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Where You Cloudy Read It First 47/34 THE TUFTS DAILY Est. 1980 VOLUME LVII, NUMBER 27 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2009 TUFTSDAILY.COM an administrative investigation BY BEN GITTLESON The two posters that sparked Student Affairs is trying to piece Daily Editorial Board the investigation conveyed mes- together why the posters were Shocking, ‘offensive’sages deriding gay marriage, posters put up and has notspark yet classified Two posters placed over a with images in the backgrounds. the postings as a bias incident. mural outside the campus cen- One had a photograph of a man “Who put it up is not so much ter this week that featured what with a sex toy and the other as relevant as content and how some called offensive messages displayed an image of a penis. a message impacts the commu- have prompted an investigation Associate Dean of Students nity,” Perez said. by the Office of the Dean of Marisel Perez called the content The Tufts University Police Student Affairs. “offensive” and the images “por- Department (TUPD) docu- The posters were two of doz- nographic.” mented the incident after Perez ens that covered parts of a mural A person who said he cre- notified the department of it on put up on Jan. 24 on a wall near ated and put up the two post- Tuesday. TUPD is cooperating the Jumbo Express convenience ers told the Daily yesterday that with the Office of the Dean of store by the artist Shepard they were not meant to offend Student Affairs during the lat- JAMES CHOCA/TUFTS DAILY Fairey. The other posters on the but rather to promote discus- ter’s follow-up. wall focused on various politi- sion. The person, who requested Bias Education and Awareness cal messages, included images anonymity, claimed to be a gay Team (BEAT Bias), an on-cam- of President Barack Obama, an student who created the posters pus group that promotes issues Major renovations will Israeli flag and an edited cam- for a class. pus map, among other pictures. The Office of the Dean of see POSTERS, page 2 make the Cousens Gym court regulation size BY SA PN A BA NSIL slated for around Aug. 15 — the Daily Editorial Board project will allow the Tufts’ men’s and women’s basketball teams to March Madness could be com- host NCAA Tournament games as ing to the Hill as soon as next year. early as next season. Construction will begin March The renovation received a final 23 on a major renovation to go-ahead from the Administration Cousens Gymnasium, the cen- and Finance Committee during terpiece of which involves rotat- a Board of Trustees meeting held ing the basketball court so that it over the first weekend of February. becomes an NCAA regulation-size facility. Upon its completion — see COUSENS GYM, page 19 Study-abroad programs still MEREDITH KLEIN/TUFTS DAILY A student gazes at posters placed over a mural near the Jumbo Express convenience store at the campus popular despite sour economy center. BY ALEX A NDR A BOGUS study-abroad options and those of Daily Editorial Board other colleges and programs. “I would guess that everyone’s Pearson organic NPR ombudsman kicks off Tufts students are continuing feeling the pinch, but in terms of to scour the globe despite tough the number of applications we chemistry lab public editor program at Tufts economic times, as the Office of received, that doesn’t seem to have Programs Abroad reported little changed,” said Melanie Armstrong, to be renovated change in the number of applicants program specialist in the Office of this year compared to figures from Programs Abroad. “By the sheer fact BY ALYSS A KR A G -ARNOLD years prior. that our application numbers have Contributing Writer Though the office braced itself for stayed roughly the same and per- a possible dip in applicants this year haps increased a bit, there hasn’t After nearly four decades due to financial constraints, admin- been a significant impact.” without any significant up- istrators said that the economy has Applications for the majority of grades, the Pearson Chemical not seemed to prevent students Laboratory is slated for a reno- from taking advantage of Tufts’ see STUDY ABROAD, page 2 vation to begin in March and to finish before the start of the fall semester. The renovation will fix several problems in the lab, including extreme tempera- Emerson professors allege racial tures, outdated equipment and crowded conditions. discrimination in tenure program The lab will move from the BY MA TT REP ka he plans to file a similar complaint third floor to the second, and will Daily Editorial Board with the MCAD this week. include updated equipment. Three other faculty members While the project was Two African-American fac- were up for tenure alongside House approved several years ago, it ulty members denied tenure at and Desir in May 2008. Those three was put on hold because of cuts Emerson College last May are fil- — all white — received it. stemming from the current eco- ing complaints against the school, Both professors pointed to nomic downturn, according to claiming they were rejected Emerson’s historical lack of diversity Department of Chemistry Chair because of their race. within the ranks of its tenured fac- Krishna Kumar. Roger House, an assistant pro- ulty. Emerson has never both ten- Because there are already MEREDITH KLEIN/TUFTS DAILY fessor in Emerson’s Department of ured and promoted a black male teaching labs on the second National Public Radio ombudsman Alicia Shepard spoke yesterday Journalism, filed a complaint with professor in its 129-year history, “a floor, moving the organic lab to in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room about her work, her the Massachusetts Commission troubling pattern,” House told the the second floor will consoli- experience and her thoughts on the self-regulation of media. Her Against Discrimination (MCAD) last Daily in an e-mail. date space by making the entire presentation came to promote the fledgling public editor program year. Pierre Desir, an assistant pro- Emerson College denied any alle- sponsored by the Media Advocacy Board. fessor in the school’s Department of see PEARSON, page 2 Visual and Media Arts, told the Daily see EMERSON, page 2 Inside this issue Today’s Sections This year’s Africa Fest, The ice hockey team a celebration of music will play in the NESCAC News 1 Op-Ed 11 and dance, honors the Tournament for the Features 3 Comics 12 life of master drummer first time in four years Weekender 5Sports 15 Alhaji Abubakari Lunna. this weekend. Editorial | Letters 10 Classifieds 19 see WEEKENDER, page 5 see SPORTS, page 15 2 THE TUF T S DAILY NEWS Thursday, February 26, 2009 EMERSON since he joined the school. continuedEmerson from page 1 professors During claim Desir’s tenure race evaluation, gations of racial bias in an official those evaluating his tenure chose playedstatement released factor two weeks ago. in tenureto ignore his work decision as a professional “Each tenure decision of the cinematographer in his portfolio, College is based on consideration Desir said. Without considering of the individual circumstances sur- his cinematography experience — round [sic] a candidacy, without ref- Desir was in the midst of shooting erence to race, gender, religion, sex- two feature films at the time — the ual orientation, etc.,” David Rosen, professor believes that he did not Emerson’s vice president for public have enough creative work to be affairs, said in the statement. granted tenure. House disagrees, saying that he “Cinematography is what I do; it’s was held to a seemingly arbitrarily what I teach,” Desir said. “To ask me higher standard. to complete as much as those who House, who applied for tenure in teach film, on top of my cinema- the fall of 2007, said in an e-mail that tography work, is to ask more of me he was “supported by the students, than any other professor.” department, department chair and In 1977, Assistant Professor Mike college-wide faculty.” Brown, himself an African-American, MEREDITH KLEIN/TUFTS DAILY But while he believes he had “a was denied tenure from Emerson. He A student looks at a variety of posters put up over a campus center mural created last month by the artist good case” for tenure, the dean of filed a successful complaint with the Shepard Fairey. the School of Communication, Janis Massachusetts Equal Employment Andersen, recommended that ten- Opportunity Commission, becom- Posters on Fairey mural lead to investigation ure be denied on the basis of House’s ing the first tenured black male pro- unsatisfactory publication output. fessor at Emerson. POSTERS with his gallery opening at those affected by it. Vice President of Academic Affairs Although the Emerson Faculty continued from page 1 the Institute of Contemporary Perez, Dean of Student Affairs Linda Moore, President Jacqueline Handbook states that “advancement of dialogue and tolerance, has Art/Boston. Fairey, the person Bruce Reitman and Michael Liebergott and the Board of Trustees to associate professor accompanies also met to discuss its response said, does not represent a true Baenen, the chief of staff in the all supported the decision. the granting of tenure,” Brown was and will hold an open meeting street artist. Office of the President, were also House objected to what he tenured but never promoted. on Monday for those affected by “The intention of my poster present at the meeting. believed was an unfair standard set In the college’s official statement, the posters. was to create a discourse about BEAT Bias plans to run an by the university. Rosen affirms Emerson’s commit- LGBT Center Director Tom political topics that direct- advertisement in the Daily Andersen “called for a level of ment to furthering diversity among Bourdon, who attended a BEAT ly affect us as opposed to the tomorrow and/or Monday pro- publications that seemed appropri- its faculty.