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National Public Health Week

April 6

This week, April 5 to 11, is National Public Health Week (NPHW). The American Public Health Association sponsors National Public Health week across the country. Events are held locally in towns, cities, at health centers, and at Universities including our own. Each year there is a theme for National Public Health Week; this year's theme is eliminating health disparities. I am writing this viewpoint as a student of community health at Tufts, a future masters in public health student at Tufts Medical, and the coordinator of NPHW on the undergraduate campus. I have found that when I tell friends and family about my plans to study and work in public health, they tend to be unsure what that means. After I tell them that I want to be an infectious diseases epidemiologist and would rather not work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they are really baffled! In honor of NPHW I would like to take a few minutes to explain what public health is, how it differs from medicine, and then discuss this year's theme of eliminating pubic health disparities. Public health is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on maintaining the health of populations. Public health workers include nurses, doctors, dentists, veterinarians, social workers, mental health counselors, nutritionists, case managers, support group leaders, administrators, policy advocates, lawyers, and more. Epidemiologists, a subset of public health workers, track disease etiology and spread such as SARS. Environmental health workers ensure that your drinking water is safe. Public health veterinarians work on potential mad cow outbreaks. Public health educators teach of hand washing, safer sex, and the importance of immunizations. Public health can be controversial: offering free clean needles to injection drug users, addressing sexual behaviors that are out of the norm for some people, and encouraging immunizations despite the rare study linking the MMR vaccine to autism. Other aspects of public health are less than glamorous, but nonetheless essential: monitory influenza patterns, ensuring food safety, and advocating for more government support for healthcare for all. Though many doctors work in public health settings, medicine and the biomedical model are inherently different from public health. The biomedical model focuses on the health of the individual. Doctors concern themselves with the health of individual patients, ensuring the best care for that patient. Public health is concerned with the health of the community. This includes physical health aspects that medicine works with, as well as broader issues of mental health, nutrition, safe housing, education, and prevention services. Due to insurance systems and the expense of treatment, medicine is sometimes limited to helping patients who can afford services. Public health clinics and workers aim to help everyone, and often serve the poor and marginalized groups. The story told ad nauseam in introductory public health classes to differentiate public health approaches from biomedical approaches involves babies and a river. As the story goes, (and I admit I am taking some poetic license to make it more interesting) a medical doctor and a public health worker are walking next to a river. As they are walking along, they see a baby floating downstream. They jump in and bring the baby out. The doctor lays the infant on the grass and is beginning to check her vital statistics when another baby floats down the river. And then a third. And a fourth. The doctor is frantically trying grab and treat each infant. Meanwhile, the public health worker has walked upstream to find out who is throwing babies in the river. This tall tale illustrates the focus on preventive care and population-based approaches that characterize public health. A viewpoint of this length cannot begin to do justice to the atrocities in health disparities in this country. Instead, I would like to give you a few statistics, and urge you to visit our table in the campus center this week for more information (the table will be set up at lunchtime Monday-Friday). w Vietnamese women are almost five times as likely to have cervical cancer as white women. w African-American men die from cancer 50 percent more than white men. w Hispanics and Mexican-Americans are almost twice as likely as whites to get type 2 diabetes. Native Hawaiians are 2.5 times as likely. w Mexican-Americans are most likely to be exposed to pesticides; African-Americans to dioxins, PCP, and lead; white Americans to hydrocarbons. w Men are 4 times more likely to die from firearm-related injuries than women. w Women pay 68 percent more out of pocket for health services than men; mostly for reproductive health care. w People with poor literacy are more likely to have a chronic disease and less likely to get the health care they need. w Adults with poor health literacy have, on average, three times as many prescriptions filled as those with higher literacy. w African-Americans are eight times more likely to die from AIDS than whites. w African-American and Native American babies are less likely to live to their first birthday than white babies. w Alaskan Native women, aged 20-44, are 16 times more likely to be hospitalized for assault. w Heart disease, cancer, and diabetes rates are higher in rural areas. w Death from heart disease occurs 29 percent more in African-Americans than whites and 49 percent more in men than women. These statistics will be addressed in Barnum 114 on Wednesday at 6:30 pm. The film "The Angry Heart" will be shown and followed by a discussion with a leading African-American physician who participated in the film. (All statistics from APHA, 2004). Eliminating the above health disparities is a gargantuan task that will take decades to accomplish. By raising awareness of these issues on campus, I hope that we are moving in the right direction. I encourage anyone with further questions to visit the table or contact me at rachel.jervis@tufts.edu. Rachel Jervis is a senior majoring in Biology and Community Health.

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News

Medford city officials find innovative ways to improve schools

April 6

With Medford schools in dire financial straits, city officials are seeking help inside and outside the city. Superintendent of Schools Roy Belson said that the public school system experienced a $300,000 shortfall this year due to lack of state aid. There is also "no guarantee that revenue will increase in the future," he said. The schools have been particularly hard-hit in terms of paying for special education programs and energy costs, with rises in fuel and electricity prices in the past year. As a result, the School Committee voted last month to follow towns like Braintree and Beverly and allow sponsors to advertise on school buses. Several restrictions will be imposed on these advertisements, however. For example, the School Committee and the superintendent will select only ads they deem appropriate, and preferably only those with an educational message. Also, no student is allowed to appear on the ads. Medford mayor Michael McGlynn said that Medford also recently consolidated its students into its newest schools, saving the city $1.5 million. Medford officials agree that Tufts has been helpful in working with Medford schools to offset the effects of the city's cuts. Belson said that Tufts worked with Medford's early childhood programs as well as their healthcare planning. EPIIC's Inquiry program also works within Medford schools. Jean Barry-Sutherland, principal of the Columbus School, said that Tufts has been "wonderful" with the children in her school. Tufts Literacy Corps, a program that helps children who have difficulty reading, worked with the Columbus School. Students from the School of Engineering have also run programs to help students with math and science. While McGlynn is grateful for the academic support, he said that Tufts could contribute more monetary aid. Debate between the city and the town has centered on payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs. McGlynn hopes to develop "some reasonable program" for payments from Tufts to the city. The mayor said he has had ongoing discussions with President Bacow on the subject. "We think [Tufts] has the resources to help the city make education better," he said. Belson, however, doubts that PILOTs will have any significant impact on the city's schools' financial status. It is better, he said, to be working together than to be debating over this issue. Barry-Sutherland agreed. "I could always use more help," she said, "but having responsible adults sharing resources with my students is worth a tremendous amount to me." Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel said that the University has a "special obligation to really be a partner and to develop mutually beneficial programs with the city." But because Tufts is an educational institution, "the place where it would make most sense for us to have these linkages is in education." Rubel said that examples of this cooperation include Medford High School's use of the Gantcher Center for their graduation and Foreign Language Department graduate students teaching in local schools. She also said that Tufts has made small financial contributions for some specific programs. The University College (UC) does not currently have a program in Medford, because their work has mainly focused on Somerville schools, UC Programs Director Shirley Mark said. The University College is meant to encourage active citizenship by students in their local community. She also says that it is difficult to design ways for students to volunteer in schools, since schools do not normally have instituted guidelines for outside participation. The UC does, however, plan to begin a program in Medford next year.

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News

Send Kweller's New Album On Its Way

April 6

In his new album, Kweller claims, "Nothing can bring me down." Something can, however, bring the listener down. Turns out it's the mediocrity that plagues Kweller's third release, "On My Way." The April release of Kweller's most recent effort was highly anticipated by those who fell in love with the singer-songwriter's breakout album, "Sha Sha." But by sustaining their music appetite on the album, waiting since 2002 for a follow-up effort from the up-and-coming rock pianist, fans will find that the Kweller of old has long since come and gone. Nearly every track of "Sha Sha" stood on its own. All had catchy, quotable lyrics and well crafted musical arrangements. In stark contrast, nearly every track of "On My Way" comes up decidedly short. The album starts off on a promising note, creating the false impression that the whole album will be as delightful as the artist's previous release. "I Need You Back," the opening track, contains the patented Ben Kweller vibrancy that populated his sophomore effort: the vocals are crisp, drum beats lively, and chorus catchy and instantly hummable. Following this track, however, the album begins to deteriorate. The songs on Kweller's previous efforts possessed a certain kick and sarcasm that is distinctly absent from almost all the tracks of "On My Way." Lines such as, "It starts stopping when it stops stopping" and, "Everyone loves a situation" from "Sha Sha's" tracks were charming in their seemingly nonsensical, yet thoughtful nature. However, the lyrics on Kweller's latest release are pedestrian and trite. Loyal fans will wonder how a wordsmith such as Kweller has declined to the point of writing songs praising his apartment ("My apartment, the home where I hide/Away from the darkness outside"). The witticisms of his previous efforts have made way for tedious and lackluster lyrical content. In "On My Way," Kweller has opted for an edgy feel on some of the tracks, with regretful results. "Ann Disaster," is exactly that, and it makes for a painful three minutes. Kweller attempts to sound spiteful with his vocals, but the result is an embarrassing caricature of his emotions. The rock 'n roll screams at the end of the song will make any listener cringe, and provokes pity for the usually subdued and unpretentious artist. The current popularity of bands like The Strokes and The White Stripes have obviously rubbed off on Kweller. Yet, his emulation is quite ill-advised, for his appeal came largely from his thoughtful songwriting and dynamic piano playing, both of which have been left out of most of the album's tracks. "On My Way" does contain a few redeeming songs. The aforementioned opening track is the most worthwhile recording included on the album. A few songs later, "Living Life" contains the energy and piano-heavy backing of Kweller classics. Aside from these two tracks though, the only catchy tune is "Hear Me Out," in which Kweller once again proves to be a talented songwriter. The lyrics on "Here" are almost excerpts from a twisted nursery rhyme, with their snappy, nonsense connections. By and large, the musical and lyrical content of this record manages to constantly disappoint, and the subtlety of Kweller's previous releases seems to have faded. In the past, the banal lyrics of these songs would have been sung with tongue-in-cheek delivery. On this release, however, the listener doesn't get that sense, and the words are sung with a curious and ill-fitting earnestness. Change isn't a bad thing, and musicians are certainly free to explore new styles and genres. However, Kweller doesn't convince the listener that his new style is a good fit. The musician, known for his shyness on stage, seems uncomfortable with his newfound "rock" feel. He sounds best on tracks that feature the piano power chords of "Sha Sha." The cover art for the new album is oddly appropriate. It juxtaposes Kweller, in a black sweater vest and indie-rock jeans, with a landscape of hills and brush. Standing with Kweller is a pack of wolves, alongside which Kweller looks particularly ridiculous. Yet, the image is a fitting metaphor for Kweller's new album. In attempting to forgo a piano backing in most of his new songs, and in failing to incorporate his previous golden-boy charm, Kweller finds himself standing all alone on his new release. With only a few glimpses of the musician's tried and true strengths, the album as a whole ends up feeling quite out of place. Now, only time will tell whether Kweller will be able to regain his sense of irony and subtlety in future endeavors, or if he should simply be thrown to the wolves.

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News

Expanding our collective party horizons

April 6

Though the Dowling Hall crowd may seem a bit square, the study abroad meetings in those claustrophobic beige offices do impart valuable advice about foreign language acquisition, personal growth, and widening one's party horizons. Or perhaps the Office of Programs Abroad staff forgot to mention this last item. I suppose they were too busy discussing techniques for avoiding terrorist attacks and explaining the four stages of culture shock. But my study abroad experience has taught me several valuable lessons in the venerable Party Arts, which, if pitched right, could easily become an ExCollege class. My first lesson came early in the school year, on Halloween -- normally not a major cause for festivities in France -- when my friends and I were invited to a party thrown by our friend's sister's boyfriend's friend. The length of the invitation chain suggested a good raucous party, so we started planning our costumes early, and with gusto. We finally assembled ensembles as the Seven Deadly Sins, even though there were only six of us ("Sloth couldn't make it" was our explanatory line). Our costumes, if I do say so myself, were kick-ass: Wrath carried a braided whip, Greed was gilt, and Lust -- well, Lust personified her namesake in a way that was rated at least PG-13. We arrived at an enormous apartment in upscale Neuilly only to discover that Halloween was more of a pretext than a raison d'?tre for this party -- there wasn't even any candy! Furthermore, few other partygoers had taken much initiative with their costumes: there was a black cape or two, a pair of cat ears, and a cowboy hat, but not much more. Lesson number 1: Being the only people really dressed up at a party is fun. The Six Deadly Sins were undeniably the life of the party, though this fact may partially be attributed to the lesson that followed soon thereafter. Lesson number 2: French youth do not necessarily associate going out with drinking to extreme excess. ("Weird, they really don't, though," affirms my friend Sarah, also known as Greed.) With these newfound pieces of knowledge securely in mind, I decided to further experience Dowling Hall's promised personal growth by tasting the party cultures of other European countries, notably Spain, where some of the greatest scholars on the subject reside. For apprentices of the Party Arts, Barcelona is the modern-day equivalent of the library at Alexandria. Nonetheless, one Saturday night found me and two other knowledge-seekers bereft of opportunities for merrymaking due to a cash-flow problem. (Lesson number 3: There are no party scholarships.) We lingered by a fountain in a square ringed by palm trees until about 2 a.m., enjoying the warm breezy night and listening to music from a nearby jazz club. Dark-skinned men dangling six packs tried to sell us beer. (Lesson number 4: You can bargain them down to 80 eurocents.) Until... "Do you know where the party is?" asked a tall, fair, rosy-cheeked Spanish boy. Sadly, we did not. But when Adonis and his friends disappeared into a doorway, we decided to follow them. The dark shabby stairway we discovered instead of a club or bar did not deter us (as it should have), but rather strengthened our party resolve -- and to just reward! We soon found ourselves in a packed apartment of young Europeans, talking in Spanish to Italian guys, and partaking of the beer that flowed like wine. Perhaps crashing parties is not in good taste, but the autodidact is by necessity a risk taker. And my evening in Barcelona graced with me with a few new phone numbers and two enlightening new party gems. Lesson number 5: Following strangers up dark winding stairwells leads to fun! Lesson number 6: Drinking improves your fluency in a foreign language ... up until a certain point. My research continued in Madrid, home of seven-story mega-clubs and after-parties that go until lunchtime. In what certainly counts as a party seminar, our evenings began at a friends' apartment with calimochos (Lesson number 7: Don't judge Coke and red wine till you've tried it), continued with cocktails at a lounge, and ended at a club where stimulants and depressants seemed to be on equal footing. Ironically, it was here that I brushed against the outer limits of the party universe. Lesson number 8: Even in Madrid, the Baskin Robbins across from Club Circus is not open at 6:30 a.m. Back in Paris, where you can get ice cream at 5:30 a.m. on the Champs Elys‚es, the club scene is lively, but it is the study of bars that has led to my final culminating idea -- my party thesis, if you will. Lesson number 9: Anglo bars attract the nerdiest coterie of the local population, the dregs of the Anglo crowd, and the lees of other nationalities. It is only in Anglo bars that I have suffered through such standard-bearers as the "Grease" megamix and the "YMCA," enthusiastically danced to. Instead, it is much better to go to a local bar to expand one's horizons and work on language acquisition -- just as the Office of Programs Abroad would have you do in the first place. Lesson number 10: In all things, follow Dean Sheila Bayne.

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News

Cubs look to get back to World Series

April 6

Let it be known to those of you bundling up in your down jackets and cursing the April snow: summer is here. Though the New England climate may make many think otherwise, summer has officially arrived with the birth of a new Major League baseball season. In the National League, teams kicked off their seasons beginning Monday and continuing into Tuesday. If Opening Day is any indicator of what is to come in the league this season, we are in for an interesting summer. The Chicago Cubs won their opener, 7-4 over the Cincinnati Reds, living up to the springtime hype. Though the Cubs managed to jinx themselves before the season even started by ending up on last weeks' cover of Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com's "World Series favorites" had an impressive outing versus their NL Central rival. Pitcher Kerry Wood earned the win with five innings pitched, surrendering five hits and four runs with six strikeouts. Wood also helped his own cause knocking in a run with a base hit. The Chicago relief core performed just as any good bullpen should, allowing just one hit with five strikeouts in four innings. If the rest of the season could be skipped, the Cubs would have their best chance since, well, last October for a World Series berth with their powerful combination of pitching and offensive prowess. However, the season will be played and the curse of the goat, now coupled with the SI jinx, will do what it will for the beloved Cubbies. Out in California, beyond the far reaches of the Eastern time zone, a new era began yesterday in Los Angeles. Boston real estate developer Frank McCourt saw his newly-acquired, $430 million Los Angeles Dodgers falter under the weight of the formidable...San Diego Padres? Contrary to the last few years, San Diego could have a fighting chance to avoid the NL West cellar for the first time since 2001. Though they have failed to place above fourth in their division since winning the West in 1998, the Padres have made some recent moves that could prove helpful in 2004. They picked up Brian Giles late last year and added Jay Payton from the Colorado Rockies as well as Ramon Hernandez in the off season. Should the short wall at the new PETCO Field not terminally injure any of their players, the Padres could have their first fighting chance at success in several years. If the NL batting championship was award after opening day, the honor would fall upon two players whose consistency at the plate could be described in just one word: perfection. One plays a position that doesn't even have to bat in one league and the other is the most prolific slugger in the game. San Diego Padre pitcher Brian Lawrence, and beefed up media darling Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants both batted 1.000 in their teams' first games. Lawrence not only went 2-2, but pitched his Padres to an 8-2 win over interstate rival LA, earning the win and a 1.80 ERA in the process. Bonds, in typical fashion, lit up the Houston Astros with three hits in three at bats. One of the juicy Giant's hits was the three run dinger off of starter Roy Oswalt that set San Francisco up for a come-from-behind 5-4 win. Bonds' first homer of 2004 counted as the 659th of his career placing him just one behind his godfather Willy Mays' career total of 660 long balls. Opening Day always brings with it hopes and expectations that seem so valid now, but could prove silly come August and September. It's a long season, and it's all just beginning. Enjoy the ride.

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News

Tighter security, higher ticket costs for Senior Week

April 6

The Office of Student Activities (OSA) is taking steps to curb student complaints and ticket forgeries ahead of next month's release of Senior Week tickets. There will also be a greater police presence than in previous years to prevent any problems. "More police will be in attendance so that people can still wait on line, and the seniors can still have their fun and stay up all night [to wait for tickets]," Programming Board Co-Chair and Senior Class Council member Caroline Postel said. Tufts University Police Department Captain Mark Keith was unable to give any details on the new security measures, but he said he intends "to speak with [Assistant Director of Student Activities Ed Cabellon] in the near future to discuss ways to improve the process for this year." Any ticket forgeries for Senior Week events will also be treated with higher penalties this year. "This year, if you're caught with forged tickets, there will be serious consequences, [ranging] from a fine to not walking at graduation," Cabellon said. "The seniors have one more week to follow the rules, we do this for them and there is a lot of work involved for us." As in past years, ticket sales will take place in "deli style" fashion, where students line up to receive a number and may purchase tickets for remaining available events when their number is called. But the venue for ticket sales has been moved from Cohen Auditorium to Cousens Gymnasium to accommodate the long line of students that typically wait for hours -- even camping out the night ahead -- before tickets go on sale. "The problem last year was that when we came out in the morning to hand out numbers, the crowds ran at us as soon as we opened the door," Cabellon said. "People at the front of the line, who had been waiting the longest, didn't get the first numbers because people at the middle pushed to the front," he said. While all students eventually received tickets and there were no reported injuries, many students said the process was unfair. Cabellon said the new location will also be more isolated and allow for a greater police presence. President Larry Bacow "has asked us to do the lottery at Cousens so that it will be away from the center of campus," Cabellon said. In response to ticket forgeries at senior events last semester, the OSA changed the Senior Week ticket designs. Between 60 and 80 fake tickets were used at the door of a senior pub night event in Harvard Square. Cabellon declined to give details about the new tickets. "We have had special tickets made for the events, with checks and balances put in place," he said. "Let's put it this way," Cabellon added, "if students can manage to forge these tickets, then they deserve to get in." The new tickets' design and increased security makes them slightly more expensive that last year's tickets. "We chose to go the route that would least affect the seniors," Cabellon said. Activities for this year's Senior Week include a Six Flags trip with 200 available tickets at $30 each; a Senior Moonlit Cruise with a capacity of 600 at $30 each; a Foxwoods Casino Trip for 200 at $15 each; a Red Sox game for 250 at $24; and the formal Senior Gala at the Boston Park Plaza for 1500 at $60 each. The full schedule will be available through the Student Services website this week, along with the ticket sales policy and the mandatory Social Week Policy, which all seniors must sign and hand in when they buy tickets. Ticket sales begin May 4.

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News

It's Baseball Time

April 5

As baseball season's first week rolls on, every guy on campus is looking for a way to pretend he's in the big leagues. Many of you will fish out your glove from behind the window fan in your closet and head outside for a game of catch with your buddies. If you are in this category, go back inside immediately because it's 30-below outside and it's not like playing pickle on the President's Lawn is going to trim that gut that you've been building up since the ALCS. Many of you will head down to Huskins Field to watch the Jumbos take on some other dinky Division III school. If you're hoping to relive your childhood memories of little league and make sarcastic comments, like "I would have taken that throw on a short-hop," this option won't exactly work either. Not only were you never good enough to make that grab, but you pretending you could have made the squad if you had felt like it just insults the intelligence of everybody around you. Many of you will put away that Madden CD and break out MLB MVP 2004 for your X-Box. You sure won't be playing it on your computer because those bastards at EA make you buy a special controller for this year's edition. Even on X-Box, a baseball game can only get you grooved for April baseball for a couple days, because pretty soon that permanently high freshman down the hall will be kicking everybody's ass like nobody's business. So what's the solution? What can you do for hours on end to get jacked about the Rockies having the majors' oldest roster or the Braves selling their last chance in this era to have a prayer at a chance a decade from now? The answer is simple: a baseball movie. Not just any baseball movie, though. This has got to be one that you can watch over and over. One that you can watch with your roommate, one that you can watch in big groups, one that you can watch with that special someone. "Bull Durham" usually tops everybody's list, but if I want to picture myself throwing down with Pujols or Helton, there's no way I want to be watching some washed-up never-has-been, a jerk-off with a cannon for an arm, and the team prostitute stab each other in the back for two hours. "The Natural" is always a solid choice as well, but if I want to see a down-on-his-luck hero with a lucky bat, I'd much rather watch the "Simpsons" spoof where Mr. Burns buys all the pros right before the final game and Homer ends up getting beaned with the bases loaded to bring in the winning run. "Major League" is hilarious, but nobody I ever played with was that crazy. "Field of Dreams" is nice and spiritual, but let's be honest, this is the same guy who made "Waterworld." "A League of Their Own" has some great performances by Tom Hanks, Rosie O'Donnell, and Madonna, but something about "Come to Theta Chi for a pledge party -- we're watching World War II-era women assert their role in society" doesn't sound right. So there's only one possibility: "The Sandlot." "The Sandlot" is, hands down, the best baseball movie for any time of day, any time of year -- especially for shaking off that off-season depression. For one thing, it was directed by David Evans, the same guy who made "First Kid" -- you know, that movie about the president's son with Sinbad. And if anything says track record, it's getting a desperate, overweight stand-up comedian to play second fiddle to some punk kid in a movie that's going straight to video. Not only that, you've got Scotty Smalls -- the classic new kid in town who makes friends by playing baseball and learns baseball from his new friends -- and Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez -- the one guy from everybody's little league team that you knew was going to go on and play D-I ball. Add to that Yeah Yeah, Ham, Squints, DeNu¬ez, Timmy and Tommy, and you've got yourself a cast of child-actor all-stars. What a shame not a single one of these guys ever had another successful movie, or, in most cases, any movie at all. Finally, there's Denis Leary as the asshole stepfather -- can't you just see Denis Leary being this guy in real life? -- and Mr. Darth Vader himself, James Earl Jones, as the owner of the biggest, baddest St. Bernard on the planet, The Beast. From the scene where Squints makes out with the lifeguard, Wendy Peffercorn, during CPR, to the insult contest where Ham tells the pretty-boy on the bike that he plays ball like a girl, to the scene at the carnival where the whole team yacks like fire hydrants from the tilt-a-whirl after throwing down a wad of chewing tobacco, "The Sandlot" is a blast all the way through. So before you leave for the second night of Passover Seder tonight, go rent "The Sandlot." Besides, if Ethan can spend two weeks telling you to watch some skiing movie as spring is starting, why can't I get you to make out with your lady friend while thinking about Ham's best comeback, "You mix your Wheaties with your mama's toe jam?" Oh yeah, I almost forgot. F-O-R-E-V-E-R, F-O-R-E-V-E-R, F-O-R-E-V-E-R.

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News

A fate worse than death

April 5

Movies shouldn't need instruction booklets. As a storytelling device, films should not be so utterly confusing that they detract from their inherent entertainment and artistic value. And as a work of art, well, I wouldn't really consider "Hellboy" art. "Hellboy" is the newest offering in the latest Hollywood craze: comic book adaptations. Its source material is Mike Mignola's series of graphic novels, which are published by Dark Horse Comics, though not nearly as well known as Marvel's "Spiderman" and "X-Men" series. And overcoming this cult popularity in order to produce a mainstream movie is director/screenwriter Guillermo del Toro's biggest challenge -- one that he falls depressingly short of meeting. It's as if del Toro is trying to play catch-up with his audience by cramming tomes of comic book lore into a two-hour movie while still providing crowd-pleasing action sequences. The former technique obscures any "coolness" or joy derived from the latter, effectively making "Hellboy" a fiery dud. The film begins with a flashback to World War II Scotland, where Professor Trevor Broom (John Hurt) is leading a platoon of American GIs on a mission to prevent a paranormal catastrophe of grave consequences. From there on, it becomes more and more ridiculous and bizarre. Apparently the Nazis have found a way to open a porthole to another dimension in which the "Seven Gods of Chaos" are waiting to bring the apocalypse upon the unsuspecting Allied Forces. Foiled by the Americans, the porthole is closed, but not before letting a small red demon through. Professor Broom takes in the horned man/dog as a son of his own, with the adopted name Hellboy. Fast forward to the future, in which the now grown Hellboy (Ron Pearlman) lives and works for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), a covert branch of the FBI. When not scarfing down Baby Ruth bars, this colossal, blood red, horned and super strong demon protects the Earth from other evil supernatural beings. Seems like your normal superhero/comic book character modusoperandi. Except this one has the brain and maturity of an adolescent, which is all part of Pearlman's enticing and sympathetic portrayal of the titular character. Hellboy is a big brute on the outside while an unrelenting romantic on the inside. Pearlman is without a doubt the only redeeming quality of the film, as his cigar-smoking and wisecracking personality adds a personal layer to a movie otherwise devoid of human characters. Joined by fellow paranormal-ite swamp creature Abe Sapien, who is voiced by David Hyde Pierce, Hellboy and the BPRD's newest foe is the same one Broom faced back in the 1940s. By some screwy "only in the comics" logic, the man destined to bring Armageddon to Earth is Grigory Rasputin, the legendary Russian monk. The man, who probably isn't human and can't die, has some sort of Agent Smith-like ability to enter any room at any time. But his character is so poorly developed and his supernatural abilities puzzlingly unexplained that the entire "doomsday" threat is laughably un-menacing. Rasputin has summoned a voracious hellhound named Sammael to aid his path to worldly destruction. In the first awe-inspiring fight scene between Sammael and Hellboy, the hero uses himself to conduct electricity by touching the "third rail" in the New York subway and fries the beast. Hellboy emerges from this vicious battle joking, "I'm fireproof. You're not." When audience learns that two beasts emerge from each one Hellboy kills however, his prospects for saving the globe seem distant. Yet, everything turns out hunky-dory in the end (right, like you didn't see that coming) and it's a spectacular let-down. When he's not electrocuting demon dogs, Hellboy wracks his mind contemplating his devotion to childhood sweetheart and BPRD fighter Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), now in exile at a mental institution. His unrequited love leads him on nightly excursions into the public, causing many "Bigfoot"-esque sightings, much to the ire of FBI director Dr. Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor). So in hopes of quelling the beast's dalliances with the tabloids, the bureau enlists the help of Agent John Myers (Rupert Evans) as Hellboy's babysitter. Except Myers looks more like the kid thrown into a locker in high school than your J. Edgar Hoover G-Man. Evans has the baby-face and Pearlman the babies' brain, and the two are a mismatched and uncomfortable twosome. The blockbuster successes of "Spiderman" and "X-Men" were largely because directors Sam Raimi and Bryan Singer, respectively, were able to intertwine the expectations of comic book geeks and casual moviegoers alike. The devoted fans found solace in a faithful film adaptation replete with inside jokes only they and their peers would understand. Those looking for a fun action flick were also rewarded with a plot simplistic enough to follow yet mysterious enough to want to know more. In "Hellboy," Guillermo del Toro found a dynamic character and an actor to portray him, but was unable to find that magical balance that makes a great comic book into an amazing movie.

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News

Hooking up

April 5

While I agree with Jack Grimes ("Hook up culture" March 30) that sex is an intimate act that is always more than just physical touching, I do not agree with his statement that "the real sexual power a woman has is to refuse to give away sex until the man has proved his commitment to her." First, this statement presents sex as a tool for power, not a sign of intimacy. Power struggles can ruin relationships, and using sex for power is a problem in sexual abuse and rape. Secondly, the statement portrays sex as a reward for displays of commitment from males. The problem with guys believing this is that some will fake commitment or expect to "get some" after a few dates. Furthermore, it insults males by implying that they're no more than dogs who need the reward of a bone to commit. Lastly, sexual power is not about using sex to manipulate others; it's about being comfortable with your sexuality. Saying that women's sexual power comes from having or not having sex with men implies that women's power depends on men and that lesbians have no "real sexual power." I also disagree that women "liberating their sexuality and owning their miniskirt" supports the hook-up culture. Acknowledging your sexuality is different from believing that sexual expertise/virility/empowerment comes from hook-ups, which "used to be said mostly by men". The double-standard that men could sleep around but not women was challenged by feminism with people demanding that men view women as equals and not household slaves for sex and other things. However, some women decided to end the double-standard by sleeping around as well. So to stop hook-up culture, let's remind people to use that large part of the brain called the frontal cortex, which is for judgment and controlling impulses, and get students to ask their friends, "You gonna ask someone out?" rather than, "You gonna hook-up tonight?" Nina Lee LA '07

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News

Top Jumbo cyclists succeed despite crash

April 5

Sophomore Olivia Jaras and senior Matt Dysart in the B and D divisions, respectively, were the top individual Jumbo performers despite enduring potentially race-ending crashes at different points on the track. Jaras placed ninth out of 42 racers, and earned the team 11 points. This was despite a crash that occurred at the second turn of the race that had been a tricky spot all day for the competitors. "Two Harvard girls in front of me crashed, and I flew over them into the hay bales [set up along the track]," Jaras said. "I had to chase because I was past my eighth lap. My goal was to finish in the top fifteen, which I did, but I would have done better if I hadn't crashed." Dysart, who was riding with freshman teammate Abe Gissen, ended up earning a tenth place finish, which was not high enough to score points. However, he did score one point in a prime, one of several bell sprint laps where racers have the chance to score points based on their positions after the lap. Gissen also had a strong showing coming in 14th. Gissen and Dysart used each other in the race in order to draft off one another, a common technique in cycling where one rider stays less than two feet off of another rider's back wheel in order to cut wind resistance. "It saves around 40 percent of your energy," Gissen said. "Loners have to do a lot more work." The teammates' goal was to get up early in the pack, which they did successfully, keeping up with two other racers who had broken away. After that point, endurance becomes a factor in what Dysart characterized as "18 laps of adrenaline, fear, blood, and courage." "You want try to stay in front of the main pack, but you need to save some for the sprint at the end," Dysart said. "I was at the front, but unfortunately I flattened at the end and [came in] tenth." For Dysart, the blood was literal, as he sustained minor injuries in a crash that occurred early in the race after locking wheels with a rider in front of him. The rider behind him then rolled over him, injuring his thumb. Despite the injuries, Dysart was able to hop back on his bike and rejoin the race in the same position in the pack.

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News

New Lecture Series to Begin This Fall

April 5

A new lecture series will focus on bringing controversial speakers to campus starting this fall. Richard E. Snyder (LA'55), former Chairman and CEO of Simon & Schuster, made the Richard E. Snyder President's Lecture Series possible through a substantial gift to the University. Tufts officials refused to reveal the exact amount of the donation. President Larry Bacow announced the lecture in a letter to the faculty. "The lecture series created by Mr. Snyder's gift will bring prominent public figures to campus to present provocative and perhaps controversial points of view... with the intention of stimulating thought and discussion that lead to deeper understanding," he said. The lecture will be yearly and held during the fall semester. According to Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser, the goal of lectures will be to spark increased scholarly discourse on campus. Snyder's donation and the planned lecture series respond directly to a proposal from the Task Force on the Undergraduate Experience for an enhanced intellectual environment on campus. "It's an important step forward in implementing the recommendations of the [Task Force]. It's going to provide a great opportunity for the Tufts community to dig further into complicated issues," said Judy Olson, Chief of Staff of the Office of the President. Glaser is hopeful the controversy will spark discussion. "The lectures should create buzz and excitement on campus both before and after they are given," he said. According to Glaser, the Snyder Lecturers will be selected for their original ideas and innovative achievements. However the exact process by which the speaker will be selected has not yet been determined. "The lecture series will bring to campus notable individuals who have achieved recognition for taking on sacred cows, for defying conventional wisdom, and for thinking out of the box," Glaser said. "Such individuals could come from politics, art, literature, business, medicine, philanthropy, or even film [sectors]." In light of the upcoming United States presidential election, some students see the lecture as an opportunity to enliven political debate. "[The website] Moveon.org is gaining momentum," senior Eric Adler said. "The creators of the site are using the internet creatively to mobilize people and inform them of issues that are ignored by the mainstream media. Even if you don't agree with their politics, it would still be interesting to hear them speak about their innovative strategies." Other students see the lecture series as an opportunity to discuss foreign relations. "I think Mikhail Gorbachev would be a perfect candidate," senior Diego Corral said. "I realize it might not be feasible, but he experienced the fall of the Soviet Union. I'd be interested to hear him discuss U.S foreign policy today," Corral said. The planned inaugural lecture will take place the same semester as the annual Issam M. Fares lecture, which was postponed from the spring.

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News

Graduate student rights: a TA union

April 5

Being a graduate student in the sciences is not such a bad life. We get our tuition waived and a stipend with which we can pay rent, pay bills, buy groceries and even a couple of beers every now and then. On top of that, if you are like me, hoping to end up as the most adored and inspiring teacher, you have the great opportunity to become a teacher's assistant, and teach labs or recitation sections, etc. You get the much-needed experience of interacting with students and getting paid for doing something you love, all while taking classes to get further in your field and closer to your goal in life. Why complain, then? Why want a Union? Am I just being a greedy ingrate? No! Wanting and demanding a Union for graduate student employees is not about complaining about my situation. It is just a matter of being able to exercise the rights we have as workers. I am a part of the Tufts community that is very essential to making Tufts a great learning institution. In my experience, many times students go to see their TAs with more than lab questions; TAs, in fact, become a second teacher. Many students realize that the one-on-one help they can get from their TAs is essential for them to grasp what was not fully communicated in the classroom setting. Sometimes students come to TAs not because they do not know how to do a problem, but just because they need some reassurance that they are on the right track and only need a little boost in their confidence. I remember my calculus TA when I was an undergraduate: she was my savior! Even though my professor was excellent and I loved her classes, the additional help I received was invaluable. As TAs, we get paid for this service we provide; we are employed to do this. Hence, as employees, we should also get the rights we deserve. We deserve the right to be able to negotiate for better working conditions. However, so far, this right has been denied to us and our work is being undervalued. As student workers, we not only have to prepare for the classes we TA, but we also need to concentrate on our own studies. We have years of practice as students: living on the strict minimum and attending every free food event there is. While my stipend can pay the bills, something as seemingly trivial as getting fined $350 for a late tuition payment can cause panic. I have to decide whether to max out a credit card or come up with some other ingenious way to get out of this or some other predicament. Constant money problems are enough to turn anyone's hair white. One of the hallmarks of American society is the existence of labor unions to fight for workers' rights. Living in America, when people are not allowed to form a union, there is a blatant infringement on basic human rights. Teachers on campuses can get together and form a Union, and TAs at other universities (such as New York University and UMASS) already have unions, so why not TAs at Tufts? Just because we are students as well, does not in any terms devaluate our purpose as workers without whom many classes would hardly function. Radha Pertaub is a teaching assistant and Ph.D. student in the Physics Department.

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News

TIE, TCI work on proposal to switch to biodiesel

April 5

As part of an ongoing commitment to being environmentally friendly, Tufts is working towards running all of its vehicles on biodiesel fuel. The Tufts Institute of Environment (TIE) is pushing for the vehicular gas change. Project Manager Sarah Creighton worked with Tufts Climate Initiative (TCI) intern Rebecca Byard to set the project in motion. This week, one Tufts vehicle is test-driving the fuel. TIE bought $100 of biodiesel to fill up two tankfuls of gas. "I talked to Ground Supervisor John Vik and he confirmed that it works fine," Creighton said. "He said it smelled a bit like french fries." The manufacturer for Tufts' biodiesel would be World Energy in Chelsea. "It's pretty well tested by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Department of Energy (DOE)," Byard said. Biodiesel is a more environmentally friendly way to run vehicles. According to the Veggie Van Organization's webpage, "biodiesel is a fuel made from vegetable oil that runs in any unmodified diesel engine." Soy is the most common source of oil for biodiesel, but all types of vegetable oil can be used. Veggie Van states that "compared to diesel, biodiesel produces no sulfur, no net carbon dioxide, up to 20 times less carbon monoxide and more free oxygen." With regards to carbon dioxide, biodiesel and diesel from fossil fuels burn similarly. Both types release comparable amounts of carbon dioxide. The difference is in how the two fuels are created. "Biodiesel is a closed cycle. Growing soybeans takes carbon dioxide from the air, and when we burn it, the [carbon dioxide] is re-released," Byard said. "There's no net gain of carbon dioxide." With fossil fuel diesel, the fuel is taken out of the ground and no carbon dioxide is needed to create the oil. There are two common types of biodiesel concentrations. One typical concentration, called B20, is 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent diesel. The other concentration, called B100, consists entirely of biodiesel. Biodiesel thickens in cold weather, making it more sensible to use the B20 mixture in the northeastern climate. "We are and will be using B20," Byard said. "There haven't been any problems with it." TCU Senator Alexei Wagner produced a report analyzing the costs and benefits of using biodiesel on the Tufts campus. The report stated that because of a higher price for diesel derived from fossil fuels, the change to biodiesel would cost Tufts $904.80 more each year to run its vehicles. In the report, titled "A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Using Biodiesel Fuel at Tufts University," Wagner discussed benefits such as decreased greenhouse gas emissions and improved human health conditions. The health benefits would be a result of lower particulate matter emissions in the atmosphere. Further, Wagner argued that "there is great potential for Tufts University to gain publicity from switching to biodiesel on campus." Surrounding neighborhoods would notice that "Tufts is taking steps to make the community a cleaner, healthier place," the report said. It seems as though the funding for the additional cost of biodiesel is the only obstacle to overcome. "The problem is that money resources are scarce," Creighton said. "We're evaluating budgets. It's not a huge amount of money but enough to make an impact." According to Creighton, with the same $904.80, Tufts "can get more carbon pollution reduction without spending more money." Also important to note, she said, is the fact that Tufts vehicle transportation only accounts for seven percent of all gas pollution on campus. Tufts would not be the first campus to have biodiesel-burning vehicles. "There's a whole ton of colleges doing this," Byard said. "I think University of Vermont was the first. Harvard just switched a month ago. A lot of public schools are using it for buses." The idea of biodiesel is not a new phenomenon. Dr. Rudolf Diesel's first displayed engine ran entirely on peanut oil. Only after Dr. Diesel's death did engines begin running on fossil fuels.

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News

Aerosmith's latest is blues without feeling but plenty of pep

April 5

Thankfully for Aerosmith fans everywhere, the band's latest album, "Honkin' on Bobo," might be a pleasant break from a string of recent embarrassments for the band -- in spite of its title. After their disheartening perform-at-the-Superbowl-with-Britney Spears thing and their shared double billing with KISS, the band celebrates the primordial beginnings of rock and roll by devoting the entirety of their newest CD to covering blues tunes, in effect paying homage to the beginnings of Aerosmith. In the new album, band members Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Joey Kramer ditch the commercial pop of "Just Push Play" and bring back the rawk-ousness of the original band -- and we're not talking pop-rock eighties Aerosmith, but the all-out "Toys in the Attic" 1970s Aerosmith. Upon first inspection, classic blues tunes take the limelight. These tunes, such as "Baby, Please Don't Go," "I'm Ready," and "Eyesight to the Blind," are inspired by their original sources, rather than from the folk and electric revivals of the 1960s. While they all have been covered to death, they're nonetheless staples of everyone and everything bluesy. Big Joe Williams' "Eyesight to the Blind" is a particular highlight on the album. With bluesy harmonica and a touch of blues piano provided by the excellent and famous pianist Johnnie Johnson, this song will force listeners to stomp around and carry on. Another spirited track, Mississippi Fred McDowell's "You Gotta Move," sounds like a dozen other Aerosmith songs until the harmonica (which Aerosmith use quite liberally throughout the album) chimes in and the sliding guitar starts up. "You Gotta Move" could easily become a hit single. Willie Dixon's "I'm Ready," although covered far more honorably by Muddy Waters, is quite enjoyable, as Tyler attempts to lower and rasp up his usual tenor and croons, "I'm drinkin' TNT, I'm smokin' dynamite/ I hope some schoolboy start a fight/ 'Cause I'm ready, ready as anybody can be." Less-than-stellar tracks include "Back, Back Train," which has vocals that grate on the listener after a while, and "The Grind," a ballad which Aerosmith wrote themselves but which sounds too much like "Crazy" or "Cryin'" with different lyrics. The closing track, "Jesus on the Mainline," is a particular sore spot, as something about Tyler and company attempting to do soul just doesn't sound right. While the members of Aerosmith touch upon Sonny Boy Williamson and liberally cover Baby, Big Joe Williams, Muddy Waters, and Mississippi Fred McDowell, noticeably missing from this hodgepodge are Robert Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, and other ridiculously big blues figures. The absence of these major country blues artists might be explained by the general feeling that Aerosmith subscribes to the rough and tough John Lee Hooker and Chicago-blues minus the irony. Aerosmith don't dabble in pain too often, or really anything other than getting tail and then moving right along, and they find kindred spirits in Willie Dixon's "I'm Ready" and Bo Diddley's "Road Runner": in the latter, Tyler sings, "When the dust hit my shoe/ I got the urge to move/ Says I'm a road runner baby". Aerosmith may not pay tribute to the blues artists that had some influence on the band's style, but they certainly cannot be chided for not presenting the blues in an authentic and modest way. For a majority of the album, the band cranks up the volume and plays around with blues-hinted rock that's more reminiscent of the 1960s revival than true first generation blues. Don't expect Aerosmith to single-handedly reinvent the genre, either. Tyler and his fellow band members simply select their favorites and get the tunes to walk and talk the Aerosmith way (crank them up a bit and add in a few squeals and yowls ... la Tyler and snarling guitar ... la Perry). Aerosmith can be ridiculous and sometimes border on sleaze, but the band's loud riffs and yowling vocals provide entertaining rock 'n' roll. "Honkin' on Bobo" is a return to the Aerosmith of yore with bluesy inflections. The band's bluesy rock will certainly win back alienated fans, and perhaps introduce their newer pop-oriented audience to the blues genre.

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News

Graduate school symposium aims to bring more attention to GSAS

April 5

A group of students and faculty met for the eighth Annual Graduate Student Symposium on Saturday. The Symposium consisted of 13 presentations from students representing departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Robin Kanarek said the event was an opportunities for faculty and students to learn about graduate work. "I would say this event was very successful," graduate student and event co-chair Ryan Hughes said. "It is also a great opportunity for undergraduates to see what's going on in the graduate community." "This event is designed to showcase graduate student research and allow professors to learn more about other departments' work. Often they only know about their department," said graduate student and event co-chair Amanda Pavlick. Biomedical engineer Chengyuan Wu won first place for his work on the formulation of an approach for the detection of epileptic seizure activity and epilepsy. Second place went to History graduate student Gweyne Langley for her research on the structure of the immigrant community in Patterson, N.J. in 1910. "I was surprised that I got second," Langley said after receiving her award. "Overall, I thought it was a really good experience and good practice. I liked that the presentations were from so many different fields." Kristian Demary from Biology and Tad Brunye from Psychology received third and fourth place, respectively. "The participation in the Symposium by graduate students has been excellent," Kanarek said. "However, I will admit that I would like to see more faculty in attendance at the Symposium." She cited the fact that the event is always held on a Saturday as a reason why it is difficult for faculty members to attend. The lack of faculty support is seen as one symptom of a larger discussion of the graduate programs' students and programs fighting for attention from undergraduate students. "Tufts is recognized as one of the top undergraduate schools in the country," Dean Kanarek said, "and I think that its reputation of undergraduate education indeed may overshadow some of the outstanding graduate programs that we have." In response, administrators would like to see more interest in graduate programs. Kanarek said the Graduate Student Research Symposium is one way the school can achieve this goal. The symposium contestants represented departments including Child Development, Electrical Engineering, Drama and Philosophy. Four judges reviewed the presenters. The event was sponsored by the Tufts Arts, Sciences and Engineering Graduate Student Council.

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News

Jumbo sails dominate the Charles

April 5

Rainy weather and chilly spring temperatures couldn't stop the co-ed sailing team from continuing its winning ways. After finishing first at the Atlantic Coast Monotype Invitational last week, the co-ed team finished second out of 14 boats at the Boston Dinghy Club Cup last weekend. The women's team also competed, finishing seventh out of 14 at the Women's Duplin Trophy. The events were hosted by Harvard and Tufts, respectively. Sailing on the Charles River in Boston, the co-ed team was looking for a high finish going in. "We were expecting to finish in the top three," senior women's captain AJ Crane said. "Especially sailing on the Charles because we're familiar with it. We were hoping to win." Crane and crewmate Kristen Tysell sailed in the co-ed regatta despite finishing first at last year's women's nationals. Crane said that this shift indicated a greater focus on the co-ed team. The wind on Saturday was medium to light, conditions which generally benefit Tufts. Practicing on Mystic Lake has made Tufts' sailors more adept at negotiating lighter winds than teams that practice on rivers or in the ocean. "As a whole, the team generally does well in those conditions," Crane said. "We're physically a pretty small team, so we do better than some others." Racing was cancelled on Sunday due to bad weather and a lack of wind, costing Tufts a chance to catch Harvard for first place. "We would have liked to sail on Sunday, to maybe catch Harvard," Crane said. "We were down [39] points, which is a lot to make up, but I think we could have won our division." Crane and Tysell ended up finishing ten points behind Harvard for first place in their division, 48-58. They were hurt by a disqualification in the second race for hitting another boat after having led the race early on. The disqualification gave them 16 points. Tufts finished in the top three in all four divisions, and senior captain Joel Hanneman and junior Elizabeth Haddad won their division with 39 points. Overall, Tufts finished with 200 points, second behind Harvard's 161. In the women's regatta, Tufts finished seventh with 105 points, despite finishing sixth in each of the two divisions. Dartmouth placed first, winning both divisions and finishing with 55 points. Sailing was cancelled on Sunday for the women as well due to a lack of wind. The women's team is racing next week in FJ's at the Women's President's Trophy at Boston University. The co-ed team is hosting the Friis Trophy Team Race.

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News

State of Senate address recaps 'successful year'

April 5

The current Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate closed the year with its last meeting of the semester Sunday night. Following intense discussion over a proposed "Academic Bill of Rights," the mood lightened as senators relaxed and listened to their peers' summaries of their work during the past year. TCU Senate elections will be this Thursday, and the new Senate will meet for the first time this Sunday. TCU President Chike Aguh gave the annual State of the Senate Address, commenting on the unusual composition of this year's Senate body. "Of the six people serving on the Senate executive board, none had ever served before," Aguh said. Yet Aguh applauded the Senate for its accomplishments in spite of some of its members' inexperience. Aguh compared the achievements of this year's Senate to those of the past. "We have started and done things that have never been done before," he said. "The biggest triumph of this body is that it's about projects and not about ego. Hopefully we can bring that into the future." TCU Treasurer Josh Belkin gave a State of the Treasury report. He subsequently received a standing ovation for his year's work, which included budgeting for over 134 student organizations with TCU Associate Treasurer Cho Ling. Belkin said, "The state of the Treasury is stronger than ever." He pointed to higher interest rates in the off-campus bank account holding TCU money. "We've also figured how to do more with our dollar, because an additional dollar is not always an option," he said. Each committee within the Senate also reported on its accomplishments during the academic year. The Administration and Budgeting Committee (A&B) discussed its work to change class registration procedures. During the first three weeks of next the upcoming fall semester, students will be able to change their classes online. The new procedure departs from the current process of using paper Add/Drop forms. Other ongoing A&B projects include the implementation of a universal FOB system, new student identification cards, a crosswalk near Carpenter House, an additional non-Fleet ATM machine in the Campus Center and more on-campus parking. Services Committee chair John Valentine also gave a long list of the committee's completed and ongoing projects. "Week in, week out, we got a lot of things done," he said. Some completed projects during the past year have included the Boston Bus, Turkey Shuttle, finding a solution to Espresso's overcharging on the Merchants on Points (MOPS) program, fixing on-campus handicap buttons, and adding two new restaurants to the MOPS program. The Senate is still working on a plan to add an e-mail station t0o Brown and Brew and the creation of a new Tufts.edu website, which should be completed over the summer break. Senator Rafi Goldberg agreed with Aguh on the Senate's success this year. "We enabled members of the student community to use student government to their advantage," he said. With a few weeks still remaining in the spring semester, senators were dissuaded from abandoning their projects. "I encourage everyone to tie up loose ends," Aguh said. "That's how it usually works and how I expect it."

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News

Yanks and Sox stumble in openers

April 5

Baseball season has finally started, and although many expected the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees to roll through the regular seasons, the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Day Devil Rays showed that it may not be so easy for the favorites. New York fell to the D-Rays 8-3 in its March 30 opener. The game was played in Tokyo, and despite the vast network of international scouts that the Daily's "Inside the AL" employs, no one was available to check out the game, which started at 5 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. So no one's quite sure what happened. Apparently, pitcher Mike Mussina was pretty awful, and first baseman Jason Giambi hit a home run. Victor Zambrano pitched fine for the Devil Rays who were also helped by strong performances from first baseman Tino Martinez and catcher Toby Hall. In the meantime, Devil Ray fans (if they exist) should not get overly excited about their team. There is no doubt the D-Rays will be better than they were last year, but they're still going to be bad. They are in a stacked division and they have no pitching, and not much hitting either. But no one cares about the Devil Rays, so we'll move on. The Red Sox performed as poorly as their hated rival in their opener against Baltimore, losing 7-2. Boston ace Pedro Martinez started off very slowly, but he eventually shook off the rust, pitching six innings and giving up two earned runs. If Martinez can stay healthy, Red Sox fans should not be worried about their ace, despite his poor spring training. But the bullpen -- surprise, surprise -- is actually looking a bit shaky to start off the season. Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein signed free agent Keith Foulke to close and retained talented setup men Scott Williamson, Mike Timlin, and Alan Embree. Foulke, however, has the Red Sox concerned after a downright horrendous spring in which he reportedly lost as much as five to eight miles per hour off his fastball, which wasn't blazing to start. Timlin also had a bad spring, and although he normally possesses exceptional control, walked two batters in a row in the opener (Timlin walked just nine batters all of last season). It was also the first game of the post-Grady Little era for Red Sox fans, and most of them no doubt felt it was a liberating experience. Unfortunately, new manager Terry Francona did little to excite Red Sox nation. There were no Grady-esque mind-blowing mistakes, but the team looked out of it. They made foolish blunders in a few important situations, such as when Pedro looked to throw to second in a double play scenario, and instead hesitated and then threw wide at first base for an error. To be fair, Boston badly misses injured shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, outfielder Trot Nixon, and pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim. But their pitching staff should be able to carry the burden and keep the team in contention until the Red Sox are back at full strength. Oriole fans who dream of somehow sneaking into the playoffs (not going to happen) must have been encouraged by their team's performance on Sunday. Sidney Ponson looks like he will build on his solid performance last year, as he went five and two thirds innings while allowing just one run. Despite their fairly strong showing in the opener, the bullpen is going to be a weakness for Baltimore, and so is their lack of depth in the starting rotation. But O's fans had to enjoy seeing catcher Javy Lopez swing the bat like he did all last season for the Atlanta Braves. If Lopez can somehow match his production from last year, then he would be an incredible bargain, though that seems unlikely. The other new additions also did their part, as shortstop Miguel Tejada and first baseman Rafael Palmeiro both had two hits. The most important thing to remember about opening day is that it doesn't matter. It's a long season. The Red Sox had a devastating opening day loss last year but it had no effect on the rest of their season. Derek Jeter dislocated his shoulder on opening day last year for New York, but he came back to help lead them to the playoffs. So in conclusion, you could probably just forget everything you just read, except the part about the Devil Rays being bad. You should remember that just so you don't go around praising the D-Rays, because people will laugh at you. Got that? Opening day doesn't matter, and the Devil Rays are bad. Play ball!

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News

Checking up on the Senate

April 5

The 2003-2004 Tufts Community Union Senate met for the last time on Sunday with a lot to look back on. In September the Senate sat down for its first meeting with president Chike Aguh, and Senator Randy Newsom told the Daily that this senate "truly wants to be inclusive and not the pompous and elitist administrative puppets I think people have seen in the past." The Senate tried, but it didn't succeed. The creation of a Progress Tracker on the website was promising, but poor promotion meant that most students have never heard of it. And those who do check it out will come across entries such as this one from October 27, 2003 about the Light on the Hill Award: "In Progress -- Chike Aguh." As for the rest of the Senate's endeavors: On the positive side: The free student shuttle into Boston on weekends that started in February has been popular and provided students with another social outlet. The NQR Winter Carnival was well planned, but foiled by a snowstorm. Fall Ball, held in the Gantcher Center to replace Fall Fest, was a success. Senate dialogue with administrators, TUPD, and Somerville Police Department has been vital in protecting student's right to socialize. Following student survey data, the senate helped push the administration to implement electronic add/drop procedures for next school year. The additional bike rack installed at the Police Station was desperately needed. Debitek machines do need to be improved, and constant Senate oversight is pushing Dining Services to install better functioning machines. On the negative side: The Outreach and Constituency bylaws passed in October were scarcely implemented. How many students were actually aware that their class senator held meetings? Survey data indicated that students wanted an email station in Brown & Brew, and the Senate said that it would be installed by the end of February. Where is it? The Brown and Blue initiative. The Shuttle Tracker proposal is a waste of money that will not make the shuttle faster. The permanent candlelight vigil. Did they forget that we already have the very permanent Memorial Steps? The failures show that the Senate, despite its best intentions, is still insulated from the wishes of the student body and self-absorbed in its own pet projects. Candidates for next year's senate, and especially for senate president, should better implement the outreach efforts started by this year's senate.

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News

Somerville Housing in Crisis

April 5

As a struggling college student approaching my junior year at Tufts, I understand the strife associated with finding an affordable off-campus apartment in the Medford-Somerville area. Luckily, I have the benefit of parents who are willing to help support me financially. For elderly persons, families, and single workers in Somerville, however, the rising costs of housing are putting many citizens at risk of being "priced out" of their homes. Somerville is no longer a haven for the working-class, but rather it is becoming a new home to Boston professionals and academics. With rents rising and residential subsidies expiring, many citizens of Somerville are fighting to retain their affordable housing. As citizens of Medford and Somerville, I urge Tufts students to join community organizations and help to put an end to the affordable housing crisis plaguing the area. Somerville is the most densely populated city in Middlesex County, making it an "urban suburb" of Boston. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the median family income is somewhere in the mid-$30,000 range; the average worth of a home in the city, however, is approximately $275,100. Two and three family houses are the most common type of housing in Somerville. Only 31 percent of people in the city own homes, making the rights, issues, concerns of tenants particularly important to the majority of residents. Western Somerville contains what is considered to be "higher quality" housing than the eastern section of the city. West Somerville is less densely populated and considered to be "safer" than East Somerville. Not surprisingly, Tufts University is located in West Somerville. Because of the proximity of many houses to campus, the land values of homes around Tufts increase and students of the University are often willing and able to pay such high rents. Rents in the Davis and Porter Square areas are much higher than those in the eastern portion of the city. Monthly rents in some areas of West Somerville, particularly near the University, are as high as $1,400-$2,000 for a two to three bedroom apartment. The areas surrounding Union Square and the eastern borders of Cambridge and Charlestown are often considered the "less desirable" sections of the city. Many of the subsidized housing facilities in the city are located in these areas. With the lack of affordable housing in Cambridge and Boston, many professionals and students from these cities are seeking homes and apartments in Somerville. Because there is a greater demand for housing in the city, landlords are able to charge higher rents. Consequently, the availability of affordable housing for working-class citizens and families is decreasing. Expiring government subsidies are also threatening the existence of affordable housing in Somerville. In the 1960s and 1970s the state and federal governments financed the building and renovation of thousands of privately owned multi-family units across the state; the owners of the complexes, in exchange for the mortgage financing, guaranteed the government that a percentage of the housing would be available for low- and middle-income residents. Many of these subsidies are now expiring, allowing owners of buildings to choose whether or not to convert their affordable residences to regular apartments. The owners who continue to subsidize their units are not guaranteed funding by the government. According to the Somerville Community News, between the years 1997 and 2002, the contracts of 609 subsidized housing units expired; another 141 units are due to expire by 2007. In an attempt to save the affordable and subsidized housing in Somerville, many residents have organized to protect tenants' rights. Because of their effective community mobilization, the Mystic Tenant Association and the Clarendon Hill Tenant Association are two particularly strong, local organizations fighting to preserve affordable housing in Somerville. The Clarendon Hill Towers, located on Broadway, are home to more than 340 affordable housing units. The Haitian Coalition works closely with the Clarendon Hill Tenants Association to organize residents in the Clarendon Hill Towers. The Welcome Project is another group which works with residents of both the Mystic Housing Development and the Clarendon Hill Housing Development to preserve affordable housing. The Welcome Project, which was created to build a strong multi-cultural community in Somerville, aided the Mystic Tenants Association in gaining a commitment from the Somerville Housing Authority to move forward in making Mystic Housing a mixed-income development. The Housing Authority promised not to displace the low- and middle-income residents in order to make room for middle-income tenants from other neighborhoods. The Boston Department of Housing and Urban Development Tenants Alliance works along with the aforementioned organizations to mobilize residents around the issue of affordable housing. The groups not only organize to protect tenant rights, but also to promote literacy, education, economic self-sufficiency, community leadership and multi-culturalism within the city. As students at Tufts, we are also members of the Medford and Somerville communities. We are not immune to the issues that this area faces, nor should continue to perpetuate the problem of affordable housing by agreeing to pay higher rents. While many students are aided financially by their families, issues of affordable housing will not cease to exist by the time they graduate and begin to enter the workforce if they continue to be left unaddressed. I ask the Tufts community to get involved with the effort to preserve affordable housing not simply to support the citizens of Medford and Somerville, but also because we, too, are members of this community. Courtney Boen is a sophomore majoring in sociology.

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