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The Setonian
News

Neil Padover | Man, I'm Awkward

November 8

Before I start, I have to say that writing this column has led many of you to approach me with awkward situations you've been through. If you'd like to see these in print in the "Man, YOU'RE Awkward," edition, please email me at Neilpadover@gmail.com. And let me know if you want to be anonymous. Because if I say your name and you didn't want me to, that could get awkward.

The Setonian
News

Volleyball | Injuries and inconsistency mire season

November 8

It is impossible to look back on the volleyball team's season without recognizing the dramatic impact that injuries had on this team. The manic highs and lows, the long winning streaks followed by unexpected losses and the periods of brilliance that proved impossible to hold onto were in many ways symptoms of the injury bug that had bit the Jumbos.

The Setonian
News

Dems take back the House

November 7

As the Democrats take control of at least 27 seats in the House, ensuring their control of the chamber for the first time since 1994, the election last night marks a shift in power in Washington. The status of the Senate is still in flux with three crucial elections undecided at press time. The Associated Press reported that Democrats picked up 27 previously Republican-controlled seats, including two in New Hampshire, three in Indiana and one in North Carolina. Reuters also reported last night that Republican Lincoln Chafee lost his Senate seat in Rhode Island, as did Pennsylvania's Republican Rick Santorum and Ohio's Republican Mike DeWine, according to MSNBC. Republican Senator George Allen in Virginia, as of midnight, was locked in a dead heat with his Democratic challenger Jim Webb. With only three more seats needed to claim the Senate, the Democrats are within reach of controlling both Houses of Congress. In Connecticut, incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman, lost the Democratic primary to antiwar democrat Ned Lamont, ran as an independent and won 49 percent of the vote. "This is the first time in twelve years that the Democrats have the house," Michael Goldman, lecturer in political science and a top Democratic political consultant, told the Daily last night. "For the past six years the President has had a policy that hasn't been scrutinized by anybody [in Congress]. That will change in a Democratic House" he said. Earlier Tuesday Political Science Professor Jeffrey Berry said that if the Democrats gain control of even one house of congress, which they seem to have done, then "they would gain a lot of control of public policy." "Both houses need to agree on legislation before it goes to the President's desk, so even if the republicans maintain control of the Senate [the loss of the House] would likely frustrate the President's plans," Berry said. Goldman cited the current war in Iraq as high on voters' list of concerns. "Iraq was definitely the biggest issue in this election," he said. Berry agreed. "More than anything [this election was] a referendum on Iraq and discontent with the lack of an exit strategy." While Berry said it not uncommon for an incumbent president's party to lose seats in Congress, "although it is more common in the first off-year election." In the 2002 election the president's party actually gained seats in both the House and the Senate, Berry said. "I think we're seeing nationally a backlash to the Bush administration. The Republicans that are in control right now clearly have gone too far over the edge with their extremist policies and the people are reacting against them," Massachusetts state Representative Carl Sciortino (LA '00) said. "I think that people are recognizing that this administration is corrupt and inept and are reacting to that first and foremost," he said. Young Republicans National Field Director and Tufts alumna Rachel Hoff (LA '04) working on the campaign trail in the critical and yet to be called Montana senatorial race between Republican Senator Conrad Burns and Democratic challenger Jon Tester, said she is "sad to see one of the houses go [Democratic]." "We are more than optimistic about the senate," Hoff told the Daily. "Two years of Democrat controlled House may just show the country that they need to vote for the Republican Party in 2008." According to FOX News, President Bush watched election coverage at the White House last night with friends and staffers. "This has been a disaster for the President. I think the next couple of days you see the James Baker report come out" Goldman said. "There is a new day dawning and we'll see more Baker and less Cheney." In regards to the Lieberman race in Connecticut, Berry thinks "the Democrats in Connecticut raised to a national level the discontent with Iraq," by nominating Ned Lamont over Lieberman. "It was a real wake up call to the Republicans, even though they had no one really in the race," he said. "It had a huge impact nationally." With the house now in Democrat control, Goldman expects a change in policy on Capital Hill. "[The Democrats] are going to have an agenda that is very different," he said. "People that belonged to the House prior to this administration knew that there distinct branches of government. For the past four years the House has seen as of an arm of the President and that is coming to an end," Goldman said. Berry said Democratic control of even one house of congress "would give them enormous leverage" in planning a legislative agenda and shaping the public discourse. Montana GOP chairman Karl Ohs, in an interview with the Daily, agreed with Berry. "[A Democrat House] is going to have an effect on our country," he said. "I don't think I like the idea of that." Ohs, who is working in the nail-bitingly close race senatorial race in Montana, said he believes Burns, who has served three terms in the Senate, will win. As of 1:54 a.m. CNN reported, with 29 percent precincts reporting, that Tester has 51 percent of the votes while Burns has 47 percent. Besides Iraq, Goldman said the economy, which Bush has been touting as strong in the past couple of weeks on the campaign trail, was a major issue in yesterday's election. "The Republicans have a disconnect with the economy," he said. "They cite the stock market, but then you have rising college education costs and people working two jobs." The Dow Jones average hit an all-time high yesterday. With at least one house of Congress under Democratic control, President Bush's agenda for the next two years will be greatly affected, according to Goldman. "George Bush has been a lame duck since the day he was elected the second time," he said. "From the second day you are elected to your second term you are a lame duck, so for Clinton in 1996 and Bush in 2004. "The campaign for president begins tonight." Rob Silverblatt and Kristen Casazza contributed reporting to this article.

The Setonian
News

Devin Toohey | When Pop Culture Goes Bad

November 7

This is the story of a columnist: a college student, just like any of us, who one day found himself faced with adversity. He had not planned to be faced with such tumult. But then again, none of us ever do. He was sitting in a movie theater, watching the movie trailers for potential Oscar contenders whirl by, when tragedy struck. For the screen had assaulted the poor boy with the five fatal words:

The Setonian
News

Restaurant Review | Pretty desserts are well worth a pretty penny

November 7

Didn't you always wish for the day when you could have dessert for dinner? At Finale Desserterie, you can have your cake and eat it, too. Whether you are stopping by after a visit to the theater or if you simply want to satisfy that nagging sweet tooth, get ready to be pampered and treated to the Boston area's most scrumptious and artistic confections.

The Setonian
News

Jumbos work hard to get out the vote locally

November 7

Hours before Deval Patrick became the newest Governor of Massachusetts, members of the Tufts Democrats were still campaigning for him on campus. Outside the polling center in the Gantcher Center, several group members held signs in support of Patrick, which seemed to appeal to voters. "People like to honk as they drive by," freshman and Philadelphia voter Andrea Lowe said. Freshman Xavier Molina, originally of Oakland, Calif., who lived in France for the past 10 years, had not worked extensively with the group before but wanted to help out. "I had nothing to do so it was either sit in my room or come support something I believe in," he said. Inside the center, Polling Center Warden Sharon Bourque said that she noticed more voters coming from on-campus addresses than during previous local elections. "Most of our turnout from [students] is during the presidential [election]," she said. "But we have gotten a lot more college students than usual today." Tufts Democrats roamed elsewhere. Twenty were on "visibility" duty around campus, Tufts Democrats President Kayt Norris said. Six volunteers campaigned for Patrick at Downtown Crossing in the afternoon, and six helped out Connecticut congressional candidate Joe Courtney. Tufts Republicans president Jordan Greene could not be reached for comment on this article by press time. But after the day's campaigning wrapped up at 8 p.m., there was still fun to be had. Assistant Political Science Professor Vincent Phillip Munoz, a participant in the scholar-in-residence program, hosted a get-together in his Houston Hall apartment for students to watch the election returns. As he walked around with pizza and cookies, he provided "a chance for the students to get together and talk about politics," he said. And his more than 20 student guests from his hall and classes, as well as Political Science Professors Deborah Schildkraut, James Glaser and Kent Portney, did just that. "I've been listening to pundits all election season," said junior and Massachusetts resident Josh Silverstein, a student of Munoz. Now, "I'd like to hear from real people." For Glaser, the night had more than just political meaning, as he brought his 11-year-old son Jared to enjoy the festivities. The two of them joined students in watching the results as Jared kept track of the winners and losers. "My dad used to keep score with me on election night, and that's how I first got interested in politics," Glaser said. I'm "sort of hoping he [will] catch the same fever." Portney valued the chance to get to know students better, he said, comparing it to the return-watching gathering the ExCollege typically puts together for presidential elections. "Just as a social event it's a nice opportunity," he said. But a group of students sat away from the professors, watching the returns in a second room. "I'm waiting for Colorado [results]," freshman and Houston Hall resident Lara Crenshaw said as she watched the results roll in before her home state's election results were called. "Colorado's kind of a moderate state so it's interesting to see where it's going." Her friend and hall-mate Emily Brown, also a freshman, hails from Crownsville, Md., but was more concerned with the Massachusetts gubernatorial race. "Just from seeing it so much on TV I've sort of gotten into the whole Deval Patrick thing," she said. But Patrick was not the only issue of interest at Tufts yesterday. Students from the Tufts Socialist Alternative (TSA) set up a table with pamphlets yesterday afternoon above the library steps. They spoke to passing students of their goal to bring an immediate end to the war in Iraq. This issue appeared on Somerville ballots, and residents ended up voting in favor of having local authorities support an end to the war. Other Jumbos, working with neighborhood residents, made their way into Davis Square throughout the day to influence local voters. Students mobilized to support or fight against several issues, including Somerville's proposed divestment from Israel and the proposed licensing of "food stores" in Massachusetts to sell wine. Senior Philip Moss organized about 10 Tufts students to picket against divestment propositions outside polling centers in and around Davis Square all day. The two non-binding propositions suggested that Somerville officials remove all investment from Israel, while supporting the rights of Palestinians to return to their "land of origin." Brookline resident Alan Ronkin, Deputy Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, supported this effort. "We reached out to students at Tufts," Ronkin said, describing how Moss gathered "all the stuff he would need [posters and flyers] to make it happen." "I'm pretty confident that [they're] going to be defeated," senior and Israeli citizen Ilan Behm said while he picketed yesterday evening. The Boston Globe reported that "no" was winning out for the resolution by nearly a two-to-one margin. Behm said that yesterday was the first time he campaigned for a political issue at Tufts. "I stick to my engineering usually," he said. In addition to covering polling centers that had the propositions on the ballot, Moss sent student volunteers anywhere his opponents, mainly Somerville Divestment Project (SPD) members, were holding signs. Quarrels frequently erupted as a result, Behm said. "The worst thing I heard [is when an SPD member] refused to call Israelis Semites. She called them Eastern European converts," he said. "It was pretty offensive." But some of the work was more rewarding. "It's actually really nice when people say thank you," picketer and Friends of Israel president sophomore Naomi Berlin said. Next to these students, other students held signs against Massachusetts proposition one, also non-binding. That question proposed to allow "food stores," including convenience and chain stores, to sell wine. This proposition was defeated last night, the Globe reported. "I have a friend who owns a liquor store," said senior Aaron Narva, one of two Tufts students picketing outside Davis polling stations last night. He was referring to Terry Devlin, owner of Hillside Wine and Spirits on Boston Ave., who has been outspoken against the proposition with signs on his door for months. "We've been talking this thing to death for so long," Devlin said. "When we look around most people have just started to decide [how to vote]."

The Setonian
Arts

New Who doesn't stand up to classics

November 7

When you hear the beginning of The Who's new album, you'll be forgiven if you laugh out loud. The first 40 seconds of the record's first track sound like a mildly inventive recreation of the intro to "Baba O'Riley," the song that opened the classic 1971 album "Who's Next." And when the drums kick in, they sound like a tamer version of the heart-stopping drum fill that capped "Baba"'s intro.

The Setonian
News

Dan Tovrov | Seven on Seven

November 7

I thought I would start with an update from last week's column: The sink and dishes have been cleaned. We filled a keg-sized plastic bucket with the grimy kitchenware and put it in the shower, then took an industrial shop vacuum to the sink.

The Setonian
News

Patrick, Democrats win key Mass. races

November 7

For the first time in 20 years, the voters of Massachusetts last night elected a Democratic governor. Last night, after several months of fierce campaigning, Republican Kerry Healey conceded defeat to Democrat Deval Patrick in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race. Healey made her concession early, admitting defeat at approximately 9:24 p.m. "I am here tonight to say quite sincerely that I want to extend my congratulations to Deval Patrick for his great victory this evening," she told the people of Massachusetts in a live broadcast. After a race that guaranteed the election of either the first female or African American governor in the state's history, Healey acknowledged the shattering of prior molds. "Barriers have been broken and we should all be extremely grateful for that," she said. Similar history was made when Democrat Martha Coakley was elected last night as the first female attorney general in Massachusetts history. According to Massachusetts Democrats, Patrick's election represents a big step in the right direction. "I think it's a great step forward," state Representative Carl Sciortino (LA '00), told the Daily. "Deval represents hope and optimism and bringing people back into the Democratic process." Tufts Community Union (TCU) President Mitch Robinson, who served as the college coordinator for the Patrick campaign up until the Democratic primary, expanded on this statement. "I think it is a historic today not only because it represents the first ever governor of Massachusetts [that is] African American, but also because it represents a true change and a true sense of hope in Massachusetts," he told the Daily. Republicans too feel that the desire for change resulted in Patrick's election. "While Healey was with the majority on all the important issues, the desire of the people of Massachusetts to see change could not be overcome," sophomore Daniel Hartman, who volunteered for Healey's campaign, wrote in an e-mail to the Daily. This desire resounded in the votes of Massachusetts citizens who overwhelmingly pulled the Democratic lever in the booths yesterday. All 10 U.S. Representatives from the state are still Democrats, and Senator Ted Kennedy easily won reelection. Still, many Republicans still remain cautiously optimistic. "Even from a Democrat, I think there's still hope ... that the state can come around," Republican and Tufts alumna Samiyah Diaz told the Daily. "I did pray for Kerry Healey, but maybe this is going to be change for the better," Diaz (LA '99), who mounted an unsuccessful state Senate bid, said. According to many observers, the same sentiments that brought about the first Democratic governor since Michael Dukakis left office in 1991 led voters nationwide to vote for Democrats. "I think people are sick of politics as usual and are hopeful for change and I think that's true at both the national and state level," David Jordan, a spokesperson for Democratic state Senator Pat Jehlen, told the Daily. Although last night marked the culmination of a Healey campaign that was on a losing trajectory for months, she did receive praise last night. "Well, we may not be happy about tonight's election, but we can be very proud about Kerry Healey's record of accomplishment," Governor Mitt Romney said before Healey's concession announcement. "She's served with dignity and with grace, and she has worked tirelessly. In my opinion she's the best lieutenant governor in the entire country." Even so, there was a great deal of disappointment among many Republicans. "If there's anyone hungry, there plenty of food at the Kerry Healey headquarters tonight," Political Science lecturer Michael Goldman told the Daily. Her decision to get the announcement out of the way early, though, was not lost on Democrats. "The biggest thing about politics is that no matter how nasty the campaign is, it's comforting to no that at some point, we understand that we're not running for office for negative reasons, but we're running for office for positive reasons," Robinson said. "I do appreciate Kerry Healey's maturity in doing that." While most of the reactions to the election focused on the big picture, there still is a lot of anticipation among voters and politicians for concrete changes in the near future, especially in Somerville, where Patrick's election has been highly anticipated by the city's leadership. "I think it means investing more in our public education system, more resources for cities and towns, and a more balanced future as well as a better partnership with the legislature," Jordan said. For now, though, the most important step for state and national politicians might be a return to relatively normal conditions after a tooth-and-nail election. "It's got to be back to business now," Diaz said. James Bologna contributed reporting to this article.

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