Where You Read It First Heavy Rain 53/33 THE TUFTS DAILY Est. 1980 VOLUME LVIV, NUMBER 2 MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2010 TUFTSDAILY.COM Bubs honored for performance on “The Sing-Off” Jumbos’ first weekend back hit by power outage, fire BY ELLEN KAN power back to the campus over three hours Daily Editorial Board later, at approximately 4:25 a.m., by switch- ing the university to a backup line while test- Students’ first weekend back on the Hill ing on the primary line continued, accord- was an eventful one, with a power outage on ing to Tufts University Police Department the main campus early Friday morning and (TUPD) Capt. Mark Keith. a fire in Miller Hall early Saturday morning. The cable fault has since been repaired, An underground cable fault in the main and power was restored back to the main power line providing service to the univer- line as of 9 p.m. on Friday night, according sity caused the power to go out on most to Keith. of the main Medford/Somerville campus The university sent out two notifications at approximately 1 a.m. Friday morning, via SMS text message and e-mail informing according to a National Grid spokesperson. National Grid workers were able to restore see FIRE, page 2 SCOTT TINGLEY/TUFTS DAILY The Tufts Beelzebubs were recognized Thursday at a special banquet at Carzo Cage in Cousens Gym to commemorate their performance on NBC’s “The Sing-Off.” The Bubs, who performed two songs following the ceremony, were presented with keys to the city of Medford and received commendation from state and city representatives. See ARTS page 5 for further coverage of the Beelzebubs. Government simplifies FAFSA BY MICHAEL DEL MORO geted questions, shortening the applica- Daily Editorial Board tion for the majority of students applying online while collecting the same amount The federal government has stream- of information. lined the Free Application for Federal U.S. Education Secretary Arne Student Aid (FAFSA) to ease the financial Duncan and Dr. Jill Biden unveiled the aid process for college students applying changes to Washington, D.C.-area students for federal loans and grants for the 2010- on Jan. 5, according to a press release from 2011 academic year. the Office of the Vice President. The changes built into the new appli- According to the press release, the chang- KRISTEN COLLINS/TUFTS DAILY cation, which took effect Jan. 1, will not es will help the United States top the world The Tufts campus experienced its third blackout in two years following an underground cable fault. affect the pool of eligible applicants, though in terms of the proportion of college gradu- the process itself will be easier to navigate, ates by 2020, a goal set by President Barack according to Tufts Director of Financial Aid Obama in Sept. 2009. Patricia Reilly. The United States is currently ranked sev- In the past, all applicants were required enth in the world for college enrollment, Water source discovered to answer all questions on the form, but with only 34 percent of adults aged 18 to 34 the new software program distinguishes enrolled compared to 53 percent for first- between applicants so that students answer ranked South Korea, according to data from underneath Residential Quad only questions applicable to themselves. the Organization for Economic Cooperation “There are a lot of questions that only and Development. BY MARTHA SHANAHAN lutely” willing to consider using the refer to some subsets of the population,” Although students may now begin apply- Daily Editorial Board water, and that they have embraced it Reilly said. “It used to be there were ques- ing for aid using the new application, the as a possibility. “The university spends tions that a lot of people would say ‘not Office of Financial Aid at Tufts has yet to A drilling project led by Professor of a lot of money each year to use water applicable’ to over and over again … what receive the new software. It is too early to Geology Grant Garven has led to the from the grid,” he said. they’ve done is they’ve used programming tell, therefore, if the changes will have any discovery of a natural underground Vik added that it might be possible logic to skip those.” water source beneath the Tufts campus to tie the aquifer source into an exist- The new software features more tar- see FAFSA, page 2 that could potentially be used for uni- ing irrigation line that services build- versity operations. ings on the Residential Quad, and that The project, called the Tufts construction plans for the upcoming Greenberg announces decision to resign GeoJumbo Borehole Array, began last fiscal year near the Residential Quad summer as a partnership between may also provide the opportunity to from Senate Professor Garven and three geology incorporate the aquifer into the uni- students. It consists of a series of four versity’s main water system if there is Sophomore Joel Greenberg last night Greenberg’s resignation brings the boreholes located across the campus enough underground water. announced his resignation from his seat number of vacant student government that are used primarily for teaching “If the tests work out, we’ll give it a on the Tufts Community Union (TCU) seats to three. Wallis’ seat has yet to be and data collection purposes. shot,” Vik said. Senate at the first Senate meeting of the filled and junior Lindsay Helfman left a The third hole, which was drilled into Currently, all the water used at semester. seat on the TCU Judiciary empty when the Residential Quad in September, Tufts and the rest of Somerville and Greenberg did not go into the specifics she resigned as chair at the end of last revealed the presence of a previously Medford is piped across the state from of his reason for resigning but expressed semester. undiscovered underground layer of the Quabbin Reservoir, which is the his belief that the time was appropriate Tufts’ Election Commission (ECOM) permeable sand and gravel containing main water supply for the Boston area, for his decision. Chair Sharon Chen confirmed that high percentages of water, called an according to Garven. “It was the right change at the right all three seats will be filled in an aquifer. A fourth hole was drilled in November time,” he said. “I feel strongly that given upcoming special election. ECOM will The discovery was completely unex- near the Residential Quad following current circumstances, the remainder of announce the date of the election in pected, according to Garven. “It was a the discovery of the water source, but my term would be better served by one the next few days. big surprise to find water right under no extension of the aquifer was found. of my peers.” Greenberg expressed his hope that his the Tufts campus,” he said. The first two holes that were drilled Senators Dan Pasternack, a junior, and resignation would open up an opportu- Garven has been involved in discus- last summer at lower elevations near Alice Pang, a freshmen, were elected nity for someone who would not oth- sions with Tufts facilities personnel the Mayer Campus Center and the unopposed as co-chairs of the Services erwise have had the chance to serve about the possibility of using the water Powderhouse rotary also failed to yield Committee, positions that had previously on the Senate. He also said that serving under the Residential Quad as a source similar results. been held by Greenberg and junior Sam on Senate had been a valuable learning for irrigation on campus or for use in Byeongju Jung, a graduate student Wallis, who resigned at the end of the experience. fire hydrants. in School of Engineering who worked last semester to study abroad. — by Ellen Kan John Vik, ground supervisor for on the project with Garven, explained maintenance in the facilities depart- ment, said that the university is “abso- see WATER, page 2 Inside this issue Today’s Sections Women’s basketball News 1 Editorial | Letters 8 The Daily interviews takes two weekend vic- Michael Cera, star of tories over two top-25 Features 3 Op-Ed 9 “Youth in Revolt.” conference foes. Arts & Living 5Classifieds 10 Comics 7 Sports Back see ARTS, page 5 see SPORTS, page 12 2 THE TUFTS DAILY NEWS Monday, January 25, 2010 Software simplifies financial aid application Visiting the Hill this week FAFSA FAFSA form that would enable rules as last year. There’s no change continued from page 1 applicants to forego copying infor- in who gets money or how much WEDNESDAY 21st century. major effects on the applicant pool. mation from their tax returns and money they get. It’s just easier to get “FARES LECTURE: THE When and Where: Cabot Reilly, however, does not expect simply reference their financial the money to them and easier to fill SUPREME COURT OF ISRAEL” ASEAN auditorium to see any variations in the number information from the IRS, accord- out the forms,” Reilly said. Details: David Kretzmer, inau- Sponsor: The Fletcher School of applications for aid. “Typically, ing to a Sept. 2009 report from the For students with questions con- gural fellow at the Straus of Law and Diplomacy Lecture because [Tufts tuition] costs so Executive Office of the President. cerning the FAFSA or financial aid, Institute for the Advanced Series much, most students don’t have the For now, the application is largely there are walk-in hours at the finan- Study of Law and Justice, New option to say ‘the FAFSA is too hard the same as what it has been in cial aid office Thursday afternoons York University School of Law, “EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE ON so I won’t bother,’” she said.