Where You Rain Read It First 67/55 THE TUFTS DAILY Est. 1980 VOLUME LVI, NUMBER 19 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2008 TUFTSDAILY.COM Computer science department chair TCU senators may get nominated for national policy board assigned ‘districts’ BY CHRISTINA PA pp AS on scientific policy. “It’s a tremendous honor BY SARAH BUTRYMOWI C Z each elected representative Contributing Writer Professor Diane Souvaine, for her and for Tufts,” said Daily Editorial Board will be responsible for speak- who specializes in compu- Lenore Cowen, an associate ing to the concerns of a dis- The chair of the Department tational geometry, is one of professor of computer sci- In an effort to open commu- trict, in this case a residence of Computer Science was seven nominees selected from ence. “It’s a huge responsibil- nication with the student body, hall or group of halls, Chao nominated last month by the nation’s scientific elites to ity to work with the NSB, and the Tufts Community Union said. President George W. Bush to join the 24-person NSB for a I expect she will give the pres- (TCU) Senate may start to test The program will be evalu- serve on the National Science six-year term, pending con- ident and the country some a “district system,” in which ated after the semester. If it Board (NSB), a high-ranking firmation by the U.S. Senate. much-needed advice.” senators represent the resi- receives high marks, the pro- group of experts who advise The White House announced dents of specific gram could expand in the the president and Congress the nominations on Sept. 16. see NOMINATION, page 2 dormitories, as coming years, perhaps even soon as Monday. next semester. “ H o p e f u l l y, Chao came up with the idea this program will for this project over the sum- create more of a mer. He worked with his col- Fréchette confronts sense of commu- leagues in the Student Outreach nity within Tufts,” Committee — of which he is energy, climate change said Senator Edward Chao, a a member — to formulate a sophomore. preliminary proposal and sug- This semester’s trial run will gested the plan to the Senate focus on freshmen and sopho- body during Sunday’s meet- mores, with senators almost ing. There, senators offered exclusively from those two feedback, which Chao and the classes getting district assign- rest of the Student Outreach ments. Committee used to tweak the Chao, who is spearhead- proposal. ing the project, said that the Chao will submit a final- Senate needs a better infra- ized proposal at this Sunday’s structure to make sure stu- meeting; if the Senate gives the dents’ voices are heard. “The nod to the specifics, a “beta” motivation behind the system version of the representative is that Senate doesn’t really system will begin on Monday. have so much of a chain of “We just want to get the dou- command,” he said. “Once ble confirmation on Sunday,” you’re elected, you’re kind of said Senator Antonella Scarano, like a free agent and you can a senior who, in her role as pretty much do whatever you TCU historian, oversees the want.” Student Outreach Committee. The program will help indi- This year’s Senate includes ANNIE WERMIEL/TUFTS DAILY vidual senators “convey con- underclassmen living all over Former United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette yesterday emphasized the need for gov- cerns and problems of the campus, making the districts ernment regulation of nuclear energy plants and shared her views on how national governments can con- students back to the Senate,” easy to assign and distribute. front global climate change. Fréchette is a distinguished fellow at the Centre for International Governance Chao said. “Practically speaking, most Innovation. She spoke on the seventh floor of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. In the new system, as in the U.S. House of Representatives, see SENATE, page 2 Political science department to move to Packard Hall Residences and their reps BY JASON ROSENBAUM ing conditions in Eaton Hall had Edgerton often prefers to give up Contributing Writer caused recent lapses in professorial his office rather than share it with The following is a list of the Tufts Haskell Hall – Kate de Klerk research and student involvement. two other teachers. “I end up going Community Union (TCU) senators South Hall – Chas Morrison, Shabazz Feeling cramped in its Eaton Hall “[Students] have to sit in crowded to the Tower Café to meet with stu- who will be assigned to represent Stuart offices, the Department of Political hallways to wait for professors,” dents,” Edgerton said. “If you have specific residence halls, according Bush and Tilton Halls – Joel Science faculty has voted unani- Devigne said. to schedule meetings outside your to tentative plans produced by the Greenberg mously to relocate to Packard Hall He also mentioned the growing office hours, things start to over- TCU Senate’s Student Outreach Metcalf Hall – Dan Pasternack this summer. trend of office sharing. lap.” Committee. Hodgon Hall – Manuel Guzman The department, which has a “A lot of our part-time professors His office hours start immedi- Lewis Hall – Edward Chao steadily increasing lineup of full- have had to share offices ... making ately after another professor’s time Carmichael Hall – Molly Moulton Wren Hall – Sam Wallis and part-time professors, now suf- them less available to students,” he ends. As a result, Edgerton often Houston Hall – Danielle Cotter, Elliott West Hall – Katy Simon fers from shared offices and littered said. In some instances, offices are has to prepare lectures and class McCarthy Hillside Apartments – Ryan Pallathra cubicles, rendering it an uninviting assigned to four part-time profes- work on his own time because he Miller Hall – Jimmy Zuniga, Elliott environment for students to meet sors at once. This makes it difficult cannot come in earlier to get ready. McCarthy —information provided with professors. for professors to schedule meeting “It’d be nice for that work setting Hill Hall – Aaron Bartel by TCU Senate Department Chair Robert times with students, Devigne said. not to be at your home,” he said. Devigne said the worsening work- Political Science Lecturer Barton Edgerton praised the planned move from Eaton to Packard Hall. “Any kind of relief in the numbers of people in the office makes it that much easier,” Edgerton said. Devigne echoed these senti- ments, noting Packard’s relatively large meeting rooms and wide hall- ways. “Students will be able to wait for professors in a more relaxed setting,” he said. “I think it’s great that Tufts made more space for us to teach and research.” Packard Hall is undergoing mas- sive renovations this school year. Construction is scheduled to wrap up in July. It “has yet to be deter- mined” who will occupy the vacant office space in Eaton once the DELPHINE THIERRY/TUFTS DAILY political science department has The political science department is set to move out of its cramped offices moved, Dean of Arts and Sciences in Eaton Hall. Robert Sternberg said in an e-mail. Inside this issue Today’s Sections Jumbos who hit the gym The Daily breaks down News 1 Op-Ed 9 have a variety of motives. the 2008 MLB playoff Features 3 Comics 10 race. Arts | Living 5Classifieds 12 Editorial | Letters 8 Sports Back see FEATURES, page 3 see SPORTS, page 15 2 THE TUF T S DAILY NEWS Wednesday, October 1, 2008 If proposal passes, NOMINATION senators will hold continued from page 1 The NSB, which Congress estab- meetings in dorms lishedTiming in 1950, ofoversees Senate the activities confirmation process remains uncertain of the National Science Foundation SENATE (NSF) in addition to dispensing policy continued from page 1 advice. people will be representing the dorms The NSB’s regular publications on where they live,” Chao said. According the state of science and engineer- to the current plan, the Senate will ing in the United States are the “gold decide which senators represent which standard” of scientific reports, Lisa- halls after elections every year, based Joy Zgorski, an NSF spokesperson, on where the elected members live. told the Daily. The board is composed of the “pre- eminent group of scientists in the country,” Zgorski said. Its members “Hopefully, this program convene five times a year to discuss timely scientific issues. will create more of a “The two dozen members of the sense of community NSB … are all elite in their field,” Zgorski said. “The members are so within Tufts.” smart, and they all respect each other. It’s really a great system.” Edward Chao Souvaine’s research includes sophomore senator work in the field of computational geometry, the study of how comput- er algorithms can be used to solve TIEN TIEN/TUFTS DAILY geometric problems. She also holds Professor Diane Souvaine has been nominated to serve on the National Science Board. “Right now it just so happens that the an appointment in the math depart- senators are pretty much spaced out ment, and served from 1992 to 1994 battle over whether to bail out finan- interest in the subject, she said. around campus,” TCU President Duncan in leadership positions for the NSF’s cial companies, Zgorski said. “Perversely, [the final] was fun,” Pickard said. “[Districts are] not neces- Science and Technology Center on “It’s all about timing,” she said. Souvaine said, explaining that the test sarily going to always be based on where Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical “With all the problems in the world consisted of the complete design of a they [live].” Computer Science. right now, it’s possible that the nom- computer simulation.