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Campus Dems gear-up, split-up as campaign marches on

February 24

As the race for the Democratic Party's nomination for next November's presidential race becomes clearer by the week, student groups at Tufts are mobilizing for one final Super Tuesday push. The most active on-campus group has been Tufts Students for John Kerry, founded by sophomore Jenna Dreher. There are about 80 students on the group's e-mail list. Between 25 and 30 members regularly attend meetings, and a core of about 10 do all of the events and programming. Tufts Students for John Edwards was founded by freshman Luke Shulman, and its e-mail list has between 15 and 20 students. After the Wisconsin primary last Tuesday, Shulman said he has received several phone calls and e-mails from Medford and Somerville residents "asking what they can do" for the Edwards campaign. "That was really encouraging," he said. The e-mail list for the Students for Dean group, founded by freshman Scott Merrick, at one point had over 200 names, and weekly meetings drew anywhere from five to 25 students. The first meeting had close to 40 attendees. Merrick said he and his group "really haven't disbanded" since Dean withdrew. Rather than throw their support behind one of the remaining candidates, most Students for Dean have decided to focus their energy on a proposed organization run by Dean that will try to address his campaign issues. Merrick said his group will "continue on fighting for what [Dean] believed in." Dean has not officially endorsed any of the remaining candidates. Echoing the sentiment of many Dean supporters across the country, Merrick said the campaign was "not just a campaign, it was a movement to get the Democratic Party back to what it should be." Although Wesley Clark officially endorsed Kerry's campaign, freshman Allison Preiss' Students for Clark has no official position. "I haven't really kept in contact" with other group members, Preiss said. "Everyone's going a different direction now." Preiss has not chosen to support another candidate personally, but she said she has not seen a concerted effort on behalf of Tufts Students for Kerry or Tufts Students for Edwards to recruit former Clark supporters. Neither the Kerry group nor the Edwards group has made any on-campus plans for Super Tuesday, March 2, when 10 states will hold their primaries, or any long-term plans for after that date. Some students in the Kerry group will hold signs and answer questions about Kerry at an event at Boston University on March 1. Dreher also expects to hold a meeting with other local college Kerry groups. "We're just going week by week," Dreher said. "We're not taking anything for granted." Shulman said members of the Edwards group plan to pass out fliers at major intersections to increase visibility for Edwards on Super Tuesday. The group is going to do "as many little things as we can," he said. The group will also be manning a phone bank to call targeted neighborhoods the day of the primary, and yesterday some students met in Cambridge with other Boston-area college groups supporting Edwards. After next Tuesday, however, Shulman does not have any programming scheduled. "I don't think there are any more long term plans after Tuesday," he said. The structure of the candidate groups varied greatly. While the Kerry and Dean groups held regular meetings, the Edwards and Clark groups were more decentralized. "It never really came together that well," Preiss said, though she regularly notified the group of upcoming events. "People were doing things on campus, but it wasn't really a unified thing," she said. Sophomore Aaron Banks, who has been an intern for Kerry since last June, said regardless of whether Kerry or John Edwards wins the nomination, the Tufts Democrats will eventually come together to support the Party's choice. "Whoever it is, we're going to come out with one voice," he said.

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News

A Vast Right Wing Conspiracy?

February 24

As of last week, the spread of misinformation on campus was no longer confined to the pages of campus publications: The Tufts Republicans decided to get in on the action. They sent out a press release decrying Sex on the Hill, or as they termed it, the "Pornographic 'Sex Fair'" which they claimed was university-sponsored. This event, held by Tufts VOX, was also supported by Health Services and the Women's Center. It was nothing more than an optional, educational opportunity for Tufts students to learn about healthy choices surrounding safe sex and general sexuality. Surely the Tufts Republicans didn't agree with the fair (after all, it wasn't all about abstinence), but was a distorted press release the proper response? You could argue that all press is good press. Unless, of course, it is driven by their inconsistent values, lies, and sensationalism to create a controversial news story where there would otherwise not be one. The story became so badly twisted by the Tufts Republicans' claims that one particular news station called Tufts to express their disgust without actually hearing from those who ran the Sex Fair. Was this a biased station? Nope. It actually claims to be "fair and balanced." So basically, if the Tufts Republicans are able to put "Tufts" and "pornographic" in the same sentence, they can generate newsworthy claims, whether or not it is accurate. There is a certain shock-value associated with "pornographic" that gives the outside press something to chew on. Overall, this distorted report is the Tufts Republicans attempt to get their two minutes of fame on New England Cable News. Now, was the fair really pornographic and inappropriate? Or is this really a Tufts Republicans effort, or a group member's personal vendetta against liberal pro-choice student group VOX? The fair was far from pornographic, and if anatomically correct drawings of female and male bodies are pornographic, then so is every human biology textbook on this campus. And, of course, the Tufts Republicans conveniently neglected to write press releases to expose the campus-wide public nudity displayed at the Naked Quad Run, or the semi-annual public showing of porn at Film Series. I mean, how can a Sex Fair contain more porn than ...well, porn. Claiming that the University itself sponsored the events and was "promoting such a degraded view of sexuality" was the Tufts Republicans' second grand faux pas in their release. The event was sponsored, organized, and run by Tufts VOX, a TCU student group. TCU groups' actions do not represent the University as a whole. For this very reason, every TCU-funded publication carries the label "a student publication" to serve as a buffer between ideas presented by the University itself and individuals within the University as a whole. By the Tufts Republicans' logic, the University also sponsors gun shooting trips (Tufts Republicans), hates abortion (Tufts Republicans), and isn't a fan of gay marriage either (Tufts Republicans). Wow... Can you just see our admissions numbers climbing now? What could be a more "healthy conception of love and relationships" than education about our bodies, having the ability to ask trained staff from Health Services questions about sexuality, and the importance of using the proper type of lubricant to avoid condoms from breaking (which, illustrated in the Condom Olympics, was of course considered by the Tufts Republicans to be inappropriate. Is it any surprise that STIs are spreading rampant on a campus when there are complaints about learning about proper types of lube?). Last Monday night, Vagina Monologues cast members held a Vagina Dialogue to discuss some of the issues festering on campus surrounding "another sexually explicit 'sex fair,' Vulvapalooza, a 'free event celebrating vaginas,'" as well as reactions from the Monologues themselves. This would have presented the perfect opportunity for the Tufts Republicans to discuss what they found to be pornographic and indecent, rather than writing lie-riddled press releases to gain gratuitous attention. Unfortunately, however, two of the top GOPs, and, coincidentally, co-authors of the press release, were not in attendance. The Sex Fair, Vulvapalooza, the Vagina Monologues, and many other events provide an opportunity to discuss healthy sexuality and safer sex practices in a space that rebukes taboo and promotes discussion. There is nothing gratuitous about this. I think I deserve something better. I think I deserve the truth as well as freedom of expression, the great constitutional right that the Tufts Republicans supposedly supports. Amy Spindel is a senior majoring in Clinical Psychology.

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News

He's proud to be an American

February 24

As a young boy, Tim Kane already knew that he was proud to be an American. Kane began playing hockey as a goalie when he was six years old. Whenever he went with his parents to a hockey store, his pale blue eyes fixated on red, white, and blue equipment. "I was never on a team with those colors," current sophomore Kane said. "But I wanted to look like the American flag." Growing up in Plymouth, Mass. (a town with the motto "America's Hometown"), Kane was always surrounded by American history. He was also always interested in law enforcement. "Since as far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a police officer," he said. "My best friend's father was a police officer. I'd always be over his house and see his dad come home wearing a full cop suit and I was like 'Wow! That's so cool.'" After extensive research during his junior year of high school at Thayer Academy, Kane decided definitively that he wanted to work for the Secret Service or the FBI. Both his parents are extremely supportive of Kane's choice: "My dad is really proud of me that I'm doing this," Kane said. The risks associated with such a career, however, are worrisome for his parents. "Both of them are a little scared, especially my mom," Kane said. "It can be a dangerous job, but they would never tell me not to do something; they just want me to be happy." Kane's father has been influential in the formation of his son's career plan. "My dad fought in Vietnam," Kane said. "He gave up so much to fight for his country, and I look up to him for having so much courage." Sept. 11 has also been a significant influence for Kane, who lost his 25-year-old sister Jennifer in the tragic events of that day. Jennifer had worked as an accountant on the 100th floor of the tower that was first hit. "After Sept. 11, it made me want to be in the Secret Service even more," Kane said. "I think the event definitely had an impact on the way I look at life. When it happened, I opened up my eyes a lot more." His sister's tragedy confirmed Kane's decision to dedicate his life to his country. "I want to do my part - whatever I can do, to try to prevent something like this ever happening again," Kane said. "I don't know what I can do single-handedly, but as a group, the Secret Service or the FBI can make sure that they protect America." In commemoration of his sister, Kane and his family started the Jennifer Kane Memorial Golf Tournament. It is an annual event with 144 golfers, and all proceeds are given to charity. With the money earned through the tournament, Kane and his family set up a scholarship fund called the Jennifer L. Kane Endowed University Scholarship at Villanova University, the college Jennifer attended. The scholarship helps students who possess similar interests and attributes to those of Jennifer. Besides arranging the golf tournament every summer, Kane works detailing cars at Sullivan Brothers Auto Mall. This summer, however, will be a change: Kane's father, an accountant for the Coast Guard, recently put Kane in contact with a friend from the Secret Service. After extensive interviews and applications, Kane was accepted as an intern for the Secret Service this summer. "This is really my first step," Kane said. "It'll give me experience, and that's one thing that the Secret Service and any of these government agencies look for." As an intern for Boston's division of the Secret Service, Kane will be working at the Tip-O'Neil Building by the Fleet Center. Although he will have to do typical clerical work, his boss promised him that he will see some action as well. "She [Kane's boss] said she'll give me the opportunity to ride around on certain days with agents to see what they do," Kane said. In addition to interning with the Secret Service, Kane will be working once a week at the Plymouth Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison. "I'm not really gonna be around the prisoners," Kane said. "It's basically a way to give me another idea about how law enforcement works, mostly behind the scenes stuff." To explore his interest while in school, Kane plans on taking the limited courses offered at Tufts in the criminology field, such as the ExCollege forensic science course. "At Tufts they don't have a criminology major, which is what I wanted to do," Kane said. "But they [Secret Service] said that you can major in anything." Aside from his classes, Kane spends his time as a goalie on the Tufts Hockey Team. "It's hard," Kane said. "Hockey takes up a lot of time, but I feel that I do better in school when I'm playing because everything's more structured." After graduating from Tufts, Kane plans to apply to the Secret Service, which accepts applicants once they're 23 years old. "The background check they're doing on me now is nothing compared to what they will do when I apply after college," Kane said. "They want to make sure I'm not a Communist or want to kill the president or anything like that. They also want to make sure that I'm a good worker and that I'm right for them." To this end, the Secret Service is talking to Kane's close friends, family, former employers, and even his hockey coach. Despite the fact that they may be receiving a call from a man in a black suit, Kane's roommates support his ambitions: "From the moment I met Tim last year, he's always been talking about working for the government," said sophomore Jared Sevinor, Kane's roommate. "I give him credit for going after his dream." Will anything deter Kane from achieving that dream? "Yeah, I'd be afraid to die," Kane said. "Who isn't afraid to die? But I'd give my life for my country in a split second." Do you know someone who's going places? Nominate an exceptionally ambitious or unique student by sending contact information and a brief bio to dailyfeatures@yahoo.com.

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News

Tufts Garba team returns for a successful second season

February 23

In only its second year of existence, the Tufts Garba team has surprised just about everyone. The squad has traveled to national competitions all over the country, including a trip to Michigan, and has yet to return to Medford empty handed. Garba is a lively form of dance born in the Indian state of Gujarat, which was traditionally performed to celebrate the Hindu festival of Navratri. The festivity includes people dancing in a circle with wooden sticks called dandies and singing chants. Recently, the fluidity, grace, and energy incorporated in this dance have begun to gain worldwide recognition, resulting in a host of national competitions and competitive Garba dance teams. After the inaugural Tufts Garba group won the country's most heralded annual Garba competition, Raas Chaos, last year, the 2003-2004 team had some big shoes to fill. With numerous seniors graduating from last year's championship squad, the current co-choreographer and captain, senior Gati Dharani, drafted almost a brand new set of troops: 12 out of 16 to be precise. "It was really tough because the whole dynamic of the team changed, especially with the addition of guys," Dharani said. "I was a little bit apprehensive of making a new team and adding guys, but it ended up working out great." The new team rose to the occasion and returned to Raas Chaos last November in their first competition as a new team. The sixteen-member squad consisted of students from every year, including three from this year's freshman class. The seniors included Dharani, Malhar Bhagat, Milani Patel, Kavita Patel, Vaani Garg, and Geeta Pamidimukkala, plus junior Nima Desai, sophomores Amanvir Chahal, Anisha Khaitan, Neel Shah, Ashima Mathur, and Rishi Sivasiamphai, and freshmen Ameer Shah, Meghna Shah, and Jesal Shah. Raas Chaos was the first large-scale competition of any sort in which most members of the team had participated, but despite their nerves, the team pulled together and produced a performance that left the crowd awestruck. Though the Tufts team failed to retain its crown, the squad gained all the more confidence for future competitions and made a name for itself on a national level. "We were all a little nervous, and we kind of just went for fun," Dharani said. "We took the competition more with a sense of having fun rather than accomplishing anything, and it proved to be a stepping stone where we became more comfortable with each other and our skills." The squad's next competition was GarbaFest, which was held at Boston's John Hancock Center in early December. Despite the seven inches of snow that hit Boston that morning, the squad made its way downtown determined to come home victorious. The same group of sixteen did just that, shocking the crowd with perfectly timed stunts and elegant moves that earned them the first place trophy and a $1000 check. "That day was one of the most challenging of my life," Dharani said. "The snow along with the added stress of performing made it absolutely grueling. But when we finally got on stage, our energy rush came back and I think we put together one of our best performances yet in terms of energy, precision, synchrony." The group returned a week early from Christmas break and, fighting through numerous members quitting or joining Tufts' other Indian dance troupe, the Bhangra team, started preparing for Dandia Dhamaka, a selective national competition where eight teams would vie for three top spots. While the core of the group remained the same, the team added sophomores Nimit Barochia and Hiral Shah and freshman Inder Sandhu, and said goodbye to seniors Vaani Garg and Geeta Pamidimukkala, junior Nima Desai, and sophomore Anisha Khaitan. The squad practiced for three hours every night in Cohen Auditorium for three weeks prior to the competition, working to perfect a new dance which added more energy, high flying stunts, and male/female interaction, all crucial components of the judges' criteria. At the competition itself, which took place on February 14 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the team put on a near perfect performance and was awarded third place, finishing behind much larger state schools Washington University and UCLA. "Michigan was unbelievable," Dharani said. "We were very intimidated to be there because we were competing with schools of thousands and thousands of students. Placing third was great accomplishment for us." The team received a $500 check and yet another trophy to add to its rapidly growing collection. This continued success marked an end to a wonderful season of dance and earned Tufts great recognition as one of the premier Garba teams on the east coast.

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News

The O.C. is O.K.

February 23

The first question a guy has to ask himself before watching a teen prime-time drama is, "Should I be embarrassed that I'm watching this?" And, generally, the answer is yes, yes you should. Very much so. Tell no one. That's the lesson we learned after Beverly Hills 90210, which eventually got so bad that even some girls deny having watched it. But there's hope for TV addicts and potential addicts. It comes in the form of FOX's popular Wednesday night prime-time drama, The O.C. The O.C. centers on the misunderstood bad-boy Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) who has come to live with a new family, the Cohens, in idyllic Newport Beach, California --Orange County. Ryan doesn't talk much, and it hurts his face to smile. When he talks, it's a hoarse whisper (maybe he's saving his voice for chorus). But despite the appeal of Ryan Atwood, which is carefully crafted by the show's producers, the real reasons to watch The O.C. are Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher) and Seth Cohen (Adam Brody), the father and son of Atwood's host family. Peter Gallagher steals the show. Standing next to the perfectly tanned faces of his co-stars, his bushy eyebrows do nothing less than command your attention. This guy was in Sex, Lies, and Videotape, and American Beauty, and the fact that he stars in a teen, prime-time drama is probably so outrageous to the other actors (on and off the screen) and even to him that it makes everyone dizzy. This, in turn, makes it great. Who is more surprised that this journeyman actor ended up on The O.C., us or his agent? Seth, originally a nervous, comic-book-reading side man, has turned himself into the comedic core of the show. Good writing and the show's funny creator Josh Schwartz are responsible for some of this, but Brody is no slouch. In fact, according to the actor, he has fun with a lot of his lines, and as a result induces genuine comic reactions in his costars. You can also include Seth on the short list of TV characters that have made a sex scene funny, with lines like, "But hey, you know what, it was my first time, she was a more experienced woman. That's to be expected. And I did, uh, make some faces in the middle that I wish that I, uh, could take back. But I can't. ... I was like a fish flopping around on dry land. Ryan, I was Nemo, and I just wanted to go home." There are some other characters on the show, however, who can't quite pull it all together -- the clunkers, the acting equivalent of running with weights on your ankles and wrists. You can tell they're in their dressing rooms every week, minutes before taping, desperately practicing their lines in front of the mirror. One example of this is Luke, or if you prefer, "Steve Sanders II." Luke's hair, a vintage nineties cut -- ear length on the sides, a part down the middle, longer in back, falling in a horseshoe shape on his forehead -- is turning out to be a character in itself. It's dynamic, you can't deny him that. Hey, Steve Sanders didn't even have hair by the second season, (though in Steve's defense, he was thirty when Beverly Hills began taping). To be fair, it's not entirely Luke's fault that his character is a little flat. It feels like the writers forgot about Luke for a couple of weeks, and then remembered him at a lunch meeting, freaked out, and decided he should make out with somebody's mom. The other clunkers suffer from the acting disease that ravaged Hollywood in the early nineties, Melrose-Place-itis, where their characters are always angry and hunt down the rest of the cast like hyenas. The O.C.'s version of this is Oliver Trask, the psychotic and deceitful rich boy, and the result is painful to watch. In a recent episode, there was even some gun-wielding and a hostage situation. In spite of the clunkers, The O.C. comes out on top, no question. The nice thing about The O.C. is the fact that the characters usually catch who's lying, avoiding the agony of soap opera dramatic irony. Melodramas hinge on situations like each character potentially dying from a drug overdose at any minute, but after a decade of such prime-time dramas, The O.C. brings back the crucial missing element: humor. It feels like water in the desert. So go ahead and watch it, and tell people...cautiously. With Peter Gallagher at the helm, you know you're in good hands.

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News

Jumbos place fourth at NESCAC's, achieve season goal

February 23

At the beginning of the season, women's swimming and diving coach Nancy Bigelow said that she expected her team to start off slowly, then peak at just the right time and finish the season with a bang. Bigelow's prediction was accurate, as the Jumbos capped off their 8-2 season with a fourth place finish at NESCACs this past weekend in Wesleyan, Connecticut. Tufts' 914 point finish was the first time the team scored above 900 points since the event started in 2001, and its fourth place finish was the first time the team finished above sixth since then. The Jumbos finished behind Williams (1,711.5), Middlebury (1,479) and Amherst (1,241). "It was absolutely a terrific meet, it was fantastic," Bigelow said. "We would have loved fifth place, but fourth was a dream come true." In fifth place behind Hamilton after the first and second day of competition, the Jumbos made their move past the Continentals (889) on Sunday. Colby took sixth place (818), while Connecticut College (724), Bates (581), Bowdoin (541), Wesleyan (522.50) and Trinity (481) rounded out the bottom five. "It was an amazing weekend," senior tri-captain Amanda Bloom said. "Everyone swam so well and people dropped times in every race. It came down to the very last events, which was really exciting." Williams, Middlebury and Amherst were all but shoo-ins for the top three places, but Tufts emerged as the leader of the second tier of schools vying for the final seven spots. "It was nice to win the competition inside the competition," Bigelow said. The squad was led, as it has been all season, by two time all-American, senior tri-captain Mika Sumiyoshi, who finished third at the meet with an individual score (not including relays) of 90 points, almost 10 percent of her team's total output. Sumiyoshi finished behind only junior Kate Kovenock (96) of Conn. College and Hamilton third-year Brittany Achin (92). The senior competed in three individual events. On Friday, she won the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 2:06.96, .08 seconds ahead of Bowdoin freshman Kate Chapman. The time was good enough to qualify Sumiyoshi for nationals in the event. "I was really surprised by the 200 IM actually" Sumiyoshi said. "When I looked at the clock at the end I was really excited. All the hard work paid off, so I was happy about it." Sumiyoshi also touched the wall first in the 400 IM on Saturday, once again over Chapman, but this time in 4:31.33, almost two seconds ahead of the runner-up. Her nationally-qualifying time was .06 seconds away from breaking the NESCAC championship meet record. "She was really challenged by [Chapman], but whatever she threw at her, Mika was ready," Bigelow said. "She has a reputation of being an extremely tough competitor, and this meet was a true statement about her." The sprinter also went beyond her usual regimen to swim the 200 breaststroke. Two hours before the race, she cut her finger on a razor in her bag while grabbing for her towel, causing a wound that didn't stop bleeding for over an hour. The wound didn't slow her down, as she finished fourth and qualified for nationals with a time of 2:28.80. Sumiyoshi competed in four relay events as well, including the 200 and 400 freestyle, in which she and sophomore Katie Mims, and freshmen Alaina Thiel and Dierdre Cannell achieved national B cut qualifying times. Freshman Jess Bollinger and Thiel were the only other individual swimmers for Tufts to surpass the national B cut mark. Bollinger did so in the 400 IM, finishing behind Sumiyoshi in sixth place with a time of 4:39.36. Thiel was able to do so in both the 50 and 100 free events, placing ninth in the 50 (24.60) and fourth in the 100 (52.96). "The freshmen were awesome," Bigelow said. "Making it into the top eight as a freshman in this competition -- that's hard to do." Thiel was particularly impressive, breaking a school record every time she stepped in the water for her individual events. She surpassed the Tufts mark in the preliminaries of the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 back each morning, only to break each of those records later that night in the finals of each event. "Alaina had the meet of her life," Bigelow said. "There was a lot of pressure on her, and she was outstanding every time." In the relays, Tufts' 200 medley relay of Thiel, Cannell, sophomore Meghan Wallach, and senior tri-captain Kierstyn Thayer took fifth place, swimming to a national B cut time of 1:50.61. The diving squad also proved crucial to the Tufts effort. Senior Beth Wecksell and sophomore Jess Schwartz placed fifth and fourteenth in the three meter competition, while Hamilton had only one woman place twelfth. "The diving points were key, those two were one of the main reasons we passed Hamilton on the last day," Bigelow said. Win or lose, the Jumbos were spirited throughout. "Our theme was Mardi Gras, and everybody loved our tee shirts and decorations, Sumiyoshi said. "So many people came to cheer for us, even girls who didn't make NESCAC's, and some of the boys even came." The meet marked the end of the NESCAC careers of Tufts' five competing seniors: Bloom, Thayer, Sumiyoshi, Wecksell, and classmate Bridie McElroy. "The seniors really came through," Bigelow said. "They all did a great job and have had excellent careers at Tufts. This meet was a real testament to their personalities."

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News

Recent pornographic events protested

February 23

The Tufts Republicans criticized several student organizations and University administrators for their "obsession" with promoting "a degraded view of sexuality" in a Thursday press release as a response to recent sex-related events on campus. The group objected to students, faculty and administrators "taste-testing lubricants, taking part in the 'Condom Olympics,' and marking on life-sized, fully-nude drawings where they most like to be rubbed, touched, kissed, or licked," during Sex on the Hill, a Feb. 11 sex and sexuality fair organized by Tufts Voices for Choice (VOX). The press release was issued by the Tufts Republicans to protest recent events on the Medford campus. The group's media campaign received coverage in the Boston Metro newspaper, New England Cable News, Fox25 (WFXT), Google News, World Net Daily and Newsmax.com. Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said that while it is "very uncommon" for student groups to make complaints to outside press, "that is certainly a choice they can make." "[The fair] was pretty outrageous, and in very poor taste... there was nothing meaningful about relationships, loving, and caring," pesident of the Tufts Republicans Philipp Tsipman said. The display of "pornographic"posters of reproductive organs and the distribution of genitalia-shaped cookies at the fair played into a campus culture in which "all [students] are doing is thinking about sex." The Tufts Republicans' release asked fellow Tufts students to "reconsider the 'hook-up' culture on the Tufts campus" by "promoting the truly healthy conceptions of love and relationships." Tufts VOX president and Sex on the Hill organizer Judith Neufeld responded by saying, "in many ways, I think we're combating the 'hook-up' culture. Many relationship problems stem from the lack of communication between partners, and the use of alcohol. We encourage safe sex and responsibility among partners." Neufeld called the release "shocking," and "out of left field." According to Neufeld, the event drew 400 to 500 attendees to the event in the Mayer Campus Center, and garnered an "extremely positive [response] from the general campus community." "Nothing at the fair would be considered legally pornographic...it was less about raunchy sex and sexual acts and more about promoting healthy sex," Neufeld said. Organizers deliberately avoided placing "anatomically correct, medically accurate," drawings in the main lobby of the Campus Center, and opted instead for the more discrete conference room downstairs. Tsipman said that the release meant to "challenge" both students and administrators. He gave examples of other University-sanctioned, sex-related events on campus. These included last weekend's production of "The Vagina Monologues" and the "Vulvapalooza" sex fair, sponsored by the Women's Center, Torn Ticket II's production of "Seven Blowjobs" during this past fall semester and "Sex and Candy," a talk given last week by a representative from a Boston sex shop. Though Tsipman said he has received several e-mails in support of the Tufts Republicans' protest, Reitman said "I have not heard complaints from anyone [other than the Tufts Republicans]. I have heard from many parents -- they thought the programs were very valuable and well done. "These are educational programs about health, safer sexual activity, AIDS prevention and HIV protection. No one in any of the Student Life departments is suggesting that one should be sexually active. Abstinence is probably the most effective protection. But everyone knows that many choose to be active. Any educator [is] certainly doing the right thing in providing the information to those who choose to seek it," Reitman said. Director of the Women's Center Peggy Barrett said, "I think [the Tufts Republicans'] description of things as pornographic or unhealthy is surprising. It wasn't anything advocating sex that was not consensual and it was about people taking control of their sexuality." Junior Jon Kluge said of the Sex on the Hill fair, "sometimes the idea of creating awareness is that you have to get in people's faces. Sometimes it can be over the top, but at least we can be open about these issues." Other students did not quite agree. "The part where they were showing off sex toys and such is totally inappropriate for being University sponsored," sophomore Adam Hoffman said. "I mean, I have no problem with the ['Vagina] Monologues' promoting female empowerment -- in fact it should be promoted more -- but when that is bundled with 'pin the clit on the vulva' [slogans] and a table selling dildos next to V-Day T-shirts, that's not right." Jess Harris contributed to this article.

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News

Vagina Monologues ads stir free speech debate

February 23

Advertising by student groups has once again raised the issue of what constitutes obscenity on a college campus. The issue of indecency which escalated over the past week focuses on chalkings for "The Vagina Monologues" which appeared across campus grounds. Earlier in the year, posters advertised the play "Seven Blowjobs" and announcements for "free B.J." promoted a Ben and Jerry's event. Prior to the play's debut, there were large, chalked advertisements in front of Tisch Library. Included in the chalking was the word "c**t." Although one of the aims of the play is to make such words commonplace, one student was offended enough by the chalking to complain. On Feb. 11, "a student entered the library and complained about the language the 'Vagina Monologues' advertisement used," Tisch Library Director Jo-Ann Michalak said. "We forwarded that complaint to Facilities, which arrived and removed the chalking." The group of students performing "Monologues" was upset to see their ad removed. "I felt as though I was being supported within the theatre, but when [our cause] got outside, it got shut down," said Assistant Stage Manager and Producer junior Louise Weed. According to the student handbook, the Pachyderm, chalking on campus can include "no profanity or explicit sexual material." However, there is no clarification of what constitutes profanity or explicit. "Part of the answer lies in the context of the advertisement," Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said. "Leeway is given to certain words if it is used in an appropriate way." Reitman said that University policy does not permit advertisement or stand-alone graphics to remain if its objective is merely to shock the viewer. In 1988, the University implemented free speech zones in response to complaints about a student who was selling T-shirts with the slogan "15 Reasons Why Beer is Better than Women at Tufts." Academic buildings were designated "limited tolerance" for obscenity and dorms were designated "no tolerance." In response to campus and national outcry, the University eventually eliminated the free speech zones, though several large state universities still maintain the distinctions. Last school year, Reitman explained his opposition to free speech zones. "People have to be able to express how we differ in background, race, and religion, to name a few," he said. "We at this University wish to promote and naturally cherish the tenets of freedom of expression." The controversy surrounding the "Vagina Monologues" comes at a time when similar boundaries are being tested at other colleges nationwide. At Harvard University, a new student publication called H-Bomb has recently gained administrative approval. It will focus on "issues of sex and sexuality" and the students involved have already been warned by the administration to stay clear of any format resembling "porn." The Harvard administration did not elaborate on what would actually constitute pornographic material. On a similarly risqu?© note, Yale University provides alternative education during Sex Week, where students learn about various sexual issues in fraternity houses with the Porn and Chicken Society, which has brought porn stars to campus as speakers. Items discussed this year ranged from the logistics of a threesome to what is the best condom. Freshman Caitlin Johnson said she was not offended by the chalkings on campus, and that she supports the play's goals. "By celebrating my sexuality, I am not being obscene," she said. "I will not deny one aspect of myself for the sake of puritanical mores." According to Weed, the ambiguity surrounding the appropriateness of the "Vagina Monologues" ad campaign is that, "the Vagina Monologues itself is shocking, so many of our chalkings will be too." Freshman Liz Hammond agreed that the advertisements were appropriate and successful. "Advertising is supposed to attract attention, and this was just good advertising. They just happened to be selling vaginas," she said. There are others on campus, however, who feel that public places are not an appropriate medium for sending such controversial messages to the entire community. University Chaplain Rev. David O'Leary said that "people have the freedom to go and pay to see the 'Vagina Monologues'. But people do not have that choice when drawings or wordings are written on the plaza." O'Leary said that forcing issues on people in public spaces -- especially younger children -- was not a positive thing. "Some folks do not want to have to explain to a little child what function body parts have, and I do know the library is used by more than college-aged students," he said. Women's Center Director Peggy Barrett said that since Tufts is a fairly liberal campus, students and the administration must make allowances for many different ideas. "[The students advertising for the "Vagina Monologues"] feel that the value of women being able to talk about their bodies themselves outweighs the discomfort of others," she said. "The real question here is: do we want to place limits on what people can say?"

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News

What are GMs thinking?

February 23

Someone should ask the analysts and experts who have been talking up Rasheed Wallace over the last three weeks the same question that many have asked Wallace several times in his career: what are you smoking? Recently, the pundits have been talking about Wallace, who was involved in not one but two trades last week, as if he was some sort of crafty, grizzled veteran with championship experience who could bring leadership to a team. But really, what is he bringing to a team besides unfulfilled potential, a lot of technical fouls, and some nifty-looking bongs? That white hair spot on the back of his head? In his first full game for the Detroit Pistons, Wallace airballed a potential game-winning shot. Big surprise there -- he was only the leading scorer on the Portland team that self-destructed in the 2000 Western Conference Finals, blowing a 15-point fourth quarter lead and allowing the Los Angeles Lakers' dynasty to begin. What else does Wallace's career resume boast? Well, he's been arrested for marijuana possession. He's thrown a towel at a teammate's face. A former girlfriend charged him with assault. He holds the league record for the most technicals ever in a single season. In a recent interview, he claimed that the NBA exploits young black players and wants them "dumb and dumber." (Any profession where you don't need a college degree and the minimum rookie salary is $366,931 doesn't sound too exploitative in this corner.) This is the guy all the trade hoopla has been about for the last several weeks. This is not to knock the Pistons for the trade. When Wallace is actually playing hard, a front line of Wallace, Mehmet Okur, and Ben Wallace is the best in the east. Financially, the deal also makes sense in Mo-town: by getting rid of Chucky Atkins and the two years at $8.7 million remaining on his contract, it can now re-sign the 24-year old Okur at the end of the season if Wallace walks. But despite the financial benefits, the deal is still risky because Wallace has always been more Oscar the Grouch than Snuffleupagus. The guess here is that coach Larry Brown is trying to go down the list of the league's most cantankerous and controversial players, coaching and coaxing the most potential out of each of them. He finished with Allen Iverson in Philly, and now has Rasheed on his plate. Next, Brown can just sign on as the next Portland Trailblazers coach and cross about eight guys off of his list at once. While the Pistons' move is defendable, the recent trades in New York are more questionable. In the Big Apple, Yankee's owner George Steinbrenner has traded away almost every valuable player in his farm system in the effort to win every year, and in doing so has conned New York sports fans into looking only at the present, with no regard for the future. And that's why they were so excited when new GM Isiah Thomas traded for Stephon Marbury and Anfernee "I used to be Penny" Hardaway. Yes, those additions will vault the team into the playoffs and sell out Madison Square Garden. And after the jubilation of the playoff run ends in the first or second round, New York fans will come to and realize the Knicks are sinking under the monster contracts for Allan Houston, Marbury, Hardaway, and Tim Thomas. Unquestionably, it is tough for NBA GMs to determine the proper approach. Should they sell out the future for now, as Thomas seems to have done? On the other hand, if the team is only mediocre, should they scrap the current players and downgrade to near-unwatchable in the hopes of future success, as Danny Ainge has done? Taking chances to win is forgivable; thinking Rasheed Wallace is the Messiah isn't. Neither is trading veterans for Ricky Davis or taking on Raef Lafentz's monster contract, and Ainge has done both. More on Ainge's atrocities next week.

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News

A Voice for the Voiceless

February 23

I would like to respond to Caitlin Johnson's Viewpoint "Our Vaginas, Ourselves" (Feb. 23). Last Friday I was part of the Office of Equal Opportunity's training for Sexual Harassment Resource Persons. As University Chaplain, I would like to be the Voice of the Voiceless here at Tufts University. Who speaks for all the many dedicated professional workers and staff folks; administrative and staff assistances, secretaries, Dean's Staff, H.R., Publication & Library staffs, Dining Services and Facilities workers. The definition for sexual harassment "is such conduct, whether verbal or physical, has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the individual's academic or work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment in which to work or learn." People have the ability to freely choose to see or not see the production of the Vagina Monologues. People do not have a choice when drawings or slang terms are written/painted on main walkways. There are more than just university students on this campus. Some workers are very offended by the use of slang terms written or painted on main walkways. If reported to a supervisor and the supervisor did nothing, then the worker could sue both the supervisor and the University for allowing an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment to exist. I would also like to be the Voice for the Voiceless students of religious and spiritual backgrounds who have expressed that their personal sense of modesty has been assaulted. I would not want to see more laws or legislation. For many religious or spiritual persons, the body is a very private matter. Maybe there is needed a new level of respect for the modesty of all workers and students. Rev. David O'Leary University Chaplain

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News

Trans-Atlantic rift: the future of U.S.-EU relations

February 23

In many ways, America and Western Europe share a common history. The discovery of the Americas coincided with the rebirth of Europe, and ever since, these cultures have been intrinsically linked. North America and Western Europe came to be referred to as one same culture and civilization: "The West". Samuel Huntington, in his essay "The Clash of Civilizations", describes the essence of modern conflict as linked to the clashing of the different civilizations of the world, and he quite naturally assumes that Western Europe and North America share the same fundamental cultural identity. Why then, since 1989, is the gap between these two main pillars of the world economic and political order incessantly growing? Why is there such tremendous ideological animosity between these siblings? Historically, important political alliances have seldom, if ever, been consolidated on the premises of friendship or compassion. They have always been based on a more realist concept of interdependence. This fact is self evident when considering the relationship between Western Europe and the United States during the second half of the twentieth century. However, although alliances can be made quickly and conveniently, the unmaking of them is often rough and conflictual. We are witnessing this divorce in the daily news. Europe and the United States have been experiencing a decline in interdependence since the end of the Cold War, which culminated on Sept. 11, 2001, thus sparking a significant divergence in ideological and geo-political interests. Much of the problem lies in the outcome of the Cold War. Neither the United States nor the middle-sized countries know exactly what their role is. During the Cold War, these countries knew what positions they held in the world order. Nations were either capitalist or communist. Capitalist countries were subordinated, economically and military, to the United States, and communist countries were subordinated to the Soviets (economically, militarily and politically). Europe and the United States were bound together by necessity, just as the Allies and the Soviets were during WWII. However, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the alliance lost its motor. For ten years, the two members kept their bonds by custom, but gradually, the relationship seems to be based on economic rivalry rather than common interest. Europeans do not share the same fear or threat of terrorism, and the United States is mostly impervious to the perils that lay in Europe's way. Furthermore, America sees the end of the Cold War as the great triumph of capitalism and liberal democracy, while Europe considers it more as a fitting outcome; a loosening of tension, and a seal to the war-free haven that Europe has become. Another thing that fuels the animosity between the two is that neither the United States nor Europe is quite sure whether the larger European countries should continue using great power policies or if they should blend into the mold of small nations. In other words, should nations like Germany, France or England continue investing in all economic sectors, or should they invest heavily in a few specific ones? Should they invest seriously in the military and in humanitarian relief aid? Should they invest in aeronautic programs and scientific research? Such ambivalence and confusion from the leading elites in these countries is yet another factor of tension, because it brings out the latent frustration of European nations, with regard to their relative decline on the global arena, which was inhibited during much of the Cold War. Furthermore, both the United States and its allies hold each other to a double standard. America wants European nations to boost their military funding so that they can share the burden of mediating international conflicts such as the wars with Afghanistan and Iraq. While at the same time the United States declares that it intends to keep its military spending at a level sufficient to dissuade any other nation from trying to compete. On the other side, European nations have lately been judiciously choosing to oppose the United States on certain issues in order gain power as moral superiors, while also attempting to profit from the umbrella of their main benefactor. Both the United States and Europe expect the other to cooperate in their respective national strategies, because historically their goals were always compatible. However, since the end of the Cold War, given the present lack of strategic checkmating, the geopolitics of strength play a much greater role in international affairs, rendering unilateral action more appealing to the United States. Europe is now reacting to its relative decline of global power and influence, while the United States has chosen to start reaping the benefits of its undisputed hegemonic position. It is now time for both members of the old alliance to ask themselves what their role should be in the new world order of the twenty first century. Both shores of the Atlantic face a pivotal moment in their history; where each has to reevaluate its position vis-? -vis the other, while also reassessing its own identity in an increasingly globalized world. America faces the responsibility of the "benevolent hegemon." It has to have a conscience with its overarching power, and act humbly but responsibly with it. Europe, on the other hand, needs to make peace with the fact that it is no longer the center of the occidental world; and evolve from there on, accepting immigration as part of its new identity. Michael J Kastoryano is a sophomore majoring in Engineering Physics.

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News

The sanctity of marriage

February 23

Devotion. Loyalty. Love. Family. Are these the qualities that make a marriage sacred? According to those opposing same-sex marriages, "sanctity" involves none of these characteristics. It would seem to them that the only criterion necessary for making a marriage sacred is that those saying "I do" have one vagina and one penis. I would like to take this opportunity to take a look at some fine examples of heterosexual unions and how they have worked so hard to perpetuate this "sanctity of marriage." First, let's begin with everyone's favorite princess of pop -- Britney Spears. This "sexually liberated" diva decided to jump on the sacred marriage bandwagon and got married to her childhood friend for precisely 55 hours. 55 HOURS! I will not even mention that Ms. Spears was intoxicated -- oops, I said it anyway. Basketball's bad boy, Dennis Rodman, and Baywatch beauty, Carmen Electra, also decided to promote the "sanctity of marriage," trying it out in 1998 at a chapel in Las Vegas. At least these two made it nine days! Speaking of nine-day weddings, Cher and rocker Greg Allman also said "I do" in Las Vegas. Cher quickly turned back time and called it quits, claiming she could not handle his heroin addiction. And lastly, our favorite R&B singer-turned-porn-star, R. Kelly, wed Aaliyah (may she rest in peace) back in 1994 until the court stepped in because she lied about her age -- she was only 15! Let's take a moment to applaud these sacred unions. If I had the time and money, the list of sacred heterosexual unions would need its own page in the Daily. Regardless, I think I have made my point clear. Pinning the opposition to same-sex marriage on a need to defend the "sanctity of marriage" is a weak and pathetic argument. When one out of every two marriages already fails in this country, is it really logical to blame weaknesses in the institution on people who do not even have the right to get married? If we are going to base legislature on the Bible, last time I checked, "Thou shall not commit adultery" was one of the Ten Commandments -- should we also add a constitutional amendment banning that? I do not recall coming across any scripture that said, "Gays shall not marry" -- clearly, this was not part of God's Top Ten. However, if "sanctity of marriage" means fostering loving, committed, monogamous relationships and helping stabilize homes, why not allow same-sex couples who have been together for multiple years legalize their commitment? If any heterosexual couple can run off to Vegas and get married for a few hours, why can't Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, a lesbian couple who have been together for 50 years, get married? Whether you are comfortable with it or not, gay couples already have families and have been successfully raising children for decades. These families are not going to go away if George W. decides to ban same-sex marriage. Denying same-sex couples a basic human right is really just saying that the government does not want THOSE families to be secure and stable because the parents involved do not have the right genitalia. Saving the best for last, I would like to remind everyone about the separation of church and state. According to the First Amendment, the government will not endorse or oppose any religious viewpoint. With that in mind, let me share with you the definition of "sanctity" -- the quality of being sacred. If you look up sacred you will find a few definitions: "dedicated to the worship of a deity," "worthy of religious veneration," "made or declared holy," and finally "worthy of respect" (source: dictionary.com.) If Bush wants to claim that same-sex marriage should be banned in order to defend the "sanctity of marriage" using one of the first three definitions, then that is a clear violation of the constitution. Using the only definition of "sacred" that does not violate the First Amendment, Mr. President is claiming that a same-sex union is not "worthy of respect." If that is the case, is Britney Spears' 55-hour marriage more worthy of respect than a gay couple's who have been together for half of a century? Leah Knobler is a junior majoring in psychology.

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News

Investigation continues into SUV incident

February 23

TUPD has confirmed that the person who drove across the residential quad Saturday afternoon in a Range Rover was not a student at the University but was an invited guest, TUPD Captain Mark Keith said. Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) would not reveal the guest's identity at this time, despite his not being a Tufts student. "The guest seemed to have gotten into a fight with the student who was hosting him, and so the guest wound up taking his frustration out by driving onto the field," Keith said. The black Range Rover was owned by the guest and the individual was "believed to have a driver's license on him," Keith said. Witnesses said yesterday that the car followed a female around the quad for several minutes as well, but when questioned, Keith said he had no comment. The University is waiting for the Facilities department to analyze the damages that occurred on campus, and the total cost will be billed to the driver. No physical harm was done to any students on or around campus, so Keith said it is doubtful that the driver will be charged with the endangerment of students. If the driver is to be charged with any violation, it would be for vandalism of private property. Although the individual was not arrested at the time, "we still could [issue an arrest] if we wanted to for vandalism. You don't need to make an arrest on the spot. If we feel it's appropriate, we can take charges against him," Keith said. It is unknown whether or not the driver was administered a sobriety test, as TUPD and the Office of Judicial Affairs are reluctant to release much information at this point. Keith was not aware of any other individuals involved with the incident at the time. * by Allison Roeser

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News

Women's fencing takes fifth at New England's

February 23

Only a sophomore, Tufts sabrist Kat Zouein has already amassed quite a collection of honors and awards that recognize her successes on the fencing strip. Saturday evening, after a grueling day that stretched from early morning to after sunset, Zouein added one more, successfully defending her crown as the New England sabre champion. Earlier in the day, Zouein led the Jumbos in the team competition of the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Championships, where Tufts placed fifth in a field of 14 at the Gantcher Center. Heavy favorite MIT won the women's team title, followed by Brandeis, Brown, Boston College, and Tufts. On the men's side, Brandeis took first, with Boston College and MIT rounding out the top three. Tufts does not have a varsity men's fencing team. In the team competition, the Jumbos won 57 of 106 bouts. The saber squad, composed of Kat, her freshman sister Louisa May Zouein, and fellow first year Tiffany Tran, posted Tufts' best results, winning 22 of 34 bouts and placing third. The foil squad went 20-17 and took seventh, while Tufts' epeeists went 15-20, good for sixth. "The epee team should have been totally outmatched but they did great all day long," coach Jason Sachs said in reference to senior epee captain Talia Alexander, sophomore Regan Cerrato, and freshman Elisabeth Sibley. "As a coach, Elisabeth and Regan's progress was part of the enjoyment of the day. I'm very proud of them." Sachs said that while Kat Zouein's victory was certainly a thrill, watching his less experienced athletes flourish under pressure was at least as pleasing. "The small things are sometimes better than the big things," Sachs said. "Sometimes you remember why you coach, and it's not just about winning and losing, it's about seeing individual progress." Based on their performances in the team competition, Kat (10-2) and Louisa May Zouein (9-3) were among the nine saber athletes to move on to the individual competition. Louisa May was initially tied with Kelly Krause of Boston University, but a 5-1 victory in the tie-breaker bout sent Louisa May to the champions pool. Sophomore foilest Julia Shih also advanced to the individual round, following a 7-5 performance in the team competition. "Julia beat one of the best fencers at the competition to move up," Kat Zouein said, referring to MIT junior Susannah Dorfman. "She lost to her before, so we were really excited for Julia and she was very excited too." Overall though, Shih did not perform as well as she would have liked to, finishing eighth among the nine foil finalists. Earlier in the day, Sachs said that Shih and senior foil captain Christina Zahara (8-5) seemed to lose their focus a bit. "They started fencing like they didn't want to get hit instead of like they wanted to control the action," Sachs said. The sabre pool proved to be psychologically difficult for Tufts' fencers as well, as the Zouein sisters were forced to battle each other in the first round of individual bouts. "Louisa May and I are pretty equally matched when it comes down to it," Kat said. "It's just a matter of who's fencing better that day." A 5-1 victory over her younger sister started Kat on an undefeated streak that culminated in her re-crowning as New England sabre champion. In the finals, Zouein beat MIT's Priscilla del Castillo 5-1, who had defeated her earlier in the day. "I dropped one or two I shouldn't have at the beginning, but after that things picked up and I could see a definite improvement in the way I was fencing," Kat said. Louisa May wound up going 5-3 in the individual championships, which landed her in third overall. Sachs said he was very proud not only of her results, but also of how she handled the emotional aspect of losing to her sister. "I give Louisa May a lot of credit. What's amazing is she shook it off and kept her focus," Sachs said. "And this was after they'd been fencing for ten hours."

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News

Sister act, fencing style

February 23

Katherine and Louisa May Zouein share a love of Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice, as well as shirts, shoes, and a bedroom in their family's home in Leawood, Kansas. But at Saturday's New England Collegiate Fencing Championships, sharing wasn't an option. Sophomore "Kat" Zouein is just one year older than her sister, freshman Louisa May Zouein. Both attend Tufts, are sabrists on the fencing team, and live in South Hall. Kat, the defending New England sabre champion and a 14th-place finisher at last year's NCAA nationals, knew that her younger sister would be one of the toughest athletes standing between her and a repeat victory. Louisa May knew that any attempt at claiming the sabre title would mean personally ousting her older sister from atop the figurative medal podium. "Knowing we might fence each other was kind of hanging over our heads the whole day," Kat said. "Louisa May and I are pretty even, so I really don't like to fence her in competition because it usually makes one of us upset." Saturday, it was the elder Zouein who came out on top, as Kat defeated Louisa May, 5-1. According to Kat, the score did not accurately reflect her sister's talent or how evenly matched the two are. "I was surprised at our bout," Kat said. "It's hard for her, since I'm her older sister she really doesn't like to fence me, so that definitely comes into play when we do." Louisa May said that the sisters' closeness makes fencing one another especially difficult. "Being my sister, I always feel very powerless when I fence her," Louisa May said. "We know each other too well. It's not fun to fence her, it's more emotional." On Saturday, Kat fenced to an undefeated 8-0 mark in the sabre pool, claiming her second consecutive New England sabre crown. Louisa May, with her most difficult bout out of the way, rebounded to win all but one of her next seven, landing in third overall. "I give Louisa May a lot of credit," coach Jason Sachs said. "She was able to throw the emotion off and take care of business. It's pretty incredible given that she lost to her sister and still got third." According to Sachs, he sometimes calls Louisa May "Mighty Mouse," for her intensity and grit on the fencing strip. "She's small but she's just strong, she's tough," Sachs said. "[Mighty Mouse] is this little tiny thing and he's pushing the whole house up in the air. That's Louisa." Just two weekends ago, Louisa May placed 38th at Junior Olympics in Cleveland, Ohio, where she faced a pool of 109 elite sabrists. While this was Louisa May's third trip to the Junior Olympics, it was her first national competition since attending Tufts -- a less competitive environment compared to her high school. Despite not being in the best fencing condition of her life, both Louisa May and Sachs suggested that her attitude and psyche going into the Junior Olympics were superior this time around. "A lot of the pressures of practicing so much were off, so no one expected me to be outstanding," Louisa May said. "It made it really fun, and considering the type of practice that I do here compared to what I was doing before, I think it went really well. I just enjoyed fencing and had a really good time with it." For Sachs, the best part of the trip to Cleveland was watching Louisa May have fun. "Louisa's very, very talented and a lot of people tell her that, so I think sometimes she can't enjoy herself when she's competing because she's afraid of letting down those expectations," Sachs said. "I think the more she does tournaments like JO's, the higher her results are going to go, but only after she gives herself the room to say, 'Okay, I need to give myself competitive experience,' instead of saying, 'Oh, I have to do well.' If she gives herself that room to evolve, she's going to be a pretty incredible fencer." According to both her older sister and her coach, Louisa May already has a work ethic that sets her apart from most. "Louisa May has incredible motivation and dedication to the sport. She works harder than I do, actually," Kat said. "Louisa May's a work horse," Sachs echoed. "She has a lot of desire and really wants to win." According to Sachs, who often refers to fencing as "physical chess," Louisa May mostly needs to work on the mental aspect of her sport. "If you fence someone who's as fast and as strong as you, then the mind and strategy have to take over," Sachs said. "I'd say Louisa May is ahead of the game, but she's still only about half way there, whereas Kat is more like 80 percent." Sachs described Kat Zouein as a mature fencer who makes it look easy. He added that the type of serenity Kat displays on the strip would be key for Louisa May. "When Kat gets up on that strip it's pretty amazing. She just gets it," Sachs said. "She has an explosive lunge and she matches the speed of her opponent and she's just serene. Louisa May still tries to force her agenda on her opponent." While each sister's strengths and weaknesses vary, both agree that their early fencing experiences gave them a solid foundation that is the root of their collegiate successes. The pair began fencing just over four years ago, under former Ukranian Olympic coach Oleg Tretyak at the Fencing Athletic Club of Kansas City. Kat admits that it was Louisa May who started fencing first, though the elder Zouein followed suit just a month or two later. That same year, Louisa May decided to chop off her long hair-- another idea that Kat picked up on. "I guess when one of us gets an interesting idea, the other tries it out too," Kat said. "With fencing, we started and we really loved it. It was very exciting for us." Kat said that her being here definitely influenced Louisa May's decision to attend Tufts. "We're really close. My whole family's really close-knit," Kat said. "It's nice to have her here because we spend a lot of time together, but with fencing, I don't know what I would have done without her. Having Louisa May here has really been a blessing." Judging by the way Sachs talks about his star fencers, the athletic abilities and quirky personalities of Kat and Louisa May Zouein have been a blessing to the Tufts fencing program as well. "They're a pretty special pair of women," Sachs said. "And they could really be something special nationally."

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News

Cackling all the way home

February 23

When an album as remarkably strange as Liar's They Were Wrong, So We Drowned surfaces, no amount of descriptive adjectives or loosely fitting metaphors can really do justice to the sheer weirdness of the music. Perhaps the easiest way to describe Drowned is with a short, declarative sentence. Here it goes: New York City art-punks Liars have made a concept album about witches. If that sounds like a stupid topic for a rock album to you, then find comfort in the fact that Liars couldn't care less what you think. Scorn for the listener is practically the band's modus operandi. On their debut, they repeated the final five notes of their closing track for 30 minutes straight, filling every last second of disc space with a composition that surely tested most people's endurance and gave a whole new meaning to the word "filler." Liars have always been the most unpredictable group in the New York City conglomerate of post-punk revivalists. Take, for example, their name: it's just "Liars," not "The Liars." After all, "the" is a definite article best suited to preening, cokehead fashion models-cum-rock stars like the Strokes, the Vines, or the Hives, not a threesome of musical terrorists headed by a grim-faced Australian who stands at a reported 6 feet, 6 inches. At first glance, the "the" issue seems gimmicky and pedantic, but witness how difficult it makes things: "Hey, I just saw a great band last night," you say to your friend. "Oh really," your friend replies. "What was their name?" If you immediately answer "the Liars," as most are apt to do, then the band has scored a point against your preconceived bourgeois norms, loser. They Were Wrong, So We Drowned is the musical equivalent of Liars excluding "the" from their name, or turning the last 30 minutes of their debut into a stop-button dare. Liars haven't released the noisiest or even the most challenging record in recent memory, but they have managed to create the most hectoring testament to listener disdain since Lou Reed recorded an hour of ear-splitting guitar feedback and called it a masterpiece, or Johnny Rotten got rid of the Albatross with PiL. In fact, Rotten's post-Sex Pistols band, Public Image Ltd., is probably the best point of comparison for They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, in sound as well as intent. Both bands are obsessed with turning the conventions of popular music inside-out, leaving ghoulish reminders of choruses and guitar solos in their wake. PiL did it by grafting the traditional punk anthem onto the spacey, hollow dynamics of dub. Liars, following Rotten and Co.'s lead, have turned the burgeoning NYC dance-punk sound -- exemplified by the Rapture's "shake! shake! shake!" cattle calls and ironic usage of cowbells -- into a gloomy doppelganger which can't dance because it's crippled. The more people this music alienates, the better: that's the point. Keeping with this tradition, Liars have chosen to wisely emulate the bands of the past who have been best at alienating prospective fans. The aforementioned PiL influence can be heard everywhere on Drowned, but so can Sonic Youth, This Heat, Cabaret Voltaire, Silver Apples, and some Tom Waits for variety. Witches and the supernatural somehow fit into this stew too, but exactly where is uncertain. There are songs called "Broken Witch" and "There's Always Room on the Broom," and the band-members themselves announced via their website that they had been inspired by the German holiday of Walpurgisnacht, when, legend has it, witches fly to Brocken Mountain on broomsticks. Is this all a joke? Another ploy to piss off five-boroughs hipster-kids? Does it even matter? Probably not. But it's hard to take a line like "Grab your cauldron and get down!" that seriously. What does matter is this: They Were Wrong, So We Drowned is a great album because of, not in spite of, its difficulty.

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News

Jumbos drop two to foes Wesleyan and Trinity

February 23

The men's squash team endured two losses last Wednesday afternoon to conference foes Wesleyan and national number one Trinity. Those setbacks are not dulling the Jumbos' spirits, however, as they head into the CSA Team Championships at Yale this weekend. The team had their work cut out for them going into their matches against the Cardinals and the Bantams, knowing it had no shot at defeating Trinity and that Wesleyan would be a tough haul. However, the competition proved too stringent as Tufts fell 8-1 and 9-0 to Wesleyan and Trinity, respectively. "We were a little disappointed in our match against Wesleyan," coach Doug Eng said. "We were prepared for them, and there were a lot of close matches. But upsets only happen when a lot of things go right for the team, and they just didn't go right for us." Senior co-captain Jesse Goldberg echoed Eng's dissapointment. "We had real close matches; a lot of four and five gamers that we just didn't quite pull out," he said. Sophomore Spencer Maxwell was one of those who dropped a hard-fought five game match (5-9, 9-4, 10-8, 8-10, 9-2). Sophomores Tom Keidel, Dan Karlin, and Pranav Tripathi lost relatively close matches at the number two, three, and four spots, respectively. Senior co-captain Jordan Kolasinski dropped a four game match at number five. Junior Fernando Kriete, playing number six, and Golberg, playing seven, also lost tight matches along with senior Alex Busse's loss in a five game battle at number eight. Freshman Dave Linz picked up the only victory for Tufts at the number nine spot, winning (9-6, 9-1, 10-8). "I felt I played pretty strong in the Wesleyan match," Linz said. "I just tried to stay consistent. It's easier playing at the bottom because we have such a deep team." "Dave played a solid match," Eng added. "He was clearly better than his opponent and he got the victory. All of the other matches were real dog fights." The story was quite different against Trinity. "Trinity is an incredibly tough team," Eng said. "It is the most dominant team in any college sport today. No one is going to beat them." The Jumbos failed to even win a game against this formidable opponent. Maxwell and Kiedel, despite strong play were handled easily with Kiedel putting up the toughest fight and still falling (9-4, 9-5, 9-5). "We're very strong at the top of our lineup, but even our top players aren't quite up there with Trinity," Goldberg said. Tufts hopes to learn from these matches and use them as preparation for the CSA Championships at Yale this weekend. The Jumbos all seem to be in agreement that they can be a force in their bracket. "We don't know our exact draw yet," Eng said. "But we want to win our division. I'd say we are the favorites, and we are going to have to knock off the usurpers. The team expects nothing less than to win." Golberg has high hopes for the tournament as well. "We hope to place first or second," he said. "I know there are high expectations, but we just want to prove ourselves to the rest of the squash association. We're going to focus more on drills this week so we're as prepared as possible." Kolasinski noted the importance of staying mentally focused. "We're going to work hard on strategic stuff and fitness stuff this week and just generally keeping our head in the games," he said. "Squash is a real mental sport so we just have to stay calm and get confident." Next weekend will bring an end to the distinguished squash careers of Kolasinski and Golberg, and they hope to go out in style. "With it being our last match we're just hoping to do real well and bring home some hardware," Kolasinski said.

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News

School of Schlock

February 23

Yeah. So if you happened to read my first column, you may have noticed that it ended rather abruptly. Apparently, my column was cut off by mistake. Whatever. Everyone makes mistakes. That being said, let's return to our regularly scheduled programming. I went to that Robert Randolph show last week. I had never heard his music before. As part of my mid-senior-year crisis, I figured it would be good to get out and be part of the "Tufts community," so I headed down to Dewick for what would prove to be a good old-fashioned hootenanny. It was good to see all the potheads out of their rooms. Sometimes I forget what a big crowd of hippies there are at Tufts. I don't mean to use the word hippy in a derogatory way. But if you own anything that is tie-dyed or made of hemp or if you still like to hackey-sack then you are a hippy. You know who you are. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Just accept it and go roll around in the mud. The show was entertaining. Robert Randolph, as hyped up to me by some of my Phish-loving friends, was really sick. I don't mean that he was a good guitar player. He was actually sick. He had the flu. Randolph was nasty, though. My only complaint is that all his songs would end and everyone would start clapping. And then he would do like five more endings and make everyone feel stupid for clapping in the first place. And now it's time for me to finally stop rambling. Let me instead begin what will be a common theme in this column -- unfair generalizations. That being said, here are all the different kinds of dancers I encountered at the Robert Randolph show or any jam-band event: The Head-Boppers: This is the group that I proudly represent. When Randolph would do a slow song that I wasn't really getting into, I'd do a polite little head-bop. If the band started playing a song I enjoyed, I might throw in a couple knee-bends. That's as far as I'll go. It's not that I didn't enjoy the Randolph show, but I'm a lazy guy. I have a big problem standing for an hour to begin with. That's why I got annoyed when Randolph wanted the audience to clap along with him. My hands were still tired from his last three-minute song ending. At one point, he wanted the audience to sing along with Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." I was like three when that song came out. No one knows the words to that song except for the first line of the chorus. "Billie Jean is not my lover. She's just a girl who thinks that I am the one. But the kid is not my son." There -- that's all anyone knows. Now leave me alone and play. The Crazy Hippie Idiots: Here's the group that annoys me. These are the people that go completely ape-shizznat. And it's not all hippies -- just the crazy idiot ones. For instance, there was one part in the concert where the violin player in the band incorporated the theme from "Beverly Hills Cop" into one of their jam-sessions. I thought that was cool. I was knee-bending and everything. All of a sudden, some guy comes skipping past me and flailing his limbs around like he's Forquin the Little Goblin Boy. He scared the crap out of me. Unless you are on some serious drugs, that behavior is unacceptable. The Inappropriate Dancers: Sadly enough, the crazy hippie idiots do fit in at these jam-band shows. We head-boppers just have to deal with them. But then there are the people that do dances that have no place at a jam-band show. I saw a couple doing some ballroom dancing. Other couples were grinding. I guess grinding is okay. Anytime a girl will let you get up in her grill is an opportunity worth jumping on. But otherwise, act like everyone else. Conform, dammit. The Fakers: These people are dedicated to putting forth more effort than the head-boppers. Usually, they are surrounded by a bunch of their crazy hippie idiot friends. They try to make their dancing look normal, but they have an uncomfortable facial expression like they smell a piece of doodie. The fakers try too hard to conform. They need to accept the fact that their friends are weird and join me and my head-bopping brethren. And with that I'll conclude my second column. I think this one went well. I was able to cut down on the mindless rambling. Plus I was able to make fun of a lot of people. I just hope that the Daily doesn't once again

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News

Film Series' popularity helps obtain extra funds

February 23

The TCU Senate approved $8,400 of buffer funding on Sunday that will allow the Tufts Film Series to continue offering free movies to the Tufts community. There was some concern that Film Series would run out of money before the end of the year if it continued to spend money at its current rate without additional funding, Tufts Community Union (TCU) Treasurer Josh Belkin said. To avoid this, the Senate's Allocations Board (ALBO) recommended the Senate award the group buffer funding. "Film Series attracts hundreds of people every weekend," Chairman of Film Series David Kramer said. He said it would be terrible for the undergraduate community if it had to come down to cutting this "valid source of entertainment" in the last few weekends of school. The funds were approved by the Senate, but not before a debate as to whether the group deserved the money. All senators except for TCU Vice President Joe Mead ultimately voted in favor of the allocation of funds. "They thought that we were the eternal wealth, and that did not sit well with me. But they do entertain thousands of students per weekend," TCU President Chike Aguh said. Belkin said the money is well spent since many people attend the weekly screenings. He added that when giving monies to student groups, the Senate considers how much each dollar will benefit the community. The group's budgeting methods was an issue of concern for some senators. Film Series spends approximately $15,000 to $18,000 per semester on movies, but this semester the group will spend $18,750. The group's ALBO budget allocates spending of only $15,300 per semester. According to the TCU Treasury, the group had already submitted $27,615 in film expenses for this year. With funds running low, a desperate message appeared on the group's website, which encouraged students to ask the Senate to approve additional funds. Film Series has a history of running over budget. The group received $4,590 in buffering funding last year. The group already has the TCU's third-largest budget, behind the Leonard Carmichael Society and Concert Board. "They overextended their budget last year and used buffer funding, same this year. I'm totally against it," TCU Mead said. According to Film Series' ALBO budget, the group is supposed to show 23 films a semester. Fourteen of the movies are "Friday Features," which are class films, and nine of these are meant to be new releases, which typically have opened in theaters within the past few months. Instead, the group is showing 26 films this semester, 11 current films and 15 "Friday Features." New movies are shown twice on Saturdays and once on Sunday afternoons. Film Series added a Thursday showing last semester. The increase can be partly attributed to the $3,200 Film Series will spend to bring the Lord of the Rings trilogy to Tufts students this April. ALBO budgets $900 per film, although prints of newly released films can cost anywhere from $800-1,200. Kramer said the money is worth it. "For students to be able to see this [trilogy] for free is unique," Kramer said, pointing out that people have paid over $20 to view comparable marathons in the past. "It's a great way to end the year." ALBO and Film Series are currently finalizing next year's budget. Although budgets will not be final until Thursday, Associate Treasurer Cho Ling said the group is tentatively scheduled to receive an increase next year. Next year's budget had no impact on Sunday's decision. Ling said continuing activities such as Film Series was the reason why they had extra funds. "Every show is packed," he said. "The reason people [use] buffering funding is for better things, and these are better movies." Jon Schubin and Daniel Lutz contributed to this article.

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News

Accusatory e-mail sparks inquiry

February 23

An e-mail alleging rush violations against the Delta Tau Delta (DTD) fraternity is under investigation by the Dean of Students Office. The e-mail, which was circulated last week, also included a forwarded message from DTD Rush Chair Ethan Schwartz. The forwarded message is an invitation directed at potential rushees, inviting them to a Beirut tournament at the DTD house with the brothers, which would feature "a couple kegs." "We thought it would be a great chance for some, most or all of you to come down and meet some of the brothers in an informal setting," the e-mail said of the tournament. Schwartz admits to sending an e-mail, buts says "various sentences" were added to the original message. Schwartz said that the event in question took place on Friday Feb. 6, but that Rush Week did not begin until Sunday, Feb. 8. He said no rushees could have been present at the event, since rush had not yet begun. "Any allegation that there was drinking or any illegal activity in the eyes of the University by DTD during rush week is false," Schwartz said. Dean of Students Bruce Reitman obtained a copy of the e-mail and said the matter is currently under investigation. "Until we know more, it would be inappropriate to comment on the situation," he said. Schwartz said "we are helping in [every] way possible with the investigation. Our rush was clean and followed Tufts University rush rules to a 'T.'" The Dean of Students Office obtained copies of the e-mail via Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Todd Sullivan, Reitman said. Sullivan declined to comment on the situation, but said that "there is a possibility that someone changed someone else's e-mail." The e-mail address from which the message was sent appeared to belong to freshman Joris Peijster. Peijster said he had no connection to the message. He said he was away all weekend and he first heard of the message through a friend on Sunday. "Basically I don't know anything," he said. Peijster also says he has "never even heard of Fusemail," the e-mail host from which the message originated. In addition to the supposed rush violations, the e-mail said a freshman female reported to TEMS that she had been drinking at DTD and that she later changed her story after being pressured by DTD brothers.

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