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Jacob Kreimer | The Salvador

(10/01/09 12:00am)

Every time you leave the bathroom, you hit the lever and watch the water swish away another gallon and a half of wastewater. Your relationship with trash is probably similar: put it in the bin, haul it to the street (or let OneSource do it for you if you live at Tufts), and rest peacefully knowing that some truck has taken it somewhere far away. Indeed, our purchasing patterns show that consumers respond to marketing through bulked-up packaging. We buy excessively knowing that if we dislike something, we can just throw it out and, within a few days, have it carted off to some landfill. Waste isn't something that Americans are accustomed to thinking about, and when we do, we know it will be down a pipe or in a truck on the way to someplace else very shortly.

https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2009/10/jacob-kreimer-the-salvador-6466a7484ece6

Forum focuses on sexual assault policy

(04/27/09 12:00am)

  Over 50 students, male and female, gathered at a forum held by Prevention, Awareness and Community at Tufts (PACT) last Thursday to address sexual violence and policy in the Tufts community. Entitled "I Was Raped on Campus, Were You?" the forum brought students together with members of the administration for a broad discussion on Tufts' policy on sexual assault, which some students have called inadequate and ineffective. At the forum, students expressed concerns about both the policy itself and about overall on-campus awareness regarding sexual violence and victims' options. The policy, found under the "Equal Opportunity" portion of the university's index of policies and procedures, reads: "The university supports the right of the victim/survivor of a sexual assault to decide how best to utilize various university, community, private, and public remedies to address crimes of sexual assault" and then lists the phone numbers for the Office of the Dean of Students Affairs, Office of Equal Opportunity and the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) in Medford, Boston and Grafton.The forum was planned by the students of PACT and Elaine Theodore, coordinator of Tufts' Violence Prevention Program and was attended by Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman, Judicial Affairs Officer Veronica Carter, TUPD Captain Mark Keith and sexual assault clinician Susan Mahoney. Theodore served as the moderator.  Carter explained how, in practice, the policy generally works. Alleged victims can pursue their case either on or off campus. Should they choose to do so on campus, they are advised to contact the Office of the Dean of Students Affairs where, Carter explained, she would help them seek counseling and medical attention and take them through their disciplinary options. This includes placing a stay away order, which does not prohibit alleged perpetrators from being on campus, but does prevent them from having any contact with the victim."We do the stay away order to give [the victim] time to think, and when they're ready to file a complaint they can," said Carter, adding that many students choose to take time before filing an official complaint.When a student files a complaint, the alleged perpetrator has 48 hours to respond. From this point, the victim and perpetrator can decide either to do a mediation session, in which they meet with a mediator to come to a private agreement, or to undergo the disciplinary action process.Reitman added that the university system moves quickly, allowing for a quick removal of a convicted student. "When a claim is made, it is adjudicated within two weeks," he said.Keith explained that students who choose to take their case to go to the police are assisted by officers who have completed modules of training for dealing with such cases. Evidence is collected and the students proceed through the court system.An oft-cited study, conducted in 1987 by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), found that 28 percent of women had experienced rape or attempted rape in college. Such instances, however, are rarely reported at Tufts; disciplinary action has not been taken against a perpetrator in years. Although it is widely believed to be the most common kind of rape, acquaintance rape is rarely reported at Tufts. "We seldom get cases reported like that," Keith explained. "Since September of this year, we've only had one case reported directly to us."The Office of the Dean of Student Affairs has had three cases of sexual assault reported this year.Students at the forum suggested that a general lack of understanding regarding the policy might contribute to what many perceive to be a consistent underreporting of sexual assault crimes.Before the forum, senior Wagatwe Wanjuki explained that PACT believes that the policy lacks clear expression of sexual assault and the judicial process associated with it. "If you were looking at this, what would you do? It seems like you're on your own, and you don't know what happens when you call the dean," Wanjuki said.At the event, Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER) displayed policies from a number of New England liberal arts colleges, including Bowdoin College and Colby College, which both had sexual assault policies several pages long.While Tufts' policy is explained in various pieces of university literature, one student called for a clearer, more organized method of sharing it with students. "It seems like what I'm hearing is that there are a lot of pamphlets, but if something happened, I don't think a victim would want a pamphlet," the student said. "It seems like a passive approach by Tufts to help students."Alexandra Flanagan, a junior, explained that this is one of the first problems the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs needs to address. "We need clear guidelines of what the survivor can do at each step, how to proceed if you're assaulted and how to get help," she said.Others believed that the policy itself might be the cause of the low reporting rate as compared to the NIMH's findings. "If these statistics are correct, hearing that you've only heard of three cases this year is more than troubling. It tells me that there has to be some force against women being able to speak here," graduate student Tina Johnson said.Wanjuki explained that many students view the overall policy as ineffective. "I know someone who didn't report her assault because, knowing other peoples' experience, she didn't think she would get anywhere with it."Flanagan echoed Wanjuki. "People don't have trust in the system," she said.Reitman explained that most students tend to settle their cases in mediation. "When we first started doing disciplinary hearings and dealings with accusations of sexual assaults, in those first years there were seven, eight and eleven each year," he said. "About 50 percent of people who had those situations left the school because they chose to withdraw rather than face the possibility of an adverse finding in a hearing."Today, Reitman says, mediation and student-initiated withdrawals have become the norm.Reitman added that, while he makes mediation available to those students who want to use it, he is unsure about its appropriateness as a course of action."When I first started, we did not allow cases with physical violence to go through mediation, and a big part of me thinks we still shouldn't," he said. "This changed when victims said to us that they would feel empowered by having a refereed conversation [with the perpetrator]."While some students expressed dissatisfaction with the mediation process, others voiced the opinion that the student judicial process is the wrong place to deal with sexual assault. "Sexual assault is dealt with the same way as if you were caught stealing or cheating," Wanjuki said.One student called for an awareness campaign to help students understand what sexual assault actually is. "I was raped and I was terrified to speak out against it," one student who wished to remain anonymous said outside of the forum. "I see the student who did this every day, and he may have no idea that he was wrong. What's the program for students to learn that what they did was wrong?"SAFER presented a list of proposals to the administration to redress the grievances expressed at the forum. They suggested including a definition of sexual assault in the official university policy, including all resources for survivors in the policy, proper training for all faculty members dealing with sexual assault, and a governing body to be associated with the process.Reitman said that he was grateful for what he learned at the forum and looks forward to addressing their concerns. "I know that we can always improve the current situation," he said in a follow-up e-mail to the Daily. "The policy and its associated system are of limited use if survivors don't feel they are effective. Several students pointed out best practices at other schools that they say work better than those currently in place here. We are open to change."Carter said that she too would be looking to make appropriate changes to the policy. "Our office is always open to reviewing our systems to ensure that the student judicial process is accessible and supportive to their needs," she said in an e-mail to the Daily.Theodore said that within nine days, she will release a statement that will address the university's plans for improving its sexual assault policy, starting with making basic information more accessible. "Addressing the system will take longer," she said. "We want to lower the bar to accessing this system and address its systematic problems." 

https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2009/04/forum-focuses-on-sexual-assault-policy

Farmers defend right to use antibiotics in animals despite nationwide controversy

(04/07/09 12:00am)

When students sit down to a plate of chicken wings or steak in Dewick-MacPhie Dining Hall, the first thing that comes to mind probably isn't that dose of antibiotics the animal received while being raised on a farm. But the use of antibiotics in farm animals has recently been causing a stir.

https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2009/04/farmers-defend-right-to-use-antibiotics-in-animals-despite-nationwide-controversy

An interview with Walter Mondale, part two

(02/17/09 12:00am)

    This is the second in a two-part series of Michael Bendetson's interview with former Vice President Walter Mondale. The first installment, which appeared in Thursday's issue, focused on Mondale's career as a senator, his vice presidency under Jimmy Carter and his 1984 presidential campaign. Today's focuses on Mondale's views on key political issues such as energy usage and the economy. Michael Bendetson: As a man who personally held the Senate seat [from 1964-1976], unsuccessfully ran against the incumbent [in the 2002 Senate election] and also is a Minnesota resident, you are in perfect position to provide commentary on the 2008 Minnesota Senate election. At this juncture in time, the people of Minnesota are represented by only one senator. Although the Minnesota Canvassing Board has already certified [an Al] Franken victory, the battle for the Senate has moved into the courtroom. What do you think will be done to resolve this situation? In addition, what do you think should have been done to expedite this process? Walter Mondale: I do not know how this election will turn out.  It is in the middle of what is referred to as "judicial contest" and in the process of looking at 4,000 absentee ballots. I have heard predictions that it will take months to resolve this situation … I do not think that anyone truly knows how long it will take. However, there are a few things we do know. The election was truly phenomenal. There were 3 million ballots cast, and the candidates came within 200 votes of each other.  As a result, every ballot had to be recounted. Our mechanisms for counting ballots are very efficient and effective and may be the best system in the country. The reason for the disputes is based principally on absentee ballots. The outcome has to be just. I also hope the process can be expedited because there is a lot of serious business going on in our nation's capital. Minnesota deserves two senators and America deserves 100 senators. MB: One of the main focuses of the Carter Administration was that of conservation of energy. While various steps such as the creation of the Department of Energy were implemented by President Carter to reduce dependency on foreign oil, the current United States energy policy appears to be nearly unchanged. Why do you feel there has been little movement on this issue? Also, what in your opinion needs to be done to create an energy-independent America? WM: Energy is one of those tough issues. Almost everything that you can do that would make a significant impact requires you to frontload pain and backload pleasure. This is not always a popular thing to do. We did it. We set up [the Department of Energy], deregulated the price of gas and oil and began the search for all alternative forms of energy. We studied solar, wind, geothermal and many other forms. Most of what we are enjoying now was started under Carter. When we left office, [Americans] were using 2 million gallons of oil less than when we entered office. If they kept those programs in place and built on them, by now we would be in a far better position than we are in now. Reagan and a lot of others felt there was no problem. They were optimistic. [Former President Ronald] Reagan said "There is more oil in Alaska than in the rest of the world combined, including the Middle East." Of course, it was not true, but it made you feel good for a while. As a result of this mentality, we lost a lot of time. Now I am hopeful that under the leadership of President [Barack] Obama, and as Americans see the awful consequences of these energy shortages including terrorism, global warming and a damaged economy, that we will focus more of our attention on energy independence.     MB: Throughout your years as senator, vice president and ambassador, you have done an extensive amount of traveling across the globe promoting American values and ideas. Based on your experiences abroad, why is America detested in so many areas around the globe? In addition, what can be done to improve the global reputation of the United States? WM: I think the worst thing that happened under our last president was the excess in hubris, displayed with the idea that America can push people around. There was also this extraordinary confidence [that] the military could force other governments and societies to respond to what we wanted. There was a belligerent and pushy way that the [Bush Administration] approached not only our enemies, but also our friends.  If you look at the polls and the international surveys, they show that we [America] have really alienated a lot of the world. I think our reputation can improve quickly if we change our approach, as Obama is beginning to do so. MB: With a Democratic Congress and an enthusiastic public, President Obama has a great window of opportunity to accomplish his proposed legislation. What are the main issues that President Obama should be focusing on? WM: That is a tough question. I have never seen a new president confront more tough and diverse issues than those that President Obama is forced to deal with. All of these issues are controversial and extremely costly. Right now, we are trying to get a stimulus package that will help pull us out of this deep recession. We have to try to get a better health care system. We need to do a better job in education. We need to do better with alternative energy and global warming. We need to restore America's reputation across the globe. We must find a better solution to dealing with Iran and their nuclear capabilities. There are so many issues that this president and this Congress have to deal with. However, I am optimistic because the American people have spoken and given a mandate to the new president.

https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2009/02/an-interview-with-walter-mondale-part-two

Some students can't put sleep aids to bed

(02/09/09 12:00am)

With nights full of homework, hall chats and episodes of "Gossip Girl," many college students view sleep as an ephemeral afterthought rather than a vital component of good mental and physical health. According to the McKinley Health Center, the average college student sleeps for only six hours per night, although the center recommends eight hours of sleep.

https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2009/02/some-students-cant-put-sleep-aids-to-bed

With STI rates on the rise, so are sexual health resources

(02/03/09 12:00am)

Contraception, condoms and communication are two key ingredients to practicing safe sex, especially on a college campus. Oftentimes, the college hookup culture can interfere with healthy decision-making, but both students and on-campus professionals believe that for the most part, Tufts students are effectively using the resources they are provided to practice safe sex.

https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2009/02/with-sti-rates-on-the-rise-so-are-sexual-health-resources

The Daily takes a look at recession-proof professions

(01/14/09 12:00am)

While most careers are suffering significantly at the hands of the economy, at least two professions are actually thriving. The demand for occupational therapists and school psychologists — two career options that may sometimes be overlooked — are rapidly increasing. According the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), by 2016, the projected number of occupational therapists is expected to rise by 23 percent. For school psychologists, that number is expected to rise by 16 percent. Tufts is ahead of the curve, offering strong programs in what Professor of Occupational Therapy (OT) Sharan Schwartzberg calls "recession-proof" professions.

https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2009/01/the-daily-takes-a-look-at-recession-proof-professions

Undiagnosed conditions present a real problem

(11/13/08 12:00am)

I am writing in response to the Nov. 11 news article "TCU senator wants retroactive-removal process for grades." I have reservations about the retroactive-removal process stemming from the potential for abuse of the process and concerns about transcript integrity. Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser's comments regarding the necessity of such a grade-removal process, however, must be addressed. These comments present a misguidedly optimistic view of mental and physical health care and counseling — both at Tufts and nationally — and simplify the capacity of mentally or physically ill students to identify the reason for their suffering grades.

https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2008/11/undiagnosed-conditions-present-a-real-problem