(Schuyler Armstrong/Tufts Daily) Junior defenseman Tim Flanagan weaves through MIT defenders during Saturday's 18-3 romp over the Engineers. The Jumbos kicked off the season with a blowout win despite poor weather conditions. Click the photo to enlarge.
While popular American culture presents much of the Asian American experience as found in Chinese slippers, Panda Express and fake Kate Spade bags on New York City's Canal Street, the reality of being of Asian descent and being American is much more complex. Tonight in a special event in the Balch Arena theater, Los Angeles-based performance artist Dan Kwong explores the Asian American experience in his one-man show entitled "From Inner Worlds to Outer Space." In a multifaceted show featuring elements of storytelling, athletics, visual arts and technology-based multimedia, Dan Kwong attempts to find truths in the Asian American experience, based on his life growing up as a Japanese and Chinese American "in the shadow of the Hollywood sign." Covering themes such as masculinity, homophobia and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, Kwong uses a wide array of performance styles and set designs. From purple slime to swords to a straightforward monologue, Kwong literally runs, kicks and fast-talks his way through stories whose topics range from baseball to AIDS. While Kwong's show is largely aimed at the Asian American audience, he also strives to aim for something broader. "I want my art to be useful to people - to somehow enhance, clarify or incite their understanding of themselves and the world," Kwong notes. For college students in particular, Kwong feels his performance has special relevancy. "Much of my work is about examining 'socialized identity' - understanding the ways that society has, for better or worse, shaped our picture of 'who we are' ... College students are at a point in life when they are beginning to make major decisions about their direction in the next phase of their lives, and self-knowledge and understanding ... is particularly crucial at such a time in life." As for the Asian American aspect of his show, Kwong remarks, "Sometimes [the Asian American perspective is] simply a context; the frame through which I look at other things like class, gender or sexuality. And I believe that what lies at the heart of an honest, well-told story is something fundamentally human - and therefore universal." Tufts drama professor Claire Conceison, who is coordinating tonight's event, feels that Kwong's performance is something of particular importance to the Tufts community. "I think after seeing the show, Tufts students will have a deeper, more complex understanding of the many issues that surround discussions of race and gender in our society, particularly as regards Asian American students and citizens." Conceison, who teaches a course called "Asian American Stage and Screen," believes that Asian Americans today still face significant prejudices and misperceptions in American culture. "Asian American students at Tufts can tell you that when they look at American popular culture they see very distorted images reflected back at them, if any at all," according to Conceison. "What does it mean when Rob Marshall casts Chinese actresses to play Japanese characters in the upcoming film 'Memoirs of a Geisha,' sending the message that all Asians are interchangeable?" asks Conceison. While the Tufts campus prides itself on diversity and awareness of many cultures, the Asian American experience may still be something not entirely understood by non-Asian Americans. "I feel that you can try to explain 'the Asian culture' or 'the Asian experience' to someone who is not Asian, but you can't really make them understand it," says sophomore Monica Wang, who moved to the United States from China as a young child. Wang also points out many stereotypes within American popular culture that depict Asians and Asian Americans in a certain light, from the belief in the perfectly studious Asian American student to the expectation of the submissive Asian wife. "[Non-Asian Americans] have this notion about what it means to be Asian American. They have expectations of Asian American culture. A lot of those notions are not true," Davit Nguyen, a sophomore of Vietnamese descent, said. "I feel that the stereotypes can sometimes be absurd, but that just makes it easier for me to joke about them, and I take them less seriously than if there were some truth to the stereotypes." In Dan Kwong's view, the pervasiveness of these stereotypes in popular culture is one of the main reasons he performs a show that attempts to convey the Asian American experience. "Unfortunately, there is still amazing ignorance in this country about the Asian American experience," he acknowledges. "I hope my work can shed some light there."
Last Friday night, an enthusiastic crowd of Tufts students crowded into Goddard Chapel to watch and listen to the Beezlebubs, the school's all-male a capella group. Jeremy Cramer (LA '00), President of the Bubs Foundation, was also in the audience. Cramer left the University with one goal in mind: "to help others." He is dedicated to spreading music all over the country through the Bubs Foundation, which provides money to institute music and a capella programs in under-funded schools across the country. According to Cramer, none of this would have happened without his experience as a Bub and his outstanding mentors here at Tufts. While at Tufts, Cramer majored in child development and minored in Judaic studies. He cites the Pearson Child Development department as harboring some of the "great pearls of the University." He was especially influenced by Professor Maryanne Wolf: "She gave me the passion and desire to go ahead with a degree in that field," he said. Cramer was also involved with Hillel, and an internship he had there introduced him to the world of nonprofit giving. But being a Bub was his first true leadership position. Cramer served as president of the Bubs for his sophomore and junior years, and as Bubs historian his senior year. "The first Bubs set up the pillar for future musical leaders - excellence breeds excellence," Cramer said. But it's the group dynamics themselves that are the cornerstone of the Bubs, Cramer said. "At the end of the day, it's the brotherhood more than the organization that makes the Bubs special," Cramer said, adding that the greatest moment for him was when the group went all the way to his hometown of Harrisburg, Penn., to sing for his father, who was afflicted with cancer. "The love that the Bubs represent is so important to me," he said. Cramer's own commitment to this theme earned him the Jim Barrett Spirit of Brotherhood Award during his junior year. Cramer was given the University's Distinguished Service award this year. Today, Cramer expresses his love of helping others as the Director of Alumni Affairs at the Fay School, the oldest junior boarding school in the country, which he describes as a "microcosm of global society." He is confident in the school's ambition to "lead the world." Cramer's ambition to lead was apparent when he accepted the role of President of the Bubs Foundation in 2001. "At that point, I took a step back and thought, 'How can we make the most difference in the community?'" Cramer said. Cramer's mother, also a Tufts grad, was a professional volunteer in addition to being a tutor and a teacher. "My entire life I've been surrounded by people who instilled the value of giving back," he said. Cramer credits his roles at Tufts with teaching him how to integrate "a mission and a vision." He works with 14 other Bubs alumni on the Foundation Board to work towards this vision, expanding a program created in 1981 called "Be the Music." They have recently implemented the program in two Boston city schools, and are in the process of doing so at a school in Cambridge. Cramer described the superintendent of Boston schools as "fully endorsing the foundation's mission and implementation." He added that out of about 30 high schools in the Boston area, only four were receiving funding for any kind of music education or program. Cramer hopes that the program will be replicated in as many geographic regions of the country as possible. Funds are raised through multiple channels, one of which is the yearly Harmony Sweepstakes regional a capella competition, which took place at Tufts this past Saturday. His interaction with the students affected by this program and the students at his school "embraces what I learned at Tufts," Cramer said. "Everyone learns differently, and everyone will have something that they will become passionate about." A girl that he interviewed last year as a prospective student for Tufts, who is now attending, told him that the most influential aspect of her high school career was a "great program she was in, 'Be the Music.'" "Music is so much more than notes on paper," Cramer said. "It fosters teambuilding, compassion, and courage." Cramer has been singing and performing his entire life. "[In third grade], my choir did the Alvin and the Chipmunks version of 'Christmas Time Is Here,'" he said. "It was ironically in this performance - a little Jewish boy singing the Alvin solo in a Christmas song - that I saw how much joy you can give to an audience through performing." Cramer first heard the Bubs on CD before even being admitted to Tufts. The CD he heard contained the song "Bridge over Troubled Water," and Cramer said he "listened to [that song] over and over again until the CD was scratched." During his Tufts orientation, he heard the Bubs sing. "As soon as I heard them, I knew I wanted to be in the group," Cramer said. Ironically, at callbacks, the boys were requested to sing this very song. "Call it trinity, call it providence ... everything just came full circle," Cramer said.
Love, obsession, fire, and Greek gods - no, not the ingredients of a horror film, but a 16th century black comedy, brought to you by the American Repertory Theater (ART). And although ART's production of "Dido, Queen of Carthage" suffers from production excesses coupled with an unfittingly minimalist set, the performances of several strong leads manage, in part, to redeem the show. "Dido," a tricky and rarely performed classic, was written in 1585 by Christopher Marlowe. As his first play, it lacks the candid risk of the diabolic "Dr. Faustus," but works a similar passion. According to legend, after the fall of Troy a group of soldiers from the ransacked city escape by sea. Among them are Aeneas and his young son, who plan to flee to Italy. Yet by Juno's intervention, a shipwreck lands the crew in Carthage, where Cupid mortally wounds the heart of Dido, the city's queen. The act dooms her to infatuation with Aeneas, and obsessive love torments and consumes her. Supporting characters include Dido's suitor Iarbas and sister Anna, who loves the latter. Also involved are a cast of oddly-interpreted Greek gods, who make appearances for dramatic and comic effect. The tale follows the struggle between desire and resolve, and, of course, the will of the gods against the reason of men. There is no set to speak of. Rather, actors bring out chairs, tables, and other props as needed, but all action takes place on a dark black stage furnished with ladders for dramatic entrances and exits. While effective in keeping the focus on the action, a few strategically placed columns or draped cloths could have done wonders to balance out the production. In an attempt to make Dido's story applicable to contemporary times, the costumes combine modernity with a glamorized "neoclassical" style. The combination, however, draws adverse attention, given that there is no set to counterbalance the costumes. When we first meet Aeneas, he is dressed in what appears to be a modern guerilla-type soldier's uniform. One would think that the show must be set in a modern period - but then why are Dido and her sister Anna dressed in eighteenth-century-style French court gowns the size of hot air balloons? Dido's costuming is, actually, rather fitting to her character. But she is set out of place by her co-actors, including an Iarbas who, at one point, looks like he is wearing a Jewish Tallit, or prayer shawl. Even more striking is the attire of the gods, which ranges from spectacularly glamorous (Hermes, stunning with huge wings and gold body paint) to utterly ridiculous (Juno, who appears as a transvestite with fuzzy heels and a revealing pantsuit.) Of course, one does not have to feign complete historical accuracy - but some degree of consistency would have been good. The performances of the ensemble are commendably well-executed as each character emphasizes his identity and will in conjunction with the others. Several leads stand out in particular. John Kelly's Cupid is deliciously and disturbingly evil - an unexpected portrayal of the chubby baby god. Although the character has few actual lines, Kelly manages to inject a mischievous cunning into his onstage mannerisms; he is able to control and manipulate the play's action in all sorts of ways and shows himself to be more capable than the rest of the gods because of his power to influence emotions and minds. Love conquers all, but the effect is far from beautiful. Here, love is a draining and all-encompassing vice, well personified by Kelly's character. Diane D'Aquila is likewise excellent in the title role. From the moment she appears, she assumes the commanding air of Carthage's top woman with a natural ease and propriety. The queen is front-and-center throughout, even as her emotional condition degrades. D'Aquila has the difficult task of making the audience understand what sacrifices love forces Dido to make; not only as a woman, but as a ruler. She cannot give in to a pathetic erosion of character too suddenly, as she must remind us that pride is a queen's greatest endowment. Eventually though that love and obsession, quite literally, will rid her of her crown. D'Aquila's acting is focused, passionate, and powerful; she cannot let go all at once, but neither can she contain it all. The difficulty of the character is adeptly showcased by this well-cast leading role. The combination of great acting with unfortunately forced interpretations and costuming causes the production to feel disjointed. Furthermore, "Dido" runs for approximately two hours with no intermission - pleasing for enthusiasts, perhaps, but not for faint-of-heart theatergoers.
Students and professors interested in the environment and economics participated in a small lunchtime discussion with Professor Matthew Kotchen of Williams College yesterday. Kotchen presented his recent paper, entitled "Conservation Behavior: From Voluntary Restraint to a Voluntary Price Premium," then engaged in a short question and answer discussion with his audience. Within his paper, Kotchen expressed concern about the implications of utilizing one's concern for the environment as a factor in buying goods and services. According to Kotchen, there isn't much literature within the economics field on conservation decision-making, but "there is a social psychology model for conservation behavior." Kotchen mentioned the Schwartz model for altruistic behavior - a theory that argues the existence of a personal norm to prevent harm, even if it entails personal cost. He specifically looked at the case of Traverse City, Mich., where a certain population of the state bought "green electricity" - energy created using a wind turbine. "Some of the people were willing to pay a 100 percent markup for their energy to come from green electricity companies," Kotchen said. The wind turbine "was as big as you could go in 1996," Kotchen said. Energy supplied by the turbine was more expensive, so those buying such energy paid what Kotchen called "a voluntary price premium." Kotchen surveyed residents who decided to pay the voluntary price premium, and separated them as either conservationists or non-conservationists, depending on whether they held a membership in an environmental organization. The study identified an assortment of reasons explaining why conservationist consumers would participate in a more expensive green program. This list of reasons included social approval, prestige, and benefit of doing a good deed. Tufts Economics Professor Jeffrey Zabel said he saw the idea of social approval as policy potential, and referred to "the moral suasion" of using clean energy instituted by the Swedish government. "Your norms are affected by your peer group," Zabel said. "Think of it as a big peer group." When asked why non-conservationists would pay a voluntary price premium for green electricity, Kotchen said, "They get a lump-sum benefit - a bag of 'money' of feel-good." The study then gathered data on the amount of energy used by participants of the voluntary price premium. "Participating conservationists did not significantly change their electricity consumption," Kotchen said. The participating non-conservationists did reduce their consumption between four and 10 percent, he said. Kotchen offered two explanations for the unusual results. First, by paying for greener energy, conservationists lost their feeling of guilt and didn't have as high a motivation to make conservation efforts. Second, non-conservationists had an incentive to limit their energy consumption because the cleaner energy cost more. With regard to conventional energy, conservationists show "evidence of voluntary restraint," according to Kotchen. In using more environmentally friendly energy, many conservationists would lose such voluntary restraint. In the conclusion of his presentation, Kotchen compared the findings of the study to governmental policies dealing with environmental concerns. "Are our policies complements or substitutes for these voluntary restrictions?" he asked. "By giving compensation, you're taking away why people are [making voluntary energy restrictions,]" Kotchen said, arguing that people often make economic decisions for feel-good reasons. "It's outside the realm of compensation."
Barry Dana, community activist and former chief of the Penobscot Nation, treated attendees of the fifth annual Native American Speaker Series to a lecture regarding social and environmental justice in light of Native American concerns last night in Pearson Hall. Dana, who came to the event from the his tribe's reservation in Maine, addressed the crisis regarding local paper mill industries spilling hazardous chemicals into the Penobscot River, a valuable natural resource for members of the Penobscot Nation. According to Dana, high levels of Dioxin, a chemical oftentimes used by paper mills in order to bind paper, are present in the river because the State of Maine refuses to adequately regulate the waste management of factories along the river. While permits must be issued to local paper mills in order to deposit wastes, Dana reprimanded the Maine state government for failing to regulate imposed restrictions on the amount of chemicals filtered into the river. "How come the paper companies can pollute above and beyond their permits multiple times a year and keep their licenses?" Dana asked. Dana attributed the leniency given to the paper mill industries in part to factories' productions being intrinsic to a successful economy and thus integral to the political structure of the state's government. "In Maine your strongest lobbyists are your paper mills. The fact is that the state government is run by the paper industry," Dana said. In order to make amends to the environmental crisis, Dana and members of his tribe suggested "federal oversight," or the intervention of the federal government and federal agencies in issuing clearance to mills. Members of the Penobscot tribe first turned to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help alleviate concerns regarding Dioxin levels. Dana associated high levels of this chemical with "higher than normal" rates of cancer among members of his tribe and those living along the river. Together with the EPA, the Penobscot Nation procured a grant and constructed a lab along the river in order to chart the pollution of local factories. According to Dana, researchers from the EPA discovered an "extremely high level" of Dioxin in a particular area and traced it to a local mill. Once informed of this, the state government of Maine sued the targeted paper mill company for $800,000 for breaching waste restrictions. Dana said, however, that the same company received an $800,000 tax-rebate from the state government later that year. Despite the setback, members of the Penobscot Nation continued to fight for clean water once the lab was established. Dana explained that the tribe sought federal intervention by the EPA in the issuing of waste management permits in the future. In the midst of continued talks with the EPA, the Penobscot Nation was accused of having "back door meetings" with the EPA by the state government, who demanded that both parties reveal any documents regarding their conversations. While the EPA complied with the order, the tribe refused to hand over papers, claiming that they were not a political subdivision of the state. According to Dana, however, the state government said that as a result of the 1980 Settlement Act - a document signed by members of the tribe - the Penobscot Nation was a "political subdivision of Maine." Dana strongly refuted this claim. He said that the document stipulated that tribe is a "political subdivision of the Penobscot Nation" and not the state. "It's clear to me that when we are acting as a government, we are not a political subdivision of the State of Maine," Dana said. Regardless of Dana's claim, a judge found Dana, the then-chief, in contempt of court for refusing to give the documents to the state. A month after having been elected as Chief of the Penobscot Nation, Dana was sentenced to time in prison - a term he never served. After further deliberation, Dana said that the tribe decided to file an appeal to the ruling. Dana said, however, that the intent of the appeal was not to avoid a term in prison, but to further protect the river. "The issue could not be simply whether or not the tribe is subject to the [1980 Settlement] Act - that this was about protecting the river," Dana said. "Were we, as a tribe, going to somehow empower the EPA to have the clout to come into Maine and tell the state to do the right thing?" After further court rulings and defeats, the tribe made a bold move and handed the documents over to the state government at the steps of the state capital. While Dana said his tribe may have lost many court cases, they have ultimately "gained the respect" of the citizens of Maine as a result of their perseverance and concern for the river. "People are learning that native people today deserve a fair shot at what is rightfully theirs," Dana said. English Professor Elizabeth Ammons, American Studies Professor Joan Lester and English Professor Jeff Vanderwall organized the annual event funded by the Arts, Sciences, and Engineering Diversity Fund. Ammons said that the University has a "lot of work to do" in terms of Native American studies. "None of the courses of Tufts that are taught about American Indian subject matter is at this time taught by a person that is his or herself Native," Ammons said. "I hope that we'll keep in mind that action begins at home and moves out as it strengthens itself." The event attracted students and faculty as well as members of the Southeastern New England based-Wampanoag tribe, filling the lecture hall to near capacity.
Unknown hackers invaded servers in two Tufts computer labs in late February. The Mugar Computer Lab at the Fletcher School suffered an attack, as did the Medford/Somerville campus' Eaton Computer Lab, though to a lesser degree. The University's Information Technology Services (ITS) needed a few days to resolve the problems caused by the hack, but all systems are now working smoothly. Jeff Weiner, Manager of Instructional Services for ITS, said he did not know who was behind the hack. "This is something we don't know and if I did, I would have to report it to the Tufts Police," he said. Weiner confirmed that, in the case of the Mugar Lab, the hack affected the H-drive, part of the server where students can save their personal work in the computer lab. The hack also affected students' ability to log on to the server while new security measures were being installed. Though to a lesser extent, the Eaton Lab also suffered from the work of hackers. "We were able to restore this environment with limited downtime and install a firewall in front of the lab," Weiner said. Firewalls prevent unauthorized users from accessing private networks. ITS also installed a new firewall for the Mugar Lab. These firewalls were provided by ITS independently from the University. According to Ken Varnum, IT Manager & Associate Librarian at the Ginn Library, repairs in the Mugar Lab took place from Feb. 23 through Feb. 25. During this time, the lab was closed. On Feb. 23, students did not have access to the server for three hours, and service was down all day on Feb. 24 and 25. Fletcher students did not have classes on the last two days of repairs. "ITS handled the situation extremely well, responding quickly and minimizing the impact on students by scheduling the H-drive outage during days at Fletcher when classes were not being held," Varnum said. Fletcher students were asked to take any necessary actions to save their work. "We announced the closings several times ... and advised students to make copies of necessary work so they would have access to those files during the repair," Varnum said. Weiner would not give an exact dollar amount to the cost of fixing the damage caused by the hackers. "It would be difficult to define a cost for this," he said. "Let me just say that the reconstruction of the lab in a more secure environment was worth the money and the time spent, which is a cost that most people don't consider." Fletcher student Carmit Keddem said the incident was an unwelcome interruption. "We didn't lose anything," Keddem said, "It was inconvenient, though ... it's kind of a pain to not be able to access previously saved work." Keddem, who is currently working on her thesis, said she saves work both on her home computer and the Mugar computers. Students who did most of their work at home were not affected by the hack. Yevgeny Bendersky, a Fletcher student and Teaching Assistant for this semester's Introduction to International Relations course, said he uses his home desktop computer to do his work. "I purposefully did not utilize the Mugar Lab to any great extent from the beginning, so that my work would not be affected ... [so] my work did not suffer at all," Bendersky said.
On May 1, the blissful symbiosis between television and the DVD revolution will reach its apex. "Family Guy," the uproarious and controversial animated series yanked by FOX for its crassness, is making its proud return to network television with brand new episodes. While the show had garnered impressive ratings in reruns on Cartoon Network, it was the record-setting DVD sales that forced FOX to re-hire creator Seth MacFarlane. Now, thanks to college kids everywhere buying those yellow and aquamarine DVD boxes, Stewie will try to kill Lois in brand-new fashions. This has been a long time coming, however, as television addicts and executives are finally coming around to embracing the digital age. The former group seem to be taking this route at astoundingly increasing rates. According to a 2004 article in USA Today, DVD sales for television programs had jumped to $2 billion in 2004 from $1.5 billion in 2003, and industry growth over the next four years is estimated to expand at a 30 percent rate annually. The greatest effect of the TV-on-DVD revolution has been the reappearance of cult classics long since dropped by network executives. Judd Apatow's engrossing and quirky comedy about high school in the '80s, "Freaks and Geeks," deserved better treatment from NBC. Featuring a pre-"Spiderman" James Franco and Linda Cardellini as his unsettlingly sexy friend, the show only survived 18 episodes. I'd bet the Peacock network would be salivating at the opportunity to bring "Freaks" back and beef up its wimpy scripted programming roster. One can only dream that Apatow's equally enjoyable college show "Undeclared" will be released on disc soon. Everyone has their own cult show which was mercilessly cut by network heads more concerned with advertising revenue than artistic merit. "Greg the Bunny" and "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" were two such shows, as was ABC's "Sports Night," the Aaron Sorkin riff on what it would look like if ESPN ran on espresso beans instead of Gatorade. A quick aside with regards to that last show. I never quite "got" "Sports Night." The comedy show was stuck between attempting to mine humor from sports and the workplace. Hardcore sports fans tuned in and gave up when Sorkin infused the show with romance and those tuning in for a good laugh were turned away by the melodramatic sideplots. As a fun game, watch early seasons of "The West Wing" on DVD and see how many plot devices and actors Sorkin reuses. ANYWAY, these short-lived shows, with devoted followings that were too small to make an imprint on broadcast television, have found a second life in home-video collections. Yet take the 8-10 million adoring fans and give them the opportunity to own all the episodes of their favorite long-gone series. At $20-40 a pop, that's quite a hefty profit for a show whose production costs are zero. Whether or not Apatow and Sorkin still rake in money from those DVD sales is probably an issue way too complex for anyone without a J.D. in contract law to understand. Regardless, whoever is reaping the benefits has found a brilliant sales plan. Take a show that has been dead for years and was unprofitable while on the air. Bring back the cast for a few "making of" documentaries and half-baked commentary tracks, touch up the visuals, and stick them on a disc. Any revenues which come from DVD sales are just gravy. It's like finding a box of old baseball cards and selling them on eBay. These same profiteers are also using DVD sales as a whole new mode of advertising. With shows such as "24," "The OC," and "Arrested Development," production studios are trying to boost interest and viewership by releasing the previous season's episodes just weeks before the next season premieres. It's the same mentality that urged Warner Brothers to inexplicably release a special edition of "Miss Congeniality" before the sequel comes out this month. (Notice the "Arrested" reference. I think this breaks the record for 10 consecutive columns mentioning the same show.) The sociological aspects of buying the DVD for a television show which you can catch on re-runs, like "The West Wing" or "The Simpsons," are probably fascinating to go into, but I know I'd just come off as an idiot for attempting to analyze it. Especially since I own five different television series on DVD, including those two. Everyone in the entertainment business recycles ideas with sequels, spin-offs, spoofs and blatant rip-offs. But I doubt many could have foreseen the amazingly profitable business of recycling old television shows into "must-haves" for a home-video collection. Come May 1, maybe Peter Griffin will finally get to see his favorite episodes of "Gumbel and Gumbel" on DVD.
As the NBA season rolls on and the playoff picture begins to take shape, so too does the competition for the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award. While the award is most likely going to be given to Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, or Shaquille O'Neal, another player that can't be ignored in the discussion is Allen Iverson of the Philadelpha 76ers. Iverson is having arguably the best all-around season of his nine-year career, despite his team's struggles. Iverson has always been known as one of the league's top scoring threats, and he is only reinforcing that label this season. His league-best 30.3 points per game is 1.8 points per game ahead of Kobe Bryant. He is getting to the foul line more times than ever before, and his 83 percent shooting from the charity stripe is also a career best. His field goal and three-point percentage are at their best levels since the 2000-2001 season, when he was named the NBA MVP after leading the Sixers to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. But Iverson's career season transcends just scoring. He is averaging 7.6 assists per game, setting a new career best and placing him fifth in the league in the category. Iverson's offensive explosion has not taken away from his defensive prowess, and he ranks second in the NBA in steals, averaging 2.29 per game, a relatively low number for his career, but impressive nonetheless. If there is any blemish on AI's season, it would be his high turnover rate, which at 4.35 per game leads the league. However, for a point guard who averages the most minutes per game of any NBA player, he is bound to give up the ball from time to time. Nearly all of Iverson's impressive season, just like the majority of his career, has been built without the help of another star player to support him. Before the 2002-2003 season, the team added Keith Van Horn in its first serious move to find help for Iverson, but the team struggled and Van Horn was dealt to the New York Knicks after only one season in Philly. In that three-team deal, the Sixers picked up Glenn Robinson, who they were hoping could form a better partnership with Iverson. They were again let down as Robinson was plagued by injuries and had the worst season of his career. Injuries have kept him out all of this season, and on the last day before the trade deadline, he was dealt to the New Orleans Hornets for forwards Rodney Rogers and Jamal Mashburn, the latter of whom may never play again due to an injury. In the other deal the Sixers made that day, they brought Chris Webber in from the Sacramento Kings to give them frontcourt help and, hopefully, the 1-2 punch that they have always lacked. Webber has gotten off to a shaky start with the team, but will need time to adjust to his new teammates and coach. Whether or not he and Iverson can form a formidable duo depends greatly on the chronic knee problems that have limited him throughout his career. With Webber in town, Iverson and the Sixers should be able to push for a playoff spot. They currently have a 30-33 record, which is four games behind the Boston Celtics in the Atlantic Division, but only 1.5 games behind the Indiana Pacers for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The ultimate barometer for the success of Iverson's season depends on his ability to lead the Sixers into the postseason and mesh with Webber better then with his previous two counterparts. On talent alone, Iverson and Webber should be able to lead the Sixers into the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference and especially weak Atlantic Division. While Webber's arrival this season may end up being too little, too late for Iverson, the duo will have no excuse for missing the playoffs next year, with a full season together. AI can't ultimately be a leading candidate for MVP if Philly fails to make the playoffs this season. However, it is clear that he is still at the top of the game, and with Webber, the Sixers may be able to return to their impressive form of the 2000-01 season.
Every Saturday and Sunday morning since the beginning of this semester my alarm clock has shrilled at exactly seven in the morning. Rain or shine, energetic or tired, hung-over or sober, I have committed myself to getting up, putting on a shirt and tie and making the almost hour-long trek from my house to Dorchester, Mass. In Dorchester I teach English to a group of seventeen Vietnamese immigrants all of whom have been in the United States for less than three years. The organization I work at, The Vietnamese American Civic Association (VACA), has a mission "to promote family self-sufficiency and well-being, and to facilitate community empowerment among the Vietnamese population of Boston and Greater Boston." It does this by providing a multitude of services including, English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes, citizenship and civics classes, health awareness education and outreach, youth programming, and employment services. The small role I play in contributing to VACA's mission is that of an ESOL teacher. I absolutely love teaching English in the Fields Corner section of Dorchester. I'm not going to lie: the early wake-ups are almost as bad as learning that your housemates have decided that they're adopting two smelly ferrets. It's hard for me to get up sometimes, especially if I don't end up going to bed until two or three in the morning. However, I do it anyway. Why? Because it makes me feel good to help immigrants adjust to living in America. According to the curriculum I use based on the Massachusetts Department of Education frameworks, all my ESOL students should be able to answer the question, "Why did you come to America?" before leaving my intermediate level class. So as one of the components of my latest class, I asked my students to articulate the reasons they had for coming to America. The 70-year-old class clown, strikingly similar to my dad, responded by saying, "To get more freedom." The single mother with two kids said, "To get a better education for my children." The 20-year-old female assembly worker said, "To get a better life." I am amazed by the motivation, dedication and hard work of all of my students, most of whom work 40 hours or more a week at low paying jobs in factories, machine shops and assembly companies. But they still have enough energy to wake up early every Saturday and Sunday morning to attend six hours of English class. My sacrifice seems minuscule and almost frivolous compared to what my students are doing to pursue the "American Dream." I've learned many things from my students, one of which is a deeper appreciation of what it means to live in America. In this tumultuous time, when America is at war in Iraq, I think many Americans lose sight of what it means to be American. It sends chills through my spine to hear an individual say that he wants to move out of the United States because of President Bush's stance on the war in Iraq. Yes, President Bush's policies were not and are not perfect, but I believe the United States is still the greatest place to live on earth. It's ironic that individuals that have been in America less than three years want to be here more than people that have been here all their lives. I think in some ways too many people take for granted the great opportunities that come with living in America. I love living in the United States - a land where hard work and a little luck can go a long way. My family was lucky enough to come here in the late 1980s, and as a result I have had the chance to live the majority of my life in the greatest land on earth. No, things are not perfect in America. There is still homelessness, poverty and hunger. But there is also freedom, liberty and opportunity. What does living in America mean to you? Being an American, in any sense of the word, does not carry just negative connotations but comes equipped with several positive meanings. Forgetting the positive aspects of life in America is as equally detrimental as ignoring the negative. When looking at what's wrong with America, don't lose sight of what's right.Loi To is a junior majoring in political science and Russian.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it's unconstitutional for states to execute criminals who were under the age of 18 when they committed their crimes. (Prior to this ruling, the Court had already made it illegal for juveniles who have committed federal capital crimes to be sentenced to death.) In this installment of "By the Numbers," the Daily explores the history of juvenile capital punishment.1976 Year in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could levy the death penalty1 Americans "executed for a crime committed as a 16-year-old" since then (Sean Sellers)3People Sellers murdered (his mother, his stepfather, and a store worker)
History, as they say, repeats itself. The Mars Volta's ambitious new release, "Frances the Mute," is a history lesson of sorts - not that it sounds exactly like any one particular album you've heard before. In fact, it may very well turn out to be the craziest thing you've heard in a long while, as The Mars Volta offer up their perplexing contribution to the canon of classic rock. They are, however, a schizophrenic jumble of a number of things you've heard before, but pieced together in a five-song Zepplin-like epic that leaves you reeling and feeling somehow ... bruised. To put it more simply, imagine having a nightmare involving blackened lungs and crawling maggots, to the soundtrack of Radiohead's "O.K Computer" mixed with Metallica's "Black Album," with a demonic Robert Plant singing above the screeching guitars and psychotic trumpets. And there you have "Frances the Mute." The whole thing is overwrought, overdramatic and overwhelmingly unsettling. But it sure is interesting. The album was either composed between bong hits or over the course of a demon exorcism ... I'm guessing both activities were somehow involved. Conveniently sorted under the label of prog-rock, the Mars Volta are actually some kind of funky assortment of metal, classic rock, post-punk and salsa. The band's two members split from punk band At The Drive-In in order to pursue the Mars Volta project, and "Frances the Mute" is their second full-length album. Singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala howls in both English and Spanish - in neither case are his lyrics really comprehensible, but my lyric booklet tells me he's singing things like, "She can bat a broken eyelid/raining maggots from it's sty/and with the traces that she leaves/she will skin you out alive" in the four-part song "Miranda That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore," and growling the words "there was frail syrup dripping off his lap dances lapel/punctuated by her decrepit prowl/she washed down the hatching gizzard soft as a mane of needles" in the five-part song, "Cassandra Geminni." Bixler-Zavala's guitarist friend Omar Rodriguez-Lopez runs wild with the guitar solos, often with terrifying results - they tend to jump out at you from the quieter, eerier moments - and then you feel like you're in some video game where you step into a room to find a giant scorpion bad-guy waiting to consume you. For the most part, the many-segmented songs are divided up based on Rodriguez-Lopez's alternations between scathing riffs and floating, haunting melodies, both of which often disintegrate into periods of acid-jazz psychedelia. At times they drag on for too long, but the duo gets it just right on the third track - the twelve-minute long "L'Via L'Viaquez" - an explosive salsa-inspired rock masterpiece that jumps back and forth from metal-fuelled guitar romps to funky latin beats. "The Widow" is probably the only track of conventional length and construction, in which Bixler-Zavala sings from the perspective of some haunted widow figure who eerily repeats: "I hear him every night in every pore and every time he just makes me warm." "Frances the Mute" is not exactly a sprawling concept album, it's more like a combination of four epic songs that aspire to the greatest heights of rock grandeur, with "The Widow" thrown in there somewhere to give you a bit of a rest from the general assault.
March Madness has returned. The brackets are filled. The fun starts now. You know why they call it madness? Because of people like me, who agonize on Cinderellas and sleepers. We go out on limbs. We make claims. And then we pull our hair out for a month (I don't need haircuts in March). Last night as I sat debating the "strength" of Washington as a number one seed (WARNING: Don't pick them!), I got pretty fed up with my friend's cocksure attitude and unabashed confidence in the Pacific Northwest team. So I made a wager. I'm known to make monetary wagers from time to time, but March Madness is the real deal. I don't mess around. So we made a real bet. If the Huskies make the Final Four (which they won't), I will be eating my bracket. Yes, I do mean the piece of paper. I get barbecue sauce to dip it in (it's my preferred condiment). And to wash it down? Warm milk mixed with warm V8 and a teaspoon of hot sauce (because it's the Albuquerque region). But if Washington misses the Final Four, it's bon appetit for my friend (who still prefers to be called a consigliere). He chose Velveeta for his condiment and gets the same beverage. Sure, the odds are in my favor. I get fifteen teams while my friend gets one. But that's March Madness. My friend is still willing to bet because he thinks he's right (and he's arguably insane). Infallibility is essential to truly enjoying the Madness. You need a sense of infallibility because picking brackets is an art. Only the veritable aficionados can masterfully foresee how the tournament will break down. Not everyone is a college hoops fanatic. Procrastination, however, has enabled yours truly to waste inordinate amounts of time this winter following college basketball. I'm pretty sure I'm an expert now (but without cries of "DIAPER DANDY BABY!!). And since I'm such a generous person, I'm going to give you, my loyal readers, some insight into this year's bracket, entirely free of charge. When you're collecting your earnings from your pool with your buddies, you can thank me. I've developed some general rules to ease the process. Some of you may question my methods. And, frankly, you have every right. I picked three out of the final four teams last season though. So go ahead. Be your own man (or woman assuming females read my column ... which would be downright awesome). 1. The Big East, the ACC, and the Big 12 are your legitimate conferences this season. When deciding on your Sweet 16 picks, look for teams from these conferences because they're the best teams and they play the best teams. 2. The SEC, the Pac-10, and the Big Ten are trash. The competition in these conferences is over-hyped. Teams from these conferences will get you in trouble. Of course there are exceptions. Illinois is one of my final four teams. They'll meet Arizona (because of Salim Stoudamire and Channing Frye) in the Elite Eight. But Kentucky, Florida, and the SEC will hurt you. And you know my thoughts on Washington. 3. Conference USA will screw you. I've lost count of how many times Bob Huggins and Cincinnati have come up short. My exception this year is Louisville because of Francisco Garcia, Taquan Dean, coach Rick Pitino and the fact that the team has won 18 of its last 19 games. I'll still probably get screwed picking them for the Elite Eight. I have some history with bracket eating thanks to the good 'ole CUSA. I attested that under no circumstances would Marquette upset Kansas and make the 2003 Final Four. But the CUSA screwed me and Kansas and Roy Williams let me down, which brings me to my next point ... 4. Stay away from Roy Williams and good coaches with bad tourney records (Williams has never won a national title, despite having some of the best players in the country). That means keep clear of Bob Huggins (Cincinnati), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), and Williams (UNC) and embrace coaches with good tourney records like Lute Olsen (Zona), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), and Bob Knight (Texas Tech). Then again, embrace Bob Knight at your own risk. He might throw a chair at you. I'm breaking my own rule picking Williams and UNC to win it all. Rashad McCants, Raymond Felton, Jawad Williams, and Sean May are just too talented to keep Williams from St. Louis. 5. Pick some first round upsets. Your best bet is to pick 10s and 12s. Don't argue, just do it (Nike paid me handsomely). I did a statistics project on the tourney last year (surprised?) and 12s win about 30 percent of the time, an average of at least one upset a year. My 12 seed this year? University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. My other upset picks: St. Mary's, North Carolina State, Northern Iowa, UTEP, and possibly Old Dominion. 6. Pick some Philadelphia teams. Well, maybe that's just my rule. It's partly inspired by my dad, who probably picked Temple to make the Final Four again this year (yeah, I know they're not in the tourney this year, but try to tell him that). So, put Villanova and Penn in the Sweet 16. I did. And I stick by those picks (just like I stuck by St. Joseph's as my national champ last year). Still drawing blanks on who to pick? Here's my Final Four: UNC, Wake, Illinois, and Syracuse (breaking my own rule again) with UNC over Wake in the final. So there you have it. Follow my rules and you will feel like you're cutting down nets at the end of the season too. At the very least, you won't be forced to devour a piece of paper drenched in barbecue sauce.Alex Bloom is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at alexander.bloom@tufts.edu.
The proposed changes to the language and culture requirements for students in the College of Liberal Arts are a positive step forward for the Tufts community. Tufts is proud of its reputation of preparing leaders who think globally, and the changes, if enacted, will help students to better understand a world that seems to be getting smaller and smaller. The proposed changes would allow a single course to double count for both the world civilization and part of the culture requirements, require that one culture course be focused on the region of that culture's origin, and remove ASL from the culture option while allowing it to count as a second language. The final proposal would put the added cultural requirement into effect for the class of 2009, while allowing everyone starting with the class of 2006 to double count world civilizations and culture. At a time when transnational flights are (relatively) cheap and quick and access to what were once remote regions grows easier by the day, the imperative for Jumbos to understand a language and culture other than their own will prove extraordinarily valuable. The most valuable part of the proposal is its requirement that at least one of the courses taken as part of the culture option deal with the region of origin (of that culture). While this may seem like an insignificant change, it does well for liberal arts students by focusing their cultural attention and sensitivities on not just Diasporas but also their places of origin. Knowing the nature of where a culture originates is essential to fully understanding that culture. This aspect will also have added value for the many students who choose to go abroad, since it will arm them with local cultural knowledge that proves useful when in foreign lands. It will help students avoid being the stereotypical "ugly American" and instead allow them to be a culturally and linguistically sensitive guest. Increasing the salience of the abroad experience furthers Tufts' goal of creating the next generation of global leaders. Allowing classes to count for both the world civilization requirement and the culture option will simplify what often seems like a maze of requirements for liberal arts undergrads. If the faculty passes this part of the proposal, students will have more time to concentrate on problems in the world and at home and will spend few hours worrying about how to fulfill needed courses. Applause is in order to the Senate for nearly unanimously passing the resolution calling for these changes. Now it is up to the faculty to act appropriately and approve them, which promise to make life a bit easier and more meaningful for Jumbos. These small changes mean a world of difference on the Hill.
An article last week on emergency contraceptive use on campus ("National awareness remains low, but Plan B usage rising at Tufts," March 11) misstated why Plan B has not been approved for over-the-counter use. The Food and Drug Administration has sufficiently tested the drug, but missed its deadline in late January to make a decision and will now complete its review of the drug in the "near future." Due to an editing error, the continue headline "Some worry that readily-available Plan B could cause increase of unsafe sex" was not supported with evidence in the article. Recent research has in fact found that increased availability of emergency contraceptives did not lead to an increase of risky sexual behavior.
Given the recent debate that has graced the pages of this newspaper of late over the issue of Tufts' admissions policy and the practices and attitudes of President Bacow and Dean Coffin, I feel compelled to speak my piece. When I read their response in Monday's Daily Viewpoints, detailing their "need-sensitive" admissions policy, I was shocked. This response was generated by my experiences (I'm now a freshman) in the last two years of my life, a large portion of which was focused on gaining acceptance to Tufts University. As a prospective student of the university, I attended many information sessions in my home town. These sessions were led, alternately, by two individuals from the admissions outreach staff. At each session, the representatives from the university would discuss the various aspects and numerous merits of Tufts (as one would expect at any college information session) until, inevitably, the dialogue turned to the topic of admissions. When this topic was broached, the assertions of the Tufts representative were always the same. Without fail, the first words uttered were, "The admissions policy of Tufts is need-blind." Not "need-sensitive," not "we could reject you (or your son or daughter) if you ask for too much money, but it's not likely," but NEED-BLIND. This would be followed by a detailed description of what need-blind means: "Your (or your son or daughter's) admission will not be affected by your financial aid needs." In the period between these information sessions and the submitting of my application to Tufts, I seriously considered applying for financial aid. However, I learned from many sources, none of them Tufts sponsored or affiliated, that Tufts did, in spite of what I had been told, take financial aid into consideration when evaluating students for admission. Consequently, as it was possible (although not necessarily easy) for my family to afford the costs of tuition without assistance, I did not attempt to apply for financial aid. What if I did not come from such a fortunate situation? What if monetary aid would have alleviated major strains on my family's financial status? Had I accepted at face value the misrepresentation of Tufts' admissions policies that I had received at these information sessions, I might have applied for aid, and consequently not have been accepted to this institution, in spite of my qualifications. The shock that I felt when I read last week's article by President Bacow and Dean Coffin, which claimed that Tufts' admissions policy was not need-blind but need-sensitive, was not a reaction to the policy itself; my own experience had given me ample evidence to that end. The impetus for that response was that my experience had shown me that, for all intents and purposes, Tufts wants its applicants to believe that when they apply, financial aid will not be taken into account. I applaud President Bacow and Dean Coffin for being so forthcoming at this point in time about their policy. I worry, however, that it is a courtesy afforded exclusively to the Tufts community, rather than to the group of prospective applicants of which, at one point in time, I (and a large majority of those who read this newspaper) was a member. If Tufts is going to continue to observe the policy of need-sensitive rather than need-blind admissions, as may very well be mandated by the financial constraints on the university at this time, the administration must take care to make this policy clear to all of those interested in applying to this school. I understand the desire to attract a higher level of applicant; raising the quality of all aspects of the school, including the student body, should be the goal of any university. It may be in this interest that the official policy and the advertised policy of the university differ so ambiguously. However, while such aspirations are admirable, and should be applauded, they should not be allowed to undermine the integrity and honesty which Tufts, or any university, brings to its application process. Jonah Peppiatt is a freshman who has not yet declared a major.
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences will vote this week on four proposed changes to undergraduate course requirements. The Ad Hoc Committee on Language and Culture proposed changes that would allow students to count a single course for both the World Civilization and Culture Option requirements. The Committee also recommended that the Language and Culture Option guidelines be changed to ensure that students have a more comprehensive understanding of the culture they choose to study. Once students in the School of Arts and Sciences receive credit for three semesters of basic language study, they may complete their Language and Culture requirements by taking three higher-level classes in that same language, completing three semesters of a new language, or by taking three classes that focus on a single culture. The latter choice is known as the Culture Option. According to Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator and junior Rafi Goldberg, the first proposal assures that one of the three courses taken to fulfill the Culture Option must focus on the region of origin. "If a student takes Asian American culture for the Culture Option, for example, one of the three courses must deal with the culture of some part of Asia," he said. Goldberg, who serves as a student member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Language and Culture, submitted a resolution to the TCU Senate that endorsed the proposed changes. The second proposal would simply change the classification of American Sign Language (ASL) classes. ASL would no longer be part of the Culture Option and would instead be treated as a second language. The third proposal would allow classes to count for both the World Civilization requirement and the Culture Option. Goldberg noted that the already high overlap between World Civilization and the Culture Option gives justification for the change. "Eighty-five percent of classes that count for the World Civilizations requirement can also count towards the Culture Option," he said. The World Civilization requirement change would go into effect for next fall, for the Class of 2006's final year, as prescribed by to the fourth proposal. The changes for the Language and Culture Option would also begin next fall, and would first apply to the Class of 2009. According to senior Wen Cai, who serves as a student member on the Ad Hoc Committee on Language and Culture, the committee was commissioned "to examine and update the 35 year-old World Civilization and Culture requirements." "[Tufts] has gone through many changes in the last 35 years, but our requirements did not reflect the changing times and values," Cai said. The TCU Senate passed Goldberg's resolution by a vote of 20-2-1 on Feb. 6. "[Our] purpose is to send a message to the faculty that we strongly support the Committee's proposals," Goldberg said.
It's tempting to write off Thievery Corporation as lounge music: a horrible term which brings to mind pretentious New York hipsters wearing light colored sunglasses at night, always seeming high on something, and hanging out at dimly lit clubs with cooler-than-thou DJs. Yet Thievery's latest album, "The Cosmic Gate" is more complex than that, taking the listener through a whirlwind of psychedelic beats, intriguing lyrics sung by guest artists, and styles borrowed from a variety of cultures. The journey begins in indie-rock America and moves from there to Jamaica, Brazil and India. The album opens with "Marching the Hate Machines (Into the Sun)." The opening sounds suspiciously like Massive Attack's "Teardrop" until the entrance of a very weird voice: Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips. This is one of Thievery's most political songs and sets the album's tone of protest. Coyne's opening line is: "Let's start by/making it clear/Who is the enemy/Show them/That it's not them/Who is superior." Coyne's voice is distorted and there is a melodic chorus of voices in the background. The piece stands as a departure from the band's earlier work. The world tour continues in Jamaica, with one of the strongest songs on the album, "Warning Shots." On this track, Thievery blends jungle MCs and their usual Rude Boys references with a hard, psychedelic backbeat. The echoes and the distortion are on par with any Thievery album, but the addition of the jungle MC makes it more unique. "The Cosmic Gate" is full of guest vocalists, including Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction and David Byrne of Talking Heads. There are also several less famous additions, most of them Indian or Brazilian artists. The use of so many different styles adds variety to the album, yet the group manages to keep the album cohesive through their signature psychedelic style and the use of African drums, which appear on several songs. The best of the Indian influenced songs is "Doors of Perception," featuring Gunjan. Thievery effectively mixes the unique, traditional sound of the sitar with lofty electronica melodies. The vocalist does not sing words; instead she just produces melodic tones. In the middle of the song, very suddenly, a hardcore drum beat begins. The m?©lange produced by the sitar, the voice and the drums makes this one of the more unique songs on the album. "The Cosmic Gate" is a good album for its genre, thanks to the heavy blending of cultural music and trip-hop, yet the album has a few boring songs interspersed in between the more creative tracks. "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" and "Amerimacka" are not particularly interesting unless the listener is on enough drugs to make roller coasters appear in front of him, while "The Heart's a Lonely Hunter" - the song featuring David Byrne - simply makes no sense. Byrne sings, "Welcome to my spaceship/you're beautiful forever." The beats are interesting but Byrne's lack of coherence takes something away from the song. A drawback to the Thievery duo's music is pretension. It is very difficult to make a lounge music album unpretentious, and Garza and Hilton sometimes go too far in trying to be creative and different. The use of Indian Bhangra was creative on one or two songs, but by the fourth Indian song, it is no longer innovative. Artists must take care when adopting other cultures' fashions in their music and not forget their own personal style, which in Thievery's case, more closely resembles Portishead and Massive Attack than Astrud Gilberto.
Faculty and administration gathered Thursday afternoon for the annual book party hosted by the Deans of the School of Arts and Sciences. The event, which took place in the Coolidge Room of Ballou Hall, featured all the books published by Tufts faculty and researchers within the past year. Approximately 30 faculty and administrators circulated the room, leafing through the 57 books on display and discussing them among colleagues. Kevin Dunn, dean of Academic Affairs in the School of Arts and Sciences, said the book party was a great opportunity to witness the range of talent across departments, among faculty members. "It's a great way to celebrate people in disciplines like the humanities and the arts - traditionally the 'book disciplines,' - but when you walk around, you can see that there are books from nearly every discipline," Dunn said. "It really demonstrates the vibrancy of intellectual culture across the departments." Susan Ernst, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, echoed Dunn's optimism regarding the gamut of subject material covered by the many books represented at the book party. "We're delighted to see the real breadth of scholarship in the University, and books are a great way to recognize it. The subjects of the books here are all so different - math, children, literature, novels, astronomy, Japanese ... I could go on and on," Ernst said. "There's just something about books when you hold them in your hands." The book party is a tradition that began 10 years ago by then-Deans Elizabeth Ammons and Marilyn Glater. In past years, books authored by graduate students have been featured at the book party. This year, however, most of the 57 books represented at the book party were written by faculty members - none of the books were authored by graduate students. According to Dunn, the longevity of the book party has helped him chart his colleagues' progressions in their many studies. "It's a great opportunity each year to come together and see what your colleagues have been doing," said Dunn. "Books are a concrete manifestation of that." For many professors, this year's book party provided them with the opportunity to showcase their very first publications. Of the 57 books displayed in total at the book party, four were the authors' firsts. One of these authors was Deborah Schildkraut, alumna and recently hired Professor of Political Science, whose book "Press 'One' for English: Language Policy, Public Opinion, and the American Identity," is slated to be released on April 1 of this year by Princeton University Press. Neva Goodwin and Julie Nelson, researchers at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University (GDAE), also had two books displayed at the event. Nelson, who, with Goodwin, wrote "Microeconomics in Context," said she saw the book party as being "a good way to celebrate everyone's accomplishments," not simply her own. English Professor Ronna Johnson, author of "Breaking the Rule of Cool: Interviewing and Reading Women Beat Writers," said she didn't even realize how busy her colleagues have been until she attended the book party. "I didn't even know my colleague had been working on a book until I saw it here. It's definitely a great way to publicize and a major way that people find out what's going on in other departments here," Johnson said.-Mark Pesavento contributed to this article
Approximately 400 Tufts students made their way to the Gantcher Family Sports and Convocation Center yesterday to participate in the first annual Tufts Poker Championship. The goal of the event, according to event organizer sophomore Jake Resnicow, was to "[let] kids appreciate poker for what it is - a sport." Enclosed in the center of the indoor track, the student participants competed in two rounds that went late into the night for the official Tufts Poker League Trophy. The event was organized by the Tufts University Poker Society (TUPS), which was recently formed and was officially recognized by the University in early February. The tournament was divided into two rounds in order to accommodate the number of students interested in playing in the tournament. The first round began at 2 p.m. and ended at 8 p.m. The second round began at 7 p.m. and lasted until just after midnight. Only 10 students from each round made it to their round's respective final table. The finalists from the first round of play were sophomores Marchaun Morrison and Eric Newville, and freshman William Louden. The finalists from the second round were seniors James Kubisch, Seth Homer and Michael Contrastano. The finalists will advance to a "poker mega-event" to be held in Barnum 008 on April 7. The event will include live music from Tufts' student band The Juice, T-shirts for the first 50 students and free pizza. The six finalists will play at a table with professional poker player Dutch Boyd, who will give also give a talk on the future of poker. The last student standing will be crowned the champion and receive the official trophy as well as an undisclosed prize. The championship was completely free for all participants: each participant received $100 value in chips for use in the games. Reniscow said he found it encouraging that "all these kids are coming here to play for free." He said the fact that so many students showed up and were willing to play for no money was a display for the appreciation students have for poker as sport. "Because it's a free event, we were worried that people would just go all in. But what blew us away was how serious people took the tournament," said Resnicow. Resnicow described the final 20 players from each round as "solid, aggressive players who were difficult to read." With the rising popularity of televised poker being aired on channels like ESPN, students are beginning to see poker on the same level as other competitive sports. According to Resnicow, one of TUPS' future goals is to compete against other New England-area universities. "We want to capitalize on the competitive level we saw tonight and really make this into a fun event [for other schools]," said Renicow. "[The tournament] is a lot of fun, I'm really glad were having an organized poker event like this," freshmen Evan Dreifuss said. He said that he liked the idea that the tournament was "no money, just fun, and pride." TUPS tournament coordinator junior Slava Mirilashvili was very impressed with how the event turned out. "The level of playing has been surprising," he said, "people are really showing some skill." Reniscow said the large turn-out was encouragement for TUPS to continue to grow and hold a second tournament next year, in order to give everyone an opportunity to play poker for "the thrill and bragging rights." Domino's Pizza donated food for the event, and Alpha Phi sorority sold refreshments at the tournament for the benefit of the American Heart Association.
