Where You Partly Cloudy Read It First 33/105 THE TUFTS DAILY Est. 1980 VOLUME LVII, NUMBER 1 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2009 TUFTSDAILY.COM Pollan takes on Western diet during lecture BY LES L IE OGDEN important as what they actually to its historical predecessors. Daily Editorial Board eat, he suggested that Western “Diets that predated Western norms have enabled unaccept- diets are incredibly diverse — Author and journalist Michael able rates of heart disease, strokes humans have been healthily eat- Pollan told a packed Cohen and Type-2 diabetes. ing a diversity of things,” he said. Auditorium yesterday that con- In particular, he told those Inuit tribes, for example, have ventional food policies, while well in attendance — many of them lived healthily on seal blubber. intentioned, suffer from substan- from the Friedman School of “There is no one ideal human tial shortcomings. Nutrition Science and Policy diet, and the really peculiar “It is what Marxism was to the — that even academic views of thing is we have created the one Soviet Union — a noble idea [that] nutrition are lagging. diet that reliably makes us sick,” in practice has proved to be a “I’m not saying [nutritionism] he said. disaster,” he said while delivering isn’t worth doing to get better at, Pollan suggested that Americans the Snyder Presidential Lecture. but it’s not there yet,” he said. “It are now at a fork in the road, and Pollan, a professor at the is full of promise, but right now that one option is to surrender University of California, Berkley, we’re where surgery was in the to current ways of eating in the and the author of the popular 2006 year 1650 — interesting, promis- hopes that evolution will eventu- book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: ing, but are you ready to get on the ally prevail. A Natural History of Four Meals,” table? Are you ready to let these “We can wait for evolution, but spent much of his speech criticiz- conclusions shape your life?” it will take a long time, and in the ing the Western diet. To illustrate the problems with meantime we will be really sick Arguing that how people con- fixed conceptions of nutrition, ANTON ZABLUDOVSKY/TUFTS DAILY sume their food is almost as Pollan compared the Western diet see POLLAN, page 2 Michael Pollan called for a return to dietary simplicity. Senate postpones Nealley may Dance Marathon cut plea deal BY RO B SI L VE R B L ATT BY TESSA GE ll E R S O N Daily Editorial Board Daily Editorial Board Alleged embezzler Jodie The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Nealley may be close to sign- Senate has decided to postpone this ing an agreement with pros- year’s Dance Marathon until next fall, cit- ecutors, the Daily has learned. ing problems stemming from the current “We might be able to resolve financial crisis and a desire to minimize the whole case,” Howard superfluous spending. Lewis, Nealley’s attorney, told Senators looked into holding the chari- the Daily yesterday. ty event in the Gantcher Center or Cousens Ben Folds Live Lewis, a lawyer at the Gym. Associate Treasurer Lauren Levine, who Framingham firm Lewis and co-chairs the Senate’s Special Projects com- EMIILY EISENBERG/TUFTS DAILY Leeper LLC, said that Nealley Crouched over his piano in an athletic stance, Ben Folds played to a packed house at the mittee and is one of the senators spearhead- could plead out within the next Somerville Theatre last night during the annual Jumbo Jam concert, sponsored by Concert Board. ing the project, said that a combination of month. She currently faces Pop-rock trio Jukebox the Ghost opened the show, followed by a brief set by the Jackson Jills, factors made both venues unworkable. Last three counts of larceny of over a Tufts a capella group. Folds and his band took the stage at 9:00, powering through a couple year’s Dance Marathon was held on April 4 $250, each of which carries up songs from his latest album, “Way to Normal” (2008). The pianist/singer/songwriter played a and 5 in Cousens Gym. to five years of incarceration. largely up-tempo two-hour performance, pulling hit song after hit song from his seemingly end- “The primary reason was that Cousens Gym According to Lewis, Nealley less repertoire of his years in Ben Folds Five as well as his solo career. Folds was also quick to is under construction starting from spring would not necessarily need get the audience involved, sharing anecdotes, conducting the three-part harmony to “Not the to admit to her involvement Same,” and giving instructing how to make beautiful music with Altoid cans. see MARATHON, page 2 in the embezzlement scandal as part of the potential deal, which would spare her a trial. Zeta Psi and LCS teach ‘Peace Games’ in Medford elementary schools “It could involve many types of pleas,” he said. “It doesn’t BY NINA For D Tufts in 2006 as a component of have to involve a guilty plea, Daily Editorial Board the Peace and Justice Studies pro- though.” gram’s Peace Developments proj- Jessica Venezia, a spokes- The Leonard Carmichael ect, spearheaded by Bryan. The person for Middlesex County Society (LCS) and the Zeta Psi program ran from the fall of 2007 District Attorney Gerry Leone, fraternity began working this to the fall of 2008, but hit a road- would not comment on wheth- semester to teach area elemen- block last spring due to lack of er a plea is in the works or tary school students about coop- student leadership and funding. on what conditions her office eration and conflict resolution For the first two years of would demand in a deal. through the Cooperative Games Peace Games, students working “We would decline to com- program at Tufts, commonly through Tisch College served ment … because it’s an ongo- known as Peace Games. as organizers; then, after a brief ing case,” she said. The program, initiated by the gap in leadership, junior Jeffrey Lewis also raised doubts Peace and Justice Studies pro- Stone, then-president of Zeta Psi, about the events surround- gram, sends small groups of Tufts approached Bryan, about Peace ing Nealley’s last days at Tufts. student volunteers into three Games’ continuation. Nealley was fired in November AALOK KANANI/TUFTS DAILY Medford elementary schools each Student volunteers have been helping out at local public schools. Members of LCS and Zeta 2007, and Tufts administra- week to teach the elementary Psi met with Bryan last semes- tors at the time told the Daily school students cooperation and The Peace Games program is To this end, Peace Games’ ter to coordinate and rejuve- that when confronted, Nealley conflict-resolution skills through working to expand to a greater activities emphasize collabora- nate Peace Games, and Zeta Psi admitted to taking money from interactive activities. number of schools next semes- tion over competition, according decided to make the cause an the university. Since the program kicked off ter, which will create a more to Peace Game’s volunteer coor- ongoing philanthropy project But yesterday, Lewis said its six-week session last month, flexible schedule and allow for dinator Peter Federman, a junior for the fraternity. that as far as he knows, Nealley groups of Tufts students have been more volunteers. and member of Zeta Psi. During the fall, LCS and Zeta Psi never confessed to anybody at visiting Columbus, McGlynn and According to Bryan, the games “A cooperative game is a game applied for and received a grant Tufts. Roberts Elementary Schools weekly aim to “foster social and emo- that isn’t about winning or los- to fund the program through the “It’s not part of the com- and working with fourth- and fifth- tional development.” ing,” Federman said. “It’s about Civic Engagement Fund, which monwealth’s case against Jodie graders, according to Dale Bryan, The activities teach students completing the task at hand and is awarded by the Tisch College Nealley,” he said. “So I would the assistant director of the Peace “how to be co-leaders rather than learning how to work together.” and Justice Studies program. boss leaders,” he said. Peace Games first began at see PEACE GAMES, page 2 see NEALLEY, page 2 Inside this issue Today’s Sections Sophomore Ian Hainline A successful season and Daniel Heller have for the men’s track and News 1 Op-Ed 9 found unorthodox ways field team culminated Features 3 Comics 10 to decorate their cozy in five All-American Arts & Living 5Classifieds 14 Miller Hall dorm room. selections at Nationals. Editorial | Letters 8 Sports Back see FEATURES, page 3 see SPORTS, back page 2 THE TUF T S DAILY NEWS Wednesday, March 25, 2009 Police Briefs Nealley’s lawyer raises doubts about confession NEALLEY in locations including IKEA, A BAD OMEN ON to meet his date at the frater- continued from page 1 Whole Foods and Omaha FRIDAY THE 13TH nity house. After officers broke suggest that [the confession] Steaks. up the party, the student and doesn’t exist, because if it did Meanwhile, prosecutors Tufts University Police his date went to his room. The exist, they would use it.” have alleged that Rodriguez, Department (TUPD) officers student left the room to go Dean of Student Affairs who served under Nealley as broke up a party at the Alpha to the bathroom and when Bruce Reitman declined to budget and fiscal coordinator, Tau Omega (ATO) fraternity at he returned, his date and his comment on Lewis’ allegation, stole $604,873 between 2005 2 a.m.