THE TUFTS DAILY Est

Where You Mostly Sunny Read It First 67/42 THE TUFTS DAILY Est. 1980 VOLUME LVI, NUMBER 10 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2008 TUFTSDAILY.COM Survey: Few grads feel ‘very active’ TUAA director underscores alumni’s high-response rate BY GILLIAN JAVETSKI Daily Editorial Board Only four percent of Tufts graduates consider themselves “very active” in the alumni community, according to a recent survey conducted by the Tufts University Alumni Association (TUAA). As part of its rebranding effort, the TUAA reached out to alumni this summer with an extensive questionnaire, inviting around 10 percent of living graduates to offer feedback on their involvement with the university and their opinions on how the association conducts business. “The purpose of [the survey] was to take a look at the alumni organization’s identity, its messaging and its visual appearance to the outside,” Director of Alumni Relations Tim Brooks said. “We have a desire to keep Tufts alumni together but have never taken a market- JO DUARA/TUFTS DAILY ing or branded study to reach our con- stituents and communicate with them.” Send Word Now test run ‘a success’ Since 2005, the TUAA has conducted Students on Tufts’ three campuses emergency alert system, was introduced ent times than others,” Bartlett said. “In upwards of half a dozen alumni surveys received phone calls and e-mails yes- last school year. “[It] is one of many an actual crisis situation, some modalities in various formats, Brooks said. This terday as the Department of Public and responses that Tufts and many other uni- won’t work as well as others.” one, the TUAA’s first to be written with Environmental Safety tested its emer- versities had after Virginia Tech,” Bartlett He said the hope was that in the event an outside communications contracting gency notification system. said, referring to the shooting at the uni- of a real emergency, the first students company, elicited responses from about Precise data will be released today as versity on April 16, 2007. Tufts students to be notified would communicate with 1,300 of the 9,000 alumni who received to the number of students that the Send have to sign up to receive the phone others. it. Word Now alert reached. But Geoffrey alerts, but most have done so. All stu- According to Bartlett, each year the The total number of living Tufts alum- Bartlett, the Department of Public Safety’s dents receive Send Word Now e-mails. university uses the system, student aware- ni is approximately 90,000, according to technical services manager, said, “We Some students got their phone call a ness will increase, as will the software’s Brooks. judged the test as a success.” few minutes sooner than others today, efficacy and response speed. “Considering that most schools expect Bartlett added, “I don’t have any sta- a nuance that Bartlett said indicated the “Going into it this year, at least 75 survey responses from fewer than one tistics or details to give you yet, but in limitations of the Send Word Now infra- percent of the undergraduate population percent of the people [the surveys] were general we found that the technology structure. should have already been familiar with sent to, the number of responses was met or exceeded the performance of the “The system doesn’t have the capacity the system,” he said. very high,” Brooks said. March 26 test. That was the last time that to phone everyone at exactly the same The survey covered an assortment we tested the system.” time, so some people will receive the —by Jeremy White of topics, including how active Tufts Send Word Now, Tufts’ commercial message on different modalities at differ- and Giovanni Russonello alumni are in university matters and how often they are in touch with other graduates. The questionnaire revealed that less Senate’s new Web site than half of graduates feel involved in West Hall, other buildings the alumni community. promotes interaction When asked, “How active do you consider yourself in alumni programs and BY JEREMY WHITE undergo summer facelifts activities?” four percent responded “very Daily Editorial Board active,” 29 percent responded “some- BY MICHAEL DEL MORO Bodnarchuk did say that there contin- what active” and 67 percent said “not The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Daily Editorial Board ues to be a desire to redo the rest of the active.” Senate launched a redesigned Web site bathrooms and make them accessible, But Brooks guessed that the true level this summer aimed at increasing visibil- West Hall and a number of other build- like the new one. of involvement among alumni is actually ity and streamlining students’ access to ings on campus received renovations this Common areas and dorm rooms higher. “What we found is that people’s Senate affairs. summer, but some touch-ups were put on received new paint jobs in West, and wood own perceptions of how active they are TCU Vice President hold for various reasons. floors were refinished. can vary greatly,” he said. “The numbers Scott Silverman said that Last semester, Vice President of This may not appease some discon- [from the survey] were a bit deceiving in he recognized the need Operations John Roberto told the Daily certed students living in the all-sopho- that people have a different understand- to revive a Web site that that West Hall’s bathrooms were set for more dormitory this year, though. ing of what being active means than was failing to connect overhauls, but only one bathroom in the “I thought all the bathrooms were being what it means to [those who work for students to the Senate. basement, a women’s room, was reno- done,” Bianca Velayo, a sophomore, told “It came to me early last vated over the summer. The building has the Daily. see SURVEY, page 2 year that the … Web site eight bathrooms. Velayo does not use the shabbier bath- was not adequate in its Director of Construction Management room closest to her. “I go downstairs to ability to provide updates and serve as a Mitch Bodnarchuk said renovating the shower,” she said referring to the renovat- mechanism of communication between bathrooms would have legally forced Tufts ed bathroom. “It’s gorgeous down there.” the Senate and the student body,” he said. to bring them up to date with handicap Velayo said that there is a general dis- Silverman pointed to a wealth of data, accessibility standards, something the satisfaction among West residents about such as a schedule of Senate meetings and university was hesitant to do. their bathrooms. She also said West could a chart detailing the organization’s hier- “What happens here with the amount use foosball and billiards tables, perks in archical makeup, that the new site makes of work that would need to have been many other dorms. available. done to do the bathroom renovations, you Ryan Orendorff, a sophomore and “There’s more information, it’s better kind of run into code implications that West Hall resident advisor, said he felt less organized and it’s easier to access,” he talk about accessibility,” Bodnarchuk said, inconvenienced by the lack of renova- said. adding that West Hall’s historical appear- tions. ance led to reluctance to put an elevator see WEB SITE, page 2 in the building. see CONSTRUCTION, page 2 Inside this issue Today’s Sections The Tufts Art Gallery exhibition, ‘Empire and The field hockey team News 1 Op-Ed 11 Its Discontent,’ con- improved its record to Features 3 Comics 13 fronts Western stereo- 4-0 on the season. Weekender 5Sports 15 types of the East . Editorial | Letters 10 Classifieds 19 see WEEKENDER, page 5 see SPORTS, page 15 2 THE TUF T S DAILY NEWS Thursday, September 18, 2008 CONSTRUCTION continued from page 1 SURVEY “The bathrooms look pretty good except continuedContractor from page 1 helped forSome the fact they of don’t thehave shower summer curtains,” construction suffered from delays TUAA.]” he said. with Brooks saidTUAA that he would survey call one- Orendorff moved into to his dorm room third of Tufts alumni active, one-third on August 17, while some minor renovations “fence sitters who may become involved were still being completed, but everything at different points in their lives,” and the was done within a few days of his arrival. other third unlikely to become involved. “They did a fantastic job in terms of what “A lot of schools are lucky if they I can see from the renovations,” he said. get 10-percent alumni participation. In According to Orendorff, West Hall was terms of [alumni involvement], we’re in lacking a working stove and oven until a prestigious group of schools,” Brooks recently, but the new paint and carpet, as said. well as the wide-screen television in the The survey results also asked par- lounge, all make West a comfortable dorm, ticipants what benefits of belonging to he said. the alumni community they considered According to Bodnarchuk, the significant valuable. amount of construction completed over the Seventy-eight percent said main- summer and continuing into the academic taining a connection to the school, 75 year is the norm. percent keeping up correspondence to “Having projects that are so visible on the friends and 62 percent retaining profes- main campus probably is a thing that seems sional and networking connections. to be either disruptive or, ‘Wow, what’s going “We learned that Tufts alumni are on?’ ” he said. interested in staying connected and are Since Commencement in the spring, eight in touch with other alumni on a regular major renovations were completed at Tufts. basis,” said Costa Nicolaou (LA ’00), The bathrooms in Metcalf Hall were com- the chair of the TUAA’s Marketing and pletely overhauled, and two first-floor bath- Branding Committee.

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