Tufts alums play flag football in the nation\u2019s capital.

The Daily takes a look at student-made films aimed at effecting social change.

President-elect Barack Obama yesterday nominated Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), a Tufts alum, to become secretary of commerce, which would make him a top economic manager and international envoy.

of [Obama\u2019s] economic plan \u2013 investment,

public-private partnerships, green jobs, tech- nology, broadband, climate change and research \u2013 that is the Department of Commerce,\u201d Richardson (A \u201970, F \u201971) said at the press conference where the president-elect announced the nomination. \u201cBoosting commerce between states and nations is not just a path to sol- vency and growth; it\u2019s the only path.\u201d

Richardson served as a U.S. con- gressman and in then-President Bill Clinton\u2019s administration as the country\u2019s ambassador to the United Nations and as energy secretary.

Richardson initially sought the Democratic presidential nomi- nation, but he dropped out in January and ultimately backed Obama over Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). The endorsement drew extensive coverage because Richardson

Obama despite his role in the Clinton administration. Richardson and Sen. Clinton, whom Obama has nominated to be secretary of state, are set to serve together on the cabinet.

The New Mexico governor is the latest addition to an eco- nomic team that will be respon- sible for weathering one of the most severe fiscal crises of the past century.

A committee of students, professors and administrators has voted to send a proposal to the Arts and Sciences fac- ulty recommending that American Sign Language (ASL) classes be permitted to fulfill part one of the undergraduate lan- guage requirement.

Biology Professor Francie Chew, the chair of the Curricula Committee, said that the college\u2019s faculty members will dis- cuss and vote on the measure during their meeting on Dec. 10, when they will also consider an array of other agenda items regarding curriculum changes.

The Curricula Committee is comprised of eight voting faculty members, three vot- ing students and three non-voting faculty members. All proposed changes to Tufts\u2019 curriculum are referred to the committee for approval before being sent to the fac- ulty for a final decision.

On Nov. 12, the committee held a meeting at which representatives from the departments of child development, romance languages and German, Russian and Asian Languages and Literature (GRALL) weighed in on the proposal. The committee voted to support it a week later, but Chew asked to keep the vote tally private.

Faculty members in the Department of Child Development suggested last March that the committee consider allowing ASL to fulfill the language requirement. Child Development Lecturer Terrell Clark resub- mitted a revised version to the committee in September.

Tufts currently offers three ASL courses. They can be counted toward part two of the language requirement, which can be filled with either language or culture courses. Students can only fulfill part one by taking three classes in one particular foreign language.

Teachers, students and admin- istrators gathered on the Tisch Library patio yesterday to remem- ber the nearly 200 people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, last week.

The South Asian Political Action Committee (SAPAC) organized the noontime gathering, which attract- ed about 100 people at its height.

\u201cBy now, I\u2019m sure that you have all heard of all of the stories of sad- ness and hope that these attacks have brought,\u201d said SAPAC Co-Chair Faris Islam, a sophomore, in open-

Islam encouraged those in atten- dance to write messages of support in a solidarity scrapbook that will be sent to the Indian Embassy in New York.

In her remarks, History Professor Ayesha Jalal discouraged students from succumbing to the widespread fear such violence can trigger.

\u201cThe events in Mumbai have left a staggering effect on our psyches, on the region and on the world at large,\u201d said Jalal, the director of Tufts\u2019 Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies. \u201cWe are all

Seniors say they are more willing to donate to Tufts than alumni giving statistics might imply, and students strongly support expanding Health Service\u2019s hours, according to the Tufts Community Union Senate\u2019s semesterly survey.

The Senate released the results of this semester\u2019s survey to the Daily on Sunday. \u201cThe survey is really important to us. It\u2019s a great way to solicit feed- back on our projects,\u201d TCU President Duncan Pickard said.

The Senate e-mailed the survey to the undergraduate student body on Nov. 12 and gave the community until Nov. 23 to respond. All told, 1579 students participated for a total response rate of 31.4 percent. Dan Pasternack, the Senate\u2019s Student Outreach Committee co-chair, said this was \u201cdefinitely a good turnout.\u201d

The survey\u2019s topics ranged from pos- sible new initiatives such as a com- munal bicycle program to roommate compatibility and satisfaction with the campus center.

The Senate also used the survey to collect a vote on which two area restau- rants should be added to the Merchants on Points (MOPs) system, which allows students to pay for delivery from local eateries using JumboCash. The Senate is expected to release the results of that question today.

Several questions asked if students thought adjustments to services and operating hours would benefit them. One asked if students felt that keeping Health Service open around the clock would \u201cimprove personal health and safety at Tufts.\u201d

Sixty percent of respondents said yes, while 11.6 percent said no and 28.4 percent were not sure. Currently, Health Service is open from 8 a.m.

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to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday with more limited hours on Friday, Saturday, as well as the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. It is not open on Sundays.

As to the whether the survey results could lead the university to operate Health Service on a 24-hour basis, Pickard said the student response is only one component.

\u201cThe other is looking at the level of service and the cost effectiveness of running the service for 24 hours. We\u2019re using results from the survey and other information. We\u2019re looking at opportu- nities working with Health Service to expand the resources that they offer students,\u201d he said.

According to Pasternack, questions regarding facilities and services gain significant importance if an over- whelming majority materializes. \u201cWe\u2019d have this [data] to go to members of the administration and say, \u2018The students really want this,\u2019\u201d he said.

A question posed only to seniors sought to determine soon-to-be gradu- ates\u2019 likelihood to donate to Tufts in the future. Pickard thought this question was a good method of gauging student

On a scale of one to five, with five meaning \u201cvery likely\u201d to donate to Tufts in the future, 14.6 percent responded with a five and 25.9 percent responded with a four. Tufts\u2019 alumni giving rate in fiscal year 2007 was 24.3 percent.

Advancement Communications and Donor Relations Christine Sanni said that if those who called themselves likely contributors become regular donors, and if a good deal of those who checked \u201cthree\u201d do the same, she \u201cwould be thrilled about that number.\u201d

As to why the survey results might differ from actual donation statistics, Sanni said that not all donors give every year, noting that 50 percent of undergraduate alumni have made a donation to Tufts\u2019 current capital cam- paign, Beyond Boundaries.

Sanni added that the university would like to address \u201cthe fact that some donors opt in, but then opt out\u201d from year to year.

She also noted that \u201ccompetition for philanthropic dollars has increased in recent years.\u201d

Pasternack said the survey was rela- tively accurate, but not exact. \u201cI think [the survey] is fairly accurate,\u201d he said.

\u201cIt isn\u2019t scientific, so there\u2019s inevitably going to be questions that don\u2019t give the exact percentages. To say that [a very specific percentage] of the student body [agrees] would be something you wouldn\u2019t want to do with the results.\u201d

He added, \u201cTo say that a majority of the students do feel this way, or some- thing where there are a few questions that have 75 percent of the students thinking this way \u2014 something like that would be fairly accurate.\u201d

ASL was first offered in the Experimental College in the 1970s, according to Clark. It consistently enjoyed student interest and transitioned into the child development department. Eventually, the department began to offer three course levels of ASL.

\u201cOnce there were three levels, it made logical sense that students use it as their language requirement,\u201d Clark said.

Senior Toby Bonthrone, a Tufts Community Union (TCU) senator who sits on the Curricula Committee, said he was in favor of adding sign language to part one of the requirement. \u201cASL is undisput- edly a language and is accepted as such because it is [already] part of part two,\u201d he said.

Bonthrone said that one potential point of dispute is whether ASL is a foreign lan- guage, and he argued that it is.

\u201cForeign doesn\u2019t have to be territory- based. It doesn\u2019t have to be abroad,\u201d he said. \u201cThe deaf culture has been quite clearly identified as a culture in its own right \u2026 You can\u2019t pick and choose which cultures you don\u2019t accept.\u201d

Chew, however, said that ASL\u2019s western influence may deter some from support- ing the measure as a foreign language.

\u201cIt is used almost exclusively in the U.S. and Canada. The other languages for which we give foreign-language credit in part one are languages that aren\u2019t primar- ily spoken in the U.S. and Canada,\u201d she said.

Bonthrone also said that \u201cpolitical con- cerns\u201d were motivating some to oppose the measure. He said that faculty mem- bers in foreign-language departments may believe that enabling ASL to fulfill part one would deplete enrollment in other lan- guages.

Chew did not believe that enrollment would be a large concern among language departments. The ASL courses have typi- cally been ranked as high-demand classes and have been capped at a small number of students. The introductory-level ASL class is capped at 22 students, Clark said.

Chew added that there were no plans to increase the ASL course offerings if the language was added to part one of the requirement. \u201cChild Development reports it has no plans or budget capability to expand ASL offerings, so that is not going to happen, and certainly not in this bud- get climate,\u201d she said.

Both Professor Hosea Hirata, chair of GRALL, and Professor Jose Antonio Mazzotti, chair of the Department of Romance Languages, declined to comment due to ongoing talks with the Curricula Committee, Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser and the Department of Child Development.

Neither Chew nor Bonthrone believes that adding ASL to part one would draw a significant number of students who would not otherwise have taken the course away from other languages.

Chew said the Department of Child Development \u201cis not being besieged at this point ... I don\u2019t imagine that someone who\u2019s majoring in [international relations] would have any particular interest in tak- ing ASL.\u201d

Bonthrone added that allowing ASL to fulfill part one of the requirement would accommodate students who are looking into more domestic fields.

\u201cSome faculty pointed out that this whole international focus can at times be a bit excessive,\u201d he said. \u201cSome people are more interested in domestic careers. ASL is quite relevant to doctors, \u2026 social work- ers, any kind of deaf activists.\u201d

in recession since December of 2007 and that our manufactur- ing output is at a 26-year low \u2013 two stark reminders of the magnitude of the challenges we face,\u201d Obama said yesterday.

The secretary of commerce\u2019s primary role is to advance domestic businesses while encouraging the expansion of American enterprises abroad.

But Economics Lecturer Christopher McHugh said the position would not afford Richardson much leverage in effecting sweeping changes in economic policy.

\u201cIt\u2019s not really a macro policy type of department,\u201d McHugh said. \u201cIt\u2019s not really a top role when it comes to dealing with economy.\u201d

He added, \u201cHistorically, it\u2019s more of a business planning type of thing. It\u2019s not a trouble- shooter\u2019s type of role.\u201d

McHugh said the secretary of the treasury, chairman of the Federal Reserve and members of the president\u2019s Council of Economic Advisors carry more clout and ability to influence change.

Sources listed Richardson as a contender to become sec- retary of state before Obama

named Clinton earlier this week. McHugh said he was surprised Richardson had received what the lecturer called a relatively inconsequential role, given his record as a stalwart ally of the Obama campaign.

\u201cI thought he was a pretty big player,\u201d McHugh said. \u201cFrom governor of New Mexico to sec- retary of commerce is sort of a lateral move.\u201d

McHugh added, \u201cI think he\u2019s a good general politician. I\u2019m surprised he took it.\u201d

that Richardson should be able to draw on his past experience as

a diplomat and as secretary of energy to promote new indus- tries while forging alliances with foreign leaders.

\u201cHe\u2019ll be at the intersection of the two [past] positions,\u201d Hurley said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to be dealing with the international community a lot with this eco- nomic crisis, and a goal of the Obama administration has been to create a lot of green jobs.\u201d

Although Hurley, a junior, acknowledged the position\u2019s limited role, she suggested that Richardson\u2019s vision and exten- sive experience could help him expand the scope of the com- merce secretary\u2019s powers.

\u201cI think it\u2019s fair to say with any position in any administra- tion that it\u2019s about the individ- ual,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you have an extremely qualified and skilled individual, they will take advan- tage of the opportunity.\u201d

Referring to Richardson as the \u201cbusiness sector\u2019s emissary to the rest of the world,\u201d Hurley said that he will work to \u201cencour- age foreign direct investment in the U.S. and their companies.\u201d

She added, \u201cHis job is to rep- resent U.S. businesses to the rest of the world, and based on his competence and experience, I think he\u2019ll be able to do this bet- ter than anyone else.\u201d

caught in this wave of terror, and the people of Mumbai have been the most recent victims.\u201d

In this spirit, Jalal said that people and governments must remain open to dialogue with one another.

\u201cTerror seeks to close debate, and we need to open debate,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we lose sight of that, then we help the terrorists succeed.\u201d

Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, the executive director of Tufts Hillel, agreed with Jalal. He urged attendees to remain unified in condemning the assail- ants.

\u201cThe effect of the violence in Mumbai against citizens, foreign- ers and the Chabad Center are dev- astating in their randomness and specificness,\u201d Summit said. \u201cThe sooner that we learn that coming together is the force that will keep terrorism from succeeding \u2014 that\u2019s when we can begin to set aside this senseless, senseless violence.\u201d Summit closed his remarks by read- ing a prayer about bombings by an Israeli author.

Institute for Global Leadership Director Sherman Teichman called on students to be vigilant and open- minded in formulating the proper response to the attacks.

\u201cThe response that is necessary today is a common humanity, an incessant militancy to not yield to this kind of attack,\u201d Teichman said. \u201cIt is now time to heal, but we have to be provocative in our thinking \u2014 how to find causality, how to find a mea- sure of response, how to deny this on every level.

\u201cWe need to prevent the instinctual recourse to vengeance and violence,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe need to link our

hearts and heads into a common humanity, and recognize that this is a common problem. Terror aims too close; it is the most claustrophobic thing I know.\u201d

A moment of shared silence fol- lowed Teichman\u2019s speech. Assistant History Professor Kris Manjapra then urged students to think about their obligations in light of the attacks.

\u201cRight now we have to mourn, and I really feel that when we are finished mourning, we also have to think about what our calling is in this time,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are called to do something in this time.\u201d

The Chabad House\u2019s Chanie Tzvi talked about the terrorist attack on a Chabad House in Mumbai, which killed Rabbi Gavriel Holzberg and his wife Rivka.

\u201cThe Chabad House in Mumbai is a place where one is welcome with unconditional love and respect, but was made into a direct target,\u201d Tzvi said. \u201cThe tears flow, the emotions are raw and the pain is deep, but we must not let the pain consume us.\u201d

Sophomore Radhika Saraf spoke about her experience as a resident of Mumbai with direct connections to the victims.

\u201cIt hit our families, it hit our friends and it hit every person in the city,\u201d Saraf said. \u201cThese terrorists came into our cities and just opened fire.\u201d

Sophomore and SAPAC member Ashish Malhotra was heartened by the high turnout and what it demon- strates about sympathy on campus for the victims of the attacks.

\u201cI thought that it went really well,\u201d he told the Daily. \u201cIt was nice to see that a lot of people showed up to show their solidarity, which is exactly what SAPAC was hoping for.\u201d

The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education (NCPPHE) released its annual Measuring Up report yesterday, which examines the strength and progress the U.S. system of higher education relative to the systems of thirty democratic countries across the world. Using indicators including overall enroll- ment and the percentage of young adults holding associates degrees or higher, the study concluded that the United States has slipped in overall competitiveness with international systems.

\u201cDespite our historical successes in higher education, the preeminence of many of our colleges and universities and some examples of improvement in this decade, our higher education performance is not commensurate with the current needs of our society and our economy,\u201d said James B. Hunt, Jr., the chairman of the NCPPHE\u2019s Board of Directors, in a statement released along- side the report.

The findings of the report are a sober- ing addition to the host of worries about the U.S. higher education system, includ- ing its high costs and disparities in access. As the economy continues to behave unpredictably and schools both private and public face declining resources, one state university system is showing signs of the kind of strain that may weaken the ability of individual systems to close the gaps indicated by the report.

would be cutting enrollment by 10,000 students in light of budgetary prob- lems. A press release accompanying the announcement explained that a recent $66 million dollar mid-year funding cut,

coming after a $33 million dollar cut over the summer, had forced the system to impose an enrollment cap of 343,000 stu-

or all the drama and excitement that has surrounded this year-and-a-half- long extravaganza of a presiden-

tial race, most of it remained in the American political system\u2019s \u201ccomfort zone\u201d \u2014 that is, for the most part, we were still deal- ing with a recognizable, normal American national election.

Of course, like any juicy political episode, there were shocks, twists and turns: the Republican intra-party dispute that pitted no fewer than five segments of the party against each other in a battle royale for the nomination; the epic, marathon-level test of endurance between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for their party\u2019s nod in a con- test which came down to a mere handful of votes out of 36 million cast; and the meteoric rise of Sarah Palin to national prominence and punchline. While unique and fascinat- ing, these types of events can happen in any standard American election.

The two truly standout, unprecedented developments that the 2008 election brought us are the nomination and then election of the first black president in American his- tory (which you can now celebrate by buying crappy plastic plates from late-night info- mercials) and the success of his online small- donor army of contributors, which will fun- damentally alter the way campaigns are run and funded from now on. Those are the two lasting, permanent changes to the American political landscape post-2008.

However \u2014 and I hope I\u2019m not getting too bogged down in details here \u2014 even these developments aren\u2019t revolutionary, change- the-way-America-operates type earthquakes. We didn\u2019t have a third-party candidate sud- denly win the presidency. We didn\u2019t abolish the Electoral College. We didn\u2019t have one candi- date claim authority over the states that voted for him or incite riots in the street against his opponent. The two \u201cbig deals\u201d I mentioned above are real modifications of the existing system but not a complete overhaul.

Four years from now, the Republicans and the Democrats will face off again, and no mat- ter who runs against whom or how popular the Obama administration is, each party will probably get at least 45 percent of the vote.

All of this is a long way of pointing out that we are not in Bizarro World, politically speak- ing. The basic laws of political physics still apply.

Where we\u2019re truly in uncharted, Lewis- and-Clark, \u201chere be dragons\u201d territory is with governance. Nobody really knows what on earth the Obama administration will do or how it will perform. Part of this is because no Democrat has had a majority of the popular vote and majorities in Congress since LBJ in 1964, and prior to him, FDR in 1932. Nobody knows what a truly unfettered Democratic administration looks like because the last time Democrats had a truly free hand in Washington, some new band from England called the Beatles was making a name for itself.

Yes, we\u2019ve all heard the plans and prom- ises on the campaign trail. But no policy plan survives first contact with Congress (you try coming up with a policy that 535 people \u2014 all of whom have their own ideas, quirks and constituencies \u2014 agree on), public opinion (Bill Clinton\u2019s early defeat on removing the ban on homosexuals in the military was a sharp lesson for him) and random events.

This will be the first time in over 40 years that the modern Democratic Party will have a chance to show the country what it can do. Obama, his decisions and his successes and failures may very well have an effect on this country far beyond the next four to eight years.

After three semesters, this will be my final column. Thanks for reading \u2014 I hope you\u2019ve enjoyed reading it as much as I\u2019ve enjoyed writing it.

Michael Sherry is a senior majoring in political science. He can be reached at Michael.Sherry@tufts.edu.

While most students opt to secure on- campus jobs behind the sandwich counter of Hodgdon, beyond the kitchen doors of Dewick or amidst a sea of filing cabinets in Dowling, a select few choose to work in the depths of Eaton at the Tufts Telefund call- ing center, where employees blast out calls to associates of Tufts in hopes of raising money for the university.

One such Tufts student, senior Cory Blodgett, is currently leading the pack of fundraising callers. In his almost four-year career at Tufts, Bodgett has raised a record- setting $545,000.

\u201cMy current boss was in my Spanish class,\u201d Blodgett said. \u201cIn our introductions, he said that he worked at the Telefund, and if anyone needed a job, they should talk to him, so I did.\u201d

Because his fundraising efforts have been so successful, Blodgett now works three to four nights a week at the call- ing center as one of four supervisors who advise the newer callers on how to make an effective pitch. When placing calls, Blodgett said that the key is to be as personable as possible and to get to know the people in the short amount of time before they hang up.

sound like a robot and try to make a friend in two minutes,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot harder for them to hang up on someone like that.\u201d

Although Blodgett has raised an impres- sive amount for the school, there are many others Telefund callers who follow close behind. Senior Eleanor Gonzales has the second-highest dollar amount with $520,000, and Blodgett said that there are others, like seniors Chris Maxwell and Steven Elsesser, who have dedicated com- parable lengths of time and are well within the ballpark.

\u201cThe staff as a whole is a group of dedi- cated people who work hard to help the school,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have raised millions