News
Growing mustaches is as easy as 123
March 1Theta Delta Chi (123) brothers took philanthropy to a hairy level over the weekend.
News
News
Tufts recognized for commitment to service
February 26The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has placed Tufts on the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, the quasi-public federal agency announced on Jan. 23. That recognition, which was given to 83 colleges nationwide, recognizes colleges and universities for their commitment to volunteering, service learning and civic engagement.
News
Transfer students want credit where they believe credit is due
February 26Junior Eliza Howe knew that she wanted to transfer to Tufts after just one year at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She labored over applications and the hassles of changing schools. But when she got to Tufts, she found that two of her half-credit courses would not be transferable.
News
Where is today's Features section?
February 26You may have noticed that there is no Features section in the paper today. Rest assured, this does not mean that the Daily is cutting Features. Starting today, the News and Features sections will combine every Friday to allow for more flexibility and interaction between the two. We hope that the Friday version will help improve the way in which we cover issues important to the Tufts community.
News
Tufts accepts most ED applicants since 2003
February 26The Office of Undergraduate Admissions admitted a total of 497 Early Decision (ED) applicants this year, 150 of whom were accepted through Early Decision II.
News
Family sizes are on the rise -- and so, too, is controversy
February 25While University of Massachusetts Amherst freshman Meg Fallon was growing up, there was rarely a dull moment. Fallon, who is the second oldest of seven children, experienced a childhood that has certainly become unusual in the United States today -- living with six siblings and constantly juggling the intensity of a life surrounded by people in a bustling household. For Fallon, there were definite unique experiences that came with growing up as a part of such a large unit.
News
NPR ombudsman kicks off public editor program at Tufts
February 25National Public Radio ombudsman Alicia Shepard spoke yesterday in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room about her work, her experience and her thoughts on the self-regulation of media. Her presentation came to promote the fledgling public editor program sponsored by the Media Advocacy Board.
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Emerson professors allege racial discrimination in tenure program
February 25Two African-American faculty members denied tenure at Emerson College last May are filing complaints against the school, claiming they were rejected because of their race.
News
Study-abroad programs still popular despite sour economy
February 25Tufts students are continuing to scour the globe despite tough economic times, as the Office of Programs Abroad reported little change in the number of applicants this year compared to figures from years prior.
News
As Foreign Service increases corps, students may find future diplomatic careers viable
February 25For thousands of upcoming college graduates, the thought of entering into the labor force is dismal, if not completely unbearable. A sagging economy coupled with a rising unemployment rate have made the prospect of finding an interesting, decently paying job seem to be a task of Herculean proportions. All over the country, firms and corporations are slashing jobs in a desperate effort to conserve funds and stay afloat amidst the current economic turmoil. But despite the national trend towards downsizing and centralization, one firm is looking for eager and willing workers -- the United States Foreign Service.
News
Pearson organic chemistry lab to be renovated
February 25After nearly four decades without any significant up-grades, the Pearson Chemical Laboratory is slated for a renovation to begin in March and to finish before the start of the fall semester. The renovation will fix several problems in the lab, including extreme temperatures, outdated equipment and crowded conditions.
News
Interview | Oxford professor discusses Roman economy with the Daily
February 24Andrew Wilson, a professor of the archaeology of the Roman Empire at Oxford, is visting campus this week as the speaker for a four-part lecture series sponsored by the Department of Classics. The last two installments of the Balmuth Lecture Series will take place tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Cabot 206 and tomorrow at the same time in Braker 001. While on the Hill, Wilson took a moment to sit down with the Daily's Carter Rogers.
News
Chi Omega sisters host breakfast-for-dinner event at Sound Bites
February 23Braving the wintry weather on Sunday night, students trekked to Ball Square to have breakfast for dinner.
News
AAA raises $1600 for Chinatown Library
February 23Participants bid on everything from tennis lessons to musical performances during the Asian American Alliance's (AAA) annual charity auction on Friday. The event, which was in Sophia Gordon Hall, raised $1,600 for the Friends of the Chinatown Library campaign.
News
Campus Cribs | The Clock Tower
February 23Sophia Gordon: Tufts' ultimate on-campus housing. The location is ideal, the building is brand spanking new and the lucky few who live there can even take an elevator to their room.
News
Senate helps to sponsor speakers
February 23With University President Lawrence Bacow's office no longer able to provide student groups with co-sponsorship funds, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate has stepped in to fill the void.
News
Will Ehrenfeld | Stuff Tufts People Like
February 23This is a column that I'm really excited to write. On Friday, if you didn't see it, senior Kevin Dillon wrote an op-ed in the Daily called "Things Tufts' Campus Needs," which basically criticized me and my column, specifically the one titled "Unnecessary activism." As an apparent necessary activist, I am not surprised Kevin took issue with some of the ideas from my column. But that's not (directly) what this column is about. With Dillon's passionate and somewhat jumbled response piece as exhibit A, I'm hoping to discuss that characteristic of Tufts that everyone surely is intimately aware of: the proclivity to get offended. I can't imagine how those at Tufts who commonly get offended — so offended, in fact, that they may write an angry letter to the Daily — will fare in the future. I really worry about people like Dillon who seem to get worked up very quickly and often, even about things that really aren't a big deal. This column? Not a big deal. The Jumbo Janitor Alliance, of which Mr. Dillon is the founder, is not the biggest deal in the world, either — although, after mentioning them in a column, several people have defended them, both in person and in print, so I'll leave that alone. I don't want to focus on one person, though. Dillon isn't the only one who gets irrationally offended by irrelevant things. Ben Silver, author of the infamous Feb. 5 op-ed attacking the Primary Source for their cover featuring President Obama as the messiah, also appears to be offended very easily. I worked with Silver on the Obama campaign, so I realize this is an issue close to his heart, but ... really? Of all the offensive things the Source does, this is what you pick out to criticize? And then the editors of the Primary Source, not to be outdone in the easily offended department, were eager to respond in similar fashion, nitpicking and attacking Silver's letter. Is that what the Daily's op-ed section has become — a forum for silly flame wars? Why do people do this? Think of the boy who cried wolf. But I suppose this is more like the upper-middle-class white kid who cried, "That's offensive!" What will happen if I start saying truly inflammatory things? It could happen. The activists who would lead an uprising have already used their primary weapon, the sanctimonious letter to the editor — so what next? After my next "offensive" column, will there be rallies and demonstrations on the quad, replete with signs featuring creative slogans? It actually seems like people at Tufts enjoy getting worked up and offended, so much so that they invent things to get upset about. Why? Illogically, Tufts people often seem to seek out things that are unrelated to themselves to get offended by. Take the Primary Source, for example. One would think that the primary offend-ees of the Source would be the groups it tends to attack — Muslims, African Americans, peace and justice studies students — the list goes on and on. But who do we see writing angry letters to the editor about the offenses the Source commits? Self-righteous liberals — a sad trend, especially because I am a proud liberal, although apparently my level of self-righteousness is not quite up to par. While I work on that, I have an assignment for the (surely myriad) readers of this column. I want this column to be participatory. I know I'm not the only one with ideas about stuff Tufts people like; in fact, this column was partially inspired by a suggestion from a reader. So e-mail me your ideas! Or, better yet, write an indignant op-ed in the Daily. Even if it's not always complimentary, I want to hear from you.
News
RA applications on the rise
February 23As the economic downturn forces students to seek alternate forms of income wherever possible, Tufts' resident assistant (RA) program has seen a sharp rise in applicants for next year's positions.
News
Boston bans tobacco sales on college campuses
February 22Boston students who are interested in buying tobacco products may not find it so easy to do anymore. As of Feb. 9, college campus stores and pharmacies have been ordered to remove tobacco products from their shelves — a move the Boston Public Health Commission approved last year. The commission also made adjustments to Boston's 2002 workplace smoking ban by prohibiting smoking in nearby outdoor areas, banning new smoking bars such as hookah and cigar bars and giving current smoking bars 10 years to remain open. "The Boston Public Health Commission has the feeling that places that are supposed to be protecting our health, as in pharmacies with over-the-counter products — places that you should reasonably rely on to make you healthier — should not also be selling tobacco products," Edith Balbach, a community health senior lecturer, said. The commission hopes that the new ban will prevent many college students from smoking, because tobacco products will not be as readily available. "For the most part, if people are going to start smoking they start before they're 19 years old, so one of the key times of smoking uptake is the first year out of high school," Balback said. "For [about] 25 percent of the population that is their first year in college, so the thought was to put one more barrier in front of smoking uptake for 19-year-olds. If you have to actually physically leave campus to go find cigarettes, that is one additional barrier in the environment to try to get people to stop smoking — or even better, to just not start." While the potential positive health effects of the ban are encouraging, some feel that the strategy of banning certain things from students is not appropriate and will not be effective. "I think anything that prevents students from smoking is a good thing, but on the other hand, students should be allowed to buy what they want," freshman Adam Shepro said. Balbach agrees that restricting students could be risky. "The U.S. has a very libertarian philosophy — anything I want to do to my body I get to do to my body," she said. "Not allowing alcohol consumption by people under 21 has not been effective in preventing the use of alcohol in college dorms. We all have this basic libertarian instinct to want something badly that we can't have. So I always worry a little bit about specifically restricting certain things." One different and potentially more effective way of approaching the tobacco problem, according to Balbach, might be to try to persuade students that they don't want tobacco, by doing such things as broadcasting its negative health effects. "In public health, there are supply-side strategies and demand-side strategies," Balbach explained. "Supply-side means you try to interrupt the product from getting to the person, and demand-side strategies stop the person from wanting the product. I'm a real believer in demand-side strategies. If you handed me a pack of cigarettes right now, I would not take them. It's not the supply of cigarettes that makes the difference in my case; I have no demand for them. "I think the strongest policies we have in public health area are … the ones that convince people that they don't want the product," Balbach continued. "The strategies that try to stop the product from getting to the people I tend to think are much less effective. Those haven't worked all that well with cocaine, marijuana or any of those drugs. It's a much harder thing to do because if you have willing providers and consumers, you tend to have people getting the products." Demand-side tobacco prevention strategies are no stranger to the Bay State. "Massachusetts used to have one of the best tobacco control programs in the country, until the legislature gutted it," Balbach said. "It had a very effective media campaign, and even on TV now you see some of that truth campaign, so media campaigns are very effective." Another venue the government can pursue to reduce tobacco sales is a tax. "Tobacco tax increases are also very effective, because they make the product so expensive that you don't want it," Balbach said. "Also, making dorms and offices smoke-free, those are the things that are effective, because you create an environment for the product in which people can't use it. Those are all considered demand-side strategies." Balbach does feel, however, that the recent tobacco ban will be effective on campuses in preventing a lot of the positive tobacco advertising that is often ubiquitous in convenience stores and markets. "I think that not having sales on college campuses is probably a really good idea because as soon as convenience stores start selling cigarettes, they blast students with tobacco ads on all sides," she said. "Pro-advertising companies for cigarette sales are problematic, so from that standpoint I think it's useful not to have tobacco on college campuses." Although many students will inevitably be angry about the ban, the effects on Tufts will likely be minimal, especially since the on-campus convenience store, Jumbo Express, stopped selling cigarettes long prior to the recent policy changes. On a whole, smoking is also not as popular on college campuses as it used to be, according to Balbach. "Smoking follows an educational and social class gradient. College students are not a population that smokes a lot, so it's not a big deal to them. I think they are more aware of the health effects, and I think that there's probably more stigma associated with being a smoker," she said. "I think it's perceived as a negative behavior. When I was in high school … smoking still had that cool cache, but I don't think among this generation smoking is perceived as cool. The idea that smoking is the rebel behavior is long past … you guys have different ideas of what rebel behavior is."
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