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Popping the bubble

August 31

"To honor the men and women of Tufts who served their country with unselfish devotion in time of war," are words you probably step over every week, yet few stop to consider the veterans honored on Memorial Steps. Similarly, yesterday was Veterans Day and I would guess that few students stopped to reflect on the veterans, living and dead, who sacrificed to protect our freedom. Like so many holidays, the meaning behind yesterday has been lost to many. Before explaining why I think Veterans Day should be combined with Election Day, let me provide some details on how this holiday came to exist. On Nov. 11, 1918 World War I came to an end when Germany and the Allies signed a truce known as the Armistice. Three years later England, France and the US each buried an "unknown soldier" to commemorate those who lost their lives in the four year-long war. In 1938, Congress passed a bill that each November would "be dedicated to the cause of world peace and ...hereafter celebrated and known as Armistice Day." Following World War II, Armistice Day was expanded as a day to remember all veterans. For those who do not serve in the armed forces, like myself, it is important to consider what our responsibility is to those who have. I respect those who reserve their right to not respect our country - who stand against all that the military stands for, who utilize their right to burn the flag, or protest against our government. However, I think every American, especially those who criticize, owe a great deal to veterans who have died to protect our rights. The idea that they have saved America from the imperialistic ambitions of other nations is not hypothetical, it is a historical reality. In my view, voting is the most fundamental form of exercising the freedom for which thousands have died. I think combining Veterans Day with Election Day would continue to honor America's veterans and improve our nations poor voter participation. For a nation that prides itself on being the world's bastion of freedom, Americans reveal pathetic voter participation numbers. Voter participation in the US has lagged behind other industrialized democracies for decades. Do not fool yourself into believing it is simply because other industrialized countries make voting obligatory. While no one can explain exactly why so few Americans vote, numerous proposals have been offered as remedies. A national voting day is among the suggestions for how to increase voter participation. Following the Election 2000 voting debacle, a National Commission on Federal Election reform co-chaired by presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford produced 13 recommendations that included a national voting holiday. President Bush endorsed the Commission but has made no effort to introduce legislation. Some claim that combining Election Day with Veterans Day would only politicize a holiday intended to memorialize our nation's soldiers. Voting, however, is not dirty or corrupt, it is an honorable citizen's responsibility. Selecting a candidate may be political, but voting is the highest form of gratitude we can show to those who have served to protect our right to choose. Logistics play a part in the practicality of proposing an Election Day and Veterans Day merger. Election Day is the first Tuesday of November. Veterans Day occurs every Nov. 11. Since certain religious groups oppose voting on the Sabbath, moving Election Day to Veterans Day is not likely because Nov. 11 will inevitably occur on Saturday and Sunday. If Veterans Day were moved to Election Day, it would be the only national holiday not celebrated on a Monday. Regardless, voters have grown accustomed to voting on Tuesday and it's an option worth considering. A third possibility is moving Election Day and Veterans Day to the first Monday in November. A photo exhibit in Tisch library this semester displays images of life at Tufts throughout the century. Among the images are photos of Jumbos during World War II. As we enter a new era of war I cannot help but wonder what it must have felt like to live during their time, during that war. Is it possible that the faces on the library wall are among the names on Memorial Steps? I imagine the fear of a Tufts student huddled in a bunker along the Western Front, so much like myself, 60 years before I arrived at Tufts. Personally, I vote for him and all the others who died for me to enjoy the privileges of our freedom. If making Election Day a national holiday would encourage more Americans to vote, I can think of no greater honor to our nation's veterans.

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News

Men expect top ten finish at New England's

August 31

The men's cross country team took second place this weekend in a relaxed race - the Fall Foliage Frolic - at Williams College. Entering the race, winning was not a top priority, but rather the squad used it as a workout with a focus on this coming weekend's All-New England championship. "It was a tempo run for us," senior co-captain J.R Cruz said. "We looked at it just like a practice." Tufts' travel to Williams afforded it the opportunity both to rest up for next weekend while remaining competitive and to run on the Williams course, which will be the site of this year's ECAC race. For the first time this season, coach Connie Putnam took the opportunity to race his entire team. Matching men from the faster group with men from the slower group of runners, Putnam set a tempo for each pair that would create a racing atmosphere while still allowing rest for his top runners. In the end, the Jumbos finished far behind the Purple Cows. Cruz and senior co-captain Ben Smith led the Tufts pack, finishing the race in tenth and 11th place, respectively (22:08, 22:10). Though the top runners' times were significantly slower than their abilities, Putnam preferred his team remain rested for next week. Whether the rest proves beneficial will be determined this weekend when the Jumbos go to Franklin Park on Friday to compete in the New England Championships. Tufts' top seven runners will compete against their strongest competition of the season. "It's like a rehearsal for the NCAA's," Putnam said. "It's the best estimation of where you stand in New England's distance wise." Traditionally, the race has been frustrating for Tufts, as the team has only broken into the top ten twice in the race's 89-year history. In a meet that has been dominated by Division I schools and foreign athletes, the Jumbos are traditionally overshadowed. In 1996, Tufts placed ninth and in 1972, the Jumbos placed tenth. Despite the impending struggle, Putnam and his team feel this is the school's best chance to break into the top ten again. "Running well in the New England's is not a tradition here and we're struggling to make it one," Putnam said. Tufts has also struggled to place runners near the top of the race. Only three Jumbos have ever taken first place at the New England's. The first was John Dohrety in 1923, followed 20 years later by Ted Vogel, who went on to participate on the Olympic Track and Field team. The most recent Tufts victor was Danny Moynihan in 1971 and 1972. Again this season, the Jumbos have a slim chance of placing a winner. Cruz was the team's top finisher last season with a 20th-place finish (25:10). "For us to win the meet would take an act of god," Putnam said. Regardless, the Jumbos have high expectations of themselves as a team. After placing 12th last year, the team thinks it will improve this season. "If we're not in the top ten at this meet, something went wrong," Cruz said. The Jumbos' lineup this year will include four seniors - Cruz, Smith, Jason Mann, and Justin Lewis - along with three freshmen - Nate Brigham, Brian McNamara, and Michael Don. They will have to compete against the best from Bowdoin, the University of Maine, the University of Connecticut, and Williams to break into the top ten. While Putnam feels that Providence will win the meet without much competition, followed closely by Dartmouth, Brown, and Yale, the lower end of the top ten remains open and will be highly competitive. While the team's top seven compete in the varsity race, the rest of the team will also run weekend in the J.V race in an attempt to compete for higher spots in later postseason meets. The races all kick off Friday at 1 p.m.

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News

Where have all the homecoming games gone?

August 31

Looking at this weekend's athletic schedule, homecoming is evidently lacking something: most Tufts varsity sports. While the focus of homecoming has primarily always been upon the football game, besides the football team's match against Amherst on Saturday, the men's soccer team is the only other team that will see action, as it takes on Conn. College. A late October tradition here at Tufts, homecoming has always been a display of all athletic teams. Yet with the changes in the NESCAC schedule this year, the shortening of seasons, and the tournament schedules homecoming has turned into a weekend that will exclude most Tufts athletes, including all women's teams. "As many teams as possible should be at home for homecoming and as an Athletic department," athletic director Bill Gehling said. "We're very disappointed that it worked out this way." Over the past ten years or more, Homecoming has always fallen in late October and featured the football team pitted against either Williams or Amherst. While the date is always officially set by the Athletic Department, many more committees participate in the planning of this event, most importantly the Alumni Association. Yet since this date has consistently fallen in late October, the Athletic Department never had to discuss the setting of the date with other administrative groups. But looking at this year's athletic schedule late last year - the NESCAC schedule is set by the conference itself years ahead of time - Gehling realized that the traditional homecoming date would not feature all Tufts sports at the same time. So, he made the suggestion to move homecoming Oct. 6, a weekend where most Jumbo teams were facing Bowdoin. "I suggested a tentative change to the Homecoming date," Gehling said. "Ultimately, though on a higher level within the University, the decision got overturned." The main reasoning the homecoming date could not be switched was because the University Trustees had already started making plans for the weekend. Since the date had traditionally been set in late October, the trustees had already put plans for the event into motion before Gehling had even set the official date. The NESCAC conference made several changes this year, including reformatting postseason tournaments to determine the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in each sport. The conference tournaments have been moved up in the season so that they may be completed before the NCAA's selection date, which cuts the regular season short for most teams short. Because of this, both the women's soccer and field hockey teams have already completed their fall season. Tufts also had the challenge of planning parents weekend, another time when the school attempts to display as many home teams as possible. Finding two weekends to display most athletic teams within the already short fall season posed a challenge that the University could overcome. "In the end, we ask that our athletes be team players and I need to play that role within the university as well," Gehling said. While the NESCAC changes and lack of communication in the administration has led to an atypical homecoming weekend, Gehling is confident this will not become a reoccurring problem for Tufts. The NESCAC conference is expected to make changes to lengthen the fall season by postponing conference tournaments, so it is unlikely that teams will be finished their seasons at this point next year. Gehling also hopes to feature the Jumbos against different opponents in the future, as this year both Amherst and Conn. College will take part in the event. While planning for the event will not begin until much later in the year, Gehling already sees a potential weekend available that would allow Homecoming to return to it's traditional stature. Meanwhile, most athletes will be spectators this weekend. "As we look to the future, a homecoming should be about more teams, and we hope to do that again next year," Gehling said.

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News

Harriers begin season with heightened expectations

August 31

After graduating two team captains and an All-American runner, most cross country teams would hunker down and enter a rebuilding mode. But despite suffering from the aforementioned adversities, the men's cross-country team is once again entering the season with high hopes. The team finished 11th in the NCAA championships and fourth overall in the NESCAC league last season - a disappointing finish for a squad with such high aspirations. "It really annoyed the team that we didn't make it to the top ten at NCAAs," coach Connie Putnam said. The team begins this season with a laundry list of expectations, which include making the top five at the national tournament this year and winning the NESCAC title. Such goals will be difficult to achieve, considering personnel losses which include the graduation of All-American David Patterson. "Losing Patterson was a crushing blow, but we didn't loose the heat of a whole team," Putnam said. In fact, this year's co-captain, senior Ben Smith, feels that without Patterson to depend on, the team as a whole will run harder at their races. "We're in almost a better place now," Smith said. "The guys in the back won't always know that Dave's up there to depend on and it'll make them run that much harder." Smith along with his co-captain, senior J.R Cruz, is confident that this year the team will be able to live up to its own expectations. Five Jumbos: Smith, Cruz, seniors Jason Mann and Justin Lewis and sophomore James Lamoureaux are all returning from last year's NCAA team. With several promising freshmen including Michael Don, Nate Brigham and Brian McNamara joining the ranks, Putnam and his men see few holes in their lineup. "We've got lots of hungry freshmen looking to fill spots for us," Cruz said. Even with a strong team, the Jumbos face heavy competition this year in their quest to win the NESCACs and make the top five for NCAA teams. Williams will be their strongest opponents this season, a team that always seems to edge out the Jumbos in cross-country competition. Along with Williams, Putnam sees a total of seven teams who enter the season with a legitimate shot at going to the NCAA tournament. With MIT, Bowdoin, Trinity, Bates, and Keene State also looking good this season and only five slots for these teams at the NCAA tournament, two teams will be left on the outside. "That puts a lot of pressure on us on qualifying day," Putnam said. To assure that the team is not left behind, Putnam and his squad have designed a new training program that should help prevent the Jumbos from wearing out towards the end of the season. Instead of running all of his men at every race, Putnam has split his team up into two groups and will alternate the groups in races throughout the season. His new training program was designed to meet runners' requests for longer rest and recovery time between meets. "Running every race takes a toll on your body and we wanted more rest time," Cruz said. "This new program is going to enable us to race harder when we need to most." While Putnam himself designed the program, the team seems enthused by the radical change from seasons past. "I'm absolutely thrilled about it," Putnam said. "Our old training was too battering and there wasn't enough recovery time. I'm impressed by his courage to make such a change.". While a program such as this has never been tested here at Tufts, the Jumbos seem confidant that it is the best way to keep the squad rested and in shape so that they will be able to run their strongest races at post season tournaments. The new plan will officially go into effect this weekend as only half of the cross-country team will race at the Hayseed Classic on Saturday at 12 p.m.

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News

After rainout, soccer to play Gordon this afternoon

August 31

Due to the inclement weather yesterday, the women's soccer team was forced to postpone its game against Gordon College until today at 4 p.m. on Kraft Field. Although the game holds no significance in the conference standings, a win would deliver a necessary confidence boost to the team. Coming off of a tough 3-0 loss on Saturday to Colby, the Jumbos will need to rebound since many more NESCAC games are approaching in the near future. Another interesting twist in today's game is the recent announcement that there will be at-large bids to the national championship for NESCAC teams. Suddenly the non-conference games bear a greater importance since overall record will be a consideration in the selection of these bids. With an early loss to a weaker Babson College team, more frivolous losses must be avoided. Even so, the team does not feel that this ruling will change its game plan much. "We still want to win all of our games, and our goal is still to be first in the NESCAC, regardless of the at-large bids," sophomore Becca Doigan said. Gordon College, competing in the Commonwealth Coast Conference, has fared well this season, currently posting a 5-2 record. With a potent offense, they have demolished a few opponents, including Curry College (9-0), Mount Ida College (7-0). Overall, they have outscored opponents 23-5, although none of the opponents have been nationally ranked or the same caliber as Tufts. Last year, Tufts played Gordon at the same point in the season, and was able to control the game, winning 3-1. Gordon entered last year's contest with an impressive 7-1 record, but could only muster seven shots compared to 18 by Tufts. "Even though we beat them last year, we are not going to take them lightly," Doigan said. In the game, Tufts will focus on increasing intensity, especially in the first half - an area where they have been lacking early on this season. Aside from these mental aspects, coach Martha Whiting does not plan on changing her strategy at all. The extra day of rest has also helped the Jumbos with an extra day of healing, as many team members have been playing through some minor injuries. Senior co-captain Katie Ruddy will be at full strength after missing three games to a leg injury. Doigan will be the only regular player on the sidelines today, as her sprained ankle and pulled Achilles tendon will keep her out for another week.

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News

Students, professors reflect on tragedy

August 31

Students around the country have sought guidance and support from their teachers in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and those at Tufts are no exception. Professors, though, have an added challenge of determining how best to see their students through this emotional time period, while at the same time accomplishing their original course goals. Dr. Kathleen Camara, a child development professor, held a class just an hour and a half after she heard about the tragedy. Although she felt shocked, saddened, and frightened by the events, she also thought it was important to draw her "Personal-Social Development" class together and speak about the tragedy. "I didn't know if I would be able to face my class that day," Camara said. "I told my class that I would be there to talk to them. I urged them not to be alone, and I offered to take home those of them who felt they had no place to go." Camara and her colleagues discussed their concern for the emotional welfare of their students. In class, she made an effort to maintain a sense of calm by urging her students not to jump to any conclusions about the then-unknown culprits. "I said 'we have to be very careful about not rushing to judgement and generalizing because of the acts of some,'" Camara said. "We can abhor the acts but we have to be very careful about our response to other people." Chemistry professor Christopher Morse has more than his scheduled course material on his mind, as the attacks remain in the forefront of his thoughts. "I'm very pleased that there is an all-out effort to investigate and figure out who is really responsible and who is really involved," Morse said. "In all honesty, I thought [President] Bush would've been the kind of president who would've just started shooting." Morse had originally called the chemistry department last Tuesday to notify students that he would not be in class that day. Upon further reflection, however, he decided that he wanted to be in class to talk to those students who had decided to attend. Although President Bacow decided to keep the campus open the day of the attacks so students could discuss the issue in their classes, some feel he made the wrong decision. Junior Chinar Mahadkar attended a full morning of classes on the day of the attacks before she decided that she needed to "go home and watch TV" in the afternoon. Mahadkar said both the students and professor in her 9:30 a.m. class were unclear about the morning's events and proceeded as normal. Her other classes were also held as planned, but Mahadkar said that one of her professors told the class that if any student felt uncomfortable, they were welcome to leave. "The feeling was that the best way to table this was to just move on," Mahadkar said, adding that the terrorists wouldn't have wanted life to continue as usual. At the time, Mahadkar didn't realize the severity of the attacks, but in retrospect, she felt that Tufts should have suspended classes. "It's kind of disrespectful," she said. "It's an American issue that we should be dealing with and mourning over." Sophomore Steve Liu returned from an early morning class and got the news from his roommate. "I felt totally numb. It was like all my emotions rushed in - anger, confusion, mourning, regret," Liu said. "I thought about the victims and their families, and how helpless they must have felt."

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News

Freshmen sweat it out onstage

August 31

Seventeen freshman candidates voiced their views to a small audience in the Senatorial candidates forum Tuesday night at Hotung Caf?©. There are eight open spots for freshman senators on the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate. Each candidate gave a brief introductory statement and answered questions from the audience. About thirty people filled Hotung, a mixture of TCU Senate members and interested freshman. After the forum, the three candidates for the TCU Judiciary answered questions from the audience. Freshmen Kenny Bain and Daniel Mandell, and sophomore Phil Berenbroick are running for one open spot. Voting will take place this Friday and will be done electronically through freshmen's e-mail accounts. Many of the candidates presented similar platforms and goals. Popular issues included extending dining hall hours, opening Hogdon take-out on weekends, hastening the response time of Tufts Facilities employees, and adding paper towels to dorm bathrooms. But most expressed general ideas and did not give detailed plans on how to set them into action. "It's hard for freshmen to really take a stand on issues, because they don't really know them," said Senate Co-Treasurer Nick Abraham. "The forum is effective for gauging people's philosophy before they take office." Many of the candidates have experience in student government; others have worked on the state or national level. Each candidate made sure to say their name as often as possible, hoping they look familiar on Friday's ballot. Some came up with slogans based upon their names. Others were more creative, like Rebecca Francis, who composed a rap from the letters of her name to explain her viewpoints. Brandon Maltesh repeated his name for nearly thirty seconds. Current senators said they were impressed with this year's candidates. "They seem more qualified this year," said sophomore Senator Pritesh Gandi. "They have a good grasp of ideas." The questioning period tested candidates' speaking skills and ability to think on their feet, with audience members posing provocative questions. Two of the three questions were asked by current TCU senators. Only the third was asked by a freshman. Only freshmen are eligible to vote for their representatives. One question dealt with the possibility of using extra money, intended for Tufts organizations, for relief efforts in New York City and Washington, DC. The question was in response to a controversial decision last year to send Senate money to earthquake relief in India. Maltesh said that Student Activities Fee funds are intended to be spent at Tufts, and should remain at the University. Another question dealt with how the Senate should deal with hate crimes on campus. All candidates agreed that hate crimes and hate speech have no place at Tufts, but offered different methods to prevent them. "The TCU Senate should enlighten the student body in order to get rid of intolerance," candidate Mike Fleischman said. Many candidates cited education as a solution. Others said that forums for student discussion, extra funding to cultural organizations, and creating a charity to support the cause would help. After the forum, some in attendance said it was not the best way for students to get acquainted with the candidates. "The forum format should be changed," TCU President Eric Greenberg said. "You just hear the same answers from the same people." Candidates agreed. "Anything with this many people is hard because there aren't too many views to express," freshman Adam Koeppel said. The poor attendance disappointed candidates as well. "I'm disappointed more students didn't show up," John Gold said. "It's better to communicate with more students. These forums need to be publicized more." The lack of student participation was a recurring theme among the candidates. Many saw it as the root of many problems on campus. Some criticized the lack of a central information organization, pointing to chalkings and posted flyers around campus as not insufficient and unorganized. Students who attended the forum were pleased with what they heard. "The candidates represent us really well," said freshman Abieyuwa Ighodaro. "It was good to hear their points of view. They're all so passionate."

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News

Hearing on sexual harassment complaint postponed until Monday

August 31

A hearing to address a sexual harassment complaint that senior Iris Halpern filed against The Primary Source two weeks ago has been postponed from today until Monday. According to Dean of Judicial Affairs Veronica Carter, scheduling difficulties caused the delay. Supporters of Halpern gathered in the Crafts House last night to make posters for the hearing. They plan to show their support for Halpern outside the closed hearing with slogans such as "stop looking at my breasts," and "keep your first amendment off my body." Halpern, a senior, filed complaints against the Source with both the Dean of Students Office and Tufts' Office of Equal Opportunity. She alleges that the Oct. 11 edition of the magazine contained two comments referring to "well-endowed female SLAM members" and "oh-so-tight tank tops" that referred to her body. The issue also included a cartoon that Halpern said is a degrading caricature of her breasts. "They showed my breasts everywhere and made references to my body," Halpern said after filing the complaints. Halpern and her supporters argue that the published material constituted sexual harassment, saying that despite the defense mounted by Source Editor-in-Chief Sam Dangremond, this type of speech is not protected by the First Amendment. "Lots of people support Iris," TFA member Liz Monnin said last night. "The Tufts Feminist Alliance definitely supports her." Sam Dangremond denies the allegations. The specific reference in the "From the Elephant's Mouth" section, he said, "referred to the clothing, not to her body or to her anatomy." Halpern is a vocal member of the Student Labor Action Movement (SLAM), a campus organization lobbying to raise wages for Tufts' OneSource custodians. Previous issues of the Source, a semimonthly magazine, have criticized and ridiculed SLAM's politics and members. According to Halpern, Dangremond admitted in a phone conversation that the cartoon depicted her body and that the written material specifically referenced her. Dangremond denies making those comments. According to the Tufts Policy on Sexual Harassment, anything that "creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment in which to work or to learn" including "offensive jokes and comments" and "display of pictures of a sexual nature" may constitute sexual harassment. The policy does not specifically mention or provide guidelines for University publications.

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News

Women win second straight over weekend

August 31

The women's soccer team opened its home season with a 3-1 victory over NESCAC rival Middlebury on Saturday, pushing Tufts' overall record to 3-1-0 (2-0-0 in the NESCAC). Middlebury, which entered the game ranked 13th in the nation with a 2-0-0 record (1-0-0 NESCAC), was the only NESCAC team the Jumbos did not defeat a year ago. Through the first half of Saturday's much anticipated contest, it looked as though history might repeat itself, with Middlebury controlling the play and sporting a 1-0 advantage. But when the second half opened, the momentum quickly switched, and the Jumbos pumped in two goals in the first 11 minutes. The insurance goal came just over eight minutes later to make the score 3-1, and coach Martha Whiting's team held strong over the final 26 minutes to ensure its revenge. Last year, the Panthers first topped the Jumbos 1-0 on Sept. 16 and then again in the NESCAC Championship game on Oct. 29, 2-0. The two teams never faced each other in the NCAA tournament, however, because Middlebury made an early exit while Tufts marched all the way to the finals. "There was a lot of nerves between the two teams at the beginning of the game," senior co-captain Lynn Cooper said. "They were upset that we went to the final four last year and this was a good way for us to show them that we deserved it." Cooper accounted for the second of Tufts' goals, sandwiched between two tallies by junior midfielder Alle Sharlip. Sharlip put the Jumbos on the scoreboard with 36:23 to go in the first half, after a scramble in front of Middlebury goalkeeper Ali Connolly. Seconds earlier, Cooper had crossed a ball into senior midfielder Becky Mann, whose shot was blocked by a defender. Players from both teams then crowded the box and a melee ensued before Sharlip managed to get her foot around Middlebury midfielder Suzanne Caruso and redirect the ball into the net. "During that huge scramble, Jess Trombly got a shot off first," Sharlip said. "Then I just put my foot around [Caruso]." Cooper followed less than two minutes later with what proved to be the eventual game winner, after freshman Sarah Gelb's shot rebounded off Connolly and landed right on Cooper's foot. Again, the initial play was set up by Cooper, who stole the ball at midfield and touched a pass to Gelb. Sharlip added her second goal of the game at 63:45. This time it was Gelb feeding Sharlip, who then beat two Middlebury defenders before uncorking a shot from the 18-meter line to the lower right corner of the net. For the half, Tufts was credited with 17 shots to the Panthers' three. "We have a great group of freshman," Whiting said. "And one of the freshman I put in [Sarah Gelb] did a great job. She played a great game." The first half, however, was a different story, as the Jumbos were more frequently on their heels while Middlebury mounted its attack. Tufts held a slight edge in the shot count, 7-5, but the Panthers' 3-0 advantage in corner kicks proved to be the difference. Middlebury junior forward Leah Cumsky-Whitlock cashed in on one of these opportunities, heading in senior defender Wendy Miner's corner at 31:57. Cumsky-Whitlock, now has six goals and 13 points on the year. "There were a few things I was annoyed at from the first half," Whiting said. "We weren't doing defensively what we should have been doing, and we weren't playing as a team." Cooper echoed her coach's sentiments. "In our talk at halftime, we knew we could play better, and that this was our game," she said. "We got fired up, went out, and played." The Jumbos did just that, as they poured on relentless pressure from the outset of the second stanza. Sharlip had two quality shots in the first six minutes, one off a picture-perfect give and go with Trombly. Then with the score 2-1, Cooper and Trombly combined to put even more fear into Middlebury defenders, with Cooper setting up last season's NESCAC rookie of the year twice in a span of three minutes. Both shots sailed just wide of the posts, first to the left and then to the right. And even with the score 3-1, the duo was not finished. At 8:36 the roles were reversed as Trombly found Cooper, who fired a shot that deflected out of play. "The second half was how we can play," Sharlip said. "In the first half, Middlebury was still thinking, 'We beat them twice last year.'" Yet even with Tufts up 3-1 and 26:15 to go, Middlebury showed that it would not go quietly. The Panthers had several scoring changes, including one off a corner kick with 23:40 to go. Tufts goalie Mara Schanfield came up with two big saves, first clearing the corner and then stopping a rebound shot soon thereafter. Three minutes later at 20:15, the Panthers threatened again with a shot in the box. Schanfield made another save, and the visitors earned a corner kick that resulted in no shot. Then with 12:30 remaining, Middlebury had two more corners, but each was deflected out courtesy of the Tufts defenders. For the game, the Panthers took seven corners to the Jumbos' five. It was Schanfield's first win as the team's starting goalie. But things quieted down a bit when Cooper took down a Middlebury player with 5:50 left in the contest, causing a temporary stoppage in play. "I think we got a little too comfortable after the third goal," Cooper said. "Then we were just really frazzled. After that foul, it was a way to regroup and take a moment to rest." Overall, Whiting said the team's performance was "a very satisfying win." "I felt like they were underestimating us, since they beat us twice last year," she said. "It was important for us to beat them and show them that last year was not a fluke. What's important in a game like this, the bottom line is heart - how deep you are able to dig down."

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News

It's been a long time

August 31

In 1981, the New York Yankees lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston Red Sox slugger Dwight Evans tied for the AL home run crown with 22. Joe Montana won the first of his four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers. Ronald Reagan was in the early years of his presidency and the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan. It was also the last time Tufts football won a game in Williamstown. Twenty years later, the Yankees are still contenders for the World Series, Evans would have lost to Bonds by 50 in the home run race, and Montana is out of football. None of us can even remember '81. As for the NESCAC rivalry, it's safe to say that Williams has dominated. It's been 20 years since the Jumbos won at Williams, and 15 years since they topped the Purple Cows in Medford. Since 1986, the Tufts is 12-0-2 against Williams. While Williams might be comforted by this string, there is reason to expect this season will be different: three of the Purple Cows' last four victories have come by narrow margins, and the opponent this Saturday is their toughest of the season. Tufts heads to Williams tomorrow for the tenth time since the 9-6 victory two decades ago, but this time with a perfect season to defend. It's true that when Tufts seniors think of 4-0 Tufts versus 4-0 Williams, the image of a 42-7 Homecoming loss the Jumbos sustained in 1998 comes to mind. But what students tend to forget is that Tufts recovered from that loss to go 7-1 that season. "We played seven great football games that year," coach Bill Samko said. "We picked a bad time not to play well." Samko is the first to point out that that his 1998 squad was a much different team than this year's version. Few current seniors played substantial minutes in the 1998 game, but more players on the team recall the events of the 1999 matchup with Williams. "I remember every play of that game," junior wide receiver Bryan Pitko said, though he didn't play in the game. It was a painful loss, as Tufts, down two touchdowns late in the game, rallied on Williams' rainy, muddy field. Then junior Brian Holmes intercepted a pass and returned it for a score with 3:41 to play, and after a defensive stand, Tufts drove the ball down to the Williams' five yard line. But with a first and goal and down by seven, the drive stalled, and Tufts was denied again. That loss wasn't as heartbreaking as the 1997 game, in which Williams' running back Mike McAdams scored a rushing touchdown on the final play of the game to give the Purple Cows a 26-24 victory. Last year, Tufts was ahead 10-7 in the third quarter before yielding two late touchdowns in the 21-10 loss. In fact, the last time Williams didn't beat Tufts was in 1992, when the teams ended in a 10-10 tie. The two squads were evenly matched again in 1988, when Tufts drew Williams to a 14-14 tie at home. The good news is that the last time Tufts beat Williams, it trounced the Purple Cows - a 33-3 home victory in 1986. In fact, the 30-point margin of victory is the largest for Tufts in the history of the rivalry, of which Williams has the decisive 41-21-7 edge. But, as Samko will tell you, history is only so important. "You can learn from the past," the coach said. "But you can't dwell on it." That is the attitude the Jumbos will take into this weekend's much-anticipated game with Williams. The attitude coincides nicely with the team's motto - respect all, and fear none. Samko is insisting that his team view this game no more important than any other. "This is our most important game of the season, because it's the game we play this week," the coach said. "Last week's game was the most important of the season last week." As much as Samko would like to downplay the importance of Tufts-Williams football, he acknowledges that there is something special in the match-up. "I hope they don't get more geared up this week, because they should get geared up every week," he said. "But the kids feel it, and it's exciting." Coach and players alike are confident that defeating big, bad Williams isn't an unattainable dream. "We just have to play football like we can," Pitko said. "We need to stay comfortable, and just play like we have all season." One advantage Tufts has this year that it hadn't in the past two is a solid rushing attack. In the mud and slop at Williams in 1999, Tufts could only muster 99 yards rushing - an average of three per attempt - which put added pressure on the passing game. This year, the Jumbos boast the NESCAC's top running back, junior Keven Kelley, who has averaged 156.8 yards a game and 5.6 per carry. Another advantage Tufts will have is fan support. Unlike 1999, when few, if any, students made the trek Williamstown, this year, the athletics department has spent paid for a charter bus for fans. And don't think Tufts couldn't use the fan support to make it feel more at home. Since 1986, the only victories and ties that Tufts has mustered over Williams have come in front of the home crowd. Saturday's game starts at 2 p.m. and the fan bus leaves Cousens Gym at 10 a.m.

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News

Scholarship aids estranged students

August 31

As students at of one of the most expensive universities in the country, those at Tufts may be familiar with numerous out-of-the-ordinary scholarships with unique qualification requirements. But an unprecedented scholarship from Bridgewater State College will address a serious new concern affecting campuses: gay students cut off financially from their disappointed parents. The Frank-Tremblay Safe College Scholarship, named after gay Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) and Lucie Blue Tremblay, a lesbian French-Canadian singer and songwriter, will provide $500 scholarships to gay and lesbian students who find themselves in the position of paying for college themselves after coming out to their parents. While the scholarship is not the only assistance of its kind provided to students whose parents, for whatever reason, refuse to pay for college, it is the first to address the hardship specific to some gay students. Two faculty members created the scholarship after speaking with a number of students who were having trouble making enough money to afford school, according to a Sept. 11 Boston Globe article. It will be offered for the first time next semester. While Coordinator of Tufts' Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center Judith Brown is unaware of any Tufts students who may have been cut off financially from their parents in the past, she said that such incidences are common. "I think it's something a lot of schools have considered, since many students, when they come out to their parents, are cut off financially," Brown said. "It makes people aware of what risks students have to take [in coming out]." Bridgewater State's comparatively small in-state tuition of $970 means the scholarship has the potential to make a significant difference in paying for college. The award would essentially provide half-tuition assistance to Massachusetts residents, enabling them to go to school more and work less. However, if such a situation were to occur at Tufts, Brown believes any assistance would have to be significantly more than the amount of the Frank-Tremblay scholarship, given that Tufts' yearly tuition, not including room, board, and fees, is $26,313. While Director of Financial Aid William Eastwood is sympathetic to students who may lose their parents' funding for any other reason, he says that his office's policy is to gauge families' ability to pay, not their willingness. Sometimes students who have been cut off work things out with their parents, said Eastwood. Otherwise, he encourages upperclassmen to take out loans for the duration of their education. But he's not too hopeful for underclassmen who remain cut off financially from their parents, especially at a school with such a large price tag. "At that point, they could switch their educational plans," including enrolling in a less-expensive university, said Eastwood. But he hopes that students in this situation can reconcile with their parents or get the money from another family member or relative. "Don't get me wrong - the last thing we want is for matriculated students to leave," he said. If Tufts started supporting gay students cut off from family finances, says Eastwood, it would have to be ready to support all students who have become isolated from their parents. It's not a situation that the school is financially able to address. This would also create a potential for some parents claim to have cut off financial support to their children to net them a larger aid package. "There are absolutely families that would try to do that," said Eastwood. "I've been doing this long enough to know that." In addition to fundraising to enlarge the scholarship pool, which currently totals $8,200, Bridgewater State said it would seek matching funds from Massachusetts. The school hopes to set up an agreement where the state would give 50 cents for every dollar raised, up to a $400,000 limit as reported by the Boston Globe on Sept. 11. Obtaining matching state funds may not be easy, though. In a country still struggling with issues of gay partnerships, and in a state recently considered a bill that would specifically outlaw gay marriage, taxpayers would be contributing to a cause they may be strongly against - and scholarship recipients' parents could be some of these taxpayers. However, there is no distinction between gay students receiving specific assistance and any other needy students, according to Frank, whose congressional district includes Bridgewater State. "Scholarships are based on need - this doesn't change any of that," Frank said. "Over and above, there are some people who want to provide for students who have been discriminated in this way." "Public universities help numerous students in numerous ways; it's just another way of supporting the well-being of its students," Brown said. The founders want the scholarship to eventually reach the $10,000 mark to create an endowed fund. While Frank was "honored" to be named in the award, he will not be soliciting funds to support the scholarship because he sees that as a conflict of interest. Tremblay, however, will fundraise. "There are inherent problems in members of Congress voting for all sorts of things and then going out and fundraising," Frank said. Dr. Susan Holton, professor of communication studies and co-chair of the Frank-Tremblay Scholarship Committee, said the award does not just benefit the college's gay population. "This is not a problem for only the gay and lesbian faculty and staff and alumni of the college. It is of concern to everyone who cares about students," Holton wrote in a statement posted on Bridgewater State's website. "It is our responsibility, as members of the Bridgewater State College community, to respond," @s:College supports gay students cut off from parents

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Transfers rate good and bad of Tufts

August 31

Think back to high school, when your kitchen table was a mess with college applications and your head was spinning with different facts from different schools. You waited anxiously for days for the acceptance letters to arrive in the mail and then spent days agonizing over which school to choose. Now imagine going through that process again, this time as a transfer student, and being plagued by complications in transferring credits and difficulties in starting over again at a school where everyone is already settled. There are benefits and drawbacks to making the decision to start over again at a new school. At some schools, securing housing is an issue, while at others, transferring credits is problematic. And there's always anxiety about social life. At Tufts, transfer students make up 1.85 percent of the undergraduate population at Tufts. These roughly ninety students accepted each year begin their Tufts experience with the transfer student orientation. This separate orientation is unique to Tufts, as most schools in the New England area assume that transfers will acclimate to their new surroundings with regular freshman orientation or with no orientation at all. "I liked it because it allowed [transfer students] to get to know each other well," said junior Jessica Jacobson, who transferred to Tufts last year from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. "We all lived together [in Lewis Hall or Carmichael Hall], got to know each other, and coped with the changes together." Students transferring in the spring semester, however, aren't offered an orientation. They arrive at school a day early just to deal with transfer credit and advising issues. While junior Dena Wigder, who transferred from the University of Texas at Austin last spring, didn't get much of a chance to interact with other transfers the day before classes resumed, she felt that living on campus in a double contributed to the social aspect of coming to Tufts. Although the University does not guarantee housing to its returning juniors and seniors, it promises on-campus residences for all transfer students. This is in stark contrast to other regional schools like Boston College and Boston University that only allow transfer students to sign a waiting list for campus housing. The result is that transfer students to these schools sometimes wait more than three semesters for a room, according to admissions representatives at BC and BU. "Guaranteed housing was a big factor in choosing Tufts," Wigder said. The transition to Tufts is eased by housing guarantees and a unique fall orientation, but many academic policies and requirements enforced by the University hurt the transferring students. Due to strict requirements such as the six-semester foreign language cluster or the expository writing English 1 class, some students enter Tufts in a different graduating class than they were in at their previous school - usually a lower one. The foreign language requirement for liberal arts majors is particularly hard on transfers. New Tufts juniors, for example, have just four semesters to complete the requirement. "The [foreign language] classes are some of the most stringent requirements, and it seemed to be one of the bigger problems we faced," Jacobson said. But in spite of Tufts' strict requirements for fluency in a foreign language, its policies measure up to many area colleges and universities, which demand much from their students. Students also have difficulty with transferring credits. Many of the classes at students' previous schools will not be accepted by the University because it does understand transfer students' previous curriculum. Final decisions on what classes can count at Tufts come from a panel of University that is charged with awarding transfer credits and deciding whether those credits can be applied towards a certain class, such as English 1, for which numerous schools do not have an equivalent class. Tufts provides its transfers with a transfer counselor, but the counselors cannot provide information on whether students' previous classes will match those available at Tufts. "Students don't know what can or can not transfer over to Tufts until they arrive here," said Gina Beck, a transfer counselor at admissions. The result is that many students are left with general or extra credits. These credits do not have an equivalence in any one class at Tufts, but since they closely resemble previously-taught classes they are accepted and count towards the graduation requirement in terms of total credits. Other schools usually tell students what credits will be accepted earlier on in the game, which could influence students' decisions about whether to transfer and to where. For instance, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst has its prospective transfer students work directly with a transfer counselor before the student ever arrives, who helps them through the process of what will and will not transfer to UMass. Transfer students at Tufts must weigh the distress associated with transferring credits and fulfilling strict requirements against the University's reasonably good attention to quality-of-life concerns such as orientation and guaranteed housing. "It was a long, drawn-out process, and in the end I wound up with a bad registration time because of how few credits were accepted by the school," Jacobson said. Tufts allows a maximum of 17 credits to transfer from other schools, and in order to get the 17 more required to graduate in liberal arts, transfer students face a possible delay in the year of a students' graduation, thousands of dollars in extra housing and tuition fees, and knowing that they wasted time in classes that were deemed unacceptable by Tufts standards. Overall, Jacobson gave the process a so-so rating. "It just wasn't smooth. Maybe it will get better in the future, but it's got a ways to go," Jacobson said.

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News

Men's XC runs to second place finish at NESCAC Tournament

August 31

The men's cross country team saw one of its season goals slip through its fingers this weekend, as it lost to the Bowdoin Polar Bears at the NESCAC tournament and settled for a second place finish. While the team has focused mainly on qualifying for the national tournament, it felt disappointed by not winning the title this weekend. "It's always easy to be cavalier about the secondary importance of a meet the day before, but the day after it's always tough to eat crow," coach Connie Putnam said. Bowdoin decisively won the meet on its home course, as it scored 46 points, compared to Tufts' 71. While certain runners, such as senior co-captain Ben Smith and fellow senior Jason Mann did not match their usual standards, the main factor hurting the team was its strategy.In most meets, the Jumbos run a conservative course, starting slowly and attempting to catch their opponents from behind late in the race. Although this strategy has been successful for the team throughout the year, it backfired at Bowdoin. The men had never seen the course before and were unaware of how narrow it was and the amount of the race that went through the woods. In the end, the narrowness of the course played a significant role in preventing the Jumbo runners from catching their Bowdoin challengers. Smith's cold slowed his regular pace, and he finished eighth in a time of 25:41. Mann, who is usually the Jumbos third or fourth runner, finished seventh on the team in 26:14. Despite these individual problems, the duo could not have made enough of a difference to propel Tufts to victory. "Our strategy of running conservatively and packing it up backfired on us," Putnam said. In the end, five of Bowdoin's men finished ahead of the first Tufts finisher, senior co-captain J.R Cruz, who finished sixth with a time of 25:30. "We plan to be ready to run our maximum effort at qualifiers and Bowdoin chose to make a statement at NESCACs," Putnam said. The emotional edge that Bowdoin brought into the race was purposely lacking in Tufts' corner and helped to create a deficit that the Jumbos could not overcome. The Polar Bears, who were racing on their alumni weekend and on their home course, created an atmosphere that the Jumbos could not subdue. Tufts is trying to save its most emotional race for Nov. 10 when it attempts to qualify for the national tournament. "When we heard the results, we were initially disappointed, but as the day went on we realized how well we did run and how much better a race Bowdoin ran," Cruz said. The semi-disappointing day at Bowdoin still had several Jumbo highlights. Senior Justin Lewis hit a personal record, with a fifth place finish on the team with a time of 26:14, representing a landmark for him in a year where he has struggled to overcome injury. Freshmen Nate Brigham and Michael Don also had notable performances, as they rebounded from tough races at All-New Englands to finish third and sixth respectively for the Jumbos with times of 25:50 and 26:24. The men's varsity lineup will now spend another rest week preparing for what it hopes to be its best race of the season at the NCAA qualifiers. Putnam wants the runners to focus on sharpening their skills, but he is happy with the health of his team and the preparation its has put forth thus far in the season. "We want to have adrenaline and emotion as we hit our conditioning peak at the qualifiers," Putnam said.Meanwhile, as the varsity runners relax before the qualifying meet, the rest of the Jumbos will participate in the ECACs this weekend at Williams. The lineup will be missing its strongest runners, but Putnam feels that the team he will enter has the ability to break into the top ten and beat multiple, solid varsity teams. The race begins Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Williams.

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News

Let the sunshine in

August 31

Most students will probably be knee-deep in books, papers, and problem sets on Monday night, and might need something completely unrelated to classes to take their mind off studying. Torn Ticket II has the answer: Monday night, Tufts' student-run musical theater group will perform a concert version of the musical Hair in the Alumni Lounge, at 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.Hair, originally produced in 1968, is a rock musical celebrating sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll. While the music has been hailed as great, its lack of plot often turns up as a shortcoming. Realizing this, the director, senior Chris Gibson (who has been involved in Torn Ticket II since his freshman year), decided to make this production a concert version. The 13-member cast, known as "the tribe," will perform only the songs, accompanied by a five-person pit. The stage will consist of two or three-inch flats and some tie-dye; audience members will lounge on blankets on the floor. Why take time from your busy schedule to see Hair? "It's a fun, amazing show," Gibson says. "It's also completely free and will probably be under an hour long." This Torn Ticket II minor has been in rehearsal for about five weeks. As opposed to the higher-budget major production, minors get proposed late in the semester and tend to be smaller and easier to produce. This semester's major, Zombie Prom, had a cast of only ten, leaving some musically inclined students out in the cold. Enter Hair: a minor with a bigger cast that offered students a chance to get involved with musical theater. What's more, making it a concert show kept the show manageable despite its large cast. "Hair is a fun show that lots of people know the music to," says Gibson. "If we just do the songs, we can do whatever we want with it." To aid him in his efforts to bring tribal love to Tufts, Gibson has Tom Damassa and Tim Nelson, music directors, and Melanie Blake, the stage manager. The four have worked together the past few weeks to design an energetic production that offers a fun look at the "make love, not war" days of the 1960s - complete with messages that still resonate today. One of the famous aspects of Hair is that the cast usually performs one scene completely in the nude. But Gibson says his production will have no naked scene, "unfortunately... or fortunately, depending on what you think." He reminds people, however, that there will be plenty of nakedness the following night at the Naked Quad Run.The Torn Ticket II minor production of Hair will show In Alumni Lounge on Monday, Dec. 10, at 9 and 10:30 p.m. Admission is free.

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AIDS still a concern for college students

August 31

It started in the 80s with a whisper. Two decades later, it's the sob of a wife watching her husband in writhe in pain. It's the cooing of a baby put up for adoption because of his disease. It's the wail of a mother, burying her only daughter who just lost a battle in the deadliest war on the planet. Meanwhile, college students unaware of their own immortality believe that they will not be affected by this epidemic. First reported in the US in 1981, AIDS has now infected more than 1 million people in the country, with 30 million people infected worldwide. In some African countries, over 20 percent of the population is infected. The epidemic is growing most rapidly among minority populations and is a leading killer of African-American males - that's six times higher in African-Americans and three times higher in Hispanics than among whites. Infection among females has risen. AIDS is now being recognized as the fourth leading cause of death in women while remaining one of the leading causes of death in males 25 to 44 years of age. Anyone can be infected, as the disease is no longer affecting any specific portion of the population. The AIDS virus can be transmitted from one person to another through several methods, which include: contact with contaminated blood or blood products, the sharing of needles or syringes, sexual contact, or from mother to infant. Sexually, the virus can be spread through body fluids including sperm, unprotected intercourse with an infected partner, artificial insemination with semen from an infected person, or oral sex. And if you already have another sexually transmitted disease such as syphilis, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea, or bacterial vaginosis, you are more susceptible to acquiring HIV infection during sex with an infected partner. It is also important to recognize the ways HIV is not spread. While HIV has been detected in the saliva of infected individuals, no evidence exists that the virus is spread by contact with saliva. There is no evidence that HIV can be transmitted through sweat, tears, urine, or feces. Furthermore, the virus can not be transmitted through touching an HIV-infected person, kissing, embracing or cuddling, sharing utensils, donating blood when sterile needles are used, or touching objects such as toilet seats, door knobs, or clothes. Typically HIV is not a quick killer. The virus does not immediately cause AIDS; it can lay dormant for years after infection. In untreated cases, the average time for the disease to develop is 10 years or more. An illness known as HIV infection is associated with an acute illness in some infected persons soon after infection. This illness begins within one to three weeks of exposure, and usually involves some combination of symptoms that can be mistaken for other viral infections, especially since the symptoms usually disappear shortly after they appear. Members of the Massachusetts HIV Counseling and Testing Hotline have compiled suggestions for HIV protection. Even though abstinence is the best method, not everyone adheres to that system, the organization says. More realistic safe-sex suggestions made by the hotline include always keeping a latex condom with you while knowing where to get more, practicing putting on a condom privately well before having sex, making condom usage a habit when having sex, and using a new latex condom every time you have sex. The advice is only intensified for those currently using no protection. The Centers for Disease Control acknowledges that many people, especially college students, are having unprotected sex. "Alcohol and drugs [should] be removed from the equation," advised a spokesman for the CDC. "Most unprotected sex happens when people have their inhibitions marred by this popular party ritual of getting inebriated and having sex." Dr. Margaret Higham, Tufts University Health Services Medical Director, recommends testing if a student is in any way at risk for contracting HIV. "If a student believes that they might be infected then they should get tested," Higham said. "[Someone] who is sexually active might be only sleeping with one partner, but how many partners has that person had? They are essentially sleeping with every partner that their current partner has had in the past." And Health Services has the ability to test for HIV. But while the $40 test is relatively inexpensive, the fact that the test was preformed - along with the results of the test - will appear on student records. "If [students] are worried about results appearing on their health records, they can go to free clinics where the results will not end up on their health records," Higham said. "The important issue is that the test is preformed so that if it is positive, treatments can be pursued." But Higham insists that no amount of protection can ensure students' safety. "There is no such thing as safe sex. There is only safer sex," Higham said. "Abstinence is the only foolproof way."

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News

Committee to decide fate of Tufts-in-Ghana next semester

August 31

Following Tufts' summer 2000 decision to suspend Tufts-in-Ghana after a student was violently raped there the previous spring, discussion surrounding the program invariably focused on issues of student safety. But last night, program alumni met with prospective students to discuss details as mundane, though telling, as how to hand-wash clothing. Though the program is still under review, the Office of Study Abroad hopes administrators will decide to reopen Tufts-in-Ghana next fall. The office is inviting students to apply, but cautiously advising them to investigate other study abroad options in case the suspension is not lifted. Whether it reopens next semester partly depends on the recommendations of Janna Behrens, who was hired this fall to evaluate the program and determine how to improve student safety. Beherens, a former Peace Corps worker in Ghana, will submit a report within the next two weeks, although she could not say when the administration would determine the program's fate. She hopes it will decide before Feb. 1, the application due date for Tufts' ten overseas programs. The rape, which occurred on the Accra campus of the University of Ghana, was not the program's first instance of sexual assault - participants reported three incidents of rape in 1998 alone. The University pointed to the recent, most severe incident as primary grounds for the program's suspension, but cited prior security concerns as well. The program was suspended by then-Vice President of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering Mel Bernstein. In evaluating the program, Behrens met with administrators, faculty, students, and program alumni, as well as officials at the University of Ghana during a visit to the Legon campus in October. She also evaluated the University of Ghana's efforts to increase the safety of its foreign students. She said that security measures were now in place at the University that did not exist when the program was suspended a year and a half ago, including a special dormitory for international students. But she added that the program's on-site orientation must address the cultural differences between Americans and Ghanaians concerning the signals and expectations that precede consensual sex. Behrens has also examined ways to better integrate program participants into Ghanaian society, including internship placements and partnerships with local students. "We try to make anyone who comes from anywhere feel comfortable with us," said Daniel Torvinyo, an exchange student from Ghana. "If you mingle with them, you will really enjoy your time in Ghana." Although Behrens acknowledged the incidents which caused the program's suspension, she decided not to delve into a discussion of the cultural differences at last night's meeting. "I'm saving the really cultural things for the one-on-one sessions," she explained afterward. "It's a very individual thing." Behrens, who has given applications to six students, said she was "pleasantly surprised" by student interest. When the program began in 1996, only three students made the journey to Ghana. During the following three years, that number has been as high as ten. For those that participate, some said Tufts-in-Ghana might be one of the most rewarding of Tufts' overseas programs. "You can easily find topics for senior theses," said economics professor Ed Kutsoati, a native of Ghana. "You are basically seeing a democracy at its grassroots. You see how [International Monetary Fund] and World Bank policies are taking effect first-hand." Sophomore Cheryl Testa said her interest in Tufts-in-Ghana was sparked in part by an African music class she is taking, which introduced her to Ghanaian music. As for the rapes, she said she was more afraid that past events would limit her own experience, but not that a similar incident would happen again. "I've always been interested in African society," she said. "The further you get from the United States, the more you learn about yourself."

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News

Drinking for Whom?

August 31

I cannot understand why male 18-year-old US citizens can be drafted to fight for their country, but they cannot legally purchase a beer. Why does our country believe that at age 18, citizens have good enough judgment to vote for public leaders, yet 18 to 21-year-olds do not have acceptable judgment to consume alcohol? The proponents' main focus and defense regarding the legal age of consumption is, and has been, drunk driving. There are many separate topics tied into the debate regarding the legal drinking age, but the following will demonstrate why a high drinking age is wrong. The drinking age laws have led to segregation in society. They have driven underage drinking away from public social events and into private parties, usually with people who have little responsible drinking behavior. It is unrealistic for the law to ever be obeyed by minors who wish to consume alcohol. Not only do college students drink in an "irresponsible manner," but even high school students do the same. What society sees as a greater cost than social tension and use of public resources is the supposed cost of saved lives resulting from a higher drinking age. I use the term "supposed" because even though statistics demonstrate a decrease in the number of drunk driving accidents for people under the age of 21, it is illogical to conclude this is due to an increased drinking age. Society has established many programs and policies in an attempt to counteract drunk driving for people above and below the legal drinking age since 1986, and they have proven successful. Statistics show that since the drinking age laws were written, there has been a decrease in the amount of drunk-driving-related deaths for people under the age of 21. Is the decrease a result of the laws or the increase in education and precautionary measures? If the decrease is due to the laws, then people must measure the costs and benefits that result from these laws. I will use the economic concept of "cost-benefit analysis" to demonstrate what I mean. If about 17,000 lives have been saved over the 11-year time period (1985-1996), then an average of 1,550 lives have been saved per year. Is the cost of these lives worth all the other conditions that the laws burden society with? As trivial as it sounds, I do not think so. If the government can gather millions of dollars of taxes from alcoholic products and use them, for example, to stop genocide in another country, is that worth a few hundred lives. Is one life more important then the happiness of millions of others? The politicians who wrote the laws did not write them the way the majority of the country wanted them. Presently in America, the groups that oppose a low drinking age have more political support, and that is why they have the laws in their favor. The advocates of the laws, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), have lobbyists and funding to support their views. The majority of people who oppose the drinking age laws tend to be young adults with little funding. There exist millions of people over the age of 21 who support a lower drinking age. The problem is, they are not willing to commit the time and money into changing the laws because they are no longer directly affected by them. The present lack of a strong anti-drinking age public voice is one reason politicians tend to side with the advocates. If there were a proportional representation of the people who want and do not want the drinking laws, then drinking laws would probably be abolished. If Europe were to be looked at as an example, many would see that young people can use alcohol like any older person in society. In Europe, drinking privileges are not abused by youths, proportionally to the amount of adults that abuse drinking. When my brother went to Greece, he said that none of the kids there abused alcohol the way he and his friends did. When I went to Germany and Amsterdam with my hockey team, I noticed the same thing. I asked a kid my age in Europe (I was 16 at the time) about how much people our age drink. His response was that they definitely do party and drink, but that they do not participate in these activities any more than the 21-year-olds in their town. Europe is a perfect model that demonstrates that a lack of drinking laws are safe and constructive. People of all ages will continue to drink alcohol regardless of almost any regulations. A reduction in the drinking age can increase the equity in our country, decrease social tension, and resolve a major conflict in our politically saturated society.Oliver Garfield is a sophomore majoring in economics.

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Monday night provides a meaningful match-up

August 31

We're getting to the point in the season when games start to have implications larger than determining the outcome of weekly office pools. This is why Monday night's matchup between the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders is a crucial one. Though the season is not even halfway over, when you only play division foes twice, each game is magnified. In addition, the Raiders and the Broncos were expected to be competing for the AFC West title, so the this game could go a long way in determining the winner of the division. This game may not seem too important on the schedule, since the Raiders are 5-1, two games ahead in the loss column of the 4-3 Broncos. Even a Raiders loss wouldn't put the Broncos on top. But if the Raiders could win this one, they would make a solid claim to the title of premier team in the AFC. The Raiders have been the only consistently dominant team in the AFC. Other teams may have the same record or have played as well, but the Raiders are the only squad that was expected to be at the top and is.Oakland wins games the way championship teams win games. The Raiders have a talented quarterback with a deep knowledge of the offense in Rich Gannon. He has plenty of weapons in running back Charlie Garner and a pair of Hall of Fame wide receivers, Jerry Rice and Tim Brown. The offensive line, though banged up at the moment, is one of the top three in the league, and the defense has played well enough to keep the team in games. In the Raiders only loss, to the Miami Dolphins in Week Two, the defense allowed only 18 points. However, if the Raiders are to lose to the Broncos on Monday night, a lot of these compliments will be for naught. Under coach Jon Gruden, the Raiders have never beaten the Broncos (0-6). The team considers the Broncos their final nemesis left to conquer - like the dragon you have to slay at the end of a level in Super Mario Brothers. The Raiders are playing the best football in the league right now, but if they can't beat the Broncos on Monday night, it might mean they don't have enough for a Super Bowl run. And for Broncos' head coach Mike Shanahan, this game means more than just a place in the AFC West standings. Shanahan is a former Raider head coach, but he left on bad terms with owner Al Davis after Davis fired Shanahan in the middle of the season and refused to pay him his full salary. Shanahan has taken that personally and has gone 11-1 against Oakland since taking over the Broncos. But beating the Raiders won't be as easy for Shanahan as it has been in some years. His team isn't as strong as predicted, and despite a 31-20 win over the New England Patriots last week, there's still no evidence that Denver's previously vaunted running game has returned. What will help is the comeback of Terrell Davis, who has been cleared to play this week. That will mean Shanahan will have three healthy running backs at his disposal, and he's going to have to use them. Quarterback Brian Griese is not 100 percent because of shoulder soreness, so establishing a dominant running attack is a must for Denver. Even if you're merely a casual fan, and you couldn't care less about the AFC West standings, watch this game anyway. These teams hate each other, they always have, and you're bound to see at least a few skirmishes. In addition, these teams boast two of the best offensive lines in the game, and each team has a good, young cornerback. The Raiders' Charles Woodson has already proved himself to be one of the best in the league, while the Broncos' Delthea O'Neal is having a breakout season. Raiders, Broncos, Hank Williams, and Dennis Miller - it doesn't get much better for a Monday night. The good It's good for the 1972 Miami Dolphins that the New Orleans Saints defeated the St. Louis Rams last weekend 34-31 on a field goal at the end of the game. The '72 Dolphins remain the only undefeated team in the history of the league, so Larry Csonka and Bob Griese can sleep easy. The game was a wild one, which is beginning to be a pattern for these two teams. The Rams jumped out to an early lead, but sloppy play allowed the Saints to get back in it. Ah, parody reigns again. The bad The game between New York Jets and Carolina Panthers was one of the worst games ever played. The Jets won 13-12, but the score was irrelevant. The Jets may want to start snapping the ball directly to running back Curtis Martin, because quarterback Vinny Testeverde was atrocious in this game. He was intercepted three times, which doesn't tell the whole story. He looked like the same quarterback that got run out of Tampa Bay so many years ago. But the most pathetic part is, the Jets still won on the road. In games like this, both teams should get the loss.The ugly You want ugly? How about the look on Curt Schilling's face when he watched Byung Hyun Kim give up a two-run home run to the New York Yankees' Tino Martinez with two outs in the ninth inning of Game 4. It's the same look people get after eating seven Taco Bell burritos in five minutes.

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News

Jordan finally wins; Iverson the answer in Philly

August 31

He's back. Back in the win column, that is. After helping the Washington Wizards jump out to an unexpected 2-1 start this season, reality began to set in for Michael Jordan and the Wizards, as the team lost its next eight contests. But the downward spiral finally came to a halt, at least temporarily, on Saturday night when the team edged the Boston Celtics at home in overtime, 88-84. Though Jordan managed a mere 17 points on a dismal 7-24 shooting performance - only the third time he has shot that poorly since 1998 - MJ was still able to smile after winning an NBA game. Overall, Jordan's shooting has suffered all season. Although he is sixth in the league in scoring, Jordan's barely 40 percent field goal percentage is more than 10 percent below his career average. And while Michael is clearly not the Michael of old, his Wizards' teammates just plain stink. The putrid combination basically ensures that Jordan and the Jordaneers won't be making very many appearances in the win column this year. While Jordan's comeback has done little to inspire his bumbling teammates, the same cannot be said about the return of Allan Iverson to the Philadelphia 76ers' lineup. With Iverson recovering from offseason shoulder surgery during the first five games of the season, the Sixers stumbled to an 0-5 start. Only a few months after making it to the NBA Finals, it appeared that the injury-plagued Sixers could play themselves out of the playoff race in the first month of the new season. However, "The Answer" returned just in time to prevent such a fate, and since his debut in the sixth game of season, Iverson has seemingly solved all the 76ers' problems. In the eight games in which he has played Philadelphia has gone 7-1 and the 76ers are back in the playoff hunt. Two other Eastern Conference teams with historically high expectations that are struggling are the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat. For much of the 1990's the Knicks/Heat rivalry was one of the NBA's greatest. However, if the season thus far is any indication, instead of battling for playoff position and the Atlantic Division title, these two proud franchises may end up duking it out to avoid the cellar spot. So what's the problem? For both teams, the list is endless. But in short, both teams are old, slow and lack healthy big men. For the Knicks, their only true big man, Marcus Camby, has been out all season. And for the Heat, Alonzo Mourning can't seem to stay healthy. Allan Houston is not living up to his hefty contract in New York and Miami's former star guard Tim Hardaway is now a backup in Dallas. Though both teams still have high expectations, it may be time for these squads to think about rebuilding. Out in the Western Conference, a similar changing of the guard seems to be taking place. After years of being the eighth seed in the Western Conference Playoffs its appears that the Minnesota Timberwolves are fed up with the one-round-and-out performance that they have grown accustomed to. While it is still very early in the season, if the playoffs were to begin today, the T-Wolves and their 10-2 record would be the number two seed in the West. Yes, there is a lot more basketball to be played. But it appears that Kevin Garnett and company are determined to gain homecourt advantage in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and finally do some damage. On the flip side, perennial playoff contender, the Utah Jazz appear to be headed in the opposite direction. Perhaps age is finally catching up to Karl Malone and John Stockton as the dynamic duo doesn't appear to have the magic left for yet another playoff run. With a 4-8 record, the Jazz would not qualify for the playoffs if they were to begin today. Such a fall from grace would be hard to swallow for a franchise that has been so good for so long and boasts two future Hall of Famers. It remains to be seen whether the pair can right the sinking ship. Other teams that are surprising throughout the league include coach Byron Scott's New Jersey Nets who sit atop the Atlantic Division with a 9-4 record (not including Sunday), the Boston Celtics, who are playing nearly .500 ball, and the Golden State Warriors who at 6-7 (not including Sunday) are also approaching .500 in the Pacific Division. The L.A. Clippers and the Orlando Magic are surprising for other reasons as both teams entered the season with high expectations and both are struggling to get over the .500 mark.

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News

The Strokes rock Axis

August 31

After an abundance of anti-hype hype surrounding the now-infamous Strokes, I investigated their live act hoping to determine whether this was a case of style over substance, whether the critical acclaim and adulation was deserved, and whether the fivesome could back up their attitude and image with quality and sincerity. In light of the tragic events of Sept. 11, it is reassuring and especially inspiring to see NYC's finest kick out the jams. Axis, 8 p.m. A troupe sets foot onstage, all-male save for a lone female wearing a Thunderbirds T-shirt and a face childishly painted as a cat. The others in the trucker troupe (one clad in a Spiderman costume, one in a judge's robe, another in a pintucket skirt and fur vest a la Goldilocks) surround the Thunderbirds cat and her companion, a young gent: Huckleberry Finn crossed with the fairy Godmother. Meet NYC's favorite hillbilly junkies, opening band Moldy Peaches, pioneers of "folk-porn." Their set is nothing short of pure entertainment and laughs. Musically, they sound like an old-school lo-fi wacked-out, cracked-out, sexed-up Beck. Imagine Ween meets the Flaming Lips crossed with South Park. With songs like "Who's Got the Crack," and "Downloading Porn with Davo," many of their lyrics are too explicit to mention in print. For all their juvenile abandon and absurdity, Huck and Thunderbird make a cute duo, like a young Sonny and Cher. For this reason, as offensive and vulgar as their lyrics may be, they get away with it, and retain their innocent cuteness and naivet?©. Next up, The Strokes... Not one song stands out because they are all great, solid tunes that are explosive live. The pretty boys deliver, what else is there to say? After being snatched up by Rough Trade after the release of a three-song EP, The Modern Age, they became overnight superstars in England where they reached number 16 on the commercial charts. Now, they look set to conquer this side of the Atlantic with equal prowess and charm. Yes, maybe they do come from privileged backgrounds, and yes, perhaps they do play up the cocky rock star image, and yes, they are five suber-cool, super-slick dashing young lads with matching New York attitudes. But to dismiss them as a mere rip-off band is a great injustice. Although their sound may be reminiscent of early Velvet Undergound fused with Television, Talking Heads, and some Blondie thrown into the mix, they produce an exuberant and original set of suave raw-powered songs. Their five skinny frames swagger onstage and commence an hour of smooth yet careening jamming. From the Pixies-tinged "Is This It?" to Julian Casablancas' velvety Little Richard vocal inflections in "The Modern Age," to the twangy guitar dance-hall hit, "Last Nite," their underground garage-fuelled drumbeats and dirty upbeat retro-punk melodies get almost all the scenesters, poseurs, and wallflowers dancing. Casablancas thanks the crowd on numerous occasions, and stumbles over the stage down into the audience to sing to his delirious admirers. The climax occurs during "New York City Cops," which the band hesitated to play at first, Julian explains. After an hour of throbbing tunes and jangling new-wave/no-wave retro dance rock from their debut LP, Is This It?, the Strokes stride offstage, leaving behind a cluster of elated ladies and frenzied fans. Everyone else seems happy, impressed, and pumped. Is this it? If "it" means one of the coolest bands to have appeared and one of the best albums to have been released this year, then yes, I believe it is.

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