2012-03-01

Rain/Snow 37/28

THE TUFTS DAILY

TUFTSDAILY.COM

Thursday, March 1, 2012

VOLUME LXIII, NUMBER 24

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Spring Fling headliner not among survey options The headliner act chosen for this semester’s Spring Fling will not be one of the five acts that students voted on in the fall survey, according to a Concert Board press release emailed to the Daily on Tuesday night.

Students were asked to choose between Vampire Weekend, The Shins, Snoop Dogg, Kid Cudi and LMFAO in a survey emailed to the student body on Dec. 14.

Although Concert Board was disappointed to learn that some students had chosen to disrupt the process by creating programs that allowed them to vote multiple times, it was able to ascertain that LMFAO had finished atop the poll, with Kid Cudi and Vampire Weekend coming in second and third place, respectively, the press release said.

“We knew our survey was beatable,” members of Concert Board explained in the release.

“One of us even received an email from a kid bragging [that] he wrote a voting program. We had hoped that everyone would play fair and respect the value of each others’ [sic] votes, but no such luck. The good news was that the vote wasn’t compromised.”

Late in the negotiations, an email from Concert Board’s agent informed its members that “LMFAO got injured doing the wiggle,” forcing the duo to back out of its tour schedule for the spring, according to the press release.

Prior to this email, Concert Board had learned that it had outbid other promoters and universities and was given reason to believe that DJs Redfoo and SkyBlu of LMFAO would take the Spring Fling stage on Saturday, April 28.

“This was obviously not the news we wanted to hear. The

courtesy of national society of black engineers

The Tufts National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) on Feb. 17 won $1,500 from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)USA for creating an inspirational 90-second video. justin mccallum / the tufts daily

process of booking LMFAO had already taken weeks of emails and negotiations,” the press release said. “But that is what happens in the entertainment industry and we had no other choice but to move on to our other options quickly.”

Concert Board had said that it would attempt to get the most popular choices but recognized that the first choice might not necessarily be available.

According to the press release, Concert Board’s agent first attempted to contact the representatives for survey runner-up Kid Cudi but was informed that the artist’s asking price for that weekend was outside its budget.

Vampire Weekend was also no longer available for the weekend of Spring Fling.

“Unfortunately, booking an artist for an act as big as Spring Fling isn’t as simple as saying ‘we want you!’ and offering a hefty sum of money,” Concert Board members said. “A big part of getting the artist is luck, and we just

Medford selected for new energy efficiency planning program by

Melissa Wang

Daily Editorial Board

The City of Medford earlier this month was chosen for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s (MAPC) new program dedicated to helping communities build long-term efficient energy plans.

Medford was one of 25 Massachusetts communities that applied for the Local Energy Action Program (LEAP) and one of the eight finalists, according to MAPC Energy Planner Erin Brandt.

Brandt explained that LEAP is a twoyear-long process in which MAPC will first work with Medford to assess its current energy policies and then plan green initiatives to implement in the future.

“We’re going to go through a process of visioning and goal-setting where we hear from the community and other stakeholders about what they want to see in the future of their community around energy,” Brandt told the Daily.

“After we help communities create that see LEAP, page 2

haven’t had any.”

Concert Board chose not to pursue either Snoop Dogg or The Shins, because they finished a distant fourth and fifth in the survey and members believed that they could secure a more popular act, the press release said.

The headliner has now been chosen and booked for the event, although Concert Board did not divulge the act’s identity in the press release.

The board plans to announce the Spring Fling headliner at its Jumbo Jam event on March 8 in Cohen Auditorium, which will feature indie bands The Lower 48 and Gauntlet Hair.

“The survey … was not a complete loss. It did allow us to see what you clearly wanted in regards to a show. You want to see HIGH ENERGY! We can’t release exactly who is playing yet, but we are confident that it will appeal to those who wanted a fun and crazy show,” the release said.

—by Laina Piera

National Society of Black Engineers wins contest

by Stephanie

Haven

Daily Editorial Board

The Tufts National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) on Feb. 17 won $1,500 from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)-USA in its fifthannual online engineering video scholarship award competition for highlighting the creativity and problem-solving nature of engineering.

The competition required undergraduate engineering students to create a 90-second video for 11 to 13 year-olds about “How Engineers Make a World of Difference.”

Students from two other universities — the University of California at Berkeley and Ohio University — also won the $1,500 prize, according to the press release.

The Tufts video was recognized for “best content and message.”

“Our main objective was to make

the video as personal and relatable as possible,” Kristen Ford, a senior, said. “What almost kept me from pursuing engineering is thinking that I was so unlike the people who become engineers. When I realized engineers come in all shapes and sizes with different talents and abilities, I said to myself, ‘hey, I can do that.’”

Although Tufts NSBE had never participated in the contest in the past, this year they decided to produce the video as a way of bonding with fellow members of the organization, according to Yorman Garcia, a senior.

“We wanted to spread the message of the possibilities in the field of engineering that are perhaps unknown to the younger generation,” Garcia said. “We had the right group of people and the right idea to get it going this year.” see ENGINEERS, page 2

Black Men’s Group hosts annual End of Black History Month celebration The Tufts Black Men’s Group last Friday hosted its second-annual End of Black History Month celebration, highlighting the central roles of black male pioneers throughout history.

A short video clip framed current students and professors, both male and female, as pioneers of our time.

“We chose the tagline ‘Remembering Our Pioneers Of Change’ because we felt that it was time to give back to those men and women of color who paved the way, who were mavericks in their own fields and who inspired many people to live and continue their legacy,” Groom Dinkneh, a member of the executive board of the Black Men’s Group, told the Daily in an email.

Throughout the night, members of the Black Men’s Group spoke of the influence that black male pioneers — including George Washington Carver, Ralph Bunche and former Tufts Professor Gerald Gill — have had on their own lives, according to Dinkneh, a junior.

“Each member of the [executive board] wrote about a specific pioneer who was influential in shaping their interests, or maybe someone who encouraged future students to pursue other opportunities, those less sought after by people of color per se,” he said.

The event featured spoken word poetry from Andrew Nuñez-Bibby, a junior, and Montel

Inside this issue

sophia wright / the tufts daily

Yancy, a sophomore, as well as performances

by Essence and a band of Tufts Alumni.

A scene from High-Yellow/Blue-Black Birds, a play produced by Bare Bodkin Theatre Company and written and directed by Kristen Johnson, a senior, provided the audience with a sampling of the narrative that will be performed in full on April 4.

The Black Men’s Group closed the celebration standing in front of the audience, saying

in unison “we are all pioneers.”

Dinkneh noted that the event was wellattended, with over 150 people present.

“I would be amazed if this didn’t become an annual event because the community so badly needs an event of this nature, which simply was a celebration and commemoration for leaders of all races, ethnicities and genders,” Dinkneh said.

—by Sophia Wright

Today’s sections

Tufts feminists continue to fight for equality on an often divisive campus.

Students show off their gardening skills at Tom Thumb’s Student Garden.

see FEATURES, page 3

see WEEKENDER, page 5

News Features Weekender Arts & Living

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Editorial | Letters Op-Ed Comics Sports

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The Tufts Daily

2 Tufts Debate Society Results The Tufts Debate Society this weekend took part in a debate tournament at the University of Connecticut.

Tufts Debate team President Daniel Rosenblum, a senior, and Vice President Katherine Epstein, a sophomore, both advanced to the semifinal round, earning the team fourth place among the 39 that competed, Epstein said.

In the preliminary rounds, the Tufts team beat squads from Brown University, Bowdoin College, Wesleyan University and Syracuse University. Tufts then defeated a group from Yale University in the quarterfinal round, according to Epstein.

The individual performance of a team of two debaters determines the results of the debate tournament, Epstein said.

Qualifications for the national debate tournament are given out based on personal success at individual tournaments, and a debater needs 14 points to qualify.

Epstein now has 18 points, which is sufficient to advance to the national tournament at Wesleyan in April. Other partially qualified debaters include Rosenblum and Lindsey Wright, a junior, who each have nine points, and Zachary Johnson and Rajarshi Chatterji, both juniors, who each have one point, according to Epstein.

The Tufts Debate team next weekend will compete at Providence College, before traveling to a tournament at Bates College the weekend of March 10, Epstein said.

—by Patrick McGrath

News

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Engineers use prize money to send students to national NSBE convention ENGINEERS

continued from page 1

NSBE — which counts 30,000 members across the country — was founded in 1975 to increase the number of black engineers in the country. The Tufts video was intended to demonstrate that engineers could be found across races and genders, according to Ford.

“Whenever I learned about engineers and scientists in school I learned about Caucasian males,” Ford said. “This video was our way of giving back to people like me who could never see themselves being an engineer. I want to tell them that if they can believe it they can achieve it.”

“We wanted kids to understand that anybody can be an engineer and there are many things that engineers are involved in,” Garcia added.

The video — which is currently on display on the main NSBE website — features Tufts NSBE members sharing their career goals and motivations for becoming engineers.

“We want to increase the involvement, not just of minorities, but of other kids in engineering so they know there are kids that look just like them that are doing something real in this field,” Garcia said.

When the email announcing their win came two days earlier than expected, the hard work they did during the first week of the semester literally paid off, Chiamaka Chima, a sophomore, said.

“Since this was our first time doing this I did not think we would win, but that it would be good experience,” Anecia Richards, a freshman, said. “When I heard that we won the competition I was very

excited and surprised.”

The winning videos — which are all available on YouTube — will also be seen by potential young engineers on the “Design Squad Nation” website.

With the money from the IEEEUSA competition, Tufts NSBE will be able to send more of its members to the national NSBE convention next month in Pittsburgh, Penn.

In past years, only a few students from the organization could attend because of the expenses associated with the conference, Garcia said.

“These conventions are very necessary for our engineers,” Chima said. “You can develop leadership skills and network with members of NSBE, so when we entered the competition we decided that if we won we would send more members, like freshmen, who didn’t have the opportunity to go before.”

kyra sturgill for the tufts daily

Medford is one of eight Massachusetts towns selected as finalists in the Local Energy Action Program (LEAP) and will soon begin working with the MAPC on a plan to improve energy efficiency.

LEAP program to aid Medford in making plans for energy efficiency LEAP

continued from page 1

plan, we want to work with them to start implementing the strategies they identify.”

Carey Duques, Medford’s energy and environmental director and environmental agent, believes that LEAP will be beneficial to the city and its residents.

“One benefit is that MAPC will help us reach out to the residents and really educate them about energy initiatives not only that the city is undertaking, but also initiatives that residents should take advantage of,” Duques told the Daily. “One example is that the utility companies are offering programs for home energy assistance, and some residents might not be aware of programs like that.”

Both Brandt and Duques hope to involve Tufts in LEAP’s initiatives since part of the campus is in Medford, and they plan to reach out to the administration in the next few months or so.

“We’re very much interested in establishing a working relationship with Tufts,” Brandt said. “They have clearly been a leader in a lot of their own work on campus in terms of sustainability and energy, so we’d love to learn from them and what they might be interested in doing both on campus and with the residents of the communities surrounding them in Medford.”

Brandt said that while some of the towns were selected because they lacked prior energy planning experience, one of the key reasons for Medford’s selection was its previous initiatives in the

form of the city’s 10-year-old Climate Action Plan, the first of its kind in Massachusetts.

Duques added that amending the Climate Action Plan, which was written by former Tufts graduate student Kim Lundgren (GA ’02), was a key objective driving Medford’s LEAP application.

“The plan helped the city over the past 10 years by helping us identify different energy initiatives that we wanted to undertake,” Duques said. “We really need to update it, so when we heard of this opportunity being offered

by MAPC, we wanted to take advantage of it.”

Brandt and Duques have thus far met with Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn as well as several other staff members to discuss their priorities and interests

in moving forward with LEAP. “Some projects that we’re focusing on are looking at the public buildings, everything from City Hall itself to the public schools, library and fire stations … and trying to make those as energy efficient as possible,” Duques said.

She also said that the city hopes to place solar panels on the roofs of all of Medford’s public schools.

For the LEAP application, Duques, Medford Energy Efficiency Coordinator Alicia Hunt and several members of the Medford Energy Committee gathered letters of support from organizations and officials around the city, ranging from the mayor and the city building commissioner to Green Medford, a local environmental group made up of residents.

Features

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tuftsdaily.com

Jack Webster and Hannah Furgang | A piece of advice

Candy shoppe

D

ear Jack and Hannah, How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? I know this is a really dumb question, but I am too easily distracted to attempt to solve this problem by myself, and MythBusters wasn’t answering my calls.

Sincerely, Sweet-Toothed in South

justin mccallum / the Tufts Daily

Associate Professor of Philosophy Nancy Bauer teaches a course on feminist philosophy that is part of the Women’s Studies Program at Tufts.

Is feminism dead? Students, teachers debate

by Victoria

Rathsmill

Daily Editorial Board

There is a pervasive myth that the United States is in a post-feminist era.

The arguments are not new: the goals of feminism have been accomplished, and men and women are now equal.

One could contend that women are even surpassing men in the workplace and in education.

But recent events have shown just how far we still have to go: the recent passage of a bill in the Virginia House of Delegates, which had to be amended because it required women to undergo a transvaginal rather than an external ultrasound at least 24 hours before having an abortion, the decision — and subsequent reversal — by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation to stop funding breast cancer screenings and education at Planned Parenthood and both reported and unreported sexual assaults that have occurred on the Tufts campus.

According to Steph Gauchel, director of the Women’s Center at Tufts, it is essential to realize that feminism does not only concern issues of gender. “[Feminism] is the practice of examining our world through the lens of gender and working to address systematic inequalities and oppression as it relates to issues of gender and intersects with our other identities such as race, sexuality and socioeconomic class,” Gauchel said.

Senior Emma Shakarshy, who is double majoring in English and women’s studies, shares similar sentiments.

“Fundamentally, feminism is the belief in equality between men and women.

I think that for me, it’s the way I view the world, the lens through which I see all interactions, and view the dominant hegemonic structures that oppress all people,” she said. “However, viewing women as one singular group is impossible — it’s the examination of sexism, racism, classism, homophobia and all other oppression that contribute to an unequal society.”

Lecturer Ronna Johnson, who has taught Introduction to Women’s Studies for the past five years, explained the backlash against feminism that has affected students at Tufts.

“In the mainstream press and culture, there’s a real animosity to feminism and women who call themselves feminists,” Johnson said. “The propaganda tries to frighten young girls out of identifying as feminists in two main ways: by suggesting

that feminism is the f-word, that feminists are man haters and lesbians, and are not very conscientious in their grooming, or by saying we don’t need feminism anymore, we are in a post-feminist era.”

Johnson said that when she used to ask students at the beginning of the semester if they identified as feminists, only about one-fifth said they did. However, according to Johnson, interest in the case remains strong despite many students’ discomfort with identifying themselves as feminists.

“I think that students have been affected by the backlash,” she said. “They are worried about calling themselves feminists, but at the same time they are concerned about issues that feminists care about like pay equality and access to reproductive health.”

Despite the recoil, Associate Professor of English Sonia Hofkosh, the interim director of the women’s studies program, said that she is witnessing increased popularity of feminism among students.

“I have been very impressed with students I connected with upon becoming interim director of women’s studies this year,” she said. “I think there might be, maybe we can call it a kind of resurgence on campus.”

Specifically, Johnson points out that the number of students in the Introduction to Women’s Studies class has been steadily increasing for the past five years and now enrolls over 50 students.

But Tufts is certainly not a bastion of feminism, according to Shakarshy “We live in a rape culture, sexual assault is incredibly prevalent and underreported … we have never had a female university president or a president of color — there are things specific to Tufts that make it not the most feminist-friendly campus,” Shakarshy said. “Even when a woman ran for student body president a couple of years ago, there was a lot of nasty stuff on CollegeACB [College Anonymous Confession Board] … I remember looking there and thinking I cannot believe this is happening at Tufts.”

Gauchel agreed that feminism is still a divisive issue at Tufts.

“I think that the Tufts campus is reflective of the national conversations about and actions related to feminism,” Gauchel said. “There are people who identify as feminists, and there are people who demonize the word. There are people with outdated and limited ideas of feminism, and people who see the great potential and complex realities of

feminism. There are people who actively work against feminist issues, and people who actively work on feminist issues.”

Shakarshy sees the feminist world at Tufts divided into two main spheres -the Women’s Studies Program and the Women’s Center.

According to Hofkosh, a solid Women’s Studies Program at Tufts is essential.

“A strong program devoted specifically to women and gender is crucial to both serving the needs and interests of students, and to creating the knowledge we need to move forward and make a difference in the world,” Hofkosh said.

Senior Garrett Gilmore, who has taken both Johnson’s Introduction to Women’s Studies and Associate Professor of Philosophy Nancy Bauer’s class on feminist philosophy, said that these courses, each under the umbrella of “women’s studies,” provoked a newfound interest in feminism.

“I became interested in feminist issues when I took feminist philosophy,” he said.

It’s an incredible class that changed the way I thought. I took Introduction to Women’s Studies the next semester, and that was a political and practical side …

Those two classes really helped me figure out what I cared about, political issues I felt affected my life, and things that I felt useful in being an advocate for.”

Additionally, the Women’s Center serves as a home base for many feminists on campus.

“There is a microcosm of feminist activity at Tufts, and the Women’s Center is a safe and wonderful space for intellectual conversations and for deconstructing issues of gender and social justice,” Shakarshy said. “My classes have been great, but most of the best conversations I’ve had happen in the Women’s Center.”

Students Acting for Gender Equality (SAGE) is a group run through the Women’s Center that also works towards issues of gender justice at Tufts.

“SAGE is a student collaborative, and we are sort of a meeting ground for people who are doing feminist activity on campus,” Gilmore, who is a member of SAGE, said. “For example, with sexual assaults last semester, we pushed the administration to report sexual assaults in a more thoughtful way. We also try to keep in dialogue with the different deans about things that are happening on campus to let the administration know what people are talking and thinking about.” see FEMINISM, page 4

To tackle this epic question, which has confuzzled generations upon generations of lollipop connoisseurs, we decided to bring one of our best friends down to our local confectionary emporium and allow her to sample one of said tootsie pops. We cheered her on with “keep going!”s and “don’t stop!”s.

She quickly grew tired of our constant morale-boosting quips and prodding, not to mention the counting, but we urged her to continue on her mission until she reached the center.

After her angry reaction, we responded by ensuring her that she could have it her way; whatever, we didn’t care. If she wanted to have a push pop instead, or maybe back up and reconsider her options, she totally could. She quit whining and kept going. It was getting a little warm in the store so we decided to go up to the second level, which we assumed would have better air conditioning.

Unfortunately for us, there was a dance party in full swing up there, which was even hotter than the ground floor.

Man! Could’ve boiled a cup of tea in there. The dancers were getting a little rowdy, or — dare we say — sexual, but, hey, it happens to the best of us. Well, our friend wasn’t quite as open-minded and progressive as we were and the heat was starting to dehydrate her, so we decided to cut out. As a wise man once said, there’s no point in having a dehydrated tootsie-pop licker.

It was a glorious day, so the two of us wanted to continue at the beach or the park, but our friend was getting tired, what with all that licking, and opted for her hotel. We had a bit of a walk ahead of us, but there was plenty of saccharine goodness to last our friend the whole way there. She was going like a champ, so Jack felt compelled to throw in some puerile phallic humor. We believe the phrases “magic stick” and “love doctor” were invoked.

Needless to say, she was not “sprung.”

In fact, she was becoming a little annoyed with us. Why don’t we take over, she suggested, if it’s such a joking matter. She even sarcastically offered a tutorial. Her sass prompted a minor snafu. Both of us happened to be seasoned lollipop lickers. We had only employed her for the sake of fair and honest journalism. It went down, right there in the street. The three of us ended up rolling around on the ground, throwing punches and calling names, only breaking periodically for licks. Fistfuls of hair were displaced.

Spectators were bouncing up and down in excitement, but we knew we were being juvenile and had to put an end to it. We settled the issue by promising our friend the tootsie pop stick when she was through. That’s the kind of thing you put in a frame. It is, after all, what allows all the tootsie-pop-goodness to end up in your mouth and not in your hands.

Unfortunately, amid all the commotion, our dear friend had lost count. We threw down another 50 cents and started again from the top. It took her 437 licks.

We snagged a couple celebratory ‘pops for the road. They sure hit the spot.

Whoa.

Jack Webster and Hannah Furgang are both freshmen who have not yet declared a major. Jack can be reached at John.

Webster@tufts.edu and Hannah can be reached at Hannah.Furgang@tufts.edu.

The Tufts Daily

4

Features

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Students believe feminism remains key issue on campus and beyond FEMINISM

continued from page 3

In addition to SAGE, student groups such as Tufts VOX (Voices for Choice) address topics like reproductive health and rights.

“VOX is a group of self-identified feminists who believe in the goals of Planned Parenthood and in recapturing female sexuality and turning it into a positive thing,” sophomore Aliza Gordon, current president of VOX, said.

Although there are places where feminists at Tufts can meet and discuss issues, Shakarshy said that there are many difficulties that come with navigating college life as a feminist.

“Feminism dominates how I think about everything, from movies to relationships with people. For me personally, noticing things I never thought about before can make enjoying myself more difficult,” Shakarshy said. “Although you have to acknowledge your privilege in order to have had to this educational experience, sometimes … you wish it could be easier.”

In spite of feminist backlash that tries to argue otherwise, there are still pervasive gender inequalities. For example, on average, women still earn 77 cents on the dollar compared to men.

“My main example for this persistent inequality is that women do not earn the same amount as men per hour with the same level of education in exactly the same job,” Johnson said. “Until someone can explain to me the justification for this, I’m going to be teaching Introduction to Women’s Studies.”

Gordon added that we live in

jodi bosin for the tufts daily

Students Acting for Gender Equality (SAGE), a group operated through the Women’s Center, promotes intellectual discourse on feminism. a culture that perpetuates negative female stereotypes.

“A lot of people will say that feminism is dead,” Gordon said.

“My response is look at the media is today — how women are portrayed in TV, movies, music, how the media portrays female politicians. Also the language that we use today — every

insult a person can use relates to a woman, even if you are insulting a man.”

Shakarshy agreed that a lack of respect for women and their rights is pervasive in modern society.

“I personally see it every time I turn on the news, with what’s going on with Virginia’s

transvaginal ultrasound, and with Planned Parenthood under siege,” Shakarshy said. “On a physical level, I feel like women’s bodies aren’t being treated as their own, and we’re constantly trying to defend our right to our own bodies. Women’s bodies are being used as props to gain political power, and that’s a

really scary thing.”

She went on to say that, for the foreseeable future, feminism will remain a vital issue for which a serious dialogue needs to remain open.

“I love to talk to people that think we’re beyond feminism because all I see is how far we have to go.”

Weekender

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tuftsdaily.com

Arts & Living

Weekender

Melissa MacEwen / Tufts Daily

Tom Thumb’s Student Garden, located downhill between South Hall and Latin Way, is attracting more Tufts students as gardening regains popularity.

Student garden unites community of green thumbs on campus Popularity of gardening surges among college students by

Melissa MacEwen

Daily Editorial Board

W

hen was the last time you really thought about where your food came from? Where was it, before it got to your home, the restaurant or the cafeteria? How did it get to you? How was it grown? We may try to customize our diets by “eating right” and incorporating a wide variety of foods into our meals, but that does not change the fact that our food often remains shrouded in mystery. The worrying realization that we know little about a fundamental part of our lives has many Americans frustrated and ready for a change.

With the rise of large-scale farming, Americans have become increasingly skeptical of the food they eat. The distance between the farm and the table has grown immensely, and food production and distribution are often controlled by massive corporations and government subdivisions. In response, some have chosen to return to the garden to grow their own food.

Gardening has always been a common American pastime, but Tufts Associate Professor of Biology George Ellmore believes it has recently witnessed a resurgence in popularity.

“More and more, our lives are controlled by people who just do not have our best interests at heart,” Ellmore said. “It’s really nice to just be able to go outside and pick something, and not have to worry about washing off all sorts of pesticides and herbicides, or about where it’s been.

If you go to the supermarket, I can guarantee that your food has been touched by plenty of strangers.”

Ellmore believes that from ditching cars to moving away from the suburbs, Americans are making small changes that bring power back to their personal decisions, particularly when it comes to food choices. This includes the creation of local gardens.

Whether they are found in private homes, shared lots or schools, gardens are communal centers and can even teach nutrition to children, as Ellmore suggests.

“A lot of kids say they hate vegetables,” he said. “But then they try fresh produce and it completely changes their minds.”

Tufts has a local garden of its own — Tom Thumb’s Student Garden — that is student-run and located on the edge of campus between South Hall and Latin Way. Though it is modestly sized in comparison to its neighbor, the communal garden owned by the city of Somerville, Tom Thumb’s has met with success since its 2009 inception by alumni Signe Porteshawver (LA ’11) and Yosefa Ehrlich (LA ’10).

As part of an Experimental College course in the fall of 2010 concerning alternative growing methods of agriculture, students installed three raised beds in a space designated by the Department of Facilities Services, and planted a selection of cold-hardy plants. The garden has since expanded, but it maintains a close relationship with the university and is now a branch of the Tufts Sustainability Collective.

It also functions as a classroom of sorts. The club occupies prime real estate and can offer students an invaluable experience to learn about plants, gardening and the environment. This summer, for example, the garden will be cared for

by Ellmore’s course on plant and food autonomy.

This working relationship also gives the garden a few privileges. Though the Tufts greenhouses on the roof of Barnum Hall are typically reserved for experimental purposes, Tom Thumb’s garden will be permitted to raise plants from seed there later this spring. In the company of C4 plants, cacti and experimental tea bushes, the seedlings will grow rapidly until they are planted outside in early May. This strategy is an important advantage because raising plants from seed in a greenhouse is often more cost-effective and more likely to produce sturdy adult plants than raising plants from seedlings or planting seeds directly into outside soil.

Ellmore illustrated this point by identifying two different populations of spinach in the greenhouse. The plants raised from seed were noticeably bushier and healthier looking than the plants purchased as seedlings.

“If you move a plant from the greenhouse outside, you know it’s there. If you plant seeds outside, there’s some waiting and uncertainty,” he said.

Junior Mae Humiston, a leading gardener at Tom Thumb’s, began gardening seriously in high school when she took a job as a paid gardener. She continued to pursue

her passion once at Tufts, and found a group of likeminded “green thumbs” in the collective associated with the Tufts student garden.

Though the garden club has established a strong core group of 10-15 members, Humiston believes that there is still plenty of potential for growth. Of Tufts’ undergraduate population, she estimates that “a couple hundred” students are potential gardeners. She also cited the club’s 60-strong mailing list as a reason for believing that there is plenty of interest on campus.

Though Humiston admits that a person has to be somewhat outdoorsy to appreciate gardening, she finds that she can generally appeal to interested, albeit inexperienced, students by describing what it’s like to work with the land.

“I’ll tell them about the experience — getting dirt under your nails, feeling the wind and the sun,” she said.

Humiston thinks the economics of gardening likely appeal to students as well.

“You can usually buy seeds for less than a penny each. With just a little bit of attention, you can get something as tiny as that to grow into a whole plant,” she said. “You might pay $4 for a plant’s worth of tomatoes at a farmer’s market.”

If more students do join the club, she is sure the garden could be further expanded to accommodate them. Humiston noted that there is an L-shaped swath of land near Latin Way they could use, as well as a few locations uphill.

“It’s about space,” she said, “but also see GARDEN, page 6

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The Tufts Daily

Weekender

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Garden club hopes to find new green-thumbed enthusiasts to expand in future GARDEN

continued from page 5

about what land gets enough sunlight, and what works for facilities. We’ve always worked hard to maintain a good relationship with them.”

Though Humiston is a fan of the tomatoes, eggplants and squash that thrive in the chilly New England climate, her favorite plant to grow is the ever-reliable pea.

She elaborated excitedly on the Tom Thumb website in a post entitled “My ode to peas”: “Did you know [the pea plant] is actually a fruit? Did you know it selfpollinates? Did you know it can fix nitrogen? Did you know you can eat the young shoots? Oh my goodness, what a cool plant.”

Ellmore does not have such a clearcut garden favorite, but he is a strong proponent of garlic and leeks as East Coast crops. Leeks are common to the point of being a “throwaway” crop in

France, but they are relatively rare in the United States. While many people in France eat leeks frequently, in the United States the plant is more expensive per pound than some meats. As with many plants, it is more cost-efficient to simply grow them yourself.

Whether it concerns pea plants or leeks, one of Ellmore’s best tricks to gardening is to keep a calendar that tells you when to plant, care for and harvest all of your crops. Doing so will make it much easier to grow healthy plants as it takes memory out of the equation. He said that he has taught this method to the garden club and anticipates good results.

No longer the activity of choice for aging hippies and older women, gardening is returning with a vengeance.

It is incredibly easy to start, and can be precisely as involved as you want it to be. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone went ahead and got their hands dirty.

Melissa MacEwen / Tufts Daily

Associate Professor of Biology George Ellmore believes that keeping a calendar to track plant maintenance can greatly help student gardeners.

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Granoff Music Building, Room 155 Light lunch will be provided following the presentation!

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Dr. Monaco will discuss two of his most important discoveries: the gene responsible for X-linked Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies, which weaken the skeletal and heart muscles, and a gene specifically involved in human speech and language.

Sponsored by the Experimental College with support from the SPIRIT Fund.

Breaking news, editorial cartoons, multimedia content and tons of material that just doesn’t make it into the print edition

Spend your summer in

New York or New Orleans Learn more at an information session: x Thursday, March 1, 6-7pm, Rabb Room, Lincoln Filene Hall x Monday, March 5, 12-1pm, Braker 113 Fellowship opportunities are available with nonprofits, government and public interest organizations in the big apple and the big easy. Selected students will receive financial support from Tisch College and mentorship from area alumni.

Phase one applications are due Monday, March 12.

For more information and for application details, visit http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/ACS or contact rachel.szyman@tufts.edu

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Thursday, March 1, 2012

Honos Civicus Society

Seniors: Apply Today!

Applications due at noon on Monday March 5, 2012 Be recognized for your civic achievements and network with active Tufts alumni by joining the Honos Civicus Society! This Latin honors will help you convey to alumni, employeers and others that you’ve completed high quality, engaged work during your time at Tufts.

To complete the online application, visit activecitizen.tufts.edu/HonosCivicus

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Movie Review

Niki Krieg | The Queen of Cibo

‘Act of Valor’ collapses under unintelligible plot, weak character development

C

by

Adam Cohen

Contributing Writer

Saturday night I went to see “Act of Valor” at the Somerville Theatre. As a fan of both action and military movies (two very differ-

Act of Valor Starring Alex Veadov, Roselyn Sanchez and Nestor Serrano Directed by Mike McCoy, Scott Waugh ent things, thank you), I had high expectations going in and had spent a fair amount of time prior to my evening at the movies reading about and watching videos about the making of the film.

For those unaware, “Act of Valor” is a movie about Navy SEALs, the Navy’s elite special operators, doing elite special operations. The plot is ridiculous, which was disappointing for anyone who was hoping for a storyline that didn’t feel like it was pulled out of a hat filled with buzzwords. Jihadists!

Chechens! Mexico! The gist is that some Jihadists in the South Pacific intend to attack America with suicide bombers using tunnels dug by a drug cartel in Mexico, and the SEALs have to uncover the plot and stop it before it’s too late. Don’t strain your brain muscles trying to follow along, as scenes jump from one half of the world to the other with no continuity. Viewers will definitely get lost in this movie and they will need some military training to find the plot again.

As for acting, expect none of that. Aside from a supporting cast of no-names, the movie’s hook is that the major actors are not actors at all, but genuine active-duty Navy SEALs. So for all those looking for Oscar performances, turn elsewhere. In fact, don’t even bother trying to remember who is who, as two of the characters are so remarkably similar in appearance

US Navy via Flickr Commons

Even real Navy SEALs can’t save ‘Act of Valor’ from action doldrums. and mannerisms, and use “LT” and “Chief” interchangeably as names, that I honest to goodness forgot who was who and just gave up on trying to figure it out.

Of course, all of the above is unnecessary,

Music Review

‘The Daylight EP’ sees young songwriter in full bloom by

Alex Hanno

Daily Editorial Board

Though singer/songwriters have existed for some time, it is only recently that the term “singer/songwriter” has

The Daylight EP Andrew Belle

Self Released come into fashion as a specific genre of music. Detailing a sort of folk-alternative fusion, modern singer/songwriters often produce some of the most innova-

tive and refreshing melodies out there.

Championing the singer/songwriter name is Andrew Belle, an up-and-coming artist out of Nashville who, through his unique, echoing vocals and sincere lyrics, exemplifies why this genre is one worth listening to.

Hailing from the Chicago area, Andrew Belle started his career as a solo artist in 2008. It wasn’t until two years later that he finally released his first album, “The Ladder” (2010), but when he did, Belle finally began to gain some well-deserved attention. Filled with eloquently composed songs and fluid, meaningful lyrics, Belle’s debut album proved that he see BELLE, page 10

Chris Poldoian / the Tufts Daily

Belle’s well-crafted songs have set him apart from his singer/songwriter peers.

as most action fans are not here to see acting or plot. They are here for the action! Normally in war movies, I like to pick out where and see VALOR, page 10

What’s Up This Weekend Looking to make your weekend artsy?

Check out these events!

Carolina Chocolate Drops: New and old members of the group combine for a set of bluegrass, string band virtuosity.

(Saturday, March 3rd, Berklee College of Music Berklee Performance Center; 617876-4275.)

Saturday’s Bread: If you like cooking and helping others, try volunteering at Saturday’s Bread, which serves food to the homeless every Saturday and Sunday.

(Saturday’s Bread 12:30pm, 35 Bowdoin Street, Boston, MA 02114.)

Boston Ballet presents ‘Play with Fire’: Three contemporary choreographed pieces all fit together to form a fusion of sensual dancing set to such diverse music spanning classical to The Rolling Stones.

(Thursday March 1st, Boston Opera House, 7:30pm.)

Flamenco Festival 2012: Compañía Rafaela Carrasco: One of Seville’s most breathtaking dancers and choreographers brings her eponymous company to the Cutler Majestic Theatre. (Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Cutler Majestic Theatre. Tickets are $40, $50, $65, depending on seats.)

MFA First Friday: In the Koch Gallery of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, Tufts students can enjoy fine art, signature cocktails and delicious tapas. Relax and unwind in a beautiful setting with live music courtesy of Andy Baer Jazz Ensemble. (Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.). Admission to the event is free with Tufts ID.) —compiled by the Daily Arts Department

The morning after

ontinuing with the party theme from last week, let’s kindly take a minute to consider a Saturday night: a whirlwind of homework done in the afternoon with people furiously typing away on their laptops at Tisch to finish an assignment so that going out later seems all the more rewarding, then getting dressed up in party shirts and mini-skirts, slurping down … concoctions … in red Solo cups all in anticipation of “the big night.”

Now let’s take a minute to visualize a Sunday morning. You find people slumped over their bowls of Cracklin’ Oat Bran at Carmichael, desperate for Advil, water and more sleep, groaning or smacking their heads at the crazy stunts they pulled last night but only just remembered that very moment.

It’s “the morning after,” when we curse alcohol’s wrath and aside from the obvious solution of drinking water ad nauseam, there seems to be no way around that Sunday slump.

And so, behold the power of “hangover foods.”

Come the morning, with heads pounding and stomachs queasy, food very well may be the last thing on a recovering person’s mind, so for some, today’s column might be null-and-void. I apologize; better luck next week.

Come lunchtime (or so I hope), if they do happen to be in the mood for something to eat, everybody’s “hangover food,” aka “miracle food,” is different. I’ve heard people swear by dishes simple in nature like peanut butter slathered on toast, and I’ve heard of others craving — no matter the hour — rigatoni and marinara sauce, served with a glass of chocolate milk.

I must ask though: have you ever considered the super scramble?

In theory, eggs on a drunken stomach might be one of the worst concepts imaginable: They’re gooey and, to the nauseous, plain disgusting. Coming from somebody who’s perennially nauseous and quite honestly turned off by weird-looking foods, I understand your concerns. So, really? An egg recipe, Niki?

Trust me. This recipe is my favorite, especially after my birthday this past Sunday … talk about perfect timing! Note that you can certainly substitute my fixings for anything you desire.

Ingredients: - 2-3 eggs - 2 tbsp. milk - 1 tsp. vegetable oil - 2 generous handfuls of fresh baby spinach (I realize this seems like a lot, but this stuff quickly reduces to a tiny amount) - ¼ of an onion, diced - ¼ cup of whole mushrooms stems and pieces - ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese - Mild salsa - Salt and pepper to taste Crack the eggs in a bowl, then add the milk, salt and pepper. Scramble the eggs until they are well beaten.

Meanwhile, in a frying pan — I personally like a larger-sized pan so the eggs have ample space to not only cook but become well-done — heat the oil on low-medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the onion and sautee until golden. Add the spinach and cover the pan for a couple of minutes to let the spinach wilt.

Once wilted, add the mushrooms.

If your egg mixture appears to have separated at all, re-beat; otherwise, add the eggs to the pan, pouring them right on top of the vegetables. At this point, I suggest turning up the heat a bit to get the eggs well-done without overcooking the vegetables.

Once the eggs firm up to your liking — feel free to move them around with a spatula to check — sprinkle the cheese on top and cook until melted.

Transfer to a plate and top with mild salsa — though if you’re a “hot” person, feel free to turn up the spice.

Like I said, to some, this recipe might sound not too good come Sunday morning…but I’ll always drink to this.

Niki Krieg is a senior who is majoring in Italian studies and history. She can be reached at Nicole.Krieg@tufts.edu.

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Apartment for rent. 62 Powder House Boulevard. 3rd floor. 4 or 5 bedrooms. Available June 1st. Call Charlie at 781-646-7434.

Thursday, March 1, 2012 Housing 4 bed for $2700, 5 bed for $3000, could be used as a 9 bed for $5700. Available June 1st. Right on campus. Call Tom at 978-460-2073 or email at tom@exitboston.com.

Wanted $$ SPERM DONORS WANTED $$ Earn up to $1,200/month and give the gift of family through California Cryobank’s donor program.

Convenient Cambridge location.

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classifieds policy All Tufts students must submit classifieds in person, prepaid with check, money order or exact cash only.

All classifieds submitted by mail must be accompanied by a check. Classifieds are $15 per week or $4 per day with Tufts ID or $30 per week or $8 per day without. The Tufts Daily is not liable for any damages due to typographical errors or misprintings except the cost of the insertion, which is fully refundable. We reserve the right to refuse to print any classifieds which contain obscenity, are of an overly sexual nature or are used expressly to denigrate a person or group. Questions? Email business@tuftsdaily.com.

Nondescript characters, outrageous plot ruin ‘Act of Valor’ VALOR

continued from page 9

how the actor or director screwed the pooch with the action sequences. One can imagine the actor has a trainer on set, somebody who actually knows what the scene is supposed to look like if conducted in real life. After a couple of takes, though, nobody likes how meticulous a real operation is supposed to be and so they resort to jumping and diving and using their infinite ammo cheats a la “Commando” (1985), which was also about Navy SEALs. Instead of throwing caution to the wind and immediately going for the big explosions, directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh actually care about what the SEALs do in combat.

Every action sequence, aside from one or two brief moments, plays out as an actual operation would. The heightened sense of realism is palpable: There is effective use of helmet cameras to provide engrossing first-person views in some sequences, as well as some excellent camera placement. Combined, the firstperson views and solid camerawork make the action sequences engrossing. Unfortunately, they are too few and far between to redeem the movie.

Overall, “Act of Valor” is aggressively average.

It tries very hard to be riveting and engrossing, but ultimately falls short. The attempts to engross the viewer in the tense atmosphere of

Charles McCain via Flickr Commons

Vague characters further weaken ‘Act of Valor’s’ jerky plotline. a tight-knit special operations unit are hamfisted, and no character ever grows on the viewer enough for him to care about their emotional struggles, or the struggles of the unit. The action sequences are accurately depicted and well-performed, as is to be expected of people whose job is to execute those operations in real life. Unfortunately,

Andrew Belle’s latest capitalizes on his growing talent

these scenes are brief and too spread out to keep the viewer’s adrenaline going.

Finally, the movie attempts to be gritty, but not too gritty, if you know what I mean. There is blood, there is torture and this is definitely not a film to go on a date to (“The Vow” is a theater over), but it’s as though they ran out of the special-effects budget somewhere in

the middle of the movie. Blood and guts are spilled all over the first half, and then suddenly all the blood just ... stops. Scenes that should have been graphic to match the grit of the first half are tamed down and lack the visceral draw of the first raid of the movie. In fact, one word describes the whole movie: inconsistent.

The Artsy Jumbo

Robert Truglia uncovers undiscovered artists

BELLE

continued from page 9

is inspirational, soothing and genuinely talented. In one word, he is memorable.

Within a year, Belle had joined up with the collective singer/songwriter group known as Ten out of Tenn, and since then he has been touring the country, both individually and with his fellow performers.

For loyal fans of Belle’s work, it has been quite some time since he put out new music, but this past week he finally released an extended play (EP), titled “The Daylight EP.” Despite having only three original tracks, “The Daylight EP” appeases in every way, bringing more of Belle’s familiar style to yearning listeners.

The first track off Belle’s new EP is the title track, “The Daylight.” Though stereotypical in its lyrics, which feature a narrator lamenting the loss of his true love, the song is anything but trite.

Laced with Belle’s wonderful “Oohing,” a talent that makes almost no sense on paper, and a truly perfect rhythm, the song draws in listeners with its simple guitar and piano, allowing them to embrace the articulacy of his lyrics, “But blessed was the daylight that/ Flooded my heart’s windows, and/ Cleared the smoke that billows out.” Accompanied

by Belle’s deep, husky and poignant vocals, this song alone justifies the near two-year wait for new music.

While “The Daylight” starts things off well, the EP’s highlight is “Sky’s Still Blue.” Belle originally wrote the song for a Windows 7 promotion ad, so it is not an entirely new tune. But at the same time, it almost is, as the version Belle wrote for Microsoft differs from the one on his new EP, with the latter having much more solemn lyrics and a stronger instrumental backing. The newer version may just be his best song yet, possessing the classic “Oohing” and a brilliant instrumental composition that never lets up in intensity.

With the lines “I made the incision, I begged and I borrowed/ I traded my vision, for heartache and sorrow/ But now that I’ve found my sight/ I finally realize, I was born to go blind,” the listener sees hold bold Belle really is, admitting his faults and accepting them

chris poldoian / the tufts daily

Giovanni via Flickr Creative Commons

Belle’s impassioned vocals make for an engrossing concert experience. while managing to make it all sound utterly eloquent.

The EP’s final track, “All Those Pretty Lights (Alternate Universe Version),” serves as proof that Andrew Belle is an innovative, talented and genuinely brave singer/songwriter. This song, much like “Sky’s Still Blue,” is not in fact wholly original, as it is an alternate version of “All Those Pretty Lights,” the titular track off his first EP. He took a sincere risk in attempting to improve on the song, considering how good it was in its original form, but he somehow manages to pull it off. Incorporating a more electronic, upbeat vibe to the tune, Belle takes what was potent from the original track and adds on a number of clever little details that only add to the quality.

Andrew Belle might not be well known, but what he lacks in notoriety is made up for in pure skill. Effortlessly making most singer/songwriters look generic, Belle presents three outright quality songs on “The Daylight EP,” and if these new songs are any indication of the album to come, fans new and old are sure to be delighted.

Senior Robert Truglia is an intern at eMuze, an up and coming social networking site that hopes to bring emerging talent in the entertainment industry to all clients.

“It’s going to be a way for artists that aren’t well known to develop a profile. We’re going to help these people get discovered,” Truglia said. eMuze is currently managing several artists, one of whom is 5 and a Dime, a new mash-up artist for whom Truglia books shows and does management work. eMuze is not only focused on music, however. They are also hoping to get more comedians into the public eye.

“I was working for a comedy blog and I thought it would be easy to find new comedians because I’m always on YouTube, but it’s

hard to just start from scratch and go out and find these diamonds in the rough,” Truglia sad.

Truglia mostly does a lot of publicity work, trying to get the artists who are collaborating with eMuze into the spotlight. He does this by emailing music blogs about new artists. When asked if this has affected his musical taste at all Truglia said that it has broadened his horizons.

“I’ve discovered a lot of new music and am getting into dubstep and mash-ups, but I also like Lana del Rey’s album and recently have been listening to some Whitney Houston mash-ups.” eMuze will be launched within the next two months, so keep an eye out for it.

—by Kate Griffiths

Top Ten | Old White Men to Host the Oscars Billy Crystal was pretty old but the Daily Arts Department knows there are older and whiter men out there. Here are the top ten old white men who should have hosted the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

10) Newt Gingrich: The Oscars ceremony would be a perfect opportunity for Newt to find a prettier, younger replacement for Callista.

9) Clint Eastwood: Someone needs to tell people when to get the f*ck off the stage.

8) Max von Sydow: If you can’t win ‘em, host ‘em.

7) Margaret Thatcher: It would truly be an (un)forgettable experience. Plus, if she

messes up, Meryl Streep can just replace her. No one would know the difference.

6) The Monopoly Guy: Just like the Oscars, a game of Monopoly never ends…

5) Don Rickles: Don Rickles invented the art of insult comedy. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Ricky Gervais!

4) Philip Roth: [Insert Mel Gibson reference here.]

3) Nickelback/Creed: After spending a week in a hyperbolic time chamber.

2) Ian McKellan: Fly you fools! You shall not be entertained!

1) Santa: Cause, you know, he’ll pull the Oscars out of a bag.

—compiled by the Daily Arts Department

Thursday, March 1, 2012

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CEPTANCE

03.07.12

The word retard(ed) hurts millions of 速

RIENDSHIP www.r-word.org

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people with intellectual disabilities, their families and friends.

Take the pledge and help promote the new R-word:

RESPECT

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Thursday, March 1, 2012

editorial

Daniel J. Rathman Editorial

Editorial | Letters

This weekend, the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University will be hosting the One State Conference, a two-day forum on the viability of the onestate solution, which proposes an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by means of the foundation of a shared Jewish and Palestinian state.

This resolution in the region would spell the end of Jewish self-determination, since the new state would inevitably be home to a Palestinian majority of about five million immigrants, wiping the world’s only Jewish state off the earth and replacing it with the world’s 22nd Arab-majority state.

This prospect was the openly stated goal of the one-state solution’s early proponents, but most of its current advocates prefer to couch such rhetoric in favor of ending alleged human rights violations and promoting equality between Palestinians and Jews in the region, a noble goal that should be the top priority of the state of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and even Hamas.

The one-state solution, though, is unrealistic and its propagation is detrimental to the peace process. The majority of influential Palestinians and Israelis agree that the two-state solution, which proposes the foundation of an independent Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state of Israel using the rhetoric of “two states for two peoples,” is the most legitimate and realistic opportunity for peace. The one-state solution is a fringe idea; it’s appealing to Israeli radicals who don’t believe in Palestinian self-determination and Palestinian radicals who believe Israel should not exist.

Enter the One State Conference. Its stated goal is to “educate ourselves and others about the possible contours of a one-state solution and the challenges that stand in the way of its realization.” The conference’s hosts, who are graduate students at the Kennedy School, aim to bring legitimacy to the one-state option and open a serious dialogue about it. Despite the one-state solution’s impracticality in the peace process, the conference has an intellectually noble goal that deserves recognition.

Critics of the conference — who are widespread and vocal — complain that the conference is anti-Semitic, offensive and antagonistic. They point out that it is being funded by the Kennedy School and endorsed with the brand name Harvard logo. Moreover, they protest that the list of speakers and panels is definitively onesided, and that it includes notoriously antiIsrael speakers who are prone to disseminating misinformation and lies, including former Palestinian Liberation Organization spokesperson Diana Buttu, who spoke at Tufts on Monday.

The critics are not entirely mistaken; several speakers will appear that have dedicated their lives’ work to spreading anti-Israeli propaganda and halting the peace process.

But to counterbalance these speakers, there will also be numerous highly regarded and respected scholars and professors from across the globe that have expertise in the conflict and genuine hopes for peace. A rabbi will even be speaking.

Harvard’s role in planning the soldout conference has been minimal. Just as

Tufts, Harvard and most universities do for conferences they host through student groups, Harvard lent its name to help the conference’s organizers in bringing highprofile speakers to campus. Harvard has tried to distance itself from the conference; the event’s website displays a disclaimer that “Student-led conferences are the sole responsibility of the student organizers and do not represent the views of Harvard Kennedy School or Harvard University.”

The Kennedy School’s dean, David Ellwood, has repeatedly made it clear that neither he nor his institution endorses the conference’s policy agenda.

The One State Conference is undeniably offensive to many Harvard students and faculty, in addition to onlookers whose attention has been drawn to the conference by its extensive global media coverage. Despite this, it would be stifling and inexcusable to limit the marketplace of ideas by preventing the conference from taking place. Harvard officials faced a difficult decision when they were asked to host the conference, but they made the right one.

It is dangerous for an enlightened university community to shy away from conversations that offend some people; that practice is the embodiment of suppressing free speech. It is not Harvard’s place to handpick and endorse one theory over another that they reject based on political correctness or personal biases. They didn’t for this conference — and we hope they hold to the same standards in the inevitably controversial future.

“defender[s] of pedophilic priests” and “crusaders.” He adds the sarcastic remark, “The Catholic Church needs to join the 21st century. (A necessarily impossible challenge, I know.)” These remarks are intended to incite religious animus and undermine legitimate discourse. In order to have an argument about U.S. contraception policy, it is necessary to understand one’s opponents, rather than target and demonize them with insinuations and underhanded slurs. While Mr. Lapin may disagree with the values of celibacy held by Catholic clergy, he should focus his criticism on policy disagreements, not insults.

Mr. Lapin’s criticism of the Catholic Church’s “archaic beliefs” is similarly troubling. He seems to hold the idea that the Catholic Church must change the beliefs it has held for the past two millennia due to a rise in secularism that has lasted for around 50 years. Such a statement compares with

San Francisco’s abhorrent attempt to ban Jewish ritual circumcision, similarly driven by a belief that Jews should be forced to abandon an “archaic belief” that they have practiced for over 4,000 years. It is ironic that someone in his 20s should believe that he is able tell a 2,000-year-old institution what to do.

If Mr. Lapin wished to convince people, he should have laid out the case for universal birth control coverage without his offensive remarks about Catholics. His attacks delegitimize his argument and prevent him from convincing anyone who does not already agree. Mocking the clothes of clergy and unnecessarily referencing the Church’s sex scandals only distracts us from constructive discussion.

wes engel

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Letter to the Editor Dear Editor, An op-ed published Wednesday, Feb. 29, titled “Keep your rosaries off our ovaries” and written by John Lapin removes itself from legitimate political discourse and places itself firmly in the realm of incendiary and hateful speech. If Mr. Lapin’s remarks had been directed at Muslims or Jews, rather than at Catholics, he would have been the target of disciplinary action and widespread condemnation. There is a legitimate argument to be made against the Catholic Bishops’ opposition to President Obama’s birth control policy.

However, Mr. Lapin avoids intellectual discourse, preferring to promote petty attacks against Catholics.

In a 900-word article, Lapin calls Church officials “Old white men in funny hats,” “an army of sexually repressed men who know nothing about birth control or women’s bodies and probably even less about sex,”

Sincerely, Timothy Lesinski Class of 2012

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corrections The photocredit in the Feb. 29 News article “MCAT to implement revisions in 2015” was incorrectly given to Scott Tingley. In fact, the photo should have been credited as Andrew Schneer for The Tufts Daily.

The photocredit in the Feb. 29 Features article “An inside look at the TCU Senate’s handling of the yearly Student Activities Fund” was incorrectly listed as Scott Tingley / The Tufts Daily. In fact, the photocredit should have read Scott Tingley for The Tufts Daily.

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13

Op-Ed

60, 40 and 20: International anniversaries Kathryn Burden and Rachel Gravel

by

On March 3-4, the international community at Tufts will have plenty to celebrate. That weekend, international students and alumni will gather on campus to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the International Center, the 40th anniversary of the International House and the 20th anniversary of the Oliver Chapman Leadership Award. Each has done a great deal to support the international community and Americans’ connection to it at Tufts; the legacy of each is certainly worth celebrating.

Founded in 1952 with the aim of supporting the growing international community at Tufts with administrative issues, mostly connected to immigration visas, the International Center has expanded in 60 years to serve the nearly 1,100 international students, faculty and scholars at Tufts academically, socially and professionally. No longer simply a space to resolve visa issues, the I-Center sponsors social events to promote intercultural understanding — bringing foreign and American students together — and fosters a broad community of support for international students and scholars on campus.

In the 1970s, students and staff recognized that even more could be done to help acculturate international students and to acquaint American stu-

dents with foreign cultures. To that end, Mary Hecht, then the International Student & Faculty Advisor at the I-Center — at the time known as the Office to the Advisor to Foreign Students — American students like Beth Collins Barton (A’74) and international students like Mehrdad Toofanian (Iran, E’73) collaborated to form the International House. Since its founding 40 years ago, a mix of half International and half American students has occupied the I-House, which has always been in the historic Davies House. The I-House has consistently fostered intercultural experiences that result in lifetime friendships.

The Oliver Chapman Leadership Award, started in 1993 in honor of an international student from Panama who passed away in 1992, is awarded annually to a deserving student at the Parade of Nations sponsored by the International Club. This award serves to reinforce the aims of the I-House and I-Center by celebrating activism that seeks to bridge the multi-cultural divide in the international community at Tufts and in the local area. It is yet another example of the lasting mark international students have left on Tufts.

In preparation for these anniversaries, we as interns at the I-Center and our predecessor Laura Tillery (GSAS ‘10) have investigated, mainly through archival research at

dilys ong for the tufts daily

Tufts’ Digital Collections and Archives, the history of the I-Center, I-House and international community at Tufts itself. Additionally, we have interviewed international alumni about their own memories of Tufts and how their four years on the Hill left a lifelong impression. The legacy of the foreign students who studied at Tufts is noteworthy and we urge

you to visit the “Our Legacy” section of the International Center’s site to learn about it by reading international alumni profiles, which are accompanied by slideshows of historical photographs and by checking out some of the myriad articles and pictures we found in the archives on our website.

Additionally, we hope that you will be able to celebrate Tufts’

wonderful international legacy at the Parade of Nations event on Saturday, March 3 at 8 p.m. in Cohen Auditorium. Tickets are available at the Cohen Auditorium box office.

Kathryn Burden and Rachel Gravel are graduate students who are interning at the International Center.

Dialogue, not division: The need for a paradigm shift

by Shira Shamir and

Erica Feldman

The State of Israel was established in 1948, with its Declaration of Independence guaranteeing “complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race, or sex” and promising “freedom of religion, conscience, language, education, and culture.” Israel’s detractors, however, seek to sully these words through false accusations and broad generalizations incapable of accurately describing a complex situation on the ground — namely, replacing the word democracy with apartheid.

There are many words to describe the State of Israel. Perfect is not one of them, but democratic certainly is. As always, we unequivocally defend Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine’s (SJP) right to put on any events they wish, but we seriously question their decision to move the conversation in this negative direction, from productive dialogue to hateful misinformation. Our campus projects an ethos different from most other universities, particularly when it comes to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Where other universities see confrontations on the quad, we see challenging questions and desire for thoughtful dialogue (and the occasional back-and-forth in the Daily).

Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW ) is an annual series of events held across the globe, aiming to label the State of Israel as an apartheid state and to implement Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns.

The unfortunate reality is that campaigns like IAW will serve to further polarize our campus, detract from productive dialogue and isolate members of

the Tufts Community.

One of the IAW events is a hunger strike to honor Khader Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner who was arrested under military detention and completed a 66-day hunger strike in protest, and who is now being called the “Palestinian Gandhi.”

While the event is meant to promote non-violent resistance as a means of improving Israeli detention policies, what deeply concerns Friends of Israel (FOI) is SJP’s choice of Adnan as their inspiration for the event. Adnan is reported to be a spokesperson for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S., the E.U. and Israel, and has been responsible for over 30 suicide bombings. At a 2007 rally, Adnan demanded of the crowd, “Who among you will carry the next explosive belt ...

Who among you will have his body parts blown all over?”

Additionally, SJP will be holding an event entitled “Birthright, and the Whitewashing of Apartheid.”

We feel that this event implicates not only FOI, but also Tufts Hillel and the greater Jewish Community. By attacking Tufts Hillel’s Birthright program, meant to foster a positive connection between Jewish students at Tufts and their ancestral homeland, this event will only serve to harm and ostracize the Jewish community on campus.

One of the most disconcerting parts of IAW campaigns is their core message, that Israel is an apartheid state. Israel is not, nor has it ever been an apartheid state. Accusers may say that apartheid simply means “separation” but the word apart-

heid is a decidedly political term used to evoke painful memories of the brutally racist South African regime — and in this case to paint false generalizations of conditions in Israel/ Palestine.

As defined by the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court, apartheid consists of “inhumane acts ... committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime.”

By contrast, within Israel proper, Arabs, who constitute 20 percent of the population, are full citizens that enjoy the same political rights as any other Israeli, play an active role in all sectors of society, participate in all levels of the democratically elected government and enjoy a benefit not afforded to many Arabs in the rest of the Middle East.

There is an Arab member of the Supreme Court of Israel and 14 Arab members of the Knesset.

Israeli Arabs have even represented Israel on the global stage in both Miss Universe and Eurovision competitions.

Israeli society is not perfect and unsurprisingly, some racism exists against Arabs. Just as it took almost 200 years for the civil rights movement to gain traction in the U.S., it will take time for the maturing State of Israel. As President Obama said of Israel and the U.S., “As two vibrant democracies, we recognize that the liberties and freedoms we cherish must be constantly nurtured.”

Any level of racism must be viewed as unacceptable. FOI

calls upon the Israeli government to take concrete steps to further integrate the Arab Israeli community, but employing the term apartheid and accusing Israel of systematic discrimination only deepens the divide rather than pulling Arabs and Jews closer together.

Exponents of the Israeli apartheid theory point to its alleged application in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. These critics, however, ignore many of the important facts. Since the Oslo Peace Process in 1993, 94 percent of Palestinian citizens in the West Bank (and all of the Gaza Strip since Israel unilaterally withdrew in 2005) are under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza govern themselves, have their own courts and don’t pay taxes to the State of Israel. They are not citizens of Israel and therefore, by definition, are not subject to apartheid.

Critics further argue that the existence of separate roads in the West Bank for Israeli traffic, checkpoints and the security barrier constitutes apartheid. These security measures were set up as temporary mechanisms in response to the Second Intifada, where thousands of innocent civilians were murdered. Only five percent of the security barrier is actually a concrete wall, and the security barrier has contributed to a 90 percent decrease in the number of suicide bombings. Because the Palestinian Authority has not been able to guarantee the security of Israeli travelers, both Jewish and Arab, Israel has an obligation to maintain these measures to ensure the

safety of its citizens.

Israel’s intent has never been to maintain or prolong the suffering of the Palestinian people nor to deny them their right to statehood, a quality distinctly different from that of the South African regime. Israel has repeatedly voiced its support for a two-state solution, offering Palestinians all of Gaza and over 95 percent of the West Bank to no avail.

There is no doubt that the Palestinian people endure hardship, just as there is no doubt that Israeli democracy is flawed in its development. But to describe this situation as apartheid is a crude misrepresentation of the facts. As South African Interior Minister Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi said, “The Israeli Regime is not Apartheid, it is a unique case of Democracy.” Both peoples deserve the right to self-determination. We need negotiations between both parties without preconditions to achieve a twostate solution.

At Tufts, we feel we have an opportunity to build a better community. We encourage healthy discussion and intellectual discourse. Just a year ago students from FOI, Hillel and SJP attended a retreat sponsored by the Provost, which fostered a safe space for productive dialogue and understanding.

It’s not about being on the “right” side of history, nor polarizing “camps.” It’s about moving forward together to bring peace, and peace takes two.

Shira Shamir is a sophomore majoring in international relations. Erica Feldman is a sophomore majoring in biology and community health.

They are Co-Presidents of Tufts Friends of Israel.

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

14

Comics

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Doonesbury

Crossword

by

Garry Trudeau

Non Sequitur

wednesday’s Solution

Married to the Sea

www.marriedtothesea.com

marriedtothesea.com

SUDOKU Level: CHANGE THIS NOW!

Level: Passing up the last shot in the All-Star Game

Late Night at the Daily

Wednesday’s Solution

Daniel: “I can’t run a paper while f---ing managing sandwiches.”

Want more late-night laughs?

Follow us on Twitter at @LateNiteAtDaily

Please recycle this Daily.

by

Wiley

The Tufts Daily

Thursday, March 1, 2012

15

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The Tufts Daily

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Thursday, March 1, 2012

Thursday, March 1, 2012

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The Tufts Daily

18

Sports

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Men’s lacrosse offensive spots still up for grabs MEN’S LACROSSE continued from back

Schoenhut will work to patch the holes in the Jumbos’ offensive game.

Bailey is fast and can burn defenders on quick cuts, while Schoenhut is a proven scorer who can also impact rides and off-ball situations.

At midfield, the Jumbos must fill the shoes of graduated midfielder Matt Witko (LA 11) and maximize senior co-captain Kevin McCormick’s possessions. Daly relies on a strong transition game, and Tufts typically scores a majority of its goals in fast break and unsettled situations. Because of this, the Jumbos’ first-year midfielders will be key assets. Freshmen Peter Gill, Charlie Rubin, Tim LaBeau, Ryan Le and Tyler Lewris have all stepped up in the preseason and can bolster an experienced and well-balanced midfield unit.

LaBeau, a faceoff man, could potentially jump-start run-and-gun plays for the Jumbos by controlling at X, while his classmates bring various wing, defensive and attacking strengths to the table.

On defense, first-years Garrett Read, Cem Kalkavan and C.J. Higgins provide much-needed size to a Tufts squad that will see plenty of larger opponents, particularly from historically big programs like Bowdoin. Read is used to receiving his team’s toughest matchup assignments, while Kalkavan, who stands at 6-foot-4, can make up some of the physical gap the Jumbos may encounter.

Jeff Chang of Mountain Lakes can also contribute to the Jumbos’ depth at pole, while Brian Droesch, younger brother of former midfielder Mike Droesch (E ‘10), is a solid goaltender who will back up a corps of reliable upperclassmen in the cage.

“In 2010 we lost all of those defensive players that were so important to our program and our operation,” Daly said. “Maybe because the defensive stats don’t hit the paper

like some of the offensive stats do, it wasn’t as talked about. This year will just be a little different in that we’re rebuilding the offense instead of the defense, and certainly we lost a pretty good group of seniors, but I really feel strongly that that happens every year.”

Several non-freshmen have also emerged as potential contributors.

Sophomore Bennett Gillogly has developed into a strong faceoff contender, and his classmate midfielders Beau Wood and Peter Bowers are two dangerous scoring threats.

Although neither put up huge statistics in his freshman season, Bowers saw time in 13 games, while Wood played in four, combining for five points and three ground balls.

“Our best problem we have is that we’ve got plenty of talent,” Daly said. “We’ve got guys who have been in the program and played behind some guys and maybe felt like they should be playing more the last couple of years, and now it’s their time to prove it.”

On defense, senior Mark Findaro, juniors Sam Diss and Dylan Haas and sophomores Kane Delaney and Dan Alles are reliable poles who can prevent opponents from developing their own fast break opportunities. Diss and Haas, two of the Jumbos’ most athletic players, consistently pressure opponents and force turnovers, while Delaney, who has practiced on the wing, can win possessions off the faceoff.

As freshmen, Alles and Delaney saw time in 20 of the Jumbos’ 21 games. Alles picked up an eyepopping 38 ground balls, while Delaney’s 32 ground balls and an assist indicate his effectiveness in transition. This unit will work to slow opponents before the returning close defensive trio of juniors Sam Gardner, John Heard and Matt Callahan step in.

“This year, on some level, we really feel more athletic at defense and our short-stick defensive-middie

positions with Haas, Diss and the experience of [senior] Bill Duryea and [junior] Ryan Jorgensen a lot of guys who played a lot of minutes for us,” Daly said. “We like to put those guys with that experience and athleticism in the open field and trust their decision-making.”

Joining senior co-captain Sean Kirwan, the lone returning offensive starter, are several other capable players. Kirwan is one of the league’s best finishers, but it is likely that defenses will focus on limiting his mobility around the crease.

Senior Jordan Korinis, juniors Geoff Sheasby and Andrew Fiamengo and sophomore Jack McDermott will be among the attackmen to step up.

“We’re certainly still sorting all the pieces out,” Daly said. “We could see some returning guys; we could see some young guys [on offense]. We’re focused on consistency, and right now guys are making some great plays and some not so great plays.

We’re just kind of neutral and are really waiting for the season guys to emerge. As coaches, we have some very tough decisions to make, and we have a lot of guys really competing. That’s resulting in everyone playing at their highest levels.”

While a spotlight is certainly cast on the attackmen, the onus is largely on the Jumbos’ younger players to step up in the absence of eight departed seniors. The junior and sophomore classes are filled with depth at all positions, while the current seniors are experienced and eager to step up.

“Luckily we were able to play with [last year’s seniors] and learn a lot from them,” McCormick said.

“We have a lot of experienced guys back this year on offense so we know what’s expected and what we need to do. Our game plan hasn’t changed; we just need to execute it every day. The approach is just to get everyone motivated and focused. We can’t waste time.”

McCormick emphasized that,

oliver porter / the tufts daily

Junior Sam Diss is part of a solid defensive unit that’s returning for the Jumbos. while the freshmen are eager to make their mark at Tufts, the team’s older players are fueled by a sense of urgency, and a keen understanding that it’s now or never.

“I think there’s pressure on every class each year because we have the highest expectations,” he said. “Our goal is another national championship. You could say there’s a bit more on the freshmen because it’s their first year here, but as a senior, there’s also a lot because it’s our last.”

Tufts will need to play to the strengths of its defensive unit, while allowing its developing players to settle into key roles that will put the

Jumbos in the best position for a return trip to the postseason. The team opens with an away contest at Hamilton College on Mar. 10, the two teams’ first meeting since 2001.

“We have great respect for every team on our schedule, so there’s really no benefit at looking at it in totality,” Daly said. “We’ve got to beat Hamilton first. We’ve got that edge and we need to continue to sharpen it. Of course we’re holding our guys accountable to the legacy of everybody that’s played in this program prior to them, and certainly what we know allows Tufts lacrosse to be successful.”

Elephants in the Room And the Oscar goes to...

Your go-to dunk contest dunk

Sam Bissonnette Junior Women’s Track & Field

Meryl Streep

Dunk over Kevin Hart

Jeff Marvel Junior Men’s Track & Field

Bernie Mac

“Somerville Smokestack”

Kelsey Morehead Freshman guard Women’s Basketball

Should have been “The Help”

2-ball dunk

Gordan Silverman Fresman Men’s Squash

“The Descendants”

Spring break plans

Song I would sing for my “American Idol” audition

Traveling to DC to visit my favorite Georgetown Hoya

Theme song from Pokemon

Going to California

“Man of Constant Sorrow”

by The Soggy Bottom Boys

Cabo Wabo

I was not born with the ability to Snowboarding in Park City, Utah jump, so probably just a layup

Any song by Lethal Flo

“Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-a-Lot

all photos courtesy tufts athletics

Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Tufts Daily

19

Sports

Inside the NHL

Alex Arthur | King Arthur’s Court

Oh, no, Canada: Canadiens, Oilers struggling by

Combine?

Try circus

Matt Berger

Daily Editorial Board

With just five weeks left in the 20112012 NHL season, no club has been a bigger disappointment thus far than the Montreal Canadiens — commonly referred to as the Habs — who find themselves in last place in the Eastern Conference after dropping Tuesday night’s match against the lowly Tampa Bay Lightning.

It was the team’s fifth straight defeat.

The Edmonton Oilers, another Canadian team buried in the standings, have not been much better. They continue to remain largely irrelevant and will soon face their sixth straight season without a playoff appearance.

The Habs entered this season with high expectations after finishing with 96 points in 2010-2011 and taking the Bruins to seven games in a thrilling conference quarterfinal series. In the offseason, Montreal had a chance to improve its team dramatically and put itself in a better position to challenge the top-tier teams in the league. But the Canadiens essentially struck out, signing only one free agent of note in former Carolina Hurricanes leftwinger Erik Cole, who ranks second on the team in scoring with 22 goals on the year.

Finding the net has been the biggest problem for the Habs all season.

The Canadiens rank 19th in the league in goals, averaging just 2.5 per game.

Left-winger Mathieu Darche only has 12 points so far after recording 12 goals and 14 assists for the Habs in 20102011. Similarly, center Tomas Plekanec has only scored 12 times this season after netting 22 goals last season.

With their chances at contending for the Eastern Conference title this season all but gone, the Canadiens have begun dumping some of their top players to clear up salary cap room for the long rebuilding process.

Young forward Brock Trotter was one of the first to go, traded to the Phoenix Coyotes in November. Left-winger Mike Cammalleri was next, as the Habs sent him to the Calgary Flames along with goalkeeper Karri Ramo on Jan. 12.

The final big trade Montreal has made this season sent veteran defenseman Hal Gill to Nashville for young center

mct

The Edmonton Oilers have witnessed their fair share of goal-scoring celebrations this season.

Blake Geoffrion and a prospect.

The Habs should receive some credit for swallowing their pride and making roster moves that will hurt them in the short-run but may benefit the development of the team in the future.

Despite their recent stretch of losing seasons, the Edmonton Oilers also seem to be assembling a stable roster of young NHL talent that may be able to finally lead the franchise back to glory — or at least relevance — in the near future.

Few NHL teams have been as consistently bad as the Oilers. Since they reached the Stanley Cup finals in 2006, Edmonton has not even reached the playoffs and has finished no higher than third in their division. Over the last two seasons, Edmonton has twice finished in the cellar of the Northwest division, with a combined 52-92-20 record over that span.

But things may be looking up for Edmonton, especially with the improve-

ments shown by some of its young forwards. Right-winger Jordan Eberle is arguably one of the top young players in the league; at just 21 years old, Eberle has scored 28 times this season and is an overall plus-five in just his second full season in the league.

Across from him is 20-year-old left winger Taylor Hall, who has put up 48 points in what is also his second season in the NHL. The last piece of this puzzle is 22-year-old center Sam Gagner, who five years into his career has become a consistent 40-point scorer, doing an especially good job distributing the puck to his teammates.

While Montreal and Edmonton are both struggling Canadian franchises, they are lucky to have incredibly passionate fan bases. While both teams may be going through rough stretches now, their fans should understand that the future does in fact appear bright for both the Habs and Oilers.

Stifling defense defines Jumbos basketball, sets tone for season, current playoff run WOMEN’S BASKETBALL continued from back

— and then run — to win.

Faced with adversity, things have worked out pretty well for head coach Carla Berube’s squad. The Jumbos (21-6) are gearing up for the firstever NCAA Tournament game on the Tufts campus when the Misericordia Cougars come to Cousens Gym on Friday. Tufts is fourth in Div. III in scoring defense and has held nine teams to fewer than 40 points, including Conn. College’s comically low 21-point output on Jan. 21. “[Defense is] our focus, and it’s always been, it always will be,” Berube said. “I’m proud of our accomplishments that we’ve had this year with our defense. We knew that was going to be key to our success, not having major scorers.”

Perhaps most indicative of the tradition instilled in the program, senior guard Tiffany Kornegay yesterday became the fifth straight Jumbo to win the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year award, joining Miller (twice), Kim Moynihan (LA 09) and Khalilah Ummah (LA 08) atop the pantheon of Berube products.

“Coach instills the importance of defense in every season she coaches,” Kornegay said. “That’s our bread and butter. That’s how we win games.

That’s what we’re known for.”

Inquire about the Jumbos’ defensive

success, and they’ll throw out a litany of cliched attributes to describe the source. Heart. Chemistry. Intensity.

But by no means is this approach anything new for Tufts. The Jumbos ranked 11th nationally in scoring defense last season. Vaulting into the top 10 took a corny YouTube clip to put things in perspective.

In early December, senior co-captain forward Kate Barnosky directed the Jumbos to a video showcasing the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons. The NBA Champions were a balanced, welloiled machine with only one All-Star, bucking the perceived “magic formula” of surrounding superstars with a supporting cast.

Indeed, Tufts fits that offensive archetype, which makes defense all the more important. No player is averaging double-digit points per game — Barnosky leads the way with 9.1 — but nine are averaging at least 5.4.

The game plan is causal, the execution swift: defend players, not sets; limit opponents to one contested shot, grab the rebound and turn it into a track meet.

For tangible results, just look to Kornegay, who took over defensively in the second half of Tufts’ NESCAC semifinal win over Bowdoin, finishing with seven steals. The 5-foot-6 “gamechanger,” according to her coach, ranks second in the league in rebounding — the other members of the top

five are, on average, 6-foot-1 — and third in steals. Only Bowdoin senior Jill Henrikson, a first-team all-NESCAC selection, ranks in the top 10 in both categories.

“That’s my favorite part of the game,” Kornegay said. “I know I can intimidate and frazzle people on offense if I’m in their face. I have long arms, I have big hands. Really taking players out of their game is the fun part for me.”

“She has great hands, great instincts,” said Barnosky, who was named second-team all-NESCAC yesterday alongside Kornegay. “We operate on a system. I’ve got the box out, she’ll get the rebound for me. It’s worked out pretty well. We make up one person together.”

As Tuesday’s practice wrapped up with some scrimmaging, Berube stood on the sideline, a paper folded hotdog style in her shorts, hands clasped behind her back. After a particularly lackluster defensive effort from her starters, Berube barked at those wearing black practice jerseys to pick up their defense. It was a verbal energy shot; the starters swarmed post entries and clogged passing lanes. They just needed a little nudge to return to the Jumbos’ way.

Three minutes into a later scrimmage littered with shot clock violations and steals, Berube ordered her players to look at the scoreboard.

It read 0-0.

M

ore than ever before, it seems like even casual football fans are beginning to religiously follow the running, jumping and lifting that makes up the NFL scouting combine. This phenomenon has turned what used to be a formal way for NFL scouts to get a final look at hundreds of college prospects into an overblown week-long circus that, like Linsanity, has consumed sports media outlets for the majority of the last week.

Originally termed the National Invitational Camp, the scouting combine was first held in Tampa, Florida in 1982. After making stops in Arizona and New Orleans, the combine was moved to Indianapolis in 1987, where it has been held in February every year since.

The biggest change to the combine, however, came in 2004, when the NFL lifted the ban on media presence and cameras, so that the league’s newlylaunched NFL Network could broadcast one-hour highlight shows after each day of workouts. Since then, the NFL Network, which continues to have full broadcasting rights, has increased its coverage dramatically and now airs more than 30 hours of combine “action” over the course of the week.

Having become so ingrained within the fiber of NFL addicts who are looking to get their football fix, the combine now attracts more attention than it deserves, affecting the offseason training regimen of college prospects and even the decision making of some NFL front offices.

First of all, the whole event is becoming stale and repetitive, especially now that it is in its ninth year of television broadcast. You know exactly what to expect before the combine even starts: Some quarterback will be touted as the best prospect since John Elway or Dan Marino, a top defensive prospect will show underwhelming athletic ability, a consensus top-10 pick will be criticized for skipping the event and Rich Eisen will attempt to run the 40-yard dash in a three-piece suit.

The only thing less exciting than watching the combine is listening to the so-called football experts talk about the combine. Nevertheless, the NFL Network has beefed up its live analysis, adding former NFL stars Marshall Faulk and Michael Irvin this year to discuss such important topics as the proper starting stance before running the 40-yard dash or the best breathing technique during the bench press.

Moreover, there has been an almost laughable focus on analyzing which events certain prospects choose not to compete in. Why did Heisman quarterback Robert Griffin III decide to go through all the general running and jumping events but not throw? Why did Oklahoma State star wideout Justin Blackmon participate in drills but not run the 40? The real question should be: Why am I, or anyone else for that matter, still watching this?

Football fans shouldn’t buy into the combine hype, mostly because much of the data collected by NFL scouts at the combine has yet to be proven as a good indicator of a player’s ability to perform at the highest level. In fact, a team of researchers led by Brian D. Lyons empirically proved in a 2011 study that the 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuffle and three-cone drill are poor measures of future performance and that a prospect’s overall body of work in college is a much better way to judge potential draft picks.

But despite that, the heightened influence of the combine has popularized the term “workout warrior,” referring to an unheralded college player who raises his draft stock after an especially impressive showing at the combine. Owners and general managers, always looking for more “speed and athleticism,” draft these types of players too early and, more often than not, make mistakes that financially hinder their teams and waste premium draft picks.

Alex Arthur is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at Alexander.Arthur@tufts.edu.

Sports

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INSIDE Inside the NHL 19

tuftsdaily.com

Men’s Lacrosse

Women’s Basketball

Stitching up the holes Kate Klots

Daily Editorial Board

Last season, the men’s lacrosse team topped the NESCAC for the second straight year and finished 18-3 overall, ultimately falling19-7 to Salisbury in the National Championship game.

As the start of the 2012 season approaches, there are many questions about Tufts’ ability to rebound after graduating arguably the strongest senior class in school history, which included several All-Americans and quadcaptain attackman D.J. Hessler (E ’11), a two-time NESCAC Player of the Year.

The Jumbos were ranked No. 2 in the country as recently as Monday, when the USILA Coaches’ Poll was released, but several critics have regarded the ranking as overly generous. Meanwhile, conference foe Amherst, currently ranked No. 6, has garnered the attention of media and analysts alike, and may be the Jumbos’ biggest threat within the NESCAC. Tufts’ success will depend on whether its now-mature defensive unit can play like one, and — perhaps even more so — whether its offense can adapt to a new look without Hessler and fellow attackman Ryan Molloy (LA 11). With 10 conference contests and an April 14 matchup against Amherst looming, the Jumbos must gear up for one of the strongest NESCAC fields in recent years.

But with so many question marks remaining, the team is embracing the underdog role.

“We take great pride in playing the hardest schedule in the country last year and doing what we did, but we also take great pride in everyone talking about Amherst and Middlebury this year,” 12th-year head coach Mike Daly said. “Frankly, the only reason we’re probably in the discussion is because of what we’ve accomplished the last two years.

But we’ve got a great team that really embraces those challenges, and when we’re told we can’t do something we take pride in proving people wrong.”

Despite heavy losses on the attacking end, the Jumbos welcome a strong recruiting class this spring, the first to commit to the program following its National Championship in 2010. Daly worked tirelessly to recruit the strongest possible candidates to the program, and he and his veteran players see real potential in the first-years.

“The best part about the last couple [recruiting] years is we’ve had a lot of interest and a lot of guys looking into Tufts, and certainly all of them are talented lacrosse players,” Daly said. “The biggest thing we try to do is to find out which guys have some of those intangibles: mental toughness and work ethic and character.”

Freshmen Cole Bailey and Chris see MEN’S LACROSSE, page 18

scott tingley / the tufts daily

Carla Berube is the brains behind the fourth-best scoring defense in Div. III and a program that has won five straight NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Locked down: top-notch defense carries Jumbos to NCAA tournament by

Alex Prewitt

Daily Editorial Board

Before the start of the season, the women’s basketball focused on a word: stifling.

Long a defense-oriented unit with a recent penchant for

producing NESCAC Defensive Players of the Year, the Jumbos were presented with a daunting challenge entering this season. Colleen Hart (E 11), the program’s all-time leading scorer, and Vanessa Miller (LA 11), a speedy guard who estab-

lished a conference-wide reputation as a lockdown defensive pest, had graduated.

The go-to players on both ends were gone. The solution?

Stifle to overcome. Pressure see WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, page 19

Men’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball

Anderson, Ferris earn NESCAC honors

Kornegay defends Jumbos’ five-year streak

William Butt / The Tufts Daily

Freshman guard Ben Ferris averaged 9.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game off the bench in his first season at Tufts.

Junior tri-captain forward Scott Anderson was named to the AllNESCAC second team and freshman guard Ben Ferris earned NESCAC Rookie of the Year for the men’s basketball team, which finished the season at 16-9 overall following a conference quarterfinals loss to Bates.

Ferris made an immediate impact in his first season at Tufts, scoring 9.6 points and grabbing 5.1 rebounds per game as the team’s top guard off the bench.

He led the Jumbos with 28 threepointers made and 41.2 percent shooting from behind the arc while averaging 19.2 minutes per game.

Perhaps his best performance of the season came in the team’s NESCAC opener against nationally ranked Williams on Jan. 6, when the Jumbos shocked the Ephs, 80-71. Ferris scored 23

points on 8-of-11 shooting and was the game’s leading scorer. He also displayed his ability to come through in the clutch on Jan. 31, grabbing two steals and sinking four free throws in the final 10 seconds of overtime to beat UMass Dartmouth, 84-82.

Since his arrival in Medford, Anderson has been one the most consistent producers for Tufts. This season, Anderson earned his first appearance on the All-NESCAC second team after leading the Jumbos with 12.6 points per game and finishing second on the team with 6.6 rebounds per game. The junior forward also blocked almost one shot per game and, along with senior forward Alex Orchowski, made up one of the toughest front lines in the conference.

—by Matt Berger

Following in the Tufts tradition, senior guard Tiffany Kornegay was named the 2011-2012 NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, the fifth straight season a Tufts women’s basketball player has been given the honor. Kornegay and senior co-captain forward Kate Barnosky also made the All-NESCAC second team, and coach Carla Berube was named NESCAC Coach of the Year.

The seniors have led the Jumbos to a 21-6 season so far, reaching the conference finals and recently receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Kornegay is second in the conference in rebounding — despite being just fivefoot-six — and third in steals, and is a key component of the Jumbos’ well-balanced offensive attack.

Barnosky is the team’s leading scorer with 9.1 points per game, and has been the leader and focal point of the offense.

She has also been crucial to the Jumbos’ interior defense, holding her own despite frequently being matched up against taller opponents.

Berube earned her third NESAC Coach of the Year honor after leading the Jumbos to a 19-5 record in the regular season.

After graduating the program’s all-time leading scorer, Colleen Hart (E ‘11), the Jumbos have already won more games than they did last year. Berube’s emphasis on team defense has paid off — the Jumbos allow only 45.7

william butt / the Tufts Daily

Senior guard Tiffany Kornegay’s lockdown on-ball defense and knack for pulling down rebounds have earned her the title of NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year. points per game, good for fourth in Div. III. Berube, Barnosky and Kornegay will lead the Jumbos in their first-ever home NCAA

tournament game on Friday night against the Misericordia Cougars.

—by Alex Baudoin