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Slideshow | Recap of Women's Basketball vs. Amherst

Emily Maretsky | Nice Shoes, Let's Date

You remember those orientation?week rookie mistakes during freshman year: traveling in hordes to random off?campus parties, signing up for Friday 8:30 a.m. classes, trying (and failing) to navigate though the South Hall maze.

CEO of DuPont says experience as a female engineer was instrumental in her success

Ellen Kullman (E '78) is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of global Fortune 100 chemical company DuPont. She shared at Thursday's Lyon and Bendheim Lecture her experiences at Tufts and how they influenced her career. The Daily sat down with her beforehand for an interview. Saumya Vaishampayan: As an undergraduate engineering student at Tufts, what did you see yourself doing post-graduation? Ellen Kullman: You know what, I went into engineering because I was always drawn to math and science and I really enjoyed that kind of work. But as I got into it, what I realized was that's not really what I wanted to do. I didn't want to necessarily work as a design engineer; I like working with people, I like being out, so I ended up going into sales of technical products, I ended up going to work for a company — you know, electrical distribution equipment, that kind of stuff, into sales and product management, and ended up going back and getting my MBA so I had a more full business view. SV: At Tufts, were you a member of any clubs or organizations that influenced your career path? EK: So I played basketball for a couple years, was actually on the team. I was always very competitive, so that was a lot of fun. You know, engineering school pretty much took up a lot of your time, so there wasn't a lot of time to do other things. SV: In 2009 there were only 15 Fortune 500 companies run by women. How did your time at Tufts prepare you for being a female CEO in a male-dominated business world? Or your time after Tufts? EK: Well, you know, I was always the only woman or one of only one or two women in most of my classes coming through Tufts, so you learned how to deal in that world. I didn't view myself as any different than the men. We were just there, we competed, and so I think that I was obviously very comfortable in it. I think that when you're comfortable in an environment, you make other people comfortable in the environment as well as being the one who's a little different, so I think that learning how to work in a very open and a very engaging fashion with all different kinds of people is something that I took away from my experiences here. SV: What advice can you give students about life after graduation? EK: Well you've got to really figure out what you love to do and the younger you are, the easier it is to try different things and move around because you don't have a whole [lot] of stuff or a whole lot of roots usually. So, I tried a couple of different companies and different jobs and ended up going back and getting my masters. Just enjoy it and try to figure out what your real passion is because if you really love something, then you'll do it. People always ask me the question of, "Gee, you've sacrificed a lot to get to where you are," and my response is always, "If I thought it was a sacrifice, I don't think I would have done it." I mean, I've loved it along the way, so I think when you're young; I found out my passion was in business and industrial businesses for some odd reason, probably because of my mechanical engineering degree, and I just have always worked with companies that were like that where those skills have been valued. SV: Can you explain a little bit about the industries that you work in? So you said, more technical industries? EK: So, there's consumer products industries and there are industries that are more industrially-oriented. I never worked as an engineer, but I have a deep understanding of engineering principles, project management skills. I mean, a lot of the skills that engineering school taught me were how to solve problems and in the industrial world, you're working with other businesses. It's business-to-business, and understanding how technology can really help them be a better company and have better products for their customers and the like. I really like the science part and the technical part of it, so my company is science based. Everything we do comes from chemistry, biotechnology. I like to say that mechanical engineers are the most important because we know how to keep it all inside the pipes, but there's an argument about that at my company.

Slideshow | Tufts Week in Sports, 1/26-1/31

Thinking outside the essay: Tufts admissions adds new video option to application

In recent years, the Tufts admissions department has allowed supplemental essays to the Common App in which potential Jumbos write about everything from whether or not they agree with Kermit the Frog's statement "It's not easy being green," to answering the question of "Are we alone?" This year, however, the admissions committee made the application even more unique.

Tufts fund awards grants to local neighborhoods

The Tufts Neighborhood Service Fund (TNSF) committee in January awarded $17,500 in grants to support 27 local charitable organizations, despite seeing a significant drop-off in donations from last year.

For Tufts, Amherst, national supremacy on the line

that stretch has it beaten Amherst. Though each of the teams' last four meetings during that span have been close -- none has been decided by more than six points -- the Lady Jeffs have come out on top every single time, including once on a buzzer-beater and twice in the NESCAC Tournament.

Ingrid Michaelson to play Jumbo Jam

Indie-pop singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson will play this year's Jumbo Jam on March 2 at Somerville Theatre, continuing Concert Board's efforts to bring more big-name acts to Tufts.

Astronomy at Tufts attempts to redefine itself

Those Jumbos who loved Concepts of the Cosmos and are looking to continue their study of astronomy should make "space" on their schedules for additional courses to be offered by a newly expanded Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Women's basketball to take on Amherst in clash of top-10 teams

Most matchups between two of the top 10 women's basketball teams in the country are exciting in and of themselves. But when you throw other factors into the mix -- a bitter rivalry that has played out on the biggest of stages and produced rather extraordinary drama, for instance -- you get something a little bit more than your run-of-the-mill clash of two national powerhouses.

[title of show]' fills in the blank with theater references

Watching "[title of show]" is like playing a 90-minute version of "Jeopardy! Musical Theater Edition." While the plot is interesting and the music lively and entertaining, the audience spends most of the show trying to keep up with a never-ending stream of references to obscure musicals, actors and actresses and New York City landmarks.

A resolution to remember

February 2010. Just past a new year. Still in the beginning of a new decade. And, more importantly, not too late for a few resolutions: floss, avoid pizza, get fit, remember the war.

Research shows major earthquake in Haiti not unexpected

Haiti has been devastated. The already frail infrastructure of the struggling nation has collapsed, people are starving and gangs are overrunning the streets of the capital. Destruction and death have ruled the country for the past week, and many want answers as to why the earthquake occurred. There are several factors that contributed to the gravity of the disaster. Part of the reason for the extent of the devastation was lack of preparation for any type of earthquake in Haiti. There have been no large earthquakes in the country in recent years, and the only accounts of large earthquakes in the region date back to 1860, 1770 and still further back to 1618. Yet even the accounts of these earthquakes cannot be confirmed as originating from the same place as the earthquake that occurred on Jan. 12. The geological stability of past centuries may have been a contributing factor in the catastrophe that was the Haitian earthquake. It's actually a good thing if there [are] a lot of low magnitude earthquakes, because then you're constantly relieving the stress," Anne Gardulski, head of the Tufts geology department, said. "It's when you get locked up like what happened along this fault in Haiti for 200 years, that's when you start really having big earthquakes. This is not unusual. It is unusual in a human time frame - we think of things in terms of decades, but geologically these are very common events; even earthquakes of this magnitude." Research from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has found that the Haitian earthquake originated from an area known as the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone (EPGFZ). This area is located in the southern part of Haiti and runs almost straight through Port-au-Prince, the nation's capital, from east to west. The fault system is active, which means that there is still movement along the faults. The EPGFZ is the area where the Caribbean tectonic plate is moving east past North America towards the Atlantic Ocean. It is very similar to the San Andreas Fault in California, where the Pacific plate is moving north relative to the North American plate. The friction as the plates move past each other is intense, and as they squeeze by each other in opposite directions and collide, the area in the middle - in this case, Haiti - is especially affected. The earthquake on Jan. 12 measured a 7.0 on the Richter scale. The scale, which measures the magnitude of an earthquake, ranges from a low of one to a high of 10. A 7.0 is a major earthquake, but location, as well as magnitude, matters for the intensity of damage. The Haitian earthquake was very shallow - less than 10 miles underground. "The amount of shaking of the rock decreases rather dramatically the further you get from the focus of the earthquake. So if it's deep in the earth, say 100 miles down, the earthquake energy will have been dispersed somewhat by the time it reaches the earth's surface. You can have a magnitude seven earthquake which, if it's a very deep earthquake, can still be very damaging, but probably not as damaging as one that is so close to the earth's surface," Gardulski explained. Another significant factor in the destruction of Port-au-Prince was the underlying rock and soil. "Sediment can shake more than hard rock, and you can get amplification of waves. If you have a hard tough rock like granite, it will certainly shake, but you're not going to develop problems like liquefaction of sediment or landslide damage. And it sounds like in Haiti there were a lot of landslide problems because of the steep slopes there with unconsolidated, unlithified sediment on the slopes. And that just gave way. Whole villages were coming down and being buried," Gardulski said. Many were concerned about whether or not there would be a tsunami in the area after the quake, bringing yet more destruction. While there have been a number of tsunamis that have resulted from earthquakes in recent history, there was little to no chance of one occurring in Haiti. "To generate a tsunami you have to have some abrupt movement vertically on the sea floor - you have to have a block of rock move up or drop down, and that sends a shock wave into the overlying water. This fault - along which there was motion in Haiti - was one where there's only horizontal motion, and therefore even if this was underwater, it's not generating vertical motion up and down across the fault. They did put out a tsunami warning just after it happened because they didn't know yet what kind of earthquake it was," Gardulski said. Places that are hit by earthquakes on a regular basis have learned to deal with the instability of the earth on which they live. Some densely populated countries, such as Japan, are constantly beset by earthquakes, but they suffer less damage because of strict regulations of building codes. Precautionary procedures such as the ones in these countries could serve as valuable examples as Haiti looks to rebuild in the future. "One of the things I'm concerned about personally is the people that are going to try to rush in there and rebuild. If they don't take into account earthquake-mitigating construction guidelines, it doesn't do you any good to go in there and rebuild. It's not a question of if this is going to happen again. It is going to happen again, sometime. I'd just like to encourage people - ¦ [to not] put up more of the same types of buildings that were there," Gardulski said.

Relay for Life kicks off tomorrow with higher fundraising goals

Relay for Life of Tufts University tomorrow will host its kickoff event, marking the beginning of a major registration and fundraising push for the annual American Cancer Society (ACS) benefit.The kickoff event, which will feature performances by entertainment groups and stories shared by cancer survivors, will take place in Hotung Caf'eacute; from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.The kickoff is the main publicity event for Relay for Life, which is now in its eighth year at Tufts, according to junior Tala Kayyali, a member of the organization's publicity committee.'We're going to have many different laptops out so that people can sign up to join a team or donate,' she said. The sign'minus;up fee is $5 this year, instead of the traditional $10.Relay events take place in colleges and communities worldwide to raise funds for the ACS, which sponsors cancer research. The participants also aim to raise awareness about the subject and celebrate its survivors.This year's Relay for Life will be held on the night of April 10 and will go on for twelve hours; college and university Relay events are only twelve hours long, as opposed to some community'minus;wide events that run for a full 24 hours.Participants form teams to raise funds leading up to Relay for Life, and the teams do a continuous walk for the duration of the event around the indoor track in Gantcher Center.Over 600 Tufts students raised more than $84,000 at last year's Relay, according to Whitney Downum, ACS community executive for income development, who is overseeing planning for the event. She hopes that this year's effort will see more participation and raise more funds.'Our goal for this year is $89,000. We also have a goal of getting 65 teams for the event, and we already have twenty, so we're well on our way,' she said.The Relay for Life movement started in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt ran around a track for 24 hours, single'minus;handedly raising $27,000 for his local ACS chapter.It has grown to over 5,000 events in the United States each year, with events also taking place in 21 countries worldwide.

A March to Remember?

On Jan. 22, a crowd of around 400,000 - the majority of them young women - gathered from all over the United States and some from as far away as Canada and Europe at our nation's capital. Some made this annual pilgrimage by plane, others by car, and some, like me, charted red-eye buses from New England, while a group of 35 elderly women from storm-plagued Louisiana embarked on a more-than-24-hour bus journey to reach the National Mall in time for the march, which kicked off at noon on Jan. 22.This year's march marked the 37th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States.' In the last two years the total number of abortions since the 1973 decision climbed above the 50 million mark; the current number is around a staggering 52 million. That is more than 38 times the number of all American lives lost in all wars fought since our country's founding.What struck me most about the march this year was not the number of dedicated pro-lifers on a mission, although this has been one of the biggest turnouts so far in the history of the march. In fact, more people turned out this year than last year despite a positively gloomy weather forecast of snow, sleet and rain (fortunately the precipitation stayed away). It wasn't the elderly in walkers or the toddlers pushed along in little red wagons 'hellip; no, what stuck in my mind wasn't their dedicated presence but what wasn't present: reporters and protesters.It is easy to be complacent when your side is up, and with our nation now under the leadership of the most pro-choice president America has had, even those few fervent pro-choice protesters chanting 'my body, my choice' were nowhere to be found. The media, which historically have understated the scope and effect of this annual march, were notably underrepresented as well. In fact, the lack of media coverage of this event has been nothing short of astounding. Just a few months ago the Balloon Boy made headlines for weeks, but when nearly half a million people gather at the mecca of our country for a cause they believe in, they can't even make the last page of a national newspaper, let alone a mention in the top five pages of a Google search result in a recognizable paper or journal (a single photo in the Washington Times appears half-way down on page five).This begs the question: Where were CNN, NBC, ABC and even FOX? Aside from Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), a Catholic network, no other recognizable media names could be seen. Are they so unwilling to devote so much as a nod to the largest annual gathering of pro-life supporters in America because they disagree, or because it simply isn't newsworthy?But despite the lack of media attention, there was a renewed sense of strength and determination among marchers this year. Many were still fired up over the recent election of Scott Brown to fill the Massachusetts Senate seat formerly occupied by the late Ted Kennedy. I myself was fortunate enough to be able to tour the Senate office building the morning before the march and to attend a caucus hosted by Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc. Walking through the enormous Hart building, I overheard several senators discussing the recent special election. Some seemed wary of the newcomer from the Northeast, but most just laughed him off. The whole scene reminded me of a movie I had seen recently called 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.' The plot centers on a down-home, relatively unknown man going up against impossible odds who gets the chance of a lifetime to make a difference in Washington. Now Senator-Elect Brown will get his chance to make a difference. The election of Republican Brown breaks the Democratic 60-seat hold on the Senate, giving Republicans back the filibuster power, which will likely be used to halt the health care bill. Brown has been very vocal in his opposition of this and any health care bill put before him that would include tax-funded abortions. Despite being aware of the obvious consequences, President Barack Obama seemed determined to give Brown his due by delaying the Senate vote on the health care bill until the new senator is sworn in next week, a move I would deem respectful, courteous and just.I think this country and its media could stand to take a page out of President Obama's book; he is willing to hear out the opposition - why aren't we?--Jaclyn Thomas a senior majoring in chemical engineering. She is chair of Jumbos for Life.

Men's Track and Field | Jumbos take fourth at Bowdoin Invitational

Though the men's track and field team took fourth at the Bowdoin Invitational in a field of five teams Saturday, the biggest story for Tufts came via senior quad-captain Jared Engelking, who took first in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.71, which provisionally qualifies him for the NCAA Championships in March. Engelking's first-place finish is the seventh-fastest posted in the 55-meter hurdles so far during the 2010 Div. III indoor season. The senior also placed fourth in the pole vault with a personal best height of 4.35 meters.Freshman Michael Blair took home the other victory for the Jumbos on the day in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.87 meters. Senior teammate Isaiah Paramore cleared the same height to claim second, which was based on attempts. 'I think we did pretty well as a team,' Engelking said. 'That said, I think we can do a lot better. We had some good performances, but ... I know a lot of the guys are capable of doing a lot better. But then again, our team was split up.'Freshmen Nick Ferrentino and Dan Kirschner also had strong performances for Tufts. Ferrentino claimed a second-place finish for the Jumbos, crossing the finish of the 5,000-meter run in 16:01.80, while Kirschner took third in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:59.34.' MIT dominated the meet, scoring 264 to clinch the win, followed by Springfield and Bowdoin. Though Tufts held off Colby to avoid a last-place finish, the Jumbos will square off against the same teams it faced Saturday again in three weeks at the New England Div. III Championships.' ' ' ' ' ' ' 'I don't really think our performance is like or indicative at all of what we can do at Div. IIIs,' Engelking said. 'Usually we step up pretty well in the championship meets 'hellip; I don't think the fourth-place finish says much about us, because I know we have a lot better performances in us basically across the board, so in terms of New Englands, I know we will place a lot better than that.'The Jumbos also sent part of their squad to the Terrier Classic at Boston University (BU) Saturday. Senior Scott Brinkman had the highest finish among the Tufts athletes at the meet, placing 10th in a field of 34 athletes in the 500-meter dash. The meet featured athletes from all three divisions, and Brinkman was the second-place Div. III finisher in the 500-meter contest.Senior quad-captain Billy Hale finished as the first Div. III runner in his race, posting a 2:31.13 time to place 15th in the 1,000-meter run. Classmate Matt Tirrell was close behind, finishing in 2:31.32 to claim 17th.With the New England Div.-III Championships rapidly approaching in under three weeks, the Jumbos will next host the second Tufts Invitational on Saturday and the Tufts Pentathalon Friday in the Gantcher Center, the last home meet of the year for the squad.

Cold War Kids find their niche with new EP

Though it is likely too early in the year to call, 'Behave Yourself' is a contender for the Most Appropriately Titled Release of 2010. While this seems like a neutral description, it reflects a positive development in Cold War Kids' sound. On their new EP, the maturing Kids move in a more soulful, melodic direction while sacrificing some of the innovation and sharpness that marked their youth.The EP arrived on shelves Jan. 19, the latest in a growing catalogue of Cold War Kids releases. Starting in 2005, the band built a name for itself in the indie'minus;rock community with a string of EPs. They would not break into the mainstream until the release of their critically successful debut LP, 'Robbers and Cowards' (2006). Vintage instruments powered the precocious record's dusty percussion, and thick bass lines created an old'minus;fashioned atmosphere, much like the work of The Walkmen, that sounded more like attic rock than garage. The formula wore thin on the Kids' follow'minus;up 'Loyalty to Loyalty' (2008), in which any attempts to deviate were too meager to be effective.Rather than trying a radically different approach on 'Behave Yourself,' Cold War Kids have decided to, well, behave. The result is an EP that is easier on the common ear, albeit sonically unadventurous. The off'minus;beat cymbal washes and dissonant chimes of 'Saint John' (from 'Robbers and Cowards') won't be found on any new tracks, except the bonus CD'minus;only oddity 'Baby Boy.' This miniature tune seems to shave all the potential pandemonium off the full'minus;length tracks and confine them to a 37'minus;second throwaway. It pointlessly disturbs the powerhouse finale of 'Sermons' in the context of the record and, out of context, it stands only as a short, wistful reminder of the childlike vigor that gets abandoned with adolescence.Thematically, the EP covers starkly different ground. Frontman Nathan Willett's despairing cries against the vices and iniquities of humanity from 'Robbers and Cowards' don't show up here. Instead, a shy croon crawls through 'Coffee Spoon,' a song concerning compulsive consumerism. With dripping guitars and a softly 'oohing' chorus, 'Coffee' sounds like the closest thing to a straight'minus;up love song in Cold War Kids' discography.That title, however, truly belongs to 'Santa Ana Winds.' In this quick piece, Willett serenades his California hometown of Los Angeles - the figurative prodigal son expressing his love and yearning for both its urban and natural beauty. Emotion is delivered through an uneven variety of viscerally effective descriptions ('Seatbelt sticks in the poison heat') and questionable name'minus;drops ('Chutes and ladders leaving me where I begun/ Like Joan Didion'), muddling the passion with an unwelcome dose of pretension.While it ultimately falls short of delivering lyrically, the band compensates with pulsing, upbeat rhythms and staccato guitars. The EP's trend toward streamlined structures and focused melodies pays off in spades. Case in point: The minimalist melodies of the opening track, 'Audience,' are timely and powerful, augmenting the strength of the catchy refrain, 'Playing for an audience of one.' The repetition is hardly forced, as each verse eases into the catchy phrase with a fluidness that's at once casual and theatrical.A sizeable portion of Cold War Kids' new melodic tightness stems from the EP's notably crisper production. Again, a single track can be used as a clear example of this improvement: in this case the closer, 'Sermons.' Fans of Cold War Kids' previous work will recognize this track as a revitalized version of 'Sermons vs. the Gospel,' the acoustic tidbit hidden at the end of 'Robbers and Cowards.' A studio facelift does wonders for the song, enhancing the raw soul of Willett's stellar vocal performance with the most haphazardly beautiful musical climax found on the EP.The raw power and innovation that marked 'Robbers and Cowards' and failed to translate onto 'Loyalty to Loyalty' has finally been comfortably restrained on 'Behave Yourself.' Maturation is both a blessing and a curse that can shroud the future of most bands in uncertainty, but based on the consistency of 'Behave Yourself' - to paraphrase Vampire Weekend - the Kids do stand a chance.

Sundance Film Festival makes its way to Boston

When it comes to independent film, the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah is the place to be. This annual 10'minus;day event in late January is the largest independent film festival in the country, boasting an exclusive guest list of industry big shots and Hollywood celebrities. For most everyday indie film aficionados, however, jetting off to Utah in the dead of winter to see a movie or two isn't exactly feasible.Luckily, Boston got a little taste of Sundance last Thursday night, Jan. 28, when the Coolidge Corner Theatre hosted an advance screening of the new Boston'minus;based production 'The Company Men' (2010). As part of the first ever Sundance Film Festival USA, this special, one'minus;night event featured eight filmmakers showcasing their Sundance submissions beyond the slopes of Park City in eight different cities across the country.'Sundance is devoted to the idea of fostering new voices and developing artists with independent visions,' Lisa Viola, associate programmer of Sundance, said the night of the event. 'Sundance Film Festival USA transferred these artists and their work to us in hopes of extending the dialogue of the ideas and the emotions in these new films here on the mountains of Utah into communities who have shown passion for independent cinema.'According to Beth Gilligan, the Coolidge Corner Theatre's associate director of development, marketing and outreach, the theater was preselected to take part in Sundance USA after receiving a call from John Cooper, the artistic director of the Sundance Film Festival. Gilligan explained that the Coolidge Theatre has worked with Sundance in the past, which made it a likely choice to host the festival's 'The Company Men' screening.'We had been linked to Sundance through The Art House Project every January for the past few years,' Gilligan told the Daily. 'It's basically a conference and a chance for art house cinemas to come together and collaborate. So I think our name and reputation in Sundance really sort of grew through that.'The evening of the Sundance USA event kicked off in Boston with a few unexpected snow flurries, leaving first'minus;time director and screenwriter John Wells to joke that maybe this was the Sundance Festival in Utah after all.The Coolidge Theatre was abuzz with excitement as people settled into the theater's plush red seats and took in the majestic art deco decor of the room while waiting for the film to start. With a packed house full of press, Sundance reps, Wells himself and an unexpected appearance by one of the film's young actors in the audience, the lively Boston crowd really felt like Sundance had made its way to Beantown.'It's hard for members of the general public to go to Sundance, especially from the Boston area, so we were happy for the opportunity that Sundance got to open its doors,' Gilligan said. 'We just saw Sundance USA as another service to the community, because we are a non'minus;profit, mission'minus;driven theater. It's a very good, nationally recognized addition to our theater's special programming.'Wells' 'The Company Men' follows three hotshot businessmen (Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper) in Boston's shipbuilding industry who are forced to face the realities of the current economic crisis. After their company's corporate downsizing, the men find themselves struggling to protect their families and maintain their lavish lifestyles, while trying to cope with their newfound unemployment.The drama poignantly portrays the present dismal economic situation, and with the film set and shot on location in many popular places around Boston, 'The Company Men' hit particularly close to home on Thursday evening. As part of Sundance USA's initiative to foster a dialogue between audiences and filmmakers about their work in a more intimate setting, Wells also held a Q&A session after the screening, allowing many Boston natives in the audience to voice their strong, emotional reactions to the film.'It was very special having the director there, because it's not something you get every day. It's a timely film, and I think it was just emotionally resonant given the realities of the economy and what's happening in the news,' Gilligan said.And with the success of last week's first annual Sundance USA event, Boston residents and the Coolidge Theatre are eager to take part in Sundance USA again in the future.'If Sundance decides to do this next year, we'd love to be involved,' Gilligan said. 'I heard back from John Wells and his people ,and they were very happy about how the screening went. If they find a film for us, we will happily show it.'

Gatz' brings 'The Great Gatsby' to life

The American Repertory Theater is showcasing F. Scott Fitzgerald's American classic 'The Great Gatsby' (1925) like never before. Director John Collins' current production of 'Gatz' is a drama that incorporates a full'minus;length reading of Fitzgerald's novel. The play takes an impressive six hours to complete, with two intermissions and an hour'minus;long dinner break to keep audiences going.While the play's slow beginning may scare away less dedicated theatergoers, it adds to the plotline's gradually building momentum and the overall experience of the play. 'Gatz' opens with an office worker, suffering from an indifferent work ethic, finding a copy of 'The Great Gatsby' in his rundown, low'minus;budget workplace. The employee reads the first few pages in a monotone voice, feigning only vague curiosity for the novel. As he half'minus;heartedly tries to get his computer to work, the employee quickly becomes absorbed in the text. He blocks out the movements and mutterings of those around him until a remark from one person startles him; his coworker says the same sentence as the one he's just read in the book.As the novel progresses, so does the involvement of the office with the text. The overlapping interactions between the two realms are exaggerated to the point where they can no longer be passed off as coincidences. The office workers' strange and erratic behavior can only be explained in the context of the novel. What began as seemingly distinct story lines for the office and the novel eventually culminate into one single jazz'minus;ridden cadence.Due to the nature of the show, it takes a while to understand the many characters silently working in office. Their presence is at first disconnected and distracts from the reading, as they whisper to one another, grab files and make phone calls. With an ensemble cast of 13 actors, all of the characters make their appearances one by one over the course of the play, making their corresponding roles in the novel evident. It is immediately apparent that Nick (Scott Shepherd) is the reader, equivalent to the narrator of the novel, and that Jim, aka Gatsby, (Jim Fletcher) is the more serious and senior employee of the two. For the other characters in the office, it is only a result of their not'minus;so'minus;subtle actions that the audience realizes their place in the novel.One of the more brilliantly executed scenes in 'Gatz' occurs at the end of chapter five when Jim is flustered seeing Daisy (Victoria Vazquez) again for the first time. The music playing is a mixture of rainfall and a woman's soft singing, providing an ominous, sensual tone for the scene. At this moment, the novel is all that matters, making the fact that all the play's props resemble office supplies - Vazquez drives over for tea on a swivel chair - simply irrelevant. At heightened moments like this, such disparities are much more entertaining than distracting.The set for 'Gatz' is a detailed, authentic reproduction of a dingy, generic office. Filing cabinets, an old sofa and swivel chairs clutter the set and impede the movement on stage as the actors are forced to stumble, push and toss the objects out of the way. Dim, flickering fluorescent lights recreate storms while maintaining the essence of a rundown office space. Far away from West Egg, the wealthy suburban setting of the novel, the office is transformed through the actors on stage, so that no separation is noticeable between the two.However exciting it may be to combine the staged business office and its employees with 'The Great Gatsby,' the most interesting element of the entire production lies in their differences. The juxtaposition of a mundane, uninspired workplace to the glamorous and self'minus;destructive West Egg seems ludicrous, but ultimately, that odd combination is what makes the play succeed.'Gatz' is an Elevator Repair Service production and is running at the Loeb Drama Center until Feb. 7. Student rush tickets are available for $20 two hours before the performance. A boxed dinner is also available for pre'minus;order, if one can sit through the entire production.

Increasing number of students getting licenses late

Freedom? Independence? Wheels? These milestones have long been equated with turning 16, but many teens and college students are saying, 'Not so fast,' to getting behind the wheel. Recent statistics released by the U.S. Department of Transportation show that young people are waiting longer to get their driver's licenses than they were two decades ago.