Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Monday, April 6, 2026
The Print Edition Print Subscription
Donate | About | Join Us
Advertise | Submit a Tip
Subscribe to our newsletters

Archives

The Setonian
News

New AIDS institute seeks to find vaccine within a decade

February 19

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently received a $100 million donation to found an HIV/AIDS research institute. Scientists at the newly created Ragon Institute are hoping to develop a vaccine for AIDS within the next decade.

The Setonian
News

Student bands to compete in ROCKUS Battle of the Bands semifinals

February 18

    On Friday, Feb. 27, four Tufts student bands — The Gentleman's Bet, FunkSoulLove, Navigator, and The Situation — will compete at Tommy Doyle's pub in Harvard Square for the honor of representing Tufts in the final round of the ROCKUS Battle of the Bands. The competition is sponsored by Veritas Records, a student-run record label from Harvard University, and Rolling Stone magazine. In preparation for covering this event, the Daily caught up with each of these bands individually to get a snapshot of each group.     Featured this week are FunkSoulLove (sophomore lyricist David Dormon, junior drummer and producer Zach Camara, Berklee College of Music senior bassist and songwriter Tim Suby and senior vocalist Paula Dormon) and The Situation (sophomore rhythm guitarist and vocalist Nate Ingraham, sophomore lead guitarist Nate Typrowicz-Cohen, sophomore bassist Patrick Anderson and sophomore drummer Mike Gleichman). The Daily spoke to Gleichman and interviewed Dormon via e-mail. Josh Zeidel: When and how did your band form, and how has it evolved over time? Has your sound changed over time, or has it remained fairly consistent? Paula Dormon, FunkSoulLove: The band started last year in the fall. It started off with Tim, David and me just fooling around in the music building making songs, and then we got into it and started making more. And later on we met Zach in gospel choir, so he joined the group a little after that. Over time we have had some members that have come and gone, but the core members have stayed. I wouldn't say our sound has changed over time, only gotten better. Mike Gleichman, The Situation: We started playing as a band last winter. I lived next door to Nate Ingraham, who also recruited Nate Typrowicz-Cohen. The two Nates were friends with Patrick, who lived in Tilton at the time, and knew he played bass. So we started playing together some, and we realized it was pretty cool, so we kept doing it. Our sound has remained consistent, though we sound better as a group, a lot tighter than we did when we first started playing. JZ: How often, and for how long, do you practice as a full group? PD: We practice one to two times a week for three to four hours per session regularly, then more frequently when we have upcoming gigs. MG: We usually practice once a week for an hour or two, going over the old music every once in a while, just to make sure we don't forget it. JZ: What are your musical and lyrical influences? Are there any albums that you've found particularly inspirational to your music? PD: Well, David comes with a hip-hop background, Tim comes from a jazz and rock background, Zach comes with a gospel background and [Paula comes] from an R&B background, so we try and incorporate all of those genres into our music. We have been more influenced by underground music than mainstream; what comes to mind is Jill Scott, Little Brother, Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, A Tribe Called Quest, Joe Henderson, The Fugees, Mos Def, Kirk Franklin and other artists along the same lines. MG: In terms of influences, our songs are musically influenced by a lot of older soul artists, such as Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. Lyrically, and also musically, we draw influence from the singer-songwriter tradition — Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne and others from that genre.  JZ: How would you characterize your sound? Is there a particular genre that you're going for? PD: Hip hop, soul and R&B infused with many different genres. MG: We don't think there's any particular genre we're going for, as much as, say, "smart pop." It's got a lot of jazz influence; we've all got some jazz background. So it's pop-rock music, but it's something that's a little deeper than just, "Oh, that's got a catchy melody." JZ: What is your songwriting process? Does one person write most of the lyrics, or are there multiple contributors? How does the music get written and arranged? PD: Tim composes the songs, David and [Paula] write [their] own lyrics, and Zach writes his drum part as well. We all bring something to the table while still influencing each other. MG: Nate Ingraham writes pretty much all of the lyrics.  The music is written by all four of us for the most part. Nate Ingraham has written many of the songs, just because he has most of them pre-conceived. One person will bring in a song — for example, Nate — and he'll play something on acoustic guitar, solo, and then we'll say, "Oh, that's cool, what if you tried this?" Then we go through the process of arranging it, like when we're going to repeat certain sections, what's going on with drums and bass and when we want certain instruments to drop out. Then we'll change the song a little over time, trying this or that idea, until we settle on the song's best arrangement. JZ: What venues have you played recently? Are there any upcoming gigs you'd like to publicize other than the Battle of the Bands at Tommy Doyle's? PD: We have played at the Middle East downstairs, Johnny D's, Porter's Bar and other venues, but now we are trying to put the finishing touches to our album. Our main focus is the album and the Battle. MG: We've played Hotung a couple of times. We haven't really been very aggressive about getting gigs, but we're doing some recording this spring, so for the time being, we're really focusing on polishing our songs for that process. JZ: For those looking for more information about your band, is there a website or profile page that they can check out? PD: Yes. Our MySpace page: Myspace.com/funksoulloveconnection. We've also got a Facebook group. Facebook users should search for FunkSoulLove. MG: We do have a Facebook page. Search for The Situation and it should come up. Be sure to check back next week when the Daily profiles Navigator and The Gentleman's Bet, the other two Tufts student bands contending for a spot in the ROCKUS finals.

The Setonian
News

Somerville will consider implementing citywide Wi-Fi

February 18

Somerville residents could potentially one day enjoy free wireless Internet, care of the city government, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone recently announced.     The city issued on Dec. 30 a document designed to gauge companies' interest in providing wireless broadband installation and management services. The municipality has since begun receiving responses and reviewing potential options.     Many cities around the country already provide wireless access to their residents free of charge. In Somerville, the service will most likely be low-bandwidth.     "We would like to see models that include open access hotspots in key business districts, as well as a way to help low-income households gain at least some access to the Internet via a portal supported by advertising or some other revenue flow," Curtatone said in a press release. "This wouldn't necessarily be high-speed, broadband access, but it would give users, including local students, a no-cost way to check email or run text-based searches."     The City of Somerville has approached the project with an eye toward providing access to the entire community.     "We're looking for the best benefit to our residents in terms of services and costs. City of Somerville spokesperson Jaclyn Rossetti told the Daily. "We want to make sure that everything is going through a fair process, transparent to the public so that we all know what's going on."     To that end, the government has reached out to companies and asked for proposals.     "We're looking for a company that would provide speedy, no-cost service that would help us bridge the Internet divide and allow us to make basic Internet for research purposes available to those who don't have it," Tom Champion, another city spokesperson, told the Daily.     The City is also exploring the possibility that Somerville's density and Congress' recent passage of a federal stimulus package may help with costs.     "Unlike larger cities that run into road bocks, we have some advantages in the market because we are a dense community, and that makes it less expensive," City of Somerville spokesperson Tom Champion told the Daily.     If all goes well and the city can find a provider, officials hope to receive some federal support for the project. Champion believes that federal stimulus funding could cover the some of the costs of building the wireless network, making set-up costs lower for prospective companies.     The project meets the requirements for federal stimulus funding because it is "shovel-ready" in that it could begin immediately, would be leveraging public or private investment, would create short- and long-term job opportunities, and would stimulate economic development, according to Champion.     City officials expressed hope about potential responses to their request for company interest because of the open nature of the project. Ideally, Champion said, the service will be open to a variety of providers.     "What we'd like is to have a private company come in and act as a wholesaler, make bandwidth available to a number of providers, and create a no-cost portal to public," he said.     At this point, the city remains in the process of gauging what types of business models exist for establishing Wi-Fi services. According to Curtatone's press release, the next step could involve requesting additional information from interested companies, pursuing the project with one particular firm or waiting for economic conditions to improve and then asking again.     City officials hope that Somerville's natural advantages for the creation of a wireless network will attract prospective Wi-Fi companies.     "This is a rapidly-changing field, and we don't want to tie ourselves to any one approach," Curtatone said in the press release. "In times likes these, we don't have the money to deploy Wi-Fi on our own, but we can offer a good network of fiber access points and access to city buildings and light poles for relay points."     Champion stressed the preliminary nature of the undertaking.     "We're just trying to find out, given our city's options and advantages," he said, "if is there any interest in establishing a private market that could serve the entire city."

The Setonian
News

Young woman in San Diego sells virginity to pay her way through graduate school

February 18

    It is certainly not unusual for college students to go to great lengths to ensure their shot at education. Allowing themselves to get bogged down with student loans and working themselves ragged to pay their way through college is no foreign concept to many students whose parents cannot, or will not, bear the hefty burden for their sons and daughters.     But going to more extreme measures to pay tuition has always been a somewhat less common, or at least less talked about option — that is, until now. Throughout the past several months, there has been plenty of buzz in the popular media about Natalie Dylan, the 22-year-old student from San Diego who decided to sell her virginity over the Internet in order to pay her graduate school tuition. She arranged to have the culmination of her auction occur at a location in Nevada where prostitution is legal.     When Dylan's auction first came into the public eye last September, bids had reached approximately $243,000, but with news coverage came immense fame, which in turn helped the bidding reach approximately $3.7 million.     The end of her story remains to be seen, but her situation has raised many eyebrows among college students. Though some may have heard the occasional rumor of classmates working as strippers or drug dealers to make ends meet, publicly broadcasting one's virginity in order to earn tuition money is a new phenomenon.     "I've heard anecdotally that a lot of people strip to get through college and that it's a really easy way to make money, so if that's kind of a known thing then I could see how people would [choose to do] that," said Jason Prapas, a graduate student in the mechanical engineering department. "But stripping and sleeping with someone are pretty different."     Senior Margaret Bennett echoed Prapas's comments, noting that Dylan's decision could be potentially dangerous. "I'm personally against it; that just seems like a really bad idea, even for health reasons alone … There's a reason it's against the law," Bennett said. "She made that choice and you can't stop her, but it seems like there are so many different things wrong with that, and it's so risky as it is. The guy could be a horrible person."     Though her decision may be questionable, her motivation is concrete. It is no secret that tuition rates in the United States have seen a significant increase in recent history. The average tuition rate for a two-year graduate program in business is over $60,000. Medical schools cost, on average, $25,000 for the first year, and this does not include room, board, books and other basic living expenses. Dylan, who plans to pursue a master's degree in family and marriage therapy, is looking at similarly hefty bill.     Even before thinking about graduate school costs, students first have to finance and obtain a bachelor's degree. Although many students can attend state colleges for less drastic tuition rates, some wish to attend more prestigious schools in hopes of obtaining better future jobs. For the 2008-09 academic year, Bates College had the highest undergraduate tuition rate with a $43,950 annual fee. And this number is only the price of attending the college and taking classes. When other fees are factored in, the priciest institution in the United States is Sarah Lawrence College in New York, which has an overall cost of $53,166 per year.     Factor in undergraduate student loans, credit card debt and a big fat graduate school tuition bill in the future, and it is easy to see why students panic.     Bennett feels that despite the inflated prices of education, there are alternative choices that do not include prostitution. "College tuition and its prices are huge — they're huge costs, but most people seem to find other ways around it," she said.     Prapas continued that although he does not know the details of Dylan's situation, he finds it sad that she feels desperate enough to go to such lengths. "My gut response is [that] it's pretty awful, both that someone would feel they had to do that and that other people wouldn't be able to step in and make an alternative, whether it's the school or her family or something," he said. "It definitely shows you that if we had a free education system, she wouldn't have to go to these measures, but I think that without knowing too many details about the student herself … There's definitely some questionable decision-making there," he said.     Dylan has received criticism for her decision, both in the media and among gossiping college students, but not all students think that what she is doing is wrong.     "I think we all look at our own set of options," senior Arezo Bonakdarian said. "It's not something I would do … but if she feels that she can sell her virginity and it's worth selling her virginity, that's her business."     While it may be her business, Bennett noted that graduate schools and future employers may not treat it as so.     "Just having this press — for some things it would be OK, but for some things, like if you were going to be a politician, it would be horrible press," Bennett said. "This will have repercussions after [she's] gotten the money and gone to school too, so there's that to be thought about."     Senior Amanda Harris believes that Dylan's actions are a reflection of the unfair burden placed on young people.     "It's sad that tuition prices are high enough that you would have to be that desperate, that there aren't other options," Harris said.     Dylan has made her way into the limelight because of the unique nature of her proposition; the intense focus on her virginity, however, is also a point of contention.     "I don't think it's awful on her side. I think it's awful on the standpoint of people who are actually willing to pay for someone's virginity," Bonakdarian said. "It says a lot that in this day and age, we're in the 21st century and people still pride virginity that much that they're willing to pay for a stranger's virginity … I think that's really sad."     Harris agreed, noting that Dylan's situation is not unique, and that many students who face similar obstacles are overlooked.     "What I think is particularly sad about this is that I know girls at Tufts who are escorts and things like that to pay their college tuition, and why is it only getting press attention when it's one person selling her virginity?" Harris said. "I think that it needs to be examined further as to why this is the one issue that's getting more press and why the government [or some other] institution isn't looking into ways that they can help people better afford this without having to cross the line somewhere.     "If she's making an educated decision for herself, then I think that's fine — that's her decision as an empowered woman … But I also think that there are a lot of other factors that play into it [and] that maybe, although she's saying ‘This is my choice,' maybe it's not really her choice, and I think that that's something that needs to be addressed a lot further."

The Setonian
News

Facebook terms change sparks debate

February 18

Untagging yourself from that awful photo doesn't get rid of it, so deleting it entirely will ensure it's gone forever, right?     Not necessarily.     Facebook.com updated its terms of service a couple weeks ago, reigniting a debate on the policy of information sharing over the Internet. Unlike rules in other media that are rather black and white, the rules governing a social networking site tend to operate without a precedent.     The old and new terms of service both state that users give Facebook a license to use content "on or in connection with the Facebook service or the promotion thereof." The new agreement, however, eliminates language saying the license would "automatically expire" if users delete accounts or remove information. Much of the controversy stems from the fact that Facebook posted the change on its official blog rather than sending out a notification to inform users. In other words, current Facebook users are subjected to the new terms of service, perhaps unknowingly, without ever having been asked to sign off on the changes. This raises more serious questions about what future changes Facebook could make to the site's terms and conditions without informing users.     "We wouldn't share your information in a way you wouldn't want," Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on the blog on Monday in response to the controversy. "The trust you place in us as a safe place to share information is the most important part of what makes Facebook work."     But under the terms of service, Facebook has the rights to freely use anything people add to the site, and users surrender control of any pictures or messages sent to friends.     So could Facebook exploit the site's users to profit?     Zuckerberg is worth about $1.5 billion according to Forbes. If you take into account Microsoft's 2007 purchase of a 1.6-percent stake in Facebook for $240 million, the social networking giant is worth an estimated $15 billion. But other than revenue from its investors, Facebook has fallen under sharp criticism because of a lack of a clear plan to make money. They might be walking a fine line, but legally, Facebook might be able to get away with incorporating user-posted content into target advertisements. Maybe Zuckerberg will author a "Best of" book of college party stories, written by students everywhere.     The moral of this story? Don't put anything on Facebook you wouldn't be comfortable with your mother seeing. Or a future employer. The Internet is a public medium, and anything you do or say could essentially be stored forever. Now, more than ever it seems, we as college students need to be careful about monitoring our online content. Unless we want to beat Facebook to the punch and write that "Best of" book first.

The Setonian
News

Daily columnists predict upcoming Oscar winners

February 18

Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominees: Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor" (2008), Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon" (2008), Sean Penn in "Milk" (2008), Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008) and Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (2008) Chris Poldoian: I don't think Brad Pitt should've been nominated. I think the special effects [in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"] should win, because that's all his character was, really. People enjoyed his performance because of the technical wizardry, not because of his acting. Devin Toohey: Yeah, I definitely agree there. He didn't convey that he was actually aging backwards. You never got the idea that when he looked young that he had lived for 60 years. CP: He should've been nominated for what he did in "Burn After Reading" [2008]. Zach Drucker: I agree. CP: Maybe just his hair as best supporting actor. Frank Langella? ZD: I liked his ability to really portray Nixon without really looking at all like Nixon. I don't think he'll win, but I'm glad he got nominated. DT: Good job as Nixon, but it didn't stand out as one of the standout performances. ZD: Sean Penn or Mickey Rourke? DT: I'd give it to Mickey Rourke, since he totally created his character from scratch. Penn did a very good job as Milk, but when you say that, you're giving the utmost praise to the source. He had a very good performance to base that off of. CP: Couldn't you say the same thing about Mickey Rourke? I mean there are a lot of similarities between his character and Randy "The Ram" Robinson. ZD: Rourke used to be a boxer. DT: Yeah, but all actors draw on their own emotional experiences in some way, and if you look historically, there really was a Harvey Milk. Real footage to base his performance off of. ZD: I think Rourke's gonna get it. Just because the academy loves a comeback story. If they pick Sean Penn, he'll be one of the few actors to get two Best Actor Oscars. I feel that the Academy isn't ready to give Penn that distinction just yet.

The Setonian
News

Massachusetts treasurer visits poli sci class

February 17

Massachusetts Treasurer Tim Cahill speaks to a class in Eaton Hall yesterday. His visit came as part of the political science course "Topics in American Politics: Politics of Local Government," taught by Tom Birmingham, a former president of the Massachusetts state Senate.

The Setonian
News

Inside Women's College Basketball | New faces emerge on the national stage in women's hoops

February 17

When March Madness rolls around, brackets are furiously filled out for the men's tournament, with everyone struggling to find that one Cinderella that will bust the championship hopes of the major conference powers. Yet on the women's side, mid-majors are rarely considered legitimate bracket-busters; the 65-team tournament is generally dominated by the traditional studs, the Tennessee Volunteers and the Connecticut Huskies, winners of five of the last seven titles. That is all about to change this year, as a pool of previously unknown small schools have taken the women's basketball world by storm.

The Setonian
News

Zach Drucker and Chris Poldoian | Bad Samaritans

February 16

Lately we have been reminiscing and recalling our respective childhoods in the early '90s. We characterize our younger years as a time when a kid could collect Pok?©mon cards, read "Goosebumps" books and, most importantly, watch Nickelodeon. Do you remember the shows like "Doug," "Hey Arnold!," "Rugrats" and "Rocko's Modern Life?" Those were the shows that revved our engines back in the elementary school.

The Setonian
News

Will Ehrenfeld | Stuff Tufts People Like

February 16

Following last week's column about unnecessary activism, I want to focus more directly on activism and its role on campus and in a Tufts education. "Civic engagement" is one of the big buzzwords that admissions and public relations spout relentlessly; the university depicts itself as a socially active institution that is heavily involved in community issues and service. Tufts people especially like working with poor or disadvantaged people who "need our help," and this becomes more central to our time at Tufts than any other ideas about education that might follow a more traditional path.

The Setonian
News

Gideon Jacobs | The Pooch Punter

February 12

Roger Federer's dominance was just another part of my childhood, a given. It was as predictable as gravity, as perfunctory as another school year, as constant as my mother's love. I never questioned it, tried to explain it or put it into context. I merely accepted it as fact: Everyone was playing tennis and this guy was playing another sport entirely.

The Setonian
News

Cupid's arrow strikes the Hill

February 12

Legend has it that St. Valentine, a young priest in third-century Rome, once defied an imperial order prohibiting marriage for potential soldiers. Against the word of Emperor Claudius II, Valentine secretly married young lovers, the story goes. During his resulting imprisonment, he sent a letter to a young female visitor from his cell. The rest is history. Today, the Daily takes a look at the more modern side of the holiday of love in a series of articles across three sections: Features – An experiment in speed dating, pictured above, anti-love potions and the color red as an aphrodisiac. Arts – A book review of "Sex Whisperer" and a look at a film series at the Brattle Theatre.  Sports –  A preview of tomorrow's Valentine Invitational, a track meet at MIT.

The Setonian
News

The Daily presents: speed dating at Tufts

February 12

Many students cringe at the idea of speed dating. The thought of forced conversation with strangers, instant judgment and awkward silences is completely unappealing. But to others, including us at the Daily, speed dating is an interesting social experiment intended to keep participants on their toes. And for those fed up with living on a dating-deprived campus, the concept presents a unique opportunity.

The Setonian
News

Inside the NESCAC | Middlebury, Amherst fight for supremacy

February 12

    In sports, some of the most compelling matchups often carry connotations of past versus present — an established champion going up against a high-potential up-and-comer.     Such will be the case this weekend in the world of NESCAC men's basketball, as conference leader and nationally ranked No. 13 Middlebury will travel to the conference's current second-place team and traditional powerhouse Amherst in a battle for first place and the right to host the NESCAC Tournament.     "This weekend is going to determine the playoff season for the NESCAC," Amherst senior co-captain Brian Baskauskas said. "Hosting the NESCAC Tournament is awesome, and it's a huge advantage."     The Lord Jeffs own a long history of achievement not only on the conference level but also nationally, having gone to the NCAA Final Four the past three years, including their title run in 2007. But the team has lost an unheard-of 11 seniors over the last two seasons, five of whom have gone pro.     This season, Amherst sports more youth but has still found success, compiling a 6-1 conference clip and 18-4 overall mark, though the team has done so with an arguably less competitive schedule than in years past. The team has only played two of the top four squads in the NESCAC, beating Williams in a game that did not count toward the Lord Jeffs' conference record and losing to Colby on the road. This weekend will be a true test for the purple and white, as it will face both third-place Williams and first-place Middlebury at home.     "Naturally, [this weekend is] really important," said Amherst coach Dave Hixon, who has won four NESCAC Championships since the tournament was instituted in 2001. "If we were to win both, we'd host the whole thing. With each of the games, I think you play for position. The good news is we have a home first round already locked up, and we're still in the hunt for an at-large or automatic bid [to the NCAA Tournament]; you just have to win every game you can this time of year."     Amherst is led by Baskauskas, who is third in the league in scoring with 16.6 points per game and shoots at a remarkably efficient 51.9 percent. But he and the Lord Jeffs will be challenged by the Ephs' two-headed monster of junior Blake Schultz and senior Kevin Snyder, who are second and fourth in the NESCAC in points, respectively.         While Amherst won the first battle with Williams 65-60 on Jan. 10, the team expects it to be a much different contest this time around, with both squads suffering from injuries to key players. Junior Joe Geoghegan, Williams' third-leading scorer with 12.6 points per game, is out with a stress fracture in his leg, while Amherst junior Steven Wheeler, the team's second-leading scorer with a 12.5-point average, will also be out.     "It's going to be interesting," Hixon said. "I think it'll be an entirely different game. A bunch of our guys have the 24-hour flu; we haven't been able to practice this week. I'm scrambling — I may have to dress."     If Amherst gets by Williams, it will then have to look to the NESCAC's current top dog, Middlebury. The Panthers are 7-0 in the conference and 20-2 overall, breaking the program record of 19 wins that they set last year. They are led by their reigning NESCAC Player of the Week and NESCAC Player of the Year contender, senior co-captain point guard Ben Rudin, who is having the best season of his four-year career with averages of 14.7 points and 4.6 assists per contest.     "I think [my play] has to do a lot with the overall team and the talent we have on the team and others stepping up as well," Rudin said. "Nobody can focus on one player because we're all dangerous, and I believe that's been a big factor in my success this year. It's also just senior year, coming into my own. And we're all shooting for that NESCAC championship, we're all motivated, especially the seniors."     Rudin is complemented by senior co-captain Aaron Smith, who averages 8.2 points and 7.3 rebounds and has helped guide Middlebury to a 17-0 mark when he is on court. The Panthers also boast sophomore Andrew Locke, whose 78 blocks on the year are well ahead of next-highest NESCAC competitor Tufts junior Tom Selby and his 45. As a team, Middlebury is first in the nation in blocks and opponents' field goal percentage.     "I think the real key — they have a bunch of good pieces — is their point guard Ben Rudin," Hixon said. "We need to slow him down a bit. He's a good player; he makes them go. They've got all the pieces and senior leadership. So we're going to have to play our best and we're working on slowing him down."     "You know they play great defense, rebound very well and are unselfish and smart on offense," Baskauskas added. "We're just going to have to match their intensity on both ends of the floor and rebound. If we shoot as well as we can and max our intensity, we should be all set. But that game's definitely going to be a battle."     The Panthers, however, are not getting ahead of themselves when looking at the weekend competition, as they first must take on last year's NESCAC champion Trinity tonight.     "I'm worried about both opponents this weekend," Middlebury coach Jeff Brown said. "We play Trinity first. A concern for us is that they're extremely talented and certainly very athletic. They're returning key players from the NESCAC championship team of last season, so this week a lot of our focus has been on the first game. Obviously Amherst without saying is the premier program in New England, traditionally nationally ranked and so on, so it'll be a tough weekend for us to go on the road, but I'm quite pleased with our success in NESCAC play up until this point."     Still, the Panthers command an air of confidence about them heading into the game. Unlike previous years, in which Middlebury was young and Amherst was the favorite, this time the Panthers are the experienced ones and the Lord Jeffs are the ones relying on youth.     "We know they're going to be a tough competitor, but this is the first time in my four years when we are the more experienced team coming into the game," Rudin said. "The past three years, they were always more experienced, and to their credit they played as they should. But they graduated a great group of seniors last year. This year we're looking to take advantage of our experience."     "We've been confident all year in our ability to come away with a win," Smith added. "[These are] definitely the biggest games of the year this weekend. It'll come down to us playing our game and not getting rattled if things don't go the way we want early on. We do that and we're tough to beat."     While Amherst is not used to the underdog role, the team doesn't lack confidence. In fact, the Lord Jeffs, who lead the league in points and scoring margin as a team, believe that if things go well, they could be on their way to a fourth straight national Final Four.     "I do think anything can happen," Hixon said. "When we're healthy, I think we're a really interesting team. We have the ability on any given night — even though we're a bit thin and young and inexperienced — we can beat anybody because of how we shoot the ball.     "We're not as strong as we've been; we don't have the depth that we've had and we're playing three freshmen 20 minutes each," he continued. "Most people would say you can't do it with that, but that's why you play the games. I've seen some pretty unusual things happen. If we get healthy, who knows? We could get pretty deep. Do I think we're the best in the country? I don't. But the best doesn't always win. We shoot well and can be a problem for a lot of teams if we're healthy."     While Amherst is hoping for few fortunate bounces to go its way, Middlebury is less concerned with luck and more proud of the hard work that's brought the team to this point.     "I've been thinking about this since I was a freshman, what it would be like [to win the NESCAC Championship]," Smith said. "I think it's all starting to come together; everyone's on the same page. I think we're hitting our peak at the most important part of the season."     Still, Smith emphasized that in order to be considered the best, the Panthers first have to beat the best.     "[The balance of power] hasn't shifted yet," he said. "We have to prove to the NESCAC and everyone else that we are the top power in the NESCAC now. It's going to take wins on Friday and Saturday to do that. Until that happens, until we're NESCAC champs, it's anybody's for the taking."     "You have to give [Amherst] credit — they've won championships, they have the credentials," Rudin said. "Right now we put ourselves on the national map as we deserve, but we need to build a resume of our own like Amherst to get the respect they've gotten. But right now we are the ranked team in the nation and we deserve that ranking."     Having completed what will be considered the best season in its history regardless of how this weekend plays out, the Panthers know the sky is the limit.     "I honestly think we could go as far as anyone as long as we play our basketball," Rudin said. "But right now [the NESCAC championship] is the goal and that's what we're shooting for. We all know how talented the NESCAC is, so if you don't play your game anything can happen, but if we do what we've done all year, we should find success."     "As far as NCAAs, last year the experience of being in the first round was so new," Smith added. "It was kind of surreal because we thought our season was over right before that. I wouldn't say we weren't experienced enough to handle that game, but now that we've got it off our backs, we know what it takes to win at that level. We're determined to see how far we can go; I think we can be playing in March."

Trending
The Tufts Daily Crossword with an image of a crossword puzzle
The Print Edition
Tufts Daily front page