Semester in Review

Tufts reacts to the economy

Students and faculty returned to campus in January stunned by news that Tufts had lost $20 million in a Ponzi scheme masterminded by disgraced financier Bernard Madoff. Over winter break, University President Lawrence Bacow informed the Tufts community that the university, which in 2005 invested the money through hedge fund firm Ascot Partners, had written off the loss.

The write-off, he said, would not significantly affect Tufts' operations.

The Madoff loss came as the university continued to withstand financial cuts in the face of the economic recession.

Bacow announced to the Tufts community in March that Tufts would be able to balance its current and next fiscal year budgets in spite of a projected 30 percent decline in the university's endowment, five points greater than previously anticipated.

In order to remain fiscally sound in the face of the economic downturn, however, the university had to sacrifice in other areas. The administration froze salaries for employees earning more than $50,000 and laid off close to 20 workers.

Tuition and fees for next year will also rise, but by the smallest increase in 45 years, up 3.5 percent to $39,280.

The university continued to pledge its goal of keeping current students as the top priority in the face of any cutbacks made, but hopeful applicants were not as fortunate.

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions, which practiced an unofficial need-blind admissions policy for the Classes of 2011 and 2012, was forced to suspend the policy in reviewing the tail end of applications for the Class of 2013. Due to larger aid requests spurred by the economy, admissions officers considered the final 850 applicants' ability to pay, when potential financial aid ran dry.

Ninety-five percent of applications, however, were successfully reviewed need-blind, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Lee Coffin said at the time.

--by Matt Repka

Big names visit the hill

A multitude of big-name speakers came to Tufts this semester, speaking about an array of issues ranging from President Barack Obama's first months in office to media ethics.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in early February delivered this year's Isaam M. Fares Lecture. Blair gave a hopeful outlook for the future of the Middle East, but urged a multilateral effort to bridge the conflict between the West and Islam.

"Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the single most important thing we can do," Blair said. "Nothing is more important, nothing is more urgent and nothing should stand in our way."

Prolific public intellectual Noam Chomsky and activist Bill Fletcher, Jr. came last month for a symposium and criticized the Obama administration's approach to the economy and foreign policy.

In an equally charged discussion, Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards visited the Hill in January to speak about the future of women's reproductive rights under the Obama administration.

Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life, took a markedly different take on the subject, discussing the underlying causes of why women have abortions.

The Tufts Republicans brought conservative activist David Horowitz to campus in March. Horowitz spoke on issues of academic freedom and liberal biases on college campuses, explaining that "indoctrination courses" at many universities present political opinions as fact.

Chris Mathews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball," moderated this year's Edward R. Murrow Forum on Issues in Journalism, featuring former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis and WCVB-TV reporter Janet Wu, on April 13. The forum focused on whether media intrusion into the private lives of politicians discourages individuals from seeking public office.

On a more flavorful note, several speakers piqued the taste buds of Jumbos.

The author of the popular book "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals" (2006), Michael Pollan, delivered this semester's Richard E. Snyder Presidential Lecture last month. Pollan said that Americans should turn to farmers' markets and unprocessed foods to diversify and cleanse the western diet.

"We can wait for evolution, but it will take a long time, and in the meantime we will be really sick and spend a lot of money," he said.

Another food expert, Anthony Bourdain, an author and the host of the Travel Channel series "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations," spoke earlier this month to a packed crowd of loyal fans, discussing the effects of globalization on food.

-- by Carter Rogers

Cutting ticket prices, recovered funds and election snags

The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate faced the semester with heavy decisions that reignited last semester's debate on the spending of the recovered funds.