2012-3-28

THE TUFTS DAILY

Showers 53/44

Senate addresses handicap accessibility

by Jenna

Buckle

Daily Editorial Board

The Tufts Community Union ( TCU) Senate this month approved a project to address handicap accessibility on campus by improving the program currently in place for Tufts community members with disabilities.

TCU senators Darien Headen, a freshman, and Meredith Goldberg, a junior, formulated the project earlier this semester.

“Handicap accessibility right now is being dealt with on a case-by-case basis,” Goldberg said. “The specific goal is to make an overarching handicap accessibility plan beyond just a case-by-case basis.”

Improvements on campus will include adding sidewalk curb cuts, making roads easier to cross by wheelchair, planting more street signs and expanding the number of handicap-accessible dorms, Headen said.

Currently, the lack of handicap-accessible pathways on campus necessitates a 20-minute journey for someone in a wheelchair planning to travel from Tisch Library to Eaton Hall, Goldberg said.

“That shouldn’t be the case,” Headen said. “There should be a better system set in place.

I want to make sure there’s a better connection between the lower, middle and upper campus.”

Headen presented his project idea to the Senate after meeting with several Tufts staff members to discuss how the university handles campus handicap accessibility.

“We have the Joey and all these other means of trans-

TUFTSDAILY.COM

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

VOLUME LXIII, NUMBER 38

portation around campus, but we don’t ever talk about our community members who are in wheelchairs or on crutches who are going to have a hard time getting up and down the hill and to and from classes,” he said.

But handicap accessibility is a complex issue, especially given Tufts’ location on a hill, he said.

“We go to a school where the buildings are already established and have been around a long time,” Headen said. “You can’t just go in, rip out a staircase and put in an elevator.”

The matter could potentially deter handicapped students who are considering applying to or enrolling at Tufts, Goldberg said.

“It really does turn them off,” she said. “There isn’t overarching handicap accessibility on campus. That’s why it really needed to be addressed.”

Although the campus’ layout poses many challenges, staff members have already established a solid foundation for their project by catering to the needs of handicapped students, Headen said.

“We comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Senior Director of Health and Wellness Service Michelle Bowdler said. “We have worked with a number of students over the last several years on assuring that their needs are met should they have some requirements for room accommodations. If a student requires multiple accommodations in a number of areas, we work together as a team to ensure that that happens.”

A central objective of the see HANDICAP, page 2

Tufts explores nutrition minor program with two study options

by Shana

Friedman

Daily Editorial Board

Spurred by a recent increase in student demand for an undergraduate academic program in nutrition, a group of Tufts faculty has begun to explore the prospect of an interdisciplinary nutrition minor within the School of Arts and Sciences.

Current Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy Robin Kanarek is at the forefront of these efforts. She hopes to create an undergraduate minor in nutrition that offers two curricular options for students.

The first, a nutrition science-oriented approach, would focus on the biological effects of nutrients on physiological symptoms and diseases, while the second, geared at students interested in nutrition policy, would require courses in food policy and economics.

Kanarek believes that the minor would attract a diverse pool of students, including those interested in the international relations side of food policy, as well as students pursuing a career in medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine.

“All of these professions, I think, need people who have nutrition backgrounds in them so I think it could help students who are interested in those areas,” she said.

Kanarek expects the nutrition minor to include classes from departments including Biology, Economics, Political S c i e n c e, In t e r n a t i o n a l Relations, Chemistry and Psychology, and believes that

the minor can be created using resources that already exist at Tufts.

The university currently offers several courses related to nutrition for undergraduates, including Nutrition 101, a psychology course about nutrition and behavior and an anthropology course on food and culture.

The faculty group decided not to pursue a nutrition major because it would require the establishment of an entirely new department.

Tufts’ nutrition program is located at the Friedman School in downtown Boston and is therefore unable to offer an undergraduate major degree for logistical reasons.

But an interdisciplinary minor would instead draw from existing departments at the Medford/Somerville campus, according to Kanarek.

The process of creating a new minor will require the installation of new classes and the approval of the Curricula Committee for the School of Arts and Sciences, which must approve all new courses and degree programs.

The minor would also have to get the vote of the entire Arts and Sciences faculty, according to Kanarek.

Kanarek hopes to see new food policy course offerings added as early as next fall.

“Basically, right now there [are] just a few classes that students can take to introduce themselves to nutrition, and Nutrition 101 is such a broad class,” Kelly Kane, assistant professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, said. “We would all like to see students get more of a taste of what

Zadie Smith discusses work, writing process

by Victoria

nutrition really is.”

According to Kane, a nutrition minor would be applicable to many areas of study, including popular majors such as international relations.

“A lot of students [who do] fieldwork for their coursework in international relations are going to other countries and very often their research projects include nutrition, and they don’t feel like they have any nutrition skills,” Kane said. “I think that the nutrition minor might be able to … give students more tools to approach their work both here in the United States and in any kind of international work.”

Student enrollment in Nutrition 101 has seen a dramatic increase in recent years, indicative of rising student and faculty interest in the field, according to Kanarek.

“There does absolutely seem to be an interest on the part of the students,” Kane said. “I’ve heard informally from students, having taught Nutrition 101 for the past couple years, that they always have an impression that Tufts is a big nutrition school … But on the undergraduate level there aren’t a lot of options available.”

“I’ve been at Tufts since the School of Nutrition started and undergraduates have always been interested in nutrition, but I’ve seen over the past several years a distinct increase in student interest in nutrition,” Kanarek said.

“And I think we’re also at a point where faculty from the School of Nutrition we have see NUTRITION, page 2

TCU Senate Update The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate at its meeting Sunday night approved a request from WMFO Tufts Free Form Radio to receive $13,106.68 from the Senate’s buffer funds to furnish Studio C in their studio. The Senate Allocations Board had originally granted WMFO $0 for the project, partially so that Senate as a whole could hear the request, according to TCU Treasurer Christie Maciejewski, a sophomore.

WMFO appealed the decision, and the Senate as a whole voted to fund the full project.

Leistman

Daily Editorial Board

British novelist Zadie Smith yesterday evening spoke to members of the Tufts community about her newest novel and her writing process at an event co-sponsored by the Toupin-Bolwell Fund and the Diversity Fund.

The event was part of the Distinguished Writer Series celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Center for Humanities at Tufts (CHAT).

Dean of Arts and Sciences Joanne Berger-Sweeney and CHAT Director Jonathan Wilson both briefly introduced Smith, the second of four guests in the see SMITH, page 2

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Andrew Schneer / The Tufts Daily

—by Leah Lazer

British novelist Zadie Smith yesterday evening spoke to a packed Coolidge Room about her most recent novel.

Inside this issue

Today’s sections

Students, faculty members discuss efforts to bridge the gender gap in the Engineering department at Tufts.

The early episodes of the fifth season of “Mad Men” confirm that the show hasn’t lost its captivating flair.

see FEATURES, page 3

see ARTS, page 5

News Features Arts Editorial | Letters

1 3 5 8

Op-Ed Comics Classifieds Sports

9 10 13 Back

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News

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Smith credits parents for fueling success as a writer SMITH

continued from page 1

Scott Tingley / The Tufts Daily

The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate has approved a project aimed to address handicap accessibility on campus by improving the program for community members with disabilities.

Senators create plan for more handicapaccessible facilities on the Hill HANDICAP

continued from page 1

project is to ensure that the issue of handicap accessibility stays at the forefront of the university’s agenda, Headen said.

“I don’t want this to be something that’ll get talked about just for a year or two, but something that’ll get talked about year after year,” he

said. “Our handicap population may be small on this campus, but it shouldn’t have to take a back seat.”

Headen and Goldberg said they hope to finalize plans for a fully handicap accessibility program and campus construction by the end of this academic year.

Alterations to the campus,

including those to academic, dining and residential buildings, are expected to occur within the next five to ten years, Goldberg said.

“I came up with this project because it is something that’s important to me,” Headen said.

“I’m going to continue working on it until I see some concrete change that is satisfying to me.”

Distinguished Writer Series, to a packed Coolidge Room.

Smith has authored three novels: “White Teeth” (2000), “The Autograph Man” (2002) and “On Beauty” (2005). “White Teeth” was awarded the Guardian First Book Award, the Whitbread First Novel Award, the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Orange Prize for Fiction.

Smith began the lecture by reading an excerpt from her new novel “NW,” which will be published by Penguin Book Group in September.

The novel will be her first since “On Beauty” (2005), which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

“It’s pretty much done now,” she said. “It was about seven years of figuring out what I was doing and then about four months of becoming a novel properly. It was a very long process.”

Smith has also published “Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays” (2009), an anthology of her own works that have appeared in publications such as “The New York Review of Books,” “The New Yorker,” “The New York Times,” “The Guardian” and “The Believer.”

After the excerpt, Smith, who is currently a tenured professor of fiction at New York University, fielded questions from the audience about her writing and emphasized the significance of realism in fiction.

“I like a certain amount of randomness,” she said.

“The truth, in my opinion, is unavoidably strange.”

She also spoke at length about the process of plot development in her novels and essays.

“I still have a deep belief in the emotional weight of plot,” she explained. “All I can do is follow where my curiosity takes me.”

Smith credited her parents with instilling the confidence that drove her to success as an author, noting that her two brothers — one a rapper and the other a comedian — have benefited from the same support.

“I think that that openness and certainly my mother’s belief that her children could do anything has helped,” Smith said.

When asked whether she felt irritated by the characterization of her work as purely comedic fare, Smith remarked that the generalization did not bother her, although she thinks it is more worthwhile to individually assess an authors works rather than assessing them on aggregate.

Her writing method is uncomplicated; she begins her novels by writing a sentence or two, usually aiming for a particular tone.

“It’s all very kind of last minute,” she said, Smith added that she does not have a specific way of deciding what titles to give her works.

“There’s actually no method,” she said. “With titles, I never think twice.”

Smith also acknowledged the difficulties of writing and spoke candidly about how she was able to produce critically lauded literary works early in her life.

“Everyone else was getting drunk and I was in my room writing,” she said.

Smith added that her favorite aspect of the creative process is the sense of fulfillment she feels upon completion of a work.

“It is for the satisfaction at the end,” she said. “To have written is a lovely feeling. At the end you really are just writing a book to please yourself.”

Smith added, however, that she dislikes doing research.

She told the audience that she is enjoying living in New York City because of the variety, movement, awareness andthe opportunity to interact with a larger non-white community. She added that the social issues that exist in New York do not burden her personally, unlike those she encountered in London.

Wilson concluded the event by expressing gratitude to CHAT and the Diversity Fund.

“We’re lucky to get the novel so early,” he said.

Planned nutrition minor to have interdisciplinary focus NUTRITION

continued from page 1

are also very interested in teaching undergraduates.”

Food 4 Thought, a student group interested in bringing more food-related course offerings to the Hill, has found that interest in food classes at Tufts is high.

“We’ve been collecting signatures, we’ve been talking to professors, and just trying to gauge the interest,” sophomore Emma Scudder, co-president of Food 4 Thought, said.

A petition requesting more foodrelated classes has garnered nearly 200 undergraduate signatures, according to Scudder.

She listed several concepts that she would like to see explored in courses at Tufts, namely the economics of the global food business, biology of food, sustainable agriculture and the history of food in a certain context.

“We see it as multidisciplinary,” Scudder said.

Ultimately, Kanarek hopes to see a nutrition minor that satisfies student demand.

“I hope to see it meet student need, because it is something that students seem to be very interested in,” Kanarek explained.

MCT

A group of Tufts professors is exploring the option of creating an interdisciplinary nutrition minor within the School of Arts and Sciences.

Features

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Jasmin Sadegh | Engin-nerd

Collapse and liability

S

kristen collins / the tufts daily

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Karen Panetta works to break down barriers to equality for women in engineering.

Women work to maintain equal footing in male-dominated engineering world by

Lily Sieradzki

Daily Editorial Board

Despite the substantial strides forward made by women in the past century, there is one sector of society where women struggle to maintain equal footing: engineering. This trend can be seen both within the Tufts community and throughout the workforce and academic world.

According to a recent study published in “Science” magazine, it will be another 100 years before half of all professors in science and engineering fields are female. The study, conducted by Cheryl Geiser and Deborah Kaminski, is titled “Survival Analysis of Faculty Retention in Science and Engineering

by Gender.” The findings demonstrate a high leakage rate, in which each stage of careers in the natural sciences and engineering retains fewer women than the stage before it.

Women also maintain a smaller representation within academic faculties for engineering and sciences than men.

Tufts is in line with this trend of inequality for women engineers. According to Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Karen Panetta, the Tufts Engineering School enrollment is 30 percent female. The ratio of women to men varies according to department, with higher numbers of women in civil, chemical and biomedical engineering and lower numbers in electrical and mechanical engineering, Panetta said.

Junior Ashley Martin, a civil engineering student, has a rich family legacy of engineering at Tufts. She pointed out Tufts’ improvement in numbers of women engineers over the years.

“My mom said that when she was here, she was one of two female electrical engineers, and now we’re about a quarter of civil engineering,” she said. “There’s still a little stigma, but it’s definitely better.”

But despite this optimistic trend, both she and junior Darcy Mann, who is also studying civil engineering, noticed a significant lack of female professors in the Tufts Engineering School. Mann is also an online editor for the Daily.

“One thing I do notice is that none of my teachers are girls,” Mann said. “The other day, my dad was asking if I have any female professors and I [realized] I actually don’t.”

Panetta has experienced both trends during her 18 years in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Tufts, but sees overall improvement.

“When I first came, students were floored to have me in front of them. They called me by my first name and were shocked when they found out I had a Ph.D.,” she said. “[Now], they no longer make assumptions about your gender being equivalent to your

position and intelligence, and that’s really important.”

Panetta attributed this fundamental disparity of women in engineering academia to a set of deeper societal issues, mainly misconceptions of engineering based on gender roles.

She says that girls do not receive adequate early education about what engineering is, which makes them less likely to pursue it.

“The [curricula] are based on mainly making [engineering] appealing to one sex; that’s why we lose out,” she said. “If girls don’t know what engineering is, if they don’t have role models … why are you going to pick a major in something you never even heard of?”

Martin agrees that a lack of knowledge about engineering is a roadblock to female students’ involvement.

“If you don’t know what engineering is, it’s very intimidating,” she said. “If you’re not related to or close friends with an engineer, you have no idea what it is.”

Another obstacle is the misconception that excelling in math and science is required to be an engineer, according to Panetta.

Instead, she says creativity is a vital — yet underappreciated — part of engineering.

“To go into math and science, we tell kids they have to be good at math and science.

Kids that aren’t at the top of their classes are being sold this message that unless you’re the best, don’t bother. And that’s not true,” she said. “The art about engineering is the disciplinary creativity … Creativity makes you a strong engineer. The tools we use are math and science.”

Mann experienced this firsthand. She switched into engineering during her sophomore year, after taking an architectural studies class and realizing the creative potential of civil engineering.

“Back in high school, I really had no idea what engineering was,” she said. “Taking that class, I realized that I really like math, I like solving problems and figuring things out. One of my teachers right now [says] it’s one of the most creative things you can do, and it really is.”

Panetta has taken action in response to these problems. She founded the international organization Nerd Girls in order to change flawed perceptions of women engineers. Nerd Girls does extensive media outreach, as well as research and technology development. Past projects include building a solar car and the application of solar energy technology to an entire island. According to Panetta, who won a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring for Nerd Girls, the organization is shifting toward a focus on education and outreach to young girls, to “communicate to youth what it is like to be an engineer.”

“I saw that there were talented girls across Tufts, but they didn’t understand what engineering was, they didn’t think they could do it,” she said. “I started connecting what engineers do with real projects and stretching their research abilities. [Now], Nerd Girls is much bigger than just at Tufts.”

Another organization with similar goals is the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), a national and pre-professional organization that empowers female engineering students for their participation in the workforce. SWE holds panels and conferences teaching how to network, be confident and balance busy lives, while also conducting high school outreach programs. The Tufts chapter also strives to create a safe and strong community.

“SWE is one of the most active engineering groups on campus, so we try to do as good a job as we can getting the girls to feel like they’re not alone,” Martin, who serves as the secretary of Tufts SWE, said.

The reality of being a woman engineer outside of the academic world is a relevant issue for Tufts engineering students as they enter the workforce. Panetta maintained that broader issues for working women, such as the balance between raising a family and a job, affect the engineering field as well.

“Women, particularly in their 30s, start having families and have a trade-off of trying to do it all, raise a family [and work],” she said. “There’s got to be some sort of balance in place to help support that. These are the big key things we’re going to be working on in the future.”

Martin related her experience as one of the only girls interning at a nuclear power plant design firm this past summer.

“In the beginning, they kept giving the guys the work. It wasn’t until I proved that I could do it, that I was much faster at it, that they started giving it to me,” she said.

“It’s tough, but also incredibly rewarding, because I had to work for it. I ended up getting much more difficult work and much better work than all of them.”

Mann said that Tufts has prepared her well to enter the workforce as one of the small number of women in the engineering field. She was influenced by a SWEhosted talk given by female engineering Tufts graduates.

“They were saying as long as you act confident, you know what you’re talking about — which I think they train us to do pretty well at Tufts — you’ll be treated pretty much the same way,” Mann said. “I think [Tufts] is trying to instill in us, whether you’re a girl or a guy, how to be confident in yourself, know how to ask questions and how to be a productive part of a group. [That way], you’ll be appreciated and respected.”

haded with dark sunglasses, Professor David Hatem walked out of the back door of Anderson Hall and stepped into the backseat of a black Audi. I recall seeing this while looking away from my sadlooking computer screen in Anderson Hall and absentmindedly gazing out the window.

The sun was bright outside but struggling to get up. It was only 9:30 a.m., but I had already sat through his 75-minute lecture in Legal Issues of Engineering.

At the end of class, Hatem asked us to read a case study between the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the engineering consultant CH2M HILL. Casually, he added that the case would reference his earlier work defending the engineers in a case between OSHA and the major engineering firm Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger (SGH).

In the case of OSHA against the engineering consultant CH2M HILL, the latter was cited for not adhering to OSHA construction standards during construction work. During the construction of a Milwaukee sewer system, methane gas caused an explosion that unfortunately killed three contractors. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that CH2M HILL was not liable since they did not supervise the construction and did not even have the authority by contract to supervise the safety of the site and methods of the construction.

OSHA tried to regulate engineers earlier in the case against SGH. OSHA cited the structural engineer of SGH for violations related to a collapsed metal deck during construction of a university laboratory building. The contractor was building the second floor like a layered cake: first metal decking, then concrete, then insulation, then another layer of concrete.

After the contractor poured the first layer of concrete, he noticed the metal decking was deflecting under the weight of the concrete.

Although he called SGH, he proceeded to follow his construction plan to pour both layers of concrete and remove the temporary supports all in one day. Unfortunately, the metal decking collapsed and injured five workers.

The structural engineer was responsible for designing the building to support loads when concrete had cured, but there is no contract between the contractor and the engineer that makes the engineer liable for construction means, methods or safety. An appeals court did not consider the phone call sufficient to make SGH liable for jobsite safety, so the citation from OSHA was not justified.

Hatem essentially tells OSHA, “Sorry, but not our fault.” Recently he said it to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He specializes in defending design professionals of underground projects — most famously of the Central Artery Project, more commonly known as the Big Dig. He defends the work of many engineers when the engineers get tangled in lawsuits with developers and contractors.

In between all of that he comes to 200 College Ave. twice a week to tell stories and teach methods of protection for engineers against professional liability. Sometimes, an engineer is liable for the methods used in construction if he submits designs that are called a design specification. In a design specification, the contractor is told exactly what materials, methods and designs should be used. However, sometimes the engineer might choose to write a performance specification, deferring to the contractor’s experience and choices. The best form of protection is having a solid contract to the owner that states what the engineer will accept responsibility for, such as the final structure, deadlines, methods, etc.

To me, there is an implied contract that if we follow his class, we will learn some useful things. That contract, in addition to how cool he is, allowed him to get away with scheduling a midterm for 8:05 a.m. on the Monday after spring break.

Jasmin Sadegh is a junior majoring in civil engineering. She can be reached at Jasmin.

Sadegh@tufts.edu.

4

The Tufts Daily

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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

It is still winter, but are you thinking about your plans for the summer?

We are.

WORK AT TUFTS THIS SUMMER Tufts University Conference Bureau & Summer Programs

employs approximately forty college-aged individuals in over nine different positions. We offer you the opportunity to gain experience and skills necessary to effectively perform in a professional working atmosphere. Our positions are designed to strengthen your communication and interpersonal skills, as well as your abilities to solve problems, manage multiple tasks simultaneously, and think on your feet. In addition, we strive to offer you a summer full of excitement and fun. We emphasize working in teams and several social events are offered throughout the summer months.

Positions now are available in conference facilitation, staff supervision, office administration, and residential counseling. Many positions include housing on campus and duty meals.

For more details and an application, please come to our office at 108 Packard Avenue. For questions, please drop by our office, call us at x73568, or visit our website at http://ase.tufts.edu/conferences/employment.

Arts & Living

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TV Review

‘Mad Men’ premiere subtly foreshadows drama to come in fifth season

Sexism, adultery, abject alcoholism — they’re all back, and they’re as scandalous as ever. After waiting nearly a year and a half for by

Alex Hanno

Daily Editorial Board

Mad Men Starring Jon Hamm, Vincent Kartheiser, Elisabeth Moss Airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on AMC “Mad Men” to grace TV screens again, fans of television’s most acclaimed drama can at last rejoice: Don Draper has indeed returned.

But whether or not his return satisfied the ripe anticipation surrounding season five’s premiere remains to be seen.

Read any summary or review of “Mad Men” and you’re likely to find the show described as “understated.” This has become a sort of compliment for drama series, and “Mad Men” is not the exception but actually the show that started the trend. Such a subtle form of presentation, though, often makes episodes come off as simple or dull at first glance, and only with time do they grow on the viewer as the brilliant nuances of the show come to light.

This is likely the case for the fifth season’s two-hour premiere, “A Little Kiss,” which seemed slow and oddly paced but may ultimately be remembered as a classically minimalist episode after audiences have had time to think on it. That said, fans expected a lot from the suave ad-man Don Draper (Jon Hamm), and it will ultimately be left up to each and every viewer to decide if he and the rest of those involved with “Mad Men” man-

amctv.com

The collapse of Don Draper’s second marriage already seems imminent at the beginning of season five. aged to pull off the show’s latest installation.

Set in New York in the late 1960s, “Mad Men” focuses on the employees of a Madison Avenue advertising agency, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP), and the complex problems accompanying their seemingly flashy lives. The fifth season picks up more than a year after the previous one ended, answering questions that viewers were left to ponder during the show’s absence, such as the result of Don’s sporadic engagement and the fate of the crumbling SCDP. In an attempt to simultaneously attract new fans and refresh old ones, the majority

Theater Review

of the two-part premiere was spent re-introducing viewers to the characters and their respective sharp, witty or devious personalities. Furthermore, the episode set the tone for the coming season, beginning to explore the changing mores between the 1960s and 1970s and the dramatic sociopolitical events accompanying this change.

While “Mad Men” usually takes things at a leisurely pace, focusing more often on what isn’t said rather than what is, “A Little Kiss” might not have said quite enough. The see MAD, page 6

Video Game Review

‘FIFA Street’ loses spark in latest incarnation by

Alex Engel

Contributing Writer

EA Sports’ “FIFA Street” was recently released on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, promising to mold itself

FIFA Street EA Sports Available for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3

Tom Kitt redefines the modern rock musical with folk undertones in his pop-infused score, topped off by the bitingly realistic lyrics of Brian Yorkey.

The SpeakEasy Stage Company is holding the Boston premiere of “Normal” at its Roberts Studio Theater, boasting one of the largest pre-sales the black-box space has ever seen.

Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and three Tony Awards, the twohour romp sets the stage ablaze with emotion and catchy chords. But behind the explicit language and crude jokes, “Next to Normal” tackles serious issues such as psychological illness, broken marriages and

in the image of other fantastic “street” games — including classics like “NBA Street” (2001) and “NFL Street” (2004).

But the game falls short of expectations, leaving many to bemoan the end of such a strong series.

“FIFA Street’s” plot is practically nonexistent. Any remnants of one that do exist are extremely overdone. In the World Tour mode, you make a character, form a team and try to defeat the world with soccer as a medium. This just so happens to be a larger scale of the exact same premise of, well, “NBA Street” and “NFL Street.” Plot is not necessarily important in a sports game, but it is something to recognize.

The gameplay is what makes the “Street” series unique. In each edition, the developers try to incorporate a system for tricks, which often requires a combination of buttons and the right analog stick. The tricks allow players to be quite flashy as they maneuver around their opponents, earning points which translate later into — at least in “FIFA Street” — experience, which then can be used

see NORMAL, page 6

see FIFA, page 6

Craig Bailey / Perspective Photo

During treatment, Diana forms a sexually charged relationship with her psychopharmacologist.

‘Next to Normal’ juxtaposes fanfare with serious issues

by Justin

McCallum

With its heavy guitar riffs and taboo topics, “Next To Normal” (2009) is far from the Broadway camp of yesteryear. Composer Daily Editorial Board

Next to Normal Written by Brian Yorkey Directed by Paul Daigneault At the SpeakEasy Stage Company through April 22 Tickets $25 to $65

Elizabeth Landers | Campus Chic Report

Street-style photo-graphers

T

hough taking photographs of stylish passersby used to be the least glamorous part of fashion photography, it has now become the “it” facet of the industry and its own legitimate business. Given our celebrity-obsessed culture, it must seem positively mundane and boring to see normal women wearing great looks when they have to compete with the perfectly manicured celebrities adorning most magazines. That is, until a few years ago when street-style photography became its own highly influential niche in the fashion industry.

The essence of this type of photography, which doesn’t feature emaciated models in exotic locales, is to view fashion and style on men, women and sometimes children as they go about their everyday lives. Even as someone with an entree into the industry, I feel the intangible cloak of secrecy and mystery that shrouds designers, models, photographers and stylists in their own little world. But alas, the exclusivity of Fashion Week has been literally brought outside the tents at Lincoln Center, to the throngs of street-style photographers who wait to snap shots of the real fashionistas: The men and women who don’t wear any designer brands and effortlessly mix H&M with Hermes.

Bill Cunningham, the subject of the touching and enlightening new documentary “Bill Cunningham New York” (2010), professionalized the art for Americans back in the 1970s as the photographer for The New York Times’ “On the Street.” Mr. Cunningham, extremely polite and gentle, is revered on the fashion circuit not only for his runway shots but more so for his street cred. I nearly fell off my painful (but fabulous) four-inch United Nude block heels during Fashion Week when I realized he had snapped a picture of them. My picture never materialized in the Times, but I was starstruck nonetheless.

The most fascinating part of the film is when Cunningham directly addresses the camera about his role as a photographer who roams the New York City streets for fashionable people. A resonating theme in his work is not fashion for fashion’s sake, but fashion for culture’s sake. He’s not disseminating notions of what people should wear; he’s showing what they do wear. He’s not simply a fashion photographer who hobnobs with the rich and famous; he’s also a cultural purveyor, capturing a moment and mood in a city, creating a visual collage reflective of economic booms and crashes, social norms and gaffes.

As the Internet eliminated the cost barriers for so many industries, it eliminated the “exclusivity” barrier in the fashion industry. Suddenly, Scott Schuman, more fondly known as “The Sartorialist,” started snapping shots of men and women worldwide who just had “it.” A few years later, after being listed on Time’s 100 Most Influential Style Setters, he was putting requests out for an assistant. In other words, he’s a lucrative businessman who jets around the world, waiting for the next great thing to pass by on the street. StreetPeeper, Tommy Ton and The Face Hunter are other names to add to the gamut of well-received sites that spot normal people just being stylish. These people are not simply fashion bloggers; they get out on the streets of the world to shoot, despite rain, snow or shine.

Taken on the whole, street-style photography is immensely refreshing. I think Bazaar made a wise decision when they began to incorporate street-style photographs of trends in their magazine pages. A camera’s lens is never impartial, but with the rise of talented young photographers snapping shots of good and bad style, we amass a collective cultural truth about what people wore in 2012 and beyond. Just as Tufts has its own sartorial scene, there is something to be said for recognizing good style and capturing a moment or mood, anywhere and on anyone.

Elizabeth Landers is a junior majoring in political science. She can be reached at Elizabeth.Landers@tufts.edu.

The Tufts Daily

6

Arts & Living

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

SpeakEasy’s ‘Next to Normal’ performances rival Broadway originators NORMAL

continued from page 5

coping with loss.

The musical centers around Diana (Kerry Dowling), a mentally unstable woman, and her equally dysfunctional family: husband Dan (Christopher Chew), daughter Natalie (Sarah Drake) and son Gabe (Michael Tacconi). Diana introduces them as the typical household in “Just Another Day,” crooning “so my son’s a little s--t/ my husband is boring/ and my daughter/ though a genius/ is a freak.”

Dowling flawlessly transitions from a typical, embarrassing mother telling her daughter far too much about her sex life to a disturbed woman feverishly making countless sandwiches on the kitchen floor.

On the eve of Natalie’s parents meeting her boyfriend, the musical shifts dramatically as we learn the severity of Diana’s mental illness. The remainder of the musical is spent contemplating her treatment, and who, in fact, is crazy.

Although incredibly successful at drawing emotional responses, the one piece missing from the show is a real dialogue about psychological disorders. The humor Diana uses as a coping mechanism to avoid serious issues suggests the writers’ inability to confront the gravity of the mental illness they are trying to portray.

Instead, “Normal” pokes fun at it through numbers like the sexualized patient-therapist relationship in “Who’s Crazy/ My Psychopharmacologist and I.” Diana dilutes the tense scene with an expertly timed quip: “He knows my deepest secrets/ I know his ... name.”

Nonetheless, the honest performances enhance an already stellar script. Dowling blends strength, vulnerability and charm in her dynamic performance. Whether through a slight tremor in her wrist or an instinctual grasp for the security of an embrace, Dowling’s subtle moments stick with the audience

long after the curtain call. Her rendition of “I Miss the Mountains” is particularly heart-wrenching as Diana experiences a broad array of emotions from catharsis to nostalgia to depression.

Unlike the Broadway performance by Alice Ripley, Dowling’s refinement and huskier tone underscore her bubbling anxiety instead of creating a generally manic quality that alienated the audience from the original Diana.

The precocious Sarah Drake takes on Natalie in a truthful portrayal of a teenager on the edge. Her descent from obsessive straight“A” student to substance abuser is handled delicately with honest moments of rage, elation and pain.

Drake’s voice pierces the audience in “Superboy and the Invisible Girl” as she pleads desperately for recognition from her mother.

On the other hand, Michael Tacconi’s performance of Gabe, Diana’s spectral son, lacks any nuance, whether emotional, vocal

or physical. Apart from the symbolic blocking by director Paul Daigneault that literally places him between Diana and treatment, Tacconi brings no life to the role, ironically falling flat in the screaming ballad “I’m Alive.” The sly, parasitic role falls sadly to a one-note performance and a smug grin seemingly tattooed across the young actor’s face.

Technically, the show copes well with working in a refined space.

With a minimal set, the sparse stage is colored — literally — by its lighting design. By projecting various scenes onto the wall-flats, from homey wallpapers to sterile scans of technical diagnostic manuals, the plain environment gains a clear sense of space. Although some images felt heavy-handed and distracting, the most effective instances were vibrant flashing orbs, symbolizing the frenetic nature of Diana’s thought, and hazy reflections of the characters’ faces that projected a lulled

Insane difficulty mars newest addition to ‘Street’ series FIFA

continued from page 5

to upgrade players and unlock tricks for them. Game challenges are also based on this point system, with tasks such as “first to 2,500 points.”

Unfortunately, the trick system is rather clunky. It can be difficult to perform the exact moves that are necessary when you need to perform them. The best moves turn out to be the most complicated series of button presses and flicks, and while you’re trying to input the exact combination, the opponent steals the ball and scores a goal. It also doesn’t help that the timing of each move is very sensitive. For instance, some moves require a holding of the right analog stick in a

certain direction, but often the player can’t sit for a decent period of time in one place, due to the nature of soccer.

This makes pulling off the move just as difficult as the series of button presses and flicks.

Ultimately, for a longtime fan of the series, the gameplay is frustrating. It is easy to recall the days of “NBA Street Vol. 2” (2003), when players could simply twiddle the right stick around while holding buttons and manage to juke their way all the way to the basket for an epic dunk. Now, each move has an “effect” period, meaning that each move takes a certain amount of in-game time to perform. The combos are still there, but they are much more reliant on finesse. This makes sense since

soccer is a finesse sport, but it doesn’t fit in a video game, especially one in this series.

The difficulty levels of the game also do not help matters, as they are extremely unbalanced. The “hard” difficulty for a street pickup game is the equivalent of the “easy” mode in a tournament game.

Furthermore, the difficulties within a mode have giant gaps. The easy mode is about at my level and is perfect for a person semicomfortable with the controls of the street system but with no experience playing soccer video games. The medium level is my hard mode, meaning that I have significant difficulty but can occasionally win, given enough luck. The hard mode is literally impossible. You can’t ever steal the ball, the opponents are extremely aggressive, and

moment of hypnosis.

There were, in addition, some lighting difficulties in the production due to unnecessary use of blinding lights shining directly into the audience from spinning wall flats.

Also, the continual tracking of characters under spotlights was shoddy, a result of the minimalist blocking which left room for spontaneity but few marks to be hit.

In spite of these minor issues, the heart of the play comes through and affects all theatergoers. “Next to Normal” paints an alarmingly relatable family in which characters’ human tics and convincing portrayals underscore the fact that illness, sorrow and conflict are ever-present in suburbia.

The SpeakEasy’s production of “Next to Normal” is an incredible show: Its catchy sound, crude humor and mostly marvelous acting offers something that resonates with everyone — weary musical theater-goers and diehard Broadway aficionados alike.

almost every time they get the ball they score, no matter how good the goalie is.

Ridiculous is a mild description.

The graphics are a nice touch, however.

In the past, the “Street” series was known for its cartoony, over-the-top graphics. In “FIFA Street,” however, the graphics are more realistic and convincingly emulate the “FIFA” series.

Overall, “FIFA Street” fails pretty miserably. EA should immediately start a free, downloadable content variation to change much of what is broken in this game. Until that is released, newcomers to the series should not pick this version up. Hardcore soccer gamers, meanwhile, should rent this game before making the decision to actually buy it.

‘Mad Men’ hints at captivating storyline developments to come MAD

continued from page 5

TUFTS SUMMER SESSION 2012 PREPARE. EXPAND. DEVELOP.

episode progressed slowly, and the pacing of scenes was sloppy, lingering too long on unimportant moments and investing time where it wasn’t needed.

Revolving mainly around Don’s life with his new wife Megan (Jessica Paré) and her efforts to throw him a surprise party — much to his dismay — the episode largely lacked a central focus, touching on numerous side plots instead. Some of the better side plots involved Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) and her new child, Roger Sterling (John Slattery), playing a prank on a competing ad agency that resulted in SCDP becoming an equal opportunity employer, and the rising account-head Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) struggling to gain a more prominent position within the office. Surprisingly, after two hours, very little had actually happened, but despite this the episode managed to keep viewers’ attention and succeeded in its goal of introducing or reintroducing audiences to the sadistic, sexy and contrived world that is “Mad Men.” One of the episode’s final highlights was in fact a lack of highlighting, as characters whose antics audiences have grown weary of — such as the outgrown Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss)

and the unpleasant Betty Francis (January Jones) — were not featured very prominently, with the latter failing to show up at all.

The greatest accomplishment of “A Little Kiss” was its careful development of the story arcs sure to define the upcoming season. Viewers can look forward to the drama surrounding Don’s already troubled second marriage and about Roger’s discovery that Joan’s child is his. Still, it is the imminent fall of Pete Campbell that now stands at the show’s forefront. Having moved to the suburbs and succumbed to a domestic life as a husband and father, Pete has become dissatisfied with his life much like Don did seasons ago. Pete is likely to follow Don’s path into adultery and alcoholism.

Despite the premiere’s scattered direction and often ineffective pacing, fans shouldn’t worry about losing the show they fell in love with. Through Don’s typically blunt demeanor, Roger’s classically inappropriate humor and Joan’s snappy attitude, series creator Matthew Weiner proved that “Mad Men” is still very much the sharp, well-written and deeply thematic show we remember, despite a slight hiccup in its confident stride. Furthermore, the premiere’s ample setup promises to reward us all with one of the most powerful seasons yet.

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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Free speech on the Hill

THE TUFTS DAILY Daniel J. Rathman

Editorial | Letters

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) yesterday published its second annual list of the “Twelve Worst Colleges for Free Speech.” Tufts University was featured once again, this year coming in 10th. Two other Boston-area universities also made the list: Harvard in fourth place and Brandeis in 12th. The mission of FIRE is to “defend and sustain individual rights at America’s colleges and universities.” FIRE brings attention to free speech violations at colleges around the country and occasionally even uses its own legal resources to help students whose rights it believes are being violated.

During the 2006-2007 school year, The Primary Source printed two pieces that sparked an eruption of controversy around campus. One piece was a poem called “O Come All Ye Black Folk,” which mocked affirmative action. The other was a satirical itinerary for Islamic Awareness Week, which said, among other criticisms, that the religion promoted the mistreatment of women and was generally intolerant.

FIRE scolded Tufts once again yesterday, writing that “rather than taking the opportunity to enter debate of such important issues, Tufts charged the paper for having ‘targeted’ black students and Muslims for ‘embarrassment’ and found the publication guilty of harassment.

Tufts then refused to allow The Primary Source to print anonymous articles in the future and announced that funding for

student groups should take into account the ‘behavior’ of the organization.”

Tufts in fact held an open forum to discuss these issues. Moreover, Tufts overturned its ruling, and The Primary Source is now permitted to print anonymous articles.

The administration’s handling of The Primary Source controversy was certainly dismal. But it’s worth noting that the administration repealed the sanctions it imposed on The Primary Source. FIRE’s explanation for why Tufts is a bad school for free speech mentions only this singular incident from five years ago.

The people who wrote The Primary Source pieces and the editors who chose to print them are long gone from the Tufts campus. The fact that a controversy like this hasn’t surfaced since 2007 is a sign that students at Tufts feel free to speak their minds.

In fact, Tufts has seen no shortage of free speech over the last several semesters. Last fall, a professor affiliated with Tufts Medical Center made comments regarding transgender people that many Tufts students — including us — found both offensive and incredibly idiotic. But the administration, despite condemning the professor’s comments, affirmed his right to make them and resisted calls to terminate his relationship with the university.

That same semester, students occupied Ballou Hall to voice their concerns about the planned Social and Cultural Identities Program. Rather than sanctioning the

students for their impertinence, Dean of Arts of Sciences Joanne Berger-Sweeney and University President Anthony Monaco negotiated with them, and the process of developing the program is more transparent because of that.

Last spring, a group of students gathered on the Academic Quad at the April Open House to talk to prospective students about what they perceived as an unhealthy racial climate on campus. Though clearly infuriated, the administration refrained from taking disciplinary measures.

Like every semester at Tufts, this one has seen its share of controversies — on race relations, on the Israeli-Palestine conflict, on women’s rights. No one who attends Tufts could argue that students here don’t feel free to express their opinions. Jumbos express their opinions far more often than average college students, and this is reflected in our student publications.

FIRE is correct that The Primary Source controversy was a low point in Tufts’ history, and it rightly earned the university a great deal of negative publicity. But former University President Lawrence Bacow admitted at the time that the administration erred, and the administration has since abstained from wading into controversies that it should avoid. The fact that FIRE must dredge up a five-year-old controversy to support its claim that Tufts is a bad school for free speech only shows that the university is doing a fine job of protecting speech rights today.

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Off the Hill | University of Arizona

Ruling shows will to reform by

Megan Hurley

Arizona Daily Wildcat

The U.S. Supreme Court came to a smart decision on Wednesday by ruling that “criminal defendants have a constitutional right to effective lawyers during plea negotiations,” according to The New York Times.

Criminal defendants deserve to face a more formal and regulated process of plea bargaining. Whether or not the defendant is guilty, he or she still needs to be able to see all of his or her options as clearly as possible.

In that same article, effective lawyers boil down to the fact “that what used to be informal and unregulated deal making is now subject to new constraints when bad legal advice leads defendants to reject favorable plea offers.”

The importance of guilty pleas is obvious when looking at the numbers.

According to The New York Times,

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about 97 percent of federal convictions resulted from guilty pleas, and 94 percent of state convictions did in 2006.

These plea deals decide whether people spend a year or a decade in prison. Whether the general public agrees with what the defendant did or not, there is a reason that these policies exist.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees a fair trial, but the word “fair” can be incredibly subjective. Many court cases from centuries ago are still analyzed, but that is what is supposed to happen. The U.S. Supreme Court does not deal with open-and-shut cases.

This decision confronts the idea of fixing the system. The court system and its many operators do great work for the nation. This decision to expand the protections of criminal defendants just shows how much more attorneys can do.

No one is getting thrown under the

bus — instead, the highest court in the United States is admitting that there still needs to be fine-tuning.

Decisions by the Supreme Court don’t just affect the people directly impacted by the outcome of what they implement. Every case sets precedent and brings up new questions.

The judiciary branch of the federal government is officially independent of Congress, separated from political squabbles.

Furthermore, these judges are not dealing with just the imminent future, but also centuries to come. Pointing out what needs fixing seems like a smart move for a judiciary body that deals with so many controversial cases.

If all of the states can listen and try to alter the judicial system in a positive direction, this ruling will not only help those who plead guilty. It will also help everyday people see transparency in a government that needs it.

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Op-Ed

Cities under siege

by Sharmaine

Oh

If I told you that your city is coming under attack by the city itself, how would you respond?

Does the notion that a city could face the threat of conflict by its architecture, systems and networks seem valid?

Many of us have either grown up in or visited a city. As such, we have an idea and image of a city. It is a hub where rapid urbanization and globalization comingle: Local becomes global and global becomes local. In London, New York and Tokyo, millions of people from all backgrounds meet.

This is the “global city” model, a term coined by urban sociologist Saskia Sassen. It is one that many, if not all, developing cities aspire to become.

But what if the “global city” presents subtle dangers?

The process to becoming a “global city” often begins with the lifting of a welfare curtain towards neoliberal policies of development and large-scale foreign investment. Real estate development and rural-urban migration take place furiously.

In Egypt, [Anwar] Sadat’s open door policies in the 1970s led to the deregulation of housing and the influx of private developments. Glitzy private projects and shopping malls sprouted up in “Abu-Dhabi style” while 60 percent of Cairo’s population slowly settled into ashwa’iyat, informal urban areas in wretched conditions. With the withdrawal of state services in the 1970s, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups entered informal urban areas to build mosques, tuition centers, houses and hospitals. Their pragmatic urban planning strategy was a decisive factor in their recent parliamentary election victory. The contest for Cairo is clearly seen in the juxtaposition of political and urban landscapes.

In these cities, new networks of informality and associations are constantly being formed.

Many of these identities

Claudio Vergari via FlickR Creative Commons

supersede a traditional need to view the state as the basic unit of analysis. Sovereignty is old news, and “imagined communities” built on essentialist identities like ethnicity, race, social and digital networks become more prominent.

Urban theorist Diane Davis, from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, believes that the forms and spatial patterns of violence and insecurity in cities today are both a product and producer of the changing nature of states and sovereignty in urban areas.

Stephan Graham, urban studies professor at Newcastle University, asserts that the cities we inhabit are currently among the most vulnerable. They are the constitu-

tive means by which conflict operates. For one, the psyche of conflict is physically manifested. Front lines, land mines, barbed wire fences, police barricades and borders become negative intrusions that provide security for urban dwellers on one hand, but facilitate a new form of conflict. Since Sept. 11, the lines between policing, military and surveillance have become blurred.

In cities, the presence of security, whether national or private, is felt, especially in crowded public spaces. The eye on the ground no longer belongs to the urban dweller but an authoritarian policing unit. Conflict urbanism, or the physical and emotional barriers that are manifested

during conflict, become a long-term phenomenon. Take Jerusalem: The city is organized according to a system of codes and networks. It is a testing ground for extreme urban designs, where territorial and demographic controls are deeply ingrained in the design of the city.

On the flip side, architecture and artistic intervention can triumph in the wake of a destabilizing conflict. The fall of the Berlin Wall stands as a testament to this possibility.

In addition, following the Arab Spring, artistic expression in the form of murals and graffiti sprung up all over Cairo — especially around Tahrir Square where many of the protests were based. The mes-

sages are positive: “Freedom,” “25 January,” and images of breaking chains.

As we try to understand the changing nature of modern conflict, let us not forget the power of design. Our strongest defense to protecting our cities is the awareness that we have control over shaping urban design and policy. The explosion of graffiti in Cairo has reclaimed the facade that once belonged to the likes of [Gamal Abdel] Nasser, Sadat and [Hosni] Mubarak. May this encourage us to reclaim the city that we’ve lost control of.

Sharmaine Oh is a senior majoring in quantitative economics and international relations.

Theta Chi aids Syrian refugees as revolution continues

by Sari

El-Abboud

We have recently passed the one-year anniversary of the start of the Syrian Revolution, a popular uprising against the brutal Ba’athist regime of Bashar alAssad. As I sit writing this op-ed, there are likely dozens of innocent Syrians being killed, wounded or tortured by their countrymen and the very government that is supposed to serve and protect them. For those who are not familiar with what has been going on in Syria, I will provide a brief summary.

Following the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, which saw the ousters of [Zine El Abidine] Ben Ali, [Hosni] Mubarak, [Muammar] Gadhafi and [Ali Abdullah] Saleh respectively, Syria looked to be the next domino in the burgeoning Arab Spring. Protests failed to materialize in February 2011 due to the extremely tight security that exists in Syria in the form of the mukhabarat, the regime’s secret police, as well as the shabiha, a term that plays on the Arabic word for “ghost,” used to describe the loyalist thugs of al-Assad. Despite the imminent perils of protesting against a notoriously ruthless regime, thousands of Syrians poured into streets throughout the country on March 15, 2011, to challenge the al-Assad family’s iron grip on power

for 42 years. The months of protests and subsequent violence have resulted in the deaths of more than 8,000 people, and there are tens of thousands that have either been arrested or unaccounted for.

The city of Homs, which has become the center of resistance against the regime, has been surrounded by the Syrian army and indiscriminately bombarded with artillery, rockets and antiaircraft fire for the past month. I cannot even begin to illustrate with mere words the sheer carnage that has resulted from the Syrian regime’s crimes against humanity throughout the revolution. A simple search on YouTube or Google will reveal scenes previously thought unthinkable, especially in the privileged world we live in. We are too frequently shielded by our media from the reality of events in other countries and therefore fail to realize the full extent of dire situations such as the one in Syria as a result.

Unfortunately, the world has largely remained silent in the face of the myriad atrocities occurring on a daily basis throughout Syria. The international community has tried several times to pass resolutions which would effectively pressure the Syrian regime; however, Russia and China’s veto power has been a steadfast hindrance to any concrete solutions.

And as the world ponders what to do next to resolve the conflict diplomatical-

ly, unarmed protesters are being gunned down day by day while tanks pound civilians’ homes. Many Syrians cannot even leave their homes due to fear of the coldblooded regime snipers that reign overhead in cities such as Homs, Hama and Daraa. These areas have been experiencing extreme shortages in water, electricity, food and medical supplies, and there will be no influx of resources as long the bombardment continues.

As a Lebanese citizen of Syrian descent, I feel an incredible sense of despair every time I hear the horrible news of the ongoing violence. Furthermore, I have had family members killed by the al-Assad regime. A combination of sadness and anger pushed me to look for ways to help the Syrian opposition’s cause in some way.

Thankfully, an outlet through which I could help the Syrian people was much closer than I had originally thought.

My brothers at Theta Chi and I quickly grouped together at the beginning of last semester in order to raise money for Syrian refugees in Turkey who had fled the government’s brutal crackdown.

More than 7,500 Syrian refugees have fled to camps in southeastern Turkey, and many more would probably do the same if they could get past the Syrian army.

Once in the camps, refugees are provided with tents for shelter as well as food and

electricity. Doctors are also present to treat the injured, most of which have suffered gunshot or shrapnel wounds at the hands of the security forces.

Theta Chi’s philanthropy initiative revolves around selling bracelets, which read “Free Syria,” in the Mayer Campus Center and Dewick-MacPhie dining hall.

I was impressed at how quickly we came together as a brotherhood to support a cause that was barely even in the headlines in the West at the time. Since then, we have continued to push forward with this initiative during the second semester by selling bracelets and taking donations for the Turkish Red Crescent at the recent Major: Undecided show.

We also have plans to collaborate with the “Cookie Man” in order to raise more money for our cause.

Please help us support the helpless yet immensely brave people of Syria who are being massacred by the dozens every day in their bid for freedom. Any help is appreciated, especially since this winter has been severely harsh on the refugees we are supporting.

If you would like to purchase a bracelet or simply make a donation, please contact me at Sari.El-Abboud@tufts.edu.

Sari El-Abboud is a junior majoring in Italian studies.

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.

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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

New Russian-American Writing A Three Day Symposium In Conjunction with Wellesley College

Reading at Wellesley College Anya Ulinich and Lara Vapnyar

Wednesday, March 28 at 4:30 pm Newhouse Center, Green Hall

Panel & Discussion at Tufts University

Anya Ulinich

David Bezmozgis, Anya Ulinich, and Lara Vapnyar

Thursday, March 29 at 4 pm Coolidge Room, Ballou Hall

Readings at Tufts University David Bezmozgis

Lara Vapnyar

Thursday, March 29 at 6:30 pm Coolidge Room, Ballou Hall Gary Shteyngart

Friday, March 30 at 5 pm

Cabot Auditorium, Cabot Intercultural Center

David Bezmozgis

Discussants and Moderators

Sasha Senderovich, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at Tufts University

Professor Julia Vaingurt, University of Illinois at Chicago

Professor Adrian J. Wanner, Pennsylvania State University Professor Anna Wexler-Katsnelson, Princeton University

Gary Shteyngart

The Tufts Daily

Wednesday, March 28, 2012 Wanted

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NOONTIME CONCERT - Goddard Chapel Thursday, March 29, 2012 - 12:30 PM Richard Clark - Organ This is a free concert; all are welcome.

Event CHAPLAIN\’S TABLE - Religion and International Relations Thursday, March 29th - 5 - 7 PM Dewick/ MacPhie Prof. Gary Leupp, History Department \”What\’s the Difference Between a Sunni and a Shiite, and Why Does It Matter in International Relations?\”

Final Four features evenly matched powerhouse programs INSIDE NCAA BASKETBALL continued from back

the Big 12 conference tournament, losing to Baylor in the semifinals.

But since then, the Jayhawks have retained their regular-season form.

All-American junior forward Thomas Robinson, who leads the team in both scoring and rebounding with 17.7 and 11.8, respectively, paces the squad.

Against North Carolina, Robinson neutralized the Tar Heels’ front line defensively and was productive on the offensive end, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine boards.

Senior point guard Tyshawn Taylor is the primary facilitator for the Jayhawks, leading the team with 4.7 assists per game. But Taylor is not just a passer — he led all scorers in Kansas’ Elite Eight matchup with 22 points and is typically strong, slashing toward the basket. Ohio State will probably task sophomore guard Aaron Craft, the team’s best defender, with guarding Taylor. The results of this matchup could dictate which team wins the game.

As the Buckeyes’ primary ball han-

dler, Craft often distributes to sophomore forwards Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas and senior guard William Buford, who have each averaged double-digit scoring totals this season. The Buckeyes have scored more than 75 points per game and feature one of the most dynamic offensive lineups in the country.

Against Syracuse in the Elite Eight, Ohio State solved the vaunted Syracuse zone defense by feeding the ball inside to Sullinger and Thomas in the paint. Sullinger led all scorers with 19 points, while Thomas chipped in 14 to lead Ohio State over the Orange.

To beat Kansas, Ohio State will have to continue to pound the ball inside to its forwards, slow the Jayhawks’ transition offense and control Taylor and Robinson in the half court.

Unlike in recent years, when it was easy to notice disparities among Final Four teams, this year’s field appears evenly matched, which may ultimately produce two very competitive semifinal matchups and a thrilling championship game.

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Freshman Hauser on fire in first inning in season’s early going BASEBALL

continued from page back

According to Sager, this created internal competition and catalyzed Tufts’ offensive success over the trip. More open spots mean more positional battles and more opportunities for playing time.

“I think that’s one of the strengths of our team,” Sager said. “Everyone goes out there and puts it all out there because there are other guys competing. I think there were guys on the team pushing each other every day to be the best they could be. There was so much uncertainty about who would play and who would get what time, it helped them continue to grind it out every day.”

A deep pitching staff is also reaping the benefits of early leads. Tufts is 7-1 when leading after six innings, a category in which it was 23-0 last season.

“It’s great scoring runs; there’s really no downside,” senior pitcher Dave Ryan, who went 2-0 in three starts over the trip with 17 strikeouts, said. “Looking back, it’s a ridiculous amount [of runs scored], but while we were playing it didn’t seem like we were doing anything that crazy, which I guess is a good sign.”

That ridiculous amount included a 24-hour period in which the Jumbos poured 18 runs

on Washington and Lee followed by 24 against Guilford. Nine runs against Averett and then 14 versus Methodist followed in the next two days before N.C. Wesleyan starter Jackson Pleasant quieted their bats with eight innings of shutout work.

After sticking around down South an extra day to get in a team lift on Monday, the Jumbos flew back to campus for practice yesterday.

Today, they travel to 6-4 Mass. Maritime for a non-conference matchup before heading to Bates for their NESCAC-opening three-game series this weekend. According to Sager, focusing on the imminent task will be key to both recovering from the spring trip’s grind and continuing the offensive onslaught.

“It’s just important for everyone to understand that how you do early in the season doesn’t really matter, just trying to get better every day,” he said, downplaying the notion that Tufts has even started thinking about the Bates series. “We really don’t focus on the results so much as how we play, just making sure we continue to get better as a team. With that as a goal, our team just likes to stay focused on that, and not get caught up on the results.”

Even though the results, so far, are pretty impressive.

Men’s Crew

Larger crew seeks to improve eights program by

G.J. Vitale

Staff Writer

The men’s crew team knows what it means to be dedicated in the preseason: bi-monthly fitness testing, three-a-days and the annual “Judgment Day,” a full day of workouts beginning at 4 a.m. and ending at 6 p.m. This past week, the Jumbos finished their spring training by spending every moment together as a cohesive unit, both on the water and off.

“We spend all week as a team on campus — eating, sleeping and rowing, erging, running and racing — three times a day for seven days,” sophomore co-captain Ben Kane said. “It was an incredible week for the team — we just slept, ate and pushed our limits, both individually and as a program.”

With three silver medals from October’s Head of the Fish Regatta under its belt and a solid work ethic driving the rowers, the team is looking to kick off the season strong at Tulane this Saturday. Last year’s novice coach, Don Angus, has taken over the head coaching position, while former head coach Jay Britt will assume the novice coaching position. The move was made so that Angus could remain with

his novice rowers from last year who have made the step up to varsity.

It appears that, with the arrival of more rowers, the coaching staff has altered its strategy. In the last four years, the Jumbos have seen success in their fours program, but with a small team, victories in the eights program have been harder to come by. This year, a large freshman class has been training hard since the fall to give the eights a boost and the captains expect the rookies to supply fast times and medals this season.

“The overall direction of the men’s program has changed with the coaching staff change and the changing dynamics of the team composition this year,” senior co-captain Chris Park said. “Whereas in previous years we’ve had more success with the fours, now the team is rebuilding with a bigger crew and the coaching staff is seeking to strengthen our eights program. We’ve remained small since late 2008, and so it was hard to build a good eights program.”

This year, the Jumbos will not only be shifting their competitive focus, but also their training schedule, realizing that early-morning practices might be detrimental to their performance.

“In rowing, having practice at five in the morning is an element of special pride and tradition,” Park said. “However, when we realized that we were sacrificing athletes’ sleep, and that made it hard for them to keep up with academics and athletic performance, we made the decision to change our program to accommodate

two afternoon practices a week.”

In a perfectionist’s sport, the tiniest slip in balance or timing can add costly seconds to a finishing time, and the Jumbos know that everyone will need to be at their best to have a successful season.

“A boat is literally as fast as the least powerful seat on it,” Park said.

Care about environmental sustainability?

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If you are a returning student who… ¥ Will live in campus housing ¥ Are interested in environmental issues ¥ Are passionate about peer education

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Questions? Contact Eco Rep Coordinators Rachael Wolber & Claudia Tajima at tuftsecoreps@gmail.com Kristen Collins / The Tufts Daily

With a large freshman class, the men’s crew team will focus more heavily on its eights program this spring than it has in the past.

The Tufts Daily

14

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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

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SAVE THE DATE

27th Annual

The Center for STEM Diversity Spring Symposium:

Women’s Studies

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM Forum for Student Research on Women and Gender Across the Curriculum

Presentation

12:45 – 1:15 Burden Lounge 1:15 – 2:45

Nelson Auditorium

2:15 – 2:45 External Advisory Board Panel

Reception to follow Please RSVP to geena.marquez@tufts.edu by Friday, March 30th.

*************

Panel I LANGUAGE, REPRESENTATION, EMBODIMENT Panel II CONFLICTS & RESOLUTIONS

Panel III THE PERSONAL AND/AS THE POLITICAL

Lunch

1:45 – 2:15 Student Panel Presentation

Lincoln-Filene Center

Friday April 6th

1:15 – 1:45 STEM Pipeline talk

March 30, 2012 2:00 - 6:00PM Rabb Room

The Current State of the STEM Pipeline

2:00 PM 3:30 PM 4:50 PM

The Tufts Daily

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

15

Sports

Women’s Crew

Sam Gold | The OT

Cinderella Season

D

Josh Berlinger / The Tufts Daily

Six of eight rowers from last year’s top-performing eights boat are returning for the women’s crew team’s spring season.

Jumbos return from training trip ready to row

by Sam

Gold

Daily Staff Writer

It has been five months since the women’s crew team competed at the Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., raking in three sets of Fish Heads — equivalent to gold medals — as well as three silver medals and two fourthplace finishes.

At that event, the last of the Jumbos’ fall season, both the novice and varsity teams were in top form, enjoying standout performances by senior tri-captain Maggie Debski, the lightweight eights and a quad featuring juniors Caroline Patterson and Catherine Brena, senior tri-captain Kathleen Holec and senior Lilia Carey.

But that was back on Oct. 29. Now, the Jumbos are looking to pick up where they left off heading into the competitive spring season, which begins with a meet against Tulane on Saturday.

The Jumbos are fresh off a week-

long training trip in Florida, during which they got out on the water three times a day to hone their technique and enhance their fitness level.

“We had a really productive week,” Holec said. “And [we] had a chance to apply the weight training and conditioning we had done in the gym over the winter to our training on the water prior to racing next weekend.”

The spring break trip not only provided an opportunity for preseason fine-tuning, but also brought an already tight-knit group even closer together.

With Holec as the only captain remaining from last year, newly appointed captains Debski and senior Erika Parisi will also be counted on take the reins.

In addition, while the three captains are the only rowers with official titles, Parisi believes that the team has many other leaders to guide it.

“The senior class this year is one of the tightest-knit classes in the past few years,” Parisi said. “Everyone has stepped up and

taken on a leadership role on the team.”

The Jumbos have been motivating one another throughout the offseason, especially in the weight room. As they have progressed, their goals have become loftier. They were unable to crack the top regional and national rankings last year, but six of the eight rowers from Tufts’ top eight-woman boat at the New England Rowing Championships are returning, and their experience is likely to propel the Jumbos to new heights.

“We’re excited to start the season, especially after this past week of training,” Holec said. “[We] will hopefully start strong with a doubleheader next weekend, racing Tulane on Saturday and Hamilton on Sunday.”

After a week off following the Regatta against Hamilton, the Jumbos will compete each weekend between April 14 and May 11, capping off their season at the ECAC National Invitational Rowing Championships at the end of the semester.

Women’s Track & Field

Tufts begins spring season at Bridgewater State Invitational On Saturday, the women’s track and field team traveled to the Bridgewater State Invitational. Led by a strong throwing squad, as well some impressive performances by underclassmen, the Jumbos enjoyed a strong start to their outdoor season. “[The meet] was a good opportunity to post some qualifying marks and get used to the larger track,” senior tricaptain Anya Price said. “Our throwers proved that they can really do some damage during this season.”

Junior Kelly Allen led the charge, claiming first place in each of her three events.

She had a heave of 147-11 in the discus, a 168-3 mark in the hammer throw and a 41-6 1/2 in the shot put. She was rewarded with NESCAC Performer of the Week accolades for the third time in her career, adding to her collection of three All-American honors.

Fellow juniors Ronke Oyekunle and Sabienne Brutus and sophomore Robin Armstrong each placed in the top seven of the same three

events. The highlight for the throwing team was a dominant 1-2-3 finish in both the hammer throw — Allen, Brutus and Oyekunle took the top three spots, respectively — and the shot put, where the order was Allen, Oyekunle and then Brutus. Allen, Armstrong and Oyekunle also finished first, second and fourth in the discus, respectively.

In the track events, freshman Christina Harvey made a splash by winning two events of her own, the 100- and 200-meter dashes, with times of 12.34 and 25.96 seconds, respectively. Junior Alyssa Corrigan earned a sixth-place finish in the 4000-meter dash.

“We plan to make a big impression early on in our outdoor season. We’re fortunate to have a huge amount of momentum from four of our women who came home from NCAAs as All-Americans,” Price said. “This year, we want to set our sights on winning NESCACs.” —by Andy Wong

espite the busted brackets, emptied wallets, disconsolate diehards and the walking disaster that is my friend at Missouri who had to drink himself into a stupor during the Tigers’ inexplicable loss to 15th-seeded Norfolk State, March Madness consistently boasts the most unpredictable and exciting competition in American sports.

That’s why America came together on March 15 over what appeared to be a rigged first-round game between Syracuse and overwhelming underdog UNC-Asheville. Syracuse won 72-65 in the waning minutes — minute, really — of that game, propelled to victory by dismal refereeing.

Truth be told, most people don’t really care who wins and loses in the NCAA tournament; more than anything, loyalty and alma maters included, it is usually money that begets vested interest. But the story of the underdog, immortalized first biblically with David vs. Goliath and subsequently revisited in events spanning all aspects of life, speaks to our sympathetic side.

It was but one year ago that the VCU Rams and Butler Bulldogs, 11th and 8th seeds, respectively, showed the nation that the sheer will of the little guy can — and will — topple the perennial powerhouses. Both teams reached the Final Four, before the Bulldogs fell to No. 3-seeded UConn in a gritty, sloppy final that produced only 94 total points.

Here we are again, 12 months later, watching Ohio vs. UNC and praying to every God imaginable that Tyler Zeller slips and tweaks his ankle, or that D.J. Cooper (who is that again?) erupts for 40 points on 70 percent shooting to prolong the No. 13-seeded Bobcats’ improbable run. Of course, now that UNC has proven too much for Ohio, winning that game in an overtime thriller, no one save Bobcat Nation still dwells on the loss.

Which brings me to my next point: Why do we care in the first place? The cynics among us — myself included — would cite the superficial appeal of a heartwarming story. Whatever emotions we feel are typically fleeting, and the results, unless there’s a pool of money involved, are inconsequential.

But that sort of terse, unexamined response ignores the complexity of the question. And, while there isn’t anything wrong with, say, letting the color of a team’s jersey dictate which team you back, there must be an underlying motivation more profound than aesthetics.

The underdog leitmotif resonates with us, I believe, because we have found ourselves in comparable situations, no matter how weighty; we see a sliver of ourselves in teams who defy expectations by taking adversity head-on.

Now that the lowest seed left in the tournament is Louisville, a No. 4, fewer people care about the tournament, although the quality of play will probably increase as the ratio of NBA prospects does. It certainly is a mystifying phenomenon how an abstraction like this — on the spectrum somewhere in between God and gravity — can compel an otherwise disinterested population to pull for a team and, by association, a school with which they have most likely never associated.

And oh how that phenomenon fades so rapidly when all the true underdogs have been ousted. With a veritable Cinderella story no longer able to be told, much of the ferment surrounding the tournament has evaporated. The casual viewer has withdrawn his attention from college basketball, and the world is once again rotating on its axis.

Now we wait. Not for the winner of this year’s tournament — though fans like me look forward to who that will be — but for next March, when another Ohio or VCU or Butler makes a run deep into the tournament, amassing an overcrowded bandwagon along the way.

Virginia Bledsoe / The Tufts Daily Archives

Junior Kelly Allen placed first in all three events she participated in at the Bridgewater State Invitational and was named NESCAC Performer of the Week.

Sam Gold is a freshman who has not yetdeclared a major. He can be reached at Samuel_L.Gold@tufts.edu.

Sports

16

INSIDE

Men’s Crew 13 Women’s Crew 15

tuftsdaily.com

Baseball

Inside NCAA Basketball

No Cinderella, no problem by

Matt Berger

Daily Editorial Board

Virginia Bledsoe / The Tufts Daily Archives

Senior co-captain Sam Sager has hit the ground running this season, hitting .385 and scoring 13 runs in the Jumbos’ 10-game season-opening spring break trip.

First to bat, first to score by

Alex Prewitt

Daily Editorial Board

In its first 10 games, the baseball team has scored more first-inning runs than it did all last season. If this seems like a surprise to some of the Jumbos, you’ll have to forgive them. They’ve been too busy opening 2012 on a blistering pace.

Tufts’ annual spring break trip to Virginia and North Carolina, a 10-day, 10-game gauntlet that would have been even more grueling had a nightcap not been rained out, was by and large an offensive clinic delivered by the visitors. The Jumbos scored 27 times in the opening frame throughout the trip, admittedly aided by an 11-run outburst in a 24-6 drubbing of Guilford. For reference, Tufts plated just 22 combined first-inning runs in 2011.

“Wow, I didn’t even know that,” senior co-captain Sam Sager said. “Having success in the first innings is really important for setting the tone of the game, so it’s great to see that we’ve been able to do that. But I don’t think that we’ve done anything different than we have in the past.”

If the only differences are in the box score, then Tufts has to be happy. It went 7-3 over the trip, with the losses coming in a 1-0 pitchers’ duel against N.C. Wesleyan, a 9-4 decision at national No. 3 Christopher Newport and a one-run loss to Averett on a walk-off double in the ninth. On the flip side, the Jumbos are leading the NESCAC in runs per game. And it’s not even close.

Not bad for a team that last year graduated five regular starters, a .400 hitter and nearly 50 percent of its RBI total.

Granted, the sample size of games played is small relative to the season’s length, but it’s large enough that a conclusion can be made: The inexperienced players the Jumbos needed to step up have done so immediately.

Freshman Wade Hauser, who has started eight games at third base after Sager moved to shortstop, is batting .459 with a team-high 16 RBIs. Even more impressively, Hauser is 7-for-8 in the first inning with nine RBIs. He popped out to short to lead off the Jumbos’ 9-4 season-opening win against Lynchburg and hasn’t failed to get a hit in the first since.

Junior Scott Staniewicz entered this season with only four career at-bats in two appearances but has settled nicely into the leadoff spot, starting five games there over the trip.

Three separate times, Staniewicz opened the game with a hit-by-pitch and later scored in the frame, a talent that fits nicely in a lineup that ranked first in the NESCAC with 56 HBPs last season.

Coach John Casey pointed out the preseason dichotomy between veteran performers and inexperienced ones. Entering last year, most if not all of the Jumbos’ lineup was already filled out well before the season opener, simply because of how many starters were returning. Before this season, all Casey knew was that Sager and junior Eric Weikert would be in the middle.

In an era of upset-minded ‘Cinderellas’ — including recent runs

by Butler, VCU and George Mason — it seems that the country’s rooting attention has begun to turn toward supporting underdogs over the traditional favorite. But as the 2012 Final Four approaches, that won’t be possible, as the semifinals feature four prestigious programs which have all previously won national championships, making for what is likely to be one of the most exciting closing weekends of college basketball in recent memory.

The first matchup features traditional Bluegrass State rivals Kentucky and Louisville, who have met in the regular season every year since 1984.

The Cardinals are led by Rick Pitino, who coached the rival Wildcats from 1989 to 1997 and guided them to a national title in 1996. He will hope to do the same with a Louisville squad that has won eight straight, including the Big East Tournament and a dominant defensive performance in an upset of No. 1 seed Michigan State in the West Region Sweet 16.

Louisville is led by a slew of talented wing players, including seniors Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith and junior point guard Peyton Siva, who leads the team in assists with 5.6 per game and shoots over 40 percent from the field. Smith, the younger brother of New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith, is one of Louisville’s most consistent scorers, averaging 9.7 points per game and shooting nearly 40 percent.

In the paint, the Louisville defense is anchored by 6-11 sophomore center Gorgui Dieng. The Senegal native is averaging 3.2 blocks per game this season and has consistently shown that he is one of the best defensive big men in the nation. Complementing

Dieng is freshman forward Chase Behanan, who is posting 9.5 points per game while shooting over 51 percent. Behanan shot 7-for-10 from the field in an Elite Eight victory against Florida, scoring 17 points to lead the Cardinals to a 72-68 win.

Meanwhile, Kentucky is the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed and the youngest team still alive. The Wildcats have been paced all season by the play of freshman center Anthony Davis, who many believe will be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft next season. Davis has averaged a double-double this season and set SEC and NCAA records with 4.6 blocks per game.

He is joined in the post by sophomore Terrence Jones and freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The dynamic duo inside averaged a combined 24.6 points and 14.8 rebounds this season and, along with Davis, dominated the paint and formed one of the top front lines in the nation. In the backcourt, Kentucky is led by sophomore Doron Lamb and senior Darius Miller, both of whom are averaging double-digit scoring numbers and add legitimate outside threats to the Wildcats’ offense, which has scored at least 80 points in all four tournament games so far. They are the first team to accomplish that feat since the 1998 iteration of the Wildcats.

In the other Final Four matchup, Kansas will face Ohio State in a battle of powerhouse No. 2 seeds. The Jayhawks knocked off the No. 1-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels in the Midwest regional, and the Buckeyes bested the top-seeded Syracuse Orange in the East.

Both teams have had success in the Final Four recently: Kansas won the national championship in 2008, while Ohio State reached the championship game in 2007, losing to Florida.

The Jayhawks suffered a setback in see INSIDE NCAA BASKETBALL, page 13

see BASEBALL, page 13

Men’s Track & Field

Throwers kick off outdoor season with strong marks Three throwers were in action over spring break for the men’s track and field team, which opened the outdoor season at the Bridgewater State Invitational on Saturday.

Senior tri-captain Adam Aronson, senior Andre Figueroa and junior Curtis Yancy each started their seasons by hitting solid marks at the non-scoring meet.

Coming off of his national indoor appearance in the weight throw, Yancy won the discus on Saturday with a heave of 141-2. Aronson also placed in the event, taking sixth with a toss of 122-6.

The pair also found success in the hammer throw, an event unique to the outdoor season. Yancy’s throw of 163-1 was good enough for runner-up, while Aronson was just behind in third with a hurl of 162-2.

“I was very happy with [my throw]. We worked hard indoors, and obviously a PR is a good thing,” Aronson said. “I think everybody on the team likes hammer a lot, so it feels good to be outdoors, and it was great weather.”

Aronson was also impressed with Yancy’s performance.

“Curtis’s hammer throw was great,” he said. “He notched a second-place finish, and he PR’ed by a small amount.

We know there’s a lot more coming out

of Curtis this year. He had a great indoor season, topping it off with the national appearance, and we expect some big things from him in hammer.”

Aronson also had a strong finish in the shot put, taking eighth with a distance of 40-1/2. Figueroa took 16th in the event with a toss of 35-3 3/4.

The throwers will look to improve on these solid early-season efforts going forward.

“This was a good way to start some momentum in the outdoor season,” Aronson said. “Track is a sport of momentum, so to get a couple good marks from throwers can inspire some people to step it up.”

The Jumbos will come together for their first full-squad meet on Saturday when they host the Snowflake Classic at the Dussault Track.

“It’s the first meet back, so I’d like to see some guys just feel out where they are right now, get some good marks, hopefully get some PRs and have some fun,” Aronson said. “Snowflake is a great meet, especially when there are going to be 50-something teams there, so I hope the guys really enjoy it. It will be a great way to start off our season and get the ball rolling.”

—by Lauren Flament

MCT

Freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is part of a star-studded Kentucky lineup and one of the top front lines in the country.