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The Setonian
News

Acceptance rate drops 10 percent in last five years

April 2

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions released its remaining admissions decisions last Friday, which include a record-low 17.4 percent acceptance rate for the Class of 2018. With 19,075 applications for next year’s freshman class, this is the third record-high pool Tufts has received in the last four years, according to Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Lee Coffin. The numbers are particularly notable for the School of Engineering, where the number of applicants increased by 17 percent from last year. This is the eighth year in a row the school received a record-breaking applicant pool. “That’s the untold story, the explosive growth in the School of Engineering,” Coffin said. “I think it’s ... partly because of a national trend and it’s partly a continued expansion of the visibility of the School of Engineering at Tufts.” While the number of applications to the School of Arts and Sciences did not notably increase, Coffin said the combined acceptance rate for both undergraduate schools has dropped by 10 points in the last five years. “I think some of it is the success of the undergraduate admissions website,” he said. “We went live in the fall of 2011 and the [applicant] pool is up almost 17 percent in the two years we’ve had an online recruitment platform versus a more traditional print based system ... The admissions blogs [are] a really significant draw.” This year’s acceptance pool includes students from all 50 states, two more than last year. In particular, there has been a tremendous growth in the number of applicants from California. Tufts received 2,417 applications from this west coast state, compared to 2,441 from Massachusetts. “It would not surprise me next year to see California become the number one state in the applicant pool,” Coffin said. “That is a function of the web. I think we have eight different admissions officers that recruit in California. We’ve spent more time doing programs in the state.” The admissions office also saw continued growth in applicants from outside the United States, Coffin added, in large part due to increased travel from admissions counselors and increased visibility of the school. According to Coffin, standardized test scores for the Class of 2018 remained relatively consistent with last year’s record scores. The mean SAT critical reading score remained unchanged at 728, and the math was at 732, slightly down from 735, but still higher than it has been for classes within the last decade. The average ACT score also remained at 32. Ninety-three percent of accepted students ranked in the top 10 percent of their class. However, Coffin noted that this statistic excludes the many students who come from high schools that do not use ranking systems. Unlike last year’s class, which included slightly more female students, almost an equal number of male and female students were accepted this year, according to Coffin. Approximately two-thirds of this year’s pool applied for financial aid — a consistent number from last year’s applicant pool, Coffin said. “The goal is to continue to raise resources to make Tufts successful,” Coffin said. “There is never going to be an admission cycle where that eases up.” Tufts Admissions also accepted a record 342 first-generation college students this year, an increase over the 295 admitted last year. “I’m really proud of the increase in the first-gen community at Tufts,” said Coffin, who was a first-generation college student himself. There were 3,315 total students accepted for the Tufts Class of 2018, a number that has also decreased in recent years as larger numbers of accepted students decide to attend Tufts, according to Coffin. Admitted students will have until May 1 to submit their deposit. As it has annually, the school will host three Jumbo Days on April 17, 18 and 25. Coffin encouraged current students to sign up to host the most recently accepted Jumbos.

The Setonian
News

Student groups, classes create new content on YouTube

April 1

In a widespread effort to increase the use of new media forms, the video sharing website YouTube is being used by a wider variety of organizations in the Tufts community than ever before. Tufts University Television (TUTV) premiered their latest web-series “Jules and Monty” on YouTube last month, while an Experimental College (ExCollege) course this semester titled “YouTube: Business and Creative Success” has specifically geared its curriculum toward the use of the social media website. Additionally, Tufts Community Union presidential candidates reached out to potential voters with campaign videos posted on YouTube last year.With more than one billion distinct users visiting per month, YouTube has found a unique niche in the landscape of modern media. YouTube’s accessibility, combined with its ease of navigation and widespread use, has allowed the Tufts students to explore video production both creatively and academically.“YouTube, as a system, is a great equalizer,” Kyle Shurtleff, instructor of “YouTube: Business and Creative Success,” said. “The fact that it is completely free to use for both consumers and creators is a great benefit to anyone just starting or very well established.”A senior engineering psychology major with over 85,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, Shurtleff designed his course in an effort to motivate and teach others who might not otherwise have the opportunity to use YouTube as a creative medium. Shurtleff has published over 250 gaming videos on his YouTube channel with a combined total view count of over 10 million.His course aims to provide the tools necessary for achieving YouTube success by encouraging students to be creative with a medium that they may not know how to use effectively. Shurtleff described some of the aspects on which his course seeks to focus. “One of the things I like about YouTube is the fact that it incorporates lots of skills beyond just pure video making,” he said. “There’s lots of marketing, promotional skills [and a lot] of recording, technical, [and] writing skills. The goal [of the course] is just to enable people to learn some of those [skills] and to up themselves when they otherwise might not.”Shurtleff also described some of the entrepreneurial and financial aspects of the course. “Compared to other forms of media ... [YouTube is] very easy to monetize, [and] starting to make even a small income from it is as easy as checking a couple boxes,” he said.Shurtleff emphasized how YouTube allows users full control over the creative process, a freedom not common in many other kinds of social media. This creative freedom has also been captured by TUTV’s latest web-series “Jules and Monty,” a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” (1597). The show is the brainchild of sophomores Imogen Browder and Ed Rosini.“We all know the stories of ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ ‘Hamlet’ (1603) and ‘[A] Midsummer [Night’s Dream]’ (1605). I want to see how artists can take those well-known stories and breathe new life into them,” sophomore Evelyn Reidy, the show’s artistic director, said.Identified by TUTV as the group’s medium of choice, YouTube gives the show’s creators the platform to recreate these works with TUTV’s own spin for a huge audience.“I think [YouTube is] extremely effective because [it] is something that everyone uses and everyone’s used to,” sophomore Claire Brodie, “Jules and Monty” assistant cinematic director, said. “I think it’s the easiest way for reaching people without spending any sort of money. So TUTV actually used to have channel that would be broadcast over campus and that stopped, I believe, in the ‘90s. YouTube [however] is good because it’s really easy to share.”Reidy discussed the goals of TUTV’s newest show, which has been posted in a serialized episode format on the group’s YouTube channel. Episodes range from about five to eight minutes long, and feature several Tufts students.“I hope that ‘Jules and Monty’ has a two-fold purpose — to provide the Tufts community with original, engaging content and to show Tufts what our artistic communities are capable of producing,” Reidy said. “I think the series really showcases how impressive an all student-made production can be, both from an acting and technical standpoint.”With only seven episodes released and view counts for many episodes reaching more than 1500, students and the public appear to have significant interest in TUTV’s latest large-scale production. According to Brodie, broadcasting via YouTube and regularly promoting the show on Facebook has made the dissemination of the show to an audience easy and effective.Shurtleff pointed to the various uses of YouTube around campus, from promotional videos produced by the Tufts Undergraduate Admissions Department to educational and tutorial videos used by professors in the classroom. Tufts admissions applicants even have the choice to submit a video as their optional supplement, and many students have taken advantage as an opportunity to show their creative sides. The beauty of YouTube is that anyone can do the same, according to Shurtleff.12

The Setonian
News

Wilson House to be transfer dorm

April 1

Wilson House will be home to transfer students for the 2014-2015 school year, according to Director of the Office of Residential Life and Learning Yolanda King. King explained that the university several years ago housed about 10 female transfer students in 92 Professors Row — today the home of Sigma Phi Epsilon —- but since that time has not had a dedicated home for transfers.

The Setonian
News

Duke professor explores social preferences

March 28

Duke University Professor of Economics Rachel Kranton spoke yesterday about the ways in which people act on their self-interests in group contexts when making economic decisions.

The Setonian
News

Dean of Arts and Sciences to become Trinity College president

March 28

Dean of Arts and Sciences Joanne Berger-Sweeney will step down on June 30 to become the president of Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. A graduate and former associate dean of Wellesley College, Berger-Sweeney began her current role at Tufts in 2010.

The Setonian
News

Somerville considers Curbside Compost Initiative

March 26

The City of Somerville recently created a new task force to review options for the development of a Curbside Composting Initiative. The idea was announced Feb. 25 by Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and will be co-chaired by Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz, who is the vice chairperson of the Board of Alderman’s Committee on Energy and Environment. According to Gewirtz, the program would work toward the city’s sustainability and environmental goals. The initiative is part of a broader move to require businesses and residents to compost their leftover food. “Food scraps that fall into the trash go to landfills and emit significant carbon in the atmosphere which is a component of our global warming problem,” she said. Gewirtz explained that the creation of a program is not a new idea, and one already exists in the neighboring City of Cambridge. “The City of Cambridge does it so once residents bring their compost to a designated spot, in the spring they can pick up the composted soil for their garden,” she said. The city could also save money through such a program due to reduced costs in waste removal, Gewirtz said. She explained that City of Somerville residents generate 5,200 tons in food waste every year and the city estimated that it costs roughly $750,000 to remove and dispose of this waste. She said that other cities have demonstrated a significant decrease in the weight of trash and hopes that Somerville will make similar progress. According to Gewirtz, the program will be developed by a Curbside Composting Task Force, which is currently seeking applicants from the Somerville community. Members of the task force do not necessarily have to be experts on this initiative, but will instead consist of people with varying interests, Gewirtz said. “We’ve heard for some time that Somerville residents want to find a better way [to deal with this issue] than sending our food scraps off to a landfill or incinerator,” she said. Tufts’ Waste Reduction Program Manager Dawn Quirk said the city’s initiative is an important step in improving recycling. “I would advocate for Somerville’s effort to include a marketing component to encourage food conservation and waste reduction [because] estimates of total food wasted by Americans are quite astounding,” Quirk told the Daily in an email. Tufts Eco-Representative (Eco-Rep) Arshiya Goel explained that the university already has its own composting initiatives at the dining halls where all food waste and napkins are composted, and in the residence halls where eco-reps work. “Each dorm with an eco-rep has at least one bin, though some of them have more,” Goel, a junior, said. “We can compost fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, human hair and nails, unbleached paper towels among other things.” The university, however, does not have composting available in public spaces like the Mayer Campus Center, Goel explained. “We are working on expanding the program,” she said. “The more students compost in dorms, the greater worth the university would see in installing composting all over campus.” According to Goel, Somerville’s Curbside Composting Initiative would not directly affect the majority of Tufts students, but would benefit those who do not live in dorms. “I live off campus, and we pay a composting company to take our compost twice a month,” she said. “If Somerville actually begins curbside composting it will be great for us.” Quirk explained that the university would work with students to ensure their participation in the Curbside Composting Initiative. “Once Somerville has a curbside program, off-campus students living in Somerville could request reused 1-5 gallon kitchen collection buckets from Tufts Recycles! [supplied by Tufts Dining] to help with the effort,” she said. Gewirtz added that she hopes to have participation from the Tufts community. “Having Tufts involved would be beneficial, and students and faculty’s help would be great,” she said.

The Setonian
News

Film classes document women’s history

March 26

The Independent Film Production class is filming a promotional trailer on the Academic Quad this Sunday for a series about American women in history. The series, “Half the History,” was created in collaboration with Five Sisters Production Company and the Tufts Department of Drama and Dance. “There is a growing realization that ?in order to really understand our history fully and know all of the things that women have been doing [throughout] history, we need to look at other kinds of stories and look at history in a different way,” Professor of Filmmaking and Film Studies Jennifer Burton said. “Half the History” will tell the narrative of Jane Franklin, Benjamin Franklin’s sister, according to Burton. Because the film does not have an end date, future classes will also work on the project. “The point is to be able to give a teaser for what is to come later and to show that there are lots of women who did amazing things, and we don’t even know what their names are,” Maya Zeigler, a sophomore in Burton’s class, said. While the first episode will be completed after the end of the semester, Burton said she hopes the trailer will be finished and released in May. Burton got the idea for the first episode from Jill Lepore’s “Book of Ages,” which describes the life and opinions of Jane Franklin, according to Natasha Lee, a sophomore working on the project in the advanced film class. Franklin’s story provides an example of how gender has shaped people’s lives throughout history, Burton explained. “[The story] is really about how [Jane Franklin] spends a lot of time being pregnant and taking care of her kids as opposed to Ben Franklin who is out there working on his career, so it is a nice comparison,” Lee said. “At the same time, the book doesn’t present Jane as a victim — she is her own person.” The male-focused narrative of history has left out stories, including Jane Franklin’s, which are representative of how America became the country it is today, according to Lee. “There are a lot of people like Jane Franklin who are being forgotten,” she said. “Her story is extraordinary in her own way ... even though she might not have made significant political contributions like her brother did, her story is still part of history because this is how an ordinary woman lived, and that is important, too.” Looking for someone to play the role of Jane Franklin in the trailer, the production team is in its second round of auditions, according to Zeigler, one of the project’s casting directors. Tufts students, as well as union actors and actresses from around New England are auditioning for parts in the production, which will include 70 women, Zeigler said. In addition, historical re-enactors from the Minute Man National Park in Concord, Mass. and the Freedom Trail Foundation may help with the trailer and first films. As well as working with national parks and historic sites, the production team is working with the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites, which is aligned with the “Half the History” mission and provided information for the script, Zeigler said. Once the film is finished, the class will give back to the partner organizations by sharing the film, which they can then show to others for educational purposes, Zeigler explained. She hopes the film will help people realize that the current version of history is incomplete. “I think the fact that we are working on a project that is run by students, students are acting in it and what it is about — which is telling the stories of people who haven’t been able to tell them over the course of time ... I believe that it makes people think,” Zeigler said. “It makes people realize that there is so much more than just what is put in front of you.” Burton agreed that the lack of female perspectives in current history textbooks is problematic. “Simply having stories where there are female characters that have character development in the story is something that gives viewers a sense of the complexity of female human experience, and that is something that has been missing in a lot of our media,” she said. In addition to providing viewers with a unique perspective on the experience of women throughout history, “Half the History” provides students in the advanced filmmaking class a great opportunity to develop film production skills, according to Burton. “Having the ability to have classes where you are able to have the time ... to think about what kinds of things we want to put out in the world, what kinds of things we want to spend our energy making, and then having these amazing new tools to be able to make those things, is just an incredible opportunity,” she said.

The Setonian
News

Wilson fellow discusses women’s rights and U.S. foreign policy

March 25

    Woodrow Wilson Center Fellow Alison Brysk spoke yesterday to a group of students and faculty about the way in which the U.S. government uses foreign policy initiatives to promote women’s rights around the world.     “The feedback that I get from my students is that they would like to hear more about gender issues in international relations so we wanted to do something about that,” Professor of Political Science Richard Eichenberg said. “I got together with a group of faculty ... and we decided to bring in several speakers.”     Gender issues are a growing component of foreign policy, according to Eichenberg.     “Issues of global gender equality are at least a nominally declared priority of American foreign policy around the world,” he said. “The programmatic activities have grown greatly and there are a number of initiatives under way in the foreign policy establishment ...  There’s a lot going on and we thought it was about time to publicize it a bit and engage [students] in a conversation.”     Eichenberg explained that he experienced difficulty finding a scholar who focused on women’s rights as a U.S. foreign policy objective. He added, however, that Brysk, the Mellichamp Professor of Global Governance in the Global and International Studies Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara, was the perfect person to discuss global gender initiatives.     Brysk said that her recent work on gender equality grew out of her previous research on human rights and human trafficking.     “I started working on this issue out of about 20 years of human rights scholarship and I had been running across a lot of issues related to gender, women’s rights, gender equity, women’s empowerment all along the way,” she said. “When I turned to this issue I wanted to know in what ways it follows a certain pattern with other human rights issues and in what ways there are distinctive concerns related to gender and related to identity issues and how that influences the concrete policy environment.”     A major problem in achieving global gender equality is violence, according to Brysk. She said that one in three women have experienced gender-based violence and one in five women have been subjected to sexual violence. She cited Malala Yousafzai as an example of her concerns.     “Here is a young woman who is finally gaining access to education, who is finally gaining some potential for realizing just the most basic conventional rights and equity in her society,” Brysk said. “What’s stopping her? It’s not law; it’s violence.”     The world is becoming increasingly aware of these violent incidents, especially with examples such as Yousafzai and the recent string of Indian rapes making world headlines, Brysk explained. However, she cautioned that the number of incidents has not decreased.     “Social sciences is starting to really approach this seriously and we’re beginning to get better data and better information and that means that we can use our analytic tools and figure out where [gender inequality and violence] is happening, why it is happening, what kinds of social processes are associated with this,” she said.     According to Brysk, some of these new approaches include framing women’s rights as a human rights issue and searching for various entry points in politics for gender equality.     “Health, law, security, migration are all part of the [gender equality] picture and along with that ... there’s a changing role of U.S. human rights policy,” she said. “We always criticize the U.S. for being too bilateral ... we always want to go it alone and sanction the people that we think are doing the wrong thing and not pay attention to global institutions. Women’s rights is one of the areas the U.S. collaborates the most with global institutions.”     This increased collaboration and international support occurs in a variety of ways, Brysk explained, including the use of sanctions, political pressure, humanitarian intervention and financial assistance. She said that while the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development give large sums of money to health and law enforcement initiatives benefiting women, the contribution pales in comparison to those of other countries, and that which is recommended by the UN.     Brysk also addressed a major roadblock in the distribution of U.S. assistance: the Helms Amendment, which prevents the government from helping any organization that provides or discusses abortions.     “Certain administrations managed to scoot around the information part of this, but this has wreaked havoc on our ability to support global health programs,” she said.     In addition to ensuring that women are not simply objects to be used as a means to achieve a political or social goal, Brysk said that the U.S. must resolve the ongoing domestic reproductive rights battle.     “How can we do what we need to do in the world and for the world when we are still denying women basic control of our bodies at home and trying to condition essential health services abroad?” she asked.     Overall, Brysk labeled the glass as half full and said that the U.S. is on the proper path to integrating the promotion of women’s rights in its foreign policy.     “We are doing pretty much some good things and we need to just evermore join with the global institutions and the local movements and some of the other countries that are doing good things,” she said. “Overall, U.S. cowboy foreign policy has got to grow up. Social change is a slow and spiraling process. Over time, in many fields we see improvement.”

The Setonian
News

Mass. Atty. General Coakley speaks at Tufts

March 25

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, a candidate for the democratic gubernatorial nomination, spoke at an event hosted by the Tufts Democrats yesterday evening. Coakley told the group of students that they should actively participate in the democratic process and should take advantage of the education opportunities offered by the university. “I think it is important that you are at least engaged tonight in hearing from somebody who is running for governor, [not only] because it is an important office, but [because] everyone we elect is important ... whether it’s your school committee, or your congresswoman,” she said. “I hope that whether you ever run yourselves or not, that you will stay engaged in making sure that democracy works.” Coakley, who graduated from Williams College in 1975, briefly discussed her own background and education. Regarding her own political experiences, she said that she is relatively new to political office. She first ran for an elected position in 1997. She explained that because she lives in Medford, she often passes Tufts. She also worked with the university during her time as the District Attorney of Middlesex County. In her current capacity as attorney general, she has worked on many issues, including sexual assault, financial malfeasance and workplace issues. “I had a chance as attorney general to do a lot of things, including trying to hold Wall Street accountable for basically gambling with a lot of our money and almost wrecking our economy,” she said. According to Coakley, this issue remains important in her campaign for governor. One of her goals for Massachusetts includes the promotion of a more prosperous but fair economy. She also spoke about the need for more privileged citizens to help those who are less fortunate. “It is, I think, incumbent on all of us to not only do well, as you all have as students, but [also] to do good, to think about the Commonwealth, to think about what it means for people who don’t have the advantage to be able to go to a college and get that education,” she said. If she becomes governor, Coakley said she would make improving access to quality education a major initiative of her administration. She said she would seek improvements from pre-kindergarten through college, and advocated for a longer and more structured school day for elementary school students. “Maybe, by the third grade, [a student] is not reading well, what’s the reason for that and how do we figure that out?” she asked. “If we do not get [children] back on track ... chances are good they are not going to be Tufts students, and they may drop out of school, and they may not have the advantages ... to get a good job and to have a livable wage.” As part of her education initiatives, Coakley proposed placing additional emphasis on computer science and good writing — skills that she said will be increasingly important to a wide range of new professions. She also expressed concern about climate change, and hopes to move the state toward a more environmentally friendly economy. “We need good people who will say, ‘We need to think about how we are going to reverse climate change, how we are going to get people around without driving cars, and what we are going to do for smart growth for Massachusetts,” she said. Health care policy was an additional concern Coakley addressed, and she said she would work to keep it affordable and to maintain its quality. She also discussed the suicide of her brother, who suffered from bipolar disorder, and said she hopes to improve the state’s mental healthcare system. “I understand, having lived with that, how difficult that is,” she said. “I think in 2014 we should in Massachusetts ... be treating our behavioral and our mental health the same way we do diabetes or heart concerns.” She concluded with an appeal to the broader population to assist future generations. “We can grow this economy for everybody, we are going to give you a chance to get on that ladder and do well, we are going to provide our best education possible ... so that you have a chance to compete in the future, that your kids will have a chance to compete in that future, hopefully with a cleaner climate,” she said. After her presentation, Coakley took questions from students about improving the economies of small towns and on what improvements are necessary for the mental healthcare system. She explained that she would provide support to small businesses and advocate for the creation of new industries in older mill towns. She also said she hopes to have Massachusetts increase its capacity for both the prevention and treatment of mental health issues.  

The Setonian
News

Despite progress for club sports, funds remain insufficient

March 13

Over the past few years, Tufts’ club sports has expanded to include more teams and, consequently, more students. As the program has grown, however, the process of managing and financing club sports has become increasingly complex.Three years ago marked the beginning of the expansion of the program, according to Assistant Director of Athletics Branwen Smith-King.“We had 11 club sports up until three years ago,” she said. “There [has] been this upswell of students just wanting to start [sports] clubs, or [who] were already unofficially in clubs ... Two or three years ago ... students were coming to us with a lot of requests, and we just didn’t feel good saying no.”In response, Tufts devised two types of club sports: tier 1 and tier II. Tier II clubs would receive, at least, access to oversight, the ability to use the Tufts name and the ability to compete against other schools. When tier II sports began, its teams received no funding from the school.“That’s when I got involved with club sports,” Smith-King said. “I was given the task of designing tier II. What we ended up doing in the first year was using ... buffer funding to help offset some expenses.”Smith-King manages most of the oversight for Tufts’ 22 tier I and tier II teams. Eventually, the athletic department began to receive allocated funds for club sports from the TCU Senate.“What was happening [was that] sport groups were going to the senate for approval,” Smith-King said. “That doesn’t make sense ... How can they approve a sports team without communicating to us about space? They were happy to hand that off to us.”This year, the athletic department’s monetary allocation for club sports was increased by an additional $35,000. The large increase, however, doesn’t necessarily mean adequate funding, according to Smith-King. Team members are required to pay a certain amount of dues, based on their numbers and the coverage that they received.“No matter what we do, we’re never going to be able to pay for everything,” Smith-King said. “[Even] varsity teams have to fundraise.”“The money gets allocated to each team, and then we have ... a buffer fund, which was developed years ago,” she added. “For instance, if hockey has a great season and they qualify for playoffs or a postseason tournament, that’s what that money [is] for.”Junior Carter Thallon, captain of men’s Ultimate Frisbee club team, said his team has received some funding, but much of the expenses were left to team members, particularly in regards to travel.“It might be a little under, but [we were allotted] around $2000,” he said. “We use it for rental cars, mainly. Dues this year were $350 a person ... and then people buy their own flights [to tournaments], which are about $300 a person. If we make nationals -- that’s another flight we have to buy.”Hannah Schuchert, co-captain of the women’s rugby, a tier 1 program, reiterated her team’s need for funding outside of the university’s resources.“We definitely can’t get everything we need with the money we get from Tufts,” Schuchert, a junior, said. “We look for funding for busses for the games ... We’re limited to places we can go to and from in one day because we haven't received funding for overnight [travel] or anything like that.”Schuchert also commented on the other expenses beyond travel that the team incurs.“We look for funding for equipment: balls, jerseys, rucking pads,” she said. “[Tufts Emergency Medical Services] is another thing we need funding for -- we need TEMS at every practice and every game. We would love to get more [funding]. We don’t get all that much from Tufts, from the club sports allotment.”Some sports, as to be expected, are more expensive than others. Clubs like ice hockey and skiing bear higher equipment, practice and travel costs. According to freshman Caitlin Thompson who competes on the equestrian team, group members pay $50 for each of their lessons.“That's the next goal -- to ... continue to get additional funding, so that we can help the more expensive sports operate and have students give less of their own money,” Smith-King said.Smith-King also discussed the financial inequality between the more expensive and less expensive sports.“What was happening was that teams that really didn’t need a big budget were getting enough to almost fund their team, whereas [for] some of the more expensive sports, it was barely a dip in the bucket,” Smith-King said.Smith-King discussed the ways in which the athletic department hopes to remedy some of the issues surrounding club sports’ funding.“We’re ... making the team leaders be more accountable, so 15 is the minimum number on club teams,” Smith-King said. “If we have a sport that’s only funding four or five kids, that’s not the purpose of the sport. We’ve had a few teams that have had challenges ... with their numbers ... I didn’t want to disband them, so what I did was say, ‘Okay, you’re not getting funding this year -- your goal is to increase your numbers.’”12

The Setonian
News

Associate Provost Mary Lee to leave Tufts after 27 years

March 13

After 27 years of service, former Associate Provost and Professor of Medicine Mary Lee will leave Tufts this fall to assume the prestigious six-month Kimitaka Kaga Visiting Professorship at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Medicine.

The Setonian
News

Department of Music seeks to unite on-campus music groups

March 12

Following spring break, students and faculty members alike will gather in the Granoff Music Center to participate in Tufts’ first-ever all night music festival. The event aims to provide students from both within and outside the music department with performance opportunities and to give students exposure to other on-campus artists with whom they may not yet be familiar. “[The festival] is a celebration of campus music,” Professor and Chair of the Department of Music John McDonald said. “We haven’t done that as purposefully before [with previous music department affiliated events].”Danna Solomon, the organizer of the Granoff All Night Music Festival and a staff assistant in the Department of Music, described the goals of the program, which will be held on March 28.“We have been trying to unify music at Tufts ... for the past couple of years,” Solomon said. “We were really looking for something unique to put on with our resources ... [We] conceived of the event as a way to bring music on campus together because I think that people [consider] the Tufts music scene and the Tufts music department [to be] very separate entities.”Solomon said that there is room for improvement in the relationship between the music department and the on-campus music scene.“I’m hoping that [this event] will redefine us in some ways,” Solomon said. “I think a lot of people don’t feel that the music department necessarily supports the music scene at Tufts.”This event will give students the opportunity to use Tufts facilities to perform — something which is not always possible for those who are uninvolved in the music department. The Granoff Music Center, which opened in 2007, features state-of-the-art performance spaces, most notably the Distler Performance Hall, according to McDonald.Those planning the event hope to take full advantage of the music center by having acts stationed throughout the building.“Obviously, the music department is an academic department, so we can’t support absolutely every [student musical group],” McDonald said. “We have limited space. This is a night where there are ... fewer limitations.”Junior Maeve Bell-Thornton, who is one of the students who helped to plan the event, also remarked on how the festival will bring increased attention to the Tufts music scene.“The music department, as this [all night event] shows, is really interested in reaching out to more of the student body,” Bell-Thornton said. She also noted that not all Tufts students are currently aware of the music department’s diverse resources and programming.“There are a lot of really great free concerts and performances that are offered,” she said. “I don’t think people are really aware of the music scene here.” Junior Gabe Rothman, who is performing in multiple acts at the event, echoed that sentiment.“I think our music department is a little underrated,” Rothman said. “I think the people that are involved in the department are really committed and really love the professors that they work with.” “A lot of the [department’s] concerts are very under-attended,” he added. “I think that a lot of people don’t really know a lot of the different groups that are going on ... [and] this [event] is kind of a way to bring some sort of attention to [the department] and show [the] campus that we have a pretty awesome music department ... and there are some cool things going on.”Since the opening of the Granoff Music Center, the department has strived to act as a resource for both students and the local community. The Community Music Program offers music classes for local children and teenagers on Saturdays, workshops with community musicians and a regular Community Concert series every Sunday. Most recently, Tufts Symphony Orchestra performed works from Beethoven, Bernstein and Shostakovich at the series.All of the festival participants are affiliated with Tufts, and the event will also include performances by faculty members and graduate students.“The final count for number of acts was something around 40 ... it [is] pretty extensive,” Solomon said. “We ended up having to shuffle the way that we wanted to present the music so we weren’t running until 6 a.m.” According to Solomon, performances will range in size from large ensembles, like the Tufts Wind Ensemble, to solo and duet acoustic acts. The festival’s schedule was designed to maintain variety throughout the night., and though students may come solely to see a specific act, they are encouraged to stay and make their own discoveries.“We’re hoping that people stick around and drum until the sun comes up,” Solomon said.The event will feature fundraisers to help student musicians perform outside of Tufts and go on tour. Entrance to the event, however, will remain free of charge.“A lot of Tufts students go on tour, but not all of the students can afford to travel,” Solomon said “We try to offer some scholarships, but we’ve recently lost a lot of the funding. We will be selling raffle tickets at the event, and we’re also securing a lot of sponsorships from local institutions.” 12

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