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Turkey tennis

December 4

While most of you bums probably sat around all afternoon on Thanksgiving watching sports, I can proudly say I did not. I didn't have a TV. Nevertheless, my Thanksgiving Day athletics were of a far nobler, time honored, pureblooded lineage. While most of America was falling asleep watching the Cowboys get smoked, the Austin family members were competing amongst themselves in the second annual Turkey Tennis Tournament, the winner of which would be crowned Ultimate Turkey Tennis Champion and ruler of all things ping pong. The brackets for the double elimination tournament were constructed by Tommy, my brother and the youngest of the family who, with the utmost nobility (or through the utmost stupidity), gave himself the hardest route to the title. The tournament rules were also written by young Tommy and encouraged trash talking, whining, and complaining (what good rule book doesn't?) and also subjected all participants to random drug tests to be performed at any point during the tournament. We were slightly surprised to find that Mom had been juicing after her test came back positive for THG. There were no seeds in the tournament, but it was clear from the outset who the front runners were. Tommy, at the young age of 18, had youthful legs, a competitive fire, and an inner confidence that is sure to get him into trouble one day. Many have compared his style to that of a young Andre Agassi, but that may be because he wears pink shorts. Tommy was sure to go deep into the tournament, though he had made his road as tough as possible. To win the crown, young Tom would have to knock off Uncle Joe, Kali, and myself, the other three favorites. Joe, though slightly older and quite a bit slower than Tommy, was the reigning champ, and a model of table tennis consistency. His consistency and control, along with his amazing lack of power, have drawn comparisons to Martina Hingis. Kali, a D-I lacrosse goalie at Holy Cross, has the hand-eye coordination of a fighter pilot, though not much else in her table tennis repertoire. The only thing separating Kali from the title was a ruthless temper and ravenous appetite that would be exploited in later rounds of play. And then there was me. I brought to the table a combination of power and finesse unlike any other competitor. My ability to work corner to corner was unmatched, as was my powerful forehand. My one weakness (as you may have guessed) was surely a lack of mental fortitude. I have a knack for giving up huge leads. The two dark horses in the tourney were sure to be Elizabeth (cupcake route to the loser's bracket semifinals) and Dad (skilled and consistent but with the competitive fire of a kitten on sleeping pills). As expected, the weaker seeds bowed out early, though some put up more of a fight than originally thought, and as the field narrowed, the tournament was temporarily paused for turkey. While Tommy and I budgeted our intake of poultry so as not to be slowed by the tryptophan, Kali gorged herself on the immense spread -- a move that would have dire consequences in later rounds. When play resumed, Tommy and I both fell to Kali in the Championship bracket, setting up an epic showdown between brothers in the loser's bracket. And after Kali fell to Joe (who had romped his way through the tournament) in the Championship bracket, the winner of the brother vs. brother duel would face Kali again in a much-anticipated rematch. As play commenced and the crowd stirred, I quickly jumped out to a sizeable 9-3 lead over Tommy. But like a true Red Sox fan, I couldn't hold on. Before I knew it, the match was tied at 12-12, and an all out dogfight to the end ensued. We traded point for point until I slipped up and Tommy went up 20-18. I was facing two consecutive match points, but through the grace of God I pulled them out. My heroic efforts proved all for naught, however, as Tommy pulled the match out 23-21. On such a high following our epic battle, Tommy demolished a turkey-laden Kali in his next match, frustrating and angering her with his consistency, and moved on to face Joe in the finals. The Championship was Joe's to lose. Tommy, coming from the loser's bracket, had to win two consecutive matches for the crown, while Joe needed but one. The showdown that ensued was nothing short of Ali-Foreman. Tommy steadily wore down the older competitor, who on his sixth match of the day had little to nothing left in the tank. Though the score was close, the match may have been over before it even started -- after such a win over yours truly, there was no way Tommy was going to lose. As his last ball flew wide right, Joe collapsed in tears, while Tommy erupted in celebration. Somewhere in the distance we could hear the voice of Howard Cosell calling, "Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!" As Joe wept, Tommy strode off, hands raised high, the new owner of the Ultimate Turkey Tennis title. The guard has been changed. A new champion has been crowned. The world may never be the same.

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News

Our condolences

December 4

A community is nothing without the individuals that comprise it. Each individual brings something unique and special to that community, something that makes it a more profound place and a better place. The passing of Peter Vabulas on Wednesday afternoon took a piece from the Tufts community that cannot be replaced. Peter Vabulas was an integral part of the Tufts community. He showed both how profound and diverse it is. He pursued his own life with modesty and passion that should cause us all to reflect on the way we carry ourselves. His unforeseen death forces us to remember how short life can be. Peter took the opportunities he was given both at home, at Tufts, and in Boston. Originally in the class of 2003, Peter took a leave of absence last year. He came back to Tufts this semester after a year of reflection, more prepared for what he saw in his future, ready to take great steps forward. His friends, acquaintances, and classmates will sorely miss the witty and quiet contributions he made. He moved beyond the relationship that most students have with the outside community, spending time at a local gaming shop where he befriended quite a few people from Medford and Somerville. A number of students, even people who had never met him before, jumped to Peter's aid as he collapsed on his way back from class. They did all that they could to save a fellow Jumbo's life. Their actions highlight the faithfulness of the community at Tufts, and we should gain from this tragedy a notion of how much we mean to each other even on better days. The Tufts Daily offers its condolences to Peter's family, friends, and the entire Tufts community, which has suffered another loss this semester. At this time of year, we should hold on to each other and to the legacy that Peter Vabulas left us.

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News

Moderation the key to maintaining fitness over the holidays

December 4

My ankle hurts. What should I do? - John C. Go to health services, sissy-boy. I am not a doctor. I have gotten into a really good routine here at school. I eat healthy and exercise regularly. The problem is, these habits were nonexistent at home. I was the total opposite - I ate junk food and did not exercise. How can I motivate myself to resist falling back into my old ways? -Sondra Lavin, Lafayette College Congratulations on establishing a healthier lifestyle. It is definitely difficult to resist the temptations of bad habits from home. However, here are a few tips that should help keep you motivated to maintain, and perhaps improve, your level of personal fitness while you are relaxing at home for a month over the holidays. As soon as you get home, go to the supermarket and by foods similar to the ones you have been eating here. If you have been eating salad, brown rice, tuna, etc., then purchase those things and keep then readily at hand. Having easy access to more nutritious foods will make it easier to pass up that bag of potato chips sitting in the cupboard. However, that is not to say you should abstain totally from foods you enjoy. After all, you are on vacation, and there is nothing wrong with a little bit of junk food in moderation; moderation is the key word here. Immediately draw up an exercise schedule, and stick to it. Plan out your time at home to accomplish some short-term fitness goal, or to at least make it to the gym or the high school track a certain number of times. If you exercise regularly, you can enjoy some lazing around time without feeling guilty or feeling like you are slipping back into old habits. Make it clear to everyone who has an impact on your eating and activities that you have changed at school. Tell your parents, your friends, your siblings, anyone who will listen. Once you establish this new fact about yourself, you will be able to more comfortably make the transition to a healthier home lifestyle without feeling awkward about refusing to share that tube of raw cookie dough with your best friend because it doesn't appeal to you anymore. Again, the key to successfully maintaining healthy habits at home is moderation. If you go home and intend to adopt a Spartan lifestyle- abstaining from all the little habits you enjoyed before you went to school- you are more than likely to slip completely back into those old habits. However, if you begin to implement your new lifestyle in moderation (read: don't go home with the intention of working out for two hours everyday), while at the same time enjoying in moderation some of your so-called bad habits (junk food, for example), it will be much easier to maintain your current level of fitness without falling back on the bad habits. Remember, it is called vacation for a reason-make sure you enjoy yourself. I see you jumping rope in the gym a lot. Why? I remember jumping rope in fifth grade, singing "Strawberry Shortcake". Aren't you a little old to be jumping rope?-Kate Hofmann Kate, Kate, Kate. The benefits of jumping rope extend way beyond the elementary school playground. Jumping rope is a great form of cardio vascular exercise. It improves timing, coordination, and agility. Also, the motion stimulates the front and rear delts to help develop those sought-after cuts. And finally, jumping rope is great because is requires only one small piece of equipment that can be purchased for under ten dollars.

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News

Cohen auditorium destroys music at Tufts

December 4

On November 15, the Tufts Symphony Orchestra put on a concert in Boston's Faneuil Hall. There, the most amazing thing happened: somewhere between 400-500 people showed up, nearly packing the performance space! We played our program: Mahler's Symphony No. 1. When we finished the fourth movement on our last two fortissimo notes, the crowd surprised me again: they gave us a standing ovation! The last time I remember receiving a standing ovation in the Boston area was, in fact, our last performance in Faneuil Hall. Actually, all but two of the standing ovations we have received, in my five-year tenure with the Tufts Symphony Orchestra, happened at somewhere other than Tufts. The TSO has brought audiences to their feet several times, in Germany, France, Jamaica, Portugal, and Greece, but only twice ever in Medford. Why? Could it be that Tufts students are too picky about their music? Maybe foreigners simply like us better. I don't think so. First, the majority of our Faneuil Hall audiences are Tufts students. Second, in all venues where we have played, from palaces to middle schools, we have always sounded better than in our home "performance" hall, Cohen Auditorium. I quote "performance" because Cohen Auditorium was not built for music or theater: it was built as a lecture hall, engineered to dampen reverberation rather than to nurture and cultivate it. A musician may spend thousands of dollars on an instrument because the instrument is vital to the sound of the musician. Likewise, the hall is vital to the sound of the group. To put it simply: echo is important. Sometimes hearing is believing. So, I have put up a comparison on my website: http://www.cs.tufts.edu/~tshevlin/. There, you will find two MP3 files: one is the last 30 seconds of last year's concert in Faneuil Hall, and the other is the last 30 seconds of the same program, but in Cohen Auditorium. We cannot make an acoustic comparison, unfortunately, as we digitally added reverb to our Cohen recording after the fact. What you can get out of it is an idea of audience appreciation. If you listen to the Cohen recording, you might ask yourself, "Where's the applause? Did anyone even show up to this concert?" Welcome to the hall that was deliberately designed to destroy sound. People aren't inclined to clap or even attend concerts in Cohen because we never sound good enough there. It is incredibly demoralizing. To paraphrase a friend of mine, "Former All-State musicians come to Cohen and sound like seventh graders again." When one Tufts musician I know first heard the sound in Cohen, he cried. What are the solutions? The TSO is making one right now by performing off-campus. However, this is an amazing hassle; it requires an entire day's work by dedicated members of the orchestra, and even more prep time. One may say that another solution lies in the new music building that many of us will never see while students at Tufts; I hear that it is supposed to have a marvelous performance space. Unfortunately, the hall is more a recital space than anything else. The stage will not be large enough to fit our 80-member ensemble, nor will the hall be sufficient to accommodate the crowds we sometimes draw. Tufts lacks both the financial resources and the space to build a large, good performance hall. The most viable solution I see would be to renovate Cohen. It is possible that simply ripping up the carpet or installing acoustic paneling over the walls and ceiling might make a dramatic difference for a relatively low cost. To the best of my knowledge as a student, nobody has ever examined this. A full-out renovation is the best idea, if Tufts wants to make the investment. It doesn't just have to return itself on future students: Harvard has such a wonderful acoustic space that it rents it out at a cost of ~$2,000/night. The Boston Philharmonic performs there regularly, as do many other prominent groups and soloists. With a great hall at Tufts, we could do the same. It could be a wonderful connection to the community, and possibly a money-maker, as well. As with sports teams, a university's performance groups are a reflection of that school. My public high school had a better auditorium than Tufts, and sadly, that's quite common, as other musicians have told me. A renovation to Cohen would benefit not only the orchestra, but other groups who rely on good acoustics, such as most Music Department or drama organizations on campus. It would boost morale among those groups, and performers would perform better. (TSO musicians always work hard, but we always seem to pull harder when the hall is up to par with the orchestra.) Two weeks ago, for our Faneuil Hall concert, the TSO rented a 17-foot truck, loaded up all the chairs, stands, extra music, and percussion from Tufts and drove it into Boston. (Try driving one of these through downtown and the Big Dig -- not fun.) Celli and basses were piled into the Drama Department's van. Everyone else had to carry their own instrument on the T. Unloading and setting up in Faneuil was an hour-long process. Loading took even longer. We had to load and unload twice that day, in addition to performing a three-hour intensive dress rehearsal and a one-hour concert. Our concert ended somewhere between 9:15 and 9:30 pm. By the time we were finished and had returned our rental truck to Cambridge, it was almost 2:00 am. A full day's job for a one-hour concert. Prep work took an additional 20-30 man-hours, as well. But, you know what? To sound that good once more, I would do it again in a second. And, we certainly will, this spring. Ted Shevlin is a graduate student "double Jumbo" studying computer science.

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News

On a roll

December 4

The women's basketball team continued its strong start to the season last night, beating Gordon College 91-58 at home. The Jumbos were lead by junior forward Allison Love's 24 points, and also got 16 points and 15 rebounds from senior center Erin Buckley. The win brought Tufts record to 3-1 on the season, while Gordon lost for the first time this year. For the second straight game, Tufts got up to a big lead early with a 13-3 run in the first four minutes. From the beginning Tufts' full court press rattled the Fighting Scots, and the Jumbos crashed the offensive boards for several put backs. Gordon was bothered by the defensive pressure all night, committing 26 turnovers and shooting just 37.7 percent from the field. The Jumbos were especially tough in the first half, giving up only six field goals. "For the most part, our defensive intensity was good tonight," coach Carla Berube said. "We tend to do it in spurts, and we need to sustain it for the full 40 minutes. We weren't intense the whole game, but overall this was our best showing this year." Berube was forced to go to her bench early in the game, as sophomore guards Julia Verplank and Jessica Powers each picked up two fouls in the first half. Verplank had scored eight early points to jumpstart the team's offense, but Tufts didn't suffer at all when she was replaced with 13:30 to go in the first half. "I feel very comfortable going to the bench," Berube said. "When the subs came in, we didn't miss a beat. [Freshman] Jenny Muller came in and hit some shots, and all the freshmen played well." Tufts took a 47-21 lead into the locker room at the half, and unlike Tuesday's game against Babson, Gordon was never able to cut the lead. With 17 minutes to go in the game, the Jumbos stretched their advantage to 30 points at 55-25 and coasted the rest of the way. Love scored 16 points in the first half, as well as six rebounds and a game-high four steals in just 22 minutes of playing time. "Our offense gets me lots of good open looks, and I was able to take advantage of it," Love said. "My teammates really did a great job getting me the ball when I was open. I just do what I can to help the team." Buckley dominated the paint all night long, pulling down 11 boards in the first half and blocking a handful of shots in the second half. "Those two played really well," Berube said about Love and Buckley. "Both offensively and defensively, they controlled the game. We're a guard-dominated team in the way we pressure the ball, but we also have some great post players." Muller scored 13 points, including three three-pointers, and Verplank added ten for Tufts. Freshman Sarah Frink came off the bench to lead Gordon with 16 points and Sarah DeLuca scored 13. Berube was happy with the win, but saw several areas where the Jumbos need to improve. "Our boxing out and defensive rebounding can always be better," Berube said. "We need to keep up the defensive intensity for the whole game. And offensively sometimes we force shots and passes. If we move the ball and execute we'll get easy scoring opportunities."

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News

Hillel has a new book club

December 4

A group of students has started a book club at Hillel to promote discussion of literature that has spiritual elements. "[We wanted to] explore the religious elements in modern literature and even pop culture," said Jason Seigel, who came up with the book club in an effort to promote conversation between Jews and non-Jews about religion and literature. Seigel is the co-chair of Koach, the Conservative Programming Group at Hillel. A motivating factor in Siegel's decision to start the book club was his belief that religion goes largely unexamined by many students and is absent from their daily lives. "Religion seems all too estranged from everyday life and concerns for many people," he said. "Some college students do, certainly, choose to actively practice their religion the Jumbos who come to Shabbat services at Hillel every week attest to at least the Jewish population of students that practices actively." Seigel seeks to engage students with elements of religious life besides worship, however: "What about religious life outside of specifically practicing religion?" he said. "[We] formed the Book Club in order to study the place of religion outside of active worship," Seigel added. "We try to see how religion is as much an element of modern culture and literature as it is a form of spiritual reflection." Seigel is particularly interested in examining religion's role in modern art and public life. He also hopes that the Book Club will serve to make Judaism more accessible. According to Seigel, many people perceive "Jewish" literature as dealing only with specific subjects. "For a lot of people, Judaism is this abstract thing," Seigel said. "We wanted to show that Judaism is dealt with in 'normal' books, not just Holocaust and Israel-themed books." The book club holds informal gatherings at Hillel. "Most of all, we try to get to know one another and have discussions with one another that are both stimulating and friendly - everything is totally student-led," Siegel said. "It's not an academic thing; we keep it fun and interesting." For senior and book club member Janet Mapa, the book club is "an excuse for me to read something easy and fun," she said. "I joined the book club because I love to read and then discuss what I have read with other people." Although only four people attended the book club's first meeting, the club has since doubled its membership, using posters, print advertising and word of mouth to attract interest. At the first meeting, the club members read short stories and discussed what to read in the coming year. Books were chosen through group consensus, and though the club focuses on books that have some sort of religious theme, it does not limit itself to books about any particular religion. The club chose Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code as its first reading selection, and at the club's second meeting, University Chaplain David O'Leary spoke about the depiction of Christian sects in The DaVinci Code. The club's most recent selection, discussed at its meeting on Tuesday, was Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is Illuminated. Though the club has not yet decided what to read next, James Michener's The Source and Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay were mentioned at the last meeting as possible contenders.

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News

Timeline is a time waster

December 4

The past is dead, and the latest movie based on the works of popular novelist Michael Crichton might not be too far from it. Timeline, adapted from the book of the same name, markets itself as a high adventure thrill ride, but a combination of lifeless acting and a badly-adapted screenplay may have doomed it to linger forever in Blockbuster alongside other Crichton flops like Congo and Sphere. The premise of the movie is simple enough -- a group of archaeologists are sent back to the fourteenth century in newly developed, but far from fully tested, time machine, in order to save their professor. They are then forced to outwit the English, battle the French, and create the inevitable chicken-or-the-egg time traveling paradox in order to find their way home again. It's Apollo 13 meets Robin Hood, sci-fi and historical fiction all crammed together as the hapless academics try to put their life's study to practical use. But instead of getting with the times or living in the moment, all the time-tossed archaeologists do is whine. And whine. And whine. No matter that at the beginning of the movie, the characters were preaching the virtues of the past and proclaiming that all they want to do is see their dig site in its heyday; once they're actually given the opportunity, they seem to take their chance of a lifetime as an excuse to spend the rest of the two hour movie crying about how they want to go home. Their life's passion? Who cares! Apparently, history isn't interesting in the slightest once you start living it. The majority of the characters are such crybabies, it's nearly impossible to care about them. Paul Walker is boring and emotionally flat in his portrayal of lead Chris Johnston that it's as if he's playing a corpse. His interaction with his love interest, Kate Erickson (played by Frances O'Connor), is almost painful in its predictability and it's incredibly hard to invest any emotional attention in a pair of characters whose idea of charisma seems to be nothing more than collapsing in tears in each others' arms because they'll never see the twentieth century again. The movie itself is only saved by the work of Gerard Butler, who deserves the lead credit far more than Walker for his role as archaeologist Andre Marek. Unlike his comrades, Marek's enthusiasm for the time period is contagious; his solo sequences, which include sword fights and dashing rescues, seem almost as if they belong to another movie entirely, despite being interspersed with the griping academics' scenes. Butler's character is the only modern individual in the entire movie who truly "gets" it, who understands that he's been given the chance of a lifetime and wants to do what he can to enjoy it. The story itself would be much stronger if it had deviated more from the book and focused upon his story instead of his crybaby companions. And there, perhaps, lies the rub. Director Richard Donner is so intent on preserving Crichton's original story that he creates a slipshod, schizophrenic final product. Condensing a five hundred page novel into a two-hour movie is no easy feat, but Donner's attempt doesn't even approach dismal. There are too many tech babble sequences which do nothing but confuse and too many boring characters who do nothing but complain. The story itself would have been much stronger if the director had cut the complicated explanations and trusted more in the audience's suspension of disbelief, or just cut the grumbling entirely and focused more on the action. In fact, the moments where Donner does dare to deviate from Crichton's vision prove to be some of the strongest. He fleshes out the lifeless, unbelievable character of Lady Claire (Anna Friel) into someone that captures the audience's imagination and allows Butler to strike out on his own, which provides for the best action sequences in the movie. It's hard to picture anyone as being afraid of offending Crichton purists, but that almost seems to be Donner's problem. He's so afraid of disgusting fans that he avoids cutting the scenes and characters which don't translate well to the big screen. One would have hoped that he would have taken a page from Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park, which was heralded because it was a good movie and not because it stayed close to Crichton's original story (which it certainly didn't), but instead he chooses to turn what could have been an enjoyable swashbuckling movie into a half-medieval combat, half-whining "we want to go home" mess. And it's not that the movie itself has no good moments. The action sequences are lively, the shots of medieval warfare fascinating, but the slipshod explanations of politics (the English hate the French, yes, that's easy to understand, but why exactly are they burning their own village?) and the random insertions of techno babble take away from the breathtaking special effects. In the end, Timeline is hardly worth the time it takes to buy a ticket. Fans of the book will be far better off waiting for it to come out on video, when they can fast forward through the tech talk and the complaints and just watch the action.

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News

One Morning After you are bound to enjoy

December 4

Have you ever been so happy that you just started to dance? Well, that's the case for the 230 dancers featured in this weekend's Tufts Dance Collective (TDC) end-of-semester concert, "The Morning After." The feel-good theme kicks off the performance as the lights go up on several sleeping and clearly burnt-out dancers. The hungover bunch staggers off stage in what TDC's senior co-director Sean Bjerke describes as a "walk of shame type thing" (you know, "The Morning After..."). The only pair left on stage is perky as can be, as the two exclaim, "We were at the TDC show last night!" "It's one thing to see people dancing, but it's another to see people having a good time," said Bjerke. And as the energetic show opens blasting James Brown's "I Feel Good," it's clear that having fun is what matters for these dancers. Their enthusiasm is contagious. TDC differentiates itself from other on campus dance troupes by holding no auditions and having no cuts. The student organized group, headed by an executive board of five, gives anyone and everyone who wants it a chance to dance. The result is one "big melting pot of diversity," according to Bjerke. The dancers' diverse experiences and backgrounds are put to good use in the incredible variety of dance styles ranging from lyrical ballet to tap to hip hop and swing. TDC participants first convene at the beginning of the semester at a general interest meeting, where there are usually upwards of 300 dancers. There, choreographers compile a list of about 18 dance numbers set to different music. Dancers are able to put their name on the list for up to three dances. Only 26 performers can be on stage at once, thereby limiting the number of overall dancers. Everyone is pretty much guaranteed to get into at least one of the numbers for which they signed up. This process results in groups of performers ranging from those who have never slid into a pair of ballet slippers to some who have been dancing their entire lives. With such a variety of levels of experience and skill, it is essential that choreographers accommodate the mixture. The choreographers have obviously done their job in one number, "Good Vibrations," as simply synchronized dancers complement those doing back flips in the foreground. It is also clear that the best moments in this show are not those of astounding artistic innovation, but rather moments of dancer-audience flirtation that make the performance so much fun. "It's all in the personality," said sophomore dancer Ali Blaufarb. By tailoring a diverse show to the varied tastes of the audience, the TDC's co-directors ensure that "The Morning After" has a little something for everyone. Senior co- director Amanda Selden explainsed that the dancers and the audience fire each other up, and that the performers aren't afraid to start "shaking their hips and just doing silly things" to make sure that the audience is excited and having a good time. "I think everyone who's in the show loves it," explained Selden. "And I've never heard anyone leave the show and say they had a bad time." TDC creates a fun and welcoming atmosphere that is as engaging for the audience as it is for the dancers. "I've never been involved in organized dance before," said sophomore performer Julie Buce. "I feel worse than everybody, but loved by everybody." TDC's original and fresh performance gains its strength from combining so many different levels of dance with just as many styles. From a jazz number complete with French subtitles and Frank Sinatra hats to a lyrical interpretation of Enya's "Return to Innocence," dancers and choreographers cater to every aesthetic out there, while simultaneously keeping the show fairly PG-13. By including everyone who wants to participate, TDC has created a fun and interesting show that definitely has something for every member of the audience. After all, all you have to do is a have a good time and you're bound to start dancing.

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News

Several fraternities returning to full function in Spring

December 4

The dormant fraternity social scene may spring back to life next semester as several frats will be allowed to hold parties again. The Delta Tau Delta (DTD) and Delta Upsilon (DU) fraternities, which have been restricted by social probation this semester, will no longer be restricted at the beginning of next semester. Theta Delta Chi (123) will be completing renovations both to their house on Packard Ave. and to their membership. DTD and DU were under social probation this semester, which allows a rush period and pledge class, but prohibits the fraternity from throwing parties where alcohol is served. DTD's probation was originally set for a full year, but was reduced upon appeal to Judicial Affairs Officer Veronica Carter. "Based on reviewing the original sanctions, a year was a little bit too stringent," said Director of Greek Life Todd Sullivan. Sophomore DTD brother Bharat Burman felt the punishment was unfair. "It seemed as if the University was just looking for any excuse to shut down another fraternity," he said. Inter-Greek Council President and DTD brother junior Joe Mead said the blame was with recent graduates and not the current brothers. "[Last year's] seniors in our house violated a warning and we got punished for that. But the University has lacked creativity when it comes to punishment," he said. According to Sullivan, probation has "changed their identities." He said both fraternities have found it difficult being under probation because "in the past, they've been used to providing a social outlet" for the student body. Brothers in these fraternities agree. "I do think that our fraternity has become stronger over the past semester. We are looking forward to next semester though," said junior DU brother Phil Oates. "The fraternity's always improving. In terms of probation, we've learned an important lesson, and we feel like we've redeemed ourselves after the incident. It has brought all the brothers together," Burman said. "The house is in the best shape it's been in for the past five to ten years," Mead added. Sullivan agrees the prohibition period has been positive. "Both of those groups have been involved in Greek leadership positions and major Greek events...They've certainly been present and participating [this semester]," he said. Sullivan said that both are "preparing to be released [from probation] as of the start of classes." The brothers of DTD will additionally be attending an alcohol education program this weekend. The brothers of DU will additionally be completing community service and meeting with Sullivan to discuss anti-hazing education. Sullivan stressed that the disciplinary sanctions have not affected the pledge process. "This was not a recruitment restriction," he said. "We did have a fall pledge class," Oates said. "Our pledge process will be by the book in every sense of the word." DTD also had a fall pledge class of two new brothers. 123 was not in full operation this semester, but it was due to the extensive renovations to their house. Brothers occupied the house throughout the semester, but the fraternity was unable to throw parties due to the work being done. According to Adam McCready, a representative 123's national headquarters, the renovations are not quite complete and the fraternity is seeking a loan to complete them. There were also changes occurring within the 123 membership this semester, with a new total of 14 brothers, in addition to a fall pledge class of seven new members. McCready and a group of alumni met with each brother in early September to determine who would remain in the fraternity. At the encouragement of its national association, the fraternity instituted a new pledge process structured to reduce the chances of hazing occurring. The eight brothers who chose not to attend the meetings are no longer 123 members. "I suspect that those who did not show up made that choice out of apathy," McCready said. "We are very happy with the remaining brothers, however." Sullivan said it was more a matter of self-selection than anyone getting kicked out of the fraternity. "The guys who chose not to show up for their interviews chose to no longer be members," he said. McCready called 123's progress this semester a "great turnaround." He even mentioned that of all the active Theta Delta Chi charges are in the running for the organization's "Most Improved Charge" award. "As a group, they are operating a lot better," McCready said. "They are more organized and are doing things better internally." All three of these fraternities owed money to the town of Somerville at the start of this semester. According to Sullivan, this "was a bigger issue last summer...it isn't really a problem anymore." "They all worked out payment plans to get back in good standing with Somerville," Sullivan said. Many students said they were excited about the return of fraternities, as they have voiced complaints this year about the social scene on campus. "Thank God, I say. As long as the police refrain from shutting all the parties down at 11:00p.m. like they have been, next semester's party scene will improve infinitely," sophomore AJ Carr said. Fraternity members are eager to show their new attitude to the community. "We want to make a strong and positive comeback and show the freshmen class what they've been missing," Burman said. "We're going to be more careful, we've learned our lesson. We just want to make sure everyone will have a fun time." "We're going to have a lot of parties at the beginning of the semester. We want to meet new people, make up for lost time," Mead said. "Obviously no one on campus was particularly thrilled with how this semester has gone. I feel like this campus can be a lot more fun than it was this semester," said Oates. Dean of Students Bruce Reitman pointed out that only three of Tufts' 11 fraternities were on probation, including Zeta Psi, which is closed for the 2003-2004 academic year. "With three of them down, you still have eight - they still work," he said. Not everyone is impressed with the fraternities' "turnaround." Sophomore Telly Kousakis said, "Frats are frats - I don't think that one semester of probation is really going to change anything."

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Senior co-treasurer impeached

December 4

Senior Class Council Co-Treasurer Tiffany Gee was impeached by a 4-2 vote at a meeting on Monday night. Gee was removed from her position after she reportedly told four members of the Council that she knew someone who had made fake tickets for the most recent senior pub night, but she refused to provide the person's name. A week later, though, she denied knowing anyone who had forged tickets. She was charged with committing acts detrimental to the Council. "Not handing forth the names of people causing financial stress to the Council created a conflict of interest," current Council Treasurer Andy Katzenberg said. Between 60 and 80 students used forged tickets to attend the event on Nov. 13 at Harvard Square's Hong Kong Restaurant and Bar "The bottom line is that this was a student matter involving students' money," Assistant Director of Student Activities Ed Cabellon said. "It was within the Council's right to impeach [Gee] if they felt she was not doing her job to the best of her ability." According to Cabellon, who advises the Council, "the Council is responsible for Senior Week, and there's too much at stake for someone to keep making mistakes." Katzenberg served as co-treasurer with Gee because they tied in the Council elections. "This new responsibility is nothing I didn't expect to have when I first ran," he said. "Now that this tension is behind us, the council can move on and work better."

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ATO incident remains under investigation

December 4

Two derogatory messages targeting an Alpha Tao Omega (ATO) member were discovered spray painted on ATO property early Wednesday morning. The graffiti was found on the front door and sidewalk by a fellow ATO resident as she was walking home around 5:10 in the morning. The student called the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD), who issued a police report on the incident. "We didn't originally see the spray paintings because it's usually hard to see these things during the night," TUPD Lieutenant Dominic Pugliares said. "So we think that the incident occurred during the early morning hours, while it was still dark out." According to Assistant Dean of Students Marisel Perez, this is not considered a bias incident because "it does not deal with a direct attack on something about her identity." The incident came up at an administrative meeting yesterday, Perez said, but nobody is aware of what the motivations behind the act were. As of today, the spray painted comments have been covered and altered to say "Everyone likes to love ATO." ATO members declined to comment until the investigation has progressed. TUPD does not have any suspects, but is continuing to work on the case.

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News

Hail King Theo!

December 4

Brian Loeb's recent sports column ("Thanks a lot, Theo!," Dec. 2) attacked Red Sox GM Theo Epstein for his Thanksgiving acquisition of Diamondbacks stud Curt Schilling. I would like to share a different, more informed, perspective on the trade. While Brian pointed out that Schilling was only 8-9 this season, he did not take into account other factors -- namely that the Diamondbacks offense was a joke. Schilling was tenth in MLB in support-neutral wins, which takes into account only pitcher performance and not the support his offense gives him. In the same way that Pedro might have received credit for 4-5 more wins if his bullpen had not blown games, Schilling's run support just was not there in 2003. I tend to think the Red Sox record-setting offense will provide him with the support he needs. Also, while Schilling's walk rate may have increased from 2002 to 2003, as Brian pointed out, he forgot to mention a few crucial factors. In 2002, Schilling posted one of the best-ever walk rates (1.14 BB/9) in the history of the game. And while his 1.71 BB/9 in 2003 did not match that, it was far better than AL Cy Young candidate Esteban Loaiza (2.23) and Yankee free agent Andy Pettit (2.16). So, while his walk rate did go up and he did not record the freakishly good numbers he did in 2002, it certainly should not be of great concern to the Red Sox as he still amongst the best in the league in this category. There are few players in the game who can post these numbers at 37. Wow, 37 is old. Let's hope he does not age as poorly as his power-pitching predecessors Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens (oh, wait...). While Schilling did have two stints on the disabled list last year with Arizona, they were due to non-age related problems. The first stint on the DL was for an emergency appendectomy and the second was due to a fractured metacarpal bone in his throwing hand. Statistics show that once beyond the age of 24-25, power pitchers are far less prone to catastrophic injury. Brian also points out Schilling's penchant for the Long Ball. While Curt Schilling is a flyball pitcher, his 10.4 K/9 keeps many balls from even entering play, let alone leaving the park. Also, Cubs star Mark Prior had great success in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field while posting a higher fly ball rate (.94 GB/FB) than did Schilling (1.01 GB/FB). To compound that claim, although people tend to think of Fenway Park as a homerun haven, it is a product more of the prolific Red Sox offense rather than the "short fences" at Fenway, as adjusted numbers prove. Since the construction of the press boxes atop the .406 Club (originally the 600 Club), Fenway has actually played very close to offensively neutral. Lastly, to point out Schilling's struggles with new teams is very inaccurate. While Schilling did struggle with Baltimore, it must be pointed out that he was only 21 years old (traded at 23) when he pitched for them. Most pitchers are toiling in the mid- to high-minor leagues at that age. So his struggles are more indicative of growing pains and youthfulness rather than ineffectiveness in the American League. Also, Brian called Schilling's year in Houston one of his worst, which is also extremely inaccurate. Schilling spent one year in Houston and he was only 24 years old. He posted a 3.81 ERA but compare that to Tim Hudson's 4.14 ERA as a 24-year-old in pitcher-friendly Oakland Coliseum. Wouldn't you want both of those pitchers on your team now? And let's look at his first full year in Arizona. Schilling posted a 2.98 ERA, was second in Cy Young voting, first in the NL in wins, third in the NL in strikeouts, and led the league in innings pitched, among many other accomplishments. Oh yeah, and he won a World Series. The Diamondbacks brought him in to win, to win immediately, and they did. The Red Sox have done the exact same thing. While you can pick and choose random statistics that may indicate Schilling's regression as a pitcher, the overall truth remains that he is an effective, top-of-the-rotation starter. Perhaps those who hate on the Red Sox nation should be more worried about a certain Sox opponent that recently signed a fragile 36-year-old outfielder and a 36-year-old power reliever with a history of arm trouble. So blame King Theo for what you will, but in the end blame him for the fact that the AL East will belong to the Red Sox in 2004. Do not look at this trade through pinstriped glasses, but rather from an informed baseball perspective, and the truth will be revealed. Adam Kacamburas is a senior majoring in Political Science

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New weight loss device appears effective

December 4

Tufts researchers have discovered that a pacemaker designed for the stomach could help obese people lose weight. Dr. Scott Shikora, head of bariatric surgery at Tufts New England Medical Center, presented the device to the American Association for the Study of Obesity last month. Obesity surgery is a growing field in the US, where almost two thirds of the population is overweight and 30.5 percent is obese. The device, called the Internal Gastric Stimulator (IGS) is a possible alternative to gastric bypass surgery -- also known as stomach stapling. Stapling is an invasive surgical procedure requiring substantial modification of the gastro-intestinal tract. Essentially, the size of the stomach is reduced so that the patient consumes less food. The gastricpacer represents a less invasive surgery and can be implanted laproscopically. "What I think is that this will be another option of treatment for the obese," Shikora said. "[IGS may be] better or more appropriate-different treatments for different people." The IGS is based on a device developed by an Italian surgeon, Dr. Valerio Cigaina, consisting of an electric pulse generator and two wires. The pulse generator is battery-operated and must be replaced every two to five years. The two wires are affixed to the stomach and send pulses which leave the person feeling full. After the device is implanted, a computer is used to control the generator to adjust it to a comfortable level for the patient. "They don't feel a buzzing or a pain, they just don't have an appetite, or they get full very quickly. Some say, 'I don't know what it is. I just eat different now,'" Shikora said in an interview with the Associated Press. Shikora indicated about 450 patients worldwide have been studied, including patients from the United States. The surgery is available commercially in Europe, and could be available in the United States soon. "[The IGS] was tested in Europe at the time it was tested here, [but Europe's] version of the regulatory office seems to be less stringent than our FDA," Shikora said. Shikora and his staff will conduct more tests, what he calls "pivotal trials", this winter. If successful the team may request FDA approval next year. "I suspect it could be available in two years," Shikora said. The development of the IGS was initiated by a New Jersey-based company called Transneuronix. Their newest research project is "the pivotal study that, if successful, would lead us to the approval of the device through the FDA," Transneuronix employee Steve Adler said. Expected to last two to three years, the study will be conducted on 150 people throughout the US in six different hospitals. The system has been tested in 30 people who were defined as obese in the United States. About two-thirds of the people tested lost weight-some dramatically. One woman lost 108 pounds and became underweight. Successful surgeries results in an average loss of 18 percent of their excess weight. The other third of those in the study lost nothing. The developers are still unsure how the device reduces appetite: potential explanations include hormonal changes, stimulation of stomach muscles, or variations on nerve activity. The placebo effect may also be an influence. No deaths or serious complications have been reported in the patients studied, but the negative aspects of the IGS have not been fully tested. Certain objects and electronic devices with magnetic fields such as loudspeakers, and metal detectors may result in extra stimulation pulses from the IGS if placed within six inches of the implantation site. Because this device is still in an experimental state, no estimate has been made about the cost of IGS.

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Tufts senior dies suddenly, cause unknown

December 4

Peter Vabulas, a senior who entered Tufts in the fall of 1999, died Wednesday after collapsing suddenly behind Miller Hall. Vabulas was to turn 23 on Jan. 8. The exact cause of death has yet to be determined, but the autopsy is expected to find either a stroke or cardiac arrest. "Whatever happened, happened quickly," Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said. "He probably didn't suffer." According to Reitman, Vabulas spoke with his parents the night before his death, and "he sounded fine." Vabulas' parents told Reitman that Vabulus was in good health at the time. Three students discovered Vabulas unconscious, and they were able to begin resuscitation procedures and call Tufts Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) and the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD). The CPR administered by the students and the defibrillators used by TUPD worked to temporarily restart Vabulas' heart, but Vabulas died in the ambulance en route to Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Medford. "He didn't regain consciousness," Reitman said. A gathering was held Wednesday night in the lounge of Wilson House, where Vabulas lived, to learn about Vabulas' death and share memories about his life. Most of the students who attended said they knew Vabulas mostly on a "hello basis." Vabulas had been a part-time employee at Your Move Games in Somerville, Mass. A local resident who met and spent time with Vabulas at the store said Vabulas "was a really funny guy." Matthew Downer (LA '03), Vabulas' freshman year roommate, said he was a private individual. "He was shy and quiet," Downer said. "But he was very respectful and courteous. We got along well and I am very sad to learn of his death." The University will consult with Vabulas' parents to plan a formal memorial service. "Usually we let the family take the lead," University Chaplain Reverend David O'Leary said. Regardless of whether the family wants to hold a service, some type of future gathering is expected. "He is not going to go forgotten by any means," O'Leary said. All attendees expressed shock at his death. "This shouldn't happen to a 22-year-old," O'Leary said. Director of Residential Life Yolanda King, Associate Dean of Students Marisel Perez, and Dr. Nandini Talwar, a psychiatrist with Health Services, also attended the gathering. Vabulas, a political science major, took last year off from school to work at a publishing company in New York City. His father is from Lithuania and his mother is from South Korea. In addition to his parents, he is survived by two younger sisters, who are current students at Dartmouth College and the State University of New York at Binghamton.

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Men's track and field are kicking it into a higher gear

December 4

The men's track and field team has much promise, both this year and in the years to come. With the winter indoor season opening this weekend at Northeastern, the team looks to a large freshman and sophomore crew to perform and produce solid results. Led by senior tri-captains Gregory Devine, Bryan Pitko, and Adam Sharp, the Jumbos aspire to improve on last season's 11th-place finish in the All-New England Championships, a competition that includes teams from all three New England divisions. Tufts also placed fifth out of 22 schools in New England Div. III competition. "In any indoor season, our aim is to place as high as we can," coach Connie Putnam said. "To place that high shows that we're very tough." In a talent-laden division last season, the Jumbos held their own. Last March, the team managed a seventh-place finish out of 45 in the ECAC Championships. "We had some holes in our lineup last year," Putnam said. "And we're still going to [have them] due to youth. But we've got a good young team looking to contribute significantly as the season develops." The Jumbos are exceptionally strong in the hurdles. All-Americans Pitko and Devine, who have taken turns breaking school records over the last two years, look to maintain their recent dominance. They will also be expected to lead by example for a group of young athletes. "We've got a lot of freshmen and sophomores who are extremely talented," Devine said. "The biggest for us as captains is to use our best experience possible and take them above and beyond where they've been before." That being said, Devine points to work ethic and dedication as the strongest aspects of the team, rather than a particular squad of athletes. "Assistant coach Ethan Barron has been saying he wants us to give 120 percent in practice," Devine said. "I think we've been giving about 180 percent, and that really says something about the work ethic of the team." While the sprinters are perhaps the strongest group of athletes on the team this winter, Putnam points to the Jumbos' participation in jumping events as another key element of the team's success. Sophomore Nate Thompson, a long and triple jumper, showed promise last season. He will lead the jumping team along with talented freshman pole-vaulter Seth LaPierre, who is currently out of action with a broken leg sustained in an intramural soccer game earlier in the semester. LaPierre is expected back in around six weeks. The throwing team consists of a well-rounded group, including a senior, a junior, a sophomore and a freshman. The Jumbos will look to this team to continue to develop as the season progresses. "We've got one veteran thrower [senior Adam Lukowski], who will give us some age and experience," Putnam said. "It's a very nice little throwing team, a nice group of talent." Perhaps the most uncertain component of the track team is the distance squad. With several new runners, including freshmen Timothy Creedon, Michael Cummings, Kyle Doran and Matthew Lacey, the team will have an injection of fresh faces into the squad. Following what Devine acknowledges as a largely disappointing cross-country season, the tri-captains will be relying on recently crowned All-American sophomore Nate Brigham and the young distance team to rise to the challenge. "With our strong work ethic, we'll really be expecting big things from [the distance runners]," Devine said. "We'll be turning to them to improve." But one thing is for certain: the team will not be short of talent down the track. With roughly 16 freshman and 16 sophomores on a squad of approximately 60 athletes, the Jumbos appear to have a firm foundation on which to continue to develop and prosper. After all, last year's results weren't anything to sneer at. "Heck," Putnam said as he looked over last season's file. "We weren't half bad." The men's track and field team competes in the Northeastern Husky Carnival at Northeastern on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 1 p.m.

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In defense of Fletcher students

December 4

I have been saddened to see relations between Tufts and Fletcher become tense, especially over something as silly as a lunchtime caf?©. My own opinion is that Fletcher students may not have accurately expressed the true reason why some are complaining about undergraduates: Simply put, we don't get to see our classmates at lunchtime so much anymore, and we don't see our professors at lunchtime at all anymore. I think that any undergraduate population would also regret such an unfortunate change in circumstances (though admittedly Fletcherites might be the only dorky ones who miss seeing professors at lunch). I think that every student here at Tufts should be able to have a meal with friends, and wherever possible it should be conducive for professors to join the table as well. After Trios' renovation, the table layouts do not facilitate this, the lines are often prohibitively long, and many undergraduates are understandably responding to the Dining Services e-mails that recommend this caf?© to them. All these factors contribute to the feeling that the caf?© is no longer a social hub for Fletcher, and unfortunately no alternative venue has emerged. If there are any Fletcher students, and I'm sure that there could not be many, who really do feel snobbishly towards the undergraduates, then I apologize for them and feel sorry for them that they are missing out on so much of what goes on around them. In reality though, there are less-snobbish reasons why we don't interact much with undergraduates. Our coursework and living arrangements create a sort of pressure-cooker, in which outside interactions would require a special effort -- and with 35-page term papers being the norm, that extra effort can be difficult to come by. Besides, with so many of us serving as TAs, there are sometimes conflict of interest issues. Also, you have to remember that there may be some element of jealousy among the slightly-older kids here at Fletcher. Undergraduates will get to do what we are doing someday, but we will never do what they are doing again. Sometimes this jealousy is even about looks, and the very international population at Fletcher may not be familiar with current American fashion trends. So we get a little crotchety, and someone says that the belly-baring girls should cover up, someone else disagrees, and soon we are bantering back and forth over the listserv. It becomes a joke, and nothing more, mostly to make fun of ourselves for having morphed into the kind of people who might hold such uptight views. And then a reference to the joke goes onto The Fletcher Ledger, from which it is pulled out of context and quoted in a column. It wasn't the most diplomatic of comment, to be sure, but really, it wasn't meant in the way that the Adam Pulver surmised. Some extreme comments by Fletcher students may have now shaped the undergraduate opinion of the whole group, and that is unfortunate. Truth be told, the same tactic could make the undergraduate population look very bad. Take for instance a statement directed at a Fletcher woman who wanted to use an empty seat at a table half-full of undergrads: when she seemed annoyed that they did not want to move their papers over for her, they said "Well at least we have sex!" -- implying that this explained her mood. Perhaps in order to prove this statement true, there was also an incident of two undergrads having sex in the bathroom outside the caf?©, while others waited outside to use the facilities for the purpose they were intended. I know that these words and actions are not representative of the undergraduate population at large, and at the same time I hope that undergraduates read the Fletcher quotes with an equal degree of skepticism about their representative nature. There is so much more to say, but I was serious about those 35-pageterm papers. I have one due tomorrow. So that ends my musings; back to the grindstone now. Melissa Tritter is a first-year MALD candidate at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy.

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Team prepares for weekend duels

December 3

Never mind the Jumbos' six straight victories over individual NESCAC opponents, their 26-3 record over their past 29 dual-meets, or their impressive third place finish in the NESCAC Championships last season. Thursday's meet at Babson will be just business as usual for the men's swimming and diving team. Tufts will compete with the Beavers in the Jumbos' second league match-up of the 2003-2004 season. "We've had a lot of success, but if we don't keep pushing ourselves, if we get to the NESCAC [Championships], what we've done in the past won't do anything for us," junior swimmer Seth Baron said. "Dual-meets and championships are so different; we just have to keep working hard one step at a time." The work has certainly paid off for Baron. Swimming last Saturday against Connecticut College, the Texan won the 500 yard freestyle and the un-scored 200 yard butterfly events. "He had one of our best swims of the day," coach Don Megerle said of Baron. "[Last Saturday] all the kids swam better than I expected." The Jumbos dominated the meet at UMass Dartmouth against Connecticut College. Their freshman have been made significant contributions. Divers Connell Cloyd and Todd Putnam swept the two diving events at the meet. But the Jumbos nevertheless remain tenacious, yet unassuming. Not even any of the veteran Jumbos seem to allow their success, which is now a staple of Tufts athletics, to alter the approach to the season. Senior swimming tri-captain Kaili Mauricio shrugged off the team's accumulating laurels. "We don't come into the season with a set of material goals," Mauricio said. "We just want to perform to the best of our ability. We don't just come in here and say we're going to [the championships]." Unfortunately for the Jumbos, however, their past success will make it hard for people to see anything different. Over the past four years, Tufts has never finished below fifth at the NESCAC/New England Championships, and in the 2001-2002 season Tufts finished its year at the NCAA Division III Championships in Ada, Ohio. Megerle has built up a reputation similar to that of a demigod, winning six coach-of-the year awards and numerous other team honors in his 33 year career at Tufts. Diving coach Brian Snoodgrass is also creating his own name on the hill, as the former high school champion is entering his 16th year of instruction following a successful diving career at Columbia University. This year's team is not prepared to undo its success any time soon, and very well could go even farther than it has in the past. The much heralded freshman class and rising sophomores, coupled with the experience of veterans like Baron and senior tri-captains Mauricio, Jamie Myers, and Greg Schmidt will most likely bring the Jumbos into the thick of things before the end of the season. "This year, we might be a little different in a good way," Mauricio said. "We have been doing more yardage in terms of practicing, we have a lot of depth, the freshman class is extraordinarily good, plus our sophomores are also very strong." Thursday's match-up against Babson is at 7 p.m., making for what most likely will be a short meet. The home coaches decide what events will be held and scored, and generally make weekday meets shorter than weekend trials due to class and work considerations. Tufts will make the short trip to Babson Park, Massachusetts, on Thursday. On Saturday the team will travel to Maine to take on Bowdoin. Regardless of the quick turnaround for the weekend meet against another NESCAC opponent, the Jumbos aren't getting ahead of themselves. "It's one meet at a time," Baron said. "You have to keep your focus."

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Mr. Jumbo Personified

December 3

Lights, camera, action! Get ready for Tufts' first ever Mr. Jumbo competition. Does he know the capital of Chile? What would he do to enhance the Tufts Community? What are his special talents? Find out at the Mr. Jumbo competition in which 20 young gentlemen from the Tufts community will be showcasing their talents, wit, and wisdom, battling it out until one is ultimately crowned as the ultimate Mr. Jumbo. The Mr. Jumbo Competition is a product of collaborative efforts from the Sophomore Class Council in conjunction with the Tufts Spirit Coalition. Together, they collectively proposed the idea to the Tufts administration. The event was initially created as an act to bring the Tufts community closer together. Stephanie Anastapoules, a member of the Sophomore Class Council, hopes the event will raise school spirit, promote unity within the Tufts' classes, and "address the issue of community building." Additionally, the event also aims to give students some comic relief during a stressful part of the academic year. One of the principle goals of the event is to "unite the four classes" according to Joe Weiner, Sophomore Class Council President. The event is open for any student; however, there are no females participating in the event. The organizers said that there were some female nominees but none accepted the nomination to perform in the competition tonight at 9 p.m. in Cohen Auditorium. The event is hoped to be a success and is based on research conducted by the Sophomore Class Council. Similar events put on by other universities and colleges have been remarkably well received and Weiner anticipates a "full house" on Thursday night. The organizers have hopes to that this first Mr. Jumbo event will be the premiere of a series of annual competitions. The event will not just be showcasing the Mr. Jumbo Competition. There will also be dance performances by SOC and the orchestra will be present to provide additional entertainment. The Mr. Jumbo competition is scheduled to open with a short choreographed dance, involving the 20 Mr. Jumbo competitors. This will mark the first round of elimination. The judges, composed by an array of faculty, administration, and students, will then eliminate the competitors down to 15. The Mr. Jumbo Competition will then move into the fashion competition, in which there are two categories: Jumbo spirit and Thursday night wear. Get ready to see these potential Mr. Jumbo's bust out with brown and blue and keep your eyes open for creative, catchy night wear. Spirit of Color is then scheduled to interlude with two dances including the all-male dance group and a bongo dance. The competition will then feed into the trivia round, in which all remaining contestants will be asked 3 trivia questions ranging from medium to difficult levels. These questions will cover everything from quantum physics to Chinese translations. The contestants are not expected to know the answers, but rather they will be judged upon their "creativity in answering" according to Weiner. The five remaining contestants will then perform their talents. Each performer will be given five minutes to display his talent. The talents are rumored to range from guitar and piano interludes to other more 'original' talents, which have yet to be publicly claimed. As senior participant Randy Newsom states "it's going to be a fun night." He specified that his talent involves "water drinking names." The suspense is on. Who does the Tufts community think is the ultimate Mr. Jumbo?

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Vet school successful in landing NIH contract to combat bioterror

December 2

The largest portion of the veterinary school's contract with the National Institute of Health (NIH) will go to developing an extensive center to study botulism, even though the vet school has no previous experience with the bacteria. Seventeen million dollars out of the total $25 million contract will go to develop the Center for Botulinum Therapies Research and Development. According to vet school professor Saul Tzipori, who was responsible for acquiring the contract from the NIH, Tufts won the contract because it had a unique vision of how to proceed with research. "We have ideas and new approaches," he said. "The NIH was looking for someone who will execute the objective of antitoxin therapy. For that we really need understanding of what's available and how it can be improved. We have a broader outlook." Although the vet school doesn't have any experience working with botulism specifically, for 12 years the school has been funded by the NIH to study infectious diseases. Previous work has gone into studying E. coli and its effects. "We have expertise in antibodies that are associated with infectious diseases," Tzipori said. "The work with botulism will be the same - just harder. We developed a whole plan of action - it shows we can develop a new approach." The center will be responsible for developing a centralized bio-database generated from information from around the nation, in addition to studying the toxin that is produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. Infection of this bacterium results in botulism poisoning. In developing the botulism center the vet school will be working with the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, which has experience studying the chemistry of the bacteria the produces the botulism toxin. "[UMass-Dartmouth] has a track record in understanding the functions of these toxins and understanding the chemistry," Tzipori said. Although Tufts is subcontracting some work to UMass-Dartmouth, the remainder of the work will be done in-house by members of the vet school faculty. "That's what our strength is," Tzipori said. "That's what makes it easy." The additional eight million dollars from the contract will go to develop a Microbiology Research Unit (MRU) designed to study food and water-born diseases. Within the MRU, the vet school will work to identify different pathogens, develop therapy for food and water-born illnesses, and determine which food and water-born diseases can transfer from animals to humans. The vet school is part of a collection of five different universities that constitute the Food and Waterborne Diseases Integrated Research Network. Other universities include Michigan State and the University of Maryland. In total, this year the NIH distributed $100 million to the five institutions to study various components associated with bio-terrorism. The vet school will play an important role in the national emergency response plan if the US is a victim of bioterrorism. The vet school will be responsible for identifying pathogens and supplying information to the government. The government's urgency in studying potential bioterror agents, like botulism, increased after Sept.11. President Bush cited fear that Saddam Hussein's government had the ability to produce biological weapons of mass destruction. The US budget for 2003 included $2.4 billion to start research on ways to combat bioterrorism. The government awarded The NIH $1.75 billion to conduct research, which funds Tufts. The MRU center is in the implementation stage of its plan. If all goes well, within three years Tzipori and others will test the procedures developed to see if they are effective in combating the infectious diseases. The infectious diseases department at the Vet School got started with a grant from the NIH. This current contract is the largest one that Tufts has ever won. Tzipori is confident that there are enough resources available to achieve all of the goals outlined for the NIH. "The money is there to do all of these activities, we just have to set priorities," he said.

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Jumbos dam Beavers with big win

December 2

A week had elapsed since the women's basketball team's last game, but the time off for the holidays did not stop the Jumbos from routing their second straight opponent. Tufts trounced the non-league Babson Beavers last night, 79-57, to bring its season record up to 3-1 and push Babson down to the .500 mark at 2-2. The Jumbos began the game looking fresh and fiery. The team jumped out to a 10-0 lead just two minutes in. With several steal conversions and high energy on both ends of the court, Tufts had the Beavers wondering how to stop the Jumbo stampede. In addition to the early offensive explosion, the team played a full court press defense for most of the game, taking advantage of its athleticism and depth. "[The press] lets us get up and down the court and set up an offense every time," coach Carla Berube said. Every active Jumbo player spent time on the court in this game due to Berube's physically demanding strategy. "Even without a big lead, I'm going to put these players in," Berube said. "We need them. The good thing is that with our bench we can sub in and deflate the opponent." Tufts looked as unrelenting as the force of gravity for most of the first half. With 44 points and 11 steals in the opening 20 minutes, the Jumbos were clearly the dominant squad. Senior tri-captain Maritsa Christoudias had seven points, two assists and two steals while fellow senior tri-captain Erin Buckley and sophomore Jessica Powers netted eight points a piece. Buckley and junior Allison Love also utilized their height (6'1" and 5'10", respectively) over a small Babson team. At the half, Love had six points, two rebounds and two blocks, while Buckley added to her eight points with one block and four boards. "I knew that Babson was a shorter team with no one over six feet," Buckley said. "That gave me confidence going into the game [and] gave me an advantage on both offense and defense." Leading the team in steals with three at the half was sophomore Julia Verplank. Tufts ended the first half with a comfortable 44-29 advantage. However, the Beavers came out with a new intensity and a zone defense in the second session. The Beavers began stealing the ball and capitalizing on Jumbo mistakes. However, the Tufts offense adjusted accordingly to the zone, keeping the Beavers at bay despite the momentum shift. "We moved the ball around and got good shots," Berube said. "We crashed the boards and got some good offensive rebounds." Though the Jumbo lead was never threatened -- the closest Babson came was within 13 points (52-39) five minutes into the second half -- their execution continued to waver at times and resulted in several intercepted long passes and some traveling and double dribble violations. "We need to work on keeping our focus and playing the whole 40 minutes," Buckley said. Play was stopped briefly late in the second half due to a knee injury to Babson's junior guard Amanda Hellen. Hellen was helped off the court with her right leg bent at a 90-degree angle the wrong way. All in all, the Jumbos were satisfied with yet another substantial victory. The team will use this, and each subsequent game, as a learning experience and chance to improve as it prepares for the important NESCAC games coming up after the winter holidays. "It was a good win for us," Berube said. "But there is a lot we need to work on." Tufts now stands at 3-1 on the year going into tomorrow's home game against Gordon. Last year, the Jumbos beat Gordon on the road 68-52. "We have to play our game against a good Gordon team," Berube said.

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