2008-10-06

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THE TUFTS DAILY

TUFTSDAILY.COM

Monday, October 6, 2008

VOLUME LVI, NUMBER 1

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Grassley suspects conflict of interest by Sarah

Butrymowicz

Daily Editorial Board

set up shop on the quad. Somerville Alderman Jack Connolly advocated for many years for a community day at Tufts. When Lawrence Bacow took over as university president, he pushed to make this a reality. Since then, Community Day has grown both in size and cost. Over 1,000 people came out for yesterday’s $40,000 production, a significant growth from the 100 participants that came six years ago, Rubel said. “It keeps on growing every year,” she said in an interview at the event. “Last year, there were 1,100 people. This year, we planned on feeding 1,400 people and all of

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has accused Tufts Medical Center heart specialist Marvin Konstam of ignoring conflicts of interest while working for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Grassley sent a letter to NIH Director Elias Zerhouni on Sept. 23 upon discovering that Konstam, a professor at Tufts’ School of Medicine, has been working for the government health agency’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) while remaining a Tufts Medical Center employee and keeping a position with the private company Orqis Medical. NIH policy prohibits the institute’s fulltime employees from receiving compensation for work with private industry companies. Konstam holds a position as a contractor, and Grassley claims that this status makes him a full-time worker. The senator wants to know whether NIH has been hiring researchers as contractors to skirt its own policy. Konstam was hired as a senior advisor to the NHLBI director for one year, beginning Jan. 1, under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA). “As part of his duties, Konstam provided strategic guidance for the NHLBI’s national research program on the causes, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and helped to develop a strategic plan for NHLBI research on cardiovascular diseases,” NHLBI spokesperson Susan Dambrauskas told the Daily in an e-mail. When he was hired by the NHLBI, Konstam was the chief of cardiology at Tufts Medical Center and a professor of medicine and radiology at the medical school. According to a statement from Tufts Medical Center, Konstam “stepped out of his prior role of Chief of Cardiology” while working for the NIH. After his year at the NHLBI is done, he will return to Tufts Medical Center as the chief physician executive for their cardiovascular center. Konstam did, however, remain a faculty member at the medical school, albeit

see COMMUNITY DAY, page 2

see KONSTAM, page 2

meredith klein/tufts daily

Local children play at yesterday’s Community Day. Members of campus groups and area organizations united on the Academic Quad for the sixth annual event. For a slideshow of photographs, visit tuftsdaily.com.

Student groups and locals meet on the Hill for food and festivities on Community Day by

Gillian Javetski

Daily Editorial Board

Students strolling through the academic quad yesterday might have had to dodge crawling toddlers, but lemonade and candied apples awaited those who were able to navigate the crowds. Tufts hosted its sixth annual Community Day, bringing student organizations and volunteers together with local groups and residents. Tufts’ Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel said Community Day connects residents of Medford and Somerville with a university that can often be a mystery to even some of its closest neighbors.

“I think that we’re smack dab in these two pretty densely developed urban communities, yet a lot of people have never been on the Tufts campus,” Rubel said. “This is a way for Tufts to open its doors to its local communities so that people are able to say with pride that Tufts is in their neighborhood.” Student groups like the Jackson Jills, BlackOut, B.E.A.T.S., Traveling Treasure Trunk and La Salsa performed. Over 60 local and student organizations set up tables. Kids also participated in cookie decorating, arts and crafts activities and a “stop, drop and roll” exercise in the Somerville Police Department’s smokehouse, a trailer filled with imitation smoke to simulate a fire. The Tufts and Medford Police Departments also

Dewick-MacPhie worker dies A Tufts dining employee collapsed last night in the Dewick-MacPhie Dining Hall, ostensibly from a heart attack, sources familiar with the incident told the Daily. As of press time, the Daily was unable to confirm the name of the deceased. “He had a heart attack,” sophomore Kenny Burris said. “He … fell on the ground. Everybody said it was fine, [that we should] get out. They put him on a stretcher and they said he had a heart attack.” The Tufts University Police Department declined late last night to comment, referring questions to Captain Mark Keith. Sophomore Kevan Mamdouhi said he saw officers and medics arrive at around 7:30 p.m. “[They] kept yelling, ‘Stay clear! Stay clear!’ As we walked out, we saw them in the ambulance doing compressions,” he said. Senior David Kudlowitz, TEMS’ director of operations, confirmed that members of the student emergency medical group responded to the incident, but declined to provide further details. Sophomore Emily Edwards-Bourdrez said that she and her friends saw the normally upbeat atmosphere at Dewick turn chaotic as emergency responders rushed into the hall. “We were walking out and we saw a few people wearing emergency medical clothing coming into Dewick and one of them started yelling at us to, ‘Get out of the way! Get out of the way!’ We really didn’t think anything of it. We just thought that something had gone wrong with the cooking materials,” she said. “Then we saw a gurney pulled through … and they really started yelling.” Check tuftsdaily.com today for updates and see tomorrow’s Daily for complete coverage. -by Rob Silverblatt and Alison Lisnow

Career Fair boasts large student, employer turnout by

Pranai Cheroo

Daily Editorial Board

Over 800 students set the Gantcher Center abuzz with activity at the annual Tufts Career Fair on Friday. This year’s Career Fair put students in touch with recruiters from approximately 100 companies, including Honda, Microsoft and Intel. The fair had a “wonderful turnout,” according to Director of Career Services Jean Papalia. A number of career fields were represented, including “non-profits, government, private and education,” she said. “There are [companies] that come every year and get a great turnout of interest, and they always hire our students,” said Robin Kahan, associate director of Employer Outreach and Engineering Career Services. She indicated that other

Inside this issue

Meredith Klein/tufts daily

Students meet with representatives from companies at the Career Fair. companies such as Intel, Microsoft, the FBI and Analog Devices, however, took more convincing before they decided to attend the fair. Papalia called the fair an excellent opportunity for all students,

from freshmen to seniors, to find employers looking for anything from full-time employees to summer interns. “I was talking to an see FAIR, page 2

Today’s Sections

Three winning streaks came to an end for Jumbo squads over the weekend.

A complex absentee ballot system causes difficulties for out-ofstate voters.

see SPORTS, back page

see FEATURES, page 3

News Features Arts | Living Comics

1 3 5 7

Editorial | Letters Op-Ed Classifieds Sports

8 9 10 Back

The Tufts Daily

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News

Visiting the Hill MONDAY

Sponsor: Chemistry Department

“Professor van Hoven from Eco-Life Expeditions”

“Jewish Artist and Black Africans in Renaissance Art”

Details: The founder of Eco-Life Expeditions, Professor Wouter van Hoven of Pretoria University, will be showing a film and answering questions about his work and study program. When & Where: 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Pearson 106 Sponsor: Pre-Veterinary Society

“Free Dinner, Movie and Interview with Errol Morris” Details: “Standard Operating Procedure,”(2008) a film that examines the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody, will be shown. Food will be served and the film will be followed by a live discussion with filmmaker Errol Morris via Web cast. When & Where: 6:30 p.m.; Cabot 205 Sponsor: PANGEA

“Ask a Sexpert” Details: Sexologist Logan Levkoff, an expert on college relationships, will speak to students. When & Where: 8:00 p.m.; Pearson 104 Sponsor: Hillel

“Marketing for Social Change: ‘Getting People to Stop Smoking’” Details: Lori Fresina of M&R Strategic Services will be leading a discussion on getting people to stop smoking. When & Where: 6:00 p.m.; Braker 202 Sponsor: Communications and Media Studies Program

TUESDAY “Self-Assembling AY-Peptide Nanotubes: A New Approach to Functionalized Nanotubes” Details: Professor Juan Granja of the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela will lecture on nanotubes. When & Where: 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Pearson 106

Details: Paul Kaplan, professor of art history at SUNY, Purchase, will discuss the role of Jewish and black Africans in Renaissance art. Kaplan has published many articles, and he wrote his doctoral dissertation on the portrayal of black Africans in European art. When & Where: 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m; 155 Granoff Music Center Sponsors: Department of Art and Art History and the Africa in the New World Minor

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the food is gone.” This year, Tufts emphasized educational activities at Community Day. “We’re constantly trying to find ways to make sure that people are getting more of a complete picture of the university, which includes bringing in educational components of the university,” Rubel said. “Along with the activities, we’re trying to show people about the learning that is going on here.” Representatives from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine came to talk to dog owners about pet care. Two biology department groups demonstrated beekeeping methods and showcased tadpoles. Rubel added that more student organizations had become involved in Community Day this year than in years past. “The Senate is much more interested in connecting with the community and the Greek system is making a huge effort to be seen in the community,” she said. Senior Damaris Graves, a Community Day organizer, said that she was thankful for the Inter-Greek Council’s (IGC) help this year. “There are around 100 student volunteers here and 40 of them are part of the IGC,” Graves said. “They’ve been a huge help.” Sigma Phi Epsilon brother Andreas Vindenes attended his first Community Day this year and said it would not be his last. He heard about the event at a Sigma Epsilon executive board meeting. “We have around 20 people from SigEp here today, which is about half of our brotherhood,” said Vindenes, a junior. “Along with it being fun, it’s important to show the community that Greek life is more than about partying on Saturday night.” Medford resident Valerie David enjoyed connecting with other locals and community organizations yesterday. David set up a table at the event for Teens Against Drinking and Drugs.

“Reflections on the Middle East in World Affairs” Details: Stanley Hoffman, the Paul and Catherine Buttenwieser university professor at Harvard University, will discuss the Middle East as part of the fall 2008 Fares Lecture Series. When & Where: 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Cabot 702 Sponsor: Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

“Peace and Diplomacy in the Middle East”

“Computer Science Seminar”

Details: Former Deputy National Security Advisor and National Security Council Chief of Staff Mara Rudman will discuss diplomatic relations in the Middle East as part of a speaker series this fall on U.S. foreign policy hosted by Professor John Shattuck, former assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor and former ambassador to the Czech Republic. When & Where: 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.; Tisch Library, Austin Conference Room Sponsor: Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service

“Human Factors: Engineering and Design of the ‘Reach’ Toothbrush” Details: John Kreifeldt, a former Tufts professor, will discuss the design and development of the Reach Toothbrush. Kreifeldt and Percy H. Hill designed the toothbrush in 1972 and sold it to Johnson & Johnson. When & Where: 3:00 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.; Barnum 008 Sponsor: Tufts Human Factors & Ergonomics Society

“Making Space for Asian American Artists” Details: Giles Li and Eugene Shih will talk about their arts organization and its role in supporting Asian Pacific American artistic expression. The lecture will be followed by a

Large Greek presence bolsters festival COMMUNITY DAY

dinner reception at the Start House. When & Where: 4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.; 155 Granoff Music Center Sponsor: Asian American Center

“Being here has let me find out about what’s going on in Medford, about things that I wouldn’t have known about,” David said. She added that Community Day had put her in touch with representatives from other local groups. “If I hadn’t come here today, I wouldn’t have made connections with people in those organizations,” she said. David mentioned that she wished she saw more local Community Day advertisements in the Medford area. Tufts advertised for Community Day through several media, including local television stations, newspapers and mailings to over 8,000 households, according to Rubel. In addition, both the Somerville and Medford Mayors’ Offices put up banners in their communities, she said. Somerville resident Cindy Person, attending her second Community Day, heard about the event last year from an advertisement she picked up at a store in Somerville. “I came out earlier this year because I was curious to see what else was being offered that I missed last year,” Person said. She added that the only other times she goes to Tufts are for art openings at the Aidekman Arts Center. Junior Kate Selden attended her first Community Day to table for the club National Student Partnerships. She was surprised by the variety of organizations that tabled at the event. “I thought that [Community Day] was mostly made up of Tufts groups, but it’s really great that so many different organizations have come out to demonstrate what they do,” Selden said. The calm, colorful, fall day helped bring out Community Day’s festive atmosphere. “If you walk around and talk to people, you see that they’re having a good time and are taking the time to share with each other about the programs they’ve learned about,” Rubel said. “People are really relaxed and seem to be enjoying themselves.”

Details: Jim Waldo of Sun Microsystems Labs will discuss computer science and virtual worlds. When & Where: 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 111A Halligan Hall Sponsor: Norman Ramsey

Monday, October 6, 2008

Fair is one of many job services FAIR

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employer, and a first-year student came over and the employer was thrilled to tell her all about opportunities at that company,” Papalia said. The Career Fair is one of “a vast array of services” that Career Services offers, said Steve Maser, Career Services’ assistant director of employer outreach. Upcoming Career Services events include a career orientation for seniors, a workshop on internship funding and a job-search boot camp for seniors, which Papalia called a “one-day crash course.” Papalia also highlighted that Career Services has a seminar to help students write their statement of purpose. “Students don’t realize that we help with graduate school applications,” she said. Students should start early and rely on more than a single job-search method, according to Papalia “We encourage students to take advantage of all the services offered, including career counseling, appointments, the campus recruiting program, workshops and alumni presentations,” she said.

FRIDAY “Decision ’08: Brown Bag Lunch with Simon Rosenberg” Details: President and New Democrat Network Founder Simon Rosenberg (A ’85) will discuss the 2008 election. R.S.V.P. is required. Fruit salad and drinks will be provided. When & Where: 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.; Lincoln Filene Center, Rabb Room Sponsor: Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service

“Racial Bias in the Police Decision to Shoot” Details: Joshua Correll, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, will discuss the impact of complexity and control in the police decision to shoot as part of this year’s Diversity and Cognition Lecture Series. When & Where: 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m; Anderson 306 Sponsor: Diversity and Cognition Lecture Series

tuftsdaily.com

The Daily has a new radio show. The weekly production can be heard on WMFO, at 11 a.m. on Sunday mornings, or listeners can log onto tuftsdaily.com at any time to hear the podcast. Yesterday’s edition of Tufts Daily Radio included a report on the changes to Brown and Brew, an interview with Tufts Community Union Treasurer Matt Shapanka and a feature on Tufts alum and rapper Pete Shungu, also known as Afro DZ ak. Last week’s inaugural edition, still available online, featured reports on campus construction and the economy. Each show also includes a round-table discussion with a rotating panel on the presidential election; the line-ups consist of student political experts and advocates.

Grassley asks NIH about expenses KONSTAM

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with lessened duties. “The extent of Dr. Konstam’s teaching activities for the Tufts University School of Medicine consisted of a single lecture to second-year medical students,” the statement said. “At the Medical Center he saw patients one day a month.” Konstam has also continued to work as the medical director for Orqis, a private medical device company in California. In a Sept. 15 press release for Orqis, Konstam was identified as the company’s medical director and a professor of medicine at Tufts. He published a study for Orqis in February. A spokesperson from Orqis did not return a request for comment. “I would appreciate your insights into how Dr. Konstam, who appears to be a full-time federal employee, kept an office at Tufts and was publishing studies on behalf of Orqis while at the same time the Health and Human Services Website listed him as a Senior Advisor with an NHLBI phone number and email account,” Grassley wrote in his letter to Zerhouni. Konstam informed the NHLBI of “all his external activities” before taking his position with the institute, according to Dambrauskas. Konstam also disclosed his relationship with Orqis to Tufts, and “was careful to ensure there would be no conflict of interest between his role there and his role at Tufts Medical Center,” the Tufts Medical School statement said. In recent months, Grassley has become a crusader of sorts against conflicts of interest in the NIH. He has sent several letters in recent months regarding moral ambiguity in the use of extramural research funds. “As a senior member of the United States Senate and the Ranking Member of

the Committee on Finance, I have a duty under the Constitution to conduct oversight into the actions of executive branch agencies,” Grassley wrote in the Sept. 23 letter. “In this capacity, I must ensure that NIH properly fulfills its mission to advance the public’s welfare and makes responsible use of the public funding provided for medical studies.” In his letter, Grassley discussed David Schwartz, who served as the director of the NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health while simultaneously working for Duke University. “Dr. Schwartz hired several scientists from Duke who were forced to return to Duke, and your office had to investigate several NIEHS grants awarded to do for possible conflict of interest violations,” Grassley wrote. Konstam would not have been able to show Tufts similar favoritism, according to Dambrauskas. “Under the terms of the IPA assignment, Dr. Konstam remains an employee of Tufts Medical Center, and he is not authorized to approve or make any grant or contract awards or conduct research in the NHLBI intramural program,” she said. In his letter, Grassley requested “an explanation of how much money NHLBI paid Dr. Konstam for salary and moving expenses, where those funds came from, and whether Dr. Konstam has received any compensation from other institutions and/or companies during the time he was employed by NHLBI,” as well as copies of his financial disclosure filings and “any materials relating to any contract that may exist between Dr. Konstam and the NIH” by Oct. 7. “We will work closely with Senator Grassley and his staff to address the concerns and questions outlined in the letter,” Dambrauskas said.

Features

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tuftsdaily.com

Michael Goetzman | Spotlight

Election 2008

I

Annie Wermiel/Tufts Daily

For those voting absentee, a ballot request form must be mailed to a student’s home state.

Out-of-state Jumbos rely on absentee ballots Campus groups work to smooth complicated process, motivate students by

Neha Wadekar

Contributing Writer

Politically engaged campus? Check. A historic election approaching? Check. Internet access? Check. For college students, the motivations and ways to vote — even for those living long distances from their hometowns and voting booths — are innumerable. But in spite of what seems to be a growing youth voting movement, a number of college students still neglect to send in absentee ballots, and others don’t vote at all. Professor of Political Science Kent Portney said that many students do not go the absentee route as a result of systematic flaws. “Absentee balloting does create a bit of an impediment to college students,” he said. “There are always questions about how committed local election officials are to absentee balloting [because] sometimes they are very slow to send out the ballots, and sometimes they have extreme restrictions on their

return,” Portney said. “And inevitably, the absentee ballot process puts more burden on the student than other forms of voting, and any time you make the cost of doing something higher, you get fewer people doing it.” In 2004, these hurdles were noticeable: Despite high participation rates in the election, young people (ages 18-24), many of whom lived away from home, were still the least active voting group. Their participation rate was 58 percent, compared to 64 percent among all eligible voters. Many students do not vote absentee because they simply don’t get the necessary paperwork completed in time; others complain that it is too difficult and timeconsuming to vote. Junior Shana Hurley, president of the Tufts Democrats and former co-director of Tufts Votes, agreed that many students find the process too confusing. “It isn’t difficult to vote absentee, but it’s simultaneously very easy to mess it up,” she said. But Hurley said absentee efforts, albeit somewhat difficult, are crucial because many students come from swing states. “I feel that it’s important to encourage stu-

dents to vote absentee if their home states are more competitive than Massachusetts,” she said. “Because of the Electoral College and the liberal demographics in Massachusetts, one’s vote makes less of a difference here than in a battleground state ... For students from New Hampshire, Colorado, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, etc., it’s much better for them to cast a ballot where it will make more of a difference. It’s called choice voting.” Students at Emerson College have attempted to rectify the problems in youth participation by creating a Web-based, nationwide, non-partisan effort to promote absentee ballots. BeAbsentee.org, a site that provides information about absentee voting in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., makes a special effort to target young voters in election-deciding swing states. “The idea for BeAbsentee came after I did a Google search of ‘Absentee Voting’ and discovered that the information was not readily accessible over the Internet, and sometimes not at all,” Emerson student Aaron Bacon, the founder and director of BeAbsentee.org, see ABSENTEE, page 4

Expansion of new JumboCash in the works

Easier system hopes to attract more off-campus eateries to points system by

Lindsay Eckhaus

Contributing Writer

Tufts’ administrators and members of student government are always looking for ways to simplify students’ lives, be it through providing the Joey for easy access to Davis Square, or allowing them to register for classes from their dorm rooms through the online SIS system. This year, Tufts has added one more feature to ease campus life — JumboCash. This new monetary method, which condenses the Dining Dollars and Points Plus systems of the past into one easy-to-use format, has been welcomed by a generally positive response on campus. But as with any novel system, students and administrators agree that there is still room for further improvement. The switch to a simpler points system on campus was the brainchild of current Tufts Community Union Senate Parliamentarian, junior C.J. Mourning. As a freshman, she received complaints from classmates who were unsure of the system, and since then she has been working closely with Director of Dining Services

Patti Klos and the rest of the Dining Services team to implement the change. “An easier system is what the students wanted,” Mourning said. “It took a while to work out the logistics because there was a lot of background stuff to figure out in terms of Dining Services and the systems that they use. [But as a senator], you need to not let the issues drop and you must keep talking with the administration.” After hard work over the past few years, Mourning is pleased with the current status of JumboCash. “It is a lot easier because there is now only one system,” she said. “I think people are much happier because they actually understand it.” Klos echoed Mourning’s sentiments about the old system and the current workings of the new one. “The old system [of Points and Dining Dollars], when it was new, was quite cutting edge. There was a significant amount of money used for non-dining access. But we knew it needed to change because things evolve,” she said. The new system has made leaps in con-

venience without changing Dining Services’ finances and operations. “[JumboCash] hasn’t had a positive or negative budget effect for us. It happened pretty efficiently,” Klos said. “From an administrative standpoint, [the new system] is easier because we are not administrating two different accounts … It is a positive thing because the majority of students have welcomed it and wanted it.” While Klos is generally happy with the final product, she is prepared to take JumboCash to bigger and better places — the plan for a Web site with which students would be able to check their account balances and manage their funds is scheduled to be finished this fall. Klos also hopes to add more off-campus eateries to the JumboCash system, a goal supported by many students. “JumboCash should be accepted at more places, and at a wider variety of places. I would love sandwich shops like Tasty’s or Dave’s Fresh to be on points,” junior Michael Levine said. “I would like to be able to go into actual restaurants in Davis like Mike’s or Diva see JUMBOCASH, page 4

Jumbo: Putting the ‘mass’ in mascot

recently took some time to meet with Jumbo on the Academic Quad, but the interview was a bit — well — stiff. So I hit the books instead. It turns out that ol’ Jumbo wasn’t always the world icon or beloved mascot we know today. Like most icons preceding him, he had to make his way in the world. It all started on one portentous day in 1861, when an African elephant was captured on the plains of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). The elephant was “Operation: Jumbo Dropped” in the Paris Zoo Jardin des Plantes located right next to the ominous Gare d’Austerlitz railway station — a foreboding symbol of the locomotive that would later claim his life. A regular Hemingway, the elephant sipped absinthe among his fellow Parisian pachyderms and filled his head with silly thoughts of one day joining the circus. During a resplendent lunch-break ceremony at the zoo, a council of zookeepers gave the young elephant his name: “Jumbo,” possibly as a variation on the Swahili word “jumbe,” meaning “chief.” Interestingly, “jumbo” was not an English word in 1861; it was our elephant that added that term to the English lexicon. (WahPOWzah! - I’m working on getting that word added.) Four years later, Jumbo was transferred to the Royal Zoological Society in London where he developed a penchant for giving young children rides on his back. Yeehaw. Unfortunately, while under the care of a zoologist nicknamed Scotty, Jumbo experienced poor health as he entered a growth spurt and endured some growing pains that I presume only Mike Seaver could relate to. Feeling bad for ol’ Jumbo, Scotty slid him a gallon or two of whiskey a day ... you know, for medicinal purposes. In 1882, Jumbo was sold for $10,000 to P.T. Barnum, owner of “The Greatest Show on Earth.” But not so fast, hot-shot; news of Barnum’s offer provoked loyal fans, writers and children to question his sale and beg for its reversal. I can hear their whining now. “Puhpuh-puh-weez, don’t let Peepee Barnums take Jumbo away.” But children were meant to be seen and not heard, so the Royal Zoological Society’s superintendent was all, “STFU, you kids” and “Jumbomania” became the buzzword of the day. I wonder what the buzzword of our day is? Probably “Boloco.” Jumbo toured North America with, get a load of this mouth-full, “P.T. Barnum’s Greatest Show On Earth, The Great London Circus, Sanger’s Royal British Menagerie and The Grand International Allied Shows United” for four seasons. While they probably could have benefited from shortening the show’s title, an estimated 20 million people attended, making Jumbo the greatest attraction in “The Greatest Show on Earth” — which is pretty great. But the good times couldn’t last forever. Legend has it that, on Sept. 15, 1885, as the itinerant menagerie of Barnum and Bailey’s circus was being loaded onto trains in Ontario, an off-schedule locomotive came careening down the track towards Jumbo and a much smaller elephant named Tom Thumb. In a heroic show of altruism (alcohol-induced bravery), Jumbo was said to have gripped Thumb with his trunk and tossed him 20 yards before taking the locomotive head on. His last words were, “Rawwla larr aaawr!” which may or may not have entered the English-language lexicon. But, man oh man ... what a way to go. Now, every time I walk along the quad, past that crummy statue of our mascot, I can only think that if Jumbo were alive today, he’d probably be wondering how the hell his name could’ve gone from meaning chief to standing in for fat-ass. That being said, ladies and gentlefriends, you know I’m not one for hyperbole, but it should be clear that we have the most badass mascot of all time. May his ashes remain undisturbed in that peanut butter jar in the athletic director’s office for centuries to come.

Michael Goetzman is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at [email protected].

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The Tufts Daily

Features

Monday, October 6, 2008

Dining Services looks to expand JumboCash locations JUMBOCASH

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and use my points. An ice cream shop like J.P. Licks would be cool too.” “My ultimate goal was to get more restaurants on points so people would have more options,” Mourning said. “That’s the one thing I want to see accomplished before I leave Tufts.” Klos is working with Mourning to increase the number of restaurants in the system. “Will we be like BU or Harvard that have 50 to 60 off-campus locations? I don’t know. But we will certainly be able to expand,” Klos said. She, like Levine, would like to make the system more versatile by adding dine-in restaurants that accept JumboCash, since currently JumboCash can only be used when students place a delivery or carry-out order. She also hopes that students will eventually be able to use JumboCash for different types of services, such as for medications at Health Service or at the dry cleaners. Before this year’s switch, many students found the old system complicated because the two different debit accounts were used to pay for separate services on and off campus. “The old point system was really confusing because everything had its own category,” Levine said. “Different points were used for Jumbo Express and for the laundry machines, for example. I was always running out of laundry points and didn’t know how to add more money to my account for that service specifically. Now, if I want 300 points for anything — the bookstore, food, laundry — I just go to Curtis Street and sign a slip of paper, so it’s really easy.” Junior Jon Cohn expressed similar views. “[JumboCash] is only a good thing,” he said. “Before, having the disconnect between food and the bookstore was annoying. You never knew how much money you had on one or the other. This new system allows for more freedom, and it really simplifies everything,” he said. Although changes in the system have made students happier, some are still unsatisfied. Freshman Brittany Chait, who has found the system easy to use as a

Mitchell Duffy/Tufts Daily

Students use Tufts’ new monetary system, JumboCash, for on-campus dining and laundry alike. first-year student, wishes that JumboCash offered more benefits. “It only gives discounts on laundry. I think that discounts or other deals should be given for other services that accept JumboCash, like the off-campus restaurants. At my high school, if I showed my ID card at the nearby Chipotle, we got a free drink. Here, they could say something like, ‘if you come to this restaurant on Tuesday at lunch you get [something

free].’ I think then more students would use their JumboCash at outside restaurants,” Chait said. But in its early stages, JumboCash seems to be serving the purpose it hoped to fulfill. “JumboCash just has a nice ring to it; it has an image,” Klos said. “I really like the logo. We’ve gotten a lot of response, and not really any complaints. Overall, it is a much more user-friendly system.”

Internet helps simplify absentee ballot process ABSENTEE

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said in a press release. “College students may have every intention to vote, but many don’t know they can vote absentee and many more don’t know how, so they give up. But it’s surprisingly easy once you have the information — request a ballot, complete the ballot and throw it in the mail.” Tufts students have developed their own voting support system to encourage their peers to fill out ballots: Tufts Votes, which is run out of the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, has a Web site designed to help students navigate through the electoral process. It provides absentee voting information, frequently asked questions and a list of voter registration dates and deadlines for each state. Hurley explained that Internet resources are making absentee voting a simpler process overall. “It’s really important to know your state’s own laws and regulations. Fortunately for us, great Web sites like LongDistanceVoter. com and Barack Obama’s new voting Web site, VoteforChange.com, have simplified the process a lot,” Hurley said. Other Tufts initiatives include Hillel’s attempts to “Rock the Vote.” On Sept. 29, Hillel ran a voter registration and absentee ballot drive during which over 100 students signed up to vote absentee. There will be another “Rock the Vote” event today in the Campus Center and in the Carmichael and DewickMacPhie Dining Halls. For some students, this message combines with other considerations to guide them to the post office. “I’m voting absentee because I’m still on my parents insurance, and therefore I have to keep my legal residency as my hometown in Michigan,” sophomore Lydia Mitts, of East Lansing, Mich., said. “Voting absentee is somewhat anti-climactic [because] by doing it, I lose the excitement of voting on Election Day and feeling like I’m participating in some historic event. Still, it’s much more important to me to cast my ballot, regardless of what day or where, than to go without voting at all.”

The Fares Center for Easter n Mediter ranean Studies P r e s e n t s

“Reflections on the Middle East in World Affairs ” STANLEY HOFFMANN

Paul and Catherine Buttenwieser University Professor Center for European Studies, Harvard University Stanley Hoffmann is a former chairman of the Center for European Studies at Harvard University, and Paul and Catherine Buttenwieser University Professor. His publications include Gulliver’s Troubles, or the Setting of American Foreign Policy (1968), Decline or Renewal? France Since the Thirties (1974), Primacy or World Order (1978), Duties Beyond Borders (1980), Janus and Minerva (1986), The European Sisyphus: Essays on Europe, 1964–1994 (1995), The Ethics and Politics of Humanitarian Intervention (1996), World Disorders: Troubled Peace in the Post-Cold War Era (1998), L’Amérique vraiment impériale? (2003), and Gulliver Unbound (2004). Hoffman is co-chair of the Seminar on French Politics, Culture, and Society and is on the editorial board of French Politics, Culture and Society.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 5:30 pm Cabot 7th Floor - Tufts University Open to the Public Cabot Intercultural Center 160 Packard Avenue Medford, Massachusetts 02155

http://farescenter.tufts.edu For more information contact: Omar Dauhajre @ 617-627-6560

Arts & Living

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tuftsdaily.com

TV Review

Grant Beighley | Pants Optional

I abc.go.com

Too many puns make for indigestion on TV’s dark comedy, “Pushing Daisies.”

‘Pushing Daisies’ premiere mixes morbidity and ‘punny’ one liners by Jessica

Bal

Daily Editorial Board

The premiere of ABC’s “Pushing Daisies” last Wednesday night sufficiently showcased the continuing charm of the show and its quirky characters, making clear that this budding television series won’t sink into the

Pushing Daisies Starring Lee Pace, Chi McBride, Anna Friel, Kristin Chenoweth Airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC

grave of mediocrity any time soon. Protagonist Ned (played by Lee Pace) is blessed (or possibly cursed) with the ability to bring dead things back to life. The catch? He can only keep them alive for 60 seconds, or else some other life form in the vicinity is snuffed instead. If he touches the living dead again, they’re gone for good. Complications arise when Ned brings back his childhood sweetheart, Charlotte “Chuck” Charles, leaving them with a hands-off relationship for fear of ending her life … again. Ned regularly teams up with a private investigator to help solve crimes by touching corpses for a one-minute interview. The cast of colorful characters returns, and they slide easily into their old roles.

Ghostface Killah to headline fall hip-hop show Ghostface Killah will headline this fall’s Hip-Hop Show alongside DJ Green Lantern on Oct. 16 for the annual event put on by Concert Board. A member of the Wu Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah launched his solo career with his first LP, “Ironman,” in 1996 and is well-known for his high-energy, uptempo rhymes. Green Lantern is a New York native who rose to fame through his role as the official DJ for Shady Records, a label founded by rapper Eminem. Senior Janette Hoffman, co-chair of Concert Board, expects a large turnout. “We are expecting a sellout on the first or second day,” she said. Last year’s show, which featured Girl Talk, sold out the day tickets went on sale, and the 2006 show, featuring Method Man, sold out right away as well. Hoffman said Ghostface Killah received an early nomination as a possible headliner, since his name was leftover from a list of last year’s potential Spring Fling acts. The members of Concert Board were nearly unanimous in their support of the lineup, according to Hoffman. In terms of student interest, “Ghostface Killah trumps in the eyes of the students because he’s more well-known as a solo artist, but I think its going to be on the same level as Girl Talk — that same level of insanity,” she said. Expecting another full-capacity crowd, Concert Board has taken steps to prevent a repeat of last year, when a chaotic situation erupted after several students attempted to sneak into the event. According to Hoffman, in the past, many students volunteered simply because they had been unable to purchase a ticket, and had little desire to actually work.

In the second season, Pace resumes his lovable but sometimes repetitive awkward sweetheart act: hunched shoulders, grandfather cardigan, raised eyebrows and sheepish smirk. His humble charm fits nicely with the enthusiastic, wide-eyed Anna Friel as Chuck. She’s as fresh as a sunny picnic, and in fact, always seems to be dressed for one. More disappointing is Chi McBride as private investigator Emerson Cod. His sarcasm keeps the show’s sweetness in check, but not much is going on to develop his character. It would be a shame for him to fall flat and become simply a series of one-liners. Chuck’s aunts Lily (Swoosie Kurtz) and see DAISIES, page 6

THEATER

‘Ajax’ blends the contemporary, ancient soldier by Saanya

Gulati

Contributing Writer

Graduate students from American Repertory Theatre Institute recently participated in a workshop where

Ajax in Iraq defjam.com

Ghostface Killah will try to upstage the panini press when he headlines Dewick next Thursday. “This year we have a pretty dedicated membership,” Hoffman said. “We restructured Concert Board so that general members are more involved … They work because they should be, not because they wanted to get into the show for free.” Hoffman feels confident that the current membership of about 30 will be strong enough to run a successful event. Fall Hip-Hop Show tickets go on sale at the Campus Center Info Booth at 9 a.m. this Wednesday, Oct. 8. Tickets are $10 with a Tufts ID. The show is Thursday, Oct. 16 at 9:30 p.m. — compiled by Mike Adams

Written by Ellen McLaughlin Directed by Scott Zigler At the Zero Arrow Theatre through Oct. 11 Tickets $10, $5 for students they worked with playwright Ellen McLaughlin to develop a piece that examined the notion of war. Students explored the current situation in Iraq by examining casualty statistics and cases of military suicide, sexual assault and post-war trauma and then drew parallels between aspects of war today and those that characterized ancient Greek tragedies from the fifth century B.C. McLaughlin compiled the students’ input and theatrical material from see AJAX, page 6

The Way of the LOLcat

can haz column? Yes, LOLcat, yes you may haz column. Even though my last two columns have been about music, I thought it was time for a change of pace, so here’s something that everyone can relate to. Take your pants off, grab a glass of Shiraz and settle in for some of the most cerebral reading you’re going to do this semester. Let’s begin with a simple statement: LOLcats are massively more important to modern media than most think. Or at least they’re more important than I thought they were a few months ago. While having breakfast with my parents, with whom I still live during the summer (I’m REALLY cool), I was looking for a box of cereal and, stuck in my school routine, remarked, “I can haz Bunches of Oats, plzkthx?” The fact I said that is pretty sad in itself, but it gets better. My mom answers with, “we had Bunches, but we ated them.” WTF? My mom knowing my generation’s lingo FTL. What the hell is my mother, a 58 yearold, kinda-still-with-it person, doing with the knowledge of a meme that is almost exclusively shared amongst people of my generation? Don’t you need a permit for that or something? But let’s think about it. Over the past year, the cultural phenomena that is LOLcats has been featured on the AOL welcome page, plastered on the pages of The New York Times, and more importantly, sent via a link to nearly anyone who has an e-mail account. Even if your crazy aunt, who still thinks the Internet is a complex series of tubes (it actually is, look it up), gets a link to a LOLcat, she knows what a cat is, and can piece together syntactically what exactly the cat is trying to get across. But in the process your beloved aunt has done something terrible, something beyond words. Okay maybe not. The best thing about LOLcats in relation to the general Internet and text lingo that has taken over of late (hint: can u rd ths? Think b4 u type lke this, 4 yr own sake), is that it has this new grammar in a laughable position. As an English major and someone who has the ability to type at a normal rate without difficult abbreviations, I’m relieved to see pre-teen AOL lingo assigned to cats. If something that poops in a box, chases its own tail and is fascinated by a flashlight on the wall speaks in this language, do humans really need to use it? I speak for myself, and hopefully many more, when I say this: When I get a text, IM, or email that contains “u,” “yr,” “OMG,” or “awsum,” I immediately assume I’m talking to a LOLcat, and I will treat the sender as such. Furthermore, in a world where grammar rules have been thrown by the wayside, it’s nice in general to have a reminder that animals speak using improper verb forms. By this point in time (right now) LOLcats have fallen by the wayside of Internet memes, but they will be remembered for all that they have done for those of the feline persuasion. In truth, they just reminded us all that cats can’t speak English. But they can try and fail humorously. Punchline: unless you have retractable claws and can lick your own butt, take the time to practice proper English; otherwise you’re no better to the world than your complacent cat. Also, if you have either of those features, call me?

Grant Beighley is a senior majoring in English. He can be reached at Grant. [email protected].

The Tufts Daily

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Top five albums

The following are the top five albums played by the DJs at WMFO during the past seven days:

5 4

AMAZON.com

Ratatat: “LP3” Xl Recordings, 2008.

amazon.com

The Black Keys: “Attack & Release” Nonesuch, 2008;

Arts & Living

Modern twist on Sophocles’ ‘Ajax’ examines effects of war through suicide of female soldier AJAX

continued from page 5

the workshop and came up with “Ajax in Iraq,” a modern twist on Sophocles’ “Ajax.” Taking into account a pattern of crises that led to war in the past, referencing the World Wars and Vietnam, as well as ancient civilizations, the adaptation emphasizes the merit and methods of war prevention. At rehearsal, performer Lizette Silva said, “Being a part of this production has been therapeutic for me as an actor, as I feel I’m doing something more than just reading about it in the news and feeling angry.” As a part of the workshop, the students interviewed war veterans in the New England area. Some actors even interviewed family members who are former army officers, which added a more personal angle to the production. Based on these experiences and stories, McLaughlin devised a narrative that incorporates both ancient and contemporary influences. The performance showcases two stories that are interwoven and narrated simultaneously by the Greek goddess Athena. The contemporary story deals with the suicide of A.J., a female soldier serving in Iraq, who killed herself after repeated sexual assaults by a commanding officer that eventually

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pushed her to the brink. Her story which parallels that of Sophocles’ Ajax, shows that the central themes in the ancient play, such as military suicide and assault, are still present in modern day wars. While some scenes are strongly interspersed, like the internal conflict of the protagonists before their suicide, there are scenes that separately deal with each story. The play opens with real experiences from anonymous soldiers that the students collated through their interviews. After these are read, the play directly moves into the two main stories. While the central conflict in the original version lies in the debate over whether to bury the soldier’s body, the modern story uses A.J.’s funeral to explore the emotional turmoil of war, the dark allure of suicide and the senses of betrayal and contempt. Both A.J. and Sophocles’ Ajax are driven to the point of delusion because of war, walking the fine line between identity and insanity. A.J.’s plotline explores the concept of women in war and the theme of sexual assault, which the students found to be commonplace in the situation in Iraq. A.J. was not rewarded for her heroism but instead subjected to further molestation. “These lines are blurred;” said

actress Heidi Nelson. On one hand women are allowed to be soldiers, yet there are glitches in the system. In A.J.’s case, double standards eventually lead her to do things that were previously uncharacteristic: She kills a sheep, deluded that it is the officer who assaulted her. This concept is paralleled to Ajax’s murder of cattle that he believes to be Odysseus. The final monologue of the play narrates the impact of A.J.’s suicide on her family. While her sister goes hysterical and refuses to believe it, it is her son, A.J.’s nephew, who tries to console his mother. This little boy gives hope to the audience and to those fighting in present wars. “A lot of soldiers cease to exist outside the war,” said the play’s director Scott Zigler, as it takes over every aspect of their life. A.J.’s nephew offers an optimistic outlook that one can adopt no matter how despairing it may seem. Athena’s role is a similar one; she is witty and sarcastic. Her humor and wit allow us a moment to detach ourselves from the misery and grimness of war, and to see its futility. While “Ajax in Iraq” ends on a hopeful note, there is still an underlying fear. If these sad conditions of war have been present since the time of Sophocles, when will they ever end?

‘Pushing Daisies’ boasts a strong, witty cast DAISIES

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Monday, October 6, 2008

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amazon.com

Lady Clown: “First Lady Clown,” CD Baby, 2008;

amazon.com

Elvis Costello: “My Aim is True” Hip-O Records, 1976;

NO pHOTO aVAILABLE The J’s with Jaime: “The Remarkable J’s with Jaime,” Columbia Records

Vivian (Ellen Greene) are superbly strange. There is great dramatic potential for their characters as the new season unfolds, as family secrets and unexpected scandals reveal themselves. Last season left viewers with the knowledge that Lily is actually Chuck’s mother, and the story deepens from there. Kristin Chenoweth shines in particular as the plucky waitress at The Pie Hole, where Ned works as a pie-maker. Her character, Olive Snook, makes up for her small size with heaps of spunk. At one point she makes an apology for her forgetfulness with a shameless pie pun: “I’m … really flaky.” Yes, yes you are Olive Snook. But it’s this inexhaustible energy that audiences love about her. Olive’s relocation to a convent halfway through the opening episode grants Chenoweth an opportunity to show off her pipes, as she reenacts the famous opening scene from “The Sound of Music” (1965). She belts out her tune with an outstanding balance of talent and outrageousness, and the sequence is a nod to her theatrical and musical abilities. Snook’s love interest, traveling

salesman Alfredo Aldarisio (Raúl Esparza), is nowhere to be seen, but a duet from Tony award winner Chenoweth and three-time Tony nominee Esparza by the end of the season might be a safe bet. Chuck’s got to run out of those homeopathic drugs sometime, right? In the meantime, Snook should probably be spelled “snoop,” as the waitress (now nun) holds the secrets of several other characters in the show. Her scream of frustration during one scene, both certifiably insane and hilarious, is worthy of a belly laugh. That being said, “Pushing Daisies” has its complications, and, at times, overdoses on sugar. The cinematography is wonderful as always, creating a whimsical world where vivid colors and computer animation mix fantasy and reality. Certain sets, however, look a bit too bright and pixilated; the beehive scene on the rooftop comes to mind. Part of the pull of the show is its seamless blending of dark and light, its ability to mix morbidity with fantasy and humor. Producers will have to be sure to keep both sides in check. The show also needs to explore the Chuck and Ned love interest

on a deeper level. Their situation makes for one of the more unique romances on television and warrants a few more complications. Kissing through saran wrap and wearing warning slippers with bells on them is cute and clever, but their relationship should also explore the inherent difficulties, and play on the tension of, forbidden physicality. Thus far, the second season promises more episodes in the Smallville “freak of the week” style, the first being Betty Bee and her beauty-product line (uncannily similar to Bert’s Bees). Though this structure keeps each installment fresh and interesting, the outcomes tend to be a bit ludicrous. Jim Dale’s narration is fantastic, but there are only so many times he can say things like “Chuck beelined for the bee key” before it ceases to be poetic. Ultimately, though, “Pushing Daisies” is a show that is like nothing else on television right now, an intriguing work of crime drama and whimsy. It’s this originality that will hopefully give the series staying power and make sure that the pie-maker and his colorful crew have a while to go until they rest in peace.

Gentleman’s Bet hits Hotung

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Andrew Zabludovsky/Tufts Daily

Tufts band Gentleman’s Bet performed at Hotung Café on Friday night, part of Hotung’s series of Friday night concerts.

Monday, October 6, 2008

The Tufts Daily

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solutions

Married to the Sea

www.marriedtothesea.com

SUDOKU Level: Discovering America when you’re looking for India

Late Night at the Daily Solution to Friday's puzzle

Caryn: “What’s up with the Ephs? Is it ‘F’s’ or ‘Eeeeefs?’” Tom: “It’s ‘Eeefs.’” Caryn: “That’s bull.” Tom: “Actually, it’s a purple cow, so yeah, it is.”

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THE TUFTS DAILY Editorial Rachel Dolin Kristin Gorman

Managing Editors

Jacob Maccoby Editorial Page Editors Jason Richards Giovanni Russonello Executive News Editor Sarah Butrymowicz News Editors Pranai Cheroo Nina Ford Ben Gittleson Gillian Javetski Jeremy White Alex Bogus Assistant News Editor Michael Del Moro Carrie Battan Executive Features Editor Jessica Bidgood Features Editors Robin Carol Kerianne Okie Charlotte Steinway Sarah Bliss Assistant Features Editors Meghan Pesch Mike Adams Executive Arts Editor Jessica Bal Arts Editors Grant Beighley Sarah Cowan Catherine Scott Emma Bushnell Assistant Arts Editors Matthew DiGirolamo

Monday, October 6, 2008

EDITORIAL

A conflict of interest?

Robert S. Silverblatt Editor-in-Chief

Editorial | Letters

Anytime that oversight vacuums and taxpayer dollars come together, questions of whether conflicts of interest are involved always arise. Recently, United States Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote a letter to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) requesting that they clarify the employment status of Dr. Marvin Konstam, who has been working as a senior adviser to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) while simultaneously retaining his positions at Tufts Medical Center and Orqis, a private medical device company. It is too early to pass judgment, but in the meantime, we support Grassley’s efforts to get to the bottom of the situation. At issue here is whether Konstam has been serving as a full-time employee of the NIH, since the institutes’ regulations prohibit such workers from retaining financial interests with private industries. Grassley is concerned that the NIH has been trying to find a loophole by designating full-time employees as contractors to avoid scrutiny. With any relationship potentially involving conflicts of interest, justice

should be enforced. And Grassley is a veteran senator who has successfully performed many investigations in the past: In June, he caught three Harvard Medical School researchers for failing to properly disclose drug industry payments. While job statuses may seem mundane, the larger question is whether scientific advisers working with public funds should also have related private interests. On one hand, it is admirable that people like Konstam want to take on several projects at once, but on the other, at least symbolically, the potential for abuse looms. As of now, the NHLBI, which is part of the NIH, and Konstam are working with Grassley to address all his questions and concerns, and we applaud this cooperation. Also, an NHLBI spokesperson has told the Daily that Konstam’s position actually precludes him from making funding decisions. Additionally, Konstam informed the NHLBI, Orqis and Tufts of all his external activities upon starting with the NIH. But while Konstam might have done everything he could to make the

process transparent, the investigation is less about his motivations than the larger oversight vacuum. Konstam is currently listed as a senior adviser at the NHLBI. If this means that he is not officially a full-time employee of the NIH, then everything will proceed normally. However, if Konstam actually is a full-time worker, then he is violating regulations and he should dedicate himself either to entirely private or exclusively public pursuits. Either way, Grassley’s investigation should continue to completion, because if it doesn’t, any loopholes that exist may not be closed. All in all, Grassley’s efforts have sound foundations. Especially given that a lack of government regulation has contributed to one of the biggest economic downturns in U.S. history, it is important for our elected officials to do their jobs and point out when the system is being abused. It is still too early to say whether NIH and Konstam are actually guilty, but the time is ripe to at least set the record straight on their actual relationship.

Kayla murdock

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On Thursday night, family rooms and dormitory common rooms across the country were packed in anticipation of the vice presidential debates. With Sen. Joe Biden’s track record of either horrific slip-ups or marvelous triumphs and Gov. Sarah Palin’s abysmal interview with Katie Couric still fresh in the minds of Americans, supporters of Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) alike gathered around their television sets with bated breath and that buzzing excitement that comes with knowing that anything can happen. While it can certainly be agreed that neither candidate crashed and burned, success, as we all know, is relative and, in the case of Palin, it may have had less to do with her ability to answer tough questions honestly and effectively than the painfully low expectations many in both parties held for her. Palin’s interviews with both Couric and Charlie Gibson in the weeks preceding the debate cast serious doubts, not only on her ability to lead (which was already up for debate), but more fundamentally, on her knowledge of foreign and domestic policy (not to mention her own running mate’s posi-

EDITORIAL POLICY Editorials that appear on this page are written by the Editorial Page editors, and individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of the Tufts Daily. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Tufts Daily editorial board.

tions) and, most disturbingly, on her ability to form a coherent sentence. Even staunch Republicans would have a hard time defending Palin’s assertion that Alaska’s proximity to Russia constitutes foreign policy experience. However, as scattered and incompetent as Palin was in her interviews, her sheer lack of knowledge and eloquence set expectations so low that it was nearly impossible for her to disappoint in her debate with Biden. Those watching the debate had gone from hoping to hear a comprehensive view on America’s energy concerns from Palin to praying for logical sentences that weren’t entirely comprised of circular logic and vague references. Despite the fact that she dodged multiple questions (justifying this by saying she wanted to speak “directly to the American people”), focused solely on subjects she felt comfortable discussing and parroted many of Biden’s answers, she managed to come out, if not on top, at least still afloat. This, however, begs a rather distressing question — several, actually. Do we want our standards for someone who could potentially lead the free world to be so low that a coherent

sentence is a triumph? Personally, that seems to be the minimum requirement for the average fourth grade student, not a potential vice president of the United States. Should we be thanking our lucky stars that the running mate of the Republican nominee for president can actually (sometimes) address the growing tensions in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the United States’ involvement in Iraq? No. It should not be outrageous to expect such a high-ranking official in our government to have a firm grasp on the issues that face our country everyday, both domestically and internationally. The very fact that so many consider her performance on Thursday night an achievement stems not from her skill as a debater or her eloquence or her far-reaching understanding of the United States and its role in the world, but from an appearance that seems stellar in comparison to her previous public gaffes. Palin has painstakingly attempted to convey the image that she is the American “average Jane” and the Alaskan “hockey mom,” and in many ways she is — but that doesn’t in any way make her qualified to run the most powerful country in the free world.

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Monday, October 6, 2008

9

Op-Ed

Quilting is not a substitute for sexual assault education Kate Cohen

On Sept. 26, a Tufts alum wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal lambasting female students at liberal colleges, and more specifically, at Tufts. Ashley Samelson recalls, with clear bitterness, the shock of joining the liberal community at Tufts after moving from the “reserved evangelical” community in her home town, Colorado Springs, Colo. She contrasts this college experience with her most recent college encounter, that of taking her younger sister to Hillsdale College in Michigan. The main thrust of Samelson’s argument is that women at more liberal schools have created an unhealthy environment of binge drinking and dangerous alcohol-fueled sexual encounters. In contrast, Samelson reports that friends who have “gone to schools similar to Hillsdale [schools with evangelical values] fondly recall their campus culture ... [Samelson’s friend] still gets together with those friends for a support group in which they pray for one another and sustain each other through struggles.” It is always disconcerting when a person makes blanket generalizations based on his or her own experience, but in the spirit of Samelson’s extensive research, I would like to chime in regarding my own experiences during my three-plus years here at Tufts. Though Samelson makes it sound like every weekend women are dressed as “hoes” and “secretaries,” I have managed never to dress as either and still pull off some pretty great evenings. Also contrary to popular belief, I have never been pressured to drink — much less binge drink — by anyone at Tufts, male or female. Lastly, I would like to stand up from my pulpit of alleged moral filth and refute Samelson’s accusation that “I was simply not used to hearing college women speak about their peers with such esteem.” Ms. Samelson is by

Off the Hill | Duke University

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wrong; some of the most incredible women I know are currently at Tufts or are products of Tufts. In one particularly disturbing passage Samelson writes, “The posters on the walls in my all-female freshman dorm at Tufts offered information about eating disorders, what to do if you think you have been sexually assaulted, and suicide and depression hotlines. The Hillsdale walls that I saw were covered with advertisements for quilting clubs, charity opportunities and a listing of local churches.” There is certainly nothing wrong with quilting, charity or church-going. However, it is appalling to use these activities as proof that Hillsdale, or any other college, has a healthier environment than Tufts. A lack of campus support concerning suicide, sexual assault and depression does not indicate that these problems do not exist. Only dangerous naiveté could lead someone to suggest that a lack of visibility, information and awareness about eating disorders indicates that they are not a campus problem. There is no amount of quilting that will help a rape victim immediately after the crime. The above argument is contingent upon Tufts and Hillsdale being on level playing fields, which they are not. What I mean is this: Tufts is located right outside the heart of metropolitan Boston, an area with a population of 5.9 million. The T transportation system allows all sorts of people to come through our campus. Alternatively, Hillsdale, Mich. is a sleepy Midwestern town of 9,000 people (1,200 of whom are students at Hillsdale college). Obviously, Hillsdale and Tufts must have seriously different considerations in terms of campus health and safety. Small towns have the benefit of social capital that we do not see in larger cities. This affords schools in smaller towns the privilege of worrying less about locked doors

and sexual assault. It is foolish and unfair to accuse city schools of having harmful environments simply because they are dealing with the realities of their location. On a more conciliatory note, we can look at the problem this way. Tufts is an open, liberal school. Based on Samelson’s categorization of Hillsdale as “a school known for attracting conservative and religious students,” I think it is fair to say that both administrations and student bodies are likely to approach things from different perspectives. Historically, liberals are more comfortable talking about things like sexual assault and it follows that open dialogue breeds more dialogue about a wider scope of issues. If it is more comfortable for religious conservatives to pray for one another or discuss issues over quilting, that is fine by me. However, don’t judge or criticize me if I want posters with help line phone numbers in the halls of my dormitories. Let’s be fair. Whatever Samelson may think, Hillsdale is not free from the issues she enumerates about Tufts. Whether or not there are posters on the walls advertising it, there is irresponsible drinking, sexual assault and “girls behaving badly” on all college campuses. Despite this, Samelson’s concerns about women are valid. Women certainly do put themselves in unhealthy sexual situations. Women definitely binge drink but women at Tufts also have a glass of wine with dinner. Women at Tufts do have healthy sexual relationships. Women at Tufts are allowed to make bad choices and learn from them. Women at Tufts are allowed to think independently and speak freely, to challenge their male counterparts and forge their own paths. Kate Cohen is a senior majoring in anthropology.

Average isn't enough for our leaders

Ade A. Sawter

The Duke Chronicle

In the past few months, as the presidential campaign has reached a fever pitch, I have noticed something that disturbs me. I have often heard accusations of elitism tossed about in campaign rhetoric. This idea has been coupled with a strong sense of anti-intellectualism. American anti-intellectualism is certainly not a new phenomenon. It was a part of President Andrew Jackson’s appeal in 1828 when he was elected to the presidency — based partially on the notion that he had been cheated out of it in 1824 by corrupt, elite Eastern politicians. The House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams to be president after neither he nor Jackson garnered an electoral majority in the election. Jackson’s appeal was based on his image as a populist and a man of the people. It is worth noting that like the current president, he took a remarkably expansionist view of executive power, going so far as to defy a Supreme Court decision. Anti-intellectualism remained in play through the era of Joseph McCarthy, when “eggheads” were the focus of anti-Communist efforts. In the 1960s, anti-intellectualism characterized mistrust of university academics, and today the sentiment has expanded to include what Sarah Palin called in her Republican convention speech the “Washington elite.” On two particular levels I understand the sentiment. First, I think one should hold a healthy level of skepticism of one’s leaders, no matter who they are. If anti-intellectualism, or anti-elitism, means that one is wary of officials’ attempts to manipulate or deceive the public, then I’m all for it. Second, I can understand the impulse to want a relatable leader. A voter who sees reflections of him or herself in a candidate should be able to reasonably expect that individual to prioritize issues that matter to the voter. If anti-intellectualism embodies the sense that certain politicians don’t have the greater good at heart, then — in my opinion — it’s not so bad. However, in its modern form, anti-intellectualism seems prone to what Susan Jacoby, author of “The Age of American Unreason,” (2008) referred to as “anti-rationalism.” In an environment where “character” — that amorphous term — is more important to some than actual policies or policy proposals, it seems to me that anti-rationalism is taking hold in a dangerous and potentially damaging way. Further, it seems odd at best for individuals to expect “change” from a candidate who has stood in solidarity with the current administration more than 90 percent of the time. It seems to me that for some of us, the desire to have leaders who are like us has gone too far, and the result has been a sort of “race to the bottom” on the part of politicians to endear themselves to the lowest common denominator. It is the type of situation that forces someone like Hillary Clinton to toss back a shot in an Indiana bar in order to prove her solidarity with working Americans. It is the kind of politics where candidates strive to portray the image that Bush did in his two campaigns — the type of person you would want to kick back and have a beer with, “Joe Six Pack,” if you will. Leadership of the country — particularly in the executive branch — requires that officials act as trust-

MCT

ees for their constituents. A trustee is charged to act on his or her best judgment in the interest of constituents. A trustee by definition has to know more than the average person, not be the average person.

When it comes to leading a country of 300 million — or even a few thousand — average just isn’t enough. And honestly, it is really just insulting when anyone believes that getting my vote requires dumbing down.

Op-ed Policy The Op-Ed section of the Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. Op-Ed welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 800 to 1,200 words in length. Editorial cartoons and Op-Eds in the form of cartoons are also welcome. All material is subject to editorial discretion, and is not guaranteed to appear in the Tufts Daily. All material should be submitted by no later than 1 p.m. on the day prior to the desired day of publication. Material must be submitted via e-mail ([email protected]) attached in .doc or .docx format. Questions and concerns should be directed to the Op-Ed editors. The opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Tufts Daily itself.

The Tufts Daily

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senior tri-captain Brittany Holiday was able to score on the fourth such opportunity, notching Tufts’ first goal of the game by rebounding her own shot off Vitale’s pads with about 15 minutes left before halftime. Junior Amanda Russo followed with a goal of her own with 2:57 remaining in the first half, finding the back of the net off a broken penalty-corner in front of the circle, bringing Tufts’ lead to 2-0 going into halftime. “We got in a lot of shots, but their goalie was really strong,” coach Tina McDavitt said. “That’s why penalty corners are key and we capitalized off those today. We finished on our penalty corners this week, as three out of our four goals were scored on [them]. We adjusted what we were doing on our penalty corners to get behind them on our plays.” Going into the second half of play, Amherst came out aggressively, but the Tufts defense held the Jeffs at bay. Freshman keeper Marianna Zak was wellprotected for the full 70 minutes, as she only had to make one save in the game and allowed Amherst just one penaltycorner opportunity. The Jumbos’ effective defense began with their forwards, intercepting Amherst passes and connecting with midfielders and defenders to create fast-break situations. The Jumbos kept Amherst to just two shots compared to Tufts’ 19. “We held possession for most of the game, but they came out with intensity in the second half,” junior forward Michelle Kelly said. “We did a good job defensively of limiting their passing options, clearing the ball from the circle and blocking up their free hits.” “We did a lot of two-touch and twoon-one passing patterns and did a lot of passing up the field,” Russo added. “On offense, we looked for situations where we had two offensive players when facing one defensive player. On defense, Tina had us practicing making sure we weren’t double-teaming and everyone was going to their person so [Amherst] had no one to pass to. It made it easy for us to make interceptions and regain possessions.” Tufts’ offensive consistency allowed the Jumbos to double their lead in the second half, scoring off both a free hit and a penalty corner. With 26 minutes remaining in the game, Russo chipped the ball into the top of the goal off a feed from junior midfielder Margi Scholtes, marking Russo’s eighth goal of the season. “Everyone was scrambling to get in front of the net,” Russo said. “I was yelling to Margi ‘take it now’ because I was wide open and the person marking me was

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No. 2 Middlebury awaits Jumbos FIELD HOCKEY

Sports

behind me. Margi made a perfect hit, and I was keeping my stick down, deflecting it off into the goal.” “Our passing patterns were great [Saturday],” senior tri-captain Marlee Kutcher added. “People were looking to get it to our forwards upfield and our halfbacks did a good job of working together. Margi hit a great free hit that Amanda chipped and the ball went up and over the goalie’s head into the goal. Margi’s free hits into the circle have been great and we did good job on getting a stick on them.” The Jumbos converted on another penalty-corner play minutes after Russo’s goal, notching their fourth and final goal of the game. Kelly received a cross from Holiday, tapping it in past Amherst defenders to record her eighth goal of the 2008 campaign. “We set up a corner and we knew that they usually sent defenders up high in the backfield,” Kelly said. “We worked the ball around them and it went back to [Holliday] who had a great pass right across the cage and I got it, flicking it past the defender who was at the post. We worked really hard on corners this past week and it paid off in the game.” Tufts’ next contest will be a crucial showdown with perennial powerhouse Middlebury (3-1 NESCAC, 6-1 overall), currently ranked second nationally, and carries major implications in terms of conference hierarchy. Last year, Tufts defeated Middlebury in a regular season matchup but later suffered a 4-3 overtime loss to host Panthers in the NESCAC Tournament semis. Especially when one considers that Middlebury’s lone loss this season came at the hands of national No. 1 Bowdoin Saturday, it’s clear that the Panthers remain a formidable opponent for the Jumbos, perfect record or not. Middlebury is averaging 5.38 goals-per-game, second only to Tufts’ 5.50 goals-per-game, and both teams tie in assists-per-game with 3.33 on average. “Today was one of our best games individually and as a team,” Kutcher said. “If we can keep up this momentum we can beat Middlebury. We need to work on finishing more because we can’t assume that we will have that many corners against a team like Middlebury or that many scoring opportunities in general.” “Next week is a really important game for us and we know that they are going to come out fired up to beat us,” Holiday added. “We’re really excited to play them again especially after losing against them in the NESCAC Semifinals. We’re expecting an aggressive game, as they’ve proven in the past, and to win, we’re going to have to play like today — a smart game.”

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MIT drops first Tufts match since ’06 VOLLEYBALL

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Joyce-Mendive led the Jumbos throughout the match with 13 kills as the Jumbos eventually went on to stage a come-from-behind victory over the Engineers in five sets. VOLLEYBALL (16-1, 3-0 NESCAC) Tufts Invitational, Friday Endicott Tufts Elmhurst Tufts

21 20 26 20 — 1 25 25 24 25 — 3 23 12 25 25

18 25

— 0 — 3

The third set saw Tufts take a 17-12 lead, but only to allow MIT to come back and take the set 26-24. Now down 2-1, the Jumbos took the court for the do-or-die fourth set and, despite building a seemingly insurmountable 18-10, MIT clawed back into the set and knotted the score at 22-22. The Engineers forced the Jumbos to make a number of adjustments as they were doing a good job of keeping the Jumbos’ hits from landing and were putting a lot of balls over their blocks. “We had to mix up our shots and tips,” senior tri-captain Stacy Filocco said.“The tips helped to open up holes in their blocks.” Defense was also crucial in keeping Tufts alive through the many long points that characterized the match. Defensive leaders were senior Maya Ripecky, who had 17 digs, and Goldstein, who posted 16. Junior setter Dena Feiger also contributed 12 digs in addition to her 50 assists. Strong defense led the Jumbos to winning three consecutive points, closing out the fourth set by a score of 25-22. “Our blockers did a good job leaving space for our defense to play around,” Ripecky said. The final set was no less nerve-wracking than the previous two, as the Jumbos were able to build a six-point lead at 12-6 but could not stop the Engineers from tying the score at 14-14 and again at 15-15. With help from kills by first-year Cara Spieler, who notched 11 on the match, as well senior tri-captain Kate Denniston, Filocco, and junior Brogie Helgeson, the Jumbos were able to prevent the Engineers from ever taking a lead. Following the trend of the previous sets, the final set was marked by a number of long points, including the final two. MIT seemed to feel the pressure, putting multiple balls into the net throughout the set. Defense was crucial on the final two points of the match, as neither team appeared willing to surrender. Up 16-15, Tufts was finally able to secure the victory on a powerful kill from Filocco after one of the sets longest points, taking

the match 15-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-22, 17-15. “We knew it was our game to win, being at home,” Filocco said. “We were successful tipping all game, but we knew we had to win on a hit, not a tip.” Having won its first two matches of the tournament on Friday, Tufts came into the match against Union with a blemish-free 15-0 record. The Dutchwomen, who had received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association national ranking poll the previous week, proved to be more than the Jumbos could handle, toppling them in straight sets 25-18, 25-21, 25-20. Although the first set of the match remained tight at the beginning, Union eventually built an overwhelming lead. Over the next two sets, the Jumbos were never able to keep a lead of more than two points as the Dutchwomen took the match to improve to 25-1 on the season. Union also defeated Wellesley earlier in the day, and finished the weekend with a 4-0 record to win the tournament. With sophomore Caitlin Updike, the team leader in kills, out with an injury, Joyce-Mendive took leadership of the offense with nine kills. Denniston was also a strong presence at the net with eight kills. Goldstein led the squad’s defense with 16 digs. “Union was the best team we have faced thus far,” Goldstein said. “It was a good opportunity to get to play a team out of our region that got a lot of votes nationally. But it’s upsetting that we didn’t play the best we could.” “People are coming for us,” Filocco said. “It means something to beat Tufts. [Union was] a great blocking team. We were just not ready for them. We didn’t know how tough it would be.” The struggles that the Jumbos had on Saturday stood in stark contrast to their wins against Endicott and Elmhurst on Friday. The Jumbos swept the Elmhurst Blue Jays 25-23, 25-12, 25-18. While they breezed through the second and third sets, the first one was much closer. The score was tied 15 times before the Jumbos were able to secure the win. In their first match of the tournament, the Jumbos overcame Endicott 25-21, 25-20, 24-26, 25-20. The Gulls were unable to gain a lead until their win in the third set. Despite dropping their first match of the season and ending their perfect streak, the Jumbos still had a successful weekend, as they remained tied with Amherst for first place in the NESCAC at 3-0. They also still have the best overall record in the NESCAC with 16 wins against one loss. The Jumbos next match will be this Wednesday when they host Coast Guard at 7 p.m. in Cousens Gym. “The pressure is gone and now we can just play volleyball,” Ripecky said.

Goalkeeper Jacobs leaves injured in second half of 3-1 weekend loss to Lord Jeffs WOMEN’S SOCCER continued from page 12

The Jumbos, who had outscored their opponents 10-0 going into Saturday’s conference battle, gave up their first goal of the season at the 14-minute mark when Amherst freshman defender Jill Kochanek headed the ball into the net off a free kick. Tufts struck back in the 20th minute when junior forward Ali Maxwell tied the game at one apiece. The goal came on a header off of a corner kick by freshman midfielder Lauren O’Connor. “Lauren O’Connor took the kick, and I just ran toward the goalie as the ball came in. I was able to head it off of an Amherst player and in,” Maxwell said. The Jumbos saw several good scoring opportunities in the game, but they were unable to convert any of them into another goal against the Lord Jeffs’ defense. Despite trailing 12-4 in the total shot count in the first half, Tufts managed five corner kicks compared to just one for

Amherst. They were unable, however, to take advantage of the disparity in corners and take the lead. The game remained tied at one until the 63rd minute when Amherst scored on a header by junior midfielder Meg Murphy. The goal was Murphy’s sixth of the season, putting her among the leaders in goals scored in the NESCAC. Murphy alone accounted for eight of Amherst’s 27 shots, one more than the entire Jumbo team managed on junior goalie Lili Ferguson and freshman goalkeeper Allie Horwitz, who notched two saves apiece, splitting the time in goal. Ferguson surrendered the lone goal to the Jumbos in the first. As for Tufts’ goalkeeping efforts, sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Jacobs had to leave because of an injury in the second half. Junior goalie Kate Minnehan, who had played the first half, went back into the game to replace her. Jacobs notched one save and gave up the game-winning goal before leav-

ing the pitch, while Minnehan made four saves and allowed two goals on the day. Amherst scored an insurance goal in the 79th minute on Minnehan to keep the Jumbos at bay. Lord Jeffs sophomore forward Jackie Hirsch notched her second assist of the match, a pass to senior forward/midfielder Stephanie Yesnik who scored the final goal of the match. The loss comes less than a week after Tufts jumped from being unranked to No. 9 in the country. But the Jumbos aren’t concerned, about a possible drop in the rankings that could come in the wake of their recent loss. “Rankings change every week, and they don’t really mean anything this early,” Maxwell said. “There’s a lot of season left to be played, and we’re still really positive about the season.” Just three days earlier, Amherst had knocked off No. 16 Wheaton College in a come-from-behind victory, making the Lord Jeffs’ upset of Tufts their second victory over a nationally-ranked team this week.

The 3-1 loss marked the first time since 2001 that the Jumbos lost to Amherst. That said, the Lord Jeffs always present a challenge to Tufts, which has competed in close contests against the Jumbos, including two ties in the last five years. This was also the first home victory for Amherst against Tufts since 2000. The No. 6 regionally ranked Lord Jeffs will play Conn. College at home on Wednesday, while the Jumbos will play a non-conference road game against the Brandeis Judges tomorrow. Brandeis (6-31 overall) will present a test for a Tufts squad looking to rebound from their first loss of the season, though the Jumbos are currently riding a three-game winning streak over the Judges. “Brandeis is usually very physical and athletic, while we tend to be a little more skillful and able to possess the ball,” Whiting said. “They’re a team that always plays us tough so we need to be able to play our best.”

Monday, October 6, 2008

The Tufts Daily

Football Analysis

Men’s Soccer

11

Sports

Five turnovers yield loss Jeffs lord it over faltering Jumbos by

Zachary Groen

Daily Staff Writer

During Saturday’s football game against Bowdoin, two senior Jumbos delivered career performances despite the 28-26 loss. Running back Will Forde ran for 175 yards while wide receiver Dave Halas caught three touchdown passes. Forde broke a career high mark and has now rushed for over 100 yards in three consecutive games; Halas tied the Tufts record for most receiving touchdowns in a game and in the process set the Tufts’ record for most receiving touchdowns in a career. But in the context of a loss, the individual accomplishments seemed frivolous. “It’s tough [to perform that way in a loss] because obviously the biggest goal is to get a win,” Forde said. By looking at the exceptional statistics the Jumbos recorded, it’s somewhat hard to believe that Tufts came out of the contest with a loss. In the end though, no matter how many rushing yards a team runs for or how many touchdowns are caught, the turnover battle often dictates the result. On Saturday, the Jumbos got slaughtered in that facet of the game, turning the ball over five times, including three times in the first quarter alone. “I think it was poor execution

on our part,” junior quarterback Anthony Fucillo said, “You can’t turn the ball over five times and expect to win ball games.” In addition to turning the ball over, Tufts also lost the battle for field position on Saturday. In the first quarter, the Jumbos lost the ball three times deep in their own territory. Bowdoin turned two of the turnovers into touchdowns, enabling the Polar Bears to jump to a 14-0 lead. “I think we put our defense in a pretty tight spot and gave them a short field a number of times,” Fucillo said. Although the Jumbos managed to regain the lead in the second quarter — stringing together three consecutive touchdown drives — those surrendered 14 points from the first proved to be the difference in the game. This week Tufts will have to prepare to face Trinity College, the perennial goliath of the NESCAC. The Bantams currently sit alone atop the conference at 3-0 and will be looking for revenge after the Jumbos upset them in 2007. If the Jumbos turn the ball over five times against this Trinity squad on the road, the game won’t be close. Yet Forde is confident that his team will be able to right the ship. “I know we’ll respond well,” Forde said, “We’ll come out next Saturday and fix a lot of the mistakes that we made against Bowdoin.”

by

Noah Schumer

Daily Editorial Board

As the weather has chilled this fall, so have the men’s soccer team’s fortunes. MEN’S SOCCER (4-3-1, 1-3 NESCAC) Amherst, Mass., Saturday Tufts 0 0 — Amherst 2 1 —

0 3

Tufts dropped its second straight game on Saturday, losing 3-0 to Amherst and digging itself into a hole in the conference standings with just over half of its NESCAC schedule remaining. With the result, the Jumbos moved to 1-3-0 in conference, 4-3-1 overall, while the Lord Jeffs now sit at 2-2-0, 5-2-0 overall. Right off the bat, Amherst, which has now downed Tufts in three consecutive regular season matchups, set the tone for the day by scoring in the fifth minute when freshman Jae Heo headed a cross from sophomore Thebe Tsatsimpe into the back of the net. The goal was the first opening-half score that the Jumbos have surrendered all season, and it presented the young squad with a new challenge. “It’s always tough to rebound after you give up an early goal,” said junior tri-captain Bear Duker, whose brother Jake is a senior tri-captain on the Amherst squad. “We’re still a young and relatively inexperienced team, and we have to take the good

with the bad.” The Lord Jeffs scored their second goal in the 20th minute, once again thanks to the combination of Heo and Tsatsimpe. Tsatsimpe threaded a pass through the line of Tufts defenders, leaving Heo in a race with senior tri-captain and goalie David McKeon to get to the ball first. Heo succeeded, and slipped a shot past McKeon to give Amherst a two-goal cushion. For Heo, who would notch a third goal in the second half for a hat trick, the game was a breakout affair. “We knew he was a good player coming in,” Duker said. “But goalscoring is a lot about being in the right place at the right time and the whole team’s effort. So they scored three impressive team goals.” The freshman from Changwon, South Korea is emerging as one of the top playmakers in the NESCAC this season, as his 15 points place him among the conference leaders. “He’s really coming into his own,” Jake Duker said. “He had a shaky first couple of games, which I think is normal for freshmen because they have to adjust to the physical style of play in the NESCAC. But he’s going to be a huge force for us going forward.” According to the elder Duker, the Lord Jeffs’ aggressive start was part of a calculated attempt to seize control of the game early on. “It was really important for us to get off to a good start,” he said. “We had a goal of coming out high pressure for the first 20 minutes

to really change the game in our favor. As a general strategic move in soccer, I think that as the home team you never want to stretch the game out.” There were virtually no bright spots in the game for Tufts. The Jumbos were outshot 19 to seven, and their vaunted defense, which allowed just three goals through the first six games of the season, has now surrendered five in the last two matches. Part of the problem for the squad has been a lack of continuity in the lineup. “We’ve been experimenting with moving players around in the back and in the midfield, and it’s taking us a few games to adjust,” senior tricaptain Peter DeGregorio said. With five NESCAC games remaining, Tufts finds itself in a tie with Colby for eighth place in the conference standings. Fortunately for the Jumbos, their next game is a non-conference contest against Plymouth State — a team they defeated 5-0 in 2007 — at home tomorrow night. “I think we would have benefited from a game like this last week before the one against Amherst,” DeGregorio said. “It’ll allow us to get a better look at some of our guys and get comfortable with the lineup.” “It’s always good to gain more confidence,” sophomore midfielder David Orlowitz said. “If we can pull off a win [tomorrow], then that should give us some more confidence, which is really what we need as a team.”

Senior WR Halas notches three touchdowns in team’s first loss of ’08 season FOOTBALL

continued from page 12

Tufts followed its messy start with a 10-play, 71-yard drive that carried into the second quarter, ending with Fucillo’s first scoring connection to Halas of the day, a 14-yard touchdown pass. When they got the ball back less than three minutes later, the Jumbos again had no problem driving it down the field, running nine plays for 74 yards, including a 23-yard burst from Forde that brought Tufts to the Bowdoin 30-yard marker. After the Jumbos scored on a 1-yard rush from Fucillo, however, freshman Adam Auerbach missed the extra point, keeping the Jumbos at a one-point disadvantage. The Jumbos scored again before the half on a seven-play, 49-yard drive that ended with Halas’ second touchdown reception of the day. With under two minutes to play, though, the Polar Bears executed their offense perfectly, driving 69 yards and scoring on a 10-yard touchdown throw from Kell. After neither team put up any points in the third, the Polar Bears found pay dirt in the fourth quarter for what would be the gamewinner. The eight-play, 64-yard drive included a 35-yard pass from Kell to classmate Matt Moran on third-and-five and ended with a

2-yard Vieira run, giving Bowdoin a 28-20 lead that they would not relinquish. That said, the Jumbos did have opportunities to tie and win the game. Taking over with 7:53 left in the game, Tufts drove to the Bowdoin 20 on eight plays, including six rushing attempts. The Jumbos capped the drive as Fucillo found Halas for a 20-yard score, for the senior WR’s third and final touchdown catch of the afternoon. Tufts failed to tie on the twopoint conversion, but after a three-and-out from Bowdoin, the team had one more possession from its own 32 with 2:59 to play. Five plays in, the Jumbos had made it to the Bowdoin 46 but faced a fourth-and-three to stay in the game. Fucillo completed a 5-yard pass to Steve Cusano to convert, but that play was followed by a key 10-yard sack and an incompletion on the next two plays. On third-and-20, Fucillo again found go-to guy Halas, but Halas fumbled on a lateral attempt, which was recovered by Bowdoin sophomore Kevin O’Connor to seal the game for the Polar Bears. “I just don’t think we came out with the attitude that we needed to earn this win,” Halas said. “We didn’t deserve to win at the end of the game. We didn’t earn it. I don’t think people were really focused, I don’t

think people prepared themselves in terms of mindset and doing what we know. It wasn’t the coaching; we [the players] didn’t prepare ourselves mentally. There were just too many mistakes that shouldn’t happen and it ended up costing us.” “I think it’s a very disappointing loss for our team,” Fucillo added. “I think that it’s a missed opportunity for us. You have to give some credit to Bowdoin; they were able to make plays when they needed to. When it came down to it, they made the plays when it was important.” Tufts outgained Bowdoin 416-286 on the day, but the Jumbos simply could not overcome their five costly turnovers. Fucillo put up his biggest statistical day in Brown and Blue, completing 16 of 25 pass attempts for 240 yards, three touchdowns and one pick. All three touchdowns of those TDs went to Halas, who also reeled in eight catches for 124 yards on the day. His three scoring receptions tied a Tufts record set by Brian Von Ancken in 2005 and senior Steve Black last year. “Obviously it’s pretty bittersweet to have that type of game in a losing game,” Halas said. “At this point it doesn’t matter what type of game I had; we still lost. That’s the bottom line. I could have had four touchdowns … I

feel like I didn’t do enough.” Forde also had a fine day in the losing effort, totaling a career-high 175 yards on 32 carries. It was the third time in three games this season that Forde broke the century mark. “I know how well my offensive line blocked all day,” Forde said. “They were physical, and they gave me a lot of holes. But obviously the biggest thing was getting the win, and we didn’t do that [Saturday].” Next week, Tufts moves on to an away game against perennial powerhouse Trinity College, the only undefeated team remaining in the NESCAC at 3-0. The Jumbos need to win the game if they still want a reasonable shot at the NESCAC Championship. “I think it’s a 100 percent have to win situation,” Fucillo said. “I think our team’s going to do a hell of a job rallying back this week and we’ll take this game and watch the film and bury it. We’ll come back and we’re excited to face Trinity on Saturday.” “We’ll definitely get back to that mindset of being hungry and wanting to deserve it,” Halas said. “There’s still a lot up in the league. We still have many games to prove ourselves. We have another opportunity to win, that’s how you have to look at tit. You have to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Athletes of the Week David Halas, Football Senior wide receiver David Halas made his mark during the Tufts football team’s 28-26 losing effort to Bowdoin on Saturday, tying the record for receiving touchdowns in a game with three. Halas’ scores also eclipsed the record for career receiving touchdowns in the program with 13. The career mark had previously been shared by Jon Troy (LA, ’00) and Rich Giacchetti (LA, ’70) with 12. Halas had eight receptions for 124 yards in the game, his best overall performance of the season thus far. Prior to Saturday’s contest, Halas had totaled six catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns across two games. The senior wideout’s success this season is even more impressive considering he has had to adjust to a new quarterback, junior transfer Anthony Fucillo, following the graduation of last year’s starter Matt Russo (LA ’08). Next, Halas will lead the Jumbo receiving corps into its road matchup with perennial NESCAC powerhouse Trinity Saturday. The senior will try to eclipse his stat-line from last year’s game against the Bantams, when he had three receptions for 63 yards and one touchdown in Tufts’ upset 16-10 victory. Laura Schultz/Tufts Daily

AMANDA RUSSo, field Hockey Junior forward Amanda Russo scored two goals while leading the No. 10 field hockey team to a dominating 4-0 victory over the NESCAC rival Amherst Lord Jeffs. After senior tri-captain Brittany Holiday put the Jumbos on the board in the 17th minute of play, Russo followed up with the team’s second and third goals, the first being perfectly timed right before halftime to diminish any of Amherst’s hopes for a second-half comeback. Russo’s second goal came less than 10 minutes into the second half, followed by junior Michelle Kelly’s score after a corner cross from Holiday. Russo has accumulated eight goals on the season, good for a second-place tie with Kelly behind only sophomore Tamara Brown’s 12 goals. Despite her strong goal-scoring capabilities, Russo’s most redeeming quality is in the assist column, where she far-and-away leads the team with seven; the next closest Jumbo has three. Russo and the Jumbos, who moved to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the NESCAC with the victory, will play at Middlebury on Saturday. Andrew morgenthaler/TUFTS DAILY

Sports

12

INSIDE Men’s Soccer 11 Football Analysis 11 Athletes of the Week 11

tuftsdaily.com

Field Hockey

Football

With win over Amherst, offensive Two few points: Polar powerhouse makes it eight straight Bears edge Jumbos by

Michael Spera

by

David Heck

Contributing Writer

Daily Editorial Board

The last time the field hockey team played Amherst, it fell to the Lord Jeffs 2-1 in a disap-

The past two years have seen the football team start off the season 3-0 after winning its annual FOOTBALL (2-1 NESCAC) Brunswick, Maine, Saturday

FIELD HOCKEY (8-0, 5-0 NESCAC) Amherst, Mass., Saturday Tufts Amherst

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pointing game early in the 2007 season. This time around, the nationally-ranked No. 10 Tufts team showcased its unstoppable offense, earning its fourth shutout of the year and improving to a perfect 5-0 in conference and 8-0 overall. In their first of three consecutive games on the road this month, the Jumbos defeated NESCAC rival Amherst by a score of 4-0 on the Lord Jeff’s Gooding Field. For the third week in a row, Tufts remains in the top 10 in the national rankings, while Amherst left Saturday with a 2-3 NESCAC mark, 4-4 overall. Tufts controlled the pace of the game for most of the first half. With controlled, two-touch passing plays, the Jumbos kept the ball in the Jeffs

Andrew Morgenthaler/Tufts Daily

Senior tri-captain Brittany Holiday, shown here during Tuesday’s game against Gordon, tallied a goal and an assist as the Jumbos took down NESCAC foe Amherst 4-0 on Saturday. backfield and earned a pen- ing the lead going into halftime alty corner five minutes into by capitalizing off of penaltythe game. While three first-half corner opportunities. saves from Amherst freshman With six penalty-corner shots goalie Emily Vitale kept Tufts at in the first half alone, Tufts’ bay for some time, the Jumbos eventually broke through, taksee FIELD HOCKEY, page 10

Women’s Soccer

contest against Bowdoin by a combined score of 37-19. This year, Tufts was again looking to improve to 3-0 against a weak Polar Bears squad. So much for that. The Jumbos fell to Bowdoin 28-26 in Brunswick, Maine on Saturday. Bowdoin freshman Ian Vieira ran for two scores, including what proved to be the gamewinner with 11:29 left to play, while junior quarterback Oliver Kell threw for 224 yards with a passing and rushing touchdown. The Polar Bears also forced five turnovers on the game, while committing only one themselves. With the loss, Tufts falls to 2-1 on the year, while Bowdoin picks up its first win of the season to improve to 1-2. “We all knew that we really

let one get away and we weren’t supposed to play like that,” said senior wide receiver David Halas, who finished the game with three touchdown receptions to tie the Tufts single-game record. “We shouldn’t have played like that. We all take on the responsibility, just knowing we didn’t go out there and play our best game.” The contest started out poorly for the Jumbos, as two first-quarter turnovers led to a 14-0 deficit. A punt attempt by Bowdoin’s Nolan McNair was deflected off of Tufts corner sophomore Pat Bailey, only to be recovered by sophomore James Lathrop for the Polar Bears at the Jumbos’ 26 yard line. Seven plays later, Vieira powered past the goal line from the one for his first score of the game. Two plays into Tufts’ next possession, junior quarterback Anthony Fucillo was intercepted at the Jumbo 43. The Polar Bears needed nine plays this time, ending their drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, this time from Kell. “It was pretty tough [being down early],” senior running back Will Forde said. “But I thought we did a good job battling back. I think we showed character coming back from that.” see FOOTBALL, page 11

Volleyball

Shutout streak comes to end Union hands Tufts first loss by

Evan Cooper

Daily Staff Writer

After a weekend of play against keen competition, the volleyball team emerged from its home tournament with its first loss of the VOLLEYBALL (16-1, 3-0 NESCAC) Tufts Invitational, Saturday

Brian Comenitz

After five games’ worth of perfect, shutout defense to open up the 2008 campaign, the women’s soccer team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday in a 3-1 road loss at the hands of the Amherst Lord Jeffs. WOMEN’S SOCCER (5-1, 3-1 NESCAC) Amherst, Mass., Saturday Tufts Amherst

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MIT Tufts

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Tied for ninth in the nation heading into the game, the Jumbos were outshot 27-8 by Amherst, and the loss dropped Tufts to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference, moving them into third place in the NESCAC standings. “We didn’t play the aggressive, high pressure style that we normally like defensively,” coach Martha Whiting said. “We didn’t play the game that we probably should have played and could have played. They are a very good team and they played a very good game.” see WOMEN’S SOCCER, page 10

see VOLLEYBALL, page 10

James Choca/Tufts Daily

Contributing Writer

25 25 25 18 21 20

season, dropping its third match of the Tufts Invitational to Union College on its way to a 3-1 third-place tournament finish and a 16-1 overall record. In their final match of the tournament, the Jumbos took on the reigning Tufts Invitational champions and local rivals, the MIT Engineers, who beat the Jumbos in last year’s tournament. Tufts exercised revenge this time around, outlasting the Engineers 3-2. Early on, Tufts still appeared shaken by their previous loss to Union. The Jumbos kept the set close, staying within two points up to a 13-13 score. Building on successful blocking, though, MIT finally built a big enough lead and took the set 25-15. “The first set was slow,” senior tri-captain Natalie Goldstein said. “We were not playing our game and we let MIT take control.” The Jumbos proved resilient, though, and took the closely contested second set 25-22, ending on a kill by sophomore Dawson JoyceMendive after a particularly long rally.

Junior forward Ali Maxwell recorded the Jumbos’ lone goal on Saturday. by

Union Tufts

Josh Berlinger/Tufts Daily

Senior Maya Ripecky jump serves during the Tufts Invitational on Saturday. Ripecky led the squad with 17 digs against MIT.

FIELD HOCKEY: TUF 4, AMH 0 - COL 2, WES 1 - BOW 2, MID 0 - BAT 2, CON 1 - TRI 2, WIL 0 - MEN’S SOCCER: CON 1, BAT 0 - TRI 1, WIL 0 - MID 1, BOW 0 - WES 5, COL 2 - AMH 3, TUF 0 - BOW 1, BAT 0 - WOMEN’S SOCCER: WES 1, COL 0 - BOW 1, MID 0 - AMH 3, TUF 1 - WIL 4, TRI 2 - BAT 3, CON 1 - VOLLEYBALL: TUF 3, COL 0 - FOOTBALL: TRI 20, HAM 15 - COL 13, WES 7 - BOW 28, TUF 26 - WIL 27, BAT 14 - MID 31, AMH 14