THE TUFTS DAILY Est
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Where You Sunny Read It First 54/33 THE TUFTS DAILY Est. 1980 VOLUME LVII, NUMBER 54 MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2009 TUFTSDAILY.COM INTERVIEW | JACQUELINE NOVOGratZ Microfinance leader Alleged bias incident prompts talks global poverty widespread student reaction BY LESLIE OG DEN Daily Editorial Board BY BEN GITTLESON been outnumbered by a group of KSA mem- Daily Editorial Board bers who showed aggression toward him, Jacqueline Novogratz, the CEO and found- punching and choking him. er of the nonprofit Acumen Fund, spoke A late-night scuffle in a downhill dorm has Beginning early Friday morning, mem- at the Cabot Intercultural Center on Friday led to allegations of racism and an orchestrat- bers of the KSA and students involved with about her philosophy on social change ed response on the part of dozens of mem- different culture houses and student groups through entrepreneurship and microfi- bers of culture houses and student groups on on campus helped to distribute an e-mail nance-related investments. The Institute campus. message from KSA members detailing the for Global Leadership (IGL) and the IGL’s Members of the Korean Students incident and alleging bias. Empower Program sponsored her visit. Association (KSA) alleged that a drunken KSA members at the scene, some of whom Acumen Fund aims to alleviate poverty freshman started a fight with and shouted were involved in the fight, told the Daily by investing in the poor, acting similarly to a racial slurs at members of the KSA around 2 that the freshman refused to leave the 13 venture capital fund. a.m. Thursday morning as the group prac- members of the group alone as five of them Novogratz’s new book, “The Blue Sweater: ticed in Lewis Hall’s main lounge for an rehearsed a dance for Saturday’s KSA Culture Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in upcoming culture show. The freshman said Show. A short scuffle ensued between the an Interconnected World,” was published that the KSA members started the fight. freshman and the dancers. KSA members last month. The administration has opened a judicial said all five dancers were involved; the fresh- The Daily sat down with Novogratz on investigation into the incident. The Daily is man said that those involved in the fight Friday to discuss her work with the Acumen withholding the freshman’s name because numbered six or seven. Fund and her thoughts on global poverty. A the administration has not taken any action Both the freshman and a KSA member partial transcript of that interview follows; against him. sustained injuries. visit TuftsDaily.com for a full transcript. Over 50 students gathered at the Asian The KSA members said the freshman start- American Center Thursday afternoon to dis- ed the fight, but the freshman said in a state- AALOK KANANI/TUFTS DAILY Leslie Ogden: Where did you get the idea to cuss a response to the incident. Meanwhile, ment given to the Daily by two of his friends Students at a meeting held Thursday at the Asian start the Acumen Fund? the freshman and a friend of his who helped American Center listen to an account of a fight that break up the fight said the freshman had see KSA, page 2 took place in Lewis Hall early Thursday morning. Jacqueline Novogratz: It was going back to 2001. The idea was that the markets alone weren’t solving problems of poverty, and neither was traditional aid or charity. Tufts police reports On the one side, the markets were weed- ing people out entirely, and traditional char- mugging, attempted ity was too often creating dependence. And one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in my burglary near campus life is dignity is more important to the spirit BY DAVE STERN than wealth. … Daily Editorial Board The main idea about Acumen Fund is that of patient capital — the idea that in the tradi- tional marketplace, we invest in companies The Tufts University Police and we want to get our money back really Department (TUPD) on Friday reported fast and it’s all about quarterly reports and a mugging and an attempted burglary the bottom line. … The idea of patient capi- that occurred near campus last week. tal is [that] you treat poor people like clients, A resident at the Alpha Phi soror- like customers — I would say like full human ity house at 14 Sawyer Avenue, in beings — and you build solutions from their Somerville, reported early Friday perspective. Then you can invest money in morning that a man put a ladder on them, leave it for a long period of time and the building’s fire escape. The resident support it with a lot of management help, “believed that he was attempting to [and] over time you actually see results. … gain access to the house, but the win- You also learn where the market isn’t enough TIEN TIEN/TUFTS DAILY dows were secure.” to reach really poor people. … Professor Tom Nichols delivered the keynote address of a Friday symposium on U.S.- TUPD also distributed a composite Eight years later, to see hundreds of thou- Russian relations. sketch of the suspect, as described by sands of customers buying water or bed nets the resident. The suspect was described or drip irrigation systems — it’s been amaz- as a short, stocky white male with olive- ing. Nichols says U.S., Russia colored skin, dark, short, buzzed hair and thick eyebrows. LO: In my studies, we’ve been looking at Upon receiving the call from the resi- different ways to work towards peace [and] have reasons to cooperate dent, TUPD and the Somerville Police justice [and] to ameliorate people’s lives and quickly searched the area but failed to just how many avenues there are to do that BY NATE BRE G predicated on.” locate any suspects. — through public policy, [through] sustain- Daily Staff Writer Nichols, who is also a fellow in Panhellenic Council President Jessica able agriculture, through microfinancing. the International Security Program Snow, a senior, said that it seemed Which would you say is the most effective Tom Nichols, a professor of at the Harvard’s John F. Kennedy that men seem to be specifically tar- solution, or would you say it is a combina- national security affairs at the U.S. School, gave the keynote address at geting sorority houses. A similar event tion of all of them? Which one do you believe Naval War College, expressed opti- the day-long U.S.-Russian Relations occurred on March 28, after a burglary is the best? mism in an address Friday evening Symposium. The symposium, was thwarted at the Alpha Omicron Pi about U.S.-Russian relations and which mostly took place in Cabot (AOII) house on Whitfield Avenue. JN: I think [the] language of “if it’s the best” the possibility of the two countries Intercultural Center, also includ- In that instance, the burglar, who isn’t productive for us … because it is the dif- cooperating on issues relating to ed two panels, a reception and a gained access to the house, fled after ferent pieces that need to come together. … nuclear weapons, terrorism, eco- Russian-music performance. a female resident spotted him taking a I think when we look at peace, what we’re nomic stability and development of The most important reason for laptop from her bedroom. talking about is a world … in which indi- democracy. Russo-American tension during “We have our letters on our houses viduals can have true freedom to access Nichols explained why he believed the Cold War was ideology, he said; that say we’re sororities,” said Snow, the goods and services that they need to the United States and Russia were in since the ideological difference no an AOII member who sent an e-mail to make their own decisions and choices. It’s conflict during the Cold War, why he longer remains in place, the two sorority sisters warning them to take at that point where the population feels the thought they have now moved closer countries can cooperate in areas of precautions in light of these crimes. freedom to choose — that’s where humanity now closer but not close enough and mutual interest. She said that AOII has dealt with two really starts. how the two nations could improve “There is no longer any organic or three similar instances over the past But it means that we need enterprises, we ties and address mutual problems. source of tension between the U.S., couple weeks. need human-rights work, we absolutely need “The past is not prologue — NATO or the Russian Federation,” “There are tons of other houses in to focus on stronger and better systems of law Russia is not the Soviet Union,” he Nichols said, adding that “everyone this area that have college students that said. “Our relationship is not predi- see NOVOGRATZ, page 2 cated on the same things it was see RUSSIA, page 2 see CRIME, page 2 Inside this issue Today’s Sections The Daily takes a lis- The women’s lacrosse ten to the debut full- team improved to 10-1 News 1 Op-Ed 9 length album from with a convincing win Features 3 Comics 12 student band The over Middlebury on Arts & Living 5Classifieds 13 Gentlemen’s Bet. Saturday. Editorial | Letters 8 Sports Back see ARTS, page 5 see SPORTS, back page 2 THE TUF T S DAILY NEWS Monday, April 13, 2009 Novogratz: Investing in the poor with money Nichols speaks at U.S.-Russia symposium and confidence will help alleviate poverty RUSSIA country’s proliferation.