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News

Upperclassmen more active in campus activities

August 31

From the Amalgamates and the Caribbean Club to the Ultimate Frisbee team and the Zamboni, students have over 150 options if they want to get involved in activities at Tufts. But does the breadth of student activities that sounds so enticing in admissions brochures lose its appeal by the time students become upperclassmen? Ed Cabellon, assistant director of Student Activities and advisor to the Senior Class Council, doesn't think so. "I think juniors and seniors are more involved than freshmen and sophomores," Cabellon said. "They are more mature and can balance things. Freshmen and sophomores are still getting used to the routine, [and] it takes some people a while to find their niche." Cabellon estimates that close to 70-80 percent of seniors are involved in something. The numbers may not be immediately obvious, since 40 percent of juniors are abroad each semester. Cabellon also said that by the time a student becomes a senior, they are looking to get as much from Tufts as they can. "Seniors start thinking, 'What have I not done yet?'" he said. Seniors are also more likely to hold higher positions within organizations than are underclassmen. "The bigger student organizations like LCS, the Senate, and Program Board are run by seniors, because of the level of responsibility," Cabellon said. "Seniors know [school] politics and the way to do things. Cabellon added that involved seniors are very passionate about their activities. "Their hearts are in it," he said. "It might not start out like that, but that's how it ends up." Senior Andrea Perry found that in her experience in LCS, University Chorale, and sororities, Cabellon's assessment is accurate. Since freshman year, she has cut down on the number of activities she participates in to focus more on just a few. "Now I spend most of my time on [duties for my] sorority positions," Parry said. "I was president of Alpha Phi, and now I'm the director of new member orientation. I dropped everything else." Student activities may be even more important than internships in preparing upperclassmen for life after Tufts, according to Cabellon. For one thing, mistakes are easily forgivable in campus life, but not so much in a job. Running a student organization may stand out more on applications or resumes. "What separates Tufts students when applying for a job or to law school is their involvement...Everyone did internships, but not everyone got involved," Cabellon said. Plus, activities can be related to career interests, giving students the best of both worlds. "Pre-vet kids do the pre-veterinary society," Cabellon said. As upperclassmen, "most students start to migrate to things more related to future careers. Student activities are... the 'cherry on top' for a Tufts career." Sophomore Emily Rhodes, for one, believes her activities will contribute to her future plans. "I'm involved in LCS and TFA [Tufts Feminist Alliance] and Student Outreach now, and I imagine that it will probably be the same [activities], if not a few more, during my junior and senior year," Rhodes said. "My future job will hopefully be with community organizations, so I think LCS will help with that." Junior Steve Krubiner says he became active in student organizations only after his freshman year. He believes he will be even more involved when he comes back after a semester abroad. Although Krubiner was very involved in high school activities, he wanted to focus on schoolwork and meeting people during his freshman year. "I've been more involved sophomore and junior year," he said. "I've been a tour guide for two years, and I was a Big Brother last year. I want to start a juggling club senior year, and I may do an internship. I will definitely maintain the same involvement." Kristine Dillon, the dean of Academic Services and Student Affairs, works with the Senior Leadership Corps, which consists of about one hundred seniors nominated by class deans. The students are active leaders on campus, Dillon explains, even through their last semester at Tufts. "They volunteer their time and care about the quality of the campus experience and about their ongoing relationship to Tufts once they graduate," Dillon said. It seems that students agree with Cabellon's words: "The secret to success in college is being involved."

News

Deep Banana Blackout lets it all hang out

August 31

"It just kind of stuck" - a simple statement from a straightforward man in a not-so-simple band. It was the band's name - Deep Banana Blackout - that did the sticking and has remained, in all its absurdness, as a sort of permanent backdrop against which so many other changes have occurred. On Saturday, Deep Banana Blackout will open this year's Fall Fest on the Residential Quad. The band Tufts students will see, however, is but a specter of its Deep Banana-past. Since forming in 1995, the band has existed in a number of incarnations with a wide array of musicians, an ever-expanding repertoire, and a constantly evolving sound. The band refuses to classify itself in a genre even though most would label it as funk, the group's admitted primary influence. In an interview with the Daily, Fuzz (born James SanGiovanni), one of the eight-member band's lead guitarists and vocalists, tried to articulate his take on the band's sound. "We are trying to follow the path toward our own original style," he explained. "We work hard to create our own spin on the music, while paying tribute to all the great performers of funk and soul." He rattled them off as if reciting a grocery list: "Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Otis Redding...." These are musicians at the front of Fuzz's mind at all times. One can picture an aged jukebox deep within the man's cranium, forever rotating through one musical masterpiece after the next. "The one thing all our music has in common is that it is rhythmic and soulful. We've dug down to the roots of blues and gospel. And at the same time, we are hoping to create a new voice," he said. It's hard to imagine that the band got together for the first time only six years ago. Its mission then: simply to jam. "We had gotten together to play music that we all liked." They were a cover band playing the varied music of all those aforementioned influences. It was no wonder, then, that when Deep Banana Blackout moved from cover artists to performers of original work, it knew exactly where to look for inspiration It has been a number of years since the band decided to follow its own path. Pleased with their success so far, Fuzz and his bandmates are constantly looking ahead. "We want to create a lot more music. We want to create a sound where people hear it and say 'That's Deep Banana Blackout.'" And of course, more and more success would provide the band with enough support to continue making music as long as it desires: "We want to be able to do it as a full time job." The success of the band's second album - Feel the Peel, released just this summer - might help make that possible. "Our audience has seemed to like it. We've gotten a lot more airplay than we ever have in the past." And more importantly, Fuzz adds, "we're showing forward movement."The recent experience has helped put things in perspective. Which is better: Performing live or recording? Fuzz, for one, refuses to pick one. "They are both cool. They both have benefits." Studio work may present tangible evidence of hard work and allow the band to reach more listeners, but there's something special about a live performance.That "something special" occurs for DBB nearly every night - the group has been playing upwards of 200 gigs a year. Fuzz speaks eagerly, trying desperately to share the emotion of the moment. He is confident but not aggressive - fully aware, it seems, that discussing his music is meaningless without experiencing it. "After a show, to say we really broke some new ground for Deep Bannana Blackout... it's a great feeling." Over the past year, the band has had the privilege of sharing that feeling not only in the Northeast but across the nation and the globe. Deep Banana Blackout has performed from San Francisco to Chicago, New Orleans to Los Angeles, slowly building a listener base wherever it travels. The group recently returned from a Blue Note tour of Japan where, much to its surprise, the band was greeted by throngs of fans. A large part of what makes being part of Deep Bannana Blackout so fun - touring, recording, jamming and all - is the collaboration that goes on among the eight band members. Fuzz, who writes the setlists, is usually up front with Hope Clayburn on saxophones, flute, and vocals, Rob Somerville on saxophones and vocals, and Brian Smith on trombone, tuba, and vocals. Supporting them are Benj LeFevre on bass, Cyrus Madan on organ, keyboards, and vocals, Johnny Durkin on percussion, and Eric Kalb on drums. "I make sure that everybody gets their fair share. Everyone gets involved in the process." Fuzz put it simply: "It's a big band," the tone of his voice implying a world of challenges created by the sheer number of performers sharing the stage at once. But when it works, the reward is that much more fulfilling. "The thing about this group is that everyone is super creative and super critical. It is good to have every voice involved." So how did such a creative group of friends and artists come to call themselves Deep Banana Blackout? "It doesn't have any special meaning," Fuzz warned before jumping into his explanation. When the band was still in its infancy, it went by some other name, one that Fuzz qualifies as being both "generic" and "not worth mentioning." Then suddenly, "it happened one night. We were on a gig." A former band member approached Fuzz exclaiming that she had a special dream, in which she experienced a moment of clarity and decided, "We had to call the band Deep Banana Blackout." The name kept them laughing and existed as a sort of inside joke among the musicians for weeks. They would occasionally announce themselves to audiences, not by their original name, but as Deep Banana Blackout. "We had two names for a while," Fuzz said, but before they knew it, everyone had started to pick it up and the wacky name was the band's permanent title: "It just kind of stuck." Once stuck, the band embraced it and the name remains a marker to this day of the joy and creative silliness of its music. That same spirit and energy has guided Deep Banana Blackout from its inception through a process of constant growth and collaboration - funk-style.

News

Protecting my family

August 31

A lot of people ask me what I think about the situation in Israel. What do I think? I think people are dying. I think families are being destroyed. I think natural resources are being ravaged. I think all the people of a beautiful country are giving all their hearts at the expense of their blood. And it is mired in this political sewage. Do I care what America thinks about Israel? Yes. Do I care what the UN thinks about Israel? Yes. Do I care that Zionism is being equated with racism? My grandfather and his family were active members of the World Zionist Congress after leaving Poland and that my other grandparents emigrated to Israel after leaving communist anti-Semitic Romania. My father and cousins have fought in the army to protect Zionistic fundamentals, and if I move back to Israel I will have to do the same. Considering the above, the answer is yes. Do I care that Israel is being called a terrorist state, the ultimate of paradoxes? Yes. Do I care what the world thinks about the way Israel provides security to its lands and its people? NO! You can have your opinions, take your polls, and lobby 'til the cows come home, but I support actions which prevent my aunt and uncle from being blown up by a suicide bomber in a restaurant two miles from their house. I support actions that prevent car bombs going off in the same neighborhood in which my grandparents live. I support action that protects my cousins when they hang out in Tel-Aviv and that prevents them from being shot or mortared at their posts as they stand guard as the first line of defense to protect civilians from these attacks. I support action that allows every citizen of Israel an opportunity to ride a public bus without fear, to send kids to school in buses rather than armored cars, and a capital city that does not need to be constantly patrolled by soldiers toting M-16s and Uzis. Is this unfair? I don't care. I can't even fathom how anyone expects me to start thinking about an autonomous Palestinian state when the terms of peaceful coexistence aren't even on the table. There are a lot of demands, and I can not simply trust the assertion that once they are all met, peace will just happen. Anyway, even if those demands are addressed, I am not willing to give up even a piece of Jerusalem. I've seen bullet holes in walls from the fighting that went on in the old city when it was occupied by Jordan. I've seen pictures of grown men crying and Moshe Dayan walking through the gates for the first time, touching the remains of the second temple, the wall. Those are my heroes. I've been to the places and talked to the people who put their lives on the line. I've been to the cemeteries where hundreds of soldiers who, when they died for their country so that I could have the honor of calling myself Israeli, were younger than I am. Israel is something my great grandparents could only pray and dream for and something my grandparents helped create. I cannot and will not let the very roots of my religion and my family heritage hinge on a promise which has already been made and broken. That's how I feel. It's not because I hate Palestinians. It's because I am Israeli. Don't ask me about what Sharon, Peres, or Arafat said. I'm no IR major, and I have issues deciphering everything that goes on in the political arena. Nor can I give you an in depth explanation of most of the topics ranging from air safety, water flow, border crossings, and the textile plant in Dimona. It's not that they don't matter. They do. They matter a great deal to everybody in the region because they effect every person's daily life and not just some clauses on a piece of paper. However, they're just not the issues I can worry about right now. In my mind, it is not about Israelis vs. Palestinians. It's not about religion and it's not about land. I know I should probably end this with some sappy message about coming together and negotiating compromises, but I'll leave that for a more qualified person. All I want is to be able to walk the streets of Jerusalem with my friends, pointing out where I was born, where I lived, and where I'm going to live without a flak jacket on.Ariel Weissman is a junior majoring Engineering-Psychology.

News

Protein 101

August 31

By now, you've certainly heard the testimonials. If you want to lose weight, look good, or simply have more energy, you should be on a high protein diet. The words of Dr. Atkins and Barry Sears are becoming as commonplace as daily bread, or, more specifically, daily meat. Whether they are a fad or not, high protein diets have developed a lifestyle following. The buzz surrounding these diets has prompted some to wonder about basic information about protein: What is it? What does it do? Do these diets really work? Read below to learn more about the basics of this key nutrient.So what is protein, anyway? Your body uses protein to build and repair itself. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Of the 20 amino acids that humans need, 11 are made by the body and are considered nonessential. The remaining nine must be obtained from food and are therefore essential - it is 'essential' that these amino acids are part of your diet. The 'protein quality' of a food is determined by its amino acid make-up. Foods that contain all nine essential amino acids are referred to as 'complete proteins'. These are usually animal products such as meat, milk, cheese, poultry, and fish (soybeans are the exception). Tofu, tempeh, and other foods made from soy are also considered 'complete.' More commonly, plant proteins (such as rice, grains, and nuts) are deficient in one or more essential amino acids or are 'incomplete.' But if you eat them together, like having peanut butter on whole wheat bread or eating beans and rice, your protein is 'complete.'Protein requirements The government mandated Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is based on body weight. Take a minute to calculate your protein requirement, and you may be surprised by the amount you require compared to the amount you take in. The RDA is as follows: Multiply .36 grams by your weight in pounds. This will equal the grams of protein needed each day. For example, a woman who weighs 118 pounds would require 43 grams of protein each day (.36 x 118 = 43 grams). The average American easily reaches and often exceeds this protein requirement without even being on a high protein diet. Actual daily protein consumption ranges from 88-92 grams for men and 63-66 grams for women. However, there are many conditions in which extra protein is needed, including childhood/adolescence (growth), pregnancy, lactation, intense strength and endurance training, and some diseases such as AIDS and cancer. Elderly persons also may require additional amounts of protein. For the general population, the body does not need or use excess protein. Any excess protein can hang around and become a burden for the kidney and liver.Schools of thought One big concern that nutrition professionals have about high protein diets is that they tend to be higher in animal fats, which can increase cholesterol levels and raise the risk for heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes over time. The low amount of carbohydrates allowed from fruits, cereals, vegetables, or other food groups can lead to deficits in vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and other nutrients that fight cancer and maintain bone density. Nutrition experts say that high protein diets may not be harmful for most healthy people over the short term. They're wary, though, since they believe the "science" used to promote these diets is based on unpublished research or unproven and potentially invalid studies. Dr. Alice Lichtenstein, Tufts nutrition professor and vice-chairman of the American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee, recently spoke to the media about the problems with these diets. "These diets prescribe lots of animal proteins and those tend to be high in saturated fats, which increases cholesterol. And because these diets restrict the intake of fruits and vegetables, that compounds the increases of LDL [bad] cholesterol and lessens the benefits of weight loss on the reduction of blood pressure," she said in an Oct. 9 HealthScout interview. Lichtenstein offers some practical advice. "Follow a diet high in fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, and consume low-fat dairy, meats and fish," she said. Of course, the other part of the equation is to maintain exercise so that food consumption is balanced with energy expenditure. Parting words on protein If you are thinking about jumping on the high-protein bandwagon, make sure you understand that it carries some risk. Aside from the potential long term problems (heart disease, osteoporosis, and kidney/liver damage), these diets can severely crimp a healthy lifestyle and mindset. Planning your food for the entire week and avoiding alcohol might not be such bad things but wouldn't you just rather exercise and eat what and when you want? You don't have to be an expert on nutrition to eat healthfully. However, be curious and question what you read. If only someone could make sensible eating flashy and turn it into a best selling diet book...Tara Mardigan, a Registered Dietitian, is a combined Nutrition and Masters of Public Health student at Tufts.

News

Charity concert money not paid

August 31

Although the Tufts Feminist Alliance (TFA) generated about $2,000 last year to benefit Respond, a battered women's shelter in Somerville, the charity will not receive most of the money because the student government Treasury did not obtain the appropriate paperwork before June 30, the end of the last fiscal year. TFA members realized the error at the beginning of the semester, when sophomore Kelly Sanborn, TFA concert committee co-chair, contacted Respond, Inc. to organize the third annual benefit concert and was told that the organization had never received last year's check. Last year's performance was Tufts' second to benefit Respond and featured Somerville's own Kris Delmhorst and Catie Curtis. Tickets cost $10. Despite the error, TFA and Respond will sponsor another benefit concert on Dec. 10. Tickets will again cost $10 and all proceeds will go to Respond. According to Sanborn, a form authorizing the money to be released to Respond at the end of last year was misplaced. The $2,000 remained in TFA's University account, and after June 30, was returned to the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Treasury. According to TCU Senate Treasurer Ben Lee, whenever an organization holds an event and donates earnings to charity, it must fill out a charity events request form. TFA did not submit the form, Lee said, "so the money from the concert went into their account and the check was never cut." According to Lee, the Senate has no documentation that TFA requested that the money go to Respond and without the form, there is no proof that the money was earmarked for the organization. "It went back into the surplus, and was eventually dispersed back into the TCU," he said. "Almost a year after, [Respond] came and said that they never got their check." Now that the money has been returned to the Treasury, Lee said he cannot retrieve it for the shelter. After learning of the error, Sanborn and other TFA members worked to locate Respond's money. "Respond was obviously upset, but we're still working with them to try to work something out," Sanborn said. "We're trying to come to some type of agreement. But they're not going to see the majority of the money." TFA hopes to at least reimburse Respond for the services it provided for last year's show, including food for the artists and paper for table tents and fliers. But it is not clear where TFA will acquire the funds. Ray Rodriguez, budget and fiscal coordinator for the Office of Student Activities, worked with TFA to address the missing donation. "My office regrets that this occurred, but we must follow bylaws set by the Tufts Community Union," Rodriguez wrote in a statement released Tuesday. The TFA is taking extra care with this semester's concert, which will feature Pamela Means, Meghan Toohey, and Deb Talan together on the Goddard Chapel stage. "We're keeping close track of all the paperwork, and decided to have the check cut at the end of the semester as opposed to the end of the year... to ensure that Respond has their money as soon as possible," Sanborn said. Music is an integral part of Respond's fundraising efforts. In 1999, the organization released Respond, a compilation CD, organized by Boston-area songwriters Jess Klein, Lori McKenna, and Mary Lou Lord, among others. Respond offers a 24-hour hotline, an emergency shelter, counseling, and support groups for women and children.

News

Field hockey focusing on present for future success

August 31

With the new season comes new players and new strategies for the field hockey team. The girls are looking to put the dissatisfaction that came when they fell to Bowdoin in the semi-finals in the NESCAC playoff tournament behind them and focus on the present. "We are really just concentrating on this year as opposed to last year or what we could change from last season. That was then, and this is now," senior tri-captain Lindsay Lionetti said. "Of course we miss the girls that graduated, but when you come to a new season it's the current team that you need to focus on." Veteran coach Carol Rappoli altered the team's formation on the field from a 4-3-2-1 formation to a 3-2-3-2 in order to account for additions and losses to the team. "The new formation is really tailored to this team's strengths as opposed to attempting to fill voids left by last year," Lionetti said. The squad sees much of its strength in its versatility and depth. With 17 of 23 returning players, 10 of whom are juniors and seniors, these women have been playing together for several seasons and know each others' strengths and weaknesses. Although Rappoli has not secured the starting eleven, the players are confident that any way she fills in the lineup will be a strong one. "When we say that we have depth, we also mean that any player can be put in any position on the field at any given time and perform well," said senior Liesl Bradford, who was a starting defender last year. The team returns seven of last season's starters, including All-NESCAC Lionetti who accounted for six goals and two assists in the 2000 campaign. Junior Dana Chivvis has notched 17 goals in two seasons and is expected to be one of the top offensive threats in the NESCAC. Rebounding from a nagging foot and hamstring injury is junior Laura Hacker, who has been out of commission on and off for her two seasons at Tufts but now seems to be back to full throttle. "She's in really good shape and is pretty much at 100 percent," Bradford said. "If she can stay healthy, we could see some pretty good things from her." The squad will also look to senior tri-captains Christina Orf and Barbara Szjada, senior Megan Carleton and junior Ursula Stahl. Orf was fifth on the team last year with seven points, while Szjada and Stahl played in all 18 games. The freshman appear to be promising, though few have the potential to see real playing time. Willow Hagge, a sophomore transfer born in Maine, is also a new addition to the squad. "We really are a whole new team," Chivvis said. "We are going to be really scrappy and bug the crap out of a couple of teams that think they're a lot better than us. I think we're going to surprise some people in a good way." "I don't think we necessarily know how or in what ways we have improved from last season, since we haven't played a game yet. I do know that we have changed a lot as a team, and are far more experienced as a whole," Lionetti said. A new challenge facing the team is the new NESCAC regulation imposed on corner balls. All corner balls must be stopped dead right outside the circle before being brought inside the circle, as opposed to years past when the ball could be stopped anywhere. Since one can only score from inside the circle, this will make it much more difficult to score on corner balls. "We have to completely reconfigure our corner situation because of this, so we've been working on that a lot during practice," Bradford said. The Jumbos kick off their season Thursday at Bentley College, where they will play on Astroturf, making for a faster-paced game than they are accustomed to. However, coming off a successful pre-season, the women feel prepared and fit to start up again. "Pre-season was hard," Chivvis said. "It's always difficult to have eleven days of straight practice. "But we are all in really good shape and our team morale is high. Our captains have done a great job of getting us though it, and getting us psyched for the season." The team will encounter its first NESCAC rival next Saturday when it faces Middlebury College at home, beginning at 1 p.m.

News

Students brave weather to rally for awareness of domestic abuse

August 31

Wind and rain could not extinguish the candles and spirits of the estimated 50 students who came to the library roof Tuesday night to rally for awareness and education on domestic abuse. Huddled under umbrellas for the annual "Take Back the Night" event, the crowd listened to speakers encourage women not to live in fear. The rally, organized by the Tufts Feminist Alliance (TFA), was modeled on a movement started in Belgium in 1976 by the same name. At universities and in cities across the globe, women traditionally walk through the streets during "Take Back the Night" rallies to protest violence against women. Woman's Center Director Peggy Barrett said she was pleased with the support for the cause, though turnout was half as large as last year. Sophomore Emily Rhodes, who said the rally is designed to "protest violence against women," organized the event, and read a story about an abused woman. Although the weather thinned the crowd, those who stayed after the speeches marched down the library steps, past the campus center, and down Professor's Row. As they walked, the students chanted slogans addressing women's equality and rape. "Whatever we wear, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no," they said. The slogans grew louder and were accompanied by noisemakers when the group passed fraternity houses on Professor's Row. Attendees at the rally represented a broad spectrum of campus activists but very few uninvolved students. Gunenr Gurwitch spoke on behalf of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual (LGBT) community, saying domestic abuse is not limited to acts of violence by men against women, sharing a personal story of abuse by her girlfriend. Gurwitch said she did not initially understand that her girlfriend was abusing her. "Women's-only areas are supposed to be safe," she said. Homosexual relationships are just as likely to involve abuse as heterosexual ones, she said, adding that one in four relationships involve some sort of domestic abuse. Members of the Leonard Carmichael Society and Tufts Collective of Men Against Violence also lent support to the rally. Sophomore Wilnelia Rivera, a women's studies major, said these rallies are important "because they heighten awareness.". Representatives from different support groups such the Women's Center, TTLGBC, Students Sexual Assault Response Assistance (SSARA), Respond (a local service for battered women and children), and the Tufts University Police Department, spoke at the rally. All groups offer confidential counsel. Rhodes said the campus is generally safe, but told the Daily that women should "use common sense."

News

Co-ed Sailing brings home national championship

August 31

The co-ed sailing team edged out rivals Harvard and Dartmouth this June to capture the Dinghy National Championship for the fifth time, also Tufts' 23rd overall sailing title. With only one race remaining in the A division and Tufts sandwiched in third place, 14 points behind Harvard and just ahead of Dartmouth, senior Laurin Manning was chosen to substitute for sophomore Caroline Hall alongside sophomore Pete Levesque in the Flying Junior (FJ) boat. The new combination of Manning and Levesque grabbed second place, enough to propel the team into first place overall by just one point. Such substitutions are not uncommon for three-day races, said coach Ken Legler. "Manning waded through the surf and hopped into the FJ with Levesque, replacing Caroline Hall for the last A division race as our first and only substitution," Legler said. "It worked." A bit of good fortune a month earlier gave the Jumbos a chance for such dramatics. The team had entered the New England Dinghy Championships at Wheeler Park in Rhode Island in May, poised to win after a strong performance in April. It looked as though the season would end prematurely when a slow start by the A division boats led to a sixth place finish. The result left Tufts out of contention for nationals until Intercollegiate Sailing Association president Mike Horn granted the Jumbos an at-large bid along with three other teams. Given a second chance, the Jumbos returned to Wheeler Park for the national championships a month later, and avenged the sixth place setback with a national championship that gave coach Ken Legler's team a final ranking of third in the nation. Tufts got off to a sturdy start on the first day, finishing in a fourth place tie with Georgetown and Charleston. Boston College ended the first day on top of the competition, followed by Harvard in the two spot. Day two was bumpier for the Jumbos, as strong winds helped knock the team back to 14th place. Led by Levesque and Hall's races in the A division, Tufts surged into fourth place at the end of day three, and set the scene for a wild fourth day. "One look at the standings on the final morning gave us great concern about the team in fifth: Harvard," Legler said. "They could have easily won." That concern proved to be a legitimate one, as Harvard ultimately vaulted into the lead by the end of the morning. Eight lead changes took place during the first half of the final day, with Harvard making the strongest charge of any team after three successful races and instigating Manning's substitution. On the heels of Manning and Levesque's race, seniors Adam Deermont and Lisa Keith finished up the final set of B division races to secure the Jumbos' victory. The women's team claimed victory in the home-based New England Women's Championships on May 21st and 22nd. The A division races were led by seniors Manning and Jen Provan, while senior Lee Icyda, sophomore AJ Crane, and junior Claire Dooley led the B division races. The women's team was unable to duplicate the co-ed team's national championship performance one month later. Instead, Tufts settled for fifth place at the national championships, ranking number three overall. The season also ended strongly on an individual basis for both the co-ed and the women's teams. Seven of the Jumbos were chosen as All-Americans. Deermont and Levesque were chosen as coed all-Americans and Icyda and Provan were selected from the women's team. The Jumbos also added several crew members to the list in seniors Keith, Manning, and Hall. After a championship spring season, the Tufts sailors will enter the upcoming fall campaign with high expectations. Despite graduating several key athletes last year, the team will once again be in contention for the national title. "The team will need to figure out how to set a higher standard once again in both performance and sportsmanship," Legler said.

News

Good offers no 'good' alternatives

August 31

After reading Emily Good's viewpoint, "Reverse terrorism not the answer"(10/16/01), I was struck by an obvious omission even before I could consider whether what she said had merit or not: she gave no alternative action for the US government to take. This is because Ms. Good is against taking ANY action against the terrorists. She says she is in favor of "bringing the terrorists to justice." However, she suggests no way of doing this, probably because it is a nearly impossible task. While Ms. Good is clearly against the actions that our government is taking against the Taliban and al Qaeda, she offers no substitutes for the US's current policy, which makes her position untenable. Ms. Good does no less than equate the US bombing of Afghanistan with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. She terms our attacks "reverse terrorism," when in fact her assessment could not be further from the truth. First, her assessment that we must "look inward and make essential changes in ourselves and the way we live our lives" is exactly right, from the terrorists' point of view that is. This is exactly what the terrorists want us to do - to change our lives. The truth is that the terrorists don't care whether we change our attitudes towards other people, but rather they want to take away our freedom. The bottom line is that they didn't attack New York City and Washington DC merely because they disagree with our policies. They did so because they hate our freedom, our success, and the American way of life. This is what they want to change. Notice that there were no demands before this attack. There was no call for America to change its polices. This was simply an attack on America, its values, and everything that this nation stands for. As Andy Leitner and Brendan Brodeur correctly point out in their viewpoint, "Attacks not Cause by Support of Israel" on Oct. 16: "Bin Laden's hatred does not end with the US or Israel. He also urges the overthrow of Muslim regimes that don't govern according to his version of radical Islam. They are seeking to bring about a world dominated by those who subscribe to their radical version of Islam...they consider as legitimate targets the US, those that live by 'western values,' Israel, and those Muslim states that do not govern according to bin Laden's radical view." The US, being the leader of the free world, has unfortunately taken the brunt of those attacks. The second problem with this line of reasoning is that Ms. Good is telling me, the average citizen, to change my life as a result of the terrorist attacks. What, exactly, should I do? This also applies to our government. Those who argue that the US leaders must change their policies never really explain what policies must be changed. Our government's current policies may be offensive to some, but they are not the cause for the terrorists' attacks. These two things are not related. I don't buy the argument that the US government is responsible for the attacks because of its current policies and that the terrorists were justified in what they did. And the fact that Ms. Good gives moral equivalency to the terrorist attacks by insinuating that we brought this upon ourselves is a wrong assumption. From a strictly strategic standpoint, the US government has to take into primary consideration the safety and lives of its citizens. Leaving ideology aside, the American government has no other choice than to wage a war on the terrorists responsible for the attacks, and on the government that protects them. We must do all in our power to insure that another catastrophic attack does not take place. The best way of accomplishing this is by taking out (and yes I mean "eliminate" or "murder") responsible parties. If we do nothing, we substantially increase the chances of another attack occurring in the very near future, which simply is not an acceptable situation. I happen to agree with Ms. Good that the bombing should stop, only because we have accomplished our goals of establishing air superiority and crippling the Taliban infrastructure. Continuing to bomb is pointless. It is time to send in ground troops and special forces to destroy the al Qaeda terrorist network once and for all. Sending in ground troops will significantly minimize civilian casualties, and they will more effectively accomplish the goal. However, I wonder whether Ms. Good would oppose this move too, because after all, it would be engaging in "reverse terrorism." It is true that the US must re-examine aspects of its political-economic system that angers a large part of the world. Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate our sanctions on Iraq, for example. But to use our policies as an excuse to murder thousands of innocent people is absurd; there can be no just cause for mass murder. Furthermore, to say that the US is engaging in "reverse terrorism" is wrong. The US is not targeting civilians, which by definition is what terrorists do. To equate the American-British attacks on Afghanistan with al Qaeda's attacks, which purposefully killed thousands of innocent civilians, is absolutely ridiculous. There is a huge difference between going out of its way to avoid civilian casualties (which, regardless of the results, is what the US government is doing) and going out of one's way to inflict civilian casualties, which is exactly what al Qaeda has done. If you want to fault our government for something, fault it for not acting soon enough. If we had reacted after the USS Cole attack or the bombings of our embassies in Africa like we are reacting now, the attacks of Sept. 11 might have been prevented. An attack on an American battleship or an American embassy is no less an act of war than an attack on our homeland. It is a shame that the lives lost in those attacks weren't enough to spur our government to do anything other than bomb a pharmaceutical plant in the Sudan. I realize that public opinion never would have allowed an all-out war on terrorism after those attacks, however now it is almost completely behind them. We cannot afford to make the same mistake again, and for this reason our government is justly doing what needs to be done. Or you may fault our government for its former policy of refusing valuable funding to our intelligence agencies, who also may have prevented the attacks by infiltrating the terrorist organization with proper funding for human intelligence. But do not fault our government's reaction now, because, like it or not, it is a just response. Adam Barrer is a senior majoring in international relations.

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Fares lecture delayed

August 31

An impressive list of speakers and experts have come to campus this semester, most of them addressing topics of war and terrorism. But a conspicuous gap remains in the lineup: the annual Issam M. Fares lecture, generally held during the fall, did not take place. The Fares lecture usually brings high-profile speakers to campus to discuss issues relating to the Middle East. The Issam M. Fares Lecture Committee, chaired by history professor Leila Fawaz, usually names the speaker and sets the date for the visit early in the fall semester, but no announcement has been made about this year's guest. Fawaz directed enquiries about the lecture to the University's public relations office."This year, we've had to be particularly flexible because of people's schedules, especially in light of dynamic world circumstances that quite naturally affect the availability of the global leaders we seek to bring to campus," said Siobhan Houton, an assistant director of public relations.Provost Sol Gittleman said that many of the events scheduled for this semester were postponed or cancelled because of the terrorist attacks."I would imagine that the events of Sept. 11 turned everyone's schedule upside-down," he said. The provost added that he was invited to about 20 conferences and meetings that were postponed or cancelled.Former US Vice President Al Gore, who was scheduled to address a Tufts audience about family-centered community building on Sept. 14, postponed his visit until later this year.The Fares lecture series, created by former trustee Fares, whose son is a '92 graduate, has sponsored some of the most prominent speakers to visit Tufts. Last year, the series brought now-Secretary of State Colin Powell to speak in the Gantcher Center. Other speakers have included former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former US President George Bush, and his Secretary of State James Baker. Houton said that since this year is the University's 150th anniversary and the first year under the leadership of President Larry Bacow, the Fares lecture would be on a "special date" within that context.

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Live Radiohead for insomniacs

August 31

For a band between projects, a live album can be a way to keep its fans interested - or for the record label to turn a buck. Other times, it can be a way for the band to wrest control of its recordings away from concert bootleggers, as Pearl Jam did, by flooding the market with scores of authorized concert discs. Radiohead's new live effort, I Might Be Wrong - Live Recordings, collects material from various European shows. In the end, however, it seems more like an experimental exercise than anything else for the post-modernist rock band. Why do fans want live recordings anyway? People shell out over and over again for live albums and spend countless hours organizing and collecting concert bootlegs because the studio recordings aren't providing something they want. Radiohead's only live release gives you something new to appreciate, but perhaps it's not the right kind of new. Some bands (think of the Grateful Dead, Phish, Dave Matthews Band, B?©la Fleck and the Flecktones) perform with far greater gusto in person than in the studio, making the live experience richer than the recorded one. Moreover, they perform something new: songs with guest artists, improvised solos, different lyrics, even new songs that never made it onto an album. These are all things that you can hear, things that transfer rather well to a recording - unlike the mere physical presence of the band, which is remarkable only when you're actually there. Radiohead half-misses the point on I Might Be Wrong by failing to bring out these typical "bootleg" highlights; from the virtual lack of crowd noise, you might not believe these even are live recordings. On the songs that are faithful to the studio, the band slips by failing to match up to its impressive recordings. On the songs that get new treatment, the contrast is severe.Kid A and Amnesiac brought a new electronic flavor to Radiohead's former alternative-rock style. While this touch was met with acclaim, it can be difficult to balance such style in a live performance. The modulations and electronic effects are prominent, and while recognizable as those found on the studio recordings, they become overpowering here. Thom Yorke's voice is lost among the aural tricks in "Everything In Its Right Place," for example/ It's still impressive to hear the band perform its newest material live, however, putting to rest any suspicions you may have had that Radiohead couldn't reproduce the intricate effects of Kid A and Amnesiac in concert. While I Might Be Wrong's eight tracks do lose some of the precision found in the studio versions, the impressionistic tweaks and swerves of the originals are intact. "Idioteque" in particular seems virtually unchanged in performance. Here's where the postmodern exercises come in: some of the tracks ("The National Anthem," "I Might Be Wrong," "Morning Bell," "True Love Waits") benefit from the live treatment more than others. The versions of these found on I Might Be Wrong are not entirely faithful to their studio originals. The stark, solemn tracks roughen their melodies crowded with extra growls and flourishes; they are given new twists and interpretations appropriate to the band's style. As the band's last two albums involve sound-twisting reminiscent of electronic remixes, these tracks get some renewed twisting of their own. These aren't mere bonus versions with "extra-special guest stars," but instead new conceptions of the original songs. Radiohead's style has never been static, and neither, apparently, are the newest recordings. The "I" in I Might Be Wrong is the band itself; it's taking a new look at some of its songs and implying that maybe its interpretations were not right. Looking at these tracks - and at the very fact that I Might Be Wrong sounds so little like a live album - hints that this might be Radiohead's way of getting the public to accept a kind of "reconcept" album in the guise of a live one. The unchanged tracks like "Idioteque" then come as a sop to fans looking for a traditional live album. In this sense, I Might Be Wrong is a concert recording suited to Radiohead: tweaking some musical recording conventions while leaving others untouched. The twisted tracks and the lack of concert noise and banter are appropriate post-modern snobberies for a brilliant band (one, however, that has been assured of its brilliance a little too often), while the traditional portions are a concession to the expectant fan base. Appropriate to the band or not, this live album is likely to disappoint some fans and please others. Just as Kid A both displeased and excited, I Might Be Wrong should be met with mixed reactions. As an album, it is faithful not to the recent recordings themselves but to the spirit and creative drive behind them: it tweaks parts of Kid A and Insomniac just as those albums tweaked their predecessors. As a successful live release, however, it's likely to miss the mark with many expectant fans. This one is good for the most religious of collectors - or for those who like the band best for Kid A and Insomniac - but not a surefire charge for most long-term fans.

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Tufts aims to improve Chinatown relations

August 31

A year after it was proposed, a program to improve relations with Chinatown - the Boston neighborhood that hosts Tufts' school of medicine - is beginning to take shape. The program, "Building Bridges," is being run by the University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS). According to the program's coordinator, David Hendrickson, the aim is to acknowledge and eliminate deep-rooted tensions between Chinatown and Tufts. "We are trying to help build a long-term relationship with Chinatown to help develop a trusting relationship," he said. Through the program, Tufts students tutor middle school students from Chinatown in literacy and math. Earlier this month, participants took a field trip to Tufts' Medford campus to spend the day with faculty and students. The visit aimed "to show them [the campus] in a safe and friendly way and to let them interact with students in a way that is inviting rather than intimidating." The program is similar to other initiatives such as the student-designed and implemented Sharewood program, which offers free medical services to Chinatown residents. Ill will between Tufts and Chinatown is based in a long history of poor interaction, according to Hendrickson. In the 1940s, "gross injustices were forced on Chinatown as a community," he said. "The community was plagued by internal conflict between families and over-development, profiteering, and special interests further divided the community." Chinatown is flanked by I-93 and the Mass Pike, which limits its expansion space and discourages potential business ventures, said Jeremy Liu (LA '94), who directs community projects at the Boston-based Asian Community Development Corporation. Tufts officials once proposed a parking garage construction project that could have further hindered neighborhood development. "A third of Chinatown is taken up by non-profit organizations," Liu said. "And the University wanted to build a ten-story parking garage, which would only take up more space." According to Liu, there have been other disagreements between Tufts and the neighborhood, such as limited opportunities for Chinatown residents to use New England Medical Center (NEMC) meeting rooms. The neighborhood is also affected by urbanization, a phenomenon affecting cities across the nation, and a process that institutions housed in low-income neighborhoods can often control, Hendrickson said. "It's part of a top-down development where a major institution like the US government or a university dictates what goes on in a community," he said. "Chinatown is one of Tufts' host neighborhoods and there should be a special relationship developed that symbolizes this." Tufts moved into Chinatown in 1950, opening NEMC in its new location. University officials and Chinatown residents and merchants interacted very little, Hendrickson said. In the '80s, Tufts began addressing the area's financial and social problems when Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel joined Tufts' community relations department. Rubel says Tufts' relationship with Chinatown is "amicable, but somewhat wary." Rubel said that while the NEMC has been in the area for more than 50 years, Chinatown has not existed as an organized community as long. To change negative perceptions, Rubel says the University hopes to increase dialogue with local residents and merchants. "There are always these community perceptions that the institutions are the usurpers, and that affordable housing is a better use of land than institutional buildings - even when it means training doctors or caring for critically ill patients," she said. "In recent years, we have learned more about how to work with Chinatown, how to understand and appreciate their concerns." But Liu said the University has been uninterested in the needs of the residential or business communities of Chinatown in the past. "They ignored seniors, families, all of those who lived around the NEMC," Liu said. "Tufts paid lip service to Chinatown, but they had no commitment to the community outside of their own agenda." The mentoring program, Liu said, is as a "great first step" in improving relations between Tufts and its downtown home, but the University should take more concrete action, such as funding scholarships for students from the community. "Students are the University's cheapest resource, they are paying to get their education," he said. "I would like to see more tangible measures like in Hartford, where Trinity [College] will subsidize low interest loans to low-income families. We want to see more full scholarships for Chinatown students - we want to know that our community has value to the University." The concerns of Chinatown residents will also be addressed in the classroom next semester. American studies Professor Jean Wu is offering a course called "Active Citizenship in Urban Communities: Race, Culture, Power, and Politics," for which she will use Chinatown as a case study of a local urban community. The course will encourage students to participate in "Building Bridges." Hendrickson said the mentoring program has made Tufts undergraduates aware of a nearby community from which they are generally removed. "Tufts' mentors seems to be learning as much as the students they are teaching," he said. Omidyar Scholar Leslie Wang, who is participating in "Building Bridges" for her Omidyar scholarship citizenship project, said she has enjoyed interacting with Chinatown students, but that it hasn't been easy. "I have found the experience to be very frustrating at times, due to the wildness of the students, but as I continue to help out weekly, I enjoy seeing the relationship grow between the students and me," she said. "The most rewarding thing is to see the student succeed whether it be academically or socially." According to Hendrickson, the mentoring program serves a broader purpose for the University: shifting "the paradigm back to the original purpose of universities: to aid the community."

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Women's crew continues stroke of success

August 31

Much like the US Postal Service, the women's crew team not only rows through snow, rain, heat, or gloom of night, it also delivers - victories, that is. This group of dedicated rowers looks ahead to the fall as a time to build upon the largely successful season of this past spring. Among the highlights of the 2001 spring season were a sixth place finish at Nationals for the novice team, as well as a first place finish at New Englands and a third place finish at Nationals for the lightweight varsity team. One difference between the fall and spring semesters is that while there are separate lightweight and heavyweight programs in the spring sprint season, the two weight divisions row as one in the fall. While winning is nothing new to this team, there are several other aspects of the season that are. The coaching staff was restructured slightly, and well Gary Caldwell is still retaining his role as the head of the crew program, he moves from coaching the varsity to the novice team. Jessica Normand will now coach the varsity squad after a year of coaching the lightweight team. Normand is no stranger to the women's crew program, as she participated in it during her four-year tenure as a Jumbo as well as acting as a coach for the past two years. Now in her third year of coaching, Normand brought the novice women to Nationals her first year and the following year coached the lightweight crew to Nationals. "This team really looks promising. It definitely helps that I know most of these rowers so there aren't any major adjustments that need to be made," Normand said. The team has also adjusted to a shift in its practice locale. Having moved out of the shadow of the Harvard boathouse on the Charles River, the team now hones its competitive edge on the Mystic River in Malden. Though grateful to Harvard for the use of their prestigious boathouse, many enjoy the prospect of the new location. "It's definitely exciting being able to practice on our own river, we're able to concentrate on technique and timing without the added worry of precarious situations caused by the heavy traffic flow on the Charles," Danielson said. Though the team is launching out of what has been called a temporary boathouse, construction on the first-ever exclusive Tufts boathouse is slated to start as early as this spring. "This is a major undertaking," Normand said. "It's really going to bring the team to a higher level." However, with all the changes that this year poses there are many returning faces to the crew program. Sophmores Bess Dopkeen, Sandra Goldberg, Beth Grosart, and Courtney O'Keefe; juniors Amira Baker-Jud, Rebecca Clark, Maggie Danielson, Dianna Darsney, Keffie Feldman, and Rebecca Stein; and seniors Marcy Archfield and Shelly Nelson comprise the returning faction of the 20-person strong team. Dopkeen, Gorsart, and O'Keefe act as the teams' coxswains, both motivating and steering the rowers to victory. The varsity team also consists of quite a few novice rowers who moved up in the ranks. "We're organized differently, but there's also a great sense of continuity," Baker-Jud said. "Even though there are a lot of new members there is a lot of trust, and we're all excited to see how far we'll progress as such a dynamic team." As the team heads to nearby Lowell for this weekend's Textile Regatta, it will do so with high hopes and expectations "We're looking for the novice team to place very close to the top," Normand said. "Don't be surprised if they do end up on top. As for the varsity program, both the men's and women's teams are looking to place in the top third." With a new river, a new boathouse, and a newly structured coaching staff the women's crew program has received a refreshing start on what it hopes will be a fruitful season.

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Spirit of Color brings variety of dance styles to Tufts

August 31

Tufts' Spirit of Color (SoC) is in full swingthis fall, with dancers and choreographers working hard to prepare thissemester's show. Now strictly a dance group, SoC was created in 1996 asa "means of cultural expression through singing, acting and dancing," accordingto the group's website. Their booty-shaking dances have earned the respectof Jumbos from Carmichael to South, but there is much more to this dynamicdance group than hip-hop."There are twenty-one dances in this year's show," says junior JocelynHall, director of the SoC executive board. "We've got hip-hop, West African,and salsa dances planned. There is a martial arts piece that will be doneto its traditional music by four guys and four girls who will dance with[paper] fans, as well as a traditional Indian piece." The show will also feature jazz dance pieces, though jazz fansmay object to the accompaniment: "I'm choreographing a small girls' pieceto - don't laugh - 'I'm a Slave to You' by Britney Spears," says Hall."It's gonna be hot!" Junior Suzanne Gutierrez, another choreographer and secretaryof the executive board, has two dances on her hands. She's teaming up withfellow junior Teresa Lake to lead a Caribbean couples dance to Beenie Man's"Dancehall Queen"."Teresa's from Jamaica, and I'm from Puerto Rico, and we both have somebackground in that style of dance," Gutierrez says. "I'm also choreographinga dance to 'Free' by Mya, with a salsa intro. In Puerto Rico, everyonejust dances salsa. I've been doing it my whole life." If you've ever seen the show Stomp, then you have someidea of what step dancing is about, and you'll most likely be hungry forthe SoC step group's performance this year. The dance, choreographed byjunior Stefanie Wilson, draws on the experiences of its dancers; Wilsoncombines step moves that dancers learned in other dance groups with herown moves. "It's a lot of fun," says Hall, who dances in the piece."The steps seem really complicated and impossible when they're beingdemonstrated," says dancer Stacy Ulrich, a sophomore, "but once the studentsteaching them break them down, they're a lot easier to pick up." And then, of course, there are the hip-hop pieces. Junior JohnnyDiMicoli, the assistant director of SoC, is rocking with Henry Kasdon,a senior choreographer, to produce an open dance to Redman's "Smash Something."Open dances require no auditions or experience, only a willingness to workhard."The open dances are great," says DiMicoli. "It's a much less intimidatingway to get involved. We keep it laid back; we want it to be accessibleand fun, not some boot-camp thing. All that I did my first semester wasone open dance, and now I'm the assistant director." SoC choreographers even draw on the music of Tufts students intheir music choices. Sheryl David, treasurer of SoC, and Taylor Anderson,both juniors, chose to choreograph their 18-person dance to a Tufts student'sremix. Hadi Badri, also a junior, put down a Busta Rhymes beat on the CraigDavid song "Time to Party," which will be featured in the piece. The group has faced scheduling problems this semester, as thecoveted Cohen Auditorium was scheduled for the Tufts Dance Collective (TDC)during the same week that SoC had hoped to hold practice. "We have a couple possible dates, but its going to be hard tocoordinate everything without our usual chunk of time," says Hall. "Thething is, this seems like it's going to be an ongoing problem until Tuftsbuilds a new performing center - the demand is just too high." But that detail can be worked out, says Hall. What's importantis the talent and hard work that are going into SoC. "It's been incrediblethis year; a huge number of very talented freshmen have come out, everyone'scoming together and working hard. We're going to put on a great show thissemester," says Hall.

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Arizona, Boston heating up

August 31

Pop quiz: Who has the most receiving yards in the NFL? Time's up. Marvin Harrison? Wrong. Terrell Owens? Nope, he has the most arguments with his coach. Rod Smith? Wrong, although he has the most sprained ankles. The NFL leader in receiving yards resides in Arizona, though his name is more easterly, and lines up for one of the hottest teams in the league. The Arizona Cardinals' David Boston, a rich man's Rod Tidwell, has accumulated 1,171 yards in 11 games this season for a healthy 16.3 yards per catch. Boston also has six scores on the season and seven games in which he's eclipsed the 100-yard mark. The other six games were nice, but last week's performance was - pardon the clich?© - clutch. Against the AFC-leading Oakland Raiders, Boston brought an A-game that other A-games dream about. In the 34-31 overtime upset, the wideout had six receptions for 106 yards and a score. And what a score it was. With 1:10 left in the game and the Raiders up 24-23, quarterback Jake Plummer found Boston for a 50-yard score. Sure, the touchdown gave the Cardinals a lead that would propel them into overtime, but more impressive was who took it to the house. Raider cornerback Charles Woodson is amongst the best cover men in the game. Boston doesn't care. The Cardinals' receiver, an Ohio State graduate, cared more about outrunning Woodson, a Michigan alum. He out-ran him, then he out-taunted him. The two have a stormy past that goes back to being on opposite sides of one of college football's greatest rivalries. And while no one will mistake the Cardinals and Raiders for the old Bo Schembekler-Woody Hayes matchups, Boston carried the feud with him last Sunday. After spiking the ball, he walked towards the beaten Woodson, glaring at him in that contemptuous, conceited way trash-talkers have perfected. Teammates broke the two up, but not before Boston got the last word. And in the game, the Cardinals got the final points - three of them in overtime on a Bill Gramatica field goal. Don't mistake little brother for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker, although they both celebrate in that obnoxious, I-just-won-the-Prom-Queen kind of way. Gramatica has kicked the winning field goal in each of the Cardinals' last two games, which is two-thirds of their current winning streak. It may not sound like much, but winning three consecutive games in the NFL these days is like ripping off 15 straight in a basketball season. True, the Cardinals lost three in a row before getting hot, but they are currently 5-6, which, amazingly, is good enough for second place in the NFC East. In fact, the NFC is so proportionately mediocre that the Cardinals are only one game away from being tied for the sixth and final playoff spot. So how does a team that was supposed to reupholster the NFC East basement grow visions of playoffs? It's hard to say. Unlike some other of this year's surprise teams, Arizona is playing without much of a hand. Plummer has been inconsistent throughout his career, though he is narrowing in on 3,000 yards passing this year. When he's playing within himself, he can be an ace, but when he starts forcing the ball he throws a jack-hammer into the offense. Arizona has two low cards in running backs Michael Pittman and Thomas Jones, neither of which have met their potential. The defense is made up of a bunch of guys who would need "hello, my name is" stickers at the Pro-Bowl. However, coach Dave McGinnis has his team believing it can win, which is often the most important factor in the NFL. And fortunately for McGinnis, he has a soft schedule the rest of the way - Arizona plays the Washington Redskins twice, the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Carolina Panthers - which means he might be able to bluff his way into the postseason. Of course, if he does, he'll still be holding high card Boston. The goodPittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis is leading the NFL in rushing. He has also led his team to a 9-2 record, the best in the AFC. Unfortunately for the Steelers - one of the three teams in Pittsburgh that wear black and yellow, the only such town - Bettis will be out this Sunday with a sore hip and abdomen. He should be back next week, though, which is good news for the Steelers, as Bettis has 1,072 rushing yards this season.The bad The Detroit Lions are 0-11. You could try to rationalize it by saying they've come close in recent weeks, but the Detroit Lions are 0-11. The Detroit Lions are 0-11. Oh yeah, now their starting quarterback, Charlie Batch, is out for the season. And the Detroit Lions are 0-11.The ugly Did I mention the Detroit Lions are 0-11? They lost their last game when kicker Jason Hanson - one of the most accurate kickers in the NFL - missed a field goal. The week before, they lost by two when a two-point conversion failed. Oh my god, the Detroit Lions are 0-11.

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Before the bigtime

August 31

I'm pretty proud to be graduating from Tufts University this spring, and I feel like I've accomplished quite a bit in my first 21 years of life. But then I go ahead and listen to Bob Dylan's self-titled first album, released in 1961, and usually somewhere around the second track - somewhere in the middle of "Talkin' New York" - I realize that he was 20 years old when he recorded this oft-forgotten morsel of historical and musical sweetness. "I've got to get moving," I say, "if I plan to follow Mr. Dylan's path to become the world's greatest musical artist for the next 40 years. I've already fallen behind." Think about Bob Dylan. Everyone knows his music. Even non-fans can recall his classics, pieces that have entered the cultural canon as priceless works of song, poetry, and social commentary: "Blowin' In the Wind," "The Times They are A-Changin'," and "Like A Rolling Stone." Then you have most rock fans, folk aficionados, and students of the '60s, who are probably down with his near-perfect albums like Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, and Blood on the Tracks, picking out tunes like "Desolation Row" or "Tangled Up In Blue." But where did it all stem from? Picture the man. You probably imagine the big head of hair, that scowl of a man in his late 20s; or you see the guy as he is today, a 60-year old, gruff and wrinkled character, silent, tired eyes, and a string tie. But believe it or not, before he was Bob Dylan the man, myth, and artist, he was Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman), a young kid from Minnesota giving the big city a shot. In a New York Times article published in September of 1961, music journalist Robert Shelton writes, "a cross between a choir boy and a beatnik, Mr. Dylan has a cherubic look...." This is not a Bob Dylan most people know, but is certainly one worth introducing yourself to. The album is a surprisingly complex, satisfyingly rounded compilation of blues, country, and folk music. Raw and unpolished, the album's 13 tunes offer Dylan fans the opportunity to listen and catch the roots of various Dylan-specific quirks to be drawn out, developed, and even caricatured by the man later in his career. The perspective of hindsight allows us to look back and notice those special-little-somethings that make us laugh or nod knowingly. You feel like the parent of a grown child looking back on a fourth-grade book report, a mixture of pride, familiarity, and embarrassment. This is not Dylan's greatest work, but it is worth listening to, and it's a nice addition to your Dylan collection once you've already purchased the essentials; say, after you've picked up Nashville Skyline but before you buy Street Legal. Only three of the tunes were written by Dylan: the light monologue "Talkin' New York," the grave meditation "In My Time of Dyin'," and the Guthrie tribute, "Song To Woody." That leaves ten tracks to fill with traditional down-home tunes, country classics, and bluesy guitar grinding riffs. It's a tour of our American musical roots, filtered through the talented guitar strummings of a precocious fast-fingered 20-year-old. Dylan's voice rises and falls, it is light and soft, then deliberate, then rough and random. As if he suddenly grabbed hold of a new instrument, Dylan plays around with his voice, experimenting, testing it, bringing it to its limits. Listeners will share in the pleasure he takes in his vocal exploration. Look into the eyes of the figure pictured on the album cover and you'll see a carefree boy who might be thinking, "Hey, what the heck, I like this stuff, I've got nothing to lose, I might as well give it a try." Thank god he did. Long before Eminem was chanting lyrics about Christina Aguilera and STDs, musicians alluded to each other with subtlety and respect. Dylan covers tunes from old timers like Bukka White and Blind Lemon Jefferson. He acknowledges his contemporaries like Boston's Ric Von Schmidt and even the Everly Brothers. With his own impressions of traditional songs, like the classic spiritual "Gospel Plow" and the Scottish "Pretty Peggy-O," Dylan presents his admiration of the old masters while offering creative arrangements and interpretations that allow him to sing in his own voice without stepping on his predecessors' well-worn boot heels. Listen to "House of the Risin' Sun" and note his wary young voice grow deeper and grainier with every refrain. Hear "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" and share in his abandon. Let go and enjoy. Throw in this disc and soak in the aura of potential and hope, confidence and cool, as it floats softly across the room from your stereo's speakers. Look back and witness a young man looking forward.

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Zoolander' delves into male fashion model conspiracy

August 31

VH1 made a movie? Ben Stiller as a fashion model? Will Ferrell as one of the "beautiful people?" David Duchvony in a fat suit?Zoolander is a cheerfully absurd movie that manages to be both brainless and smart at the same time - if that makes any sense. Yes, the plot is just a clothesline to string up parodies of pop culture, but what a clothesline it is. The fashion industry, as David Duchvony helpfully explains to the title character Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller), has been behind every major political assassination for the last two hundred years. They brainwash male fashion models to do the job, because male fashion models do whatever they are told. "Lee Harvey Oswald wasn't a model." Zoolander says. "But those two guys on the grassy knoll were looking pretty sharp!" snarls Duchvony. Ben Stiller has always been kind of a blah actor, but this time he's hit upon a character that really works: "There has to be more to life than being really, really, really attractive!" he pouts at the beginning, after losing the modeling contest of the year to Hansel (Owen Wilson). Stiller's performance consists mainly of facial expressions, but they're amusing facial expressions, and he and Wilson (the fast-talking cowboy from Shanghai Noon) make a great comic team. The film is wall-to-wall with hilarious celebrity cameos, which range from just a few seconds to entire sequences. After Zoolander loses his spark, he attempts to figure out the meaning of life... only to lose all of his friends in a gasoline fight (don't ask) and be rejected by his coal mining family. This makes him a prime target for Mugatu (the eternally weird Will Ferrell), who needs someone to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia because... Never mind. The plot isn't the point. The first priority of a comedy is to make you laugh, and Zoolander is fast-paced, mindless, and amusing entertainment that will take you away for 90 minutes. It's not exactly a comedy for the ages, but it is well made and funnier (and more light-hearted) then both Scary Movies. It contains the line; "They're break-dancing fighting!" which I don't think has ever been said in film history. About an hour into the screening, the alarms at the theater started going off. "There has been an emergency," the pre-recorded voice says. We all look at each other in confusion. What's happened? What do we do? How will we get home? The voice speaks again: "Please wait for instructions," and everyone gets up at once and starts to leave. The crowd was about halfway out of the building before an usher ran in and said, "False Alarm, False Alarm!" Then we all sat down, and the laughter was noticeably lower for the last 30 minutes, as everyone was pretty shaken up by the scare. But the point is, for that first hour, the movie had so completely wrapped us up in its silly-happy world of fashion assassins that we had almost forgotten about everything. That's a real comedy. Movie Review, Zoolander, starring Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, 3 stars

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Students flock to substance free housing

August 31

While many freshmen enter college with images of wild nights at frat parties, at Tufts a rising number of students are choosing to live on floors where alcohol is banned and residents are held to high standards of conduct. Though big rooms - even on "healthy living floors" - may look good to anyone at the bottom of the housing lottery, most residents of these floors say they appreciate the tame atmosphere and insist that they live there by choice. Although recent studies indicate that substance-free housing is beneficial to students, Tufts is unable to meet student demand for healthy living rooms. Researchers with Harvard's School of Public Health found that lower drinking rates in healthy living areas meant that students were less likely to experience alcohol-related problems, such as vandalism and violence. Healthy living residents are also less likely to ride with a drunk driver or drive while drunk, the study found. At Tufts, the housing crunch is an oft-debated issue. But while students typically complain about the lack of singles or suite-style dorms, they are far less likely to point to the number of students who request healthy living dorms, but are not granted them. "The demand is much greater than the supply," Residential Life Coordinator Dean Gendron said. According to Gendron, healthy living requests are on the rise, and residential life can no longer provide sufficient accommodations. Of the 259 rooms designated as healthy living, Tufts offers a mixture of doubles and singles on the first floor of Carmichael Hall, the third floor of South Hall, and the third, fourth, and fifth floors of Hill Hall. Gendron said that the University will continue to develop its healthy living program to keep pace with student needs. After all, he said, 52 of the 259 available rooms are located in Carmichael Hall, which has only had a healthy living program for the past three years. "There is constantly talk about changing that number," Gendron said. "The demand has increased, and as the University talks about evaluating the way that residential life is developing and evolving according to student needs, there will be more opportunity to increase the number of healthy living spaces," he said. In addition to life without rowdy inebriated students, residents say they enjoy the smoke-free environment. With 259 smoke-free rooms on campus, students who smoke are more concentrated, frustrating some neighbors. "I didn't want a roommate who smoked," said one female freshman living in Hill Hall. With healthy living spaces in demand, some are skeptical of students who chose the rooms for their large floor space or attractive location but have not given up their commitment to the rowdy nightlife. And despite the contract that students living on healthy living floors sign, the punishments for violations of Tufts' drug and alcohol policies are uniform from floor to floor. Officials at the Office of Residential Life say it is difficult to prohibit students who choose substance-free housing in search of luxurious rooms. But those committed to the healthy living lifestyle say the program still serves its purpose. Most of the freshmen participating in the healthy living program say they did so for their personal well-being. While some students admit that their parents influenced their decision, most say they are happy with their decision. A group of 140 freshmen requested healthy living this year. No freshmen were placed into healthy living if they did not select the option on their residential life mailing. But those who desired a substance-free environment insist that they did not give up their right to party. Said one freshman in Hill Hall: "We get our work done and at the same time, we have fun."

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Al Gore to speak at Tufts

August 31

Former presidential candidate Al Gore will visit Tufts in two weeks as part of his effort to address the role of families in society at universities across the country. He will give a speech in Balch Arena Theatre on Friday, Sept. 14 and lead an all-day symposium the next day. The speech is targeted at undergraduates and will focus on "family centered community building." The symposium, which will discuss youth development, is geared toward leading experts in child and family development and will be closed to the public. Gore's visit was made possible by the efforts of child development professor Richard Lerner, who was a guest lecturer in the former vice president's classes last semester. Lerner, who arranged Gore's visit through the applied developmental science initiatives program, said the event is not political. "This is totally academic," he said. "[Gore] is a really gifted professor. I've never met anyone who is as quick a study about so many different issues and able to engage students," Lerner said. For the past ten years, Gore has held an annual conference in Tennessee entitled the "Family Re-Union," which aims to redefine the role of family in society. Using his lectures, Gore is developing curriculum on family centered community building through a consortium of 19 universities - including Tufts, Columbia, and Cornell - called the National Community and Academic Consortium. The Tufts event will be the first in a series of symposia that the consortium will hold throughout the year. Lerner co-taught with Gore on the topic of development during pilot courses last semester at Fisk and Middle Tennessee State universities. These courses will ultimately evolve into a Masters program through the consortium. At Tufts, Gore is looking for ideas to develop the program. "Gore is coming to campus to do the symposium on youth development... [and] to enhance the curriculum, for brainstorming," said Deborah Bobek, managing director of the applied developmental science initiatives program. Only a small group of hand-selected students will attend the event. The Office of the Vice President of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering e-mailed department chairs and asked each to recommend five students to attend the speech. A faculty group including Susan Ernst, dean of natural and social sciences, Lerner, and assistant professor M. Ann Easterbrook, chair of the child development department, will select a certain number of students from that list to attend the speech. The selection process is a "way to get as wide a net as possible," Ernst said. "We want students engaged and interested in this area." Gore's visit represents Tufts' dedication to its students, said President-elect Larry Bacow. "I think it's terrific that he's coming to Tufts," Bacow said. "I'm delighted that time has been set aside for him to meet with students," he said. "At a university that's committed to public service, I think it's terrific when major public figures come to visit."

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Metcalf residents say Tufts stinks

August 31

Tufts opens its arms to prospective students from around the world, but swarms of local, less-welcome vistors have been invading campus in recent weeks. Students walking around Tufts at night say they cannot escape the smell or site of skunks. The stench left by the small, suburban animals is most prevelent downhill, and is especially potent near Metcalf hall. But students have also complained of smelling skunks uphill on the academic quad. Sophomores Jay Meattle and Kevin Keating say that they smell skunk almost every day. While Meattle is bothered by the smell, Keating says he is indifferent. "I don't mind it that much," he said. Keating said most people are not bothered by the situation, but if they were, he added, they would likely not know how to alert Tufts to the skunk infestation. Tufts Facilities is responsible for handeling issues related to rodents on campus, and would also respond to skunk complaints. The department, however, does not directly handle the matter. Instead, Facilities officials would likely hire an outside contractor to exterminate the invading animals, according to Trades Supervisor James Pearson. But rodent problems tend to go away before facilities workers get to them, Pearson said. "These rodents are usually dead by the time someone calls," he said, adding that oftentimes facilites does not get phone calls until students spot a skunk that was hit by a car. According to Pearson, the reporting process is simple and convenient. Facilities takes phone calls from anyone on campus complaining of animal control issues, he said, adding that there have not been any complaints this year. Skunks, Pearson said, are not the most lamented nusicances on campus: The majority of the complaints made to his department are related to squirrels.