Sunny
45/33
VOLUME LVI, NUMBER 59
THE TUFTS DAILY
Rally-goers to show
support for Mumbai
attack victims
An assortment of student groups band-
ed together to plan a rally to be held today
in remembrance of last week’s attacks in
Mumbai, India.
Students will gather on the patio of
Tisch Library at noon, during the open
block period.
Representatives from the Muslim
Students Association (MSA), Tufts Hillel
and the Institute for Global Leadership
(IGL) will give speeches in a show of soli-
darity, according to junior Rezwan Khan,
a member of the South Asian Political
Action Committee, which is the princi-
pal organizer of the rally. The commit-
tee is part of the Tufts Association for
South Asians.
A group of gunmen killed nearly 200
people and left hundreds wounded last
week in a series of attacks in Mumbai.
They targeted 10 locations, including two
popular hotels, a railway station and a
Jewish center.
“Terrorism affects everyone. It doesn’t
matter whether you’re a Muslim or a
Christian or a Jew; it affects everyone,”
said Khan, who added that organizers
were reaching out to various religious
groups for the rally. “It’s a very power-
ful way to show that we’re all in this
together.”
History Professor Ayesha Jalal, the direc-
tor of the Center for South Asian and
Indian Ocean Studies, will give an address
tomorrow, Khan said. She will be joined
by sophomore Radhika Saraf, an interna-
tional student from Mumbai, according
to Khan.
Saraf’s uncle was shot and a number
of her family friends were killed in the
attacks, Khan said.
Tufts Hillel President Nathan Render,
a junior, IGL Director Sherman Teichman
and MSA Vice President Saad Alam, a
sophomore, will represent their respective
organizations.
The Muslim terrorist organization
Deccan Mujahideen has taken responsi-
bility for the attacks, which have further
strained religious tensions in the volatile
region. In the days following the violence,
many Muslims across the globe have
tried to distance their religion from the
attacks.
“The occupation of the synagogue
and killing people in hotels tarnishes the
Muslim faith,” Kazin al-Muqdadi, a politi-
cal science lecturer at Baghdad University,
told the Associated Press. “Anyone
who slaughters people and screams,
‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is Great) is sick
and ignorant.”
Alam said that he is more concerned
about making a personal statement than
speaking on behalf of the Muslim com-
munity at Tufts.
He also said that a focus on unity
should overshadow the casting of blame.
“This isn’t really a time for partisanship or
dividing. This is a time when we need to
come together and look at what unites
us,” he said. “At this time, when it’s so
close to the tragedy, I’m not really looking
at who is pointing fingers.”
Unity is also central to the South Asian
Political Action Committee, which has
members of various nationalities, including
Pakistani, Nepali and Bangladeshi.
“We felt like it could happen to us,
and that we have a responsibility as South
Asians to stand for the tragedy that hap-
pened in South Asia,” Khan said.
— by Ben Gittleson and Rob Silverblatt
Inside this issue
The Daily set up blind
dates for students.
see FEATURES, page 3
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Community Health Program Director Edith Balbach said yesterday that tobacco
giants reach out to women’s groups in order to garner support among the organiza-
tions’ members.
Balbach: Big Tobacco looks
to women to expand market
by Alexandra Bogus
Daily Staff Writer
Community Health Program Director
Edith Balbach told a Braker Hall audi-
ence yesterday that Big Tobacco is looking
to untapped opportunities in the female
population in its attempts to increase the
number of smokers.
According to Balbach, the tobacco
industry accomplishes this aim by market-
ing to women of low socioeconomic status
and by forging relationships with national
women’s groups that are financially vul-
Popular British group puts Bubs song on CD
by Sarah Butrymowicz
Daily Staff Writer
The Tufts Beelzebubs are making
waves across the pond.
The a cappella group’s cover of a song
by The Feeling appears on the re-release
of a number-one album by the British
group. The Bubs are the only outside
group featured on the CD.
The Feeling recently put out a deluxe
edition of “Join With Us” (2008), which
topped the U.K. charts and is available in
six other European countries. It includes
alternate versions of songs from the
original release and two covers of other
bands’ songs performed by The Feeling.
The Bubs’ rendition of “Love It When
You Call” will appear as the last track on
the album.
Bubs alum Marty Fernandi (LA ’87)
originally heard the song while working
in New York City at EMI Music Publishing,
a British-owned company. EMI adminis-
ters the rights for The Feeling’s composi-
tions.
“[I] always wanted to keep an ear open
see BUBS, page 2 America,” was featured on the re-release of a top-selling British pop album.
The men’s basketball
team got back on the
right track last night
with a blowout victory.
see SPORTS, back page
Annie Wermiel/Tufts Daily
nerable.
While over 50 percent of the male popu-
lation smokes, only four percent of females
are smokers, according to Balbach, a senior
lecturer. “The industry looks upon that as a
huge point of opportunity,” she said.
Tobacco companies particularly focus
on poorer women. That measure tends to
indicate a person’s education level, which
has increasingly become a predictor of
one’s likelihood of developing a smoking
habit.
see SMOKING, page 2
A song by the Beelzebubs, shown here during their September appearance on “Good Morning
Today’s Sections
News 1
Features 3
Arts | Living 5
Comics 7
Where You
Read It First
Est. 1980
TUFTSDAILY.COM
Obama chooses
trustee to serve
on transition team
by Sangita Keshavan
Daily Staff Writer
President-elect Barack Obama
recently selected a member of Tufts’
Board of Trustees to help his transi-
tion team review a federal agency that
oversees government community ser-
vice funding.
Along with dozens of others, trust-
ee Deborah Jospin (LA ’80) will advise
Obama as he considers reforms to
the Corporation for
National & Community
Service (CNCS), a
quasi-public federal
agency that oversees
AmeriCorps and vari-
ous other volunteer-
ing and grant-making
Courtesy D. Jospin initiatives.
Jospin is an attorney who co-
founded a Washington-based consult-
ing firm, where she is a partner. She
will work with two other attorneys to
review the government corporation.
She said her role in the process is
to determine the capacity for change
at the CNCS, where she previously
served as associate general counsel
and as chief of staff. In 1997, then-
President Bill Clinton appointed her
as the first director of AmeriCorps.
“We are fact finders,” Jospin said
of her agency review group. “We are
working with the agency to make sure
it’s poised for passable growth in the
new administration.”
Obama has created an array of
groups to assist him and key advi-
sors in making decisions regarding
federal agencies as he transitions into
the presidency. Obama has called for
a greater focus on community service,
adding to the importance of Jospin’s
task.
“President-elect Obama has proposed
see OBAMA, page 2
Courtesy Andrew Kluger
Editorial | Letters 8
Op-Ed 9
Classifieds 10
Sports Back
2 The Tufts Daily News Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Process began in December with help from Bubs alum
Bubs
continued from page 1
for songs that could be good Bubs songs,”
he said. “They don’t come along that often
… once every five to 10 years.”
When he heard the track, Fernandi
instantly felt that it would be an excellent
choice for the Tufts group. “I just flipped,”
said Fernandi, who eventually recom-
mended it to then-Bubs music director
Alex Koutzoukis, now a senior.
The group started performing the
song two years ago and included it on its
most recent album, “Pandaemonium”
(2007).
“It’s an upbeat, kind of pop-rock song,”
Bub member Matthew McCormick said.
“It’s almost a silly song, especially the way
we do it.” The Bubs throw on an operatic
ending “just for fun,” said McCormick, a
Courtesy eil.com
The Feeling, right, is a British band that featured a
Beelzebubs cover on the recent re-release of its chart-
topping album, “Join With Us,” above.
junior.
The Feeling contacted the Bubs last
December and asked for permission to
use the recording on the deluxe version of
the CD. The Bubs had supplied Fernandi
with a copy of the recording before
“Pandaemonium” was finished, and the
alum approached The Feeling when the
band came to New York as part of a U.S.
tour.
“We gave him a copy of the song
because we know he was going to come in
contact with the band when they were in
New York,” McCormick said. “They loved
it.”
“Join With Us” is not currently available
in the United States, but may be sold here
in the future, Fernandi said.
The deluxe edition contains two CDs,
entitled “New Friends” and “Old Friends.”
“Old Friends” consists of alternate ver-
sions of songs from The Feeling’s first
album and the two covers, while “New
Friends” is the original album.
Although the CD was released earlier in
the year, the Bubs are still in communica-
tion with the group’s label. The a cappella
group still needs to discuss royalties with
The Feeling, among other details.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to negotiate
a deal with them to get some copies,”
sophomore Bub Eli Seidman said. “We’ll
definitely want to get our hands on some
of the CDs.”
Lucas Walker (LA ’08) is the soloist
on the Bubs’ rendition. Walker gradu-
ated last year, but will be in attendance at
this Friday’s Bubs concert. “He might just
burst out into song,” Seidman said. “You
never know.”
Courtesy myspace.com
Jospin says Tufts
fostered zeal for
active citizenship
OBAMA
continued from page 1
a significant expansion of nation-
al service,” the Tufts trustee said.
“We’re helping to ensure the agency
has the capacity to support that
growth.”
Jospin serves as president of
the Daniel A. Dutko Memorial
Foundation, which provides
10-month internships in Washington
to Tufts graduates. The foundation
partners with the Tisch College of
Citizenship and Public Service to
administer the program, called the
Dutko Fellowship Program. Sixteen
students have taken internships
with support from the program.
Jospin worked as an attorney in
private practice until 2001, when
she founded the consulting firm
sagawa/jospin.
Her partner at the firm, Shirley
Sagawa, was also selected to advise
the Obama transition team on the
CNCS.
A member of the Tufts board of
trustees since 2002, Jospin also
chairs the Board of Advisors at the
Tisch College.
She said her experiences at Tufts
contributed to her readiness for the
transition-team position.
“My time at Tufts certainly pre-
pared me to be an active, engaged
citizen,” she said. “I would say that
Tufts in general has supported me
as an undergraduate and a post-
graduate. Tufts has supported me
my whole life in my passion for
civic engagement.”

Balbach calls for solutions

SMOKING
continued from page 1
“College grads try cigarettes at the
same rate as everyone else … but
they drop off,” Balbach said.
Tobacco kills 430,000 people
within the United States and three
to four million people internation-
ally per year, Balbach said. She
estimated that 10 million people
around the world will die annually
from tobacco use by 2030, if current
trends continue.
The industry currently spends
$37 million per day in promoting its
products, Balbach said. Companies
have coupled increased targeting of
women with global expansion, she
added.
“The U.S. market is considered
a flat market by the tobacco indus-
try,” Balbach said. “They’re taking
the strategy overseas. Women are
seen as a huge growth market every-
where.”
In the past, tobacco companies
have tried to make cigarettes desir-
able and fashionable for the female
market with advertising campaigns
that attribute cigarette usage to
weight control, she explained.
The tobacco companies’ market-
ing strategy is changing, Balbach
said, noting that the industry now
attempts to cater to women via an
indirect approach.
“If you try and create ads that are
super female-related, you won’t
reach the population,” she said.
“[The industry] needs programs
that blend with the target’s environ-
ment.”
Where marketing falls short,
Big Tobacco uses political tactics
to draw in the female population,
Balbach said.
In order to establish a more
powerful presence in Congress,
the industry looks to ally itself with
groups that are politically identi-
fied and activist in nature, Balbach
said. “Philip Morris figured out that
women’s groups were politically vul-
nerable because they are so under-
funded,” she said.
“How do we get out there, give
money to women’s organizations,
provide them with our time and
organizing ability in a way to make
friends with them?” Balbach said in
describing the tobacco giant’s atti-
tude. “Nobody was as farsighted as
Philip Morris.”
In exchange for garnering the
political support of these national
women’s groups, tobacco compa-
nies help to resolve some of the eco-
nomic and social policies that affect
women and provide the organiza-
tions with access to powerful politi-
cal figures, according to Balbach.
She described one case in which
Philip Morris tried to promote the
Family and Medical Leave Act of
1993 in Congress in an effort to bol-
ster support among women. “We
could be their knight in shining
armor,” she said as she read from a
Philip Morris document.
All of this, Balbach said, is in an
attempt to “lower the decibel level
of attacks on Philip Morris from
women’s groups and anti-tobacco
members of Congress.”
Balbach concluded her talk with
ways to confront the issue of tobacco
companies targeting females. While
it is a necessary objective, she said
it is complicated by Big Tobacco’s
substantial coffers.
“I can’t say that it’s going to be
possible to convince women’s
groups not to take money from
Philip Morris … but you have to start
somewhere,” she told the audience.
“We know this is killing people, so
let’s just take this small step and go
somewhere.”
Sophomore Katherine Evering-
Rowe, who attended the lecture,
said that Balbach offered valuable
insight into the world of commu-
nity health. “I never really thought
before how tobacco industries had
joined up with women’s groups,”
she said.
Maryn Kaplan, a senior
minoring in women’s studies,
agreed. “I thought [Balbach]
was very engaging and informa-
tive,” Kaplan said. “It was very
thought-provoking.”
The lecture was part of the
Women’s Studies Research Coll-
oquium series and was entitled
“Tobacco Industry Targeting of
Women: A Story of Marketing and
Money.”

Love isn’t blind: The Daily plays matchmaker,
but few sparks fly between Jumbo participants
by Robin Carol
Daily Editorial Board
Tired of empty complaints about the dat-
ing scene at Tufts, the Daily Features sec-
tion took matters into its own hands last
week. A recent advertisement on TuftsLife.
com solicited students to sign up for blind
dates funded by the Daily, with the agree-
ment that participants would be interviewed
before and after.
Simply based on the number of e-mails
that flooded our inbox, it seemed clear this
campus is truly date-deprived. With more
than enough responses, setting up the dates
was a basic task of coordinating available
times — and trying to use basic information
to make good matches. The number of males
who responded was the limiting factor, but
the Daily managed to plan four dates.
Daters were interviewed prior to their
meet-up, at which point they were given
the first name of their date or a particular
feature (plaid scarf, carrying a magazine,
grey coat, etc.) that would be identifiable.
Most of the dates took place at the Danish
Pastry House, and the Daily agreed to
reimburse participants for their coffee
(on three of the dates, the guy
fronted the
Life without Facebook: Is it possible?
Some no longer ‘In a Relationship’ with Facebook
Once upon a time, people without cell
phones were considered the social pariahs
of the technological age. Now it’s those
without Facebook.com accounts who may
be deemed modern-day rebels. With over
120 million active users, the popular social-
networking site has attracted people with
varying interests.
For students, Facebook accounts began
as a convenient way to keep in touch with
new friends at a level far less personal than
through phone or face-to-face contact.
“Facebook was really useful during fresh-
man and sophomore year … It’s much easier
to add new friends on Facebook than asking
awkwardly for their numbers,” junior Jessie
Schiller said.
But Schiller recently deleted her Facebook
account after realizing that she was spending
less time with her friends.
“I was wasting a lot of time on [Facebook]
and I wanted to force myself to actually hang
out with people and call them rather than
look at their Facebook profiles,” she said.
While many use the site primarily for keep-
ing track of old friends, Schiller said she does
not really miss the high-school connection
that Facebook provides.
“I still keep in close contact with four [or]
five friends from high school, but I just saw
[looking at Facebook profiles] as a waste of
time … I don’t talk to these people or see
them anymore.”
Features
money for the girl). Several days after the
date, participants had follow-up interviews
to assess their experiences.
Pre-date: jitterbugs and butterflies
Before their dates, many of the participants
shared common anxieties. One concern was
walking in and recognizing his or her date.
“I’m kind of worried it might be someone
that I already know and have awkward expe-
riences with in the past,” freshman Rebecca
Plante said.
The classic scenario of long pauses in con-
versation was another fear.
“I’m nervous we won’t have stuff to talk
about, or we’ll resort to ‘How many brothers
and sisters do you have?’” junior Meghan
McCooey said.
Despite these pre-date butterflies, the pos-
sibility of meeting someone new was what
led most of the daters to let the Daily play
matchmaker.
“I guess I thought it would be a fun,
interesting and a random way to meet a
person,” junior Michael Laha said. “I per-
sonally did not have any secret dream to
meet the love of my
life or anything
like that. I think
it’s a funny
outing.”
Most of
the daters
shared Laha’s,
“Why not?” atti-
tude, and some
were pushed to
do it by their
friends.
“One of
my friends
is always
talking
about how
she has
crushes on
everybody. I said,
‘Well, maybe you
should do this thing
on TuftsLife’ and
she said no,” fresh-
man Khadijah Hall
said. “I was like, ‘I’ll
do it then.’”
The blind date also
provided a contrast
MCT
to what can become a
tired dating routine on a col-
Junior Teddy Minch feels that Facebook’s
value lies in a completely different area. In
addition to showing people’s profiles, the
Web site also allows members to create
groups that provide information and link
members. He utilizes this application to
update members and fans of his radio
show with news and to publicize upcom-
ing events. pare to the personal growth I’ve under-
“Facebook is a major venue, and it is
free, easy to use and easily accessible,”
Minch said.
The common consensus among students
seems to be that Facebook’s accessibility
hampers productivity. With so much class
work completed on the computer, it is easy
to be lured into taking an indefinite study
break that includes perusing friends’ profiles.
“It is a major distraction,” freshman Elliott
McCarthy said.
Schiller agrees and believes that since she
deleted her account, she has been more effi-
cient.
“I sit [at my computer] and have to do
work because I can’t go on Facebook,”
she said.
One of Schiller’s main complaints with
social networking sites is that they can
obscure the larger need to work on maintain-
ing physical rather than virtual ties. She feels
this is especially true for people who have a
large number of friends on such sites but are
close with relatively few of them.
tuftsdaily.com
lege campus. Participants seemed to have a
similar perspective on the way relationships
progress in the college environment.
“It’s terrible! It’s not that the people are ter-
rible, it’s just the situation is not working out
for me,” Plante said. “Maybe it’s just me.”
But clearly, it isn’t.
“I think there’s too much emphasis on
going to impersonal locations on the week-
ends,” junior Jeremy Strauss said. “That
often facilitates impersonal interactions, and
because people don’t know much about each
other because they’re just going out for a
night, there isn’t much incentive to get to
know someone.”
“I feel like Tufts has extremes in terms
of the romantic scene on campus,” senior
Geoanna Bautista said. “One extreme is just
hooking up or [being] very physical, or the
other is where people jump into relationships
very intensely to the point where they’re liv-
ing together. It’s either they’re just hooking up
or they’re in a relationship, so dating is really
not there.”
“I don’t drink at all, so I don’t meet people
at parties,” sophomore Paul Magel said. “It’s
mildly more difficult than it could be. I end
up constantly making new friends and noth-
ing ever goes anywhere.”
With shared pessimism about the cur-
rent romantic offerings at Tufts, the blind
dates were a welcome change of pace —
but that didn’t necessarily translate into
successful dates.
Mismatched? For some, the Daily strikes
out
Bautista and Magel said that their differ-
ent motives for going on a date proved to be
somewhat of a barrier, as Magel had more
serious intentions.
“We definitely did not have the same
reasons at all,” Magel said. “She told me she
went just for kicks and giggles, and I wasn’t
exactly hoping to find my soulmate, but
I felt like the person going should at least
have a cursory interest.”
“I just think that coming in, I had much
[lower] expectations. I wasn’t coming in real-
ly trying to find a true love or anything,”
Bautista said. “He had different expectations
than I did. That imbalance of interests made
it kind of awkward in general.”
Beyond their initial mismatched inten-
tions, both found it interesting to learn about
someone new.
see BLIND DATES, page 4
“Social networking sites create weak ties
in terms of meeting new people and building
a community. Facebook is useful in getting
that community started, but it takes away
from that community in furthering those
relationships,” Schiller said.
On how her friends reacted to her
sudden departure from the online social
networking world, Schiller believes that
nothing has really changed.
“I was the friend with all the pictures, so
that’s been the number-one complaint,” she
said. “But other than that, nobody has really
said anything.”
— by Saumya Vaishampayan
3
Ally Gimbel | When kiwis fly
Hello,
goodbye
S
omeone once said, “All good things
come to an end.” This couldn’t
ring more true for those of us
studying abroad.
Unfortunately, the euphoric high we
get from living and studying in a foreign
country has to fade away sometime.
Though we are forever aware of the inev-
itability of the final moment, we often
don’t realize the finality of our experi-
ence until it’s standing right at our door-
step, like a headhunter come to thrust
us, and our memories, on a Boeing 747
headed toward America.
Now that I’ve completed my requisite
13 weeks of academic coursework in
New Zealand and face the daunting task
of saying goodbye to the friends I have
made here, this saying is always on my
mind. All good things come to an end.
Or, as I prefer to word it: A good end
comes to all great things.
What I mean by this is probably very
obvious. Before I left on my five-month
adventure to New Zealand, many peo-
ple who had already been through this
would bubble over with excitement as
they told me that studying abroad was
the best experience of their entire lives.
I doubt that anybody ends the abroad
experience on a sour note, as I’ve yet to
hear someone recall his time spent in
another country as simply fun.
We just can’t help but love being
abroad. Sure there’s that sinusoidal wave
of culture shock we feel in the beginning,
and the fleeting moments of homesick-
ness when we spend Thanksgiving try-
ing to scavenge together some form of
turkey and a sweet potato while our
families feast without us, but it’s nothing
resilient students can’t easily overcome.
We don’t really have the time to regret
anything, as there’s always a new place
to see, person to meet or mountain to
climb.
While I reflect on my own experi-
ence abroad in New Zealand, I can’t
help but sigh in disbelief as the sun
quickly descends beneath the waters of
the Pacific Ocean; the greatest thing that
has ever happened to me is ending ever
quicker. But I feel everything but sad-
ness.
I remember the countless things I
have done that I never thought I could
do. I met one of New Zealand’s fore-
most writers, Albert Wendt, in one of my
English classes and completed a massive
research assignment on nuclear testing
in the Pacific Islands. I studied Maori
culture and even picked up some of the
language.
I drove on the left, jumped out of an
airplane and went spelunking in under-
ground caves. I forged lifelong friend-
ships with people from around the world
and made a real home for myself 9,000
miles away from where this newspaper
is being printed.
But none of these experiences com-
gone over the past months. Certainly I
can’t speak for everyone, but I’d assume
that this is an almost universal feeling
among study abroaders — you start at
the beginning of the journey as one
person and finish as someone internally
changed.
So does saying goodbye to our host
countries mean saying goodbye to the
people we have become? I certainly hope
not. Bob Dylan wrote, “They say the
darkest hour is right before the dawn.”
It’s difficult to set the sun on a meaning-
ful experience, but where we go from
there is what’s truly important.
All good things come to an end, but
returning home from New Zealand will
be a new day — an ending as well as a
beginning.
But man, I sure will miss it.
Ally Gimbel is a junior majoring in English.
She can be reached at Allyson.Gimbel@
tufts.edu.
4 The Tufts Daily Features Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Tufts students give blind dating a try

BLIND DATES
continued from page 3
“He was a part of a very different circle and
that was definitely interesting to learn about,”
Bautista said.
Both said they would consider going on
other blind dates in the future, but Bautista
said a match based more on common inter-
ests would be beneficial.
“She was ridiculously active — clubs here,
there and everywhere. She was really busy,”
Magel said. “I feel like with the amount of
things she does I would only see her on the
way to something important.”
The initial introduction to Strauss was a
memorable aspect of Plante’s date.
“The moment where we first saw each
other and we weren’t sure, and he was like, ‘Are
you Rebecca?’ and I was like, ‘Are you Jeremy?’
— that was a little bit awkward and funny,” she
said.
Luckily for the two, the rest of the date was
smoother sailing.
“It was easier than I thought it would be just
to chat with someone and talk to them about
all kinds of stuff,” Plante said. “It was just a
really nice experience having some time just
to get to know a stranger. It was [a] bit odd, like
anything else.”
“It was well worth my time to sit down for
an hour or two and converse with a female in
an environment that did not involve T.I. or Lil’
Jon,” Strauss said.
The date between Laha and McCooey
yielded mixed responses.
“I think we had a pretty good conversation
and we got to know each other,” McCooey
said.
But Laha was a bit more critical of the date.
“I would not say it was a success. The
reason would be simply because I think we
weren’t compatible,” he said. “There was no
chemistry. I think we gave it a sincere try get-
ting to know each other but we didn’t end up
having a very engaging conversation. She was
a very different person than I was. She was a
very dedicated tennis player and had a strong,
independent personality. I thought that was
very cool, but I guess our general interests
didn’t overlap.”
Even though the Daily may not have
arranged any future marriages, students who
participated in the experiment felt that the
regular addition of blind dates to the Tufts
social scene would be welcome.
“I think people think it’s kind of weird and
people would be scared to do it, but if every-
body got into it, that would be awesome,”
Plante said.
“No matter what happens, you got to know
one more person that you never would have
known before,” McCooey said. “Maybe you’ll
become friends, maybe you’ll start dating, but
you at least formed some sort of relationship.”
Interested in going on a blind date? E-mail
tuftsfeatures@gmail.com.

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 Arts & Living
All eyes are on Vince Vaughn to explain why he returned to the holiday comedy genre after “Fred Claus” (2007).
Movie Review
‘Four Christmases’ comically unwraps the
perils of holiday festivities with the family
by Charissa Ng
Daily Staff Writer
It is a well-known fact that the joy-
ful holiday season often brings with it
mandatory “family time,” which usu-
Four Christmases
Starring Vince Vaughn, Reese
Witherspoon, Robert Duvall
Directed by Seth Gordon
ally results in particularly uncomfortable
situations and scarring experiences. “Four
Christmases” offers laugh-out-loud cari-
catures of the various personality types
and awkward group interactions that
emerge around the Christmas tree.
Although holiday romantic comedies
often bomb at the box office with sappy
plotlines and unrealistically optimistic,
happily-ever-after endings, “Four
Christmases” blends comedy with just
enough sentiment and holiday cheer to
keep audiences smiling from beginning
Gallery Review
Koppelman Gallery’s ‘Contrapuntal Lines’
brings together seemingly opposing images
by Adam Kulewicz
Daily Staff Writer
It’s easy to be presumptuous about the
works in “Contrapuntal Lines: Rania Matar
and Buthina Abu Milhem” when they are
Contrapuntal Lines
At the Koppelman Gallery, through
Dec. 21
Aidekman Art Gallery
Tufts University
viewed through a political prism. The exhib-
it, originally intended to be a companion
piece to The Tisch Gallery’s “Empire and
Its Discontents,” which closed Nov. 23, is
comprised of images, faces and objects rep-
resenting cooperation and coexistence in
the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. It is impor-
tant, however, to view the pieces, particu-
larly the photographs, as the artist intended.
According to the exhibit’s Web site, “Rania
Matar’s series … focuses on what she
to end.
During Christmas time, most people
are suckered into visiting crazy uncles,
unbearable mothers-in-law and bratty,
unappreciative nieces and nephews. But
every year, Brad (played by Vince Vaughn)
and Kate (played by Reese Witherspoon),
a couple from San Francisco, opt to
spend Christmas basking in the sun on
exotic islands in order to escape the
stress of visiting their families.
Unfortunately for the Fiji-bound pair,
everything goes awry when all flights
during the holiday are cancelled, crush-
ing Brad and Kate’s hopes for a relax-
ing vacation in a tropical paradise. To
make things worse, the couple’s families
get word of their whereabouts when a
live news reporter interviews them at
the airport. Due to divorced parents on
both sides, the couple is guilted into
going to four dysfunctional Christmas
celebrations in one day. The plot is, in
essence, a slight twist of an old holiday-
movie formula, but clever writing and
strong performances help carry “Four
Christmases” beyond mediocrity.
One of the funniest scenes in the
describes as ‘ordinary people caught up in
extraordinary circumstances.’” Her photos,
as well as the fabric sculptures by Buthina
Abu Milhem, achieve this goal.
“Contrapuntal Lines” runs through
Dec. 21 in the Koppelman Gallery in the
Aidekman Arts Center. It features photo-
graphs by Rania Matar from a series entitled
“The Forgotten People” (2002-2006), as well
as fabric sculptures by Abu Milhem. As the
title suggests, the pairing is decidedly unusu-
al. It references, according to the pamphlet
available in the exhibition, the musical term
“contrapuntal” or “counterpoint” in which
“two or more independent melodies [are
combined] into a single harmonic texture in
which each retains its linear character.”
The physical setup of the gallery, which
combines various media, and also the indi-
vidual pieces themselves, purport a theme
of harmonious differences. Some of the
photographs link to the title particularly
well, especially those with multiple figures.
One piece, “Offering Tea, Bourj El Barajneh
Camp, Beirut” (2005) demonstrates the
principle of two ideas intertwining particu-
tuftsdaily.com
movies.about.com
movie occurs when Brad goes to visit his
father and brothers (played by Robert
Duvall, Jon Favreau and Tim McGraw,
respectively). A full-grown man standing
at a towering 6’5”, Brad is forced to relive
the horrors of his childhood as his verti-
cally challenged, cage-fighter brothers
intimidate and humiliate him. Within
minutes of returning home, Brad’s broth-
ers wrestle him to the ground in a scene
full of (hilariously) unsettling physical
humor.
Though much of “Four Christmases”
is devoted to good old-fashioned humor,
novice director Seth Gordon effortlessly
slips in a sentimental look at love and
family to bring more substance to the
romantic comedy. For the past three
years, Brad and Kate have enjoyed the
freedom of having successful careers,
refusing to let things like marriage and
children get in the way of their otherwise
light-hearted relationship. But as the
couple goes about their Christmas mara-
thon, parents and siblings force them to
re-evaluate their own relationship.
see CHRISTMAS, page 6
larly well.
The photograph depicts three females —
one middle-aged woman and two young
girls — gathered around a doorway. The
middle-aged woman emerges from the
doorway with a tray holding several cups
of tea. Her facial expression is one of clear
aggravation, but the two young girls seem
almost unbothered by the state of affairs.
Their differing reactions highlight a genera-
tional gap but are, in the end, united into a
clear image that gives fascinating insight
into their extraordinary lives.
Another photograph, “Generations
Across the Alley, Nahr El Bared Camp,
Tripoli Lebanon” (2004) also references the
theme of the exhibition. It depicts two fig-
ures, separated not only by a physical street
but also, as the title suggests, by a multi-
generation gap. An older woman sits on a
stoop and motions across to a young boy
on the other side of an alley. While the older
woman’s expression is one of frustration, the
young boy’s is one of fear. Again, however,
see CONTRAPUNTAL, page 6
5
Devin Toohey | pop culture gone bad
It’s commercialism,
Charlie Brown!
I
honestly don’t have an enormous prob-
lem with the commercial nature of
Christmas. I like shopping for people. I
enjoy drinking a Starbucks Peppermint
Mocha as I stroll through a tinsel-covered
mall with a constant stream of Christmas
classics (and covers of Christmas classics
and covers of covers of Christmas clas-
sics) blaring from somewhere overhead.
I am also fully aware that our economy
would turn to poop if the holidays truly
became entirely about love and family.
That being said, every year since I learned
to be cynical and disillusioned, one thing
about Christmas commercialism has
bothered me: the “Peanuts” gang and their
Christmas special.
Every December, Charlie Brown for-
gets to take his Prozac and then pro-
ceeds to complain about how commercial
Christmas is and whine about how no
one has a real tree anymore. Not only do
I disagree about the tree (a shiny blue
plastic tree with built-in lights sits in the
front atrium of my house), but I refuse
to respectfully do so. Because “A Charlie
Brown Christmas” (1965) and com-
mercialism are as linked as Dasher and
Dancer, stockings and fireplaces or Jews
and Hanukkah.
This has been the case since the begin-
ning really. Initially, after the Peanuts gang
triumphed over the great evil of pink alu-
minum trees and finished singing “Hark!
The Herald Angels Sing,” viewers were
informed that this past half-hour of anti-
capitalist propaganda was “Brought to you
by the people in your town who bottle
Coca Cola!” Good grief.
Since then, it’s only gotten worse. From
the beginning of my childhood, I can
remember Hallmark selling ornaments
of Charlie, Snoopy, Lucy and the rest of
the gang all with Christmas stockings, or,
sometimes, the pimped-out tree from the
end of the movie. Clearly, everyone knew
that the only good live tree is one that
looks as good as an artificial one.
Mr. Schultz, you may have been able
to make the case that the initial Faustian
deal with Coke was necessary to get your
message across to millions of kids who
had been picking Santa over Jesus. You
might have even argued that you were
really using The Man’s own money against
him. But after hundreds, possibly thou-
sands of the aforementioned ornaments,
Snoopy-adorned stockings, cards with
Linus shouting “Merry Christmas!” with
no mention of “The Gospel of Luke” (okay,
granted, no one wants a card with that …
that part always seemed to last an eter-
nity when I was a kid) and countless other
items, can you really defend the message
of your cartoon? So what if you’re dead;
you only left us a little under nine years
ago and this has been going on a lot longer
than that.
In Charles Schultz’s defense, this hypoc-
risy was only ridiculous until recently.
Two years ago, though, it reached its ulti-
mate crescendo of absolutely, absurdly,
penguin-wrapped-in-garland-doing-the-
Macarena-level ludicrous. As I walked
around Urban Outfitters (in my defense, I
needed a pair of khakis and it was the clos-
est place), my eyes were blindsided with
more irony than if I had just seen Ralphie
from “A Christmas Story” (1983) at a gun-
control rally.
You can buy a replica of the Charlie
Brown Christmas Tree. The pathetic,
charming-because-it’s-real tree, in all its
pre-pimping non-glory. So, um, you can
buy a fake version of the tree that’s cel-
ebrated because it’s not fake. Hey, at least
your fake tree is a celebration of non-fake
trees when you really should have just
gone out and got a real tree if you want
that but that isn’t as iconic. And hey, at
see TOOHEY, page 6
6 The Tufts Daily Arts & Living Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Toohey: Charlie Brown goes hand in hand

with holiday commercialism and hypocrisy
Toohey
continued from page 5
least you don’t have a gaudy
aluminum one that’s painted
pink! As you may have guessed,
I short-circuited a little writ-
ing that last bit. And everyone
in the English department just
got their dose of irony for the
month.
I was out of the states for most
of last year’s holiday season, but
Courtesy the Artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston
already I’m being blind-sided
Rania Matar’s “Looking Out, Beddawi Camp, Tripoli Lebanon” (2007) is by gift-carrying Lucies, tree-
from the “Forgotten People” series. trimming Pig-Pens and ant-
about?” Something has to give.
Chuck, you can’t have your
fruit cake and eat it too. Either
embrace the commercialism
of the season and get off your
high reindeer, or stop using the
clout that you earned through
preaching against the spend-
ing spree to then push toys and
various other worthless trinkets
on people.
Okay, I realize I’m talking to
either a fictional character or a
rotting corpse, but really, some-
one out there has to acknowl-
blast “Jingle Bell Rock” over it if
you’re feeling particularly fes-
tive) and exclaim, “Well, thank
Santa that the tree doesn’t look
like crap anymore!” at the end
of the special. But, for the love of
Peppermint Patty, we can’t just
sit back and do nothing.
It seems my director is mak-
ing a slashing motion across his
throat (props to all who got that).
Looks like it’s time to end yet
another semester of my ranting
ways. Till we meet again, pop-
culturites, have a holly, jolly and

Sculptures and photographs lered, red-nosed Snoopies from

all sides. And I’m sure that if I
dared to turn on the television
edge the oxymoronic stupid-
ity of this whole thing. We as a
people have to band together
very commercial holiday sea-
son!

work together in new exhibit to a channel other than MSNBC,

CONTRAPUNTAL
continued from page 5
the two aesthetically intertwine to
give interesting insight into their
lives and their common ability to
address hardship.
On the other side of the gallery,
the fabric sculptures by Buthina Abu
Milhemalso embody the “counter-
point” concept of the exhibit; each
of the fabric sculptures is clear-
ly divided into segments. But, in
keeping with the exhibit’s theme,
these segments effortlessly com-
bine to form a single sculpture.
In “The Needle Vanquishes the
Sewer #1” (2005), and in all of her
pieces in the exhibit, the artist
innovatively uses ordinary objects
(fabric, needles, thread, etc.) to
produce works of great intricacy
and aesthetic interest. In their
intricacy and innovation, how-
ever, they subtly link themselves
to the photography in the exhibit.
There are many sections of var-
ied decoration, each, according to
the exhibit’s Web site, with cultural
significance, that come together
seamlessly to form works of a uni-
fied nature.
Accompanying the exhibi-
tion is an audio guide that can
be accessed by cell phone free of
additional charge by following the
instructions in the gallery. These
innovative commentaries present
interesting overviews of the exhibi-
tion from the Director of Galleries
and Collections. They also offer
in-depth explanations of the two
parts (photography and sculpture)
of the exhibition by a journalist
and the Director of Galleries and
Collections, respectively.
“Contrapuntal Lines,” mixes two
mediums of art in an unusual way.
After closer inspection, however,
the reason for pairing these two
becomes clearer. The two artists’
pieces possess a subtle degree of
similarity, but the exhibit forces the
viewer to think about them both
separately and in unity, in order
to understand the purpose of the
show and bring to light important
human rights issues. Indeed, the
unusual title to this unique exhibit
enhances the works and the view-
ing experience.
I’d be hearing some blockhead
shouting, “Isn’t there anyone
who knows what Christmas is all
Witherspoon brings her comedic A-game to
keep up with comedy heavyweight Vaughn
CHRISTMAS
continued from page 5
Surprisingly enough, Reese
Witherspoon has won back
her acting chops as a comedy
actress in “Four Christmases,”
after less-than-stellar perfor-
mances in “Legally Blonde 2:
Red, White & Blonde” (2003),
“Just Like Heaven” (2005) and
“Penelope” (2006), to name a
few. Although the timing of her
witty banter with Vince Vaughn
is slightly off in the beginning
of the movie, garnering only a
few chuckles from the audience,
Witherspoon quickly warms up
to her role and manages to hold
her own against the comedy vet-
eran.
against Charlie Brown and his
two-faced ways. We can simply
boycott the products, or we can
put Linus’s speech on mute (or,
Playing the sophisticated,
rather charmingly straight-
laced Kate shouldn’t have been
too difficult for Witherspoon,
seeing as how Kate’s character
seems to mirror Witherspoon’s
own personality. But regardless
of this similarity — coincidental
or not — Witherspoon deserves
some credit for her sharp wit
and her ability to make Kate’s
character not only likeable, but
also believable.
While Witherspoon does a
respectable job of playing Kate,
Vaughn is the one who really
steals the show and keeps audi-
ences laughing the whole way
through. Vaughn’s portrayal of
Brad, the laid-back, success-
Devin Toohey is a senior major-
ing in classics. He can be reached
at Devin.Toohey@tufts.edu.
ful lawyer who is still young at
heart, is hilarious. The best line
of the movie is when Brad is
explaining to some of his friends
why he and Kate avoid family
Christmases at all costs, and he
says, “You can’t spell families
without lies.” Needless to say,
Vaughn’s impeccable come-
dic timing, adorable smile and
infectious charisma are what
make “Four Christmases” worth
watching.
With an all-star cast and an
effortless mix of humor con-
taining just the right amount of
sentiment, “Four Christmases”
is an undeniably fun, feel-good
movie perfect for the holiday
season.

Center Of South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies

Presents
Sanjay Kak’s
Jashan-i- Azadi ( How we celebrate Freedom)

December 3, 2008, 5.30pm, Cabot 206, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

Jashan-i-Azadi, explores the meaning of azadi or freedom while highlighting the human
tragedy and resilience of the people of Kashmir. Using a mix of verite footage, rare
archival material, poetry and text, the movie takes a provocative look at Indian
democracy in the 60th year of independence. A discussion with Sanjay Kak will follow
the showing of the film.

Co-sponsor: Tufts History Department

Contact: Shahla Hussain, Shahla.Hussain@tufts.edu
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 The Tufts Daily Comics 7
Crossword
Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau

Non Sequitur by Wiley

solutions

Married to the Sea

www.marriedtothesea.com

SUDOKU
Level: Turning nudity into art

Late Night at the Daily

Solution to Tuesday's puzzle

Rachel (referring to the new type of printer

paper she bought): “I can explain! There’s a
story behind the paper.”
Rob: “Dolin likes her paper thick and meaty.”

Please recycle this Daily

8 The Tufts Daily Editorial | Letters Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Editorial
THE TUFTS DAILY
Robert S. Silverblatt
Is commerce right for Richardson?
Editor-in-Chief Today, President-elect Barack Richardson, after all, would seem to globalization has left American busi-
Obama is scheduled to officially name be the ideal energy secretary. Even a nesses increasingly linked to their for-
Editorial New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as his secretary of state offer would not be at eign counterparts. Richardson has a
Rachel Dolin Managing Editors secretary of commerce, a post that has all unreasonable. long track record of negotiating with
Kristin Gorman often gone to business executives. The Still, there’s something to be said foreign leaders — both through the
Jacob Maccoby Editorial Page Editors current secretary, Carlos Gutierrez, for political maneuvering. Tapping United Nations and during his tenure
Jason Richards
Harrison Jacobs is a former Kellogg CEO, and William Clinton for the secretary of state post as governor — and these skills will be
Vittoria Elliott Daley, who held the spot during part could go a long way in healing the welcome as he works to ensure the
of the Clinton administration, was rifts created by the hard-fought pri- security of the American workforce.
Giovanni Russonello Executive News Editor
previously the president and chief mary battles. And it only makes sense At the same time, Obama needs to
Sarah Butrymowicz News Editors operating officer of the Amalgamated for Obama to put Richardson some- find a strong pick to lead the charge to
Pranai Cheroo Bank of Chicago. place on the cabinet. The governor’s energy independence. The volatility of
Nina Ford
Ben Gittleson Meanwhile, Richardson, a Tufts alum endorsement was very significant for gas prices and the failing auto industry
Gillian Javetski (A ’70, F ’71), has a very different back- the Obama camp and could have been are only two of the visible remind-
Jeremy White ground: The former congressman held responsible for a good portion of the ers that the current system is broken
Alexandra Bogus Assistant News Editors stints as the U.S. ambassador to the Latino votes that the president-elect and badly in need of repair. While
Michael Del Moro United Nations and as energy secre- received, particularly in swing states the shallow “drill, baby, drill” mantra
tary under Clinton. These experiences like Colorado and Virginia. rose to the forefront of presidential
Carrie Battan Executive Features Editor
have earned him widespread fame in We also have confidence in Richardson’s debates and distracted attention from
Jessica Bidgood Features Editors the energy and foreign policy circles, ability to serve as a steward of American the substance of energy policy, there
Robin Carol but he has left less of a footprint in the businesses. His economic record in is a widespread consensus that the job
Kerianne Okie
Charlotte Steinway economic arena. New Mexico is impressive, and in his demands a qualified candidate.
Especially in the current climate, presidential campaign, he correctly Ultimately, we are happy to see a
Sarah Bliss Assistant Features Editors when cries for energy independence emphasized investments in technol- Jumbo in a cabinet post and have
Meghan Pesch
are reaching a fever pitch, and when ogy and the protection of the domes- confidence that he will execute his job
Mike Adams Executive Arts Editor the turbulent economy demands sur- tic workforce. Whereas the commerce well. But one question still lingers: Is it
gical precision, the expected nomi- secretary once had the luxury of the the right job? When the political dust
Jessica Bal Arts Editors
Grant Beighley nation comes as a bit of a surprise. focusing largely on domestic affairs, clears, time will tell.
Sarah Cowan
Catherine Scott

Emma Bushnell Assistant Arts Editors Nate Beeler

Matthew DiGirolamo

Jyll Saskin Executive Op-Ed Editor

Jwala Gandhi Assistant Op-Ed Editors

Nina Grossman
Harrison Jacobs
Ellen Kan
Andrew Rohrberger
Molly Rubin

Thomas Eager Executive Sports Editor

Sapna Bansil Sports Editors

Evans Clinchy
Philip Dear
David Heck
Carly Helfand
Noah Schumer

Scott Janes Assistant Sports Editor

Jo Duara Executive Photo Editor

Alex Schmieder Photo Editors

Laura Schultz
Rebekah Sokol
Annie Wermiel

James Choca Assistant Photo Editors

Emily Eisenberg
Aalok Kanani
Meredith Klein
Danai Macridi
Tim Straub

PRODUCTION
Marianna Bender Production Director
Emily Neger Executive Layout Editor
Emily Neger Executive Layout Editor
Kelsey Anderson Layout Editors
Leanne Brotsky
Kelsey Anderson Layout Editors
Jennifer
LeanneIassogna
Brotsky
Julia
Jennifer Izumi
Iassogna
Andrew
JuliaPetrone
Izumi
Muhammad Qadri
Andrew Petrone
Daniel Simon
Muhammad Qadri
Amani Smathers
Daniel Simon
Steven
Amani Smith
Smathers
Katie Tausanovitch
Steven Smith
Katie Tausanovitch Editorial
Adam Raczkowski Executive Technical Manager
Adam Raczkowski
Michael Vastola
Michael Vastola
Hena Kapadia
Executive Technical Manager
Technical Manager
Technical Manager
Executive Online Editor
Driving in the right direction
Hena Kapadia Executive Online Editor The chief executives of Detroit’s Big standards, opponents of the bailout and Hummer brands. We particularly
Minah Kim Online Editor Three — General Motors, Chrysler and said, the companies should have been applaud the company for its decision
Minah Kim Online Editors Ford — appeared before Congress last developing more fuel-efficient cars. to rid itself of the Hummer brand,
Matt Skibinski New Media Editor
Matt Skibinski New Media Editor month to ask for a government loan to Rather than focusing on solutions to long associated with the most egre-
Kelly Moran Webmaster hold off potential bankruptcies. the domestic auto industry, Congress gious gas-guzzling SUVs. GM should
Kelly Moran Webmaster Many senators and representatives decided to loudly and publicly scold be applauded for the courage of its
Caryn Horowitz Executive Copy Editor
Caryn Horowitz Executive Copy Editor opposed the auto bailout. Some did auto executives for their industry’s recent decisions; it is never easy for a
Grace Lamb-Atkinson Copy Editors so out of principle, feeling that the performance. While the executives company to break from its founding
Michelle
Grace Hochberg
Lamb-Atkinson Copy Editors government should not intervene in certainly deserved the harsh words, vision — in this case Alfred Sloan’s
MichelleBen Smith
Hochberg
Christopher
BenSnyder
Smith the free market. These critics of the America and its auto workers need dream that GM would make a “car for
Elisha
Christopher Sum
Snyder proposed move pointed to the recent concrete policies. every person and every purse.” The
Ricky Zimmerman
Elisha Sum success of the steel and airline indus- This time, the auto executives decision to cut unpopular and pollut-
Ricky Zimmerman
Brianna Beehler Assistant Copy Editors tries as proof that companies can sur- have done their homework. Ford and ing brands represents a profound step
Casey Burrows
Brianna Beehler Assistant Copy Editors vive post-bankruptcy reorganization. General Motors sold the corporate jets forward for the company.
AlisonBurrows
Casey Lisnow Each industry, however, is unique. in which their chief executives flew to Previously, we have supported
Rachel
AlisonOldfield
Lisnow
Mary Jo
Rachel Pham
Oldfield Unlike airline flights and steel pur- Congress last month. Both companies’ using some of the financial indus-
MaryLily Zahn
Jo Pham chases, car sales include guarantees CEOs have also agreed to work for $1 try’s bailout funds to assist the Big
Lily Zahn of repairs and spare parts. Consumers a year in exchange for federal funds. Three. Allowing a crucial segment of
business
are understandably hesitant to pur- Corporate jets and CEO pay, however, American industry to fail would only
Malcolm Charles Executive Business Director chase a car from a company that may are small problems. On that note, GM increase the nation’s financial trou-
not exist in the future. recently announced attempts to solve bles.
Dwijo Goswami Receivables Manager
Others declined to back the bail- major corporate issues. The company The last time the auto executives
Brenna Duncan Head Ad Manager out because of the incompetence of is planning to trim the number of appeared before Congress, they got
The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, pub-
the industry, arguing that many of dealerships around the country and berated, but now they are returning
lished Monday through Friday during the academic year, and the Detroit auto makers’ problems eliminate much of its bloated work- to Capitol Hill for help. We hope that
distributed free to the Tufts community. could have been prevented. Instead of force. this time, Congress will work with the
P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 spending millions to lobby Congress In a larger move, GM unveiled plans Big Three toward a solution to fix the
617 627 3090 FAX 617 627 3910 to block improved fuel-efficiency to either sell or close its Saturn, Saab industry’s problems.
daily@tuftsdaily.com

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Wednesday, December 3, 2008 The Tufts Daily Op-Ed 9

STANDFast for Darfur

by Audrey Miller
Imagine that today the entire freshman class dis-
appeared.
Then imagine that tomorrow it was the entire sopho-
more class.
And on Friday, the junior class.
And on Saturday, the senior class.
And on Sunday, the faculty and staff.
By the end of the weekend, there would be no one left
on the Tufts campus.
While this may seem like a daunting and improbable
figure, it is equivalent to the rate that Darfurians have
been displaced over the past months. According to the
latest United Nations (UN) report, at the last count
more than 230,000 civilians have been forced to flee
violence since January 2008, which divides out to more
than 1,000 people displaced a day.
If this doesn’t make you outraged, I think it should.
If such a catastrophic upheaval were to occur on our
comfortable New England campus, it would draw an
immediate world response. But because it is occurring
halfway around the world, people have been content
to sit back.
Right now I want to encourage members of the Tufts
community to stand up. We cannot and we must not
remain comfortable watching this genocide continue.
As far as we presently know, the conflict in the Darfur
region of Sudan will soon be entering its sixth year. After
all this time, it is easy to succumb to issue fatigue — to
hear about Darfur and think, “Oh, is that still going on?”
But at this crucial time, we cannot forget.
With the advent of the Obama administration upon
us and new developments in Sudan, the time for action
is now. While some of these developments give us signs
of hope, we cannot let down our guard.
President-elect Barack Obama has long expressed his
commitment to Darfur. As a senator, Obama received an
A+ from Genocide Intervention Network as his “Darfur
Score.” In the past, he has called for intervention in MCT
Darfur, publically labeling the conflict genocide. finally having an effect in Sudan. Four months ago, of laundry or skip that fancy cup of coffee, if you knew
Just this week he chose his foreign policy adviser, the International Criminal Court demanded an arrest what an impact it could have for a woman in Darfur?
Susan E. Rice, as ambassador to the UN. She is an warrant for Bashir on 10 counts of genocide, war Today, the Tufts chapter of STAND, a student anti-
advocate of “dramatic action” against genocide. Her crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. He is genocide coalition, will be participating in STANDFast,
new position will make her one of the most visible the only sitting leader ever to be indicted for geno- a national drive to raise money for civilian protection in
members of the Obama administration to the world cide. He needs to be removed from power. both Darfur and Burma. We will be tabling inside every
community, sending a powerful message. While this With such leadership in Khartoum, you may be won- dorm, in the dining halls and in the campus center, and
appointment shows much potential for action in dering what you, a college student halfway around the we want you to stop by. Ask your questions. Show your
Darfur, Obama is still going face a myriad of highly globe, could possibly do to affect this situation. The support. We will arm you with the information you need
important and time-sensitive issues in his first term. answer seems to lie in civilian protection. This is a piece to make a difference. When you are asked to give, don’t
We can only hope that his commitment to Darfur does of the puzzle that we actually can fill in. Consider this — think about it as this huge, intangible thing. What if it
not get lost in the shuffle. $3 can allow a woman in a refugee camp to safely collect was your life that needed to be protected? Your room-
On Nov. 12, the Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir firewood for one week. The risks of firewood collection mate’s? The lives of your friends and your dormmates?
declared a ceasefire in Darfur. And as promising as a are great. For women and girls in Darfur, the act of fire- The lives of everyone here in the Tufts community?
ceasefire sounded, it didn’t really mean anything. It wood collection constitutes a major source of violence, So this winter, let’s “STANDFast” for Darfur and do
was only words; the rebel groups were not involved especially rape. Your $3 can help prevent that from hap- our part to help prevent continued conflict.
in this decision. This ceasefire was violated after a pening. I understand that as college students we loathe
mere 72 hours, broken just as all the previous cease- spending money, no matter how worthy the cause, but
fires have been. All that this most recent declaration think about what a tangible difference it could make. Audrey Miller is a freshman who has not yet declared a
of ceasefire shows is that international pressure is Wouldn’t you be willing to forget about that extra load major.

We stand with you, Mumbai Happy birthday, LCS

by G. Rezwan Khan
I am a citizen of Bangladesh, a country
often at odds with India over many issues
such as border security, water-sharing trea-
ties and trade deals. I am also a Muslim,
the religion that, perhaps, the terrorists
who attacked India “claimed” as their own.
One of my fellow members of the South
Asian Political Action Committee (SAPAC)
is a Pakistani, a country that never had a
friendly relationship with India. The other
is a Nepali, a country that recently saw its
people gleefully reject an autocratic mon-
archy, which the Indian government had
backed for decades.
Over the weekend, we all heard about the
terrorist attack in Mumbai, India and decid-
ed to organize a response to show solidarity
for the victims. We contacted a few people
who we thought would be willing to help us
out. Slowly the responses started to trickle
in. People stepped up. They forwarded our
plea of help to the wider Tufts community
and e-mails poured in, expressing the desire
to help and stand up against violence.
We had a meeting Monday night and
while we were expecting a few people, most-
ly South Asians, to show up, we were greeted
with an avalanche of disparate groups of
people who have little or no relationship to
India, but all of whom were moved by and
were prepared to stand up and denounce
what had happened. Everyone realizes and
understands that terrorists don’t just attack
one country — they don’t attack a religion, a
race or an ethnicity — they attack humanity.
Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Jews, Asians,
blacks and whites are all victims of terror-
ism. They realize, rightly that an attack on
one group is an attack on everyone. These
young men and women understand that if
Sept. 11 taught us anything, it is that in a
time of need we should stand united, not
divided; we should come together as one,
not point the fingers at each other and put
politics and partisanship over solidarity.
It is due to this very idea that we are
organizing a rally today on the Tisch Patio.
The rally will start at noon and we will be
handing out black and white peace rib-
bons to the participants. The rally will fea-
ture an open mic session where members
of the Tufts community, including pro-
fessors, heads of religious organizations
and affected students, will be all read-
ing statements to express condolences for
the bereaved families. A notebook will be
passed around in which the participants
can sign a note for the victims of the inci-
dent. The notebook, along with pictures of
the event and participants, will be sent to
the Indian High Commission.
If you have some time today — even 10 or
15 minutes — show up and just stand with
us for a few moments. Hear what others
have to say and wear the ribbon and sign the
notebook. Your simple statement will give
hope to those who need it the most and be
a powerful symbol of unity in a world that
desperately needs one.
G. Rezwan Khan is a junior majoring in
electrical engineering and is the PR chair
for the SAPAC.
by Audrey Kuan
Drew Carey, Joe Simpson, Ice-T,
NASA, instant noodles and the Leonard
Carmichael Society (LCS). What do they
all have in common? They’re celebrating
their 50th year!
It’s a surprise and a shame that nation-
al service organizations such as Habitat
for Humanity and the American Cancer
Society’s Relay for Life can associate the
LCS with Tufts University, yet many stu-
dents on campus are still unaware of
what the group represents.
The Tufts administration adores the
group: President Lawrence Bacow con-
sistently mentions its name alongside
other school glories.
As one of the oldest clubs on campus
and one of the most advertised groups
to prospective students, why don’t more
students know about the LCS?
Part of the mystery behind the LCS
may lie in its name. Leonard Carmichael
Society? It might sound like some elitist
group, but it’s actually named after Dr.
Carmichael, former president of Tufts
from 1938 to 1952. During his presiden-
cy, Tufts saw the addition of the campus
bookstore, Carmichael Hall and Jackson
Gym, as well as the beginning of Cohen
auditorium and Alumnae Hall.
Founded by Richard Dorsay in 1958,
the original LCS consisted of a few
students who consistently visited a
nearby mental hospital. Just 50 years
later, the LCS has become the largest
student-run organization on campus,
including almost 70 coordinators and
1500 volunteers in 36 programs. The
LCS serves as an umbrella organiza-
tion that covers hunger and homeless-
ness issues, youth mentoring, litera-
cy and education, health issues, and
other special interests.
Specific programs range from
the nationally popular — Habitat for
Humanity, Blood Drive, Cancer Outreach
and Special Olympics — to the local, such
as Tufts Kids’ Day and Special Friends.
In addition to community-service pro-
grams, the LCS has had a huge impact
these past 50 years on Tufts’ mission for
civic engagement and global leadership.
For example, it has had a prominent
role in the creation of the Tisch College,
setting the foundation for the culture of
service and civic duty at Tufts.
The society has had such a positive
impact in the community in and around
Tufts, it’s disappointing that it has not
gotten the recognition it deserves. A
huge part of Tufts’ national popularity is
due to the LCS’s positive contributions
all over the country.
We Tufts students should be deter-
mined to get the word out about the
LCS, especially in its 50th year. We can
all help kick off this celebration around
campus. The LCS is a group that we
can be proud of, and this is the year to
make that change.
Audrey Kuan is a freshman who has not
declared a major.

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 (oped@tuftsdaily.com) 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.
10
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Game a team effort; all 15 players see court time
MEN’S basketball
continued from page 12
“Keene State dropped us
[from their schedule after] last
year,” coach Bob Sheldon said.
“Lesley called because they’re
right around Cambridge and
we figured why not? But I don’t
think we’ll play them again hon-
estly. Those games are good for
guys who don’t get much time,
but we get better competition
in practice. But it was nice to go
out and run and see plays work
and see guys score. It was a fun
game for us.”
Tufts, which advanced to 3-2
on the year with the victory,
had the game all but wrapped
up after the first 10 minutes,
leading 26-3 at the 10:16 mark
in the first. The Jumbos led by
as many as 29 before the break,
going up 48-19 with 23 seconds
left in the half on a three-point
play by junior Reed Morgan.
Tufts led 48-21 at the half.
“We played good defense,”
Sheldon said. “They only had
one player that [we worried
about: 6-foot-8 sophomore
Jesus Trejo]. We worked on a
double in practice Monday for
if the big guy started to hurt
us. We did that the whole first
half and he had two points. He
finished with 17, but ... we were
working on some things during
the game. D is definitely a point
of contention for us — we need
to improve.”
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The Jumbos’ command-
ing performance early on
in the contest allowed them
the opportunity to experi-
ment with their bench. All 15
Jumbos played in the game,
with 14 seeing double-dig-
it minutes. Freshman guard
Amauris Quezada, who had
four career points going into
the game, led the team with
18 in just 12 minutes, going
5-for-7 from the field and
4-for-6 from behind the arc.
Junior guard Dan Cook also
contributed a career-high 16
points in 13 minutes on the
strength of 4-for-7 shooting
from downtown. As a team,
the Jumbos went 12-25 from
beyond the three-point line.
“Dan Cook made some
nice shots [and] the freshman
[Quezada] broke out,” Sheldon
said. “It’s nice to give him some
confidence and let him show us
what he can do. Hopefully he
can build on that.”
“I saw what I see in practice
every day,” Pierce said. “They
pressure the guys who play
all the time and make us that
much better, so when they got
out there tonight it was just
like they play in practice; they
played hard defense, ran what
they were supposed to, and
knocked down open shots. I
was very impressed.”
Pierce contributed 16 points
of his own with a 7-for-14
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performance in a season-low
18 minutes. Pierce’s season-
low in minutes prior to last
night was 32 in the blowout
loss to Brandeis.
“It’s definitely been a while
since I played 18 in a game,
but I’m certainly not com-
plaining with the stretch of
games we have coming up,”
Pierce said. “It’s nice to be
able to rest a little bit and
cheer on the guys who work
so hard in practice.”
Thirteen Jumbos scored in
the game, including the first
career points for sophomore
guard Henry Louis and senior
forward Max Cassidy. Tufts out-
rebounded Lesley by a margin
of 51-34, with sophomore Brian
Lowry’s seven boards leading
the Jumbos.
Tufts will now look to anoth-
er home matchup against
Plymouth tomorrow. Last sea-
son, the Jumbos took down the
Panthers 84-64 on the road.
“I expect us to come out with
same sort of intensity on D and
have the offense take care of
itself; there’s no reason why we
can’t have a another big win
going into Saturday at MIT,”
Pierce said.
“It’s going to be a lot harder
[than playing against Lesley],”
Sheldon said. “They’re in a dif-
ferent league, and they’re usu-
ally in the top half. It’ll be a
good game.”
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Tufts to launch season with first
indoor track meet Saturday
MEN’S TRACK
continued from page 12
Engelking and Ikenna Acholonu
are all strong hurdlers who will
also return this season, and
the team will further look to
benefit from other competi-
tors rising to the occasion of
a new indoor track season —
including the first years.
“The last two years, fresh-
men have played a huge role
in our success,” Fitzgerald
said. “Even though the fresh-
men crew is smaller this year,
they’re very dedicated and tal-
ented, so were expecting big
things from them.”
“We’re light on freshmen,”
Carberry added. “But between
the middle-distance guys,
we’ve got Connor Rose, Phil
Grannan, and Ben Crastnopol,
a sprinter, as well as the addi-
tion of a sophomore, James
Wheeler. I think we can see
improvement, and making
them members of the Tufts
track and field family will be
some important goals for them
this year.”
Although it remains difficult
to make any concrete predic-
tions about how the season will
play out before the first meet,
the Jumbos hope to build on
the triumphs they made last
year.
Improved field events may give
Jumbos edge over rival Ephs
WOMEN’S TRACK
continued from page 12
in the event at Nationals, will lead
the sprinting unit.
The Jumbos should witness
the most improvement on the
field events side with the arrival
of three talented freshman jump-
ers in Shantal Richards, Dayorsha
Collins and Nakeisha Jones, a
Massachusetts and New England
champion in the triple jump last
year. The trio will join Crane, who
posted the top mark in the long
jump at the regional meet last sea-
son, on what the Jumbos hope will
be a dangerous jumping squad.
The freshman class also boasts
new pole vaulters and throwers to
help strengthen its traditionally
weaker areas.
“We just kind of reloaded in
areas where we didn’t have depth
or big point-getters, like field
events,” Morwick said. “We relied
heavily on our big point-getters,
like Cat, Katy, Steph, Logan and
Kaleigh last year … we did have
a lot of contributors, but I think it
will be a more balanced approach
this year.”
Stronger field events may
also give Tufts an extra weapon
against Williams. The Ephs thrive
on their running, and many of
their runners have already prov-
en themselves this year; Williams
tied for the conference title in
cross country this season before
going on to earn fourth place in
the country at Nationals.
“That will definitely help us
balance the team better and
help us stack up better against
Williams,” senior tri-captain
Jackie Ferry said. “They didn’t
have the best field event people
last year, so hopefully having
some good field events on our
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“I think we can be as suc-
cessful as last year as long as
we perform to our potential
in New Englands,” Bradley
said. “Outside New England,
nationally I think we still have
the quality of guys on the team
that we can do just as well as
we did last year if not better
… They put a new event into
Nationals, the pentathlon, and
we have a few good guys in
that event.”
The Jumbos’ season opens
with the Husky Carnival at
Northeastern on Saturday. The
team will then take a five-week
hiatus from competition over
winter break until the middle
of January and the start of the
second semester.
“A fair amount of guys will be
running outside of events that
they’re used to,” Bradley said.
“It’s definitely a good reference
point for the younger guys in
their first college meet, as well
as for some of the older guys
who know what to expect.”
“In the grand scheme of
things, [the first meet is] not
very important,” Fitzgerald
added. “It’s so early in the sea-
son, so its main point is to
gauge where we are … It’s the
only meet of the first semester,
and the season doesn’t really
start until second semester.”
Laura Schultz/tufts daily?
Sophomore Steph McNamara will
likely play a large role during the
indoor season.
team will just give us an extra
edge against them.
“We haven’t seen them yet, but
I’m sure they got a lot of strong
freshmen,” she continued. “I’m
assuming it’s going to be a pretty
close battle and we’re definitely
going to go for it, and hopefully it
will work out again.”
The team will get its first
opportunity to test its balanced
approach when it heads to
Northeastern Saturday for the first
meet of the indoor season, the
Husky Invitational.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Inside the NFL
Steeler defense maintains iron grip, clamps
down on rest of league after resounding win
by Alex Prewitt
Senior Staff Writer
Forget about records. Forget
about prestige. And forget about the
Tennessee Titans.
The Pittsburgh Steelers look like the
best team in the AFC and quite possibly
in the entire league after their resound-
ing 33-10 spanking of the New England
Patriots on Sunday in
Foxborough, Mass. Even
though it was probably
the most impressive vic-
tory of their season, it is
the way the Steelers have
MCT
been consistently smash-
ing the rest of the confer-
ence that makes them a prime favorite
to reach the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay
come February.
So how have the Steelers managed to
become so dominant at the right time
in the season? Through the perfect amal-
gamation of a talent-heavy and smash-
mouth running game with a defense
whose destruction capability mirrors that
of a magnitude 10 earthquake. With a 9-3
record, the Steelers hold the second best
mark in the conference, trailing only the
11-1 Titans and their cupcake schedule.
The game versus the Patriots marked
the sixth time this season that the
Pittsburgh defense has held its oppo-
nent to 10 points or fewer. Once more,
the unit has not given up more than 24
points all year.
On Sunday, the Steelers took the field
at Gillette Stadium leading the NFL’s total
scoring, rushing and passing defense,
and they forced up-and-coming quarter-
back Matt Cassel into tossing two inter-
ceptions and coughing up the ball twice
more. The manner in which they relent-
lessly battered Cassel was impressive and
a served as a definitive notice to the rest
of the league.
Linebacker James Harrison, a candi-
date for Defensive Player of the Year,
burst past the Patriot line twice for sacks
that resulted in fumbles recovered by the
Steelers, one of which was recovered by
LaMarr Woodley. Woodley and Harrison
have teamed up to form the most prolific
sack tandem in a Pittsburgh history lit-
tered with defensive stars, combining to
record 25.5 so far this year.
The defense’s ability to clamp down
in the clutch will likely make the Steelers
extremely dangerous down the stretch,
even as they enter the toughest part of
their schedule. New England converted
only once on 13 third downs, that sole
blip coming on a third-and-inches sneak
by Cassel.
On the offensive end, a large portion
of Pittsburgh’s success has come cour-
tesy its running game, headed by Willie
4 1,000
Games in which the women’s basketball
team has surrendered 80 points or more
since the 2002-03 season when coach
Carla Berube took the helm. All four
of those games have been losses, the
most recent occurring Sunday at home
against the Brandeis Judges 81-76. The
last time the Jumbos gave up more than
80 points was over three years ago dur-
ing a Jan. 4, 2005 86-64 defeat courtesy
a visiting Southern Maine squad.
2 6
Number of baseball’s 171 free agents who
have signed contracts as of Tuesday. More
than two weeks into the free agency pe-
riod, only pitchers Jeremy Affeldt (Giants)
and Ryan Dempster (Cubs) have officially
inked deals. The uneventful offseason is
likely a result of the country’s economic
trouble, though it could be ignited when a
few big chips, like CC Sabathia and Mark
Teixeira, reach their final destinations.
The Tufts Daily
The Steelers may not have the famous “Steel Curtain” that led them to four Super Bowl rings
in the 1970s, but this season’s staunch defense is allowing a mere 14.2 points per game to
lead the league. The unit has been instrumental in guiding the team to a 9-3 record.
Parker and journeyman Mewelde Moore.
The duo has combined for over 1,200
total yards and 10 touchdowns while sur-
rendering only one turnover.
Both are averaging over 4.0 yards per
carry, but it was their ability to grind
out the tough yards against the Patriots
which makes the Steelers so danger-
ous on the ground. The focus on the
run is a staple of Pittsburgh coach Mike
Tomlin’s offense, especially since a heavy
pass game tends to lead to unproductive
results for his team: The two games this
year when the Steelers’ leading receiver
had over 100 yards resulted in a loss and
a one-point win on a field goal with 11
seconds left.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s play
this year has revolved around one con-
cept: leadership. Roethlisberger is 17th
in the league in passing yards, 11th in
touchdowns and 23rd in quarterback
rating. But he has only thrown the ball
139 fewer times than league leader Kurt
Warner, a testament to the fact that
Tomlin expects him to direct the offense
and make the big play when necessary.
Thus far, Roethlisberger has excelled
in that role, driving Pittsburgh down
the field to score just enough points,
enabling the defense to take care of the
DAILY DIGITS
Career points total that the men’s basket-
ball team’s junior co-captain Jon Pierce
eclipsed against Brandeis on Sunday. Pierce
is the 26th player in the history of the
program to achieve the milestone and was
one of the quickest to do so, reaching the
career mark in his 52nd game as a Jumbo.
His career average of 19.4 points per game
sits third among men’s basketball players on
the 1,000-point list.
NFL players suspended on Tuesday for the
remainder of the regular season. All six
were caught for using a diuretic, which
can be used to mask the appearance of
steroids on a drug test and is in viola-
tion of the league’s anti-drug policy. The
players include Saints running back Deuce
McAllister, averaging 3.6 yard-per-carry,
and Vikings defensive tackles Kevin and
Pat Williams, who lead the NFL’s second-
ranked run defense.
Sports
MCT
rest. His tendency to turn the ball over,
however, has proved costly in the past
this year.
The three blemishes on the Steelers’
record have come as a result of inef-
ficient play on the part of their stars,
which are seemingly more like miniscule
glitches than indications of consistent
poor performance. A Week 3 loss to the
Philadelphia Eagles was a direct result
of Roethlisberger’s bandaged hand and a
combined 33 rushing yards. A seven-point
loss to the defending Super Bowl cham-
pion New York Giants on Oct. 26 and
a four-point defeat to the Indianapolis
Colts two weeks later were results of
Roethlisberger blunders, as he combined
for seven picks in the two contests.
With a playoff spot all but wrapped
up, the Steelers will have to make power
through the gauntlet in their next four
weeks in order to secure home field
advantage for at least the first round.
On tap for Pittsburgh in the next three
weeks are the Dallas Cowboys (8-4),
the division rival Baltimore Ravens
(8-4) and the Titans. The decisive win
over the Patriots will probably lose
some of its shine if Pittsburgh cannot
take care of business against some of
the league’s best.
8
Tufts’ ranking in the first release of the Div.
III Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings
this year. After finishing 15th in the final
Directors’ Cup for the 2007-08 campaign,
Jumbo athletics have vaulted to an eighth-
place tie with Ohio Northern in the first
publication of 2008-09 on the heels of a
stellar season for the field hockey and vol-
leyball teams, which both notched points
for Tufts.
100,000
Dollars posted for bail by the wife of
New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress
after he was arrested on gun posses-
sion charges. Burress accidentally shot
himself in the thigh at a nightclub around
1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and was
subsequently taken to a hospital where
he was released about 12 hours later.
Burress currently faces criminal charges
that could lead to three-and-a-half years
in prison.
11
Evans Clinchy | Dirty Water
Plax and
prejudice
T
his is where I’m supposed to write
something about Plaxico Burress. I
just know it.
I’m supposed to say that he’s a
clown, an idiot, a moron, a knucklehead;
that I hope Mr. “23-17” shot that s--t-eat-
ing, Super Bowl-winning grin right off of
his own smug little face. I’m supposed to
declare, right here, right now, that I’ll be
laughing when he watches from prison as
his Giants choke away their dominant sea-
son in the first week of January.
I’m not going to say any of that. I can’t
bring myself to do it.
Here’s what we know. We know that at
some point on Friday night, Burress shot
himself in the thigh with his own gun.
The bullet, reportedly, went through the
skin and muscle tissue of his right thigh,
but it was later discovered at New York
Hospital-Cornell Medical Center that no
arteries were ruptured and no bones bro-
ken. Burress spent the night in the hospi-
tal; he was treated and released by 2 p.m.
the following day.
This is what we know. We don’t know
much else, and we shouldn’t pretend that
we do.
What I mean by that is that likely no
one reading this column understands the
burden of being a professional athlete.
This goes much deeper than the tired,
trite, beaten-to-death “athletes are not
role models” argument — there’s more to
it than that. Sometimes there’s more than
just the public eye hovering over the star
athlete. Sometimes there’s a bull’s eye.
As the media scrambles this week to
dig to the bottom of the Plaxico Burress
story, there’s no man under closer scrutiny
than Burress’ teammate Antonio Pierce,
the Giants linebacker who was out with
Burress on Friday night and started in the
Giants’ win in Washington on Sunday. And
yet for some reason, the one Pierce I can’t
get out of my mind is named Paul.
Paul Pierce, the face of the Boston
Celtics franchise and the MVP of the
2008 NBA Finals, has a tattoo on his arm
of a basketball with a dagger through it.
Pierce, who has called his career in bas-
ketball “both my gift and my curse,” got
the tattoo to remind himself of Sept. 25,
2000, a night he’s lucky to have survived.
Pierce was attacked in a nightclub by
an angry mob — 20 assailants at once,
it’s been estimated — and was stabbed
eight times and had a bottle shattered
over his face.
To this day, he maintains that he was
attacked just for being popular.
Of course, the examples don’t end
there. Two years ago, the Broncos’
Darrent Williams was shot and killed
outside a nightclub in Denver. Just one
year ago, the Redskins’ Sean Taylor was
gunned down by an intruder in his
own home in Palmetto Bay, Fla. Iván
Calderón, a former National League All-
Star, died instantly in 2003 when he was
shot five to seven times in the head at a
bar in his native Puerto Rico.
I could go on, but no one really wants
me to do that. The point is that ath-
letes, constantly under the public eye and
always unable to find the privacy they
deserve, have become targets. We’re talk-
ing about people who have made careers
out of their physical prowess — to some
people, just being a 6-foot-6 forward or
a 232-pound wide receiver means asking
for a fight. Some people actually believe
this sick, twisted logic, and to me that says
there’s something seriously wrong with
our culture.
I can’t say that if I were Plaxico Burress
— if I were signed to a $25 million contract
and I wore a Super Bowl ring — I wouldn’t
carry a gun too. It’s a scary concept to
even try to grasp, but that’s because none
of us know what it’s like to live under that
public eye. It’s far, far too easy to judge
someone like Burress from the comfort of
our privileged little campus.
So I just won’t bother. I don’t know
what happened on Friday night. You
don’t either. You probably couldn’t even
imagine.
Evans Clinchy is a senior majoring in
English. He can be reached at Evans.
Clinchy@tufts.edu.
 Sports
12 INSIDE
Inside the NFL 11
Dirty Water 11
Daily Digits 11
tuftsdaily.com

Jumbos trample visiting Lynx by 40

Women’s Track and Field Preview

in non-conference play last night Indoor runners to hit

Junior guard Reed Morgan dribbles past a defender during the men’s basketball team’s 92-52 romp over the
visiting Lesley Lynx last night in Cousens Gym. After being demolished by Brandeis on Sunday, the Jumbos
took on the mantle of domination themselves, outscoring a hapless Lesley offense by 40 points.
by David Heck 40 minutes of play, scoring a
Daily Editorial Board season-low 56 points, shooting
just under 23 percent from the
In a Sunday matinee against floor in the second frame and
Brandeis, the men’s basket- ultimately falling 80-56.
ball team stumbled through Last night’s game against
Lesley was also a blowout, but
MEN’S BASKETBALL this time, the Jumbos were
(3-2, 0-0 NESCAC) on the correct side of a 92-52
Cousens Gym, Yesterday thrashing. It was the team’s
largest margin of victory since
Lesley 21 31 — 52 pummeling Anna Maria College
Tufts 48 44 — 92 103-63 on Dec. 5, 1998.
“It was a big step for us to
Laura Schultz/Tufts Daily
come out and play well after
we obviously did not play well
Sunday,” junior co-captain Jon
Pierce said. “It was important
to come out with energy in the
beginning, and I thought we
did that; we basically put the
game away in the first five min-
utes. Everybody played in the
first half. The defensive effort
was good, [and] I’m glad the
team responded that way.”
see MEN’S BASKETBALL, page 10
the track with new-look
team this weekend
by Carly Helfand
Daily Editorial Board
For the women’s track and
field team, which won the New
England Div. III Championship
last winter after finishing second
for five consecutive seasons, this
year, the goal remains the same:
beat Williams.
But while Tufts may be hoping
for results similar to last season,
this time around the process will
be a little bit different.
“We’re going to be a different
team,” coach Kristen Morwick
said. “We’re not going to be suc-
cessful in the same way and score
points in the same way, but I think
we can do really well.”
As far as the running events,
sophomores Stephanie McNamara
and Amy Wilfert, who recent-
ly returned from cross country
NCAAs, will head up a distance
squad whose depth may suf-
fer from the graduation of All-
Americans Katy O’Brien (E ’08)
and Cat Beck (LA ’08), both of
whom helped bring home a
national championship title last
year in the Distance Medley Relay
(DMR) event.
“I just think we’re not as deep in
the 1,000 and the mile distances,”
Morwick said. “Losing Cat and
Katy, I think Amy and Steph will
be just as successful, but they ran
for us too last year, so we just
won’t have the depth, but we’ll
have the big point-getters.”
The Jumbos may benefit, how-
ever, from a less-than-ideal finish
for the rest of the cross country
squad, which failed to qualify for
Nationals as a team in the fall and
will arrive at the track looking to
redeem itself.
“I think that’s always a good
motivator,” Morwick said. “A lot of
them are coming in much better
physical shape out of cross coun-
try, and it’s funny — some years,
if they haven’t had the best cross
country season, they take more
time off, but they’re all really anx-
ious to get going again … I think
they’re all pretty psyched.”
Tufts also bolstered its middle-
distance lineups over the course
of the last year after failing to score
anyone in the 600m and scoring
only O’Brien in the 800m at the
regional championship meet. The
team will benefit from the addition
of freshman Kayley Pettoruto, who
finished fourth in Massachusetts
last year in the 600m. Pettoruto is
part of a sizeable freshman class
that has already started to display
its potential and focus.
“I’m confident that we might
have a really good chance of beat-
ing [Williams] again,” senior tri-
captain Paula Dormon said. “This
freshman class seems really strong
and really up to the challenge, so
I’m expecting anything.”
“They have such a great work
dynamic, which is fantastic to
bring to the table,” junior Logan
Crane added. “I couldn’t be hap-
pier about the freshman class.”
The sprinters should also be in
good shape despite the loss of last
year’s other senior co-captain and
All-American, Kaleigh Fitzpatrick
(LA ’08), who joined Beck, O’Brien
and McNamara on the DMR
team. Crane, who owns the school
record in the 55-meter dash and
just missed qualifying for the finals
see WOMEN’S TRACK, page 10

Men’s Track and Field Preview

Men’s track team looks to build on past successes
by Lauren Flament
Daily Staff Writer
After claiming its fourth Div. III New
England title at the end of last season,
the men’s indoor track and field team
will kick off its new campaign Saturday
at the Husky Carnival at Northeastern
with hopes of emulating past achieve-
ments — and of being seen as a legiti-
mate contender throughout the win-
ter.
“Last season for indoor was a big
success,” senior quad-captain Kevin
Fitzgerald said. “We won Div. III New
Englands, [and] for the first time in a
while, we’re not going to be the under-
dogs this year, so that may put a little
bit of pressure on us, but we handled it
well last year.”
“It was a good year because all around
the athletes improved,” assistant coach
Mark Carberry said. “It wasn’t too
senior-heavy. The sophomore class —
juniors now — really stepped up and
became pretty much the backbone of
the team, so to have success last year
for a young team was a pretty good
feat.”
Although Tufts graduated 15 seniors
last spring, the runners are confident
that they can fill the voids. Two of the
most significant losses were Dan Marcy
(LA ’08), the 2008 NCAA Div. III runner-
up in the indoor triple jump, and Dave
Sorensen (E ’08), the ninth-place fin-
isher in the mile at NCAAs for indoor
and the third-place runner in the 3,000
for outdoor.
“I don’t think we’re going to be
hurt all that much [by the loss of the
seniors],” Carberry said. “Leadership
is something that we lose from those
kinds of guys, but we’ve got plenty of
guys to fill their shoes, both athletically
as well as in those leadership roles, so I
don’t think we’re going to be complete-
ly traumatized by their loss, though
they will be missed.”
This season, according to Carberry,
junior Jesse Faller and junior quad-
captain Nick Welch, who were anchors
for the men’s cross country team this
fall, will be important parts in every
event from the mile to the 5k. Faller
competed in the 1,500 at Nationals
during the 2008 outdoor season.
Other important returning Jumbos
include senior quad-captains Fielding
Pagel and James Bradley. Pagel, who
was injured during the last indoor sea-
son, is an accomplished decathlete who
earned All-American status in outdoor
track his sophomore year, while Bradley
competed at Nationals last year in the
high jump. Sophomore Sam Read will
also play an important role in the pole
vault.
“We’re also looking to see a lot of
improvement from a lot of guys that
were either relay legs last year or had
really good cross country seasons, so
those include [juniors] Billy Hale [and]
Scott Brinkman and [sophomore] Frank
DeSalvo,” Carberry said.
Juniors Trevor Donadt, Jared
see MEN’S TRACK, page 10
Laura Schultz/Tufts Daily
Junior Trevor Donadt, shown here at Open
New Englands last season, is expected to
play an integral role this year.
Women’s basketball
team edges Salem
State Vikings 66-62
The women’s basketball team
(4-1) won its fourth game of the
season last night, defeating the host
Salem State Lady Vikings (1-3) 66-62
to rebound from a loss to Brandeis
suffered on Sunday. The Jumbos —
who led by 12 at the break — held
off a second-half charge from Salem
State to secure the victory.
Sophomore guard Colleen Hart
led Tufts, pouring in 19 points on
eight of 15 shooting from the floor,
including three of five from behind
the three-point line. Junior forward
Julia Baily, the team’s leading scorer
heading into the game, was held
to just 10 points but pulled down
seven rebounds. The squad made
up for a relatively poor night of
shooting with perfection from the
charity stripe, where it converted on
all 10 opportunities.
Junior center Danielle Jenkins led
the Lady Vikings, notching a game-
high 28 and recording five blocks
down low. Despite Jenkins’ effort,
Tufts corrected many of the defen-
sive problems that plagued it over
the weekend, as just one other
Salem State player scored in double
figures and the team shot 37.5 per-
cent from the field.
See tomorrow’s Daily for full cov-
erage.
— by Noah Schumer