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tuftsdaily.com
Leaving on a jet plane? Tufts is by
Amelia Quinn
Daily Editorial Board
Want to fly around the world in a private jet exploring Incan ruins, touring the Taj Mahal and Egyptian pyramids and going on safari in Tanzania? With a Tufts connection and just $64,950 in spare change, the Alumni Association’s Tufts Travel-Learn Program will welcome you aboard the trip of a lifetime. The program’s “Around the World by Private Jet” trip, a 23-day long trip with stops in five continents, is just one
the Tufts Travel-Learn Program Usha Sellers said. While the around-the-world trip on a Boeing 747 may not be accessible to most people who graduated in recently, there are other more affordable trips for alumni that are impressive in their own right. “Our trips range from hiking and paddling over a weekend to longer trips in distant locations,” Sellers said. “The target audience for the ‘Private Jet’ [trip] is for those that seek the unusual, are willing to step slightly outside their personal comfort zones to broaden
Oliver Porter/Tufts Daily
Tufts’ Alumni Association offers a $64,950 round-the-world trip by private jet.
of over 25 trips that the Travel-Learn Program offers to Tufts alumni, parents, family and friends of the university. Launched in 2001 by Director of Alumni Relations Tim Brooks, the program’s aim is to continue to emphasize the importance of travel in a global education. “Our mission is aligned with the university’s mission to promote continuing education and life-long learning and providing an opportunity for our alumni and friends to sustain connection with the university,” Director of
their appreciation and understanding of different worlds, have discretionary time and money and would like to fulfill a life-long dream of visiting and learning about a number of unusual locations within a short time and in a more cost effective way, environmentally and monetarily,” she said. The “Mystical India” trip, which is slated to run from Jan. 22 to Feb. 8, 2012, starts at a more affordable $4,895 per person. Highlights of this trip include a meal in the home of a Delhi family, a chance to admire Bengal tigers at the Ranthambore National Park and a safari on camelback to meet
the Meena tribesmen in Kalakho. Like many of the Travel-Learn trips, there will also be visits to UNESCO World Heritage Sites: in this case, the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri. But how are these exotic trips — filled with so many different stops — planned? “Our selection of international and domestic destinations is framed by a number of factors,” said Sellers. “These include range of costs, central themes, locations, durations, safety, distance, reputation of tour operators and documented success of packaged programs.” While Tufts itself does not have an on-site travel agency to deal with the logistical nightmare of planning a trip, good relations with a set group of tour operators help to keep the programs running smoothly. The TravelLearn Program also bases their decisions on whether the tour operators use environmentally responsible practices, such as preserving wilderness areas and recycling brochures. “Clearly the selection of tour operators is of paramount importance,” said Sellers. “Their documented delivery of a high-quality program with sound educational content, expertise, willingness to work with universities and associations with small groups of travelers, as well as solid on-site infrastructure, are crucial elements to selection,” she said. “As far as ‘learning,’ the trips offer guided tours of local sights, and there are usually professors from the different universities that give short lectures based on their fields of expertise,” said David Slapin (LA ’97), who has traveled with Tufts to Amsterdam, Paris, Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands and Machu Picchu, French Polynesia, Tanzania, New Zealand, Australia and the Amazon River. “The trip that originally caught my TRAVEL, page 4
New Tisch Library lab brings robust media technology to user-friendly reality by Jon
Cheng
Daily Editorial Board
Jumbos returned to the Hill this month to find that it had a new face — the university conducted complete renovations on a variety of facilities including several academic buildings and the new, blinding, tennis courts. One of the summer’s biggest projects, however, is slightly more hidden — but it may also be the answer to every Jumbo geek’s dream. Taking a technological leap of faith, the Tisch Library has converted what used to be the “dark-room” gallery — the shady space beside the media center used for viewing films on reserve — to a brightly lit communal space which functions in both its original capacity and also as a media lab. Along with the original compact 21-inch LCD TVs with dual VHS and DVD players and the six new iMac computers, there are now also USB iPod docks for each station, AudioTechnica brand turntable record players and a separate sound-proof room for video and audio recording. According to Tisch Media Center Manager Richard Fleischer, the Digital Design Studio is intended to serve as a classroom aid; a comprehensive faculty survey conducted two years ago highlighted a need for that extra media component. “One of the big deficiencies from [the faculty’s] perspective was the fact that there was no centralized freely
Scott Tingley/Tufts Daily
Students needing a camcorder, microphone or green screen can now head to Tisch. available studio-production space for students to have access,” Fleischer said. “It was inhibiting the faculty from asking students to go out and create videos.” In response, Fleischer said, Tisch administrators decided to proceed with the renovation, devoting twothirds of the space for production and
the rest for continual viewing of video. The studio opened on Sept. 6. Bryan Revis, the library’s digital media technologist, added that the purpose of the lab is centered on curriculum-related media projects — whether they are extracurricular or see DIGITAL, page 4
Alison Williams and Sarah Gottlieb | Generation SEX
How long is long enough?
I
t’s late on Friday night, and this guy in your French class has just convinced you to go back to South with him for some deep one-on-one “conversation.” You two are hooking up and things get pretty heated, and you can’t wait to tell your roommate later about the ridiculously good sex you’re about to have with a guy this attractive and who must last long in bed, right? You’re finally getting it on and feeling great when out of nowhere he finishes and proceeds to check the time. In your drunken haze you wonder how long you’ve been there only to give yourself a “Well, f--k” in horror as you realize the amount of time you’ve been going at it — less than a minute. One of the most frequently discussed sex questions is how long is sex really supposed to last? These conversations take place across campus, from the boasts of ,“We were having sex for what felt like HOURS last night!” to the distressed damsel’s, “I can’t believe he finished in only two minutes, did I really waste my time with him?” Really? We’re sorry your steamy sexual encounter didn’t even last as long as a commercial break. Let us take a second to feel sorry for you while we’re over here not getting any. Anyway, we’re here to dispel a few rumors that cause quite the worry among both college guys and girls. If you’re the type who Googles these sorts of questions, we highly recommend avoiding everything that comes up for “how long does sex last” on Yahoo! Answers, unless, however, you’re looking for such wisdom as “it depends on such thinks like haw much sexy is the girl or woman” or the contemplative, “’bout as long as it takes to make toast.” After doing more research, we’ve concluded that most people have unrealistic expectations and inaccurate understandings of how long sex is actually supposed to last. Many men believe that they aren’t masculine enough if they can’t last in bed for more than a few minutes, while women similarly believe that a guy who lasts for a long period of time is obviously much better in bed. These assumptions can be frustrating, especially for guys who realize that they’ve never had sex for anywhere close to an hour or two while their peers brag about seemingly endless steamy sessions. In reality, according to studies done by sex therapists, sexual intercourse typically lasts three to 13 minutes. These numbers are far below the boasts of many guys, especially college students. Think about this for a minute. Why do people care so much about how long a guy can last in bed? You should be lucky you’re getting some in the first place, and if it’s good sex, it doesn’t matter if it lasts five minutes or two hours. Honestly, you’d be pretty tired at the end of an hour or two. Admit it. For those of you who are still skeptical and wish to make yourself last even longer in bed, you have plenty of options. Most guys our age apparently opt to think about unpleasant or strange images while having sex as a method of turning them off or slowing themselves down. We asked around, and here are some of the tips we gathered: Wooden chairs Cold showers Homework Cutting grass Rosie O’Donnell ... Well, there you have it. We hope we’ve armed you with enough knowledge (and maybe a few tips) to keep in mind this weekend when you’re looking for that next hookup. Guys, don’t feel like you have to measure up to some ridiculous myth, and ladies, don’t expect too much out of guys if it’s not realistic. And whatever you do, don’t mention dorm furniture. Alison Williams and Sarah Gottlieb are both sophomores who have not yet declared their majors. Williams can be reached at Alison. Williams@tufts.edu, and Gottlieb can be reached at Sarah.Gottlieb@tufts.edu.