Spring 2010 - Issue 1

TUFTS OBSERVER

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

VOLUME CXX / ISSUE 1

Between

IRAQ —

and a

—

HARD PLACE ( )

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INSIDE THE

Log on to Jumbo’s

Facebook feed (page 6)

An indie film manifesto (page 19)

The return of Dan and Dan(ny) (page 22)

FEATURED ARTICLES

2

feature

The hardships of finding a new home

7

international

Tufts brings interactive relief to campus

arts

22

Our favorite mandators start the semester off right

national

10

Did Martha Coakley lose, or did Scott Brown win?

off campus

25

Unique Valentine’s gifts for the romantically creative

The Observer has been Tufts’ weekly publication of record since 1895. Our dedication to in-depth reporting, journalistic innovation, and honest dialogue has remained intact for over a century. Today, we offer insightful news analysis, cogent and diverse opinion pieces, and lively reviews of current arts, entertainment, and sports. Through poignant writing and artistic elegance, we aim to entertain, inform, and above all challenge the Tufts community to effect positive change.

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O EDITOR EDITORS

CONTENTS

February 8, 2009 Volume CXX, Issue 1 The Observer, Since 1895 Tufts’ Student Magazine Tufts’ oldest publication www.TuftsObserver.org

editor-in-chief ditor-in-chief Daniel aniel Rosen Ros managing anaging editors Zach ch Fou Foulk Eliza iza Mills M Will Ramsdel Ramsdell

production director David Schwartz art t director directo Alyce Currier

section editors Katie Boland Meg Boland Katie Christiansen Zachary Laub Marysa Lin Cara Paley Molly Rubin Natalie Selzer Ariana Siegel Seth Stein

2 feature Iraq and a Hard Place, by Lauren Herstik 5 national Banks Audit the “Well-Endowed,” by Madeline Christensen 6 campus Jumbo’s Facebook Feed, by Marysa Lin 7 campus Gay and StraightForward Solutions, by Marysa Lin 7 international Interview: Aiding Haiti, by Marysa Lin 8 international On Your Newsfeed: Global Technology Transforming Haiti Relief Efforts,

by Katherine Sawyer & Lauren Herstick Seeing Through the Punditry, by Seth Stein 10 national An Open Letter to Organizing for America, by Seth Rau 11 national In Defense of English Majors, by Ariana Siegel 12 education The Independent’s Manifesto, by Alex Kahn 19 arts A Date with Dan(ny): New Beginnings, by Danny Weiner & Dan Rizzo 22 arts campus Ticket to Ride, by Ruth Tam 24 off campus Cupid Gets Creative, by Chelsea Brown 25 off & prose On the Therapeutic Potential of Remaining Fluently Silent in Arguments, 26 poetry

by George Kolev

photography editor Elizabeth Herman copy editor Kristen Barone assistant copy editors Danielle Carbonneau Kate Griffiths Karrie Larsson Carly Machlis Cara Paley Daniela Ramirez Isobel Redelmeier Brian Wolf lead artist Ruth Tam layout director Charlee Corra Daniel Weinstein

& prose To Be Straight With You, by Melis Aker 27 poetry safety Police Blotter, by Ruth Tam 28 campus

business managers Andrew McGowan

CONTRIBUTORS Melis Aker Chelsea Brown Nora Chovanec Lauren Herstik Alex Kahn George Kolev

Seth Rau Dan Rizzo Katherine Sawyer David Smythe Danny Weiner

Since

1895

INTERNATIONAL

Iraq and

Between a Hard

BY LAUREN HERSTIK Getting Out

Prior to and throughout the American-led invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq, a vast number of Iraqi nationals were employed by a wide array of public and private US-based entities to aid and assist in all manner of efforts and endeavors. A great many of these individuals were hired directly by branches of the American armed forces and played highly public and visible roles in said operations.

As such, a substantial number of these past and present Iraqi employees have been identified as traitors and targeted by groups hostile to America and American foreign policy. They now face threats of violence or death. They fear for the lives of their friends and family, deemed by many violent and extra-state entities to be complicit by association. Many are forced

Place

to leave Iraq for neighboring Syria or Jordan where they find themselves in limbo, denied mobility in an equally hostile environment but unable to return to Iraq.

In an effort to honor the sacrifice of such Iraqis, Kirk Johnson started the List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies. It’s a long list of Iraqis who worked as translators and interpreters, civil society experts for and employees of United States government agencies and affiliated organizations. Around 3,000 names are on the list, and ever more Iraqis are waiting to be added. Many potential candidates for the list have heard about Johnson’s project by word of mouth, email, or online news sources, and contact him in any and every way possible, attempting to get their names on this list.

Fady Mekhaeel, 24, had been working as a translator and a liaison to American forces for the Mosul Public Safety Academy for about a year when, in 2004, life

changed in Mosul, Iraq. The city fell into the hands of insurgents and soon after, two of Fady’s friends—both employed by American forces—were kidnapped and missing for over a month.

Fady looks at his hands, gently turning a pen in his fingers. His voice is controlled, quiet. “Unfortunately they were decapitated. They were filmed. Those films were sent to my home as a warning that I would be next unless I quit my job. So at that time I had to quit; otherwise, I would lose my life or my family members.”

The List Project first aims to help the thousands of Iraqis on the list make the trip to the United States; once they arrive, the project then serves to support Iraqis in the often-difficult resettlement process.

With its official launch in 2007, The List Project partnered with three law firms— Holland and Knight, Proskauer Rose, and later, Mayer Brown—to provide legal counsel to Iraqis navigating the long application process necessitated for entry into the United States.

Getting In Refugees who do manage to navigate the labyrinthine resettlement process face a whole host of new challenges upon arrival. Their cases get passed on to one of ten voluntary resettlement agencies (VOLAGs) around the country, non-profit/state entities that cooperate with the State Department to provide basic services to newly arrived refugees.

For Ihsan Yaqoob, 54, such aid and assistance in this

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THE OBSERVER

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

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INTERNATIONAL difficult process wasn’t forthcoming. He arrived in the US in November 2008 after a tumultuous journey through Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. He and his family fled in 2007 after insurgents began following him home from the Abu Ghraib prison, where Yaqoob worked as a translator.

“The agencies are supposed to help me, but because I speak English, they don’t come near me. They don’t think about me,” he said.

Yaqoob came to the US on a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) as opposed to obtaining refugee status. The VOLAGs didn’t even know he was here.

“Special Immigrant Visa. What’s so special? You get nothing,” Yaqoob fervently lamented.

Navigating the “Byzantine” Process In 2007, after fleeing Mosul for a small Christian village an hour and a half away from home, Fady’s and his mother’s hardships had only just begun.

His voice remains steady as ever. He is quiet, almost calming. “I got another threat letter by email from Al-Qaeda in Mosul. They knew my whereabouts. They were going to find me and kill me. After receiving that letter, there was no chance for me to stay in Iraq. I moved to Syria,” he recounted. Once in Syria, Fady registered with the UNHCR. Christopher Nugent, a Senior Counsel with the Community Services Team of Holland & Knight in Washington, DC leads a full-time pro bono team of 125 attorneys and 25 paralegals who guide Iraqi applicants through the process he describes as, “Byzantine and complex.”

To qualify for refugee status, an Iraqi like Fady must first permanently leave Iraq under the impetus of a “well-founded fear of being persecuted.” Refugees are subject to an extensive interview process with the UNHCR, the International Office of Migration (IOM), and the US Department of State,

as well as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The List Project’s team of lawyers and paralegals assist Iraqis throughout the process. A paralegal helps each Iraqi compile all of the documentation verifying that each applicant worked for the US government and/or associated entities. Potential beneficiaries also fill out a confidential questionnaire, which forms the framework for their responses in the coming interviews. Remarkably, many of the very paralegals that help facilitate this process are refugees who themselves were successfully aided and resettled the program. Lawyers join in on the cases once the required dossiers have been compiled, parsing through the responses and paperwork to generate a cohesive and—most importantly—consistent narrative. These polished and vetted narratives then become training tools for the Iraqis, used extensively to prepare them for each and every interview.

An Unforeseen Complication Given the dizzying array of bureaucratic inroads between agencies to be navigated, the interview process is time consuming, potentially dangerous, and riddled with cracks and flaws. Yaqoob’s experience proved this much.

He had his first UNHCR interview in Syria on June 26, 2007. “I thought I had to

persuade them to push my case quickly, so I told them about my job. I showed them some documents to prove that I had worked for the Americans,” he recalled.

“Ten days later, two men came into my house; one was the landlord.” Claiming to need to speak with Yaqoob about the terms of his lease, the men took him to what he assumed was an office—it wasn’t.

Unexpectedly, Yaqoob found himself detained in the headquarters of the Syrian secret police.

“They knew—from me—that I had worked with the Americans. The Syrian interviewer at UNHCR was a double agent. These men thought I was a spy. And in Syria, ‘spy’ means you are—” Yaqoob drags his thumb across his throat.

“Dead.”

The secret police held Yaqoob for 23 days. “23 days in hell,” he recalled. Eight days were spent in solitary confinement; the rest, in a nine-by-nine foot room with 35 other men, one small toilet, and two buckets marked for washing, drinking, and eating.

“All the kinds of insects that you’ve imagined in your life, they were there,” he said with a short, dry laugh.

When at long last released, on the basis of his registration as a refugee with UNHCR, Yaqoob returned to Iraq and, with his family, proceeded to flee to Turkey, where they entered into the entire application process, forced to start at the

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INTERNATIONAL beginning of this tedious and convoluted maze once more.

Time, Transparency, and Redundancy

posed to tell applicants why they’re being denied, and that’s not happening,” Nugent said. It makes the appeal process infinitely trickier.

An all-too-evident flaw in the system is that of redundancy, specifically in background checks and security clearances.

Nugent identified the procurement of security clearance as the longest and most needlessly difficult of steps in the process. This need not be the case, though.

The lion’s share of Iraqis who worked for the US government or the military have already been screened and vetted, and many have taken polygraph tests. As such they have essentially gone through the security clearance process once already, and yet they’re now again subjected to the

liability and massive hurdle in successfully navigating it.

In regards to this emergent flaw in the system, Nugent said, “we’re trying to create a paradigm shift in the preparation, representation, and advocacy for refugees. The status quo doesn’t distinguish between populations like these Iraqis.

They gave their lives to the US; now this is what we’re putting them through.”

The period between initial registration with UNHCR and attaining security clearance from the DHS can take anywhere from eight months to five years.

Yaqoob and Mekhaeel and their families, whose cases were both processed in Turkey, each waited almost two years for Where Are They Now? completion.

The process is so extensively proFady has largely been able to help tracted because “it’s not transparent and himself since arriving in Boston two and it’s lacking accountability,” according a half months ago. Between his estabto Nugent. The UNHCR Resettlement lished relationship with Catholic CharHandbook explicitly identifies and proities—his sponsoring agency—and his motes transparency as excellent English, a safeguard, especially Mekhaeel has been For the many cases like Yaqoob’s, The List Project has crewith regards to the jusable to find success ated the Netroots website, a forum for volunteers who can step in tification of decisions in his new home. made in each individual Mekhaeel has been where the Voluntary Resettlement Agencies fall short. The Project resettlement case. working with Netprovides a comprehensive approach to taking responsibility for Mekhaeel never roots Boston to find people that might otherwise be considered collateral damage to the experienced said, mana full-time job, and dated transparency. He in December, said war effort in Iraq. was put through six or Catholic Charities Ben Dunay, 28, hopes to bring the Boston chapter up to speed seven interviews with began paying him, UNHCR; unusual, conpart-time, for work with more organized chapters, like Andrew Free’s at Vanderbilt. Netsidering most cases rehe had been doing roots Boston currently is made up of 54 loosely connected volunteers quire but one. He was for free. signed up in the Boston Group on the Netroots website, with Dunay never given any reason As for Yaqoob, for the repeated intera year-long job as the de-facto leader.de- The group is notified when new Iraqis arrive rogations even though search here might in the Greater Boston Area, and the volunteers aid the new arrivals as he had provided extensoon yield tangible best as they can.; sive contact informaresults. Since his tion for past employers arrival in the US, To find more information and help Netroots and the List Projand cooperated in good Yaqoob’s part-time ect, visit netroots.thelistproject.org. faith throughout the work has amounted process. to just 18 hours per Nugent addressed week. His determithe lack of transparency summarily with time and resource consuming screening nation to find a decent, steady job may regards to the appeals process, concerning procedure, involving up to 24 different yet pay off; Yaqoob recently passed a test the procedure in the event that an appli- databases. to become a full-time employee at Logan cant is denied the recommendation to an The lack of accountability becomes International Airport. Still, after so many interview with the United States by UN- apparent in cases in which Iraqis are le- failed attempts at finding work, he reHCR. Because interviews are conducted gally proscribed from discussing their mains skeptical. abroad, Iraqis are often effectively left on employment by the very US-linked agen“We have a saying in Iraq: you don’t their own. Though they have the right to cies that employed them, severely limit- say anything unless you eat it. I haven’t counsel in the UNHCR process, it is usu- ing their ability to gain security clearance eaten it yet.” ally received remotely and is frequently of from different agencies. This ultimately His tone, while darkly cynical, is little immediate help. puts the Iraqis in an impossible and often radiated under the glimmer of hopeful, In case something goes wrong, “we’re unreasonable situation. The very job that charming eyes, hinting at the presence of forced to speculate what went wrong in initially qualified these people to enter a frustrated but not yet defected man of the interview. [Interviewers] are sup- into the resettlement process becomes a bright thoughts and ironclad resolve. O 4

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NATIONAL

Banks Audit the “Well-Endowed ”

I

BY MADELINE CHRISTENSEN

ART BY RUTH TAM

n the wake of the economic crisis, people have been keeping a close eye on their pocketbooks. Corporate giants have crumbled, and millions of jobs have vanished. Thrifty is the new name brand, and no couch cushion has been left unturned in the search for loose change. What hasn’t disappeared has at least deflated. In the wake of this anxiety, the loss of sizeable portions of school endowments has stirred up increased scrutiny about universities’ accountability for their budgets.

The Internal Revenue Service is now concerned with how tax-exempt schools are using their money and is taking a close look at private universities’ finances. In an effort to understand tax-exempt institutions, the IRS sent surveys to 400 schools and universities in October 2008 inquiring into how they manage taxable operations and how they invest and use endowment funds.

The IRS then chose 40 schools for further auditing this year, including Bostonarea Suffolk and Harvard Universities. The questionnaires delved further into the inner workings of schools’ finances than ever before, with unusually detailed questions about compensation of upper-level employees and business activities. While the universities were not required to respond to these questionnaires, not responding would put them at greater risk of an audit. This year’s

impending audits will look at how schools invest their endowment and compensate their employees, as well as how they report and classify exempt and taxable activities.

The audits are modeled after a similar investigation into hospital funding that began in 2006; the scrutiny of the health care system led to audits, legislative hearings, and stricter tax-filing requirements.

Many speculate that the IRS audits are a long-overdue look into university investments. While Harvard is tax-exempt, it has been suspected that its wide range of investment activity might not be entirely related to its educational mission. The audits came as Harvard made plans to sell $480 million in tax-exempt securities to pay for an expansion of the law school and other capital as well as to refinance debt, according to the Boston Globe. In 2003, a Harvard alumni group criticized the Harvard endowment, known as Harvard Management Co., for paying its six in-house managers a combined $107.5 million in 2002.

Headlines have been pointing fingers at Suffolk University for its president’s astronomical salary. The university president’s $2.8 million income made him the highestpaid private college administrator of 2007, though university officials say that the amount included deferred bonuses. Nevertheless, he still made second on the list in 2008, when he earned a nominally more modest $1.5 million.

Tufts Economics Professor John Straub noted that this is not the first time the government has looked to universities and even hospitals to cushion the blow of the financial crisis. Pittsburgh, a city rich in hospitals and higher education, made headlines in late 2009 when the mayor floated the idea of taxing nonprofit universities and hospitals.

Ultimately, the institutions agreed to pay a one-time “voluntary contribution” to avoid the permanent tax.

“It’s pretty clear that there’s not a lot different in terms of the finances of these hospitals and universities from 10 years ago; it’s just that the cities, states, federal government are in a difficult revenue situa-

tion right now,” said Straub. “So they’re just looking for lots of ways to raise money.”

Straub said he believed the audits are mostly politically motivated. “I think it’s pretty much straight-up that governments are running low on cash, and this is something that they’re trying,” he said. “To me it’s kind of analogous to legalizing gambling or something like that, instituting lotteries. 25 years ago, there weren’t many lotteries. Now every state has a lottery. It was just a way to get more money without raising taxes. So I think it’s more of a political phenomenon than an economic phenomenon.”

Straub said that universities had long been expected to inform the government of their business. “It’s already been the case for a long time that nonprofits of all types submit a form to the IRS,” he said.

Higher education is very important to Massachusetts, where colleges and universities pump $23 billion into the state’s economy annually. While these institutions have long been a source of stability in rocky economic times, there are visible effects of the financial crisis across campuses. Many colleges are facing a slowdown in building projects, which has repercussions beyond the limits of campus.

Whether the IRS audits are a needed check on university spending or a political scheme to salvage drained state economies, one thing is certain: the audits embody the financial crisis and highlight the growing need for fiscal responsibility across college campuses. O FEBRUARY 8, 2010

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Tufts Residential Life posted a note: “No more nookie in dorm rooms. ”

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2,341 people disliked this.

26 friends are attending Tufts Football Game vs. Bowdoin.

Admissions: we have to work on this.

3,057 friends are attending TDC Spring Show.

President Bacow sent Adele Bacow a gift: romantic dinner in Carmichael.

Tufts sent a friend request to Harvard.

Harvard Who ’s this?

Tufts Public Safety posted 12 new notes.

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Miller Hall is on fire.

Facilities dislikes this Public Safety Oopsies!

Hillsides is flooding. Wanna switch?

Medford stop whining guys. I ’m turning off your power now.

The Tufts Daily published an article: “Tufts professor accused of sexual harassment. ” Tufts PR unfriended Samuel Kounaves NBC tagged The Bubs in a photo.

Tufts University sent Harvard University a gift: Professor Mark Richard and Lisa Coleman TCU Senate and 4 friends are attending Town Hall: Seniors Can ’t Hold Their Alcohol.

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Gay & StraightForward Solutions

Dear Gay/Straight Guy: My boyfriend is always busy playing videogames with his “bros” and he never answers my texts. What should I do?

– “<3 4 ever ”

Gay Guy: Let me level with you. Those video games were there before you, and they’ll still be there after you. Think of his copy of Halo or FIFA the same way you’d think of your favorite Longchamp bag or UGG slippers—they’re equally expensive safety blankets, and you just have to learn to cohabitate. So, instead of getting upset, use his “video game” time to go to the gym.

That way, when you walk in front of the TV, his friends will at least compliment your butt.

Straight Guy: Don’t think of his videogames as competition, because you’ll lose. As long as you don’t acknowledge the problem, there won’t be one.

U

Dear Gay/Straight Guy: I recently found some compromising pictures of myself on the Internet. I was pretty crazy when I was 16. But, I have a girlfriend now, and I don’t want her to see. What should I do?

–“No longer confused” Gay Guy: Send pics.

Straight Guy: Don’t worry about it, man. We’ve all been there at some point in our lives. I mean, who hasn’t had one of those crazy nights that ended up online? The best thing you can do is accept your wild and crazy past and move forward. That said, you should never under any circumstance let your girlfriend see them. Contrary to the Bible’s teachings, the truth will not set you free; it will only get you dumped.

Lie ‘til you die. O

Interview: Aiding Haiti

nderlying the headlines about the recent crisis in Haiti are complex issues of international relations, aid, and the road ahead. The Observer consults Professor Margaret McMillan and Junior James Dillon, Jr. about international aid and development in Haiti.

Tufts Observer: How would you characterize the international aid reaction to the recent earthquake?

Margaret McMillan: The US has sent food, water, medical supplies, transportation equipment, and people to Haiti…The logistical challenges appear to be enormous.

There is a tendency to blame Haitians for creating this mess…I think this is outrageous. People who take this position need to step back and remember what we (the US) have done in Haiti.

In the early 1990s, we imposed a trade embargo on Haiti to bring about democratization…

Then, under the Bush administration, we (the US) brazenly froze all foreign aid to

Haiti and tricked Aristide onto a plane.

O: There have been debates about the efficacy of international aid— could you elaborate?

MM: For the most part, foreign aid from the US government is politically driven with very little regard for development outcomes.

The largest recipients of US foreign aid used to be Israel and Egypt. Iraq is currently in first place. Clearly, these are decisions motivated by geo-political concerns.

O: From a development perspective, what are some of the major obstacles Haiti faced before the earthquake? Was it a lack of aid?

MM: No country has become rich because of foreign aid. I don’t think the root of Haiti’s problems is in too little foreign aid. The root of Haiti’s problems lay in foreign exploitation to a large degree.

James Dillon: The country has a history of extremely violent and corrupt governments that exist solely to extract as much money out of the country that they can for the

short time that they are in power (they are “predatory states”).

A lack of any type of stable or trustworthy government has led past foreign aid to be ineffective. [For example] when the Duvalier family ruled Haiti, almost all aid given to the country was stolen.

O: Now, what are the best forms of aid to help Haiti develop rather than just recover?

MM: Jeff Sachs has proposed a Haiti Recovery Fund that would receive emergency donations from the US and other donors… to rebuild Haiti once the emergency is contained. It would be like a Marshall Plan for Haiti…The only problem with Sach’s proposal is that he is saying that we should finance it by taxing Wall Street bonuses.

JD: The country has extremely low human capital …[and] foreign aid could be beneficial if directed at schooling where supplies are scarce and teachers uneducated … reforestation without education would lead to farmers quickly depleting the land again. O FEBRUARY 8, 2010

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INTERNATIONAL

On Your Newsfeed: Global Technol og Social Networking Sites Reunites Victims with Loved Ones

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n the aftermath of the massive January 12 earthquake in Haiti, sites like Twitter and Facebook facilitated aid to friends and family of earthquake victims in order to find missing loved ones.

As the earthquake hqu q ake wreaked havoc on the small island nation, ion, it took out phone lines and Internet connections, nne n ctions, making it difficult for survivors to send word that they had survived. And then hen something interesting happened: ed: tweets and Facebook updates es swiftly became the mostt direct and instantaneous neous news source off the developing crisiss in Haiti. While many news broadcasting ting networks did not start full coverage ge of the earthquake until Wednesday, January uary 13, those followingg Twitter received immediate ate word of the quake and could ould watch as the disaster unfolded. lded.

On Januaryy 12 at 2:20 p.m., CNN Breaking News (cnnbrk) tweeted, “A 7.0-magnitudee earthquake struck 10 miles from Port-Au-Prince, rince, Haiti, the USGS reports.” Many other her updates quickly followed this message, including ncluding news of the aftershocks and the collapse ollapse of the UN headquarters in Haiti. The New York Times tweeted at 2:50 p.m., “#Haiti Quake Brings Hospital Collapse http://bit.ly/6Xn5Rb” with a link to more information. Because news organizations could use Twitter to immediately post small fragments of information as they received it, Twitter was instrumental in breaking news of the Haiti earthquake to the public.

Social networking sites, like Facebook, also played a key role in locating missing friends and family who had been in Haiti during the catastrophe. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) started

a Facebook group called Earthquake Haiti, where people could post photos of friends and family and request information in the hopes that someone could give them news.

The group is now using the Facebook page as a forum to promote “legitimate relief organizations” and list organizations to contact for help in finding missing friends and family.

Facebook allowed individuals in Haiti to quickly send word to all their friends and family that they were safe. Sophomore Danielle

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Cotter found out via Facebook that a Tufts friend of hers was safe after another friend got in contact with the girl’s family and used online resources to communicate her friend’s safety.

“She updated her Facebook status to let everyone know that a member of my friend’s family had confirmed that my friend and her family were okay,” she said.

Now that the focus of relief has shifted to helping survivors and rebuilding the country, Twitter and Facebook play a key role in fundraising efforts. There have been thousands of Facebook groups and events created to help raise funds and supplies for the relief effort. At Tufts, the Theta Chi Haitian Earthquake Relief Fundraiser event already has over 600 people

attending which, according to sophomore and Theta Chi brother Chris Liu, will include the selling of bracelets and a comedy event fundraiser at Hotung. “Theta Chi means 'helping hands,’ so it's in our philosophy to help out,” said Liu. “We have an alumni from Haiti, and I can only imagine how he's feeling right now, so we thought we'd take the initi initiative to do it.”

Facebook has provided Theta Ch Chi the mechanism to publicize these efforts across campus and mobilize studen students in response to the Haiti disaster.

Shortly after the earthquake, Twitter began beg to play a large role in the relief effortas well. The Red Cross’ C s texting fundraising cam campaign was heavily advertised adverti on Twitter on pages lilike the White House Twitt Twitter account.

Sending the wo word «Haiti» in a text message to the number 90999 automatic automatically charges a $10 pledge to th the individual’s phone bill, which has so far raised over $25 million for Haiti.

Hai According to a Twitter tracking program pro called Sysomos, the phrase “90999 “90999” was found in 189,024 tweets between January Janua 12 and 14.

The word “Haiti” or “Red Cross” appeared in 2.3 million tweets in the same period. pe world been conNever before has the worl nected in such a way. Just hour hours after such a massive disaster, people could receive word from a complete stranger that th their loved one had been identified via a photo uploaded to the Internet. A short time after the earthquake, people could check their Twitter accounts, see a post from the White House, and send one text message that would instantly donate $10 to relief efforts on the ground in Haiti.

As new technologies continuously surface, rendering our world smaller and smaller, perhaps there is a very bright silver lining is revealed. Perhaps social networking sights show promise that, in times like this, that it is possible to come together and act as a conscious, caring, global community. O

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INTERNATIONAL

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BY LAUREN HERSTIK

he energy in the halls of the Fletcher School basement pulse within the glow of institutional lighting. Workers pace from one room to another, dodging the computer boxes and the half-eaten dinners strewn about. This is the center of the Ushahidi Haiti relief effort, where random information from the disaster zone is translated into something that aid workers can use on the ground. Patrick Meier is multitasking on a Mac while preparing for an interview.

Meier is a Ph.D student at Fletcher and is the Director of Crisis Mapping and Strategic Partnerships at Ushahidi, an effort that provides an interactive online platform to map out information and streamline relief.

Ushahidi, Kiswahili for “witness,” is the name of a website created in response to the 2007 Kenyan election controversy. Initially, the site gathered information via text-message and email to chart violence. Now, the software is av available vaaiilable to use in response to other major crises, including natural disasters. Ushahidi has enhanced the usefullness of satellite imagery by embedding news taken from Twitter, Facebook, and SMS feeds from people on the ground in Haiti.

The initial installation of the Ushahidi platform went up at 8 p.m. on the night of the disaster. Meier set to work, inputting information that he collected from online sources connected to organizations on the ground.

By Wednesday morning, it became clear that Meier

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A Fletcher Student Brings Interactive Relief to Campus wouldn’t be able to handle the incoming feeds on his own.

The effort has been transferred to the basement of the Fletcher School, windowless nooks filled with Macs, maps, and fractions of pizzas. The Fletcher campus “Situation Room” handles about 50% of incoming information nearly 24 hours a day. The other 50% is handled by the Ushahidi team and other volunteers, including Fletcher alumni in in Washington DC, Geneva, and London.

“The past ten days have literally revolutionized humanitarian aid,” Meier said in reference to the use of a technique called crowdsourcing to streamline the aid effort.

Crowdsourcing is the practice of outsourcing tasks generally appointed to employees of an organization to a crowd through an open call. In this case, the process utilizes social networking sites and takes advantage of the accesibility of text messaging and email.

“Thanks to this crowdsourcing effort, the actor best placed to respond to a particular event will do so,” Meier explained.

The Ushahidi team at the Fletcher School has reached out to Tufts undergraduate volunteers, as well as members of the Haitian

community in the area.

The team is working with partners at Lesley University to create 10-minute online training videos, which would allow anyone to join in the crisis mapping effort. He marvels at the opportu-

nity Ushahidi has provided to synthesize an connection with the people still working on the ground in Haiti.

“Several days ago, it was just before midnight and it was snowing outside my window.

We were on Skype live with a team that helps to coordinate the search and rescue operations on the ground in Haiti. They were on the tarmac at the airport down there. They required the GPS coordinates of seven very obscure locations in order to coordinate search and rescue to identify potential survivors by 6 a.m. the next morning,” Meier began. Luckily, Anna Schulz (a Fletcher Ph.D) was able to find the seven coordinates.

With calls coming in from organizations like the Coast Guard, FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Red Cross, Ushahidi is known for providing the most precise information and GPS locations. This case was no different, and Meier set out to find the exact coordinates of the seven locations.

Around 1 a.m., they hit a snag— one of the locations was nearly impossible to find.

The team had only a name, “Au Bon Prix,” a bookstore in P Port-au-Prince. A volunteer sugges gested posting for the location on T Twitter.

“We got a tweet back from a stranger, a poster we’d never heard of before,” Meier said. The poster gave the name and phone number of a former emplo employee of the bookstore, living in New Yor York. At 2 a.m., Meier and his colleague called calle the number and obtained the exact location of the bookstore. They sent the information to t rescue teams, who were able to go and fin nd survivors trapped inside the building.

“These are the kind of things that have continued to happen over the past ten days,” Meier said.

The success succ Meir describes embodies the very essence of the Ushahidi movement: the ability to save countless lives from miles and the confined walls of a clutmiles away within wi tered Fletcher School basement. O FEBRUARY 8, 2010

THE OBSERVER

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NATIONAL

Did Martha Coakley lose...

Seeing Through the Punditry

BY SETH STEIN How did Scott Brown win Massachusetts, and what does that mean?

I

t is hard for many to believe that “'Ted Kennedy's Seat”' could be lost to a Republican. But it wasn't Ted Kennedy running—he would have sailed to an easy victory. It was Martha Coakley. That wasn't the only thing that won the day for Scott Brown. He ran an excellent campaign, which allowed him to control his political branding and appeal directly to independent voters. National mood is also a factor; by winning control on a national level, voters are expecting Democrats to deliver on their promises, which they have so far failed to do.

Martha Coakley was probably her own worst enemy. She can run a successful political campaign, such as winning the four-way democratic primary. However, she assumed that the seat was hers after the primary.

Think of it as “pulling a Hillary,” except that unlike Hillary, Coakley didn't have the drive and eloquence to close it. Instead she went on vacation and flubbed about the Red Sox. In any other year that may not have sunk her entire campaign; Massachusetts hadn't sent a Republican to the Senate in 29 years. And if she had been up against an equally unexciting Republican challenger, she still could have won. Unfortunately, she was running against Scott Brown.

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FEBRUARY 8, 2010

Scott Brown and his campaign as a whole was the second major factor in his victory. Mr. Brown appealed directly to independent voters, by far the largest voting block in any state. His campaign ads hadn’t mentioned the “hot button” social conservative themes many Republicans endorse. Instead, he focused on the economy with themes such as job creation while playing up his local roots and strong work ethic. His campaign website reads more like that of a blue dog Democrat than a red state Republican—he

politics and message, his campaign is an heir to Obama's.

Another factor whose impact is hard to determine is the effect of the healthcare debate. Voters on both sides of the aisle are weary of the drawn-out fight for or against reform. Wouldn't they be even more weary when they already have universal healthcare in their own state?

The final element of the Scott Brown victory was the 2008 Democratic sweep.

By attaining the strongest Senate majority that any party has held since 1977, when the Democrats held 61 seats, the Democrats will be held accountable to voters. When healthcare is delayed and watered down, when unemployment stands at 10% and rising, and when we are still bogged down in Afghanistan—the same exact factors that won 2008 for the Democrats in the first place—the Democrats themselves will get blamed. Not that this is necessarily fair; some would argue that these are huge problems that cannot be solved easily and ART BY RUTH TAM are the direct product of shies away from gay marriage and focus- the Bush years. Either way, the majority es on “abortion reduction,” not banning party almost always loses seats in an off abortion altogether. He also distanced year election, and this year will be no difhimself from the Republican Party as a ferent. In fact, it will probably be worse. whole, emphasizing at every turn that he Simply put, Mr. Brown's victory is a “people’s candidate,” in an attempt to was threefold: Democrats weren't terriraise himself above the all-too-pervasive bly excited about Coakley, Republicans partisan bickering in Washington. This were exceptionally excited about Brown message proved potent for a well-orga- and independents were turned off by nized campaign with an energized base, national Democrats, and Coakley's cama strong field campaign and effective use paign, with her flubbing and apparent of netroots. In fact, if you drop Brown's lack of interest, was self-destructive. O

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NATIONAL

...or did Scott Brown win?

An Open Letter to Organizing for America

an

BY SETH RAU

rd hhe for en ni-

Organizing for America (OFA) is an advocacy group dedicated to advancing the president ’s agenda. It is the extension of his campaign aparatus, Obama for America. Seth Rau was an intern for Martha Coakley ’s Senate campaign and examines the aws in her campaign with an eye toward learning from this election ’s mistakes so that they are not repeated in the mid-term elections.

wn ep. or77, eld ats ble hwam0% we in me on in mwill his me are nnd of ity off ife. ry rins wn by ment

Dear Organizing for America,

O

ne year ago we celebrated the inauguration of a new president in Barack Obama. I stood in the frigid cold in the silver section at the top of the National Mall as hope and optimism rained down on our country. The president, however, struck a cautious tone on that fateful January day, which served as an appropriate beginning to his first year in the Oval Office.

That tone was more than deserved because our nation did not have the best year in 2009, and the beginning to 2010 has not been much better. What most concerned me was the victory of Scott Brown over Martha Coakley this month in the Massachusetts Senate Special Election. While OFA eventually turned out to support the Massachusetts attorney general, it was done far too late and ineffectively. I interned on Martha’s primary campaign and did some consulting work for the general campaign, so I got to see the problems firsthand. Let me lay out our problems now so that we can learn from them to better support candidates that share our president’s vision in November’s midterm elections.

First, OFA must integrate itself into the campaigns of all Democrats running

for Senate and in competitive House races across the nation. Once our party settles on a nominee, OFA should instantly start sending staff members into the campaigns. This process would allow OFA to be directly coordinated with each campaign to make the integration more natural. Otherwise, we would have the problem of having to separate campaign structures, as occurred in the final days of the Coakley campaign in which the OFA people reported to each other and the Coakley people to their original bosses. As a result of the lack of communication, groups of the Get Out the Vote effort missed essential groups of people, which made a Coakley victory impossible. These mistakes cannot happen again, or there is no way President Obama will have congressional support to carry out his agenda.

I hope our supporters understand what is at stake in the coming November election. This defeat here in Massachusetts has already cost us a shot at real health care reform, and we need to move on to even more essential parts of our agenda.

We must focus on creating new jobs first.

If the economy does not improve, then nothing really matters because Americans put their checkbooks before all else.

The stimulus plan was a good start, but we need to keep continuing to create all types of jobs, especially eco-friendly ones, a sector in which we could be a global leader in this crucial emerging field of the coming decades. Our future depends on pushing these aspects of the agenda, or else our “change” election in 2008 will achieve nothing.

We have plenty of ways to move ahead with our agenda to separate ourselves from the Republicans and the emerging populist Tea Party, especially by capturing the anger of the moment to

push towards our goals. The recent ruling by the Supreme Court to allow all types of corporate funding into political campaigns gives us a large opening.

We should take a stand on this issue by prohibiting corporate funding for Democratic candidates. While this ban on corporate funding would somewhat hurt our party financially, this can differentiate Democrats from Republicans and the Tea Party. Rejecting corporate funding would fit perfectly in line with President Obama’s campaign themes and governing philosophy.

Lastly, we need to recapture the spirit and the urgency of 2008. We still have majorities in both the House and the Senate, which will allow us to pass some legislation despite Republican objections.

There is no need to pursue a far-left policy, but some center-left reforms aimed at improving the economy will hopefully energize our base. The last days of the Massachusetts Senate race proved that we could mobilize ourselves to working toward a common goal. We can continue this fundraising and organizing effort for the next nine months and beyond. If we stick to this plan, 2010 will not be another 1994, and Obama will have a far better second year in office than his first. O Sinc Sincerely, SSi in ncceerrely, Seth Rau Seth Se hR aau u

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

Sincerely, Seth Rau

THE OBSERVER

11

EDUCATION

In Defense of

English

T

BY ARIANA SIEGEL

he thin, blue-jeaned Kashmiri shopkeeper leaned his elbows on the counter, his hazel eyes wide at the word “American.” Though he was not much older than myself, the experiences that had led us to that moment were vastly different; he had fled Kashmir along with other shopkeepers before finishing high school, while I was travelling with friends around India on our winter break. Without common backgrounds to guide the conversation, he asked us the usual questions.

“What school do you go to?”

“Tufts University,” we replied in concert.

He hadn’t heard of it but nodded kindly.

“In Boston,” I added, as I usually do when people haven’t heard of Tufts, but that seemed to make little difference to him.

“And what do you study?”

“Well, I’m an English major, and she’s an economics major,” I said, pointing to my friend who was mid-bargain.

After a pause, my other friend added, “And I’m an engineer.”

“An engineer, really? Wow!” the shopkeeper replied, suddenly becoming more interested. He began to relate the story of an uncle who had saved money his entire life to send his sons to school and was now proudly overseeing their engineering education at Texas University.

As the Kashmiri man’s smile grew, mine faded. This was perhaps the fifth conversation I had had in my two weeks in India in which the announcement of my English major was met with a sad smile, an awkward joke, a change of subject, or otherwise no response at all. My friend, the engineer, however, was met with approving nods and excited inquiries into his course of study and prospects.

I myself was beginning to laugh it off, as if my education were some kind of joke, but then suddenly I would be jolted back to the memory of finals period during which I spent

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every waking hour of every day, including weekends, studying and writing what would ultimately amount to 42 pages. And then I would stop laughing.

Was my choice of major truly laughable? Would ALYCE CURRIER four years of hard work really amount to little more than a life’s supply of condescending remarks and pitying smiles?

I was not fooled into thinking that this was a consequence of speaking with Indians rather than Americans. I have witnessed the same reactions at home, although the difference is that sometimes the people reacting were or are English or liberal arts majors themselves. Though I gathered from my Arabic professor that Eastern cultures are especially deferential to scientific over humanistic courses of study, the universal consensus seems to be that students of science merit more respect than students of humanities.

I am sure that many Tufts students have encountered such reactions and wondered what was to become of the numerous tuition dollars and hours spent, and more frighteningly, what was to become of their future. But as I thought more about it, I realized the skills and the knowledge liberal arts students accrue are as integral to life as is science. Politics and economics govern our society as much as physics and biology do. Words and language are as critical in our daily functioning as are the technologies we use. We cannot spend a single day without contemplating philosophical decisions, using psychological processes, and experiencing social phenomena, just as we cannot spend a day without acting in accordance with the laws of science. Why, then, should it be any less important to study one over the other? If there were no expertise in

Majors matters of language, politics, economics, sociology, or philosophy, would the world run as smoothly? Would life be as interesting? I contend that it would not. And if I am right, then discouraging the study of these subjects is truly a dangerous enterprise.

In the final days of my trip in India, I stayed in Bombay and spent time with a diverse mélange of friends I had made along the trip. One of these friends is an anthropology major at Tufts who was spending three weeks in Bombay doing research for EPIIC on the Dharavi slums. The work she was doing was so fascinating and our discussions about it so invigorating that my faith in humanistic study was revitalized. If this student could derive such an incredible wealth of experience and knowledge from her studies, then so could I. Later on I spoke to Geet, a friend I had met in Bombay, who was studying commerce at H.R. College in the city. Upon hearing of my course of study, she confided that English was her favorite subject in high school, but the option of continuing to study it wasn’t available to her. Our conversation made me realize how fortunate I was to be given the choice to study liberal arts, for in many countries such programs are often not available, or are almost never encouraged. Valuing it as such gave me the confidence to reply with dignity and enthusiasm when people asked me what my major was, rather than muttering a halfhearted reply.

On the plane ride home, I sat next to a woman from Bombay who, to my surprise, had heard of Tufts. Heartened by her awareness of a college outside of the Ivy League, I told her enthusiastically that I was an English and possibly Peace and Justice Studies major.

She smiled and said, “Well that’s wonderful!” and continued to talk to me about it for half an hour more. “That’s one for the liberal arts majors,” I thought afterwards and smiled as I began the journey back to another semester of humanities education. O

corn

Seven thousand years ago Mexican farmers domesticated the maize plant, turning it from a simple grass into an edible grain. Since then corn has provided vital nourishment for the Americas, eventually spreading throughout the world and becoming a staple crop of the farming industry, which produces 880 million tons of corn yearly.

Yet the industry is wrapped in a myriad of issues —rising costs of food production, confrontations with seed companies, obesity and malnutrition, the loss of the family farm, economic autonomy, developments in fuel production, and global warming, to name a few. And while it is necessary to take note of all of these points of contention, understanding can only take place upon the recognition of the space between the issues —the space between the people, the animals,and theland behind the industry.At best, these pictures are brief conversations, perhaps, food for thought.

IMAGES AND WORDS BY

NORA CHOVANEC FEBRUARY 7, 2009

THE OBSERVER

13

Alicia Navarrete Monroy, Atlacomulco, MX

Su

(Above) Alicia Navarrete Monroy runs a 5-hectare farm with her husband in the town of Atlacomulco, in the state of Mexico, Mexico. Much of the corn that is produced on Alicia ’s 5 hectares is used to feel their herd of cows. The cows are milked daily and that milk is turned into cheese, which they sell for prot.

(A fa ye dr

(Top) Corn Farmers, U.S. and Mexico.

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FEBRUARY 8, 2009

he at ws t.

Susan and Tye Thompson, Galesburg, IL

(Above) Susan and Tye Thompson run a farm in Galesburg, IL that has been in Tye ’s family for generations. Tye is one of the last remaining small farmers in his county, yet he feels the push from bigger farms in the area. Susan, his wife, works with him, driving tractors and the combine, which is an unusual job for a woman in rural Illinois.

FEBRUARY 7, 2009

THE OBSERVER

15

A corneld in San Pedro Sochiapan. All of the farmers in San Pedro Sochiapan are subsistence farmers whose milpas, or plots of land, are usually a one to three hour vertical hike away from the town. They keep corn houses of mazorca – mature corn – to take back, little by little, throughout the year.

Vertical farming, San Pedro Sochiapan, Oaxaca, Mexico

FEBRUARY 8, 2009

THE OBSERVER

16

A

bling

NATIONAL

m r u Ameri c a

C

BY MICHAEL BENDETSON In arguing in favor of a surge in Afghanistan, President Obama ma cited the importance of investingg in the country’s infrastructure as a mechanism for strengthening democracy. mocracy.

Our commander-in-chief has currently approved the pouring of billions illions of dollars into Afghani schools,, clinics, roads, and bridges. In addidition, the United States has currently added “hundreds of US advisers including agricultural specialists, engineers and lawyers.” Yet in light of recent events, I urge our president to bring homee our money, our resources, and nd even our engineers.

The United States is falling alling apart. No, I am not talking about our leadership or our standing ding in the world (although one could d make a good case for either). I am m talking about the physical infrastructure tructure of the country. While other countries such as China and India have invested billions in creating 21st century ntury infrastructure, America has grown content with the progress made under the Eisenhower administration. The lessons learned from the devastating collapses of both the levees in New Orleans and the Mississippi River Bridge in 2007 have all but disappeared with talk of the bank and auto bailouts.

What we had speculated about for years has finally been articulated in the extensive American Society of

Civil Engineers report on the state of infrastructure in the country. Our report card is on par with that of a thirdworld country; our GPA added up to a sol-

more importantly, our air traffic control systems, are clearly outdated which not only carries financial costs in dela delays but also a potential for human costs. The ground is not much safer as over one in four bridges are “either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.” The question is not if we will have another bridge collapse in the United States but when. Our roads are in even worse shape; one in three are deemed to be in “poor condition.” t Even the most precious resource of clean water has come in jeopardy. Our drinking water w systems are decades old and a in dire need of repair. Many RS fail to comply with current waEE IN G N ter safety regulations, never LE I IV FC R mind meeting the demand of a m O IE Y IET URR growing 21st-century population. grow C C SO CE AN ALY id Yet attention to these important C I ER BY D . issues of infrastructure seems to have AM ART M O FR Maybe indisappeared disapp during the Great RecesO F IN stead of discuss- sion. Contrary C to what Congress may ing the correlation believe, believe government spending is not a between Afghani infra- zero sum su game where money is either structure and Middle East safety, allocated to economic recovery or inwe should talk about the relationship frastructure. Infrastructure can and between America’s infrastructure and should play a critical role in turning American safety. We do not need ter- our economy around. While tax cuts rorists to destroy our infrastructure; are important, money needs to be alwe are doing it for them. lotted for public works projects that For any student, these grades benefit both the workers and the comwould warrant a parent-teacher con- munity. There is no better example of ference. Let’s just take a moment to the role that public works can play in address some of these failings. In re- economic recovery than that of treatgards to aviation, our airports and, ment of areas that have been contamiFEBRUARY 8, 2010

THE OBSERVER

17

NATIONAL

“

BY

RU

TH

TA M

crete” infrastructure projects is even less, as much of the money is being directed to peculiar areas such as the development of a health record database. The rest of the bill focuses on tax cuts, state aid, and expanding the already large financial safety net.

This approach feels fundamentally flawed as a mechanism for creating jobs and even keeping America safe. Wayne Waa yn y e Klotz, Kll otz, the president of ASCE, notes, “Our u leaders are looking fo fforr solutions to the nation’s natio o n’s current economic crisis. crii sis. Not only could investment in these critical foundations havee a positive i m pact. If done responsibly, it would also provide tangible benefits to the American people such as reduced traffic congestion, improved d air quality, clean and a nd abundant water supplies supplies, s , an and n d protection n against natural hazards.” hazard d s.””

Presidentt Obama deserves dese s rves credit for addressing the n need eed for investment investt ment in our failing infrastructure during his State of the Union address, a topic that went seemingly unnoticed during the Bush Administration. However, Obama failed to articulate both the importance of the issue and a strong plan to deal with the current crisis.

Investing in infrastructure is not about competing with China to build the fastest train, but rather, a belief that all Americans should feel comfortable driving on our roads, flying in our airports, and drinking our water. O AR T

nated by hazardous waste known as brownfield land. The redevelopments of brownfield land in the past five years have produced a staggering 191,338 jobs and extra $408 million in annual revenue for localities. However, there are currently 188 U.S. cities awaiting federal funds for brownfield cleanups.

Uncle Sam needs to alloc allocate o atee public funds und d s not only for brownfield cleanups leanups but also forr all other types ypes of public works projprojj ects cts that will both create jobs obss and improve imp mprove community life. lif i e.

The Th h e Mi M Milken lken Institute nstitute recently ently released a rer re port ort citi n g t e n specific national ational infrastructure projects rojects that could ould create in excess ess of 3.4 million jobs. obs. As Congress discusses usses economic recovery, itt simultaneously needs to be focusing ocusing on developing dee veloping our infrastructure. rastructure. Yet despite the present evidence, vidence, Congress seems to be moving ng in a different direc direction. e tion. As A Senator McCain wisely diagnosed long ago, “The problem is that most members of Congress don’t pay attention to what’s going on.”

The House’s $825 billion current proposal for a new jobs bill fails to comprehend the negative consequences of faltering infrastructure and the positive externalities of improved infrastructure.

Less than a third of the bill’s spending is dedicated to addressing our infrastructure crisis. The actual percentage of investment being allotted to “con-

Our report card is on par with that of a third world country; our GPA added up to a solid D.

18

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FEBRUARY 8, 2010

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dventure is said to be found in “the great unknown,” but sometimes it can hide in our own backyard. Just one stop away from Tufts’ closest T station lies a world of restaurants, shops and activities to spice up your Saturday. Check out a few of the places we loved; we’ll leave the rest for you to discover!

LITTLE JAPAN Though Tufts is nearly 10,000 miles from the country of Japan, “Little Japan” is only two miles south of campus. Conveniently located in Lesley Un i v e r s it y ’s University Hall at 1815 Massachusetts Avenue, “Little Japan” or, as it is officially labeled, The Common Market, is home to a number of affordable restaurants and quaint shops. From Tapicha Bubble Tea, to Masa’s Sushi Bar, to Shisheida Cosmetics, The Common Market has everything a Tufts Japanophile could wish for. Our recommendations?

Try Ityo’s half and half deal that combines rice and a side with your choice of noodle soup.

For dessert, Ityo’s mochi ice cream; this refreshing and delicious treat consists of green tea, red bean, mango, or strawberry ice cream encased in a Japanese rice cake and served cold.

JOIE DE VIVRE Joie de Vivre is the ideal toy store for adults. Not to be confused with an “adult toy” store, Joie de Vivre is a charming little business at 1792 Massachusetts Avenue that sells of number of playthings for creative children (slide whistles, Etch-A-Sketches) as well as adults with unique taste, including whimsi24

THE OBSERVER

FEBRUARY 8, 2009

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RUTH TAM

cal jewelry and various collectibles including a collection of Tintin trinkets. Joie de Vivre is full of treasures that may seem frivolous if bought for oneself but could make the perfect gift for a friend. Look out for Barraudinspired salt and pepper shakers and metal license plate bags,.

NOMAD A nomad is generally described as a person who has no fixed home and moves from place to place. Nomad, the vibrant store located at 1741 Massachusetts Avenue, is similarly boutique with no fixed specialty and features items from an abundance of places. With entire shelves devoted to Frida Kahlo, corners filled with African statues, and walls of handwoven curtains from India, Nomad is a fun way to “travel abroad” without all the hassle of customs. Run by firm supporters of fair trade, Nomad supports international artists by purchasing items directly from the artisan.

Don’t forget to explore the store’s basement and peruse its online calendar for upcoming cultural events. One last suggestion: check out the Afghan rings on sale for $6.

L.A. BURDICK’S Trust us when we say L.A. Burdick’s is the place to defrost when February’s chill strikes.

A quiet chocolate shop located at 52-D Brat-

PORTER

tle Street in Harvard Square, Burdick’s brings new meaning to your preconceived notion of chocolate—this is no ordinary Valentine’s Day junk. According to the shop’s website (and from our personal experience), Burdick’s chocolate “is not candy … [it] is a significantly beneficial health food.” While L.A. Burdick’s owners are eager to explain the healthy aspect of their chocolate (high in antioxidants and food value), their sweet creations taste sinfully rich. A small shot-sized serving of hot chocolate can easily warm two people on cold day.

While L.A. B u r d i c k ’s also has a restaurant, we recommend popping in for a more affordable cup of hot chocolate and a pastry. One especially delicious choice is The Burdick: layers of almond wafers and rum ganache topped with white chocolate and pistachio.

HASTY PUDDING All Harvard University vs. Tufts University jokes aside, Harvard does has one thing that Tufts does not: an annual musical starring men in drag. Every February, Harvard puts on its “Hasty Pudding” show. Written, composed, and performed by students, each show combines witty pop culture references with burlesque humor to create one of the funniest performances in the area. This year’s production involves a spoof of the American suburbs during the Red Scare of the 1950s.

Key characters include “Doug Out,” the “star ball-loving ball player,” “Marlin Monroe,” a “sexy-but-fishy starlet,” “Bobbie Sox,” a “Pink Lady-turned-Pinko Lady,” “Wes Sidestory,” a dancing rebel, and “General Dwight Supremacy,” a “Dwight-loving activist.” Order your tickets for this year’s show, “Commie Dearest” at hastypudding.org. O

ALYCE CURRIER

OFF CAMPUS

S

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ALYCE CURRIER

CUPID GETS CREATIVE

S

BY CHELSEA BROWN

tarting December 26th, millions of schmaltzy greeting cards are churned out and endless heart-shaped chocolate boxes begin to crowd grocery aisles in anticipation of the Valentine’s Day rush.

Buying chocolates and flowers on Valentine’s Day may seem like a foolish expenditure that supports a corporate sham of a holiday, especially for the average cashstrapped college student. But perhaps we are too quick to malign this holiday; if today’s apocalyptic fixation has taught us anything, it’s that we should probably be telling the people we love that we do indeed love them, and it helps to have a day reserved for doing just that. Besides, who doesn’t love getting flowers and chocolate?

This Valentine’s Day, think beyond the Hershey Hershey’ss Pot of Gold when picking up gifts for friends and lovers; there are many bakeries, florists, and gift shops well-known and well-loved by Jumbos that offer delightful Valentine’s day p r e s e nt s .

Going local f o r

V-day doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank, either. Think whimsical and inventive, not mawkish and ordinary. For example: instead of a humungous box of waxy chocolates from CVS, how about a handful of amazing truffles from the Danish Pastry House? The sweethearts of chocolate lovers should also be steered towards L.A. Burdick’s near Harvard Square. Their chocolate treats are placed in simple wood boxes and tied with a red or pink silk bow, starting at $20 for 16 pieces. Those who, like myself, plan to squeeze back into their bikinis for Spring Break in March will surely appreciate quality over quantity.

Cupcakes—once relegated to the realm of tasteless, Crisco-laden confections served in plastic containers at birthday parties—have become modish, boutique desserts that can make for a charmin charming V-day present.

“Sweet” in Harvard Square, a fabulou fabulous product of the booming cupcake industry, can put together t a box of their dele delectable mini cupcakes for your y main squeeze.

Overachievers can even cusOverachiever tomize their orders o to spell out I <3 [insert [ins crush’s name here]. M Mere mortals can run over to Kickass Cupcakes, pick out Cu one with pink icing and call it a day. Served in a simple box with red hand-dyed twine, this gift is ssure to please. Of aall of these, however, making your eve own cu cupcakes is always the cheapest ch and most personal option. persona

ELAINE KIM

ngs on ne’s ite ck’s tly ck’s ect nd

OFF CAMPUS

For the I-preferthe-cheese-plate kind of girls, though they may be few and far between, gifting flowers is another sure-fire Hearts Day option. But before you tearfully reach for your wallet to shell out 70 bucks for a dozen red roses, check out a local florist like Ulla’s on Boston Ave, which can put together a cheaper but still lovely bouquet of flowers. Red tulips, pink stargazers, or purple calla lilies are fabulous substitutes for your average roses. For the traditionalists or the florally challenged, a single red rose should never be underestimated. A single carnation, however, is gag-worthy.

While it may be trendy to hate Valentine’s Day, the merits of this holiday are all in the eyes of the consumer. Being original on February 14th doesn’t necessarily mean reaching for the doilies and Elmer’s glue, but it may mean hopping on the T. O

DAVID SMYTHE FEBRUARY 8, 2010

TUFTS OBSERVER

25

POETRY & PROSE

The Therapeutic Potential of Remaining Fluently Silent in Arguments Some mornings she was all about Considering other chances; Then she would shout; and he would shout.

Such were the circumstances.

But some fair day not long ago, His mind’s eye veiled by brandy, He did neglect her tremolo, And hoped all should go dandy.

She, - gentle she! - did not protest, Or glance in ways of fire.

She stood just there, in pause of rest, No sympathy, no ire.

And something hushed then pierced his heart, As stillness framed her figure Immobile grace so full of art, Serenely ripe with rigor.

And as she cast no whispered word His silence gently followed, Unfettered, soft, and so unheard, So equivocal and hollowed.

They facing stood, all things unsaid.

By George Kolev

Put your creative minds to work! Submit to Poetry & Prose.

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FEBRUARY 8, 2010

RUTH

TAM

‘Twas silence’s pensive whisper That brought her near to lay her head And moved his lips to kiss her.

POETRY & PROSE

To Be Straight With You Melis Aker The house on top of the roof, The one that tarnishes the eyesalted sky, (into which he had fallen captive), the one to the right of the old bridge with rickety measures and detached unions (you cannot miss it), the one that climbs the swirls of honey-buckled Fields, which (to be straight with you) stroke the petals of fluid and night-scape fears (where big fish with small dreams â&#x20AC;&#x201C;the dreamers, rent their vacant mirrors); the one to which dead trees compress their branch-roots to mask change, the one which, in non-current blocks of time embarked upon star-felled universes, and in contemporary instances has failed to hold its ceiling high, the one which traps its tenant between floors of instability, is covered in cardboard words (of sanctuary) shredded by Foundation.

SUZIE GROSSMAN

M

g

Such is living.

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

TUFTS OBSERVER

27

CAMPUS SAFETY

POLICE BLOTTER

Sunday, January 31 The close of the month brought an unfortunate homecoming for one Tufts student. On returning from a week off campus, an unlucky Jumbo walked into his dorm room in Tilton Hall to find that his laptop had been doused with water. The student’s passport was also reported stolen. Coincidentally, a small gathering may have occurred in his room the previous Friday night.

Monday, February 1 Need to relax? Don’t lounge around on your front

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FEBRUARY 8, 2010

porch. As if the cold weather wasn’t enough of a detriment, take heed from Somerville’s Department of Public Som Works’ ((DPW) recent fumble: A vehicle b belonging to Somerville’s DPW st struck the front porch of a house residing at the corner of Winthrop and Capen. Neither the driver nor the residents were hurt in the accident, but the same cannot be said for the house, which will soon be seeking repairs.

Monday, February 1 TUPD responded to a call about the smell of burning marijuana in a Tilton Hall dorm. Upon entering Ti the room, they noticed that the resith

dents had covered the smoke detector and had a pipe, as well as a water bong, lying on the table. A bottle of wine was also discovered in the underaged students’ room.

The report was sent to the dean’s office.

Tuesday, February 2 Groundhog’s Day came early for several TUPD officers when they came across an off-campus party on Sunset Road.

When the officers knocked, a student answered the door, immediately shut it, and loudly instructed the estimated 200 party goers, “Don’t open the door; it’s the cops!”

Officers gained entry by knocking on the back door where they were allowed in by a party attendee who apparently didn’t get the memo. Three kegs were found on the premises as well a bottle of dry gin.

The Police Blotter was originally created by Ryan Stolp. While he is abroad, it is being illustrated and written by Ruth Tam.

NORA CHOVANEC

NATIONAL

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

THE OBSERVER

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TUFTS OBSERVER SINCE 1895

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