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The Setonian
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Gym etiquette, part two

November 5

Due to the massive amount of e-mail responses I received regarding my last column, I have decided to print a second installment of gym etiquette. I hope this time I finish covering all the bases. I am a newbie to the gym scene, and I really enjoyed your column last week on the fitness etiquette (I read the column on the Daily website). I realized that I was guilty of a few of the etiquette transgressions. However, I definitely felt that one important topic you missed was body odor. What about the people who don't wear deodorant when they workout? They always take away from my workouts. Kristen "Always Smellin Fresh" Neufeld, Penn State University First and foremost, before you go to workout, smell yourself. There is nothing worse than walking by someone and being hit by a wave of body odor so thick you feel like you are swimming through it. It's distracting, and it also stigmatizes you as "the stinky kid," a title that may even be worse than "the sweaty kid." A simple swipe of deodorant right before you leave your room will ensure that you remain as odorless as possible during your workout. Keep rest periods between sets as short as possible. While it is acceptable to rest several minutes between really heavy sets, it is not acceptable to get a drink, have a conversation, go to the bathroom, and run to your car between sets. It is incredibly frustrating to go over to an empty bench only to have some dude run over to you in a huff and say in his deepest, most "I am diesel" voice: "Yo, I got two more sets." So you acknowledge him, and you wait... and wait... and wait. Ten minutes later, the asshole finally comes back over to do another set. Then he goes back to chatting. Be cognizant of other people. If someone is waiting for the piece of equipment you are on, be polite. Offer to let them work in, or finish your sets in a timely fashion. Taking forever between sets is extremely discourteous. On the other side of the issue, if you are waiting for a piece of equipment, don't stand in front of the person using the equipment and grill her (or him) until she feels so uncomfortable that she would rather cut her workout in half than face being the subject of your glare for any longer. I use females as an example here because I most often see this happen with girls on cardio machines. If you want to use a machine, politely ask how much longer the current user has. Once you find out, go away. Take a walk around the gym, get a drink, or chat for a few minutes. Staring at the person will not make you any friends. When you become the subject of the "Get off my machine" gaze, you will know what I am talking about. Please dress appropriately. Sure, your body is probably God's gift to the opposite sex. However, you are going to the gym, not a fashion show. If it takes you more than three minutes to get dressed for the gym, your outfit is probably not appropriate. Ladies, let me give you a hint: try leaving something to the imagination; I swear, guys like it. Guys, if you are more worried about scuffing your new sneakers or getting pit stains on your new Diesel cut-off than you are about the workout, it's time to re-evaluate. Gym attire should be functional. Sure, everyone wants to look good, but don't do it at the expense of a decent workout. If you are doing abs on one of the mats, be considerate and lie across the width of the mat. This way you leave room for other people to use it. Too often I see a person doing crunches lengthwise while visibly disgruntled gym patrons stand around waiting for the person to finish. Only lift weight you can handle. It is both inconsiderate and irresponsible to rely on a spotter to lift the weight for you. If you can't lift the weight off the rack by yourself, it is too heavy. Also, if the weight is so high that your range of motion is a fraction of what it should be, guess what... it is too heavy. You may (and probably will) seriously injure yourself. E-mail questions to fitness@tuftsdaily.com

The Setonian
News

Senate hopes to emphasize brown and blue at bookstore

November 5

Two senators are working to put a little more spirit in Tufts' bookstore. Freshman Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator Zach Landau and sophomore Senator Jonathan Gais are sponsoring a plan to incorporate more chocolate brown and powder blue -- Tufts' official colors -- into the bookstore's offerings. The senators would also like the bookstore to sell vintage Tufts clothing. "It's a great project that could stir up some school spirit," Gais said. Landau said at other schools, the school colors were featured more prominently than at Tufts. "You can't get anything from Harvard that isn't crimson or white," he said. But bookstore assistant manager Frank Moore, who orders merchandise for the store, said that he had only recently heard of the initiative through student workers. The senators admitted that it has been difficult to make progress with University administrators, including Director of Dining Services and Business Affairs Patti Lee Klos and bookstore manager Ron Gill. "Progress has been slow with Patti Lee," Landau said. The bookstore's reluctance to embrace the Brown and Blue Initiative, as the proposal is called, could be a result of the sales success of non-brown and blue products. Popular items at the bookstore include red sweatshirts, dark blue hats, and gray T-shirts embroidered with the word "Tufts" or "Jumbos." This is not the first time Senators have attempted to increase school spirit with aesthetic changes. Last fall, former Senate Historian Allison Clarke and Senator Randy Newsom related project, which resulted in the installation of a Tufts seal above the stage in Cohen Auditorium. But other proposed changes, such as adding brown and blue to more campus buildings, have yet to materialize. The two senators working on the current project insist that their proposed change in merchandise colors will be gradual. "We don't want to substitute, but rather augment the bookstore with brown and blue clothing," Landau said. Since it was adopted in 1960, the school's color scheme has attracted a mixture of responses. "A complaint on Parents Weekend regarding school colors was a trustee saying the football uniforms were ugly," President Larry Bacow said. While many consider Tufts lacking in spirit, University Professor and Former Provost Sol Gittleman, who has spent 39 years at Tufts and is currently writing a book about 50 years of Tufts history, disagrees. "We have terrific school spirit," Gittleman said. "This is as good as it gets." Gittleman said that school spirit cannot be "legislated" or forced on students. "Then it becomes the Soviet Union," he said. He also suggested that school spirit can involve academic pride as well as athletics. "The student who comes to Tufts is primarily an academic. At schools like Duke, alcoholic orgy is school spirit," he said. "Why can't there be academic school spirit?" Landau and Gais are hoping students will make suggestions for their project, whose progress can be tracked on the Senate's website.

The Setonian
News

A Jumbo-sized disappointment

November 5

The men's soccer team wrapped up its 2003 season on Sunday, falling to Middlebury in the first round of the NESCAC championship tournament. The Jumbos finished 6-7-2 overall and posted a 4-4-1- NESCAC mark on the year. Though 2003 was an average year by the numbers, the team fought through many close matches and made the necessary adjustments as the season progressed. "What was good about this season was that the team got better as the season went on," associate coach Andy Nelson said. "We played some of our best soccer at the end of [the year] and put ourselves into a position where we got ourselves into the playoffs." Another important aspect of this year's squad was how well the Jumbos worked together as a team no matter how they were doing in the standings. "It was really impressive that whether winning or losing, [the players] always did the best for the team," Nelson said. "You rarely see that kind of attitude." The major contributors to this team cohesion were the eight members of the class of 2004. Captains Mike Blea, Jesse Dinner and Brian Mikel, along with classmates Alex Berg, Rupak Datta, David DeLuca, Craig Gelormini and Andy Wood led the team and kept it together in the good times and the bad. "[The seniors] will leave a big void to fill," Nelson said. "We have plenty of talent to fill it, but they had an awful lot of character, and that is key." Blea moved from his traditional sweeper position this season and became a vital part of the Jumbo offense as a midfielder. He was second on the team in scoring with four goals and two assists to bring his collegiate totals to seven and three, respectively. Blea controlled the midfield with his aggressive style. "Mike's done tremendously well for us this year," Nelson said. "He fights and competes, and that's something you really need in the middle of the field." Mikel also worked the midfield alongside Blea. He played in every game and scored a goal when Tufts tied Bates on September 28. With nine goals and 10 assists over his time as a Jumbo, Mikel will graduate as the team's career points leader with 28. Though Dinner was not an everyday player until later in the season, he helped hold the team together and eventually ended up playing a key part in the late season defense. "Jesse came in at the end of the season, played really well, and got a regular starting spot," Nelson said. "He gave us another defensive element and some leadership in the wide midfield." Workhorses Andy Wood, Alex Berg, and Craig Gelormini set a good example for the under classmen with their persistence and heart. "Gelormini played in five different positions, and could adapt to any of [them]," Nelson said. "He figured out the system really well and was just tremendous. He was the glue that held the back four together with two freshmen side by side." Datta and DeLuca also helped the Jumbo cause. Datta had an assist in Tufts' crucial win over Colby on Nov. 1. DeLuca knocked in the only Tufts goal in a 1-1 tie with MIT on September 17 to finish with five career goals. In addition to the seniors, the underclassmen played a huge part in what success the team had this year. Freshman Ben Castellot was the squad's scoring leader with five goals in 14 games. Sophomores Todd Gilbert, Mike Guigli and Mike Lingenfelter accounted for five of the team's 17 season goals. Guigli also led the Jumbos in assists with three. Juniors Matt Sullivan and quad-captain Scott Conroy shared duties between the pipes this season. When Conroy went down with a concussion against Middlebury on Oct. 25, Sullivan stepped in for the final crucial days of the year. "Matt came in at the end of the season. That can be a difficult situation," Nelson said. "He didn't even blink an eye. He has leadership potential and will be another plus [for us] next year." Looking ahead to the 2004 campaign, the Jumbos hope to bring in a good recruiting class to help fill the spots left by this year's eight seniors. They will also look to earn a home game in the first round of the NESCAC championships to ensure what happened against Middlebury on Sunday does not repeat itself. For this season though, Nelson was as proud of he and head coach Ralph Ferrigno's team as any coach could be. "They would soak up everything you asked of them and work their socks off," Nelson said. "It's always easy for everything to move a long well while winning, but when you had a season like we had, it is really easy for people to stray. Nobody did that. This team was really top drawer."

The Setonian
News

Life As Usual in the NBA

November 5

75-68. 73-56. 71-60. Unfortunately for NBA fans, those aren't college scores. With the exception of the Dallas Mavericks dropping 127 points on the hapless Utah Jazz and the Seattle Supersonics' Rashard Lewis scoring 50 points on the clueless LA Clippers, the first week of the NBA season has been marked by poor shooting, sloppy passing, and stagnant offense. As teams get more in sync and find their rhythms again, expect those bricks to turn into swishes and those confused is-this-where-I'm-supposed-to-be picks to turn into efficient pick and rolls. But the early part of the NBA season doesn't exactly offer a plethora of offense for fans to get excited about, so fans have turned to other antics for entertainment. First and foremost among these shenanigans was Kevin Garnett getting ejected from the first quarter of a game and then punting the ball into the stands, the first time that has been done since Mav's coach Don Nelson did it last season. In preseason, the Portland Trailblazers did a lot of talking about how they were a different team this year, a team that had a code of conduct, a team that would respect each other, their opponents, the fans, and the law, while focusing on winning. But inside, one couldn't help but doubt the unlikeliness of this scenario - it just seemed too farfetched to be believable. Well surprise, less than one week into the season, the Portland team is back to its old ways. Bonzi Wells was fined by the Blazers on Tuesday for making an obscene gesture to fans after Monday night's 94-83 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Wells (who is a team leader and captain) also threw a water bottle and towel onto the court. Of course, compared to last year, when Wells spit on Danny Ferry in a game, this was mere child's play. Wells managed to excuse his act with a line straight from the pro athlete's denial handbook: "If I did it, it was probably wrong, but I don't remember," Wells said. "I'm not going to be 100% perfect. I'm going to have a 10% lapse sometimes." In addition to Wells' ridiculousness, Portland also showed extreme selfishness on the floor, often declining to make the extra pass and not giving sufficient help in the defense. Monday's game was also noteworthy because it showed what the 76ers can do when they put it all together. Much had been made of Philadelphia's shoddy 1-2 record going into the Portland game, as their only win was against the Miami Heat, who, um, aren't exactly hot. But there are a couple of reasons not to write off the 76ers. First of all, the season is 1/20 of the way over. The 76ers lost only to the Sacramento Kings (whom a lot of people will lose to this year) and to the Golden State Warriors, when Mike Dunleavy shot 11-15 from the field and had 32 points and 11 rebounds, a freak occurrence of nature if ever there was one. Dunleavy is not about to accomplish this feat every night -- this is the NBA, not Duke. In Dunleavy's other two games, he shot a combined 10-36. So chalk that loss up to an aberration. Granted, the game does raise some questions about Philly's defense, but that's nothing that practice can't solve. Additionally, the 76ers were missing Glenn Robinson during this time span as he served a three game suspension. He returned for the Portland game, and the Philadelphia offense looked smooth and, dare it be said, at times dangerous. One team that has consistently looked good is the Los Angeles Lakers. No, actually, they look like world beaters. The Lakers are 4-0, and that is really no surprise. The only thing that could sidetrack them is Kobe Bryant's trial and at this point that doesn't seem likely. LA's starting lineup includes Shaquille O'Neal, Bryant, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton -- all arguably among the top two players at their position over the last ten years. The Lakers' fifth starter is Devean George, who is poised to have a breakout year because he will be the one left open when everyone else is double teaming Bryant or boxing out Malone and O'Neal. So far, George is averaging 12.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, and 2.2 spg, while shooting nearly 62% from the field. The lesson: when you're playing alongside four Hall of Famers, everything is easier, and your team is good.

The Setonian
News

Who is Howard Dean?

November 5

Who is Howard Dean exactly? Some have compared him to George McGovern. Some have compared him to Jimmy Carter. And Bill Clinton. And John McCain. He seems unique, so everyone wants to slap a label on him. He's just not like the rest of those guys running now, so he must be like someone else who has run in the past. First, the McGovern comparison. I can't tell you how many times I've heard a prominent, but of course anonymous, member of the Democratic Party comment that nominating Dean would lead to another 49er nominee. Here the Democrats are echoing their fear that Dean would lose every state but Vermont. Thus, he'd lose 49 states - a 49er, just like McGovern in 1972 and Mondale in 1984. McGovern was liberal and challenged a sitting president up for re-election during an unpopular war. I suppose there's some superficial parallel to Dean there. But Dean simply ain't that liberal. Check out his record, he's a moderate. But there is one significant parallel that's worth mentioning: McGovern's campaign was successful due to his pioneering direct-mail fundraising, much as Dean's campaign has thrived on internet fundraising. Then there are the Carter and Clinton comparisons. Dean, like both of these ex-Presidents, hails from an obscure state that no one's ever been to and few can locate on a map. Both Carter and Clinton faced heavy fire as insiders tried to paste them as outsiders with no grasp of foreign policy. Dean is facing the same fire. From the earliest days of the Dean campaign, comparisons to McCain began emerging. Both are energetic, seem to tell it as it is, launch into tirades with their raspy voices and are bulldogs on the campaign trail. I'd contend that Dean has willingly accepted the title of "The McCain of 2004" but I'm not so sure that he deserves it. Dean's campaign has captured the innovation of McGovern, it's working with the resume of Clinton, and sports a fiery candidate with hints of McCain. These comparisons might be all well and good, but there's another comparison that I've not read much about but that I've started piecing together that's far more compelling. The best comparison is with George W. Bush. Yep, you read that right, our president. Dean's the Democratic George Bush. First, their backgrounds. Bush: the grandson of a senator, son of a president, attended Andover Academy and Yale. Dean: son and grandson of ultra-wealthy New York City investment bankers, attended St. George's and, of course, Yale. Neither was exactly raised in poverty. Both had serious drinking problems when they were younger - most don't know this about Dean, but don't take my word, check out his forthcoming book Winning Back America in which he tries to lay out his past before the press digs into it. Both ended up in the similar roles as rather insignificant governors: Dean as governor of a state that's not as populous as some Boston suburbs and Bush as governor of Texas, a state with one of the constitutionally weakest governors in the nation. And both rode these jobs into serious presidential bids. What's most striking though are the personality comparisons. On the campaign trail, Bush was most known for his spontaneous, often ludicrous, bumbled statements. Everyone remembers the famous Bushisms from campaign 2000-but how about these Deanisms: Days ago, in an interview with an Iowan newspaper, Dean remarked that he wants to be the candidate "for the guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks." Then last week at an event in Boulder, CO, he proclaimed that he's a "metrosexual" (a term coined recently to describe straight men who are "in touch with their feminine side") only moments later to backtrack and declare he's actually "a square" and doesn't even know what the term metrosexual really means. Earlier in the summer, Dean took a lot of heat for commenting at a forum: "We've gotten rid of [Saddam Hussein], and I suppose that's a good thing." He supposes? Last spring, he made the comment that as President he would prepare the United States for the day when "we won't always have the strongest military." Running on a platform of letting the military decline while the US loses its supremacy is a rather perplexing strategy. Now certainly these Deanisms aren't as funny as some of Bush's misstatements. But they're similar in that neither one, it seems, can be guaranteed to open their mouths on the campaign trail without saying something they'll regret. The last comparison concerns the arrogance and pomposity of the two. Few would deny that with Bush it's his way or the highway on every issue. But if you follow Dean closely, you'll find the same arrogance. Even when he makes a blatant mistake (a recent ad he ran in New Hampshire comes to mind in which he proclaims that he's the only candidate who has consistently opposed the war-Kucinich was not pleased) and is called on it, he refuses to back down. Bush and Dean were both raised in opulence, attended the best private schools, abused their youth and developed destructive drinking problems, recovered in mid-life to become governors, if not both rather insignificant ones, and then ran for president. Both wreak of arrogance and a sense of entitlement, which I suppose should be expected when hailing from the de facto aristocracy. But both cover it up and come across as 'commoners,' like you and I and everyone else. And maybe in the end, there's really something to these similarities. Both seem to be the antithesis of insider-Washington-style politics, they're the un-politicians. They had drinking problems in the 70s (hey, who didn't?), they're not canned and are prone to misspeak (it happens to all of us now and again, doesn't it?), and they both seem to fly in the face of retail politicians like Bill Clinton who calculate every word so it pleases their audience. They seem just like you and I and we love it. Adam Schultz is a senior majoring in political science. He can be reached at Schultz@tuftsdaily.com.

The Setonian
News

Right to Arms Club comes to vote tomorrow

November 4

The Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) is scheduled to decide tomorrow night whether to recognize a club that aims to bring debates on the Second Amendment to campus and educate students about firearms. The organization, known as the Tufts Right to Arms Club (TRA), is backed by sophomore Nicholas Boyd and junior Brandon Balkind, who cited "a lack of debate about this right." The Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms. To whom this right applies has been extensively debated, with gun-control advocates saying that the wording does not refer to individual rights and opponents saying that it does. Boyd, a sophomore, said the club's main goal will be firearms education, based on an on-campus survey the group conducted, which he claims "found a correlation between students' education on firearms issues and their stance on gun rights." "This is not a mini debate society," Boyd said. "We do have a position on gun control and we do think it is harmful to the United States." Boyd did not foresee any problems with recognition from the TCUJ. "We have the necessary signatures," he said. According to Balkind, organizers have encountered significant support and interest in the club. If the club is approved, it will be able to apply to the TCU Senate Treasury for funding. Boyd was elected to the TCUJ in late October, the same body which will vote on the club's recognition. However, he was unclear whether he could vote. "I don't want to create any more controversy than the club already has," Boyd said. "As far as I know there is nothing mandating [my abstention]." "If the vote is close, I may change my mind," he added. But TCUJ President Abigail Moffat said Boyd would not participate in any way as a TCUJ member. Though Boyd will likely pitch the group to the TCUJ, he will "obviously recuse himself from that question and answer session and deliberations," she said. The club's activities will likely focus more on trips than meetings. "There's only so much to do at meetings, the events will obviously have to be off-campus," Boyd said. State law prohibits anyone from bringing a firearm onto a college campus or its vicinity without written permission from the institution, and Boyd said that the club will not bring guns to the Tufts campus. "Neither my co-founder nor myself owns guns -- we're not trying to violate any policy." In addition, to meetings and shooting trips, Boyd said the club also plans on promoting their interpretation of the Second Amendment. "We hope to bring speakers in support of the Second Amendment, to do our best to have the entire campus learn about it," he said. Boyd is excited to give the opportunity for people to "put their hand on a gun, see what it's like, and learn about it." Trips to shooting ranges will be sponsored by the Massachusetts organization GOAL, the Gun Owners Action League. "Target shooting is a very fun and widespread sport outside of the Boston area," Balkind said. "Though much of our school comes from urban areas, there are many students who enjoy hunting and sport shooting. As we educate Tufts students, and give them an opportunity to shoot, we expect many will show interest in forming a shooting team. We may seek advice from MIT, as they already have one." In response to administrative and student safety concerns, the University's Risk Manager, David Slater, will offer an opinion about the potential risks of such a group. "If the Right to Arms group gains recognition and if part of their goal is to practice shooting in an off-campus facility, Slater will review the arrangements and the safety considerations," Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said. In an article written by Boyd and Balkind in The Primary Source, the two argue that gun laws are ineffective, and compare crime statistics from the United States and Sweden. "[In] Sweden, for example, where there are far fewer guns and much stricter gun laws, the violent crime rate is twice that of the US," they wrote. The article did not include statistics about specifically gun-related deaths in that country.

The Setonian
News

Guster Rocks Out at Harvard

November 4

Take Harvard's Gordon track, cover it with brown construction paper, add lights, a small stage, a few fences for kicks, and you've got Guster. The three former Jumbos who make up the acoustic rock group Guster rocked Cambridge on Sunday night, playing to the extensive crowd at Harvard's Gordon Track and Tennis Center. The trio, which originally met during their freshman orientation at Tufts University and played their first gig at Hotung Cafe, made no secret of their roots, at one point proclaiming that "we're from that other school in Medford!" -- automatically triggering cheers from the Tufts students speckled throughout the crowd. The concert represented the kick off performance for Harvard's Undergraduate Council Concert Committee. Although the committee originally tried for bigger names like the well-known Outkast, such performers ultimately exceeded the price range of $80,000 to $100,000. Guster front man Ryan Miller cleverly pointed this out during the opening set, laughing as he read through clippings from the Harvard Crimson that stated Guster was a cheap band the Harvard campus had "settled upon." The crowd responded with chuckles as Guster commenced to prove their doubters wrong, lighting up the night with their alternative rock beats and jams. Guster opened with the upbeat number 'What You Wish For,' a piece off of its album Lost and Gone Forever. Guitarist/singer Miller's high vocals harmonized with the voice of fellow singer Adam Gardner, and the light strains of their mellow acoustic guitars floated through the air as the band slowly seduced the audience with such favorites as "Demons," "Barrel of a Gun," "Airport Song," and their new, frequently-played single, "Amsterdam." Each song stood uniquely on its own, played with compassion, zeal, and emotion. By the end of Guster's set, the crowd was singing along with every number, often clapping out the beats. The group lived up to its hype with the right mix of high-tempo, on-tune rockers, and proved that while the band may not have the fame of some more highly-priced comrades, it certainly knows how to rock. The group's signature bongo-style percussion set rocked center stage, innovatively beat by percussionist Brian Rosenworcel, who grooved in a chimpanzee-like fashion. His efforts created a modern-jam feel that exhorted energy from the laid-back, contented crowd, intertwining layers of percussion rhythm and bringing a unique depth to the music. The fact that a weakly-promoted band like Guster has such a following is fairly impressive in and of itself. Rather than sign on with a major label that could afford to serious promotion, Guster has relied on a strategy of grassroots fan support and relentless touring, which has landed it with a loyal, abundant fan base. Most of the crowd claimed familiarity with songs that never made it to the radio, many of which were obscure tunes off of earlier albums, and the band relied entirely on material from its past three albums -- playing absolutely no covers during the impressive show. Lead vocalist Ryan Miller demonstrated his share of quirks throughout the show and Guster gleamed with pride for its Boston roots, enticing the crowd with laughs and stories. Miller did his best to bond with the crowd, alluding to playing outside the 'T' and dining at Harvard's pizza shop, Pinocchio's. The home-town connections went over well, generating cheers from the audience, and Miller's tangents helped to humanize the band. The opening act, singer Kathleen Edwards, was a mix between Dido and Beth Orton. Though entertaining, she performed nothing original that could ease the audience's yearning to see Guster. At one point during her set, Edwards noted that the audience looked like "dead corpses," -- not a bad observation, yet when noted by the performer, the show can't be going that well. Most of the crowd stood, with arms at sides, waiting for the Edwards to finally take her leave. Before Guster's concluding song of Fa-Fa, Miller joked that "if you clap really hard, we'll come back out in a minute." He and his fellow musicians did well in translating their upbeat, jam music to the crowd at the Gordon Track, fully energizing themselves onstage and proving that local, 'cheap' music is the way to go.

The Setonian
News

Volleyball suffers losing weekend

November 4

The regular season ended last weekend for the women's volleyball team with a disappointing performance in its third and final NESCAC weekend. The Jumbos started off strong on Friday with a win over Bowdoin, but fell to both Colby and Bates on Saturday. The team now looks to prepare for its NESCAC quarterfinal match on Friday against Amherst. Once again there was no real way to pinpoint what went wrong for the team on Saturday. While Bates was expected to be difficult competition -- at that point it was the second place team in the division and had lost only one official NESCAC game -- Tufts had already learned from first hand experience it was a beatable team. Earlier in October, as part of the Bates Invitational, the Jumbos dominated the Bobcats 3-1. On Saturday however, the only thing that was the same about the match-up was the score. This time the Jumbos were on the losing end of a 3-1 decision (29-31, 20-30, 30-25, 28-30) in a game that this time counted towards the squad's official NESCAC record. "We definitely could have beaten these teams," junior setter Rebecca Schaevitz said. "We had already beaten Bates, so it was kind of a shock that we lost." And by the numbers, it is also difficult to determine why the team earned the loss instead of the win this time around. In terms of offensive kills, defensive digs, and aces, the numbers appear to even out for the team in both match ups. Enter the central core of volleyball where it is not the big plays and errors that sway the difference of a game, but rather the united movement of all six members on the court. "If we could pinpoint specifically what was wrong then we could fix it," Schaevitz said. "It's more just getting back to basics and picking up the intensity." However there were a few telltale signals in the statistics from the games that do show a decrease in focus that has hit this team late in the season. There has been an increase in service receive errors (three in the first Bates game versus six in the second) and blocks (ten versus three). "We are going to work this week on boosting each individual's basic skills, especially serve receive, which was much better at the beginning of the season than it is now," Schaevitz said. The second game on Saturday was once again a rematch for the Jumbos, this time with Colby. The Jumbos had already lost to this team at the end of September in the MIT Tournament. There was no avenging that loss for the Jumbos, as they succumbed once again in a 3-1 defeat (18-30, 28-30, 30-22. 24-30). Schaevitz set the match and gave 45 assists, as well as contributing three service aces. Freshman outside hitter Kelli Harrison led the offense with 15 kills and contributed defensively along with junior outside hitter Emily Macy for 13 digs apiece. While losing to the two more difficult teams of the weekend, the Jumbos were able to put away the team they should have beaten on Friday. Coming into the match, Bowdoin held the seventh place spot in the conference with a losing record of 3-5, and Tufts was able to dispose of the Polar Bears in three games (30-21, 30-18, 30-20). Junior right side hitter Alison Sauer and sophomore middle hitter April Gerry earned a team high nine kills. Schaevitz once again stood out at the service line with two aces, and sophomore middle hitter Courtney Evans contributed two of her own as well. The Jumbos must now concentrate this week on finding that spark that was able to give them the edge over the more difficult teams earlier in the season. By the numbers, this team has the talent, but it all needs to come together to outplay its postseason opponents. "We came out flat," Schaevitz said. "We were not as intense as we could have been. But we know that and we know we can improve on that for this weekend."

The Setonian
News

Equestrian halfway through the season

November 4

With two shows behind them and two to go, the Tufts Equestrian Team is now in the middle of its season. Competing in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association in zone one, region four, they took home a fifth place on Oct, 11th at the Boston University show, the first show of the fall season, and a third place finish on the Oct. 25th at the Stonehill College show. Contributing to the third place finish was sophomore Katie Stewart, an integral member of the team last year. At Stonehill, Stewart took home first place ribbons in both her flats and fences, making her the rider to earn the most points in the show. "Katie has definitely been performing well, especially with winning her flats and fences," freshman Alex Allweiss said. In a similar fashion, junior Katie Estes placed first in her Open flats while sophomore captain Jessie Partridge placed first in the Intermediate fences and fifth in the Intermediate Flats. At the BU show, freshman Katie Dunn ran in the Open Division and turned in a strong performance, taking home a first place in her flat and third place in her fences. Sophomore and first year member Katie Lobel also rode strongly, placing first in her Walk-Trot flat in what junior captain Jessica Angerson called a "standout performance". Senior Emily Breazeale took home another first place first place, thanks to her stellar finish coming in the Novice flats. Allweiss, who took home third place in the Intermediate fences and second place in the Intermediate flats. Although its riding has been exemplary, the team hopes to see an improvement in the way the show is judged. "We are riding well, but we are not scoring that high right now," Lobel said. "The judges are just not cooperating." Lobel also noted troubles with the horses the team has been using. "It's hard because for some of us we have to ride a horse that has been riding six hours straight. We've been getting bad horses that are hard to handle." Despite this, junior Caitlin Moss believes that the team will only look to improve as the season goes on. "I feel that our finishes at the last two shows were very respectable and anticipate that we will continue to improve at each show," she said. The success of the team thus far can also be attributed to the outstanding veteran leadership. "The upperclassmen are really into [riding]," Lobel said. "They are so dedicated." Because the Equestrian Team has no "team practices" and only individual or small group lessons, members going out of their way for team building is definitely one of the keys to their success. "The team runs at night together," Lobel said. "We just have a huge amount of team unity. I mean, we'll get together the night before a show and clean our boots and watch a horse movie." Moss explained that riding takes years to perfect. "Riders are extremely committed- we endure early mornings, bad weather, yucky clean-up, long hours and hard work," she said. This upcoming weekend, Tufts is hosting a show on their home turf of Millis, MA at Apple Knoll Farms. They anticipate a strong finish to the year. "I feel really good about the team this semester. Not only are there a lot of very talented riders, more importantly there are a lot of enthusiastic and committed team members," Moss said.

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McGlynn coasts to ninth term

November 4

Medford mayoral incumbent Michael J. McGlynn swept the local polls yesterday. McGlynn was heavily favored to win yesterday's election. He said his victory was "the highest percentage of the vote I have ever gotten." McGlynn collected a total of 7,497 votes in what amounted to 81 percent of voters. His only opponent and fourth-time challenger, Patrick Fiorello, pulled in 1,762 votes. In a short speech, McGlynn said that he was extremely pleased with the results and thanked his supporters and aides. "This is a very pro vote for all of us who have worked together," McGlynn told the crowd. "Let's continue to move progressively forward." "When people come to the polls and give you their stamp of approval, it is truly a great feeling," the Mayor said after his speech. "I want to thank the public, and I pledge to continue to work with them to make Medford better than it already is," he said. Supporters, members of McGlynn's staff and community members packed into a conference room at the AmeriSuites hotel and waited anxiously to hear as the totals for each district were called out. The polls closed at 8 p.m. and all of the votes were in just before 8:30, when McGlynn announced top vote-getters for the School Board, City Council and Mayor's spot.

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Bad news for the Democrats

November 4

Call me a nerd, but I always like to look at online polls. I know online polls are not scientific because they are not random and only those who wish to participate do so. But it is always interesting to see what other nerds with too much time on their hands are thinking about. This time, I stumbled upon an unusually revealing poll posted in CNN.com. The question asked was "which issue is more important to you in the 2004 election, Iraq or the economy?" With almost 150,000 votes cast, the vast majority of CNN.com users -- 68 percent -- decided that the economy was a more important issue to them. I believe that if a proper poll asking the same question were conducted nationally, the results would not change much. It is no secret that the economy tops the list of the concerns of the American electorate -- particularly when the economy is not doing so well. But if we take this piece of information and place it in the context of last week's news of a very strong performance of the US economy during the last quarter, we can start to think about its repercussions for next year's election. It all boils down to this: if the economy picks up its pace and delivers a significant amount of new jobs sometime before next summer, the democrats will have a really hard time trying to unseat George W. Bush. Of course, it is way too early to tell whether or not the economy has fully recovered and whether or not this recovery will alleviate current unemployment in time for Election Day. But the figures are certainly impressive. The 7.2 percent growth recorded for the third quarter of 2003 is the fastest quarterly growth since the mid-1980's. This is good news for the country, and it is certainly good news for those of us who are trying to get a job. For Democrats, however, good news on the economic front means bad news for chances of getting back the White House. I wonder how the leading Democratic presidential candidates reacted to this news. I would like to think that they were happy for their country. But let's be honest here --they were probably very disappointed. The dream campaign for the Democrats is a repetition of the 1992 campaign, in which they were able to defeat an extremely popular president (who also invaded Iraq) because the economy was lousy. Now, the probability of pulling off a Clintonesque victory looks remote. It seems like the Democrats might need another issue to run against Bush Jr. this time. The clear alternative issue on which the Democrats can base their platform is foreign policy. However, like the poll I mentioned above implies, the sad truth is that most Americans do not care too much about foreign policy. They might disapprove of Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, but they would not vote him out of office just because of that. This is a frustrating reality for those of us -- American and international alike -- who realize that there is much more at stake in the coming election than the state of the American economy. How the US conducts itself abroad is very important for the whole world. Do we want an impulsive and arrogant giant, throwing its weight around? Or do we want a powerful nation that acts as an enlightened leader and cooperating partner? George W. Bush offers the former scenario. The Democrats should make the case for the latter. We are now immersed in an extremely important political debate on the proper role of the US, and politicians should extend this debate to the electorate. The daunting task for Democrats this coming election will be to translate international concerns into domestic ones. Now that the Democrats can no longer hope for a bad economy, they should not hope for a disastrous Iraq. Placing your electoral hopes on the misery of other people puts yourself in a very precarious situation. Their message should be independent of Iraq or the economy -- but they can also be incorporated. They need to make a clear case of what is wrong with Bush's policy (and there is plenty of that) in everything from tax cuts to abortion rights to civil rights. It is not just about the economy, stupid. Bush Jr. beat Al Gore after Clinton presided over one of the most prosperous periods in American history. There are plenty of other issues Americans should be concerned about. And if the Democrats can make a successful case for international cooperation rather than international bullying, they may have a chance next year. Rodrigo de Haro is a senior majoring in International Relations. He can be reached via e-mail at deharo@tuftsdaily.com.

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Yale Union Speaks Out Against Faculty Intimidation

November 4

At a panel discussion last week, Yale students repeated accusations that their university's administration is hostile towards attempts by graduate students to unionize. The panel, held at Tufts and sponsored by the Coalition for Social Justice and Non-Violence, included a member of Yale's Graduate Employee and Student Organization (GESO), a Yale undergraduate, and a member of the New Haven Local 34 Technical and Clerical Union. Local 34, which represents some of Yale's service, clerical and maintenance workers, has called several strikes this year that have attracted national attention. The union is currently trying to renegotiate existing contract with the University for higher pay raises and larger pension benefits. GESO is seeking recognition from the university, like its counterpart at Tufts, the Association of Student Employees at Tufts (ASET). "[Yale's administration] have been making too many decisions based on money instead of education," Seth said. "What's at stake here is the way the University is going to look. The faculty is crossing the line due to the culture the administration creates." After unionization was narrowly defeated in a referendum last April, GESO decided that it needed to educate graduate students about unionization. "We need some sort of process to get students to organize and an environment in which we can do this, where faculty can't terrorize students," said member Justin Rubin. After the defeat, the organization published a report, in which it accused Yale of conducting an anti-union campaign. "There is something distinctive about Yale in that it is historically anti-union," said GESO chair Anita Seth. "This environment has made the conversation between the groups much more tense." The report, which was presented at a public forum at Yale in September, includes several accounts of perceived faculty intimidation. It also alleged that several students were forbidden to speak about the union in the presence of certain faculty, and that they were sometimes forced to choose between academics and participating in the organization. "It seemed clear that especially students involved in the organizing effort feel that the [Yale] has provided a hostile climate," said Adolf Reed, one of the panel members. GESO's report has irked some opponents to unionization at Yale. "The evidence in that report is a handful of allegations, mostly against a few sciences faculty," said James Terry, a member of At What Cost?, an anti-union group at the university. "It makes its arguments mostly through innuendo." Terry accuses GESO of attempting to demonize Yale and said the group is "not really interested in a good collegiate environment, but only in good PR points." Others take issue with GESO's perception of student opinion on the issue. "They feel if I have a different opinion, it's because I haven't been sufficiently educated," art history student Claudia Brittenham told the Associated Press at the time of the referendum. At Tufts, ASET put unionization to a vote of graduate students last April, but the National Labor Relations Board immediately impounded the votes to prevent them from influencing subsequent hearings on the legitimacy of graduate student unions here and elsewhere. As at Yale, Tufts union organizers claim that their efforts have encountered opposition from the administration. "The word from the top is that the party line is 'no union,'" said Joseph Ramsey, a Tufts graduate student in English. "The administration is used to asking peoples' opinions when it wants them as opposed to having a collective voice at the table when a decision is made." But Ramsey feels that Tufts faculty generally support unions. A small percentage opposes unionization, he said, because unions would mean that graduate students "are no longer dependent on the good graces of a particular individual." As at Yale, an anti-union group has emerged here, by the name of Why Have a Union at Tufts? "It is not a right to get paid to learn," said Kendal Wolf, a Fletcher student and a member of the group. Wolf said that if students approached the administration with their grievances directly, they would be solved much more efficiently than if they wait for unionization. Proponents of unionization often cite increasing dependence on graduate student teaching, which now constitutes 18 percent of all teaching in universities, according to a study published by the Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions.

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In Defence of Pornography

November 4

I used to feel as though I was a traitor to all women if I didn't hate the pornography industry. It's not that I particularly like it; it's just that I don't understand why so much time and energy has been spent restricting pornography sales and distribution when the negative themes present in some pornography occur in most of regular television. According to numerous research findings, the simple act of viewing sex doesn't seem to cause any negative repercussions apart from unfulfilled sexual arousal or maybe a couple stains on a blanket. It's not sex, but violence (which is only present in an estimated 10 percent of all pornographic material) that has been shown to be harmful. Given these discoveries, I'm pretty confused as to why people continue to dwell on the horrors of pornography. Have they not watched television? Gratuitous violence is present not only in prime-time "adult" shows, but in cartoons as well. And this is to say nothing of the narrowly defined roles to which television and movie women are confined. Even if pornography was proportionately as violent and sexist as television, the fraction of the population exposed to television is much greater. Aside from those with a satellite dish or those who discovered mommy and daddy's secret box in the attic, viewing pornography is limited to adults over 18. Pornography just isn't a part of our daily life like television and movies are. I know that my family didn't go out on Sundays for "dinner and a porn," and as open as my parents were about sex, I can't recall my mother ever saying to me, "Amber, no porn till you finish your homework." Television, on the other hand, has become not only a favorite American pass time, but also a reliable babysitter. Not only are people more widely exposed to television, but they also take the messages in television more seriously. "Good" entertainment means feasible plot lines. Characters are written so that the audience can identify with them, take an interest in their lives, and justify their actions. When sexism and violence are present in this type of entertainment, they have the power to affect the audience's views and values because the audience respects and sympathizes with the character supporting these views. As fascinating as repair men and hot tubs can be, I'd be willing to bet that most people don't watch pornographic videos to be intellectually stimulated. Pornography is defined as material intended to sexually arouse, not material with a thrilling plot. We tend not to identify with the characters outside of "I wish I were getting laid right now," or "I remember in fifth grade when I had a haircut that was almost that bad, and because we don't see the plots as realistic or the characters as role models, we are very aware that any messages present in pornography should be taken with a grain of salt. Violence, rape, and degradation to women are not only most often viewed in TV and movies, but the messages there are also more insidious because they are being absorbed in an environment that is "real." Nonetheless, we continue to denigrate pornography and porn stars, while all the while admiring Bruce Willis and Vin Diesel. Parents would have an aneurysm if Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck started getting it on in the middle of Saturday morning cartoons, and yet they laugh when Wiley Coyote gets an anvil dropped on his head. We are willing to blame sex for having negative effects on our society because it is neatly quadrooned off in the form of the commonly disrespected pornography industry. We're not willing to blame violence, however, because that would involve attacking every respected media giant in the country. If we are a society plagued by the sexually perverse, it is because of the beliefs and values that slipped discreetly into our subconscious when we weren't paying attention: after school one day when we were vegging in front of the TV, or while we were waiting for the dentist and flipping through a magazine. It's not because of pornography; those messages are too blatant. If we want to protect women from sexual violence, low self esteem, and bad body image, let's concentrate on the mass media. Only when that problem is solved does it make sense to go after pornography.

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An unnecessary student organization

November 4

A group of Tufts students has asked the Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) to recognize a new student group, the Tufts Right to Arms Club (TRA). The proposed club would educate students about gun handling and promote a conservative interpretation of the Second Amendment. While many Tufts students will disagree with the group's politics, debate on this issue has roiled for years and it would be wrong of the TCUJ to deny recognition simply because the club's position is unpopular. Doing so would amount to censorship and would violate the First Amendment's sacred guarantee of the right to free speech. However, the TCUJ must deliberate in a consistent manner when it considers the need for such an organization at Tufts. Earlier this semester, the TCUJ denied an application for recognition by the Tufts Bhangra Club because it felt its objectives could be met by the Tufts Association of South Asians. TRA's application is similarly redundant as the group's objectives coincide with those of the Tufts Republicans and The Primary Source. Both conservative organizations have voiced their belief that citizens have a right to bear arms and have sponsored shooting trips to teach students about handling firearms. As competition for student activities fees increases, the TCUJ has adopted a policy that new organizations must make original contributions to the Tufts community; it appears that TRA would not. It is also worth noting that one of TRA's co-founders is the re-recognition chair of the TCUJ, and the way he planned to handle this conflict of interest should concern students. Although the TCUJ's regulations clearly prohibit members from making decisions on matters in which they have an interest, TRA's co-founder said he would consider voting in favor of the club if the margin of support is small. It is disturbing that a member of the body that holds other organizations accountable to their constitutions and by-laws is not familiar with the TCUJ's own regulations and apparently lacks the ethical sense to recuse himself from deliberations about his own club.

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NFL's first half marked by craziness

November 4

Prognosticators and gamblers alike are now officially in a frenzy after Week Nine in the NFL. But has this week been any different than the eight before it? Probably not, considering none of last year's division winners are currently in first place and the two Super Bowl teams are a combined 6-10. With half the season now in the books, and another eight weeks of squandering money on stupid bets to go, it is time to survey the weirdness of the first half landscape. First half MVP: One need look no further than Nashville, Tennessee, where Steve McNair has proven week in and week out that the Titans are his team, not Eddie George's. With the once "franchise poster boy" George averaging only 2.9 yards a carry, McNair has only fought through nagging injuries and a sub par receiving corps to lead all regular starting quarterbacks in passer rating (105.1). Oh, and his team is 6-2. Others in the running were Daunte Culpepper, Randy Moss, Jamal Lewis, and Marvin Harrison. First half Rookie Stud: It is far too early to tell, especially in the NFL, where the difference in the speed and pace of the game from college to the pros is tougher than even in, say, the NBA. But the two new guys who have caught the most eyes are Domanick Davis of the Houston Texans and Anquan Boldin of the Arizona Cardinals. Davis, a fourth round pick out of LSU, has come into a very dicey situation and been nothing short of impressive, starting in three games due to injuries and averaging 4.9 yards a carry as the expansion Texans have clawed their way to a respectable 3-5 record. He also could possibly eclipse the 1,000 yard mark. Boldin, another low pick (second round, fifty fourth overall), has also played a large role on a 3-5 team that had expected their big time rookie receiver to be Bryant Johnson from Penn State. But Boldin, a Florida State product who one coach calls "the smartest receiver I have ever coached," is on his way to greatness. Honorable mention also goes to Terrell Suggs of the Baltimore Ravens, whose six sacks are tops for rookies. The same Cardinals who got a steal in Boldin are cursing the day they let this hometown product fall through their grasps. First half stud coach: Bill Belichick in a landslide, with Dick Vermeil, Tony Dungy and Bill Parcells making cases as well. But the difference between those others and Belichick has been injuries to key players, a distinction the Pats are now wearing as a badge of honor more than anything else. The 7-2 Patriots (fresh off a flat-out rad win in Denver) have seen Adam Vinatieri miss some kicks he used to make, they possess no 1,000 yard-type back, and their defense looks like it pulls names out of the hat to determine who starts. But they continue to win somehow, and it is a testament to Belichick's ability to put players in the right place at the right time. How else can you explain three sacks last week for Mike Vrabel? Biggest letdown of the first half: Pick a team, any team. The number of teams that have left their recently proud fans crying in their soup is astounding. But of all of them, I would have to say the Oakland Raiders take the cake. At 2-6, without any sort of team unity (fallout from the Bill Romanowski punch and the Barrett Robbins ordeal), and coming off a loss to the lowly Lions, Rich Gannon and co. must want to crawl into a Black Hole rather than play in front of one. He knew what he was doing getting injured. Abandon ship! Biggest surprise team of the first half: The Dallas Cowboys. Most people thought Parcells would turn this franchise around eventually. But Parcells probably told himself that at his age "eventually" did not fit in his vocabulary, so he settled for right now. Who's gonna argue with Bill?

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I randomly think, therefore I am

November 4

I guess I am human when it comes to writing sports columns. I try and come with some fresh material every week, but alas, I'm not Pharrell from the Neptunes. While I never sample writing from another column, there just weren't any Tufts home games this weekend. So instead of speculating about what took place on the road or writing about some professional athletics, it is finally time for my random thoughts column. -- A handout I read for black psychology class said that African Americans have much more stress and stress related problems than their white counterparts. While this problem is easily traced back to slavery and segregation, there are ways to break the trend and avoid stress related ailments such as high blood pressure and hypertension. Placekicking is certainly not one of those activities. Whether or not a reduction of stress is the reason, there aren't many black kickers out there. But Tufts students don't have to go far to see the uniqueness of a black kicker. I'm not going to lie; I thought the idea was crazy when I first saw it in action, way back in my freshman year. However, Marcellus Rolle has impressed me with his enthusiasm for the position and poise during tough situations this season. While Rolle believes every position has its own type of stress, kicking is tough because the entire game can rest on one kick. However, the quarterback might feel stress throughout the entire game. It's tough to quantify stress, but no doubt the kicking position has a lot of it. But just to clarify the point of this random thought, the Tufts football team does have a black kicker. It used to make me chuckle, but Rolle has been performing this year, so now I maintain a serious face. -- The "Mr. Toupee wearer" commercial is damn funny. In fact all those beer commercials, including the "Wingman", are damn funny because they are true. I've played wingman for Andy Katzenberg before and it is not what's up. What's this have to do with sports you ask? Play wingman and you will see that it's imperative that you hit the weight room before you tackle some of "the cute girl's friends." -- While I've never watched this sport in my life because I can't imagine it being a spectator sport, I have much respect for cross-country runners. Who runs five miles (five kilometers for women) for any type of sport? I'll tell you: animals. Those cross-country athletes are beasts, rivaled only by water polo juggernauts. Both sports are a test of will and conditioning, and entirely too hard for me to ever try. -- The women's tennis team plays two seasons, the main season in the fall and a shorter season in the spring. Men's tennis only plays in the spring. Same sport, two season standards. It's a little jaded and I haven't heard a good explanation as to why that is yet. But you know what, I don't care. As far as I'm concerned the women's tennis team can play all year including the hot and sticky summer months. I try not to make that team one big sex object, but I blame that coach Jim Watson. Not only are his teams good at tennis, but also they are good at being pretty. Personally, even if they never won a match, each and every member of that team would be a winner in life. -- The field hockey team as well as the men's and women's soccer teams lost in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs. To tell you the truth I was not surprised. While I know nothing about field hockey, I do know something about soccer. I did cover the men's team for the Daily last year, and more importantly, I am a "key" member of the future intramural indoor soccer champion "DaGooses." Both soccer teams had a plethora of individual talent and should have placed better. -- Tom Brady is a beast. Not only did he lead the Patriots to victory, he also led my fantasy football team "Baltimore The City That Breeds" to victory. -- One thing that I haven't done all year is mention Super Nintendo's "Super Tecmo Bowl." With the franchise I have going in Madden, sometimes it's easy to forget your roots. Playmaker control is cool and everything, but only having eight plays to choose from (four run and four pass) is better, don't you think? -- The swimming team began practices this week; I hope they can survive. Who has a sick pool? Humans get sick. Pools are supposed to be a small body of water with tons of chlorine in it just in case knuckleheads like me pee in the water. While it would take a considerable amount of money to correct the problem, we need it, considering the state of our pool. If there is one thing I've learned from a random thoughts column, is that you need no rhyme or reason for anything written. I enjoyed that -- hope you did too.

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Without sight or sound

November 4

With the recent TCUJ-recognition of American Sign Language Club and the events planned during October's "Disability Awareness Month," both the Tufts administration and the Tufts community have increased campus awareness as to the needs of students with disabilities. Large public universities typically have extensive, state-funded services for students with disabilities. Private, smaller colleges and universities like Tufts, however, are less likely to have such a wide range of provisions. Because Tufts does not receive the kind of funding comparable to that of a large public university and has fewer students, the University's services for those with disabilities are largely designed to accommodate students on an individual basis. Of the University's resources for blind and deaf students, Disabilities Specialist at Tufts Sandra Baer said that the University is "pretty much providing all the services that have been required in the past." The question raised at Tufts, then, is whether more extensive services are necessary, or whether the current provisions, provided on a case-by-case basis, are adequate. While there are about 200 students with disabilities registered at Tufts, including learning disabilities such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), only approximately 16 of those are students registered as having visual or hearing impairments. The Disabilities Services Office, run by Baer, is largely responsible for efforts to make the current system more effective. The Office provides students with disabilities with a guide on receiving assistance before arriving at the University. Baer also works with blind and deaf students to help them ease their way into campus life. She provides students with services such as books on tape, note takers, America Sign Language (ASL) interpreters, and Academic Resource Center tutors. A new service has recently been added to the arsenal of tools available to Tufts' hearing-impaired students: Computer Assistant Real Time Translation (CART). "This is a state of the art accommodation," Baer said. "It is a person in the class, like a court stenographer, who in their private short hand form types out everything that is said by the faculty, and the deaf student gets it on a disk but can also see the words as they are spoken in class." Similarly helpful technology is available for seeing-impaired students. A special computer in the Academic Resource Center has what Baer describes as "screen reading software." "If a [blind] student needs to have a syllabus or something of that sort read to them, it can be scanned into the computer and read to them," Baer said. Freshman Brody Hale, a seeing-impaired freshman, has been completely satisfied with the assistance he has received. "The Disability Services Office has always been willing to help me in any way that they can," Hale said. "I feel that they've made my life as a student much easier than it could have been." Hale's decision to attend Tufts was unrelated to his condition: "My choice was completely due to college selection, which schools I got into, and [the typical considerations] of any student," he said. Jessica Levine, a hearing impaired sophomore and founder of Tufts' American Sign Language Club, also chose to attend Tufts based on "typical" student considerations: "Coming to Tufts was not primarily because of the services... I came here to be academically challenged and learn how to fit into the hearing world," she said. Unlike Hale, however, Levine has not been fully satisfied with the University's services. "[Most] of my friends back home are deaf," Levine said. "Coming to Tufts has been a culture shock and I felt Tufts didn't help me adjust well to the changes here. I'm slowly learning my way to blend into the hearing world." Levine added that there are many services that would make her life more manageable, but these services are not being provided. "I'm having a lot of problems with the Disabilities Services Office, and they've been lacking [in paying] a lot of attention to my needs lately," Levine said. "They [didn't provide me with] note takers until the second semester of freshman year, and I went through an entire semester without having very good notes." This was not just a complication: according to Levine, her lack of a note-taker made it nearly impossible for her to excel in the classroom. "I would like to see the Disabilities Office have a larger staff," Levine said. "They've been unable to give each student individual attention, and I think it's especially harder for deaf students who come from a deaf cultural background. I think that the lack of attention they give is probably why not many culturally deaf people come to Tufts." Including Baer, there are two staff members who work at the Disabilities Services Office. The OEO provides awareness programming and ensures that the University follows state and federal guidelines regarding the rights of people with disabilities. Levine believes that certain services the University has failed to provide would not only be beneficial to deaf students but to the campus as a whole. One such service is closed captioned movies in Barnum. "Tufts is looking into getting rear view captioning, but we need more people to respond saying they need closed captioned movies," Levine said. "It won't necessarily be just for deaf students, but for students who speak English as their second language. They might prefer reading rather than just listening." Furthermore, while Tufts has many peer support groups (such as the Peer Led Eating Disorder Support Group), there are no such groups for blind or deaf students -- or for those with any other physical disability. "I just helped establish the American Sign Language Club with my friends," Levine said. "But unfortunately, there are no support groups, and I personally think there should be one." Baer agreed that a support group would be beneficial to students: "We've been hoping to have a support group for students with disabilities in general, not one particular disability," she said. "There have been some past efforts for this to be student initiated because we think that this is how it would work best," Baer added. "According to many of my colleagues, the more successful groups are those started by students."

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Tufts Bhangra team upset with Bhangra Blast results

November 4

The Tufts University Bhangra Team went into Saturday's Bhangra Blast competition, the most competitive Bhangra event in New England, with very high hopes. The squad practiced close to twenty hours a week for over a month to perfect its timing and synchronization in preparation for the event. Unfortunately for the dancers and their countless screaming fans however, the Tufts team left MIT's Kresge Auditorium empty-handed, as NYU took home first place and Northeastern finished in second. Bhangra is a traditional Indian performance style that brings people of every culture together. The folk dance is driven by upbeat, rhythmic music with fierce drum beats and powerful vocals, coupled with graceful dance moves that require a high degree of skill and athleticism, both of which are reflected in the complexity, precision, and grace of the dancers. Competing teams are required to write and play their own music, design a routine, and create their own story-telling performance which is later judged on a variety of criteria. The Tufts squad, led by choreographers Vidushi Gupta, Kapil Dargan, and Priti Julka, consists of eight men and women: graduate student Gupta; seniors Dargan, Sameer Puri, Mshak Ghazarian, Neha Surana, Abha Verma, Shivani Patel, Selby Abraham, Ronak Patel, and Shaunik Panse; juniors Matt Magpayo and Roneel Punjabi; sophomores Julka, Nadia Ashai, and Aekta Shah; and freshman Jed Forman. "We were definitely upset about the outcome, some of us more than others," Surana said. "Especially because there are a lot of seniors on the team, we were unhappy not in our dancing, but in the judging." Tufts' dance was more traditional this year than in past years, putting together more of an authentic, story telling dance rather than one filled with stunts. Despite that, the team was energetic, lively, and smiled throughout the entire piece. "We danced nearly flawlessly, probably the best we've ever been in competition," Surana added. "The dance was very well choreographed, very traditional, with authentic bhangra aspects, and we had a cute theme with original music and lots of expression. It was so much fun to get out there and perform in front of such a supportive crowd." Unfortunately for the Jumbos however, the criteria that the judges used to rank the teams not only involved the typical aspects of synchronization, authenticity, and music choice, but also criteria including live singing and drum playing. While the Tufts team had its own original music, the members had prerecorded the song instead of singing it live because they felt that it made more sense with the type of dance they were performing. "We had some idea of the criteria beforehand, although the judges apparently didn't stick to the same criteria they outlined beforehand," Surana said. Despite the disappointing finish, however, the Jumbos still had a great experience dancing and a great time performing. "There's nothing really we can do anymore except remember that we danced extremely well and had a great time throughout the entire experience," added Surana. The competition was in its sixth year, and was sponsored by SAAS, MIT's South Asian Students Association. The other teams competing were Boston University, University of British Columbia, and Cornell University. "Bhangra has been one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in college.," Surana said. "I've loved being a part of such a great team of people, and traveling and practicing with everyone. They've been my family here at Tufts for so long." The Jumbos will look to bounce back from Bhangra Blast when they travel to Michigan for their next tournament to compete against the top teams from all around the country. "We put together and performed the best dance Tufts has yet to offer and hopefully we can build on it for our next competition in Michigan," Dargan said.

The Setonian
News

The end of the Matrix is here

November 4

There is one simple question everyone interested in Matrix: Revolutions wants answered: Is it a good film? In short, the answer is yes. The conclusion of the trilogy, though weak at points, has enough visually amazing moments and plot developments to keep audiences happy. Matrix: Revolutions picks up just minutes after Reloaded ended. Neo (Keanu Reeves) has just fried a few sentinels and as a result, ended up in a coma. We find out that his mind is somehow stuck in a no-man's land outside of the matrix. Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) find a way to bring him back while Zion, the last vestige of human freedom, prepares its defenses for the machine invasion. Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) remains a threat in the guise of Bane (Ian Bliss) as he lurks in the background among other minor subplots. The climactic ending parallels the machines invading Zion and Neo having a final showdown with Agent Smith. The directors, Andy and Larry Wachowski, left a lot of questions at the end of Reloaded to answer and they do an admirable job. All the minor characters' subplots are brought to a resolution and the directors bring a definitive end to the human/machine war. The Wachowskis also manage to throw in some surprises along the way, including an ending solid enough to satisfy the casual viewer but ambiguous enough for fan-boys to debate what happened on message boards all over the Internet. Matrix:Revolutions is at its best during the action sequences, which incorporate the type of spectacular visuals that has come to be expected from this trilogy. The style of the film is nearly identical to Reloaded, which is not surprising as the two films were shot at the same time. The Wachowskis drew heavily on anime, kung-fu movies, and videogames for their onscreen inspirations, including a scene that is reminiscent of the arcade classic Pac-Man. "Bullet-time" and slow motion effects are also used just enough to keep the action sequences from becoming repetitive and dull. The best visuals are the swarming, shifting hordes of thousands of sentinels as they invade Zion and battle against the humans' large mechanical suits with impressive and powerful machine guns. Unfortunately, the movie does have its flaws. Dialogue-based scenes fall flat on their faces. Everything is played with a melodramatic flair, coupled with an intrusive orchestrated score, giving certain moments a snicker-worthy quality. The only character to break out of the gruff voice and heavy-handed acting is Agent Smith. Hugo Weaving brilliantly walks the line between tongue-in-cheek and terrifying while Ian Bliss perfectly matches the character's vocal inflections as Smith's real-world counterpart. In addition, some of the subplots aren't as interesting as the central conflict. For example, The Kid (Clayton Watson) is not that interesting a character, and his coming of age story seems to be poorly fleshed out and entirely unnecessary. As a sequel, Revolutions is superior to Reloaded but inferior to the original. Reloaded seemed like a movie designed to provide exposure for certain theories, it was filled with philosophy disguised as background with some compelling but haphazardly placed action scenes. Revolutions has a better sense of pacing and a story where each fight has a purpose. However, Revolutions is missing the sense of suspense and surprise that the first Matrix gave audiences. Now that the Matrix movies can be judged as a trilogy, certain characters and situations seem tangential to the main plot of the movies. Most minor subplots do not effectively add to the movies. In particular, the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) seems to have no purpose but to fill out a part of the second and third movies. It is possible the Wachowskis could have told their story in only two films without any critical loss of plot or characterization. Overall, this movie will satisfy fans, action movie lovers and science-fiction geeks. The causal viewer will likely appreciate the action but may get lost in the plot. Despite its weak points, Matrix: Revolutions is well executed and a satisfying ending to this ambitious sci-fi trilogy.

The Setonian
News

What's wrong with this society?

November 4

Given that it is the beginning of Tufts' Asian American Heritage Month, I wanted to address an issue that occurred a month ago -- one that I believe conveys a lot about how our society views Asians and Asian Americans in this country. Many of you are probably unaware of the blatantly racist remarks made a couple months ago by Jan Stephenson, a professional female golfer on the LPGA tour. In an interview with Golf Magazine, Stephenson said, "This is probably going to get me in trouble, but the Asians are killing our tour. Absolutely killing it. Their lack of emotion, their refusal to speak English when they can speak English." In addition, she suggested that there should be a quota set on the number of Asians allowed to compete. Some of you might be wondering why we should even take time out of our day to worry about what one ignorant individual said. However, it's not just one person. Consider a weekend poll on MSNBC.com that asked, "Is Jan Stephenson right that Asian players are hurting the LPGA Tour?" Of 8,439 responses as of Oct. 6, 50 percent agreed. Eric Adelson, a writer for ESPN The Magazine, raises important and thought-provoking questions regarding the result of the poll. "Does half of America think Latinos are hurting baseball? That African-Americans are hurting basketball? That Europeans are hurting hockey?" And why is it that one commentary on ESPN stated, "Jan Stephenson should thank her lucky stars she chose Asians to criticize." Had she made derogatory and racist comments about African-Americans or Latinos, there would have been an immediate backlash from not only the targeted minority groups (African-Americans and Latinos), but from whites too. However, in this circumstance, nothing happened because the comments were directed towards Asians and Asian Americans. I am not even writing this viewpoint to suggest that Stephenson should be punished, (which, by the way, she was not). There were no repercussions whatsoever. LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw did not speak out and condemn what she said. There was no backlash or protest. This issue is larger than just Stephenson. I am more angry and concerned about society's reaction to her comments. The bottom line is that there was no reaction. Consider the comments from the outspoken Rush Limbaugh in which he made a racist remark about Donavan McNabb, the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback, or comments from a Boston talk show radio host in which he compared an ape to METCO students, who are primarily black students. In my experience and observation, whenever racial comments are directed towards African-Americans, the black community rises up and rectifies the social injustice immediately, helping to raise education and to prevent further discriminatory remarks. According to Adelson, the reason for the lack of reaction from any group to the Stephenson comment was that in America, "the end result is that racism directed against Asians is not considered as toxic as other forms of racism." Any form of racism and discrimination is outrageous and we have to realize that it is utterly unacceptable. This is where our problem lies. Unfortunately, our society does not think it is "wrong" to say discriminatory statements about Asians and Asian Americans because, stereotypically, we won't "fight" back. Our society as a whole is numb to Asian discrimination. As long as Asians and Asian Americans are hard working, help the economy, and remain "quiet", nobody in this country will care about what is said. If Asians themselves appear unaffected, why should anyone else stand up and fight for justice? Unlike other minority groups, Asians and Asian Americans lack political clout in this country and are without a strong influential public figure that is willing to actively protest against Asian/Asian American discrimination. As a result, society acquiesces to discriminatory comments against Asians. Our society expects Asians to be non-confrontational. As an Asian American, I am disturbed by the fact that the Asian American community did not rise up immediately and push for a public apology from Stephenson or the commissioner. We cannot continue to be silenced into acceptance. Without our protest, racism against Asians and Asian Americans will continue to be tolerated and unopposed. We need to put an end to this prevailing view that Asians and Asian Americans are "passive" and "quiet." It is imperative that Asians and Asian Americans take a stand and end the racism against our community as well as fight for the rights of other perpetually silenced minority groups. However, it's not just the sole responsibility of Asians and Asian Americans to speak out and react. Racism and discrimination affects us all and no one is immune; therefore, it is all our responsibilities to institute change and understanding. Randall Yee is a junior majoring in Political Science.

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