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(02/03/03 12:00am)
Dewick MacPhie Dining Hall was filled to capacity Friday night as rambunctious, slightly drunk students turned out for the AIDS Outreach Benefit Concert, eager to see some of the best student acts at Tufts. As various student groups took the stage, "waitresses" carried platters piled high with free condoms and dental dams through the crowd, peddling their wares. "They're serving condoms, not condiments," one emcee quipped. The show went on for a whopping three hours, featuring a wide variety of musical and performance groups. The ability to see that many groups in one place, and for only two dollars made the concert an event worth seeing. And the fact that all proceeds went to the Justice Research Institute, an organization devoted to HIV counseling and testing, only sweetened the deal. BEATS (Banging Everything At Tufts) was the first group to take the stage. The group, formed this fall, drums on random objects and pieces of trash, creating complex and catchy rhythms. Having practiced only four times previous to the concert, the group started off somewhat muddled. Some of their "drums" were less-than-suited for the rigors of being a BEATS instrument, and had worn out before the show. "The first part of the show was weak, but we gained momentum from there and I could feel that the audience was into it by the end," said freshman co-founder Jonathan Gais. "I couldn't be happier with the response we got for our debut performance after a week of practice." While the name might be somewhat incongruous with a concert emphasizing safe-sex, BEATS' performance bodes well for the future. After a brief break where the emcees read off statistics about AIDS and encouraged the crowd to stock up on condoms, the Amalgamates took the stage. The restlessness of the crowd made it difficult to appreciate the softer moments of some of their songs, but the Mates did their best to make their presence known on stage. A skit entitled "Dragons Don't Wear Suspenders" was the Traveling Treasure Trunk's contribution to the festivities. While keeping the skit amusing and light-hearted, the group managed to drop in references salient to the event. A visiting act, the Williams College Accidentals a cappella group performed three songs. By this point the audience had realized that being quiet makes the music sound better, so it was much easier to hear than the Mates performance. In the middle of the event, guest speaker Troix Bettencourt launched into his 45-minute warning to students. A local, Bettencourt works for JRI at an AIDS care clinic. After introducing himself, he noted how pleased he was to see such a good turnout, and then started his spiel. At first he did a "Sex 101 for College Students" bit where he cautioned students to "keep the lights on" the next time they have sex." Bettencourt then segued into his story of how he contracted HIV as a freshman at Northeastern University. The rest of his speech was devoted to describing how he came to terms with living with a fatal disease. While he had many interesting things to say, Bettencourt's verbosity made it somewhat difficult to pick out exactly what he was trying to emphasize. "He didn't have a clear point, so things that may have made a lot of sense to him and helped educate... were all but meaningless... to the audience," sophomore Sam Abrams said. Bettencourt was followed by YGS, sQ!, the Beelzebubs, and Spirit of Color, who rounded out the evening. Most cited the Beelzebubs and their renditions of "Machinehead", "Crazy Train", and "Nothing Compares to You" as the highlight of the second half. Aside from the length, opinions of the concert were generally positive. "Overall, the show was good, but much longer than I had expected," sophomore Ben Hagopian said. "We got a great show for our two dollars." A repeat next year is certainly called for, but organizers need to make sure they can keep it concise and interesting, while still being educational.
(01/31/03 12:00am)
Relationships in college can be very difficult, even when both partners live on campus. Petty jealousies, outside stress from school work and activities, different groups of friends, and pressure to look towards the future all contribute to the drama. Put three thousand miles between two partners, and the odds against their success as a couple suddenly become much greater. Despite how difficult a long distance relationship might seem, many students at Tufts choose to pursue [or at the very least, maintain] relationships when one or both partners go abroad. To the rational mind, a long distance relationship spanning continents may seem ridiculous. The rational mind, however, behaves very differently than the heart. For many couples who contemplate maintaining a long distance relationship, the issue is never black and white. In many cases, couples decide to stay together after much debate. One junior who went abroad last semester originally thought she and her boyfriend would naturally break up for that period of time. "No, we probably won't stay together," she said at the time. "But it's okay because we love each other and I know we'll be together when we are back at Tufts." But, as the date of her departure drew nearer, she realized that the risk of losing her significant other was not worth four months of freedom. "We decided to stay together because it just didn't feel right in our hearts to break up," the junior said. "I knew I didn't even want another boy to look at me, and I guess he felt the same way." Junior Lauren Workman is currently preparing for her four months abroad in Australia. She departs in early February. Even though she will not be able to see him until May due to the distance and the cost associated with flying back and forth, Workman and her boyfriend of several years have decided to stay together. What makes it worth it? "We've been together since high school, basically," Workman said. "There's no one else I'd rather be with, so why would I risk losing that for four months of 'possibilities?'" Men too are frequently open to the idea of staying together. Sophomore Brian Costello plans to go abroad to Paris next semester to study abroad. Although he is not currently in a relationship, Costello is optimistic about the prospect of making a relationship work while abroad. "I would stay together if we were both committed to the relationship and willing to make it work," Costello said. "Long distance relationships can be tough, but going abroad doesn't mean that a relationship will end or has to end." Costello acknowledged, though, that each relationship is unique. "I guess that it would depend on the circumstances," he mused when first asked his thoughts. Many couples can deal with the loneliness of a few months apart during their college years because, after all, it is only a few months. And while high school students might not have the life experiences required to make the difficult decision to stay in a long distance relationship, many college students have experienced prior relationships and thus are more ready to enter into long distance relationships. In many cases, college students are more determined to hold onto a solid one when they find it. Many college students who attempted to stay with significant others from high school have found that sort of long distance relationship to be difficult to maintain. Sophomore Lauren Ungerleider and her high school boyfriend, Jim, decided to stay together despite attending separate colleges. This year, though, they have decided to slow their relationship down. Ungerleider explains that decision as the result of the realization that she and her boyfriend had started to drift apart. "Theoretically you have different majors, different interests, and you want to go different places," Ungerleider said. "So you still connect on an emotional level, but you just don't see each other and you make a choice to focus on other things rather than the relationship." Other students, however, are able to maintain relationships with high school boyfriends or girlfriends. Freshman Cory Levitt, whose girlfriend of over a year attends high school in Pennsylvania, testifies to this: "It's definitely possible to keep a high school relationship going, even if one person goes off to college," Levitt said. The University offers counseling to students experiencing difficulty navigating the direction of their relationships, recognizing relationship concerns as a significant factor in students' lives. Approximately 600 to 700 students utilize the Counseling Center each year, many citing concerns about their relationships as a reason. A fortunate truth for campus couples attempting to maintain relationships when one of them goes abroad is that each partner has a common touchstone: his or her roots at the University. Unlike those couples attempting to keep a high school relationship alive, matches made at the University possess a "home base" that, even if one partner is abroad, provides common ground. The aforementioned junior acknowledges that the attempt to sustain a long distance relationship is not always successful. "I love him and it worked out really well," she said. "We were lucky." Many couples try to stay together but find that distance, jealousy, and loneliness outweigh the positives of their relationship. There are other couples, though, who make their long distance relationships work, and they are models who may give faith .
(01/23/03 12:00am)
Bouquets of purple tulips _ Wendy Carman's favorite flower _ graced the podium in Goddard Chapel yesterday afternoon while friends, students, professors, administrators, and local firemen gathered to celebrate the life of the 20-year-old Tufts junior. Wendy died early Saturday morning after her loft on 20 Harris Rd. caught fire while she was sleeping. President Larry Bacow told the gathering of people that their presence was, "a loving affirmation of Wendy's life," and proof that, "she touched everyone." Wendy was a warm person who genuinely cared for her peers and valued her friendships, speakers recalled. "When boy problems arose, Wendy always said, 'everyone thinks college is where you meet your future husband, but it's where you meet your future bridesmaids,'" said junior Maritsa Christoudias. In his address, Bacow told the Tufts community to remember that life is fragile, and that it is, "a gift, not a given." He told the assembly to make the most of their time at Tufts, to tell others they care about them, and to embrace and support each other. Bacow advised listeners to savor the simple pleasures in life instead of taking them for granted, and asked that students focus on giving back to one another. "It is in the receiving and in the giving that we truly experience life," he said. Bacow also requested that students, "honor the vitality Wendy brought to Tufts, and make this a better place _ as she did." Tears were interrupted by smatterings of laughter and smiles when speakers and audience members described Wendy as upbeat, talkative, and caring. Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said that anecdotes and memories from her friends described Wendy as, "the ultimate people person," and someone who, "made time for everyone." Junior Joanna Friedman, Wendy's freshman and sophomore year roommate, spoke on behalf of Wendy's close friends, describing her as generous, open-minded, and a person who had no patience for condescension or intolerance from others. Other friends and administrators recalled Wendy for her intelligence, her affinity for dogs, and her love of Kurt Vonnegut and Star Trek. A Spanish major and Art History minor, Wendy planned to spend this semester taking only Spanish classes instead of studying abroad. Administrators told those in attendance not to be afraid to spend some time mourning for Wendy. "Experience this moment. Let [your feelings] wash over you as they do over all of us," Bacow said. Reitman told the audience to expect that the mourning process would not be easy. "Give yourself time in upcoming days to be sad, angry, or feel that life is unfair," he said. The family statement that recalled the "tragic accident" and remembered Wendy as a "vibrant" young woman who "loved the solitude of her many books and the company of her many friends," was shared at the opening of the service by University Chaplain Reverend David O'Leary. The statement also said that, "the world is a different place without Wendy," a comment that Bacow said meant, "the world was a better place because she was here." Bacow also said that Wendy's family has received substantial support from the Tufts community, and that students and faculty have reached out to support one another since the event took place last weekend. Reitman asked that students support each other for a continued period of time, and not just in the next few days and weeks. Prayers and scriptures shared by University Chaplains Steven Bonsey, Ann Penick, and Rabbi Jeffrey Summit reminded listeners that death is not an end, and that, "a rich life has been lived." Family members in Washington state were unable to attend, but will be sent a video-taped copy of the service by the University. A few minutes of silence were followed by O'Leary's closing of the service as he reminded attendees that counseling services are available through Tufts emergency services 24 hours a day. Family and friends are still in the decision process about whether donations or a fund will be established in Wendy's memory, O'Leary said.
(12/06/02 12:00am)
Unbeknownst to many students, the Tufts Office of General Counsel plays a vital role in the University's operation _ despite its having just one employee. The General Counsel employs Attorney Mary Lee Jacobs as the University's first contact for any legal questions that may arise at Tufts. But the role of the General Counsel is not limited to consult solely during the judicial process. Jacobs is available for consultation from any University official, from casual advice to formal hearings. Jacobs works with officials at all Tufts campuses on a range of subjects _ from contract law to employment benefit issues. If the University is subject to any criminal or legal action, the Office of the General Counsel would serve as the basis for the school's defense. All major universities have similar offices _ although some schools employ multiple lawyers. Hiring outside lawyers can be a significant expense for Tufts. During the 2000 fiscal year, the latest for which figures are available, the school spent over $2 million on outside firms. The expenses include firms that specialize in real estate and patent law. The largest amount, $1.6 million, went to the local firm of Nutter, McClennen, & Fish. The General Counsel Office works on an as-needed basis, and begins to look into an issue when contacted. Recent projects have included working with the Associate Provost for Research Peggy Newell on grant and contract procedures. The Dean of Students Office primarily works with the counsel to keep Tufts within current legislation. Each year hundreds of changes in state, national, and local law affect policy at the University. "There is room for interpretation in the statues. What we need to know from counsel is what the absolute mandates that private institutions face and we then work inside those guidelines," Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said. The General Counsel is in frequent contact with the Judicial Affairs Office. The two offices work primarily on issues that arise during the student discipline process. Jacobs takes on a strictly advisory role during the school's disciplinary process, serving on no committees or regularly scheduled meetings in the Dean of Students office. Any information disclosed by the University is protected under Attorney-Client Privilege. An attorney representing the University is present at all hearings where one party has hired a lawyer as their advocate, according to the Dean of Judicial Affairs Veronica Carter. The Dean of Students Office can also request the services of an attorney at any hearing, and has done so in the past during "complicated" or "technical" cases. Attorneys can be hired at the student's expense to consult and help prepare an argument. Their role is the same as any other advocate, with active participation at the hearing limited to a closing statement summarizing their side's arguments. According to Jacobs, attorneys typically are not hired but they can be especially during higher profile cases. The Judicial handbook recommends students consider attorneys when "subsequent action in the court system is a possibility." There has been discussion about the providing students with attorneys, but the University has ultimately decided against it, Carter said. Instead, a revised advocate system has been put into place, where a list of potential student and faculty advocates will be provided among request. These are not "trained advocates," Carter said, but people who are familiar with the Student Judicial Process handbook and are willing to assist someone in a hearing. There will be a screening process of the students and faculty before they are placed on the list. At the hearings, the University's attorney, who can be Jacobs or another attorney from a private firm, serves in a completely advisory role. "I can be asked questions during a hearing," Jacobs said, "I advise the University of the Legal Ramifications of any questions that may arise during a hearing." Other attorneys have been hired by the Office of General Counsel to represent the University in the past. While Jacobs is the sole attorney employed by the Office of the General Counsel, she often employs other lawyers on many cases. The number of consultations forces the University to employ other outside attorneys, Jacobs said, especially given that today's law is growing increasingly complex, especially in real estate and patents. Other schools have different arrangements. The University of Houston has seven attorneys on staff, including ones who handles intellectual property and real estate law exclusively. Harvard's general council is also one of the five vice presidents of the University. Jacobs sees her ability to hire different firms as an asset of the office. Being able to have specialists in many different fields at the same time gives the University flexibility and the ability to deal with any problems that may arise. "I think this is a very good model for us, I've never asked a question and not received an answer either from Counsel Jacobs or someone she employs," Reitman said. "Even those institutions that have multiple attorneys on staff the range of expertise does not cover everything that arises." Despite the accessibility of the General Counsel, the University officials have solved many matters internally. An example of an issue for which the office has not been contacted is File Sharing and recent banning of students off the network for sharing copyrighted materials. The University could potentially be held liable since the material was downloaded off Tufts' servers.
(11/14/02 12:00am)
In separate announcements last week, Yale and Stanford said they would switch from binding Early Decision polities to non-binding Early Action policies. The decisions surprised the academic world and have renewed the long-standing debate over early admission programs. "Early decision programs help colleges more than applicants," Yale University President Richard Levin said in a press release. "It is our hope to take pressure off students in the early cycle and restore a measure of reasoned choice to college admissions. Our new early action program will allow students who are very confident of their preference to receive early word from Yale while still allowing ample time for further investigation and the thoughtful weighing of options." Stanford's new policy intends to relieve pressure from high school students, who increasingly feel they must choose their first-choice school during their junior year. Both schools have adopted programs that allow students to only apply to one school early, but allow applicants to make their final choice in May after they may have been admitted to other schools through the regular admissions cycle. However, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) ruled that students could apply to more than one Early Action program over two years ago. This past summer, the NACAC said that students could apply to an Early Decision program and an Early Action programs at the same time. While Yale and Stanford ask their applicants to only apply to their Early Action programs, Princeton and Brown say their Early Decision applicants cannot apply to any other Early Action programs.Stanford came to its decision after students, parents and guidance counselors complained about the pressures "students were experiencing in making the commitment to enroll in a school by the beginning of their senior year," Stanford admissions officer Marcella Mu?±iz said. They wanted to keep a way for students to express their interest in Stanford, while decreasing the pressure of making their final college choice in the fall of their junior year.But Mu?±iz doesn't think that the switch from Early Decision to Early Action is a national trend. "Each school will have to consider its applicant pool and the institution that they are serving to consider whether or not [a switch] is such a choice is good for them," she said. "There is a lot of discussion about Early Decision and early admission programs in general and each school is going to have to make their own decision on their admissions program." Yale and Stanford now join Harvard, MIT, Georgetown, the University of Chicago and Notre Dame in offering an Early Action programs. Harvard President Lawrence Summers applauded Yale and Stanford's decisions. He called the decision "good news for college-bound seniors and makes the college process less pressured, more open and fairer for students." In a Monday editorial, TheNew York Times praised Yale and Stanford's switch, but called for an end to early admissions altogether. While Early Action relieves the pressure of choosing one school, the editorial said, students still worry about college admission early in their senior year, or earlier. If students learn of their admission early in the year, they often treat the rest of their senior year as a "joke." "The nation's secondary schools need to devise programs to make the last semester [of high school] meaningful. But in the long run, it might be healthier for everyone if there were no early applications at all," the editorial said. Tufts uses binding Early Decision, in two separate rounds, to let students know of their admission or rejection before the usual April date. Early Decision is intended to reward high-achieving students with admission to their first-choice college early in the year. Universities also know they are admitting a student who is guaranteed to matriculate. Despite Yale and Stanford's announcements, Dean of Admissions David Cuttino doesn't see Tufts ending its Early Decision program. "[Early Decision] has been a part of the University for... 30 or 40 years at least," he said. Under Early Decision's second round, students apply by the Regular Decision January due date, but indicate that Tufts is their first choice. They receive their decisions before the regular April date, and are required to attend Tufts if they are accepted. Ann Wright, Vice-President of Enrollment Services at Rice University, said Early Decision's popularity picked up after the U.S. News & World Report began releasing its College Rankings. Before then, Early Decision was used by a small minority of students who were absolutely sure of their first choice school. Since the U.S. News rankings account for schools' yields _ the number of students admitted who actually attend _ colleges have stressed the advantages of Early Decision, she said. "I think it's gotten too big," Wright said. She said Princeton's adoption of an Early Decision program encouraged the rest of the Ivies to follow, which brought more publicity to Early Decision. She said early programs encourage students to choose their first-choice school in their junior year _ when their choices may change dramatically from week to week. Tufts currently admits about 40 percent of incoming students through Early Decision. As the average class size is 1,200, this leaves about 720 spots open for over 12,000 regular decision applicants. Cuttino said that Tufts uses Early Decision as an "option for those students who have clearly done their research and have gotten to the point to say, 'This is where I want to be.'" Many students use Early Decision as an admissions strategy, thinking it improves their chances of getting admitted to their first-choice school "We worry about students who tell us they're applying Early Decision but they don't know where yet," Cuttino said. He said he was concerned "about students who are doing it for the wrong reasons _ regular decision is where they should be; that's where the majority of the decisions are made." Even though 40 percent of a class is admitted early, only 15 percent of the University's offers of admission are made early. More students are offered admission in the spring because they are not guaranteed to attend, as in early decision. Cuttino said that on average, students choose between four schools. Admissions must accept enough students to yield the target class size in the fall. He said that while Tufts has received a larger number of early applications in recent years, the admissions department is "still focusing on [making] a good match." He pointed out that every school has their own motives for offering Early Decision, Early Action, or no early program at all. Some are deterred from applying Early Decision, because they cannot compare financial aid packages. Those who cannot afford the price of a college education without help fear that if they apply Early Decision, they will be stuck with a financial aid package that does not match their needs. Most schools, however, will allow students out of the Early Decision contract if the financial aid package does not meet their needs, Cuttino said. Rice offers two early admission options _ the traditional Early Decision and Interim Decision, which works like Early Action. Wright said Rice chose this option because a large number of their Early Decision applicants come from within Texas, but the non-binding Interim Decision program encourages students from other areas of the country to apply and increases the geographic diversity of the admitted class. Wright said that the different options allowed "work to be spread out pretty evenly," for the admissions officers. Rice admits about 20 percent of its class under Early Decision, and the rest is "pretty evenly split" between Interim and Regular Decision. Countering the recent trend towards more flexible early admissions programs, Brown University switched from Early Action to Early Decision last year. According to Brown's website, early applications doubled after the NACAC allowed students to apply to more than one Early Action program. "No longer was Early Action at Brown a policy that matched the right student with the right college; the revised Early Action policy became an early testing of the waters." While the resources of Brown's admissions department remained the same, the switch to Early Decision allowed them to cut down on the workload. Early applications dropped from 5,521 under Early Action to 1,919 in Early Decision's first year.
(11/12/02 12:00am)
The Tufts Personalized Performance Program, offered this semester for the first time to students, alumni, faculty, and staff, had attracted over 60 participants as of last week, with no official advertising. The program intends to give participants a well-rounded and individualized perspective on their health and fitness. Sponsored by the Department of Athletics, the School of Nutrition, the Community Health Department, Health Services, the Counseling Center, and the Office of Residential Life and Learning, the program is a "first-of-its-kind," Assistant Director of Public Relations Siobhan Houton said in a press release. For participating students, the Personalized Performance Program _ available to approximately 100 clients on a first-come, first-served basis _ focuses on improving or preventing some of the lifestyle patterns that students develop during the college years. It also features a nutrition research component. Trainers develop an individualized health and fitness program that utilizes the facilities and resources of the University. Programs may include performance training for athletes, personal training or group exercise classes such as aerobics, and spinning and yoga sessions. The program was created through the efforts of Athletic Director Bill Gehling, Assistant Athletic Director Branwen Smith-King, and Mike Pimentel, Tufts' Director of the Lunder Fitness Center and a lecturer in physical education. The program was proposed to the Board of Athletic Overseers and President Larry Bacow, and was implemented this fall. The main purpose of the program is "to enhance the experience of being a member of the Tufts community by offering a customized and integrated program, within the University, to assist with achieving your personal best," Pimentel said. The first five sessions are free of charge to students, but faculty, staff, and alumni must pay $20 per session. All participants must pay $25 per session after the fifth session. The first session entails an interview and a consultation with a personal trainer to share pertinent information, such as exercise history, goal setting, and a medical and lifestyle questionnaire. The following sessions include assessment tests in the areas of posture, flexibility, strength, and endurance and the design of a customized four to six week fitness program. Participants also have a workout with a trainer to learn proper technique and progressions. After the final session, clients are asked to provide feedback on the program by filling out a confidential questionnaire. "The program is not designed to be a one dimensional program offering only personal training," Pimentel said. "It will benefit the Tufts community by integrating the various aspects and services the University has to offer, such as Nutrition, Health Services, Physical Education, mini courses, and workshops." The program currently consists of a team of five student trainers and two coaches. Clients are identified and trained according to their individual performance profiles, based on fitness (strength, flexibility, endurance and speed), competition, and performance (for athletes at the varsity, club and intramural levels). Workshops on nutrition deal with the area of "wellness," as do activities in kayaking, marathon training, stress management, meditation, smoking cessation, and financial planning. The integration of various University departments will enhance the experience of its participants and make the program unique. The program represents the Physical Education/Athletics Department's continual attempt to "meet the needs of the Tufts community," Pimentel said. "The requests for a broader scope of course offerings and educational services have been on the rise. This program will help to meet individual needs while cooperating and integrating with many of the other services on campus."
(11/12/02 12:00am)
Seldom is the cancellation of class by a professor met with crestfallen disappointment on the faces of adoring students, but when professor Joseph Hurka, who prefers the more familiar "Joe," announced that there would be no class last Thursday, the students in his two evening Creative Writing classes demanded, "Why not?" His answer? Hurka was the featured author at the most recent Friends of Tufts Libraries Authors Talk that Thursday night. The Authors Talk welcomed Medford and Somerville residents, University students, and personal friends to Hurka's reading from Fields of Light: A Son Remembers His Heroic Father, the novel that earned Hurka the 19th annual Pushcart Editor's Book Award. "It's important for you to write about your parents and where you came from so that you can learn about yourself," Hurka said. Josef Hurka's skiing accident at Killington provided his son with an opportunity to sit down with his immobile father, listen his to his story, and put it on paper. "[The accident] messed up dad's leg and broke all his ribs _ I had had him right where I wanted him," Hurka chuckled. "I attended a previous reading before the book was supposed to come out, and because of the quality of that reading and at the recommendation of one of his students, I bought the book," junior Rebecca Anderson said. "It's really a wonderful narrative about a father and a son; it almost makes me jealous of [their] wonderful relationship." Other students made up for lost class time by attending the reading. "Joe has been a wonderful mentor to me, and I wanted to come support him today," senior Rachel McPherson said. Not surprisingly, the unplanned novel, based on his father, brings out passion in Hurka. "It's a bit of an emotional thing for me, these readings, as they are for listeners who are Jewish," Hurka said. "I was in Prague and Copenhagen and I was going to write [a travel article] for National Geographic, but things got too personal and I wrote a personal story about my aunt Mira and my father, who was in the Czech resistance at the time of the Holocaust." An orange-brown mandolin lay propped on a chair beside the podium from which Hurka read. "When I was a boy, [the mandolin] sat on the mantle in my parent's house in Vermont," Hurka told the audience. In the excerpt of the novel that Hurka read aloud, Nazi soldiers were sent to inspect the Hurka home in Czechoslovakia. The Nazis strummed the mandolin's strings in front of the author's terrified grandmother as her husband lay ill in bed in the bedroom above them. "In Vermont, my father played an old bohemian tune over and over as often as I wished," Hurka read. The author hopes that the novel, which is being promoted before its release in paperback, will eventually be translated into Czech, although this "might be dangerous for the communities involved." Josef Hurka senior, at one time a professional alpine skier, joined the Czech resistance against the Communists. He smuggled endangered citizens out of the country as a young man, eventually resettling in the US and becoming a spy for the Allies. "I came to the US and went back and forth to Europe," Josef Hurka said. "I was working with US intelligence on secret missions." The elder Hurka sat beside his wife in the front row of the audience throughout his son's presentation. "It brings some memories certainly and puts it into the past, but there is also a lot that I couldn't tell him (for security reasons)," Josef Hurka said. "[Helping my son to write the novel] was good and at the same time I would rather forget it; it's like looking at your mother-in-law going over a cliff in your brand new Cadillac." "The events [Hurka] read about were so horrendous, completely foreign to most of our tranquil college lives," freshman creative writing student Laura Silver said. "His writing made the reading incredibly powerful _ you could see its effect on him and his father." Prospective novelists used the Author Talk as an opportunity to garner advice from a successful writer. "Writing has to become a way of life; you have to be objective and not let your personal life get in the way," Hurka counseled the audience in response to a question from senior creative writing student Rah-nee Kelly. Story writing is most difficult when the writer attempts to discuss his own life objectively, according to Hurka. "[Writing is most challenging] when I'm not happy about something I've done as a human being and I try to write about it," Hurka said. Hurka's mentor, the celebrated Andre Dubus, nominated Fields of Light for the Pushcart Editor's Book Award. Hurka's latest project is a novel about an older man living in Cambridge, "a former translator who was also in the resistance, who notices that there's a stalker following a girl in the neighborhood." Former Tufts student Anita Shreve, author of The Pilot's Wife, will present her latest novel at the next Friends of Tufts Libraries Talk, according to Tufts Library Director Joanna Michalak.
(10/08/02 12:00am)
The Tufts Transgender, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Collective (TTLGBC) celebrated National Coming Out Day yesterday with a festive and rainbow-themed rally on the Campus Center Patio, followed by a reception at Hillel. The rally featured various speakers who spoke in support of promoting Tufts as a tolerant and non-divisive campus. Many also spoke of their own personal experiences with coming out. One purpose of the event is to have a visible demonstration of the resources available to those who are uncomfortable or scared about the idea of coming out, according to TTLGBC co-coordinators Stacy Ulrich and Jonah Keough, who organized the event. Among the speakers were Chemistry Professor Chris Morse, who explained that as an undergraduate student, he was "just a big frat boy." Once he got attended graduate school at MIT Morse said he went through a confused two-year phase in which he questioned his sexuality. It was then that he realized that he was homosexual. "You can see me wearing my rainbow necklace," Morse said, pointing to his neckline. "I started wearing this at MIT." University President Larry Bacow spoke about the importance of creating a supportive environment for those questioning their sexuality at Tufts. "We are not perfect, but we strive to be better, and that is what today is all about," he said. The audience numbered about 50 people, including a number of professors and University officials. Attendees were receptive, and they laughed at and applauded the speakers' frequent jokes. English Professor Jonathan Strong addressed the supposed divisiveness of Tufts' cultural groups, calling this phenomenon "a big lie around campus." The only thing splintering the Tufts community, Strong said, is intolerance. "Who is dividing who? Who is doing the splintering?" Strong asked the audience. The event delved into the topic of religion and homosexuality though speeches by the various University religious personnel. University Chaplain Reverend David O'Leary, a Catholic priest, spoke about his religion's historic disapproval of homosexuality. He read passages from recent Catholic writings that support the homosexual members of the church. "Lesbian, gay, [and] transsexual orientation is not wrong and it is not evil," O'Leary said. "Let us make Tufts University a family and a community where dignity, tolerance and respect are not just words, but a loved reality." Rabbi Jeffrey Summit told the audience that God is about bringing people together, not pushing them apart. Referring to the Book of Genesis, he said all people _ not just some _ were created in God's image. "Be who you are," Summit said. "God made people in wonderful different ways. Celebrate that." Other speakers invoked personal and unconventional choices that they have made. "Courage is the power to let go of the familiar," Jodie Nealley, the Director of Student Activities, said. Nealley discussed the ways in which she has personally let go of the familiar, including holding a marriage ceremony with her partner, using in vitro fertilization to conceive a son, and then legally adopting her son with her partner. Nealley said that she feels privileged to live in a state where all of those things are possible. Michelle Bowdler, director of Health Services, also spoke of her experience with her own partner and son. She had difficulties in coming out, she said, and sometimes she still is not sure how to handle certain situations. At her son's "Back to School Night," she and her partner left a note for their son but were unsure whether to sign, "Love, your moms." Nonetheless, "I couldn't be prouder of who I am and of my family," Bowdler said. Members of the cultural centers and the counseling center also spoke in support of a united community at Tufts. Ulrich jokingly described her coming out experience during her freshman year. She rarely got dressed up and blow-dried her hair, she said, but she made exceptions on Coming Out Day and sorority rush. The latter "didn't go as planned," Ulrich said. Addressing members of the audience who were nervous or frightened, Ulrich said, "If anyone needs a hug, come on up here and I'll give you one." After the speakers were finished, the microphone was opened up to the audience. Sophomore Leah Knobler seized the opportunity and told the assembled crowd just how much the TTGLBC support on Coming Out Day had helped her to come out. "Last year on Coming Out Day, I made up any excuse I could to go to the campus center just so I could listen to the speakers," Knobler said. "I asked all my friends if they wanted to go to Jumbo Express.... Last year at this time, I was a completely different person."
(10/03/02 12:00am)
Morgan Mead has temporarily replaced Judith Brown as the director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center (LGBT) after the former director moved to Brown University over the summer. Mead will serve as the interim director of the Center for the next six months, until a search committee makes an offer to a permanent director.Mead is one of the candidates for the permanent post. "I'd be delighted to have the job," he said. "I've really enjoyed this month, and I've been impressed with the students and the atmosphere." The students have been equally impressed with him. "Morgan is doing a great job so far," said David Rosen, a member of the Tufts Transgender, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Collective (TTLGBC). "He has a lot of innovative ideas and wants to bring people into the Center who wouldn't otherwise come. It's a pleasure working with him." Mead left his position of fifteen years as dean of students and English teacher at Buckingham, Brown and Nichols (BBN) School to come to Tufts. While at BBN, he founded the school's Gay-Straight Alliance. Under his stewardship, Mead wants to make the Center more accessible. "The challenge is for students of all sorts to feel comfortable coming in," he said. "If you're questioning, or not ready to talk, or heterosexual, it might not occur to you to come in [to the Center] or you might feel apprehensive," he said. His interest in working with college students, contacts with Tufts faculty members and the fact that he knows Brown led Mead to Tufts. He also admitted that the directorship position held some personal appeal. "In this job, I advocate for students. In my last job, I represented the institution," he said. Mead was also impressed with what he considered the University's commitment to supporting the LGBT community. "The fact that Tufts cares enough about students' emotional and psychological health to invest in resources [for them] speaks to me," he said. The LGBT Center serves a dual purpose at Tufts. It produces programs for the benefit and education of the entire Tufts community. It is also a resource for the LGBT population by helping groups such as TTLGBC and offering a book and video library for student use. The Center also sponsors men's and women's groups, a graduate student group, a faculty and staff group, and confidential peer counseling. "These programs are important," Mead said. "In the past, people who struggled with being different in a very significant way _ i.e. sexual orientation _ did it alone and without resources." Mead feels that Tufts has a tolerant climate. "My sense from being introduced to people as the LGBT Center director is that... [Tufts] is very accepting." He said that many LGBT students "express enthusiasm about the atmosphere" and that "as campuses go, this seems to be a supportive one." However, Mead emphasized that while "Tufts is not a homophobic place, this is a homophobic world." Every year, there are incidents of graffiti and intolerance, and many LGBT students and faculty remain closeted. "One would hope that this would be an ideal atmosphere where people have a better shot at being themselves," he said.
(09/26/02 12:00am)
In response to a number of debates concerning freedom of speech, the Committee on Student Life (CSL) suggested last spring that a student group form to monitor all the campus publications, and this Friday, CSL will meet again to discuss the issue further. When it made the recommendation, CSL was unaware that a Media Advisory Board (MAB), which incorporates all University-funded student publications, already existed. Senior Sam Dangremond, who heads up MAB, said the group should not have the power to penalize other student publications and that it will not take on this role under his leadership. However, if censorship becomes a concern, he hopes the MAB will unite as a coalition for First Amendment rights. "Once you censor one publication, you can censor them all," said Dangremond, the former editor-in-chief of The Primary Source, a publication which has faced censorship issues in the past. "Everyone's education suffers without freedom of the press." He feels student publications should be guaranteed freedom of speech as long as they do not break copyright laws, commit libel or incite imminent lawlessness. At the time of the decision, CSL said the "Tufts community can only flourish if people adhere to certain basic principles of conduct: decency, tolerance, and mutual respect." It then "challenged the editorial boards of all campus publications to meet the highest standards of fair and responsible journalism" and suggested "a media committee be established to ensure that all campus publications have written editorial policies that are consistent with these standards." It had intended to include the editor-in-chiefs of each publication on the committee. The student group would thus set the standard for journalism ethics at Tufts. Harry Bernheim, a professor and the co-chair of the CSL, said the group should decide, for instance, whether or not publications should be allowed to print anonymous letters. "Everyone should be held accountable for what they've written," Bernheim said. Dangremond explained that the MAB currently has two main roles: to coordinate the use of the MAB office and equipment which publications share and to act as a resource where publications can turn to for help with technological skills. This group, however, does not have the responsibility of overseeing or penalizing publications. Although the MAB used to hear complaints against publications, this practice ended four years ago. Regardless, members feel that MAB has already been effective in uniting the different publications. "MAB has made all the publications more aware of one another and more sensitive to each other's concerns, and has provided a chance for like-minded students to share their vision of what a publication should or shouldn't be like," said Justin Race, the editor-in-chief of the Observer. Dangremond said MAB does not have the infrastructure necessary to process complaints against student publications. The CSL, which currently hears these complaints, is a group with professors as members and a university counsel to advise it; therefore, CSL is equipped to handle due process, Dangremond said. The MAB, on the other hand, consists of only students. However, Bernheim feels a media group could be effective even without the power to penalize. "You can't stop them from printing but you can subject them to ridicule [if they violate the standards]," Bernheim said. In any case, if any standards for journalism were to be laid out, members of the MAB say they would like to be involved. "If they are going to appoint an organization to do that, I think MAB is the right organization, because it's made up of your peers," Genna Sankin, an editor of Outbreath, the literary magazine. "The members of the MAB lab have more of a direct interest in any type of censorship of student publications because any type of censorship will affect them." Problems arose last year when ThePrimary Source made two references in its humor section to student Iris Halpern, the leader of the Student Labor Action Movement (SLAM). Halpern filed a sexual harassment complaint against the Source, which appeared before the CSL before the charges were unanimously dropped. However, in its December issue, the Source printed an anonymous letter to the editor, in which the writer claimed that Halpern had molested her. Halpern then filed 13 complaints _ including the charge that the publication had committed libel and retaliation for filing the original sexual harassment _ against each Source editor. The CSL heard all of the subsequent cases and the Source was acquitted of all charges
(09/25/02 12:00am)
It has been reported in the past few years that an estimated 37 percent of Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 suffer from mental illness, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Whether suffering from depression, anxiety or learning disabilities, the additional stress of classes, papers, extra-curriculars and social life can be difficult for any college student to handle. Two programs are stepping up as Tufts' examples to make the campus a more supportive environment for students. Both Ears for Peers and the Student Sexual Assault Response Assistance (SSARA) are designed to provide outreach to students in emotional distress. While Ears for Peers usage has increased in recent weeks, SSARA has not yet evolved into a campus presence. SSARA is designed to focus on a variety of issues. These range from culturally sensitive information sessions about sexual violence within different ethnic groups to the topic of women-to-women violence. Calls to the hotline are answered by students who have received formal training, and counselors are always accessible to help out. So far, phone calls to SSARA have been few and far between, which has left some counselors feeling frustrated. "The most frustrating thing is that despite advertising a lot of people don't know about us since it's just started," counselor and senior Leah Reveley said. Since SSARA is in its beginning stages it's going to take time for people to feel more aware and comfortable with using the service, Women's Center Director Peggy Barrett said. Over time SSARA will help to increase student awareness on issues of sexual assault, harassment and abuse, she said. Ears for Peers' main focus is to give students a place where someone will listen to their concerns, based on understanding the caller's particular situation. "We are really into empathy, before we even tell them what to do we try to get them to talk about it," according to one source who wished to remain anonymous. Counselors with Ears for Peers feel that anonymity is a way to make students more comfortable with using the service. Ears for Peers has experienced a rise in the number of calls per night recently, largely due to efforts by the student volunteers to advertise more across campus. It has approached advanced psychology and child development classes, Peer Academic Leaders, and has tried chalking on campus to boost membership and increase awareness of the service. Ears for Peers does not compile numbers in terms of how many people use the service from year to year. Rather, the "Ears" focus on providing people with an emotional outlet for any problems they are going through. According to one counselor, "Personally, I feel that you don't want to wake up a roommate, [talking to an Ear] is someone on your level," who will not make any judgements. A counselor from the Counseling Center _ where the volunteers receive their training with the help of advisor Linda Escoll _ is also on call in case an "Ear" is called with a situation which is too much for them to handle alone. Unlike SSARA, Ears for Peers counselors do not receive professional training that would allow them to deal with certain circumstances. SSARA is a confidential service designed to coordinate on and off-campus resources for students who have been victimized. The US Justice Department released statistics last year revealing that approximately three percent of women enrolled in colleges are raped every year. For every 1,000 women on campus approximately 35 have been involved in incidents of rape, the report said. Forcible sex offenses reported to TUPD on the Tufts campus in 2001 increased to four from three the year before. In the past few years, 47 colleges and universities received grants from the Department of Justice Violence Against Women's office that enabled them to put into place programs that allow different resources to coordinate their activities in order to provide services to victims. SSARA not only provides outreach to victims, but educates students by seeking to raise awareness on campus about sexual assault. For instance, this year freshman students learned about SSARA during Freshman Orientation's "Why No, Means No" and the counselors have spoken to residence halls in efforts to reach the student body at large. Administrators from Health Services, the Counseling Center, and the Women's Center serve as supervisors and backups for eight student counselors who rotate on call. SSARA provides victims with many resources, including legal advocates and off-campus health services. Other colleges and universities in the have developed different kinds of programs that deal with sexual violence as well. UMass Amherst has established an on campus rape crisis center that is looking to reduce violence against women. Ears for Peers which has been on campus since 1988, has provided a student run hotline that allows students to express any type of problem ranging from boyfriend/girlfriend conflicts to eating disorders. Ears for Peers, like SSARA, is part of a wider network of services on campus, mainly the Counseling Center, Health Services, Team Q _ part of the LGTB center, and the Women's Center as well. SSARA is a prime example of a growing awareness of the need to provide rapid and effective support to both women and men who have been sexually abused or assaulted, Barrett said. "It shows that we as a community are taking issues of sexual assault seriously and are going to provide quality care for people," she said. "It shows that professional services are there for support."
(09/19/02 12:00am)
Sunday morning, 3 a.m.: The Hill is filled with sounds of drunken laughter, as students return home after a long night of partying. But what about your friend who has had a few too many drinks and has been vomiting for the last hour? You think he may need medical attention, but the fear of punishment for him, or both of you may influence your decision to call for help. These are the moments when the threat of academic probation forces students to choose whether to call the Tufts Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) for emergency care or whether to tough it out and pray for the best. When a student calls for assistance, a TEMS officer is dispatched along with a representative of the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD), who ensures the scene is safe and investigates any criminal activity. If the student is found to have been illegally consuming alcohol, a variety of actions can be prescribed, most commonly Probation Level I. A student on Probation I is ineligible to join a fraternity, to be a Residential Assistant, or to hold certain leadership positions. Parents are not notified when the University places their child on Level I, and it does not appear on a student's permanent record. Probation Level I, which lasts for one year, also means any additional offenses will lead to Probation Level II. Director of the Tufts Alcohol and Health Education Center Armand Mickune-Santos questions the role of any disciplinary action in the medical assistance process. His personal recommendation is educating and counseling for any student convicted of underage drinking. "I think that what hinders the alcohol policy is the attachment of Probation I," Mickune-Santos said. "If you and your friend call TEMS and know that you can get in trouble, he might say 'don't call.' This is a problem." Students often are discouraged from using what otherwise is a beneficial Tufts program, because they are unsure of disciplinary consequences. "People don't want to call. They think they're going to get in trouble," sophomore John Paul Fontelo said. Tufts is not looking to drop the disciplinary aspect of the policy anytime soon though, according to Dean of Students Veronica Carter. "We have to enforce the alcohol policy, we have to enforce the Massachusetts state law...We can't ignore that," she said. Prior to the 2000-2001 academic year, students had to pay a $50 fine if they were caught engaging in underage drinking. In 2000-2001 the policy was changed to include Probation I instead of a fine. At the time of the policy change, TEMS said the primary motive behind adding the disciplinary action was to make sure that "people [were not] deterred from calling for medical help." The thinking was that students did not call TEMS because they did not want to pay a fine. Carter said the changes were made because both TEMS and a task force on student alcohol use were adamant that the fine needed to be dropped. The task force "felt that they wold rather do anything than have the fine," she said. But the Executive Director of TEMS Eric Staler noted that there has not been an appreciable difference in call volume since the fine was dropped and the disciplinary action was added. Alcohol related incidents still account for approximately five to ten percent of the yearly call volume, or between 50 and 60 cases per year. Reiterating that she feels the Tufts' system tries to be more educational than disciplinary, Carter says there should be no rush to remove Probation I from the policy. There have been no noticeable increases in calls since the $50 fine was removed and the change was made at the bequest of students. Probation I is only "a warning that you have broken the standards of the community," Carter said. In addition to the consequences of a Probation Level I, students are required to visit the Alcohol and Health Education Center for an evaluation session. After the meeting, Mickune-Santos can recommend and require weekly or monthly visitations from the students. The Dean of Students Office can also require students to attend these sessions after multiple offenses. All of these factors play into students' decision on whether or not to call for help. But students are warned not to hesitate. "We want the student to have total confidence in the medical community on campus. If there's a situation, pick up the phone and call TEMS," Mickune-Santos said. Several students questioned if they could feel completely comfortable calling TEMS for a friend if they knew punishment was involved. Freshman Caroline Kennedy said, "I would definitely hesitate to call TEMS for someone else. I just don't want to wind up on Probation I." When asked to come up with an alternative way of dealing with Tufts alcohol problems, though, many students were at a loss. "I think the current system is pretty good," sophomore Carlos Cueva-Alegria said. "You would have to be pretty dumb not to call; better to get Probation I than to die." The introduction of a new alcohol awareness course on its use and consequences is a step towards a more educational policy. The course, which will be offered online, includes links to other websites and resources available to students. Administration officials, who plan to make all first year students complete the course, are excited about the program. "I'm very happy about the online course because I think it's an educational course," Carter said. "Education is the most important thing we can do for an alcohol policy." Mickune-Santos explained the role of the new course, "We didn't want to offer another seminar during orientation, or make students go to a classroom," he said. "This will be available for people to complete at their convenience." Santos estimates the courses will take three hours "at most" to complete. New additions to alcohol related programs across campuses in the US have been brought on by increasing problems with underage drinking across the nation. In 1998, MIT changed its procedure to completely remove any disciplinary action from their policy after a student died of alcohol poisoning at a fraternity party. Under the "immunity" provision, students who have not damaged property or assaulted anyone would not be issued citations when seeking medical treatment _ even if they were underage. Despite disciplinary action at Tufts, Fontelo, like many students at the University, realizes that the benefits of a TEMS call far outweigh the possible consequences. "You have to do what you have to do. I think in an emergency it's just more important to call and make sure you are fine," he said
(09/18/02 12:00am)
The future of early decision admissions programs was uncertain for about a month this summer after admissions officials at Harvard University suggested that the school would allow students it admitted to renege on binding admissions decisions from other schools. The policy was first reported in The Harvard Crimson on June 6 and jeopardized a longstanding gentlemen's agreement between colleges that they will respect each other's binding early decision programs. The issue received attention in several national newspapers because it threatened to collapse the entire early decision system. But six weeks later, Harvard's Director of Admissions, Marilyn McGrath Lewis clarified her office's policy to The Crimson and said that it would not pursue such a policy. McGrath Lewis explained this week that the school did not want to enroll students who had breached contracts with other schools. "We will rescind our offer of admission," she said. We don't like students who misrepresent themselves." Suggestions that Harvard might change its policy came after the National Association for College Admissions Coucn Harvard's decision came just as a new policy went into affect which prohibited colleges with non-binding early decision programs from restricting applicants the admissions office announced that they would accept early action applications from students who were applying binding-early decisions elsewhere. Many interpreted the decision as an attack on early decision, a policy that allows high school seniors to send in their applications earlier than the regular deadline and find out if they have been accepted in December instead of in March. In general, students may only apply to one school under early decision, which they are required to attend if they are admitted. Harvard and Georgetown's "Early action" programs are non-binding, but until this year, schools could prohibit students from applying early to other schools, whether through early action or early decision programs. During its annual conference in San Antonio last September, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) made minor changes to its policy definitions of "early action" and "early decision" programs. Over the past year, however, these changes have stirred up a flurry of debate in the higher education community about commitment, character, and privacy. In its most recent guidelines, NACAC made changes that affected schools with early action programs only Harvard and Georgetown Universities. The schools had previously requested that students applying to their early action programs not apply to another early program. But now, according to the NACAC website, "institutions utilizing an early action plan may not place restrictions upon the number or type of other applications filed by the student." The goal of this change is to give students more than one early admission option. NACAC is a national membership organization for guidance counselors and college admissions officers. It creates guidelines for all aspects of the college admissions process, including early action and early decision. Early admissions programs assume that applicants are both extremely well qualified and that the school they apply early to is their first choice. By allowing students to apply to more than one institution early, admissions offices can no longer be so sure of students' enthusiasm about their school. A student they admit under early action may be committed to another institution by early decision. As Harvard's Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis made quite clear, "there has been no change in Harvard's early action policy...Anybody who has made a binding commitment must honor that commitment." She added that Harvard admissions, "will not ask Tufts or Yale or anyone else to give us a list of students admitted early. In other words, we are not going to check. We believe this is illegal, and more importantly, wrong."At present, no policy is in place to stop a student from applying early decision or early action to more than one school. If a student was accepted early decision to Tufts and early action to Harvard, for example, they could renege on the binding commitment to Tufts. In such a situation, though, Harvard's Lewis said, "We will rescind our offer of admission. We don't like students who misrepresent themselves."Early admission programs were originally intended to ease the application tensions of highly qualified students who knew exactly where they wanted to attend college. In the past few years, selective schools have seen a surge in early applicants. Close to 40 percent of Tufts' class has been admitted by early decision in the past few years. Students now use early decision as a tool to get into a highly competitive school, since early admission rates are often higher than those of regular decision.Ultimately, the responsibility of choosing the "right school" and upholding the early decision contract falls to the students. But with policy changes such as this one and the ever-increasing competition to get into a highly selective institution, it may be difficult for some students to give up an admissions advantage, however unethical it may be
(09/11/02 12:00am)
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy hosted a panel discussion on Monday titled "The New American Profile: Eye on the 'Other,'" _ one in a line of events held this week to commemorate Sept. 11. The United Way of Massachusetts and the Fletcher School co-sponsored the interactive panel. Panelists addressed issues of terrorism, Islam, public perception of religion and the racial and religious discrimination inflamed by Sept. 11. Christopher Lydon, "Ten O'clock News" anchor on Channel 2, and journalist for the New York Times and Boston Globe, served as panel moderator. Panelists personalized the discussion by recounting how Sept. 11 affected their own lives. Quamar-ul Huda, assistant professor of Islamic Studies and Comparative Theology at Boston College, is of Pakistani origin, and said his association with Islam was a source of guilt after the attacks. Huda said he is tired of having to deal with racial stereotypes. "I'm more frustrated, upset, unsettled, and unsure than ever, but also optimistic, since I have no other alternative," he said. Leila Fawaz, Director of the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies at Tufts, said she reacted to Sept. 11 by attempting to further blend into the US mainstream. She immediately changed her physical appearance, abandoning her natural brunette color for blond hair. She also began to wear a cross around her neck and was angered when her husband spoke Arabic to her in public. But Fawaz told the audience "It's okay to have different views, as long as everyone respects each other." Lydon raised the issue of the sadness many felt in the wake of such a shattering event. Political humorist and panelist Jimmy Tingle discussed his own feelings of despondency following Sept. 11. Tingle said he was uncomfortable using humor again until a flight attendant told him how much his work cheered her up. Panelist Usmaan Ahmad, a Kashmiri-American, recounted an incident following the attacks in which he was judged as a threat simply because of his appearance. Although they knew nothing of his name or origin, security guards forced him off of a plane simply because they felt he looked like a potential danger. Ahmad noted that many minority grocery market owners and foreign taxi drivers posted the American flag on their windows immediately following Sept. 11. They felt like they had to have the flag up, he said. Former Suffolk County District Attorney Ralph Martin II also served as a panelist. Although he expressed satisfaction with the current climate of the US, he noted that "the world sees the US as inconsistent and hypocritical." Fawaz concluded that the consistency of policy is important. She added: "The US is a great country and we have to make sure that it stays great." Fletcher student Malini Goel said respect for everyone's opinions was the panel's most important element. "This panel shows what Fletcher stands for: open dialogue, listening to each other's ideas, and learning," Goel said. Junior Lauren Friedman, a native New Yorker, said she was pleased that the panel was held "to commemorate the terrible event that affected [NY] city and the whole nation." The panel was one of many events that the United Way has helped arrange and fund. The organization's one million dollar fund provided counseling, legal assistance, and help for those who lost their jobs due to the economic downturn following September's events
(04/01/02 12:00am)
The worst part about graduation is not the fact you are becoming an adult, but the fact that you must now pretend you are an adult. Even though you still prefer Cocoa Krispies over caviar, and Britney over Beethoven, the trick is now fooling the rest of the world into believing you are a pensive, responsible, highly educated adult so you can get hired. And if "first impressions count" and "appearance is everything," then you had better be dressing for success. Which means only one thing: you need a suit. Before I ever had to think about getting a real job - back when job-hunting was a choice between camp counseling and babysitting - I couldn't wait for the day when I would wear a suit. With razor sharp lines and precision tailoring, this garment would transform me into an intimidating yet extremely sexy executive-cum-rock star. From nine to five, I would pace back and forth on towering stilettos, winning accounts and closing deals, a pinstriped predator in the urban jungle. At night, the ball-busting jacket would be exchanged for some floaty-deconstructed-Chloe-type top, perfect for an after-work date, or perhaps a movie premiere across the Atlantic. Alas, when you're 21 and about to graduate, life looks a lot less like a magazine spread than it did when you were 15 and scooping ice cream cones. I know this because I went shopping for a suit last weekend. I have a job interview coming up for a PR firm, and I need to look professional, experienced, and above all, not like a 21-year-old college graduate. Finally, the time has arrived when I legitimately need a suit. The day looked promising as I began my expedition: the sun was out, the sky was blue, and there were a minimum of screaming children along Newbury Street. The first stop was Emporio Armani, a logical choice for something corporate, classic, and understatedly elegant. Ascending the stairs to the women's floor, I felt confident this would be a one-stop trip. But as I reached the top of the stairs, instead of seeing rack upon rack of sober-colored separates, I see only white, gauzy, and obscenely sheer sundresses. Resort attire. Cabana-wear. In disbelief, I scan the store. Apparently the recession is worse than I thought and everyone is packing up for Fiji. The dark gray jacket and dress coordinates that had lingered barely weeks ago were now nowhere to be seen and in their place hang millions of sheer pants in ridiculous shades of cream, sand, and ecru. Disenchanted, I try on the only two suits in the store, and I emerge from the dressing room feeling even worse, my reflection in the mirror resembling Cruella de Vil's corporate kid sister. Next store. Deciding to play the numbers game, I head to Saks. With so many designers under one roof, I'm bound to hit pay dirt within the hour. I soon realize I would have hit pay dirt only if my interview was for the circus. These suits have so many tricks to them, I'm surprised they don't come with assembly instructions. The best fitting suit I found had puffed sleeves on the jacket (I mean, honestly...) and the simplest one could only be described as vaguely resembling a tulip. I'm just glad I came alone. The rest of the day was not much better. After hitting every (and I mean every) possible store in the Greater Boston area, the few suits I come across fall into two categories. One: those that transform me into an airline check-in attendant. As in, the person who checks your bags. I can't even pass for a stewardess in these getups. Two: those that age me a good 30-plus years. Box-cut and droopy, they practically scream "post-menopausal," and I get hot flashes just from glancing at them. I look like I'm heading to a costume ball as a latter-day Liz Taylor. Evidently, being a sexy corporate rock star is just too much to ask for. Disenchanted and demoralized, I make my way back home, a little older, a little wiser, and a little less Vogue. There are many things that I dread shopping for: socks, funeral attire, and textbooks being some examples. I can now add suits to the top of that list. My advice for my fellow graduates is to put those magazines away and deal with the situation rationally. Keep your chin up, hold your head high, and persevere, no matter how painful. Though it may seem otherwise, ultimately, as I realized, you are in control of the situation: when life throws you lemons, the smart ones find a really good tailor.
(04/01/02 12:00am)
Peach, poochy, cooter, powderbox, punani, fanniboo, mushmallow. All words used in place of one that many people used to have much difficulty saying out loud: Vagina. For the second year in a row, The Vagina Monologues opens in Cohen Auditorium this Thursday, marking the worldwide celebration of V-Day. The V-Day movement, according to its website, aims to "mount benefit productions of the Vagina Monologues...to raise money and awareness to stop violence against women." To date, Eve Ensler's work has been at the center of the V-Day movement, which Tufts belongs to as part of the College Campaign. V-Day will sponsor nearly 800 benefit events around the world this year, each production donating money to either international or local charities that work to end rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation, and sexual slavery. Director Zoe Hastings, who put together this year's show with sponsorship from the Women's Center, hopes to tackle all sides of the issue of violence against women by targeting three diverse charities. Tufts' performance will donate proceeds to RAWA (Revolutionary Afghan Women's Association), EMERGE, a Boston men batterers counseling center, and Casa Myrna Vasquez, a local domestic violence shelter for women and children. "When I got involved last year I realized what an important movement it was," she said. "[This year] I wanted to give back and give people the same experience I had." Hastings hopes that the show will address problems she feels plague college campuses all over the country. "The Vagina Monologues is a lot about just getting dialogue started, because it needs to be," she said. And that's just what the show does by putting one of the most taboo words in the mouths and minds of all who discuss the show, all who see it performed, and all who read its reviews.The Vagina Monologues is based on 200 interviews that Ensler held with women from every walk of life - professional women, mothers, grandmothers, and children, ranging in age from 6 to 72. They discussed how they felt about being women, about menstruation, sex, birth, rape, and life. The interviews also crossed racial and geographic boundaries. The result of these interviews is a series of monologues presented by a 16-member female cast. Sometimes the scenes include more than one actress, each telling a story that knits a common thread among all the interviewees. Some are a single woman's story, and others are conglomerations of common experiences and emotions. There is no starring cast member or feature player, but rather a group of women. All the women in the cast play equal roles, and each cast member dons a black t-shirt with the slogan "Until the Violence Stops" printed in white across the front. The show tackles the issues of secrecy around vaginas, at one moment likening them to the Bermuda Triangle. But overall it seeks to raise awareness about the female body and the female individual, repeatedly raising your discomfort level until it begins to melt away and a transformation takes place. But before the show even hits the stage, Vulvapalooza kicks off the V-Day activities with a huge "Vaginal Extravaganza," invented last year by junior Erin Dwyer. At the free event, various tables will be set up by anti-violence charities, sex shops and women's organizations, and features vibrator auctions and a plethora of information offered by many important actors in the movement to end violence against women. "You have to see it to believe it," Hastings said. And everyone should go see it and believe it. The show as a whole reaches out to both sexes, regardless of sexual orientation or political slant. Artistic director Alissa Kempler said that the show is not about men-bashing but rather a chance for women to claim the vagina as part of their bodies. "Most women don't even realize they are supposed to enjoy sex, and The Vagina Monologues addresses that," she said.Cast member Catherine Diggins said that the show made her feel empowered. "I felt it was very woman friendly," she said. "None of the guys were snickering or putting any of it down. The men seemed to be very supportive and into it." The Vagina Monologues is not a show simply by feminists for feminists, but rather a chance for everyone to become more aware of the secret and often painful life of the woman, and also the triumphant empowerment of talking about what is never discussed - the vagina. Hastings was reluctant to read the script when she auditioned a year before, but she realized through her experience that "other people need to have that transformation, to talk about things that are not talked about." "It's different than anything you've ever seen," she said. "And I think in some way everyone will relate to it because it's a piece that speaks to just about everyone. It's all levels, very multi-faceted, and it's especially worth $5 considering the money is going to charity." So go see TheVagina Monologues and learn a little something about yourself, the women in your life, what you can do to end violence against women, and, of course, a little something about vaginas.
(04/01/02 12:00am)
The state of relations between drug companies, governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) was at the center of a Friday EPIIC panel entitled Pandemics and Inequities: AIDS, Infectious Diseases and Economics in the Developing World. According to moderator Lauren Katz, the panel was aimed at addressing the "interface" between pharmaceutical companies that produce treatments and vaccines, and governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work to prevent and treat pandemics in developing countries. Harvard Medical School's Paul Farmer, who topped the list of four panelists, received the Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award for his work in infectious and parasitic disease prevention and treatment. Calling Farmer's work a "live account of what can be done in seemingly overwhelming odds," colloquium member junior Gina Jibrin, who presented Farmer with the award, lauded his work in raising awareness on global public health emergencies. Farmer pointed to the estimated 40 million cases of HIV worldwide - more than 95 percent of which occur in developing countries - and said that prevention programs alone are not sufficient in fighting the pandemic because they ignore the millions already living with HIV. "Prevention and treatment are part of a continuum," he said. To set the stage for discussion, panel moderator and EPIIC colloquium member Caroline Kelly said, "it is important to consider disparities in the health status of people throughout the world, many of whom are living without access to health care." Panelists included Norman Daniels, Tufts' Goldthwaite Professor in the department of Philosophy and professor of Medical Ethics in the department of community medicine. Daniels posed questions to the other panelists in order to encourage discussion. He asked them to discuss the likelihood of solving medical problems without any medical resources. "What country in sub-Saharan Africa does not face some kind of problem?" he asked. Participant John McGoldrick, Executive Vice President for Law and Strategic Planning and General Counsel of pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb, said his pharmaceutical company, which aims to "extend and enhance human life," works to provide the needed medical resources. He said the company would not let patents get in the way of providing treatment to poverty-stricken sufferers. McGoldrick recently assumed responsibility of the company's HIV/AIDS initiatives in Africa. He called the HIV/AIDS pandemic "the worst, or among the worst things to befall humanity that we have any record of." Sherman Katz, the William M. Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, added his perspective to the forum. Katz addressed the difficulty of setting up an international trade infrastructure that will support intellectual property rights and promote medical research and advancement. This infrastructure must also allow less developed nations to confront health problems, Katz said. He is the author of TRIPS and Pharmaceuticals, and was involved in the "Declaration on the TRIPS agreement and Public Health" made in November at the World Trade Organization Ministerial Meeting. Farmer, an "internationally respected health expert," as Jibrin called him, is co-director of the Program in Infectious Disease and Social Change at Harvard Medical School where he heads the International Working Group on Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Farmer graduated from Harvard University in 1990 with both an MD and a Ph.D. and is now professor of medical anthropology at Harvard Medical School. He is medical director of Clinique Bon Sauveur in Haiti and of an MDR-TB treatment program in urban Peru. He has authored multiple books, most recently The Modern Plagues, and is co-founder and executive director of Partners in Health, which sponsors clinics and services in Haiti, Mexico, Russia, Peru, and Roxbury, MA.
(04/01/02 12:00am)
So you want to be an RA next year? Welcome to the club - over 125 freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are competing for next year's spots. The applications for the ever-popular position of Residential Assistant for the 2002-2003 academic year were due last week, and this year the Residential Life office received a record number of applications. Prospective RAs will be waiting a while before they are told whether or not they have been hired. Tufts Resident Assistants face a demanding job - they're required to do more than "be there" for the students on their hall. In addition to helping students schedule classes and providing personal advice, RAs must be "on duty" at least one night a week in case of an emergency, perform occasional dorm room checks to ensure that students do not have illegal substances, and plan programs and social events for their halls. Has your RA encouraged Hall Snacks, started an inter-dorm game of Assassins, or set up a class-scheduling workshop? If not, maybe your RA isn't taking his job seriously enough. With all of the responsibility, why do students want to be RAs? Many students apply for the perks. Being a Resident Assistant is a leadership position worthy of mention on any r?©sum?©. In addition, the University provides RAs with free housing, subsidizes their meal plans, and completely covers their local phone service. Some students become RAs to avoid the problems associated with the University's housing crunch. The subsidized meal-plan and free housing attracted freshman Mike Ferenchick to apply to be a RA for next year. "Money is clearly of interest when deciding to be an RA. Anyone who tells you that is a bad motivator for being an RA is wrong," Ferenchick said. But in addition to the financial motivation, Ferenchick says that he would enjoy the responsibility of guiding other students. "I could see myself playing sports with the kids in my hall, perhaps ping pong and football," he said. Many students look past the tangible perks of being a RA and see it as an opportunity to have a good time, help students feel at home at school, and create friendships. "Sure, the incentives aren't bad, but actually the reason that I want to be an RA is that it looks like a lot of fun, really enjoyable," freshman John Dulac said. Freshman Liz Goergen applied to be a RA because she saw it as a way to continue the peer counseling and leadership activities she participated in throughout high school. "Since I love talking and getting to meet people anyway, I figured that being an RA is a great way to get paid for doing what I like to do," Goergen said. As a prospective RA, Goergen hopes to help foster friendships between hallmates with stress relief activities like making crafts. "Nothing too demanding, difficult, or educational... just amusing, and a different way to spend time hanging out with people on the hall," Goergen said of her future RA activities. Zach Baker considers RAs important to the dorm experience. "I am applying to be an RA because I want to be able to help people and form a strong bond in my hall. I feel that living in a dorm is one of the most important experiences at Tufts, and I want to make it the best experience for everyone in the hall," he explained. Assistant Director of Residential Life Lorraine Toppi attributes the high number of applications received by Res Life for next year to the current RA staff. "We have an amazing pool of candidates," Toppi said. "We received over 125 applications, the highest number in quite a few years. [The current RA staff] is an extremely talented and caring group this year, and it must show to have so many of their residents want to emulate them." Junior Mike Coughlin, a current RA, says that it is one of the best jobs he has ever had in his life. "It's extremely fulfilling and the rewards, meaning the free room, phone service and dining plan discount are great," Coughlin said. "In addition, I enjoy living in the dorms, and I don't feel detached from the campus like I would if I lived off campus. My classes are far enough as they are!" Prospective Residential Assistants may be wondering about a RA's job description. RAs are required to arrive early to campus to receive mandatory training. RAs must also stay on campus until the end of finals week and through some of graduation at the end of the year. According to junior RA Jeff Malbasa the obligations of being a RA are not too tedious. "The RA commitment is not an overwhelming one. I feel a little bogged down since I work a decent amount at another job, but I do not feel overwhelmed by my obligations." The main obligations of being a RA, according to junior RA Jeff Malbasa, are to be a resource for hall mates and to maintain a safe, happy community on the floor and in the building. "I really believe being a good RA is all about being able to recognize that the most important thing is respect. No matter what the problem, respect is at the heart of it, and that as long as people respect each other, there aren't that many problems," Malbasa said. "As long as I am there for my residents to answer questions and the floor and building are being inhabited in a respectful manner, than I really do feel that I have fulfilled my obligations." But taking on the responsibility of being an RA is not all fun and games. They must ensure that their hall has a clean and safe living environment, and also must reprimand students who break University rules, and report them to the Tufts Police if necessary. Tales of drunken debauchery and roommate conflicts may seem funny, but RAs are often the ones who have to resolve students' problems. "Once a kid threw a couch off of the Hodgdon balcony and was shocked when he got caught, Malbasa said. "That kinda cracked me up."
(04/01/02 12:00am)
The Tufts Collective Union Judiciary (TCUJ) approved the establishment of a Student Advocate System to aid recruitment of judicial advocates for students involved in disciplinary disputes. Judiciary members hope that the amendment to the TCUJ bylaws passed Thursday night will be a welcome addition to the Tufts judicial process. While TCUJ chair Mike Ferenczy hopes the system will "get off the ground this year," it remains to be approved by Dean of Students Bruce Reitman. Ferenczy said the advocate system was important because "it's an intimidating thing to be caught in a judiciary system that you don't know anything about." Currently, students implicated in the judiciary system may work with a student, faculty, or parental advocate or an attorney, according to the Student Disciplinary System handbook. The Dean of Students Office provides a list of possible advocates - people who are familiar with the Tufts disciplinary system - for anyone who files a complaint or has a complaint filed against them. This list does not include attorneys. The Dean of Students Office provides these advocates so that students do not have to seek legal counsel. "We don't want anyone involved in the judicial system to think that they're alone or that they need to hire an attorney," Reitman said. According to Reitman, the pool of advocates needs to be replenished about every four years. "It is self-depleting because people graduate," Reitman said. The advocate pool has been renewed four or five times since he has been at Tufts. Thursday's TCUJ approval signifies a new partnership between the student group and the Dean of Students Office in the advocate selection and training process. Ferenczy and former TCU Senate president David Moon came up with the idea to establish an official Student Advocate System through the TCUJ last year. Reitman said he is "happy to have the J participate" in the advocate process, though he emphasized that its members will have to remain neutral while working to coordinate the advocate system. Elected students will be more effective in recruiting advocates than the Dean of Students Office, he said, because prospective advocates are more likely to respond to fellow students than to administrators. The TCUJ wants to provide a way to train advocates because some students have been put at a disadvantage by not having an easily-accesible advocate. "Right now, if you know someone who's involved with the system, you're better off than someone who doesn't," Ferenczy said. Ferenczy's goal is to train five to ten advocates this year, which will not be expensive but will require TCUJ members to take time to do so. One member of the TCUJ will be moved into the position of Student Advocate Chair and will oversee advocate training along with the Dean of Students Office. When drafting the amendment that outlines the system, Ferenczy worked with Reitman to "iron out some of the kinks." The amendment nearly equals the length of the entire TCUJ bylaws. Ferenczy added several disclaimers to the document and stressed that the use of an advocate does not ensure a student's success in winning a disciplinary system case. Much of the need for an advocate comes from the difference between Tufts judicial hearings and US courtroom proceedings, Ferenczy said. The University's system does not require that the prosecution prove guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt, as in the American legal system. Hence, the chances of spurious punishment are increased. Because of this distinction between the Tufts system and the national system, the closing statement made in a Tufts hearing holds greater significance. Ferenczy said that the closing is the only part of a hearing during which the advocate is allowed to speak. Yet, according to Reitman, an advocate's work outside of the courtroom has significant influence on the case. "The advocate plays a larger role in preparation [for the hearing] than the hearing itself," he said. Advocates also aid students involved in mediations, which are more commonly used in Tufts cases than are hearings.
(04/01/02 12:00am)
University officials have acknowledged that Tufts' early decision option may put stress on high school students, but Ballou and Bendetson do not endorse Yale President Richard Levin's proposal to remove the program from America's top colleges. In a Dec. 13 New York Times article, Levin said that the increasingly popular option for high school seniors is unfair and should be abandoned. According to Levin, the process harms students in need of financial aid, students with poor college counseling, and students of color. "If we all got rid of it, it would be a good thing," he told the Times. Levin is currently lobbying other colleges to abandon the process, and said he will abolish the program at Yale if other elite universities follow suit. University President Larry Bacow said discussion on the issue was important but that early decision ultimately benefits certain students. "Levin has stimulated a healthy debate on an important topic," he said. "Early decision works well for students who are absolutely clear about their preferences. However, most students can be happy at more than one place. Some students lose sight of this fact as they seek to narrow their options to a single first choice." For Levin, the narrowing down happens all too early. He said that college decisions cause more stress when pushed into the junior year of high school and that, as it stands now, the system benefits colleges more than students. "The move towards early decision [can] increase the stress of college admissions. [It] stresses everyone else involved in the admissions process - parents who feel compelled to complete college tours early, high school teachers who must complete letters of recommendations early, and colleges that must process thousands of applications early." Tufts Dean of Admissions David Cuttino agrees that the proliferation of information has pushed some of the college search process into junior year, but said the trend actually benefits many juniors. "It's clear that there has been more research, and greater readiness on the part of students," he said. Cuttino insisted it would be a mistake to encourage or pressure students to apply to a school early if they are not sure it is their first choice. "Early decision is an appropriate choice for students who know that this is where they really want to be," Cuttino said. "The danger is if there's an emphasis on [early application] for strategy, that it's not really a student's first choice." Provost Sol Gittleman concurred, saying that early decision is an "appropriate activity for a University," but that students "should only apply early if they've fallen madly in love with the school." To give students the time they need to make that decision, Tufts offers two rounds of early decisions. Early Decision II applications are due just weeks before the regular deadline. Last year the Tufts admissions office enrolled nearly 40 percent of incoming students through early decision - the largest percentage ever. And while preliminary numbers this year indicate that early decision applications are still on the rise, Cuttino said the admissions office continues to hold early and regular applicants to the same standards. "From the standpoint of the admissions committee, they will only admit those students they feel they would admit in the final review process," he said. A study done by Harvard's Kenendy School of Government, however, found that the benefit of early decision is equivalent to 100 points added to an applicant's SAT score. Levin's opinion prompted debates all over the Times' editorial pages, with people who believed that Levin is a radical, that he misjudged the process, or that he might be on the right track. Some said that early decision is simply part of the American trend of moving important dates forward, similar to the Christmas shopping season and presidential primaries. Others maintained that the process is beneficial for high school seniors because students with an affinity for a particular school can avoid the stress and cost of filling out multiple applications. A Times editorial on Dec. 16 agreed with Levin. It said that it is easy to see why colleges like the system but that it penalizes "those less well situated or not ready to make up their minds, or most in need of generous financial aid offers." The editorial further alleged that it helps colleges reduce uncertainties and eases the burden on admissions offices nationwide by reducing multiple applications. Some op-eds asserted that early decision is simply a way for colleges to boost their rankings in magazines like US News & World Report by inflating the number of students who accept offers of admissions. Cuttino said that if schools were accepting to increase ratings it would be reflected in the caliber of students at the institution. "We're talking about admitting students we think we would admit in the end. With the same level of achievement, interest, and experience that makes them compelling candidates," he said. Ultimately, Tufts officials are uncertain whether there will be any significant changes in the admissions process. "I think the discussion of this issue is healthy," Cuttino said. "I don't think it is likely to see many institutions that will suddenly make that change."
