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Chalk It Up To Homophobia

October 28

On the morning of Oct. 8, 2003, students woke up to a campus covered with rather unusual chalkings: "Lesbians Love Bush," "Transgender Pillar," and "Tufts Loves Queer Pre-Frosh," just to name a few. Most people laughed, and many were moved to think about what it would be like to walk around in a world that sends queer-friendly messages instead of heteronormative ones. A few, however, were taken aback by the directness of the chalkings and wondered what right the Tufts Transgender Lesbian Gay Bisexual Collective (TTLGBC) had to write such scandalous phrases in public. Twice a year, the queer community at Tufts makes itself visible all over campus. The first time is Coming Out Day, which was held this year on Oct. 8. As I mentioned before, members of the community spend the previous night chalking campus and painting the cannon. Coming Out Day, an annual celebration of LGBT people who have "come out of the closet," encourages queer people and their allies to express their pride freely. The chalkings, posterings, painting of the cannon, and rally at the Campus Center serve as a means to allow the campus, particularly the questioning population of the campus, to know that there IS a queer community at Tufts and that we are proud of who we are. People who attended the rally heard personal coming out stories that ended in both joy and sadness, and they were allowed to witness the pain and insecurity that so often marks the beginning of the coming out process. It is a shame, then, that in the middle of the night before Coming Out Day one or several homophobic cowards changed some queer-positive chalkings into mocking and offensive ones. One of these chalkings, for instance, showed a door that read "closet" with a pair of "gay footprints" walking into it. Such chalkings are an obvious example of the ever-present homophobia that troubles not only Tufts University but also society in general. On a day designated to offer a safe haven for LGBT and questioning people, some students may have been pushed further back "into the closet" by messages which indicate that Tufts is NOT a safe space to be who you are, despite the fact that sexual orientation is included in the Tufts non-discrimination policy. Last year, over half the bias incidents at Tufts targeted the LGBT community, so it is perhaps not surprising that these homophobic messages appeared on Coming Out Day. However, we should be all the more outraged that bias against queer people is so routine at Tufts. Some would defend anti-gay chalkings in the name of freedom of political expression. But when a minority identity is specifically targeted and attacked, it is not a "political statement" but rather an act of bigotry. We, the community of LGBT and ally students, must pledge to drive down the number of bias incidents against all people. How can we do this? There are several options: get involved in the LGBT political organization, EMERGE; speak up when you hear offensive comments such as "That's so gay"; help us chalk next October; or show your support by coming to LGBT-related events. As I mentioned earlier, there are two days during the year when the queer community makes itself visible all over campus, the first being the celebratory Coming Out Day in October, the second being the somber Day of Silence in April. On April 21, 2004, I invite all students, staff, and faculty, regardless of gender and sexual identity, to take part in the National Day of Silence, when those who support making anti-LGBT bias unacceptable take a day-long vow of silence to recognize and protest the discrimination and harassment -- in effect, the silencing -- experienced by LGBT students and their allies. We must not ignore incidents of hatred in our community but confront them in order to rid our society of oppression. Kit Stanton is a senior majoring in history.

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News

New bill allows students to take action

October 28

Universities are supposed to be like best friends: they should not tell secrets without permission. But not all friends are good at keeping secrets, and neither are all universities. But a bill proposed earlier this month would open colleges to lawsuit for releasing certain personal information. HR1848, a bill proposed by Representative Robert Andrews, D-NJ, would give students the right to sue their universities for releasing records which negatively impact the student. The bill extends the Family Education and Privacy Act (FERPA) to protect college applicants and third parties, such as business partners, who might be hurt by disclosed information. FERPA made waves when Congress passed it in 1974 because it gave parents and students (when they reached age 18) powerful rights over access to student records. It also states that universities that release student records without the consent of a parent or adult student can lose their federal financial-aid funds. However, no college has ever been penalized under the law, according LeRoy S. Rooker, the director of the Family Policy Compliance Office, which administers FERPA at the Department of Education. HR1848 directly responds to a June Supreme Court decision in the case University of Gonzaga v. Doe. The name Doe was used to protect the former Gonzaga University student, who sued the school for releasing personal information the feels cost him a job opportunity. While applying to become a teacher, Doe requested an affidavit of good moral character from Gonzaga. However, Gonzaga administrator Roberta League overheard students talking about an alleged sexual misconduct by Doe. League investigated the claim, notified the state teacher certification agency, and identified Doe. Doe did not even know about the investigation until he was informed that he would not get the affidavit from Gonzaga. League doubted Doe's moral character, but there was no proof to the allegations. Doe sued League and the university, claiming a violation of FERPA by releasing his personal records to an unauthorized third party. Although Doe originally won the case, Gonzaga asked the Supreme Court to review the material, and the decision was reversed. Had Doe won the case, the decision would have set a precedent allowing students to sue universities for disclosing personal records and information to third parties. While the illegal release of information might be a problem at some universities, Dean of Students Bruce Reitman says that Tufts has a strong commitment to protecting students' privacy. "Tufts has always safeguarded the rights and records of students with extreme care so that anybody coming in asking for information wouldn't be able to get it without the student's express permission," Reitman said. "Even if a court order comes in, we're going to check with the student to make sure that they're aware of the court order requesting the information. If they feel it's in error, we will give them the opportunity to clarify the situation with the court before complying." There are some situations in which releasing information is required by law. "There are some things that universities have a duty to warn or inform others about, such as possible endangerment situations that students enrolled at universities may pose to others," Reitman said. "However, in careful and well-known universities like Tufts, there has never been a problem with unjust information disclosure." Students seem to have mixed views on the law. "I think the law needs to be clarified," TCU Senator Matt Pohl said. "I think the law is vague, up for interpretation, and as such, it's a target for abuse." Sophomore Ghenet Powell said that the University released Dean's List recognition to her local paper, which she does not mind. "Depending on what personal information is released, it makes sense that they should get the person's permission before making things public," Powell said. "If it does truly bother someone, then I guess it's their right to sue." Many students said they were worried about Tufts releasing their information. "I'm really not worried that Tufts would disclose my personal information," sophomore Brindusa Negritoiu said. "It's not that I trust Tufts, it's just that the thought of them disclosing my personal information doesn't bother me." Reitman said that every university must define its policy on disclosure of information. "The only reason Tufts would release records is to send it, at the students request, to graduate schools or employers," he said.

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News

Volleyball gears up for big NESAC weekend

October 28

In the final weekend of the regular season, the volleyball team will face three conference competitors in its final NESCAC round-robin. Currently, the Jumbos sit in fifth place in the conference with a 5-2 record, 19-8 overall. Following this weekend will be the start of the NESCAC quarterfinal championships. For Tufts, the question of post-season play is not an "if" but a "how." The Jumbos have clinched a spot in the quarterfinals, where, along with seven other teams, they will battle it out for the right to move on to the NCAA tournament. Even if the team loses all three of this weekend's games, and eighth place Middlebury (2-5) wins all of its games giving them equivalent records of 5-5, the Jumbos would still receive the favorable seeding due to Tufts' win over Middlebury during the regular season. This is great news for the Jumbos because it means that the lowest they could place is seventh, pitting them against the number two conference team in the quarterfinals. However, a seventh place playoff seed is not an adequate result to cap what has, for the most part, been a tremendous season for the Jumbos. Coach Cora Thompson knew this was going to be a big season for this team, starting with its victory over Wellesley in the first weeks of play. Up until that match, Tufts had not beaten Wellesley in ten years. And the team's success continued, despite injuries, as it proved its depth and talent with wins over five NESCAC teams as well as tough non-conference competitors, such as number four in the region Brandeis. "We are in a great position right now," Thompson said. "However we don't want to be satisfied with that. We want to keep in mind our goals and play the best we can play." One of those goals is amassing 21 regular season wins. In 2002, the volleyball team finished with a final record of 20-13, before its playoff push was cut short by Amherst in the quarterfinals. As an arbitrary challenge for this year's squad, the Jumbos are going for 21 wins -- the most in at least four years. Sitting only two shy of the mark, this feat is a distinct possibility despite the purposeful toughening of this season's schedule. "It is good to have a number; it does help to drive the team. We made 21 wins a target goal," Thompson said. Standing in the way for Tufts will be three teams that have only improved over the course of this season, making it the most difficult NESCAC weekend the team has faced. "We have a great chance to beat all of the teams this weekend," Thompson said. "But we have to get up for it and really lay it all out on the court." First up will be Bowdoin on Friday night. Bowdoin currently holds a 3-5 NESCAC record, putting it in seventh place. However, the Polar Bears' scrappy defense is exactly what it takes to snatch a win out of the hands of an overconfident team. Also, Bowdoin is fighting to ensure a post-season spot, so it has the extra incentive to come into the match fired up. Saturday will bring a day of rematches -- first Bates and then Colby. Bates currently holds the second best record in the NESCAC (7-1). Tufts, however, dominated Bates 3-1 in the Bates Invitational earlier this month, and the Jumbos will be looking to repeat this result in an official NESCAC game. Colby was a different story. The Jumbos were unable to put the White Mules away in a 3-2 loss at the MIT Tournament held at the end of September. Fatigue was a contributing factor in the loss as this was the sixth match of that week for the team. Avenging the loss in a game that would count towards the record is a goal for the squad. However, if the Jumbos want to come out of this weekend successful, they will have to step up their level of play and regain the intensity of earlier in the year. End of the season fatigue has been a real problem for the squad and has most recently resulted in last weekend's mediocre 2-2 performance at the Hall of Fame Tournament. In order to prepare, the Jumbos will be working on defense and serving in practice this week, as well as fine-tuning blocking, which was not as strong as it could have been last weekend. As for the defense, whether or not the back line is on and playing together will be the deciding factor in the upcoming contests. Despite the fact that the outcome of this tournament will determine rankings for the playoffs, the mindset of the team is to take this weekend for what it is -- three games against three NESCAC teams. "To be honest, [playoff ranking] is the furthest thing from my mind," Thompson said. "I just want us to play the best we can play in an opportunity that will be a good preview for the playoffs."

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News

The thrills of fantasy football

October 28

I used to be so ignorant. For so long, I made fun of the people who spent at least one waking hour of the day checking football stats and league standings. However, now I am a part of the movement. I check stats everyday. I spend a good amount of time staring at names of players on the waiver wire, trying to find the best person to fill a hole in my team. For the first time in my life I have really gotten into fantasy football, and I love it. Where else can you get together a group of your friends and compete against each other using professional athletes as pawns to your fantasy chess game? Some people are good at it and others aren't. So far, I've been good. With a record of 5-2 heading into last weekend's games, my team, Baltimore "The City that Breeds", sat in first place in one of the two league divisions and second overall in the league power ratings. This week I found myself stacked against Tufts senior Dave Sherberg. With an overall record of 3-4, Sherberg's team, "Jumbo Oblong Balls," resides in fourth place of the opposing division. In addition, it appears that Sherberg committed the ultimate fantasy football party foul by not updating his roster for the week. This played directly to my advantage. Instead of taking out Steelers running back Amos Zereoue, who lost his starting job to Jerome Bettis, and coach Dan Reeves, whose Atlanta Falcons team had a bye week, both people stayed on Sherberg's active roster. In contrast, the Oblong Balls definitely had some point producers. Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Toney Gonzalez, and Chad Johnson stand out, but guys like Amani Toomer and Michael Pittman can also score points. However, just like Bone Crusher, "I ain't never scared." My team is tight and I know it. With LaDainian Tomlinson and Stephen Davis at running back, Drew "interception, but 250 passing yards per game" Bledsoe at quarterback and Tom "tuck rule" Brady at the miscellaneous offensive player spot, my team is nice. In addition, I have the Dolphins' defense and a somewhat injured Eric Moulds at one wide receiver. After dealing my running back bench rider, Moe Williams, to my cousin Russell for Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, my team seemed far too nice. Thinking I was going to blow by Sherberg's squad in Sunday's games, I was sorely mistaken. Heading into Miami and San Diego's Monday Night football from Arizona, I was down 103-80, with only Tomlinson and the Dolphins defense to score me 23 points for the tie, which would give me a win due to bench points. The bottom line was I needed the Dolphins to get some sacks and interceptions, while allowing Tomlinson to run for a good amount of yards, including at least one touchdown, which is not out of reach at all. Sitting there typing on my laptop, the television tuned to ABC for kickoff, I was pleasantly surprised by San Diego's first two possessions. Chargers quarterback Drew Brees played right into my hands by tossing two interceptions, giving me four fantasy points. In the meantime, Miami's defense showed no respect to Brees' arm by stacking the line against Tomlinson. Still, the Chargers all-pro running back got an exorbitant amount of carries to amass single digit fantasy points in the first quarter. With the 10 points the Dolphins defense started out with combined with the two interceptions and Tomlinson's points, I was only down nine points after the first quarter. Still, I either needed LaDainian to start getting off or Brees to complete another pass to the defense. And what do you know, no sooner than I started this paragraph, Brees underestimated Miami's secondary again, this time for an interception in the end zone. The bad news is that the Chargers were getting bolted by the Dolphins, thus ruining my underdog pick in the Daily sports department's editors' challenge, but placing me within six points of a fantasy win. Thanks to a Tomlinson swing pass reception and a couple sacks by the Dolphins' defense, I entered halftime down only one point, 103-102. If Miami could keep up its defensive intensity or if Tomlinson could break off one big run, I would have all but secured a victory. Amazingly, in pure comeback fashion, with nine minutes left in the third quarter, "Baltimore The City that Breeds" jumped over "Jumbo Oblong Balls" 105-103. While the second half featured much more one-sided football, the life of a fantasy football junky is quite nerve-racking. In between stat checking and refreshing your Internet browser for the latest live scoring updates, one could sweat off five pounds. Although I would have liked to be in the norm, I did not lose five pounds due to this close fantasy football match-up partially due to the Hodgdon burrito I ate during the pre-game show. As Ricky Williams runs out the clock in the fourth quarter with Miami winning 26-10, the fantasy football live scoring reveals that I have won the pivotal inter-league week eight match-up, 117-103. Fantasy football is tough and nerve-racking, but when you come out on the winning end, it makes it all worth it.

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News

Students pay for legal music downloading services

October 28

As it becomes more of a risk to illegally download music through programs like Kazaa and Morpheus, several companies are taking advantage of the situation by providing consumers with innovative, convenient and -- perhaps most importantly -- legal alternatives in order to make a profit. Two students at MIT have taken this matter into their own hands. On Monday, graduate student Keith Winstein and junior Josh Mandel launched a campus-wide music library called Library Access to Music Project (LAMP). This system allows students and faculty to listen to any of 3,500 CDs owned by the school through the campus's cable television network for free. The quality of the system's analog signal is higher than that of FM radio, but slightly below that of CDs. According to Winstein and Mandel, this failure to exactly duplicate the CD track is what makes the system legal. Students on other campuses, however, are turning to a new barrage of legal downloading software. BuyMusic.com beat Apple to the PC user market by launching its pay-per-download service several months ago at a price of 79 cents per song. However, the service has been plagued by reports of unreliability and a less than stellar music selection. With the release of a Windows version of its iTunes software two weeks ago, Apple began to tap into a market containing the majority of college students, 99 cents at a time. Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a statement that one million songs were purchased from iTunes in the first five days of its Windows release. Junior Tim Creedon, a recent PC to Mac convert, estimates that he has bought over 30 songs from the iTunes Music Store since getting his Apple Powerbook laptop three weeks ago. "I'm trying to limit myself, it's pretty easy to go on there and lose control," said Kreedon, whose newly downloaded -- and legal -- music library includes complete albums by the Cure, Ben Folds, and the Postal Service. Even though the option to download the same songs illegally through programs like Kazaa still exists, Creedon says he prefers to own the music he listens to. "I feel as though I'm supporting the bands," he said, noting that the best way to make sure a band gets a percentage of the sale is to buy the record. "I just prefer to own an entire record in its original, genuine form. Music is much more of an art form than entertainment for me." iTunes users are quick to point out that Apple has included a number of bells and whistles in its software. "I like that it's not just an MP3 player," sophomore Amanda Hart said. "[iTunes software] will go through your MP3 ID3 tags and sort your music into folders. You can rip MP3s off of your CDs. You can burn MP3 CDs or regular audio CDs to play in any CD player. The interface is easy to use and it's attractive and streamlined." In this way, Apple seems to be pushing online purchasing as well as acknowledging that CDs are an important element of the market. If an iTunes user plays a CD bought on the computer, the program will automatically search an online database for the track names and information. Another popular iTunes feature is the ability to listen to music on other computers networked locally, allowing students to safely let others partake in their musical selection without "sharing" their copyrighted songs online. The system isn't perfect, though. In Creedon's opinion, the Apple Music Store is sadly lacking in less mainstream, "indie" fare. To fulfill his need for independent music, Creedon also subscribes to eMusic, a service that advertises 250,000 songs from 950 labels and charges by the time period instead of by song. eMusic allows Creedon to download as much as he wants over a certain period of time, depending on the pay plan. "I also share my account with a bunch of friends because once you download a record or a song, they have that on record and you can keep downloading it infinitely," Creedon said. By mixing, matching, and experimenting with the myriad new and upcoming services, students are managing to cope with the hard times music downloading has fallen on. With the release of Napster 2.0 this week and Microsoft's announcement of an upcoming Music Store of its own, the pay-to-download market is set to burst wide open. Apple has declared its intent to sell 100 million songs by April of next year, and will work to achieve that though a promotion with Pepsi, which plans to give away 100 million free downloads under Pepsi bottle caps in February. While the services vary in quality and features, music connoisseurs like Creedon see the proliferation of legal music downloading services as a good thing. "I support the existence of a number of different services," Creedon said. "The competition keeps the market innovative and relatively inexpensive."

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News

Osbourne treated by Tufts doctor

October 28

The Prince of Darkness will eventually restart his tour, thanks to the Chairman of Tufts' Neurology department. Ozzy Osbourne, one of the forefathers of heavy metal music and reality TV star of The Osbournes, recently spent three weeks receiving treatment from Dr. Allan Ropper for a condition of nervous tremors that had seriously affected the singer's motor abilities. "[Osbourne's] tremor is coming under control with medication," said Ropper, who is the Chief of Neurology at the Tufts-affiliated Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton. "Unfortunately, one of the side effects of the medication is dry mouth, which will definitely affect Mr. Osbourne's ability to sing." As a result, Osbourne's European concert tour, which was scheduled to begin in Dublin, Ireland on Oct. 22, has been postponed until January 2004. "I was at the point where it felt as if this problem was practically destroying my life along with my self-esteem," Osbourne said in a statement. "I am grateful to my physician, Dr. Allan H. Ropper, that I am now home with my family and on the path to getting my life back." Speculation that he might have Parkinson's disease led Osbourne to Ropper, who in the past had treated Parkinson's patient and TV star Michael J. Fox. However, Ropper was quick to rule out Parkinson's disease as Osbourne's affliction. Sophomore Samuel Ronfard found the connection between Tufts and celebrities curious. He questioned, "If the medical school is of such a caliber to attract celebrities why is there no outreach to students?" "Clearly if a doctor is of a high enough caliber to be treating Osbourne he should have something to contribute to the greater community." Osbourne, 54, said that he had had the tremors since his 20's, but that they had been worsening. The condition, which he inherited from his mother's family, impeded his speech and left him with severe bodily vibrations that made walking painful.

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News

Pro-Life?

October 28

Let me start by saying that I profoundly respect pro-life advocates. In the contentious issue of abortion, it is easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of passions and it is not my intention to incite more animosity. Nor is it my intention to persuade those who believe abortion is wrong to abandon their convictions. I want to talk about abortion because I think this issue is a very good indicator of a general trend in American politics today. The trend I refer to is two-fold: on one hand, legal institutions are being consistently undermined by a concerted effort to shape government policy according to a dubious set of religious values. On the other hand, some conservative politicians take morality hostage by advocating policies plagued with double standards. Allow me to tackle the latter part of the trend first. I do not think that anyone would argue with me if I say that respect for life is the core principle of the pro-life movement. In the view of pro-life advocates, abortion is objectionable on ethical grounds because it constitutes a deplorable act: taking life away from a human being who cannot defend itself. Now, I do not think you would disagree with me if I say that there is a religious component to this moral assessment. I am not saying that only religious people oppose the practice of abortion -- polls show that only 50 percent of pro-lifers base their position on religious grounds. But religious affiliation does play a role in an individual's stance on the issue. Sixty-three percent of evangelical Protestants or born-again Christians oppose abortion, while only 33 percent of non-evangelical Protestants coincide. Furthermore, the Catholic Church, whose followers account for 22 percent of the US population, vocally condemns abortion. Consequently, it is fair to say that there is a sizeable block of conservative Christians of different denominations who animate and support the pro-life movement. The pro-life movement also has important political allies in Congress and in the White House. Republicans take up the fight against abortion in the political arena, but unlike the pro-life constituency they represent, their commitment to respect the sanctity of human life is suspicious. Conservative politicians, including President Bush, do not hesitate to invoke morality in their arguments against abortion. During the Republican National Convention, George W. Bush said that he "would lead our nation towards a culture that values life." I do not know whether Bush's stance on abortion is motivated by his deep religious convictions -- he is a born again Christian -- or because he wants to keep his electoral base happy. But the fact is that he waves the pro-life banner, invoking an unequivocal respect for life. Yet, Bush's respect for life is more than questionable. On the one hand, Bush declares himself a pro-life advocate, a committed born again Christian in tune with the values of his religion. On the other, Bush and many of his Republican colleagues show a discouraging disregard to human life in many other cases. Take for example the issue of death penalty. When Bush served as governor, Texas executed more inmates than any other state in the US. Far from expressing any concern for the killing of a fully-grown human being, Bush unabashedly supported the Texas death machine and dutifully signed the numerous execution orders that reached his desk. If you ask me, that is hardly an effective way to "lead our nation towards a culture that values life." Bush and his associates showed little regard towards human life when they ordered the relentless bombing campaigns against Afghanistan and Iraq. Thousands of innocent civilians have died over the course of the past two years, but I do not think Bush is losing too much sleep over that. The fact that he was willing to sacrifice American as well as Iraqi lives for entirely ludicrous and unacceptable reasons should tell you something about the real value he places on human life. If his policies do not reveal a clear inconsistency in his alleged respect for life, I do not know what does. You cannot be pro-life and pro-death at the same time. That is neither Christian nor ethical. If you want to protect the sanctity of human life, by all means do so, but at least be consistent. Of course, some of you might think I am crazy for bringing up this point. After all, you can rightfully contend that there is no room for morality or religious values in the realm of realpolitik. And I would totally agree with you! There are some necessary wars, and presidents must be ready to kill people. And that is precisely why religion and politics should not be mixed! Morality is not something a president should decide for us. A president has to do his or her job by following the law, irrespective of his moral convictions. What is true for war must be true for abortion. This brings me to the second part of my argument. The other side of this troubling trend in American politics is the persistent effort to undermine legal institutions in order to advance a religious agenda. We are now seeing how the landmark case of Roe v. Wade is being attacked by conservatives. A new law criminalizing a form of abortion is only the first step in a concerted action to erode the right to choose upheld by the highest court in the land! And how about the decision by the Florida State legislature and Governor Jeb Bush to ignore judicial precedents and force Terri Schiavo to live in a vegetative state? A narrow-minded morality hijacked the legal processes and denied Terri Schiavo of the right to die with dignity. Nobody is asking pro-life women to abort; that would be a gross interference. By the same token, a person who does not share the same beliefs as pro-life advocates should not be forced to abide by their principles. There is nothing more ethical than to respect the values and morals of other people. Questions of morality and value systems will always produce friction among individuals, but there is no reason why the government should be held hostage in this battle. It is not the place of the government to impose morals or value judgments on people. In its ideal state, the government acts as an impartial arbitrator, but if the current trends are not reversed, the government will be nothing but an agent of religious interest groups. 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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News

The Game

October 28

It's no revelation that a man who gets a lot of action is a pimp whereas a woman who does the same is a slut. But despite the fact we're all well aware of this double standard, few seem to challenge it, or wonder why we continue to denigrate promiscuous women, and praise promiscuous men. I believe the answer lies in the fact that we look at getting laid as a game. And every game must have a winner and a loser. Sex, dating and hooking up are like playing monopoly where women are the bankers trying to maintain their wealth, and men are the players trying to attain as much of the bank's money as possible. Get a girl's number, and you've landed on community chest. Make out with a girl, and you have a house on Marvin Gardens. Get a girl to sleep with you and ding ding ding... we have a winner, two hotels on Boardwalk. Meanwhile, the girl goes bankrupt, is sent directly to jail, does not pass go, and does not collect 200 dollars. It's not simply the act of sex that gives a sexually promiscuous woman the label of "slut", but rather it's the belief that by having sex, the woman has lost. Sex makes men pimps: as they are the strong, capable winners, and women sluts: as they are the pathetic, unconfident losers. Women are "slutty" if they have a lot of sex because we don't perceive them as doing it out of their own desire; we perceive them as giving in to someone else's request. But what makes us so sure that men really are winning in a sexual encounter? What if they feel pressured into sex out of a desire to fulfill society's view of how a "real man" behaves? Maybe men feel pressured to have sex so that they can have good stories to tell the rest of the football team. If we define "slutty" sexual behavior as engaging in sex out of a longing to be accepted rather than personal desire, then can't we interpret men's reasons for having sex as slutty? The only difference is that while women are "sluts" to men, men are "sluts" to society. Clearly, the majority of men do not have sex just to please their friends. And equally, I would like to believe that the majority of women do not have sex just to please men. Women aren't just giving in to men when they have sex. They aren't stupid sluts that were somehow tricked into dropping their panties. They are women who, just like men, really want to get off. But somehow as a society we find this hard to swallow. Which is really quite ironic, given all the time and energy women spend attempting to make themselves more sexually attractive. Look though any woman's magazines and every other page is an ad for makeup or perfume promising to help us grab the attention of the object of our desire. We shove our feet into pointy stilettos because they're "hot", and spend hours straightening, curling, or dying our hair to look like the latest sex symbol. Now, you can just imagine the frustration of being treated like sexual benchwarmers. We go though all the trouble of getting dressed up to play, but then aren't allowed to get out on the field. And if we do, we're called nasty names. Whoever said "it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game" obviously wasn't talking about sex. Because in sex, winning and losing is what separates the pimps from the hoes. It's what makes men gloat about their sexual encounters and women ashamed of theirs. Perhaps if we got rid of this 'pimps 'n hoes' view of sex, where every encounter has to have a winner and a looser, then sex could feel more mutual, like it's supposed to. We can all "win" if we have sex out of our own desires, and we can all "lose" if we have sex because we're giving in to outside pressures. Understanding our perceptions of men as the sexual winners, and women as the sexual losers helps us understand why we perceive promiscuous men as pimps and promiscuous women as sluts. It is by understanding the thoughts that drive this stereotype that will ultimately allow us to reject it.

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News

Terrorism, Patriot II, and putting democracy on hold

October 28

Our country has a new enemy. But it's not a person, nation, or even a coalition -- it's an ideology. The war against terrorism is particularly difficult because terrorists could lurk anywhere and terrorism itself is not capable of raising a white flag to surrender. So why is this war pertinent to our lives as American citizens, and especially as college students? How pervasive are those Washington initiatives that we so often hear about on the news but cast off as distant and unimportant? Why is the American Civil Liberties Union, a non-governmental organization dedicated to the promotion of Constitutional liberties, up in arms, and why do they think you should be too? One main reason is the subjugation of our country to an intrusive statute called the Patriot Act, which was passed on Oct. 26, 2001. Though it is guised as a national security mechanism to free our country from terrorists, the act really just places our own government in the position to terrorize its own citizens. Melissa Mathews in the Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy explains that it "allows the executive branch to exercise powers with minimal judicial and Congressional oversight. The Act provides the executive enhanced surveillance powers, authorizes federal agents to conduct covert searches of homes or offices without notice, obtain sensitive personal records, track e-mail, and evade the Fourth Amendment's probable cause requirement." In more tangible terms, the ACLU explains that "The FBI could spy on a person because they don't like the books she reads, or because they don't like the web sites she visits. They could spy on her because she wrote a letter to the editor that criticized government policy." Checked out any books on controversial topics lately? Researched on Google for a paper on a terrorist organization or anarchy group? If the answer is yes, then the FBI is probably spying on you. Such an atrocious breach of Americans' rights has several negative implications. First, it sets the precedent for the continued erosion of our constitutional entitlements. This Act specifically targets the First Amendment by threatening freedom of speech and the Fourth Amendment by allowing searches without warrants or probable cause. Your guess is as good as mine as to which rights will be next to get axed. Furthermore, such infringements have a chilling effect on society and thus limit our public discourse. The ACLU furthers that "If people think that their conversations and their e-mails and their reading habits are being monitored, people will inevitably feel less comfortable saying what they think, especially if what they think is not what the government wants them to think." Deliberation and dissent are the essence of what makes a democracy precious and unique -- they preserve heterogeneity and allow governmental development through the clash of ideas. After all, exposing the flaws in current institutions is exactly what leads to solutions and progress. The Patriot Act seems quite reminiscent of the Smith Act of the 1930's, under which discussion and education of non-American ideals like communism were stifled as a step to protect the sitting government. Though free speech is something we fear losing in the event of a terrorist takeover, the erosion of this right is already happening under our democratically elected regime. Finally, this Act seems to all too easily target minorities. Racial profiling, heightened fear, and the discarding of probable cause allow prejudices to permeate the judicial system. These prejudices are responsible for programs like the Japanese Internment -- justified in its time as a national security measure. You might be wondering why this is being written about now, two years after the Act was passed. The Patriot Act II is being written as you read, containing all of the fun-filled provisions of its predecessor, plus more. This new and improved statute would continue to erode Amendments I and IV, while adding a few more intrusions. The ACLU lists a few: "Current court limits on local police spying on religious and political activity would be repealed. The government would be allowed to obtain credit records and library records without a warrant. Wiretaps without any court order for up to fifteen days after terror attack would be permissible. Release of information about health/safety hazards posed by chemical and other plants would be restricted." Americans fear a terrorist takeover because terrorists would repeal our rights, threaten our safety, and disregard accountability to citizens. But our current government is doing all of those things right now. I might even become a victim of the USA governmental spying team just for saying so. Leah Roffman is a freshman and is a member of Tufts ACLU.

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News

Author helps classified documents speak for history

October 28

Author Peter Kornbluh accused the Nixon administration of lying about its role in the overthrow of Chilean president Salvador Allende last night. And he had the documents to prove it. A Freedom of Information Act advocate, Kornbluh spoke about his new book, The Pinochet Files: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability. Peter Winn, a Latin American specialist within the History Department and Sherman Teichmann, of Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship introduced Kornbluh. According to Teichmann, Kornbluh's message of freedom of information "certainly has resonance for today." "I am involved in the declassified documents business," began Kornbluh, the director of the Chile project at the National Security Archive at George Washington University. "I call myself the deacon of declassification," he said. In order to portray how frustrating his job can be, Kornbluh held up a document that had been entirely censored and, beyond the date and letterhead, was solid black ink. Kornbluh said that if documents related to such important and secretive events as the Iran Contra scandal, the Cuban Missile crisis, and the invasion of Czechoslovakia were declassified, "they could advance the cause of human rights." According to Kornbluh, the 1973 coup which overthrew Chilean Allende "was the equivalent to Iraq for me at your age." "Chile became a symbol of the arrogance and abuse of US power," Kornbluh said. "Before Chile, human rights was not a subject for discussion in US foreign policy." "Chile is really a case study of what is today called the preemptive strike," said Kornbluh, while displaying a declassified document which he identified as the only example of an American president ordering the overthrow of another country's elected president. At the time the document was written, Allende had been elected but not inaugurated. "If that's not a pre-emptive strike, then what the hell is?" asked Kornbluh. Kornbluh detailed the growing movement within the government to overthrow Allende from a "small secretive effort" to a "broad, government-wide program to destabilize Chile." Kornbluh said that Nixon and Henry Kissinger's fear was that Allende -- a socialist -- had been elected democratically. Analysis and original documents found in Kornbluh's book prove that the Nixon administration actively worked to bring about a change of leadership in Chile which led to the rise to power of General Augusto Pinochet, who led a brutal regime that ended in the death of thousands of his political opponents. In his book and during his speech, Kornbluh described the events of US involvement in the coup through juxtaposition of what was said and what was done, mostly through the words Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State under the Nixon administration. Winn said that Kornbluh's book showed that Kissinger's actions were "so different from what he said he did and what he wrote he said." One example involved a press conference given by Kissinger immediately after the coup. "Our position is that we are neutral," Kissinger said. However, in a secret cable unearthed by Kornbluh, the Nixon administration told Pinochet that the US government would "cooperate in any way" with Chile as long as they were sure to "avoid public contact." Another example involved a meeting of Henry Kissinger and General Pinochet. Kornbluh recounted what Kissinger's memoirs said of the meeting. In his own recollection, Kissinger was a champion of human rights who ensured that Pinochet "got the message" that human rights abuses would not be tolerated. Kornbluh put that next to the actual transcript of the meeting, where Kissinger brought up the issue of human rights and told Pinochet, "The State Department is made up of people who have a vocation for the ministry." Kissinger also assured Pinochet that "We think you did a great service to the west in overthrowing Allende" and told him that "I want you to succeed." In a question and answer session, Kornbluh was asked whether he thought that Kissinger would be tried for being complicit in human rights abuses. Kornbluh said that he doubted that Kissinger would ever be convicted of any crimes, but "even if there is not a courtroom verdict for Henry Kissinger, there is a verdict of history" presented in the documents Kornbluh worked to make public.

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News

Get on Points (Then Get in My Belly)

October 27

A budding biannual tradition has once again commenced at Tufts, the gastronomic consequences of which will define who we are and what we eat. Will it result in more pizza consumption, more sandwich saturation, more chicken based delectability, or something rather exotic, blackened Cajun catfish perhaps, or crepes delivered straight to the dorm? That's right, it's MOPS debate time again, another attempt for the University to appease our bored appetites. The eating intelligentsia at dining services will once again endeavor to expand the Meals On Points System, inciting the next step of culinary evolution on campus. The decision will resonate for years, in our taste buds and our waist size. The decision process must be methodical enough so that each student can make an informed decision on which locale to add. One suggestion might be a massive food fair with prospective restaurants giving out samples of their foods in Gantcher. This would not only expand publicity for the various eateries, but also ensure the possibility of an intelligent selection on the part of the University population. At the end, each student would fill out a questionnaire rating each restaurant. The two with the highest collective score would be added to the MOPS system. It represents a fair and balanced selection process, involving greater student input and of course, the free food every one at Tufts continually clamors for. So what would be the ideal eatery to join Espresso's, Wing Works, Panda Palace, and Pizzeria Roma on the Meals on Points System? Well in a fantasy world, the ideal choice would be Soundbites. Good of course only on Sundays, imagine waking up, and without wandering into the outside world in the midst of a wicked hangover, having a delicious breakfast delivered right to your door with the genial hospitality usually associated with Soundbites. Of course this outlandish yet attractive possibility would likely never get past dining services, and probably would not be acceptable to the Soundbites folks either. Grounded more in reality, Redbones would be the most interesting and delectable choice. It's a Tuesday night. You have a 20 page paper due. Your level of stress exceeds the medical limitations of Advil. What then could be the only cure... an injection of pulled pork with a side therapy of cornbread. Splash on some spicy BBQ sauce and you have a recipe for success. Redbones is one establishment that could potentially accommodate the paperwork, increased orders, and other aspects of joining the points system. The kitchen is large enough to avoid a "Rose's" situation, and the food is exemplary enough to satiate the rapacious student's appetite. The eventual decision is monumental, forever changing the face of food availability at Tufts. If memory serves me correct, Brillat-Savarin said once "Tell me what you eat, and I'll tell you who your are." The impending MOPS decision might define who we are at Tufts for years to come, so let the battle begin. Allez Cuisine!

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News

Ghoulish visuals embolden Doctor Faustus

October 27

The Balch Arena Theatre turned into a haunted house as the Drama Department's fall production opened Thursday night. Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, directed by Downing Cless, aptly captured the spirit of Halloween as Oct. 31 nears. Although the actors were not part of Marilyn Manson's stage crew, black lipstick, nails and eyes, mohawks, leather pants, and spiked collars typified their gothic dress code. The production's designers opted for a Matrix-gone-nightclub theme, encompassing both the play's German Renaissance roots and modern, Western culture ideology. Cless' choices as director had the actors tell the story of Doctor Faustus realistically, heightening the discomfort of seeing a man's journey into Hell as he prepares to sell his soul in exchange for infinite knowledge and power. These choices were marked, however, by unavoidable sexual undertones. The "good" and "bad" angels both seemed very naughty as they moved like caged dancers in the backdrop's yellow eyes. "The intentions were to make the play seem like a Las Vegas nightclub," says Stefanie Schussel, one of the play's assistant directors. The character of Chorus/Wagner wore a scandalous corset and head mike, Lucifer and his devils adopted pimp positions, and Marilyn Manson-like devils were the nightclub bouncers. The idea was to mimic Hell on earth, which is "...seedier and more into excess," according to Schussel. "Where does it fit if on a scale of excess? The grapes are too lecherous." Even the character of Helen of Troy is a little too naked, making the audience feel that much more uncomfortable. The horrors of hell were set upon the red wood polished floor, representing a tongue of a devilish animal ready to swallow its actors up. The intent was to make clear the idea of an ever-present Hell -- the gaping mouth as a striking image. In late medieval theater it was a common theatrical practice in morality plays was to represent an opening between heaven and hell on earth. Smoke, punk music, strobe lights, and eerie sound effects poured from the cavernous mouth, enhancing the show's dynamism. Lucifer, played by senior Christopher Tadros, was as scary as one would imagined. Ghoulish sound effects intensified his voice, making his calculated, articulated words that much more frightening. The role of Doctor Faustus seemed to be made for senior Graham Outerbridge, who chillingly brought the character to life. While senior Lisa Birnbaum, in her leather pants, pointy cape, and dark menacing voice was a very credible Mephistopheles, servant of Hell's ruler. The audience could not have been more awestruck by the incredible talent of the players. "The acting was amazing -- I was truly flabbergasted," junior Dennis Doyle said. The seven deadly sins, presented to Faustus by the devils, Benjamin Hilb and Lily Ladewig, were innovative and hilarious signs of ugly human heads. "Personally, I was most concerned with putting all these elements together and having a show that was entertaining -- because it's a difficult show to begin with," Schussel said. "So, will the audience get it- will it be funny?" The answer was, yes. "Pride" was an ugly face looking into a mirror, "covetousness" was presented as a gold card, "wrath" as an angered reddened face with a gun, "envy" as a green face, "gluttony" as a huge, foaming mouth with a milkshake and hamburger, "sloth" was shown as the Devil speaking very slowly with a remote control in his hand, and "lechery" as a hideous woman foaming at the mouth. The humor was not subtle, and neither was the audience's mirth. Faustus' last moments were spent in an intense soliloquy, highlighting the dichotomy between heaven and hell and convincing the audience that he really had sold his soul to the Devil. In the end, Faustus succumbs to Hell, surrounded by a disco ball of stars and nightclub of misery - a perfect conclusion to a performance marked by the severity of both its content and its visual effects.

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News

Man, what is it with celebrities these days?

October 27

Let's face facts. There was a time when our celebrities were clean cut, honest individuals, or at least went through the effort of pretending to be so we could all rest easier at night. They had morals and their heads in the right places. Can you imagine someone like Frank Sinatra being caught up in anything illegal? Of course not. But now? Now all we get are the broken shadows of former greatness. Take, for instance, Tommy Chong. The classic Shakespearean actor (To inhale, or not to inhale? That is the question.) was recently sentenced to nine months in prison and charged a $20,000 fine for selling bongs and "drug paraphernalia" over the Internet. Never would I live to see the day that Tommy Chong would be caught up in something drug related. He and Cheech were such upstanding, good family values kinds of guys that it breaks my poor heart to see him reduced to something like this. This does bring up the question, however, how exactly did people find out that poor Tommy was selling bongs over the Internet? It's not like with that Dell kid, where you could smell the weed wafting off him through the television. The logical answer would, of course, be that there is a special task force set up to do a search for drugs over the net. However, we all know the government is as far from logical as two monkeys in a poop throwing contest, so we need to delve deeper. A working theory of mine is that John Ashcroft was looking for some hashish. Continuing on with our celebrity roll call, the Howard Stern Show (who really saves me the trouble of coming up with things to mock him with) was recently validated as a News Program. Yes, that's right, the FCC has declared that Stern's program is a "bona fide news interview" program. Apparently, "bona fide" is a technical term, recognized by all government agencies as the code word for "full of horse dung." Now, few will disagree that Stern is a captivating interviewer -- his discussion with the transvestite midget hooker about her favorite sexual position was touching. But is his show REALLY a news program? I don't know. Might be a stretch. Shall we look at his upcoming topics for a show? 1) Pamela Anderson's Balloons: a new charity to bring joy to millions! 2) Speculation on the Kobe Bryant Trial: how many women did he have sex with, and how many of them had sex with Stern as well? 3) The application of Einstein's theory of Relativity and how it relates to monkey farts. Well, to be fair to Howard, his show DOES have more news than Fox. And now that I brought it up, we may as well discuss the Kobe situation. It seems like he just dropped off the face of the earth. One day the news is all about "Kobe's Krime," and the next day no one seems to care. Where's the love for basketball, people? Man, if Garciapara was arrested, we'd have riots on our hands! (FREE NOMAHHHHHHHH!) This case has it all; Drama! Sex! Ridiculous amounts of money being thrown around! Heck, just add a White Bronco in there and you would have the makings of O.J. 2 -- The Revenge. Come to think of it, it seems like sports stars are frequently embroiled in controversy. In most cases, it's one player who gets busted, not a whole team. (Although, oddly enough, the Portland Trailblazers have something of a reputation among local law enforcement.) However, one bad apple can spoil dinner at Carmichael, hence my belief that coaches are too lenient on these players simply because of their celeb status. A simple system of Irish mafia enforced cleanliness would take care of all this. "Sorry, Gary. We caught ye smoking up the other day. We'll be needin' yer balls now, laddie." So what does it mean when our celebrities are all on the toke, raging alcoholics, rapists, fake reporters or making movies like Gigli? I have only one answer that can explain it all. Clearly, Ashcroft is spending too much time trying to get his drugs online.

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News

Key three week stretch lies ahead for cross country

October 27

So far, so good for the men's cross country team. But what transpires in the next three weeks will make or break the Jumbos' season. "Everything up to this point in the season has been preparation," senior co-captain Jon Rosen said. "Not that we don't want to run well every race, but these next three races are what we've been gearing up for all year." Tufts will compete in the NESCAC Championship this weekend at Middlebury, the ECAC Championship on Nov. 8 at their own Grafton course, and the NCAA New England Championship on Nov. 15 at Southern Maine. If the Jumbos, currently ranked ninth in the nation and first in the region, finish among the top four teams at New England's, they will move on to race in the Division III National Championship Race at Hanover College in Indiana. Last year, the team failed to qualify for the first time since 1997, finishing sixth out of 35 teams. However, then-sophomore Nate Brigham advanced on the basis of his individual time and finished 11th in the country in nationals, earning All-American status. The whole team is determined to join him there this year, but first up is the NESCAC Championship this weekend. The Jumbos, for their part, will line up on Saturday with an unusual label hovering over them: favorites. "I'd be lying if I said we weren't favorites," Rosen said. "But we're not getting ahead of ourselves." "We're definitely favored going in," junior Mike Don said. "But we don't want to be cocky, because we know other teams could slip by us." Coach Connie Putnam, who trekked up to Vermont to scout out the course this past weekend, mentioned Williams, Amherst, Bates, and Middlebury as the team's primary competition. Tufts has never won the league championship, but this looks like the prime time to break through. Teams can race twelve in NESCAC's, a factor that should play to Tufts' advantage as its overwhelming depth of talent should give them a chance to do a significant amount of displacing other teams' runners. The Jumbo depth should also come into play the following weekend at ECAC's, when Putnam will be forced to split up his team for its final two scheduled races. The Jumbos' second seven will race in the ECAC's, while the top seven will rest up for the all-important national qualifying race. "All season everyone's known that there are tough calls to be made by coach," Rosen said. "We know we're a deep team. I don't think it will affect anyone negatively." The team has had a more than solid season thus far. It finished second in its first four races, twice by a mere point, and then finished third at the Keene Invitational while sitting out its top nine runners in preparation for the All-New England Championship. In that race, the Jumbos finished ninth out of 47 teams from Divisions I, II, and III, and first out of Division III schools. They followed that up by claiming the crown at the Twin Brook Invitational two weekends ago. However, as impressive as the men's season has been thus far, it is all secondary to what happens from here on out. "This is pretty much what we've been waiting for all season," junior lead runner Nate Brigham acknowledged. "It doesn't matter what we do at the beginning of the season; I mean, it's great to be good every single time out, but now it all comes down to a couple of days." But while the team is excited, Putnam doesn't want his squad too juiced up. "We want to run in a controlled, relaxed fashion and save emotion to pull out for when we really need it, which hopefully won't be until qualifiers or nationals," Putnam said. "We'd like not to go to that bank until the last hour." Don and Brigham, both of whom have raced in Nationals before, understand the danger in getting too emotional or excited in any of the squad's remaining races. "We want to have a certain level of intensity, but we don't want to get too psyched up and come out too fast and disappoint ourselves," Don said. "We're trying to keep the pressure off the younger guys and put it more squarely on the shoulders of the guys who have been there before," Brigham said. In preparation for the final stanza of its season, the team has changed its workouts, tapering from long runs to shorter, higher intensity drills. "We want our legs to be quick but fresh at the same time," Don said. "We want to get to the point where we kind of float through the first three miles, and then bear down and go all out over the last two miles." "I think we're all really happy with where we are right now," Brigham said, "and I think we'll be even happier in a couple of weeks."

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News

Students, community 'Cleanup' Mystic River

October 27

Saturday's Mystic River Cleanup, sponsored by Tufts Water Watch, brought out students, community members, and Massachusetts political representatives in support of cleaning the state's waterways. According to the Tufts Water Watch organizer Kate Drexler, the Cleanup's success was due to the hard work of the Water Watch volunteers in organizing and promoting the event. "The day turned out to be incredible. We removed about 400 pounds of trash from the river and her banks," Drexler said. "We really cleaned up the park. The best part of the day, however, was looking around at everyone who [was] giving up their time on a Saturday afternoon to pick up other people's trash and seeing how empowered and proud that they felt. You could see it in their faces." Approximately 75 people participated in the cleanup. According to Megan Desmedt, Eastern Massachusetts Organizing Director for MASSPIRG, the amount of volunteers who came out for the event exceeded anything she had seen before at Water Watch events. "It is so encouraging to see so many students that are both ready and willing to come out on a Saturday morning and get their hands dirty cleaning a river," Desmedt said. "It is very impressive, and speaks measures about the Tufts community." Several Massachusetts State Representatives attended the event. Among them were Jim Marzilli, Patricia Jehlen, and Paul Donato. Marzilli, an avid environmentalist, worked alongside student volunteers, cleaning trash and wading through the river. He also walked among volunteers, educating them on the myriad of environmental issues currently plaguing Massachusetts and its waterways. Marzilli works alongside many environmental groups in the area, and was in fact on his way to another cleanup later that same day. According to Marzilli, along with the obvious pollution issues, there are many other issues threatening plant and animal life in the area. He told a group of volunteers that among these problems, the non-native invasive plant species that are taking over trees and other plants in the area. A solution to this problem involves the manual removal of these plants. "Tufts and community members have done an excellent job mobilizing to physically clean this area, and I am very impressed," Marzilli said. "The next step is for them to learn about further environmental issues and to continue to educate the public." According to Tufts Water Watch Media Coordinator Sue Bernstock, Marzilli's participation was highly encouraging to volunteers. "Representative Marzilli's presence on Saturday really showed us that our work is significant," Bernstock said. "Seeing him in there physically picking up trash alongside students, and knowing he was attending another cleanup that same day, was validation that our work is recognized as important to Massachusetts politicians." Representative Paul Donato spoke to volunteers as well, answering questions on legislation and commending students on their outstanding dedication to the serious problem of water pollution. "The issue of water condition is something we definitely recognize in the legislature," Donato said. "But because of financial constraints, education and healthcare tend to get priority on funding. Groups like [Water Watch] are absolutely essential, and the importance of their work is immeasurable." The issue of funding was raised by all of the politicians who attended the cleanup. Marzilli commented on the budget cuts that the state of Massachusetts has faced over the past few years. "With billion dollar cuts in funds for public services over each of the past few years, the chance of any of it going to public cleaning projects is getting smaller and smaller," Marzilli said. Malia Matson, a freshman at Tufts who is planning on majoring in environmental engineering, attended the cleanup to experience her first Water Watch event. "I had a good time cleaning and meeting a lot of different people; Tufts students and kids outside of Tufts," Matson said. "I definitely hope to come to more Water Watch events in the future." A local community group and local environmentalists also attended the event. By the end of the Cleanup, the parking lot was overflowing with trash-bags full of garbage, lawn furniture, aluminum rods, and a shopping cart. All had been plucked from the river by volunteers. Water Watch volunteers were happy with the results of the Cleanup, for both the sake of the river and their own hard work. "The day was called the 'Make a Difference Day' Cleanup," said Drexler. "When I asked people what they thought about the day, a huge response was, 'I really felt like I made a difference.' It was humorous, because they didn't even mean to reiterate the day's theme. But I believe we did make a difference, on the Mystic and within ourselves."

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News

Possible expansion of local businesses on MOPS

October 27

More restaurants may be soon added to the Merchants on Points System (MOPS). The MOPS is being reviewed by the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate and by Dining Services to determine which restaurants are most desirable to students. Jeff Katzin, a member of the Services Committee of the Senate, said that an additional two establishments may be added to MOPS. Katzin also mentioned the recent survey which was just sent to the student body yesterday. Students were asked to select one of 11 restaurants which they would like to see added to MOPS. "It is just a means through which we can present Patti Klos, the director of Dining Services, with some numbers showing student preferences" Katzin said. Klos emphasizes the importance of this survey, as it will be used to make any decisions regarding the points system. "I ask the students to take responsibility for soliciting input, such as surveys, and then they bring me the data through the Services Committee. We get a high level of participation from those surveys, so we assume that this is a high representation of student interest." Andrea's Pizzeria owner Bob Iliopoulos says that his business suffers because he is not on the system. "We have a lot of choices, we have good service, quality food, and we have no complaints. We are doing well in residential areas and the businesses around but not well at Tufts because of the Points problem." Iliopoulos critiqued the MOPS system saying "they send their students first to places with the points program, which isn't fair for the area. We're in the Tufts area and we don't get enough business from Tufts students. We try every year to get in because we have this points problem." He complained that every year he attempts to join but is not allowed. This is because MOPS is limited to only four restaurants. "I'm not on the points system. We try every year, we ask and they say they have only four accounts and that if something is open maybe they will give it to us," he said. This year he attempted a different strategy by obtaining student signatures on a petition to join. "I have over a thousand signatures and this week I'm going to send it with a letter again to ask if I can join the points program." The petition book was handed to students when they received deliveries and when they picked up orders or ate at Andrea's Boston Avenue restaurant. Klos acknowledges that while this is not the general procedure, "It's not the first time that a restaurant has had a petition. However, it's not the only indicator." She feels that what students are looking for is variety and "unless a restaurant has other unique food items, it just may not be what's needed." The procedure of adding businesses is made complicated by the paperwork necessary for orders placed through MOPS. Katzin explains, "It is fairly simple to actually make the addition to points for the University. The problem arises in the paperwork." Dining Services reviews every single order charged to points. Katzin said "there have been discussion with Patti Klos about perhaps outsourcing the paperwork, allowing us to add many more establishments, but as with most things, there is the issue of cost." Another aspect of the change is the need to reevaluate the campus dining usage such as "the number of students still dining on campus, and the hours of on-campus eateries," Katzin noted. Klos said, "It has not been determined if any more businesses will be added, but we like to keep this information current on a regular basis anyway because unfortunately, sometimes due to unforeseen circumstances a restaurant will have to pull out of the points program." "Local establishments including Andrea's Pizzeria, Pizzeria Uno's, Pranzi's Pizzeria and others have expressed interest in being added to the system. We have also been looking at other places including Mr. Crepe, Pasta Pisa, Zing Wings, Redbones, and Tasty Gourmet," Katzin said. For merchants interested in increasing business from Tufts students, adding their establishments to MOPS is a way to ensure increased traffic and visibility on the campus. Klos stresses the importance of "as many students as possible answering the surveys so there is statistically significant, honest feedback. The Senate Committee does seem to have breadth of representation, but we still need as much representation as possible to make the best decision for the biggest number of students." Services Committee members sophomores Katzin, John Valentine, and Ed Kalafarski are leading the initiative to expand MOPS.

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News

Bengals finding their roar again

October 27

Somebody break up the Cincinnati Bengals. Oh wait, Corey Dillon has already tried, but to no avail. The revived inhabitants of the otherwise dormant AFC North sit at 3-4 and have won back to back games for the first time since the first two games of the 2001 season. The aforementioned Dillon missed the game after he and his wife were in a car accident on their way to the Paul Brown Stadium for the match-up with the Seahawks. The timing is very eye-catching, seeing as the car mishap happened in the same week in which Dillon requested to be traded to the Dallas Cowboys. And there is no word as of yet whether Dillon intentionally got in the wreck to avoid having to play with the Bengals. But deadbeat running backs aside, these have turned out not to be your father's, or even your own, "Bungles". While 3-4 is hardly a record to write home about, two big home wins against the division rival Baltimore Ravens and the resurgent Seattle Seahawks have Cincinnatians singing the praises of new head coach and defensive guru Marvin Lewis. On Sunday, third year castoff Rudi Johnson got the start with Dillon out, and he filled in admirably to the tune of 101 yards and one touchdown. Additionally, the receiving tandem of Chad Johnson (three catches, 84 yards, one TD) and Peter Warrick (remember him? -- five catches, 61 yards, one sick 50 yard reverse) have announced their collective presence with authority. Add a stalwart defensive end in Justin Smith and the recently serviceable Jon Kitna (19-31, 240 yards, two touchdowns on Sunday) and you have yourself a contender. Elsewhere in the perennial cellar-dweller category, the Arizona Cardinals showed signs of life on Sunday in a 16-13 slugfest with the now 3-5 San Francisco 49ers. With Bill Gramatica of the Kicking Gramatica's out of the lineup, replacement Tim Duncan filled in with a triple double, or actually a triple triple, as his three field goals paced the Cards. Another blessing in disguise for the Cardinals may have been the shoulder blade injury Emmitt Smith suffered three weeks ago in Dallas. While an injury to one of the all time greats can not be applauded, it has paved the way for Marcel Shipp to have what feels like his eighth coming out party. He was a work horse on Sunday, to the tune of 35 carries for 165 yards. Here's hoping that even when Smith gets healthy, the job stays with Shipp. The Minnesota Vikings were knocked from the ranks of undefeated with a 29-17 home loss to the now 3-4 New York Football Giants. In a must win game for the G-men, they finally learned that turnovers are not stylish. Even given Randy Moss' torching of Giant cornerback Will Allen (seven grabs, 125 yards, two TD's), New York was more than able to compensate as Kerry Collins and his band of receivers simply went off. Collins threw for 375 yards and two touchdowns with Ike Hilliard, Amani Toomer and Jeremy Shockey getting the bulk of the action. Two more things: What a way for the Steelers to celebrate 1,000 games; by moving to 2-5 with no hope in site after a tough 33-21 loss to the St. Louis Rams in Marc Bulger's homecoming. Again their rushing attack was dismal, with neither Jerome Bettis nor Amos Zereoue mustering much in the way of yardage. At this point, the Steelers are hoping that Antwaan Randle El and Hines Ward can play other positions, because hope is in short supply in the Steel City. And how 'bout those New England Patriots. Call it winning ugly, but how can you explain a 6-2 team that is really nowhere to be found at the top of any statistical category? With almost half the preseason defensive starters out, this is Bill Belicheck's stamp: systems win, not players. It became even clearer after the 9-3 ho-hum affair with the Cleveland Browns. His cutting of Lawyer Milloy doesn't look so suspect right now.

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News

Suicides shock NYU community

October 27

The pressures of university life and its effects on students have been put under scrutiny by a recent spate of suicides at New York University (NYU). The three suicides this semester at NYU have left parents and administrators wondering what steps to take. Michelle Glucagon's off campus fall on Oct. 18 was preceded by Stephen Bohler's Oct. 10 leap and the loss of junior John Skolnik in Sept. According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, for people 15-24 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death, behind unintentional injury and homicide. In 1999, more teenagers and young adults died from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, and chronic lung disease combined. Senior staff psychologist at the Tufts Counseling Center Julie Jampel explained that going off to college an exacerbate the already stressful and painful period of adolescence - regardless of which school the student is attending. "Students are away from home, one is on one's own, and there is the stress of academics and the stress of trying to decide what to do with one's life. These things are all part and parcel of college life and can be stressful and depressing for some people," Jampel said. Jampel stressed that depression and suicidal feelings are both treatable. "If someone seems depressed or suicidal, I would urge their friends to really encourage that person to get help. It doesn't have to be that way." "We do see people who feel suicidal [at the Counseling Center]. It is not uncommon in a college population from time to time," she said. However, these statistics can be misleading in the sense that they make it look like suicide is much more common among younger people than older people Jampel said. "The primary reason [for these statistics] is that younger people are not dying of the things that kill older people," Jampel said. "Illness and disease are less common in younger people and so suicides and accidents are more likely to be the cause of death at a certain age." In the wake of these two recent suicides, NYU administrators are taking steps to prevent future student suicides. These steps range from installing panels on the library walkways to offering increased counseling services. At NYU, university officials are still trying to determine what caused these two students to jump to their deaths from one of the upper-level interior walkways at the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library. According to the New York Times, an NYU spokesman said that to his knowledge, there had never been a previous suicide at the library. NYU officials said that Bohler apparently jumped from a library balcony on either the 8th, 9th or 10th floor around 3 p.m. on Oct. 10. On Sept. 12, Skolnik jumped from the 10th floor. Fellow students who knew Bohler and Skolnik said that there were no visible signs that either was contemplating suicide. Carolyn Bohler said that she did not notice major emotional problems with her son and described him as "extremely happy to come to NYU" to the Times. What has been troubling to students, parents and administrators has not only been the outwardly happy appearance of the two students, but the record of NYU as a low-stress place where there have historically been few suicides. Though the city medical examiner's office was investigating whether Bohler had been on hallucinogenic drugs at the time of his death, many are left wondering if there is something about the university system that prompts suicidal feelings among teenagers and young adults. Following each of the first two suicides, NYU sent an e-mail urging students to make use of the school counseling services. NYU provides students with 12 free therapy sessions, plus additional sessions if there is a legitimate depression problem. Dorm meetings were also required. "It's really disturbing," NYU freshman Beebe Reisman said. "A lot of people felt very uncomfortable going to the library again." The third suicide occurred nearby Reisman's dorm, and she said, "It's on everyone's mind." A friend of hers, she said, has "just been a lot more careful about what he's said to people" since the suicides. NYU sophomore Jonathan Sanden noted that despite university efforts in prevention the school "is only touching on the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of places where students can kill themselves. The only thing [the glass panels] are preventing is the students from making a statement." He feels the real solution to the quandary is counseling and finding the root of the problem. After the suicide of sophomore Alex Mendell earlier this year, Tufts has encouraged students to take advantage of the Tufts Counseling Center and Ears for Peers if they are feeling depressed or just want to talk with someone. The Tufts Counseling Center can help students who are depressed or feeling suicidal by working to find an individual solution. "We can work with someone at the counseling center -- we can facilitate a meeting with a psychiatrist, or help them find a therapist in private practice or a clinic in the community that might better suit their needs," Jampel said. Ears for Peers is a confidential hotline available from 7 pm to 7 am every day. Student volunteers who are familiar with the pressures of college answer the phones and "lend an ear" to students who need someone to talk to.

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News

Three on three basketball tournament a success

October 27

The NBA season starts tonight, but some Tufts students figured they would get basketball season going a little early. The Sigma Phi Epsilon and Theta Delta Chi fraternities, commonly known as Sig Ep and 123 respectively, sponsored a three on three charity basketball tournament held in Cousens Gym on Saturday afternoon. Proceeds from the tournament went to the Jimmy V Foundation, a charity named after legendary NC State basketball coach Jim Valvano. The charity's goal is to raise funds for cancer research. The entry fee was $12 per team, and free food and prizes were distributed as well. In addition to collecting cash for the entry fee, the fraternities sold shirts promoting the event in an attempt to raise extra revenue. Overall, $900 was raised, not including sponsor donations. Team "Celtic Pride" was crowned tournament champion defeating "Ill Sauce" in the finals. Brian Fitzgerald, Jonathan Kluge, and Nishant Mehta formed the winning team. Fitzgerald was a force in the middle, and teams had a difficult time matching up to his size and strength. "It was a great time," Fitzgerald said. "It was nice getting to play with my friends, and we had a better turnout than expected." All three players on the winning team were Sig Ep brothers. "It was especially fun to win with guys from Sig Ep," Kluge said. Marcus Krupp, a Sig Ep brother, and Todd Walters, a 123 brother, organized the event. "Our main goal was to help support cancer research," Krupp said. "We are also trying to give back to the campus and provide an event that everyone can participate in. We tried to recruit a bunch of different clubs from around campus to strengthen the ties of the student body." The organizers were originally hoping for about 30 teams to participate, but the fact that many students were busy with parent's weekend reduced turnout a bit. Twenty-two teams participated in the event, a number that satisfied the organizers. A wide range of skill level was on display Saturday. About half the teams were not affiliated with any fraternity. There were co-ed teams, teams of all girls, and teams of all men. Even some parents showed up to show support. "I think everyone had a real good time," sophomore Greg Bonci, a participant in the event and a Sig Ep pledge, said. The tournament had been held in years past, but this was the first year that these two fraternities joined to host it. "We hope there will be even more teams competing next year" Krupp said.

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News

Prepare for intensity and savagery

October 27

After two seasons of assaults thrown upon him and his loved ones, Jack Bauer is back again ready to kick ass. The FOX hit, 24, is back for its third season; it starts tonight at 9, with as much, if not more, anticipation than last year's premiere. What elevates this program from mere melodrama to high quality thriller is the show's emotional core, Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) Agent Jack Bauer. He plays the role with an incredible intensity, filling every frame with passion. In one example of such crazed intensity from an episode from last season, Jack savagely leapt to his feet, after being electrocuted, whipped, and beaten by terrorists. Following the death of his wife at the end of the first season, Jack lost whatever inhibitions of brutality he had. Later, upon, being reluctantly recruited back to CTU to help with the investigation, Jack's first action is to shoot the government's prime witness in cold blood. Sutherland constantly brings himself and the audience to the edge, only leaving the slightest semblances of likeability. Jack's status as the hero with various anti-hero characteristics works effectively within the universe he inhabits. In dealing with shady informants and CIA and presidential moles, Jack beats up, threatens, and lies his way in his search for the truth. Likewise, 24's writers used Jack's quest for war-stopping evidence as a metaphor for the overall state of the world. One misstep and everyone was done for. 24 was the only show on television to successfully incorporate the new dangers and possibilities of a post 9/11 world regularly into its series' narrative. While other shows, including Alias, make vague references to our generation's watershed event, it became the central plot catalyst for 24's second season. With a plot arc that moved from the threat of nuclear explosive going off in downtown Los Angeles to the possibility of the President starting a pan-Middle East war due to falsified evidence, the show obliquely criticized US foreign policy on television as similar events were happening in the real world. 24's gimmick -- in which every episode takes place in a real-time hour and each season extends over one twenty-four hour period -- adds even more depth to the show's political commentary. Previews for this year's season show 24 moving even farther toward being a psychological thriller. Now the head of his division, Jack is up against an ambiguous evil organization trying to develop a biological weapon. The season premiere will also resolve the fate of the President Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) who may or may not have survived an assassination attempt. (Since he figures prominently in most of the promos, it's likely he is in good health.) Producers have also made the wise decision to incorporate Jack's daughter Kim (Elisha Cuthbert) in a more influential role as a low level analyst in CTU. Last season viewer groaned every time the life and death actions of her father were interrupted by the inconsequential beaming and busty blonde. Over the course of last season's "day," Kim was almost murdered twice, arrested for murder and kidnapping, held as a hostage in an armed robbery, nearly abducted by a freaky recluse, and intentionally flipped over a police car. Not to mention that she dumped her boyfriend. Kim's storylines were basically a parody of 24: melodramatic, uninteresting, and over-the-top. The show would also be wise to drop Sheri Palmer (Penny Johnson Gerald), the president's ex-wife who has crossed and double-crossed every character on the show to the point of nausea. One has to wonder if Johnson Gerald is as catty as her character, and has a deal with the producers, since she appears at such awkward and random points in the plotlines. These flaws were just occasional bumps in a show that was consistency the most engrossing and captivating on television. Problems with the second season will probably be irrelevant in the next, as the show radically reinvented itself last year. The show's first season, although very well designed and planned, became at times dull complications in what was essentially a bare bone revenge murder storylines. Things changed last year, as major characters were killed off early on, and the focus of first twelve episodes of the season -- defusing a nuclear bomb -- failed. The show turned the intensity up a notch, and became at once more popular and more engrossing. All indicators point to continuing improvement in this year's show. 24's structure as a collection of twisting and thrilling hour-long serials has kept producers tight-lipped, but producers have leaked some information. Jack will finally have a formal position of authority, hopefully curtailing all the quarrels and delays brought on by fellow agents in past seasons. New cast members will be added, including James Badge Gale as a fellow CTU agent. Producers have also not ruled out appearances by surviving characters from previous seasons, including ex-love partners Nina Myers and Kate Warner, who unwillingly became a heroine last season. Whatever plot lines are developed, 24 looks to keep its mantle as action-packed, engaging, topical, and smart television. Stop watching Karen Cisco or Without a Trace, and instead be shocked and awed by the juggernaut that is 24.

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