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What students really need

November 6

It's clear from an account of their meeting this past weekend that the Board of Trustees has several good ideas with respect to brightening Tufts' future. In particular, the open courseware initiative is a welcome sign of an innovative approach to advancing the University's prestige while at the same time practicing responsible global citizenship. Pierre Omidyar must be proud. However, student representation on the Board of Trustees is of concern. It is not at all evident that the three TCU representatives are promoting solutions to problems which are high on the average student's list of priorities. Cho Ling, who sits on the Academic Affairs Committee, has rightly identified that changes are necessary within the International Relations program. However, he does not identify what exactly is wrong with the program, nor does his plan seem to solve the real problems that are rampant within IR. As the Daily has pointed out previously, the IR major suffers from incoherency and interdisciplinary overreach. The curriculum needs to be overhauled to realign IR with the field of political science and prevent it from a fate of academic irrelevance. It is not immediately clear how a long-term plan to create the College of International Affairs or to affiliate the IR program with the Fletcher School would make the major more coherent. A College of International Affairs would be redundant and inappropriately specialize a student's degree if it only encompassed what is currently a single major. Why, then, could there not be a College of Economic Affairs from which students could choose among very narrow fields as their major, or a College of Art History in which students could major in Dadaism, or a College of American Studies which offered a major in 1960s social movements? These types of programs are the domain of post-graduate study. Even assuming that the creation of a College of International Affairs would improve the IR program by some unseen mechanism, Ling still ignores IR's most pressing concern. He should be pushing in his spring presentation to the Board of Trustees to support drastic curriculum reforms, instead of trying to implement a long-term restructuring which does not address incoherence. Laura Fruitman's support for Phase III of the construction of the Campus Center also appears to be out of touch with student concerns. As other board members pointed out, the funding required to add office space and mailboxes could be used on other projects, such as installing a wireless network on campus, improving academics, or bringing Tufts' aquatic facilities out of the Stone Age by renovating or replacing Hamilton Pool. This is not to say that the student representatives were completely out of line with respect to addressing important issues. The lack of on-campus housing is clearly a pressing concern for many students, and the discussion regarding marketing Tufts degrees is very welcome. However, for the next meeting the representatives should think long and hard about whether or not they are accurately representing the views of the average student.

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News

No walls, no furniture, no remnants of my life whatsoever'

November 6

While most Tufts students were spending the weekend before Halloween searching for costumes and preparing for midterms, Tulane University senior Jennifer Near flew to New Orleans in an effort to rescue her memories. "The apartment where I had left all my belongings was being gutted and completely emptied," Near said. "I bought a very expensive ticket last-minute so I could try to salvage something before it was all thrown away." Near, who is originally from Moltonboro, N.H., is one of about 40 displaced Tulane students spending the fall semester at Tufts. She is thankful for the kindness of people in Boston, but New Orleans remains her "second home." On Oct. 22, Near landed at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The previous Wednesday, she had received a devastating call that her landlord had already started discarding the contents of her apartment. Upon landing in Louisiana, she hurriedly joined a friend's mother in a rental car and drove to Tulane. When she arrived at her apartment, Near's anxiety turned to sadness. "[The apartment] was unrecognizable: no walls, no furniture, no remnants of my life whatsoever," Near said. Searching through a pile of things that were deemed salvageable by workers, Near found nothing of hers had been saved. "Everything I had collected for the past four years, and many years prior to that, had just been tossed," Near said. "Pictures, journals, things I had bought while working in an orphanage in the Dominican Republic and while visiting my family in Italy, books, CDs, movies, clothes - pretty much my entire life, except for the tank tops and flip flops I had brought home for summer." As she walked outside, Near saw the only item that she recognized as her own: a fake Hawaiian flower she had worn in her hair while working as a camp counselor. For Near, the flower lying on her front lawn was symbolic of the hurricane's aftermath. "That's where the contents of many people's lives lie - on their lawns, on the sidewalks, in the streets," Near said. "The only way I know how to describe what New Orleans visually looks like is to say it looks like someone picked up the entire contents of the city and threw it down wherever they pleased." Near left her apartment with nothing but mixed emotions. "Overwhelming does not even begin to describe the feeling," Near said. "Angry doesn't either." Though Near recognized that she was fortunate - she has her health, family and friends - her grief was still strong. "Even though they're just physical things, so much of what I owned had much deeper value," Near said. "Even though I still have the memories in my head, it's hard not to feel like I've lost part of myself and those memories now that the evidence of them is gone." Near spent the rest of the evening walking around Tulane's campus. She was happy to see the beauty of the school remained. "There's definitely damage and machinery everywhere," Near said. "But it's still the same beautiful, vibrant school I fell in love with." Many of her favorite small businesses had reopened, including The Boot, which even gave her a free slice of Dough Bowl pizza. "It's amazing to see the people and places you love getting back on their feet," Near said. The following day, Near took a shuttle back to the airport and was hit with distressing reality. While driving on I-10, the major interstate in New Orleans, the driver pointed out the water line where the floods had reached. "The line literally was almost as high as the overpasses," Near said. "It's mind-boggling that the road you're driving on, the road you took to go to the movies or out to eat with friends, was recently 15-plus feet underwater," Near said. "The visual just doesn't fit with your memories or with what you see now, but you still know it happened." As she boarded her plane back to Boston, Near reflected on her first trip back to her second home. "The city is in rough shape," Near said. "Everyone's struggling, everyone's hurting. Unless you know someone who's been affected or you have been affected yourself, you cannot imagine how many lives this has affected or on how many levels." Though her apartment is now non-existent and her personal items were blown away with Katrina's winds, Near remains optimistic about the recovery of New Orleans, and she will return to Tulane in December. "As much as the devastation is overwhelming, the amount of hope is equally as moving," Near said.

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News

A scary night for dance performance

November 6

Four high school dancers overexerted themselves Saturday night and had to be taken to the hospital. The girls -- from the Media and Technology Charter High School in Boston -- performed at the Break the Stage step competition hosted by the African Student Organization in Cohen Auditorium. After their performance at about 10:00 p.m., they left the building and sat in front of the Alumnae Lounge. They soon began having trouble breathing. One Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) car, a Tufts Emergency Medical Services SUV, two Somerville Fire Department fire engines and an ambulance arrived on the scene at about 10:15 p.m. The responding TUPD officer's report said the girls were "sweating profusely and hyperventilating." The girls were given oxygen. Two were taken to Somerville Hospital and two were taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital. The TUPD report said the cause was "possible heat exhaustion." Nine groups performed at the show, but only five competed. The two high school groups and the two Tufts groups were not part of the competition. "They had finished performing," African Student Organization President Temi Ogunbodede, a junior, said of the high school girls. "Nothing happened on the stage." She said the girls were the only members of their normally eight-person group to show up and they were nervous performing on a college campus. According to Ogunboded, the high school girls were treated and released by the hospitals and are now fine.

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News

Football | After After first half surge, Tufts drops fifth straight game

November 6

The Jumbos stormed out of the gates on Saturday only to limp off the field in defeat for the fifth consecutive game. After a dominant first-half performance gave Tufts a considerable lead, the Jumbos could not hold off the potent Colby running attack and strong defensive effort in the second half, allowing their opponents to post 21 unanswered points to win the game, 28-16. The loss puts the team at 2-5 with one game remaining on the season. Colby improved its record to 6-1. After posting 237 yards in the first half, the Jumbos appeared to have momentum on their side heading into the third quarter. The tables turned in the second half, as Colby exploded on offense with 254 total yards, while its defense held Tufts to just 35. The biggest challenge for Tufts was containing Colby's effective running attack and execution. "Colby's got two great running backs and a great offensive line," junior defensive end Chris Decembrele said. "Our offense played good enough to win, but we made a few mistakes on defense, which good teams are able to take advantage of." Tufts was led by senior quarterback Casey D'Annolfo. In the strong first half, he went 7-17 with 180 yards, and threw the Jumbos' two touchdowns. But the second half was a nightmare as the quarterback was 2-12 for only five total yards, while throwing one of his two interceptions and getting sacked. Freshman receiver David Halas had 104 yards receiving with two touchdowns, while junior Steve Menty posted three receptions for 49 yards. Senior Scott Lombardi rushed for a team leading 52 total yards. Colby's aggressive defensive attack coupled with the Jumbos' inability to capitalize on short passing plays made it difficult for the team to retain its lead. "We were converting a lot of big plays in the first half," D'Annolfo said. "But in the second half we couldn't connect deep, or convert in the red zone. [Colby] was blitzing a lot and I was missing some reads. We put our defense in some bad spots, and anytime the defense is on the field for a long time, it's going to be hard to win." The Tufts defense was powerless against the run, allowing 226 yards on the ground with two Colby running backs rushing for over a 100 yards apiece. Senior Aaron Stepka ran for 117 yards and sophomore Chris Bashaw added 109 for the Mules. The Jumbos allowed 460 total yards on offense and 25 first downs. According to players, the team's poor defense lately has been due to a lack of execution. "We were just not executing out there on Saturday," Decembrele said. "Everyone is giving everything they have on the field, just defensively we haven't been able to put it together and perform when it counts." Tufts got an early lead after a 34 yard field goal by junior Bryan McDavitt in the first quarter. After Colby answered with a second quarter touchdown pass, D'Annolfo hooked up with Halas on a short pass that the freshman broke wide open for a 73 yard touchdown play. D'Annolfo and Halas connected again on a 25 yard touchdown pass just before the end of the half. The defense was led by senior Sean Mullin, who posted 13 tackles, and McDavitt, who contributed 12 tackles and one interception. The Jumbos will play their final game of the season next weekend, when they host Middlebury. While the game has few implications on the season's outcome, the Jumbos would like to go out with a bang. "Middlebury is a very important game, we want to end on a high note and carry [the positive attitude] over into next season," Decembrele said. "But it's most important that we win the game for the seniors. They have given a lot to the team over the last four years, and we want to win it for them."

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News

Opera Review | When a stag hunt takes a dangerous turn into marriage

November 6

Gaetano Donizetti's opera, "Lucie de Lammermoor," takes the concept of "stag hunt" past international relations class and into "interpersonal relations" territory. With a jealous lover, an unwanted arranged marriage and a manically manipulative brother, who wouldn't feel hunted? In Boston Lyric Opera's (BLO) production of the 1839 adaptation of the Italian original, the hunt takes center stage - and Lucie (Tracy Dahl), the beautiful coloratura, is the stag. Her lover, Edgard Ravenswood (Yasu Nakajima) wants to kill her brother, Henri Ashton (Gaetan Laperriere); Henri likewise loathes Edgard, and arranges to have Lucie married to Arthur (Joshua Kohl) for political gain. Driven by passion for Edgar but tattered by obligation to her brother, Lucie begs for both men to cool their conflict, but to no avail. Instead, Henri tricks Lucie into thinking that her lover has been unfaithful, so she goes through with the wedding to Arthur despite her unhappiness. Ultimately (and expectedly), Lucie goes mad and kills her new husband on their wedding night. Not a very uplifting show by any means, but one that's not afraid to tap the most primal muscles of human emotion. BLO amps the hunting image through the murky multi-level set and the costumes, schemed in gray, black and red. The opera opens with a dark stage covered by smoky-colored panels and paints an image of the hunting ground with a white, innocent stag drinking from a pool of water in the woods. Then come the hunters: dark, armed and heavy. We meet Henri, a powerful, malicious presence, and Gilbert (Alan Schneider), the wily servant. He's a double-agent type, vacillating between Henri and Edgard. The diva and the hunted stag all at once, soprano Tracy Dahl is a fascinating Lucie, with unbelievable vocal range and coloratura skill. The score is difficult: intricate and precise to the audience's ears, but dubbed "the Olympics of singing" by BLO's General Director Janice Mancini Del Sesto in the program notes. With piercing coloratura precision and escalating melismas, instantaneous jumps from lows to highs to really, really highs, Lucie must embody precise control and leverage. Every note is crisp and soaked with emotion from beginning to end, from joy to torment, from passivity to ardent loves to full-on madness. The madness scene is wild, but it's a controlled madness, a blood-chilling one as Lucie sees her lover in everything and everyone. Her vocal stamina transcends lunacy with its bursts through the difficult melodies. Though she's the victim of this tale, Lucie also carries it; Dahl takes center stage from her initial fantastic appearance to her demise and gladly accepts her well-deserved standing ovation. The performances, overall, are excellent, aside from some minor overpowering of the vocals by the orchestra in the opening exchange between Gilbert and Henri. In particular, baritone Gaeten Laperriere is fantastic as the conniving brother, and his duet with Dahl is one of the highlights of the show. Their interaction is guilty and avid, a forceful, believable agony. Also to note is David M. Cushing's Raymond, the priest. Though a smaller role, he handles it with authority and influence, and his voice resonates throughout the hall with a rich, impressive bass. Tenors Kohl and Nakajima are also solid. Yet Lucie and Henri are the center of this production, and their scenes are the most memorable. Unfortunately, in this genre events often happen behind the scenes. "Lucie" is no exception; a few of the more climatic moments take place offstage. Several scenes could have been expanded to better catch the music's powerful suicide aria. Still, the last scene is visually striking, magnificently wrapping the show up. In the end, Lucie is a victim among manipulative men; the dominance of masculinity is an ironic theme of the performance. Even during the wedding scene, the choir stands on two sides of the stage: men on one, toasting, and singing to each other, and women motionless, rigid, and dutiful on the other. Lucie, forced to concede by familial devotion and a scorched burning passion, is between a rock and a hard place. "Judge for yourself," Edgard tells Lucie at one point. Ironically, Lucie has been denied the resources necessary to do so - it's only natural that her mind, her most important tool, flees her. But for viewers, her story is one of emotional, brilliant vocals that are most certainly worth hearing.

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News

This 'Joseph' is more 'amazing' and 'technicolor' than most

November 6

What themes are more timeless than murder, adultery, jealousy, and sibling rivalry? As Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" proves, none. "Joseph" brings the biblical tale of Jacob and his 12 sons to life through Webber's amazing score, Tim Rice's clever lyrics, and the cast's talent and energy. Jealous of their father's affection towards Joe, Jacob's 11 other sons sell Joseph into slavery in Egypt. Twists of fate land Joseph in jail, where he gains a reputation as a dream interpreter. When Joseph correctly interprets Pharaoh's dream, saving Egypt from starvation through the coming famine, Pharaoh frees him and makes Joseph his number two guy. Joseph's brothers come to Egypt in search of food, meet up with Joseph, and all is forgiven for a happy ending. "Joseph" is a light-hearted and happy show that doesn't fall into the trap of taking itself too seriously. Visual and musical jokes are littered throughout the show. The cast is clearly having a good time - their enthusiasm is infectious. "Joseph" is simply an enjoyable show. Told entirely in song, "Joseph" is a hodgepodge of different musical styles. With songs ranging from the country western "One More Angel in Heaven" to the smooth "Benjamin Calypso," the music is a treat for everyone. "The Song of the King," sung by Todd Dubail as the Elvis look-alike Pharaoh, stands out as the definite show stopper. Patrick Cassidy, straight from Broadway's "42nd Street" and the 1999 national tour of "Joseph," shines in the title role. Amy Adams, one of the finalists in "American Idol 3," makes a smashing theatrical debut as the Narrator. Great performances are turned in by all, most notably by Dubail and by Matthew LaBlanca as Simeon, the Maurice Chevalier-style singer of "Those Canaan Days." The Children's Ensemble, hailing from The Franklin School for the Performing Arts, can certainly sing. They sound beautiful, especially in the moving songs "Any Dream Will Do" and "Close Every Door." Their innocent voices have a peaceful effect on the production. Because "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" is a popular choice for high school and community theater groups, many Tufts students have probably already seen it. However, this national tour at the Colonial Theater in Boston stands out as more 'amazing' and 'technicolor' than most other productions. The technical aspects of the production are gorgeous, making it as stunning visually as it is musically. The costumes are bright, colorful and sexy, and the creative and intense lighting adds another dimension of color and excitement. Although normal ticket prices are steep, the Colonial Theater in Boston offers $25 'rush' tickets for all area students, available at the box office one hour before curtain. Running now through Nov. 13, "Joseph" is a great show with inventive songs and an amazing cast. Is this theater that will change your life? No. But this production is a whole lot of fun. Although the original story of Joseph and his coat was written ages ago by an unknown author, Webber and Rice wrote their version in 1968 as a college project. Just imagine - maybe someday the work that you're doing will wind up touring the country.

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News

A year later, Kerry works to make party connections

November 6

Senator John Kerry spoke at Tufts Sunday evening to a crowd of college Democrats from schools around Massachusetts. The event, "Mass Victory '06 Grassroots Training" was sponsored by the Massachusetts Democratic Party and held in the Crane Room. It was designed to inform students about the importance of grassroots politics. Kerry spoke about the dangers of political apathy in the 2006 mid-term and local elections. "You are the grassroots, you are the future of politics," he said. "Your job is now to build indigenous localized organizations where people are beginning to get involved in a way that can sway and move people's opinions." Kerry addressed the difficulties he faced during the 2004 presidential election, particularly breaking through the miscommunication and misinformation he felt was being delivered by the Republican Party. "These unbelievably arrogant people turn their backs on global warming itself and on science itself," Kerry said. "They attack science and they attack the future." The event was meant to connect young Democrats. "This effort is how you break through," Kerry said. "You break through by connecting lots of people, and the argument you take out there is called the truth. This country needs the truth more than ever before." He used the U.S. occupation of Iraq to illustrate the impact of misinformation on global politics. "We need...the truth about Iraq," Kerry said. Kerry also said President George W. Bush was not the right leader for the current international circumstances. "It's a sad time for our country," he said, "particularly when you measure it against the challenge we face on a global basis. Nations are waiting for us to be able to show leadership and stand up and make the difference." Kerry's criticism of the Bush Administration also included the dealings of the Republican Party during the 2004 presidential election. "Huge amounts of money [were] spent by the other side to actually get people to not see what the real issues are," he said. "Too many people have been seduced into voting [for the wrong issues]." Political participation by college students in the 2006 elections, Kerry said, would prevent current political conditions from worsening. "Those races are not just local races anymore," he said. "We're in an enormous fight here for reality for truth for values that really define us as a nation." Sophomore Oleg Svet, who introduced Kerry at the event, worked on the Kerry campaign for the 2004 presidential election. "I thought his speech was great," Svet said. "[Kerry's] is the kind of voice we need in the Democratic Party for leadership." Svet said it was not enough for students to be outraged by the outcome of the 2004 election. "College level students have to be proactive," he said. "Don't expect the country to change if you're not going to take a stand." Kerry stressed the importance of proactive political involvement by comparing the current conditions under the Bush Administration to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. "I have seen great changes take place in this country," Kerry said. People must be proactive, though, because "nobody gave minorities in America civil rights simply because it was the right thing to do," he said. Kerry said his outlook for the 2006 elections was "genuinely optimistic." "I'm working hard on a national basis to try to make sure we take the energy on the campaign and translate it into the things that really make a difference in our future," he said. In his welcome address, President of the Tufts Democrats Aaron Banks, a senior, said he was confident in young Massachusetts Democrats. "I know the people who have to be disheartened are... Republicans across the state and across the country," he said. "You can be passive or we can start a ballot box revolution in America and it starts in 2006," Kerry said. "That's the difference that makes the whole difference to this country."

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News

Volleyball | Colby takes over Williams' role, keeps Jumbos from NESCAC title once again

November 6

Last season, the only thing standing in the way of a league title for the volleyball team was a four-time defending champion Williams team. With that Ephs squad weakened by the loss of its trio of All-American seniors, the Jumbos felt 2005 might be their year. On Sunday, a quartet of Colby seniors showed the young Jumbos that their quest to take control of the NESCAC will have to wait another year. Playing at home, in front of a noisy crowd, the experienced Mules beat Tufts 3-0 to win their first NESCAC championship. "We really put up a good fight and played well," senior co-captain Courtney Evans said. "We got a little down on ourselves when they scored a few points. I don't think we stayed mentally tough consistently throughout the match." The win will advance Colby to represent the NESCAC in the NCAA Div. III Tournament, but it does not end the Jumbo's season. Tufts received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament where they will be seeded second. While the Mules won each game, the difference between the two teams on the court was marginal. No game was decided by more than three points, as the Mules won 30-28, 30-27 and 30-27. The Jumbos stayed in each game, but it was Colby that found a way to consistently close out games. "We played hard," coach Cora Thompson said. "I thought it was a great match. All three games could have gone either way." After falling behind early 9-5 in the opening game, Tufts charged back to tie it at 20 on a Colby service error. The Jumbos went on to take a 25-22 lead in the game and seemed poised to take a 1-0 lead in the match. At that point, the Jumbos committed a rare subbing error and the Mules were awarded a point. "We were too pumped up and totally lost our heads and lost our focus," sophomore Katie Wysham said. "It wasn't a big deal, but we just couldn't pull it back together." The Mules went on an 8-3 run and closed out the 30-28 victory with a kill by senior Caitlin Cleaver, who tallied 15 in the match, two of which were game-winners. In the second game, Cleaver closed the door on a Tufts comeback with a big spike to win the game 30-27. The Mules took control of that game early, running out to a 22-14 lead. The Jumbos fought back, narrowing the gap to two at 27-25, but could get no closer as Colby finished it with a hard kill by Cleaver. After falling down 2-0 in the match, the Jumbos took an early lead in the third game before falling behind and eventually dropping a 30-27 decision. The game was played in front of a large crowd on Colby's home floor, but Wysham dismissed the psych factor as playing a role in the loss. "It doesn't even make a difference," Wysham said, who led the Jumbo attack with 10 kills in the match. "When you're playing volleyball, you're completely focused. I couldn't even hear the crowd until I got to the bench." While the crowd may not have affected the Jumbos, it did give the Mules some stimulation to feed from. "I think it probably gave them more excitement on their side of the net," Evans said. This was the second consecutive season in which Tufts entered the final game as the second seed, only to be defeated by the top-seeded team. After their loss the Jumbos' season was at the mercy of the NCAA selection committee. The Jumbos felt they had a good chance, as the number of at-large bids has been expanded to eight and New England is likely to earn one. "The NCAA Committee has been heard saying that they want to reward longevity, those teams who have stayed on top all year," Thompson said. "I think we've done a good job staying atop the regional rankings all year." The Committee apparently agreed with Thompson and awarded Tufts the second seed in the Tournament. "We've done all we can do to put ourselves in the best position possible and our girls should be so proud of that," Thompson said before she knew her team's fate. Putting itself in the best position included earning a trip to the conference championship match. To get there, Tufts defeated Amherst and Trinity in the first two rounds. The team opened the tournament with a 3-0 win over Amherst. After starting out the match with a 30-25 game, the Jumbos battled through a tough second game to win 32-30 before closing out the match 30-23. The team hit for a .341 attack percentage, as junior Dana Fleisher and freshman Caitlin Dealy racked up 14 kills each. Senior co-captain April Gerry and Wysham each picked up 10 kills in the match. Playing in her first postseason game, freshman Kaitlin O'Reilly put up a big effort with 45 assists in the three games. "Amherst is our rival," Wysham said. "We just wanted to watch them cry and we got to see them cry at the end, which was glorious." The victory set the Jumbos up for a semifinal match with Trinity, which had upset Middlebury in the first round. The Jumbos got off to a hot start, winning the first game 30-19. In the second game, however, the Bantams evened up the match with a tight 31-29 win. The Jumbos responded with a 30-20 win to take a 2-1 advantage in the match. Trinity would not quit, however, fighting hard in the fourth match to keep its season alive. But Tufts was able to put the match away with a 31-29 win to move to the final round. Wysham had another strong game with 16 kills and nine blocks. She was aided by Evans who contributed 11 kills and eight blocks. Freshman Natalie Goldstein led a pack of four Jumbos with 23 assists or more by piling up 29. O'Reilly continued to put up big assists numbers with 48, picking up 23 digs in the process.

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News

Too late to ask why

November 6

My parents called me Sunday morning to make sure that I wasn't in one of the 1,000 cars set ablaze across France Saturday night. I was not. Since Oct. 27, this country has found itself in what is being called the largest civil unrest crisis since the student protests of 1968. This is how it started: two French Arab youths were electrocuted when they hid in an electric substation in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, home to 28,000 poor immigrants and their French-born children. Allegedly, they were chased and cornered to their deaths by police. The official account maintains the police were not pursuing them. That is now irrelevant. The riots, which started in the Parisian suburbs, have spread across France to the coastal glitz of Cannes and Nice, and moved into central Paris on Sunday. The government seems stunned but, really, none of this all too surprising. During the first weeks of my year abroad in Paris back in September, I noticed that the French speak Pig Latin. They don't have such a stupid name for it; they call it le verlan, which itself is a rearranging of the syllables of l'envers, French for backwards. It didn't take me long to realize that this strange manner of speaking is often used for words already in slang form that you wouldn't want your average adult to understand, such as joint (un petard becomes un tarpe), being drunk (beurre evolves into rebou), and any number of insults, body parts or bodily functions. I commented on this immature cluster of words to a friend who works under the French finance minister, Jean-Francois Cope. He told me, quite matter-of-factly, "Well, la racaille started it, you know." La racaille is, admittedly, an unkind label used to refer to the culture of Paris' lower-class suburbs. The Robert dictionary, the most respected archive of the French language, defines racaille as a pejorative word meaning "a group of disreputable, feared, and scorned individuals." Hoodlums, to you and I. As confirmed by various conversations with French university students, my host family, and even a pair of little old ladies on the No. 83 bus, the mental image most often conjured by the word racaille is a band of North African Arab kids, who live in the projects located in the suburbs, dressed in hip-hop-influenced track suits and bling, obnoxiously carousing Parisian sidewalks, and throwing out catcalls to any female with two legs. The people I spoke to also mentioned that the racaille has increased its presence in Paris in recent years, as the city's commuter rail has extended further into the outlying areas, which were basically built up over the past two decades so as to move working-class immigrants to the outskirts of Paris. The suburbs have become the equivalent to the United States' inner cities. "The Champs-Elysees isn't what it used to be ten years ago," Anne, a Frenchwoman who has lived minutes from the famed avenue for the past three decades, complained to me. "We were used to fending off the tourists with their cameras, and now we have to deal with these gangs everywhere." As my own apartment is located only two blocks from the Champs-Elys?©??, I find myself walking its frenzied sidewalks nearly every day. I feel "gangs" may be too strong a word for these groups of teenaged and 20-something men, but I do instinctively walk as far away from the entourages as I can, if I see them in advance. I do this mostly out of instinct: A girl walking by herself is keen to attract unwanted attention from a throng of similarly aged males. One evening, I was fiddling with my iPod on my way to the metro station. As I looked down at the gadget in my hands, I was suddenly accosted by two kids, each no older than 17. "Where you going? Listening to music that's good to make loooove to?" Normally I would have pushed them off and kept on walking and ignored whatever obscenities they called after me. Instead, I felt I had an opportunity to talk to them, which was something every French person I spoke to hadn't really taken the time to ever do. "I'm listening to Sinatra," I said, noticing they were surprised I hadn't responded in the way I usually would have. "So, hey, what do you think of when people call you guys la racaille?" My attempt to forge a bond of socio-cultural understanding went unrewarded, as the two adolescents with uneven facial hair scoffed at me and coughed up some rapid-fire verlan I am as of yet unversed in, before turning to harass the next female coming up behind us, a redhead in knee-high boots. I guess you could say I wasn't surprised. While I have heard far more from one side than the other, this much I have gathered: They haven't tried to listen to each other. The so-called racaille started speaking in verlan so as to not be understood by the bourgeoisie, the police, and all other Establishment-aligning factions. And can you blame them? French passports notwithstanding, they are likely to be passed over for jobs even if they are just as or more qualified as their non-Arab compatriots. In fact, while the nationwide unemployment rate is ten percent, for French Arabs - the country's largest minority - it is three times that. And now, when dozens of verlan words are part of the average French person's vernacular, thanks to their avant-garde use by young people and the media who caters to them, the racaille goes to great lengths to re-verlanize the words too many outsiders now understand. Le verlan is clearly the upshot of classicism in France. It is the all-too-common story of a primarily working class group of people - in this case, Arab immigrants - who have gone mostly ostracized by the larger society, and rebel against the social order that won't accept them by rejecting said order's rules. And, for its part, the greater French society never really bothered to ask why everyone has been speaking in Pig Latin, until now, when they find themselves ensconced in flames.

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News

How to... | Sydne Summer

November 6

You can comfort a friend in various ways. Some people help friends through laughter or money while others take friends out for a drink or an ice cream sundae. I usually help by listening. While I may not always know what to say, I think just being there and listening to their problems is helpful. Last week, however, I received an e-mail from one of my friends, a George Washington University alumna who grew up in New Orleans. Instead of taking the passive approach, I have decided to help her by getting her message out to others. Today's column consists of an abridged version of her letter: "It has been a while since I have updated everyone, and unfortunately this update is anything but uplifting, and I am just dying for things to finally start to get better. But now it is certain that that is a long time coming. "I arrived in New Orleans yesterday morning, and I don't think there has been a smile on my face since then. In fact, I feel a weight on my face just holding it down. This is a war zone; it is no longer my hometown; it's actually terrifying. Everything you saw in the news is not an exaggeration. They didn't pick just the worst areas and show them over and over again; it is real. "Driving down the streets haunts me. Everything is dead, and there are construction things everywhere to either knock things down, pick up what's left of houses or clean up the streets. "As I approached my house, I [remembered] all those times that I came home from college, and I would get excited driving up, because I knew that someone would be washing my clothes, cooking my meals, letting me lie on my couch and watch TV. "What I saw just broke my heart. The entire lawn is dead: it's all brown, and there is trash everywhere. There is dust and mold. In the driveway sits my car: I couldn't even see through the windows because of all the mold that is growing inside. "When my mom opened the door, I thought I was dreaming. My entire first floor is gutted. There are barely any walls, and all I see is insulation, wood beams, bags of trash, dirt and grime. It was amazing: no more kitchen. I could see straight into one of our bathrooms and right out to the back walls of the house. "They are tearing down my house. I haven't been here since July 25, and tonight is the last night I will ever sleep in this house where I lived for 13 years. I have been packing and throwing away almost everything. My parents are moving to a small apartment with my brother. "As I pack up my things and have to choose what I want to keep, I feel terribly sad and empty. I know I am fortunate, but looking at my door with the spray paint marking 9-4 - the day they drove a boat and checked to see if anyone was stranded in my house - just hurts. "Today, my mother drove me to some of the worst areas and I couldn't even breathe. Some of those spray paint markings didn't read 0 (for no one there). Everyone in those areas (they can only be there during the day to try to clean and dig out items) has to wear protective suits; they look like biohazard suits. My parents wore them when they first got here. Some of the abandoned houses in those areas have the suits just hanging on the doors. "There are boats everywhere: in the middle of the streets, next to houses, on houses. It's unreal. "Last night I went for a drink with a friend of mine. As he and I were sitting outside, some guys shot a gun across the street and police came and were holding their guns at the men and yelling at them to put their hands up. I just turned to my friend and said, 'Take me home.' This was not the city I left. Sure, there was violence, but this is just chaos. "I'm sorry for such a long, depressing e-mail. But reading and watching the news, I just don't think cuts it. Being here just burns. The reality has left an imprint on me, much like those spray can markings that represent a condemned city. "Please keep praying and do whatever you can to help. This process hasn't nearly begun, and I feel like me, my family, and everyone has not had the moment to really let this all sink in. We can't because we have to move on. "But if you could close your eyes, and just think for moment: no job, no more house, no more safety, and simply no more comfort, and then think that is just the beginning, then you might understand that this process is going to be terribly long. "Please pray for my father, whose dreams came true here in New Orleans. He started a cancer center with other doctors, and was one of the head directors, and it is all gone. I miss you all terribly and I hope to hear from some of you soon. Love always, Maria"

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News

Alex Sherman | Retrospective

November 6

I'm a big fan of freedom of speech. I'm also a big fan of procrastination. The two would normally never conflict with each other if it weren't for that up-and-coming social vortex, LiveJournal. For those of you who don't know what LiveJournal is (or Xanga or any other offshoot of this arcane institution), it is an online journal for the everyday person, but published on the Internet for all to see. Now that I've destroyed your shield of naivet and exposed you, let me do you the service of turning you off of it. LiveJournals violate a sacred, virtuous code that has been established since people were able to write things down: The journal is where one writes down their most personal secrets and thoughts. Journals are never supposed to be read by anyone other than the writer. Journals are for your eyes only and - God forbid - someone ever get a hold of it, your "life" would effectively be "over." To be fair, when we write (or used to write) in a journal, while we may have been loathe to anyone reading them, we wrote down things that we wanted to say to people, that we wanted people to know. Some of us might have secretly hoped that that special someone would open to page 12. But that was the sacred agreement: The secrecy went both ways. In exchange for journals becoming your private, mute and opinion-less confessor, no one would ever know your deepest thoughts. Then, some uppity person decided it would be a good idea to put it online in order to reconcile this egregious act of privacy. Hence: LiveJournal, the place where everyone gets to vomit their life story all over the Internet. Hold the phone. This seems to be a reasonable innovation on the surface. It seems very cool: You finally get to peek at the guarded secret of every girl or boy you ever liked. Did they mention you ever? Did they write nice things? All the questions you ever had have the possibility of being answered. Instead you wind up being extremely disappointed. Rather than import the same type of journal-writing that one might expect, LiveJournal writers never name names, and they are never straightforward. Just when you thought you could tap into the dark secrets of your friends, you find yourself wading through cryptic and senseless paragraphs that the author has passively aimed at people that will never know or care that they have been mentioned in someone's journal. Entering someone's Live Journal is, more often than not, an abject waste of time. There are three types of LiveJournals. First, The Emo - nothing but whine and cheesy. The person is either gushing through the nose or prosaically complaining in an equally powerful fashion about someone. Second: The Prose, Haiku, and Poetry Up the Wazoo. Adding another layer of cipher to the complexity of meaning, this LiveJournal user refuses to use anything other than a pseudo-Walt-Whitman-esque writing style to convey anything. The poems themselves are devoid of style, but they ooze with meaning and subtext that we'll never understand. The third type: The Rambler. Too much time, an inflated sense of self-importance and no ceiling on word count somehow translate into a license to bore. We did not ask for your life story, pal. The fourth type, of course, is The Legit. A diamond in the rough: to the point, and succinct. Interesting links and pictures are posted sporadically, people are addressed by name rather than the unspecified pronoun, and usually it turns out to be funny. I was joking about the existence of the last one. The point of this rant is yet another request to reclaim the status quo of the good old days, where whatever was written in people's journals stayed a secret. I'm tired of clicking on a link in someone's profile and find myself lost and up to my neck in their personal life. And yes, it's my prerogative to visit your LiveJournal in the first place. But to tie this into my first paragraph, I like to procrastinate by checking away messages and AIM profiles (and who doesn't?). There used to be a time when I could scroll down my buddy list and have a good laugh at someone's wit. Now I have to navigate the buddy list like a minefield, lest I check up on someone and get drawn into their personal pit of despair. Don't be an attention-whore and bait your away message with sympathy trips. I'm sure the world has something better to do than read something they weren't supposed to see in the first place.

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News

Howard Zinn: No wars are justifiable

November 6

Historian Howard Zinn had no intention of sugar-coating his message to students Friday night. "We cannot depend on the leaders of the United States to stop a war that is killing several million people," he said. "Their interests are opposed to the interests of ordinary human beings." Zinn spoke to over 100 people in the ASEAN Auditorium at the Fletcher School with Gino Strada, a war surgeon, in a program entitled "Silent Casualties: Civilian Victims of War." Strada, who founded the American branch of Emergency: Life Support for Civilian War Victims, spoke first. He discussed the atrocities, intended and unintended, committed against civilians in war-torn countries. He spoke about his organization's role in providing war and trauma surgery, pediatric care and cardiac surgery to people in these countries. The Boston chapter of Emergency organized the event. Strada began his presentation by saying that in World War I, the ratio of military to civilian casualties was ten to one. In World War II, though, this ratio shifted in the opposite direction. Over 90 percent of all war casualties from 1946 to 2005 have been civilians, he said. "Some of the pictures I am going to show you are quite rough," Strada said before he began his PowerPoint presentation. "War is exactly this and nothing else." His presentation included several graphic photographs of the results of different types of landmines. His focus was on children injured by mines. Landmines "create an army of mutilated children in the country you consider your enemy," he said. "Landmines have cancelled the postwar concept," Strada said. "Landmines do not care if a peace treaty is signed. They will continue to kill and maim." He closed with a quote from Albert Einstein: "War cannot be humanized, it can only be abolished." Einstein's words also fit well with Zinn's lecture. After calling the abolition of war "something that has to be put on the agenda of the human race at this point in history," Zinn outlined the progression of his feelings towards war. Zinn, an historian best known for his book "A People's History of the United States," said he grew up reading war stories that romanticized war. He cited Dalton Trumbo's 1939 book "Johnny Got His Gun" as the cause of the reversal of his feelings. His change of heart was put on hold with the outbreak of World War II, during which he fought in the United States Air Force. "That powerful anti-war feeling I had developed was pushed aside in the flow of this idealistic war against fascism," he said. His feelings about war once again changed drastically after the war ended. Another book - John Hersey's "Hiroshima" - allowed him to think about the actual human beings affected by war. "Once you've made a decision that they are the bad guys and you are the good guys then you don't question anything you do," Zinn said. "Then you can bomb Hiroshima and bomb Nagasaki. You don't even stop to ask the question: Were these 600,000 civilians who died... bad guys?" Zinn said he came to realize World War II was nothing more than an imperialist war. "If you can question the war that has the most 'goodness' attached to it, what can you say about all the other wars?" he said. He last spoke at Tufts on Oct. 17, 2002. Spurred on by the Vietnam War protest movement, Zinn became an anti-war activist. He concluded with a vehement condemnation of war. "The technology of modern war is such that, whatever the cause... war, because of what it does to human beings, cannot be justified," he said. He called upon the audience to work toward this common cause. "We are going to have to figure out how to solve the problems that exist in the world without war," he said. "That's something that involves all of us."

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News

The Motherhood Debate

November 6

Over the past few weeks, the Daily has run a series of off the hill viewpoints on immerging trends of college-educated women's choices about maternity. I'm writing to add a perspective from Tufts to the debate. One of these articles, printed about two weeks ago from NYU, insinuates that the choice being made by increasing numbers of female college graduates to be full-time stay at home moms is a pathetic waste of an expensive education. More recently, a viewpoint from the University of Nebraska was printed, suggesting that mothers who choose to work would often be happier to stay home and raise their children full-time. Both of these articles were written by women. It may seem at first glance that one is a pro-feminist article and the other anti-feminist, but I do not believe that to be the case; as a staunch feminist, I find both of the attitudes expressed in these articles to be absolutely appalling. Let's make one thing clear: A foundational and enduring goal of the feminist movement is to create a world in which all women have the freedom to choose how to live their lives, without being ostracized or punished. True, the feminist movement sets great hopes on the social progression that could occur from a full integration of women into the professional world. But I see a college educated woman who is able to choose how to live her life, with integrity, as a great victory for feminism no matter what her career path may be. Obviously, the legal, social, economic and cultural boundaries to this goal of choice are immense, especially on the question of maternity, as both these attitudes prove. There are a plethora of social and financial factors that go into every mother's hugely difficult choice of how to support her family. Both of the previously printed viewpoints ignored these external factors and blamed the mothers themselves for making an irresponsible decision - no matter which decision they made. On the one hand, criticizing mothers who work for a living is shameful; they have as much a right to work as fathers do, and I don't see anyone complaining about breadwinning males. Why are we not critiquing the wage gap, the glass ceiling, the appallingly low minimum wage, the lack of government support for single mothers, and all other institutional conditions that force single mothers and other hardworking parents to work two or three jobs just to pay the rent? If mothers who would rather be at home raising their children are required to work just to feed their family let's not blame them; they didn't have a choice. It is absurd to assume that the problem is not enough women staying at home, instead of not enough men at home, or not enough government aid to working mothers, or any other number of social issues. It is not easy to be a working mother and it is not a task anyone undertakes lightly, so I don't think others should sit around second-guessing someone who is doing it. It is also absurd to assume that what is fulfilling for one woman will automatically be the best choice for another woman; some women may wish to be a full-time mom, some may not, so let's not prescribe from above what is best. I say bravo to women who manage to have the best of both the professional and the familial worlds, as men have been able to do for centuries. As for the other argument, there are some people who would claim that the negative attitude towards stay at home moms expressed in the NYU viewpoint is 'feminist,' but in my opinion it is very far from it. The article perpetuates extremely chauvinistic assumptions that raising children is not a full-time and hugely important profession. Why are we not adamantly decrying these ignorant societal assumptions, rooted in a deep cultural tradition of misogyny? Instead, the article degrades the decision of women to take up the job of stay at home mom. It is a very difficult job that is hugely aided by a good education - just ask your mom, she'll agree with me. An education is never a waste, especially not on a mother. For you university women who hope to be full-time mothers: Never let anyone tell you you're not a professional, because while they may be responsible for as much as a whole office, you will be responsible for the health and happiness of a human being, and having a college degree under your belt while you undertake that can't hurt. How women choose to be mothers, should they choose to, is not anyone's business but their own, so let's give university educated women the benefit of the doubt of being intelligent enough to make at least one or two choices about their own lives. It was a huge step for American women to gain access to the same educational opportunities as men. Now that we have this freedom, is society going to start telling us what we can or cannot do with our diplomas?

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News

Senior runs unopposed, but freshmen square off again

November 3

Getting elected to government does not get much easier than senior Kate Drizos' campaign for the TCU Senate. She collected the required 75 signatures from her fellow students, attended a meeting on Tuesday evening, and waited a few minutes. After the Elections Board verified a random sampling of her signatures, it was over. Drizos replaced Athena Bogis as the seventh Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator for the Class of 2006. Drizos was inspired to join the Senate through her work as co-coordinator of freshman orientation and discussions with former senator and current trustee representative Cho Ling. "Through meeting different people during orientation, I've realized that Tufts administrators have the capacity to listen to student opinion and take it seriously," she said. "I thought I'd get involved in the organization that represents all the students." Drizos is also an assistant arts editor for the Daily. Her unopposed election eliminated one of the vacancies created by two resignations last week. Bogis left the Senate because she is taking the semester off. Freshman Andrew Lee left the Senate six weeks after his election, citing the organization's heavy time commitment. Seven freshman candidates have signed up to fill Lee's spot. Kris Coombs, Constantin Sabet D'Acre, Greg Meiselbach and Matt Shapanka were among the 15 unsuccessful candidates in the September freshman election. The three other candidates - Elton Sykes, Daniel Hartman and Matt LaPolice - have not run before. For the second time around, the previously defeated candidates are changing their strategies. Coombs, who received 5 percent of votes cast last time, believes his chances will be increased because this time he is running alone. He was the only member of the four-person "4PlayforSenate" platform not to win a seat in September. "I really wanted to be on the Senate last time," Coombs said, "and since I was so close I really think I can make it this time and fill up that empty spot." Students with 6 percent or more of the vote in the last round were given a seat. Coombs plans to increase his name recognition with the class through postering and chalking near the campus center and the library. Even though he is just a freshman, Sabet D'Acre is already a campus election veteran. In addition to the first campaign for the Senate, he also ran unsuccessfully for freshman class council. But his lack of victory has not dampened his spirit for the upcoming race. "I want to play an important role in the community and I'm not giving up," Sabet D'Acre said. He is currently working on a "Bill of Rights" for students, which he described as a quick reference for students in potentially troublesome situations, including those that involve dugs and alcohol. The student population, he said, is unclear of many of these regulations. "I cannot officially go in your room if your door isn't open," he said, "and many students don't know that." Shapanka is emphasizing his experience as a walk-on - a non-elected, non-voting member - on the Senate's administration and budget committee as proof that he is already qualified for office. "Unlike last time, this candidacy isn't about proposals," he said. "It's about continuing projects I'm already working on." He is involved in a project with Senator Rafi Goldberg, a senior, to create a universal booklist to increase buybacks at the bookstore. Shapanka also wants to revive a project from two years ago that would install a GPS tracking system on the Joey, so people in Davis Square and the campus center know where the bus is and how long it will be before the next pickup. The proposal was pushed aside after discussions with Joseph's Limousine and Transportation made the Joey adhere more strictly to its posted schedule. Shapanka argued that the tracker is still important for the Joey. "People still complain about it," he said. "Even though it's on a schedule, it doesn't come on time." There is also a potential public safety issue for students who are unsure how long it will be until there is another Joey deciding to walk back from Davis Square at night, he said. If the results of the last election are a predictor, Shapanka has his work cut out for him. Last time he received 2 percent of the votes. Meiselbach received 4 percent, while Coombs and D'Acre both had 5 percent. Shapanka is undeterred. "One of things I'm trying to do this time is meet more people," he said. "I want people to say, 'Hey, I know that guy, and I'm going to vote for him.'" The seven candidates will square off in a candidate forum on Monday. The election will be held the next day using paper ballots. Elections Board Chair Denise Wiseman said that is not enough time to alert University officials to set up an online election. The Election Board's agreement with the University only lets the group conduct three elections per year online: the fall and spring general elections and the presidential election in the spring. Since Lee resigned because of the time commitment required, TCU President Jeff Katzin discussed the issue some at the candidate meeting on Tuesday. He said he would discuss the time commitment more at the candidate forum. He was confident the election would add a strong member to the Senate because by mid-semester, most students have worked out their activity schedules and priorities. "Usually what ends up happening is the person who ends up replacing [a senator] is really solid," he said.

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News

Brattle Theatre faces the possibility of closing

November 3

On the Web site of Cambridge's storied Brattle Theatre, an independent film house in Harvard Square, the calendar's schedule of movies and events goes through Dec. 22. After that, there is nothing. There is a good reason for the empty space: the theater's existence after this date is not certain. The theater began was a space for live performance in 1946, but for decades has served as a venue for new independent and foreign films, as well as classic movies from Hollywood and abroad. Despite this long history, this Harvard Square landmark - located across from the base of Church St. - may be forced to close its doors if it does not meet its goal of raising $400,000 by the deadline. Ned Hinkle, the creative director of the theater, expressed concern. "We're in a position where the Brattle has been carrying some debt for a while and struggling. We've been working on all kinds of different programs to make it break even, and we came very close this past year, but unfortunately we also experienced a 30 percent drop in ticket sales over the past two years," he said. The theater attributes some of its current financial problems to a decline in foot traffic in the area. The music retailer HMV and Wordsworth books have also cited this reason for closing their retail locations in the square. Another part of the debt stems from extensive renovations that were completed in 2001. The Preserve the Brattle Legacy campaign, launched this past spring, originally aimed to raise a total of $500,000 by 2006. The theater was hit with unexpected operating expenses over the summer, and the fundraising split has now been readjusted. Now there is a $400,000 target for 2005 and a $100,000 target for 2006. Before the theater signs a new lease in February, the directors and the board of the theater want to "be on solid financial footing and moving in the right direction," Hinkle said. When the necessity for this expanded drive became apparent in September, the board and the directors began a more public appeal for support in Cambridge, Boston and elsewhere. "The response that we were getting with the people that we had connections to wasn't as encouraging as we had hoped, and in September we realized we really needed to step up the whole process," Hinkle said. Much of the campaign is focused on gaining support from the Cambridge and expanded independent film community. "What we found doing research in other theaters is that most other places that do the kinds of things that the Brattle does rely less on ticket sales than we do and more on community support," Hinkle said. Hinkle sees the theater's efforts as a "litmus test as well as a necessary fundraising drive." The results of the drive will determine the level of community support. The Brattle has several fundraising events on the horizon in December including special premiere screenings, various musical events and the Brattle Movie Watch-a-thon. During the watch-a-thon - which is the theater's biggest event scheduled - participants will compete to watch the most movies between Nov. 11 and Dec. 4. Similar to a walk-a-thon, friends and family members of the contestants will pledge a certain amount of money per movie. The grand prize will be awarded to whoever brings in the most money for the campaign, and the first prize will go to whoever sees the most movies. With the Dec. 22 deadline looming, the theater continues to fervently push for support. "Right now we're still in the position where we need to solidify connections with people who can be more of a so-called angel donor and give us a significant amount of money this year and next year and potentially into the future," Hinkle said. He stressed that the theater is still looking for new donors or volunteers. "We're really looking forward to continuing the campaign and keeping the momentum going," Hinkle said.

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News

Omidyars make record $100 million donation

November 3

Seventeen years after Tufts alumnus Pierre Omidyar (LA '88) graduated, he has changed the world not once, but twice. First, Omidyar founded eBay - the popular Internet auction site - and now he has made the largest financial gift in University history: $100 million. "May you do as well after you graduate," University President Lawrence Bacow said Thursday afternoon. Omidyar and his wife, Pam (J '89), completed the donation on Tuesday, Nov. 1 - coincidentally, the same day as the birth of their third child. Bacow and representatives from the University held individual meetings - both in person and on the phone - with the Daily, the New York Times, USA Today, the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Boston Globe, among others, this week. The information was embargoed until 9 p.m. Thursday, when Bacow sent a University-wide e-mail about the donation. The Omidyars are also the co-founders of Omidyar Network - a mission-based investment group committed to self-empowerment on a global scale. The donation, which will be factored into the University's endowment, is unique. The $100 million will be invested in international microfinance initiatives through a partnership with the University. The gift is also the largest private allocation of capital to microfinance by an individual or a family. The gift will launch the "Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund." A separate and independent organization, steered by a board of trustees, will uphold the fiduciary responsibility for investing the funds with risk-appropriate returns. Bacow explained that "microfinance" is the act of "extending small loans to entrepreneurs in the developing world, designed to help and empower them to start businesses." Another term for microfinance is "banking for the poor," as the goal is to relieve people from a world of poverty. An average loan may range from $300-500 - maybe less - Bacow said. The majority of the loans will likely be administered to women, will have a relatively short duration - three to four months - and a "substantial repayment rate." (The default rate is less than that of a typical credit card.) Bacow gave an example of a handicraft worker in a developing country who could use the loan toward buying a new sewing machine, or whatever supplies are needed, with the aspiration that the new resources will help the handiworker operate independently. A main point of microfinance is the recycling of loans. When a loan is repaid, the money is recycled as another loan, multiplying the value of each dollar in defeating global poverty. The areas of the world that will receive financial support from the Fund include India, parts of South Asia, Africa and South America. The loans will not be doled out by the University, Bacow said. Instead, the Fund will coordinate with banks - "typically undercapitalized banks" - around the world to distribute the $100 million. The University will then invest in the banks, similar to how the University would if it were purchasing bonds. The main difference here, Bacow said, was that the transactions with the banks will be conducted through "lenders who are lending with microfinance." "This will be profitable for the University," Bacow said. "But more than that, it will help the flow of capital into the developing world." With this gift, Bacow said the University's endowment threshold will be right up to the $1 billion mark. One-half of the earnings from the Fund will be reinvested for additional microfinance programs, and the other half will go toward Tufts-specific programs of utmost importance at the moment. Although currently these ideas are in the planning stages, some examples of such important Tufts programs include: a loan forgiveness fund for graduates in public service, a funded internship program in the non-profit sector for undergraduates, financial aid, recruitment of new faculty, support for existing faculty, equipment and resources requested by faculty members for new initiatives and scholarships for economically-disadvantaged students to attend classes during Summer Session. In a press release given to media representatives on Thursday - different from the e-mail sent to the Tufts community Thursday night - Pierre Omidyar said this partnership with the University was ideal on several accounts: "The University has not only demonstrated leadership in educating active citizens, but Tufts also has consistently engaged in seeking practical solutions to real world issues around the globe." Pierre Omidyar also said that past examples of microfinance have "shown that enabling the poor to empower themselves economically can be good business." "It's a great gift for a lot of reasons - for the University and the rest of the world," Bacow said. "We can take great pride in that Tufts is a forward-looking institution that values global citizenship. This gift really speaks to that." The Omidyars previously established themselves as active and generous members of the Tufts community in 1999, with the founding of the University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS) with a total of $18.2 million in financial support. The college focuses on public service values, skills and learning opportunities for students. Earlier this semester, the Omidyars announced a $25 million donation for undergraduate financial aid, with the first $5 million donated in mid-September. Previous to this $100 million donation, the largest single gift in Tufts' history was the $50 million donation from real estate developer, former trustee, philanthropist and alumnus William Cummings (LA '58) toward the newly-renamed Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Cummings' donation was announced in September 2004.

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News

Campus Comment | Students pitch their own ideas as to what constitutes the average American -- and the average undergraduate

November 3

When applying to college, for a job or for a scholarship, people try to set themselves apart with descriptions of their singular accomplishments and unique abilities. There's a sense that, in order to succeed, one must be anything other than ordinary. But Kevin O'Keefe, a former sports manager and magazine journalist who is currently a marketing consultant, spent the last two years searching for the most ordinary person in America. For his book "The Average American: The Extraordinary Search for the Nation's Most Ordinary Citizen," O'Keefe spent two years traveling across the country compiling statistics that would define the average American. Some examples of what he found include: the most average American lives within three miles of a McDonald's and eat there at least once a year. He or she eats peanut butter at least once a week, and prefers smooth over chunky. He or she has fired a gun, believes in God and the Bible, showers for about 10.4 minutes a day (but never sings while bathing) and can name all Three Stooges. Physically, the average American is between five and six feet tall, weighs between 135 and 205 pounds, and is between 18 and 53 years old, according to O'Keefe's research. "America is a big and diverse place - regionally, racially, etc.," Associate Professor of Sociology and Community Health Rosemary Taylor said. "From that point of view, it's hard to imagine the 'average' citizen." "But one can calculate averages from statistical data: the 'average American' makes X thousand dollars, has 1.5 children and so on," Taylor said, adding that the statistical methods O'Keefe used could have affected his findings, making interpretation of his results complicated. Most students interviewed had similar ideas of what the average American would look like. "I picture a white male, in a suburban home, with 2.5 kids and a dog or a cat," junior Marchaun Morrison said. In fact, O'Keefe found that the average American does live in a house, rather than an apartment or a condominium. (And that house is valued at between $100,000 and $300,000.) "I picture a sort of sitcom family - the average guy is a white male with an office job, and he watches football and baseball," sophomore Martha Simmons said. "I picture him having a wife and kids and a couple of close friends." The Tufts students interviewed imagined that recreation for the average guy probably centers on sports and vacation. "I'd say he probably watches football on Sundays," senior Jeff Burke said. "He probably watches a lot of TV and goes on vacation twice a year - and owns a vacation home on the Vineyard or Long Island," Morrison said. O'Keefe found that the average Joe has nine friends, his closest pal within five years of his own age. But this image of a socially active adult wasn't easy for one student to imagine. "I just don't think of adults having friends," Burke said. "I guess I can see female adults having a few close friends, but not males." Junior Elizabeth Hammond questioned the usefulness of knowing what makes up the most statistically average person. "I think it's possible to have a statistical baseline, but only knowing that it wouldn't be representative of what an American really is," Hammond said. "And from a statistical perspective, there has to be a wide range of error." So what about the typical Tufts student? Every student interviewed pictured an entirely different person than the average American. "The average student here is intellectual, very well educated, knowledgeable of worldly events, friendly, opinionated and liberal," Morrison said. "And they visit the Facebook all the time." "I'd say the average Tufts student is from a supportive family with a middle-class income, from the East Coast or the West Coast, and questions higher authority," Burke said. "I think of a wealthy New Englander," Hammond said.

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News

N.Y. Giants' Wellington Mara was a true legend

November 3

It is a week after maybe the classiest owner in professional sports passed away, and those who knew him well are still talking about late New York Giants owner Wellington Mara. Twenty-three owners and many distinguished coaches attended his funeral. Some might consider it overkill, but the reason that so many of us stop what we are doing on Sundays and watch the NFL is at least partly due to Mara's legacy. Mara was firmly behind revenue-sharing among teams and spreading all the TV revenue throughout the league. If Mara was anything like New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, football would be like baseball today - a few teams would have all the money and the rest would be akin to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Instead, teams in small markets still have the same chance as the Giants every year. Only in a league like the NFL, and with a visionary like Mara, could a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers win four SuperBowls and be competitive year in and year out. In baseball, the Pirates are a disaster, in part because teams like the Yankees and Red Sox have nearly ten times the revenue. It still remains to be seen how long the owners will honor Mara's legacy, as the NFL's collective bargaining agreement expires in three years and there is heavy debate about how revenue sharing will continue. Currently, most revenue is shared, with the exception of things like stadium-naming rights and luxury boxes. With Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft turning their teams into cash cows, the difference between the haves and the have- not's is growing. Team such as the Buffalo Bills and Steelers don't pull in nearly the revenue of the Redskins or Cowboys. To complicate matters further, Kraft, Jones, Snyder and others among the elite argue that they should not be punished for their entrepreneurship. (The Cowboys receive millions of dollars every year because they play on Fedex field. Cleveland's Paul Brown Stadium and New York's Giants Stadium just don't pull in the same big bucks.) It was an emotional day at Giants stadium, as Tiki Barber, Mara's favorite player, rushed for over 100 yards and New York trounced the Redskins 36-0. Barber was at Mara's bedside when he died and called it a true honor. Mara was supposedly awake just long enough to see Eli Manning's coming of age last week in a 24-23 win over the Denver Broncos. And this week, Manning continued his stellar play, making the Giants look like the best team in NFC. The surging Giants, though, will have a big test this week in the San Francisco 49ers. Don't laugh yet. The Giants lost to the Chicago Bears after posting the same record in their first seven games last year. And this is a hungry 49ers team, one that defeated a good Tampa Bay Buccaneers side last week. Moving on to the Mile High City...When a team blows out the Philadelphia Eagles and defending champion Patriots, it's fair to say that it is for real. The Broncos have done just that behind the leadership of quarterback Jake Plummer. Scouts often refer to "Jake the Snake" as a player that can be great on one play and terrible on the next, but the great side has shone through this year. The real reason for the Broncos 6-2 record, however, has been their ability to run the ball. Denver's offensive line has had success regardless of the running back burning through the holes it creates. This year it has been the duo of Tatum Bell and Mike Anderson leading the Broncos' hopeful charge back towards the playoffs. Denver also has a much-improved defense. Coach Mike Shanahan decided to transport Cleveland's defensive line to the Mile High City and it has paid off. Linemen such as Courtney Brown had a bad reputation when they arrived in Denver, but Shanahan has worked to changed that, and has given his team a solid D-line in the process. It should be interesting to see if the Broncos, Redskins and Giants can keep up with Indianapolis, but that's why we tune in every Sunday.

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News

Somerville gives one more hour for booze

November 3

After a year and a half of winding their way through the city bureaucracy, four Somerville bars are now open until 2:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. PJ Ryan's, The Independent, Toast Lounge and Good Time Emporium were approved by the Somerville License Commission Sept. 26 in a two-to-one vote. The license, which extended last call by one hour, went into effect Oct. 7. The commission first voted to allow applications for liquor license extensions in March 2004. These are the first four bars to have their applications accepted, but Johnny Ds, On the Hill Tavern, and Casey's are still being considered. So far, both the establishment owners and their patrons have been happy with the later closing time. Ken Kelly, the owner of both The Independent and Toast in Union Square, said business has been better on weekends since the commission's decision. "We're definitely crowded at 2:00 a.m.," he said. "And more crowded at 1:00 a.m. than we used to be." Most of the added business, Kelly said, comes from people knowing they can arrive at bars later and stay for longer. "We're basically attracting people who normally go downtown for dining and drinks," he said. Somerville bar owners said the change allows them to better compete with bars in surrounding cities. Smoking was banned in bars in Somerville starting Oct. 1, 2003, but the state did not adopt the rule until July 5, 2004. Between those dates, owners believe the patrons of Somerville bars went elsewhere. "Some of their customers went to other towns that didn't have it initially before the statewide ban and they got hurt economically," Somerville License Commission Chairman Raymond Trant said. Businesses were looking for something to compete with surrounding areas. Boston bars stay open until 2:00 a.m. "The driving force was the licensees themselves," Trant said, "because they stepped forward to ask the city if it was possible to extend their hours to 2:00 a.m. to economically compete with other cities and towns that have 2:00 a.m." Senior Larry Schwimmer said the extra hour is better for students. "I'm very happy with the new hours because I usually go out to bars at around 11 or 12," he said. "This new rule almost doubles my time out." Another senior, Phil Martin, said the acceptance of bars' applications keeps Somerville in line with other cities in the Northeast, such as New York, that let bars stay open late. "The old one o'clock closing times were a remnant of a Puritanical society that most people around Boston don't believe in anymore," Martin said. "The two o'clock closing time will give people another option for going out besides Boston." Director of Drug and Alcohol Education Services Margot Abels said she doubts the extra hour will make student drinking in the city less safe. "I'm not sure that [the longer hours] are going to make that much of a difference," she said. "A comparable school, say in New York where alcohol is available 24/7, tends to have the same drinking rates that we have." The impact would be "small, insignificant even," Abels said, "because of where this population of folks is drinking." According to the Tufts University Alcohol Study, conducted by the Community Health Program in May 2001, only 13.2 percent of Tufts students drink in bars, while the majority drinks in off-campus houses, residence halls, or fraternities.

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News

Football | As season winds down, Jumbos look to finish well winning note

November 3

Coming off their fourth consecutive loss, falling at the hands of Amherst College, and now at 2-4 on the season, the football team is between a rock and a hard place. With two games left on the season, the best the Jumbos can hope for is finishing the season at .500. Despite the poor performance over the last four games, Tufts would like to finish the season off strong and is optimistic about its chances this weekend when it travels to Maine to face off against Colby College. "This game is important for a lot of reasons, mainly because it is a game we expect to win," offensive coordinator Mike Daly said. "Its important for our seniors to go out on a winning note and it is important for our younger guys to set the tone for the offseason." Colby does not dominate any one defensive or offensive category in the league but has found ways to win all season. The White Mules currently sit at 5-1 on the season, and are in a three-way tie for second place in the league with Amherst and Bates. The team's only loss has come at the hands of Trinity, a team that the Jumbos matched up well against earlier this season. On defense the Jumbos will focus on trying to contain Colby's potent running game. Tufts has dropped its last two games partly because of uncharacteristically poor defensive play, which players and coaches are trying to fix before this weekend's matchup. "There is definitely a sense of frustration among the players," junior defensive end Chris Decembrele said. "We know we haven't been playing to the best of our ability and it has created a sense of urgency to come out and play well the next two games." For much of the season, Tufts has relied heavily on its defense to win games. The poor play has not been a matter of poor preparation but a combination of poor execution and a lack of focus, which the team has worked on fixing in practice. "The frustrating thing is that we knew what to expect against Amherst," Decembrele said. "[Defensive coordinator John Walsh] scouted them well, and we knew what was coming. It's just been a lot of mental mistakes, and not capitalizing when it counts. You can't afford to do that against good teams." Tufts has not been preparing any different plays on offense, but has focused more on execution. The team has struggled all year in completing drives and capitalizing on key scoring opportunities. "We're focused on consistency," Daly said. "We definitely need to finish our offensive drives in order to be successful on Saturday. We've made plays and had opportunities, but just haven't finished." The Jumbos will also look to try and keep the defense off the field by controlling the game on offense. Execution and a focus on running simple plays will be the major points of the Jumbos offensive game plan. "We want to control the ball with our running game and just make simple plays," Daly said. "We expect the guys we put in positions to play to execute their assignments as a unit. If we do that we will be fine." As a team, the Jumbos are trying to put the last four losses behind them and learn from their mistakes. With two games left on the season, the Jumbos are trying to maintain a positive attitude. Players and coaches agree that the team must look forward in order to be successful. "Right now it's hard for us to look back on the mistakes we made in the last two games," Decembrele said. "We can't wait to get back on the field and hopefully learn from our mistakes and not make them again. The thing with this team is that we have a lot of guys who want to work hard and win. The last two games just make [tomorrow's game] that much more important for us."

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