Where You Partly Cloudy Read It First 38/31 THE TUFTS DAILY Est. 1980 VOLUME LVII, NUMBER 4 FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2009 TUFTSDAILY.COM Tufts sees 12 percent rise in ED1 acceptances Need-blind admissions policy continues in application process BY GILLIAN JAVETSKI in the top 10 percent of their Daily Editorial Board high school classes. In addi- tion, the average SAT score The Tufts University Office reached a record high of 2128 of Undergraduate Admissions across all three of the test’s admitted 347 Early Decision sections, a 28-point jump I applicants last month, as it from last year’s average. began to select the Class of Thirty-eight percent of 2013. The university accept- students applied for finan- ed over 12 percent more stu- cial aid this time around, the dents than it did during this same as last year, Coffin said. round of applications last The university was able to year, despite choosing from maintain its unofficial need- a similarly sized pool. blind admissions policy in This year’s accepted stu- the application process. dents “posted the strongest The admissions office will Early Decision I academic not publicize the number of profile in Tufts’ history,” Early Decision applications Dean of Undergraduate it received, in accordance JO DUARA/TUFTS DAILY Admissions Lee Coffin told with a policy that it enacted Professor of Political Science Malik Mufti, left, moderated a debate Wednesday run by the New Initiative for Middle East the Daily in an e-mail. last year to curb high school Peace. Junior Marysa Cook-Obregon and Institute for Global Leadership Director Sherman Teichman look on. Among the accepted Early students’ anxiety over Early Decision I students, who Decision admissions. Coffin called “strong and promising,” 80 percent rank see EARLY DECISION, page 2 Middle East programs, discussions BY DAVI D STE R N give students the opportunity to controls Gaza. SpiritAN D CA R OLINE ofMELHA DcollaborationO voice their opinions and hear oth -motivates The dialogue was co-sponsored Daily Editorial Board & Daily Staff Writer ers’ thoughts. by the Office of the University The New Initiative for Middle Chaplain, the Arab Student As Palestinians and Israelis begin East Peace (NIMEP), part of the Association, Tufts Hillel, Pathways, to recover from the latest spate of Institute for Global Leadership, the Muslim Student Association fighting in southern Israel and the hosted a discussion Wednesday and Tufts Friends of Israel and was Gaza Strip, students at Tufts sought night to facilitate a civil forum moderated by Associate Professor a similar path to what many world where students could voice their of political science Malik Mufti leaders are currently encouraging: opinions and concerns over the who is also the director of the dialogue, compromise and an air- fighting in and around Gaza. International Relations program. ing of grievances. Conversation ranged from an In a follow-up presentation last In a rare collaboration between exploration of the origins of the night, Israeli Consul General to nearly every group on campus conflict to whether Israel’s inva- New England Nadav Tamir pre- JOSHUA HALE/TUFTS DAILY that deals in some way with the sion was a proportional and effec- sented a briefing about the recent The Office of Undergraduate Admissions accepted over 12 percent more Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a series tive response to rocket attacks by Early Decision I applicants than it did last year. of programs began this week to Hamas, the Palestinian group that see MIDEAST, page 2 President, trustee chairman urge patience as BY ROB SILVE R BLATT with Jacob Ezra Merkin of Ascot Partners, this year’s Snyder Lecture Daily Editorial Board calling the reporting misleading. Bacow said that he expects the inter- BY ROB SILVE R BLATT we feed the nation and the world,” Madoff Pending the resultsinternal of an ongoing investigation inter- nal review to continuesindicate that the investment Daily Editorial Board University President Lawrence Bacow nal investigation, the university’s top offi- met due diligence standards. “I know it was Nutrition journalisttold the Daily to in an deliver e-mail. cials are withholding judgment on the handled routinely,” he said. “My expectation In announcing controversial nutri- The selection of Pollan, whose process that led to a $20-million invest- is that it did [meet due diligence], but until tion journalist Michael Pollan as this books focus heavily on the discord ment in Ascot Partners, a hedge fund we go back and take a look, we don’t know semester’s Snyder lecturer, Dean between natural farming cycles and connected to disgraced financier Bernard for sure.” of Undergraduate Education James industrial agriculture, as well as on Madoff. According to Stern, the Board of Trustees’ Glaser reflected on the role that the co-evolution of certain plant University President Lawrence Bacow Investment Committee will meet soon to speakers in the series should play. species with humans, has piqued and Trustee Chairman James Stern (E ’72) discuss the $20-million loss. “We are doing a “The idea is that they should be the interest of academics at Tufts’ told the Daily that they have confidence fairly elaborate review of this, as we should,” provocative in their field,” Glaser Friedman School of Nutrition Science in Tufts’ financial arm, but they would he said. “We’re going to have to come to told the Daily. “They should take on and Policy. not definitively say whether investors fol- some conclusion ... If there are errors of sacred cows. They should be people Miriam Nelson, the director of the lowed due diligence or overlooked any red oversight and due diligence, that’s some- who break new ground.” John Hancock Center for Physical flags. thing we have to contend with.” This spring’s choice does both — Activity and Nutrition at the Friedman “I can’t answer that yet,” Stern said In the wake of the Madoff fallout, a and quite literally. School, described Pollan as some- when asked if investors missed any visible number of financial experts have argued Pollan, a professor at the University what of a polarizing figure in the warning signs. “I really prefer to answer a that the alleged Ponzi scheme should have of California, Berkeley, has written nutrition community. question like that when I’ve had a chance been uncovered earlier. Madoff’s consistent extensively about food; his work “There are people who feel he has to review and study the material. It would returns, they say, were too good to be true raises serious questions about the pushed the envelope and there are be crass speculation on my part.” and impossible to replicate even using his meat industry and unearths fresh others who feel that he’s really getting Both administrators urged patience self-professed strategy. perspectives about what grows in at the heart of some of the issues that and pledged a full review of the univer- Stern, the chairman of the New York- the ground. He will speak at Tufts we’re all dealing with,” she said. sity’s policies with an eye toward fixing based private equity firm The Cypress as part of the semesterly Richard E. In particular, Pollan criticizes the any institutional problems that might Group, cautioned against leaping to conclu- Snyder Presidential Lecture Series on reliance on corn in both the meat exist. They also echoed Director of Public sions. “Eyesight always gets really good when March 24. industry, where it is used to feed Relations Kim Thurler’s response to a New “He is one of the most important York Times article financially linking Stern see MADOFF, page 2 figures in a national debate over how see POLLAN, page 2 Inside this issue Today’s Sections The women’s basketball Tufts students react to team overcame two key News 1 Op-Ed 9 Apple’s changing poli- injuries to win a mid- Features 3 Comics 11 cies regarding file shar- week contest against Arts | Living 5Classifieds 12 ing practices. Wheaton. Editorial | Letters 8 Sports Back see FEATURES, page 3 see SPORTS, back page 2 THE TUF T S DAILY NEWS Friday, January 23, 2009 Decision pool due to economic crisis MIDEAST at length, describing why Hamas refused continued from page 1 to continue the armistice. He believes EARLY DECISION tiously pledged to try to continue the conflict, in which both sides declared unilat- that Hamas’ reluctance stemmed from continuedCoffin from page expects 1 decreaseneed-blind in policy, Regular although they made eralDialogue truces last weekend. focuses on Middleimprovements Eastin the West conflict Bank, explain- Coffin did note, though, that this no guarantees. That discussion was sponsored by Tufts ing how a decline in recruitment for year’s Early Decision I pool was Even though the university had the Hillel, Tufts Friends of Israel, the Jewish Hamas in that territory and a success- “exactly” the same size as last year’s. opportunity to admit all qualified Community Relations Council of Greater ful Christmas celebration in Bethlehem “It is my impression that many Early Decision I applicants regardless Boston and B-right, a Tufts group for stu- impacted Hamas’ thinking. of the [New England Small College of their ability to pay, it may be as late dents who have participated in free Taglit- And Tamir defended Israel’s conduct dur- Athletic Conference schools] expe- as March until the administration Birthright trips to Israel. ing the 22-day war that began on Dec. 27. rienced a similar pattern,” he said. knows for sure whether the admis- At both discussions, students drew upon “The one obligation of any government is “Non-binding Early Action col- sions office will be able to admit the their personal experiences from studying to protect their citizens from outside sourc- leges saw large increases this year, entire Class of 2013 through a need- abroad or growing up in the Middle East to es,” he said.