Although students and faculty have made progress in expanding opportunities to study LGBT issues in Tufts classrooms, plans for the creation of a queer studies program have been put on hold due to the current economic crisis.
MONDAY "A Theory of Military Dictatorships" Details: As part of their weekly seminar series, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the Department of Economics have invited Andrea Vindigni, an assistant politics professor at Princeton University, to speak about different facets of military dictatorships. When and Where: 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.; 001 Braker Hall Sponsors: The Fletcher School and the Department of Economics "The Goal of Student Inquiry" Details: David Hammer, a physics professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, will talk as part of the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach's (CEEO) Engineering Education Seminar Series. When and Where: 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Curtis Hall basement Sponsor: CEEO TUESDAY "Women's Studies Research Colloquium" Details: Senior Community Health Lecturer Edith Balbach will address how the tobacco industry has used marketing techniques to target women. When and Where: 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; 001 Braker Hall Sponsor: Women's Studies Program WEDNESDAY "Global Possibilities of Religious Environmentalism" Details: Philosophy Professor Roger Gottlieb from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute will look at the intersection of environmentalism and religion. When and Where: 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Goddard Chapel Sponsor: Office of the Chaplain "Middle East Challenges for an Obama Administration" Details: David Makowsky, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, will discuss issues that President-elect Barack Obama will have to deal with, such as the threat of a nuclear Iran and conflicts between Israel and the Arab world. A Kosher lunch will be served. When and Where: 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.; Eaton 206 Sponsor: Friends of Israel THURSDAY "How Will Obama Reinvent the Government?" Details: During a brown-bag lunch, Elaine Kamarck, a public policy lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School, will examine how the Obama administration will change the way that the U.S. government functions. Under then-President Bill Clinton, Kamarck created and managed the National Performance Review. R.S.V.P. to Douglas.Foote@tufts.edu. Fruit and drinks will be provided. When and Where: 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.; Rabb Room, Lincoln Filene Center Sponsor: Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service "Negotiating with Terrorists in the Middle East" Details: Former Israeli negotiator Moty Cristal will talk about how he foresees the Obama administration approaching the Middle East. Cristal currently serves as a senior consultant to the Israeli prime minister on civic crisis management. When and Where: 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.; Multipurpose Room, Sophia Gordon Hall Sponsor: Friends of Israel "Tracing Global-Scale Information Flow Using Internet Chain-Letter Data" Details: David Liben-Nowell, an assistant computer science professor at Carleton College, will discuss how information spreads on a global scale with the rise of Internet chain letters. When and Where: 2:50 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.; 111A Halligan Hall Sponsor: Department of Computer Science FRIDAY "The Science and Innovation of Human Exploration" Details: Dr. Jeffrey Davis, the director of space life sciences at the Johnson Space Center, will describe innovative space medicinal and biomedical research strategies. Davis will also talk about the Orion and Ares projects, two new lunar exploration missions. When and Where: 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.; Nelson Auditorium, Anderson Hall Sponsor: Department of Mechanical Engineering "Evolution of Avian Vision and Coloration" Details: Dr. Richard Prum, the William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology at Yale University, will lecture about how certain birds evolve. Coffee, tea and cookies will be served in the lobby fifteen minutes before the event begins. When and Where: 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; 104 Barnum Hall Sponsor: Department of Biology
Even as Tufts Community Union (TCU) senators work overtime to determine how to spend the nearly $690,000 in recovered funds, some members of the body have begun moving in the opposite direction by urging fiscal restraint.
The Committee on Student Life (CSL) on Nov. 21 approved the language of three amendments to the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Constitution but simultaneously called for a new vote on the proposals. TCU President Duncan Pickard, one of three students who originally submitted the amendments, subsequently withdrew them and intends to put them to a vote in the spring.
The Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP) and the Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance (MGNA) hosted a community meeting yesterday at which the groups argued for ending the planned Green Line extension at a location by the Mystic Valley Parkway (Route 16).
The Washington Wizards fired head coach Eddie Jordan as well as assistant coach Mike O'Koren yesterday after the team's abysmal 1-10 start. That left the door open for Ed Tapscott, Tufts alumnus (LA '75) and Wizards' director of player development, to assume the role of interim head coach.
A small but passionate group of students gathered last night in Sophia Gordon Hall to discuss lowering the drinking age in light of University President Lawrence Bacow's decision to join the Amethyst Initiative, a group of college presidents that support debating the policy.
ID proves hard to find Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) officers arrived at 11 Whitfield Rd. along with Somerville Police Department officers after receiving a noise complaint at 12:57 a.m. on Nov. 22. Earlier in the evening, TUPD officers had gone to the house and asked the students there to quiet down. Upon returning, the officers found some students standing on the sidewalk and the porch. When officers attempted to enter the house, the door was slammed in their face. Once they entered, the officers located a resident and asked her for identification. She told them she did not have it with her but would go retrieve it. Officers began to clear the party out and eventually realized the student had not returned with her ID. They went upstairs and heard voices coming from a room. They knocked, and the individuals inside let them in. The student had changed into her pajamas and looked as if she was ready to go to bed, leading officers to conclude that she had never intended to come down with her ID. The party was cleared out and a report was sent to the dean's office. Fallen electrical lines ignite blaze on Packard, knock out power TUPD received a call at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 22 reporting that electrical wires were falling down on Packard Avenue outside of Lewis Hall. The wires caught on fire, which spread to two trees on the street. The Somerville Fire Department responded and put out the fire. An on-campus house lost power, and officers notified NSTAR, the local power company, and the Somerville Public Works Department. The two trees were cut down and the street was kept closed until 12:30 p.m. The house regained power shortly after 11 a.m. Tequila Pain An intoxicated Tufts student exiting Tequila Rain at last week's Senior Pub Night was pushed and fell to the ground. She hit her head on the pavement, causing a concussion. TUPD was not able to respond, as the bar was in Boston, but the police were informed of the incident, which happened at 1:10 a.m. on Nov. 21. The student was treated at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Good samaritan, bad walker TUPD officers observed a male student lying on the crosswalk in front of South Hall at 2:14 a.m. on Nov. 22. Another student was standing over him. When officers approached the one who was standing, he told them that he had seen the student struggling to walk and had started to help him. The stumbling student stopped walking and the other individual lowered him to the ground. The Somerville Fire Department and Cataldo Ambulance, Inc. also responded. The student was transported to Somerville Hospital. "It's a good thing that kid was there," TUPD Sgt. Robert McCarthy said.
Regardless of how much literal and figurative distance they put between their high-school and college experiences, many Tufts students find that they can't leave everything behind. High schools commonly send students to Tufts in pairs, threes and even groups of 10, which means that some students have found themselves pursuing their college educations alongside friends and acquaintances from high school.
As the semester drew to a close, student performance groups on campus put on their final shows for the fall. Tufts Daily photographers captured several groups in action. Pictured here are glimpses of The Third Day Gospel Choir, the Tufts Dance Ensemble, SoC's "Hood Stoppin,' Booty Poppin'" show and CheapHYPE!, a collaboration between the Cheapsox improv group and the HYPE! mime troupe. The array of talent exhibited in the vast number of Tufts performance groups never fails to entertain and impress audiences.
A turkey with all the trimmings and the fourth Thursday of November may ring bells and incite schmaltzy feelings for most American college students, but for the 16 percent of Jumbos who hail from other countries, Thanksgiving may not represent anything other than a strange new tradition and a few days off from classes.
Film animation has experienced a rebirth in recent years as studios have all but completely traded in their drawing pencils for computers. Audiences around the globe have been receptive to these technologically savvy films, which are both visually stunning and mentally gripping for the whole family. They include such gems as DreamWorks Animation's "Shrek" franchise and Pixar Animation Studios' "Toy Story" series.
One of the greatest seasons any team on the Hill has ever compiled has come to the most painful of endings. The field hockey team was tantalizingly close to delivering Tufts its first-ever NCAA team national championship yesterday afternoon in Collegeville, Penn. But in the end, the nationally ranked No. 4 Jumbos fell just short, dropping a 3-2 double-overtime decision to No. 3 Bowdoin in the NCAA Div. III title game. Polar Bears senior tri-captain Lindsay McNamara, Bowdoin's all-time leading scorer, delivered for her team one final time, backhanding the game-winner past freshman goalkeeper Marianna Zak 2:02 into the second extra session. "It's just unfortunate that we lost the way that we lost," junior midfielder Margi Scholtes said. "We had an amazing season, a ton of fun, we broke records left and right; for it to end on that goal and to be so close to being national champions, it's just hard to understand and hard to come to grips with. We were so close." Tufts' historic 2008 campaign ends at 19-2, with both losses coming in one-goal games against the Polar Bears. Bowdoin, meanwhile, picks up its second national championship in as many years, becoming the sport's first repeat champion since Salisbury captured three straight crowns from 2003 through 2005. surge that saw them outshoot the Polar Bears 8-1. They notched the equalizer with 20:06 left in regulation, as sophomore forward Tamara Brown received a perfect lead pass from junior forward Michelle Kelly and found the back of the cage for the 28th time this season. "At the time, we thought this was the last 35 minutes of our season," coach Tina McDavitt said. "We just talked about just giving 100 percent, laying it on the line, giving it all they had, and that's what they did. Tamara's goal was fantastic. The team was working really hard to get the ball up to the forwards, and they were able to do that." Had it not been for the stellar play of Bowdoin senior goalkeeper Emileigh Mercer, the damage could have been a lot worse. Tufts was awarded three penalty corners between the 6:10 and 7:06 marks of the second half, but the Jumbos could not push the ball past the proverbial wall that was Mercer, who made four critical saves during the stretch. Mercer then stopped Tufts on three more corner chances in the final 6:16 of the period to keep the score knotted at two. "Emileigh Mercer is an awesome goalie," McDavitt said. "We watched the [semifinal] game [Saturday] versus Ursinus, and she had some fantastic saves against them. Whenever I thought we had a shot, she'd get it. Then, we'd get a second opportunity, and she'd dive and get that, too. I thought she just did an excellent job for them." That set the stage for the first of two riveting overtime periods, in which each squad had its opportunities to put the national title away. The Jumbos' best chance came on a penalty corner in the game's 78th minute, but the team could not convert it into a shot on goal. On the Polar Bears' side, meanwhile, McNamara hit the left post with a shot attempt in the final 15 seconds of the first overtime period. But on the first scoring opportunity for either side in the second overtime, the All-American redeemed herself, notching the 92nd and final goal of her illustrious career in the game's 87th minute. The Jumbos did have a lead in the game, jumping out to a 1-0 advantage at the 1:13 mark of the first half when Brown tipped in a free hit that was rifled off the stick of Scholtes. But Bowdoin immediately turned back Tufts' momentum, tying the contest just 1:25 later on a tally by senior forward Madeleine McQueeney. "As our coach says, the two minutes after either team scores a goal are the most important," Scholtes said. "That's when another goal is usually scored by either team. We were just caught off guard from their goal. It kind of took away our momentum. We had to start over, regroup and get back to our hockey." For the remainder of the first half, the Jumbos' offense mounted virtually no threats, as the team failed to register another shot until the 31:44 mark of the period. With the ball primarily in Tufts' end, the Polar Bears capitalized, as junior forward Shavonne Lord put home a rebound with 24:16 to play in the half to give Bowdoin a 2-1 advantage heading into halftime. "Bowdoin's just a solid team and just such a solid defensive team," McDavitt said. "It is hard to get around them and get through them. When we had one on one, they did a great job of breaking up the play and just stopping the ball." The game marked the third meeting between NESCAC rivals Tufts and Bowdoin this season. The teams first squared off in their respective regular season finales on Oct. 31, when the Jumbos went into Brunswick, Maine and knocked off the then-No. 1 Polar Bears 4-3 to clinch Tufts' first-ever conference regular season crown. Bowdoin exacted its revenge nine days later, dealing the squad a 1-0 setback in the NESCAC championship game on Bello Field. Following yesterday's win, the Polar Bears have now lost to the Jumbos just once in the last decade. Yesterday's defeat brings to a close what will unquestionably go down as the field hockey team's greatest season ever, one which featured a perfect 14-0 regular season, the deepest postseason run in program history and three victories over teams that were at one point ranked No. 1 this season. A fourth proved too elusive, but for Tufts, not even a loss this bitter could taint all that the team accomplished in 2008. "As sad and as frustrating and as upsetting as it is to lose, looking back, we had an amazing season," Scholtes said. "We couldn't have asked for a better season; 19-2 is an amazing record and nothing to look back on and be disappointed about. It just sets the stage for next year. There's only one way to go: back to the national championship."
The armed robbery of a female student near campus Sunday night has sparked an ongoing investigation by the Somerville Police Department and ignited safety concerns among Tufts students.
The first thing that occurred to me election night was how easily Sen. Barack Obama won the election.
One week after scoring several all-NESCAC nods, the volleyball and field hockey teams continued adding to their trophy cases, picking up a slew of regional and All-American honors. The highlight of the volleyball team's haul came yesterday, when the Jumbos picked up a program record three All-American selections. In addition, no squad had more players named to the field hockey New England West region First Team than Tufts, which will play in the Final Four this weekend. A rundown of all of the Tufts award-winners:
Filmmaker Jaffar Mahmood (LA '00) will be returning to Tufts tonight for a screening of his new film, "Shades of Ray," a story about love, family and identity in the lives of two multi-ethnic people. The screening will take place at 7:00 p.m. in Braker 001 and will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Mahmood. The up-and-coming writer/director caught up with The Daily over the phone to talk about his Tufts experience, his latest project and what he's learned along the way.
A panel of experts yesterday examined the role that organizations in New York, New Orleans and London play in building cities' resilience to catastrophes.
The secrets that arrive daily in Frank Warren's mail come in all shapes and sizes — and on every imaginable surface.
