Archives

News

Whenever you need me, you know I'll be there... or not

November 17

As the registration period comes to a close today, undergraduates may now switch their focus from picking classes to choosing a major and faculty advisor. Though Tufts' official bulletin states that a student should plan a concentration program with the assistance of a faculty advisor in his or her major field, students' expectations of advisor involvement in this process vary widely. Some find advisor participation to be less than satisfactory and would prefer more interaction. "I expected that someone would be there to help me figure out exactly what it is I should be taking and doing based on my interests," senior Joyce Rollor said. "But that didn't really happen. I had to go to the dean to get good advising." Others found advising satisfactory only because they had low expectations. "I don't think I had too many expectations, except that [my advisor] would make sure I got to graduation in terms of picking courses," senior Trevan Marden said. Still other students have had very difficult experiences with advising at Tufts. "My experience has been quite negative because I've had four different advisors," senior Austen Eadie-Friedmann said. "The first two were never available - office hours didn't mean anything - and when I could finally get ahold of the professor, they knew little or nothing of proper procedure." Friedmann was left to navigate his academic decisions completely on his own. "I was left to fend for myself," he said. Senior James Fraser had an opinion as to why experiences like Friedmann's occur. "It's because of the numbers of advisees some have," Fraser said. "There's no way to know 100 kids well if you only see them once a year, or sometimes less for double majors." Associate Professor of Economics David Garman currently advises 28 students, all of whom are economics majors. "In the economics department, we probably have about 400 declared majors right now, and when you take out people who are on leave, that leaves about 15 faculty to advise about 400 majors," Garman said. "So, if you do the math, you end up with somewhere between 25 and 30 for each." Fraser, who usually seeks out advisors primarily for their signatures, says that the process of meeting with advisors becomes "just another loop to jump through." He added that "when a student does have a problem, their advisor doesn't know them as anything more than a name, and it's hard to give advice to someone you don't know." "The best idea would be to switch the relationship from signature-giver to real person," Fraser said. And in effecting that switch, the ball is often in the students' court. "My experience is that about a third of the students you know pretty well - the reason is because they come to see you," said Jinyu Li, a lecturer in the Chinese department. Li, who currently has 22 advisees, said that "ideally, I would like to know them personally very well." Because she has observed that the main anxieties of first-year students primarily relate to academics and acclimating to campus life, Li makes an effort to meet one-on-one with her new advisees during the first weeks of school in order to get to know them better. She also utilizes an SIS printout with students' pictures to tie faces to the names on paper. "I advise [professors] to go to the [SIS] Web site and get students' photos," she said. "Psychologically, it's important to try to recognize them to make them understand and feel that someone is there. It's your job." Li can, however, imagine an advisor not knowing an advisee's name: "I can understand very well because you don't see them often," she said. "Professors teach two or three courses and have students in those as well." Li tries to send students e-mails encouraging them to come see her, but understands that often they are overwhelmed with work. She said that much of the advisor-advisee relationship depends on students' personalities: Some enjoy coming to office hours often, while others do not. Students who have been unsatisfied with their advising experience cite a lack of communication between themselves and their advisors' departments or faculty - a problem that surfaces when professors leave on sabbatical and their advisees are unaware of the change. "Most departments vary tremendously in how they handle this - so I can't generalize for all departments - but typically it's left up to the advisor to notify his or her advisees about what's going on," Garman said. "If I'm on leave but I'm in town and working in my office at Tufts, then I still meet with my advisees," Garman said. "That's not required, or even necessarily expected. If my schedule's going to be different or I am not going to be as available, I always e-mail my advisees and let them know." In terms of general communication with advisees, Garman keeps e-mail lists of advisees separated by class levels and sends students e-mail reminders when important deadlines approach. He tries to free up extra time to meet with them around such times. "Well, as you know, there's a huge variation in how advisors approach the job," Garman said. "There are some that make a great effort to stay in contact with their advisees, and there are others that leave it to the advisees to make contact with the advisor. I suspect that cases where somebody leaves or is on leave and the advisees don't know are cases where the advisor expects the advisees to take the initiative and keep in touch." But this relationship still isn't an easy one. "Sometimes advisees don't do that," added Garman, mentioning instances when his advisees have not taken advantage of his availability. "In that case, it's their right to use me as a resource or not," he said, adding that in the end, "on both sides, the ideal advisor-advisee relationship takes effort." "I've seen cases of breakdowns on either side," Garman said.

---

News

Fall shows more about high notes than endzones

November 17

Let's face it, kids: we go to a dorky school. There's just no way of getting around it. We study so hard that there's a Facebook group called "I go clubbing at Tisch." And while some schools are crazy about fraternities, Tufts students are crazy about... a cappella? Yes, it's true. But when Tufts students do something, they do it right. That means that our a cappella groups aren't just a bunch of people standing in a circle trying to sing. We're lucky to have six of the classiest, most talented a cappella groups around right here on campus. And even better, three of them are performing this weekend. This Friday and Saturday, Shir Appeal, sQ! and the Beelzebubs will hold their formal fall shows. Summing up each group is easy: Shir Appeal is Jewish, sQ! is co-ed, and the Bubs are all male. But the truth is that each group has its own distinctive feel that goes far past the simple makeup of the group. Take, for example, Shir Appeal. Although the group is usually thought of in terms of its religious affiliation, it also has a distinctive musical and performance style. Junior Jessica Stiss, a member of Shir Appeal, explained that it's not just Jewish music that sets the group apart. "We perform a lot in communities, for synagogues and children, not just for college kids," she said. This gives the group a performance style that is interactive and accessible. It also requires them to look for songs that appeal to people of all ages and religious backgrounds; the result is a set that includes songs from many different genres of music, from Israeli rock to liturgical tunes. The sound and style of sQ! also extend beyond the rudimentary descriptor of "co-ed a cappella." The group specializes in modern and classic pop music, requiring them to come up with arrangements that sound fresh but still do justice to the original songs. Because their songs are often well-known among audiences, sQ! takes great care with their song selections. "We take into consideration how an audience might react to a song," said senior Andrew Chapman, president of sQ!. "Is it overplayed on the radio? Exciting? Known?" One of the biggest questions Tufts students usually ask about sQ! is what distinguishes it from the Amalgamates, Tufts' other co-ed a cappella group. "I think that the main differences are in our sound, our musical selection, and our personality as a group," Chapman said. "We like different music, we have different senses of humor, and we each produce a different sound." For those of us less attune to the subtleties of a cappella music, this difference may be hard to hear on a song-by-song basis, but it is easy to see what sets each group apart after listening to the sets in their entireties. Fall Show is a chance for sQ! to let the Tufts student body appreciate its unique sound and personality. The Beelzebubs, Tufts' heartthrobs who occupy a place akin to that of football players at other schools, also define themselves by more than just their "all-male" label. Senior Eric Fuerstein, president of the Bubs, explained that the group defines itself stylistically by its emphasis on energetic showmanship. "We put a high premium on performance," Fuerstein said. "Energy and audience involvement are really important." That means that no matter what the Bubs are singing, audiences usually come out of their shows awake and smiling. Perhaps that's why both of their fall shows usually sell out so quickly. When asked what they were most excited about for their fall shows, all three groups said the same thing: the opportunity to perform with their new members for the first time. "I remember my first fall show," said Stiss, "and I'm excited for our new members to have that experience, too." This Friday and Saturday night we'll be enjoying some first-rate a cappella, even if students on other campuses might not follow suit. But there's something cool about that too. All three groups are energetic, talented and full of personality, and by the end of this weekend, even the most vehemently anti-a-cappella among us may be rocking out to the sound of the Bubs' "Cecilia" on iTunes.

---

News

Men's Cross Country | In Ohio, Jumbos eye 'realistic' chance for a top four finish at Saturday's nationals

November 17

Saturday will mark the third straight year the men's cross country has been to nationals as a team. It will be the Jumbos' eighth appearance overall - appearances that began in 1996 when the team finished seventh. Tufts has made team or individual representation at the race every season since 1994. Yet Tufts is still wondering about the view from the podium, where the top four teams collect their trophies. It is no easy feat, but the members of this year's squad believe they have a better chance than in years past - and they just might be right. "Definitely, that's been our goal since the beginning of the season," senior co-captain Matt Lacey said. "In the past maybe it was a stretch, we would have had to run a perfect race [to get top four]," co-captain senior Matt Fortin said. "But now we can just run a solid race like we've been doing all year and still get top four, we feel. We definitely think it's very realistic." Last weekend's blowout win at the NCAA Division III New England Championship shows that the Jumbos probably don't have to worry about teams from the region storming past them. Tufts finished with 62 points, ahead of Wesleyan (118) and Keene St. (132), both of which also qualified for nationals. "We're not even looking at other New England schools," Lacey said. The Jumbos' primary competition will come from Midwest schools. Tufts is ranked fourth nationally, behind Calvin College, Wisconsin-La Crosse, and Nebraska Wesleyan (which it lost to by 33 points at the Jim Drews Invitational), and ahead of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Wartburg College. The Jumbo squad will be led by its two stalwarts, Lacey and junior Josh Kennedy. Kennedy has led the team at nationals the last two years, finishing 54th as a freshman before earning All-American status last year with a 32nd place finish. After a slightly off-week at regionals, Lacey plans to run with Kennedy, which he said "will make it much easier on both of us." Do the Jumbos need stellar races from the pair to finish top four overall? "Not necessarily, but it would be a major, major help," Lacey said. "It would mean a lot if Kennedy or I were up there." "They're a great combined presence and if they get up there that gives us a great combined number up front," Fortin said. It's worth remembering that Fortin himself will be racing in his third nationals. After finishing 165th his sophomore year, he improved to 66th last year, two places ahead of Lacey's 68th place finish in his first nationals. "It becomes less of a huge race now that I've done it multiple times," Fortin said. "[The first time] it's complete chaos, everything just moves so fast. You definitely try to tell the guys who haven't done it before what it's going to be like, but overall experience is the best teacher." Seniors Neil Orfield and Kyle Doran competed in nationals as sophomores and sophomore Chris Kantos did last year. That leaves junior Justin Chung, coming off a strong race last week, as the only Jumbo without nationals experience. While the rest of the squad drives to Delaware, Ohio today, the varsity team flew out with coach Ethan Barron Thursday and ran on the hilly course at the Methodist Theological School and Dornoch Golf Club. "It's definitely tougher than last week's course and we think it will play into our strengths," Lacey said. "We've done a lot of work with hills and various paces, and this isn't going to be a race where you can just go out and run one speed the whole time." Barron is trying to keep the squad calm as it nears the completion of its season. "He's been trying to keep us in our comfort zone," Lacey said. "This isn't out of the ordinary; we don't need to go in with all this pressure that we need to run out of our minds for our goal to happen. We just need to do what we can and what we have been doing all season and we'll achieve what we want."

---

News

Inside Fitness | Mix in supersets to keep things interesting during workout at the gym

November 17

I try to make it to the gym a few times a week, but I don't have hours to spend there. I'm getting bored with my lifting schedule. How can I liven things up and keep myself interested in working out? -- Omar Minaya (stupidly traded Mike Cameron) It's good that you are noting your boredom and aren't content to simply plug away at the same old routine for months and months. It's important to keep changing parts of your workout around, as much for keeping your interest as for continuing to make gains. There are a number of things you can do to keep your workouts compact, intense and interesting. Try mixing in supersets or compound sets to decrease your rest periods and add intensity. This will keep your heart rate up and maintain a "burn" in your body. Supersets are going from lifting one muscle and then a different muscle with no rest in between; for example, do triceps extensions immediately followed by biceps curls. Rest for 45-60 seconds and repeat. Compound sets are very similar, except you will be working the same muscle group in both exercises. For example, bench pressing immediately followed by flies. You could also try to mix in some drop sets, which are great for building muscle size and strength. A drop set works by doing a moderately hard weight until you have almost reached failure, then immediately decreasing resistance by 15-20 percent and doing another set with no rest; take another 15-20 percent of the weight off and do a third set. Then you've completed a single drop set. Mixing in different types of sets into your workout will change up the pace and intensity, and should be challenging enough to fend off boredom. I feel like all Inside Fitness ever talks about is getting big. What about those of us who aren't interested in maxing out on muscle mass, who want to maintain our weight and tone? Don't we matter at all? If you're even reading this, I'd like some advice on what and how I should be eating in order to maintain my weight and maybe even lose a couple of pounds. Ideally, there are five main things that we should be getting from our diets: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and good fats (monounsaturated and omega-3s). I won't bore you too much with the details about where you can find these foods, but I will give you some advice about how to eat. If possible, you want to be eating smallish meals every few hours throughout the day. It's important to never go too long without food and also to try to avoid getting really full. The reason for this is all about metabolism. When you are eating consistently through the day, you ramp up your metabolic rate so that you are burning more calories during everything you do. By keeping your blood sugar relatively constant, you never feel the lethargy of being really full and never feel the emptiness of being really hungry. This equals more energy and more calories burned - two things that everyone wants. To summarize: try to eat quality foods in decent portions frequently throughout the day. Also, like with exercise, set reasonable expectations for yourself. Don't try to be perfect all the time. It's much better to be consistently good than infrequently perfect. Making small dietary improvements gradually can go a long way over time. Just try to make smart decisions (and follow my sound advice). Why do I get sore after I lift sometimes and not others? If I don't get sore from a workout, does that mean I'm not pushing myself enough? -- Adrian Roe, Ukrainian culture enthusiast The cause of delayed onset muscle soreness (the soreness we get from lifting weights) is thought to be caused by microscopic tearing of muscle tissues and peaks approximately 48 hours after muscle exertion. These tears have positive results and eventually lead to greater muscle size and strength - reasons that we exercise at all in the first place. Although a good workout doesn't always make you feel sore the next day, a little bit of soreness is a nice reminder that we really went hard in the gym the day before. As you get accustomed to a workout, muscle soreness will tend to decrease over time. Stretching is a good way to minimize soreness the next day, although it won't prevent the pain entirely. Soreness isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if you are sore for five days after a workout, it's usually a sign you went too hard. Try decreasing resistance or volume the next time you work out, and your muscle soreness should go away after a couple days. As a general rule though, don't be overly concerned about the soreness that you feel.

---

News

Students get out the vote in Chinatown

November 17

The election of the first Asian-American member of the Boston City Council this month highlighted the work of a group of Tufts students in Chinatown. Sam Yoon - a Korean immigrant who attended Princeton University and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government - was elected to one of the four councilor-at-large positions Nov. 8. His campaign was supported by the Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) - an organization that promotes education and civic involvement in Chinatown. According to senior Natalie Solomon, a CPA intern, part of Yoon's victory can be explained by the first-time use of bilingual ballots. Last July, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the city of Boston for violating the Voting Rights Act. A settlement in October allowed for bilingual ballots - in English and Chinese. Because of the bilingual ballots, Solomon said, Yoon drew more voters from Chinatown. CPA members helped register voters and went door to door in Chinatown with a mock voting machine, teaching residents how to vote. Prior to the Nov. 8 election Tufts students registered voters, and on Election Day about 20 Tufts students served as poll monitors in Chinatown precincts. Asian Community at Tufts Secretary Ivy Cheng, a junior, said students stood outside polling stations and asked Asian-Americans if there had been any wrongdoing during the process. "Some poll workers can be hostile and a lot of Asian-Americans have faced discrimination at the polls," she said. Tufts students are involved in the Chinatown community in more ways than just Yoon's election. Solomon - a University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS) scholar - works mainly on tenant rights and affordable housing in Chinatown. "Boston has some of the highest affordable housing guidelines," she said. Junior Angela Lee, also a UCCPS scholar, interned with the CPA last year. Her focus was legal services for low-income Asian-Americans, and she helped CPA and the Greater Boston Legal Service assert residents on issues including wage discrepancies, eviction notices and spousal abuse. Another of Lee's concerns is development. "A lot of gentrification is going on and many new high rises are going up, leaving little space for affordable housing," she said. "It is no longer a neighborhood for residents but it is increasingly a place for commuters." During her time interning for CPA, Lee helped create a neighborhood newsletter that served as a bilingual bulletin of local events and covered local issues like development and voters' rights. Tufts students could be much more involved in Chinatown, Lee said, because the neighborhood surrounds the University's Boston campus. "Not a lot of people are aware that Tufts has a big influence in Chinatown, and that Tufts can have a greater influence considering the [Tufts-New England] Medical Center and School are there," she said. Of the areas on which Tufts students could have the most impact - the Medford and Somerville area, the Mystic River and Chinatown - Lee said Chinatown is the most often neglected area. "Tufts could really play a big role in the area," she said. "I don't think a lot of people know what the issues are. Besides, it is much easier and more convenient to volunteer in Medford or Somerville, even though Chinatown is only a short T ride away." Cheng said it was difficult to get Tufts students to volunteer in Chinatown. Part of the problem, she said, is that many of the Asian students at Tufts are international students who are not aware of Asian-American issues on campus and in Chinatown. The problems in Chinatown might not be apparent to the causal visitor. "A lot of students go to Chinatown to eat or buy cheap tourist things, so it is difficult to understand the issues just by walking down the streets," Cheng said. Despite the progress that has been made - demonstrated by Yoon's election - Lee said there is much more that needs to be done. "They are facing huge social justice challenges in Chinatown," she said. "And those issues need to be addressed."

---

News

If there are drugs: sniff, stay, roll over - good boy

November 17

When a kid teaches his dog to play catch, he probably does not realize he is preparing his dog for a career in law enforcement. Dogs' enthusiasm and energy for retrieving a thrown tennis ball - their "retrieve drive" - is the main early predictor for their ability to be search dogs at U.S. border checkpoints. Two Canine Enforcement officers from the U.S. Customs Service spoke Thursday evening in Barnum Hall, and they brought their dogs. Canine Enforcement officers are deployed at all points of entry into the U.S. to determine the presence of narcotics, currency, explosives or chemicals. Carol Szczawinski and Jim Casey, handlers for the dogs Rocks and Cosmo, respectively, work at the international terminal at Logan Airport. Their dogs search incoming passengers and baggage for any one of six narcotics: methamphetamine, hashish, heroin, cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy. "They see it as if they're going to play everyday," Szczawinski said. Once Rocks detects the presence of a substance he recognizes, he is trained to sit. He is then rewarded with a rolled-up terrycloth. "He just wants some love, and of course, a towel," Szczawinski said. Rocks is a Labrador, but other medium size dogs - German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers or Belgian Malinois - can also do the job. Dogs are chosen between the ages of one and three from animal shelters across the country. They are tested for their "retrieve drive" and hunting instincts and then go through a 13 to 16 week training process with their handler. At the event, sponsored by the Pre-Veterinary Society, Casey said dogs are ideal animals for customs work because they have such a good sense of smell. "We smell a cheeseburger, but they smell the ketchup, the mustard, the onions and the pickles," he said. It was a love of dogs that motivated Szczawinski to become a canine enforcement officer. "I always wanted to be a vet because I love animals," she said. "But I liked law enforcement, and my job is the best of both worlds. I get paid to play with my dog all day."

---

---

News

Health Services gets part of flu vaccine shipment

November 17

After a long delay and despite little communication with suppliers, Health Services received a shipment of flue vaccines Thursday - in time to hold a clinic after Thanksgiving Break. Health Services Medical Director Margaret Higham said the shipment will add to the 160 doses left over from the 300 ordered for a high-risk vaccination clinic held Wednesday. The first general clinic will be held Nov. 30. The doses that arrived Thursday were only a small part of the 5,000 doses Health Services has ordered from two suppliers. "If we continue to get more vaccine (which we are very hopeful of), we will then schedule a clinic for faculty and staff, " Higham wrote in an e-mail. Higham said under better conditions the clinic would be held between the last week in October and the first two weeks of November, but this year is better than last. Last year one of the leading producers of the vaccine, Chiron Corp., was forced to suspend all production because British authorities detected contamination in the product. According to Higham, the shutdown let to a nationwide shortage, and Tufts did not receive any vaccinations. Last month Chiron announced it would not meet its manufacuring goals. Higham said the problem is both the difficulty of making the vaccine and the fact that few companies make it. The vaccine takes nine months to make and involves "a tight deadline and companies don't make too much money on it," Higham said. To try to guarantee an adequate supply this year, Health Services ordered 5,000 doses last spring - up from 2,500 last year. "We like to be able to offer [the] vaccine to any student or staff/faculty member who wants it, " Higham said. The two producers have been unwilling to provide Health Services with definitive information about the arrival of the vaccines. "They're not communicating with us," Higham said. "That's part of our problem." Students should be able to get adequate protection against the flu, which usually hits in January but sometimes in February. If the vaccine is administered too early it can be ineffective, Higham said. "If the flu hits late, you may not have adequate protection if you received [the] vaccine in early fall," she said. Regardless of when Health Services gets the vaccine, Higham said it is recommended to get vaccinated. "You never know when you're going to be exposed," she said.

---

News

Oh, by the way, it's called Supershow - thanks for asking

November 17

To claim that you can put on a "Supershow" is to owe the audience something spectacular, out of the ordinary and brimming with excitement and rare talent. In the past, Sarabande, Tufts' repertory dance ensemble, has kept the promise of the "Supershow," (not to mention made use of the handy alliteration that goes along with it). Tonight in Cohen Auditorium, Tufts students have another opportunity see the distinctive event. The show features eight dances choreographed and performed by the members of Sarabande, as well as eight performances by outside groups. Divided into two acts, the show alternates Sarabande's dances with pieces by B.E.A.T.S., Tufts Dance Collective (TDC), Spirit of Color (SoC), Irish Step, Tufts Ballroom Dance Team, Arab Students Association (ASA), Major: Undecided and TURBO. Among their eight dances, Sarabande will bridge nearly all styles of dance, performing modern, ballet, tap, jazz and hip-hop pieces. Sarabande is the only dance group on campus that finds permanent members by way of auditions, and this often draws long-time dancers to the group. "What ties us all together is that we all have had training in ballet and modern dance since way before we came to college," said Jessica Mattos, one of the show's producers. For the Fall Sarabande Supershow, the eight dances range in size from five to 12 dancers. The pieces prepared by Sarabande for Friday's show will include a ballet/jazz piece to the tune of "Mysterious Ways" by U2, a hip hop dance to a Black Eyed Peas medley, a modern dance to Cake's "Shadow Stabbing," a lyrical modern piece inspired by Radiohead's "Talk Show Host" and some point and tap pieces. Beyond Sarabande's pieces, the Supershow offers students an extensive line-up of performing groups at Tufts. As Kaitlin Toner, the president of Sarabande, said, "This is one of the rare opportunities for students unfamiliar with certain groups to see a wide variety. It's unusual to get to see ASA and TURBO performing together." Stephanie Cohen, a member and public relations representative of the group, said the Supershow provides an opportunity for student groups such as ASA, for whom dance is only a portion of their overall focus, to share their culture and style with the campus. "They're not a performance group, they're a group of students who share the same culture," she said. The Supershow can also serve as "a chance for groups to get a start with a Tufts audience," Cohen said. This year's Supershow marks the Ballroom Dance Team's performance debut on campus, since the group is usually involved in competitive dancing. Sarabande has cut down on the show's run time by nixing the usual M.C. hosting and including a sampling of Tufts performance groups, rather than including all of them. "We try to focus on groups that are more movement based, whereas we used to have more a capella," Toner said. Still, said Cohen, "We try to keep it as 'super' as possible." This grand vision is evident in the show's lineup, which spans cultures, mediums and styles. "We still want to keep it a supershow and not just have dances," Cohen said, speaking to the inclusion of less-pirouette-inclined groups such as Major: Undecided and B.E.A.T.S. While not all of the groups will stretch before taking the stage, Sarabande's "Supershow" provides an outlet for each to share their unique forte with the Tufts campus.Kate Drizos contributed to this article.

---

News

Corrections | November 18, 2005

November 17

In the article "For biggest student group, crisis at the top" in Thursday, Nov. 17's Daily, sophomore Kim Petko was incorrectly identified as a freshman. The article also said the programming staff is made up of 40 members. There are 85 members of the programming staff, and they oversee 40 programs.

---

News

Come on baby, light my 'Goblet of Fire'

November 17

About this time of year, most Tufts students are starting to freak out about finals, having only just gotten over the stress of midterms. Next week, as they tote home loads of books to pore over during the tease of a break that is Thanksgiving, almost all of these students will be cursing their rotten luck. But it could be worse. Although lab reports and research papers are no fun, they sure beat having to outsmart a dragon or rescue a friend chained to the bottom of the lake. Even unluckier than a beleaguered Tufts student, Triwizard Tournament Champion Harry Potter must complete these two seemingly insurmountable challenges, along with the navigation of a hedge maze, at the end of his fourth year at Hogwarts. These tasks-and not much else-provide the basis for the plot of the latest film installment of the Harry Potter saga: "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." The film's action centers mostly on the events of the Triwizard Tournament. The Tournament is a prized tradition of the wizarding world in which one contestant (called a "Champion") from each of the participating schools - Hogwarts, the French Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and the vaguely Eastern European Durmstrang Institute for Magical Study - competes to win the Triwizard Cup. Since there would be no story without a little plot twist, someone enters Harry's name too, and he is forced by the binding magical contract of the Tournament to compete for his chance at the Triwizard Cup. The two-and-a-half hour long movie is at once overly complex and significantly distilled; an interesting paradox. Producers had to condense J.K. Rowling's 734-page tome into a palatable one-sitting film without removing too much of the series' complicated Dickensian charm. Since the book, with its grandiose scenes of Quidditch matches and dragon fights, lends itself especially well to cinematic interpretation, it is easy to see how the filmmakers were tempted into sacrificing some of the novelistic subtleties in favor of breathtaking action sequences. And the animation certainly holds up. We've come a long way from the blatantly computerized movements of Spidey and Neo. The envoys from the two visiting schools have particularly memorable entrances: the filles from Beauxbatons arrive in a winged horse-drawn carriage that swoops down through the sky and the Durmstrang boys' ship forbiddingly rises out of the depths of Hogwarts' dark lake. There is painstaking attention paid to detail throughout the film, even in the moments which employ no special effects. In one scene, rain on a stained glass window makes it appear as though the Technicolor glass saint is crying; in another, a long shot of the sumptuous tables of Hogwarts' dining hall reveal sugar mice weaving in and out of elaborate trays of cakes and other baked goods. The prioritizing of aesthetics creates a dazzling picture but leaves viewers feeling as though the entire cast (particularly Alan Rickman as the smarmy Professor Snape) is underused. This is a pity, since almost every actor turns in a solid performance. Most impressive are the three lead actors, who are admirably growing into their roles (although they are physically out-aging their characters at an alarming rate-14-year-old Harry shouldn't be showing signs of chest hair just yet). Daniel Radcliffe nails Harry's hormonally-driven internal conflicts and turns in an especially impressive performance as he incoherently sobs over fellow Triwizard Tournament Champion Cedric's corpse. Rupert Grint, as Ron Weasley, still primarily fills the "Harry's wacky sidekick" role but also shows occasional flashes of dramatic maturity; when Harry is announced as a Triwizard Champion, the jealous glare Ron shoots him is almost palpable. Unfortunately for actress Emma Watson, the most talented thespian of the adolescent bunch, the film makes Hermione into a one-dimensional character. It feels as though the screenwriters are taking a page from "Boy Meets World"'s treatment of Topanga: realizing that Watson is the most attractive of the three leads, they're downplaying Hermione's intelligence and positioning her as Ron's romantic foil. Although Watson does well with what she's given (her breakdown on the steps of the Yule Ball is a particularly heart-wrenching moment), one wishes she would cry less and punch Draco more. Despite its relative lack of acting, the film remains intelligent and just as engaging for its adult audience as for the children. "Goblet of Fire" continues the movies' progression toward sophisticated, dark filmmaking. Instead of slapstick humor, we get clever one-liners; instead of Harry flying over sunny fields, we have him running in terror through a dark, foggy maze. The sexual and swearing content has also been upped this time around - to a somewhat disturbing level. Although phrases like "bloody hell" and "piss off" accurately represent the rebellious tendencies of 14-year-old boys, the ghost of Moaning Myrtle trying to check Harry out in the bathtub is a little disquieting. At the end of the film, Dumbledore tells Harry, "Dark and difficult times lie ahead... Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy." The Harry Potter filmmakers should take this advice to heart: they have quite the chore ahead of them in adapting the 870 pages of "Order of the Phoenix" (Book 5). If "Goblet of Fire" is any indication, though, they'll rise to the challenge. The film can feel incredibly dense and complicated at times, but its two and a half hours fly by faster than a Firebolt.

---

News

Thoughts about Patriots' cornerbacks, linerbacker troubles

November 17

With the New England Patriots, one needs a new program every week to see the latest additions at cornerback and safety. The defensive backfield has been playing a game of Russian roulette - New England style. Patriots coach Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Eric Mangini both have significant experience coaching defensive backs, yet they are now coaching one of the worst defensive backfields in football. The question is why. Some have wondered if a weak strength and conditioning program in New England is to blame. But the team has played 82 games since 2001 - more than any team in football. This is due to the team's continued postseason success. The team's cornerbacks have not all been excellent. Mix this with a few badly-timed injuries, and you have the current situation. Belichick brought in about ten cornerbacks in the off-season. Most are now injured, leaving Ellis Hobbs and Michael Stone as starters. Hobbs is a promising rookie drafted in the second round from Iowa State, and the Patriots are slowly easing him into more and more snaps. Hobbs was able to have a fair amount of success against the Miami Dolphins receivers. Stone was on the practice squad only two weeks ago. He is now the fifth Patriot to start at strong safety, a list that includes Rodney Harrison, Guss Scott, James Sanders and Duane Starks. But the Patriots are lucky, as their final seven games are against teams with a combined 24-39 record while the Buffalo Bills, who are only a game behind the Patriots in the division, have a very difficult second half schedule. At the linebacker spot, Willie McGinest, who has been a mainstay in New England for the past decade, might be playing his final season in a New England uniform. McGinest has been playing with a broken hand, and his production has declined significantly. McGinest's name hasn't been called that much this year. If he continues, the Pats will take an $8 million cap hit. McGinest will have to rework his contract if he wants to stay in New England.San Diego Chargers Their record is only 5-4, but the Chargers are probably the second most talented team in the NFL. The Chargers, coming off a bye week, have lost a combined four games to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Denver Broncos by a total of only 12 points, each one in tough last-minute fashion. But if the season were to end today the Chargers would not make the playoffs. This is a team that knows it has to play better against good teams. Chargers tight-end Antonio Gates told Inside the NFL that while the Chargers offensive firepower has made games fun, the team needs to figure out a way in the fourth quarter to win. "That Philadelphia game was a lot of fun, until we could not find a way to execute in the fourth quarter and blew it," Gates said after his team defeated the Jets two weeks ago." The Chargers defense has been much improved, and Wade Phillips can take the credit for it. Two years ago, the Chargers defense was horrible and the squad went 4-12. But Phillips, notorious for never wearing a headset when he was the coach of Buffalo, instituted the three-four defense and found speedy linebackers such as Shawne Merriman to play in the system. That, as much as anything Gates, Drew Brees or LaDainian Tomlinson does, has contributed to the success of the Chargers.

---

News

NCAA Championships offer familiarity, challenge

November 17

This season the goal of the women's cross country team was "Ohio or Bust," and the Buckeye State is just where the Jumbos find themselves on the final weekend of the season. Tufts will compete for a national title at the NCAA Championship as a full team for the first time since 1999 at Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday. "There's no stress because we're already here, so now it's just fun," junior Raquel Morgan said of reaching the team's goal. The Jumbos hope to place in the top ten of a 24-team field, a high bar for a team that has only one runner with prior experience in cross country nationals. "We are ranked ninth in the nation," senior tri-captain Becca Ades said, the lone Jumbo to be making a repeat trip. "So not only I but a lot of people think that's very realistic." Ades will be joined by Morgan and classmate Sarah Crispin, sophomores Catherine Beck and Katy O'Brien, and freshmen Katie Rizzolo and Evelyn Sharkey. While both Beck and O'Brien raced at indoor track nationals earlier this year, none of the other six runners have cross country nationals experience. Beck will likely be where she has been all season long - out in front again for the Jumbos. The experienced Ades will be close to the front as well, with Morgan and O'Brien joining her. Sharkey has been a wildcard throughout much of her rookie season, having worked her way up to varsity late in the season. Her times keep improving and a big race such as this will give her an opportunity to make an impact and an impression. Rizzolo and Crispin both had subpar performances last weekend at Regionals and the team hopes they can bounce back. Cripsin has been battling bronchitis and, although it was uncertain whether she would run this weekend, she will join her teammates on the course on Saturday. Ades will run the last cross country race of her career on the sport's biggest stage. This will be her third individual trip to nationals, but marks the first time that she will have her full team with her. "If everyone just races the way we've been racing all season, we're going to do really well," Ades said. "If people have breakout races, we are going to do even better." The team secured an automatic bid to Nationals after taking fifth last weekend at the Div. III New England Regionals. The bid accomplished the team's season goal of reaching the national level, and, in the words of coach Kristen Morwick, anything else will be gravy. "Before, there was always another race, but [now] there's nothing else to qualify for," junior Raquel Morgan said. "So now it's just 'give all you have.'" The top competition at nationals will likely come from within the NESCAC, which is sending five teams to Ohio. Williams won the national championship last season, with Middlebury placing a close second, and both teams will be joined by Colby and Amherst. The Jumbos are ranked fifth in the group, where they've hovered most of the season. With so many teams in front of them from their own conference, the Jumbos know that there is tough, if familiar, competition awaiting them in Ohio. But they see this experience as an advantage. "We are in the most competitive division of Div. III college running," Ades said. "We race against the best racers every week. Because of that, we are really prepared for this race. It's not like we're going to have to do things we don't normally do."

---

News

Proliferation should be the American priority

November 16

"Among the current issues facing our government, this one has to rank extremely high," Ambassador Thomas Pickering said of nuclear non-proliferation in Iran. "It's among those challenges, in my view, that is most demanding these days of diplomacy." Pickering, who currently serves as the Senior Vice President for International Relations at The Boeing Company, spoke Wednesday afternoon in the ASEAN Auditorium at the Fletcher School. He has been U.S. ambassador to a long list of countries, including Jordan, Russia, and Israel, and he served as the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs from 1997 to 2000. Stephen Bosworth, Dean of the Fletcher School, introduced Pickering after a brief welcome by Provost and Senior Vice President Jamshed Bharucha. Bosworth called Pickering a "legend in his own time." Pickering, a graduate of Fletcher, methodically presented the situation in Iran in terms of nuclear weapons, building up to how he thinks the United States should respond. He first touched upon the specifics of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the NPT. "Non-proliferation has been a central tenet of American foreign policy since the dawn of the nuclear age," he said. Pickering outlined Iran's argument against the NPT. Various governments across the globe, he said, claim to have information about "clandestine or covert" operations for which Iran uses nuclear power. Pickering's speech was part of Fletcher's Charles Francis Adams Lecture Series. The lecture also inaugurated the Boston Forum, a partnership among Boston College, Boston University and the Fletcher School's Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies. Pickering also spoke about the finer points of Iran's nuclear program; including the nation's continuous enrichment of uranium. Iran contends that "in order to have full autonomy" for fuel production, uranium enrichment is necessary, Pickering said. Uranium enrichment can be used for other purposes besides nuclear weapons. "The more Iran insists that it needs these activities, the more the United States and other countries become suspicious of what Iran is actually doing," Pickering said. Pickering addressed the approach he thinks the U.S. should take. Quoting former U.S. Secretary of State George Schultz, he said, "When you're in a deep hole, stop digging." Negotiations with Iran are "getting close to the bottom of a deep hole," Pickering said. He mentioned the possibilities of a formal treaty to work towards the cessation of uranium production, a prospect unacceptable to countries that want to keep open the option to do so in the future. He also suggested internationalizing production of uranium at low levels for a civil nuclear program. He emphasized the value of a "multilateral approach" to the situation: "I don't think a policy will succeed unless it has enhanced and broader multilateral support," he said. Pickering also stressed the importance of the U.S. joining "the EU three" - Britain, France and Germany - in their talks with Iran. "There is always value in talking and negotiation," he said. "It should be pursued to the utmost." He believes those who think resuming talks gives Iran too much legitimacy "have missed the lessons of the past." He discussed alternative options should negotiations fail, including breaking off trade. By planning ahead, he said, the world could prepare for being cut off from Iran's oil. "Military force should be absolutely the last resort," he said. Pickering concluded his remarks in much the same way he began them, emphasizing the significance of this current concern. "I don't know that any of this will work, but I do know that it's an important enough issue to try," he said.

---

News

Greek life an underestimated asset to the Tufts community

November 16

As a member of the inter-Greek council executive board interviewing potential new board members, I asked applicants questions pertaining to their impressions, ideas and visions for the Greek community at Tufts. I commonly asked the question, "In your opinion, what is one of the major problems facing the Greek system at Tufts?" Hearing the popular answer, "Well, the Daily hates us," made me cringe. I have heard many frustrated students express that a negative Greek image can be attributed to the fact that Greeks are always "slammed in the Daily." Whenever I hear Greeks or non-Greeks say something to this effect, I always respond that unfortunately, the Daily does not make up its stories. I do not think the Daily hates us, and I'm a Greek! As Public Relations Chair of the Inter-Greek Council for the past year, I have maintained the attitude that the Daily does not intend to maliciously slam Greeks. While last spring's headlines were less than desirable as representations of the Tufts Greek community's values, or of Tufts as a whole, I believed the Daily merely reported news. In his interview, a potential applicant for my current position told me he had done some research and had not found a single article that I had written for the Daily about the positive aspects of the Greek system. I told him that he was absolutely correct. I have never written an article to "plug" the Greek system. In my term as Public Relations Chair, I have only submitted information to the Daily about positive Greek efforts and programming. Having faith in the democracy of our campus media, I strongly (perhaps naively) believed that this information alone would contribute to positive press. Since this has not been the case, I look like an idiot and still hear "The Daily hates us" from Greeks and "The Daily hates you" from non-Greeks - which I must admit, is worse. In restoring the Greek image on campus, I do not think it is appropriate to try to mask negative press by personally writing an article emphasizing the positive aspects of the Greek system. Before I continue and list the abundance of recent Greek efforts which may or may not have been overlooked by the Daily, I must stop myself at the risk of being a hypocrite. If I do not personally believe "the Daily hates us," and that it is not my job to try to repair the Greek image by writing "positively spun" articles - why am I doing exactly what I have vowed never to do? In the Tuesday, Nov. 15's Daily, a small shaded box on the bottom left corner of the page two nearly made me choke on my campus center salad. I was infuriated upon seeing the "From the Daily Archives" box on Nov. 15, 1988, "Thinking of increasing your pledge class? Think Again," about Sol Gittleman's efforts to limit the size of the Greek system. The article does not reference the current state of the Greek system or even the current recognition process for Greek new members. It is merely a Greek headline. I cannot make the argument this information is false. I do not think the Daily included this information "because they hate us." However, I cannot help but question the Daily's motivation for printing the information. I completely understand the decision not to report on positive Greek stories when there are other stories which take precedence. I find it inexcusable, though, to go to the archives for a Greek headline when there are plenty to be found. The Daily's most recent selection regarding the Greek system is disappointing and insulting. It has become harder for me to maintain my stance that 'the Daily does not hate us.' Especially when, despite the abundance of Greek activities this semester: Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, sororities participation in the Breast Cancer Walk, participation in Halloween on the Hill, a Fall Semi-Formal, and various other philanthropy projects and community outreach programs, the Daily uses ink to reprint a scandalous headline from the eighties. Luckily, it is not 1988. As a Greek Community, we look forward to spring recruitment where we will "increase our pledge class" with bright men and women. They will come to spring recruitment - if for no other reason than to find out what we are really about (perhaps because they've only read scandalous headlines). They will learn that Greeks are some of the finest leaders on the Tufts campus whose efforts contribute to the Tufts community, local Medford and Somerville communities, and to the global community.

---

News

Who's afraid of 'A Delicate Balance'

November 16

A Pulitzer Prize winner is in our midst as "A Delicate Balance" opens tonight in Balch Arena Theater. Playwright Edward Albee, better known for penning the American classic "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," won a Pulitzer for 1966's "A Delicate Balance." The show, Pen, Paint, and Pretzels' fall major, is a dialogue-driven family drama whose three acts take place entirely in the living room of patriarch Tobias (graduate student Armen Nercessian) and matriarch Agnes (junior Caitlin Johnson). Joining the couple, whose family life, relationship, and emotions teeter in the delicate balance to which the play's title refers, are Agnes's outspoken, alcoholic sister Claire (junior Lizzy Oxler) and their daughter Julia (senior Laura Semine), who at the outset of the play cyclically returns home after her fourth failed marriage. The group's instability exists quietly and without any major complications until close family friends Harry (sophomore Michael Taub) and Edna (senior Betsy Goldman) seek refuge in the already-overflowing home of Tobias and Agnes. The strange, though innocuous, presence of Harry and Edna, who in their own residence have been overwhelmed by an inexplicable terror, sets the play into action. The collection of anxious and emotional houseguests creates an uneasiness and tension in the fragile home and leads to outbursts, breakdowns, and reevaluations. "Thematically, Harry and Edna coming is a catalyst event for the family, specifically Agnes and Tobias, to explore their own personal relationships," said director and graduate student Natka Bianchini. The play's focus on familial and friendly interaction is meant to demonstrate "what time does to relationships and how things are allowed to atrophy over time," said Bianchini. "It explores the idea that as time passes you allow your personal relationships to deteriorate." Actress Laura Semine, who portrays four-time divorce Julia, echoes this idea. "The play works with the idea that when you actually realize how important relationships are and when you finally realize what they've become, it can be jarring," she said. "The breaking point is when people realize that things aren't going to fix themselves." Bianchini chose the piece because she saw it as a "show in which actors could work on and explore very multifaceted characters. It's a great show for actors to work on," she said, "and it's a show that I thought would work really well staged in a full arena." Indeed, the show's intense character portrayals and its creative set design outwardly demonstrate the production's focus on balance. Set designer Alex Sherman [Sherman is a columnist with the Daily], a senior, used ropes to create the illusion of a suspended living room, thus creating on the stage a perpetual apprehension at the possibility of a sudden (though admittedly structurally impossible) scene alteration. The suspension ropes are juxtaposed with an otherwise typical living room, complete with coffee table, sofa, and a mini-bar, into whose contents the play's characters often retreat. The audience "feels the space is familiar," said senior Laura Semine, "but at the same time you don't feel at home." The space externally resembles a typical living room, but function does not follow form and it never serves as a place where the characters can relax. Despite the play's somber tone, Semine said the production was still "a lot of fun." "The chemistry outside the play makes it easier to throw ourselves into the piece, because we use the same energy," she said. In their rehearsals, each of the actors "tried to pull out as much about our character as we could," said Semine. "It was easy for all of us to find something in our character that reflects ourselves, which also helped the chemistry of the cast." For college students, the idea of delicate balance may more immediately evoke the juggling of ten-page papers, six packs, one-night stands, and 8:30 classes, but the play's universal discussion of family and relationships will not be lost on tonight's audience.

---

News

Tread carefully, Google

November 16

Google Inc. has rapidly become the shining star of a newly dynamic tech industry. The company has blossomed as an Internet company. Less than ten years after its conception in a Palo Alto dorm room, the firm is worth billions and controls a rapidly expanding empire. Google has taken its initial search engine breakthrough - which made use of "back links" to categorize and rank site relevance - and extended it to domains which include maps, blogs, photo journals and e-mail. Now, with the Google Print Library Project, the company is aiming to catalog and render searchable the book collections of several major libraries. Google will scan the books. Users will have access to the full text of works not under copyright. Works that are in copyright, however, will only have limited access. The only thing available for these works is surrounding lines of text to the search term. For the entire work, users will have to pay. The program has created enormous backlash from publishers, who have filed lawsuits against the service. Google is promising to push forward despite the challenge. The dispute here lies in the distinction between copyright infringement and online content. Just what constitutes an acceptable use of a copyrighted worked is as of now unclear. The first decade of the Internet has seen flagrant examples of misuse- students downloading thousands of audio and video files off the Internet - paraded in front of the public to demonstrate the evils of theft. These examples should not be used to color the public perception of the innocent Google product. The legal battle which decides the outcome of Google's project will undoubtedly form a cornerstone of internet judicial precedence. That is why this it is critical the court system establish a broad definition of what constitutes "fair use" online. Ultimately what Google is attempting to accomplish is the wide dissemination of available content. The database will be an extremely valuable resource for researchers. Users will be able to search for keywords, though the company is adamant that entire pages will not be available. This is similar to other features already provided by companies such as Amazon.com. Google also allows authors the option to exclude works from the service. As any student knows, one of the most difficult aspects of research is finding the relevant sources. In the early days of the Internet, web crawlers had to be constantly wary about the validity and accuracy of sites. The institutionalization and development of the Internet has created a degree of credibility, and this project is an important part in taking this ideal further. Google is working in conjunction with prestigious libraries with formidable reputations. Users will be able to trust the content of these scanned works is accurate. This is a welcome development in an online world that is still cluttered with far too many spam blogs, fake eBay pages and uninformed rants. As any writer knows, it is not illegal to cite or quote another source. Google has simply taken this concept and exploded it. It is now possible to search for the quote that you want, and use it as a yardstick for future purchases or research. The intent of the project is to provide indications for users, not licensed content. This is not a Napster-era free-for-all, where copyrighted material will be swapped ad infinitum. Google will allow access to only a sampling of content, exposing users to information that they can purchase if that particular snippet is relevant. The domain of internet competition is fierce, and it is rare that more than mega-giants can survive. With everything available only clicks away, superior technology quickly dominates. Google has been widely successful in implementing many of its new features, but it must be wary of its unorthodox methodology. Every step along the way - most notably in last summer's Dutch auction initial public offering - Google has defied industry norms. Google Print Library is another amazing step forward for the company. But it cannot continue to step on investment bankers, Bill Gates' or publishers feet. Eventually Google will pick the wrong challenger, and its wonder boy reputation could go sour. The rogue firm could easily find itself with the same notorious reputation as an online bully as its competitor Microsoft.

---

News

A chance to save a life by taking this simple test

November 16

A bone marrow registry drive was held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the third floor of the campus center Wednesday. The drive was hosted by the Tufts chapter of the Jewish organization Chabad and sponsored by The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry. One hundred and eighty-three people, the large majority of whom were students, agreed to put their name on the registry, "which is a pretty big deal," senior and head organizer Michael Garshick said. Garshick and seniors Chris Lintz and Jordana Starr co-organized this event. Anyone who agreed to put their name on the registry was asked to fill out a medical questionnaire, provide some personal information, and go through a medical screening process. In the screening process, people were asked questions to determine if they were eligible to put their names on the registry. Garshick said people who lived in France, Germany or England for more than six months could not register because of the existence of mad cow disease there. "Most of the people could donate," Garshick said. "We had 10 to 15 who couldn't." Once past the screening process, people were instructed to swab the inside of their cheeks with a cotton swab to get a sample of DNA from cheek cells. These samples were sent to the Gift of Life Registry in Boca Raton, Florida. By adding one's name to the registry, a person requests that he be contacted if it is found that he is a genetic match with someone in need of a bone marrow transplant. If a person is contacted, he will be asked to participate in a number of steps, beginning with a blood test, and possibly ending with a transplant of stem cells, either directly from the bone marrow or from a newer medical technique involving a blood transfusion. According to the American Bone Marrow Donor Registry, the odds of a match suitable for bone marrow transplant are one in 20,000. This chance increases if the donor and recipient are relatives. Freshman Ryan Gendron was one of the last students to sign up. He said he wants to donate because his family friend's son got leukemia. "That kind of woke me up," Gendron said. He tried to get his friends to attend the drive, but few did. "It's hard for them to get motivated unless they personally know someone," he said. Fraternity members from Sigma Nu, Zeta Beta Tau, and Alpha Epsilon Pi, as well as volunteers from Tufts Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) assisted in the administering the drive. Garshick was happy with the student turnout. "There was a continuous flow of people," he said. "We were trying for 300, but 183 is a really good number." Garshick said the event has been in the works for the past month and a half.Rabbi Tsvi Backman, director of a local off-campus Chabad House, originally contacted Garshick with the idea for a registry drive, and helped to recruit people, including himself, for the registry. "Rabbi Backman got the ball rolling," Garshick said. Garshick said that although this was officially a Jewish drive, they recruited anyone who wanted to put their name on the registry. Garshick did not rule out the possibility that this drive could be repeated next year, but said that it might not be worthwhile to put a lot of effort into two drives in consecutive years. "Once you are [registered] you are in until you are 60," he said. Garshick said that the Gift of Life Foundation helped support the drive with materials to conduct the registration, including cotton swab kits, instructions on how to conduct the drive and medical forms. The foundation also paid for the testing of the cotton swab kits, which cost about $80 each.Brian Loeb contributed to this article.

---

News

Terrorists present misguided image of Arabs abroad

November 16

"We are digging a hole, merrily-a-way, assuming that everything's just fine," James Zogby said, referring to America's relations with Arabs and the Middle East. The president of the Arab American Institute spoke against this assumption to a group of about 60 students and other community members in Robinson Hall Wednesday night. Zogby, whose speech was sponsored by Tufts' Arab Students Association, said despite the amount of exchange between the Arab World and the West - in both people and capital - "we are ignorant to what's going on." He used examples from U.S. foreign policy from the aftermath of World War I to the current war in Iraq. The speech began with an example of what Zogby said was America's one-sidedness in the Middle East. "Hillary Clinton goes to Israel to get the lay of the land and assess the situation in the Middle East, yet does not meet with a single Palestinian," he said. He also spoke about the restrictions and conditions put on financial aid for the Palestinians, as well as the press coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He described the impoverished conditions of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and said the primary problem is unemployment - a problem he said is worsened by the separation barrier. He called the separation barrier an "oppressive concrete barrier" that imprisons the Palestinians. Zogby - the brother of polling firm Zogby International CEO John Zogby - spent a great deal of time addressing the current war in Iraq. "Do you ever fight a war with a country you know nothing about?" he asked. He compared the American perspective at the onset of the war with the historical British colonial perspective, with the Arabs playing the role of the helpless "savages." Americans "see the world through caricatures and stereotypes," he said. In this war as in the past, "we never understood or needed to understand," he said. The U.S. can no longer afford to see the enemy as one-dimensional "caricatures," and increased understanding is the first step towards improving relations with the Arab World, Zogby said. He said American politicians were self-serving and cared most about being reelected. Many Congressmen, he said, support reconciliation and evenhandedness in principle but do not try to change U.S. foreign policy. He described the group as the "I'm really with you guys, but..." club. Most of the anger of Arab-Americans is directed towards President George W. Bush and his policies, not the American citizens or their culture, Zogby said. In dealing with stereotypes of Arabs in America, Zogby said a small part has come to represent the whole. "After 9/11, 19 faces became the Arab world," he said. Zogby blamed poverty and lack of economic opportunity for Palestinians as the cause of suicide bombing. He described a generation of children raised with a "sickness" Without the opportunity to gain honor in a conventional way, he said, the source of honor becomes killing oneself. At the end of his speech, Zogby addressed possible solutions for America's problems. "How do you put Humpty Dumpty back together again when it's been shattered?" he said. Zogby endorsed a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said even an interim settlement would help ease tensions. As for Iraq, he said regional cooperation is a necessary component of any solution: "We got into this alone, but we need help to get out," he said. Zogby recommended the Bush Administration start by admitting its mistakes. "You can't find a cure if you don't know you have a disease," he said.

---

News

Franken fails to answer Iraq question

November 16

Al Franken's appearance this Tuesday night may have been the highlight of my fall term so far. I woke up at 8 the week before to wait in line for an hour to get tickets. I ordered his new book online, hoping to read the entire thing before the speech. I could barely sit still in class on Tuesday, nearly giddy with excitement. But the speech was not quite what I had anticipated. He was just as intelligent, clever and committed to his cause as his books led me to believe. But I didn't go home feeling as energized, excited, or as hopeful as I thought I would. For while Franken exemplifies the best the Democratic Party and the progressive movement have to offer, he also displays their greatest shortcoming. I wasn't able to complete Franken's "The Truth (with Jokes)" before Tuesday night, and ended up happy I hadn't. He spent the majority of the evening reciting different examples from the book of Bush and his administration's lies and deceptions, mostly concerning Iraq and the lead-up to war. Many of the jokes were straight out of the book, too (although his impression of the President admitting all his mistakes was both new and hilarious). But by the end of Franken's speech, after all these examples of what was wrong with the case to go to war and was is wrong in Iraq now, I was left with the question "So what do we do now? How do we fix Bush's mistakes in Iraq?" I wanted to ask this to Franken himself, but sadly I waited too long calming my nerves before going up and waiting in line for the mike, and by the time I was next to ask, the young lady near the stage signaled to me that they were all out of time. Oh well. Since almost everything else Franken had said is in the book, the answer to my question might be there as well. In fact, I did find an answer near the end of "The Truth." Sort of. After 60 or so pages of criticisms of the current administration's conduct concerning Iraq, the best solution he offers is "I don't know what to do in Iraq." He discusses some of the different proposals he's heard: stay, leave, bring in more troops, try negotiating with the insurgents. But he defends his indecisiveness by saying that "as much as I and others have agonized over this, it doesn't matter. The Bush administration does not care what you or I think." But it does matter. Not because I believe the Bush administration cares at all, but because all this work to identify and expose the scope of the problem is meaningless if they don't provide solutions. The White House, even with everything it's done wrong so far, has something the left doesn't: a goal for Iraq. Even if that goal, as Franken suggests in "The Truth," is only to get the administration and their cronies rich through lies, deception, and war profiteering, it is still more than the Democrats are offering. One student on Tuesday asked Franken if in his campaign for a Senate seat in '08, which he alludes to in the epilogue of "The Truth," he is just riding his current wave of popularity of if he has any positions on the major issues. Franken responded by saying that if he had read the epilogue, he would have found what Franken's positions are. And they are in the epilogue. Not one of them concern Iraq. Not one. How is he, or any of the other Democratic candidates in '06 and '08, going to win back the House and the Senate? On domestic issues alone? Simply put, the Democrats need some stance on Iraq policy. Obviously they can't run on a "stay the course" platform, and a "cut-and-run" solution would only throw an already unstable region into chaos. But an "I don't know" stance is even worse. It seems to me that any time a Democrat is asked "What should we do in Iraq?" the only answer they give is "We shouldn't have gone in the first place." Maybe I'm crazy, but that doesn't seem to me like an answer at all. Unless, of course, Democrats plan on creating a time machine and running a sort of "Leaders of Yesterday" campaign. Maybe Democrats have been focused so much on the deception and lies of the past and the present, they've forgotten to look towards the future. I hate to have to criticize the Democrats this way, because I really want them to succeed. I'm a registered Democrat myself, and I would love to see my party lead this country in a new and brighter direction. But we can't lead the country if we don't have a direction in which to lead. It doesn't have to be a perfect strategy, but the country needs to know that the Democrats have some plan to lead us out of the quagmire the Republican leadership has gotten us into. Maybe I'm wrong about all this. Maybe the Democrats do have a plan for Iraq, but just haven't been vocal enough for people like me, people who aren't political junkies, people who prefer "The Daily Show" to "Meet the Press," to hear the message. Or maybe they've been so focused on criticizing the right because they seek only to win elections rather than advance policy. I hope not. It's possible that Bush has screwed up so badly that there actually is no good solution to Iraq, but I doubt it. Whatever the case, though, I do agree that the Bush administration has failed us, and we need to move in a new direction. They say that "knowing the problem is half the solution." I think now it's time for Democrats to move on to the other half.

---

News

Experienced Jumbos look to build on last year

November 16

The ice hockey team's 12-12-1 record last season was Tufts' best in the last four years. But with just four departed seniors and virtually all its major offensive and defensive threats returning, the team knows it can keep improving. "This year we are looking to be a lot more competitive than last season," senior assistant co-captain Jack Thompson said. "We lost some good players, but we've got a good freshman class that hopefully will replace them" Offensively, the Jumbos will be led by senior co-captain Kenny Cleary and assistant senior co-captain Matt McCarthy. McCarthy had a breakout season last year, leading the team in scoring with 29 points on 19 goals and ten assists. Cleary, the active career points leader for Tufts, chipped in ten goals and nine assists for 19 points, good for fourth on the squad in 2004-2005. "In order for the team to do well this year, our offense is going to have to play great defense," sophomore Ross Gimbel said. "Offensive plays start from the defensive zone. Our forwards are strong and powerful in the offensive zone and we should be able to dominate the play in the corners and score on our chances." The team will also look to sophomore Greg O'Connell to chip in on the offensive end. O'Connell, one of the top first-years in the NESCAC/ECAC East last season, led Tufts in assists last season with 18, while chipping in ten goals for a total of 28 points. The team also has several promising freshmen that will likely see action immediately on offense. "With the addition of new freshmen who have the ability to step in and perform, we hope to continue to improve from last year as we compete against some of the best defenses in the nation," Cleary said. The Jumbo defense will be led this season by Thompson and senior co-captain Pat Walsh. Both have been mainstays in the Tufts zone for the past two seasons and will contribute again this year. Sophomore goalkeeper James Kalec, now with a year of experience under his belt, should be even more impressive this season than he was in his rookie year. In 2004-2005, the then-freshman broke a 49-year Tufts record, recording 60 saves in a 4-1 win over Colby. Along with classmate and fellow keeper Issa Azat, Kalec struggled against the high-powered attacks of NESCAC programs, but should fare much better against teams like Trinity and Middlebury this time around with the year of experience behind them. "It will be difficult for James to top his performance from last year," Thompson said. "But I think after playing a full season at this level of play, he'll be better adjusted." The 12-12-1 Jumbos were the eighth seed in the conference last year, earning the last of eight playoff berths. The season was highlighted by wins against Amherst, Colby and Hamilton-all of which finished above Tufts in the standings - as well as a tie with No. 4 Bowdoin. After starting the season off slowly at 4-7, the Jumbos picked up the slack during the spring semester, going 8-5-1 to close out the regular year. After an 8-10-1 finish in the conference, first-place Trinity ended the Jumbos' season with a 9-2 drubbing in the first round of the playoffs. Tufts boasts a more experienced and polished squad this season, and the Jumbos will find out tomorrow if that experience will play out on the ice as they open their season at the Malden Forum at 7:00 p.m. against Middlebury. "I think our main goal is to win the league," Thompson said. "And I really think we can accomplish that if we work hard enough." A complimentary shuttle will be provided for students who wish to attend the team's home opener tomorrow. The "Fan Bus" will be departing from the campus center at 6:45 p.m.

---