Behold: She’s bold, she’s British, and by Jove she’s brilliant. Buy it.

ELLIE GOULD – STARRY EYED (FROM HER DEBUT ALBUM, ‘LIGHTS’

I know all this election news can be stressful (and boring for anyone who doesn’t go to Tufts).  So here is a little treat to show everyone beyond the hilltop that we haven’t forgotten about you: a couple tracks from Wale via The Smoking Section.

Wale – BASEhead (produced by The Baseheads)

Download here

Wale – Kini Big Deal

Download here

I was as surprised as anyone else.  The text sent out to the rest of the group read, “He’s Baaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!” and below the text was a picture of the Sam Wallis.  He has flown back to Tufts from Tel Aviv to throw himself into the heat of the campaign.

I didn’t get a chance to attend the debate last night but I did pick up a copy of today’s Daily which featured the debate as the cover story. Speaking with friends who had attended they were telling me that the debate was pretty even although each candidate shined for different reasons.  But what some are finding interesting is that both candidates speak so heavily about community and, also, that whenever any question arises about Levine’s experience the answer always relates back to her time on the TCU Treasury.

Courtesy: Tufts Daily

Very quickly, to amend the statement I made before–that I didn’t attend the event–I just wanted to say that I have heard sections of it from a friend who recorded most of it.  Now I haven’t finished listening to the mp3 but the debate did leave me with some lingering questions.

Back to the point about community and Levine’s time on the Treasury.  Community is something that I think both candidates would do well to work on.  Their campaigns are centered around the student body, with Lauren arguing that she is the best community-builder in this race and Sam making community one of his 4 Cs (the basic platform for his campaign).  I’m curious to see what the candidates do in the coming days with regard to the various communities at Tufts.  Whether or not they are able to reach out to them in a manner that feels sincere will be critical to getting the vote out–lest we forget, also, that the communities beyond the Group of 6 should be remembered.

Regarding both candidates leadership experience, I’ve been getting nudged to a few conclusions.

I’ve been trying to do my fact checking on both and Sam’s information seems to check out, all the claims about adding WiFi to certain dorms and working on an alcohol policy that is more sensible and protects students from harm as opposed to never addressing the real issue of alcohol abuse.  And the thing is that when I talk with someone from the Wallis Campaign or listen to the debates they reference a litany of things that Sam has been a part of.  There is something consoling in the variety and that he isn’t trying to stretch a single accomplishment for all it’s worth.

In all honesty, and this is being said as objectively as it can be, I worry as to whether or not the same can be said about Lauren.  Now, this isn’t trash-talking or bashing the other candidate.  This is thinking out loud and trying to talk through a few things.  With that being said, whenever I hear Lauren reference her abilities as a leader, one of two things happen.

a. I did x, y, z for Treasury

b. It’s not all about leading, yourself.  It’s about motivating others, which is what I can do.

Case A: The fact that this is all I hear about with regard to leadership, at least in finite terms, concerns me.  If there is only one instance of leadership for her to draw upon, we’re looking at someone who isn’t all too experienced.  Name a committee, an organization, a club, a marching band–give me something to think about as another point of leadership.  Additionally, if I’ve been reading correctly, Treasury was a joint effort between a few people.  The leadership responsibilities in such a case are a little diluted as a result.  I’m still waiting for that specific example of leadership.

Case B: Blatant talking around the question.  She isn’t wrong, but that doesn’t answer the question of, “What is your leadership experience?”  I doubt anyone is fooled.

Either way, in the coming days we should see an interesting swing as the debates progress, campaigns pick up, and everyone adjusts to the fact that Sam Wallis is, in fact, back on campus.

- Logan

PS – About that picture up there, whoever chose the photos wasn’t very kind to the candidate on the left. Sam’s pose says, “I have a vision,” Laurens says, “It wasn’t me.”  This is the fault of the editors at the Daily, not Lauren Levine–just to emphasize.

CNBC has a great feature on Marijuana and money in the United States today (a rather appropriate day) that is worth a read. Link below.

-Beau

I had the chance to be present at the TCU Presidential nominations event at which Lauren Levine and Sam Wallis announced their candidacy for TCU President.  I went into the meeting unsure of who I would support and the general arc of things would have suggested that I ended up in Camp Lauren by the end of it all.  Sam started off strong but failed to really capture my attention with any of his answers toward the end.  Lauren, on the contrary, started off slowly and quickly grew to capture my attention and was confidently answering the questions raised.

Aside: Questions raised pertained to each candidate’s biggest accomplishment, reform of Healthy Living, purpose of the Presidency, President’s place in programming, bridging the gap between the Group of 6 and the majority of campus, an error made by Senate, and how students could apply what they learned in class on campus.

Between these two, with regard to the literature they have put online and the speeches they’ve made, they might as well be running the same campaign.  The platforms overlap in a number of areas and the slogans are nearly the same:

Levine: It’s about you.

Wallis: It’s about us.

And by about 10 o’clock last night (an hour after the nomination meeting adjourned) the campus was covered in presidential advertising.  Wallis’ team had posters on every corner and bathroom door on campus along with a painted cannon to show off, come the next morning.  Levine’s camp  chalked every walkway on the hill and threw up the website and videos before anyone could boot-up FireFox.

Ultimately, though, when you look at the resume of each candidate and the sheer “can get shit done” factor (cgsd factor), the match-up isn’t even fair.  I poked through Wallis’ page about his accomplishments and was floored.  Levine’s are impressive, but after seeing the catalogue of things Sam Wallis has done I wasn’t as moved by Levine’s list.

On top of that, the minds who are surrounding Wallis in his campaign (I guess the minds would be Skyping with Wallis since he is in Tel Aviv now) are brilliant.  The guy has a great brain trust. You’re talking about a list of people who led project after project after project on this campus and possess a pretty formidable amount of that aforementioned cgsd factor themselves.  I’m talking about the Chas Morrisons, the Antonella Scaranos, the Bruce Ratains–in fact, let me linger for a quick second about that last name and talk about someone who gets shit done and could, quite honestly, have run for TCU President on just as many qualifications as Lauren or Sam.

These were pretty much the deciding factors for me early on but a little nudge to indicate that I had chosen right was when I saw that “Tufts Jumbo” on Facebook was only inviting people to Lauren’s event.  If I take the news trickling across The Quad as truth, then other students saw the same thing and noticed it’s bullshit.  On top of that, I guess most of Programming Board, which runs the Tufts Jumbo Facebook profile, happens to be supporting Lauren Levine–coincidence?

All this being said, there are still 9 days left in this election and I certainly don’t want anyone to think that I’m counting out Lauren Levine.  Both sides look strong and I’m excited to see how it all plays out.

This fantastic track, featuring the vocal talent of Ms. Hayley Williams and the rap stylings of the one and only Eminem, is simply mind-blowing. Eminem demonstrates excellent form last seen on his verse from Drake’s “Forever.” All of this combines to create a moving track with a very good hook and amazing talent. This is a leak, but be sure to support B.o.B.’s album when it releases. we at Uphill/Downtown certainly will.

Download the track here. [Via 2dopeboyz].

A very happy Patriots Day to the Massholes out there. This holiday is even more absurd than Pulaski Day. And that is saying something.

-Beau

Sam Wallis for TCU President.

Download & support.

More to come soon as the campaign progresses.  10 days left

Sam Wallis for Tufts

Also: Facebook |  YouTube |  Twitter

via APC (original)

Sorry that I can’t find the embed link for this.  Just know that The Final Countdown by Europe and Haddaway’s What is Love? are mashed-up in this track.  If you ever need something to keep you going at the gym or to start up your favorite 80s dance/aerobics class, this might be just up your alley.

Download

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Bonus photo after the jump

via APC (original)

Download

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| Soundcloud

Just for shits and giggles

I came upon this while “studying” for tomorrow’s (read: today’s) exam.  Everyone knows from health class that they’re supposed to wrap up their junk.  Now you can do so while showing your political allegiance, supporting President Obama, Senator McCain, or the no-longer-Governor Palin.

Looking for the uniforms?

Barack |  John |  Sarah

Cypress Hill’s new album, Rise Up, is dropping on 4/20, and it’s their first album in more than 6 years. The first single to enter the blogosphere is called “Pass That Dutch”.  The lyrics definitely make it clear why the album is coming out on 4/20.  The song opens with an old recording saying “Do you want to get high?”  The chorus is all about which way to point the joint, so at the very least, the song is educational for all of you who don’t have this kind of toker’s knowledge.  You can download the track below, and keep on the look out for the album coming out this Tuesday.

Pass That Dutch