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THE TUFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXV, NUMBER 59

Where You Read It First Est. 1980 TUFTSDAILY.COM

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Tufts to honor university staff with reception by

Daniel Gottfried

Daily Editorial Board

Courtesy Stanford University

Stanford psychologist to deliver commencement address Stanford University School of Education Dean Claude Steele will deliver this year’s Commencement speech on May 19, according to Director of Public Relations Kim Thurler.

“We are honored that he will give this year’s commencement address,” Thurler told the Daily in an email. “We are sure that he will deliver remarks that will be relevant and meaningful for the Class of 2013, their families and the greater Tufts community.”

Steele, a Stanford psychology professor, researches how stereotypes affect academic, professional and personal spheres. He discovered that the rhetoric of test instructions — for female students or those of a racial minority — caused a gap in academic performance between these individuals and

their male peers, according to an April 25 Tufts University press release.

His book, “Whistling Vivaldi: And Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us” was published in 2010. Steele previously served as provost and professor of psychology at Columbia University.

He will also receive an honorary doctorate of letters with historian Philip Lampi and psychiatrist Raymond R. Sackler, an international philanthropist and entrepreneur. Environmental activist Lois Gibbs, along with business leader and philanthropist Aso Tavitian, will receive honorary doctorates of public service and nutritionist Ram Shrestha will receive an honorary doctorate of science.

Patrick McGrath

Daily Editorial Board

Susan Eisenhauer, associate director of Tufts’ Communications and Media Studies (CMS) Program who has throughout her tenure developed strong relationships with current students and alumni and grown the program’s internship component, will retire at the end of the academic year.

Eisenhauer has been a member of the Tufts community for over four decades, having graduated from the university in 1971 and returned to join its faculty in 1992.

When she first started work at Tufts, Eisenhauer was the only employee in the CMS Program, which was known at the time as a “cluster” and only offered a few classes. The program now allows students to minor in one of three areas, puts on campus-wide events and supports related courses in other departments.

Eisenhauer has played a pivotal role in growing the CMS program since its earliest days, according to Director of the Experimental College Robyn Gittleman.

“Without Susan there wouldn’t be this program, because she’s the continuum that has kept it going,” she said.

Eisenhauer cites one of her major

see STAFF APPRECIATION, page 2

— by Steph Haven

CMS associate director to retire after 21 years by

The university will next Tuesday host a staff appreciation event in the Alumnae Lounge of the Aidekman Arts Center to thank its employees for coming in to work during incidents that otherwise shut down the school this year, such as Hurricane Sandy, winter blizzards and the recent Boston Marathon bombing.

The reception is the result of collaboration between University President Anthony Monaco and sophomore Gabriel Rothman, who on Sunday created a Change.org petition calling for Monaco to give all Dining Services staff a day off.

“This year was so detrimental for our city in general, and the dining staff, Facilities [Services], the Tufts University Police Department and all of the university staff has come in regardless of what terrorists are running around or what weather is raining down on us, an especially large

sacrifice,” Rothman said.

The petition, which had garnered 386 signatures as of press time, attracted Monaco’s attention when Rothman posted the link to Monaco’s Facebook wall.

“I got over 300 signatures overnight, and I think that really made a splash for President Monaco, and that is great because we got on his radar,” Rothman said. “The next day [Monaco] responded with a short blurb, including some concerns about my suggestion, and he invited me to meet with him.”

At the meeting, Monaco proposed hosting a reception for university staff and expanding the event to include all staff instead of just the Dining Services employees, Rothman said.

“I am anticipating contacting some a cappella groups and dance groups like Sarabande to help entertain at the event, I am reaching out to students to speak at the

accomplishments as having grown the internship programs in which students can participate during the school year, over the summer and during winter break.

“A major area of [Eisenhauer’s] responsibility has been to run our internship program,” CMS Program Director Julie Dobrow told the Daily in an email. “Over the years Susan has helped to build and grow this program, and I think it is widely acknowledged as one of the most successful internship programs at Tufts.”

In order to strengthen the internship options and support current students, Eisenhauer has worked closely with alumni involved in media-related fields.

“I had a lot of contact with alumni in setting up internships, events, working with them on career development for our students,” she said. “After 21 years, you develop quite a number of people that you can call on for help for the current population, and that’s really one of the most heartwarming parts of the job.”

Eisenhauer explained that during her time at Tufts she has also been involved with Dobrow on supervising the CMS senior projects and has been active with see EISENHAUER, page 2

Inside this issue

Alex Kaufman / The Tufts Daily

The university will host a staff appreciation day next Tuesday after a Change.org petition was created this past weekend to thank the Tufts University Dining Services staff.

Engineering professor wins grant for embryonic research by

Hunter Ryan

Daily Staff Writer

Catherine Kuo, an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering this semester received the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award to study how tendons form in the embryo.

The $400,000 award will fund her research, which began in February and will last for five years, according to Kuo. The study examines embryonic development and seeks to use stem cells to mimic how embryonic cells make tendons, she said.

“We think that the embryonic cells sense different types of mechanical forces.

One thing we want to understand during development in the embryo is how do they sense different types of mechanical forces,” Kuo said.

Upon sensing mechanical forces, embryonic cells turn those signals into

information that tells the embryos how to build tendons, she explained.

“What we care about is how these cells are sensing different forces [that] tell the cells what to do and what to become,” Kuo said.

Kuo hopes that by understanding and mimicking these mechanisms of embryonic cells, scientists will one day be able to use stem cells to regenerate new tendons and build new body parts to replace injured or diseased tendons in the limbs.

“We might be able to use the same mechanical forces with stem cells to direct them to be whatever tissues we want,” she said.

Dean of the School of Engineering Linda Abriola emphasized the significance of Kuo’s work to the field of medicine.

“Understanding how the body builds tendons could lead to improved medisee KUO, page 2

Today’s sections

Tufts Republicans weigh their options in the Senate primary.

Timeflies looks back on its meteoric rise to fame.

see FEATURES, page 3

see WEEKENDER, page 5

News Features Weekender Editorial | Letters

1 3 5 10

Op-Ed Comics Classifieds Sports

11 12 15 Back

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News

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Staff appreciation event to feature performances, speakers STAFF APPRECIATION continued from page 1

event and President Monaco is working out some of the administrators that are going to speak,” Rothman said.

Director of Dining and Business Services Patti Klos expressed gratitude toward students for reaching out to the Dining Services staff over the past week.

“Students have expressed all sorts of appreciation — hugs, bringing in employees handmade flowers, writing wonderful notes, sending tweets, posting on our Facebook page, letters to the editor — and this, to me, said someone wants to express appreciation in a broader way,” she said.

Klos said that Dining Services is a necessary service even in an emergency, explaining that employees will fulfill their responsibilities even under adverse circumstances.

“When you take a job that you know you are essential for, and you know that you are required to be at your place of employment because you render an essential service, it Courtesy Susan Eisenhauer

CMS Assistant Director Susan Eisenhauer has been the “perfect person” for the job.

Eisenhauer plans to remain connected to Tufts after retirement EISENHAUER

continued from page 1

the Tufts Alumni Admissions Program for over 20 years.

“She’s the perfect person for what she was doing, and people just normally gravitated towards her,” Gittleman said. “She had the background, the information.”

Gittleman and Dobrow noted that Eisenhauer’s warm personality and the interest she took in individual students set her apart.

“Susan has cultivated wonderful relationships with students,” Dobrow said. “She’s always been there with an open door, an open ear and an open heart. Generations of Tufts students have fond memories of her warmth and encouragement.”

Eisenhauer said she will most miss the students she interacts with after her

retirement this spring.

“It’s been just an honor and a pleasure to work with so many students over the years,” she said. “And I still hear from so many students that I did internships with ... that work in the fields now. It’s so great to hear from them as they advance in their careers and they tell me about what’s going on in their personal lives. That’s the most fun part of the job, I’d say.”

Even after she retires, Eisenhauer plans to stay involved with the Tufts community.

“I’m quite confident that I’ll continue to have a presence in some way on special projects in the future, whether it’s working on senior projects for students or some other smaller project,” Eisenhauer said.

The CMS program has not officially launched the search to fill Eisenhauer’s position, according to Dobrow.

Police briefs Dumpster diving

A Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) officer on April 12 at 3 a.m. saw a vehicle driving into the Jackson Lot behind the Aidekman Arts Center. The officer at the time was giving a student a ride back to a dorm. When the officer returned to the lot, he saw that the vehicle was parked and the back door to Aidekman was propped open.

The officer tracked the vehicle to a Medford resident who had been given a trespassing warning in the past. He found the resident and another person behind a dumpster in the lot. The resident was placed under arrest for trespassing, and the other person was given a trespassing warning.

Dirty sock

TUPD on April 12 at 2:40 p.m. received a call from a staff member at 80 George St. about two individuals parked in a van at the rear of the building. When officers arrived, they noticed that one individual was holding a bloody syringe and a bag of white powder, believed to be heroin. They also found a sock holding five packets of heroin and more syringes. Officers placed the individual under arrest for possession, and the other person was let go. The individuals had no affiliation with Tufts.

Here’s Johnnie

Officers on April 13 at 2:30 a.m. were dispatched to a room in Tilton Hall for a medical assist. The intoxicated student admitted to consuming vodka. TUPD found several empty bottles, a bottle of Johnnie Walker that was one-third full and a bong on the desk. All items were confiscated, and the student was transported to Somerville Hospital.

Explosions in the sky

Police on April 16 at 4:20 a.m. noticed a parked pick-up truck on Capen Street Extension. When they investigated the truck, they found a bag of illegal fireworks in the back of the vehicle. All the items were seized. Officers checked the truck’s records and learned that it was on the university’s toll list for numerous violations. The truck was then towed.

gives you the opportunity to plan ahead,” she said.

Rothman cited his own experience working in dining services as a high school student and last year in Carmichael Dining Hall as integral in his decision to help organize the staff appreciation event.

“When you walk into the dining hall, you don’t really think about what goes on behind the scenes, but when you actually meet the people, you talk to them, you become friends with them, you become part of that community and you get an insight into a different part of the system,” he said.

Rothman said he was especially concerned about university staff during the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing.

“I wanted to make sure their families were okay and that they were okay in such a stressful time,” he said. “We should repay them with an equal sacrifice to what they made for us.”

Kuo’s tendon research to impact medical field KUO

continued from page 1

cal interventions for orthopedic disorders.

More broadly, her work could have a transformative impact on how we understand tissue maintenance, aging and disease,” she told the Daily in an email.

The CAREER awards are granted to young, untenured professors in an effort to promote their research and teaching careers, according to Dennis Carter, program director of biomechanics and mechanobiology at the NSF. “[It’s a] very prestigious award ... given to a young faculty member who we identify as being future stars of the field and it promotes them in their career development,” he said.

The NSF Biomechanics and Mechanobiology Program generally gives out three or four CAREER awards annually, Carter said. An anonymous panel of experts from outside the NSF selects the winners, he added.

This year, a panel of 11 professors reviewed proposals from the biomechanics and mechanobiology field and recommended their top choices to Carter, he explained. Carter then evaluated the panel’s suggestions and made the final decision in conjunction with the NSF. The NSF selects winners based on three main criteria: intellectual merit, how the work will impact society and the greater scientific community and the research’s

potential to be incorporated in the applicant’s teaching, he said.

“It’s really [about] the integration of teaching and research and how it will make them a better teacher,” Carter said.

Nathan Schiele, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Biomedical Engineering who will be working with Kuo on the research, said that community outreach is also a factor in the award. “[The CAREER Award] encourages outreach ... beyond the Tufts community and rewards ... drive and incentive to spread science outside the lab,” he said.

Kuo’s proposal was one of the most impressive among the candidates, Carter said.

“It was rated as one of the very best ones. It’s a new area of science that emphasizes our current understanding of how mechanical forces play a role very early on,” he said.

Carter underlined the prestigious nature of the NSF CAREER Award.

“A lot of people in the country review this as a very high recommendation.

Universities like it when their young faculty members [receive the CAREER Award] because it’s an outside evaluation of their faculty,” he said. “[The] School of Engineering is proud of Dr. Kuo. This is a highly competitive program, and every CAREER Award winner adds to the national visibility and impact of our school,” Abriola added.

Pants on the ground

Two female students on April 21 at 9:25 p.m. came into the TUPD station and reported that they had been walking down Boston Avenue from the gym when they saw a man coming toward them with no pants on. They described the suspect as in his late 30s or early 40s, approximately 5 foot 7 inches tall and wearing a dark jacket and sneakers. The man ran across the street, jumped into a car and took off towards College Avenue. Police searched the area but did not find the suspect.

Time of the season

TUPD on April 23 at 10:45 a.m. received a report of a natural gas odor in Barnum Hall.

Officers and the Medford Fire Department went to check the building, and a student informed them that the odor might be from a type of fruit called durian that a professor was eating. TUPD found the professor, who explained that he had tried warning everyone in the building about the smell. He explained that durian is a fruit that can only be found during certain times in the season. The professor had already thrown the durian away.

— compiled by Jenna Buckle

Alonso Nichols / Tufts University

Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Catherine Kuo won a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to further her research on tendon formation in embryos.

Features

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tuftsdaily.com

Tufts Republicans remain undecided ahead of Senate primary by

Charlotte Gilliland Daily Editorial Board

As April has come and gone, Tufts Democrats have been enthusiastically rallying support on campus for Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) in his race for the open Senate seat formerly held by Secretary of State John Kerry. Despite the fast-approaching primary on April 30, Tufts Republicans has been much less active in campaigning throughout this extended election season.

Activity within the small group on campus has significantly decreased after former senator Scott Brown’s defeat last semester.

“After the election didn’t go well at the end of the semester, things have calmed down a lot,” Tufts Republicans president Bennett Gillogly, a junior, said. “It’s been more ... off-campus events [with] three or four of us who are still committed to the cause.”

Massachusetts State Representative Dan Winslow (R-Norfolk, LA ’80), former Naval Special Warfare Lieutenant Commander Gabriel Gomez and former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan are competing for the Republican nomination in the primary. Despite the Boston Herald’s recent endorsement of Winslow, the Huffington Post claimed on March 27 that Sullivan would remain the front-runner.

“Sullivan is older and a little more conservative,” Tufts Republicans member Ryan Grandeau, a sophomore, said.

“It’s one of those things where, if he wins, we could support him.”

Sullivan was the only one of the three candidates to oppose abortion in a recent GOP debate for the Senate seat. According to the Boston Globe, he has worked for the last few years as a partner in the office of the former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

“Mike Sullivan is more of your Tea Party type,” Gillogly said.

The newcomer to the primary is Gomez, the son of Colombian immigrants. After leaving the Navy in 1996, he returned to school to obtain an MBA from Harvard Business School and worked in the private sector.

“Gabe Gomez is a good fiscal conservative,” Grandeau said. “[But] people who are involved in finance aren’t always the best.”

Gillogly said he was disappointed in Gomez’ public persona.

“He’s coming in as the outsider,” he said.

“He’s got a great appeal, a good-looking family, [he’s] a Navy SEAL — [but] he’s not really doing well in his speeches.”

The final candidate, Winslow, received a law degree from Boston College Law School after attending Tufts and has worked in the private sector most of his career. He is the most bipartisan candidate, according to Gillogly, and has remained connected to Tufts Republicans.

Courtesy Ryan Grandeau

After supporting Scott Brown last semester in the U.S. Senate election, members of Tufts Republicans face a tough choice for the special election primary.

“Winslow has always been great to Tufts Republicans,” Gillogly said. “I like him a lot as a person. He helped me out when I was starting to work for Scott Brown.”

Gillogly commented on Winslow’s likeness to Brown.

“He’s been in the State House for a long time, [and] they were friends at Tufts.

They’re the bipartisan problem solvers,” he said.

After Tufts Republicans supported Scott Brown in the Senate race last semester, throwing support behind Winslow would seem intuitive. There appears to be more divisiveness than unity in the Republican Party in general, however, making it difficult for Tufts Republicans to line up behind one candidate. According to Gillogly, the structure of the primary itself complicates the situation even further.

“In a primary, you have to be registered with the party ... The registered voters in Massachusetts [are] only 11 percent Republican. Only 11 percent of the state at all can even vote,” he said. “With 11 percent, [it] means that it is a tight-knit group in general. It was great when we had Scott Brown. After Scott Brown lost, everyone kind of started to pick sides. It really has divided the few of us.”

The Tufts Republicans have found that there is no obvious choice for which candidate to rally around in the primary.

“Massachusetts politics are always rooted through the machine. Someone chooses for them. The Republican Party, however, is much divided in their support,” Gillogly said. “As far as the Tufts Republicans’ involvement, every Republican has had to tread very carefully. I personally know people working on all three of the campaigns.”

Due to this divide, Tufts Republicans has not yet officially declared which candidate it will support.

Throwback Thursday

Tufts Daily Archives

Spring Fling in 1990 featured The Band and Barrence Whitfield and the Savages.

According to the original Daily article by Janine Billy, The Band’s music was “cool and soothing, but warm and soulful.” Photo by Karl Schatz (LA ‘92).

“We’re not going to throw ourselves behind any candidate. If I had to pick, I’d say Dan Winslow,” said Grandeau. “I wish that we were the same way [as when] it was for Scott Brown, [but] it’s another thing to get excited about, regardless of our involvement.”

Gillogly remarked on his extreme caution in the primary.

“With 11 percent, we have to make sure we don’t have too much animosity,” he said. “As Tufts Republicans, we’ve made a conscious effort to stay out of this one. As much as I would love to get us involved, I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.”

Tufts Republicans Vice President Ellie Monroe, a sophomore, also explained their lack of involvement.

“We as a club haven’t really gotten involved with the primaries, but will stand behind whoever wins the primary in a week,” she told the Daily in an e-mail.

With the small number of Republicans on campus, it becomes more difficult to organize events and rally together.

“It’s tough to get organized. We’re never going to be the Tufts Democrats,” he said.

“It will never be super prominent, but if it exists, that’s good. We’ll be the first to say that we can improve.”

“Tufts Republicans has never been a huge group on campus,” he said. “It’s such a tight-knit group that I know personally the guy who started Tufts Republicans in 1978. We do a good job with each other, but it’s never been a big group on campus.”

According to Gillogly and Grandeau, being a Republican in Massachusetts is a unique experience — as is being a Republican at Tufts.

“Tufts made me reconsider what I thought politically,” Grandeau said. “It put everything in perspective — it’s made the way I think a lot stronger. It’s not easy to be a Republican on this campus.”

Gillogly discussed his experience transitioning from a being a Republican in Atlanta to being a Republican in Boston.

“I was president of my high school Republicans [club, and] all my friends considered me very liberal,” he said. “You can find a home in Massachusetts Republicans.

It’s a great blend of social liberalism, fiscal conservatism and old school values.”

To demonstrate this social liberalism, Tufts Republicans recently collaborated with Tufts Democrats in co-signing a bipartisan suggestion to legalize samesex marriage.

“As a club we do promote that socially liberal and fiscal conservative stance that a lot of people are taking these days,” Gillogly said.

Monroe said the group is excited to reenergize in the fall.

“This spring, our activities have slowed down a little bit due to the intensity of our activities in the fall, but we have helped sponsor a few speakers and events around campus [in the fall] So, although our group is small, which is expected at a school like Tufts, we will be coming back in full force next fall.”

Brionna Jimerson | Respect Your Elders

It’s... complicated.

But not really.

Q

uestion: How do you exist in this system without allowing it to consume you? How have I existed for four years at Tufts and in the Tufts Daily, and how will I exit both, not necessarily at peace but intact?

By “complicating” — that is, questioning and assessing — them both, and always with a spoonful of salt.

This is my last column before the Commencement issue, and I want it known and marked that with this column, there is power in “the record,” in claiming space for language and experimentation, and I think I am outgrowing these three inches. But there is success — if this space for critique and voice was not open before, it’s open now.

Please, fill this echoing void with consciousness, purpose and fun. A little fun.

You have probably never been to the Daily office. It is below Curtis Hall — down the driveway, next to the UGL office. Pop in sometime — the office is small and the walls are painted teal. This is where the editorials are discussed and written and the phone calls for additional sources go unanswered. This is where the writers and editors — all students, and none of them paid for their time and energy — work for upwards of 40 hours a week on end to inform a campus dialogue. The Daily has an institutional history, and it has been largely absent of brown folks, not for a lack of trying or interest. I was the first black managing editor of the Daily, and though I’ve been loved and cared for I feel I have been severely disrespected. I have watched and helped the Daily operate for four years, and I’ve worked alongside some of the strongest women I know. They came, saw and left. Why did they leave?

Why did I stay?

I stayed because you deserve better. You deserve to read great articles about complex “issues” that don’t speak about you as a subject or topic in a policy report. I stayed because we require a prominent place at the table, not for representation but for respect and autonomy, because I have known too many women of color to take “medical leave,” their lives compromised after spending four years on this campus. How did we let that happen?

I stayed because some of the most opinionated people on this campus with the most to say literally cannot afford to pay the fee (time) because they are — you guessed it — already overbooked, overlooked or overwhelmed. I have lived in two worlds at once, and right-minded editors of semesters past — Alexa Sasanow, Gabrielle Hernandez, Bianca Blakesley, Amsie Hecht, Laina Piera, Annie Sloan and myself — have tried to make the Daily into a respectable house, though it is built on privilege and systematic supremacy of the “Tufts in general,” not “Tufts in ‘particular.’” Yes, my language is coded. No, “safe spaces” do not exist. Yes, you can break the code. Just try.

If you notice the impact my body has made in the Daily, know that our impact is there. I saw them trying to erase me, you and us and decided it was time to let them know.

In the words of Kenya Moore, the queen of fan-induced shade-throwing showdowns, “Do not come for me unless I send for you.”

If you are brown and are interested in working at the Daily or, better yet, maintaining a literary and historical space of your own, tweet me so we can figure it out.

Now this is the hard part, letting go of the frustration and imagining and building a future beyond the scope and traumas that Tufts students, administrators and bystanders have enacted on its own community. We are moving from property and into personhood.

Your silence will not protect you, but maybe we can find your voice. Yes, I just said that.

Dedicated to N., V. and K., and the great John Kelly, who, reminded me that we can be Christians and “radicals” at the same time.

Brionna Jimerson is a senior majoring in American studies. She can be reached at Brionna.Jimerson@tufts.edu.

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Weekender Arts & Living

Weekender

by

“

E

Elizabeth Landers Daily Editorial Board

lectro hip hop dub-something” reads the tag on the homepage of Timeflies’ website. The duo, comprised of Cal Shapiro and Rob Resnick, met at Tufts. In a serendipitous moment, they joined musical forces to form what is now a chart-topping unit. In the music video for their most recent release, “i choose u,” Cal navigates an auto junkyard, pursuing the perfect girl and occasionally getting behind the wheel of a car. And it’s been quite a ride since they graduated almost exactly two years ago.

Shapiro and Resnick — who goes by Rez — met at Tufts in the fall of 2007.

Resnick majored in philosophy and music, while Shapiro also studied music and was involved in the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program. With a slight build and a penchant for t-shirts and limited edition sneakers, Rez fits the description of the typical behind-the-scenes music producer, mixing beats as an omnipresent figure in the background and never without his sleek MacBook. Shapiro balances out Resnick’s reserved attitude with a commanding stage presence and heartthrob looks. It was an unexpected moment at Tufts when Resnick overheard Shapiro singing at a party — “He was freestyling and he was awesome” — and invited him onboard as a singer in his band.

Shapiro and Resnick began recording songs together in the spring semester of their senior year at Tufts. Timeflies had their first-ever show in New York City in January 2011 and haven’t stopped since.

Tufts was not only the place where the pair met, but also the origin of their posse — their closest friends from college have become integral parts of the Timeflies team. Jared Glick and Luke Heffernan, who graduated in 2011 with Shapiro and Resnick, function as general manager and tour manager, respectively. Heffernen

:

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tuftsdaily.com

From Tufts to the Today Show

Tufts alumni discuss Timeflies’ meteoric rise to fame

worked at Putnam Associates in Boston for six months after graduation, then joined the team in a full-time position in February 2012. In a similar move, Glick left a lucrative banking job at J.P. Morgan in order to pursue his real passion — music management — for Timeflies.

“After college, they wanted to keep making music. They weren’t making money, so it wasn’t like Jared and I were able to help out at that point,” Heffernan said.

While the duo now travels with a crew of about 10 people, including a videographer and lighting designer, the core four have remained close through thick and thin. What started out as friends messing around at frat parties has turned into a lucrative business and a contract with major record label Island Def Jam. Timeflies’ music falls into the pop genre, but it recently has been incorporating more electronic dance music sounds. Shapiro’s vocal flexibility means Timeflies can throw in some rap and freestyle lines early in a song and then progress into pop singing shortly after. Their songs frequently feature themes of love found and lost, fast cars and youth. Between Cal’s voice and the clubby anthems, Timeflies’ music often resembles Mike Posner’s. A Timeflies concert feels like an huge party, complete with a dazzling opening video track and a neon-clad crowd. Shapiro has a natural swagger in his step on stage and instantly draws in the rambunctious crowd, managing to work the entire stage and sing live with incredible energy.

Resnick, Glick and Heffernan all agree that working together brings cohesion to the group. But it’s a fine line to walk between friendship and talking band finances.

“I live with Cal. When we’re home in our apartment, we rarely ever talk about work and try not to talk about Timeflies,” Heffernan explained. The band is a blood, sweat and tears affair for all four friends.

“I think we all feel lucky that we are able to build something with some of our best

friends and call it a job, but I also think a lot of people don’t realize what goes into it,” Glick said. “This business is not an easy one, and everyone on our team works extremely hard both on and off the road.”

The group’s music has matured over time. After graduating, the two spent an entire summer shacked up in a studio creating “The Scotch Tape,” which would become their first album, released Sept. 19, 2011. Cal, recognizing the importance of his voice as his instrument, began drinking tea with a dash of scotch before and after shows to improve his vocal warm-ups.

“I think our music has changed in many ways. The first is simple quality. Both of us have gotten a lot better at what we’re doing and comfortable with what we’re doing,” Resnick said.

From a slightly more removed perspective, Heffernen agrees.

“As pop music evolves and the EDM craze has gotten stronger, Rob has gotten so good for how little experience he had.

He’s learned a lot about producing, software, and sounds,” he said.

Though Resnick and Shapiro co-write all melodies and lyrics, Resnick’s passion for his music is apparent in the way he speaks: a rapid-fire, fervent kind of way that gives the impression that he’s constantly thinking in rhythm, notes and chords. Though Resnick is chiefly responsible for mixing beats and the synth in the background of tracks, he is equally as comfortable with the piano, drums and guitar — a testament to his musicality. His academic and practical understanding of classic musical theory also permits him to stray from the norms and thoughtfully defend what he’s doing.

“People make classical music seem more impressive, but in a Beethoven symphony there may be X instruments only playing one note at a time,” Resnick said. “In our songs, there can be one to five notes at the same time.”

Resnick added that this musical complexity defies a commonplace assumption

that popular music is less sophisticated than something classical.

“I find electronic music not to be given enough credit,” he said.

While Timeflies was, for the most part, an overnight success, the duo has still faced and surmounted the challenge of building a grassroots movement of young college-age and post-graduate fans for several years. Between live radio shows with Elvis Duran of New York’s Z100 and recent appearances on NBC’s “Today Show,” the guys still keep it light with their fan-driven “Timeflies Tuesdays,” song covers or remixes posted on Tuesday nights. Heffernan says they did 68 consecutive Timeflies Tuesdays when they were first getting their bearings in the industry and fostering their fanbase. The Timeflies group created a music culture around the ephemeral nature of time and space, using riffs on words with titles like “Clockumentary,” and constantly inviting listeners to get involved in the Timeflies universe.

Now, there’s even an app for that. The Timeflies application, designed by one of Resnick’s childhood friends, launched in the iTunes app store in August 2012 and immerses fans in the Timeflies world with streaming playlists of all their songs and lyrics, as well as information on show locations and ticket links.

“The app is an awesome way to get all things Timeflies in one location,” said Glick.

Why the increasing fame, and why now?

Resnick observes that he thinks Timeflies has reached national recognition because the group is composed of “regular guys.”

“We seem like people you went to school with, that you could have met out one night. That’s rare in the music industry,” he said.

Instead of seeming like a perfectly molded male pop band, Timeflies is just two kids from Tufts making music for an everexpanding base of adoring fans, and they just keep on getting better.

Courtesy Jared Glick

Courtesy Jared Glick

Courtesy Jared Glick

By paying close attention to the sound and image they are creating, Timeflies has become meticulous with its sound while still honoring its roots.

Cal Shapiro and Rob Resnick, Tufts alumni, make pop music with strong electronic and rap influences.

The Tufts Daily

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Weekender

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Movie Review

Unique visuals distinguish otherwise bland ‘Oblivion’ by

Dan O’Leary

Daily Editorial Board

According to Hollywood, this summer’s movie season has begun in April.

The recent sci-fi release “Oblivion” has

Oblivion Directed by Joseph Kosinski Starring Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko all the trappings of a summer movie: high-concept premise, a VFX budget equivalent to the GDP of a small island nation, the required action-heavy third -act explosions and Tom Cruise. In fact, “Oblivion” was supposed to be released during the actual summer this year — July — but got its release date bumped back to April, a move that is becoming increasingly popular with trigger-happy studios looking to release blockbusters earlier and earlier. Take, for example, next year’s release of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” which is set to debut at the beginning of April.

“Oblivion” is set in the year 2077, 60 years after an alien invasion that made Earth uninhabitable. The devastation is partially thanks to the upheaval that was caused when the invaders nearly destroyed the moon. In this invasion, humans were able to triumph over the Scavengers (or “Scavs”), but at the cost of using nuclear weapons that made Earth unfit for human life. The surviving humans moved to a colony on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, and the remaining few are aboard a massive space station called the Tet, which is in Earth’s orbit waiting to leave. This premise is set up via narration, rather than through a visual display, which seems a bit like a missed opportunity.

This brings us to Tom Cruise, who plays Jack Harper, one of the remaining humans stationed on Earth. Jack (aka “Tech 49”) is essentially part of the clean-up crew left on Earth, maintaining and repairing drones that protect resource extraction machines, which

are collecting the remaining resources left on the planet for use on Titan. He is stationed in the area that used to be New York City working with his partner/ lover Victoria (Andrea Riseborough).

The plot of “Oblivion” unfolds relatively slowly throughout the film, with plot twists increasing as the story progresses. Some of these twists are genuinely surprising, but plenty of them are not — you knew that billboard-sharing Morgan Freeman had to pop up somewhere in the movie, right?

Certain aspects of the film’s third act are frustratingly vague and open to plot holes that could have been avoided if the script had spent a bit more time wrapping up loose ends. Another aspect of the script that could have benefited from some work is the character development, because other than Jack — and even his character isn’t flawless — none of the other principal characters develop beyond the plot purposes they serve. The cast does the best with what they have, and Tom Cruise turns in an energetic performance as Jack, although his character is far from original.

Even though the plot may leave something to be desired, the visuals of space “Oblivion” are where director Joseph Kosinski knocks it out of the park. The film is aesthetically stunning, presenting a fascinating look at a post-nuclear holocaust New York City. Jack investigates a fallen drone among the hollowed-out shell of Yankee Stadium, explores an Empire State Building reduced to just its top spire and cruises past other glimpses of a previous life. The world of “Oblivion” truly feels like the smoking ruins of a once-great planet, and this is counterbalanced by Kosinski’s otherwise sleek-looking presentation of future technology and equipment.

When watching “Oblivion,” it’s impossible to escape the sense that you’ve seen much of the film before in other sci-fi films. And while borrowing elements of other films certainly isn’t a crime, it doesn’t help that “Oblivion” isn’t bringing too many new things to the table. Throughout the movie, viewers get glimpses of themes and elements of films like “The Matrix” (1999) and “Independence Day” (1996).

Arguing that Tom Cruise plays a talking

Fluterirl via Flickr Creative Commons

Tom Cruise turns in an energetic performance in “Oblivion” as Jack Harper with a role that feels very similar to many of Cruise’s previous roles. version of WALL-E actually reveals an alarming amount of the film.

So, in the end, “Oblivion” is worth a view if you’re interested in the genre.

While there isn’t much that the film does extremely well, there also isn’t much that’s truly wrong with it. So while

“Oblivion” may not be the high-octane summer kick-off some may have been hoping for — that honor looks like it will go to next week’s “Iron Man 3” — in the end, it’s a relatively enjoyable movie that unfortunately can’t quite move beyond its intriguing set-up.

Restaurant Review

Harvard Square’s 9 Tastes offers impressive Thai cuisine by

Melissa MacEwen

Daily Editorial Board

Though Boston has, for the most part, a rather disappointing offering of Asian restaurants, its Thai restaurants defy similar catego-

9 Tastes: Fine Thai Cuisine 50 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

(617) 547-6666 Price Range: $$ rization. Thai eateries abound in the Greater Boston area, especially around Cambridge and Somerville, and the Thai food scene manifests itself in a number of high-quality dining establishments, each of which has a cult-like following.

Harvard Square’s 9 Tastes: Fine Thai Cuisine does not look like much from the street. A gaudy blue awning pokes out onto the sidewalk across from Wagamama and Staples, and a simple door is all that is visible of the restaurant itself.

However, this bland exterior really only adds to 9 Tastes’ allure. The restaurant is in a shallow basement, but step inside and down the steps and your low expectations will rise immediately. A spicy scent fills the air as walls lined with homey knickknacks come into focus. Tidy tables decorated with fresh flowers beckon. There’s never a doubt that you’re underground, but the eatery avoids feeling like a claustrophobia trigger.

And then you get to the food. 9 Tastes serves plenty of Thai classics, but it also features a number of menu items borrowed from other cultures. For example, its appetizer menu includes Thai calamari and vegan-friendly Thai lettuce wraps, in addition to more traditionally Japanese favorites like edamame and

Melissa MacEwen / The Tufts Daily

9 Tastes does a fairly good job with its wakame seaweed salad, a notoriously hit-or-miss menu item. wakame seaweed salad. Though seaweed salad can be a notoriously hit or miss menu item, 9 Tastes does a reasonably good job — the seaweed is served on a bed of lettuce, with a lightly sweetened vinaigrette, garlic and sesame seeds. The salad tastes a bit overdressed, but the flavors blend together nicely, and all the ingredients taste very fresh. The crunch of the greens also pairs nicely with the seaweed, though it is slightly disappointing that the lettuce is flavorless iceberg.

The variety continues on the entree menu. 9 Tastes works hard to accommodate eaters of all different dietary needs and preferences, and the restaurant proudly boasts vegetarian and vegan options in addition to more standard, meat-based fare. The spicy tofu bean curd — another risky menu item — actually turns out nicely with its soft cubes of tofu, peas and carrots. The carrots

are firm and flavorful, which gives the dish the “oomph” that it frequently lacks elsewhere. The fact that the carrots are coarsely cut instead of cubed into tiny pieces is also a good sign, as it indicates that the veggies were most likely bought fresh, not frozen.

Finally, the dish is quite spicy. Boston restaurants frequently turn down the heat to a tepid smolder when faced with the East Coast palate, but 9 Tastes doesn’t hold back and the dish benefits accordingly.

Unsurprisingly, 9 Tastes’ vegetarian and vegan options are the cheapest on the menu ,and a vegetarian appetizer paired with a vegetarian entree comes to around $20. Still, even the meat-based dishes are reasonable. None of the seafood menu options costs more than $16 or $17, and the chicken and beef dishes are around $13-15. The menu is extensive and changes

over the course of the day, so you’re bound to find something within your price range.

It also helps that the portions are relatively large — it’s easier to spend money on a nice lunch, after all, when you know the leftovers will feed you the next day.

Finally, 9 Tastes also deserves credit for its servers. Quiet and understated, they work with a slick efficiency that can easily be taken for granted. The staff members are soft-spoken but attentive.

Overall, 9 Tastes does live up to its hype, and deserves its reputation as a go-to student restaurant in Harvard Square. Despite its lowkey demeanor, it has good food and good service — plus, 9 Tastes delivers all day and serves its dinner menu all day on Saturdays and Sundays. It’s also only a block or two away from the Harvard Square T stop. Really, what else could you want?

The Tufts Daily

Thursday, April 25, 2013

7

weekender Joe Stile | Amo

Top Ten | Awesome things that happened on campus this year This being our last Top Ten together as the school year quickly draws to a close, the Daily Arts section wanted to take some time to reminisce about the notable things that have happened on Tufts this year. So sit back, relax and do your best to remember how awesome Tufts is and how some cool stuff did happen (despite all the other bad stuff that happened).

10) Anthony Monaco sledding down the Pres Lawn: Face-first people! That’s real commitment.

9) Tufts Divest crashing info sessions: Whether or not you agree with the tactic, you have to admit that it was pretty ballsy. Still, that angry dad totally won.

8) Nemo (the blizzard): They named it Nemo, how could we not love it? Also, he shut down school. Props Nemo! We

hope you never get lost! But if you do, we will find you.

7) Nelly named the headliner for Spring Fling: Just before your brain finally decided to delete the obsolete information of Nelly’s existence, he remerged in spectacular fashion.

Underwhelming and obscure -- classic Spring Fling.

6) The first snow of the academic year: It was more rain than snow, but still. It’s always a pretty magical moment.

5) Africana major and minor established: After years of planning and deliberation, Tufts finally established the Africana major as a stand-alone discipline in September. Huzzah to diversity!

4) That one time the Joey showed up in Davis on time: Remember that?

Do you, really? Oh, you know why you don’t remember that? BECAUSE IT NEVER HAPPENED. 3) Tufts TEX conference: This was actually just so cool! Tufts professors, students and alums sharing ideas and plans for a better Tufts * sniffle *...just makes you wanna cry.

2) Winter Bash: People peed everywhere without any shame, thus proving that Tufts kids party just as hard as everyone thinks we do. If that’s not progress, I don’t know what is.

1) The day that you could finally wear shorts again: Some of us jumped the gun and were shivering all day and others have been more reluctant to peel off the leggings and jeans, but we can finally all agree that spring is here!

— compiled by Veronica Little

What’s Up This Weekend Looking to make your weekend artsy?

Check out these events!

Spirit of Color Presents: Stay in Yo Lane: Student dance group Spirit of Color will present its spring semester show this weekend over two performances. Both nights will also feature guest appearances by student groups Sarabande, Turbo, Blackout and Envy. (Tonight at 9 p.m. and Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Cohen Auditorium.

Tickets are free at the Cohen Box Office with a Tufts ID.) Mambo!: The Tufts Jazz Orchestra will continue its tribute to Leonard Bernstein’s

“West Side Story” (1957) with a performance of songs from the musical, along with contemporary arrangements. The concert will also feature a pre-show performance by Lecturer Joel LaRue Smith’s small jazz ensemble. (Tonight at 8 p.m. in Goddard Chapel. Admission is free.)

Rainforest: “Rainforest” is a special audio-visual installation by composerperformers Barton and Priscilla McLean, based on their impressions of a nighttime rainforest. The installation will include several stations equipped with electronic and acoustic instruments, where visitors can input sound that will be included in

the ongoing composition. (Today from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Tufts University Art Gallery in Aidekman Arts Center. Admission is free.)

Bassnectar: Popular DJ Bassnectar will come to Boston for two back-to-back nights at Boston’s House of Blues. The concerts will feature support by Thriftworks and Michal Menert. (Tonight and Friday at 7:30 p.m. at House of Blues Boston, 15 Lansdowne St., Boston. Tickets are $32.50 - $50 on ticketmaster.com.)

— compiled by the Daily Arts Department

The Artsy Jumbo

Courtesy Dira Djaya

Freshman Dira Djaya pushes boundaries of service, education through photography Dira Djaya has been passionate about photography since high school. As a freshman, many of Djaya’s friends wanted to photograph her for their portfolios.

With her passions for modeling and art growing, Djaya quickly found herself drawn to the other side of the lens. Djaya enrolled in photography classes later in her high school career in order to gain some formal education in the elusive art.

“I love art, but I feel like I don’t have the ability to create something out of nothing. In this way, photography offers me a way to channel my creative

energy,” she said. “Through synthesizing the images and realities around me, I am able to make something aesthetic and meaningful.”

Photography is not Djaya’s only passion. Djaya, a dynamic student, has always been interested in service and community outreach. Once at Tufts, Djaya decided to make a concerted effort to combine her two main passions — photography and service — into one project. Djaya pioneered an investigation and outreach to the 547 Boston Ave. artisans whose facilities, which belong to Tufts, are being

repurposed for office and teaching spaces. Creating a blog and sharing images of the artisans and their work, Djaya has created an outreach club and an open discussion among Tufts students about the work that the artisans are doing and the future of their projects.

This summer, Djaya is headed to Indonesia to catalogue the mega-developments of Jakarta.

— by Veronica Little

Funny Valentine

N

o matter what your personal feelings about Woody Allen are, there is no denying that he is an amazing screenwriter; indeed, he is one of the best of all time. He has by and large the most Oscar nominations and most Oscar wins for Best Original Screenplay, with an outstanding 15 nominations and three wins. Allen’s best — and most romantic — picture is certainly “Annie Hall” (1977).

The movie is the perfect mix of Allen’s incredible one-liners with the great character development he started cultivating later in his career.

Allen has always been an expert at clever and absurd little lines about all aspects of life, and it’s fascinating to hear his riffs on relationships and love. There are countless lines I could list here that showcase Allen’s wit and insight. It’s no wonder why Allen is one of the most influential writer-directors in history.

“Annie Hall” is a film that is unafraid to break convention at every turn to expand the film’s ideas and relationships. The film breaks the fourth wall, becomes a cartoon and switches tones at the drop of a hat.

This all keeps the movie vivacious and unpredictable. But these touches aren’t just random little add-ons, but rather are techniques to help Allen deconstruct the “rom-com” structure and make a film that goes deeper than most other films do.

Allen isn’t the only one who makes this a classic, as Diane Keaton also brings vivaciousness to the screen that elevates every scene she is in.

Her performance is the perfect balance of whimsy and nervous energy that both nicely counters Allen’s neurotic liveliness and creates a character that feels fully realized.

She is a dreamer with big dreams, but at the same time, she is also a woman who is highly self-conscious.

The picture is a hilarious and interesting relationship drama, but it also does an amazing job of making its locations — New York and Los Angeles — integral characters in the film.

The shots buzz with New York’s streets and people, and they move at the city’s fast pace.

The Los Angeles scenes also teem with that city’s atmosphere and give Allen a new background to bounce his characters and zany dialogue off of.

The film is an interesting portrait of the two cities during the ’70s, and it deftly shows these cities’ inhabitants.

Since its release, countless films have tried to copy the characteristics that make “Annie Hall” so beloved, and most fail miserably.

Romantic comedies often try to have a quirky and wild female lead, but they usually just end up making her a cliche rather than a fully developed person.

Numerous films have also tried to mimic Allen’s capricious tonal swifts and deep philosophical musings with little luck. The more films try to unsuccessfully match what Allen does so effortlessly, the more I admire his craft and raw talent.

And that’s not even saying anything about his extreme work ethic — he has essentially made a film a year for the last 30 years, a seemingly impossible cinematic feat.

“Annie Hall” ends on a bittersweet note that nicely skews without feeling too cynical.

Allen loses Annie, but that doesn’t make him bitter enough to completely give up on love.

He cared about Annie and knows he has grown in the process because of it.

It’s as the film’s famous last line says: “That’s how I feel about relationships.

They’re totally crazy, irrational and absurd, but we keep going through it because we need the eggs.”

It is the perfect way to end this classic film: on a joke that is poignant and a little bit sad, yet still hopeful.

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

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The Tufts Daily

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Studying abroad in fall 2013?

Be prepared for your semester or year abroad!**

Upcoming required pre-departure meetings: Programs Abroad staff and study abroad alumni will discuss the pre-departure checklist, health and safety issues, transfer of credit, cultural adaptation and more!

Tufts Programs

Non-Tufts Programs

Tufts in Madrid/Paris/T端bingen Africa/Asia/Caribbean/Latin America/Middle East Tuesday, April 30th Tuesday, April 30th 2:30 pm 10:30 am Tufts in China/Japan Mainland Europe Wednesday, May 1st Wednesday, May 1st 10:30 am 2:30 pm Tufts in London/Oxford Australia/NZ/UK/Ireland Thursday, May 2nd Thursday, May 2nd 10:30 am 2:30 pm

*All meetings will be held in Braker Hall 001* PLEASE NOTE: If you cannot attend your non-Tufts meeting, please attend an alternate non-Tufts meeting. If you cannot attend your Tufts meeting, please attend an alternate Tufts meeting. **Students studying abroad spring 2014 will be required to attend pre-departure meetings during Reading Period in December 2013.

Meetings are required.

Questions? Call x7-5871.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

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The Tufts Daily

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THE TUFTS DAILY Martha E. Shanahan Editor-in-Chief

Editorial Nina Goldman Managing Editor Melissa Wang Executive News Editor Jenna Buckle News Editors Lizz Grainger Stephanie Haven Amelie Hecht Victoria Leistman Patrick McGrath Audrey Michael James Pouliot Abigail Feldman Assistant News Editors Daniel Gottfried Xander Landen Justin Rheingold Annabelle Roberts Sarah Zheng Lily Sieradzki Executive Features Editor Jon Cheng Features Editors Hannah Fingerhut Jacob Passy Amelia Quinn Falcon Reese Derek Schlom Charlotte Gilliland Assistant Features Editors Jessica Mow Shannon Vavra

Melissa MacEwen Executive Arts Editor Dan O’Leary Arts Editors Rebecca Santiago Claire Felter Assistant Arts Editors Elizabeth Landers Veronica Little Jacqueline Noack Akshita Vaidyanathan Elayne Stecher Bhushan Deshpande David Kellogg Seth Teleky Peter Sheffer Denise Amisial Jehan Madhani Louie Zong Keran Chen Drew Lewis Nicholas Golden Scott Geldzahler

Editorial | Letters

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Editorial

ResLife ban on RA-resident relationships intrusion on students’ private lives

The Office of Residential Life and Learning (ResLife) has declared that next year Residential Assistants (RAs) will be forbidden from dating anyone in their assigned buildings. The decision comes as Director of the Office of Residential Life and Learning Yolanda King attempts to reconcile university regulations with Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) rules.

The decision, however, has upset a great number of Tufts students who sense an infringement on their personal lives.

This has not been the first time that a decision on the part of ResLife has aggravated the student body. The implementation of these new rules is an intrusion into the lives of students. It is, quite simply, a bad policy that will fall flat and as such should be rescinded for a more intelligent solution.

The idea that ResLife can prevent relationships between two people in a dorm

is not founded in reality, unless the Office intends to install security cameras in all living spaces with an eye on every nook, cranny and alcove in which students might encounter their romantic interests. The separation of people by positions in a community has rarely — if ever — stopped relationships from developing across these lines. Not only will this policy fail, but it also displays the arrogance of an office that has repeatedly proven itself ineffectual.

Aside from being a faulty policy, this decision by ResLife to ban RA-resident relationships holds disturbing implications. If the university continues with this policy for the purpose of preventing the development of these “inappropriate” relationships, how fine is the line between the university’s jurisdiction and students’ privacy? This assumption that the administration can dictate whom

students may date is an uncomfortable one and speaks to the ills of a bureaucracy still all too disconnected from the students it serves. The reasoning behind this decision — to prevent conflicts of interest in handling residential life judiciously — does not require such a radical step. Though the policy is attempting to meet OEO standards, here is a place where discretion is entirely appropriate and, in fact, necessary, to best protect our valued privacy.

It is unfortunate that this decision has been made, moreso because the ban on current RAs from talking to media has only worsened ResLife’s image. It is in the best interest of the students to take a stand against this with what little time remains. Not only is this bad policy, but in its implementation it will infringe upon our valued right to make our own choices about our own relationships.

denise amisial

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Letter to the Editor

Concerning the op-ed, ‘Don’t let Tufts fool you’ Dear Editor, I am writing concerning Chris Harkins’ April 24 op-ed “Don’t let Tufts fool you.” I would like to commend Chris for his sincerity and bravery in sharing his story, and the Daily for publishing his account.

Among many other revelations, Chris’s account demonstrates a truth that is too often forgotten: Sexual violence does not occur in a vacuum. Although Chris was technically pursuing disciplinary action for being physically assaulted, it is essential to note that his perpetrator had also sexually assaulted his girlfriend. As the account explained, when his girlfriend was asked questions about the sexual

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.

assault and willingly sought to answer, she was silenced by the judiciary panel.

This silencing reflects one of the many ways in which rape culture permeates our culture and society. In this case, a survivor’s account of her experience — directly pertaining to the case — was relegated to a separate category, found to be irrelevant unless she decided to pursue the arduous and difficult process of disciplinary action.

Sexual violence affects all of us in insidious ways, whether we are survivors or friends or find ourselves in Chris’ situation. It is essential that all members of the Tufts community are educated in the realities of sexual violence and assault, and that there are experts in the

issue who act as an accessible resource to the community.

Whether or not it occurs intentionally, we live in a culture where myths that assault can only be perpetrated by a stranger in a dark alleyway persist and victims of physical and sexual assault are routinely silenced. As a community, we should take Chris’ account as a wake-up call and critically examine how our disciplinary processes deal with cases of student-on-student assault, how our community deals with sexual violence, and how we can create a safe campus for all.

Sincerely, Kumar Ramanathan

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must be submitted by 2 p.m. and should be handed into the Daily office or sent to letters@tuftsdaily.com.

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

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Op-Ed

OP-ED

The two-state solution: necessary, just, possible

by Erica Feldman, Emma Goldstein, Elissa Miller, and Jeremy Zelinger

If we have learned anything at college this year, it’s that bringing up the IsraeliPalestinian conflict is not a good way to make new friends. Debate regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often leads to more disagreement than agreement. Yet as Tufts students, we do not shy away from difficult issues; we confront them head-on.

New student and old student groups alike this year lifted their voices in a cacophonous symphony of opinion.

Friends of Israel reminded us that Israel is not just a conflict but also a country with a living and breathing society. Tufts American Israel Alliance expressed the importance and strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship, while J Street U emphasized the need for peace. Tufts Hillel continuously provided a safe space for nuanced dialogue, and Students for Justice in Palestine advocated for Palestinian rights and spoke to the unsustainable nature of the status quo.

Only at Tufts would a single issue over 5,000 miles away give rise to so many student groups and student activists.

From rallies to guest speakers, from vigorous debates to emotional rollercoasters, Tufts University has been plunged into the depths of this difficult conflict.

In this divisive atmosphere, it has been hard for individual students, let alone student groups, to converge around shared beliefs.

As Tufts students dedicated to ending this conflict, we knew we could do better.

Many of us have different opinions about how to support Israel, but this semester we came together around one shared belief. The two-state solution presents the best hope for Israelis and Palestinians to live side-by-side in mutual recognition, security and freedom.

Rallying around the vision of two states for two peoples, our respective groups formed Tufts Students for Two States (TSforTS). Our purpose is to promote the two-state solution with students, faculty and administration and within our communities off campus. Hundreds of Tufts students signed our petition supporting the two-state solution. Member groups hosted events, brought speakers to campus and even lobbied for the two-state solution with local politicians.

Why do we believe so strongly in the two-state solution? President Obama summed it up quite well this past March during his speech in Jerusalem: The twostate solution is necessary. The two-state solution is just. And the two-state solution is possible.

The two-state solution is necessary because it achieves true security, both physical and emotional, for Israelis and

Oliver Porter / The Tufts Daily

Palestinians. Two states will allow Israel to maintain its nature as a Jewish and democratic state while affording Palestinians their right to an independent state.

President Obama said that unless both sides unite in a common desire for a twostate solution, independence, equality and security will remain elusive to Israelis and Palestinians alike.

The two-state solution is just because it recognizes the inherent right of selfdetermination to Israelis and Palestinians.

Palestinians must be given their own land because Israeli and Palestinian children alike deserve an equal opportunity to prosper and grow in their own respective states. In confronting this issue, Israel must also determine the character of its democracy. As President Obama stated, “remember that as you make these decisions, you will define not simply the future of your relationship with the Palestinians; you will define the future of Israel, as well.” Israel, as a democratic nation, must withdraw its presence in the West Bank once legitimate security concerns are met and the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish, democratic state. A two-state solution would ensure that Israel stays committed to its democratic principles and that Palestinians are given their deserved right to live in a state of their own. Two states, side-by-side, living in peace, is the only just solution.

And the two-state solution is possible because both sides agree to the basic framework. The current Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has made the two-state solution an official Israeli policy goal, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has consis-

tently voiced his commitment to the twostate concept. The international community, including the Arab League, has shown its support as well. The current American administration, with President Obama and Secretary Kerry at the helm, has never been more adamant in demanding two states for two peoples.

But the president stressed that politicians will not reach a final agreement by themselves. Instead, the possibility for the two-state solution relies on grassroots support for peace, not only in Israel and Palestine, but also here in the United States. We, as Tufts students and Americans concerned about the future of the Middle East, have an obligation to make our voices heard in support of the two-state solution.

In light of the president’s message, Tufts Students for Two States invites you to join us this Thursday at 7 p.m. in Sophia Gordon as we welcome to campus the national director of J Street U, Daniel May, who will discuss these ideas in the context of student activism. We urge you to attend, to struggle with the issues and to heed the president’s call for peace.

Erica Feldman, Emma Goldstein, Elissa Miller, and Jeremy Zelinger represent Tufts Friends of Israel, Tufts Hillel, Tufts American Israel Alliance, and Tufts J Street U respectively. Erica Feldman is a junior majoring in biology and community health, Emma Goldstein is a senior majoring in American studies, Elissa Miller is a junior majoring in international relations, and Jeremy Zelinger is a senior majoring in international relations.

Off the Hill | University of Minnesota

by

Meg O’Connor Minnesota Daily

Our generation is no stranger to inappropriate topics made into late-night sketches on “Saturday Night Live,” or realworld scenarios displayed via YouTube. We are able to find humor in some alarmingly serious situations. Humor has become the medication for our country; it provides us with a sense of comfort during grim times.

Take for example, suicide. It’s clearly a sensitive issue for many Americans who have been affected by suicide in some way. A campaign based in Colorado aimed toward men between the ages of 25 and 64 features a comical, fictional therapist who uses humor to help men sort through thoughts of suicide or depression.

The Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention launched its humorous advertising campaign in July 2012. The campaign’s videos and billboards sought to break down the stigma that envelopes men when they realize they need help.

Last year, Vanity Fair issued its first comedy issue. Inside were exposes from the

Humor heals

country’s most prominent comical figures.

One article that struck me as I was waiting for my hair dye to set was a feature on Mathilde “Tig” Notaro. To be honest, I hadn’t heard of this particular comedian before I picked up the magazine, but after I put it down, I couldn’t forget her. In four months’ time, Notaro was diagnosed with breast cancer, underwent a double mastectomy, ended a long relationship and lost her mother to a freak accident.

Many would have understood if she had decided to put her comedy routine on hold after such an ordeal. After all, it didn’t appear that she had too much to laugh about. However, this was the time that she gained most of her fame, as she made light of what were most likely her darkest days.

Her opening line: “Hello. Good evening, hello. I have cancer.”

I wouldn’t refer to myself as an expert on comedy, but I can say that I have the utmost respect for people who choose to make their lives into public spectacles for people’s enjoyment. Notaro did not have to stand up on a stage and joke about her cancer or her mother’s death, but she did

— not just for herself, but for others. “Tig is now in the heads of hundreds of thousands of people who don’t see her as a comic — she’s now their favorite person,” Ira Glass, host of “This American Life,” said in the Vanity Fair feature.

Mayo Clinic staff believes that laughter, as the age-old idiom says, is the key to managing stress and providing relief under difficult circumstances. It can improve the immune system or relieve pain. While I don’t believe that a good, hearty laugh is equivalent to antibiotics, it should be noted that laughter can provide an escape from reality. Let’s be honest, if you choose to watch “Anchorman” over “Schindler’s List,” you are going to improve your mood by leaps and bounds for the rest of the day.

If there is anything to take away from Notaro’s story, it’s that humor can be found anywhere. Although there are times when I watch “SNL” and ask myself “How are they making fun of this?” particularly when it comes to government, it is a healthy outlet for the country to let out frustration and create a dialogue that wouldn’t otherwise be heard.

Walker Bristol | Notes from the Underclass

Not the student voice It’s that simple bit of philosophy: Why are we here? More specifically, why are we on this campus? And, here in this paper, why are we journalists?

Hopefully, the answer isn’t to build a resume, or to get your byline read.

And hopefully, the answer also doesn’t include the word “objective,” because in a world where power is concentrated at the top, treating “all sides as equal” and letting them unfairly battle it out themselves is anything but fair and accurate.

In this election, the Daily rejected an endorsement of the activist presidential candidate because that would (somehow problematically) “mean that [the Daily] values the student voice above all else, even when it means stepping on the toes of the administrators.” If ever there was an instance of a violation of journalistic integrity — if ever there was a “responsibility” that an independent student publication has — it was to amplify and uphold the voices and rights of those our society has systematically ignored. Where we are: Administrators have power over students. There was a candidate who, for his entire career, has undertaken the mantra of liberation passionately and compassionately, and that was disregarded. On Tuesday, the voices of the student body — despite the numerous op-ed digs at progressive activists this week, including accusations of being “alienating” and “too radical” — spoke up in support of the progressive activist. Joe Thibodeau fights for the underprivileged. And, for shame, his candidacy was rejected by a media that ought to be doing the same.

The fact that an endorsement is made at all proves a truth that is often subverted: Newspapers are politically powerful, and they know that they are. But not just in what headline appears above the editorial every day — they’re powerful in every word that they publish. Everything is political. Running an ad plastered over an entire page of the paper that violently targets Muslim students and their allies is an agonizingly obvious instance of this and is blatantly unacceptable. But every aspect of this paper, every aspect of this community, that tries to shield itself from our ferociously unequal and oppressive culture by billing itself as nonpolitical is upholding that very culture itself.

Why are we here? The answer is the same for every level of specificity you can iterate through: We’re here to live and to facilitate the living around us.

Oppression stunts living. The stories that are untold are of those who have to fight to live. We’re here for every religious student whom the CSL policy threatens to exclude from their own community. For every sexual assault survivor who has been ignored or dismissed by a Sexual Misconduct Policy tainted by Tufts’ dedication to a false image or security. For everyone who wants to integrate their experience with their academics — as real “education” ought to mandate you do — through critical race studies, for everyone who’s been assaulted for being Korean or whose success is crushed under the pressure of a structurally unequal academia.

And for everyone who has attempted suicide after being dragged underwater by the pain of living in an unsafe space and having been ignored by those with the power to help them.

We have an obligation to the lives of those around us. People, editors and reporters and op-ed writers and students alike, will toss out accusations of “radicalism.” But the use of the word “radical” at all is an admission that something is grossly wrong with our system. The second we let the word leave our lips, let’s admit it: We should be radical. In everything we’re doing, we are living out why we’re here. And we’re here for each other.

Walker Bristol is a junior majoring in religion and philosophy. He can be reached at walker.bristol@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

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Comics

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Doonesbury

Crossword

by

Garry Trudeau

Non Sequitur

Wednesday’s Solution

Married to the Sea

www.marriedtothesea.com

SUDOKU Level: Beyoncé is right, entrée is not

Late Night at the Daily Wednesday’s Solution

Adrian: “How are you not getting all the manbiddies right now?”

Please recycle this Daily

by

Wiley

Thursday, April 25, 2013

The Tufts Daily

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The Tufts Daily

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

The Tufts Daily

Thursday, April 25, 2013 Wanted

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CHILDCARE JOB. Local Tufts alum (close drive to Tufts) seeking responsible, patient, loving, energetic, non-smoking part-time babysitter and/or nanny. Strong swimmer a plus! Hours and scheduling flexible. Salary commensurate with experience.

Please call Faith at (781) 258-9027 for details.

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

All classifieds submitted by mail must be accompanied by a check. Classifieds are $15 per week or $4 per day with Tufts ID or $30 per week or $8 per day without. The Tufts Daily is not liable for any damages due to typographical errors or misprintings except the cost of the insertion, which is fully refundable. We reserve the right to refuse to print any classifieds which contain obscenity, are of an overly sexual nature or are used expressly to denigrate a person or group. Questions? Email business@tuftsdaily.com.

G.J. Vitale | Who’s on first

Obsession with the Game

W

MCT

West Virginia’s Geno Smith will likely be picked tonight in the first round of the NFL draft and will be measured against his counterpart Matt Barkley throughout his rookie year.

Barkley looks to make up for disappointing senior season INSIDE THE NFL

continued from page 16

Smith enters the draft the more highly touted of the two. Standing nearly 6-foot-3 with a lean build, Smith adeptly navigated the Big 12 in West Virginia’s first year in the conference after departing from the Big East. Although Smith was unable to earn his third consecutive All-Conference award, he took his spread offense to work against the elevated competition and wreaked havoc, completing over 70 percent of his passes for 42 touchdowns and just six interceptions.

While his physical attributes undoubtedly boosted his draft stock, Smith captivated audiences nationwide — and NFL scouts, the real target audience — with his assuredness in the pocket and his uncanny ability to thread the needle. Smith also firmly established himself as a brilliant student of the game in his final year in college, devouring game tape for hours on end.

But for all that Smith did well, he still managed to regress as the season rolled on, with his devolution capped off by a thorough undoing at the hands of Syracuse in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. Smith’s vision worsened, often exacerbated by blitz-heavy defenses that figured out the best way to

neutralize his talents, and many times, he shied away from pressure. Nevertheless, the question is not in which round Smith will be drafted, but rather where in the top 10 he’ll go.

Matt Barkley Matt Barkley had a very different season, becoming the poster child for regression and the face of immense disappointment.

Under Barkley the Trojans finished 7-6 in 2012, a dismal showing given their status as preseason favorites. The former Gatorade Player of the Year, who started at quarterback as a true freshman, improved his numbers in each of his first three seasons at the helm at USC, but his senior season witnessed a drop-off in both completion percentage and touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Although returning for his senior season ultimately hurt Barkley’s prospects, it did allow him to hone his play-calling, demonstrate further his intangibles — he was a three-time team captain — and gain more experience running a pro-style offense. The inconsistency of his offense was troubling — and at times tremendously frustrating — but that should not dissuade teams from

taking a hard look at this kid.

Much like former number one pick Andrew Luck, Barkley has panoramic vision and can put a defense on its heels with crafty play-calling and other sorts of misdirection. While Barkley is not exceptionally athletic, he was competent enough rolling out and on bootlegs to compensate, and he was especially effective when he shuffled his receivers around before the snap and executed pump-fakes to fool defensive backs.

But scouts aren’t looking for competency. Neither his build nor his arm, neither his mobility nor his anxiety under pressure bodes well at the next level, and it remains to be seen whether he can adjust to the faster-paced action of the NFL. Each of these quarterbacks has filled a leadership role, and the poise of the two quarterbacks is undeniable. Both will be positive additions to whatever teams acquire them, and the teams on which they end up will have a massive effect on their futures. But the real mystery lies in how they will fare against the best of the best, and history has shown us that even the players seemingly destined to succeed can flop.

hen was it that professional sports got out of hand?

Television might have had something to do with it: sitting at home, cranking your A/C, throwing back a couple of much cheaper brews, and avoiding the postgame traffic. You wonder why you’d ever go to the game when your TV gives you better sound and image quality than real life.

The game brings you joy — or is it nostalgia? Perhaps you are holding on to the past. You used to play the game back then. Watching makes you remember. You can still smell the clay, can’t you? Why do they make us consumers so entranced?

We are, undoubtedly, consumers after all. $40 per month for the Comcast sports package, $20 for the ticket, $30 for the hat — not to mention singlehandedly keeping foam finger distributors in business.

But what if the obsession were to end?

What if there were no more television or radio broadcasts supporting the game? People formerly called “fans” decide that reading books is more entertaining than watching games. Some still play the game, but for themselves now.

There is little to be made in the game, because it has been de-commercialized.

Players make modest salaries, supported by the few that come out to watch. They understand they are lucky to make anything at all, playing a game that was once simply a hobby.

If your friend were to tell you they were paid to play Yahtzee the other day in front of a crowd, you would not believe them.

What you don’t know is that your friend is probably the best Yahtzee player on the East Coast, and his rival is from the West. T-shirts were sold. Special-edition “East/West Championship Yahtzee” sets were flying off the shelves in the wake of the game. Your friend is sponsored by Red Bull and dons the company’s logo on his custom-made dice-shaker. The match is televised worldwide and Pepsi pays to get multiple commercial spots. A paycheck for your friend doesn’t seem so crazy now.

Take a step back. Look objectively.

Does it seem so far-fetched on second glance? Does it not seem ridiculous when you adjust your focus? We are zombies chained to every update, statistic and player. Is it passion or obsession? What is it about sports that convinces us that multimillion-dollar salaries should be normal? Frankly, it’s our own damn fault.

I am as guilty as anyone. I check in on games constantly. God knows I’m watching my Heat on their way to backto-back titles. I own name-brand sportswear. I don’t get paid to play, but I sure wouldn’t turn it down. Hell, my whole childhood I dreamt about playing baseball as my job.

Look. The average NBA player makes $5.15 million per year; MLB pays $3.31 million. The NHL is at $2.4 million and NFL players make about $1.9 million. Soccer is off the charts in terms of purchasing and paying players. Samuel Eto’o, who plays for Anzhi Makhachkala, makes about $500,00 per week.

Most athletes do deserve to get paid what they do in our sports-obsessed world. It just gives you an idea of how much power we’ve given to the whole thing. It is a blessing and a curse to watch such extravagance. It’s quite possible, however, that I’m just a jealous guy who missed out.

Gregory Vitale is a junior majoring in biology-psychology and English. He can be reached at Gregory.Vitale@tufts.edu.

Sports

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tuftsdaily.com

Sailing

Jumbos post strong scores ahead of Nationals by

Andy Wong

Daily Staff Writer

In their journey to rediscover their elite form en route to Nationals, the Tufts coed sailing team has made heady progress since their tightly contested fourth-place finish at the Friis & Marchiando Trophies just two weeks ago.

Since then, they’ve ventured forward in securing a spot in the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) National semifinals with a third-place finish at this year’s New England ICSA Dinghy Championships hosted by Brown two weekends ago, followed by a tight sixth-place finish at this weekend’s Admiral’s Cup, hosted by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

Peering over the field of 18 squads, the Jumbos trotted out their best for the regional dinghy championship on April 20, with junior skipper and tri-captain William Haeger and classmate crew Paula Grasberger in the A-division, the B-division, senior tri-captain William Hutchings split skipper duties with sophomore Alejandro Ruiz-Ramon, while junior Kathleen Kwasniak rotated the crew spot with sophomore classmates Jamie Maffeo and Sam Madden.

Haeger and Grasberger flashed perhaps their best cumulative performance of the semester with victories in the first, fifth, eighth, 10th and 12th races and with consistent efforts throughout.

The Jumbos finished with a dominant 70-point A-division run, bested only by Roger Williams University, who nudged by the Jumbos in their 15th race, giving them a final score of 69 points.

“The highlight for me was being able to sail freely and without the worry that we wouldn’t qualify,” Haeger said of his performance. “In years past, we’ve been right on the edge of not qualifying, but this year, thanks to a hot start, we didn’t have to worry about that and could just focus on sailing well.” “[Because of our starts] we were just able to do whatever we wanted, and we got all the great finishes we needed and kept focus the entire time,” Grasberger said.

On the other side, the B-division squad put together a solid performance. They suffered from inconsistency: Hutchings led four top-five finishes (including a victory in his third race) and Ruiz-Ramon earned two top-four finishes, but the wins were balanced out but with some lower finishes. Overall, the squad finished with 124 points.

With a final cumulative score of 194 points, the Jumbos placed well ahead of their A-division rival, Roger Williams, and

Courtesy Ken Legler

Over the last two weeks, the Jumbos qualified for the ICSA National Semifinals and then placed sixth at the Admiral’s Cup, a strong performance heading into the postseason. just behind Boston College’s 182 points.

Host Brown University took the trophy and top honors with 163 points, and those four squads along with Dartmouth, Yale, MIT and Conn. College will advance to the ICSA National semifinals April 27-28.

“I’m pretty psyched about the results,” Haeger said. “All the effort the team has been putting in this year finally showed in the results. On top of that, we know that we can sail even better.”

“Nationals has been our goal for the semester,” Grasberger added. “We were all motivated to do well, and that’s just what we did.”

With their main qualifier over, the Jumbos moved into this weekend’s competition seeking to improve before this weekend’s National Semifinals at the USMMA’s Admiral’s Cup. With three divisions, includ-

ing a third single-handed C-division, the team returned Haeger, Grasberger, Hutchings and Kwasniak, along with freshman crew Maxwell Bennett and classmate James Moody, who handled the C-division.

Both the A-and B-division teams finished sixth, but the most impressive result was Moody’s performance during the C-division, in which he single-handedly tallied 88 points. He tied the U.S. Naval Academy senior George Prieto for third place (a head-to-head tiebreaker bumped Moody down to fourth), and was just four points shy of matching Dartmouth senior John Renehan.

“He had a really good regatta for his first time sailing a laser,” Grasberger said. “He had at least one win and a couple of other high finishes.”

Overall, the Jumbos finished in sixth

Inside the NFL

Draft showcases top quarterbacks

Softball

Jumbos head into final weekend After two wins in their Wednesday night doubleheader with Endicott, Tufts softball will wrap up its regular season with its final two series of the year this weekend.

The Jumbos kick off their fivegame home stand with a nonconference doubleheader against Rhode Island College on Thursday.

A sub-.500 team from the Little East Conference, RIC is scuffling at the moment, having lost seven of their past nine games. Tufts, on the other hand, has dropped just three games all season and shouldn’t have much trouble taking both games of the twin bill.

But that’s just the appetizer for a three-game set against Colby to conclude the season.

After sweeping Bates, Bowdoin and Trinity earlier in the year, the Jumbos are a perfect 9-0 against NESCAC opponents and look to remain undefeated against the Mules. Tufts also needs only one

place, with 295 points, just shy of the Naval Academy’s 290. However, with the looming end-of-the-year Nationals quickly approaching, there is confidence that the team will only increase their intensity.

“I’m not too concerned about [our performance at the Admiral’s.] I know that we’ll ramp up the intensity this coming weekend at seminfinals and perform a lot better,” Haeger added.

“We’re feeling pretty good about semifinals. The New England region is the most competitive district, so we’ll be ready for the competition this weekend,” Grasberger said.

The team will look to finish off their semester with the ICSA Eastern Dinghy Semifinals this upcoming weekend, and the New England Team Racing Championships and ICSA Team Racing Championships in the following weekends.

by Sam

Gold

Daily Editorial Board

Sofia Adams / The tufts Daily

win to clinch the division, and Colby is stumbling toward the finish line: Prior to winning their doubleheader against Southern Maine on Tuesday, the Mules had lost eight in a row.

Even so, the Jumbos will be playing for personal pride as they look to end their year on a high note. But Colby will have the added motivation of trying to prevent Tufts from going 12-0

in divisional play for the second straight season. The Mules get three chances to play the spoiler — one on Friday and two on Saturday — and will be looking to knock off the Jumbos prior to the playoffs beginning.

If the Jumbos want to go undefeated again, they’re going to have to earn it.

— by Tyler Maher

Months in advance, hordes of faithful — particularly those jilted week in and week out by the objects of their affection — marked their calendars for April 25, 2013. It is judgment day for some teams (read: the New York Jets). For others, it’s simply an opportunity to bolster their weaker positions. It is perhaps the most simultaneously hopeful and fateful day for fans everywhere who wish so fervently to land that one impact player that can make over a franchise. Tonight is the NFL draft.

The art of augury has been reinvented countless times over with respect to this one day, as obsessive statisticians and selfproclaimed fortune tellers like Mel Kiper Jr. — who must by now own the record at ESPN for most wildly

inaccurate predictions — wake up in preparation for this decade-defining event.

But as fun an exercise in prediction as this occasion provides, we’re instead going to break down two key players in terms of how they stack up to current NFL players and how their skill sets might translate to the league upon being drafted.

Though this year’s draft looks, by all accounts, lacking at quarterback, it still presents two intriguing potential game-changers.

Electrifying players who have endured the ups and downs of collegiate-level stardom, Geno Smith of West Virginia and Matt Barkley of USC both appear to fit the mold of NFL quarterbacks, but may struggle at the onset.

Geno Smith see INSIDE THE NFL, page 15