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The Setonian
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Meredith Pickett | The Eyes of Texas

December 5

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ... Jack Frost nipping at your nose. Folks may be dressed up like Eskimos, but there are no yuletide carols being sung by this fire. Why? Because it's finals time, and in college dorms across the country, students are burning the midnight oil rather than burning the Yule log. As I sit here staring at the snow falling outside, I think about how cruel it is that just as the spirit of the season is growing, my semester is blowing. I hate finals. I always have. Even in high school, while everyone else was studying, I was handing out candy canes and wrapping last minute presents. Who needs math when it's 65 degrees? That's almost cold enough to wear a scarf! (I'm from Texas ... we take what we can get.) I have never come out of finals with higher grades. Does this mean that I am a bad student? Does this mean that my future is doomed, because I can't convince my head that it is better to cram for tests than to spend time with my friends and family? I say no. What do finals do for you? Nothing. I hold fast to the idea that taking finals is not a life skill. I am not going to be a professional student, so why am I perfecting my final-taking abilities? Finals are cruel and unusual. They take place over a few days. It's snowing and cheery outside. Students are homesick, especially those who didn't go home for Thanksgiving. They can count for half of your grade. At the same time, we start to realize that we won't see our friends for a month and want to spend every moment with them. And who wants to memorize note cards and write millions of pages? Not me! Finals are not about who is smarter or will be more successful in life. They are about who hates life more. I like that in many classes, you don't even know how you are doing in the class until finals. "Hey Meredith, how are your classes going? " "Well, I don't know. You see, I've been working and working all semester, but that doesn't matter, because it all comes down to this one paper which I have to write at the same time that I write two other papers and take two tests! That sounds fair, doesn't it?" It's nice knowing that we are all in the same boat, but it is disheartening to know that the sane ones come out of finals doing worse. The ones who come out with A's at some point during the week will break out in hysterical fits of laughter, cry in the library, or fall asleep mid-conversation. It's entertaining to watch but sad at the same time. Last year when I came home for winter break, I was in a semi-vegetative state. I had written 12 pages and taken two finals in two days. I was in my insomnia stage. It was the era of the famous seven-hour nap, which I'm pretty sure is immortalized in the Napping Hall of Fame. I actually fell asleep during one of my finals. And what did I have to show for all of this agony? Equal or worse grades in all of my classes. When I got back from my first semester of college, I looked like a train wreck with darker hair and pasty white skin. I had not seen the sun in weeks. In middle school, we took finals to prepare us for high school. In high school, we took finals to prepare us for college. Why do we take finals in college? To prepare us for the outside world? I don't think so. If I ever apply for a job and one of the qualifications is to be a good finals taker, I won't take it. Finals are awful, and I'm awful at taking them. They ruin an otherwise awesome semester. I know there is nothing to be done about finals, but I would just like to let all you students know that I, too, am sympathetic to the horror of finals. But since this is my last column for a while, I want to wish everyone a good finals time and a great break. And if you want to reach me, I'll be in the library, staring out of the window looking at the snow falling and wishing I were in Texas.

The Setonian
News

Interview | Stephen Gaghan

December 5

Last week the Daily spoke with writer/director Stephen Gaghan concerning his newest film, "Syriana," whose subject matter spans from suicide terrorism to white collar crime. As in 2000's "Traffic," for which he wrote the screenplay, "Syriana" traces multiple captivating story lines intertwined to form a moving critique of the United States' current political situation. This time the movie is concerning oil-related endeavors in the Middle East. Gaghan explained the pressures associated with creating and directing a politically-charged film in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001 as well as the cultural and political realizations he experienced while traveling the world and gathering information to comprise his latest political commentary. Question: Making this movie post-Sept. 11, 2001, do you feel that you had to censor yourself or that you were censored by others? S. Gaghan: It was actually the total opposite. I felt like in the wake in 9/11 it was really important to feel like you were uncensored. The most insidious type of censorship I find that happens to people, particularly in Hollywood, is that you're sort of a victim of received wisdom, which is how you can never do that. They'll never make a movie like that. Drug movies don't work. You can't make a movie about drugs. You can't make a movie that puts the system on trial. You have to have a hero and a villain. It has to be a victory for the hero. If you don't have that it will never work. If you listen to these internal voices, you'd never start to do anything. If you sit there and you're afraid ... if I try to write something and it feels true to me, and yet some censoring bodies - say the studio or the government is going to come after me - I think that's exactly the time you would have to proceed. You'd have to just sort of go all right, if I'm really afraid of that, which I wasn't, but if I was I would just respond with full-speed ahead. Q: In a movie like this, how much sacrifice between making a great movie and making an accurate movie is there? What's your top priority? SG: That's really interesting. I think you set out - I don't know. I can only speak for myself. I just try to do the best work I can, and that has a whole bunch of different facets to it. What I discovered is that since I do a lot of research and I meet a lot of people, what I've found is quite often what I actually saw and what people actually said just won't work. No one will believe it. It's too broad. It's like too amazing. I witnessed things and heard conversations that if I - they were great scenes, but if I stuck them down in the movie people would have said, "I don't believe it. That's bullshit. There is no way," or people would have said, "Oh, you just have an agenda," or they would have said, "This is Dr. Strangelove," and I knew I didn't want to make a satire. I don't think there's any contradiction between truthfulness and quality or between accuracy and quality, but you always have to be a kind of arbiter for what you think, what the big picture is. I could tell you five anecdotes. You'd be howling with laughter. They're amazing. Unfortunately they don't fit into "Syriana." They would fit into some other movie. I haven't ever encountered that. I haven't found that going for accuracy would get in the way of quality, I guess. Is that a good way to put it? Yes. Q: In articles about writing "Traffic," you've said you drew on real-life personal experiences. Do you have any ties that go that deep for you with this film? SG: Here's what happened to me in the wake of 9/11. I had to travel a lot in early October '01. I'd been thinking a lot about the oil business since "Traffic." I saw this sort of dealer/user paradigm in "Traffic;" I knew from being a user. I knew sometimes you maybe hang out with a dealer, and this guy's got what you want, but he's got kids and the kids are watching violent television, eating sugar-coated breakfast cereal. They're malnourished and there's a handgun on the table, and you're like, "This isn't so great." But you're not going to toss this guy a parenting manual, "Here's a book by Mary Hartzell: a few great tips," because you don't want to jostle the status quo. It felt like there was a real similarity in our oil-producing nation: a dynamic. So I was thinking about it. Now 9/11 happens, and after 9/11 I felt scared. I was violated. I had two small children. I was worried for them. I was worried when I'd go to the mall. I had to fly in October of '01 a lot. It was just a completely different experience. I felt it very deeply. Now what happens, America's response to that act, it felt like this car America was accelerating, like someone hit the gas, shifted to a lower gear, maybe the highlights are off, but we're careening down some hill in the dark, and I'm holding on in the backseat going, "Where are we going?" We're like declaring an axis of evil. We're talking about evildoers. We're talking about crusades. We're going into Afghanistan. We're going into Iraq. We're rattling swords at Iran, Syria. This is precipitous and it really affects us. It affects me. Q: There are a lot of big name actors in this film. With your past success, did you find that they were coming to you to ask for work on this film? SG: Two things happened. One, without George Clooney jumping in really strong and saying he would cut his fee... listen, it's a quality problem when you can leave $20 million on the table, but George could have ... $20 million and he worked for scale. So that sent a really strong message to everybody, the studio and the world. But even before that, the script had been leaked out, out of my agency. It has just gotten out somehow, and it got photocopied and sent all over everywhere, and people really responded well to the material. It was hugely flattering. Great actors were coming forward to be a part of it. The combo of those two things really helped get the movie going, a challenging movie. So yes, I was amazed. Q: Would you describe this movie as pessimistic? SG: I would describe myself as pessimistic. I think I'd stand fairly closely aligned with Brent Scowcroft. He says, "I'm a realist. I believe in the fallibility of human nature. If humans can mess something up they will." And yet, I'm also an American and I'm also an optimist, and I'm ever-hopeful that we can go out in the world and make a difference, that maybe this democracy exportation project will work, not in the short-run, but maybe in the long-run, that we can help make the world a better place, that we can stop the famine in Mogadishu, that we can get fascism off the continent of Europe and World War II.

The Setonian
News

When it comes to smiles, students want 'em white

December 5

"I want them white like the snow on that window," freshman Kate Mattern said. Mattern was describing her teeth. She had her teeth professionally whitened but still doesn't think they're white enough. She's not alone. In today's world of self-help perfectionism, the number of people looking to make their pearly-whites sparkle - even beyond what is natural - is growing. According to a 2001 survey conducted by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, teeth-whitening has become the number one cosmetic procedure of choice for people under 20 years old. The sale of over-the-counter teeth-whitening products has increased 54.7 percent in the past decade. It will bring in an estimated $346.9 million this year, Information Resources Inc. reports. Teeth whitening is even being touted as an incentive to quit smoking: In November, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) recommended that former smokers celebrate nixing nicotine by visiting an AACD dentist for a professional teeth whitening treatment. The organization claims in a survey last year that yellow or discolored teeth was rated the most unattractive thing about a smile. As more and more people employ teeth whitening procedures, researchers are evaluating the consequences. According to Associate Clinical Professor David Bardwell at Tufts' School of Dental Medicine, the effect of the hydrogen peroxide chemicals in these products can make teeth feel weaker and more sensitive to pain. "There can be tooth damage and soft-tissue changes when excessive bleaching occurs," Bardwell said. Teeth-whitening was never intended to be a daily activity - but for some individuals, this is what it has become. Just as people can become addicted to tanning, dieting or exercising, once they start on teeth-whitening regimens, some can't stop. Marc Liechtung, a dentist from New York, recently told the New York Times that patients of his would "come back like drug addicts pleading, 'Doc, sell me more just this once.'" The Times also reported there have been cases of people wanting their teeth lightened to such an extreme point that dental supply companies do not have caps and fillings to match. According to Bardwell, teeth have been over-whitened when they take on chalky appearance, which is caused by dehydration. In his research on teeth whitening, Baldwell has found that "dentist-prescribed tray bleaching" is the most effective way to a white smile. "Every [type of whitening] lightens, but at different rates," Baldwell said. "Some have to wait longer to achieve the best result. Slower, lower-dose treatment over a longer period is more effective at retaining a lighter shade then high-dose, one-visit treatments." This method is more effective than those involving lasers or lights, which "have little of no effect on the effectiveness of speed of the hydrogen peroxide," Baldwell said. "Only two things drive or accelerate the breakdown of peroxide [and] the oxidation reaction: They are heat and pH," he added. While heat can accelerate the reaction of the peroxide, it can also "cause greater sensitivity than no heat and can potentially damage the nerve of the tooth," Bardwell said. "The best approach is seeking professional consultation for long-term whitening." But professionally-administered treatments - which are not covered by dental insurance - can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars, an amount that's impractical for the typical college student's budget. Many students - including freshman Kelly Moran - have turned to cheaper alternatives including Crest Whitestrips, the most popular whitening product on the market. Advertisements for the product show people whitening their teeth while driving to work, doing their makeup, working or walking the dog - taking no extra time out of their presumably hectic and busy lives. "I drink a lot of coffee and tea, and I wanted to counteract the effects," said Moran of her reasons for whitening her teeth. She chose Crest Whitestrips over other methods because "they looked the easiest." Moran uses the strips 15 minutes each day. But for some students, remembering to wear the Whitestrips daily can be a problem: "I only used them for one day and then I forgot," sophomore Ashley Van Wormer said. Freshman Hannah Robinson tried using Crest Whitestrips, but stopped immediately. "The Whitestrips and the paint taste nasty," Robinson said. "They are the grossest thing ever, and [they're] not worth it." But other students are willing to sacrifice comfort for beauty. When asked if the potential negative side effects of overusing the strips worried her, Moran didn't seem concerned. She had a prediction of her own. "In a couple of decades, the technology will be so good that desensitization won't be a problem," Moran said. "Everyone will have all fake teeth." According to Baldwell's research, however, Moran has little to worry about. He's found that it is safe to use Crest Whitestrips twice a day for a six-month period - as long as the six months are followed by a substantial break.

The Setonian
News

Is that the library roof on your handbag?

December 5

It's early on a Saturday night, and the festivities are just beginning. Throngs of people collect slowly, first along the bar, then filling the room. Smiles are shared over the pouring of drinks, and eyes meet in glances through the crowd. The night is young, and no one knows exactly where it will lead. It is this sense of excited anticipation that senior Heather Tamarkin has tried to capture. Combining her interests in art, fashion and business, Tamarkin has started her own handbag line, creating evening purses adorned with hand-painted images of college life - such as the party described above. "I wasn't happy with the bags that were out there," Tamarkin said. "A lot of it was me wanting to create my own bag." But making a personal bag for herself was only the first step for Tamarkin. Over the summer, she made 30 more bags. She sewed the bags out of denim and then individually painted each with one of three scenes: an evening party, a fireworks display or a sunset viewed from the library roof. The bags will be on sale for $30 each in the campus center this Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event will serve as the first official sale of Tamarkin's line, which she has dubbed Soiree Handbags. "This will be our first foray into the business," said senior Jenna Dreher, Tamarkin's friend and official public relations consultant. Tamarkin and Dreher plan on using Friday's sale as a test-run for their future operation. "I need to gauge the customer reaction, just to get a feel for what people think," Tamarkin said. "If I get a good response, I can tailor it to what people like and come up with the best product." The initial inspiration for the handbags' design came to Tamarkin during an art history course she took in Talloires two years ago. "I was very inspired by the way Renoir portrayed the lighting in the painting 'Bal du Moulin de la Galette,' which features a large group of people at a party," she said. "Later that summer, I decided to make a modern-day version based off parties that my suite had in Latin Way during my sophomore year." Tamarkin then painted this image onto a bag she sewed using the denim of old jeans. "Denim was the perfect fabric because it absorbs the dark colors and makes the lighter ones really vivid," she said. The other two designs also reflect an emphasis on light and color. "My favorite one is the library rooftop scene - it's something I can really relate to," said senior Nila Mitra, a friend of Tamarkin's and a fan of the collection. "She based the three scenes on the bags around actual places at Tufts, so that is what makes them so meaningful to Tufts students." Tamarkin said that the library rooftop image was inspired by the "homesickness" she felt for Tufts over the summer. Yet all of the images are consistent with a collegiate theme of youth and excitement. "The images represent an idealized view of nightlife," Tamarkin said. "I associate them with the feeling of anticipation while you're getting ready to go out and the sense that tonight anything can happen." If the initial sale is successful, the next step for Soiree Handbags will be to develop manufactured versions. "I can only make so many of these hand-painted," Tamarkin said. In order to take production to the next level, Tamarkin is planning to attend a workshop on product manufacturing over winter break in New York City. The workshop will describe the specific process of how one "goes about producing something," Tamarkin said. Developing Soiree Handbags is part of Tamarkin's plan to eventually professionally run a personal business. "I like the idea of having my own business because I think it's so fulfilling to create something from scratch and have people respond to it and buy it," Tamarkin said. Tamarkin has been interested in fashion since sophomore year of high school. As a result of her fashion flair, she took two classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology before she began her Tufts career. A psychology major with a minor in drama, Tamarkin is involved in costume design and has worked on three productions at Tufts. Tamarkin further pursued her interest in fashion with an internship at DKNY over the summer. There she was involved with global licensing, which she found very interesting. "It's exactly what I want to do - it combines fashion and business," Tamarkin said.

The Setonian
News

Inside College Football | Despite complaints, BCS system delivered on its promise this season

December 5

Despite all the talk about the controversial BCS system, it did its job in 2005: setting up a national championship game between the two best teams in the country. After more than three months of play, the two teams that entered the season ranked at the top, USC and Texas, are still there. Both teams rolled over their weekend opponents to set up a Rose Bowl date on Jan. 4 for the national championship. No. 1 USC faced a tough challenge this week, playing rival UCLA. The Bruins entered the game with a 9-1 record, a No. 11 ranking, and a chip on their shoulder after losing a heartbreaker to the Trojans last season, 29-24. There was nothing close about this game. Instead of exacting some revenge, the Bruins left the field with their heads hanging. USC junior Reggie Bush ran all over the UCLA defense as the Trojans sprinted to a 66-19 victory. Bush ran for 260 yards and a pair of touchdowns as USC notched its 34th consecutive victory. Bush's backfield mate LenDale White kept pace, running for 154 yards and two touchdowns of his own. Bush wasted no time punishing the Bruins, taking the second snap of the game and bolting for 28 yards. USC capped off the 70-yard drive with a field goal. The possession proved to be one of UCLA's most successful, as USC charged for nine touchdowns on the day. Bush is putting an absurdly emphatic exclamation point on a season that will likely end with a Heisman Trophy. Two weeks ago against Fresno State Bush ran for 294 yards and a pair of scores, adding 68 yards receiving for good measure. Bush wrapped up the regular season with 1,658 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns with an 8.9 yards per carry average. While Bush likely put the trophy in his pocket with his performance on Saturday afternoon, another Heisman contender, Texas' Vince Young, also added to his resume in a 70-3 massacre of Colorado in the Big 12 Title Game. The team came out fired up and secured a trip to the Rose Bowl with its first perfect season since 1983. Young led the way for the Longhorns, completing 14 of 17 passes and throwing for three touchdowns. He also ran for 57 yards and a touchdown. Sporting a 42-3 halftime lead, coach Mack Brown pulled Young early in the third quarter, saving his star for the Rose Bowl. Yet the damage was done. The Longhorns jumped on the Buffalos for two first-quarter touchdowns, then added four more in the second quarter. Even without Young, the Horns kept up the rout, adding another four touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a blocked punt returned to the endzone. With 7:36 left in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns had a 70-3 lead. Mercifully for the Buffalos, that's where the scoring stopped as the Horns patiently counted down the seconds until the Rose Bowl. The win gave the Longhorns their first Big 12 Championship since 1996. If things go right on Jan. 4, they could earn their first national championship since 1969, when they beat Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl. Notre Dame earned a spot in a BCS Bowl this weekend. The Irish will take on fellow wild card Ohio State in a Fiesta Bowl matchup between two traditional powerhouses. Another intriguing game will take place when Florida State and Penn State meet in the Orange Bowl. The Seminoles and the Nittany Lions are coached by the two most-winning coaches in college football history, Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno, both of whom are looking to add some hardware to their collections. The final BCS matchup will be the Sugar Bowl, featuring West Virginia and Georgia. The Bulldogs defeated LSU this weekend to win the SEC Championship and secure the BCS bid.

The Setonian
News

Finding the existential meaning of life

December 4

Some stories take you on a long journey. ("Lord of the Rings," anyone?) Anton Chekhov's masterpiece, "Three Sisters," does as well; this time, however, it is a complex philosophical journey instead of a physical one. In this play, we travel with the Prozorov family as they take a complex existential twist on the ordinarily cliched question of the meaning of life. "Three Sisters" is internationally acclaimed Polish director Krystian Lupa's first work in America and a project that took six years in the translating. While he is a newcomer to the English-speaking theater world, Lupa is highly revered in his native country; his production of "Three Sisters" sets the standard for interpreting Chekhov's original script. Sisters Irina, Olga and Masha and their brother Andrei feel trapped in their provincial lives in a small Russian town, and they constantly dream about escaping to the excitement of Moscow. They long for true love and fulfillment, both of which they hope to find in their only friends, the soldiers stationed nearby. These amateur philosophers join the family in contemplating the purpose of their lives, from the idea of marriage to the future of society. "Three Sisters" takes on an existential "Waiting for Godot" quality as the Prozorov family maintains a perpetual state of waiting and longing to escape to Moscow, where they are sure they'll find happiness. However, like "Godot," the story's tension is derived from the fact that their goal is ultimately unattainable; instead of finding release in the city, the Prozorovs will remain forever trapped within the confines of their little bumpkin town. In further "Godot" style, the play contains very little action or plot movement. The bulk of "Three Sisters" is made up of the characters' interactions and dialogue amongst the family members and the soldiers. The female actors in this production distinguish themselves as the main characters through their dramatic soul-searching. At times, their performances are almost over-the-top, but for the most part, the leading triumvirate acts very realistically and naturally. Kelly McAndrews portrays Olga the most melodramatically, while Sarah Grace Wilson (Irina) and Molly Ward (Masha) bring just the right amount of exaggeration to their characters. Their male counterparts provide a realistic and entertaining backdrop to the ladies' roles. Chris McKinney is especially amusing as the moody but sarcastic soldier Solyony. For his part, Lupa does an excellent job of modernizing the characters, shaping their speech and movements into a format that is contemporary enough to keep the audience engaged. Acting as set designer as well, Lupa does an excellent job of utilizing the one-scene stage. The incorporation of a scrim as a window-like wall separating the family's living room from the outside world or from the adjoining dining room is both effective and eye-catching. The plot has the characteristically existential feeling of nothingness, but the strong dialogue keeps this aspect from bringing the play down. What does become a problem, though, are the number of prolonged silences when the characters just stand silently and sometimes the lights go out, as well. That's not to say that silences aren't essential to this play. At first, these pregnant moments effectively emphasize the hopelessness of the sisters' stagnant situation; but they eventually make what little action there is drag until it ultimately grinds to a halt. The script of the play is not inordinately long to achieve the desired amount of philosophizing and soul-searching, yet the production runs almost four hours, and there isn't enough going on to prevent the viewer from wondering when (and if) intermission is ever coming. The third and fourth acts seem to move more quickly than the first, perhaps due to the fact that the second half contains more action and fewer long, lights-out silences. These acts are supposed to be happier and more optimistic, reflected in the brighter, more open set. Also, the women wear red and the men wear neutrals, compared to the black tones of costume and set color for the first and second acts. Despite the cheerier palette, the characters act even more pessimistically in the latter acts than in the first half of the show. The sisters complain about every possible facet of their lives to the point where the audience becomes annoyed. This effect was neither Chekhov's nor Lupa's intention, and it takes away from the message of the play. This particular production drags on for a little too long, but it is still a powerful start as Krystian Lupa's first work with an English-language company. Hopefully, Lupa will further develop his potential with more experience in American theatre.

The Setonian
News

After Shepherd's drive Tufts takes control in overtime

December 4

With the ball in his hands, junior tri-captain Dave Shepherd looked up and saw 1.3 seconds on the clock and his team down by two. But he'd been here before. With a slight variation on his late heroics against Springfield on Nov. 22 - when he drained two free throws with five seconds left to give Tufts a 72-71 win - Shepherd drove the left side of the lane and flipped in a layup to force overtime. In doing so he solidified himself as the Jumbos' go-to player, a role left open this season with the graduation of Reggie Stovell (LA '05). The Jumbos dominated the overtime period, hitting all five shots from the floor and riding a 13-for-16 showing at the foul line to score 24 points in the five extra minutes en route to an 86-72 win. With a 17-point win over UMass-Dartmouth on Thursday and the comeback victory over Brandeis, Tufts completed a sweep of a three-game homestand at Cousens Gym last week, improving its record on the season to 5-1. Against Brandeis on Saturday afternoon, the Jumbos struggled from the floor early on, making just under 30 percent of their first-half field goals. The Judges were quick to capitalize, closing the first half with a 15-4 run and taking a five-point lead into the locker room at halftime. Brandeis began to pull away in the final minutes of the second half, led by dominant sophomore big man Steve DeLuca, who would finish the game with 20 points. The Judges led 61-53 with a minute and a half remaining, but the tenacious Jumbos refused to surrender. Junior Brian Kumf, who had left the game earlier in the second half, hobbling off the floor on an injured leg, returned and shut down the Judges' inside presence, pulling down three of his game-high 12 rebounds in the final minutes. He helped fill the void left by senior tri-captain Dan Martin, who missed the game due to a broken nose and concussion sustained against UMass-Dartmouth. "He was a leader for us today," Sheldon said of Kumf. "He's going to be back at full-strength in no time, and he's going to be great." Shepherd emerged as the hero of the second half, draining a three-pointer with 1:19 left to cut the Jumbo deficit to 61-58, and then sinking two free throws with 14 seconds remaining in regulation to close the Judges' lead to one point, 61-60. After Brandeis sophomore guard Florian Rexhepi sank a free throw of his own, Shepherd was there to finish the second half by dropping in the game-tying layup, sending the contest into overtime knotted at 62. "We were totally recharged going into overtime," Kumf said. "Dave inspired us." The recharged Tufts offense stormed into the extra session with a 7-2 run in the first minute, which set the pace for the remainder of the game. Sophomore guard Ryan O'Keefe poured in eight of his game-leading 26 points in overtime, while sophomore Jake Weitzen added seven of his 18. One deciding factor in Saturday's game was the team's performance at the free throw line. The Jumbos were perfect from the line in regulation time, and finished the game 88 percent from the charity stripe. Weitzen, Shepherd, O'Keefe and Fitzgerald were a combined 18 for 18. Shepherd, who has now twice carried his team to victory in the final seconds, put it best. "You've got to hit your free throws at the end," Shepherd said. "You can't win if you don't do it." On Thursday night, the Jumbos suited up against UMass-Dartmouth in the second of three home games. Despite the loss of Martin two minutes into the contest when he took an elbow to the face, the Jumbos rebounded in style, cruising to a 91-74 victory. Despite the severity of the injury, Sheldon is confident that Martin will be ready to return next week. "I think he'll be back Tuesday," Sheldon said after Saturday's game. With sophomore Pat Sullivan filling Martin's shoes at center and senior tri-captain Brian Fitzgerald and junior Brian Kumf pulling extra shifts at the forward positions, the Jumbos came together to put away the Corsairs easily on Thursday night. Weitzen led the way with 21 points, Shepherd added 16 points (on 6-7 shooting) and six assists, and Fitzgerald dominated in the paint with 14 rebounds. Tufts took the lead five minutes into the game and never looked back, eventually stretching the lead to 21 before ending with the 17-point win. Even without Martin, Tufts outrebounded UMD 43-38 and Brandeis 45-39. With the perfect home stretch, the team has now won five straight games, its longest winning streak in five years. The 5-1 Jumbos will look to continue the tear as they take on Plymouth State on Tuesday night.

The Setonian
News

Jumbos sprint out of the starting blocks

December 4

Usually most teams are a bit rusty in the first meet of the season. But the Jumbos hit the Reggie Lewis Center on Saturday for the Winter Carnival in midseason shape, with many strong individual performances to open the year. "It's good just to get a feel at this point to see what we have to work on during the winter and over early return," senior tri-captain Rachel Bloom said. Sophomore Laura Walls won the 3,000 meter run in 10:29 in only the second 3k race of her career, running almost 30 seconds faster than her 3k time of 10:58 last season. Her initial goal was to stick to running close to 43 seconds for each lap. "I went out in the pack and they ended up doing 42 and that felt fine," Walls said. "I just stayed with them." Walls managed to win the race even though she mistakenly sprinted the second to last lap of the 15 lap race, not realizing she still had one lap to go. The mistake showed Walls that she's in better shape than she thought. "That kind of showed that even though I was sprinting, I had enough left in me [for the final lap]," Walls said. Walls and senior tri-captain Becca Ades worked together, and Ades was leading most of the race. The former All-American ended up taking third in 10:41. Junior Jenny Torpey, also in the race, took ninth in 10:59. The freshmen came out in full force for the Jumbos. Jackie Ferry took eighth in the 500 meters, running 1:19. Halsey Stebbins' time of 27.45 seconds, while only giving her 17th in the 200 meters, was the fastest time of the day for Tufts in the 200, faster than Bloom, who took 23rd in 28.23. Additionally, Aubrey Wasser led the way in the 400 meters, taking 12th in 1:01.63. Susan Allegretti took fourth in the mile, running 5:23 in her first collegiate track race. Ferry's 400 split in her race was 59 seconds, and Wasser noted that she didn't feel very tired after her 400. Both should be strong additions to a 4x400 team that competed for the national championship last season. In the 1,000 meters, sophomore Anna Shih took 14th in 3:15 and senior teammate Daniela Fairchild was right behind her in 16th in 3:18. Senior Arielle Aaronson set a personal record in the 5,000 meters, running 18:42 for tenth place and dropping almost 40 seconds off her previous best. In the field, sophomore Jenna Weir jumped 16'7 1/4" (5.07 meters) in the long jump, just three inches off her top performance from last season. Her effort was good enough for seventh place in a meet that included many Div. I athletes. Sophomore Kaleigh Fitzpatrick took tenth in the triple jump, hitting 33'8" (10.26 meters), and added an 11th place finish in the 55 meter dash, running 7.73 seconds. Also, sophomore Joyce Uang jumped 5'1 3/4" (1.57 meters) in the high jump for ninth place, and finished the 400 in 1:03.43. Sophomore Sarah Martin threw 42' 3/4" in the weight throw to take seventh. "I'm not surprised at all [with the performances] because all fall, the sprinters and jumpers were coming to practice just like [the cross country runners] were," Walls said. "They've been training probably since the first or second week of September." Now the team members will spend the next few weeks training on their own over holiday break before returning for the Dartmouth Relays on Jan. 8. Often times it's tougher to get in solid training over break because of trouble finding facilities and commitments to family and friends. However, Walls and Bloom believe the break will be good for the team. "It's going to do a lot for me just because I'm so excited that I'm in much better shape than I thought I had been," Walls said. "That's going to motivate me to do every workout that Coach assigned." According to Walls, other runners who are out of shape will be motivated to catch up over the time off. Bloom believes that everybody will work hard over the break to keep up with other runners on the team. "We kind of motivate each other," Bloom said. "You know that everybody out there is doing a workout and you should too."

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Cocaine abuse needs to end

December 4

I'd like to start this viewpoint by praising "The Secret Life of... | Casual Coke Users" article that came out in the Daily, Thursday, Dec. 1, titled "Dabbling in the white dust." The article brings to light cocaine use at Tufts, but I'd like to shed some additional light on the subject of drug use, specifically cocaine. The common phrases used among the "casual" cocaine users in the article were that they were not addicted or could stop when they wanted to or weren't predisposed to the addictive traits of cocaine. Do people do anything that's a vice in hopes that they'll get addicted their first time? Ask a person that is performing fellatio for a gram of coke if they saw themselves in this position ten years ago when they first started - the answer would be a resounding no. The excuse many people use is, "It's college and I'm supposed to be experimenting and what better place than college, which provides a safe environment." You think you've got the drug under control and you don't have an addictive personality. What happens after college, when you leave the safe environment and enter an often hostile competitive world? Things may not go so well and what probably will end up happening is that you'll go back to the drug that separates reality from fantasy, a drug that made you feel good in the old days. This is where the danger lies. Won't happen to you, you say? That's probably the same thing the person performing gratuitous sex acts for blow said. The illusion of "free will" quickly unveils. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, "regardless of how cocaine is used or how frequently, a user can experience acute cardiovascular or cerebrovascular emergencies which could result in sudden death. Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizure followed by respiratory arrest." If you're not pre-med, that basically means you can die from a heart attack or stroke. Regardless of your age, gender, ethnicity or health, every time you snort, smoke or inject cocaine, it is playing Russian roulette. Even if you don't believe me or the scientists that say cocaine use is dangerous, realize that every time you buy cocaine, you're funding a drug cartel. A drug cartel that resorts to torture, murder and rape to spread its disgusting product. According to the U.S. State Department, "Ninety percent of the cocaine Americans consume comes from Columbia. In 2000, Americans spent almost 63 billion dollars on illegal drugs. To put that in perspective, media giant AOL-Time Warner's total revenues for 2000 were 36.2 billion dollars." Dawn, a senior whose name had been changed in the article, said "Me dabbling with some yeyo isn't going to make anything worse." Well, when many people ignorantly think the same way, it adds up to 63 billion dollars in waste that could have been spent on education, healthcare or any number of constructive projects. Those who help distribute cocaine need to get their heads examined. "Friends" who give friends drugs are not friends, but acquaintance murderers. Drug dealers like Marcus Mattingly are parasites of society. The same way a murder during the commission of a burglary is considered first degree murder in many states, drug dealers should be punished for attempted first degree murder. They knowingly sell a lethal drug in hopes to make a profit. Drugs slowly torture and turn apart an individual and surrounding friends and family. I'm not a lawyer, but that's premeditated and malicious.Brian Yun is a senior majoring in economics.

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Jumbos successful in opening meet

December 4

Despite tough competition, the Tufts men's track team had what it considered a successful weekend, competing in its first meet of the season at the Northeastern Husky Track & Field Carnival. Although the Husky Carnival is always a non-scoring meet, it serves as an indicator of the athletes' level of conditioning. "I thought this weekend went very well," Coach Ethan Barron said. "I was very pleased. We were really solid across the board." The competition at the meet was diverse, including fellow NESCAC team Amherst, as well as a variety of schools from Div. I to Div. III, including Boston University, Northeastern, Wentworth and UMass-Lowell. Tufts' main emphasis at the meet was on the sprinters, as many distance runners are still resting from cross country season. Although the Jumbos had no entries in the 5,000 meter run, six runners competed in the 3,000 meter run, with top Tufts finisher senior Matt Fortin coming in with a time of 8:56.74. "It was more of a sprinter's day," Barron said. "It was more of a time trial for the distance runners that weren't resting so we can gauge where they are." The 400 meter dash was a strong event for Tufts, with six Tufts runners finishing with a time under 53 seconds. Senior tri-captain Trevor Williams was the fastest Tufts runner, finishing second in his heat in 51.54 seconds. "We had some very good performances out of the sprinters," Barron said. The hurdlers at the meet - junior Jamil Ludd, senior David McLeary and sophomore Jeremy Arak - ran solid times, all finishing below 8.60 seconds. Ludd finished fourth in the fastest heat of the event with a time of 7.99 seconds, very close to his personal best. "All three hurdlers ran well," Barron said. "I believe that all three were nearing their personal bests." While the personal best time is a good measurement for an athlete to trace his own improvement, at an opening meet like the Husky Carnival the coaches are looking not for personal bests but for season starting points. Comparing the starting times for this season to those of last season reveals areas which have improved and those which still need work. "We had a lot of kids finish better this year than their starting point for last year," Barron said. "That means that many athletes will be far exceeding their personal bests by the end of the season." Despite the notable absence of junior long jumper Fred Jones from the competition, the team's jumpers also had a successful meet. Sophomores Kenneth Kang and Jacob Fromer turned in solid performances with jumps of 6.04 meters and 5.96 meters respectively. The high jump trio of Arak and freshmen James Bradley and Ted McMahan were a lethal combination, with all three finishing in the top ten in a field of 23 jumpers. Arak finished fourth with a jump of 1.93 meters, while Bradley and McMahan both finished with jumps of 1.88 meters. "I was impressed with the high jumpers," Barron said. "All three jumpers jumped over 6'2", which is notable for Tufts track." Though the meet did not include a javelin throw, Tufts had three throwers - juniors Tyler Groff and Vincent Galatro and sophomore Joe Brown - competing in the weight throw event. Brown, Tufts' top finisher, ended with a throw of 11.73 meters. "[The Husky Carnival] is a good foundation for the rest of the season," Barron said. "We performed well in every aspect at the meet, from sprints, hurdles and jumps to distance and throws."

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A day on the Hill for local foster kids

December 4

Foster children and their families from all over the city made their way through the snow to the Alumnae Lounge Sunday for an afternoon of cake, face painting and socializing. Volunteers from the Alumni Association and the Tufts Boston Alliance organized the 18th annual Foster Children's Holiday Party. About 150 foster children and their families attended. Children ran around the building, eating and singing. Tables were filled with boxes of pizza and cake, and the walls were decorated with holiday signs, lights and ribbons. Santa also made an appearance. This year there were over 100 volunteers, including students, alumni and staff. Dan Kaplan (LA '96) was the head of the planning committee. Many tables had arts and crafts, such as decorating cookies, making snowmen and snowflakes, origami and face -painting. "It's so much fun seeing all the kids so happy, especially when Santa comes," sophomore volunteer Andrea Mora said. The Jackson Jills sang holiday carols and led children in a dance to "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." Other children and their families and friends ate ice cream donated by JP Licks and played with balloons. Companies donated the food and gifts for the event. Pepsi and Welch's supplied drinks and nine different restaurants donated pizza. Johnnie's Food Master supplied the cake and cookies. All of the leftovers were donated to local hospitals and Medford Family Life, a transitional housing and counseling center for children and their parents. Cindi O'Connell, a foster parent for 15 years who has taken in over 40 children, has attended the event the past 12 years. "The kids all enjoy it," she said. "It's just a great thing they do for them." Shayna, O'Connell's 15-year-old-daughter, said she enjoys seeing the other children each year. "I like to meet with my other friends here," she said. The event provided a good opportunity for the foster children to socialize, O'Connell said. "Sometimes they feel outcast, especially when they are first brought into a new home, and this gives them an opportunity to mix and mingle," she said. The event also gives friends and siblings in separate foster homes the opportunity to reunite and spend time together. Foster families from Medford, Somerville, Arlington, Everett, Cambridge, Melrose and Stoneham were invited to the event. Kelly Taylor (LA '96), who was in charge of logistics, said the event was just as successful as in past years. "It's simple but it really makes a difference in their lives," Scott Reed (E '79) said. At the end of the event, each child was given a gift and a book, which were also donated. Associate Director of Alumni Relations Jonathan Burton said the organizers were glad to help out with the event. "It's the one event that we are really proud of, so it's nice to see it getting a little recognition," he said.

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The war at home

December 4

On Wednesday, in a speech at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, President Bush ostensibly unveiled a new plan for victory in the war in Iraq. Anyone who listened to or read the speech quickly realized that it was nothing of the sort. The new plan for victory is simply a declassified version of the same strategy which has been implemented for the past two years in Iraq. What the president said on Wednesday was almost exactly what he has been saying ever since it became clear that Operation Mission Accomplished was premature: "stay the course." While the president's speech was monumentally unremarkable to those hoping for a response to ineffective foreign policy, it did reveal that the true war the Bush administration is fighting is at home. The New York Times reported on Sunday that the speech was the brainchild of Duke University political science professor Peter Feaver, who is also a member of the National Security Council. Dr. Feaver's research suggests that the public's willingness to fight wars is related not to inverse casualty rates but to a perception that victory is likely. While this is a controversial finding within the academic community, it has clearly been adopted by the Bush Administration, which has been engaged in a campaign to paint a rosy picture of the situation in Iraq for months. Now, with casualty rates rising and opposition to the war at home growing, the campaign to convince the American people that victory is just around the corner has apparently jumped into overdrive. The Bush Administration is evidently more concerned with the political threat posed by the perception of failure in Iraq than it is with the threat posed by an overstretched military and an insurgency growing in intensity, capability and confidence. The president continues to refuse to acknowledge mistakes, or even that corrections may be necessary. His response to failure has traditionally been to simply speak louder and more frequently; but with the tide of public opinion threatening to drown his presidency, the administration has indicated that it is willing to resort to any means necessary to win the war at home. This includes the use of propaganda. A story broken by the Los Angeles Times last week provided a glimpse of what may be in store for Americans in the next few years. The Defense Department has admitted to paying Iraqi journalists to publish stories which contribute to the perception of American victory in Iraq. Setting aside the implications this behavior has on the Iraqi effort to establish a free press, what the story shows, in an affirmation of the lesson of the Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher scandals, is yet more evidence of a general disregard for objectivity by the Bush administration. A leader who cares more about convincing people that he is right than he does about actually being right, and who is willing to buy off the press and use it as a means to this end, is no leader at all. He has entered the territory of narcissistic faith, personality cult and doctrinal desperation. Effective policy is formed around facts. Ineffective leaders try to save face by declaring victory and fabricating facts to support policies which have failed yet are mandated by ideology. Fortunately for all of us, the Constitution anticipates the possibility of poor leadership and provides a mechanism for avoiding the uglier side of government, which subjugates the good of the state to ideology and ego.

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How to... | Sydne Summer

December 4

I recently received a message from my boyfriend telling me I should be very proud of him. I immediately called him back, anxiously awaiting the good news. When I heard his response, I couldn't help but roll my eyes: He had refrained from buying a rabbit fur coat. While shopping with his mother, my boyfriend became enamored with the coat upon touching its luxurious fur. When the salesman said he'd cut the price in half, my boyfriend's mother agreed to buy the item. Though having a fur in the closet was tempting, my boyfriend thought of me, declined the purchase and avoided facing my wrath. While I was happy with his refusal, I can't exactly say I was proud. He lives in Los Angeles, after all. The only time the fur would even see the air would be during his family's ski trip. Instead of jet-setting on my boyfriend's back, the fur should be hopping around the world on top of a rabbit. I see no reason to wear fur. Unlike our ancestors, who were deprived of central heating and remote-control fireplaces, our generation has no excuse. According to the group In Defense of Animals, you must kill 30 rabbits to create a single rabbit fur coat. Other types of animal-fur coats require "at least 55 wild mink, 35 ranched mink, 40 sables, 11 lynx, 18 red foxes, 11 silver foxes, 100 chinchillas, nine beavers, 30 muskrats, 15 bobcats, 25 skunks, 14 otters, 125 ermines, 30 possums, 100 squirrels or 27 raccoons." So why cause pain when there are an abundance of fur alternatives available? Fashionable designers, including Stella McCartney, Betsey Johnson and Todd Oldham, refrain from using animal products in their designs, substituting synthetic materials for fur and leather. For more affordable options, H&M, Forever 21 and Gap all supply fake fur alternatives. And for those studying abroad, the United Kingdom's immensely popular fashion chain Topshop has the decal "All our Fur Is Fake" prominently displayed on their store windows. Fake furs are also accessible online. Purrfect Fur, featured in Allure magazine, offers fur accessories such as headbands, cuffs, handbags and mufflers. Fashionable-Furs, seen in magazines like InStyle, Cosmopolitan and People, offers faux fur worn by celebrities such as Ice-T, Tiffani Amber-Thiessen and Patti LaBelle. Jennifer Love Hewitt even ordered a faux-fur doggie coat for her pup! The prices of faux fur make your wallet happy without compromising your warmth. According to Fashionable-Furs' Web site, "the R-value, how heat retention is measured, of faux fur and animal fur is actually about the same. Individual fibers trap body heat, whether they're fabric fibers or an animal's skin." Furthermore, faux fur, once thought of as cheap and trashy, is now a global fashion statement. Celebrities including Rachel Leigh Cook, Shannon Elizabeth, Mena Suvari, Robert Downey Jr., Rosario Dawson and Anne Hathaway all dress fur-free. With so many other options, it is illogical and cruel to buy real fur. According to the Fund for Animals, roughly 40 million animals are killed yearly for the fur trade. And they meet their death in unseemly ways: "Standard killing methods in fur factories are gassing and neck-breaking for mink, anal electrocution and poison injection for foxes, and neck-breaking and genital electrocution for chinchillas." Despite the ruthless facts, after a ten year hiatus, people are returning to fur. As reported by the Fur Information Council of America, "fur sales figures for 2003 were the highest reported since 1991." Many attribute fur's rising sales rates to its new popularity among younger generations. In the past, fur was seen as a luxury item for wealthy older women. In the 1990s, fur became unfashionable - somewhat due to the stock market crash of 1987 and partly as a result of PETA's powerful campaigns. I'm sure everyone remembers Christy Turlington and other models' naked bodies in the "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" advertisements. Of late, however, fur trends have skewed younger. The Southwick Association reported that "over 55 percent of [fur] purchases in 2003 were made by consumers under 44 years of age." One reason is the recent affordability of fur. You can buy a fur-trimmed hoodie from Bloomingdales for $80. While you may rationalize this purchase, thinking the lavish fur is just scraps from another coat, think again: Animals are exclusively murdered for trim. According to The Fund for Animals, if "trends continue, more animals may soon be killed for fur trim than for full-length fur coats." Now, I'm not asking you to throw away your Juicy Couture fur-trimmed parka from last season. I would be a hypocrite - my leather coat will most likely make an appearance this weekend. Nor am I requesting that you toss a tofu pie at fur-wearers, like PETA demonstrators did to Vogue editor Anna Wintour during Paris Fashion Week. I am simply asking that this winter season, you take a step toward animal activism by trying not to fall into the season's fur-frenzy. Not only will you save money by going faux, but you will more importantly give a fox, bunny or bobcat the best Christmas present in the world: life.

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Bush needs to come clean with American public regarding foreign policy

December 4

On May 1, 2003, President George W. Bush landed on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln and announced the end of major combat operations in Iraq. More memorable than the speech itself was the "Mission Accomplished" sign that stood behind the president. Last week, President Bush delivered a speech to midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy. The purpose of the speech was to map out a strategy for the war in Iraq. Displayed in front of and behind the president's podium was the phrase "Plan for Victory." In two and a half years, we have gone from "Mission Accomplished" to a "Plan for Victory." No matter how many signs are printed at taxpayer expense, this president can't escape the fact that war requires planning at the start, not planning in the middle. The administration has created a smokescreen between the American people and the reality on the ground in Iraq. A poll released two weeks ago by CNN, USA Today and Gallup reveals that 63 percent of Americans polled disagree with President Bush's handling of the war. Rather than respond to this through drastic shifts in policy - dismissing Secretary Rumsfeld and the other architects of the invasion, for a start - Bush has hit the road on an Orwellian publicity tour. Now is the time for him to engage the American people on the realities of Iraq, instead of hiding facts about secret prisons, Halliburton no-bid contracts and shortcomings in the training of the Iraqi security forces. A new course is needed, and unless we acknowledge that the current policy has failed and our troops are under siege in a nation run amok, we will not be able to create a stable, just and free Iraq. Additionally, we are losing ground in places outside the Middle East. The war in Iraq is diverting our diplomatic and financial resources from where they are needed. According to Department of Defense figures, for fiscal year 2005 the United States will be spending $195 million a day for operations in Iraq. One day in Iraq could open up 5,571 AIDS clinics in Africa. One day in Iraq could provide the United States with 1,101 border patrol agents. One day in Iraq could provide nearly four million households with emergency readiness kits. But for now, $195 million just buys us one more day in Iraq, and one more day of inept leadership from the Bush administration and the Republican Congress. As a result the American global reputation has slowly dissolved. President Bush's recent trip to Latin America revealed just how much American influence in this hemisphere is being rolled back. Bush may have run on a platform of building stronger relationships with Latin America, but his disregard for the region has led to a waning of American influence. In the absence of strong U.S. leadership in the region, Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez has stepped in to become the voice of the poor and those disenchanted with Bush's foreign policy. The combination of a costly war and ill-advised tax cuts - the first ever in a time of war - has created record deficits. And who is financing all this debt? The People's Republic of China, although you didn't hear the President mention it on his recent trip there. For fiscal year 2005, it is estimated that China will finance around $242 billion dollars of U.S. debt, more than triple the $71 billion it financed in 2000. The Bush administration has done nothing to lessen the debt. Until we reign in our free-spending Republican Congress and President Bush, who has never vetoed a spending bill, we will not be able to talk in frank terms with the Chinese government. As a result, there can be no progress on human rights or opening the Chinese economy to American businesses in the foreseeable future. It is no wonder that President Bush needs a slogan and a studio set behind him every time he speaks about the war. No president should have to return to the campaign trail to justify military action. It is disappointing that the administration has reached the point where they are obliged to repeat the same slogans and platitudes rather than develop a real plan for victory. Now is the time for the Bush administration to stop manipulating and misleading, and level with the American people. If not, this will be one campaign the president is destined to lose.Matthew Weinberg is a sophomore majoring in international relations and the head of the Tufts Democrats Foreign Policy Committee.

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Alex Sherman | Retrospective

December 4

Welcome to Monday - the last of the year. Get ready for three weeks of finals and beer. All about campus, kids are locking it down You can watch as their smiles segue into frown. The good times on campus have been all but snuffed out. The battle for knowledge turning into a rout.For once this semester, the library's brimming With hundreds of students studying, skimming. Trying to cram in that last bit of knowledge In a last-minute effort not to flunk out of college. Seems winter just got here; there's no snow for your sled. But Corporate America's always two steps ahead.

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Taking a trip down 'Glory Road'

December 4

"Glory Road" is the true story of the first all-black starting lineup in NCAA basketball history. The film stars Josh Lucas as Don Haskins, the real life coach of the Texas Western College Miners, who in 1966 led his team to the NCAA championships against the all-white powerhouse, the University of Kentucky Wildcats. "Glory Road" delves into the real life dramas that faced the Miners on their way to the top, unflinchingly expressing the blatant racism, hatred and violence that the team suffered as a consequence of their integration and success. In a roundtable discussion, the Daily spoke with Lucas about his experiences while filming "Glory Road."Question: [Noticing that Lucas enters the interview with a heavy cast on his left arm] What happened to your arm?Josh Lucas: I'm making this movie "Poseidon" that I finished last week. I took a bad, bad fall during a scene. [That] I got hit by a water canon is the truth of the matter, which is the only interesting thing about the story. Not that many people get hit by water canons. I wish I was protesting something...Q: Now, in making this film, "Glory Road"... was there an immediate love for this sort of storyline?JL: Massive. More so than any movie I've ever done and to this day have done. It was a sense of incredible responsibility and pressure, filled with a sense of absolute total joy and love for the story I was telling and the man I was playing. And the man I was playing was there with me, as were many people that he knew, that knew him to such a level. You know, I had people literally whispering over my shoulder, "[Real life Miners coach Don] Haskins would not do that, he would do this, this is what Haskins would actually say." And Haskins would sometimes be there telling me those things as well. So it was... it was a hell of a lot of responsibility and pressure, and at the same time, the joy of it was that I really, really loved who he was and what he did. Q: Were you a basketball fan before you started the movie?JL: Truthfully, I didn't know anything about basketball - nothing. I played basketball one season in middle school. I scored two points. I was horrific at it, and I have really bad hand-eye coordination...Q: Now, this is a very political movie. Do you think that the story tells of the racial tension during that time? JL: Yeah. The director and [producer] Jerry [Bruckheimer] and all of us wanted to make the racism feel as absolutely realistic as possible. Actually, the one letter that my wife reads [in the film] is an actual, verbatim letter that was written to Haskins; they threatened to kill him and his family, which was unthinkable to a man who was basically totally colorblind. That was one of the things that drove him mad; he couldn't understand where this was coming from... I think that, as a man who was totally dedicated to winning, something bigger took over, and he was willing to risk losing to make a point.Q: Has he [Haskins] seen the film yet?JL: He hasn't seen the film... We are all terrified... I think he's going to be, honestly, I think he's going to be thoroughly happy and thoroughly disappointed at the same time. Because it's not his story. There are elements of it that are exactly his story, and there are elements of it that aren't, and that's just the way these films are... you can't go into it expecting to see yourself on film. It's not gonna happen, and you will be much more satisfied when you just sit back and watch it.Q: What was it like working with the younger actors; was there a sense of camaraderie that developed between you all?JL: They had a massive sense of camaraderie. I had the same sense of responsibility that I think Haskins had with his own players, which was to keep a pretty strong separation. They all went out; they all had a great time together. I did not, for a very specific reason: I wanted to be able to be intimidating at times. I wanted to be able to be someone who was leading very specifically by a certain kind of example in terms of the way I approached making the film... Then I had to make sure that they looked at me in a certain way, which was difficult because I wanted to go play and go have a good time with them. Again, it came down to talking to Haskins, and Haskins was like, "Truthfully, I wasn't that much of an age difference from these guys [his players] at that point." A lot of the players were in their mid-twenties when he got them, and he was only 32 when the story happened. And so he himself had to establish that. He was then like, "Okay, you [Lucas] need to do something similar."Q: You're not typecast [as an actor]; you play villains, you play heroes. Do you have a preference? How do you balance your career?JL: To me, it's just about obviously finding a story that I love. It's a boring answer in that you just try to find a great story... I had a very tough inner-city black basketball coach walk out of this movie last night and basically [say] like, "You nailed it." And he was a man who I had watched walk in beforehand and basically be like, "This guy [referring to Lucas], come on, he's playing a basketball coach?" You watch the difference, and that's what the challenge or the joy of this job really is. So it doesn't matter if it's a villain; it doesn't matter if it's a hero. It matters that people will walk out and say, "Wow, that's a really cool story and a really interesting, fun story to watch get told."

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A junior comfortable with political bigwigs

December 4

Students mill around the Rabb Room of the Lincoln Filene Center in anticipation of the day's guests for their political science seminar on the Clinton Presidency. They are conversing with each other excitedly as they find their seats. But junior Mitch Robinson has different responsibilities. As the teaching assistant for the class, Robinson assists lecturer Alan Solomont (LA '70), the former Finance Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who is responsible for bringing the impressive roster of guest speakers to the class. Today, Robinson is in charge of setting up a PowerPoint presentation on the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. While he greets and converses with the day's political heavyweights - former White House Director of Communications Mark Gearan and the former Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew - Robinson is at ease. It's almost as if he is already a member of the Washington elite. It's not surprising that Robinson feels so comfortable with policy makers: the political science major is already playing an important role in an upcoming Democratic gubernatorial campaign. "I'm working as the college coordinator for Deval Patrick's campaign, and the focus of what I'm doing is trying to get students engaged and involved on campuses around Massachusetts," Robinson said. "It's harder than it sounds because a lot of students, like myself, have other commitments, and so they don't care that much about getting involved in the political system," he said. "Or not as much as we'd like them to." Robinson's position in the Deval Patrick campaign is a very important one, since the charismatic candidate is running a grassroots campaign that will rely heavily on the college voter. As a result, Robinson spends much of his time working with different College Democrat groups on campuses around the Commonwealth. "It's a lot of hard work," he said. Besides his commitments as a student and teacher, the Atlanta native is a University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS) Scholar. As a UCCPS Scholar, Robinson works with the Boston Student Advisory Council, a citywide body of student leaders representing their respective high schools. The Council serves as a voice of the students, allowing them to offer their perspectives on high-school renewal efforts and to let their own schools know about citywide school-related issues. Robinson's job is to help these students articulate their opinions through writing and public speaking. "What I'm doing this year is working with kids in Boston public schools, helping them with their public speaking. I go to school committee meetings all around the city," Robinson said. This commitment is one about which Robinson is enthusiastic, but it's also extremely time-consuming: he has to be at every single one of these meetings, encouraging and guiding the high school students. "I mentor them on how to change problems and policies, and how to articulate their ideas into something that makes sense and people really respect," he said. Robinson's next endeavor is one that is equally impressive. "I'm working on a symposium, the Emerging Black Leadership Symposium," he said, his voice rising with enthusiasm. "The idea is to bring in a lot of emerging black leaders to talk about black leadership and the black identity." "But the idea is, hopefully, that it will become something that not just black people will respect - but people of all ethnic backgrounds will realize that all of this is important to the progression of our society," Robinson added. It's clear that Robinson serves as a leader and role model for many people: from the Tufts community to a governor's campaign to the children of Boston, he is always doing his part. And he has plans to keep on "doing his part" in the future. "Someday I would like to run for public office," Robinson said. "I've been passionate about politics for a very, very long time, since I was about two years old. So hopefully someday I will be able to run for office - and get elected - myself."

The Setonian
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MTV throws down 'Gauntlet' with latest reality incarnation

December 4

To all those MTV lovers out there who feel lost and alone post-"Laguna" this winter, fear not. Your friends at the network will fill your Monday night "10 Spot" void with equal parts drama and, well, melodrama. It will be served in a halved coconut with a tasty fruit garnish on the beaches of Tabago, and they will call it "The Gauntlet 2." In the early '90s, who would have imagined that this kind of decadent entertainment could exist? When MTV first presented "The Real World" to its viewers over a decade ago, it helped to launch a reality television phenomenon that was soon joined by the more physically driven MTV show "Road Rules." Today, some faithful viewers would say that "The Real World" has seen finer days. With almost hackneyed self-discoveries and conflicts about race, sexual orientation, and other social diversities, the show seems to have exhausted its albeit original and exciting concept. After all, there are only so many mind-opening interactions and drunken brawls that can keep us teenagers and twentysomethings entertained. Or does that give us too much credit? Many students and alumni in the Tufts community (both openly and secretly) are anticipating the upcoming "Real World: Key West" season, because one of the housemates is a recent Tufts graduate. But if that doesn't hook the most jaded viewer, one cannot help but be down for a "Challenge." The Real World/Road Rules challenges have provided a creative mix of casts from both MTV shows, and combining physical and mental challenges with cash and prizes has proved a lucrative direction for the network to take their reality series. Talk about your successful spin-offs. After cycling through a second round of both "Battle of the Sexes" and "The Inferno," MTV now brings its audience "The Gauntlet 2." Taking place on the island of Tabago, "Gauntlet 2" features cast members ranging from 1994's "Real World: San Francisco" season to last year's "Road Rules: X-TREME." This time around, they are arranged into two teams not by sex, not by reputation, but by experience. The Rookies (with the team color blue) will battle The Veterans (red) for over $300,000 in rewards, and with yet another pro BMX dirt biker (TJ Lavid) serving as host, the rocky path to victory will be lined with axed players along the way. The newest twist to these elimination challenges is that in "The Gauntlet 2," the players are often competing against their own teammates. There are the regular missions (you know, the standard "climb that tall structure," "jump out of a helicopter," and "use your body to melt that" challenges) that pit Vets against Rookies, riling fierce competition between Red and Blue. This time, though, each team has a declared captain for each mission, and whichever team loses the mission has to send someone else from their team into the Gauntlet to face the Captain one-on-one. So if you lose the mission, you are guaranteed to lose a player in that round, which adds to the pressure of each challenge. These tests of endurance, strength and agility aside, let's face it: we generally don't tune in to these "Challenges" to see who is the more skilled Tug-of-War team. What keeps viewers coming back is - as cutie Cameran of "Real World: San Diego" puts it in a "Gauntlet 2: The After Show" teaser - the "constant partying, constant drama." The draw is finding out who is hooking up with whom, who is throwing whose clothes in the pool, and who got a shiner the night before. With the cast that the producers have lined up, there will be no end to such madness. Even with some of the old standbys taking a break, most notably the absence of girl-crew Veronica, Rachel, and Tina, as well as "Inferno II" pariah Tonya, there will still be cat fighting and bitch slapping galore. Amongst the Vets causing drama will undoubtedly be snob Beth of "Real World: LA," diva Jisela of "Road Rules 10: The Quest," and brawler Derrick of "Road Rules: X-TREME." Several female members of the latter's original RR cast (namely Jodi, Jillian, Kina and Ibis) will be part of the Rookie crew. With the long run of both original series, MTV is now at a point where the age difference between some of the "Gauntlet" participants is a worthy angle to create tension. Some members of "Gauntlet 2" have been in several challenges, and some have done none; some have just finished undergrad, and some have been out for years pursuing lives off camera. The inevitable clash of personalities and preferences (to party,or not to party?) will stir tensions both in the house and on the playing field. And while some viewers might think that MTV is milking it for more than it's worth, others who relish a weekly half hour of mindless entertainment have something to look forward to in "The Gauntlet 2."

The Setonian
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If a tree grows at Tufts, will it get a name?

December 4

Sophia Gordon Hall will soon be the latest example of a prominently named building on campus. But dorms are not the only thing with a nameplate plastered across the side. The University allows everything from reference desks in the new music building to trees around campus to be named - for the right price. As the University prepares for its upcoming Capital Campaign, the Office of University Advancement is now evaluating the amount of money donors must give to receive name recognition. "The rule of thumb is that a donor must contribute at least 50 percent of the total cost of the building for naming recognition," said Betsey Jay, Director of Advancement Communications and Donor Relations. Donors can give at least $50,000 to endow a scholarship and $100,000 to establish a student loan fund. It costs a minimum of $1.5 million to endow an existing professorship and $2 million to endow a new one. Named Library Resource and Book Funds cost $25,000. There are about 37 endowed professorships in the School of Arts, Sciences and Engineering, one in the School of Dental Medicine, ten in the Fletcher School, 24 in the School of Medicine, four in the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and four in the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. The "Giving to Tufts" Web site also lists suggested naming opportunities that will be part of the new music building. These range from $1 million for the music center courtyard and the Music Learning Center to $10,000 for the Music Library reading tables and $5,000 for its reference desks. "As buildings come into being, like the music building, we identify areas where people could be recognized for their help," Jay said. "Some spaces are a little more public and glamorous than others, and this new music building is going to have a lovely interest rate." Other options include naming trees on campus. "You can actually have trees named - with a little plate with a person's name, which can also be a memorial gift," Jay said. Trees cost $1,000 and are placed on the Hill or around campus. John Bello (LA '68), the co-founder of the SoBe Beverage Company, and his wife, Nancy Bello (J '69), gave $1 million last year to build Bello Field, the all-weather turf field behind the baseball field. Bello played football while at Tufts, "and I think the athletic facilities at the time - 1964, 1965 - were second rate," he said. "No school as good academically as Tufts should have antiquated facilities." Bello has been on the Board of Overseers for Athletics since the mid-1980s. He helped raise money for the fitness center and other projects. "I don't want any prospective students to look at Tufts and make the decision not to go because the facilities are not competitive," he said. University President Lawrence Bacow asked the Bellos if they would be the major donors for the construction of a new turf field, and they agreed. "I thought Tufts ought to keep pace with other universities and have its own turf field," Bello said. "If you build it, the athletes will come." University Advancement is now assessing which minimums might be raised, and by how much. The entire amount of a donation does not go immediately toward the designated project. "An endowment gift is a gift that is basically put into a savings account, and only a portion of the interest earnings are used to support whatever the donor designates," Jay said. For a professorship, the required $2 million might generate something between $70-80,000 in funds. "So we have to look at what it takes to bring in a new professor," she said. The University might need new equipment or a lab, or to set up a support system for the professor. "We also have to look ahead at the cost of living, at the cost of recruiting top faculty - because professorships are very distinguished appointments," Jay said. For endowed scholarships, she said, tuition and other factors are always changing, so "we have to always be sure of how much it costs to do a full scholarship." A look at the "Giving to MIT" Web site reveals some differences in endowment minimums. At MIT, the minimum for an endowed professorship is currently $3 million, and a fully funded endowed scholarship is at least $250,000. It is also $300,000 for a named, renovated classroom. It also costs $3 million to endow a professorship at Harvard Law School, and $250,000 to establish a named scholarship. The school's giving site also suggests $100 million to rename the entire Harvard Law Library, and $10 million to rename its reading room. Jay said the University might consider adding named deanships to its endowment possibilities. No price changes have yet been decided upon. Once University Advancement settles on any endowment minimums that it feels should be made, the Trustees must approve changes, said Linda Dixon, the Secretary of the Corporation. "One day in the next 12 months, we will raise the bar" for endowment opportunities, Dixon said. Jay agreed with Dixon's estimate. "I can probably assure you that by a year from now, we'll have a shopping list of considerable length," she said. "There will be a lot of campaign activity."

The Setonian
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Two tough weekend losses stops Jumbo momentum

December 4

Coming into the weekend, the ice hockey team had a little momentum coming off its first victory of the season. That momentum was short-lived, however, as the team suffered tough losses to New England College and Saint Anselm on Friday and Saturday. The Friday game was especially painful, as the Jumbos ended up on the short end of a 4-3 overtime loss. Tufts and NEC battled back and forth during a scoreless first period with the Jumbos finally breaking through in the second period to take a 1-0 lead on a powerplay goal by junior Matt Dalton. Sophomore goalie James Kalec turned away every shot through the first two frames, making 31 saves and keeping the Pilgrims scoreless. NEC finally got on the board 5:44 into the third as Brandon Fackey scored to make it a 1-1 game. Teammate Mike Carmody scored shortly thereafter, giving the Pilgrims a 2-1 advantage. The Jumbos were not about to let NEC prevail. Senior assistant captain Matt McCarthy scored on a powerplay with just 3:46 remaining to even the count and sophomore Greg O'Connell put Tufts up 3-2 with only 43 seconds to play. With under a minute left in regulation, it looked as if the Jumbos were going to get their first league victory and extend their overall win streak to two, but Carmody stunned the Jumbos, scoring the equalizer with only nine seconds left. Shocked and somewhat discouraged, the Jumbos tried to come out hard in the overtime period, but the fired up Pilgrims proved to be too much, as Paul Ruta scored his first goal of the year to give NEC a 4-3 win and a perfect 4-0 record. "It was a real heartbreaker because we worked so hard to come back and get the lead," McCarthy said. "To lose a game like that really hurts." The pain showed, as the Jumbos came out flat the next day and did not put up much of a fight against the Saint Anselm Hawks, who cruised to a 7-1 victory in New Hampshire. The Hawks scored one goal in the first period, and three in each of the next two. The Jumbos finally got on the board in the third period when O'Connell scored off a nice cross-ice pass from McCarthy, but with the game already at 6-0, it was too little too late. "Coming off the tough loss Friday, we just never got anything going," McCarthy said. "It was just one of those games." Chris O'Brien and Josh Hechter had strong games for Saint Anselm. O'Brien finished the day with two goals and two assists, while Hechter assisted on three goals and tallied the Hawks' first score of the game. It was Saint Anselm's third consecutive victory, as the team is now 4-1-1 (1-0-1 ECAC). Tufts, on the other hand, fell to 1-4-1 after the tough weekend. The team knows it will have to fix some things and start playing better in order to compete for a playoff spot. "There are adjustments we need to make, but it's more about our confidence and ability to win when it comes down to the last few minutes that is hurting us," McCarthy said. Friday's game marked the fourth time this season that the Jumbos have had a third period meltdown. In the first two games of the season, losses to Middlebury and Williams, Tufts allowed three goals to cough up a tie in the final period both times. Against Southern New Hampshire, the Jumbos lost leads on three separate occasions on their way to a 3-3 tie. The latest implosion against NEC was not much different. Tufts will now return home for its final two games before the break. On Wednesday, the Jumbos will take on 4-3 UMass-Dartmouth, a team that has traded wins and losses through its first seven games. Tufts will try to extend the pattern and hand the Corsairs, who are coming off a 2-1 win over Curry College, their fourth loss of the season. On Saturday, Tufts will wrap up against Connecticut College at home before taking a break until January. The Jumbos are looking for any kind of boost, which makes these two games very important. "We need these two wins," McCarthy said. "If we get them, we will be in good shape going into the break."

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