Where You Sunny Read It First 40/29 THE TUFTS DAILY Est. 1980 VOLUME LXIV, NUMBER 57 THURsday, DECEMBER 6, 2012 TUFTSDAILY.COM Senate works to extend CSL allows for religious exemption pass/fail deadline from nondiscrimination policy BY PATRICK MCGRATH because they feel that the cur- BY MARTHA SHANAHAN Daily Editorial Board rent deadline doesn’t give them Daily Editorial Board enough time to realize how well The Tufts Community Union they’re doing in a class to know A new university policy will (TCU) Senate last week approved if they want to take it pass/fail,” allow student religious groups, a project that would extend the he said. including Tufts Christian university’s pass/fail deadline Herbert explained that there Fellowship (TCF), to request until 10 weeks into the semester are advantages to extending the University Chaplaincy permis- for all students. current pass/fail deadline. sion for religious exemption Senators Ethan Finkelstein, a “I don’t really like it when stu- from the university’s nondis- freshman, and Jessie Serrino, a dents withdraw from a course, crimination clause in choosing sophomore, submitted the proj- losing the credit that they’ve their leaders when applying for ect proposal. spent a lot of time working on,” Tufts Community Union (TCU) The current pass/fail policy she said. “I think it just might recognition. gives upperclassmen students help students stay in classes The procedure was announced until five weeks into the semester instead of withdrawing.” yesterday as an official resolu- to choose to take a course pass/ Since midterms often do not tion in the appeal case that TCF fail rather than for a letter grade. happen until the eighth week brought to the Committee on The Educational Policy of the semester, Herbert said, Student Life (CSL) after the TCU Committee (EPC) earlier this students have in the past peti- Judiciary voted in October to semester approved a 10-week tioned for an extension of the derecognize the group. pass/fail deadline for freshmen, pass/fail deadline. Students are The new policy changes the according to Associate Dean of surprised by the grade that they guidelines for the Judiciary’s Undergraduate Education Jean receive and learn that they are group recognition process to Herbert, a member of the EPC. not doing as well in a certain allow religious groups to argue She said the EPC did not vote to class as they might have initially for “justified departures from extend the deadline from five to thought, according to Herbert. the Tufts nondiscrimination 10 weeks for upperclassmen, as “So the five-week deadline policy” in their leadership deci- she had suggested. might be premature, in my sions for Chaplaincy-approved “EPC made the recommen- opinion,” she said. religious reasons. dation to the faculty, and the Herbert added that this is the The decision also allows TCF faculty voted and approved that first time a formal proposal to to remain “conditionally recog- the pass/fail deadline would be change the deadline for upper- nized” — without the rights to DAILY FILE PHOTO extended for first-year students classmen has been discussed apply for TCU Senate funding The CSL announced a new policy that will give student religious groups the only to match the 10-week drop among faculty members since — while it reapplies for recogni- opportunity to seek exemption from the university’s nondiscrimination policy. deadline that first-year students they decided on the original tion under the new guidelines have,” Herbert said. five-week deadline. within 60 days. constitution violated the TCU recognized group. The senators hope to meet David Hammer, professor The CSL, chaired this year by Constitution’s nondiscrimina- “Regarding the specific ques- with members of the EPC, and co-chair of the Department Associate Professor of Biology tion clause. tion of whether [TCUJ] acted including Herbert, in the spring of Education and member of Philip Starks and senior Rebecca Its ultimate decision, over inappropriately, we find no sig- so that the extended deadline the EPC, expressed reservations Spiewak, is a body of faculty which the committee deliber- nificant fault with the [Judicary],” may be approved and imple- about extending the pass/fail members and students whose ated for the past month and the decision reads. “No human mented by next academic year. deadline for upperclassmen. responsibilities include hear- released yesterday in an email process is perfect, and while Students showed interest in “I’m worried about how much ing appeals of decisions handed to the student body, has two variation across decision pro- extending the pass/fail deadline many Tufts students play the down by the Judiciary. major clauses. cesses should be minimized, it when the initiative was proposed game of trying to maximize a The CSL was asked at the is our finding that the [Judiciary] in a Senate survey sent out to GPA rather than get a substan- beginning of last month to hear “The [Judiciary] followed its followed its policy correctly in students earlier this semester, tive education, and I’m a little and make a ruling in the TCF policy correctly in de-recogniz- de-recognizing the TCF.” according to Finkelstein. bit worried that our tweaking appeal case after the Judiciary ing the TCF” The Judiciary made the ini- “From what I understand and fiddling with rules like this removed the evangelical The decision first affirms the tial decision in September to from when I talked to the stu- Christian group’s TCU recogni- Judiciary’s vote in October to dents, it’s definitely something see PASS/FAIL, page 2 tion status because clauses in its strip TCF of its status as a TCU- see TCF, page 2 students are more interested in Tufts Libraries launches text-message service Dental and Medical Tufts University Libraries has it is really for the entire Tufts The Discovery Platform Team implemented a new service on community.” decided to move forward with their shared online catalog that The text message service has a text-messaging feature for the allows users to have a call num- become standard in libraries at catalog, Wood said. ber texted to them when search- other universities, Wood added. “Since the library catalog is ing for books and other resources “Within the last two years, it shared, this is a core group of combined degree in the library. has become a very popular and people who try to enhance the Students can click the “Text common feature because texting catalog, to add new features, to BY JENNIFER WHITE nity service at the Dental School to Phone” icon on the Tufts and smart phones have become improve things that aren’t work- SchoolsDaily Editorial Board offerand program director of the new University Library Catalog page so popular,” she said. “The con- ing very well and to make the DMD/MPH program, said. to receive the call number, loca- cept really goes hand in hand library collections more usable,” The Tufts School of Dental The program focuses on pro- tion and title of the item in a with the technology.” she said. Medicine and the School of viding comprehensive, inter- regular SMS text. Systems Librarian at University Although Tufts Libraries ini- Medicine have launched a new disciplinary training to address The service works on all three Library Services Heather Klish, tially introduced the service last combined degree program in dental health needs on a com- of Tufts’ campuses, including in who coded and implemented the year, it was removed from the dental medicine and public munity-wide level through the Tisch Library and the Lilly Music service, explained that the idea system due technical issues, health policy, which will enable development of policy and Library. began when several Tufts librar- Klish said. The service was re- current students to graduate services aimed at oral health “The catalog is shared by all ians saw how well the service implemented at the end of last with a joint Doctor of Dental improvements, according to the Tufts libraries, so this feature was working at other schools. summer, she added. Medicine (DMD) and Master of Mark Nehring, chair of the is available to all Tufts students “We have a libraries-wide “It really is a convenience Public Health (MPH) degree. Department of Public Health and faculty regardless of which team. All of the Tufts librar- feature,” Wood said. “It is “The great interest in the and Community Service at the campus they are on or which ies have representation on this something that is focused on program reflects the need for Dental School. library they are using,” Director team. [It’s] called the Discovery making it a little bit easier to public health dentists and Tufts’ “The goal of the proposed of Tisch Library Laura Wood Platform Team,” she said. “We use the physical collections that emphasis on active citizenship,” combined DMD/MPH program said. “We love that undergradu- get together and discuss the we have.” Wanda Wright, assistant profes- ates will benefit from this, but features in the library catalog.” —by Rebecca Kimmel sor of public health and commu- see DENTAL, page 2 Inside this issue Today’s sections Students seeking pol- News 1 Op-Ed 11 ished papers are turn- Check out the top ing to online editing movies, albums and TV Features 3 Comics 12 services. shows of the year. Weekender 6Classifieds 13 Editorial | Letters 10 Sports Back see FEATURES, page 3 see WEEKENDER, page 6 2 THE TUF T S DAILY NEWS Thursday, December 6, 2012 Dual degree program to produce leaders in dentistry, public health DENTAL The decision to implement the degree continued from page 1 program was also influenced by rising is to recruit and retain a diverse and awareness about inequalities in access competent dental public health work- to oral health care around the world, force that can help to reduce oral health Nehring said, as well as a shortage disparities and improve understanding of dentistry professionals with public of the health care needs of disadvan- health training.