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A break-and-enter at Brown and Brew
February 21A safe was stolen from Brown and Brew after the campus coffeeshop was broken into this past weekend.
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Inside women's college basketball | Mountain West Conference making some noise
February 21A conference whose members play at an average elevation of over 4,000 feet is experiencing a whole new kind of high.
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How to... help a friend with an eating disorder
February 21In the United States, an estimated 10 million people struggle with eating disorders, most commonly anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. Chances are you may know one of these people. And when a statistic turns into a friend, it's hard to know just what to do. Even though treatment of an eating disorder often involves professional help, you CAN play a role:
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When drawings are dangerous
February 21Incendiary editorial cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist have incited widespread and violent reactions across the Middle East.
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College costs: a dire financial outlook?
February 21For most students, the private college experience comes with a hefty price. At Tufts, as well as nationally, tuition has been rising steadily for years. According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, colleges and universities across the country have become less affordable for students and their families over the past 10 years. Since cost is a deciding factor for some students, an expensive education may prove too much of a burden after four years, and it may account in part for the low national graduation rate. "The increase in price has forced many students to switch their standing from full time to part time," Mikyung Ryu of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education told the University of Delaware's Review. Students who work to pay for their education are at a disadvantage as well. According to Ryu, "they need to work more to pay for it, which can take longer for them to complete graduation requirements." This means that fewer students are able to graduate in six years. The total cost of one year of a Tufts education has risen by at least $1,000 every year over the past 10 years: From 2003-2004 to 2004-2005, the cost rose by over $1,800, according to Tufts' Factbook. Over the past five years, more students applying to Tufts have requested financial aid, an indication that the increase in cost has not been easy for many students to handle. On the indicator of four-year private college affordability, the state of Massachusetts is ranked second-lowest by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The Center gave the state an "F" for overall affordability - the same grade that most other states received. But the tuition rise is not as clear-cut as it may seem. While cost may go down in some industries as technology improves efficiency, colleges cannot follow suit. "The type of education delivered at most private colleges is very labor-intensive, and we haven't yet found a way to substitute machines for professors," Associate Professor of Economics David Garman said. "We don't get the same kind of increase in productivity that you might get in a steel mill or an auto plant," he added. What most people don't see is the actual cost of providing an education. "Even though it may look like tuition cost has been rising at a ridiculous rate over the past 20 years, the cost of providing an education has been increasing at an even faster rate," Garman added. "Tuition collected by private colleges usually only pays about half of the cost of providing an education." What fails to get covered by tuition gets paid for through fundraising. While Garman did not predict significant changes in the path of rising tuition costs in the future, he did anticipate enlarged university fundraising. "What I would expect is that the aggressive fundraising that private colleges have been doing will increase and become even more aggressive," he said. The cost of providing an education also includes the heated competition between selective colleges to rank higher and higher. "Private colleges are always competing against each other to get the best faculty, the best facilities, the best students - to be the best overall," Garman said. Students who receive financial aid may want to take it as a compliment. "Because private colleges are competing for the best students, they use financial aid as a discount to attract those students," Garman said. - by Arianne Baker
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Drawing conclusions from the Danish cartoons
February 21It's been said that religion is the opiate of the masses. Last time I checked, opium was supposed to calm you down.
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Retention rates redux
February 21The U.S. News and World Report college rankings carry a lot of weight with prospective students who are trying to decide where to send their college applications. One important ranking is the retention rate, which is the percentage of freshmen students who return for their sophomore year.
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Ask Sara | From energy drinks to nutrient density
February 21Question: What's the deal with energy drinks? Do they really give you energy? Or is it just hype?
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The buildup to a blowup
February 21The New York Times reported that in early December, Danish Imam and political activist Ahmed Akkari led a delegation of the European Committee for Honoring the Prophet to meet with prominent Egyptian Arab leaders.
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Tufts students play starring roles in Patrick's campaign
February 21With the elections for Massachusetts governor only months away, political campaigns are starting to kick into gear. One prospect, Democrat Deval Patrick, has found a significant following among Tufts students.
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Benjamin Rolfe | Modest Proposant
February 21Recently I've heard a lot about Danish cartoonists and Muslim extremists, and it seems that they're not the best of friends right now. Danes are lambasting, Muslims are brandishing, and Danish Muslims, well, who knows what Danish Muslims are doing about anything?
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Men's track and field | Williams runs over field, hands Tufts No. 2 spot once again
February 21Athletes are timed, measured, pre-ranked and seeded, but track and field is far from predictable from year to year.
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Inside the NESCAC | Semifinals feature regular-season rematches
February 21With the top four seeds in the NESCAC holding serve at home last Saturday, this weekend's women's basketball semifinals will feature two intriguing regular season rematches.
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How to... stay looking young
February 21The other day, I was washing my skin and noticed that the crease where I usually smile would not disappear. I puckered my lips into a fish face hoping that it was just a shadow but the line remained: I had developed my first wrinkle!
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Women's swimming and diving | Anchored by Young-Hyman, squad accomplishes goal of top-five finish
February 21As has been the story for many of the Tufts athletic teams this weekend, the women's swimming and diving team returned from the NESCAC Championships on Sunday with a fourth-place finish, behind a convincing Williams win.
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Selection process fills most of Sophia Gordon
February 21According to the Office of Residential Life and Learning (ORLL), the majority of occupants for the new Sophia Gordon hall have been selected.
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Kristy Cunningham | Out of Thin Air
February 21Call me spoiled, call me a snow-snob, even call me crazy, but skiing in the east is just not as good as skiing out west.
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Sarah Wally | Finding Balance
February 20"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything." -Muhammad Ali
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