THE TUFTS DAILY NEWS | FEATURES Thursday, September 29, 2005
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THE TUFTS Where You Read It First VOLUME L, NUMBER 15 DAILY THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 TOEFL language proficiency exam adds speaking section BY ALIYAH SHAHID English. “Some universities require first-year based test. The price of the test — $140 Contributing Writer Changes were made in response to students to live in dormitories on cam- — is not changing. complaints that students who scored pus. Others allow students to live off “Speaking and listening are important Foreign students, especially those well on the TOEFL were unable to com- campus. Which policy do you think is in the process of learning a language,” from Asia, should start practicing their municate effectively once they came to better for first-year students and why? sophomore Amod Rajbhandari said. “If vowels and consonants. the United States. Include details and examples in your you can’t speak, you’re left behind.” The Test of English as a Foreign The new test includes a mandatory explanation,” one example question Rajbhandari, originally from Nepal, Language (TOEFL) has been revamped, speaking section. It will be incorporated said. lived in India for ten years. and some educators think the new into the other three sections: listening, Test takers are given 15 seconds to The biggest criticism of the new test is speaking section might affect Asian stu- reading and writing. The previously sep- prepare and then 45 seconds to answer that it may put Asian students at a dis- dents more than others. The new test arate sections will be combined, so stu- the question. Students record their advantage. English teachers in Asia tend was given for the first time on Saturday, dents will have to speak and write their answers for the speaking section using a to focus on reading, writing, and gram- Sept. 24. answers to listening and reading com- microphone. mar skills. The TOEFL is required for Tufts prehension exercises. The test is also now taken online, “‘We’re all kind of thinking this is undergraduate admissions for students The Educational Testing Service pro- though students must go to a testing going to be more of a challenge to Asian whose first language or the language of vides an example of a speaking question center to access the Web site. The test’s instruction in their school is not on its Web site. new name is TOEFL iBT, for Internet- see TOEFL, page 2 CAPTURED Maasai children History splits modern Holy Land politics BY AARON SCHUMACHER nakba, or catastrophe. Some Israelis have “looked at Contributing Writer Israel views the war as a defen- their history in a different way,” sive effort against the invasion of he said. “It’s a small part of Israeli The stories Israelis and five Arab nations, whereas the society.” Palestinian children learn from Palestinians see the same event This new way to look at Israel’s their parents, in school, and from as the forced expulsion from their history began to show some their friends play a key role in homeland, Scham said. Israelis that the War of peace negotiations between the The two opposing views have Independence was not the clear- two sides, Paul Scham said been critical in forming the two cut defensive war taught in Israeli Wednesday. sides’ identities and determining schools. Scham, an adjunct scholar at the relationship between the peo- On the other side, Scham said the Middle East Institute, dis- ples. Since the schism in 1948, the many Palestinians have come to cussed the importance of histori- two views have continued to drift accept Israel’s existence as a real- cal narratives with about 40 stu- apart. ity. dents in Barnum Hall. Two of the most divisive issues Some past negotiations have History, Scham said, is the rea- in negotiations can be traced to set aside narratives, Scham said. son for the Israeli-Palestinian the opposing narratives, Scham The secret negotiations before conflict. “You have two complete- said. At the Camp David summit the 1993 Oslo Accords and the ly different versions of reality,” he in 2000, Israeli Prime Minister recent unofficial Geneva discus- said. “They have very different Ehud Barak and Palestinian sions fit this criterion because versions of themselves, and their Authority leader Yasir Arafat “fun- coordinators thought discussing narratives exclude the other damentally disagreed on current history would hurt the peace side.” issues,” Scham said. process, not facilitate it. Scham’s speech drew on an The first issue is Jerusalem. The “History is too painful,” Scham essay he edited, “Shared city’s “history is claimed by both said. “It’s highly unsatisfying in Histories: A Palestinian-Israeli sides,” Scham said. “As far as Jews many ways.” Dialogue.” are concerned, it’s the symbol for A better alternative would be a “What you see in the book is the Jewish religion. It’s a Jewish mutual acceptance of the narra- how angry people get when they city. For most Arabs concerned, tive divide. “There is a role for real feel their own history — especial- it’s an Arab city.” history,” Scham said. “You have to ly their victimization — is being The second issue is the so- have in future peace agreements reflected on,” he said. called right of return for an understanding of history. Both Both sides’ narratives are simi- Palestinians who left their homes sides are convinced that the other lar, Scham said, because they during the War of 1948. According side wants to destroy them.” both address a sense of “ambigu- to the Palestinian narrative, they Scham stressed the value of ous nationhood.” He stressed the were expelled and should be viewing the other side’s history as difference between a nation and allowed to return. “For civilized. “To try to humanize the a state: the Palestinians are a Palestinians, this is the ultimate other side of the conflict has to be LISANNE PETRACCA nation, but not a state. expression of their identity,” taken into account in policy mak- The critical event that divides Scham said. ing,” he said. Senior Lisanne Petracca took this photo of Maasai children leaning the two narratives, Scham said, is Some attitudes have changed. Scham’s speech was hosted by against their boma at her homestay in Engare Sero during her semes- the War of 1948 — referred to by Scham described the revisionist the Arab Students Association, ter abroad in Tanzania. Israelis as the War of history movement in Israel, Friends of Israel, the New Independence and by which began during the 1980s as Initiative for Middle East Peace, Captured is The Daily’s weekly photo contest. To be considered for the Palestinians and much of the Israeli military documents were and the International Relations photo of the week, send submissions to [email protected]. Arab and Muslim World as the declassified. and History Departments. INSIDE Where can we play ping pong? The Daily takes a look at some bad art New map site has the answer see ARTS, page 5 Boston, Grafton to get Campus Compass BY ROB SILVERBLATT category — such as ping pong Contributing Writer tables or ATMS — and by key- word. On the Medford campus, The site then displays the rel- there are 57 safety phones, 23 evant buildings, including some bike racks, 13 buildings with general information about the laundry machines, and exactly buildings. Users also have the one Zipcar parking space. option of viewing other services These statistics and their in the same building. respective locations are all on a “We really want the commu- new section of the University nity to be involved in it,” Senior INDEX Web site: Campus Compass. Web Applications Developer News | Features 1 The site, launched Aug. 31, Theresa Loftin, one of the site’s Arts | Living 5 uses Google mapping technolo- creators, said. “We want the stu- Editorial | Letters 8 gy to provide graphic represen- dents to suggest stuff.” National 11 tations or satellite photos of the The site has locations and International 13 campus. It is available at listings for 277 items, and feed- Comics 16 http://inside.tufts.edu/com- back will determine how the site INSIDE.TUFTS.EDU/COMPASS Classifieds 17 pass. expands. The Campus Compass — added to the Tufts Web site on matriculation Sports Back page In addition to serving as a “We want the content to be day — lets users search a Google map of the Medford campus by cate- simple campus map, the site see COMPASS, page 2 gory or by keyword. tuftsdaily.com lets users search locations by 2 THE TUFTS DAILY NEWS | FEATURES Thursday, September 29, 2005 Do more prisons mean less crime? Test changes may affect Asian students more than their peers TOEFL schools to change the way they continued from page 1 teach English. “Schools might students,” a spokesperson from have to have English classes Kaplan Test Prep and with more focus on communi- Admissions told the Associated cation in English,” he said. Press on Sunday. Sultan-Khan grew up in The University’s admissions Germany and Pakistan. officers have not yet met to dis- cuss the implications of the changes to the test. The changes Test takers are given 15 will not affect the requirements for international applicants. seconds to prepare and “The tests are required ele- ments of our work and will con- then 45 seconds to tinue to be so,” Dean of Admissions Lee Coffin said. answer the question. International students at Tufts supported the changes. Students record their Sophomore Alejandro Pinero, originally from Spain, has answers for the speak- friends whose high schools did not emphasize English speaking ing section using a skills. “Having a conversation is so much more spontaneous, so microphone.