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Tufts team finishes marathon

April 22

President Larry Bacow and his entire team of almost 40 Tufts runners completed the 107th Boston Marathon on Monday after months of training and fundraising for the Tufts Personalized Performance Program. The Tufts team consisted of students, alumni, staff, and friends of the University who ranged in age from a college freshman to a septuagenarian. "The fact that everybody finished is a terrific indication of how hard everybody worked," Bacow said. The runners' ethic of teamwork paid off, and runners completed the race despite considerable physical difficulties. One medical student with a stress fracture completed the race in a cast, and another overcame serious hip problems that had plagued her since the winter. "Nobody wanted to let down the team," Bacow said. One runner, a parent of a Tufts student, was over 71 years old and has run in over 200 marathons, according to Bacow. The team's goal was to raise $250,000 for the Personalized Performance Program, a figure that is expected to be met once the last checks come in, according to Craig LeMoult, a Tufts spokesman. The program is designed to create a customized fitness program for each participant based on their health and nutrition needs. Since training for and completing the 26.2 mile race entails considerable stresses on the body, Tufts runners were supported by a seven-member training team that included members of the athletics, physical education, and psychology departments and the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. The training team provided physical and psychological support for the runners, including massage therapy, nutrition advice, injury prevention techniques, and seminars on sports psychology. Sophomore Erin Allweiss found the advice of Professor Christina Economos of the Nutrition school to be particularly helpful. Her suggestions on what to eat the day of the race and how to train as a vegetarian helped Allweiss get to the finish line, a moment she described as "simultaneously excruciating and exhilarating." Jason Burke (LA '99) was surely the team's star runner, with a time of 2:59:55 and an average mile of 6:51. Truly a distance runner at heart, Burke has been known to run out to Hopkinton -- the marathon's starting point -- then turn around and run back to Boston. Bacow said that when he crossed the finish line with a time of 4:49:18, he "was glad it was over." Though this is Bacow's second marathon, the combination of the heat, the race's late start in the day, and its intersection with the Passover holiday -- making it harder to "carbo-load before the race" -- made this race especially challenging, he said. The idea for the marathon challenge originated when Trustee Steven Epstein, also the chairman of the Athletic Board of Overseers, approached Bacow about raising money for the Personalized Performance Program. "I thought it sounded like a great idea," Bacow said, since the program combined Tufts' experience with nutrition research with the goal of having a "real impact" on students. The marathon challenge presented the opportunity to focus attention on the program and pull together the community, Bacow said. "I think we were very successful." "What we hope the program will do over time is inspire other universities to focus attention on the health and fitness and dietary habits of college students," Bacow said. The response from the Tufts community has been enthusiastic, he said, and a group of alumni plan to start training for the Chicago marathon. When asked whether he had any plans for future presidential challenges, Bacow demurred. "I haven't begun to think about that yet," he said, laughing. "I only have one body to give."

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News

TCUJ calls for new nominations meeting

April 21

The Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) ruled last night that Elections Board (ELBO) must re-nominate presidential candidates for a third time and postpone Wednesday's scheduled election because one candidate had an unfair advantage at Thursday night's second nominations meeting. The Senate originally nominated junior Randy Newsom and sophomore Joe Mead last Tuesday, but after Newsom announced that he was rescinding his nominations and called for new ones, the Senate overturned that vote. A second meeting selected Chike Aguh, a sophomore, and Mead as candidates over junior Julia Karol, but that vote was overturned by the TCUJ last night. A third meeting, to be held tonight, will nominate a presidential candidate who will run against Mead in an election tentatively scheduled for Friday. While the TCUJ agreed, unanimously with a complaint that Aguh had an unfair advantage in Thursday's nomination meeting, it did not see fit to punish Mead for factors outside of his control. Karol filed a complaint on Friday, claiming that the Senate's nomination of Aguh was illegitimate because he had prior knowledge of Newsom's resignation, which gave him an unfair advantage at the meeting. Karol said that that Aguh knew Newsom was withdrawing on Wednesday night and that the situation was set up so that Aguh could step in and take Newsom's place. This gave Aguh more time to prepare his platform, thus denying other senators "an equal opportunity to gain the votes of Senators for candidacy." The TCUJ agreed with Karol in a 4-0-1 vote that Aguh had an unfair advantage in the election. However, the TCUJ unanimously agreed that Aguh was not lying when he told the Senate that he did not decide to run for president until Thursday morning and that any unfair advantage was not necessarily his fault. Aguh presented the same argument that his knowledge was innocent: he lives on the same floor as Newsom in South Hall, and Newsom confided in him as a friend. Newsom talked to him on Wednesday night, Aguh said, but he did not think about running for president until Thursday morning when Newsom told him of his decision to withdraw. "Unless you're going to punish someone for knowing someone else really well, I don't know how you can call it unfair," he said. According to Karol's complaint, however, "Abby Moffat... was notified on Wednesday night by Randy Newsom that Randy had, in fact, consulted with Chike, asked him to take up the candidacy, and that Chike had agreed." While this sequence of events is a matter for debate, there is little doubt that Newsom made efforts not to inform other senators that he was dropping out. An e-mail from Newsom to ELBO requested that his decision to pull out of the race be kept quiet until the meeting, and an e-mail from ELBO calling an emergency meeting on Thursday night did not include the reason for the meeting. A second e-mail sent by Newsom to the Senate acknowledged his change of mind and promised clarification at the meeting. He says he did not intend for ELBO to keep what was happening quiet, only his reasons why. Newsom acknowledges that he hand-picked Aguh as his successor, but he says that he acted with the best of intentions. He wanted to ensure that the student body had another good candidate to choose from, and he knew that Aguh has decided not to seek the presidential nomination in the first meeting because he did not want to run against him. "I made a judgment call. I thought it was best for the student body to have two well-prepared presidential candidates," he said. "Chike shouldn't be blamed for any of this." Aguh did not tell anyone else that Newsom was resigning because he felt it would have been betraying his friend's trust. "Randy's reasons were highly personal. It would have been egregious of me to speak of these issues," he said. For Karol, the issue is not which person to blame or even that she did not get to run for president. "I trust the Senate entirely if they think Chike is a better choice. But I believe in the integrity of student government, and this violates it," she said. "I can't sit back and let this happen and not act." Though the TCUJ found the second nominations meeting unfair, it did say that the process of re-nominating candidates was constitutional in its rejection of two other complaints filed by former Senate Parliamentarian Adam Koeppel. Koeppel challenged whether the Senate could overturn its first nominations meeting and whether ELBO could hear new nominations, but the TCUJ said both were legitimate courses of action. The TCUJ's decision was based on the idea that it should give Elections Board wide authority to interpret the meaning of its constitutional charge to conduct "fair and impartial elections." The "spirit" of the constitution is that there are to be two candidates in the election for TCU President, the ruling stated. Therefore, ELBO and the Senate were upholding the constitution in holding new nominations. Koeppel argued that the new nominations made at Thursday's meeting should never have been heard, since Newsom could not rescind his nomination, as he announced. "Once the motion has been made and seconded, the motion becomes the body's motion," Koeppel said. There is no 'motion to ignore' in parliamentary procedure, as defined by Robert's Rules of Order." But the TCUJ said that because the meeting was run by ELBO, rules of parliamentary procedure did not apply. "The situation at hand presented the possible solution that the Senate simply take a 'do-over,' and it was within the ability of the Senate to undertake such an action," the decision stated. Koeppel has yet to decide whether he will appeal the decision to the Committee on Student Life.

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News

Going pro

April 21

All through elementary school, middle school, and even through high school, whenever anybody asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always answered professional baseball player. Back then everybody thought my answer was cute, though probably somewhat unrealistic, especially considering the fact that I only played one season of high school baseball and batted .111. They figured I'd go off to college and establish some real career goals. So it might be disappointing to many of the adults who have guided me over the years that about a month before graduating from college I still dream of being inducting into the Baseball Hall of Fame. But, they can take solace in the fact that I no longer think I'll make it to Cooperstown as a shortstop or a center fielder. Instead of hitting my way to the Hall of Fame, I hope to write my way there. Some may find this career goal to be as equally unrealistic or perhaps even more unrealistic than my career goal before college. And based on my current state of affairs they could probably make a strong argument. Exactly 26 days before graduation, my life resembles Grand Central Station at rush hour -- mass confusion. I am jobless. I have few, if any, job leads. I have no time to look for a job. I do not know where I am going to live. I do not know whom I am going to live with. In fact, I have applied for exactly one job (on a whim) -- to write sports for The Journal News, a White Plains based newspaper. You may call my situation desperate, sad, or maybe even funny. And I'll admit, I am slightly nervous about it. But, I know what I want to do and, as I mentioned before, I know where I want to end up. I am convinced that my job problems would be non-existent had my timing been better. The Journal News needed the writer to start immediately. Unfortunately, I need four more credits to graduate and I am still the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. I was all set to drop out of school and make myself available to the newspaper right away, but my parents weren't really cool with the idea. I tried to use music to explain the situation to them as I saw it. "Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity/ To seize everything you ever wanted... One moment/ Would you capture it or just let it slip?" Apparently, they were not fans of Eminem because they ordered me to "let it slip" and finish college. Maybe if I could have found an artist that they could better relate to, such as the Beatles, instead of a blond haired gangster our discussion would have ended differently. Of course, as my parents reminded me, the newspaper didn't officially offer me the job, thus quitting school admittedly may have been jumping the gun a tad. So in retrospect their advice was probably prudent. I should also tell you that the job was part time and the pay was definitely minimal. But, hell it was a sports writing job and all I need is a chance. Hopefully, the whole Journal News fiasco wasn't my one shot. I view myself as the Mike Piazza of the sports writing world. No, I'm not that cocky. I'm not referring to the perennial all-star and Hall of Fame bound slugger that Piazza is today. I'm talking about the Mike Piazza that was drafted in the 62nd round of the baseball draft as a favor to his father, who was good friends with Tommy Lasorda, the LA Dodgers manager at the time. I'm looking for that favor. I don't expect to pull a Dave Winfield and go straight to the majors. In sports writing terms, this means that I don't expect to start out at The New York Times or Sports Illustrated. I realize that I'll probably start off at some low budget newspaper out in the boondocks somewhere, covering a 50 and over recreation slow pitch softball league, and earning only enough money to eat one meal a day -- consider it Single A ball. Maybe a year or two later, I'll get called up to Double A. There I'll get to eat two meals per day and maybe I'll get to cover high school volleyball. To you that may sound dreadful, but in my view I'll be right on track. Like Piazza, I'm willing to put my blood, sweat and heart into moving through the system. Then in five or so years I'll finally get the call. The manager (the EIC) will summon me to his office and say, "They are bringing you up to the big leagues, son." And that will mean that one of the New York papers has hired me to be the New York Mets beat writer. The story does not end there though. It actually ends 40 years later on a muggy July afternoon in upstate New York, when I am called to the podium to accept my plaque as the newest inductee into the baseball writer's wing of the Hall of Fame. I just need to find my Lasorda to give me a shot (or maybe I should just send out some more job applications). I'll make the most of it.

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News

Physical education

April 21

Everyone tells you that you have to exercise. Now, I actually like exercising. You feel good about yourself for doing it, and after a couple of weeks, you find you have more energy than you used to (something every college student could use). But if you don't like to exercise -- which is fine -- don't forget to sneak something physical into your routine. No, I'm not getting preachy. Get fat and rot. I don't care. I'm talking about physical games. I think that accomplishing something physical (even if it doesn't get your heart-rate going) helps keep you sane. The joy of throwing something and having it go where you want, of swinging at a ball and feeling the gong-like reverberation of the sweet spot on your bat. College is a cerebral environment, and I think some of us forget the thrill of doing something purely real and physical. College athletes don't forget this joy, and I think that gives them an advantage over other students. Keep your mind focused on books for too long, and you begin to feel that the world is only about books. On the other hand, if you spend over ten hours a week honing and demonstrating your ability to affect the physical world -- to put a ball exactly where you want it or to stop a man from running past you or to beat everyone else to the finish line -- your life falls into a different perspective. When your body is relishing the chance to sit on a bench and breathe deeply, you aren't worrying about the significance of Aphra Behn's play The Rover in the history of English literature and of feminist ideology, you're too busy remembering that you're alive. Now, I can't lie: I love video games. (There is one dirty, dirty lie in that statement. After all, I can lie to you about anything and everything. Isn't that what newspapers are for? But if I'm going to lie, I'm going to have to do so convincingly, and I'm just not in the mood.). I've ridden the video-game train from the Atari 2600 and the NES up through the GameCube and the Playstation 2. It's been a good trip, but I don't want to talk about it. No matter how much fun I've had with video games, they haven't replaced actual physical satisfaction. (Get your mind out of the gutter. I'm watching you.) Of course, the sort of physical activities that most college students go for often aren't traditional sports. Sure, there's intramural soccer and flag football and the like, but these hardly cover the majority of the year or of the student population. I'm talking about simpler stuff. Not just team sports or pick-up games or actual exercises but anything -- casual things like tossing a Frisbee around, drunken things like throwing ping pong balls at cups of beer, dangerous things like hucking lawn darts at toddlers. Do you imagine that it's a coincidence that Beirut/Panama/Beer Pong are so popular on college campuses? Fact: College students love to get away from their studies. Fact: Most classwork has nothing to do with physical prowess. Fact: College students love to drink. Put these things together and you have a breeding ground for physical drinking games. And you bet people are proud of their skills! A Beirut tournament is Tufts at its most competitive. Our students may not be as cutthroat on grades like high-pressure suicide machines such as Cornell, but we are passionate about our little games. Even the casual enthusiast knows the sublime joy of having a ball drop cleanly into a cup on a key shot. You don't have to be good to have the love of the game. Which explains why Kevin Costner keeps making movies. But Tufts is no bunch of bleary-eyed, beer-swilling alcoholics. There are games everywhere. How many student apartments must have dartboards? Throw in some special motivation -- like putting your friend's face on your board -- and people will be lining up to take a throw. These physical aficionados stay out of the public eye, however, because there's no organization involved. We don't need organizations. If you like drinking games or throwing darts (or throwing knives), you don't need someone else telling you how and when to do it. Get some friends over and have a good time. Hell, go ahead and play darts or practice with your knives on your own time. It's safer. But don't tell me that you've forgotten all the fun you had when you were a kid. Go to a big toy store and tell me that you don't want to play around. Tell me that a gigantic box of dodge balls isn't tempting. Tell me that you don't ball up your garbage and try to throw it into the can. Oh yeah? Liar. Embrace it! I think it's high time that we brought more physical games into the mix. I want a pi?±ata at my next party! Why? Because breaking things is fun. And if you don't want candy, mix some other prizes into your cardboard dog or llama or four-legged whatever. Little nips of whiskey! Condoms! Those rings that have whistles on them! I see no end to the possibilities. Remember the inflatable punching dolls that you could never knock down? These came in two varieties, it seemed: clown and Superman. I've always preferred the Superman one, because come on, there's no way you could knock Superman down. There's no shame in that. After a few rounds with the clown, I wanted take him down for the count and hack that grin off his smarmy plastic face with some scissors. Hence, Superman seems healthier. The weather's getting better, and I hope to see some great outdoor spectacles. Gigantic water-balloon slingshots! Assassin-style fights across campus with water guns! Forget dodgeball; play dodge-egg! If it's messy or stupid or pointless, who cares? Pretend you're at camp and blow off some silly summer steam. And if you're at a loss for ideas, just start dropping appliances off your roof. Now there's satisfaction.

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News

New cables decrease odds of summer blackouts

April 21

The University is confident that it will remain fully powered during the summer session, unlike last summer in which a major power failure caused damage to equipment and scientific samples all over campus. According to Ron Esposito, director of Facilities, there always remains a chance of regional power outages like the one last summer, but the University is taking precautions to ensure that they are prepared to handle any power outages. Six blackouts occurred in July 2002, when two major Massachusetts Electric underground cables failed at the same time, leaving Medford and Tufts without power. Although built-in emergency generators in Barnum Hall and other buildings temporarily protected laboratories containing temperature-sensitive experiments, prolonged outages drained the generators and allowed temperatures to rise to damaging levels. "The failure of both cables was most likely due to age and fatigue" Esposito said. Massachusetts Electric never gave Tufts a definite conclusion on the reason for the failure. Since then, the two original cables have been replaced and a third new cable running from a different power station -- supplying power solely to Tufts -- was installed. The addition of the third cable should promise power regularity during the summer. Even with three cables servicing Tufts, Esposito explained that the severe power outages of last summer gave Facilities a "loss of faith and trust" in the general security of supplied power. Due to this, plans are in the works to purchase additional generators in case another power outage occurs. These generators would be trailer mounted, which means that they would be transportable to the buildings that needed power the most, such as the Dana Biology Laboratory, Michael Research Chemistry Laboratory, and Tisch Library -- the main station of telephone circuiting on campus. These generators will most likely be purchased before students return for the fall semester. The main reason behind the delay in purchasing the new generators is the 1990 Federal Clean Air Act, which restricts the emission of products of combustion into the air to 50 tons for a given area. These products of combustion include nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide, both of which are emitted by the generators currently used on-campus. An increase in generator use could lead to an increase in combustion products past the 50-ton limit. If the limit is exceeded, Facilities would have to make adjustments in other machinery, such as the boilers, to accommodate for the increase in emissions. Tufts faces a trade-off between minimizing capital expenditure by keeping the current number of generators or purchasing more generators and preparing for the unlikely case that another regional outage will occur, Esposito said. Associate Professor of biology Ross Feldberg expressed his frustration with the administration for the late action in solving this problem. "We have had power failures in the past, I would guess one every six months or so on average," Feldberg said. "Our department informed the administration of the impact of each of these power outages, yet the University never pressed the local power company on what it was doing to avoid such failures." Karen Panetta, associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science placed more blame on the minimal system staff last summer for the lack of back-up support for computer hard drives, where all computer data is stored. Panetta is not worried about this problem reoccurring due to the increase of support staff. This summer, Tufts will have increased activity with research laboratory workers, students in summer session, and the Summer Conference Bureau guests on campus. Three new cables supplying power to the campus will hopefully be sufficient. If not, Esposito assured that Facilities will be able to deal with the problem using rental generators, similar to last summer. But because of Tufts' experience with the process, he said that they will be able to respond more effectively and faster than previously.

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News

Presidential candidates upset with TCUJ ruling

April 21

The lack of precedent or constitutional guidelines for dealing with a candidate rescinding a nomination has thrown student government into a constitutional crisis, and presidential hopefuls Joe Mead and Chike Aguh say there is no way that the upcoming election can be conducted fairly. Beyond the difficulties posed to any candidate by the delay in the timing of the election, the various Senate motions, complaints, TCUJ hearings, and ELBO actions have created a quagmire, and student government leaders can't agree on a legitimate way to get out. The latest decision by the TCUJ, calling for the re-nomination of a second candidate but letting Mead's stand did nothing to settle the issue, as senators say the TCUJ directed ELBO and the Senate to take an unconstitutional action. The TCUJ said that the Senate is able to ignore its decision in the first nominations meeting earlier last week, and it may have used that precedent in overturning the Aguh nomination. "It was not a past meeting. It was a single motion," TCUJ chair Adam Biacchi said. "In effect these nominations are all just trying to find a replacement for Randy to face Joe in the election." Throwing out the entire nominations vote, Biacchi said, would have been unfair to Mead. However, Mead himself does not see how throwing out half a vote is constitutional. The votes for both candidates were cast on a single ballot, and only one motion to vote was made. "As much as I do want to have an election, I don't think we can or should violate the constitution," Mead said. Both Mead and Aguh say they will let the TCUJ's decision stand for the sake of getting on with the election and doing what they see is in the best interest of the students -- providing them with a choice for president. But they cannot stop others in student government from appealing the TCUJ's decision or challenging tomorrow night's meeting. Beyond the constitutional issues, the delay in the election is likely to have an adverse affect on voter turnout, Mead and Aguh say, because students won't know when the election is taking place. Both said that they spent countless hours over the long weekend telling students to come out and vote on Wednesday. But more than confusion, given that spring fling is this weekend and classes end on Monday, students are not likely to have time to pay attention much attention to the election -- which could be held either Friday or Monday. "The closer you get to the weekend, people are doing other things," Aguh said. A lack of turnout could hurt the constitutional referendum that is also on the ballot, as 20 percent of students must vote for a referendum to be counted. But more than turnout, Aguh and Mead see this situation as having a negative impact in other ways. Not only does the controversy reinforce students' negative stereotypes of student government, Aguh said, it creates internal problems for the Senate. In-house elections for executive board positions will likely have to be held during reading period, which would be stressful to senators who have schoolwork to do, as they are likely to be contested and could take up to six or seven hours to complete. All this chaos is occurring because of the unprecedented situation, Mead and Aguh say. The Senate is in transition right now, as it operates without an executive board until after the Presidential election. The lack of leadership and defined rules makes it difficult for student government members to determine the correct and constitutional course of action. And there is no precedent for dealing with a candidate rescinding his nomination. "The minute Mr. Newsom decided to pull out, the constitution was unfit to deal with the situation," Aguh said. "The people who are in this right now are trying the best they can. This has never happened before, in any fact."

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News

Jumbos win three, lose one over weekend

April 21

In a busy weekend of NESCAC play, the women's softball team finished off with a sweep of a doubleheader against Williams yesterday, winning 6-1 and 2-1. The wins move Tufts to 19-10 on the season, including a 6-2 mark in the NESCAC. Before traveling to Williams, the women kicked off their weekend in Maine on Saturday with a double header against Bowdoin. Playing against a NESCAC East rival, the team hoped to return home with a sweep putting them in a good position to host the NESCAC tournament. Unfortunately for the Jumbos, their wish did not translate into a reality as the team finished Saturday with a split, losing game one 2-1, but winning game two 11-5. Even though the team has yet to secure home field advantage in the post-season tournament, Saturday's game two win was enough for the Jumbos to clinch a spot in the NESCAC playoffs. Despite the victory, the team was not pleased with the results of the day. "It was very similar to Colby, where we just don't know what really happened," senior co-captain Nikki Blotner said. "They just played better than we did even though we had the skills to beat them and be a better team. The whole thing was shocking." Though the Jumbos' play was uninspiring as a whole, junior Julie Fox had an incredible individual performance. Fox hit three homeruns and amassed eight RBI on the day. "Julie was just awesome," Blotner said. "She's always been a really strong hitter but she was just on fire." The day began with pitching ace, sophomore Caroline Grieco, on the mound. Grieco pitched a strong game, giving up only two runs in seven innings of play. Despite her solid efforts, the offense could not continue the hot hitting of the past weekend to help earn her a victory. The Polar Bears were the first to put a run on the board, as freshman shortstop Danielle Chagnon homered for the first inning's only hit. "That surprised us a little bit. We didn't expect them to jump on us," Blotner said. Tufts responded quickly after Fox tied the game with a home run of her own in the top of the second. Going down quietly in the bottom of the second inning, Bowdoin threatened again in the bottom of the third, loading the bases with only one out. Fortunately for the Jumbos, Grieco was able to get herself out of the jam unscathed and the score remained tied 1-1. It wasn't until the fifth inning that the Polar Bears would regain their lead, this time for good, on an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth from sophomore right fielder Rachel Gordon. On the afternoon, the Jumbos out-hit the Polar Bears 10-8, yet stranded nine teammates on base leaving the team without much needed runs. The tough-luck loss sent Grieco's record to 6-3 on the season and moved the Jumbos to 5-2 in the NESCAC. "Bowdoin really wanted us, you've got to hand it to them that they went out there hard and took a game from us," Blotner said. "It's the best game I've seen them play in my four years." Unwilling to let the Polar Bears keep them down, the Jumbos rebounded quickly in game two to record the 11-5 win. Returning to the mound after her master performance in game one, junior Erin Hanley could not keep the Jumbos' offense quiet again as it scored three runs in the top of the first. An RBI double from senior co-captain Lis Drake paired with Fox's second homerun of the day (this time a two run blast) gave Tufts the early 3-0 lead. However, the Polar Bears did not die easily. They responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the second, and tacked on two more in the bottom of the fourth to tie the Jumbos 3-3. Soon after Bowdoin had tied it up, the Jumbos took back the lead with a vengeance, scoring four runs in the top of the fifth. Once again, Fox lead the scoring drive with a two run single. Sophomore Katie Smith helped Tufts score its final two runs of the inning with a two run single of her own. Though Bowdoin tried to respond by scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth, Tufts quieted any hopes of a comeback by scoring four more runs in the top of the seventh. The offensive onslaught was again led by Fox who hit her third homerun of the day, recording three more RBI with her hit. The four runs scored in the seventh helped secure the victory for freshmen Sarah Conroy who finished the day with seven innings pitched and five earned runs. Conroy's record now stands at 3-1. With the split against Bowdoin, the Jumbos currently sit only three wins ahead of Bowdoin who still has more NESCAC games left to play. If the team can continue to play strongly for the rest of the season, they will most likely host the NESCAC tournament. Without anymore NESCAC East games left on their schedule though, the Jumbos hopes now lay in the hands of others. "As a senior I am counting on hosting," Blotner said. "If Brandies is our last home game, that's not going to be ok." For now, the team must concentrate on Brandeis who they will play tomorrow. Due to whether issues that caused the rescheduling of multiple games, the game against Brandeis will be the Jumbos' first home contest since Mar. 26. The game will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Spicer Field.

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News

University students make Fridays

April 21

After staring intently at the chessboard in front of him, a student makes his move. He is not an intellectually bent college student; rather, he is a third grader at a Lawrence, MA elementary school who, on "Fun Fridays," is visited by Tufts students who teach the elementary schoolers to play chess. The chess class is one of a number of classes taught by Tufts students in Lawrence -- part of a program started by Omidyar Scholars Kim Boehler and Chloe Kaplan. The pair established the connection to the Lawrence school through Boehler's mother, who teaches there. "I love chess and I enjoy coming in to teach for this," said Noah Trugman, one of the University students who bring "Fun Fridays" to Lawrence. Trugman's sentiment is shared by all Tufts students who teach classes, and the enjoyment is reciprocated by the elementary schoolers. "Noah is a good teacher," one third grader said. "He makes me feel good playing chess." Trugman coaches the students in games against each other, and also takes on the kids in some games himself. The Omidyar Scholars program, which was started in 2001 to fund projects created by Tufts students that focus on community service, pays for the expenses associated with "Fun Fridays": food, crafts supplies, and other necessary costs. While the Omidyar program has received its share of criticism, "Fun Fridays" seems to have proven a success. Tufts students who were interested in the program signed up to teach classes in their areas of interest. The students were allowed to list their top three choices for a class, and were placed in specific classes as the demand for them allowed. As of last Friday, the fifth "Fun Friday," all the University students in the program said that they were happy with their placement. From 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. for the past five Fridays the kids in Lawrence, grades one through four, had the opportunity to learn about Cultural Cooking, Doctor Seuss, Medieval Ages, Chess, Italian Culture, Painting, Photography, Musical Theatre, Music, Arts & Crafts, or Friendship. Tufts freshman Alex Maloney, who teaches the Italian Culture class to students in grades three and four, has enjoyed having the opportunity to teach younger children and do community service. "It's an excellent venue for Tufts students to use their teaching skills," Maloney said. "It's not just mindless community service." While the kids can be rowdy at times, the Tufts students seem to work well with them, even in places as messy as the kitchen. Sophomores Lauren Fleisher and Lauren Ackerman teach Cultural Cooking, where last Friday they helped the students make nachos last Friday. "We try to do things where the kids can really help out a lot," Ackerman said. Ackerman and Fleisher's group of six or seven rambunctious third and fourth grade boys can be a lot to handle, but all parties involved enjoy the class. "Making pizza was my favorite part," fourth grader Gabriel said. "I really like when Lauren and Lauren come in." While preparing for cooking, a teacher at Lawrence said that all day each Friday the students do not stop talking about Fun Fridays, "They're so excited for it all day, we can't calm them down," she said.

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News

Trojan Women' uses dramatic arts to question war with Iraq

April 21

"There were a lot of us who were feeling very helpless and silent in our opposition to the war [with Iraq]," director of The Trojan Women Virginia Johnson said. The play will be performed this Wednesday night at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. in the Balch Arena Theater. In staging this production, Johnson's goal is to "produce something with those feelings of anxiety" and ultimately yield something constructive in the midst of a myriad of destructive current events. As the annual Department of Drama and Dance minor production, The Trojan Women seeks to fulfill a greater role than entertainment. "We in the Drama Department needed a creative way of speaking out against the war in Iraq," Johnson said. "I saw a production of The Trojan Women last year after the war in Afghanistan and was struck with how appropriate this adaptation of the script [by Eric Hill]" is to contemporary society. The Trojan Women, by Euripides, tells the story of the Trojan War's effect on the women of the destroyed and conquered city of Troy. There is a bitter irony underlying the surviving women's pain because of the cause of the war itself: another woman, Helen. Helen ran off with Paris, son of the King and Queen of Troy, and in doing so left her own husband, Menelaus, king of the Greeks. Helen's choice launches a brutal and violent war between the two nations. The Trojan Women begins where the war formally ends, following the episode of the Trojan horse. Troy is burning, utterly destroyed, and only its women have survived. Not only must the women deal with the loss of their husbands, sons, and city, but they are now to become the slaves of the conquering Greeks. Furthermore, the story of The Trojan Women draws parallels to the current war in which the United States is engaged. In casting the production, Johnson has chosen to fill all of the play's roles - even the male ones - with female performers. "I didn't want the production to seem like women in war are only victims. Women can be powerful. Women can be hawks. Women are multifaceted," Johnson reflected. It was also "very important" to Johnson to make sure that the entire Tufts community was represented in cast. "We have a cross-section of students: different years, majors, levels of acting experience. We have an actress from the Somerville community who isn't a Tufts student. We have a staff member [Susanna Brown]. And we even have a faculty member on stage." The faculty member is Barbara Grossman, chair of the Department of Drama and Dance. In her leading role as Hecuba in this production, Grossman is making her Tufts acting debut. "I have always loved this play and was really happy to learn that Virginia was directing it," Grossman said. "I felt it was good for the department to deal with the tragedy in a time of global insanity." Grossman notes, however, that she had "no intent for trying out. Then shortly before auditions, Virginia said to me, 'I need a Hecuba.' I then went and made a big list of all the reasons why not to audition. Finally, I thought, 'Why not?' I auditioned, and Virginia cast me!" "There's always been war; there will always be war," Grossman said. "But I am thankful for the opportunity to express concern about war, to give people the opportunity to reflect on their own about the world events the play helps to illuminate." Furthermore, Grossman emphasized that The Trojan Women deals with more than just sorrow and grief. "She's a survivor," Grossman said of her character, Hecuba, Queen of Troy. "I admire that about her: her courage despite destruction." "I am very excited to see how people have taken on different roles in their involvement with the production," Johnson said. Johnson, for example, is a faculty member and the costume designer in residence for the Department of Drama and Dance - in this production she serves as director. Grossman, Chair of the Department who frequently directs, is acting. Theatre manager Joanne Barnett is The Trojan Women's producer. "In silence is death," says Hecuba to the women of Troy during The Trojan Women. This line underscores the sentiment of the script as a whole, and the attitudes of Johnson and her cast and crew. "Voices of dissent and questioning come from all corners of the University," Johnson said. The Trojan Women not only allows these voices to be heard and shared artistically with the Tufts community, but also prompts others to engage in discussion and question current events and the present war. The Trojan Women runs Wednesday, April 23 in the Balch Arena Theatre. Performances are at 6 pm and 10 pm. All performances are free.

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News

Quite a fix

April 21

The recent Senate election controversy, while historically unprecedented, did not need to reach such a level of confusion and disorder. Though set procedures were not in place for the withdrawal of a presidential candidate, the Senate could have obtained an interpretation of the constitution, rather than deciding haphazardly what proper policy is in this case. Essentially, there are two issues that have some members of the Senate up in arms. The first is a repeat nomination meeting called by ELBO following candidate Randy Newsom's withdrawal from the race. Whether acting under pressure or suggestion from the Senate, or acting of its own accord, the Board had no power to call a second nomination meeting. In the absence of a clear constitutional directive, the Senate should have contacted the TCUJ for an interpretation of the rules. The fact that election nomination policy is vague simply does not empower the Senate to act without guidance, opening the door to charges of favoritism and bias. Also, the secretive nature of the second nominations meeting just gives critics of last week's quick decisions more ammo. The second problem with the upcoming presidential election is that Newsom let Chike Aguh, the apparent new nominee, know that he was planning on withdrawing from the election before the rest of the Senate found out. Though Newsom likely had good intentions -- it is possible that he wanted to make sure he would not trigger an uncontested election by dropping out -- he created a larger disaster by keeping his decision a secret to many. The Senate needs to get its act together when it comes to tests of its constitution. Although this semester has not been easy on the governing body, debates such as this would go much more smoothly if the Senate deferred to the TCUJ for clarification.

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News

Ask Angie

April 21

Q: Angie, this is pretty bad. I've been having really naughty thoughts about one of my female professors. I feel like she pays attention to me more than the other guys in the class and she may even be making some moves on me. Can I even consider acting on this?? - Distracted in Class A: Okay, I'm going to give you some words of wisdom, so listen up: Just because it happened in a teen movie does NOT make it okay in real life! I would consider this one of those times where this applies. So, to answer your question, this is probably a really, really, really bad idea. First of all, if you're attracted to her, your perception is obviously skewed. You're looking for any reason to think she's interested in you as well. Now, seriously examine the reasons for your crush -- is it her you're attracted to, or the idea of her in an authority position? Have you generally had crushes on teachers before? I'd be willing to bet that some of this attraction is fueled by her being unattainable, as much as you think you like her as a person. As exciting as you think this is, it would cause far too many problems to be at all worthwhile. If, for some reason, you two happen to cross paths one day in another setting, under different circumstances, then maybe it would be appropriate. For now, however, try to pay attention to whatever it is she's teaching in class. Q: Dear Angie, my boyfriend is really into body piercing and wants me to get one for my tongue or a "private area". He says this really turns him on and has been asking for a while. I'm not really into this, but I don't want him to get pissed at me. What do I do? - Afraid of Needles A: It's your body, not his, and that's what this should come down to in the end. If he gets turned on by holes in skin, that's great for him, but he's in no position to force you to get something you don't want. There is absolutely no reason he should be getting "pissed" at you over this. If he tells you he can't get turned on without a piercing, that's his fetish and not your problem. If you decide to get something pierced, that has to be your personal decision! (And definitely make sure you go to a reputable place to get it done that has proper sterilization equipment!) If you talk to him and tell him you're against this, but he still gets angry with you, maybe you should ask yourself whether this is someone you actually want to be in a relationship with. Q: Dear Angie, I've got these two guy friends. I've got chemistry with both of them, and one of them finally made his move last week. He and I have been hooking up and I think we might be getting together. I feel badly about the other guy though, should I tell him I'm now taken? - Guilty Friend A: You don't really have any obligation to tell your other friend that you're getting it on with someone else, since as you described, the extent of your physical relationship stopped at an initial chemistry. I'm sure that, as your friend, he would like to hear about your new experiences with this other guy -- assuming, of course, that he's actually in it for the friendship and not just some booty himself. This won't be a big deal to your friend unless you make it a big deal. After all, you never made any promises about being together. You should not, however, be dragging this guy along as a backup plan in case this other dude doesn't work out. Be prepared for the chemistry to slip away as he realizes that you're not on the market anymore.

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News

Expos find new home in Puerto Rico

April 21

Starting last week, major league baseball added a little more Latin flavor with the beginning of baseball in Puerto Rico. In an effort to try and spice up the MLB-owned Montreal Expos, Bud Selig decided to have the team play 20 of its home games in San Juan at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. Not only does this get the Expos out of cold weather and the usually empty Olympic Stadium, it also creates a new fan base for the team and Major League Baseball in general. The newly housed Expos greeted their new homeland with a four-game sweep of the New York Mets, only to then be swept in a three game series by the Atlanta Braves. Over the weekend, the Expos ended their first Puerto Rican home stand with a 2-1 series win over the Cincinnati Reds. After ten games in Puerto Rico, it seems as if the experiment is a success. The Expos have already drawn over 150,000 fans to a park that has a capacity of 20,000. But anything would be viewed as a success for the Expos after they drew a pathetic 813,536 fans last season at Olympic Stadium -- in which many games were attended by more stadium employees than fans. MLB officials had to make a change somewhere. After flirting with the idea of having the Expos share Fenway Park with the Red Sox for a year, MLB officials decided to have the Expos play 22 home games in Puerto Rico. Hopefully, this park will create large amounts of revenue for this small market club and could potentially serve as a permanent home for the Expos after this season. Opposing players must love this new setup as well. Who wouldn't enjoy a little three-day vacation on a paradise island, especially in a place where the locals are crazy about baseball? These might be the loyal baseball fans that Bud Selig has been searching for. Not only is this ballpark in paradise, it looks like a Little League ballpark with short right and left field fences. It's the kind of park that makes big league bashers salivate. In ten games played at the park, there have been 34 home runs and tons of offense in general. The fact that many of the Expos players are of Hispanic origin, has also helped the early popularity of the team in Puerto Rico. Second baseman Jose Vidro, pitcher Javier Vasquez, and infielder Wil Cordero all hail from Puerto Rico and call the island home in the off-season and thus, they have proven to be the fan favorites. Many of the visiting team's players also call Puerto Rico home, such as Roberto Alomar and Rey Sanchez of the Mets and Javy Lopez of the Braves. Lopez is a huge island favorite and responded to the fan support by hitting two home runs on April 17. This included a grand slam in the tenth inning that set off a festive celebration and propelled the Braves to a 14-8 win over Montreal, concluding a three-game sweep of the Expos. Lopez had a career-high six RBI in that contest. Montreal's strength this season has been its young rotation with some contributions from some key veterans. Tony Armas, Jr., Javier Vasquez, Tomo Ohka, Zach Day, and Livan Hernandez -- who was traded from the World Series runner-up San Francisco Giants during the off-season -- make up the rotation. Hernandez should provide some great leadership for this young staff. Vasquez has started out hot, with 37 K's at week's end. Despite losing momentary-ace Bartolo Colon in an off-season trade, the Expos gained two pitchers with a lot of post-season experience in Hernandez and his half brother Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. El Duque joined the club in the three-way Colon trade from the Yankees and has a proven track record as one of the best postseason pitchers in Major League history. At this moment he is on the disabled list, but when he returns he should provide them with great support either in the rotation or in the bullpen. The Expos return to San Juan to play series from June 3-11 and from Sept. 5-11. If the team can keep it together with its young pitching staff, the talent level with superstars Vladimir Guerrero and Vidro will be able to measure up against any other NL East team. There is no reason that the Expos won't be playing in October this year. We will just have to wait and see if San Juan becomes the permanent home for these youngsters.

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News

Greatest Sitcom Ever

April 21

As reality television continues to dominate prime time television, the programs that used to fill up our hours of entertainment, high quality situational comedies and dramas, have gone the way of slap bracelets and Pogs -- a thing of the past. However, it is debatable whether the bane of good shows brought about reality television, or whether networks have avoided good shows for the more profitable reality shows. At any rate, many television viewers, including yours truly, pine for the past and wish for the return of regular programming. Reality television boom's greatest casualty is by far the sitcom. Unfortunately, cheesy and predictable shows like Good Morning, Miami remain on the air simply because there is nothing else better out there. But, the funniest comedies on television can only be found in syndicated re-runs, where the classics come out to play. This all got me thinking, what is the best sitcom ever? The answer: Seinfeld, by a mile. The "show about nothing" was continually the funniest show on television throughout the 1990s, and has kept that illustrious title in syndication. The crazy antics of Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer fill every episode with situations filled to the brim with side-splitting humor. Seinfeld, as co-created by comedian Larry David and the eponymous Jerry Seinfeld, is at times both witty and slap-sticky. For each one of Kramer's (Michael Richards) pratfalls, there is one of Jerry's smarmy comebacks. The fact that the show never took itself seriously, even featuring episodes that verged on being overly ridiculous, gives even more credit to Seinfeld as the best ever. Look at Jerry and George's (Jason Alexander) girlfriends, for instance. Here are two men, neither of whom would ever be considered an Adonis, who date women who are gorgeous, sexy, and intelligent. These surreal characteristics of the show only add to the laughter brought on by Seinfeld's biting commentary on life in the nineties. Its popularity is apparent in the countless catchphrases Seinfeld has inspired. Who is "master of his domain"? Have you ever met a "close talker" or a "soft talker"? Have you ever had the occasion of being told "No soup for you!" by a Soup Nazi? At the Oscars ceremony this past March, Sean Connery wore a frilly white shirt, and viewers nationwide immediately thought of "The Puffy Shirt" episode of Seinfeld. Yet the greatest quality of Seinfeld that makes it the best sitcom ever, is that every time you watch an episode, even if you've seen it ten times before, it is still wildly funny. This is what sets Seinfeld apart from the other greats of television comedy. Classics like I Love Lucy, M*A*S*H*, The Cosby Show, and Cheers all have their great moments, but none of them can produce the sustained stream of laughter that Seinfeld can. I may have watched "The Soup Nazi" episode at least thirty times on my computer, yet each time, I crack up when Jerry and his girlfriend (du jour) share their adoration for each other cooing, "Okay, schmoopie!" The only other show that comes close to reaching the pinnacle of humor that is Seinfeld is The Simpsons, another comedic gem of our time. Yet because it is animated and can therefore take artistic liberties that a live show cannot even dream to reach (like the much-adored Simpsons Halloween specials), it should not be considered as a sitcom as it is in a world of its own. In the time when water-cooler debate centers on who is going to advance to the next round of American Idol, television lovers fantasize about the days where laughing about George's neurotic parents. Remember how there was a sexual harassment lawsuit a few years ago where a male employee told his female co-worker a raunchy joke from the Seinfeld episode the night before? I doubt that would happen today in the dumbed-down era of Married by America. For those wanting to reach back to funnier and simpler times, join me in praising the crazy world of Jerry and company. Turn on your television, and yada, yada, yada, you'll turn it off a much happier person.

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News

Why the attack on Iraq was, and remains, totally wrong

April 21

That which is a crime in the conceptual stage remains a crime in the execution stage. The war on Iraq was a violation of international law, regardless of its "success." I have little respect for Henry Kissinger, but I agree with him that the attack "challenges the international system established by the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia," the basis for modern rules governing interaction between states. I agree, too, with the Pope, who declared the war both "unjust" and "illegal." The governments of key US allies opposed the aggression conducted by the Anglo-American invading forces, ludicrously termed "the Coalition forces." There simply was and is precious little support on the planet for this project, obscenely sold as "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Nor should there be. It should be clear to anyone paying attention that a cabal in the Bush administration, headed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, abetted by ideologist Richard Perle, used Sept. 11 to implement plans they had articulated in position papers years before. It involves "regime change" throughout Southwest Asia. It is not just about oil, but about control of oil and other resources, and about further advantaging the sole superpower vis-? -vis any potential future rivals in what they call the "New American Century." But you can't sell the American people an imperialist war by describing it in such straightforward terms. Thus we were told that war with Iraq was necessary because Saddam was involved with al-Qaeda. Or with the anthrax letters, or al-Ansar. All bull***t. The argument they finally chose, from their disinformation arsenal, was weapons of mass destruction. We in America were threatened with attack, so we had to go in there and take Saddam out. Since it is in their script, I think it likely they will produce some evidence to validate their war. (Rumsfeld is already predicting that they will find WMDs, which they are obviously desperately trying to do, but that "certain types of people" will claim "inaccurately, that it was planted.") Meanwhile Bush has asked the UN to lift the sanctions originally imposed on Iraq at US insistence to force the elimination of such weapons. France's Chirac, among others, reply (logically) that to lift the sanctions, we must have proof there are no WMDs. They say, "You went to war to destroy what you called Saddam's threatening arsenal; now show us those weapons, and we'll lift the sanctions." The UN is asking that neutral arms inspectors return to Iraq. The US is saying, "No, trust us, we'll handle it." We'll see. Meanwhile, what are the fruits of this war? Up to 1904 civilian deaths at last count, and thousands of Iraqi soldiers killed defending their country. 157 dead among the invaders, mostly kids just doing what they were told and garnering no glory in their deaths. Disorder throughout Iraq. Rage at the US effort to impose its satraps hauled out of exile to constitute an interim government. Tens of thousands demonstrating in Baghdad, saying "No to occupation. No Bush, no Saddam," and telling the troops to go home. (One must sympathize with those college-age GIs, told by their commanders that they are liberators, then confronted with reality, just as their forebears were in Vietnam. Some will come home very messed up.) While occupying troops diligently guarded Oil Ministry offices in Baghdad, thugs sacked the Museum of National Antiquities and burned down the National Library, containing thousand-year old copies of the Quran. This is a heartbreaking loss, an assault on Iraqi identity. It happened on the occupiers' watch, is their responsibility, and will inevitably generate more hatred towards them. The order has now gone out that the troops must not display the US flag in Iraq. It has generated such indignation that US officers have hurriedly tucked it away. Sure, there were those brief images of Iraqi kids waving little US flags, the kind you might buy at CVS. (Where in Baghdad does one go to purchase a little plastic American flag?) And that staged toppling of the Saddam statue in that near-empty Baghdad square. Pure Hollywood. Looks to me as though the locals are in fact sullen and uncooperative. Some who were involved in the antiwar movement as the Iraq attack was being planned eventually changed their minds and decided that, now that the war was on, "we" should just hope for a quick end to it and the establishment of "democracy" in Iraq. I disagree. I don't think the likes of Zalmay Khalilzad, who orchestrated the farcical Loya Jirga in Afghanistan, can facilitate the empowerment of the Iraqi people, nor do I think, in principle, that global oppressors can be liberators. Think of the recent historical context. The US set up the vicious Shah in Iran; he was toppled in the most genuine mass-based revolution ever to occur in an Islamic country. The US didn't like that. To punish Iran for its revolution, it supported the Saddam regime in its attack on Iran in the 1980s. Meanwhile in Afghanistan the CIA assembled tens of thousands of Islamist militants to confront the Soviet-backed secular Afghan regime, especially backing Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (whom they're now trying to assassinate). The US intervention in Afghanistan produced al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Does this record suggest that the current US role in Iraq will lead to anything positive? Looks to me like the Iraqis want the US out immediately. There is zero support for Ahmad Chalabi, the Defense Department's candidate for puppet ruler under indictment in Jordan for embezzlement. Meanwhile, on the Arab street from Rabat to Beirut, people are sick with fear about a US attack on Syria. Justification for such another unjustified attack is already being prepared, systematically. Such are the results of "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Let us assume that resistance to the occupation continues in Iraq, while the cabal plots its next moves. Shouldn't good people in this country unite with that resistance, and redouble efforts to oppose the cabal's agenda, which includes not just interminable war abroad, but war on the Bill of Rights here at home? Gary P. Leupp is an Associate Professor of History.

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News

Baseball team loses two of three at Trinity

April 21

Taking advantage of sloppy defense often means the difference between winning and losing baseball games. The Jumbos went into last weekend's three game series with the Trinity Bantams in Hartford, CT tied with their opponent for first place in the NESCAC East Division. The team ended the weekend with a 6-3 league record (14-8 overall) and left Hartford with sole possession of second place in the league. Tufts made six errors and failed to capitalize on enough of Trinity's 11 miscues, resulting in the Jumbos dropping two of the three games. "It was exactly what we expected," coach John Casey said. "We didn't make a few plays and they made a bunch of errors. We have to make plays when they're right there. We have to tighten up a little bit." In the second game of Saturday's double header, Tufts offense exploded with 12 runs. Unfortunately the defense could not stop the Bantams from sending 15 men across home plate. "It wasn't a very well played game," Casey said. Trinity jumped out to an early lead after exploding in the first and third innings for a total of six runs. The Jumbos tallied a run of their own in the top of the third when junior third baseman Adam Kacamburas singled in senior DH Jon Herbert from third. Trailing 6-1, the Jumbos turned the tables during the middle innings scoring five runs in the fifth and four in the sixth to put them up 11-6. Junior catcher Greg Hickey hit a two run blast to highlight the fifth. "We made some changes with the batting order," senior tri-captain and center fielder Evan Zupancic said. "It was good to see the bats wake up a little bit, but you have to have defense if you're going to produce with the offense. There were chances when we didn't put up runs in that game too, their pitching wasn't that great." The Jumbos' offensive flame went out however, when Trinity retaliated with three runs in the seventh and five more in the eighth to take the lead for good at 15-11. Bantam Rob Dolliver hit his second homer of the game in the eighth to turn the lights out for good on the Jumbos. The Trinity senior had three hits and knocked in four runs in the game. Tufts starting pitcher, junior Randy Newsom, lasted only two innings giving up six runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Junior hurler Dave Frew took the loss for the Jumbos putting him at 0-2 on the season. "We got good pitching in the second game," Casey said. "[Senior Mike Byron] had a good five innings, but we dropped a fly ball on him. We had 12 good innings of pitching, but you have to play the full sixteen innings." Though Tufts scored half the runs they did in game two, this time the team was able to come away with a 6-4 win in game one of the Saturday doubleheader. Nationally honored pitcher senior Jon Lee had yet another successful outing with six and two-thirds innings of solid work. Lee gave up seven hits and four runs, but struck out nine Bantams to improve his record to 7-2. He currently holds a team-best 2.90 ERA. "[Lee] is so talented. He's such a fierce competitor," Zupancic said. "He goes out there every time and does what he's told to do. He has an amazing work ethic and just goes out there and throws the ball." Lee was pulled after a rocky bottom of the seventh in which seven straight Bantams reached base with two outs. Newsom came in to induce the final out and earned his fifth save of the year. The Jumbos provided Lee the offensive support he needed for the victory beginning early in the game. Sophomore second baseman Frank Dinucci had an RBI single in the second and Kacamburas knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly in the Trinity error-assisted three run third inning. The previous day, it was Trinity who tallied the six runs needed for a win as the Jumbos fell to the Bantams 6-1. Trinity junior pitcher Kevin Tidmarsh threw a complete game three hitter for the victory. In his fifth win of the season, Tidmarsh (5-0) struck out six Jumbos and allowed just one unearned run, improving his ERA to 2.31. Pitching for Tufts, Martin (4-1) threw a complete game as well. However, the righty gave up 13 hits and five earned runs in losing his first game of the season. Tufts will put the weekend series in the past as it prepares for two non-league home games this week. The team will face off against UMass Dartmouth (9-12) today at 3:00 p.m. on Huskins field. The Jumbos will also be in action again tomorrow versus 10-5 Bentley at the same location. Though they do not contribute to playoff seedings, these non-league contests do hold some importance for the team. "This weekend will be big for us up at Colby," Zupancic said. "But there are a couple of games before that we really need to focus on to straighten things out as a team. We need to decide collectively how we need to play and how our attitude is going to be. Every game is important because it reflects on how we are as a team."

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News

2002 AL playoff teams not living up to expectations so far this season

April 21

While the mighty have not yet fallen in the American League, they at least seem to be running in place. The infallible 15-3 New York Yankees (as of Sunday) aside, last year's AL playoff teams entered the week with a 28-28 record. For the Anaheim Angels, Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics, not much has come easily in this short season. More than any of the other teams above, the defending World Series champion Angels are finding the honeymoon period to be short lived. Their 9-10 record has come as a bit of a surprise to those who saw them play last October. Panic has certainly not set in yet, though, as it is well known by now that the Halos started last year 6-14 on their way to the title. The early season slumps of some of Anaheim's postseason heroes have been much publicized. Inspirational shortstop David Eckstein is only hitting .239 with one homer and five RBI. First baseman Scott Spiezio is in a rut, batting .217 with two home runs and eight RBI. Add this to second baseman Adam Kennedy being on the disabled list, and those who showed up for the Angels last fall have yet to break out this spring. Despite these lackluster performances, the team is currently second in the league in batting average (.295) and third in runs (104). Garrett Anderson, Tim Salmon, Darin Erstad and World Series MVP Troy Glaus have all pulled their weight in April. But Anaheim's hitting has not been their main problem. The fact is that both their starting pitching and their bullpen need to improve for the team to entertain thoughts of a repeat championship. The starting staff comprised of Ramon Ortiz (2-2, 5.96 ERA), Jarrod Washburn (1-2, 4.33 ERA), Kevin Appier (1-1, 7.36 ERA) and John Lackey (1-1, 7.17 ERA) has been nothing short of shaky. The starters' performances have apparently rubbed off on bullpen studs Francisco Rodriguez and Troy Percival. Rodriguez, a phenom and Rookie of the Year candidate, currently owns a 5.91 ERA. Percival, their closer, also cannot be pleased with his performance thus far (0-1, two saves, 5.40 ERA). The road does not get any easier for the defending champs, as they play out of their division for the first time to host the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox this week. Similar struggles have visited the Angels' ALCS opponent, the Twins. The 9-9 Twins have been as streaky as Boston's spring time weather. After winning their first three games, they proceeded to lose six straight. They then won six in a row, before dropping three more this weekend to the Yankees. The Twins have now lost 12 straight games to New York. While their 3.97 team ERA is mediocre, their offense has been the real disappointment thus far. Eighth in the league in team batting average (.261), only two of their regulars (Jacque Jones and Christian Guzman) are hitting over .300. Torii Hunter has seen the biggest drop off from a tremendous 2002 campaign, as his .172 average would earn most players a seat on the bench. The 10-8 A's may actually be pleased with their start, considering that in 2001 and 2002 they looked like a last place club for the first couple of months before turning it on late in the season. Their pitching has been steady, but as with the Twins, the offense has yet to produce. Reigning MVP Miguel Tejada is hitting .175, and Jermaine Dye is checking in at .200. But this team has always proven it can drive in runs, and offseason pickup Erubiel Durazo is doing just that. The slugger has four home runs and 20 RBI. In true Oakland fashion, the A's are a close fifth in the AL in runs (102) but ninth in average (.257). In other words, the big play is what these A's are looking for. At the moment, these three teams are trying to recapture whatever it was that gave them so much success in the 2002 season. But they better do it quickly, before the Yankees run away from the pack behind both a starting staff that is 13-0 and six players who have four plus home runs. Scary stuff from the Bombers, but it's still only April. Doofus(es) of the Week: Chicago White Sox fans, or whoever it is that is attending White Sox-Kansas City Royals games. After three separate "fans on the field" incidents in Wednesday's game at US Cellular Field, the final episode saw a man attack an umpire. This comes after Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa was attacked in September of last year at the same park. Classy people, those ChiSox fans. One More Thing: I can't go through an entire AL roundup without putting a little in about our Red Sox. They currently stand at 13-6 after a 7-2 opening homestand. And while the bullpen has not yet proven itself, this offense can hang with anyone in the league. They haven't played any playoff caliber teams yet, though, so it remains to be seen if this team can go toe to toe with the aforementioned Yanks.

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News

Is it true?

April 21

Truth is one of the easiest things in the world to define. An old philosopher once put it straightforwardly: "To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, and of what is not that it is not, is true." Any true statement will be true because it accurately reflects the facts, the reality of things. Truth is "tellin' it like it is." Truth is unfortunately one of the hardest things to find. There's no quick formula for testing the truth of a claim. If you want to know who the tallest Englishman is, you have to fly across the pond and find him (or someone who knows him). Not all claims to truth can even be tested in the same way. If you want to know whether differential calculus is true, you must work it out with a proof. If you want to know whether there is a God, there is no science experiment in the world that will tell you -- test tubes don't apply to the creator of glass. Perhaps, even more frustrating is that truth waits for no one. Whether you find him or not, there is at least one tallest man on the British island. Differential calculus is true whether you understand it or not. And whatever you may think or believe, God either exists or doesn't. Truth is independent of who knows it. Even if no one in the world agrees, or no one is around to know, a truth would be there all the same. Truth may not be dependent on us, but we are certainly dependent on it. If something can so affect us regardless of our opinion, how could we not try to discover whatever we can about it? Truth matters because knowing the truth is the only way to be in sync with the world around us. There are four further questions that will help in any search for beliefs that are true. The first question to ask of any claim is, "What is actually being said?" Everything must start here and nothing can come from a search for truth if this question isn't answered first. This requires listening. It is easy to assume someone is saying something they really would never even think. Someone who says, "We need affirmative action" is not saying, "White people are no good." Another danger is letting what is actually said get crowded out by how it is said, or who says it. Whether said sensitively or not, the ideas behind the words are what are important. And whatever words are used, it is essential that their meaning is clear. Too many words these days ("empire," "puppet government," and "democracy") are being thrown around with no care to bother about what they actually mean -- other than a vague association with "good thing" or "bad thing." The result is quite a few people writing about nothing at all and truth getting lost in the shuffle. The second key question is, "What are your sources?" Or, by what authority is the writer claiming what is said. "Authority" is a word that makes some people's skin crawl. But it is nothing more than the source of information you have no direct access to otherwise. Trusting in someone's authority is something we do every day, any time we consider someone trustworthy to give us information about something we don't know. When our roommate tells us there's no milk, we go to the store. We take her word for it. Provided, of course, she's a good authority. The vast majority of regular beliefs we have are taken from some authority, not direct experience. We can't restrict what we believe to what we can ourselves experience, but we can continually examine the integrity of the sources we trust. Not all sources are created equal; I would trust Ari Fleischer before I'd take the Iraqi Information Minister at his word. The third question is, "Why do you believe it is true?" Once one knows precisely the claim being made and the source backing it up, one needs to test whether one's reasoning is good. We must beware of thinking that something is so obviously true that everyone should be able to see it. There are such self-evident truths, but it never hurts to ask why they are so. One might legitimately answer that the authority behind the claim is just that trustworthy. But it is illegitimate to answer, "because I want it to be true." We cannot make the truth conform to us, only us to it. Lastly, everyone must consider, "What if it isn't true?" This is the hardest question because it leaves open the possibility of being wrong -- which no one is fond of admitting. But it is also the most important, for wrong choices follow directly from wrong beliefs. The less trivial the belief in question, the more significant the consequences if one is wrong. I titled this column "Is It True?" to ensure the question would be ever-present before the eyes. It is the ultimate question that one ought to continually ask. I've made a lot of claims in these pages to truth. Now, I am either right or wrong because my claims are either true or false. The same is true for anyone else. When approaching anyone's writings, the most important consideration is not whether they are popular, cutting edge, or agreeable, but whether what they say is true.

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News

Giving Camp gives weekend escape to local adults, kids

April 21

A program designed to engage local residents with special needs took place in Cousens Gym this past weekend at Tufts' inaugural Giving Camp. Dozens of guests and volunteers gathered over the three-day weekend to participate in fun, organized activities for those with mental and physical challenges. Each day of the weekend was assigned a certain theme -- Saturday's theme was sports, Sunday's was celebrations, and Monday's theme was culture. On Saturday, the main event was volleyball, but those attending also had the option of participating in painting or making glitter pictures. Attendants and volunteers broke out into song as they threaded bead necklaces and created stamp art. The program's festivities attracted the attention of campus groups such as the Traveling Treasure Trunk, which performed on Saturday, and Turbo, which performed on Sunday. Though this was the first Tufts Giving Camp event, planning has been underway for years. Tufts alumna Diane Ricciardelli had volunteered for several years at a camp which allowed people with special needs to participate in activities with the guidance of volunteers, but she wanted to create an alternative that would not be as exclusive. Since then, Ricciardelli has received support from the University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS) through the Omidyar Scholars program. The group had expanded to include seven members by this past September. The Giving Camp aims to expand its programming to include events at other schools. Speaking of her future plans for the Giving Camp, Ricciardelli said that she is "hoping other colleges will want to incorporate the model that you see here at Tufts." Ricciardelli is already working with students at Babson College to create a similar event there. In order to advertise the Tufts program and recruit adult guests, the organizers worked with the Walnut Street Center, a non-profit agency that provides support services to those who face mental or physical challenges. Children who participated in the event were reached through Tufts Daycare and the Somerville and Medford Special Education departments. In addition to guests and volunteers, some parents and employees from the Walnut Street Center participated in the days' events. Volunteers from both Woburn High School and Tufts were impressed with the level of community involvement and described the Giving Camp as a challenging and rewarding experience. "I have never worked with [a program like the Giving Camp], and the idea struck me as being innovative and fun for both the guests and students who chose to become involved," Omidyar Scholar Cristina Zahara said. The core group plans to pass the project along to another interested campus group. The Child Development Association has expressed a strong interest and hopes to co-sponsor the Giving Camp with other Tufts groups in the future. Plans are already in place to host the Giving Camp twice a year -- once over a weekend in October and once in April.

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News

Sex and exercise: Sexercise?

April 18

It's no secret that people exercise to improve their physique, and not their sex life. If we went to the gym with thoughts of becoming a better lover, as opposed to just looking like one, the sex roles in any workout facility would be reversed. Every girl I know who goes to the gym heads straight for the cardio equipment, while the guys stick to weight lifting machines. Most guys our age would not be caught dead on the elliptical trainer, but if they knew what was good for ol' willy, they'd drop the dumbbells and hop on. A recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health suggests that half an hour of regular exercise every day decreases the likelihood of erectile dysfunction by 50 percent. Just a wild one, but guys, I'm guessing that your lady (or man for that matter) is going to be a little more concerned with what's firm below the belt as opposed to above it. So maybe it is time to introduce yourself to the treadmill. I must confess, however, that I don't blame anyone for not wanting to use the cardio equipment. Waiting 20 minutes to use a machine just after you've spent ten minutes walking to the gym in a blizzard is no picnic. And once you get on, the fact that no matter how fast you pedal you never move is just flat-out frustrating. Stationary bikes, elliptical trainers, and treadmills always made me feel like a pet hamster in one of those spinney wheels. There just has to be a form of cardiovascular exercise that is both convenient and fun, that both men and women will feel comfortable doing ... I mean really fun, none of this "it's such a thrill to rotate my legs around in circles and watch how many calories I am burning" crap. So it dawned on me...sexercise! Forgive me, but yes, I researched the value of sex as exercise. According to the calorie counter on the Health Status website, an hour of sex burns 250 calories, the same amount as an hour of walking. To better put this number in perspective, sixty minutes of sleeping burns 55 calories, and an hour of running burns 800. Assuming that one did not make any alterations in his or her diet, by engaging in an hour of sex every day, one would lose a pound every two weeks. At first this doesn't seem like such a bad deal, but it may be just a little difficult to accomplish. Although sex would be the most enjoyable exercise regime I can think of, an hour of sex every day is an unrealistic expectation for anyone's sex life. I mean, even Ron Jeremy has had his shortcomings. But all practicality aside, while maybe we have all wondered about how many calories sex burns, turning sex into exercise would be the worst thing that anyone could do for their love life. Sex is for enjoyment, not for burning calories. With the new year's resolution of getting in shape hanging over our heads, it's too easy to get caught up in obsessive calorie counting. The practice of dieting has done enough to ruin our enjoyment of food. Cookies are transformed from a cookie into 156 calories, 15 grams of fat, and x amount of guilt. Sex can't be turned into numbers too; that's where I draw the line. The point is, sex is a time to lose all awareness, not a time to be self-conscious of your body or the calories that you may or may not be burning. Some exercise is healthy, but becoming obsessed with achieving "the perfect body" is probably more destructive to your sex life than helpful. Besides, chances are that Mr. or Miss Untouchable isn't going to suddenly change his or her tune if you drop five pounds. Being sexy means being confident. And true confidence is not a result of eighteen hours on the elliptical trainer or thirty reps of fifty-pound weights. So the next time that decadent chocolate cookie is staring you in the face, eat it and enjoy it. After all, the bigger the cushion, the better the pushin'.

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News

Seniors honored as intramural season comes to a close

April 17

Last Saturday was "Senior Day" for intramural basketball as parents came from all over the country to honor their sons and daughters. For some, it marked the end of careers, as it was their final game ever in a Tufts Intramural reversible jersey. For others, there is still one last chance to win a championship. "It was really sad standing there as they announced my name," senior Matt Berlin said. "Knowing that it was my last game because we aren't going to make the playoffs; it really hit me during the ceremony." Others, however, were disillusioned by their senior teammates who failed to attend on this most cherished day. "When the dust settled, the fact that our senior and prime leader on the team, Ed Edson, decided to attend a one dollar baseball game to watch the worst team in the league made us realize that leadership can come in many forms," junior Jamie Meyers said. "In Ed's case, he's just like Antoine Walker. He's good at letting his teammates down." Once the seniors were honored, the games began. While most of the playoff teams had already been determined the previous weekend, there were a few games that still carried significance. Big Guns and BIU both entered the weekend with identical 3-3 records and were battling for a final playoff. A sweltering defense and a barrage of three point shots helped BIU bury the Big Guns 58-38, securing themselves a spot in the post-season. Big Guns, on the other hand, are currently in a three-way tie with Special Sauce and Ballers for the last seed in the Brown Division. These teams will have to rely on the magic coin flip system to get them into the playoffs. With much of the playoff bracket established before Saturday's games, most of the games had little meaning other than a chance for some players to make their first basket of the season. When someone on Hill Hallstars finally scored after missing his first ten attempts there was sheer pandemonium. JAP Funk All Stars and Tappa Kegga continued playing not nice by destroying their opponents by a combined 88 points. In other sports, soccer continued to provide goal-to-goal excitement as the regular season came to an end. While some teams had already clinched playoff spots with undefeated records, there were still over seven different positions up for grabs. With everything on the line, the competition was heated and included some incredible games. Team Hot Sauce's 5-3 victory over Schmuckers solidified their undefeated season, while also knocking the Schmuckers out of the playoffs. The Slackers and ZBT were also bidding for the final playoff spot in the Blue Division. Ironically, the teams actually ended in a tie and eliminated themselves completely. This writer would like to use this game as an opportunity to point out why soccer is worthless since any sport that ends in a tie is really not a sport at all. Teams that made it into the playoffs due to victories this past weekend included Zeta Psi, Blazers, and STD's. While there was much celebration for these winning squads, others had to face the sad realization that their season was officially over. Intramural football has also begun and the past few weeks of rain have created perfect playing fields. Although most football players would find the conditions ideal, intramural athletes are of a different breed. Many decided to stay inside rather than brave the elements, making games difficult to coordinate. "Team PimpJuice struggled to find enough players to brave the conditions as lesser competitors, such as Elliott Wiley, stayed indoors rather than face the hurricane-like situation outside," senior Pete Shungu said. The games that were played produced instant classics. Included in these grudge matches were victories by PimpJuice over Zeta and Dearborn over Jumbo Package, both with 35-28 scores. Playoff games for both basketball and soccer begin this weekend. Full brackets and insider analysis can be found on the Tufts Athletic website under keyword "intramurals."

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