2012-02-29

THE TUFTS DAILY

Snow 38/32

MCAT to implement revisions in 2015

by Sam

Capogrosso

Contributing Writer

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recently announced that, for the first time since 1991, the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) will undergo several substantial changes beginning in 2015.

The changes constitute several major differences in the structure of the test. The major changes include the introduction of a “Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior” section and a new “Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills” section, as well as the elimination of the writing section.

The AAMC’s Preview Guide for the MCAT 2015 states that the “Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations” section will evaluate students’ comprehension of psychology, sociology, biology, research methods and statistics, which provide background for the more advanced topics studied in medical school. The section will feature topics such as behavior and behavior change, how people think about themselves and others and cultural and social differences that

TUFTSDAILY.COM

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

VOLUME LXIII, NUMBER 23

influence well-being.

The “Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills” section will consist of a series of passagebased analysis questions that will test students’ reasoning ability on a wide range of social sciences and humanities disciplines including ethics, philosophy and cross-cultural studies.

The new MCAT will continue to feature the now-standard rigorous queries of test-takers’ understanding of the natural sciences, although there will be a greater emphasis on biology and chemistry.

Tufts students looking to prepare for the revised hard sciences section of the new MCAT would be best served by taking a biochemistry course, according to Carol Baffi-Dugan, program director for Health Professions Advising and an associate dean for undergraduate education.

She also stressed the importance of taking statistics as one of the two Tufts mathematical distribution requirements.

Baffi-Dugan is confident that the introductory courses offered at Tufts and the liberal arts-style education provided to students is enough to prepare them to see MCAT, page 2

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

TCU Senate passes resolution to join U/FUSED network by

Patrick McGrath

Daily Editorial Board

The Tufts Community Union ( TCU) Senate on Feb. 12 passed a resolution to join United for Undergraduate Socio-Economic Diversity (U/FUSED), a network that encourages discussion and cross-collegiate participation in raising awareness and finding solutions for issues of socioeconomic inequality, according to TCU Senator Joe Thibodeau, a sophomore.

The resolution to join the organization was passed by a vote of 25-4-0.

Thibodeau drafted and submitted the proposal.

“I think one immediate thing that we will get from this is to get a space to constructively discuss these issues and also at the same time have the opportunity to connect with schools that we don’t normally connect with,” Thibodeau said.

Some of the benefits that come with joining U/FUSED include working toward consistently need-blind admissions at Tufts and helping support students who receive financial aid but still face a number of other costs at

Scott tingley / the tufts daily

The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate on Feb. 12 passed a resolution to join United for Undergraduate Socio-Economic Diversity (U/ FUSED), which would help the university work toward need-blind admissions and assist students in paying for Tufts-related costs.

Tufts, including textbooks and transportation for trips with university organizations, according to Thibodeau.

“There’s all these little

expenses that come up, so trying to find innovative solutions to address those issues see U/FUSED, page 2

Provost grant promotes open-access journals

by Jenna

Buckle

Daily Editorial Board

WillIAM Butt for The Tufts Daily

The Boston Avenue Boloco yesterday offered free mini and small burritos in celebration of the company’s 15th birthday. The restaurant pledged to donate $2000 to the Life is good Playmakers — a charity that provides training for frontline childcare professionals who help children overcome life-threatening challenges ­— if the location saw 2000 customers. The restaurant successfully met its goal, and volunteers at the door collected supplemental donations.

Inside this issue

The Office of the Provost this year has allotted money to the Provost’s Open Access Fund, a grant given to Tufts faculty members for the purpose of encouraging open-access publication and digitization of research and scholarship.

The fund, initiated in 2009 by then-Provost Jamshed Bharucha, had a well-received pilot run in 2011 and awarded grants to a total of 13 faculty members, according to Deborah Kaplan, digital resources archivist and co-chair of the Scholarly Communication Team (SCT) at Tufts.

“The idea is that we assist the faculty in making their work easier to access and available for free to the scholarly community and the greater community of global citizens,” she said.

Similar to last year, faculty from the all Tufts campuses can apply for funding in either the Provost’s Open Access Publishing Fund or the Provost’s Open Access Digitization Fund categories, Kaplan explained.

The Open Access Publishing Fund supports the publication of a faculty member’s article in an open access journal, meaning that the article can be accessed free-ofcharge online. The Open Access Digitization Fund provides for

the digitization of a faculty member’s research materials under the condition that the final product is added to the Tufts Digital Library. Bharucha devised the Open Access Fund after attending the Boston Library Consortium’s Alfred P. Sloan Foundation summit about open access a few years ago, Kaplan explained.

“He was really excited and thought the idea of open access sounded really great, so he put together a memo of ways in which Tufts could foster open access here on campus,” she said. Applications for this round of funding opened last week and will conclude in early April, according to Martha Kelehan, social sciences bibliographer for Tisch Library and co-chair of the SCT. Funding will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis, and faculty members will be notified in early May if they win a grant.

The application process is fairly simple, she said, adding that faculty members seeking the publishing fund must specify the name of the journal the article will be published in, whether or not the journal is listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and regardless of the amount of money requested.

“Each Tufts school was allowed to make its own requirements for see OPEN ACCESS, page 2

Today’s sections

The Daily takes a look at the TCU Senate’s budgeting procedures.

Junior Max Bulger is in Oman competing in the Extreme Sailing Series.

see FEATURES, page 3

see SPORTS, page 14

News Features Arts & Living Editorial | Letters

1 3 5 10

Op-Ed Comics Sports Classifieds

11 12 13 15

The Tufts Daily

2 Tufts Mock Trial Update Tufts Mock Trial spent the weekend attending its second and final regional tournament of the season at the Suffolk County Courthouse in Boston, according to Officer of External Affairs for Tufts Mock Trial Brian Pilchik.

Tufts’ B team had the second-highest Combined Strength, which is the total of the records of a team’s four opponents, and received a bid to the American Mock Trial Association’s Opening Round Championship Series (ORCS) in White Plains, N.Y. the weekend of March 10-11 for a chance at the national tournament.

Tufts’ B team and one of its C teams took part in the Boston Regional, Pilchik, a sophomore, said.

Additionally, freshman Elisabeth Constantino received an Outstanding Witness Award at the tournament.

The eight best of the 26 teams that took part in the tournament, including Tufts’ B team, will advance to the ORCS, according to Pilchik. New York University, Brandeis University, Boston University, Brown University and Suffolk University are also advancing to the ORCS from this competition.

Tufts’ A team, which won a bid to the ORCS the weekend of Feb. 19, will be joining Tufts’ B team at the ORCS, where both teams will compete in a larger pool for six spots to attend Nationals, which will be held in Minneapolis, Minn.

The scores for this weekend’s tournament were: Tufts’ B Team Overall: 5-3 2-0 vs. Stonehill College 1-1 vs. Brown University 1-1 vs. New York University 1-1 vs. Suffolk University Tufts’ C Team Overall: 3-4-1 2-0 vs. University of Massachusetts at Lowell 0-2 vs. New York University 1-0-1 vs. Boston University 0-2 vs. Brown University —by Patrick McGrath

News

With provost’s grant, university encourages faculty to publish in free online journals OPEN ACCESS

continued from page 1

faculty eligibility, but they’re all very similar,” Kaplan said.

Kelehan believes the university will be able to fund more applicants this year due to the lower cost of publishing articles in hybrid journals, which charge a subscription fee but still offer an open-access option for authors.

“Most places that give out these funds do not fund hybrid journals at all,” she said. “We are actually kind of bucking the trend a little bit by still wanting to support hybrid open access as well as the DOAJ, which are the true openaccess journals.”

Kaplan hopes that the fund will extend the use of open access to humanities faculty members in particular, since those in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields already publish their research in open-access journals more regularly.

“In the humanities, there are only a small number of highprestige open-access journals, and people don’t know about them,” she said. “We really want to encourage people in the humanities or in [the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy] to contribute to these journals.”

The SCT will be the first university body to review applications, Kelehan said. The team will then pass on its recommendations to

Revised MCAT to eliminate writing section, feature new behavioral science questions MCAT

continued from page 1

properly tackle the revised MCAT. “Our introductory courses are pretty rigorous here, and I think that students get a very comprehensive grounding in subject matter, perhaps more than at many other schools,” Baffi-Dugan said. “Things that might not be covered until an upper level course at another school, we are touching on it at the introductory level.”

She believes that students will continue to buy study guides and review books just as they have done for years, and that this, in combination with the comprehensive education one receives at Tufts, will ensure that Tufts students will know how to properly tackle the revised test.

Baffi-Dugan said that these changes were brought about by a joint report released by AAMC in 2009 called “Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians,” which emphasized

that would-be medical practitioners should display a strong understanding of foundational concepts in fields beyond the natural sciences if they are to be successful participants the medical community.

The report was groundbreaking because it addressed how the next generation of doctors will have to adapt to changes in society, according to Baffi-Dugan.

Richard Rayne, a lecturer in biology and assistant dean for Teaching and Quality Enhancement at Birkbeck, University of London noted that the changes to the MCAT form a parallel with the changes that the scientific community is current undergoing.

“Interestingly, there is a new emphasis on ‘human and social factors’ in the new MCAT,” Rayne told the Daily in an e-mail. “This seems to emphasize the need for doctors who are well-rounded people who can relate to the changing demographic of the country. It also pays attention to

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

the ethical dilemmas that arise as progress in science makes possible more and more types of medical intervention.”

Rayne explained that the new emphasis on nurturing understanding of basic foundational concepts aims to bring about the development of a curriculum geared toward fostering more comprehensive intellectual competency in pre-medicine students.

“It is interesting that there seems to be increasing emphasis on ‘foundational concepts’ over a multitude of facts,” Rayne said.

Joshua Kritzer, an assistant professor of chemistry, expressed excitement over these changes in the medical community. He reflected that Tufts has typically evolved well in response to change and stated that the chemistry department wishes to promote these changes in the most productive way possible.

“Medicine is not some elevated branch of science, but something that requires a unique way of thinking,” Kritzer said.

scott tingley / the tufts daily

The MCAT revisions, which will take effect in 2015, reflect a greater emphasis on social and behavioral factors.

scott tingley / the tufts daily

According to Kelehan and Kaplan, humanities professors have far fewer open-access journals at their disposal than do professors in other areas. the University-wide Committee on Teaching and Faculty Development.

The Office of the Provost makes the final decision about which projects to fund, according to Kaplan.

Assistant Professor of Classics Marie-Claire Beaulieu, a past recipient of the Digitization Fund, was able to build a digital repository of obscure Greek epitaphs with the funding.

According to Beaulieu, the project has promoted more collaboration among faculty, undergraduate and graduate students in the clas-

sics department and beyond.

“The digital humanities offer us the possibility of making the documents available to everybody and of showing exactly what it is we do,” Beaulieu said.

While this marks only the second year that the fund is being disbursed, Kelehan is confident that faculty will spread the word about the benefits of open access.

“We anticipate that this is something that is going to grow,” she said. “Faculty will hear about this and be interested in it.”

Resolution elicits mixed reactions from TCU senators U/FUSED

continued from page 1

and support students while they’re here, so they can fully participate and fully be a part of this community, is a really important thing,” Thibodeau said.

TCU Vice President Wyatt Cadley said inspiration for the initiative came in part from results of the fall 2011 TCU Senate Survey.

“Based upon the data that we’ve received, students are indicating that Tufts is not doing an adequate job of preparing them to deal with issues of socioeconomic diversity,” Cadley, a junior, said.

“I think there’s a demand on the campus to have those dialogues happen.”

According to Cadley, a great deal of support for U/ FUSED exists at Tufts despite a lack of tangible results at other schools that are members of the network.

“Part of the reason that I think we saw the support to the extent that we did was because of the potential, and … these are partnerships that should be forming and dialogues that should be happening, not just [within Tufts] but within the collegiate community as a whole,” Cadley said.

Colleges and universities across the country have already joined U/FUSED, including Dartmouth College, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Southern California and Middlebury College, according to Thibodeau.

Thibodeau added that some of these schools have embarked on their own projects that are relevant specifically their student bodies.

“I guess the next step for us is to see where we’re at and to create solutions that are specific to Tufts,” Thibodeau said.

Senior TCU Senators Jonathan Danzig and Timothy Lesinski were among the four senators who voted against the proposal.

“I think our approval of it is based primarily on a misunderstanding of Senate’s role,” Danzig said.

“What Senate’s role is, as defined by its constitution and in my own opinion as well, is that it’s a platform. It doesn’t do anything on its own, but what it does is allows others to do things, and so this commits us to actually being the center of activity as opposed to allowing others to commit that activity.”

Danzig added that it would have been more appropriate to establish U/FUSED as an independent student group at Tufts rather than directly connecting it to the Senate itself.

Lesinski said he voted against the resolution because it lacked specifics about what joining U/FUSED would entail.

“I think we voted on this without really knowing too much about what is going to be involved in it, and that was another objection I had to it,” Lesinski said.

“There are a lot of unknowns here in what we’re voting on, and I felt like we should have just done our homework more before just joining something without knowing what it is,” he said.

Despite the lack of specific goals for the organization at Tufts, Thibodeau said he is looking to start working as soon as possible.

“I want to get things done before the end of the year,” he said.

“I’m in the stage of still collaborating and talking to different people … I think this is an issue that needs to be addressed now and should continue to be addressed as the years go on.”

Features

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tuftsdaily.com

Jasmin Sadegh | Engin-nerd

Arts Haus got broke

P

Scott Tingley / The Tufts Daily

TCU Treasury councils will meet twice more with student organizations before budgets are finalized.

An inside look at the TCU Senate’s handling of the yearly Student Activities Fund Treasury disburses $1.5 million to over 180 student groups

At the beginning of each year, Jumbos pay $296 — the Student Activities Fee — as part of their tuition. Despite the seemingly clear intentions associated with the fee, the actual handling of funds is rather ambiguous. With budgeting for fiscal year 2013 (FY2013) already in process, understanding how the Tufts Community Union ( TCU) Senate Treasury disburses nearly $1.5 million to student organizations is important.

The TCU Treasury is responsible for funding student activities budgeted by over 180 TCU-recognized organizations.

The Allocations Board (ALBO), chaired by sophomore TCU Senate Treasurer Christie Maciejewski, is a committee that makes recommendations to TCU Senate on the allocation of the Student Activities Fund.

In the fall, ALBO cohesively manages Buffer Funding, reserved for organizations that encounter unforeseen expenses, and New Group Funding, available for groups that are newly recognized by the TCU Judiciary.

In the spring, though, ALBO focuses on the budgeting cycle. Comprised of nine councils — Cultural, Social Programming, Media, Religious, Performance and Arts, Community Service and Miscellaneous, PreProfessional and Academic, Political and TCU Government — that encompass all of the student organizations, ALBO works with each group’s signatories to submit a final budget for Senate approval.

Each council is designated a cap to which they must adhere throughout the process, but ultimately the council chairs allocate the money as they see fit based on the budgets submitted by the organizations.

“The council caps are a way of telling [the council chairs]: ‘This is your pool of money, so you [have to] fit under that.’ And the chairs basically hit that

By Hannah Fingerhut Daily Editorial Board

cap,” Maciejewski said. “If all the caps add up, we’ve allocated all the money we have.”

Once groups are recognized by the judiciary and have applied for New Group Funding, they are eligible to submit a budget in the spring semester for the following fiscal year. Many groups have gone through the process for decades, according to Maciejewski.

At this point in the semester, groups on campus have already attended the mandatory budgeting meeting and submitted their preliminary budgets.

Council chairs now have two weeks to meet twice with each group’s signatories within their council.

“There are two mandatory meetings that the signatories go to with the council chairs,” Maciejewski said. “It’s just a way for the council chair to get to know the group better, and for the group to actually talk about what they need … it’s basically a compromise in the end.”

Council IV (Religious) Chairman Stephen Ruggiero, a sophomore, emphasized the necessity of the meetings in helping the groups devise an appropriate budget.

“Once I see the budget, I sit down with the signatories of each group and say ‘Hey, you might need to cut some money here’ or ‘You know, you may need more money here,’” Ruggiero said.

“It’s not necessarily going through and ripping their budget apart. It’s trying to make ends meet.”

That was not a problem this past year; the Senate was left with a surplus of over $500,000, an issue Maciejewski wants to avoid for FY2013.

“If a third of what you allocate isn’t used, I think that does indicate a larger problem,” she said. “Our job is to help student programming on campus, and if a group doesn’t spend money and another group needs it, it may be nice to give it to the group that needs it more. We can’t really judge which group needs it more, but I think the meetings are definitely a really good time [to be] very honest and open about what

[groups] want and need.”

According to Maciejewski, the goal for this budgeting cycle is that groups really consider their budgets. This year, she provided the groups with recommended ranges before submission of preliminary budgets, as well as the opportunity for an optional third meeting with council chairs.

“I think in the past especially, people submitted the last year’s budget,” she said. “This year, I went through some of the financial records to see what groups actually spent on their events. I’m sure some would disagree, but some groups didn’t spend much of their money at all.

I did ranges so groups will think about what they actually need. We’re trying to make it more accurate this year.”

Assistant Treasurer Matthew Roy, a freshman, agreed that the ranges would help prevent discrepancies in policy between each group’s previous leaders and the current ones.

“I feel like the issue is that we have signatories, but there’s a lack of continuity,” he said. “So they make a budget for the groups, but then the people who actually run the groups next year don’t know what they were given money for or how to spend it.”

According to Roy, the funding that groups will be given depends on how much their activities cost and their reach within the student body.

Ruggiero emphasized the factors taken into consideration for the group ranges — especially their presence on campus — in determining how much funding they may receive.

“They were given a range based on the size of the group, the legitimacy, their history — like if they’ve spent their money in the past, what kind of events they throw, are their events successful, do a lot of people attend their events,” he said. “There are certain groups on campus that are involved in many social aspects. Those groups are going to get more funding — the groups see TREASURY, page 4

artying in an off-campus house has special charm. More specifically, when you dance, you have the unique pleasure of experiencing the floors bounce up and down as you do. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, ask a resident of Arts Haus. After a Mustachi-bros and Pistachi-hoes rave last month, the floor of their old Tufts building finally broke. With a major beam broken and the floor sloping inwards, the Arts Haus kids were evicted two weeks later, relocating to Hillsides — the place I call home.

But why did the Arts Haus break? The floor of a typical building should ideally feel the unchanging weight of concrete, electric fixtures, floors/carpets and walls, while still accounting for the changing weight of people and furniture moving in and out daily. Unfortunately for the Arts Haus, the engineers did not consider the dynamic load of a couple hundred students dressed for a party and a dead load of 50 bags of pistachios.

Generally, the weight on a floor is evenly distributed on the beam directly beneath your feet. Something must have gone wrong, right? Typically, you can expect two things from the beams under your feet: They will not crush under your weight, and they will not bend and snap inward like rubber bands every time you step.

When building the Arts Haus, some engineer had to estimate what the heaviest loads would be. So for a typical building, we can guess something like 50 pounds per square foot. Then the engineer had to choose the beam that would be strong enough and stiff enough. Since we assume the loading is evenly distributed over all beams, we can isolate the decision by looking at one single beam.

Imagine this beam is just a balance beam you would find on a playground. It is slightly elevated, resting on two points — let’s call them pins — one on each end. When you step on the center of the balance beam, let’s assume you are extremely heavy. The balance beam wants to bend inward at your location, but how is it resisting your weight?

Let us see what is going on inside the beam. Slice that beam right next to the point where you stand. Since your weight is now on the edge of the cut beam and there is only one resisting pin holding you now, your weight is going to want to cause the beam to rotate around that pin. The only way to resist the rotation of your weight is to have an opposing rotation. Since there is not some magical fairy creating that opposing rotation, there is some internal rotation acting on the face of the sliced section. This internal force has to rotate with a radius the distance of the height of the beam to resist your weight that wants to rotate with a radius the length of the halved beam. Without this resisting internal force, the beam will bend where you are standing.

Unfortunately for the Arts Haus, the beam in the middle of the dance floor probably did not have the ability to resist the heavy (and dynamic) load of the guests. Just by looking at the floor post-rave, it seemed like the center floor beam gave in, maybe due to age, wear or something else. Luckily, it did not snap.

With the exception of the dent, the floor was still standing because stronger beams running perpendicular, called girders, supported the floor beams. These girders pass off the load to the vertical columns.

With the other parts of the house intact, the Arts Haus kids can expect to move back within two to four weeks. I imagine the engineer will choose to replace the broken beam with a stronger new beam, to make the house last through many more years of ragers.

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

Sadegh@tufts.edu.

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The Tufts Daily

Features

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Council chairs explain plans to make budgeting process more efficient TREASURY

continued from page 3

that aren’t exclusive and that cater to a larger population [as a whole].”

From year to year, the allocation of a large portion of the funds to specific organizations remains consistent.

Programming Board and its member groups, including the four Class Councils, was disbursed approximately $600,000 — about 40 percent of the allocated Student Activities Fee funds.

“We get such a huge portion of [the Student Activities Fee] because we are planning the biggest events on campus,” Programming Board co-Chair Leo Greenberg, a senior, said. “We’re serving the largest base of students, compared to some groups that primarily have funds that benefit their membership. We strive to have events where the vast majority of the student body can go.”

The Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) and Tufts Hillel were both allotted a significant amount of funding as well, with each receiving over $50,000.

Maciejewski explained that LCS is considered an umbrella group, as a lot of sub-groups depend on it, and therefore, it requires a larger budget. Hillel, too, is a huge organization with a large following on campus, she said.

Ruggiero, council chair for the religious groups, understands the difficulty in budgeting for his council, which he said has a cap of $80,000.

“It’s a little tricky with religious groups because there are some religious ceremonies where it’s only group members or believers of that certain faith,” he said.

“But at the same time, a lot of religious groups throw these big social events on campus that many people from different religions attend and there’s more of a social aspect than religious component.”

Roy, too, offered his perspective as a council chair for Council VIII (Political) on the challenges of working with signatories to cut or add to their budgets.

“I think that there’s a lot of pressure on the council chair, just because the interests of the group might not be their own,” he said. “You have to keep in mind that it’s what the people are passionate about.”

Yet Roy emphasized that he, like his peers, was elected to his position on the senate and is dedicated to working with the groups throughout this process.

Greenberg praised the Treasury for the way in which it handles the budgeting cycle.

“There are certain things that weren’t appropriately budgeted this year, and they’re very open to hearing what our criticisms or suggestions are to make it more accurate for next year,” he said.

“It gives an opportunity for us to have discussions with our council chair and with the Treasury rather than them just assigning numbers.”

A key component of this process is the fact that it is student-run. Though some faculty are needed to execute the transactions and oversee the senate, faculty members and administrators do not play a significant role in the allocation of funds.

“The students pay for it, and the students benefit from it, so who better to put in charge?” Ruggiero said. “I think it’s safe to say that a student knows more about the social [goings-on] and the general atmosphere of the campus life than an administrator would.”

Whether the efforts of the ALBO so far this budgeting cycle — particularly the changes Maciejewski made with the intention of increasing accuracy and decreasing the surplus — will pay off or not is, for now, unknown.

“It’s kind of a weird process because I technically won’t find out the outcome of the changes until the end of my junior year, when all the money is budgeted and allocated,” she said. “But I think it will help the students more if they have accurate budgets. The ultimate goal should be the best student programming on campus.”

1137 BROADWAY, SOMERVILLE 617-776-2800 EXPIRES MARCH 13TH, 2012

Arts & Living

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tuftsdaily.com

Restaurant Review

Cambridge’s Mary Chung offers array of cheap, authentic Chinese food

For the uninitiated, a trip to an authentic Chinese restaurant is an exercise in both adventure and educated guessing. by

Chris Poldoian

Daily Editorial Board

Mary Chung Restaurant 460 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 (617) 864-1991 Price Range: $10-$18 Enumerated dishes lack descriptions and crowd the menu. If that wasn’t hard enough, many menus are printed in Hanzi, with only an ambiguous translation.

Indeed, Eastern cuisine is quite different than its Western counterpart. Intimidated by the plethora of obscure options, diners accustomed to the gastronomic mores of Europe and the United States oftentimes retreat to the familiar: General Tso’s chicken, crab rangoons and egg rolls.

For Tufts students looking to venture beyond these Americanized dishes, there is Mary Chung Restaurant in Central Square, located just a block or two past the Middle East on Massachusetts Avenue. Mary Chung — the founder, current proprietress and a constant presence — began serving authentic Chinese food

Chris Poldoian / the Tufts Daily

Spicy steamed dumplings are a highlight at Mary Chung’s. in 1981. Since then, little has changed.

Aside from a large mirrored wall, the dimly lit interior lacks any decoration.

During the daytime, the large window in front provides most of the lighting. Specials,

Music Review

written in thick Sharpie ink on pieces of paper, are taped to the front desk. This utilitarian design reflects the no-frills style of see CHUNG, page 6

TV Review

Brilliance of ‘Modern Family’ starts to fade by

Nash Simpson

Daily Staff Writer

“Modern Family” takes a satirical look at a strain of trivial problems that plague several intensely comedic families. The

Modern Family Starring Ed O’Neill, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell Tyler Garcia via Flickr Creative Commons

Fun derives much of its popularity from its experimental energy.

decided to start a new band in New York, drafting Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff to join him. After mere months of recording, the band released their first album, “Aim and Ignite” (2009). With its bold, upbeat tone and varied tracks, the album immediately defined the band as something music listeners had never heard before.

Born from the ashes of The Format, Fun still retains a slightly similar vibe, mainly due to Ruess’ unique, Freddie Mercury-esque vocals. Indeed, many of their tracks are reminiscent of Queen, but this vibe is one of many that span the breadth of the band’s work. Fun’s best quality is its ability to shake things up musically, presenting a song set to the pace of a sporadic waltz one moment and a zany, bounce-along song the next.

These descriptions obviously do little to explain what Fun’s music really sounds like, but even when listening to the band’s tunes it’s nearly impossible to put a label on them.

Fun is just, well — yes, here it comes — fun.

While Fun may have defined themselves with “Aim and Ignite,” their second album

show’s structure is unique among serial TV shows. Instead of centering on one nuclear family, “Modern Family” focuses on three chaotic households that play equally major roles in the various plots. Despite the fact that these three households have virtually nothing in common, the members are related by blood or through marriage; thus, all the characters are a part of one big, dysfunctional family.

The oldest character, Jay (Ed O’Neill), is a successful businessman who is married to the gorgeous Gloria (Sofia Vergara). Their son Manny is the same age as Jay’s grandson Luke, whose mother Claire (Julie Bowen) is actually older than Gloria. While Luke’s older sisters’ antics carry on, his father Phil (Ty Burrell) attempts to manage the family’s constant bedlam, which he causes more often than not. Jay has a son slightly younger than Claire named Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), who is a gay lawyer and whom Jay cannot stand. Mitchell is married to Cam (Eric Stonestreet), who is the funniest and most likeable character. Cam humorously serves as a mother to Lily, the couple’s adopted child.

The show has maintained strong qualities during its three seasons. The characters are lovable, the writing is beautiful, the jokes are clever, and the episodes are

see FUN, page 6

see FAMILY, page 6

Peppy variety defines Fun’s sophomore album Alex Hanno

These days, it’s rare to find a band that can be deemed truly and utterly original. Bands tend to fit into neat little genres, singing the by

Daily Editorial Board

Some Nights fun.

Fueled by Ramen Records same sort of generic tunes sung countless times before. Thankfully, a brilliant Brooklynbased band by the name of Fun has stepped onto the music scene, bringing with them a fresh musical vibe much needed among the dub-step and sampling that defines the current trends. With Fun, true originality finally presents itself.

Though Fun (stylized as “fun.”) has only recently become known because of the release of their 2012 sophomore album “Some Nights,” the band has actually been around since 2008. After his band The Format broke up in 2008, lead singer Nate Ruess

Airs Wednesdayss at 9 p.m. on ABC

Elizabeth Landers | Campus chic report

Fashion or film?

T

he Oscars are the ultimate red-carpet, fairy-tale moment, and for many couture designers it’s the only time their handcrafted, custom-made creations see the light of day. For all intents and purposes, it’s the most watched fashion show in the world (sorry, Victoria’s Secret). ABC capitalized on the fashion fervor by employing not one but four fashion commentators with impressive accolades to inform us exactly which celeb was sporting what designer. Included in the ranks were Nina Garcia of Marie Claire and Tim Gunn from “Project Runway.” Though I watched their telecast, my interpretation of the awards show fashion was slightly different than theirs.

Oscars style this year was regal, flattering and safe, with all leading ladies wearing fulllength gowns in mostly muted tones like black and cream, with intermittent splashes of gold or red. In a formal situation, one should gravitate toward demure and appropriate. However, in the case of the Academy Awards, I think zaniness is allowed. After all, the Academy represents creative masterminds; if anyone could throw caution to the wind, it would be an Oscar-nominated actress or actor.

The most fashion-forward look of the night was Gwyneth Paltrow’s red carpet ensemble: a white column Tom Ford gown complete with cape. No, not the Sherlock Holmes sort, but rather a straight, shouldercovering silk cape in the same hue. Capes had a moment this season and Mr. Ford reworked the number to minimalist brilliance. It was the most boldly understated confection I’d seen in a while. Bravo.

Speaking of trends, the queen of comedy Tina Fey wore a plum purple peplum (read: feminine frills around the waist) gown.

Peplum was recently seen on a number of runways; Fey channeled the look in her Carolina Herrera gown.

Viola Davis was all about color, which immediately wakened viewers out of their monochromatic stupor. It was natural to predict that she would wear Vera Wang considering she was seated front row at the designer’s show a few weeks ago. The fit was perfect and the bustier, embellished top was just sexy enough.

I’m already not a fan of Stacy Keibler — aka George Clooney’s newest squeeze — and her Marchesa rose gold gown looked burnished and like something she probably wore to prom. There is a time for a large rosette on eveningwear, but this was not it.

Then there was Rooney Mara looking less than refreshing in her Givenchy Haute Couture and severe black bangs. Jessica Chastain trended on Twitter as the best dressed in her black and gold strapless Alexander McQueen gown.

The woman of the night, Best Actress winner Meryl Streep, matched her Oscar statue in a stately Lanvin gold wrap dress made with eco-certified fabric. In a similar vein, Natalie Portman had on a red strapless vintage Dior number, bringing new beauty to something old.

Men’s style is a trickier subject to broach.

Traditionally, men wear tuxedos. This leaves both little room for stylistic freedom and little room for error. Tom Hanks looked better than ever in his Tom Ford tux, and Pharrell Williams brought the swag in his threepiece suit with black piping on the edges and an endearingly crooked bow tie.

All in all, the fashionista in me was craving some more showmanship in this Oscar year. The clothes were beautifully boring, like the show itself. Maybe the runway has sensationalized things in my head for a bit, but I was waiting for a “Bam!” moment for a major actress (or actor) to step out in a digitized Mary Katrantzou floral print getup or wear a small American designer in support of our homegrown talent. But alas, big names and big PR budgets ruled the red carpet. I pine for the days of Bjork’s swan dress. Until next year…

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

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The Tufts Daily

Arts & Living

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

In third season, stereotypical characters rob ‘Modern Family’ of its spark FAMILY

continued from page 5

funny. The first season of “Modern Family” was classic and unforgettable; it seemed simply unbeatable by any subsequent season. The second season came around and managed to do the impossible, surpassing the first in every way. The current season is rough, but it hasn’t been entirely bad.

There have been several highlights. The second episode of this third season, “When Good Kids Go Bad” showed promise. In that one, Cam and Mitchell planned on throwing a family dinner to announce their decision to adopt another child; however, plans started going awry when they discovered that their daughter, Lily, would not take well to another baby in the house. After all, Cam has only had so much “momness” to go around. The characters’ reactions to Lily were entertaining.

The best episode of the season, “Little Bo Bleep,” had a subplot focused on Lily as well. Cam’s weakness for children’s swearing led him to laugh whenever his daughter unknowingly swore. She quickly developed a habit that Cam and Mitchell had to try to clean up before her big day as a flower girl. In this same episode, Jay’s dog Stella kept trying to commit suicide, presumably because of Gloria’s inherent distaste for the dog, as Claire ran for office against an opponent whose careless demeanor brought out Claire’s negative characteristics.

A couple of other episodes lived up to the expectations set by the first two seasons, including “Treehouse,” episode seven, and

“Eggdrop,” episode twelve.

Nonetheless, the ratio of good episodes to mediocre ones has been distressing. So why is this season so bad? “Modern Family” has recently adopted an annoyingly formulaic structure in the last set of episodes, resulting in unforgivable predictability and an overall lack of engaging humor. Quite simply, the number of clever jokes has decreased. The few jokes that manage to generate laughter are often childish and unoriginal. Also, the writing has changed for the worse: the screenwriters seem to take fewer risks when it comes to working with the basic conflictresolution pattern of American-style TV comedy. Additionally, they try too hard to make the characters fit rigidly into molds of brief descriptions, unlike in previous seasons when these characters tended to emerge as multi-dimensional.

Nowadays, Jay is too grumpy, Manny is too mature, Mitchell is too annoying, Phil is too dumb, and the list goes on. Much of the repetitive nature of the show is derived from the acting. The actors often deliver their lines exactly the same way regardless of the situation, attempting to convey their unique personalities as if every episode were a pilot.

The only character that continuously surprises viewers with unpredictable punch lines and original delivery is Cam, which is extremely impressive considering the fact that his stereotypical character is probably the hardest to diversify.

“Modern Family,” after having two virtually perfect seasons, is in the midst of a disappointing third.

tv.com

This was one of the few truly funny moments in the third season of ‘Modern Family.’

Mary Chung’s massive menu holds many gems alongside some familiar favorites CHUNG

continued from page 5

Chris Poldoian / the Tufts Daily

Lifeless dun dun noodles were an unfortunate companion to a zesty peanut sauce.

the modestly priced food. It should be noted that this is a cash-only establishment, so be sure to stop at an ATM before heading over.

While the menu features a plethora of choices, the warm staff will cheerfully guide you through the options. There are some common, recognizable dishes like the scallion pancakes, which were satisfyingly crisp and fresh, and fried eggplant, a greasy disappointment. But at Mary Chung’s the road less traveled is far more exciting, with options including pigs feet, chive flower buds and preserved egg in pork congee — the traditional Chinese equivalent to porridge.

But be warned, this Szechuan cuisine can get spicy. For those of you with steel-clad tongues, be sure to try the suan la chow show, which consists of six delicate, pork-filled dumplings served on a bed of bean sprouts and a spicy soup that seeps to the bottom.

Make sure to use the spoon to ladle the liquid on top — its initial sweetness lulls the front of your palate to sleep before kicking the back of your throat with some chili-based heat and soy sauce acidity.

The dun dun noodles are considered a house specialty, but they failed to live up to their stratospheric reputation. The delicious peanut-based dun dun sauce wasn’t the problem; rather, it was the noodles them-

selves. Starchy and lukewarm, they were an unworthy vessel for such a delightful sauce.

Other noodle dishes, such as the pan-fried or the two-side crispy noodles, hopefully get this basic ingredient’s texture right.

The pan-fried Peking dumplings were plump with pork and were nicely crisped on the outside. As delicious as they were, they didn’t hold a candle to what was certainly the highlight of our meal: the xiao long bao, known colloquially as small steamer buns.

These delicate buns came with a vinegary ginger sauce that paired well with the hot soupy interior that gushed with each bite.

For vegetarians, there are plenty of options, including bean curd and a particularly delicious pan-fried tofu, called mapo tofu. For a sweet end to a savory meal, try the sesame balls. These glutinous rice balls are stuffed with black sesame paste and served in boiling water.

Mary Chung is open for Dim Sum on Saturdays and Sundays, making it the perfect hangover cure for intrepid Jumbos. Lunch and dinner specials can be had for less than ten dollars, making this one of the best cheap eats in Cambridge. Mary Chung Restaurant is a fast and easy alternative to a trip into Chinatown and is infinitely better than any of the Chinese restaurants in the Davis Square area that haven’t yet burned down. May you rest in peace, Kee Kar Lau.

After acclaimed debut, Fun keeps momentum going with solid second album

FUN

continued from page 5

had to prove whether their originality could be maintained and whether they could actually attract a proper fan base with such spontaneously inspired music. “Some Nights” may not be as flawless as its predecessor, but it manages to continue Fun’s streak of genius music production, presenting songs that can only be described as passionate and uplifting. Laden with bold yet appealing tracks, “Some Nights” might be just what Fun needs to break into the mainstream world of music.

The sophomore album reels listeners in powerfully. Beginning with an intro that builds up to the titular track, the song “Some Nights” may just be the album’s best. Possessing a strong Queen vibe, the song gets deep inside you with a powerful drum rhythm and some great electric guitar. Splash in a few oddities that characterize who Fun really is, and you have a song that won’t fail to inspire.

Of course, starting with your best song is bold, since the album is likely to go downhill from there. With Fun, though, this doesn’t happen. Instead, the album continues to entertain. It proceeds with the album’s only single, “We Are Young,” which grows on you after a few listens. Much of Fun’s music works like this: it’s so unorthodox that, at first, the random instruments and break from normal

song patterns just seems wrong. But stick with them, and you come to realize just how entertaining originality can be.

The album continues with a number of great tracks including “Carry On,” “All Alright” and, most importantly, “All Alone.” Starting out with music that could have been heard in an 18th-century French court, “All Alone” then transitions into a poppy mix. Today, lyrics just don’t mean as much as they used to, but Fun seeks to change this, for every song has a unique story and each listener will take a different meaning away from it. “All Alone” tells the tragic story a man’s lost love and the replacement of this lover with a wind-up toy.

As mentioned, Fun’s second album isn’t as perfect as “Aim and Ignite” was; that premiere album honestly failed to produce a single dud.

The unfortunate and poorly inspired use of Auto-Tune within a few of their new tracks (notably “It Gets Better”) adds nothing to the music and can only be deemed as a failed musical attempt. But if the listener can avoid or simply ignore the Auto-Tune, there really isn’t much to dislike about “Some Nights.”

A written review does Fun little justice.

Their songs are so audibly unique that words truly can’t describe them. Take a listen, and if you don’t like them, then listen a few more times. They grow on you, and once they have, you’ll be having some real (wait for it…) fun.

Marissa Mullen via Flickr Creative Commons

Nate Ruess frequently channels Queen on his sophomore album.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

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Editorial | Letters

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

A double standard

A press briefing on Feb. 23 turned unexpectedly confrontational after White House Press Secretary Jay Carney praised journalists’ aggressive efforts to report a full account of the situation on the ground in Syria. Carney brought up the work of slain Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin, who was killed while reporting from war-torn Homs, Syria. He certainly was not expecting ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper to use this statement to launch into a tough series of questions about President Barack Obama’s administration’s pursuit of leakers of classified information.

Tapper called out Carney’s praise of aggressive reporting in Syria as hypocritical.

“How does that square with the fact that this administration has been so aggressively trying to stop aggressive journalism in the United States by using the Espionage Act to take whistleblowers to court?” he asked, adding, “You want aggressive journalism abroad; you just don’t want it in the United States.”

Tapper’s line of questioning may have seemed like grandstanding, but he

raised a valid point. Before the Obama administration, the federal government had used the Espionage Act of 1917 to prosecute three information leakers within the government. This administration has used the act six times so far to pursue such informants.

The Espionage Act makes it illegal for individuals to disseminate information that could be detrimental to the national security of the United States. However, the Obama administration has used the act in cases of questionable national security importance, like the prosecution of Thomas A. Drake, an NSA official who spoke to journalists about plans to purchase a wastefully expensive, contractor-developed software program when an NSA-developed solution was available for a fraction of the cost.

The current administration’s policies aim to quash whistleblowing as much as they serve to protect national security interests. The American Civil Liberties Union, certainly no bastion of right-wing thought, said in a 2011 report, “The Obama administration, like the Bush administration before it,

has used excessive secrecy to hide possibly unconstitutional surveillance.”

Unfortunately, the administration’s actions to target reporters’ sources are only one aspect of its troubling civil liberties record.

It’s easy to critique the Bush administration’s handling of civil liberties in the wake of Sept. 11, with the use of such counterterrorism actions as warrantless wiretapping, extraordinary rendition and imprisonment at the Guantanamo Bay facility. However, the Obama administration has continued these programs with minor changes and is similarly deserving of careful scrutiny.

The news media need to do their duty — to inform the public and hold politicians to task — and this is doubly true during an election year. The administration’ attempts to prevent leaks certainly don’t compare to the Syrian government’s outright slaughter of its people, but both are important stories that need to be a part of the public discourse.

The Daily applauds Tapper for using an available opportunity to bring the Obama administration’s far-from-ideal civil liberties record to the fore.

It snakes deep into the West Bank and engulfs settlements, while going through Palestinian villages and cutting residents off from their farmland. For Palestinian villages that have ended up in its path, residents have been severely curtailed in their ability to move freely in their own land. A wealth of land expropriated, and entire livelihoods threatened, for reasons that the international community has found to be blatantly unnecessary for the security of Israelis.

Indeed the real purpose of the “Separation Barrier,” as it is officially called, is to physically confine Palestinians to tiny enclaves. It is one part of a regime of apartheid that happens to include the large Israeli military presence in the West Bank, roads limited to Israelis only and draconian limits on Palestinian access to water resources (among many others).

And it involves us, as Americans, Tufts students and faculty.

Our part in the apparatus is more than

indifference. As Americans, we are taking indirect action to sustain an apartheid regime, even by just not knowing. Not knowing that our taxes fund the tear gas canisters and bullets used against Palestinians demonstrating for their basic rights. Not knowing that companies we support everyday — Motorola, Caterpillar, Veolia — have a stake in the continuation of occupation and oppression. But the wall, which hides the view of the “other side” for so many Israelis and visitors to Israel, can also be a mirror. We placed a version of it on the library patio because it shows us what the separation between an egregious injustice and our consciousness of that injustice looks like.

That separation is ugly, and it has consequences for the lives of the people living under an apartheid system.

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Letter to the Editor Dear Editor, Some in the Tufts Community might be wondering about the peculiar wall standing on the library patio today. It was placed there by Students for Justice in Palestine as part of Israeli Apartheid Week, as a means to call attention to an actual barrier in the Occupied West Bank which is, in some parts, twice as high as the Berlin Wall and will stand nearly four times as long, once complete. Euphemistically termed the “security fence” by the Israeli government, we think that there are important reasons for the Tufts community to pay attention to this wall.

Still under construction, the wall was purportedly built for the security of Israel proper. Yet it has had a monumental impact on the lives of ordinary Palestinians in the West Bank. In many places, it was built far beyond the confines of the Green Line, the border between the West Bank and Israel.

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Sincerely, Ramzi Babouder-Matta Class of 2014

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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The Tufts Daily

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Op-Ed

College students and the 2012 elections by

Taylor J. Barnard

With the 2012 elections just around the corner, voter dissatisfaction running rampant and a Republican primary that leaves most feeling anything but happy with American politics, many fear that college students won’t bother voting at a comparable rate to 2008. By not voting, college students rob themselves of their most powerful tool for creating change.

In the past, conventional wisdom has said that losing the senior vote will cost a presidential candidate the election. But as we saw in 2008, the first African-American President was elected without wooing the majority of this voting bloc. Then-Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) lost the over-65 vote to Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) but, interestingly enough, won the 18- to 29-year-old vote by a two-toone margin. Young people are now emerging as an important facet of the electorate. While most young voters can’t offer tremendous financial support to a candidate, they can offer their time — a valuable commodity in campaign season — and their vote.

But why should college students vote? What is it about this election that is so important?

Putting aside the obvious challenges facing our country as a whole (the growing debt, an economy struggling to recover and a polarized political arena, just to mention a few) there are issues that will directly affect young people and specifically college students.

Recently, President Obama revealed his $3.8 trillion budget. He used the opportunity to highlight his commitment to creating jobs and making college affordable. These have been goals of the president since he took office and something he has continually worked toward. The budget includes $8 billion directed toward community colleges.

Many in the GOP camp have written this off as a thinly veiled attempt to court the voters he needs in order to win reelection. While there is no doubt that the president needs young voters to support him, Republicans seem to forget that this isn’t the first time President Obama has fought for higher education. In 2009, he sought to direct $12 billion into the higher-education system in an attempt to turn out more graduates. Even more recently, in the summer of 2011, President Obama risked his political livelihood during the debt ceiling negotiations by refusing to budge on Pell Grants for students in need. On the other hand, Republicans have made it their goal to

cut the availability of Pell Grants and summer jobs for college students. In a time of economic hardship, education is the last thing that Congress should be stripping down.

Apart from the presidential race, there is a race right here in the Commonwealth that directly affects students. Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is now up for election to his first full term after winning the junior seat in a special election against State Attorney General Martha Coakley in 2010. As a Pell Grant recipient and student at Brown’s alma mater, I am personally offended by the senator’s lack of support for college students. Since the start of his career in the Senate in 2010, Brown has been an opponent of giving aid to higher education. In March 2010, Brown voted against a bill that would have increased the current limit on individual Pell Grants and directed money toward institutions of higher learning that support minorities. Continuing his crusade against students, in March 2011, Brown voted in favor of the Republican Continuing Resolution, which would have cut the average Massachusetts student’s Pell Grant by $700.

Given that Brown needed assistance to make his way through college, it is disappointing to see that the senator is unwilling to pass those opportunities along to our generation.

Recently Brown has swung even farther right than some in his own caucus. In response to the recent contraception controversy, Brown decide to co-sponsor the “Blunt Amendment,” which will allow employers and insurance companies to drop parts of an individual’s existing health coverage if they have moral objections to those services. Not only is this a devastating blow to women’s health issues (contraception, mammograms and other vital services could be curbed), but the amendment’s vagueness would allow employers to drop coverage for any reason so long as they have a moral objection. The senator’s dangerous proposal shows how little he supports the interests of those in the Commonwealth. For someone who brands himself as an independent voice of the people, Brown sure seems to be walking hand in hand with the far right.

While many of the students at Tufts are from another state, voting in Massachusetts is incredibly important this year. Sure, the president will probably carry Massachusetts, but the Senate race could be the one that decides whether Democrats control the body and whether Massachusetts students have a

MCT

junior senator who supports their interests.

For this reason I encourage all Tufts students to register to vote here in Massachusetts.

The issues that affect this state also affect you ,and you should have a say in who represents the Commonwealth. There are many ways to get involved on and around campus. Tufts Democrats works in collaboration with Students for Warren (which supports Elizabeth Warren, a candidate for the Democratic Senate nomination) and Tufts for Obama. Tufts Democrats can also provide you with opportunities to get involved with

other Democratic candidates. These groups are committed to making sure young voters have a say in November’s results. Students are faced with a choice this election season: We can treat Election Day like any other day and not turn out to the polls, or we can make our voices heard by casting a ballot and sending a message about our priorities.

Taylor J. Barnard is a sophomore majoring in political science and philosophy. He is the president of Tufts Democrats.

Get your rosaries off our ovaries

by John

Lapin

Old white men in funny hats shouldn’t be allowed to make decisions about all women’s bodies.

At Pembroke College in Oxford, where I’m studying this year, a meeting of nearly 50 students passed a motion providing for women to be reimbursed for Plan B emergency contraception (EC) if they need to purchase it when the college nurse isn’t available to give it out. This service is almost taken for granted at Oxford. There, women can anonymously, safely and easily receive EC simply by texting one of the college’s welfare representatives, and if you’re not a university student, the National Health Service covers EC for free.

Meanwhile in the New World — which isn’t so new on this issue — reasonable Americans are being beaten down by an army of sexually repressed men who know nothing about birth control or women’s bodies and probably even less about sex. The uber-conservative Catholic bishops are ignoring findings by the Guttmacher Institute, a non-partisan sexual health research organization, that 98 percent of sexually active Catholic women use birth control. The bishops, who used to lead their congregations to the political and social left, are now more actively asserting Catholic restrictions on all women’s access to the care they need.

Women’s bodies have become political battlegrounds.

In his Feb. 11 column for the New York

Times, cleverly titled “Pelvic Politics,” Nick Kristof writes that birth control is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to keep a family afloat, especially in these dire economic times. Babies are expensive. (Guttmacher claims that 30 percent of American women 18-34 are unable to afford basic health services, and countless more are riskily putting off gynecological visits.) For many American women, birth control has become a luxury they can barely afford.

This should make the President’s new rule requiring insurers to provide birth control in the employer-sponsored plans a welcomed change for women, their partners and their families, given that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, married women are twice as likely to use contraception as unmarried women.

Even though there are exceptions so broad that the Popemobile could drive through them — religious institutions are exempt — Catholic bishops have turned this into a 21st-century crusade against women under the guise of religious freedom. At issue is the very small number of women, many of whom are not Catholic, who work for religiously affiliated organizations, like hospitals and universities and who rely on preventative family planning care.

The Crusaders speciously argue that the new rule violates their freedom of speech and their First Amendment rights. Anyone who knows anything about the Constitution knows that this isn’t true. The bishops are merely

using their interpretation of the First Amendment to protect themselves from having to shame their female congregants, an overwhelming number of whom have already ignored the admonition against birth control.

Furthermore, the rule does not require Catholics to take birth control. Just because a service is covered under an insurance plan does not mean that it is being promoted or that anyone must use it.

Rather, according to David Boies, famous for representing former Vice President Al Gore in Bush v. Gore (2000) and now the plaintiffs in the Prop.

8 trial, the issue is a simple one of labor and employment law. Requiring employers — religious or otherwise — to provide birth control in their insurance plans is really the same as requiring employers to abide by minimum wage and child labor laws.

The President’s new decision to put the onus on insurance companies to fund birth control would enable women to get the services they need regardless of where they work, while at the same time allowing the Catholic Church to practice its archaic beliefs. But even this isn’t enough to appease the outof-touch bishops. The Archbishop of Washington likened putting the onus on insurance companies to a school being required to tell children where to find porn, which is only marginally better than the school being required to give porn out for free.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president

of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and defender of pedophilic priests, called the measure “un-American,” and said that Americans are worried: “If this, what next?” Really?

This shows just how out of touch the Catholic Church is. Americans are not worried about what would happen if the 98 percent of sexually active women who take birth control could get it without co-pay. They are worried about jobs, the economy, paying their bills and putting food on the table, all of which would be easier without paying for expensive birth control.

The Catholic Church needs to join the 21st century. (A necessarily impossible challenge, I know.)

Freedom of religion is important and, evidently, some religious leaders are earnestly offended. But we cannot let a powerful few infringe on the rights of the many. In England, 26 Anglican bishops don their gaudy vestments, take their seats in the House of Lords and preach the moral conscience of the United Kingdom.

They recognize, though, that fighting against birth control is a losing battle and have given up.

It’s time for Catholic bishops in America to do the same and for the American people to stop taking advice about birth control from people who think that AIDS is a bad disease but that condoms are far worse.

John Lapin is a junior majoring in philosophy.

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

The Tufts Daily

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Comics

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Doonesbury

Crossword

by

Garry Trudeau

Non Sequitur

by

Wiley

Tuesday’s Solution

Married to the Sea

www.marriedtothesea.com

SUDOKU Level: Scoring 150 points in the All-Star Game

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Inside the NESCAC

Top-ranked Amherst women’s basketball team has sights set on second consecutive national title by

Zachey Kliger

Daily Editorial Board

The Amherst women’s basketball team is in the midst of a remarkable run on par with some of the best ever seen in Div. III sports. In the past few years, the Lord Jeffs have not only established themselves as the perennial team to beat in the NESCAC but have also become the top Div. III team in the nation. In defeating Tufts on Sunday, defending national champion Amherst extended its winning streak to 46 games overall and 63 straight at home while clinching their third straight NESCAC championship and further cementing their position as the class of the conference.

Despite the team’s dominance in recent years, the man behind the magic remains hungry as ever.

Coach G.P. Gromacki, currently in his fifth season at the helm of the Amherst women’s basketball program, wants to avoid feeling content. Instead, he chooses to focus on building from each victory, treating each game as a steppingstone towards — as he puts it — “something bigger.”

“I tell the girls all the time that it’s important to prepare for each opponent like it’s a new day,” Gromacki says. “You have to try and enjoy each moment and not think too far ahead or think about past games. Just stay focused and in the present moment.”

In Gromacki’s first five seasons at Amherst, his team hasn’t missed a beat. Gromacki arrived at the start of the 2007-08 campaign. In his first year, the Western Massachusetts native surpassed all expectations, leading the Lord Jeffs

Courtesy amherst college

Amherst guard Kim Fiorentino is part of a senior class that has combined for 4,724 career points and helped the Lord Jeffs become the best team in Div. III. to a 27-3 record, a first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and a first-ever NESCAC title.

Right away, Gromacki had set the bar high, and he wasted no time raising that bar again in the 2008-09 season, when his team rattled off 18 straight wins en route to a 29-4 record. Amherst hosted the first four rounds of the NCAA

Tournament and won those contests by an average of 24.8 points, including victories over nationally ranked NYU and Brandeis.

The next year, the Lord Jeffs won their first 31 games, climbed to No. 1 in the national rankings, reclaimed their NESCAC title and once again advanced to the NCAA Tournament semifinals.

And then, just when one might have thought that the Lord Jeffs had peaked, they put together their most memorable season to date in 2010-11, winning 32 of their 33 games and claiming the first Div. III National Championship in school history.

Gromacki has been named the D3hoops.com Northeast Coach of

the Year in each of his first four seasons with the program. Additionally, he received NESCAC Coach of the Year honors in 2008, 2010 and 2011.

Each season, despite the departure of graduating seniors and the challenge of developing new rosters, the Lord Jeffs have improved on their previous year’s performance and have broken records that were thought to be unbreakable. In only a few years, Gromacki has taken an underperforming program accustomed to middle-of-the-pack finishes in the NESCAC and turned it into a national powerhouse.

“We’ve gotten fortunate in recent years to have some great players wear our uniform,” Gromacki said.

“Every year, regardless of roster changes, we’ve always had strong leadership from our seniors, and that helps us stay composed and confident in any situation.”

This year, that leadership has come in large part from seniors Shannon Finucane and Lem Atanga McCormick, who have both played integral roles. Finucane leads all Amherst players in career steals (283) and is second all-time in career assists (404). McCormick has been a dominant down-low presence for the Jeffs in her four years, leading all players in career blocks (164). As a whole, this year’s senior class has scored the most combined points of any senior class in program history (4,724).

“They all just love playing together,” Gromacki said. “They have a great understanding of spacing and positioning on the floor related to one another. With any team, chemistry is either there or it’s not. And we have it.” see AMHERST, page 15

Inside the NBA

Second-half shootout begins in Thunderstruck West by

Cameron Yu

Daily Staff Writer

With the All-Star Game and all of its festivities wrapping up this weekend, the second half of the NBA season got under way last night. This is the time when teams make a push for the postseason, and in the Western Conference, that will be no easy feat.

Traditionally, the West is the NBA’s deeper conference, with between nine and 12 teams typically boasting records around .500 or better and looking at legitimate chances at making the playoffs.

This season is no different. Here’s how the contenders stack up:

Oklahoma City Thunder (Currently in 1st Place) The Thunder are the runaway favorites to win the West, and it’s easy to see why. The team features two of the NBA’s top young talents in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, as well as a dynamic bench player in James Harden. They have the youth to keep up with the condensed schedule, and their playing experience will serve them well in the playoffs. The only knock on them is that Durant and Westbrook still can’t quite coexist when Westbrook is running the point. Westbrook is a fantastic one-on-one player, but his decision-making still isn’t where it needs to be in order to play point guard. Look for the Thunder to make a move before the trade deadline for a true point guard. If they do, the West is theirs to lose.

Prediction: No. 1 seed San Antonio Spurs (2nd Place) This age-defying team continues to overachieve in the regular season, and they currently hold the second spot in the West.

What’s even more impressive is that they’re

doing it without some key pieces — Manu Ginobili is injured, and George Hill left via free agency —that allowed them to earn the top seed in last year’s playoffs. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan continue to school the young guns on how to run the pick-and-roll to perfection, and a deep bunch of productive role players round out the lineup. The Spurs will probably lock up a high playoff seed, but leaning on role players won’t do them any good in the postseason.

Prediction: No. 2 or 3 seed

Los Angeles Clippers (3rd Place) You know it’s a weird season when the Clippers get talked about before the Lakers do, but the Clippers have earned the right to be “LA’s team,” at least for this season — see the Lakers’ 16 championships, the Clippers 0. What’s amazing is that the Clippers’ roster has all the right pieces to make them contenders: the floor general, Chris Paul; the budding star, Blake Griffin; the productive veterans, Mo Williams, Caron Butler and Kenyon Martin; and the defensive monster, DeAndre Jordan. The only things preventing them from being a true title contender are their lack of playing time together and coach Vinny Del Negro’s awful offensive schemes, though Paul has been making up for a lot of his coach’s shortcomings.

Prediction: No. 2, 3 or 4 seed Dallas Mavericks (4th Place) After shaking off a slow start, the Mavericks really came on strong heading into the All-Star break. It’s hard to believe that they’d even be close to where they were in the standings last season after losing two players, J.J. Barea and Tyson Chandler, who were extremely important in their championship run last season.

Reigning NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki has finally played himself into shape after admit-

MCt

Teams in the West will have a hard time getting past the surging Oklahoma City Thunder, largely due to the play of superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. ting to being unfit in the beginning of the season. The team is old; their most important players have more than 10 years of playing experience each. Also, the Mavs don’t really have a reliable point guard. Jason Kidd is too old, and in a season dominated by point guards, Kidd simply isn’t going to cut it.

Prediction: No. 3 or 4 seed

Los Angeles Lakers (5th Place) It is rumored that the Lakers might sign Rasheed Wallace in an attempt to bolster their roster. That alone says a lot about where this team is. The Lakers needed to make a big move, particularly signing a see INSIDE NBA, page 15

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Sports

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Sailing

Courtesy Tufts Athletics

Junior Max Bulger jumped at the opportunity to compete in the Extreme Sailing Series, which began yesterday in Muscat, Oman.

Bulger sailing to the extreme in Oman For most people, sailing evokes visions of calm lakes, picturesque days on the ocean and “Wedding Crashers” (2005). But for junior Max Bulger, sailing goes far beyond recreation and even competition — it ventures into the extreme.

Bulger’s sailing prowess has earned him a spot in the Extreme Sailing Series in Muscat, Oman. Having already been a crew member on the boat that won the 2012 Key West Meleges class, Bulger is a part of Team Oman Air, whose skipper, Morgan Larson, has the experience of four America’s Cup campaigns but has never been a part of an Extreme 40 competition, as the class of boat is known.

Bulger got the chance to compete due to a new rule in the Series requiring teams to race with a fifth sailor who is either under 24 or female. The team is already off to an impressive start in the competition, which started yesterday, and is sitting tied for first with 36 points. According to his Twitter account, Bulger actually went over-

board briefly during the race but managed to quickly get back on the boat without impairing the team’s speed.

“Team Oman Air is comprised of four sailors with world championship victories, Olympic campaigns ... and years of Extreme 40 experience,” Bulger wrote on his blog on Sailingworld.com on Feb. 21. “I’ve spent the last month in the gym and watched all the film I could get my hands on.”

Team Oman Air will have to replicate its impressive first day to have a chance to hang with the joint leader and pretournament favorite, French team Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.

Regardless, Bulger is thankful for the opportunity to sail in a world-class event.

“I was elated to get another offer to go to battle with phenomenal sailors,” he wrote on his blog. “Needless to say, I’m still floored by the opportunity.”

—by David McIntyre

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continued from page 13

point guard or trading for Dwight Howard, in order to make a legitimate deep playoff push, but signing Wallace is the last move the team should make. The Lakers will continue to drink from the Kobe Bryant well until that runs dry — which will be whenever Kobe says so. Until they effectively incorporate big men Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum into the offense, or until they make a move that truly invigorates the team, they will continue to be in the middle of the pack. Their horrendous road record will also be their downfall in the postseason if they can’t secure homecourt advantage in any series.

Prediction: No. 4, 5 or 6 seed Houston Rockets (6th Place) The Rockets are a perfect example of how having a pure point guard translates to success this NBA season. The team is made up of a bunch of players that wouldn’t really excite anyone with their names alone, such as Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Samuel Dalembert. But they are led by Kyle Lowry, who has established himself as one of the more productive point guards in the league this season.

Coach Kevin McHale really likes opening up the bench, and the players are putting in good production with the help of a

wealth of pure point guards to control the flow of the offense. The lack of a pure star, though, will eventually hurt them.

Prediction: No. 7 or 8 seed, or out Memphis Grizzlies (7th Place) The Grizzlies are an extremely interesting case. They started the season slow but have since clawed their way to a playoff position. They have the potential to lock up a middle-seed, but injuries have once again shaped their season. In addition, Rudy Gay, who missed much of last season with an injury, is showing everyone why he deserved that max-contract he signed, even though he wasn’t selected as an AllStar. It will be interesting to see what happens when Zach Randolph comes back, as he was a big reason for their playoff success last season but hasn’t played with Gay all too much. If they can hit their stride going into the postseason, the Grizzlies will be a team no one wants to face.

Prediction: No. 4, 5, or 6 seed Portland Trailblazers (8th Place) The Trailblazers have been a mostly disappointing bunch this season. Most expected them to break out with their budding star LaMarcus Aldridge, but while they have shown flashes of greatness, their inconsistent play currently has them barely making the playoffs.

Aldridge has been playing like one of the best young power forwards in the game today, but the rest of his teammates haven’t quite matched his level of play.

The Blazers are still insistent on developing Nicolas Batum into a quality player and are somewhat maniacal at times for letting Jamal Crawford run the point, but somehow they’re making it all work.

Prediction: No. 7 or 8 seed, or out On the outside looking in The Denver Nuggets are the team not currently in playoff position that has the best chance of playing their way in. Injuries to Danilo Gallinari and Nene have caused them to drop in the standings, but they have utilized their bench and shown they have a deep roster. Not only do they have a chance to grab the last playoff spot, but if they can get back to the level of play they were showing early in the season, they could lock up one of the top four seeds.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are the other team that fans want to see in the playoffs, especially after watching Kevin Love light it up in the three-point contest and Ricky Rubio dish out crazy assists in the Rising Stars Challenge. The T’Wolves are clearly trying to build around Love and Rubio, as they should, but their inability to hold a .500 record shows that they aren’t ready to push for the playoffs yet.

Gromacki has helped create women’s basketball dynasty AMHERST

continuedfrom page 13

Amherst has also benefited from the play of senior Caroline Stedman, who was recently nominated for the Jostens Award, given to the most outstanding women’s Div. III basketball players of the year. The nomination is well-deserved, as Stedman has flourished under Gromacki’s guidance and gone from a freshman who averaged ten minutes a game to a standout on the division’s best team.

Despite all the winning and high expectations, perhaps Gromacki’s greatest asset

is his ability to stay loose in times of immense pressure.

“He knows when to be serious and he knows when to joke around and have fun,” sophomore guard Sally Marx said. “We all admire how he never takes himself too seriously and always puts things in perspective.

That really helps calm us down, and we just go out there and play basketball.”

This season, the Lord Jeffs are at it again, building on a winning streak that began on Jan. 14, 2011. It has been more than two years since the Jeffs have lost a game in front of their home fans.

And yet, Gromacki ultimately will only label the season a success if it ends in one way: “Hoisting up the trophy when it is all said and done.”

The Lord Jeffs have put themselves in a good position to do just that. On Monday, they were selected as a regional host site for the NCAA Tournament, which will begin on Friday.

“We are aware of the streak, but it’s really on the back burner when we’re out on the court,” Marx said. “Coach is a big reason for that. We just go out, have fun and play basketball. Obviously, it’s been working.”

DAILY DIGITS

19.2

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Second-half shooting percentage by the women’s basketball team in the NESCAC finals against defending national champions Amherst. Although the game was tied at the end of the first half, the undefeated Lord Jeffs exploded after the break, outscoring the Jumbos in the second half 41-15 while shooting 40 percent from three-point range.

Senior guard and Jostens Award nominee Caroline Stedmen had 12 second-half points.

Tufts, meanwhile, was stifled by the Amherst defense, and shot 0-for-6 from beyond the arc en route to the 65-39 loss.

The league-low number of wins captured by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 20112012 NHL season going into last night’s matchup with the streaking Detroit Red Wings. The Jackets have spent the majority of the season at the bottom of the Power Rankings, and they have settled comfortably into the league’s last-place No. 30 spot with a dismal 18-37-7 record. The Jackets also rank 27th in the league in goals per game, next to last in goals against and last in penalty kill situations, proving that sometimes, the rankings really do say it all.

Points scored by Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant in 14 career NBA All-Star Game appearances. On Sunday evening, Bryant broke Michael Jordan’s previous record of 262 with a 27-point performance at the 2012 NBA All-Star game in Orlando, and he helped the West team to a 152-149 victory over the East. Bryant has had stellar performances in 13 of his 14 All-Star Game appearances. This time, he shone, despite suffering a broken nose in the third quarter on a foul committed by Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade.

5,839

222

4

Points produced by last year’s graduating seniors of the men’s lacrosse team. Though the Jumbos have plenty of new talent to help fill the gaps, they return only three players who scored at least 10 goals last season and just four players who had more than four points.

In order to sustain an offense that scored 12.6 goals per game last year, head coach Mike Daly will be relying even more heavily on senior co-captains Sean Kirwan — who scored an incredible 66 goals last campaign — and Kevin McCormick, who chipped in 41 goals from the midfield.

4 2

Career plate appearances for Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, who played all 15 years of his MLB career with the Boston franchise and is set to announce his retirement on Thursday. He retires as one of the team’s most beloved players and one of just 14 MLB players since 1994 to play an entire career of 5,500 or more plate appearances with a single team. He served as the Red Sox’s captain for the final seven seasons of his career, caught four no-hitters and helped lead the team to two World Series championships, including its first in 86 years.

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Fan-favorite Timberwolves not yet ready for playoff run Inside NBA

Wanted

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Diving events won by sophomore Johann Schmidt at the NESCAC Championship meet, which includes both the one- and three-meter dives, in each of his two years on the team. Schmidt was named Diver of the Meet for the second year in a row and broke Williams pool records in both diving events. His marks were also good enough to qualify him for the NCAA Championship meet, which will be hosted by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) from March 21-24.

Sam Gold | The OT

Brains over Braun

R

yan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder and reigning National League MVP, recently underwent the most damaging trial of his career. Sure, he escaped punishment, but he’ll go into the record books with an indelible asterisk by his name.

What Braun did is unusual, to say the least.

After failing a drug test with elevated levels of testosterone, he appealed before a panel of three arbitrators who, upon hearing and seeing whatever — a word I use to underscore the MLB’s secrecy in these sorts of proceedings — evidence was presented, absolved him of any punishment and overruled a looming 50-game suspension due to irregularities in the shipping of his urine sample.

As far as a backlash, there really was none.

The reaction among players especially was neither visceral nor disbelieving, but skeptical.

Marlon Byrd, who plays for the rival Chicago Cubs, told the Chicago Tribune: “It’s just that some people want to hear more about what really happened — what went down — the technicality of everything not being shipped out at the right time.”

Byrd’s teammate, pitcher Jeff Samardzija, felt similar reluctance. “It seems like there’s just a lot going on, like the more it goes on, there’s more questions,” said the former twosport standout at Notre Dame, according to the Tribune.

I held my breath throughout this ordeal, yet I was as far removed from it as the next layperson. Thankfully, there was no earth-shattering discovery as was concomitant with the release of the Mitchell Report in December 2007; in fact, he will almost certainly fare better than both Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, the sport’s two most notable substance abusers.

After all, Braun will not serve a suspension.

As of the last five years, I’ve typically had minimal vested interest in baseball aside from compelling stories, crazy endings and Ozzie Guillen. My Mets have annually tanked, and I’ve thought it unfair that a team condemned to eternal failure by some divine spirit be the scourge of my affliction.

Maybe it’s because I’m Jewish, or because I once dreamt of playing a professional sport, or because of my affinity for those who emphatically disprove the old adage “nice guys finish last.” But, the primary reason notwithstanding, I admire Braun for all he has accomplished during his five-year career, and I worry about the ever-increasing rarity of a blemishfree professional athlete.

Heightened scrutiny and proliferation of drug tests will undoubtedly beget more stories like Braun’s. That’s a good thing. But when guys like him become the focal point, I can’t help but think that cheating can infect even the most respectable athletes.

I cannot stress enough the importance of exposing drug abuse and other methods of cutting corners. Sometimes, though, I don’t want to believe what I read or what I see.

When I was younger, I looked up to these guys, players whose seemingly inimitable feats of athleticism astounded me to no end.

In the wake of each suspension or trial or accusation, that fragment of hope — the whimsical notion that baseball is still an uncontaminated game — shrinks a bit more.

I want so much to be able to convince myself that Ryan Braun has never touched steroids, but I, just like Marlon Byrd and Jeff Samardzija, am not immune to suspicion.

Fans and bandwagoners alike know well that the naive, childlike tenor of a grown man’s game gives baseball its luster, and retaining that quality is essential to its success. I want him to be clean; I need him to be clean — for me, for him, for the good of the game.

Sam Gold is a freshman who has yet to declare a major. He can be reached at Samuel_L.Gold@tufts.edu.

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