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The Setonian
News

AL West should be nail bitter

March 31

The American League West is the most competitive division in Major League Baseball. Not only does its four-team composition make for more important inter-divisional games, it also allows members to play more non-divisional games than other teams. Remember that two of the four teams, the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics made the playoffs last season and both caused the New York Yankees considerable difficulty.Powerhouses:Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics. There are few faults you can find in this fined-tuned machine of a baseball team. Last season's 116-46 will be hard to match but the Mariners will nevertheless be formidable. The Mariners were first in runs scored with 927 overall and also had impeccable pitching and defense yielding a league-low 627 runs overall. The Mariners have no holes in their lineup, except for shortstop where they start Carlos Guillen. What he lacks at the plate, he makes up in the field. The infield was sured up by grabbing free agent third basemen Jeff Cirillo, who hit .300 for the Colorado Rockies last season. As if Dan Wilson is not already one of the best catchers in the game, the Mariners decided to get another quality catcher in Ben Davis to give the veteran some rest. John Olerud and Bret Boone round out a solid infield. Olerud is a silky smooth fielder and typically hits around .300 while Boone finished third in the AL MVP voting after hitting 37 home runs and driving in 141. Boone finished third in the MVP race behind his teammate Ichiro Suzuki (.350, 56 SB). All-star center fielder Mike Cameron, came into his own last season, knocked in 110 RBIs. Seattle only has lost one key component from last year's league-best starting rotation. What they lost in Aaron Sele, the club picked up in free agent, James Baldwin. The squad-retained Freddy Garcia and Jamie Moyer, whose change-up is one of the most devastating in the league. Joined by Paul Abbot, who went 17-4 last season, the Mariners will be a tough team to beat. In case a team is within one run going into the seventh inning, they also possess some of the best middle relievers, Arthur Rhodes and Jeff Nelson, and closer, Kaz Sasaki, in baseball. As the Oakland A's learned, free-agency can be a terrible thing for some teams, but generally there is another player in the league that can take that vacant spot and make it seem like the former player never left. This is not the case for the A's who lost Jason Giambi. The first baseman led the team in every major offensive category except stolen bases before heading to the Yankees during the offseason. Still, Giambi was not entirely responsible for the A's 102-60 record. Without Giambi's bat, Oakland will have to rely on its pitching staff to take them to the Promised Land. Young-gun Tim Hudson leads the squad. He was fifth in the AL with a 3.37 ERA and was tied for first with 35 starts. Lefty, Mark Mulder finished first in the league with 21 wins and will assume the second spot in the rotation. The pitcher with possibly the most promising future is Barry Zito. He tore through opponents after the all-star break last season, going 11-2 with a 2.29 ERA. Corey Lidle will be the fourth starter and hopes to continue to shut down opposing batters as he finished with a 3.59 REA last season. Although the A's lost closer Jason Isringhauson, they picked up fire-baller Billy Koch. He has the potential for a 40 save season, but his tremendous velocity makes him vulnerable to the game winning homerun. Oakland gets by with a solid infield that is led by an underrated shortstop Miguel Tejada. Tejada hit 30 homeruns, scored 107 runs, as well as knocking in 113 runs. Although the AL West is heavy with good third basemen, Eric Chavez holds his own and has the potential to be one of the best along with the Anaheim Angels' Troy Glaus. Jermaine Dye leads Oakland's outfield. Dye can do it all, from hitting to fielding but is currently recovering from a broken leg. Dye also proved he can wield a mean pen as he signed a three year, 32 millions dollar contract to remain in an A's uniform. The Athletics also boast one of the most versatile centerfielders in Terrance Long and a power-hitting leftfielder in Dave Justice.Pretenders: Anaheim Angels. Unless the Angels can get some divine intervention in the outfield similar to the likable Disney Movie released in the mid '90s, Anaheim has little chance to take a playoff spot. Although offense puts people in the stands, pitching wins games. The Angels lack the pitching needed to win critical AL West games. Their rotation is not terrible, but stacked against the Mariners and A's, there is no comparison. The Angels are led by Aaron Sele, who they nabbed from the Seattle Mariners in the offseason. Sele is a solid pitcher, but only pitches one in five days. He his a workhorse, as he has pitched over 200 innings four straight years. In another attempt to sure up the pitching staff, Anaheim acquired Kevin Appier from the New York Mets. The Angels have some hope with Ramon Ortiz, a promising young pitcher, who can throw well into the '90s. If the Angels can take a lead into the ninth inning, they should be ok with closer Troy Percival. The middle of their lineup has the potential to be very productive, led by all-star third basemen Troy Glaus. Glaus is an all-around professional hitter, who is protected well by outfielders Darin Erstad, Garret Anderson, and Tim Salmon. Second baseman Adam Kennedy has potential to have a good on base percentage and while new DH Brad Fullmer's numbers decreased last season, he has the ability to break out for a 30-homerun season. On the bubble: Texas Rangers. Despite making numerous offseason moves, once again, pitching will be the problem for the Rangers. A high powered offense, which was third in the AL in runs scored with 890 cannot overcome a pitching staff that had a road ERA of 6.00 and home ERA of 5.46. On a positive note for Texas fans, the team can give Seattle a run for the most potent lineup in the AL West. Leftfielder Frank Catalanotto is scheduled to be the leadoff hitter and if he can build on last year's batting average of .330, he could be scoring many runs. Catcher Ivan Rodriguez and shortstop Alex Rodriguez are the most potent two-three combination in the league. Both Rodriguez's have MVP potential and boast career batting averages over .300. First baseman Rafael Palmeiro should be good for over 37 homeruns, at least that is what he has done for the last seven seasons. Outfielders Carl Everett and Rusty Greer have also shown the potential to be game changing hitters. The Rangers pitching staff was a joke last season, so they worked hard to sign quality free agent starters. Disregarding control issues, Chan Ho Park can be solid. He is a workhorse, pitching over 225 innings last season. Park is joined by Ismael Valdes in the revamped Rangers' rotation. Sandwiched in between Park and Valdes will be Kenny Rogers. Although Rogers has not had the best stuff in recent years, he has the ability to perform well with a good supporting cast. Due to an injury to Jeff Zimmerman, John Rocker will be forced to step into the closing role. Rocker had 38 saves in 1999 with the Atlanta Braves but struggled last year. Last word: The Mariners will run away with the division once again. Between their pitching and overall hitting, no team matches up well against them. Oakland will battle it out for second place with the Texas. The A's proven pitching gives them an advantage, but it is unclear what the loss of Giambi will do to them. Texas has put money into the right category - pitching - and should be a much better team from last season. The Anaheim Angels are not strong enough in either pitching or hitting to make a run at the playoffs.

The Setonian
News

Tufts Polls program no longer used for TCU polls

March 31

A year after the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate launched Tufts Polls - an online survey resource for student opinion - the complicated and expensive software program remains unused by the Senate and administration alike. A statistical analysis system purchased jointly by the administration and the TCU that allocated student activities funds to the project, Tufts Polls cost well over $5,000. The program was originally intended for use by Senate committees to poll the undergraduate student body on various campus issues. Many senators also saw it as a tool for the troubled Elections Board (ELBO) to conduct Senate elections online. But amid concerns about the integrity of the software and confusion about its usage, Tufts Polls never caught on. The TCU launched its first and last Tufts Polls survey - a poll on student diversity set up by the committee on Cultural and Ethnics Community Affairs (CECA) - more than one year ago. Sophomore Jill Bier was one of two senators trained to operate the complicated program by the Department of Institutional Research. "Learning how to use the program and setting up the survey took most of last year," Bier said. "When we sent it out it was like 'Tufts Polls actually works!' Then it turned out the questions were too vague and people didn't know how to answer them." The software package, comprised of a "data entry builder" add-on component to a statistical program called SPSS, lacked a "wrapper" - a filter that allows system operators to determine who has taken the survey. Since students were not required to fill in a password or verify their identity, the accuracy of the poll was compromised. Bier, along with Andrew Potts, participated in two days of survey development and statistical analysis training at the expense of the Department of Institutional Research. Professional trainers were flown in from SPSS, Inc. in Chicago to instruct the senators. Despite the training, Potts and Bier had difficulty understanding the complex system. "I sat through two days of training and still had no idea what I was doing," Bier said. Potts said a further understanding of statistics and survey procedure was necessary to use the product. Department of Institutional Research Director Dawn Terkla assisted the TCU in acquiring the Tufts Polls program. Terkla said her department was available to help senators set up a Tufts Polls survey but interest was minimal. "We were willing to do whatever we could but we never heard from anybody," Terkla said. "It's kind of hard to do a survey if nobody's talking to you."She attributed the disinterest in Tufts Polls to change in Senate membership. "There's so much turnover in the Senate that what's been in the interest of a particular senator isn't necessarily on the agenda of the next Senate or senator." Two instrumental forces in the creation of Tufts Polls - former Senate president Larry Harris and former assistant dean Michaela Whelan - are no longer at Tufts, and documentation of the purchase seems to be unavailable. The Department of Institutional Research, which is responsible for gathering statistical information for the University, now uses newer software to create web-based surveys for the student body. "We've moved on to a different software package that we're using just for ease and flexibility," she said. This past year, the library satisfaction survey, Residential Life (ResLife) survey, international student life survey, and sophomore experience survey were entirely web-based. The senior survey will be online for the first time this year. Although Tufts Polls is no longer in operation, online surveys are still being held. The Senate Services Committee recently polled students about restaurant delivery options on the Merchants on Points (MOPS) program. The TCU Judiciary plans to put group recognition procedures online. Earlier this month, ELBO facilitated successful Senate elections online using a website developed by Student Services, and tomorrow's presidential election will occur online. Bier was optimistic about the future of online Senate polling. "I definitely think we're keeping up with the times," Bier said. "We have to do things online; everything's online these days - ticket sales, elections, registration.""As the University keeps up with it, we have to keep up with it," she said.

The Setonian
News

Better late than never

March 31

Modest is the perfect word to describe Joan Vollero, a tri-captain on Tufts' women's swimming team. The senior, who only joined the squad last year, demurred when asked questions about her accomplishments. She'd rather talk about her teammates. When further asked about serving as captain, she said it gave her confidence but also that she was "really honored to be voted" as one of the team's leaders. And despite her two-year hiatus from athletics at Tufts, that distinction came after a lengthy career in swimming. Coming out of Sacred Heart High School in Hamden, Connecticut, Vollero was not sure if she would swim in college at all. While in high school, she swam the same races that she does today: the 50, 100, and 200-meter backstroke and the 50 and 100 butterfly. In high school, Vollero said, she was a "decent" swimmer. "I knew I wanted to swim in college, but it was not my priority. A division III school like Tufts was more my speed," Vollero said. "I talked to [Tufts coach Nancy Bigelow] senior year, but I was not recruited." Upon arriving at Tufts, Vollero found herself floating towards the team. She participated in captain's practices for a while, but soon abandoned the venture in favor of new hobbies. She even spent some time as a Daily staff writer. It was two years before Vollero would make her way back to the swimming team."I think I was more settled at Tufts. Freshman year, I was tired of swimming, I had been swimming forever and was burnt out," Vollero said. "Junior year, I realized I wasn't going to go abroad and was disappointed. I wanted to do something new at Tufts. I wanted to do something I had never tried, but something I knew I could make friends doing. It feels good to be on a team."Once she made the decision to return to swimming, Vollero had to recommit herself to a sport she had not competed in since high school. While many Tufts students were enjoying their junior year in another country, Vollero was reacquainting herself with the swimming pool."It took me a while to get back into shape, but by NESCACs I had my times pretty close to high school," Vollero said. "I was really pleased on how I was doing."Vollero has concentrated on tough workouts this season to achieve success before graduation. The team started practicing five days a week, two hours a day, after returning from a trip to Barbados two months ago. Since then, Vollero said, she's turned up the energy. "I figure if I'm going to be in the pool for two hours, I might as well work hard," Vollero said. "I try to keep a positive attitude about practice even if it's difficult or I'm in pain."Still, she said her times haven't increased correspondingly with more intense workouts over the last couple months. "I was really disappointed because I was working hard and my times were not where I wanted them to be, with the amount of effort I was putting in," she said. At the NESCAC meet, she said she surprised herself by dropping six seconds in the 200 backs and two seconds in the 100.She did not take home a victory at that meet, but made it to the finals in the 200 backstroke and the 100 backstroke, and said she was pleased with her performances. When Vollero is not in the pool, she is no fish out of the water in terms of community involvement. She is a participant in Kid's Day and a double major in child development and English with a communications minor. She said her plans for next year including working in the television field in New York City. Vollero has great faith that the team will be strong in years to come because of the freshman class, her fellow captains, and coach Bigelow's care for the team. "The other captains have been really supportive and I'm really glad I met them," Vollero said. "The freshman class is amazing, talented, and motivated. They have great seasons coming up."

The Setonian
News

What's a provost?

March 31

Provost Sol Gittleman is well-known around campus. Some students know of his famed Yiddish culture class, others have heard him at speeches, and many others just recognize his name. Gittleman plans to step down from the position he has held for 21 years, provoking a nationwide search for his replacement. But ultimately the question arises, what does a provost do anyways? And why should undergraduates care? The answer is not simple and as Gittleman explained to the Daily, neither is the University. The provost's position is a fairly recent one in Tufts history. It was created 50 years ago when the University became too complex for the president to have to deal with both its internal and external activities. Gittleman estimated that out of the 4,000 universities in the country, there are only 500 provost positions. But as President Bacow said, there is a position comparable to the provost at almost every major research university. The provost deals with the University as a whole, meaning not only the undergraduate school, but also the seven other graduate schools. Gittleman coordinates with the deans of the seven schools to help institute or to "create and lead" policies with them. The deans of all seven graduate schools report to him. "I hire and fire [and write] performance reviews for the deans," Gittleman said. He evaluates the deans and helps them with their duties but is not in control of the hiring of individual professors. Gittleman remarked that students come up to him with requests for the curriculum but that making those changes is not his job. Instead, it is up to the deans to spend the money allotted to their specific schools and programs. In addition to the seven deans, there are also associate and assistant provosts who work with Gittleman. There are two associate provosts for academic affairs, Mary Lee and Ioannis Miaoulis, and one for research, Peggy Newell, while assistant provost Elizabeth Canny helps with the administrative aspect of Gittleman's job. Gittleman emphasized that the university is "decentralized." Part of his job is to prevent the university from becoming a "silo," where one school has nothing to do with the other schools. At other universities, for example, undergrads are not allowed to use graduate school libraries and graduate students aren't allowed to use undergraduate exercise facilities. But this is not the case at Tufts, where Gittleman works to "keep the hurdles low and the walls thin." "The whole has to be greater than the individual parts," Gittleman said. In the same vein, Gittleman tries to keep the faculty's research agendas from becoming isolated. "We have to keep all the scientists, nutritionists, [everyone] working together across schools," Gittleman said. He coordinates and leads policies with all the schools as well as with individual deans. While several members of the administration report to Gittleman, the provost only reports to one person: President Bacow. And because the president and the provost work together so closely, Gittleman said that it is up to the president to determine what qualities a provost should have. "The provost serves the pleasure of the president. Whatever the president wants in the provost [are the qualities a provost should have]," Gittleman said. Bacow defines the role of a provost for most universities as "the chief academic officer with day-to-day responsibility for leading the academic, as opposed to administrative side, of the University." As the leader of the academic component of the University, Bacow notes the importance of a provost's intellect and ability to manage. "A good provost must command the intellectual respect of the faculty," Bacow said. "He or she must also be a strong administrator who understands how disciplines, fields, and higher education are evolving." In addition to administrative qualities, Bacow also feels that there are some specific personal traits that a provost should have as well. "The provost must be intellectually curious, well-rounded, and well-read," Bacow said. "A sense of humor is also essential." Gittleman is the University's sixth provost and its first humanist. The previous provost was a retired dean of the dental school, and his predecessor was a physicist. According to Gittleman, the position has been very meaningful; through it, he has delved into the intricacies that make up this University. "Tufts is a very complex place for a place that's small," Gittleman said. "There are lots of different issues and different needs, and they all need the same thing: money." Involved with the University since 1964, Gittleman described Tufts as having made "enormous strides in everything." Since undergraduates are only here for four years, they "only get a snapshot" of the entire University, he said. And while Tufts' undergraduate school is, as Gittleman put it, the "heart and soul" of the University, there are other parts of the school of which most undergraduates aren't aware. Gittleman acts as a mediator between the undergraduate School of Arts and Sciences and the graduate schools, and he says the two levels are very different. One basic difference is the students themselves, Gittleman said. "Professional students," as Gittleman called them, have a far different perspective on education than undergraduates because most of them have had work experience. "Their seriousness comes from wanting to be a professional in their field, and they've chosen to come to Tufts," Gittleman said. "They're on the stage of getting on with their lives." He adds that the average Tufts graduate student is 28 years old. It is the management of all schools of the university that make a small school like Tufts multifaceted, and the position of provost complicated. But who can best describe this school than its provost, who sees the whole and all of its parts? "What is the University? The undergrads are the most important part, but there is a complexity to Tufts that people don't understand," Gittleman said. Gittleman emphasizes that graduate students are an integral part of the University, despite the fact that they may not be as visible on campus as undergraduates. "[They are] people of a different age being taught by people with a different agenda," Gittleman said. The new provost will continue to work with each of the schools in the same way Gittleman has, but not quite in the same manner. "Each person will do it a different way," Gittleman said. The president echoed Gittleman's sentiment that University officials' roles are molded by the people taking on those roles. Though there may be another provost, there will never be another provost quite like Gittleman. "Sol is truly one of a kind," Bacow said. "It will be very difficult to fill his shoes. However, each person who performs a job like provost or president tends to remake it in his or her image. I suspect the next provost will do so as well."

The Setonian
News

Secret perfect jobs

March 31

Yes, I am graduating in under two months. No, I don't know where I will be or what I will do. I want to vomit. Only sometimes, of course, do I truly want to vomit. Usually, the impulse toward nausea is over-whelmed by excitement or wonder. For what seems like the first time in my life, the future lies before me, empty, like a blank Etch-A-Sketch, ready for me to sit down and start twisting those knobs, eagerly and anxiously, however my nervous, tingling digits wish. For the most part, I'm thoroughly enjoying this unknowing-ness and, if ever I do feel like blowing chucks, I remind myself how lucky I am to have such an empty canvas before me with which to begin the rest of life. I repeat the mantra "Etch A Sketch, Etch A Sketch" and my desire to hurl subsides. So there you go. I really don't know what I'm going to do after graduation. Really, I don't. So you can stop asking me. Please. Stop. Thank you. I promise you, it's not as if I actually do know, and I'm just keeping it from you. It is not as if I have an absolutely amazing secret future life plan that is just too damned amazing for others' minds to handle. It is not as if I actually did land that job as the traveling zamboni driver with the Bruins, and I'm not telling you because I know you'd be jealous and it would ruin our friendship. It's not that way all, I promise. But, a ha! What if it was? I find myself imagining sometimes - usually at the expense of time I should have spent honing my resume or polishing cover letters - what would happen if I did get that one perfect job? Of course, we know there is no such thing as the one perfect job. In fact, there are many. Our planet features gobs of perfect jobs. Now I just have to land that first interview...Brewer It's not just that I like beer, and that a brewer's primary task in life is to create earth's most lovely elixir from simple yeast and hops. It's also the way the job sounds. Say it. The word: brewer. You know they could have gone with 'beer maker' or even 'beer master.' But no, they went with that single word. Its definition? One who brews. The implication: a human who possesses patience and delicacy, precision and ambition, a generous citizen who uses his chemistry expertise to take advantage of the laws of nature and make a yummy, filling, and alcoholic beverage.CD Organizer One of those things for which you always wish you had time. How often have you told yourself, 'One of these days I am going to re-alphabetize my CD collection!' And yet you never do, because it's boring and time-consuming. Now, imagine it was your job, imagine someone paid you to organize CDs. The actual organization process is probably no fun. But consider how much more pleasant your and everyone else's lives will be when the task of flipping through hundreds of disks every time you want to hear your Sinatra at the Sands no longer exists. Charlton Heston This being Passover and all, I first thought to suggest that most holy of perfect jobs: Moses. How could you beat it? Performing miracles, chattin' it up with the big guy, leading slaves to freedom... But I suppose that would be pretty presumptuous to consider being Moses a job. So instead, why don't we consider being the guy who played the guy. And this way, we can also enjoy the inspiring melodrama-soaked worlds of Planet of the Apes and Ben Hur. Those chariot races look wicked fun.Feng Shui Consultant I'm not exactly sure what Feng Shui is. It has something to do with balance and harmony and where you should place your rug in the living room. And I'm all about harmony and proper rug placement, so sign me up.Walker I like to walk. It's therapeutic and gives you time to think. You stay in shape. I can only imagine how happy I would be, if someone wearing a suit called me one day and said that they want me to join their organization as a professional walker. He would go on, explaining that besides a sizable salary and fine benefits, I would also get business cards. I could walk anywhere I wanted. And wherever I went, I would meet new, interesting people and give them my card which reads in simple bold letters: ROB LOTT, walker. Courier font So I march forward in this, the month before the month in which I graduate, knowing that I know not what the future holds. I am unsure, and it is thrilling.

The Setonian
News

Gubernatorial candidates campaign at Tufts

March 31

With a close Massachusetts gubernatorial election quickly approaching, campaigning is fierce across the state as candidates attempt to scrounge up all available votes. Individual campaign donors are being heavily solicited by each of the eight candidates. Five of the eight candidates have visited Tufts this semester and contributions from Tufts professors and administrators total over $2,500 so far, with more than half of the money going to democratic candidate Robert Reich.Provost Sol Gittleman, who contributed to Reich and Democrat Steven Grossman, says that donating is an individual decision. He stressed that the University has no official view on the election, and that it does not reimburse employee donations."Whatever money I've ever given I've written my own check for," Gittleman said. Tufts' Executive Vice President, Steve Manos, concurred. He says that there are laws preventing schools from actively participating in elections, adding that schools are unlikely to become very involved regardless of any potential legal issues. "There are limits to how much a university could lobby," Manos said "Universities just don't do that."Other candidates receiving donations from Tufts professors include Grossman, deputy governor candidate Lois Pines, and Thomas Birmingham, who attended dinner at Gifford House following President Clinton's speech in March. Contributions toward non-gubernatorial races raise the total donations from individuals associated with Tufts to over $4,000.Along with Gittleman, University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS) Dean Robert Hollister and Vet School Dean Philip Kosch represent Tufts administrators who have made campaign contributions. Kosch supports Romney, who has made balancing the budget without raising taxes or making service cuts a top campaign priority. Kosch and the vet school hope to avoid a $2.8 million state aid cut that was proposed by interim governor Jane Swift in January.Although five gubernatorial candidates have visited Tufts this year, Gittleman sees the visits primarily as attempts to garner move votes, not donor solicitations.But Political Science Department Chair James Glaser doesn't think candidates have a very good chance of netting many votes at universities, particularly those with large out-of-state populations such as Tufts. "It's not like there's a treasure trove of votes here," he said.Tufts Democrats President Sarah Molenkamp agreed. "Obviously there are more votes at U-Mass then there are at Tufts," she said.Glaser believes that most candidates have visited Tufts during the past semester in an effort to find campaign workers. "Students make wonderful staffers," he said. "That's the primary motivation for visiting colleges."In fact, not every candidate that visited Tufts was actively campaigning. While Reich's appearance was strongly linked to his campaign, Molenkamp says that Grossman and Republican candidate Mitt Romney came to Tufts with an "'It's good to be a leader and a hero' kind of [message]." Along with candidate Warren Tolman, Grossman and Romney were guest lecturers at President Emeritus John DiBiaggio's class, Leadership for Active Citizenship. Reich, an economics professor from Brandeis University and former labor secretary under President Clinton, campaigned on campus in January. Along with advisor and Tufts lecturer Michael Goldman, Reich expressed a strong belief in the voting power of students despite obvious voter residency barriers. After a late entry into the race, Reich was campaigning fiercely to get the 15 percent primary voter share he needed to appear in the primary in September. Grossman, whose wife Barbara is Tufts' drama department chair, has visited campus numerous times. He first spoke at the unveiling of the Patches for Peace Sept. 11 memorial last November, advising students to keep open minds and find a "common ground" between different cultures. Grossman returned to speak to DiBiaggio's citizenship class. He lectured on the need to engage more young people in the voting process, with suggestions ranging from Internet ballots to eliminating the "waiting period" between registration and participating in an election. @S:Candidates gathering support for Sept. primaries

The Setonian
News

On the record

March 31

Although the summer has arrived and the majority of Tufts students will take a break from their school commitments, this is not completely the case for the a cappella groups on campus. While the logistical headache of getting people from different ends of the country together to perform on a regular basis prevents most groups from taking on summer gigs, they are all devoting some time to further their group's popularity and repertoire. To begin with, the Jackson Jills, the Beelzebubs and the Amalgamates will all be performing at various senior week events including the Alumni Dinner, Pops and commencement itself. After Senior Week concludes, the Amalgamates will be apart but not dormant. They recently recorded the group parts on their new album, but they are leaving the solos for a later date. The solos can be recorded separately and then combined with the group parts to fill out the remainder of the track. The album will be set for release sometime in the fall. Over the summer some Mates such as production manager Adam Pulver will continue to work on their music. Pulver will practice his own arranging skills and will also organize the group's fall performance schedule. The Jackson Jills recently finished recording their next album, and will be using the summer months to produce it. The final product is due for release early next fall. Sophomore Lauren Lerner, a member of the Jills, said that while the women will not be together as a group over the summer, she and the other singers will be "keeping an ear out for new songs." "We're always looking for cool, fresh new stuff," she said. According to the Beelzebubs music director, junior Travis Marshall, in the days prior to Senior Week, the group spent the time together "relaxing and getting a headstart on next year's repertoire" at the Beelzebubs Founders Cabin on Squam Lake in New Hampshire. After their performances during Senior Week, they will go their separate ways for the summer. Still, several members will continue keeping their vocal chords in shape through the summer months, and have joined up temporarily with regional singing groups. Junior Greg Binstock will be performing with Hyannis Sound, a professional a cappella group from Cape Cod, and Marshall will be singing at churches and weddings over the summer. At the end of the summer the group will meet up before orientation week to prepare music for the O-Show which takes place during orientation. Shir Appeal, Tufts' only coed Jewish a cappella group, will be releasing its third album this coming fall, right about the time when school begins. According to the group's president, senior Steve Sobey, its is currently "finishing up the recording phase." After that, they will be mixing songs, finishing in time to begin production in August. "A lot of hard work has gone into this CD," said Sobey. "It should be our best one yet." Likewise SQ! is also planning to release a CD in the fall and many members pursue musical interests over the summer. "We're mixing for a CD that's coming out in the fall, probably in October or November," SQ! president, junior Dave Rosen said. "Some of us will spend the summer mixing some of our songs in the studio." Essence was unavailable for comment.

The Setonian
News

Off-campus rent reaches new high

March 31

New York City. Los Angeles. But Medford?Apartment prices have skyrocketed over the past few years, a nationwide phenomenon that has not left Medford and Somerville unscathed. Sophomores and juniors scour the neighborhoods surrounding Tufts for affordable housing each spring, an annual rite of passage that has become more daunting as rent prices reach all-time highs. Many students look to the offices of Off-Campus Housing (OCH) and Residential Life for guidance, with mixed success. As Acting Director of Residential Life Lorraine Toppi explains, the service acts more as a guidance counselor than as a real estate agent for students. Her staff offers advice and acts as "substitute parents," but is unable to assist much beyond these roles. With the clock ticking, and the housing lottery postponed until March, many students point to the OCH website as evidence that ResLife has had trouble changing with the times. Sophomore Kapil Dargan has been rigorously searching for junior-year housing. His quest began with ResLife, but he was not satisfied with the assistance he received. "We went to ResLife and they pretty much directed us to the [OCH] website, which we had already seen," Dargan said. "It was not helpful because it was not up-to-date. We were pretty much on our own." According to ResLife staff, the site is temporarily being run by students, and has therefore not been updated since last spring. Although the site does not include up-to-date statistics, OCH has not seen a stark contrast in rent prices since last year. However, even without OCH assistance, it is easy to see that prices for housing have gone up considerably. Dargan bemoans the fact that the monthly rent for a potential apartment on nearby Whitfield Avenue has risen from $450 to $550 to $600 in the last three years. According to current renters, these statistics are not the exception. In recent years, such price increases have become the rule. Comparing statistics from the OCH website finds that the average monthly price per bedroom has risen less than $100 between May 2000 and Feb. 2001. Monthly rent for one-bedroom apartments then shot up $332 per month to a record-breaking $1213 in 2001. In addition, all other-sized apartments made leaps between 2000 and 2001, including a rise in two bedroom apartments from $584 to $714 per month. Houses with the greatest number of rooms remained the least expensive per person, with five bedroom houses scraping by for $550 per bedroom. This was still a significant increase from the year before, when the same rooms averaged $473. A large increase in property values may be to blame for some of the recent price hikes. Such increases effectively mean higher taxes for landlords and higher rents for their tenants. But both the Medford and Somerville tax assessors' offices have cited little increase in taxes or property values around the University, although there has been a slight upward change since last year. In Medford, the office could only quote a tax change in the past year due to a previous revaluation. The average yearly tax rose very slightly, from $1252 to $1285. But several local landlords say higher taxes contributed most to rising rents. Despite the reports from Medford and Somerville tax assessors' offices, most landlords say their taxes have risen considerably in the past few years. Additionally, property insurance has always made local apartments more expensive, since students are considered a greater liability than normal tenants are. This cost, although valid, has not risen recently. Another possibility for rent increases is the monopoly among a handful of landlords who can price-fix once they have knocked out competition. But a monopoly in this market would be very difficult, explain several landlords. With land values already so expensive, buying a huge chunk of the market is simply impossible for most people, since they cannot afford the associated 20 percent up-front cost. One final cost that landlords must endure is what is known as "residential exemption," where landlords that physically live in Somerville have a leg-up on those who simply rent homes there. Somerville landlords get a tax credit valued at $1,164 for living in the town; landlords from other towns must pay full taxes. This increases their costs, which are passed along to renters through higher rent prices. In the midst of large hikes, there are still a few landlords who claim they have not changed their rents in several years. They are pleased with their customers, saying that they pay on time and in full, and are good about general upkeep. But this constancy is the exception. Most local landlords say they have needed to raise prices significantly several times during recent years. These hikes seem to be coming from previous property reevaluations and higher tax rates, which are only now being reflected in current rent prices. And while students may be able to receive some help from OCH, they will need to do much more solo work to find current housing availability and reasonable rent prices.

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Noticing Louie

March 31

Many years from now, let's say ten, I will look back on myself - or rather, my self of today which I imagine will be considerably different from my self one decade hence - and I will laugh. I will forget about all my crazy future clothes, wacky future gadgets, and sexy future wives just for a moment to reflect as a 32 year-old person on my na??ve 22 year-old self of years past, and I will laugh. Or at the very least chuckle.That laughter will not arise out of scorn or pity or because some super future robot is tickling my feet. I will laugh a knowing laugh, at the memory of a dude who thought he knew exactly what was up in the world, who had that college degree just about set and tucked under his brown and blue belt, when, in reality, there was still so much more to learn. But of course, I should stop mid-column, right now, and ask myself, the very same question you probably have floating around your brain: what the heck am I talking about? You are right. That wasn't an especially appropriate way to start a column for the Arts and Entertainment page of the Tufts Daily, even one couched in popcorn philosophy and fortune cookie aphorisms. So let me start again, and maybe if I have time, I'll go back to the future...Isn't it funny that the Kingsmen's song "Louie Louie" is so recognizable by so many people and yet so very few actually know any of its lyrics? I know I am not alone when I give the tune my amateur's rendition: "Eh Louie Louie, Oh No, You got the doobie do! Oh baby where we go! Never ahh baby, wake up girl our arms' nothin' and now yeah yeah yeah, oh baby Louie Louie where we go!" There must be something more. Something embedded deep deep below the surface of words and instrumentation that speaks to listeners' subconscious and makes them want to sing loudly and obnoxiously along with the tune in such a mumbling bumbling muttered kind of abandoned way. What triggers that? You might say it's the innate pull of our collective unconscious drawing us powerfully to repeat the undecipherable syllables, just as the generation before us surely did. You might say it is the inherent human desire to return to the nonsensical baby-talk vocabulary of our first years, a sort return to the linguistic womb. You might even give it an existential twist and suggest that the song's abrupt meaninglessness rings as an anthem to the untamable current of emptiness that flows ceaselessly through our lives. Of course, that would be awfully depressing, and nobody likes a party pooper, so let's just say the phenomenon exists beyond the realm of reason. In fact, let's just say it exists. That should be enough, no? To note that something exists is quite an achievement in itself. Franklin did it with electricity, Newton did it with gravity, and Jerry Lewis did it with the French population's sense of humor. That is: they didn't explain something, or invent something, they just acknowledged the presence of certain natural occurrences that happened all the time but, until that very moment - Eureka! - simply weren't noticed.As four years of something (your undergraduate experience, for example) come to an end, it seems reasonable to twist one's neck, glance around, look back, and attempt to notice the stuff that one's been missing all along. That could be the vivid pink and white trees flowering right outside your window. That could be the surprising deliciousness of Dewick's Jamaican Jerk Chicken. Or it could be the odd mole on your best friend's cheek that suddenly resembles in shape the state of Idaho. Whatever. The point? Notice, notice, notice.If you try this conscious noticing of details and apply it to a period of time that has past, you might just experience a sort of revelation in which time feels, well, simply different. It's a Madeleine L'Engle novel or Robert Zemeckis trilogy. It's watching Nick at Night during the day. Essentially, that time which seems to have flown by with the speed of a ravenous cheetah will slow down and settle upon your shoulders like a soft quilt cozy with the dampness of autumn. You will notice the details that comprised your self four years ago and then you will place them next to those details of four weeks ago. And suddenly what felt like just a day, and what was actually 4 years, will now take on the import of eons. Could that have been me?!?! Basically, it seems as if whole universes have formed and entire species have evolved and then become extinct in the time it took me to experience 8 semesters of higher learning.And that's when it hit. I was looking back as a 22 year-old laughing knowingly at my young goofy-looking 18 year-old self. Then, as if I was in some cave, where echoes rang infinitely and deafeningly against rough time-worn walls, I heard many other laughs: those of my 18 year-old self reflecting on my 13 year-old self, those of my 32 year-old self reflecting on my present 22 year-old self, and - I hope! - those of my 75 year-old self reflecting on my 5 year-old self. It was a nice cave for it was filled with laughter, a delicate human sound tinged with an awareness, an understanding that we change and grow forever, twisted and random as it may be. Consciousness, simply taking note, a momentary yet fantastic acknowledgement of that inevitable and unending change is all you can possess. Explain that change? Plot it, predict it? Yeah right, you'd have better luck deciphering what exactly it was those crazy Kingsmen were shouting at good old Louie.

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Forgiven

March 31

It's a Friday night and you just hooked up with someone in your room. She runs back to her friends after the sex-capade to dish the dirty about you and brag about what you two just did. Sound scandalous? Of course not. It happens on campuses across the country every night. Now change the scenario a little: you are a married president of the United States of America and an over-zealous intern is the girl you're fooling around with. Now change the friends to a "friend" who just happens to be taping your entire conversation to play for the media at a later date. Sound familiar now? Unless you were living under a rock in the Himalayas, you should recognize the story of former President William Jefferson Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky. According to some students, the scandal will follow Clinton in all of his future endeavors, including his upcoming speech at Tufts. But despite memories of cigars and blue GAP dresses, these students are, for the most part, eagerly anticipating hearing from someone whom they consider to have been an exceptional president. The scandal remains, but it seems to have become irrelevant. "I feel as though there are so many other presidents that have done awful things and haven't had their lives ruined by them," junior Aditi Gupta said. "Why should [Clinton] have?" Junior Austin Tracy is excited to hear the Clinton lecture, and views him as a celebrity as much for his intellect as for his eventful presidency. "Though I might not be fond of his politics or behavior, [Clinton] has legitimate claims on being able to discuss globalization and will be able to foster a nice discussion," she said. The University announced last Thursday that the former President would be speaking at Tufts as a part of the Issam M. Fares lecture series. The lecture, which will focus on globalization in the coming century, has traditionally focused on issues related to the Middle East. The lecture series was established by Issam M. Fares, a former Tufts trustee and deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon. As the news spread across campus, many students wondered how to react to the news of Clinton's planned trip. The reverberations of his connection with Ms. Lewinsky and his perjury under oath have left many students with ambiguous feelings towards the former president. "I still think that he was a good president," junior Leela Nayak said. "I also am of the opinion that what he does in his personal life is nobody's business." Sophomore Rehka Gavini said that the scandal was over-rated and should not have mattered as much as it did. "What he did was completely wrong, but I hated the way that the media had a field day with it," Gupta agreed. Sophomore Nicole Bourgoin commented that Clinton's White House scandals were no more heinous than the scandals of his predecessors. Bourgoin hopes that despite the media frenzy surrounding the Lewinsky affair, students will give Clinton the respect that he deserves as a former president. "Clinton's scandal had nothing to do with him as a president," Bourgoin said. "JFK and Marilyn Monroe had an affair. The public knew, but respected the office of president. I feel that the media was very irresponsible in hounding him and that he did a good job as president regardless."Junior Lucretia Hoffman says that her opinion of Clinton has not changed since he left the White House. "I think he could have handled some things differently and some of the US foreign policies that were implemented during his presidency were terrible," Hoffman said. "But overall, he was a pretty good president - charismatic, intelligent, down to earth and human - the characteristics that that tend to make good presidents." Saying that the former president ignored ethical and moral practices, junior Daniel Rosenberg quoted comic Chris Rock when he said that "many people underestimate the pressure of the Oval Office, and hence condemn a man for doing what they all wish they could do." Junior Bridget Fay acknowledged that her feelings towards Clinton are slightly biased because she is a republican, but said that his behavior in the White House suggested a dignity below that which should be expected of a Tufts speaker."People here have more integrity than Clinton showed when he put himself above morality in the proceedings," Fay said. "I don't think it's appropriate that he speak here."Still, Tracy added that he believes Clinton is the poster child for "the political animal," and the sex scandal is not the only occasion in which Clinton used questionable tactics."I think everything he's done for a good part of his life was to garner some votes or percentage in the polls," Tracy said. "...Not out of a moral conviction or to do what is right for this country or the world." Many students who complained that tickets for last week's Gore event were unfairly distributed are now concerned about how Clinton tickets will be handled."I want to see him when he comes," Nayak said. She added that she hopes the rush for tickets does not get in her way.

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Garth Fagan Dance comes to Boston

March 31

Thirty-one years ago, choreographer Garth Fagan created the dance company that bears his name. Since then, he has worked as a professor at the State University of New York and choreographed the Broadway rendition of The Lion King. Yet even with this schedule, he makes a point of attending every show that his company puts on - an unusual feat for a world-famous choreographer. At the same time, Fagan fosters an independence within the dancers, making their movements feel like spontaneous creations rather than carefully-planned sequences, with motions thought up only moments before. Garth Fagan Dance performed this past weekend at the Emerson Majestic Theatre, a beautiful remnant of art-deco architecture. The elegance of the ornate columns was a perfect counterpoint to the dancers' natural grace. This effect was seen especially well in In Memoriam: The Innocent, The Brave, The Hands, The Minds...All Mankind a dance dedicated to the victims and survivors of Sept. 11. Instead of taking the path that many have chosen, and reliving the sorrow and ache of the terrorist attacks, Fagan chooses to express life's inherent beauty. The dancers are clad in pastel blues and greens and softly lit with similar colors. Their loose, billowy clothing fits perfectly with their smooth, organic motions. The piece flows smoothly, and the overall effect is one of immense calmness. Watching In Memoriam is like bathing in a fresh spring pool - it makes you feel completely refreshed, with an entirely new outlook on life. Fagan shows his influences marvelously well, without conforming to any one stereotype. He clearly enjoys a very structured stage presence, without appearing to have done so methodically. The dancers are often arranged in easily recognizable geometric patterns, very similar to those employed in ballet. Unlike ballet, however, the dancers all have a personal freedom that makes the audience recognize each of them as a unique individual. In the most intimate piece performed, titled "Come Forever," dancers Norwood Pennewell and Natalie Rogers drew in the audience with their touching romance. It is lighthearted and amusing, but treats the issue of love with a seriousness that brings it home for the audience. At times this is almost comedic, eliciting laughs from those watching with its clever sexual metaphors; yet in the end it shows the lasting power of true love. It also serves to illustrate a point later reiterated by dancer Bill Ferguson: "he [Garth Fagan] knows the power of having the dancers connect with audience." This is just as key in dance as in any art - the viewer will not enjoy himself unless he can sympathize with the events occurring. There needs to be real human interaction. Throughout the performance, Fagan's choreography toys with the divide between the sexes. While not necessarily employing stereotypes, he makes sure the audience recognizes the differences between male and female. The men dress differently than the women, wearing pants and collared shirts instead of dresses. In "Music of the Line/Words of the Shape," the stage is first occupied by women. When the men come on, the tempo and the style dance change. No overt comments are made, other than to show that there are irrefutable dissimilarities. It is an interesting stance, as many choreographers attempt to blur the line between what defines a man and what defines a woman. Fagan makes no attempt to steal the praise of the audience away from the dancers in his brief appearance at the end of the show. Instead, he simply takes a bow and exits, surrounded by thunderous applause. Overall, Garth Fagan Dance put on a masterful performance, and anyone who would like to witness ground-breaking modern dance should go experience it. Uninitiated viewers beware - this is real art, and not something to be taken lightly. The allusions are at times deeply buried within complex metaphors. Anyone who does not have some familiarity with dance other than The Nutcracker should bring a friend who does, or you may miss many important aspects of the performance. But it must be said that, like listening to a film in a language one does not understand, there is still great beauty, even if you don't not understand the presentation word for word.

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Search for Asian American Studies professor will soon be underway

March 31

A group of faculty members will meet on April 8 to discuss the formation of a search committee to hire a full-time, tenure-track Asian American Studies professor for the fall semester of 2003. The development, which follows last month's Arts and Sciences authorization of the hire, marks a significant step for those lobbying to improve Tufts' Asian American Studies curriculum. Dean of Arts and Sciences Susan Ernst will preside over the meeting. Ernst will not likely be intimately involved in the search but will have to approve the committee's ultimate decision. American Studies Chair Frances Chew and Acting English Chair John Fyler, integral players in drafting the proposal for the position, will attend next Monday's meeting. The new position - which falls under both departments - was granted under the Faculty Diversity Initiative, a program that brings in two hires each year to diversify the curriculum. Fyler has participated in similar searches in the past, and said he foresees a typical selection process for this committee. "It's a little more complicated for this joint appointment because we have to carefully lay out specific ground rules, designated and approved by each department," Fyler said. "It shouldn't be too much of a problem, though, because we all get along." Candidates will be solicited at an annual Modern Language Association (MLA) convention. Prior to the convention, the English Department will place advertisements in the MLA newsletter/handbook. The initial application process requires each candidate to submit recommendations and writing samples. After the preliminary meetings have been conducted at the convention, the pool will be narrowed to eight to ten candidates. Faculty members will then conduct 30-minute interviews with each applicant, after which two or three candidates will be identified. They will then visit the campus and possible deliver an informal talk. Department members then vote on the final decision, pending the approval of Ernst's office. This lengthy process was initiated during the fall semester, when Fyler and Chew composed a proposal for a tenure track professor of Asian American Studies. In the past, Professors Elizabeth Ammons, Modhumita Roy, and Virginia Brereton, and administrator Jean Wu have been an the forefront of the initiative to strengthen the Asian American Studies curriculum. Their attention helped thrust the proposal into the spotlight. The proposal was chosen from several others for the Faculty Diversity Initiative. The University publicly announced the choice during a visit by University of California at Berkeley Professor Ron Takaki, who lectured at Tufts last month. Takaki, who was instrumental in creating an American Studies requirement at Berkeley, announced the new position to students and faculty in attendance at the end of his speech. Some have said the position is a considerable accomplishment following the several months of intense lobbying from faculty and fervent students wishing to improve the depth of Tufts' Asian American Studies options. Last summer, the Asian American Curricular Transformation Project, comprised of 15 faculty members and one student, met to work on modifying the existing American Studies curriculum to incorporate more Asian American content. The absence of Asian American, Latino, and Native American programs was cited in the 1997 Task Force Report on Race, implemented by President Emeritus John DiBiaggio. Currently, the College of Liberal Arts offers only two classes in Asian American studies, including an literature course taught by Ruth Hsiao for the past 20 years which hasinspired many students to vouch for the expansive curriculum.

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Senate absences high, student interest in serving low

March 31

Members of the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate recorded over 80 meeting absences this year, with some senators having missed over half of their sessions. But many senators, including outgoing TCU President Eric Greenberg, do not see absenteeism as an issue, calling it "standard fare". The absence rate this year, while high, was not staggeringly different from that of other years, according to Greenberg. "You have to realize that a lot of senators have lives outside of Senate," he said. Nine current senators are resigning from the body. At a major budget meeting two weeks ago, the Senate was barely able to maintain a quorum - the minimum number of senators needed to conduct business. Former senator Pritesh Gandhi, who resigned earlier in the year, said the poor attendance was a reflection of attitudes as a whole this year. "I couldn't remember last year when we didn't have a quorum," said Gandhi, who feels the lack of leadership by the executive board allows senators to get away with missing too many meetings. "I tried from day one to [get work done], but I felt the support system just wasn't there." The poor meeting attendance may be part of a larger trend of student apathy about student government. For the past two springs, elections for new senators have not had to be held because no seats have been contested. Just three students will represent the class of 2004, after six served on the senate this year and seven seats are traditionally given to each class. Many senators cited longer, less interesting meetings this year as other possible factors in the low turnout. Senate meetings, usually held Sunday evenings, often lasted over three hours this year. During Larry Harris' presidency two years ago, meetings often lasted five to six hours, which turned off prospective senators, Greenberg said. But last year's shorter meetings "left many people unfulfilled," he said. Although he admitted that the meetings this year were not always interesting, Greenberg said they were in "no way a waste of time." Other senators, such as presidential candidate Melissa Carson, agree with Greenberg's assessment. "Long meetings are very frustrating for people, but the really short meetings are equally frustrating because people are just going through the motions and that just a waste of time," Carson said. But others say it was Senate leadership this year, and not the length of meetings, that caused poor attendance. Presidential candidate Alison Clarke said the lack of an agenda for meetings this year made them unproductive. Though Clarke was not a senator this year, she attended every meeting as part of her job as TCU Judiciary vice chair. She says the agenda should also be advertised on campus to attract more students. While Carson attributes attendance problems to senator's personal issues outside the body, Clarke faults the executive board for not setting an example for others. Senators "need to feel more of a sense of responsibility towards the student body," she said. While senators as a whole say they see meetings as important, many are frustrated with the way they are run. Resigning senator Ed Schwehm said that much of the work senators do outside of meetings involves talking with administrators and rarely revisiting anything done in the meeting. Assistant Treasurer Nik Abraham, who is also resigning, agreed with Schwehm's assessment. "Most people lose sight of the fact that when most of the things we vote on are Allocation Board requests, what you have left is a lobbying group of the administration," Abraham said. One positive aspect of this year's meetings, many say, is the expansion of the open forum period at the beginning, when any student can speak. The open forum has been used this year to argue University sexual harassment policies and debate Tufts' role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Senator Gautam Kitchlu said that although "all the main work is done in committees," the meetings are still "very important for the community at large to come and talk to the Senate."

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Culture groups plan trustee 'exchange'

March 31

Hoping to share their views with University trustees on a host of issues, a number of students are planning to attend the trustee luncheon at Dewick-MacPhie dining hall on Saturday, sources told the Daily last night. The state of diversity at Tufts is among the topics students hope to address. Representatives from campus culture groups are among the students who say they are hopeful that they will be given an opportunity to interact with trustees on an individual basis. The Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) is one such group that hopes to take advantage of the luncheon. "We want to press our concerns," ALAS President Jennifer Barrios said. She described the planned event as an "attendance," not as a rally or protest. "I am sure everybody has something to say about Tufts, positive or negative," Barrios said. "The trustees are having an open luncheon at Dewick at 12 noon - people are going to show up," Trustee Representative Tommy Calvert said. "I think probably groups are going, but it's not necessarily a coordinated effort." However, some culture groups on campus have said that they are not planning on going to the luncheon, including the Asian Community at Tufts (ACT), the Tufts Feminist Alliance (TFA), and the Tufts Transgender Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Collective (TTLGBC). Many groups said they had heard only recently that the trustees will be in Dewick on Saturday. "We are interested, however, at this point in time, no one is officially going to be representing ACT," ACT co-president Uyen Tang told the Daily last night. The luncheon comes amidst heightening tensions at the University, after The Primary Source accused former Pan-African Alliance (PAA) President Carl Jackson of stealing "at least one print run" of the conservative campus publication last semester. Many students - and a number of culture groups - have complained that the Source's content is unnecessarily offensive, and some have even accused it of racism. Source Editor-in-chief Sam Dangremond has reported the thefts to the police and called for the PAA to apologize for its alleged actions. Breaking from the traditional meeting-laden event, University president Larry Bacow has invited the trustees spend much of their timing touring Tufts' facilities and interacting with students. The 27 attending trustees will tour the Tufts campus this weekend in an attempt to better identify student concerns and reacquaint themselves with the undergraduate experience

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Parenting your parents

March 31

The most important thing in my Tufts office is not a book or a journal article. It's not the letter from the Dean congratulating me for winning a research fellowship. It's not the treacherously high pile of papers I still have to grade, the CDs that will get me through the task, or even one of the precious drawings by my five year old and ten year old that cover my walls. Rather, the most essential thing in my office is the humble box of Kleenex that I keep on the corner of my desk, ready to hand to my students. I run through a box of 200 tissues every six weeks or so. Maurizia (like all the other names here, a pseudonym) used a good quarter-box last December, when her ongoing struggle with anorexia began to eclipse her capacity to finish the fall term. Caitlin used up her share over the course of a three-year crusade to convince her parents that she shouldn't go to law school. Helga, a student from a former Soviet republic, failed to hold back the tears when she came to tell me that her husband, a war journalist, had been unreachable for several weeks - and then again when a hospital worker called to say that he'd been seriously injured by a bomb. As always, the Kleenex was there. The boys sometimes cry, too, though they of course have been trained in stoicism. Jose dropped in half a dozen times or more, each time to announce that he wasn't coming to my class because he no longer cared about anything at all and so was going to drop out of school and drift. Jose is still here. But Friedrich is not: Last September he suffered a psychotic episode so horrific that it's unclear whether he'll ever recover sufficiently enough to return. And then there's Anthony, who was so ashamed of how much help he needed from me during the fall that he could barely speak when I finally insisted that he check in with me in March. For every Helga or Anthony there are five or six other students who are simply overwhelmed by the volatile combination of freedom and responsibility that comes with being a college student, especially these days. Some students - for example, those whose parents are intent on their going to a particular kind of professional school - find precious little freedom in the mix. For them, copping a C-minus in Organic Chemistry or a pre-law class feels like being diagnosed with a terminal disease; only worse, since life in fact will go on. However, I've found that things are often even harder for those students whose destinies are left in their own hands. These students still feel the weight of their parents' hopes and dreams, especially in the wake of their Mom and Dad's respect and generosity. They still feel the burden of the sheer amount of money that is being forked over to pay for something which they can't quite imagine will add up to a genuine education. I hardly know what to say to the anxious parent who calls - with increasing frequency, nowadays - wanting to know why his or her child should major in philosophy, the discipline in which I teach. My best answer is: because it interests and engages them. But of course, this fact is besides the point for any parent who would ask the question. And it would be horrid of me to add, although I'm often tempted to: your fear that he or she will not be able to convert a college education into a secure future is more than your child can bear. I need to replenish my box of tissues more often each spring, as one graduating senior after the next files into my office paralyzed by the question, "What next?" I spend a good deal of time during these months helping students live with the answer, "Who knows?" The successful pre-med or public policy-bound student is often the envy of the majority of seniors, who have arrived at the brink of independent adulthood with little sense of how to survey, let alone conquer, their new terrain. But what these students tend not to realize is that their assumption about the 22-year-old pre-lawyer or pre-Psychology professor that has seemingly already staked out a claim on life, is flawed. Many of these apparently more settled students, I have found, simply have yet to arrive at a crossroads in deciding their fate. Ordinarily, when the Kleenex is put into service in my office, it turns out that what is at the heart of a student's distress is a fear of disappointing his or her parents. When this happens, I sometimes tell my students about my own confusion upon graduating from college, a confusion that didn't really dissipate until well after I enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Philosophy at nearly 30 years old. More often, I recall what my dissertation advisor said to me right before my first child was born: "Now you have to learn to look under the bed and pretend that you're sure that there are no monsters there." Our vision of what the world could do to our children is a kind of monster, one that we parents may be unable to exorcise on our own. So a good part of my job is helping my students figure out how to parent their parents: to acknowledge their parents' fear and then bring themselves to look under the bed and offer reassurance that there's nothing threatening there. I watched Maurizia, the anorexic student, do this last fall, when she called her parents from my office phone, trying to gather strength by gripping my hand. "Daddy," she said. "I need to come home now. I'm sick. I can't get better by myself. I need you to help me and to love me just as I am, right now, no matter what happens." And then, having let herself be scared, she was calm. "Daddy," she said. "I love you. I know what I need to do. I'm going to be okay."Nancy Bauer is an assistant professor of philosophy. She was awarded Professor of the Year this year by the Tufts Community Union Senate.

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Explorations applications drop by more than half

March 31

Explorations, an advising program for incoming freshmen, may suffer a significant decrease in class offerings next year. With the original deadline having passed, the number of applications to teach classes in the 30-year-old program has dropped by more than half with no explanation. Explorations seminars are credit-bearing classes that are led and designed by a team of undergraduates and supported by a faculty advisor. The Experimental College, which runs the program, has been able to offer between 15 and 17 seminars in past years, but this year the college has received only six completed applications- a number that could drastically impact the advising options available for next year's freshmen. According to Dean of Advising Chris Nwabeke, unless more students apply to teach seminars, the low number will simply result in fewer opportunities for entering freshmen to experience a unique University program. The original deadline was March 15, but the Ex College is now willing to negotiate extensions for applications. "The Explorations program exposes first-year students to a new way of thinking about issues," Nwabeke said. "[It] affords them the opportunity for bonding and for learning how to adjust smoothly into the academic community at Tufts, and provides them peer instructors who serve as role models." Ex College Director Robyn Gittleman said she is baffled by the drop in applications. "The Exploration proposals that we have gotten are as good as any we have had before so I know there are students who have the potential to teach a great Exploration," Gittleman said. "For a school with many activist students, it is surprising that so few have taken advantage of this opportunity... for both themselves and the new students." Receiving thousands of requests each year from entering freshmen for spots in less than 20 seminars, Explorations is the most popular advising program today. Even in its first year, the Ex College had to turn away students who wanted to enroll because the program lacked space. "Students who were in an Exploration know how important and special the program is as an introduction to both academic and extra-curricular college life," Gittleman said. "Although teaching is not easy, it is very rewarding. It can be a real capstone experience, something students will remember as their best Tufts experience many years after they have graduated." Both Gittleman and Nwabeke said they would be as flexible as necessary in trying to influence more students to apply. "We will continue to solicit and encourage upperclassmen to serve as instructors, educate them about the benefits of the program to first-year students and to the University," Nwabeke said. Saying that teaching is another form of learning, Gittleman thinks that student leaders find the program a rewarding opportunity to explore subjects of their own interest. Senior Sarah Molenkamp, who co-taught "Perceptions of American Politics" in the Explorations program last semester, called the experience one of the best in her life and said she would recommend other students to the program. "I learned a lot doing it, I met a lot of really cool people, I got to have a relationship with the freshmen I never would have had otherwise and I grew a lot during the process," she said. Molenkamp said she could not understand the drop in applications. Since 1972 Explorations seminars have focused on topics ranging from "The Vietnam War in Film" and "Bioethics" to "Boston Basics" and "Harry Potter." Perspectives, a similar program with more of a structure, has received 16 applications- a number on par with previous years.

The Setonian
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Spur to action; finding myself at Tufts

March 31

Two weeks ago, Abercrombie and Fitch pulled a line of men's graphic t-shirts that depict derogatory Asian American images from their shelves. One of the shirts is called the "Wong Brothers Laundry," depicts the slogan, "Two Wongs Can Make it White," and caricatures of Asian men in triangle hats and squinty eyes. This shirt makes fun of the humiliation that Asian male immigrants endured in the late 1880s when few other jobs were available to them due to racism. It carries with it the same pain as images of the "happy black slave." It is unacceptable, especially for a mainstream "American" clothing company, to propagate stereotypes that reach back hundreds of years. Abercrombie's audacity to produce and sell these racist T-shirts perpetuates the notion that stereotyping is fashionable and acceptable. The caricatures of Chinese laundrymen on the Wong Brothers T-shirt belittles and commodifies the history of the Asian American community, which is a footnoted history which most Americans do not know. We cannot stand by and "laugh this off," when these same stereotypes on the shirts are the rationale behind a spray painted swastika or hate crime murder. For those who think that the Civil Rights Movement got rid of discrimination, we just have to look at the second tragedy of the backlash against Arab Americans after the Sept. 11 attack. The society into which we step after graduation continues to be mired in discriminatory attitudes although racism is now more covert and festers under political correctness. Without a good understanding and knowledge of Asian-American history from textbooks or classes, many Americans encounter Asian-American culture through the images that mainstream companies carelessly spread. Similar to stereotypical images of the Japanese during World War II, the images on the Abercrombie T-shirts encourage a misunderstanding of Asian Americans. These attitudes will continue to exist and perpetuate unless we can better prepare ourselves to examine and create a diverse community. My experience at Tufts has allowed me to explore and critically think about community building. The recent victory of the Asian-American Curriculum Transformation (AACT) project in establishing a tenure-track position in Asian American literature in the English department demonstrates Tufts' first steps in promoting the importance of academic diversity as well as diversity in student life. Many colleges have not been able to successfully establish Asian-American studies programs, so I must commend Tufts for including the student initiative into the vision of Tufts and planting this seed. When I came to Tufts from Missouri, I remember being shocked at the unfamiliar experience of being around so many Asian students. Growing up, the only place I saw Asians my own age were 20 other students at school - and in the mirror. I had never seen a true reflection of myself until I had the opportunity to take Asian-American Issues (AS 91) taught by Professor Jean Wu. The Asian-American contributions and history I learned made me realize that there was a gaping hole in my education and identity. The most profound aspect of the class, however, was that while we were studying about Asian Americans, we were actually looking at the intersections of Asian, Latina/o, African, White, and Native Americans who all significantly shaped America. The lack of information about these groups does these pioneers a grave injustice and keeps students misinformed about their American heritage. This year, AACT, with the help of a coalition of allies and 1,300 signatures from students and faculty, has demonstrated that Asian-American studies is not just an "identity search" for only Asian Americans, but that it is a concern and priority for students of all backgrounds and interests. Tufts must continue to broaden curriculum to reflect the experiences of its diverse student body; as individuals we can start to educate and be sensitive to each other every day by stopping ignorance when we see it in our friends, neighbors, and communities. As a straight ally to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered (LGBT) community, I have experienced the power of challenging expectations to advocate for a group in which I have no membership. As some of the flyers on campus have said, "Who will be left to defend you if you don't defend others?" Discrimination does not only affect certain populations, it affects all of us. I encourage the Tufts community to lead by example by promoting diversity and ethnic American studies, to exemplify the values and education that attracted us here in the first place. I believe that silence is the absence of freedom. Education is empowerment. I would like to thank the students that have worked side by side with me on AACT. Your passion, support, and commitment to make Tufts an even better place has enriched my college experience; and I leave with renewed hope and optimism for the future of Tufts and America.Felicia Chao is a senior graduating with a degree in Psychology. If you would like to find out more information on the Abercrombie & Fitch effort, please go to www.boycottaf.com.@s:Chao discusses diversity

The Setonian
News

Majors fair leaves many undecided

March 31

For many sophomores, the next two weeks are crucial for narrowing down the list of 40-plus possible majors to the one that will appear on future resumes. One avenue for assistance was last week's majors fair in the Campus Center, designed after a poll last year indicated that 30 percent of students surveyed decided on their academic concentration based on conversations with upperclassmen. Many students, however, did not take advantage of the week-long fair. Most were not aware that a majors fair was taking place, mostly due to the lack of advertising and exposure. "The response was non-existent for the time I was there," senior Leah Friedberg said. "I think the intended function is great, however, nobody took advantage of the opportunity." Friedberg was one of many seniors who volunteered their time to inform underclassmen about the ups and downs of various majors. The lack of attendance might be due to the fact that many sophomores are given alternate avenues to explore future majors. Almost every major has specific events to help sophomores meet professors and talk with seniors. As a result, the majors fair seemed more appropriate for freshman trying to get an idea of what they might start concentrating on next year. Friedberg suggested that the fair should be a mandatory component of freshmen orientation week. Another suggestion was to have the fair in the dining halls, with a more festive atmosphere. Jenny Fisher, another senior volunteer, says that the fair should be more of a "fun, interactive experience," and that there should be more of an advertising effort. Career Services assistant Nicole Anderson, who organized the fair, agrees that the interest in the event was not that great this year. She would consider changing the location and the time of year the fair takes place. Anderson is open to the idea of having the fair during orientation week, and welcomes any constructive criticism about improvements. "Based on the responses from the students who I talked to, students were really relieved and less stressed out by talking with us," Anderson said. "In my opinion, I did not get to reach out to as many students as I would have liked." The students that did attend, however, left with new insight. Sophomore Ben Hsu, a probable bio-psychology major, says that after he spoke with seniors at the biology table he had a better idea of which professors specialize in each subject. He thought the majors fair was successful. According to Anderson, students should avoid rushing to major in subjects they're not excited about. She advises students to decide their majors based on what they are really excited to study. "If you feel like you have to major in biology in order to go to medical school, but at the same time do not like biology, then you will not get a good GPA, you will not enjoy college, and ultimately, you may not get accepted to medical school," Anderson said. According to Anderson, the structure of the majors, where undecided students can pick the brains of established majors, is successful. "Developmentally, it makes sense to talk with peers first and build your confidence," she said. Anderson added that the majors fair was designed to help students get over the intimidation of walking into a department and asking questions like, "Which classes require the most reading?" and "How do I double major and study abroad?"

The Setonian
News

Coach Fowler

March 31

After thinking it over last night, I have decided that I want to give up writing for The Tufts Daily, and instead enter a new line of work at the University. I believe that it is my destiny to serve as a head coach of some sport, any sport, at my alma mater. In other words, I think that I should be the first student coach of a varsity sport in the history of Tufts (at least as far as I know). The following is a list of five reasons why Mr. Bill Gehling, the Athletic Director, should hire me.1. I have an unblemished coaching record. During my senior year of high school, as I have mentioned in other columns, I gave up running track to pursue other fields of interest such as partying. But don't think that all I did during twelfth grade was drink, because that would be completely inaccurate. It was during my senior year that I debuted as head coach of my brother's fourth grade recreation basketball team. In the first game we were down by six with 20 seconds to go. Somehow we managed to pull through and win that game and then we went on to win our next eight games and the league championship. Our greatest triumph came in the season's eighth game, a battle between squads with perfect records. We dominated the showdown and the opposing coach, a sore loser, protested the outcome because he felt the ball was unsuitable for his team to play with. He lost. Obviously, following the perfect season I had to abort my coaching career to go to college (big mistake). But nevertheless, my career record is unblemished. It's not often that a Division III university has the opportunity to hire an undefeated coach with big game experience.2. In recent years many members of the media have gone into coaching and excelled. Bob Brenly, formerly a professional baseball player, served as the Arizona Diamondbacks' broadcaster for a number of years before being hired to guide the club. Though he had no prior experience as a manager, Brenly turned out to be the perfect choice - he led the Diamondbacks to their first World Series title last November. Similarly, Larry Dierker, a former pitcher and broadcaster for the Houston Astros, also had no managerial experience when he was hired out of the booth to lead the Astros. Dierker went on to win four division titles. Clearly, it is the new trend to hire former athletes with no big time coaching experience to guide the teams that they covered as members of the media. I meet all three criteria, as I am a former athlete with no college or professional coaching experience and I am a sports editor for the Daily and thus have covered many teams. By hiring me to coach anyone of Tufts' varsity teams, Mr. Gehling could rest assured that the lucky squad would make the playoffs.3. I could single handedly-boost fan attendance at games and perhaps also increase the pool of applicants to Tufts. Since I would be the first student/varsity coach in the history of Tufts University (at least in recent memory), I would be somewhat of a freak show. Many students would go out to the games either to root my team and I on or would go out in hopes of watching me fail miserably. Furthermore, I'm sure the story of Daniel Fowler, 21 year old college coach, would be big enough to at least get into the Boston Globe. And who knows - maybe they'd do a little segment of me on ESPN. This would be great for University as a whole because it would serve to get the Tufts name out, something which Tufts often fails to do on its own. I know this might seem like a bit much, but they might put my mug on the cover of Sports Illustrated. If any of the aforementioned things were to happen, you can be certain that more people would apply to this institution and more people would want to play sports at Tufts. Simply hiring me as a coach would increase the pool of applicants at the University and additionally, higher profile athletes would be interested in playing here.4. I would improve the sometimes-tenuous relationship between the Daily sports department and the Tufts University coaches. In my life as a Daily sports writer/editor I have taken heat in some arenas for being overly critical of the team I cover, questioning coaching decisions and/or creating disharmony on the team. I have counter-argued that I am merely reporting on what I see and I am sorry if the truth hurts. By leaving the world of sports reporting for the coaching world, I would be putting myself in the line of fire. Now instead of asking coaches difficult questions that they sometimes refuse to answer, I would be the one forced to answer the tough questions.5. I would be willing to work for free. I know that Tufts cares a good deal about money. I know this because my parents pay tens of thousands of dollars for me to have the opportunity to attend this fine institution. In addition to the tuition, I have noticed that I am constantly being charged ridiculous sums of money for frivolous things. For instance: parking tickets. I owe upwards of $200 based on the fact that TUPD has ticketed my car at least four times. Who charges $50 per ticket, and why should I pay for a parking permit? My parents already give this place $40,000. Furthermore, I loved it when I lived in the dorms and I would be charged a random amount of money if one of the idiots who happened to live in South (freshman year) or Houston (sophomore year) pulled the fire alarm or decided to do some artwork with magic markers on the wall. Why the hell should I be fined for that? I guess money is scarce at Tufts these days. Therefore, I am willing to coach any varsity team in exchange for clearing up any outstanding fines or tickets that I may have incurred over my two and a half years here. I will not ask for a salary. Getting a head varsity coach who does not ask for a base salary seems like an opportunity the seemingly cash strapped university would jump at. Maybe Tufts could spend the $50,000 or so that they will save by not having to pay my salary and use it to hire a full-time professional mediator to resolve disputes between ThePrimary Source and whoever the magazine offends on any given day.@s:Why I should be a coach

The Setonian
News

Top five remain unchanged

March 31

As the college basketball regular season enters its final week, the nation's top teams are trying to solidify high seeds for the NCAA tournament, while bubble teams are looking to sneak in with last-minute upsets. For now, though number one Kansas and number two Maryland were nearly upset last week, there's been little movement among the leading squad. In the most recent poll, Pitt and Florida swapped the number eight and ten positions in the polls, while Marquette, Gonzaga and Alabama held onto nine, seven and six, respectively. The top five remains the same. Kansas is the top team in the land, with Maryland, Duke, Cincinnati and Oklahoma rounding it out. Within a few hours on Sunday, both Kansas and Maryland won single point games in the final moments of regulation. Kansas, which at one point trailed home-team Nebraska by 12 points in the second half, came back to win on freshmen Keith Langford's three-point bucket with just 33 seconds left. Nebraska missed an outside jumper and a subsequent tip-in before time expired, allowing the nation's top ranked team to come out with a difficult but important victory. Drew Gooden, one the nation's finest players, led the Jayhawks with 26 points and 14 rebounds. The win clinched Kansas' first Big 12 league title in four years. Kansas, which has now won 12 straight games, could become the first Big 12 team to go unbeaten in conference play with wins this week against Kansas State and Missouri. In one of the most shocking finishes this season, Maryland won an equally exciting game. Maryland, playing at home against ACC rival and top 25 team Wake Forest, trailed 85-81 with under three minutes left. After a quick hoop, star guard Juan Dixon stole a pass, was fouled and converted two free throws with 2:13 remaining in regulation. The teams played back and forth, with Maryland eventually taking an 89-87 lead. The Demon Deacon's Josh Howard, who scored 18 points and recorded 15 boards while playing on an injured ankle, scored in the lane and was fouled with 10.1 seconds left, but missed the free throw. With the game tied, Dixon missed what could have been a game-winning jumper at the other end. When Howard grabbed the rebound with under two seconds left, he signaled for a timeout. But like Chris Webber's Michigan team of 1993, the Demon Deacons had none remaining and were charged a technical foul for the blunder. Dixon converted one of the free throws, and cemented the 90-89 win. In the week's other marquee matchup, Florida traveled to Alabama to decide the SEC title. With time winding down, Alabama's Earnest Shelton began to take a shot. But when the defense collapsed towards him, Shelton fired a pass to teammate Antoine Pettway, who converted a layup as time expired, giving the Crimson Tide a 65-64 victory. The win guaranteed Alabama at least a share of the conference title for the first time in 15 years. It was also one of the most physical games played in the NCAA this season, as both teams had most of their stars in serious foul trouble in the second half. The week's big winners were Western Kentucky, Georgia and Oregon. Western Kentucky entered the polls at #23 after defeating Middle Tennessee State and Kentucky State. In another great SEC game, Georgia defeated LSU 55-54 and moved up from #20 to #15 in the polls. The Bulldogs are perhaps the nation's most enigmatic team, able to defeat the likes of Florida and Kentucky, but also capable of playing horrendous basketball. Oregon defeated Washington State and Washington, scoring a combined 205 points in the two games, and moving up to #13 from #17. The week's big losers were Stanford, Miami and Virginia. Stanford dropped two integral PAC-10 games, losing by almost 20 against USC, then losing a close contest to UCLA. The Cardinal plummeted from #11 to #19 in the polls. The overrated Miami Hurricanes lost a Big East matchup to Notre Dame and fell from #13 to #18. The Cavaliers fell out of the polls after owning the #15 ranking last week. Virginia is in the midst of a free fall. The Cavaliers stand at 16-9 overall after dropping games to Georgia Tech and Florida State. With games against Maryland and Duke, Virginia could likely finish sub-.500 in the ACC and lose out on an NCAA tournament bid. As the season enters its final week, the focus of the nation turns to "the bubble," the string of teams hoping to grab one of the dwindling NCAA tournament births. South Carolina, Boston College, St. John's, Rutgers, Virginia, and Michigan State are some of the big names hoping for a positive final week that will catapult them into the big dance.

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