Sunny 81/54
THE TUFTS DAILY
TUFTSDAILY.COM
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
VOLUME LXVI, NUMBER 19
Where You Read It First Est. 1980
Wade Davis speaks as openly gay athlete by
Abigail Feldman
Daily Editorial Board
Activist and former National Football League (NFL) player Wade Davis spoke last night in Distler Performance Hall about his personal experience as a gay athlete. The ticketed lecture, titled “Interference: When Masculinity and Being Gay Collide,” was cosponsored by the Social Justice Leadership Initiative and Tufts University’s Entertainment Board and lasted about an hour. After a brief introduction from the event sponsors, Davis began the discussion with a description of his youth. As a boy growing up in Arkansas, Davis spent most of his time at church. His first football game, at age seven, was a variation of the sport called “smear the queer,” in which one kid — the “queer” — had to get a touchdown before the other players tackled him. “That was my first understanding of what you did to queer people,” Davis said. “You smeared them.” Through playing ball with other boys, Davis learned how to be a tough guy and only showed his gentler side while at home, he said. Despite his tough appearance, however, Davis suffered from a speech impediment and stutter and experienced much taunting as a child.
Davis was in 10th grade when he first realized he was gay. Afraid of his feelings, Davis said he began watching straight porn and bullying other homosexual men in an attempt to distance himself from his sexuality. “Anyone else in my high school that we deemed different, we made fun of,” Davis said. “I remember when Columbine happened, I thought to myself, ‘If I had gone to that school, I would have been one who was killed ... because anyone who was different was my target.” Even after kissing a boy for the first time in college, Davis denied his sexuality by dating women and attending strip clubs. While his actions were meant to make his peers believe he was masculine and straight, he ended up using many women in the process, Davis explained. “I couldn’t exist in this world straight on my own,” he said. “All of my baggy pants and other garb couldn’t make me straight, but a female did.” After college, Davis was signed to the NFL — first to the Tennessee Titans and then to the Washington Redskins and was relieved that his coaches and teammates had “bought” his heterosexual persona. Until he blew out his knee and was forced to retire, Davis spent much of his time and money at strip clubs and brothels in order see DAVIS, page 2
Tufts improves room reservation system by
Mahpari Sotoudeh
Daily Editorial Board
This summer Tufts launched a new room reservation system, called Tufts Space and Resource Reservation System, on the Medford/Somerville campus as part of a university-wide update in conjunction with the implementation of Integrated Student
Information System (iSIS). According to a June 12 post on the Tufts Technology Services website by Dawn Irish, the new system will at first be used to reserve classrooms, meeting spaces and labs for academic and student use, with the possibility of scheduling technical resources for classroom instruction and events in the future.
Kyra Sturgill / The Tufts Daily
This summer, the university implemented a new room reservation system, powered by Event Management System.
Kyra Sturgill / The Tufts Daily
‘Basic Math,’ starring Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, shot scenes on the Hill on Monday. The movie is set for release in 2014.
Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel film ‘Basic Math’ on campus by
Daniel Gottfried
Daily Editorial Board
Seventy Tufts students joined the Columbia Pictures film team as extras in the movie “Basic Math,” filmed on the Medford/Somerville campus this Monday. Stars Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel traveled to six dif-
ferent locations on campus throughout the day to shoot scenes for the movie. The film’s plot follows the story of a married couple — played by Diaz and Segel — who discovers their sex tape is missing and attempts to retrieve the tape. The Tufts campus provided an ideal setting for the movie, according to Scott Levine, the
film’s unit publicist. “The production was looking for a location to shoot scenes set on a classic Northeastern campus,” he told the Daily in an email. “And since we are filming in the Boston area, the Tufts campus was perfect.” The filming took place see MOVIE, page 2
Campus gears up for Parents Weekend activities by
Meredith Braunstein Contributing Writer
The Tufts Parents Giving Program will host its 25th annual Parents and Family Weekend, beginning this Friday and ending on Sunday, featuring student performances, faculty lectures and various activities for parents. The purpose of the weekend is to demonstrate the wide range of academics and activities available on campus, according to Parents Giving Program Director Gina DeSalvo. “[Family Weekend] is a time to give parents the opportunity to see the incredible experience students are having here at Tufts, and everything they’ve worked hard for to send their kid to Tufts is really happening,” she said. This year, the weekend’s proceedings will center on the theme “Local History, Global Future,” DeSalvo explained. “It’s a very broad theme, so it broadens the opportunity to really highlight to parents all the exciting and cool courses at Tufts,” she said. “I sit down with deans on campus and brainstorm about what’s interesting here on campus and what parents would be interested in hear-
Inside this issue
ing about. This year we all agreed it’s a great opportunity to showcase where Tufts has been and where we’re going.” On Friday, campus guests will have the opportunity to hear from members of the administration, including Dean of the School of Engineering Linda Abriola and Dean of Arts and Sciences Joanne Berger-Sweeney, DeSalvo said. “We’ll also be hearing from [Provost and Senior Vice President David Harris], and it’ll give us an overview of the school and where we see the school going,” DeSalvo said. The Tufts Career Center will also host a career-networking event, giving parents the chance to share advice and contact information with students looking for careers in their fields. The Avenue of the Arts Festival will take place from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. The event will showcase many performance groups on campus at the Arts Square on Talbot Avenue, the Aidekman Arts Center, Granoff Music Center and the Mayer Campus Center. Visitors can also attend home games from the men and women’s soccer, football and field hockey teams
throughout the afternoon. DeSalvo explained that these events offer family members a taste of students’ accomplishments around campus. “Your parents don’t get to come to all of your performances, and they’re used to being able to do that, so this is an [opportunity] for them to see you and your friends at Avenue of the Arts or in an athletic game,” she said. “It really builds a strong sense of community amongst the parents at Tufts.” Saturday will also feature five faculty lectures on topics ranging from Japanese anime to deceased poets, DeSalvo said. A keynote address from Professor of Art and Art History Andrew McClellan, titled “Jumbo: Marvel, Myth and Mascot,” will examine McClellan’s eight-year long research project on Jumbo the elephant. “In bringing out his history I’m aiming to make the claim that our university has the coolest, most interesting mascot in America,” McClellan said. “I hope to demonstrate that by illustrating his history and his fame across a century’s time with see FAMILY, page 2
Today’s sections
Students are living and working all around the world after graduation.
Grouplove put on a fun concert in Cambridge last week.
see FEATURES, page 3
see ARTS, page 5
News Features Arts & Living Editorial | Op-Ed
1 3 5 8
Op-Ed Comics Classifieds Sports
9 10 11 Back
The Tufts Daily
2
News
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Updated room reservation system includes new features RESERVATION
continued from page 1
Meredith Klein / Tufts Daily Archives
The university will host its 25th annual Parents and Family Weekend, beginning on Friday, in order to showcase academics and student achievements.
FAMILY
continued from page 1
different kinds of images and products.” McClellan’s speech will preface the launch of his exhibit on Jumbo the elephant at Tufts next fall. “In a way, [Jumbo] became the first animal celebrity, and I’m interested in how that happened,” he said. “I’m interested in his imagery and how he became a celebrity in the media.” In addition to a morning Fun Run/Walk on Sunday, University Professor of Judaic Studies Sol Gittleman and Director of the Experimental College Robyn Gittleman will give the endnote address, entitled “Tufts 1964-2014: A University Transforms Itself.” According to Gittleman, the lecture will focus on a 50-year history of Tufts and higher education across the country. “You can’t understand the evolution of Tufts until you understand the evolution of American higher education,” he said. “It evolved from something that was very medio-
cre into where we are now, which is the envy of the world. We’ve got a system with 4,000 colleges and universities, half public and half private. There’s nothing like it in the world.” DeSalvo anticipates that between 3,000 and 3,500 family members will visit campus this weekend, but emphasized that parents are not the only ones welcome to participate in the festivities. “It’s not just parents that come, but also grandparents, siblings and sometimes aunts and uncles,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity for extended family. We have family coming as far as Kuala Lumpur and as close as Medford.” DeSalvo hopes that the multitude of events offered for families over the course of the weekend will lead to parents’ appreciation of students’ work. “We’re very grateful that we have such strong parent support at the weekend,” she said. “We look forward to the weekend all year.”
Assistant Registrar for Arts, Sciences and Engineering Sarah Harvey explained that the updated system, which went into effect on June 24 and replaced the R25 room reservation system, was chosen in part to synchronize the systems utilized by the various Tufts campuses. “The Medford campus was using R25 and the Boston campus was using scheduling software powered by EMS [Event Management System],” she said. “They reviewed both systems, and to streamline the university system, we chose EMS as the better software to have one integration.” Harvey explained that the university chose to switch systems after determining that the Tufts Space and Resource Reservation System, which is a part of EMS, was easier to use. “It’s a lot more user-friendly, overall,” Harvey said. “With R25, there were a lot of tables, so if you wanted to access information, it wasn’t readily accessible. Reports weren’t easily customizable. The EMS platform ... behaves more like a website in 2013, whereas R25 was more like a website from the 90s.” Academic and Event Scheduling Coordinator Nicole Reppucci expressed satisfaction with the new program. According to Reppucci, who was involved with the steering committee that implemented the yearlong initiative to establish EMS at the Medford/Somerville campus, the new system allows users to change or cancel their requests without technical assistance. “The online system gives the users a lot more features to do themselves,” Reppucci said. “Before, they couldn’t cancel requests or edit them. Now, they can, which allows me to get a lot more done.”
Reppucci said the new system also has an “optimization” tool that shows users which room would give them best usage of space as far as the room capacity. Harvey explained that the overhaul involved coordination with all of the different schedulers around the university. “We have a bit of a decentralized campus,” Harvey said. “[Reppucci] and I both schedule a lot of the classroom spaces, but then The Fletcher School [of Law and Diplomacy] has schedulers who do their buildings. There are schedulers for everything, representing all of their business processes into the system.” In order to integrate the system for usage on the Hill, Harvey said she and others spoke with administrators at the Boston campus. “We worked with the users in Boston who had been using the software for several years and worked with them to implement the databases,” she said. “I was the functional lead for the Medford project to build the database. There was a campus committee as well as representatives from campus administrators.” Andrew Peng, co-president of the Advisory Committee for Endowment Responsibility, said that the new system is far easier to use. “The new system is a major improvement on the last,” Peng, a senior, said. “I definitely appreciate being able to edit or cancel events myself.” Harvey agreed that the new system was superior to the last in terms of efficiency. “For the users, it’s changing these things — flipping the switch or adding an additional setting that makes their life easier,” Harvey said. “It’s finding the way that we can streamline the functions within the system a little bit better.”
Film team hires student extras, moves across campus MOVIE
continued from page 1
on the Academic Quad, the President’s Lawn, Talbot Avenue, in front of Miller Hall and in Tisch Library and Brown and Brew, according to a Sept. 25 email sent out to the Tufts community. Students wishing to become extras were asked to send application materials to Boston Casting, a company that works with extras, according sophomore movie extra Eniola Akintade. She explained that students did not need prior acting experience in order to be chosen as extras. “Many of the extras from Tufts didn’t have much acting experience, but [the crew] was very nice if we wanted to talk to them,” Akintade said. “[ They] didn’t talk down to us and answered all of our questions.” Students were able to converse with the actors and people in the industry during downtime between scenes, sophomore extra Mackenzie Brewster said. “A large group [of extras] were also interested in drama or were drama majors, so it was fun talking to production people,” she said. “I am interested in the directing sphere, so it was awesome to see production first hand.” Segel and Diaz interacted with students from a distance, according to Akintade. “I made eye contact with both of them,” she said. “I was so nervous, so I was shaking, but I was trying to maintain
my coolness, and not act like a crazy, screaming fan, which I know I am.” Brewster added that both of the stars were humble and kind. “They would wave to people, say ‘hi’ and were very happy to be around Tufts students,” she said. During filming, students were required to perform everyday activities that are typical to a college campus, Brewster explained. “We were rushing around campus like students or sitting in Brown and Brew studying and talking to people or jogging on the President’s Lawn,” she said. In addition to the 70 Tufts extras involved in the film, 45 other extras were brought in from the Screen Actors Guild, Akintade added. For extras, she said, the workday began at 5:45 a.m. and lasted until 8 p.m., with occasional breaks. “It was exhausting,” Akintade said. “I can understand why people say acting is a job. It is physically exhausting and emotionally very tiring. People are mostly walking around with walkie-talkies in their ears and always trying to get something done.” Many students chose to miss class in order to be a part of the film, but professors were generally understanding, Brewster said. “It is a big deal and a rare opportunity to be a part of something like this,” she said. “My teachers understood it was worth it.”
Ethan Chan for the Tufts Daily
Wade Davis, a former National Football League player and activist, gave a lecture titled “Interference: When Masculinity and Being Gay Collide” in Distler Performance Hall last night.
Wade Davis discusses experience as gay athlete in NFL DAVIS
continued from page 1
to keep his fellow players from suspecting him of being anything other than straight. “I didn’t know how to show the rest of the world who I was unless I was doing things that I think real men do,” he said. Finally, after moving to New York City, Davis began to accept his sexuality. He eventually met his current partner, Steven, and decided to reveal his identity to his parents. While his sister was supportive, Davis’s mother was initially horrified by the news that her son was gay. “My mother told me she wished I would rot in jail forever rather
than to have to tell her I was gay,” Davis said. “She told me a lot of horrible things. But I didn’t cry and I didn’t get angry because I expected it. I knew my mother well enough to understand what her reaction would be.” After many discussions, Davis’s mother eventually began to accept him, he said. Davis later began working with the Hentrick Martin Institute (HMI), an organization that serves LGBT youth in need of a supportive environment. “That was the place where I saw true love, true strength,” Davis said. “They taught me how to love myself because they woke up every day, and existed in this
world as themselves.” Grateful to the young people he had met at HMI, Davis began working for the You Can Play Project, an organization that works to limit homophobia in sports settings. He also co-founded You Belong, a camp that works to connect LGBT youth and straight LGBT allies with professional athletes to encourage diversity. “It’s adult’s responsibility, like mine, to create the space where [youth] can have their promise realized,” he said. Davis ended the presentation with a ‘thank you’ to the audience. “You all — just by the virtue of being here — you care,” he said. “I’m truly grateful to be here.”
Features
3
tuftsdaily.com
Ben Zuckert | Straight Out of the Bible
Don’t wear goatskins
T
Tejvan Pettinger via Wikimedia Commons
One of the competitive programs located abroad that Tufts students submit applications to is The Rhodes Scholarship, which provides scholarships for students to attend the University of Oxford in Oxford, England.
Post-graduation, Jumbos have intentions to live abroad by Sophie
Laing
Contributing Writer
Studying abroad isn’t just for junior year anymore. Karen Adler (LA ’13), for example, studied in Nantes, France during her junior year but this year chose to return and teach English to elementary school students. “My French advisor was the one who told me about applying abroad to this program,” Adler said. Adler was not alone in choosing to live and work abroad post-graduation: Fellow Jumbos are currently on Peace Corps missions in the Dominican Republic, teaching in Spain and teaching in Turkey through the Fulbright Scholar Program. On a pre-graduation exit survey, about 19 percent of the 2013 graduating class planned to work outside of the United States after graduation, Director of the Tufts Career Center Jean Papalia told the Daily in an email. “We can point to specific examples of students who indicated destinations such as the following: Japanese Exchange and Teaching Programme, the Peace Corps, Teach For China, Embassy of the United States in Tokyo, a school in Honduras and a language program in Spain,” Papalia said. “In terms of graduate school, the London School of Economics was another student’s destination.” Anne Moore, program specialist in Scholar Development, works with students to help them apply for prestigious fellowships like the Fulbright Scholar Program, the Rhodes Scholarship, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship and the Marshall Scholarship. She pointed to the global-minded atmosphere at Tufts as a reason for which international lives are appealing to Tufts students. “I certainly think Tufts’ international focus encourages study abroad programs,” Moore said. “I also think we have a pretty significant language requirement as opposed to other schools. I think that’s certainly what makes our students competitive for international programs.” As was the case for Adler, Papalia said that students’ experiences studying abroad as undergraduates at Tufts can also have an influence on their plans for post-graduation life.
“40 to 45 percent of the Tufts student population elects to study abroad as undergraduates,” Papalia said. “This trend, coupled with the Tufts community’s global focus, accounts for the many students who seek employment or volunteer service abroad after they graduate. From an anecdotal perspective, career counselors report that they frequently work with seniors who express an interest in working abroad, often returning to a country where they studied.” When asked what advice she would give to current undergraduates thinking about living and working abroad, Adler said to begin planning earlier rather than later. “Start now,” Adler said. “There are so many job opportunities you don’t know are out there.” Adler noted that living abroad was not always her plan, describing how she got an internship at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and also completed a workstudy job at English at Large that provides free English language education to immigrants in the greater Boston area. “In the back of my mind I had the idea that I would maybe do a masters in France,” Adler said. “I thought it would be much easier to go abroad now, then get a job in publishing and take a sabbatical and expect to have a job once I came back.” Adler explained why she looked at returning to Nantes instead of exploring another city in France. “I knew the tram system, I knew which part of the city I wanted to live in,” she said. While Adler chose to teach abroad, many international opportunities are volunteer- and service-oriented. “At Tufts it seems to sway a little bit more toward the service-learning kind of thing,” Moore said. “And I think that’s a credit to our focus on active citizenship.” With so many directions that students can take after leaving Tufts, the Career Center has taken a large role in assisting students through the planning process, according to Papalia. “I’m happy to say that most students do take advantage of the Career Center and all the services offered,” Papalia said. “Typically about 85 percent of graduating seniors report having used the Career Center during their four years. Last year Career Center staff conducted more than 5,000 individual coaching sessions with students.”
Outside of the Career Center, Tufts provides resources for students interested in living abroad by offering several on-campus cultural programs that might shape post-graduation goals, Moore said. “Something good to start thinking about sophomore year is can you make all the different things that you are doing really work together,” she said. “So if you are interested in international diplomacy, does it make the most sense to get involved in some of the programs through the Institute for Global Leadership, or maybe what makes more sense for you is to go live in the German [Language] House, or something else, or both of those things.” Moore said, however, that the biggest challenge for students is not necessarily cultivating interest in applying to international programs: it is the writing sections of applications for nationally competitive scholarships. “You have to write a personal statement for most competitive scholarships and fellowships,” Moore said. “You are encouraged to do that in high school; you are encouraged to rely on your own experience and bring it in in high school, but in college you have to kind of unlearn that. So I think for something like a Fulbright application you have to figure out how to do that again, but in a more mature way.” The fellowships and scholarships of Fulbright, Rhodes, Truman and Marshall are popular as competitive and enriching opportunities for students after graduation, but Moore stressed that the time to start planning ahead should happen earlier. “Students can start thinking about applying for nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships their sophomore year,” Moore said. “I think that’s actually the best time to be thinking about and doing some long-term planning.” Regardless of interest in working abroad upon graduation from Tufts, students should try to find cohesion in the activities and academics they choose, according to Moore. “You want to follow the thread of your own intellectual desire,” she said. “But I also think you can start thinking a little strategically just about how you might have a little more sense of mastery over all the different things you are doing and see how it helps your experience as an undergraduate come together into a cohesive whole.”
his week is my third column, and as Schoolhouse Rock! famously put it: “Three is a magic number.” For example, you’ve got the Holy Trinity, Three Little Pigs, Three 6 Mafia — that’s the rule of three. It’s an incredible number. What’s this column about again? To go back to the Bible, we’re keeping it strictly Old Testament with Genesis 27. Bear with me on this one. Isaac and Rebecca have two sons: Jacob and Esau. Rebecca overhears her blind, old husband telling Esau to hunt food for him so that he can give Esau his blessing. Rebecca, however, prefers the younger son, Jacob, whom she wants to receive the blessing. So she disguises Jacob with Esau’s clothing and covers him with goatskins, I repeat, goatskins to make him seem as hairy as his older brother. How hairy was Esau? I don’t want to know. Jacob goes to Isaac with food prepared by Rebecca, Isaac feels his hands and gives Jacob his blessing (side note: Isaac could tell that it wasn’t Esau’s voice, but that didn’t matter because Jacob felt hairy. What kind of logic is that?). Anyway, when Esau returns from hunting, Isaac is incredibly confused. Esau is upset because Jacob got the blessing and vows to kill his brother. Alright, that was a lot, but now it’s time to bring this up to date: B.C. to A.D. Okay, I don’t think I can connect goatskins to Tufts, unless you’ve got some weird Crafts House Halloween costume planned, but I’ve got another idea. Motherly figures, however much we love them, can sometimes interfere in our collegiate lives. For example, they make you take German so you can speak to your grandma who doesn’t speak any English, but you can’t stand the language or your grandma. It’s not life or death, but it was for Jacob, so keep that in mind. Although if Rebecca hadn’t gotten involved in the whole blessing ordeal, a lot of biblical history could have been avoided. But as you know, moms will be moms and that’s just the way it is. Things will never be the same (RIP Tupac). Remember: college is a time to be yourself, not your absurdly hairy older brother. That being said, your parental figure still wants the best for you. After Esau threatened to kill Jacob, Rebecca said, “This is not good, like at all.” So she sent Jacob away to save his life. Now at Tufts, maybe your mom slips you a super crispy, golden nugget of advice that could surprisingly be of some use. The problem is her past advice wasn’t that helpful, so you don’t want to pay attention to what she says anymore. For example, you follow your mom’s advice to take German, but then you realize you want to study abroad in Russia after meeting Svetlana from Moscow on the Internet. You blame your mom for making you take German, but then she tells you that Svetlana isn’t actually Russian, just a 40-year-old man in Ohio sitting in his basement eating Cheetos. After some research, you find out she was right. But if your mom is telling you to put on goatskins, say no. It’s as simple as that. Just say no to goatskins. For now, stay biblical. Actually, that’s not a good idea. It sounds so good though. Also, if you have any requests or concerns, holler at the scholar. Next week, I’ll be shifting gears a little bit as I discuss congressional gridlock and the future of our nation.
Ben Zuckert is a senior majoring in political science. He can be reached at Benjamin. Zuckert@tufts.edu
4
The Tufts Daily
advertisement
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Arts & Living
5
tuftsdaily.com
Concert Review
Grouplove delivers high energy show at The Sinclair by
Lauren Samuel
Contributing Writer
“Yeah I’d rather be a hippy than a hipster, what! / Yeah I’d rather leave my spirits for everyone.” These lyrics from “Hippy Hill” off of Grouplove’s new release, “Spreading Rumors” (2013), are fitting words for the L.A.-based indie band. On Sept. 22 at Cambridge’s The Sinclair, lead vocalists Christian Zucconi and Hannah Hooper took to the stage, decked out in a leopard robe and cheetah bodysuit, respectively. Clearly, Grouplove is a free-spirited band. But beyond showing off its eccentric persona, Grouplove knows how to put on a show. Channeling their ironically literal wild sides, the group members screamed, jumped, danced and crawled — all at no cost to their infectious sounds. The way Grouplove manages to make raw vocals catchy through smoother pop synths sets them up to produce the perfect “fun” concert: and that’s just what they delivered. Best known for its song “Tongue Tied,” Grouplove has only recently come into the indie-pop scene, having released its first album “Never Trust a Happy Song” in 2011. And although the contagious head-bopping sensation of the hook “Take me to your best friend’s house / Go around this roundabout” is much of what they are famous for, the majority of the group’s songs are surprisingly mature and complex. Such sound has been preserved in its second record and, thus, the show’s blending of both albums did not lead to a jarring difference as it flipped from old songs to new. After jumping onto the stage, the band opened with “I’m With You,” an energetic tune, which — while not particularly
Abby Gillardi via Flickr Creative Commons
Grouplove smartly blends smooth pop synths with raw vocals. memorable — riled up the audience. Yet the true kick off began with the fifth song: a sure-to-be-stuck-in-your-head jam from “Spreading Rumors” called “Shark Attack.” Starting with an intense staccato sound, the audience jumped in sync with Hooper and the blue light show dancing across the back wall. After this invigorating peak, Zucconi tossed his robe aside and continued the performance in a plain white tee and ripped, shaggy jeans. Then Grouplove
TV Review
took on the challenge of playing two of its tamer pieces back-to-back. On “Hippy Hill” and “Naked Kids” the group proved that slow is by no means lackluster. Later, Grouplove made a seamless transition, with guitarist Andrew Wessen taking over vocals, to the track “Spun.” He quickly took reigns of the mic, with a more fast-paced and bolder voice than see GROUPLOVE, page 6
Theater Review
ArtsEmerson play seems important but scrambled by Joshua
Podolsky
Contributing Writer
Few things are harder than trying to piece together Stacey Gregg’s “Hold Your Tongue, Hold Your Dead” (“HYT, HYD”),
Hold Your Tongue, Hold Your Dead
Genevieve 719 via Flickr Creative Commons
‘Bones’ leads Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz create wonderful romantic angst in their onscreen relationship.
‘Bones’ premiere delivers for longtime fans by Sarah
Gruen
Contributing Writer
Over the course of its nine seasons, Fox’s “Bones” has progressively edged towards the extremes, with the silly
Bones episodes sillier, the gruesome human
Starring Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, Michaela Conlin
Airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Fox remains more graphic and the villains even darker. At the same time, the constant ups and downs of the
Directed by Michael Lessac ArtsEmerson 559 Washington Street Boston, MA 02111
characters’ personal lives have made “Bones” seem almost soap operaesque, while the ridiculousness of the cases has sometimes transformed the show into a pseudo-sitcom. Yet there is something endearing about “Bones” that has managed to keep viewers hooked for this long, and the start of season nine — in all its cheesiness — proves just why “Bones” fans have kept watching through thick and thin (or skin and bone). Premiering in 2005, “Bones” is a crime comedy-drama about the personal and professional relationships between FBI agent Seeley Booth
but it is easy to see by the end that something important has taken place on stage. But what is it exactly that happens? The “HYT, HYD” work-in-progress collaborative began when the cast of actors hailing from the Emerald Isle gathered to share their experiences on the very topic their play discusses. “HYT, HYD” examines the conflict between opposing sides of Northern Ireland’s divide and the emotional ramifications of this political struggle. With such a lofty goal, the work could have flown high. However, though the scenes are performed beautifully, the audience is ultimately left with a series of jumbled anecdotes rather than a cohesive story. This workshop performance was presented by members of Global Arts Corps, an acting collective that specializes in productions situated in conflict zones and aims to foster reconciliation through shared experiences. “HYT, HYD’s” director and
see BONES, page 6
see TONGUE, page 6
Nimarta Narang | Hello U.S.A.
Making Jason Segel laugh
F
or me, there is a definite difference to watching Hollywood films in Thailand and watching them here in the United States. Back home, I would feel so far away from the ideals, characters and stories shown in the films. Here, however, I feel a little closer because I have actually seen some of these same ideals, characters and stories occur around me. The biggest revelation I had was when I realized that I am studying in the same place Jessica Biel (otherwise known as Justin Timberlake’s wife) studied from 2000 to 2002. I am in a place where movies are being filmed and where cookies are packed in resealable packages. (While this has nothing to do with films, this is something I just recently found out.) It truly feels like you have arrived in the United States when you suddenly remember that it is the home of Hollywood. By now, you should have already guessed that this week’s topic will be just that: Hollywood. And what perfect timing, with the film shoot for “Basic Math” this past Monday on campus. (The movie was previously titled “Sex Tape,” and I’m pretty sure they will revert back to the racier title.) I will now proceed to use this column to shamelessly discuss my exciting role as a production assistant on the shoot, where I often found myself just a few feet away from Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz. The experience wasn’t as glamorous or glitzy as I had imagined it would be, and there was really no drama apart from the scenes being acted out. People actually seemed to enjoy themselves on set, and no one seemed stressed at all. And guess what? I made Jason Segel laugh! I had come to notice that he loved winking and making silly faces at fans, maybe to lessen the awkwardness or perhaps even to heighten it. As I was gawking at him, I was probably making him feel a little uncomfortable — then, he wiggled his eyebrow at me. I eyebrow-wiggled back and he laughed. For a film formerly named “Sex Tape,” it’s a given that the dialogues, conversations and topics covered in the film will be appropriate for a college-aged crowd. Back in Thailand, I had the preconception that Americans were outspoken, confident and didn’t shy away from uncomfortable topics. This attitude is much different in comparison to that of people in Thailand, who tend to stick to discussions about safer topics,such as festivals, or would secretly veer off to talking about politics. I anticipated this difference in attitude and was excited at the prospect of being exposed to uncomfortable situations. The one film scene I watched definitely fit the bill. The scene was about erections and socialism — two words that I never thought I would have been able to use in the same sentence. I am aware that there are far more explicit scenes out there, but this was the first time I was actually witnessing a conversation about erections (in conjunction with socialism) in person. The ease with which erections were discussed surprised me, and especially since this wasn’t done in the confines of a private conversation, but rather in the context of a film which will eventually be viewed by a huge number of people. Apart from learning about various cultural practices prevalent in the United States, I also have to adjust to the different mindset here. I could never imagine walking into a classroom with the topic of discussion centered on women’s assets. At Tufts, this already happened during my second week here. I have yet to get used to this. But hey, at least I made Jason Segel laugh.
Nimarta Narang is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. She can be reached at Nimarta.Narang@tufts.edu.
The Tufts Daily
6
Arts & Living
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
‘Hold Your Tongue, Hold Your Dead’ depicts Irish conflict TONGUE
continued from page 5
producer, Michael Lessac, was also the creator and director for “Truth in Translation,” a piece about the experiences of South African translators who worked for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It is critical to bear in mind that “HYT, HYD” was, first and foremost, a workshop production. The show was bookended with Lessac inviting the audience to stay for a question-and-answer session with the actors and musicians (yes, there is a musical element to the play), both to ask the actors about their personal experiences and to critique the play. Herein lies is the real magic of “HYT, HYD”: At the heart of every scene is an actor’s real-life story. Despite occasionally thick layers of emotional showboating, most of the actors’ performances were exceptional. If the goal of “HYT, HYD” was solely to portray a breadth and depth of experiences, then it would survive this review completely unscathed. Indeed, the multigenerational cast seems perfectly suited to the task of expressing shared and individual memories, while simultaneously developing a multitude of relationships between its characters — creating interactions that are at once charming and revolting, depressing and exciting. In a way, however, the variety of relationships in the show makes its apparent lack of resolution and continuity all the more frustrating. Of all the relationships created in the 95 minutes of drama, the only one that matters is that of Nevin (Ryan McParland) and Kerry (Eileen O’Higgins). Watching the two characters — the show’s representation of the younger generation — try to figure out how
to be actual adults is both terrifying and hilarious. “HYT, HYD” becomes a sort of anti-“Peter Pan” as the two characters race to grow up, but the problem for the would-be lovers is that neither knows how to do so. The fact that just one important relationship holds up the play calls into question the necessity of so many of the others developed for the sake of individual scenes; though they are entertaining, what is their raison d’etre? Perhaps the most important theme in “HYT, HYD” is the relationship between one generation’s past and another generation’s present. This issue becomes increasingly important to Nevin through the play (a matter of life and death, really) as he looks for an anchor to which he can attach his identity. In one scene, he comes tantalizingly close to discovering the truth about his father’s role in the Troubles, as the conflict is called, only to be thwarted by a curt scolding. Nevin’s terse and magnificently angsty response confirms the plot elements set up in the first five minutes of the show. That is not to say that there is a dearth of tension. “HYT, HYD” is never out to surprise its audience — at least, not with plot points. The tension comes from knowing how the story ends, watching the catastrophe grow from a phantom to full-on monster and understanding in bits and pieces why characters do what they do. The final surprise comes from the information handed to the audience in the last moments before the lights go out — information that contextualizes the play and explains why Global Arts Corps took on this project. “HYT, HYD” has an important message to share, but it may be better suited to venues other than the stage.
Scrubhiker (USCdyer) via Flickr Creative Commons
Grouplove’s personality and stage presence culminated in a successful show.
Grouplove successfully blends old favorites, new sensations GROUPLOVE
continued from page 5
Zucconi’s, and his controlled and powerful singing only left concertgoers wanting more. Though “Tongue Tied” and “Bitin’ the Bullet,” a new, thumping song during which the audience was invited to “stomp the ground until the floor shakes,” were highlights of its closing set, there was a tangible lack of closure when the band walked off stage the first time. However, Grouplove returned to the crowd’s delight, playing an incredibly tight encore that squandered any feelings of dissatisfaction. Ending with three booming, catchy and popular songs — “Itchin’ on a Photograph,” “Ways to Go” and “Colours,”
the show finished in a hysteric wave of excitement and power. There was also something incredibly poignant in the fact that the band ended the show with its first-ever single. Throughout the concert, Grouplove didn’t just deliver quality music — it also brought personality. During the show, the atmosphere of The Sinclair was somehow both mellow and buoyant. There were moments of sheer freedom when spectators flipped their hair and shook their torsos, and then there were moments when it was much more rewarding to simply watch the band members move — and move they did. From Hooper’s high kicks and hearty smiles to drummer Ryan Rabin’s standing solo with glow-in-the-dark
drumsticks, the band seemed to be having just as much fun as the audience. A show that brings this much energy and excitement to the stage is truly rewarding for both the audience and the performers. To be able to head bang with the band, watch the lead vocalist crawl on the stage as she nailed the notes and twist in such an open, free-loving atmosphere can be an absolute treat. With Grouplove, these moments are guaranteed. Indie fans don’t always have the opportunity to let loose in such vibrant ways, and Grouplove is a guilty exception to the genre — creating a full concert experience that engaged all the senses in a highly satisfying way.
‘Bones’ to begin season nine with long-term villain behind bars BONES
continued from page 5
(“Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s” David Boreanaz) and forensic anthropologist Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel). The brilliant and hyperrational Bones works with her colleagues and friends, including forensic artist Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin), entomologist Jack Hodgens ( TJ Thyne), psychologist Lance Sweets ( John Francis Daley) and pathologist Camille Soroyan ( Tamara Taylor) in the fictional Jeffersonian Institute. Here, she studies human remains to solve murders with the help of partner — and, as of season eight, boyfriend — Booth. The show has the crime-scene and anatomical lingo of “NCIS” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” the dark subject material of “House” and the humor of a sitcom, all wrapped up in one. Season nine picks up where the series left off, with the team investigating both the usual murder cases as well as focusing its attention on catching serial murderer and “hacktivist” Christopher Pelant, who has been Bones’ long-term bad guy since the seventh season. Pelant seems to have eyes everywhere, and scattered throughout the episodes are reminders of his Big Brother-like presence. Although “Bones” fans have seen their share of super-villains — with names like Grave Digger and Gormogon — Pelant is by far the most terrifying. His extreme intelligence and computer skills make him untouchable, and it is his smoke-like ability to just fall off the grid that makes hunting him so frustrating. Though he never actually appears in the first two episodes, his presence fundamentally changes the mood of the show. The first episode of the season begins three months after Pelant warns Booth that he will kill innocent people if Booth marries Brennan, causing Booth to act
reluctant to wed. The dramatic tension between the heartbroken and distant Brennan and the guilt-ridden Booth is hard to watch — in the best way. After seasons of sexual tension building between the then-platonic pair, to see their romance so short-lived is yet another dangling carrot. Still, the nuances of the strained relationship prove that “Bones” is more than just a crime show. The audience cannot assign itself to a side, and one feels a special connection to the characters and becomes invested in their happiness. Though the crime portion of the episode gives structure to the plotline, “Bones” has become more about human relationships than forensic anthropology. More often than not, the viewer remembers an episode for the BoothBrennan development rather than the case being investigated. Though the second episode has the levity of previous trademark silly episodes — in one particular scene, Brennan and Booth go undercover to a marriage retreat — it is disconcerting that the two are not pursuing Pelant because it means he is still at large. The viewer becomes paranoid — every victim could be Pelant’s, and every phone call and e-mail could be from him. Though extended villain-based episodes are not the norm on the show, it is now impossible to imagine a “Bones” world in which Pelant wasn’t present — he is both ephemeral and terrifying. With Pelant, the show has become darker in the best of ways, and it will be interesting to eventually see “Bones” immerse itself into a world without this villain. Viewers don’t watch “Bones” for the accuracy or realism of the cases. “Bones” is about the lives of brilliant, surprisingly real and vulnerable people. And as long as the viewer goes in expecting character development over realistic crime-scenes, season nine will not disappoint.
Genevieve 719 via Flickr Creative Commons
Michaela Conlin, in her role as Angela Montegro, plays Brennan’s supportive best friend.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
The Tufts Daily
advertisement
7
The Tufts Daily
8
THE TUFTS DAILY Hannah R. Fingerhut Editor-in-Chief
Editorial Jenna Buckle Melissa Wang Managing Editors Abigail Feldman Executive News Editor Daniel Gottfried News Editors Victoria Leistman Menghan Liu Melissa Mandelbaum Elizabeth McKay Annabelle Roberts Mahpari Sotoudeh Josh Weiner Sarah Zheng Daniel Bottino Assistant News Editors Alexa Horwitz Elissa Ladwig Hunter Ryan Denali Tietjen Shannon Vavra Executive Features Editor Lily Sieradzki Features Editors Charlotte Gilliland Emily Bartlett Vicky Rathsmill Emma Arnesty-Good Assistant Features Editors Caitlin McClure Sabrina McMillin Julia McDaniel Caroline Welch Executive Arts Editor Dan O’Leary Arts Editors Veronica Little Drew Robertson Assistant Arts Editors Brendan Donohue Lancy Downs Grace Hoyt
editorial | op-ed
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Editorial
Benefits of new room reservation system
The once infuriating process of making a room reservation on campus has finally been made simple thanks to the implementation of the new Tufts Space and Resource Management System. The new system this summer replaced Tufts’ outdated R25 room reservation system, which was limited in functionality and full of glitches. Students and faculty alike often complained of rooms getting double-booked and appearing available when they were not. The system change, which took under a year to complete, represents the university’s efforts to improve the efficiency of its many services for students. The new and improved system offers users a wider range of functions when reserving a room on campus. In addition to a simpler login process that only requires a Universal Tufts Login Name and password, students can now cancel and edit reservations themselves, removing the unnecessary task of contacting administrators to do so. The
system also functions so that when students request a space, that particular room is no longer available for selection by others even if the reservation has not been officially confirmed. The most significant improvement, however, is the new option to search for rooms based on size and the services — such as projectors and whiteboards — available. This feature will be most helpful to activity and club leaders who need to use the system frequently to book meeting space. The enhanced room reservation system will likely facilitate the growth of student groups and encourage more students to plan events on campus. These improvements will inevitably involve a learning curve for users who have grown accustomed to R25. Anticipating this issue, however, the team responsible for implementing the system has provided due support to students, faculty and staff in order to ease the tran-
sition. A comprehensive introductory guide is available on the Tufts Technology Services website, and members of the Tufts community can attend training sessions about using the system. Students and faculty alike will rejoice in seeing the much-needed improvements to the university’s technological systems, including the switch from R25 to the new system. Although most of Tufts’ systems have been online for a while now, there has recently been a push to update and improve their functionalities — notably the moves from the Student Information System (SIS) to the Integrated Student Information System (iSIS) and from Blackboard to Trunk. Sectors of the university outside of academic services have embraced technology as well; for example, Health Service now offers a computer check-in system. These technological advancements should be commended, as our day-to-day life on campus is indeed being made easier.
benjamin boventer
Alexander Schroeder Executive Sports Editor Marcus Budline Sports Editors Aaron Leibowitz David McIntyre Zachey Kliger Jake Indursky Claire Sleigh Kate Klots Matthew Berger Tyler Maher Assistant Sports Editors Ross Dember Jason Schneiderman Alex Connors Elayne Stecher Bhushan Deshpande Tom Chalmers Matthew Crane Nick Golden Jehan Madhani Keran Chen Denise Amisial Benjamin Boventer Scott Geldzahler Drew Lewis
Executive Op-Ed Editor Op-Ed Editors
Cartoonists
Editorialists
Kyra Sturgill Executive Photo Editor Caroline Geiling Photo Editors John Hampson Wan Jing Lee Simone Backer Nick Pfosi Staff Photographers Zhuangchen Zhou Courtney Chiu Sofia Adams Alexander Kaufman Executive New Media Editor Phuong Ta New Media Editors Jake Hellman Barton Liang Assistant New Media Editor
Off the Hill | Dartmouth College
An excessive attachment by
PRODUCTION Elliot Philips
Production Director Emily Rourke Adrian Lo Emma Arnesty-Good Jen Betts Shoshanna Kahne Daniel MacDonald Montana Miller Falcon Reese Reid Spagna Andrew Stephens Chelsea Stevens Maura McQuade
Executive Layout Editor Senior Layout Editor Layout Editors
Assistant Layout Editor
Jamie Hoagland Executive Copy Editors Julia Russell Anna Haugen Copy Editors Adrienne Lange Drew Lewis Annaick Miller Vidya Srinivasan Marina Shtyrkov Hadley Gibson Assistant Copy Editors Patrick Schulman Rachel Salzberg Tori Porter Hamid Mansoor Executive Online Editor
BUSINESS Daphne Wu Executive Business Director Li Liang Receivables Manager P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 617 627 3090 FAX 617 627 3910 daily@tuftsdaily.com
Adam Mehring The Dartmouth
Perhaps one of Dartmouth’s greatest strengths is its sense of community. Students have a propensity to make strong and lasting connections over their undergraduate careers. Some of this may be borne out of necessity — the limited opportunities to escape our tiny campus both facilitates and necessitates plentiful intercommunity interaction. Alternately, we may just get close as a way to keep warm. Paired with the ample opportunities, organizations and resources available, the remoteness of our campus ensnares us for four years in a surreality of sorts, hyper-dense with activity in the unlikely location of Northeast Appalachia. Not unlike the ecosystem on a water-locked land mass, Dartmouth naturally develops its own way of life — its own culture, habits, traditions and even language (“shmob,” anyone?). Quite naturally, Dartmouth the institution entangles itself with the very identity of the Dartmouth student. While I have certainly appreciated the periodic metropolitan reprieve from our campus during my first three years at Dartmouth, I not infrequently found myself during those ventures feeling somewhat displaced. Polishing off a beer at the local bar, I had to restrain myself from throwing the empty can onto the ground and stomping it into what was not a fraternity basement floor. Roaming the city in vain for a late-night study spot, I yearned for the rattling pipes and damp air of the 1902 Room.
The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. EDITORIAL POLICY Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. 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.
If my nostalgia for Dartmouth felt intrusive during an off-term, I can only imagine its impact once I finally graduate next June. My suspicion is supported by the hordes of graduates — from those of decades past to those who have spent a mere four months separated from this institution — who descend upon our campus every fall for Homecoming festivities. But even off campus, graduates are wont to reenact Dartmouth traditions with each other: makeshift games of pong, reiterations of spring term theme parties and Dartmouth lingo interwoven into everyday speech (“boot and rally,” anyone?). I do not mean to ascribe this phenomenon to every matriculant, but there is clearly a strong tendency for students to take a bit of the College along with them when they graduate, just as Dartmouth welcomes back its graduates with open arms. The Dartmouth undergraduate experience seamlessly abets this phenomenon. But often I wonder whether some of our attachments to the College hold too strongly. Much has been made of the fact that Dartmouth can be an insular environment for its current students, but might there exist an overemphasis on continued engagement with Dartmouth even after graduation? Alums holding on too tightly to Dartmouth may prevent our institution from growing. Every year, there is talk of a need to move forward: The cries come from all corners of the campus and encompass an array of issues. And every year, initial promises of change are succeeded by half-hearted fixes and general stagnation. With their fingers on the alumni donation
purse strings and their classmates and kin deeply embedded in the administrative fabric of the school, certain Dartmouth graduates choose to wield their power — often silently, but sometimes quite deliberately — to promote what is ultimately their sense of nostalgia. But they are also necessarily blind to the current issues and needs of the campus community, and the specter of retracted alumni support serves primarily to strangle attempts at progress. Something much more concerning, however, may result from the penchant for a Dartmouth obsession. That brand new graduates frequently reappear on campus and attempt to reconstruct aspects of Dartmouth outside of Hanover suggests dissatisfaction with the postgraduate world. Perhaps the Dartmouth experience does not adequately prepare its students to disengage with the College, but more importantly, the alumni impulse to hold on tight to it may prevent full engagement with the rest of the world. How effectively can we truly rise to the challenge of John Sloan Dickey and make the world’s troubles our own if we allow so much of our own world, especially in the pivotal budding stages of our initial postgraduate endeavors, to be occupied by Dartmouth? There is, of course, an appropriate amount of alumni engagement with the campus, and that amount may run very high, but the dynamics of what could sometimes be described as a Dartmouth addiction may only serve to harm our campus currently, our institution’s legacy and Dartmouth in the eyes of the rest of the world.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must be submitted by 2 p.m. and should be handed into the Daily office or sent to letters@tuftsdaily.com. All letters must be word processed and include the writer’s name and telephone number. There is a 450-word limit and letters must be verified. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length.
ADVERTISING POLICY All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editorin-Chief, Executive Board and Executive Business Director. A publication schedule and rate card are available upon request.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
The Tufts Daily
Evidence shows divestment is the smart and right thing by
Martin Bourqui
In 1978, when Columbia University became one of the first major universities to divest from companies profiting from apartheid South Africa, the trustees gave part of their reasoning as “to maintain educational leadership,” which demanded “ethical and humane positions that give effective expression to our highest national ideals.” In 1990, Harvard University divested from tobacco companies out of a desire to not “be associated with companies [whose] products create a substantial and unjustifiable risk of harm to other human beings,” as President Derek Bok explained. And this year, Cornell President David J. Skorton explained in an op-ed that the university’s 2005 divestment from companies doing business in Sudan was an example of “cases in the past where the risks to the endowment were manageable and where we thought our action would help accomplish a socially responsible goal.” Higher education is driven by ideals such as diversity, social responsibility and a desire to seek the truth. Looking back now as an alumnus, I remember those ideals are what drew me to apply to Tufts, an institution that shared my family’s values. But the school’s resistance to engage in a dialogue around its investment practices led me and my peers, as students, to challenge the administration. We were disappointed by the school’s unwillingness to enter into a meaningful dialogue around how investment policy failed to reflect on Tufts’ values of global citizenship, sustainability, compassion and integrity. I’m thankful for the experiences I had as a student working to try to change Tufts’ investment practices, even though it was challenging. Those experiences taught me a lot about social change and helped lead me to a career path of advocating socially and environmentally focused investing, both in higher education endowments, as well as in private equity markets. When I worked at the Responsible Endowments Coalition, we carefully studied the strategy of the fast-growing fossil fuel divestment movement with many of the stakeholders who founded what is now a global movement. Today, I work for a sustainable private equity platform,
where I get to witness the exponential growth of environmentally and socially focused investing from the perspective of serious investors and issuers in the market. I’ve gained a deeper professional understanding of what fossil fuel divestment and real sustainable investment can look like over the past several years, and I can say that my support for this movement has only grown the longer I’ve been in this field. Studies attempting to examine the financial impact of divestment on a school’s endowment have generally shown that divestment doesn’t pose a risk to endowment growth. ( That is, unless you’re counting the study that the petroleum industry themselves conducted, which, based on their methodology and historical penchant for spreading misinformation, is hardly on solid ground.) Research about broader socially and environmentally focused investing shows that despite outdated conventional wisdom, doing the right thing doesn’t have to cost the school anything at all, and could even benefit it. Finance can be intimidating, but if I’ve learned anything after years of study, it’s that even the experts will admit that investing can be a crapshoot. Even with the unpredictability of capital markets and the great uncertainty around the future of a carbon price, the value of fossil fuel extraction is clearly on the decline. I believe serious evidence shows divestment is a no-brainer for our balance sheet, but I don’t care much to talk about divestment solely in terms of financial impacts. Here’s why: It’s widely accepted that a mass movement is needed to shift energies in finance, politics, economics and our cultural sphere to create a sustainable society. In the past, higher education has played a critical role in incubating the thought leaders that drive those shifts, as well as the ideas that drive social movements. Comprehensive environmental action will require significant personal, public and private sector efforts, including a price on greenhouse gases that reflects their destructive power. That price can only come from governments, and governments will only move if enough of us demand a radical change in how we think about the value of our economic activity. The moral outrage over apart-
heid South Africa emanated from and was amplified by higher educational institutions taking a real stand, which led to congressional action. We can, and must, do it again. When the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee became the first religious community to divest from fossil fuels earlier this year, Senior Minister Rev. Dr. Drew Kennedy said, “Climate change is an issue that I believe requires a mass movement to get our leaders’ attention. If we can get the divestment movement to catch fire, it has the potential to do what Selma did for the Civil Rights movement, Seneca Falls did for women’s suffrage and the Stonewall riots did for LGBT rights.” Since then, many more religious societies have added their names to the growing list of schools, cities, foundations, individuals and others that have divested. This movement is catching fire. We must recognize that decisionmakers at Tufts are tasked with difficult choices. Every day, they balance competing interests, including cultivating an alumni support base, serving students’ needs, hedging against future uncertainty and ensuring that their investment policies dutifully follow the law. (And yes, research has shown that divestment can be in full compliance with the trustees’ fiduciary responsibility.) Divestment is a big decision and not to be taken lightly. But schools like Columbia, Harvard and Cornell have taken that step, time and again, as did Tufts when it divested from apartheid South Africa. History has shown us that these pushes take time, and institutions will not act without significant pressure from all sides — faculty, alumni and, of course, the student body. That’s where you come in. As a constituent of this community, please vote on the referendum in favor of Tufts divesting from fossil fuels. History has also shown us that social movements take years to build, but the reverberations are real, and can shift hearts and minds not just on campus, but out here in the “real world” you all will inherit. Martin Bourqui is an alumnus of the Class of 2009 who majored in political science and English. He can be reached at mbourqui@gmail.com.
Off the Hill | Miami University
Fund your weekend: five ways to keep your bank account afloat by
Charlie Moody
The Miami Student
Between your SoHi, Chipotle and The Woods habits, all the money you made this summer might seem like it’s seeping into a black hole. So for those of you looking to put some weight back in your wallets, kick back for a minute and jot a couple of notes down. Without further ado, here are “Five Ways to Fund Your Weekends.” 1. Sell your old or useless textbooks online. Yes, it’s true. You don’t need every book you buy, especially after the semester ends. In other words, those textbooks in your closet are basically paper gold. So grab your phone, snap a pic of the cover and post your item for sale on Amazon. For the truly entrepreneurial, look for dirt-cheap copies of popular texts online. With good timing and a bit of luck, you can sell these back to the bookstores at prices that far exceed what you paid for them. 2. Share your wisdom with high
school students. From finding the right college to navigating the application process, figuring out one’s future can be stressful for any high school student. So how exactly does teen stress translate to funding your bar tab? Simple — join the site Chalky and become a professional mentor. You can choose what you want to help with, but most high school students on Chalky are seeking insights about the basics: college essays, major choice, campus life, etc. The site is currently in beta, but it’s set to launch officially soon. Join now to stack up badges, points and more before the masses. When it officially takes off in the coming weeks, you’ll be able to get paid for a piece of your mind. 3. Sell your skills in the digital marketplace. Calling all people with creative talents: Pad your bank account and your portfolio by finding freelance jobs online. While there are countless places where prospective clients post job listings, the biggest names in e-freelance are sites like
9
Op-Ed
Elance and oDesk.com. So whether you’re a writer, designer, developer or marketer, there are tens of thousands of jobs just waiting for you and your talents. 4. Clean out your closet. How many of your old favorites have gotten zero love lately? Like those dust-covered books in your closet, your infinitely expanding wardrobe is a virtually untouched goldmine. To cash in on your extra textiles, head to a site like Dresm, PoshMark or ThreadFlip.com and begin listing your unwanted items. 5. Get crafty and sell your creations on Etsy. Maybe you’re a paddle-painting prodigy, an embroidery expert or a borderline master woodworker. Whatever your craft, you can turn it into cash by selling your goods on Etsy. The way this site works is simple: You create your own online shop, fill in a profile, add product pictures, prices and bam, you’re ready to go. Now, put this paper down and go make some money.
Bhushan Deshpande | Words of Wisdom
Alcohol update
A
s you may have heard, the Tufts administration instituted a major change to the alcohol policy this summer. Tufts now has both a Good Samaritan and Amnesty policy — if you or a friend call for medical attention for alcohol, neither one of you will get in trouble if you were drinking underage. Additionally, if anyone, including an RA or the police, calls for medical attention, the person who Tufts Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) examines or hospitalizes does not get in trouble. It is worth stopping to consider for a moment what “in trouble” actually meant back before this past year. If a student were caught with alcohol (very separate from being drunk or needing to be TEMS’d), the first violation would be a meeting with Health Education and a warning. A second incident would warrant Probation I (which prevents you from being an RA or pledging Greek life) and another meeting with Health Ed. But it isn’t until the third offense that anything serious actually happens. In addition to a whole host of other restrictions, Probation II prevents you from going abroad or serving as an officer in campus clubs. A third offense, and there is a chance that you might be suspended. The policies for alcohol violations serious enough to require medical attention were largely the same. There were two significant differences: First, your family was notified, and second, the ambulance ride to the hospital would cost about $2,000 (variable based on insurance). The punishments for normal alcohol violations have stayed the same. Dangerous drinking, on the other hand, eliminates the probation levels. Instead, if you are transported to the hospital three times, the student undergoes an involuntary one-to-two semester medical leave. My extensive, entirely unscientific survey indicates that the student body is largely in favor of this. Indeed, there are only four people I have spoken to who are not very happy with the new policy. Not surprisingly, all four are all current or former RAs. I want to first get across the idea that RAs are not sociopaths out to get their residents. I might have a slightly biased perspective, having been an RA in Houston Hall (first floor!) last year. But not a single RA that I knew took pleasure in writing people up. And they weren’t clueless; we all knew who on our floor drank, who didn’t and who did to a worrying extent. The RAs do have a point, though. This is a somewhat significant change for the 85 percent of underclassmen who drink. Most of them drink somewhat responsibly and are not foolish enough to get themselves into a situation where they need medical attention. At the very least, they do so behind closed doors or not in dorms, not attracting police attention with excessive noise or behavior. Still, there are always those students who are not smart enough to hide it. Or end up throwing ragers that force the RA on duty to knock on the door. While there is plenty that an RA can overlook, actually seeing underage students with alcohol is not really something they can justifiably ignore. And so they have to do something. But it’s a silly policy. Anti-alcohol policies and enforcement by RAs don’t do anything to affect unsafe drinking rates, so it only really ends up affecting students almost at random if they happened to do something that night that attracted the RA’s attention. If you’re going to drink this year, do so responsibly. Don’t take five shots in 15 minutes before you go out, and don’t throw loud parties in dorms. One day, the national alcohol policy will change. Hopefully before then, Tufts gets rid of this weird situation where we only punish people for drinking safely.
Bhushan Deshpande is a senior who is majoring in quantitative economics. He can be reached at Bhushan.Deshpande@ 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 noon 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
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Doonesbury
Crossword
by
Garry Trudeau
Non Sequitur
Tuesday’s Solution
Married to the Sea
www.marriedtothesea.com
SUDOKU Level: Getting the actors to wave at you.
Late Night at the Daily
Tuesday’s Solution
Alex, after seeing Cameron Diaz: “There she is. There she is. I’m gonna die.” Want more late-night laughs? Follow us on Twitter at @LateNiteAtDaily
Please recycle this Daily.
by
Wiley
The Tufts Daily
Wednesday, October 2, 2013 Wanted
Services
. Sonny’s Barber Shop. Look Good – Best Haircuts Around! 5 Minutes from TUFTS – 282a Main st. Medford. MA. See Joe Jr. Walk in’s always Welcome! Highly Skilled Barber at Your Service! Open Tuesday- Saturday (617) 515. 2955
Housing
Great 3 Bedrooms at stones throws away from school! Take advantage before it is gone- Free Parking. Call 617-448-6233
11
Sports -
-
-
Large 7 Bedrooms, almost on campus. FREE Parking and Washing Machine with Dryer. 2 Bathrooms. Call 617-448-6233
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.
Telkedzhiev leads Jumbos in singles play MEN’S TENNIS
continued from back
against freshman Micheal Arguello from Brandeis, 6-2, 6-3. In the third round on Saturday, Telkedzhiev faced stiff competition in the form of Trinity’s Dan Carpenter, a sophomore and the tournament’s ninth overall seed. After taking the first set, Telkedzhiev dropped the second but regrouped to win in three, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. “I was able to control the rallies from the baseline with my aggressive style, and that really paid off,” Telkedzhiev said. “It always feels good when you win over such competitive players.” In addition to his style of play, Telkedzhiev credits his teammates for pushing him in training sessions and motivating him during his grueling matches at the ITA Regional Championships. “My tournament success is a reward for all the hard work the team has put into improving the Tufts program,” Telkedzhiev said. “During every single point of my matches, I felt I had the full support of every guy on the team and that really helped me overcome adversity during my matches.” What made Telkedzhiev’s run more rewarding was that he sustained a lower
back injury just last week. He was unable to play against Babson and was only partially recovered before he took the courts at Middlebury. “I couldn’t play without my body hurting during the weekend,” he said. “However, that didn’t change my attitude toward the tournament. I knew that I would be competitive even with my back hurting.” The other Jumbos faced tough singles opponents from the very beginning. Jacobson drew No. 16 seed Howard Weiss, a sophomore from No. 1 Williams, in the first round on Friday. The match was close, though, with Jacobson falling 6-4, 6-3. “I played a tough match in the first round of the tournament against Weiss,” Jacobson said. “He is a great player, so I knew going into the match that I’d have to execute my game well in order to put myself in a spot to win.” Glickman, the seventh seed, was upset in the first round by Williams freshman Conrad Harron, 6-3, 6-3, while Wong dropped a first set tiebreaker to Kevin Wang, a freshman from MIT, before losing the match in straight sets. In the first round of doubles, Jacobson and Wong paired up to win 8-1 against Arguello and Brian Granoff of Brandeis. On
Tyler Maher | Beantown Beat
Saturday, however, they fell to Amherst’s Ben Fife and Joey Fritz, 8-3. “Brad and I have had a lot of fun playing doubles together,” Jacobson said. “So far, that has translated to some great results playing together. I’m constantly learning about him in every match we play, how he competes, handles pressure and how he plays when it really counts.” Telkedzhiev and Glickman came close to taking out freshmen Wang and Eugene Oh of MIT, but they ultimately fell, 8-6. Telkedzhiev acknowledged that there is work to be done in doubles. “There are some weaker parts of our game we have to work on,” he said. “I feel that Jay and I have similar understanding of the doubles strategies, and I believe we could be successful in the future.” Next up for the Jumbos is another tournament, the Wallach Invitational at Bates, which begins Oct. 12. The Jumbos will look to build on their early season success in regular season matches and at the ITA Regional Championships. “We are lucky enough to have momentum at the beginning of the season, and our team goals for the Bates tournament are the same as they are for any tournament we play,” Telkedzhiev said.
Jumbos anticipate two more matches before NEWITT WOMEN’S TENNIS continued from back
younger players to the competition in the region, and it gave us all an opportunity to get a lot of match play in a few days,” Gann told the Daily in an email. “I think the team came away with a more defined idea of what we need to focus on in the coming days to best prepare for next week’s matches.” The Jumbos play a pair of away matches against MIT and Brandeis on Oct. 8 and 11, respectively, before concluding the fall season at the New England Women’s Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament (NEWITT) from Oct. 18 to 20.
Virginia Bledsoe / Tufts Daily Archives
Women’s tennis looks forward to its upcoming tournament.
2 Jumbos who earned All-NESCAC honors in golf after competing in the 2013 NESCAC Qualifier on Bowdoin over the weekend. Sophomore Jay Wong and junior John Wawer made the AllNESCAC Second Team. It is the first time two members of the Tufts golf team have received honors since 2001.
179
Points scored by the Denver Broncos through four games this NFL season. This mark puts them 52 points of the team with the next highest total, the Chicago Bears, and the Broncos are averaging 44.8 points per game, which is more than the Buccaneers or Jaguars have scored all season. Denver is one of five teams still undefeated in the NFL.
DAILY DIGITS 4-6
Weeks Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook will miss at the start of the NBA regular season due to arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. The three-time AllStar averaged 23.2 points and 7.4 assists per game last season, as the Thunder advanced to the Western Conference semifinals after finishing the regular season as the top seed in the West.
46
Record-breaking number of passes completed by Tufts junior quarterback Jack Doll in the Jumbos’ 20-16 loss at Bates on Saturday. Doll’s stellar performance in the air yielded 397 yards and zero touchdowns, though Doll ran for a 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter. He connected with 13 different receivers over the course of the four quarters. The Jumbos look for their first win of the season this weekend against Bowdoin in the home opener.
11 Tufts women’s cross country runners who finished in the top 15 at the Bowdoin Invitational Saturday. This remarkable showing earned Tufts a victory in just its second meet of the season. The Jumbos were led by sophomore Olivia Beltrani who finished the course first overall with a time of 22:40.26.
55
First-place votes the University of Alabama football team received in the most recent AP Top 25 poll. The Crimson Tide have held the No. 1 spot for six weeks now, remaining undefeated at 4-0. The last time Alabama was ranked any lower was Week 15 of last year’s season, when the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame held the top spot. Alabama would go on to win the National Championship, however, and looks poised for a repeat this season.
O
Welcome to Soxtober
ctober is upon us, which means shorter days, colder weather and some pretty amazing foliage. It also brings the glorious return of playoff baseball, something people around these parts affectionately refer to as Soxtober. The city of Boston hasn’t had a Soxtober since 2009, when the Red Sox were unceremoniously swept out of the first round by the Los Angeles Angels. Many expect this year’s squad to go deeper into the postseason, possibly all the way. It’s still sinking in that just one year removed from a 93-loss nightmare of a season, the Boston Red Sox are the best team in baseball. That may not be the case a month from now after the World Series champion has been crowned. But right now, with a whole slate of postseason games yet to be played, Boston is number one. While it’s true that the St. Louis Cardinals won just as many regular season games (97) as the Red Sox won, the Redbirds’ record is less impressive considering the context. Not only do they play in the National League (the weaker league), but their run differential — the margin by which they outscored their opponents — was also inferior. According to the Simple Rating System, a statistic that takes run differential and strength of schedule into account, the Red Sox were 1.3 runs better per game than the average team this year. Nobody else scored higher than 1.0. The mighty Sox won the same way they’ve always won: by pulverizing the opposition. Boston blended speed, power and patience to create baseball’s best offense in 2013, ranking first in runs, doubles, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS, total bases and stolen base efficiency. The Red Sox weren’t merely a byproduct of Fenway Park’s favorable hitting environment either; they scored more runs and hit more home runs on the road than they did at home. And whereas previous Boston lineups were built around elite hitters such as Ted Williams and Manny Ramirez, this year’s team relied on extraordinary depth. The Red Sox received above average offensive production at every position except for third base, where Will Middlebrooks endured a sophomore slump. Leadoff man Jacoby Ellsbury ignited the offense with his speed, stealing more bases than anyone in baseball. David Ortiz anchored the heart of the order, remaining an offensive force at age 37 as well as the team’s top run producer. Mike Napoli was streaky and struck out a lot but still put up good power numbers. De facto team captain Dustin Pedroia provided his typically stellar all-around play. On top of that, the Red Sox got timely help from unlikely contributors, namely Mike Carp, Daniel Nava and Jose Iglesias. With so many quality bats on the roster, the Sox are essentially slump-proof. Boston has arms too, especially in the rotation. Starters Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and John Lackey all returned to form, with Buchholz looking like a Cy Young candidate when healthy. Felix Doubront became more consistent after a promising but uneven rookie season. Innings-eater Ryan Dempster solidified the rotation as did Jake Peavy, acquired through a midseason trade. The bullpen withstood injuries to several key relievers and saw Koji Uehara dominate hitters unlike any closer before him. With plenty of pitching, hitting and homefield advantage throughout the postseason, the BoSox are well-equipped to win their third World Series title in ten years. Soxtober officially begins Friday with Boston hosting the winner of the Wild Card game (either Tampa Bay or Cleveland). The stars of the rested Red Sox, many of whom started growing out their playoff beards in Spring Training, will be ready. Tyler Maher is a junior who is majoring in economics. He can be reached at Tyler. Maher@tufts.edu.
Sports
12
tuftsdaily.com
Women’s Tennis
Gann’s strong singles showing highlights ITA weekend by
Alison Kuah
Contributing Writer
Tufts women’s tennis captain Samantha Gann finished in the top 16 at the ITA Regional Championships at Williams College over the weekend, ultimately falling 6-1, 6-1 against No. 3 seed Kara Shoemaker of Williams in a rematch of last year’s second round match. Gann, a senior who began the tournament seeded No. 15, cruised through the first two rounds with relative ease, beating Colby’s Victoria Abel 6-3, 6-4 and Brandeis’ Roberta Bergstein 6-3, 6-4, before her loss to Shoemaker in the third round. Shoemaker was part of the duo that took home the doubles title at last year’s ITA Regional Championships. Gann and classmate Shelci Bowman started the tournament seeded No. 8 in the doubles draw, winning their first round match against Elizabeth Erbafina and Elena Madzhukova of Bates, 8-6. They eventually lost in the second round in a closely contested match against Michelle Dutt and Krystal Lai of MIT, 8-6. The other doubles duo of junior Sophie Schonfeld — who was Gann’s partner last year — and first-year Conner Calabro finished in the top eight among 32 doubles pairs. After cruising past Anna Dyakiv and Lindsay Benoit of Nichols, 8-2, in the first round, the pair won a nail-biter against Bowdoin’s Samantha Stalder and Tiffany Cheng, 9-8 (7-4) to set up a contest against No. 1-seeded Gabby Devlin and Jordan Brewer of Amherst — last year’s NCAA Div. III Doubles Champions.
Virginia Bledsoe / Tufts Daily Archives
Senior captain Samantha Gann led the Jumbos at the ITA Championships with a finish in the top 16. Brewer was also seeded first in the singles draw. Although Schonfeld and
Calabro lost to the No. 1 seed 8-0, Calabro was happy with the progress they made in the
tournament. “I think we did really well, considering that it was only
our second time in a competitive situation playing together,” Calabro said. A key to the Jumbos’ success this year will be the influence of returning players, especially on a team in which six of the 11 players are freshmen. Schonfeld, the more experienced player of the two, offered some stability for Calabro during the match. “[Schonfeld] always stays really calm and cool and collected,” Calabro said. “She keeps us both very level-headed and keeps me from getting too tight or nervous.” Schonfeld, Bowman and freshman Alexa Meltzer were also entered in the singles draw, with Schonfeld and Bowman using their experience at the 2012 ITA Regionals to their advantage. Schonfeld’s decisive 6-1, 6-2 win over Mount Holyoke’s Ann Elizabeth Konkel was an improvement over last year’s first round departure and led to a matchup with sixthseeded Kathleen Elkins of Williams, who beat Schonfeld 6-1, 6-2. Bowman fell to Chrissy Martel of Endicott, 6-4, 4-6, (10-8), while Meltzer avenged a loss earlier in the season to Babson’s Alex Freeman, beating her 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 in the first round before her loss to Hannah Atkinson of Williams, 6-1, 7-5 in the second. As the fall season winds down in the coming weeks, the younger players look to build on the valuable experience they have gained so far. “The ITA tournament was a great way of introducing our see WOMEN’S TENNIS, page 11
Men’s Tennis
Underclassmen represent Tufts at ITA Regional Championships by Jorge
Monroy-Palacio
Daily Staff Writer
A week after defeating rival Babson 8-1, the men’s tennis team competed at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regional Championships at Middlebury College this weekend. Held annually, the ITA Regional Championships pit the top Div. III players in New England against each other. Unlike regular season matches, in which players compete for a team victory, invitational tournaments are contested on a purely individual basis. “Invitationals have a totally different feel from regular season matches,” sophomore Rob Jacobson said. “At the invites, you’re out there alone. While we obviously represent Tufts in every match we play, at invitationals it’s a little more about playing for yourself, trying to go deep in tournaments to get that match experience and walk away with the title.” This year, Tufts sent four players to the tournament. Sophomores Nik Telkedzhiev, Jacobson and Jay Glickman competed alongside freshman Brad Wong. Jacobson and Wong teamed up in doubles, while Telkedzhiev and Glickman formed the other doubles pairing. Telkedzhiev, the tournament’s 15th seed, won his first round match against Colby’s Carl Reid, a freshman, in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3. He capped off the first day of play with a second round victory see MEN’S TENNIS, page 11
Sofia Adams / The Tufts Daily
Tufts will participate in invitational play on Oct. 12 at its next contest, the Wallach Invitational at Bates.