I would like to commend the author of Wednesday's article on the Hindi/Urdu class ("Hindi/Urdu course a success," 10/6) for bringing attention to the course's success. However, there were some factual inaccuracies in the article that I would like to clarify.
The fall season for the Tufts crews may not be as long or organized as the spring season, but it is just as important, as the work done in the fall directly translates to the success found in the spring.
A fourth place finish at the New England Division III Championships over the weekend was enough to move the Tufts tennis team up a few rungs on the Division III ladder, following a sixth place finish a year ago. But perhaps more significantly, the Jumbos looked and acted like a team that is going to continue to inch closer to the top in 2000. Unlike regular season matches, the Championships was a series of nine tournaments against opponents from various schools. Number-one players were grouped with each other in a single-elimination competition, as were numbers two through six. Three doubles teams were arranged the same, with points earned for each match won. Consequently, luck was a major factor, as each player outside of the four to six who were seeded was placed against a random opponent, or, if fortunate, drew a bye. Unfortunately for the Jumbos, the draw was not very cooperative, and numerous players were faced with solid opponents in early rounds. "We didn't have the luck of the draw," coach Jim Watson said. "But those are the rules the tournament is run under." To that end, freshman Katie Nordstrom faced a daunting draw after the first round. She won her opening eight-game pro set, 8-1. From there, Nordstrom took on Mealani Nakamura of MIT in the second round, against whom she lost earlier in the year. This time would be no different, as Nordstrom was defeated, 6-4, 6-1. The second singles was a bit more successful for Tufts, although the tournament could have been a whole lot better if not for a bad break. Sophomore Erika Lee cruised to a 8-2 first round win and won her second round match, 6-0, 6-4. Even more convincing was her third round win, a 6-0, 6-0 whitewashing of her opponent from Wesleyan, partly helping to exorcise the demons of the Cardinals' tight win over the Jumbos earlier in the season. Having advanced to the semifinals, Lee met Courtenay Sargent of Trinity, who was seeded second in the tournament. After losing a tight first set, 5-7, Lee went up 4-1 in the second before re-injuring her knee. She lost the next two games before being forced to retire. The end result was a tough loss, 7-5, 3-4, ret. The match looked eerily similar to her win over Sargent earlier in the season, until the injury knocked Lee out of commission. The number-three tournament also saw Tufts fall victim to a brutal draw. Sophomore Heather Rich won her first round match, 8-2, before a difficult 6-2, 6-7 (7-5), 6-1 loss to Julie Koo of MIT. Koo would advance to the finals before losing, although that was little consolation. Freshman Emily Warshauer, by earning the fourth seed in the fourth singles tournament, had a first round bye before advancing to the semifinals. She won a 6-1, 6-1 decision in the second round and kept rolling, with a 6-2, 6-0 triumph in the third. But she then ran into the top seed, Selma Kikic of Williams, and, despite a valiant fight, lost 7-5, 6-2. In the fifth singles, freshman Rachel Hammerman also earned a first-round bye, before picking up an easy 6-0, 6-1 win. But she would get no farther, losing, like Warshauer, to the top seed from Williams, Tracy Cheung, 6-1, 6-0. In the sixth singles, junior Jen Lai, who was seeded third, won her first match, 6-3, 6-0 in the second round, after a first-round bye. A 6-2, 6-2 win earned her a date with number-two Alison Swain of Williams. But the Ephmen proved the Jumbos' nemesis once more, as Swain came away with a 6-2, 6-0 victory. "We couldn't capitalize on a lot of our opportunities," Watson said. "We would come up with something and be in deuce-ad a lot, but just couldn't pull it out." The doubles consisted of only eight-game pro sets, and the results were mixed. The first team of Nordstrom and Lee won the first two rounds by scores of 8-0 and 8-1. But they were derailed by Wesleyan's doubles team, 8-6. In the second doubles, Rich and Warshauer teamed up to earn a berth in the semifinals. After a first round bye, they came away with an 8-4 win over the team from Middlebury. After defeating MIT's team, 8-3, Rich and Warshauer fell to Williams, 8-5. The third doubles ended with a semifinal loss by Lai and junior Suchi Kubhibhotla in the semifinals against Amherst's top-ranked team. Wins of 8-4 and 8-3 in the second and third rounds, following a first-round bye got them to the fourth round, but that was as far as they would get. "I'm pleased, overall," Watson said. "But, personally, I think we were the third-best team." In matters of much less importance, the team faced Harvard's "B" team last Tuesday in a tune-up before the Championships. In a scaled-down match, the Jumbos were 5-1 losers. Nordstrom and Lee lost the first doubles, 8-6, and first-timers Jennifer Lund and Eileen Conners lost by a score of 8-2. In the four singles matches, Nordstrom lost, 6-1, 6-1, as did Iffy Sneed, 6-2, 6-2. Hammerman fell by a count of 6-1, 6-4. Lai picked up the lone win, a 6-3, 6-4 triumph in the number-four match. That match was little more than an exhibition, but the loss, which counted for the teams' records, dropped the Jumbos to 9-4, a two-match improvement from a year ago. Combined with the better finish in the New England Championships, there is plenty of optimism heading into next fall. Given the team's youth - all six original singles' players are freshmen or sophomores - combined with the return of junior Hedda Silkoff, who was abroad this year, things are clearly pointing up for the Jumbos next year. By then, the top of the ladder may well be within reach.
Tufts students will have an opportunity to make charitable donations of their meals today at Dewick and Carmichael dining halls to benefit a Medford charity. The event, known as a Cause Dinner, will benefit RESPOND, an organization that counsels battered women, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate Services Committee announced last week. Students will be able to donate $2 per meal, or as many points as they wish, according to Senate Services Committee Chair Erin Ross.
Since its creation in 1986, the Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) program has worked to broaden the local, national, and global perspectives of students at Tufts. Each year the program invites roughly 25 undergraduate and graduate students to participate in a rigorous colloquium on an annually changing global theme. In the past 13 years, EPIIC's themes have ranged from international terrorism to religion, ethnicity, and nationalism.
When seven students arrived at Hillel around noon on Sunday, they received a goodie bag filled with T tokens, trash bags, markers, and paper. Next they were instructed to complete as many acts of kindness as possible before they returned to Hillel at 2:30 p.m. Building on the basic philosophy that those in Hillel should serve others, the random acts of kindness volunteer activity was held for the first time on Sunday. The event was spurred by a project introduced this year called Tzedek Hillel, a social justice and action initiative to encourage community service and involvement. The students opted to walk to the T station in Davis, rather than taking the shuttle, and came across workers repainting a mural near Warren and Leonard streets. They decided to go over and speak with the workers to say that they appreciated what they were doing and write them thank you notes. Next, the students slipped a thank you note under the glass to the operator at the T token booth. They placed coins in vending machines along the way, so people would be pleasantly surprised to find their soda or candy already paid for. The students purposely dropped "lucky" pennies on the ground heads-up, because some people are superstitious about stumbling upon a penny face-down. In Harvard Square, they dropped money and notes of encouragement that read "Good job" or "You're doing great," to the numerous street performers. Upon encountering a homeless woman asleep on a bench, they left a neatly placed stack of coins nearby for her to discover when she awoke. In a parking lot, they left notes on people's cars, such as "Have a good day" or "Hope your day was fun." The students spent time chatting with police officers and telling them that they appreciate all their work. The students added to their kind gestures by picking up trash throughout the entire trip. They simply spent a lot of time being friendly by smiling and talking with people. People reacted to the kindness displayed by the students in various ways. "Some people may have thought we were crazy, but everyone smiled," said co-organizer Mimi Feldman, a junior. "We didn't get to see other people's reactions," such as with the recipients of the vending machine kindness and the street performers not knowing who left the note, "but that was interesting because part of doing an act of kindness is not expecting something in return.""It seemed like the beginning of a process because these are things that you are capable of doing all the time. Now everyday you can start being more conscious of your environment and those around you," she said. "It was a very rewarding experience to help others anonymously," freshman Michelle Krengel said. This event was planned in conjunction with Koach, a college outreach program for conservative Judaism run by the United Synagogue Group of Conservative Judaism. Rabbi Winick, a Shabbat scholar and the head of Koach, gave a lecture after Friday's Shabbat services and led a discussion on the importance of social action from the Jewish perspective. Winick emphasized the need to get out into the community and put ideas into action, which produced further impetus for the activity held on Sunday. Upcoming Hillel Social Action Committee events include preparing and delivering sandwiches to homeless shelters this month, making and delivering dinner to homebound AIDS patients in November, and hosting a Hanukkah party in December for a Jewish group of mentally disabled people from the Boston area. Although only seven people participated in Sunday's program, the small number made it easy for the participants to travel in a group together. The students were "very enthusiastic and excited; they really got into it," Feldman said. Senior Neil Tow and sophomore Jonathan Dworkin also organized the event. Dworkin said the purpose of the day was "to take the time to do things you normally wouldn't do. It really makes a difference for a lot of people and I didn't realize that until Sunday." Feldman agreed. "[Maybe it] didn't change anyone's life, but it did make a difference."
It has been said that football is a gentleman's game, played by barbarians. On the contrary, rugby is a barbaric game played by gentlemen. Just 15 minutes at one of the practices for the Tufts men's rugby team will confirm both that the sport is barbaric, but that the players are anything but.
With many regular season wins under its belt, the sailing team is preparing to make its mark on the competition in the upcoming Atlantic Coast Championships. Anchored by a strong core of freshmen and led by several experienced seniors, the team continued its success in last weekend's regattas and is now looking forward to the postseason.
With final exams just a Quad Run away, it would seem as if most of the student performance organizations have already had their final shows of the semester. sQ! rocked Hotung a few weeks ago with its last stage show, and Sarabande's Supershow is a distant memory. Things in the Jackson Dance Lab, however, are just starting to heat up with Tufts Dance Collective's (TDC) "When Worlds Collide," a diverse performance that ends this semester with an exclamation point. Just three years ago, TDC had less than 35 members and was struggling to gain respect on a campus dominated by such talented dance troupes as Spirit of Color and Sarabande. Finding adequate rehersal space and time during Jackson Gym's busy schedule was always a challenge, with time slots restricted to "P.E. time" and "Dance time." Now, with over 70 dancers and a declared truce with the men's volleyball club team, TDC is a force, and its semester-ending shows are gaining the reputation as energizing performances that feature a healthy, eclectic mix of ballet, modern, tap, hip-hop, and breakdancing. Co-artistic director Alysse Wurcel, who shares the duties of Artistic Director with Meredith Kormes, credits the newcomers to this year's success: "I think it's wonderful because we have so much new freshman talent." Despite its growth, TDC has not lost sight of its orginal ideals for membership, which does not require an audition. "It's all about having fun," Wurcel said, "That sounds so corny, but..." "But we try to have people from all levels," added senior choreographer Melissa John, "and both genders, and that makes for a very fun atmosphere." This year's show provides a good sampling of TDC's wide variety of talents. The program fluctuates from animated numbers such as a Backstreet Boys/Brittany Spears combination by Assistant Artistic Director Jolene Stewart and Leslie Kung, to more poetic acts such as Amadeus' "The Search," choreographed by Jeanette Bailey. Heather Barondess and Jess Cannon re-live Spring Flings of years past, as Barondess has organized a peppy tap dance to the Cherry Poppin' Daddies' "Zoot Suit Riot," while Cannon's "Scenario" by Tribe Called Quest is a tightly-performed hip-hop ensemble. TURBO's act in the program is absolutely a must-see; the members electrify the stage with their freestyle breakdancing. Patrick Girvin and Sarah Booth are responsible for "Rainbow Vibe," an engaging show-stopper danced to a medley of Fatboy Slim and Dune. Acts such as these really benefit from the intimate setting of the Jackson lab which, according to Wurcel, "lets the dancers interact with the audience." The lab has a tendency to fill up quickly for the free show, so arrive early. Latecomers might find themselves seated on the floor at the front of the performance space, and could be subject to the impromptu audience involvement for which TDC members are so well known. There will be three performances: Friday at 8 p.m., and Saturday at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Since its grand-opening last spring, the Tufts Mountain Club's Loj is on a roll, providing school-weary students a chance to unwind in the spacious, newly re-built New Hampshire villa.
Students evacuated the 30s tower in Hillsides Thursday night when the dorm became filled with smoke. The fire alarms went off at approximately 10:45 p.m. after a student left incense burning unattended and papers on his desk caught fire. The fire spread to a nearby a cereal box and also scorched his computer.
Father Roy Bourgeois from the School of the Americas Watch came to Tufts yesterday to speak out against School of the Americas, a US funded camp which trains Latin American soldiers. Student protests are increasing against the establishment and Bourgeois came to raise awareness about the group.
As soon as the campus center ticket windows opened last Monday, the buzz about the world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking's visit to Tufts spread across campus. All tickets were sold in three hours, as people waited in line starting before 7 a.m. At the presentation yesterday, all 400 seats in Cohen Auditorium were filled, and over a hundred students filed into Jackson Gym to watch the notable speaker on closed-circuit television.
After opening its season with a full head of steam, the Tufts men's squash team has cooled off a bit in its last two matches. The Jumbos trampled Bard in the season opener, 9-0, but then fell short against two NESCAC rivals just one day later. Colby, who hosted the doubleheader, was the first to victimize the squad, coming out on top by an 8-1 score. Bates experienced similar results later in the day en route to a 6-3 victory of its own.
With the first presidential primaries less than six months away, Tufts students are preparing to talk up their respective candidates through a variety of on-and off-campus promotional events. Presidential candidates Bill Bradley, the former Democratic Senator from New Jersey, and John McCain, former Republican Senator from Arizona, will be in the area this week, and both the Tufts Republicans and Democrats are organizing trips to see these potential chief executives.
The TCU Senate is an abomination and a shameful mockery. It does more harm than good.
In the trend-ridden world of popular music everything eventually begins to sound the same. Each day new releases hit the ears of listeners, but very few really capture the imagination of the population.
It is a rare opportunity when one gets to see a Hollywood legend on the stage. Boston theatergoers are in for a treat with the pre-Broadway run of Noel Coward's play Waiting in the Wings, starring the famous Lauren Bacall. The play, directed by Jeremy Sams, will be opening on Broadway on Dec. 16th and will coincide with the 100th birthday of the renowned playwright and musical-writer Noel Coward.
The constant tripartite power struggle between the Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ), the Senate, and the Committee on Student Life (CSL) has again reached a boiling point, this time over the TCUJ's ability to recognize new clubs even if they are too similar to an existing club.
Paula Cole's intimate performance at Portland, Maine's State Theatre in 1997 was my first concert ever, and it still remains my favorite. Even those who didn't fall for the hits "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" or "I Don't Want To Wait" would have been enthralled by this show. Cole used her voice, her hands, her instruments, and even her feet to deliver an incredible performance that grabbed your emotions and wouldn't let you go. Having seen her incredible talent firsthand, I am especially disappointed in Cole's latest effort, Amen, because I know she can do so much better. Abandoning the intrigue and captivation of her last album, This Fire, her new Amen stumbles through its paltry nine tracks in a failed attempt at being "uplifting."
