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Dave Cavell | Double Down

October 4

The Boston Red Sox are going to beat the New York Yankees for the American League pennant in two weeks. You can write it down, or take it to the bank, whichever clich?© you prefer. I have lived in this city my whole life. From my bedroom window I can hear the public address system at Fenway. Last season, I even spent three cold, filthy nights sleeping on the sidewalk to attend playoff games. There was a mood in the air not felt since 1986. It was supposed to be the year. It wasn't. Let's take a moment to make something absolutely clear: no actual Red Sox fan believes in "The Curse." Were the Red Sox cursed to have Grady Little as a manager last season? Yes. Did Babe Ruth have anything to do with it? No. Was it unfortunate that Bucky Dent, a scrawny shortstop with no power, beat us in the 1978 playoff game? Yes. Was it unfortunate that first Calvin Schiraldi then Bob Stanley couldn't hold a two run lead in the bottom of the 10th inning against the Mets in '86, and that Bill Buckner was termed the eternal goat? Yes. But cursed? Most definitely not. The Buffalo Bills lost four Super Bowls in a row. The Cincinnati Bengals have never won a Super Bowl. Neither have the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions or the Cleveland Browns. The Chicago White Sox haven't won a World Series since 1917. The Arizona Cardinals have won exactly one playoff game since 1947, when they were still in St. Louis. None of these teams are reported cursed. As many Bostonians have lamented for years, the "Curse of the Bambino" is a myth begun and perpetuated by money-hungry journalists like Dan Shaughnessy. Simply put, we have been unlucky. Very unlucky. Like getting up from a casino table and whining about your "cold cards" as unlucky - really, really unlucky. But not cursed. In my long-suffering term as a Red Sox fan, I have never once proclaimed one year to be "the year." During last year's campaign, I doubted that a team without a No. 2 starter could win it all. Let us not forget that the 2003 Red Sox relied upon a rotation of tiring Pedro Martinez, Tim Wakefield, Derek Lowe and Old Man John Burkett. This year is different. Last season was the first "Rocky" movie. Think about it. From start to finish, a masterpiece. Even though our record wasn't amazing for most of the season, it just felt different, if that makes sense. Since their 1999 playoff defeat by the hated Yankees, the Red Sox had been relegated to the role of money collector for a South Philly loan shark. Treading water for three seasons, the Sox, like a young Rocky Balboa, just couldn't put it all together. Then came our salvation in the form of Theo Epstein playing the role of crusty manager Mickey. The Yankees played Apollo Creed perfectly: a cocky, unlikable champion begging to be dethroned. Though we weren't quite the unknown million-to-one challenger like Rocky, the results of our bout were the same. A bloody contest of haymakers and uppercuts, ending with a dubious decision (the judges awarding Creed the fight vs. Grady leaving Pedro in) that left us unsatisfied. Then came the sequel. "Rocky II" begins with a prolonged recap of the fight, followed by a long recovery period in the hospital. Promising his wife Adrian to never fight again, Rocky goes out and buys a brand new Firebird (Schilling), then spends the next hour and a half moping around, cleaning out the gym and venting his frustration on a heavy bag in his basement. The Red Sox mirrored Rocky's frustration exactly. At the All-Star break, the Sox's record stood at an unimpressive 48-38. Forced into a rematch with Apollo (the Red Sox once again battling the Yankees for the division), Rocky can't bring himself to seriously train without Adrian's support (no good analogy here). A frustrated Mickey speaks for a resigned Red Sox nation when he finally stammers, "But, now, wait a minute, if you wanna blow this thing, if you wanna blow it then damn it I'm gonna blow it with ya." And then comes the turnaround. Adrian slips into a coma after giving birth, and Rocky stops shaving and takes up residence by her hospital bed. After days of prayer, anguish and Mickey's speech, Adrian wakes up, and we watch the two of them celebrate the birth of their son. Eventually, Adrian asks Rocky to lean close, and this exchange follows: Adrian: There's one thing I want you to do for me. Rocky: What's that? Adrian: Come here ... Win. Win! Mickey: Well what are we waitin fer!?! Chills. Rocky and Mickey sprint out of the room. Bells start ringing, music starts playing. Varitek shoves his mitt into Alex Rodriguez's startled face, lifting him off his feet. Bill Mueller sprints around the bases after blasting a home run into the Sox bullpen to beat Mariano Rivera. Rocky's training montage, ending with joyous celebrating on the steps of the Philly Art Museum, perfectly reflects the Red Sox tear since that season changing July 24th victory: the Sox' record since that fight stands at a ridiculous 46-20. 46-20! We patched up our weaknesses. We replaced our worst pitcher last year (Burkett) with Curt Schilling. We dumped a declining and defensively inept Nomar Garciaparra for Doug Mientkiewicz and Orlando Cabrera, two defensive dirt dogs hell-bent on winning. You can almost hear Apollo's trainer warning the Yankees: "He's all wrong for us, baby. I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before, and the man kept coming after you. Now we don't need no man like that in our lives." But the Yankees, like Apollo Creed, have charged ahead. (I understand the analogy is a little weak) The Sox were supposed to beat them last year, and but for the grace of Grady, would have. Since then, we have improved, and the Yankees have lost Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens. Have no doubts, the Red Sox will breeze through this divisional round match-up with Anaheim in four games. Our starting pitching is better, our lineup is better, our defense is better and our bullpen is good enough. The league has been waiting for a rematch, and next week they will get it. As in "Rocky II", this time the result will be different. This time they'll win.

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News

Depth allows Coach Whiting to tweak lineup

October 4

With everybody finally healthy again (knock on wood), the women's soccer team could once again be a force to be reckoned with in the NESCAC. The squad tallied two straight victories this weekend, its first two of the season, and after just two goals in its first four games, the Jumbos scored five over the weekend. Perhaps more impressive was that each goal came from a different player. Tufts played 21 of its 22 players on the afternoon, with only backup goalie Annie Ross not seeing any action. Indeed, the squad's depth was a huge reason for its weekend success. The play of its five first years, Martha Furtek, Lauren Fedore, Kim Harrington, Joelle Emery, and Anne Benedict was impressive, and the freshmen give coach Martha Whiting multiple options on the field. Since last Saturday, junior Ariel Samuelson moved up to play forward, the position she played in high school, with Emery starting in the backfield in her place. "I'm a forward at heart, I like it better up there," Samuelson said. "I'm a greedy girl, but with various injuries, our offense needed some oomph. Joelle has really stepped up in the back." Senior defensive leader Catherine Benedict echoed Samuelson's sentiments. "Joelle comes in and really makes my job easier," she said. "She's a huge addition to the team and her allowing Ariel to move up is big for us." The additions of Harrington and the younger Benedict up front have allowed senior co-captain Becky Greenstein to move into the defensive center midfield position, and while she admits it has taken some getting used to, she feels it's a good change for the squad. "Its definitely a big adjustment and it takes a lot of discipline to stay back," Greenstein said, "but it worked well against Amherst and Bates and I think we're going to stick with it." Furtek has had no trouble stepping into the role of center midfielder, a position that the Jumbos struggled to fill since the graduation of co-captain Alle Sharlip two years ago. The Falmouth, Maine native has shown no signs of nerves despite being thrown into the college game so suddenly, and has quickly gained the respect of her teammates and coaches. After Worcester State scored an early goal on Sunday, Furtek imeediately jogged back and patted senior goalie Meg McCourt on the back, as if she were a veteran captain. "Martha is a great, talented player, and she's very mature as a freshman," Whiting noted. Furtek's comfort and ease in the midfield has allowed Whiting to keep senior Jen Baldwin, a constant scoring threat, up front, whereas at times last season Baldwin was forced to play in the midfield. In addition, junior Lydia Claudio also now has moved to the forward position, where she is more of a threat to put the ball in the net. Fedore has been forced to step up big already this season, due to early injuries to junior Sarah Callaghan and Baldwin, who both played this weekend. Fedore notched her first goal of the season on Saturday in what proved to be the game winner against Bates. "The team has been great so far," Fedore said. "They always talk to us on the field, telling us where to go and helping us learn as quickly as possible." Heading into the heart of their season, or what senior co-captain Sarah Gelb calls "rocktober," the Jumbos picked the perfect time to get healthy, gel, and start playing well, and Whiting attributes a lot of that to the depth of her squad. "It's great to be able to look at the bench and put in anybody and know they will do just as good a job as the girl coming out," she said.

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News

SNL' debate returns with bipartisan punches

October 4

Former Vice President Al Gore lost the Presidential election four years ago for a number of reasons: questionable voting procedures in Florida, a lack of voter turnout and the intricacies of the Electoral College, among others. Also among the causes for his defeat may, in fact, be the sharp satire exhibited that year by "Saturday Night Live." With brilliant mock-ups of the debates, the late night powerhouse may have indeed highlighted the personality and policy flaws that would lead to Gore's election night loss. Four years later, "Saturday Night Live" has once again decided to parody the election process, unfortunately without Will Ferrell's now classic George W. Bush persona. However, even without Ferrell's brilliant portrayal of our 43rd president, the writers and actors at "SNL" still have plenty of ammo. Not surprisingly, with the first presidential debate occurring last Thursday, "SNL" elected to lead off the season this past Saturday night with its own rendition of the initial contest. Stepping into the Bush role was Will Forte, and while his name may sound quite similar to that of his predecessor, it seems too often that Forte is doing a lesser impression of Ferrell doing an impression of Bush. However, he did do a more than adequate job of performing the characteristic Dubya stammering, smirking and hyena laugh. Over on the other podium, Seth Meyers portrayed Senator John Kerry, showing choppers that rival the pearly whites of the Democratic candidate. While the voice sometimes sounded oddly like fellow "SNL"-er Darrell Hammond's Bill Clinton impression, Meyers scored points by mocking the Senator's recently expanded array of hand gestures. Rounding out the spoof was Chris Parnell, caking on the makeup and prosthetics to achieve an eerie resemblance to debate moderator Jim Lehrer. Like the debate sketches from the previous election, each candidate focused on one idea and repeated it constantly (like the actual debate, but just a tad sillier). Whereas four years ago, Hammond's Al Gore extolled the virtues of the "lockbox" and Ferrell's Bush coined the term "Strategery," Meyers' Kerry tried to refute the claims that he is a "flip-flopper" though a series of contradictions, and Forte's Bush repeatedly explained how he has been working hard, even "coming in on Saturday." While the sketch didn't quite match the hilarity of the earlier editions, it was adept at mocking the candidates' reluctance to truly say anything different. The satire also did an excellent job of mocking the less political aspects of the debate. Parnell's Lehrer explained the rules, which include "no unnecessary contact," poking fun at the lack of direct debate that the actual rules allow. When the two candidates met to shake hands, Meyer's Kerry towered over Forte, exaggerating the greatly apparent height difference between the real candidates at last week's debate. The camera angles also slyly mocked the television coverage as, like in the real debate, shots of Forte featured a lot more lectern, making his Bush seem shorter and hunched over. The oft-used split screen was lampooned as well, showing Meyers scribbling with a pen and grinning confidently while Forte spoke and showing Forte as a frustrated, flustered and somewhat insulted Bush as Meyers addressed the crowd. The closing statements truly managed to capture the essence of the candidates, or at least their characterizations. Forte's Bush brought the discussion back to Sept. 11, and Meyer's Kerry closed his statements by declaring that his much maligned voting history is not flip-flopping, but pandering, and "America deserves a president who knows the difference." The political barbs continued throughout the show, especially with Kerry stumper Ben Affleck as host. The third sketch of the night once again went back to Florida for a post-debate strategy session in Kerry's hotel room, with Affleck portraying Democrat and ragin' Cajun James Carville. Hammond also reprised his womanizing Clinton and Maya Rudolph played the saucy Theresa Heinz Kerry, who exclaimed "I'm so glad we're running for President." This sketch expertly poked the Democratic family in the ribs, mocking Kerry for his earlier stab at windsurfing and his gaffe in the debates, when he quoted the Pottery Barn Rule as "You break it, you fix it." Of course, it's also always a treat to see Hammond as Slick Willie, who in this piece gives Kerry the advice: "ditch the wife." Preying on another cog in the media-political machine, "SNL" presented a spoof of the "Swiftboat Veterans for Truth" political ads that rail against Kerry. However, instead of denying Kerry's heroism in the Vietnam War, these veterans recall his "un-American" actions in Vietnam, like presiding over a gay marriage, supporting healthcare and, most egregiously, eating French food and drinking wine. The revamped "Weekend Update" also got its political shots in. Tina Fey started the segment by reporting that Bush claims his poor debate performance was due to his buzzer not working. Amy Poehler, who has replaced Jimmy Fallon alongside Fey, continued by imitating the President's distractingly hyperactive blinking. Poehler, somewhat of a surprise choice to take the co-anchor chair, teams with Fey to deliver scathing satire of the news, albeit not reaching the relevance of the "The Daily Show." The rest of the show was made up of clever spoofs, lewd commercial parodies and typical sketch comedy fare. While "SNL" did deliver laughs in the non-political segments, it knows where to mine for comedy gold this season. All it has to do is turn on the news.

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News

Religion hinders AIDS relief

October 4

In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are roughly 24 million peopleliving with HIV/AIDS, and thousands more become infected daily. TheU.S. government has spent billions of dollars searching for acure.

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News

Merrick's facts are questionable

October 4

Your recently published article "An all-to-rare plea for the truth", by Scott Merrick (Sept. 30) is a prime example of disinformation perpetuated through inane statements of unsubstantiated facts. The article states: "For instance, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) educational legislation that passed was one of Bush's babies. As an example of how bad this bill is, in the state of New Hampshire under NCLB, each public school gets approximately $100 from federal funds. However, it is costing New Hampshire approximately $1000 to implement this program." How Mr. Merrick arrived at these figures is not substantiated by any statistical data, yet the statement is wielded like a mighty sword of "rare-truth". After reading the mathematical insanity of receiving federal funds of $100, only to have it cost $1000, I pondered the accuracy of this statement. A web search on NCLB/New Hampshire revealed several links containing factual information. The most revealing was a paper published by New Hampshire's Senator Jedd Gregg. The paper, "Myths and Facts: Impact of No Child Left Behind on New Hampshire," dispels several myths. It appears that Mr. Merrick's truth regarding the financial woes of the NCLB program for N.H. is a mythical statement. The senator's paper dispels many of the erroneous statements regarding the programs financial impact. Highlights include such statements as "... historic increases," and "... a 52% increase over the old law," "... not obligated ... unless federal funds are appropriated to cover the costs of the tests." Although Senator Gregg is Republican, opposite of 82 percent of the Tufts students according to Mr. Merrick's facts, it is unlikely that any senator would publish a paper without statistical backing. After all, statements of so called facts, or truths, had better have substantial backing or someone like me is apt to point out the partisan political nature of a statement versus what is supposed to be a factual statement, or unbiased journalism. Once again it looks like the zeal to believe has thwarted the truth. It is no wonder that the truth is all-to-rare.Thomas S. CraneBillerica, Massachusetts

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News

Unexpected noontime streakers startle students, campus

October 4

Public nudity at Tufts is something normally reserved for onespecial night in December, but that changed early yesterdayafternoon.

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News

Inside College Football: Three top-eight teams upset in week six

October 3

During the sixth weekend of college football, we witnessed great things: some blowouts, some nail biters, and three of the top eight teams having their hopes for undefeated seasons go down the drain. TOP 25 BREAKDOWN: 22 of the top 25 played this weekend, with five of those teams succumbing to their opponents. The number two Oklahoma Sooners spanked the Texas Tech Red Raiders by a count of 28-13. Jason White, Oklahoma's quarterback and last year's Heisman Trophy winner, tossed his 54th career touchdown pass, surpassing Josh Heupel as the Sooners' all-time leader in that category. The third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs mutilated the number thirteen LSU Tigers 45-16. LSU, last year's national co-champion, has already lost two games this year and is out of contention for any of the big three BCS bowl games at the end of the season. The fourth-ranked Miami Hurricanes defeated Georgia Tech 27-3 and the number five Texas Longhorns had the Baylor Bears' number, outscoring Baylor 44-14. Surprisingly, numbers six through eight were all upset this weekend by teams in their respective conferences. The sixth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes bowed in overtime to unranked Northwestern by a score of 33-27. The Virginia Tech Hokies, without Michael Vick's younger brother Marcus at the helm, held off the seventh-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers 19-13. The most eye-popping game was the eight versus nine match-up of the Tennessee Volunteers against the Auburn Tigers. For the past few years, Auburn fans have constantly criticized QB Jason Campbell, believing he was the one preventing the Tigers from a chance at a serious run at a national title. This year, Volunteer fans thought that their freshmen QB tandem of Erik Ainge and Brent Schaeffer would lead them to greatness. Wrong and wrong. Jason Campbell showed his critics up on Saturday, completing 16 of 23 pass attempts for 252 yards and two TDs while Erik Ainge and Brent Schaeffer didn't live up to the hype during the Tigers 34-10 stomping of the Vols in Knoxville. Ainge got his first start for the Vols, going 17 of 35 with four interceptions, while Schaeffer didn't have much success as a reliever, going just one of five with one interception. Tiger Junior Rosegreen set an Auburn record and tied an SEC record with four interceptions while Auburn running back sensation Carnell "Cadillac" Williams continued on his season tear with 95 yards rushing and a TD. No. 10 California knocked off Oregon State 49-7, No. 11 FSU defeated UNC by a score of 38-16, No. 14 Utah beat New Mexico 28-7, the fifteenth-ranked Purdue Boilermakers, behind their Heisman Trophy hopeful QB Kyle Orton, posted a convincing victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 41-16, and the sixteenth-ranked Florida Gators held off a late comeback by the Arkansas Razorbacks, winning by a count of 45-30. The only other top 25 team to lose this weekend was No. 17 Fresno State. The Bulldogs fell victim to Louisiana Tech and the nation's fifth leading rusher, Ryan Moats. Moats read the Bulldogs' D like a children's book, carrying the ball 34 times for 236 yards and four TDs. The rest of the top 25 was a breeze with each team posting a solid victory over its unranked opponent. No. 18 Michigan, number nineteen Minnesota, the twentieth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, number twenty-one Boise State, the twenty-second ranked Louisville Cardinals, No. 24 Oklahoma State, and No. 25 Arizona State all won by anywhere between nine and fifty-two points. In other big name programs, Iowa stomped Michigan State 38-16, Missouri beat Colorado 17-9, Stanford beat Washington 27-13, and Nebraska defeated Kansas by a score of 14-8. Also, the Boston College Eagles took it to the UMass Minutemen, winning by a count of 29-7. SCORING LIKE NEVER BEFORE: At one point in the match-up between the San Jose State Spartans and the Rice Owls, San Jose State found itself down 21-7. But the Spartans didn't fret. It was only the end of the first quarter. By the end of the game, the Spartans had won 70-63 and the two teams had set a Div. 1-A regulation record, combining for 19 TDs and 133 points. The 133 points was just one shy of the all-time Div. 1-A record (regulation and overtime) set by Arkansas and Kentucky last year, with Arkansas prevailing in seven overtimes. Amazingly enough, San Jose State did all of its scoring while controlling the football for less than 18 minutes of the game: The 211 kick-return yards the Spartans amassed repeatedly set up perfect scoring opportunities. What's more amazing is that the Spartans had only 83 total rushing yards, nothing compared to Rice's 570. But the Spartans moved the ball well in the air, totaling 372 passing yards and finding ten ways to get into the end zone to finally prevail. PLATINUM PLAYAS OF THE WEEK: There were plenty of great performances during weekend number six, but here are the best of the best. Offense: The Rice Owls running game. In a losing effort, the Rice running game went crazy, totaling 570 yards and eight TDs. Three guys set the tone on the ground: Marcus Rucker ran for 201 yards and two TDs, Greg Henderson picked up 156 yards and three TDs, and Joel Armstrong ran for 120 yards and a TD. Pure craziness. Defense: Junior Rosegreen. This is a no-brainer. Rosegreen set an Auburn record and tied an SEC record with four, count them four, interceptions in the Tigers whooping of Tennessee in Knoxville.

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News

Homecoming 2004 slide show

October 3

Check out The Tufts Daily's 2004 Homecoming slideshow!

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News

Restaurant Review: The name says everything

October 3

Do the smells of cumin and coriander wafting on the breeze make your mouth water uncontrollably? Or are you the kind of person who runs away from spicy food like a cow from a branding iron? Whichever way your loyalties lie, India Quality is a good fit for you. Tucked away below Commonwealth Avenue with a dingy concrete exterior and doubtful name, this Zagat-rated restaurant proves itself time and again. Like the exterior, the interior of the restaurant seems unpromising at first. It's small and narrow, dimly lit, and the decorations leave something to be desired. But as soon as you are ushered to your table you will realize that the design makes dining more intimate. It was easy to hear other people at the table, yet difficult to overhear other diners even when the restaurant became crowded. After you are seated, the table is supplied with papadam, a thin and spicy cracker which may be a little strange or too hot for a beginner. Also on the table are the brown, red, and green sauces ranging from sweet to insanely spicy for dipping. The appetizers arrived almost immediately. The vegetable samosas, triangular fried pastry filled with potatoes and peas, were crispy and flavorful without being hot, and fit particularly well with the sweet brown sauce at the table. Anyone who eats Indian food frequently knows that naan, a fluffy white flatbread, is a staple of any good meal. The naan served at India Quality was warm and fresh, right out of the oven. The garlic naan was tasty but the garlic was quite strong - not a date food. The aloo naan, with potatoes and peas, was interesting but not particularly good. Stick with the plain naan for dipping. The entrees also arrived quickly, served with bowls of delicious Basmati rice. They were all delicious and ranged from borderline spicy - the mild Sag Paneer, or spinach with cubes of cheese - to a burn-your-mouth-off Lamb Vindaloo. Portion sizes were also excellent. I brought back plastic containers of leftovers, even thought we ate everything we physically could. The Aloo Gobhi, or potatoes and cauliflower, was especially delicious. There was a full array of spices and the crunchy cauliflower and soft potatoes complimented each other excellently. It was a little disappointing in that it did not have very much sauce for dipping, but both the spicy Lamb Vindaloo and the tomato-based Shahi Paneer with cheese provided plenty (remember: Indian food is always better when shared around the table). The service was excellent. We were seated immediately at 6:45 on a Saturday night. The man who refilled our water glasses worked extremely hard, and the waiter stopped by the table often to make sure everything was all right. India Quality serves a wide variety of dishes, both vegetarian and not. For those who avoid meat, there are potatoes, mushrooms, chickpeas and cheese galore. For meat lovers, get ready for a feast - options include lamb, chicken, beef, seafood, and goat. They have a dessert menu, but you will probably be too stuffed to even consider it. India Quality also serves beer and wine. In case you aren't already drooling like crazy at the prospect of this delightfully seasoned food, wait till you hear about the prices. Everything is quite reasonable: dinner entrees range from $9-11, and lunch from $5-7. The naan and appetizers are $2-3 each. The papadam and dipping sauces are complimentary, but a bowl of raita (yogurt sauce) to cool your burning mouth will cost you a dollar. India Quality is at 484 Commonwealth Ave., next to the Kenmore stop on the Green Line. The restaurant is downstairs, right next to "Nuggets" record/CD store.

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News

Tufts ID cards are now copy cards

October 3

Students now have the option of using their Tufts ID cards to pay for printing and photocopying in the Eaton Computer Lab, as well as the Tisch and Ginn Libraries. The cards will work the same way as the other pay-for-print cards. Vending points can be added in cash increments of $5, $10, and $20 or transferred from the Points Plus program. The new machines will accept both student IDs and the Conway debit cards that were distributed this year and last. Non-students will be able to continue using the machines by purchasing the debit cards. The pay-for-print program was instituted last year, and students began asking for a more convenient payment system almost immediately. The Tisch Library and Dining Services held off on creating the ID card program until this year until compatability could be assured between IDs and the card readers. More reliable cash-to-points machines were also needed, which have now been updated by MacGray, the company hired by Tufts to replace the old ones. A new machine has also been ordered for the copier room in Tisch Library, which will be installed next to the Automatic Debit Machine (ADM). The free $10 copy card distributed by Eaton Computer Lab to students at the beginning of the year will still be available. "I hope the students find it convenient - it feels like an additional service, and any time we can add a service to enhance student life we're all for that," said Director of Dining Services Patti Klos. Paul Stanton, director of Administration of Tisch Library, agreed with Klos. "We're glad to be able to provide better customer service and yet another option to make the system a little easier for students to use." Most students appreciate the ID card system, which was implemented Sept 27. "I think it'll be a lot more convenient than having an ID card and another copy card ... it's less of a hassle to keep track of one card than two," junior Adrienne Poon said. - Ivy Cheng

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News

Onward and upward: Meyers travels from TU to TV

October 3

"I get paid to watch a lot of TV - what's wrong with that?" joked Bob Meyers, when asked to describe his day-to-day routine as senior vice president of primetime for CNBC. Meyers (LA '77) now oversees all primetime programming for the cable business news network, but it was at parent network NBC that Meyers embarked on his diverse and accomplished career path in the entertainment industry. Meyers' journey began in the NBC Sports department, where he was a production manager for ten years. "I worked on every sporting event you can imagine, from World Cup soccer, to the Super Bowl, to the World Series, to world water skiing championships," Meyers said. His career at NBC culminated (temporarily) at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, where Meyers was the head of production. At this point, a friend who had left NBC to pursue an opportunity at Viacom recruited Meyers to join him at the new company. "The programs were young and needed veterans to get them off the ground," Meyers said. Meyers decided to follow his friend to Viacom, where he ran the company's interactive services division. During this time, Meyers' r?©sum?© grew to include projects for MTV, VH1, Blockbuster, Showtime, Nickelodeon, and Universal Studios, which Meyers helped to build. Meyers eventually ended up returning to the company that gave him his first job, however. "In 1996, NBC became serious about the interactive business with MSNBC," he said. "They needed someone to coordinate the interactive part of it, as well as the cable network. They brought me back, and I worked on developing a lot of interactive aspects, including CNBC.com, which I ran." With his years of experience and leadership in the programming side of the entertainment industry, Meyers decided to switch departments at CNBC: he relocated from the interactive division to his current position in primetime programming. Despite his jests that his occupation allows him to spend all day in front of the tube, Meyers' television viewing comes with a great deal of responsibility. "I watch everything that goes on the air," Meyers said. "I have to know what the issues are, who we have on air, and whether or not the content needs editing." With the recent launch of a new primetime line-up featuring "McEnroe" and "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch," Meyers has been especially busy lately. Meyers likes to get a head start on all this work: although primetime television doesn't begin on CNBC until 7 p.m. weekdays and 5 p.m. weekends, Meyers typically starts his day at 6 a.m. After familiarizing himself with that night's programming, he immediately turns his attention to the following day's booking. When Meyers returns home from TV land at the end of the day, it's time for perhaps his most important job: "helping my thirteen year old with algebra," he said. Thanks to Meyers' passion for the entertainment business, he says his busy schedule hardly seems like work. "I made sure that whatever I did, didn't feel like a job," he said. "The entertainment business is fun. Pretty much everyone can relate to it." There are also a few perks that come with the job. "We're always meeting on-air personalities," Meyers said. Meyers remembers being drawn to this line of work since his days as a copy boy. However, since Meyers had what he calls an "eclectic mix of interests," television was not the sole choice of career path for this Jumbo. In fact, Meyers received his B.A. in political science. "I was always interested in entertainment, but also [enjoyed] political science and government as well," Meyers said. "My mother wanted me to be a lawyer." Despite taking the law boards and being accepted to law school, Meyers switched his focus from politics to finance, first in his studies abroad at the London School of Economics, and later at Columbia Business School. Meyers' extracurricular activities while an undergraduate at Tufts, however, were indicative of his interest in media. Besides being an editor for the on-campus publication The Tufts Observer, Meyers took the initiative to create films about diverse academic subjects. "I developed film programs for professors in different departments," Meyers said. "The religion department actually integrated one as part of the program of the department, as did the English department with a Shakespeare film I made." Meyers did not spend all of his free time writing and producing. He was also a member of the Tufts Ski Team. Although Meyers went on to receive his MBA, he couldn't forget about the entertainment business. Meyers recalls a career fair where he "took the only interview with a media company that was offered - NBC. I ignored all the investment banking ones." Even with such an impressive and wide-ranging career, Meyers still considers his experience at Tufts among his fondest of memories. "Seven of my best friends to this day are Tufts graduates," Meyers said. "We started [to become close] freshman year during Columbus Day weekend, when we took a trip to Camden, Maine. We have been doing that [every year] since, and this year will be our 30th anniversary." "The relationships that I made there have lasted my whole life so far," said Meyers, whose closest friend (and former best man) is a Tufts alum. "[Tufts] is still a very, very important part of my life." Meyers credits his success to the fact that he pursued what he was truly passionate about, and recommends current Jumbos do the same. "Follow what is your passion. Figure out what you love to do and delve into it; really wrestle with the issues," Meyers said. "The passion I had [at Tufts] is still equal to the passion I have now."

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News

Police problems

October 3

A recent upswing in police interactions with Tufts students has many worried about not only personal legal rights but also about issues of systematic misapplication of the law by local authorities. Members of the Tufts community deserve to be treated with respect by local authorities in the same way that local residents deserve to sleep soundly at night. Tufts students and community members alike have long been aware of the tension that exists between the respective communities. Part of this tension simply owes to a difference in scheduling: while most local residents have to go to sleep early to work the next morning, many Tufts students would prefer to be out with friends. When the number of friends grows and the noise becomes too loud, local police are forced to intervene to protect the rights of the citizens who need their sleep. The rights of the host community on the Hill deserve diligent protection by the police, and it is laudable that they seem to take their job of serving local residents very seriously. Unfortunately, this sense of duty does not seem to extend to members of the Tufts community, who oftentimes are treated inappropriately by the local authorities, most notably the Somerville Police Department. An incident at 41 Conwell Avenue, where SPD officers allegedly removed a keg from the residence of students that were of legal drinking age only raises more troubling concerns about local practices. Tufts students who live on the streets of Somerville and Medford are entitled to the same rights and privileges as permanent residents. In paying their rent they also pay property taxes and thus are entitled to municipal services, including police. All too often, it seems that University students are subjected to punishing enforcement and resultant fines due to very minor violations. A cornerstone of law is fair and equal enforcement of the it. With this in mind, it is unfair to selectively enforce restrictive local laws on students that have a limited knowledge of local code and little access to legal resources in the h0ost community. Students are already in a vulnerable position and are often all too willing to submit to arbitrary police practices, which is fair to neither students or to justice. Perhaps even more worrisome is the effect selective enforcement of liquor laws and noise ordinances is having on the overall deterrence of criminal activity in the vicinity of Tufts. This campus has witnessed an armed robbery and a case of vandalism take place on the same street just one night apart. We have recently had a Tufts student robbed in University housing at gunpoint and a car driven drunk into a University house. Perhaps these incidents would have occurred even if the local police had devoted their resources to deterring violent and property crimes instead of misdemeanors. Unfortunately, the obsession of the local authorities with shutting down parties has taken their focus off of what is a larger concern for both Tufts and the host communities: crime that deprives them of safety and property. The residents of Medford and Somerville certainly deserve cooperation and respect from their student-neighbors. In return, however, students should feel comfortable knowing that local police know the legal boundaries and are prepared to respect them.

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Eye on the environment: Students, grads focus on environmental justice

October 3

Low-income communities are the most likely locations of pollution-producing facilities, incinerators, landfills, and toxic waste disposal sites. According to many environmental and advocacy organizations, this inequality in pollution distribution can be attributed to the fact that these towns and cities lack the resources to confront polluters. Tufts students and graduates are doing their part to confront that problem. "That Somerville suffers from 300 lung cancer and heart attack deaths every decade due to its excess transportation burden is a clear example of an environmental injustice," said senior and former EnviroCitizen intern Aditya Nochur, who researched Bill 2418 last summer. Bill 2418, which promotes environmental justice, was passed in the Massachusetts Senate but faltered in the House of Representatives. It was designed in response to the inequitable distribution of environmental hazards, and it requires quicker clean-ups of hazardous waste sites, while promoting cleaner development projects that utilize the best and newest pollution-control technology. The bill also calls for "more inclusive public participation in decision making," in order to grant residents the opportunity to influence decisions that will end up affecting their health. "Many communities in Massachusetts are similarly overburdened with environmental hazards, especially low-income communities and communities of color, who are exposed to hazardous facilities at a rate three to nine times greater than that for high-income communities and predominantly white communities," Nochur said. "Such disturbing disparities have strong negative implications for public health and social justice," Nochur added. Respiratory infections are one of the immediate health risks associated with pollution. Along with Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Dorchester, and others, Medford is one of the 10 Massachusetts communities with the most frequent number of asthma-related hospitalizations. "Everyone has the right to breathe clean air and drink clean water," said Tufts graduate Johanna Neumann (LA '01) of Toxics Action Center (TAC), a non-profit, environmental justice-focused organization working out of Boston. According to Neumann, the inability to compete financially with a powerful corporation is not the only obstacle that communities have to cope with. "These communities often face additional hurdles such as limited access to information [and] education or lack of time to get involved and hold businesses and elected officials accountable to the interests of the community," Neumann said. TAC works side by side with communities to help them accomplish their goal of protecting the health and safety of their community. "Our program provides information, an expert referral network, and organizing assistance to give residents the skills and strategies they need to win their local fight," Neumann said. Neumann is currently helping a community group in Easton, Massachusetts clean up an iron foundry that operates in the middle of their residential neighborhood. "The foundry spews soot and odors into the air, and many of the neighborhood children suffer respiratory problems," Neumann said. "I helped the group to define their goals and educated them on the different processes available to them." Nochur's internship focused on media advertising. One of his main projects involved organizing a "lobby day" where students came together to speak with their representatives about environmental justice concerns. "It's difficult for students to help out with [environmental justice] issues," said senior Jennifer Baldwin, an active member of the Tufts ECO club. "It's often difficult for poor, minority communities to take the advice of white, suburban students who could not be expected to directly relate to the problem at hand." "It's also impractical for students to help with [environmental justice] issues in spare time between classes," Baldwin added. "When dealing with campaigns that directly affect people's health, it is preferable to have full-time workers who can completely dedicate themselves to projects." Nonprofit organizations work to provide these full-time workers to aid communities threatened by hazardous waste disposal. Neumann suggests that students help with environmental justice issues by organizing on campus to get their university to purchase clean power, buying 100 percent recycled paper, and increasing waste reduction technologies. Although Baldwin recognizes the difficulty in confronting environmental justice issues as a student, she understands the importance of keeping students informed about its implications. She advises students to contact their state representatives in support of legislation that promotes environmental justice. "Even if we don't end up working in the field of environmental justice, in our daily lives we have to do everything we can to overturn the existing social strata," Baldwin said.Students interested in volunteering or interning at Toxics Action Center can contact Johanna Neumann at (617)747-4374, or e-mail johanna@toxicsaction.org. Congress will consider Bill 2418 again in January 2005.

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Police-student relations tenuous through Sept.

October 3

Many students living in off-campus housing have had more interaction with both campus and town police officers than they may have desired since the semester's onset. This year, police officers' methods when dealing with Tufts students and their off-campus parties have been occasionally inconsistent and some accuse them of being sometimes even quasi-legal. Residents of 41 Conwell Ave. said that on Sept. 17, the Somerville Police Department (SPD) confiscated a full keg from a party at their house 41 Conwell Avenue, although residents were of legal drinking age. While kegs are forbidden at on-campus parties by University regulations, they are not illegal according to state and local ordinances. "All I can say is that it must have been in the best interest of public safety at the time to remove the keg," SPD Officer Paul Trant said. But while the some police procedures - such as those accused at 41 Conwell - may push the limits of legal constraints, it is often difficult for students to seek legal recourse. "That's a tough one to win in court," said a lawyer who asked to be identified as a local attorney. "As for these cases, it's a waste of everybody's time. The prosecution definitely doesn't want to take it." According to the attorney, police behavior at off-campus parties can be more punitive if students demonstrate knowledge of their rights. "[The police] tell me, if the kid wasn't such a wise-ass, I would've been on my way," the attorney said. The SPD officers proceeded to disband the party at 41 Conwell and fined the students renting the house. According to resident and Tufts senior Mike Cherney, each resident was fined $100, resulting in a total fine of $600 for the house. But police response to noise complaints does not always result in fines. Students renting at 58 Conwell Ave. were the source of several noise complaints during an afternoon barbeque two weeks ago, but the police were far less harsh in dealing with them than they were with the party down the street. "We got a citation by the Somerville police," said junior Matt Shapiro, who lives at 58 Conwell. "They could have fined us but it would have been idiotic since we made no noise." "If neighbors keep calling, they'll have to make an arrest," said the local attorney. "The city thinks 'we have to let these kids know something must change.'" The jurisdiction for off-campus parties around Tufts exists in shades of gray. According to the attorney, "it really should be a city officer" responding to the noise complaints. But such procedures aren't always implemented in Medford and Somerville. "Technically, it's the jurisdiction of whatever city you're in," said Captain Mark Keith of the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD). "If a neighbor calls to complain, they'll call either Somerville or us directly. If we're called, the city will respond with us, and it works the other way around." Since the Medford and Somerville police do not always have the time and resources to respond to a University-related noise complaint, TUPD sometimes responds alone. "As far as I'm concerned, it's preferred to have both agencies there," Keith said. "I prefer to have an agency whose jurisdiction it is." "Always, the first four to six weeks of school, we have a spike in off-campus complaints," Keith said. More complaints occur in the fall because students socialize more at the beginning of the year, Keith said. Additionally, the warmer weather leads to more open windows, carrying sounds between neighboring houses more easily. But students argue that it is not always possible to control who shows up at parties. "We're all 21 that live in our house, but when people on campus hear, 'Oh, [party at] 41 Conwell,' then we get in trouble," Cherney said. "[The police] make these threats that are completely uncalled for," sophomore Geoff Loh said, whose suite in Hillsides threw a party two weekends ago that was visited by TUPD. "It's fostering a pretty bad relationship between police and students." "It's scared me from having social gatherings," Loh said. "Even if you are playing by the rules, not drinking, there's still the possibility that cops will come because there's noise." There is no immediate resolution in sight. In past semesters, the issue has resulted in multiple Tufts Community Union Senate meetings and has left students frustrated. "I feel like [it is worse] for everyone younger. I hope the administration does something about it," Cherney said. "It has to be done constructively through the students." While many students are drawn to off-campus parties, not everyone ventures off the Hill once the sun sets on weekend nights. "I don't find them any more fun [than on-campus parties]," sophomore Mike Landsberger said. "If they [end up being bad parties] or something, it's such a task to go somewhere else. If I go to AEPi and it sucks, I'm still in the center of school." "It's not just the lack of on-campus parties, but how the administration deals with it," Cherney said. "The freshmen and sophomores have nothing to do."

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Jonathan Graham | Voice of the Daily

October 3

It was a rip-roaring affair, involving no small amount of revelry, carousing and even, I've heard, some sports. School-wide events like homecoming are always real red-letter days, allowing one to meet everyone and anyone that you have ever had the chance to meet at Tufts. Tufts lights up on these sorts of occasions. Every advantage and benefit that the University gives to its students seems to be on display for one day, making it no wonder that Homecoming is one of the biggest days for alums to return to campus. And the alums are a part of the world of Tufts University as well. From donations to on-campus speeches, alums try to give a little back to their alma mater. The Daily is starting to tell these alums' stories through our Features series "Onward and Upward," which continues today with a profile of Bob Meyers, vice president of primetime at CNBC on page three. We think that students and alums want larger coverage for this sort of thing and, as always, the Daily aims to please. Relive the day that many of you probably don't remember with our Homecoming photo spread on page 22. Sports sent out its reporting staff across campus on Saturday to cover everything from volleyball to field hockey to give them a huge section today. Working on the Daily, you spend your days trying to "find" stories across campus, implying that the stories are not actually there until the Daily deigns to put them into print. But during special events like Homecoming, I am reminded that the Daily also has an integral role as the University's record keeper. The stories from Homecoming are what current students will go to tuftsdaily.com for five years after they live Tufts and start to think back on their time here. This idea of being one of the University's record keepers is being helped by the Tufts Digital Archives' ability to search back through images of every Tufts Daily issue since it was created in February, 1980. Given the rapid turnover that, by definition, the four-year college experience in all aspects of student life, it is important to have a record of this sort. Unlike the histories compiled by non-students, the Daily is history recorded as it happens, by members of the student body.

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Awards: Griffin, Trombly repeat as top athletes

October 3

The Tufts University Athletics Department held its annual awards ceremony on Friday night, honoring eight of its brightest student-athletes, as well as the best sportswriter of the year and University of Houston basketball coach Tom Penders, who began his career at Tufts in the 1970s. For the second year in a row, senior lacrosse player Bryan Griffin won the Clarence "Pop" Houston Award, given to the best male athlete of the year. It is the first time an athlete has won the award in back-to-back years since 1958. "I'm very honored by it," Griffin said. "There are a lot of great athletes at Tufts, so I feel very honored and fortunate to be surrounded by very good teammates." Griffin also won the NESCAC and New England Player of the Year awards in each of the past two seasons. Heading into this year's season, Griffin has 184 career points and is poised to eclipse the all-time Tufts scoring record, which stands at 191. The senior has been a huge component of the Jumbos' recent rise up the national rankings, and has his sights on another successful season this spring. "I don't want to get complacent," Griffin said. "There's a lot more I want to do, a lot more I want the team to do. I can't be satisfied after a good sophomore and junior year." Jess Trombly (LA '04) received the Hester L. Sargent Award for the best female athlete of the year. Like Griffin, Trombly also won the award in 2003, and became the only the second Jumbo in the award's history of the award to win in consecutive years. Trombly excelled in a multitude of events for the track and field team, winning the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA outdoor championships last spring and setting six school records last year. Trombly also played forward for the soccer team in the fall, and was second on the team in scoring, assists, and total points as she received first team All-NESCAC honors. The track program had a strong showing at the awards ceremony. In addition to Trombly, the Rudolph J. Fobert Awards for best multiple-sport athletes who maintain a good academic average went to two track and cross country runners. Senior Nate Brigham won the award for the men and Lauren Caputo '04 received the female award. Both Brigham and Caputo competed year round for the Jumbos, running cross-country in the fall, indoors in the winter, and outdoors in the spring. Brigham led the cross-country team to a NCAA New England championship in the fall. and was the Div. III 5000m indoor champion. Caputo qualified for the NCAA cross country national championship race, where she finished 71st. In the indoor season she was the New England Division III champion in the 3,000m, and in the spring Caputo won the NESCAC title and earned All-American honors for her performance in the 3,000m steeplechase. The women's half of the W. Murray Kenney Awards recognizing positive attitude and persistence was shared by swimmer Mika Sumiyoshi ('04) and basketball and track athlete Kate Gluckman ('04). Football player Tim Mack ('04) won the award for the men. Sumiyoshi fought through an acute case of asthma throughout her competitive career to become one of Tufts' most successful athletes, producing five All-American awards and seven broken records for the Tufts swimming program. Gluckman was nominated for the award by three different coaches. She was one of the most outspoken leaders on both the basketball team and the track team, for which she was one of the squad's leading throwers. Mack was one of the key weapons for the football team last year, playing both wide receiver and running back as the senior captain led the Jumbos to a 5-3 season. Mack's leadership was evident from the weight room to the practice field, and he was one of the most respected members of the team. The annual Timothy J. Horgan Award, presented to the top student sportswriter, was received by Kathleen Kavanagh ('04), who wrote for the Tufts Daily, and now works for the Boston Globe. Penders, the current coach at Houston, annual Distinguished Achievement award. Past winners include current Patriots owner Bob Kraft and Celtics legend Red Auerbach.

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For Penders, 1970's Tufts success led to long and winding road

October 3

Tufts. Columbia. Fordham. Rhode Island. Texas. George Washington. And now Houston. Tom Penders has coached at all of them. On Friday night Penders returned to the root of his coaching career to receive the 2004 Tufts University Athletic Department/Jumbo Club Distinguished Achievement Award. After playing basketball and baseball for UConn, Penders began his career by invigorating the Jumbo basketball program in the early 1970s before leaving for Columbia, where he became the youngest Div. I basketball coach. In 1988, Penders experienced his first NCAA tournament success when he guided the Rhode Island Rams to the Sweet Sixteen before losing by a point to Duke. His most successful stint then came at Texas from 1988-98, when he averaged over 20 wins a season and made eight NCAA tournaments, including the 1990 Elite Eight. For his career, Penders is 527-361 (.593 winning percentage) and has gained a reputation as someone who can turn a floundering program around. Penders experienced negativity at the end of his Texas career, when there were media rumors of a players' mutiny and an assistant coach released the grades of one of his players, Luke Axtell, to a local radio station, where they were read on the air. Penders resigned and went on to GW, where he later resigned citing burnout. In March, after serving as an analyst for ESPN, he agreed to take over a Unviersity of Houston program that hasn't won an NCAA tournament game since the days of Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. Before returning to the Hill to be honored for his contributions to Tufts, Penders talked with the Daily about coaching, what Tufts used to be like, the state of basketball, Chris Mihm, and the controversy at Texas.How did you get into coaching basketball? I was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1968 in the 9th round and played ball in A and AA and then in the offseason, just looking for work and trying to feed my family, I was bartending and substitute teaching in high school. And in Bridgeport where I was teaching, the coach quit, and the principal asked if I wanted to jump in, and I did.And you're still coaching. When I coach it feels like I'm still playing. Basketball teaches a lot about life, and coaching is really one of the greatest one of the ways to make a living if you can stay focused. You can't believe the impact you have on people's lives, and you don't realize it until 20 years later, and I can't think of another profession where you can touch so many lives and have so much to be thankful for. When you started at Tufts, the team the previous year had gone 1-17, and you weren't much older than your players. The next 3 years you won 12, 22, and 20 games. How do you turn a program around? When you take over a program that's down, you have to build a pride and sense of a commitment and you have to get in shape. Losing creates a culture that breeds negativity and defeatism and brings out the worst in people. Not everyone can win and not everyone in the record books is a winner but it's about building a lot of team concepts and pride. And that's what a coach does.What do you remember about Tufts' athletic scene in the seventies? Well, we couldn't start practice until November, and there was no offseason conditioning like there is now. I only had a few weeks to get my players together because I was the JV soccer coach as well. The AD, Harry Arlanson, was a real gentleman; I don't think I ever saw him without a suit and tie on. Rocky Carzo was the opposite, just like Columbo. He always had a gray t-shirt on, sneakers and shorts, and a whistle around his neck. Out of all the places I've coached at, it was where you focused on coaching and teaching the game. We recruited but we recruited on the phone. We couldn't go watch kids play or visit them in their home.What was student support like? It was tremendous. You couldn't get a ticket, couldn't get into a game. The last two years it was totally sold out, people hanging off the rafters. Not just for basketball. One year our soccer team beat Harvard at home and there had to be 5,000 people there. We were getting as much ink in the Globe as BC, and I have the clippings to prove it.That's hard to believe if you go to Tufts now. Well it wasn't like that at first. I lived in Wren sort of as a dorm counselor, and I'd eat with the student body, and I'd pass out leaflets for games in the dining hall. But once you start winning you create excitment.How bad was the basketball team when you took over? Just about everything that could go wrong with the program had gone wrong in the previous years. I was still good enough to play and beat any of the players on the team. I tried to instill confidence and toughness. They had no self-esteem.Do you think athletes are better today than they were in the '70s? No. I think there's more weight training, and it's more of a strength game now. In the '60s and '70s players coming out of high school were better prepared. They understood the team concept; they weren't trying to be professional athletes. The Tufts guys worked as hard as the guys I have now, maybe even harder. Leroy Charles was a better shooter than 90 percent of the guys that are playing today and Eddie Tapscott was a better point guard than a lot of Div. I guys these days. Now it's too individual - it's all about dunking, it's all about making the highlights on ESPN. That's why our Olympic team can't beat teams from South America and Puerto Rico. It shows how far our game has dropped. It's proof.Well is there a way to fix that? All they have to do is a put on a rule that a kid has to be 21 before he's drafted. It's simple. Because for every LeBron James there's 50 guys that take the shot and don't make it. I think there are great coaches in college, but too many guys go straight to the NBA.So you think the NBA is to blame? The NBA has set the game back a good 10 years. When you recruited Chris Mihm, did you think he'd be able to play in the NBA? Yeah, I did. He used to come to my camps when he was young, and I saw him growing and shooting up, and all of a sudden he was really tall. He played tennis and was really agile and had great hands, and I was not at all surprised he made the NBA. If anything I thought he'd be better, more of a force in the NBA, and I don't know if it's because he's been traded so much or what.At Texas, with the whole Luke Axtell situation, if you could go back, is there something you would do differently? No, there's really not. You know, that whole thing was just one player and that was an academic issue. I had one player who was unhappy because I disciplined him because of academics. And that one player got three guys to go to the AD's house, and the other three told me personally that they had nothing to do with it and weren't unhappy. And the media handled it badly.How so? When I took the job here at Houston, they interviewed two of the "four players" that had gone against me, Gabe Muoneke and Bernard Smith, and it wasn't what the media had portrayed. They interviewed them and they said that that was not true and they were called to a meeting and never had anybody ask them if they were happy or unhappy or whatever. It was strictly a political thing with the AD. It never had anything to do with the players. That was pure garbage, and they put that out to justify getting rid of me, and they used those kids. I had differences with the athletic director, and they were well known, and I should have moved on before, but I didn't.So it was the media's fault? The local media was basically in bed with the University. You're just one person, a leaf in the wind. But I'm a man, I had a contract, they paid me in full because they had no leg to stand on, and I signed a buyout agreement with them, but the media continued to say what they wanted. And finally on March 28th, 2004, the truth came out when these players were interviewed when I took the Houston job. Why did it take six years to ask these guys, did they have a beef with me?And now you're coming back to Tufts. It all started at Tufts. I can't tell you how much it means to me to be able to come back to where it all started. A day doesn't go by where I don't think of Tufts and where I got my start. It's important to me that kids who play basketball for me have a chance to be a success. And I look back at Tufts, there are judges, lawyers, CEOs, all kinds of different success stories. And that's kind of cool.-by Ben Hoffman

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Partisan Fletcher crowd debates the first debate

October 3

Graduate students at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy packed into ASEAN auditorium to watch Senator John Kerry challenge presidential incumbent George W. Bush in a debate at the University of Miami on Thursday evening. Bush and Kerry took up most of the 90-minute debate, which centered around national security and foreign policy, arguing over the war in Iraq. Kerry said he believes Bush made a "colossal error of judgment" in invading Iraq and that he has a better plan to fight the "war on terror." Bush retorted that Kerry cannot be a leader because he constantly flip-flops on the issues. The Fletcher debate crowd was clearly partisan, as cheers for Kerry and contempt for Bush resonated throughout the room. The majority of the audience laughed at Bush's facial expressions and frequent long pauses. "Bush seemed weaker as he [went] on, but [I am] not sure if it was because of the environment I was watching this in," second-year Fletcher student Gillian Cull said. Many students agreed that the laughter directed towards Bush was disrespectful and that the focus should have been on his message, not the manner in which he presented it. "Kerry was much more academic, while Bush was much more for America. The world is one thing, but Bush goes for America," first-year Fletcher student Gregory Dimitriadis said Saudipan Bagchi, a graduate student at Boston University and a strong Kerry supporter, was disappointed with the debate. "I am appalled [that] the American public has not woken up yet. Kerry needs to drill in the fact that no weapons of mass destruction have been found. He needs to go into hard detail on Iraq policy; he needs to not tip-toe around his Senate record," Bagchi said. "This is the most important debate in the history of the world." Professor Tony Smith, the Cornelia M. Jackson Professor of Political Science at Tufts, agrees that Kerry erred during the debate by not pushing harder at openings Bush offered, but believes Kerry was much more effective than his opponent. "The President was more repetitive, less detailed, and broad in his grasp of matters relying more on sloganeering, and simply less articulate with bad body language," Jackson said. "By showing Kerry was so serious, he automatically undid a part of the negative image the Republicans had projected. Kerry came across as presidential." "To close the deal, Kerry must do equally well, or Bush must do as poorly, at the final two events," said Lecturer of Political Science Michael Goldman, a well-known political analyst. Goldman has served as counsel to many Democratic campaigns, including Michael Dukakis' bid for the White House in 1988. Pew Research Center polls have shown that the public's confidence in Bush to handle the war in Iraq dropped six percent between Sept. 11-13 and Sept. 22-26. His poll numbers on handling the economy also dropped seven percent. Despite these drops, the same Sept. 22-26 poll shows Bush leading Kerry 48 percent to 40 percent among registered voters. "As incompetent as people [perceive] Bush to be, Kerry [is] not a viable alternative," Goldman said. Still, the debate was a "watershed moment" in this year's presidential campaign according to Goldman. "Despite what most people believe, a sizeable portion of the people who will vote Nov. 2 saw and heard John Kerry for the first time at that 'joint press conference,'" Goldman said. "Prior to that joint appearance, $90 million in negative advertising had totally defined the political persona of Kerry," he said. The second presidential debate will take place Friday and the third will occur on Wednesday, Oct. 13.

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Noah Trugman | Life is Elsewhere

October 3

On my first day working for the American Anti-Slavery Group this summer, I found myself celebrating Ukrainian Independence Day with an office of staff, interns, and a tall, gentle-eyed, escaped former slave from Sudan named Francis Bok. That I was commemorating the independence of Ukraine and not a country dear to my heart was strange but appropriate because I had pursued the question of modern day slavery with an objective intellectual curiosity, not a deeply emotional or personal connection to the cause. I had learned in a lecture that there are, by conservative estimates, still 27 million slaves in the world today and that, shockingly, this is more than any other time in history. Initially, mine was an impersonal philosophical interest in the value of freedom. That is to say, I did not yet really care. When did I start to care? That first day in the office, besides eating cake, I sat down with Francis and heard the story of his life as a slave. At the age of 7, his mother sent him to the village market to sell eggs. The village was raided by Arab militias from the North and he was taken captive and given as a slave to one of the raiders, never to see his family or home again. For 10 years he lay awake at night dreaming of freedom until finally, at the age of 17, he escaped from his masters. For me, Francis gave a powerful voice to the millions of powerless, voiceless slaves who are suffering around the world today. When I looked into his eyes, I saw deep inside a man who knows viscerally what it means to be enslaved and, because of this, a man who knows what it truly means to be free. I realized Francis does not merely believe in freedom - Francis knows freedom. He loves freedom. He lives freedom. Looking into his eyes shed light on the vicarious reality of slavery and in turn made me profoundly more aware and appreciative of my own freedom. This was the moment that I started to care. Sadly, Francis' story is the exception. By the academic definition of slavery as forced work without pay under the threat of violence, there are still 27 million people enslaved in the world today. Furthermore, at least 200,000 people are trafficked internationally every year. These are men, women and children subjugated for the purposes of domestic and agricultural labor, and increasingly forced prostitution. In Sudan, slaves have been sold for as little as $35, a fraction of the price you would have paid in real dollars for a slave in colonial America. In Mauritania, where traditional chattel slavery has defined the cultural mentality for more than 800 years, slavery was not legally abolished in the constitution until 1981. But this is not just someone else's problem. About 15,000 victims are trafficked into the U.S. every year. In our own neighborhood, there was a domestic slavery case brought against a family in Brookline, Mass. this past year. In Sudan specifically, the same Arab militias who enslaved the southern black Africans for the past 20 years of civil war between north and south have now targeted the black Africans of the western region called Darfur. Already 50,000 civilians have been killed, at least 200,000 displaced from their homes, and thousands more raped and tortured. Whereas the chronic civil war was a religious conflict (between Muslims and non-Islamic Christians and animists), in Darfur the victims of the Arab raiders are fellow Muslims. This is an intentional, systematic, racial cleansing. This is the first genocide of the twenty-first century. Short of our long-term aspirations for the secretary generalship of the United Nations or of regime change targeting the Bashir-led Sudanese government, for now what else can we do about this? We can demand that international leaders take action. For months now, the United Nations has sat idly by and been unwilling to challenge the Bashir regime with anything beyond rhetoric. Change, though, must begin with our own education, awareness, and caring. Admittedly, it is difficult to grasp the magnitude of a crisis and the severity of suffering so far removed from what we expect, experience, or can even imagine. And unfortunately, it is all too easy to be so wrapped up in our own lives that we ignore even the most extreme of moral imperatives. But while life goes on normally here, we must not forget that life is also elsewhere. We must not forsake in our hearts and minds the people of Darfur. We must not live in darkness. Tomorrow evening, Francis will be speaking at a Goddard Chapel candlelight vigil to shed light on the genocide in Sudan. To shed light on something means to look at it, pay attention to it, recognize it, and not ignore it. To shed light is an attempt to understand. Understanding is the first step not only to caring but also to appreciation. I encourage students and faculty to attend the vigil where by shedding light on the far-away genocide in Sudan we will also shed light on the personal meaning and value of our own freedom.@contpage:see SLAVERY, page ????@conthead:Appreciating Freedom @contjump:SLAVERY@contpage:continued from page ????@pullquote:When I looked into his eyes, I saw deep inside a man who knows viscerally what it means to be enslaved and, because of this, a man who knows what it truly means to be free.altpullquote: I had learned in a lecture that there are, by conservative estimates, still 27 million slaves in the world today and that, shockingly, this is more than any other time in history.eds: leah, ME

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News

The Rez petitions to be added to Dining Dollars program

October 3

The Rez, the student-run caf?© booth located near the ATMs in the Mayer Campus Center, is working on a venture to expand its consumer base. The caf?© is petitioning to be added as a facility that accepts Dining Dollars. Since its conception, The Rez has only accepted Points Plus or cash. As of Saturday, the as yet un-submitted petition had 247 signatures. Students often have trouble understanding which types of payments work at Tufts' various eateries, since they can spend Dining Dollars, Points Plus or Vending Points at various locations across campus. Several locations, including the Rez, are only allowed to accept one form of payment. "It would be great if the Rez were [also] on Dining Dollars because it is in a great location and it would be easier for me to stop by and get coffee before class," freshman Elizabeth Copeland said. Since The Rez is a student-run caf?©, it is not affiliated with Dining Services, which is why it does not accept Dining Dollars. Dining Dollars are included in most meal plans, whereas Points Plus have to be purchased separately. Points Plus may be used at almost any location on campus, including the campus bookstore, Tisch Library and Jumbo Express. Sophomore Sara Gale does not eat at The Rez because she, like many students, does not have Points Plus. "I do not carry cash, I just carry my [student] ID, so I might start using The Rez if they accepted Dining Dollars," she said. Dining Dollars are accepted at all dining locations run by Tufts Dining Services, including the dining halls, Hodgdon Good-to-Go, the Hotung Caf?©, The Commons and the Tower Caf?©, as well as at select off-campus locations through the Merchants on Points program. "Most students do not know if they have [Dining Dollars or Points Plus]," which often leads confused students to present IDs that are void of Points, said Ann Scott, a sophomore Rez employee. If a student does not have cash, The Rez's potential customer is usually lost to a nearby on-campus eatery, most of which do accept Dining Dollars. "The addition of the Tower Caf?© in Tisch Library, which was added this past summer, is yet more competition for The Rez, since both the library and the campus center are popular areas for students to come buy coffee and study," Scott said. "The fact that the Tower Caf?© is on Dining Dollars may be an added incentive to go for students to choose to study [at Tisch]." Students have been supportive of The Rez's petition so far. Other students agree on the difficulty of using Points Plus. "I prefer to use my Dining Dollars because they are part of my meal plan so I do not have to pay extra for them [unlike Points]," sophomore Leanne Andruszkiewicz said.

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