Archives

News

Make the transition from trans fat: new labeling regulations to come should help

November 17

THUMBNAIL: Nutrition Matters You've probably heard that McDonald's is making the transition to a more healthful oil, specifically one that contains less trans fat. While you might think for a moment that this is a noble public health initiative, the more likely reason is that McDonald's is anticipating pending government regulations that will soon require food companies to include the amount of trans fat in their foods on the Nutrition Facts label. A newly-released report from the National Academies of Science's Institute of Medicine (NAS/IOM) reveals that trans fat intake is associated with increased total cholesterol and the "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and, therefore, risk of heart disease. The majority of the evidence also shows that trans fat lowers the "good" high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Even saturated fat, although it raises total and LDL cholesterol, doesn't decrease the "good" HDL cholesterol. The report concludes that people should minimize trans fatty acids, or trans fat, in their diets as much as possible. Now that scientific consensus exists about the harmful effects of trans fat, the labeling regulation could be agreed upon within the next year. Foods in the typical American diet that contain trans fat include processed baked goods and pastries, fried foods, and, in smaller amounts, dairy products and meats. Trans fat in processed foods is a result of hydrogenation, a process that changes liquid oil into a more solid form, which makes it easier to use in baking and frying. Over the past 50 years, manufacturers have used hydrogenated oils in an attempted to decrease animal fats, which contain saturated fat and cholesterol. But now, research supports limiting both saturated fat and trans fat in your diet. Together, saturated fat and trans fat currently make up an average of 15 percent of total calories in the American diet _ saturated fat accounts for between 12 to 14 percent of total energy, while trans fatty acids contribute about two to two and a half percent of total energy. It is recommended that saturated fat contribute ten percent or less of total energy in the diet, while trans fat should be minimized as much as possible. Soon, you will be able to determine from a food's label the exact amount of trans fat it contains. Currently, the amount of trans fat is only included in the "total fat" value. So determining the amount of trans fat in a food from its label is difficult, whereas other types of fat, such as saturated fat, are delineated clearly on a separate line beneath the total fat value. Some have suggested that trans fat and saturated fat be combined on one line, since the two fats have similar adverse health effects. But to date, the FDA supports the position that saturated and trans fat values be listed separately. Since trans fats are found in many of the foods we eat, they are unavoidable in the typical American diet. Manufacturers and food service establishments are likely to follow McDonald's lead and switch to a trans fat-free oil. But until they do, and until you can see the grams of trans fat on the Nutrition Facts label, here are some things you can do to limit your intake of trans fat. Switch from stick margarine to tub margarine, like Promise _ the more liquid the fat, the less trans fat it has. A good choice is margarine with less than two grams of saturated fat per serving. Better yet, use oil in place of margarine, such as olive oil on bread or canola oil in baking. When eating out, limit fried foods, such as French fries, or fried chicken _ most frying oils have been hydrogenated to withstand high heat. Stick to serving size recommendations per the nutrition label as much as possible for processed foods like chips, cookies, crackers, etc. Eating the whole bag or box would be nothing but trans trouble! Look on the ingredient list for processed food products made without hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil. If there's hydrogenated oil listed, you should assume the product has some trans fat _ it's just a question of how much until the label says exactly. E-mail your nutrition questions to nutrition@tuftsdaily.com.

---

News

Community service leaders want more commitment from students

November 17

A large number of Tufts students do not seem to have a problem with commitment _ at least when it comes to community service. A number of university groups offer accessible ways for Tufts students to get involved with their local and global communities but some organization leaders say there is room for improvement, especially since many students are not involved on a continuous level. With opportunities for students ranging from international volunteerism to activities in Medford or Somerville, there is an increasing emphasis on volunteering and actively giving back to the community. "Everyone at Tufts has the ability to use their gifts to benefit others," Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) President Kate Elder said. Tufts is especially strong in international volunteerism. The University puts a heavy emphasis on global intervention and international relations, so naturally, students are very involved with community service overseas. This year, for example, several Tufts students have enrolled in a class about Nicaragua. Over winter break, students will travel to the country to promote social and political reform. Last year, Tufts sent 22 volunteers overseas with the Peace Corps, placing Tufts in the top two for Peace Corps volunteers, according to The Washington Monthly's survey of schools with less than 5,000 undergraduates. But with all of Tufts' strengths in volunteerism, there are still some weaknesses. The same ranking that put the University in the top two for Peace Corps volunteers did not even rank Tufts in the federal work-study fund category. The percentage of federal work-study funds allotted to community service projects at the University is less than 20 percent _ meaning that a vast majority of work-study jobs are not designated as community service jobs. On a more local scale, over 35 different programs for student volunteer work are available through the LCS. The diverse range of community service activities that LCS offers caters to people with many interests and talents. There are five categories of volunteerism in LCS: Hunger and Homelessness, Youth Mentoring, Literacy and Education, Health, and Special Interests. But a lack of consistency in volunteering among students is a serious weakness, Elder said. Many students volunteer only once in a great while and fail to make a weekly commitment to an activity. While LCS appreciates all of the help that it receives from students, Elder encouraged students to make a more consistent commitment. "Even if you spent one hour a week with a child," she said, "the outcome of that commitment will be incomparably stronger than spending one day a year with a kid." English as a Second Language at Tufts (ESL@Tufts) is the newest LCS activity. Several students dedicate a few hours on Saturdays to helping members of the Tufts janitorial staff improve their English. The success of the ESL@Tufts program is due to the "very visible impact right here on our own campus and that students feel committed to helping empower many of the people they see in their dorms on a daily basis," Elder said. Another new, LCS sponsored activity is the Jumboathon. During this 12 hour dance-a-thon, co-sponsered by Tufts Hillel, students will dance to raise money for a Somerville charity. Hillel offers the Tufts community a variety projects for service, as well. By far the most successful and widely known projects is Read by the River, an annual event promoting literacy in both children and adults. Hillel's Social Action Committee also encourages students to get involved with the community _ running projects centered on homelessness, poverty, the elderly, and children. The newest of Tufts community service organizations is the three-year-old Omidyar Scholars Program which promotes leadership qualities and social responsibility in participants. The program _ consisting of 47 financially endowed students _ encourages the creation of many service projects and the involvement of fellow students and faculty. Run by the University College of Citizenship and Public Service, the program is endowed with approximately $450,000. While scholars themselves are involved in community service, the program primarily strives "to get the Tufts campus involved in the programs," sophomore Omidyar Scholar Zachariah Baker said. All of the student-run activities of the Omidyar Program are open to student volunteers. The program "was instituted so that the idea of being an active community member will be spread throughout the entire Tufts community _ faculty, staff, students, alumni, everyone," junior Omidyar scholar Christina Zahara said. They should "embrace this idea and embody it when they leave Tufts," she said. There is a wide range of other Omidyar Scholar Program projects getting underway including plans for The Giving Camp, a campus summer program for people with developmental disabilities and Shape Up Somerville, a community project in the works which looks into preventing childhood obesity.

---

News

Owl fight past Jumbos in NCAA tournament

November 17

The women's soccer team's season came to a disappointing close after suffering a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to the Keene State Owls on a mud-soaked Elms Field at Wheaton College in Norton, MA on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, which came in the second round of the NCAA Div III tournament, the Jumbos finished their season as NESCAC champions with a 13-4-1 overall record. The Jumbos' defense, which was dominant throughout the post-season, once again did not let up, as the game's only score came on an own goal by a Tufts defender. "I'm extremely, extremely proud with the way the girls fought today. They kept going until the last whistle," coach Martha Whiting said after the game. "We did some great things this year: we hosted the NESCACs, we won the NESCACs, and we shut out Williams and scored three goals on them. We can't let this loss take away from any of those accomplishments." For the second game in a row, the weather conditions were far less than perfect. In addition to being extremely cold, the wind was howling and the rain came down incessantly from start to finish, forcing the players, especially the goalies, to get their bodies behind the ball and keep it low to the ground. "The conditions sucked out there today," senior co-captain Alle Sharlip said. "The field was like one big mud pit." Nevertheless, both teams came out aggressively from the start, getting early scoring opportunities. In the third minute, Tufts senior midfielder EA Tooley sent a rocket from the top of the penalty box that was barely deflected off the crossbar by the leaping Owls sophomore keeper Michelle Mason. Just nine minutes later, in the 12th minute, the Owls got their first real scoring chance when senior Colleen Antonini sent a shot on goal that was blocked by the Jumbo's junior All-NESCAC fullback Jess Lovitz. The teams battled hard in the rain and cold for the next fifteen minutes, with neither team having any uncontested shots on the net. In the 28th minute, the Jumbos got another golden opportunity to score. Freshman forward Sarah Callaghan raced down the right sideline and sent a centering cross that ricocheted off an Owl defender right to the foot of junior forward Becca Doigan. Doigan then unleashed a shot on the goal that Mason had to dive to her left to block. The teams fought hard until the end of the half, but with both defenses remaining strong and intact, neither team was able to put one into the net. At halftime, coach Whiting stressed the importance of passing the ball quickly, controlling possession of the ball, and matching the physical play of the Owls. Perhaps most physical was Owls' freshman fullback Missy Mengual, who neutralized Jumbo junior all-conference forward Jess Trombly not with her skill, but by pushing, tripping, and falling to the ground. The second half of action saw much of the same, as the ball was centered at midfield for much of the opening minutes, due to the worsening weather conditions. However, in the 57th minute, the Owls caught a huge break. Junior forward Erin Lester sent a shot from 20 yards away that was going left of the net, but in a frantic attempt to clear the ball, it ricocheted off a Jumbo player into the back of the net, giving Keene a 1-0 lead. With their season on the line, the Jumbos fought that much harder in the final 25 minutes, not relenting until the final whistle was blown. In the 70th minute, a Jumbo player sent the ball from the right side of the field to an empty left side. Speedy freshman midfielder Lindsay Garmirian raced to take control of the ball, but the charging Owls goalie tripped her up as soon as she touched it, giving the Jumbos a penalty kick. Sophomore leading scorer Jennifer Baldwin, who made the team's past two kicks against Connecticut College and Williams in the NESCAC playoffs, was the unanimous choice to take the kick. Baldwin, who was named to the All-NESCAC first team this week, sent her shot wide left, keeping the Owls lead intact. "I had made all of my penalty kicks in practice," Baldwin said. "But I was forced to set the ball up in a huge pile of mud, and I couldn't feel my toes, and I missed." The Jumbos had another scoring opportunity just seven minutes later, when Tooley received a pass from 15 yards out and blasted a rocket on goal that missed wide right by no more than six inches. Tufts had one final chance with eight minutes to play. Freshman back Ariel Samuelson sent a rocket to the left side of the net from 40 yards out that classmate Callaghan redirected to the right side of the net with her head, only to see Mason dive to her left to make the save, preserving the Owls' one goal lead. As the final buzzer sounded, the Owls piled on each other near their goal, while the Jumbos walked off the field in tears. Tufts outshot Keene State 11-5 in the game, with the Owls having a slight edge in corner kicks, 8-7. Mason finished with eight saves in the game, while Jumbo sophomore goalie Meg McCourt recorded seven in the loss. "We had our chances, we didn't play poorly, but we just couldn't put the ball in the net. That's been the story of our season," McCourt said. "We were a better team, and it would have been much different in normal conditions. Five minutes in, we realized the ref wasn't on our side. We have a great team, we had a great season, and I'm really sad to see our seniors go, and it's really unfair that it had to end like this." "Today's loss was very disappointing," senior co-captain Cara Glassanos said. "I believe we were a much better team, but the weather conditions were the equalizing factor. It's tough when you lose despite having the ball in the opponents' zone for the majority of the game. This team has a ton of talent, and I know they will pull things back together and do great things next year." The end of the season marks the end of an era for the team's four seniors, Sharlip, Glassanos, Tooley, and Brenna O'Rourke. "We had a great season," Tooley said. "I love this team, and I've had an amazing four years here. I'm really going to miss it."

---

News

Annette Farrington's debut album a winner

November 17

In Azure Wonder & Lust, Annette Farrington propels listeners into a ponderous and soul-searching journey toward spiritual and metaphysical truths. Hailing from the critically acclaimed Boston band Opium Den, Farrington explores the importance of music and creative expression as powerful mediums for change in the world. A current a sophomore at Tufts, Farrington is tentatively majoring in English. However, she wishes to explore through the plan of study program how to incorporate all aspects of expression-including diplomacy-into the artistic medium. Farrington believes artists can be the voice of truth. For her, music functions as "a universal language which may be used to send positive or destructive energy out into the world. It vibrates across time because it comes from the beginning of time _ the first vibration, permeating all things." The album is the culmination of four years of arduous labor with producer Anthony Resta _ known for his work with Elton John, Duran Duran, Collective Soul, and Shawn Mullens. Resta's musical intervention fully exploits the ethereal qualities of Farrington's vocal ability. He introduces complex soundscapes and accentuates the otherworldly quality of Farrington's voice by layering each track with evocative blends of electronic elements. And thus, Azure Wonder & Lust showcases the artist's vocal intensity within a plethora of compelling arrangements. In the album's last and strongest track, "Symphonic," Annette Farrington externalizes her theory of musical inspiration: "So tell me where symphonic ends/Climbing through the stratosphere." Throughout the album, her lyrics describe every physical detail _ from gift boxes full of jelly beans to trees and ocean _ a capacity to serve as catalysts to express an underlying theory of the world. Farrington believes on the existence of an attainable space between breath and silence. Artists must thrive to comprehend it. Hence, the album gathers fragments of inspiration and drapes them within physical and esoteric elements. In "Symphonic," Farrington also observes the perpetual existence of musical inspiration: "Symphonic/There is no end there is no end/ the coda never comes." Most of the songs in Azure Wonder & Lust are musically compelling. When confronted with Farrington's introspective lyrics, the listener is drawn further into her world. And yet despite the artifice of Resta's production, Farrington is able to transcend abstraction with her honesty. With her lyrics, Farrington invites the listener to participate The album also explores the themes of desire and loss. Extending her father's transcendentalist and idealist beliefs, Farrington connotes the importance of connecting with nature. In Dive, featured in last year's Jumbo Audio Project compilation, she confirms the valued relationship between the love of nature and the love of one another. Such conclusion seems to emerge from the continual metamorphosis of nature: "I feel the ground shaking/Hear a hear a hear a symphony." Azure Lust & Wonder not only offers the listener an intelligent and thought-provoking musical experience. Annette Farrington's vocal ability takes lyrical compositions to another level, as if her singing voice elevates and develops the power of each word. As Farrington explains, in this hectic world, Azure Wonder & Lust provides the listener some time to reflect on the spontaneous passion of words, music, and meaning. Annette Farrington will be performing at the Brookline Starbucks on Nov. 21st and at The Middle East in Cambridge on January 9th. Her album may be purchased from her website _ www.annettefarrington.com. It is also available in Newbury Comics and at cdbaby.com.

---

News

Limited seating should not mean limited publicity

November 17

As of this moment, we still do not know exactly whether today's speech by famed Professor and Author Noam Chomsky sponsored by the Fletcher School is completely open to Tufts undergraduates. The talk has been poorly publicized around campus, with rumors spreading that it is actually closed to undergraduates, or that there is a list on which interested students must register to attend. Such lack of clarity and publicity can easily lead to a sense of exclusivity and a breach between Tufts' undergraduate and graduate programs, however unintended that rift may be. If there exist circumstances where seating is limited or, as in the case of Al Gore's visit last January, the speaker specifically requests a small audience, these circumstances should be made clear. More importantly, everyone should get a fair shot at getting a ticket to attend. It is understandable that not every speech can be open to the entire Tufts community. However, in cases such as today's Chomsky speech, many undergrads whom have either studied the renowned scholar's work or are deeply interested in his research and the timeliness of his speech topic will jump at the opportunity to attend. Yet when publicity is so limited and when students are unclear as to whether or not they are welcome to attend, this sense of exclusivity stands in the way of a truly open and interconnected Tufts community. In the future, Fletcher events that can and should be open to the rest of the Tufts community should be publicized more widely and in easily accessible places where students will tend to look. Limitations on seating or any other special circumstances surrounding the talk should be publicized clearly to provide fairness and equal opportunity for all students who wish to attend. It would also benefit the entire Tufts community if large events with prominent figures speaking were held in Cohen instead of Cabot to allow for a larger audience.

---

News

Sixth place finish not enough to extend Jumbos' season

November 17

Midway through Saturday's NCAA New England Championship meet the men's cross country team had put themselves in prime position to qualify for the National Championships. But thanks to harsh weather conditions and the best assemblage of running talent in New England in several years, the team tailed off to a sixth place finish out of 35 teams, just short of what it needed to prolong its season. Keene State (64), Bowdoin (111), Williams (132), and Connecticut College (151) secured the four qualifying spots for the NCAA Div. III National Championship race, while Trinity College (167) also finished ahead of Tufts (176). The Jumbos crossed the line ahead MIT (193), Bates (209), and Coast Guard (209) _ three teams they knew they had to beat in order to have a shot at qualifying _ but a strong team race by Connecticut and Trinity's 1-2 punch of Ryan Bak (1st overall) and Jim Emord (7th overall) were too much for the team to overcome. As he has all year, sophomore Nate Brigham paved the way for the Jumbos with a time of 25:07, finishing 13th out of all New England runners, while freshman Matt Lacey was also impressive, setting a personal record with a 25:41 on the way to a 28th place finish. Behind him, a trio of Jumbos sped across the finish line in a 14 second span, as junior co-captain Peter Bromka (25:57) finished 40th, sophomore Michael Don (26:03) finished 45th, and junior Ian Joseph ran a 26:11, competing with such fury that he collapsed upon crossing the finish line at 50th overall. Junior Peter Jurczynski and freshman Neil Orfield also ran impressive races in the sixth and seventh spots, and the rest of the squad, who weren't competing, kept themselves busy. At every turn of the race, crazed teammates, half naked and painted in blue and brown, waved the team flag and urged their teammates on through the icy wind and monotonous drizzle. But it wasn't quite enough to give coach Connie Putnam's squad its sixth consecutive NCAA appearance. But the team is not entirely finished for the season. By virtue of his high finish, Brigham will advance to race individually at the National Championship Race at St. Olaf, MN. Several team members will continue to train with him as he seeks to finish in the top 35 nationally and gain All-American status. The rest of the team will take a short break from training to reflect on a successful season, which culminated in this final performance, which proved to many that Tufts is one of the top teams in the region, even in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. To achieve this status, the team overcame barriers that few others had. Four seniors graduated from last year's top seven, and the team's lack of veteran experience and leadership probably cost them, as many of the top runners around the rest of the region were seniors. Out of three returning sophomores, injury kept Brian McNamara out for the entire season, and Michael Don for most of it. And just as he returned to form late in the season, the squad lost junior co-captain Jon Rosen to injury. Brigham became a solid #1 runner, however, the junior class stepped up, and freshmen Matt Lacey, Mike Cummings, and Neil Orfield all displayed vast potential throughout the season. This meant the conversation in the van on the way back from the meet was already abuzz with visions of next year's potential. The Jumbos have only one senior among their top 13 runners, so virtually the entire team will return after an off-season of training and recuperation from injuries. If Saturday's race was any indication, the team is already on its way to maturity. Unlike previous races, Saturday's shortcoming couldn't be chalked up to mental breakdowns or focusing too much on beating one team. Everyone ran well, leading to one simple conclusion: on Saturday, Tufts was not one of the four best teams in New England. "You can't pinpoint it on any one person or factor," Bromka said. "It was awesome competition, and everyone would have needed to run a little better." "Before the race, I told the team that if all seven guys ran their hardest, and we still came up short, then we walk away with our head high," Putnam said. "So that's what we'll do."

---

---

News

Self-study nears completion

November 17

Engaging in a ritual that recurs every ten years, administrators have entered the final stage of revisions to the University's self-study for reaccreditation. The reaccreditation procedure begins with a self-study and ends with approval by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), the regional accrediting organization. Tufts administrators say the University is virtually assured of reaccreditation. "For the majority of institutions, there isn't terror about whether you're going to survive or not," said Judith Wittenberg, an associate director of NEASC's Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, the reaccreditation body that will evaluate Tufts. Because of their history, prestige, and financial resources, "schools like Tufts don't get de-accredited," said University Professor Sol Gittleman, a co-chair of the Self-Study Steering Committee. Despite the practical guarantee, however, reaccreditation is not merely a formality. "It gives you a chance to examine yourself after ten years," Gittleman said. According to Dawn Terkla, the executive director of Institutional Research and co-chair of the Self-Study Steering committee, the University's self-study assesses the institution according to 11 standards and provides a "snapshot of where Tufts was in 2001-2002." "It's basically personal reflection at the institutional level," she said. A dozen committees of students, faculty, and staff compiled the study. The Steering Committee will hold an open forum on Nov. 25 to hear suggested changes to the self-study draft. The draft is not in its final form, since "there may be something that one of these groups missed," Terkla said. After the forum, the Steering Committee "will go back and decide how to incorporate what people say into that document," Terkla said. A team of 12 to 15 faculty and administrators from other schools visits each institution to review the self-study and hold a community forum. During its visit to Tufts, which will take place Mar. 9-12, the NEASC team will formulate a preliminary report. The team will look at "whether the way we project the institution is the way it really is," Terkla said. "Nobody gets away without anything," she continued. "They'll have to say something." President Larry Bacow and Provost Jamshed Bharucha will have the opportunity to respond to the report, Terkla said. Next November the NEASC team will report to the Commission, which will review the self-study, the team's report, and the reaction to the report, she said. Following the Commission meeting, Gittleman said, the University will be given "a fairly detailed document" explaining the changes NEASC recommends. The process of reaccreditation has "two very important thrusts _ quality insurance and continued quality improvement," Wittenberg said. "Every institution has a need for improvement." Tufts will have to release an interim report five years from now to show NEASC that the plans for improvement are being implemented, Terkla said. In formulating the self-study, the Steering Committee found it difficult to make projections for the future. Because the study was compiled at the beginning of Bacow's presidency, the Steering Committee had difficulty "knowing what the leadership would be like," Terkla said. And at the time, Bharucha had not yet arrived as the new provost. Last year was not "the optimal time to make projections," Terkla said, and the study "doesn't really capture where the future's going." The study explains more "where we are than where we are going in the future," she explained. Gittleman does not believe the results of the self-study will impact students. The self-study reports "things that we already know," and the changes it proposes are nothing new, he said. But students nevertheless play an integral role in the reaccreditation process, according to Wittenberg, the associate director of NEASC. Students are "central... at every point," she said. The self-study's chief function is to analyze the "relationship between curricular and co-curricular."

---

News

Thanks, we couldn't agree more

November 17

Lou Esparza's column on the benefits of not voting ("Why Vote?" 11/5/02) is a rich satirical masterpiece. His column is rife with examples of why people should vote, cleverly disguised as reasons to let yet another election day go by without bothering to cast a ballot. The column states that our elected officials get to vote on public policy that affects us everyday. However, it later argues that the issues are never directly relevant to us. They are usually "abstract" ideas about wars on "terrorism, drugs, or poverty." Of course, we know how the war on terrorism is pretty relevant to those who lost relatives in the World Trade Center attack and college age males that had to register for the draft, how drug use is a major issue on college campuses, and how unpopular groups like LCS constantly strive to do their small part to aid those in need. Next, the column argues that "voting is such a pain." Trekking down to some place that we have probably never been to vote for someone we have probably never met. Putting it in those terms is sure to make those lazy bastards feel guilty for not walking around the corner to the local VFW, community center, or hall to fill out a multiple choice test that they can use notes on and take as much time as they want to complete. Or better yet, walking to a mail box for an absentee ballot. I sure know I never pass a mailbox as I walk around campus, right? "There are so many problems with the electoral process," the column laments. The best way to deal with this problem is to not vote, since by not voting we are expressing our disgust with the electoral process, not that we do not support any of the candidates. Haha, good one! According to the column, "most of the candidates are lame." To get this joke, the columnist is hoping that someone like Bill Clinton will come to mind: a fatherless boy from a poor background attends a prestigious college, becomes president and is the only white man to be inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. Or someone like John McCain, who launches a "Straight Talk Express" bus across the country to run a different kind of campaign and to get voters fired up about campaign finance reform. Lame? You call Jesse Ventura lame? Not to his face you don't. Still not convinced that voting is a waste of time? The column offers a rhetorical question on the value of voting: "What difference does it make?" Obviously, it wants us to think back to November 2000, when we learned about butterfly ballots and hanging chads, and President Bush won by only a few hundred votes. If all this isn't enough to discourage fence sitters _ those voters who only come out for presidential elections because they feel a sense of "duty" _ the column criticizes the structure of our government as a last-ditch attempt to push them onto the side of the electorally confident. "Most districts are rigged to stifle competition because those in power want to minimize the chances of facing strong opposition." We agree with this idea, gerrymandering is an issue and really cuts to the bone of partisan politics. And so let's help those Democrats and Republicans stay in power by not voting for others! Yeah! The column offers an alternative system of voting, beginning by suggesting that a pure democracy would be a more fair and efficient form of government for the United States than a republic. What a hoot! Everyone knows what a disaster it would be if 285 million people tried to assemble together into one place to make decisions for the good of the entire group. But then it reminds us that "The constitution (sic) guarantees a republican government to all states; therefore, any efforts to change it would be unconstitutional." Right, because even if we wanted to throw a nationwide party with millions of people on the National Mall as our government, we could not amend the Constitution. "God forbid that everyone have the right to vote on all political matters! Like communism during the age of McCarthy and terrorism today, democracy is the greatest threat to the American way of life that we may ever see." It would be quite threatening if all 285 million citizens eighteen and over descended upon Washington, DC, in a bizarre attempt at direct self-government. And we think Congress is slow and inefficient! What a way to hammer the point home! "Whether you vote or not, the will of others will be imposed upon you. The only difference is that if you do vote, you sometimes have a small say in who gets to impose their will upon you." The column purposefully contradicts the rest of the argument because, given the choice between no say and some say, everyone knows that the logical choice is some say. The column is full of contradictions to disprove the point that we should not bother to vote. "I agree that low voter turnout is a problem. But the solution is not to encourage others to vote. The solution is to make it so that our votes actually make a difference." Of course, the columnist knows that we will immediately realize that the only way to increase turnout and the only way to make our votes count is to vote more. Everyone knows that saying about either being part of the solution or part of the problem. The column provides many poor examples to justify not voting to prove the real point _ that voting is important and it actually does make a difference! The only way to change the system is to become engaged in it _ not to whine and complain and never do anything to try to change the system. Thanks! We couldn't have made a better argument to vote ourselves. And guess what _ the next election is only two years away. Daniel Mandell is a sophomore designing a plan of study in public policy. He is president of the Debate Society of Tufts University. Allison Goldsberry is a senior majoring in political science. She is president of the Tufts chapter of United Leaders.

---

News

German Immersion Weekend carries on tradition

November 14

Are you interested in immersing yourself in a foreign language and culture but don't want to cross the Atlantic? There are actually ways to do so for far less than the price of a trip across the big pond. One example of such an opportunity is the German Department's German Immersion Weekend in Ossipee, NH, which has been offered for the past five years. The retreat, which is held at the Sentinel Retreat, a rustic Baptist summer camp rented by the department, takes place every semester. Professor Bernhard Martin started the twice-yearly event in 1997, using funding from Tufts' Spirit Coalition, the German Department, and former Provost Sol Gittleman's office. The main goal of the weekend is to allow students to speak German outside of the classroom. "It's a different experience speaking German when you're preparing food or hiking or playing soccer, instead of, say, talking about grammar or texts," Martin said. "Less structure often makes speaking the language more enjoyable." The last German Immersion Weekend took place the first weekend of October this semester and was attended by 37 students and faculty members. The retreat was an opportunity to build bonds between students, faculty, and staff. "I liked the mix of students and faculty and meeting people who are interested in German," German exchange student Vlore Kryeziu said. "Also, as a German teaching assistant, it was nice to spend time with some of my students informally, outside of the classroom." "It was a unique opportunity to meet with other students and faculty very informally," sophomore Andrew Sabino said. "One that I haven't really had otherwise at Tufts." Since meeting fellow German students is a goal of the weekend, the weekend began with some games and activities to break the ice between students. Other events included games, sports, and hiking. "The Schnitzeljagd [scavenger hunt] was great, one of my favorite parts of the weekend," Graduate student Jennifer Fox said. "I liked hiking around the area, taking in some of the scenery and terrific views, and answering the questions and trying the 'physical challenges' at the different stations." The Immersion Weekend include several outdoor activities. This fall, students took a short hike in the Mt. Washington Valley. The spring semester German Immersion Weekend, which usually takes place in February or early March, offers a popular skiing and tubing excursion. Another aspect of the weekend that the participants enjoy is the authentic German food, which the students and faculty prepared together. "I loved the food, particularly the sp?¤tzle [a noodle dish]," Kryeziu said. "Such authentic German food is hard to find at Tufts, and I know that many people who haven't been to Germany were able to enjoy such food for the first time." The Immersion Weekend also gives students who are interested in the Tufts-in-T??bingen study abroad program the chance to interact with students who are exchange students from T??bingen or who have already studied there. Sabino took advantage of that opportunity. "It was good to hear about the program and the experiences people had first-hand," he said. "I've been considering the program, and it was helpful to get some advice and have experienced people answer my questions." The next German Immersion weekend will take place in the spring semester. It is open to all students and speakers of German, regardless of their level of linguistic expertise. "I strongly recommend the weekend, even if you are a first year student," Senior Karen Mootrey said. "I was amazed with how much German I understood and how relaxed the atmosphere was. It made it really easy to practice what I did know, and everyone helped me out with what I didn't. I will definitely go again."

---

News

Jumbos prepare for round two

November 14

The women's soccer team will travel down to Norton, MA tomorrow to take on Keene State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Jumbos will play at 1:30 p.m., while host Wheaton College will play Bridgewater State at 11 a.m. The winners will meet Sunday in the finals of the New England Regional. Keene, currently ranked second in New England and 13th in the nation, promises to be a tight match for Tufts, which is ranked just behind them at third in the region and 17th nationally. Formerly a Division II school, Keene dropped down in 1997, and last went to the NCAAs in 1998, when they lost to Colby in the first round. Keene's Owls won their first Little East Conference Championship this year, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Western Connecticut 3-2 in the conference finals and earn both a tournament bid and a first-round bye. Their 19-2-1 overall record includes a win over Middlebury, and a current ten-game winning streak that dates back to Oct. 9, when they lost 2-1 to Williams. Keene's only other loss came early in the season against Wheaton. The team is led by junior forward Erin Lester, who has racked up 47 points on 18 goals and 11 assists. Junior midfielder Jennifer Ortisi is second on the team in scoring, with eight goals and six assists, while seniors Colleen Antonini (1G, 12A) and Aleisha Nelly (5G, 4A) are tied for third with 14 points. Keene is also strong in the net, with sophomore goalkeeper Michelle Mason allowing just 16 goals in 22 games, posting a .75 GAA, 84.9 save percentage, and ten shutouts on the year. The Jumbos enter the game riding a six-game unbeaten streak, during which they have given up just one goal. Tufts advanced to the second round after beating Nichols College 4-0 at home on Wednesday afternoon. The two teams have never met, which will make this game very different from the familiar match-ups that fill the Jumbos' regular-season schedule. Coach Martha Whiting has done some advance scouting, talking to coaches from Middlebury and Williams. But for the most part, her team will stick to business as usual this weekend, looking to come out strong and assert its own style of play. The Jumbos are excited to go up against someone new, and are looking forward to a game against one of the region's tougher teams. "It'll be nice to be playing someone different," Whiting said. "We have to understand that, from now on, every team we play is going to be good. Keene has a great record and some really good athletes. It's not enough just to show up. We have to fight it out for 90 minutes and really work our butts off."

---

News

Music with a purpose

November 14

Cabot Auditorium resembled a sit-in straight out of the '60s on Tuesday afternoon, as activist and singer Holly Near presented "Singing for Our Lives," a program highlighting the history of music used during the period of activism. Near's performance consisted of a powerful mixture of oration anecdote, and song. Dressed in an olive green pantsuit, Near spoke of how she got involved in social activism and the peace movement of the '60s. One of Near's earliest ventures into activism came when she sang in the Philippines to protest the United States military involvement. Despite her desire to be part of the activist movement, she still had feers about going to the Philippines. But a phone call from her father helped her put her fears in perspective. During the phone call he said to her, "I hear that you're afraid. You know you can get killed outside your house by a garbage truck so don't let that be why you don't go." She went on to describe her dismay with the treatment of Filipino women, as many were forced into prostitution after being displaced from their family farms by military bases. She called her transition to feminism the "natural step" after her experiences with women in the Philippines and she also stressed the importance of feminism in the peace movement. "If we don't have feminist thinking in the peace movement than we lose a good part of the fight," said Near. Near described a brief period where she volunteered with Daniel Ellsberg, the man who released the Pentagon Papers, before going on tour with the Indo China Peace Campaign. She began her own record company to produce protest music which most likely would not have been produced elsewhere. "I started to learn was life outside the mainstream," said Near. One central point in Near's presentation was her emphasis on clear and critical thinking. She discussed the importance if understanding one's self and one's purpose and having a "moment of clarity" when these things are apparent. While telling her stories, Near sang a few songs that were inspired by her encounters. She tapped her foot in a steady beat and sang without accompaniment. Her voice was warm and strong, filling the room. "She was remarkably effective singing a capella. I wanted to stay here for another hour listening to her," said Music Department chair John McDonald. The second hour of the program was opened up to questions and answers. "Do you think if the Democrats won there would have been a substantial change in foreign policy?" Near asked, after an audience member expressed frustration with the results of the recent elections. Near, however, made her democratic sentiments clear. "If you become a do-gooder and you don't do any good you become a cynic and you start voting republican," Near said. In another exchange with the audience, a graduate student expressed frustration with being able to see both sides of an argument in conflict. Near encouraged the student to seek a "third option," and this became a recurring point during the second half of her presentation. Near's talk had a great impact on those in attendance. Inspiring," said Somerville resident Laurie August, "and it really touches the heart. She talks about how you really need the heart and soul to be able to change the world and you can see she really has that." Mike Brothers, who traveled form the University of Massachusetts at Lowell shared similar a sentiment. "It was an excellent presentation. She had a lot of important topics and a good discussion of critical thinking. Plus she's an excellent singer."

---

News

New online grading system to be implemented

November 14

A new SIS-Online system for entering grades was presented at the last Arts, Sciences & Engineering (AS&E) faculty meeting Oct. 23, marking a long awaited web-based changeover from a manual grade-entering system. Faculty will now be able to submit their grades online, without having to fill in bubble sheets printed by the administration. The system was one of many changes discussed during the redesign of Student Services that began in 1999. Though students have registered online since spring of 2000, professors have still been turning in grades manually. The move will benefit both professors and students, according to Patricia Sheehan, Director of Technology for Academic Services and Student Affairs. "Moving the grading process to a secure web process is a win-win situation. Students will realize an improvement in service, the staff will realize a reduction in work, the institution will realize some cost savings... and faculty will no longer be required to record grades on a bubble sheet," she said. The interface was pilot tested by ten faculty members during the second summer session and will be used by all faculty to record grades this semester. "The system was well received, perceived as intuitive and viewed as a great replacement to the bubble sheet," Sheehan said. "Courses were proofed against paper copy and all grades were accurately recorded." Errors on bubble sheets have been a long-standing concern, as neither students nor teachers want a grade to be recorded incorrectly. The SIS-Online system is bubble-free, and errors will be reduced by the involvement of fewer staff members in the process. It is able to handle a large volume of grading transactions simultaneously, making the entire process more efficient. Only faculty with listed courses and department chairs will have access to online grade transactions. Requests to make access possible for teaching assistants and other administrators have not yet been addressed. For faculty not entirely familiar with the SIS system, the Student Services Center will be providing two days of training sessions, possibly during the reading period, to make the transition for faculty as easy as possible. The move to automated systems is occurring in many institutions, educational and otherwise. Within the academic realm, classes, assignments, and grading are all moving online. "I think this is a general trend that stretches beyond grading and higher education," Sheehan said. "Whenever an organization has the opportunity to improve the way they are doing business today, almost all improvements will incorporate some level of technology."

---

News

Tufts receives $10 million in donations

November 14

President Larry Bacow assured the Tufts community that the nationwide economic slowdown has impacted the University's endowment only minimally and announced that the University had recently received more than $10 million in major donations in a campus-wide e-mail sent on Wednesday. The eight donations, collected during a ten-day period preceding the last trustees' weekend, were unexpected. "It was a surprise," Trustee Secretary Linda Dixon said. "I think they deliberately batched them all together to announce them at the meeting, but I didn't expect it and I didn't know it was coming." Over the last few weeks, new donations and several pending donations under discussion were solidified. "We had confirmation from the donors that their intention was to invest generously in the University," Vice-President of Development Brian Lee said. While most of the donors had given to the University before, many of these recent contributions were the donors' largest to date, Lee said. Dan and Karen Pritzker presented the University with the largest donation, a $5 million challenge grant from their family foundation, the Jay Pritzker Foundation. The grant will allow Tufts to increase financial aid for underrepresented undergraduate minority students in Arts, Sciences and Engineering. While recipients will be aware of the source of their aid, donors have allowed the University to use its own guidelines to select which students receive money. The Pritzkers will continue to match new gifts for the same purpose for the next five years, Bacow said. Trustee Kathryn Cassell Cheault's $1.1 million donation and a $1 million contribution by an anonymous donor quickly answered the challenge. "I was pleasantly surprised," Minority Affairs Director Colleen Romain said. She hopes the increased funds will help increase diversity at Tufts. To honor the career and continued service of senior Vice President Tom Murnane, an anonymous donor pledged $1 million. At the request of Murnane, this money will be applied to the fundraising efforts for the construction of the proposed new music building. According to Brian Lee, the donation increased the total funds collected for the project to approximately $11.5 million, leaving the fundraising effort only about a million dollars short of the funds needed to begin construction. The GE Fund and the Lockheed-Martin Corporation also donated money to support two of the engineering school's youth outreach programs. "We're thrilled to receive these donations, especially in the days when the economy is not so great," Dean of Engineering Ioannis Miaoulis said. "It is a demonstration of how highly Tufts' engineering school is viewed by the corporate world." The Engineering School received $400,000 in donations from the GE Fund, which will be used to support a program created by the engineering school and education department to teach algebra concepts to elementary school studies through engineering activities, according to Miaoulis. Additionally, the Lockheed Martin Corporation, whose core business areas are systems integration, aeronautics, space, and technology services, donated $500,000 to the K-12 Distance Learning Program. This focus fits well with Tufts' K-12 program, the goal of which is to improve students' technical competence and encourage them to pursue careers in science and engineering, Miaoulis said. "Tufts' School of Engineering is the primary force in disseminating engineering curriculum in K-12 schools," he said. The money will be used to purchase equipment and hire more teachers and people to run the distance learning facility. With his $1.5 million challenge grant to the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Trustee Edward Budd made the second largest donation. Though the Nutrition School leads the nation in faculty and research capabilities, "because it is a relatively new school, it doesn't have a large number of alumni to support it," Budd said. According to Budd, the money will provide a base for a $10 million endowment fund and a "a base for investment earnings that can be paid out year after year." Another donor, Glen K. Lau, MD, contributed $1 million to support scholarship funds for high-achieving medical students, Bacow said. In the e-mail, Bacow expressed gratitude to the donors for helping the University during the current economic slump. "We should all be proud that others are willing to invest in Tufts even during these difficult times," Bacow said. "Each of these gifts represents an endorsement of the terrific work done by our students, faculty, and staff. To all of you who work to make Tufts the special place that it is, I thank you."

---

News

Levesque headed to World Championships

November 14

It was a busy week for Tufts sailing. The Tufts coed sailing came away with a victory at the Atlantic Coast Freshman Championship at William Hobart and Smith. And while his teammates were winning a championship, freshman Alex Kirkland managed to put together a good finish at the Single Handed Nationals at Rice University. Also taking place this weekend was the Hinman Trophy which ended with senior Pete Levesque clinching a spot for his non-collegiate team in the World Championships in New Zealand. At Hobart, Tufts took first place overall out of 12 teams, finishing in front of Georgetown and Dartmouth by scores of 12 and 13 respectively. In the A division, freshmen Bryan Prior, Alex Singer and Ian Beam finished in the middle of the pack at sixth with a score of 76. In the B division, freshmen Jeff Cruise and Eric Morley took first place with a score of 33, giving them a solid finish ahead of Georgetown, 42, and Dartmouth, 61. Tufts B had nine top three finishes and only one finish outside the top half of the pack. At the Hinman Trophy in New Orleans, senior Pete Levesque and 2000 graduate Carlos Lenz's non-collegiate Silver Pandas clinched a birth at the World Championship in New Zealand. They were not the only team with ties to Tufts to clinch a world championship spot, however, as 1997 graduates Graeme Woodworth and Tim Fallon also qualified for the trip to New Zealand. On the way to clinching the World Championship berth, the Silver Pandas had to knock off last year's semi finalists, the Longfellows, the 1999 Hinman Champions, New York, and the silver medallists at the World Championship last year, Whishbone. This was considered to be one of the biggest upsets in recent team racing history. At the Men's Single Handed Nationals in Houston, Texas, Kirkland took fourth place out of 16 competitors, with one first place race and eight top five finishes. Georgetown freshman Alex Campbell took first place overall, with 14 top five finishes, and senior Clay Bischoff of Harvard University finishing behind him in second. In action from last week, Tufts finished behind Harvard at the Professor Schell Trophy, held at MIT. In both divisions Tufts and Harvard separated themselves from the rest of the pack, but it was a matter of who could do better consistently in each of the 12 races per division. In division A, seniors Pete Levesque and Caroline Hall, along with freshman Dave Siegal, took first place with a score of 49. They finished in the top five in eight of the 12 races and had five top three finishes. In division B, seniors J.R. Maxwell and Deane Madsen took fourth with a score of 56. Tufts B had eight top five races but no first place finishes, while Harvard finished in the top five in ten of 12 races. Tufts finished with a score of 105, ten behind Harvard, which had a score of 95. Also last week, at the Nickerson Trophy, Tufts started slowly but had a good finish. In division A, freshman Brian Prior took sixth place with a total score of 97. The A squad had four top five finishes and three bottom six finishes out of 14 total races. In division B, freshmen Eric Morley and Jeff Cruise made up some lost ground finishing with a first place score of 70. Despite some problems caused by the weather, the team performed well especially for an all freshman squad sent to a regatta filled with many juniors and seniors. "We did pretty well, but the weather and the wind bothered us a bit," Prior said. "The amount of wind can impact our team a lot. Just as long as the boat doesn't tip over we'll be fine, because then it's the cold water we're dealing with." Next week the Tufts coed and women teams sail in their final regular season events in the Atlantic Coast Dinghy Championship at Coast Guard, and the women's team goes to the Atlantic Coast Women's Championship at Connecticut. If the team wants to continue its recent success, it may have to work on coping with bad weather conditions. "We have to get better with dealing with the cold weather," Cruise said. "Every team has to deal with it, but if we want to be better than the rest of the teams out there, we'll have to adjust."

---

News

Senate subcommittee reaches out to students

November 14

A month after the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate passed a bylaw encouraging members of the committee on Culture, Ethnicity and Community Affairs (CECA) to reach out to their constituencies, it appears the initiative is receiving positive results. In an attempt to improve Senate-student relations, Senators are now heading to cultural groups instead of waiting for students to come to them, and the bylaw is being hailed as a possible model for the future of the Senate's role on campus. The by-law was instated add insurance that CECA is representative of the opinion of all its constituent groups. CECA members are now immersing themselves in campus cultures "beyond their comfort zones" to better represent their constituents, according to CECA co-chair Kelly Sanborn. The change came out of the need for CECA to do more community outreach, Sanborn said. CECA members now attend meetings of groups such as the Swahili Club, Polish Club, Hillel, and the Orthodox Christian Fellowship "that are not attended regularly by senators," according to Sanborn. Each of the ten CECA members is obligated to attend meetings of three to six groups out of a pool of 30. Although the time commitment is sizeable _ some groups meet for several hours each week _ CECA members find it necessary. "It's important for students to know CECA and the Senate care," CECA co-chair Chike Aguh said. CECA is the first Senate committee to require, through official bylaw, that its members go out to the students to hear their constituents' concerns. Aguh and others hope this will inspire other senators to do their own outreach. "I know it will take a long time to make a big difference," Goldberg said, "but it definitely should be looked into as a [model] for the rest of the Senate." Their job is to "act as a liaison" and to let the groups know how the Senate can help them in their goals, according to Sanborn. "We avail ourselves as a resource, a tool" where groups can "use us a much or as little as they see fit," Aguh said. So far, CECA representation has been welcomed at group meetings. Sanborn has received only positive feedback and said that people are happy "to see the Senate is taking a less 'elitist' approach". "People seem to be pleasantly surprised," Senate Historian Alison Clarke said. "[The bylaw] shows a tangible commitment CECA and the Senate has made to improve relations with students." CECA members are also pleased to have the opportunity to attend the meetings. "I'm glad to get the perspective I might not normally see," Goldberg said. "It helps us do our job better," said Aguh. Many senators believe that the bylaw could be the foreshadow to a possible, larger Senate movement. "It's a great program," Sanborn said. "This might work as a trial run of a system that could work on a larger scale [for the rest of the Senate.]" According to Clarke, the Senate has been trying to improve relations. "Senate outreach is definitely encouraged," Clarke said. "CECA is setting a really good example." The list of group meetings CECA attends was compiled from categories used by the Senate Allocations Board (ALBO), which groups student organizations into "councils" for treasury purposes. Council I consists of TCU Judiciary-recognized culture groups, Council IV is religious groups, and Council VIII is for political and community groups, including the African Student Organization (ASO) and the Tufts Transgender Lesbian Gay Bisexual Coalition (TTLGBC). Attempts at improving Senate outreach have been ongoing for some time. Last year, former Senator Pritesh Gandhi passed a set of bylaws that required an extended open forum at the beginning of every other senate meeting. It also had senators spend their office hours gathering feedback from students around campus, instead of being in the Senate office. These bylaws which created two class collectives, made up of the freshman and sophomore class and the junior and senior class, respectively, which would meet once a month might have been too much for the Senate at once. The Open Extended Forum was all that seemed to remain of the reforms in the spring semester. Gandhi had also wanted senators to meet with their corresponding Programming Board class council.

---

News

Disco inferno

November 14

In celebration of the quarter century since a trim John Travolta made sauntering with a can of paint in hand chic,' Paramount Pictures has released a revamped DVD of the classic Saturday Night Fever, which greatly improves on the films original Dolby sound. Also, the new DVD has some commentary from director John Badham, three deleted scenes are added as are highlights from a VH1 "Behind the Music" episode on Fever. For those not familiar with the movie, it is a popular belief that the film is lighthearted look at Disco dancing. Hardly! As the actual time the film spends in Brooklyn's Odyssey: 2001 dance club is actually pretty minimum. The film is a raw look at the post-Vietnam days of the '70s when hoards were escaping to local dance complex's to escape the reality of gas and energy shortages, skyrocketing unemployment and the lingering embarrassment of the Watergate scandal. Travolta's character, Tony Manero had a kind of dead-end existence in his paint store job and an association with a rough nowhere crowd that would be unlikely to see their mid-20's. The highlight of their week is popping pills and booze and then "blowing it all" at the Odyssey followed by some borderline psychotic dancing on the outer structure of the Brooklyn Bridge. While at times, Manero seems no more mature than his quartet of friends, he is much deeper and intelligent than he (wants too) let on. Though his profanity and racist comment disguise it at times, there are subliminal messages that realizes his behavior is taking him nowhere. Through some unexpected good advise from his brother (who returns home after leaving the priesthood) his boss (You can't f*** the future Tony. The future f***'s you!") and even his name dropping snobby (yet insecure) dance partner Stephanie (who bluntly tells him: "You're a clich?©.' You're no place. On your way to nowhere." Travolta's performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for 1977, and it is apparent that it was well deserved. While overlooked, supporting performances from Donna Pescow (as the infatuated Annette) and Barry Miller who gives up a tragic and comic performance as Travolta's tormented pal who is tortured by his girlfriend's pregnancy (and steals the scene from Travolta in the films climax at the Brooklyn Bridge). Also, look for a cool cameo from then-unknown Fran Drescher, who boldly asks Travolta's character to dance with the daring question: "Are you as good in bed as you are on the dance floor?" The film is a prime piece of late '70s pop culture and really should be stuck in a time vault as it was the most accurate portrayal of the era. Fever's sequel, Staying Alive, which came out five years after the original, has been critically lambasted since its original release. While seeing the ultra macho Manero dancing in some bizarrely choreographed Broadway play seems kind of out of character (and would have earned the wrath of his Brooklyn-ite friends from Fever), it is interesting to see what became of Manero and to witness his maturity as he puts his crude and violent days behind him. Disco Nights CD Series The music that was officially pronounced dead in 1979, has proved to have a stating power that no one could have envisioned. The racks at Tower and Virgin overflow with Disco compilations and the number of "Disco" themed parties are reportedly greater than ever. While picking out the best compilation is no easy task, one can rest assure that there is a prime series of CD's that captures the heart of Disco better than any other compilation. The aptly titled Disco Nights (Unidisc) is a seven disc series (also, the first four discs are available in a special Box Set) that has picked out the best dance tunes of the genre and even harks upon some classic and forgotten dance gits from the early 1980s _ when the "Disco" label was dropped and rechristened as "Dance Music." Not just a collection of standard and overplayed Village People and Bee Gee's songs, Disco Nights is a hodgepodge of the best of the mirror ball movers. Amongst the sets highlights are: Carol Douglas' dated but still effective Doctor's Orders; Jocelyn Brown's magnificent "Somebody Else's Guy;" a couple from one of the archangel of Disco Sylvester _ "Do You Wanna Funk" and "(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real." Another highlight is the former denizens of New York's CBGB's, Blondie (Call Me and Heart of Glass"), who Disco laced hits gave them major mainstream success but forever banished them from their original Punk crowd; and, Machine whose sole chart entry, "There But for the Grace of God Go I" is possibly the only song of the Disco era that could be described as a protest song (which is exactly the opposite message of Disco). It works surprisingly well with a pulsating beats and sharp lyrics so rich that would still be _ if released today _ a major hit. Yes, the set does included a lot of the more mainstream hits _ "I Will Survive," "Turn The Beat Around," "Le Freak," and mandatory sides from KC and the Sunshine Band _ but it is the most well rounded sets available and certainly worth owning as a record of one of pop music's most enduring legacy.

---

News

Surprising upsets scramble playoff picture

November 14

Never count a team in the NFL down and out this early in the season, even if it's coming off a streak of losses. That's what both the Indianapolis Colts and the Oakland Raiders proved last week, as both teams rebounded from dismal slumps to pull themselves back into their respective division races. After a 4-0 start, the Raiders fell into a tumble _ the offense suddenly fell apart, and the team went on a four game skid. Last Monday though, they looked like the Raiders of early season, as Rich Gannon led his team to a 34-10 rout of the Denver Broncos. No one would have expected the Raiders to stun the Broncos at Mile High in the fashion that they did. The 6-2 Broncos rode into their home stadium the favorites to win this 500th Monday Night Football match-up. In the end, though, it was the Raiders who walked away with the victory. Dominating the line of scrimmage against the Broncos, the Raider's offense put in a record setting performance, as quarterback Rich Gannon completed 34 of 38 passes for 352 yards. Gannon's performance was so impressive that the entire Raider offense was based on Gannon as his three touchdown 352 yard passing game paired with his 12 yard team rushing yards accounted for 364 of the Raiders 374 total offensive yards. In fact the Raider's starting running back Tyrone Wheatley only touched the ball four times throughout the entire game. With the decisive victory, the Raiders took back what looked as if it had turned into a lost season. At 5-4, the team now stands only one game behind the Broncos and the San Diego Chargers, who are tied for first. The Raiders weren't the only team that proved that it isn't out of the playoff picture just yet. After their own three game skid, the Indianapolis Colts rebounded from their dismal seeming season with a road upset of their own against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Colts entered the game tied for first place in their division, but needing to turn their season around if they had any plans on advancing in the post-season. And turn the season around is exactly what the Colts did against the Eagles, as they crushed Philadelphia with an unstoppable offensive attack of their own. With a more balanced attack than the Raiders, quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 319 yards along side of rookie James Mugro's 114 yards on the ground to put up 35 points on the board against an Eagles defense that is ranked third in the AFC. The most impressive performance of the game, though, was neither Manning nor Mugro but wide receiver Marvin Harrison, who caught touchdown passes of 57 and 43 yards on the day. Harrison's receptions put him on an incredible pace to finish the season with 133 total receptions. After being outscored 64-10 in their previous three losses, the Colts offensive revival has them back on track. The true test for Indianapolis will come in week 12 when they travel to Denver to take on the Broncos. After rebounding from their mid-season skid last week, the New England Patriots showed that they are back on track with a come from behind victory against the Chicago Bears. Falling back into their mid-season woes at the beginning of the game, down 21 points in the middle of the third, Tom Brady and the rest of his team refused to quit as they put 27 points on the board in the second half to overcome the Bears 33-30. The Bears dominated for much of the game, and they looked like the Bears of 2001 that complied a 13-3 record. But in the end, their 2-6 record showed through, as a defensive collapse allowed the Patriots to sneak back into the game and steal away the victory. With back to back wins, the Patriots look as if they're back on their early season roll. They face a tough test this weekend though as they travel to Oakland, another team that righted itself last week. The Good With former star quarterback Kurt Warner out with a finger injury, replacement Marc Bulger has led the St. Louis Rams out of their 0-5 hole and into a four game winning streak. With an astounding 453 yard performance against the Chargers last Sunday, Bulger passed for all four of his team's touchdowns and threw no interceptions. Over the course of the Ram's winning streak has completed 66.7 percent of his passes, averaging 8.33 yards per completion. Though Kurt Warner looks ready to come back and take his role as the starting quarterback, if Mike Martz can't find a place for Bulger on his roster, someone in the NFL will. The Bad After leading the Atlanta Falcons' 31-17 going into the fourth quarter, a defensive collapse by the Pittsburgh Steelers' let the Falcon's back in to a game that nobody would end in the NFL's first tie since Nov. 23, 1997. While Steeler's quarterback Tommy Maddox played an excellent game throughout the first three quarters, the Steelers D was unable to stop Michael Vick in the fourth quarter, as he led the Falcons' comeback. The Ugly Even though the Miami Dolphins are playing without their starting quarterback Jay Fiedler, they should have been able to muster up a victory against the New York Jets. Falling to their third consecutive defeat since Fiedler's injury, Miami's loss dropped them out of sole possession of their division and exposed a lack of depth on offense that is sure to hurt the team in the post season even with Fiedler back. And the Bengals, just because.

---

News

Felder and Barbour are 'Back from Broadway' in Boston

November 14

While musical revues have certainly had their shining moments (most recently, last season's Elaine Stritch at Liberty on Broadway), the genre seems to be eternally bound to images of overly enthusiastic singers perched on bar stools belting out their very best_ however mediocre _ versions of Gershwin and Rodgers songs. This connotation may soon be a thing of the past. In their new two-man show Back from Broadway, Hershey Felder and James Barbour breathe new life into the genre, embracing what is great about classic theatre music and making everything revue new again. Both the premise and the form of the show stick to the traditional: Felder and Barbour alternate in telling stories and sharing songs relating to their lives _ and more specifically, the story of their respective careers. The show further embraces tradition with its set design, which alludes to the behind-the-scenes setting of the bare stage that is characteristic of so many classic pieces of musical theatre (i.e. the opening scene of Kiss Me, Kate! and the closing scene of Gypsy). With the standard brick wall and prerequisite solitary standing stage light as setting, Felder and Barbour actively fill the stage with their stories and their songs. It is a true credit to both actors' ability that rather than submitting to clich?©, the two men grab hold of the confines of convention and in turn create vivid and palpable scenes through their songs and stories which fill an otherwise empty stage. When Felder and Barbour first enter, they introduce themselves to their audience as two actors, one who sings with his voice (Barbour) and one who sings with his fingers (Felder). And then the men launch into their first anecdote of the evening: the story of how they met _ over a (debatably) shared bathroom in adjacent off-Broadway theatres. ("It was my private bathroom!" insists Felder.) Even when the show turns serious, the initial tone established by this opening story is continuous _ the two performers never take themselves or their profession too seriously. (Surely this ease and humor was facilitated by director Joel Zwick, of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame.) This is one of the show's greatest assets; by projecting a sincere wink-and-smile relationship with the audience, Felder and Barbour maximize their performance capabilities. By creating a sense of trust, and projecting an actor's sense of humility, each story and song becomes all the more resonant. Back from Broadway is a piece that finds solidity through contrasts. Most notably is the one initially introduced by the two performers: the show consists of a singer and a pianist. As the performance progresses, another contrast becomes apparent _ that of the two men's very different backgrounds and experiences. But, Felder and Barbour's initial introduction of themselves as actors who sing is the unifying premise of the show. Though their paths and performance styles are undeniably different, both men stand shoulder to shoulder in the attempt for human connection that is art. Felder, best known to theatre audiences for his portrayal of George Gershwin in his one-man Broadway show from last season, George Gershwin Alone, seems much more comfortable "playing" himself than does his counterpart Barbour. Whether discussing the litany of piano teachers he had growing up (the 400-lb. Southern belle, "Doris the Drunk," the Deutsche with a secret penchant for show tunes), giving the audience some a posteriori advice ("Want to make your parents really nervous? Tell them that the only, only, only thing you want for your Bar Mitzvah is tickets to Cats."), or, more reservedly, reflecting on the day his mother bought him his first piano, Felder possess a natural ease of character that makes connecting with him effortless. Felder is also contagiously passionate, a sentiment only solidified by his indescribable performance abilities. I challenge anyone to find a more inspired rendition of Gershwin's "A Rhapsody in Blue" anywhere. Barbour, who has appeared on Broadway in Carousel, Beauty and the Beast, and in Jane Eyre, likewise brings a strong presence and ability to the stage. Barbour has been blessed with an amazingly clear and resonant voice, one which, for all its sheer strength, subtly explores every nuance of a song. What distinguishes a good musical theatre actor from a superb musical theatre actor is that the good actor sings his songs while the superb actor shares his story _ James Barbour is unquestionably a story-teller. From his recreation of his first public performance _singing "On The Street Where You Live" as a freshman in high school at the first pep rally of the year_ to his electrifying "Soliloquy" from Carousel, Barbour is simply magnetic _ his audience cannot help but sit transfixed while he sings. While during his non-singing moments, Barbour sometimes came across as slightly awkward, this feeling subsided as the evening progressed. By combining personal material with classic songs, Hershey Felder and James Barbour have created a performance that is both nostalgic and unabashedly youthful. Audiences should be grateful that Felder and Barbour are "back from Broadway" and right here in Boston _an evening with these two exceptional performers is an opportunity not to be missed. 'Back from Broadway' is playing at The Stuart Street Playhouse through Dec. 15. Performances are Tuesday - Friday nights at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.. Tickets are $29.50 - $49.50 and may be purchased through Telecharge at (800) 447-7400 or at The Stuart Street Playhouse Box Office, 200 Stuart Street, Boston.

---

News

Great dining hidden in plain sight

November 13

If you want to go out to dinner in Davis Square, you are faced often with a quandry: you want to go somewhere a little classier than Anna's Taqueria, and you have already eaten your way through the menu at Joshua Tree. Do not despair, as there's a place so obvious that it's actually hidden, Orleans. Orleans _ located on Holland Ave. _ offers several options, each making for a great experience. It can be the evening bar before going to a party, a place to catch the game, or as a place to go on a date. The opportunities are endless at Orleans, and each choice is sure to be exactly what you are looking for. The hostess, bartenders, and servers are all the kind you hope for when you go out. They're polite, cheerful (but not too cheery), and will do whatever it is that will make you happy and keep your night better than expected. If the weather is nice, the front wall of Orleans opens right up, and you have the option to sit near the outside. The bar is stocked with just about everything you could imagine, so even that favorite, unique drink of yours can be prepared right in front of you. Be it a White Russian or a Black and Tan, Orleans will be sure to have you covered. The atmosphere of Orleans adds to its overall appeal. The lighting is dark at first, gradually provides a sense of and relaxation_ perfect after midterms or finals. Combine this with the extremely good, casual service, and you are in a good mood before you even order. Let's talk about the main reason to go off campus for dinner: the food. At Orleans, you can order everything from salad to fish to steak. The house salad is better than most. There's a perfect amount of each ingredient, and its presentation is as good as it flavor. The price simply adds to the enjoyment: $7. The ateak, which will run you about $20, is worth much more than that and would cost a lot more at most other places. They tend to cook things a little rarer than most other restaurants, but they have no problem taking it back and cooking it to your liking. The general range of prices for entrees is roughly $10 - $20, with appetizers as approximately $5. The menu also offers some more unique dishes, such as the pan-seared salmon filet, which is served with potato leek gratin and black bean sauce. This dish will run you about $17, but you will not soon forget it. In fact, the dishes at Orleans will keep you coming back for more, whether you decide to come back for your favorite dish or to try the other enticing options. The noise level in Orleans is about as good as it gets. There is some background music, and the restaurant has managed to find the perfect volume. It's enough to drown out other people's conversations and outbursts of laughter, yet quiet enough so as not to hinder your own conversation (unlike Anna's Taqueria). The tables are spread far enough apart so you nevre feel crowded (like at Red Bone's). At the same time, you will never be so distant from anyone that you might feel forgotten. If you just want a place to relax and have a drink, and maybe even get some work done, Orleans has a few big, comfy chairs which are located in the front by the opened windows. In the early fall of spring these are a fantastic way to forget about everything on your mind, no matter what it is. Orleans is without a doubt a great place to go for an off-campus meal, but it is best to go for dinner rather than lunch. The lunch menu is limited, and the place will not have the same ambience as later in the evening, as the setting is made for after-dusk dining. However, there is no place better for a first date. Perhaps a movie before dinner across the street is best, as it will give you something to talk about in those awkward, first date moments. All in all, you cannot go wrong at Orleans, no matter what the occasion and expectations might entail.

---

News

Soccer team's rollercoaster season ends on a low point

November 13

After a season of highs and lows, the men's soccer season ended last Sunday on a low. The team was defeated 2-1 by Amherst in the first round of the NESCAC tournament. The Jumbos fell behind quickly to the Jeffs and were unable to overcome the lead despite strong play throughout the majority of the game. "We played well besides the first 20 minutes, which was the general trend of the season," senior tri-captain Matt MacGregor said. "We fell behind early and we had to fight our way back." In a season that started with high expectations turned into an uphill battle, after being plagued by an elongated slump. The Jumbos tried desperately to get back on track before the start of the conference tournament, but were unable to regain the strengths they had displayed early in the season. "At the beginning of the season we were on a roll," junior Brian Mikel said. "The ball was bounding our way and we were getting lucky scoring." After opening the fall with a 4-0 record, the Jumbos topped the NESCAC and were ranked fourth in New England and 16th in the nation. The Jumbos beat several out-of-conference opponents, such as MIT and Lassell, and also overcame tough conference opponents as well, including Amherst. Even with their highs, the men were stifled by an inability to get started offensively within the first minutes of the games, often allowing opponents such as Lassell to create a match-up that was tougher than the Jumbos had anticipated. This inability to quick-start the offense threw the team into its three-game skid, which began with a homecoming shut-out loss to Bates, followed by a loss to Wesleyan the next day. The mid-September skid seemed as if it would come to an end during the Jumbos match-up against Bowdoin in early October. After falling behind Bowdoin, the Jumbos played a second half that was arguably their best performance of the season. The game went into overtime in thee end and the Jumbos lost, but the team built from its performance to get back on track. "At Bowdoin, we really dominated the game and it just showed us that we could be one of the better teams in the conference," Mikel said. The men did get back on track, going 5-2-1 in the season's final seven games. Despite a roller coaster season, the Jumbos experienced several high points during the season that they hope to build on for next fall. "Our experience will be the thing to build on," Mikel said. Along with the freshmen, the men return their core starters next season as only two seniors, Garrett Dale and MacGregor, will graduate. The team is aware of the holes that Dale and MacGregor will leave behind as the two seniors led the team with 17 and 15 points, respectively. "We're gonna need a lot of people to step it up next year," junior tri-captain Jesse Dinner said. "It's going to be a big loss because of their skills on the field and off the field as leaders." But despite the loss, the Jumbos believe that their returning starters will be able to lead the team to a more successful post season run next year. Two new sophomores, Mike Guigli and Todd Gilbert, both started in some games and played a large role in the team's success. "Those two guys will be able to do a lot next year," MacGregor said. As team members look back on the season just completed, they appear ambivalent. "It was disappointing overall but there were some successes along with way too," MacGregor said. "We didn't accomplish everything we wanted."

---