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Housing lottery changes approved

November 13

Most students want the housing lottery system changed - and thanks to their votes, they are weeks away from seeing their desires realized. In an online survey that lasted from Thursday, Nov. 10 through 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, 69.1 percent of students approved a set of proposed changes made by the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate. Out of the 1,003 students who participated, 15.1 percent did not support the changes, and 15.8 percent were indifferent. The proposed system consisted of students receiving their housing lottery numbers for sophomore, junior and senior year all at once in December of freshman year. The numbers for sophomore and senior years would be reciprocal - that is, the student who received the lowest number sophomore year would receive the highest number senior year. Junior year would continue to be randomly assigned. For double rooms, the roommates' lottery numbers would be averaged when deciding when the pair picks a room. The proposal also included a strategy for filling the new Sophia Gordon Hall. Seniors would be given priority in room selection, and 18 of the 21 suites would be assigned in a pre-lottery application process. The approved changes will go into effect immediately. According to TCU President Jeff Katzin, the University is working on the mechanics of the reciprocity process, which Katzin said should take about a week. After Thanksgiving, freshmen, sophomores and juniors will be assigned their lottery number for next year. Soon after, freshmen will get their junior and senior year numbers and information on what the numbers mean. The changes will only affect freshmen. Of the sophomores, juniors and seniors, Katzin said, 76 percent approved the changes. "We see this as a clear signal that our intentions [to change the lottery] will be an improvement over the old system," he said. "The fact that upperclassmen, who have experienced the lottery before, voted in favor of it is a great indication." Katzin has been working on changes to the housing lottery system since his sophomore year. He worked on these changes with Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, Assistant Bursar for Housing Operations James Moodie, Director of Residential Life and Learning Yolanda King and Associate Dean of Students Marisel Perez. Katzin first proposed the changes to the student body in an e-mail Nov. 3. "The idea behind the system was to have as much fairness as possible," Katzin said. "There was no way I would make a decision like this before going to the Tufts community first." Sophomore Michael Cronin said the changes are a good start. "I was lucky to get a good number [freshman year], but I know a lot of people who got a bad lottery number this year and got placed in bad housing freshman year," he said. "It is good that [the new strategy] tries to equalize the good and the bad numbers." Previous changes to the system included the elimination of the option for sophomores planning on studying abroad during spring of junior year to participate in a fall-only lottery. After the failure to fulfill its goal of releasing lottery numbers before Winter Break in 2001, the Office of Residential Life and Learning changed the system and released the numbers earlier the next year, in Dec. 2002. Sophomore Vince Weisband was in favor of the most recent changes. "I think that the system is a good way to make things fair," he said. "I like that they are going to take the average of the numbers in a double. It seems strange that the number for junior year is still random... but it is good that they are trying new things."

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News

Banana Republic Insights | Rushing a free trade agreement is risky business

November 13

BUENOS AIRES - The conclusion of the fourth Summit of the Americas was marred by the lack of a trade agreement between the 34 nations that visited Mar del Plata, Argentina. For the first time ever, I agree with Hugo Chavez: this may be a good thing. Though I would hardly call the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) an "annexationist plan," as did Chavez, I do not believe that it is the right plan for Latin America at this juncture. Rushing a free trade agreement in an area that is larger than the European Union is risky and could have negative results. The FTAA plan calls for the tearing down of trade barriers, which could have dangerous repercussions for industries that provide countless jobs throughout the region. Though it's hard to justify Chavez's claims that the United States supported FTAA is an "annexationist plan," I believe the pragmatism displayed by Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay is commendable. It isn't always easy to say no to the "big brother in the north," especially when 29 other countries have already expressed support for the United States. Brazil and Argentina refused to sign a joint communique indorsing the FTAA and instead advocated waiting for the conclusion of the Doha round of the World Trade Organization's negotiations. The Doha round has the potential to have a far better impact on Latin America as it is focused on expanding free trade in a way that doesn't hurt developing countries. It is also important, however, to not succumb to a false notion of liberal economic theories. Because economic extremism currently threatens Latin American economic policies, many Latin American citizens tend to think that free trade is either a tool of American imperialism or a solution to all of their problems; the middle ground is becoming increasingly lonely. In terms of the recent international economic agreements, this sort of extremism is exemplified by the polarization of the debate concerning the FTAA and the Chavez-endorsed ALBA (the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America and the Caribbean). Rushing into a trade accord that is not suitably designed for the region could bankrupt small businesses, increase unemployment, and, given the region's history, lead to political turmoil. Still, the ALBA, with all its populism, is so far fetched that it does not offer a viable alternative. It takes advantage of Venezuela's oil and today's high prices, though neither factor is bound to last forever. It is also extremely anti-business (for example, it is does not support "intellectual property right regimes") and would undoubtedly stifle growth. The Doha round presents a worthwhile alternative that strives to find middle ground. It acknowledges the intense pressures that developing countries often confront when bargaining with more developed countries, and it limits the emphasis that previously has been placed on private wealth. But before any real progress is made during the Doha round, or any other sort of free trade talks for that matter, political leaders will have to come to terms with the fact that their hypocrisy and appeasement of interest groups must come to an end. In the United States and the European Union, agricultural subsidies will have to be seriously reduced. Here, President Bush has made considerable progress and can legitimately criticize the French for dragging their feet. Bush has backed the idea set forth by the Group of 20 developing nations (G-20) that only one percent of a nation's agricultural product should receive protection. The European Union wanted to protect eight percent. In addition, subsidies will have to become far more transparent. Oxfam, for example, has accused the United States and the European Union of an Enronesque cooking of the books in order to make agricultural subsidies appear smaller. Whether this claim is true or not, it obviously has a detrimental effect on all negotiations. Meanwhile, in Latin America it must be understood that local industries cannot be so heavily protected. Markets have to be opened and developed so that they can become more competitive and efficient. All sorts of politically driven market interventions (price freezes in Argentina or government-run supermarkets in Venezuela) have to be limited, despite potential political backlashes. For the time being, all parties will be best served by the lack of an agreement in Mar del Plata. Hopefully though, the diplomatic chaos will be used to propel negotiations and help developing and developed nations find common ground in Doha negotiations. Until that happens, the most important thing we will hear from the trade summits will be about Central American caudillos and burnt-out soccer stars. Personally, I would rather wait for news from the diplomats.Martin Kielmanowicz is a junior majoring in international relations. He is currently studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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News

Ooh baby, baby, it's a wiki world

November 13

When junior Mickey Leibner went to see the movie "Good Night, and Good Luck" last week, his curiosity about the movie's subject - CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow's fight against 1950s McCarthyism - was piqued. So when Leibner got home that night, he did something that has become a habit for him: he visited the free, interactive online encyclopedia Wikipedia. "I looked up Edward Murrow because I was interested in how factual the movie was," said Leibner, who visits Wikipedia "probably once a day." Leibner is far from alone. Since its inception in 2001, Wikipedia - which utilizes "wiki" technology that enables site visitors to edit any and all of its entries - has grown into a go-to reference source that boasts entries on everything from historical figures to scientific advances to pop-culture ephemera. About 350,000 people have added to or edited the site's two million-plus entries, more than 814,000 of which are in English - and accessing those entries has become a part of many college students' daily routine. "I usually visit Wikipedia at least once per day," junior Liz Kulik said. "I check the main page to see what's in the 'current events' or 'this day in history' sections. [And] when I have a bet with someone about something, whatever Wikipedia says is the answer!" "I am a huge Wikipedia supporter," said sophomore Will Kent, who estimates that he visits the site at least four times a week. "It's dangerous, though, because I could spend hours on it." Within the academic realm, however, Wikipedia's popularity has implications that are potentially dangerous in a different respect: when conducting research or putting together a paper, students may overestimate the site's authoritativeness and forego the use of more traditional - and more trustworthy - sources. "A student may want to use Wikipedia as a quick starting point, but I'd want them to use library resources to double-check any facts that they've found," said Anna Neatrour, an associate librarian at the Tisch Library who specializes in emerging research technologies. "I hope that [students] realize that it isn't an authoritative source of information." Neatrour, who visits Wikipedia when she's looking for fast information "about computer programming languages or pop-culture topics," added that the library subscribes to "hundreds of online dictionaries and encyclopedias for students to use that are more authoritative sources than Wikipedia." And professors expect their students to rely on those sources rather than Wikipedia. "Usually, for researched essays, I'll ask my students to stick to peer-reviewed journal articles and books," said English Lecturer Brian Jordan, adding that he doesn't believe any of his students have referenced Wikipedia in their papers. "Information must always be checked, but especially in the case of unregulated sites, where anyone can post anything," said Associate English Professor Sonia Hofkosh. "I urge my students to consult sites that are managed by scholarly institutions or organizations." It might not have a place in an academic paper's official bibliography or footnotes, but Wikipedia can in fact play a role in getting that paper off the ground. Though she "would never try to cite Wikipedia because [she doesn't] think it's really an academic source," Kulik found the site to be a helpful jumping-off point for a research paper she was writing during finals last semester. "I didn't really know where to begin, [so] I Wikipedia'd my subject and used the broad, overview-type info to point me in the right direction," she said, adding that "Wikipedia also provides a list of real, published sources and helpful websites for most entries." "I have used Wikipedia for courses - IR, Spanish, Intro to World Music," Kent said. "There is some really comprehensive stuff." "It helped me with a presentation I was doing - I used it to research some general stuff," said junior Jeff Bourgeois, who only recently began visiting Wikipedia. "So far, with what little experience I have, it seems to be a valid Web site for me to conduct general research. Perhaps not for formal papers, but if I was looking to do some informal research for an informal paper or essay, Wikipedia is probably the first place I'd look now." Leibner has also found Wikipedia to be, "in a limited sense," academically useful. "When writing papers, I sometimes refer to Wikipedia for background purposes - to check a date, for instance," he said. "I never quote or cite it, however, because I don't think it's reliable or authoritative enough to have a place in an academic paper." But it is "an interesting and successful use of social software," according to Neatrour, who is currently using the software that powers Wikipedia for a library project. Though she said she is "sometimes concerned that people may use Wikipedia instead of a more reliable reference book or encyclopedia," she also said that she thinks "wiki software in general opens up new possibilities for collaboration in academia." Neatrour cited the example of Bowdoin College English professor Mark Phillipson, whose wiki collaboration with his students was featured in a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article. According to the article, Phillipson is one of a growing number of educators that view wiki sites as a way to "promote a more casual, flexible form of class discussion than blogs and message boards." The casualness and flexibility of wiki technology plays into its popularity. "I think Wikipedia is popular because it is quick and easy to use," Neatrour said. "Bloggers often link to Wikipedia articles, which will cause Wikipedia to come up often in Google search results. Wikipedia also covers topics that traditional encyclopedias don't, such as current events or recent pop culture topics." "A lot of things wouldn't be interesting if we didn't know that we could find details and background on Wikipedia," Kulik agreed. And of course, the same thing that makes Wikipedia a non-authoritative academic source - the fact that anyone who visits the site can contribute to it - also fuels the site's allure. "Um, yes, actually," said Leibner when asked whether he had ever contributed to a Wikipedia entry. "It was a politically oriented article, and I revised it to remove a few phrases that were obviously, in my opinion, biased in favor of the right-wing point of view."

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News

Successful events go unnoticed

November 13

As a senior and a member of the Black community, I am writing because I have been highly offended by the lack of respect shown by the Daily for events hosted by the Black community and the frequent stereotypical portrayal of our community. There have been two major events within the last week or so and the Daily has given each event only negative press. On Saturday, November 5th, African Student Organization (ASO) hosted "Break the Stage," a step competition which featured multiple teams from other schools. Though the show had its initial difficulties, it was still a very successful event that attracted people from all over Massachusetts. The only mention of the show after the performance in the Daily was of an incident that affected four of the performers in the show ("A Scary Night for Dance," Nov. 7, 2005). In that snippet of information nothing positive was said about the show. The article failed to mention which teams competed or who even won the competition. The article's title, "A Scary Night for Dance," is negative and further shows a lack of respect for the event. The snippet didn't even discuss the performances of the two Tufts teams, which were both amazing. "Break the Stage" won The Standing Room Only Award last year, but the Daily failed to mention that as well. The focus was only on the negative. On Monday, Nov. 7th, Pan African Alliance (PAA) hosted Black Solidarity Day. There were three main components to the day: the rally on the Campus Center patio, a dinner in Dewick, and a discussion about leadership in the Black community. Just like the snippet of an article about "Break the Stage," the picture and quotation about Black Solidarity Day misrepresented the day's event and solely focused on a negative aspect ("I'm asking you to recognize," November 8, 2005). Without describing the event or giving any history about the event, the Daily uses a picture and highly inflammatory quotation from PAA President Ashley Mitchell. The Daily should have had more respect to not use the quote and especially not as a large title for the picture. Even worse, the quote that was used did not even relate to the topic of the discussion, on which the reporter was supposed to be reporting; the quote was used simply because it is inflammatory. Even if the Daily insisted on using the quotation, why couldn't they use it along with information about the background and importance of Black Solidarity Day? From the caption and the picture, a reader who knows nothing about the event or the day would learn absolutely nothing about the event. I always thought good journalism was to inform; apparently, that is not what the Daily seeks to do in every article, picture, or caption. Black Solidarity Day is about unifying any student that identifies with being Black: African, Caribbean, biracial ... anyone. For the Daily to use that caption, which goes against the purpose of Black Solidarity Day, is a complete misrepresentation of Black Solidarity Day, PAA and its President, and, especially, the Black community at Tufts. The picture that accompanied the caption was stereotypical. When you take the stereotypical picture of angry black females and combine it with a seemingly angry quote, it continues to give the impression that the Black community is not accepting of biracial students, which is completely not true. I am very offended that the Daily is even hinting at this. Anyone with a lack of knowledge about the Black community and the inner workings of it can easily jump to conclusions from this article. Overall, both snippets contributed to the lack of understanding between the various cultures present at Tufts and the promotion of stereotypes that already plague members of the Black community. The snippets also illustrate the Daily's lack of respect for events hosted by the Black community and the use of inflammatory language to entice and enrage students. The Daily is not trying to sell newspapers. Does it need to use provocative language to get readers?Jeanna Morris is a senior majoring in political science and community health.

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News

Survey asks students to report cheating habits, policy knowledge

November 13

A professor at the Rutgers Business School is out to discover just how much college students cheat and why. Donald McCabe - a professor in management and global business - is conducting the third round of his national survey of college students, and Tufts is among the 28 schools participating. McCabe previously conducted the survey in 1990 and 1995. Tufts was also part of the survey before. "When this work was originally done ten years ago," Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said, "the results for Tufts were similar to that of the other institutions. But they were very surprising in that close to half the students admitted that they had cheated on three or more occasions." Reitman encouraged this year's sophomores, juniors and seniors to respond to McCabe's voluntary survey in an e-mail Nov. 7. This year's survey features questions on the University's penalties for cheating, the clarity of the policies, and the frequency of cheating. McCabe first conducted the study 15 years ago, using a questionnaire developed by William Bowers for his doctoral dissertation at Columbia University. McCabe has made changes to the questions based on his results from previous surveys. "Sometimes students or administrators give me ideas and I keep on revising it," McCabe said. "But I don't make revisions unless they make sense with the data I've collected." McCabe has changed specific questions and varied the length of the survey, but he said the current survey is similar to the one from ten years ago. "Basically I'm trying to find out students' attitudes about academic dishonesty and what kinds of things students are doing," McCabe said. "I'm trying to identify areas that would be the most fruitful for students to work on." One of the things that has increased since Bowers' work in the 1960s is the likelihood of students to work together when they are asked for individual work, McCabe said. Students give many reasons for their decision to work together even when asked not to, he said, including that it is easier to learn together and that they do not have enough time to do the work on their own. "Hopefully these results could guide different policies in the classroom to eliminate this trend," McCabe said. His research has also shown a correlation between students' grade point average and their likelihood to cheat. "It's kind of a U-shape relationship," he said. "Students at the bottom of the GPA spectrum, the ones that are really struggling, maybe they're on an athletic scholarship, tend to self-report more cheating. But then the high-end hypercompetitive students, maybe the ones striving for a doctorate, that will only accept Harvard and Stanford, also report a fair amount of cheating." "You see a little bit more at the bottom but it's at both ends," McCabe said. The questions in the last survey outlined the definition of cheating - on exams, class work, projects or any form of graded material. "It was a bigger deal than we had expected," Reitman said. "At that time there was a great deal of interest in honor codes and academic integrity and whether they were diminishing and the research addressed that. It's of great interest to see if over the past ten years things have changed." Each of the 28 schools participating in the survey this year participated previously. Of the schools, 14 are traditional honor code schools, and 17 are not. An honor code school is a school where students sign a pledge that they will do their own work honestly, report students who are cheating, and observe a high standard of behavior. Exams are typically not proctored and are often take-home. While McCabe's results from ten years ago showed that honor code schools demonstrated a little less academic dishonesty than non-honor code schools, the system does not always work well, Reitman said. Reitman said it was unlikely Tufts would adopt an honor code system. "It's difficult to suddenly become an honor code school because you can't change people's attitudes now that they're here," he said. "An honor code school is something that students have to look for and apply to in advance with the knowledge they will be committing to that standard." McCabe's survey is voluntary, which could lead to some inaccuracies in the results. Typically only 15 to 20 percent of the students at a particular school respond to the survey, he said. At all of the schools combined, about 5,000 to 6,000 students respond. "Suppose I found out that 92 percent of the students at Tufts reported cheating on a test," McCabe said. "I wouldn't trust that data or say it is true of all the students at Tufts. There's a lot of reasons why people wouldn't want to self-report their cheating." He said, though, that if a certain amount of students are willing to report their cheating, he assumes there are even more who are not reporting it. McCabe also considers it important to compare students from different groups, such as athletes versus non-athletes, and high GPA versus low GPA. "I think those comparisons are informative but in terms of taking the exact level of cheating I don't think the survey is highly reliable," he said. "But if for example I found that the average cheating was 30 percent, and at Tufts it was 60 percent, I'd say, 'Tufts, you have a problem.'" McCabe said the biggest effect of his research has been on increasing awareness of cheating, though he said, "I don't know if I've been successful in helping to reduce cheating." He started the Center for Academic Integrity at Rutgers to make research on cheating available to schools, host conferences and help schools develop academic integrity policies. The Center is now at Duke University and has over 390 member high schools and colleges. "I think there's a lot of evidence that ethics and morals in general have declined in the past few decades," he said. "I'm trying to see if it's possible to reverse that trend on college campuses." The survey at Tufts will last for three of four weeks, McCabe said. This year's effort began a month ago, and all the schools are expected to have completed the survey within about 45 to 60 days. Tufts is one of only four schools doing the survey only online. The other 24 have a written component, which McCabe said makes the process take longer. Four are only doing the survey on paper, and 20 are doing the survey both on paper and online. Reitman said he was looking forward to McCabe's report. "Is academic honesty an issue at Tufts?" he asked. "I'd like to find that out again. I think that's a critical question." The Dean of Students Office gets over 100 reports of cheating in class work each year, Reitman said. "I don't know if that's the tip of the iceberg."

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News

Tufts Financial Group Corner | Evergreen Solar will seek to benefit from changing demand

November 13

The recent hurricanes to hit the southern states - Katrina, Rita and Wilma - which caused severe flooding and oil and natural gas price spikes, forced the money-conscious to seriously consider alternative means of energy. One of the main alternatives is solar power, which remains a largely untapped resource. With the current market trends and these disasters, solar panels are poised to become a large industry. Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR), based in Marlboro, Mass., is one of the main leading solar panel providers in the United States. The company is currently working on producing thinner and less expensive solar cells using a process called Thin Ribbon. The process requires less silicon than previous methods and would yield a greater profit margin. Although the stock has had a recent run-up in its price, this is still a very strategic investment for the next three years. The current energy crisis may subside, but supplies will continue to be tight. Demand is increasing for oil and gas throughout the world. Third world countries are developing and increasing their consumption. As a country produces more, it also consumes more resources. A prime example of this is rapidly expanding Chinese juggernaut. The future of solar panels lies in electricity generation for the home and office. Solar panels are a one-time purchase and transfer the sun's heat energy into useable electricity in order to run numerous applications, including water pumping, communications, outdoor lighting, recreational vehicles and stand-alone or grid-connected AC applications. Although the solar panel will probably be more expensive in the short run, if individuals plan on staying in the same location for some time, they are a very cost-effective way to get electricity into a house. The Natural Gas Weekly Update estimated the average U.S. household that uses natural gas will spend approximately $260 this winter. Natural gas prices have risen approximately 43 percent from last year, and heating oil prices have also risen substantially, with consumers expected to pay 32 percent more than usual. Evergreen Solar Inc. is well positioned to go forward. As Americans search for cheaper ways to heat their houses in the winter and run appliances year-round, the company will be there to fill the gap in the marketplace. ESLR's financial health is not perfect right now. It is still losing money on their product, but their total sales are increasing substantially. The company's total revenue has risen about 250 percent in the two year period from December 2002 to 2004. Costs have also increased because the company must produce, market and sell more string ribbon solar cells. But costs have only increased 140 percent during the same time period, which indicates that as ESLR sells more solar cells, the company will eventually break into the green. This has obviously been reflected in the stock price, as it has increased substantially in value. There is still money to be made in this forward-looking solar panel. ESLR is producing thinner, more inexpensive solar panels that can be marketed to a greater number of individuals. This is going to raise their margins, pushing the company towards profitable operations. Solar panels are not yet a necessity but they will become much more needed as countries use more and more natural resources and begin to empty reserves for energy. ESLR should expect to increase in value from its current price of $8.34 to the $12 to $15 range in a year. Alain Digon is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. He currently manages a relative's portfolio which contains shares of ESLR.

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News

Going beyond the master narrative

November 13

In 1982, Vincent Chin, a 27-year-old Chinese-American, was beaten to death with a bat following a confrontation in a Detroit bar. His murderers (Ron Ebens and Michael Nitz) received a $3,000 fine and never spent a day in jail. How could such an atrocity have come and gone without drawing the notice of the masses? We've all heard of Rodney King. But have you ever heard of Vincent Chin? If not, you're not alone. Far from it. Few students have ever heard of the litany of similar hate crimes that have victimized Asian-Americans. These stories and the accompanying history of oppression that Asian-Americans, along with other minorities of color, have faced are not taught to students in the established formal educational system -- whether they are in kindergarten, 12th grade, or, in most cases, college. To ignore the suffering of an entire group of people is to erase them from our collective memory. By not teaching about racism, we in essence teach future generations that it did not exist. We also teach that racism today, stripped of its historical context, does also not actually exist. The ultimate message conveyed is that nothing needs to be done now to counteract the harmful effects of racism. Who suffers the brunt of this illusion, and who decides what is important enough to be taught? The exclusion of Asian Americans from American history enforces the conception of Asian-Americans as "foreigners," as not "true Americans" (to use the terminology of a radio DJ last year who attacked an Asian American running for political office) despite the fact that they have been here since the mid-1800s. It also indirectly lends credence to the "model minority myth" which depicts all Asian-Americans as upper-middle-class, well-to-do, hardworking, quiet overachievers. They are a "model minority" that doesn't get under anyone's feet. There is no education to provide counterevidence of the Asian Americans that are struggling, lower-class, oppressed. This gap-filled education misleads Asian-Americans and non-Asian-Americans alike. Asian-Americans grow up with this image, and learn to believe that this is the archetype to which they are or should aspire. Although the Asian-American population is diverse and many do not resemble the "model minority," many come to believe that they cannot claim the identity of being Asian American if their personalities do not fit the limited mold. It is the only model they have of an Asian who is mainstream and assimilated into American culture. Education is an important way of dispelling these misconceptions. Take a look into the typical American curriculum. What do you see? Chinese laborers building the continental railroad? Exclusion acts that implied "justice for all" applied to us? That Chinatowns that weren't born out of choice, but out of exclusion? Anti-miscegenation laws that strived to keep white blood pure? Deportation and detention? Vincent Chin gasping his last breaths in the name of mistaken stereotypes? None of the above? At Tufts, Asian Americans hardly see themselves in the curriculum. The current master narrative in our textbooks fails to include ethnic minorities. With rising Asian American enrollment in universities, the model minority myth becomes perpetuated. How do we break down barriers and shatter glass ceilings? With a diverse curriculum that includes the histories of all peoples, goes beyond the black-white paradigm, students can broaden their comfort zones. Hate crimes stem from miseducation and ignorance. With hate, comes fear. Race relations will never ease if we do not attempt to understand one another. In an institution that prides itself on diversity and acceptance, we cannot afford to neglect entire groups of people. Unlike many leading universities of our country, Tufts has failed to recognize the need for an Asian American studies program. And no, it's not the same as Asian studies. This struggle isn't just about getting another professor or another class. What we're asking for is the decency of a university to recognize a marginalized group as worthy of validated existence. We're not asking the student body to stand behind us. We're simply asking you all to stand beside us in this long, overdue battle of false hopes, an uncooperative administration, and blatant neglect.

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News

Asia-Pacific Economics | For Beijing ex-pats housing market can be confounding

November 13

Beijing's real estate market is becoming a major concern for the Chinese government. Luxury villas, which now permeate the Beijing skyline, are a major aspect of the problem. These villas are gaudy compounds that advertise western-style housing, individual lawns, clubhouses, and excessive luxury services. Even the casual tourist will find these gated communities hard to miss, as they saturate the ring roads of suburban Beijing and dot the inner city. The housing market in Beijing is dynamic. Foreign residents in the city have been increasing with the greater international business presence and foreign investment in China. For these foreigners, 1993 represented a watershed year in the housing market. Before that year the availability of apartments and offices were limited and expensive. Foreigners lived in diplomatic compounds and businessmen both lived and worked out of hotel rooms. Relief eventually came with reforms that allowed foreigners to buy or lease property. The government began to license specific real estate for sale on the foreign market. There is now an ever-increasing demand for foreign real estate. Some are now saying a supply side shock has begun, which is manifesting itself in an overabundance of office space, apartments and luxury villas. The truth is more complex. Prices over the past decade have fluctuated, and each area of the real estate market is different. Office property has a vacancy rate of only 10 percent in Beijing - surprising given the great number of office towers that loom over the city. Luxury villas, however, have exceeded their limits and the government has been forced to deny any future loans for housing projects that include luxury villas. Empty or half-finished villas scatter the outskirts of Beijing, although foreign market apartments seem to have a more stable rate of sale/vacancy. The government's call for intensified management over real estate credit has been one of the largest developments in the current Chinese real estate market. The policy, according to consultants, has been instituted to facilitate healthy advances in the market and balance supply and demand. Although the policy may harm single-project firms, in the long-run large developers will benefit. Larger firms may then be able to operate more efficiently, ultimately allowing the consumers to benefit. It is estimated that the number of villas priced at over 5 million yuan ($600,000) will be 7,000 in the next two years. The total sales volume of luxury villas is projected to be around 30 billion yuan - a substantial part of Beijing's total sales volume estimate of 45 billion yuan. This huge gap poses a complex problem for the government, which hopes to improve real estate conditions for the poor without undercutting the rich. This high risk aspect of the economy has increased trepidation among investors. China's luxury real estate problem now includes almost all of the country's urban areas, but Beijing still is the most worrisome. Five of the country's ten most expensive villas are in the capital. Foreign companies and embassies often rent such real estate for their employees, but the local Chinese who live in these affluent homes are at the uppermost echelons of society. China's economic growth has had many toothaches, and real estate is one of the most painful. For now the government needs to step cautiously, regulating the market without harming development.Gregory Meiselbach is a freshman who has not yet declared a major.

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News

A stronger yuan makes for a stronger China

November 13

As China smugly adapts to its role as the second biggest economy in the world, the revaluation of its currency, the yuan, seems inevitable. The country ended the Yuan's ten-year peg to the dollar this July, and the world has been awaiting further appreciation of the Yuan with much anticipation. The U.S. National Association of Manufacturers currently estimates the Yuan to be undervalued by 40 percent. It has been pressuring China into appreciating its currency to stabilize bilateral trade deficits - which in 2004 topped $162 billion. As China's export market continues to profit from the low value of the yuan, U.S. manufacturers and workers are increasingly losing jobs to their Chinese counterparts. Along with the U.S., Japan and Thailand are pushing for reform of the Yuan after continuously trying to appreciate their own currencies against the dollar. As China is increasingly forced to undertake economic reforms to adapt to the international market, it is not clear to what extent foreign demands for an appreciation of the Yuan will really yield positive results. With a closer look, it becomes apparently that China itself might have the most to gain through appreciation. Secretary of Treasury John Snow adopted an unexpectedly lax approach in his talks when visiting China this October. He emphasized the importance for China of creating an economic market less dependent on exports and more open to foreign investment. But Snow is willing to extend the deadline for China. Snow has also put an end to the speculation that the U.S. will charge China of currency manipulation in its biannual study of foreign exchange practices later this year. There are a couple of reasons for this change in strategy. China is one of the main buyers of U.S. government bonds and is helping to keep U.S. interest rates low. If it appreciates, China will cut back on its purchases, causing interest yields on Treasury and mortgage-backed securities to soar. Though U.S. manufacturers have invariably been suffering blows in profit through losing big contracts and jobs to China, there is no guarantee that these jobs will return to the U.S. They might go to other low-wage countries instead. A stronger yuan will increase already high oil prices. China is currently amongst the biggest importers of oil and a higher value of the yuan will allow China to purchase even more oil for lower prices, as oil prices are set in dollars in worldwide. Though a revaluation of the yuan might thus not be as advantageous for the U.S. as initially perceived, China itself will largely profit from this economic reform. In the short-run, immediately increasing the value of the yuan will trigger unemployment and curtail growth in China's export-based economy. Many Chinese manufactures might lose foreign contracts to competition in other low-wage countries. But in the long term, an appreciation of the yuan will help certain business sectors of the country. China's automakers for instance rely strongly on imported parts, and a stronger yuan will decrease their cost of production. A stronger yuan will also decrease China's economic dependence on exports and encourage investment in services improving China's infrastructure, such as electricity, food and education. It will help China as it embarks on its path towards true financial modernization, encouraging reforms in its banking and investment system. China might soon be the number one economy in the world. A stronger yuan will enable China to be stable enough to lead when that time comes. Shrutih Tewarie is a freshman who has not yet declared a major.

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International Investor | The morning sun rises again on Japan

November 13

The nation that many predicted would one day surpass the United States as the globe's biggest economic force was dealt a harsh blow when its stock market crashed in 1989. A subsequent collapse of the real estate market, a failure of the banking system as a whole, and lagging economic growth has left little room for optimism in the Japanese capital markets during the past 16 years. Times are changing. For the first time in a long while, investors are putting their faith in Japan. The Nikkei 225, an index composed of Japan's top 225 companies, has risen in value over 20 percent this year. Over the same period, the Dow Jones has dropped in value nearly 3 percent and the S&P 500 has remained virtually unchanged. Most of the demand for shares of Japanese corporations is coming from outside the country. One quarter of all shares are owned by foreign investors. While a lack of domestic confidence in the markets is hardly a positive sign, Chris Wood, the chief Asian equity strategist at Asian Investment Bank CLSA, argues that as the market continues to rise, the Japanese will eventually gain the confidence to begin investing. If they do, a sudden surge in demand could drive prices even higher. There are several causes for this market optimism. Corporate earnings are steadily rising, banks have increased profitable loans while lowering the number of bad loans, and more consistent GDP growth have all contributed to greater investor confidence. Real estate has not recovered as soundly. During the first half of this year, residential real estate in Tokyo rose in value - the first time in 15 years. But land value fell for the rest of Japan - although at a slower rate than before. This may not seem like terrific news, but with the current positive financial situation of corporations, it may just be a matter of time before real estate becomes a viable investment. There is still one major lingering issue in Japan: deflation. In order to encourage inflation, the Bank of Japan has severely limited interest rates. Low interest rates have resulted in extraordinarily low yields for those wishing to save their money in Japan. With a yield of less than 1.7 percent, the Japanese ten-year government bond remains extremely unattractive to locals as well as foreigners. The ten year government bonds of both Britain and the United States yield approximately 4.5 percent. The result has been the Japanese converting their yen into the currencies of other nations in order to receive higher yields. Subsequently, demand for the yen is not high, leading to its devaluation among other currencies. This is bad news for internationals whose investments in the Japanese stock market are producing smaller real returns than the market indicates. The Nikkei 225 has risen in value only 6 percent in terms of the dollar this year. There are quite a few ways for one to invest in Japan. There is one exchange traded fund (Ticker: EWJ) and many mutual funds. Nearly all of these funds do not beat the market, but there are a couple of exceptions. ProFunds UltraJapan Inv (UJPIX) and ProFunds UltraJapan Svc (UJPIX) have had extraordinary returns, each rising in value nearly 40 percent since the beginning of the year. These two funds are extremely volatile and risky. More conservative funds, with results more in line with the market, include Fidelity Japan (FJPNX) and T. Rowe Price Japan (PRJPX). Considering the tumultuous past 16 years, it makes sense to view this bull market skeptically, especially considering the economy's lingering problems. But one cannot deny the slow but steady recovery of the Japanese markets. The current market strength is primarily based on quality earnings and balance sheets, two things lacking 15 years ago. If Japanese corporations can continue to run themselves efficiently, and if the Bank of Japan continues to lead the economy in the right direction, there is good reason to expect this bull market to continue.

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Progess finally made on Assembly Square project

November 10

On Nov. 3 a store opened its doors in Somerville - and the city took one small step toward realizing its goal of revitalizing one of its most troubled areas. The Christmas Tree Shop was the first store to open in the redevelopment of Assembly Square Mall. The mall, located off Interstate 93 behind Home Depot, Loews Cinemas and Circuit City, has been at the center of local debate since it closed down in 1997. Assembly Square Mall has been notorious for car theft and drug deals in recent years, but with the sale of the property from Assembly Square Limited Partners to Frontier Realty in March, the city expects the redevelopment project to get on track. Zoning for the project was approved a year and a half ago, according to Alderman-at-Large William White. The project is being completed in four phases. The first phase is the renovation of the actual mall, which is nearly complete. The next phase is the construction of a Main Street - with mixed use housing, offices and shopping - running between the mall and the property designated for a new Ikea store. The third phase is the construction of the Ikea. The final stage is the construction of an MBTA subway station and high-density housing on Yard 21 of the property, currently occupied by Good Time Emporium. While the mall will produce some revenue for the city, White said, most funds will be generated by the office and residential space. "Different types of development bring in different types of taxes," White said. "The mall doesn't bring in sizeable tax money but the high density residential should generate three-quarters of a billion in development." According to White, the most important piece is the T stop. In August, Congress approved $25 million toward the extension of the Orange Line to Assembly Square. "Much of the development hinges on the T stop, which is the final stage," he said. While the T station is important to Somerville, Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel said it would have little effect on Tufts. "Transportation is a big issue," she said, but "an Orange Line stop wouldn't be helpful for our students." Getting to Assembly Square still requires either a car or bus for Tufts students. The project has faced opposition from citizen's groups, most notably the Mystic Valley Task Force, which charge that the project is heavily focused on big box stores and will increase traffic in the city. "It's a first step in a disastrous process that will severely limit Somerville's future," Bill Shelton, the group's founder, told the Somerville Journal. The group has stalled the construction of the Ikea store since 2002 with lawsuits against the project. "The whole project is very important to the city of Somerville but it is also very controversial," Rubel said. "There are people who have some very strong opinions for and against the proposed developments." Whether or not the entire project will be completed, and how long it will take, is still anyone's guess, Rubel said. "What you are looking at is a huge controversy and the prospect of 'someday.'"

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As the Spirit Coalition prepares to crown Mr. Jumbo, students weigh in

November 10

The Tufts University Spirit Coalition and Senior Class Council will sponsor the third annual Mr. Jumbo Competition tonight in Cohen Auditorium. Ten contestants will compete to be crowned Mr. Jumbo, an award bestowed on the Tufts student who best represents the spirit of the Hill's beloved pachyderm. The Class of 2006 started the competition two years ago. "It was an event created to augment school spirit," sophomore Brittany Sommer, Spirit Coalition Co-Chair said. Spirit Coalition seeks to promote school spirit events on campus. But students interviewed about Mr. Jumbo generally responded, "What school spirit?" Junior Brandon Lucia gave his take on why school spirit might be so elusive at Tufts. "I don't think there's a well-defined Jumbo spirit," he said. "Maybe that's what defines a Jumbo - we're all a mish-mosh." "I didn't even know it was supposed to be about school spirit," senior Benjamin Chang said of the Mr. Jumbo competition. "It always struck me as a popularity contest." Not every student thought the competition to be without merit. "I think it's a good tradition to start, because it does create some school spirit, which we are definitely lacking," sophomore Shelby Deeney said. "The whole competition is basically centered on which of the contestants has the most school spirit," Sommer said. "Each contestant is involved in something different on campus, so it brings a diverse audience." For those who do attend, the evening can be an entertaining one. "It's one of the most fun events of the year, right up there with Spring Fling and Naked Quad Run," Deeney said. But despite the entertainment factor, one student thought the show was not of the best quality. "In my experience, the contestants end up just trying to outdo the silliness of everyone else during the talent portion," Lucia said. Last year's Mr. Jumbo nominees included two women; this year there is one. "There's a homecoming king and a homecoming queen, so why not a Miss Jumbo?" junior Cassi Norgaisse said. Sommer offered an explanation. "Mr. Jumbo is just the title," she said. "The definition of the event is a school-wide spirit pageant. It is open to both males and females. Anyone can be nominated and chosen to compete." "It should be a separate thing, because it's awkward with a couple of girls on stage and a bunch of guys," Deeney said. So what exactly makes the ideal Mr. Jumbo? "He should be a guy who is funny, approachable, very friendly, with a great sense of humor... an all-around good guy," Norgaisse said. "It's easier at a school like Tufts to find someone, because we don't have a clear school spirit, so you can just pick someone and say that they have Jumbo spirit," she said.

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Inside Fitness | Keep yourself motivated by setting attainable goals

November 10

I'm really lazy and struggle mightily to make it to the gym. How do I develop the motivation to start (or continue) with an exercise program if I've always been a couch potato? Where does motivation to work out come from, and where can I get it? -- Charlie Katz, loving father, respected clinical psychologist, Nordic-Trac enthusiast

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Jumbos lace up their running shoes with sights on Nationals

November 10

An entire season of hard work comes down to one day for the women's cross country team. A trip to nationals hangs in the balance as the team travels to Springfield for the Division III New England Regional Championship, where the top five teams will earn a spot to go to Nationals at Ohio Wesleyan. Tufts will send senior Becca Ades, juniors Raquel Morgan and Sarah Crispin, sophomores Catherine Beck and Katy O'Brien, and freshmen Katie Rizzolo and Evelyn Sharkey to the line tomorrow to compete for a national championship bid. Coach Kristen Morwick has confidence in her squad but says she's worried about how midterms in the past week might have affected the runners. "They're physically ready to run," Morwick said. "I just hope the tough week of academics didn't take its toll." The NESCAC is renowned for being the toughest division for cross country in the New England region as well as the rest of the nation and the NESCAC Championship is usually a good predictor for how teams will fare at Regionals. Two weeks ago at NESCAC's, which took place at Wesleyan University, the Jumbos took fourth but narrowly missed out on third place. A similar performance this weekend will mean that Tufts will be headed out to Ohio. "We would like to take third but we'll be happy with fourth or fifth," Morwick said. "We just want to get on the plane." The top two spots will likely be occupied by Williams and Amherst, who, throughout the season, have consistently been the best two teams in NESCAC. The primary competition for the Jumbos, according to Morwick, will come from Colby, Middlebury, Wesleyan and Wellesley. It will be five teams competing for three spots, although the chances of Wesleyan and Wellesley cracking the top five not very likely. At NESCAC's two weeks ago, the Jumbos finished 12 points off of Colby and 29 points in front of Middlebury. Wesleyan was a distant 68 points behind. The Jumbos last faced Wellesley at All-New England's on Oct. 8 at Franklin Park, beating the Blue by 96 points at the largest meet of the season. Two weeks earlier, Wellesley was much closer, finishing 10 points behind Tufts at the smaller Jumbo Invitational. "I know that we'll be racing against some good teams, but we did well against them at NESCAC's and I have confidence that we will do well again," Crispin said. The Jumbos will have to run as a solid pack if they are going to be competitive. Although Ades and Beck will be out in front on Saturday, the two are not on the level of Shauneen Garrahan (Amherst) and Caroline Cretti (Williams) and cannot guarantee a particularly low scoring runner in the top five. "Those low numbers mean a lot more at a meet like this," Morwick said. "We're more of a pack-running team. We don't have that superstar out front." Two weeks ago at NESCAC's, the Jumbos put their top five runners across the line within 43 seconds of each other. With more teams competing in the race at Regionals, a tight pack will be even more integral to the team's score. "We're going to have to count on everybody running together and being right out front," Morwick said. Morgan believes that if each runner goes out and has an individual strong race, Tufts should have no problem securing a nationals spot. "Everyone needs to go into the race with their own strategies for victory," Morgan said. "I think if [Beck] runs her race, and [Ades] runs her race, and [O'Brien] runs her race, and I run my race, and so on...we will be fine as a team. The preconditions are set. We're ready for this." Based on how the team performed last weekend and how they have raced all season, finishing in the top five is more of a realistic expectation rather than a pipe dream, and the team expects to be in Ohio next weekend. "I never like to make assumptions," Crispin said. "But every single person on this team is going to run like they plan on earning a spot to nationals. And that's all that matters." Last season, the top two finishing teams in NESCAC, Middlebury and Williams, went on to take the top two places at nationals at Eau Claire, Wis., demonstrating the dominance of the NESCAC in women's cross country. A bid to nationals for Tufts should also imply a solid showing at nationals simply based on the competition the Jumbos face every meet. "If we get there, I think New England is so strong that we should be in the top 10 anyway with the talent we have," Morwick said.

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Trustees get briefing on state of campus emergency plan

November 10

If a hurricane hits Medford, students can be sure there will be an ample supply of chicken grillas. At last weekend's Board of Trustees meeting, Public and Environmental Safety Director John King spoke to the administration and finance committee about the University's Crisis Management Plan. First created in 1997, the plan has been given more attention in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. "Katrina prompted us to take a new look," University President Lawrence Bacow said. Bacow asked King to review the plan, which has gone through several versions. The plan was updated after the summer of 2002, when two major Massachusetts Electric cables failed, leaving Medford and Tufts without power six times. No changes have been made since the hurricane. After the power failures, King said, the University created a committee to assess how the University should have handled the situation. A consultant was hired to help unify the University's disaster plan across all the schools and departments. As part of the updated plan, the University integrated emergency communications software into its systems. In addition to personnel, King said, the University can acquire radios, buses and hotel rooms on short notice. Each of the dining halls always has a three to five day supply of food on hand, he said. Several buildings have their own electricity generators if the power should fail, and the University can get more generators if it needs them. The University initially struggled to get more generators after the power outages because of federal emissions restrictions. According to King, Tufts has five crisis teams: one for Bacow and his advisers, one for each of the three campuses and one for the study abroad programs. Each team consists of "key individuals who would be expected to assemble and determine the appropriate course of action," King said. In the event of a disaster of catastrophic proportions, King said, the plan includes a list of resources that could be transferred between the 15 schools in the Boston Consortium, of which Tufts is a member. The Tufts University Police Department has conducted joint disaster preparedness training programs with the Medford and Somerville departments. Tufts officers receive eight hours of training on weapons of mass destruction, King said, so they are prepared in the event of a biological or chemical attack. Most officers are not aware of the specifics of the plan, King said, but they are prepared for any emergency. Officers have staged emergency simulations to increase preparedness. Health Services has also done preparedness exercises. Personnel recently looked into how the University would respond if several students came down with meningitis. King said he is planning a discussion on the course of action in the event of an avian flu outbreak. It would be difficult to place a dollar value on the Crisis Management Plan, King said, because each school and department uses its own budget to finance emergency contingency plans. The cost of implementing the plan also depends on the type and magnitude of the emergency. Tufts has a head start on other schools, King said. "Some schools are just getting off the ground." Though the Tufts plan has not been updated because of Katrina - the climate in the Northeast makes a large hurricane unlikely - Bacow said the plan is still worth having. "It's always better to be prepared," he said.

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Men's Cross Country | At stake this weekend: a return to Nationals and a shot at another New England title

November 10

The men's cross country team failed to come home from last weekend's ECAC's with first place, but the Jumbos can still make it two out of three in the championship season with a victory this weekend at the Division III New England Regional Championship. After edging out Williams to win NESCAC's for the third straight year two weekends ago, Tufts has an opportunity to become three-peat champions of New England on Saturday at Springfield. More important than a victory, however, is what a victory would bring: a trip next weekend to Ohio-Wesleyan, just outside of Columbus, for nationals. "It's not the end of the world if we don't win," senior co-captain Matt Lacey said. "I honestly can't see anyone else but Williams beating us, so worst case we still finish second and go on to nationals." "We have goals that are oriented to this weekend and goals that are oriented to next weekend," coach Ethan Barron confirmed. "And in the general scheme of things, next weekend is more important." Still, there's no doubting that Tufts wants to win Saturday. "Definitely," Lacey said. "Our goal from the beginning of the season has been to win NESCAC's, ECAC's and New England's." The top three teams from the region will qualify for nationals, as opposed to the top four in years past, giving the Jumbos a smaller margin for error. Still, the team is confident enough in its ability that it doesn't feel the change puts any more pressure on them. "We're definitely still in a comfortable position," Lacey said. "You never want to put the cart before the horse, but this season has been geared towards going to nationals and getting ready for nationals and doing well there, because we view this as a national caliber team," coach Ethan Barron said. Assistant coach Rod Hemingway insisted the team wasn't going to get caught looking beyond regionals. "In no way, shape, or form are we looking beyond this weekend," he said. "We have to run our race, and if we do we'll emerge victorious and then we can focus on nationals." Williams, which garnered 62 points at NESCAC's to Tufts' 58, has a legitimate shot to end the Jumbos' reign as the region's champions. Eph senior Neal Holtschulte won NESCAC's while junior Stephen Wills was close behind, finishing third overall. Lacey finished right on Wills' heels in fourth place, while Kennedy and Fortin finished seventh and eighth overall, respectively. After the race, Barron was named NESCAC's Co-Coach of the Year along with Wesleyan coach John Crooke. "That was pretty cool," Lacey said. "We all appreciate everything he's done, being here and being up in the air because the administration doesn't know what it's going to do with him next year. Hopefully he'll get recognized again [at regionals] because the more he gets recognized, the more likely it is that he can somehow stick around." "Ethan has done a tremendous job with all the responsibility he had this year," Hemingway said. "But we always say it's about the guys and the hard work they've done." Lacey and fellow senior co-captain Matt Fortin, classmates Kyle Doran and Neil Orfield, juniors Josh Kennedy and Justin Chung, and sophomore Chris Kantos will represent Tufts on Saturday. Hemingway said he expects all of them to finish in the top 35 "We're very tough, very difficult to beat when we're rested like we are," Hemingway said. The idea of the Jumbos charging as favorites towards their third consecutive New England Championship would have been absurd just a few years ago; while always competitive in the region and a contender to go to nationals, only in the last three seasons has Tufts established itself as New England's best Div. III squad. "It's nice to see the program at this point," Barron said. "When this year's seniors were freshmen, you could see the talent but it was young, and you knew if they worked hard and stayed focus they could do some great things." "It's a unique opportunity," Hemingway said of the chance to three-peat. "We've reached the stage where we always expect success. It's not being cocky; it's knowing we have the necessary preparation." In a way, it has almost become a worn-out storyline, and there is not much more the team can say about it. "Hopefully we'll have more good things to say after this weekend," Lacey said.

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Final game offers team a chance at some measure of redemption

November 10

Saturday, without fanfare or fuss, the seniors on the football team will buckle their shoulder pads, snap up their chinstraps and follow their familiar morning path from Cousens Gym to Zimman Field. The trek marks the end of their tenure on the gridiron, as they head to the entrance to Ellis Oval one final time to play their last 60 minutes of collegiate football. The 2005 season certainly hasn't been one for the ages. The Jumbos are 2-5, and after opening the season 2-0, are now riding a five-game losing streak. A victory against Middlebury would help to in part erase the past few weeks, at least in spirit, giving the underclassmen a taste of success for the off-season and the seniors one last victory before hanging up their pads for good. "It's our final game," senior captain Patrick Magoon said. "We all know [the seniors] are going to remember our last time - this will be it for us. If we get a win that just makes it more special." Though both teams sport matching 2-5 records, the Panthers' and Jumbos' recent paths couldn't be more different. After starting the season 0-4, Middlebury has now won two out of their last three games by a combined margin of 88-29. While these two wins came against Bates and Hamilton, both holding season records of 1-6, the Jumbos' own two victories were over Bates and Wesleyan, the latter of which has yet to win a game this season. "Obviously, over the last three weeks they've put up some really impressive offensive numbers," Magoon said, who is third on the Jumbos in tackles (39) and also has a sack, a forced fumble, and an interception. "We know what they've done recently." Magoon, who was named a regional academic All-American on Wednesday, and the rest of the defense will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. In the last three games, which included a 14-0 loss to undefeated Trinity, Middlebury has 41 first downs and 863 offensive yards, while averaging 4.8 yards per play. The Panthers' offense has thrown only one interception in that span. If the Trinity loss is taken out of the picture, the Panthers have recorded 33 first downs and 774 yards and averaged an even more impressive 6.1 yards per play in their two wins. "I actually think we're pretty evenly matched teams," coach Bill Samko said. "They've had good numbers lately but we've both beaten similar teams. [Middlebury's offense] probably passes the ball a little more than we do, and they run a good amount of option." The Tufts offense, which has showed fleeting signs of vitality recently despite scoring few points, will be challenged with Middlebury's defense. The Panthers, who allowed 96 points in their first four games, have now allowed only 29 in their last three. The Middlebury defense, which at one point at the season found itself near the bottom of the NESCAC in points allowed, is fifth in the league, allowing an average of 17.9 points per game. Meanwhile, Tufts' defense, which three games ago had the league's second-rated defense, is now seventh, allowing an average of 18.9 points per game. Middlebury sophomore linebacker Erik Woodring was named NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week last week. He recorded eight tackles - three of them for a loss of 20 yards - and a sack in the Panthers' 45-8 win over Hamilton. "We're not going to drastically alter our offense for this game," Samko said. "We ran 24 plays in practice on Tuesday, and another 24 plays on Wednesday, and so within 48 plays we're really not going to change the way we approach them offensively. [Middlebury has] gotten a lot better defensively, though. They run well, but our size is probably a little better." The kickoff is set for 11:45 a.m. at Zimman Field.

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Paradise Now' explores what life's like on the other side

November 10

For those of you who think you're living your lives on the edge, taking it day by day, living dangerously - and maybe even teetering on the brink of destruction - you should meet Said and Khaled. "Paradise Now," directed by Hany Abu-Assad, tells the story of two young friends, Said (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman), who work day jobs as car mechanics, but are secretly members of an anonymous militant Palestinian organization. The two men request that if they have to die for their cause, they die together. In accordance with their wishes they are chosen to carry out a tandem suicide bombing mission in Tel Aviv in response to an assassination. The rest of the movie chronicles first what could be their last hours alive and then what ensues when their mission runs into several obstacles. Adding to the sense of urgency, both men have bombs attached to their chests throughout much of the movie. Thrown into the mix is the daughter of the assassin, Suha (Lubna Azabal). Although she has chemistry with Said, her Western education has given her more moderate views, and she does not believe in Said's militancy. Nashef and Suliman manage to portray their characters with a remarkable level of emotion, which is most apparent in the pensive and pained expressions in their eyes. Even the minor characters, including Said's mother (Hiam Abass), bring a hauntingly realistic intensity of emotion to their roles. This emotive color is a necessary aspect of "Paradise Now," as the overall lack of physical color in the movie is startling. Staring at earth tones for 90 minutes may sound like a daunting task, but the actors' depth of emotion infuses the film with an entirely different kind of vibrancy. We find ourselves rooting for the friends to survive - and not just so that their targets aren't killed. Watching how happy Khaled is with his family and the potential between Said and Suha, it is impossible to believe them when they say, "Under the occupation, we're already dead." The extent to which we feel connected to two people who are part of a group we've been taught to hate is the most exceptional feat of the movie. As first Said and then Khaled waver in their decision to die, all we can do is hope that one can persuade the other out of it. "Paradise Now," if somewhat slow at times, successfully incorporates the religious aspect of the mission without focusing purely on this angle. When Said and Khaled sit down with the organizers of the mission for what is potentially their last dinner, the shot of 13 men sitting at a long rectangular table has a subtle religious tie-in, paralleling the iconic images of the Last Supper. The mission is referred to at one point as a "martyr operation," and Said and Khaled are told that two angels will come pick them up when they're done. The movie also pays careful attention to rituals. Both men - after being extensively cleaned - are filmed making an elaborate oath and goodbye message to their parents while holding a gun. The film portrays a part of the terrorist's process not often considered by those on the outside. In one of the opening shots, Said and Khaled are at their job working at the car shop where one of the cars shown has a bumper sticker that says, we are told, "Looks can be deceiving." By end of the film, "Paradise Now" shows us just how accurate this adage can be.

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Students join Katrina relief

November 10

Senior Annica Sunner had been looking for a capstone experience for her four years at Tufts. Last week she found one, when she and several friends signed up to build houses for people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Sunner is taking part in the Volunteer Vacations program run by the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS). LCS runs the program every winter break, usually to different places around the country to do various service projects. This year, though, all Volunteer Vacations trips will be combined into one large trip to Jackson, Miss. About 100 Tufts students are signed up to go on the week-long trip, scheduled for Jan. 11-18. Upon arrival, they will be broken into groups of ten to perform volunteer services such as helping to rebuild homes destroyed by the hurricane. The trip's coordinators, seniors Rachel Rosen, Alex Kramer and Barbara Magid, have been hard at work planning the trip. Once the decision was made to focus solely on the Gulf Coast, the coordinators began looking for community services organizations with which to collaborate. Through the Web site Craig's List, the coordinators identified an organization called HANDS, based in Jackson, which will oversee the details and plan all of the aspects of the service work once the students arrive. "At first we were kind of lost about what big service organization to go to because they were all overloaded," Rosen said. "[But everything] all came together because of luck over the course of a few days." Paired with HANDS, LCS's only responsibilities are to coordinate transportation to and from Jackson and organize the week's food. The coordinators announced the trip at the LCS general interest meeting the first week of school, posted an announcement on Tuftslife.com and made several announcements in their classes. Most of the publicity, though, was through word of mouth. "It was kind of amazing that way," Rosen said. "In past years we have had to beg for people to go on these trips. But we had 100 to 200 people e-mail us asking to go." The trip has been planned in conjunction with the University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS) and some consultation with faculty members. UCCPS Student Program Specialist Gary Van Deurse stressed that the trip was student-initiated. "My role was to sit down and talk to [the student coordinators] about what a trip like this would look like," he said. "We want to respond to both the affected communities' needs as well as student interest ... our involvement has been in response to student initiative." The organizers wanted to include faculty members in the trip, but none were interested in going to Jackson. Some faculty members, though, offered to provide students financial aid to go on the trip. The trip will be subsidized by the University and LCS. Some financial aid will be available. Unless students provide their own transportation, the trip will cost $150. Many of the details of the trip are still in the works, including sleeping arrangements and how the food will be transported. The student volunteers will either sleep in tents or in some sort of hospitality arranged by local churches. The coordinators are also in the midst of writing letters to local supermarkets to solicit food donations for the trip. "We're going to have to bring down lots and lots of suitcases of food," Rosen said. Some student participants raised safety concerns with the trip, such as possible injuries from the house construction. Van Deurse said the coordinators discussed the safety issues. Because the trip is run through Tufts, Rosen said, the University is liable for any injuries. Sunner said she was looking forward to the trip. "I'm excited to see what conditions we are going to live in as volunteers," she said. "The conditions will be different than what we're used to at Tufts but that's part of the experience." Rosen was also optimistic. "I shouldn't say that it is a success yet, but it seems like it's going to be," she said. "We're very excited."

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Technology is opening up the classroom

November 10

Tufts students and faculty came together Thursday evening to discuss how changing technology affects daily life and how to apply this understanding. About 40 students and 40 members of the faculty filled the Carmichael faculty dining room for the Ex College's annual Opening Up the Classroom program. This year's event was "All Wired Up, Virtues or Vices of the Connected Life." Tickets for the event were $3 for students. Each student who purchased a ticket was also entered into a raffle for an iPod Shuffle. Sophomore Benjamin Swartz attended the event to discuss the impact of technology today. "I'm here because I'm very into technology and I thought it would be a good place to discuss technology that affects our lives," he said before the event. "I hope to get out an interesting discussion and a fun evening." According to Ex College Director Robyn Gittleman, the purpose of the event was "to get the faculty and students to talk and meet each other and pick out common problems [regarding technology] and to hear two sides, three sides and even four sides of every issue." The evening started with dinner. Each table then discussed different scenarios of the impact of technology. To help facilitate discussion, participants filled out a questionnaire to measure their technological knowledge. The questionnaire gauged participants' knowledge of current technological devices, current technological services and the older, "legacy" technologies, including transistor radios, Super8 movie cameras, and Betamax decks. Sophomore Nicolette Schlichting helped organize the event. "It's to give students the opportunity to meet professors they might not normally meet and vice versa," she said. Freshman Shawna Russo said that aspect of the event was what she enjoyed most. "Coming from my small high school, I haven't really had the same sense of student-teacher relationship here at Tufts," she said. "The dinner really has opened the faculty to us and I really feel like I'm interacting with them ... I'm really glad I came. I'm definitely again next year." This was the 16th year for Opening Up the Classroom. Last year's topic was "Tufts Life: Expectation vs. Experience."

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