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Local shops take the cake for creative, decadent cupcakes

    Ever want to escape the Tufts campus rut and explore the surrounding areas? Checking out the various bakery joints around campus in search of cupcakes is a fun and tasty way to explore new places. A day-long search for sugar revealed a few bakeries nearby that are bound to satisfy any cupcake-lover's sweet tooth. Fortunately for Tufts students, three of the following bakeries are located conveniently in Somerville, with another shop in the center of Harvard Square for those who are willing to travel a bit further. Petsi Pies (285 Beacon Street. in Somerville, accessible by the 96 bus from Davis Square)     A small pie shop off the beaten path, Petsi Pies is tucked into a tiny nook of a building in Somerville. As the name implies, the bakery specializes in pies, not cupcakes. But have no fear — Petsi's cupcakes are some of the best in town.     While there aren't many choices, Petsi's cupcakes are definitely worth the trip. The whoopie cupcake, an all-chocolate cupcake with a whipped cream filling, took the prize for best chocolate-on-chocolate cupcake of the day. The coconut cupcake is generously topped with a mound of coconut shavings but should be saved for only the most dedicated of coconut fanatics.     Because Petsi's is a small, self-owned business, customers might even get the chance to meet Renee McLeod, a.k.a. Petsi Petsi, a sweet Southern lady who started her bakery business in 2003. She still uses her grandmother's pecan pie recipe. Kickass Cupcakes (378 Highland Avenue in Davis Square)     Most Tufts students are already familiar with this specialty cupcake bakery. What's great about Kickass Cupcakes is its selection. On any given day, there are about 20 different flavors to choose from, including a few specialty flavors that change daily. From Caramel Macchiato and Strawberry Shortcake to The Mojito and S'mores, this shop has something strange, unusual and delicious to suit every taste.     All of the specialty cupcakes are worth trying, especially the Strawberry Shortcake, which is probably the best strawberry cupcake of the Kickass bunch. The only downside to Kickass Cupcakes' creations is that they are expensive for their size. Even though Kickass Cupcakes is the smallest of the four bakeries featured, regular cupcakes go for a pricey $2.75 each.     Kickass Cupcakes owner Sara Ross decided to open her shop after she moved from the West Coast to Boston and found no cupcake bakeries nearby. "We wanted to be near Tufts, as well as Harvard and other colleges, but Somerville also has an interesting mix of people," said Ross. Lyndell's Bakery (720 Broadway, Somerville)     Lyndell's doesn't specialize in cupcakes, but has a store conveniently located in Ball Square and has just opened a branch in the North End. This bakery has tons of baked goods, but its cupcakes are definitely a favorite among students.     The cheapest of the four stores at $1.25 for a regular cupcake, there aren't as many flavors as Kickass or Sweet, but Lyndell's basics are some of the best out there. These are also some of the largest cupcakes, so Lyndell's turn out to be the best bargain. The strawberry and orange cupcakes, which are simple and delicious, are some of the best flavored.     Lyndell's also has some specialty flavors like Oreo and peanut butter, and if buying for a party, this bakery is the place to go. The only downside is that Lyndell's is a traditional bakery, so there's no place to sit down and eat cupcakes for those who need a sugar fix right away. Sweet (Zero Brattle Street in Harvard Square)     This is the second shop opened by Sweet owners, created to keep up with the ongoing demand for their treats after the success of their first store in Back Bay. Sweet's popularity is evident, as people in Harvard Square are constantly coming in and out. With the start of school, Sweet seems to be the new hotspot for students.     Of the stores featured here, Sweet has the best decor and ambiance. It features a pink and brown scheme, retro movies and music and old-fashioned glass cases.     Courtney Forrester, the owner of Sweet, wanted her cupcake store to have a fun atmosphere. "We really wanted a whimsical location. We were really lucky to find some fun wallpaper with lots of space and natural light where everyone can see the community around them," said Forrester.     Sweet also offers a great variety of cupcake selections, with about two dozen flavors offered every day. The shop has a bunch of new flavors to celebrate fall like Chocolate Orange, Salted Chocolate and Caramel Apple. The cupcakes are quite expensive here, but after one bite, ultimate deliciousness seems worth any price.

In bid for Senate seat, Khazei calls on Tufts students

    U.S. Senate hopeful Alan Khazei and Max Kennedy, the nephew of late Sen. Edward Kennedy, appealed to Tufts students yesterday to help in the candidate's eleventh-hour effort to win the special election in January.     "The last election was about: ‘We need change,'" Khazei told a packed room in Sophia Gordon Hall yesterday afternoon. "This election is about: ‘How do we make change happen?'"     Khazei, who announced his candidacy on Sept. 24 to fill the vacant Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat, said that the changes promised by President Barack Obama remain stalled in Congress.     "The process is stacked by special interests and lobbyists in D.C," Khazei said.     He called on the Tufts crowd and young people in general to help revolutionize Washington.     "It has always been the young people who brought change to this country," Khazei said, citing the civil rights movement, opposition to the war in Vietnam and the movement to make Earth Day a national holiday as examples.     "It's you all who elected Barack Obama," he told the students.     Khazei cofounded the service program City Year and served as its CEO until 2006. He also founded and currently runs Be the Change, Inc., an organization dedicated to mobilizing citizens across the country to serve their communities.     Kennedy formally endorsed Khazei yesterday, beginning a four-day joint effort with the candidate to garner support across the state.     Kennedy echoed Khazei's calls for continued efforts to overhaul the Democratic Party, citing a deadlock in Congress even after the 2008 elections stacked the advantage in the Democrats' favor.     "We have sixty Democratic senators, and we still can't pass health care," Kennedy said. Kennedy managed his late uncle's 2000 re-election campaign.     Khazei organized his visit to Tufts little more than two days ago. Freshman Eric Peckham, who runs the group Tufts for Khazei, said students rushed to publicize the event through their Facebook.com pages and by other means, with some members skipping class this morning to hand out fliers. This last-minute scheduling is consistent with Khazei's larger campaign, as the candidate announced his candidacy considerably later than his competitors did. He hopes to sweep the Jan. 19 special election with a unique grass-roots effort.     As Khazei describes it, he has no money, no political name and no large organization backing him. He has sixty days to do what Barack Obama did in a year.     "I started with zero," he said.     Khazei has refused to accept campaign donations from political action committees or lobbyists.     "I'm not taking a dime," he said. "I don't want to be beholden to anybody except you, the citizens and voters of Massachusetts."     Khazei's first step is to secure himself a place on the ballot, an effort that will kick off with a petition drive at 10 a.m. Saturday. Khazei called on Tufts students to help in his last-ditch efforts.      "I'm going to ask you to dig deep, look at your schedules, put off your other extra-curricular activities and — don't tell your professors  — maybe skip a class or two," he said.     "An hour is like a day, a day is like two weeks," Khazei continued. "The pundits and the experts all say this can't be done in sixty days. We need to show them it can be done."     Khezei stressed the need for a "transformational approach" to multiple crises, citing the economy as the most immediate one.     In addition to stressing the need for green jobs and universal health care, Khazei supports charter schools and repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell military policy on homosexuality.     Khazei also told the Daily in an interview after his speech that he opposes a troop increase in Afghanistan unless Obama sets specific objectives for U.S. efforts. He also said Obama must set an appropriate timetable for American involvement in the country.     Khazei hopes to draw on his role in the Senate and his experience in service organizations to build coalitions of experts and launch mass movements.     "I understand that you have to build movements for change," Khazei said.     He applauded Tufts' effort to promote active citizenship, such as the university's LRAP loan forgiveness program for non-profit service and the efforts of the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service. Khazai stressed that citizens of all ages and from all sectors must mobilize to bring about grassroots change.     He also emphasized his efforts working with the U.S. Congress over the past 22 years to pass legislation, most recently the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which expanded funding and volunteers for AmeriCorps and similar organizations.     Regardless of whom they support, Khazei stressed that students should be involved in current politics. "The best way to honor Senator Kennedy is to have a gigantic turnout in this election," Khazei said.     Khazei's wife Vanessa Kirsch (LA '87), who sits on the board of Tisch College, also spoke at the event. Earlier in the day, Khazei addressed students at Harvard University, his alma mater, where he enjoyed another big turnout.

Maine Track aims to alleviate state's rural doctor shortage

    A new four-year program partnering the Tufts University School of Medicine and the Maine Medical Center (MMC) inducted its first class of recruits in August in the hopes of boosting the surprisingly low number of physicians in rural areas of Maine.     The program, Maine Track, reserves 20 of its 36 openings every year for Maine residents and students attending colleges in Maine, adjacent New England states or in regions "deemed similar" to Maine, according to the program's press release.     The collaboration, initiated by Tufts and MMC in February 2008, is a response to a consistent decrease of first-year medical students in Maine since 1980.     Students will spend their first two years at Tufts and then move to MMC or other Maine hospitals for rotations in their third and fourth years.     Program recruits benefit from a significant cut in the high tuitions of out-of-state medical schools. Students in the program are considered for scholarships in their first year that cut Tufts' tuition in half, making it similar to what students would normally pay for in-state tuition at a regional medical school at a public university. Maine Track is currently working towards continuing the scholarship throughout students' following three years.     Both MMC and Tufts' medical school are involved in the program's admissions process and creating a curriculum which focuses on service in rural areas. Graduates will receive a combined diploma from the Tufts School of Medicine and MMC.     Robert Bruce, a student participating in the program and a Maine resident, said Maine Track appealed to him because he grew up in the rural town of Caratunk, Maine. Residents in his hometown, which had a population of 108 people according to the 2000 census, often had difficulty getting health care because hospitals were inaccessible.     "Where I grew up, the nearest hospital was 45 minutes away when the roads were good," Bruce said. "It was difficult because, particularly for a lot of older people, that's not feasible."     The practical training in Maine will expose students participating in the program to an environment that will equip them with the skills necessary to practice rural health care. Beginning their medical studies in Boston, though, allows the new recruits to experience how health care functions in an urban setting.     "Being in Boston, just right in the center of a strong medical community, I'm looking forward to [visiting] a lot of these hospitals and getting the experiences," said Jasmine Chiang, a student from Connecticut also participating in the program.     Chiang said her experience working at a farm exposed her to the numerous problems residents living in rural areas face. Maine Track sparked her passion for practicing medicine in a rural community.     "More farmers are uninsured because they can't afford health insurance," she said. "They have a lot of injuries, ligaments torn and a lot of chronic repetitive injuries, [so] I wanted a chance to give back to the community."     Janessa Nason, a student from Millinocket, Maine, is looking forward to bringing what she learns back home.     "I'm just looking forward to using the knowledge I gained from Tufts ... in help[ing] people in my home state," Nason said.     Chiang said that she hopes to gain a "different perspective on medicine" while studying at Tufts. She believe that practicing medicine in a smaller community means more than just being a health care provider.     "When you're a doctor in a rural community, [you're also] a community leader, a friend and a family member," she said.

Drew Barrymore discusses directorial debut

Drew Barrymore sat down with the Tufts Daily to discuss her new film and directorial debut, "Whip It" (2009), a coming-of-age story based on the book "Derby Girl" by Shauna Cross. Bliss Cavender (Ellen Page) is a misfit teenager living in suburban Bodeen, Texas and smothered by the expectations of her mother. When Bliss discovers the underground sport of roller derby, she falls in love with a world of fearless women and unchecked ruthlessness. Barrymore's film is a classic coming-of-age story, but it's set in the novel world of roller derby and told in a quirky, comedic voice. Question: You said this movie is really personal to you. Did you know about roller derby beforehand? What was the inspiration for this particular movie? Drew Barrymore: I didn't — I mean, I knew about roller derby as a sport — I knew that it was real and then staged, and then we actually did a mock-up in ["Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle"] (2003) in the opening montage.

Griffin Pepper | Eight Girls and a Guy

I grew up thinking girls were superhuman. Angels. They were better dressed than us boys, they seemed more in control of their lives, and they didn't curse just to show they could. It's probably why I decided to surround myself with girl friends. Maybe some of their angelic qualities would rub off on me.

Alumni, others to 'stampede' in 5K

A scenic 5K run around campus on Saturday morning will bring alumni and students together in a new addition to the annual Homecoming festivities.

Zach Drucker and Chris Poldoian | Bad Samaritans

H1N1. No, we're not calling out bingo numbers. Bingo isn't actually spelled with an "H," so your assumption that we were calling out bingo numbers was entirely unfounded. What we are naming is the illest illness this side of the Mississippi: swine flu. The Swine has killed hundreds, but, more importantly, it almost threatened to possibly cancel our Fall Ball, kind of. We think that swine flu has been blown a little bit out of proportion and, for those students out there who are experiencing "flu-like symptoms," we have a little pick-me-up for you.

The Supermelon is a one-stop market for fashionistas

As Paris fashion week comes to an end, buyers, clients and critics return home, and designers begin their preparations for the next round of shows. But for many fashion and style Web sites, the work has just begun — writers will spend the next several months recapping and analyzing the standout looks from the runways in New York, London, Milan and Paris and relating them to trends and wearable styles for this upcoming spring.

Teddy Minch | Off Mic

The last time one-on-one talks of major import between the United States and Iran occurred, baseball legend Willie Stargell led the Pittsburgh Pirates to a World Series championship. In short, U.S. policy towards Iran hasn't changed dramatically since Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was run out of Tehran in the late 1970s — until last week. In Geneva, senior U.S. and Iranian diplomats met during lunch for the highest-level diplomatic exchange in 30 years between the estranged nations, spurred by recent revelations on Iran's advanced nuclear capabilities. President Barack Obama cheered the developments as his national security adviser, James Jones, indicated that "things are moving in the right direction."

Brandeis president to resign; says controversy is not reason

Brandeis University President Jehuda Reinharz announced on Sept. 25 that he will resign from his post after 16 years at the helm.

As health care receives national attention, students note lack of discourse on campus

Health care reform has sparked one of the most contentious political debates in recent months, with Republicans and Democrats ferociously disputing the matter. In September, Republican Rep. Joe Wilson from South Carolina notoriously received a formal rebuke from the House for shouting, "You lie!" during President Obama's discourse on health care reform. And government officials are not the only ones focused on health care — in an April 2009 CBS News/New York Times poll, respondents ranked health care as the second most important national issue, after the economy. Likewise, in an August Wall Street Journal poll, 63 percent of respondents said that providing all Americans with affordable health care was a priority.

Pieces' compiles Stills' unused studio material

Following the temporary disbandment of folk-rock supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) in 1971, bandleader Stephen Stills took the opportunity to assemble a new backing ensemble that included The Byrds' Chris Hillman and acclaimed steel guitarist Al Perkins. This allowed Stills to release some of his fresh solo material with a slight country bent. Under the name Manassas, Stills' group released two albums, including its wildly lauded eponymous 1972 debut, before the reunion of CSNY in 1974 brought the project to its de facto end. Though Manassas hasn't recorded together in over thirty-five years, a large quantity of unreleased material was left over from the two album sessions, and on September 22, 2009, Atlantic Records released the appropriately titled "Pieces," a compilation of the best of these previously-unheard master tapes.

IT security breach causes WebCenter shutdown

An unusually large-scale hacking attack over the weekend affected at least 100 computers on Tufts' Medford/Somerville campus, causing the university to temporarily shut down WebCenter and send many employees home early.

Law forces change to student IDs

Tufts students will have new identification cards in hand next semester as the university is forced to comply with state legislation that aims to curb identity theft.

Playboy college study far from scientific

If recent news has made it seem like Tufts is the only school where students get "sexiled," think again. A recent Playboy survey of college students makes it clear that students at other universities are having plenty of sex.

Video | Tufts' Dorm Sex Rules: One Week Later

In poor economy, journalism schools see rise in applications

    When Tufts alum Jeremy White (LA '09) graduated from the university in the spring of 2009 after serving as a news editor for the Daily, he hoped to find a job in journalism. But after White sent his résumé out to newspapers around the country and was met with no response time and time again, the harsh reality began to set in: His dream job would have to wait.     White's predicament is part of a nationwide trend in which a shrinking job pool has increasingly left qualified prospective journalists out of employment. According to a study from the University of Georgia, full-time employment in journalism in 2008 was at its lowest point since at least 1986.     In the face of these daunting statistics, it seems that students would be less likely to pursue a graduate degree in journalism. However, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported last week that journalism schools across the nation are actually having increased rates of application — a sign that students more and more are looking to graduate school in the depressed job market.     White himself, who admits that he previously had "no plans at all" to attend journalism school — or "J-school" — applied and was accepted into Columbia's graduate program, which reported a 44 percent increase in applications for this fall's class.     "I was sort of fruitlessly applying to all of these different newspapers, writing all of these obsequious letters, begging papers with a circulation of 5,000 to hire me," White said. "But I wasn't getting anything back, and I figured if I'm serious about trying to be a journalist, this is the type of opportunity that I really can't turn down."     White was encouraged to apply to Columbia by another member of the Tufts Class of 2009, Sarah Butrymowicz, who was a managing editor on the Daily. Unlike her classmate White, Butrymowicz from the start had wanted to go to J-school, especially at a reputable institution like Columbia.     "I think that Columbia has a great network that you get put into the second you come here," said Butrymowicz, who during her years at Tufts had internships at both USA Today and a local paper in Green Bay, Wis. "I think that, in the long run, hopefully it will make it easier for me to rise up at slightly more prestigious places."     Part of the reason that students are so enthusiastic about applying to journalism school is because of programs that embrace the digital age of "new media." In 2007, the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University announced plans to re-vamp its curriculum, an attempt to provide its students with the technological and marketing prowess needed to excel in today's journalism landscape. Since then, other J-schools have followed suit.     Professor Susan Eisenhauer, assistant director of the Communication and Media Studies (CMS) program at Tufts, received her degree in journalism before this wave of new media took hold and recognizes that the industry has changed drastically.     "Increasingly the jobs that will be available will be multimedia based," Eisenhauer said. "If students can add photography and video to their reporting and writing skills, it definitely helps."     The CMS program provides plenty of opportunities for Tufts students to get experience in the field. CMS runs the largest internship program on campus, placing students in newsrooms around the country and also locally at Somerville and Medford papers. Eisenhauer maintains that with all of these resources, as well as with the multitude of Tufts publications that students can work with on campus, motivated Tufts students can get adequately prepared for a journalism career.     "A number of students choose to do journalism projects here, or minor in Mass Communications," Eisenhauer said. "Many students get practical experience as well. We've had students work at WBUR in Boston and at the Somerville paper, which will give writers a camera and a notebook and put them in the community."     But if Jumbo journalists are so well prepared as undergrads, what is the need to spend the nearly $50,000 to go to a J-school like Columbia? For students like White, journalism school is a last resort, a way to springboard a career in journalism when job prospects are dim. For others, like Butrymowicz, going to journalism school is an opportunity to learn new techniques and face new challenging demands of accountability.     "It's a different type of reporting than I've ever done before. A lot more is expected of me. It's not OK to go back to my professor and say, ‘The credit office didn't get back to me, I'm sorry, I can't fill in this part of the story,'" said Butrymowicz, who at the moment is working on a story about the quality of school lunches in New York City.     Butrymowicz has made numerous calls to school administrations about her story but to no avail. After her interview with the Daily yesterday morning, the budding reporter planned to spend the day sitting outside schools in the Upper West Side with her tape recorder, gathering quotes from students and their parents.     "I feel like there's a lot more creativity required and a lot less dependence on phones," Butrymowicz said. "Usually, most of my other stuff has been sitting in an office or in my dorm room calling people, but that's changed now."     When they first got to Columbia in August, Butrymowicz and White went through a three-week "Audio and Photography Boot Camp" from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day to learn about photography, audio and video media. Students were taught about the basics of a good photo, like how to work a camera and control shutter speed, and about what makes a good audio piece, including how to edit and create their own audio slideshows.     Butrymowicz's "Reporting and Writing" class already has plans to create its own Web site, complete with audio and video materials. These students hope that their multimedia skills learned at Columbia will allow them to succeed and adapt to a profession in the midst of a fundamental transition.     "What you learn in August, because your class has a Web site, keeps going all semester," Butrymowicz said. "I've learned a lot about digital stuff already, and I think that I'm only going to learn more."

Ethan Frigon | The Beard Abides

There are no constants in sports, but Tiger Woods is as close to one as anything else I have seen in my lifetime. He entered the limelight in earnest with his record-breaking third consecutive U.S. Amateur Championship in 1996, back when I was seven years old. I can't remember golf without Tiger, and it still feels weird every time he and his red shirt don't come through with a victory on Sunday at a major.     Even more consistent than Tiger's performance throughout the years has been his eternally even-keeled demeanor. His show of emotion on the course has been limited to an enthusiastic fist pump or two after sinking a big shot. He is clearly a top-flight competitor who is confident in his ability to win, regardless of his opponent.     This confidence, however, never crosses the line into cockiness or arrogance. And for a guy who has made hundreds of millions of dollars in endorsements, Tiger has always been pretty uncharismatic off the links as well.     And, in all honesty, who can blame him? His responsibility is his marketability. His lack of charisma is made up for by the fact that he has never made a foolish mistake or had a misguided outburst.     Recently, though, the world has seen a new side of Tiger Woods. It's a slightly goofier, more human side, one that makes perhaps the most beloved athlete of our time even more likable. It also seems to have caught many people off-guard.     The first sign of the change came at this August's Buick Open, when Tiger and his caddy Steve Williams were shown by CBS cameras laughing after a member of the gallery cracked a sonorous fart. Or was it actually Tiger doing the farting? Tiger was even asked about the incident at his post-tournament press conference, and it became an Internet sensation. How straight-laced do we have to think an athlete is for us to make an issue of him and a buddy laughing at some flatulence?     The second sign came from comments Tiger made a couple of weeks ago about Ernie Els. Tiger, while always a competitor, has never been one to make any remotely negative or inflammatory comments toward his opponents. However, in talking about Els, who a few years back was arguably Woods' closest competitor, Tiger said, "Ernie is not a big worker physically, and that's one of the things you have to do with an ACL injury … I feel pretty good with what I've done, and I think Ernie could have worked a little bit harder."     For Tiger to call out one of his adversaries is unprecedented. It does, however, make some sense. Tiger had the exact same surgery as Els just over a year ago and has clearly recovered from it much better than Els has. Also, Els spoke a few years back of a "three-year plan" to revamp his game to challenge Tiger. So maybe this was the competitor inside Tiger tweaking Els for his clear failure to challenge the master.     Or, possibly,­ this newfound sense of outward emotion and humor is a sign of increased maturity of sorts and a changed personality. Within the past two years, Tiger has lost his father, the main influence on his career, and he and his wife have had two kids.     So maybe the new Tiger is the byproduct of changed priorities and a life re-examined. A competitor realizing that there's more to living than the game he's devoted his whole life to. That sometimes it's alright to crack a smile about a fart on the course, or to tweak an opponent off the course. Either way, we could all take a hint from the new Tiger, and I, for one, hope that he's here to stay.

Tufts isolates ill students to prevent spread of swine flu

Battling an increase in cases of the swine flu among students, university officials have begun secluding ill campus residents in empty rooms across campus and forcing them to wear masks.

Moore film comes early to Tufts

Barnum Hall will host an advanced screening of Michael Moore's latest film, "Capitalism: A Love Story," tonight as Tufts Film Series (TFS) continues to expand its scope and profile on campus.