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TSR gets loan to renovate The Rez
April 5The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate last Sunday approved a request from Tufts Student Resources (TSR) for a $100,000 loan to revamp The Rez.
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Friedman researchers' ethics questioned for feeding children genetically modified rice
April 5Researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy have come under fire for a study involving feeding genetically modified food to children.
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Beckett, Red Sox to meet Rays in 2009 season opener today
April 5The Boston Red Sox will open their 2009 season at 2:05 p.m. today with a matchup against the reigning American League champion Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Recovered from an oblique injury that hampered him during last year's postseason, Josh Beckett will take the hill for Boston, which last lost its home opener in 2004. James Shields, who posted a 3.56 ERA in 215 innings last season, will start for Tampa Bay. The game will feature a rematch of last year's American League Championship Series, which the Rays won in seven games.
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TCU Senate approves funding for Trips Cabin construction
April 5The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate approved $230,000 in funding last night to go toward a Trips Cabin to be constructed alongside the Tufts Mountain Club's (TMC) Loj in North Woodstock, N.H. The body voted 20-5 in favor of allocating money from the TCU recovered funds to the project, which will involve building a small structure that will sleep around 30 people who desire quieter nighttime accommodations at the Tufts-owned, TMC-operated Loj property. The cost for the cabin could hit a maximum of $237,500, and TMC has already raised $11,854 for the project from members and alumni. At minimum, it may cost around $200,000; TMC plans to repay the Senate any unused funds if the project ends up below the current budget. "We've been trying so long to get this, and it was amazing to see all our time and effort come to fruition," TMC President Katie Bond, a junior, told the Daily last night. The disbursement of the funds includes a stipulation that TMC lower its prices for the weekend retreat center, which is open to all undergraduate Tufts students and groups but which is discounted for TMC members. As a result, certain costs for individuals, groups and TMC members will drop by $5. "We want to keep our prices down, we want more people to come up, and Senate wanted that as well," Bond said. The debate at yesterday's meeting centered on the merits of funding such a large expenditure — the costliest of this academic year — when the extent to which the student body at large would benefit from an off-campus structure located a two-hour drive from campus remained unclear. But TMC plans to launch a publicity campaign centered around the Loj in the fall. Last night, members of the group's executive board also pledged to make rides to the property much more accessible. "Right now, it's kind of a free-for-all getting up to the Loj," TMC Vice President Brian Gilling, a sophomore who is also the director of the Trips Cabin project, told the Daily. "[Members of the Senate] want us to make a procedure for everyone to get up and enjoy it." The Trips Cabin has been two years in the making as a way to expand the Loj and open it up to more undergraduates. Last fall, TMC members launched a campaign supporting spending part of the recovered funds on the project. The project came before the Senate then, but was shelved when the administration indicated that it would loan money to the Senate to fund the expansion on the Loj property. But the economic downturn dashed those plans, and the Senate did not take up the issue of the Trips Cabin again before reaching a decision on the disbursement of the recovered funds. In December, the body voted to use $300,000 of the recovered funds to create an endowment that would support student activities, channel $87,780 to student groups through the Allocations Board and put $300,000 into a savings account. It was the latter funds on which last night's allocation focused. Senator Dan Pasternack, a sophomore, spearheaded the effort to bring the Trips Cabin project before the Senate again. He said that the issue deserved to be brought before the Senate when the body had a significant amount of money that could be disbursed. "I figured it was something that was important to TMC and, more importantly, was important to the Tufts community, and that several people on Senate stated that as one of their objectives for this year," he told the Daily after last night's meeting. "I figured it would only be right for it to at least be heard in Senate." Senator Chas Morrison, a sophomore, voted against last night's project. While he supports the Trips Cabin, he said that the Senate should have waited for the administration to help out with the project — something he said administrators had indicated they might do. "In my mind, the debate was whether building the Trips Cabin now as opposed to in the near future was worth not [being] able to put this money toward expenditures such as increased wireless or renovations to the campus center," he told the Daily after the vote. Gilling said ground can be broken as soon as the earth at the property thaws enough. The cabin could be completed as early as one and a half months from now, and at latest by the start of the fall semester.
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Kairos Society brings dozens of Jumbos to NYC
April 5Forty Tufts students interested in entrepreneurship spent this past weekend on an aircraft carrier with many prominent executives and representatives from the nation's biggest companies, as part of a conference on entrepreneurship.
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In trying economic times, local businesses are relying on Tufts students for revenue
April 5There is often little to look forward to for a typical Tufts student on a Sunday afternoon. Most hours are spent slaving away on problem sets at Tisch or holed up in the dorms trying to sleep off the previous night's hangover. Sophomore Beth Doyle, however, has figured out her own way to beat the Sunday blues.
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A weakened alliance
April 5Last weekend, the North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO) gathered to commemorate the 60th anniversary of a storied alliance. In light of recent events, however, there was little to celebrate. All across the globe, the organization is being tested, and the organization appears to be deteriorating from the inside. For an alliance that played such a crucial role throughout the Cold War, it appears to be heading down the path toward oblivion. As the members of NATO met in Strasbourg, France, the central issue of discussion and debate was clearly Afghanistan. President Barack Obama has defined his foreign policy agenda around completing both America and NATO's mission of a safe and democratic Afghanistan. The U.S. commander in chief has attempted to lead with action of his own. Recently, he announced his plan to increase American forces from 38,000 to 68,000 in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the response he received from fellow member states was more along the lines of moral support than actual support. President Obama articulated the need for "more resources and a sustained effort to achieve our ultimate goals." Despite his great skill as an orator, the 44th President's pleas have fallen on deaf ears. European allies consented to supplying an additional 5,000 troops to the region. However, 3,000 of them will only provide temporary service until Afghanistatn's August elections. The other 2,000 troops would not see action but rather would train the Afghani army and police. As of next year, American military forces are expected to take command over military involvement in southern Afghanistan, one of the most violent areas in all of the country. In addition, America is expected to retain its control over eastern Afghanistan, which is also known for its unrelenting violence. While America will be directing all of its efforts to the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan, European members of NATO will be situated in the peaceful areas of northern and western Afghanistan. There appears to be a general disconnect between what European members stated at the NATO summit and what they were actually willing to do. All of the 28 countries in the alliance appear to understand the significance of Afghanistan with regard to global security. "We want Afghanistan to be able to defend itself and ensure that no threat of terrorism emanates from its territory," German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared. Her recent ally, President Nicolas Sarkozy added, "We trust [President Obama]. We've heard the words he spoke on behalf of the world's number one democracy — we've been waiting for these words for a long time." Yet it is these same countries that refuse to provide the necessary long-term resources that Obama requests. The recent discourse with regard to Afghanistan has highlighted the fact that NATO is splintering. The mission statement of the organization specifies that the alliance bears the responsibility of protecting the "common values of democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law and the peaceful resolution of disputes." After analyzing NATO's past actions and future plans in Afghanistan, it appears that only the United States is living up to the lofty expectations established by the organization. European members are pledging their moral support; however, the future of NATO will depend on the alliance backing up their word with strength. If the majority of members continue to project an image of weakness, the alliance will falter. In addition to the pressure of internal fragmentation, the power of NATO is being challenged in all areas of the globe. When the Cold War concluded in 1991, NATO was the strongest alliance in the international arena. The Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact had been dissolved, and NATO had been left unchallenged. Unfortunately, a lot has changed in two decades. The most significant of these changes pertains to the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Most Americans (and even Tufts students) have not the faintest clue as to what exactly is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. However, the SCO does and will continue to play a considerable role in 21st-century politics. Established in 2001, the organization seeks to unite Central Asian countries into collective action on security, economics and even culture issues. There are six countries that are members, including the People's Republic of China and Russia. In addition, there are four countries that are observers: Mongolia, India, Iran and Pakistan. Finally, there are three guest members, including Afghanistan. While NATO membership is noticeably larger, the SCO contains some very powerful members. The SCO presents NATO with a problem as it continues to grow in power and proceeds to incorporate countries that hold great hostility toward Western powers. Since its conception, the countries involved within the SCO have rapidly increased in power. China has seen all aspects of its power grow exponentially in the last decade. The Chinese economy has risen to the world's third largest. In addition, China continues to invest unprecedented amounts in its military. Per a report released a few weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Defense now states that the military balance of power between the United States and China tips toward China. While Russia may not match the economic or military power of China, the Russians hold a plethora of lethal weapons, including an immense amount of nuclear arms. Although only an observer, India has a rapidly growing economy and one of the world's largest militaries, fully equipped with nuclear weapons. With regard to other key countries, Pakistan holds nuclear capabilities, and Iran aspires to obtain them. While a concern arises over the recent massive growth in members and observers of the SCO, the concern for NATO arises over the motives of these countries. None of the powerful countries in this organization, with the exception of India and Russia, are democracies. History has clearly demonstrated that authoritarian governments are more prone to war than democracies. In addition, the leaders of these countries are either anti-Western or have worked alongside anti-Western leaders in the past. Iran presents the quintessential case for the argument. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has long been an enemy of the United States and NATO. However, he is an observer in the SCO and has signed treaties and agreements with China and Russia. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has also agreed to deals and pacts with China and Russia. Following the old adage, NATO has been forced to judge the SCO "by the company that they have kept." While the SCO's aggressive intentions can be debated, the fact that it provides bipolarity to Eurasia goes without question. NATO no longer maintains itself as the sole powerful global alliance and must learn to interact with another powerful entity. Recently, the strength of NATO has declined because the members of the alliance continue to appear divided and weak in the eyes of the world. If this trend continues, NATO will no longer become effective in promoting its noblest of intentions globally and might have submit to another alliance such as the SCO.
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Tufts Microfinance Fund sees strong returns in fiscal year 2008
April 5Even as the global economic downturn continues to upend the financial sector, the Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund (OTMF) has seen a solid streak of success, according to the most recent numbers.
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Corrections
April 5Michael Shusterman, the author of Thursday's op-ed "Something lacking: a science publication at Tufts," was incorrectly referred to as a sophomore. He is a junior. Friday's news article "Experts meet on the Hill to explore engineering leadership issues" inaccurately referred to Harvard's Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences. In fact, that entity changed its name in 2007 and is now called the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
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The Decemberists and student band The Ride round out lineup for Spring Fling
April 5Tufts Concert Board Co-chair Alan Munkacsy confirmed yesterday that the rock act for Spring Fling 2009 will be folk-rockers The Decemberists. Munkacsy, a junior, also confirmed that The Ride, the Tufts student funk band that won Saturday's Battle of the Bands, will perform during set changes on a side stage. Munkacsy declined to speak with the Daily over the phone but said via e-mail that The Decemberists were not the organization's first choice. "We looked at other bands such as Eve 6, My Morning Jacket, The Strokes, MGMT and Vampire Weekend first; however, they were either out of our price range or were unavailable for Spring Fling." The Decemberists formed in 2000 in Portland, Ore. and independently released their first EP, "5 Songs" (2001) the following year. Three full-length albums, "Castaways and Cutouts" (2002), "Her Majesty the Decemberists" (2003) and "Picaresque" (2005) followed, but it was not until 2006 that the group was picked up by a major label, Capitol Records. "The Crane Wife" (2006), produced by Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie and Tucker Martine, helped the band gain a wide following when National Public Radio listeners voted it their favorite album of the year. The Decemberists' lyrics, penned by guitarist and front man Colin Meloy, eschew traditional rock themes in favor of folk tales from different cultures as sources of inspiration. Some of the songs from "The Crane Wife" told a Japanese folk tale of a woman who could transform into a crane, while their most recent album, "The Hazards of Love" (2009), centers around a vaguely Shakespearean story arc, rooted in the British folk tale tradition. "We acknowledge that [The Decemberists] are a more laid-back style than we have had in previous years; however, we still feel that this type of music has a place at Spring Fling," said Munkacsy. "We were concerned that the Tufts community may have very polar opinions regarding The Decemberists, but we felt that they would have a large appeal to students." Concert Board first announced that The Decemberists would round out this year's Spring Fling lineup during Saturday's Battle of the Bands. At the event, five different bands competed in Hotung Café for the chance to play the side stage during Spring Fling. The Ride was selected by a panel composed of Michael Ullman, a lecturer in the department of music, and one student from each class. The band features junior Caleb Shapiro on vocals, freshman Evan West on bass and sophomores Alexander Hoffman and Zachary Meyer on saxophones, Justin Binder on guitar, Aaron Cannon on trumpet and Robert Resnick on drums. Other contestants in the battle were the student bands Ferris Wheel, The Bookends, Electric Mustache and Brennivín, which placed second and will perform at Tuftonia's Day on April 24. "The competition was steep," Binder said. "There were a lot of great musicians, but we enjoyed ourselves more than we ever have playing; it was one of our best [performances]." Tickets to Spring Fling will be sold at the information booth at the campus center during business hours from April 21 at 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on April 25, the day of the show. Tickets are free to Tufts undergraduates, with tickets for up to two additional guests per student available for $20 each. Lost tickets will not be replaced, and a strict no re-entry policy will be enforced at the show. Gates to the President's Lawn will open at 11:30 a.m., with The Gentlemen's Bet taking the stage at noon. Asher Roth will begin his set at 1 p.m., with The Decemberists following at 2:30 p.m. and Ludacris at 4 p.m. The Ride will provide entertainment during set changes.
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Logan Crane | If You Seek Amy
April 5College provides us four years of our lives to act on our adolescent impulses and ambitions. It provides the opportunity to drink in excess without societal judgment, pursue personal goals and dreams that would otherwise not be possible and -- more importantly -- it grants us a stage to voice sexual expression. A college campus, specifically one with a liberal slant, is the perfect outlet to discuss sexuality in the context of cultural, political and personal issues. Sexual expression is a significant part of the university experience, and without such opportunities, students can be left without adequate instruments for freedom of expression and for holding sexual knowledge.
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Inside College Basketball | UNC, Michigan State to square off for national championship tonight
April 5North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Michigan State Spartans. ACC regular-season champs vs. Big 10 regular-season champs. Michael Jordan's alma mater vs. Magic Johnson's. Henry Ford vs. the Wright Brothers. The NCAA men's basketball championship game tips off tonight at 9:21 p.m. in Detroit, where UNC and MSU will duke it out for basketball supremacy. UNC will be gunning for its fifth championship, the second under Roy Williams. MSU looks to capture its third national title, the first since the Mateen Cleaves-led 2000 team defeated the Florida Gators.
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Amherst College students vote to donate excess funds to financial aid
April 2As the use of Tufts' recovered funds continues to prompt debate, Amherst College students recently voted to donate a sizable portion of their student reserves to financial aid.
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Babson College fights off the norovirus
April 2Babson College reopened its doors Wednesday following an outbreak of the norovirus that infected over 100 people and forced the school to shut down for two days.
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Notre Dame's Obama address controversial
April 2President Barack Obama recently announced his decision to speak at the commencement ceremony for the University of Notre Dame on May 17. He will also be the ninth U.S. president to receive an honorary doctor of laws degree from the university. As buzz and excitement spread throughout the senior class surrounding his visit, a significant population of Catholic students at Notre Dame and alumni of the university have initiated a backlash against the decision to invite Obama to speak, creating a great deal of controversy at the university.
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Speech and Debate' addresses important themes but fails to impress
April 2Before the Lyric Stage Company's performance of "Speech and Debate" begins, the set's industrial tiled floors, dry-erase board and posters of graphs and projects are enough to send a riveting chill of high school nostalgia down the spines of college students. Like the stage's realistic set, the production does not attempt to withhold any truths of high school life, accurately depicting both the brutal realizations and complicated relationships of its students.
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Tufts senior aims to reform views on marginalized groups
April 2This is the second article in a two-part series focusing on senior Sofia Nelson's efforts to eliminate bias against the lesbian gay bisexual transgender (LGBT) community. The first part, which ran in Tuesday's paper, focused on Nelson's efforts at Tufts. This installment will focus on Nelson's work at the state level.
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Experts meet on the Hill to explore engineering leadership issues
April 2Industry experts gathered yesterday afternoon for a panel on engineering leadership, drawing on their experiences to give advice to and share thoughts with about five dozen students, faculty members and others gathered in Anderson Hall.
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Gideon Jacobs | The pooch punter
April 2As you might be able to tell from the title above, I've been watching "Scrubs" a lot lately. It's been holding me over until baseball starts, when I can spend no fewer than three hours each day watching MLB.tv -- and once I get home, YES Network. With the season just days away, I've been spending some time thinking about baseball and -- in the overly sappy and sentimental style of "Scrubs" -- what the game means to me. And I think my relationship with the sport can be boiled down to one memory.
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