Partly Cloudy 68/57
THE TUFTS DAILY
TUFTSDAILY.COM
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
VOLUME LXVIII, NUMBER 34
Where You Read It First Est. 1980
Culture Crawl showcases international cuisines by Emily Sen
Contributing Writer
courtesy Nick Pfosi
Students gamble for a good cause at the Hilton Hotel in Boston.
LCS Vegas raises over $5,000 for local nonprofits
by Safiya Nanji Contributing Writer
Tufts’ Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) hosted its 19th annual semiformal Las Vegas-themed fundraiser LCS Vegas at the Hilton Boston Back Bay Hotel on Friday night. This year, funds raised from the LCS Vegas event will benefit
RESPOND, a local domestic violence agency, and the Community Action Agency of Somerville, the official anti-poverty initiative for the City of Somerville, according to Gemma Stern, co-president of LCS. “Our main goal is to raise a lot of money for our two nonprofsee VEGAS, page 2
Tufts Culinary Society hosted its third annual Culture Crawl, an event featuring foods from a variety of cultural organizations on campus, on Saturday night in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room. Thirteen different culture clubs and houses provided dishes to over 400 students, according to Tufts Culinary Society President Gabriel Spieler. Those attending were given six tickets that allowed them to sample dishes from any of the organizations’ tables. The Culture Crawl was free for students with a Tufts ID, and the Culinary Society paid for the food with funds provided by the Tufts Community Union Senate, according to Spieler, a senior. He acknowledged that in prior years, the food would run out within 20 minutes, but this problem did not arise this year due to reorganization of the event. “We had good crowd control, and we planned better as far as the location of the food tables compared to last year,” Spieler said. Hong Kong Students Association Co-President Anne Choong noted that the venue was not as crowded as the year before. “This year they controlled the door … they only let a certain amount of people in at a time,” Choong, a senior, said. The line to enter the Culture Crawl was long, but everyone was able to try food if
they waited, Spieler said. He explained that the culture clubs want to move the Culture Crawl to a larger venue in the future and hope to receive more funding. “We really do want to make it more accessible to everyone,” Spieler said. “We shouldn’t have to give out tickets. People should be able to just come and eat.” Lai Hau Choi, a former president of the Tufts Culinary Society, started the event three years ago in an effort to bring students together, according to Spieler. “[The Culinary Society] wanted an event that would bring groups together and be collaborative but that would also appeal to a large number of people,” Spieler said. “We thought the best way to provide all this food would be to come together, and it’s also more fun that way.” Spieler acknowledged that Choi had initially wanted the Culture Crawl to be a more upscale event in its first year. “We were focused on decorations and nice plates … and then we realized we had no money left for food,” he said. The event was very popular in its first year, so the focus changed from being a small, fancy event to a large exposition with a lot of food, Spieler noted. He added that the Culinary Society is hoping to receive more funding next year so the groups can afford to bring dishes that may include more meat or fresh vegetables, which are expensive. Ashley Siegel, a resident of the German see CULINARY, page 2
Theta Chi hosts first Zombie Run fundraiser by Elizabeth Lanzilla Contributing Writer
Tufts fraternity Theta Chi hosted its first-ever Zombie Run, a 4 km fundraising run starting from Fletcher Field, winding through campus and ending at the Res Quad, to raise money and awareness for the Jimmy Fund of the DanaFarber Cancer Institute this past Sunday. The event attracted over 100 participants, including an appearance by University President Anthony Monaco, and raised over $2,000 for Dana-Farber, according to Theta Chi Philanthropy Chairman Evan Balmuth. Theta Chi Volunteer Coordinator Colin Burnett described the atmosphere of the event as “scarily enthusiastic.” “I just loved watching it because once everyone was in zombie makeup, everyone was comparing, taking pictures — it was great,” Burnett, a junior, said. “To be able to put that fun, creative aspect into a run with athletes and non-athletes alike … was just an enjoyable, enthusiastic experience.” Theta Chi brothers worked alongside members from Tufts sororities Alpha Omicron Pi and Kappa Alpha Theta to apply zombie makeup for those who presented a “zombie” ticket, rather than a “living human” ticket, according to Balmuth, a junior. For the main event, humans ran in front of the zombies to create a “chasing dynamic,” he said. After the run, participants went to the Res Quad to enjoy food and music. Balmuth underscored the importance of community involvement, as J.P. Licks donated ice cream for all the participants, and Pranzi’s Pizza contribut-
ed a monetary donation. The Leonard Carmichael Society and Student Life Fund also helped to make the event possible. Such support yielded an incredible atmosphere and impressive fundraising result, Balmuth added. He explained that all the brothers played an active role in running and supporting the Zombie Run, with Balmuth and Philanthropy Co-Chair Noah Habeeb, who ia also an executive copy editor at the Daily, doing much of the underlying work. “When it comes to actually executing and getting people to buy tickets or spreading the word, it really takes everyone in the brotherhood,” Balmuth said. “[The philanthropy chairs] really can’t put on a whole event — it has to be everyone in the organization contributing in some way.” Barton Liang, Theta Chi public relations chair, explained that one of the most effective ways they found to sell tickets, besides personal interactions, was through social media. Theta Chi brothers were also able to further spread awareness for the Dana-Farber institute through links and videos. “[Theta Chi] has a Facebook page and also a separate event page,” he said. “On top of that, we also have a Zombie Run Twitter and Instagram just to engage on a more casual level. [Theta Chi’s] tweets are all, ‘Oh, we will have zombies running around today. Keep an eye out for us!’” Liang, a junior, emphasized the practical and personal reasons why DanaFarber was a perfect candidate for Theta Chi’s support. “One key thing [Theta Chi] wanted was that all the money we gave [Dana-
Inside this issue
Grace Cooper / The Tufts Daily
Students run in a 4K loop around campus at Theta Chi's Zombie Run which started at Fletcher field and ended at the Res Quad. Farber] would actually go to treatment research and not administrative overhead,” he said. “Dana-Farber was the perfect fit for that. [Theta Chi] has a perfect connection to the institute with brothers working there in the past, brothers being affected by [cancer], and [Dana-Farber] is a very reputable and very efficient charity organization.” The connection Theta Chi has with Dana-Farberis not limited to this run, according to Liang. Beyond personal connections and past time spent with the institute, brothers dedicated free time to further explore organizations that are
associated with Dana-Farber. “A couple of weeks ago, we sent a bunch of brothers to the Hope Lodge, which is partially sponsored by DanaFarber,” Liang said. “[Hope Lodge] provides housing to people who are receiving cancer treatment in the Boston area and live more than 40 miles away.” Liang emphasized the importance of getting involved in a program that is so important to them. “Being able to support a cause that does so much and is so near and dear to our hearts is … important to [Theta Chi],” he said.
Today’s sections
Eliot-Pearson awards “Sesame Street” in honor of their 50th anniversary.
Cleveland Cavaliers are favorites heading into an unpredictable NBA season.
see FEATURES, page 3
see SPORTS, back
News 1 Features 3 Arts & Living 5 Editorial | Op-Ed 10
Op-Ed 11 Comics 12 Classifieds 15 Sports Back