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Greenberg announces decision to resign from Senate

Sophomore Joel Greenberg last night announced his resignation from his seat on the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate at the first Senate meeting of the semester.Greenberg did not go into the specifics of his reason for resigning but expressed his belief that the time was appropriate for his decision.'It was the right change at the right time,' he said. 'I feel strongly that given current circumstances, the remainder of my term would be better served by one of my peers.'Senators Dan Pasternack, a junior, and Alice Pang, a freshmen, were elected unopposed as co'minus;chairs of the Services Committee, positions that had previously been held by Greenberg and junior Sam Wallis, who resigned at the end of the last semester to study abroad.Greenberg's resignation brings the number of vacant student government seats to three. Wallis' seat has yet to be filled and junior Lindsay Helfman left a seat on the TCU Judiciary empty when she resigned as chair at the end of last semester.Tufts' Election Commission (ECOM) Chair Sharon Chen confirmed that all three seats will be filled in an upcoming special election. ECOM will announce the date of the election in the next few days.Greenberg expressed his hope that his resignation would open up an opportunity for someone who would not otherwise have had the chance to serve on the Senate. He also said that serving on Senate had been a valuable learning experience.

Chuck' learns to be a real spy in third season

Many television shows attempt to stitch more than one genre into their patchwork quilt, but few manage to do so as seamlessly as 'Chuck.' The spy'minus;action'minus;comedy'minus;drama just began its unlikely third season on NBC.Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) is a part'minus;time IT guy and full'minus;time nerd who accidentally opened an e'minus;mail, downloaded governmental secrets into his brain and became the CIA's most valuable possession. His handlers are CIA agent Sarah Walker (the stunning and athletic Yvonne Strahovski) and the NSA's Colonel John Casey (nerd favorite Adam Baldwin), who spend the show using their spy expertise to keep the bumbling Chuck safe.Chuck maintains his cover life and day job on the Nerd Herd at the Buy More, alongside his even'minus;nerdier best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez) and oddballs Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay).Like most shows that are difficult to define early on, 'Chuck' spent its first two years with a small but dedicated audience. When renewal for a third season looked unlikely, an Internet fan campaign arose that went straight to the people who could make a difference. On April 27, 2009, the airdate of the second season finale, 'Chuck' fans went to their local Subway restaurant to purchase a 'five dollar foot'minus;long' sandwich. The scheme worked perfectly; Subway, a major sponsor of 'Chuck,' subsidized much of the current season's budget for the struggling NBC and negotiated a deal for continued product placement in the show.It's easy to paint Chuck, with his lack of coordination, nerdy good looks and quick pop culture one'minus;liners, as the Seth Cohen of espionage; the show is executive produced by 'The O.C.' (2003'minus;2007) creator Josh Schwartz, who brought his eye for quirky romance and ear for indie pop with him. Schwartz's instincts are balanced by those of executive producer Chris Fedak, who handles the show's surprisingly deft spy elements and action set pieces.Though there's rarely a dull moment in Chuck's seemingly opposite worlds, the stakes for Chuck and his team have changed this season. Chuck unwittingly downloaded a new version of the government's intelligence computer, Intersect 2.0, which features a new physical component. Now Chuck occasionally 'knows kung fu,' along with a myriad of other random skills such as the ability to speak foreign languages fluently.This change gave the show a well'minus;deserved reboot after a thoroughly entertaining second season. 'Chuck' newcomers shouldn't fear jumping right in with these new episodes, since the Intersect 2.0 offers a whole new set of problems for the team. If Chuck is flustered or emotional - a near'minus;constant state for him - his new powers glitch, leaving him defenseless.Chuck, in fact, has many reasons to be emotional. His will'minus;they'minus;or'minus;won't'minus;they romantic tension with Sarah, which began in season one, intensified in the season premiere when Chuck was forced to decide between a life with Sarah and a life as a real spy. Quiet, 'we can't be together' conversations, scored by Schwartz's favorite soft rock, can grate against and distract from the deft spy sequences. And Levi, always a little too good'minus;looking to be playing a hopeless geek, makes a surprisingly convincing super'minus;spy when his powers work correctly, a new development that makes him stand out even more at the Buy More.The show spends some of the first few episodes exploring new ways to wedge Chuck back into the civilian world. One of the more successful experiments is the new integration of Chuck's affable and jockish brother'minus;in'minus;law Captain Awesome (Ryan McPartlin), who learned about Chuck's double life near the end of last season. The newest episodes see Captain Awesome inadvertently dragged into the spy world, where McPartlin's notable charm and comedic zeal help meld Chuck's two worlds.Joining McPartlin in the cast's square'minus;jawed ranks is Brandon Routh ('Superman Returns,' 2006), who was introduced in last week's episode as Agent Shaw, the morally dubious new leader of Operation Bartowski. Routh's inevitable function as the third prong of the constant Chuck'minus;Sarah love triangle is tiresome. Thankfully, 'Chuck' always treats its spy characters with tongue'minus;in'minus;cheek aplomb, presenting the espionage business as a revolving door of excessively attractive and incredibly skilled agents. There's no reason to think that Routh's Clark Kent wholesomeness will be misused.So far the fun and thrills of the spy world in season three have overshadowed the other dimensions of the show that made 'Chuck' so appealing in the first place. The fourth episode, 'Chuck vs. Operation Awesome,' integrated Morgan, Lester and Jeff with a long'minus;form parody of 'Fight Club' (1999), but there weren't enough laughs to stand up against scenes of Chuck and a bumbling Awesome infiltrating a CIA office.Once the show establishes exactly what Chuck can and can't do with the new Intersect 2.0, he'll hopefully start to seem like a nerd again. 'Chuck' needs its Everyman back so that the audience isn't alone in watching all the cool spy stuff with starry eyes.

Ice Hockey | Slide continues with pair of weekend conference losses

After thrashing Suffolk University 7'minus;1 last Tuesday, the Tufts hockey team hoped to move up in the NESCAC standings in key matchups against conference rivals Bowdoin College and Colby College this weekend. But a 3'minus;2 loss to Bowdoin and 5'minus;3 loss to Colby promptly dispatched the team back down into the league cellar.Tufts had a difficult time containing both Bowdoin and Colby's offensive attacks early. The Jumbos ceded the first goal in both weekend matchups. On Friday night, the Polar Bears' Kit Smith opened the scoring with a hard wrist shot five minutes into the game, generated by a clean faceoff win by center Leland Fidler. Bowdoin kept up the offensive pressure in the first period, with Aaron O'Callahan firing a loose puck past Tufts goaltender sophomore Scott Barchard.Late in the period, the Jumbos began to find their stride, notching two power'minus;play goals with less than three minutes to play in the opening period. Junior Zach Diaco laced a pass to classmate Andy Davis, who finished the play to cut Bowdoin's lead in half.Just a minute later, junior Tom Derosa scored his fourth goal in two games to send the game into the first intermission at 2'minus;2. Freshman defenseman Trevor John picked up an assist on each of the Jumbos' goals.The second period was void of scoring but certainly not without action, as both teams earned three power'minus;play chances. Though neither unit was able to cash in on the advantage, the Polar Bears outshot the Jumbos 24'minus;9 in the middle stanza, forcing Barchard to deflect a bevy of shots to keep his squad in the game.Just two minutes into the final period, Bowdoin's Ryan Blossom deflected an Erik Olson shot past Barchard, giving the Polar Bears a 3'minus;2 lead and consequently the victory. Tufts killed off a penalty several minutes later, before earning a power'minus;play of their own with five minutes remaining.'I thought in the first game we took some bad penalties. Bowdoin was a very offensive team, and they played a system that we really hadn't seen from any other team this year,' junior tri'minus;captain Dylan Cooper said.Bowdoin's Chris Rossi made 26 saves on Friday, including an impressive pad save on Tufts junior Conor Pieri, who led a dangerous odd'minus;man rush with only a couple of minutes remaining in regulation. Barchard finished with 46 saves against Bowdoin, but his efforts were not strong enough to save the Jumbos from defeat.'The biggest time to score is the first five minutes and the last five minutes. Goals then are big momentum changers,' Barchard said. 'We definitely need to come out stronger in the first five and be ready to play a full sixty minutes once the puck drops.'Tufts faced a Colby team on Saturday that came into the game unbeaten in its last 12 and exited the contest upping the total to 13, six games behind the school's all'minus;time record.The teams traded goals early, with Mike Doherty scoring for the Mules in the first minute of the game and Diaco tying the game for the Jumbos less than two minutes later, but Colby regained the lead at the 6:53 mark of the first period on a goal by Tom McGinn.Colby's Nick Kondiles thwarted Tufts' hopes for a second'minus;period comeback, scoring a goal just 30 seconds into the period, and his assist on Michael Smigelski's goal at 16:38 of the second gave the Mules a 4'minus;1 lead.With two minutes left to play in the period, Jumbos junior Mike Vitale scored to reduce Colby's lead to two goals going into the second intermission, but the margin proved too insurmountable for Tufts.'Colby was disciplined, and they all played well as a team together,' Cooper said. 'It's definitely tough losing NESCAC games, but we're back at home now for a couple weekends, so we're looking forward to that. We're still in good contention to make the playoffs, so we're optimistic about the last few games.'Jesse Lehman tacked on yet another early'minus;period goal for Colby, stretching the Mule lead to 5'minus;2 just 1:33 into the final stanza.Though John answered at the 3:54 mark, the Jumbos were unable to sneak a shot past Colby netminder Cody McKinney in the final 16 minutes of play. Barchard made 30 saves in the loss, while McKinney stopped 16 shots for the Mules.The two losses drop the Jumbos to 4'minus;6'minus;1 in NESCAC/ECAC East play, but the team will have a chance to rebound when it takes on ECAC East opponents Castleton and Skidmore next weekend at Valley Forum II.'We're not pushing the panic button now, we just need to get back to basics and that starts tomorrow in practice,' Barchard said. 'We got on a roll in the beginning of the year; we're just trying to get back on that roll.'

Child pressures begin during infancy

There is no doubt that people like David Beckham and Leonardo DiCaprio began building their careers at an early age. But when it comes to vocational development, parents should take a supportive yet hands-off approach. Many unnecessary parental pressures are placed on children to succeed in today's world. This is based on the fear that adolescents lacking in the talent department will not reach their highest level of achievement and will ultimately fail. I was recently looking over a recreation activity guide for the Spokane area and was shocked at what I saw. There were normal classes such as self-protection, public speaking, painting and so on. My concern began, though, when I saw the sports programs. There were classes offered to children as young as 18 months old so they could get a head start on their soccer careers. However, babies should master walking before attempting to chase a ball half their size around a field. It seems this pressure is becoming a common occurrence, not only in the United States, but around the world. A prime example of this was witnessed in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Much controversy surrounded the women's gymnastics team representing China. Many of these young athletes were dodging accusations from various news sources, spectators and angry coaches for being underage. Even before the games began, the athletes sparked the interest of human rights organizations. Many people wanted to take an in-depth look at Chinese gymnastics training. In fact, National Public Radio examined a particular Chinese boarding school. At this facility, gymnasts as young as 4 years old begin their journey to the gold. In any case, athletes do get to work toward a dream of fame and glory. In the United States, athletes who excel in their sport become household names with hefty paychecks. While in China, gymnasts are endorsed and financially supported so they can focus on training, and they receive a salary for every gold medal won. Beyond the sports world, the entertainment field has its own set of pressures. On the TLC show Toddlers and Tiaras," young girls and boys compete in pageants for their shot at winning a crown. Meanwhile, parents who live vicariously through their children stand by to support the pageant competitors. Since the premiere of the program, viewers have been in an uproar over the exploitation of little girls who look like toddler-sized Barbies. If this thievery of childhood is not bad enough, the consequences of pressure on youth can be devastating later in life. Child actors perfectly illustrate the negative effects of fame. For instance, Drew Barrymore began her acting career with an early breakout role in the movie E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial. Rapid stardom eventually led Barrymore down a road of drugs and alcohol, resulting in multiple rehab visits during her teenage years. It is understandable that parents want their children to make a mark in the world, but children should not have to pay the price for their parents' unfulfilled dreams. Of course, the monetary factor may benefit children in the long run. But the pressures of stardom and success will overshadow healthy childhood experiences. In reality, most 18-month-olds will not grow up to be professional athletes or movie stars. Children should be allowed to develop and pursue their own dreams without having activities forced on them.

Programming Board launches overhauled Winter Bash today

Programming Board will today host the first'minus;ever launch event for this semester's revamped Winter Bash during open block in Hotung Caf'eacute;.The event is intended to promote a significantly different Winter Bash, which is now called Break the Ice as the result of a renaming competition organized by the Programming Board last semester.'This year Winter Bash has drastically changed 'hellip; We want to really get the student body excited,' Programming Board Co'minus;Chair Sarah Habib, a junior, said.Amid food, games and a raffle for free tickets, the launch event will publicize the changes that have been implemented for Winter Bash, in particular its move to an off'minus;campus location and the institution of a $10 ticket fee.The event also marks the official start of online ticket sales. Although tickets have technically been available online since Jan. 21, 'Programming Board is viewing [tickets] as going on sale tomorrow,' Habib said.Tickets will be sold online by credit card until Jan. 31 and then at the Mayer Campus Center Information Booth by cash or JumboCash. Unlike Fall Ball, Winter Bash will have no cap on tickets because its venue, the Sheraton Boston Hotel, is larger than Gantcher Center, where Fall Ball was held.'The space at the Sheraton is so immense. We're lucky that there's one whole ballroom that will be for the whole event and another separate ballroom for a 21+ area,' Director of the Office for Campus Life (OCL) Joe Golia said.Winter Bash's change in name reflects drastic changes to the event itself. Instead of just being a dance at the gym, the Feb. 5 event will include a light dinner with different food stations offering fare such as pizza, tapas, sliders and salads, as well as complimentary drinks.'[It is] an upscale event compared to [the] gym 'hellip; there's a beautiful ballroom that can sit pretty much anyone who wants to come,' Golia said.Habib feels that the inclusion of substantial amounts of food and free drinks at the event makes the $10 ticket worthwhile. 'Seniors pay $10 for a pub night, which doesn't include food or drinks,' she said. 'The food is really important; it makes paying $10 more appropriate.'Decreasing alcohol'minus;related misbehavior at the new Winter Bash is a major concern for the Programming Board, OCL and the Tufts administration.One of the measures organizers are employing is a new bus boarding system at the Aidekman Arts Center featuring five distinct boarding times and increased supervision by the Tufts administration, Tufts University Police Department officers and OCL employees.'[We will] have an eye on students as they are waiting in line. Hopefully if anyone is out of control or really drunk already we can remove them from the line,' Golia said.The Boston Police Department and Boston Emergency Medical Services will take over supervision after the buses leave from Tufts and arrive at the hotel.Programming Board is optimistic about student behavior at the event. 'After all that's happened, we're sure that the Tufts community is going to behave appropriately,' Habib said.

Slideshow | Tufts Weekend in Sports, 1/22-1/24

From the Editor in Chief | Keeping Tradition

To all of our readers, welcome back and happy 2010!While many of us were taking it easy for the holidays, the never-ending news cycle didn't seem to get the memo that it was vacation time. Since our last issue came out on Dec. 11, a lot has happened both on and off the Hill.The Tufts Beelzebubs took the prize for second place in NBC's 'The Singoff,' Tufts has become involved in a sexual harassment lawsuit and an earthquake has devastated thousands in Haiti.Thanks to our dedicated editorial staff, the Daily managed to cover these stories and others, despite the fact that our print edition was taking a hiatus. And now as the semester is getting under way, we're back and ready to continue bringing you the latest in Tufts news every day.As is the Daily's standard, we will only be printing issues every other day for the first two full weeks of classes. Many people think the Daily does this so that we editors can take our time getting acclimated to the new semester -- but, in reality, we're just trying to ensure that you are able to pay attention in class for the first couple of weeks. We all know that as soon as we go daily, it's goodbye professor, hello Jumble. As always, we're just looking out for you.If asked, many people would tell you that the print media industry is a dying one. And in some ways they're probably right. In an age when news is free and available online 24/7, the concept of financing a daily print newspaper is becoming less and less feasible. While we at the Daily have certainly had our share of financial woes, we are nevertheless dedicated to continuing the tradition that our Daily forefathers began way back in ye olde 1980. As we continue to improve our online coverage and rev up the Daily's new media content, our number one priority will always be to print a newspaper every day that brings you the most up to date, objective and accurate coverage we can possibly provide.As we promise to do everything we can to hold up our end of the journalistic bargain, we encourage you, the Tufts community, to help make our paper better by getting involved as well. Fed up with a campus policy? Write about it. Send your submission to oped@tuftsdaily.com and we'll print it for you. Have a problem with our coverage? Send a letter to editor@tuftsdaily.com or give us a call at 617-627-3090. Or for those of you who are feeling particularly friendly, stop by our office in the basement of Curtis Hall and say hello. If it's after 4 p.m. (that's what time we wake up) we'll be there!Of course the best way to get involved with the Daily is to join us. We're always looking for new members, and there are opportunities to get involved in fields ranging from traditional news reporting to mastering the art of new media. Come to our general interest meeting on Jan. 27 at 9:30 p.m. in Braker 001 to learn more.Thanks, as always, for helping keep the Daily tradition alive. We're looking forward to an exciting news-filled semester, and we hope you are too!Sincerely, Kerianne Okie Editor in Chief

Advancing science education at Tufts University

The traditional focus of a science major curriculum at Tufts University has been on the provision of a foundation in the fundamental precepts of a scientific discipline. Introductory courses are designed to offer the necessary tools for students to succeed in the assimilation of more sophisticated upper-level material. Laboratory courses are interspersed within the coursework to offer a basic understanding of scientific methodology. To a large extent this model has been successful in training both future scientists and scientifically oriented professionals, but the model is lacking in two essential areas: research literacy and community involvement.Science is based primarily upon advancements in basic research and the subsequent communication of material through published research papers for the scientific community. For scientists, the ability to read, evaluate and discuss research within a given field is a key component of advanced scientific literacy and mastery of the material. Some gain this skill through dedicated research endeavors, but it cannot be expected that every science major will be interested or able to commit themselves to such experiences. However, the skill of evaluating research by applying basic principles learned in lectures is valuable both for future scientists and any individual seeking to go into any area of study that requires critical thought and evaluation of complex material. Yet there is no consistent requirement among science majors to include courses designed to teach science majors how to evaluate research, analyze methods, compare basic statistical procedures and produce critiques of this research.The introduction of required seminars into major curricula designed to fulfill these goals would address this need. This is not an abstract or undoable goal. In the history department, for example, majors are required to take two seminar courses: a foundation course and a research seminar oriented toward providing grounding in principles of historiography and research. Science departments need not follow this precise model in establishing seminar courses, but could easily incorporate foundation elements into introductory courses while creating and offering an array of upper level seminars every semester. Some of the current introductory science courses, notably Biology 13 and 14, already seek to expose students to the basics of understanding and producing scientific laboratory reports. These efforts should be continued, refined and replicated across the foundation courses in other departments.Upper-level research seminars should be required of science majors who meet foundation prerequisites. These courses should be designed to emphasize information gained in lower level courses and to employ it toward the understanding of primary scientific literature. However, the seminars should not simply throw students into the reading of papers, but first establish an in-depth understanding of how papers should be analyzed, which areas should be focused on and how material should be interpreted. Seminars can be focused in a variety of fields and taught in multiple ways, but the overarching goal should be that students gain a deeper appreciation and applicability of the knowledge that they have gained in earlier classes. If implemented correctly, a seminar requirement will enhance critical scientific thought, writing skills and research literacy among science majors.Whereas research literacy would solidify the effectiveness of the traditional curriculum, community involvement serves a more intangible purpose and should not be a compulsory requirement. In a society faced with increasingly complex scientific questions that require greater general scientific literacy, it is critical for scientists to reach out to the public. At a university focused on active citizenship and the translation of theory into practice, it is equally important for scientists to communicate with the community at large. In a Tufts Daily opinion piece from Dec. 10, 2009, Sophia Cedola and Dan Slate noted a nascent program organized by the Experimental College and Citizen Schools that has the goal of engaging volunteers in bringing science education to middle schools. This is an excellent start, but more can be done to promote these initiatives.Science departments should seek ways to actively engage undergraduates and faculty in programs and projects which will promote science literacy and education both among the Tufts community and the surrounding region as a whole. For instance, there are currently no regular lecture series or events held to promote general science knowledge or awareness. Current department seminars and programs are effective at conveying information in a formal manner to a specialized audience, but are inaccessible to the broader community. Furthermore, education initiatives, like Citizen Schools, are not broadly advertised or promoted by departments. In fact, how many readers know about the excellent Tufts Web site on Community Outreach (http://www.outreach.tufts.edu) that details many of the outreach activities available to students?It is not implausible for science departments to create monthly newsletters within or across departments that advertise and support various programs and events, nor is it infeasible for faculty members to organize regular lectures for a general audience on their areas of research. Even seemingly esoteric research topics can provide fascinating insights into areas ranging from cosmology to evolution. Among the hundreds of scientists at Tufts there are certainly those who could present understandable lectures on pertinent topics in evolution, climate science, nutrition, genetics, energy policy, stem cells, etc. Both the undergraduate community and the surrounding Medford and Somerville communities would profit from increased awareness and knowledge.The current major requirements for science majors and departmental initiatives have done a commendable job of educating proficient and qualified science majors. There is no reason to believe that improvements on the current model would not advance both standard major education and general science literacy.--Michael Shusterman is a senior majoring in biology and history. He is the editor-in-chief of TuftScope Journal of Health, Ethics, and Policy.

From the Hill | Bubs come in second in NBC's national a capella reality show

The Beelzebubs were named the runners'minus;up in NBC's a'minus;capella reality competition 'The Sing'minus;Off' on Dec. 21. The outcome of the live two'minus;hour finale was determined by popular vote.'We're absolutely thrilled,' junior Eli Seidman, the president of the Bubs - as they are commonly known - said. 'Being on stage for the past couple of weeks and representing Tufts and the Bubs has been unbelievable.'Nota, the all'minus;male group from Puerto Rico, won the competition as well as the $100,000 prize and Sony recording contract.'They're the best guys, so musical and talented, and we couldn't be happier for them,' Seidman said.The finale consisted of solo performances by each of the three finalists, Lee University's Voices of Lee, Nota and the Bubs, who had been whittled down from the original field of eight contestants. The finalists also participated in joint performances with guest celebrities.The two'minus;hour event also featured special performances from artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Smokey Robinson and Natasha Bedingfield, in addition to performances by judges Ben Folds, Shawn Stockman from Boyz II Men and Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls. Host Nick Lachey sang a number with the finalists as well.Voting began after the show's third episode on Dec. 16 via e'minus;mail, phone, or text. Each person was allowed up to ten votes per venue of communication.

Tufts alum Brown pulls off once unthinkable victory in Senate race

Massachusetts voters voiced their frustration with Democratic leadership Tuesday by electing Republican Scott Brown (LA '81) to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the late Edward Kennedy.In a special election marked by high turnout, Brown, becoming the first Republican senator from Massachusetts in 30 years, won 52 percent of the vote against state Attorney General Martha Coakley, who received 47 percent.'This Senate seat belongs to no one person, no political party 'hellip; this is the people's seat!' the victorious Brown, speaking to a small army packed inside the Park Plaza Hotel, said.The crowd size exceeded fire regulations, forcing organizers to quietly remove people before Boston police arrived.'I was here for Mitt Romney [when he was elected Governor], and there were a fourth of the people [who are] here tonight,' Boston resident Dorothy K. said.Tufts Professor of Political Science Jeffrey Berry said Brown's win was indicative of the population's unhappiness with the current economic situation.'His victory reflects the level of frustration of Americans under the economy,' Berry said. 'They're not sure what they want but they're voting against the status quo.'The status quo, in Massachusetts, is the Democratic Party. There are just five Republicans, out of 40 total members, in the State Senate, and all ten U.S. Congressmen are Democrats.'The Democratic machine, the elites, ignore us,' Massachusetts resident Ralph Gold said. 'They should have dropped everything to create jobs. Instead they pursued all these other agendas, global warming, health care'hellip;'Thousands of volunteers sharing that view poured into Massachusetts from out of state to oppose Coakley. Randy Maine, a Tea Party activist from Mississippi, said he signed up immediately when he learned that the Republicans would pay for room and board for the first 200 out'minus;of'minus;state volunteers.'This is about the Constitution,' Maine said. 'Nothing to do with Brown. It was more a matter of defeating healthcare, ousting the central socialist government. It's the second revolution.'Many Massachusetts voters agreed the election was not about Brown, but about voicing anger at the Democrats who they feel have neglected their interests. 'It's not so much about Brown. He's not the answer, but you've got to send a message. You've got to kick the bums out,' Gold said.Still, many Brown supporters insisted that only he could have won this election, because he said the right things on the right issues and represented the people.Coakley's campaign had been widely acknowledged to be lackluster, but sophomore John Peter Kaytrosh, a campaign volunteer, said it gained momentum in the last leg of the race.'Towards the end Coakley's campaign had as much energy as Brown's campaign did although Brown had a huge head start because there was a lot of complacency among state and national Democrats,' Kaytrosh said.Kaytrosh also pointed out that the eventual margin of victory was lower than what polls had been predicting.Berry called Brown's victory 'devastating' for the Democrats' health care bill.'Its not clear that any health plan will pass at this point,' he said. 'The only way it could conceivably pass is if the House Democrats pass the Senate bill right away and send it to the President's desk, but if I had to bet, I'd bet against that happening.'Brown overwhelmingly won the central and southeastern parts of the state, gaining large victories in many of Massachusetts' least populated towns and cities, while Coakley won the larger cities. Libertarian Joseph Kennedy won one percent of the vote.

Out with the old

Here's our list of items that get the boot for 2010, along with their replacements for the new year:OutINLady Gaga's 'Paparazzi' (2009) 'The Real World' 'He's Just Not That Into You' (2009) 'American Idol' Classy golfer Tiger Woods Julia Roberts Vampires 'Modern Family' Jay Leno 'Star Trek' (2009) Christian Bale Paula Abdul 'Real Housewives' 'Friday Night Lights' Facebook Apps Books Skinny jeans 'District 9' (2009) iPhone BeretsKe$ha's 'Animal' (2009) 'Jersey Shore' 'Valentine's Day' (2010) 'Glee' Sleazy cheater Tiger Woods Amy Adams Vampire Weekend's 'Contra' (2010) 'Parenthood' Conan O'Brien 'Iron Man 2' (2010) Sam Worthington Ellen DeGeneres 'Teen Moms' 'Blue Mountain State' iPhone Apps Kindles and Nooks Skinnier jeans 'Avatar' (2009) Droid Fannypack hats' '

Women's Swimming ' Diving | Tired Jumbos drop two in return from trip

After returning from a winter training trip in Florida on Jan. 15, the Tufts women's swimming and diving team immediately entered the waters, opening the second half of its season the next day in a NESCAC tri'minus;meet against host Wesleyan and national powerhouse Williams, ultimately falling to both squads.While the Jumbos, who lost 162'minus;137 to the Cardinals and 175'minus;115 to the Ephs, were tired from the return from their recent training trip, Tufts dominated the competition on the diving boards. Senior Lindsey Gardel won the 1'minus;meter platform dive and finished second in the 3'minus;meter dive, while freshman Noa Palmon contributed with a strong third'minus;place performance on the 3'minus;meter boards.'We were all exhausted from the training trip,' Gardel said. 'None of us had our best performances because we were all so tired.'In the swimming events, senior tri'minus;captain Meredith Cronin finished second in the 200'minus;yard backstroke and swam the opening leg of the 400'minus;yard freestyle relay, in which the combination of Cronin, freshman Lizz Grainger, junior Maureen O'Neill and sophomore Courtney Adams also earned a second place finish.The Jumbos also had a strong showing in the 100'minus;yard butterfly, in which sophomore Katie Russell rang in second, closely followed by classmate Valerie Eacret. Fellow sophomore Paulina Ziolek also had a strong showing in the 100'minus;yard breaststroke, finishing in third place and under a second out of the runner'minus;up slot.Tufts was returning from Florida before making a subsequent trip down to Connecticut. During the training trip, the team worked hard in the unusually cold Fort Lauderdale winter, with two'minus;a'minus;day practices both in the pool and on dry land. The Jumbos used the trip to develop and enhance team unity, and to get into better physical condition.'It was really cold, and we weren't in the pool as often as we were used to, so it wasn't as helpful as it had been in years past,' Gardel said.The Jumbos will also be buoyed by the return of juniors O'Neill and Megan Kono this semester. The duo should help Tufts in the middle distance and sprint events and aid the Jumbos' depth across the roster.'We have a lot of our juniors returning from abroad, so hopefully this will help with our performances down the road,' said Gardel.The next meet for Tufts is against rival MIT on Saturday at the Hamilton Pool.'This is one of our favorite meets of the season, against MIT at Tufts, and we have been looking forward to it,' Gardel said. 'MIT have a very good team, so it will be a good challenge.'

Tufts professor accused of sexual harassment

Suzanne Young, a former lecturer and researcher at Tufts, filed a lawsuit on Dec. 11 in Middlesex Superior Court accusing Associate Professor Samuel Kounaves of sexual harassment.

The Main Drag blazes alternative trail in music industry

Boston-based indie-pop rockers The Main Drag released their third album, 'You Are Underwater' (2009), digitally on Dec. 8 and on CD Jan. 7. The five-piece group - composed of Jon Carter (guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards), John Drake (drums, vocals), Matt Boch (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, trumpet) and Tufts alumni Adam Arrigo (LA '06) (vocals, production, guitar, keyboards, glockenspiel) and Dan Cardinal (LA '05) (bass, engineering) - held a CD release party at T.T. the Bear's Place in Cambridge on Jan. 7 with special guest Spirit Kid. The Main Drag plans to perform a few shows during the coming months before launching a more extensive tour this summer in support of the album.'You Are Underwater' plays like a bubbly combination of The Shins and Postal Service with a shimmering dollop of MGMT-style synth layered on top and just enough psychedelic, Flaming Lips-esque quirk to keep listeners guessing. The album unveils seven new songs plus a remix of an earlier song, 'Jagged Gorgeous Winter,' popularized by its release on the Rock Band 2 sound track. The detailed production on each track seamlessly incorporates a diverse pileup of sonic textures.In an interview with the Daily, Arrigo explained that a lot of the layering of sounds has to do with The Main Drag's compositional style. 'Main Drag songs have always started as recorded ideas,' he said. 'We'll send out demos or complete sessions. We'll chop up, rearrange and add parts of each others' work until the final song sounds like something completely different from what the original demo was.' ' ' 'We have to learn our music, which is sort of a weird thing for a band to have to do,' Drake added. 'It's not like we get in a [practice] room and just start playing - we have to figure out how we're going to play the songs, if there's nine guitar parts or something. We have to decide what we're going to play live, what we're going to play on keyboards, what we're going to trigger on samples.'If the band's compositional style seems a bit unconventional, their path through the confusing modern music industry displays an eccentric, successful ingenuity. Four of the five band members work at Harmonix Music Systems, developers of the Rock Band series of interactive music video-games.'Rock Band, as a platform, has definitely expanded our band's fan-base exponentially,' Arrigo said. 'We had a song in Rock Band 2, 'Jagged Gorgeous Winter' 'hellip; and it really surprised me after it came out, the number of MySpace hits and weird YouTube videos. We found this video of these 10-year-old kids in the Philippines playing our song at a county fair.'In an unconventional move that further blurs the line between playing music and listening to it, The Main Drag has released several songs online as raw track stems so that any listener can remix and post them publicly.'We're a pretty free-culture band; we'd prefer that people be falling in love with our music rather than not doing so because they have to buy it,' Drake said.With their self-financed enterprise, independently distributed albums and do-it-yourself production mentality, The Main Drag embodies a burgeoning segment of the once-exclusive music business. As the prices of recording and online promotion and distribution decline, more and more musicians are eschewing the traditional major-label path in the industry.Going the independent route has its advantages and disadvantages, according to Drake: 'We have complete control over our music, timelines, message, image and money; but there are still big hurdles, such as getting in front of larger audiences, or breaking into markets that aren't your home town.'We pay for our mastering, but we do all the recording and mixing ourselves, since we're all fairly competent at sound engineering,' Arrigo said. 'At this point we don't need to sign with a small or mid-sized indie label, because we're capable of doing all that ourselves. And with the Rock Band connection, we have a means of getting the music out there to a larger audience.'The Main Drag will begin touring the northeast this March, with tour dates to be posted at their Web site, www.themaindrag.com. Their albums, including 'You Are Underwater,' are available through iTunes and Amazon.com, and some of their most recent songs can be streamed for free at www.myspace.com/themaindrag.

NBC to shuffle late-night lineup, hosts

In 1992, as NBC was deciding whether to hand The Tonight Show" off to Jay Leno or David Letterman, Leno told The New York Times, "I am disappointed. I feel like a guy who has bought a car from somebody, painted it, fixed it up and made it look nice and then the guy comes back and says he promised to sell the car to his brother-in-law." Followers of the NBC Late Night Kerfuffle of 2010 may recognize the sentiment. Leno won that fight with Letterman, and from 1992 to 2009 he hosted "The Tonight Show," NBC's venerated late-night institution. But when it came time to step down, Leno wasn't keen on retirement. In a bold move to keep Middle America's favorite funnyman from other networks, NBC offered him a daily show at 10 p.m. - "The Jay Leno Show." The 10 p.m. decision rocked the television industry. It reduced NBC's hours of weekly primetime by five and put Leno in direct competition with scripted shows on other networks. It was an unprecedented move for a network that once filled the 10 p.m. slot with shows like "E.R." (1994-2009) and "Law ' Order." It also saved the struggling network boatloads of money; one episode of an hour-long primetime drama costs $2 million, which pays for a week's worth of "Leno." Because NBC was saving money, it didn't have to earn high ratings to turn a profit. However, local NBC affiliates rely on the network's lead-in ratings for their local 11 p.m. news broadcasts. Confidence in "Leno" was so low that a handful of affiliates, including Boston's WHDH, threatened not to air the show.As decided in a contract negotiation in 2004, Conan O'Brien, who had followed Leno with "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" for 11 years, was awarded "The Tonight Show." Under Leno's helm, "Tonight" consistently beat out Letterman's "Late Show" in the ratings, but the switch from Leno's friendly humor to O'Brien's offbeat tone caused ratings to falter. Around the same time, Letterman used his show to address an extortion controversy, which drew more eyes than usual. In his seven months fronting "Tonight," O'Brien was never able to regain the ratings lost in the host transition. Meanwhile, "Leno" performed lower than expected and was beaten in ratings by "CSI" reruns and FX's "Sons of Anarchy." NBC, already something of a laughing stock since it fell from its longtime first place position to fourth in recent years, earned no respect this past fall. And so, in early January the announcement came that Leno would be moving out of primetime. "Dateline" and "Law ' Order: SVU" reruns will fill the 10 p.m. time slot for now, and the network has ordered 18 new pilots for the fall season. For late night, NBC proposed a schedule that put Leno back at 11:35 p.m. with a half-hour version of "The Jay Leno Show," followed by O'Brien's "Tonight" at 12:05 a.m. and "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" at 1:05 a.m. On Jan. 12, O'Brien released a public missive announcing his feelings on the proposal. "I sincerely believe that delaying 'The Tonight Show' into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting," he wrote. "'The Tonight Show' at 12:05 simply isn't 'The Tonight Show.'" O'Brien's letter, more so even than NBC's initial announcement, inspired a flurry of comments, from TV critics and pop culture bloggers to the other late night hosts. Outspoken entertainers joined "Team Conan" in an overwhelming majority, echoing O'Brien's sentiments that NBC did not do enough to nurture his show or give it time to develop, evolve and gain an audience. Fundamentally, though, late night television is all about viewers' habits. NBC has little left to lose; they know that Leno was once number one at 11:35 p.m., so they're eager to put him back. In the short term, Leno is a safe choice. He famously attracts an older, more "Midwestern" audience made up of people who tend to be more faithful viewers. Though O'Brien's audience is younger, hipper and more coastal, it's also not getting any bigger. More and more, those hip kids are watching late night highlights on YouTube.com or Hulu.com, rather than on their televisions. On the other hand, Leno's audience is just getting older, and so is Leno. And as Time's TV critic James Poniewozik pointed out, "Some Jay fans - ¦ gravitated over to Dave last summer, and Jay cannot count on them back." NBC's late night situation will continue to be in flux, even as it recovers from the massive upheaval of its primetime schedule. O'Brien's plans are as yet unknown, though there is some unverified speculation that he will attempt to resurrect his show as early as September on Fox, opposite Leno's "Tonight." Look for Leno to return to "The Tonight Show" in late February, following the Winter Olympics.

Men's Track ' Field | Top milers shine at home invitational

While many of Tufts' teams returned early from winter recess to compete, the men's track and field team took its time. When they finally returned to campus, the Jumbos emerged victorious with a win at the Tufts Invitational I, which they hosted at the Gantcher Center last Saturday. With 239 points, Tufts paced a field of eight teams and was 80 points better than second'minus;place UMass Lowell.The Jumbos clinched many victories in the meet, securing several New England qualifiers with many personal best marks for the athletes.'It's an early season meet 'hellip;. but we had really good performances across the board,' senior quad'minus;captain Billy Hale said. 'The fact that all the events are clicking while [it's still] early on in the season is showing, and it's exciting to see how we're going to perform in the championship meets just based on the overall strong performances from every event group.'Hale and fellow senior quad'minus;captain Jared Engelking both won their events with personal'minus;best marks just short of the national provisional qualifiers. To take their respective events, Engelking ran a time of 7.79 seconds in the 55'minus;meter hurdles and Hale posted a 4:18.97 mark in the 1'minus;mile run.The Jumbos also won the 600'minus;meter run when senior Scott Brinkman finished in 1:24.56, winning by just over a half'minus;second. Classmate Jason Hanrahan also took home a victory, finishing the 1000'minus;meter run in a time of 2:33.36, placing first by over a second.Other Tufts victories included senior Isaiah Paramore in the high jump at a height of 1.91 meters and junior Sam Read, who cleared a height of 4.34 meters in the pole vault.Sophomore Scott McArthur took the 5000'minus;meter run in 15:29.68 and was closely followed by junior teammate Chris Brunnquell, who rang in at 15:31.18. Both times were personal bests.Accompanying Hale in the mile were four other Jumbos finishing in the top six, all of whom posted times under 4:30. Senior Matt Tirrell took second in the race in 4:24.39.'[It] says a lot about the depth of our distance squad,' Hale said. 'We had a lot of guys that came up from the mile and guys that came down for the mile and guys whose event is the mile. There were a lot of strong performances by both the veteran runners and by the new runners. It demonstrates that we have a lot of depth in the middle distance and distance events.'We had a really great week of practice leading up to Tufts I,' he continued. 'We were having some really hard workouts, and that really showed that people put in some time over the month that we had off, and as a captain, that is exactly what you want to see... It's easy to take off a little time over the winter holidays, but people showed some serious discipline, and that is really going to pay off in the later season meets.'The Jumbos next hit the track Saturday at the Wheaton Invitational before splitting up the squad the following weekend at Boston University's Terrier Classic and the Bowdoin Invitational.

The Main Drag blazes alternative trail in changing music industry

Boston-based indie-pop rockers The Main Drag released their third album, You Are Underwater" (2009), digitally on Dec. 8 and on CD Jan. 7. The five-piece group - composed of Jon Carter (guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards), John Drake (drums, vocals), Matt Boch (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, trumpet) and Tufts alumni Adam Arrigo (LA '06) (vocals, production, guitar, keyboards, glockenspiel) and Dan Cardinal (LA '05) (bass, engineering) - held a CD release party at T.T. the Bear's Place in Cambridge on Jan. 7 with special guest Spirit Kid. The Main Drag plans to perform a few shows during the coming months before launching a more extensive tour this summer in support of the album. "You Are Underwater" plays like a bubbly combination of The Shins and Postal Service with a shimmering dollop of MGMT-style synth layered on top and just enough psychedelic, Flaming Lips-esque quirk to keep listeners guessing. The album unveils seven new songs plus a remix of an earlier song, "Jagged Gorgeous Winter," popularized by its release on the Rock Band 2 sound track. The detailed production on each track seamlessly incorporates a diverse pileup of sonic textures. In an interview with the Daily, Arrigo explained that a lot of the layering of sounds has to do with The Main Drag's compositional style. "Main Drag songs have always started as recorded ideas," he said. "We'll send out demos or complete sessions. We'll chop up, rearrange and add parts of each others' work until the final song sounds like something completely different from what the original demo was." "We have to learn our music, which is sort of a weird thing for a band to have to do," Drake added. "It's not like we get in a [practice] room and just start playing - we have to figure out how we're going to play the songs, if there's nine guitar parts or something. We have to decide what we're going to play live, what we're going to play on keyboards, what we're going to trigger on samples." If the band's compositional style seems a bit unconventional, their path through the confusing modern music industry displays an eccentric, successful ingenuity. Four of the five band members work at Harmonix Music Systems, developers of the Rock Band series of interactive music video-games. "Rock Band, as a platform, has definitely expanded our band's fan-base exponentially," Arrigo said. "We had a song in Rock Band 2, 'Jagged Gorgeous Winter' - ¦ and it really surprised me after it came out, the number of MySpace hits and weird YouTube videos. We found this video of these 10-year-old kids in the Philippines playing our song at a county fair." In an unconventional move that further blurs the line between playing music and listening to it, The Main Drag has released several songs online as raw track stems so that any listener can remix and post them publicly. "We're a pretty free-culture band; we'd prefer that people be falling in love with our music rather than not doing so because they have to buy it," Drake said. With their self-financed enterprise, independently distributed albums and do-it-yourself production mentality, The Main Drag embodies a burgeoning segment of the once-exclusive music business. As the prices of recording and online promotion and distribution decline, more and more musicians are eschewing the traditional major-label path in the industry. Going the independent route has its advantages and disadvantages, according to Drake: "We have complete control over our music, timelines, message, image and money; but there are still big hurdles, such as getting in front of larger audiences, or breaking into markets that aren't your home town." We pay for our mastering, but we do all the recording and mixing ourselves, since we're all fairly competent at sound engineering," Arrigo said. "At this point we don't need to sign with a small or mid-sized indie label, because we're capable of doing all that ourselves. And with the Rock Band connection, we have a means of getting the music out there to a larger audience." The Main Drag will begin touring the northeast this March, with tour dates to be posted at their Web site, www.themaindrag.com. Their albums, including "You Are Underwater," are available through iTunes and Amazon.com, and some of their most recent songs can be streamed for free at www.myspace.com/themaindrag.

Medical school dean Rosenblatt resigns for new position at Merck

Michael Rosenblatt, dean of Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM), yesterday morning announced his decision to step down effective Dec. 20. He will take up the newly created position of chief medical officer at pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., Inc. Rosenblatt's decision marks the end of his six years at the helm of TUSM, a longer than usual tenure for deans of medical schools.

Diversity director Coleman plans to leave for Harvard

Executive Director of the Office of Institutional Diversity (OID) Lisa Coleman yesterday announced her resignation effective at the end of December. Coleman plans to take a position at Harvard University next semester.

Semester in Review

University President Lawrence Bacow began the semester with the news that he was "cautiously optimistic" that Tufts had weathered the worst of the economic crisis.