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Tisch opens with Tubman

October 17

On the same land that once served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, author and historian Catherine Clinton discussed the life and times of Harriet Tubman on Friday. The speech on Tubman, the ex-slave who led hundreds of escaped slaves to the north, was part of the Friends of Tufts' Libraries Authors Talk Series and kicked off Tisch Library's exhibit, "Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln's Journey to Emancipation." Clinton spoke about her 2004 book, "Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom." She told several stories of Tubman's accomplishments and testimonies of her character. "[Tubman] snatched slaves south of the Mason-Dixon Line and smuggled them north," Clinton said. Tubman did more than just talk about the issue of slavery, Clinton said. Once the Civil War began, Tubman made it her "personal struggle to destroy slavery," Clinton said. Clinton also spoke about the lesser known aspects of Tubman's life. "She remained illiterate for the rest of her life, but knew how to read people," Clinton said. Tubman also suffered from what was then called "losing time." Although undiagnosed, Tubman's symptoms were typical of epilepsy or narcolepsy. After the Civil War, Clinton said, Tubman opened a charity home in her house and supported women's suffrage. "[She] devoted herself to benevolence," Clinton said. In some images, Tubman has been depicted carrying a rifle, a depiction that conflicts with Tubman's image of a heroine for elementary school students, Clinton said. The images of Tubman with a weapon are a "pinnacle of conflicted symbolism," Clinton said, and viewers of the images should consider Tubman's era and circumstances. Clinton said documenting Tubman's life was both a joy and a challenge. While there were plenty of secondary sources, Clinton said, little of the actual documentation has been recovered. By studying the area where Tubman was born and lived in Maryland, though, Clinton was able to uncover more information. "One doesn't always find everything in the documents," Clinton said. After the talk, people were able to purchase Clinton's book and have her sign it. Several people stayed to get their copies autographed and talk to the author about Tubman's life. Clinton's next book will be a children's book for five to eight-year-olds, entitled "When Harriet Met Sojourner." It will give biographies of both Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth and detail the meeting of the two abolitionists.

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News

Meredith Pickett | The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You

October 17

"Hi, What's your name? Where are you from?" "Long Island."Five minutes later."Hi, my name is Meredith. Where are you from?""A suburb of Boston." That was me at freshman orientation. Orientation was a blast - like summer camp with drinking - but I felt like a fish out of water. I'm from Texas, and although there are many non-northerners here, they are outnumbered by so many east coasters that I feel like an anomaly. I was asked about Texas and stupid things such as, "Do you have a cactus in your yard?" (That was embarrassing because the answer was yes.) Then people found out I was from Houston and lived in Houston Hall, and let me tell you, that was fun allllllll year. Here is my question: If Tufts is supposed to be so diverse, why are there so many east coasters here? Before I came to Tufts, I could not tell the difference between Larchmont and Mamaroneck, or what commuter rail to take to Worcester, or which school was better, Spence and Riverside. And you know what? I don't care! Hearing about these small details is not helping me to learn about different places and experiences. It's just northerners thinking they are "da bomb." East Coast? Please. It's been done. It's not that I'm against northerners. My boyfriend is from Boston, and many of my friends are from the North. But there are just so many of them. I bet if you went to each room on campus, it would be hard to find one that didn't have at least one person from the East Coast (except for mine, which is cheating, because I told you about it). It makes Tufts seem more like the regional school it was rather than the diverse institution that it wants to become. When President Bush was reelected last year, many people at Tufts were angry. I was one of them. But some people went off about how "we should secede from the South" and how "all people who voted for Bush were ignorant southern conservatives." I found myself defending a President I don't like because I felt my background was being challenged. I tried to tell people the South is not full of "crazy conservatives" and we should respect other people's opinions if we want them to respect ours, but my explanations fell on deaf ears. I guess it's just easier to buy into the stereotype than learn about a region different from your own. I've found the multitude of Yankees makes this campus less politically active. At my high school, my political feelings made me a minority, and I learned how to reason with people without angering them. Here liberals say things I would have never said to my Republican friends, and it goes unnoticed because everyone agrees with them. That may get you far at Tufts, but it won't work outside of this bubble. I'm so over the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry, too. I have a small secret to confess. My entire family, except for my sister and me, is from Massachusetts. When the Red Sox play, I root for them. I've been to a couple games, and I watched every playoff game last year. (I also watched every Astros game, which is why my grades made a sharp decline during that period.) But by the end of the World Series, I was so sick of both Yankees and Red Sox fans that I didn't watch their games this year. My friends and I decided not to watch the games in the "Yankee" room because they were so serious, and by serious, I mean seriously annoying. And I mean, I'm all about rioting, but I was disgusted when I saw what happened in Kenmore Square. Red Sox and Yankees, your time is over. No one cares. My roommate is from St. Louis, and I am from Houston. This creates an interesting rivalry. The Astros are playing the Cards, and for once I can watch the games in peace with someone who actually cares about the outcome. These teams are rivals but not enemies. I'm pretty stoked about a non-east coast World Series this year, and not just because my Astros might be in it. This will be a World Series that I won't have to listen to half of my friends complain about all year. I can't wait! So listen up all you Southerners, Midwesterners, West coast playas, Canadians and U.S. Virgin Islanders. We have to rise up and make our presence known at this school! The next time that someone says something about the North, shoot back a reply about where you live. The next time someone talks about the difference in climate between New York and Boston say, "Oh yeah, well can you tell me what state St. Louis is in?" or "I'm from Canada. What now?" Don't let those East Coast kids get you down. Let's reclaim Tufts before it's too late.Meredith Pickett is a sophomore majoring in History. She can be reached via e-mail at Meredith.Pickett@tufts.edu.

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News

The cost of college

October 17

The cost of attending college is rising faster than inflation, but not faster than the flood of criticism. Today more than 75 private universities - including Tufts - charge more than $40,000 a year to pursue an undergraduate degree. It is speculated that this number will only increase in the near future as colleges strain to remain below the psychological resistance point of having a high sticker price. As other expenses such as transportation and book expenses - not to mention 'nickel and diming' - only add to the bottom line, the sticker price for an embossed piece of paper from the University pushes $200,000 over a four-year period. In 2004, 70 percent of students nationwide received a bachelor's degree from a private college. The number of student loans issued has more than doubled since 1993. At the same time, median wages for workers ages 25 and older with only a bachelor's degree have actually been declining, adjusting for inflation. This suggests it may be more difficult than before for debtors to repay their loans. The fact that the bottom line is increasing at Tufts and at other institutions is only part of the discussion on costs. As students and parents continue to open their wallets wider, they, too, have increasing demands on universities. Everything from the quality of toilet paper to the turf on the field comes under criticism. Every student, student organization and faculty member has a pet project they want to see the University undertake, or an upgrade they see necessary. But most universities are already loaded with extras. The costs of maintaining a campus that has the aesthetic pleasure of public gardens and the building square footage of a Fortune 500 office park is enormous. There is also great pressure to provide luxurious dorms at prices that are not unrealistic for outside housing markets. Sports facilities, spacious campus centers, and computer labs only raise costs but add little to the educational experience. No matter how high these costs rise, the value of Tufts provides is far beyond the five-digit number paid by students. At most private institutions, even the full amount of tuition does not cover the cost per student of maintaining a university. The value of a university education is misrepresented by its sticker price. An education is not a commodity whose value can easily be ascertained. It has no consumption deadline and cannot be resold. But for most students, it is by far the largest personal financial decision they have made in their life and will likely only be seconded by a house or a really nice car. The alternative of bypassing four years of university for job experience and savings may outweigh the benefits of further education. Although the University may not be a private corporation, it should cut costs in ways which do not compromise the learning experience. Increased outsourcing of non fundamental activities (e.g. maintenance) would help to either flatten tuition hikes or provide more of the services students demand. The University should re-examine the allocation of certain valuable resources, specifically faculty. While much can be learned from professors, different, complementary lessons can be learned outside the classroom in the form of internships at a much reduced cost to the University. The discussion of University tuition costs will not abate in the near future. What is necessary is a holistic evaluation of services received and their alternatives. If there is a more efficient way to spend four years and tuition money, let the alternative win.

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News

Is your personal info up for grabs on the Internet?

October 16

When you need to find the name of the girl in your psych class, you Facebook her. When you need to get an e-mail address of a friend to get an assignment, you Facebook them. When you need to find someone's friends, clubs and place of residence, you Facebook them. Facebook.com, launched by Harvard students in 2004, has swept college campuses nationwide as a means of communication and procrastination and as a provider of information. And while many people feel comfortable putting all types of personal information - phone numbers, home addresses and e-mail addresses - on a Facebook profile, they may not understand the implications of making their information so easily available. Last week, however, the University of New Mexico made that decision for its students, shutting off access to Facebook.com on its university network, partially due to concerns about privacy. "There are people out there whose intent is perhaps not as socially desirable as it could be," University of New Mexico computing and information resources and technology security administrator Jeff Gassaway told the university's newspaper. If placed in the wrong hands, personal information may help people who wish to harass or techno-stalk someone. As stated in a packet received by freshman orientation leaders at Tufts, techno stalking is any "situation in which someone repeatedly attempts to contact another via the Internet - through e-mail, chat rooms, instant messaging, bulletin boards and/or Usernet Groups - so that this pattern of behavior results in the victim feeling threatened or harassed." Elaine Theodore, the Violence Prevention Education Coordinator at Tufts, believes many people may not realize the dangers in putting information on the Internet. "Many relationships online can be fun and even sexy, but there are a lot of unknowns when communicating with someone you don't know and can't see," Theodore said. While there have not been many reported techno stalking issues at Tufts, and none have been highly publicized, the possibility does exist for the type of information found on Facebook to aid in harassment or stalking. According to the same packet for orientation leaders, "incidents have been documented where stalkers have found individuals addresses, class schedules, phone numbers, etc. and targeted harassment ensued." Theodore said that "there was one film clip shown at [orientation panel] 'In the SACK' this year about a student who was repeatedly stalked by her ex-boyfriend in Florida. A friend at Tufts had been feeding the ex-boyfriend information that was on Facebook." Many Tufts students are unaware of recent incidents regarding harassment through Web sites including Facebook. "I probably don't feel a big danger in revealing too much about myself," senior Melissa Fiorenza said. "I haven't had a run-in with someone who could put me in danger. Maybe if I heard scary stories or experienced a slight one, then I'd think twice about it. I guess that sounds pretty lame, but it's the truth." Other students said they have been contacted through instant messaging software or through Facebook by unknown people, but did not feel threatened. "I have had many drunken Facebook messages and many random people IMing me," senior Jon Godsey said. "But it is just more embarrassing for them when I find out who they are." Some students even enjoy receiving messages from unknown people. One such student is senior Ilan Behm, who had "one person that messaged me to tell me that they liked my hair. I was really weirded out at first, but then I realized that I enjoyed it." The bottom line is that while students may or may not enjoy random communication through Facebook, not many seem to see the danger involved. Even if sent a crude or nasty message, the students interviewed tend to brush it off without feeling any real danger. "I know people who have been threatened on Facebook, which I think is the most passive-aggressive way to confront someone," Godsey said. "I think that they considered doing something but didn't." The problem of cyber-stalking has become so widespread that the Women's Center is holding a workshop called "Stalking 101" on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. in Eaton 201. The workshop will be hosted by Cheryl Darisse, a local woman whose sister was stalked and murdered. She was responsible for new legislation on stalking laws in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Theodore said. The most important element of preventing online harassment is to pay attention, Theodore said. "There is no one piece of advice, but trust your instincts." Another key piece of advice is to use the different options that Facebook offers. "You can set your default to people who can see your info," Godsey said. "I have it so only my friends can see my info." Other steps can be taken if harassment or stalking continues after adjusting privacy options. Along with contacting the local or Tufts police, there are many Web sites that give advice about preventing online harassment, including Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA) at http://www.haltabuse.org, Cyber Angels at http://www.cyberangels.org or Feel Safe Again, Inc. at http://www.feelsafeagain.org. "Facebook is a handy tool, and it's a fun socialization method," Theodore said. "We know Tufts students can make intelligent, great choices for themselves and we just want to give them the information to do so."

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News

It's free sailing for most Web music pirates

October 16

"Pirating is free, you can find all the songs you'd ever want, and it's very easy to find," freshman Walter Barry said. Barry was referring to illegal downloading and file-sharing on the Internet, and as the music industry continues its policy of suing copyright violators, students are opting for various strategies to stay out of court. Over the summer, subpoenas were issued to six Tufts students by the federal district court on behalf of a suit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), according to an Oct. 7 e-mail to students from Dean of Students Bruce Reitman. The cases against Tufts students - the University is now the fourth Boston-area school to be served lawsuits, following Boston University, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - have not made the rest of the student body turn off the computer and rush to the record store. "The subpoenas don't matter to me," senior Ray Chang said. "I'm going to use the illegal service." According to a Sept. 21 press release on the RIAA Web site, the Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities, which includes university leaders, higher education groups, and music and movie executives, sent a report to Congress outlining its efforts to stop pirating. Hundreds of students at nearly 150 colleges and universities have been sued in the past two years, the report said. Reitman said he did not know Tufts students would be pursued by the RIAA. The organization found many Tufts IP addresses - unique identification codes assigned to each computer on a network - downloading files illegally. It would be "foolish" to think the six subpoenas already issued would be the last, he said. Freshman Scott Schreiber said he was not afraid. "You can sue thousands of people, but millions of people do this," he said. But the lawsuits have made Schreiber reconsider some of his downloading habits. "I'm more afraid to download here because there's more monitoring of a college campus than at home," he said. Of the six students subpoenaed, Reitman said four have agreed to financial settlements but is unaware of how the other two cases are proceeding. "At the time of the deadline to comply with the subpoena, we had been informed that four of the IP addresses no longer needed to be disclosed because they resolved the cases," he said. In his e-mail, Reitman said the RIAA is now investigating people who not only share music and video files but also those who simply download. Instead of pursuing users who download or share the most files, the organization selects users at random - so those who download only a few songs are no less likely to be pursued than those who download and share thousands of files. Reitman said the University had no say in the organization's choice of targets and had to comply with the court order. "While I'd rather see them go after big-time users, there's no track record that they'll do that," he said. The lawsuits from the RIAA are meant to be a deterrent, as well, Reitman said. "It's not the settlement amounts," he said. "It's getting the word out there that they're watching." In an effort to limit the illegal downloading by students, the University signed onto a legal downloading service, Cdigix, last November. Students can download songs for free on Cdigix using their Tufts ID numbers. The music files cannot be burned onto a CD or transferred to a portable device, though. The songs also only last for one school year before they "time-out." Students can pay $0.89 to have full access to the songs. Cdigix has arrangements with about 30 schools, including Yale University and the University of Denver. The program only works on PCs because the current version of Windows Media Player for Apple computers does not support the Digital Rights Management service - a variety of code technologies that limit the use of copyrighted materials - required to install Cdigix. Freshman Greg Scott summarized the service's problems. "I can't use it on iTunes, I can't download it onto my iPod, the songs only last a year, it doesn't sound as good, and I can't use it on a Mac," he said. Barry uses Cdigix, but he only found out about the program because he was told by his residential assistant (RA). RAs and orientation leaders were told during training to warn students about illegal downloading. "My RA had to tell me," Barry said. "Otherwise I would have no idea it was there." The University does not advertise for Cdigix, Reitman said, because it is not part of Tufts. "It's an off-campus company," he said. "It's something they have to do their own advertising for." Last year Cdigix hired two students to advertise on campus. Cdigix competes with a wide range of legal and illegal services. The legal services - which include Napster, iTunes, MusicRebellion, Rhapsody and Ruckus - have different price structures. Napster subscribers pay $9.95 per month but must pay an additional $5 per month to transfer songs to a portable device. Subscribers get more than 50 commercial-free radio stations and can share files with other members. Napster also allows users to download individual songs for $0.99 and entire albums for $6.95. Apple's iTunes is available to both PC and Apple users, but recent hacks to the program have made illegal use possible, an issue raised in the Committee's report to Congress. The program myTunes Redux allows iTunes users to copy and download songs from other users' libraries on the same network. Tufts students in the same dorm are on the same network. MusicRebellion's song prices depend on the demand - the most popular songs are the most expensive. Rhapsody provides similar services to Napster, including the radio feeds and the option to transfer files to portable devices. Unlike Napster, though, users who pay for the option are given a 10 percent discount on downloads. Ruckus was tested by students at American University, according to engadget.com, a technology news Web site with a discussion forum. Only 50 percent of students tested the program, and out of those people, 33 percent did not support Ruckus becoming part of the tuition cost because not all students would use the service. Students complained that Ruckus was not available to Apple users, that it was difficult to navigate, and that there was a poor selection of songs and movies. Students living off-campus also did not have access to the service. Illegal downloading programs have changed significantly since the days of the original Napster. Programs like LimeWire, eDonkey, Acquisition, and Bit Torrent let users download directly from other users without a central server - an easy RIAA target with previous file sharing programs. "I can still keep getting music for free through my own programs," senior Ian Beam said. "If I can get it for free, I'm going to do it, just like everyone else. That's what it comes down to." Beam uses LimeWire for music and DebateRoom.com for music, movies and software. He downloaded McAfee's antivirus software, which usually costs $120, he said. Students recommended some ways the industries could limit illegal use of music and movies. "Stop overpricing CDs," Schreiber said. "When you start pricing yourself out of your customers' wallets, you start having problems." The lawsuits do little to make students want to pay the industry for music, he said. "I think suing your target audience is not the best idea."

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Glocal Economics | From the Parthenon to the factories of China

October 16

On a recent visit to Athens, I visited all the Greek capital city's chief tourist attractions: the Parthenon on the Acropolis, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Ancient Agora and the National Archaeological Museum. I ate feta cheese, souvlaki, and sampled the Greek national liquor, Ouzo. Nevertheless, it was the emerging Chinatown in the Omonia Square neighborhood of Central Athens that most piqued my interest. The Chinese merchants in Athens are selling the same inexpensive Chinese-made products - handbags, luggage, jewelry, sneakers and women's clothing - found in shops along Manhattan's Canal Street. Entering one of these shops, I approached its owner to learn a bit about his business. He and his wife arrived in Athens last year from Wenzhou, in Zhejiang Province, on China's eastern seaboard south of Shanghai. The city, which had a GDP per capita of $3,390 in 2003, is the leading manufacturer of cigarette lighters worldwide. The $1 lighters that litter your dorm room were made in this mid-sized Chinese coastal city. Wenzhou-based firms manufacture 85 million lighters each year, accounting for roughly 80 percent of global output. Interestingly, more than 95 percent of Wenzhou's economy is based in the private sector. Beijing never established large-scale state enterprises in Wenzhou due to its relatively isolated geographical location. In the absence of widespread state-sponsored employment, the people of Wenzhou were compelled to use their entrepreneurial spirit. Although this unique history benefited the city's economic development, China's legacy of state ownership continues to be a stumbling block to healthy economic growth. The government's efforts to reform the unprofitable state sector in recent years are a source of potential social unrest. The millions of Chinese laborers left unemployed by the elimination of failed state-owned enterprises dwarfs the number of American workers whose employment was terminated due to the relocation of manufacturing to the Chinese Mainland. Although Wenzhou is a rather small Chinese city, with slightly more than one million urban residents and about seven million in the greater Wenzhou municipality, there is a relatively large expatriate community of Wenzhou natives throughout the world. Wenzhounese are the largest expatriate Chinese community in France and they also have significant populations in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Greece, Italy, South Africa and the United States. About 90 percent of the Chinese population in Rome comes from Zhejiang Province, most of them from Wenzhou. Wenzhou's large expatriate community and legacy of private ownership have given rise to Wenzhou's unique entrepreneurial culture, export oriented growth, and success as a global manufacturing center (at least for cigarette lighters). The success of small Chinese textile importers in Athens can easily be attributed to the low production costs and superb efficiency of Chinese manufacturers, which cannot be matched by their European competitors. Bras sell for two euros and women's jeans for ten euros. And the six-euro blouses are just slightly more than a grande coffee frappuccino at an Athens Starbucks. Although the European Union reached a tentative agreement with Beijing in the so-called "Bra Wars" to release millions of Chinese textiles tied up in European ports, trade frictions and large trade deficits will undoubtedly loom large in the relationships between a rapidly developing China and mature western economies. This is why textile and clothing manufacturers' associations in both the EU and U.S. have been intensively lobbying their respective governments to re-impose protectionist measures to safeguard their industries from inexpensive Chinese imports, and why the U.S. government has repeatedly demanded for greater revaluation of the Chinese currency, the renminbi (somtimes called the yuan). What's more, the entrepreneurial culture of little Wenzhou has inspired the ambitions of China's rising business class. Li Shufu, the enthusiastic Chairman of Geely Group, has embarked on a self-described mission to "make cars like people from Wenzhou make lighters." Geely sold only 80,000 vehicles in 2003, but wants to reach sales of one million vehicles annually by the end of the decade. Earlier this month, Geely launched its penetration into the European auto market when it unveiled five models at the Frankfurt auto show. Like other Chinese multinationals, Geely can offer its products at much lower prices than its competitors due to China's questionable intellectual property protection and its low costs of production. If China's economic development continues on the torrid nine percent annual pace set in motion by Deng Xiaoping's reforms of 1978, increases in trade frictions, competition for natural resources, and continued suspicion of China's military intentions will inevitably loom large on the horizon. The rise of China in the 21st century will transform the balance of political and economic, power both in Asia and throughout the world.

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Inside the ALCS | What a difference a dropped third strike makes

October 16

It's hard to believe that one umpire's call could change the destiny of two teams, but that's exactly what happened in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. Instead of potentially heading home to Anaheim up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, the Anaheim Angels took a spilt on the road against the Chicago White Sox. They were then completely outplayed in Games 3 and 4 before losing the series in last night's Game 5. That's not to take anything away from the White Sox. Their heads-up play helped them tremendously, but it's impossible to tell what would have happened had this series been played without an umpire intervention. With Game 2 tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, White Sox hitter A.J. Pierzynski - down to his final strike - swung on a low pitch that catcher Josh Paul appeared to catch on the fly. Paul flipped the ball to the mound and the inning seemed to be over as the Angels trotted off the field. Pierzynski, seeing nothing to lose, took off towards first base as if Paul had dropped the third strike. Umpire Doug Eddings, who appeared to have already called Pierzynski out, decided to call him safe at first. One batter later, Joe Crede put a ball in the corner and the White Sox headed out west tied in the series. This brings us to the question of whether instant replay should be allowed in baseball. Sure it might take a bit of time to review plays, but umpires often gather around and talk about controversial calls anyway. Instant replay would eliminate the time occupied by managers' arguing (which is actually a bit sad - it's fun to see former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon carry first base to the dugout with him after being ejected). There are more silly arguments against instant replay. Fox analyst Kevin Kennedy claimed on television that human error is a key part of the game. Yes, but doesn't it make more sense to try to ensure the team that plays the best on a given night wins rather than applauding the fact that once in awhile an umpire will be staring at a hot blonde in the stands and miss a call? The White Sox now have a commanding 3-1 series lead after last night's 8-2 win and Friday night's 5-2 victory, both in Anaheim. The injury to hurler Bartolo Colon was a backbreaker for the Angels, because the Halos were forced to start youngster Ervin Santana in his place. Santana has pretty good stuff and pitched well against the New York Yankees, but he's still a spring chicken and made many mistakes in Game 4 (4.1 IP, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 HR). Chicago's Freddy Garcia came up with a huge start to defeat Santana, pitching a complete game and striking out five while giving up only two runs. Garcia is a solid pitcher, but pitching a two-run complete game was beyond the White Sox's expectations. This series was billed as the battle of two of the best bullpens in baseball. That is true by regular season standards, but the games in this series are not decided by the bullpen. Anaheim has a fantastic closer in Francisco Rodriguez, as well as solid setup men in Escobar, Brendan Donnelly and Scot Shields. But these guys only really played roles in Games 1 and 2. Chicago has a number of talented arms in the pen. Flamethrower Bobby Jenks played a key role in sweeping the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS, plus he looks like the guy pitching to Rob Hobbs at the end of "The Natural." Cliff Politte, Neal Cotts, Dustin Hermanson (how does this happen?) and Damaso Marte have all had great years and Orlando Hernandez has tremendous postseason experience. One amazing thing about this series is that in the White Sox needed only two-thirds of an inning from their bullpen during the five games. This shows the strength of Chicago's starting pitching. Everyone knew Mark Buehrle was a very good pitcher, but what is important for the White Sox now that Jose Contreras, Jon Garland and Freddy Garcia have proven they can pitch under the intense pressure of the postseason. Chicago has a great pitching staff, but another reason for the team's great success is the meager Angel offensive lineup. Right-fielder Vladimir Guerrero is Anaheim's only power hitter, and he's not doing much of anything this October. Vlad loves to swing wildly, so when he's in a slump he doesn't help the team out by drawing walks and wearing down opposing pitchers. Only shortstop Orlando Cabrera provided consistent offense, and when you're looking to him for offense, you know your team is in trouble. In fact, the first three batters in the Angels' lineup: Chone Figgins, Orlando Cabrera and Vladimir Guerrero hit a combined .123 (7-for-57) in the ALCS.

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News

There will be no regrets if you return this 'Gift'

October 16

After over 20 years on hiatus, Leeds University's post-punk group Gang of Four is back with their first release as a complete band since 1983. This year's reissue of the band's classic "Entertainment!" met with such surprising success that the Gang felt it necessary to compose a rigorous tour schedule throughout the U.S. and Europe and release a two-disc set of old tunes revisited and remixed by up-and-coming bands entitled "Return the Gift." Gang of Four was formed in 1977 when Leeds University art students Jon King (vocals), Andy Gill (guitar), Dave Allen (bass) and Hugo Burnham (drums) penned poignant and exhilarating political lyrics and combined them with a driving guitar and funky rhythm section. This musical powerhouse pumped out three records - explosive "Entertainment!" (1979), the more subdued but equally creative "Solid Gold" (1981), and the flat-out lame "Hard" (1983) - before calling it quits. Gill and King released three more albums as a duo under Gang of Four's name, but without the tight rhythm section of Allen and Burnham their attempts were mediocre at best. Twenty years later, the band decided it was time to revisit their classic material. The first disc is comprised of re-recordings of music from the Gang of Four repertoire. The band chose the most upbeat singles off "Solid Gold" and "Entertainment!" and lavished them with the latest in studio technology. Sadly, the attempt at modernizing the songs has an adverse effect, negating the ingenuity of their music. The most grievous transgression against the band's admired originality is Gill's newfound affinity for distortion. Sure, on the old records there was a hint of distortion in Gill's guitar. It elevated the sheer rawness of the instrument, suggesting underlying anger or even malice. On this album, however, songs like "Anthrax" and "Natural's Not in It" are upsettingly cacophonous and resemble arena rock. The drumming, too, has taken a turn for the worse. Burnham always complained that his drums sounded dirty on the original records so "Return of the Gift" was a good opportunity to clean them up. Yet now, they are over polished, and now sound like an electronic drum set straight out of A-Ha's "Take on Me." Part of the appeal of the old albums is Gill's earthy and precise percussion. Now the originality is gone. Gang of Four sounds more '80s now than they did in the decade itself. Still, the vocals and bass endure. Allen keeps the rhythm tight, laying down funky and punky chops that combined with Burnham's dance beats, are still entertaining. King's voice has not changed over the years; he can still shriek and yelp in "To Hell with Poverty" and eerily chant in "Why Theory?" to the same effect as in his former days. The second disc (the remix album) is nothing special. There are laudable efforts from high-profile bands, but most are forgettable. Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs trades lyrics with King in "I Love a Man in Uniform" to bring a nice conversational aspect to the song. No Doubt's Tony Kanal scraps Burnham's drums in his remix of "Ether," replacing them with a less electrified beat that does the song justice. Besides these two songs and The Rakes's energetic version of "Natural's Not in It," the disc is worthless. Hot Hot Heat's remix of "Damaged Goods" is just plain awful. Undeniably, Gang of Four is one of the most influential bands of the past two decades, having heavily (and obviously) influenced latter day sensations such as Bloc Party, The Rapture and Franz Ferdinand. It would have made much more sense to have these artists contribute remixes. In the end, old age hasn't affected the band as much as over-production. The appeal and originality of Gang of Four's unique sound has been traded for dissonant guitar and fake-sounding drums. Instead of rerecording their old songs, it would have been more appropriate to release a live album from Gang of Four's ludicrously complete marathon tour. Overall, this album is frivolous and forgettable. Hopefully listeners will hear songs on "Return the Gift," remember the older, better versions, and listen to the original LPs instead.

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Glocal Economics | European Spectator

October 16

The European Union has had one of the toughest years since its creation. With the power struggle that has taken place in Germany, one would hope that the leading countries - who have worked so hard in the last half-century to put this supranational state into place - would start to face reality and comply with the need to change the aging thought process in their economic and political decision making. But once again France has shown its reticence to liberalist ways. Walter Butler, a venture capitalist and former investment banker at Goldman Sachs, is renewing fear in France as he is trying to take over a state-owned ferry that links southern France with the island of Corsica. It is no secret that the French and their government have always had a strong sense of national pride and all intervention that could harm the national image is bound to draw resentment from the archaic French system. Butler - considered a financial adventurer by many - is well known for his ability to deal with governments and trade unions to get his way. But his new proposal, which would leave him as the majority shareholder with 40 percent of the companies shares, has not only created a large movement of strikes due to the unavoidable employment cuts but has also stirred national uprising in both the southern city of Marseille and on the island of Corsica. Many claim that this uprising in the form of strikes is simply part of the daily happenings in France. But the roots of the dilemma are found in the continuation of an ongoing debate in France over allowing foreign investors to take over businesses that play a grand role in France's economy or national prestige. The main trigger of this debate happened over the summer when rumors sparked over a possible takeover of the Danone yogurt and Evian Empire by the American conglomerate PepsiCo. This eventual takeover led many French politicians to voice a patriotic concern in order to avoid any hostile takeover of a company that many consider to be one of France's main icons. Current EU protectionist law allows the state to block investments in any companies deemed sensitive to public order, public safety or national defense interests. Current Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin felt it was necessary to defend "industrial treasures" such as Danone and led the French population anew down the path of "economic patriotism." This coincides with Finance Minister Thierry Breton's plans to bring new laws to protect "very sensitive sectors" of the economy such as defense, biotechnology, telecommunications and space, which would all be subjected to government veto power. Nevertheless, it didn't take long for the European community to react, and EU Internal Market and Services Commissioner Charlie McCreevy recently said at an economic forum in Italy that he would "vigorously pursue breaches of EU law resulting from attempts to thwart foreign takeovers." The EU's Commissioner for Competition, Neelies Kroes, confirmed this warning by stating, "Member states are sometimes tempted to seek to protect their industrial or financial crown jewels from takeovers by companies from other countries and we have seen such signals from France just recently." While the EU law on protectionism remains limited, all the noise around the new French "economic patriotism" has clearly created a dent in the foreign investors trust and is likely to have an impact on foreign investment in France, reinforcing an image that French companies are off-limits for foreign acquisitions. Laurence Parisot, the head of France's main employer's organization, was quoted in the daily Le Figaro, claiming "economic patriotism is fine so long as it doesn't become a Maginot Line." "We can't congratulate ourselves when our companies make foreign conquests and then try to stop the reverse from happening," Parisot said. What is interesting to note is that the French government carefully protected Danone from a Pepsi takeover but has had difficulty explaining why it enacted such drastic measures. Because Danone is a French icon, but is not viewed as a matter of national strategic interest, investors have now taken clues that this new economic protectionism is only the beginning of a conservative campaign for the presidential race in 2007. European strategist Stewart Robinson of Morley Investment Management agrees. "The issue really stems from the defeat of the European constitution in French and Dutch referendums earlier this year." Furthermore, the failed takeover is a manifestation of the decision "whether Europe will step back from the free market model to a more European social democratic one." It is evident that the French government's new political strategy is a sign of pandering toward the French population. But as these regulations run contrary to the liberal improvements that Europe desperately needs, it could be detrimental to any positive economic future in Europe. Therefore, it is clear that the EU commission has to react and specify the regulations concerning such protectionist activity. Otherwise, failing to condemn such activity in countries like France could lead to dangerous grounds, where political figures such as Dominique de Villepin adapt their political agenda in order to fulfill personal ambitions, which will only further degrade the European Union's credibility.

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News

Football | Jumbo's Homecoming upset hopes are dashed in the mud

October 16

It would have been one of the greatest upsets in Jumbo football history. Down 7-0 with one minute remaining against a Trinity team that hasn't lost since 2002, two improbable fourth-and-long completions kept Tufts' dreams of victory alive and had fans wondering if those were "the plays" that would be pivotal to a Jumbo comeback and eventual victory. Instead, a Trinity interception with eight seconds left sealed the Bantam victory. As the clock ticked down, Trinity players poured onto the field, celebrating not like a team that has won 26 straight games, but like one that saw its win streak dissolved, then resurrected with the final interception. "[They] knew and we knew we could've won," said junior defensive end Chris Decembrele, who had seven solo tackles on the day. "It's tough because on an effort level, obviously everyone goes into the game ready to put everything out there. But we prepared for this game like we were going to win, and we didn't. We really thought we could win." The opportunity for an upset victory was there. Coming into the game, Trinity had the nation's top-scoring offense and was averaging 46.3 points per game. Additionally, Bantam quarterbacks had only been intercepted twice all season. But the Jumbo defense held Trinity to just seven points, its fewest since 2001, and picked off two passes while forcing eight Trinity punts. The Jumbo defensive line and linebacking corps allowed just 2.4 rushing yards per carry, even though the Bantams' rushing average coming into the game exceeded 5.5 yards. The Jumbo defense held the Bantam offense to 218 total yards, its lowest output this season by almost 200 yards. Tufts recorded two sacks, forced three fumbles in addition to the two interceptions, and held the Bantams scoreless for the final three quarters of the game. Tufts' final drive was also inspiring as the Jumbos picked up three of their nine first downs in the final minute, two of them coming on spectacular fourth down grabs by junior receivers Ryan Hanofee and Steve Menty. Menty finished the day with an impressive seven receptions for 97 yards, including the Jumbos' only completion in the first half. The junior turned back to catch that 45-yard pass down the Tufts' sideline. However, the Jumbos were unable to capitalize on these efforts, in large part due to four interceptions and a fumble committed by the Tufts offense. Although the final interception came with eight seconds left in an obvious do-or-die passing situation, the other turnovers killed potential momentum-building drives on a rainy day where both offenses had trouble finding their footing. Jumbo senior quarterback Casey D'Annolfo finished the day 10-24 for 131 yards, with four interceptions and no touchdowns. Trinity's senior quarterback Bill Schweitzer was 10-25 for 113 yards, with two interceptions and the game's lone touchdown. "I look at it from a defensive standpoint and say that we didn't cause enough turnovers," Decembrele said. "Against a team like Trinity, we need to force more turnovers." Tufts had one interception apiece recorded by junior defensive backs Brett Holm and Bryan McDavitt, and the defense caused three fumbles but recovered none of them. Holm's and McDavitt's interceptions both came in the third quarter, although neither resulted in points for the Jumbos. On the ensuing offensive drives, Holm's interception led to one of Trinity's four interceptions, and McDavitt's led to a three-and-out punt. Still, the seven turnovers compiled by both teams was a high total, and the weather was a likely culprit. The turf was water-logged prior to kickoff thanks to a week straight of precipitation, and the field was already muddy after both teams warmed up. It was pouring when Trinity kicked off at 1:30 p.m. and the rain lightened only moderately as the game wore on. What resulted was a mud-bowl. Players slipped making tackles, ball carriers fell in the open field, and both Jumbo and Bantam quarterbacks had obvious difficulty getting a grip on the ball, sometimes throwing passes that fell far short of their intended receivers. By the fourth quarter, two pits of mud replaced the grass near the 20-yard lines. "When you walked onto the field, your cleats sank a few inches down," Decembrele said. "But [both teams] had to play on the field, so it's not like it gave one team a definite advantage over the other." Not surprisingly, neither team was able to fully develop the passing game. Not only were the conditions abominable, but both offenses were up against quite a challenge from the opposing defenses - the Trinity defense is ranked first nationally in points allowed, while Tufts is ranked second in yards allowed. The Trinity defense now has allowed a staggering average of 1.5 points per game in the first four contests, and Saturday's game marked the Bantams' third shutout of the year. Trinity also has 13 interceptions on the season, with at least one interception by 12 different players. For their part, the Jumbos have allowed 7.5 points per contest, and have five picks in the 2005 campaign. The Jumbos fell to 2-2 in NESCAC with the loss while Trinity remains undefeated in the league at 4-0. Up next for Tufts is Williams on the road on Saturday.

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News

Bringing engineering from Anderson Hall to Tibet

October 16

Appoximately 50 students, faculty and parents drank tea and talked about building latrines Friday. Students in the Tufts chapter of Engineers Without Borders discussed their summer trip to Tibet in the Crane Room in Paige Hall over refreshments of butter tea and other Tibetan delicacies. Seven of the group's students participated in the Gyatsa Project - named for the village in Tibet where participants built student-designed latrines and solar cookers, performed water safety tests, and led education sessions. The project was the first major initiative of the year-old student group, which has an advisory board of professors. Engineers Without Borders is an international non-profit organization that works to promote sustainable development. The student group's president, senior Grant Sharpe, presented a multimedia slideshow with photographs of the group's trip. Four other group members joined Sharpe at the presentation. The group began with about 35 members, half male and half female, civil and environmental engineering graduate student Sara Freeman said. The group's members, 20 percent of whom were not engineers, were "a bunch of really enthusiastic students," she said. In preparation for the project, students created prototypes of the solar cooker and tested them on the Tisch Library roof last winter. The experimental cooker reached nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit. "I know that they blew over quite a few times in the span of testing," Freeman said, "Boston winters aren't the most friendly." The students had two weeks of language training and studied traditional medicine and government structure. Trip preparations were threatened by bureaucratic problems. "We didn't get our visas until the last possible day, which was a Friday," Freeman said. "We left on Sunday." Students learned about many aspects of Tibetan culture, such as religion and daily life. "We tried to apply those aspects to the models and designs the engineers were working on in order to make them appropriate," said Elliot Hirshon, the culture and logistics coordinator for the project and the group's operations administrator. "As for the logistic aspect, if you can imagine our face when [we were told] that we were going to do a project in Tibet... I'm still incredibly surprised at what we were able to accomplish," Hirshon said. "Tibet is... one of the most isolated places in the world." The solar cooker will help alleviate lung problems and eye disease caused by cooking indoors with combustible fuel. The students' design can also be used for sterilizing medical waste and will help slow the depletion of trees and brush in the areas surrounding the village. The composting latrine was designed to solve health issues by enclosing waste and reducing smell. The projects were part of the group's efforts to adhere to Engineers Without Border's focus on education, giving communities the tools for self-improvement. Group members passed the solar cooker into the care of the village doctor and taught him how to use, maintain and even improve it. They also offered educational sessions on topics such as proper hygiene. The group estimates its efforts benefited 3,000 people. The group encountered many difficulties both in planning and on the trip. "In order to get there, we had to be incredibly flexible," Hirshon said. Members experienced the wan guo (circling field) harvest festival, which requires participants to drink in celebration of the caterpillar fungus harvest. "Even though we would physically put our hands over our cups, they would pour through our fingers," Hirshon said. Caterpillar fungus, a critical industry in the area, is a traditional medicine sold for around $400 a box. The group remained neutral on Tibetan politics - a dual system with both a democratically elected village leader and a Chinese Communist Party representative - in recognition of the sensitivity of the issue. Members plan to return to Tibet this year and possibly next year to redesign the solar cooker to be portable and more convenient for Tibet's nomadic societies, offer training sessions on building composting latrines, and focus on the problem of medical waste. The group is also planning projects for other areas, including Peru and Bosnia, as well as working to expand their role in the Tufts community by collaborating with other programs and attracting more liberal arts students.

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Glocal Economics | Ethics and Economics

October 16

What is globalization? Simply, it is the growth of international trade and of the number and scope of institutions which, like firms, non-governmental organizations and governments, conduct transnational transactions. Globalization is also the integration of international markets - the reduction of barriers to trade between nations. How can we measure globalization? One measure of globalization is the ratio of world exports to world Gross National Product (GNP). According to this measure, the world economy today is more global than ever. Is globalization good or bad? Should it be encouraged? These are the questions at the heart of the globalization debate. The two sides are well known. There are those who support globalization. They argue that the benefits outweigh the costs and everyone gains. Then there are those that argue against it. They point to child labor, and the ever-increasing income gap between the rich and the poor as a sign that the costs of globalization outweigh the benefits. So who is right? Let us first consider the arguments in favor of globalization. Given perfect competition and free-flowing information and technology, the Standard model of international trade predicts that, other things being equal, a rise in a country's terms of trade increases welfare. A country's term of trade is the price of exports relative to imports. The argument is that trade increases a country's terms of trade, because it forces countries to allocate their limited resources more efficiently. In order to maximize their gains from trade, countries will want to produce and export goods in which they have a comparative advantage. They will want to specialize in the production of goods where the cost of producing those goods, instead of other goods, is lower relative to other countries. Thus the argument is that trade is good because it increases the overall amount of wealth. It increases the size of the communal pie. It says nothing, however, about the distribution of the pie. But does that matter? In my opinion, it does. Distributional issues must be addressed. Economic inequity is a problem because it leads to other types of inequality. Among others, it affects the likelihood that one will succeed in school and later in the job market. In addition, inequalities in wealth, once in place, tend to perpetuate themselves. Thus, I would argue that a central issue of the globalization debate is over the distribution of the benefits of trade. Is the increase in international trade responsible for the increasing gap between the rich and the poor? According to the Hecksher-Ohlin model, which again assumes perfect competition and free flow of information and technology, owners of a country's abundant factors gain from trade while owners of a country's scarce factors lose. A country's abundant factor is a resource of which a country has a relatively large supply, while its scarce factor is the resource of which a country has a relatively small supply. Consider two countries: the United States and Vietnam. The United States is abundant in high skilled labor and scarce in low skilled labor, while Vietnam is abundant in low skilled labor and scarce in high skilled labor. The United States will export goods which require highly skilled labor while Vietnam will export goods which require low skilled labor. As a result, we should expect the wage of unskilled labor in America to decrease and that of skilled labor to increase. In Vietnam, the opposite will be true. The wages of low skilled workers will increase while the wages of high skilled labor will decrease. Consequently, this model predicts that the income gap in Less Developed Countries (LDCs) will lessen as international trade expands. In fact, it predicts the world income gap should decrease as well. Thus, international trade should benefit LDCs and any harm done to low skilled labor in more developed countries should be offset by redistributing the benefits of trade. But is that really a possibility? Are people really willing to raise taxes in order to help those who are adversely affected by globalization? Some will argue that such increases in taxes are unnecessary. After all, people can improve their socio-economic position through education. Everyone can do it, it's the American way. But in some cases, the short-term benefits of skipping school in order to work and survive exceed the discounted long-term benefits from education. In these cases, it seems that, unless society is willing to help its poorer members, differences in wealth will perpetuate themselves. So in the end, who is right? Well, it depends. As we saw, economic theory tells us that a rise in the level of international trade will lead to a net increase in overall levels of wealth. So even though some will inevitably lose as others gain, we are justified in pushing for globalization since in the end everyone could benefit if adequate distribution of wealth takes place.However, as we saw, our economic models are based on strong assumptions - perfect competition and the unrestricted flow of information and technology across borders. It is clear that in reality, some of these assumptions are lacking. Does this mean that globalization should not be endorsed? No, it means that the benefits of globalization are not as evident as they might seem and this increases the importance of a government's social policy when assessing the benefits from trade. Government policy is a reflection of what society values and prioritizes. Thus, whether globalization is deemed good or bad is not a question of whether trade is beneficial, but rather a question of whether we agree with the way our society is dealing with the effects of increased international trade.

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Glocal Economics | Tufts Financial Group

October 16

Hedge funds have been so successful at what they do that the big-name funds have begun opening their doors to new investors for the first time in years. But just what does a hedge fund do, and in an industry cloaked in such secrecy, who would want to invest? Hedge funds are lightly regulated private partnerships with fund portfolios that take positions in both safe and speculative opportunities. They use alternative strategies such as selling short, arbitrage, trading options or derivatives, using leverage, investing in undervalued securities, and trading commodity and foreign exchange contracts. They cater to institutions and wealthy investors who are looking to profit in both rising and falling markets while keeping volatility down. This strategy attempts to gain "absolute returns," which look to make positive returns regardless of what the rest of the market is doing. Mutual funds, on the other hand, are content just to beat the market averages, even if that means beating a negative number. Hedge funds are up 5.2 percent on average this year, while the S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 3 percent. There are now around 8,000 active hedge funds, which adds up to about a $1 trillion business. To put this in context, the United States' real GDP is just under $12 trillion, while the total market value of long-term corporate debt and equity securities in the U.S. is just over $25 trillion. With the rise in new investors, hedge fund managers profit from management fees based on larger total assets, even if they don't generate great gains in their portfolios. A typical $2 billion hedge fund today charges a management fee of about 2 percent, or $40 million. However, many new funds are charging a lower management fee, which could still add up to sizable sums. The big problem is that many - perhaps thousands - don't even report performance data to any independent database. Because of this secrecy, there is no one source for dependable hedge fund ratings. This lack of regulation and measurement can pose a serious risk to investors, as underscored by the recent collapse of Bayou Management LLC, a Connecticut hedge fund that never made a profit despite years of sunny reports to clients. They had attracted more than $300 million in investments despite numerous warning flags. Several companies are attempting to provide the hedge fund world with a reliable source of ratings. Morningstar Inc. and Reuters Group PLC have recently begun tracking a few thousand active hedge funds and funds of funds. Sky Fund, a New Jersey-based company, rates nearly 6,000. The ratings take into account cash under management, leverage, volatility, historic returns and other criteria. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. also recently announced an index based on a database of nearly 5,000 hedge funds and funds of funds that report performance to HedgeFund.net. Unfortunately, some industry watchers assert that complete and widely accepted ratings will remain out of reach until the industry becomes less opaque. "It's unfeasible that hedge funds will be rated in today's environment," says Joshua Rosenberg, president of Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research, which has a database that tracks the performance of more than 5,000 hedge funds and funds of funds. Marc Roston, senior portfolio manager of Silver Creek Capital Management (a fund of funds based in Seattle with more than $4 billion under management), says, "It's very difficult to come up with a generic methodology that's applicable to all funds." These measurement tools are presented with the same problem that mutual funds incur: poorly performing funds that have been liquidated or merged into other funds are excluded by these measurements. Experts say this so-called "survivorship bias" inflates annual overall mutual-fund performance by more than a percentage point. Mutual funds are required to disclose performance data, but hedge funds can choose not to, so poorly performing funds probably tend to be less cooperative, while better ones might not feel the need. Under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules, mutual funds are required to divulge lots of information, in addition to results, that research companies use in rating them. Mutual funds also make managers available so rating researchers can evaluate their strategies and risks. A new SEC rule will require the biggest hedge-fund managers to register as investment advisers starting in February, but the industry is otherwise largely unregulated. Hedge funds usually won't reveal their complicated strategies because they don't want them copied. Eventually, however, resistance may fade away. When Morningstar began ranking mutual funds in 1985, it encountered resistance from fund firms that didn't want to disclose any more than what they submitted to the SEC. Morningstar initially didn't have the capacity to cover all mutual funds, but eventually even poorly performing funds lobbied to be rated, because financial advisers stopped recommending unrated funds. If the ratings companies "get big enough and they have enough influence, managers will be compelled to report to them," says Tremont President Barry Colvin. "That's just part of the evolutionary process." Let's hope that he's right, so that the $1 trillion will not be subjected to unknown risk.

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Glocal Economics | Banana Republic Insights

October 16

The general consensus on globalization is that its benefits, great as they may be, are spread somewhat slowly and unevenly. Even the most passionate supporters of globalization concede that the transition to an open economy can be painful and that it should always be carefully managed. The distribution of the fruits of globalization has much to do with the preexisting conditions of an economy, and of course, the first world once again has a significant advantage. For example, in societies that lack a transparent political process, a fair and efficient tax system, or a lagging education (among many other things), it is very possible that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Argentina, for instance, following some liberal economic reforms, saw a significant growth in employment thanks to the creation of "call centers." In order to be able to get such a job you have to be able to speak English fluently and be able to convince the person on the other end of the line that your name really is Buck and that you are based in Dallas. Needless to say, the poor need not apply. This has largely been what has happened in Latin America over the last decades. For a wide variety of reasons, including cronyism, corruption, and inefficiency, the poverty gap in many counties in the region has been growing or staying about constant. For example, in Brazil, notorious for its inequality, the poorest 50 percent of the people are only able to pull in 10 percent of the total national income, the same percentage earned by the richest 1 percent of the population. No matter what free-traders advertise, in the short run, there is little we can do but sit back and hope that in the longer term, globalization delivers what has been promised: making everyone better off. In the meantime, Latin America is being forced to cope with certain systemic problems that globalization has spurred. A friend of mine recently returned from Caracas and, despite the many things that might shock a person in Venezuela, he spotted one such draw back of globalization. Coming from Buenos Aires, it was not so much the vast shantytowns that impacted him, but rather the fact that huge cell phone advertisements hung on the outer fences of these poor neighborhoods. The cell phone ad simply goes to show that as tariffs are dropped and trade accords are signed, a culture of consumerism has been extended across all sectors of society. Coupled with increased urbanization and mass communication, there is little way for the standard lower-class citizen to avoid flat panel TVs and sleek, shiny iBooks. Advertisers now see the benefits of showing off their products everywhere, despite clear, endemic poverty. Until the next "phase" of globalization sets in, the result will be a stagnant lower class with increasing ambitions. I like to believe that crime stems from need, and therefore the most commonly stolen goods should be milk, bread, and so forth. Instead, among marginalized Latin American young men, it is brand name sneakers. Many are starting to attribute this change in criminal patterns to the spread of globalization. According to CEPAL (or, in English, ECLAC, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, a UN group), expectations for consumption have been on the rise, and in fact, they have reached levels comparable to the United States. Like in most other parts of the world, brand names have become a way of life. The media increasingly determines tastes, while, simultaneously, its reach continues to extend itself. Consider the following: even though approximately a quarter of Brazilians and almost half of Venezuelans live beneath the poverty line, 86 percent of Brazilian homes and 89 percent of Venezuelan homes have color TVs. It is not surprising that most security experts in the region thus attribute the majority of criminal acts to what is referred to as the "young man from a marginal neighborhood." In this sector of society, violence and crime has become an essential way for establishing identity and social status. Worse yet, this might be a self-perpetuating cycle. Prospects for this type of social actor are bleak, and so they often resort to crime. The opportunity cost of not dealing drugs or peddling small arms, and going to school instead, is exceptionally high. Modifying the culture of consumerism in poverty-stricken regions presents a colossal challenge for policy makers. Instead, governments here should turn their weaknesses into strengths. A wide-scale ad campaign celebrating the achievements of members of the lower class who have risen in the social strata might boost optimism and promote faith in hard work and effort. (Typically such campaigns are likened to leaders such as Stalin or Per??®¬ but as long as they promote democracy and stability and not a cult of personality, I feel that they would be justified.) Moreover, public education should continue to be advanced and efforts to disarm the civilian population should be strengthened. Unquestionably, the transition into the open market has been and will continue to be hard on the lower classes of Latin America. But if the transition is not handled in an adroit fashion and is instead left unto itself, the outcomes could be counterproductive. Crime and insecurity could seriously stunt growth and toss the region into economic turmoil. If governments here do not prove to the people that globalization eventually will make everyone better off, the liberal agenda will be faced with rejection and its future will be placed in jeopardy.

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News

Alex Sherman | Retrospective

October 16

Toilet paper at Tufts, technically, has two sheets per square. But two wrongs don't necessarily make a right. For the purposes of this article, and because what Tufts considers two-ply is simply not, all toilet paper referred to herein is nothing more than one-ply toilet paper. One-ply toilet paper at Tufts is like a sinister work of art. Up close, it looks like an elaborate spider web; myriad sinuous threads interwoven to create an intricate-looking network, a unique miracle of tensile strength. Like most beautiful things, however, it is inherently fragile. A single drop of water is capable of eroding the framework so it falls apart in your hands. Still, it is a thing of magnificence - structurally and artistically - that populates our restrooms on campus. That being said, one-ply toilet paper is not what I want to use to wipe my nether regions. So many things bother me about it. (For the purposes of word count issues, one-ply toilet paper will hereby be referred to as OPTP). For one, you can see through a sheet of OPTP at Tufts. There's something really unnerving about staring at a single segment and being able to make out, in fairly accurate detail, the objects behind it. It doesn't reinforce an impression of hygiene. By comparison, some other notable things that I know I can see through are glass, plastic, colanders and imaginary friends. Imaginary friends are similar to OPTP, in that believing in their tangible existence will lead to heartbreak and hurt later in life. In the former case, you realize Billy never existed, and was never your best friend. In the latter, you can become violently ill. Another reason to hate OPTP at Tufts is that it falls apart just about as fast as a drunken mother at her son's wedding. Actually, that metaphor isn't entirely accurate, but you get the idea. You wouldn't want OPTP on your team if you were playing Red Rover. Nor would you want it protecting your back in a late night rumble in a back alley with knives. In both situations, you would lose and you would lose terribly. When we think of sanitary toilet paper, we want tough and strong, and more opaque than a cobweb. When we wipe, we shouldn't have to double or triple up in order to feel marginally clean. When we go to wash our hands, it should be because we want to cleanse ourselves of the microbes we can't see, not the ones we can. I'm not advocating Tufts switch to Charmin's four-ply, hand-woven, scented, ridged-and-designed-for-optimal-poop-seizure, 'Qwilt-astic' rolls that cost a kidney and your firstborn child. There are good, fiscally sound reasons to buy OPTP. I live in a house off campus, and we use OPTP to save money. While we may have to double up, I firmly believe that we still save more than with two-ply and probably waste less. If I don't need a gourmet meal every night, I most certainly don't need expensive and ornate toilet paper. At least I can cite categorically where the savings I accrue from buying OPTP goes. I can pay for (in no particular order) beer, school books, the electric bill and obligatory chivalric first-date dinner with said assets. In the end, my money is better spent when I buy one-ply. But Tufts buys massive quantities of factory made, threadbare monster rolls. And they do it in bulk. That, my friends, is two discounts right there. I can't figure out where the savings go. We've all heard this argument before. Tufts charges a whopping $44,100 per year, and we're pretty much clueless as to where it goes. Most of it goes to tuition, a smattering goes to student activities, and some of it winds up in an oriental rug for the Bacow residence. A lot goes into Tufts' legal fund, which gets periodically drained by that god-awful combination of hazing, University negligence, stupid choices, broken bones and vindictive parents. Even more is going to the acquisition of property for future expansion. This is fine. If Tufts wants to grow and do it on my dollar, I can accept that, but not while I'm getting the short end of the stick on toilet paper. It's a simple give-and-take. If I have to deal with OPTP that falls apart mid-wipe, I want some compensation. And spending money on brand new, redesigned signage for trashcans doesn't count. Seriously. You don't need to put the word "garbage" in 18 different languages for people to get the point. Furthermore, there haven't been any major advances in trash that would make old signs outdated or obsolete. Bad move on Tufts' part. So, now the rollercoaster ride through tangent and segue comes to an end. All I'd like to say, in conclusion, is this: the next bursar's bill we get, there had better be a credit under the name 'savings from toilet paper.' That, or something quantifiably excellent will have to occur and be attributed to said savings. Incidentally, if you happen to read at a college level, this opinion column cost you approximately $4.27 to read. Be sure to tell your parents their money is being well-spent.Alex Sherman is a senior majoring in architectural studies. He can be reached via e-mail at alexander.sherman@tufts.edu.

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News

Glocal Economics | Jonathan Rissin | Economics of Baseball

October 16

The baseball season is the longest in terms of games played of any major sport in America. This means that the 81 home dates each team has per year comprises a greater percentage of their individual revenue source as opposed to football (eight home games) or basketball (41 home games). Revenues from ticket sales account for about 35 percent of total revenues in MLB, while NFL ticket sales comprise only around 18 percent of league revenue. For baseball clubs to increase revenue in MLB, they must put fans in the seats. To quantify which factors are associated with increasing attendance at baseball games, I used a multiple linear regression model. After brainstorming independent variables and running them through many regressions, I arrived at the following model presented in standard form with the standard error of the coefficient directly beneath it (see box below). Where attendance is average attendance per game for all 30 teams in 2005, payroll is team payroll in millions, metpop is the population of the metropolitan area in millions that the team plays in, prevwins is number of wins in the previous year (2004), and newstad is if the team is playing in a stadium which is at most three years old (newstad = 1 if less than three, = 0 if greater than three). The coefficients payroll, metpop and prevwins all had t-statistics greater than 2, showing their individual significance. Newstad had a t-statistic that was less than 1, and I left it in the model because its small sample size of six made it hard to prove significant and I feel it is valuable in this model. The coefficients can be interpreted as a one-unit increase in an independent variable (payroll, metpop, prevwins or newstad) will increase the dependant variable (attendance) by its coefficient, on average - all else held equal. For example, signing a superstar for $15 million per year projects to increase attendance by 15*99.7=1,495.5 fans per game. That player can also help the team win more games and therefore further increase attendance. By now you might be wondering why wins from the previous season would affect the current season's attendance, and why wins in the current season have no significant effect on attendance in that season. The reason for this is that all season ticket sales and most group ticket sales happen prior to the season and account for the bulk of a club's attendance. To show an extreme example, the Boston Red Sox sold a total of 2,813,354 tickets this season, with over two million of those tickets being sold before the first ball was thrown at Fenway. Looking at the coefficient on the variable metpop in this model, I see why revenue sharing occurs in baseball. The population of the metropolitan area that each team plays in has great influence over how many people pass through the gates. While the Yankees can draw on the 21.2 million metropolitan New Yorkers, the Brewers out in Milwaukee only have 1.7 million inhabitants to draw from: a difference of 19.5 million. The impact? 19.5*452.1=8,816 fans per game. Multiply that out over 81 games, along with the increased marketing and advertising dollars being thrown around in the major cities, and you begin to see the divide between baseball's rich and poor. The argument from the rich teams is that the poor teams must spend more money, and then win more games, to draw more fans to their stadiums. This is circular logic because to spend more money, you must increase attendance to increase revenue. Teams in the bigger cities have a structural advantage, because they have a larger fan base and therefore more revenue, simply due to their location.

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News

Re-evaluating U.S. presence in the Phillipines

October 16

The American conflicts in the Philippines at the end of the 19th century and in Iraq at the beginning of the 21st have a lot in common, and cartoons can help enforce the wars' lessons. Political cartoons were the topic of discussion Friday in a speech by California State University at Northridge Professor Enrique de la Cruz. He said the conflict in the Philippines has been erased from the American national memory. De la Cruz, a professor of Asian American Studies, co-authored "The Forbidden Book: The Philippine-American War in Political Cartoons." "One of the reasons the U.S. keeps on getting into wars like [the Iraq war] is because we forget," he said. "We have really short-term memory. I hope this book helps with that." De la Cruz showed the audience a Smithsonian Institution Web site, "The Price of Freedom," which lists the United States' major wars. The war in the Philippines is not included. It is only mentioned as part of the Spanish-American War. "In fairness to the Smithsonian, they're starting to change things," he said. "They're beginning to revise, but they refuse to give the Filipino war 'event status' in its own category. They're going by official military history." Most experts estimate the conflict involved at least 250,000 United States soldiers and Filipino death estimates range from 600,000 to one million people, de la Cruz said. Using political cartoons from his book, de la Cruz illustrated the negative attitudes toward Filipinos by Americans during the period of the conflict. In his speech, sponsored by the Asian American Center, the American Studies Department, the Asian Community at Tufts and the Filipino Culture Society, de la Cruz said the Filipino conflict bears a strong resemblance to the war in Iraq. To go to war, he said, a country needs "a legitimate, legal reason" and "moral scaffolding." In the case of the Iraq war, the legitimization was provided by the country's violations of United Nations disarmament and inspections resolutions. The moral case, de la Cruz said, was to "bring Democracy to Iraq [and] liberate the Iraqi people from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein." The United States justified its annexation of the Philippines because of the 1898 Treaty of Paris. The "moral scaffolding" was what Rudyard Kipling called "the white man's burden" - the idea that Western nations had an obligation to bring civilization to Third World peoples. De la Cruz showed more of his book's cartoons, which portrayed the peoples of non-Western countries as savages. "Those cartoons degraded and demonized [Filipinos] and gave rise to the racist attitudes that plagued Filipinos in the 1920s and 30s," de la Cruz said, "leading to the anti-Filipino riots of that period." He said the conflict in the Philippines bore an uncanny resemblance to the war on Iraq. The Philippines "were [the U.S.'s] ticket into the imperialist club," he said. In addition to increasing awareness of the war in the Philippines, de la Cruz said his presentation may affect the University. "Perhaps this talk will inspire the students to talk to the administration about getting an Asian American program here at Tufts," he said.

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News

Glocal Economics | International Investor

October 16

Most countries in the industrialized world have recently felt the sting of increasing gas prices. Not everyone, however, is suffering. The increasing demand for oil has boosted the Saudi Arabian economy. The increased income in Saudi Arabia has led to the growth of public corporations in every sector - not just the energy field. According to HSBC, the Tadawul, Saudi Arabia's major stock exchange, has a $500 billion market capitalization. This gives Saudi Arabia the largest emerging stock market in the world, beating both China and India. The TASI (Tadawul All-Share Index) has risen almost 550 percent in the last five years and over 120 percent in the last 12 months. Industrial and agricultural corporations have led the pack, respectively rising 150 percent and 120 percent in nine months. There are a few causes for this unprecedented surge in Saudi Arabia's stock market, the most significant being the rising price of oil. With more money reaching Saudi Arabia, there has been more opportunity for spending and investment. This has resulted in the growth of virtually every industry sector. Additionally, the government is beginning to privatize assets, creating more opportunities for growth and investment. Another seemingly unrelated event has induced national growth: Sept. 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks scared many Arab investors away from international ventures towards more regional investment. This, combined with low interest rates, has made it easy for corporations to get the necessary funding for extraordinary growth. Even with spectacular gains, few are referring to the market as a bubble just yet. An HSBC analyst predicts that the market will trade at a relatively high price/earnings ratio of about 35, but analysts at SHUAA Capital, an Arab Investment Bank, believe that TASI companies will continue to grow at a pace to justify the ratio. It is hard to believe, however, that growth will continue at this rate indefinitely. The market is still very tied to the price of oil. A sudden drop would most certainly send the market sharply downward. Unfortunately for foreign investors, Saudi Arabia makes it very difficult to invest in its stock market. According to The Economist, less than 5 percent of the Tadawul is owned by Gulf investors outside Saudi Arabia, and they are still not allowed to invest in banking and insurance stocks. This is not necessarily a serious issue for these Gulf investors, as neither sector has deviated much from the rest of the market in terms of overall growth. For investors outside the region, direct investment is not allowed. The only way for such foreigners to invest in the market is through Saudi mutual funds. Though this may be better than being completely shut out of the market, it still has drawbacks. Investors are limited to investing in available mutual funds and must pay required fees. Enter the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX). This new way for international investors looking to make a bet on Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East opened on Sept. 26 and wants to be a major international market. The DIFX was created to supplement local exchanges and create highly liquid international capital markets with a variety of products. Not only does it allow foreign investors the opportunity to invest in an area where they were once shut out, it will make it easier and cheaper for everyone to invest. Rendering it infinitely more accessible will be the fact that shares are traded in U.S. dollars. Another goal of the exchange is to create a market in the region that investors can trust. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has been set up as an independent regulatory body. The organization is composed of individuals from Australia and Britain that have experience in the field. Many still do not trust the DFSA. Chairman Ian Hay Davison and Chief Executive Phillip Thorpe were both terminated last year after a suspect real estate transaction, though the government provided little explanation. Corporate governance issues continue to plague the regulator, who will need to strengthen internal controls before attracting significant foreign capital. There is little doubt that the success of the DIFX internationally depends on investor confidence in both its transparent and credible diffusion of information. This is tantamount, as foreign investment in the region will allow the market to continue flourishing and will avoid a sharp descent if the price of oil decreases.

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News

Cinderella' with a (pirouette) twist

October 16

Thank goodness there are no singing mice in this one. But there are, in fact, dancing pumpkins in tuxedos, an ever-present paparazzo, a matronly fairy godmother, and a sparkly slipper (or, in this case, sparkly Pointe shoe). Boston Ballet presents "Cinderella," the classic story we've heard a bazillion times and still enjoy, despite its desecration over the years through numerous defiling versions starring such personages as Hilary Duff ("A Cinderella Story") and Brandy ("Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella"). Yet overexposure notwithstanding, Boston Ballet's delightful production ultimately attests to the timelessness of the tale and the music behind it. Written by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, it premiered in Moscow's Bolshoi Theater in 1945. Its musical structure is intricately woven with Prokofiev's typical sophistication. It's not a light ballet. One can hear darker subtleties even throughout the happy ending, but its overwhelming qualities are the expressiveness of strings, complexity of undertones and bright percussion throughout. Unlike the thematic reiteration of his "Romeo and Juliet" (1936), Prokofiev wrote "Cinderella" as a continuum. He did not insert recurring themes, but rather pursued a choppier agenda - one that is perhaps more challenging to stage, but doubly rewarding psychologically.James Kudelka's choreography is equally masterful; it is at once wistful, serious, humorous and emotional, working seamlessly with David Boechler's dreamy set, the costume design, and the dancers' excellent technique. The set is replete with rich tones and beautiful accents. One of the most brilliant moments of the show is when Cinderella arrives at the ball with her pumpkin coach that floats in from the ceiling as though by magic; the effect is as brilliant as the music to which it is set. In many older interpretations of Prokofiev's score, the stepsisters are played by men for comic effect. Here, they're women (Melanie Atkins and Melissa Hough), but their antics are uproarious, in particular at the Prince's Ball. The sisters have maliciously droll chemistry with the rest of the cast - and each other - as they banter and shove, in their quest for riches and fame. Add the prima-donna stepmother (Jennifer Glaze), and it's evident that Cinderella's immediate family members have a weakness for spirits (stepmom especially, but all three drink more than a frat boy on a Friday night). They also have a penchant for playing dress-up and annoying gentlemen; their uncanny getup and freshman-esque coquetry gets them kicked out of the ballroom numerous times.The trio is delightfully awkward and haphazardly nasty; one almost feels bad for them at the end. In the Grimm Brothers' version of the story, the stepsisters get their feet cut off and eyes pecked out by birds as bloody punishment for their vices. Prokofiev and the Boston Ballet are not so vicious. The sisters and drunken mother are left unscathed, not counting, of course, the foot pain resulting from attempting to squeeze their bulky footsies into Cinderella's sparkly Pointe. The Prince (Roman Rykine), unlike most versions of the story, has a bigger part in the ballet. The program notes that Kudelka drew inspiration for the character in England's Prince Charles, and accordingly, Rykine's Prince feels out of place with the posh royalty and longs for greater meaning in life. Conveying this angst through skill and stage presence, he shows that he needs Cinderella as much as she needs him. Larissa Ponomarenko, as the beloved cindered waif, is perfect from the first scene both in technique and in character. This interpretation is more about Cinderella's psychological transformation and her relationship with Mr. Charming, rather than the traditional rags-to-riches deal. Ponomarenko understands her character's psyche. Cinderella is a hard worker and a dreamer naive and innocent, but emotional and passionate, too. A phenomenal athlete, she has been a member of the Boston Ballet since 1993. For the duration of nearly the entire first act, Ponomarenko dances barefoot. She makes difficult jumps and spins look as light and effortless as if she were floating through air. And while most women complain about wearing heels, Ponomarenko magically completes a series of rapid, energizing pirouettes in the final act wearing only one Pointe shoe (before her Prince comes and gives her the rightful other one). The challenge of ballet is to incorporate acting, pantomime, impeccable technique and classical music to convey a story - no easy task. Yet consistent with the company's excellent reputation, this production brilliantly accomplishes all that and more by relying on character depth. "Cinderella" makes even the biggest tutu cynic want to don tights and pli?© ?o the thrilling tunes of sparkly shoes and happy endings.

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News

I am a student leader

October 16

Welcome to the world of the creatures that dwell within the upper levels of the campus center, the basements of Lincoln Filene and Barnum, and the shadows of Cohen Auditorium. Welcome to a world that is full of struggle, sacrifice and sometimes if we're lucky, a little satisfaction. Welcome to the world of the student programmer. Yes, we're the ones that walk around with the free T-shirts and the cool headsets, and we occasionally enjoy easier access to some of the premier University-run events on campus. Yet, although the glam associated with getting to strut around campus in our free T-shirts can be somewhat fulfilling, it is getting increasingly difficult to just grin and bear it when yet another student decides to blatantly blast us in the school newspaper. I am a co-chair for the Tufts University Programming Board, an umbrella organization that is responsible for a large portion of student-run programming on campus. We are essentially a group of 30 hailing from the four Class Councils, Lecture Series, Entertainment Board, TUSC, Film Series, Concert Board and an Executive Board. Weekend movies in Barnum? That's us. Fireworks on the Residential Quad? Us again. Trips to Salem, Winter Bash, Senior Week, comedy shows? All of these things and more are annual events programmed by members of our organization. Never heard of us? We're not surprised, not many of you have. We don't hold it against you and will instead readily admit that it is probably largely our own fault that you are unaware of our existence. It seems that a lot of the time we are devoting our efforts exclusively to providing quality programming to the University community, and dedicating our allotted funds to programs that will better serve you, rather than on advertising that would better serve our own egos. Yet, despite all our efforts to please, we have yet to discover the root to a Tufts student's appreciation. This has namely manifested itself in the general tongue lashing of the concert board in recent months. Sometimes it seems as if the larger university community has the general impression that the day in the life of a Concert Board co-chair is as follows: 11:30 a.m. - Wake up late, because I spent all night doing a rain dance like I do every night to ensure that there will be rain for Spring Fling. 11:45 a.m. - Practice the way in which I will break the news to the campus that yet another Spring Fling will be cancelled due to the rain I caused by doing my many rain dances. 12:00 p.m. - Skip class because I am still practicing my announcement. 9:00 p.m. - Hold my Concert Board meeting that is closed to the general Spring Fling-going Tufts public, and blatantly shoot down any attempt to bring indie bands to campus. VIVA Britney Spears! 9:45 p.m. - Decide that Britney might not be the best choice - we'll stick with Busta because he always brings rain. 10:00 p.m. - Go to play dodge ball on my intramural team so I can hone my skills at dodging the beer cans students will throw at me after I make my now well rehearsed cancellation announcement during Spring Fling. We understand how unfortunate it must have been for all of you to have been unable to see Busta Rhymes perform. Believe me, as a member of the Class of 2006, I feel your pain. However, a very key fact seems to be continually lost in the mix. The cancellation of such a high profile event as Spring Fling is not an accomplishment in which we relish, but rather can be equated to the feeling you get when you've spent hours cooking a meal and then drop it in the dirt. Months of preparation go into the planning of the various large-scale events that happen on campus every year - a list that includes but is not limited to Fall Ball, Tuftonia's Day Fireworks (yes, there is an event commemorating our April 21 birthday), Culture Fest and Spring Fling. These are months chock full of meetings with the administration and city councils, hundreds of phone calls to agents and vendors, and hours of logistical planning in which every possible scenario is discussed and planned for, including the onset of rain. We are the ones that willfully sacrifice, waking up at 6 a.m. to set up, remaining sober and responsible while everyone else is enjoying themselves at our event, staying late to clean up after everyone has gone until we finally get to stumble home and collapse into our beds in an oddly satisfied exhaustion. We're the ones that become the target of your yelling and screaming when you can't get your way, the ones that are there to watch over you when the urge comes to empty the contents of your stomach onto our shoes, and the ones that even will endure the onslaught of full beer cans being chucked at our heads from a crowd of our peers. Yet, even with all the time, effort and sacrifice we can dedicate and all the planning we can put into an event, we still lack the ability to control everything, and it is for this that it seems you want an apology. To that, from one ordinary senior to the general Tufts public, I ask you to merely give us a break. We're going to make mistakes. Not every quote in the Daily is going to be perfect, not every semi-formal is going to have the best DJ, and not every fireworks celebration is going to be able to happen if the gods of earth, wind and fire don't will it to. We're not professionals, we don't get paid, and we're doing this all in addition to our duties as students at this fine institution of higher learning simply because we enjoy it. We are not an exclusive group and we apologize if we may have created an atmosphere in which you feel unwelcome. We have always invited and will again extend an invitation to all members of the Tufts community to come and share your opinions, join our groups and become active members in our organizations. We strive to bring the lecturers, comedians, musicians and films that you want to campus - a task that is more easily accomplished with your active participation than with suggestions offered to us in editorials after the fact.Caroline Kennedy is a senior majoring in History.

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