda Kazakova Matthew Welch Executive Arts Editor Zach Drucker Arts Editors Adam Kulewicz Melissa MacEwen Anna Majeski Joseph Stile Kate Griffiths Assistant Arts Editors Alexander Hanno Chris Poldoian Bhushan Deshpande David Kellogg Seth Teleky Ard Ardalan Yiota Kastritis Elayne Stecker Anna Christian Devon Colmer Wes Engel Louie Zong Jonathan Green Elliot Philips Michael Restiano Carter Rogers Joyt Singh Aaron Leibowitz Matthew Berger Lauren Flament Claire Kemp Kate Klots David McIntyre Alex Prewitt Alex Baudoin Zachey Kliger Connor Rose

Executive Op-Ed Editor Op-Ed Editors

Justin McCallum Jodi Bosin Will Butt Ashley Seenauth Scott Tingley Caroline Geiling Takuma Koide Misaka Ono Oliver Porter Andrew Schneer Kyra Sturgill Kristen Collins Alex Dennett Dilys Ong

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Editorial | Letters

Monday, February 6, 2012

Editorial

In primaries, thousands speak for millions

The Nevada caucuses came to a close on Saturday with a clear winner.

Mitt Romney won the state by a sizable margin, obtaining about 15,000 votes so far with 89 percent of precincts reporting at the time of publication.

Last month, Rick Santorum took away 13 delegates from the Iowa caucuses, beating Romney by a narrow margin of 34 votes. Last Saturday, Romney came out on top again in the Florida primary with 46.4 percent of the vote, earning 50 delegates.

Although it appears that Romney has solidified the GOP nomination with his three early victories, early voting primaries have definitely proven unreliable in the past. The entire primary process, in fact, unfairly winnows down the field and selects a frontrunner based on only a tiny sliver of each party’s primary electorate.

Early-voting states like Iowa, Nevada, and Florida give a great deal of power to a small number of people.

Although these Republican voters represent only a fraction of party members nationwide, they largely decide who will be cast as a “frontrunner” and who as an “underdog” for the remain-

der of the race.

Rick Santorum has been the biggest beneficiary of this flaw in the system.

His victory in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, razor-thin though it was, created the impression of widespread appeal. But the fact is, his brand of conservatism would not have been successful if, say, Georgia or Pennsylvania — states with much larger Republican constituencies — had been the first to vote.

Nevertheless, Santorum’s popularity in Iowa catapulted him into the national spotlight, while Rick Perry’s candidacy disintegrated, in spite of the fact that Perry had been leading Santorum in nationwide polling up until the Iowa caucuses.

Mathematically speaking, what did Santorum’s victory amount to in the end? Nothing. The Iowa caucuses didn’t award a single committed delegate. And yet he still walked away with the illusion of frontrunner status and a frenzy of media attention that was not at all commensurate with his true viability as a candidate.

Some states also have incredibly unfair delegate-awarding procedures. Florida sticks out the most

in this regard, awarding all 50 of its delegates to the first place winner.

Most states award their delegations proportionally, but because Florida refuses to budge from a winner-takeall system, Newt Gingrich, who came in second with 32 percent of the vote, gets nothing.

The other fairly obvious concern with the current system is its equity.

Can a thousand or so people accurately represent the beliefs of millions?

This country prizes its electoral system for its ability to give everyone a voice. But that's not what actually happens. Everyone gets a say only after a select few get to speak before they do, and because these few "more or less" represent everyone, we consider the system a success. Only once the election has narrowed down to two candidates does the whole "every vote counts" ideology take hold.

By the time most Republicans actually have a chance to vote in the primary, the early-voting states will have essentially decided the race for them.

This is a bizarrely inefficient system, and it hardly conforms to this country’s democratic ideals.

Elizabeth Landers will have the latest on all things fashion.

In the aptly named “Barasch on Books,” James Barasch reviews a wide swath of biographies and novels — many with a historical perspective — helping you limit your extracurricular reading to only the very best.

Finally, Niki Krieg trades her managing editor’s hat for a crown in her food column, “Queen of Cibo,” presenting the recipes you need to eat your hangovers and midterm blues away.

Op-Ed columnist Walt LawsMacDonald returns with “Show Me the Money.” After tackling Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan and the financial importance of Black Friday in the fall, he will give you his take on the latest financial news, such as Facebook’s recent IPO, throughout the spring.

Veterans Zach Drucker and Alex Prewitt are back to anchor the spring Sports slate. If the Knicks lose on a boneheaded mistake or the Mets suffer a season-ending injury, you won’t want to miss Drucker’s laments in “The Loser.” And as Casey heads back to the dugout after his legendary whiff, Ernest Thay, er, Prewitt is “Live

from Mudville” to help you cope.

The Sports department also has two rookie columnists joining the team.

Sam Gold dishes on the relationship between sports and society, blasting Skip Bayless and the BCS along the way. Alex Arthur sees a wide-open field and is ready to run on any salient topic that finds its way into “King Arthur’s Court.”

Last but not least, be sure to head to our website, TuftsDaily.com, every Friday for “Teatime” with video columnist Nash Simpson. Pour yourself a cup of Rooibos, Jasmine or Earl Grey, and pull up a chair for the lowdown on everything from sports to pop culture.

Before I let you turn back to today’s content, for the first time this semester, I can honestly say that the Daily will see you tomorrow. We are ready to make good on our name and motto, so from now until April 30, you can expect to read it here first five times a week.

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Executive Sports Editor Sports Editors

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Letter from the Editor Dear Readers, As you wake up from your Super Bowl food comas and prepare for the third full week of the spring semester, the Daily is here with a fresh batch of columnists sure to offer useful tips and provide a morning chuckle.

In the Features section, Alyson Yee’s “Odd Jobs” explores some offbeat career opportunities available to her mates in the class of 2012, not least of which is following in George Costanza’s footsteps as a hand model.

Ben Schwalb surveys the tech industry and its connections to current events in “Das Coding,” while Jasmin Sadegh describes her experiences as an engineering student to outsiders.

And if you are looking for guidance on anything — well, almost anything — you will probably find it in Jack Webster and Hannah Furgang’s satirical advice column every Thursday.

The Arts department delivers a wide variety of perspectives.

In “Sassy Cinema,” Jacob Passy and Alex Kaufman consider aspects of the film world from a viewpoint that is, well, sassy. Meanwhile, on Tuesdays,

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.

Sincerely, Daniel Rathman Editor-in-Chief

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.

The Tufts Daily

Monday, February 6, 2012

11

Op-Ed

Why I fight child sex slavery

by Jane Jihae Yoon

In October of 2010 during my junior year at Tufts, I was sexually assaulted on campus by a student from a different university. Too ashamed to burden my friends with the immediate aftermath, I turned to Tufts’ counseling center and Health Services for some much-needed support. Thankfully, it also happened to be sexual assault awareness month at Tufts, and there were weekly events that allowed me to connect with other women on campus with similar experiences.

I remember wordlessly sitting in the cold with an enraged yet loving friend. I remember attending a concert, lighting a candle on the Tisch roof, decorating a T-shirt, all in honor of victims of sexual assault. I remember waking up every morning wishing it was all just a very bad dream. Although I was physically present at these events, the me on the inside was not nearly ready to fully accept what had happened. For several months, I harbored such a fearful hatred toward men that I could not even begin a real journey toward recovery from rape.

Two months after the incident, I heard of an international non-governmental organization (INGO) called Love146, which exists to abolish child sex trafficking in North America, Asia, and Europe. I had no idea that such an atrocity as child sex trafficking continues to exist in the world today, not to mention in our own country. The phrase “child sex trafficking” alone was sickening enough — those three words should never have to be in the same sentence! I began to research and I quickly learned that over 1.2 million children are sexually exploited every year. And this horror is not limited to some ambiguous third-world country; it happens in our own backyard. In the United States, over 100,000 children are engaged in pornography or prostitution each year. According to Love146, the vast majority of trafficked and prostituted children in the U.S are either runaways or abandoned children. The average age of entry for girls and boys ranges from 11 to 14 years. And yes, children are constantly being lured and kidnapped into the sex trade in Massachusetts today.

My heart immediately went out to these enslaved children, who are often caught in a destructive cycle of poverty, lack of self-worth, drug addiction, and suicidal tendencies. I knew how significantly I had been affected by being raped at age 19, but I could not even imagine the same repulsive scene playing out on a 7 or 8-year-old child, up to 15 times a day. Though I was lucky enough to evade any potential consequences from the rape, such as contraction of STDs or an unplanned pregnancy, I realized there are innocent children growing up with these very consequences today. Young girls become impregnated by strangers and are forced to get multiple abortions per month. Some brothel owners use unspeakable methods, allowing them to continually and relentlessly sell the same young

Courtesy Jane Yoon

girl at the highest price of a virgin. Many of these young girls will die of AIDS. This is what is going on in some dark corners of the earth today. And it is not okay to settle for such a corrupted world.

What began as a “therapeutic project” for me to channel my anger toward misogynistic men has, over time, become a healthy and lifelong passion to stand up against a horrible humanitarian injustice. Over the past year and few months, I have been able to continue on my journey of healing from rape by starting the first movement of justice at Tufts solely focused on children affected by sex slavery. What I love about Love146 is that it places a huge emphasis on the possibility of full restoration for sex trafficking survivors.

Love146 focuses on raising awareness on the issue of child sex trafficking, and raising funds for child survivors in aftercare programs. The Love146 Tufts Chapter’s mission is to harness student potential on Tufts’ campus to creatively and passionately raise awareness about the issue of child sex slavery.

Last spring, Love146 Tufts put on a benefit concert, spreading awareness to 250 students and raising over $1,000 for aftercare. Last fall, the group launched the Childhood Memories Project, raising awareness about child sex slavery by reminding participants that every

child deserves to grow up with wonderful memories. Children should be cared for, they should be in a family where they are loved, but that is not what is happening to millions of children around the world today. Children are being taught that they are commodities to be sold, rather than human beings worthy of love. Love146 is about bringing life back to these children.

Child sex trafficking is certainly a heartshattering and troubling issue, to say the least.

I don't fight child sex trafficking because I think it is fun or because I like thinking about it all the time. I fight because my heart breaks for enslaved children. But out of our broken hearts will come change, compassion, and a fire for justice. If we celebrate our broken hearts, they will be our best tools in changing our world. Love146 Tufts will continue shedding light on child sex trafficking this semester through our second Annual Benefit Concert in March, and our Broken Hearts Valentine’s Event this Thursday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in Sophia Gordon Hall.

Lastly, I know we don’t come to Tufts aspiring to be apathetic, passive, disengaged citizens. We come to Tufts to learn how to tear across boundaries and change the world. We are so blessed to be in a position to fight for and empower those that do not yet have a

voice. We have four short years at Tufts — they really do go by in a flash! Make sure you take the time to stand up for what you believe in.

And for all the victims of sexual assault or rape, know that you are not alone. Seek help from people you can trust. Keep looking forward — never look back. I’m not saying that becoming an abolitionist is the quick-fix step to true healing from sexual assault, but I can tell you that it has certainly helped me find hope in a situation that once felt hopeless. Love took my blindness toward human trafficking and spurred me into compassionate action. Love turned my brokenness into something worth celebrating. I’m not sharing this story to gain pity points, believe me — I can think of a hundred less humbling ways to get that sort of attention. I’m sharing this story because I have found that nothing restores the way that love can, and that is a story worth sharing. There is so much room for forgiveness in love. There is so much hope for restoration. What’s the most powerful force on the planet? I know love is. And it’s called Love146 for that reason.

Jane Jihae Yoon is a senior majoring in child development. She is one of the cofounders of the Love146 Tufts Chapter.

Off the Hill | Northwestern University

The bias against the liberal media

by Joseph

Misulonas

Daily Northwestern

Many media pundits attribute Newt Gingrich’s win in the South Carolina primary last Saturday to his attacks on the liberal media during his recent debate performances.

The day before the primary, Gingrich called John King “despicable” for asking a question about his ex-wife alleging in an interview that Gingrich asked her for an open marriage. Based on that question, I think we can infer that Newt Gingrich knows despicable behavior.

But was John King despicable for asking Gingrich about this Nightline interview?

Absolutely not.

The number of debates that have taken place in this primary is making Charlie Sheen’s media barrage look restrained.

The candidates, more or less, all agree on the same fundamental ideas (Ron Paul excluded), and rarely in these debates do we hear the candidates offer anything new. If we don’t ask the candidates questions about their personal lives, CNN might as well just show a re-run of one of

the November debates.

Gingrich used this question to unload on one of his favorite talking points — the “biased liberal media” myth.

If you have never watched Fox News, here is what I mean by the “biased liberal media” myth: that all the major news outlets have a bias against conservatism and are actively engaged in trying to make liberals look good and conservatives look bad.

This is simply not true. Journalists are taught to remain objective in their reporting. Objectivity is a point of pride for many professional journalists. While there is no denying that publications such as The New York Times or The Washington Post have liberal leanings, they contain their political statements to the editorial page, just like conservative publications such as The Wall Street Journal do.

Almost every news organization, whether it be newspaper, magazine or broadcast television, is owned by a media conglomerate run by wealthy, conservative CEOs. If their organizations were too liberally biased, wouldn’t they intervene?

Conservatives generally point out that the mainstream media won’t report on the same

stories and issues as Fox News.

Essentially, conservatives want the media to criticize liberals more often. The problem with that is the media has to remain objective. While the economy is in bad shape, the media cannot lop all their criticism at President Obama. It would be unfair.

Gingrich has been particularly focused on attacking the media in recent weeks.

Besides the confrontation with King, he got into a heated exchange with Fox News’ Juan Williams over comments Gingrich made about blacks demanding paychecks, not food stamps, and earlier this week he criticized NBC’s Brian Williams for instructing the audience at Monday’s Republican debate to refrain from applauding and cheering.

It is no surprise that Gingrich’s recent rise in the polls came at the same time as his attacks on the media have increased.

Conservative voters bought into this liberalbias-in-the-media myth.

The problem isn’t that conservative voters are consulting only conservative news outlets. That is entirely their choice. My problem is that this liberal-media bashing is limiting conservative voters’ scopes of information.

A recent poll by Fairleigh Dickinson U. showed that Fox News viewers are less informed than people who watch no television news. Fox News viewers are subjected to these attacks on the media, and it’s convincing them not to consult other news sources.

The New York Times and The Washington Post may be considered liberal newspapers, but that doesn’t mean the things they report are false.

The same thing goes for liberals reading the Wall Street Journal. Just because you don’t agree with a paper’s editorial board doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read the paper.

People should seek knowledge as much as possible. We shouldn’t limit our scope to newspapers and news shows that reinforce our own opinions. We should try to expand our horizons and become more well-rounded and well-informed citizens.

Politicians need citizens to be knowledgeable. If we want our country to start heading in the right direction, we need voters who are well-informed when picking the leaders who will solve our problems.

Politicians and the media don’t have to be at war. In fact, they can both be tools in making our country less problematic.

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

12

Comics

Monday, February 6, 2012

Doonesbury

Crossword

by

Garry Trudeau

Non Sequitur

Tuesday’s Solution

Married to the Sea

www.marriedtothesea.com

SUDOKU Level: Saying you’ll extend the Green Line

Late Night at the Daily Thursday’s Solution

Craig: “How does Steve Novak compare to an old grandmother with osteo-arthritis?”

Please recycle this Daily.

by

Wiley

Sports

13

tuftsdaily.com

Men’s Basketball

Firempong’s buzzer beater lifts Tufts to weekend split by

Claire Kemp

Daily Editorial Board

The men’s basketball team was lacking a few things this weekend. Drama was not one of them.

MEN’S BASKETBALL (16-6 Overall, 6-3 NESCAC) at Cousens Gym, Saturday Amherst Tufts

35 36

39 — 74 29 — 65

31 31

31 — 62 33 — 64

at Cousens Gym, Friday Trinity Tufts

After beating Trinity 64-62 on a buzzer-beater on Friday night, Tufts gave national No. 6 Amherst a run for its money, leading after the first half and closing in late before eventually falling 74-65.

The weekend split puts the Jumbos at 16-6 overall and 6-3 in the NESCAC, where they sit in third place two weeks before the conference tournament.

After the Jumbos honored their four seniors — forwards Alex Orchowski, James Long and Peter Saba and guard Amauris Quezada — on Saturday, the teams traded leads throughout the first half. But after Tufts took a 36-35 advantage into the locker room, the Lord Jeffs took a firmer hold of the reins in the second half.

After a dunk from Orchowski brought the crowd to its feet and put the Jumbos within one, at 45-44 with 13:55 to play, Amherst built a seven-point lead. The Jumbos would get within three twice more in the next few minutes, but the Lord Jeffs pulled away and the home team was forced to foul. Amherst went 9-for-11 from the line late, sealing the win and staying undefeated in the NESCAC. “We weren’t able to defend and rebound down the stretch like we have been doing recently,” sophomore guard Kwame Firempong said. “And Amherst took advantage of its second-chance opportunities and put the game away.”

“We wanted to come in and prove we can beat one of the best teams in the country, but unfortunately we were unable to do that,” Orchowski said. “Our rebounding was poor, and you can’t give a great team like Amherst too many second chances.”

The Jumbos also lost ground at the line, missing seven of their 16 attempts while watching the Lord Jeffs shoot nearly 80 percent.

Freshman guard C.J. Moss had a strong day with 12 points — including 10 in the first half — and three assists.

Orchowski chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds and junior tri-cap-

Scott Tingley/Tufts Daily

Sophomore guard Kwame Firempong had nine total points in the win over Trinity, including two on the game-winning jumper as time expired. tain forward Scott Anderson added 10 points and seven boards.

Freshman guard Ben Ferris stepped up in a huge way off the bench, compiling 16 points, 10 rebounds and two steals in just 27 minutes.

The night before, Tufts handed Trinity a heartbreaking loss, as Firempong nailed a step-back jumper to win it as time expired.

The Bantams led by seven on two occasions in the first half, but the Jumbos went on a 15-4 run to take a 23-19 lead with just under six minutes left before the intermission. The teams traded leads three more times, and at halftime they were deadlocked at 31-31.

Trinity opened the second half with a 14-6 burst to establish a 45-37 lead, but the Jumbos stuck around, and Orchowski finally tied it at 55-55 with

3:21 to play. He and Moss combined for the Jumbos’ next seven points, giving the team a 62-57 lead with 1:17 on the clock.

But the Bantams came storming back, scoring the next five to tie the game at 62-62 with 12 seconds left on a long three from junior guard Mick DiStasio.

Head coach Bob Sheldon elected not to call a timeout, and Cohen took the ball down the court before handing it off to Firempong, who drove inside, crossed up his defender, and hit a 15-foot stepback jumper for the 64-62 win.

“We really started to lock down defensively,” said Firempong of the end of Friday’s game. “We were able to make some big stops and key buckets down the stretch.” see MEN’S BASKETBALL, page 15

Men’s Basketball

Amherst alumnus Keith Zalaski finds home on Tufts’ bench by

Alex Prewitt

Daily Editorial Board

The offer was on the table, and Keith Zalaski was reluctantly prepared to accept it.

An economics major and 2006 Amherst graduate, Zalaski had an insurance job lined up, the extension of a miserable summer experience during which Zalaski estimates he spent more time reading and doing “other nonsense” than he did actually working.

That was before David Hixon, Zalaski’s basketball coach with the Lord Jeffs, received a call from the Williston Northampton athletics director that at once solved the Wildcats’ need for a varsity head coach and remedied Zalaski’s apathy.

The western Massachusetts private boarding school sought a recommendation from Hixon for its open position, and Hixon swore by the little-used guard without any coaching experience — the Simsbury, Conn. native who reminded Hixon of himself.

“I played him very little in his four years, and yet I knew that experience too,” Hixon said. “His dad had been an official, a school teacher, a vice principal. My dad was a principal and a schoolteacher, the whole thing. I just saw a lot of me in him, and I thought, ‘This is the guy.’ I just knew.”

And so began the career of Zalaski, now a self-described “Tufts convert” after joining men’s basketball head coach Bob Sheldon’s staff two years ago.

Following two seasons with Williston

from 2006-2008, Zalaski moved onto Trinity-Pawling, where he coached, among others, Wesleyan junior Shasha Brown, the NESCAC’s leading scorer, and sophomore Jonathan Kalin, a starter for Colby.

Zalaski, who Hixon called “probably the most talented, underplayed guard” in his 35 years of coaching, played sparingly for the Lord Jeffs, mostly because the lefty arrived one year before twotime Div. III All-American Andrew Olson. Zalaski averaged 6.3 minutes and 1.4 points per game over four seasons, during which the Lord Jeffs sported a 109-14 record.

Also a co-captain golfer for Amherst, Zalaski met the charismatic Sheldon see ZALASKI, page 15

Zach Drucker | The Loser

Fair-weather fans

O

f all the despicable swine of the sports world, fair-weather fans are, perhaps, the most callous.

For those unfamiliar with this term, a fair-weather fan is someone who has little interest in following sports or supporting a specific team until said team begins to triumph. Take, for example, sports stars who don Yankees caps in postgame interviews — of which there are many. Though these stars often are not from New York, nor do they play for New York teams, there is something en vogue about wearing the gear of the world’s most successful franchise.

For obvious reasons, fans of the Jets, Mets and Knicks could never be considered fair weather fans. Yet fans connect with their teams and want to see their teams win. So, when a disloyal fan celebrates a pivotal victory, devoted supporters of fruitless teams brim with anger.

Imagine dedicating your entire life to art only to see a friend, who dabbles passionlessly in finger painting, create the next great American artwork! That feeling would be analogous to how I felt during Super Bowl XLII four years ago.

As a Jets fan from Westchester, N.Y., I begrudgingly attended a friend’s Super Bowl party to watch the New York Giants take on the undefeated New England Patriots. Just as with yesterday’s Super Bowl, a Giants-Patriots showdown is equivalent to the apocalypse for Jets fans. We hate the Patriots because they are our division rivals who, after coaxing Bill Belichick into resigning his position as the Jets head coach after one day in office in 1999, led the Patriots to three championships. Jets fans also despise the Giants, who have always trivialized the Jets by declaring themselves the “older brother” New York football dynasty.

Anyway, on that fateful February day, I listlessly arrived at my friend’s house, a grimace plastered on my face. I perused the room for Jets sympathizers when my eyes fell upon an appalling sight: my friend — let’s call him “Philip G. Herman” — wearing a Michael Strahan jersey and a matching Giants hat. Sure, there were many attendees dressed in Giants attire, but Phil’s getup particularly caught my eye.

Phil’s limited-edition Strahan jersey and matching hat were adorned with the Super Bowl XLII logo, leading me to conclude he had purchased the items that morning at the local Sports Authority — a presumption Phil would later confirm.

Yet the most distressing aspect of Phil’s garish apparel stemmed from the simple fact that he had never before shown the slightest interest in the Giants. He may very well have attended the Super Bowl party in a shiny, green Chad Pennington jersey had the Jets (miraculously) made the Super Bowl that year.

When I confronted Phil with all the pent-up rage of a scorned football addict, however, he indignantly defended his love of the Giants … despite the fact he could not name five players on their team. But, when David Tyree made his exceptional catch, inexplicably pinning the ball against his helmet in double coverage, and when pre-self inflicted gunshot wound Plaxico Burress caught the game-winning touchdown reception, Phil whooped and hollered with the rest of my tormentors as if he himself had won the Super Bowl.

I will never forget that day, because I — a fairly pleasant and seldom spiteful person by nature — resented my friend’s happiness, uncontrollably cursing his fortunes under my breath. An ancient proverb maintains that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Nonetheless, in sports, any friend who supports my enemy is inherently my enemy.

Especially when that friend only flaunts his commitment to a team when that team achieves greatness.

Zach Drucker is a senior majoring in International Relations and Spanish. He can be reached at Zachary.Drucker@tufts.edu.

The Tufts Daily

14

Sports

Monday, February 6, 2012

Men’s Track And Field

Jumbos stampede their way to Tufts Invitational crown by

Lauren Flament

Daily Editorial Board

The men’s track and field team notched solid performances and personal bests across the board en route to winning the MEN’S TRACK & FIELD Tufts Invitational Stampede at Gantcher Center, Friday & Saturday 1st of 22 teams 1. Tufts - 125 2. UMass Dartmouth - 87.5 3. WPI - 68

Tufts Invitational Stampede, hosted this weekend at the Gantcher Center. The squad tallied 125 points, well ahead of UMass Dartmouth’s 87.5 points, among 22 scoring teams.

The meet kicked off Friday evening with the heptathlon, and two Tufts competitors took part in the action with four events that evening and three on Saturday.

Because the Div. III men’s indoor track and field institution switched from the pentathlon to the heptathlon this season, this weekend marked the first heptathlon for sophomore Andrew Osborne and freshman Allan Yau. The pair finished sixth and eighth with 3,820 and 2,822 points, respectively, among the seven events.

On Saturday, the Jumbos returned and earned three victories. Junior Matt Rand led an impressive slew of 3,000-meter athletes, clocking a personal-best time of 8:35.54.

“I’ve been battling with a few minor injuries over the last few weeks,” Rand said, “so the goal going in was to just have a pain-free race, and I ended up feeling really good and getting an eightsecond PR [personal record], so I was definitely happy with the result.”

Sophomores Liam Cassidy and Brian

McLaughlin were the next two across the line in the 3,000, rounding out the top three with times of 8:41.63 and 8:44.77. The mark was a new best for McLaughlin as well.

“Brian’s race was very impressive,” Rand said. “He ran four seconds faster than he did last weekend at BU, which is a much faster track where he had faster guys around him. Liam’s race wasn’t a lifetime PR, but it was a season best. He’s been battling little injuries as well, so it was a step in the right direction for him.”

Senior Jeff Prescott added the second victory on the track with a new personal best of 2:32.26 in the 1,000 meter, hitting the ECAC qualifier mark in the event.

“I was really happy with it,” Prescott said. “It was different than most races I’ve run before in the sense that I wasn’t able to latch onto an athlete in front of me or work off of somebody else. It was really just me pushing against myself to see how hard I could go.

“I had a goal in mind of what I wanted to run and the confidence in myself that I could run it,” he said, “but it was the friends and family and the energy surrounding the track for the last two laps that helped me push through.”

In the pole vault, Junior Brad Nakanishi’s clearance of 14-7 1/4 earned him first place amongst 20 vaulters.

Freshman Ptah Osayande added a runner-up performance in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing in 8.60 seconds. Junior Gbola Ajayi also placed second with his leap of 22-3 in the long jump.

In the throws, freshman Brian Williamson took third in the shot put with a toss of 48-0 3/4. Junior Curtis Yancy’s launch of 52-10 1/4 earned him third in the weight throw, one place ahead of senior tri-captain Adam Aronson.

On Saturday, the squad will split between Boston University’s Valentine Invitational and their last home meet of the winter season, marking their final meets before the New England Div. III Championships on Feb. 17 and 18 at MIT.

Caroline Peyser / Tufts Daily

The host Jumbos topped the second place Corsairs by nearly 40 points.

Women’s Track

Records by Allen, Hieber lead Tufts to victory

by Jacob Indursky

Contributing Writer

The women’s track and field team won the Tufts Invitational Stampede in dominant fashion at WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD Tufts Invitational Stampede at Gantcher Center, Friday & Saturday 1st of 19 teams 1. Tufts - 192 2. Worcester State - 99 3. WPI - 94

the Gantcher Center this weekend, defeating 18 other teams. The team scored 192 points, nearly 100 more than second-place finisher Worcester State’s 99.

Tufts netted five first-place finishes and had at least one top-five finisher in 13 out of 20 events.

Junior Kelly Allen led the way for the Jumbos, finishing first in the weight throw and the shot put and continuing her trend as the team leader in overall points. Allen broke her own school record of 16.31 meters in the weight throw with a throw of 16.54 meters, as well as her own school record of 12.86 meters in the shot put with a 13.09-meter toss.

“I’m really happy with how this weekend went,” Allen said. “For me right now, it’s about maintaining good distances and getting ready for championship season. I want to be able to pull out my best

DAILY FILE PHOTO

Sophomore Jana Hieber’s 3,236 points in the pentathlon broke a Tufts record. throws during championship season, so hopefully my training will lead to the ultimate goal of competing at Nationals in March.”

Allen wasn’t the only Jumbo to break a school record this weekend. On Friday, sophomore Jana Hieber came in second in the pentathalon, scoring 3,236 points and breaking the record of 3,198 set in

2004 by Jessica Trombly. Heiber finished first in the pentathalon’s 800 m event, second in the long jump and 60-meter hurdles, and third in the high jump.

Samantha Bissonnette finished first in the 800-meter, setting a personal record of 2:23.59. She also helped the 4x400-meter relay team — consisting of sophomore

Colleen Flanagan, junior Alyssa Corrigan and senior Dayorsha Collins — to a third-place finish.

Senior tri-captain Anya Price finished first in the 3K in 10:30.86.

Sophomore Lauren Creath and freshman Lindsay Rogers also finished in the top 50, as Creath set a new personal record with a time of 10:36.50. Price also contriubted to a second-place finish for Tufts in the 4x800-meter relay.

“We got a chance individually to do our best,” Creath said. “More impressive was what we were able to do as a team.”

Senior Heather Theiss, who jumped 3.50 meters, provided the Jumbos with yet another first-place finish in the pole vault. Senior Katherine Tang finished third overall with a jump of 2.90 meters.

“The strong finishes across the board were a testament to the depth of the team,” senior tri-captain Kayley Pettoruto said.

That depth continued to pay dividends in the one-mile event, with sophomores Madeleine Carey, Molly Mirhashem, Abby Garbes, Laura Barker and freshman Cami Fisher all finishing in the top 10.

Carey led the way, finishing third with a 5:22.77 mile. As a unit, the runners combined to produce 12 points for the team.

Next weekend, the team will head to Boston University for the Valentine Invitational, where the Jumbos will look to take advantage of BU’s pristine facilities to set personal records and qualify for the next three weekends’ events — the Div. III Championships, East Coast Championships and Nationals, respectively.

Men’s Ice Hockey

Jumbos ice Camels in doubleheader

The hockey team notched a two-game sweep of Conn. College this weekend, beating the Camels 7-1 at Malden Forum on Friday before winning 4-2 Saturday on the road. The Jumbos have now gone 5-0-1 in their last six games, improving to 11-7-2 overall and 8-5-1 in the NESCAC, good for third place.

On Saturday, sophomore forward Kyle Gallegos scored two first-period goals to give Tufts an early cushion. The Camels fought back to tie the game at two, but senior tri-captain forward Matt Amico went top shelf for the eventual game winner near the end of the second. In the final seconds of the game, junior forward Dylan Plimmer added an empty netter to seal the 4-2 victory.

The night before, the Jumbos crushed the Camels 7-1 behind a Gallegos hat trick, with all three of his goals coming in the first 20 minutes. Senior goalie Scott Barchard made 48 saves in the win.

For a full recap of the hockey team’s two-win weekend, see tomorrow’s Daily.

by Aaron Leibowitz

The Tufts Daily

Monday, February 6, 2012 Wanted

Housing

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Women’s Basketball

Despite weekend split, Jumbos control destiny for No. 2 seed by

Alex Baudoin

Daily Editorial Board

The defending national champion Lord Jeffs asserted their dominance on Saturday at Cousens Gym, downing WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (18-5 Overall, 7-2 NESCAC) at Cousens Gym, Saturday Amherst Tufts

30 15

18 — 48 16 — 31

22 49

32 — 54 26 — 75

at Cousens Gym, Friday Trinity Tufts

the Jumbos 48-31 to notch their 41st straight victory.

On an afternoon when the women’s basketball team honored its two seniors, co-captain forward Kate Barnosky and guard Tiffany Kornegay, for their contributions to the program, Tufts simply had no answers for the number one team in the nation.

Coming off of a 75-54 victory over Trinity on Friday night, the Jumbos had an opportunity to take over the top spot in the conference with a win. But the Lord Jeffs opened the game with a 22-2 run, and while Tufts played excellent defense the rest of the way, it was too little, too late.

“After they went on a huge run to start the game, it was hard to get back into it mentally,” Barnosky said. “When we played with more confidence, things got better.”

Tufts falls to 18-5 with the loss, and remains alone in second place in the NESCAC with a 7-2 record in conference play.

The Jumbos held Amherst to a seasonlow 48 points on 33.3 percent shooting, but they struggled offensively throughout the game. They shot just 17.9 percent from the field, including 1-for-11

SCOTT TINGLEy/Tufts Daily

Seniors Kate Barnosky (above) and Tiffany Kornegay, who were honored on Saturday afternoon, were unable to lead the Jumbos past national powerhouse Amherst. on 3-pointers, and endured stretches of over nine minutes in both halves in which they were held scoreless.

Outside shooting woes have continuously plagued the Jumbos lately, and in their two losses this week they shot a combined 2-for-29 from beyond the arc.

“The way to solve that [shooting

problem] is just trying to get it inside and make the easy ones,” junior cocaptain Bre Dufault said. “I don’t think we really want to change our gameplan — sometimes we just don’t execute.”

Amherst — a squad that leads the NESCAC in almost every statistical category — had the height advantage at

Zalaski’s enthusiasm, experience are invaluable assets to head coach Sheldon’s staff ZALASKI

continued from page 13

on the links, and they kept in touch over the years. Now he’s helping construct a brewing NESCAC contender in Medford, one powered by young recruits that seems a far cry from the squad that won just one conference game in each of the two seasons before Zalaski’s arrival.

“I have no regrets about it,” said Zalaski, sitting in the bleachers overlooking Cousens Gym following the Jumbos’ 74-65 loss to his alma mater on Saturday afternoon, his normally soft-spoken tone elevated with enthusiasm. “It’s early mornings and it’s late nights, but it’s what I love to do and I do it for the thing I enjoy. I just feel different in this atmosphere than I do in anything else.”

Sheldon, he of the perfected stonecold deadpan, has mandated that Zalaski never wear purple, lest the young assistant risk termination from the program, but that hasn’t stopped some Jumbos from ribbing the Lord Jeffs alum about his tenure donning the color. Even so, the respect is there for the man who reached two NCAA Final Fours.

“He really has a nice rapport with the players,” Sheldon said. “They respect

him, they know he’s the coach but he’s close enough in age that he can keep that relationship going. He didn’t know what he wanted [right before graduation], but once he got in, he loved it.”

Consider the allegiances — and colors — officially shifted.

“I try to stay away from the purple as much as possible because I know what’s coming,” said Zalaski, sporting a baby-blue Tufts basketball bracelet on his right wrist. “There’s no need to push the button.”

Before this season began, Hixon offered Zalaski the opportunity to leave Tufts and don purple yet again for the Lord Jeffs, to make that familiar journey west on the Massachusetts Turnpike and join his former coach on the Amherst bench, this time as his head assistant.

Things were different when the Lord Jeffs came calling this time around.

Zalaski now has a day job teaching precalculus at Belmont High School. He’s working on a master’s degree in education at Tufts and has aspirations of one day taking over a NESCAC or Ivy League program to coach the Div. III and Div. I paragons of student-athletes. And most importantly, he has a fiancee.

He and Kate Bentley, a Palo Alto, Calif., native, will get married on Aug. 3, 2013

in Sun Valley, Idaho, just 20 minutes up the road from Hailey, Idaho, one of the locations of the BHS basketball camps Zalaski helped found in 2007.

Zalaski and Bentley met during his senior year at Amherst, when she was a freshman. This past September, Zalaski was meeting with a Tufts recruit and the recruit’s parents at the coach’s office in Cousens, when he hastily ended the meeting and shuttled out the door. He had a proposal to get to.

For what it’s worth, the recruit will attend Tufts next year, and Bentley, a former soccer player for the Lord Jeffs, has also converted to Jumbos fandom, marked by a birthday card on her fridge signed by the entire team.

“I got lucky,” Zalaski said. “We just met late and hit it off, and we had no idea what was going to happen, and we’ve been together almost six years.

I would say that’s probably the thing I’m happiest about. It was just something unexpected.”

Zalaski was technically answering a question about his relationship with Bentley.

Given the elements of initial uncertainty, unexpectedness and enduring happiness, he very well could have been talking about his coaching career.

almost every position, which made it especially difficult for Tufts to get off clean shots.

“The game plan was to attack and execute our offense by attacking and getting the ball into the post,” Barnosky said. “They are a really good defensive team, and they made us rush our shots.

We weren’t really taking the shots we wanted to take.”

Leading the way for the Lord Jeffs was senior forward Lem Atanga McCormick, who contributed 13 points, four rebounds and four blocks. Senior forward Jackie Renner also pitched in with eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

The Jumbos did an impressive job slowing down Amherst’s star guard, senior co-captain Caroline Stedman.

Stedman was held to eight points on 3-of-13 shooting, well below her season averages of 13.8 points on 40.6 percent shooting.

Tufts also limited Megan Robertson, Amherst’s third-leading scorer, to six points, and Kim Fiorentino, who averages around 10 per game, to five points on 1-of-12 shooting.

Barnosky led the Jumbos with seven points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Kornegay, who ranks second in the NESCAC with 8.3 rebounds per game, had a game-high 16 boards, and is making a strong case for Defensive Player of the Year honors.

On Friday night, the Jumbos stomped Trinity 75-54, clinching a first-round home game for the NESCAC tournament as 10 different Jumbo players scored.

Kornegay put together one of her best all-around performances of the season with 14 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Morehead chipped in with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, four rebounds and three assists. It all culminated in a 49-point second half that allowed coach Carla Berube to rest her starters for much of the second.

Despite the loss to Amherst, if the Jumbos can beat 8-12 Hamilton next weekend, they will clinch the No. 2 seed in the NESCAC playoff tournament.

Jumbos could earn best tournament seed since 2006 MEN’S BASKETBALL continued from page 13

Moss’s 13 points led the team.

Orchowski had 12 points and five blocks, while Firempong added 11 points, two assists and two steals. The game was almost lost for the Jumbos on the boards as Trinity controlled the rebounding game 33-24. “[Friday] night was a great win, but we had a lot of lapses on the defensive end,” Orchowski said. “We weren’t able to stop them from beating us with ball screens, and we also did a poor job rebounding the ball on both ends. We were lucky to pull that one out.”

If the Jumbos can hold off a 2-6 inconference Hamilton squad on Friday — and if Wesleyan doesn’t win its next three conference matchups — Tufts will enter the playoffs with its best conference seeding since 2006.

“That [Hamilton] game can have huge implications in the league standings and a dramatic effect on our momentum heading into the postseason,” Orchowski said. “It will be important to come out and get a much-needed win against them on the road next week.”

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The Tufts Daily

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Monday, February 6, 2012