TfutsDaily11-20-2012

THE TUFTS DAILY

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Tufts alumna Mitra was spirited fighter and healer

by Jennifer

White

Daily Editorial Board

Tanya Mitra (LA ’10), whose joyful energy sparked team spirit at tae kwon do tournaments and whose nurturing personality bonded her to people and medicine, died suddenly at her home on Nov. 3. She was 24.

At Tufts, Mitra double majored in biology and German while excelling on the pre-medical track. She was in her second year of medical school in Newark at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Associate Professor of Biology Philip Starks, Mitra’s faculty advisor at Tufts, said that Mitra decided to become a doctor at a very early age and stood out because of her sincerity and determination in helping others.

“My guess is that not too many of her medical school colleagues had tutored children and parents living in poverty or had volunteered with the aged since before their 12th birthday,” Starks said.

“Tanya was a caregiver before she knew that her future job

Student grazed by car at Curtis intersection

The Department of Public and Environmental Safety issued a Pedestrian Safety Alert on Nov. 16 via email following the second of two studentvehicle accidents that have occurred in the last week and a half at intersections bordering campus.

On Friday, a vehicle grazed a student at the intersection of Curtis Street and Curtis Avenue, according to the email. The student was uninjured.

On Nov. 8, another student was struck by a motor vehicle at the intersection of Packard Avenue and Powderhouse Boulevard and seriously injured.

The student is undergoing treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Both incidents occurred after dusk, according to Director of Public and Environmental Safety Kevin Maguire.

The alert also provided tips for staying safe while walking around or near campus, which included wearing light-colored or easily visible clothing at night, establishing eye contact with drivers when crossing an intersection and being aware of traffic signals and crosswalks.

According to Maguire, while motorists are more likely to suffer legal consequences in a pedestrian accident, the pedestrian is usually in more danger.

“A pedestrian walking has much more to lose than a motorist driving,” Maguire said.

—by Audrey Michael

TUFTSDAILY.COM

tuesday, november 20, 2012

VOLUME LXIV, NUMBER 48

Courtesy Nicholas Bayhi

Tanya Mitra (LA ‘10) brought joy and energy to the Tufts Tae Kwon Do team. She died suddenly at her home on Nov. 3. would require it.”

Mitra was born in Morristown, N.J., and while growing up her family moved to other parts of New Jersey and spent three years living in India when Mitra was in middle school.

Matthew Davenport (LA’10), Mitra’s boyfriend, said it was her experience of witnessing widespread poverty and sickness in India that solidified her see MITRA, page 2

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Johnnie’s Foodmaster closes all locations James Pouliot

Daily Editorial Board

The family-owned supermarket chain Johnnie’s Foodmaster earlier this month announced plans to permanently shutter its 10 locations, including the store on Alewife Brook Parkway in Somerville, a few blocks from Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus.

Although Whole Foods Market purchased the leases for six of the stores, and Stop & Shop another, Foodmaster has yet to find a buyer for the three stores located in Whitman, Lynn and on Alewife Brook Parkway.

Whole Foods purchased the six leases at an estimated price of $30 million. The deal will bring the total number of Whole Foods stores in Massachusetts up to 26.

The six stores, including one on Beacon Street in Somerville, will re-open following a period of renovation, according to Whole Foods Public Relations Manager for the North Atlantic Region Heather McCready.

“We don’t have the exact date, but we are projecting all of the stores will be open by the end of the fiscal year 2013, which ends at the end of September,” McCready told the Daily.

The Foodmaster on Salem Street in Medford will be converted into a Stop & Shop by the end of the current year.

The remaining three locations without a buyer are nonetheless scheduled to close by Nov. 30.

The Alewife Brook Parkway location closed its doors for good this Sunday.

Whole Foods did not purchase Foodmaster on Alewife Brook Parkway, which is located one mile away from the existing Whole Foods on Mystic Valley Parkway and 1.8 miles away from the Whole Foods at Fresh Pond.

“There were a number of factors [involved in the decision], including size and proximity to an existing store,” McCready said.

John DeJesus, the owner of see FOODMASTER, page 2

Senior awarded $8,000 ACE Fellows program for social media app looks to expand by

Menghan Liu

Daily Editorial Board

This month, senior Foster Lockwood was awarded $8,000 from the Paul and Elizabeth Montle Prize for Entrepreneurial Achievement for his messaging application Wyre, currently available on the iPhone and iPad. Lockwood, a computer science major and entrepreneurial leadership studies minor, applied for the Montle award after developing the pilot version of Wyre at the beginning of the school year.

Wyre is described in the App Store as “a user-friendly messaging tool designed for fast and comprehensive communication,” and iOSnoops.com rated it five stars.

The free app allows users to easily share “wyres” such as audio clips, video clips, YouTube videos, photos, in-app drawings, locations, contacts and calendar events.

While many of these capabilities already exist on the iOS platform, Wyre fully integrates these options into one convenient location, Lockwood said.

It also allows users to delete already-sent wyres from a receiver’s phone because all the data is encrypted and stored on a backend server rather than on the receiver’s phone, he added.

“It’s often that we are translating our experiences into text,” Lockwood said. “The goal of Wyre was to make it equally accessible in any kind of medium.”

He explained that the name Wyre was chosen ironically, since

wires are a very old technology for communication.

The inspiration for the app came this past summer when Lockwood was trying to leave a voicemail for his girlfriend and began to wonder if there was an app for easily sending someone an audio message. From there, the idea moved beyond simply text and audio, he said.

“It’s not a novel idea,” Lockwood said, acknowledging that he found inspiration in popular apps like WhatsApp, which allows users to send each other texts, photos, videos and locations. However, Lockwood believes such apps are still too focused on texting.

“People are looking for alternatives,” he said.

Last week, over 1,100 users around the world had signed up for Wyre, and over 500 of them were verified and active, according to Lockwood.

Senior Brad DeBattista, a friend of Lockwood’s, was one of Wyre’s first users. DeBattista beta tested the app before it moved to the App Store, helping to brainstorm new features such as sharing calendar events.

“Some of these things you can already do through plain old iPhone, but it’s very involved, it’s too many clicks, it’s not readily available,” DeBattista said. “I think Wyre is really good because it takes all of the capabilities that you have, and maybe didn’t even know you had, in your phone and puts it all

Inside this issue

see WYRE, page 2

by

Martha Shanahan

Daily Editorial Board

In a pilot program finishing its first semester, students known as Academic and Community Engagement (ACE) Fellows are serving as academic and social mentors meant to ease new students’ transition to Tufts and connect them to the world outside their dorm rooms.

Run jointly by the Dean of Undergraduate Education’s office and the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, the ACE

Fellows program this year placed one upperclassman student in each of four residence halls, providing freshmen and sophomores with academic, social and extracurricular guidance as needed.

“They operate as role models in the residence halls,” Associate Dean for Orientation and Student Transition Laura Doane, who directs the program, said. “They’re not RAs [resident assistants] and they’re not tutors. They’re sort of combining aspects of both see FELLOWS, page 2

Annie Wermiel / Tufts Daily Archives

After a successful pilot semester, the Academic and Community Engagement Fellows program is now accepting applications for next year’s fellows.

Today’s sections

Bias incidents on campus can be reported and handled in multiple ways.

Brian Eno’s latest album, “Lux,”S is pleasantly unpredictable.

see FEATURES, page 3

see ARTS, page 5

News Features Arts & Living Comics

1 3 5 7

Editorial | Op-Ed Op-Ed Classifieds Sports

8 9 10 Back

The Tufts Daily

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News

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Friends share memories about alumna Mitra MITRA

continued from page 1

motivation to pursue a career in medicine.

“In terms of what exact medicine she would get into, she hadn’t picked one yet, but it was going to be out there, in India or in Africa, with Doctors Without Borders or something along those lines,” he said.

Muhammad Qadri (LA ’10), a current Ph.D student in psychology at Tufts and a friend of Mitra’s since high school, said her future as a doctor seemed pre-destined by her innate ability to care for others.

Qadri recalled a time when Mitra’s father sliced his hand severely and, far from any medical facility or assistance, Mitra calmly took control, stopped the heavy bleeding and potentially saved his life.

A Tufts Debate Society member and Sharewood Project clinic volunteer, as well as tutor and researcher, Mitra only discovered her greatest extracurricular passion during her senior year when she joined the Tufts Tae Kwon Do team.

“Tanya was really a catalyst for transforming the team into a family,” close friend and tae kwon do teammate Nicholas Bayhi said, emphasizing that Mitra epitomized the spirit of the tae kwon do club. “She was always the one who would scream the loudest.”

“We don’t know how, but she would always show up with an ankle brace and another ankle brace and a wrist brace,” Bayhi, a senior, added. “Even though she was plagued with injuries all the time, she would still go in there and fight, and when she couldn’t fight, she would be congratulating other people and cheering everyone on.”

Bayhi recalled Mitra’s first tae kwon do competition, which her parents attended in support. When Mitra was injured in one of the earliest fights of the day, her mother grew concerned and strictly forbade her from participating any further.

However, in the middle of the competition, Mitra took a bold stance.

“She looks at her mom and says, ‘No. I have to do this for my team,’” Bayhi said. “We were like, ‘Whoa.’ None of us would have been able to say that to her mother.”

Mike Harb, coach of Tufts Tae Kwon Do, echoed Bayhi’s sentiments.

“She didn’t want to let the team down, and that was typically her,” Harb said. “When she gave, she gave 100 percent with just so much love.”

After finishing her studies at Tufts, Mitra remained an integral part of the tae kwon do team.

She attended every practice while spending the year after graduation working at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and she continued to return for most weekend practices even after moving to New Jersey for medical school, according to Bayhi.

Assistant coach Colin Murphy, a graduate student in chemistry at Tufts, praised Mitra as a “frustrating student” of tae kwon do because of her persistent effort to thoroughly understand the art.

“She listened to what you were saying, but then questioned every word of it,” Murphy said.

“She would force you to really come up with a good answer.”

Mitra’s thirst for foreign knowledge also attracted her to the German culture, and she spent a semester her junior year in Tuebingen, Germany, and lived in the German Language House on campus for two years, according to Director of the German Program and German Professor Christiane Romero.

“She was an ideal student from my perspective,” Romero said.

“She was very engaged in what she was doing, very intellectually curious. What I remember most about her was that she was the kind of person you were drawn to. She had this smile, this warm sparkle about her.”

Mitra’s closest friends at Tufts said she never fit into social norms, instead confidently establishing her own path.

Student designs app for comprehensive communication WYRE

continued from page 1

in one place.”

The Montle prize was awarded to Wyre and two other social media projects, including a social networking site geared towards academics and a mobile app for mental health patients, according to Program Specialist for Scholar Development Anne Moore.

“There are existing things like [Wyre], but they are really buggy,” she said. “There’s a real hole in the market for something that works like that.”

According to Moore, the prize

focuses on originality and room for expansion, seeking to help companies attain real longevity.

“I’m ecstatic,” Lockwood said.

“It’s really important to me that Tufts promotes this kind of development outside of academia.”

The funding will help Lockwood market the product, continue programming updates and develop the app for other platforms. He plans to expand Wyre beyond iOS to other platforms, such as the Android and the desktop computer.

“It’s less of a problem of it being useful, and more of a problem of it being ubiquitous,” Lockwood said.

Kyra Sturgill / The Tufts Daily

Senior Foster Lockwood won the $8,000 Paul and Elizabeth Montle Prize for Entrepreneurial Achievement for his creation of an iPhone messaging application called Wyre.

“She was sure of herself and of her opinions, but not in a singleminded way,” Julie Lonergan (LA ’10) said. “She just knew how the world should work, and so she made it work that way.”

Scott Schreiber (E ’10), a graduate student in engineering at Tufts, said that even though she was small in stature, Mitra possessed a powerful charisma and never failed to make her presence felt in the room.

“She was a small bundle of energy and excitement that would be able to mother you and give you food,” Schreiber said, describing a time when Mitra went out of her way to provide a meal for a classmate she had only just met.

Her friendliness had a magnetic effect on others and brought people together, Kahran Singh (LA ’10) said.

“She always loved having people over,” Singh said, adding that Mitra also hosted a latenight WMFO Tufts Freeform Radio show with roommate Alex Kittle (LA ’10), in which the two were known to have fun playing favorite songs and at other times delve into philosophical discussions.

The Tae Kwon Do team on Nov. 6 held a memorial at Tufts for Mitra, where teammates each wrote messages to her on a wooden board, then ceremoniously broke the boards in martial arts fashion to honor the memory of Mitra, Bayhi said.

Mitra recently tested for a red belt in tae kwon do, the final achievement before attaining black belt, according to Harb.

While he never had the opportunity to award the belt to her in person, Harb presented an honorary red belt for Mitra and her family at the memorial.

Mitra is survived by her parents Amit and Snigdha, and a sister, Trishna.

The cause of death at this time is unknown but is under ongoing investigation.

If you have memories of Tanya Mitra you would like to share with the Daily, please contact us at editor@tuftsdaily.com.

Kyra Sturgill / The Tufts Daily

The supermarket chain Johnnie’s Foodmaster has announced the closure of all its locations by Nov. 30. The store on Alewife Brook Parkway in Somerville shut its doors this weekend.

Whole Foods to take over Foodmaster on Beacon St. FOODMASTER

continued from page 1

Foodmaster, has declined to comment to the press regarding the reason for the 65-yearold company’s closure.

“The time was right to make this change for our company,” DeJesus said in an Oct. 26 press statement. “I am confident that we have found the best partner that offers the most positive outcome not only for our employees but for the communities as well.”

Laura Derba, president of the Whole Foods North Atlantic Region, released a press statement for Whole Foods at the same time.

“Like Foodmaster, Whole Foods Market has a long history of supporting the communities we serve,” Derba said.

“We are excited to bring our fresh, quality foods at affordable prices to these six new

market areas.”

Sophomore Cody Chen, a Somerville native who shopped at Foodmaster as a child, expressed his regrets over the store’s closure.

“I was there the day after they announced the closing,” Chen said.

“It’s kind of upsetting, because it’s nostalgic for me.

It’s a nice supermarket, and the people there were really nice.”

Chen said that he would take his business to the Shaw’s in Porter Square, emphasizing that he would shop at Shaw’s even if Whole Foods had chosen to redevelop the Alewife Brook Parkway location.

“There’s less selection there [at Whole Foods],” Chen said.

“It’s too pricey and holistic. It’s not good for standard groceries, for me.” ―­— with Jenna Buckle

ACE fellows hope to reach more freshmen next year, expand pilot program

FELLOWS

continued from page 1

of those roles to support the students in figuring out [how they] fit into the Tufts community, what the Tufts community is and how best to move forward in their college career.”

The pilot program began this semester with four fellows —l one each in Hill, Houston, Haskell and South Halls.

The fellows receive free housing in the dorm they serve, like an RA does, although they do not receive a free meal plan.

Bianca Blakesley, a junior who is serving as an ACE Fellow in Hill Hall for the program’s first year, said that as the program evolves, the role of an ACE Fellow will become more defined.

“I think sometimes the RAs get confused about what our role is, and if we expand it’ll be more legitimate, and there will be a fellow in every hall and all the freshman dorms,” she said.

Hayden Lizotte, a sophomore who works as the fellow in South Hall, has organized events like a version of “speed dating” for students to get to know professors in a casual setting and an Election Night

party that he coordinated along with the RAs in South.

“There [are] only four of us, so we haven’t been able to hit all corners of campus yet, but the program is expanding, and the people I have worked with have been really excited,” he said.

In addition to providing academic help, Lizotte said he acts as another type of mentor for the residents in his hall.

“If students are looking for opportunities, if they’re struggling to find a place for themselves here, [the RAs] will send them to me,” he said.

The program is now accepting more applicants for next year after a promising start, Doane said.

“It’s early, but it’s been very successful,” she said. “We’re looking to expand.”

Although Doane said the program has not decided on how many more fellows it will take on next year, she hopes there will be an ACE Fellow representing every freshman and mixed freshman/sophomore dorm.

The process of selecting next year’s fellows will begin later this month, when applications are due on Nov. 26.

The program’s partnership with Tisch College introduces a focus on active citizen-

ship by encouraging fellows to help their residents participate in campus activities and attend lectures. “[ The fellows] put out a weekly newsletter that has some activities of interest,” Doane said. “Each [fellow] gets groups together each week to go actually to those events. Their role is in helping students get involved in the Tufts community but also the local community as well.”

Doane added that some students need extra help with the transition to college.

“It can be a really difficult process and everyone does it differently,” she said. “Part of the ACE Fellow role is normalizing the fact that transitioning to a new environment like this is challenging.

Especially at this time in most people’s lives, and especially because it’s a residential atmosphere.”

Doane said the specific duties of the ACE Fellows were largely left up to the fellows themselves to interpret and work with.

“We did not provide them with a lot of direction — it was sort of like, ‘Here’s our vision, and tell us where the challenge is getting there,’” she said. “Their role is still changing.”

Features

3

tuftsdaily.com

Yuri Chang | I hate you, but I love you

Linked in or left out

I Dilys Ong / Tufts Daily Archives

A well-attended bias incident rally in 2009 reflects the strong response of students to the sensitive subject on campus.

Administration, students tackle bias on campus Understanding the process of handling reported bias incidents by

Lily Sieradzki

Daily Editorial Board

For a school that prides itself on being open-minded and politically correct, name calling, graffiti and harassment based on race, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity all occur frequently at Tufts. These acts constitute bias incidents and are dealt with through a variety of student and administrative channels.

Reported incidents that are deemed bias incidents and consist of investigations that have been concluded are publically listed on WebCenter.

According to the site, bias incidents “may but do not always include the use of slurs, derogatory language, or negative images. Incidents may include chalking, graffiti, images, written messages, the defacement or alteration of signs, posters, verbal epithets and violent acts.” Last year, 27 total bias incidents were published on this list.

The incidents are processed individually and eventually compiled and summarized on WebCenter by the Administrative Contact Team.

This team is made up of four members, currently Associate Dean of Student Affairs Marisel Perez, Director of the Department of Diversity Education and Development Margery Davies, University President Anthony Monaco’s Chief of Staff Michael Baenen and Director of the Office of Intercultural and Social Identities Program Katrina Moore.

According to Perez, a bias incident can be reported in three ways: by an individual through WebCenter, by a resident assistant (RA) or resident director (RD) through an Office of Residential Life and Learning (ORLL) report or by the police. All reports go immediately to Perez, who then reaches out to the person reporting the incident to offer support.

“Some of this stuff can be hurtful and I want to make sure that the student, if they want to talk to somebody else in addition to myself for counseling, they can do that,” Perez said. “Some students don’t want that, they say ‘I’m okay, I just want to make sure somebody knows,’ and I respect that.”

Perez transfers the report to the Administrative Contact Team, which reviews the incident to ensure that it contains bias according to definitions of bias from Massachusetts’ anti-discrimination law, according to Davies.

Davies said that the team’s decision on bias in a given incident is very basic.

“It’s a very light filter, making that decision. Did that affect one of the target groups? Did it actually happen?

We need to have a certain amount of vetting of reports,” she said. “What one person perceives as a bias incident may not be perceived by another [as a] a bias incident.”

The Team decides on an appropriate response, which can include investigation, judicial action or mediation, depending on the incident. Genderrelated incidents can be referred to the Office of Equal Opportunity for investigation, and incidents that are classified as hate crimes, meaning that a law has been broken, are referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs.

Filing a judicial complaint, though, is a separate process from reporting a bias incident. If the event is particularly serious or public, it may warrant a university-wide statement from the Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman or even the University President, depending on its severity.

“Every so often, something really serious happens. The other things are still serious because they contribute to the atmosphere and climate at Tufts, [but] there’s a difference between seeing something scrawled in a bathroom and being attacked,” Davies said.

Students Promoting Equality, Awareness and Compassion (SPEAC) also provides an educational response to bias incidents. SPEAC is a student group under the Office of Student Affairs that offers a variety of programming to further an open and accepting campus environment, in addition to providing training for Orientation leaders (OL) and resident assistants. Perez serves as advisor to SPEAC, which receives updates on current bias incidents on which to base its programs.

In addition, Perez runs mediation between the affected parties in the bias incident, if both sides agree to engage in mediation. She emphasized her commitment to educational methods toward resolving the hurt and anger resulting from a bias incident.

“I believe in education, because to punish somebody without processing what happened, it creates anger and resentment. That’s my philosophy,” Perez said. “Even when mediation has been reached and requirements have been fulfilled ... it takes time to come to terms with oneself and resolve feelings.”

At the end of the year, the Contact Team publishes the complete list of finalized bias incidents on WebCenter

with summaries of the event. According to Perez, the content of the incident summary has changed in recent years to become more descriptive, including specific locations, although the people involved remain anonymous.

She cited past debate within the Team about whether to publish full expletives involved in incidents, with some saying that doing so would emphasize the hurtful potential of the word. The Team decided to retain the words with asterisks.

The Team also reviews patterns in the type and locations of bias incidents.

Perez and Davies both referenced a high number of gender-related incidents this past year.

Correspondingly, SPEAC has focused its programming around gender, including its RA and OL training. In addition, when incidents cluster in certain halls, SPEAC may run focused events in those residences.

Both Davies and Perez affirm that this system of reporting and publicizing bias incidents attempts to create awareness on campus, with the ultimate aim of prevention of bias incidents.

“We want to try and create a campus where people feel comfortable, where they’re not going to be subject to things like this. We can’t stop it from happening but we do take it seriously,” Davies said. “I’m hoping that having his system will make people think about things they do and say.”

SPEAC shares similar goals with the administration. According to SPEAC co-coordinator junior Bianca Blakesley, the group strives to raise awareness about bias at Tufts.

“Our goal is to get the word out about bias incidents and raise awareness that they do happen, and if you feel like something is targeting you as a member of a social identity, you have ways to report it and you have agency in that,” she said. “Also we need to get that dialogue going with students who aren’t that engaged with those issues, just to promote an environment not just of tolerance, but of inclusion.”

Another focus of the group is to bring together students who have experienced the various forms of bias at Tufts and those who have not.

“The reason that I do SPEAC and I really like SPEAC is that Tufts is an open-minded and accepting campus...for the majority of people, but it’s not for everyone,” SPEAC co-coordinator Bryn Clark, a junior, said. see BIAS, page 4

’m sooo sorry if I sent you an invite!” a friend very publicly apologized on her Facebook status. This friend wasn’t referring to an accidental link that hacks into Twitter accounts or spams with ads for diet pills. She was referring to LinkedIn. Somehow, the Evil LinkedIn Machine infiltrated her account and sent invitations to join to everyone in her university’s network.

This Machine is taking anxious college students by force, as one by one, we trade in our personal crude humor blogs for professional LinkedIn pages.

I’ve asked my peers why they have LinkedIn accounts and almost all of them replied with, “I don’t really know. I just feel like I should.”

Social media platforms are transforming social expectations, and in some cases, quite illogically. Just like how the New York Times deemed owning a BlackBerry and not an iPhone as social suicide, or how you aren’t a real friend until you are a Facebook friend first. In theory, having a LinkedIn account should help ambitious college students like us progress our future careers. Yet it’s more about flaunting our r貵m豠on the Internet or having a LinkedIn account just to keep up with everybody else.

Others suggest that having an account is like a safeguard for chance successes; you never know whom you’ll want to reach out to in the future. Still, I keep waiting for the day that my best-friend-from-eighth-grade’s older brother becomes the CEO of the Next Big Company so that I can milk that LinkedIn connection for all it’s worth. Something tells me that I shouldn’t hold my breath. Of all my past job and internship experiences, exactly none of them were procured this way.

And it’s not like having a LinkedIn is easy maintenance either. Because of its professional nature, I feel obligated to keep my page looking pro-fresh. Earlier this year I Googled my name and was startled to find that my neglected LinkedIn page was the first result to show up. So after spending more than an hour importing my r貵m窠getting all start and end dates right and filling in the specific job descriptions, I then had to deal with the dilemma of which photo to use as my profile pic.

I consulted with my close friend and LinkedIn “Pro” to help pick which photo to use. He informed me that ideally this photo should be of the same caliber of an awkward senior portrait, meaning that it ought to be taken at a professional studio complete with a collared shirt and pearl earrings. Basically what that meant was that none of my photos were appropriate for LinkedIn use.

Not to mention the social anxiety that accompanies owning a LinkedIn account.

Looking at the achievements of your peers can be great but also panic inducing.

“Oh, God, why is everyone’s resume so much more impressive than mine?” is my inner monologue as I thumb through my connections’ pages. “How do I compete with the guy who helped engineer a water well in Malawi or the girl who has a recommendation from the President of the Red Cross?”

I can also tell that the LinkedIn Machine is hell-bent on sucking me into its grips as it continues to outsmart me in emailing me notifications. I maneuvered through their maze of privacy settings and unchecked dozens of boxes saying no to endless types of email notifications.

“So-and-so has updated his resume.”

“Check out this person’s new job!” “We’ve found x-y-and-z and think you should be contacts!” Despite my best efforts, these selfcongratulatory messages still regularly creep into my inbox.

In the end, I see LinkedIn accounts as a necessary evil. Will I delete my LinkedIn? Most likely no, but I will resent it all the same.

Yuri Chang is a senior majoring in International Relations. She can be reached at Yuri.Chang@tufts.edu

The Tufts Daily

4

Features

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Students Promoting Equality, Awareness and Compassion bridges potential gap between administration’s process, student dialogue BIAS

continued from page 3

“Having events that bring together those two groups, to really try and get different people at our events, is one of our biggest missions.”

Blakesley said that SPEAC’s association with the administration provides legitimacy, but its identity as a student group offers access to student dialogue.

“Whereas the administration definitely takes on a different role in disciplinary actions, we want to have conversations with everybody, we’re not going to attack anyone for their views or perspectives,” she said. “We want to educate our peers and also find out what the general campus climate is.”

However, both Blakesley and Clark see their role in SPEAC as complimenting the administration’s aims in the reporting and publicizing bias incidents within the community.

“I think that if nothing happened, if there wasn’t some adult or administrator you could go to validate that experience and make it public, then you would see a lot less people speaking up about these things, people internalizing them and it having a more negative affect on their life,” Clark said. “The administration’s job is dealing with things individually and SPEAC’s job is learning from that and then trying to translate that into a larger atmosphere on campus.”

Until last year, SPEAC was known as the Bias Education and Awareness Team, or BEATBias, whose programming responded directly to each bias incident.

According to Clark, BEATBias became SPEAC in order to widen its scope and more proactively improve tolerance and understanding at Tufts.

SPEAC’s past programming has included the Tufts Identity Project, a display of photos of students with

their answers to how they feel most people see them, and who they really are. This year, SPEAC will publish a booklet containing the answers to a broad survey of Tufts students concerning social identity.

According to Blakesley, 700 students were interviewed on topics like their sense of belonging on campus, interracial interactions and hookup culture.

SPEAC is also putting together a documentary film with interviews of students about the levels of tolerance or bias at Tufts.

Despite the different efforts of the administration and of SPEAC to combat bias at Tufts, bias persists and manifests itself in different forms.

“I think there’s a lot of different discourse on this campus about Tufts being oversensitive, and it’s made fun of in a very patronizing way,” Clark said. “I think that is a huge problem because it stifles this campus from talking about those issues in an actually constructive way.”

In particular, humor and consequent reactions contribute to the endurance of stereotypes and bias.

“People often use humor as a way to say joking about this is okay, but humor can also be a silencing mechanism,” said Blakesley. “We’re not talking about the issues, we’re normalizing disrespectful language, language that’s harmful and demeaning to certain social groups.”

Blakesley says that bias is everywhere, despite Tufts’ general reputation of being an accepting and open community.

“I think Tufts students are very wellintentioned. I think the school politically is very liberal,” she said. “But bias comes in many forms, and it comes implicitly and explicitly, and none of us whatsoever are free from bias.”

Physics 0005-01: Special Topics in Physics

Cosmology for the Curious

Prof. Alexander Vilenkin F Block: TRF 12:00 – 12:50 pm Explores recent developments in cosmology. Big bang and cosmic inflation; dark matter and dark energy; cosmic strings and extra dimensions; anthropic reasoning and the multiverse.

The questions to be addressed include: How did the universe begin? How will it end? Why is it expanding? Are there parallel worlds? Because of remarkable recent progress in cosmology, we now have answers to these questions that we have some reason to believe.

Prerequisite: No background in physics or math is assumed beyond elementary high school math.

Course is applicable to the Natural Sciences Distribution Requirement, but not towards the major or minor in Physics.

Reported Bias Incidents: Sept. 2011 through May 2012 Reported incidents are reviewed by the Administrative Contact Team to determine whether they reflect bias according to definitions of bias from Massachusetts’ anti-discrimination law and, from there, an appropriate response is decided, which may include investigation, judicial action or mediation.

Incidents taking place throughout an academic year that are considered bias incidents with completed investigation are published in WebCenter’s Reported Bias Incidents at the end of the year. Here are some examples from last academic year, as reported in the list on WebCenter:

activities based on the color of the student’s skin. The student reported that the Center claimed that their activities were open to the entire community, but that the student’s white friends were not invited.

Date of Incident: Jan. 28, 2012 Date Reported: Jan. 28, 2012 Incident/Type: Race Location: South Hall Incident Description: A student observed the vandalism of a wall opposite the side door entrance to the residence hall that displayed slurs targeting black people.

Date of Incident: Oct. 15, 2011 Date Reported: Oct. 15, 2011 Incident/Type: Sexual Orientation Location: Boston Avenue Incident Description: After a house party had been broken up by police, a student heard a Medford policeman make an unwelcome remark about a LGBT rainbow flag that was hanging from the apartment window. The officer asked if the flag was for gays and lesbians and, when told that it was, said “That’s what’s wrong with this country.”

Date of Incident: April 1, 2012 Date Reported: April 1, 2012 Incident/Type: Religion/Ethnic Origin Location: Bush Hall and around campus Incident Description: A Residential Assistant reported noticing several posters displayed in Bush Hall advertising a free trip to Europe that read, “Geburtsrecht,” which the student identified as a term used by Hitler and the Nazi regime to refer to old Germany. The student stated that this poster was not advertising a real trip, but rather was an attempt to satire the Birthright Israel trip.

Date of Incident: 2009-2010 Date Reported: April 16, 2012 Incident/Type: Race, National or Ethnic Origin Location: Africana Center Incident Description: A student claimed to have been targeted by the Africana Center to participate in

Date of Incident: Oct. 26, 2011 Date Reported: Oct. 26, 2011 Incident/Type: Gender Location: Men’s bathroom near Hotung Incident Description: A student witnessed disturbing graffiti discussing and bragging about rape.

Arts & Living

5

tuftsdaily.com

Album Review

Brian Eno delivers compelling, fresh music in latest album, ‘Lux’ by

Matthew Welch

Daily Editorial Board

If you are only going to play one chord for 20 minutes, you should probably choose wisely. This has always

Lux

Brian Eno

Warp Records been one of the toughest aspects of ambient music: it demands a kind of resiliency in the ideas it tries to portray. Nothing can be more boring than a bad ambient song, or more hypnotic and immersive than a good one. It can often take a few listens just to decide just which a particular track is, but that opinion often feels set in stone after it’s made. Thankfully, Brian Eno’s latest album, “Lux,” is great and deserving of similar praise to his most-lauded albums from the ’70s and ’80s.

In a polite and beautiful hour and fifteen minutes, “Lux” takes the listener through four tautly constructed soundscapes, each one with its own subtle shifts and mood changes. If you don’t come expecting riffs, melodies or any real conventional song structure, and you may be surprised by how musical a handful of bowed strings, a reverberant and hesitantly played piano and some tasteful synthesizer tones can be.

“Lux” was made to accompany various pieces of art at an exhibit in Turin, Italy, and the album takes a very subtle and unobtrusive approach as a result. Unlike much ambient music, the album stands up to both pointed scrutiny and casual listening as “mood music.” And, unlike with previous Eno efforts, the elements

Scott Beale via Flickr Creative Commons

Eno creates subtle, compelling mood shifts on ‘Lux’ with only a handful of instruments. of “Lux” are always shifting: the dissonant string plucks that never come quite when expected, the timid string swells that change notes with little warning after minutes of droning, a lightly struck piano note that seems to hang in the air for minutes.

Concert Review

Adés attempts to conduct, orchestra attempts to follow by

Joe Stile | BASSic

Panharith Chhum Daily Staff Writer

Conductors often seem to simply stand on the podium waving their hands as the orchestra performs. But on the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Thursday, Nov. 15 concert, Thomas Adés reminded audiences how important solid conducting is when he devastated the orchestra’s ability to perform. Both Sergei Prokofiev’s first piano concerto and Jean Sibelius’ sixth symphony suffered from his mediocre conducting, as passages were awkwardly rushed and inarticulately loud.

The evening opened with Sibelius’ “Luonnotar,” a tone poem for soprano and orchestra with Dawn Upshaw as the soloist. Although the orchestra was overpowering at times, Upshaw sang clearly and ardently. The “Luonnotar” was a simple yet enticing piece for the rest of the night.

Adés’ own “In Seven Days,” written for piano and orchestra, followed the Sibelius with Kirill Gerstein as the soloist. “In Seven Days” is a piano concerto based on the Book of Genesis’ story of creation. The programmatic spirit of the piece came as no surprise. Each of the seven movements brought in new characters as chaos became the world we know today.

Unfortunately, the piece was abstract and difficult to follow. There appeared to be a lack of coherency between orchestra and piano, although none can doubt Gerstein’s extraordinary technique. At times, it felt as if Adés was indeed sim-

ply waving his hands and expecting the orchestra to follow. It did not appear that he was keenly listening to both the orchestra and the pianist.

This premonition was confirmed by Prokofiev’s first piano concerto. Right from the start, the orchestra came in jarringly loud and fast, taking the audience aback. Rather than setting the stage for the pianist, Gerstein’s arrival felt unnecessarily rushed. A greater problem than tempo, however, was the coherency between orchestra and pianist. Sections often failed to come in together on time.

This problem was amplified during the third movement when Adés decided to further increase the tempo. The result was a pianist who struggled to keep up with the orchestra and an orchestra that was falling apart at the seams. Not even Gerstein’s technique was able to save this performance.

It was unclear whether or not the lackluster performance was due to a lack of rehearsal or Adés’ conducting, but it should be pointed out that at previous performances, the orchestra performed excellently under Dutoit.

After the Prokofiev, expectations were high for the final piece of the evening.

Sibelius’ sixth symphony is a gem among his more commonly performed symphonies. Once again, the piece was hopelessly rushed.

Overall, there were two unfortunate outcomes of rushing the Sibelius. First, see ADÉS, page 6

All of these components shift and complement each other and rarely step on each other’s toes. It’s hard to describe why everything coheres so elegantly on “Lux” when other Eno see LUX, page 6

Concert review

Iconic DiFranco thrills Boston audience by

Diane Adamson

Contributing Writer

Folk icon Ani DiFranco performed to a moderately packed but extremely enthusiastic house at the Wilbur Theater on Nov. 13. Pearl and the Beard gave an inspired opening packed with powerful harmonies and cameos from quirky instruments like the glockenspiel and the melodica.

The band has toured numerous times with DiFranco and it’s obvious why she keeps asking them back — if Pearl and the Beard’s latest album, “Killing the Darlings” (2011), is nice on an iPod, then it’s mesmerizing live.

DiFranco started the set with her electrifying election-year battle cry, “Which Side are You On?” The song has a long history: it was penned by a union organizer’s wife in the 1930s and has been reinterpreted by artists ranging from Pete Seeger to Natalie Merchant.

DiFranco added her trademark liberal swag to the classic with lyrics like “the road to ruin is paved with patriarchy.” Accompanied by bassist Todd Sickafoose and drummer Terence Higgins, it was an invigorating opening that set the tone for her performance.

If you have never heard of Ani see DIFRANCO, page 6

R

Something to talk about

ihanna is a unique pop star. She’s got a superhuman work ethic and she has released seven albums in seven years. Over that short time frame, she’s made well over twenty hits, a collection that few musicians ever match. Her newest album, “Unapologetic,” features yet another collaboration with her infamous boyfriend, Chris Brown. However, the single “Nobody’s Business” ends up failing in a few regards.

What worked with last year’s “Birthday Cake (Remix)” collaboration with Brown was its unabashed willingness to be a perfect mix of sexy and trashy. It’s the kind of song you can’t help but grind to. From its gritty beat to its barely hidden euphemisms, it all sounds just as dirty as we want it to sound. The track is unrepentant in its lustful sound, while the two’s history makes Brown’s lines like, “doggie want the kitty” feel bold and unashamed, especially when they’re given a demonic-sounding echo.

Brown and Rihanna are playing off their history on that song and it works because they’re acknowledging it. The song is interesting, at the very least.

Sadly, the same can’t be said about “Nobody’s Business.” From its bouncy beat to its carefree sample of Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel” (1987), the song has the feel of a generic ’80s pop song.

However, Brown and Rihanna’s unfortunate past makes it hard to just enjoy the song’s pleasant pop sound, as it stubbornly refuses to delve even shallowly into the two’s relationship.

“Nobody’s Business” could have been sung by any musician, especially when the most personal lyrics in the entire song are impersonal statements like, “Let’s make out in this Lexus” and “I want to be your baby/ you’ll always be my baby.” While countless songs are wonderful even with unspecific lyrics, these two singers’ disturbing history makes it too difficult for listeners to treat the record like it’s just a simple, catchy ditty.

Rihanna’s slightly auto-tuned and vaguely detached vocals don’t help the song sound personal, either. Rihanna’s made a career off of her ice-pick cold, emotionless singing that usually adds to records. Her frigidness beautifully balances out the overly warm lyrics of “Umbrella” (2007) and her disengaged voice sells her line “we found love in a hopeless place” because she sounds like she’s never been anywhere else.

Comparatively, on “Nobody’s Business,” her “sexy Tin Man” routine just doesn’t work. If the words and her vocals had been highly expressive on the track, it could have been an intriguing look at Rihanna’s likely conflicting feelings toward her tumultuous partner. Instead, the listener is left with a frustratingly opaque jingle. It almost feels as if The-Dream and the song’s other producers randomly picked Brown for the collaboration, unaware of his past misdeeds.

Even if “Nobody’s Business” had just a few lines that shed light on why Rihanna still has feelings for or wants to keep seeing the man who assaulted her only three years ago, it could be an absorbing look into her often-cloaked mind. Unfortunately, fans are left with a generic love song and little perspective into her thoughts.

Woody Allen once said, “The heart wants what the heart wants,” and it seems like Rihanna’s romantic struggles are proof of just that. Rihanna may be able to move past everything that’s happened, but I don’t think the public is quite yet. This is probably why “Nobody’s Business” just doesn’t work as the silly little love song it tries to be.

Rihanna is the top-selling digital artist of all time, and that kind of mass appeal comes from her smart production selection. Sadly, on “Nobody’s Business,” her past stops the listener from just enjoying the tune.

Joe Stile is a senior majoring in political science and minoring in English. He can be reached at Joseph.Stile@tufts.edu.

6

The Tufts Daily

Arts & Living

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

DiFranco rocks Wilbur Theatre with empowering anthems DIFRANCO

continued from page 5

DiFranco, you’re certainly not alone, but she is basically the musical leader of teenage feminists and empowered older women. She burst onto the independent music scene in 1989 at age 19 with an acoustic guitar, a shaved head and a middle finger pointed squarely at the mainstream music industry.

Her slam-worthy lyrics gave first-person accounts of abortions, politicized catcalls and morning-after subway rides. She wrote about affairs with both men and women and never apologized for her choices.

Rather than signing with a big label, DiFranco immediately founded Righteous Babe Records and produced her own music for the sake of maintaining the radical honesty that characterizes her work. Over 20 years and more than 20 albums later, her fan base is still maniacal and she continues to zigzag the globe delivering her music by hand.

But after all that time, what’s left to sing about? DiFranco still brings an extraordinary energy to each of her performances, and her staccato strumming is even more rich and challenging.

She’s currently about four months pregnant, but that only seemed to amplify her presence on stage last Tuesday. She still cracks goofy jokes between songs and gives off a delightfully humble vibe. Nowadays, however, her lyrical edge sometimes gives way to an unappetizing brusqueness.

For example, while performing an extended version of “Amendment” off her newest album, DiFranco sang, “If you don’t want to have an abortion/ Don’t have an abortion.” The lyric, though not invalid, lacks the poetry found in her earlier work on the subject.

Comparatively, “Lost Woman Song,” a song from her self-titled 1990 debut album explored abortion from a deeply personal perspective. Of clinic protestors, it said, “They keep pounding their fists on reality, hoping it will break/ But you know I don’t think there’s a one of them that leads a life free of mistakes.”

But not all of DiFranco’s recent endeavors were so difficult to sit through.

When she played “Mariachi,” it was easy to get caught up in its silly sweetness.

Rtsanderson via Wikimedia Commons

Ani DiFranco’s vibrant personality lends itself to a great stage presence.

“Promiscuity,” another new song, proved that at 42 years old DiFranco can still write fantastic lyrics about sex. She smiled widely as she sang, “Promiscuity is nothing more than traveling/ There’s more than one way to see the world/ And some of us like to stick close to home/ And some of us are Columbus/ What can I say?”

Adés’ conducting fails to do pieces justice ADÉS

continued from page 5

each movement is already marked at a fast tempo and there are no true slow movements to the piece. The movements are marked “Allegro molto moderato” (very lively and moderate), “Allegretto moderato” (moderately fast), “Poco vivace” (rather fast and lively) and “Allegro molto” (very fast). Although all of these tempos are certainly fast, they are still distinctly different, and when each movement is performed in hyperbole, the movements lose their sense of singularity.

The second major flaw was the lack of development. The arc of each movement suffered as Adés recklessly swept through each nuance. Much like the Prokofiev, the

woodwinds, strings and brass oftentimes failed to come in on time. Sibelius’ sixth focuses on careful thematic unfolding but in this case, the theme development felt forced.

Adés’ hyperbolic conducting failed to do Prokofiev or Sibelius justice. He can be commended as a composer but as a conductor, he has much to achieve. His careless conducting ruined the cohesiveness of the orchestra and the direction of the Sibelius. The execution of Sibelius’ sixth symphony left this reporter feeling lost and confused. There should be no qualms against the Boston Symphony welcoming Adés back as a composer, but as a conductor, the orchestra would be better off without him.

Courtesy of Stu Rosner/Boston Symphony Orchestra

Adés’ rushed conducting led to a disconnect between the orchestra and soloists.

DiFranco also crisscrossed her vast musical canon throughout the night, throwing in favorites like “Napoleon,” “Joyful Girl” and “You Had Time.” The devoted crowd clapped enthusiastically for every song, but whenever DiFranco started strumming one of her classics, the theater’s energy was instantly ampli-

fied. Her encore performance of “Fire Door,” from her first album, brought down the house.

Since DiFranco is due to deliver her second child in April, this was probably her last tour for a while. It’s hard to say exactly when she’ll be back on stage, but it’s certain she will be sorely missed.

‘Lux’ gracefully explores sound to construct moods LUX

continued from page 5

efforts in the past few years have been less impressive, but a large part of that may be the relative paucity of the sounds Eno works with.

Rather than churning out a spectrum of sounds from his immense studio, Eno picks a dozen or so instruments and sounds and cycles through them slowly and deliberately, juxtaposing them artfully.

“LUX 1” opens the album with stratospheric strings laid over a droning synthesizer. The two musical components wax and wane, gradually shifting around one another so changes are hard to pinpoint. Eno has a keen ear for dynamics and creating movement out of very little. Rather than change chords or even notes within his arrangements, Eno alters slight timbre qualities and volume levels, producing slight fluctuations instead of dramatic shifts.

“LUX 2” is tenser and actually a bit dissonant, especially compared to its predecessor. Sustained guitar notes play a brittle harmony as Eno pipes in more of the sounds from the preceding track, only to gradually wash out the track with minimalist synth work and periodic bell chimes.

The album’s second half expands and darkens the sounds of the preceding two songs, giving them more depth and mystery than they had initially. If this review’s constant references to sparse piano notes and atmospheric string arrangements make the album seem monotonous, they should. The album isn’t striving for anything beyond a particular mood and the sounds one can use to make it. Yes, there are variations to the feeling, but it rarely strays from its comfort zone.

David Smith via Flickr Creative Commons

Brian Eno’s new album, “Lux,” is of a similar caliber to his great albums of the ’70s and ’80s.

For all the modesty of its production, “Lux” accomplishes something quite rare in the field of ambient music: it’s truly compelling.

For anyone with the time and patience to make their way through all of “Lux,” they’ll be rewarded by a soft-spoken but nonetheless affecting album that can stick in your head for quite a while.

The Tufts Daily

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Doonesbury

by

Garry Trudeau

Non Sequitur

by

7

Comics Crossword

Wiley

Married to the Sea

www.marriedtothesea.com

SUDOKU Level: Cooking a turkey

Late Night at the Daily Monday’s Solution

Kochman: “I’m, like, the bad boy of Math of Social Choice.”

Please recycle this Daily.

The Tufts Daily

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THE TUFTS DAILY Rebecca K. Santiago Editor-in-Chief

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editorial | Op-ed

Editorial

Patrick’s immigration reform is sound policy

Governor Deval Patrick made a laudable decision this week to offer the instate tuition rate provided at public universities to Massachusetts residents to young undocumented immigrants in the state who obtain federal work permits.

Patrick’s decision was first made public by an article in Sunday’s Boston Globe, titled “Mass. to widen tuition breaks at state colleges,” and then was confirmed yesterday by the governor himself. From the State House, Patrick told reporters yesterday that he has directed the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education to enact the policy immediately, providing crucial economic relief for undocumented immigrants in Massachusetts seeking an equal opportunity to earn a college degree. The in-state tuition rate reduces the cost of attending a public university in Massachusetts significantly. At University of Massachusetts Amherst, for example, a non-resident pays $26,

645 annually, while a resident pays $13,230, according to statistics from the State Education Secretary.

The new Massachusetts policy follows in the footsteps of recent changes at the Federal level. The Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program allows children of unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States to have their deportations deferred while the government determines how it will, or if it will, reform its immigration policy.

The governor is right to call his new policy “a step in the right direction,” as he did yesterday while talking to reporters from the State House.

Still, the decision is not without controversy. Steve Kropper, co-chairman of Massachusetts Citizens for Immigration Reform, told the Globe on Sunday that the policy is “bad for the country” because it takes the focus away from American citizens facing poverty in the

face of college costs. Other critics have decried Patrick’s move as having sidestepped the state legislature.

Yet the Governor’s decision makes sense on a number of levels. It is sound economic policy and fits into the American ideal of expanding opportunity for everyone, including immigrants from Latin America, who according to Sunday’s article in the Globe comprise 80 percent of applicants to Obama’s deterred-action program. According to U.S. Census information from 20022007 cited in a Forbes article published in 2011, Latino-owned businesses are expected to increase their total revenue contribution to the economy by eight percent annually over the 10 years from 2005 to 2015. Providing more immigrants from Latin America with an affordable route to a college education will only further this economic growth, and puts Massachusetts at the forefront of immigration reform nationwide.

Louie Zong

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Vegetarianism on Thanksgiving can challenge

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by Sydnie

Olliff

Kansas State Collegian

Thanksgiving is associated with spending time with family, appreciating blessings in our lives and, most of all, eating. We gorge ourselves on turkey, stuffing, ham, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and a plethora of other dishes specifically designed to make everyone eat until they’re miserable and ready to sleep for the rest of the afternoon.

Last Thanksgiving, however, I passed up most of these goodies because of a lifestyle choice I had made in May of 2011. I had decided to become a vegetarian, partially for the health benefits of giving up meat and focusing on fruits and vegetables and partially because I love animals.

However, most of what compelled me stemmed from a need to simply prove that I could do it. I hardly ate red meat, and I felt that I could give up chicken and tuna without much of a fuss.

I chose not to forgo dairy and eggs since animals aren’t harmed in the making of them (disregarding the idea that an egg is alive; I’m not here to argue about rights) and to simply live as a lacto-ovo vegetarian.

This proved more difficult than I had planned. At the time, I lived in Hays, which made it difficult to find vegetarian protein supplements. Because I had cut meat out

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.

of my diet, I tried to eat more peanut butter, eggs and protein shakes, but my diet still needed more sustenance. One store carried vegetarian imitation chicken breasts, so that made up the bulk of my protein. I dubbed this magical substance “fake chicken.”

My family didn’t agree with my lifestyle change. They constantly asked me when I was going to “get past this phase” and “start eating with the family again.” I grew up in a meat-and-potatoes household, so my mother had no idea how to feed me when I came home and simply substituted all the meat in our meals with cheese.

Needless to say, I either ate a lot of salad or consumed the entirety of my calorie content via Velveeta.

Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner proved to be the biggest challenges. My grandma forgot that I didn’t eat meat and made beef stew for lunch. I ended up scouring the fridge and throwing together a salad.

At Thanksgiving dinner, I loaded my plate with the vegetables and fruits at the table, finishing my meal with a piece of chocolate pie. Just as I was taking my last bite, my brother asked how I could eat something with pudding.

This was when I learned about the sneaky foods that don’t follow vegetarian diet guidelines. Foods like pudding, gelatin, marshmallows and ramen noodles seasoning are made of animal byproducts such

as hooves and bone marrow. Even certain kinds of processed cheeses are cultured with animal byproducts.

He explained this to me as I guiltily pushed my empty plate away, vowing never again to ingest pudding.

I had aimed to continue this lifestyle for a full year, but because of a rigorous exercise schedule, I began to lose too much weight and my hair started to thin. I ended my vegetarianism last March to allay my family’s concerns over my health, but I learned a lot in the process.

For those of you considering giving up meat for an extended period of time, I offer a few suggestions. Taking a vitamin supplement can give you anything your body may be lacking during this period. You can also eat other foods rich in protein such as quinoa, beans, nuts, tofu or supplements.

Watch for unexpected hair loss or weight loss and, most of all, take care of yourself.

By cutting meat out of my diet, I became more energized and less lethargic, but if done the wrong way a vegetarian diet can have the opposite effects.

For those of you making the brave attempt during the heartiest of holidays, allrecipes.com features a vegetarian Thanksgiving page that shows various ways for vegetarians to enjoy sweet potatoes, salads, cranberry sauces and other delightful dishes. Turkey and gravy will just make your family sleepy.

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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The Tufts Daily

Zionists and Coffee: A critique of Facebook in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by

Robert Persky

“Wow what’s with you Zionists and getting coffee.” This was posted by a member of Tufts’ Students for Justice in Palestine on Facebook on Nov. 15, 2012, in response to a Facebook debate on the current Israeli-Palestinian affair. I was offended. This group has similarly upset me in the past. I, personally, support a two-state solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. It is because of this belief that I have been very frustrated this week with Israel’s escalation in Gaza, and the divisive posts from both camps on Facebook that have commented on this issue.

I learned in Professor Eichenberg’s Introduction to IR course about terrorism. According to his lecture, terrorism aims to inflict pain in order to motivate the people of a democratic country to elicit a change in their government’s policies that would support the terrorist’s goals. Hamas is the democratically elected governing body in Gaza. The alQassam brigades, which are the armed militants associated with Hamas, participate in terrorism by targeting civilians and sending rockets into Israel with the stated purpose of obtaining the most casualties possible. Terrorists, as a general claim, love the media because it gathers attention towards their cause; part of their fight is to win a PR war.

Israel has responded to recent terrorism by targeting Hamas officials. It is true that Israel is guilty of greatly marginalizing Palestinian rights in a stated attempt to defend itself from attacks, including erecting a “separation barrier” to restrict Palestinians’ movement in the West Bank. There have also been many civilian casualties in Israel’s mission to defend itself, exemplified in Gaza, which is a densely populated and very small strip of land. Many Israeli lives have been lost as a result of Palestinian terrorism, particularly during the Second Intifada, and Israel tries protecting its citizens by decreasing the ability of terrorists to attack. Both sides have many sad stories because violence is a vicious cycle. Deaths create a desire for revenge, and can provoke new attacks. I am especially dubious of a long-term solution if Hamas is determined to make good on previous promises to fight until Israel does not exist.

I usually do not comment on this conflict because I do not see a long-term solution to it, and because most vocal people are so biased that they refuse to consider the other side of the argument

and have a fair discussion. With this new Israeli offensive, I have witnessed numerous one-sided Facebook posts either supporting Israel or the Palestinian cause or completely dismissing the concerns of the other side, and thus I feel obligated to toss in my two cents.

There are many pros and cons to Facebook in terms of political activism. Facebook is good because it makes politics more transparent. Facebook is bad, however, because it is polarizing and distancing. People can ignore what they do not want to see, and spread false information rapidly. People do not feel compelled to respond to everything addressed at them, like in a verbal discussion. In many Facebook disputes that I have seen this past week, I have noticed substantial selectivity in arguers’ posts and responses to others’ comments.

People have stubbornly come out on Facebook either supporting the Palestinian cause or Israel, but rarely expressing empathy for the victims of the violence on both sides. People have chosen to spread biased news articles or publications that radically support one side. Emotional stories have been shared trying to evoke sympathy, and thus support for one side. In this conflict sympathy is key because there has been so much destruction and pain. As a self-described centrist, I fundamentally believe that the two most important concerns in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are to end the injustices being committed against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and to ensure security for Israelis in the future. That is why radicalism on both sides frustrates me; those views inherently deny one of my two prerequisites for peace.

People’s biases, formed by their past experiences and the media, interfere with an objective dialogue about the conflict, and this becomes problematic when people fail to acknowledge that their biases cloud their vision. Debates usually fail because people focus on the information they want to hear and ignore the rest.

It is clear to me that the Facebook posts by members of Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine exemplify their collective unwillingness to have a productive dialogue and compromise on any of their viewpoints. Despite their stated claim to want to have productive conversations with pro-Israel members of the Tufts community, SJP generally fosters an environment, with their events and public statements, that is incredibly nonconducive to realizing that goal. Further, this group is self-affirming in its public

unwillingness to engage with other viewpoints. By being closed off as a group, members have reinforced each other’s opinions. Members have also been guilty of using what I view as intimidation and mean-spirited criticism to silence opposing viewpoints.

The Zionists and coffee comment, mentioned above, is indicative of this. A pro-Israel commenter asked to engage the author of a SJP member’s post to further dialogue in a face-to-face setting. The intention was good. An SJP member used intimidation, implying that Zionist arguments are a waste of time, to silence this commenter. Instead of initiating what I view as radical events, like Israeli Apartheid week and their walk-out from Michael Oren’s, the Israeli ambassador to America, speech last year, this group should take a more moderate approach. They should realize that events like these do not attract supporters but instead create anger from pro-Israel groups and moderates, including people whose main priority is securing full rights and prosperity for Palestinians while working within the framework of a two-state solution.

Further, they should not disregard the opinions of others who disagree with them. Members’ claims that pro-Israel voices are misinformed are dangerous because they criticize a person’s understanding of the facts when it is a divergence in opinion, not ignorance that is responsible for the disagreement.

This group, exemplified by their recent Facebook posts, has chosen to focus on information only relevant to their cause and ignore the rest. The problem with posting on Facebook is the tendency to be one-sided.

To all you vocal Facebook-ers: do not be ignorant and post opinions without being fully knowledgeable on the matter, and be empathetic. This issue is not simple; so do not make it out to be. Violence is horrible and should be stopped, and unfortunately there is violence coming from both sides. As I mentioned, sensitivity is key. I have been upset this week from what I have seen, so I feel the urge to speak. There are many issues that need to be solved in this conflict, and none of them will be worked towards through biased Facebook posts.

Robert Persky is a sophomore majoring in international relations and film who has no affiliation with Friends of Israel, J Street U or Students for Justice in Palestine. He can be reached at Robert.Persky@tufts.edu.

‘Manrights’ flier is not funny, seriously by

Aliza Gordon

Yesterday, I spotted a disturbing poster as I was walking through campus.

The sign asked men and “hot lesbians” to come together for a general interest meeting to discuss “manrights.”

Although I have since learned this meeting is, in fact, fake, this cannot and should not be brushed aside as a dumb prank. Regardless of whether these posters are intended to be a joke, this is a very real ideological attack on feminism and the women of Tufts University.

I just have to ask the creators of this poster, what part of feminism doesn’t work for you? Are you so offended by us working to make campus a safer space, speaking out on behalf of the one in four college women who will get raped or be a victim of attempted rape? Is it our demand of equal pay for equal work, instead of the current 77 cents for every dollar a man makes? Could it be our work to create an open dialogue about sex to promote safety and end slut shaming? Or maybe it’s our fight against the patriarchal structure that enforces oppressive gender roles and het-

eronormativity? Are these the goals that are so terribly infringing on your “manrights?” I ask you to truly consider how this joke of yours aims to undermine the serious progress we have made towards gaining equality for all genders and all sexualities and the continued struggle we face on a daily basis.

Now, I don’t know the motivation of the individuals who created these posters and painted the cannon with the phrase “manrights.” I don’t know if they even know about the (very real) Men’s Rights movement. I don’t know if they understand the concept of privilege. What I do know is that their ignorant prank openly mocks the millions of people around the globe who fight against patriarchy in all its forms. It attempts to repurpose queer women’s identities by fetishizing their sexuality as a performance for straight men. The message of these posters undermines progress and mocks equality.

You ended your poster with a quote, albeit a fake one. In return for that compelling piece of prose, I’ll leave you with a quote, as well. It comes

9

Op-Ed

from the Good Men Project, a group aiming to combat the anti-feminist discourse of the contemporary Men’s Rights movement, which your posters and fake quote seemingly support: “When you believe that we live in a female-dominated world where (straight, white, able-bodied, cisgender) men are the most oppressed class, it tends to make you wrong about pretty much everything.”

Does this op-ed now classify me as a “feminist killjoy?” Maybe. But if this is what Tufts students think of as joy, we have a much larger problem on our hands. As a feminist, as a student organizer, as a member of the Tufts community and as an ally to all marginalized groups, I cannot simply ignore these posters and write off their message as a dumb joke. This ignorance and backwards thinking should not be tolerated.

Not on my campus.

Aliza Gordon is a junior majoring in women’s studies. She can be reached at Aliza.Gordon@tufts.edu.

Craig Frucht | Road to November

Gifts and Cliffs

L

osing presidential candidates never do much for the party brand, but you’d be hard-pressed to find another one who was as damaging as Mitt Romney has been to the Republicans.

You could make the argument that Jimmy Carter was that devastating to the Democrats.

His defeat in 1980 gave Ronald Reagan a mandate to proceed with a platform built around dismantling the New Deal and implementing “trickle-down” economic policy. Today’s Republican leaders have taken charge of that agenda, made it even more extreme, and turned it into something resembling an ideological crusade.

But thanks to Romney, Republicans have a much tougher sell than they did just two years ago. Romney slapped a smug, spray-tanned, aristocratic face onto an economic platform that many Americans already had difficulty relating to.

And unlike Carter, Romney didn’t stop making gaffes once he was defeated. Perhaps not content with a feeble “Thanks, guys” as his parting words on Election Night, Romney infuriated his party last week when he said on a conference call with campaign donors that he lost because the Obama administration had given “gifts” to its core constituencies to get them to vote for him.

The “gifts” comment harkens back to Romney’s infamous “47 percent” remarks, and what he’s really saying is that President Obama’s supporters are all freeloaders looking for government handouts. It’s a blatantly elitist comment, and the most transparently bitter post-defeat sound bite to emerge in recent electoral history.

It also couldn’t have come at a worse time for Republicans. The fiscal cliff is looming at year’s end, and the last thing they need is Romney publicly reinforcing the notion that their platform for negotiating with Obama stems from the belief that half the country isn’t pulling its weight.

Speaker of the House John Boehner is already in a corner here. Both parties agree that the George W. Bush-era tax cuts, which are set to expire, should be renewed for individuals making less than $200,000 and families making less than $250,000. The sticking point is what to do about the tax rates for the wealthy, which will increase from 35 to 39.6 percent without Congressional action.

The problem for Republicans is that the middle class tax rates are their only bargaining chip. If they relent to Democratic leaders’ demands to pass an extension of those cuts immediately before turning their attention to the highest tax brackets, they will have no leverage to negotiate an extension of the tax cuts for the wealthy. But by bundling the two issues together, Republicans will take the brunt of the blame in January if the government is still stalemated and the average family of four is looking at a $2,000 tax increase.

Obama’s reelection makes it clear that Americans aren’t buying into the trickle-down roots of the Republican bargaining position.

The House doesn’t have the political capital right now to hold the economy hostage in a quest for ideological purity, and Boehner knows it.

But keep in mind that this is the same Congress that brought the nation to the brink of default last year just to make a symbolic point about deficit control. Moreover, many of the most extreme congressmen are beloved in their districts, and they’ll be vulnerable in primaries if they renege on their pledge never to vote for a tax hike. Boehner may be a pragmatist, but most of the rank-and-file couldn’t care less whether Obama has a mandate. If Boehner tries to force the issue, he’ll find his speakership in jeopardy.

So Democrats have to flexible here, too: This deal doesn’t get done at 39.6 percent.

It’s Obama’s job to find a number that allows Republicans to save enough face that they can get hold their nose and approve it but that doesn’t shift the entire burden of deficit reduction onto ordinary Americans.

Craig Frucht is a senior majoring in political science and psychology. He can be reached at Craig.Frucht@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.

The Tufts Daily

10 Housing

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Sports

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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

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For Rent - 6 Room 4 Bedroom Apartment. Walk across the street to campus. Washer, dryer and internet. Call 617-625-3021. Avail June 2013 classifieds policy All Tufts students must submit classifieds in person, prepaid with check, money order or exact cash only.

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Redemption key for Tufts en route to title FIELD HOCKEY

continued from back

were able to focus our energy and focus ourselves.”

That renewed focus emerged quickly for Tufts, which rebounded from the Bowdoin loss by trouncing Castleton 8-0 in the first round of the NCAAs. With that, the Jumbos’ offense came alive again, and continued on to an 18-4 goal differential for the tournament.

After beating host William Smith 4-2 in the second round, Tufts’ moment to declare itself as real contenders for the NCAA crown came in the elite eight, where it was time for a rematch with Bowdoin.

For years, the Polar Bears had stymied the Jumbos in postseason play, and to overcome them and turn that frustration into a victory, the Jumbos delivered a helping of late-game drama.

Down a goal in the second half, seniors Chelsea Yogerst and cocaptain Lia Sagerman struck twice in 10 minutes to pull the Jumbos to the lead.

“It was awesome,” freshman forward Hannah Park said. “I think we definitely knew what we needed to do to win the game after a really bad loss.”

On the same day, Tufts got a bit of help on their side of the bracket, as top-ranked Middlebury was downed by the previously unranked Depauw, giving Tufts a definitively easier matchup in the national semifinal.

Against the Tigers, the Jumbos’

defense held their opponents to their eighth and final shutout of the season, winning 2-0 to earn a spot in the national championship game.

“We really wanted to take it one game at a time,” Keenan said. “Especially in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, I don’t think we were looking at the national championship. It’s always kind of been in the back of our minds, but it wasn’t until the game [on Sunday that] we really got the idea that the national championship was ours to take.”

In the final, the Jumbos entered halftime with a 2-1 lead and clung to that lead with all they had, slowly watching time tick off the clock as they inched closer to their title.

“The last 20 minutes were probably the longest 20 minutes of my life,” Keenan said.

But when the game was finally over, the celebration was ready to begin. The Jumbo sideline burst onto the field to meet the players on the field, forming a circle of hugs, cheers and screams.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more happy in my entire life,” Keenan said. “All the hard work, all the dreams of every college athlete turned into a national championship. I couldn’t think of a better team to share it with.”

After the team had received their individual plaques and the team trophy had been hoisted, Park was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player

after her two goals in the final, to go along with her two assists in the tournament.

“I was definitely not expecting it,” Park said of the award. “It was just the best feeling in the world. I can’t even describe it.”

In the last two games of the tournament, all four of the Jumbos’ goals were scored by freshmen, with forward Rachel Terveer and midfielder Dakota Sikes-Keilp netting scores for the Jumbos in the semifinal.

Although Tufts was led by a strong core of upperclassmen, it was the freshmen that gave the team the final push towards the title by putting in decisive and crucial goals throughout the latter half of the season.

“The freshman class is very strong,” Park said. “But we definitely look up to our upperclassmen for help. That’s how we ended up so strong.”

With that guidance, the Jumbos were able to steer through some very tight games early in the season, and then managed to hold on for dear life and win Tufts’ first women’s team NCAA title.

“This entire season we knew that after we had our 10-game winning streak that we could do this,” Park said. “We [could be] put in any position and we could come out.”

The Jumbos did just that, and a program that has come so close to being named the best for so many years can finally place that crown upon its head.

Tufts turns tables on Yale SAILING

continued from back

familiar Yale team, which not only triumphed over Saint Mary’s 3-1, but also pummeled the Jumbos during qualifiers.

Having met the Jumbos in October, the Bulldogs triumphed during the qualifying finals 2-0, ruining what would have otherwise been a flawless performance.

This time, the Jumbos would flip the script on their opponent.

After being flagged for a penalty at the start, the Jumbos began at a disadvantage and never really recovered as the Bulldogs handled them easily in the first race.

In the second race, however, fortune smiled on the Jumbos as the Bulldogs started early, getting subsequently penalized with a restart and giving the Jumbos the boost they needed.

Tufts led the entire way, evening the score at one race apiece in the best-of-three finals.

Back at home, the remainder of the Jumbos kept a close eye on their team’s progress, with their coach offering running commentary via radio.

“Once we started to pull away, [Coach Legler] started getting pretty excited and emotional,” Hutchings said.

“It’s a big deal for him too, winning every championship except this one.”

Coming down to the third race, both teams sailed neck-and-neck, with their season on the line, but Tufts managed an early lead that ballooned as their seasoned core rode 15-knot winds to the finish line.

With the win, the co-ed sailing team’s season is officially complete, having ended on what might have been the highest possible note.

“Winning nationals is pretty awesome. It’s not something you experience every day,” Grasberger said.

“The team’s been incredibly supportive, [and] we had a lot of [people] dedicated to helping us practice. When we got off the plane, there was just a whole bunch of people at the gate at 1 a.m., and they rushed to greet us as we came down the stairs.”

And what of the achievement for Coach Legler?

“He was completely psyched.

Coaching for 30-some-odd years, this was his only nationals he’d never won, so it’s something you’d have wanted to happen eventually for him, to add another achievement,” Grasberger added.

Now, with the break under way, the Jumbos will hope that they can repeat their progress next season with another year remaining for their intrepid core — and another year’s opportunity to add to Legler’s legacy.

Swimming and Diving

Men’s swimming comes out of weekend 2-1, women’s team slumps to three defeats The Tufts men’s swimming team opened its 2012-13 season strong this Saturday, finishing 2-1 in matchups with Conn. College, Middlebury and Keene State, while the women’s team got off to its first 0-3 start since at least 1999.

The men’s team was able to handle its Saturday in-conference matchups with the Camels and the Panthers, 144135 and 183-104, respectively, with a number of young swimmers submitting strong performances in their collegiate debuts.

F re s h m a n Anthony DeBenedetto won three events. including the 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter butterfly and 500-meter freestyle, and classmate Michael Winget won two, including the 200-meter backstroke and 200-meter IM to pace the Jumbos in the early going.

After swimming for the firstplace 200-meter medley relay team, junior Drew Berman and sophomore John Devine added individual victories of their own, with Berman taking the 100-meter backstroke and Devine the 50-meter freestyle.

In the diving well, it was business as usual for junior Johann Schmidt, who came away victorious in the onemeter dive.

The Jumbos took first place in 10 events during the day, while Berman, freshman Cam Simko and junior Kyle Savidge added runner-up finishes.

“My teammates stepped up to win some close races, and I think that fight really embodies our motivation this year,” Savidge said.

On Sunday against Keene State, Berman and Schmidt both won two events, while Winget and DeBendetto showed their wins on Saturday were not flukes as they each took home another victory to go with second place finishes from Devine and Simko.

However, the Owls’ Drew Ledwith was too fast for the Jumbos, as the junior won the 200m backstroke, 200m butterfly and the 500m freestyle en route to his team’s 163-128 victory.

For the women, however, the weekend was one to forget. In the meet against Keene State, Tufts was only able to win one event, with senior Ali Maykranz taking home first place in the three-meter dive.

Similarly, in the meet against the Camels and Panthers, only junior Jenny Hu managed to grab a first-place finish in the 200meter backstroke, while a bevy of second and third-place finishes were not enough to overcome the strong NESCAC foes.

The men’s and women’s teams will swim again at the MIT Invitational on Nov. 30, while the women also have a home dual meet with Wellesley on Nov. 28.

—by GJ Vitale

scott tingley / tufts daily archives

The men’s swimming team defeated conference foes Conn. College and Middlebury this weekend.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The Tufts Daily

11

Sports

Men’s Squash

Tufts sweeps opening weekend of matches

Contributing Writer

For a men’s squash program that has experienced some upheaval in recent months, including a search late in the offseason for a new coach, getting off to a good start was more important than ever.

And against the University of Vermont, Boston University and Boston College, Tufts easily took care of its competition, winning 9-0, 7-2 and 8-1, respectively.

The matches marked the first Tufts match experience for new coach Joe McManus, who has taken the the helm for both the men’s and women’s squads.

According to sophomore Hugo Meggitt, McManus and assistants Edwin Lennox and Eric Lamsa have already made an impact on the players.

“So far, the coaches have been really encouraging,” Meggitt said. “It’s been a big improvement for the program, and I definitely think we’re going to have a good season.”

The Jumbos featured a number of newcomers to the team in the sweep of UVM on Saturday, including freshman standout Aditya Advani, who won 11-1, 11-3, 11-2 at the No. 2 position. Meanwhile, freshman Brandon Weiss, who played No. 5 for Tufts in the opening match, easily downed his opponent, 11-5, 11-1, 11-3. by

Andy Linder

None of the matches lasted more than three games in each best-of-five set, an impressive feat for the team’s first contest of the season.

Following the annihilation of UVM, which was played in Belmont, Mass., the Jumbos traveled to Boston University to take on the Terriers in Saturday’s nightcap. Tufts continued its dominance, as the team dropped just two matches to its downtown rivals.

Key victories included a close, hardfought battle by Weiss, who won in a comeback five-set thriller against sophomore Jonathan Chambers by a score of 8-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5.

Meanwhile, sophomore Elliot Kardon broke a 1-1 tie following the second game of his match against freshman Paulo Damoura with 11-1 wins in both the third and fourth games.

“I’m very excited about this season, and I would like to move up from my current No. 7 spot to playing No. 5 on the team,” Kardon said.

The Jumbos finished off their weekend nicely, defeating another top opponent in the area, Boston College, by a score of 8-1. In that matchup, Tufts won three matches in five games, two in four games, two in three games and two by default. Sophomore co-captain Zach Schweitzer and Advani are now both 3-0

for the Jumbos in the top two positions, respectively.

“While UVM, BU and BC didn’t pose the biggest competition for us, these matches were certainly a good warmup for the rest of the season,” Meggitt said.

“I’m glad we were able to get our first wins quickly out of the way for coach McManus.”

Top freshman recruits Aaron Fernandez and Harrison Liftman sat out of this weekend’s action due to injuries, but both hope to return after taking a break for Thanksgiving. Tufts will resume play on Nov. 28 against MIT followed by a number of conference matches later this season.

“I’m really looking forward to our match against the legendary Trinity squash program,” Kardon said.

“NESCAC squash is some of the top squash in the country, and although challenging, we’re lucky to play in such a high-level conference.”

All of the players agree that this was the way they wanted to kick off the season for a program still adapting to changes.

“Now that we have the first couple matches behind us, we’ll continue to look forward to our next competition,” Meggitt said. “This season, we want to do better overall, and we certainly hope to win the D division of the CSA.”

Illness hampers team members, squad still finishes strongly CROSS COUNTRY continued from back

said. “I shifted into survival mode.”

Rand was the second finisher for the Tufts team and was followed by junior Andrew Shapero with 63 points, Wallis two seconds behind with 68 points and senior Tyler Andrews capping it off with 74 points.

Juniors Brian McLaughlin and Jack McCauley also competed, but only the top five finishers are tallied into the group score.

Shapero ran a strong race and moved up 31 places from his performance last year at Nationals, and Wallis moved up 67 places. Even for those runners who did not perform at the same level as they had previously in the season, Barron stressed that everyone gave it their all.

“Everybody raced hard,” he said. “At no point in the race was I disappointed in where the guys took themselves.”

Marks believes that this has been a successful season for the cross country team and that the team has risen to a new level.

“The consistent dedication from the beginning of the summer onward on the part of every member made it so that the top seven were probably the best that Tufts has ever had,” he said.

In addition to the seven runners from the men side, freshman Audrey Gould also travelled to Indiana after qualifying individually.

Gould came in 68th place in a field of almost 300 runners, just short of her tentative goal of placing in the top 60.

The women’s team was just shy of making into the Championship, but Gould hopes to return next year with the whole squad and improve on her individual performance.

Daily File Photo

Senior co-captain Matt Rand struggled at the NCAA Championships after battling an illness, but still managed to finish in 48th place.

Women’s squash

Jumbos narrowly fall to Eagles in season-opening match On Sunday night, the women’s squash team dealt with early-season struggles against its cross-town rival, narrowly losing to Boston College, 5-4.

Heading into the match, the Jumbos’ goal was to open with a strong showing while continuing their transition with the newest addition to the Tufts squash program, coach Joe McManus.

McManus, who has coached two private schools and currently serves as the commissioner and CEO of the Pro Squash Tour, is coaching both the men’s and women’s teams.

With some seasoned veterans and some players fresh to the game, the Jumbos went into the match expecting a mixed bag.

“We have a lot of young players on our team,” junior co-captain Jessica Rubine said.

“Even a few who are new to the sport.”

But even so, there were good signs from the Jumbos throughout the top nine.

Sophomore Paige Dahlman, Rubine and seniors Ushashi Basu and co-captain Hafsa Chaudhry all dispatched their opponents with ease, but it was the fifth and deciding game that eluded the Jumbos.

“Some spots on our ladder struggled a bit,” Rubine said. “But I think they can take this match and learn from it. With more hard work in practice and applying the basics and techniques from practice to the matches, I think they will see big improvements.”

Chaudhry is also optimistic as she reflects on the first match of the season and looks ahead.

“While it was a tough loss, we have a lot to think about as we move forward,” she said. “We will be focusing on goals and areas for improvement so we can come back stronger in our matches after the break.”

Last year, the Jumbos fell to the Eagles 7-2 and can hang their hat on that improvement as they prepare to take on the Blue on Nov. 28 that they defeated last season.

—by Jorge Monroy-Palacio

Aaron Leibowitz | The Fan

A matter of trust

Y

esterday, baseball commissioner Bud Selig officially approved the Miami Marlins’ latest fire sale, a monster deal which sent Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and three others to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The people of Miami are officially pissed.

In the largest trade in team history, the Marlins shed $160 million in salary commitments and got rid of every superstar on their team except outfielder Giancarlo Stanton.

Even Stanton himself is angry. After the trade was first reported last week, he tweeted: “Alright, I’m pissed off!!!

Plain & Simple.”

Miami’s flaming hot ball of fury is headed squarely toward team owner — and, in the minds of Miami residents, quite possibly the devil incarnate — Jeffrey Loria.

Last year, the Marlins moved to Miami and built a new, extravagant stadium, 80 percent of which is being funded by taxpayers. For years, the Marlins insisted that a new ballpark was exactly what they needed, and once they got it they spent $191 million on big-name players last offseason.

But now, faster than a Jose Reyes triple, all of those players are gone.

After two straight last-place finishes in the NL East, the Marlins stand to be downright awful for at least the next year.

The most disturbing part is that, thanks to revenue sharing and money from TV deals, this won’t hurt Loria’s pocketbook one bit. In fact, he might still make a profit.

Understandably, Miami hates Loria’s guts. This is a man who bought the Marlins with money MLB paid him to purchase the Expos, a franchise Loria had singlehandedly destroyed.

Yes, there’s something wrong with that picture.

And yet, what’s strange is that, from a baseball standpoint, this trade can actually be justified.

The “spend big, win, then blow up the team” strategy has helped the Marlins capture two World Series titles in their first 11 years of existence. After a 69-win season, perhaps management decided they simply needed a fresh start. Besides, it couldn’t hurt to beef up a sub-par farm system.

It’s not out of the question that, by 2014, the Marlins could be competitive again. So why is all of Miami ready to burn Loria at the stake?

In the words of Billy Joel, it’s a matter of trust. (Side note: Joel also sings “Miami 2017,” which I’ll go ahead and predict is the next time the Marlins will win a championship.) The fans gave Loria their money for a new ballpark.

In return, Loria promised to build a winner. Instead, he decided to go back to square one; he decided that winning can wait.

By making this trade, Loria conned Miami.

Marlins fans have been down this road before. Sure, they can sit around and wait for a World Series appearance every five or ten years. But when the entire roster turns over each time the team fails — and even when it succeeds — it’s tough to stay loyal.

And it’s not just the fans whose trust the Marlins have betrayed. Reyes and pitcher Mark Buehrle, another victim of the fire sale, reportedly were told by the Marlins that they would not be traded. Of course, it was naive of them to trust a front office that refuses to grant no-trade clauses, but the damage has been done. Miami is no longer an attractive destination for big-name free agents.

Marlins fans have every reason to feel like Jeffrey Loria doesn’t give a crap about them. It’s because he doesn’t.

As he sinks the Marlins’ ship, Loria is standing on the beach, smiling and sipping margaritas.

Aaron Leibowitz is a junior who is majoring in American studies. He can be reached at Aaron.Leibowitz@tufts.edu.

Sports

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INSIDE Men’s Squash 11 Women’s Squash 11 Swimming and Diving 10

tuftsdaily.com

Sailing

Title-bearers once again, this time in new sector: Coed sailing wins ICSA Match Racing National Championship by

Andy Wong

Daily Editorial Board

In 32 years of coaching at Tufts, coed and women’s sailing head coach Ken Legler has won 19 national championships — eight women’s, five team racing, three dinghy, three singlehanded — and has produced 92 All-Americans.

But the match racing national title, awarded this year at the ICSA Match Race National Championship hosted in Fort Worth, Texas, has always eluded Legler and his team.

At least, it had until this past weekend.

In just the team’s second appearance at the race since 2004, Tufts avenged its finals loss during the New England Match Racing Championship qualifier, taking down Yale in a nail-biting finish and earning Tufts the sixth and final college sailing national title to have eluded their impressive sailing program.

“It was pretty cool, considering Tufts won two nationals the same day,” said senior tricaptain William Hutchings, referring to the field hockey team’s triumph. “We’ve won every national championship several times — all except for the sloop.”

Last year, the Jumbos broke through for the first time since 2004 and made it into the Sloop Nationals, then hosted in San Francisco. But

Courtesy Ken Legler

The coed sailing team, seen here practicing in Boston Harbor, added extra practices in the last several months to improve their match racing, and the work paid off as Tufts overcame Yale in the National Championship. they left the weekend feeling disappointed after finishing at a middle-of-the-pack fifth place.

This year, then-sophomores Will Haeger (skipper) and classmate David Liebenberg (bow) returned to the team

as seasoned juniors, resolved to not beat themselves as they felt they had last year.

With help from fellow classmates Paula Grasberger (pit and trimming spinnaker) and Solomon Krevans (trimming, main sheet), they formed the

Field Hockey

Jumbos storm to the title: A look inside their run by

Marcus Budline

Daily Editorial Board

On the afternoon of Nov. 3, things weren’t looking so bright for the field hockey team.

Tufts had just been smacked around by a Bowdoin team in the NESCAC semifinals that it had beaten earlier in the year, snapping the team’s 14-game winning streak in a

4-1 loss that forced it out of the tournament.

Little did they know, the Jumbos were ready for yet another winning streak — a historic one for Tufts athletics, as it earned the team its first Div. III National Championship in program history.

Tufts’ loss to Bowdoin ended up being a blessing in disguise — a message that they were, in

fact, beatable.

“That loss was probably one of the best things that could’ve happened to this team,” sophomore goalkeeper Brianna Keenan said. “It refocused us, and we realized that we have to earn every win and that they’re not going to come easy to us.

Coming back from that, we see FIELD HOCKEY, page 10

Courtesy Kevin Colton / William Smith College

Senior co-captain Rachel Gerhardt (left), senior forward Kelsey Perkins (center), and senior co-captain Lia Sagerman celebrate with the championship trophy shortly after the Jumbos’ victory over the Red Hawks.

four-person junior core that broke through to win it all after practicing hard since qualifiers.

“Our sloop team has been sailing out of Boston harbor, in addition to normal co-ed practice, twice a week since

mid-October,” Hutchings said. “[ We] practiced hard for two months and sparred against a Tufts B boat. [Senior] Albert Nichols, who has a significant match racing background outside of Tufts, put in a lot of time coaching our sloop team leading up to Nationals.”

In the initial round-robin, Tufts faced off against nine other teams, accumulating a quick 7-2 start to earn the No. 2 seed — a record equaled only by Georgetown and round-robin winner Saint Mary’s College, which earned tie-breakers over both teams.

Moving onto the quarterfinals, the team faced Eckerd College, earning the easy sweep and padding their win percentage along the way.

The semifinals proved to be more of a challenge, as they met with a third-seeded Georgetown squad that had swept its opponent, the University of Washington, in the previous round.

However, the Hoyas ultimately fell as the Jumbos swept them 3-0, earning their first and third win with superior speed, and receiving the judge’s decision in the second race when the two boats experienced minor contact in a neck-and-neck thriller at the finish line.

Their place secured in the finals, Tufts faced off against a see SAILING, page 10

Cross Country

Men’s cross country finishes seventh at Nationals by

Claire Sleigh

Contributing Writer

The men’s cross country team traveled to Terre Haute, Ind. this weekend for the National Championship, arriving with high expectations after what has been one of their most successful seasons on record.

The team finished in seventh place with 265 points — the third highest finish ever for Tufts, but a bit of a let down after being seeded fifth in the country back in October.

“I thought the team did really well,” coach Ethan Barron said.

“Our goal and our hope was the podium, but there are 10 to 15 teams every year that can finish in the top four. If you have the third-best finish in school history, you’re hard-pressed to be overly disappointed.”

Tufts finished five points behind Bates, who posted 259 points, and well behind first-place finisher North Central, who ended up with 167. The Jumbos edged out New England Regional champion Middlebury by 21 points on the strength of the back of their pack.

And with many runners battling sickness in the week leading up to the Championships, senior Kyle Marks estimates that only a few runners per-

formed to their potential.

Marks was one of the few Tufts runners who was able to stick to his race plan. Starting off steadily in 50th place for the first mile, he quickly moved up through the pack with junior Ben Wallis. Marks was the first runner to finish for Tufts with a time of 25:06.8, earning him 37th place individually and 26 points in the team competition.

Marks narrowly missed qualifying for All-American honors, which are awarded to runners who finish in the top 35 spots.

Senior co-captain Matt Rand, also a contributing writer for the Daily, was disappointed with his performance, which he felt was affected by sickness in the week leading up to the race.

He was seeded first for Tufts going into the race and was working to best last year’s 19thplace finish.

Rand executed his game plan for the first mile, but began feeling sick shortly afterwards.

He hung tough for the rest of the race and finished in 48th place, earning 34 points for the team.

“I could tell early on that my body wasn’t there, so I just tried to hang on as best I could,” he see CROSS COUNTRY, page 11