Eleven Tufts students were chosen for the prestigious Fulbright scholars program this year, maintaining Tufts' performance in previous years.
This sumer, I took part in a fellowship program in New York that drew students from across the country. Towards the end, we had a barbeque in Brooklyn and the conversation turned to politics. In discussing potential vice presidential candidates, Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) came up. One of my colleagues from the Midwest commented, "Oh, they wouldn't put him on the ticket; he's also from New England."I gently (okay, not so gently) pointed out that Delaware was not in New England, nor did it even border on any New England states. My colleague responded, "Well, where I come from, Delaware is considered part of New England." In the name of tolerance of others' opinions, I could have accepted this statement. But that would have been ridiculous, because he was just wrong. No matter how you slice or dice it, Delaware is not in New England. And while I encourage diversity of viewpoints, I would not support the airing of my colleague's "opinion" in the media or in a classroom dialogue, not because I disagree with his opinion, but because New England is a clearly defined set of states. There is no room to argue that Delaware is in New England. This campus was presented with a similar situation with last Wednesday evening's panel, "Homosexuality and Society," sponsored by the Tufts Republicans. As most readers are probably aware by now, panelists spoke such gems as "There are only heterosexual people and homosexual problems" and that there is "no such thing as gay people," while also implying that homosexual activity leads to the death of others. The panelists discussed what "gay politics" have done to public health, based on completely unsubstantiated claims by individuals with no public health training (an MD does not count), while conveniently ignoring the anti-public health principles promulgated by conservative politics in the realms of sexual education and drug policy. Tufts Republicans President Nicholas Boyd refers to these comments as "part of the new perspective we want to provide to the campus." But these are neither new - they are antiquated, disproved fallacies from centuries past - nor perspectives. Rather, like the notion of Delaware being a part of New England or the concept that the world is flat, these statements are just incorrect. I do not know who Nick Boyd claims he is speaking for, but it is certainly not the majority of Republicans in this country. Regardless of their opinions on same-sex marriage, most Republicans do not challenge the existence of homosexuals, discount the role of genetics in influencing sexual orientation, or label homosexuality in and of itself as a public health problem. Ronald Reagan, the neoconservative icon himself, actually helped defeat a ballot initiative grounded in much of the same rhetoric that would have banned gay teachers from public schools when he was Governor of California. Boyd and his counterparts in the "conservative" movement at Tufts consistently disrespect the ideals and viewpoints of the majority of Republicans, both at Tufts and in the nation as a whole. Most Republicans are not extremist ideologues like the Tufts Republicans would have one believe. In fact, it should be noted that the Bush administration is more moderate than the Tufts Republicans seem to be. The Republican Party is not a party grounded on principles of hostility, intolerance, ignorance and hatred. I know many Republicans and I talk to them on a regular basis. (I come from a mixed household; my father is a registered Republican and my mother a Democrat.) Most of the Republican students on this campus actually represent the more moderate wing of the party, which is clearly a product of our geographical location, age group, and educational status. Many of these students recognize the falsity of last Wednesday's statements and find them quite offensive to their intellect and the notion of a university education. The Tufts Republicans have been whining about a lack of political diversity in campus dialogue and in the classroom for years. But in ignoring the viewpoints of the majority of Republicans at Tufts, they are discouraging this diversity themselves. While the Republican Party line has embraced a more conservative platform as of late, nowhere has it made claims as outrageous and false as the ones the Tufts group made last week. In four years here, I have been appalled by the lack of Republican-sponsored events that embrace the core Republican values. The Tufts Republicans do not give enough credence to the socially liberal paradigm that is greatly responsible for convincing individuals like my father, Senators Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Olympia Snowe (R-Mass.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and numerous Tufts students to maintain their party registration with the GOP. Free markets? Fine. Balanced budget? Bring it. Small government? I'm all ears. In fact, by spewing incorrect, absurd statements, the Tufts Republicans hurt the credibility of the valid viewpoints they do have. After last week's event, it is easy to see Nick Boyd and the Tufts Republicans as full of hatred, intolerance and ignorance. But these are not the values the Republican Party stands upon. I urge the majority of Republican students at Tufts to rise up and stand for their valid viewpoints, which are sadly being neglected by their leadership on campus, and to some degree in Washington. I don't agree with most of these positions, but I'll at least respect them as viewpoints, instead of the nonsense spewed at events like the one last week. As for last week's panel, it probably had no effect except for further tarnishing the reputation of the Republican Party on this campus. For there is no room to argue: Delaware is a Mid-Atlantic State, and gays do exist. And there are even gay Republicans in Delaware.Adam Pulver is a senior majoring in community health and political science. He can be reached via e-mail at adam.Pulver@tufts.edu
Students gathered in Cabot Auditorium last night hung on every news report from last night's presidential election, supplemented by power-point presentations and political commentary by a Tufts panel. The Election Extravaganza ended with everyone still in the dark. "I don't think we'll know the results of this election until tomorrow morning," senior Adam Koeppel said. The Experimental College presented the Extravaganza, which attracted students, professors and administrators. "It is obviously an extravaganza because we're here," senior Suzy Jabaily said. The event lived up to its name. Students colored in states on an overhead projector after they were called and administrators offered a free T-shirt to whoever guessed the correct distribution of electoral votes. While attendees cycled in and out of the auditorium throughout the night, a majority of seats remained empty. "I'm a little disappointed that Tufts didn't come out in full force," sophomore Douglas Kingman said. "It's not apathy; it's a desire to see the results in one's own way. It's not like a Sox game, where everyone has to congregate." Many students said they attended the Extravaganza for the atmosphere. "I feel the people who come out here are more politically involved," freshman Aubrey Crowley said. "Plus, it's a party for the Democrats." Crowley brought her homework into the auditorium. "I'm trying to study, but it's not working," she said. The Extravaganza's crowd was highly partisan. "It's an interesting time because there's like one Republican in this room," Koeppel said. Cheers erupted when New Jersey was called for Kerry and Barack Obama's U.S. Senate victory was announced. As the night progressed and emcee Howard Woolf asked what to do next, students shouted "Let's beat up some Republicans." Cabot's main screen displayed coverage from the entire political spectrum, including segments of CNN, FOX, and The Daily Show. "Put on The Daily Show, it's smarter than O'Reilly," a student proclaimed. The panel of Tufts experts included Professor Kent Portney and Dean James Glaser from the Department of Political Science, Molly Mead of the University College, Kingman representing Tufts Republicans, and Koeppel from the Tufts Democrats. Panelists answered questions from attendees sporadically throughout the event. "They wanted us here to offer some perspective," Koeppel said. But Kingmad said "the panel didn't get to discuss the issues as much we wanted to." Koeppel and Kingman stayed through the entire event. "The students don't have anything to do so they're still here," Koeppel said. Students based their after-party plans on how the election was unfolding. "If Kerry's doing well, I might go into Copley," freshman Allison Kornstein said.
In this installment of In Our Midst, The Tufts Daily profiles the president of the Tufts Democrats. Next Wednesday's In Our Midst will feature the president of the Tufts Republicans, Nicholas Boyd. In this installment of In Our Midst, The Tufts Daily profiles the president of the Tufts Democrats. Next Wednesday's In Our Midst will feature the president of the Tufts Republicans, Nicholas Boyd. Senior Jonathan Parnes' passion for politics may not come as a surprise if you take into account his roots. "I live in Washington D.C., in the city, not in Maryland or Virginia," Parnes said. "I always tell people there's something in the water there." Living in the nation's capital has made it near-impossible for Parnes, who is President of the Tufts Democrats, to ignore politics. "The thing is, in D.C., you have so much access and everybody you know is involved, so it's hard to not follow politics," Parnes said. Politics was not only "in the water" for Parnes, it was also in his blood. "My grandparents were really involved in politics in New York City," Parnes said. "My grandmother actually ran for Congress in the 1940s or '50s on the third-party ticket." "My grandmother was just the kind of person, if she was in a cab or if she saw a musician on the street, she would walk up to them and ask if they were a member of the union and give them a union card," Parnes added. His grandfather was also politically active and served as a judge in an elected position. Though Parnes acknowledges that "[politics] has always been there," he cites one tragic day in particular as the beginning of his personal involvement with politics. "In high school, there were two kids who were coming home from a basketball game, and they were killed in a drive-by shooting by their house," Parnes said. "So that inspired me to get involved with lobbying for gun control." It was through his gun control lobbying that Parnes first met John Kerry. Four years later, Parnes found himself working with Kerry's presidential campaign. "I worked at the Democratic National Convention and for the Kerry campaign this summer," Parnes said. "I came up to Boston and I worked in the communications war room. Every day I'd work from seven in the morning to six at night." Parnes' political involvement did not end with the 80-degree weather, however. "I love politics, but it's kind of taking over my life right now," said Parnes, who, in addition to his role as President of the Tufts Democrats, is also the Legislative Director of the College Democrats of Massachusetts. "Let's just say I'm not getting my work done this year," he added. In between watching the Red Sox win the World Series, Parnes dialed into the College Democrats conference call every night last week. "[The conference call] is a way of organizing events and connecting to the other chapters," Parnes said. "We don't want to exist in a bubble." Parnes also spent last week preparing to participate in the mock presidential debate that took place in Cabot Auditorium last Tuesday. "It went really well - I prepared a lot by reading up on all the issues to make sure I knew all the nuances of them," Parnes said. "I didn't want to just repeat the numbers that were given in the [real presidential] debates - I tried more to get the points out that would make sense for college students." Parnes not only participates in politics, but he teaches it as well. "This year, I'm teaching a class on presidential elections for the Explorations Seminar," Parnes said. "I took an Explorations class freshman year and that's how I got involved with the Dems partly: My Explorations leaders worked for the Dems." Since his experience with Explorations was so positive, Parnes decided to reach out to incoming freshmen in the same way. "I'm still friends with most of the people that were in my group, so I just wanted to do the same thing for someone else," Parnes said. Though it may seem like he has a lot on his plate, Parnes finds his activities worthwhile. "Some people ask me, 'Why do you care?' I just really care about the issues," Parnes said. "It's not about winning the game." Though Parnes doesn't see the election as a game to be won, he does make bets in jest around it. "[The Tufts Dems] raised about $1,100 for Kerry in one night. I said if we raised $2,000, I'd get a Mohawk," Parnes said. Though his hair remained intact after the first bet, Parnes made another promise in his pre-election interview - "If [the Democrats] win the election, I'll give myself a fro-hawk." Parnes' interests are not limited solely to American politics, however. An International Relations major, Parnes is also interested in the issues from abroad. "What got me really interested in international relations were my trips in high school to Kenya, Nigeria and Cuba through Experimental International Learning (EIL)," Parnes said. "It was for community service and cultural immersion. We lived with a family for two weeks in a hut - no running water, no electricity." In his junior year at Tufts, Parnes continued his international studies in a program abroad in Italy. Though he is grateful for his experiences abroad and his foreign language courses on campus, Parnes still finds his primary passion to be domestic issues. In the future, Parnes would definitely like to turn his passion for American politics into a full-time career, but you may not see his name on a campaign button any time soon. "I've thought about it, but you have to be the right person at the right place at the right time to run for office," Parnes said. Now, in a politically crucial moment in history, however, Parnes has decided to focus on activities that support the Democratic Party, leaving little time for anything else. When asked if his life is as hectic in non-election years, Parnes said, "No, but I also wasn't President of the Tufts Dems in other years. In the past, if things went wrong, the responsibility was on someone else's shoulders."
Lazy students had no excuse not to vote yesterday, as the Tufts Community Union Senate and Tufts Votes sponsored a shuttle all day, driving between 75 and 100 students to cast their vote. Student drivers provided more than just transportation: They made sure students who were voting for the first time, as most were, came prepared. Many students registered at their campus addresses did not know their assigned polling spot and came without the proof of residence required to vote at some polling locations. Such unpreparedness "typically happens," according to Mary Smith, head of Tufts Votes. "It's hard to inform all students what they need to have." The shuttle was equipped with lists showing where students should vote based on their addresses. Shuttle drivers also took voters to the Office of Residential Life and Learning, where students living on campus could obtain paperwork proving their residency in Medford or Somerville. But students were still unsure of what documentation they needed and where they should vote and shuttle drivers worked to resolve these issues throughout the day. Deborah Sleeper, a sophomore living in Wren, was surprised to find herself at a Somerville polling place yesterday afternoon, as she was ineligible to vote there. She said it was easy to get confused living on a campus spanning two cities and several precincts, and expressed frustration at the lack of information in the e-mail advertising the shuttle. Although there are no statistics available for how many students chose to register at their Tufts address, Smith said many of the students who registered for the first time with Tufts Votes chose to register on campus. "It's easier; it feels more real to vote in person," she said. Sophomore Adam Chu, who took the shuttle at 1:30 p.m., said that he registered in Somerville "because it's easier than voting absentee." Smith added that international students with dual citizenship also tend to register in Massachusetts since it is their only address in the United States.
WASHINGTON - President Bush and Sen. John Kerry grappled over Ohio earlier today, where they were neck-and-neck in a close contest that could decide the presidency. Bush was declared the winner in Ohio by two television networks shortly after midnight, which appeared to put him in a strong position to win the election. But Kerry's campaign manager - mindful of how Al Gore stopped in his tracks four years ago en route to conceding Florida - urged the country to hold back from deciding too quickly. "The vote count in Ohio has not been completed," said Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill. "There are more than 250,000 remaining votes to be counted. We believe when they are, John Kerry will win Ohio." It was unclear how long it would take to count those Ohio votes. But it was evident that Ohio could determine the outcome. With only one exception, Bush was holding all of the states he won four years ago, including Florida. If he held the rest, including Ohio, he would have at least 274 electoral votes, four more than needed to claim a second term. If he lost Ohio's 20 electoral votes, he would have to win away some combination of states that went Democratic last time. Several remained too close to call early this morning, including Iowa, Michigan, New Mexico and Wisconsin. Bush took a lead in the popular vote; with 73 percent of the votes counted, Bush had 51 percent and Kerry 48 percent. Third-party candidates, including Ralph Nader, were all in single digits. Republicans also held control of the Senate and the House of Representatives and appeared poised to possibly increase their margins in each. As it was in 2000, the country was divided, and the two rivals carved up much of the country along the familiar red-blue lines of election night maps, with red for Republican states and blue for Democratic states. Bush held 27 states he carried in 2000: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, according to projections by the television networks. Kerry picked off one state from Bush, New Hampshire. In addition, he held 15 states that the Democrats carried four years ago: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, as well as Washington, D.C. Interest was so high that polls remained opened past closing time in several states. The results came after Americans surged to the polls in the first wartime election in more than three decades. Unusually long lines at precincts across the country underscored the intense interest in the outcome, with the stakes high and the choice between the two main candidates clear. Bush watched the returns from the White House, summoning reporters to the residence to tell them he felt he would win. Kerry watched from his home in the Beacon Hill section of Boston, getting updates by phone from Cahill and strategist Michael Whouley from the "boiler room" in Washington. "We just don't know at this point," senior adviser Mike McCurry said, when asked whether Kerry planned to come down to address the crowd of 10,000 waiting in the rain in Copley square. He and adviser Joe Lockhart said they were trailing by 200,000 votes in Ohio but remained hopeful. "In Ohio we're waiting for the heaviest and most concentrated Democratic vote to report in, Cuyahoga County, the Cleveland area," Lockhart said. "Gore won convincingly in 2000 and we project our vote ahead of Gore's there this year." There was a net gain of 180,000 newly registered voters in the county, out of 260,000 statewide. "That's what our guys think will put us over the top," Lockhart said. Bush, 58, the Republican nominee, promised to prevail in Iraq, keep America safe from terrorists by taking the fight to enemies abroad, keep taxes low and protect traditional family values and institutions. Kerry, 60, the Democratic nominee, vowed change at home and abroad. He promised to re-engage America's traditional allies in Europe, expand health care for the uninsured, reduce health costs for businesses and employees, cut taxes for the middle class and raise taxes for the wealthy. He vowed 10 million new jobs. Many Americans braved hour-plus waits to vote, suggesting that turnout could be the largest since 1968, when the country wrestled with its choice of a leader at the height of the Vietnam War. The last time the United States conducted a presidential election in wartime was 1972. "I'm willing to wait no matter how long," said Kelly Jimenez, 34, of Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood. "Not everybody in the world has this privilege." "This election is too close to leave it up to chance," said Langon Kane, 26, of suburban Philadelphia, who voted early so she could baby-sit her friends' children in the evening, when their parents planned to vote. "I will be watching the returns tonight and holding my breath." Added Janice Carey, 52, of Davie, Fla.: "I think this is the most important election of my lifetime." American GIs standing watch in Iraq and around the world voted by absentee ballot. "This election is in the hands of the people, and I feel very comfortable about that," Bush said after voting at a firehouse near his ranch at Crawford, Texas. "Now's the time for the people to express their will." He flew to Columbus, Ohio, for one last campaign pitch. He thanked volunteers at a phone bank, then took a line himself to talk to one surprised supporter. "Julie, this is President Bush calling," he said. "No, I promise you it's me. ... I'm proud to have your support. I appreciate you taking my phone call. Thank you so very much." He told reporters that he and Kerry had given the American people a hard-fought campaign and a clear choice. "Both of us will be able to say that we campaigned as hard as we possibly could," Bush said. "I have made the differences as clear as possible about why I think I am the best leader for the country for the next four years." Returning to Washington aboard Air Force One with first lady Laura Bush and their two daughters, Bush looked back on the long and sometimes bitter campaign by watching a slide show put together by a White House photographer. He watched the returns from the White House. Kerry started the day in LaCrosse, Wis., before returning to Boston to vote with his two daughters and enjoy a traditional Election Day dinner at the Union Oyster House, a Boston landmark. "I'm very confident we made the case for change, for new leadership," Kerry said. His wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, voted with her children from her first marriage near their Pittsburgh-area home before joining the senator in Boston. Memories of the 2000 election result and month-long recount battle hung over the day. But most problems appeared minor. In Ohio, a last-minute decision by the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the political parties to send people into polling places to challenge suspected fraud, a concern Republicans had cited. There had been pre-election reports of registration fraud, including that such fictional characters as Mary Poppins had been registered and that thousands had been registered to vote in both Ohio and Florida. Democrats said the presence of Republicans was meant to intimidate minority voters. But the poll watchers rarely challenged voters. The only major problems in Cleveland, as in most other parts of the country, were long lines and the ordinary difficulty in finding people's names on the rolls. "It's been very solid," said Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell, a Democrat. "A lot of sound and fury and no action," Ohio Republican Party spokesman Jeff Flint said. But the Voter Protection Project, with the Ohio Democratic Party, complained that some long lines in Franklin County meant it took three hours and longer to vote and drove some people to leave. "Elderly and disabled voters are unable to stand in line for three hours or more. Nobody should have to wait this long when there is a solution to the problem," party attorney Thomas Rosenberg said. He urged the Franklin County Board of Elections to distribute paper ballots or absentee ballots to those waiting in lines. County election officials called that impractical, adding that anyone in line before the polls closed would be allowed to vote on the voting machines.
Over the weekend, I experienced the Halloween spectacle at the University of Wisconsin, known for its wild, "Mardi Gras-esque" festivities. Never did I expect the celebrations to include rioting, fires and tear-gas; but then again, I didn't go there for the free candy. Getting there was half the fun. Since traveling takes up to about six hours - between getting to the airport, flying and layovers - half the day can be spent in exhaustion, which sometimes might lead to eating whatever is in front of you. Luckily, I planned ahead and packed a lot of healthful snacks, with the help of Dewick and Jumbo, for my never-ending journey. Whether you're out on the road or flying on a plane to visit friends at schools, it's really important to know how and where you can get food. Meals aren't served on planes now for three-hour flights or less, and I did not want to be dependent upon the airline's "party mix packages." This small sugary snack that accompanies the "complimentary beverage" is the perfect item to make you wish you didn't have only half an inch of personal space sitting next to a stranger. Ever wonder why the dude with his involuntarily inactivated BlackBerry has the jitters and can't sit still on the plane ride? He had a cup of caffeinated soda and a "party mix pack." That's not to say it isn't fine to eat the "party mix," since it is only a small portion, but without the fiber and protein, it won't hold you over for very long. Traveling is annoying enough, so why add any extra unsatisfying junk to your plate? Instead, choose foods that you know won't make your body feel uncomfortable during claustrophobic rides. For instance, if you know that dairy products make you gaseous, be nice to your poor traveling neighbor and don't eat them! Prior to leaving for the airport, I made sure to prepare in advance so I could still eat healthily on the road. I had a nice bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, since it provides a quick meal that keeps me full for most of the day. Also, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends oatmeal for its high soluble fiber content, thought to lower cholesterol if eaten on a regular basis. Oatmeal, low in saturated fat, is also a good source of vitamins, calcium and iron. Food gets expensive in airports, and our choices are better on campus. For lunch, I quickly ate a spinach salad with vegetables, and grilled chicken in olive oil at Dewick. I then bought an apple (good for fiber and the potent antioxidant quercitin) and a yogurt (calcium and protein) at Jumbo, which I had at the airport while standing in line. Since I knew I'd be hungry on the plane and didn't want the "party mix," I made sure to buy a salad with fresh vegetables and a turkey sandwich on whole wheat at the Commons. I cut it up into quarters to have every two to three hours and ate half the salad on the plane and the leftovers of it before landing time. I never became so famished that I could eat enough to go into a food coma, a.k.a. the "Thanksgiving post-mortem-kill-yourself feeling." The worst feeling is sitting in a car or plane, bloated and tired because you ate an entire bag of Pringles out of boredom, or just for lack of better options. This is why I highly recommend preparing food prior to leaving campus. Unfortunately, there aren't gyms at airports for those long layovers (but since graduation is pending, researching more about this seems like a good plan) so traveling doesn't really grant room for exercise. It's therefore important not to consume more than you burn in order to counteract weight gain. On the same note, consuming less than what you expend will initiate weight loss, versus the equal balance of energy-in, energy-out for weight maintenance. Water is also essential while traveling, since it is easy to get nauseated while driving or flying. Drinking your eight glasses will ensure that your head isn't pounding within the first hour of the trip. Bottles of water get expensive, so I made sure to pick up a few from Jumbo and filled my Nalgene, too. Sure, the cute couple from Ohio didn't look as cute after they had to get out of their seats three times for me to use the plane's bathroom, but don't let fear of embarrassment deter you from being good to your body. You'll never see them again anyway, so what's it to you if they label you as the annoying-pee-girl? Request an aisle seat if you're an H2O buff: the luxury of being able to peer out into the sky pales next to being able to freely use the bathroom! Luckily, sleep prevailed on the way back to Boston, and I didn't have to bother anyone. Next piece of advice: visit the party schools so you don't have to worry about staying awake for the traveling!
On Halloween, we are not ourselves. For this one night (or three nights, as the case may be for those of us who began celebrating on Thursday), we are free to take on an entirely different persona. We can dress as we wouldn't normally; we can speak as we wouldn't normally; and we can interact with others as we wouldn't normally. We can change our whole identity. This is the power of a costume. When it comes to Halloween, I have long shared the sentiment expressed in the caddy chick-flick "Mean Girls": It is the one night per year that girls can dress like sluts and be spared any criticism because they are "in costume." Indeed, on Halloween, girls in particular have an uncanny inclination to portray even the most wholesome character as a veritable hooker. "Mean Girls," however, is a high school movie. So while the mentality seems to carry over to college, coeds tend to make their wardrobe selections much more carefully. High school girls hear the word "costume" and dawn the typical clich?©s: Playboy bunny suits, Hooters waitress shirts and Catholic school girl uniforms inspired by the endlessly tasteless Britney Spears. College girls bring much more creativity and - dare I say - class to their costumes. In my three years at Tufts, I have found that the sexiest outfits relied less on navels and cleavage and more on the connotations of the characters being portrayed. Last year, for example, my friends and I dressed up as a Brownie troop. In brown shorts, sneakers, wife beaters and hand-made sashes, we were, in my opinion, far from sexy. Yet, the college-girl-gone-little-girl concept made us an unexpected sex-cess story. Men approached us all night long with lines like, "Hey baby, can I buy a cookie?" From pirates to magicians to bumble bees, I was delighted to see that this year's trend among college girls was to put a sexy spin on popular children's costumes. I, for one, dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz in a blue and white plaid dress, slightly reminiscent of Paris Hilton from her farm days on "The Simple Life." Most impressive, however, were the guys' costumes. Tufts boys dressed for Halloween with practically the same enthusiasm they displayed when the Red Sox won the World Series. Starsky and Hutch, a Keebler Elf and a strait-jacketed prisoner were among the most thoughtful and elaborate costumes I saw. But it took a real - or perhaps just really drunk - man to face his peers in a seven-foot tall inflatable penis suit, complete with "the stepchildren" bouncing along at his feet. And unlike in high school, it's the guys that are much more likely to dress in plaid minis and fish net stockings. But even amid the cuteness, originality and downright ballsiness of so many of the costumes, no Halloween party was without some disappointing (and often distasteful) clich?©s. Typically lame outfits for girls included slutty nurses, French maids and half-naked angels. Likewise, I would have sooner stabbed myself in the eye with my ruby red stiletto than look at another guy dressed as a rapper, cowboy or old-school tennis player. Nonetheless, I thrilled to see so many Tufts students dressed up. It is refreshing to know that even as we get older, Halloween never does. And while there may not be trick-or-treating anymore, there is eye candy galore. Anything goes on Halloween, so be creative; be sexy; be outrageous; be anything but you.
OK, I'm thinking of a team with plenty of tradition that hasn't been on the biggest stage within its sport since the mid '80s. These guys have a loyal fan base and a curse that keeps politely tapping them on the shoulder to remind them that it is still here. And their season begins tonight. The last line should have given it away. Or maybe it didn't. Your Boston Celtics, ladies and gentlemen, the sole tenants of the FleetCenter now that the Bruins are left to pursue the Stanley Cup on Playstation, take the parquet tonight against the division rival Philadelphia 76ers. Really gets your blood flowing, doesn't it? In a town that has been spoiled in recent months, make that days, we are going to have to bear the unbearable until April; mediocrity. Sure, we'll have the Patriots every Sunday, but that's the rub my friends - Sunday comes but once a week. True, while the NFL is a one-day-a-week (two, including MNF) entertainment venture, ESPN is working on creating an eighth day of the week just so they can fit in more Sean Salisbury and John Clayton. But I digress. As for our beloved C's, you may be asking yourself what curse I could have been referencing in the first paragraph. Now I am not one to believe in curses - hell, I'm sick of the word even as I type it - but the tragic event that occurred after the Celts won their last title in 1986 will hang over the franchise forever, regardless of if it wins anything ever again. Most of you probably know the story. Boston finished with a 67-15 record and steamrolled everyone including the Houston Rockets on its way to a championship. But through some sort of trading glitch (much like the one that brought the Pistons the number two pick in 2003 after being in the Eastern Conference finals) the Green received the number two pick in that year's draft. They selected Maryland power forward/super prospect Len Bias. He was found dead of a cocaine overdose after a night of celebration with his buddies and nothing has been even remotely the same around Auerbach-ville ever since. Now, I won't even begin to name the numerous bad breaks and dumb decisions that have plagued the franchise since that fateful day. But from what I have seen in my years rooting for the Celtics, there have only been light flirtations with the title in the era of the Bird-less Celtics. I guess the Chicago Bulls are going through the same thing right now, maybe even to a worse degree. At least the Celtics put a competitive team on the floor most nights, 2004 playoffs excluded. I hate to say it, but despite their passion, the Celtics brass and its fans remind me of that middle-aged man whose life reached its peak as a high school football hero. Or Rashaan Salaam. Or anybody who had greatness and lived greatness and felt greatness, only to see their life after that become nothing but ordinary. And let's face it, the Celtics are a very ordinary franchise right now, top to bottom. Boston, and Boston alone, has 16 championships. But the fact that I put not one ounce of my own fan energy into those makes them seem like they might as well belong to the Atlanta Hawks or something. There is no better proof of this than Gary Payton's initial refusal to come here, or even Tim Duncan saying that if he had been drafted by the Celts in 1997, he wouldn't have come. When a guy who wasn't even in the league yet says something like this, you know your franchise has seen better days. I know this bitterness is the last of what you want to hear. The puppy dogs and ice cream world that is being a Patriots and Sox fan is much more inviting, isn't it? But the Celtics at least deserve to be talked about, even if they are not being read about. They've earned it, regardless of the fact that the last Celtics who could call themselves "NBA Champions" are only ten or so years away from adult diapers. But these are not your father's Celtics, and while that is tough to digest, it is much easier for us than it is for one time Celtic great Tommy Heinsohn, who has watched and commentated nearly every game of the "bad but not terrible" era for this once proud franchise. I was in Ireland during the "blink and you'll miss the Celts" 2004 playoffs, but from what I hear there weren't exactly "What would Chucky Atkins Do?" t-shirts all over Boston. One friend of mine told me that the FleetCenter during Game Four, when they were about to get swept by the Pacers, was half full. Compare that with a certain Red Sox Game Four when they were about to get - ah, never mind, you know the rest. People care about this team, they just aren't passionate any more. Apathy may not be at an all-time high, but it is pretty close. But, hey, why start ripping on the Celts before the season has even begun? They could have some quality pieces in the right places. They have a new coach (Doc Rivers), a new point guard (Payton) and apparently quite the cast of rookies after what most analysts consider to be a stellar draft. And Paul Pierce is officially rejuvenated now that he has spit on the Cavaliers bench. That says to me "Come get some, Lebron." Love it. And we have Tom Gugliotta and a healthy Raef LaFrentz playing significant roles. Oh crap, don't love it. One old injury prone white guy, one younger injury prone white guy. I guess they really are screwed.
This article is the second in a five-part series looking at sex on campus. The articles are based in large part on anecdotal evidence, asking the question "How do we behave sexually at Tufts, and how aware are we of the risks?" This second article looks at how one student handled her unplanned pregnancy. Anne Stevenson was a student at UMass Boston enjoying her time with friends, classes and her on-and-off boyfriend of two years. She was a full-time student with sophomore standing, working at Brooks Brothers on Newbury in her free time, preparing to head off to Oxford her next year on a study abroad program. It was during this time, at the age of 25, that she learned she was pregnant. Tufts Health Services gave out 42 cases of lubricated condoms alongside 10 cases of plain ones from Sept. 2003 to Oct. 2004. That's 52,000 condoms a year on average, in addition to the brand-name condoms many prefer to buy themselves. But Health Services also administered 240 "morning after" pills in the period marked from September 2003 to September 2004. And that's not including Sundays, when students had to call directly in to the pharmacy because Health Services was closed. You're having sex. And some of you aren't protecting yourselves. How relevant is Anne's story to your life? Stevenson called the news a surprise. "You think you know your cycle, but you really don't because there's always variables to it," she said. "We were both monogamous and had known each other for a very long time. I wasn't worried about STDs, but when I got pregnant, I was definitely shocked." "I had so many goals, and it was like 'Do I have this baby and give everything up?'" Stevenson said. "I didn't want to be a single mom, which is what it boiled down to. I may not have made the same choice had I known." "I think a lot of people say that they are pro-choice and they are, but when it comes down to you making the personal decision, it's like 'Could I do this?,'" she added. "And then you start reading up and you realize 'Ok, eight weeks along the kid has a heartbeat, a backbone, and I went to the ultrasound before and I was just like 'I can't have an abortion, I just can't.'" Stevenson and the father planned to marry, and she moved as far as California to be with him, but two weeks before the wedding, she realized that marriage was not what they needed. By the time Stevenson and the father broke up, she was 16 weeks into her pregnancy. "So there was no way I was going to get an abortion," Stevenson said. "I mean, I could have, but [personally] there was no way I could. You go to the ultrasound, and I saw him moving and you're looking at the feet." So Stevenson returned to her parents' home in D.C. to give birth to Reece, her son of almost two years. During the end of her pregnancy, she used that time to apply to several schools in the hope of finishing her education. While pregnant, she interviewed with Associate Dean Jean Herbert and was accepted to Tufts, where she is currently a junior. Stevenson keeps in touch with her son's father, who is able to relieve some of the financial burden of raising a child, though it "is basically the same as what I would have gotten if I had gone on welfare." "I was 26 when I had my son - I had traveled and done a lot already," Stevenson said. "If I had been 20 or 22, I do not think I could have handled it. Being a mom is awesome, but it is huge." "You are forced to depend on people more, which was especially hard for someone as independent as me," Stevenson said. "A lot of people I thought were my best friends disappeared when I had Reece because I could no longer just get up and go at the drop of a hat, and having a kid around was a drag to them. But then I found out who my real friends were, too."In tomorrow's Daily, part three of this series will look at the ways single mothers like Stevenson balance schoolwork, child care and social lives.A morning in the life of a student mother7:00 a.m. Wake up to Reece poking my eyes out and staring me in the face. He gives me a kiss and now he wants me to magically wake up and play games. Guess the 'childproof' doorknob handle on his bedroom door was a total waste of money. I change his diaper and get him dressed while he runs away laughing.7:20 I make breakfast for Reece so he can throw it on the floor and laugh at me while I try to clean it up, then shower and get dressed faster than Clark Kent changes into Superman in a phone booth.7:35 OH CRAP! I forgot to chain lock the inside door to my apartment and now I can hear the 'Reeces monkey' running upstairs in the neighbors' apartment. I am such a negligent mother.7:35:30 I run up the stairs and let myself into the neighbor's apartment to repo my kid. He is standing next to the bird cage: "Birdie!" OK. He learned a new word. I can't yell at him. So I sneak out and hope no one notices we were there. 7:45 No time for makeup. I pack my books for school and get Reece's bag ready for daycare. Mad that the door is now chain-locked and he cannot get out, he goes into the bathroom and throws a box of Q-tips on the floor and tries to eat my peach-scented deodorant. Now I yell at him.8:00 I try to put a coat and some sneakers on the little ankle-biter, but he is so squirmy it's like nailing Jell-O to the wall.8:15 I'm running late. Gotta try and finish up my math homework at breakfast. Pack us into the car and we leave.8:30 I arrive at daycare. Reece won't let me leave. Babysitter has to bribe him to leave the doorway with Fruit Loops and putting in an Elmo tape.8:31 I sneak out the door feeling guilty for leaving him at daycare and not staying home with him. Maybe something will happen and I will miss it.8:45 Park the car and go to the student center and grab a coffee and a cinnamon roll. Do math homework.9:30 Classes start.- Anne Stevenson
Even in the rap game, not many artists are as thuggish as Trick Daddy Dollars. The Miami rapper with a long rap sheet came perilously close to a felony third strike in 2003, but Trick avoided the most serious charges and continued to work on his recently released album, "Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets." Luckily for Trick Daddy, in the rap music industry, trouble with the law serves to protect the credibility of rappers, whose success is built on a foundation of street credentials. Since his career started, Trick Daddy has been one of the most prominent faces of Southern rap, leading the way as the south has risen to the national scene. All the way, he's remained a master of the fluffier stuff that keeps young people dancing and dollars in his pockets. But he hasn't been afraid to experiment either. "Thug Matrimony" incorporates sounds ranging from crunk to R&B to soul. Moreover, a social conscience has found a place in Trick's music and listeners have responded. After his recent arrests, Trick had a level of credibility other rappers craved, along with fodder for new lyrics and a new album, but he went in the other direction. Instead of creating a heated tirade that criticizes law enforcement and the establishment, "Thug Matrimony" remains true to past albums by blending club tracks with insightful social and political commentary. Unfortunately, the thoughtful flow that shone on the title track of 2002's "Thug Holiday" isn't completely replicated on "Thug Matrimony." This time around, it is the club tracks that stand out. Crunk still rules the South and the Lil' Jon-fueled "Let's Go" is one of the hottest crunk tracks out right now. Twista is also featured, and his rapid-fire lyricism is a good contrast to the deliberate beat sampled from an Ozzy Osbourne track. Remixes of "Let's Go" will be filling the clubs for quite a while. "Sugar" is another hit collaboration with Cee-lo, who appeared on the previous album. Trick splits verse duty with Ludacris, and both rappers work to make the country twanged track amusing. Cee-lo's high-pitched singing on a magnetic chorus rounds out the track. The rest of the album's party songs fall flat in comparison. "M?©nage a Trois" is representative of what went wrong. The wrong rappers were invited to guest: the members of Trick Daddy's clique are not as talented and Jazze Pha hurts both of the tracks that he appears on. Jazze should stick to what he's good at: producing. The production on "M?©nage" is sloppy. The slow horn trills of the beat grate against most of the rapping. The beat doesn't sound like a finished product and the refrain is more thrown than placed into the mix. Trick loves the kids. I wouldn't deny that. Even though "Thug Matrimony" doesn't impart lyrics as emotionally moving as those in "Thug Holiday," the new album still includes a social message. The overarching themes are positive ones. "These are the Daze," "I Wanna Sang," and "The Children's Song" compose a large section of the album and all three songs are dedicated to the poor and marginalized children of America. Children's voices sing the choruses of all three songs, a device that adds to the weight of the message. Trick's flow is genuine and the rhymes are natural on these inspirational songs. Commendably, by including them, he's sacrificing radio play and record sales that would have been generated by more commercial tracks. Trick Daddy is big in the South in general and enormous in Florida. They've known him since the days of 2LiveCrew and that is a long time. He honed his sound there and it is specific to the region. Perhaps too specific. It is also ironic that the Southern sound Trick helped popularize may still be hindering the appeal of his music.
Today is election day in America, and everyone seems to agree on one thing: tonight's election will be close, no matter who wins. Both campaigns are gearing up for a long day of getting out the vote followed by a long night of watching results and listening to reports from the field. Unfortunately, the most powerful country in the world will almost inevitably be plagued by electoral problems, ranging from voter intimidation to problems with counting the votes. Some degree of difficulty should be expected with any close election in a country as big as the United States. To a certain extent, it is amazing that national voting goes relatively smoothly at all, with a president being selected by states with widely varying laws regarding who may vote and how they may do it. Nevertheless, we should not settle for almost good when this election looks to have a tremendous impact on the direction of the nation. Be on the lookout today for reports of systemic voter intimidation by Republicans in black areas of the country. By now it has become almost folklore that activities of this type happened in the closely contested 2000 Florida vote, but this is not going to be confined to myth tomorrow. The New York Times reports that many Black neighborhoods are littered with flyers advising residents that if they registered through Democratic or Democratic-leaning groups, their registration is not valid. This, of course, is untrue and is designed to keep Blacks, who vote overwhelmingly Democratic, away from the polls. This sort of playing fast and loose with the rules in order to keep people away from the polls is reminiscent of the pre-civil rights-era south. It is not right, it is not American, and it is certainly not in keeping with the spirit of the party of Lincoln. Perhaps the GOP attitude is best typified by Kristen Casazza of the Tufts Republicans, who remarked during a Q&A at the UCCPS' mock debate that she didn't want liberals voting. One would hope that the GOP has enough faith in its platform and candidates to encourage all eligible citizens to vote. Casazza's comment, and some Republican party members' actions, would suggest otherwise, however. On the other side of the aisle, the boys (and girls) in blue are causing problems of their own by raising suspicions of fraudulent voter registrations and other shenanigans worthy of Richard Daley or professionals of Miami-Dade county. Democrats attempted to argue in Ohio that those casting provisional ballots should be allowed to do so in any precinct, not just their own. Not only would this proposal make voter verification extremely difficult, but it would tremendously complicate vote counting. Luckily for this country, the idea was rejected in court. Tomorrow morning we will either wake up to a re-elected Bush, a newly elected Kerry or neither. The fact that the third scenario even exists is less a testament to the vibrancy of this country and more a testimonial to governmental ineffectiveness and partisan stubbornness. It is truly a failure of this country's leadership that we are discussing recounts and election controversy before this election, when we should have fixed our problems immediately in 2000.
Okay, America. It's your turn to choose. Tonight, after you've chosen between John and George at the polling both, you'll have another decision to make with your remote control. Who's it going to be? Tom, Peter or Dan? Maybe you'll branch out and pick the more eccentric names, Brit or Wolf. There's boring old Jim, who won't be interrupted by commercials, and the popular kid in class, the feisty and funny Jon. Regardless of who you choose, the biggest question after "Who won?" will be "How will the news cover this election?" Election Night 2000 was a black eye for every news network, as each anchor and election team hastily declared Florida's electoral votes for Gore, then changed their minds and declared it for Bush, then changed their minds, threw up their hands and gave up. Such a media disaster is highly unlikely again, as news desks have changed the way in which they call elections. But that doesn't mean that the night will be without high drama. Each network will have their own life-size version of the Red and Blue map, fancy graphics and an official "sidekick" correspondent - including Sam Donaldson of ABC, Bob Scheiffer of CBS and Tim Russert of NBC. Russert gained widespread adulation in 2000 for using the low-tech whiteboard to explain to viewers the way the election was breaking down. I'd expect the other networks to copy his example. Here's one vote to see Charlie Gibson pull out his Etch-a-Sketch to diagram which candidate will take Ohio. Tonight's election coverage will hopefully signal the end of a campaign in which television, as a media form, has been beaten, abused and stripped of its dignity. Each candidate and his respective party have used the Big Three networks and the cable news channels when it was convenient, but have ridiculed the news outlets when the tide was turned against them. From convention coverage to advertising, the story of Election 2004 can easily be seen via the battles of television. Howard Dean was the media's favorite until he began to get irritable with reporters and lose some of his thunder. Then the news networks overplayed the "I have a scream" speech, which was his eventual downfall. It wasn't until days later, when the speech had become a part of Americana, that these same stations apologized for their journalistic lapses. When Dean's speech was played against the roaring crowd at his rally, you could barely hear the man; it was because of the way he was miked that Dean appeared to lose his senses. Whether or not the media was culpable in the end, Dean lost Iowa and the nomination to the presidency in part because of that ten-second clip. But the media began its ridiculous domination of the campaign with its decision to only air three hours of each convention over the summer. Even though the conventions could have been newsworthy, the networks unilaterally decided that they would not report and would not let the people decide. Even the originator of the "We Report, You Decide" motto, Fox News, chose to air its bloated talking heads like Bill O'Reilly in lieu of showing important speeches. The most egregious example of television abuse came a few weeks later, on Aug. 4, when the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth aired the first in their series of infamous advertisements. I have no objection to the 527's right to air the ads, but I strongly protest the role cable television played. The Swift Boat Vets used their funds to purchase ad time in three swing states - Wisconsin, Ohio and West Virginia. Yet everyone in America saw the ad, especially those who watched Fox News. Sean Hannity of "Hannity & Colmes" took exceptional steps to give the group a soapbox to stand on. With a significantly broader audience, the Swift Boat Vets could raise additional funds at no extra cost to their coffers. Each advertisement the 527 group produced was aired by the cable news networks, which then allowed each side to argue their points; few steps were taken to have a non-partisan reporter debunk the Swift Boat Vets' charges. They left that job to the newspapers - The Washington Post and The New York Times - which were not afraid of explaining the truth and telling its readers that the Swift Boat ads are vindictive exaggerations. Not to say that the other party isn't engaging in the same disingenuous behavior. In an Oct. 20 article in the "Post," media critic Howard Kurtz writes about how the Kerry campaign had created phantom television spots merely to get the news organizations to write about them. All the campaign had to do was allocate minimal funds to produce the ad and let the cable channels run with it. By merely talking about an advertisement's message, the news providers are essentially megaphones, proclaiming the ad man's message from high atop a mountain. The news cycle of the past few weeks was inundated with an irresponsible reliance on polls. Anyone who has taken a statistics course, in high school or college, can tell you that the margin of error made most of those polls irrelevant. If Kerry jumped three points in that day's poll, he was "gaining momentum," and was "losing steam" if he lost three points. The fact that the margin of error was four or five points wouldn't be significantly mentioned. The televised sensationalism with the polling data has destroyed any remaining credibility the news networks may have had after the 2000 coverage. So tonight, amidst all the probable reports on confusing ballots and disenfranchised voters, Americans will have to choose a horse to ride on into the night. As the precincts keep reporting in and our country gets closer to finding out who will be the next President, the unavoidable elephant (or donkey) in the room will ask whether the networks got it right this time.
The volleyball team came up one game short of a perfect conference season after running its conference record to 9-0 with wins over Hamilton and Middlebury, losing to the first-place Williams Ephs 3-0 in its final NESCAC regular season weekend, hosted by Middlebury. Finishing the season with a 9-1 conference record, the 26-5 Jumbos earned the second seed in the NESCAC Tournament, which will be held this upcoming weekend at Williams. "The first two games, we played really well," freshman Stephanie Viola said. "We played together and got things done, which was really great. The final game, we didn't show up, so we lost all three games." On Saturday afternoon, the Jumbos fell victim to the Ephs 30-19, 30-21 and 30-19. Williams was coming off a five game victory over Amherst and had no problem with the Jumbos, who had not lost a game all weekend coming into the match. "We don't know what happened," Viola said. "It was just one of those things where you can show up or you cannot show up and we didn't." The Jumbos had the most trouble with Williams' 6'2", All-American middle blocker Joyia Chadwick. "Williams ran a very quick offense," Viola said. "[Chadwick] pounded away at our defense. She just kept pounding the ball right to our setter, which made it difficult to run defense." The loss was d?©j? vu for the Jumbos; Williams defeated them 3-0 one week ago in the finals of the Hall of Fame Classic. It was a disappointing way for the team to end the regular season. "The Williams game definitely hit heavy," Viola said. "It hit home for our team. It wasn't a good way to end the weekend." According to head coach Cora Thompson, the loss was more a result of the Jumbos' poor play than the Ephs' good play, as the Jumbos struggled with passing, communication and service, committing seven errors. Junior Courtney Evans led the Jumbo attack with nine kills, and sophomore Kelli Harrison led the defense with 13 digs. "I would never take anything away from Williams and the way they played because they did what they had to in order to win, but we did not play well," Thompson said. "As one of my captains said, we did not show up, and that's the most disappointing thing. We had a great opportunity in front of us and did not even show up to take it." With the regular season over, the Jumbos will now have to refocus their attention toward the NESCAC Tournament. The eight-team, single-elimination tournament will decide the conference champion, who will then have the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament for a national title. "We're in a very good place," Viola said. "We're second in the NESCAC. We have a high seed. Now we've lost to Williams twice. We have that fire and we really want to beat them." The Jumbos secured the second seed by winning their first two matches of the weekend against Hamilton and Middlebury. The playoffs are like a new season for Tufts, and the pain of the loss to Williams over the weekend could be erased if the Jumbos get the best of the Ephs come playoff time. The victory over Middlebury was important because a loss to the Panthers could have placed the Jumbos as the third seed in the NESCAC. The Jumbos did not stumble, however, setting the tone early against Middlebury and cruising to a 3-0 victory (30-16, 30-25 and 30-26), despite playing on Middlebury's home floor. Harrison had a strong all-around match as she recorded 18 kills, four solo blocks with one assist and 11 digs. Senior co-captain Emily Macy added 12 digs to lead the defense. "We were communicating," Viola said. "We were playing as a team, and whenever we do that, we beat teams in three games ,which is what we did with Middlebury." The victory upped the Jumbos to 9-0 in the NESCAC, while dropping Middlebury to 7-3 after an 0-2 weekend. The Jumbos opened the weekend with a 3-0 victory over Hamilton on Friday night. Hamilton has been the worst team in the NESCAC this year, with an 0-10 conference record and a 6-18 overall record. According to the players, Hamilton's slow offensive attack, along with their tendency to give up free balls, allowed the Jumbos to triumph quickly and easily. Every Tufts player saw court time except for injured freshman setter Megan Tunstill. While no Jumbo recorded double-digit kills, seven had three or more. The team was very successful, serving with eight aces and defending the net with 13.5 blocks. Junior April Gerry earned eight block assists. "Hamilton is one of the weaker teams in the conference," Thompson said. "We went into [the match] expecting to play well and finish it in three and that's what we did. It was a full team effort. We were able to get everyone playing time and move people around in different positions." Having completed their regular season, the Jumbos will now prepare for the NESCAC Tournament in hopes of winning their first conference championship since 1996, when they defeated Williams. "I don't think I will ever be satisfied so long as there is a national championship to be won," Thompson said. "Our team has done very well this year, but we still have a lot to prove. We are fighting for an NCAA bid, and if we fall short, we are hoping get the at a large bid. This team has a lot of season to go."
Let me get this straight. The Red Sox just won the World Series ending an 86-year drought. The Patriots just lost their first game in over a year, ending the NFL's all-time win streak at 21 games. And Mo Vaughn filed for free agency. Okay. Cool. Imagine you've played the Mega Millions all your life. Every Tuesday and Friday night at 11:10 p.m. you check the TV, holding your ticket in front of you and praying. Every night you lose, your friends make fun of you, and you go to bed. But the next day, you go out to White Hen Pantry and buy another ticket, convincing yourself, "Today is the day." A couple times you've gotten two or three numbers right. Toss in your arrogant, rich neighbor down the street who has won 26 times in the last few years (decades), and that's about where I was. Then one night you're watching and Dawn Hayes is reading your numbers as they flash up on the TV - all five numbers plus the Mega ball. You just stand there, glance back at your ticket, glance at the screen, glance back. What do you do? You just won $40,000,000. What do you do? That's sort of where I am right now. I mean, I got the Mega ball too! Is this really happening? Is this a DirecTV commercial? Part of what makes this so hard to take in is that the World Series was over before it started. The Cardinals never had a lead. The last three games were pretty much blowouts. These are the Red Sox. I've watched them blow games in just about every way imaginable. In the back of your mind, you wonder if they've taken a 3-0 Series lead just to mess with you. Not to mention that not a week before, we had completed the greatest comeback in baseball history. In my head I keep replaying Edgar Renteria hitting a bouncer right back to Keith Foulke. I can see him taking a few "if I mess this up I'm the new Buckner" steps towards Mientkiewicz at first, as I scream "That's it! That's it!" I popped the champagne with my parents and friends, called my brother, walked to Kenmore Square and stood watching the city lose its collective mind, and bought a hideous "It was meant to B!" shirt. You didn't really know what to say. There was nothing to say. Now I realize that there has been the inevitable backlash against Boston sports because of our sudden supremacy. But look at those last few words: Our sudden supremacy. Boston sports are supreme! People are jealous of Boston teams. How am I supposed to know how to react to that? About the Patriots: No, I don't care that the streak is over (we were playing without Dillon or Law, so it only kind of counts anyway). They won 21 games in a row, have won two of the last three Super Bowls and are still the favorites to win this year. But here's the thing: there's a salary cap in football! We spend the same money as everybody else, yet we've managed to dominate the league for the better part of four years. We aren't the Yankees (or even, I hate to say it, the Red Sox). I'm not trying to be arrogant. I remember Bill Parcells' sudden departure and the Pete Carroll era all too well. I remember going 5-11 in 2000, Bill Belichick's first year with the team. We scraped by the Bengals at home that year. Yeah, that was a blast. Since Tom Brady took over at quarterback, the Pats, counting the playoffs, are 45-13 (which, by the way, should count, because winning playoff games is more impressive than beating the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2). During that time, we've never lost an overtime or playoff game, and Brady has become an object of fantasy for just about every woman in the contiguous forty-eight states. I know it's annoying when people talk about any team too much, but give credit where credit is due. The Patriots, without any actual advantage of salary or schedule, are making a case to join the '70s Steelers, '80s Niners, and '90s Cowboys. Impressive. About the Red Sox high salary: Yes, the Red Sox had the highest payroll of any World Series Champion (including the Yankees) at about $120 million. But I was livid when I read a column on Sports Illustrated.com about how we should be renamed the Yankees Jr. "Eat me" is all I have to say to that. First of all, the Yankees payroll this year was $185 million. So, even though our salary is two-thirds of theirs, we're still the Yankees? What about the Anaheim Angels or the New York Mets, whose payrolls were both over $100 million this year? Second, the Red Sox hit their ceiling. We had to trade our star shortstop, partly because we couldn't pay him. We can't bring back our entire team from this year, because we can't pay them all. Does anyone honestly think the Red Sox could sign A-Rod and play him at third? The Yankees, on the other hand, are still throwing money around like Tony Montana. This year they had a former All-Star at every position except second base. For God's sake, they signed Contreras and Loaiza just to keep them from the Red Sox! That's a whole different level! They can pick up the contracts of Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Kevin Brown in the same offseason without really worrying about it. That, right there, is in the neighborhood of $40 to $45 million. Basically, the Yankees signed the Cincinnati Reds. All of them. They're going to trade for Randy Johnson and sign Carlos Beltr??n to a billion dollar contract. Next year, the rivalry will be even more intense as Fenway shakes with chants of "Year-Two-Thousand." I'm so excited I might wet myself. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this is an unprecedented period in Boston sports. Let me enjoy it while I can.
At times, it seems that construction is an ever-present phenomenon on the Boston streets. After years of work on the Big Dig, driving in and out of Boston is finally becoming less of an ordeal. However, in-city commuters are now experiencing inconveniences due to construction on the green line, and the delays that always affect those who commute to work by car are now affecting those who ride the T. According to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) web site, the green line is currently undergoing a relocation project. The elevated part of the line will be relocated under the streets around the North Station area. The MBTA hopes that this will make that section of the city brighter and quieter. Due to the construction, North Station is the last stop on the green line. Commuters are being transported in shuttle buses in both directions from North Station to Lechmere. The MBTA is providing buses on the street level of the Government Center, Haymarket, North Station, Science Park and Lechmere stations. The shuttle bus service will be available for a year until the construction is finished. In addition, free subway transfers are offered at Government Center, Haymarket and North Station. According to the MBTA, even with the construction, the green line is currently running on or near schedule. Nonetheless, the construction has adversely affected some Tufts students within the past few weeks. Junior Ralph Lerman was bothered by the construction recently when he was taking the green line to the Hynes Convention Center. "On my way to the Hynes Convention Center, I had to get off somewhere on the green line and get above ground to take a shuttle," he said. "It was just another level of hassle. Not only did I have to switch from the red line to the green line, now I had to take a bus." The construction on the green line also caused freshman Allison Kornstein difficulty this weekend when her family came to visit her. Her family was planning on going to the Science Museum to see a movie in the Omni Theater on extreme sports. "It was Parents' Weekend, and my family and I were taking the green line to Science Park," she said. "Because of the construction, we had to get off two stops early and take a bus to Science Park. It was a five to ten minute walk to the bus stop. When the bus finally came, it was already full and we had to wait another five to ten minutes for another bus." The construction is aiming at connecting the new "superstation" at North Station to the Science Park Station. This construction is the last part of this particular project: the tunnel for the relocated green line that will connect Haymarket and the North Station super station has already been completed; the tunnel extends halfway under Causeway Street. The tunnel will eventually be continued through Causeway Street, and it will be connected to a transit-way at the underground MBTA garage, which is located at the FleetCenter. When the relocation project is completed, regular subway service will be restored. The new line will be out of sight from the street. The new underground line will resurface before Science Park, and then the trains will run along a new railway bridge to Lechmere. This construction also affects the various branches of the green line. The Boston College (B) line and Heath Street (E) line now end at North Station. The Beacon Street/Cleveland Circle (C) line and the Riverside (D) line now run until Government Center. This construction may have a great effect on those who use the green line to commute to work every day; nonetheless, most Tufts students do not feel hugely inconvenienced by it. In fact, many students were not even aware of the construction. The construction does not worry freshman Matt Symer very much. "I don't take the green line out far enough to notice it," he said. Freshman Shelby Deeney felt the same way: "I take the green line to go to Boylston - that's about it," she said. Many Tufts students take the red line and green line regularly, but their destinations on the green line are not always affected by the construction. Students are more likely to get off at Kenmore, Boylston, Copley and Prudential than they are to continue down the line as far as Science Park or Lechmere. It takes a fair amount of time to traverse the entire green line and Tufts students often look for closer forms of entertainment. Sophomore Chris Stull believes that the construction on the green line won't cause many problems for Tufts students. "I don't take the green line for things because I have a car," he said. "The green line doesn't really affect us." Sophomore Ben Torreau was aware of the construction, but it hasn't inconvenienced him. "I'm only ever on the red line," he said.
The last time they saw a presidential election, most Tufts students could not vote, and all but those few super students among us were still in high school. Though some were enterprising enough to organize a group of friends to watch, most watched the 2000 election with their parents, at home, in strictly partisan company. Now that students have the right to vote and independence from home, their approaches to election day have changed. Senior Hilary Wentz watched the last election from the comfort of her home in the suburbs of Chicago. This time around, she will be in the company of her friends, most likely less distracted than she was the first time around. "In high school, I did not even pay attention to the election because I was really uninterested in it, maybe because I couldn't vote and politics were never of much interest to me," Wentz said. "But this time around I feel as though these elections pertain much more to me and to people my age ... last time I didn't think it mattered one way or the other - especially directly affecting me - but now I do." Senior Tina Vu watched the election results her senior year of high school, but her discussion was limited to classroom talks in her conservative private school. This time around, she's looking forward to watching it with her friends in their off-campus apartment. "I think it's a lot different this time because of the atmosphere," Vu said. "In high school, we couldn't vote so I didn't really watch the pre-election stuff, like the debates." Junior Laura Manoogian credits campus voting drives and her acquired ability to vote with her greater interest this year. "Last election, I was in high school and I couldn't vote, so I only half watched the coverage," Manoogian said. "This year, I will be voting, so I will follow the coverage more closely. I realize how a lot of the issues can affect me personally, both now and in the future; therefore, I want to make sure that the 'right man' wins." Senior Lauren Saft remembers feeling inconvenienced by the 2000 elections more than anything else, crediting her disinterest to her inability to vote. "As long I'm going to vote, I feel the need to pay more attention to the differences between the candidates and use my vote to try to aid what I would want for the country," Saft said. "In high school, I wasn't voting, so there was nothing I could do, so I couldn't have cared less. I was pissed when they cancelled 'Dawson's Creek' for the stupid debates." Alexandra Granato may only be miles away from her childhood home in Concord, but her company for this election will be light years away from her environment during the 2000 election. She spent the last election with her parents, "sitting on the couch with them as the results poured in." This year, Granato will be watching in her sorority's living room with several other women. "Since [the last] election, I have developed the views of my parents, made them my own, and now will feel comfortable in a house full of members of the opposite party waiting for the results to pour in," Granato said. "I feel confident enough in where I stand politically to have branched out from the comfort of my living room, sitting with my parents, to now surrounding myself with the opposition, ready to challenge their views as well as my own." Junior Ashley Berman will be watching the election results alongside Granato, though she finds her parents' influence to be less relevant to her today. "While I was certainly interested in the election four years ago ... most of my opinions were formed by my parents' ideas and the ramblings of the occasional voting high school students I knew," Berman said. "This time around, I feel much more informed and invested in the outcome." Senior Joel Wertheimer notes his greater appreciation for the power of voting to the election of 2000. As a result, he has become somewhat obsessed in following this election. "This election is just an amplified version of the last one for me," Wertheimer said. "So, I am all consumed by it, instead of mildly consumed. I read something like 10 blogs a day about it, I look at web sites with the electoral count, and I could probably tell people who is ahead with average polls in each state." "It matters to me even more this time," he added. "I will be watching with friends and calling my parents, calling that same friend I watched with in 2000. And I will be in the same groggy-eyed stupor the next day, hopefully this time with resolution." Senior Lauren Ungerleider is one of the few voters less interested in the outcome of this election, having been able to vote in the last election. "Last time, I was really involved - I stayed home from school and got to go to the polls with my mom," she said. "This time, I voted about three weeks ago, have stopped paying attention and am not really so involved."
The 2004 Boston Red Sox will be loved forever in New England. But the cold reality of baseball is that many of the players on this historic team will be playing in other cities next season. Many of the top players that fans grew to love this October, like Jason Varitek, Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe and Orlando Cabrera are headed for free agency. Boston won't be able to keep them all. It's decision time: Who stays and who goes? As the loyal readers of "Inside the AL" know all too well, normally the answers to almost all questions baseball can be found in this space. But this time you won't find any definitive answers. There are just too many variables involved. "Inside the AL" can't get in the heads of players, and it is the players who will have to ask themselves if they truly want to stay in Boston. Varitek and Lowe have hired money-grubbing agent Scott Boras to represent them. You know that stereotypical view that agents are selfish jerks only looking out for their own self interests? That's Scott Boras. If Boras grabs hold of the negotiations, then it's likely neither player will be back ,because he typically steers his clients to the highest bidder. That being said, you can be sure Boston will do everything it can to re-sign Varitek. General manager Theo Epstein does not believe in overpaying players, no matter who they are. But one gets the sense that if Theo was going to overpay anyone, it would be the Boston catcher. Varitek has emerged as the leader of the team, and all the pitchers can't say enough about his preparation, focus and intensity. Plus, it's hard to find a catcher who puts up solid offensive numbers like 'Tek. The Red Sox will probably offer something in the neighborhood of three years at $24 million, which would be a fair offer. Varitek might look for something in the $10 million per year range, but Boston's offer might be competitive enough that he won't let Boras turn it down. Derek Lowe is another issue because of his mediocre regular season. His ERA in the last three seasons has jumped from 2.58 in 2002 to 4.47 in 2003 to 5.42 this year. Despite his strong postseason, those numbers don't warrant more than an offer of $3 or $4 million per year from Boston. Lowe will probably be able to find an offer worth double that from some other teams. Of all of Boston's big name free agents, Lowe is the most likely to leave. Pedro Martinez is the wildcard of the group. His 2004 season was his worst in eight years, with his ERA climbing more than a run and a half from the previous season. He's getting older (33), and he's so small that there is an injury risk. One would expect a Boston offer of about three years and $11 to $12 million, but not much more than that. Will someone out there trump that and give him four years and $55 to $60 million? It's certainly possible, and Boston may very well choose to go with cheaper and safer alternatives. Brad Radke is one option. He consistently pounds the strike zone, a quality that is highly valued by Sox management. The Red Sox infield has a few questions as well. At first base, Kevin Millar is under contract for one more season, but so is Doug Mientkiewicz. They will both make about the same amount, and both want to be starters. In 2001 and 2003, Minky was an extremely useful player. He got on base at very high rates and provided exceptional defense. But in 2004, he was terrible at the plate. He has been fighting injuries, and it's hard to know if he can revert back to his 2003 level. Millar, on the other hand, had solid numbers at the plate in '04, but should be given the "Brian Daubach Award" for extreme streakiness. Millar is also three years older than Minky and doesn't provide the same quality on the defensive side. It's close to a toss-up, but Millar is probably slightly more likely to stay because of his easy to spell last name and his strong clubhouse presence. Shortstop is the last big hole for Boston. The team would like to have Orlando Cabrera back, but Boston has so many other shortstop prospects in its farm system that it probably doesn't want to commit to Cabrera for the long term at big money. But the problem is that there aren't a whole lot of options out there for the Red Sox if they don't want to commit to Cabrera. The final area where Boston will probably make a few adjustments is their middle relief corps. The Red Sox have a gap in that area because of the loss of Scott Williamson to elbow surgery. There isn't a lot out there, but Boston might benefit from the services of people like affordable free agents Steve Reed, Steve Kline or Chris Hammond. Expect a lot of changes in 2005. But one thing is for sure; the Red Sox will be just as competitive then as they were in 2004. Unlike those of the New York Mets or Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox' management is smart enough not to overpay for aging, overvalued free agents.
About 50 people gathered at Goddard Chapel yesterday evening to celebrate the life and commitment English Lecturer Virginia Brereton shared with the Tufts community. Brereton's was the only death in a Sept. 3 fire in her Brookline condominium building. Students, faculty and her family spoke for about an hour, memorializing her passions in life, which included literature, her family, her students, and the great outdoors. University Chaplain David O'Leary opened the service by setting the gathering's tone. "We are here to celebrate a love for beauty of nature and the mountains ... we are here to celebrate [Brereton's] good passions," he said. Dean of Academic Affairs for Arts and Sciences Kevin Dunn spoke briefly, expressing sorrow at not having had the opportunity to get closer with Brereton, though he had an office on the same floor of East Hall. "This event is a lesson about appreciating those around us," he said. As a result of the contact he did enjoy with Brereton, Dunn said he was consistently overwhelmed by "an unrelenting cheerfulness and collegiality," as well as "a tireless, unstinting devotion to her students." This cheerfulness, Dunn said, was constantly manifested in Brereton's wonderful, spontaneous laugh. Brereton's joyfulness and devotion to students epitomized the very qualities Tufts prides itself in, Dunn said. "Ginny represents the very stuff Tufts is made of," he said. He concluded by stating that "on behalf of Arts, Sciences and Engineering, I extend my sincerest condolences to the Brereton family." English Professor and Chair of the Tufts English Department Jonathan Wilson also spoke ,calling Brereton "a breath of fresh air ... that's how I'll always remember her." Her enthusiasm for life and her teaching were contagious, Wilson said. English Lecturer Jan Swafford, who shared an office in East Hall with Brereton, provided O'Leary with a statement to read. Swafford summarized Brereton's life with an anecdotal assessment of her desk, which he had the sad duty of clearing after her death. "The pleasure and memories with Ginny were all on a grand scale," he said. Swafford said that looking over the warm and inviting chaos spilling from her desk was a testament to this fact. "You could always find a pair of hiking boots with socks stuffed in them under the desk," he said. "Piled on the desk were student papers dating back from 10 years, and there were photos everywhere, of her family and of landscapes. When one fell down, she'd stuff it in a drawer and replace it with another memory." Swafford said Brereton overwhelmingly proved that "she was the kind of teacher that students admire and don't forget," and that she was "irreplaceable." Sophomore Christopher Scanlon, who took a class with Brereton last year, sang an original song he composed on his bass guitar. The lyrics referred to a river in Concord, Mass. Before singing, Scanlon said "the environment VB created made me comfortable enough to sing in front of a group of people for the first time." Scanlon said he had not sung before a large group since her class, and that this song, focused on the beauty of the outdoors, was a fitting tribute to his former teacher. Brereton's son, John, highlighted this fact when he spoke. "VB encouraged people to try things, and I remember canoeing down that very river with her when I was younger," he said. He said that during the fall and spring, "especially on nights like tonight," his mother would often commute from her Brookline home to Tufts and back on her bicycle. He related several anecdotes showing the enthusiasm with which Brereton regarded Tufts and her role within the community, especially for her courses at Tufts' campus in Talloires, France. "When my brother and I went to visit her there, she was probably the happiest I've ever seen her," he said. "Tufts was so important to her life and gave her so much, and she gave so much right back." Brereton's niece, Kate Meierdiercks (E '02), was the final speaker. Meierdiercks described Brereton's role in her life as "my biggest mentor and inspiration when it came to academics." Over the course of the close relationship Meierdiercks developed with Brereton during her time at Tufts, she said that Brereton became a close friend. "She was not just an academic inspiration, but also your friend. She expanded the rigid boundaries of the classroom, and student/teacher relationships," Meierdiercks said. While Meierdiercks said Brereton's sudden death was clearly a source of immense tragedy and pain, she encouraged the assembly to remember that "Ginny was so happy. For every day she spent with us, she lived for 10 [days]. She touched the lives of so many people." O'Leary concluded the ceremony by decreeing it "a celebration of a wonderful life."
You've seen the bumper-stickers and yard signs; now it's time for the facts. A number of races that will be decided today have an impact on the Tufts community. Here is a summary of some of those contests. The most publicized race has been the battle to represent the 34th Middlesex District, and the fight has recently been marred by charges of dirty campaigning. Incumbent Vincent Ciampa is running as an independent on a write-in campaign. He claims that Tufts alumnus Carl Sciortino was elected in the Democratic primary after falsely distorting Ciampa's record, an accusation Sciortino denies. Interest groups from outside of Somerville have campaigned on behalf of both candidates. Some of the most vitriolic campaign literature has come from the Parents Rights Coalition, whose founder and President Brian Camenker spoke at Tufts last Wednesday night. Camenker accused Sciortino of being a "militant homosexual activist" and endorsed Ciampa. Sciortino condemned the flyers as "hate mail;" Ciampa said the mailings "brought out an issue of grave importance." Sciortino has no Republican opponent and beat Ciampa by 93 votes in the primary. Sciortino is pro-gay marriage, while Ciampa voted for an amendment that would ban gay marriage but establish civil unions. The Somerville Journal, which endorsed Ciampa in the primary, has shifted its allegiance to Sciortino. Another Tufts alumnus on tomorrow's ballot is Scott Brown, a Republican state senator representing a nearby district that includes parts of Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex counties. Brown is running against Democrat Angus McQuilken. Brown beat McQuilken in a special election last March held to fill the seat left vacant by Cheryl Jacques, now the president of the Human Rights Campaign. The special election was decided by 349 votes among the 37,665 cast. Brown has consistently supported the agenda of Governor Mitt Romney. Brown would be an important ally in Romney's quest to gain enough Republican votes in the State House to keep a Democratic majority from vetoing Romney. McQuilken supports gay marriage, and Brown does not. Neither would increase income taxes, they say, but Brown supports income tax reduction. In nearby Portsmouth, N.H., Republican and Tufts graduate Jeb Bradley is running for a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is opposed by Democrat Justin Nadeau. A University of New Hampshire poll showed Bradley in the lead, with 58 percent of the vote, to Nadeau's 25 percent. Locally, 12-year Democratic incumbent Tim Toomey is expected to beat Republican challenger David Slavitt in the 26th Middlesex District, which includes parts of East Somerville. Unlike Slavitt, Toomey opposes lowering the state income tax. Both candidates are in favor of gay marriage and extending the Green Line into Somerville. Toomey won 54 percent of the vote in a primary contest against local activist Avi Green's 46 percent. Green opposed Toomey's anti-abortion voting record and said that Toomey did not do enough to bring the Green Line to Somerville. Democrat Pat Jehlen, who represents wards 3, 5 and 6 and parts of wards 2 and 4 of Somerville in the state legislature, is running against Republican Dane Baird. The Somerville Journal has endorsed Jehlen, largely on the grounds that Baird distorted Jehlen's record during the campaign. Jehlen supports extension of the Green Line into Somerville and is in favor of gay marriage. Democrat Paul Donato, the incumbent in the 35th Middlesex House district, which includes most of Medford, is being challenged by Independent John Carey. Donato beat Carey in the 2000 Democratic primary. Carey is in favor of rolling back the state income tax to five percent, while Donato is not. U.S. Representative Edward Markey is also up for reelection. Markey, a Democrat, has represented the 7th congressional district - which includes Medford - for 28 years. He is running against Republican Kenneth Chase and Independent Jim Hall. Markey is considered a favorite to fill John Kerry's Senate seat if Kerry is elected president. Running unopposed are U.S. Congressman and former Somerville mayor Mike Capuano, State Senators Jarrett Barrios and Charlie Shannon, and Middlesex County Sheriff James DiPaola, all Democrats.
