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Tonight: Lights, camera, social change at screening

December 4

Students in an Ex College class are presenting what they learned this semester: Somali Bantus have trouble assimilating into American culture and alternative fuels have big advantages over U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Professor Roberta Oster Sachs' class, "Producing Films for Social Change," is holding a screening today of the 12- to 17-minute documentary films students made. The 16 students made four films. In addition to the Bantu and alternative energies films, students explored a state drunk driving bill and in-state tuition for Latino immigrants. "I worked on TUTV news freshman year," junior Michael Stone said. "What I learned then was nowhere near what I learned here." Stone was in the tuition group, and he said the other students in the class learned just as much. "The majority of the class had never worked with a camera before," he said. "The class has really been transformed." Junior Christelle Valembrun and the other students in her group chose to document the lives of a Somali Bantu family living in Chelsea. "The second or third class, [Oster Sachs] brought in an article from the Boston Globe about this agency that dumps Somali Bantus in America and then abandons them here," Valenbrun said. Everyone in the class helped write, produce, direct and edit the films. "We all played all the roles," Valembrun said. "We scheduled shoots usually at 8 a.m. to go to Chelsea to this woman's house. We had shoots almost every weekend. Everyone could do everything if it came down to it. We wanted everyone to have a well-rounded experience." The drunk driving group's students came up with the idea on their own. "I knew that I wanted to do a topic more on a person than an issue," senior Leah Tucker said. "I went on LexisNexis looking for articles on accidents and then drunk driving accidents." Tucker found the story of Ron Bersani, the grandfather of a 13-year-old Massachusetts girl killed by a repeat-offender drunk driver in 2003. After intense lobbying by Bersani, in May Governor Mitt Romney proposed Melanie's Bill, named after the girl, Melanie Powell, to increase punishments for repeat drunk drivers. "It was so powerful how one person can make such a change," Tucker said. Students said they hope their documentaries have an impact on their audience. "I hope to get people to think more about the repercussions of the lifestyle that comes from dependence on petroleum, and get people thinking about alternative fuel seriously," senior Phil Martin said. Valembrun is looking for a more immediate effect. "We want this film to start a connection between the Somali Bantu people and Tufts," she said. "If we could get Tufts involved in tutoring the kids in English, that would be amazing. As it stands, they've been here two years and haven't assimilated." The lesson from the class, students said, is that change is possible. "We wanted to show people who may not be aware about social change and advocacy that one person can start to make a difference," Tucker said.

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News

For some arrivals, a lasting case of the blues

December 4

Freshmen have it tough. Many are from different parts of the country or even different parts of the world, and they're dealing with the adjustment of being away from home for the first time. They are far from family and friends, and they are left to their own devices. These feelings often manifest themselves in what has been called "the freshman blues." The infamous "freshman 15" - which, according to studies, is actually now the "freshman eight" - could quite possibly be the result of the freshman blues, since one way to cope with stress and depression is food overindulgence. Researchers believe there is a link between the two conditions. As Psychology Affiliate Martin Zelin explained, depression is a plausible explanation for freshman weight gain. After all, "the [freshman] blues are a form of temporary depression," Zelin said. "Depression is associated with losing things you are attached to - whether it is friends or even objects," Zelin added. "For many students, it is their first time away from home, and with this comes a fear of the new and the fear that one is not good as everyone else." Another reason for "the freshman blues" is as simple as a student's performance in school. For many students at top universities, college is the first time when classes are actually challenging. In high school, many Tufts students received top grades, but at Tufts, they must face the fact that A's are not the average. "I'm a pre-med student, and freshman year was very stressful for all of us who are pre-med," sophomore Michelle Marques said. "On the first Bio 13 test, the average grade was failing." "Many of us didn't know what to do after that," she added. "[We] questioned whether we should drop the class, or even not do science at all." Marques was also stressed over balancing academics, extracurricular activities and friends. There are additional stress-causing problems, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). These include "awareness of your sexual identity and orientation," "exposure to new people, ideas and temptations" and "shifts in family relations." Socially, change is one of the few constants in early college life: when forced to make new friends and leave others behind, students often face big adjustments. "All through life, people have to separate from things they are attached to - and this is quite naturally a difficult thing," Zelin said. According to Zelin, biological or clinical depression can be set off by a new situation and environment. He said that students should be vigilant about whether "the freshman blues" are in fact a sign of something more serious. "If [the depression] lasts more than a couple of weeks and it occurs every day, or if the student is thinking of hurting him or herself, these are the signs that the student has a serious problem and more than just 'the freshman blues,'" Zelin said. "Another thing to look for is if the student can get out of bed without difficulty," he added. "If the student has no energy to even get out of bed, severe loss of appetite, lost of interest in sex, constant fatigue or eats too much, these are signs of serious depression." If those symptoms sound like a friend, NIMH recommends that students offer that friend emotional support - "understanding, patience, affection and encouragement." NIMH also recommends that students "engage the depressed person in conversation or activities and be gently insistent if [they] meet with resistance." Depression can also lead to vulnerability to disease, which is a particularly dangerous aspect of "the freshman blues." According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "previous studies have shown a link between moods and vulnerability to disease and that social isolation can inhibit the body's ability to fight off infections." In a recent study at Carnegie Mellon University, students who received the flu shot and had a "weak social network" responded poorly to the shot. Students with a "weak social network" were defined as those who were lonely or disconnected from other people at college - a condition that is often experienced by first-year students. But that's not to say it's not a condition that can't be overcome. "It's normal to have a lot of anxiety with starting school, though," Zelin said. "Going to school is like going to a foreign country - when you first get there you feel very confused." Still, as their first semester comes to a close, many freshmen have managed to make the adjustment fairly well. "You get over ['the freshman blues'] when you get closer to people after the first couple of weeks," freshman Marissa Oberlander said. "Sure, you still miss your friends from home when you are going through a tough time, but I think that's normal." If a student would like professional assistance in dealing with "the freshman blues," he or she can call the Tufts Counseling Center. If a student is seriously depressed and needs help immediately, he or she can call the Tufts Public Safety Affairs office, where there is a counselor on-call 24 hours a day.

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News

Last-second three pointer sinks Jumbos

December 4

With 1.2 seconds remaining in regulation and the score tied at 59, Wheaton sophomore Becky Aitchinson dribbled down the right side of the floor and launched a three pointer which found the bottom of the net, securing a 62-59 victory for the Lyons. Improving their own record to 5-1, their best start in ten seasons, the Lyons handed Tufts its first loss, dropping the Jumbos to 3-1 overall. Although the Jumbos trailed by as many as ten points in the second half, they managed to cut the lead to two with one minute left on a free throw by junior forward Laura Jasinski. After missed offensive opportunities by both teams, Wheaton junior Kim McCormack grabbed a crucial offensive rebound with 16 seconds to play. She was immediately fouled by junior Libby Park and sank both free throws, providing a four point cushion for her team. "Most people looking at a four-point deficit with 16 seconds left would be discouraged," Tufts freshman point guard Kimberly Moynihan said. "But we'd been battling so hard at the end of the second half that we knew we still had a chance. The whole team could feel the excitement and nervousness. We really stuck together at the end." On the next possession, junior point guard Marilyn Duffy-Cabana penetrated the Wheaton defense and hit a layup with seven seconds remaining. Tufts coach Carla Berube immediately called for a timeout, and the Jumbo defense swarmed the ensuing inbound, tying up the ball and gaining possession due to a favorable possession arrow. On the next offensive set, Jasinski nailed a jumper from the top of the key to tie the score at 59. That would be the Jumbos' last bucket as Aitchinson hit the three to end the game. Sloppy play at the beginning of the game undoubtedly cost the Jumbo squad a victory in the end. "At the beginning, we didn't play together as a unit," sophomore Jenna Gomez said. "We had a lot of dumb turnovers. If we played as we did in the end, we could have blown them out. We should have won." Wheaton took advantage of the Jumbos' inability to protect the ball on offense, scoring 23 points off 23 turnovers. Trailing by one at the half, the Lyons came out strong at the beginning of the second period with a 10-0 run to build a 34-25 lead. Berube called on sophomore Khalilah Ummah, who provided a spark off the bench to help bring her team back into the game, sinking eight points in her nine minutes on the court. The Jumbos got 23 points from their bench. "When Khalilah came into the game after the run, she definitely brought us back into it and prevented a greater deficit," Gomez said. Gomez herself had a double-double, nabbing a game-high 15 rebounds and scoring a team-high 16 points. She started in place of junior Valerie Krah, who was sidelined after spraining her foot in the team's Nov. 29 games against Babson. Her production was all the more valuable given 2-11 shooting (0-5 on threes) and four points from senior tri-captain Jessica Powers. "Jenna owned the boards," Moynihan said. "She did a great job in Valerie's place." As a team, the Jumbos out-rebounded the Lyons 45 to 33, scoring 23 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds. The Jumbos look to rebound from their first loss with improved consistency and a win at Simmons College on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

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News

Council gets University's wellness groups together

December 1

Administrators who deal with wellness issues have begun meeting with each other on a regular basis. Representatives from the Athletic Department, the Counseling Center, Health Services, Student Life, Alcohol and Health Education, Services for Students with Disabilities and the Academic Resource Center meet twice a semester. "We found...we weren't necessarily all finding time to work together," Director of Health Services Michelle Bowdler said. "We started asking, 'How can we work together better? Collaborate? Use resources to make sure that we know about each other's events? Be strategic about what we offer to students?'" Bowdler is the chair of the group, called the Wellness Council. The group, formed last year, addresses issues that affect students and "national trends in higher education related to health and fitness," Dean of Student Services Paul Stanton said. The group also makes recommendations to Dean for Undergraduate Education Jim Glaser on the necessity of resources for training programs, discussion groups, events or new staff, Stanton said. "We have found that putting committees together for short periods of time has an immediate positive impact because very busy people who all have similar missions in their work often find there's an advantage to knowing that once or twice a semester they're all going to be able to talk about areas of concern for them," Bowdler said. "There isn't necessarily a predetermined agenda, but there's value in just knowing that you have some time set aside to meet and develop your priorities," she said. While the representatives have participated in discussions, the biggest challenge is translating the coordination into tangible benefits for students. "We're still in the very beginning stages of figuring out how the committee can be useful to students," Bowdler said. "In order to be successful on a college campus you really have to work with students, partner with students on how to stay healthy - on the issues they care about," she said. The Wellness Council was created as part of a restructuring process carried out last year by various deans. "This is an area that has been identified as an area of interest to the deans in their restructuring," Bowdler said. "The deans examined existing committees within the division and wanted to put committees in place that would be very meaningful and bring the right configurations of people together." The Wellness Council was not created in response to a specific event, Bowdler said. "It's not a committee that was created because there was a problem," she said. "It's a committee that was created to illustrate the importance of this work at the University." She mentioned research at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, the President's Marathon Challenge and the Personalized Performance Program. "We're really poised to make health a priority for our students," she said. The Wellness Council's first project is an overall evaluation of wellness efforts on the campus. It is currently "looking at how these efforts can be coordinated," Bowdler said. "How do our efforts on health education compare to similar sized campuses - are there more services we can provide for students?" Another project on the Wellness Council's agenda is a survey of the student body to identify the health and wellness issues that students would most like to see addressed. "The more we're able to hear from students the issues of concern for them, the better able we are as a group to respond and to provide programming and education that will actually be useful to them," Bowdler said. "We want to make sure that we're not missing an area that students would really like to hear more about" The Wellness Council also expects students to participate. "I think all of us believe that student involvement is critical to our eventual success," Bowdler said.

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News

Inside Fitness

December 1

I spent all of Thanksgiving Break eating and sitting on my butt. Then I came back to school and forgot to go to the gym for a few days. Should I just jump right back into it or take it easy for a few workouts?- Manan Shah, Manan and the Bananas After taking some time off, it can be hard to get back into the gym and back on a workout routine. The key is to take things slow at first and then try to push yourself a little bit more each workout. The general rule of thumb is that for every week that you took off, decrease weight or volume by about 10 percent. If before Thanksgiving break you were bench pressing 100 pounds, the first time back in the gym start with 80. See how you are feeling and make adjustments from there. It's important to keep in mind that no one knows your body as well as you. If you feel as though you can push a bit harder, don't feel constrained by my advice. It is important to remember, however, that muscle soreness will increase after a layoff. Keep this in mind when you are deciding how hard to push yourself because you don't want to be unable to move for five days after the workout. When I go home for winter break, I can't afford to join a fancy private gym but don't want to stop working out altogether. What can I do?- Andy Bons, probably recovering from an injury This is a problem that many students face. My first piece of advice would be to see if you have a local YMCA that offers cheap, short-term student memberships. Although their equipment isn't always the best, they should have many of the same machines and free weight equipment as the Tufts gym. And if that doesn't work out, there's still no reason to get concerned. There are plenty of worthwhile exercises that can be done with nothing more than yourself and a small patch of floor. Don't worry about exactly replicating the types of workouts you have done at school. If your goal is just to stay in shape for the few weeks you are away from school, try to do a combination of stretching, cardiovascular training and strength training. Some strength training exercises that you can do in the comfort of your home include squats (also variations like jump squats and one-legged squats), pushups, and arm curls, extensions and shoulder presses (just grab something heavy in the house). A pull-up bar is a worthwhile investment of about $15 and all you need to install it is a doorway and a screwdriver. I like to eat a lot of food, but I don't want to put on weight. How can I eat healthily without craving the foods that I love?- Nick Bercovici, once ate 11 hot dogs in four minutes When it comes to eating, one of the most important pieces of advice I can give you is to eat small meals frequently. Eating throughout the day does a couple of things. It keeps your metabolic rate up so that you can consume more calories without putting on weight. More importantly, it prevents you from ever getting really hungry to the point that you feel the need to stuff yourself. Preventing intense hunger also helps to curb cravings and avoid unhealthy snacking. The second piece of advice I would give you is not to eat when drinking alcohol. Alcohol tends to make us hungry and also lowers our inhibitions, making it more likely that we binge on an entire cake or a platter of buffalo wings. It's easy to consume 1,000 calories or more in a late night drunken snack. If you follow these two pieces of advice, you should be able to minimize (and perhaps entirely eliminate) any possible weight gain.

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News

At talk, baseball writers fire up Hot Stove

December 1

Two Boston-area sportswriters visited Tufts on Thursday, leading a discussion of the off-season issues in Major League Baseball. Gordon Edes, a Boston Red Sox beat writer who works for the Boston Globe, and John Tomase (LA '05), a Boston Herald sportswriter, took questions from students on topics ranging from the future of the Red Sox to the impact of the game's steroid scandal to the eventual destinations of baseball's top free agents. The Red Sox are currently in the process of rebuilding their team, both on the field and off, and the two experts on Boston baseball were quick to offer their insights on the franchise's future. The discussion was hosted by Baseball Analysis at Tufts in Pearson Hall. The big issue on the minds of many fans was the void left by the departure of General Manager Theo Epstein following the end of the 2005 season. Edes and Tomase were asked several questions about the top prospects to replace Epstein. At the center of discussion, both writers said, was the committee of Red Sox front office employees currently sharing responsibility for running the team. The trio of Jed Hoyer, Craig Shipley and Ben Cherington has done well so far, but Edes was quick to point out that all three were too young to assume the responsibility of the general manager position. Epstein became the youngest general manager in the league when he was hired in 2002 at the age of 28. Tomase pointed to three leading candidates to be hired from outside the Red Sox organization to fill the position: Jim Beattie, Jim Bowden and Jeremy Kapstein. Hiring any of these men would have serious repercussions for the rest of the front office, he said. "Beattie, Bowden or Kapstein - if they hire any of those guys, all the young guys will be gone," Tomase said. Edes expressed his satisfaction with the current Red Sox front office. He was impressed with the recent acquisitions of former Florida Marlins Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota. Edes was confident that Beckett, the hard-throwing 25-year-old pitcher, will become the ace of the Boston pitching staff next season. Edes also discussed rumors about the future of outfielder Manny Ramirez. Among these rumors is a trade to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Troy Glaus and Javier Vazquez, as well as a swap with the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Bobby Abreu. "Ninety-five percent of the trades that are discussed - they just never happen," he said. Tomase fielded many questions about the future of Red Sox outfielder Johnny Damon. Damon's two most likely employers next year are the Red Sox and the New York Yankees, Tomase said. He feared Damon would pursue a lucrative contract with the Yankees. "I can't see the Yankees not trumping any Red Sox offer," Tomase said. Both writers addressed the issue of the steroid scandal in baseball, specifically, in relation to upcoming Hall of Fame elections. The future of Baltimore Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, the biggest star to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs to date, was a hot topic. Both writers agreed that Palmeiro's steroid use had ruined his chance of a Hall of Fame induction. "He went from a no-brainer to a 'no way,'" Tomase said. Tomase, who covers other sports in addition to baseball, explained that the problem was just as bad in the rest of the sports world. "Just look at those men in the NFL - they're gigantic, and it's not natural," he said. "Testing obviously hasn't stopped cheating in the Olympics, either." As for the personnel moves taking place during the off-season, known as the hot stove, the writers discussed the future of Chicago Cubs infielder Nomar Garciaparra, the former Red Sox shortstop. The Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are all candidates to land the five-time All-Star. The Baltimore Orioles may try to acquire Garciaparra and move him to first base. "I definitely think there's going to be a market for Nomar," Edes said.

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Arts

All hail the queen: Madonna incarnation is in vogue

December 1

Madonna, once the sexually liberated, erotically charged, persona-changing pop icon of the '80s and '90s, is embarking on her newest reinvention. Apparently, it is that of a prudish schoolmarm. The perpetrator of 1992's book "Sex" and a handful of explicit videos now ghost-writes children's books (which must look a tad funny alongside "Sex" on a bookshelf), boasts that she bans her own offspring from watching television (probably so her kids won't come across her "Justify My Love" and "Vogue" videos), and embraces her newly-acquired Kabbalah religion. In the midst of this newfound born-again attitude (or calculated image revamping), it's almost surprising that Madonna didn't record a gospel album. Instead, "Confessions on a Dance Floor" goes back to her club kid roots. This isn't to say that anything on the CD comes close to the dance classics she created on her 1983 self-titled debut, but at least she realized after 2003's disappointing release, "American Life" (who can forget that pathetic rap she attempted on the title track?) that she should get back under the disco ball and leave the hip hop to Missy Elliot. Actually, "Confessions on a Dance Floor" is not a bad effort. Clearly she has come to terms with the fact that dance tunes are what people actually want to hear from her. The blistering dance track "Hung Up," the first single, has carved another notch in Madonna's belt of hits. Other standout songs, "Jump," "Get Together," and "Let It Will Be," employ the synthesized dance beats of "Hung Up" and will make her die-hard dance floor disciples extremely happy. "Let It Will Be" is especially appealing; more of a raw-produced dance track, it is akin to the '80s remixed Madonna hits which were made even more magical by legendary DJ/mixer John "Jellybean" Benitez. "Push Me" also contains a certain energy, but its repetition makes the listener wonder if we truly need another song praising some unknown mentor who apparently "pushed" or "pushes" or "inspired" Madonna (or us) to be better. One would have thought that songs with this kind of trite sentiment died after "Wind Beneath My Wings," but alas it has not. The CD's biggest letdown is the saccharine "Forbidden Love." The slowest track on "Confessions," the song may have been Madonna's attempt to decelerate a bit, but it just stalls with its sappy lyrics and lukewarm delivery. One must wonder: after the hoopla over "Hung Up" passes, how much interest will there be for the rest of the CD's myriad dance tracks? It is unlikely that many present day club DJs, currently overloaded with requests for Kanye West and 50 Cent, will be excited about spinning a new Madonna dance product. Although Madonna has apparently resigned herself to the fact that her days of shocking the world are over, her fans still seem interested in the singer's newer and cleaner incarnation. The things she used to do to astonish - which seemed outrageous 10 or 15 years ago - would now be as uninteresting as any calculated Paris Hilton PR stunt. But, for now anyway, the material girl-turned-mom (twice) has toned it down. If the CD's Number 1 debut in 28 countries is any indicator, the world has seemingly embraced the more grown-up Madonna. Then again, maybe her actions are more subliminal than they appear. There once was a time when all would have scoffed at the thought of a "settled" Madonna. In a way, maybe she's trying to shock us by doing something we never expected of her: maturing.

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News

If sprints can catch up to distance, track headed for stellar season

December 1

This upcoming winter 'tis the season for the fastest men on campus. The men's track and field team, anticipating a successful season, jumpstarts its 2005-06 indoor campaign on Saturday at the Northeastern's Husky Carnival. Looking at both our distance and sprinting squads, this is the most balanced attack that any Tufts track and field team has had in years," coach Ethan Barron said. "I really think we can win New Englands," junior David McCleary said. The team is a combination of seasoned returning runners and promising new talent. Led by senior captains Matt Lacey, Trevor Williams and Jason Galvin, it also features two-time indoor All-American jumper junior Fred Jones and cross country All-American junior Josh Kennedy. Ten out of the 15 point scorers from last year's Div. III championships are returning. "We're definitely excited about this season," McCleary said. "There are a lot of returning juniors and some talented new freshmen who will really help." The distance side, anchored this year by Lacey, Kennedy, sophomore Chris Kantos and senior Matt Fortin, has traditionally been a strong part of the team. This trend does not look to change, as the distance squad has many cross country runners coming off Tufts' best finish in Nationals in the history of the program. "Tufts is historically stronger in middle distance running and up," Barron said. "The cross country input definitely helps." Although the sprint side is often overshadowed by the long distance crew, Barron believes this sector is growing stronger. Standout sprinters include juniors Jamil Ludd and Mickey Ferri, sophomores Marcus Boggis and Nathan Scott and freshman Will Ford. "Sprint squads tend to be a little younger," Barron said. "With sprinting, it's a war of attrition with your body more than anything else. Whichever team can retain the most people all four years will be more successful." Field events also look could be improved. Led by Galvin and senior Brandon Udelhofen, the throwers now have their own throws coach and should certainly stand to benefit from the more personalized attention. Jumpers to watch for include Jones, sophomores Jeremy Arak and Dan Marcy, and freshman Theodore McMahan. "Horizontal jumps [triple and long jumps] have especially improved," Barron said. There has been a change of guard within the track and field team. Following the unexpected retirement of head coach Connie Putnam after 21 years as coach, former assistant coach Barron has taken the reigns. The experienced leadership in distance runners helped the transitions helped the transitions between coaches. "The younger athletes - sophomores and juniors - have also taken on leadership roles that they may not have taken if Connie [Putnam] had not retired," Barron said. "It's benefited the team a lot." By all accounts, it was a smooth transition. "He [Barron] is just doing an awesome job," McCleary said. "We're all really happy with the way things are going."

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News

Deck the dorm halls with a Chuck Close

December 1

December is one of those sneaky months, suddenly coming upon unsuspecting students, bearing the stress and dread of finals and deadlines. Beyond academic pressure, there is holiday shopping to be done and preparations to be made within the few weeks spent at school. This weekend the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston offers the perfect solution for these inevitable winter woes with their 25th Annual December Sale. It is the largest public art sale in New England - this year, it features over 4,000 works by 700 alumni, students, faculty and staff of the Museum School. Admission is free, so a trip to the sale can be a way to go holiday shopping, an opportunity to find an original work to brighten up a dorm room in winter months or simply an exhibit to see on the last real weekend before finals. The December Sale expands across the entire ground floor of the school. Through the atrium, auditorium and gallery, works line over 7,000 square feet of display space. From Dec. 1 to 5 the exhibition will rotate, continuously replacing sold works with new ones. As the days progress, the display will change dramatically. Open today through Monday from noon to 6 p.m., the sale offers an eclectic array of works, from paintings, sculptures and photographs, to clothing, handmade greeting cards and jewelry at a broad range of prices. Each artist is allowed to submit a maximum of two framed or hanging pieces, as well as up to four shrink-wrapped works, which are arranged alphabetically for visitors to easily browse through in the main entrance of the Museum School. The pieces in shrink-wrap are generally lower in price and are guaranteed to be in the show, making it easier to find the work of a specific artist who may have caught your attention. Joanna Soltan, the curator for the school, looks at both of an artist's submitted hanging works and chooses the first one to go up, the one most "representative of the artist's work." Not all 700 artists can be on display at once, so Soltan carefully picks the works based on the overall presentation of the show. She considers how the works play off each other, making sure that one does not overwhelm the other and each "gets its chance to shine." Generally, she is not concerned with the status of the artist, whether it is the work of a student, faculty member or alumni, and she usually doesn't worry about the prices. Only if a student is particularly unaware as to what an appropriate price is (or is attached and deliberately overprices something) and it does not sell does Soltan decide to replace it with another artist's work, likely someone whose work is not yet on exhibit. Tufts' Combined Degree Program students already have work on display, including the unique acrylic paintings of Brian Gershey, a third-year student at the Museum School whose work evokes a kind of colorful humor, Darren Miller and Lindsay Walsh's photography, Angelica Vanasse's blown glass work and Carlos Noguera's wooden pieces, which protrude out of the wall in abstract sculptural forms. The jewelry counter presents a stunning array of handmade, inimitable pieces. Among them is the delicate work of a fourth-year student, Nick Cintas, who blurs the line between art and earrings, crafted in white gold and sterling silver. The works are listed at as little as $2 for handmade cards to thousands of dollars for works created by some of the school's more renowned artists, according to Museum School spokesperson Sarah Wheeler. The average piece is listed at $200, and the revenues from the sales are divided evenly between the artists and the school, which will use the proceeds for scholarships for students. Last year's sale brought in $750,000. Of the 700 artists, 241 are Museum School students. "This number includes Tufts/SMFA undergraduate and graduate students, but also includes students enrolled in the Museum School Diploma and Certificate programs," Wheeler said. The most remarkable characteristic of the December Sale is that with such an extensive assortment of student and alumni artwork, it hardly matters that hidden modestly in the back of the gallery are works by "big-name" artists like Chuck Close, Robert Rauschenberg, Ellsworth Kelley (an alumnus of the Museum School) and Jim Dine. Kelley donated six pieces, all on display, including two black lithographs entitled "The Seine" and "The Hudson," going for $5,000 each. While the stressed out college student may not be able to afford a Chuck Close, the December Sale is an exciting event, a way to see what the students of the Museum School - which is closely affiliated with Tufts - are creating, and maybe even to pick out an up-and-coming artist. It may be more reasonable to shop among the handmade cards, small books, change purses, clothes and jewelry for thoughtful holiday gifts (or maybe a self-given reward for all that studying ahead). Christopher Charron contributed to this article.

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News

Construction arrangement allows for run

December 1

Students who go out for a jog in their birthday suit next Friday will not have to worry about chain link fences or construction supplies getting in their way. The naked quad run will take place Dec. 9 on the same route as in past years. The construction between the F.W. Olin Center and Houston Hall will be temporarily moved out of the way to allow participants to run laps of the residential quad. "The gates will be opened," Programming Board Co-Chair Jason Bauer, a senior, said. The Programming Board, the Tufts Community Union Senate, the Office of Student Activities and the Tufts University Police Department coordinate the event, which includes the nighttime quad reception. Organizers considered moving the run to part of the academic quad. Once the police and the construction company coordinated moving the fence, though, the original route was reinstated, Bauer said. The final decision on the route was made Wednesday. The nighttime quad reception will take place on the academic quad, starting at 8:30 p.m. A stage will be set up in front of Ballou Hall for a local cover band, Scooby Snax, and there will be a heated tent with food. Health Services has paid for Krispy Kreme donuts, and Qdoba Mexican Grill will have samples of its food. Organizers have two major concerns: safety and weather. Director of Student Activities Jodie Nealley estimated 2,000 students would attend the reception and between 200 and 300 would run. The ten-day Weather Channel forecast gives a 30 percent chance of rain and snow next Friday, with temperatures in the 30s. An electrician will be on hand to determine if the entertainment should be cancelled. "If the weather's too bad, we're not going to risk anyone's safety," Bauer said.Bruce Hamilton contributed to this article.

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News

Jumbos begin road trip Saturday with matchup against Wheaton

December 1

With double-digit victories in each of its first three games, the women's basketball team will journey to Wheaton College on Saturday afternoon, confident in its ability to compete against any opponent. At a respectable 3-1, the youthful Lyons should not be overlooked, however. Although they have five freshmen and no returning seniors, Wheaton has only fallen to Brandeis College, ranked fourth in the country. "They are always a very solid team," senior tri-captain Jessica Powers said. "But in order to succeed, we need to continue to concentrate on ourselves and work on improving." Tufts has relied on its aggressive defense and subsequent ability to create turnovers and hold its rivals to low shooting percentages. Compared to their own 44 turnovers, the Jumbos have forced 74 miscues from their opponents. "Overall, I'm happy with the way we've played," coach Carla Berube said. "The defense is where it needs to be. We're playing hard, with a lot of energy and doing the little things right. Our defense is clearly our strength, but we haven't done a good job of converting turnovers into points." On the offensive end, they have outscored other teams 190-141, shooting 36 percent from the floor and 41 percent from behind the arc. Only three games into the season, Berube continues to work on the main, or "continuity," offenses. As the year progresses and NESCAC games appear on the schedule, the team will focus on its zone offensive sets. Right now, however, Berube is content with the offensive effort. "We're really taking care of the ball and not turning it over on offense," Berube said. "We're taking good cuts to get open and I'm pleased with the lack of turnovers on our part." Powers has led the team in scoring during the first three games, with a season-high 22 points against Babson on Tuesday night pushing her average to 16.7 points per game. Junior guard Valerie Krah has provided substantial offensive support, putting up 11 ppg this season. The two combined for 40 of the team's 68 points in their latest victory against Babson. Tomorrow's game against Wheaton will begin a month-long stretch of away games, three of which will be played in San Diego, Calif. during winter break. Powers, however, is not worried about the extended time on the road. "We have the same attitude for every game," Powers said. "We have to come out with the same confidence no matter where we play. We just need to adjust to each new court by warming up and taking a few practice shots before each game. Obviously, we'll be excited when we finally get to come back home, but the long road trip should be fun." During the trip, the Jumbos will hope to build on their already stable team chemistry. "This year, we have a new team dynamic," Krah said. "We have great chemistry and we are comfortable playing together on the court. We're making strides everyday." With classes coming to a close and finals looming ominously in the distance, the players see basketball as a refuge from their studies. As they will head to San Diego the day after Christmas, coach Berube will continue to hold practices during finals. "The basketball court is definitely a release; it's somewhere to go to get rid of the stress," Powers said. "It will be a time to come together and get better as a team."

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News

Strengthening 'mind, body and spirit,' and getting half a credit

December 1

When the registration process began in mid-November, many Jumbos eagerly snatched up spots in the physical education courses offered in the spring, which include golf, squash, skiing and snowboarding. Some students signed up with the intention of getting buff - but others just needed another half-credit course. Regardless of the initial inspiration for registration, though, many find such academics-free classes beneficial for a variety of reasons. According to yogalates (a combination of yoga and pilates) instructor and swim coach Nancy Bigelow, physical education classes are essential to the mental and physical health of university students. "At many universities until the mid-1970s, physical education was a requirement," Bigelow said. "Mind, body and spirit is and was an important concept in a liberal arts education." But for senior Laura Manoogian, the most important reason for taking physical education classes is less holistic: they are "an incentive to go to the gym." "When I was taking yogalates, I would work out before class," she said. "Taking the gym classes also breaks up my gym routine because just going to the gym five days a week gets boring." In the process of helping students get into shape, physical education classes can also provide an opportunity for experienced fitness fans to learn new positions or moves - and to correct old ones. Senior Jessica Cohen says that her advanced aerobics class was helpful because she was able to "learn new moves and methods of teaching" for the Tufts Student Resources aerobics class she leads. Senior Megan Curtis-Murphy agreed that, as a seasoned rock climber, the biggest benefit of her rock-climbing class was learning different and better moves. "For our rock climbing class we went indoor rock climbing at Metrorock, where we had a little bit of instruction but mostly free climbing," she said. "Mostly you were just there working on your own skills, but it was definitely helpful to have teachers there telling you what moves to make." "You also got to climb with different people, and seeing how different people climb might improve your own climbing," Curtis-Murphy added. "You could really see improvements from week to week." Although physical education courses can improve the abilities of a student experienced in activities such as yoga and rock climbing, the courses can occasionally be overly basic for someone who has taken a class in the past. "I'm obsessed with my step aerobics class because I feel like I'm in an 80s Jazzercise video," Manoogian said. "But I did not enjoy the yogalates class because I have taken yoga in the past and I am a dancer. I felt like the classes were geared more towards conditioning for athletes." Besides a good workout, classes come with a half-credit - and sometimes, even a letter grade, in the case of Cohen's advanced step aerobics class. "[Although] I definitely could have done without the credit, it doesn't hurt to get an A," Cohen said. Although Manoogian has never taken a physical education course that was not pass/fail, she said that she would be much more likely to take a course if it were likely to positively affect her GPA. This same logic led her to take ballet for four semesters: "I took it because I loved ballet," she said. "But it also really helped my GPA." Along with raising a student's GPA, physical education classes may even enhance his or her studying abilities in other classes. "Taking physical education classes expands and refreshes the mind, works the body and lifts one's spirits," Bigelow said. "How many times do you hear people say that they can concentrate more and study better if their body is in good shape? I think it is an important outlet to make studying more productive."

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News

Don't cut students out

November 30

If the current bill being discussed by the House of Representatives and the Senate - which would drastically increase the price of student loans - is made law, the future of higher education in America may be jeopardized. Bill HR-4241 was narrowly passed by the House and is now in a process of reconciliation with the Senate to arbitrate differences in each chambers' approved legislation. Both versions foresee a $14-15 billion dollar cut in funding to the government's student loan budget. The cuts will come primarily from reductions in subsidies given to private lenders and student loan guarantee agencies. Estimates from the Congressional Budget Office indicate that charges to students and families will reach nearly $8 billion dollars and come primarily from increased lending fees and increased interest rates. One of the key elements of the legislation is the loan consolidation element. Currently, borrowers are allowed to lock in a fixed rate for up to 30 years, and banks are secured against adverse interest rate fluctuations by the government. Because this has become costly for the government, lawmakers are seeking to keep interest rates more in line with the market. Under the proposed plan, students would still be allowed to choose between a fixed - and more expensive - rate, and a variable rate according to the market. But in a situation where interest rates drop, making it more attractive to refinance, borrowers would be charged a fee equal to one percent of the outstanding loan. Additional measures also hurt students such as an increase in the cap on student loan fees, and the prohibition of banks from waiving lending fees - taxable revenue for the government. These provisions are unnecessarily placing a considerable financial burden on those who are least able to handle it: indebted students. Nearly all advantages that a borrower has are removed. Students will be locked into contracts which prevent them from benefiting from all the free market has to offer. If borrowers are unable to reduce their loans through refinancing, then more students will question the need to heavily indebt themselves for higher education. Removal of the ability for banks to offer incentives represents the opposite of the type of government intervention one would expect in the education loan market - self serving. All of these changes shift more market power into the hands of larger institutions and the government. A back-scratching bump in lenders revenue precludes a democratized market. If small actors are disproportionately charged to participate in a free market, it not only shifts the burden unfairly, but also over taxes the valuable asset of young American minds. Higher education in America has achieved its unparalleled success thanks in large part due to free market mechanisms. Private universities, corporate partnerships and a culture of wealthy benefactors have forged the conditions necessary for the brilliant leaders of society to develop. American university facilities are among the best in the world, and they can only stay this way with high tuition costs. But this cost is prohibitive for most students, and the need arises for an active student loan market. It would be a shame to see this bill pass, allowing the government to reduce its massive budget deficit. There are many other items on the United States budget that are not producing the returns of higher education which can be cut.

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News

Weekender Interview | George Clooney

November 30

Otherwise known as Batman and Sexiest Man Alive in "People Magazine," George Clooney spoke with the Daily earlier last week concerning his newfound attraction to politically-charged films as well as his weight gain - ever so disappointing to the ladies. In his latest film, "Syriana," Clooney plays the role of Robert Barnes, an agent for the CIA involved in the web of deceit concerning the United States' oil business and its relationship with Middle Eastern powers. Falling in line with his other recent film, "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Syriana" demonstrates Clooney's willingness to relinquish his suave image and a few drops of spinal fluid in order to produce meaningful, politically relevant films. Question: You had to gain approximately 30 pounds in 30 days to play the role of Robert Barnes. How difficult was it for you to transform into this character? George Clooney: The truth is it's not nearly as fun as it sounds - the idea of putting on that kind of weight - but at the end of the day, in general, that's what we do for a living. So my job was just to eat as fast as I could, as much as I could, because we had wrapped "Ocean's Twelve" I think in early August, and in early September we started shooting the movie. So I didn't have a whole lot of time. But mostly you just ate until you wanted to throw up, and made sure you didn't throw up. So that was my job for a month: eating. Q: You got a spinal cord injury on the set. How exactly did that occur? GC: It was my own dumb fault. I was taped to a chair and a guy was pretending to hit me. It's all fake - you're not really getting punched - and I flipped myself over on the chair and cracked my head and tore what's called my dura, which is the wrapping around your spine, and ended up with what they call CSF leak, which is a cranial spinal fluid leak - good fun. I highly recommend it for everybody out there. Q: How was it making the transition from your previous characters, who are sort of charming and charismatic - like Danny Ocean - to the semi-under-appreciated Bob Barnes? GC: Well, it wasn't so hard. I'm fairly familiar with the guy. I spent a lot of time with Bob Baer, the real CIA guy. So the transition was mostly about making sure that there weren't any elements of Danny Ocean in this character. The way you do that, first of all, you do it changing physically, and then you spend a lot of time with the real guy to understand why he's so disenchanted with his role at the CIA and how he feels deserted, and then you sort of toss that into the mix. So it's a little bit of everything, a lot of information and a little bit of shaving your hair back. Q: What political message is being conveyed in "Syriana"? GC: I think it's sort of important, although I've certainly been outspoken at times politically, I thought it was important between "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Syriana" - both films - that the idea was not to be political necessarily. Obviously it's a political film, but we showed this to a lot of neo-cons who liked it and agreed with it. Our argument, of course, is to raise a debate, not to tell people what the answers are, because clearly we don't have any answers for this, the issues or the problems... In terms of politically, this is going after 50 or 60 years of flawed policies in the Middle East. This isn't something that happened in the last four and a half years. So in general, we certainly weren't making this as a go get Bush thing. It was much more of a let's talk about some real problems, some fundamental problems with our addiction to oil. Q: In "Syriana," you acted, and in "Good Night, and Good Luck," not only did you act, but you also directed. Which tickled your fancy more, directing or acting? GC: I'll tell you, directing you get to be the boss all the time. In acting, you have to listen to the director. So it's fun to be the boss. By the way, directing is something you can do when you get old and fat. So, believe me, directing is the way to go. It's actually much more creative. All kidding aside, it's actually a very creative place to be... [but] I think it would be really miserable to be directing something you hated, because it takes a long time. It's a year and a half out of your life, no matter what you do. Q: Many of the films that you've made like "Syriana," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Three Kings" all have politically-charged plotlines, with various different stylistic executions. When you are choosing your projects, are you more interested in the style or the politics of the movie? GC: I don't really look at politics necessarily. I don't look at it per se for politics, and style, you're just trying to find the proper style for the story you're telling... Those aren't nearly the elements. What I look for as an actor - or a director for that matter - is the script first. That's what you need more than anything: a good script, whether it's a comedy or whatever it is, because you can make a really bad movie out of a good script. But you just cannot make a good movie out of a bad script, period. So it's the script first, and that's what I usually look for. Q: With films like "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Syriana," there seems to be a new wave of socially conscious filmmaking, like the films that were being made in the '70s. Do you feel there's going to be a backlash from that in the political community or in Hollywood? GC: I think the backlash has long since passed. The backlash was coming a couple years ago, when anyone who said anything that was against the idea of going to war was suddenly un-American. That wasn't just actors; there were a lot of people: the Pope, Bob Novak. There were a lot of people that were actually talking about that. What it will come down to is whether or not these films make money, because ultimately, in Hollywood, that's the only answer... If you make a lot of movies that don't make any money and nobody wants to go see them, then Hollywood changes its ways and does something different. My feeling is [that] Hollywood has had sort of a tougher time of it lately, because they haven't done very challenging films. My thought is that if you make some challenging films, then maybe some people will show up. Q: Have you had any significant or moving or shocking personal anecdotes that you could share with us while coming in contact with some of the non-American cultures during the making of the film? GC: I wouldn't say shocking, but I would say it's always eye-opening, because it's important, I think, for everyone to travel, to get points of view of the rest of the world. It is always eye-opening to understand how many people are mad at us over some of our actions. I remember sitting there on the roof of a building in Casablanca. It was during Ramadan. A siren would go off and everyone would get out of their cars and face Mecca and would pray in the middle of the street. There were hundreds of people, as far as your eye could see. I remember sitting there watching that and thinking anyone who thinks that they have the religious hierarchy over anyone else should be standing here looking at these people and understand that they have a very strong belief in what they are doing as well.

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News

This Is A Test Headline (No. 20)

November 30

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed imperdiet consequat massa. Vestibulum sapien pede, semper et, mattis quis, tincidunt vel, tellus. Maecenas eros risus, tristique suscipit, dignissim a, facilisis ut, nunc. Aliquam risus felis, imperdiet commodo, viverra nec, lobortis eget, erat. Quisque porta, libero non suscipit ultrices, tellus sem pharetra metus, sit amet convallis turpis eros sed orci. Duis rutrum, libero ac porttitor tristique, nisl purus lobortis enim, ac iaculis dolor eros non libero. Phasellus pharetra rutrum elit. Quisque congue mi eu pede blandit egestas. Cras ligula. Praesent ac sapien.

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News

Hockey | Jumbos ice Seahawks for first win

November 30

When asked what was needed for the ice hockey team to start winning games, players' answers were unanimous: capitalize on power plays and finish teams off late in the game. The Jumbos addressed both of these weaknesses Tuesday night as the team picked up its first win of the season, dominating non-conference Salve Regina University, 6-3. With the victory, Tufts moves to 1-2-1 on the season as Salve Regina drops to 2-4-2. The much-needed win comes at a good time as the team heads into a crucial weekend, facing ECAC rivals New England College and St. Anselm. "The first win is always great to get," coach Brian Murphy said. "We haven't had an easy schedule so far this season, and hopefully this win will put a jump in our step heading into our next few games this weekend." Following a Seahawk goal in the first period, freshman Greg McCarthy led the Jumbo offense in the second period, capitalizing on a power play to score back-to-back goals and give Tufts a 2-1 lead. The Seahawks quickly answered with a goal late in the period from junior Ryan Doyle, tying the game up at two heading into the last period. With the game knotted at two, the Jumbos found themselves in a familiar situation. During its last game, Tufts, after coming out strong on offense, could not pull away with a lead heading into the final minutes. This game was a different story, however, as the Jumbos buried the Seahawks with four goals in the third period to come away with the victory. The first two goals were scored within 17 seconds of each other on strikes from sophomore Ross Gimbel and freshman Joe Milo. The Seahawks would answer once again with a goal from Joe Piekos to cut into the Tufts lead, 4-3, but the Jumbos got a key insurance goal from freshman Jared Melillo, whose first collegiate goal couldn't have come at a better time. Junior Brian Bailey added more cushion to the Tufts lead with an empty-netter late in the game to solidify the victory. Murphy made some minor adjustments on the lines to give Tufts a more balanced attack heading into Tuesday's game. "We changed the lines up to balance our scoring game," he said. "We had goals from all three of our lines and worked harder playing as a team." Coming off a frustrating tie and looking for its first win, Tufts played more aggressively and physically, especially on special teams, where the team dominated Salve Regina and scored two crucial goals. "We were a lot more physical [on Tuesday]," assistant co-captain Matt McCarthy said. "It brought up the intensity of everyone on the team. When we play physically, it just brings up all levels of the team and we play a lot better." The younger McCarthy contributed solid play to the Tufts offense, finishing the day with two goals and two assists. McCarthy has put together impressive numbers so far this season, with three goals and five assists for a total of eight points in four games. Milo and Melillo finished the day with a goal and an assist each, and sophomore goalie James Kalec continued to play well in net, accumulating 30 saves on the day. The tandem of the McCarthy brothers has proved to be a formidable one, as Matt assisted his younger brother in both of his goals on Tuesday and has made his brother's transition to college hockey relatively smooth thus far. "We're not ready to put [Greg] into the Hall of Fame just yet," Murphy jokingly said. "But he has a lot of offensive ability and is fitting well in our system. If he can continue to produce, he's going to really help our team." The Seahawks were led by Doyle, Piekos and senior Marc Copeland, who each tallied goals, as well as junior Travis Hampton who chipped in with two assists. Freshman Ryan Comerford finished the day in goal with 24 saves for Salve Regina. Heading into this weekend, the Jumbos will look to even out their record against tough conference competition. The team will travel to New England College on Thursday and St. Anselm College on Saturday.

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News

This Is A Test Headline (No. 1)

November 30

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed imperdiet consequat massa. Vestibulum sapien pede, semper et, mattis quis, tincidunt vel, tellus. Maecenas eros risus, tristique suscipit, dignissim a, facilisis ut, nunc. Aliquam risus felis, imperdiet commodo, viverra nec, lobortis eget, erat. Quisque porta, libero non suscipit ultrices, tellus sem pharetra metus, sit amet convallis turpis eros sed orci. Duis rutrum, libero ac porttitor tristique, nisl purus lobortis enim, ac iaculis dolor eros non libero. Phasellus pharetra rutrum elit. Quisque congue mi eu pede blandit egestas. Cras ligula. Praesent ac sapien.

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News

A feminist teacher 'overreacts'

November 30

Irony is never lost on an English teacher. In the last hour, I have gone from sitting in my East Hall office with some of my colleagues, discussing Tufts students' resistance to conversations about racial, class, gender and sexual inequalities, to sitting on my couch, reading about the most recent racially-motivated hate crime on Tufts campus. The disconnect between students' tendencies to deny power imbalances in our culture, believing racism and gender oppression are relics of a bygone past, and this obvious evidence of student bigotry and racial violence illustrates the need to continue to initiate these conversations in our academic community, despite the discomfort and resistance they produce. Yes, hatred and bigotry exist here at home; in the rarefied, "P.C." environment of Tufts, in Massachusetts - the bastion of blue state liberalism. Contrary to popular student opinion, the age of political correctness did not signal the end of bias or discrimination - it merely masks the institutional presence of sexism, racism and homophobia under a veneer of individual tolerance. And yes, this is what some of us, your professors, have been trying - and often struggling - to get you students to see. Perhaps thinking about a student's recent assault on a Tufts University police officer can teach more effectively than a traditional lesson the danger of maintaining false assumptions about equality in America. As this Tuesday's Daily reported, in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Nov. 23, an intoxicated male student violently attacked an officer when, in responding to the reported disturbance at 185 College Avenue, she attempted to handcuff the student and bring him into custody. The upperclassman (whose right to anonymity is protected by law at this juncture) "grabbed" Officer Burton "by the hair," pulled her down to the ground by her shirt, and "began punching her." Before backup arrived, he had beat her so savagely that he "ripped entire braids from [her] head" and caused "injuries to the head, back, and ribs," all the while "[shouting] racial epithets, including 'n--r,' at Burton, who is African-American." In resisting arrest, the student directed a gamut of racist and homophobic obscenities toward the other arresting officers who arrived on the scene, his insults ranging from 'faggot' to 'Jew boy' to 'fat Italian-American f-k.'" Based on my experiences discussing racist and sexist violence with Tufts undergraduates, I can imagine several kinds of responses. A sizable minority of students would share the outrage I experienced upon reading of the attack on Officer Burton and its consequent handling. A more typical student reading of this incident would acknowledge the horror of the crime while writing it off as an anomaly. "He's not one of us;" the 'bad apple' theory. This move, while it reduces emotional dissonance, does not teach us how to first own and then solve our social problems. Acknowledging, rather than dismissing, the presence in our community of those who would perpetrate or overlook racist, sexist, homophoic violence is necessary in order to fight against this injustice. A second response might be to attribute the student's violent attack and hate-filled tirade to his excessive alcohol consumption. While his intoxication may explain this student's temporary loss of control, it does not excuse it. Those students who know the assailant may perhaps be thinking that his rage was "out of character" and he should be let off the hook. The fact remains that such virulent hatred and violent aggression -if rarely expressed in more sober moments - stems from somewhere. These objections serve as apologies for racial bigotry, violence against women, and gay-bashing, a common gesture in a society that prefers to ignore the existence of inequality and oppression in the 21st century. The ethically questionable move to excuse this student's reprehensible behavior and protect his future interests at Tufts is not limited to some undergraduates. The student "is being charged criminally with disorderly conduct, assault and battery of a police officer, and resisting arrest"; but, campus administrators' punitive measures are disturbingly ambiguous. The Daily reported that Dean of Students Bruce Reitman and Judicial Affairs Officer Veronica Carter said "they plan to proceed with the case depending on how the student responds to the accusations brought against him." What does this mean exactly? If he apologizes, all is forgiven? The kind of sociopathic behavior displayed by this student should under no circumstances be tolerated in our community. The unjustified protections afforded this student by Tufts administrators reflect the larger operations of white power and privilege in our society. How might public opinion of this case shift if the racial roles were reversed, and a black male student had assaulted a white officer while resisting arrest? Our culture believes that criminality never wears a white face, and that black women who are assaulted are either not really victims (and therefore undeserving of legal protection or recourse) or are somehow responsible for provoking their attacker. It is difficult to remain ideologically detached from and unaffected by the pervasive hatred and policing of female bodies, "queer" bodies, and "colored" bodies that characterizes our culture. This is precisely why many of the faculty at Tufts (certainly in my department) insist on raising issues of social inequality and cultural politics in our classrooms, perhaps ad infinitum to some of your ears. We do this because oppression is alive and well, and we hope to arm students with a critical awareness of this fact and its implications. Take advantage of the opportunity we present to understand the world that shapes you, so that that when you graduate, you have the knowledge to decide how you want to act in and on that world. As an educator, when I raise these topics in class, I'm not necessarily asking you to align your politics with mine (a statement which may surprise some of my students) - what I am asking is that you align yourself against a politics of hatred. How can a Tufts student accomplish this? The first step is by being receptive to engaging in overtly, perhaps uncomfortably, political discussions in the classroom. The next time you are sitting in class, rolling your eyes when your professor "whines about feminism," or, in analyzing ongoing racism and colonialism "blows things out of proportion" or "overreacts," or, (most cardinal of American sins) says something "communist," try opening up and engaging with his/her point-of-view instead of shutting down. Resist your resistance - turn an impediment to understanding into a tool for analysis. Closing your eyes to the social diseases that plague us (a privilege in itself) reinforces their oppressive power. Silence and willed ignorance only sustain a culture of hatred.Robin Mangino is a Ph.D. candidate and adjunct professor in the English department

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News

This Is A Test Headline (No. 333)

November 30

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed imperdiet consequat massa. Vestibulum sapien pede, semper et, mattis quis, tincidunt vel, tellus. Maecenas eros risus, tristique suscipit, dignissim a, facilisis ut, nunc. Aliquam risus felis, imperdiet commodo, viverra nec, lobortis eget, erat. Quisque porta, libero non suscipit ultrices, tellus sem pharetra metus, sit amet convallis turpis eros sed orci. Duis rutrum, libero ac porttitor tristique, nisl purus lobortis enim, ac iaculis dolor eros non libero. Phasellus pharetra rutrum elit. Quisque congue mi eu pede blandit egestas. Cras ligula. Praesent ac sapien.

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News

Theology a result of political ideology in Muslim-Christian dynamic

November 30

John Esposito, University Professor of Religion and International Affairs and Founding Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, spoke at Fletcher about problems that arise when the Christian and Muslim worlds clash. Esposito's lecture was entitled "American Foreign Policy and the Muslim World: Autocrats, Democrats, Terrorists?" The author of more than 30 books generally dealing with political Islam, Esposito was appointed by the United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Kofi Annan to be part of a group called the "Alliance of Civilizations," established last July. According to the U.N. press report, this alliance works toward "bridging divides between societies exploited by extremists." Part of the problem between the Christian and the Muslim worlds, Esposito said, is that the media in the West portrays Islam to be synonymous to terrorism. He recounted a story about how he was being interviewed on television, and the images that the audience saw were misleading. "All the audience sees is that the Muslim world is equal to terrorist bombings," he said. Esposito added that the interviewer would pose a question, and after hearing the response, would ask the same question again because the interviewer had a set way of thinking and did not understand when Esposito answered in a way opposite to what he expected to hear. From the standpoint of the Christian world, Esposito said the Muslim world "is characterized by... anarchy, terrorism and oppression of women," partly because of the "growing extremism and growing anti-Americanism" that are rising in the region. Esposito said that this view exists because of the actions of terrorists in the world. "Post 9/11, that perception has gotten more embedded - and for good reason," he said. In fact, Esposito said that the war on terror has only increased the number of terrorists. This is related to how, as he said, some feel that the New World Order has become more of a unipolar world led by President Bush. "Another perception comes in," he said. "Seeing [the world] very much as a Bush Order... he relies very heavily on the military." Within this possible unipolar world, Esposito said the Muslim world itself is facing its own problems. "We talk about the future of the Muslim world, we're talking about modern Muslim states," he said. "The basic flaws are still there." This includes the issue of national identity and the regal or military background of rulers. Matters such as "artificial boundaries and multiple identities" present a "major challenge" to the Bush administration on how it will look at these problems when dealing with the Muslim world. Not surprisingly, Esposito said religion is another highly volatile issue, both within the Muslim world and how it is viewed by the West - especially because the latter may view Islam in a one-sided manner. "Our primary concern tends to be about religious extremists," he said. "Look at the Taliban. Look at Sudan in the past. And Iran at some point of the game." Esposito stressed the difference between typical and radical Islamists and the importance of dealing with this difference appropriately, notably because many Westerners do not see this difference. "We're uncomfortable dealing with mainstream Islamists," he said. "How do we view Islamists? Do we realize that in fact they can be democratic, and in fact be honest democrats? It's certainly going to be a wild card here." There are Muslim countries that are seemingly becoming more democratic, Esposito said, but in reality change is not as apparent as it seems. "You see a very controlled or limited form of democratization," he said. This shows that these problems in the Muslim world do not always stem from religious reasons, but rather political ones. Meanwhile, there is a "global jihad" growing steadily over the past 30 years, Esposito said. It is "global" because extremism in Muslim nations is nationalistic and these national movements have gone global. But, again, referring to the political - not religious - context that has shaped conflicts such as this jihad, or struggle, Esposito said, "If we look at it ideologically...theology is a [result] of political ideology." Regardless of the roots of the problems, this "global jihad" has still managed to become a significant issue for both Muslims and non-Muslims. Esposito said extremists provide a rationale for this jihad and allege that anyone against the jihad, Muslim or not, is an enemy. These extremists have made it "incumbent on every individual Muslim" to join the struggle. From the viewpoint of the Muslim world, Esposito said there is a fascination with the Christian Right in the United States and how it influences the administration and Congress. This leads to unease toward Western Christianity, and coupled with existing Western attitudes of the Muslim world, "you have both a fear of Islam and Muslims, and America and the West," he said. Returning to the growth of democracy in the Arab world, Esposito said while "we continue to see a movement toward broader democratization in the region, we need to keep in mind that this is a very limited [form] of democratization. We're going to continue to see autocratic leaders dig in." Esposito said the failure of true democracy to take shape in the Muslim world has led to many Muslims becoming disillusioned with the state of democracy, as shown in the case of Iraq. "How successful is Iraq, and what does that mean?" he asked. "I'm really very skeptical about talking about Iraq and how it will turn out." Esposito expressed doubt that the present American government or ones in the near future would be able to alleviate the problems in Iraq. "It's not clear to me at all that any administration... will have any significant impact," he said. Both the Christian and Muslim worlds are facing problems that need to be addressed to expedite improvement in relations with each other. "The challenges that exist are that on one hand, the governments in the [Arab] region have to move toward broader political participation and enhancement of civil society," and the West must give more aid to the region and figure out how much pressure it will put on the Muslim world to reform. The problem with reform in the Muslim world, Esposito said, is that "the process of reform is that usually there's a small group of reformers," and they are persecuted and repressed by the government. In addition, most entrenched religious organizations are uninterested in reform and militant leaders vehemently are opposed to it. Esposito said people must take action to fix relations between the Christian and Muslim worlds, not just talk about it. "Ideas don't change the world," he said. "How you institutionalize those ideas [is what starts the process]." Esposito admitted that the road to improved diplomacy will be long and arduous. "I think it's going to [take] a generation before things get turned around," he said. "It's going to be a long haul." Esposito's lecture was part of the Charles Francis Adams lecture series at the Fletcher School. Approximately 130 students and faculty were in attendance.

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