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(04/01/02 12:00am)
Alex Alexiou's letter of Feb.1 ("Why Leupp is Wrong") did not, in fact, assert that I was incorrect on any point discussed in my Viewpoint ("Why the War Is, and Was, Wrong," Jan. 29-30). Rather, he contended that I had "failed to answer" the question, "What should we have done instead?" Space considerations alone would have precluded that. The Daily was more than generous in allowing me a two-part commentary, but to address Alexiou's question would require another piece altogether. Here I'll be brief. There are at least two ways to interpret Alexiou's question. I believe he is really asking, "What should the US government have done, after Sept. 11 and once al Qaeda had been identified as the perpetrator, to eradicate al Qaeda and prevent other such attacks in the future?" Many people, in the aftermath of the attacks, began addressing that question, on the basis of their prior understanding of the world. Some counseled use of the International Court of Justice, deeply concerned that a bellicose response was likely to generate more insecurity and "blowback." I was generally sympathetic with that position about what the US should do. But while most of us were still reeling with the shock and grief of Sept. 11, the Bush administration made it clear what it would do, and its contempt for alternative courses of action. It would declare "war on terrorism." It would make clear that that war, against "evil-doers," would be lengthy ("beyond our lifetimes," predicted Cheney), and involve many nations. It would not be confined to groups linked to al-Qaeda but all "terrorist" groups and nations "sponsoring terror" as defined by US officials. It would involve another confrontation with Iraq at some point. It would require all nations to choose whether "to be for us or against us," the meaning of the phrase left deliberately vague. It would require an attack on Afghanistan, and pressure on governments, especially that of Pakistan, to take measures that could destabilize the region. It would involve substantial restriction of civil liberties of US citizens, to say nothing of roundups of certain foreigners; criticism of such measures would be construed as "abetting terrorism." Some of us assumed in those early weeks that it would mean lots of civilian casualties and chaos in Afghanistan - among the results described in my Viewpoint. But nobody knew how quickly the advertised war would turn surreal, with the deployment of over 650 US troops to confront a tiny bandit group in the southern Philippines as a "second front" of the "war." No one could have predicted that President Bush, in his first State of the Union address, given less than four months after Sept. 11, would virtually ignore bin Laden and al Qaeda but pronounce, in a bizarre rhetorical flourish that would send off alarm bells in foreign capitals, Iraq, Iran, and North Korea "an axis of evil" - likely targets of further US action. But many with a good grasp of recent US history and foreign policy have felt mounting alarm from the onset of this crisis. No way was the US government going to do what should be done! But there's the other interpretation of Alexiou's question: "What should we (as in, 'we, the people') have done in response to Sept. 11, and to the policy course the administration has followed since?" My answer is: Do what many of us have done since - educate ourselves, debate among ourselves, challenge simplistic and jingoistic views of the world, and appropriately expose, protest and resist each new move in the "war on terrorism" that we consider wrong.Gary P. Leupp is a professor in history.
(04/01/02 12:00am)
New classes stressing you out? Wistful about leaving sunny vacation spots for a snow-covered campus? You're not alone. According to Caroline Moriarty, a staff clinician at Tufts Counseling Services, many students are suffering from insecurities about leaving home, eating disorders, learning disabilities, relationship and sexual problems, and academic anxiety - all common causes of depression among college students.Many less common problems are also surfacing this year, many stemming from fears related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Traffic at college counseling centers in New York City is up 20 percent as a combined result of college-related stress and the recent terrorist attacks, according to the International Association of Counseling Services.The increase has been less pronounced at Tufts, but counselors say that students here are far from immune to 9/11-related concerns. "It's obvious that recent world events have affected the students here," Moriarty said, adding that many students are still very concerned about the implications of the terrorist attacks. "It was really good to be with my family over the winter break, especially after Sept. 11," said one male senior. "I wouldn't call it depression, but I was certainly happier and felt more secure at home."For some, the constant activity and pressure of college can impose stress and sadness. The onset of classes and the return to hectic dorm life are common causes of depression among some students."I've never felt so grateful to be home as I did this past winter break because there I had family and friends who genuinely cared about me, people who were sincerely interested in my welfare," said one female freshman. "Unfortunately, that's not a feeling I always have when I'm at school."The student, who wished to remain anonymous, added that while she does not attend counseling, she could benefit from a few sessions. And despite having been through it before, upperclassmen are not exempt from feelings of emptiness and regret upon returning to Tufts. "Coming back from a month off always leaves me depressed," said one male junior. "There's no time to breathe - right away, we have to pay for expensive books and go to lectures. This morning I couldn't get up, I just slept through both my classes. I just don't want to deal with it."Tragedies like that of Michigan University sophomore Candy Wei, who suffocated herself last January, might have been avoided had there been more mental health treatment and counseling resources available. Frightening stories such as this one have left many universities scrambling to prevent a similar disaster. Tufts seems to be successfully managing its load of demand for counselors, at least for now. Like other universities nationwide, Tufts offers health services to combat mental, emotional, and physical health problems. Full-time undergraduate and graduate students covered by the comprehensive health fee can get help at health services on Professors Row and the counseling center at 120 Curtis Street. The health plans accepted by Tufts also cover the cost of off-campus referrals. Usually, students schedule their own appointments at the two centers, although class deans and professors occasionally recommend that a student attend counseling. After an appointment is made, a student will usually attend two preliminary consultations in order to determine what kind of aid he or she needs. Since only psychiatrists employed by Health Services can prescribe medication, some students are directly referred there. Often, Health Services and the Counseling Center work in tandem, with a student meeting with psychologists, social workers, or graduate-level interns while simultaneously taking medication prescribed by a psychiatrist.In situations where a student needs long-term counseling and therapy, it may be recommended that he or she meet with an off-campus therapist. Students identified as depressed are encouraged to attend a 12-session confidential therapy program tailored to their needs.Counselors are on call 24 hours a day, and students can reach them after hours by calling the Tufts Police. No questions are asked of the caller other than a phone number where the student can be reached.
(04/01/02 12:00am)
With commencement looming on the horizon, many second-semester seniors have found themselves stressing over their immediate futures. From work to grad school to time off, options abound. To help students make these often difficult decisions, Career Services has hosted numerous activities over the past few months geared especially toward seniors. Over the past few months, the staff at Career Services has offered a variety of information sessions, career panels, and resume workshops preparing students for careers in anything from advertising and the environment to engineering and working abroad. The Career Services website, careers.tufts.edu, details a full schedule of programs and services that students can take advantage of. In an effort to help students find jobs and obtain internships in areas of interest, Career Services conducts networking nights, as well as internship and job fairs, and provides assistance with r?©sum?©s, cover letters, and interviews. "We know that seniors are grappling with a range of career issues," Director of Career Services Jean Papalia said. For "a student who knows exactly what she wants to do, but can't find the 'right job,' we can help hone networking skills. For a senior who is overwhelmed , 'I don't know what to do,' we offer assessment tools coupled with career counseling." Close to 70 students attended Wednesday's Finance Networking Night, where interested students had the opportunity to meet 12 Tufts alumni in the finance field. "In terms of networking, it's not like making serious contacts," senior economics major Mir Reza said after the event. A Career Decision Making Workshop will be held on April 8. Other upcoming events include panels on careers in government, public service, investment banking, and non-profit organizations. "We vary our program format to meet the needs of all students," Papalia said. One recent event asked alumni to advise students on "finding jobs in a tough economy." Their advice? "Network, network, network." Reza said she felt the event could have used some more seasoned panelists. "Most of the people there were entry-levels, so they didn't really have much clout in their companies," Reza said. "I'd definitely try to get alumni in senior positions so they are in better positions to help you get your foot in the door." Sultan Chatila, a senior majoring in chemical engineering, has also used Career Services for r?©sum?© critiques, internship searches, and graduate school searches. Chatila said the Career Services Resource Library in Dowling Hall - which boasts a multi-media collection of resources for career development - set him off in the right direction. "I found a lot of helpful information. The resource center is great for people looking for a starting point," Chatila said. The Resource Library contains periodicals and directories as well as Graduate School Rankings and videos of recent workshops.
(04/01/02 12:00am)
Things are crazy down at the Cineplex. You walk into a film with a confusing trailer and a lead actor that isn't known for much more than smirking and blowing stuff up, you have feelings of trepidation. You walk into something with a good concept, a good trailer and Denzel Washington, you expect more than your average Cineplex drive-thru. And you'd be surprised twice. Of the two major releases this weekend, Hart's War is the winner hands-down. It is a shockingly well-crafted, layered, and subtle film. Hart's War needs to be explained a bit. Despite the ad campaign, it is not a war movie and Bruce Willis is not the lead. True, it takes place during WWII and Bruce Willis is given the angelic star treatment, but the real concern here is ideals of honor and newcomer Colin Farrell, who is the actual Hart of the title. Hart is a lieutenant who is captured and caves to interrogation after a few days. Sent to a POW camp, he encounters Col. William Macnamara (Willis) - the highest ranking prisoner there and unofficial leader of the allied prisoners. While Hart gets the feel of the place and Macnamara smirks a lot at the Camp's SS Commander (Marcel Iures), two Tuskegee Airmen are downed near the camp and become prisoners. This causes tension, as several of their fellow soldiers are also virulent racists. Two related murders occur, and one of the Airmen named Lincoln (Terrence Dashon Howard) is charged with the crime. A mock court martial is allowed to proceed under the Commander's watch. Hart is appointed defense counsel by Macnamara, who has plots of his own - most of which include smirking. Don't get me wrong: I've got nothing against Bruce Willis. He's a great action star, has great screen presence and cares more about his material than most aging action stars (when's the last time Harrison Ford gave a rip about any movie he was in?). However, with a few good exceptions (12 Monkeys, The Sixth Sense), he pretty much plays himself in every film. He does it well, and he does it here, and it's hard to see past the Willis effect. The real surprise here is Colin Farrell. This guy is an amazing talent, and his understated performance projects vulnerability and strength at the same time. It's hard to be in the same frame as Willis and not get obscured by his action icon status - only Samuel L. Jackson and Haley Joel Osmet have really pulled it off - but Farrell earns his stripes and more with this role. Director Gregory Hoblit took then-unknown Edward Norton and rocketed him to stardom with Primal Fear. Let's hope this movie does the same for Farrell. Also giving commendable performances are Marcel Iures as the manipulative but still human SS Commander of the Camp (in a small but wonderful moment, Farrell asks, "Where is your son fighting?" Iures gives a small, painful smile and replies, "He fights no more.") and especially Terrence Howard as the man on trial. He has a monologue near the end that is so good it literally eclipses everyone else -even Willis...Until he finishes. The film is beautiful to look at, with crisp blues and lurking shadows enveloping frame after frame. The early battle scenes have a real intensity to them, making it all the more surprising when they become less and less important as the film goes on. And director Hoblit keeps a tight control on the film, making us interested in the moment without telegraphing every plot twist to come. Yet Hart's War is not without it's flaws: we don't learn much more about the other men except that they stand by Willis's character, and the Col's master plan is never quite explained. The early battle scenes also have a degree of gore and violence that never carries over to the rest of the film, and were probably unnecessary. However, there are a million different ways this movie could have ended, and the writers and director deserve extra credit for keeping us guessing. This may be one of the only Bruce Willis movies on recent record that ends with quiet gestures and strong words instead of explosions and a saved world. The ads make Hart's War look like Die Hard in a prison camp, and that couldn't be farther from reality. Instead, it is a powerful small film that has real things to say about honor and ideals. It is a stand-up war drama.
(04/01/02 12:00am)
Pierre Omidyar was a fine choice for this May's commencement speaker. He is a successful Tufts grad and dedicated philanthropist, a model in many ways for Tufts students. We ought to thank him for his generosity and laud him for his passionate commitment to changing our world for the better. He would make sense as the honored speaker during the ceremonies of this, Tufts' sesquicentennial year. That is, if we couldn't get LeVar Burton.I've thought about it long and hard, considered all the facts and details, mulled over all the bits and bobs, sent out my feelers, and called in my favors. And my own personal search committee has found the perfect graduation speaker. LeVar Burton, or Jordy, as I like to call him, is warm and friendly. He has a big smile and he can repair the warp speed reactor core of a big outer-space flying ship from the 24th century all the while wearing a super cool stylized visor. He can laugh with the best of them, and share the sorrow of a mourning nation. He transcends boundaries and brings people, countries, and races together. He has been there in our youth, and he should be there as we take the next definitive step into adulthood. He gave us reading. Thank you Mr. Burton, thank you. We would be honored to have you share your words of wisdom with us. Thank you for giving us reading. Like I said, a ten million dollar donation is impressive and laudable, certainly not something to sneeze at. But alas, it is not reading. Of course, what is?Every day, during my busy, hectic schedule, I am always reading, reading reading. It is what I do. I read. And yet where would I be without Mr. LeVar Burton - the man who gave us reading? Every time I tackle a book, or skim the paper, or glance at an "Employees Must Wash Hands" sign, I read. And that's when I think about my buddy LeVar and wonder at what a special man he is. Do you remember Reading Rainbow? I do. It is perhaps the world's most consistently amusing and entertaining television show. While shows like Seinfeld or ER come and go, offering little more than lame laughs and canned drama, RR, as I like to call it, has been tireless in its dedication to introducing us to wild worlds as diverse and fascinating as bowling alleys and hospitals, zoos and science museums. The first chords of the theme song have always prepared us for an adventure into the unknown territory, tracked and traced only by the words of a creative author . The excitement and giddy chills inspired by those sweeping, spunky softly comfortable notes once made me eager to sit down and do whatever LeVar suggested. As we graduating seniors prepare to venture into the frighteningly unknown territory that is our future, it would only be appropriate to return to the man and his song. Let us consider his mantra, the lyrics that once welcomed us daily to the adventurous mind-bending, book-bound world of letters, words, sentences, and oh-so colorful illustrations: "Butterfly in the sky/ I can go twice as high/ Take a look/ It's in a book/ A Reading Rainbow." The first line is an obvious reference to ancient philosopher Chuang-Tzu who once dreamed he was a butterfly and when he awoke, no longer knew if he was a butterfly dreaming he was a man, or a man who had dreamed he was a butterfly. Perhaps LeVar is asking us to reevaluate our own image of self and conception of reality as we step out of a rule-bound world, and into the unfathomable chaos that marks all that is undefined and unknown. What is real? Good question L. You've really made us think.By the time he taunts us with phrases like "I can go twice as high," "I can go anywhere," and "I can be anything" he's got us. LeVar has pulled us in and piqued our curiosity. "Take a look," he says. "It's in a book" he proffers. What? What is it LeVar, that is in a book? Could the answer we've been looking for all along be in a book? Could all that web research, all that time spent at career services and counseling, all that arguing with my parents, all that work spent on developing my resume have been for naught? Yes, LeVar assures us, the answer is a Reading Rainbow, and it is found in a book.So let's welcome LeVar Burton and invite him to be our graduation speaker. If he can teach us how to "be anything" then surely we ought to listen. I will follow that rainbow as far as my noble, kind-hearted Buddha of Public Broadcasting will take me. I will seek its source and find the inspiration for which I have always yearned. It will be glorious. It will be brilliant. It will be serene restful reading rainbow bliss. So give him a try. After all, you don't have to take my word for it.
(04/01/02 12:00am)
One of the biggest concerns for graduating college students: getting a job. Resumes, internships, and most importantly, connections are of tantamount concern to many students at Tufts. But how does our career center shape up? Are the majority of students happy with our career center? What improvements can be made? "Last year, close to 2000 students had individual appointments at career services, and hundreds more availed themselves of the career center in the library in Dowling Hall," Director of Career Services Jean Papalia said. About half of these students were seniors. Senior Jamie Moldano has been coming to the career center since sophomore year. She has been pleased with the career center - especially with the online resources - and reports that Tufts stresses networking as one of the most important strategies to succeed in getting a job. "Personally, I'm really happy with [career services]," Moldano said. "Networking was definitely a big part of it. It's a whole package." For those students who dislike the "feel" of online career searching, the career center has a large library of resources. "Most people expect to find what they need online, but we still need printed resources," career resources manager Donna Milmore said. The library is organized so students can research on general subjects like internships, resumes, career development, and advice on specific industries. Sophomore Hailey Brewer came to the library in Dowling for the first time and was generally pleased with what she saw. "It seems that they have a pretty good variety when searching for an internship," Brewer said. Many students are pleased with Tufts' recruiting services, accessible through the career services office. Senior Michael Lang, an international relations major, connected with the New York Recruiting Consortium through Tufts, which helps connect a combination of seven schools and employers through an online application. Lang said that he is reasonably pleased with the program. The career center offers counseling on a variety of subjects about careers and life after college. Its employees can assist students in finding internships, job searching, choosing a major and applying to grad school. Students can also schedule quick 15-minute counseling sessions to answer any basic questions, and hour-long sessions to delve deeper into career issues. Many workshops are offered every semester - for example, this semester the office created a four-part workshop for sophomores to help them with advice about internships, resumes and careers. The center also stresses networking. "Networking is definitely a top way to learn about an industry, make contacts in the field and clarify your career goals," Papalia said. The career services network is made up of 1200 members, who are made available to talk to any student who wishes to contact them. Also, Tufts online has a section called "Careers A through Z" to help students research about industries and job sites. Some students, however, expressed some displeasure. Senior Trent Ruder, a sociology major, said that when he scheduled an appointment, he was "brushed off" and directed to the career center website. "I feel the career center is too dependent on the website, which is good, but [given] the reputation of Tufts academics, it should have a more personal touch," Ruder said. Even some of those pleased with the center's work. "The majority of the people working at career services are willing to help to maximize the resources - but in relation to Tufts' school reputation, career services could be stronger," Lang said. Milmore is also in charge of administering tests that help determine what kind of careers that students should pursue. One of them, the Meyers-Briggs indicator, gives students a score of four letters encompassing four dimensions of one's personality. Each student's score supposedly indicates where his or her interests lie. After each test an administrator gives each student an interactive review. "It's generally not necessarily and indication of one's profession, but it definitely helps people determine where their preferences lie," Milmore said. But according to Papalia, career services is what you make of it. "Some students don't realize the scope of the career center's services available to them, and they might decide that there is nothing at the career center that could help them," Papalia said. "However, we can help students in every phase of career development." A big concern among students is the lack of action taken by the career center to help them in the weak job market, but Papalia says that the career center has expanded to help students find jobs in the hidden job market, and that new events and programs are being scheduled.
(04/01/02 12:00am)
Whether it is his racy comments about who's getting it on in "Much Ado About Nothing," or his advice to sophomores about class choices, many students have heard about Professor Kevin Dunn's lively personality and exciting English classes. "Kevin Dunn knows how to entertain as he educates," said junior Daniel Rosenberg, an English and philosophy double major who is one of Dunn's advisees. "It's a rare gift among professors." As the new dean of academic affairs for arts and sciences, Dunn will be, in his words, "look[ing] after the happiness of the faculty." "I don't want to impose initiatives that don't come from the needs of the faculty," he said. "That being said, I do have a strong interest in fostering interdisciplinary teaching and scholarship, and I hope that I can encourage more of that at Tufts." While Dunn is looking forward to his new role, many students voiced dismay upon learning that Dunn will not teach as much in the future. Dun plans to teach one course each year, which will likely be "The English Bible." "I was planning on taking his Shakespeare course next fall," junior English minor Courtney Brown said. "I'm saddened because I was really looking forward to that class." Dunn, who specializes in Shakespearean and Renaissance Literature, also did not teach last fall either because he was on sabbatical. He spent this time finishing a draft of Opening the Book, which is a textbook for the Bible as a literature course. He hopes to have the work published by McGraw-Hill. Dunn has other publications under his belt, including Figures of Speech: Dramatic Representations of Counsel in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries and Pretexts of Authority: The Rhetoric of Authorship in the Renaissance Preface, both published by Stanford University Press. While other children dreamed of becoming astronauts and famous performers, Dunn was always set on his current career. "It's funny - the first thing I can remember wanting to be as a child was a professor," Dunn said. He originally considered a physics major but found that his English course was more challenging. "I think I responded to the difficulties and frustrations of having to interpret texts." Dunn grew up in Louisville, KY and was an undergraduate at the University of Louisville. After graduation, he headed to Oxford to study, and he returned a few years later to the University of Louisville for more graduate work. Dunn later received his Ph.D. from Yale, and he taught at Yale for eight years before coming to Tufts. Though he is now busy with his new administrative responsibilities, Dunn is taking some time to enjoy his new view from Ballou Hall. "It turns out that it's a great place to watch the campus red-tailed hawks, which are always swooping past my windows going after pigeons and squirrels," he said.
(04/01/02 12:00am)
If the statistics hold true, much of the student population at Tufts suffers from some form of eating concern. Eighty percent of American women are dissatisfied with their appearance. Forty-five percent of American women are on a diet on any given day. These figures translate into an estimated five to ten million girls and women, and one million boys and men, who are struggling with eating disorders. Due to these astounding figures and to Health Services' concern about students with eating issues on campus, Health Services is kicking off Eating Disorders Awareness Week at Tufts. This year, Health Services is focusing on educational programming and distributing information through a variety of resources on campus. "We just want to let people know we're out there and that there are a variety of ways on campus to get help," Director of Health Services Michelle Bowdler said. The feature presentation for the week is a program called Andrea's Voice, inspired by the death of a 19-year-old college student from complications from bulimia in 1999. Since her death, Andrea's parents Doris and Tom Smeltzer have given talks on college campuses, hoping to educate college students about eating disorders. They hope that Andrea's death, along with the issues surrounding eating disorders, won't go unnoticed. "The parents are out giving talks nationwide [because] they lost a daughter to an eating disorder," Health Services Nurse Carol Maltacea said. Before their daughter's eating became a problem, the Smeltzers believed themselves to be relatively informed. They soon realized that their knowledge of the disorder was grossly incomplete. The presentation will address awareness of eating disorders and body image. The Smeltzers say that the presentation is not meant to be a retelling of Andrea's battle with bulimia, but rather to empower and educate other students. By providing statistics and dispelling stereotypes, they hope to offer resources to people who need them. After the presentation, the Health Services staff will be available to answer questions, lead small discussion groups, or talk individually with students. Health Services is also in charge of the Eating Disorders Task Force on campus. This initiative seeks to help students who have eating issues or concerns, and is comprised of various organizations campus including the Counseling Center, Dining Services, Residential Life, and the athletics department. By making the task force interdisciplinary, Health Services hopes to address eating concerns in a variety of non-threatening ways. "I think it's a great idea, and I'm glad that it's there," Resident Assistant Divya Muthappa said. "I think it's a good way to deal with it." Muthappa added that students are often intimidated by health professionals, so the interdisciplinary approach is particularly helpful. Health Services plans to work through various departments in order to educate students and spread the word about ways to deal with eating concerns. Departments like Athletics may sponsor programs for students about healthy ways to lose weight, while other departments will help students who come to them with questions. Still, other departments, through RAs or chaplains, may be available to act as a referral service for students who are unsure where to turn with their concerns. "I would advise [students] certainly to take advantage of the services that are available," Maltacea said. "It's totally confidential and very private." Recently Health Services hired a nutritionist as another resource for students struggling with eating issues. The Counseling Center is also available for those who have questions and want to talk more personally about their concerns. According to experts, college is a time when people are especially vulnerable eating disorders. "I think it's just the added stress," Maltacea said. "It's a coping mechanism. It's not an appropriate one, but it's a coping mechanism."
(09/01/01 12:00am)
Although the Tufts Feminist Alliance (TFA) generated about $2,000 last year to benefit Respond, a battered women's shelter in Somerville, the charity will not receive most of the money because the student government Treasury did not obtain the appropriate paperwork before June 30, the end of the last fiscal year. TFA members realized the error at the beginning of the semester, when sophomore Kelly Sanborn, TFA concert committee co-chair, contacted Respond, Inc. to organize the third annual benefit concert and was told that the organization had never received last year's check. Last year's performance was Tufts' second to benefit Respond and featured Somerville's own Kris Delmhorst and Catie Curtis. Tickets cost $10. Despite the error, TFA and Respond will sponsor another benefit concert on Dec. 10. Tickets will again cost $10 and all proceeds will go to Respond. According to Sanborn, a form authorizing the money to be released to Respond at the end of last year was misplaced. The $2,000 remained in TFA's University account, and after June 30, was returned to the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Treasury. According to TCU Senate Treasurer Ben Lee, whenever an organization holds an event and donates earnings to charity, it must fill out a charity events request form. TFA did not submit the form, Lee said, "so the money from the concert went into their account and the check was never cut." According to Lee, the Senate has no documentation that TFA requested that the money go to Respond and without the form, there is no proof that the money was earmarked for the organization. "It went back into the surplus, and was eventually dispersed back into the TCU," he said. "Almost a year after, [Respond] came and said that they never got their check." Now that the money has been returned to the Treasury, Lee said he cannot retrieve it for the shelter. After learning of the error, Sanborn and other TFA members worked to locate Respond's money. "Respond was obviously upset, but we're still working with them to try to work something out," Sanborn said. "We're trying to come to some type of agreement. But they're not going to see the majority of the money." TFA hopes to at least reimburse Respond for the services it provided for last year's show, including food for the artists and paper for table tents and fliers. But it is not clear where TFA will acquire the funds. Ray Rodriguez, budget and fiscal coordinator for the Office of Student Activities, worked with TFA to address the missing donation. "My office regrets that this occurred, but we must follow bylaws set by the Tufts Community Union," Rodriguez wrote in a statement released Tuesday. The TFA is taking extra care with this semester's concert, which will feature Pamela Means, Meghan Toohey, and Deb Talan together on the Goddard Chapel stage. "We're keeping close track of all the paperwork, and decided to have the check cut at the end of the semester as opposed to the end of the year... to ensure that Respond has their money as soon as possible," Sanborn said. Music is an integral part of Respond's fundraising efforts. In 1999, the organization released Respond, a compilation CD, organized by Boston-area songwriters Jess Klein, Lori McKenna, and Mary Lou Lord, among others. Respond offers a 24-hour hotline, an emergency shelter, counseling, and support groups for women and children.
(09/01/01 12:00am)
Wind and rain could not extinguish the candles and spirits of the estimated 50 students who came to the library roof Tuesday night to rally for awareness and education on domestic abuse. Huddled under umbrellas for the annual "Take Back the Night" event, the crowd listened to speakers encourage women not to live in fear. The rally, organized by the Tufts Feminist Alliance (TFA), was modeled on a movement started in Belgium in 1976 by the same name. At universities and in cities across the globe, women traditionally walk through the streets during "Take Back the Night" rallies to protest violence against women. Woman's Center Director Peggy Barrett said she was pleased with the support for the cause, though turnout was half as large as last year. Sophomore Emily Rhodes, who said the rally is designed to "protest violence against women," organized the event, and read a story about an abused woman. Although the weather thinned the crowd, those who stayed after the speeches marched down the library steps, past the campus center, and down Professor's Row. As they walked, the students chanted slogans addressing women's equality and rape. "Whatever we wear, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no," they said. The slogans grew louder and were accompanied by noisemakers when the group passed fraternity houses on Professor's Row. Attendees at the rally represented a broad spectrum of campus activists but very few uninvolved students. Gunenr Gurwitch spoke on behalf of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual (LGBT) community, saying domestic abuse is not limited to acts of violence by men against women, sharing a personal story of abuse by her girlfriend. Gurwitch said she did not initially understand that her girlfriend was abusing her. "Women's-only areas are supposed to be safe," she said. Homosexual relationships are just as likely to involve abuse as heterosexual ones, she said, adding that one in four relationships involve some sort of domestic abuse. Members of the Leonard Carmichael Society and Tufts Collective of Men Against Violence also lent support to the rally. Sophomore Wilnelia Rivera, a women's studies major, said these rallies are important "because they heighten awareness.". Representatives from different support groups such the Women's Center, TTLGBC, Students Sexual Assault Response Assistance (SSARA), Respond (a local service for battered women and children), and the Tufts University Police Department, spoke at the rally. All groups offer confidential counsel. Rhodes said the campus is generally safe, but told the Daily that women should "use common sense."
(09/01/01 12:00am)
Three days after the largest terrorist attack in US history, authorities have identified most of the men involved in the hijackings and Secretary of State Colin Powell has named Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect in the ongoing, worldwide investigation. Four thousand FBI special agents and 3,000 support personnel have uncovered the names of 18 hijackers on the four planes - five on each of the two planes that crashed into the World Trade Center towers, and four on each of the planes that crashed into the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. On Wednesday, the FBI raided the Westin Copley Hotel in downtown Boston shortly after noon, detaining three men who were released later that day. The FBI also questioned individuals in Boston and Florida, where some of the suspects apparently lived and attended flight schools. Meanwhile, German police in Hamburg detained a male airport worker and questioned a woman in connection with the attacks. Defense Department officials estimated yesterday that 190 government workers died when an American Airlines Boeing 757 crashed into a section of the Pentagon. In New York, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said the missing persons count in Manhattan, where two Boeing 767s toppled the twin towers of the World Trade Center, exceeds 4,760 and is growing. Yesterday, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said the plane that hit the Pentagon may have intended to strike the White House, although President George W. Bush was not in Washington at the time of the attacks. Shortly after that attack, the US Secret Service received a call threatening that "Air Force One is next." Congress plans to provide billions of dollars in emergency funds for rescue efforts and law enforcement. Lawmakers are also writing a resolution that would allow the military to respond to the attacks with force and President Bush said antiterrorism initiatives will constitute the main focus of his administration. "I weep and mourn with America," Bush said yesterday. "But make no mistake about it. My resolve is steady and strong about winning this war that has been declared on America. It is a new kind of war, and this government will adjust." Bush designated Thursday a day of "National Prayer and Remembrance" and called on Americans to use their lunch breaks to go to places of worship to pray for victims and their families. Bush is scheduled to travel to New York this afternoon to console victims' families and personally thank rescuers. In an unexpected move, Pakistan's leader, Pervez Musharraf, pledged full cooperation with the US in its efforts to punish the terrorists. Pakistan is one of only three countries worldwide to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, where US State Department officials say bin Laden has taken refuge. US airspace reopened to commercial and private flights yesterday morning, after the Federal Aviation Administration allowed airports that had complied with new security guidelines to resume service. But Logan Airport, where two of the hijacked flights originated, remains closed. At Tufts, administrators continue to help students cope with Tuesday's tragedy. The University police department, meanwhile, has taken heightened security precautions to prevent further attacks. "There was an increase in visible presence of security officers," said Pete Sanborn, assistant manager of public relations. "The main priority is to make sure people feel safe." No change was made in the number of officers on duty. Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said he has heard of incidents involving students condemning others without basis because of the attacks. "There are rumors - no, more than rumors - from credible sources that this campus has been unable to avoid the aftermath of the tragedy with some incidences of blame assignment," he said. "The irrational assignment of blame is what I worry about." Though no incidents have been officially reported, Reitman said that acts of hatred will become part of a campus dialogue. "We don't hide it, we document it," Reitman said. Along with today's prayer and remembrance event, a series of forums will take place over the next week for students and faculty. The first two forums, held last night, was entitled "Blaming Others: Demonizing/Dehumanizing," and included personal reflections on the tragedy. Provost Sol Gittleman and Dean of Natural and Social Sciences Susan Ernst initiated the forums. Forum organizers say they are not sure how many students were personally affected by the attacks. Further programming will be initiated, said Dean Kristine Dillon, if "students learn about any tragic news concerning their own family members." Despite rumors of incidents on campus, Dillon said that students will respect one another in light of the attacks. "There are a wide range of backgrounds represented here," she said. "There's a sense of tolerance and not jumping to conclusions." Reitman said he hopes for a "dialogue across cultures" to prevent students from blaming other groups for the attacks. "It could be difficult, but it would be wonderful if we could do it," he said, adding that "we're inventing as we go - it's not something you rehearse." To help students cope with the events, the counseling center has offered group counseling sessions everyday at 1:30 p.m., although according to Dillon, counselors have not seen much interest in the sessions.
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Money may not be able to buy you love, but in baseball, it sure can buy you pitching - and perhaps a World Series title. The Arizona Diamondbacks have already succeeded in buying their way to a World Series berth this fall, following the formula used by the 1997 Florida Marlins. Over the past few years, Arizona has lured two of the game's premier pitchers - Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson - with lucrative contracts and rode their backs through the division series and National League Championship Series (NLCS). In the American League, the New York Yankees have used their own stash of cash to woo free agents and make the perfect mid-season moves. Strong pitching performances by Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina, two of the highest paid pitchers in baseball lead them to a 4-1 defeat of the Seattle Mariners in the best of seven series. In last night's Game 5, the Mariners laid down the red carpet for the Yanks to walk to the series, as New York whomped Seattle 12-3. The Yankees chased Mariners starter Aaron Sele after scoring five runs against him over four innings, and added four more in the sixth. Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill homered to lead the Yankees to the World Series for the fourth consecutive year. Arizona, playing in just its fourth season, became the fastest team to reach the World Series on Sunday night when they beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 to earn a 4-1 series victory. Pitcher Randy Johnson, who had lost a record seven straight postseason decisions coming into the NLCS, snapped out of his slump in Game 1 in Arizona when he led the Diamondbacks to a 2-0 victory. Johnson allowed only three hits and struck out 11 in the complete game victory. Craig Counsell, one of the surprise heroes of Arizona's division series triumph over St. Louis, had two hits and scored twice - on RBI singles by Luis Gonzalez and Reggie Sanders. Atlanta's only win came in Game 2, thanks to catcher Javy Lopez's triumphant return to the lineup. Lopez missed three weeks because of a sprained ankle but broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning of Game 2 with a two-run home run off Arizona starter Miguel Batista. Tom Glavine got the win for the Braves to tie teammate John Smoltz's Major League record of 12 postseason victories. The Braves' eight runs in Game 2 were more than they scored in the other four games combined, as they fell to the Diamondbacks 5-1 and 11-4 in Games 3 and 4, respectively. Schilling was brilliant in his Game 3 start, pitching his third complete game victory of the 2001 postseason and holding Atlanta to four hits. He was also the offensive spark in the game, with his fifth inning single sparking a three-run rally. In the series finale, it was all Johnson again. He struck out eight over seven innings, including a key fan of Brian Jordan with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, and allowed only two runs. Byung-Hyun Kim pitched two hitless innings in relief for the save. Erubiel Durazo, pinch-hitting for the injured Mark Grace, hit a tiebreaking, two-run home run in the fifth off Glavine. Danny Bautista, starting on a hunch by manager Bob Brenly, had an RBI single. With the win, Brenly became the first manager to lead a team to the World Series in his first year since Kansas City's Jim Frey in 1980. In the American League, the Yankees-Mariners series was all about the pitching. While Seattle sprinted past its opponents during the regular season, its pace slowed remarkably in the playoffs. The Mariners squeaked past Cleveland in the Division Series only to fall to the Yankees, and their stellar 116-56 season record failed to bring them a championship. With the exception of the slugfest in Game 3, the Yankees' pitching has dominated this series. Andy Pettitte was untouchable for eight innings in Game 1, which New York won 4-2. Mike Mussina, who came to the Yankees in the offseason when they offered him $88.5 million over six years, was equally dominant in the 3-2 Game 2 win. The Mariners' offense came alive in the fifth innings of Game 3 and pounded Yankees pitching for 14 runs for Seattle's only win of the series. Brett Boone had five RBIs in the game, and Seattle scored seven runs in the sixth inning alone to accumulate the most runs scored against New York in 285 postseason games. But the Seattle offense had no more gas left after Game 3, and Game 4 was a tight pitchers duel. Yankees starter Roger Clemens allowed only one hit over five innings of work, while Mariners' starter Paul Abbott pitched hitless ball. He walked eight, however, and was pulled after the fifth inning, turning the game into a battle of the bullpens. Each team hit a solo home run in the eighth inning, and the game went into the ninth tied at 1-1. But in the bottom of the inning, rookie Alfonso Soriano proved that veterans aren't the only reason why the Yankees always win in the postseason. With one man on base, Soriano blasted a Kazuhiro Sasaki pitch over the right centerfield fence to give the Yanks the 3-1 win. The World Series does not begin until Saturday, so both teams will have ample time to rest their starters and arrange their pitching rotations.
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A May 2001 study of alcohol use at Tufts shows that although four out of five students drink, most overestimate the amount of alcohol their peers consume. The survey, which was conducted by Tufts' community health program, was part of a "social norms" campaign to inform students about how much other students really drink. "In general, Tufts students are like [those at] many other campuses," said Charlene Galarneau, a lecturer from the community health program. She went on to say that overall alcohol use on campus is consistent with statistics for similar-sized schools, where drinking is neither unusually light nor heavy. At larger universities, she said, heavier drinking tends to occur more frequently. The survey did find, however, that a significant number of the students - close to 16 percent - typically consumed six or more drinks at one time, which is characteristic of alcohol dependency. The study compiled students' drinking habits through written surveys, group discussions, and one-on-one interviews. The researchers also focused on first-year student's perceptions of drinking. "The first-year drinking experience in many ways is different from other drinking," Galarneau said. "When students first come to campus, they bring a lot of expectations about drinking." But these expectations often turn out to be false, Galarneau said. The study found that Tufts students, like their counterparts around the nation, have an exaggerated idea of the amount of drinking their peers do."I think to a certain extent, [students] think it's cool to drink a lot," said Steve Metzger, a senior and one of the student researchers. As a result, most students think their peers drink more than is typically the case. In fact, the study found that 19 percent of students do not drink alcohol at all, a statistic that surprised junior Viola Manteufel, another student researcher. "That's a lot bigger than I had expected," she said, "and I think other students would be skeptical of it. But that's what we found."Manteufel pointed out that students may perceive heavy alcohol use among their peers because they are more likely to remember frequent drinkers than nondrinkers. "The people who do use alcohol are so visible," she reasoned. "It's easy to find the drunk people, but it's harder to find the people who aren't drunk."Although many see fraternities as hotspots for freshmen who want to drink, the study found that drinking often occurs elsewhere."It was... significant to validate the theory that students are drinking as often in their residence hall rooms as they are at the frats," said Armand Mickune-Santos, coordinator of the alcohol health education program. The student and faculty researchers ended the study with eight recommendations which address student well-being. "[The] emphasis is on how to create an environment that is safe and healthy as opposed to a punitive approach to drinking," Galarneau said. The University's underage drinking policy was recently relaxed for students caught drinking in dorms. The new policy puts students on residential life probation, keeping them in "good standing" with the university. Last year's policy, which Dean of Students Bruce Reitman called an "aberration" in a Daily interview earlier this month, withheld good standing privileges, such as the ability to pledge fraternities and sororities. The recommendations include a social norms campaign that would correct misperceptions about student drinking; continuing research on campus alcohol use; and implementing a plan to address alcohol-related concerns on campus."Designing and implementing a social norms campaign to compliment the educational and the counseling services we now offer would work well this year," Santos said. As the only health counselor who deals with alcohol use on campus, Santos emphasized the need for others to become involved in campaigns on drinking awareness."This 'alcohol abuse drinking culture' is too significant of a problem that can only be addressed as a community effort," Santos said. "Social and non-drinkers should not have to tolerate other people's inappropriate and unwanted behaviors and attitudes." Santos recommends that Greek students in particular lead the campaign, because they are sometimes criticized for making alcohol widely available. "Fraternities spend a great deal of time defending and defining the great things they do for the community regarding campus life," he said. "Now would be a great time for fraternities to promote a lifestyle that has less emphasis on alcohol parties." The study, a result of Tufts' involvement in the Boston Coalition's Task Force on Underage & Problem Drinking and the University's own Alcohol Task Force, was sent to 45 to 50 administrators, faculty, staff, and student groups. "Now we have actual Tufts data that tells us how much Tufts drinks," Galarneau said. "It's really an at-home picture." "We hope that everyone involved with the University will pick up on this and pick up on a discussion and some sort of plan," Galarneau said.The study, released by the community health program, was conducted by department chair Edith Balbach, Galarneau, and students who took a year-long course devoted to the issue. Galarneau said she and the students examined drinking in different situations - not just binge drinking - to characterize overall alcohol use on campus.
(09/01/01 12:00am)
Six days after terrorists attacked the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, plunging Tufts and the nation into a state of shock and mourning, many students are struggling to make up work they neglected while watching the story unfold. "I've found myself reading the paper more than my assignments for classes," said junior Maryann Kuruvilla, a native of New York. "It's still extremely difficult for everyone to concentrate." Some students are still having difficulty coping with the emotional aftermath of the attacks, and fear what may come next. They say that the University should have cancelled classes last Tuesday and Wednesday. Several other Boston-area universities, including Harvard, shut down and excused all non-essential personnel from work. Emerson College cancelled classes at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, while Boston College cancelled classes beginning at 4 p.m. and after. MIT remained open as events developed. E-mails from University President Larry Bacow last week indicated that students concerned about their friends and family should be excused from classes and work, and some professors chose to cancel their lectures. Other professors pushed back regular coursework to discuss the attacks with students. As a result, the University extended the deadline for adding courses to 5 p.m. on Friday, as opposed to this afternoon. But some professors stuck to the regular schedule, and students who were unable or chose not to attend classes are now under pressure to make up the work they missed. For some, Rosh Hashanah cut down on their class attendance this week as well. The measures did not satisfy some students. "What is it going to take for Tufts to cancel classes?" one student asked. "Bombs on our own campus?" The student was among several who cited Tufts' record of holding classes while surrounding communities suspend their daily schedules, noting in particular the lack of snow-related cancellations during the winter. But an e-mail from the academic deans of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering sent the day of the attacks explained the University's decision. "We feel that it is important to move forward as a community of learning," the message stated. At a memorial service later that evening, Bacow said it was important for students to learn from the crisis. Classrooms, he said, were the best place for that. All Boston-area universities are back in session, and Tufts continues to provide individual and group support through the Deans' offices, the Chaplaincy, and the Counseling Center.
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Tufts has developed a new method to promote the safety and well-being of its students. The Tufts University Women's Center, located at 55 Talbot Avenue, has instituted a student response line for sexual assault, harassment, rape, and abusive relationships. The program, called Students Sexual Assault Response Assistance (SSARA), provides the student body with a rapid response service that gives confidential support and information to victims of sexual assault, harassment, or abuse. Certified by the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, eight female students serve as volunteer assistants to a counselor-on-call, physician-on-call, and administrator-on-call, all of whom are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The student assistants are on-call with cellular phones on a rotating basis. Kathy Savage, a nursing coordinator at Health Services, and Peggy Barrett, director of the Women's Center, serve as alternate on-call backups to the student assistants. With the network of staff in place, Savage says she is confident the program will succeed. "The reason SSARA will prove to be successful is the dedication and commitment that everyone involved with this service has demonstrated," Savage said. The student assistants are certified by the state's Rape Crisis Services, but the completion of the course does not signify the end of their training. Associate Director of Counseling Sherry Richman and a trained rape crisis counselor from the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center meet with the student assistants each month to provide supervision and ongoing training. When an on-call student assistant is beeped, the assistant seeks a private area where the call can be returned. In this way, the caller has access to the resources available to the assistant, as well as short-term counseling if they choose to meet the assistant. Assistants are also available to accompany callers when they get medical care, counseling, or file complaints, and no permanent records are kept of the calls. Many students have welcomed the new program as a helpful resource for the Tufts community, praising the system that allows callers to speak to their fellow students. "I think it's encouraging to see this program here," sophomore Christina Zahara said. "Sexual violation, whether it is in the form of harassment or rape, is a sensitive and deeply personal subject," Zahara said. "Some students may not feel comfortable sharing this type of incident with friends or adults. It is important to have the opportunity to seek support and advice from a trained student with the knowledge that shared information is confidential." "I think that there is definitely an advantage in being able to speak to someone your own age when you have that sort of a problem," senior Abby Noble said. "There is a certain level of familiarity and comfort that comes with talking to a peer that you can't always get with someone older or younger." Residents of Richardson House, Tufts' all-female dorm, have also spoken in favor of the initiative. "It would be great to have someone your age to talk to in that kind of situation," senior Tracy Rosa said. "A student would know what you're going through, and the program gives the caller access to adults if necessary." Though freshman Kim Nguyen, another Richardson resident, said she doesn't see rape as a significant problem at Tufts, she said she is glad to know the program is here if she needs it. "The program is kind of like Richardson," she said. "Here we have a network of support and community." "We're always here for each other just in case this kind of problem, or any other kind of problem, arises," Nguyen said. But some students say they're skeptical that their classmates are capable of providing adequate counseling. "I'm not sure I would take advantage of the counseling part of it simply because the people on call are students," freshman Lauren Gesserman said. "Even though they have been trained to assist rape and abuse victims, it's not the same as having a professional to talk to." But Gesserman said that she would call the student number if she needed to, if only to be referred to a more qualified professional. According to SSARA volunteer junior Liz Monnin, the students do not take the place of professionals, but rather act as a central location where students can get information about available resources. "For survivors, they are often unsure if they want medical attention or if they want to file charges, so it can be confusing to know who to call for help when you're not even sure yet what help you want," Monnin said. "SSARA fills a critical role of having all of the information and resources centralized - we are there just to listen, we are there to answer questions, we are there to guide people in the right direction for the resources that they say they want." The Students Sexual Assault Response Assistance program provides support to students whether or not they are using other campus support resources such as the Counseling Center or Health Service. To reach a student assistant, call 617-435-7272.
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"I would say I drink three times a week. I get drunk probably two out of the three times. I don't think I have a problem." So said a junior at Tufts. But according to some definitions of binge drinking, what some students think as drunken fun may actually be a serious problem. Tufts students in particular find the line between drinking often and binge drinking to be a muddled one. In a study published last year by the Harvard School of Public Health, binge drinking for men was established as consuming five or more drinks in a row; for women, four or more. Frequent binge drinking was defined as binge drinking three or more times in a two-week span. The study found that 44 percent of college students in the US are binge drinkers, and had engaged in binge drinking during the two weeks prior to the school's survey. The data was collected from nearly 17,600 students from 140 four-year colleges and universities across the country. A similarly comprehensive study, the Tufts University Alcohol Study (TAS), was conducted at the University and published by the Community Health Program last May. The community-based research project included surveys, focus groups, and interviews of several Tufts students. While the study at Tufts did not focus specifically on binge drinking, it found that 81 percent of students consider themselves drinkers. Of these, 48.2 percent typically drank four or more drinks at one time and 15.8 percent typically drank six or more drinks. Armand Mickune-Santos, Director of Alcohol and Health Education for Tufts Health Services, said that binge drinking is a significant issue on campus. "With the definition [of binge drinking], most students at a party would be binge drinkers," he said. "I would say, however, that there are more students drinking socially than binge drinking on campus." Binge drinking fits particularly well into the college setting because "it's drinking in a set pattern, like every Friday or Saturday night," Mickune-Santos said.Mickune-Santos handles all alcohol and substance abuse counseling at Tufts, and all students who have been treated by TEMS for alcohol poisoning are required to meet with him. He estimates that 60 to 70 students each year receive medical attention for alcohol-related problems, but believes most students don't seek the help they need. Still, he said, binge drinkers are not by definition alcoholics. "Binge drinking may or may not be considered a dependency, [but] alcoholism is a dependency," Mickune-Santos said. He added that those binge drinkers that are pre-genetically disposed to alcoholism are more prone to become alcoholics.Mickune-Santos, who is planning a social norms marketing campaign for next semester to educate students about healthy lifestyles, noted that while binge drinking is a major concern on many college campuses, most students at four-year institutions either abstain from drinking or drink in moderation, according to the Harvard survey.That survey says that 56 percent of students do not binge drink. Many at Tufts, however, think that binge drinking should be defined as consuming more than the four-to-five drink standard used by the survey. If the standard were raised, the percentage of students who do not bring drink would be considerably higher. "Four drinks in a night is not enough to be considered binge drinking because you can drink socially four drinks at a party without the intent of drinking to get drunk," sophomore Magda Denes said. "You can socially drink four drinks in a night without getting drunk at all." Others agree, especially regarding the lower limit for females. "I think that it should be more," sophomore Martha Betz said. "I didn't know the definition before, but I feel like the cut off for binge drinking should be more than four because most girls I know drink more and I never thought they were binge drinking." Others think the five-drink limit for guys is inaccurate. "I think five drinks makes you a social drinker [but] not a binge drinker because everybody drinks five drinks without getting sick," sophomore Alexander Bailey said. "I consider binge drinking to be puking every night." And according to the Harvard survey, even students that fell into the category of frequent binge drinker - having drank three or more times during a two-week span - claimed they didn't have a problem with alcohol at the time of the survey. Students say the reasons they drink vary from social motivation to a release from academic pressures to, as one student put it, simply "to have fun." According to the Tufts alcohol survey, this is the top reason for drinking. "I think people drink in some instances to forget about what is going on in their lives at the time," Betz said. "If people are drinking every night to escape, then they have a problem. It all depends on their intent, and their dependence on drinking." But when does drinking for fun become a drinking problem? According to Mickune-Santos, students come to him when drinking brings them adverse consequences. He warns that when drinking impacts students' academic or athletic performances, relationships, financial situations, or causes aggressive behavior and blackouts, they need to get help. "Sometimes not until a parent or friend express concern do students ask for help," Mickune-Santos said. "Wake-up calls," such as getting pulled over by the police or a dramatic change in a student's social group to accommodate their drinking habits are also signs that have caused students to seek help. And while some students first get the drinking bug when arriving at college for the first time, many carry it over from high school. Compared with those who did not drink prior to college, students who were binge drinkers in high school were almost three times more likely to binge drink in college, according to the Harvard study. At Tufts, 69 percent of students who drink reported that they had drank five or more times before college, with some students' first drinking experiences having been as long ago as middle school. There existed a small percentage of students who were drinkers in high school but not in college.Regardless of when the problem starts, college typically exacerbates it. Denes said a friend who experienced a serious trauma was a social drinker in high school, but in college drinks almost every night."There is lots of drinking in college and we all just need to look out for our friends and recognize that we're all going out to have a good time, and that [drinking] is not a major part of our lives," Denes said. "I can go for a weekend without drinking, but if drinking becomes more than that then it becomes a problem."
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Tufts rose to 28th place in this year's US News & World Report annual ranking of "America's Best Colleges," released last Thursday. Tufts' rank began to decline in 1998, when it slipped from its highest position of 22. But in the latest list, the University advanced one place. Tufts and the University of North Carolina (UNC)-Chapel Hill both received overall scores of 75 based on 18 criteria, including faculty resources, acceptance rate, and the SAT scores of last year's incoming freshmen. The magazine assigns the top-rated school a score of 100. For the second consecutive year, that slot went to Princeton. Since US News published its first list in 1983, universities have disputed the magazine's ability to rank academic institutions according to their educational quality. This year, criticism heightened when several university officials spoke out against the rankings. Amy Graham, former director of data research at US News, echoed administrators' concerns in an article co-authored with Nicholas Thompson, an editor of The Washington Monthly. Their article faults US News for ranking schools on the premise that intelligent incoming students, large expenditures, and a recognizable name amount to a quality education. "Unfortunately, the highly influential US News & World Report annual guide to 'America's Best Colleges' pays scant attention to measures of learning or good educational practices," they wrote. US News editors say the list provides a useful tool to prospective students, and college counselors credit the magazine for compiling statistical information and making it accessible to students. According to a New York Times editorial, the rankings sometimes affect the institutions they attempt to measure. UNC and Ohio State have both implemented institution-wide strategies designed to boost their rankings. Tufts' administrators say they will not cater to the rankings. And the University provost, Sol Gittleman, said he pays little attention to the list, which he says is designed to sell magazines. "We should tailor the intellectual experience here to a magazine?" he asked last Friday. "If you measure your agenda according to US News & World Report, you should get out of the business." But for the last two years, Tufts has hosted conferences with US News editors and officials from other universities. At the meetings, Tufts critiqued the ranking system and sought ways to improve its score. Attendees at last year's meeting resolved to take steps to restructure the financial aspect of the rankings. They recommended discounting certain research budgets that do not benefit undergraduates and gave research-intensive schools an advantage in the rankings. This year, attendees discussed removing most of the money used for medical research and analyzed the formulas behind the graduation rate scores. Dawn Terkla, who organized the conferences as the University's executive director for Institutional Research, said she had not reviewed US News' methodology by last Friday, and did not know whether this year's ranks included Tufts' suggestions. But she said that a school's wealth still heavily influences its ranking, since the richest institutions rank at the top. The reputation component of the rankings constitutes another obstacle for Tufts. US News bases 25 percent of its score on a survey of university presidents, provosts, and deans of admission, who are asked to rate peer institutions' academic reputations on a scale of one through five. This category was one of Tufts' weaknesses; Tufts scored 3.6 points out of five, while UNC-Chapel Hill, for instance, scored 4.2 on this measure. Harvard, Princeton and Yale all received 4.9. "Tufts has only been a great university for 20 to 25 years," Gittleman said. "And academic reputations take time to change." Gittleman, who was asked to rate more than 300 research universities, admitted that his ratings were based on anecdotal evidence that might not accurately represent the institution. Despite the popularity of the ranking lists and their effect on applicants, college counselors say that advancing one spot does not significantly affect applicant numbers. "A move from third or fourth to first might make a big difference," said James Maroney, a partner of First Choice College Placement, a college counseling service for high school students in Milford, CT. "But 50th to 47th, for example, that won't make any difference." Many students, however, use the list as a general guide. Kristin Andreutis, a high school senior from Needham, MA, said she is limiting her college search to US News' top 50 schools. She printed the list soon after it was released on the US News website. "Basically, I'm using it as a resource," Andreutis said. "Rank is more like a starting point to know which are the good schools." One college counselor in Boston recalled meeting a parent whose daughter chose one college over another solely because US News ranked it one position higher. Criticism like Gittleman's has spurred suggestions on improving the rankings. In the Washington Monthly article, Graham and Thompson suggested using evaluations by graduating students to determine educational quality. But Terkla predicts that incorporating the data from once-internal surveys would further skew results. "If you do that, you are going to end up with a popularity contest," Terkla said. "People are always going to want their institution to look good." The best option, she said, would be to use more precise output statistics on graduating students. US News' current scheme relies heavily on figures for incoming students, while output measures would better indicate a school's effectiveness, she said. But, she added, it is difficult to determine which statistics are fair because universities produce different kinds of graduates. "I think it is important to make the rankings better," Terkla said, "because they are not going to go away."
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One of the first things that strikes you about Howard Solomon's office is the light and airy quality of the room. Two wall-size posters celebrating the millenium in French hang there, books are opened all over the round table in the middle of the room, and hanging plants and stained glass adorn the area in front of the windows. The shelves are lined with history books, and behind the desk hangs a framed certificate of recognition from the LGBT center for, "speaking up, speaking out, being creative, and just being fabulous!" The certificate frames Solomon's long and distinguished career at Tufts. Professors laud him as "a model of professionalism," and students appreciate his emphasis on promoting "good class discussions." Solomon was born into a working-class family in Newcastle, PA, where his father worked as a kosher butcher. His family was among a handful of Jewish families amid "subtle, but real" anti-Semitism. Solomon calls it the world of "Ozzy and Harriet" with typical '40s and '50s values. He was the first member of his family to go to college. Soloman, however, won't take credit for his achievement, instead dismissing his success by placing himself in the generation that benefited from a boom in American education and corresponding increase in graduate grants. The money was not just used to send scientists to study biology and physics, but for students to study language and culture. For Soloman, education was a way to escape. "I was a double minority, in a time when there were no words for 'gay' and 'coming out,'" Solomon said. He immersed himself at the University of Pittsburgh, studying, of all things, the Court of Louis the 14th. The subject had nothing to do with his upbringing or personality, but "there are no accidents," Solomon said. It was as far away as he could travel from both himself and his upbringing. Solomon's identity was the fount for the classes he teaches at Tufts. He always wanted to teach, and began instructing classes that stressed the nature of working people, sexual identity, and new perspectives on history. "His lectures emphasize that history is not merely just events, a country's government or nominal facts about a nation's military or economy, but how the events of the past have affected real working people both in the past and present," said Rishi Gandhi, a student in Solomon's Europe Old Regime class. "Overall, he is an engaging person to talk to, and he is very concerned with student's overall learning progress." After getting his undergraduate and graduate degrees in 17th century French history, Solomon began teaching at NYU in what he calls "the world's greatest job." Solomon was in Manhattan during one of New York City's most exciting eras, a time when Greenwich Village was the place to be for intellectual radicals - the sister city of San Francisco during the '60s and early '70s. But after being mugged three times in four months, Solomon took it as a bad omen. When a position opened up at Tufts in October 1971, he grabbed it. Solomon's accomplishments during his years on the Hill read as an impressive resum?©: He was dean of undergraduate studies and academic affairs from 1976 to 1982, chairman of the history department from 1983 to 1988, academic dean of Talloires for one summer, and creator of the LGFaculty and "Writing Across the Curriculum" programs. Solomon helped run and direct the University Symposium on the Millenium and Y2K during the late '90s, and for five years lobbied for the Faculty-Executive Committee, a liaison between faculty and administration, for which he served as its first chair. There is more to the laundry list of accomplishments than meets the eye. With a mischievous grin, Solomon tells about his first week as the dean of undergraduate studies. "Up until this time, there were separate files for the women in Jackson College and the men at Tufts University," Solomon said. "I made the radical act of taking the women's files from one room and putting them in the other room along with the men's files," he said, adding that the position gave him a chance to shape Tufts undergraduate experience and counsel students. Solomon came out as a homosexual in 1982 and helped create the first queer history courses, such as a class about social marginality in Western Europe. He co-chaired the LGFaculty, of which he is immensely proud, helping the body lobby for partners' health benefits, the University's anti-discrimination policy, and Judith Brown's position as LGBT center coordinator. Tufts was one of the first schools across the country to have this position. Leila Fawaz, professor of Lebanese and Eastern Mediterranean studies and director for Eastern Mediterranean studies, says the University Symposium on the Millenium was one Solomon's most successful initiatives. "He did a superb job with it," she said. Fawaz not only calls Solomon "wonderful, humane, caring, and knowledgeable," but says he's a person that can "get things done" creatively, with wit and intuition. History Professor George Marcopoulos agrees, citing Solomon's "empathy for others, his erudition, his superb teaching, and his fine sense of humor." Solomon, Marcopoulos says, has been a wonderful colleague. Professor Jeanne Penvenne, a fellow historian, agrees. Solomon, she says, is also "wonderfully funny and mischievous." "If I sit near him at almost any function I begin to remember the wonders of being a child in church - everything struck us funny and we weren't supposed to laugh," Penvenne said. "He never fails to crack me up, whether with his notorious jokes or his dry wit." Solomon has also received praise from his students. Matt Malatesta, a student in the Europe Old Regime course, says that from the first day Solomon has made him feel at ease. Solomon "immediately made me feel at home in the class, made me feel comfortable to voice my opinion on the material," he said. "He interacts with us and brings the subject to life. He doesn't just mindlessly lecture." As Tufts students and faculty members love Solomon, he loves Tufts back. In fact, Solomon couldn't imagine a better place to be. So why is he leaving while still in his teaching prime? Solomon's answer is simple: He lives in Maine. Solomon moved to northern New England with his partner in 1987 and made the decision to stay. When he decided to stop commuting to Tufts, he was lucky to find a job in his new state. In Maine, Solomon will compile the LGBT archives as a scholar-in-residence and adjunct professor at the University of Maine. The adjunct professor position was offered just weeks after he made the decision to leave Tufts. "It was a certain blessing, the wearing commute. It's very comfortable to stay as a teacher, and it was a risk financially to leave, especially with the stock market as it is," Solomon said. But the scholar-in-residence and adjunct professor position provides him with an opportunity to do something new, Solomon says. He describes the new project as a "creative way to break the double silence [of homosexuals] and write down their histories." "Traditionally it's said that there is no life except in cities," Solomon adds. "I want to show how there has been an LGBT presence in small communities." Solomon looks forward to the upcoming year, when he will be on the MA Turnpike and 495, traveling and interviewing people. Before he leaves Tufts, Solomon says he has a message for young Jumbos: "Don't double-major. Take classes across the board," he said. "Don't get stuck needing to take a course and not being able to take that really juicy one, one that appeals to you."
(09/01/01 12:00am)
Marisel Perez became Tufts' third associate dean of students in as many years this summer. The University chose Perez after a year-long search process that involved more than 70 applicants. Until June 2000, Reitman held the position himself, when Lisa Smith-McQueenie became the interim associate dean. The committee searched for "someone who is flexible in a day-to-day routine, because, in that position, you can be working on one type of emergency one day and a different type the next," said Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, who chaired the committee. The group also included representatives from the administration and Tufts University Police Department along with graduate and undergraduate students. The associate dean is responsible for working on diversity issues within the student and faculty populations, assisting in the judicial affairs process, and answering general questions from faculty, students, and parents concerning student life and services. Perez also works with Residential Life and sits on several campus committees. Perez said she has done "lots of learning" since she arrived at Tufts. She is chair of the search committee for a new director of Residential Life and coordinating a dialogue series with students and the Dean of Students Office. She is also developing a Bias Response Team and a Bias Education Team and working with Residential Life and the Group of Six - a collection of culture centers and the Women's Center. More than four weeks into the semester, Perez has already faced several challenges: on the second night of orientation, she was the one to respond to a hate incident in South Hall. Although she is still learning about the Tufts community, Perez has already identified ways to bridge her office with students. "One of my immediate goals is to get involved whenever possible with student leadership and student groups - to broaden the link between [the] Dean of Students [office] and the student community," she said. Perez also plans to work with Residential Life on training and programming modules and with the University's culture houses. The search committee required a candidate with a degree in higher education and significant experience working in student services. Perez received an undergraduate degree in psychology and biology from Suffolk University and a master's of education in counseling psychology from Boston University. She has worked in higher education for the past 20 years, most recently at Boston College as the associate director of African-American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American (AHANA) student programs.
(09/01/01 12:00am)
A dynasty was ended last night when the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees 3-2 in the seventh game of the World Series. The tables were turned, for a change, as Arizona gave New York a taste of its own medicine when it came from behind in the bottom of the ninth to take away both a victory and the championship title from the Yanks. The game may go down in history as one of the most thrilling and exciting ends to the World Series. Down 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth and facing Yankee closer Mariano Rivera, who prior to the inning had the lowest postseason ERA of all-time, the D-Backs got men on first and second with one out, thanks in part to a throwing error by Rivera. The error would prove to be costly, as next batter Tony Womack tied the game with his clutch double to right, scoring Midre Cummings and sending Jay Bell to third. Then, after Craig Counsell was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Luis Gonzalez stepped up and deprived the Yankees of their fourth-straight championship with one swing of the bat. Gonzalez drove Bell home with a single to center field, and the champagne began flowing in the Arizona clubhouse. Maybe it was the desert air. Maybe it was the change of time zones. Maybe they were just scared by Randy Johnson's hair. Whatever it was, New York could not find a way to win in Arizona during this series, and the Diamondbacks won the first two and the last two games at Bank One Ballpark to bring their franchise a championship in only its fourth year of existence. Starter Randy Johnson, who won Games Two and Six, pitched part of the eight and the entire ninth inning to earn the save. He and Game Seven starter Curt Schilling, who won Game One and had a no-decision in Game Seven, were duly awarded the MVP award for the series - fitting, since the two were the main reason the D-Backs even made it this far. While the offensive fireworks were the big story in Game Seven, the contest was a pitching duel throughout the evening. Schilling and Roger Clemens matched scoreless inning for scoreless innings for six sets, providing a stark contrast to Saturday's Game Six, when the Diamondbacks pounded Yankee pitching for a 15-2 win. Arizona's first run last night didn't come until the sixth inning, which Steve Finley opened with a single, the host's fifth hit of the night. Danny Bautista then crushed a double to left-centerfield to drive home Finley, but Bautista was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple on an amazing defensive play. The run was Bautista's sixth RBI in the last two World Series games. However, the Yankees broke through against Schilling for the first time the next inning and tied the score on three hits. New York opened the inning with back-to-back singles by Derek Jeter and Paul O'Neill. Jeter advanced to third on a fielder's choice by Bernie Williams, and then came Tino Martinez, who will be a free agent after this season and is likely playing his final game in a Yankee uniform. Martinez lined a single to right-center to drive in Jeter, and Williams stopped at second. The Yankees took the lead in the top of the eighth on a lead-off home run by Alfonso Soriano. They knocked Schilling out of the game three batters later, and the Arizona ace finished the game with 103 pitches, nine strikeouts, and having allowed six hits. Clemens, meanwhile, allowed seven hits over his 6 and 1/3 innings and struck out ten. He was one of several Yankees to display shoddy defense in the loss, as he dropped a toss at first base when he tripped over the bag early in the game and later swung so hard that he stumbled across home plate. New York made three errors in the game - not counting Rivera's final pitch to Gonzalez - and seven in the series. In the last three World Series the Yankees have played, they committed a combined total of just five errors. But what was really uncharacteristic of the Yankees was the silence of the offense during this series. The three games the Yankees won were all by one-run, and New York held a lead for only eight of the 67 total innings played in the World Series. Arizona outscored the Yankees 37 to 13 to give manager Bob Brenly a title in his first year as manager.
