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Partly Cloudy Read It First 61/54 THE TUFTS DAILY Est. 1980 VOLUME LXVIII, NUMBER 18 Friday, October 3, 2014 TUFTSDAILY.COM Tisch College to host summit on civics with White House

by Daniel Gottfried The White House released a fact Daily Editorial Board sheet on Sept. 12 explaining that the summit will address two key topics fac- The Jonathan M. Tisch College of ing higher education: the value of civic Citizenship and Public Service will host engagement and how to measure and a Civic Learning and National Service communicate civic engagement com- Summit in partnership with the White mitment and outcomes. House to discuss civic engagement and “There has been a conversation in active citizenship on Oct. 16. academia about what role higher edu- The White House announced the cation needs to play in trying to fix summit along with a series of initiatives that,” Solomont said. “It banks on a designed to promote community service, simple premise that American democ- civic engagement and active citizenship racy faces significant challenges and during the AmeriCorps 20th Anniversary that citizens are disengaging from Celebration on Sept. 12, according civic life. In the 21st century, higher to Alan Solomont (A '70), the Pierre and education has a huge responsibility to Pamela Omidyar Dean of Tisch College. respond to that and help steer that in a Solomont said he believes that different direction.” Tufts was selected to host the sum- According to Solomont, Tisch mit because of Tisch College’s achieve- College is working closely with the ments in promoting these initiatives. Office of Social Innovation and Civic “A good deal of this is a result of Participation at the White House, Matt Schreiber / The Tufts Daily the fact that the research arm of which is run by Tufts alumnus Jonathan The atomic force microscope helps to advance research on nanoscale biology. Tisch College, which is led by Peter Greenblatt (LA '92), as well as groups Levine ... is probably the nation’s lead- from the Department of Education to ing authority on civic engagement,” plan the summit. he said. “We study the benefits, the "We have partnered together Tufts professor receives communities [and] the individuals that to develop an invitation list and to participate in democratic life.” develop an agenda," Solomont said. The purpose of the summit is to "Invitations just went out from the grant for cellular research develop strategies for engaging pol- White House on behalf of both Tisch icymakers and higher education on College and the administration, invit- by Marianna Athanassiou stand the mechanical properties of cells strengthening civics in America, ing folks to this summit." Contributing Writer and their reactions and behaviors to Solomont added. Associate Dean for Research at external conditions such as stress. “We want to answer the questions Tisch College Peter Levine explained Igor Sokolov, the Bernard M. Gordon According to the NSF’s website, there of what higher education can do to that attendees, including college lead- senior faculty fellow and a professor are three key phases of awarding grants: promote civic engagement, what gov- ers, experts on measurement and civic of mechanical engineering, received a proposal preparation and submission, ernment policies can we suggest, what engagement and association leaders, $408,000 National Science Foundation proposal review and processing and practices among universities can we will break into working groups and (NSF) award in August to be used award processing. suggest, how can we measure civic committees to discuss policy. Solomont for research on the mechanics of bio- Sokolov said that when applying for engagement of colleges and universities added that he anticipates approxi- logical cells at the nanoscale. a grant, it is essential to have results to and how can we encourage institutions mately 40-50 attendees at the summit. Sokolov, who started at Tufts in corroborate the idea, especially in times that fall behind and reward institutions October 2013, explained that the grant of financial constraint. Additionally, as that are leaders,” Solomont said. see SUMMIT, page 2 will be used to purchase a piece of science continues to expand, there is equipment needed for mechanical spec- more competition among researchers troscopy that can be used to test the for the same grant proposals. reactions of cells and will facilitate inter- “We received the grant because of our Flashback Friday: Students protest rape departmental research on the topic. preliminary results on cells using atomic “By getting this piece of equipment, force microscopes, but also to some extent culture, 1991 it expands the capabilities of everyone it was a lottery of whether our work would although many things were different in 1991 — the clothes, the hair, the fact that in this topic," Department Chair and be recognized or not," he said. Tufts had a chapter of the Psi Upsilon fraternity — others seem to have not changed John R. Beaver Professor of Mechanical According to Sokolov, the work that much. On Saturday, Sept. 21, 1991, students gathered in front of the unofficial Psi Engineering William Messner said. "In won him the grant focused on cells’ Upsilon house to protest the spray painting of a rape scene on a car that had been fact, I’ll be collaborating with [Sokolov], reactions using specific microscopes attributed to the fraternity, according to a Sept. 23, 1991 article in the Daily. Tufts' along with other people interested from called atomic force microscopes, which chapter of Psi Upsilon was later suspended for the incident and their charter was the physics, biology and biomedical allow for high visualization of the sur- revoked two years later, according to a Nov. 3, 1993 article in the Daily. engineering departments." face of the cells. These microscopes con- While there are some scientific tain a probe-like needle that can feel the —by Jessica Mow groups and laboratories that have expe- surface of the cells and can measure and rience with cellular modeling, includ- manipulate certain forces. ing groups at , He explained that the results obtained and the University from these experiments proved that of Rochester, Sokolov explained that cells do not behave as expected, war- his research on using a mechanism ranting additional years of research or model for looking at cells at the on their behavior. Since there is no nanoscale is unique. clear model for cell behavior on the According to Messner, vari- nanoscale, Sokolov's ultimate goal is to ous Tufts departments will work together create a map of the cell at the nanoscale to conduct this research over the next that can be used to interpret measure- few years, so the use of this model will ments in an independent way. As a facilitate future collaboration and com- result, cellular measurements and data munication between laboratories. from different labs and places can be Since 2007, Sokolov and his team compared on the basis of this model, have been researching the mechanics Sokolov added. and behaviors of biological cells at the Sokolov received his undergraduate nanoscale, a key area because of the degree in physics from St. Petersburg cell’s role as the fundamental unit of life State University in 1984 and his Ph.D. and the ever-growing presence of cellu- from the D.I. Mendeleev Institute for lar diseases such as cancer. Metrology in St. Petersburg in 1991. Sokolov explained that with the grant, Prior to starting at Tufts, he served as the team at Tufts will conduct research professor of physics and director of the over the course of three years. They aim Nanoengineering and Biotechnology to develop a universal model and instru- Laboratories Center at Clarkson Karl Schatz / The Tufts Daily ment which will be used to better under- University in Potsdam, N.Y.

Inside this issue Today’s sections

Osher Lifelong Learning “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” News 1 Institute hosts second continues its run with installment of “Free hilarious start to sec- Arts & Living 3 Thinker” lecture series. ond season. Sports Back

see NEWS page 2 see ARTS, page 3 2 The Tufts Daily News Friday, October 3, 2014 THE TUFTS DAILY ‘Free Thinkers’ lecture series continues Alexander J. Schroeder Editor-in-Chief with famed historian Robin Fleming Editorial Justin Rheingold by Joann Kong Lily Sieradzki Contributing Writer Managing Editors Patrick McGrath Executive News Editor The second annual “Free Thinkers” lec- Daniel Bottino News Editors ture series, presented by the Osher Lifelong Jenna Buckle Abigail Feldman Learning Institute at Tufts — a community Shana Friedman membership opportunity for adults seek- Daniel Gottfried Nina Goldman ing intellectual stimulation — began last Dana Guth week by hosting Peter Diamond, a Nobel Stephanie Haven Alexa Horwitz prize winning economist. Audrey Michael Kathleen Schmidt The series continued on Tuesday, Sept. Jei-Jei-Tan 30 with Robin Fleming, a professor of early Denali Tietjen Melissa Wang medieval history at College, who is Sarah Zheng also a 2013 MacArthur "Genius" grant win- Jessica Mow Executive Features Editor ner. Her lecture, entitled “Writing History Maya Blackstone Features Editors from Bones,” focused on the importance Hannah Fingerhut Charlotte Gilliland of utilizing material culture and science to Kendall Todd find out more about the history of the Early Jake Taber Shannon Vavra Medieval Era in Europe. Sophie Dasinger Assistant Features Editors To begin her lecture, Fleming explained Mengqi Sun Annie Gill why material culture is particularly impor- Drew Robertson Executive Arts Editor tant to her research. Veronica Little Senior Arts Editor “I actually write history, not very much Dana Guth Arts Editors Nika Korchok from text, because the period that I’m Timothy Charouk Assistant Arts Editors working in doesn’t have that many texts Abigail Feldman Charlotte Gilliland and the people I’m interested in never Grace Segers appear in texts, so instead I use material Alex Knapp / The Tufts Daily Audience members listen during the second installment of Osher Lifelong Learning Alex Connors Executive Sports Editor culture," she said. Marcus Budline Sports Editors Fleming mentioned four problems sur- Institute’s "Free Thinkers" lecture series. Sam Gold Jake Indursky rounding research of the Early Medieval Alison Kuah certain people during the Early Medieval according to Fleming. She later discussed Tyler Maher Era: periodization, terminology, discipline Jorge Monroy-Palacio and gender. She started by discussing gen- Era, Fleming explained. how women who migrated to Heslerton Maclyn Senear Jason Schneiderman der. Today, the Early Medieval Era is largely According to Fleming, rainwater is tried different clothes and experimented Chris Warren remembered for what was accomplished by meshed into their bodies, and often the with the material culture available in Britain. Steven Hefter Assistant Sports Editors Wil Glavin men, although women played equally, if not tracking of the oxygen isotopes using mod- Fleming also noted the importance of cer- more important roles, according to Fleming. ern scientific technology can tell how far tain material objects found with the bones, Annabelle Roberts Executive Op-Ed Editor Nicholas Golden Op-Ed Editors “[We have become accustomed to writ- from a coast a person lived. saying that “things make people.” She com- Susan Kaufman ing] narratives focused [on] weapons- “Oxygen and strontium not only accu- pared two different brooches from two Ruchira Parikh Olivia Montgomory bearing males and [imagining] the big mulate in bone, but in tooth enamel,” different places, explaining that while the Ray Bernoff story of the period as a political one, con- Fleming said. dimensions of the brooches are very similar, Amy Bu Cartoonists cerning primarily ... the things that males By looking at the graves of young differences can certainly be spotted. Keran Chen Jehan Madhani do: invading, conquering, colonizing,” women at a cemetery in North Yorkshire, “They’re made in entirely different ways Ty Enos she said. "[However,] the majority of our Fleming concluded that gravestones are with entirely different techniques,” she said. Jennifer Lien Kyle Allen Editorialists genuine contemporary evidence, which is not very reliable for tracing migration, According to Fleming, some objects Bailey Werner material rather than textual, is associated according to what the graves had inside found in the graves did not even belong to Naomi Ali Chloe Perez not with men but with late adolescent girls them and the position of the bones. the culture she was studying. Many of the and with adult women." “Although these findings are based on Roman wares found with these people had Nicholas Pfosi Executive Photo Editor Praekarn Nirandara Photo Administrator According to Fleming, multiple cem- only one cemetery and two isotopes, the likely been dug from even older graves. Annie Levine Sports Photographer etery excavations show that women were evidence that I’ve just laid out is suggested “Scavenging was a major econom- Ethan Chan Senior Staff Photographers John Hampson buried with more brooches and with more and implies that women’s individual sto- ic occupation in this period,” she said. Matthew Schreiber objects than men were. Fleming therefore ries of migration are not reflected in their “People, as much as they were interested Christie Wu Maya Blackstone Staff Photographers suggested that historical writing ought to grave boards,” she said. “Perhaps as many in getting old Roman pots, didn’t use the Alexander Knapp be focused more on women than men. as half of many adults who died in West pots they were collecting for cooking and Kelly Fahey Stock Image Editor Caroline Ambros Social Media Editor Through two extended examples, Heslerton in the two and a half centuries dining, even though the Roman fine wares Fleming discussed how researchers can- that people were buried there were born were much nicer." Rachel Sheldon Executive Multimedia Editor Blair Nodelman Senior Multimedia Editor not take what they assume at first glance someplace else.” Fleming added that people of the time Aastha Chadha Multimedia Editors to be certain; much more examination is This proves that Heslerton was a rela- period only kept the base of the pots — Ethan Chan Jade Chan necessary. With the help of biochemical tively diverse society, one with mixed com- likely to use as discs. Kristie Le evidence, oxygen and strontium isotopes munities where people, namely women, “They don’t really care about pots as Tanay Modi tell historians about the relative location of came from different cultural backgrounds, pots, they only care about the pots because Nimarta Narang Josh Podolsky they like the pot bottoms," she said. “This Grace Segers is a story of families and households; it’s PRODUCTION not a story of war bands.” Fleming concluded her lecture with Andrew M. Stephens two solidifying points. First, the time Production Director span of one's research is vital to the David Westby Executive Layout Editor research process, and will affect a wide Betsy Allman Layout Editors Hannah Fingerhut range of aspects. According to Fleming, Kathy Lu the period she has been working with Montana Miller Reid Spagna would look drastically different if she Noah Habeeb Executive Copy Editors had begun her research right after the Reena Karasin fall of Rome rather than starting around Aastha Chadha Copy Editors Hadley Gibson the year 300. Nina Goldman Second, she added that there is a grow- Kristiana Jordan Sophie Krakoff ing divide between humanists and scien- Julia Russell tists — a divide that she hopes to help close Vidya Srinivasan Rachel Salzberg with her research. Jei-Jei Tan “If we don’t do something about it, we’re Yan Zhao Arthur Beckel Assistant Copy Editors going to end up with two different sets Jose Garcia Ryan Johnson of experts, working on exactly the same Andrew Kager problems, times and places, but who don’t Serena Kassam Alison Kuah Alex Knapp / The Tufts Daily ever read one another’s works and are not Kate Mieher Professor Robin Fleming of Boston College delivered a lecture on the Early Medieval equipped to understand one another,” Rohan Rao Elliot Storey Era as part of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s “Free Thinker” lecture series. Fleming said. Caroline Watson Nitesh Gupta Executive Online Editor Qinyue Yu Marketing Director Richard Yuxuan Zhang Strategy Manager Summit to address civic engagement and higher education Caroline Talbert Media Coordinator SUMMIT state level or universities themselves. “Today, the percentage of Americans BUSINESS continued from page 1 We will be discussing who needs to do that work with their neighbors to solve a Daphne Wu Levine hopes to choose a target audi- what. One of the jobs is going to be to local problem or belong to a civic orga- Executive Business Director ence upon identifying useful policy narrow it down and figure out who the nization or even follow the news is 40% Li Liang Receivables Manager recommendations. key audiences are.” less than in the 1970s,” he said. “There is Chris Chininis Ad Diresctor Jade Chan Ad Managers “There are a lot of different and Solomont said he believes there is a a concern across the country that one of Kristie Le important actors, and people at the need to renew civic responsibility and the strengths of the American democracy, Tanay Modi Yiran Xu summit need to decide who to target,” engagement in the United States, and which is our strong civic health and work- P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 he said. “We could target the executive higher education will need to play a ing with others to solve problems, has 617 627 3090 FAX 617 627 3910 branch, laws passing in congress, the major role in such a renewal. eroded steadily over the last few decades.” [email protected]

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TV Review

courtesy Fox Flash "Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s" new season features a strong cast and on-point humor. SUDOKU 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' continues Level: Meeting your future husband/wife at a frat party. fresh humor in season opener

by Safiya Nanji the 99th precinct of the NYPD actually exists Contributing Writer and didn’t take a six month break. Thankfully, these scenes were so fleshed out that viewers, Perhaps best described as the epitome if they had been following the series, would of funny and satirical police shows, FOX’s automatically feel caught up with their favorite "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (2013 - present) pre- characters, as if they hadn't missed a beat. Then, in roughly 12 seconds, Peralta impres- Brooklyn Nine-Nine sively recounts his time undercover and every- one goes back to their duties. Throughout the episode, we see snippets of different situations — Peralta confronts Santiago regarding his Starring , Melissa Fumero, feelings, Boyle and Gina feel ashamed of what Joe Lo Trugelio, Chelsea Peretti they’ve done (regardless of the fact that they end up sleeping together again) and Captain Airs Sundays at 8:30 p.m. on FOX Holt has Terry (Crews) pose as potential vic- tims: a confused old woman and a seven year miered its second season on Sept. 28. The old boy. The center of the storyline focuses on show follows a team of detectives for the fic- Peralta and Boyle trying to track down one tional 99th precinct of the Police of the mobsters that got away from the sting Department and their newly appointed leader, operation, which leads them to a crazy trigger- Captain Holt (Andre Braugher). This detective- happy girlfriend, a couple of fist fights and style parody show is silly, but the jokes still overall hilarity in tense situations. come off as refreshing. The writers have done Only one possible issue might threaten to an excellent job in refraining from overused thwart the show's success — "Brooklyn Nine- storylines and have made sure to give their Nine," at times, could be re-dubbed "The Andy gags a new take. Samberg Show." Though all of the characters "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" has a rich cast com- are vital to the show’s development, the writers prised of comedians and actors that each bring do not give supporting cast members enough their own style to the program. The show cen- attention to satisfy viewers. The supporting ters on Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) characters are too shallow, and this lack of and the cases that he is assigned. Intelligently depth results in the show relying too much on written,"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" also features its humor to succeed. supportive storylines for other zany characters. Nevertheless, "Brooklyn" does a superb job Peralta, along with other detectives played by at making audiences laugh — the jokes are , Melissa Fumero, Joe Lo Truglio quirky, witty and simply entertaining. They’ve also managed to avoid cliches; it would be and Stephanie Beatriz, are constantly catching Thursday’s Solution quirky criminals (e.g., perps named Joe Uterus). all too easy to create a love triangle between Season one ended with Detective Peralta Peralta, Santiago and the man that she’s seeing. leaving the precinct in order to go under- Never failing to bring the laughs, "Brooklyn cover with the FBI for six months after con- Nine-Nine" is a different take on the typical fessing his feelings of attraction for Detective cop show. Some might consider it a "mocku- Santiago (Fumero). Boyle (Truglio) and Gina mentary" style program and its humor can best (Chelsea Peretti) awkwardly wake up in bed be compared to the early years of "The Office" together, both horrified. Season two’s premiere, (2005 — 2013). The deadpan humor and off- "Undercover," answers many of the questions beat styles of the detectives drive "Brooklyn" that remain after the first season finale. forward. With a bit of character development The season premiere begins with Peralta fin- to advance the story, it should reach soar- ishing his undercover duties, coming back to ing heights in the weeks to come. Best of all, the precinct and learning via flashbacks what "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" isn't plagued by a soph- the rest of the gang was up to in his absence. omore slump (at least not yet) — season two This brilliant tactic makes the viewer feel as if starts strong, promising good things to come.

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Football Jumbos look for third straight win by Wil Glavin in the NESCAC), 170 of which “We’ll definitely have to look defense is looking like. We spent ent formations, and their abil- Daily Editorial Board have been on the ground. at the film and see what we need all last week on Bates. We’ve got ity to move the ball consistent- While the Jumbos offense [to fix], but you know, we did to get on the film and see what ly has been a huge reason for After a very convincing home- excelled in all facets against the not have a perfect game [against fits best for the gameplan. Let the team’s success. Despite the coming win against Bates on Bates Bobcats, the team’s rushing Bates],” senior running back the coaches do their job. Get team’s victories, coach Civetti Saturday, Tufts will travel to game is its bread and butter. The Zack Trause said. "We made [the players] set up and get them remains humble. to face the 0-2 Bowdoin Jumbos are 3rd in the NESCAC in some mental mistakes that are ready to play.” “It’ll be a [heck] of a test, Polar Bears this weekend. rushing yards per game (130.5) going to happen." Although coach Civetti did we’re on the road for the first Bowdoin finished the 2013 sea- and the team should have a lot The Jumbos have a spar- not want to divulge his game time," Civetti said. "Bowdoin son in 7th place in the NESCAC of success on the ground against kling 2-0 record, but strength of plan, it is safe to say the Tufts is always a tough opponent. standings with a 3-5 record, and Bowdoin, especially considering schedule is definitely a factor. team will be running the foot- I’ve got the utmost respect for this season the Polar Bears have how effective the team’s offensive Tufts opened the season against ball early and often. Across two coach Caputi and their staff and struggled mightily through their line has been so far this season. Hamilton, who was 0-8 in 2013, games, the Jumbos have run the what they do. We’ve got a great first two games. The team’s season Possibly the largest discrepan- and is 0-2 this season. Then the ball 79 times out of many differ- task ahead of us." began with a hugely disappoint- cy between Tufts and Bowdoin is team faced Bates, who went 4-4 ing 36-0 loss at Williams, and their red zone conversion rates. last season, and is 0-2 this sea- Bowdoin did not seem to play The Jumbos lead the NESCAC son. This weekend, Tufts faces a any better in its home debut last in red zone opportunities with Bowdoin team that went 3-5 in week against Amherst. The Polar 10, while the Polar Bears are tied 2013 yet is also 0-2 this season. Bears have been outscored 66-7 for the fewest with three. Tufts The team remains focused on through their first two games. has put points on the board in Bowdoin, but the true test for the Senior quarterback Mac eight of those 10 chances, where- Jumbos will be when they play Caputi has had trouble leading as Bowdoin has scored on just the 2-0 Trinity squad in Hartford Bowdoin’s offense this season one of its red zone possessions. later this month. with zero touchdown passes, While the Jumbos have been suc- “Yeah, I mean, look, I think three interceptions and a 57.9 cessful in all three phases of the we just have to go in at 2-0, I completion percentage to start game this season, one area that think that’s a good step," coach the year. However, defense has clearly needs improvement is the said. "We’ve got to been the primary issue for coach high number of costly penalties the get the team together. Get in Dave Caputi’s squad. team has committed. Two weeks the weight room. Get back at Within two weeks, the Polar into the season, Tufts has been it. Get back into the routine. Bears defense has allowed 396.5 flagged 15 times for a whopping 162 Stick to the process. We have to Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily total yards per game (2nd worst yards (second most in the NESCAC). assess [Bowdoin]. See what their Senior QB Jack Doll makes a pass during the homecoming victory last Saturday.

Volleyball Inside the NFL Tufts hits its stride after 1-3 start Patriots off to a rough start by Tyler Maher to 2-1. Kuhel tallied a match-high 16 kills while by Joshua Slavin Patriots’ management has failed to sur- Daily Editorial Board junior Maddie Kuppe contributed 14. The team Contributing Writer round him with enough talented play- also got plenty of help from Kuppe's classmate ers. Two receivers that were supposed Four weeks into its season, the women's Baum, who racked up 43 assists. Defensively, For more than a decade, the New to see major improvements as second- volleyball team is firing on all cylinders. Berger recorded a match-high 31 digs. England Patriots have been the class of year players, Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell After an early rough patch, the Jumbos have "This weekend was a great opportunity for us the NFL. They have won at least 10 games Thompkins, were healthy scratches to demonstrate the hard work we've put forth in each of the last 11 seasons and won Monday night. Their top wideout, and VOLLEYBALL in response to our first matches of the season," the AFC East in all but one of those years. the only one Brady has seemingly any (7-6 Overall, 2-1 NESCAC) Kuppe said. "We've devoted considerable prac- The one season in which they missed the trust in, is Julian Edelman, who went tice time to working on specific weaknesses that playoffs was the year franchise quarter- undrafted as a quarterback out of col- at Boston, Mass., Tuesday were exposed early on, so it was very exciting to back Tom Brady missed almost the entire lege. The most talented pass catcher on see everybody step up this weekend." season with a knee injury. the team is Rob Gronkowski, who is obvi- Tufts 17 25 20 25 11 — 2 Following its hard-fought win, Tufts imme- This has been a period of success unri- ously still limited by his recovery from UMass-Boston 25 12 25 22 15 — 3 diately took on Framingham State University, valed in the NFL, and has all come with knee surgery that ended his 2013 season. 12-2 entering the game. Proving to be up to Brady and genius coach Bill Belichick at But over the course of his career, at New London, Conn., Saturday the challenge, the Jumbos overcame fatigue the helm. They are two of the best ever Brady hasn’t always had a star-studded Tufts 25 25 25 — 3 to trounce their opponents in three sets, win- at their respective jobs, and entered this crew of receivers to throw to. In the past, Framingham St. 12 10 16 — 0 ning each by at least nine points and an aver- season geared to be Super Bowl con- he has undoubtedly been able to suc- age of over 12. First-year Alex Garrett stepped tenders once again, primed to extend ceed and excel with a significantly less at New London, Conn., Saturday up with eight service aces in the win. Given their dominant run. talented supporting cast. This is what Tufts 21 26 26 25 15 — 3 the circumstances and the ease with which But across four games, the Patriots have makes his struggles this season surpris- Conn College 25 24 28 12 12 — 2 they disposed of their opponents, the win scarcely shown any signs that they might ing. Part of the answer can be attributed over FSU was one of Tufts' most resounding have been in the midst of a historical- to Brady’s decline, but a huge portion of picked up steam, winning six of nine games accomplishments of the season. ly great run. They’ve stumbled to a 2-2 the blame rests on the offensive line. Just since their 1-3 start. "For us, those games are another step in our record, most recently being trounced in before the season began, Belichick dealt "We are working hard to better our game process of developing into the best team we every phase of the game by the Kansas City guard Logan Mankins, a team leader as every time we step on the court," coach Cora can be," Thompson said. "I thought we did an Chiefs. Coming on Monday Night Football well as the heart and soul of the offen- Thompson said. "This team realizes that our excellent job focusing on our side of the court in a nationally-televised, prime time sive line, to the Buccaneers after Mankins focus must remain on the process of improv- while adjusting to the teams we were playing." matchup, the Patriots were embarrassed refused to restructure his contract. The ing with every opportunity we get, which The Jumbos, now 7-6 for the season, travel and exposed. In the days since, many ana- move shocked many and has left holes in means we need to focus on being the best we to Maine on Friday to play the Bates Bobcats lysts have wondered whether this could be Brady's protection. can during the present moment." in pursuit of their third NESCAC victory. At 8-6, the beginning of the end of the Pats’ storied Within four games, Belichick has played Tufts' most recent match ended in defeat Bates is in a similar position to Tufts, so the stretch. Fans across New England are ask- musical chairs on the line, shifting players after a back and forth battle at UMass Boston match will likely be competitive. Tufts will then ing some variation of the same question: endlessly in a search to find an effective Tuesday night. The Jumbos gave the New travel to MIT on Saturday for an afternoon what’s wrong with the Patriots? combination of blockers. Instead, the line- England Women's Volleyball Association's doubleheader against Simmons College and If there were a simple answer to that men have looked like human turnstiles, top-ranked team everything it could handle, MIT. The Jumbos recently played there at the question, the team probably wouldn’t be allowing pass rushers to reach Brady in alternating victories with the Beacons dur- MIT Invitational, splitting a doubleheader on sitting at 2-2. There are problems on both the backfield easily and often. They haven’t ing the first four sets. The fifth set was just Sept. 13, and will look to match or improve sides of the ball, but the major issue is been able to protect the quarterback, and as close, with UMass ultimately edging Tufts upon those results this time around. with the offense. Tom Brady-led offenses Brady has looked very uncomfortable in 15-11 for its 12th straight win. On offense, over the last 10 years have always been the pocket as a result. Tufts received standout performances from efficient, point-producing machines. Part of the reason for the Patriots’ con- sophomore breakout Mary Maccabee, who Excluding 2008, the year Brady missed tinuous success is their ability to correct posted 15 kills, and senior tri-captain Isabel due to injury, the Patriots have been in their flaws over the course of the season. Kuhel, who posted 10. Junior setter Kyra the top-six in the NFL in points per game Belichick is one of the best coaches of all Baum recorded 37 assists in the match. Junior each year since 2005. So far this season, time, and surely has the capacity to right the defensive specialist Carolina Berger contin- they’re 24th out of 32 teams. According ship, at least to some extent. Brady will likely ued her strong season with 13 digs. to the metric DVOA (Defense-adjusted gain confidence with his receivers as time The Jumbos scored a pair of big wins in Value Over Average), the Patriots have goes on and start to look more competent Connecticut last weekend, winning both games been fourth or better in offensive effi- under center. The ability to rectify weak- of their Saturday afternoon doubleheader. The ciency every year that Brady has been nesses and improve is the mark of a great opener saw Tufts defeat Connecticut College in healthy since 2005, while being the most coach and team. The Patriots can do both. an incredibly even match, earning a five-set vic- efficient team four times over that span. The expectations coming into the sea- tory over its NESCAC rival. The Jumbos dropped So far this year they rank 28th. son were that the Patriots could contend a close first set 25-21, then bounced back to Every part of the offense is to blame for the AFC title and the Super Bowl. take the next two by two points with scores of for this massive dearth of production, Currently, they look like a far cry from a 26-24 and 28-26. The Camels dominated the including Tom Brady himself. He hasn’t championship team. Given the Patriots’ fourth set 25-12 to pull even with the Jumbos, been quite as accurate as people are used sustained excellence, fans have high setting up a tightly contested fifth set, which Caroline Geiling / The Tufts Daily to seeing and, at 37, may be nearing the demands for their team, but barring an the Jumbos won 15-12. With the hard-fought Junior Carolina Berger prepares to serve the ball end of his brilliant career. The onus isn’t immediate and drastic change, this sea- victory, Tufts improved its conference record during a home game. just on the quarterback, however. The son is likely to end in disappointment.