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Recent LGBT deaths spark Tufts dialogue about bullying, harassment BY
TUFTSDAILY.COM
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2010
VOLUME LX, NUMBER 20
CORINNE SEGAL
Swamped TDC turns away hopeful dancers BY
MAHPARI SOTOUDEH
Daily Editorial Board
Contributing Writer
Students and administrators at Tufts have responded to a series of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)-related teen suicides across the country, attending vigils and discussions about antiLGBT bullying. A contingent of Tufts students on Tuesday evening joined a sizable crowd of Boston-area residents in solidarity in front of the Massachusetts State House, lighting candles in remembrance of gay individuals who recently committed suicide. The vigil, organized by LGBT rights group Join the Impact Massachusetts, is a response to a number of LGBT teen suicides that have taken place in the past month. LGBT Center Director Tom Bourdon said the suicides’ impact has been felt at Tufts. “I’ve heard from a large number of students as well as faculty and staff who really feel a lot of hurt and sadness about the recent events,” Bourdon said. The LGBT Center hosted two community conversations on Tuesday and Wednesday to address the issue. Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi’s death has received media attention nationwide. Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge in New York on Sept. 22 after his roommate Dharun Ravi and classmate Molly Wei allegedly
One of the university’s most popular student groups, Tufts Dance Collective (TDC), has grown even more attractive this year, to the point where it has had to violate its original premise. TDC in mid-September chose approximately 440 students to participate in 19 different dances for its fall performance scheduled for Dec. 4. But faced with ever-higher numbers of applicants, the club had to turn away between 75 and 100 interested students, according to TDC publicity head Rory Clark, a senior. The dance club used to operate under the policy that all interested dancers, regardless of skill level, were welcome to participate. But the group, which last year was forced to reject some prospective members for both its fall and spring semesters, saw even greater demand this year. “The situation is very bittersweet for us all,” TDC co-director Safiya Bobb, a senior, said. “While we love having such a great turnout, it’s simply impossible to accommodate everyone. Our policy is that anyone should be able to take part, whether they’ve been dancing since they could walk or if they’ve never danced before. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees this time.” In order to accommodate the increased number of students, the TDC Board is restruc-
JUSTIN MCCALLUM/TUFTS DAILY
see LGBT, page 2
A vigil at the Massachusetts State House drew a sizable crowd Tuesday.
Where You Read It First Est. 1980
turing its application process and rehearsal protocol. The maximum number of dances in which students can participate has been decreased from three to two, although choreographers are allowed two dances in addition to the one they choreograph, according to Bobb. Due to space constraints and fire code restrictions, TDC has capped each of its dances at 30 participants. Clark said the decision to limit the total number of dances performed at the show was a necessary one. “How many dances we offer is purely a function of the amount of time and space we can negotiate with others,” she said. “But even if we could get a massive amount of space and unlimited time to rehearse, we wouldn’t want to end up with a five-hour show. We’re doing as much as we can to accommodate everyone, but ultimately, there are circumstances that are simply beyond our control.” For the first time, TDC has had to move some of its dance groups’ rehearsals to the Aidekman Arts Center, although the high demand for practice rooms limits available practice time, according to Bobb. While TDC has been experiencing steady growth over the past several years, members of the TDC Board said they see TDC, page 2
Education department takes first step to establish minor BY
KATHRYN SULLIVAN Contributing Writer
Tufts’ Department of Education has put in motion a plan to offer an undergraduate minor in education in response to a surge of undergraduates interested in pursuing a teaching degree. The education department voted unanimously at a department meeting on Monday in favor of offering an undergraduate minor in education. It now awaits the approval of the School of Arts and Sciences, according to Associate Professor and Department of Education Chair Bárbara Brizuela. In the interim, the student group Tufts Education Society (TES) formed this year to address the growing education interest among students and ensure that there is an undergraduate voice for education. If the measure is approved, the department hopes to allow students to pursue the minor as early as this spring, according to Brizuela. “It’s now out of our hands,” Brizuela said. “I think it’s possible that sophomores and juniors could still be eligible for the minor, given the timing and when the courses are offered. That’s my hope.” The majority of courses offered by education faculty are graduate-level. A noticeable increase in undergraduate participation in these classes over the past several years contributed heavily to the department considering forming the minor, according to Education Lecturer Steven Cohen, who is also the faculty sponsor for TES.
Some education classes that were previously filled entirely with graduate students are now attracting a large undergraduate population, he said. “Now we have enough undergraduates to have complete undergraduate sections of those classes,” Cohen said. Composed of six graduate programs and 14 faculty members, the department is relatively small, according to Brizuela. The department’s commitment to these programs and its need to advise undergraduates in the minor means that it will not be offering new classes for the minor yet, she said. “We’re working with existing classes; none of them are new,” she said. Still, she said the department may consider adding new courses for the minor in the future. The School of Engineering voted last fall to offer an Engineering Education minor, administered through the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach, according to Brizuela. Although the department was heavily involved in developing this minor, it highlighted the lack of one within the School of Arts and Sciences, she said. “That was a reality check for us,” Brizuela said. “The School of Engineering has an education minor and we don’t.” Brizuela said the education minor for the School of Arts and Sciences will be interdisciplinary. She hopes this will attract students from various majors. “I think it’s great pairing a minor in education and a major in another discipline,”
Inside this issue
COURTESY TUFTS UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY
Lecturer of Education Steven Cohen, left, is the faculty sponsor for Tufts Education Society, a new group for undergraduates interested in education. Brizuela said. “What we’re hoping is that we can capture students who are thinking about going into education in the future.” Cohen attributed the lack of an education major or minor in the past to the liberal arts nature of the university. “Very few NESCAC schools have education majors,” Cohen said. “Most liberal arts [schools] have seen education as vocational rather than liberal arts.”
A minor, though, would fit into Tufts’ current system, he said. “I think it’s more practical, both taking into account the size of the educational department and the goals of Tufts,” Cohen said. Undergraduate participation in the department’s current courses reflects a high demand for an undergraduate teaching degree. see EDUCATION, page 2
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H1N1 does not seem to have invoked as much fear this year, but the threat persists.
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Thursday, October 7, 2010
NEWS
Rise in TDC’s popularity leaves some applicants out of the groove TDC continued from page 1
were still unprepared for the unprecedented level of interest this year. “This year started with our biggest general interest meeting yet,” Clark said. “We managed to fill all of Cohen Auditorium, which came as a shock to all of us on the board.” Both Clark and Bobb credited word of mouth as the factor driving the increase in applications. “Even before this year, you’d always have a friend or a hallmate in TDC who would encourage you to join or come to the show,” Bobb said. “The fall is usually our slow season because freshmen usually don’t apply until the spring, after they’ve seen our show.” Clark noted that the dance community at Tufts has, as a whole, seen increased interest in recent years. Other campus
groups, including Spirit of Color, and newer clubs like Tufts HipHop Club and Tufts Tamasha, have also experienced a corresponding rise in popularity, she said. Students who were rejected from the dances to which they applied were told to contact TDC immediately if they still felt strongly about joining; those who expressed particular interest and enthusiasm were placed on a waitlist in case of openings. Freshman Eloise Libre, a member of the Tufts Tap Ensemble, was among the many students left disappointed by TDC after being rejected by all three of the dances to which she applied. “I’ve been dancing for 10 years now and I was really looking forward to joining TDC,” she said. “I was pretty disheartened when I learned I couldn’t participate, and I know I represent a majority here.”
LANE FLORSHEIM/TUFTS DAILY
Tufts Dance Collective’s surge in popularity has left it unable to accept all students who apply.
Possible education minor a response to high undergraduate interest EDUCATION continued from page 1
During course registration last spring, Brizuela said that some of the graduate classes filled with undergraduates before the graduate students even had a chance to register. “We had a good measure of the fact that there were undergraduates who were interested,” Brizuela said. The revamping of the American Studies major to include an education cluster also contributed to a growth of undergraduates in education classes, according to Cohen. “That has helped us by getting
more students interested in education because of that major,” Cohen said. Junior Ryan Clapp, co-director of TES, said that after several preliminary meetings held about the creation of the group last year, he realized how much interest existed among undergraduates for education at Tufts. “Most people still don’t know we have a Department of Education because it’s focused on the graduate students,” Clapp said. “We had some focus meetings last year and I was totally overwhelmed by the response.” Sophomore Amy Bean was interested in education and learned of
the department through a graduate course. “I didn’t know there was a Department of Education until last year,” Bean said. “I accidentally took a graduate class. It was awesome.” TES aims to host discussion forums and promote networking for job opportunities, according to Clapp. The group will determine a theme each semester on one issue of education and plans to host a monthly event and one large event per semester that focuses on that theme, according to Clapp. TES held its first event Tuesday with Brooke Haycook, a playwright-activist who works for
nonprofit organization Education Trust and put on a one-woman show called “Catalyst.” The show, based on interviews with school administrators and students, demonstrated how the structures of schools have a major impact on education, Clapp said. “It’s really powerful and it’s a really good vehicle to have follow-up discussions,” Clapp said of the show. Brizuela said she hopes the group will be able to reach a broad audience of undergraduates at Tufts, especially students of other disciplines interested in education. “I’m very excited that the group was formed and I’m hoping that
we can collaborate,” Brizuela said. Clapp said that the group is not focused on pushing to develop an education major at Tufts. Instead, he hopes the club will act as a link between the students and department. Still, the group would not be opposed to the major, he said. “That would come from an ongoing discussion with the faculty,” Clapp said. For now, the focus of the department will remain on the development of the minor. “It just seemed like all the pieces were in place. It seemed like everything is ready to set things in motion,” Brizuela said.
LGBT deaths prompt campus dialogue on bullying and harassment LGBT continued from page 1
streamed his gay sexual encounter online. Other recent cases include 15-year-old Billy Lucas, who killed himself on Sept. 9, and 13-year-old Seth Walsh, who hung himself on Sept. 19. Both had been suffering from harassment in their respective schools. Thirteen-year-old Asher Brown killed himself on Sept. 23, soon after coming out. Six days later, openly gay Johnson & Wales University student Raymond Chase hung himself in his dorm room. In an e-mail sent out by the grant team at Tufts Community Cares and the Department of Health and Wellness, University President Lawrence Bacow addressed Clementi’s death. “Tyler Clementi’s suicide is an unspeakable tragedy and a senseless loss,” Bacow was quoted as saying in the e-mail. “No one should have to put up with such treatment. It is important to me that LGBT students at Tufts feel safe and respected as members of our community.” Bourdon forwarded the e-mail that included Bacow’s message to the Tufts LGBT community on Sept. 30. But many students who attended a weekly Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) meeting on Monday had hoped for a greater response from the administration,” according to QSA Co-president Martine Kaplan, a sophomore. “There was a lot of feeling that the administration should have responded beyond the queer community, Kaplan said. “We know what’s going on, but maybe everyone else doesn’t, and they should.” Many college students are in the process of exploring their sexual identities and may feel alone in this, according to Shane Windmeyer, one of the founders and current executive director of national nonprofit Campus Pride. Campus Pride began in 2001 as an effort to improve LGBT life on college campuses. “Some students are still very much in the closet when they come to college campuses and don’t even call themselves gay because they haven’t come out to themselves,” he told the Daily. “Those, oftentimes, are the students who are the most isolated.” Harassment affects students beyond the LGBT community, Kaplan said. “This isn’t just a gay issue,” she said. “Bullying affects
everyone, and it’s something everyone needs to be aware of.” Bourdon echoed Kaplan’s sentiments, pointing to the broader problem of bullying and intolerance. “I do think the bigger issue is bullying in general, as well as a general lack of respect for other peoples’ privacy and their identities,” Bourdon said. “It’s not a new issue, and its not an issue that’s going to go away when the media stops reporting about it,” Kaplan said. Windmeyer said that social media provide a new outlet for harassment. “Facebook and Twitter are just new hangouts where people are able to harass like they do anywhere else,” he said. Rutgers freshman Stephanie Siano said that the Rutgers campus has been shaken by Clementi’s death. “The media coverage is ridiculous,” Siano told the Daily. “It’s definitely having an impact on everyone. It’s an extremely negative thing for Rutgers.” West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, which Siano attended along with Ravi and Wei, has also been the target of hateful e-mails and phone calls following the incident, according to Siano. “Our district has been taking a huge beating,” she said. “I can’t say I’m from West Windsor anymore.” Siano defended her university, emphasizing that the Rutgers environment was not responsible for the bullying. “This was not a Rutgers-induced occurrence,” she said. “I’m actually shocked it would happen here. We’re one of the most diverse campuses I’ve ever seen.” Since Clementi’s death, a number of Facebook groups have been created, calling for Ravi and Wei’s expulsion and imprisonment. “It’s sad in the sense that what’s happening to them is the exact same thing they did to Tyler,” Siano said. “It’s cyber-bullying.” A recent Campus Pride study revealed that 23 percent of students, faculty and staff who self-identified as LGBT have experienced harassment or discrimination on their campus, according to Windmeyer. Only seven percent of the country’s accredited colleges and universities provide institutional support for LGBT students, Windmeyer said. Thirteen percent
COURTESY KATIE HEGARTY
Members of Tufts’ LGBT community have responded to recent teen deaths around the country. of colleges address sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policy, while less than six percent have protections for transgender students. “In 2010, you’d think that colleges would have basic non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation,” Windmeyer said. Windmeyer believes campuses should train resident assistants to address invasions of privacy and ensure that students feel safe in their environments. “Colleges need to do a better job, during their summer orientation and during their new student orientation, of making sure that they send the signal that diversity is respected,” he said. Bourdon said that Tufts is a positive environment for LGBT students. “Tufts is a great place where there’s tons of visibility for the queer community as well as support,” he said. Speakers at the vigil called for LGBT community members and allies to take social and political action to prevent discriminatory and hateful actions. “If you see some-
thing, say something,” Tufts junior Chris Mason, co-founder of Join the Impact Massachusetts, told the crowd. At the vigil, attendees held signs that read “Love is love” and “It’s not who you love, it’s how you love.” “We need to speak up if we hear something on a state level or a national level,” Mason said at the event. “If you hear a politician speaking violence against our community, if you hear a preacher or a pundit speaking violence against our community, speak up. … It’s not right. We cannot be used this way. Violence leads to death. That’s what we’re realizing here.” National Coming Out Day will be held this year on Oct. 11. Tufts will hold a rally in celebration of National Coming Out Day two days later on Oct. 13. Kaplan advised students who feel isolated to seek help. “Reach out,” she said. “There are multiple communities who are ready to embrace you no matter what you’re going through and people who really want to help you. It can be really hard to take that first step, but it’s worth it.”
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ANNA CHRISTIAN | THE COLLEGE SURVIVAL GUIDE
It’s no Joey Tribbiani
M OLIVER PORTER/TUFTS DAILY
Fewer students could be seen lining up outside of Health Service to get their flu shots this year. While swine flu is no longer the talk of the town, it’s still a threat, health professionals say.
H1N1 panic dwindles, but flu threat does not SARAH KORONES Daily Editorial Board
One year ago at Tufts, single dormitory rooms were filled with quarantined students, bathroom walls were covered with posters warning against the ill effects of skipping a hand wash and a walk through campus wasn’t complete without at least one swine flu mask spotting. This year, the tumult over the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu, seems to have died down considerably, if not completely. Health professionals, however, warn that more relaxed attitudes toward the flu should not dissuade people from getting vaccinated. While the frenzy and paranoia surrounding swine flu have faded, the potential to get the flu — whether H1N1 or a different strand — has not. “We do expect to see H1N1 flu this year,” Dr. Margaret Higham, medical director of Health Service, said. “It’s now going to be considered one of the seasonal flues.” So if the threat of swine flu has not decreased, why has the anxiety surrounding the virus vanished? According to Higham, it’s because people have already lived through the
swine flu experience once before. “The reason it has simmered out is that we have the experience of what it was like last year,” she said. “When a new strain develops, you don’t know what it’s going to be like. You don’t know how serious it’s going to be. You don’t know how many people it’s going to make ill.” Now that a year has gone by, it is possible to see how the H1N1 strain was not worse than the strains that emerged in other years; it was simply more prevalent, Higham said. “We saw that a lot of people got the flu, particularly younger people. Much more were hit with the flu last year than in the regular flu season,” she said. “However, the flu itself, although it was miserable, was no worse than the regular flu. It did seem worse particularly for babies and pregnant women, but for the general population … it wasn’t drastically worse than the regular flu.” Higham explained, however, that the hysteria surrounding swine flu last year was not necessarily unfounded — or an effect of media hype, to which many attributed it. “I don’t think it’s the media’s fault.
I think the media was responding to very real medical fears,” Higham said. “I’m trained in infectious diseases, and I know what the range of new flus has been like over the past couple of centuries, and some have been extremely serious, and others have been very mild, and you just don’t know until the situation unfolds what you’re dealing with. I think that the amount of attention that was paid to it was appropriate. We just didn’t know what to expect.” Other strains of the flu are also detrimental, though, Steven Cohen, assistant professor of public health & community medicine at the Tufts School of Medicine, reminded, pointing out that before H1N1, students suffered considerably from the “regular” seasonal flu. “I would be more concerned with flu in general this year,” he said. Higham agreed, advising students to vaccinate, regardless of what type of strain may appear. “I strongly recommend that students be vaccinated. We did 900 shots last Tuesday in the pouring rain and nobody waited in line for five minutes. We can see FLU, page 4
Varying study locations could improve content retention, psychologists say ALEXA SASANOW
any campuses offer a shuttle to help students to get around, and here at Tufts, we have our beloved Joey. With its myriad of drivers and a sometimes unpredictable route, the Joey is a critical part of Tufts travel. With the stroke of a key and the shoot of a text, you can know where the Joey is at any time. There are a few simple rules that will aid in your successfully riding and taking full advantage of the Joey, so listen closely. 1. Be punctual, if not early: The Joey drivers always seem to be in a rush to get either back to campus or to Davis Square, although these are the two main places the shuttle goes, so I’m not sure where the fire is. The Joey is almost always on time into Davis (save in the event of rush-hour traffic). But don’t push your limits. I have had friends curse and scowl at 5:58 p.m. watching it pull away two minutes early as they emerge from the T, seconds away from perfect commute timing. The Joey drivers rarely make eye contact with you as you enter the bus, so don’t expect them to make sure you got your morning coffee before they depart. They aren’t paid to have sympathy, so be on time. 2. Know the secret stops: Did you ever notice how the Joey unloads everyone from Davis before making the rounds to pick up more people? There’s a whole half of a Joey route that is not advertised and is waiting to be used by lazy students like you and me! Yes, the timing does take consideration, but it is well worth it. Perhaps the best is walking out of Dewick-MacPhie Dining Hall, stuffed from the cereal bar and dessert counter, only to find your white knight ready and waiting to escort you uphill to bed. The amount of time saved is incomparable, really. Take the Joey uphill, run into Carmichael Dining Hall, pour some batter in the waffle maker (and wait the devastatingly long three minutes for it to cook) and garnish it with whipped cream and strawberries before sitting down to enjoy — all while the naive Jumbo is still walking up from Pearson. You have won on so many levels.
Daily Editorial Board
For many students at Tufts, an upcoming paper or exam means holing up in Tisch Library for an all-nighter. But as midterms approach, they may do well to reconsider: Psychologists find that changing study locations every so often can actually help improve information retention. Psychologists have been aware of this discovery since 1978, according to the news source Psychology Today, but educational institutions and students alike have been ignoring the useful advice since its unearthing. The benefits of moving around while studying has to with the brain’s formation of subconscious associations between the subject matter being studied and the specificities of the site. So if you limit yourself to The Rez, your brain might associate your Hebrew vocabulary words with bright red lights, or if you prefer the library basement, you might only be able to spit out historical dates in the presence of deep purple walls. But forcing the brain to associate particular study materials with many different settings may help it to retain that information in general, psychologists say. It is for this reason that senior Lucas Schlager makes sure to study in multiple locations. “[Even] that 10 minute period of time when you’re lying in bed but aren’t ready to get up and don’t want to feel com-
3. Stay calm, especially in the wintertime: In cold weather, the Joey is as crowded as a can of sardines. If you have a short temper, it’s time to find your Zen. It will be difficult when the girl next to you blasting Imogen Heap through her headphones steps on your foot or inadvertently smacks your face with her messenger bag — prepare yourself. There’s always the do-gooder at the door telling everyone, “Just move back, already!” You know there’s no room. You know everyone already heard. You want them to shut up and stop repeating themselves. Stay calm; the ride is short. At least you aren’t the one stuck by the door. TIEN TIEN/TUFTS DAILY
Studying in your favorite library spot all the time could hurt your retention of study material. Above, an individual reads in Tisch Library. pletely useless,” he said. Schlager finds that the use of flashcards makes moving around practical and easy. He uses an iPhone app called Mental Case, which shuffles cards users get wrong back into the virtual deck, to review class material whenever and wherever possible. “During boring conversations, you can just surreptitiously do flashcards,” he said. Psychologists also find that working on related but different skills sets in a single study session may also improve material retention. Sophomore Simone Rabinowitz puts this advice to practice in her own study habits.
“I know people who will only study one subject or just vocabulary in one sitting, but I switch it up a lot,” she said. “I get to the point where attention just for vocab wavers off. I guess I just get easily bored, but I definitely feel like I need to switch it up a lot.” Some students, however, reject psychologists’ advice and find that changing location or subject while studying actually distracts them. Rabinowitz, for one, does not feel that changing her study location increases her see STUDY, page 4
The Joey is a beautiful thing. It is a limitless tool that, when used properly, can truly revolutionize walking life at Tufts. From uphill, the Joey has even been known to grudgingly stop and drop off students at Professors Row on a Saturday night. Sitting in Houston Hall, you can’t imagine walking all the way to BromfieldPearson Hall. A shorter walk from the Mayer Campus Center sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Take a quick Joey ride downhill and forget Davis. It’s the Tufts campus, on demand. Anna Christian is a junior majoring in psychology and community health. She can be reached at Anna.Christian@tufts.edu.
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FEATURES
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Despite lack of media hype this year, H1N1 still packs a punch FLU continued from page 3
get 400 shots per hour — we’ve really got it down to a fine science,” she said. “It’s so much better to have that one shot than to have to worry about missing that week of finals exams because you have the flu,” she said. While the lack of flu panic has provided many students with a disincentive to line up for shots at Health Service, some students, including senior Justin Mitchell, are not taking any risks. Mitchell, a singer and songwriter, has not forgotten that any strain of flu has the
potential to turn students into dormitory prisoners and keep them from schoolwork and other activities. “If I get sick, I can’t sing, perform, workout or do school,” he said. Cohen remarked that it may be too early to tell how far the effects of the H1N1 strand will reach this year, but like Higham, he is sure that it will reappear to some degree. “It may not come back as much as it was last year at this time, but I think it will be something that will still be around, at least as a component of the flu. … Only time will tell unfortunately,” he said.
Varying locations helps studying success STUDY continued from page 3
effectiveness. A self-described “creature of habit,” she prefers to return to the same desk in the quiet area of Tisch Library each time she studies. “You’ve got to select a place that’s not rambunctious and that’s away from your friends,” she said. “The good thing is when I need a break, which is quite often, I isolate myself, but then I get up and find people so I can breathe for a moment. A lot of people call it ‘Club Tisch,’ but I can focus if I get out of the conversation area.” Junior Ryan Rifkin explained that moving around helps him study — to a degree. A certain amount of change is beneficial, he said, but returning to a number of familiar locations helps him focus, so long as he does not limit himself to one of those locations all the time. “I divide most of my studying time between Eaton, my living room” or Diesel Café in Davis Square, he said. “Moving around definitely helps you remember things in different contexts, but [I] also get really antsy in the same space. When I’m in my house, my bed is too comfy for me
to resist. I go out so I can focus, and I move around so I don’t get bored and fidgety.” Timing also plays a factor in retention, psychologists have said. While they admit that cramming can result in shortterm retention, they also point out that information is just as easy to pack in as it is to lose. Rifkin, who has been given this advice in the past, believes in studying over a long period of time, devoting short spurts of time over a week to a given subject. “I usually like to split up studying for tests and quizzes,” he said. “For a quiz, I’ll study for an hour on two different days, and for a midterm, I like to spread it out over three or four days, an hour and a half each day.” “One of the best pieces of advice I received before my freshman year is that school is your nine-to-five job,” he said. “If you’re not in class, think of it as an eight-hour work day. That amount of time you’re not in class, you should work; that helps things not pile up. That idea has helped me focus a lot, and I always have more than enough time to get my work done.”
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Comic enthusiasts emerge from the Batcave and storm the shops of Boston BY
REBECCA GOLDBERG Daily Editorial Board
Now is the time to come out of the phone booth as a comic book nerd. With unique storytelling, multiple genres within the medium and intriguing recreations of iconic characters, comics are gaining cachet in the well-regarded mainstream. Film adaptations of niche comics like Alan Moore’s “Watchmen” (1986-87) and Bryan Lee O’Malley’s “Scott Pilgrim” series (2004-10) have received big promotional pushes. Furthermore, San Diego Comic-Con expands every year and an AMC television series based on the Image comic “The Walking Dead” is getting great buzz as its Halloween debut approaches. There’s no shame in being caught on the T with your nose in a trade paperback these days. Thanks to high-profile adaptations and comic creators crossing over into other media, it’s no longer a secret that comics aren’t just capes and cowls. “The Walking Dead,” for instance, comes from popular writer Robert Kirkman. The black and white art by Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard is equally visceral in its gore and the emotional sucker punch that comes with the zombie apocalypse. Former “Lost” (2004-10) writer Brian K. Vaughan is behind the popular completed comic series “Y: the Last Man” (2002-08) and “Ex Machina” (2004-10), both mature, sprawling stories with sci-fi elements and fascinating political undertones. Sometime-superhero-writer Bill Willingham is behind “Fables,” a series that follows a community of fairy tale characters, exiled from their home worlds and living in modern-day New York City. Local creators Kevin Church and Ming Doyle respectively write and illustrate “The Loneliest Astronauts,” a funny and surreal webcomic about antagonistic astronauts marooned together, which is also collected in a print version. Even the superhero genre is finally shedding its stigma. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s “All-Star Superman,” a 12-issue mini-series released from 2005 to 2008, was lauded by mainstream literary critics as a cerebral reinvention and reinterpretation of the nearly-80-year-old character. Christina Hendricks (“Mad Men”) is set to star in the comic’s upcoming animated adaptation as Lois Lane. And of course, there’s the subset of graphic novels that have achieved academic regard. Canonically, those books have included Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” (1972-1991), which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992, and the aforementioned “Watchmen.” But recently, that group has expanded to include Alison Bechdel’s “Fun Home” (2006), Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” (19891996), Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” (2000) and Chris Ware’s “Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth” (2000). It’s easy to catch up on graphic novels and comic series through collected volumes, but many bookstores like Borders, Barnes & Noble and the Harvard Coop only stock the more widely known of these books. Furthermore, they often aren’t upto-date with the latest volumes. Luckily for Tufts students, Boston has a robust comic book community, boasting native creators, its own comic convention, and an admirable network of independently owned comic shops. The following
KEVIN CHURCH VIA CC
Inside, Davis Square’s Comicazi is an action figure-lover’s dream. stores constitute a warm group of comic lovers — nerds and hipsters and everyone in between — who are dedicated to the latest and greatest in the medium. Comicazi (Davis Square): One of Davis Square’s bestkept secrets, Comicazi is a cozy shop located within walking distance of Tufts. Owner Mike Burke completely reorganized the store over the summer, putting more of a focus on the shelves of bound books and trade paperbacks. New releases are displayed near the back of the small space with the covers out for perusing. The store also boasts a wide collection of action figures and other comic-related toys, both new and vintage, as well as a dollar bin of secondhand issues that often boasts great finds. Comicazi is a great resource for more dedicated monthly readers and anyone who is interested in following a continuing series. Setting up a subscription service at the store — a box in the store is provided for your issues to be set aside each month — entitles you to a 10 percent discount off of anything in the store. Subscribers and other customers can also join a Google group for the store to receive weekly updates about new releases. The store is home to meetings of the Comicazi Book Club (CBC), an open discussion group that has so far covered such seminal comics as DC Comics’ “Swamp Thing” (1971-1998), “Superman for All Seasons” (1998) and “Identity Crisis” (2004). Currently, the CBC meets every other Tuesday. Comicazi has a friendly atmosphere that still invokes the neighborhood comic shop vibe that is quickly vanishing from the industry. It’s a great first stop in the hunt for any comic. Million Year Picnic (Harvard Square): As far as independent, alternative and local comics go, the best nearby resource is Million Year Picnic. Tucked away underneath a beading shop in Harvard Square, this store is the one to go to for art books, vintage collections, magazines and books from non-mainstream
publishers. The focus here is hardly on superheroes — though you can definitely pick up a Superman T-shirt. Rather, Million Year Picnic is all about where the medium is going. The shop has a definite bookstore environment, including a wide variety of trade paperbacks and hard-to-find anthologies and periodicals. In keeping with the alternative feel, the store hosts a number of signings and events with underground creators and artists. It’s a great, intimate environment to meet up with like-minded fans and comic industry pros. New England C o m i c s ( H a r v a r d Square): New England Comics’ (NEC) Harvard location is just one of eight in the greater Boston area. As the area’s largest comics-centric chain, the store receives a fairly complete collection of new releases and graphic novels, especially from the big publishers. They also often have storewide sales on graphic novels, sometimes offering additional savings to students.
Because NEC is a more classic comic book shop, it’s also a great place to browse back-issues. NEC typically has a large collection of reduced-price comics from the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s, which are almost always fun to either read or mock. Comicopia (Kenmore Square): If you’re in Boston proper, you won’t find a better or friendlier comic shop than Comicopia, centrally located on Commonwealth Avenue. According to their website, the store’s motto is “Highbrow, lowbrow ... and everything in between.” In Comicopia’s colorful and comfortable space, you’ll find a wide variety of books, trade paperbacks, new release issues and even T-shirts. The store boasts a comfortable, homey and quiet atmosphere, letting the books’ primary colors speak for themselves. Comicopia strives to be a one-stop shop for nerd festivities. The store is sometimes host to creator signings and events. This summer, they ran a giveaway for tickets to an advanced screening of “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” and they currently have tickets for New York Comic Con on sale. Newbury Comics (Alewife, Harvard Square, Faneuil Hall, Newbury Street): Newbury Comics seems to come out of an alternate universe in which comics don’t have so much of a stigma after all. In fact, the Boston chain is really not as much of a comic b o o k store as it is a resource for CDs, DVDs and other novelties. The three Tufts-convenient locations vary widely in size, but all of them keep their comic shelves near the back of the store. Even though the comics are somewhat ghettoized, Newbury is still a decent spot for new releases, popular collected volumes and comics-related coffee table and art books. It also gives nearly equal attention to mainstream DC or Marvel Comics releases and more independent and local fare. If you need to pick up some music as well as the latest issue of Chad Nevett’s “iZombie,” Newbury is a convenient and more than adequate resource. Far from intimidating or overtly nerdy, these stores are a wonderful way to enter or dive further into the world of comic books and graphic novels. Moreover, they’re great shops to browse, chat, get recommendations or try new things. There’s something in the medium — and in these stores — for everyone.
NEWBURY-ST.COM
The Newbury Street Newbury Comics stands out as a cheerful beacon to comic-lovers.
THE TUFTS DAILY
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Thursday, October 7, 2010
WEEKENDER
TV REVIEW
NBC.COM
Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan star in a captivating and hilarious start to the fifth season of ‘30 Rock’ that features Matt Damon as Fey’s character’s boyfriend.
‘30 Rock’ starts strong, after a disappointing fourth season New relationships and welcome cameos lift fifth season premiere BY VICKY
RATHSMILL
Contributing Writer
The goofiness of the NBC sitcom “30 Rock” can essentially be summed up by a ques-
30 Rock Starring Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski Airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. on NBC
tion posed in its fifth season premiere: “Would you rather be with the person you love forever, but you always have to wear a shirt made out of their pubes, or be alone for the rest of your life but you get to wear whatever you want?” Lightning-fast wit and slightly off-kilter humor have characterized “30 Rock” since its pilot aired in 2006. After a so-so fourth season, the show has picked up again with a strong fifth season premiere. The last season left off with Liz Lemon (Tina Fey), head writer of
the sketch-comedy show “TGS with Tracy Jordan,” meeting a seemingly perfect man, Carol (Matt Damon). Meanwhile, Liz’s boss, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), discovered that Avery (Elizabeth Banks), his ambitious news anchor girlfriend, was pregnant. The season premiere began with the characters’ return to “TGS” after summer vacation. Jack and Avery are back from a blissful month-long holiday on Paul Allen’s yacht. Avery is Jack’s dream woman, with Jack affectionately describing her as
WEEKENDER INTERVIEW | AARON SORKIN, JESSE EISENBERG AND ARMIE HAMMER
Writer and co-stars gather to discuss production process of ‘The Social Network’ BY
ZACH DRUCKER
Daily Editorial Board
This weekend, “The Social Network,” a film about computer magnate Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and his rise to fame as the founder of Facebook, burst into theaters nationwide amid rave reviews and boatloads of revenue. Recently, the Daily got a chance to speak at a roundtable interview with writer Aaron Sorkin and co-stars Eisenberg and Armie Hammer, who plays the Winklevoss twins,
a set of Harvard crew champions who believe Zuckerberg stole their idea. Question: Do you see Mark Zuckerberg as sympathetic or more of a villain? Jesse Eisenberg: I can only view him sympathetically because that’s what I was hired to do. I spent six months, 14 hours a day, in his shoes, constantly trying to find a way to rationalize my character’s behavior because my character’s behav-
ior is in conflict with others’ and, in some cases, is hurtful to others. I developed a great affection for the character. Armie Hammer: There’s not really a villain in this film. There are moments when each character becomes a sort of anti-hero, but there’s not any one person who’s the antagonist throughout the entire movie. Even Mark Zuckerberg — at the end of the movie, see SOCIAL NETWORK, page 7
ROTTENTOMATOES.COM
Armie Hammer, left, plays both Winklevoss twins in his first major film role.
“a young Bo Derek stuffed with a Barry Goldwater.” Avery’s relationship with Jack is compelling and amusing, as both characters are extremely competitive: In the season premiere, a minor dispute over interior decorating leads Jack to employ the Fabian strategy — a ploy thought up by Roman general and politician Fabius Maximus — yet he still finds himself thwarted. Similarly, Liz seems to have discovered her perfect man in Carol, announcing to Jack that she finally has her “dude stuff” in order. Nevertheless, a recur-
ring weakness throughout the run of “30 Rock” has been the predictability of Liz’s love life. Liz’s boyfriends always appear perfect at the beginning but wind up being hopelessly flawed and often crazy. Damon’s Carol is no exception. He proves to be overly sensitive and emotional, sobbing in front of Liz and forcing her to be the “outer spoon” when they are canoodling. It appears that Damon’s time on “30 Rock” will likely be coming to an see 30 ROCK, page 7
What’s Up This Weekend Looking to make your weekend artsy? Check out these events!
6 p.m. in and around Copley Square. Attendance is free.)
The Institute: Taking Risibility to New Heights: The Institute’s season premiere will take place in Sophia Gordon this Friday, featuring new sketches and cast members. The Institute is a Tufts comedy group, performing sketch and improv routines. (Tomorrow at 11 p.m. in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose room. Attendance is free.)
Arabs Gone Wild: A comedy show that celebrates Middle Eastern heritage, taking on everything from politics to pop culture. Written with an Arab audience in mind, but everyone will understand and enjoy. (Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Wilbur Theatre. Tickets $25-32.)
14th Annual Fringe Festival — Paul and Jane Bowles: Two Starts in the Desert: At this year’s Fringe Festival, the Boston University College of the Fine Arts presents a medley of the late Paul and Jane Bowles’ work. The festival kicks off this weekend with “In the Summer House,” Jane Bowles’s 1953 play about mother-daughter relationships. (Today at 7:30 p.m., Tomorrow at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 8 p.m. at Boston University Theatre, Lane-Comley Studio 210. Tickets $7.) Boston Book Festival: This allday event celebrates the literary-minded and their writings. Boston Book Festival features talks with novelists, poets and illustrators as well as food and vendors. Special guests include authors Bill Bryson, Jeff Kinney and Tyler Florence, among others. (Oct. 16 from 10 a.m. to
The 32nd Annual Oktoberfest and Honk! Festival Parade: Starting in Davis Square and ending in Harvard Square, over 30 marching bands will form a must-see parade. At the parade’s destination is the consistently entertaining Oktoberfest, featuring over 50 international food vendors, live entertainment on multiple stages and over 200 stalls of vintage, DIY vendors and artists. (Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Attendance is free.) French Film Connection presents “Un Secret” (2007): A film by Claude Miller in French with English subtitles, “Un Secret” will be screened by the French Film Connection. (Sunday at 6:30 p.m. in Olin 011 & 012. Attendance is free.) —compiled by the Daily Arts Department
THE TUFTS DAILY
Thursday, October 7, 2010
7
WEEKENDER
Integral players in Facebook movie address life on ‘Social Network’ set
TOP TEN | OWLS WHOOO SHOULD PLAY SUPERMAN
SOCIAL NETWORK continued from page 6
your heart almost breaks for the guy. No one’s curling their moustache like, “Mwahaha!” Aaron Sorkin: I can’t write characters that are built out of one-dimensional evil. I have to like the character and be able to empathize and identify with the character. Jesse brings so much humanity to this part and never judges the character. He never asks the audience to like him. Jesse loved Mark every bit as much as I did. Q: How did you go about doing research for “The Social Network?” AS: There’s a great deal of available research. The first scene: He goes back to his dorm room and begins drinking, blogging, hacking, creating. I had Mark’s blog from that night. You’re hearing his blog verbatim. THEAUBERGINEROOM.COM
Having established himself as being familiar with the aerial world in “Legends of the Guardian: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” (2010), director Zach Snyder has evidently proven himself worthy of directing the next Superman film. We decided to simultaneously pay homage to his most recent accomplishment and celebrate his future flick. Here’s a list of highly qualified owls we think Snyder should consider for the role of the Man of Steel.
“Hoot” (2002) 7. Owl City 6. The Wise Potato Chips owl 5. Greek goddess Athena’s owl 4. The Tootsie Pop owl 3. The O RLY owl
JE: I based [my role] on a few things. Aaron’s characterization of Mark was really thorough and rich and nuanced. I supplemented my preparation with every video, every audio clip, every interview, every picture I could find. I found his college application to Harvard. I read that he was a fencer, so I took fencing lessons because I thought he had a unique posture and I wanted to emulate that posture. I tried to understand who the real person was.
10. Nite Owl 2. The Hooters owl 9. Owl from A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh” (1926) 8. Burrowing owls from Carl Hiaasen’s
Q: So, [Armie], what was it like playing two people?
1. Hedwig —compiled by the Daily Arts Department
Fey and Baldwin promise riotous laughs in latest season of “30 Rock” 30 ROCK continued from page 6
untimely end. As Carol leaves, however, Liz tells himb “See you October 14th,” suggesting that Damon will appear in the live episode of “30 Rock” scheduled for that date. The new subplots vary in their levels of success. The best involves the narcissistic and ruthless star of “TGS,” Jenna Maroney, played by the pitchperfect Jane Krakowski. As part of her contract, Jenna gets a producers credit when the show reaches its fifth season. Despite Liz’s concern, Jack describes it as a “vanity credit,” a cheap way to make someone feel important, like “executive producer Ashton Kutcher or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.” A less successful subplot involves the dimwitted star of TGS, Tracy Jordan ( Tracy Morgan), who has a halluci-
nation of the recently fired pageboy, Kenneth ( Jack McBrayer). Tracy discovers that Kenneth is now working for CBS, sorting the audience of the “Late Show with David Letterman” according to level of attractiveness. Despite his brief appearance in this episode, it is highly unlikely that Kenneth, a reliably hilarious character, will stay out of the picture for too long. “30 Rock” has raised concerns of having passed its sell-by date after the show’s lackluster fourth season. Fortunately, the opening storylines of the fifth season have proven that the program is a valuable asset in NBC’s strong Thursday lineup. Baldwin and Fey continue to be a dynamic comedy team, and whatever “30 Rock” may be lacking in a cohesive plot and character development is made up for with a wealth of quotable oneliners in every episode.
AH: Schizophrenic. As an actor, you live to portray roles. And when you get a call like, “They want to hire you for a David Fincher project, and you get to play two roles,” [it’s] like Christmas. Getting to play both of [the Winklevoss twins] was great because there’s that element of duality that’s in all of us.
MYSPACE.COM
Writer Aaron Sorkin is the mastermind behind ‘The Social Network.’ actually would have liked to keep going because, with a great script like Aaron’s, it offers the actor endless possibilities. Q: Did you talk to Mark Zuckerberg about what happened? AS: Scott Rudin and I spent six to eight weeks courting Mark and Facebook, trying to get their cooperation and participation. Ultimately, Mark said no. He knew what story we were going to tell. I was relieved because I didn’t want this movie to appear as if it were a Facebook production. We were able to tap into a guy who’s got his nose pressed up against the window of [college social life], a guy who’s not invited to the cool kids’ table and a guy who refuses to be the cuddly nerd that we made movies about in the ’80s. He happens to be a guy with an IQ of 7,000, who was able to invent a way for people to reinvent themselves.
Q: How was it working with great movie men like [director] David Fincher and [producer] Scott Rudin?
Q: Have you ever had a situation where Facebook was an instigator?
AH: It was the best. It was like going to film school with the two best professors who have to be around you for 12 hours a day, [where] you had a class of awesome people who you got along with, were extremely intelligent and wanted to work as hard as you did. It propels your motivation to bring your “A” game.
AH: A really close person in my life starting dating this girl long distance. They had a great relationship. He went on a family vacation and a picture got taken of my buddy with another girl in his lap laughing. The picture got uploaded on Facebook and his girlfriend in Texas saw it and was like, “What is that picture!?”
JE: They demand such a high level of performance. David Fincher likes to do scenes many, many times. The first scene, we filmed it 99 times. I
JE: I signed up for Facebook during the rehearsal process for this movie, for three weeks, under an alias. And I made no friends!
Week in Review | TV Last week’s big TV news was the axing of the critically acclaimed but ratings-challenged Fox drama, “Lone Star” (2010). The effects of that cancellation were felt this week as two other shows followed suit and another came back on the air early to fill the vacancy. On Friday, ABC canceled “My Generation,” its documentary-style dramedy following a group of high school classmates 10 years after graduation, after less than 4 million viewers tuned in for the second episode. Unlike “Lone Star,” the show was nearly universally panned by critics, but the two series still tied in total number of episodes aired. Sister cable network ABC Family also announced a casualty: “Huge” (2010) will not be returning for a second season. The summer series, focusing on a group of teens at a weight-loss camp, was highly praised but could not find a comparable audience to those of network hits “Pretty Little Liars” and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.”
To fill its empty scheduling hole, Fox premiered the third season of “Lie to Me” earlier than planned. While its Monday night ratings did not break any records, they were certainly a great improvement over the black hole that was “Lone Star” and should guarantee that the series will at least get to air all 13 season three episodes. Overall, the start to the new television season has been fairly standard. Shows are inevitably canceled every year, so this season’s crop of early failures is no real surprise. The unfortunate news is that there are no breakout hits on the major networks this year, meaning the top ratings draws for each network are its returning shows, few of which are seeing audience growth from last year. This year, there is no innovative “Glee” or instant classic “Modern Family” — just a new iteration of “Law & Order” (in Los Angeles) and other generic procedurals. Here’s hoping midseason brings some exciting new blood. —by Ben Phelps
ROTTENTOMATOES.COM
Jesse Eisenberg stars as the socially inept founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg.
THE TUFTS DAILY
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THE TUFTS DAILY
EDITORIAL
Protect offensive speech
BENJAMIN D. GITTLESON Editor-in-Chief
EDITORIAL Managing Editors
Ellen Kan Carter Rogers Matt Repka Executive News Editor Alexandra Bogus News Editors Michael Del Moro Nina Ford Amelie Hecht Corinne Segal Martha Shanahan Brent Yarnell Jenny White Daphne Kolios Assistant News Editors Kathryn Olson Romy Oltuski Executive Features Editor Sarah Korones Features Editors Alison Lisnow Emilia Luna Alexa Sasanow Derek Schlom Jon Cheng Assistant Features Editors Maya Kohli Amelia Quinn Emma Bushnell Executive Arts Editor Zach Drucker Arts Editors Mitchell Geller Rebecca Goldberg Benjamin Phelps Anna Majeski Assistant Arts Editors Rebecca Santiago Matthew Welch Rachel Oldfield Larissa Gibbs Elaine Sun Seth Teleky Devon Colmer Erin Marshall Lorrayne Shen Louie Zong Rebekah Liebermann Ashish Malhotra Josh Molofsky Alexandra Siegel
Thursday, October 7, 2010
EDITORIAL | LETTERS
The disgusting protests of a small Kansas church over the past few years have provoked and angered attendees of the funerals of American service members who are understandably shaken and distressed to encounter hateful picketing during such a private moment of grieving. But as deplorable as this obnoxious behavior is, the right of the members of the Westboro Baptist Church to exercise their right to free speech must be upheld. The Supreme Court yesterday heard arguments in the case between the Topeka, Kan., church and Albert Snyder, the father of a Marine killed in Iraq in 2006. Members of the church picketed outside the Marine’s funeral in Maryland, just as they have protested outside many funerals of soldiers around the country. Carrying signs like “God Hates Fags,” “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “You’re Going to Hell,” members of this tiny church — which largely consists of the pastor’s extended family — spew offensive, homophobic speech, arguing that the deaths of service members in Iraq and Afghanistan are God’s punishment for our nation’s tolerance of gay people. Many states have in recent years enacted laws that restrict protests near funerals, and groups like the Patriot Guard Riders
— motorcyclists who show up at Westboropicketed funerals to block the protesters from view — have offered creative, uplifting solutions to the distress that church members cause mourners. At the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, Albert Snyder’s son, the seven protesters stayed within a police-designated area 1,000 feet away from the funeral service. Albert Snyder glimpsed the tips of the picketers’ signs and later found an “epic” on the church’s site that said he and his ex-wife “taught Matthew to defy his creator” and “raised him for the devil.” He sued the church members for intentionally inflicting emotional stress; a jury ruled in Snyder’s favor and awarded him $11 million in damages, which the judge reduced to $5 million. A court overturned the ruling on appeal, finding the First Amendment protected the church members’ speech as they protested a matter of public concern. The First Amendment exists to protect speech that provokes and offends. Its enshrined rights become most important when applied to those whose behavior might otherwise be singled out by government censorship. The standard used by the court to determine whether the church members were liable — if the speech at their protest near the Snyder funeral was
offensive or outrageous — was clearly a violation of free-speech protections afforded by the Constitution. Supreme Court justices seemed to indicate yesterday that they sympathized with Albert Snyder but might not be able to rule in his favor. While all sensible people should be appalled at the Westboro Baptist Church members’ outrageous actions, we should not support suppressing their right to express themselves — even if their methods are hurtful and wrong. Instead, we should drown out their noisy intolerance with the extension of gay rights in America. We should ignore their hateful picketing or, when they threaten to cause emotional damage to family members of those who made the greatest sacrifice of all, we should show up in force with messages of love. For it is a sad thing when members of an extended family, young and old, devote their time to spreading bad will at every chance they get. Yet if we abridged their right to espouse those disgusting views that tarnish the memorial of troops killed in duty, we would hand a victory to those who oppose extending freedoms to all American citizens. In fact, we would be encroaching upon the values that those same soldiers fought to uphold.
Executive Op-Ed Editor Assistant Op-Ed Editors
ERIN MARSHALL Cartoonists
Editorialists
Philip Dear Executive Sports Editor Lauren Flament Sports Editors Jeremy Greenhouse Claire Kemp Ben Kochman Alex Lach Alex Prewitt Daniel Rathman Noah Schumer Ethan Sturm Assistant Sports Editor Aalok Kanani Meredith Klein Danai Macridi Andrew Morgenthaler Tien Tien Josh Berlinger Virginia Bledsoe Kristen Collins Alex Dennett Emily Eisenberg Dilys Ong Jodi Bosin Jenna S Liang Meagan Maher Ashley Seenauth
Executive Photo Editor Photo Editors
Assistant Photo Editors
Staff Photographers
Mick B. Krever Executive New Media Editor James Choca New Media Editors Kerianne Okie
PRODUCTION Leanne Brotsky
OFF THE HILL | CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH
Stewart’s ‘Rally to Restore Sanity’ hypocritical BY THE
DAILY 49ER EDITORIAL BOARD Daily 49er
Production Director Andrew Petrone Executive Layout Editor Sarah Davis Layout Editors Adam Gardner Jason Huang Jennifer Iassogna Alyssa Kutner Steven Smith Sarah Kester Assistant Layout Editor Zehava Robbins Executive Copy Editor Alexandra Husted Copy Editors Isabel Leon Vivien Lim Linh Dang Assistant Copy Editors Si Kyun Im Andrew Paseltiner Melissa Roberts Elisha Sum Darcy Mann Executive Online Editor Audrey Kuan Online Editors Ann Sloan Ammar Khaku Executive Technical Manager Michael Vastola Technical Manager
BUSINESS Benjamin Hubbell-Engler Executive Business Director Laura Moreno Advertising Director Dwijo Goswami Receivables Manager The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 617 627 3090 FAX 617 627 3910 daily@tuftsdaily.com
There are many annoying things that can occur during an argument that make it a waste of time. Among these things are fighting with a five-year-old — or someone with the mentality of one — fighting with someone who speaks another language and fighting with either your parents or your boss because, well, no one ever wins those arguments. However, we find the most annoying thing to be fighting with someone who believes that being the loudest qualifies them as the winner. Sorry, but the pitch of your voice does not affect what you are saying. It only makes you look [out of control]. Being loud also applies to people who go to the extreme in attempts to prove their point. So for the sake of our argument, go ahead and read this editorial [at most] twice and in a quiet whisper in your head. Fortunately, though, we aren’t the only ones who feel this way. On Oct. 30, [Jon] Stewart will lead a “Rally to Restore Sanity” in Washington, D.C.
According to its official website, the rally is for “people who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive, and terrible for your throat; who feel that the loudest voices shouldn’t be the only ones that get heard.” Stewart wants the “busy majority,” those “who’ve been too busy to go to rallies, who actually have lives and families and jobs,” to attend the rally. If only the Daily 49er could attend such an event. A dosage of moderation is definitely what this country needs, especially in politics. Of course, certain issues need attention and we aren’t ones to discourage voicing your opinion, but doing so shouldn’t require two sides to engage in an all-out war against one another. Since it is critical to be able to acknowledge both sides of an issue — see what we’re doing here — we know that both sides must be expressed, but they shouldn’t be expressed with screams. People can make reasonable and appropriate decisions without all the craziness. People should be able to see eye-to-eye on an issue, without having to look up or down at someone to do so. There is just one problem with rallying
at the Washington Monument in order to encourage America to “take it down a notch,” though. Drawing big crowds of people would be hypocritical. Stewart may be a satirist, but at some point he has to be held accountable for what he literally does. There is one person who took the hypocrisy a step further though — Glenn Beck, whose August rally “Restoring Honor” is basically being mocked by Stewart’s. Beck attempted to link patriotism and religion on the anniversary of the “I Have a Dream” speech of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beck’s rally drew in predominantly white and conservative crowds. The political view of the anticipated participants for Stewart’s upcoming rally couldn’t be summed up in just a single sentence, but that doesn’t mean he’s not being hypocritical. Taking place on the same day as Stewart’s, Stephen Colbert’s rally “March to Keep Fear Alive,” dichotomizes it. Colbert is obviously poking fun with the title since it’s impossible to escape all the warnings that are loudly expressed. We just need to get rid of those ideas that are exaggerated and settle for some moderation.
Correction Due to an editing error, the pull-out quote accompanying yesterday’s article “With elections approaching, professors debate voicing political opinions in class” was incorrectly attributed to Kent Portney. It was, in fact, a quote from Tony Smith, as was correctly stated in the text of the article.
EDITORIAL POLICY Editorials that appear on this page are written by the editorialists, and individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.
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Thursday, October 7, 2010
THE TUFTS DAILY
9
OP-ED
Embrace self-awareness for mental health BY
DAN FITHIAN AND NERISSA DUCHIN
Most students agree that college is a stressful time. The work never seems to end and there’s always a test to be preparing for or homework to do. Students often get caught up in the pressure of schoolwork and don’t know how to deal with their anxiety. It’s true that as students, we are preparing for our careers and the rest of our lives. However, many of us rarely take the time out of our day to address our mood. We tell ourselves, “I owe it to myself to do this now so I can be happy in the future,” and, “Stressing out now will pay off when I start my career,” but what will we say when we are older? After all, it is estimated that one in four people over the age of 18 have a diagnosable mental health disorder in any given year. This includes, among many other demographics, college students, people both starting and ending their careers, graduate students and the elderly. Pervading our entire society is an obsession over deadlines and the use of time. The pressure to be efficient and effectiv e is immense. We must learn, however, that happiness and success first come from within. Those who don’t take time to de-stress and address their feelings will suffer until they learn to do so. People in general — and we students especially — are endlessly looking to the future to fulfill our needs, but we should be in the habit instead of paying attention to the present moment. Take care of yourself, and your future will take care of itself. People often don’t pay attention to their mental health until they start to notice their own suffering, which is an unfortunately pessimistic but real description of how psychological well-being is managed. It is typical to think either “I am suffering from a mental illness” or “I am normal,” but there exists neither a healthy medium of self-awareness nor an optimistic recognition of the benefits of a healthy, active
Be prudent
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LANE FLORSHEIM/TUFTS DAILY
mind. Few realize the joy that comes from mental self-awareness. Much of society’s view on the process of achieving mental health is the antithesis of its view on that of becoming physically healthy. People do stop and take stock of their physical characteristics and well-being and have learned to take the good with the bad. If a person feels unhealthy, he may go to the gym or eat better because he cares about his self-image. If he believes he is doing well by staying in shape and eating right, then he wishes to maintain his level of physical fitness. His self-image benefits from his commitment to physical attractiveness; it should also include a commitment to happiness. We believe students and the populace in general should be proactive in addressing mental health. If you are having trouble, help comes in many forms, but it starts with self-awareness — where would we be without our sense of identity? If you are happy,
share your time with others because your compassion and altruism will allow everybody to benefit. Finally, if you are somewhere in between suffering mentally and feeling happy, work hard to recognize and embrace your feelings because then you will begin to grow. Active Minds is a club on campus committed to promoting discussion about mental health. We’d like to remind you that this week is National Mental Health Illness Awareness Week and encourage you to take stock of how you feel today, the rest of this week and for the rest of your life, because mental health should be addressed openly. We hope you will take the time this week to appreciate the small miracles that allow us all to flourish. Dan Fithian is a sophomore majoring in mathematics. Nerissa Duchin is a senior majoring in biopsychology.
OFF THE HILL | HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Why reports of Al-Qaeda shouldn’t put tourism in a tizzy BY
ALEXANDER R. KONRAD The Harvard Crimson
The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert yesterday warning citizens to exercise extra caution if traveling to Europe, effective from now until Jan. 31. Apparently, when the name “Osama Bin Laden” enters airwaves, it’s time to stick our heads in the sand and wait until the safety of February travel. Unfortunately, the world does not strictly follow U.S. travel alerts. It’s never particularly safe to travel — and that shouldn’t matter. In a nation overloaded with counter-terrorism and security experts and watchers, we have become masters of the vague threat alert. The latest: terrorists mimicking the tactics of the tragic 2008 Mumbai attacks in any one of Europe’s three biggest countries. Osama Bin Laden may or may not be involved, so might other leaders. Of course, the same experts who can divine terrorists’ intent do so only before strictly necessary. The official who spoke to the Associated Press also said there were no indications that there was a capability of such attacks to actually take place. So to summarize: Al-Qaeda wants to attack tourists in Europe but probably doesn’t have new methods to do so. This is newsworthy if you strongly believed that Al-Qaeda didn’t want to attack Europe. I, for one, was expecting Middle Earth to be a target — but the intent to target the United Kingdom, France or Germany? This New Yorker and eyewitness of the 2006 Heathrow terrorism scare never saw that one coming. Of course, I may have been too flippant just now, but consider what this travel alert really means. It’s not as serious as a “Travel Warning,” such as is currently in place for Mexico. The struggling war on drugs in that country is rated as a higher risk for Cabo San Lucas aficionados. In Europe,
JOSHUA YOUNER | CONSCIENTIOUS AND CONTENTIOUS
the State Department just wants you to be mindful of “the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure.” Tourists should remember that they are not safe on subway, rail, aviation and maritime services. The State Department must not have to take taxis when they travel — if cabs are the only safe mode of transportation left to us, we are in trouble. The United Kingdom duly followed the United States in upping its traveler threat level. France was already at its second-highest threat level, which apparently already included vague, non-imminent attack possibilities, so they stayed put. No arrests have been made in connection to the alleged plot that has sparked all this. The BBC, however, reports that, according to “European officials,” several people are still under surveillance. This should be particularly troubling here in a nation where we are used to not a single person ever being under surveillance, thanks to the constitutional stand taken by the Bush administration. Oh, wait. Along with the media’s job to report that the State Department issued this warning — and if you agree with the warning, you should be glad that the media duly publicizes it — the media has of course not let us down in adding a hysteria factor to the story. The BBC, in a mostly responsible article on the alert that concludes with a section on America’s corresponding increase in drone attacks in Pakistan, still includes a gem speculating that the alert may hurt European tourism industries. Then there are whole articles that write this speculation large. The Associated Press, for example, posits that Europe’s economy may take a hit before quoting experts as saying that it actually will be the same. Well done, AP: providing a balanced look at a ridiculous question by
contrasting the comments of several random, concerned tourists with the opinions of actual experts who don’t see this as a major concern yet. If anything, the speculation of a financial effect from this travel alert will be potentially self-fulfilling. Spreading doubt sells, but it also creates more doubt. Hopefully those who are considering travel to Europe will take in the State Department’s alert, process it and continue with their plans. Reading stories about how they might stay at home, hurting European business, would only make them reconsider whether they should in fact stay (to avoid hypocrisy — travelers reading this story: Go!). All travel comes with risk. An attack may happen eventually in Europe; it’s happened in the recent past in Madrid, London and elsewhere. That attack may even have similarities to Mumbai and would be a human disaster. We must of course hope that any such attempts are thwarted before they begin. Yet, if such an attack does happen, it will not validate this alert and its media attention. Tourists should always be vigilant and aware of their surroundings — traveling in a foreign place is not entirely safe even without the prospect of terrorism. Tourists can get robbed, ripped off, scammed — it happens every day in every travel destination in the world. Such generalized, half-measure alerts may appease the 24-hour news cycle. The government can always say — if something tragic does happen — that it warned its citizens to be vigilant. But vigilance alone would most likely not be enough to ensure safety in such a situation. And we should all keep our eyes open when we travel, if only to avoid the guy on the corner who won’t leave us alone until we buy one of his Eiffel Tower pencil sharpeners.
id you know that today is the ninth anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan? Probably not. Earlier this year, the war in Afghanistan surpassed the Vietnam War as the longest war in American history, yet we had no idea. Mentions of both the war in Afghanistan and the Iraq war have slipped out of the national conversation recently as we have been preoccupied with the economy and its various ills. We don’t discuss the importance of the wars nearly as much as we should. However, as a recent Bloomberg News article points out, we don’t talk about the shady, behind-the-scenes workings of the wars enough either. When a U.S. soldier dies in combat (this applies to the 5,000-plus soldiers that have been killed in combat, both in Iraq and Afghanistan), his beneficiary receives payouts from a government-organized life insurance plan. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through the services of Prudential Financial, Inc., sends out the benefits to the policyholders. When beneficiaries claim their money, they have a choice between a lump-sum payment and a gradual payment plan. The vast majority of beneficiaries select the lump-sum option. With this, Prudential opens a “retained-asset account,” a kind of checking account from which the family can withdraw money. Instead of sending families full payment, the company retains the money in its corporate account and invests it in mostly bonds and securities. As a result, Prudential has made returns as much as eight times higher than what it pays to holders of the accounts. In what a The George Washington University professor has reportedly called a “lose-lose proposition for everyone but Prudential,” the company is profiting from the taxpayer-funded death benefits owed to the families of servicemen and women. Taxpayers didn’t always pay for this. It was only in 1965 that the insurance lobby persuaded members of Congress to pass a law that made it mandatory for the government, which previously managed its own life insurance policies, to employ a private insurance company. Under an amendment heavily supported by the Life Insurance Association of America, however, this private firm would not be responsible for any of the death benefits owed to soldiers killed in combat. This meant the government would be indemnifying the insurance company for payouts — something they themselves should be indemnifying. This twist of logic is now more evident than ever, 45 years after the VA gave a no-bid contract to Prudential. Since 2003, the government has given Prudential $1.7 billion to carry out this service. Ninety-five percent of this has gone into the retainedasset accounts, which lead to extraordinary profits for Prudential. A private company should not profit off the deaths of soldiers in war. John Corcoran, the executive of the American Legion, expressed in 1965 that indemnification of this sort “is not a business transaction; it is the responsibility of the government.” It’s enough that over 5,000 American soldiers have perished in these seemingly endless wars. We as a country do not need, and should not support, private corporations like Prudential making excessively high profits on the deaths of our own soldiers. Supporting your country is a courageous and laudable act; to preserve it, we must fight against the practices of war profiteering. To do so, Congress must enact legislation reenlisting the government as the sole executor in soldiers’ life insurance matters. Such a law must cut companies like Prudential out of this picture in order to restore the balance, taking power out of profit-seeking hands.
Joshua Youner is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at Joshua.Youner@tufts.edu.
OP-ED POLICY The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length. Op-Ed cartoons are also welcomed for the Campus Canvas feature. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. All material should be submitted to oped@tuftsdaily.com no later than 12 p.m. on the day prior to the desired day of publication; authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions. Submissions may not be published elsewhere prior to their appearance in the Daily, including but not limited to other on- and off-campus newspapers, magazines, blogs and online news websites, as well as Facebook. Republishing of the same piece in a different source is permissible as long as the Daily is credited with originally running the article.
THE TUFTS DAILY
10
COMICS
Thursday, October 7, 2010
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WEDNESDAY’S SOLUTION
MARRIED TO THE SEA
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SUDOKU Level: Not contracting a mold-related disease at the DU house
LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Wednesday’s Solution
Ben: “You know what would be great? If a guy named Tim built a tourist trap that was a Roman amphitheater. Then it would be called Tim’s New Roman ... amphitheater.”
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Thursday, October 7, 2010 Housing
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Tufts takes a beating from nation’s top squads TRALINS
Contributing Writer
In the least successful outing of the season thus far, neither the co-ed nor the women’s sailing team could carry the winning momentum from strong performances in late September to this weekend’s regattas, as both squads faltered amid tough conditions and highly competitive fields. This Homecoming weekend, Tufts had disappointing results at the Danmark Trophy, hosted by the Coast Guard Academy, while just nearby, two sailors competed at the Women’s Singlehanded Championship hosted by Conn. College. The Jumbos failed to perform at Danmark, placing 17th out of 20 teams, while the two women came in 12th and 13th out of 14. However, the Jumbos also participated in a few smaller regattas around New England, which yielded some positive results. The Danmark Trophy is one of the most competitive regattas of the fall season. At this year’s event, 17 of the top-20 nationally ranked squads were present. On top of that, the Jumbos’ attempts to finish well were not made any easier with the shifty weather patterns, which were present throughout the regatta. “In a regatta of that caliber, every time you make a mistake, you lose boats,” senior Margaret Rew, who crewed in the A division boat, said. “Mentally, that can be a difficult thing to overcome, especially at the incredibly shifty Coast Guard venue.” The A division skipper, junior Massimo Soriano, and Rew had a rough time at this event, coming in 13th in their division. Both Soriano and Rew agreed that the weather was inconsistent, creating difficulties for their boat. By the second day, however, the
sailors had adjusted their strategies to compensate for the breeze’s shiftiness, which led to improved results. The Jumbos hope to be able to use this experience to recognize and improve upon certain aspects of their racing leading into the later stages of the season. “We look forward to taking that knowledge and building on it at the Moody [Trophy] at University of Rhode Island next weekend,” Rew said. The B division boat did not fare well either, finishing 19th out of the 20 competitors in its division. Skippered by junior Nicolas RussoLarsson and crewed by senior Roisin Magee, the B boat, which had been performing at a high level in the past few regattas, encountered its biggest challenge so far this season. Russo-Larsson was extremely disappointed with his results. “I had a tough time dealing with such a poor performance,” Russo-Larsson said. “I was not on my game.” Magee shared a similar sentiment of frustration but remains positive about future regattas. She says that the team knows that it has a lot to work on in terms of starts and being able to handle all kinds of conditions. “I’m sure that this weekend’s mistakes will give us the drive we need to succeed in our coming regattas,” she said. Just down the Thames River in New London, Conn., two Jumbos participated in the New England Women’s Singlehanded Championship, a qualifier for the Women’s Singlehanded National Championship in early November. The level of competition at the regatta was sky-high; the top six finishers were women on the U.S. National Sailing Team, while other competitors were All-American sailors with a variety of national and international experience, according to junior Renee Gagne and sophomore Mariel
Marchand. Gagne and Marchand were up against some of the best sailors they had ever faced. Nevertheless, Gagne and Marchand sailed hard, coming in 12th and 13th, respectively, out of a field of 14. Though the Jumbos struggled to keep up with most of the competitors, the day proved to be a valuable learning experience. “It was a little intense to begin with and as the wind picked up, the physical demand to control the boats and keep them flat was more difficult,” Gagne said. On the bright side, Tufts dominated in a variety of smaller-scale regattas over the weekend. At the Smith Trophy at MIT, featuring the largest fleet of the year at 26 boats, Tufts came in 13th. The teams of sophomore William Hutchings and junior Reeves Bright in the A boat and freshmen Solomon Krevans and Eliza White in the B boat sailed Tech dinghies. A new experience for these sailors most accustomed to the Larks of Upper Mystic Lake or the more widely sailed 420s, they struggled with the transition but pulled out with top finishes nonetheless. The Hewitt Trophy hosted at Bowdoin College was a bright light for the Jumbos, as they came in second place overall. Sophomores Albert Nichols and Charlotte Welbourn represented the A division and took first, while first-years Ben Weigel and Kathleen Kwasniak sailed into second in the B division. With mixed finishes this past weekend, the Jumbos hope to perform more consistently at the various upcoming regattas. This coming weekend, the Jumbos’ top boats will head to University of Rhode Island for the Moody Trophy, where they hope to return to form against another highly competitive field.
New England far from done with bevy of young wideouts INSIDE NFL continued from page 12
logic is understandable. For the Vikings, Moss represents an instant improvement to the passing attack, which has sputtered with the soon-to-be-41-year-old Favre at the helm. With last year’s No. 1 receiver Sidney Rice nursing a hip injury, Favre has struggled to develop chemistry with speedsters Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin, leaving tight end Visanthe Shiancoe as his only trusted target. Favre’s six interceptions and lowly 60.4 quarterback rating have resulted in part from a lack of receivers who are able to run the deep routes he prefers to throw. As fans at the Metrodome learned during the first seven years of his career there, “You can’t overthrow Randy Moss.” And Favre,
who ranks 25th in the league with an average of 6.16 yards per passing attempt, will gladly welcome him to Minnesota. Moss won’t cure all of the Vikings’ problems, which range from Favre’s inaccuracy to a porous offensive line, but he will certainly add a missing dimension to their aerial attack. Minnesota is 1-2 and fresh off its Week 4 bye, but the Vikings have yet to face the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears and Packers, so there is plenty of time to make up lost ground. The consequences of this trade will stretch beyond this season, though. Patriots fans are rightly frustrated with their front office for sending away one of their team’s brightest stars, potentially letting another year of Tom Brady’s prime slip away. But the draft pick New England gained will
MLB PLAYOFFS
The Doc is in: Halladay throws second no-hitter in postseason history It’s one thing to lead your team to victory in the first postseason start of your career. It’s another to do so by throwing only the second no-hitter in playoff history. Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay dominated the Cincinnati Reds’ lineup last night, needing only 104 pitches to record 27 outs while allowing only one base runner. Halladay — the likely National League Cy Young winner after going 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA and a perfect game during the regular season — was untouchable from the first inning to the last. He threw first-pitch strikes to 25 of the 28 hitters he faced, induced 12 groundballs and struck out eight batters along the way. He had the poise of a seasoned playoff veteran, with sharp break on his curveball and pinpoint command of his sinker and cutter. Perhaps just as impressively, the
33-year-old righty was humble and gracious in his postgame interview. He praised his catcher, Carlos Ruiz, and noted that the Game 1 win was only the first step on a long road to the World Series. The Phillies entered the postseason as the favorites to win their third consecutive NL pennant and expected to bring Philadelphia its second world championship since 2008. Unlike recent squads, this team’s hallmark is its starting rotation, led by Halladay, with Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels behind him. It’s vital for the team with the most pressure and under the highest expectations to make a statement in its opening game of the playoffs. Halladay did that and more, setting the stage for the rest of October. —by Daniel Rathman
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CLASSIFIEDS POLICY All Tufts students must submit classifieds in person, prepaid with check, money order, or exact cash only. All classifieds submitted by mail must be accompanied by a check. Classifieds are $15 per week or $4 per day with Tufts ID or $30 per week or $8 per day without. The Tufts Daily is not liable for any damages due to typographical errors or misprintings except the cost of the insertion, which is fully refundable. We reserve the right to refuse to print any classifieds which contain obscenity, are of an overly sexual nature, or are used expressly to denigrate a person or group. Questions? Email business@tuftsdaily.com.
SAILING
BY SARAH
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SPORTS
enable Belichick and the brass to add to their stockpile of young players, as the Patriots already own Oakland’s first-round pick and Carolina’s second-rounder in the 2011 draft. In addition, the loss of Moss will not immediately impact the Patriots as much as it would have if they did not have other All-Pro receivers on their roster, such as Wes Welker. Meanwhile, the Vikings will do their best to court Moss into signing an extension, possibly one that will keep him in purple and gold until the end of his career. One of the best receivers in NFL history will now join forces with one of the best quarterbacks the league has ever seen. If both of them rediscover the prowess they once had, Minnesota may yet finish the business it left undone in New Orleans in January.
Kim breaks Tufts wall-sit record WALL SIT continued from page 12
“Oh, I could have went way longer,” Kim said. “My back really hurt more than my legs by the end. I figured that I was already ahead of the record by 11 minutes, so I’d give [the previous record holder] something that he could strive for. Plus, I was holding all of my teammates up for breakfast.” Neuhs could not be reached for comment before press time, but Vandervelde has no doubt that the lacrosse team will mount a challenge to Kim in the coming weeks. “The lacrosse team prides itself as being the strongest athletes at Tufts,” he said. “I think Eugene should flaunt this for as long as he can, because I’m pretty sure it will be broken within two weeks.” Kim, who this weekend will compete for the first time this year with his team at the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta, is prepared for all comers. “I’m waiting and ready,” he said. “Any wall, any place, any time.”
AVINASH ASTHANA | SWITCH HIT
The Ashes
T
he grand stadiums are ready, cricketing merchandise is selling like hotcakes, tickets have been sold out four months in advance and the talks around the water cooler more often than not are gravitating toward that elusive question: “Who will win The Ashes this time around?” Yes, folks, it’s that time of the year. The most eagerly anticipated Ashes series in recent memory kicks off with the English team landing in Brisbane, Australia, this November. For those not familiar with the history of this iconic cricketing clash between the two titans of world cricket, The Ashes were first played when the England team lost to Australia at home in 1882. An English newspaper published a mock obituary, mourning the “death” of English cricket with the words, “the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.” After the England tour of Australia in 1883, where England won, the winning captain was handed over a tiny urn reputed to have the ashes of a bail — hence winning back “The Ashes.” The tradition has been followed ever since and a long-standing rivalry has ensued. Now, what exactly are these two teams playing? Test Match Cricket: dreaded matches that can go on up to five days. Every day, 90 overs are bowled — making a maximum of 450 overs in a game in which a team can bat up to two times. The team that makes the most runs and also gets the other team out twice wins the game. What excites the cricket viewing public most about the upcoming Ashes series is the competiveness of the two teams, as they are matched evenly in terms of talent. Over the previous two decades, Australia has been vastly superior to England, drubbing them each time the English set foot on their soil. There was a brief glimmer of hope when England won the home leg of the 2005 series in what the Wisden Cricket Almanac — the holy book of cricket — regards as the most exciting Ashes series to have ever been played. However, the team got thrashed 5-0 when it went to Australia, and the bubble had burst. But this time there is renewed optimism. England has again won the home leg of the Ashes series, and the players are oozing with confidence. Australia, on the other hand, has been hit by a spate of retirements from their world-beating team and is in a transition period, honing young blood for the future. Let’s look over the areas in which one team scored over the other as we preview this edition of The Ashes. The key aspect is that the series is being played in Australia. Home advantage is a huge bonus for Australia as the English traditionally struggle on their hard, bouncing pitches in the searing heat — besides having the knowledge that they haven’t won a series in Australia for over 30 years. The English will have to toughen up mentally to deal with the hostile home crowd and be willing to take the fight to the opposition. In terms of batting, both teams have a weak opening partnership, with England having only a minor edge. In the middle order, Ricky Ponting might be on the wane, but he is still one of the best batsmen to have ever played and will be a big threat. English player Kevin Pietersen, however, is going through a slump in terms of his batting, and if England is to win, Pietersen has to regain his blistering form. In terms of bowling, the Australians have a superior fast bowling lineup with more variety. England’s trump card comes in the form of Gramme Swann — the irrepressible spin bowler who holds the key to England’s success. All in all, the teams are evenly matched and it’s too close to call. Bring on The Ashes. Avinash Asthana is a junior majoring in computer science. He can be reached at Avinash.Asthana@tufts.edu
Sports
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INSIDE Sailing 11 MLB Playoffs 11
tuftsdaily.com
INSIDE THE NFL
Moss moves from frigid Northeast to frigid Midwest Eyeing a Super Bowl run, superstar teams up with Favre in Minnesota BY
DANIEL RATHMAN
Daily Editorial Board
In April 2007, Brett Favre was preparing for what would be his final season with the Green Bay Packers and intently watching that spring’s NFL Draft, hoping that general manager Ted Thompson would complete a trade with the Oakland Raiders for wide receiver Randy Moss. Three years later — and with a Minnesota Vikings uniform now on his back — Favre finally has his long-cherished target. On the aforementioned draft day, the Raiders shipped Moss to the New England Patriots for a fourth-round pick. Moss and quarterback Tom Brady quickly became a match made in heaven as the receiver hauled in 98 receptions for 1,493 yards and an NFLrecord 23 of his quarterback’s own NFL-record 50 touchdowns in 2007. Contrast that with the first four weeks of the 2010 season, during which Moss has posted only nine receptions for 139 yards. In Monday night’s blowout victory over the Miami Dolphins, the Patriots put up 41 points and Brady completed 19 passes, but Moss didn’t have a single catch. As opposing teams have shielded Moss with their top cornerbacks, Brady has turned his focus to his other options, including All-
Pro slot receiver Wes Welker and rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez, a fourthround pick out of the University of Florida, has twice as many receptions as Moss and has shown excellent vertical ability for a tight end, averaging 13.3 yards per catch. While Moss was putting up elite numbers, the Patriots were willing to look the other way on his character issues. Moss has been known to express his displeasure to coaches when he isn’t featured in the game plan and to give up on routes when his team is behind. He reportedly had a shouting match with quarterback coach Bill O’Brien during halftime of Monday’s win, and, less than 48 hours later, the Patriots decided they’d had enough. Yesterday morning, the Patriots agreed to trade Moss and a seventh-round draft pick in 2012 to Minnesota in exchange for a thirdround pick in the 2011 draft. On the surface, the deal appears to be highway robbery for Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, especially since the Patriots likely would have been compensated with a fifthround pick when Moss left New England in free agency next spring. But considering the Patriots’ bounty of young targets and Moss’s disgruntled attitude, coach Bill Belichick’s
MCT
see INSIDE NFL, page 11
The New England Patriots will be hard-pressed to replace the deep-ball threat in Randy Moss — even with Wes Welker’s soft hands and speed in the slot.
Eugene Kim likes it on the wall
Men’s crew senior tri-captain has the strongest quadriceps on campus ... for now BY
BEN KOCHMAN
Daily Editorial Board
Eugene Kim doesn’t need a chair. Chairs are for the soft-minded, limp-legged weaklings who did not spend last summer in boot camp for the Marines. Chairs may be comfortable but are unnecessary for the senior tri-captain of the men’s crew team, who wakes up at sunrise to go to work molding his legs into stout rowing machines. Yes, a chair is nice. But all Kim needs is a clean space of wall and he’ll be just fine. Last Wednesday, this superior sitter shattered the Tufts athletics wall-sit record, which was previously held at 14 minutes by a member of the men’s lacrosse
team. The new bar-setting time? Let Kim sit himself against a wall at a 90-degree angle and go watch an episode of your favorite sitcom or start a load of laundry. If you come back 25 minutes and two seconds later, he’ll still be there. “The week before, I had done a wall-sit for five or six minutes, and I figured, ‘Why not try breaking the record?’” Kim said. “So I did five and then thought I could do another five, and then another and another and another. By the end, my legs still didn’t even hurt; I was more bored than anything else.” Kim’s record-breaking sit came at the end of a long morning workout that included over 45 minutes of sprints and a leg-intensive weight routine of squats and
deadlifts. Athletic trainer Marten Vandervelde then challenged the team, as he had done last spring with the men’s lacrosse team that went on to win the national title, to a team-wide wall-sit-off. All the other participants bowed out in less than five minutes, but Kim just kept going, leaving his teammates dumbfounded and Vandervelde glancing at his stopwatch in disbelief. “He’s in training to be a Marine, so we all already knew that he was a badass,” sophomore Matt Parsons, one of Kim’s teammates, said. “But even I didn’t expect that he would last that long. I mean, I could barely stand before the competition even began! He’s ridiculous.”
MEN’S SOCCER
Vandervelde, who has worked at Tufts for two years, cannot remember exactly which lacrosse player set the previous record, but odds are that it was stocky senior T.C. Neuhs, who the Tufts trainer described as a “bulldog.” “Legend has it that it was T.C., but I can’t say for sure,” Vandervelde said. “T.C is a very, very strong guy. I can guarantee, though, that no one [at Tufts] ever sat for 14 minutes straight before that; what would be their motivation?” Kim says that he is open to all challengers to his wall-sitting throne, and that he is confident that he can increase the record to 40 or even 45 minutes. see WALL SIT, page 11
ALEX DENNETT/TUFTS DAILY
Senior tri-captain Eugene Kim of the men’s crew team wall-sat for 25 straight minutes.
GOLF
Jumbos shank their shot at NESCAC title
LANE FLORSHEIM/TUFTS DAILY
Plymouth State dealt the men’s soccer team a 3-2 overtime loss on Tuesday.
Tufts falters against non-conference Plymouth The men’s soccer team’s non-conference struggles continued Tuesday night as the Jumbos fell to Plymouth State 3-2 in overtime, ending their three-game winning streak. After dominating much of the match, the Jumbos conceded a late equalizer in the 79th minute to Panthers senior Tommy Schrey. But Schrey was not done, slipping through the defense in just the second minute of overtime and beating junior keeper Zach Cousens for the game-winner. Despite owning possession in the first half, Tufts fell behind early as Plymouth State sophomore Alex Martins gathered a loose ball in the box before drilling it into an open net. The Jumbos responded late in the half as junior Matt Blumenthal fought past a Panthers defender, leaving him one-on-one with the keeper. Blumenthal stayed composed, slotting it into the lower left corner for his second goal of the season.
Tufts outshot Plymouth State 6-3 in the first half but was not able to break through again until the second half. Six minutes in, the Jumbos were awarded a free kick just outside the box. Senior Ben Green stepped up and lofted a top-class shot in the upper left reaches of the net, giving the Jumbos their first lead of the night. But despite Green’s heroics, Schrey was too much for the Jumbos late in the game. The loss drops Tufts’ overall record to 4-3-1. Tufts will not have much time to dwell on the loss, though, with a key conference match at Colby coming up this weekend. Another win would begin to solidify a place in the top tier for the Jumbos, as the Mules sit tied with Amherst just one point behind them in the NESCAC standings. —by Ethan Sturm
Going into the NESCAC Fall Championship Qualifier this past weekend at the Shuttle Meadow Country Club in Kensington, Conn., four was the magic number for the Jumbos. Of the 10 teams competing, the top four would earn entry into the NESCAC Championships and a chance to play for a spot in the NCAA tournament. Tufts managed a fifth place finish in last year’s qualifier and knew that a top four position was well within their capabilities — especially after a very strong start to the season this year. But the Jumbos struggled throughout the weekend, posting a four-golfer combined total of 321 on Saturday and a similar 322 on Sunday. The two-day total of 643 earned them a disappointing eighth-place finish, four strokes behind seventh-place Bates and 34 strokes outside of the top four. Tufts could do little more than look on as Middlebury, Williams, Amherst and Trinity took the coveted qualifier positions, with Middlebury winning the tournament with a combined score of 585. Knowing they would need scores in the low 70s to make a serious run at qualifying, the Jumbos instead struggled to break 80. Freshman Sebastian Vik, who has consistently been the team’s strongest player this season and had earned second place overall a week earlier, could only manage a pair of 79s, while senior tri-captains Luke Heffernan and Dan
Moll shot 160 and 159, respectively. “I was disappointed,” Heffernan said. “No one played as well as they could have.” The greens were difficult both days, an added challenge in approach shots and putting. But the team was not willing to make excuses for its play. Rather, the Jumbos pointed to poor mental coping after falling behind as their biggest downfall, especially on Sunday. “Frustration got the best of me,” Heffernan said. The Jumbos still have three tournaments left on the fall calendar and see plenty of opportunity to atone for their performance this past weekend. A tournament for freshmen today will give some of the new players, including Alex Friedman, Drew Lewis and Tim Martin, a chance to gain some much-needed experience, while this weekend’s Nichols Invitational at the Green Hill Golf Course in Worcester will give the whole squad a shot at redemption. The finale of the season will begin on Oct. 17 at the New England Championships, during which the Jumbos will play against teams from Div. I, II and III. The team has shown it has plenty of talent, and if it can put together some good rounds, they feel they will reach their potential and compete with some of the best teams in the country. —by Harrison Potter