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Where You Rain Read It First 57/50 THE TUFTS DAILY Est. 1980 VOLUME LVII, NUMBER 59 TUEsday, APRIL 21, 2009 TUFTSDAILY.COM Solomont comes to service position during heady times Holi on the quad BY MICHAEL DEL MORO was established in 1993,” Solomont told Daily Editorial Board the Daily. “We are at an inflection point where Americans are looking to serve Since his appointment as chair more than ever before.” of the Corporation for National The CNCS supports the national vol- and Community Service (CNCS) in unteer and nonprofit sector through February, trustee Alan Solomont (A ’70) grants, research, training and other has served at the forefront of a surge in types of support. Solomont’s position national volunteerism and active citi- is a volunteer role, according to CNCS zenship that he said only comes “once spokesperson Sandy Scott. in a generation.” “He’s really devoted much of his life Solomont, who was in 2000 appoint- to active citizenship, and I think he ed to the CNCS’s board of directors brings that passion for active citizenship by President Bill Clinton, holds major to the Corporation,” said Tufts Trustee influence over what he calls a growing Deborah Jospin (LA ’80), who directed movement for national and commu- AmeriCorps, a CNCS program, from 1997 nity service. His position is all the more to 2001. “He really wants to help expand important in the absence of a CEO at service opportunities for all Americans the CNCS. young and old.” AALOK KANANI/TUFTS DAILY “My good fortune is to be in this lead- Solomont, a Tufts lecturer of political Dozens of students gathered on the Residential Quad on Sunday to throw colored pow- ership role at probably the most exciting der and water at their friends as part of celebrations marking the Hindu festival of Holi, time in service since the Corporation see SOLOMONT, page 2 a joyous holiday that commemorates the coming of spring. Presidential symposium focuses on fostering community ties BY CAROLINE MELHA D O ships, even as the university and tance of collaboration. “We versity has increased next year’s service projects. They focused on Daily Staff Writer local neighborhoods are working have to work smarter and help financial aid budget by 12 per- the Web site outreach.tufts.edu with declining resources. each other,” he said. “So let’s cent — the school’s only policy- and on volunteer opportunities At the sixth annual Tufts “These days, we are dealing have more time to network and driven budget increase. “We put listed at TuftsLife.com. Presidential Symposium on with the same set of challeng- less time for talking heads.” students first,” Bacow said. Beyond that, participants also Friday, faculty, students and es; all our budgets are getting Bacow also highlighted A particularly salient theme for used the event to build philan- community members reflected smaller,” University President Tufts’ response to the bleak symposium attendees was the thropic connections. on the shared burdens they face Lawrence Bacow said at the economic outlook, reiterating prevalence of volunteer opportu- “I am excited to meet commu- during the economic downturn. event, which took place at the university’s commitment nities that could benefit both the nity partners,” junior Fred Huang, In particular, the attendees Tufts Hillel. to financial aid. university and the community. co-president of the Leonard focused on ways to maximize the During his opening remarks, Despite an endowment that As such, organizers reminded benefits of town-gown partner- Bacow emphasized the impor- is down by 30 percent, the uni- participants about ways to locate see SYMPOSIUM, page 2 Green Line expansion plans may involve Earth Day 2009 building seizures, demolitions in Medford BY LESLIE OG D EN ing anything for sure.” Daily Editorial Board The EOT has only identified a small part of the 200 Boston Ave. building for pos- The Massachusetts Executive Office of sible demolition, but it is possible that the Transportation (EOT) last month identi- entire building may need to be relocated fied buildings that could come down to due to its proximity to the rails. make way for extension of the T’s Green “[The EOT] has indicated they need Line through Medford. at least part of it, because the tracks run The U-Haul building at 600 Mystic Valley really close to the back of it,” Krause said. Parkway; the 196-200 Boston Ave. office Commuter rail tracks can generally be buildings, which include some research shifted to make room for the Green Line facilities of the Cummings Foundation; tracks. In this case, though, the tracks can- and the Elizabeth Grady Headquarters at not move because they are near a bridge 222 Boston Avenue could potentially be over Route 16, according to Krause. affected by construction on the subway “Basically, there is less room to work addition. with,” he said. Planners are attempting to But the proposal to extend the Green figure out if the route can pass through that Line to Route 16 relies on federal funding section “without taking the entire building that is itself contingent on the cost-effec- and the entire property,” he added. tiveness of the project. Demolishing the entire building at 200 The location of the U-Haul building Boston Avenue would have a negative makes it the prime candidate for seizure, effect on Medford, according to Krause. according to Ken Krause, a member of “Because a lot of people work there, the Medford Green Line Neighborhood it provides real estate tax revenue to the Alliance (MGNA), a local citizens’ group. City of Medford,” Krause said, adding that “The U-Haul building is the last build- planners have not envisioned anything for ing before Mystic Valley Parkway [Route the property that would generate revenue, 16], and that’s where they envision the such as paid parking. actual station going,” he told the Daily. The removal of the building could The upcoming planning processes will become an expensive proposition that deal in more detail with the status of the would involve the relocation of the busi- other two buildings. nesses currently housed there, Fichter “We are still in the very early planning said. stages and have identified the structures “One of the criteria for the project for EMILY EISENBERG/TUFTS DAILY that we believe, given the current level of federal funding is cost-effectiveness,” Tufts’ commemoration of Earth Day, sponsored by Tufts Environmental Consciousness engineering we have, … are in the enve- Krause said. “In my view, if you don’t have Outreach (ECO), took place on Saturday on the Academic Quad and offered free healthy lope of space,” Kate Fichter, the deputy to buy a big building, if you can save the food and information on green living to students. Earth Day 2009 is tomorrow. director of the project at the EOT, told the Daily. “But we are far, far away from know- see GREEN LINE, page 2 Inside this issue Today’s Sections Memvers of the Tufts Over 190 members of community reacts to the President’s Mara- News 1 Op-Ed 9 Obama’s decision to thon Challenge turned Features 3 Comics 12 pursue nuclear disar- out to run the Boston Arts & Living 5Classifieds 13 mament. Marathon yesterday. Editorial | Letters 8 Sports Back see FEATURES, page 3 see SPORTS, back page 2 THE TUF T S DAILY NEWS Greek organizations fundraise away in April The Alpha Omicron Pi (AOII) Junior Brittany Cahoon, the pres- Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity (AEPi) sorority hosted its annual “Mr. ident of AOII, called the event a suc- has been raising money for two Fraternity” event on Thursday night, cess. “The audience members had organizations through an ongoing raising over $1,300 to help combat a really good time. A lot of people event called Spring Cuisine. juvenile arthritis. came out to support the Greek Spring Cuisine has featured Zeta Psi brother Byron Crowe, houses,” she said. brothers selling food from local a junior, emerged victorious from Meanwhile, over on Professors businesses — ranging from Nick’s the sold-out event, which included Row, the brothers of the Delta House of Pizza to Taco Bell — on displays of formalwear, talent and Upsilon (DU) fraternity have been weekend nights in April outside the Greek-wear from members of near- collecting cans, glass and plastic fraternity house and around cam- ly all the fraternities on campus. bottles all semester to raise funds pus, according to AEPi Philanthropy Judges selected Crowe based for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Co-Chair Ben Ross. on the quality of his performance, (CFF), a national organization seek- The money will be split evenly which featured a striptease to the ing a cure for cystic fibrosis, a chron- between Shaare Zedek Medical Big & Rich song “Save a Horse (Ride ic disease affecting around 30,000 Center, a hospital in Jerusalem a Cowboy),” and the amount of people in the United States alone. supported by AEPi chapters across money attendees contributed dur- “Someone who lived across the the country, and Kiva, a nonprofit ing his routine. street from me growing up had microfinance organization. “He had a very choreographed cystic fibrosis,” said DU President “A lot of brothers like the things dance that he clearly practiced a Thomas Joyce, a junior who sug- that Kiva does,” Ross, a sopho- lot,” said senior Jessica Snow, an gested the charity to his brothers. “I more, said. AOII sister and the president of the have a connection to the founda- Other Greek houses organized Panhellenic Council. tion.” fundraising events yesterday, as Crowe said he is “flattered” DU has extended the can collec- Sigma Phi Epsilon held a screening by the honor, which came com- tion effort to other Greek houses, of “Planet Earth” to raise money for plete with a crown and a gift asking fellow fraternities and sorori- YouthAIDS, and Alpha Phi sold bur- certificate to Redbones Barbecue ties to help out with the cause.