THE TUFTS DAILY
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TUFTSDAILY.COM
Thursday, October 6, 2011
VOLUME LXII, NUMBER 20
Palestine deserve rights of a state, Atshan says by
Kathryn Olson
Daily Editorial Board
Lecturer of Peace and Justice Studies Sa’ed Atshan called for better Palestinian leadership that more adequately addresses the peoples’ grievances, and a onestate solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at last night’s “crash-course” on the Palestinians’ bid to the United Nations for statehood. The event, hosted by the Tufts chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and the International Relations Program’s Directors Leadership Council (DLC), marks the second “crash-course” hosted by the DLC this week. On Monday night, they held a crash-course on the Eurozone and the fate of the European Union. “The idea is that they are short, condensed presentations on conflicts that are happening right now,” DLC member Aparna Ramanan, a junior, said. “The goal is to inform the student body about topics they might not have a grasp on,” she said. Last night’s “crash-course” featured Atshan, who has worked for organizations such as the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, Human Rights Watch, Seeds of Peace, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Negotiations Affairs Department and the Government of Dubai. He is currently completing his Ph.D. at Harvard University on the politics of international aid in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “The majority of Tufts students are U.S. citizens, and Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. aid in the world... Americans have a right to know where their money is going and that their taxes are funding this conflict,” Atshan told the Daily in an interview after the event. During his lecture, he provided an overview of the root causes of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, the main impediments to peace, and the impact of the Arab Spring and the recent request by Palestinian Authority (PA) President
by
Matthew Thompson
Contributing Writer
Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone is challenging state restrictions on the number of liquor licenses the city can grant to local businesses, citing a need to attract and help new restaurants and increase economic activity. The Licenses and Permits Committee of the Somerville Board of Aldermen is now considering a home-rule proposal Curtatone submitted on July 14, which would petition the state to relinquish its power in capping the number of liquor licenses the City of Somerville can allot to local businesses. Somerville is currently authorized by Massachusetts to issue
16 beer and wine licenses and 84 all-alcoholic beverages serving licenses, 10 of which are reserved especially for future businesses in the undeveloped Assembly Square. Curtatone, in a Sept. 23 op-ed in the Somerville News, referred to the state-determined limit on the number of liquor licenses Somerville can sanction as a “counterproductive leftover of Prohibition Era thinking.” He noted that it has become less attractive for new restaurants and clubs to open in Somerville due to the constraints of having to pay for expensive liquor licenses or never being able to receive a license at all. see LIQUOR, page 2
by
Elizabeth McKay
Daily Editorial Board
better addresses Palestinian grievances than the PA, the current governing body of the West Bank. “The PA needs to become less relevant and the PLO should become more significant,” he said. “Everyone’s voice needs to be heard. It’s a matter of recreating a PLO that is more representative of the Palestinian people,” he told the Daily. He added that elections should take place not only in the West Bank and the Occupied Territories, but also in East Jerusalem and Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan and southern Lebanon so as to ensure adequate representation. Atshan said that the Arab Spring led Palestinians to question the legitimacy of the PA’s leadership and cemented the notion that unjust leadership is not legitimate. “What are the alternatives? Do they [the see PALESTINE, page 2
see CONCERT, page 2
Elizabeth Robinson/Tufts Daily
Somerville liquor license policy may change
Matt and Kim to headline Cage Rage concert
The indie-rock band Matt and Kim will headline this month’s second annual Cage Rage Concert, Programming Board co-chair senior Leo Greenberg confirmed yesterday. Electro-pop duo Timeflies, comprised of Tufts alumni Rob Resnick (E ’11) and Cal Shapiro (LA ’11), will open the event on Oct. 22. This year’s concert, to be held in Carzo Cage, will have more of a rock vibe than last year’s show, which featured indie group Passion Pit, and hip-hop artists K.Flay and Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Concert Board co-chair Marc Turner said. In keeping with Programming Board’s recent move toward online ticketing, this year’s Cage Rage tickets will be available for purchase at the TuftsTickets.com website, Greenberg said. Tickets will become available to students on Oct. 14 at noon at the Mayer Campus Center’s Information Booth for $10 per ID. Guest tickets will be available the next day for $20. Students will be allowed to purchase two guest tickets per ID, according to Turner, a senior. The exact number of tickets that will be available has not yet been determined, though Turner anticipates that it will be between 1,700 and 2,000. Matt and Kim’s reputation for strong live performances contributed to Concert Board’s decision to book them, Turner said. “We think they put on a great live show, very high energy,” he said. “We think they will fit with the cage rage atmosphere.” “We wanted to go with more of a rock feel for the show, so that’s why Matt and Kim were chosen,” he added. The contract with the band was final-
Lecturer of Peace and Justice Studies Sa’ed Atshan at last night’s ‘crash-course’ on the Palestinian bid for statehood said that Palestinians should pursue a one-state solution. Mahmoud Abbas for full U.N. membership. Palestine, which submitted an application last month to become a United Nations Member State, currently holds observer status at the United Nations. Atshan said that Abbas’ bid for U.N. membership pushed the plight of the Palestinians back onto the world stage. “The post 9/11 policy is still fresh. There are still wars raging in Iraq, Afghanistan ... and that makes it easy for Palestinian suffering to be swept under the rug,” he told the Daily. The danger, he added, was that it also raised unrealistic expectations among Palestinians that significant progress to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be made by achieving U.N. statehood. Atshan said that despair and violence could result if perceptible progress toward peace is not made, and in order to mitigate such risks, Palestinians must be represented by a leadership that
Where You Read It First Est. 1980
SAS hosted first Sustainability Roundtable last night
Misako Ono/Tufts Daily
A new branch of the Tufts Sustainability Collective, the Sustainable Action Squad, hosted a Sustainability Roundtable last night, bringing together representatives of student groups and faculty working on issues related to the environment. Attendees discussed potential green campaigns to pursue this year and ways to collaborate in their environmental efforts.
correction The Oct. 5 article, “Health service to hold three flu clinics” incorrectly listed pneumonia, sinus infections and the worsening of asthma as side effects for the flu vaccine. These are symptoms of the influenza illness, not side effects of the vaccine.
Inside this issue
Today’s sections
Three Tufts alumni tutor underprivileged students in local charter schools.
The Daily takes a look at the fashion truck phenomenon.
see FEATURES, page 5
see WEEKENDER, page 9
News Features Weekender Editorial | Letters
1 5 9 12
Op-Ed Comics Classifieds Sports
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