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One down, three to go for Spring Fling

March 31

Preparations for this year's Spring Fling concert are well underway after the Concert Board booked the first of four bands to play the April 28 concert. Though the board has struggled with funding and logistical issues, it plans to finalize all details within the next two weeks. The 50-person Concert Board, chaired by Dan Aaronson and Jenna Lowe, has traditionally been tight-lipped throughout the process of booking talent for the show. This year has been no exception, as organizers declined to disclose the names of potential performers. "All I can tell you is that the third [act] of the four acts is booked and confirmed," Lowe said. The status of the show's headliner remains up in the air, while the Concert Board is waiting to hear back from a second band. The first act of the day will be the winner Tufts "Battle of the Bands" competition, held in April. "A lot of rumors have been going around, but most of them are false," Concert Board member Ariana Flores said. One such rumor, which Lowe confirmed, involved the possibility of bringing Ben Harper to Medford. Lowe said that Tufts was outbid for Harper by $14,000, and that the school that did secure him paid $50,000. Even though the $50,000 price tag was within the Concert Board's overall budget for the event, money needed to get the other two national acts had to be reserved. The board was budgeted $75,000 for talent for this year's event, with another $20,000 covering costs such as security, hospitality, and dining services. While originally budgeted only $65,000 for talent, the group applied to the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate for additional funding. The Senate gave the Concert Board $10,000 of its requested $15,000. "Allocations Board takes requests very seriously if an event will be severely hindered without additional funding," Senate Treasurer Michele Shelton said. Though short of its goal - which presumably could have been enough to book Ben Harper - the board was satisfied. "We thought $10,000 was a good show of faith from the Senate," Aaronson said. In the past, the Concert Board has approached administrative offices for additional co-sponsorship, but has been unsuccessful so far this year. "We are disappointed [that administrative offices] rebuffed our previous requests and told us not to ask them about it again," Aaronson said. Regardless, Concert Board organizers are sure they will have enough money and resources to bring together a full four-act show. "While this has been a tight season for booking talent, everyone else is having the same difficulty, and I have no doubt we will get it done," Aaronson said. Besides booking talent, the Concert Board must also handle details that range from making food arrangements with dining services to security arrangements with the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) and surrounding communities. Dining services will provide food and plenty of water for concertgoers out in the sun for much of day. "We plan to have on hand high-protein foods for students who get hungry during the long day," said Patti Lee Klos, director of Dining Services. Students will have to rely on dining services to quench their thirst throughout the day, since personal water bottles will not be allowed onto concert grounds. "They don't want people bringing in vodka in water bottles," Lowe said. The Concert Board also is working with the Community Relations office to keep surrounding residential areas informed and happy. "We put ads in local newspapers to notify area residents of the concert," Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel said. Rubel said she received few complaints last year about noise from neighbors. However, after a bass-heavy performance by LL Cool J three years ago, many residents complained about the excessive vibrations. "My voicemail box was filled and the police got many complaints," Rubel said. This year's show may cause different noise problems than those experienced in the past because of a change in the stage setup. Last summer, the land behind the president's house that serves as a venue for the stage was flattened, which Lowe says will result in noise traveling further and louder. Rubel counters, however, that there should be no problem with excessive noise. "Spring Fling fits well within both Somerville and Medford noise ordinances." The Concert Board coordinates several music events on campus throughout the year, including last fall's Rock Show featuring Dispatch, the Hip-Hop show with De La Soul, and this month's Jazz Show with John Scofield and Charlie Hunter. Fall Fest, the other large concert event each year, is organized by the Senate. Tickets to Spring Fling are free to Tufts students and $15 per guest ticket. Students may bring up to five guests to the show. "Ideally we want to please as many students as possible at the concert," Lowe said.

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News

Squash team struggles at Howe Cup

March 31

The women's squash team finished its season on a low note last weekend at the Howe Cup after an altogether productive year. Coach Doug Eng's stated goal before the season had been a national ranking of 17th. The Jumbos met their coach's goal, ranking as high as 12th at one point, before finishing up 16th. This weekend was monumental for the Jumbos' season as the regular season is merely used for seeding for the Howe Cup (Nationals), which was held at Yale this year. Entering the weekend, the Jumbos knew they would face some of their toughest competition of the year, but the team members remained optimistic. "We're focused on Nationals," captain Justine Kurland said before the weekend. The Jumbos first encountered a Colby team they knew would be tough. "They are a deeper team than us, but we're stronger at the top," Eng said of the match. Tufts has been relying on their depth all year - winning with strong contributions from all the players on the starting team - but struggled against the increased competition last weekend. The Jumbos were blanked by Colby in the first round of the Howe Cup. The only player able to win a game was freshman A.J. Crane (who won two, but eventually lost the best of five match). "We're a very emotional team," Eng said. "Sometimes it works for us, this time it didn't." The disappointing first match was too much for the young team to overcome.The Jumbos' next match was against a Saint Lawrence team they had beaten just two weeks before. This time, though, Tufts couldn't quite pull out a win."Their top two players are very tough," Eng said. "We knew we had to win five matches from the three through nine players."The pressure was too much for the Jumbos, who lost by a close 5-4 margin. Tufts was able to win its seven, eight, and nine matches, capitalizing on its depth advantage, and received a convincing victory from sophomore Abi Cushman, who needed only three games to dispose of her opponent in the number three spot. The four, five, and six players, however, couldn't come up with the one victory Tufts needed to emerge with a win. Sophomore Eileen Connors, playing in the number six spot, pushed her match to the fifth and deciding game before falling 9-6 in a heartbreaker. "Our inexperience showed," said Eng. "I don't think the players knew how hard the other teams were going to come out." In the final match, the Jumbos took on a strong Middlebury team that has been ahead of them in the national polls almost the entire season. Despite convincing wins from sophomore sophomore Winnie So and graduate student Zaina Al-Awadi, playing in the one and two spots, respectively, the Brown and Blue couldn't come away with any other wins. Despite the disappointing end to this season, the Howe Cup, much like the whole season, was a learning experience for the young team."The Howe Cup helped to clarify our goals for next year," assistant coach Missy Meo said."We had a taste of what could have been, but lost it," Eng said. For the Jumbos, the lesson will hopefully serve as an impetus to push next year's more experienced team into the running for tops in the second division. Not all of the players on the team can start thinking about next year, though. Winnie So and Zaina Al-Awadi will compete in the individual nationals March 2-4 at Harvard.

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News

A feel-good movie worth seeing?

March 31

When was the last time you saw a modern feel-good movie that was honest about its feelings? Where the laughter and tears didn't feel forced or syrupy? A movie where intelligent characters triumph to achieve something more then themselves, with the same kind of honesty and integrity as a Frank Capra film? The time has come again, with Rob Sitch's The Dish. There have been many excellent movies in the last two years that have challenged what a movie could be - Fight Club, Three Kings, Magnolia, American Beauty, and Being John Malkovich, to name a few. However, there was also a dark edge to each. While they may have been exciting, they certainly were not heartwarming. They also had a strong dose of R-rated violence and language, which might have discouraged parents from taking the kids. Trying to tug at heartstrings is a dangerous tightrope act - it is so easy to take the manipulative route and choke with sentimentality. The other extreme is to dip every scene in irony, where all meaning is sacrificed so we can distance ourselves from any feeling at all for fear of appearing sappy. Not many films find the middle ground. The Dish is one that does. Ironically enough, it took an Australian creative team to re-create the spirit of Frank Capra so perfectly. The Dish tells the largely unknown tale of Parks, a small town in Australia with the largest satellite dish in the Southern Hemisphere. It was the only dish large enough to carry TV images from the moon to the earth at the time, and it was (and still is) located in the middle of a sheep paddock. (Fortunately, the sheep jokes are kept to a minimum.) The crew that runs the dish is composed of three Australian locals and one NASA Yankee - Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Event Horizon), Kevin Harrington, Tom Long, and Patrick Warburton as the NASA engineer. Their mission is to have the dish ready to go as a backup receiver during the Apollo 11 mission. It's a relatively small job, but they are very proud to play their part. As are the locals. The mayor (Roy Billing) and his wife are making a huge fuss that both the Prime Minister of Australia and the American Ambassador will be visiting, which means the local school band will have to memorize the US national anthem. The dish's solitary security guard Rudi (Tayler Kane) has decided that his job is now of national importance and starts carrying a gun, secretly hoping his mum doesn't find out and take it away from him. And Glenn (Tom Long), the fourth dish crewmember, considers that now might just be the time to finally get up the courage to ask Janine (Eliza Szonert) out. Director Rob Sitch (The Castle) guides the cast with a gentle hand, letting the humor come out at its own pace. With the soundtrack complimenting the story beautifully - old classics like 'Magic Carpet Ride' and 'Classical Gas' pop up - he shows us fully fleshed characters populating a sparse but gorgeously filmed landscape, sheep and all. The film was shot on location, making it all the more real and wonderful.The Dish is not a sweeping epic or a film that breaks any new ground. However, it is refreshingly old fashioned and the most fun you'll have in a theater until the summer. A postcard from another time, when landing on the moon was something we thought impossible... and yet maybe it wasn't. The Dish reminds us in a funny and gentle way that anything so wonderful as going into space is more than dollars and fuel. Take your parents.

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News

Leadership for Active Citizenship' undergoes changes for second year

March 31

Former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbargar will visit campus next week to deliver the first lecture for the second annual "Leadership for Active Citizenship" course. While the structure and format of the class, the first course to come out of the University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS), will be similar to that of last spring, several changes, sparked by student recommendations, were implemented by UCCPS administrators and President John DiBiaggio, the class' co-lecturer.

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News

Three of last year's Final Four teams converge in South

March 31

Blue chips:North Carolina Despite struggling of late, look for second-ranked North Carolina (25-6) to turn things around in the tournament. The Tar Heels blew a chance to capture the number one seed in the East after an embarrassing performance against Duke in the finals of the ACC tournament. That horrendous display of basketball wasn't exactly the best precursor to the NCAA Tournament, especially after the Heels had lost three of their past seven, spoiling a 21-2 start to the season. Perhaps it was just what the doctor ordered, however, as two big losses to the Blue Devils could serve as wake up calls for Joseph Forte, Brandon Haywood, and company. Don't forget that the Tar Heels have experience rising up from adversity in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, North Carolina entered the tournament with a weak 18-13 record but managed to make it all the way to the Final Four before falling to Florida.Florida Speaking of Florida (23-6), Billy Donavon's squad charged its way to the finals of the 2000 tournament, and as the number three seed in the South, could make a return appearance. Point guard Brett Nelson (15.3 ppg) leads the Gators' attack, which ranked first in the SEC in multiple categories, including scoring, scoring margin, field-goal percentage, three-point percentage, and assists. Center Udonis Haslem averaged 16.6 point per game to go along with 7.3 rebounds and is a force to be reckoned with in the paint. Don't be surprised if Donavon's team runs and guns it all the way to the Final Four.Michigan State Then, of course, there is defending champion and one-seed Michigan State (24-4). Despite winning their fourth straight Big Ten regular season title, the Spartans must deal with serious question marks, especially after losing to Penn. State in the Big Ten tournament. Still, the Spartans should not be overlooked.Cinderella Team:Gonzaga Gonzaga (24-6), the 12th seed, is the pick here. That should come as no surprise to anyone, as this small school from Spokane, Washington has developed a reputation for being a dream killer, upsetting many bigger and supposedly better teams over the last two years. The Zags ended the regular season by winning 18 of their last 19 games to clinch their third straight West Coast Conference tournament title. Over the past two years the Zags have won five NCAA Tournament games _ look for them to win a few more this year, starting with their first-round match against the fifth seed, Virginia. Senior forward Casey Calvary, the team's leading scorer and rebounder (19.0 ppg and 6.3 rpg), provides inside presence and leadership, while Blake Stepp won the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year award.Player to Watch :Joseph Forte, UNC Without the sophomore guard the Heels offense becomes stagnant. Forte averages 21.6 points per game and the team's second leading scorer is Brendan Haywood who averages a relatively modest 12.2 ppg. Against Duke on Sunday Forte led the team in scoring with 14 points on a weak 4-15 from the field _ no other Heels were in double figures. Simply put, UNC goes nowhere without a huge tournament from their young leader.Summary: The South is wide open. The top three seeds in this bracket all advanced to the Final Four last season, and any of the three could do it again this year. Billy Donavon, UNC's Matt Doherty, and Michigan's Tom Izzo are three of the best coaches in the business. Their leadership could be the determining factor in which team emerges from the South. Doherty makes the best story, having moved from Notre Dame to coach at his alma mater. After winning championships as a UNC role player on the Michael Jordan-led teams, Doherty would like to cap this season with a championship as a coach.

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News

Trustees give go-ahead on plans for new dorm

March 31

After a weekend of meetings with top administrators and student government representatives, Board of Trustees chairman Nathan Gantcher said that the University approves of tentative plans to construct a dormitory on Tufts' Medford campus. "It's not a controversial project," he said, following a luncheon on Saturday. At a meeting on Friday, Trustee Representative junior Jesse Levey lobbied for a 300-person housing unit. The trustees would not commit to that figure during the meetings this weekend but did designate 150 beds as the minimum size for the new dorm. "The administration clearly believes there is a need for beds," Gantcher said. "They're just not sure how many we need."A definitive plan will not be approved until May, when the trustees reconvene before Tufts' commencement ceremonies. It would then take at least a year to begin construction, according to Gantcher.Levey would not comment on the negotiations, but other student government representatives reported that the trustees seemed to be aware of the need for a new dorm."I know Jesse's presentation went really well, and I think the trustees are really open to ideas and suggestions," Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate Treasurer Michelle Shelton said.At Saturday's luncheon, with members of the TCU Senate, representatives from the student government organizations of Tufts' graduate schools, and the University's administration on hand, Gantcher said that the trustees would heed student advice. "The dorm problem on the hill has not fallen on deaf ears," he said. The students at the lunch mixed praise for Tufts with concerns during their addresses, and most solicited donations for the disparate interests of their academic programs. A first-year Fletcher student, complaining of inadequate instructional facilities, said that his fellow students are in favor of an architect's plan for renovating the Cabot Intercultural Center and the contiguous Mugar and Goddard halls. "All that it lacks is the funding," he said. Graduate School Council President Adrianne Ralph said that missing from her superb academic experience is a sense of community on the largely undergraduate campus. A student of urban and environmental policy, Ralph said she felt a "complete disconnect" with the rest of the University. "I was not a part of an academic community," she said, blaming a "lack of attention paid to graduate students in both formal and informal ways."Although TCU President David Moon said senators were nervous to address the trustees, successive speakers were direct in their requests to the influential body. Freshman Senator Pritesh Gandhi complimented Tufts for its response to last semester's hate crimes while pressing the administration and trustees to address a lack of diversity among the University faculty. He called for more money to be put toward an investigation of Tufts' faculty retention rate. "We lost eight black faculty members last year," he said. On a weekend when everyone seemed focused on fundraising, Gandhi was perhaps the most successful, raising $20,000 in trustee contributions for disaster relief efforts in India. He had asked trustees to match what students had donated to the cause; the total amount collected exceeded his initial request. Among the concerns of Treasurer Shelton and TCU Senate Vice President Eric Greenberg was the condition of Tufts' undergraduate classrooms - facilities the senators said were obsolete. "Many classes lack even the basic technology of the early 1990s," Shelton said.She also called for Tufts to improve the infrastructure of its music department, citing a lack of classrooms for music department education. "The performance groups face hardships as well," she said. "Perhaps one day Tufts can be known for its state-of-the-art music facility." "The quality of the classrooms has been neglected," Greenberg said, reciting a list of unresolved student concerns. But he lauded the Senate's success in improving Tufts' "social life policy," and the vice president's tone was generally sanguine."We should congratulate the cooperative effort of students and the administration," he said. On Saturday, Gantcher seemed to be listening; "It's interesting to hear the needs de jour," he said in closing remarks. The chairman of the board spoke highly of the quality of Tufts' campus center, athletic facilities, and library. Then, in recognition of the student speeches, he pledged to continue improving the University. "[The library] is state-of-the-art as compared to our classrooms - as I've heard," he said. "What I heard is that we're pretty good and we have to work to do to be perfect."

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News

Boucher icing competition on Tufts ski team

March 31

Junior Erin Boucher knew that she wanted on the Tufts alpine ski team even before she enrolled for her freshman year. Although she had been skiing since the age of three, Boucher had never skied competitively before college, but was intrigued by the idea. Since she is currently third in the Thompson Division individual rankings, it is safe to say she has done a little more than "try it out." An Engineering Psychology major from Amherst, NH, Boucher considered coming to Tufts mainly because of its size, but the exceptional softball program and the presence of a ski team clinched the deal. She played varsity softball as a freshman, but soon realized that she would not be able to properly focus on both skiing and softball, and was forced to choose one sport over the other. For Boucher the choice was difficult, but it ultimately came down to a choice between winning and passion. "My philosophy is that there is a difference between loving a sport and loving to win," Boucher commented. "Skiing is my passion in life." After spending just 30 minutes as a women's ski team member, Boucher knew she had made the right decision, and that skiing was her passion. The team itself has also served a major source of her motivation. "I'm really excited about the team because it is so much fun," Boucher said. "We're all really close and we have great team building and bonding. Since anything can happen in ski racing, it's good to know that someone is right there to fill in for you if something does." Not that Boucher needs backup often. During the summer following her freshman year, Boucher went to Mt. Hood in Oregon - a mecca for off-season training in the United States - to train for two weeks. In the company of many top level skiers from the US and Canada, she worked hard preparing for her sophomore season. But her real improvement occurred this past summer, when she worked as a counselor for a race camp at Mt. Hood, allowing her to get paid while doing what she loves. She also trained non-stop, performing "tedious, tedious drills" and practice runs. Her efforts have not gone un-rewarded - she has made a huge impact on the team this season with one top-15 finish after another. However, she doesn't let the numbers get to her head. "It comes down to performance versus outcome goals," Boucher said. "You've got to try to keep improving and focus on the skiing rather than focusing on the ranking." For this season, Boucher hopes to strengthen her ability in the giant slalom (GS), which has never been her strong event. Despite her veteran status on the ski team, she says that the GS is "still alien to [her]." Even with her strong ranking, Boucher also admits she wants to continue to work on consistency. "The faster you go, the more likely you are to fall," Boucher commented. "Consistency is key." Above all, her main goal is to avoid injury. And she certainly knows what that is like, having taken three trips to the emergency room last year alone. "My grandma says I should just slow it down," Boucher said. But it doesn't look like that will happen any time soon.

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News

Volunteer opportunities abound on campus

March 31

Most everyone has had to participate in some form of community service, charity, or fund-raising event in their lives. Many high schools require students to perform some type of community service - such as working in a soup kitchen or volunteering at a home for the elderly - before graduating. In college, however, volunteering for activities and giving up one's time for the sake of helping others is not so much a requirement as it is a personal decision to give back to the local community. From volunteering to tutoring elementary school children experiencing difficulties in math to waking up early on a Sunday morning for a charity event to benefit terminally ill children, volunteerism takes disparate forms. And although there are no monetary stipends that come with being a volunteer, the rewards often outnumber the sacrifices; something as simple as a smile on a child's face puts everything into perspective. There are a number of different ways that students can get involved in community service or volunteer opportunities. Programs such as VISIONS reach out to people with AIDS, while others, such as Jumpstart, focus on helping young children develop the skills and attitudes necessary to be successful readers. The Tufts University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS) was established to provide students with a foundation in leadership and public service so they will gain a better understanding of the role they should play in their communities to address local concerns. At Tufts, one of the easiest ways to get involved in many different volunteer programs is through the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS). Established 43 years ago, LCS serves as an umbrella organization for 37 different programs. The mission of LCS is to work towards creating a more socially sensitive and responsible world through service, education, and advocacy. Through a variety of programs, volunteers have the opportunity to donate blood during semester blood drives, talk to middle and high school kids about college, teach adults to read and write, participate in Jumbo Olympics to raise money for Special Olympics, as well as many more. "You get a lot of good things out of volunteering. There are obviously the general satisfactions of helping somebody else and understanding other people's feelings," co-president Allison Collins said. "We try having things that people can look foreword to," added Kristi Tough, the other co-president. One of the programs that has grown in size and popularity over the past few years has been Volunteer Vacations. For one week during both the winter and spring breaks, students travel throughout the United States to lend their time working in soup kitchens, building houses, and doing environmental clean-ups. According to Collins, these vacations have become popular because they provide students with an inexpensive way to have fun during break, meet new people, and get a good impression of LCS. "This is their Cancun," Collins said. LCS has tired to emphasis the process of reflection and taking a closer look at the concerns of the community that the members serve. "Out ideal is to have reflection sessions after [programs] looking more at the issues behind why people are homeless, why are they unemployed, and why do they need to have these kinds of services. We're trying to look more at the issues behind [problems] so that people can understand the broader context of things," Collins said. Volunteers have their own reasons for why they choose to volunteer their services for community causes, but the underlying motivation seems to stem from an innate obligation or responsibility to share their abilities with others. This can be done on a long-term basis by participating in weekly programs or on a short-term, once a year basis by volunteering at events such as Kids Day. "I look around and I feel very lucky for where we all are, for where Tufts students are, for where the population is in general and I feel that volunteering can be a little way and also a big way to help out. It's astronomical what people can do when they try and when they realize that they can make a difference," Tough said. Other campus organizations that have shared their time and effort for a good cause or two are the Catholic Community at Tufts (CCT) and Tufts Hillel. Both groups have worked collaboratively with LCS - as well as independently - to involve their members in charitable opportunities. This year, the CCT held a canned food drive during Thanksgiving to provide local homeless shelters with goods for the holiday. The organization also sponsored a winter semi-formal whose proceeds went to the New England Home for Little Wanderers. Hillel promoted the importance of reading through Read By The River and hosted an a cappella concert to benefit the American Cancer Society. "I think that we are representative of our generation in that we show that we are not just a generation that sits inside and watches TV, but we actually get out and care about the world and making it a better place," Collins said.

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News

Napster to charge users

March 31

Seeking to end a protracted legal battle, Napster's lawyers offered $1 billion in reparations to songwriters and major record labels on Monday, and announced a plan to institute a membership-based service by this summer. A week after the United State Court of Appeals for the Ninth District ruled that the popular online music service serves as a conduit for copyright infringement, company representatives said they will charge users between $5.95 and $9.95 per month for a "premium membership," which would allow individuals to download an unlimited number of songs. A basic membership, for a monthly fee in the $2.95 to $4.95 range, could also be offered, and would include a monthly file transfer limit. The $1 billion settlement is based on Napster's income projections and would be distributed over the next five years. Recipients' shares would depend on their percentage of files downloads. The proposal, however, has not yet been accepted by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) - the umbrella group that sued Napster. Napster officials said the pricing scheme was developed last October, but waited until after the court decision to offer the concession to the RIAA. "You might have noticed that we got some pretty bad news last week from the court of appeals," reads a Napster press release. "Now that the industry has the legal precedent they were seeking, it is time to reach an agreement. The RIAA has been saying the consumer comes first, the consumer comes second, and the consumer comes third. If the industry has the consumer, and their own bottom line in mind, there is an agreement to be had here." If the RIAA does not accept the terms, the court battles could continue. But on Tuesday, RIAA President and CEO Hilary Rosen suggested she is open to negotiations: "Our member company plaintiffs have always said that they stand ready and willing to meet individually with [Napster] to discuss future licenses. This path would be more productive than trying to engage in business negotiations through the media," Rosen said. Napster officials are hopeful the new membership-based system will prove profitable. Napster spokesmen, citing company research, said that a large number of current users will agree to pay for the service. "We do know that Napster has become an important part of daily life for a lot of people," they said. Some Tufts students say they are willing to pay for their downloading addiction - to a point. "I'd pay three to five dollars," said sophomore Matt Cravens, "but six to ten is pushing it." Also affected by the proposed changes are student musicians who use Napster to distribute their music. Sophomore Adam Ross, a bassist for Redshift, said that Napster downloads helped promote his band. "Napster's great. It's a really nice vehicle for us to get our music out," he said. But, he added, "as much as I like file sharing, I can't really defend it."

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News

King Solomon conquers Hotung

March 31

Rapper King Solomon - a.k.a. Tufts senior Sol Masch - held court last Thursday night at Hotung Caf?©, performing songs from his CD Sezame Street Beatdown. After an engaging set by the show's opening act, Chapman Field Drive, King Solomon and his band took the stage at ten to eleven.But it was the King's brother, Ezra Masch, who started things off. With his long hair, beard, and Rhode Island School of Design sweatshirt, Ezra warmed up the crowd. "Before, rap was pure, but now it sounds like manure," he noted. Pulling a "slackjaw young'un" from the audience, Ezra introduced a man who appeared to be a stagefright-ridden novice, but was actually King Solomon himself.With the manner of true royalty, the King was able to get all of Hotung chanting "Ho's on crack" before his live band sounded its first note. Of course, audience members knew not to take the trailer park humor seriously. As King Solomon himself pointed out, "This show's kinda ridiculous..."King Solomon treated fans to "Smell the Booty," which could easily be mistaken for a cheerleading tune, aside from its raunchy lyrics. Even keyboard player, James, could not help but smirk. This particular song showcased the King at his best - making strange high noises and spinning out clever lyrics at a frenetic pace.Another high-energy song was "Buttnaked," featuring guest rapper MC Buttnaked, who was, thankfully, fully clothed during his performance. But it was hard to determine whether MC Buttnaked was a real rapper or part of the comedic act, as he seemed a bit awkward onstage.Inspired by old school rhymes, King Solomon paid tribute to Eddie Murphy by rapping a revised version of "Boogie in Your Butt." Apparently, at least according to King Solomon, it is possible to stuff Tufts and/or an elephant up one's butt.The highlight of the evening was fan-favorite "Rippin' Off Your Testicles." Guitarist Joe, who traveled from the Masch brothers' hometown of Philadelphia to play the show, added to the song's urgency with his screeching riffs and solo. King Solomon effectively conveyed the anger and mania of the lyrics, while Ezra, with a terrifying, frenzied look in his eyes, expressed the mock seriousness of the number.There is no doubt that King Solomon is a skilled rap artist who has the ability to change his tone to suit each song. But Ezra's natural showmanship is not to be overlooked, injecting energy and theatrics into the show. Perhaps King Solomon should consider changing the name of his act to "King Solomon and Court Jester Ezra." The dynamic of comfort between the two brothers works to their advantage in comedic improvisations. Ezra is the out-of-control funny guy, while King Solomon functions as the fast-rapping straight man. Before the comedic musician took the stage on Thursday, local band Chapman Field Drive opened the show with a nine-song set, featuring mostly original material. The pop-rock group was so impressive that it could have headlined the show itself. Lead singer Sara Zelle's voice soared through various angst-filled numbers, comparable to Fiona Apple's lamentations. The band got off to an exceptionally good start with "I'm Here," an original song with a catchy chorus which allowed Zelle to showcase her expressive voice.The chemistry between the members of Chapman Field Drive was especially apparent in "The Fire." The band seemed to be having a great deal of fun performing for the audience. Drummer Jeff Rakofsky, a Tufts senior, led various tempo changes, while Mike Liebman, another Tufts senior, consistently dazzled the audience with his quick-fingered keyboard style."Strip Mall," a song Zelle wrote in her bathtub, had a playful extended ending, with band members alternating solos. There was a bit of "Yankee Doodle," as well as the opening riffs from Aerosmith's "Walk This Way," and various other classic rock numbers. Guitarist Matt Weinscall and bassist David Fisher rounded out the group, adding to Chapman Field Drive's undeniable stage presence.Together, King Solomon and Chapman Field drive put on a memorable night of music at Hotung. Once King Solomon irons out simple production difficulties - such as microphone feedback and a forgotten set list - he should be able to offer an as-polished-as-you-can-get-for-this-genre-of-music show. For more information on King Solomon and his CD Sezame Street Beatdown, check out his website at www.sezamestreetbeatdown.com.

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News

It's all about the music

March 31

Every spring, right before finals begin, students expect a rocking band to take the stage on the president's lawn and deliver a raucous farewell to the semester. In the past few years, groups such as radio standard Better Than Ezra, popular hip-hoppers A Tribe Called Quest, rapper LL Cool J, and even the Barenaked Ladies have all played Spring Fling. This is thanks to the Concert Board, one of the largest decision-making groups on campus. In addition to the widely attended Spring Fling, the Concert Board also sponsors the yearly rock, hip-hop, and jazz shows, as well as Battle of the Bands, an event that invites Tufts-based bands to duke it out for a chance to play the coveted opening spot at Spring Fling. In recent years, the Concert Board has successfully attracted big-name bands to Tufts for shows other than the Spring Fling, such as the Violent Femmes, Pharcyde, They Might Be Giants, Fastball, and Save Ferris, this year's rock show headliner. In choosing bands, the Concert Board considers several crucial elements: the opinions and musical preferences of the board's 50 members and the student population as a whole, the budget allotted for each show, and suggested bands' availability. The board's co-chairs, senior Jenna Lowe and junior Dan Aaronson, emphasized that the board works as a whole to make these decisions. "The way we pick any of our acts is through a vote," Aaronson said. Though Aaronson and Lowe oversee the booking of the bands and the production of the shows, their votes count the same as the votes of any other board member. The Concert Board begins organizing each show with a brainstorming session: Its members often come up with a list of 15 bands they'd like to see perform. Since the board coordinates concerts that focus on several different musical genres - jazz, hip-hop, and rock - its members must have diverse musical interests. "I think we have a pretty good mixed representation of musical tastes," Lowe said. Once the board narrows down its list of possible bands to a manageable number, Aaronson, the board's booking chair, presents the list to their agent, Howie Cusack of Pretty Polly Productions. Cusack investigates each proposed band's price range and tour schedule, and then submits a list of affordable bands that will be in the Boston area during the desired time. According to Lowe, the process of narrowing down options is a "back-and-forth" procedure in which the board members and Cusack communicate on a regular basis to vote on available bands and trim their wish list. Once the Concert Board chooses a band, it submits a bid to the band's agent. If and when the bid is accepted, board members, under the leadership of Production Chair Lowe, begin planning the show in earnest. Without a doubt, Spring Fling is the Concert Board's most difficult show to book and organize. "There are ten times as many details [to worry about]," Lowe said. Board members must coordinate plans with the bands, the Tufts University Police Department, and Dining Services. They must also account for the noise pollution that invades the communities surrounding campus. According to Aaronson, "the logistics [of Spring Fling] are enormously complex." Since Spring Fling is the Concert Board's culminating event, board members try hard to book bands that a majority of the Tufts population will appreciate. "We want it to be amazing," Lowe said. Yet both she and Aaronson admit that in a student population with such diverse musical tastes, it is often difficult and nearly impossible to please everyone. Of course, money figures high in their priority list when booking and looking for bands. "That's what it ultimately comes down to," Aaronson said. The more money in the Spring Fling budget, the better known the bands that the Concert Board can woo to campus. The board is currently appealing to the administration for extra money, but it has been slow to offer financial support. Aaronson suggests that Tufts' small size is a "limiting factor" in the bands they can attract, since smaller schools tend to have less money for these purposes. "We can't compete as well for acts as the large [schools]," he said. In contrast to the many frustrations that come along with planning Spring Fling, Lowe and Aaronson feel that the Jazz Show, which will be held this Sunday, is often the easiest event to book and organize. Unlike the Spring Fling process, the board usually has no problem staying within their budget for the Jazz Show. "It's really easy to get good, solid jazz acts to come [to Tufts]," Lowe said. Also, the Jazz Show requires less equipment and fewer crew members and ushers than other shows. "There's a lot less stress," Lowe said. Aaronson, Lowe, and the rest of the Concert Board are excited about the Jazz Show, which will feature guitarists Charlie Hunter and John Scofield. "I love them myself," Aaronson said. The show will be held this Sunday, Feb. 11, in Cohen Auditorium, and tickets are still available.

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News

The Hub's best pub... or is it a club?

March 31

In search of something completely new, some sort of evening entertainment to rival the feverish scene of, say, Manhattan, two brave young students ventured to Allston last weekend. Do you see a flaw in the logic of these innocents? An all-night social scene in Boston? Ha, what were they thinking? Manhattan they did not find. But what they did stumble upon rivaled even the frat scene of Tufts three years ago - back in the good old days, when na??ve freshmen girls paid attention to insecure freshmen boys in black-lit basements and found themselves with an unbelievable amount of free alcohol at their disposal. The Kells, on Brighton Avenue, duplicates this carefree atmosphere, presenting a unique fusion of the bar and club scene. If you have to wait in line and pay a cover, the evening had better be worth the effort. (Though we prefer no cover and object to cover charges in principle, in the interest of experimentation and for your benefit, dear reader, we submitted ourselves to this ridiculous custom justified only by the fact that it was, after all, a Friday night and it could have been worse.) After a pleasantly short wait and a minimal ($5) cover, the eager nightclubber finds him- or herself with a few options inside The Kells. The general layout of the place resembles the split personality of its clientele; the front room is a chill bar for conversation or heavy drinking, and the back room is a bumping dance floor sprinkled with lackluster couples and overzealous singles. Fear not, faithful bar-hopper, for The Kells is set up in a big loop so you can wander from one state of mind to the other, and back again, for as long as you want. We do suggest, however, that you take advantage of the $2 coat check if you plan on being mobile at all. Who wants to be juggling a drink in one hand and a North Face in the other? Back to business. The front room resembles a classic Americanized Irish pub with a long (really long) bar facing clusters of tables occupied by sedentary groups of friends, preoccupied couples, and shifty singles. The bar is seldom too crowded to place an order, and service is speedy and with a smile. Thanks to abundant floor space, those who don't wish to settle into a table are free to mingle with the young workers of Boston and Northeastern and BU students. Cargo pants and Abercrombie paraphernalia run rampant on this side, and the atmosphere fits the wardrobe. Sometimes a straggler from the other side will wander to this side of the bar for a breath of fresh air (or to come up for air). You'll recognize this outsider by her silver backless tank top and generic black pants. That's both the scariest and the best thing about the Kells - you've got a unique blending of two worlds. Nightclubbers dance with beer chuggers and students chug beers with young professionals. Anything goes, and it's all set to a relaxed background, and a fantastic soundtrack. Granted, it's 94.5 FM music, but it's the best of Jammin' and you've got to admit, it's supremely danceable. And let's be honest, there's a little part of all of us that can't get enough of Jay-Z and Shaggy. To satisfy the dancing queen in you who emerges when the moon comes out and the drinks settle in, head over to the back room and join the masses rubbing against each other in the dark. The atmosphere is as laid back and comfortable as in the front room, which is rare for a dance venue. Yes, there are people who dress like hardcore clubbers... but take a closer look and you'll notice that they're not that trendy and, more importantly, they can't dance any better than you. If, while in the "club room," you forget that there's a "pub room" around the corner, look out for the waitress wielding a tray full of $2 Jell-O shots for a quick reminder that the name of the game is fun. For the timid or those cursed with two left feet, there's always the option of lounging at the bar and observing for a while. The bar is just as long as in the front room and twice as crowded, almost as if drinking in the dark somehow makes it okay. Ease your way onto the dance floor by mingling with the people milling around the outskirts of the dancers, and take a look at the people around you - they're surprisingly normal. They're not too dolled up - about half the girls are actually wearing jeans and t-shirts - and they're not intimidatingly good looking either. Somehow, the balance struck between pub and club makes for a comfortable and fun atmosphere that encourages experimentation (half an hour on one side, half an hour on the other) and socializing. You can approach people without fear of rejection, because chances are they're genuinely nice. As with any public dance floor attracting college students, however, there are a few sketchy characters that wander in looking for the unbelievably drunk girl who might dance with them. On the particular night that these two Tufts students graced the dance floor with their elegant moves, two such ruffians began to brawl (we'd like to think they were fighting for our honor, but chances are they hadn't even noticed us). Luckily, everywhere you look at the Kells there are staff members either bussing tables, taking orders, or controlling the crowd, one of whom was able to step between the gladiators. A potential disaster was averted without the assistance of any of the off-duty police officers who seemed to have their hands full at the time. On a chilly night in the greater Boston area, the Kells is guaranteed to host a good party with a diverse and entertaining crowd. Regulars agree that there's something about the pub/club that makes it fun every time you go. It's a bit of a hike to Allston - a $20 cab ride or an hour-long T trip - but one aspiring lush offers some wisdom for those of us on a budget: spend the cash for the cab but have an extra drink at dinner instead of buying one at the bar. Scrounge up the dough to get to the Kells and you'll wish you lived in the area.

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News

Faulty reasoning

March 31

In last Friday's Daily, a flagrant disservice was done to both the student body and the visiting trustees ("Trustees should consider approving 150-bed dorm," 2/9). The editorial was plagued by misinformation and incomplete research. Surely, the only things that an editorial so outrageous did was put a nail in the coffin of media integrity and give a patently false impression of the housing crisis at this university. The Daily purported to know the content of Vice President Bernstein and Student Trustee Representative Jesse Levey's proposals before they were even finalized. As a result, the Daily incorrectly reported the content of both Levey and Bernstein's presentations. When the Daily's incorrect speculation was expounded, the only thing left was a piece that contradicted itself, showed little understanding of the housing issue, and lacked research and fact checking.The article ended in laughable hypocrisy. It stated that "Levey should focus his energy on securing from the Trustees one basic concession: That all students at Tufts be given a place to live." In a previous paragraph the Daily stated, "By most accounts, the unfulfilled demand for on-campus housing is far greater than 150 beds." How on earth does the Daily get the nerve to criticize someone pushing to ensure that the all 300 students in need of housing "be given a place to live" and yet push for a proposal that does not come close to that goal? More than one trustee remarked on this and other obvious contradictions within the article, concurring with our sentiments. Pertinent information is the most important component of any controversial decision. The Trustees understood the real issues, had the applicable information, and talked with knowledgeable people; because of that they better understood the problem and will be making steps towards completely fixing the housing crisis. We will make that argument clear, whether the Daily chooses to or not, in the very near future.Tommy Calvert LA, '02 Adam Carlis LA, '03 Jesse Levey LA,'02 Alethea Pieters LA, '02

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News

Enhanced foods for a healthy society

March 31

Orange juice with Echinacea and Zinc, St. John's Wort Tea, Kava Kava Corn Chips, and Brain Power Cereal with Gingko and Gotu Kola are just a few items on the market that fall into the category of "functional foods." Unlike conventional foods, functional foods come packed with "added value" - in the form of vitamins, minerals, plant chemicals, or herbs - that are intended to provide specific health benefits such as fighting a cold or preventing a disease. Lycopene from tomatoes, Allicin from garlic, and Gingko Biloba (a Chinese herb) are some of the ingredients in functional foods being studied for their disease-fighting abilities. The University of Illinois, Urbana, has created an entire program based on functional foods within its Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition due to growing evidence that functional foods can dramatically improve health and reduce health care costs. Although functional foods hold a lot of promises, current regulations do not ensure that they'll deliver on them. Consumer groups such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest fear that unethical manufacturers are marketing products that contain either an unspecified ingredient or a false amount of the added ingredient. "For the most part, I think they're a waste of money," said Valerie Green, a MS/MPH Tufts nutrition student. "They fool people into thinking they're going to help them in some way when in fact, many of the ingredients haven't been tested for effectiveness or even safety... if they are, you never know how much you're getting or if you're getting anything at all." Because functional foods are so new, there is no regulatory process in place to deal with them. There are currently three regulatory categories within the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that deal with the safety and labeling of products, including conventional foods, dietary supplements, and drugs. It is up to the manufacturers - not the regulators - to decide which existing regulatory category their functional food will fall into. To circumvent the strict safety and labeling requirements of conventional foods and drugs, manufacturers can opt to market functional foods as dietary supplements. If marketed as a dietary supplement rather than a food, functional foods with ingredients that aren't considered safe by the FDA can be sold, and there is no obligation to state the amount of added ingredients on the label. The FDA's only ability to regulate these foods is to prove a product unsafe or falsely labeled in the courts - after they have already been placed on the market. Some manufacturers will go to great lengths to make sure their products are safe and truthfully labeled, but there are many more that do not. Ninety-five percent of functional foods are not clinically tested by manufacturers, but make label claims despite lack of scientific evidence, according to Foundation of Innovation in Medicine. Experts warn that herbs, a common ingredient in functional foods, are just as powerful as drugs. But drugs, because of their physiologic activity in the body, are subjected to rigid safety testing by FDA before they can be purchased. "Herbs are drugs that induce significant physiological effects and should be employed in proper dosages at appropriate intervals," said Varro Tyler, PhD, ScD, professor emeritus at Purdue University, who specializes in herbal medicine. "Foods and beverages with added herbs are consumed in varying amounts at irregular intervals, which prevents any added drug from being used safely or effectively - their use in foods is improper and should be avoided," he continued at a Washington, DC, press conference in July. But what about ingredients that are known to be safe? Certain functional food ingredients are backed by significant scientific consensus for their health benefits. But if only a trace amount of the ingredient is added to a food, it will have absolutely no effect. When specific ingredient amounts aren't listed on labels, consumers have no way of knowing if they're getting what they paid for. Worse yet, you may pay top dollar for a supplement that has the amount listed, but the ingredient hasn't been standardized (which ensures an ingredient's purity) for efficacy. In either case, your money is wasted. Another concern over functional foods is that they will take away from the important message to eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and grains. According to nutrition experts, a diet rich in variety of whole foods such as these is the best way to ward off disease because they naturally contain a variety of disease-fighting compounds (phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals) in levels that are known to be safe. Despite all the controversy surrounding functional foods, they are currently the fastest-growing segment of the US food industry - ten times faster than conventional foods, according to Nutrition Business Journal. An aging baby-boomer population, anxious for products that will help them live to age 100, has fueled this influx of functional foods into the marketplace. You may have even tried one yourself when traditional medicines just weren't enough. However, a lack of consistent policy regarding functional foods spells disaster for the consumer who expects reliable, science-backed claims on the products that they purchase. The next time you reach for that juice with St. Johns Wort, you just might want to think twice. For more information on the functional food controversy visit www.cspinet.org or go to www.consumerlabs.com - a reliable source for the latest results on product safety and effectiveness including specific product reviews.

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News

Snackwells v. Oreos

March 31

Ditch the rice cakes. Move over Snackwells. Look out Entenmann's Fat-Free Coffee Cake... Say hello to full-fat Oreos. Fat-phobia is so '90s. In the last ten years, the general US population has become obsessed with eating low-fat and no-fat foods. Admit it - we all thought, even if only for a short while, that fat was our worst enemy. We all fell into the Snackwells trap and believed that we were actually doing our bodies good by eating a box of Snackwells sweets instead of two homemade chocolate chip cookies. Just about every single one of us, at least once, has felt less guilty eating 20 jellybeans rather than a mini-Snickers. Herein lies our confusion; diet experts tell us to eat less fat, so we do. But that's not enough. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie - whether it comes from a jellybean or a Snickers bar. Since 1990, food manufacturers have introduced more than 1,000 low-fat products to the market each year. Cutting back on fat in the American diet has not helped us lose those love handles. In fact, the nation's waistline is bigger than ever before. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Americans have cut back on fat from 40 percent of calories in 1968 to 33 percent today, and we have reduced the amount of saturated fat in our diets from 18 percent to 11 percent. So why are 20 to 30 percent of adults in the US at least 30 pounds overweight? The most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) showed that the average amount of total fat in the American diet has increased from 81 to 83 grams per day, and the average daily caloric intake has increased from 1,989 to 2,153 calories. According to this data, the percentage of calories from fat has gone down, but only because the number of calories the average person is eating has increased as well. Therefore, the actual amount of fat we are eating is greater - two grams greater to be exact. Health experts say that we need to reduce the percent of calories from fat, while maintaining or reducing the total number of calories. So, do we need to eat a low-fat diet? Yes and no. There are a number of sound reasons for avoiding fat - especially saturated fat and cholesterol. But all fat is not bad, and fat in your diet is essential to good health. A diet should be very low in saturated fat and cholesterol, because these fats are known to increase the risk for heart disease. But according to nutrition experts, a diet high in "good" fat is not a bad thing. A diet high in unsaturated fat - found mostly in plant-based foods like vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, grains, as well as fatty fish like salmon and tuna - has been shown to reduce the risk for heart disease. On this type of diet, the level of bad cholesterol goes down, good cholesterol goes up, and triglycerides, which increase the risk for heart disease, are kept in check.What is fat good for?Fat is a concentrated source of energy, which helps us maintain our strength and stamina during sports and other physical activities. Without this source of energy we would find it very difficult to "play." Fat is essential for mental health. It is a component of nerve cells. Therefore, inadequate dietary fat may cause problems in the nervous system, which has been found to contribute to depression. Fat in the diet actually helps some people to lose weight. Fat contributes to the nice texture and taste in food, which satisfies hunger and curbs the appetite. One of the major groups of essential nutrients is fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E, and K. These vitamins can only be absorbed into our bloodstream if we eat them with some fat. For example, when you eat a salad - chock full of leafy greens, red pepper, carrots, and squash - throw some sunflower seeds on top and toss it with a full-fat salad dressing to reap the benefits of this healthful foursome. Diets go in and out of style with the seasons. However, health experts always come back to the same general rules of thumb for dieting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.Portion size - Watch the number of calories you eat rather than where those calories come from (fat, protein, or carbohydrate).Nutrient Density - Eat more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains, which have more nutrients per calorie than other foods - more bang for your buck. Physical activity - The amount of calories you eat should be balanced by the amount of calories you burn. The American Heart Association (AHA) suggests the following guidelines to keep portion sizes modest:Airline food portion sizes are good standards.A serving size of meat (three ounces) is about the size of a computer mouse or a deck of cards. A tennis ball is about equal to one cup.The tip of your thumb equals a tablespoon of butter.Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter recently reported that enjoying the food we eat is healthier than eating food we don't love. Researchers found that by eating something we like, our bodies are better equipped to absorb the nutrients in the food. So eat up, but keep that bag of airline peanuts close at hand to moderate your portion sizes. And most importantly, enjoy your food.Elizabeth Gilbert is a graduate student studying nutrition communication at Tufts' School of NutritionScience and Policy.

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News

Business Briefs

March 31

Toys R Us Beats Expectations Despite reports of a dismal holiday season in the retail industry, Toys R Us (TOY) announced yesterday that it beat analysts' earning expectations. While Wall Street analysts had predicted that fourth-quarter earnings for the company would wind up around $1.22 a share, Toys R Us came in with gains of $1.23 a share. The company posted earnings of $0.98 a share in the fourth quarter last year. This year's performance was attributed to the new alliance between Toys R Us and Amazon.com. "Given the ongoing highly promotional conditions retailers are facing in the marketplace, we are particularly pleased with our performance in 2000 as it demonstrates our customers' increasing recognition of Toys R Us' ability to meet their needs," Toys R Us CEO John Eyler said. Toys R Us hopes to maintain its performance by expanding its alliance with Amazon in the near future.What Recession? The fear of recession affects us all, particularly those who will soon be in the work force. While the stock market has slowed of late and many predict a recession is eminent, a new analysis by Goldman, Sachs & Co. suggests that the economy may not be in as much trouble as people think. The company has created a new model that can analyze economic data with surprising accuracy. This model suggests that there is a 40 percent chance of recession in the next year, down from the 59 percent predicted for just a few months from now. Economist William C. Dudley believes that the chances are even lower - around 33 percent - due to the response to the current economic situation by the Federal Reserve. Using this model, the company says it could have predicted every recession since 1960 a year in advance. Early last year, while the economy was red hot, nearly everyone was willing to jump in on the dot-com craze. From Jan. 31 through March 10, 2000, 77 companies went public, with a combined value of $11.3 billion. When the NASDAQ peaked on March 10 of last year, these companies were valued at $25.9 billion. However, the dot-coms were not as stable as analysts had hoped, and their worth has since dropped 80 percent, to $5.3 billion. This fall was caused partly by rate hikes implemented by the Fed, which thought that the economy was outrunning itself. The alterations turned out to work too well, slowing the economy to a point where many now fear recession. In recent months, other statistics have also suggested an economic slowdown. The February index of consumer confidence, compiled by the Fed, fell to 106.8, and its 22-point drop over the past two months is the biggest drop since the 1990-91 recession. The consumer expectations measure has also reached its lowest level since 1993, and is down 42 percent from its peak just a year ago. However, the Goldman Sachs model shows some promising information. While sales of single-family homes fell 10.9 percent in January, the mark had jumped 14.9 percent in December for a post-Gulf War record of 1.03 million. And even with the January decline, there were still 921,000 home sales - better than the monthly average for all last year. The Federal Reserve will convene on March 20 to decide the fate of the economy.

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News

Murders of Dartmouth professors shock community

March 31

The deaths of Dartmouth College professors Half and Susanne Zantop shattered the tranquility of the small Ivy League college and its rural communities this weekend. The couple was found murdered in their home just outside Hanover, N.H., on Saturday night, but the Attorney General's office has released few other details about the crime and its investigation. "We're proceeding on the assumption that both of these individuals are the victims of homicide," Attorney General Phillip McLaughlin said in a press conference on Sunday. But McLaughlin refused to answer questions about the cause of the deaths, a possible motive, suspects, or the condition of the house for fear of jeopardizing the police investigation. Senior Assistant Attorney General Kelly Ayote told reporters yesterday that investigators are pursuing a number of leads, but would not say whether an arrest is imminent. The couple's bodies were discovered in their home at 115 Trescott Road in Etna, N.H., about three miles from the Dartmouth campus. Roxanna Verona, a French and Italian languages instructor at Dartmouth, arrived at the house around 6 p.m. to have dinner with the couple and found the door unlocked, according to the Associated Press. She entered and saw the couple lying dead on the floor of the study. Verona went to a neighbor, Audrey McCollum, to seek help, and McCollum phoned 911. The investigation is being handled by the Attorney General's office and the New Hampshire State Police. For the greater Hanover area and its 10,000 residents, the double murder was the first homicide in the last ten years. Half and Susanne Zantop were immensely popular among students and colleagues, and their deaths have shocked the community. An estimated 50 students, faculty members, and administrators gathered at the college's chapel for an informational meeting with the president on Sunday night. Dartmouth has also made counselors available to both students and faculty. Yesterday's faculty meeting was cancelled because of the tragedy, and faculty members were instead invited to meet with College President James Wright. Dartmouth will hold a memorial service for the professors but is waiting to coordinate details with the victims' family. "We will work as a community to help students, faculty, staff, and alumni deal with this loss and to remember the many contributions - both professional and personal - that the Zantops made to our community," Wright said in a press release. Susanne Zantop, 55, was a professor of German and comparative literature who specialized in 18th and 19th century fiction. She held a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Harvard University and studied in Berlin, at Stanford University, and the University of Massachusetts. She began teaching at Dartmouth in 1982 and became chair of the German department in 1996. "She was very popular with both students and faculty, and this is a great loss to all of us," said Margaret Robinson, administrative assistant for the German department. "I can't emphasize enough how loved both professors Zantop were, not just in their own departments, but across the community. That's why this whole thing is so shocking." Earth sciences professor Half Zantop, 62, specialized in economic geology, a field in which political science, economics, and geology are combined and applied to the study of ore deposits. He received a doctorate from the Stanford School of Earth Sciences and also studied at Freiburg University in Germany and Washington State University before coming to Dartmouth in 1976. Richard Birnie, chair of earth sciences at Dartmouth, worked with Zantop for the last 25 years, and said his death is having a profound impact on the community. "He's known on campus as an absolutely outstanding and caring teacher," he said. "It's a terrible loss, both personally and professionally." The couple is survived by two daughters: Veronika, 29, lives in San Francisco, and Mariana, 27, lives in New York City.

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News

Trustee, CEO Joe Neubauer speaks

March 31

Tufts graduate, trustee, and CEO of Aramark Joe Neubauer Friday delivered the second in a series of lectures as a part of President DiBiaggio's "Community Forum on Leadership for Active Citizenship" this semester. Neubauer focused his speech on giving back to the community as an essential part of leadership in the business world. Though Neubauer is the CEO of Aramark - the company that brings food service to 400 universities, 1,300 businesses, and 200 sports stadiums - he is not in the food business at all; he is in the business of giving back, he said. Neubauer, the recipient of the Horatio Alger award, which is given to "men and women who have faced and overcome significant personal adversity through hard work, integrity, determination, and a strong dedication to helping others." But, Neubauer himself emphasized in his speech that he is far from a self-made man. "You learn very early that you can't do things on your own," he said. "You've got to have a community around you." Neubauer's personal history exemplifies the power of community to create extraordinary individuals. Born to Holocaust survivors, Neubauer immigrated to the US from Israel by himself at age 14. His high school principal, who he credits for directing him towards Tufts, taught him English. Once at Tufts, though, he found himself captivated by the study of economics. From Tufts, Neubauer was encouraged by an extraordinary economics professor to study at University of Chicago, and from there he was able to secure a job at Chase Manhattan Bank. The rest is corporate history. Aramark is now an $8 billion business, one of the largest in the country that specializes in food and support services, uniform and career apparel, and, on a smaller level, educational resources. Neubauer said that the greatest challenge of his business has nothing to do with daily operations but rather with determining how best to interact with the varied communities that Aramark serves. The most visible and significant way in which Neubauer has accomplished this feat is philanthropic activity. Aramark works closely with such charitable organizations as Big Brother/Big Sister, Reading is Fundamental, and People of Service. He has also endowed Tufts and University of Chicago with both the Neubauer Chair of Economics and the Neubauer Scholarship Program. Yannis Ioannides, Tufts' holder of the Neubauer Chair, introduced the trustee, saying calling Neubauer "a shining example of the contributions entrepreneurial talent can make." Of his own work with non-profit and charitable organizations, Neubauer said, "Rewards come from seeing other people succeed." From watching the immigrant-turned billionaire succeed, Tufts has reaped the benefits of his generosity, both financially and through the time he has given to the community. Neubauer's lecture was a unique opportunity to learn from a man who has taken the combination of civic and corporate leadership to a new level. "Joe Neubauer continues to give back and that is what leadership is all about," DiBiaggio said. "It's amazing that he runs such a successful business," freshman Jay Meattle said. "You don't see companies like this every day." As to the benefits of hearing Neubauer's take on civic leadership, Meattle said, "You won't get this information otherwise. It's a rare opportunity to hear him." Neubauer's lecture, however, did not reach a large audience. As opposed to the first Community Forum lecture, which was held in the large venue of Barnum 008, Neubauer delivered his address in Barnum 104, a smaller arena. In recognition of his varied accomplishments and involvement at Tufts, a number of campus organizations sponsored the lecture. The University College of Citizenship and Public Service, the Economics Department, the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program of the School of Engineering, the Political Science Department, the Department of Urban and Environment Policy and Planning, the Hillel Foundation, and the Tufts University Alumni Association all demonstrated their enthusiasm for Neubauer's contributions to both the corporate community and the Tufts community by funding Neubauer's appearance.

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News

The Traveling Lush

March 31

In times of turmoil, a cry rose from the quad uniting the student body in protest and revolution. We will not stay home! No longer will we wait for Thursday to go out! We vow to go out when we feel like it, not when convention dictates. Paying no heed to days of the week, our weekend will begin and end on Sunday and revolve around fun, only fun. God save the weeknight! But being Tufts students, all of us looking forward to bright futures, so we will of course conduct this revolution in a responsible and well thought-out fashion. There will be no jetting off to Foxwoods or Montreal for us, at least not during the week. Instead of hiring a car to take you around to Boston's hotspots (which on a weeknight are far and few between), shuffle onto the shuttle and poke around Davis Square for a change. It's easy to be attracted to the big lights and thumping bass of Boston (can you taste the sarcasm?), but the real social challenge lies in finding fun nearby where you live. And thanks to Davis Square's position as an up-and-coming location -- we have a Starbucks, that must mean something -- there are more options than one might imagine, especially on a weeknight. Sunday is the perfect night to start the revolution. Whereas most people will be camped out in the library doing all the work they didn't get to over the weekend, allow us to suggest a lucrative alternative. Go to class. Every Sunday night Johnny D's offers salsa dancing lessons for $10, so grab a partner and learn something useful. Chances are that at a cocktail party in 10 years, you won't need to take the derivative of an equation. But if you can dance, well then that's another ballgame entirely. Beginners line up facing the stage and follow the instructions of a small but agile Latin woman in fabulously pointy shoes and painted-on snakeskin pants. If you think it's daunting to be next to the intermediate dancers, who are learning moves that looked to me more like a human knot than anything else, wait until the instructor stops teaching and starts dancing. If she finds a suitable partner, the two go to town and it's worth it to stop your own graceful fumbling and watch their fancy footwork. It's amazing that no one gets hurt with pointy heels flying and appendages waving as they do. The crowd at Johnny D's on a Sunday night is everybody but Tufts students. There are old married couples out to cut a rug, young grad students just catching on to the fad of ballroom dancing, and of course your old regulars who nurse their drinks at the bar and watch the dancers with a scoffing eye. Men, hold on to your ladies, or one of these drifters might just try to snatch her up. It seems as though all of the women in Johnny D's have come with a dance partner, and the men who arrive hoping for a pick-up game leave sorely disappointed... or dance by themselves. Having tired your feet on Sunday night, kick back on Monday night and head to Sligo pub where you can really get your hands dirty. Think of a dive bar. Now think of a dive bar in Davis Square. Now think of a dive bar in Davis Square on a Monday night, and you've got Sligo. You'll be at the bar in between... well, it's hard to tell just who these people are, but it's a rare Jumbo who wanders in for a beer on a Monday night. Unlike the Joshua Tree or the Burren, here you can hide from the Hill and celebrate having passed a physics exam or commemorate having lost a job in the same atmosphere. The idiosyncrasies of Sligo are what make it worth visiting (and the fact that it's a Monday and you're out drinking implies that you belong there and nowhere else). The tables have been carved with so many initials that there's hardly any of the original surface left, and what is there seems to be covered in stickiness. If I didn't know better, I'd think there was sawdust on the floor. Not all of the lanterns that line the walls and light the dim room are in working order, and the piece de resistance on the wall is a massive Bud ornament featuring the Clydesdales pulling a carriage. But you can't beat the laid-back atmosphere. And you can't beat the Sligo Punch, a red concoction that tastes like Kool-Aid and works like a miracle. And if a miracle is what you're looking for, spend your Tuesday night at PJ Ryan's in Teele Square for their weekly Pub Quiz. Are you a hotbed of useless knowledge? Do you play along with Jeopardy? Have you ever tried to make it into a drinking game? It's all been child's play until now, when a clever little neighborhood place like PJ Ryan's can offer you the chance to compete against your peers for alcoholic prizes! That's right folks, if you can name the last five mayors of Boston, then you too are eligible to win a round of shots for yourself and your teammates. The questions aren't all that tough, though. The one we got right asked about the world's largest invertebrate. In case you're wondering, it's the giant squid. The crowd is made up mostly of grad students or Tufts grads who have stayed in the area, and it's a clean, well-lit place where you can enjoy a drink on a Tuesday without getting any grit under your fingernails or smoke in your hair. People take the quizzes seriously, though, so don't interrupt anyone while they're pondering their answers and don't expect to chat with anyone you don't already know. Teams are formed and they're competitive, so look out. Those of us still in school might not appreciate the novelty of a quiz, but it seems that once graduated, people just can't get enough of them.So maybe real life isn't that different from college life after all. Except I'm not sure if in real life you can go out on weeknights.

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News

A history of the world from a different perspective

March 31

History. Some love it, some hate it, some are just glad the AP testing committee was kind to them. Whether or not the reader is an avid fan of history, however, Columbia Proffesor James F. Welles' The Story of Stupidity: A History of Western Idiocy from the Days of Greece to the Moment you Saw this Book, is sure to delight. The amazingly compact volume gives a brief overview of the history of the world, carefully pointing out the facts that implicate mankind's stupidity as the driving force of the entire world since the dawn of time. In his opening chapters, Welles defines stupidity as "the learned corruption of learning." He describes both psychosocial mechanisms of stupidity and the bio-cultural basis of stupidity, even going as far as isolating animalian examples of stupidity that eventually evolved into human stupidity. The history then begins. The book is set up in chronological order, from "Greek Stupidity" to "Stupidity Reformed" to "Industrial Stupidity," eventually ending in the modern era, or "The Age of Arrogance." One of the characteristics that makes the book so accessible and enjoyable is that it assumes no previous knowledge of the history of the western world. A brief overview of each era is integrated fully into each section, and each section is fully annotated, linked to a full bibliography to allow any interested in a particular era to research it further on their own. Welles' voice is that of bitter wit, and his prose style proves he possesses one of the sharpest tongues in the world of opinionated texts. Nothing is sacred, and no criticism lacks humor. The one drawback to his writing style is that he is a bit verbose, and that his book, though brief, does take time to get through. But then again, it is a textbook, and not many textbooks can boast that they cause readers to fall to the floor laughing. Originally printed in 1988, the book has been independently published with yearly new additions and continuations since its birth. It is distributed by Mount Pleasant Press, an indie publisher located in upstate New York. The opening pages include not only the author's new introduction, but his current e-mail address and an invitation to comment on the book. The same company also recently released Welles' second attempt to mix humor, history, and social commentary, Understanding Stupidity: An Analysis of the Premaladaptive Beliefs and Behavior of Institutions and Organizations. In a way, the original Story of Stupidity is a history of mankind's mistakes, and its sequel is a direct attack on governments, which it calls nothing but breeding grounds of folly. While the intense book it may not be the best thing to pick up for summer reading, due to its intensity and the Welles' slow writing style, the book is nonetheless a great choice for pleasure reading, as it offers intellectual wit and knowledge alongside childish mockery of what the modern media has dubbed "the man."

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