Founder of Higher Ground Farm John Stoddard (N 09) spoke yesterday in the Lincoln Filene Center Rabb Room about the environmental benefits of rooftop farming in the Environmental Studies Programs weekly Lunch and Learn series.
Tufts was the first in New England to have a Department of Drama and Speech when Marston Doc Balch established the program in 1940. A professor on the Hill for 35 years, Balch had an impact both on and off campus. One of his former students, Elizabeth Bottomley Noyce (J' 52), even donated ...
Associate Professor in the College of Public and Community Service at University of Massachusetts Boston Andrew Leong spoke about gentrification of Chinatowns around the world last night in Braker Hall.
Tufts Democrats last night hosted a forum titled How We Get Where Were Going: A Public Transportation Discussion in Tisch Library.
Only two of the 26 current branches worldwide of 180 Degrees Consulting are in the United States, so the founding of a Tufts branch of the worlds largest student consultancy next semester will serve as yet another landmark in the universitys growth as an elite player in the world of social innovation and consulting.The groups general interest meeting was held on Oct. 27 in Cabot Auditorium.Senior Christopher Yee-Paulson, who serves as co-president of 180 Degrees Consulting alongside fellow senior AJ Scaramucci, was enthusiastic about the overlap of consulting and active citizenship in the group.There is a lot of intellectual capital at Tufts, and many students have strong interests in both social impact and consulting, Yee-Paulson told the Daily in an e-mail. This is the first type of organization that serves both needs, providing incredible synergies between these two intellectual camps.This has been an important year for Jumbos interested in pursuing business-related careers, in particular consulting. The School of Arts and Sciences does not offer a business major or minor, besides the Entrepreneurial Leadership minor, so would-be business students often take courses in the Department of Economics.However, many students this semester have been looking for more guidance. The hiring of finance and consulting expert Christopher Di Fronzo (E 96, EG 04) at the Career Center this fall is evidence of the desire students have to learn about these fields. The addition of a chapter of 180 Degrees Consulting follows this trend.Since its founding at the University of Sydney in 2007 by then-economics student Nathaniel Ware, 180 Degrees Consulting has become a worldwide organization with city and university branches in locations such as Prague, Tokyo and Stockholm and now Medford and Somerville. The group has branches in 18 countries.The new branch at Tufts will officially be launched next semester, and according to Scaramucci, who is also the founder of the Tufts branch, this will bring a lot recognition to Tufts given the consultancys reputation worldwide.180 Degrees Consulting is now the largest pro bono student-driven consultancy in the world, he said.180 Degrees team members offer business advice to non-profit organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) free of charge. At the University of Sydney, for example, student consultants worked with Red Cross Australia to help to cut down costs, allowing the organization to focus funding elsewhere.Scaramucci explained that, while he has garnered experience in sales through his part-time work as a product specialist at Tesla Motors, the predominant factor that inspired him to start the Tufts branch was his study abroad experience at the University of Sydney, where he said he worked in the companys original branch.All you do is go out and actively recruit consultants at a university campus, he said. You do some inbound marketing, they apply to be student consultants, and the individuals who get accepted then get paired into teams of five. Those teams of five get paired with a team leader, so thats six total individuals. Finally, they get paired with a non-profit organization or NGO in the local area.Scaramuccis team of consultants in Australia, he said, worked with Food Water Shelter, an Australia-based non-profit that works in developing countries to benefit vulnerable women and children by providing functional education, social and health facilities. His team advised the organization to take advantage of the growing popularity of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) through websites such as Khan Academy, so that students in Tanzania would have access to an assortment of courses that they wouldnt otherwise have.In short, they were spending a lot of money on teachers and volunteers and textbooks and infrastructure, rather than on computers and Wi-Fi connection, Scaramucci said. What this enables for the Tanzanian kids is that they [have] the ability to have access to the Internet.While the club will enable student consultants to gain invaluable first-hand experience in the business world, like Scaramucci said he has already seen, 180 Degrees Consulting puts volunteerism and activism at the heart of its goals to produce positive socioeconomic change in communities near chapters.Jasmine Slivka, founder of the first 180 Degrees branch in the United States at Indiana University, expressed her excitement about the establishment of more chapters in the country.With an already strong presence in Australia, Europe, and Asia, we could see immense potential for 180 Degrees Consulting branches at many of the top universities in the United States, Slivka told the Daily in an email.Slivka, who is also 180 Degrees Chief Branch Officer of North America, has been collaborating with the executive board of the Tufts chapter.We have put together a very strong regional team to oversee the increasing demand for 180 Degrees Consulting branches and are very confident in the success of our new branches launching next semester, she said.12
The Tufts Autism Speaks Group began its first charity game of Spoon Assassins last Friday at midnight.
Three new members of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Services Board of Advisors Selina Chow (J 78), Stephen Demirjian (LA 83) and Diane Hessan (J 76) officially began their terms on Oct. 22.
Members of the Tufts community recognized Veterans Day yesterday with a special service on the Memorial Steps hosted by Tufts Advocates for ROTC, the Reserve Officers Training Corps.
Mayor of the City of Cambridge Henrietta Davis discussed sustainability initiatives in her city yesterday in the Lincoln Filene Center Rabb Room as part of the universitys weekly Lunch and Learn events.
The Tufts-owned warehouse at 574 Boston Avenue is currently undergoing renovations that will result in the creation of a new functional and social space for university members.
Tufts Department of Biology may move from Barnum Hall, the departments base since the late 1930s, to a new space at 574 Boston Ave. in coming years.
The fall kickoff event for the sixth annual China-U.S. Symposium was held yesterday in the Terrace Room of Paige Hall. Panelists and audience members discussed the rise of China as an international power.
Linda Bamber, an associate professor in the Department of English at Tufts, is turning heads with her latest book, Taking What I Like. A collection of short stories drawn from classic literature, six of the eight stories are based on Shakespeares works. Theres a twist, however: The stories take place in modern society, making for an inventive, contemporary spin on original texts.
Tufts volleyball finished its regular season on a high note by winning both games of Saturday's doubleheader, against Colby and Simmons, at Cousens Gym.
Students gathered in the Crane Room last night to discuss the Tufts Prism Run, hosted on Oct. 27 by Theta Chi, after the event sparked controversy about religious and cultural appropriation.
A Tufts student sustained minor injuries after being struck by a Joey shuttle around noon on Friday at the intersection of College and Talbot Avenues. According to Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) Sergeant Robert McCarthy, officers received an emergency call at 12:02 p.m. on Friday alerting them that a female student on a bike had been involved in an accident. Both TUPD and the Somerville Police Department responded to the call. One student, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that he had been onboard the Joey at the time the cyclist was struck and called 911 following the collision. I was looking out the window ... and as we got to the intersection of Talbot Avenue and College Avenue, I saw a girl on her bicycle coming close to the Joey, and she wasnt wearing a helmet, he said. The driver realized, I think, at the last second that [the cyclist] wasnt stopping, so she slammed on the brake.Before the Joey could stop, however, the vehicle collided with the cyclist and knocked her to the ground. According to the source, the cyclist hit her head against the windshield.Luckily, the Joey was already moving relatively slowly as it approached the cyclist, according to the witness. After hitting the student, the Joey driver opened the doors, and the witness, along with others, ran out to help the victim. After putting a coat over the cyclist as it was raining and discovering that she was conscious, the witness called both Somerville police and TUPD, he said. We stayed with her until they came, and then I waited until the ambulance took her away, he said. Although the victim seemed to have only a minor scrape on her hand and tried to stand, the students insisted that she stay on the ground while waiting for medical assistance in case she had a neck injury. According to Director of Public and Environmental Safety Kevin Maguire, the student will be okay. Her injuries were minor, and we are most thankful for that, Maguire said. The anonymous source added that the female student returned to campus a few hours after the accident. TUPD officers stated that the accident is currently under investigation by Somerville police. Somerville officers did not respond to interview requests before print time.According to the student witness, reasons for the collision seem unclear. What I think happened is that [the cyclist] thought that the Joey driver was going to stop and the Joey driver thought [the cyclist] was going to stop, and so she kept going in front of the Joey, he said.This incident comes in the wake of two motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians last year, including one student who suffered major injuries when a car struck him at the intersection of Powderhouse Boulevard and Packard Avenue. The student witness said that, despite these other accidents, he is hesitant to conclude that this incident indicates an ongoing threat to student safety, as a number of specific factors may have contributed to the collision. There were cars parked on the side of the road, so it was difficult to see the turn, he said. It was also raining out, so there was low visibility.Student-TUPD liaison Becky Goldberg, however, said she believes there is an issue of pedestrian safety which students, drivers and university members must work to combat. Its a really big problem, Goldberg, a junior, said. Even though, yes, were on a college campus and people driving through this campus should be wary of the fact that this is a college and people are walking, as students we dont feel like these are real streets, but they are. Goldberg, who helped host Safety Awareness Week last year in order to promote pedestrian safety, said she plans to bring the event back this year as well. Through partnering with Medford and Somerville, Tufts has begun a number of projects to improve pedestrian and crosswalk safety that will continue into the future, Maguire said. These projects include repainting crosswalks, replacing crosswalk signage with ones made of highly reflective material, pruning foliage that inhibits crosswalk and sign illumination and fixing broken street lights. The university has also made changes to intersections such as the one between Powderhouse Boulevard and Packard Avenue by adding four-way stop signs and adding a speed table.In order to reduce the number of incidents involving motor vehicles and pedestrians in and around campus, we continue to engage in a concerted effort to improve pedestrian safety using engineering, education and enforcement, Maguire said.While College Avenue has not been a source of issues in the recent past, Maguire said that the street was identified as a problem area for pedestrian and bike safety in two surveys conducted by the university. As part of a project to improve walker and biker accessibility to the to-be-renovated 574 Boston Ave. warehouse, a traffic engineering firm will also visit College Avenue and other surrounding streets in order to make recommendations about making the area safer.12
Blue Is the Warmest Color (originally titled La Vie dAd?le) is possibly the best film of 2013. Having won the Palm dOr at the Cannes Film Festival, it has already achieved remarkable acclaim for its director, Abdellatif Kechiche, and its two lead actresses, Ad?le Exarchopoulos and L?a Seydoux. Its release into mainstream theaters has been highly anticipated and was well worth the wait.Three hours long and rated NC-17 for graphic sex scenes, Blue Is the Warmest Color is a brutally intimate film, sparing absolutely no aspect of its protagonists emotional or physical life. The film is composed almost entirely of close-up shots of Ad?le (Ad?le Exarchopoulos). Throughout the film, the viewer sees every blemish and stain on her face: splatters of pasta grease left un-wiped on her chin, tear tracks and snot streaking into her mouth and slick strands of hair framing her face. Watching her take a drag from a cigarette, viewers can practically feel the smoke seeping through her teeth as she exhales. The overall effect of this stylistic choice leaves the audience feeling almost like they know Ad?le. Any shot that contains a background or even Ad?les whole body feels like a deviation a breath of fresh air from the claustrophobic focus on the films protagonist. The film accomplishes this in other ways, as well: the sound, the lighting, the acting everything is tailored to familiarize the audience with Ad?les life.Ad?le is a 15-year-old high school student who aspires to become a teacher. One day she passes a blue-haired art student named Emma (L?a Seydoux) and becomes inexplicably enamored with her. From this moment on, the film traces the rise and fall of Ad?le and Emmas relationship. One of the movies most shocking elements is its graphic depiction of Ad?le and Emma having sex. Nothing is left to the imagination Ad?le and Emmas first sex scene alone is a nearly 10-minute marathon of contorted limbs, full-on nudity and a medley of pants and moans. Still, even through this, the film maintains its signature proximity to its characters faces and mouths one of the most controversial aspects of the film. The inclusion of such explicit scenes has prompted several critics to ask whether this is a legitimate demonstration of the characters humanity or simply glorified pornography.In any case, it would be difficult to discount the rest of the film based on these assertions alone it is simply too well done. The dialogue is natural, understated and always poignant. Indeed, nothing the characters say is trivial or cliched you wont hear any refrigerator magnet quotations here. Their lines build meaning slowly and subtly from one exchange to another, relying heavily on innuendo and facial expressions.In this and other ways, the film is effortlessly subtle. Throughout the movie, a series of thematic milestones are introduced through culture, art, philosophy and literature. Classroom scenes depicting literary discussions indirectly mirror the turmoil of Ad?les life. Yet, the movie never throws these moments in the viewers face. Instead, it allows them to linger in the background. There are no a-ha! sequences; no labored epiphanies the thematic resonance is fluid throughout the film, played out from conversation to conversation.One of the most satisfying transitions in the film occurs when Ad?le finally becomes the teacher. In her first grade classs basic lessons, the importance of spelling a word correctly illuminates just how deeply rooted our notions of correctness and normality really are (a concept that is even more resonant in French, where words are notorious for containing letters that remain unpronounced when spoken).While Blue Is the Warmest Color deals with queer issues, it never preaches about them. Ad?les struggle is not solely with her sexuality rather, the movie is about a relationship. The power of the film lies in its genuine treatment of the two girls it never detracts from the dignity of its characters. It fully acknowledges both the underlying and obvious pressures a gay relationship faces within a heteronormative society without indulging in excessive sympathy or judgment. Unflinchingly candid, Blue Is the Warmest Color regards a marginalized perspective with humanity and complexity. The triumph of the film is the universality it demonstrates within such an intensely personal struggle.12
The Tufts Labor Coalition is co-sponsoring a rally on Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. in Davis Square to support a campaign called Raise Up Massachusetts which intends to raise the minimum wage and ensure earned sick time for workers. Raise Up MA is part of a national grassroots movement to ensure a livable minimum wage for Americans.
Tufts volleyball finished its regular season on a high note by winning both games of Saturdays doubleheader, against Colby and Simmons, at Cousens Gym.
Collins Players, a Tufts Childrens Theater group for students in grades seven through 12, has once again begun rehearsals for the 2013-2014 academic year. The children and young adults in the program will showcase their work with a full-length performance of Willy Wonka Junior this March.
