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Spotlight on Scofield

March 31

John Scofield walks into to Cohen Auditorium wearing a green nylon windbreaker and a tan ski cap, which he pulls off to reveal his balding scalp. Thin-framed eyeglasses adorn his stoic face, as does a neatly trimmed goatee. If you saw him in public, you might mistake him for an everyday middle-aged commuter if it weren't for the gig bag strapped to his back. At 49 years old, John Scofield is far too versatile to be your ordinary jazz guitarist. Since studying at Berklee, he has experimented with just about every style of jazz throughout his career, from the straightforward jazz on his latest recording, Works For Me, to the electronic jazz-rock hybrid he performed Sunday night in Cohen. "I feel like it's been diverse," he said. "But it's all in the jazz idiom." "Diverse" is a barely adequate adjective for Scofield's accomplishments. Over the past three decades, he's played with everyone from Miles Davis to underground funksters Soulive, mastering jazz guitar, churning out countless hours of live funk, and even dabbling in rock. In fact, Scofield has two touring bands of his own. "With this band that's playing [at Tufts], it's more kind of jazz-rock and elements of that. With other projects it's straight-ahead jazz," he said. Currently, his efforts lie with writing and recording with his electronic/rock band. "Some people are like, 'wait a minute, it's a bunch of different styles' - which it is - but to me it makes perfect sense." The samples and effects Scofield's band brought to Tufts didn't make sense to jazz purists in the audience, who criticized him for pandering to the college crowd. However, Scofield will be back in Boston soon with his straight-jazz lineup. "I have another band that I'm bringing out to play the music from Works For Me, the new album. We're gonna be in Boston, too, at the Regattabar in May. So I've got two bands, each one playing half a different kind of music... and they cross over a little bit." Few Tufts students probably recognize that Scofield is a Bostonian at heart. Born in Dayton, Ohio, he was raised in Connecticut and went on to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music. "I lived here for five years in Boston, first with Berklee, and then just hangin' out in Somerville, actually, not far from here. I played a lot around here, made all my early connections... Pat Metheney... me and Joe Lavano, and a bunch of other musicians were up here at the same time." Scofield drops the names of these and other greatly talented musicians as if they were merely neighbors of his - and without so much as a drop of pompousness. Scofield goes on to talk about the jazz scene in Boston today, which is a mere shadow of what it was when he was attending Berklee. "My hangouts are gone. You know, it was 30 years ago that I lived here. I moved away in '74. The Jazz Workshop was this great club where I heard Miles and all the greats." In fact, only one of Scofield's favorite hangouts is still open today. "I think there's a club called Wally's that's still here on Mass Ave. in Roxbury, but other than that, all the jazz joints are gone." Still, he holds that as long as there are young jazz fans - like those that came to Cohen on Sunday night - the music will continue to thrive. "It doesn't matter where you are, it's who you are," he said, then paused to laugh at his own false pretension. "Maybe that's not right, but it sounded good."

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News

How Tufts' foreign language department measures up

March 31

Olin is hard to avoid. Unless you came to Tufts equipped with a fluency in a language other than English, chances are pretty good that you'll be spending some time in the language department's base of operations. The question is, are you spending enough quality hours there? Currently, Tufts regularly offers 12 foreign languages: three in the Department of Romance Languages, seven in the Department of German, Russian, and Asian Languages and Literature, as well as Latin and Greek in the Classics department. The Experimental College also occasionally offers other language classes, like this semester's Hindi/Urdu class. Most elementary and intermediate language classes meet three times a week for 50 minutes each, and upper-level literature classes meet anywhere from two to three times a week. Some courses in Asian languages meet three times a week during the extended block In contrast, Cornell University offers about 30 languages, according to the University's website. The list of languages offered at Cornell run the gamut, from traditional romance languages, to less common tongues such as Bengali, Sinhala, and Welsh. Students also spend more time in class. Introductory language classes meet five times a week during 50-minute periods, second-level classes meet four times a week for the same amount of time, and third-level classes meet three times a week for 50 minutes - the same amount of time that Tufts students in introductory levels of language spend in class. At Columbia University, students also spend more time in class. Columbia's undergraduate liberal arts school, Columbia College, requires four semesters of language and offers 42 languages, including Akkadian, Hausa, and Tagalog. Columbia students have the option of attending language classes three, four, or five times a week - however, unlike Tufts, language classes that meet three times a week run for an hour and 15 minutes, while classes that meet five times a week run 50 minutes. Isabel Naginski, Chair of the Romance Languages Department, feels that the language department as a whole "does a pretty good job with the time allotted." While Tufts students only attend language classes three times a week, Naginski points out that they are supposed to spend an extra hour per week at the language lab, and after the third semester of a language, they spend another hour per week in conversation group. "We have insufficient resources to expand the number of classes per week, but also I don't think that all students would like to commit the time," Naginski said. As for the other languages of the department, Naginski said, "The French program is strong," she said. And while students can only minor, not major, in Italian, "[thedepartment] hopes to have a major in the not-too-distant future." Naginski added that Tufts students are encouraged to go abroad and become immersed in a language. Rose Jeudi, a senior international relations major, has taken eight semesters of Japanese, and traveled to Japan his junior year. "I felt that [the Tufts language department] prepared me well. No classes can really prepare you totally for a foreign country, but I did feel I was prepared well," Jeudi said. "If you go abroad, the language lab really helps you out because it has native speakers and exposes you to the language." Some language students also complain about overcrowding in classes, most notably Spanish classes. Professor Ewald Mooraidian, who teaches Spanish 4 and has taught Spanish 21, said that language classes are often overpopulated. "The maximum number for a [language] class is 18. I think that's a lot, but I don't think it's an impossible number to teach to," he said. "I would prefer a class size of 14." However, Mooraidian pointed out that enough classes exist to better balance the class sizes, and small language classes are offered - but these are scheduled in the unpopular, early time blocks. Since students won't take classes during these early time blocks, class crowding becomes an issue. Overpopulated classes may sometimes discourage students from participating in learning the language. "It makes me uncomfortable to talk in front of such a big class," said freshman Wendy Carman, currently enrolled in Spanish 4. Time constraints, coupled with class size, don't allow all the students to speak. "The problem is with the Spanish 22 classes," Spanish Coordinator Marta Rosso-O'Laughlin said. "These are conversation classes, and with large classes, there isn't enough time for all the students to speak, which is what the class is supposed to be." The solution is the language lab, according to Rosso-O'Laughlin. The departments, she said, needs "a small number of students to internalize the language... that's why we stress the language lab - to supply the extra hour that [the students] need to internalize the structures that we teach. Practice is the only way students can learn a language." A freshman who wished to remain anonymous admitted to skipping out on language lab. "I don't really go to language lab, but I make sure that I go before tests because [the professor] checks... I usually stay for five minutes, sit around and copy the answers from the back of the manual." Despite disliking language lab, this freshman acknowledged the strength of the foreign language department. "I've learned more Spanish in one and half semesters here than in the four years that I studied Spanish in high school." Class size is also a consideration. Rosso-O'Laughlin pointed out that English classes have smaller maximum class sizes - a change she would like to see in language departments. In order to lower class sizes, the Romance Languages department is looking to hire more professors. "We are in the process of building the Spanish section of the department because of increased student interest. The department is getting stronger," Naginski said. The number, duration, and size of classes has not kept some students from having positive language experiences at Tufts. Senior Geoff Rui has taken three semesters of Japanese, two semesters of Hindi, and is currently taking his second semester of Spanish. Rui appreciates his time spent in Olin. "Japanese was an extremely well-taught class, with good teachers who seemed really dedicated... most of my language teachers have been dedicated, but the Japanese teachers were extraordinary," he said. Rui also enjoyed his Hindi class, which he took through the Ex College, and he also enjoys Spanish, though he said that often "the classes seem hurried, like the teachers do not seem to have enough control over the material they teach." Freshman Jorge Rodriguez, a Spanish 32 student, also has also enjoyed his language class. "[The class] is kind of big, but I've had a really positive experience because my professor is really enthusiastic and I enjoy the selected literature of the class," he said.

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News

Committee formed to reevaluate bookstore contract

March 31

An advisory committee has been formed to evaluate Tufts' bookstore before its contract with Barnes and Noble expires in June 2002. Faculty, administrators, and Tufts Community Union (TCU) senators will work together on the bookstore advisory committee to ensure that the renegotiated contract addresses student concerns about perceived high costs and merchandise availability. Textbook prices and the overall selection of products are two of the primary issues the committee is focusing on. Tufts has a 15-year relationship with Barnes and Noble, and will not likely hire a different company to run the campus bookstore. While the University can operate the bookstore independently, like many large campuses, such an endeavor would cost millions of dollars in initial capital investment.Although the University's contract with Barnes and Noble will not run out for another year, preliminary planning must begin now to allow sufficient time for final contract negotiations, according to Dining and Business Services Director Patti Lee Klos. "Bookselling is about buying a service... we need time to make a changeover," she said. The committee is working to gauge student input and concerns while brainstorming for ideas. In order to facilitate the process, Senate Administration and Budget Committee Chair Andrew Potts and Services Committee Chair Melinda Coolidge sent an e-mail announcement to students soliciting their opinions. "We're still formulating our game plan," Potts said. "It's less of a Senate project and more of a Senate-led project with a student initiative."Among the items students would like to see added to the bookstore's offerings are DVDs and a wider selection of compact discs, according to Coolidge and Potts.This issue does not necessary involve the contractor, Klos said, but rather the several distributors that the contractor uses. As such, the committee is exploring other distributors from which Barnes and Noble can purchase its inventory. "The answer isn't necessarily finding a new company," Potts said. "It's finding a bookstore that would best serve the students and looking at everywhere it touches." Still, there are unresolved problems. Textbook prices are becoming an increasing worry, especially since students have begun to explore other purchasing options, including online booksellers, where many of the items carried by the bookstore can be found at significantly lower costs. "The main gripe is the price of textbooks and the fact that we can find them online for cheaper," Coolidge said. "We're not exactly sure why that is but we're looking into it." Coolidge and Potts researched online textbook distributors and discovered shocking price differentials, including several items that were actually cheaper at Barnes and Noble's website (www.barnesandnoble.com) than in its bookstore on Tufts' campus. The Macroeconomics textbook, for example, costs $92 at the Tufts bookstore, but only $85.50 at the Barnes and Noble website, $69 at Borders, $78 at BookAMillion, and $85.10 at Ecampus. Klos said that pricing is a complicated process and can be hard to change. "How to make the books cheaper is a difficult issue," she said. "Any textbook seller is held back by what the industry does... the bookstore [because of its size] doesn't have the same purchasing power of a store like Office Max." Among the faculty's major complaints has been the difficulty in obtaining textbooks in time for the start of classes. Klos said that this happens when courses require specialty materials that are only available from international publishers. She also pointed out that only 45 percent of the faculty meet the Oct. 15 deadline for book requests. The bookstore has already undergone several changes this year, most notably the hiring of a new manager, Wayne Diskin. Diskin served as the store's manager since October, when former manager Amanda Chase, as well as a few employees, left. Diskin said he was happy with the formation of the advisory committee, and that he has seen similar groups at other schools, such as Brandeis. "It's their bookstore... and I can basically order what the students want," he said. Plans are already in the works to increase the amount of convenience items sold at the bookstore and to reduce the amount of floor space allocated to computer software. Students will be able to purchase computer programs online through a link on the bookstore website, where they will find discounted prices.

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News

One 'Badasssss' Film Series

March 31

Where on campus can you find Pam Grier as a vengeful nurse? Shaft and Superfly? The Blaxploitaton Film Series, co-sponsored by the African American Center and the Africa and the New World minor, will bring these figures to campus over the next two months. "This particular film series is looking at the production of black films in America," said Lisa Coleman, director of the African American Center, speaking about the six installments chosen for the series. So what exactly is blaxploitation? The term refers to a cultural film explosion that lasted from 1970 to 1980, consisting of over 200 films released by major independent studios that featured black main characters and themes. At Tufts, the "Blaxploitation" series will feature hits like Shaft and relatively unknown classics like Coffy, starring Pam Grier."We picked some really popular films, but we also picked ones that were not as well known but are really important to this film genre," says Kalahn Taylor-Clark, a graduate student at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences who helped helped organize the program. Blaxploitation is a term "particularly used to describe a series of films that are trying to deal with some of the stereotypical images of the past," said Coleman. "Things like black people being represented as mammies, butlers, those kinds of things." Still, Coleman recognizes the stereotypes and detrimental images of the black community the films foster. "Their depictions of women are highly problematic, as are their depictions of some of the black males as pimps or drug dealers," she said. These paradoxes eventually brought about the genre's downfall. Blaxploitation films crossed the borders between movie genres. Before the 1970s, blacks had traditionally portrayed subservient roles in films, such as train porters and waitresses. But all that changed with the advent of Melvin Van Peebles' groundbreaking film, Sweetback's Baadassss Song. It was the first commercially successful black theme film depicting a black man coming out on top of the establishment.Although blaxploitation films were popular with the general public, they promoted the negative image of blacks as gangsters, drug dealers, pimps, and thugs. Ironically, Hollywood exploited the black actors who played these seemingly groundbreaking roles. Nevertheless, the films served an important cultural function for the black community, both economically and culturally."Simultaneously, it's one of the only times in history where you have black producers, directors, and actors in the film. So, it is practically the only moment in history where you have an inordinate amount of black people who are actually employed in all the different sites in film production," Coleman said, describing the dichotomous nature of blaxploitation films.Coleman and Taylor-Clark recognize the negative, as well as the positive elements of the blaxploitation film movement. "It's important because it shows how blacks in the United States are viewed through the media and through their own eyes, in a way, because they're also creating the movies and are in the movies," said Taylor-Clark. "It's also important to see how that changes and how the stereotypes change."Both Coleman and Taylor-Clark serve as organizers and moderators for the weekly film events. "Blaxploitation" is one of several film series sponsored by the African American Center. Past film series have included South African film and Afro Latino film."All the film series are used to look at blacks in the Diaspora," Coleman says. In this aspect, the film series serves as an important link to the Africa and the New World minor.The films will be shown Wednesday nights in Olin 12, except for tonight's showing, which will take place in Anderson Hall's Nelson Auditorium.

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News

The Boss brings rock greatness from 'Nebraska'

March 31

New Jersey patron saint Bruce Springsteen, affectionately known as "The Boss," is one of the most influential musicians in the past thirty years. Renowned for his talents as both a musician and a singer/songwriter, he is the rare artist who garners both critical acclaim and commercial success throughout a legendary career. Springsteen has made several classic albums over the years, but the one that especially stands out is his 1982 release, Nebraska. Ditching the catchy rock and pop elements and the big rock 'n roll stadium tours that characterized his previous efforts such as Born to Run, Springsteen chose a bare-bones simplistic approach to this album. Recorded entirely on a four-track recorder in his home in New Jersey - without a back-up band - the album is pure storytelling and songwriting at its finest. Nebraska was a gutsy career move for a man about whom a critic once prophetically declared, "I saw rock 'n roll's future and its name is Bruce Springsteen." The result was one of the darkest acoustic albums ever recorded. Springsteen, accompanied only by his acoustic guitar and occasional harmonica part, chronicles the lives and problems of working class people through richly-detailed lyrics that gives listeners a clear vision of these people. Clearly influenced by the folk music of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and Pete Seeger, he even dabbles with some elements of country music. The songs on the album often tackle moral issues, and feature plenty of saints and sinners. The Boss lets us into the psyche of each character for the duration of the song: the title track about the mass murderer Charles Starkweather; the question in "Atlantic City" about the morality of a criminal career; a quiet sense of despair and envy on the issue of the gap between rich and poor in "Mansion on the Hill." Throughout the album, Springsteen sticks to the theme in material if not in sound. "Johnny 99," a somber story of an unemployed auto worker's arrest and conviction for murder, is driven by an uncharacteristically upbeat guitar riff that sounds as if it were jacked from an Elvis Presley record. Morality is brought up again in "Highway Patrolman," a depressing story of two brothers on opposite sides of the law. Springsteen sings, "Man turns his back on his family/And well he just ain't no good." The theme of common working class men seeking some a redemption or deliverance that will never come is touched upon in the songs "State Trooper" and "Open All Night," both of which end with the same lyrics referencing a last prayer and the haunting phrase "deliver me from nowhere." "Used Cars" dabbles with the idea of wanting a better life through the theme of buying a used car. Springsteen sings, "Now mister the day the lottery I win/I ain't ever gonna ride in no used car again." "My Father's House" again takes on the idea of one man's futile quest for deliverance. The narrator tells of a dream about childhood that makes him want to reconcile with his father, but when he arrives at his childhood home, he finds that he doesn't live there anymore. One can assume that Springsteen's own turbulent relationship with his father growing up (a recurring theme in several of his songs over the years) make this song a clear example of art imitating life. The album's closing number, "Reason to Believe," is the only song that tells the story of several characters and tries to make sense of the wear and tear of their everyday lives ("Still at the end of every hard day people still find some reason to believe").Nebraska is a true display of Springsteen's talent as a musician and songwriter, his desire to challenge himself, his fans, and his critics, by reinventing his music. This is a rare album devoid of high-tech studio wizardry and traditional rock and pop sensibilities, that still manages to grab the listener's undivided attention through pure musicianship and storytelling. There is a story in each song, and they hold up just as well sitting around a campfire or in front of a capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden. This album is a must for fans of the Boss, one of his true masterpieces.

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News

Both basketball teams face three-game weeks

March 31

Both the men's and women's basketball teams will take their shows on the road tonight, and both are at important junctures early in the season. The women are 2-2 and have a legitimate chance to win their final three games before the winter break. The men, who have one more win than do the women, also play three more games before taking a break. And while these pre-conference matches do not factor into the NESCAC tournament rankings, they are not insignificant. Both squads have postseason aspirations, and if they can't get into the NCAA tournament by winning the NESCAC tournament, they will be at the mercy of the selection committee - which will certainly examine their early season performances. Which leads both Jumbo teams to tonight's matchups, where they each face beatable squads, a welcome change after a difficult weekend. The women will travel to Regis College in Weston, Mass., and though the Beacons are no pushover, they are a far cry from the competition Tufts faced in New York this weekend. Regis has lost at least four of its five games, and the last three haven't been close. Regis lost 70-36 to MIT, as no Beacon reached double figures in scoring. In the game, Kate Adams led the way with nine points. After the MIT game, Regis lost to Emmanuel College, the third-ranked team in the nation, 72-23, and followed that up with a loss to Fitchburg St., 71-28. Still, these lopsided scores don't mean that the Beacons should be taken lightly. In fact, taking an opponent lightly almost did Tufts in last Sunday, as the team escaped the consolation game of the Manhattanville Tournament with a one-point victory over City College of New York (CCNY). Intensity, especially at the beginning of the second half, is something the Jumbos must work on this week. "We have been coming out flat," junior Erin Harrington said. "It's just a matter of pumping ourselves up." Harrington's worry is a legitimate one, as second half letdowns have been a problem for the Jumbos in the early season. Last Tuesday, against Babson, Tufts was down four points four minutes into the second half before Babson went on a 21-6 run. And against St. Lawrence, Tufts was down nine points at halftime - a respectable score against the fifth-ranked team in the nation - but managed only three points in the first 12 minutes of the second period. In addition to being mentally lackadaisical, Tufts needs to improve its defensive intensity. "We need to prevent letdowns on defense," Harrington said. "If we pick up our defense, we should be fine for the week." Though Regis, Lasell, and Wheaton - Tufts' opponents on Thursday and Saturday - are all teams the Jumbos should defeat, the prospect of playing five games in eight days could lead to a tired group come the weekend. Fortunately for the Jumbos, coach Janice Savitz's team is deep at several positions. The bench could be key later in the week, then. "Against CCNY [on Sunday], everyone played and everyone contributed," Harrington said. "That's what made it a good win." Mental letdowns, lazy defense, and a busy schedule are not excuses for sweeping the week's three games. "Our goal is to go into break 5-2," Harrington said. "We want to give it all this week and we can rest after that." The men find themselves in a similar position to their female counterparts, staring down three games in the next six days. First up is the Babson Beavers, who won their first four games before dropping their most recent contest to Salem State, 70-69. This game could be a good omen for the Jumbos, as they beat Salem State 100-96 in overtime earlier in the season. In Babson's most recent loss, Giles Weslie lead the way offensively, scoring 26 points in 29 minutes. Jeff Nicholson was the only other player in double figures, chipping in 13 points off the bench. He has been an effective reserve for the Beavers all season, averaging 10 points and four rebounds a game. Aside from Weslie - the team's leading scorer -Tufts will have to worry about guard Jeff Hines, who averages 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists a game. As is typically the case, the men will rely on outside shooting, and against a strong Babson team, the shooters will have to be on target. Tufts is also finding out that simply firing away from behind the three-point line won't get the job done. In the victories, especially the upset of Salem State, the Jumbos' three starting guards - sophomore Phil Barlow and juniors Brian Shapiro and Mike McGlynn - were patient and calculated in their attempts. Tufts still managed to put up 27 three-pointers on the night, right around their average for the season, but they hit 48.1% of the long balls, and 53.5% of all field goals. Even if the long-distance shooters aren't locked in, it doesn't mean all hopes are lost for the Jumbos. Freshman Craig Coupe has established himself as a positive presence inside, averaging 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 17.8 minutes of play per contest. In addition, most of the team is quick enough to slash to the basket and create easier shots. After the Babson game, the men will host MIT and Wheaton before taking their winter hiatus.

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News

Student arrested for disorderly conduct

March 31

The Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) arrested a student for disorderly conduct yesterday after he reacted angrily when being told to stop painting an offensive message on the cannon, according to TUPD Captain Mark Keith. Witnesses say that senior Mark Sutherland painted the phrases, "Imagine a campus free from queer perverts" and "rest rooms are not safe" on the sides of the cannon. Tufts police were alerted to Sutherland's activity at 11:25 a.m. by a student, who requested that officers investigate the messages. The police reportedly told Sutherland to leave the cannon area and resume painting at night, because he was violating a University policy that prohibits students from painting the cannon during daylight hours. "We actually let him go for a little while. I left the area and came back, and he was still there," Keith said. "He started getting a little hostile and belligerent. He started raising his voice and swearing and cursing... so, we informed him that if he didn't calm down and if he didn't cease, he would be arrested. He continued, so we placed him under arrest." According to the captain, the actual arrest was for disorderly conduct, not for painting the cannon. "He was not arrested because he was painting the cannon or because of what it said," Keith said. Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said that rules against painting the cannon during the daytime are not official policy, but rather "unwritten rules." From outside Packard Hall, Reitman and Vice President of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering Mel Bernstein saw Sutherland painting the cannon. But neither administrator witnessed the arrest. "[The arrest] wasn't for painting the cannon," Reitman said. "It was for lack of cooperation with the officers in the time that followed." Sutherland began painting around 11 a.m., and many students on their way to class stopped to watch or argue. "He was talking about how he is angry that he went to a school that is recognized as being tolerant to homosexuals," said senior Emily Haus, a witness. "I feel like what he's doing is for shock value." This is not the first time Sutherland has caused controversy over the issue of free speech. Last fall, the University took disciplinary action against him for removing a banner against discrimination hanging in front of the Admissions Office during the student sit-in. And just last week, Sutherland painted "Don't ideologically molest my children with your rainbow propaganda" on the cannon, but the message was later painted over by Facilities. After Sutherland was arrested, some spectators picked up his abandoned paint and wrote, "Imagine a campus free from Mark Sutherland" on the cannon. The cannon was later white-washed, for which TUPD maintains that University Facilities was not responsible. "After we made the arrest and cleared [the scene], that was the end of our involvement up there. We did not call Facilities to have the cannon painted over or white-washed," Keith said. Later that day, a group of LGBT students painted the cannon rainbow colors. According to Keith, no one reported to TUPD that students were painting during the daytime and so no action was taken.

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News

TILIP kicks off international symposium

March 31

The Tufts Institute for Leadership and International Perspective (TILIP) will launch its annual international symposium entitled "Globalization and China: Challenging Cultural Boundaries" today. The two-day symposium is the culminating event of nearly a year's worth of planning by student participants. There will be eight different panel categories all related to the theme of challenging cultural boundaries, and will feature over 40 speakers. This year's theme of globalization and culture is a reflection of TILIP's intent to promote international perspective in the Tufts community, particularly in terms of cross-cultural team building and business relationships between China and the West. The three-day symposium will explore aspects of China's place in the modern world, particularly from a cultural viewpoint. "[This weekend] will be a festival of thought and culture which, and positions Tufts as a university with a global angle in an arena of the world, namely China and East Asia, where it's going to be critical to promote cross-cultural learning," said Sherman Teichman, Director of the Institute of Global Leadership, TILIP's umbrella organization. Organizers highly anticipate this afternoon's panel on migration and globalization, as well as this evening's panel on mediating unique and universal aspects of global culture. The panelists, who include a variety of renowned scholars, authors, and historians from both national and international institutions, will explore numerous aspects of China's socioeconomic history, from the Silk Road to modern Beijing. Teichman emphasized that the program will be beneficial on multiple levels, from the individual student to the global community at large. "[TILIP] reflects the deliberate initiative of the University to foster a global perspective and brings in remarkable scholars on the symposium level," he said. TILIP is an intensive bicultural program designed as an exchange between students from Tufts, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong, and Peking University. This year's program consists of 11 pairs of students from Tufts and from Beijing and Hong Kong. The participants, who took part in a six-week internship in Hong Kong over the summer, reunited in the US two weeks ago and will cap their cross-cultural experience at this weekend's symposium. Upon returning to Medford in the fall, the Tufts seniors began an intensive planning process for the symposium, which included a semester-long colloquium organized by the Institute for Global Leadership. The student participants said that the fresh perspective gained through the exchange of ideas with their peers was the most rewarding aspect of the program. "It was valuable to work with the Chinese students and see their perceptions of different issues, as well as learn from their work ethic," TILIP participant Daniel Elman said. Several of the participants said they felt that the most interesting part of the program was the integration of different cultures into a work environment. "We just had totally different working styles in the beginning...." Senior Sarada Peri said. "In America we kind of say what we think right away. And in Beijing, people do the opposite - they take a long time to say what they're thinking." Senior Kelly Knee, who will be mediating Saturday's panel on global environmental issues, lauded the program for introducing a fresh perspective on commonplace issues. "As an environmental studies major, I had always looked at environmental issues from a very technical point of view, but now I see the importance of how cultural attitudes affect our approach to these issues," she said.

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News

Campus bands battle to open Spring Fling

March 31

On March 31, six of Tufts' best bands will rock out at the Battle of the Bands competition in Hotung Caf?©, vying for the illustrious honor of opening this year's Spring Fling. Past spring flings have featured high-profile bands like Reel Big Fish and the Barenaked Ladies, while this year's headlining act will be Guster. The chance to open for big-name bands does not present itself very often, but every year Concert Board gives six groups - each of which must be composed of at least one Tufts student - the opportunity to do just that. The deadline for applying is today, after which the board will select the bands that get to play 15-minute sets at the Battle of the Bands. This year, Concert Board co-chairman Dan Aaronson is not only involved in the administrative end of things - his band is taking part in the competition as well. Aaronson - who will not be permitted to take part in Concert Board's voting process - and his band, Redshift 6, have their eyes set on opening Spring Fling.Six students comprise Redshift 6: Aaronson on keyboards, sophomore Adam Ross on bass, sophomore Todd Scalia on percussions, sophomore Conor Sheehan, junior Keith Silliman on guitar, and sophomore Charles Thornton on drums. According to the band, its music consists of a mix drawing from everything. The band especially enjoys playing long-improvised jam sessions during its spare time. "We draw from a lot of different types of music such as rock, jazz, and funk, and nothing can really describe our musical style fully," Sheehan said. Redshift 6 began last year with former hallmates Sheehan, Scalia, and Silliman. After jamming in Hill Hall, they found they played well together. Soon after, Aaronson - Silliman's close friend and jamming buddy - and Ross joined the trio. Together they fine-tuned their collective sound and eventually found a drummer with the addition of Thornton. The band put together a demo that contains four original tracks, including the its favorite, "Boo' Urns," and a cover song of the Allman Brothers' classic "Jessica." In the future, Redshift 6 hopes to expand to venues beyond Tufts to spread its unique tones. "We hope to start playing more in bars and off-campus locations," Sheehan said. As far as Spring Fling goes, Redshift 6 knows the competition is stiff - many of the bands it's up against consist of some brilliant musicians outside of Tufts. Still, Sheehan is confident. "We've been around since last year, we work really hard, and we feel that we have a desire to win it," he said. Redshift 6 will find itself up against Chapman Field Drive, a band that consists of the vocals of Sara Zelle, senior Jeff Rakofsky on drums, senior Mike Liebman on keyboard, Matt Weinscall on guitar, and David Fisher on bass. Rakofsky said the band would ordinarily fall into the pop-rock genre; modern rock groups such as U2, Bruce Springsteen, and Journey influence the band's musical sensibilities. Rakofsky, Weinscall, and Fisher came to the Boston area from Miami looking to start a band. Rakofsky then met keyboardist Leibman, and underwent a brief search that produced lead singer Zelle. According to Rakofsky, Chapman Field Drive strives to create songs that relate to its members or their experiences. Band members contribute their own ideas and often, songs end up taking a new direction altogether. The band also intends to produce tunes that crowds can readily pick up, or "hum along to." If they make it to Spring Fling, it may be one of Chapman Field Drive's last gigs - the band may split up after graduation. Rakofsky attributes the potential break-up to "different professional aspirations." However, the members all hope to continue making and playing music after college, and a few want to pursue careers in music.For now, though, Rakofsky is excited about the chance to open for Guster, not only because of a potential brush with fame, but also because of the opportunity to extend Chapman Field Drive's music to a larger venue. Rakofsky feels that a large Spring Fling crowd would generate a far more professional feeling for the band."Spring Fling is a great opportunity for Tufts musical groups in that it gives them a professional outlet for their talents and love," he said. Hickory Stew, another band in the running to reach the finalist pool, plays a mixture of Irish and traditional American music, with senior Mike Dupuy on guitar, Patrick Merry on the Uilleann pipes (the bag pipes), and senior Addie Holland on the fiddle. According to band members, Hickory Stew plays a genre of music that isn't very popular on American college campuses, but has found a strong and steady fan base at Tufts for the past three years. The Crafts House is one of the band's favorite venues - most of their fans can be found at gigs there.Dupuy said that while most people would not recognize the songs the band plays by name, it has accustomed many listeners to some old-time melodies and lyrics. Dupuy was first introduced to Irish music by Merry; the two usually ate breakfast together freshman year. It took a while to pick up the traditional style, but Dupuy now "backs" Merry's Uilleann pipes and Holland's fiddle with confidence. The band arranges music that may be hundreds of years old, formulating its own unique style. As for the future, Dupuy said that if he knew the band's plans, he wouldn't have any worries. After graduation, Holland is moving to western Massachusetts, so the band may change its composition and even its name. Opening for Spring Fling excites the members of Hickory Stew, since they would play a large outdoor venue. "It would be a big mistake if we were not chosen...we are the best traditional band ever," Dupuy boasted. Surprisingly, the band is excited to have the chance to "open for a hip-hop band," namely, Jurssic 5, slated to play immediately following the Tufts band at Spring Fling. Audition tapes can be submitted to the campus center info desk today. Traditionally, around 20 bands audition, and the board has received 15 to 20 tapes so far this year, according to Aaronson. Concert Board looks for a variety of characteristics in finding a band to open Fling. "We look for good vocals, good lyrics, good instrumentation, good solos, [and] the overall presentation of the band," Aaronson said. "There's no one thing that we're looking for...ultimately, we're looking for whoever puts on the best show." After today's deadline, Concert Board will hold a listening session, during which it hears parts of each tape and takes a hand vote on whether the band should be included in the finalist pool. The six bands in the pool then play the Battle of the Bands, where five Concert Board members rate them and decide upon a winner. With Aaronson and other members of Concert Board participating in the competition, the voting process was changed this year. Usually, Concert Board's executive staff ranks the Battle of the Bands sets, but this year, random board members will be pulled into the process to replace Aaronson and keep the voting general. "Even though we trust members of executive board, we didn't want any conflicts of interest," Aaronson said.

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News

Enjoy it while it lasts, this league is a changin'

March 31

With few games left in the regular-season and the playoff picture changing shape every day, it's an exciting time of year for the NBA. It's the stretch-run. Every coach is digging deep into the files for his best pep talk. Every player is finally thinking more about the game and less about minutes and contracts (or at least they should be). For sports reporters, covering the stretch-run with any presupposed insight is futile. One can only sit back and watch. That's why this may be an opportune time to take a step back, and look at the NBA big picture. Currently in New York City, news from the league office indicates a large interest in making what would be the most significant rule change since the advent of the three-point line. The NBA may scrap the illegal-defense rule. According to the Associated Press, the proposed changes would: scrap the illegal defense rules; institute a defensive three-second rule, whereby defenders would be allowed to stay in the lane for only three seconds unless they were within arm's length of an opponent; give teams eight seconds instead of ten to bring the ball past midcourt; redefine incidental contact to cut down on touch fouls; and allow players to touch the ball while it is on the rim.With scoring and TV ratings in decline as teams increasingly rely on isolation plays, the NBA Board of Governors discussed the proposed changes last Friday. According to Commissioner David Stern, the adjustments are intended to give the game more movement, passing, and a faster pace.The isolation style that has frustrated league officials involves a one-on-one situation in which a majority of players remain idle on the weak side to draw defenders away from the ball in the offensive team's attempt to exploit a mismatch. The league attributes a decrease in points over the past decade to the increasing usage of this strategy. This season, teams are averaging 94.6 points, down nearly three points per game from last season. But the motivation for jump-starting the game through rule adjustment goes beyond strategy and statistics. The illegal defense rule has benefited star players such as Michael Jordan enormously, allowing players to exploit mismatches and create scoring opportunities. But coming out of the Michael Jordan era, the league has had difficulty finding a prototypical athlete-personality. While candidates for the heir-apparent role have included Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Grant Hill, and Allen Iverson, none have demonstrated an on-and-off court presence to match Jordan's. Offensively, a zone could neutralize the dominance of post-up players such as Shaquille O'Neal, while placing a premium on long-range shooters. The defensive 3-second should allow slashing scorers such as Allen Iverson plenty of opportunities to penetrate to the basket. On defense, however, intimidating centers (such as the aforementioned O'Neal) will no longer be drawn away from the basket. This should send shot blocking and defensive rebounding totals sky high. The impact of the new rules could veer the league away from the athlete-personality driven model, placing an emphasis on coaching and team dynamics. A distant result of this shift could be a slowing of salary inflation, because teams wouldn't necessarily be as dependent on having premier talent. "I came away persuaded," deputy commissioner Russ Granik said in a press release. "You're never certain exactly what the results will be with rules changes, but it's worth taking a chance here."Even if the rule changes do no produce the anticipated effects, there could be detrimental consequences. The innovation of the defensive three-second rule, for example, might prove difficult for officials to manage and be counter-intuitive for players to observe. Meanwhile, all speculation belongs to the realm of possibility, hanging on the whim of the commissioner's office and approval from team owners. So sports fans might as well return their attention to late-season NBA action, watching the team's we've come to know over this 82-game season jockey to improve their final position, gearing up for the playoffs.

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News

Men's squash slams Fordham

March 31

The Tufts men's squash team continued its solid play with a 6-3 defeat of Fordham University on Saturday at the Cousens Courts. The win was Tufts' seventh of the season, placing the team four wins ahead of last year's mark, with still more than a month until Nationals. Junior Colin O'Higgins called the Jumbos' turnaround a natural development for the team. "We were a young team when we were losing," O'Higgins said. "Now we have matured and grown together." That maturation continued against the Fordham Rams behind strong performances from a focused Jumbo squad. Junior Neil Pallaver led the way at the number one spot, defeating John Reiss easily in three straight games 15-11, 15-7, and 15-6. O'Higgins, seniors Dylan McPhetres and Bennett Kolasinski, sophomore Nathan Anderson, and freshman Jordan Kolasinski also posted 3-0 victories for Tufts. Sophomore Chris Choi fought hard at the number two spot, coming back from two games down to tie Fordham's Ryan Voege and send the match into a fifth and decisive game. "The first two games I was very tense, then I started to relax and stay on my toes," said Choi. "[Voege] is a pretty big player, and I had a hard time seeing the ball during the first two games. Then I found a slight weakness in his forehand, and tried to keep at that." The strategy helped Choi battle back before falling 15-13 in a final game that saw the lead change several times. O'Higgins' victory came a little easier as he swept his opponent in a short, one-sided victory at the third spot. "Colin has been consistent most of the season," coach Doug Eng said. The compliment couldn't have been more true on Saturday as O'Higgins used smooth and simple play to assure victory and attributed his success to "not making any mistakes." Anderson echoed his teammates' explanations for his victory at the seventh spot. "I tried to keep it tied to the walls, and simple," he said. "[On Friday] I seemed a little out of control, but today I pulled it together." Although in his second year, Anderson is still a squash neophyte. A tennis player in high school, Anderson decided to bring his talents indoors this winter, and the decision was a beneficial one for the Jumbos. "Nathan, our newcomer, has been consistent all year and has been a major contributor," Eng said. He is one of the reasons behind Tufts' improved record and ranking in the national polls. That ranking stood at 17th before Eng and his team traveled to Yale to take on Wesleyan and Navy on Friday. Seventeenth was the best ranking the men's squash team has seen since the 1991-1992 season, and is a drastic improvement from a 3-10 record just last year. Unfortunately, the ranking may not last long, as Tufts lost both of its matches on its trip to Hartford. Navy, ranked ninth in the last national poll, was the obvious favorite in the showdown with the Jumbos and played to a solid 8-1 victory. The Jumbos' loss to the Wesleyan Cardinals however, was much harder to swallow. "[Wesleyan] was ranked four spots below us going in to the weekend, so we might drop down to 20," said Coach Eng. "The whole season we have been a little inconsistent. We are the hardest team to rank because sometimes we play great and sometimes we come out flat. Against Wesleyan we weren't executing the basics of the game." Those basics returned to the squad on Saturday and lifted it to the victory over Fordham, but the damage to the team's ranking was already done with the loss to the Cardinals. "We knew that Wesleyan was the one team we had to beat to solidify our 17th ranking," Eng said. "We won't get a number one [regional] seed at Nationals now, but we just have to try to stay in the top three or four of our bracket and see what happens." Tufts' efforts continue today at Harvard against a formidable Dartmouth squad. "Dartmouth is ranked well, but soft this year. I think we have a shot at taking some matches," Ang said.

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Running a lifetime study for Smith

March 31

As far back as he can remember, Ben Smith has always loved running. "When I was only five years old, I remember I used to run around the house and take laps," Smith said. "Twenty-six to be exact." Over the past few years, his love for running has only grown. Smith, now a junior, was a member of the cross-country team in middle and high school. He added indoor track in high school, and played tennis in the spring. His senior year, though, he decided to focus solely on running, picking up outdoor track in the spring, knowing he wanted to continue to run in college. Today, the boy from Connecticut is a valuable member of the Tufts cross country, indoor, and outdoor track teams. What is unique about Smith is not his running ability, which is a large strength for Tufts, but his love of running. "I consider myself a student of the sport. A lot of running is about theory," Smith said. Of running theory, Smith has been an avid learner. He reads books on running, and is also always talking to other runners and coaches about their training skills so that he may improve his own. Throughout his years at Tufts, Smith's research of the sport has clearly yielded positive results. Qualifying for Nationals in cross country his freshmen year was one of his greatest achievements, and he has earned that honor every year since. Next year, his ultimate goal is to be able to qualify within the top four spots at the meet. "I have been to Nationals three times now, and I don't want to leave college without havinggone up on that stage," he said. While cross country has always been his forte, Smith has recently began to spread his focus out into the indoor track season as well. As a result, Smith is having one of his strongest indoor track seasons in his years at Tufts. "His improvements have always been steady, but he's running more injury free this year, and that stronger base gives him a greater ability to run faster," cross country and track coach Connie Putnam said. Smith credits his increased healthiness to his new training method this year. Moving away from the aggressive practice styles he once used, Smith now also understands the importance of rest on one's performance. "A lot of distance running is running as close as you can to the brink of injury, because you want to train as hard as you can," Smith said. "This season I'm more focused on rest though. I want to move away from counting mileage and look more at quality miles. I've learned the importance sleep as well." Within the track season, Smith had always wanted to take part in the mile run. He always ran the mile in high school because of an inspiration from one of his favorite running books: Once a Runner, by John L. Parker Jr. Yet, after some reflection this year, he feels he is ready to move up to longer events. Running the 3,000-meter race at Bowdoin this year, Smith felt that he ran one of the best races of his career. His time of 8:38.74 was strong enough to win him second place. "That was the race that tipped me off to move up in distance," Smith said. Racing in the 3,000 event again this past weekend, Smith hopes that this event and maybe even the 5,000 can become part of his performance repertoire for the outdoor season. Smith will captain the cross-country team along with teammate J.R Cruz. Looking past the track seasons and on to next year, he feels that with enough effort the team can be "the best team Tufts has ever had." As the current cross country and track team captain, senior David Patterson is pleased to be succeeded by Smith. "He sets the example by working hard, and is always willing to put in the extra effort," Patterson commented. "He's always there to help the younger kids too." Smith hopes that college will not be the end of his running achievements either. "Running sustains me," he said. "Many days, it reminds me exactly how much I lovebeing alive. I'm going to run until I die."

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To drink, swim, and fish

March 31

Before you take that next big gulp of water, you might want to consider some facts about what's in that glass: Over 65 percent of the lakes and streams in Massachusetts are considered too polluted for drinking. Not to mention that Massachusetts has the second-worst water quality in the United States, ahead of only New Jersey. Despite the grim facts, one group is taking action to clean up local bodies of water. For the past three years, the Massachusetts Community Water Watch (MCWW) has provided communities with the resources and opportunities needed to measurably impact local water quality. MCWW, part of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, in alliance with AmeriCorps and the Massachusetts Service Alliance, engages students from 14 area college campuses in environmental community service efforts. Through active participation, MCWW motivates students to make a difference in cleaning and preserving local waterways. Along with active cleanup efforts, MCWW stresses educating future generations to become environmental leaders. This year marks Tufts' second year of involvement with MCWW. Last year, Tufts publicly announced its commitment to work with the Mystic River Watershed Association, the Massachusetts Office of Environmental Affairs, and the Environmental Protection Agency in hopes of cleaning up the Mystic River by 2010. This year, MCWW became an official member of the Leonard Carmichael Society, which offers students more opportunities for hands-on work in cleaning up the Mystic River - one of the areas most important but polluted water supplies. The Mystic River, parts of which flow a mere half-mile from campus, has a number of problems. The main problems plaguing the river's water quality include toxic chemicals leaching from old waste disposal sights (an issue dramatized in the film, A Civil Action), excessive amounts of nutrients from fertilizers and pesticides, trash, and sewage-borne bacteria. Each year, such sewage-borne bacteria cause the deaths of ten million children globally. In addressing these serious problems, MCWW has come to Tufts because of the campus' close proximity to the river. Americorps member Stephanie Gros, Tufts' own full-time MCWW program director, has witnessed the impact that students can have. "I want the program to really give students at Tufts concrete things they can do to make a difference," she said during this year's first MCWW meeting on Wednesday night. Though Gros once felt that she couldn't make a difference with a problem that loomed so large, the impressive turnout at Wednesday's meeting proved otherwise. Not only has MCWW recruited student participation, but it has also rallied support from many faculty members. Engineering professors Steve Chapra, John Durant, and Paul Kirshen and Assistant Director of Peace and Justice Studies Dale Bryan all support the project, recruit students, and raise awareness. Armed with their motto, "Think globally, act locally," and a successful Mystic River clean-up project last fall - when 30 volunteers pulled one ton of trash out of the water - MCWW has organized four student-led programs to improve the Mystic River's water quality. River clean-ups comprise the first of these programs. The group will designate a site for a big Earth Day Clean-up, which will take place on April 21. MCWW hopes that this activity will build a close coalition of the community and college students. MCWW also expects to attract local media to cover the event in order to raise statewide awareness of the problems plaguing the Mystic. Secondly, MCWW promotes water testing, with the help of Chapra in the Civil Environmental Engineering Department. Chapra will also help the cause during his "A Year on the Mystic" presentation, which will take place on Feb. 21 at the Town Hall at Winchester Center. By addressing the community, MCWW hopes to raise awareness among government officials in order to receive government funds to help meet the goal of "potable, fishable, and swimmable" water. MCWW's third tactic is community education, which informs local elementary school children about the condition of their water supplies. Along with classroom education, MCWW advocates on-site learning and will conduct water-testing exercises once a month with a group of local seventh and eighth graders. The fourth program will create awareness by ensuring that the local community is aware of the river's environmental condition. MCWW hopes to plan a Mystic River Awareness Week with movie nights, informational printouts in the media, and speakers. "We're young, vibrant, and full of energy, and we need to make a difference," sophomore volunteer Adam Blacchi said.For more info, MCWW has weekly meetings Wednesdays at 9 p.m. in Eaton 206.

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Israel at fault for Middle East violence, Jewish journalist says

March 31

Controversial Israeli journalist Israel Shamir argued in favor of a "one vote, one state, one solution" proposal to resolve the Palestinian/Israel conflict as he spoke about historic and current Middle East problems in his speech at Tufts on Friday. Shamir, who was once fired for his views, told students that the State of Israel is responsible for the violence that has plagued the region over the past six months, and that the Palestinian people share a greater link to Jerusalem and to the land than do Jewish Israelis. A Russian-born Jewish journalist, translator, and novelist, Shamir spoke as part of the Arab Student Association's Arab Awareness Week. His perspective was applauded by the majority of the mostly-Arab audience, though a few students spoke out against the connotations of his speech. Shamir, siding firmly with the Palestinians, gave a brief history of the intifadah - the Palestinian uprising - and accused Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak of having planned the insurrection. Drawing from a movie he seemed to believe every audience member would recognize, The Matrix, Shamir presented an analogy in which he described Israelis and Palestinians in terms of an intrinsic connection to the ground. "Palestinians are perfect mammals; their life is deeply rooted in the ground," he said. "Israeli people represent a virus form of a human being because they can live anywhere," he said. The connection between people and land is eliminated with the creation of similar environments, said Shamir, who believes that shopping malls - symbols of capitalism that are found in thousands of cities - replicate environments around the world so that people can become perfectly moveable. "Malls are powerful ideological weapons that make virus of men." Shamir encouraged members of the audience to pass questions to the front of Alumni Lounge, where 26 people, ranging from Tufts students to high school students to alumni, sat expectantly. Once he concluded his address and responded to each of the questions he received, Shamir welcomed direct questions. Much of the media, he said, alluding to newspapers in Britain and France and making specific reference to a particular headline in The New York Times, is controlled by Jews, and thus there are many biased interpretations of the conflict. The Zionist movement, he continued, is about uprooting people. Shamir offered a comparison between the State of Israel and the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta, in which there were two classes of citizens, those who had rights and were considered citizens, and the helots, or slaves, who were denied all societal privileges. According to Shamir, a more extreme level of apartheid exists in Israel than did in South Africa. If he were in charge of resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, Shamir said he would not create peculiar borders as the Israeli government has done, but rather bring equality to the Palestine, giving Israelis and Palestinians the same rights and supporting universal elections and suffrage. ASA Co-President Dina Karam, who was involved in bringing Shamir to Tufts, said she saw him as a controversial character who says things that many people do not want to hear. "Shamir can criticize the things Israel does, but he is not anti-Israel," she said. Few members of the audience objected to Shamir, although some alluded to the Israelis' history as an uprooted people, and asked about the dangers that exist for the Jewish people today. Hilda Silverman, a former Ex College lecturer, said she agreed with 99 percent of Shamir's statements, but had a problem with his use of the term "virus" in reference to Jewish people. "When both stories [the Palestinian and the Israeli] are presented, the Palestinian story is compelling," she said. "Jews see the pain of the Palestinians, but most of us have some sort of tie to Judaism. I'm not saying Israel Shamir doesn't have it, I am saying that I can't sense it." Senior Gustavo Gomez, an international relations major, defended Shamir's word choice. "I don't think his terminology was directed at attacking Jews, but emphasizing a socialist ideology. If he had wanted to attack Jews, his rhetoric would have been different," she said. ASA did not bring Shamir to campus to make a political statement, organization Co-President Samer Abou-Ezzeddine said. Rather, his talk and views are a more intellectual nature. "Shamir propagates a humanitarian and anthropological view," Abou-Ezzeddine said.

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News

eBay unaffected by latest economic decline

March 31

Amidst a turbulent six-month period for the financial industry, eBay Inc., the Tufts alumni-owned online auction site, announced that the current US economic decline has yet to affect business, and that the company continues to thrive. And after an upbeat profit report from Amazon.com (AMZN) yesterday, eBay's stock, along with that of most other technology companies, rose higher. Shares of eBay Inc. (EBAY), a member of the American Stock Exchange (ASE) Internet Index and the NASDAQ 100, gained $2.48, or seven percent, to rise to $37.98. "Despite the turmoil around us, we continue to focus on expanding our customer base," said eBay CEO Meg Whitman, at the eighth annual Internet World Spring 2001 conference in Los Angeles, CA. Derek Brown, an analyst at W.R. Hambrecht, agreed that eBay has been relatively untouched by both the general slowdown in the economy and the sluggishness in the advertising market. "eBay's business seems to be thriving right now," he said. "Their business is expanding, not contracting. And neither Yahoo! nor Amazon.com could mount much meaningful competition for eBay." The ASE Internet Index was up 2.73 percent yesterday, mirroring advances in such Internet companies as eBay, Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP), and Verisign Inc. (VRSN). The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite Index gained 13.15 points, or 0.76 percent, to 1,733.5. "Despite the recent failures of the Internet, the Internet is not dead," Whitman said. Throughout the year, analysts have had to revise their expectations of eBay's earnings and revenue. Pacific Crest said yesterday that it believes eBay will beat analysts' estimates of first-quarter earnings for 2001 by two cents per share. The firm also raised its quarterly revenue estimate for the online auctioneer from $150 million to $160 million. Other analysts, such as Deutsche Bank. Alex Brown analyst Jeetil Patel, see a positive outlook for eBay. Patel, who has a 12-month target price of $60 on the stock, affirmed a "buy" rating on shares last week and expects an upside to the revenue expectation for the company for the first quarter of 2001. "We reiterate our buy investment rating on shares of eBay and recommend that investors add to positions at current levels," Patel said. In an attempt to simplify its pricing format, eBay has introduced the "Buy It Now" feature, which allows the buyer to purchase goods immediately at a fixed price. The auction site acquired Half.com, a fixed-price seller of books, music, movies, and games, and it has instituted online payment by credit card through Billpoint. "I'd say it's pretty easy to bid for items on eBay," said sophomore Christopher Goodchild, an economics major. "The only difficulty arises when other people bid above you and you don't know how much they bid until the end... and you lose out on the item." Founder and Chairman of eBay Inc. Pierre Omidyar graduated from Tufts in 1988 with a BS in computer science, and now serves as a member of the Tufts University Board of Trustees. He and his wife Pam were involved in the formation of the University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS). The couple donated $10 million in January to the UCCPS that, among other things, created the Omidyar Scholars program, which encourages students to combine successful careers with active participation in their communities. The couple has said they would like to apply their values from the business world to the philanthropic world through the UCCPS program by implementing the non-profit Omidyar Foundation. A ceremony last November recognized the Omidyars for their achievements in both business and philanthropy. For the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2000, eBay's revenues rose 92 percent to $431.4 million. Total net income was $48.3 million, up from $9.6 million. Revenues reflected continued growth in the number of users and listings. Earnings also benefited from improved operating margins. The company raised its revenue expectations for 2001 based on its acquisition of Internet Auction, Korea's largest auction site.

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Sign language course offerings expanding

March 31

The child development department is expanding its American Sign Language (ASL) class offerings to provide underclassmen with the opportunity to become proficient in the language. The efforts come in response to a nationwide increase in demand for sign language courses. A section of ASL I specifically for freshmen and sophomores was added this semester, and a third level of ASL classes will be offered next spring. Historically, ASL I closes out before underclassmen have the chance to register, and the juniors and seniors who enroll in the introductory class often graduate before they can take advanced ASL classes. "A third level of any language gives you more proficiency in it," said George Scarlett, chair of the child development department. "ASL III will make students more attractive in the job market and open up opportunities for internships. It will bring students up to a level where they can really start to do something in sign language." The 21 underclassmen enrolled in the course this semester will provide a core of students to fill seats in the ASL III class once it is offered. ASL professor Terrell Clark said that increasing opportunities to learn ASL is important because it puts Tufts on the same level as schools across the country that are also creating a similar program. "Public awareness has increased about ASL, and it has become a vehicle for communication even with non-deaf people," he said. Students seem eager to enroll in the upper-level course. "Sign language is something everyone should have the opportunity to learn, and since there are going to be three levels, I think a lot more people will want to take it," said freshman Liz Chesler, who took ASL I last fall. "I think it is so important that they are finally offering more courses. It's a lot better than having a high demand course that only 20 kids in the school get to take," said sophomore Deb Sherwood, who is studying sign language this semester. The classes are co-taught by professor Clark and professor Jim Lipsky, who is deaf. Students enrolled in their classes laud the professors' enthusiasm. The class structure, they say, provides students with a great perspective on the language and associated culture. "I think it's really rare to have a deaf professor. [Lipsky] teaches us the actual signing and we are silent the whole class. I thought it would be scary but he's so approachable and very understanding," Sherwood said. "[Clark] is so smart and passionate about her field. She's always very willing to help us and really takes an interest in deaf culture." ASL I teaches basic signing structures, vocabulary, and finger spelling. The course also explores topics in deaf culture such as family dynamics, social identity, and language acquisition. ASL II is more of a conversational course, in which students are required to do 12 hours of field experience working in the deaf community with native signers. Class participation becomes more important in ASL II. Lipsky said he enjoys the challenge of teaching hearing students how to speak visually. "I hope that the skills they gain will help them if they encounter a deaf person in their individual professions and out in the real world," he said. Scarlett attributes the popularity of the ASL classes to the nature and utility of sign language. "Many students want to take ASL because it is fun and has something to do with the body," he said. "Even if students are not going to become proficient in the language, it is a wonderful window into the deaf community and culture." Senior Bennett Kolasinski, a current ASL II student, said the unique qualities of sign language are what attracted him to the course. "I've taken other languages like Japanese and Spanish, but [ASL] is a totally new way of expressing yourself without sound," he said.

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A change of heart

March 31

Okay, I admit it - I'm a sorority chick. Though I'm not an anorexic, superficial snob who only travels in a pack looking for a frat boy to hook up with, I must confess to owning a pair of the ubiquitous sorority girl black pants. In contrast with general conceptions to the contrary, I'm pretty sure that not all sorority sisters at Tufts are ditsy, vapid clones who are so desperate to find a social niche that they must write out a check every semester to find friends. Of course, it's certainly possible that this description may prove to be an accurate portrait of certain individuals. However, to say that the sorority system forces its members to conform to this mold is blatantly untrue. For me to universally criticize those who mock my fellow sorority chicks would be hypocritical. For my first three semesters at Tufts, I amused myself greatly by mocking the Greek system as a whole. Preying on the sorority system was especially easy. Snickering at hordes of sisters clinging to each other in the dining hall or picking apart Viewpoints claiming that sororities do not foster exclusivity or cliquishness just came so easily to me. How could I not ridicule a group of women standing in a clump with the same Greek letters splashed across their chests while they simultaneously alleged to be a group of individuals? Then the guilt began to set in. Yes, I was friendly with a bunch of girls in all of the three houses at Tufts. And yes, none of these acquaintances struck me as insipid bimbos. I didn't actually know the first thing about these organizations besides the bad reputation perpetuated by my fellow unaffiliated people. So to alleviate my guilt (as well as to find new material to mock), I decided to rush as a second semester sophomore. I would go through rush, affirm that all of my preconceptions were accurate and then return to my group of friends armed with new, fun stories further proving that sorority chicks are a waste of the world's oxygen supply. Little did I suspect that my brilliant plan would go awry. I was sure that all the insincere fluffiness about sisterhood that would be spewed at rushees would cement my decision not to pledge. Even if I did pledge, all the criticism and mockery from my friends would surely bring about my demise. My roommate had even jokingly made me sign a statement promising that I would never join the one house that was the predominant subject of our ridicule. In short, I wound up sticking with Rush, sticking with pledging and ultimately sticking around as a sister. All along the way, I was continually surprised (and, indeed, continue to be surprised) with the wide breadth of distinct individuals that the sorority system encompasses. From athletes, musicians and campus activists in all three houses on this campus to the diverse assortment of sisters and alumnae I've met from my house's various chapters across the country, I'm continually reminded that the stereotype of the scantily-clad, flakey sorority chick is just that - a stereotype, not a statement of fact. So what exactly was it that turned me, the former naysayer into a letter-wearing sister proud enough of her house affiliation that I felt compelled to write this Viewpoint? Without doubt, my decision to write this piece will likely elicit snickering and criticism from those to who are satisfied with lumping sorority sisters into the "stupid and useless" category. To be perfectly honest, one of primary reasons for sticking with pledging had more to do with a persistent curiosity rather than a desire to bond with the rest of my pledge class. But then as the process continued, I discovered that I genuinely liked my fellow pledges and sisters-to-be. But perhaps an even more compelling reason to stay was the recognition that my preconceived ideas regarding the nature of sororities were untrue and based on nothing but the "information" of other uninformed individuals. For once, it was nice to see that I had no idea what I was talking about.Yet the mocking of sorority chicks will certainly continue. Admittedly, the world will probably not spin off its axis the next time someone asks me if my sisters have to OK my outfit before I leave my room in the morning. However, it is frustrating that so many people (myself included) are willing and even eager to cast judgment about another person simply based on a label about which they know nothing. In any case, I have to wrap things up. I'm late for the weekly sorority pillowfight.Dena Sloan is a senior majoring in international relations and French. She is viewpoints editor for The Tufts Daily.

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News

Hits and Misses

March 31

CanineTreacherous Turn OnePlanet Noise Records-----3.5 stars----- If you miss real rock - music in the tradition of the early-to-mid '90s - Canine may be what you're looking for. Don't expect a monotonous 53-minute set of hard rock, though. Treacherous Turn One pleasantly surprises the listener with a variety of moods while sticking to the somewhat undernourished genre of real modern rock. From the understated guitar and emphasized vocals on tracks like "Four Seconds" and "Livin'" to the catchy electric chords and crashing drums on "Devil's Pride" and "Beginning of the End," Canine evokes a little classic grunge a la Soundgarden, while slipping in some slightly funky bass. Don't think it's another fusion band, though. These guys are here to rock. Best of all, guitarist Daniel Bernal is a Tufts graduate, and Canine plays plenty of Boston gigs. The band will be at the Middle East this Friday to celebrate the release of Treacherous Turn One - and it's a record worth celebrating. - Drew SheltonHeidi SapersteinThe Devil I Once KnewKimchee Records-----1.5 stars---- To be a singer-songwriter, you must both sing and write songs, and if you're a little inconsistent on either end, you're not likely to pull it off. The odd thing is, Heidi Saperstein doesn't have a bad voice, her songwriting is good, and yet the record is painful. When Saperstein gets backup on the choruses, she sounds great - cool, passionate, competent. The songs themselves are excellently balanced - they alternately build up and then release tension and emotion. Saperstein's voice, however, is shrill and unpleasant on most of the verses, including the opening lines of the album. If you listen to the words, you'll be impressed with Saperstein's obvious ability, and if you can skip the verses and just hear the choruses, you'll be impressed with her performance there, too. Unfortunately, you're not likely to do either. - Drew SheltonRustic OvertonesViva NuevaTommy Boy Records-----5 stars----- Rustic Overtones are stellar not only because they are fresh and upbeat in the most innovative ways possible, but especially because they somehow manage to cover all the bases. The musicians are hip-hop and jam influenced enough to be an ultimate party band. But they also produce songs like "Love Underground," which stands out with its bold guitars and scrumptiously infectious basslines. Add a dosage of reggae and ska, complete with one of the most impressive horn sections out there and vocalists who run the comparison gamut from a melodic Dicky Barrett to a raspy Brad Nowell, and what you have is Viva Nueva - quite possibly one of the best albums this year. Rustic Overtones are a native New England band and superstars in their home state of Maine, but they won't be a small-town favorite for long. Catch a local show (they'll be in New Hampshire and Rhode Island in early May) before Rustic explodes onto the national scene. - Sheryl Gordon

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News

Red hot softball team has won eight of last nine

March 31

Following mother nature's lead, the women's softball team (17-7-1) has caught fire just as the New England weather begins to warm up. The squad is currently in the midst of a streak in which it has won eight of nine, including three victories in the past two days - two wins against Trinity on Monday and a 3-1 win over the Springfield Pride in the opener of yesterday's doubleheader. Tufts managed to split the doubleheader with Springfield, which entered the contest sporting a startling 25-6 record. Junior Jodie Moreau pitched her tenth complete game of the season, holding the Pride's high-octane offense to a single run and upping her record to 8-3. The Jumbos were down 1-0 with one out in the bottom of the sixth when senior co-captain Randee McArdle singled, sophomore Jenica Spogen walked, and junior Jen Mackey singled to load the bases. After Springfield pitcher Nan Duga got the second out of the inning, all three Tufts runners scored when sophomore Nikki Blotner lashed a single and Springfield committed two errors on the play. In the second game, the Jumbos struggled both defensively and offensively. After pitching so well in Monday's 12-0 win over Trinity, senior Rachel Brecher had difficulty handling Springfield's potent offense. "They were a much better hitting team," coach Kris Talon said. "Rachel [Brecher] can win these games. Her game is hitting her spots and keeping the ball down. She pitched well, but there was a bit of a mental breakdown for the team in the end of the second game. It was our sixth game in four days. We aren't going to score ten runs every night." The wins over the Trinity Bantams on Monday were especially significant because they improved the Jumbos' mark to 4-0 in the NESCAC. "Trinity is in the NESCAC East, so those were very big games," Talon said. "They have a poor record, but some very good players." Pitching was the theme of the day in the twinbill, as Moreau and Brecher combined to twirl twelve innings and surrender only two runs. After tossing eight shutout innings against Amherst over the weekend, Moreau continued her dominance against Trinity, throwing a complete game while giving up only two runs and striking out eight. It appeared she would throw yet another shutout until Trinity put together a rally in the bottom of the seventh after a leadoff double from Liz Bontempo and three consecutive Bantam singles. Moreau managed to regain her composure to end the threat and close out the game. In the night-cap, which was shortened to five innings due to time constraints, Brecher fired a one-hit, no-run complete game. Interestingly, Brecher did not record a strikeout during the outing and, prior to yesterday's contest, had only fanned 19 in 45.2 innings of work. The pitcher also helped her own cause on Monday, knocking in two runs with a double in the third inning. Tufts' offense exploded in the matchup with Trinity, as the Jumbos outscored the Bantams by a 17-2 margin. "Since their pitching is just average, we knew we had to go out there and rock them," Talon said. "We wanted to set the tone early." After playing six games in four days, Tufts will get a much-needed break until Saturday, when the squad plays a tripleheader - two against Colby and one versus Emerson - on the opening day of the Tufts Invitational. The Jumbos conclude their NESCAC season with a doubleheader against Bowdoin on April 28. "We are definitely at our peak right now," McArdle said. "We have four important games coming up against Colby and Bowdoin that are all must-win."

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News

Alternative comics creator explores a new medium

March 31

Alternative. The adjective originally applied to any of lifestyle that didn't quite match that of the average person: punks, goths, comic-reading recluses. Soon the term was applied to every medium - most notably, music. Today, alternative lifestyles have taken on a life of their own, and the growing popularity of punk and gothic lifestyles has made them something less than alternative. Alternative music is now mainstream music, the label given to most forms of modern rock and even some modern pop. The genre remains in its original, low-key, independent form in but one medium: the comic book. While mainstream comics deal with superheroes and mysteries, alternative comics tend to be caustic and abrasive social commentaries woven into a complex network of contemporary humor and vulgarity. Hiding somewhere in the shadows of such graphic publishing powerhouses as Marvel and DC, dozens of independent comics publishers host nearly a hundred artists and titles, each with his or her own underground fan network. Slave Labor Graphics is one such publisher, and its most popular artist, Jhonen Vasquez, is at the forefront of the indie comic world - his career having skyrocketed in the past five years with such titles as Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Squee!, I Feel Sick, and several one-shot (or single-copy) books, including Fillerbunny and The Bad Art Collection. The tall, slim, "mostly Mexican" Californian has made several appearances at comic conventions and held signings at various stores, but maintains a low profile in the midst of his sudden popularity. Vasquez says that his work is "something humorous and yet at the same time [readers] recognize it as something they carry inside themselves." Johnny, starring a recluse with a full torture chamber under his ramshackle house, is still his most famous strip, including large amounts of gore-riddled, violent action and, as Vasquez describes it, "vicious self-mockery [and] humor, more than anything else. The book plays off of pretension, sort of a mockery of it." Besides the murderous, vengeful social-outcast Johnny (Nny for short), Vasquez's characters include Todd Casil, known as Squee, a young boy of "perhaps five." Squee is almost totally ignored by his parents, mocked by his peers (except for the young son of Satan, Pepito, who attends his elementary school), and generally thrust into the worst possible scenarios in life, from abduction by aliens to finding Johnny in his bathroom, covered in blood and looking for the Bactine. Vasquez admits that he was often the object of ridicule in his youth, remarking that, "all you have to do is leave the house and people will make fun of you. People are so isolated. It's sad, but they'll make fun of anyone that's different from them." Johnny's mass killing of "the testosterone-filled gossipy in-crowds" is "the extreme form of contempt for the human nature that allows such things to happen." In a way, the humor in Vasquez's books is based off of all the things that he finds repulsive in life. Toilet humor is a common theme, including a scene where Devi, the shut-in artist heroine of I Feel Sick, is stuck on a blind date with a man who cannot stop defecating in his pants. "I hate being human. It's the whole toilet thing.... Being an organic organism [is] redundant. Some [humans] might as well be on leashes or thrown in cages. They f-ck, kill, eat, sh-t, fart, belch, [and] if something's in their way, they beat it up." Again, the contempt for the less impressive side of human nature is as prevalent in his commentary as it is in his work. Besides Johnny, representing anger with mainstream society, Devi, the reclusive artist sick of the world, Squee, a manifestation of innocence and understanding being beaten down by life, and Fillerbunny, a representation of pain, Vasquez's books include many minor characters. Wobbleyheaded Bob is a super-genius who somehow always manages to get himself mutilated, who Vasquez claims is "my arrogant side." Happy Noodle Boy, a nonsensical stick figure, is actually a diversion created for a friend. "She always wanted me to do new comics for her, always. I made this awful, annoying, badly-drawn character, to give her. It just took off, and I liked it, so it stuck." Vasquez's newest creation, a co-project with fellow alternative comics artist and Lenore creator Roman Dirge, is Invader Zim, a cartoon show about a little alien living with a child on earth. Zim, hated by his superiors, is sent on a "secret mission" to a "secret planet" with a defective robot aid scrounged from the trash. Six months later, Zim finds himself on Earth, thinks he has reached his destination, and decides to blend in and learn about the humans so he can bring ultimate doom to their planet. Dib, a young boy, and one of Zim's classmates from "skool," befriends Zim, hoping to get rich and prove the existence of aliens by making an alien autopsy video. The TV series, released by Nickelodeon, seems far more suited to MTV (just like its animation team's previous show, Ren and Stimpy). It stars the voice talents of Andy Berman, Richard Steven Horvitz, and Vasquez's colorist for I Feel Sick, Rosearik Rikki Simons. "This Nickelodeon thing scares me," says editor David James, "I think Jhonen having access to young minds in such large numbers is one of the seven signs of the apocalypse." Many fans say that Vasquez's work as well as his turn to the animation medium is reminiscent of Tim Burton's career, but Vasquez doesn't agree. I don't aspire to be Tim Burton, he told the Daily, "though I love his style and his ideas for stories." When asked about the frequent comparisons made between him and Burton, Vasquez said that everyone compares similar styles, and that Burton's early work is often compared to that of Edward Gorey, an early twentieth century cartoonist who created what Vasquez calls, "really creepy children's fairy tales," including illustrations for T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (the basis for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats) and The Gashly Crumb Tinies. On a lighter side, with all his projects, does Vasquez have time for hobbies? "I collect Pillsbury Doughboys. I've always been into them. I've got two store display ones - I just asked nicely in the stores when display time was up, then took them back and painted them. I just like the design. When I work, I just sit in my room with my doughboys surrounding me, listening to music. And I like driving around, after finishing a page at three in the morning. Through the roads, listening to loud music under clear night skies."

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