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The Setonian
News

Peace One Day promotes awareness

September 21

Students observed Peace One Day yesterday with a series of events designed to promote a global ceasefire and foster awareness of the global peace movement.

The Setonian
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TCU Treasury stands on solid ground, Bartel says

September 21

Sporting a healthy budget surplus, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Treasury stands fiscally firm at the start of the academic year, Treasurer Aaron Bartel said Sunday in his State of the Treasury speech.

The Setonian
News

TCU Senator Zahran resigns

September 20

Junior Samia Zahran has resigned her position in the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate, leaving behind an open seat and a special election looming in the near future.

The Setonian
News

Tufts graduate participates in Coro, a public policy fellowship program

September 20

With a weak economy and employment levels at all-time lows, many students from this year's graduating class scrambled to pin down post-college plans. These students weighed the possibilities: Should they try to get a job? Should they apply directly to graduate school? Should they take a year off and just travel? More so than in past years, students had to dig deep and ponder their options for the future.

The Setonian
News

In Boston mayoral race, challengers face uphill battle

September 20

Bostonians will head to the polls tomorrow to narrow down the city's race for mayor from the four current contenders to two. Calling for a change to Boston's political scene, the three challengers face a steep challenge against incumbent Thomas Menino.

The Setonian
News

Green team prepares Curio House for competition

September 20

In the once-empty field across from South Hall, an entire building was erected over the summer. It's not hard to miss. On the weekends, people surround the building, moving things around, finishing up the flooring inside or measuring and taking notes on its dimensions.

The Setonian
News

Corrections

September 17

Wednesday's article "Bacow tells community he is ‘cautiously optimistic' on economic outlook" erroneously stated when Trustee Emeritus Bernard Gordon's $40 million gift to Tufts was announced. The university announced the gift on Sept. 9. Wednesday's article "Renowned physicist Dyson to deliver Snyder lecture" incorrectly stated that Freeman Dyson is employed at Princeton University. He is professor emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he first began teaching in 1953. Although it is located in Princeton, N.J., the institute has no affiliation with Princeton University. Wednesday's article "At forum, freshman TCU hopefuls make pitches" incorrectly stated that freshman Spencer Rubin was disqualified from the election. Rubin did not attend the forum due to a prior commitment and notified the Elections Commission prior to the event. He was not disqualified and was in fact on the ballot in yesterday's election.

The Setonian
News

Addition to Loj nears completion

September 17

    Students visiting New Hampshire will soon have extra room to stretch out. After a slight delay, construction of the Trips Cabin, an extra facility alongside the Tufts Mountain Club's (TMC) Loj, is expected to be completed next week.     The contractor, Katahdin Cedar Log Homes, is now furnishing the cabin with bunk beds. The building will be ready for use once the mattresses arrive and the state fire marshal approves the facility.     TMC President Katie Bond, a senior, is pleased with the progress.     "Everyone who's seen it, all the people working on the Tufts side of things who have been up there are ecstatic," she said. "It's looking beautiful, and it's exactly what we wanted."     Workers began building the cabin in June, with completion slated for August, but an unusually wet summer got in the way.     "There was an incredible amount of rain in June and July," said Robert Biswanger, a Tufts Facilities employee managing the construction project. "The 31 days of rain put us behind schedule." But earlier this week, he said that the cabin is "95 percent complete."     Biswanger said that aside from the rain delay, the construction went smoothly and the contractors "did a wonderful job."     The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate decided in April to allocate $230,000 to the project after a heady, semester-long debate. Although TMC raised $11,854 on its own for the project, most of the funding came from the TCU funds.     The Trips Cabin is divided into two sections, designated for accommodation and equipment storage respectively. It has a heating system, sprinkler system and smoke detectors and is designed to be energy efficient.     The cabin will be able to sleep 21 people, nearly equal to the Loj's original accommodations.     "The capacity has roughly doubled, which is phenomenal as far as hosting more student groups, making more people comfortable there and not intimidating new people who want to go up," Bond said. "We can increase the scale of our events up at the Loj and do a lot more outreach."     TCU Senator Dan Pasternack, a junior who initially proposed funding the Trips Cabin project with Senate dollars, was impressed by the swift progress. "I'm glad to see such large change happening so quickly and I think it's just a testament to what we can accomplish," he said.     Bond said the new space will better allow TMC to meet student demand and reach out to more individuals.     In line with this aim, TMC is launching a campaign this semester to attract students to the Loj. This will include a newcomers' weekend on Sept. 26 and a grand opening party on Oct. 24, according to Bond. TMC is also drafting guides about the Loj and helping students plan trips.     TMC continues to grapple with the challenge of transporting students to the Loj, particularly on weekends. "It's something that we as the TMC board really struggle with," Bond said. The group is exploring the possibility of getting a van but has no firm plans in place.     The cabin's ultimate cost has not been finalized, as billing is ongoing. Both Bond and Biswanger, however, are certain that the cost will not exceed its $240,000 budget.     "Our project manager has been doing a great job of keeping finances in check and finding ways to save money that don't compromise the quality of the building," Bond said. Biswanger said it is possible that the final costs will be well below the budget, in which case the surplus funds will go back to the Senate.     Pasternack stands by his original decision to support the project. "It's something that I think students may not see the impact [of] immediately, but as time goes on it will have a big impact on the campus if used properly," he said.     Looking back on what was a contentious debate in the Senate, Bond is hopeful that some who disagreed with the allocation will eventually be won over. "When we applied for the funds we really believed in its benefit for the entire Tufts community," she said. "We hope that over time some of the people who were uncomfortable with the allocation will start to see our perspective."

The Setonian
News

Under new policy, AP credits get less recognition

September 17

    There is some bad news for incoming English majors hoping that Advanced Placement (AP) scores might add up to an exemption from college math courses, or pre-med students who hoped never to take another social science class: Under a policy introduced this semester, no more than one AP credit can be counted toward a particular distribution area.     Despite some student opposition, the Educational Policy Committee (EPC) voted in April to overhaul the school's handling of AP credits. The EPC capped the number of pre-matriculation credits that Arts and Sciences students can put toward their degrees at five; for School of Engineering students, the number was  limited to eight. Before the EPC vote, there had been no limit on the number of AP credits on which students could draw.     Pre-matriculation credits are earned from scores on AP and SAT II exams, as well as international baccalaureate credits and those earned from some college courses taken before entering Tufts.     In making the change, the EPC argued that AP courses do not always meet the standards of rigidity set by supposedly comparable Tufts courses. As a result, students who received credit for introductory-level courses and skipped to higher-level classes were often ill-prepared for the jump, according to EPC Chair Jack Ridge.     The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate in February passed a resolution expressing concern about changing the AP policy. The resolution discouraging change passed 15-5 with two abstentions. But the two TCU senators serving on the EPC last year voted in favor of the policy change when the proposal came before the EPC.     Senator Edward Chao, who co-sponsored the Senate resolution and was not on the EPC, expressed his disappointment with the committee's decision. "The new policy penalizes students who had achieved," said Chao, a junior and the chair of the Senate's Student Outreach Committee. "Students shouldn't have to retake courses."     Ridge, a professor of geology, said classes taught in high schools often cannot match the rigor of Tufts courses, even if they are APs.     "The AP credit is a little bit misleading in terms of … what the standard was going to be like in a college course versus what they had in high school," said Ridge.     The EPC also noted in its resolution that, on average, students with higher financial aid packages matriculate with half a credit fewer than other students, putting them at a disadvantage.     Tufts has granted 32 percent more AP credit in the past five years due to a rising number of students taking the test and the variety of tests now offered by the College Board, the non-profit organization that administers the AP exams, according to the EPC resolution.     While some exams such as AP Calculus are generally seen as matching the rigor of college-level material, other tests such as those in U.S. history and biology are often harder to equate to a Tufts class, Ridge said.     Last year, students in the School of Arts and Sciences could fulfill the entire math requirement if they received a score of five on the AP Calculus BC exam. Others were able to evade two semesters of introductory English courses with a five on either the AP Literature or Language exam.     The EPC's decision did not reflect the feelings of the student body, according to Chao. "We agreed this wasn't right," he said.     But Ridge said the problem lies in the quality of AP testing itself.     "Fundamentally, most faculty have a problem with it," he said. "Regardless of what kind of course a student had in high school, the AP exam is not an indicator of how well they performed in that subject area."     The Class of 2013 is the first to be held to these new standards, and a majority of the 10 freshmen interviewed for this article expressed frustration with the credit limits.     While some were irritated with the new limitations, other students were unconcerned about the matter. Some said they had only taken three or four AP classes and would not be greatly affected by the changes.

The Setonian
News

For college graduates, employment may be a click away

September 15

With job-hunting season just around the corner, many seniors dread what comes next: spending countless hours surfing Monstertrak and Careerbuilder.com, filling out time-consuming job applications and giving up the cushy student lifestyle.

The Setonian
News

Internet recovery program aims to 'reSTART' addicts' lives

September 15

Many Tufts students have difficulty tearing themselves away from the Internet to do homework, but for those truly addicted to online media, a new clinic in Redmond, Wash. claims to have the answer. The clinic's existence highlights the complex issues associated with the growing problem of Internet addiction.

The Setonian
News

Changes felt at Fall Ball

September 13

Reactions to the restrictions on Friday's Fall Ball have been mixed, but one thing is for sure: This dance was different from those of past years.

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