Archives

News

When it is too cold for Dewick, order out

February 18

Sometimes it's too cold for even the bravest restaurant connoisseurs to leave the comfort of their homes. It's times like these when it's worth it to pay someone a little bit extra to face the cold in our stead: time to order in. Tufts has expanded the restaurants on Merchants on Points (MOPS) to offer hungry students more options, but if you don't have points or don't mind forking over a little cold hard cash, you may be surprised to learn that Medford has more to offer than a buffalo chicken calzone. And while there are lots of Chinese food restaurants in the area, one of the best is East Asia. With a great range of dishes, consistently fresh ingredients, and excellent service, East Asia is a refreshing change of pace. Offering a selection of Asian Cuisines, the restaurant specializes in Chinese and Thai, with a few Vietnamese noodle soups thrown in for flavor. The restaurant prepares Chinese carry-out favorites like sweet and sour chicken, pork fried rice, and egg rolls, along with standard Thai dishes. Curries and peanut sauces abound, adding flavor to just about anything the extensive menu has to offer. East Asia's cuisine boasts an unwavering quality, a characteristic attributed to the consistent freshness of the ingredients. Tufts junior, Nina Soares, prefers ordering from East Asia because she knows that the chicken will not be gristly or "tumor-y," a problem she has noticed with some other local Chinese food restaurants. Despite being well prepared, many of the dishes are somewhat bland. The hot basil shrimp, for example, is not particularly hot, nor particularly flavored with basil. And while light and mildly pleasant, the sauce is unremarkable. Again, it is the freshness of the shrimp and vegetables that make the dish, like many of the others offered by East Asia, a relatively healthy choice for dinner. Similarly, the Chiang Mai noodle was fresh but unremarkable. Pad Thai is a sworn favorite of many restaurant goers, and Soares believes East Asia's is "the best around." The dish is a combination of rice noodles, bean sprouts, chicken, egg, tofu, crushed peanuts, and a few vegetables. It's a take-out, Thai version of comfort food. East Asia's rendition of the classic favorite is lightly flavored and oily without being greasy. Other savory options include the ginger chicken. Like the rest of East Asia's menu, it is the selectivity of the ingredients that gives this dish its flavor. If bland but fresh doesn't rock your boat, the hot and sour shrimp soup is a great choice. It's very hot, which could be just the thing to warm you up on a cold Boston night. The vegetable spring rolls are also good. The restaurant, which is located near the rotary on Broadway, has seating inside but also prepares food for pick-up and delivery. With florescent lighting and an unexceptional atmosphere, nothing is lost by choosing to eat at home. The service is excellent. The delivery person returned in five minutes with the serving of soup that had been missing from the original order. Servings are generous, which is a big plus for hungry college students. One dinner entr?©e can easily become two meals. Prices are average -- about five dollars for an order of chicken or pad Thai. The amount of food that you get, though, makes East Asia a wise choice for the frugal. East Asia is far superior to other Asian carry-out places in the area like Kee Kar Lau or Roses. It offers a great selection of high quality food, and although it isn't always as flavorful as higher-end restaurants like Harvard Square's Pho Pasteur or Charles Street's King and I, East Asia is a great, economic choice from which to order.

---

News

BCS is not NCAA's biggest problem

February 18

The shocking situation being revealed around the University of Colorado football program should remind everyone concerned with collegiate athletics that the biggest problem with NCAA football is not the BCS system A high school student alleged that a Colorado football player raped her in 1997. A female place kicker on the team, the only woman ever to play for the Colorado football team, says that a teammate raped her in 1999. Three female students claim that they were raped in 2001 at a party sponsored by the football team. The frightening fact is that in some of these cases it seems that the coaching staff did nothing to dissuade the activities. The three women raped in 2001 say that it happened after they attended a party hosted by members of the football team at which alcohol and sex were used to attract recruits. A player took a recruit to a strip club. A striptease operator said that he regularly sends lap-dancers to perform for the athletes. This issue does not receive the national attention and concern that it should. The return to the elite level that the Colorado football team had when it won a national championship in 1990 should not be paved with recruiting techniques that are vile, offensive, and criminal. Unfortunately it seems that is the path Colorado has chosen. The problem goes beyond charges that the team uses alcohol and sex as recruitment techniques to the conduct of the players themselves. So far we only know of five women who have suffered from it. It is obvious that these actions are not singular occurrences, but a pattern of behavior. How many more will come forward now that their word will be trusted and they do not have to suffer the fear and humiliation alone? Similar to the abuse cases in the Catholic Church, it is unlikely that Colorado is the only athletic program committing these atrocities. If the NCAA wants to preserve the honor and integrity of collegiate athletics it must make a real effort to discover the extent of the issue. At the same time it must act to end both the immoral recruiting techniques and the deviant behavior of offending players. Athletes, students, and fans should start by demanding that the players and coaches act in an honorable and respectable manner, and only then should they worry about determining a national championship.

---

News

Taking back the date

February 18

By renaming Valentine's Day, the V-Day movement claims to be standing for Victory, Valentine, and Vagina. However, it seems more likely that the V stands for Vulgar, Victimization, and Violence. The V-Day movement was sparked by Eve Ensler's play The Vagina Monologues. Though relatively new, the movement has gained enormous popularity. In 2004, more than 2000 V-Day events will take place in the United States and around the world. V-Day has quickly taken root on college campuses across the country, and it's not hard to see why. The pure shock value of the production seems to be the initial draw. Scenes of masturbation, rape, genital mutilation, sex, and child-birth confront viewers with blatantly graphic material. Taboo language seems to entice college students even more. The use of words like "c**t" "vulva," and "clitoris" pushes the boundaries of public discourse and draws in those seeking to break taboos, or simply be outrageous. Even the title of the play plays upon the taboo nature of the female anatomy. Ensler spares no time in conveying the message of her play. She says that the word vagina "stirs up anxiety, awkwardness, contempt, and disgust." However, the word also has power; it "propels us and sets us free." The word makes the speaker "feel guilty and wrong, as if someone's going to strike you down," but is also "your word... your most essential place." And this central theme is precisely what is so damaging about the play. Despite its claim to promote liberation, this play truly imprisons women within a sexual stereotype and shrinks their entire being down to their main reproductive organ. Along with the rest of humanity, women are engaged in a constant search for identity, for definition, for belonging. As the director of this year's Tufts production puts it, the search for a "home." The Vagina Monologues encourages this quest, but provides only one answer. A woman must find "her center" in her vagina. As one character in The Monologues proclaims, "I didn't need to find it. I had to be it... be my vagina." It is this assertion that womanhood is rooted in the vagina that leaves women as nothing more than a sexual object. Didn't feminism used to be about freeing women from sexual objectification? With this reduction of women to their vaginas, the V-Day movement goes against its stated purpose. If women are encouraged to "be their vaginas," and others in turn see them as such, how will this reduce the violence committed against them? It seems that a more effective way to work against violence would be to elevate womanhood. Women are beautiful creations, the product of the intersection of heart, mind, body, and soul. To focus solely on the physical component is to degrade women, not to empower them. Valentine's Day used to be about love and romance, but seems as if it is no longer so. Gloria Steinem once said, "The shape we call a heart resembles the vulva far more than the organ that shares its name... It was reduced from power to romance by centuries of male dominance." Steinem and others of the V-Day movement lower the status of love and romance and their role in shaping healthy relationships. In championing ideas such as this, V-Day will not be successful in its goal of ending violence against women. It is the love, the romance, the hearts, and maybe even the Valentine's candy that will do that. What can be done to counteract the damaging effects of The Vagina Monologues? "Take Back the Date!" Help replace the campus "hook up" culture with meaningful relationships. Stop and think about what you really want. Stand up against a society that tells you that your worth is defined by your sexual activity and prowess. Value women on the basis of their intellect, their character, and their soul... and not their vaginas. Rachel Hoff is a senior majoring in Political Science.

---

News

Grad students concerned about safety, housing in Boston

February 18

Student complaints about housing and safety on the Boston campuses have forced the health science schools to look closer at their place in the Chinatown community. The Boston campus has only one dormitory, Posner Hall, which houses 97 students, roughly four percent of the combined 2,507 students enrolled in the Dental and Medical schools. Increased housing, second-year Dental School student Matt Feeley said, would not only bring greater contact among students, but would also help ameliorate the high cost of living in Boston -- one of the most expensive cities in the country. Feeley, a second-year student at the School of Dental Medicine, said at the Trustee Luncheon on Feb. 7 that he was concerned about the housing situation on the Boston campus. Aside from the practical problems with housing, students are also worried about their safety in the community. Chinatown, which borders the remnants of the notorious "combat zone" adult entertainment district, is widely considered one of the most dangerous areas of Boston. In the first four months of 2003, Chinatown saw 84 reported instances of property crime, such as burglary and vehicle theft. Instances of violent crime increased 26 percent from 2002 to 2003, according to the Boston Police Department web site. "Walking to school, it's not rare for us to see a drug deal happen," Feeley said. Feeley thinks that "more students concentrated in one area could only increase safety." Executive Director of the Chinese Progressive Association Linda Lowe, who works to improve working and living conditions for Chinatown residents, said that safety is "an issue for students and for everyone else who lives in Chinatown." Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel said that the University is already doing what it can to prevent crime in the area. Tufts representatives meet on a monthly basis with members of the Boston Police Department, Chinatown residents and businesspeople, and human service workers to "talk about everything from traffic situations, to requests for liquor licenses, to crime on Chinatown's streets." Rubel also pointed out the cooperative relationship Tufts police and New England Medical Center (T-NEMC) security has with the Boston Police Department. According to Rubel, Tufts has been instrumental in lowering Chinatown's crime rate. Rubel says that the University has a "strong interest" in creating more housing for Medical and Dental School students. Dental School Executive Associate Dean Patricia Campbell said that the central problem is that there are very few options because there is not much space to work with for new housing. Tufts has upset the Chinatown community over campus-expansion issues in the past. In 1993, the T-NEMC offered to purchase a plot of land in order to build a multi-story parking garage, a plan that was supported by the City of Boston. The neighborhood rallied against both T-NEMC and the city in order to keep that area for community use. Low-income housing is now being built in the area. Lowe said those years were "tense" but added that in recent years, the University has tried to reach out to the community. One example of this, according to Rubel, is the Smile Squad, a group of Dental School students who travel to local elementary schools to teach children about oral health. The Dental School also treats many patients from the community. Another attempt to show goodwill by the University is the Sharewood Project, a free clinic operated by medical students. It was forced to relocate to Malden, however, because of lack of space in Chinatown. In general, Rubel said that the relationship between the health science schools and Chinatown is positive, "but could benefit from more interaction and partnering." Lowe said there is still talk of instituting a joint crime watch in the community with Tufts and its host communities' residents. She says that relations can improve in the future if the University preserves an "ongoing dialogue with people in the community," and tries to relate to them and their problems. Freely said that solving the housing situation would help improve the school's sometimes acrimonious community relationships. "Building a community resource center and promoting housing for us would be a community builder," he said.

---

News

Students come to study abroad in Somerville

February 18

Tufts is known in the academic world for its global perspective and opportunities. The student body itself contains hundreds of foreign students from a multitude of nations and 40 percent of students, nearly four times the national average, spend at least one semester abroad. It is a little known fact that every Tufts-sponsored study abroad program has a reciprocal agreement through which foreign exchange students are sent to Medford. The program is small -- typically 20 students visit each year -- but they bring a unique perspective to the University, having already studied at an institution abroad. This year's group represents nine different countries from Africa, Asia, and Europe. There is a diverse range of academic interests among the students, from philosophy to political science to economics. Many, as well, hope to improve their English skills. "The college system here, I wouldn't get that anywhere else in the world," Camille de Sentenac, a student at the prestigious "Institut D'Etudes Politiques" in Paris, said. The students in general agreed that it not the difficulty that sets Tufts apart from their home institutions, but it is the small class sizes, the personal attention from professors, and the depth of services offered that makes Tufts unique. Most exchange students were surprised at the dedication of Tufts students to their academics, as well as the fact that classes have weekly assignments. At many of their home institutions, classes typically do not require regular coursework and attendance. Nevertheless, students have adjusted to the United States system. "I'm more motivated to study here. I think it's the environment and the professors," Patricia Lam of the University of Hong Kong said. Some students have specific reasons for coming to Tufts. Mario Santos-Sousa of Madrid was inspired by works on epistemology and other topics by faculty in the Philosophy department. Other students cite personal growth and development as the primary draw. The number of activities and facilities available is an attractive attribute of the University as well. "I really find it crazy because there are so many things to do on campus. The activities are amazing," said Sentenac, who is involved with the Model U.N. program, a choir group, and the Tufts Equestrian club. Director of Tufts Programs Abroad Sheila Bayne affirmed the importance of extracurricular activities for exchange students. "For them, as for Americans who go overseas, what you to in the classroom is important and rich but what you do outside the classroom is even richer," Bayne said. Taking that idea to heart, many of the visiting students have already traveled extensively, including a group-wide trip to New York that they organized themselves. Others have traveled to California, Las Vegas, and Montreal and many are planning spring vacations to places such as Key West and Cancun. They report being eager to experience the "real American spring break" despite expressing aversion to the short, alcohol-based parties they have attended at fraternities and other houses. "I was surprised at how the social life and alcohol here are so closely linked," Turpin said. Turpin and others also expressed frustration at the United States' "draconian age" restrictions on drinking and entering bars and clubs. "They should definitely change the drinking age if they want more international students, especially [short term] exchange students," he said. A more serious obstacle to successful participation in life at the University was the recent change in immigration policy following the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. During the absorption of the Immigration and Naturalization Service by the Department of Homeland Security and the creation of the new Citizenship and Immigration Service, there was a delay in the exchange programs' ability to update their procedures. No current exchange students at Tufts were affected, but many of their friends at home cancelled plans to study in the United States. Ritter was advised by university officials to look into study in Australia or Great Britain instead of the United States. Exchange students are quick to point out that their experience here has not been marked by the xenophobia they were warned about prior to departure. "[We're] kind of shielded from the real America because Tufts is so liberal," Eva Gottwald , who studies in Tubingen, Germany said. "You don't encounter all of the prejudices."

---

News

Genuine at the Gifford House

February 18

The mailing to announce the annual rite-of-passage senior dinner arrived in my mailbox without much pomp or circumstance. Although I was appreciative of the obvious step-up from electronic mail to real mail, I certainly was disenchanted to see the exact same letter addressed to myself and my three other senior housemates. "Yeah, this is nice," I thought, "but just another cheesy Tufts event where they'll announce in some circuitous fashion that they want my money." But even to this sardonic college student, this event had a bright spot in my mind. "Sure -- they just want my money... but it could be fun." I immediately got to e-mailing some fellow seniors to plan on going together so we could make a night of it. I wanted to go with a few buddies so that it would be a guaranteed fun time no matter how cheesy the night might be just because we'd be together. As the days grew closer to the event, there was a moderate buzz among seniors, and unsurprisingly, the typical college mix of skepticism and excitement continued right up to the dinner. I was scheduled to attend the dinner on Wednesday: my only available night. This sadly conflicted with the great theatrical and intellectual experience that is Professor Lee Edelman's Postmodernism and Film -- I was truly disappointed that I would be missing our first and much-awaited discussion of 'The Matrix.' Regardless, going into Wednesday I was confident that I had made the right decision: the dinner would worth it. A fellow senior informed me only an hour before that the dinner wouldn't be worth my while. I was told how fake the whole thing would be, how President Bacow would awkwardly greet each Senior by shaking hands while attempting to smoothly read their nametag and greet them personally, and how alumni would give speeches about wanting our money. I wasn't surprised but I remained certain that my friends and I would make the most of it. Contrary to earlier opinion, I'm pleased to say that the senior dinner was in fact well worth my time and turned out to be a significant and memorable experience. In fact, I believe that the whole event neatly encapsulates so many things about college life, our attitudes and our mindsets. The truth about the senior dinner was that it was a genuinely nice night during which the President of our university and his wife entertained one hundred seniors in their home. It is true that we were greeted personally by the President. We did hear speeches by alumni. But these transactions were far from underhanded attempts to get future alumni donations from the class of 2004. These transactions were sincere efforts to create a warm environment for socializing, for sharing memories, and talking about the future. On a personal level, many of my friends and I found our best experiences at Tufts through playing Ultimate Frisbee together, and President Bacow has always been an enthusiastic supporter of our team. He has attended many of our games, has been first to congratulate us in victory, and always makes an effort to check up on the team. So we thought that it would be a nice gesture to have all of the seniors on the team sign a Frisbee and present it to him as a token of appreciation. In light of the skeptical and sarcastic attitude of so many college students, plenty of people thought this was a strange move. But one person certainly thought it was a nice move: President Bacow. He was sincerely thankful for the token of our appreciation and shook our hands each once more with a spark of personal connection. This personal part of the evening was just a speck of the complete experience. I enjoyed catching up with other seniors in a new environment, grabbing a better-than-par (and free) buffet dinner, and letting the advice of doting alumni sink in. For us, as such a privileged group of students, to look at an event like the senior dinner with a critical attitude is simply a shame. To think that President Bacow is some manipulative figure who gains anything by greeting us personally is ludicrous. And to think that the alumni came for our money is just not true. Each of these players came to make us aware of the indelible mark that Tufts has left on us. The spectrum of attitudes expressed about the senior dinner shows the different ways that we can all perceive identical events. It's easy to be so "college" and call this kind of thing "lame." But I've got a newsflash: it's a pretty sweet deal to hang out in a nice house with 100 friends and eat a gourmet dinner. This is far from lame. What will sadly be lame is a year from now when 5000 stimulating, unique, and young people are not around us anymore. We'll be aching for a repeat of senior dinner. So have fun with it for now... While you can.

---

---

News

International Organizations in a Unipolar World

February 18

It is an innate emotion that has been with humans through every age, passed down from generation to generation. It is a source of misunderstanding, irrationality, and hatred. It is what caused President Richard Nixon to instigate a coup d'etat on Chilean President Salvador Allende. It is what fueled President George W. Bush to declare a "war on terrorism." It is why Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and why Athens and Sparta waged the Peloponnesian War. It is the reason behind every reason for all violent events in world history. Fear is universal. Though fear has produced tragedy, it has paradoxically also brought states together under international organizations such as the United Nations (U.N.) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the hope for a better tomorrow. These institutions were created shortly after the end of World War II, when it was decided that humankind could not continue with the Westphalian way of dynasticism for fear that it would lead to its own destruction. But by the end of the Cold War, the United States took the role of hegemon. With this role came a sense of responsibility for the stabilization of the rest of the world. However, ignorance and arrogance followed. Today, while multiple countries flourish and the United Nations still represents the key international forum, the United States commands the greatest presence in the arena with seemingly limitless power, a relatively stable economy, and unparalleled military strength. And there are people who have come to despise the United States, for one reason or another. On Sept. 11, 2001, America was fiercely attacked by terrorists, forcing its citizens to acknowledge the outside world. People around the globe ached for America's loss, sending their condolences with outreached arms and tearful eyes. The United States had never before enjoyed so much support in all of its history. But the support has now plummeted, for there is a new fear. Ironically, that fear is the United States itself. About a year after the "war on terrorism" was declared, President Bush announced his desire to strike Iraq for fear of its leader, Saddam Hussein, and the weapons of mass destruction he might have been producing. The United Nations recoiled -- wasn't the United States still in Afghanistan, chasing Osama Bin Laden? Where was the evidence of WMDs in Iraq? An uproar ensued. Protestors (followed by police) poured into streets worldwide while war-advocates in the United States bashed the French for opposing Bush's proposal. There was a great moment of hesitation in the air as everyone anticipated the next move. Then Bush did what many feared he would, an act that sweepingly changed America's foreign policy from one of preemption to one of prevention -- he unleashed raids on Iraq without incontrovertible evidence that an enemy attack was imminent, and without the approval of the United Nations. Regardless of whether Operation Iraqi Freedom is to be considered a success or not, one thing is for certain: the United States is not afraid to act unilaterally. This realization has stimulated new discussions and new fears in the international community, reaching everyone from world leaders to young students. The Tufts community will be having these very discussions at its upcoming EPIIC Symposium. Where, exactly, does sovereignty lie now? What capacity does the rest of the world have to counter U.S. military power? The truth is: virtually none. All of the other militaries in the world combined could not match the U.S. armed forces. Herein, then, lies the main question: what role do international organizations have in a unipolar world? The message now is that the United States will do whatever it wants. Never mind what the National Security Strategy says about being "guided by the conviction that no nation can build a safer, better world alone." Actions speak louder than words, and at any rate, what soon follows that sentence is, "We will not hesitate to act alone." Many question the relevance of the United Nations, especially in today's world. What is the point, if the United States does not really have to answer to anybody? But there has to be a United Nations. After all, just because the United States can act alone does not make it a good idea. There is wisdom in keeping allies -- for every empire (if you can call the United States one) rises and falls, and one day its course will be run. The United States will have to learn to coexist peaceably. But the United Nations, of course, does not exist only for America's benefit. While it has had a somewhat miserable record in peacekeeping, it has not been entirely ineffective. It has negotiated over 170 peace settlements since its conception. The U.N. Children's Fund and the World Health Organization have ensured over an 80 percent immunization rate for children, saving the lives of over 3 million each year. Every day, approximately 24,000 people die of hunger and 6,500 die from AIDS in Africa alone. The United Nations works to combat these issues, as well as provide aid to refugees and elevate literacy in developing countries. The United States could never do all these things by itself. Most importantly, the United Nations has brought the world together, if not in reality, at least in theory, which is the first step. The United Nations is highly relevant even in a unipolar world, for it exists, as stated in its charter, to keep nations "united for a better world" and to keep them from slipping into dynasticism again. And who knows? Perhaps one day nations will find a way to effectively coexist and international organizations will become even more relevant. It may sound idealistic, but if one can not have hope, all that is left is fear. Tiffany Chen is a sophomore majoring in International Relations

---

News

Bulldogs, Wolfpack, and Cowboys Go Unnoticed

February 18

With all the talk about the dominance of the Duke Blue Devils, and the undefeated seasons of the Stanford Cardinal and St. Joe's Eagles, no other team has emerged in the media as the possible fourth No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Despite the lack of the national spotlight, however, the Mississippi St. Bulldogs have put together an amazing string of wins and displayed dominance in a tough SEC. The Bulldogs (20-1) have shown themselves as a possible No. 1 seed. With their only loss being a one-point (67-66) loss to the then No. 5 Kentucky Wildcats, the Bulldogs have quietly risen to No. 4 in the national polls. Junior Lawrence Roberts has become a monster on the inside with his 6'9" frame, averaging 17.2 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game, as the Bulldogs have dominated conference play. Another team that has steadily moved up in the polls is the North Carolina State Wolfpack (16-5, 9-2 ACC). Coach Herb Sendik's squad has been one of the top three teams in the nation's best conference all season long. With its win over the formerly No. 1 ranked Duke, the Wolfpack moved within one game of the Blue Devils for first place in the ACC. This was a huge game, because if N.C. State had any hope of catching Duke in the conference race, this was a must win. The Oklahoma State Cowboys (20-2, 10-1 Big 12) have also had a great year. On Monday night, they completed a season sweep of the Oklahoma Sooners, the team's big brother in terms of fan support. Cowboys coach Eddie Sutton's squad is led by junior point guard John Lucas Jr., son of former NBA coach John Lucas. Lucas Jr. is averaging over 14 points a night while shooting 46 percent from three point range and dishing out almost five assists a game. This team has gone relatively unnoticed in a conference where the Kansas Jayhawks were expected to blow away the competition in the league. The Louisville Cardinals have lacked an identity for the last month of the season. Entering February, the Cardinals appeared to be a good choice for the fourth No. 1 seed, but after a string of conference losses and uncharacteristically sloppy play, Louisville has slipped below No. 10 in the national polls. After a 71-46 blowout loss to TCU, the Cardinals now sit in sixth place in Conference USA and will need to win their nationally televised Saturday afternoon game against the Cincinnati Bearcats to have any chance of winning the conference title or receiving a high seed this March. The Pittsburgh Panthers have also gone unnoticed for much of this season, but this team may have emerged as one of the suitors for the fourth No.1 seed for the NCAA Tournament. Sunday's win over the UConn Huskies, Pittsburgh's top-conference rival, is sure to boost the Panthers' national recognition. Even with Pitt's big win on Sunday, its loss to the Seton Hall Pirates last week confused viewers as to the real identity of this team. Despite the loss, the Panthers remain the top team in the Big East, the conference that produced last year's eventual champion Syracuse Orangemen. The Big East usually produces battle-tested teams that fare well in the stress March Madness presents.

---

News

Seven Questions with Jonathan Bram

February 18

Full name: Jonathan Bram Birth date: 11/29/81 Zodiac sign: Sagittarius Hometown: Winchester, MA (recently moved to Lexington) Nickname: Bram Favorite Athlete: Randy Moss There is nothing worse than waking up at 7 a.m. by accident. However, there are few things better than waking up at 7 a.m., turning on the television and watching a rerun of "Saved by the Bell." This week's installment of 7 Questions is very similar to that scenario. Usually 7 Questions is a one-time hit -- you get one chance. However, I had to make a special exception for senior tennis player and DTD brother, Jon Bram. In much the same way as "Saved by the Bell," Bram is a classic. His answering style of throwing the question right back in your face is timeless and can never grow old. Like Johnny Rogers, Bram is already a legend at Tufts University. And if 7 Questions can help one more female realize this, than my job is done. I caught up with Bram working on his tennis stroke while in golf class. Since his balls weren't traveling too far, 7 Questions naturally followed. 1. What have you been doing to ensure a successful men's tennis season? Practicing arguing line calls, going through the other teams' rosters to think of derisive nicknames for them, and watching the girl's team practice. Also I practice yelling at myself in the mirror. 2. This is at least your second set of 7 Questions, how has your life changed since the first set? A better question is, how did my answers change The Tufts Daily? 3. What is the wildest story you have to tell now that DTD is back open? Elliott, I walk softly and carry a big stick. 4. I think, between the two of us, we have the worst strokes in Bob Sheldon's golf class. However, you have taken the class before, so why has there been little to no improvement in your game? Well, speak for yourself Elliott, but the number of swings on my club says I got more game than you do. 5. Being from Mass, I'm sure you are a big Red Sox fan, do you have anything to say about this A-Rod deal? Pats won the Super Bowl. Again. >6. With graduation looming in May, how do you want fellow students to remember you? Most Tufts students have their own special memory of Jon Bram, and I won't try to change that. If they don't yet, I hope they just remember me as the enthusiastic, smiling, funny guy that I am. 7. If college was a tennis match what would the score be? Game Bram: Jon Bram: 1 -- Tufts University: 0. By Elliott Wiley, Jr.

---

News

Men's track shines in unscored meet

February 17

Fortunately for the Jumbos' opponents, Saturday's Tufts Stampede track meet at the Gantcher Center was a non-scoring meet. Rather than focusing on points, the men's track and field team used the respite from team scoring to produce qualifying efforts and break personal records in almost every event as a warm-up for this weekend's upcoming Division III New England Championship at Bowdoin. "We were rocking and rolling across the board," coach Connie Putnam said. The Jumbos were sharp right off the bat, dominating the weight throw with three finishes among the top seven. Junior Dan March won with a 53-03.35 foot chuck, followed by fourth place finisher sophomore Jason Galvin, who set a personal record with a 48-02.75 throw, and freshman Vincent Galatro in seventh with a 43-05.25, also a PR. Junior Evan Blaser won the high jump with a career best 6-01.25, while freshman Fred Jones and junior Nate Thompson both were successful in the long jump and triple jump. Jones garnered a third and a first place and Thompson took home a fourth and third place. Thompson also posted a first place 7.94 in the 55m hurdles, with fourth place finisher Jamil Ludd running a personal best 8.22. In the shot put, the Jumbos were interspersed among the field, with Galvin (third place), freshman Ryan Byrne (fifth), senior Ryan McPherson (seventh), and Galatro (eighth) all placing in the top eight. "We had some really great performances overall," Putnam said. "But long distance seemed to bear the most of the fruits of the day." This was certainly true in the 1500 meter race, where the Jumbos landed the top six spots. Sophomore Kyle Doran prevailed with a time of 4:00.38, while fellow classmates Matt Lacey (4:01.96) and Matt Fortin (4:02.16), along with junior Mike Don (4:02.21), clocked in just behind him. Freshman Scott Merrick and junior Brian McNamara finished fifth and sixth, respectively, with times of 4:03.09 and 4:03.86. All six times were qualifiers and the top four were the four fastest run by Jumbos this year in that distance. "Those guys ran the 1500 together better than any group I've ever had," Putnam said. "It was a great race, but it's the kind of thing we expect by this point in the season," senior tri-captain Peter Jurczynski said. "We've had great workouts, and we ended up stocking the 1500 with some of our faster runners and it turned out great." For the second week in the row, one of the highlights involved the 600, and again it involved freshman Nate Cleveland. One week after barely missing out on the school record broken by sophomore Pat Mahoney, Cleveland and junior Ray Carre both ran sensationally to top last week's mark in a photo-finish race. Carre took an early lead and was ahead through 400 meters, but Cleveland made a move and the two came down the stretch together. The racers crossed the finish line at virtually undistinguishable times of 1:22.33, but Cleveland prevailed by 1/1000 of a second. "That's basically the thickness of a shirt," Putnam said. "It was probably the closest race I've ever been in," said Cleveland, who originally thought Carre had prevailed. "[The difference] could have been anything, even the size of your pecs." "It was a fun race," Carre said. "I haven't been in a race that close since Div. III New England's my freshman year." Pole vaulting was another bright spot as the Jumbos claimed the top three spots in the competition. Sophomore Seth LaPierre, who almost cleared 14-06.00 feet, claimed first with a vault of 13-06.25, followed by classmate Will Heitmann at 13-00.25 and freshman Justin Henneman at 12-6.00. Freshman Tom Stuart finished sixth overall for the Jumbos with an 11-06.25 vault. "Personally, I wasn't happy with my own performance," LaPierre said. "But it's always good to place and finishing 1-2-3 is definitely good for the team." Tufts also finished 1-2-3 in the 800, with Mahoney (1:58.22), freshman Dan Sullivan (1:59.45), and Fortin (1:59.53) finishing in those places, respectively. Senior Michael Stanton-Geddes earned a win in the 1000 with his time of 2:37.41, while the 3000 and 5000 also proved highly successful for the home team. In the 3000, junior Nate Brigham claimed first place (8:33.37) on his way to posting the second fastest time in that event in New England this year out of Division III schools. He was backed up by strong efforts from freshmen Josh Kennedy (third place) and Justin Chung (seventh), as well as a personal best from Jurczynski in the eight slot. In the 5k, senior Jon Rosen finished second with a PR time of 15:49.64, while freshman Chad Uy finished fourth with a 16:17.13. Putnam was encouraged by the performance of Mickey Ferri, who finished fifth in the 55 meter dash and eighth in the 200. Sophomore Trevor Williams also had a fine day, finishing third in the 400 and fourth in the 200, where he set a PR by running a 23.80. However, he was most proud of his part in the 4x400 relay team that finished first with a time of 3:27.15. In that same event, the sophomore class earned bragging rights by prevailing in the annual class relay war.

---

News

Controversy erupts over alcohol forum

February 17

Tonight's open forum on the University's alcohol policy will not take place as originally planned due to an order issued by Office of Residential Life and Learning (ResLife) Director Yolanda King. The forum was originally scheduled to include a panel consisting of Director of Drug and Alcohol Education Services Margot Abels, Director of Student Activities Jodie Nealley, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Todd Sullivan, and seven resident assistants (RAs). A week ago, King notified both the RA panelists and sophomore Speech and Debate Society President Vinda Rao, who is moderating the forum, that the RAs would not be allowed to participate as panelists. RAs can still attend the forum, but must attend the forum simply as students and not as any position of authority on the alcohol policy as originally intended. "They're not authorized to speak for ResLife or to critique the policies," Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said. Now, only the three administrators will speak on the panel. The RAs' dual role as ResLife employees and students made their position on the panel difficult to clarify. "It's not an appropriate thing to ask somebody who is accepting salary to discuss the policy," Dean of Student Bruce Reitman said. Rao said she wanted to have RAs on the panel to answer students' questions and to address the difficulties of implementing the alcohol policy. "Students have a right to know about the policy," she said. "It's an attempt to open the lines of communication." Since the forum is being moderated, Rao said RAs would not be put in the position of answering compromising questions. "If a question is inappropriate for an RA to answer, I would make sure they didn't have to answer it," she said. "That choice has been taken away from me." According to Rao, the forum is "not an attempt to target ResLife," and that one of the forum's goals is "to make students aware that RAs aren't the enemy." Reitman questioned whether the premise of the forum was still an open discussion to clarify the policy, or if it had instead been changed to a debate about the policy. "It was originally scheduled to be a forum, not a debate," Reitman said. RAs who were not scheduled to be on the panel were told about the forum change either by their hall directors or heard about it via word of mouth. One RA said his residential director scheduled a meeting with all of the building's RAs. The hall director said that "what she was saying was coming from ResLife." According to the RA, the hall director "couldn't tell us not to go, but she asked us not to go." Another RA was notified of King's decision by a Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate e-mail to a campus list-serve. "I was pretty shocked," the RA said. ResLife policy barring RAs from speaking "was pretty ridiculous," she added. Reitman said the University is open to RAs' opinions. Referring to response from last school year, "the feedback from RAs and from [Tufts Emergency Medical Services] TEMS literally resulted in the change of the policy that took away the disciplinary policy for first offenses."

---

News

An individual of EPIIC proportions

February 17

After meeting sophomore Ajaita Shah and learning the meaning of her name, it seems as if no other pseudonym would have been appropriate. "[Ajaita] means 'one that cannot be defeated' in Hindi," Shah said. In any setting, 19-year-old Shah demands your attention. With her confident demeanor and notoriously loud voice, she knows how to take charge, and can quickly draw your interest into a conversation by making you laugh or teaching you something you never knew before. "The ongoing joke [among friends and family] is that I'm going to run for President some day," Shah said. Shah was born in Queens, New York but moved upstate to Scarsdale when she was 12. The daughter of immigrants from India, her father a jeweler and her mother a homemaker, Shah's road to Tufts was somewhat different than that of the average student. "Originally I started off high school thinking I would pursue law or pre-med because that's what the typical Indian parent wants for their child," Shah said. "But I joined the debate team, and the second I started, I really enjoyed it. It was policy debating, and that's how I got interested in foreign policy." As the only female on an all-male debate team, Shah had to learn how to hold her own. "I started traveling a lot, and that's when I knew my parents were going to become a problem," Shah said. "They didn't like the idea of an Indian girl, especially their daughter, traveling with a bunch of guys. And the fact that I became very independent, very quickly, wasn't something they were willing to accept right away." It wasn't until her junior year of high school that Shah decided she wanted to apply to out of state colleges. "I wanted to go away to college, away from New York, and I fought a lot with my parents [because they didn't want me to go]," she said. Shah eventually won the battle and was accepted to Tufts. Soon after the beginning of her freshman year, she decided to pursue the International Relations major. But it wasn't until her sophomore year that she got involved with what would prove to be her true doorway into the world of government and politics. "I decided to join EPIIC," Shah said. Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship, or EPIIC, is a program through the Tufts Institute for Global Leadership, which is designed to prepare students to become active in global and national issues. "Basically, the whole goal of EPIIC is to educate students and make them aware of what it means to be a citizen of the world," Shah said. "You become so involved and dedicated to [the program] that you're always wanting to learn more, and do more." Shah's eyes light up when she talks about her interests. "This year's topic is 'The Dilemmas in Nation-Building: America's Role in the World,' and you learn so much about how America's actions influence the rest of the world," she said. "It's incredible. You work so hard, you read so much, and interact with so many different people. I've learned so much just in a semester. And it makes you want to educate the rest of your school, and the rest of your community." For Shah, one of the most important aspects of EPIIC is that it has allowed her to pursue her own research ambitions. "The whole goal of EPIIC is to take this knowledge and do something with it, and decide if you want to pursue something later on," Shah said. "I decided I was very interested in security policy and intervention. It all started in light of the Iraq war, and how much our allies really rejected wanting to support the United States." Rather than traveling to the beaches of Cancun for Spring Break like many of her contemporaries, Shah plans to travel to Paris, Berlin and Brussels. Along with two other EPIIC students, senior John Francis and junior Tsega Menelik, Shah will visit different security institutions of the European Union (EU) and interview different researchers, military personnel, politicians, ambassadors, and officials on the future role of the military in the European Union. "There's a growing divide between Europe and the US on militaristic issues -- the two have very different views and ideologies," Shah said. "Our allies have become our adversaries, and it's very interesting to see this change, and the main reason is because the US is so militaristic and unilateral. And it turns out that the EU wants to be less dependent on America, and build its own military." For Shah, one of the most exciting parts of her research and EPIIC experiences is the opportunity to meet amazing and important people: "It's crazy because these people are celebrities within their own professional world and you wouldn't normally get to meet with them or interact with them as a college student," Shah said. Shah's ambitions reach even further than interviewing some of Europe's top officials at age 19: with her EPIIC colleagues, she hopes to help create new literature on Europe's modern foreign policy methods and plans. "Our question is how this is going to change the world order and what is going to happen in the future," Shah explained. According to Shah, the only thing that could hold her back is that there isn't much funding available for sophomores to do research. "Most of it is for juniors and seniors," she said. But with her partners, and the help of EPIIC, Shah has been applying for scholarships and grants in order to get funding. Despite the common misconception on campus that "EPIIC kids don't do anything but EPIIC," Shah occupies her free time -- which is very little -- with other activities. Currently, she is choreographing, dancing, and singing in the upcoming TASA culture show. So after all of her hard work, what's Shah's plan for the future? "I would like to become a diplomat or a representative to Europe," Shah said. "Maybe I'll even take over and represent the US in NATO. Who knows? Maybe I will run for President."

---

News

Grad program to address many sides of water

February 17

Tufts graduate students will soon be able to declare a concentration in water. The new program, called Water: Systems, Science, and Society (WSSS), will begin next fall and is expected to have about 30 students. The program is run by faculty from six Tufts schools. Students in the program will still major in their selected field, but the water concentration will have additional requirements. Students will specialize in WSSS while fulfilling the requirements of existing M.A. or Ph.D. graduate degree programs. Four core courses are required in systems analysis, water science and engineering, biological aspects of water, health and nutrition, and water resources planning and policy. "When it comes to water issues, people historically have been trained in only one discipline," WSSS co-chair and civil and environmental engineering professor Paul Kirshen said. "We want to train people who are strong in one discipline to understand others, as water challenges often have many dimensions." Students will also participate in field internships and seminars in topics of water, climate, and environmental change; water and public health; watershed restoration and management; water, livelihood, and food security; and water and national and international security. Urban and environmental policy and planning professor Rhonda Ryznar, one of the faculty members participating in the program, said "planners need to be able to view problems from many different perspectives." For example, she said, Tufts has "a partnership with Massachusetts fishermen and we need to consider the environmental health of ecosystems and fisheries, as well as the economic implications of regulations and policies." Program faculty expect WSSS students to pursue jobs in government agencies, non-profit organizations, and academic research. Undergraduates may also benefit from the program by taking courses, seminars, and working in water research. Another example of a problem WSSS may address, Kirshen said, is water supply to rural areas, such as in African villages. "On one hand, you need to understand the hydrology of the region," he said. "But you also have to take the social fabric into account. For example, is there a place for mechanized pumps in a culture where women traditionally gather water?" Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy Beatrice Rogers -- who is also the co-director of WSSS -- and the faculty involved specifically chose water to be the program's focus. "The program really developed under the leadership of President Bacow and Provost [Jamshed] Barucha and the vision of the Graduate Education Council," Kirshen said. "We basically picked up the ball and decided to focus on water." Five Tufts schools are involved in the program: the School of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the School of Medicine; the School of Veterinary Medicine; the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy; and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. The program will link Tufts' three campuses -- Medford/Somerville, Boston, and Grafton -- and some classes will likely be taught through videoconferencing.

---

News

White Pride?

February 17

In an academic world with many opportunities available only to minorities, is a "white's only" scholarship a fair counterbalance? The College Republicans at Roger Williams University (RWU) believe so. They have offered a $250 scholarship available only to white students, in an apparent "parody" of minority scholarships. The group makes the time-honored conservative argument that the right thing to do is not discriminate on any level. To be truly color-blind, one must only consider a student's character and academic achievement. In creating the white only scholarship fund, the group asserts that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. If there are minority only scholarships, then white only scholarships are appropriate, they argue. While the College Republicans' position is respectable, the simplistic look at race in America borders on na‹vet‚. In the end, it ignores the hidden "white only scholarships" that exist today. Both this page and the RWU College Republicans are in agreement that need should be a prerequisite for financial aid. To do otherwise is to presume all African-Americans poor, or all Latinos needy. But given that stipulation, even when the historical precedent is disregarded, there are still compelling reasons for continuing to offer more minority scholarships. Jason Mattera, the president of the group, says that white students are "at a handicap." It would behoove Mattera -- himself a recipient of a $5,000 minority scholarship -- to look at the statistics, which show the opposite. While the factors that orient the US educational system to favor whites are debatable, the bottom line is that white students are more likely to have backgrounds conducive to higher education. Census records show that close to 30 percent of whites complete at least 4 years of college. Only 16 percent of African-Americans do the same, and a dismal 11 percent of Latinos make it that far. Do Latinos or African-Americans not value higher education the way whites do? Are they just less intelligent? In working to include more minorities in higher education, the system is trying to equalize the differences between the races. The College Republicans argue that there are plenty of poor white students too. While that is certainly true, it clearly is not holding them back to the extent it holds other minorities back. Those who follow Mattera's line of reasoning are content ensuring minorities have the same access as everyone to education on paper. Minority scholarship proponents want to ensure that they have the access in reality. In the meantime, the $250 scholarship should really not ruffle too many feathers. It is a useful tool in pointing out the flaws of our not-entirely-colorblind society. The College Republicans are right to spark the debate over what role such minority scholarships should play in higher education. Despite claims of some RWU students and faculty, the scholarship certainly does not make the group racist, just shortsighted.

---

News

Writing Fellows: Helping smart people write for the rest of us

February 17

En route to my biweekly Writing Fellows meeting, I overheard two students debating why one of them should accept a nomination to apply for a position in the program. "Don't do it," her friend warned her. "I'm telling you, you read over all those papers and then none of your students show up to the meetings. And, if they do, what are you going to do? Edit their papers? Everything else is work for TA's and professors." Of course, my initial reaction (had I expressed one), would have been to argue the point that we edit papers. Until I joined the program, I did not realize just how peripheral to the actual writing process a Fellow is. In the entire hour that I meet with a student, it is rare for me to mention grammar or spelling once. Our job is, ultimately, to make students become better writers, but we do this by organizing and systematizing the way they think, not the way they write. Whatever misinformation floats around about the program, however, the most troubling message I overheard walking into my meeting was that it is somehow futile to discuss a paper with someone who lacks expertise in the subject you are writing about. Another surprise to me when I joined the program last fall was how easy it is, once expertise is factored out of the equation, to work on clarity in an argument. Writing certainly varies across disciplines, but the same problem prevails through every field, including literary critique: smart people hate to talk simply. I do not care what discipline you study. Quantitative Economics, Political Science, Psychology, and Biology journals are often coiled in complicated language structure and so muddied by passive voice and his/her-isms that their diamonds are all but lost in the rough. Sure, they use big words. Sure, theorists put "-ization" onto the end of various nouns and ignore the little red line on their Word screen. That is what makes them theorists. But regardless of how well-versed you are in a particular discipline, one often sifts through a complicated paragraph only to conclude at the end that he (or she) could sum it up to a friend in a single sentence. The "doctor of philosophy" title does not hide the sad truth behind many of today's most hallowed academic writings: academics rarely know how to write. Is this because they are not knowledgeable enough? Have they not read enough political science journals to have their prose flow like water? Of course not. Like a student writing a paper, they started out with an idea as gritty and strange as a kidney stone, and have polished and decorated it into something sophisticated enough to be put on display. That means that, like us, their genius ideas can be entirely muddled by the exaggerated, embellished, jargonized, juxtoposing stylistic elements with which they write their paper. Want proof? See my last sentence. A perfectly wonderful idea is quickly made to sound complex, sophisticated, and entirely incomprehensible to the majority of those who read it. The best solution to this problem is not to have a group of fellow political science writers -- whose styles and egos will no doubt spur them to make their colleague's prose even more complicated -- sit around and critique each other's work. Rather, the best way to know if one's argument is comprehensible is to present it to someone who has no background on the topic whatsoever. Who among us has never, in utter exasperation, once thrown a copy of a paper at a roommate, crying "Just read this and tell me if it makes any sense whatsoever!"? The conversation that ensues between you and your roommate, then, originates not so much in the topic you have chosen, but in the way you have presented it -- a method of organization which, depending on how effective and clear it is, will either elucidate the pros and cons of a globalized economy or bury it forever in a heap of extra Latin characters. Think of a Writing Fellow as an assigned late-night roommate. We are not trained in the subject you are trained in, and if a topic is strange to us, you are the authority as far as facts go. We are trained to ask questions about your topic, to provide an interested and sympathetic audience for your ideas, and to help you develop a systematic way of thinking. In this way, when you sit down to write, you will hopefully create a paper that really says something. To be a Writing Fellow is to produce, and perhaps to help become, a theorist who is not afraid to come out and say what he (or she) has come out to say. Hilary Lustick is a Junior majoring in English

---

News

Jumbos lose squeaker to MIT

February 17

Heading into a stretch of five difficult matches last week, the men's squash team knew its only chance for a victory would be against MIT. This knowledge proved to be too little against the Engineers, however, as the Jumbos lost the match 5-4, setting the tone for what would turn into five straight losses. Immediately following the MIT loss, Tufts fell 8-1 to Brown before traveling to Maine where the team fell to Bowdoin (8-1), Bates (9-0), and Colby (8-1). "Bowdoin and Bates are real upper echelon teams," senior co-captain Jesse Goldberg said. "We expected it to be very tough." Against Bowdoin, only freshman Dave Linz at number nine managed to emerge victorious (9-6, 9-2, 9-3). Bates defeated the Jumbos in a similar manner, as Linz was again the only Jumbo with any degree of success. Though he lost the match, Linz was the only Jumbos to win even a single game, losing a hard fought match 5-9, 9-3, 9-7, 9-6. "We lost by a lot in those matches, but we put up a fight," Goldberg said. "I was very proud of the team, we knew what was coming and we handled it well. I think we took them by surprise in a couple matches with our toughness." Against Colby on Friday, three Tufts players had matches that went to five games. Senior co-captain Jordan Kolasinski was the only winner, however, with a victory at the number five position (4-9, 6-9, 9-7, 9-5, 9-5). Senior Alex Busse lost in a tight match at number eight (9-0, 9-3, 8-10, 1-9, 9-3), and Linz also lost a nail-biter at number nine (7-9, 9-3, 9-2, 7-9, 9-3). "We played a great match against Colby," coach Doug Eng said. "It was the closest we've come against them in four years. Positions four through nine had major chances. We just couldn't quite capitalize." Against MIT, the match came down to the number five spot, where sophomore Dan Karlin lost to senior Engineer Rita Monson in a fifth game tie breaker 10-9. "Dan was on the right track, he was playing a straight game, which is to his advantage," Eng said. "However, he slowed it down a bit, and his opponent started shooting for the front-court and that changed the momentum. It was a great match, we just came out on the short end." Sophomore Spencer Maxwell won at the number two spot (9-4, 7-9, 9-1, 9-7), while Busse, junior Fernando Kriete, and Linz also picked up victories. On the same day, the Jumbos also fell to Brown, the tenth ranked team in the nation. Despite their tough week, the Jumbos are still primed for their matches against Trinity and Wesleyan this Wednesday. Wesleyan is a key match for the Jumbos because it could determine where Tufts stands going into the playoffs. A victory could mean a spot in the C flight, where play is more competitive. A loss may put Tufts in the D flight which would not pose the same competition, but would offer a chance at bringing home some hardware. "Playing in the C flight would be great because it would be a nice challenge for us," Kolasinski said. "But if we do lose, playing in the D flight won't be so bad because we can do some real damage in that bracket." The Jumbos also have no illusions about what they will face in Trinity, a national squash powerhouse currently ranked number one in the country. "Trinity's team is incredibly good," Kolasinski said. "They were featured on Sports Center last week because they have 100 consecutive wins. It's sort of honor to play them because all the pros have played there, but at the same time it's sort of joke. But we have fun against them."

---

News

Rocky transitions frustrate mid-year transfer students

February 17

Transferring to Tufts is not always the smooth transition that it is supposed to be. Both mid-year transfer and fall transfer students have expressed concerns ranging from credit transfer to dormitory integration. When students apply to transfer to Tufts, Transfer and First-Year Class Dean Jean Herbert said, "they can know generally" which of their credits will transfer. If the Admissions Office is unclear on transfer-of-credit procedures, it sometimes refers prospective students to Herbert. Though sometimes transfer students are disappointed with the number of credits that transfer after they enroll in Tufts, Herbert said, "more often than not, they are pleasantly surprised." During transfer student orientation there is a block of time devoted to the transfer of credit procedure. Students meet with representatives from the academic departments to discuss which credits can transfer into which majors. "The faculty is very good," about the process, Herbert said. However, according to junior transfer student Lauren Miller, "only 50 to 60 percent of the professors show up," causing confusion for the transfer students. Miller and junior transfer student Lauren Fein help Herbert's office run mid-year transfer orientation. The economics, political science, and history departments, among others, failed to send representatives to this year's session, forcing interested students to seek out faculty on their own time, Miller said. "Although you do not know where any buildings are on campus, you have to run around in two weeks -- like you have nothing else to do -- and find the chairs of the department to transfer your credit," senior transfer student Lisa Senecal said. Senecal transferred from Wake Forest University during the middle of her sophomore year. In addition to special transfer student sessions, fall transfer students participate in the regular freshman orientation, which makes peer advising difficult. Miller said that few are able to understand their predicament. "The peer leaders -- they're not transfers," Miller said. Fall transfer students are typically housed together in two or three dorms, whereas mid-year transfers are given vacancies all around campus. Senecal was housed in Haskell Hall, which "was not conducive to meeting anyone," she said. "It is more important to me to become integrated into Tufts -- I did not transfer to Tufts to be with transfers," Senecal said. Fein said there are additional difficulties for mid-year transfer students. "This year at orientation we didn't really know what to tell them about housing. Imagine you're coming in as a second semester sophomore and you don't have a lottery number," she said. When they apply, transfer students are asked to identify two possible majors and are assigned a faculty advisor. Herbert said that students are given an advisor in their first-choice major 90 percent of the time. Senecal said she is satisfied with her faculty advisor, but that "Tufts made no effort at advising before orientation." Despite being a philosophy major at her previous school and at Tufts, she was required to take English II her senior year. Despite complaints from students like Senecal and Fein, Herbert likes the quality of advising for transfer students. "I think that it's fine," she said. "What we're doing works." Herbert's office experienced poor attendance when it tried to run social programs for transfer students during the semester. "When run by students, we get a better response," she said. Several years ago, Herbert said, there was a transfer student group that put on social events throughout the year. "There was a very active group that made the effort to stay together," she said. Last year, Miller and Fein attempted to start a similar group. Since the previous transfer student group technically still existed but lacked both a budget and members, Miller and Fein were told they needed to wait a year before the group could have funding. This year neither decided to restart a group, instead offering to help Herbert's office run orientation for mid-year transfer students. "You sort of just assimilate into the community," Fein said. "There was a lack of interest in the end." If such an effort were to be made again, Herbert said her office "would facilitate it in any way." Fein and Miller both transferred after their freshman years; Fein from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Miller from American University.

---

News

All-Star weekend wasn't really about basketball

February 17

Denzel Washington and Jack Nicholson were in Los Angeles' Staples Center Sunday night. Oh, and some guys played basketball there too. Will Smith, Ashton Kutcher and Jay-Z got more airtime sitting courtside than Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki did on the court at the NBA All-Star game, as TNT apparently decided that average Americans wanted to see the celebrities watching the game, not the NBA stars playing in it. Indeed, the All-Star festivities verified two things that we already knew about the NBA. First, the West, which prevailed 136-132, is better than the East. Second, the NBA's primary concern is in the business of entertainment, not basketball. After the Super Bowl debacle, the NBA wanted to make sure performances stayed PG at the All-Star game -- so they invited Christina "my middle name is most definitely not wholesome" Aguilera to sing the Star-Spangled Banner. Seriously, if there is anyone this side of the adult entertainment industry who could top Janet Jackson's little accident, it's Christina. To her credit, she stayed clean, but butchered the anthem. And if Jackson wasn't allowed to show her breasts on Super Bowl Sunday, why can Outkast sing "Drip drip drop there goes an orgasm, now you coming out the side of your face" on All-Star Sunday? That didn't stop the rap duo from being the real MVP of the weekend, even if Shaquille O'Neal was the one hoisting the trophy at the end of the night. Outkast was simply omnipresent on Sunday. The backbeat to their hit Hey Ya played in the background during player introductions (Kevin Garnett attempted a fairly unsuccessful dance, although nothing on par with Mark Madsen or Bill Belichick). They chilled with Paris Hilton in $7,000 seats. They performed live. They weren't the only ones, of course: Beyonce performed too, making her entrance from the ceiling on a giant ball and prompting the always entertaining commentator Charles Barkley to say: "I think gay people have a right to get married, that's their own business, but when you see Beyonce, why would you want to be gay?" If Barkley was the most entertaining media member, Craig Sager was the most annoying -- again. A year after ruining Peja Stojakovic's moment in the sun as three-point contest winner by reminding him that his Sacramento Kings could have beaten the Los Angeles Lakers in the previous year's playoffs if he had shot as well, Sager was at it again this weekend. This time, he tried to persuade Toronto Raptor Vince Carter to ask coach Rick Carlisle for more playing time (Carter almost bit). Sager also played a part in one of the most ridiculous (and most amusing) ploys in recent history when he gave an outlet for Ron Artest to campaign for a shoe contract. Sager did a courtside interview in which he showed Artest wearing two vastly different looking sneakers, one Nike and one Adidas. Artest complained that he didn't have a shoe contract but thought now that he is an All-Star it is time he deserves one, so he put out an open call to companies. Of course, Artest might need to be more than a year removed from those nine flagrant fouls and that domestic dispute which resulted in ordered counseling sessions before he gets that luscious shoe contract. Actually, never mind. This is America: the more violent and scandalous, the better it sells. Bring on the shoe commercial. Shaq already has his own shoe, and his 24 point, 11 rebound, nine dunk performance showed why. He led a dominant West squad, but the East led at halftime and managed to hang tough on the basis of a speed-up game, with Jason Kidd and Allen Iverson throwing up alley-oops to Vince Carter, Kenyon Martin, and Tracy McGrady. So the basketball, when it was actually being played between all those commercials, crowd scanning, and celebrity interviews, was pretty entertaining. The rest of the time? Let's just say Starr Jones getting proposed to by her boyfriend at the game was the last thing we wanted to see when we tuned in to watch Yao Ming shoot a turnaround jumper.

---

News

4x400 team, Trombly smash school records

February 17

They just keep getting faster and faster, and the records just keep falling. Saturday, the women's indoor track and field team smashed the school 4x400 relay record and, in the process beat 2003 national indoor champ Wheaton for the second straight week to become the fastest Division III team in the nation in that race. The team made up by sophomore Rachel Bloom, junior Sika Henry and senior quad-captains Emily Bersin and Jess Trombly (3:53.94) broke the Tufts record set in 2000 by Caitlin Murphy, Sarah Deeb, Jenny Ng and Missy Bargmann (3:55.61) by nearly two seconds and recorded its second successive national provisional time after a 3:58.76 run last week at home. The time was just 0.14 seconds short of automatic qualification for the national championships at the University of Wisconsin in mid-March. The foursome finished fifth in the event at the two-day Division I St. Valentine's Invitational at Boston University, and was surpassed by just four Division I schools. The team should have no trouble reaching nationals, despite only recording a provisional qualifying time. "I don't think nine teams will run faster than that," coach Kristen Morwick said. "I don't think people realize what a great performance that was. They destroyed a very good school record. It was really exciting, especially against all Division I competition, except for Wheaton. You're taking a bunch of kids from Tufts who are generally the smart kids and not going to school for athletics. It was awesome." "A couple of us had [personal records] and now we're first in the country, so that's very cool," Trombly added. "They made the auto qualification a lot harder this year, but we're pretty positive that that time will get in, [and] I think we can still run faster." Trombly also upgraded her status from "provisional" to "automatic" in the 400 meters with a 56.26-second blitz, breaking her own school record and shaving almost two and a half seconds off her provisional time recorded on January 24 at the Gantcher Center. Trombly finished fifth in the event, which was won by Foy Williams (53.59) of Ontario's Gladstone Athletic Club. Trombly is also provisionally qualified in the 55 meter hurdles (8:58). "It was a really fast track because it was a banked track, and it was a lot better running against a lot of competition," Trombly said. "I had a couple people ahead of me in the 400 that I could just run behind and chase after them. It's a lot easier to run fast when you have that competition right with you." Emily Bersin joined Trombly with an impressive 400 performance, qualifying for All-New England's with a career-best 1:00.00 and edging out Dartmouth's Caitlin Sherry by 0.18 seconds to win her heat. On Friday night, the distance medley relay (DMR) team of senior quad-captain Lauren Caputo, sophomore Megan Sears and freshmen Samantha Moland and Sarah Crispin notched the third-fastest time in Tufts history (12:21.23) to improve its ECAC-qualifying time, narrowly missing national provisional time by a second. "Everyone ran really well at that meet," Morwick said. "[The DMR runners] ran great individual legs. Caputo ran a PR in the mile, Crispin ran a PR in the 800, Megan Sears ran a PR in the 400, so that was also a fantastic relay." Back on their home rubber at the Tufts Stampede on Saturday, 11 Jumbos either qualified or improved their qualifying positions for upcoming championship meets. Tufts tore up the synthetic track in its final home indoor meet with several notable performances. Sophomore Rebecca Ades (4:51.40) won the 1500 by nearly two seconds over Trinity's Kristina Miner to join teammate and senior quad-captain Lauren Caputo as All-New England qualifiers in the event. It was a personal best by nearly eight seconds for Ades, who came from the middle of a pack of 15 runners to take the lead on the final home stretch. "I just went out and tried to hit my splits, and it was really surprising how it all turned out. I knew [Trinity's Miner] had a really good seed time, but I didn't really know about anyone else in the race," Ades said. "I got her on the last turn, in the last hundred meters. I think this race was a breakthrough race." Senior Lauren Dunn (10:44.98) clocked in with a ten-second PR in the 3000 to qualify for ECAC's, while senior quad-captain Katie Higley also reached ECAC's with a 1:41.58 600 run. Freshman Sade Campbell (1.52 meters) also hit the Division III qualifying mark in the high jump. Senior Shushanna Mignott placed second in both long (4.93m) and triple jump (10.62m), with season bests in both events. After a slow start, Mignott has come on strongly in both events and is focused on continuing that trend, despite slightly hurting her leg in the triple jump with an awkward landing. "I've just been practicing on my form and concentrating more," Mignott said. "Recently my mark has been better so I think that helps me when I jump. Right now, the most important thing is to stay healthy. It's not the best [season] I've had, but I didn't compete last year because I went abroad so I'm still working my way back to top shape." The team will continue to train hard this week in the lead up to the New England Division III Championships at MIT this Saturday. "We might cut back a little bit on people [for whom] this will be their last meet, but we're not going to taper too much for this meet," Morwick said. "We're shooting for top two at New England's."

---

News

A human rights faux pas

February 17

Last week's decision by the French National Assembly to pass a ban on "conspicuous signs of religious belonging" in public schools shocked few in France but many around the world -- an unlikely majority whose members remained convinced that the Assembly would realize its mistake at the last minute. Sadly, the Assembly did not, and the law was passed by with overwhelming support -- 494 to 36 -- due to a compromise between the President Jacques Chirac's UMP party and the opposition Socialists. The law, which will clear the path for a ban on headscarves, skullcaps, and "large crosses" at the start of the next school year, has been justified by countless talking heads, who have come to resemble a political Hydra -- once any line of reasoning is deemed faulty, two more spring up in its place. The most common rationale was based on the principle of la‹cit‚ ("secularism"), enshrined in a 1905 law separating church and state. According to la‹cit‚, religion has no place in the public sphere, which includes public schools. But in a shameful last-minute P.R. blitz, French leaders issued statements characterizing the law as an attempt to reign in the anti-Semitic attitudes of the Muslim minority. While it is true that there have been incidents of an anti-Semitic nature, the Jewish community has not been as quick to defend the la‹cit‚ law as one might expect. Lord Greville Janner, vice-president of the World Jewish Congress, said the decision "disgracefully punished the entire Muslim population and other religious communities." Another argument against the headscarf holds that the veil is a symbol of the oppression of women by a patriarchal society, and that it is forced upon girls by their fathers and brothers. But even if the majority of girls were forced to wear the veil by their families, legislating the issue violates the rights of the ones who choose to wear it freely. The day before the vote, I took the metro to the end of the line -- to Saint Denis, a suburb of Paris with a large immigrant population. At University of Paris VIII in Saint Denis, I asked women wearing headscarves about their views on the new law. "Some say the law is not targeted, but in fact it's very targeted -- it's an Islamophobic law," one girl told me as her veiled friend nodded emphatically. "It's a barrier to liberty, stopping someone from expressing her religion." The girls declined to give their names -- the issue is extremely sensitive in France -- but pointed out that France would be the only country in Europe to pass such a law. The Senate will review the law in March, where easy approval is expected. The ban would then take effect at the beginning of the next school year in September. But the debate over the issue has already lasted months and has aggravated the tensions between France's white Christian population and its large Muslim minority, who live to a certain extent in two different societies. "I'm outside of the law," said Houda Brahim, a graduate student at the University of Paris VIII. "I'm excluded from society -- seriously, though," she told me in a bustling common area, where the passing students were far more diverse than at the elite universities inside Paris proper. "It's an unbearable feeling to have people look at you in the street as they would look at someone who committed a crime," Brahim continued. "Before, at least they were discreet." Brahim fears that the new law will push veiled Muslim women even further outside the mainstream. Though she already has a master's and is working toward another advanced degree, she says she is unsure of her future because of the discrimination she experiences as a veiled woman. And what of the girls who attend public school and will be directly affected by the law next fall? At Fr‚d‚ric Bartholdi High School in Saint-Denis, one girl told me that the rules on headscarves were understandable -- it was a secular school, after all. But her friend, who also wore a headscarf, seemed less accepting of government interference in her religious life. "It's a pain in the ass to have to take it off when we come and put it on when we go," she said. "I made a decision [to wear the veil]; I'm deeply involved in my religion -- it's not to piss people off," she said. The girls pointed out that Catholics could easily hide their crosses but that the veil could not be hidden. The law will forbid not only headscarves but kippas for Jewish boys and "large crosses" for Christians, according to Chirac. But the mention of "large crosses" was made "just to give the appearance of fairness," according to Professor Jean Bauberot, who holds the chair on "History and Sociology of secularism" at the Sorbonne. It is perhaps telling that Bauberot, a leading expert on the cherished concept of la‹cit‚ in France, chose not to support the law as part of the influential Stasi Commission, which studied the issue for months before recommending its passage to President Jacques Chirac. As one student at Paris VIII told me, "France is the homeland of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. This law is not worthy of France."

---