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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

VOLUME LXVIII, NUMBER 11

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Pinto named WGSS program director

by Jei-Jei Tan

Associate Professor of Anthropology Sarah Pinto has taken over the role of program director for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS), replacing former program director and Associate Professor of English Sonia Hofkosh.

Pinto, who has been a WGSS Faculty Committee member for eight years, said that the role of program director was a natural fit and an obvious choice for her.

“It’s a program I believe in, and it’s an area of study I believe in very strongly,” she said.

Pinto's areas of expertise and work at Tufts reflect the different facets of the WGSS program, according to Associate Professor of Art History Adriana Zavala, who is also a WGSS Faculty Committee member.

Daily Editorial Board

“I think she’s been a passionate member of the WGSS [Faculty] Committee, and it’s really exciting to have her now as a director because her research and her teaching is really dedicated to these three interrelated fields [of women’s, gender and sexuality studies],” Zavala said.

Hofkosh held the role of interim program director of WGSS for the past three years, following a previous two-term, six-year stint as program director for what was then known as the Women’s Studies Program.

She said that Pinto had been interested in the position when it became available three years ago, but was just about to go on leave. There were not many people who were both willing and able to take on the role, Hofkosh said regarding her appointment as interim director.

see PINTO, page 2

Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily

Consortium of Studies in Race, Colonialism and Diaspora Program Director, Associate Professor Dr. Adriana Zavala, explained how the program is the result of years of effort from faculty members and students.

Tufts creates consortium for race, colonialism and diaspora

by Daniel Bottino Daily Editorial Board

Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily

Sarah Pinto became the new director of the Women and Gender and Sexuality Studies program.

Tufts officially launched the Consortium of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora (RCD), an interdisciplinary program linking Africana Studies, American Studies, Asian American Studies, Colonialism Studies and Latino Studies, this summer. The program's Inaugural Celebration and Plenary, featuring a discussion with program directors, was held last night.

Associate Professor of History Kris Manjapra said that RCD was created in order to better coordinate the workings of the five interrelated programs under its umbrella.

“The consortium is much more than an administrative grouping,” he told the Daily in an email. “It provides a scaffolding for new kinds of intersectional and comparative knowledge and new opportunities for collaborative and teambased teaching to be built up over time.”

The consortium is the result of several years of student and faculty efforts, according to Adriana Zavala, director of RCD and associate professor of art history. The push began with the formation of an Africana Studies Task Force by Joanne Berger-Sweeney, former dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, in the spring of 2011. This group later became the Race and

Ethnicity Working Group, which spearheaded the creation of the Africana Studies and Asian American Studies programs.

The working group's next goal was to develop RCD, Zavala explained.

“In the fall of 2013, a proposal was presented to [former] Dean Berger-Sweeney for the creation of the consortium as it now exists; our proposal was approved over the summer of 2014 by Deans [ James] Glaser, Nancy Bauer, Bárbara Brizuela and Scott Sahagian,” Zavala said.

There are currently 80 students majoring in and 14 students minoring in one of the see CONSORTIUM, page 2

Dartmouth professor presents research on college coaching

by Patrick McGrath Daily Editorial Board

Christie Wu / The Tufts Daily

Last night the Consortium of Studies in Race, Colonialism and Diaspora hosted its Inaugural Celebration and Plenary in Sophia Gordon Hall at 5:30 p.m. The event was open to Tufts students, faculty and staff, and it was intended to celebrate the official launch of the consortium and operate as a forum for discussion among community members and the directors of the programs.

The consortium will serve as the new home for the the Africana Studies, American Studies, Asian American Studies, Colonialism Studies and Latino Studies programs.

Bruce Sacerdote, Richard S. Braddock 1963 Professor in Economics and chair of the Department of Economics at Dartmouth College, presented a lecture to Tufts students, faculty and staff yesterday afternoon in the Lincoln Filene Center Rabb Room at 4:30 p.m. as part of the Economics Department Seminar Series.

Sacerdote presented the findings from his working paper, "Late Interventions Matter Too: The Case of College Coaching New Hampshire," which he worked on alongside Associate Professor of Economics Scott Carrell at the University of California, Davis.

Inside this issue

"This is something I’ve been really excited about for a long time…getting more kids to go to college," Sacerdote explained.

Sacerdote said that the jumping off point for his research, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute for Education Sciences, was the premise that only early interventions for students effectively increase college application and attendance rates.

"People often said only early interventions matter," he noted.

Encouraging more students to apply to college is still a relevant issue. The United States has lost its competitive edge in college attendance rates compared to other wealthy countries

since the mid-1990s, according to Sacerdote.

"We no longer have a massive edge in four year college graduation, and we surely used to," he said.

Sacerdote emphasized the importance and benefits of attending college.

"Everyone recognizes we haven’t had a lot of growth in the four year college rate, yet there are large returns to four year colleges," he said, noting the potential for higher incomes for college graduates as an example.

Sacerdote's experiment included a group of Dartmouth undergraduate students who volunteered once a week for 1.5see SACERDOTE, page 2

Today’s sections

Volleyball splits NESCAC games on the road.

Food trucks find success in Tufts community

see SPORTS, back cover

see FEATURES, page 3

News 1 Features 3 Arts & Living 5 Editorial | Op-Ed 8

Op-Ed 9 Comics 10 Classifieds 11 Sports Back

2

The Tufts Daily

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

News

New consortium to foster interdisciplinary learning CONSORTIUM

continued from page 1

five programs in RCD, although the numbers are expected to increase this year due to the creation of the consortium, she added.

Zavala said that the consortium is structured to allow for greater academic exploration, hopefully encouraging students to expand their interests across the range of programs. Among the themes of RCD's five member programs are colonialism, slavery, race, orientalism, diaspora and empire-building, Manjapra added. “[The consortium] helps students to see that they maybe want to be an American Studies major or an Africana Studies major, but that they will benefit and be strengthened intellectually by thinking about the ways that colonialism and decolonization have played within those particular fields," she said. "[The students] will be able to benefit in a more dynamic way through all the programming we do together."

Zavala believes that the consortium’s emphasis on ethnic studies represents a major step forward for the university.

“We really can jump in at the forefront of the ways in which these fields are not just ethnically bound, but there is a trend toward comparative, intersectional, transnational and global analysis,” she said.

Zavala also emphasized that although RCD has a heavy focus on ethnic studies, the program is open to all students.

“One of the things that we will be doing is trying to make it clear to stu-

Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily

The Consortium of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora program team meets in Eaton Hall. dents across the university who might be majoring in a wide variety of things … that knowledge of the way that race plays out in the Americas, knowledge of ways that diaspora communities contribute to the cultures and societies to which they come — this is something that matches very well

with a variety of departmental-based majors,” she said.

While there is interest among faculty members in creating a full academic department out of RCD in the future, their immediate mission is to increase the visibility of existing programs rather than expand in scope, according to Zavala.

“Right now it’s about solidifying what we have … and not looking to grow beyond our capabilities," she said. "We do have the energy and the vision to make the RCD and its programs one of the signature aspects of the Tufts education.”

Sacerdote presents his findings on effectiveness of late intervention

SACERDOTE

continued from page 1

to four-hour one-on-one sessions with students over a period of three to five weeks at a number of high schools in New Hampshire. In the sessions, the mentors would help students start and complete applications to whatever school they desired, send transcripts, start the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, sign up for the SAT and send in scores.

The students identified to take part in the experiment were nominated by their respective college counselors at the participating high schools. He noted that these students were identified as "marginal" students, which indicates that they had expressed interest in going

to college but had not actually taken any steps to do so.

"Many students do want to go to college, but many simply don’t do anything about it," Sacerdote explained.

The students in the nominated pool were then randomly selected to participate in the program. The experiment was considered "late intervention" because the students did not begin the mentoring program until around mid-December of their senior year.

The incentives for the students to take part in the mentoring included free coaching, the payment of their application fees, a $100 bonus upon completion, food during the sessions and an excuse to get out of class. He noted that the cash bonus did not significantly affect rates of students

applying to college.

"Very few students started the program with us and failed to complete," he said.

Sacerdote found that, ultimately, the mentoring program was successful in increasing college going rates, particularly for female students, although he is not yet sure why this is.

"If you intervene at the right time, it doesn't necessarily take a tremendous amount of time or money," he said.

Sacerdote underscored the success of the experiment, adding that they certainly had an impact.

"Once we push [the students] onto a different path, they’re happy to stay on that path," he said.

There are a number of reasons that these students may not be applying to

Pinto to expand role of WGSS on campus PINTO

continued from page 1

As program director, Pinto hopes to expand the program’s visibility on campus and expand on the work done by her predecessors in maintaining an active schedule of programming. Pinto explained that WGSS sponsors a number of events throughout the year, including a research symposium every spring called Beyond the Classroom, in which students present work they have done related to women, gender and sexuality in a public forum.

The role of program director encompasses a range of tasks, from filling out administrative paperwork to ensuring that courses are offered and papers are signed for students, to being an advocate for the program and the discipline on campus and in the community, Pinto added.

“This is my first time as program director so I think there is just a learning curve … in taking on any leadership position,” she said. “There are many new things to learn but I’m just very excited to be back.”

The program director for WGSS typically acts as advisor to all of the majors and minors in the program, but Hofkosh

said she will retain current seniors as her advisees while most of the juniors and sophomores have been switched over to Pinto.

According to Zavala, the director also works with the program's Faculty Committee to develop programming that is sponsored by WGSS. This includes developing a course list, reviewing curricular questions and serving as an ambassador on campus. “[Being program director] is like a tag team marathon,” she said. “You pass the baton, and you keep the next person running by cheering them on.”

Hofkosh added that there are many gratifications that come with working in an interdisciplinary program, such as collaborating with colleagues across different departments and working with students in a very close, intensive way.

“Because we have relatively few majors and minors … [and] because of the nature of [WGSS], people bring their passions and their experiences and their political commitments to the program so you often get much more from the student than you would ordinarily,” she said.

Two years ago, Pinto taught a course in feminist research methodology titled "Doing

Feminist Research," a pivotal course for WGSS majors and minors in which students begin to develop their senior projects.

She said that it was exciting to watch students transform into researchers and understand the interdisciplinary yet cohesive nature of the field.

While no longer on the faculty committee, Hofkosh said she intends to remain involved in the program by teaching classes in the English Department that are cross-listed in WGSS, participating in events, helping with planning and answering questions.

“The thing about directing WGSS is it’s very much a collaboration … among faculty and students and staff,” she said.

Zavala said that she does not foresee any challenges in the near future that they have not already faced. However, according to both Hofkosh and Zavala, limited resources in terms of time and money is always an issue, as is having to explain the nature and importance of WGSS. “The interdisciplinary programs really exist because of the interest of students and the interest and commitment of faculty,” Zavala said. “Our incentive to do it is because we love it.”

college in the first place, including a lack of available information or even internet restrictions that block college websites on high school campuses. With proper mentoring, however, these issues can be resolved, according to Sacerdote.

"I think that it’s their own fear of failure," he said. "They overestimate the barriers of applying."

He said that now that the program is over, mentoring programs like Let's Get Ready will take over the tutoring, focusing mostly on SAT preparation and mentoring for juniors.

From here, Sacerdote said he and Carrell will now focus primarily on getting their research published.

"I’ve gone from worrying about whether or not you can do it, to sales mode," he said.

Police Briefs Fraternity Brawl On Sept. 13 at 1:46 a.m. officers from the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) responded to an incident at 100 Packard Ave., the house of fraternity Theta Chi. A Tufts student met the officers and explained that three young white males had entered into the house and were causing a disturbance.

The student claimed that the intruders, who were not Tufts students, had come into the house hoping to cause a fight and had threatened to hit a Tufts student with a brick. The intruders were apprehended

by Fletcher Field. When interviewed by TUPD officers, they reported that they had been walking by the fraternity house and had been drawn into an argument with some fraternity brothers who were on the steps of the house. Each of the intruders had been drinking.

Haskell Rascals At 1:47 a.m. officers responded to a report of the smell of marijuana coming from a room in Haskell Hall. The door was unlocked but only slightly ajar when the officers arrived, and the smell was obvious. A student who claimed he lived in the room arrived and asked to

enter the room. As he opened the door to enter, officers noticed another male student lying on the bed with bloodshot eyes. A green leafy substance was spotted on the desk. The materials were confiscated and the students were reported.

Identity Thieves At 9:30 p.m. three high schoolaged males were reported for adding graffiti to university property in front of the Perry and Marty Granoff Music Center. Officers responded and questioned the three males in the lobby of the building. One of them was carrying a bag, which was searched by officers and discovered to hold 25 Somerville High School ID cards belonging to students, staff and faculty. The intruders claimed the stolen ID cards were part of a game. The intruders had also filled out Jazz Ensemble audition sheets with obscene language and rude comments, such as “617 f**k you” under the telephone number. The intruders were brought to the police station where they were picked up by their parents.

—by Daniel Bottino

Features

3

tuftsdaily.com

Local food trucks find home in Tufts community

by Mengqi Sun

Daily Editorial Board

Moe's BBQ Truck, which sits at the intersection of Professor's Row and Packard Avenue on weekend nights, has been well-known on campus for some time now. Recently, though, more and more local food trucks based in and around Somerville are finding a home around Tufts' campus.

Cambridge resident Dave Stuart, nicknamed “Moe,” started his food truck business at Tufts in 2007.

“When I went to college, there was no place to eat at night. So I decided to come over here and give it a try,” Stuart said. “I have enjoyed it, [and] the kids are all great. They are nice people, and I have had some fun times here.”

Moe’s BBQ Truck comes to Tufts every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night — except in the winter — feeding students hamburgers, sandwiches and hot dogs. The truck also goes to the Trum Field in Somerville during lunchtime Mondays through Fridays. According to Stuart, as compared with having a store front, a food truck is more convenient.

“It’s easier — if I want to go to another place, I can just pick up and go,” he said.

Austin Crittenden (LA ’13), the founder of the Scoop N Scootery, an ice-cream delivery truck, expressed a similar sentiment about the advantages of food trucks.

“I was looking into a store front, but the food truck is a moving store front that I can go with to everywhere we want," he said. "[It has given us] the ability to go to any events that we want.

So it is also a catering vehicle."

The Scoop N Scootery, which opened in June, delivers 16 different flavors of ice cream and frozen yogurt, plus 33 kinds of toppings, for no delivery charge (with no minimum). On Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, the truck can be found on College Ave. from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. It also has six other operating locations around Somerville.

According to Crittenden, the idea originated the summer after his junior year, when his fraternity was delivering ice cream with a freezer and scooper.

“I started this in college with two other friends ... [and] it evolved from four or five flavors," he said. "We tried to deliver cones and cups, and we were

Evan Sayles / The Tufts Daily

Customers gather outside Moe’s BBQ Trolly on Packard Avenue on Sept. 19, 2014. doing it with coolers and with ice.

Everything was a mess [and a] failure.

But it was the most fun I’ve ever had.

And people were loving it even though we were bringing them puddles.”

Despite the convenience, owning a food truck is not without problems.

“Everything goes wrong all the time," Crittenden said. "It’s essentially a new business type, [and] you are putting in all the equipment that is not made for a truck. Owning a food truck is an adventure — no day is the same.”

A slight variation from the food truck, Sweet Idea has been delivering cookies by bicycle — wearing orange jumpsuits — since 2012.

“We wear these orange jumpsuits as our uniforms, [and] that got a lot of

Evan Sayles / The Tufts Daily

The Scoop N Scootery, started by Tufts alumnus Austin Crittenden (LA '13), now delivers ice cream to students.

people’s attention. People tried out the cookies and that’s how we got started,” John Piermarini, founder of Sweet Idea, said. “The idea is that we are always present in these specific times and places, and you can always have what you want for you.”

According to Piermarini, the bike has offered a level of convenience of its own in door-to-door delivery.

“To do delivery off the bike, it is quiet, especially when you work at night," he said. "And it is very safe, and eco-friendly. It is a great way to get around, and it is faster than doing delivery by cars.”

In contrast, Medford local Mary McPartland, the founder of Boston ice cream truck Frozen Hoagies, has decided to open a store in Somerville later this October. McPartland said she began with a food truck because it was more affordable.

According to McPartland, the proximity to Tufts will be a critical component of the new store. Crittenden agreed that the Tufts student body has been important to his food truck’s success.

“I see a student body that is willing to accept new things and [is made up of ] adventurous people that are very interested in something that is emerging, that is new,” Crittenden said. “I know that they would give me a chance.

I see Tufts students come over to the food truck and are fascinated by it and are genuinely interested.”

Piermarini also commented on the support from the Tufts campus.

“Tufts has been really good for Sweet Idea," he said. "I really enjoy it here.

I have so many fun memories when I first started here, and how supportive people were and very involved. It was awesome to have so much support from people who are just completely strangers weeks ago.”

Having been around Tufts campus for seven years, Stuart has enjoyed his time here through chatting with students from all over the world.

“The diversity of the students here [is my favorite part],” he said. “I’ve met kids from Pakistan, Kenya, from all over the world. And it’s interesting, and I got to be friends with them, and it turns out to be fun."

Lauren Samuel | Wanderers in Space

Confessions of a wanderer

I

have been sitting at this cafe for far too long just trying to type out the words of the first sentence of my first column. It’s ironic that I had been striving for some sort of perfection, the perfect first line, when this is a column that will be dedicated to imperfect experiences. As much as I thought it would be funny (do I dare use the term “punny” or would it scare y’all away?) to title my column after our lovely astronomy class, "Wanderers in Space," there is much truth to the name.

You see, the other day, over falafel, I struggled to explain to my companion what my column was all about.

I reduced it to “adventures,” but it’s really far from it. An adventurer is an Indiana Jones-like explorer, a dude that typically has some distinct facial feature and does wild shenanigans like skydive and fly to Paris on a whim. But a wanderer doesn’t strive for this perfect movie-like tale; a wanderer doesn’t even strive for the story. In reality, a wanderer just glides through life and experiences with totally open arms. I know this sounds like a lot of hippydippy-trippy hokiness but I’m dead serious. My friends and I are all about this lack of perfection, the cumulative experience and the weird stuff along the way, whether that means transportation inconveniences or finding ourselves stuck in a museum full of children age eight or under!

Don’t get me wrong, to be a wanderer is not an innate personality trait; in fact I spent most of my first year at Tufts the farthest thing from a wanderer in space. I guess the shift began towards the end of last semester. My friends and I just stopped shrugging our shoulders, scratching our heads and asking "What should we do today?" and instead started asking, “Where are we going today?” And we went. There was no grand philosophical reason for this, it just felt right to head off campus for a day, an afternoon, an hour even.

When you’re sucked into the Tufts bubble you forget the joyful little excursions real people do, the ones our parents would take us on when we were younger: museums, conservatories, apple farms, tours, even just a walk around the city. I guess I’m just trying to bring that back, that sense that there is more to life and being 19 than just working, eating, hanging on campus, partying, repeat. There’s a whole world out there, and I’m not promising you anything radical, I can just promise you some goofy experiences with my dorky friends around this lovely area we get to call home.

So reading this over has made me realize that I have still been sufficiently vague. And you know what, I think that’s okay because, if you must know, this really is just a totally imperfect experiment. This is a weekly recording of a random shenanigan my friends and I decide to jump into, big or small and most importantly, the process and experiences that brought us there and back. This is a break from the reality of college life and an embracing of still being young and uncommitted. This is definitely a monetarily conscious endeavor; most of our trips will be free or discounted. This is a shot in the dark.

But as a self-proclaimed wanderer, I’m ready to dive into it, suck up all I can experience and retell it to you with an open mind, wishing that even just a sentence or two (those imperfectly perfect lines) will resonate. Here’s hoping.

Lauren Samuel is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. She can be reached at lauren.samuel@tufts.edu.

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Concert Review

Sun Kil Moon's crass frontman delivers provocative, unapologetic performance

Eva Batalla-Mann | How to Make a Mixtape

The wall

by Charlotte Gilliland Daily Editorial Board

If Sun Kil Moon makes anything clear on stage, it’s that frontman Mark Kozelek is certainly not singing for love of his fans.

Performing at the Somerville Theater on Sept. 19, Sun Kil Moon gave a raw — and sometimes incendiary — performance.

Begging the audience for ibuprofen and cigarettes, or else pressing a seltzer bottle to his aching forehead, Kozelek, former leader of '90s alternative rock band Red House Painters, began to apologize for his lethargic stage presence just after his second song.

Anticipating the indie-folk act of Sun Kil Moon, one might expect a quiet, poignant evening. You may be concerned that if you don’t listen close enough to Kozelek’s lulling acoustic guitar, you’ll miss a heart wrenching moment of his painfully honest, eloquent lyrics. Kozelek’s stage presence, believe it or not, was just as raw as his gut-wrenching songs. This emotional edge left listeners concerned that he may explode at any moment, wondering what in his past put the woeful, weathered look in his eyes.

Songs like “Carissa” (2014) and “I Know It’s Pathetic But That Was the Greatest Night of My Life” (2012) certainly seem like the art of a hardened soul. But after Kozelek’s scandalous remarks a few weeks ago that band The War on Drugs could "suck his f***ing dick,” this tortured artist's live tour may be closing in on its expiration date.

Kozelek would take what seemed like half an hour to tune his “$4,000 guitar” in between songs, making a joke about how "Jews have all the money," and reassuring audiences — twice — that he truly “loves black people.” Next, he let his supposed sense of humor shine through

Dirk Haun via Flickr Creative Commons

Sun Kil Moon was in questionable form last Friday. by responding to a male fan’s screams of, “I love you, Mark,” with disappointment, because naturally, he explained, he only appreciates catcalls from women.

After watching Kozelek wander aimlessly, sing to stage corners, avoid eye contact with any member of the audience and telling his band to wait a few minutes before their next track so he could “talk some s**t,” listeners could be pretty sure Kozelek could have cared less that the sea of Somerville hipsters below him may have actually paid a few bucks for their

Album Review

Friday night entertainment. Kozelek’s lack of enthusiasm was encapsulated by one lengthy, painful pause just before his encore, leaving just enough time for him to confer with his band members about just where, exactly, they were performing: "Somer…uhhh...ville?"

Kozelek unapologetically bared his shortcomings for all to see — as if his life story were tattooed on his forearm, begging you to read it, maybe cry a little see MOON, page 6

Movie Review

'The Maze Runner' has high-speed action, muddled plot

by Drew Robertson Daily Editorial Board

Hurdling upward fast, and with no visible escape, Thomas — the protagonist of “The Maze Runner,”

The Maze Runner Directed by Wes Ball Starring Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Patricia Clarkson, Aml Ameen

Surprisingly, the nine track studio album (Cohen’s 13th) clocks in at only 36 minutes, but the artist uses his time to create an atmosphere of sound and musical complexity that can only be achieved by a legend. “Popular Problems” transports listeners and pulls them into a world that is as untouched by time as Cohen’s musical relevance. At his age, Cohen has no need to barrel ahead and blast past his competition. As he states with a seductive grumble, “I've always liked it slow/ Slow is in my blood.”

If Cohen feels a need to compete in a musical world whose speed increases as exponentially as the internet bandwidth used to distribute songs, it's not showing. If anything, his album is a purposeful transgression, a lackadaisical call to

played by Dylan O’Brien — seems to be trapped in the world's scariest dumbwaiter. Released last Friday, “The Maze Runner” is a movie adaptation of James Dashner’s 2009 novel of the same name, and it begins with every acrophobe’s worst nightmare. It’s also a high-adrenaline ride, guaranteed to increase audience members’ heart rates along with Thomas’ volatile journey.

Directed by Wes Ball, “The Maze Runner” attempts to keep up this rapid pace throughout the movie’s 113 minute run. Based on Dashner’s young adult dystopia, Ball’s version of “Maze” is unapologetically structured as an action movie. The breakneck speed is sometimes exhilarating, sometimes nauseating.

After surviving the most stressful elevator ride in history, Thomas finds himself in the Glade, a large meadow populated by boys, ranging in age from pre-teen to young adult, and surrounded by immense con-

see COHEN, page 6

see MAZE, page 6

Takahiro Kyono via Flickr Creative Commons

Leonard Cohen proves his timelessness through songwriting genius.

Leonard Cohen burns slow and bright on powerful new album

by Nika Korchok Daily Editorial Board

Deliberately slow, never lethargic and just slinky enough to avoid being soporific, Leonard Cohen’s new album, “Popular Pro b l e m s,” Popular Problems was released on Sept. 23 — two days after Leonard Cohen Cohen's 80th birthday. The Columbia Records album proves that the singer-songwriter is not only timeless but musically transcendent.

Opening with Cohen's distinct voice — think gravel-verging-on-snarl — in the appropriately-titled “Slow,” he purrs into the microphone, “I’m slowing down the tune/ I've never liked it fast/ You want to get there soon/I want to get there last.”

W

hen I was a sophomore in high school, I inherited my grandparents’ old records. I wiped away the dust and obtained the proper Kallax series shelving unit from Ikea to house them. I pulled out my dad’s old boxy turntable and hastily fastened a belt out of a headband — totally with the intention of getting a real one but it worked so well that I never did. Every night before doing homework, I’d stick a record on the turntable. Some were warped, so I would rush to lift the needle as one phrase of “‘Round Midnight” (1944) eerily played over and over. My small collection grew as I searched thrift store milk crates and accepted donations from Chaz, a family friend and the resident antique collector of my hometown. We spent hours going through a cluttered shed filled with vinyl — everything from Bob Dylan to Yma Sumac.

Arms full, I would come home and spread them out on my bedroom floor.

When leaving for college, I had a feeling that transporting five boxes of records across the country might not allow me to enter freshman year unencumbered by emotional and literal baggage. So I chose a few to take with me. I didn’t think about it much and threw some in the bottom of a box of winter coats: "Theme for the Eulipions" (1975) by Rahsaan Roland Kirk, "Songs in the Key of Life" by Stevie Wonder (1976), the "West Side Story" (1961) soundtrack, Al Green’s Greatest Hits (1975), "Astral Weeks" by Van Morrison (1968), "A Chorus Line" (1985) soundtrack, War’s "Greatest Hits" (2008) and "First Take" by Roberta Flack (1969). Or what I like to think would be a very interesting dinner party.

When decorating our suite this year we put these records on our common room wall. When I look at them, I see a visual mixtape. I think about “the journey agent” and atmospheric “oohs” in "Theme for the Eulipions" that my dad probably exposed me to at too young an age to understand — but that I love now. I think about being obsessed with Al Green for as long as I can remember and finally seeing him at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. He emerged on stage in a suit and new shiny sneakers while carrying a duffel bag. My parents and I joked that he put his money from the gig in the bag to keep an eye on it. You could tell he was getting older and his voice was wavering but it didn’t matter. I was in the presence of greatness. The Pointer Sisters had opened the show, so there was that, too.

The soundtracks on the wall pay homage to my adoration of musicals and remind me of mother-daughter road trips serenaded by showstoppers. “Maria” from "West Side Story" may have been my initiation into the world of musicals. When I was little, after taking my nightly bath, my parents would wrap me in a blanket and carry me to the living room saying, “I found this baby and she’s so little she doesn’t even know how to sing ‘Maria,’” at which point (perfectly on cue) I would emerge from the blanket doing my best Ethel Merman impression until I was forced to go bed.

To think that a collection of records can conjure up all these memories speaks to the power of music. Musical experiences create a narrative speaking to who we are and where we have been. In one of my favorite music movies, “High Fidelity”(2000), the brooding protagonist says, “The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it may seem.” And everyday, we are making our own mixtapes to share with others and put up on the wall.

Eva Batalla-Mann is a junior majoring in Peace and Justice Studies. She can be reached at eva.batalla_mann@tufts.edu.

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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Arts & Living

Music better than musician at Sun Kil Moon Concert MOON

continued from page 5

and perhaps eventually feel something.

That’s just what his songs do as well; they remind you of the way you felt in seventh grade while a first crush sat on your bed, or when you heard the news that your second cousin died on the way to her nursing shift. They remind you of how much you really do love your dad, or how you felt when you saw the news about the tragic events in Newtown, Conn.

His lyrics, his charismatic guitar plucking and his honesty provide each listener

with something with which to connect and grapple. Unfortunately, however, Kozelek’s lackluster performance also emphasized the separation between an artist and his art. In order to love a work of art, one does not necessarily have to love the artist. Kozelek’s jarringly emotional, critically acclaimed work should not be tainted by his jaded stage performance; the evening was an unfortunate reflection of his character, yet not of his art.

Despite Kozelek’s overbearing and offensive stage commentary, his backing band remained in constant commu-

nication, creating seamless harmonies and providing a beautiful, rich sound to Kozelek’s usually sparse singer/songwriter style. Listening to Kozelek belt “Dogs” brought a new reality to the tale of his adventures in young love, creating a clear picture of a poor, middle school version of Mark, ignored by his first love in the hall in between classes. His performance of “I Can’t Live Without My Mother’s Love,” delivered as he stood sorrowfully on top of a speaker near the front of the stage, became an almost spiritual experience. Kozelek appeared like a kind of

fallen hero, begging for redemption, with stage lights shining on both his beauty and his imperfections.

While Kozelek did not leave many yelling for an encore, the evening outlined a paradox often too easy to ignore.

In life, there is death; with love, there is loss. Even after his questionable commentary and disappointing stage presence, it's just possible that audience members caught a glimpse of something personal, maybe painful, lurking in Kozelek's shadow.

Engaging characters save Ball's latest film MAZE

continued from page 6

Takahiro Kyono via Flickr Creative Commons

Leonard Cohen’s new album has a slow pace, but proves a success overall.

'Popular Problems' masterfully blends old and new

COHEN

continued from page 5

action that is more an invitation to slow down, like Cohen’s molasses-speed rhythms. While the album is clearly part of Cohen’s constant evolution as an artist, certain tracks feel as though they are attempting to pull listeners back to a different time and place.

For instance, the second track “Almost Like the Blues,” features signature jazzy soul complete with a horn section and a methodical piano in the background. Meanwhile, the third track, “Samson in New Orleans,” is more of the moody and folksy variety that harkens back to “Various Positions” (1984) and “Recent Songs” (1979). This track moves with a different kind of slowness, tinged with deep-seated Cohen-variety melancholy and hints at Americana culture, with lines like “There’s a woman in the window/ There’s a bed in Tinseltown/ I’ll write you when it’s over/Let me take this temple down...she was better than America/ that’s what I heard you say.” The song is almost deliberately paralleling Cohen’s most famous track, “Hallelujah” (1984), an homage to his roots.

He continues to pull the listeners into the space of an older era with the fourth track, “A Street.” This track breathes like a Johnny Cash song, with a dark near-spoken vocal performance by Cohen and a steady drum beat. Cohen’s signature lyrics have as many strata as the Grand Canyon’s rock layers, and it is difficult to pick out all the subtleties as he sings “I see the ghost of culture with numbers on his wrist/Salute some new conclusion which all of us have missed.” Hyper-aware of the speeding world around him, he surreptitiously digs at the vicissitude of war and the modern era, burying his critiques in a song about lost love.

Cohen is both pulling out all the stops and holding back, displaying, at times, a dizzying musical restraint before his background singers' voices swell and he launches into another powerful crescendo. Much of the album is understated, with lyrics that are shrewdly simple; in “Did I Ever Love You?” he repeats the cutting words “Did I ever love you?/ Did I ever need you?/Did I ever fight you?/Did I ever want to?”

Cohen’s Canadian roots are apparent in “My Oh My” where

he seems to channel the baritone of Gordon Lightfoot combined with the basal musicality and instrumentation of Neil Young, complete with twangy guitar chords and a loneliness that oozes from the speakers.

Cohen never fears venturing out into new musical territory, throwing in background vocals with an Arabic chant, and the repeated word “Salaam” (Arabic for peace) while he sings again against the synth-heavy background in "Nevermind." The newer vibe hints at the influence of his producer Patrick Leonard, who is recognizable for his production of several Madonna albums. Rounding off the album with “You Got Me Singing,” Cohen pairs a bright violin and grumbling vocals, musing on lost experiences while reflecting on the present. In a final punch to his (perhaps hopeless) pleas for time to slow down, he deliberately self-references: “You got me singing that Hallelujah hymn.” The unassuming lyrical genius has pulled one over on listeners again. But he makes sure they’re in on the joke, drawing them back to the present once inoculated with a healthy dose of the past.

crete walls. Waiting just beyond those walls is the Maze. A shifting design of narrow passages and dead ends, the Maze is patrolled by grievers: fearsome, spider-like monsters made to kill. Unable to accept the boys’ simplest rule — don’t leave the Glade — Thomas pushes the others to try to escape the Maze and discover who put them inside it.

If this premise is already making your head spin, or if you’re having serious Divergent series flashbacks, you’re not alone. “Maze” is somewhat plot-heavy — it is, after all, based on a 375-page book — but important details are sometimes lost between high-velocity moments. The movie's cinematic genre hinders the actual story of “The Maze Runner” from coming through properly.

Thankfully, while its plot could have been more carefully developed, “Maze” offers other things to appease audiences. The cinematography is gorgeous, turning the familiar landscapes of the Glade and the Maze into ever changing backdrops that give a rustic beauty to the boys’ bleak fight to survive. That is, with one serious exception. The rendering of the grievers is a let down; these monsters eerily recall the aliens from, well, “Alien”(1979).

The wonderful characters introduced during the movie's early scenes (some of the few times “Maze” slows down enough to let us sink into its imaginary world) are undoubtedly the highlight of the film.

Each boy we meet in the Glade

is more vivid and intriguing than the last. Probably the most likable is Alby (Aml Ameen), the stalwart and wise leader of the group. In a tie for most adorable are Newt, played by the dashing Thomas BrodieSangster — all grown up since “Love Actually” (2003) — and Chuck (Blake Cooper), two of Thomas’ staunchest supporters. And most likely to explode in an angry rant? That’s Gally (Will Poulter), hands down.

The excellent performances given by these young actors make the movie worth the aerobic workout it takes to follow the ups and downs of this pulse-pounding flick. However, the portrayal of Teresa (played by Kaya Scodelario), the only young woman in the Glade, is perhaps the film’s biggest disappointment. Simply put, Teresa is a non-character. She has no memorable traits other than being pretty and a girl. As audience members, we never get to know or like her — she’s simply too undeveloped for that. To be fair, this doesn’t seem to be Scodelario’s fault.

Unlike her co-stars, "Maze's" action-oriented script and direction simply don’t leave her anything on which to build.

“The Maze Runner” is an action film targeted to young adult audiences, and while that may not please everyone, it’s no reason to dismiss the movie entirely. What “Maze” does do, it does well. Superbly choreographed fight sequences and groan-worthy gore are guaranteed to keep viewers on the edge of their seats for every heart-stopping minute.

BagoGames via Flickr Creative Cmmons

Dylan O'Brien as Thomas emerges as the trailblazing leader in "The Maze Runner."

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

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Editorial | Op-Ed

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Editorial

Congress should vote on expansion of military action against ISIS

The Obama administration this week declared that it had begun its yet-tobe-named expanded operations against ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

The administration’s new military action, which consists of more airstrikes and increased aid for Iraqi armed forces and Free Syrian Army forces, follows videotaped beheadings of journalists and aid workers in the area. Amid debates over the efficacy and long term goals of President Obama’s plan for military action there has been a disturbing lack of serious debate about the necessity of congressional authorization. Though many will argue that today’s threats require flexible executive powers, the expansion of power in the Oval Office should concern everyone.

The expansion of executive power has been well documented, going back to its most egregious increases during the Vietnam War under Richard Nixon and later under Ronald Reagan and George

W. Bush. These experiences did lead Congress to attempt to restrain the presidency over the years — the 1973 War Powers Resolution after Nixon’s presidency is a major example — but to little effect. Throughout the years, the expansion of war powers on the part of the presidency has placed a greater and greater deal of unchecked power in the hands of the Commander-inChief to send Americans into danger and to kill people around the world.

While the Constitution does give the President an ample amount of power as “Commander-in-Chief,” the erosion of checks-and-balances that prevents the President from acting upon his or her unrestrained personal will continues unabated.

A problem like this demands attention — yet Washington remains eerily quiet. Each of the major party leaders, Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Kent.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Representatives John Boehner (R-Ohio)

and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has put together a press release lauding the President’s efforts.

Congress seems entirely too willing to let the long war in Iraq continue without a vote.

Even if enough of our elected representatives wanted to expand the legislative branch’s checks on the presidency in the post-Sept. 11 world, this Congress has an abysmal record in passing bills.

If Americans want to see their voices heard in the discussion of the seemingly endless global war on terror, Congress must change the way it operates. The introduction of a new law or perhaps even a new amendment to the Constitution could be passed to oblige our officials to take a vote on military action — regardless of the gridlock in Congress today. If the American people are to have some kind of say in how these wars play out, something has to change. Congress should muster what political courage it has left and make that change.

Jennifer Lien

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Off the Hill | University of South Florida

Transgender equality is lacking in schools

by Brandon Shaik The Oracle

Mount Holyoke College, a liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, announced it will begin admitting any student who identifies as a woman, a slight but impactful change in admissions.

Mount Holyoke joins the ranks of institutions such as Yale and New York University by pioneering trans-positive initiatives in an attempt to promote human rights. More recently, lesbian and gay issues have been the focus of attention while transgender advocacy has often been treated as a separate movement, going unnoticed despite the efforts that have been made.

Title IX, passed in 1972, a law that requires gender equity for men and women in every educational program that receives federal funding, was extended in 2010 to include protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students from sexual discrimination.

The original 1972 law exempts religious

The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. EDITORIAL POLICY Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. Individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

institutions, however, allowing them to discriminate against LGBT students.

In April of this year, George Fox University prohibited a transgender student from living in single-sex housing on the basis of religious exemption.

Spring Arbor University in Michigan and Simpson University in California have also used Title IX exemptions to legally punish transgender students, going as far as expulsion according to Inside Higher Ed. Rates of transgender discrimination are alarming. According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 14 percent of Floridians who identify as a non-conforming gender reported harassment so severe they decided to leave school, while 47 percent reported being harassed in a public place of accommodation or service.

Though institutions are discriminating against transgender students, many are going out of their way to ensure that students feel they are part of a community of individuals and are

making the effort to bring transgender issues to light.

Earlier this year, the University of Pennsylvania permitted students to use their “preferred name” instead of their legal name if they feel it does not represent their gender identity. The Preferred Name Initiative is UPenn's attempt at providing a safe and inclusive environment for transgender students.

In 2011, USF announced it would accommodate transgender students, becoming one of three Florida institutions allowing transgender students to select their housing based on which gender they identify with.

LGBT individuals are grouped together because of the adversity they face every day. While progress has been made in the lesbian and gay community throughout the years, transgender issues are still alarmingly prevalent. Transgender advocacy needs to extend past the social justice blogs and permeate through mass media if any sort of headway is to be made in the coming years. It's time to stop acting as though the "T" in LGBT is silent.

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Op-Ed

Off the Hill | University of Southern California

Congress must speak up on its war powers

by Nathanial Haas The Daily Trojan

For Congress, it is rare for the mere act of voting to become more significant than the outcome of that vote. If the United States is to take significant military action against the Islamic State, they must do so with authorization from Congress. To allow anything else, including the unbridled and open-ended conflict that President Obama outlined in a speech to the nation Sept. 10, sets a dangerous and unconstitutional precedent very far from the ideals upon which our nation was founded.

Obama announced air strikes in Syria and a more comprehensive bombing campaign in Iraq in an effort to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the movement that has taken over most of southern Syria and northern Iraq, and resulted in the beheading of two American journalists in the last month. Obama and White House officials have claimed that the new bombing campaign in Syria is constitutional and requires no Congressional approval because of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). That's right, a session of Congress 13 years ago authorized military action against a movement they didn't even know existed.

How strange does that sound?

The history of war powers is complex. When Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in 1973, they did not intend to end executive war powers but rather to require Congressional approval after 60 days.

Clinton questionably violated the act in 1999 with the Bosnia invasion, but after Sept. 11 a new era of executive action was born. Congress passed the 2001 AUMF, which the Supreme Court has validated as giving broader powers to the executive to wage war outside of Congress. The AUMF, however, specifically gives the executive the authority to use force against those who "planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that

Bjoertvedt via Wikimedia Commons

occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons."

It's a slippery slope. The Islamic State's leaders have broken from Al Qaeda in Pakistan, and little (if any) evidence has been shown to link them to the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks. The Obama administration's reasoning on ISIS sounds a lot like the Bush administration's reasoning in the 2003 pre-Iraq invasion. There is a lot of talk, and little evidence. Deja vu?

It's time for all of that to end. Congress showed signs of life when it took a stand on Obama's request to use force in Libya in 2011 by voting down a measure authorizing the operation, but that will be for naught if representatives remain silent on action in the Middle East, which has no timetable to describe the length of the mission. In fact, operations in Iraq since the ISIS invasion have already exceeded the 60-day limit.

Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, imperialist or isolationist, one thing that it is important to agree on is the need for Congress to, at the bare minimum, have a voice in this matter. This voice cannot be the one Obama has asked them to have — authorizing $500 million to train pro-western rebels in Syria — but a voice that either authorizes or rejects the entire mission in the first place.

Such a vote likely won't come, but the conversation shouldn't stop. In the next Congress, a serious look at repealing the 2001 AUMF is necessary. We recently passed the 13th anniversary of Sept. 11, and we should no longer rely on 14-year-old military authorizations to confront our enemies.

An executive unhampered by Congress could do far more damage in the coming century than the radical Islamic network of the year. Worse yet, for all his violations of the War Powers Act (which the AUMF cannot supersede), Obama's leadership is the least of our problems — but an imperialist, militaristic president that the nation elects in the future might be.

"The AUMF is now nearly 12 years old," said Obama at the National Defense University in May 2013. "Unless we discipline our thinking, our definitions, our actions, we may be drawn into more wars we don't need to fight, or continue to grant presidents unbound powers more suited for traditional armed conflicts between nation states."

That wasn't a Congressman, a general or even a civilian speaking. That was President Obama one year ago. And if Obama — who has overseen a massive drone program and the reintroduction of force into Iraq — is worried about a future executive abusing the power, maybe we should be too.

Off the Hill | University of Arizona

Female characters just as interesting as male characters

by Tom Johnson The Daily Wildcat

A few years back, Kate Beaton did two strips of her comic about a group of "Strong Female Characters." Those characters were aggressive, angry and superficially powerful, but still neatly fit into the old "women are from Venus" stereotype. They sublimated themselves to an incredibly weak male lead and were ludicrously, pointlessly sexualized.

If that isn't a perfect take on the state of female characters in media since second-wave feminism crashed and fizzled, then I don't know what is.

When I talk about the dearth of strong female characters, I'm not saying that they don't punch enough dudes or punch hard enough when they do, but rather that so many of them either have their goals tied to or their plot taken over by the straight, white male protagonist.

So many writers seem to think of strong female characters in terms of their ability to throw a punch that they end up not noticing when said characters are being failed on a narrative level. TVTropes.org has an enormous collection of what it calls "faux action girls" — female characters who are passed off as powerful and competent, but when push comes to shove, don't ever actually do anything as far as the plot is concerned.

Correcting this defect is a matter of story structure. The definitive work on story structure, Aristotle's "Poetics,"

says that all narrative is action, and all characters are derived from their actions. So it would seem to follow that the strongest female characters are the ones whose actions drive the plot.

Writers need to evaluate whether their female characters actually do anything to push the plot forward of their own volition or even exist in any significant manner in the story. If not, they should find something for them to do.

A very easy way to do this is just to genderflip characters in the writing process, changing male characters into female ones. It not only ends up adding female characters without falling into the stereotypical tropes and cliches might be tempted to use when writing about women, but some great characters have been created this way, like McCoy from "Streets of Fire" (1984) or Ripley from "Alien" (1979).

And when new female characters are added, writers should be sure to give them their own schtick. Their major defining characteristics should not be that they are "the Girl one" because, believe it or not, women are not mysterious, ethereal sylphs defined by some underlying mysterious femininity, but actual three-dimensional human beings with unique thoughts and desires.

They can be serious or silly, boisterous bruisers or pencil-necked poindexters, but above all else, they must be their own people first and foremost. The fact that the Smurfette principle is a thing — where singular female characters are

added for reasons of demographics but left completely flat — shows how many people completely forget that.

This all sounds relatively simple to grasp, but the infamous Bechdel test shows how astoundingly media fails at this task. In order to pass the Bechdel test, a movie must include two named female characters that have a conversation about something other than a man.

Most movies fail this test spectacularly, and that's pathetic.

Including more female characters with a wider range of roles and more plot presence is not some "social justice warrior" agenda. Rather, it's the lack of female characters that constitutes, to some a degree, an "agenda."

"White straight male" is the default for characters. Adding some element of diversity to a character's identity often necessitates restricting that character's narrative possibilities, either for fear of offending someone or because "women don't act like that." And those are notions advanced by those who want to keep media visibility limited only to that hegemonic demographic, as well as likely a few well-intentioned misfires that fell straight into those mistakes.

Female characters can be just as interesting — just as diverse and flawed and awesome and well-rounded — as male ones. It just requires smashing up the blocks we have placed inside our collective cultural ideas about what female characters — and, by extension, women — can be.

9 Rebecca Solomon and POOJA SIVARAMAN | New York Style Delhi

How to win games and influence everyone We are Rebecca and Pooja, two juniors at Tufts with essentially undecided majors and decidedly major ideas — and here’s why you need our advice. We like to think of ourselves as a modern day “Sex and the City” (19982004) column, or rather, Single in the Suburbs.

Together we aim to be a less insufferable version of Carrie Bradshaw — one that understands that sometimes when you turn 18, you also turn 80, and you would never, EVER, sacrifice dinner for a copy of Vogue magazine.

We like to think that although, individually we are a mess, together we amount to almost a functioning human. A sort of good cop bad cop, yin and yang, Jake and Amir type situation if you will. From spilling 2.0M hydrochloric acid in chem lab to teaching sex education for PHE together, the two of us can tackle any issue you have with the utmost of expertise.

And in case you still aren’t convinced — here’s a little bit more about us.

Rebecca As a Brooklynite with an Italian mother and a Jewish father, she has the abrasiveness of Tony Soprano and the neuroticism of Larry David. People have often told her that she is honest to a fault. She does not believe in the notion of compliments, but rather focuses on suggestions. She will tell you, “I liked the perfume you wore yesterday better.” Ask her what she thinks of your top and she will say, “I’m not the one who has to wear it so if you like it, that’s all that matters.”

She lives by the theory that all relationships are games. She aims to collect as many W's as possible (meaning wins, not withdrawals).

Sometimes when the cashier at Starbucks doesn’t respond when she says, “Have a nice day,” she wonders if he won that interaction.

Her advice is that the best offense is a good defense. If that means straightening your hair for yogalates and wearing mascara to Tisch then so be it. Most importantly, she thinks that it is imperative to play at all times, which at times can make you the only one playing ... but if you are the only one playing, doesn’t that mean that you won?

The only relationship she does not view as a game is with her best friend the Pooj. Pooj balances her tactlessness, and together they are occasionally competent. While most freshman year friendships are solidified by sweaty frat parties and getting locked out of one’s room, Pooja and Rebecca bonded over a hatred of chemistry labs and a love of foreign TA's.

Pooja As a Bombay born, Delhi raised, currently living in Shanghai girl, Pooja has some issues about where she thinks she is from.

For the first year of college she told everyone she was Chinese in order to watch confused expressions and avoid lengthy conversations about ethnicity and homelands. When living in London she tried very hard to develop a sexy English accent, but subsequently failed (no matter how often she re-watches the “Skins” (2007-2013) series).

After living in Canada she knows the entire Canadian national anthem by heart and secretly prefers Tim Horton’s to Starbucks.

Unlike Rebecca, she is not as trained in tough love, but balances the suggestions with her highly profound views on life. Having spent the entire summer writing the horoscope section for a Shanghai-based lifestyle magazine, she’s highly educated in the fields of future predictions and telling people what to do. She is convinced that in the past two years she has aged exponentially, and believes strongly that the grey hairs she finds are signs of wisdom and that a cup of masala chai can solve any given problem.

If this isn’t enough to convince you we are the best people to ask for advice, then you need to reconsider your life choices. Please submit your questions, queries and problems and we will do our best to give you the best non-kosher advice we can!

Rebecca Solomon and Pooja Sivaraman are both juniors majoring in economics.

Rebecca can be reached at rebecca.solomon@tufts.edu, and Pooja can be reached at pooja.sivaraman@tufts.edu.

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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The Tufts Daily

FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Crossword Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis ACROSS 1 Loop in old Westerns 6 Kind of purpose 10 Future J.D.’s exam 14 Putting green border 15 Welding sparks 16 Sicilian smoker 17 *Arm, to an ace pitcher 19 Turkey or fox follower 20 Opposite of ecto21 “Moonstruck” Oscar winner 22 Valerie Harper role 23 Statement of agreement 24 *Issue that halts negotiations 26 Sluggish 28 What a goldbrick does 29 Cooking aids 30 Cry of surrender 33 *Monetary love, in Timothy 38 French wine region 39 “Hands off!”

40 Deck crew boss 43 Full of spunk 45 *One in the infantry 49 __-Aztecan languages 50 Finish by 51 Bird along the coast 52 Beat it 53 Pinball goof 54 Unswerving, and a hint to the starts of the answers to starred clues 56 Fit to __ 57 “Come Back, Little Sheba” playwright 58 Asian vine leaf 59 Stockholder’s concern 60 Former OTC watchdog 61 Bobrun runners

Comics

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Doonesbury

by Garry Trudeau

Non Sequitur

9/24/14

By Jack McInturff

DOWN 1 “You’ve got carte blanche” 2 Nondiscriminating immigration policy 3 Mendelssohn’s “Elijah,” for one 4 Unaided 5 Tolkien giant 6 Russian country home 7 “Family Matters” nerd 8 Biting 9 WWII carrier 10 Deadly 11 Butterfly, e.g.

12 Voltaic cell terminals 13 Golden Horde member 18 Treated, as a sprain 22 Christ the __: statue in Rio 24 Have little faith in 25 Little stream 27 Gaza Strip gp.

30 Sci-fi vehicle 31 One of the Bobbsey twins 32 A.L. Central team, on scoreboards

Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved Tuesday’s Solution

Married to the Sea

©2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

34 Cry of woe 35 Sundial number 36 Protect against heat loss, say 37 Made it big, as in school athletics 40 Mackerel relative 41 Truckloads 42 Conditions 43 Charges for services 44 Alpine airs

9/24/14

45 Like a curled-up position 46 Soprano Mitchell 47 Pharmacy inventory 48 How a 59-Across is typically shown 52 Pumped product 54 Five smackers 55 Ones taking hikes: Abbr.

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

by David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

www.marriedtothesea.com

Unscramble these four Jumbles, one letter to each square, to form four ordinary words.

©2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved.

PRIEW RAREBB

AICEPE

Yesterday’s

Level: Stealing Cracklin’ Oat Bran from the cereal section.

Now arrange the circled letters to form the surprise answer, as suggested by the above cartoon.

“

”

-

Print your answer here:

Check out the new, free JUST JUMBLE app

SUDOKU

TRETU

(Answers tomorrow) Jumbles: STUFF DAISY TRIVIA KENNEL Answer: They couldn’t figure out why the woman had passed out . . . They didn’t have the — FAINTEST IDEA

Late Night at the Daily

Monday’s Solution

Nick: “There MUST be a podium!”

Want more late-night laughs?

Follow us on Twitter at @LateNiteAtDaily

Please recycle this Daily.

by Wiley

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

The Tufts Daily

11

Sports

Housing Two, four and six-bedroom apartments for rent. Available June 1st, 2015, located on Ossipee Road, Somerville. Call Maria for more information (781-942-7625)

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

All classifieds submitted by mail must be accompanied by a check. Classifieds are $20 per week or $4 per day with Tufts ID or $30 per week or $8 per day without. The Tufts Daily is not liable for any damages due to typographical errors or misprintings except the cost of the insertion, which is fully refundable. We reserve the right to refuse to print any classifieds which contain obscenity, are of an overly sexual nature or are used expressly to denigrate a person or group. Questions? Email business@tuftsdaily.com.

Jumbos even record at .500 VOLLEYBALL

continued from page 12

ing their cohesion and determination as leading factors in the comeback.

"Our performance as a unit at the end of our match against [Colby] stood out to me in particular, as it takes considerable resilience and strong chemistry within a team to come back from a deficit like that," Kuppe said. "The fact that this was possible for us so early on in our season is something I find very promising."

Offensively, the Jumbos were led by Kuppe's team-high 17 kills, including the go-ahead kill in the third set. Classmate Kyra Baum handed out 41 assists and added 10 digs on the defensive end. Senior tri-captain Hayley Hopper also played well on both sides of the net, contributing 10 kills and 13 digs.

The Jumbos will aim to get above .500 next weekend in Connecticut. Tufts has a Saturday afternoon doubleheader scheduled against Conn. College and Framingham State. At 3-6 the Camels are certainly beatable, but FSU (10-2) figures to pose a formidable challenge. Thompson knows that in order for the Jumbos to have a chance, they must get off to better starts and dictate the game-flow.

"Right now we need to work on being more aggressive from the get-go, and our overall ball control needs to improve," Thompson said. "Improving as a team is a season-long process, and as long as we learn from every opportunity and adjust, we are moving forward towards our goals.

I am looking forward to more competitive matches this weekend."

The Daily wants to hear from you!

Have a problem with our coverage?

Upset about something happening at Tufts or in the community?

The Daily welcomes all thougths, opinions and complaints from all readers — have your voice heard!

Send op-ed submissions, 800-1200 words, to oped@tuftsdaily.com.

Send letters to the editor to editor@tuftsdaily.com.

CAROLINE GEILING / TUFTS DAILY

Tufts looks to return a serve in a home match at Cousens Gymnasium.

Editors’ Challenge | Week 4

Hey sports fans, the sports section is back with our picks for Week 4 of the NFL season.

After we lost all our money betting on games last week, the editors have been eating nothing but cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Jake “Wheaties” Indursky sits at the top of the standings for the third straigh week. I think it’s safe to say that he’s been eating his Wheaties for the last few weeks. That joke was too easy. I’m embarassed.

Chris “Raisin Bran” Warren maintains the best of both worlds, appearing to be healthy while also being delicious. He’s tied for the top spot, but doesn’t have a target on his back like Jake does. Don’t be fooled by the thick sugary coating over those raisins – this dude really is a legitimate contender.

Alex “Apple Jacks” Connors had a great week, finishing with the second best record, 12-4.

Apple Jacks traditionally have more red than green pieces, but this week Alex was seeing a lot more green than red.

Tyler “Life” Maher got his nickname because he looks like the smiling four year old on the box of Life cereal. He’s smiling because his favorite team just won for the second week in a row. Go Patriots!

Wil “Fruit Loops” Glavin is all flash and no substance. He tries to be cute and impressive with all his crazy colors, but at the end of the day, Fruit Loops are just a cheap imitation of Cheerios with sugar on them.

Maclyn “Special K” Senear is the exact oposite of Wil “Fruit Loops” Glavin, always choosing utility over flair. His picks are as mediocre as his cereal, and his record is 27-21.

Jorge “Rice Krispies” Monroy-Palacio distracts the other editors by making so much noise while he makes his picks. Yelling “SNAP, CRACKLE, POP!” as loud as he can certainly annoys everyone else, but it isn’t helping him get his own picks right. His 26-22 record is not quite what he’s hoping for.

Alison “Cheerios” Kuah never strays too far outside the box, picking the favorites in almost every game this year.While this might not be a bad strategy, her picks are as boring as her cereal preferences.

Alex “Cookie Crisp” Schroeder has so much talent, but at 27-21, just isn’t getting the job done. I mean seriously, Cookie Crisp doesn’t even taste like chocolate chip cookies. So much potential being wasted.

Steven “Lucky Charms” Hefter has had a tough year so far, shown by his 22-26 record.

Looking back at his picks, you’ll see a few good specks in a sea of ugly, unimpressive crap. Just like Lucky Charms.

Sam “Cocoa Puffs” Gold has oficially gone crazy. He’s picked so many underdogs that the bird from the Cocoa Puffs commercials said “I may be cukoo for Cocoa Puffs, but I’m not that crazy!” Sam sits at 15-33 overall.

Jess “Frosted Flakes” Mow rode into town on Tony the Tiger this week to offer her guest picks.

OVERALL LAST WEEK

Jake 29-19 8-8

Chris 29-19 11-5

Alex C 28-20 12-4

Tyler 27-21 13-3

Wil 27-21 11-5

Maclyn 27-21 10-6

Jorge 26-22 9-7

Alison 25-23 10-6

Alex S 22-26 10-6

Steven 22-26 9-7

Sam 15-33 4-12

GUEST Jess Mow

NYG at WSH GB at CHI BUF at HOU TEN at IND CAR at BAL DET at NYJ TB at PIT MIA at OAK JAX at SD PHI at SF ATL at MIN NO at DAL NE at KC

WSH GB BUF IND CAR NYJ PIT MIA SD PHI MIN NO NE

NYG CHI HOU IND BAL DET PIT MIA SD PHI ATL NO NE

WSH GB HOU IND CAR DET PIT MIA SD SF ATL DAL NE

NYG CHI BUF TEN CAR NYJ TB OAK JAX PHI MIN DAL KC

WSH CHI BUF IND BAL DET PIT MIA SD PHI ATL NO NE

NYG CHI BUF TEN CAR NYJ TB OAK JAX PHI MIN DAL KC

WSH GB BUF IND CAR DET PIT MIA SD PHI ATL NO NE

NYG CHI BUF TEN CAR NYJ TB OAK JAX PHI MIN DAL KC

WSH GB HOU IND CAR DET PIT MIA SD SF ATL NO NE

NYG CHI BUF TEN CAR NYJ TB OAK JAX PHI MIN DAL KC

NYG CHI BUF TEN CAR NYJ TB OAK JAX PHI MIN DAL KC

NYG GB BUF IND BAL DET PIT MIA SD SF ATL NO NE

Sports

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tuftsdaily.com

Volleyball

Tyler Maher | Beantown Beat

Volleyball splits weekend games

Who are these guys?

by Tyler Maher Daily Editorial Board

The volleyball team kicked off NESCAC play over the weekend by splitting two games, beating Colby on Friday and losing to Bowdoin on Saturday, leaving the Jumbos at .500 both overall (5-5) and in conference play (1-1).

Coach Cora Thompson was impressed by her team's tenacity in both games.

"There were highlights in both matches," Thompson said. "We had some players step up in challenging situations and there were more than a few extended rallies that we were able to finish off which were exciting."

There weren't many highlights, however, against Bowdoin, the top team in the most recent New England Women's Volleyball Association poll. Though the Polar Bears were coming off their first home defeat in two years, they were in top form on Saturday and dispatched the Jumbos in three sets. Tufts put in a good effort in the first set, keeping pace with Bowdoin for much of the match and losing by only five points. The Polar Bears controlled the following sets as the Jumbos lost 25-16 and 25-12. After mounting numerous comebacks the day before, Tufts was unable to catch up to a superior Bowdoin squad that has now won seven consecutive matchups against Tufts.

After seeing Tufts fall behind early and often in both games, Thompson was concerned about her team's obvious discomfort at the start of matches.

"We struggled to set the pace in both matches this weekend, which we are very capable of doing," she said.

Tufts fared better on Friday, earning its first conference victory with a fourset win over Colby. The resilient Jumbos overcame multiple deficits to emerge with a hard-earned win. After losing the

I

CAROLINE GEILING / TUFTS DAILY

Senior tri-captain Isabel Kuhel prepares to serve the ball in a match at home. first set 19-25, they bounced back to take the second set 25-17. Down 19-13 in the pivotal third set, they responded with a 14-6 run to stun the Mules. Colby opened the fourth set with a 4-0 run, but once again Tufts fought back and wrestled the lead away. Though the Mules kept it

close, staying within two points for much of the match, the Jumbos held on for the 25-22 victory.

Junior Maddie Kuppe was proud of the way her teammates fended off Colby, citsee VOLLEYBALL, page 11

Bailey, Clair among 10 to be honored for academic and athletic achievements On Friday evening, the annual Sports Award Ceremony will be kicking off Homecoming Weekend in Cohen Auditorium by recognizing 10 athletes from the 2013-2014 school year who contributed greatly to their teams' sporting success or to the Tufts community as a whole.

The iconic Houston Award, which recognizes the best overall male athlete, will be presented to senior All-American lacrosse star Cole Bailey. Bailey set a school record with 65 assists last spring en route to becoming an NCAA National Champion. He posted one goal and five assists in the championship game against Salisbury, and was also voted as the Most Outstanding Attackman in the nation by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association.

The analogous award for female athletes, the Hester L. Sargent Award, will be presented to Jo Clair (LA '14) of the women's softball team. Clair had a dominant 2014 season at the plate, as she led the nation in home runs (24 -- tied for the second most in NCAA Div. III history) and RBIs (69). In the 2014 NCAA tournament, she posted four home runs and eight RBIs en route to being named co-player of the tournament with her teammate, senior Allyson Fournier, after the Jumbos dominated the Salisbury Seagulls in the final round.

Johann Schmidt (LA '14) will receive the Rudolph J. Fobert Award for Academic and Athletic Excellence. Schmidt took home his second career title in the one meter diving event at the 2014 NCAA Div. III Championships in March. He was also able to garner All-American status in the three-meter diving round by earning fourth place overall. As a result of his performances, the team was able to score 35 points and record their highest finish

at an NCAA Championship since 2010, and the NCAA honored him with the award for most outstanding diver at the championships.

Track and field's Jana Hieber (LA '14) will also be honored with the Rudolph J. Fobert Award for Academic and Athletic Excellence. A pentathlete in the indoor season turned 400 meter hurdler in the outdoor season, Hieber had a dominating career. She smashed the Jumbos' school record in the pentathlon in the indoor season, and also ran the second fastest time in Div. III history in the 400 meter hurdles (58.58 seconds) in the spring. She won the NESCAC, Div. III New England and All-New England titles in the 400 meter hurdles, and, on May 23, the National Div. III Championship by posting a time of 58.63 seconds.

Max Freccia (LA '14) of baseball will be taking home the Murray Kenney Award for Positive Attitude and Persistence. Freccia did not make the baseball team until his sophomore year, when he stepped up to make contributions for the Jumbos despite playing only 17 games due to injury. More injuries plagued his junior season as he only played in 18 games, but still managed to lead the team with a .373 batting average. As a senior, he was able to stay healthy and helped lead the Jumbo charge to 34 wins (a program record) while playing in 39 games.

Ali Rocchi (LA '14) of the women's basketball team will also be taking home the same award. After a successful freshman year, Rocchi was sidelined for all of her sophomore year after tearing her ACL. She did not have a consistent season again as a junior, as injuries plagued the majority of her season. After knee surgery, which sidelined her for the early 2013-2014 season, she was able to return to full form in January to help lead the women's basket-

ball team to their first Final Four berth in program history.

Tim Mitropoulous (LA '14) of hockey and baseball will be honored with the Spirit, Sports, and Service Award. Mitropoulous was both a two-season athlete and the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). He was also one of three head leaders of the F.I.T pre-orientation program, and volunteered with many organizations both inside and outside of the Tufts community.

Samantha Gann (LA '14) of tennis will also receive the award. Gann was a dedicated volunteer in the Special Olympics program as a certified coach. She also served as a co-liaison on the Community Engagement Committee, where her duties included aiding SAAC in setting up charitable and volunteer events inside and outside of the Tufts community.

Additionally, Nick Woolf (LA '14) of soccer will also receive this award. He served as an executive board member on SAAC, where his responsibilities included organizing events to increase school spirit on campus. He served as the head of the social media and brand management campaign efforts of Fan the Fire, and helped set up a relationship between the soccer team and Team IMPACT, a program which pairs a sports team with a child facing illness.

Additionally, the Daily's own Kate Klots (LA '14) will be receiving the Timothy J. Horgan Award for Sportswriting. As a sports editor and writer at the Daily, Klots covered the field hockey team's triumphant 2012 season, which ended in an NCAA title, as well as its 2013 campaign. Additionally, she covered the men's lacrosse team for most of her time at Tufts, along with men's ice hockey and women's soccer.

—by Chris Warren

f you find yourself at Fenway Park for the Red Sox’s final homestand this week, chances are most of the local starting nine will be unfamiliar. That’s because the current outfit hardly resembles the one that beat St. Louis in the World Series last year. Gone are most of the scruffy bearded veterans that took a last place team in 2012 to champions 12 months later. In their place are a bunch of fresh (and clean-shaven) faces getting their first taste of big league action. They are the replacements and hopefully the stars of the future, building blocks for the next great Red Sox team.

So much has changed since April. It seems impossible to remember now, but Boston’s opening day roster actually looked a lot like the championship edition from the previous fall, minus a few notable exceptions.

Jacoby Ellsbury and Jarrod Saltalamacchia had signed elsewhere during the offseason, and Ryan Dempster unexpectedly retired. Stephen Drew, still a free agent at the time, was also absent, but overall, the 2013 champs were largely intact.

That didn’t last long. Players started dropping like flies in June, and by August 1 almost half the original roster was gone.

Most of that turnover occurred in a flurry of deals leading up to baseball’s nonwaiver trading deadline. Reminiscent of the blockbuster trade that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett to the Los Angeles Dodgers two summers prior, these moves signaled an end to Boston’s season as well as the beginning of its latest rebuilding attempt.

Without a doubt the biggest casualty of this summer’s fire sale was staff ace Jon Lester, a free agent at season’s end. Red Sox management was unable to negotiate an extension with him during the first half and, rather than see him walk at season’s end, traded him and Jonny Gomes to Oakland for outfield slugger Yoenis Cespedes. Boston will have another opportunity to lure Lester back this winter, but that seems unlikely given their divergent bargaining positions.

Only Clay Buchholz remains from the opening day starting rotation, and he’s been terrible. Fill-ins Allen Webster, Rubby De La Rosa, Anthony Ranaudo and Brandon Workman — none older than 26 — haven’t pitched much better, ranging from inconsistent to just plain awful. Joe Kelly, acquired in the trade that sent John Lackey to St. Louis, has struggled to adapt to the American League. Boston has bountiful arms in its farm system, but the early returns on the first wave have not been good.

The lineup has also gone through a major overhaul over the course of the season, changing on a near-nightly basis. The current iteration is heavy on young talent with Christian Vazquez behind the plate, Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts up the middle, Will Middlebrooks at third and occasional cameos by Jackie Bradley, Jr. in the outfield. There have even been a few Rusney Castillo sightings lately. None of them have excelled, per se, but then again young players rarely do.

It's been a long time since the Red Sox auditioned this many future stars at once.

The upside of falling out of contention so early is that it has allowed for an extended look at these guys, many of whom are (or were) regarded as the organization’s top prospects. The last two months have been difficult, but at least the youngsters are getting valuable playing time. The Red Sox now have a better idea of what they’re capable of at the big league level and can strategize accordingly, deciding which players are worth keeping and who might be useful trade bait.

So while the Red Sox might not be easy to watch, they are still worth paying attention to. Who they are showcasing in these meaningless late-season games might be the keys to Boston’s next postseason run.

Tyler Maher is a senior majoring in Quantitative Economics. He can be reached at tyler.maher@tufts.edu.