Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, May 9, 2025
The Print Edition
Donate | About | Join Us
Advertise | Submit a Tip
Subscribe to our newsletters

Archives

The Setonian
News

Eye on the Environment | Students' syrup sweetening relations with community

March 6

There usually just isn't a lot to celebrate in the middle of March. The Somerville community has found something worth getting excited about, however, and Tufts students are joining in the festivity. In preparation for a maple syrup boiling event that will take place on Mar. 11 and Mar. 12, Tufts students have spent the semester helping to teach second- and third-grade students the basics of making maple syrup. "This project has allowed me to see Tufts as part of a larger community, not just a campus," sophomore Maisie Ganz said. "It's also been such a wonderful opportunity for us as teachers to put environmental education in the context of something fun like making maple syrup. It is easy to get these kids excited about the tapping, and in that process, they're able to learn so much about the natural processes of trees in their own backyards." "The community is very responsive," said senior Ariela Summit, Ganz's fellow maple syrup program coordinator. "Tufts students have been phenomenal in their willingness to dedicate time and energy to this project, and it's great to be a part of that excitement." "The project itself was about the community from day one - from the guy at the parks department who helped us pick up the stove, to the neighbor across the street from the Growing Center who showed me the combination to the gate, to the children who look at trees with a new awareness," Summit said. "That's what I love, that's what makes me glow." Seven lessons with the West Somerville elementary schools and the Cummings School preceded next weekend's culminating event. West Somerville students helped to tap trees around Tufts campus, and the Cummings School tapped trees at the Growing Center in Somerville, where the boil event will take place. "The story of Somerville Maple Syrup is truly one of partnerships," said Lisa Brukilacchio, a community engagement specialist for the University College. "Mark Waltermire, the farmer at Gaining Ground, Inc., was interested in adding maple syrup to the learning experience at the Concord farm site," which raises organic fruits and vegetables and distributes them "to regional food pantries, shelters and meal programs." Frank Carey, a Somerville teacher, also showed "an interest in trying to bring this winter activity to Somerville students and residents," Brukilacchio said. Partnering with the Friends of the Community Growing Center and other Somerville organizations, like the School Dietary Department, Waltermire came into the city to teach the basics of tapping trees and making maple syrup. "That first year, only a few trees were tapped, but the students' engaged learning working with Mark and Frank was so inspirational that everyone wanted to do it again," Brukilacchio said. After the pioneering year of the maple syrup project, the Somerville High School vocational education metals shop built a fire box to replace the concrete blocks that were used the first year. Members of the Somerville Garden Club and Tufts groundkeeper Jon Vic also answered requests for more trees to be tapped. The Eagle Eye Institute became an active partner, involving staff and youth from its Rainbow Stewards program. "For five years, Frank Carey was the glue that kept this all running," Brukilacchio said. "Lots of people dedicated time and energy, but Frank's enthusiasm and coordination of all the various people and places [was extremely helpful]." When Carey announced that 2004 would be his last year, Summit - who had been an intern with the Eagle Eye Institute earlier - offered to become an apprentice and start learning about the education program. Summit taught with Carey and Abdu Salaam in 2004. Last fall, Ganz applied for a grant from the University College's Civic Engagement Fund to help fund her work with Somerville kids at the Growing Center. She adopted the Maple Syrup Program as part of her work, teaming up with Summit. They recruited interns from the Environmental Studies program at Tufts, bringing in a number of students. The Tufts Mountain Club has also supported the project by helping with the sap collection. "I loved the idea of linking people with their environment," Summit said. "Especially in an urban setting...many people have no idea a project like this could happen in Somerville." The production of maple syrup easily tied into Somerville elementary schools' curriculum. "Math lessons were created - keeping charts and graphs of the collected sap," Brukilacchio said. "Stories about the history of this activity in New England were shared." Additionally, she said, "interns from the environmental studies program at Tufts began to assist Eagle Eye with elaborate planning" for next weekend's event. "Kids came by walking and by bus from all over the city on the Friday and community members stopped by on Saturday to learn and taste," Brukilacchio said. "After the boiling event, we hold a pancake breakfast so that the students and volunteers have the chance to taste the syrup that they helped make and share their work with the community," Ganz said. "In 2003, the trees broke bud very early, so the sap had a bitter edge to it," Brukilacchio said. "But the 2004 vintage was declared 'superb,' 'excellent,' and 'really good' at the first public pancake breakfast, held in November." "In the past, a lot of parents have attended the boil event," Ganz said. "A lot of the adults I speak to are really excited because they remember when they were kids and attended some sort of syruping event where they learned how to tap trees and make syrup. They're glad to see their kids having the same opportunity."

The Setonian
News

Andrew Bauld | You can't steal first

March 6

I had my ticket. My bags were packed. The conductor was calling. But I just couldn't seem to commit to getting on the Celtics Bandwagon. I was all set to declare them legally dead, what with the Kevorkian-like move of bringing Antoine Walker back. Just one patented 'Toine "shuffle" and we could pound the last nail into the big green coffin that had been clinging to life support for the last few seasons. But I think we may just have a pulse. Deep down, despite how much I may love the Red Sox, at my core I'm a Celts fan. While most kids collected baseball cards, I have boxes and boxes at home of Fleer and Topps basketball cards I've collected over the years. One box is devoted completely to the Celtics. My dad and I watched Celts games together all the time, listening to stories from him about the good old days. 33-32-00 was the Holy Trinity for me long before ESPN started using it in their ad campaign. In middle school while most kids idolized Jordan, my best friend and I lauded Bird and Havlicek. Today I think I'm one of the last six or seven fans who still care what happens to The Team That Red Built. That's why these last few years have been so agonizing. Supposedly being Irish and being lucky go hand-in-hand. Apparently somebody forgot to tell Danny Ainge. That, or whatever luck the team may once have had disappeared with the destruction of the Garden and the absence of Red Auerbach's magic touch. The Curse of the Bambino may be over (if it ever even existed) but another curse continues in Boston - The Curse of Len Bias. For those of you who don't know who he was, Len Bias was Maryland's star forward and the Celtics' first round pick in the 1986 draft. This is one of the all-time "What If?" for Celtics fans. He had the potential to be one of the greats, and there's no telling how many more championships the Green Machine could have won with his help. But no one ever got to find out, because Bias died of a drug overdose less than 48 hours after being selected by Boston. It's all been downhill from that point on for the Celts. Since then the team has been plagued by one bad move or one bad stroke of fortune after the other. The death of Reggie Lewis in 1999; the disaster that was Rick Pitino; the loss of Tim Duncan in the 1997 draft; and now we're under the reign of Danny Ainge, whose made worse decisions than Ron Burgandy choosing milk. There was a brief shining moment, what looked like the true revival of the Celtic Dynasty, during the Jim O'Brien period, but Danny nipped that in the bud pretty quickly. Ainge inherited a team that in 2002 made it to the Eastern Conference finals and was two or three moves away from becoming a true contender for a 17th title. Instead, he dismantled the team and drove O'Brien out of town to rival Philadelphia. He gave away almost every piece of the 2002 team, culminating in his trade of co-captain Antoine Walker for Raef LaFrentz. By the time Walter McCarty left for Phoenix, Paul Pierce and Mark Blount were the last remnants of the team that only two years earlier almost made it into the NBA Finals. And now it comes full circle with the return of Number 8 less than 18 months since his dismissal. But maybe this was all part of Ainge's master plan. Trade away Walker, show him the team isn't going to put up with his antics, and bring back a guy more than ready to prove his worth. But has he really changed in only a year and a half? The biggest gripe about Walker (besides his dancing, his poor shot selection, his shaky ball handling skills and his inability to get into rebounding position) were the insane amount of three-pointers he took every game. Career, he's attempted 3,321 shots from downtown, and has sunk 1,080. He's changing his ways though. During the 2001-2002 season he started 81 games for the Celtics, played a total of 3,406 minutes and was 222-645 in 3PM-A. In his 2003-2004 season for Dallas he started in 82 games and was 82-305 from behind the mark, although playing only 2,840 minutes. He's also bringing an average of 20.6 points and 9.50 rebounds a game with him. And his biggest contribution will be removing the weight of leadership off Pierce's back, a responsibility Pierce clearly could not handle. The team is 4-0 since Walker's return, and it doesn't look like a flash in the pan. As mediocre as this team has been for a long while, things are looking up. They're starting to remind me of the Red Sox. Everyone was writing off Terry Francona when he was named manager, then the team bottomed out for most of the summer, barely playing .500 ball, and then we traded away Nomar. The Celts are a lot like this. We hire Doc Rivers, who was coming off a miserable season in Orlando, we hover around .500 until the All-Star break, and now we do the inverse of the Nomar trade by trading for an old fixture of the team to help rejuvenate it. We're 31-28, first in the Atlantic, and improbably The Glove, Gary Payton, has resigned with the team, claiming he wants to continue working with the "kids," like Al Jefferson, Delonte West and Marcus Banks, who are proving to be fantastic players. Things are changing for this team. I actually saw Pierce smile. I saw a player scramble for a loose ball that would have made Larry Bird proud. And, most incredible of all, Number 8 is back on the parquet floor wiggling up and down the court with the team he calls home. Let's hold off sending flowers to the funeral home just yet, cause this team has found its second wind.Andrew Bauld is a sophomore majoring in history. He can be reached at Andrew.Bauld@tufts.edu.

The Setonian
News

Vitality discusses body image, media

March 6

The advocacy committee of Vitality, a Hillel-sponsored health and wellness initiative, held a meeting about media and the female body image last night, which touched upon topics ranging from Disney movies to stay-at-home fathers.

The Setonian
News

Men's Track and Field | Yale meet yields no qualifiers for men's track

March 6

This weekend, the men's track and field runners had one last opportunity to qualify for nationals. None of them were able to capitalize. On Friday, the men's track and field team traveled to Yale University to compete in the Last-Chance Invitational, hosted by Trinity College. As indicated by the name of the invitational, the handful of Jumbos who competed were attempting to qualify for Nationals for their last chance of the season, and despite several strong performances and a few personal bests, none posted qualifying marks or improved their qualifying marks from earlier meets. "Everyone who was racing for us knew what the chances were," coach Connie Putnam said. "Everyone knew this was a vague chance and I think everyone ran hard. We just fell a bit short of what we needed to do. I don't think anyone was disappointed, though." Junior Trevor Williams placed 10th in the 400 meter event in a time of 50.82. Nate Scott placed 13th in the 400 (51.42 seconds). In the 800, junior Patrick Mahoney ran a 1:55.00 and placed fourth and sophomore Ciaran O'Donovan ran a 2:13.51 and placed 15th. Mahoney's time was his second fastest career mark in the 800, but if the race had gone differently, he would have posted an even better time. Mahoney took the lead early, and then Rhode Island College junior Emmanual Karngar took the lead later in the race, slowing the pace down and fooling the runners behind him. According to Putnam, this tactic was not the most appropriate choice for a meet where everyone is trying to get qualifying times. "[Mahoney] needed his race to go hard the whole way," Putnam said. "But [Karngar] grabbed the lead and once Patrick realized what happened to the pace, it was too late. The whole intention was to get a fast guy that everyone wants to follow, and a couple of young kids who wanted to qualify got fooled." The mile was one of the best races for the Jumbos on Saturday. Senior Aaron Kaye and sophomore Nate Cleveland placed fifth and 13th in the mile, respectively (4:17.73 and 4:24.33), and both times were personal bests. In the 5000, junior Matt Lacey posted a 14:45.95 and finished second, only a fraction of a second behind Haverford junior Will McGuire. Senior Michael Don placed eighth in the 5K (15:20.57). Sophomore Jamil Ludd placed fifth in the 55 hurdles in a time of 7.99. His preliminary time was 7.97. In the high jump, freshman Jeremy Arak placed third and reached 1.95 meters, close to his seasonal best. In the pole vault, sophomore Justin Henneman placed fourth (3.86) and junior William Heitmann placed seventh (3.56). Junior Jason Galvin placed fourth in the weight throw (14.30). Senior Nate Thompson placed 13th in the long jump (6.12) and freshman Dan Marcy placed sixth in the triple jump (13.36), setting a personal best. "I was a little surprised because last weekend I was really sick," Marcy said of his personal best. "I wasn't sure if I would actually be ready to jump this weekend, but since I was sick, I was getting a lot of sleep. Coach Putnam said he wouldn't be surprised if I jumped around 44 feet, which is what I did." Although the Jumbos were unable to bump anyone's name up on the Nationals list, according to Putnam, the meet was still a success for the team because of the three personal bests. "We went down there to get great performances," Putnam said. "And the competition was very good. The kids did well, and it just worked out so that it brought out a few good performances. In terms of Kaye [setting a personal best], it was not a surprise, in terms of Cleveland, it was a pleasant surprise, and [Dan Marcy's personal best] was predictable." Unfortunately, even the personal bests weren't enough to overcome the stiff competition at the Last-Chance Invitational. "We didn't speed up quite how much as we had hoped," Putnam said. "But we ran very typically for where we are. The outcome was a good, balanced outcome." For most of the team, Saturday's meet marked the end of the indoor season. This upcoming weekend, the Jumbos who make it to Nationals will travel to Illinois Wesleyan for the NCAA Championships. The Jumbos who have provisionally qualified will find out today if their marks were good enough to earn them a trip to Nationals.

The Setonian
News

Onward and Upward | Joining comics and politics

March 6

Comic books are not just for kids - or at least that's the word that author and Tufts graduate David Nurenberg (MA '00) is trying to spread. The former Daily columnist and Grad Rag editor from Northampton, Mass. is currently teaching high school English while accomplishing his dream of becoming a published author. A lover of comic books and science fiction, Nurenberg says he was taught how to "create his own realities" through the world of comics. The realization of his dreams has come in the form of "The Fragile Light," a novel that is only the first installment of his planned "Herotown" trilogy. The novel is, however, only a fraction of his written work: "I've been writing since my early teenage years - this is far from the first novel manuscript I've written, and, in particular, I've always been a fan of comic books," Nurenberg said. "But superheroes - and traditionally comic-book heroes in general - tend to be revered by the populace as the image of Superman or Spiderman," he added. "I wanted to take a look at things in a world where heroes were kind of relegated to second-class citizens." Accordingly, "The Fragile Light" approaches superheroes in a manner more akin to that of "The Incredibles" than to that of traditional superhero movies and literature. "The book takes place in a world that is still recovering from a terrorist attack," Nurenberg said of his timely first novel. "A superhero-turned-bad has destroyed a nuclear power plant and killed thousands of people, and the State is still recovering, so you've got a very real fear among the populace. And they have responded by supporting some very draconian measures against all heroes." The novel uses "heroes" as a paradigm for racial and ethnic minorities who have been persecuted throughout American history. In the novel, Twister, a terrorist with superpowers, wreaks nuclear havoc upon the State. In the wake of Twister's attack, all superheroes - including Gayle Fellman (Gal Friday) - are sent to a ghetto called Herotown. According to Nurenberg, these exiled heroes want to gain legitimacy as "real heroes" in a world that has treated them like animals. "The plot is an attempt to get legitimacy for Gayle's hero career and her team, the 'Friday Knights,'" Nurenberg said. "They take on this case that looks like it's small potatoes but turns out to be a big international conspiracy. She has to save the world, even though the world has screwed her over." As one might expect, Nurenberg does not seem to be a big fan of President Bush's policies and was inspired by "recent events in our nation, including the recent losses in civil liberties and this climate of paranoia and fear." While Nurenberg's novel is extremely apt during such a time of political upheaval in the U.S. and the Middle East, he was forced to self-publish the book, after most editors at publishing houses turned it down. "I tried the traditional routes first," Nurenberg said. "I got an agent, and the editors liked the book too, so I knew the quality wasn't the issue. But the editors didn't feel that it had that mass-market appeal. They wanted something that could make Oprah's book list." As a result, Nurenberg invested money and self-published, which has been a "blessing" in disguise, allowing him the freedom to edit and market the book on his own terms. "I've already written the second book, but I'm holding off on publishing until I see how the first book does," said Nurenberg, adding that he hopes to spread the word through Internet buzz. While Nurenberg's passions are writing and comics, he also loves his students and teaching. The author has learned a lot from the teaching profession and his fellow faculty members, and "hopes to be training the next generation of world-savers each time the bell rings." More information about Nurenberg and "The Fragile Light" is available at his website, www.fragilelight.com.

The Setonian
News

Need-blind admissions: Setting the record straight

March 6

Recent coverage in the Tufts Daily ("University's admissions policy leads to under-representation of Asian-Americans," March 3) seriously misrepresented Tufts' admissions policies and the impact of the University's "need- sensitive" admission practices on our diversity efforts. We write to correct the public record. Everyone in the Tufts community would agree on the importance of achieving a "need-blind" admissions policy - the ability to evaluate applicants without any consideration as to their ability to shoulder the cost of a Tufts education. Achieving that goal requires substantial funding - resources that cannot be raised overnight or even in the course of a year or two. We are hard at work on that goal. In fact, at last Wednesday's faculty meeting in Arts, Science & Engineering we announced an anonymous gift to the University of $10 million, $4 million of which will provide endowment resources for undergraduate financial aid. This is an important and exciting gift, and more like it will follow in the months and years ahead. In the meantime, Tufts maintains a "need-sensitive" admission policy, as has been the case for many years. It is our clear goal to enroll the very best students we can, and our recent admission outcomes and selectivity reflect our success. Applications for the Class of 2009 are at an all-time high of 15,540, a 5.5 percent increase over last year's record pool and the University's fifth record pool in the last six years. Of equal note, Tufts meets 100 percent of the demonstrated need of each student offered admission to the University. That is a critical and essential element of our admissions and financial aid practices as well as our clear commitment to access for students from all economic backgrounds. The facts of our financial aid budget support this objective. Tufts provided nearly $33 million for undergraduate financial aid during the current fiscal year, a five percent increase over the previous year. Nearly $8 million was awarded to our first-year class. There is no "funding crisis" in financial aid, and this level of funding does not represent "a new low," as was reported in the March 3 article; it is consistent with previous levels. Nor was $10 million "the usual" level of funding. The $10 million mentioned in this week's faculty meeting reflects the approximate amount of grant aid required for the Class of '08 if Tufts had been need-blind this year. That figure was introduced at the faculty meeting as a way of documenting the fundraising challenge before us. The March 3 article cites our Admission Office's "inability to make the leap from need-sensitive to need-blind admissions." Such a "leap" was never planned or feasible at this moment. Of special concern to us is the assertion that our need-sensitive admission practices discriminated against specific groups of students. The article incorrectly alleged that Asian-Americans "bore the brunt" of last year's need-sensitive decision-making. This is simply untrue. Contrary to what was reported, 59 percent of the aid "pullbacks" (potential acceptances whose financial need was deemed "too high" during the budget balancing exercise) were, in fact, Caucasian applicants. Asian-Americans represented 24 percent of last year's need-sensitive admission decisions and the remaining 17 percent were African-American or Hispanic. Since Caucasian applicants represent the largest applicant group, they represent the clear majority of need sensitive cases. Asian-Americans are the second largest racial group in Tufts' applicant pool and sustained the second-highest level of pullbacks. These difficult decisions are made each year and do not reflect a lack of sensitivity to or support for socio-economically disadvantaged Caucasian and Asian-American candidates. Clearly, many first-year students from these racial and ethnic backgrounds enrolled at Tufts this year with significant support in financial aid. Unfortunately, our aid resources did not allow us to enroll as many of them as we would have liked. The presentation at the recent faculty meeting illustrated that fact to document the opportunity cost of need sensitive admissions and the opportunity we will have when need blind practices are implemented. In addition, the article incorrectly reported that Asian-Americans demonstrated "significantly more financial need than the neediest of other minorities." That is also a false assertion. As we worked to balance financial aid expenditures for the freshman class, all students with significant financial need, regardless of race, were reevaluated. Those students removed from the class under our need sensitive admission practices had comparable levels of need, usually at the high end of the aid spectrum. No one group can fairly be classified as "needier." It is correct that Asian-American enrollment in the freshman class declined last year - from 178 in the Class of 2007 to 121 in the Class of '08. This was an unexpected downward shift, and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions has taken appropriate steps to address it as we recruit and enroll our next class. The decline represents enrollment decisions by an unusually high-powered accepted student group and a drop in Asian-American yield (the number of students who accept our offer of admission) from 28 to 22 percent. A secondary cause was, as reported, the removal of the 46 "high-need" Asian-Americans from last year's accepted student cohort. To suggest that need-sensitive admissions policies alone created this situation overstates the impact of need-sensitive decision-making and ignores the aforementioned enrollment decisions. Assuming a yield of 40 percent (aid recipients have a higher yield than non-aid recipients) on the 46 pullbacks, the class would have included an additional 18 Asian-American students. Clearly, this would have been a welcome outcome but these 18 students do not represent the full extent of our decline in Asian-American enrollment. Given the unexpectedly low yield rate, the number of Asian-Americans in the incoming freshman class would have declined even if we had not removed any Asian-Americans due to financial constraints. It is also important to note that the University does not use, nor can we legally use, a quota system for accepting and enrolling students by race. In the 2003 case regarding admission practices at the University of Michigan, the Supreme Court explicitly prohibited such a practice. Accordingly, the exact number of freshmen of color at Tufts, in each racial category, will shift from year to year. The admissions staff works to maintain a comparable enrollment from class to class but that outcome is never a guarantee. Admission officers are committed to the ideals of an academically talented and socio-economically diverse class of students of all races. Our recruitment and selection practices advance that goal. It went unreported that Tufts received a record number of applications to the Class of 2009 from students of color - including a five percent increase in Asian-American applications. This pool is deep and accomplished. Early Decision (ED) outcomes for next year's class are also promising: 18 percent of the class is made up of students of color. This figure is up from 14 percent of last year's ED class and 12 percent two years ago. Specifically, Asian-Americans represent 11 percent of the ED class as opposed to eight percent last year and six percent for the Class of '07. The admissions staff is vigorously addressing the University's diversity goals and these outcomes reflect that commitment. Clearly, Tufts' commitment to access and equity is a key tenet of our institutional values as well as our admissions practices. A need-blind admission policy will enhance those values and practices, and we are committed to accomplishing this important objective.Lee Coffin is the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Lawrence Bacow is the President of the University. Susan Ernst, Dean of Arts and Sciences, and Linda Abriola, Dean of Engineering, also endorse this Viewpoint.

The Setonian
News

Campus Comment | How much is your 'fun' really worth?

March 3

Paying for college is no fun. Paying for fun is no fun, either. But when students have to decide between saving money for college and having a great night, most are willing to pay something to be entertained. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, college students have a spending power of nearly $200 billion this year. Nearly every college student will say that college means keeping to a tight budget, but few students will sacrifice a good time. Exactly how much are students willing to pay for entertainment? On-campus activities usually range from $3 to $5, and many are free. Tufts Programming Board is an umbrella on-campus activity planning group. According to senior Nicole Masone, Co-Chair of the Programming Board, profit is not the goal of charging for events. "All of the Programming Board groups try to keep ticket prices as low as possible and only charge for events when that money is necessary to break even," Masone said. "The Programming Board groups are not making a profit with ticket sales." Students who attend these events largely find them cost-appropriate, and they are willing to pay. "I go to a lot of performances, and they are cheap enough but definitely shouldn't be more expensive," junior Erin Poth said. "Nothing on campus should be more than $6 or $7." While student-run activities at Tufts are prevalent, some students do not know about them. "I'm not aware of much actually going on at Tufts," freshman Dania El Hassan said. Money is not easy to come by at college, said some students. "I really have no income," sophomore Jamie Ratner said, adding that the lack of a cash flow hinders her choices of where to spend money. Being on a college budget is a common theme among students, and this influences their decisions to spend their money at all. "I'm on a college budget, so I don't really go out much," senior Vanessa Gallegos said. Several students agreed that $30 or $40 covers the typical weekend out. "It depends on whether I take the T or a taxi, too," freshman Juan Lois said. Every student said that how much they'd be willing to spend to be entertained "depends." "It totally depends on the quality of what I'm paying for - I'd pay $100 for a U2 concert, but I wouldn't pay more than $10 for a movie," El Hassan said.

The Setonian
News

Men's Track and Field | One more opportunity for men to qualify for Nationals

March 3

This weekend, the pressure is on for the men's track and field team. The NCAA Championships, to be held at Illinois Wesleyan on March 11-12, are quickly approaching. This Saturday will be the last chance for any Jumbos to qualify for Nationals or to improve qualifying times at the aptly-named Last Chance Invitational, hosted by Trinity College at Yale University. A handful of Jumbos have already managed to put themselves on the list for Nationals. All-American sophomore Fred Jones, who holds the New England Div. III record for long jump and triple jump this season (7.02 meters and 14.61, respectively), has already provisionally qualified for the triple jump and the long jump events. At the New England Div. III meet two weeks ago, hosted at Tufts, Jones broke Bob Jones' 55-year old school record in the long jump (23 feet, 7.5 inches) with a mark of 23-10. Jones also holds the Tufts indoor school record in the triple jump (48'0 1/2"). Senior Nate Brigham and junior Matt Lacey are provisionally qualified in the 5,000 meters (14:36.59 and 14:43.43, respectively). Brigham currently sits in first for Div. III New England. Brigham's qualifying time is good enough to earn him a spot at nationals, but Lacey's mark puts him at 14th on the list, and generally only the top 11 or 12 runners are taken. Lacey will attempt to improve his mark this weekend to bump him up on the list. Junior Patrick Mahoney's performance in the 800 last weekend at All-New England's, a personal best and the second fastest time in Tufts history (1:54.49), put his name on the provisional qualifying list for Nationals as well. However as of now Mahoney's time is not fast enough to put him on the roster for the event, so he will run this weekend and attempt to improve his time. Mahoney is also provisionally qualified for the distance medley relay (DMR) event, along with teammates senior Aaron Kaye and juniors Trevor Williams and Matt Fortin. The four-man team broke the Tufts indoor school record in a time of 10:01.33 and came within .33 seconds of qualifying for nationals at the recent St. Valentine's Invitational at Boston University. This weekend, a few more Jumbos will attempt to earn a ticket to join their teammates headed to Illinois in a week. The Last Chance Invitational is a non-scoring meet, so the Jumbos' focus will be only on improving times and marks. Anyone who has run ECAC standard qualifying times is eligible to run at the meet. "[The Last Chance Invitational]'s entire intention is to provide last-chance qualifying races to individuals who are very close to making NCAA qualifying marks," coach Connie Putnam said. "We hope we'll get good fields in every event, and the kids will get a chance to run fast. If the right people show up and want to run fast, it works very nicely." Sophomore Jamil Ludd and senior Nate Thompson will compete in the 55 meter hurdles. Junior Trevor Williams will compete in the 400 sprint, along with freshman Nate Scott. Sophomore Ciaran O'Donovan will join Mahoney in the 800. Kaye and Fortin will both compete in the mile event. Fortin has previously come within a half second of qualifying in this event earlier in the season. Senior Michael Don will join Lacey in the 5K. Freshman Jeremy Arak will compete in the high jump and Thompson will compete in the long jump. Freshman Dan Marcy will jump in the triple jump event. Juniors Seth LaPierre and William Heitmann, along with sophomore Justin Henneman, will compete in the pole vault. Because it is the end of the season, and the athletes having been training hard, Putnam believes his team is in good shape to perform well this weekend. "Generally speaking, track and field is a progressive project," Putnam said. "The athletes become faster and faster as the season gets later and later, and of course that is the intent. We worked from general conditioning to race-specific conditioning. So they are very fast right now, and they are very ready." It's now-or-never for the Jumbos who have yet to qualify, but at this point in their season, they're in good shape and should make a strong bout at the Last Chance Invitational this weekend.

The Setonian
News

TASA cultural show brings AWAAZ to Cohen

March 3

A week ago, Tufts students were globetrotting at Cohen Auditorium through the songs and dances of the I-Club's Parade of Nations. Tonight and tomorrow night at Cohen, the destination is more specific: South Asia, and the Tufts Association of South Asians are taking you there. However limited your Hindi or Urdu is, you'll still enjoy the beauty and vibrancy of this South Asian cultural extravaganza. This year's TASA culture show is called AWAAZ, which translates to 'voices' or 'noises' in the Hindi and Urdu languages. "We chose this theme to encompass the many artistic styles of students here at Tufts - with a South Asian twist," says co-director Apurvi Mehta, one of five sophomore directors of the culture show this year in cooperation with Tanmay Gosalia, Ronak Parikh, Shikha Gupta and Meghna Shah. "What makes our culture show more unique than past years' shows is that we've tried to integrate many different dance styles, such as traditional bhangra, hip-hop, and a traditional wedding qawaali in addition to the Bhangra, Garba and 'girly' dances that the audience may have previously seen. We've also added a different artistic flavor by incorporating poetry readings from SALAAM, the South Asian Literary and Art Magazine, as well as singing, instead of only dancing," said co-director Gupta. The clothing is a reason in itself to see the culture show. Models of the fashion show display both soft and bright colored saris and other traditional Indian garb. The attire is stunning throughout and particularly so in the dance performances. To make the fashion show even more interesting, students have incorporated a dramatic component, with two models engaging in a love quarrel on stage. One of the many highlights of AWAAZ is the performance of the Tufts' Bhangra and Garba teams. Bhangra and Garba are both traditional Indian dances originating from different regions of the subcontinent. The Bhangra team uses sharp movements and has a magnetic energy as they perform in their bright red costumes, while the Garba team demonstrates the same energy with slower and more graceful dance steps in chartreuse and green colors. Paven Aujla, senior and former co-director of the TASA culture show, is performing in the senior dance as well as reading a poem from SALAAM, for which she co-edits. Aujla said her co-directing experience was "rewarding" and said of her involvement in the show: "...it allows me to connect and interact with my culture in a very hands-on way. It's also a lot of fun, and being a participant is a great way to meet new people." Being a TASA cultural show participant is by no means reserved for students of South Asian decent. Rachel Young, a senior and Jamaican by heritage is performing in the senior dance of AWAAZ. Young was encouraged by one of her friends to do the dance and agreed because of the good impression previous culture shows have made on her. "I feel completely welcomed as a non-Asian. There are many non-Asians in the show, and from day one everyone feels welcome regardless of race/ethnicity," Young said. On top of entertainment this year, the cultural experience will include food. Samosas will be sold during the show's intermission, and the money made from food sales and show tickets will be donated to the American Red Cross to help with the tsunami relief fund. "Since many members of the Tufts Community have been involved in relief efforts for the Southeast Asia tsunami disaster, we felt that we should do our part as well," co-director Shah said. With a wide range of content, including song, dance, poetry, and fashion, there is sure to be something for everyone at this year's culture show.

The Setonian
News

Ph.D. stipends to rise but effects still uncertain

March 3

Tufts' Ph.D. students will be receiving increased stipends via a $1 million initiative from the Office of the University's Provost, which the administration hopes will increase Tufts' competitiveness and make significant improvements to the quality of student life.

The Setonian
News

TUTV discovers the 'Hater' within

March 3

"Haters" stay alert! Your "haterism" has finally been unmasked and now there's no more hiding all that 'hateration.' Tufts juniors Linda Olatunde, Jeanna Morris and Carolyn Davis have made it their mission to track down "hater" deviants and expose them on the new comedic TUTV show, "Haters," the latest addition to the programming lineup for the station's spring 2005 season. Anticipation for this humorous mockumentary has been in the midst since last semester, when the "Haters" group first started filming around campus. The buzz for "Haters" has grown since its first airing on Feb. 20, and viewers around campus are anxiously awaiting the show's next episode. "Haters" was born one weekend during the three creators' sophomore year, when Olatunde, Morris and Davis were sitting around Linda's dorm room lamenting about how college life had become jaded and how certain situations and people were getting on their last nerves. But in their usual good-natured and fun-loving demeanors, the young women decided that all this complaining they were doing was just straight-up "hating," and they began to laugh about the notion of being a 'hater.' Linda Olatunde, who has a passion for cinematography and plans to pursue filmmaking as a career, thought that this idea of 'haterism' would be a great subject to explore in a spoof documentary show. Bringing the idea to Davis and Morris, Olatunde proposed that they make a show for TUTV that examined the "haterist" aspects of typical college life. Carolyn Davis defines the slang term "haterism" or "hateration" as being, "When you know something is good and you know it's better than you, but you don't want to admit it." The term "hater," thought to have been coined in the mid 1990s, has been used to describe those who display unfounded negative commentary or envious behavior towards another person because of either jealousy or frustrated intent. Often times, people will say that if someone is bashing or insulting them without good reason, that person is just 'hating.' Calling for the help of other Tufts students to complete this project, the three girls enlisted many of their friends to assist with production. Sophomore Scheivon Jarrett, who can be seen doing the man-on the-street interviews, and junior Kim Cosby, who helped on shoots, both lent a hand to make Olatunde's creation come alive. Olatunde remarks that, without the help and support from her fellow Tufts classmates, this show would not have been possible, especially since many of the skits include students giving their thoughts about the common "haterisms" that they've observed. The first episode aired every night during the last week of February and still has showings at around 11 p.m. on TUTV. Lasting for about 20 minutes, "Haters: Part 1" focuses on explaining exactly what a 'hater' is and displays some 'haterist' actions that occur in everyday life. The show comically spins the viewer into the "Haters" world of quirky injustices, like when an honest person is followed by suspicious employees in Jumbo Express while, in reality, another person who isn't being watched is blatantly thieving all over the store. The show also pokes fun at how there is always the stereotypical angry black person on reality television. As the three main characters featured in the show, Olatunde, Morris, and Davis become somewhat like the "hater" detectors, going around reenacting 'hater' situations and unveiling people's true, deep-down "hater" attitudes. Though the first episode was short in duration, the ideas and scenes in this show are fresh and innovative. Being one of the few minority-produced and directed shows on TUTV, "Haters" proves to be a unique and hilarious addition to the station's spring programming. With two more episodes scheduled to be shot this semester, "Haters" intends to bring viewers more spoofs and satiric skits that examine the notion of "haterism" on the Tufts campus.

The Setonian
News

Best week ever at Tufts

March 3

Shamelessly ripping off VH1, Features has decided to do our own "Best Week Ever" in honor of all the sordid and stupid goings-on here at Tufts. Don't get offended; just be smarter next time. This week, President Bush met with the Red Sox and received a Boston jersey from pitcher Curt Schilling. Thanks, Mr. President - we didn't have enough bandwagon fans here already. (P.S. Nice try. No one in Massachusetts would ever vote for you.) Uh-oh. Gotta be careful with jokes like that above one. Good thing we're not professors, or we might be reported for having ideological bias under the new Tufts Academic Freedom Project (TAFP) resolution. Hooray for self-censorship! In Monday's Daily, sophomore Marc Sittenreich wrote a Viewpoint proposing a "Sober Social Group" on yahoo.com, asking the non-drinking Tufts community to be more "vocal" in order to make "weekends on campus livelier." We just don't understand. Isn't "lively" a synonym for "drunk"? Tufts Research Professor Dr. Paul Kirshen, a climate change expert, told the Daily that as climate change progresses, water level increases will place an insupportable strain on Boston's drainage systems. Never fear, though: he added that he thinks "people will adapt to changes in climate." Phew - if the dinosaurs can do it, so can we! Oh, wait. Senior Sarah Kimball, who was profiled in Wednesday's Daily, said that "teaching is a profession that is not really respected ... and it deserves the most respect." Funny, that's what we always say about stripping. In yesterday's Daily, a review of the documentary "Inside Deep Throat" said that "attitudes towards sex in this country, according to both 'Kinsey' and 'Inside,' seem to suffer from a certain 'pendulum effect.'" Pendulum effect? Ohhh, so that's what you call it when it swings back and forth. Good to know. - Alex Dretler and Rebecca Dince

The Setonian
News

Woman's Squash Wrap Up | Jumbos improve from last year, finish with No. 16 rank

March 3

Despite key injuries, tough competition and rigorous recruiting standards, the Tufts woman's squash team finished as the No. 16 team in the nation. The mark represents an improvement from a year ago, when the Jumbos came in at the No. 21 slot. The Jumbos' season got off to a fast start as the team won seven of their first ten matches and seemed to be cruising. The Jumbos ran out of steam towards the end of the season, however, losing their final five matches and seven of their last eight. Coach Doug Eng, however, does not want people to view the team's season in such a simplistic manner. "This notion about a fast start is ridiculous. You could artificially have a fast start or fast finish depending on how you set the schedule." Eng went on to pose a question to sportswriters and fans. "Boston College basketball started with a great record and now has lost three games," he said. "Does that mean they should be viewed as having just a fast start? Simply put, they just ran into tougher competition." Tufts indeed faced tougher competition as the season progressed. Its February schedule included Bates and Brown, both top-ten teams. The Jumbos were unable to overcome the talent differential in each match and lost both 9-0. The Jumbos' competition among nationally-ranked teams ranged from seventh-ranked Brown to the 25th-seeded Wellesley squad, and the Jumbos' record reflected the level of competition they played. The team only captured one victory against a higher-ranked team. The team earned the opportunity to play in Div. II of the Howe Cup tournament, which consisted of the No. 8 through No. 16 teams in the country. The Jumbos were the eighth seed and missed one final opportunity to improve their ranking as they lost all three matches in the tournament. Eng was not overly excited about this outcome, but he recognized the improvement from a year ago. "[It's] not a huge [improvement]," he said. "But it's something the players can be happy about." For four Jumbos, this season marks the end of their Tufts squash career. Senior co-captains Nicole Arens and Eliza Drachman-Jones both began their careers as freshman and each has been instrumental to their team's success. "When you think about Nicole and Eliza, what comes to mind is their outstanding dedication, Eng said. "They have believed in this program from day one. Both come from tremendous squash families." Rounding out the Class of 2005, Rhonda Barkan and Nida Ghouse also played their last squash match as a Jumbo in the Howe Cup tournament. Ghouse has been a member of the woman's squash team for three years, while Barkan departs after two seasons with the Jumbos. "We are proud of what we accomplished and this year was especially unique because this was the only year in my Tufts career we made the B division," Barkan said. Although the No. 16 ranking was not as high as Eng would have liked, he was far from disappointed with his team's play, and was extremely happy with certain aspects of the Jumbos' game. "I thought the players really took my advice to heart. As a coach there are always more ways to improve your techniques, he said. "But lets be realistic, it is a short season and you have to focus on a few things and I feel like we did that successfully." Working against the Jumbos all season was an assortment of injuries. Sophomore Erica Adler missed most of the season with health-related issues and Ghouse missed several weeks with back problems. These injuries, along with study-abroad absences, made for some uncertainty in the lineup. "We are always wondering who was going to play," Eng said. "It created a sense of apprehension on the team, but we became hard-headed about it and just found a way to keep going." Looking ahead to next season, it is anybody's guess as to who will replace the departing seniors. As the Class of 2009 has yet to be notified, much less enrolled, the success of next year's recruiting class is still unknown. If next year's freshman class is able to fill the spots of the departing seniors, the women's squash team may be able to build on this year's improvement in the rankings with another bump in 2006. But each new season means the departure of another group, and seniors like Barkan have had to come to grips with that the past couple of weeks. "I will miss my teammates," she said. "We became extremely close during the course of the season and over our careers."

The Setonian
News

Inside Women's College Basketball | No. 1 hopefuls have one more try

March 3

There are some new top dogs in women's basketball. As top-25 teams wrapped up their regular-season schedules this week, conferences all around the country have seen the torch passed and some new champions crowned. In the Southeastern Conference, the Louisiana State Tigers capped their near-perfect season with a 76-52 win over Florida on Sunday, bringing a regular-season banner to Baton Rouge and ending the seven-year stranglehold of the Tennessee Lady Vols. In the Big East, Rutgers stole top honors from UConn as its victory over Villanova earned it the regular-season title and the top seed in the conference tournament, loosening the Huskies' six-year lock. UNC's defeat of Duke on Sunday, the Tar Heels nabbed the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament and the two teams will share the regular-season title after four straight for the Blue Devils. And with only two weeks to go until Selection Sunday and the season all but finished, schools across the country will be holding their breath as the NCAA skims and sorts and selects the nation's 64 best. The field remains wide open, especially in the second and third seeds, with only a hair's breadth separating some of Div. I's best, and the flurry of conference tournaments in the coming week will be the last chance for teams to impress the committee. The only team that seems a lock for a No. 1 bid is LSU, who has had just about as good a season as any team can ask for. Pokey Chatman just wrapped up her first season as head coach with an untouched 14-0 mark in arguably the most competitive league in college basketball. The Tigers have knocked off six top-20 teams en route to a formidable and well-deserved 27-1 record. With SEC Player of the Year Seimone Augustus, SEC Coach of the Year, and two First Team All-Conference selections, LSU will be hard to beat. Augustus and point guard Temeka Johnson, the SEC assists leader, have all the ingredients needed to take the Tigers all the way. Looking past the Tigers, other hopefuls for the top seeds include Stanford, Ohio State, Michigan State, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Duke (although a win over the Tar Heels probably would have sealed the deal for the Blue Devils). All these teams boast postseason honors, standout playmakers, and impressive records, so what will make the difference when the selection committee goes to work is schedule strength and performance against top RPI (ratings percentage index) teams. At 26-2, the Cardinal look to be a strong candidate, although their strength of schedule and mediocre 2-1 record against top-25 teams and their No. 8 RPI ranking may be enough to push them out of the coveted slot. And even with one more loss than the rest of the top ten, Tennessee has dropped only one game (at the hands of LSU) since December and the number of quality wins the Lady Vols have racked up may just propel them into a top seed in the Chattanooga bracket. Looking a bit further down at the 5-12 range opens the options considerably more. While by the numbers, Rutgers' five losses on the season and No. 9 ranking puts the Scarlet Knights speculatively at a three-seed, they are definitely not out of striking distance of the top eight. They are still the only team to get the better of LSU - no easy task - and their Tuesday night win over UConn may be just enough to earn them a No. 2 bid. The Big East tournament, always a top choice for intense, exciting, and high-energy basketball, will be Rutgers' final chance to squeak out a second seed. While on the men's side, Michigan State has fallen far (as has the Big Ten, for that matter) in recent years, the women's program is another story. Though ranked nationally at No. 7, the Lady Spartans could be a dark horse for a No. 1 bid. Wins on the road at then-No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 11 UConn, No. 13 Minnesota, and a season sweep of top-ranked conference rival Ohio State will make schedule strength the deciding factor when the selection committee goes to work. With scoring distributed well in the starting rotation (four players averaging in double figures and two more close behind), the Lady Spartans run a diverse and hard-to-stop offense, seen in their 71.9 points per game, just short of Ohio State and good for second in the Big Ten. Look for all the regulars to fall somewhere in the middle of the pack, although specific seeds depends greatly on conference tournaments outcomes. Wins would be enough to propel Duke and Tennessee to a No. 1 bid, and the Big Ten tournament will break the regular-season tie between MSU and Ohio State, and will probably determine the top slot in the Philadelphia bracket. Probably even a loss in the SEC tournament won't bump LSU from the seed it deserves, and the Tigers can use the extra practice time for just that.

The Setonian
News

Hockey | Icemen make great strides from last season

March 3

Improvement was the main goal for the Jumbos this season. This goal was achieved on both ends of the ice for the Jumbos for the 20004-2005 season. Tufts earned its third consecutive bid this season to the NESCAC Championships where the top-seeded team, Trinity College, defeated them. After finishing last season 8-15-1, (4-13-1 NESCAC) Tufts finished 12-12-1, (8-10-1 NESCAC). The 12 wins are the most by the team since 2000-2001, when the Jumbos won 17 in its final season as members of the ECAC Northeast Division. This season Tufts had wins over NESCAC teams Amherst, Hamilton and Colby to name a few as well as a tied game at the buzzer with Bowdoin. Last season the Jumbos suffered losses to all four of these teams. Junior Matt McCarthy led Tufts this year with a total of 29 points (19 goals and 10 assists). McCarthy's 19 goals are the third most in the conference and an example for freshman standout Greg O'Connell. O'Connell had 28 points during the season, second most on the team, with 10 goals and 18 assists. During division games, O'Connell stepped up and led the team with 19 points against NESCAC teams. Not to forget that a goal usually is scored with help of teammates, junior Jason Boudrow led the team in assists, tallying 20 to go along with his six goals of the season. Boudrow's 20 assists are tied for fifth in the league. Boudrow also netted his 150th point for the Jumbos this season. Senior co-captain John Hurd, junior co-captain Ken Cleary, and freshman Ross Gimbel were also vital contributors to the Jumbo offense this season. In his final season, Hurd accumulated 18 points (11 goals and 7 assists). The leadership of the team was also demonstrated with Cleary's ten goals and nine assists, totaling 19 points. Gimbel was a pleasant surprise to the Jumbos as he compiled 7 goals and 11 assists to equal the 18 points of Hurd. "Over the course of the season we were able to work better as a team, particularly on team defense," Hurd said. "Once this strengthened we were able to gain more confidence and win more games." Tufts has made great strides defensively to equal the accomplishments of the offense. Freshman James Kalec proved himself worthy this season as one player to watch for in his coming years on the ice. All season, Kalec held strong in the net, acquiring the best goals against average (GAA) of any Tufts starting goalie since the 1998-99 season, with an overall GAA of 3.14. This average is complimented with the best save percentage of any Jumbo goalie on record, stopping 91.6% of all shots faced. That mark was second in NESCAC entering the post-season. Kalec also broke a 49-year old Tufts record with 60 saves in the victory over Colby were he had 20 in each period. Junior Matt Ninnemann and freshman Issa Azat also came through for the Jumbos in goal. While in goal Ninnemann won 75% of the games and Azat saved 106 of the 121 shots fired at him this season. "This season we had a lot of depth in our lines, that is we had three very competitive lines that could skate with any team in our league," Hurd said. "We also had a goalie that allowed us to stay in games and win games that we might have let go last year." The 3.83 goals allowed per game is a deceiving stat of the powerful Jumbo defense, and does not do justice to the defensive improvements as the season progressed. Senior Sean Hayes has been a key contributor in Tufts' defensive zone along with juniors Pat Walsh, Jack Thompson, sophomores Peter Corbett, and freshman Joe Cappellano. "It was great to watch the team progress over the four years I played here, Hurd said. "Every year the team has continued to improve and be more and more competitive in the league. There is a lot of young talent on the team now that will allow them to continue to improve in the coming years."

Trending
The Tufts Daily Crossword with an image of a crossword puzzle
The Print Edition
Tufts Daily front page